//------------------------------//
// Chapter 8: War has Come 
// Story: The Prince of the Crystal Empire 
// by Prince_Dark_Bane 
//------------------------------//

(Right after Chapter 7, Castle of Death)
Eclipse, all three princess, the Mane Six, Snake Eyes, Clockwork, and Flame stood just out of sight of the guards.
"We are just out of the guard's sight. If I walk with all of you as my prisoners we can get in without a fight. The servants will not question me even if they where told I'm dead." Eclipse stated as she looked at everypony in the eyes.
"Wait, why would the servants not care but the guards would?" Rainbow Dash asked as she looked at Eclipse.
"The guards and the servants see each other as kin but the guards are just soldiers given that duty. Every soilder has the same strengths and weaknesses, but they are stronger than normal ponies." Eclipse stated as she looked at the castle with black clouds starting to swirl around the three towers.
"I know that Dark Bane likes to be scary and stuff like that, but why are his soilders so strong and why is his castle like this?" Pinkie Pie asked as she looked at the dark castle.
"He is one for statements. His castle is a statement saying that dark magic has the power to let him and his father do what ever they want." Eclipse answered as she looked at her old home.
"Ok, so he likes to show off his power, but what about his soilders? How do we defeat them if there is a fight?" Rainbow Dash asked as she looked like she was starting to dread this.
"Dark Bane does not show off his power. He simply shows that he does what he wants, and you can easily defeat the guards by putting their bodies under lots of pressure, but unlike the soilders at the Crystal Empire these ones are made from near perfect crystals. They are stronger and can take more stress on their bodies, but every soilder can barely think." Eclipse answered as she looked at her allies.
"Barely think. What do you mean by that?" Luna asked as she looked at the pony made by magic.
"Dark Bane is scared for his power. The soilders have great power and he fears when his soilders actually start to think for themselves. You see the soilders are so loyal to him that they can only think about the duty they are given. That is why they will do what ever he says and what ever that huge ego of a wife of his says." Eclipse answered with easily hearable hatred for both the prince and the princess of darkness.
"So all we have to is get his guards to think for themselves." Flame stated as he looked at Eclipse.
"Unlike the crystal ponies of the Crystal Empire, these crystal ponies are mentally linked, and Dark Bane & Trixie can use that link to give out orders." Eclipse answered as she looked at everypony.
"Um...What will happen if the guards don't buy the trick?" Fluttershy asked as she looked at the castle.
"Then we're going to have to fight through the castle to get to the guarden." Eclipse answered as she looked at everypony with a straight face.
"Wait, why the guarden?" Applejack asked as she looked at the unicorn being asked the question.
"The spells have to be casted outside. The guarden has a spell on it to make it spring all the time in it. I would know since I worked in the guarden for around one thousand years. I know every route to and from the guarden." Eclipse stated as she looked at everypony.
"Why would he need guarden?" Clockwork asked as he looked at the unicorn.
"Dark Bane was always working on something new. He would make potions to turn one into a cowerd or a potion that would corrupt anything it gets on." Eclipse stated as she look at a now surprised Flame.
"What's wrong sir Flame?" Luna asked as she look at the pegasus.
"Please don't call me sir Princess Luna, and I'm just surprised that he would know zebra magic." Flame answered as he looked at everypony.
"Wait, you know what a zebra is." Twilight stated as she looked at Flame.
"Yes I do. Zebras are actually very communal, and are will teach others their form of magic. Dark Bane has always had a thirst for knowledge. He would get books on every form of magic. Sometimes he would get copies of books he already had and would end up throwing them out of a window. That's how I ended up with a book with zebra magic in it." Flame stated as he looked at all the others.
"Well first off, zebras don't have magic, but they are incredible herbalists. All the potions you and Dark Bane have been making can only be herbal toxins or anti-toxins." Twilight stated as she look at the pegasus.
"Well I infuse my potions with magic making them more powerful. Dark Bane most likely does the same thing." Flame replied as he pulled a deep emerld green liquid filled glass bottle.(He pulled it from his satchel bag that's under his wing.)
"What's that? Some super sour syrup?" Pinkie Pie asked as she hopped up to the magical pegasus.
"It's a potion that will release magic draining clouds. Anything that has magic in it that enters the clouds will have all of its magic drained." Flame answered as he looked at the others.
"But the only ponies that can use magic are unicorns and alicorns." Rarity stated as she looked at everypony.
"Actually Rarity, unicorns use arcane magic, pegasus use sky magic, earth ponies use well earth magic, and alicorns can use all magic." Twilight replied as she corrected her friend about magic.
