In the grand halls of Canterlot Castle, Celestia and Luna waited for any kind of sign that there was success in bringing the Crystal Empire back to its former glory. It had been a long time since they had heard anything from Twilight or any of the others, and it had them both worried. They were both aware that Cadence had been using her magic to keep the city safe, but even she had her limits. They weren't sure how it could be done, but they knew if anyone could, it would be Twilight and her friends.
"Sister?" Luna said, trying to get the attention of Celestia as she stared idly out of the window. Celestia was broken from her trance, and looked to her sister. The look she had was that of concern and uncertainty. "I'm worried Celestia. We haven't heard anything about the city in some time. And I can not escape this feeling of dread that's starting to well up inside of me."
"Do not worry Luna." Celestia told her, draping one of her wings over her sisters back. "I have faith in my student, as well as her friends. I didn't send them merely to test them, but because I knew that of all ponies they would be able to pull this off." She finished by giving Luna a smile of confidence. Luna's expression softened, her worries put at ease from her sisters words. She knew that she should have had more confidence in them, but it was still an unsettling prospect.
As Celestia looked down at her younger sister, she did her best to hold back the need to frown. Where as she did have full confidence in her student's abilities, there was still that pang of doubt that resided inside her. It was the same doubt that was in her every time she sent her to do something that may have been far over Twilight's head. Whether it be the time she sent her to make friends, or to stop a power that even she wasn't able to defeat. For Celestia, nothing was ever certain in her life anymore.
But she had to hold fast to her beliefs that they would return victorious. Not just for her sister and her own sake, but for the sake of every citizen in the kingdom. If she didn't have faith now, how could anyone be expected to. I know that you can do this Twilight. Celestia thought to herself, You've saved us so many times before, and you can do it again.
Suddenly, the doors to the hall burst open, pulling the two princess's out of their shared moment of hope. They both looked to the wide open doors, and caught sight of the guard who had made his way in. He was panting heavily, and his face was full of shock and terror. From looking at him, you'd think he'd just had a run in with a ghost.
"Your Highness!" he shouted out, galloping to the two princess's. When he had reached them, he didn't even bother to give them the courtesy of bowing to them. The princess's knew that all guards were instilled with the customs and courtesies that had been passed down for generations, and would never disobey them under any normal circumstance. The fact that he blatantly ignored it and looked horrified beyond all recognition said one thing to the both of them: Something was horribly wrong.
"Your Highness!" he repeated again, trying to regain some of his composure. "It's gone! It's gone again!"
"What?" was all that came out of Celestia's mouth. The look of concern for the guard was quickly replaced with that of horrendous shock. In the back of her mind, Celestia already knew what the guard meant, but she couldn't help but ask. "What do you mean? What's gone?"
"The city your highness, the city is gone once more!" the guard spat, nearly tripping over his own words in his shortness of breath. Celestia's face fell in shear disbelief, her fears had been confirmed.
"... No, no that can't be true." Luna said, he voice devoid of any kind of hope. "There must be some sort of mistake. They couldn't have failed."
As much as Celestia wanted to believe her sister, in the pit of her heart she knew that what the guard said was true. Not only had the holders of the elements of harmony failed to get the city back to what it was, but Sombra had the city back under his control. As much as she wanted to explore the possibilities of things that might have happened, she knew that there was no use in trying to fool herself into it.
"Twilight..." Celestia said to herself, looking back to the window that faced where the city once was. "... I should never have sent you. I shouldn't have put all of you in that danger." Celestia took a long pause as she slowly walked over to the window, her face lacking any kind of emotion. All she could do was stare, knowing there was no way she could do anything about it. "It's my fault."
Luna came to her side, trying to think of a way to comfort to her sister. But even with them having grown so much closer in the time since her return, Luna still had very little to go on with her sisters feelings. Usually she was the one to always seem strong and confident, but now just looked like she was ready to fall to tears. Unable to think of anything else to do, Luna simply leaned against her sister, trying to offer her any kind of support in her time of distress, but at the same time knew it was all in vain.
Her student had finally met an opponent that she couldn't handle.
