//------------------------------// // The Crystal Prison // Story: Long Live The King // by Morpheus Sandman //------------------------------// “Achoo!” The snowy expanse of the Crystal Mountain was a very cold place to be. A winter’s chill elsewhere in the world was nothing compared to the natural low temperatures of these mountains. Sabre, a crystal earth pony, visibly shook with every hoofstep. Alongside him, Pitch, a crystal unicorn, also shook from the cold. The falling snow did its best to impede the two ponies as they marched through the thickening snow. Light droplets lazily fell around them and glistened the world in white. The blue sky added a shy tint to the otherwise opalescence landscape. Though the sun radiated a blinding whiteness from somewhere in the sky, it didn’t warm the two ponies but only further emphasised the chilly atmosphere. The two dark coated ponies stood out in the field of ivory like a single orange in a basket of apples. Their fur coats did not help them to keep warm in the slightest. They trudged on slowly through the snow. Pitch’s brows crested strongly together as he searched the horizon. Mercilessly, the snow didn’t hamper his vision of the surroundings. Though there was scarcely a sight to see. Pitch breathed a chilly breathe, a short vapour trail trailing from his mouth. Pitch and Sabre were looking for the seldom spoken of Crystal Prison. It was a place sparsely written about in a few books that were kept in the library at Canterlot. A empire a fair distance away from where the two ponies now walked. A noteworthy book described the Crystal Prison as a place only the royal sisters had the privilege to leave and enter and that it was a fool’s journey to ever want to venture there. It was an area that the most nefarious criminals were sent to to be forgotten. A different text, an archaeological diary, that had gone through the Crystal Mountains had been the only clue as to how to find the so called secretive prison. ‘It was ever a powerful magic, or a warped sense of nature. Yet I could feel it in my horn. This cavern in front of me was never meant to be found.’ Pitch’s analysis of the archaeologist's journal lead him to firmly believe that they had to lose their way on the mountain. That the only way to find the mysterious prison was to trek on the edge of the unknown and hope to eventually stumble upon the Crystal Prison. A fool’s journey indeed if the idea turned up fruitless. Pitch, together with Sabre, had prepared lightly for the journey into the mountains. Getting lost would be difficult however; as Pitch frequently ventured around the mountains to study various crops of crystals that the mountain spawned. He had hoped the notion of getting lost was merely going someplace on the mountain he had not been before - but that wasn’t the case. Pitch had a good sense of where he was on the mountain even if he trotted unto never before trotted snow before him. He understood how to get back to familiar territory. Pitch’s lips cracked as he gently frowned. The snow looked alien to him suddenly. He purposely twisted and turned through the journey hoping to forget where he was. The showering of snow had been a blessing in disguise. He didn’t know where he was for once in his life. The landscape repeated itself in an ongoing tapestry of blending snow and sky. Pitch glanced down at his faux-leather, soaked, hoof shoes, and hoped silently that he hadn’t dragged along his cousin to die pointlessly. “P-pitch...?” Sabre’s teeth chattered and he shook from more than just the cold. His usual monotone voice sounded even grimmer than usual. He kept his head aimed at the ground below him so that each warm breath would pass over his neck, giving him a slight, insignificant reprieve from the cold. Fortunately, the snow was gentle, and Pitch could see dotted on the horizon a single discernible triangular formation. He closed his eyes and made a wish. “So,” Pitch stopped walking. “We’re finally lost.” “We are?” Sabre angled his eyes towards Pitch as he hooves stopped crunching the snow, pausing next to him. “Y-you know Pitch. If this isn’t the place...we’re probably going to...you know?” Melancholy was settling in and making a nice comfy home in Sabre’s mind. It didn’t change the prominence of his monotonous tone however. They had finished their rations of food and water some time ago. Pitch looked around to study the rest of the horizon and with no civilisation or way of nourishment around for miles; one way or another they would perish in a few days - that was fact. Sabre’s blunt comment made Pitch’s stomach curl. Pitch coughed. “Yes,” he said simple, already having the idea maul at his mind from time to time. However, Pitch’s body also ached with a short burst of slight excitement. He knew that the out of place shape in the distance had to be what they were looking for. It just had to be - there was