Things had never looked as bleak as they did now for Twilight Sparkle and her friends as they faced the very real possibility of failing in an important task that had been given to them. Failing to protect a long lost empire from its greedy and evil former ruler: King Sombra.
It had all begun when Princess Celestia received word of the Crystal Empire's return, calling Twilight and her friends to Canterlot immediately. Though she soon arranged to have an audience with Twilight alone.
"You wanted to see me specifically? To test me, right?" Twilight had asked, arriving at the royal palace with saddlebags loaded with supplies one would need for a test in the usual sense of the word.
But Princess Celestia soon revealed that the "test" was not going to be your typical one. "The Crystal Empire has returned, and it is in danger."
Twilight naturally was hesitant to agree to such a "test", even with the help of her friends. "You want us to protect an entire empire?"
Celestia confirmed this, revealing that the intent of this assignment to determine whether Twilight would be ready for "advanced studies". And she gave her student this parting advice. "Should things turn out to be worse than I had fear, contact us immediately! Do not try to engage King Sombra on your own, Twilight! It must be you and you alone who ultimately assists Princess Cadence and Shining Armor in doing whatever needs to be done."
So it was that the six mares as well as Spike traveled north via train to the Crystal Empire. And in the frozen wilderness outside the empire, Twilight was reunited with her brother during one of his patrols. Shining Armor, however, had bad news to give. "The empire isn't the only thing that's returned. I can't keep my shield spell reinforced forever. It'll fail eventually, and I'm sure Sombra knows that."
That warning turned out to be especially important once Shining was forced to sacrifice himself to allow Twilight and her friends to pass safely to the Crystal Empire before the returning King Sombra could overtake them. Shining survived his encounter with the greedy king, but in the process he had his horn's magical abilities blocked off by black crystal shards.
And there was worse to come when it turned out that Cadence wasn't doing very well herself, exhausting herself physically to help protect the empire as Shining explained. "With Cadence putting all her strength into learning my spell on top of trying to keep the empire from fading, and me trying to keep an eye on signs of trouble in the arctic until now, we've unfortunately not been able to extract any useful information from the crystal ponies."
The crystal ponies themselves were not much help. "I wish I could help you out. But I... can't seem to remember anything before King Sombra came to power." A crystal pony told Twilight, making it clear that she didn't want to remember anything from Sombra's reign.
Fortunately, things seemed to turn around for our heroes when they discovered an old history book in the empire's library. "History of the Crystal Empire," Twilight had discovered while reading aloud. Soon getting the idea to put together a Crystal Fair that was vital to the empire's protection. And there was one detail that at the time had seemed insignificant. "The book mentioned something about a 'Crystal Heart', it said it was vital to the fair. Since we're short on time and don't have a genuine heart, I used my magic to carve a substitute one out of a crystal block."
This would spell trouble when the crystal ponies finally started to regain their memories as the old librarian explained. "The whole purpose of the Crystal Fair is to lift the spirits of the crystal ponies, so the light within them all can power up the Crystal Heart and ensure the empire's protection!"
"We may have a problem on our hooves here." Rainbow Dash told Twilight upon learning of this vital piece of information.
Twilight would soon make an unfortunate discovery when a gust of wind blew a page right out of the history book! "I didn't know it was an actual relic! The book didn't mention anything about the crystal ponies powering the heart! The real final page must've been torn out!"
Cadence did her best to reassure the mare. "It's alright, Twilight."
But it wasn't alright, for that at moment Shining Armor collapse and his shield spell finally gave out. "Twily." He managed to weakly call out.
And just like that, King Sombra was able to close in on the empire, drawing closer to it with each passing second! "The time has come to reclaim my birthright!" No one knew what to do or what they even could do, it all seemed hopeless!
Even as Sombra was rapidly closing in, Spike seemed to get an idea on what to do. "I'm writing to the princesses! They must be informed of this!"
But Twilight protested as she called down to him. "No, it won't make a difference! Even if they're alerted now they won't arrive in time to save anyone. My friends and I will just have to try and fend him off on our own."
"What about Celestia's order not to engage him?" Spike asked with concern.
"Under the circumstances, I'm sure she'd understand that we had no choice," Twilight insisted. "We've come too far to just let him take back the empire. Even without the Elements of Harmony, the girls and I will find a way to win."
However, to the shock of everyone gathered, Princess Cadence spoke up while lighting up her horn. "I have a better idea in mind! This is my empire, therefore it's my duty to protect it!" With a great deal of struggling she was able to develop a replica of her husband's signature shield spell, and just in time too!
When Sombra's shadow made contact with the recently erected barrier, he screamed and howled in pain as the top of his curved horn was cut off. It sank deep into the ground on the outskirts of the empire, creating a small black crystal that no one noticed. The evil king hissed but realized there was little more he could do. "How very clever, princess. You almost had me. Almost," Then he ominously declared. "Oh well, I'm not worried. You've merely bought yourself some time. That barrier's gonna fail eventually. And when it does I'll be waiting! You can't keep me locked out forever!" And then his shadowy form retreated for the time being.