The last hole at the top of the dome like structure of shadows was filled, closing off all contact with the outside world. Many of the citizens were still trying in vain to see if they could get past the shadow barrier, but it proved to be completely useless. To the few that knew it wouldn't matter what they did, all they could do was look up and stare. The cruel ruler looking down on them with a smug smile as he watched them run like chickens with their heads cut off.
"They are in true need of a ruler." Sombra thought aloud, "Look at them, running around with no sense of direction. Misguidedly trying to escape the inevitable. So much like infants." At the thought of his last word, Sombra took a pause. He thought for a brief moment, thinking that he had forgotten something... something important. "Oh, of course." he said, realizing what he was thinking of. He turned back around to face the group that was still with him on the balcony. They were all looking up, as if not believing what was happening. He took a moment to clear his throat, trying to get their attention.
"Now then children," he said, a sort of politeness still in his voice, "As I was saying before, you have my gratitude for all of the things you've done for me. And in return, I shall reward you all." The group had taken their attention away from the black magic, and were completely focused on what Sombra had to say. Once again, his polite demeanor was confusing them. To many of them it seemed like simple mockery, but the idea that he was being serious played through a few of their minds.
Sombra looked through the group, taking note of all their faces. How all of them seemed far more frightened now then they were just a few moments ago. That's when he recalled something. There were more of them than just the six that stood in front of him. He knew one of them was on the ground below, but had trouble remembering where the other was. He remembered that one of them went to the top of his tower to try and get the heart, but he had stopped her when the alarmed sounded. He mentally slapped himself for not realizing right away that she was still in the tower.
"Forgive me," he said to the group, "It appears that we are short two. I wish for all of you to be present for this, so give me but a few moments." With that his horn came to life again, and everyone in the group flinched from the sight. Sombra knew where the first was located, and also knew that it would be much easier to bring to her there than the other.
Below, while many of the other ponies were busy trying to either hide or run, Cadence remained passed out on the ground. So distracted by their own worries, they didn't notice that Cadence was being engulfed by an aura of magic. Slowly her limp body began to rise from the ground, until she was completely levitated into the air. Her body continued to rise, making its way onto the balcony.
When she had finally made it all the way to the top, Sombra simply levitated her over to her friends. Shining Armor was the first by her side, He lifted her in his arms, fear greater than anything he felt in his life gripping his heart. He shook her slightly, trying to get any form of response out of her still body. Shining Armors eyes began to water, unable to forgive himself for letting all that happen to her. When they were married, he promised to protect her no matter what, and he had failed. He willing put her in harms way, knowing that she was too weak to defend herself. What kind of husband was he?
"Poor, deluded filly." he heard the demonic voice of the king say, "Thinking that she stood a chance. I wonder, what drove her to do something so foolish?“ Shining Armor looked up at the tyrant, noticing the smug half smile on his face. Just looking at the source of his wife's pain lit a fire in his chest. His brow furrowed and he gritted his teeth, a deep sense of hatred that he never had reason to feel before now overtaking him. The rage that was welling up inside of him was hotter than even ten of Celestia's suns.
"Now for the last." Sombra said, his horn coming back to life.
From the top of the tower, Twilight had no idea what had happened prior to Spike making his way out of the tower. The dark crystals had completely sealed her in, closing off all sight to the outside world. It was obvious that the heart had not been returned, but that didn't mean she had to abandon all hope. They had pulled through many times before in far worse conditions. Yes, she just had to be patient. She knew Spike wouldn't let them down. Where as he may have screwed things up from time to time, he always pulled through for them.
As Twilight tried everything in her power to keep her spirits up, she felt the ground beneath begin to quake. At first it filled her with hope. She thought that maybe it was the power of the crystal heart restoring the empire. Maybe Spike and the others had come through after all. But her hope was soon replaced with surprise as the floor she stood on dropped out from under her.
As her stomach did a cartwheel from the sudden drop, Twilight let out a loud scream as she continued to descend. The tunnel that she was now riding on almost seemed to go at a complete ninety degree drop and didn't appear to be ending any time soon. She took thanks in the fact that the tunnel was starting to angle out a bit. She continued downward, feeling like it was taking an eternity for her to reach the end. Finally, light was in her sight. She had no idea where this tunnel had taken her, but quite frankly she didn't care. So long as she was out, it didn't matter where she ended up.
