Chapter Two
Princess of Darkness
[Crystal Castle]
(Captain’s Private Room)
The Crystal Castle, home to King Sombra and the citizens who either serve as his maids or butlers, or who are part of his royal guards, either by choice or against their will via mind-controlling magic. It is here that Nanako is currently following the earth pony and pegasus down the hallway of the castle. From what she could tell while floating down the hallway, the place was in ruin. Pieces of the wall had either cracks or giant holes in them, cloth that was hanging on the wall or ceiling was torn up or rotted away due to time, dried up blood spots, and maids with tired and broken expressions on their faces as they tried to clean up the place or were forced to do so due to magic influence.
“So the book was right, the king has gone mad and is forcing them to work until they die.” Nanako thought before seeing a mare off to the said fall to the ground. “I shudder to think what would happen if the others try to recruit this madman…or pony in this case.” It was when she noticed the earth pony and pegasus stopping in front of a red color crystal door as Amber and the pegasus mare entered the room. Nanako quickly followed them inside just as the door was about to close. Once inside, she noticed that the room was just as bad as it was in the hallway, safe for the bed for the most part. It was when the captain removed her helmet to reveal a pale copper-colored mare with a black and dark brown red mane and two scar marks trailing down her right red eye.
“I take it, you know why I brought you here, Amber?” The captain asked as Amber removed her helmet to reveal an orange-cream-colored mare with a light orange and brown mane. It would be noticed that her tail resembled that of a fox’s tail, though instead of one tail, there were three.
“I take it tonight’s the night for the rebellion?” Amber asked as the pegasus nodded. “Are you sure about this? I mean, I’m all for somepony to take down King Sombra, but you know there’s no way normal ponies like us can defeat him.”
“It’s not like we have much of a choice in the matter. Look at the state everypony is in. For years we have been under that mad pony’s hoof, suffering unimaginable humiliation, watching loved ones die left and right because he accuses them of being traitors or threats. How long are we going to wait for the princesses to come and save us?”
“I know, but it would be suicidal if we attacked him without a means to stop him. Every unicorn in the kingdom is either under Sombra’s control or has magic-canceling rings on their horns, we can’t fly or dig our way out due to the barrier around the Kingdom, and everypony can’t fight because they lost the will to fight.” Amber said before taking a seat on the floor.
“I know, but we can’t go on for another generation like this. We need to put an end to this. Even if we die in the process. I can’t handle having to kill another little kid or their family just because of some stupid reason from the king.”
“Well unless we get some kind of miracle or something from who knows where, then we’re up a creek without a paddle in this rebellion of ours…plus I don’t think we’ll be able to do much with just three ponies.”
“Four if you count Princess Umbra in the dungeon. But you’re not wrong about that…if only there was a way for us to change the tide to where we can come out on top.” Rusty said before hearing a voice speak up within the room they were in.
“Um, excuse me? But if you’re having some kind of problem, then maybe I can help in that department?” Nanako asked as Amber and Rusty quickly took up a defensive stance and scanned the room to see where the voice was coming from.
“Crap, we’ve been found out! I didn’t think Sombra would send one of his guards to spy on us!” Rusty said as Amber quickly moved over to her with the sword she had picked up in her mouth.
“I knew this day would come, I just didn’t think it would be now,” Amber said while looking around the room as well. It was only when Nanako made herself visible near the door to Rusty’s room was when they both stared at her with widened eyes due to being in shock from what they were seeing.
“Hello, weird but adorable-looking ponies of this planet. I hope I didn’t startle you or anything…but I suppose me speaking while I was invisible and you two seeing me now might cause some…mental problems?”
“...Am I the only one seeing this?” Amber asked while looking over at Rusty who was looking at Nanako with a disgusted expression on her face.
“You’re not the only one…just what in Equestria is it?” Rusty asked as the alien girl deadpans.
“Rude, but I suppose that’s understandable given your…no offense. Low intelligence to the unknown.” Nanako said before noticing the glares coming from the two ponies as she defensively raised her hands. “I said no offense, that counts towards something…right?”
“Explain yourself, creature. Who are you and how did you make it into the castle? There should be guards watching over the entrance of this place.”