Shining Armor had seen the whole thing and couldn't help but smile at his wife. "Not bad, dear. All those lessons paid off."
"Thanks to you," Cadence smiled back before adopting a more serious tone. "But Sombra's right, we haven't shut him out completely. We need to find where he hid the real Crystal Heart and fast! We'll probably have to call off the fair to conduct a search."
However, Twilight immediately protested the idea. "No, Cadence. You and Shining can't afford to turn the whole place upside down. The fair must go on, the crystal ponies still believe we have the real Crystal Heart. It'll be important to keep their spirits up when we eventually obtain the real thing. After all, it's your empire now. It wouldn't be a bad idea to interact with your subjects."
"But what about you, Twily?" Shining Armor questioned his sister. "What will you do?"
"This has to be part of my test!" Twilight realized as she firmly vowed. "Let me handle the search. I promise you, when I find the Crystal Heart I'll bring it to you. In the mean time, work with my friends to keep the fair going. And make sure no one discovers the fake Crystal Heart, otherwise everything will all be for nothing."
Cadence promised to her sister-in-law. "We'll do the best we can, Twilight. But be very careful. There's no telling what sort of security measures King Sombra will have set up for the Crystal Heart should you find it."
The unicorn nodded her head. "Whatever King Sombra might have planned I'll stop it! I'll leave no stone un-turned!" And she trotted away to begin conducting her search.
Cadence and Shining Armor, meanwhile, went down to talk to Twilight's friends and fill them in on the recent developments. And when Spike heard about what Twilight was doing he could hardly believe his ears! "Twilight is doing what?!" He gasped in alarm before rushing off!
Fortunately, Rarity sought to provide cover for Spike's sudden absence. "I... just found out they're doing face paintings for all the little ones. And Spike really loves having his face painted," She then directed the crystal ponies' attention elsewhere. "Why not pay a visit to the arena? I believe the jousting tournament is about to start. You don't wanna miss that."
Spike managed to catch up with Twilight just as she was beginning her search. "Twilight, I heard all about it! And I have to ask: Are you out of your mind?! You don't even know where to begin looking for the Crystal Heart!"
"Spike, I appreciate your concern but everything is under control," Twilight tried to calm the frightened baby dragon. "You can tag along with me if it'll make you feel better, but don't touch anything. This is all part of my test that Princess Celestia gave me. She said that I had to be the one to help Shining and Cadence ensure the empire's protection, not anyone else."
The baby dragon wasn't convinced. "But Twilight, don't you think that maybe the real test from Princess Celestia here is to see if you'll follow every order she gives to the letter, no matter what?" He was quick to point out. "She's not perfect. She can make mistakes. And we both know what I'm talking about."
Twilight didn't need to say a word to understand Spike's point. She could still remember the shocking defeat of the sun princess during the recent changeling invasion. An invasion that had occurred in part because Celestia hadn't caught on to the prospect of an invader posing as somepony within Canterlot. "Well, she didn't really elaborate on what she meant by 'helping', so I guess you tagging along won't break any of the rules or cause me to fail."
"Oh, thank goodness," Spike sighed in relief as he wiped the sweat from his brows. "You really had me worried there, Twilight. One of these days we really should discuss your incredibly high opinion of Celestia."
The unicorn nodded her in agreement. "A discussion for another time and place, Spike. Still, I don't want you to touch anything unless I say otherwise. Sombra's sure to have the Crystal Heart well protected, and I promised Princess Luna I wouldn't let anything happen to you. You're my son, after all."
"I know, Twilight. I know," Spike nodded and smiled, before he asked. "So, where do we even begin? We obviously can't ask King Sombra where he hid that heart."
"Well, if I'm going to find the heart I need to start thinking like Sombra," Twilight suggested as she began to approach the Crystal Castle. "There's only one place I can think of where he'd hide something so important. A place where he could be sure nopony would ever think of coming or would dare to look."
The baby dragon was still anything but convinced by that logic. "Yeah, but the castle's still a big place. It could take ages to find anything."
"Then we'd better start looking now, Spike! Once that barrier fails there's nothing to stop King Sombra from taking over again," Twilight declared as mare and dragon entered the castle on the ground floor. "I just hope our friends can keep the fair going."
Spike added. "And I hope you're right about the location of the Crystal Heart. Because if it's not in the castle it could be anywhere!"
The Crystal Fair was still ongoing, but it was quickly becoming a problem when various crystal ponies wanted to stop by to see the Crystal Heart for themselves.
Rainbow Dash tried to keep the crystal ponies away, often getting up right in their faces to do so. "What are you lookin' at?!" She all but interrogated a random crystal pony who backed away in fright as a result. "That's what I thought!"
At that moment, Princess Cadence came upon the scene and pulled Rainbow aside. "Rainbow Dash, if we're going to keep the crystal ponies' spirits up we need to act like nothing's wrong. There's no reason to go around scaring ponies." She protested.
"But how else do you propose we keep them from finding out the truth about the heart?" Rainbow whispered in concern.
