Celestia receives a letter telling her that a dark artifact has been recovered. What should have been a simple task to destroy the artifact becomes a dangerous challenge, as Luna and two guards find out that the artifact has a mind of its own.
***Light Dark: For scenes dealing with ponies' fears. Nothing gory or overly traumatizing.***
Celestia receives a letter from Shining Armor and Cadence, asking for her help in destroying an artifact of dark power. Luna volunteers to go to the Empire, and takes along a single pony from both the royal and lunar guards. Their task becomes dangerous, as they discover that the artifact has a sinister intelligence directing its actions. The trio, along with a crystal pony, is pulled into a deadly struggle, not only for their lives, but for the fate of the Crystal Empire.
Celestia read over the letter one more time. Dark artifacts were always a concern but to have one found near the Crystal Empire, so soon after its return, was troubling.
Luna walked into Celestia’s private chambers and frowned at the worried expression of her sister. “Celestia, what is bothering you so?”
Celestia turned to Luna and levitated the letter to her. “It appears the Crystal Empire may face another threat. This time the danger stems from a dark magic artifact that Shining and Cadence cannot destroy.” Celestia looked out a window, deep in thought. “Whatever the thing is, it gives off a malignant aura and no pony has dared to touch it.”
Luna’s read over the letter and then shook her head. “Those poor ponies have suffered enough.”
Celestia nodded in agreement. “I sent for you so I can prepare you for a few things before my departure.” Celestia noticed the despondent look that had come over Luna and stopped in mid thought. “Did I say something to upset you?”
Luna looked up at Celestia, her dark eyes filled with an inner fire. “I had to stand aside for Twilight Sparkle the last time that the Crystal Empire was in peril. I do not wish to do so again.”
Luna’s wings unfurled as her emotions mounted. “I could not help our ponies since my return and I feel I am not fulfilling my duty to our ponies. Let me go in your stead. Allow me this opportunity to do more than chase away nightmares.”
Celestia gave Luna a fragile smile. “I can understand your feelings. but I cannot say I like the thought of you heading into danger. You have just returned to us. I do not want to risk losing you again.”
Luna’s expression softened at Celestia’s words. “You will not lose me. I will be cautious dealing with this threat. If something reveals itself to be more than I can handle I will send for you.” Luna hugged Celestia around her neck. “I need this sister. Let me aid our kingdom this time.”
Celestia returned the hug, and nodded. “Since it means that much to you, you can go. I would feel more comfortable if you took two of the guard with you.”
Luna's voice revealed her slight annoyance, as she replied, “I would travel faster alone.”
Celestia pulled from Luna’s embrace. “I know, but do this for me. The threat is not too imminent, so I would rather take a little more time and take every precaution.”
“May I choose who the guards shall be?”
Celestia nodded. “Choose from either my guard or yours.”
Luna smiled, her eagerness plain to see. “Thank you. We will be cautious and we will not fail.”
*****
Bracing Voice looked over at his lunar guard counterpart and wondered where the stallion’s mind had wandered to. The pegasus had not said a dozen words since they had gotten on the train and he did not seem to be eager to. There was not an unfriendly air about him, he seem lost in thought.
Voice walked over to the pegasus and extended a hoof. “Excuse me. I haven’t introduced myself, I’m Bracing Voice.”
The pegasus turned his head, smiled, and shook Voice’s hoof. “Sorry about that, I’m Deft Quill. I didn’t mean to ignore you, but I have a lot on my mind. Considering what we're heading towards, getting lost in thought may not be the best thing for me to do.”
Voice grinned back. “I’ve been there. What's on your mind?”
Quill's face shown with pride. “My wife, Morning Mist, and I are expecting. We're having twins."
“Congratulations! Are they your first?”
Quill nodded. “They were a surprise. We had planned to wait until I was out of the guard. I wouldn’t change a thing though.”
Luna opened the door to the car and joined them. “The conductor believes we are still hours out from the Crystal Empire.” She gave them a smirk. “You do not have to be in your armor. I doubt we will be attacked while aboard the train. You may take it off.”
Quill and Voice shook their heads.
Quill explained: “Your highness, we are on duty till this danger has passed. It is part of our oaths to remain prepared for any threat and that requires that we remain in our armor.”
Voice nodded in agreement.
Luna sighed, but smiled. “It is assuring to know I have chosen two ponies that take their duties to heart.”
Voice bowed to Luna. “Princess, I do not mean to appear to second guess you, but why did you choose us? Neither of us are warriors.”
Luna put a hoof on Voice’s shoulder. “Do not judge yourself by your martial prowess. This situation calls for traits beyond combat skills.” She gestured to Quill, with her other hoof. “Quill and I have known each other for a while, and his endurance flying is unmatched.” Quill puffed himself up a little at her complement. “If we get into a difficult situation and I cannot send a message to Celestia, Quill could make the flight back to Canterlot. Celestia recommended you accomoany us.”