“Well to answer your first question, my name is Nanako Otsutsuki of the Otsutsuki Clan. As for how I got into the castle…you do know there’s like a giant hole near the entrance of the castle, right?” She asked as the two mares looked at each other for a moment before looking back at Nanako.
“Alright…Nanako…are you in league with King Sombra? Because if you are, then we’re going to have to kill you so you won’t report to him about our rebellion.” Rusty asked as she took a step forward.
“Whoa, whoa, easy! I’m not with that mad king that you serve. I just got teleported here by a book I found in the palace of the Otsutsuki Clan’s library!” She said before quickly reaching into a small dimensional door to pull the worn-out book. The pegasus stared at the book for a moment before slowly walking up to it. She examined it for a moment before her eyes widened in shock upon seeing the book.
“....How in the pits of Tartarus did you get this book?”
“You know what that is, captain?” Amber asked as the pegasus snatched the book from Nanako, only for it to appear back in the girl’s hands.
“That book belongs to Princess Amore.” She answered which took Amber by surprise. “A long time ago, during the first generation. King Sombra wanted everything that belonged to the previous ruler burned to ashes. Rumor has it that there was one book left behind by the princess that would appear from time to time. So King Sombra made it a decree to burn the book upon sight…And you’re telling me that the book brought you here to this place?”
“Pretty much. I mean I thought it was just a random storytelling book that someone left behind by accident. But the moment my name came up in the book, that’s when I ended up being brought here against my will. The last thing that was said was that all would be explained once I went into the castle. So I decided to follow after you two after the pony with the fox tails picked up my sword…Speaking of, I would like to have it back thank you?”
“Oh, okay,” Amber said as she was about to hand over the weapon to her, only for a wing from Rusty to stop her from doing so.
“Not that I don’t trust you…okay scratch that, I don’t trust. What makes you believe that you’re not in league with King Sombra? For all we know, this might just be a trap.”
“Was kind of hoping this would be a bit easy, but I suppose it’s understandable given what I saw and mostly read.” Nanako thought before focusing on Rusty. “Okay, what would I need to do to gain your trust?”
“...You can do two things,” Rusty said, which caused Nanako to raise an eyebrow at her. “If you can convince the princess in the dungeon to aid us in our rebellion, then I’ll be willing to trust you. If she refuses, then you’ll have to kill our king.” She said which took Amber by surprise.
“Are you crazy!? This girl doesn’t even look like she could last long in a fight, let alone with somepony like King Sombra!”
“Okay, I take offense to that. Ever heard of the phrase, "Never judge a book by its cover?”
“Given how you look like a pale-ass demon from Tartarus. I believe we have every right to judge.” She answered, which caused Nanako to deadpan the pegasus. “Those are your only options. Take it or leave it.”
“...Fine. I suppose I could do something about this problem. Do any of you know where they’re keeping the princess?”
“Just head down the hallway, make a left, and you’ll see a guard blocking a blood-covered door. Shouldn’t be that hard to find.”
“Alright, fine. Can I please have my weapon back?” Nanako asked as Rusty lowered her wing for the earth pony to hand the weapon over to her. “Thank you.”
“If you die, then I’m taking it back,” Rusty said, which caused the girl to stare at her for a moment before walking over to the door.
“Do keep in mind that if I do survive, then I’ll be sure to come back and smash your face in.” She said before leaving the room.
“Aren’t you being a bit rude to her? I mean, she seems like a nice pony…or creature?” Amber asked which caused Rusty to roll her eyes.
“Get real. Do you think that thing is on our side? This could be one of King Sombra’s traps just to get us killed. Having her do those impossible tasks will get rid of her and we can focus on our plan on taking the king’s head.”
[Crystal Empire, Dungeon]
Originally, the Crystal Empire never had a dungeon during the early years of Sombra’s rule. Mainly because of killing ponies that he assumed were spies or trying to take over the throne. But halfway through the five-hundred-year mark, it was decided that a dungeon would be made to house either his victims for pleasure, food, or for torture purposes. The door to the dungeons opens up as the smell of rotting flesh, waste, and other unmentioned fills the girl’s nose causing her to recoil back and gag.