Cadence smiled as she quickly got an idea. "I'll stay here with Applejack and help divert ponies as needed. You should go straight to the arena to show off your jousting skills."
"Great!" Rainbow happily exclaimed as she briefly lept into the air. But then she came back as she realized. "Wait, bummer. There's nopony who could possibly be a match for me. Even Pinkie Pie or Fluttershy wouldn't be able to keep up, I'd wipe the floor with them in an instant."
Fortunately, Shining Armor came trotting over, decked out completely in a sparkling traditional Crystal Empire jousting outfit. "Then why don't you try going a few rounds with me? I could use a refresher in combat, and I'm sure you'll find me to be a much stronger opponent than any of your friends."
Rainbow smiled as the brash speedster declared. "You got yourself a deal, Shining! Too bad your wife's not gonna be around to see me whoop your sorry flank!"
"Save the trash talk for the actual match, you two," Cadence commented. "And remember, it's most important that you keep the crystal ponies entertained. If that means one of you has to take a dive so ponies don't get bored, do it."
"Come on, Knight Rainbow Dash!" Shining called as he trotted off, making sure to be heard as loudly as possible for the sake of drawing a crowd. "It's showtime. Let's give the crystal ponies something to talk about for years to come."
Rainbow grinned. "Don't expect me to go easy on you just because you're a stallion." And she trotted away to the jousting arena to get fit for her own jousting attire.
Meanwhile, other crystal ponies began to come by. Ones not interested in the jousting match. "Having a good time are we?" Cadence asked of them. "I hope the fair is to your liking. If not, don't hesitate to tell me so my husband and I can make improvements for the next one."
The crystal pony who had earlier not been able to give any information at all to Twilight simply smiled and openly declared. "I'm feeling the best I've felt since... I can't even remember when! This is the best time I've ever had!"
A nervous Applejack commented back. "Well, that's good! Gotta renew that spirit of love and unity if you're gonna power up that Crystal Heart, right?"
The crystal pony nodded and then promptly asked. "I sure would like to see it before the ceremony. It's been such a long time since anypony's laid eyes on it."
"Oh, I hear ya, but, uh... " The farm mare began only to trail off, unable to think of what to say. She obviously didn't want to reveal the truth, but she didn't know of any believable ways to get out of telling it to the crystal ponies.
Fortunately, Princess Cadence was able to divert the crystal pony elsewhere. "There's a whole lot of other activities you could try. There's plenty of rare foods to enjoy and even a jousting match featuring my husband."
Applejack watched the whole thing unfold as she thought to herself. "Come on, Twilight... hurry it up will ya?! These here crystal ponies are more curious than a cat! Don't know how long the rest of us can keep 'em away."
Twilight and Spike hadn't been searching the castle for very long, but already they seemed to be running into a problem. Twilight was inspecting every nook and cranny but nothing stood out. No hidden passageways, no secret doors, no illusions, not even a hint or a trail to follow.
"It's got to be here somewhere," Twilight protested with annoyance. "Where is it?!"
Spike shrugged his claws. "I don't know, Twilight. Maybe King Sombra's been holding onto it all along. That's what I'd do if I had something I didn't want anypony to get their hooves on."
"Except just being near the Crystal Heart cause Sombra to become ill and weak, the crystal ponies said so," Twilight shook her head. "There's absolutely no way Sombra could be holding onto it. He has to have hidden it somewhere," Then, as she entered the throne room she suddenly began to remember her earlier conversation with Princess Celestia. The one where it was shown that a crystal could reflect the magical properties of whatever spell was cast upon it. Suddenly, the studious unicorn got an idea. "Wait a minute, Spike! If I want to thwart King Sombra, I need to start thinking like King Sombra! I need to get into his mind."
The little dragon gulped. "I don't know if I like the sound of that."
Twilight quickly reassured her frightened companion. "It's not what you think, Spike. I just need to consider that things were different in the Crystal Empire when Sombra ruled over it. This isn't King Sombra's castle."
"What do you mean? We're in the throne room, and aside from your brother and his wife nopony's ever set hoof into it." Spike objected.
"What I mean is, Sombra must've altered the throne room in a way that only he could. That way he could safely hide the Crystal Heart in a place where only he could get to it," Twilight realized. "And the only way he could do that was by using dark magic. So that's what I'll use! Any secrets he might have left behind will be exposed," And then she instructed. "You'd better stand back, Spike. I'm hopeful I can control the dark magic, but I'm not taking any chances." She waited for Spike to back up several feet before shutting her eyes, concentrating as she took several deep breaths.
Spike nearly gasped as he saw a sickly green aura filled with red and purple flames surge out of Twilight's horn! And to make matters worse he could see her clearly straining as she aimed a beam of the powerful magic at the crystal atop the throne.
In her mind, Twilight could feel dark thoughts starting to seep in. And to make matters worse she soon heard the familiar voice of King Sombra starting to taunt her. "Well well, the prized protege of Princess Celestia. Finally getting a taste of dark magic, I see. It hurts, doesn't it? It's like no pain you've ever felt before."