Voice’s eyes widened. “ Celestia recommended me? Why? I can't have done nothing that would have gotten her attention.”
“Truth be told, she did not take notice of you at first.”
Voice's expression fell. "Oh."
Luna gave Voice an encouraging smile. “Shining Armor, however, did notice you. His notes on your ability to boost the morale of your fellow guards caught Celestia’s attention. She has kept a watch on your career and told me of your talent.” Luna met Voice's eyes, as she continued, “If luck is with us, this matter could will be resolved in hours. If not, the process could take weeks. Having a pony who can keep ponies' spirits up during a difficult, uncertain time is vital.”
Voice’s confidence returned. “Thank you, your highness.”
*****
The train pulled into the Empire station. Luna, Quill, and Voice stepped off and took a moment to stretch their travel weary limbs.
Quill extended his wings to their fullest. “That was something, how the snow gave way to this warmth. It was easy to tell we were getting close.”
Luna tensed and looked around. “Something is wrong. Cadence and Shining Armor were to meet us here.”
A voice called from down the station, “Your highness!”
The three turned to see an older crystal pony running down the walkway. The aged stallion slid to a stop, and bowed to Luna. “Your highness, there has be a degradation in the condition of the artifact. It is extending its powers towards ponies. To what end, we don't know.”
Luna’s expression darkened. “You may rise. Is the artifact contained?”
The pony nodded, causing shimmering patterns of light to pass through his orange body. “Princess Cadence and Shining Armor have the thing well contained behind a barrier. They do not seem to pressed as they were when they kept Sombra out of the Empire.”
Luna turned towards the palace. “We will not dawdle on our way there. Forgive me, I have not even asked your name.”
“My name is Structured Thought, your highness. I am the head archivist for the Crystal Empire. Have been for some time, if you take into account our time of our absence.”
Luna gave him an unreadable look. “You should.”
Thought paled. “Forgive me, your highness." He bowed low to her. "My joke was in poor taste.”
Luna waved his words off with a hoof. “I assure you, I did not take offense. My own ‘absence’ was not as horrible as some have made it out to be. I am not sensitive about the subject. I would be more than happy to discuss it with you after we deal with this threat.”
Thought nodded. “I would very much like to, but first things first. Your highness, and good guards, please follow me.”
The group garnered a good deal of attention as they made their way down the street. Seeing either lunar guards or royal guards in the Empire was rare. To see one of each accompanying Princess Luna was extraordinaire.
For the pegasus and unicorn of the group the trip through the streets of the city was far too short. The crystalline architecture, the smell of new foods, and the crystal ponies walking the street fascinated them.
Voice smiled as he looked at the numerous vendors' stalls and store fronts. “I could spend a week here just wandering the city.”
Quill pointed a hoof towards the sky. “I've heard if you fly above the city you can tell that it's laid out in a geometric design. Once you know what the pattern is it's supposed to make it impossible to get lost.”
Thought grinned at them. “I would love to show you two the city. It is an amazing place to live. I've heard Canterlot caught up with us in splendor. It's a running joke around here that it took Canterlot a thousand years to do it.”
Luna had a look of nostalgia. “The city is as I remembered it. The Empire has always been a place of beauty. It saddened me that, over time, the memory of the Empire so that ponies no longer dreamed of it. It was always pleasant to see the city during my stay on the moon.”
Quill's ears perked up in concern at Luna's words. “You were conscious, all that time you were on the moon? I didn't realize that. That must have been horrible.”
Luna gave a rich laugh. “No, Quill, it was not horrible. It was much like being in a deep, calming meditation, where time had little meaning. I could still reach out to ponies dreams. While I did not have the power to help ponies during their sleep, I watched and learned that ponies loved my nights. Those visions helped me overcome the powers that had ensnared me.”
Voice let out a relieved sigh, loud enough to get Luna to turn her head in his direction. He blushed. “Sorry, your highness, but the thought of being trapped, with no sensory input, scares me. I can't even think of facing that for a thousand years.”
“My sister would never have done such a thing.”
The palace loomed over them, as they made their way towards it. As they entered Thought trotted ahead a few steps. He then turned back to them and, with no small amount of pride, bowed and said, “Welcome to the place of the Crystal Empire, home to princess Cadence and prince Shining Armor.”
Voice gave a short laugh. “I will never get used to hearing 'prince' attached to Shining Armor. I can't see the same pony that taught me combat spells and drilled me as a prince. I think he would miss all the yelling.”
“There are days, when I miss it. Keeping a kingdom in order is a lot tougher than training recruits,” Shining's voice replied. Shining Armor stepped into the entry hall from a side entrance. His horn glowed as he maintained the shielding spell around the artifact.
