As Twilight breathed into the bag everyone came in close to try and comfort her. She noticed this and eventually took the bag away saying, "I'm good I'm good just.... you both retiring and putting me in charge... that was a lot to take in."
Celestia muttered to herself, "Definitely should have told her more in the letter."
Luna rolled her eyes at that then stepped forward saying, "Of course you realize that we're not asking you to take the throne now Twilight."
Twilight then visibly calmed down as she said, "You're not?"
"Well of course not, I admit I may fail to take your anxieties into account from time to time but I know enough not to just slap a crown on you and call it a day," said Celestia as she chuckled somewhat.
"Debatable," said Luna with a fake cough.
"Oh... of course," said Twilight somewhat blushing.
"So when exactly is it going to go down then?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Well between all the paperwork we'd need to fill out for the official transfer of power, briefing you and all our delegates about everything, and just attending to personal affairs both allowing for yours and our own since we don't exactly want to be homeless when we leave the castle, I'd say about a year, year and a half maybe," said Luna.
"Oh.... hum," said Twilight as she looked down in thought.
"We just thought it would be best to tell you as soon as we decided on it," said Celestia.
"Thank you for that your highnesses," said Twilight as she fully regained her composer.
This resulted in a somewhat awkward silence that was eventually broken as Spinel said, "So... do we just go home now?"
Celestia blinked at that as she laughed saying, "I suppose so... there isn't really anything we need to do about this right now, nor do we have anything else to fill you in on right now."
"Definitely should have told her this in a letter," said Luna before letting out a yawn before she got off her throne saying, "I'm going back to bed."
Celestia chuckled at that before saying, "Sorry to keep you sister, sometimes I forget you're nocturnal."
Luna chuckled herself before letting out a yawn as she said, "Oh it's fine, just as long as you don't mind how I 'forget' that you're diurnal from time to time and ask you to join me in a binge watching a few movies.... firstly the original Spider-Mare trilogy as frankly I'm disappointed you didn't call Discord on his bit."
Celestia winched slightly before saying, "Fair enough."
Luna then exited with a little more pep in her step as she began clapping her front hooves and pointing at the nearby guards, humming to herself, and muttering, "Drive that funky soul!"
Celestia muttered, "No doubt I'll find out what that is in the next few nights." She then looked down to see the assembled group giggling before she cleared her throat saying, "Yes well... I'll arrange your tickets on the next train back to Ponyville."
As Sombra found himself standing at the gates of the Crystal Emperor he smiled before cracking his neck as he said, "Alright, time to get to work." He then began strolling the street almost casually waiting to be challenged, a challenge that came rather quickly as he soon found citizens screaming and running from him as guards came running towards him. "Like clockwork," said Sombra as he ignited his horn spreading a wave of red outward that got the civilians to stop screaming as they turned towards him with green eyes and began to fall in line behind him. The guards on the other hand simply fell to the ground as Sombra said, "Hum, a little stronger then last time, and Crystal Pony's too at that," he groaned as he began muttering, "Gonna need to get the Crystal Heart back to its proper place before these clods undo all my work... in the mean time," he then reached down to the ground as he manifested several dark crystals to form into the shape of a helmet as he began teleporting onto the guards saying, "This should squash any kind of resistance you've built up."
Soon the eyes of the helmets began to glow green as the guards came in step around Sombra.
As Shining Armor watched in horror at the seen outside the castle window he said, "I can't just sit here, I have to do something," as he gazed towards his old armor from when he was Captain of the Royal Guard.
"And what do you think you can do against that!?" said Cadence as she finished writing a letter before igniting her horn as the letter duplicated itself before it dissapeared and she said, "I just messaged Twilight and Celestia so help should be here soon, in the mean time we need to focus on keeping Flurry Heart safe."
At this Shining Armor's eyes widened as he said, "Wait where is Flurry Heart?!"
In an instant their hearts dropped as Shining dained a glance out the window and saw that Sombra was nowhere to be seen. They both felt a cold chill of terror as they bolted towards her room.
