The Realm where the rift resides...
Cold Colt and Emerald Aura were getting impatient.
"Ugh.. how long do we have to wait until we can do anything. I wanna get my revenge on Rainbow Dash already!" Cold Colt moaned.
"I just wanna mess around in Ponyville again," Emerald replied.
"Rift. Can't you just make an Alicorn and make everything much more difficult for them all?!"
"Where's the fun in that? An Alicorn early out of nowhere is boring. I need something much more entertaining."
"If I may rift. Currently, there's an ominous force around this location known as the Crystal Empire." Obsidian came in. "And that ominous force is an old ruler. King Sombra is his name. And he enslaved the crystal ponies for countless years until Celestia and Luna came in to stop him."
"Go on."
"Right now, he's just a force. No physical body.. but.."
"I could bring his entire body back. And perhaps, amplify his magic. Yes...We shall do that. I cannot wait to see how they solve this problem. I am already getting excited just from the thought of it.
Ponyville, Day.
Ash was helping with the creation of the Pokemon House at Fluttershy's cottage. With the assistance of Pokemon assigned by BigTime Ben, this'll be much faster. There were Machoke's and Conkeldurr's helping with the moving, various psychic types were helping with building walls.
"This is gonna be something big, huh Fluttershy?" Ash said, getting a good look at the nearly completed Pokemon House.
"Pika-Pikachu."
"Oh yes. I can't wait for it to be completed. I want all the Pokemon who normally can't find a home here in Equestria or anywhere exactly, to feel comfortable here if they have no place to go. I just hope I'm not giving too much attention to Pokemon so that my animal friends don't feel overshadowed."
"Nah. It's fine. A lot of people get hung up on one thing, that they sometimes forget about the other thing. But it doesn't last so no need to worry."
"You're right. Angel Bunny and the others won't have anything to worry about."
As the house was being made, Twilight had rushed over to Fluttershy's cottage, running out of breath almost.
"T-There you are.."
"Twilight? What's wrong?" Fluttershy asked the tired unicorn.
"Big trouble! Celestia! Crystal Empire! Sombra!" She was saying all of these words individually. Ash and Fluttershy looked at each other, confused.
"Twilight. Take a moment to breathe and tell us what's really going on." Fluttershy tried to calm her down.
"Okay... There's big trouble as we speak. Princess Celestia has ordered we head to the Crystal Empire.. to stop the previous tyrannical ruler. King Sombra! We have to go! There's no time!"
At Canterlot, Celestia was already insanely worried. She was thinking of the worst possible scenarios that could happen. Passion was also worried. She could feel this incoming danger as well. She stayed close to Celestia to feel safe, but this dark presence was still enough to send chills down anyone's spine.
"Sombra's fully revived.. what if Twilight and the others aren't capable of stopping him! I may have sent them to their doom!" She said, pacing back and forth. "No no. I have to put all my faith in them. I can count on them all to free the Crystal Empire and stop Sombra once and for all." Darkrai was overhearing this, learning about the Sombra situation. It wasn't any of his business to get involved, but after how Ash and the others saved him.. he wanted to help them at all costs. So the Pitch Black Pokemon sank into the ground, sneakily heading off to help them all.
What Twilight described the situation was nowhere near close to the horror that is actually happening. King Sombra had returned. But not as a black cloud of evil.. but as his full self. His body restored his magic.. all of it back to him. And to make it worse.. thanks to the rift. His magic prowess has been amplified to a level where the rift finds it plausible for entertainment.
Shining Armor and Cadence were sent to the Crystal Empire to guard it against Sombra.. however, they had not expected Sombra himself to fully show. With his heightened magic and his body in its prime.. he took over the Crystal Empire once more in 5 minutes flat. As for Cadence and Shining Armor, they were unfortunately defeated and forced to work with the enslaved ponies as well.
"To be honest. I don't really know how this is all happening? It feels like I was never defeated." Sombra said, feeling like he was young again. "Oh well. Doesn't matter. I've reclaimed my throne. Unfortunately for Celestia.. her and her sister's attempt to stop me did not last at all."
Outside, the snowy lands.. far away from the Crystal Empire, Twilight and the others were headed there.
"Are you sure this is where the empire is Twilight?!" Applejack asked as they could all feel the cold breeze of the snow get to them.
"100%. This is where the map said it leads to. But I don't see it anywhere!"
"We've been walking for a while now... My scarf can only absorb so much cold" Rarity said. They kept moving along, getting colder by the minute. Until...
"This is hopeless! We don't even have any signs to where it is!" Rainbow Dash complained.
"Is it that huge ominous black cloud with a red sky looming over it over at the north distance?" Pinkie Pie pointed out as she was referring to the other side, where things looked unnerving.
"Pika.."
"Oh yeah. That's it." Twilight replied.
"That's the Crystal Empire? It doesn't look very pleasing actually.." Fluttershy was getting nervous just from the sight of it.
"I know girls. But Princess Celestia requested we solve this. Shining Armor and Cadence are in there so we have to go."
Emerald Aura and Cold Colt were hiding behind a snowy rock, eavesdropping.
