(ON HIATUS - SEE BLOG ENTRY FOR 3.28.14)
Twilight Sparkle's magic has gone out of control. Unearthly storms are coming out of the northern mountains to threaten the Crystal Empire. A scholar, stripped of everything by a cruel tyrant's curse, finds something terrible in the river. All of these things are pointing to something horrible on the horizon, but what is it? And can it be stopped in time?
It's a journey of unthinkable sacrifice where the unbreakable bonds of friendship are pitted against the insidious schemes of an ancient evil, across the lands of Equestria and the very fabric of time and magic itself.
Shade of A Crystal Empire is meant to be an Adventure Story in the spirit of the show. Imagine it like a feature film released in theaters that is a bit darker than a normal episode, but nothing that would be terribly out of place.
Have you ever considered submitting this story to Equestria Daily? You can find out how to do so here.
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I may do just that eventually.
I hadn't thought of it yet, no. But thank you for the vote of confidence! It means a lot!
Too much too say here. I'd much up all the epicness if I tried to sumrise it. :)
Interesting... The Crystal Heart would be able to absorb the power of emotions, as love is it's fuel, for lack of a better word. A solid horn, maybe not, but possible. I can clearly see what is about to happen, and the great deception of Sombra. If spirit and power can be reunited in a new body, one that the princesses would not DARE to hurt... He would be invulnerable. Only the magic of friendship could be used to cleanse the bearer of Sombra, and if the bearer is the one to wield the cleansing power, how could it possibly work? :)
You have done a masterful job writing so far. Have you applied to get this as a featured story? Or perhaps on Equestria Daily?
3148121 Thank you so much for all the kind words. I'm glad you're enjoying it so far. And the storyweaver in me is cackling like a madman at people trying to spot where it's going next!
You're very astute, I must admit. You've got a good handle on the plot. (Or DO you? 
)
I think once I've gotten the next couple chapters up, I'm going to submit it to ED or try to get it featured. There's a huge plot element coming up really soon that I am hoping will serve as the "steel trap" of the story so to speak. Like, after this thing happens I'm hoping I'll have my claws set in you, and you'll need to know what's next. I don't want to present it until I've got my big guns out, you dig?
Roughly how many chapters are left until this story is over?
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The way I've structured the story in my head was always like a three-act film. I'm intending the end of the next chapter to be the end of Act One, as the main dilemma of the story will have been revealed. I can't say for sure how many chapters I'm going to end up with total. Basically it'll be done in as many chapters as it takes to tell the story. Plus there are a lot of elements in the next two acts which I haven't fleshed out completely yet which might make it longer. But based on my current rate I wouldn't be surprised if it approached 18 or 20 chapters by the end.
3237522 Wait... That was just the first part!?! Dang! This fic is gonna be something!
This is what King Sombra should be like.
This isn't just the best King Sombra fanfics I've ever seen- It's one of the best stories I've ever read. Period.
This story deserves many more views and comments than it has. It portrays Sombra as an incredibly intimidating villain, though now I have to wonder. The Crystal Empire is gone for 1,000 years. What exactly are they going to do about it? Unless they plan on ripping through the space time continuum to access it when they didn't or couldn't the last time, I don't see how the story can go on.
Oh well. You'll think of something; you're amazing!
Have a like, this story deserves it.
Have a favorite, you deserve it.
3723504 Wow. Thanks! I'm constantly humbled by your kind words.
I hope you'll continue to enjoy the story. I hate to toot my own horn, but we've yet to get to the good part. 
3723889 It's reactions like this that makes me love being a story teller. I'm cackling with giddiness over here. Thanks for the nice word-speaks! Glad you're enjoying Sombre. I always thought that there was a lot of wasted potential with his character only getting that two-part episode and then GONE FOREVER. There's a lot of opportunity with him, especially when you consider that technically he totally made Celestia look like a chump. And indeed...WHAT ARE THEY GOING TO DO NOW?!?!
3724812 You should tell that to everyone who doesn't like him.
You should really add more tags man. This story could fall under so much more.
3911769 Duly noted and adjusted. I wasn't sure before about adding the "Sad" or "Dark" tags. I didn't want it to seem like it was TOO sad or dark, since I was looking to strike a balance and have it be just an "Adventure." But I suppose adding tags couldn't hurt. Thanks.
3911933 No prob, and I'm finishing up your review as well.
I wonder how this will work. After all, 'Those who win never quit, and those who quit never win, but those who never win and never quit are fools'.
Alright, lots of amazing stuff. From Rarity's confusion on Wormholes, the apocalypse-level sauce, Sweetie being a calculated risk and Spike's intro to Celestia. Your characterization is spot on - though I'd think Sweetie Belle, being the dictionary she is, would know what politesse means - and I can't wait to see what Twilight comes up with.
... maybe she can figure out how to cast the curse and then reverse engineer it?
4024059 Thanks! One of my favorite things is writing dialogue. I love getting inside the character's heads and making words come out, especially when I manage to crack myself up like I did in this chapter. The wormholes part makes me chuckle every time, as does the bit with Sweetie Belle.
And yes, I thought about her knowing what politesse means, but I find the idea that her vocabulary isn't nearly as big as she or others think it is to be way funnier than if she actually knew the word. 
I have an actual Sweetie Belle = Dictionary joke in the next chapter that plays on that idea. (Also a LOT of jokes foreshadowing Season 4, too! 
)
It's been six months. Is this dead or what?