nothing else. The ponies kept a steady pace together. Sabre walked behind in the holes made by Pitch’s hooves. In a few hours they would know if they had came to a dead end. They had left the border of the Crystal Empire two months prior. Pitch had excused himself to the Prince making up a story that he was studying the crystals of the mountain. Which would be as per normal for the doctor. Pitch was the more infamous stallion in certain social circles of the Crystal Empire. He was a practitioner of and foremost expert on dark arts and oftentimes crystal studier. It was a very dangerous and sometimes perilous practise to assume yet had not been strictly forbidden. Unlike other areas throughout the land that had. Instead, it was decreed by the Prince and Princess to only ever be studied by a select few. Ponies wishing to study the unique form of magic had to undergo strict and long interviews and practical demonstrations of their skills. This was to determine whether or not the pony in question had the right knowledge, skills, and attitude to professional and ethically undertake studies and experiments with dark magic. Pitch was currently the only practitioner that was legally allowed to undertake the study of dark arts.Decrees and words alone didn’t however prevent other ponies from trying their hoof to understand and master the powerful dark magic. The royal sisters of Equestria, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, decided it was best to allow accepted ponies to study and perform dark magic. ‘Know your enemy by understanding them,’ was the mantra the sisters presented. Precautions were taken to ensure the safety of everyone and risks involved with experimenting in the dark art were heavily tested before any practical activities took place. Practitioners were carefully monitored by guards and had ongoing reviews of their studies. Pitch was fine with all the red tape as it was his dream to study and undercover the potential and benefits that unexplored dark magic could have for Equestria. In other words; he took to his role with gusto when he finally received a royal doctorate to study his passion within the royal castle of the Crystal Empire. He had held the position of Doctor for the last year and a half. Sabre of course, was Pitch’s personal crystal earth pony assistant. Any good doctor of magic should have a least one. Sabre was a derisively simple pony. With a plain trouble-free smile that was a little jarring when he spoke. His voice was often monotone, bordering on what could be described as melancholy, a lot of the time. He however enjoyed his role to the fullest to support Pitch, his favourite, albeit, only cousin. Pitch studied under constant watch, not from fears or suspicions that dark energies would transform him into a nefarious character but for his own protection. He had been royally decreed as a honourable and loyal pony after all. It was so that none of his experiments or studies lead to disastrous situations. Dark arts could often times have its own mind like a savage, untameable creature. It was understood that dark magic could have a destructive or deteriorating effect to both the body and the mind. Pitch had the very best protection in the Crystal Empire. Prince Shining Armour himself would cast protective shields of the highest calibre around Pitch and Sabre when they were to perform a practical hypothesis with energies pertaining to dark magic. There was, however, a small secret though; an alternative agenda, to why Pitch and Sabre delved into dark magic... The soft falling snow never surrendered its paltry assault on the two ponies but thankfully never got any worse. A small enclave waited in front of them. It was by far the strangest entrance the cousins had ever seen. It was outstandingly simple yet strikingly odd. The singular rocky mass was smooth, almost crystal like, as if it had been cut that way by some creature. Sabre poked his head into the open mouth of the cave. Stairs, built from mud and stone, immediately headed down into the depths of the mountain. Pitch and Sabre both took the open door invitation welcomingly to get out of the cold without delay. They silently descended deeper into the maw, out of the cold and into the dark. The place was only slightly less cold than outside. The light from outside bounced and reflected off of crystal sticking out of the earth and ice; illuminating the cave scarcely. The moving bodies caused flickers of shadow in the darkness, emphasised with the echoing of water dripping from stalagmites, was unnerving. The foreboding sense of things to come which was only increased as the wanderers continued. The stairs were too perfect, the walls too refined. Though very simple, the place had a presentation of hoof-craft and great care taken into its form. The cousin’s hooves tapped and thudded audibly against the stone and earth of the