I slam my fore-hooves on the table, shattering it into fragments no larger than eyelashes. Celestia purses her lips at my foalish actions.
“Luna, I do not think this is appropriate.”
Celestia says, displeasure heavily apparent in her tone.
“We do not have time for whatever chance plan thou wouldst come up with. Sombra is turning more of Equestria into darkness with each passing day.”
I slam my right fore-hoof on the floor for emphasis; I hear a crunching sound as my hoof grinds some splinters of the table into powder.
“Yet we have time to let Starswirl’s Army find it? I think not, Luna.”
Celestia responds. I growl and turn away from her, looking out a window.
“It is obvious we shan’t find a consensus this way, Celestia. I will use Starswirl, you can use whatever pleases thee. When one of us finds Sombra, then that pony will stop him.”
Celestia’s frown deepens. She nods solemnly . I spread my wings and fly out the window without another word, anger burning in my heart at what I feel to be Celestia’s betrayal.
Why doesn’t she trust me?
* * *
Equestria is a land completely filled with magic; no rock, lake, or tree stump, is devoid of it completely.
I am Princess Luna, one of the two rulers of Equestria with my sister Celestia. Together, we raise the celestial bodies: Celestia raises the sun and I raise the moon. This is the natural order of things, and will continue until Celestia and my eventual replacement; at least, that’s what I thought.
I make my way through the streets of the Crystal Empire, a kingdom technically separate from Equestria but annexed by Celestia and me after the fall of Discord. In days past I would walk freely through the Crystal Empire, but now I go disguised with a powerful illusion hiding my Alicorn height and horn.
Celestia and I are meant to keep balance in Equestria, as is our duty, and today in the streets of a conquered and overcast town I seek to overthrow the former unicorn, Sombra: an evil pony twisted into a rotten shell of the prince he once was by his studies of dark magic.
At the start of this endeavor, Celestia and I were together so we could use the magic of the Elements of Harmony to defeat Sombra. Unfortunately, the Crystal Empire’s transient nature makes it exceptionally hard to track so we had an argument about how to track it and decided that each of us would use our own way to find it and the pony who finds the Crystal Empire would defeat Sombra. Celestia and I always had our little disagreements but this was the first time one had interfered with keeping the balance of Equestria and I feel a coldness in my stomach; this deeply concerns me.
My guide, whom I located not long after I set hoof in the Crystal Empire, is an earth pony colt of perhaps eight or nine in age named Geo. Geo discovered me in an alleyway before I had a chance to bend my illusion spell to make me look like a simple chalk-grey Pegasus mare named Graphite, and offered to guide me to where I want to go in exchange for the freedom of the crystal ponies. It sounds like a simple deal, however, I believe it will prove to be much harder in execution.
After close to twenty minutes of walking we finally reach the Crystal palace.
“So, how are you gonna defeat Sombra?”
Geo asks, excitement reaching his voice, most likely at the prospect of being freed from the tyrant king.
“We will probably attempt a magic duel: we will cast spells at each other in the hopes of bringing the other down before they do the same to us.”
I reply, idly. This business with Celestia muddles my thoughts quite a bit.
“You don’t seem too happy about that plan.”
Geo remarks, somewhat glumly. It is far from the first time I have heard his strangely accurate perception get exactly on target.
“I will admit, I had hoped to use the Elements of harmony to defeat Sombra but that proved to be… impossible.”
I say. My voice quavers as I fight down my sadness.
“Why’s that?”
Geo asks, oblivious to my discomfort.
“Because…”
I sigh, and turn to face him.
“Because Celestia and I got into a fight and I cannot wield the Elements without her.”
Geo looks at me, something indiscernible flashes across his face for a moment and then is gone. He looks at the floor again.
“Oh.”
We walk in silence for a while after that. We travel down a corridor with dark blue walls, then up a staircase of black crystal, then down another corridor with dark blue walls, up another staircase comprised of black crystal, down a… corridor… with dark blue, crystal, walls… up a staircase… made of black crystal…
We’re going in circles.
The thought is only there for a moment but remains even as I stare at the objects around me and their continual recursion. I begin to say something when, as if on cue, the corridor opens up into a circular chamber with four doors. Doors, doors are Sombra’s favorite thing to enchant; he just can’t resist catching an unsuspecting pony opening a door with a sinister spell. I feel the doors with my mind, searching for magic bent taut.
Something’s wrong.
The magic in the room seems to be faintly bent, as if somepony was making an area spell. I shrug it off as some kind of spell to control the temperature in the castle and push my paranoid thoughts into the back of my mind. Yet, something lingers. I have a feeling something is very wrong. I can’t ignore it forever.
The doors are safe.
I laugh inwardly; ‘Safe’? Nothing is safe in the Crystal castle, at least, not now.
“Prin-Uh. Graphite. The door is this one.”
Geo says, breaking my flow of thought. He gestures to the door on the far right of me. I mark that the door color is a lighter grey than other parts of the castle, however, nothing else distinguishes it. I walk through the door behind Geo. We travel up a staircase for what seems like hours in silence. I follow Geo through another corridor this one with a window outside. I peer into it and look up at the night… sky…
That is not my night.
“This is an illusion.”
I speak the words quietly, but as soon as I do, the illusion breaks down over us. Crystal towers shatter into fragments. Floors melt, flowing freely around my hooves. The sky falls, causing meteors to crash into the Crystal city.
A grim, dimly lit, jail cell of black crystal reveals itself. Geo is missing and in his place is my corrupted quarry: Sombra. A very dark purple mist flows around his head ceaselessly and I am unable to tell if it comes from his eyes, or into them.