Quill bowed. Voice saluted, then halfway completed a bow, and then again saluted. “Captain, I'm not sure how to greet you. The old habits are still there.”
Shining laughed and shook Voice's hoof. “Either way is fine. I was glad to learn you were the one that was coming, from the royal guard.”
Luna made a curt noise. “While this is all very pleasant, we should focus on the task at hoof. I would hate to see you and Cadence suffer having to maintain a barrier any longer than you have to.”
Shining grunted at himself. “That is my fault. I ordered the thing brought here. When it got into the palace, it reacted to the Crystal Heart and seemed to wake up.”
Luna's eyes narrowed. “It seemed to react to the Heart? Tell me what happened.”
Shining looked towards the throne room, where the Heart was displayed. “It seemed to want to reach out toward the Heart. When Cadence and I shielded the heart, the artifact reached out towards us. We threw a barrier around the thing and stopped it before it hurt anypony. It hasn't given us any trouble after that.”
“Any magical artifact that exhibits intelligence should be treated with great care. Has anypony an idea of what the thing could be?” Luna turned her head towards Thought, when she noticed that he tensed at the question.
Thought cleared his throat. “If I may be as so bold, I may have the answer. In fact, the reason I was late in greeting you is that I was working out what the artifact is. I believe it's Sombra's horn.”
Shining shook his head in stern denial. “That's impossible. Sombra was destroyed by the Crystal Heart. I saw it with my own eyes.”
A kind voice came from the same entrance that Shining had used. “Shining, we only saw Sombra's body destroyed. There were several accounts that there was something thrown a good distance by the wave of power that ended Sombra. I think we know what that thing was now. It's a wonder we didn't recognize it sooner.”
Quill and Voice bowed, as Cadence entered the hall. She smiled at the two of them. “Please rise, and thank you both for coming.” She turned to Luna and gave her a hug. “Thank you too, Luna, for coming to help us.”
Luna returned the hug. “I think you have the situation under control. I am sure you would have neutralized the threat, even without my help.”
Shining smiled. “I'm glad we didn't have to test that theory.” His expression darkened. “I hate to think any part of that despicable creature is still around.”
Thought wilted a little. “I hate that King Sombra's legacy has become so tainted. He was a good king, a fine stallion, and a friend of mine, until he reached for too much power.”
Luna's face showed a touch of tenderness. “He was a good friend. It was very difficult for Celestia and me to battle with him. I know, all too well, what happens when dark powers gain control over a pony.”
Cadence motioned for the group to follow her. “This way, I’m sure you would like to see the horn itself.” She led them down into the lower parts of the castle and into a storage room.
The group stayed a respectable distance from the barrier, and examined the horn where it rested on a small table. The horn's crimson red was in stark contrast with the white cloth it lay on. The horn's distinctive curve marked it as differing from any other unicorn horn in Equestria.
Shining nodded to an internal voice. “I can't deny it now, having looked at it again. It is Sombra's horn.”
Luna strode around the barrier. Her horn lit with power as she examined the remnant of Sombra. “There is something there that has intelligence. It's seeking to get out and gain power. That must be why it reached for the Crystal heart. The Heart is the largest source of pure power for quite a distance.”
Luna stopped as she completed her circle around the barrier. “This could be very tricky. I plan to step into the barrier. If anything untoward occurs, get a message to Celestia. Quill, I'm counting on you for that.”
Quill snapped to attention. “I will not fail you, your highness.”
Luna nodded to him and then stepped into the barrier. The artifact lashed a tendril of dark power towards her. She deflected it with ease. She put her own barrier around herself. “I would have thought it would have been stronger than that. That concerns me; its appearing to lack power could be a ruse.”
Voice watched in awe as Luna cast a series of spells. She probed the crystal's structure, and its composition, while maintaining her own protection. “That is amazing. Casting one spell is hard enough, but to do what she is doing is astounding.”
Cadence shushed him. “I'm sure she appreciates the praise, but don't distract her.”
Luna did not look their way, as she said, “There is no need for concern. I am not doing anything vigorous. That is about to change, and the battle shall begin. Prepare yourselves. If anything goes wrong, you know what to do.”
Luna slid her hooves into a wider stance, braced herself, and dropped her protective spell. The artifact did not hesitate, and lashed at her again. The tendril struck her, and gripped, but seemed to have no effect.
Luna's eyes glowed with power as the struggle continued. “Oh yes, I know this taint all too well.”
The artifact seemed to realize its predicament as Luna overwhelmed it. It lashed out another tendril, and attacked the barrier that Shining and Cadence were maintaining.
Luna's eyes widened. “Run! It's redirecting my magic!”