“Dear god, this place is almost as bad as that dimension I went into by accident!” Nanako said while trying to regain her composure. “And the princess is in a place like this?” She asked before looking over at the knocked-out guard. “Right, knock him out the moment he turns his back…If it weren’t for the fact that these creatures are adorable looking, I would’ve left this place when I had the chance…Speaking of.” She looked over to the side of herself as Yomotsu Hirasaka was activated. The dimensional hole she made appeared as she tried to enter through it, but felt herself recoil backward due to some kind of unknown force pushing her back. An annoyed expression appeared on her face before making the dimensional hole disappear and then reappear again. Only this time the portal led to what she would call a pocket dimension where she would store certain items within it. She soon reached inside it to pull out a futuristic-looking ax that was the length of her body as she examined it.
“Hm…Seems that I can’t leave this place, but I can still use Yomotsu Hirasaka to open up my pocket dimension to retrieve stuff…possibly hide inside it as well.” She said before placing the scientific ninja tool on the magnetic holster on her back. “Suppose I’ll have to figure out more about this place after killing the King.” With a sigh, the alien girl was about to step into the dungeon, only to pause and quickly turn around with her finger extended forward. The moment she did that, her finger would be pointed at the pony named Amber who yelped in surprise from her nose being booped upon by Nanako.
“Um…h-hi?” She said while scrunching her nose a bit before rubbing it.
“...I was wondering who was tailing behind me, just wasn’t expecting to be you…Amber, right?” Nanako asked as the earth pony nodded. “Did your captain order you to follow me?”
“No…I kind of lied to her and decided to follow after you. Just to make sure you weren’t hurt or anything.”
“That’s…unexpected. I figure you wouldn’t be that trusting towards someone like me.”
“Well, you seem like a nice creature…plus I have a feeling that you might need some help figuring out where Princess Umbra is located in the dungeon.”
“...Fair enough, she never did tell me what the pony looked like.” She said as Amber nodded.
“Yeah, so you’ll need my assistance in this mission,” Amber said before taking the lead and motioning for her to follow.
“Alright, suppose that’s fair as well.” She said before following Amber. “If you don’t mind me asking, why is the princess in a place like this?”
“Well given the past one thousand years of her failed attempts to overthrow the king, King Sombra had enough and sentenced her to the dungeon for the rest of her life. Which given how she’s been corrupted by King Sombra, it would be forever.”
“And keeping her in a place like this would make it better?”
“The king wanted her to understand the consequences of her actions. It doesn’t help that she is in a cell with the remains of those who stood by her side.”
“So rubbing salt in the wounds of her failure. And I thought Hephaistos' treatments of his twisted experimentations were bad. Was he always evil, cruel, and mad with power?”
“From what I could find in the library before it was burned down for heat during the cold nights. King Sombra used to be a kind and noble king, but something happened to him that caused him to change. I don’t know what it was, but whatever happened pretty much made him what he is now.”
“Does the princess know about the reasoning behind his descent into madness?”
“Not even she knows what caused it, and she’s the oldest mare in the kingdom.”
“Wonderful, guess my curiosity about this kingdom’s history is going to be a pain to read. God, this place is making me want to throw up my lunch.”
“Be lucky you’re not the pony that has to clean this place up without some kind of protection. At best the last pony that was ordered to clean this place up ended up dead within three days. Even the guards have to hold their breath when they patrol this place and they only do it once a week.”
“Isn’t there a way to escape this place? Surely it’s not sealed off from the outside world…is it?”
“There were some that were able to escape…but they didn’t last long seeing how they couldn’t survive long in the harsh cold of the empire. I mean given what you’re seeing so far with the dungeon, it should be obvious as to the state of how us ponies are in, right?”
“Fair enough.” She said before hearing the sounds of footsteps heading their way. “Seems like we have some company heading our way.”
“We need to hide,” Amber said as she quickly pushed Nanako over into an empty cell. The moment they entered the cell, the duo noticed two bulky earth ponies making their way down the hallway, only to stop near the cell they were hiding in.