"Get out of my mind, Sombra! You're not welcome here!" Twilight roared and growled in defiance, unaware that her conversation was being heard (though thankfully only by Spike).
"I only wish to make a deal with you to ease your suffering," The greedy former king immediately proposed. "Give into the darkness. Let it consume you as it did me, let it burn away anything and everything else. Once your heart is as black as mine you'll feel so much better, because you'll be incapable of ever feeling anything ever again."
But Twilight refused to be tempted. "I will never become like you, King Sombra! You won't corrupt me! I've sharpened my mental barriers."
"They will do you little good in the end," The unicorn with a heart as black as night cackled in a deep voice. "Still, I can't maintain this link between us for long. I must concentrate my powers into fully restoring my physical presence. After all, that pesky princess' barrier is going to run out before long, even sooner than that pathetic husband of hers from who she copied the spell."
At that Twilight roared! "You leave my brother out of this! And don't you even think of harming him or my sister-in-law!"
"Oh, they're part of your family?!" Sombra remarked with surprise, and then cackled anew. "Well good. That'll make their destruction all the more satisfying. Talk to you again soon, Twilight. You'll have to use a lot more dark magic than what you're currently using to stop me. And if you're already struggling now, I can only imagine how hard the rest of the trials will be." Just like that, his voice faded away.
Twilight opened her eyes and shook her head to clear her thoughts. She now saw that just in front of the throne was a huge, spiraling staircase that led down into a dark cave that had not been there a moment ago. It seemed like as promising a lead as any. "You stay here, Spike. I'll see where this goes. If it's safe to come down I'll let you know," The unicorn instructed to her dragon. "And remember, not a claw."
"I know, I know. I'm not four!" Spike huffed as he blew smoke out of his nostrils. He then reluctantly watched as Twilight began to make her way over to the spiral staircase and make her descent.
Unable to tell from the top how far down the stairs went, Twilight picked up a small nearby crystal, and used her magic to drop it over the side where it soon fell out of sight. She waited for a bit but heard nothing. Assuming the crystal had made it to the bottom, it was too far down for her to hear.
After eventually making her way down the stairs quite a bit, Twilight tried to call back up to Spike. "Spike, can you hear me?!"
"Just barely!" Spike called back. "What is it, Twilight?"
"Is everything okay outside? I haven't looked in a while." Twilight instructed.
So Spike went over to one of the castle windows, peering outside as his green eyes could see the barrier flickering on and off. Whenever it dropped the surrounding landscape took on a dark red hue that made everything seem ominous and troubling. It was even possible to hear the sound of thunder rumbling in the distance, and the voice of King Sombra speaking through dark crystals that were sprouting up like weeds.
The little dragon rushed back to report to Twilight what he'd just seen! She had to know how bad things were getting. "Cadence's magic must be fading faster than she might realize! I'd say we only have an hour before it'll fail completely! You'd better speed up the search, or there's not gonna be an empire left to save!"
"Well, if you don't hear back from me by then you'll have to get the princesses involved," Twilight called back in an unhappy tone of voice. "I just hope it doesn't come to that. I don't wanna fail this test after Princess Celestia put so much trust in me," She continued her descent down the stairs, only to misjudge her next step and start tumbling down the whole flight! She only just managed to light up her horn and surround herself within the reddish-pink aura of her magic just seconds before she would've hit the ground and landed on her head. "Ow!" She groaned while rubbing her head.
"Twilight? Are you okay down there?" Spike called up from above.
Twilight somehow managed to call back to Spike. "Yes, I think so," Then her eyes spotted a door just a short ways away. "Stay where you are, Spike! I gotta check something out!"
But as Twilight moved to the door to open it, the door literally moved itself further away from her. Frustrated and impatient, she focused dark magic on the crystal above the door, forcing it open! "Alright now, you stay there!" She groaned as the door slowly creaked open, creating a blinding flash of light. "Spike, I think it's here! This has to be where the Crystal Heart is!" She declared as she ran through the opening without even a second's hesitation or waiting to see what was on the other side.
When the flash faded, Twilight suddenly found herself no longer in the dark cave beneath the crystal throne, but within the familiar hallways of the royal palace in Canterlot. She immediately looked around, only to find no trace of a door or anything that might have led her back to this location. "Huh? How did I end up here? What's going on?" She wondered aloud, before suddenly and unexpectedly bumping into none other than Princess Celestia.
In stark contrast to their previous meeting, the sun princess didn't appear the least bit pleased to see her student. In fact, she seemed to coldly remark. "What are you doing here, Twilight? I thought I sent you on an important assignment."
"Princess Celestia!" Twilight gasped! "I don't know, I swear! I just opened this door and then-"
But Princess Celestia interrupted, coldly cutting her student off. "-I don't want to hear your excuses. You disobeyed my instructions," Turning her back on Twilight the alicorn then frowned. "And now you must go."
At that Twilight blinked in confusion and dismay. "Go? Go where?"
Celestia gave no clarification on the answer as she just dismissively declared. "Doesn't really matter to me, Twilight. You failed the test! I guess I was wrong to ever put so much trust in you."