Her warning came too late. With a hissing crack of power the barrier fell. Dark tendrils lashed out, and ponies fell. Cadence bore a lash of dark magic, but her magic was enough to hold back the corrupting touch. Shining's training kicked in, and he avoided the attack. He established his own defenses, and then coordinated his power with Cadence. The pair soon reestablished the barrier around the artifact.
Luna raged. Fending off the artifact's attacks, she backed out of the reformed circle of protection. She ran to the fallen forms of the three ponies. “No! No! This is not happening!” She knelt down, and pulled Quill to her. Tears of relief wet her cheeks as she discovered that he was still alive. She checked the others. Her voice trembled when she told Cadance and Shining, “They are still with us.”
Shining looked stunned . “What happened?”
Luna looked towards the horn, seething with anger. “It made a superb play. When it realized that I was about to destroy it, it redirected enough of my powers to breach the barrier, and pull more power to itself in the form of these three ponies. It would have taken you two, had you two not resisted it as you did. Whatever is in that horn, it is more intelligent than I thought.”
Shining nodded with grim determination. “Then let's end this. We'll destroy the thing, and grind whatever pieces left over into powder.”
Cadence shook her head. “We cannot. These ponies' minds are now in the crystal.”
Shining's attention snapped to her. “Are you all right? I thought I saw you get touched, but I didn't know it had tried to do something like that.” He pulled his wife to him and rocked her.
Luna commanded, “Both of you, hold still.” She used her magic to search them both. “You're both free of taint. You should be fine.” She laid Quill back on the stone floor and then arranged Voice and Thought into more comfortable positions.
After standing, Luna closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Send a message to Celestia. Tell her what has happened. Have cots brought down and keep these ponies as comfortable as you can. Do not move them from this room. Maintain the barrier and let no pony near it.” Opening her eyes, Luna strode towards the barrier.
Shining saluted. “Yes, your highness.”
Cadence asked, “What are you going to do?”
Luna looked back at her. “I shall get our ponies back. Even if I must be send to the moon again afterwards, or it kills me, I swear I will get them back.” Luna stepped into the barrier, allowed a dark tendril to latch onto her, and collapsed to the floor.
Displacing enough air that a breeze could be felt, Celestia landed in front of the Crystal Palace. She rushed inside, raced down the stairs, and into the room that held the artifact.
Quill, Voice, and Thought lay on cots placed on one side of the room. Cadence was trying different techniques to reach them, but they did not responded. Shining stood still as he maintained a barrier around the horn of Sombra. Luna laid sprawled a short distance from the horn, inside Shining’s shield.
Cadence stood up and bowed to Celestia. Shining did not move. His complete attention remained on the artifact.
Celestia's horn lit with power, and a compact and powerful barrier appeared around the horn.
Shining gasped in surprise as his barrier collapsed due to Celestia's more power magic.
Celestia ran to her sister. She picked up and held Luna's unresponsive form to her chest. “Dear little sister, yet again, you put yourself in harm's way for our ponies.” Celestia brushed a strand of mane from Luna's face. “As a ruler, I'm proud of you. As a sister, I would very much like to yell at you. You have always been too brash.”
Shining bowed to Celestia so low that his nose touched the floor. “I've failed you. I ordered this thing to brought here. I take full responsibility for what has occurred.”
Celestia smiled at him. “You did the right thing. We're fortunate that it was one of your guard units that found it. Had an untrained pony come in contact with it, the results would have been dire.”
Cadence walked over and hugged both Celestia and Luna. “What can we do now?”
Celestia looked towards the fallen ponies already on cots. “First, have another cot brought down, a large one, and we'll make Luna comfortable. After we get Luna situated, we will wait. You two need to get rest, I will stand guard here. You can join me again after you have slept.”
Shining stared at her. “I don’t mean to speak beyond my station, but there has to be something you can do.”
Celestia stroked Luna's mane with her free hoof. “I promised Luna that I would allow her to handle this situation, and I intend to keep my word. Don't worry. If I sense that something is going wrong, I will step in and assist.” She looked towards the horn. “From what I can tell, Luna is giving that thing trouble, and is not under any real threat. This is not the first time that Luna has done battle against this form of magic.”
Cadence swallowed, before asking, “When was the last time she fought something like this?”
Celestia's expression became sullen. “Not long before she became Nightmare Moon.”
*****
Voice woke up. He lifted his head and groaned. “Oh, buck me. That was one Tartarus of a ride.” His legs unsteady, he got back to his hooves. He looked around. “How did I get back to the train station”
He looked himself over and grunted. “Great, I’m in the middle of a battle, and my armor's gone.” His brown mane and light blue coat were a stark contrast from the white coat and blue mane that the royal guard armor granted him. His green eyes widened. He touched his horn with his hoof, then his nose, then patted the rest of his body. He looked down for a final check. “Horn, hooves, eyes, ears, mouth, body, legs, tail, and the family scepter and jewels. Everything important is here.”
