//------------------------------//
// Cracks 
// Story: Shadows of the Heart 
// by Scribblestick 
//------------------------------//

"Duskfall... Duskfall..." Flurry muttered as she tiptoed through the royal library. The only light came from her horn. She worried the night guards might see it and investigate, but it was a risk she was willing to take. She was headed for historical records anyway, and that room was kept away from direct sunlight to preserve the ancient books and maps within. The enclosed space meant no prying eyes to worry about.

She felt a natural sense of urgency, and had to remind herself that Sombra wasn't really "waiting" for her in the usual sense. To him, it would seem only an instant had passed when she returned with her verdict. A part of her, the rational part probably, wondered why she was going through all this trouble for a pony who had threatened her family and her kingdom so many times. The logical part told her he was lying, and that her faulty intuition had been wrong. Yet the look on his face when he learned his home was no more...

She shook her head and opened the door. She'd committed herself to this quest the moment she summoned him.

Flurry headed straight for the oldest maps she knew of—the ones from King Sombra's month-long reign of the Crystal Empire. Delicately, she lifted them from their cases and coughed once or twice in the resulting clouds of dust. She spread them out on an empty table and found the Crystal Empire. It was larger in those days, thanks to Sombra's ambitious expansions. He'd told her Duskfall was to the north and east, deep in the tundra that lay beyond the Crystal Heart's magic. As she scoured the area, though, she couldn't find anything resembling a town. She poured through the map collection again and found an old map from Yakyakistan. She unfurled it, hoping it would contain knowledge the old crystal ponies lacked, but once again, the spot where Duskfall should have been was blank.

She sighed and began to pace. It seemed Sombra's home was just as much a mystery then as it was now. He must have mentioned the name as a way of wasting her time. Why didn't he make a map of his own? Surely between the scare tactics and crystal mining, he would have found a moment to... to...

The crystals! Of course! It was an old mystery, what exactly he'd been doing with the crystals he stole from the Empire. They must have been taken somewhere, and that meant somepony would have left a record of it. She retrieved a chest containing ancient trade ledgers and skimmed through them until she reached the section that corresponded with Sombra's reign. Trading with a passing pony explorer... buying weapons from a Yakyakistan caravan... aha!

There it was, in fading black ink. Raw black crystal. Delivered six miles northeast of empire and left in the tundra. Similar entries took up the majority of transactions that month. She checked several other ledgers to confirm. The pattern was clear. Flurry smiled as she traced the route on the old Empire maps. Those crystals were left almost at Duskfall's doorstep. It was a real place!

"Flurry?"

"Gaah!" The sound of her mother's voice made Flurry Heart leap almost to the ceiling. "Mom! What are you doing up?"

Mom raised an eyebrow as she walked in. "It's an hour after sunrise. I've been looking for you." She glanced at the various maps and ledgers Flurry had strewn across the tables. "What in Equestria have you been doing?"

"Uh... just... learning about old trade routes," Flurry answered. "Really important to know... about trade..."

Mom took a deep breath and let it out slowly. At the same time, she pressed a hoof against her chest, then pushed it away. Flurry knew it was her way of letting go of stress. "Flurry Heart," she said slowly, "did you get any sleep last night?"

Flurry landed on the floor and pawed at the ground. "I'm sorry. I just got... caught up."

Mom stepped closer and smiled, eyebrows raising near her nose. "I know this has been stressful, and that can be... difficult... for you." Flurry couldn't help but roll her eyes at another of mother's euphemisms. "The good news is that I've cleared my schedule for the morning," Mom continued. "To help you practice your speech." Frown. Furrowed brow. Is she mad at me? "I promised you last night that I would, remember?"

"Oh. Yeah. I'm, uh, a little too tired right now."

Flurry tried to walk past her mother and out the door, but Mom moved to block her path. "Flurry, we've talked about this. You can't escape your duties with distractions."

"I'm not trying to escape," Flurry answered. "Like you said, I've been up all night, and I should get some rest." Once again, she tried to leave. Once again, Mom stopped her. Flurry groaned. "You know I can just teleport away, right?"

"Just 30 minutes," Mom said. "Trust me. You'll rest better if you face this now." She smiled. "Come on. Let's go."





"The light that shines in everypo—creature—ugh!"

Flurry stormed off the podium, tossing her paper aside as she did. Mom followed close behind. "Deep breath, Flurry."

"Don't tell me how to breathe!" Flurry had enough sense not to overturn the tables, but it was a close call. "I hate this stupid speech! Why do I have to do any of this?"

Flurry plopped herself on the floor and glared at a passing bug. Mom's gold-clad hooves appeared in front of her. "You've conquered many challenges, Flurry," she said. "I know you'll overcome this one, too."

Flurry groaned. "This isn't some magic spell or achievement test. This is... creatures."

Mom's hooves moved away. A moment later, her body rested next to Flurry's. "I know yesterday's rehearsal didn't go very well for you. I always get nervous before a big speech, too." She gave Flurry a playful nudge.

"It's not the same," Flurry replied. "You've always understood ponies—creatures—whatever! I can't even get the word right!" She flopped on the floor and buried her head in her hooves. "I told you this was a bad idea."