He laughs a low rumble of a laugh, something of a cross between a laugh and a growl. When he is done, he turns to face me while the mist above him shifts towards me, slightly.
“Poor Princess Luna, so alone.”
His voice has a soft almost musical feel to it, but a sharp, grating, undertone which made the hairs on the back of my neck stand straight in apprehension.
“I’m far from alone Sombra.”
I spit the last word, like venom from a wound. Sombra chuckles; the mist around him shakes like a murky pool of water, the faintest sign of predators within. I continue.
“Celestia comes, and when she is here it is over for thee.”
I say the words with confidence, but it only causes him to laugh once more.
“That’s interesting, however, I wasn't talking about your current… situation.”
He gestures to the jail cell to punctuate his words.
“Geo was an illusion. Was he not?”
I say, trying to shift the subject away from me. The mist releases me from it’s un-gaze.
“Yes. He’s one of my best ones yet I think. I create them, then spread them throughout the area surrounding my palace. It makes gathering information and quelling rebellions much easier.”
Sombra replies. I curse myself inwardly. I had fallen for his tricks and for that I was paying for it. I wish Celestia was here.
“But enough talk of that. I want to discuss your problems at home.”
I wince at the false pity he injects into the last few words.
“I heard about your decision to no longer attend court.”
Sombra says the words almost idly, as the green mist seems to look everywhere but at me. I narrow my eyes.
“The official reason was that you were starting to get bored of it and simply needed the sleep during that time of day so you could watch the night effectively. Well, that’s the official version anyway…”
Sombra continues. He pauses and looks at me expectantly. I glare at him, as he is obviously trying to draw out his point. I have to keep him talking though, until Celestia gets here.
Very well Sombra, I’ll bite.
“And what is the unofficial version?”
I inquire lazily, my patience leaking out of my voice in gushes. The green mist jiggles mirthfully.
“You are afraid.”
Sombra says, voice dripping with malice. Sombra’s words strike me with the force of a falling tower, crushing me into dust.
“What?”
Is all I manage to say, my mind reeling at these three simple words. The mist locks its gaze on me while Sombra turns towards my cell, causing me to shiver.
“You’re afraid that you’ll mess something up and the ponies of Equestria will respect you even less.”
He speaks the words quietly and with a sort of nonchalance, but their meaning hits me like a thunderbolt, causing me to flinch.
“You’re afraid because Celestia is better than you.”
My eyes narrow.
“Thou wouldst do well to watch thy tongue Sombra, lest it run off without thee.”
I spit, as I turn away from him.
“It’s not too late to stop this, Gaia.”
Sombra’s wicked smile changes to a frown.
“I don’t know what happened to you but you can stop it.”
I continue. Sombra presses his head against the bars. His horn glows a dark red color.
“Gaia is dead. I am Sombra. I am the ruler of the Crystal Empire. I have sent the Crystal Princess away. I rule without equal. I am greatness. I am better than you… because, you cannot stop me.”
Sombra turns and walks to the door without saying anything else. I suddenly feel sad as if a loved one has just passed away.
Time passes. It could be minutes, hours, or days I cannot tell. Celestia blasts through the wall next to my cell; Moments before the blast reaches the wall I feel the magic in the air tense and finally release with the power of the sun, a power not seen in the Crystal Empire for far too long. Celestia lands outside of my cage with the grace of an angel.With a flex of her magic, arcane energy flows to Celestia’s horn as she grips the crystals making up my cell and tears them away with a protesting screech
“Luna! Are you alright?”
Concern is plastered over Celestia’s face. I smile weakly.
“I… I think I’ll be okay.”
I try to stand, but quickly fall to my knees. Celestia rushes over and drapes a wing around my shoulders. Warmth spreads throughout my body when I feel like I have been cold for centuries.
“Ho-“
I shiver, my body numb. Celestia holds me close until I am able to speak again.
“H-how d-did you f-find me?”
My words come out incomplete, the cold I feel all but barring intelligible speech.
“I followed the migrating phoenixes. They always stop at the Crystal Empire to get Elto fruit.”
Celestia responds, with a small smile.
“I s-see.”
I look down to the ground with burning shame. I had been so eager to get to Gaia that I did not take the obvious route and for that I was captured. Celestia’s completely pure white wing pulls my chin up to look into her eyes. I see forgiveness; I stand with new found courage. We are going to stop Sombra.
“L-let’s g-go.”
I say, fierce determination burning in my eyes. Sombra stands oblivious to the two Alicorns come to overthrow him. The crystal doors are gripped with a blue and yellow force. Twin magics bend against the door to throw it off of its hinges.
Sombra smiles, the green mist above him mimicking his haughty arrogance.
“Come to overthrow me have you?”
He sounds amused, like we were simply fillies who ran away from home and challenged him to a fight. I try to control the anger rising in me but it feels like trying to put a hoof in front of a river and expecting it to stop.
“Why so confident, Sombra? Today is the day you lose everything.”
I move forward, but I am stopped by a white hoof. I look up questioningly, and see Celestia nod her head no. I stop moving.
You’re going to let Celestia tell you what to do?
I mutter under my breath, and banish the evil thought to the back of my mind. Celestia and I turn back to Sombra, our crowns glowing, softly at first, then brighter and brighter so soon the light fills the room. Every minuscule speck of magic in the room is devoted to the rainbow beam that springs from our crowns: the beam of harmony. Sombra’s eyes widen, as the beam quickly flows towards him. He screams, as the beam hits him, tearing off flesh, eyes, and all other matter turning him to shadow. He’s in pain…
And I Enjoy it.