"So once they get in there it's game over right..?" Cold Colt whispered.
"Yeah. Sombra's gonna wipe the floor with me. Or at least enslave them. I don't know really." Emerald replied.
"I still want my revenge though."
"Save it. This is gonna be excellent.."
The Crystal Empire. Ruled by the devious King Sombra.
He knew other ponies were coming. His amplified magic could sense it. So he waited for these ponies to show up.
"Getting closer to the empire, are they? Probably sent by Celestia to try and stop me once more. Shame she couldn't come by herself or with her annoying little sister. Revenge would've been so much sweeter."
"You won't get away with this Sombra. Twily and the others will stop you without any problems." Shining Armor said as he was chained up along with Cadence.
"Feh. To be honest, I would believe that considering I was defeated many years ago. However, for some reason.. it feels like I can take on anything. I don't know what happened but my magic has been greatly heightened. I am now able to perform spells that I originally never had. How wonderful. So this precious Twily of yours and her friends won't even be able to push me back."
"Maybe. But Ash and Pikachu are still there for you to deal with?" Cadence rebuttal.
"Who?"
"That's right. You just came back so you have no idea what happened to our world in a few weeks. Just you wait. Once you see those two, you'll be overwhelmed in no time."
"I highly doubt that dear. Now enough chit chat. They're here."
Arriving at the front of Empire, they were met with ponies who were chained up and walking in single file. Sombra had made this place comfortable for him quickly.
"This is horrible. What kind of low down vermin would do this?" Applejack said.
"The same vermin who ruled this empire a long time ago. And now he's ruler again." Twilight retorted. Just then, they were all met by ponies wearing armour that resembled that of Sombra. King Sombra had already geared up some ponies to reinvigorate his army.
"We have company.." Rainbow Dash said as many guards were surrounding them all.
"Pikachu.."
"These are all Crystal Ponies who are under Sombra's influence and rule. They're not in their right mind." Twilight said.
"Well, how do we get to Sombra if they're in the way?" Fluttershy asked her. The purple unicorn began thinking whilst they were surrounded.
"I'll stay.!" Ash declared.
"What?" They all said in unison.
"I can be the distraction and help these Crystal Ponies break free. You all focus on getting to Sombra and finding a way to stop him."
"Ash do you not hear yourself? Sombra's a different kind of unicorn from what Celestia told me. We'll need all the help we can get! And are you sure you can handle yourself outside with all of this?!"
"Of course I can. No doubt about it."
"Pika!"
"Now I'll clear the path for you. Get going okay? Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Pikachu cleared a path by firing a thunderbolt on the ground, sending the armoured ponies away from the Mane 6 and Spike.
"Alright. Good luck Ash!" Twilight said as they all ran towards the main castle, where Sombra was. Cold Colt and Emerald peeked out, seeing this happen.
"Oh wow. They're already going to the final boss? Usually, they gotta go through a lot of stuff to reach the main event."
"They are gonna go through a lot of stuff Cold Colt. Sombra's already got something planned."
As the group were inside the castle, they were met with crystal platforms that rose from the floor, stopping their movements.
"What in tarnation is this?!" The platforms kept rising and multiplying. Eventually, they formed into the worst possible thing. Stairs.
"All those stairs?!" Pinkie Pie yelled.
"No biggie. We'll just fly over them easy peasy. Come on." Rainbow Dash had picked up Applejack and Rarity whilst Fluttershy got Twilight and Pinkie Pie whilst Spike was on Twilight's back. "See? Like some crystal stairs are gonna-" Rainbow Dash was interrupted by a sudden crystal which crashed into her wings. She screamed in pain as she fell to the ground, dropping AJ and Rarity as well.
"Rainbow Dash!" The other 4 said. From atop the crystal stairs, Sombra had shown himself, deciding to come out. They all looked up at the Unicorn King. Already feeling his wicked presence from this distance.
"That's him, girls... Sombra."
"Welcome my little ponies. I see you made it in."
"Sombra! Where's my brother and Cadence!"
"With me. In a much more comfortable spot. I assume that you came here under Celestia's orders like the goons you are."
"How dare you!"
"I can assure you, she should've come instead and with her sister. Sending somepony else to do her dirty work is cowardly."
"Princess Celestia is no coward! You take that back!" Rainbow Dash yelled at her.
"Mhm. Well, it wouldn't have made a difference anyway. I feel much better for some reason.. like all my potential has been released all of a sudden. Here. Let me show you." All of a sudden, pillars of crystals surrounded each of the Mane 6 like a prison. They were caged in by Sombra's crystals with the gaps looking incredibly slim.
"Sombra!"
"Stay there will you. I might have some use for most of you anyways." Sombra said, walking back into his throne room, leaving them all to be in this Crystal Prison.
"THIS WAS A DISASTER!" Rarity yelled. "Not even 10 minutes and we've already been captured along with every pony who's working under his control and Shining Armor and Princess Cadence are in there helpless! We're doomed!" She began to panic. They've never suffered a loss this fast. Not by Discord, Darkrai, Malamar or even Chrysalis.