As Sombra came in through the secret passage be put his hoof back on the panel, interfacing his gem with it and making it close as he thought, "Backwater organic clods couldn't even find the obvious systems in the castle," before he took in the room he was in saying, "Toys, coloring books, cartoon posters... what exactly have they done to my emergency evac chamber?" It was then that he heard a cry and looked over to see a crib as he smiled saying, "Unexpected but I've never been one to shy away from manipulating sentimentality," as he began to levitate the now screaming infant Alicorn from her crib just as Shining and Cadence came in.
"Nah ah ah," said Sombra as he moved Flurry Heart closer to his chest. "If you want your heir returned to you in one piece now you are going to do exactly as I say."
Cadence and Shining both ignited their horns about to do something but they quickly stopped as the tearful filly managed to squeak out, "Mama, papa," as she reached her hooves towards them in vain. With gritted their teeth they allowed the light of their horns to fade.
Sombra smiled as he said, "Good, now then take me to my throne room," before they all began marching along. Soon they reached their destination as Sombra watched one of his newly reacquired soldiers approach him with the Crystal Heart. His smirk grew even wider as he clumsily dropped the filly and moved the heart back into its proper place above his thrones as the energy spikes latched onto it and he began to hear the soft hum of countless machines hidden throughout the castles walls revving up. Paying little attention to the royal couple who where now comforting Flurry as two of Sombra's guards now flanked them, he then sat atop the throne as he placed his hoof on the side of the arm rest, activating the panel with a soft glow and causing a holographic keyboard to form above his lap. His smile briefly faded as he made his hooves glow for a moment before shape shifting fingers off of them as he began to type muttering, "No wonder these creatures haven't invented anything worth while yet, how would they even be able to use them with hooves."
"What is he doing?" asked Shining as he leaned over to Cadence.
She didn't have time to respond as Sombra said, "Oh, almost forget about you all, regardless the castles defenses won't," said Sombra as he clicked a button causing crystalline chains to shoot up from up from the floor binding the three ponies by their legs, wings in two cases, and horns before putting muzzles over their mouths.
Sombra paid little mind to it as he attempted to open a communication line only to be greeted with a message saying, "ERROR OUT OF RANGE" he sighed before saying, "Well I guess it was too much to ask that the Empire had expanded to this part of space since last time I had formed. Regardless if I'm going to get anything done I need more numbers, time to run a diagnostic. I need to make sure these organic clods didn't do anything to the Injector before I attempt to reactivate the Kindergarden, or at least the sad excuse for one this polluted planet can muster." He glanced over at the royal family staring up at him in a mix of anger and confusion as he chuckled saying, "I almost forgot how amusing it was to see these creatures struggle to understand as I talk about things above their comprehension... I only wish I had a chance to do it last time before they damaged my form."
As Spinel and Pinkie walked back through the doors of Sugar Cube Corner Spinel commented, "Well that wasn't all that eventful."
Pinkie shrugged as she said, "I mean yeah but also not, I'm not really sure what I'd call it... either way it's nice we're home so early, it gives us plenty of time to play and-"
Before she could continue Twilight suddenly burst through the door as she said, "Pinkie, Spinel, we gotta go, it's an emergency!"
Spinel briefly chuckled saying, "What now, Celestia gonna ask you to raise the sun in five years?" But upon turning around and seeing the look on Twilight's face she realized that whatever this was was no laughing matter.
"It's Cadence, Shining, and Flurry.... Sombra's got them," said Twilight as she hung her face in worry.
"WHAT!?" asked Pinkie as she jumped up in shock.
"Sombra..." said Spinel as she thought, "Why does that name sound... familiar?"
Twilight snapped her head up saying, "Oh, I forgot you wouldn't really know about him, we'll fill you in back at the castle we gotta get the others," as she ran out the door.
"R-right," said Pinkie as she followed after.
Spinel came running soon after as she thought, "Pinkie actually looked... scared. Just who is this Sombra guy... and why do I feel like the answers on the tip of my tongue?"