As she rocketed out of the tunnel, Twilight found that where she did wind up was not the most favorable of areas. She was now flying through the air, no landing in sight except for the ground several hundred feet below. She let out another loud scream, flailing he limbs around as she looked for something to get hold of. She darted her head around trying to find something to break her fall, but came up with nothing. She looked down once more, noticing how close she was to the ground. She gasped as she covered her eyes, not wishing to look.
She waited to make impact with the ground, feeling the wind rush past her face. But just as it was happening, Twilight suddenly felt herself stop, almost as if something had caught her. She opened her eyes, the ground only inches from her face. Needless to say, it was far more than just a close call. She took a few very deep breaths, trying to get her heart to settle down a bit. That's when she felt herself being risen. At first she thought she was imagining things. That it was just the shock getting to her. Until she put her hoof in front of her face, noticing the aura that was around her.
Twilight gave out a startled gasp, wondering who it was that had caught her. The aura was not that of any of her friends, or even her brother. This was some one else. But the better question was, where was she being taken to now? She looked on as she continued her accent, finally seeing where she was headed. It was the balcony of the palace that she was in. The one that her friends were on.
Twilight thought for a moment that maybe everything was alright. Maybe one of the crystal ponies was up there helping her up to the balcony. For a moment the spark of hope was rekindled inside of her. Only to be extinguished when she came face to face with who it was that had her in his grasp.
When she first got to the same level as the balcony, she was met with only a set of eyes. Upon first sight, the color had her half convinced that it was Rainbow Dash, until she looked closer. Not only was the color much darker than her friends rose colored ones, but these were far more sinister. The eyes she looked into were not at all kind or caring by any stretch of the imagination. The evil held within those eyes were far greater than any villain she had faced before.
"No." Twilight whispered in shock, "No... it can't be." It was all that she could manage to force out before her voice was lost in her throat from her fear. The terror that she had been trying to prevent had come to life. Not only had she failed her mentors test, but now she had unleashed a horrible fate upon the ponies of the city.
"So, you're the one who made it to the top the tower?" Sombra questioned her, bringing her up to the balcony floor and setting her down in front of him. "It must have been quite a trip up all those stairs. I imagine you're thoroughly exhausted my dear." As Sombra spoke, Twilight found herself frozen. Unable to give any form of response, all she did was let her jaw drop slightly.
"Forgive me for my sudden intervention with heart. Had I known you were going to send your little dragon friend to give it to me, I would have made it all the easier for him." Sombra's horn lit up again, this time casting it's glow around the dragon still clinging desperately to his back. With a little effort on his own part, Sombra managed to get him off.
Spike floated in the air for a few moments, his eyes still firmly clenched shut. He felt his feet touch the ground, the cold stone a stark contrast to the cape that Sombra had on his back. He finally forced his eyes open, and a gasp of shock escaped his mouth.
Twilight was sitting in front of the king and himself, the look that she had on her face was just unbearable for the little dragon to look at. Her eyes wide in both terror and shock, and her mouth hanging open in the same manner. Spike had been through a lot in his time with Twilight, but he would have preferred any of their arguments or her out bursts over what he saw now. And the worst part? It was all his fault.
"I... I-I" Spike stammered, trying to find his voice again. "I-I'm sorry."
"Why are you apologizing, little dragon?" Sombra asked, "You've done nothing wrong. You restored power to where it truly belongs. You should be proud of yourself." He then looked back at the rest of the group. "You should all be proud of yourselves." His gaze then drifted down to Twilight, her look unchanged. "Especially you. Without you, none of this would be possible."
Shining Armor had done everything in his power to keep himself under control, but he had reached his limit with how much he could take. Not only had that 'thing' nearly killed his wife, but now he was openly mocking his sister in front of everyone. The rational part of his mind that told him he didn't have the power to do anything was being pushed aside by his rage. At that moment he didn't care if his horn was not working, or if the tyrant king was far more powerful than any pony he had faced before. His emotions had finally gotten the better of him.