Moving with caution, Voice made his way back towards the palace. The buildings and homes he passed were dull. Everything appeared stagnant, as if there had not been a pony in the city for years. The sky was an overcast gray even though there was not a cloud in the sky. With no ponies on the street, the city had a haunted feeling.
Voice shivered. “What kind of spell could have done all of this?”
A voice cut through the unnatural silence, answering as a teacher would to a foal, “There was no spell, besides the one that brought you here.” A black maned unicorn, with a flat gray coat and red horn, stepped out from between two of the buildings. The unicorn wore black and red armor, along with a crimson cloak. His attire seemed garish contrasted with the lifeless, color deprived surroundings. The pony's eyes flowed with dark powers, and they regarded Voice with hunger.
Voice pulled back from the newcomer. “You must be Sombra.” Voice raised a hoof, weary of the former monarch. “Look, I want to find my companions, if they're here, and go. That is all. This doesn't have to get unpleasant.”
Sombra smiled, showing his fangs. “You've already become part of my bid for freedom, and cannot leave. You will serve my purposes. I'll let you choose; the easy way, or the hard way.”
Voice chuckled. “You already look and sound like something out of a foal's cheap story book, don't make it worse with clichés. I have nothing you could want, so it's no use threatening me.”
Sombra shook his head, and gave Voice a look that seemed almost sympathetic. “Ah, but Ido need something from you. Did you ever wonder why I would put my fellow ponies into bondage and tormented them?”
Voice shrugged. “The question hadn't crossed my mind. I assumed it was due to the dark magic's effects on you. That it was part of the evil egomaniac thing that goes with using dark powers.”
Sombra strode towards Voice. “You're close to the truth, in a fashion. I needed their fears. My powers grow the more fear is around me. You and your companions will provide me strength, whether you're willing or not.”
Voice lit his horn with power. “You're a fragment of yourself, and I'm a trained royal guard. I'll give you more than you bargained for. I'll even shave those ridiculous sideburns off for you.”
Sombra sneered. “You're rather glib for a pony facing a being of my abilities. You're not taking into account you are in a world I control. Consider this, unlike the villains in foals' story books, I will not fight fair.” Sombra dropped his head, and released a dark orb of power towards Voice.
Voice dodged the orb's initial lunging attack and shot a ray of blinding light towards Sombra. Sombra turned into an insubstantial mist, and allowed the attack to pass through him. Sombra looked disappointed, as he became solid again. “Is that attack all the royal guard teaches now? The last one of you that fought me kept using that same tactic again and again, much to my annoyance.”
With a flash, voice teleported so he was on his back, under Sombra. He lashed upwards with all four of his hooves. Sombra flew back, and onto the pavement. Voice twisted from his position on the ground, and struck Sombra with a bright ray of power.
Sombra rolled away, his armor smoking from the attack. With speed, Sombra and Voice got back to their hooves and faced each other. Sombra regarded Voice with a touch of respect. “Well struck. However, I didn't loose my concentration on the spell."
With an electric impact, the orb struck between Voice's shoulder blades. His body ceased up and he fell to the ground.
Sombra stood over Voice. “Let's see how much power you will grant me, before the spell consumes you.”
Voice's vision blackened and pressure built all over his body. He could not scream out. He could not move his body. His world was darkness, silence, stillness, and fear. He struggled, against the crushing blackness, but could not so much as twitch. "Celestia, Luna, anypony, help me!"
His efforts to free himself became frantic, draining him of physical and mental strength while accomplishing nothing. He could not catch his breath and slipped toward unconsciousness.
"No, I can't freak out like this!” Voice told himself, gathering the last of his courage and sanity. "Remember your training, you idiot! This is a powerful fear spell. You struggle against it and it only gets worse. Your emotions are the focus of the spell. Control them, and the spell weakens.” He laughed, which relieved the spell’s pressure. “Now I think about it, Sombra, you are just like a cheap villain! You gave your attack plan away in a monologue!”
Voice allowed his mind to drift, and the fear lessened. After gaining back control, he reached out with his magic and undid Sombra’s spell. There was a crackling sound, as the spell collapsed, and Voice appeared back on the gray pavement of the false city. With slow movements, one leg at a time, he regained his hooves. With a slight tremble in his legs, and relieved tears running down his cheeks, he headed towards the palace.
Before going far, Voice heard another pony wailing. He raced towards the voice, rounded a corner, and drew back in horror at the sight that greeted him. A pegasus stallion with a cinnamon coat and white mane sobbed, as he held an image of a limp, yellow coated pegasus mare with a green mane. Two small, lifeless forms lay close to the pair.
