“Wait, Twilight!” Rarity jumped between the shadow unicorn and the alicorn princess. “Stop! This isn’t needed!”
“Rarity?” Twilight gasped in surprise. “Spike told me you were in trouble?”
“Well, y-yeah!” Spike awkwardly stammered. “Look! Sombra is free!”
In a feat of pure athleticism, Sombra leapt over Rarity and charged for Twilight. They physically clashed in the doorway and crossed horns as though they were swords. Sombra quickly parried Twilight, cutting her across the face and drawing a line of blood. The hate and anger in her eyes was apparent, and Rarity could tell it was exactly what Sombra wanted.
“Stop!” Rarity pleaded. They ignored her.
With one powerful blast of raw magic, Twilight sent Sombra crashing against the back wall, shattering yet another bookshelf. Spike ran and hid behind the doorframe as the stallion pulled himself from the wreckage. Out of nowhere the shadows in the room came to life and lashed out at Twilight like bladed whips. They cut through whatever they touched, including the walls and shattered wooden desk.
Pop!
Twilight was next to Sombra and suddenly used her magic to send him into another portion of the wall. “Shadows? I thought I sealed your magic?”
Rarity knew she had seen the shadows moving! How was it he could control them when he didn’t have access to his unicorn powers? Were they somehow separate? You don’t have time to think about that now, Rarity! she told herself. You need to stop this!
Black crystals suddenly began sprouting from the shadows in the corner of the room. They grow each and every second the fighting continued. The crystals sucked the very color and light from the room as if they were made from the void of a black hole. Unable to let this stand, Rarity leapt between them and wrapped her hooves around Sombra’s powerful neck and silky mane.
Pure shock and bewilderment halted Sombra’s assault. Twilight maintained her combat stance but backed down. She motioned for Rarity to move. “What’re you doing, Rarity? You should get out of here! I made a mistake; I should’ve sent Sombra away! I don’t have time to deal with him and he’s obviously still dangerous!”
“He wasn’t like this until you attacked!” Rarity argued.
Spike hustled from around the corner and grabbed Rarity, pulling on her with enough force to separate her from Sombra. “Rarity! What are you doing? He could attack you at any moment!”
While Sombra was still stunned by Rarity’s actions, Twilight used her magic to teleport him back to the crystal cage. The instant he was gone the shadows in the room fell back into their natural place, losing any spark of life they might have had. Twilight turned and used her magic to shatter the black crystals in the room before turning her attention back to Rarity.
“What happened?” Twilight asked.
“I was having a pleasant conversation with King Sombra,” Rarity said, pulling her leg from Spike’s grasp. “Why did you burst in here like a pack of war elephants?”
“Spike said you were in trouble…”
Both mares turned their narrowed eyes to the baby dragon. Spike innocently kicked his foot out in front on him, nervously laughing.
“I thought… Sombra was going to… ya know… attack her…”
“Spike!” Twilight shook her head in disbelief. “You didn’t know? You just guessed!? I’m trying to help Celestia seal the Everfree Forest! I don’t have time to fly over to the castle because you think something bad will happen!”
“But he attacked you!” Spike said, trying to use that as definitive evidence.
“Well, your fighting made his dark magic stronger,” Rarity huffed, motioning to the shattered black crystals on the floor.
Twilight took a moment to scan the room. She turned back to Rarity with a glint of realization in her eyes. “Rarity, you’re a genius!”
“I- I am?”
“Yes! How could I have forgotten? His powers are based on hate and fear! I thought it was just the dark crystals of the Crystal Empire, but Sombra used the fear of the crystal ponies to fuel his magic! You’re right! Our fighting was giving him power!”
“You are the genius, Twilight!” Rarity admitted. “I’m simply the muse,” she swished her long curly purple tail, proud she was able to assist Twilight.
“You said you two were talking before I showed up? That he was pleasant?”
Rarity nodded. “Yes. It was a perfectly proper discussion.”
“I see… I guess it was a good idea you volunteered to stay with him then. We need people who aren’t going to be antagonized into fighting him or that become overly fearful in his presence… Spike, I’m going to have to stay away from the castle from now on. It’s clear you cannot control your fear around Sombra.”
“What!?” Spike gasped. “But what about Rarity? She’s in danger!”
“It seems to me she wasn’t in danger until we broke into the castle.” Twilight took a moment to think. “Fluttershy can’t help you with Sombra… Rainbow Dash will try to fight him… Perhaps Pinkie Pie can…”
“Wait!” Rarity suddenly shouted, starling both Twilight and Spike. “I know what I need to do! Don’t bother pulling anyone from their job! I’ll be back tomorrow to talk to Sombra again! I think I know where to go to get information!”
Twilight stared at her for a long moment before coming to a decision. “All right, Rarity. You haven’t failed me yet and, if you really were talking with King Sombra, you have done better than anyone else could. Just… try to hurry… Sombra cannot be allowed to escape. Celestia thinks the Ruin Worms will be drawn to his dark magic if he nears the Everfree Forest.”
---
“This isn’t the castle,” Sweetie Belle moaned. “It’s a library!”
