//------------------------------//
// Set in Stone 
// Story: The Darkest Hour 
// by Anemptyshell 
//------------------------------//

The Crystal Empire, as it was apparently called, was nothing if not honest to the name. Gems littered the land like weeds. The buildings, the sidewalk, and the decorations all incorporated their seemingly infinite wealth of shiny rocks. It was enough that the glow of the moonlight through the barrier that surrounded the empire lit everything in a pale pink aura. We'd made it to what we assumed would be ruins or a clue or something, but here we were getting a tour of a kingdom that seemed forgotten by the outside world. My friends had various views of their own. Sabre seemed twitchy, Spade seemed bored, and Bright jumped about like a flea on a hound. Then there were Thorax and Blueblood. They both seemed awed and beguiled at the same time. 

It was hardly their fault. We were being marched to the center of the empire, right to the enormous old spire of doom, the castle of the King, King Sombra, to be exact. The name didn't breed confidence, and the looks we got from the locals weren't helping. Though the fact these Crystal Ponies seemed to shimmer like their namesake was neat, however. 

"So, What's your king like?" I asked, the guard ahead of us. 

"He's kept the dark at bay."

I looked about in mock surprise. "You don't say?"

The guard didn't answer. That guard heritage shone almost as much as his armor. It reminded me of Sabre when he got in a mood. 

"Is he a good ruler?" I asked. 

"He's done everything in his power to keep us safe since our return."

"Return?" Spade asked from beside me. 

"You may ask the King once we arrive."

That was that the guard had no intent on giving us anything to work with. The sightseeing was dampened by what was to come from the frying pan to the fire. My blood ran cold and not from the northern breeze. 

"You okay?" Thorax asked. 

"Nope," I answered. 

"Then you're still sane."

Sabre's eyes darted from window to window, roof to roof. We were being watched. That seemed obvious. The question was, by whom and why? Thorax patted me on the shoulder and offered a reassuring smile. It helped a bit, but the shill through my bones was still very present.

"How many?" Spade asked. 

"By my count, eight," Sabre answered.

"I counted nine." 

Blueblood mused. 

"Eleven," Bright added with a laugh. 

"Fourteen, unless you count the group of foals tailing us."

Spade tsk'd. I blinked and looked back down the road. I didn't see any foals. I didn't see anypony at all. There were the viewers across the street and those that looked out from their homes, but none behind us. If I didn't know any better, I'd think the others were out to give me a panic attack. 

"No one was counting the children. That'd be silly." Thorax said, sticking his tongue out at Spade, who lunged to grab it. Which caused Thorax to trip over himself in his retreat. Spade shook his head and offered the fallen changeling a hoof. 

"Dead on your hooves and off, a pity that."

"Yeah, yeah, you got me," Thorax contested.

"Please don't fall behind." The guard yelled over his shoulder. 

"Someone's grumpy," Bright yelled back. 

Sabre jabbed Bright in the side. "Don't antagonize the local militant, please."

"By the way, who's watching us?" I asked. 

"The better question is who isn't," Blueblood whispered back. 

The conversation more or less died there. The castle wasn't a ways off, but with the locals being all allusive and the guard being incredibly unhelpful. We'd hit a dead end until we met with Sombra. I just hoped he was less abrasive than those under his employ. 

When we did reach the castle and its gigantic spire, a spire that seemed to be generating the same shield that consumed the same kingdom. In comparison, the royal suite beneath it was paltry. We knew where the budget for construction went. The castle was connected at the base to the tower and seemed refined, if not dull. The decor was simplistic, and the court garden was regulated to the leaf. If Sombra had any say on these matters, it pained a fascinating picture. At least the outlines of one, I couldn't finalize my thoughts until we met his Royal Highness face to face. 

"They kind of overdid the whole crystal thing, you know. I mean, it's pretty, but after a while, it all just blends together."