"Oh. So that's why pegasi can stand on clouds." Pinkie Pie stated as she looked up to the clouds.
"Yes, but if Dark Bane does infuse magic into potions then they will do incredible damage to everything." Celestia stated as she was now showing visible concern on her facial features.
"Sister, if Dark Bane has read books on different forms of magic then he has most likely not only know necromancy but also a spell that could give Nightmare Moon a new body." Luna stated as she looked at everypony.
"Why care about somepony that wants to bring eternal night? No offence Princess Luna." Clockwork asked and then apologize to the princess of the night.
"None taken." Luna replied with a straight face.
"Some taken." Snake Eyes stated as he gave a glare of annoyance.
Luna just sighed at that as well as Celestia and the Mane Six was just hoping the two orders would get along soon.
"Dark Bane sees Nightmare Moon as his own daughter, which might make him think your the mother Princess Luna." Eclipse answered Clockwork with a disappointed look.
"WE SURE HOPE NOT!" Luna stated with the royal voice causing everypony to stress since the guards could of heard her.
"Lulu, I hope he doesn't see you as the mother, but you need to be quiet." Celestia stated as she tried to calm her little sister down.
"There was something in our single-consciousness right after I left, I heard Trixie's voice say that she was going to bring back their daughter, so she sees herself as Nightmare Moon's mother." Eclipse stated as she looked at everypony.
"Enough talking the lunar eclipse is almost full." Clockwork stated as he looked at a moon that was now half way eclipsed.
All 14 ponies started to walk towards the gates while Celestia, Luna, and Cadance casted multiple spells to make it look like they where chained up with real chains and where the prisoners of Eclipse.
"Eclipse, we where told that you died proctecting Mistress Trixie." the unicorn gurad on the left stated as he saw her.
"I was able to survive by using every last drop of magic I could muster to heal my body and capture our lord's enemies." Eclipse stated as she made it look like she forcefully pulled the princess, the Mane Six, the leaders of the two orders' leaders, and Flame.
"You where able to capture them all and even the pegasus that can use magic. How did you do it?" asked the unicorn guard on the right with a surprised facial expresstion.
"I used some of the very dark magic Prince Dark Bane used to give me life to seal their magic and then teleport us her, but I was a few miles off but I could still tell where to go." Eclipse lied hoping it would fool the guards.
"Why have they not talked or yelled yet?" the left unicorn asked as eyed every 'prisoner' and saw their mouths where not bound.
"Must be an after effect of me using the shadow chain spell on them." Eclipse lied agian hoping the muscle heads would believe it.
"Must be. You servents are smarter so magic comes to all of you better then us warriors." the right unicorn guard replied as he shook his head.
"By the way Eclipse, why did your voice disappear from our collective mind?" the left guard asked with a raised eye brow.
"I believe it was from the sudden lack of magic is in my body." Eclipse lied again since she is now alive.
"That must be the reason. You can enter with the prisoners, and do you need help taking them to the dungeons?" the right guard asked as he and his partener used the magic they could muster to open the doors.
"That will not be necessary, I wish to surprise our masters." Eclipse answered as she started to lead her 'prisoners' to the dungeons.
After they left the gates, they saw why Dark Bane believed he could do what ever he wanted, since this castle was a beacon of his power. The walls seemed to be made of obsidan, and the fire on the touches was an evil mixture of black surrounded by purple. Every window they went by looked to be made of a grey crystal like material. Everytime they saw a servent all stared at Eclipse and her 'prisoners' as they past and then seemed to get angry. When they where far enough from the servents, the girls and guys gave Eclipse a confused look.
"Servents like I was are smarter than the warriors so we can keep working without being ordered what to do. That is why the castle is still in liveable condition. Servents are also able to order around warriors. I'm just glad that I wasn't made to be a miner, then I would have to dig away to get more crystals to make more of  us." Eclipse stated as she guided them to huge double doors with a single rose ingraved in both doors.
"Pass these doors are the gardens. As soon as we go in, Trixie will most likely tell Dark Bane I'm a betrayed him. As soon as he hears this, he will attack with all of his rage. Be ready to fight for your lives." Eclipse stated as she turned her head towards the doors.
"Twilight, take the others and go after Trixie. Luna and I will end Dark Bane." Celestia ordered as she looked at the door with pure rage just like her little sister.
As soon as the door opened, they saw Dark Bane and Trixie standing in two circles calling upon dark magic with an evil looking phoenix flying around them.
"A dark phoenix, but we made sure they where extinct long ago." Luna stated as she looked at the bird.
"Dark Bane! They're here!" Trixie yelled as she saw them aproach.
