King Sombra has been a recurring cycle of evil and tyranny on the Crystal Empire for over a millennia. With every defeat he grows more hateful and stronger. However, when a young heir comes up with the most absurd solution, it just might have a chance to stop the cycle. But will it? Follow along as two polar opposites clash and discover their true desires.

A sixteen-year-old Flurry Heart meets King Sombra the only prisoner of the Crystal Empire. She questions him about his life and about the Empire when he lived in it. All while lying to her parents about what she's doing, since she thinks all the information will benefit the empire.

Hope you read Fiendship is magic book 1, cause this story does include elements from the comic. It's also a good read.

While strolling the boundaries of the Crystal Empire on a snowy Hearth's Warming, young Princess Flurry Heart comes across a relic long thought lost. Touching it brings an encounter with a dark spirit from the past.

Now, here they are, face to face; two rulers of the Crystal Empire, one of the past, the other of the future.

Will the cold dead heart of the King of Shadows corrupt the Princess of Peace?

Or will a miracle come to pass on this most blessed of holidays?

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Written for Frazzle2Dazzle for Jinglemas 2021, whose request was "Sombra and Flurry Heart, with the hope of no romance between them." Merry Christmas, buddy. Hope this is in that wheelhouse.

Cover art borrowed from yumeyuuheii.

Flurry Heart has grown up with the legends of King Sombra's evil deeds. Crystal ponies fear him. Her parents despise him. Even Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship, considers him a lost cause after thrice thwarting his attacks on Equestria and the Crystal Empire.

Any one of these factors would cause a reasonable pony to avoid him at all cost. But Flurry Heart isn't always a reasonable pony. And so, one fateful day, she decides to call on the king of shadows himself to answer a few questions.

Cover art by me!

Thanks to Gnarlwood and Pantone Burst for prereading!

Entry for Bicyclette's Crackship Contest.