"I'll kill you!" Shining Armor shouted, charging at the distracted king. Sombra's eyes shifted to look at the enraged stallion, loosing his smile as he got closer. Sombra simply rolled his eyes as the stallion got closer, his horn again coming back to life. Just as Shining Armor was only a few feet away from ramming his horn into the kings throat, he was stopped. A burst of energy came from Sombra's horn, sending Shining Armor flying backwards into the wall.
It wasn't the first time that Shining Armor had been hit, but that was something else. It felt like he had been hit in the face with a baseball bat being swung by hurricane. How he had been able to avoid being rendered unconscious was beyond him, but he was thankful. He rose shakily to his hooves, his nose now a fountain of blood. He tried to turn himself back to the king, but was cut off when he felt a strong grip wrap around his throat.
He reached around his throat, trying to pull what ever it was off of him, only to have his hooves come in contact with nothing. He was then forcibly lifted into the air, and brought directly to the king's face. Sombra was now sporting a very angered look, almost as if ready for blood if it came to it. As Shining Armor looked into the kings eyes, the chagrin was far more than evident. Shining Armor knew he was try to intimidate him, but he was so fueled by his own spite that there was no room for anything else in his mind.
"You had better listen to me boy." Sombra told the angered stallion still struggling against his hold. He tightened the magic grip around the unicorns throat, getting him to stop struggling and pay attention to him. "I'm only going to say this once. You have my gratitude, but nothing more. And don't think you can exploit this as a weakness. Your wife is already on lesser terms then the rest of you, and you haven't made your case any better."
"H-H... How did-" Shining Armor tried to choke out.
"Do you mean to say you think I'm stupid?" he asked, obvious venom laced in his tone. "Where as I find that insulting, I'll leave it alone. Yes, I knew she was your wife. You made it painfully obvious before. And if you think what I did to her before was bad, well..." he took a pause than looked over to the still unresponsive mare, "Let's just say that wasn't even a taste of what I can really do. So you'd be wise to keep your head down. If not for your own sake, then maybe hers."
In an instant, Shining Armor's anger was snuffed out. He still had every intent of making the horrid ruler pay for everything he put his family through, but now knew that he had no possible way to do it. His horn was useless with the black crystal still attached to it, and it was clear that this unicorn was not about to give him any chance of an even fight. For the time being, he had to relent. It was the only way that he could be sure his wife and sister would stay alive long enough for him to actually be able to do something about it.
Sombra watched as the male finally stopped his useless struggle, but was still bearing his teeth at him. True, it wasn't complete submission as he wanted, but it would do for the time being. Regaining his confident smile, Sombra turned his sights back to the rest of group.
"Now then," he said to the mares, "I said I would reward you all, so let's go." Still holding the crystal heart in his hoof and not losing his grasp around Shining Armors throat, he proceeded to take the entire group up with his magic. Several of them gave out disapproving sounds, all jumbled and incoherent to the kings ears. The Lavender Unicorn was not making any attempt at all to try and stop him. She seemed to be off in her own little world, completely lost to anything that was happening outside of her own mind.
Sombra began to make his way inside the palace, but stopped when he noticed the young dragon wasn't with him anymore. Ignoring the seemingly endless babbling coming from the mares in his magic, Sombra turned around and saw that the dragon had not moved from his spot at all. Spike simply stood there, his eyes fixed on the drops of blood on the balcony floor that fell from Shining Armors nose earlier.
"Hey." Spike heard Sombra's impatient tone, causing his head to snap up to look at him. "Let's go." he told him, waiting for him to move. Spike knew his options were limited. If he tried to get away, what would that accomplish? All it would likely do is result in his friends getting into a worse situation, or even killed. Even if his friends weren't a factor, where would he go? The city was cut off from the outside. He would just have to go with it for now.
Sombra kept his eyes on the dragon as he slowly made his way over to him. When he finally got to his side, Sombra continued to make his way into the castle. As they started making the long trek, Sombra found himself getting increasingly annoyed by the endless empty threats that the group kept spouting out at him. The only ones who kept quiet were the unconscious mares, the stallion who he had in a strangling grip, and the lavender unicorn who was just numb to the world. Sombra gritted his teeth, trying to stay calm. I'll only have to deal with this once. he thought to himself, not wanting his annoyance to get the better of him.