"I don't understand," Twilight protested as she tried to make sense of the situation she was in. "How could I have failed? I didn't do anything wrong. I don't even know how I ended up back here."
Celestia only snorted. "I told you I didn't want to hear your excuses, Twilight. You disappointed me. So now, not only will you not move on to the next level of your studies and begin advanced lessons, you won't continue your studies at all! Your time as my student has come to an end."
The unicorn immediately became flabbergasted at what she'd heard. She even jumped back. " I... You can't do this, Princess Celestia! You didn't say anything about no longer being your student if I failed!"
"Oh, didn't I? I thought you already knew since you made it a habit to know everything," Celestia replied as she trotted away, refusing to look her former student in the eyes. "Get out of my sight, Twilight!" And just like that she disappeared.
Twilight, meanwhile, looked around and gasped in horror when she saw a stain glass window depicting King Sombra overrunning and conquering the Crystal Empire! It was enough to reduce her to tears!
And King Sombra laughed in triumph. "You really should've headed that baby dragon's advice and gotten out of here while you had the chance. But oh no, you had to play the hero. Well, look where it's gotten you now."
"N-no!" Twilight sobbed to herself. "This... can't be!"
Suddenly, in the distance Twilight became aware of a familiar voice calling out to her. It was faint at first but it slowly grew louder. "Twilight? Twilight! Twiliiiight!" The voice called, as Twilight slowly realized it was Spike calling out to her.
Twilight shook her head and when she did she found herself staring back at the door she had opened, now back in the caves. But she had little time to process what had just happened as Spike rushing down the last of the steps to join her.
"Oh, thank goodness you're okay!" Spike panted as he quickly apologized. "Look, I know you told me to stay up there. But you were down here for such a long time, and you weren't answering, and I got worried so I came down here... and... and..." But then he trailed off as he began to look in the same direction Twilight was facing. "What were you looking at? I mean... it's just a wall. ..."
Unknown to Spike, as he opened the door his eyes began to glow a sickly green. Twilight could only watch what unfolded as the baby dragon just stood there. "Ponyville?!" He seemed to blink in surprise. "How did I get back-" Then he stepped back as he suddenly began to break down in tears! "No! I don't wanna go! Please, Twilight, don't make me! Don't send me away! I've been good to you, haven't I?! I thought you considered me part of your family!"
Thinking quickly, Twilight shut the door, cutting off the spell that had been placed on Spike. "Looks like my hunch about booby traps was right," She commented in realization. "This elusive door is powered by King Sombra's dark magic. He must've enchanted it to show one's worst fears. For me it was failing the test. And for you... well, we just witnessed it for ourselves."
"Oh, so it wasn't real?!" Spike realized, still sobbing as he looked up at Twilight. "It all felt so real, though! It was horrible! We were home. And you told me that you didn't need me anymore. You said you were sending me away, kicking me out..."
Twilight brought the baby dragon close and pulled him into a hug. "It's okay, Spike. It's okay. Mama's here for you now," And she immediately vowed. "I promise you, I've never going to send you away if you don't want to go. You will always have a special place in my heart, our bond is one that can never be broken. Your fear will never come to pass. I won't ever just kick you out, or fail my test for that matter! If King Sombra thought this door would stop us, he sadly underestimated the strength of our bond."
"But how are we supposed to move on if the door is a dead end?" Spike questioned as he dried his tears.
The unicorn smiled. "By countering Sombra's dark magic with my own magic. A magic powered by light and love. A magic I'm reminded of just by having you near me." And that's exactly what sort of magic she used on the crystal above the door, breaking the spell and allowing the door to swing open. There was no blinding flash of light this time, and both pony and dragon took that as a sign that it was safe to proceed.
Once they were both on the other side of the door, they were greeted by the presence of another massive spiral staircase. "Again with the stairs," Spike commented. "I'm starting to sense a pattern here."
"Me too," Twilight nodded in agreement. "And you know what, Spike? I think it'll be better for both of us if you stay by my side from here on out. Now we'd better hurry and find the Crystal Heart before it's too late!"
As Twilight and Spike were carrying out their search for the Crystal Heart within the castle (and no one outside was any wiser to what kind of hardships the two were enduring), the jousting tournament was finally getting under way! The excitement from it was enough to keep most crystal ponies from realizing that the protective barrier surrounding their empire was beginning to fade in and out.
Pinkie Pie, now decked out from head to hooves in a green jester's outfit, blew into a flugelhorn. "Attention, fillies and gentlecolts!" She declared afterward. "Thank you for your patience. We're ready to start the jousting tournament! In this corner: Knight Rainbow Dash!" A spotlight shown on one end of the arena, showing Rainbow Dash in her jousting outfit. "And in this corner: Your Prince, Shining Armor!" Another spotlight showed Shining in his jousting outfit, which also fortunately obscured the dark crystals surrounding his horn.
The crowd began to cheer wildly as Pinkie announced. "Jousters, ready your lances! Get ready and... go!"