“Yes, yes,” Rarity said dismissively. “We’ll see the castle afterward. Right now I need help searching the library for records…”
The Crystal Empire Library was a beautiful and elegant building. It was neatly organized and stacked several stories with old tomes. But, more importantly, it was a relic from the world 1,000 years ago. It would have records of ponies that lived in the Crystal Empire during the time of King Sombra and the time before he came to power. Rarity had only a tiny fraction of information about Sombra’s past, but she was hoping it was enough.
“Records of what?” Sweetie Belle exasperatedly asked.
“Um… records of ponies who lived in the Crystal Empire. Specifically any ponies that were blacksmiths. One that had three foals. I really need your help, Sweetie Belle. Can you help me?” She looked at her younger sister with pleading eyes. The little filly slowly smiled and puffed out her chest.
“Of course, Rarity! I can help!”
“Good! Let’s get to work!” Rarity would have normally asked Twilight Sparkle for help regarding research, but considering how busy Twilight was…
Time flew by as Rarity searched through page after page of birth records, tax records and medical records for hundreds of thousands of ponies. It wasn’t as rewarding as working on dresses or creating something new but she was driven by the need help King Sombra. She knew there was a piece of him that was a regal stallion. She had seen brief glimpses of everything a true king was; confident, proper, and noble. Rarity wanted to help that Sombra.
“Here are some more books, Rarity.”
She glanced up and saw her little sister telekinetically hovering a large stack of seven tomes. “Your magic is becoming impressive, Sweetie Belle! Those lessons with Twilight are really paying off!”
Sweetie Belle smiled and placed the books on the table. “Thanks! I just wish this library wasn’t so… boring.”
“Why don’t you sing while you work? You did that all the time in my boutique.”
“You think it’s allowed?”
“I don’t see why not. I think we’re the only ones here.”
Sweetie Belle smiled wide and trotted off with a hum. Her beautiful and melodic song soon began to ring through the aisles of the Crystal Empire Library, injecting life to where it hadn’t been before.
“Where’s that music coming from?”
Rarity jumped when she heard the question. She turned around and saw the tall, white stallion known as Shining Armor standing behind her.
“Oh!” she said with a sigh of relief. “I didn’t know you were here!”
“I was making my rounds when I stopped by the library. I was about to leave when I heard this beautiful singing… who is it?”
“My sister,” Rarity boasted. “But don’t mention you heard her. She becomes horribly embarrassed.”
Shining Armor laughed. “I understand. Reminds me of Twily when she was younger.” He stopped reminiscing and turned back to Rarity with a raised eyebrow. “What’re you doing in a library, Rarity? Especially this library? I thought Twily had a fantastic library all her own.”
“I’m researching King Sombra.”
Shining Armor’s mood instantly soured. “That’s right,” he muttered. “Cadance told me that traces of Sombra had been found near Ponyville.”
“Do you know anything about King Sombra?” Rarity asked, hoping to get information out of Shining Armor before he left.
“I’m sorry. I can’t help you. I know next to nothing about him.”
“Well, um, what about when you fought him?” Rarity was grasping for anything that might be important. “Didn’t you stay back to fight him when Twilight and the rest of us first arrived to the Crystal Empire?”
Shining Armor thought back. He slowly nodded. “Yeah… I did fight him there… It was the strangest thing. I thought for sure I was done for. That I was holding him off for the rest of you to escape under the protection of Cadance’s shield… We fought briefly and he won, but instead of killing me… he let me go. He covered my horn in black crystals but that was all… I never understood why.”
Rarity took it as a sign of what she already suspected: Sombra was a unicorn underneath the power of dark magic. He had the chance to kill Shining Armor, but didn’t. Why?
“I should be going,” Shining Armor eventually stated. “Hope to see you again.” He left the library with a troubled look.
Suddenly, the singing stopped. “Sweetie Belle?” Rarity called out. Nothing. She got up from her seat and looked around. “Sweetie Belle?” she called louder.
“Over here! I think I found it!”
Rarity ran down the aisle and to her little sister’s side. Sweetie Belle was lying down next to an old book, staring at one of the pages. “You found it?” Rarity asked.
“Yeah! Look! This is the only blacksmith I’ve seen so far! And he has three kids! See? A filly and two colts.”
Sure enough, the page was dedicated to a family that lived just at the edge of the Crystal Kingdom. Rarity was ecstatic. “Thank you, Sweetie Belle! You’ve done it! Maybe they were lost with the Crystal Empire! Maybe we can go talk to them!”
“I doubt that,” Sweetie Belle said with a single laugh. “There's a death date listed for them. Aw… That’s sad. They were attacked by Arctic Timberwolves… And the filly was my age too…”
“That can’t be right,” Rarity said, taking the book from her younger sister.
“That’s what it says.”
The book recorded one mare, one stallion, two colts and one filly, which had been attacked and eaten by Arctic Timberwolves. Rarity shook her head. That was a terrible fate but… it couldn’t be Sombra’s family, could it? All the facts matched up… It had to be. But Sombra was still here…
“Sweetie Belle, we’re going back to Ponyville. I need to ask Sombra something…”