I snorted as Bright pointed between the seemingly endless variations of precious stone. Well, precious anywhere else, I doubt the crystal ponies even noticed the rocks anymore. Thought with them shining like gems, I wondered what magic was at play to alter their physiology to even do that and why.

"A little bit, yeah," Spade agreed. "You might say they've been beating a dead horse."

The Gravekeeper seemed ready for a nap. He was the only one not on edge, which was a bit disquieting all by itself. Then again, that same pegasus had gone along with this whole fiasco, more on a whim than anything. It was amusing in a way. He told terrible jokes and kicked butt. He didn't ask for anything and went out of his way to keep morale up. I knew a good pony, a great friend, and one of if not the strangest anyone.

"Stay where you are," our tour guide commanded. We'd made it to the gate, and the guard that had been leading us was joined by several others. They stepped away and whispered amongst each other for a moment before we were ushered forward.

"Please remove all items from your ponyage, and place it to the side."

"Beg pardon?" Blue asked. 

"We will hold all your belongings until your meeting with the King has finished. Cooperation is non-negotiable. The amount of force for said compliance is your decision, however. Belongings to the side, please."

It was with a heavy heart I started unloading my pack and winterwear. The others seeing me comply, slowly followed behind. Sabre and Blue, however, looked very not okay with any of this. Blue just looked pissed beyond words. To watch Sabre remove his namesake from his side was like watching an orphan find out their puppy died.

"This is absurd," Blue said between grinding teeth. 

"Irrelevant, though I fully agree," Sabre replied.

In the end, the guards got what they wanted, our supplies, one shovel, one rapier, a smaller shovel, maps and books, pencils galore, and of course, one set of armor, all Sabre. He was still heartbroken about that, but it was all the same. It was strange. I was so used to seeing Sabre in his armor that the few times I'd seen him without it felt surreal. 

"I miss my shovels," Spade said, giving his crafts pony tools a longing glance."

"Is everyone in our group a materialistic foal? I asked."

"I'm not," Bright waved a hoof in the air. 

"I didn't even have much to take to begin with. I'm glad I didn't wear my armor, though. That thing is super uncomfortable," Thorax seconded.

"Glad to know how you really feel, sir."

The look Sabre gave would melt steel beams. The guards gave each of us a pat down before, one by one, we were ushered further into the hallway. I mean, it made sense, it was invasive, but this was royalty after all. It wasn't as if every ruler on Equis was a nigh immortal psychopath with more power in her left hoof than her entire Night Guard combined. 

That thought sat with me as I pondered how we'd actually escaped and, more so, how we were still alive after the first miracle. If I drudged too far into this rabbit hole, I might never have been seen again. A pity that Stargazer will be missed. 

Once all of us were checked, we made our single-way file out and around what was the cylindrical shell of the castle. As the Crystal Spire was the centerpiece, everything was built in a pentagram with off-shooting halls and chambers. We'd made it half up the clockwise inner sanctum before we came to a stop. There were a pair of grand doors embedded in the spire's side. These were not made of crystal. Instead, the couple was a heavy set of embossed metal. I couldn't say which metal, but with how thick they were, I doubt it mattered. It'd take Nightmare herself to blast those slabs apart, or maybe a huge angry dragon. 

"We have reached the throne room. You will stand and wait until you are otherwise told to move. I will be alerting His highness of our arrival. He knows you are coming, as too why, that will be between our King and you."

That said, the guard did precisely that. He approached the guards guarding the door, gave him a nod, and in he went. The guards guarding the entrance that the other guard not guarding the door entered gave our group a weary look, and I gave myself a mental tongue-twisted headache. 

The second passed in silence. It could have been minutes or hours, and I'd have believed it. I might even have accepted both at the same time. When the doors opened once more, I let out a deep breath. The guard looked shellshocked. I was guessing his introduction didn't go well. 

"Send them in," The shaken guard said as he deftly turned past our group and was gone instantly. So, we walked forward and into the throne room. 