Rainbow Dash charged forward with lightning speed, aiming her lance straight at Shining's mid section with the intent of knocking him back! She knew he couldn't use magic to adjust his lance's position and even if he could it would be an unfair advantage that the official jousting rules would not allow. "This is gonna be an easy knockout!" She thought to herself.
However, Shining Armor just continued trotting at his leisurely pace until at the last second he charged forward! This sudden burst of speed caught Rainbow by surprise and caused her to be knocked back instead.
"And the first point goes to Shining Armor! The first to three points wins the match and moves on to the next round to face yours truly. Loser takes over as jester," Pinkie declared. "Okay, jousters, back to your starting places. Prepare for the next face off."
Cadence (who was in the audience) could be heard snickering as Shining approached Rainbow, helping her to her hooves. "You gave yourself away charging ahead like that," He instructed to the mare. "In the royal guard we consider that kind of behavior to be reckless. And you just saw for yourself where recklessness will get you."
"You just got lucky, that's all! I underestimated you because of what King Sombra did to you," Rainbow grumbled as she shook off the dust. "I won't make the same mistake again. You won't beat me!"
Shining could only shake his head. "With an attitude like that I definitely will," And then he pointed out. "Twilight tells me you've been trying to get into the Wonderbolts. Well, if you want to have any shot with them you're gonna have to learn to think with your head, not with your hooves."
"Hey, enough chit chat!" Pinkie interrupted as she pulled out her flugelhorn, ready to blow into it again. "Even I can't keep this party going forever! You two promised to deliver entertainment. So get back out there and show those crystal ponies a good time!"
"Don't worry, Pinkie. I'll give the crystal ponies a show they'll never forget when I come back from an early defeat to win the whole tournament!" Rainbow boasted as she resumed her post.
Shining just cautioned. "You'll have to get through me first. If you don't focus on the task in front of you, your enemies will get the best of you every time. Perhaps another defeat will hammer that home, along with another point for yours truly."
Pinkie then blew into the flugelhorn again, and the jousting tournament resumed.
Miles away, however, Rarity came trotting up to Applejack with bad news. "I am running out of weaving materials for the traditional crafts booth! I just made a hat out of three pieces of hay and a drinking straw!" She gestured a hoof to the aforementioned hat that had been hastily crafted, and then whispered. "I made it work. But still! At this point, I don't know if we can keep the fair going for much longer before the crystal ponies find out the truth."
"Even the petting zoo isn't attracting a lot of ponies now," Fluttershy pointed out. "And the barrier's not holding up well. It looks like it could fail at any time."
Cadence came trotting over, forcing a smile as it was clear she was struggling to maintain her composure. "It may be time to consider a Plan B. The only thing we have left to keep the crystal ponies interested is the jousting tournament. But if the barrier fails soon, even that won't be enough."
Just then, there came a loud crash and a series of gasps! A crystal pony had accidentally tipped over the fake Crystal Heart, causing it to shatter completely! "The heart, it's a fake!" He exclaimed!
"I'm afraid so," Princess Cadence told the crystal pony. "We didn't want to alarm anypony when we couldn't find the real Crystal Heart. We hoped this one would suffice," And she was quick to add. "But you needn't worry, the real Crystal Heart is..."
Applejack quickly interrupted. "-A-already on its way." And she gave a nervous chuckle.
Rarity frowned. "I would've said 'Being polished' to give ourselves more time, Applejack."
Cadence could only shake her head in dismay. "We're already in trouble for lying as it is, let's not add more lies on top of it," And she turned her attention back to the castle. "At this point, all we can do is try to contain the fall out now that everypony knows we don't have the real Crystal Heart. With a little luck, Twilight and Spike will find it soon."
"And if they don't?" Fluttershy gulped, not wanting to think of the idea.
"Then we'll just have to be prepared for the fight of our lives. If it takes everything we've got, we will keep Sombra out!" Cadence vowed, before she stumbled to the ground. She only just managed to find the strength to pull herself back up! It now became clear to everypony that time was starting to run out!
Unaware of what was going on outside, Twilight and Spike were making up their way up the stairs they'd found. But it seemed like the more they climbed the more stairs there seemed to be. And they were beginning to become exhausted as there appeared to be no end in sight.
Suddenly, Spike seemed to get an idea. "Twilight, what if this is just another one of Sombra's traps he set up with his dark magic? Think about it: A passage beneath the throne room only accessible by dark magic, a door that leads to your worst fears. Why not add stairs that lead to nowhere on top of it at all? It's so evil no one would ever think of it."
"Well, there's only one thing I can think of that'll thwart this trap," Twilight declared. "Grab onto me, Spike! And don't let go whatever you do!"
Spike reluctantly obeyed even as he asked. "W-what are you gonna do, Twilight?" But mere seconds later he found himself and Twilight be flipped upside down, now traveling on the underside of the staircase as they slid all the way down!
Twilight explained everything as she skid down! "I actually studied gravity spells, thinking they might be on my test! And you thought they wouldn't be helpful."
"I didn't say that." Spike protested but said little else as the two slid all the way down the staircase. At last they reached the bottom, or rather the top as Twilight returned gravity to normal.