Mom was quiet for a moment. Anxiety over what she might be thinking began to overtake Flurry's frustration at the speech. "All right," Mom said at last. Her tone was even. Understanding? Or angry? "Get some sleep, Flurry. We'll practice again later."

Flurry didn't look back at her mother as she walked toward her room. She closed her eyes and tried to reconstruct her mother’s expression. She was facing away from her. Her head was slightly bowed, and her ears were pinned back against her skull. That usually meant something negative. Irritation. Frustration. Disappointment.. She ran through her catalogue of possible emotions, but none of them felt quite right. Then, there was the question of why. Was it me? Herself? Somepony else? On top of all that, she had to consider that her mother might try to hide her true feelings. The uncertainty of it all made her weary mind spiral.

"Why can’t you just tell me how you feel?" she yelled.

For a moment, all was silent. Then, a deep voice asked, "Are you talking to me?"

For the second time that day, Flurry found herself startled into the air. Sombra stood before her, trapped in her wards as always. Her head whipped around and saw a bed, desk, and bookshelf. She had wandered into her room. “How did you get in here?” she demanded, fluttering to the ground while her heart threw itself against her ribs.

"You called me," he answered. Then, he raised an eyebrow and grinned. "You did call me, didn’t you? I hope you’re not losing control of your magic. Has somepony discovered your secret spell?"

"Shut up," she snapped, wishing she had a better retort. She knew it had to be her magic—she could tell by the shimmering yellow glow of the auras. But she hadn’t meant to cast the spell, and it was far too complex to cast on instinct. Wasn't it? 

She shook her head and decided to worry about that mystery in a moment. "I think I figured out where your home used to be," she said. "I couldn’t find anything more recent than when you first took over the Empire, though. Whatever happened to them, it happened a long time ago."

"Hmph. I expected as much." Sombra's only reaction to the news was a slight frown. Flurry wasn't sure what to make of it. "Nor am I surprised that no record exists of Duskfall's demise. That would ruin all your preaching about love and friendship, after all."

"What do you mean?"

Sombra grinned, fangs gleaming. "Oh, you haven't pieced it together? It's quite obvious. Your dear princesses Celestia and Luna must have made an example of my home after they locked the Empire away. I know you'll say they would never punish innocent ponies in that manner," he added as Flurry opened her mouth to protest. "Don't be a fool. They're just as concerned about their public image as you are, princess."

Flurry shook her head. "The Royal Pony Sisters kept Equestria safe. They weren't afraid to make the hard choices."

Sombra chuckled—a deep, reverberating sound that shook Flurry's soul. "I may have missed a lot in the last thousand years, but I'm not ignorant. Neither of your precious princesses thought to mention the threats of Discord, Tirek, or even myself until we had already attacked. They were so concerned with appearing strong that they hid the fissures lurking below the surface as long as they could. Princess Celestia herself hid Nightmare Moon's true identity because revealing the truth about her sister would have made her appear weak." Sombra gazed down at her with a smirk. "Even your own parents hide things from the Empire—and from you. Like any ruler, they know appearance is everything. Celestia and Luna obliterated my home in the hopes that everypony would forget about me, and the blow I dealt their reputation."

Flurry heard a soft click. She realized an instant too late that she had forgotten to lock her bedroom door. "Hey, kiddo, I heard you—" Dad stopped halfway through the door, staring wide-eyed at King Sombra. A second later, he shot a bolt of magic straight at Sombra's head. Only Flurry's own wards stopped the strike from reaching its target.

"Flurry! Get out of here!" Dad's horn pulsed with power as he added another layer of shielding to Flurry's.

"Dad, wait—"

"Get out!" he repeated. His leg muscles coiled, ready to leap forward. "I'll hold him off. Go tell your mother!"

"Tell me what?" Mom peeked over Dad's shoulder and gasped. "You!"

"We meet again," Sombra said, grin widening as he lowered his head. Flurry desperately hoped she'd remembered the antimagic wards. Sombra glanced over at Flurry and winked. "You've been keeping secrets of your own, eh?"

"Stay away from my daughter!" Mom squeezed past Dad, horn blazing. "Flurry, sound the alarm and send word to Twilight."

"Mom—"

"Your daughter is the one who invited me here," Sombra said.

"You're lying," Dad spat.

Sombra shrugged. "I'm sure you'll find the notes for her spell somewhere in this room. In the desk drawer, perhaps?"

"That's enough." Mom stomped a hoof. "Flurry Heart. Your aunt needs to know Sombra has somehow returned. Whatever you may have done to bring him here, we'll discuss it later."

Flurry's chest heaved with every breath. She glanced from her parents' faces—deep frown, eyes furrowed—to Sombra's—half-smile, head high. She couldn't begin to discern what was going through their heads. All she could think was that she'd been caught, and she only had one solution. Run.

Her horn flashed, and in a burst of light, she found herself standing hoof-deep in snow. To her surprise, Sombra stood beside her, smile turning to a frown. She hadn't meant to teleport him, but it only took a moment for her to figure out what had gone wrong. Her retribution spell—her final safeguard—had dragged Sombra along. Now, she found herself standing exhausted on unfamiliar ground, alone with one of the most dangerous ponies in Equestrian history.

Sombra took a deep breath, smile returning once more. "Free at last."