Voice yelled, “Quill, snap out of it! It's an illusion!” Using his magic, he did what he could to loosen the spell's hold over Quill.
Quill looked up, his caramel colored eyes still unfocused by the spell's effects. “I don't know who you are, but leave me alone! I should have been here! The most precious things in my life are gone and I wasn’t there!”
Voice shielded himself with his magic and reached through the image of the Mist. The illusion vanished, and Quill recoiled in shock. He failed around, looking for something. “No! Where is she?! I won’t leave her again!”
Voice took Quill’s face in his hooves. “Look at me! It's not real! You're wife and foals are safe, you’re the one in danger right now. If you don't calm down, you may not make it back to them. Do you hear me?!”
Quill looked at Voice, his eyes still unfocused and confused, but he remained still. Voice completed destroying the magical bindings on Quill, and the spell's effects faded.
Quill reached out, and grabbed Voice by the shoulders. “Voice, it's you isn't it?”
“Yes, and your wife and foals are not here. They're at home, in Equestria.” Voice pulled Quill into a hug. Quill shuddered, as he sobbed in relief.
Voice let Quill vent his emotions “Sombra cast the same spell on me. It made me feel like I was buried alive. I unraveled the spell, but it was close. After I recovered, I started back towards the palace and found you.”
“Thank Luna for that.” Quill pulled back from Voice and wiped the snot and tears from his face. “I didn't do Sombra any favors. He wasted a lot of power before he tagged me with that fear spell of his. I used the buildings as shields, and came at him from any angle I could. I cracked him hard enough to knock him to the ground two different times.” Quill looked Voice straight in the eyes, and gave him a vicious grin. “Sombra said something along the lines I wasn't as good as 'the unicorn,' while we were fighting. I hope you hit something nice and tender.”
“No such luck, but I got two solid licks in. That armor of his is not just for show. I'm surprised I hurt him at all. At least we have the satisfaction of weakening him by getting free.”
Quill looked at Voice, seeming confused. “What do you mean?”
“He didn't explain what he was going to do with us?”
Quill shrugged. “I guess after you roughed him up, and taking knocks from me, he wasn't in the mood to talk.”
“Sombra was a little wordier with me. He told me he uses ponies' feelings of fear to enhance his power. That is why he turned against his own kingdom. The more fear they felt the more powerful he became.”
Quill's face showed his disgust at the thought. “That's vile. He turned on the ponies he to swore to protect for power.” Quill got to his hooves, and pulled Voice up. “We've got to find Thought. If the spell is rough on him as it was on me, he could be in real trouble.”
They both turned and headed towards the palace at a trot.
About half way to the palace, Voice put a hoof in front of Quill. He tilted his head as if listening for something. “Do you recognize that voice?”
Quill grinned and his wings unfurled in elation. “Without a doubt, that would be Luna. She's using the Royal Canterlot Voice and she is not happy!”
Voice chuckled, “I bet I know who she's yelling at too. I wouldn't want to be in Sombra's horseshoes right about now.”
The pair of guards ran toward the palace at a full gallop. The shouting gave way to roars of clashing magical powers. Flashes of light could be seen in the distance, and the air shimmered with energy.
Quill stopped. “I don't know if we want to get too close. If we were to get hit by a stray spell it would be nasty.”
Voice grunted in agreement. “We don't have a choice, we have to find Thought. If Sombra got to him, I don't want him under the influence of that spell any longer than he has to be.”
“You're right. Let's use my strategy. Keep a building or something solid, between us and the fight.”
Cutting thought side streets and alleys they hurried to the palace. As they made it into the main hall, they found Thought resting on the floor, his legs folded underneath him. Without the effect of the Empire's magic, he appeared as a plain orange pony with a lighter orange mane that had streaks of gray.
Quill got to him first, and looked him over for injuries. “Are you alright?”
Thought nodded. “I'm fine, just worn out. That spell that Sombra hit me with drained quite a bit out of me. Luna appeared in the vision. When I first saw her, I thought I had gone mad. She undid the spell, and helped me recover. When she was sure I would be all right, she said something about 'going to finish things,' and headed out into the city.”
There were a few moments of silence between the three, only broken by the sporadic sounds of distant combat.
Quill rubbed the back of his neck with a hoof, before asking, “What did you see when the spell had you? I saw my wife and foals dead, and Voice felt like he had been buried alive.”
Thought looked up at Quill, with a wan smile. “I have always feared failure. I saw Luna trapped in a crystal prison. As I tried to get her out, images of my wife and children we're yelling at me I had let them down. They told me that the Empire would fall because of me.”
Voice winced. “That must have been horrible.”