And there was the Crystal Heart in all its shimmering glory! Laying right there in the center of the room that rested in a spire high atop the crystal castle! Without even thinking or hesitating, Twilight stepped forward and snatched the Crystal Heart right then and there.
That was a mistake! Touching the heart triggered an alarm that tipped off King Sombra! "Fool! You think I'll actually let you ruin my plans?!" He growled, before lighting up his jagged horn.
Several huge crystals sprang up all around Twilight in the room as the Crystal Heart flew out of her grasp! Try as she might, Twilight couldn't break free either through physical force or her own magic. She was trapped! Frantically, she started looking around for the artifact she'd worked so hard to retrieve. "The Heart... Where's the Crystal–"
"-Over here!" Spike called. "It must've fallen nearby when you got trapped!"
Meanwhile, Twilight groaned and lamented aloud. "How could I have been so foolish?! I should've known it was a trap! It was so obvious! But I was so eager to get it. And now..." She trailed off, watching as the protective barrier began to fail completely.
Frantically, Spike shouted at Twilight! "You have to get out of there, now! There'd be no point writing to either of the princesses, you'd fail your test! And I don't know what King Sombra will do to you if he get his hooves on you!" He began to plead. "Please, Twilight! You have to have a plan, you have to!"
But Twilight shook her head. "There's no plan, Spike," And then she realized something as she looked at him. "Listen to me very carefully, Spike. King Sombra is already preparing to attack the empire. He could reach the crystal ponies at any moment... reach Princess Cadence, my brother and my friends. There may not be enough time for me to find a way to escape, let alone deliver the Crystal Heart in time. You must be the one to bring the Crystal Heart to the fair. Get it to Cadence and Shining Armor before it's too late!"
"What?! That's not a plan! I'll mess it up for sure!" Spike protested! "I can't do this without you, Twilight!"
The unicorn wouldn't hear anything of this argument. "No, Spike! Don't doubt yourself now! You can do this! I believe in you. I'm saying this not only as your mother but as your friend. As the pony who knows you better than anypony else. You're the only one I can count on in this situation!"
"B-b-but what about you?! I can't just abandon you!" The baby dragon whimpered even as he took hold of the Crystal Heart with his claws.
"Don't worry about me, I'll... I'll think of something," Twilight insisted. "We don't have time to argue! You must get out of here, or there's no future for any of us. Now Goooo!"
Reluctantly, Spike obeyed as he brought the Crystal Heart close to his chest and fled from the tower as several black crystals began to envelope it!
"Be brave, Spike! For both of us!" Twilight thought to herself as she watched the baby dragon depart.
Down below, the protective barrier was fading away completely. King Sombra was finally making his presence known as he regained his physical form. "Come back to me, my crystal slaves," He spoke in a tone barely above a whisper. "You will all bow to me if you value your pathetic lives!"
But just when everything seemed bleak and hopeless, a familiar called out from high above! "Hey! Up here!"
All eyes looked up, and saw Spike coming down from one of the castle's spires, the real Crystal Heart held close to his chest for safe keeping.
Rarity in particular was shocked! "Spike?! What's going on?! Where's Twilight?!"
"She's trapped! She told me to get the Crystal Heart to Cadence!" Spike called back, before he lost his balance and plunged off the roof, screaming the whole way!
King Sombra saw this and licked his lips as he quickly zoomed in, preparing to snatch up both Crystal Heart and baby dragon. "There's no hope for any of you now!" He cackled! "Prepare to embrace the dawn of your demise and despair!" As he spoke a few crystal ponies were already starting to run away in fright, even though they knew there was nowhere they could run to where they'd be safe from the king's wrath (or his powers for that matter).
"Spikey-wikey!" Rarity screamed in dismay! "Somepony do something, quick!"
And Shining Armor did! He quickly trotted up and picked up his wife, placing her onto his back! Despite how exhausted she felt, Princess Cadence was immediately rejuvenated upon seeing the real Crystal Heart! She knew what she had to do. She unfolded her wings as her husband tossed her up towards Spike's location, managing to snag both him and the Crystal Heart at the last minute!
A frustrated Sombra could only roar in frustration as he sought to chase after the prize that was fast eluding him!
The old librarian who had first mentioned the true purpose of the Crystal Heart suddenly shouted above the commotion while gesturing a hoof to Princess Cadence! "Behold! The Crystal Princess! Our leader has returned!"
Princess Cadence landed in front of the crystal ponies, the Crystal Heart held firmly within the soft blue glow of her magic. "The Crystal Heart has finally returned to its rightful resting place," She fixed it into a small podium that had just sprang up in front of the castle! "Now, quickly! You must all use the light and love within you to ensure that King Sombra does not return too." She instructed to them.
The crystal ponies obeyed as they all kneeled down and began to glow just like the Crystal Heart.
"What? No... No! Stop!" King Sombra protested with a hiss as he flew close! "You're all supposed to bow down to me in fear! Your king commands it!"
But Cadence defiantly declared! "They don't fear you anymore, Sombra. And they're your subjects no longer. The empire shall never again fall into your evil hooves. Begone!"