"Pull yourself together Rarity! We'll get out of here! Now come on girls! Help me break through these crystals!" Twilight began firing magic beams at the crystals. These crystals weren't as fragile as they look. They were rigid. Thanks to his boosted magic, they would take much longer to even break pieces of it. Applejack tried to buck them all, but it wasn't going anywhere. Rainbow Dash couldn't do anything since a crystal had hit her wing. Rendering her in pain and unable to fly for a while.
Meanwhile outside, Ash has managed to cause a lot of distractions. By using Electroweb to halt them, he focused on getting the Crystal Ponies out of those chains.
"We're gonna get you all out of here. Pikachu. Iron Tail." Pikachu used its hard iron tail to break the chains holding them all in half. "Good job. Break the rest." It was a great call. All of these ponies weren't just being enslaved in chains.. but they were also being lined up to become soldiers. Sombra would place armoured gear on them, making them under his control so they could do him every bidding and be apart of his army. The Crystal Ponies had each been freed thanks to the iron tail as they had a moment of hope in their eyes but remembered where they are and who they were being ruled by.
"They all look so scared. So this Sombra guy's had them all terrified because of his ruling."
"Pika."
"And it should be like that if they want to see another day." From atop the balcony, stood King Sombra who was looking down on Ash. "What creature are you meant to be? Along with that yellow rodent."
"I'm Ash Ketchum. And this my partner Pikachu. You're Sombra I'm guessing?"
"King Sombra to you, boy. And you're in my empire now. I already have the rest of your friends locked up in my crystals. They should've known better than to oppose me. After all who needs a Princess when you have King!"
"Heh. I'm a king myself ya know. King of the Sea."
"Pika.."
"King of the Sea? Hah! That's less impressive. I suggest you get lost, boy. You and your bizarre rodent are just dust in the wind." Sombra said, going back inside.
"We're gonna stop you, okay?! Pikachu.. we gotta get in there and help the others."
"Pika!"
Trying as hard as they could, Twilight and the others had no luck breaking free from these crystals. They were already out of breath.
"Can't.. do it. Too many.. too hard." Applejack sat down, trying to catch her breath.
"We can't give up now... My brother and my sister in law are in there! We have to break free!" Twilight charged up her magic for one final magic beam. She was giving it all she had this time as she fired it point-blank at the crystals. But no luck. They still wouldn't budge. In fact, the only damage it did was create a small crack. Twilight had finally run out of energy as well. It was starting to leak bleak until...
Out of the grounds, shadows emerged. But not shadows of evil, shadows that will help. Out came Darkrai.
"Darkrai!" Twilight said with a smile on her face.
"Twilight. You can't lose here. Ash and Pikachu are already doing their best to save everypony else. Don't fall behind."
"But we can't break out of here. We can't phase through like you."
"That's why I'm here." Darkrai had suddenly summoned a dark void underneath them all, dragging the ponies and Spike into it. Darkrai phased through the floor as the gang entered out another dark void from the other side, away from the crystals.
"We're out! Oh, thank you so much Darkrai!" Fluttershy hugged the Nightmare Pokemon.
"Uhh.. you're welc-" Suddenly, Darkrai was hit from behind. A sneak attack from Emerald Aura.
"Miss me Darkrai?"
"Emerald Aura!" Rarity said. Cold Colt had also shown himself.
"It's payback time. Rainbow!"
"Cold Colt!" Fluttershy held Darkrai as the Pitch Black Pokemon looked at Emerald.
"You should've just stayed behind you know. Not that it would've mattered. The rift helping Sombra come back fully and gain much higher magic prowess would've still happened." Emerald said, revealing to them all why Sombra was like this now.
"So that's it. The rift is why the Crystal Empire was taken over so quickly." Twilight said.
"So scram. Or else things are going to get ugly. I've already got a hit on your precious Darkrai there. Don't wanna make things too hard now eh?" Emerald was getting a bit too cocky. Because the King of cocky was right behind her.
"And who are you to give orders in my kingdom?" She turned around to see Sombra, standing there and looking down on her.
"S-S-Sombra!" Sombra had heard everything. Now he knows of the existence of the rift and how it gave him all this extra help.
"So this rift is the reason why I am like this right now. To be honest, I should thank it. But I have no time to be thanking. Somepony's being apart of my army. And by some I mean the ones I deem as useful." Sombra had the same armour that was on the guards, ready to put it on some of them.
"Stay sharp girls. We may not be at full strength.. but we can't give up so easily like this."
"Twilight Sparkle. Great confidence. You'll be the first to wear it!" Sombra sent the armour and helmet towards Twilight, however, an Iron Tail had arrived knocking the helmet away. "Feh. You again."
"Ash! Pikachu!"
"You two. I think you two will do." Sombra said to Cold Colt and Emerald.
"Huh?" They both said in unison as Sombra had placed the armour and helmet on them instead. Once working for the rift, now working for Sombra himself.
"Oh, man. So they completely take a pony over once they're on."
"Pika.."
"Hahaha!" Sombra laughed as he stood up a huge pillar of crystals, looking down on them all.
"Get them."
Chapter 27 END!