//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2  
// Story: The Land Before Them 
// by Fat1thatyoulove 
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Chapter 2 – Harmony at its finest

The doors to the throne room begin to close as Sombra's horn sparks up in a dim green light, but even though he tries to close them quietly the two other ponies in the room have already seen Star Swirl and Sombra enter.

The room has a long red rug like walk way leading up to a cushiony looking throne that is carved slightly into the huge crystal slab the pokes from the ground. To each side of the room there are large spaced out windows with a thin layer of polished crystal allowing anyone inside to look over the crystal city that sits a little beneath the throne room's view.

But Swirl's gaze doesn't drift to sight seeing again as he looks over the pink pegasus mare sitting in the throne seat with a few pieces of parchment paper being floated in front of her by a regal dressed crystal mare beside her.

The silence to the room doesn't last long as the pink mare's sweet voice comes up in a warm happy tone, "Sir Star Swirl, its so good to have you back. I was unaware that you would be attending this meeting Sombra has called so fast." At the end of her voice she turns to the mare beside her as she talks with a smile, "If you excuse me I believe i'll be awhile."

With a bow of the head the crystal unicorn mare floats the papers from the pink pegasus’s face as she takes her leave through  one of the two back doors hidden by the crystal throne.

Another happy tone comes through the mare's smile as she starts to move from her seat, but despite her persona a very prominent weakness comes to her as she moves from the seat.

Swirl is a little taken back by it, as his last trip to the crystal empire was only a few months ago but the darker grey stallion beside him doesn't look on motionless as he quickly moves towards her.

But the mare gets herself up as she tugs a little to the large red and white cape like cloak she has on that slightly matches Sombra's, "I'm fine, I just got this cursed thing caught a little."

Sombra turns back to Swirl as he starts to follow after Sombra, he holds a curious gaze to the light pink coated pegasus mare with a mix of pink and light yellow mane that has the same crystal like shimmer as Sombra's. But his voice finally comes back as he brings his gaze to her tired out eyes, "Queen Apatite, you do not look to be yourself this day."

The pink mare waves her hoof to the words as she shakes her head, "Oh Star Swirl, i'm just having an off day..." She smiles as she does a circular motion around Swirl's face, "And I must say with that ungroomed face of yours you're not quite looking yourself." A slight giggle comes from her as Star Swirl shoots back a friendly smile.

But the mare's light hearted laugh turns to a sickly cough as she turns from Star Swirl and Sombra's eyes.

To the noise Sombra puts his hoof on her side as he rubs her a little, but her sudden cough is lost as she turns back to Sombra and Star Swirl."I-I had better go and start planning for the Crystal celebration."

Sombra's deep echoey voice comes back to the room as his horn sparks up, "No, you can do that tomorrow, you should rest for now."

The mare blinks to the words as she gives a slight smile as she puts her hoof to Sombra's chest, "I'm fine, if anypony needs to rest its you." Her gaze shifts back to Star Swirl as she talks, "Make sure this stallion gets some kind of rest today, he’s not been sleeping well."

Star Swirl nods his head to her voice as his voice comes back to her, "I will do what I can, but a ponies will can never really be changed...especially for somepony of Sombra's nature."

Queen Apatite nods her head with a smile as she trots away towards the two back doors the crystal mare left through earlier.

As the door closes behind her Sombra looks to the ground as the echoey magic voice gets a bit lower, "Star Swirl, she’s not well...and its no normal sickness."

Swirl blinks to the comment as he cocks his head to the dark grey stallion's fixated gaze to the ground, "Sombra, i'm no healer but I do not see why a simple cough and weakness would be a reason to call a mage?"

To the words Sombra lifts his head as he struggles with holding the spell to his horn that's allowing him to talk, the tone of the echoey voice gets a little louder as he forces the spell a bit but his face still stays a worried expression as Swirl listens. "Apatite has had the same problem for this past turn of seasons."

"Preposterous." Star Swirl lifts his hoof up as he points to Sombra, "...I have come here at least twice in this full year and not once have I seen her act in such a way that she did just now." The stallion gives a slight chuckle as he looks over the dark grey stallion, "Are you sure it is not you that has become sick with worry over a simple cold?"