Frightened and realizing he had lost the battle, Sombra tried to retreat! But the light released from all of the crystal ponies was too much for him. It caught up to him and overwhelmed him. He screamed at the top of his lungs as he leaned back, his entire body shattering! Just like that, the tyranny of King Sombra had been brought to an end. The greedy king was no more!
The light washed over every aspect of the Crystal Empire, making even those not crystal ponies glow brightly and brilliantly, even the dark crystals in Shining Armor's horn faded away completely.
The light was even able to free Twilight from her prison high up in the crystal castle. And she smiled as the unicorn realized what this had to mean. "Good job, Spike. Good job. Mama's so proud of you!" She thought to herself.
With King Sombra defeated and destroyed, and the Crystal Heart having been found, the mission was completed. The Crystal Empire was safe at last and so it would hopefully remain for all time. That meant it was time for Twilight, Spike and all their friends to head back to Canterlot and then back home to Ponyville.
Rarity was a little disappointed to know that the sparkling transformation everyone had undergone was not permanent. And she hated to leave it behind. "I do so wish it was permanent. It was so beautiful. It seems unfair to have to leave such beauty here."
Applejack opted to reassure her friend. "But... good things are better when they're a rarity." That was enough to get the fashionista to chuckle.
Not everyone was in the highest of spirits, however. Although Twilight knew letting Spike deliver the Crystal Heart had been the right call to make, she also knew it was against Princess Celestia's wishes. And she couldn't help but dwell on that and the fact that she'd ultimately drawn herself and her friends into battle with King Sombra, albeit indirectly.
Shining Armor, however, tried to cheer up his sister as he not so secretly whispered. "You know, Twily, you really gotta stop saving my rump like this all the time. It's getting embarrassing. I'm supposed to be looking out for you, not the other way around."
"Except it wasn't me who saved you and Cadence in the end, B.B.B.F.F, it was Spike," Twilight pointed out. "He's the big hero in all of this, not me."
"Hey, you're still a hero in my book, Twily," Shining reassured his sister. "Besides, it was just a test. I'm sure if you explain to Princess Celestia that you had no choice but to do what you did, she'll give you a pass or even let you retake the test."
Twilight could only shake her head in disagreement. "Somehow, I don't think that'll happen. For the first time in my life, I'm gonna be reporting back to Princess Celestia as a failure. I only hope she won't permanently end my studies as a result."
The group returned to Canterlot and Twilight was soon left alone for an audience of one with Princess Celestia. Surprisingly, the sun princess seemed to take the news of the mission's unexpected developments quite well, especially since a new stained glass window commemorated the final outcome: Spike delivering the Crystal Heart to Princess Cadence and King Sombra being destroyed. "It's beautiful. This will make a fine addition to the other displays here in the throne room." Princess Celestia spoke up.
Twilight glumly answered. "I wish it had been me who ultimately made it so. But it wasn't. I'm sorry you had to find out this way. And I'm sorry I didn't try to contact you or Princess Luna."
"It's true that you should've wrote to us for help in dealing with King Sombra," Princess Celestia nodded in agreement. "But the way I see it: Spike brought Princess Cadence the Crystal Heart because you weren't sure how quickly you could find a way to escape from that tower you were trapped in. You weren't willing to risk the future of the citizens of the Crystal Empire in an effort to guarantee your own. You were willing to go against my orders, even if you misinterpreted them, if it meant the empire would be saved."
"So, does this mean I passed?" Twilight reluctantly asked.
Celestia nodded. "Indeed you have, Twilight. And with flying colors to boot! It warms my heart to know that I have a student who understands the importance of self-sacrifice instead of only looking out for her own best interests." She seemed to deliver the last line with a hint of regret, though she made sure not to show any outward signs of it. "Twilight doesn't need to know about my previous student. Not yet anyway." She thought to herself.
"Then, I guess this means I can begin the advanced studies," Twilight realized as her eyes lit up. "But, what will they involve?"
Princess Celestia just instructed. "You'll know more about it all in due time. It'll involve mastering new forms of magic and perfecting spells thought to be impossible to pull off. For now though, return to Ponyville with your friends and rest," And with a smile she declared. "I know you'll make me proud, Twilight. Your future's looking bright!"
"Indeed it is," Princess Luna commented as she came trotting in. "And I'm pleased to hear that my favorite dragon finally got a chance to be the big hero he always dreamed of being. You should be proud of yourself for raising such an excellent son, Twilight. He's definitely in good hooves with you."
At that Twilight blushed and modestly defended. "Well, I didn't raise him completely on my own. Still, I'm definitely impressed at how much he's grown because of this adventure," She wiped a lone tear from her eye. "He's growing up so fast."
"Kind of reminds me of you, Twilight," Celestia spoke up. "And much like Spike, I'm proud of the pony you're growing up to be. Even more than the pony you've already grown into since you started your friendship lessons." And she pulled Twilight close for a big hug.
Twilight just smiled as she let the warmth of the hug envelope her. Whatever the future may hold for her, she was confident now that she had the tools and the friends to face it.