//------------------------------//
// Chapter 7 
// Story: Fall of the Crystal Empire 
// by Blaster Master 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 7

Canterlot Castle was abuzz with activity, as usual. As the center of government in Equestria, the capital was busy handling issues foreign and domestic, with no one being busier than the Royal Pony Sisters. Sitting in the royal throne room, the two held audiences with dignitaries, heard grievances from representatives, and were given briefings on the goings-on of the entire country. But somepony in the throne room was perhaps not as busy as she’d like to be. Luna sat in her navy blue throne next to her sister in her golden one, listening to reports from several officials in turn and answering their questions. 
Except that she wasn’t. Luna was almost always overlooked in these meetings, with very few questions posed to her and most of them being forwarded to her older sister. Luna had often had to interrupt Celestia in order to get a word in edgewise, and it annoyed the Princess of the Night to no end. Today, Luna had decided to try an experiment: be completely silent and see how long until somepony noticed.

So far it had been 20 minutes, and no one had appeared to take an interest in the younger princess. As the minutes ticked by, Luna’s frustration mounted and her patience began to wear thin. Delegate after delegate bowed deeply to both of them, but only looked at and addressed Celestia. The Sun Princess, of course, answered everything without fail, without doubt, and without even glancing at her younger sister to gauge her reaction. Just as Luna was about to break her silence and start trying to take some control, one of the officials spoke up.

“Your highnesses, we’d like to put forth a proposal for a new holiday. Seeing how there’s a Summer Sun Celebration, some of my colleagues and I believe a Winter Night Celebration might be a festive counterpoint, to celebrate the longest night of the year.”

Luna’s heart soared and a smile broke across her face. A holiday to celebrate her night, a time just for her and her hard work! Exactly what she needed!

She was about to open her mouth to congratulate the official on his brilliant idea, but Celestia spoke first. 

“A novel idea, certainly, but it might not be very practical. Let’s move onto the next item of business-”

“Just a moment!” Luna interrupted, taking the assembled ponies by surprise, “I would like to hear more of this Winter Night Celebration.”

“Well…” The official stuttered, “W-we were thinking it would be a night for ponies in Equestria to stay up late and watch the full moon rise up to its zenith, much like the Summer Sun Celebration, all while enjoying parties across the land.”

“Marvelous!” Luna exclaimed.

“Hold, sister,” Celestia warned, “The longest night of the year is during winter, when there is still much work to do for ponies across Equestria. Having a holiday during such a pivotal time might not be what Equestria needs.”

“Or, perhaps, a festive holiday during the chilly winter to raise spirits is what Equestria needs.”

“There is already Hearth’s Warming Eve, as well as many others,” Celestia’s tone now betrayed her annoyance at Luna’s continued opposition, “Another night of festivities in such an already festive season might by excessive.”

“With a holiday for the summer days already in place, doesn’t one for the winter nights seem only fair, dear sister?” Luna was no longer sitting. She stood, her teeth bared and her eyes were blazing. 

“Running a country is not always about fairness!” Celestia stood as well, her mane now flaring indignantly, “It is understandable how this might elude you, little sister, but I would hope that even at your young age you would understand this!”

“ARE YOU SO ARROGANT AS TO BELIEVE THIS IS A MATTER ONLY YOU CAN UNDERSTAND!? THAT WE ARE TRULY THAT MUCH OF A CHILD!?” Luna thundered in her Canterlot voice. The force of it blew off hats, glasses, scrolls and quills from the ponies in the room. 

“I AM YOUR OLDER SISTER, LUNA, AND YOU WOULD DO WELL TO HEED ME IN MATTERS YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND!” Celestia’s response was equally deafening, but the younger sister remained stolid in the face of her sister’s vocal wrath. After such an explosion, Celestia was prepared for another bout of the Canterlot voice, but instead the two shared a standoff of glares. Luna turned away her head away first, and with an unsettling small voice said:

“You’re not as perfect as you tell all these ponies you are, Tia.”

And with that, Luna opened her wings and flew out the large entrance doors, over the heads of all the visitors to the throne room.

Celestia’s anger faded into guilt as her sister disappeared from sight.

Needless to say, Princess Celestia was in no mood for visitors or official business for the rest of the afternoon. 

***

Luna landed a short while later on the balcony attached to her bedchambers. Her mind was swirling with resentment and anger or what had transpired in the throne room. It shouldn’t have happened in the throne room like that: it was embarrassing for her, for Celestia, and for everypony there.  But she’d worry about that later, now she wanted to lie down and rest. But as she entered her chambers, she spied something that drove her weariness from her body and her worries from her mind:

A scroll with the emblem of the Crystal Empire.