"Ah, here we are." Sombra said, stopping in front of a large metal door with several unknown pattern carved into it. The group stopped their annoying chatter and looked at what the king was speaking of. After placing the crystal heart on a near by pedestal, Sombra touched a certain part of the wall, almost like a hidden button. Upon contact with his hoof, a series of lights came to life, lighting up the door. Once the light pattern was fully complete in the doors etching, it opened, revealing a long stairway leading further down. Once the group saw the stairs, their chattering began once more, testing Sombra's patience once again.
As they got to the bottom of the stairs relatively quickly, it became evident to the group that the so called reward that Sombra spoke of was not going to be anything good. "Well, here we are." Sombra said as he stopped at the bottom of the stair case. All at once, the room lit up, as if hearing his voice. "Welcome to your quarters."
The room was nothing more than a small dungeon. The cold stone that made up most of the room was as black as Sombra's heart. Ten cells were inside, five on either side. All the cell doors were open, waiting for the next occupant to be placed inside. The bars of the cells were made of the same strange metal that made the door leading to the room. The room itself seemed dreary and was about as welcoming as pit filled with crocodiles. Sombra slowly trotted his way down the small hall of the dungeon until he got to the end, an open cell on either side of him.
"You're first." Sombra said, his eyes going to Shining Armor. With out any other warning, Shining Armor was forcibly thrown into the cell, hitting the wall at the back. Sombra carefully closed the door to the cell, being far more gentle with it than he was with the stallion. Next was the pink alicorn, and she too was thrown into her cell. Unlike Shining Armor however, she wasn't awake to fell the pain. Though it hurt Shining Armor just as much to see her so horribly mistreated.
King Sombra continued down the line of the cells, throwing the ponies in one at a time, until there was only one left. It was the purple unicorn that had done almost nothing since he talked to her. Sombra simply placed her in the cell, closed the door, and then looked into her eyes. He saw nothing. No form of hope, happiness, or even a trace of defiance. It made him smile.
"I see your in the right mind set already." Sombra said to Twilight, not getting a response out of her as he expected.
"Hey what gives?!" he heard the mare in the cell next to him say. He turned around, noticing that the rainbow maned one was giving him an angry, questioning stare. "You said you were gonna reward us. What's all this about?"
"Child, this is your reward." Sombra said to Rainbow Dash, "Instead of working out there with the slaves, you'll be remaining in here with your friends. Isn't that a far more preferable fate?"
Rainbow Dash simply glared at the cynical king, wishing she had done something when she still had the chance. Sombra then turned away, about to go back to the stairs where the small dragon was waiting. "What's up with you?!" Dash shouted to him, "Why are you doing all this? Why are you making all those ponies work themselves ragged? Why are you being such a jerk?"
Sombra stopped mid step, as if taking a pause. For a moment Dash thought she had actually gotten through to him, or maybe just got him to think about it. That was until Sombra slammed his hoof on ground. Sombra turned back to face her, his eyes aglow with anger. He stomped back over to the cell Rainbow Dash was in, and met her eyes with his own. A small sound of fear managed to escape Dash's throat as she found herself paralyzed in terror once more. Now she remembered just why she hadn't done anything earlier. His gaze alone could kill a small animal, and she had gotten a glimpse on two occasions of just what he was capable of.
"Let me tell you something, little girl." he broke his gaze away from Dash, focusing on the group as a whole. "Let me tell you all something. Your little fantasy land where everything goes your way and there are no problems to deal with doesn't exist any more." He cast his gaze down to the pink mare, "This is the real world, children. And in the real world, you never get everything you want." Pinkie stared into Sombra's eyes, a forced, awkard smile on her face as she nodded to him, trying to get him to stop focusing on her. Sombra then turned his eyes to the yellow pegasus, who was already quacking violently. "Where as some of you may not be appreciative of the kindness I've given you, it would behoove you to hold your tongue about it." Fluttershy couldn't do anything except look at him, her teeth starting to chatter.