Quill helped Thought to his hooves. “You're taking this a lot better than I did. Voice had to pull me back together, after he got me out from under that spell.” Quill seemed to think of something, and hit Voice on his shoulder. “And to think that you doubted yourself, you saved our flanks. If it were up to me, you'd be getting a medal as soon as we got back to Canterlot.”
Voice stood up and put up a barrier around the three of them.
Quill looked around, his ears swiveling in every direction. “What's got you spooked?”
Voice turned in a circle. “I don't hear any fighting. If Sombra is getting desperate, we're the most obvious target.”
As if Sombra had waited for Voice to say those words, a dark orb struck the barrier and dissipated.
Voice snorted in defiance. “I've undone that spell twice, Sombra. I know how it works. You can attack this shield all day, and you won't get through.”
From the entrance to the main hall, Sombra stepped into view. His armor was missing pieces. His cloak was shredded. Only tatters of it remained around his shoulders. He limped towards them. Though battered, scrapped, singed, and bloodied, he maintained his arrogant posture. Glimpses of Sombra's natural purple eye color showed, as his dark powers flickered.
Quill raised his wings in a threatening display. "Voice, could you shield me if I left this barrier?”
Voice turned his head in Quill's direction, but never looked away from Sombra. “I don't think so. Why?”
“I wanted to finish what I started in the streets.” Quill stared into Sombra's eyes. “When she gets here, I hope Luna grabs you and shakes you like a manticore with a rabbit. I want to hear all of your bones snap.”
“Quill, such thoughts do not become a Lunar Guard.” Luna stepped into the hall, and advanced on Sombra. She lit her horn, and lifted Sombra from the floor with her magic. “However, what I am about to do to this thing will be anything but pleasant.”
The sphere of power around Sombra turned opaque, and a light glowed from its center. The trio of ponies shielded their eyes, as the light became too strong to look at. An anguished scream came from within the sphere. There was a flash, and then two orbs of power hung in the air, both contained by Luna's magic. One orb resembled the those that Sombra had used for his fear spell; the other was a pale, milky blue.
Voice dropped his barrier. “You got your wish, Quill. She ripped him apart.”
Thought lowered his head, his ears drooped. “He may have turned evil, but he was my friend. I wish I had not been here for this.”
Luna shook her head in dismay at their words. “Did you think I would kill him? Not even as Nightmare Moon did I ever do something so horrible. The manifestation we saw, and that we have been fighting, was from remnants of Sombra's memories and the dark powers that took Sombra over. It was never Sombra himself. The true Sombra was lost long ago. These energies are the powers that have been holding the horn together.”
She turned her head towards the darker of the spheres. “This is the taint that became part of the horn, and corrupted Sombra.” Luna pushed the sphere of blue power towards the three ponies. “This is the power used to create the horn. It is benign. You can may touch it, if you care to.”
No pony made a move to do so.
“I respect your hesitation.” She put a hoof into the sphere, and its power flowed around it. “It tickles a little. Go on. It will help you recover from Sombra’s magics.”
They each took a turn and reached into the sphere.
“I am glad you three felt of it. That was supposed to be the predominant driving power of this artifact, not the hate and malice that came to infect it.” She gave them a concerned look. “I know of what happened to Thought. What befell you two?”
Voice took a small step forward, and told his and Quill’s tale. Luna's eyes lost some of their radiance, as she learned about their fights with Sombra and their trials of overcoming the fear spells. “You did well. I wish I could have acted swifter and spared you from undergoing such hardships. It was as I feared, I should have faced this alone.”
Quill stepped forward and hugged Luna. “You need friends with you when dealing with a situation like this. We couldn't do much, but at least we gave Sombra something to focus on other than you.”
Luna returned the hug. “Thank you, Quill. You distracted him, and helped me more than you know. He was rather wordy when we fought. You and Voice unnerved him in how well you two resisted him. As you each came out from under his spell, he panicked and make mistakes during our duel.” She released Quill, and turned towards the darker of the spheres. “Let's end this, and get back to the real word. I can feel that my sister , and I'm sure she is worried about us.”
The magic around the dark powers contracted and, with a sound like the snuffing of a candle, the darkness was gone. The world around them faded.
*****
Celestia looked towards her sister. “They're coming back.”
Luna stretched, and nearly fell off the cot she was on. The largest cot available had not been designed to accommodate a pony of Luna's size. Luna got to her feet, nimbly avoiding toppling the cot.
Quill's body jerked, and his eyes flew open. He jumped to his hooves, and looked around the room as if expecting an attack. As his eyes settled on Celestia, he bowed.
Celestia smiled. “Rise, Deft Quill. I'm glad to see you have returned from your adventure with no lingering harm.”
Voice stirred. As he sat up, he swore. He put his hooves to his head. “Next time I wake up with this kind of headache, there had better have been cider involved somewhere.”