"We must finish the spell! Come to me my Legion of Shadows!" Dark Bane yelled as his voice thundered through the castle.
As soon as he yelled out the command warriors came to the gardens through the shadows.
"How can they do that?" Pinkie asked as she looked at all the crystal ponies.
"Its because everypony Dark Bane not only uses dark magic and his own magic, but he uses shadow magic to allow us to travel any where he tells us to." Eclipse answered as she glared at the crystal ponies and their masters.
"I'm going to call them shadow ponies then." Pinkie Pie replied as she looked at said ponies with her ever known smile.
"Eclipse! What are you doing?" one of the soilders asked.
"Dark Bane is a tyrant and Trixie is just plain power hungry. I can not just stand by and let them do what ever they want." Eclipse answered as she empowered her horn with new magic that she had gained by becoming flesh and blood.
"Then you are traitor to our prince, princess, and king. For your betrayel you will die. Warriors use leathel force!" the same soilder replied as the warriors draw their weapons.
"Burn." Flame stated as he flew up above everypony and then threw a fireball at the now swirling masses of shadows and night sky.
Everypony watched as the ball of fire flew towards the masses, but Loki flew infront of the ball and made a shield of dark magic blocking the blast.
"Let's get those muders!" yelled both Clockwork and Snake Eyes as they fired beams of gold and silver.(They where fired by the pony in the same order.)
Earth pony soilders blocked the beams easily taking the blasts. The soilders then charged the group all yelling a battle cry.(It basicly is just 'For the the shadows!')
"Get out of my way! Dark Bane is my target!" Luna yelled as she used her magic to throw the soilders out of her way.
"Honey, what do we do?" Trixie asked as she was focusing all of her magic into the spells her husband was molding into their working state.
"Just keep your mind on the spell as soon as the moon is fully eclipse the spells will be finished."Dark Bane answered as he kept his eyes on the horn of his father and the armor of Nightmare Moon with a small bowl of blood by it.(The moon was like 80% eclipse at the moment and the blood was a mix of Dark Bane's and Trixie's blood.)
"Hey Flame, maybe now would be a good time to throw that magic eating cloud in a bottle you have." Applejack stated as she kicked a soilder into a wall.
"I believe that would be a good idea." Flame stated as he flew up above the soilders.
Flame pulled out the deep emerld green bottle, but was then tackled by a pegasus soilder. The bottle full to the ground and soilders went to grab the bottle but a pegasus soilder eneded up landing on the bottle breaking it and release the cloud that quickly enveloped all the soilders and turning their bodies back to crystals.(So now they where crystal statues with armor on them and yes the cloud basicly died.)
"Well that worked out nicely." Rarity stated as her and the rest of the group ran over to stop the spells.
Just as they got a foot away from the seals of the spell, Loki flew infront of them and made a shield blocking them painfully.
"I always hated that damn bird." Eclipse stated as she glare said bird.
"I think we might be a little late to stop the spells." Twilight stated as she looked up to see the moon was just about to be fully eclipse.
"You lose princesses." Sombra's voice stated as the mass of shadows took the form of Sombra.
"Father. You live again." Dark Bane stated as the mass of night sky hid under Trixie's cape.
"My blood is flowing through my vains again. Air thunders in my lungs. The king of shadows and fear has return. May the world rejoice." Sombra stated as he looked up to the now ending lunar eclipse.(Sombra did not have any of his 'royal' wear on so everypony saw his powerful body and his cutie mark that was three black crystal spikes.)
"This castle is only for my family and those I decide to give the honor to enter." Dark Bane stated as everything and everypony except the Mane Six, the Princesses, Clockwork, Snake Eyes, and Flame disappeared right before their eyes.
"The next time you see us, it will be at war." Sombra stated as he, his son, and new daughter-in-law laughed and they were now completely gone.
"Great now they're gone." Luna stated as she glared at the spot that Dark Bane was standing moments ago.
"Oh no." everypony heard Eclipse stated as they turned to see her looking into a hole.
"What's the matter Eclipse?" Rarity asked as the others walked over to her.
"He was able to take the mine he uses to make his crystal ponies." Eclipse stated as she looked the now completely empty cavern.
"They're not crystal ponies, they're shadow ponies." Pinkie corrected with her nickname for the ponies created by the prince of hatred.
"Any idea where they're going Eclipse?" Celestia asked as the alicorn looked around the area.
"He's most likely going to hide within Everfree Forest since it has an ancient magic with in it." Eclipse stated as she looked at the others.
"Ancient magic like that of was left after my battle with my sister?" Luna asked a little self-aware.
"There is that magic, but there is a magic there that is from the old world. The world of man." Eclipse answered as she looked at everypony.