Sombra stepped away from the cells again making his way back to the doorway. "Welcome to reality, children." Sombra said, not bothering to even look over his shoulder, "I hope you can get used to it, because you aren't going to be leaving." When Sombra got back to the entrance, he turned to the group once more, the angered scowl now gone from his face. "Oh, and when your friends come to, you might want to tell them, if they value their lives, they won't try any of their magic in the cells. Or you could let them." Sombra said, turning away once more. "I haven't had a decent laugh in many years, and it would be enjoyable to hear how they react."
Sombra looked down at Spike, noticing how his eyes darted around the room, looking at each of his friends in their cells. "Come now, young one. Let's leave them be. We've all had a long day, and I'm sure they must be exhausted." Giving no argument, Spike slowly stepped his way back to the doorway, not able to pull himself away from looking at his friends. They all looked at him, pleading expressions on their faces. Silently begging for help that he couldn't give. But what got his attention most, was Twilight.
That hopeless expression on her face was still tearing him up on the inside. In all the years that he had known her, never once did her see her look this down. There were times when she could get eccentric about menial things, but she had never been hopeless. What was truly killing Spike on the inside though, was the fact that he wasn't sharing in the same punishment that all of them received. For some odd reason, the king had chosen to keep him.
Spike slowly backed his way out of the room, his gaze now fixed on the floor, unable to bear the looks he was given any longer. He met Sombra on the stairs, the king giving him an approving smile. The two of them proceeded up the stairway, leaving behind the only hope that remained for not only the Crystal Empire, but for all of Equestria as well.
When the pair reached the top of the stairs, the large metal door slammed shut behind them, startling the barely aware Spike. Sombra took a moment to take a breath, letting out a long sigh of relief as he closed his eyes. Finally, he thought to himself, picking up the heart shaped gem that sat nearby. Now that the annoyances are taken care of, I can get down to business.
"U-Um... K-King Sombra, sir?" he heard a weak voice say to him. Sombra was broken from his concentration, and looked down to what he heard. He looked at the dragon in question, noticing the nervous look on his face, coupled by the sweat pouring down his forehead. "Y-You said... that you were going to... reward me as well... W-Why wasn't I thrown in with my friends?"
"Oh yes," Sombra said, taking the heart in his magic, "Come, let us walk whilst we cool our tongues." Sombra began walking his way to the throne, Spike by his side the entire way. "Forgive me, for it is not in my nature to show favoritism, but we all must make exception."
"What do you mean?" Spike asked, making sure he kept as much distance as he could away from the king.
"You were the one who brought the heart directly to me," Sombra said to him, his eyes glancing at the art that lined the walls. "therefor you will be receiving something better than your friends." Sombra stopped as the two of them reached the throne room. He did a quick scan of the room, not liking the way it was. "This is a bit flashy for my taste. But I'll redecorate later."
Sombra felt a sudden sharp pain run through his head, and with it the magic around the heart flickered for a moment. After giving his head a brief rub, he walked to one of the windows, looking out to the barrier that surrounded the city.
Damn. he thought to himself, I guess being in the ice for so long took more out of me than I thought. All that show of force may not have been necessary to get my point across. I don't know how long the curse is going to last this time, but I hope it's long enough to find it. I know that once the spell ends, those two will be all over trying to over throw me again. Sombra was grinding his teeth at the thought of losing his chance again. At least if it does end too soon, I'll have some leverage this time.
Sombra turned back to Spike, who was still standing there twidling his thumbs as he waited for the king to continue. "First of all," Sombra said to Spike, "I need to know your name. If you're going to be working for me, I'll need to know."
"S-Spike, sir." he answered him without hesitation. "But, what do you mean 'working' for you?"
"It's quite simple... Spike." Sombra said, trying to get himself used to such an esoteric name. "Pony kind has proven to me time and time again that it can't be trusted. So, I figure maybe a dragon will be a little bit more reliable." Sombra gave the little dragon another evil smile. "I do hope you don't try and prove me wrong."
"What kind of work?" Spike first thought that Sombra was going to be putting him to work in mines. He was only half right.
"With so many ponies to rule over, and with all work they'll be needing to do," Sombra said, his eyes narrowing on the dragon. "I'm going to need a foreman for the slaves."