Quill grabbed Voice, and pointed towards Celestia. Voice's eyes went wide, and he bowed. “Sorry, your highness, I did not know you were present. Swearing in front of comrades in arms is one thing, swearing in front of you is different.”
Celestia laughed. “That's fine and understandable. I assure you, I have heard much worse.” She blushed and let all know, “I have even said much worse.”
Everypony in the room turned towards the still unmoving form of Thought. Quill prodded him, and Thought opened his eyes. Thought lay still for a moment, before asking, “Quill, did we make it?”
Quill nodded. “We made it back.”
Thought smiled, his relief evident. “Good, we didn't fail.”
Quill helped him to his hooves, and embraced him. “No, we didn't.”
Celestia turned to Luna. “Sister, I would like to know what happened while you and the others were 'away' from us.”
Luna explained the whole series of events to Celestia. As Luna finished, Celestia looked to the horn. “To think all of these problems occurred because Sombra wanted to protect his ponies. Had he known what would happen, he would never have attempted such a thing.”
The horn’s crimson color had changed into a clear transparency with only a slight blue tint to it
Voice's mouth fell open. “The horn is not natural?!”
Thought laughed, and slapped Voice on the shoulder. “You didn't know, did you? Sombra was an earth pony. We were cut off from the rest of Equestria during that time of chaos, and he felt he needed to do something besides use the Crystal Heart to repair the mischief that Discord did to the Empire. He wanted something he could use to drive Discord off. He had the best crafts ponies and enchanters of the time work with him to create an artifact he could use to direct the Crystal Heart's power as a weapon. It worked. However, his aggressive thoughts and emotions seeped into the horn's creation process and it became a conduit of evil power.”
Voice stared at the horn as if it were a venomous creature. “That makes sense, in a warped way. How else could a unicorn become king of an Empire composed of earth ponies?” Voice turned to Thought. “He must have been desperate, to risk having that embedded in his skull.”
Thought blanched at some internal image. “The horn was to be worn as part of his armor, but after the darkness took him he mutilated himself with it. He wanted to be sure that the horn could never be taken from him.”
Luna put her hoof on the table, near where the horn rested. “Over time, the dark power consumed him, and turned him into a monster. Sombra put his ponies into bondage, and used their suffering to enhance his power. With that source of fear, combined with his ability to harness the power of the Crystal Heart, he became a formidable threat to Equestria. Celestia and I faced him in battle. Tthough we defeated him, I was tainted by the dark powers that had turned him evil. Those powers, combined with of the lingering effects of our recent battle with Discord, twisted me into Nightmare Moon. Had Celestia not been there to help me, I would have fallen as Sombra did. That is one reason I wanted to help our ponies with this threat. I needed to assure myself that I could face such darkness again and not shy away.”
Celestia's face grew sad. “No matter what he had become, we would not kill Sombra, and so we sealed him away. Our act of mercy cost the Crystal Empire one thousand years of being under Sombra's curse.”
Shining approached the horn and gazed at it. “So, he wasn't the monster I thought he was.”
Putting a foreleg across his shoulders, Cadance hugged Shining. “He was a monster by the time we faced him. Even had we known who he was, we had to defend ourselves and this kingdom.”
Celestia lit her horn and passed her magic over every pony in the room. She then passed her spell over the horn. “I do not feel there is any lingering darkness in any pony, or in the horn. To be sure, Luna, I would like you to do the honors.”
Luna nodded, and with a brief flash of power from her horn she cast a spell. The crystal horn fell apart, spilling into dust.
Shining applauded. His hoof strikes rang against the crystal walls. “We didn't even have to have it ground down, impressive.”
Cadence gestured towards the stairs. “Let's go celebrate! I'll have the chefs prepare a victory meal.” She looked around the room at her fellow ponies. “Tell me your favorites, and I'll have them included.”
Thought bowed to her. “Dear princess, as lovely as that sounds, I must decline. After our adventure, I feel compelled to go home and see my wife.” He bowed to the other royal ponies in the room, shook hooves with Quill and Voice, and without another word, he disappeared up the staircase.
Quill trembled. He did not make a sound, nor did his expression change, but tears flowed down his cheeks.
Luna looked over at him. “Quill, what is wrong?”
Quill dropped his head. “I'm sorry, your highness. It's a personal matter. It can wait until I am off duty.”
Luna strode over and took Quill's helm from his head. The magic that gave him the appearance of a Lunar Guard faded. Luna raised his head with a hoof, forcing him to look into her eyes. “The threat is no more and, by my command, you and Voice are now off duty. Tell me what is wrong, and I will do all in my power to help you.”
His voice quavered, as he asked, “Is there a way I can get a message to my wife? I need to know she and the foals are safe.”