"But he said that the humans didn't believe in magic." Luna replied as she looked at the unicorn with a raised eyebrow.
"It was back when the humans called the dark ages. At that time the humans had wizards and witches. This magic seems to draw anything that has magic to it. That's most likely why you made your first castle there." Eclipse stated as she looked at the princesses.
"Princesses, I think he plans on using the Everfree Forest to try to summon the Elements of Nature. If he is able to bring them together then we are doomed." Twilight stated out of pannick.
"Relax Twilight Sparkle, Dark Bane said that nature itself made the Elements of Nature to fight the darkness. Dark Bane ironicly uses dark magic, so they will not obey him." Luna stated as she looked at the Element of Magic.
"Let us return home for now." Celestia stated as she teleported everypony back to their respected homes.(Remember Eclipse is staying with Twilight.)
Castle of Dark Bane:
Sombra, Dark Bane, and Trixie were trying to find a very scared filly out from her hiding spot. The scared little one found out that she was hidig under a much larger pony instead of a table, and had ran off screaming scaring the guards and the servents. Sombra was never was good at making a child feel safe, even when his only son was young, Dark Bane wasn't much better since he looked just like his father, but Trixie still looked like herself giving her the best chance at finding the filly and calming her down.
"Come on out." Trixie stated with a calming voice like a mother.(Well no horse pucking.)
"Yes, so I can have a good look at you." Sombra stated with his normal voice.(So he just made her freak and stay quiet.)
"FATHER! YOU'RE! NOT! HELPING!" Dark Bane yelled each word so loudly that he had to take a breath after each word.
"Honey! Your yelling not helping either." Trixie stated with a look that challenged the two males to do anything.
Both unicorn stallions wisely decided to not challenge the mare. Trixie smiled at her victory and then went back to looking for her new daughter. She found the scared filly hiding in the crystal mines with some of the miners looking at the filly between crates of crystals. When Trixie looked at her, she saw that the filly was an alicorn, (What were you expecting an unicorn?) had black fur her mane and tail that was the deepest purple there was, her eyes were just like when she was one with Luna, (I have no idea how to describe the relationship.) and she seemed to be the same age as those annoying Cutie Mark Crusaders.
"Hello I'm Trixie and I'm also your mother, so you can call me mother, mom, mommy, or momma." Trixie stated as she lowered herself to make herself as unintimidating as possible.
"Your m-my mommy?" the little alicorn asked as she was shaking slightly.
"Yes and one of those loud mouths is your daddy." Trixie replied as she kept low.
"Both of them scare me." she replied looking into these kind eyes. (Trixie's eyes are still purple they are just the same shape as Dark Bane's with the purple mist coming out of them.)
"Only your grandfather on your father's side of the family tries to be scary. Your father although has never had any experince with a child of any age." Trixie replied as she was able to bring the filly out.
The two walked back up the stairs to see the two males quitely yelling at each other.
"Do they usual act like this?" the filly asked as she looked at the two unicorn stallions.
"I haven't been around your grandfather for very long, but he's the one with the long hair while the one with short hair is your father." Trixie answered the filly.
That's when Dark Bane stopped 'yelling' and looked at the doors of the castle.
"What is son?" Sombra asked as he looked at his only child.
"An army of fools is committing suicide right now." Dark Bane stated as the doors shuttered from an attack on them.
"How did daddy do that?" the filly asked with wide eyes.
"He is mentally linked with every soilder and servant. I'm also linked to them but I'm as strong with it like him. So if one guards is attacked everypony knows about it." Trixie answered as the doors shook again.
Loki came flying up to his master when the doors where slammed open and a flood of ponies came running in, all of them with armor that looked like Nightmare Moon's armor. An unicorn stallion stepped up with a look of a leader. Next to him was a pegasus mare was standing on his left while there was a younger unicorn mare on the stallion's right side that wore a helmet that had a blinder on it.
"I told you I could find this place. This place reeks of dark magic." said the young mare that could be no older than the Mane 6. (This is what Sombra, Dark Bane, and Trixie thought.)
"Who are you ponies, and why do you attack my son's home?" Sombra asked with much anger in his voice.
"We are the Children of Nightmare, and we are here to take our queen back from you." the stallion stated with narrow eyes.
"You will never take my daughter!" Trixie yelled as sent out an order of magic to the Legion of Shadows.
"Children of Nightmare?" Dark Bane asked himself as he looked at these ponies.
The soilders came to their mistress's command and appeared through the shadows of the room. The soilders then moved between the royal family and the attackers.
"Queen Nightmare Moon is not your daughter!" yelled one member of the cult.