It must have arrived for her while she was in the throne room. She galloped over to it and used her magic to scoop it up and unfurl it. Inside was a beautiful and fragrant Moon Flower that, instead of pale white, was darkest blue. Lord Sombra grew a planter full of them in his laboratory, and he sent one with every letter to her. Luna breathed in the heady scent of the flower and used her magic to levitate it into a small vase by her bed. She then read his letter:

Dear Luna,
My deepest apologies for not being able to write sooner, there are several experiments I’m involved in that require my constant attention and my time is very limited. Nevertheless, time spent writing and receiving letters from the princess of the night is never time wasted. 

Luna blushed.

I hope my letter finds you well in Canterlot. Things in the Empire have maintained their usual droll business, with my brother never seeming to have a hair out of place as he manages an entire country. Sonatina is writing another ballad, and Cadance has decided she wants to see the ocean and become Queen of the Pirates. She’s very charming, really.
As ever, I remain busy with my work. In the last two months since my last letter, I’ve managed to master another three spells, invented a self-winding time piece, and wrote a scroll on philosophy; overall a rather humdrum two months. But enough about me, how have you been? I’ve been keeping an eye on your work in the night sky and it never ceases to dazzle. But seeing the craft is still nothing compared to seeing the craftspony who made it. I had a very nice time when you visited us last, and I hope we can do it again soon. While the Crystal Palace kitchens are more the sufficient, I would still like to take you into the city to visit some choice restaurants, on your next visit. I’m sure all of them will trip over themselves to accommodate a couple of noble stature such as ourselves. I will await your letter with baited breath.

Yours truly,

Sombra

Luna read over the letter a few more times, and then set it gently on her bedside table. She and Sombra had been pen-pals for a few years, and it was one of the few true joys she had during the day. She felt butterflies in here stomach as she thought of her future dinner with a Lord of the Crystal Empire. Luna lay down on her bed and drifted off to sleep with the aroma of the Moon Flower drifting through the air and visions of her kindred spirit to the North in her mind. 

***

Celestia slammed the door to her bedchambers, frustrated at her sister’s nerve. Making a scene like that in front of a dozen dignitaries! In front of their castle staff! The rumors would spread from Canterlot to Las Pegasus within days. Celestia was about to deposit her crown upon her dresser, when she noticed that there was something already there:
A scroll with the emblem of the Crystal Empire.
Celestia perked right up at the prospect of a letter from her dear friend to the North and opened the scroll. No flowers in Celestia’s scroll, those day for Luzra were long over. Already in a better mood, the princess started reading the Crystal King’s letter:

Dear Celestia, 
Greetings from the far north! 
How are you doing? Things have been very busy up here. No one big thing, but lots and lots of little thing. I’m sure you know how it is, eh? Sonatina is working on her next great composition, Cadance wants to sail across the sea and my brother is still the same old curmudgeon he always was. And he’s supposed to be my younger brother! HA!

Celestia chuckled.

Still, I hope everything is well with your own affairs. I’m truly sorry we haven’t been able to see each other sooner. It’s nearly been a year since you visited last, I know, but we have to be the responsible ones; even at the expense of our own well deserved fun. I’ll see what I can do in terms of freeing up my schedule, but it may not be for a few more months. 
Until then, stay strong and be happy, Tia!

Sincerely,

***

“King Luzra Cadenza,” Sombra finished his dictation, “Now, send it.”
The head scribe, who had been taking Sombra’s transcription, looked over her work. Sombra had made sure this particular Crystal Pony was his head scribe for a reason: she was an excellent forger of handwriting, and could replicate the king’s writing style impeccably. She nodded and headed out to send both Sombra’s and ‘Luzra’s’ letters to Equestria. 
Having lived with his brother for centuries and intercepted more than a few of the letters meant for Celestia, Sombra knew exactly what kind of letter the former king would write. Sombra could seamlessly replicate his brother’s oh so jovial attitude, his inane little jokes, and his contemptible pomp easily. The charade had held for little under a year, and Sombra could easily keep it up for another three. King Sombra took a sip of Crystal Wine as he sat on his throne and contemplated the strange and somewhat cruel pleasure he took in this little exercise; reading Celestia’s letters, hearing about her mundane fears, aspirations, and hopes, and in turn supporting her as ‘Luzra’.

But such fun had its time. Now, there were more pressing matters to attend to. 