stairs. Sabre looked around at the bare damp walls, not feeling any warmer for doing so. “Could this be it?” Sabre verbalised, slowly moving behind his cousin. “Pray so.” Pitch replied thoughtlessly, creeping along. The ponies’ mind were on a one way track and neither one of them wanted to die just yet. Pitch steeled himself as they both arrived on the bottom of the stairs to come across another very plain, strange sight. A very small, tiny, a few hooves tall and careless looking, double door. A pony would have to crawl on their stomach to get through it. Pitch and Sabre looked at one another quizzically. Pitch shrugged with his eyebrows and took a small breath as his horn began to glow with his own dark blue magical signature. The doors didn’t open inward or outward but resided into the earthen walls instead. His first try to telekinetically open the door had worked. “Simple enough.” Pitch said skeptically. Sabre was starting to feel nervous and a bit nauseous from not having any food or water. He swallowed a dry mouthful of nothing and felt like wanting to spit something out. But couldn’t create the saliva to do so. “Chin up cousin.” Pitch smiled reassuringly. His face then turned serious.“But be careful. Who knows what’s inside.” They crawled, one by one, underneath the small opening the door had left them, mudding themselves in the process. Though there were few texts on explaining what dark magic was. There was one particular reference point that each made. There had only been one pony to have purported to have master all that encompassed it. Sombra, the dark arts master. A unicorn that would be over a thousand years old today. On this pony in particular, there were only a hoof-full of books. All of which were kept in Canterlot. There was nary a scribed letter about him in the Crystal Empire. His mastery of dark magic was awe-inspiring and frightful to behold. No pony alive knew how he became so fluent, so understanding, and under control of such incredible forces. Philosophers had written he changed for the worse as his proficiency in dark magic and own magical power grew. That the dark magic had captured his mind and twisted his thoughts. He was the veritable bogey-pony of little filly stories, hidden under the bed so that he could consume fear – and taste it on his tongue. Pitch and Sabre had a personal interest in Sombra. Their mission into the Crystal Mountains was all about him. They both believed their goal to be a honorable one. They searched for the aforementioned Crystal Prison, a special sort of prison saved especially for extra special circumstances. Through his search for information on the Crystal Prison Pitch had hypothesised that the prison could be home to only one pony and one pony alone. The King. That thing. It. Him. King Sombra. They would find the prison and they would rescue Sombra from the prison hidden within the Crystal Mountain and from freeing him from his imprisonment, they would then rehabilitate him. If they ever told anypony what that they planned – they would of laughed at the very thought. Sombra wasn’t by any or to anyone’s knowledge – a good pony. Transforming him would be a Celestia level miracle. Yet the cousins both felt strongly that it was their single mission in life to bring ease to the minds of Equestria by rehabilitating Sombra back to the side of good will and happy thoughts. He was after all their forefather. His blood ran through their veins. Pitch himself had only discovered this fact after a particular public outcry and later social stigma. For many it had felt like only yesterday when everything happened. Sombra once ruled the the Crystal Empire over a thousand years ago. He corrupted the Crystal Heart and fear dissented Equestria. He ruled for a short period up until the royal sisters defeated him by turning him into shadow and banishing him to the ice of the arctic north. He however had the last laugh as he disappeared so too, the Crystal Empire, which he usurped, disappeared, seemingly from existence. For over a thousand years the empire and the crystal ponies had virtually all been absent from Equestria, believed to have been gone forever. They were stuck in another plain until one day they resurfaced back into existence a few years ago. With Sombra also reappearing from banishment. Old painful and tormented memories resurfaced in the minds of the citizens of the Crystal Empire. Remember the suffering Sombra inflicted into their lives during his short-lived reign a millennium ago. When Sombra reappeared with the Crystal Empire, to the relief and surprise of the citizens, he was swiftly defeated, this time by the pupil of Princess Celestia. Two new leaders then brought the empire out of the slums and into the light - Princess Mi Amour Candenza and Prince Shining Armour. However, what was hope and love for the future was a leash to Pitch’s studies. An investigation