"Her name is not Nightmare Moon! Her name is Nightengale!" Trixie yelled and made the filly smile hearing her new name.
"If you plan on taking my daughter, then you'll have to kill me." Dark Bane stated as he summoned dark magic.
"Daddy, please stop." Nightengale pleaded as she started to hide under Trixie again.
Dark Bane quickly dismissed the magic and simplely summoned his emerld magic. It looked like he was about to fire a blast of magic, but then he used changeling magic to change into a large snake that looked poisonous. (Imagine the Bassilisk from Chamber of Secrests.)
"What did he just transform into?" questioned one member of the cult.
"I can use my magic with changeling magic to take the form of anything I know. This snake is known as Bassilisk. (Yes I know but you think up a name for magical animals.) Changeling magic also allows me to devour any emotion I choose so I can always grow in strength."Dark Bane stated as he slithered closer to the cult. (He can not kill just by looking at you. He has its shape not its powers.)
"STOP IT!" Nightengale yelled as her magic seemed to come to life and started to shack the castle.
"Yes our queen." every member of the Children of Nightmare replied as they bowed to her.
"I'm so sorry my daughter." Dark Bane stated as he tramsformed back into his pony self and hugged the filly.
"Don't touch our queen darkness bringer!" yelled a random member.
Sombra then summoned dark magic and glared at the Children of Nightmare. He smiled at them as he started to walk towards the cult.
"Father stop. I have a question for these ponies." Dark Bane stated causing Sombra to give a sigh disappointment.
"You never have any fun." Sombra stated as he dismissed the evil magic.
"What do you want Dark Bane?" the leader asked with much anger.
"Who are you and why do you want my daughter?" Dark Bane asked with his voice that was calm and collected but some how sent chills down evert members spine.
"I am Night Shade, leader of the Children of Nightmare, and we are the servants of Nightmare Moon herself. We will help her bring the night of forever." Night Shade answered as he glared at the prince.
"You are keeping something from me. I think I'll see what that is now." Dark Bane stated as he used dark magic and was able to hit Night Shade's horn.
What looks to be an endless white space:
"What the? Where am I?" Night Shade asked as he looked around the space.
"This is your mind. I was expecting something a little more." Dark Bane stated as he appeared walking towards Night Shade.
"What, but if this is my mind, how are you here?" Night Shade asked as he looked at the prince.
"I used a spell that allows get into minds this is how I get all the information I want, and if you fight this, you will be in massive pain. I know this since I used this spell to learn about the Guardians of the Light and the Children of Night." Dark Bane state as he started to bring out memories.
Dark Bane seemed to be coping every memory Night Shade has and was taking all the copies. Night Shade tried to keep his memories from Dark Bane but olny got lots of pain from it. Dark Bane was liturely getting every memory he had including the memories of his family.
"So you are the cousin of the Element of Kindness. That mare I will not kill, for she will be needed in my plan to summon the Elements of Nature. In fact, every bearer of the Elements of Harmony has a role to summon the Elements of Nature." Dark Bane stated as he finished getting every memory.
That's when everything turned into a bright white light and Night Shade and Dark Bane were back to the proper state of mind.
"Kill him! He has learned sercets of our order!" Night Shade yelled the order.
"If you kill me, my legion will lose all reason and attack everything. This won't happen when the magic I use to link their minds has connected with Trixie, then I simply have to connect my daughter, your queen, with that magic." Dark Bane stated as he glared at the cult.
"You command your army with your mind." the blindfolded mare stated more out of fasination rather than shock.
"I can command them through magic too, but that is a crude method." Trixie stated as she looked at the cult with annoyance.
"You gave your legion a hive mind just like the Changelings." the young mare stated again out of fasination.
"I suppose I did Night Veil, but here's the thing nightmare child. Your queen is my daughter, the Legion of Shadow will do what ever she commands. I don't have to tell them to do anything." Dark Bane stated as he looked to his legion then used his left hoof to gesture his family.
"How did he know my name?" Night Veil asked herself as she looked at Dark Bane through her spell to feel feilds of magic.
"I suggest that you bow to your royal family." Trixie stated as she walked up to the cult with a look of superiority.
"We will only bow to our queen." yelled a random member with lots of rage.
"Bow to me and my family, now." Nightengale stated as she walked up to the cult with the same look as Trixie.
This was enough proof for the cultists, so they bowed to the family, but Night Veil was thinking that this family was going go to far to get what they wanted. That's when she felt an influx of the magic in Equestria. It felt like a hot, humid, and dusty wind. Night Veil was not sure why, but she felt as if her brother had something to do with this power.