“Smokey Quartz!” Sombra called to his royal advisor, “Report!”

Smokey Quartz stepped forward, a scroll in his mouth, and knelt deeply. No matter how many times ponies knelt before him, the king never quite got tired of seeing it. The advisor rose from his kneeling position and took his scroll in hoof, unfurling it.
“My liege, the expansion of the Crystal Guard is on schedule, with our numbers currently at eleven hundred, as opposed to the four hundred guards before your coronation. Production of your new weapons and war machines is in full swing and the weapons are being issued to the soldiers and placements you’ve specified. Our crystal mines have tripled their output, but our miner fatality rate is thirty percent.”

“Dying of exhaustion I presume?” 

“Mostly, your majesty.”

“Triple isn’t enough new crystals and thirty percent is too many fatalities. Recruit more workers off the streets and assign them longer work hours. And increase the miner’s water rations, which should bring their fatalities down to around fifteen percent, a much more reasonable number. Anything else?”

“Just a reminder that Cadance’s lessons are at two o’clock later today.”

“Excellent. You make leave, Smokey Quartz,” Sombra took another sip of his drink as his advisor trotted off, savoring the taste. 

Sombra’s eyes drifted towards the large windows and he admired his masterpiece outside: The Dark Crystals. After coming into power, Sombra had used his magic to ‘enhance’ the crystal mines and turn their contents into his own more powerful and twisted creations. Pillars of Dark Crystals surrounded the empire, providing the protection from the wintery elements the Crystal Heart once did, as well as influencing the populace. It was a masterstroke: the Dark Crystal’s energy would magically manipulate the minds and wills of those around it into a mindset determined by the enchanter of the crystals. The crystals made the Crystal Pony populace more frightened and docile, his perfect slaves. And the Crystal Guard’s armors had been traded for glistening, dark crystal armor that boosted their cruelty and obedience to Sombra. Once, the Crystal Guard had been loyal to Sombra. Now they were fanatics, his obedient, deadly, uncompromising warriors. As for the Crystal Heart itself; it was held in a special holding tower, where it was kept under lock and key when not being experimented on. Sombra spent many long hours in that tower, poking and prodding at the Crystal Heart, trying to decipher its secrets.
Sombra set his wine glass down and stood. He had some business to take care of before Cadance’s lesson.

***

Princess Cadance trotted down the hallway towards her uncle’s study, flanked by a pair of guards. They were her personal bodyguards, assigned to her by the king to protect her with their lives. Cadance knew this was, of course, a farce; there hadn’t been any assassination attempts against anypony in the castle since King Cadenza died. The guard’s true purpose was to be Sombra’s eyes on Cadance, so that she was never beyond his sight. Combined with her being forbidden to leave the palace grounds since the coup, it had been very hard for Cadance to have any time where her uncle was not spying on her. But, here and there, she got time to herself.

Time to plan.

But today was time for her lessons. She paused in front of her uncle’s study apprehensively. From underneath the door a bright pink light was flashing intensely. She opened the door to find Sombra wrapped in a cocoon of magical energy, levitating him into the air and glowing. The princess was in awe for only a few seconds, as the glowing died down and Sombra descended back to the floor. When it was done, Sombra stood straighter and more powerfully then before. He heaved a heavy sigh of contentment, letting the years of his life rejuvenated to him and filling him with vitality. He had been doing aging spells on himself for a long time, centuries in fact. He was one of the only Unicorns to have ever been recorded being able to accomplish it. 

“Ah! Cadance!” The king turned his attention to his recently arrived niece, “Punctual, as always! Come in!”
Cadance’s guards stepped out, closing the door as they left and leaving the Princess with her uncle. She put on a smile for her uncle, but even after nearly a year of her charade she was still not used to being in close proximity to her parent’s killer. Sombra gave her what was supposed to be a nice grin, but it was ruined by his newly grown fangs. Ever since becoming king, Sombra had only grown in power, plundering the Crystal Library for the forbidden dark arts books that had been sealed away by King Luzra. And with the power he had gained, he also gained some new features: between his now red eyes and his almost flame-like black mane, he had becoming a truly monstrous sight. Cadance had long since mastered her urge to flinch and today was no different, outwardly she didn’t seem to have even a hair out of place. 

“I’m ready for my lessons today, uncle!” Cadance used her magic to pull out her parchment and quills to show her readiness to learn. 