“Seriously, why are we the ones on guard duty Flan Berry? Especially in a place like this?” The earth pony asked. “I mean, it's like we’re given this duty just because he enjoys seeing us suffer.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case, Flan Berry,” StarBurst said as he placed a hand on Flan's shoulder. “But I think watching over the princess is better than cleaning this place.”
“Fair point. Though I feel bad that Umbra is forced to be in a place like this.”
“It’s either this place or having her head cut off by her father. Who wouldn’t take the life in prison thing over having your head mounted over a fireplace?” He said, which caused Starburst to shiver at the thought of it. “I hate to find out what will happen to us if he finds out we’ve been sneaking her food during our shift.”
“So long as we use the magic storage bags, then we’ll keep our heads on our bodies,” Flan said before walking down the hallway of the dungeon. “Come on, we better check the other prisoners to make sure they’re in their cells.”
“What other prisoners? It’s just Umbra down here.” StarBurst said before following Flan.
“It’s King Sombra’s orders. We do what he orders otherwise he’ll kill us.” As the two stallions left, Amber and Nanako popped their heads from within the cell as they watched them move down the hallway. Once they were out of sight, they quickly moved from out of the cell and up the hallway where the guards were coming from.
“Didn’t think King Sombra would get Flan Berry and StarBurst to guard Umbra,” Amber said before noticing Nanako’s bewildered facial expression. “What?”
“Flan Berry and StarBurst…what kind of names are those?”
“Oh, and your name isn’t weird?” Amber asked as Nanako was about to reply, only for the earth pony to stop her. “And keep in mind, we’re in a pony society not….whatever it is you’re from.”
“...Alright, fair point…Though you would think their parents would give them a better name.”
“Not to sound rude, but how is your name any better than their name?”
“Well, technically my name is royalty so…I guess that makes it better?”
“So…you’re a princess…from….where are you from anyway?”
“Well…We don’t have a name for the planet that my clan lives on. But for future references, you can say that I’m a Celestial Being from another dimension.”
“So you’re an alien princess from another dimension?”
“I guess? I never really paid much attention to that kind of stuff. I was mostly busy researching and enjoying the finer things in life.”
“...You’re weird.”
“How am I weird?”
“Well you’re royalty, right? So how can you have a conversation with somepony that isn’t? Wouldn’t you rather be with somepony that’s rich or something?” Amber asked, which caused Nanako to shrug.
“Just because I have a fancy title doesn’t mean I have to be with other rich people…or ponies in this case.
“Doesn't matter to me if you’re rich or poor, nor should it matter. You would have to be stuck up or snobbish to think you’re better than anyone just because you’re royalty.” She said before looking around the area they were in. Now, do you know where this princess is being held?”
“Up ahead. Fair warning, she might not be that much in the mood for talking…pretty sure she will try and kill you.”
“Wouldn’t be surprised, but I’m sure my skills of persuading can be of use.” She said before following Amber as she led her to the cell Umbra was being held in. The moment they were in front of the cell, a dark mist could be seen escaping as a chill ran down the unicorn’s spine. “By the dark mist of magic seeping out of this cell, I can only assume this is where your princess is being held in?”
“Yes…she does this as a means to not let anypony see her. I don’t blame her given how some of them do have a grudge against her for leading their friends and families to their deaths.”
“Well, now we’re going to need her assistance in this,” Nanako said before taking a few steps toward the cell. The moment she did that, the dark unicorn slammed herself into the bars of the cell as a means to scare them. While it works on Amber as she stumbles backward, the celestial being is not phased by Umbra’s attempt at scaring. The dark unicorn smirked at Amber’s reaction but was taken by surprise by Ruby’s appearance.
“....What in the name of Equestria is this thing?”
“I should be asking you the same thing,” Nanako said as she eyed the former princess up and down at her malnourished body. “Dear god, you look like a walking corpse. I would’ve almost mistaken you as a walking undead had Amber not informed me about who you are.”
“...You, earth pony. Explain what this creature is and how it can speak our language.” Umbra ordered as Amber pulled herself up.
“This…creature as you call her, is named Princess Nanako Otsutsuki of the Otsutsuki Clan…. She didn’t go into that much detail about it, but she’s here to help.”