Sombra's horn glows a brighter green as he takes a step back, "At first this sickness was nothing more than a slight weakness, she felt it best to not tell the kingdom or anypony about it...not even me. But it's gotten much worse than just a cough and weakness."

The floor where the red strip of colored stone lays begins to glow a little with Sombra's magic as Swirl takes a step back.

The echoey voice comes over the room as Sombra's horn grows a bright greenish black, "I'm going to show you something because I trust that you will help me."

A spike of magic runs through the room as the floor vanishes revealing a staircase, Sombra turns his gaze to the doors as a vile of magic seals them closed, as the last door becomes sealed he moves his sight to the windows around the room as they take on a dark tint blocking the late day's sun from the room.

As the last window's light is cut from the refracting crystals the room takes on a dark green color as the sun's light from outside strikes through the newly covered windows.

Swirl's horn sparks up in a bright gold as he lights the room to his own liking, he moves his gaze to the staircase with a slight bit of astonishment as he looks down the long winding stairs.

The glow of his magic fills the room for a moment before Sombra's echoey voice comes back to him, "You were here last celebration when we first used the Crystal heart's strange power."

"Yes, I was."

Sombra nods his head as the voice comes from his stationery mouth, " Apatite wished for the heart to be displayed in the castle permanently. This way it’s strange aura of feeling generating powers and its own strange protection spell it seemed to give off could be easily assessed if needed."

Swirl nods his head as he talks, "Yes, yes I remember all this...but why are you telling me this?"

The dark grey stallion moves his hoof as he beckons for Swirl to come over to the top of the staircase, "The Crystal heart was a great power...I fear it may have been too great of a power, a few moons after it was brought into use it-..." The bigger stallion begins to struggle with his words as he talks, "The Crystal heart started acting on its own, without the influence of an outer magic."

Star Swirl listens to the stallion quietly as the echoey voice starts to get a little lower with Sombra's fading spell, but its brought back up as Sombra breaks to force more magic to his horn, " Apatite was the only pony besides myself who knew about these spikes, and a full moon ago, again it spiked greater than it ever had before...She was the only pony near it when it happened. I moved the heart to a hidden area in the castle until I was able to figure out what was causing it."

Swirl looks down to the stairway he stands in front of as Sombra starts to take his first steps to the stairs, "...But I can not figure out what's wrong, and after the great spike of the Crystal Heart, Apatite finally informed me of her growing weakness and concerns."

The dark grey stallion turns back to the pony starting to follow him as he looks him over intently, "But her sickness has gotten worse, Apatite can no longer bring herself to fly like she loved so much, s-she can not even-..." A loud pop comes from his horn as the spell breaks to his shaky feelings.

The stallion turns away a little angry to the spell break as he brings his right hoof up to hoof his last few words out.

"What do you mean she can't even remember you?"

Sombra's horn sparks back up as his voice echos with a slightly higher tone, "Her memory has been slipping along with her strength, the only ponies that know of her failing mind are my most trusted advisers...Star Swirl, she has planned the Crystal celebration seven times just in the past few days...each time insisting she did not the day before."

Swirl blinks to the comment as he thinks it over, "I still do not understand...why would you be in need my help?"

The dark grey stallion's eyes shift to an almost pleading call as the shaky echoey voice comes back, "She has made me promise her condition would not affect what we set out to do for Equestria...But every night I have tried to understand what the Crystal heart did to her."

Swirl cocks his head to the words as he shakes it, "How are you so certain the Crystal heart is the cause for this problem? This item is nothing more than a stone with a power." Swirl shakes his head to his words as he stammers a little, “I-I find it hard to believe this power could have been tapped without an outer interference.” 

Sombra blinks to the comment as he looks to him seriously, "I know the heart is to blame.”

His gaze hardens a little as his horn glowed bright,  “Because Apatite before her memory began to fail said it was the will of the heart that Equestria becomes united. She claimed a voice beckoned her to it before it's spike with this request. Naturally she took this encounter as a sign that what we had started in the empire's areas as a sign Equestria's future is to be united."

Swirl nods his head as the words hit against his ears, "I believe I understand why you need my help. I will do everything in my power to help you my friend."

"Thank you Star Swirl, there is much to do in the next few days and I can no longer bear these burdens alone anymore."

The dark grey stallion's trot comes back to him as he begins to lead the way through the stairs Swirl's horn has lit.

End of chapter 2