“Excellent. We’ll begin with a simple lecture and notes, and then move on the some magical exercises…”

It had been like this ever since Sombra had taken over Cadance’s life. He had not only taken the mantle of king but also of teacher, passing his knowledge onto Cadance through these lessons. Cadance learned math, science, languages, history, and magic of all varieties. Unfortunately, sometimes the lessons she was taught her lessons she did not want to learn…

“… And thus you have hydrogen,” Sombra concluded some time later. Cadance put the final period on her parchment down and looked up expectantly from her notes.

“Now then, Cadance, time for your magical training. I have something special planned for you today.”
King Sombra gestured for Cadance to follow him over to an object covered in what appeared to be a dark sheet. Sombra used his magic to whip the sheet off and reveal…

A bound Crystal Pony.

Oh, no. No, please. Cadance thought, He can’t be making me…

“Today I thought we’d be ambitious and try some live exercises, Cadance.”

He is…

Sombra turned on the nearby phonograph to start recording his newest experiment.

“Experiment L-43: Pain Spell,” Sombra said clearly into the microphone, “Subject, designation D-126, is a mare Crystal Pony with-”

“Please…” The captive pony moaned, “Please let me go…”

Sombra gave a sigh of disgust and resumed:

“…With an orange coat, yellow mane, and a cutie mark of a pair of oars. She appears to be nearly at the end of adolescence and-”

“I have a family… My mom and my little brother… They don’t know what happened to me, please I-”

“And is in relatively perfect health, with no visible-”

“Please… My name is-”

With a snarl of frustration Sombra whirled around to face the bound pony, his eyes emanating purple energy and a scowl contorting his face into a nightmare. He fired a beam of black magic into the mare which seemed to hit her like an electric shock, coursing through her body and making her scream in agony. 

Sombra kept the assault up for only a few seconds, but it seemed like an eternity to Cadance and probably much longer to the mare. Cadance’s eyes widened and her she took a step back in horror, terrified of the wailing coming from the Crystal Pony. When he was finished, Sombra took in a deep breath, regaining his composure from his outburst.

“D-126, I did not give you permission to speak,” Sombra informed her, “When your input is required, it will be asked for.”
She probably didn’t even hear him. She lay on her side with her legs still bound by chains, barely conscious after the pain inflicted upon her, her eyes nearly rolled back, and giving a low moan.

“Regardless,” Sombra turned back to look at Cadance just as she regained her composure with great effort, “This is an excellent segue into your lesson for today Cadance: I want you to perform the same spell I just preformed.”

Cadance’s blood turned into ice in her veins.

“It looks difficult, but it’s actually quite simple. Watch again.”

Cadance wished she could look away but she couldn’t as her uncle casting his dark magic at D-126 again, eliciting another agonized scream from her. Cadance put her analytical self to the forefront, analyzing her uncle’s movements and his use of magic. She put on the identity of the cold apprentice that Sombra wanted her to be and put away the distraught child that she truly was; to do otherwise would get her killed. But whenever she did this it felt like she was still dying one piece at a time, finding it easier to be cold every time. 

Sombra ceased his spell and turned to his pupil, “You must use your emotions for this spell Cadance. You must feel the spell; put your soul into it. You must use your anger, your hate, your negative emotions. You can use magic to turn that desire to hurt into a physical attack. But you must have focus.”

Sombra sidled up behind Cadance and whispered into her ear, his voice low.

“Imagine this mare was one of the assassins who killed your father, Cadance,” He hissed, “Imagine she was one of the traitors who throttled your mother. Feel that anger, that seething hatred boiling in your stomach, and use it.”

Cadance stepped forward and looked at the pitiful pony in front of her. 

“Please… Let me go… I haven’t done anything…”

Her pathetic begging may have been enough for Sombra to hate her, but Cadance could not. She did not see a mare who deserved nothing but pain, but a victim who needed help. But the princess couldn’t be that help. She could muster no hate for this pony she’d never met before, but as she tried to cast the spell she found she did have a source to draw from. 

She hated her uncle for taking her mother and father away from her.

She hated the Crystal Guards for becoming his cruel thugs.

She hated the collaborators who had conspired with Sombra to destroy everything her family had built.

But most of all, she hated herself for being helpless to do anything. 

It was foolish and unreasonable for Cadance to think there was anything she could have done to prevent what had happened, but guilt and grief doesn’t run on logic. 

In her mind’s eye, on so many countless night, Cadance imagined leaping from her hiding place in the toy chest and attacking Sombra those many months ago. She imagined herself attacking him with a wild fury she didn’t even know she possessed, screaming and biting like a rabid dog. And Sombra would be so surprised, so taken aback by this, that Sonatina would be able to get her second wind and strike his down, and then the mother and daughter would have rallied their loyal forces and stopped the Sombra uprising before it could cause any more damage. 