This would be the third throneroom I'd ever been in. It was also the most regal of the three. The Canterlot throneroom was a cluttered mess. The Everfree throne toom was more of a gothic amphitheater. This, however, the Crystal throneroom, was a place to marvel.

Carved into the heart of the spire, the throne itself was a uniquely grafted seating arrangement. A massive inlet of jet surrounded by a prismatic stone inlaid behind it. It was like the throne was slowly consuming all the light around it. It struck a pose amidst all the blues, pinks, purples, and whites. The chandeliers set a mood of sophistication high above us. The room lacked windows but made up for it with walls etched in murals. I would assume of some historical or local significance. The scarlet red carpet that led up to the throne itself was a nice contrast to the black and perhaps a tad chilling presence of the thone or the one sitting on the throne. 

Not an alicorn, nope, no all-powerful god here. The stallion who occupied the seat was, however, no less striking. He might have been more gaze stealing than his throne. A dark grey stallion with a windswept silky black mane stared across the room at us. It was hard to match his look, as his eyes were alight with a swirling mix of red and green. The colors seemed to bleed out into whipping purple mana trails to each side of his face. That would be intimidating enough, but the fact he was in full plate mail armor and had fangs that would give any thestral an inferiority complex didn't help.

He may not have been Nightmare Moon, an alicorn, or actively our enemy, but friendly he was not. Though Crysalis wasn't precisely the most kindly mare I'd met, she was a pleasant royal to be around. So, maybe we'd get lucky. 

"Interesting."

The first words uttered by Sombra were followed by the sound of metal slamming behind us. The King watched us as we slowly approached. He gave little in the way of what might be going through his mind. So began the court of Sombra. 

We came to a stop some ten hooves out where the guards to each side of the throne bay our stall, and so we did. A few seconds of awkward silence later, one of the guards took a single step forward. 

"Bow."

That command did not hit well. In fact, it hit so poorly that I was surprised that Sabre or Blue didn't beat the guard to death right then and there. When we didn't move, the guard lowered his spear, a crystal spear of all things. The head was the shaft was wood of some variety. 

"Sargent."

Sombra looked to the guard in question. You could see the sudden terror in the eye of the Sargent who'd approached us. I shuddered in solidarity. It was a deep-seated fear that carried quite the weight behind it. 

"Your Highness."

"You and Corporal Saffron may leave us, now."

The guards didn't even look back. The two made a hasty retreat and thus left our sextuplet to the hungry gaze of another terrifying royal. 

"Who speaks for you, outsiders?" Sombra asked. 

Sabre made to step forward, but I beat him to the punch. It took two heavy steps forward and looked up to Sombra, who did little more than raise his brow.

"I do, Your Highness."

"Strange."

I blinked. "Your Highness?"

"You would use titles, but no bow, to a king?"

His question was a fair one from his perspective. I almost laughed at the summary of all we'd been through conveyed in something as simple as a bow. 

"We've had some very poor experiences with Royalty, Highness.

"You speak of Luna, correct? The blasted mare has the nerve to turn the world on its head for her own amusement. If I had not looked into the goings on outside my walls. I'd have thought it that fool Discord."

That made two instances of someone speaking on this Luna, the first of someone named Discord. If what Sombra was asserting of Discord's power was a bit unnerving. This was a future problem, a very future problem if I had anything to say about it. 

"I'm afraid I don't know a Luna, Your Highness, just a Nightmare Moon."

That earned a chuckle and a fanged smile, not one of mirth either. "I see. She tossed away her name along with her sister. I must say, I can almost respect that."

That was a red flag as I took a step back. An action that Sombra didn't miss. His smile grew just a bit wider as he leaned forward.   

"So, what is it your band of adventures seeks, asylum, protection, or perhaps something less pitiful? Perhaps you seek my aid, perhaps you sought my kingdom out, perhaps you saw it in a dream?"

It took everything I had just to remain standing. The color drained from my furred flesh, and my heart had nearly stilled. My reaction was answer enough. Sombra's smile looked ready to tear passed his muzzle. 