“...You’re joking, right? Do you honestly think that this small creature can kill my father? Either you’ve gone insane, or you’re just mocking me due to my failure.”
“I assure you that we’re not here to mock you, and what I’m saying isn’t a joke,” Nanako said before placing a hand on the bars of the cell. The moment she did that, the bars crumbled into dust causing Umbra to be taken by surprise from this. “If I’m being honest, my options were to either see if you’re willing to help us or to fight the king by myself. And seeing how I prefer not to fight a battle without some kind of information about who I’m dealing with, you’re the best option I have.”
“....Earth pony, just where in the name of the crown did you find this…creature?” Umbra asked as she shrugged.
“I guess you could say she’s an alien from another world?” Amber said, which caused a moment of silence to hang in the air for a good few seconds before the dark unicorn spoke.
“...Faust, we’re scraping at the bottom of the barrel aren’t we?”
“Given how we have a mad king, it pretty much speaks for itself on how desperate we are.”
“Of course,” Umbra said before looking over at Nanako. “Alright princess from another world. Why should I help you in killing my father? Judging from the way you look, you don’t look capable of holding your own in a fight.”
“Well I don’t want to toot my own horn, but I think I can manage my own against him…I think?”
“You think or you know?”
“Kind of hard to know if I haven’t fought him before. Hence why I came here to get you out and for information.”
“What makes you think I will help you? While I am impressed you can make the bars to my cell shatter seeing they were designed to keep me from using my magic, you’re not even confident in killing Sombra. It would be best that we just gather whatever we can gather and leave this awful place.”
“And you’re not worried about your subjects?”
“Of course I am, but what good am I to them if I’m reduced to this?” She said while presenting her body to the celestial being. From what she could tell, she could see that she was malnourished and had shackles around her hooves and neck. “Were it not for Flan Berry and StarBurst sneaking food into my cell for me to eat, I might be looking much worse than what I look like now.”
“Hm, you make a valid point, but you can still be of help. Knowledge wise.” Nanako said which caused Umbra and Amber to raise an eyebrow at her. “You may not be up to fight due to your condition, but you can provide me with some much-needed information on how your father fights. With that and my abilities, fighting against him shouldn’t be that much of a problem given my age and size.”
“...You must be either overconfident or stupid if you think you can win. You’re just a child…a short child to be accurate.” She said, which caused Nanako to sigh.
“Hm, perhaps we should talk about this in the confines of the captain’s room. But first, let me take care of those shackles so you don't end up handing in mid-air when I teleport us out of here.” Nanako said before clapping her hands together. Within a matter of seconds, she would pull her hands away as Umbra would notice a small clear white cube with a small glowing ball of light inside it. "Particle style: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!" She said before making the cube split up into five smaller cubes and latch themselves onto the chains of the shackles. The moment they did, the chains quickly disintegrated into nothingness as Umbra moved her now-freed limbs.
"What kind of magic is that!?" Umbra asked as she noticed Nanako motioning for Amber to walk over to them. The moment the mare was close to her, the two felt the floor below them give out as they all fell through it. Within a matter of seconds, they would appear in the middle of the pegasus knight’s room as Umbra and Amber flopped face-first onto the bed, while Nana landed onto the floor back first as she let out a small grunt.
“What the hell!?” Rusty yelled as she saw the trio fall from the portal that the celestial made before it vanished.
“There we go, though the landing could’ve been better on my end.”
Umbra and Amber slowly pull themselves up from the bed as they look around to see what Nanako means by that. To their surprise, they were inside the captain’s quarters given how the pegasus was still in the room. The duo soon locked eyes onto Nanako who was pulling herself up as Umbra spoke.
“Just what are you, creature? Because what you just performed was high-level magic that not even I could do.” She asked before noticing the celestial being cracking her back before speaking.
“As Amber said, my name is Nanako Otsutsuki, a scholar of the Otsutsuki Clan, and a princess from what Amber informed me. Why am I here? Well given what the book said, I’m here to save you ponies from your mad king.” She said before bowing down to Umbra and Amber.
“...What have I gotten myself into?”