Cadance felt that loathing gather in her stomach like a ball of fish-hooks, and then she focused it into magic. Her eyes imitated Sombra’s, glowing green and emitting purple, mist-like energy. And with a huge effort, Cadance forced her negative feelings into her horn and blasted them out into the captive Crystal Pony. The magical attack coursed through D-126 for the third time, igniting every one of her nerve endings as Cadance’s loathing manifested into unimaginable pain. This scream was the weakest, but probably only due to a hoarse throat and a building tolerance for pain. Cadance had to stop, exhausted, after a few seconds and her eyes returned to their normal grayish purple. The princess looked at her victim to find her nearly motionless. D-126’s eyes were wide and unblinking and she was only barely breathing. Cadance wondered briefly who this innocent pony was, this Crystal Pony who found herself at the mercy of King Sombra himself. How had she managed to find herself in such a pitiful state? What wrong, if any, had she commited? And what was her name? As she stood there pondering and panting, Sombra levitated a glass of water over to her, which Cadance grabbed with her mouth and guzzled down greedily. 

“Cadance’s first attempt is quite promising,” Sombra informed the microphone, “She continues to show an incredible reserve of innate magical energy, but still lacks the focus to harness it to its full potential. Regardless, she did very well for a first use of a spell, and has successfully impressed me. Subject D-126 appears to be entering a state of shock and further testing must cease for the moment.” 

Sombra turned off the recording and casually threw the sheet back over the prone pony, intending to hide her from sight until he could send her back to her proper cell. 

“You did very well, Cadance. I’m amazed you were even able to make it work your first time.”

“I have a good teacher,” Cadance knew that stroking his ego was always the way to his heart, “But I’m really tired, Uncle. Can I be excused?”

“Of course you can. Magic of this sort is quite a drain for somepony as young as you and you’ll need to get your energy back quickly for tomorrow’s lesson.”

Cadance moved in and gave Sombra a very quick peck on the cheek.

“I love you, Uncle Sombra.”

“Oh, Cadance… You know how to work an old stallion’s heart… I love you too.”

***

In the back of Cadance’s mind, she hoped the sound of the bathtub running would drown out the sound of her retching, but at the same time she could hardly care less. She felt sick, and she’d been holding it in the entire agonizing walk from Sombra’s study to her personal chambers. Her bodyguards had been ordered to wait outside her personal bathroom while she drew a bath, and she had used this time away from her guards to relieve her stomach into the toilet. When she was finished vomiting, she began to sob as quietly as she could. Her tears stung her face and her bile burned her throat as she replayed the image of the Crystal Pony she’d tortured. It didn’t matter what anypony could say about having no choice or being in an extreme circumstance: she had caused another pony, an innocent, an immeasurable amount of pain. Her scream echoed in Cadance’s mind as she put her hooves to her forehead and curled into the fetal position on the bathroom floor. 

She felt dark, wrong and dirty after what she’d done. And that was the word: dirty. She felt unclean, like Sombra had smeared charcoal all over the white tapestry of her innocence. Cadance was balanced on the edge of a knife: looking into the precipice of darkness that had long since swallowed Sombra, and fighting not to fall in. But she was all alone…

But Cadance remembered her spell, and she needed it now more than ever. Even though she was exhausted from her dark magic earlier, she managed to focus her magicks again, this time conjuring something besides hate.

She remembered her mother singing her to sleep when she was younger.

She remembered her father flying her on his back across the Empire’s bright skies. 

She remembered her parents when they would use their magicks to dazzle and entertain her.

She remembered how they had loved and cared for her more than anything in the whole of the world.

She remembered love, and light, and happiness. And from Cadance’s horn, a small pink mystical heart erupted, floated gently down, and was absorbed into Cadance’s chest. All at once she became calmer, able to stop crying and start thinking more rationally. She was still horrified by what she had done, but with the influence of the dark crystals expunged by her love, she was able to come to terms with what she had done. 

This had been her ritual for nearly a year, on a nearly daily basis Cadance cast her love spell upon herself to reignite the fire of love and light within herself. It was the only way she could escape the effect of the dark crystals on her mind. It had allowed her to stay sharp and maintain her smokescreen as Sombra’s cheerful niece and unwitting puppet. 
Cadance cleaned up the mess she had made and slipped into her bath, letting herself soak. With her limited time to herself, she let her mind wander.

I need to escape soon, She thought, I can’t keep this up much longer…