"You weren't the only one given such dreams. Not some months back, they began, did they not? Mine showed a land drenched in darkness and the sparks of their hope dying. Then a single spark conjured more, and those sparks became kindling. A small fire that left Equestria and made its way to my door. I had thought them some trick by Luna or warning of what was to come. It was not a prediction. It was a promise, was it not, Stargazer?"

My voice died in my throat, my tongue shriveled up, and I kind of wanted to cry. I might very well have, had something bumped my side. Sabre had taken to my side and looked very unhappy, very unhappy indeed. 

"And, that means, Your Majesty?" 

You could hear the restrained anger with every syllable. 

Sombra leaned back and settled back into his throne. "That is simple, little guardian. It means destiny has set upon this stage, all the actors for its newest performance. The question is, whether it is a tragedy or a comedy?"

"It seems to me that you and Stargazer are thusly linked. Two actors in this play, correct?" Blueblood asked. 

"Indeed, little unicorn, our parts are still left to the imagination. Tell me, boy? Did they ever speak to you? In your dreams?"

I took a deep breath and nodded. 

"How many?"

It took a moment for me to find my voice. Sombra's piercing gaze trailed my every movement. "Three. One of them, one of them was you."

"Ha!" Sombra marked into the rafters. A joyless shout of exasperated triumph.

"I don't get it," Bright said flatly. 

"That's because there was no joke," Spade responded. 

"So, tell me, brave adventurers, what was your final goal? What were you promised?"

"We want to stop Nightmare Moon, to bring back the day."

Sombra huffed. He looked back to the chandeliers above. The poise and veracity simply vanished as he gazed into space. The wavering green and purples that swirled about his eyes seemed to lessen as he pondered to himself. 

"Is this some twisted joke, to think they may call upon the Elements, or perhaps not? What would Harmony drop at my door, to what end?"

I'm reasonably sure we weren't supposed to hear any of that. I don't even think Sombra knew he was speaking aloud at all. I didn't really know what any of it meant, but Sombra seemed lost in a daze. 

Then as suddenly as it began, Sombra's attention returned to his guests. He looked to us and us to him. He scowled and shook his head. 

"I know not what the fates have planned, but I see little reason for me or my empire to be involved. This is a matter of the harlots your kind once called Princesses. If Luna has bested her sister, she has won the right to rule."

"But, the sun, the day, you said it was already set in motion, the dreams?"

"Silence!" Sombra snapped his scowl, not a decidedly angry snarl. "Do not lecture me on fate, boy. Why should I help? What matter of it mine, that those who would have stolen my throne as well have been divided my space and time."

"Coward," I said. I looked back up at the fuming King. "A coward is what you are. You'd rather hide in your empire, behind a bubble, than once more be a part of the world. I was sent here because my dreams showed me a spark, a light that shone and lit crystals in their wake. It is clear that light was not you. Perhaps, our dreams were just that, dreams."

"Star!"

Thorax nudged my shoulder. He and Sabre trying to pull me back. I shrugged them off and stomped forward. "But, you know what, even if they were. I'll find another spark."

I looked over my shoulder at my friends. "We'll find another way. Because unlike you, we're not afraid of the dawn."

Sombra was not happy but also speechless. I wondered how long he'd gone without being contested. If I had to guess, far too long. I turned on hoof and marched back toward the throneroom doors. I was seeing red. My blood boiled and howled. This was not the end. I wouldn't let it end here, not after everything. They deserved better, the ponies, the changelings, the crystal ponies, all of them. They all deserved better. 

"You dare!" I heard Sombra yell from behind me. Then the doors to the throne room opened. There in masse were two dozen of Sombra's soldiers. It was then that I realized the weight of my words. 

"Seize them. Then throw them in the dungeons. Now!"

Then a pair of those ordered guards grabbed me. I could hear the others shouting behind me. "My friends deserve better, too."