into stamping out any the dark energies that may have been left lingering behind by Sombra took place quickly after his second banishment. Even ponies from Canterlot had came to assist. In this investigation the linage of Pitch and Sabre was discovered. In a mess of coming and going information other ponies had also found out about this tidbit of information. In a public outcry for peace and safety the new royal pair saw no choice but to put a short leash and tight guard on what could and couldn’t be done in the studies of dark magic. Particularly, a stringent guard around Pitch and Sabre, if only to appease public opinion and reassure safety concerns. To finally be free of that leash, to no longer be leered at as a living descendant of Sombra, by rehabilitating Sombra, the family would no longer have to live with eyes watching their every movement. To be the scorn of the empire. Pitch and Sabre, were in every sense, known to be nice, outstanding ponies with no history of malice and ill intent. This was one of the reasons he was installed by the Princesses of the Crystal Empire and Canterlot as a practitioner of dark arts. Pitch and Sabre held their breaths as they stood straight. They both understood what dark magic was and its potential. It was by its nature a destructive and a powerful magical form. It was romanticised by poets as a Pandora’s Box; a unknown but dreamed of almighty power that was lusted for but kept under lock and key and hidden from everyday life. A power that could make a single pony stand out against the crowd. A life force that could make one feel invincible, yet, the possibility of harmful side effects if not probably handled kept the majority away from looking into it. Yet Sombra; he who was meant to be feared and cowered against, laid bare on the dry hard ground. A shell of his true self which seemed like a joke to how how he was written and spoken of. The small cavern was a stunning contrast to the the staircase down. There was no space untouched by the various sized shapes and colours of crystals and crystal impersonating grey rocks as they poked out from everywhere. Crystals were bunched up together all over the place. Their own light illuminated the claustrophobic area. The only distinguishable earth that could be spotted was the immediate entrance area where Pitch and Sabre stood and the small area Sombra laid on. Magical energies made the air muggy and heavy to breath. The crystals seemed to chime faintly. “Sombra?” Pitch whispered. Sombra’s black hair and grey coat weren’t a very common colour pattern to be born with. What made Sombra really stand out however was his curved horn, its tip sharpened, and red as hot iron. The pony grunted, as his eyelids tiredly opened up. He laid motionlessly not looking at the new arrivals into the den. He closed his eyes once again. Pitch and Sabre regarded the pony for a moment then looked at one another questioningly. “Is that really him?” Sabre whispered. “It must be. Who else would be in such a place?” Pitch said slightly louder. Pitch begun to think and scanned the small enclosure. Taking the room into his mind he nodded to himself. A experiment was in order he decided. He drew on his dark magic and summoned its power to envelope his horn in a dark mesh of purple light with a trimming of green. Pitch felt a tug on his horn as the energy faded from his horn. Cracking with sound a nearby a crystal turned to stone. “Hmm, these crystals draw dark magic.” Pitch eyes narrowed. Looking around the room at the variety of crystals adoring it. One stoned shaped crystal crumbed into dust. He pulled a large one out the ground, spun it in his magically grasp, then placed in within his own saddlebag. “That’s how he was kept weak the crystals sap magic. But why no guards for the prisoner? Surely he could just get up and walk out, right? The door opened simply by a telekinesis spell.” Pitch said and scratched his chin in thought. Pitch studied Sombra as he lied in place. No bindings around his hooves, not even a magic ring inhibitor around his horn. How strange. Yet there was one thing that stood out. A shivering twinkle among Sombra’s soot-black coat. An intricate necklace hung around his neck. It was made entirely out of crystals that were dark purple. In such a place, it may of been the enchanted object keeping Sombra in the prison. Pitch took a tentative step towards the resting pony and pointed his horn to the necklace around his neck. Drawing on a small amount of the dark magic within him he focused the power to the tip of his horn. Again a slight tug at his horn and the energy had faded. “Hmm. The necklace doesn’t seem to siphon magic though. Though with all these other crystals around it’s hard to tell.” Pitch studied the necklace. It had no clasp nor did it look like it could be lifted off around Sombra’s head without probable difficulty. Sabre joined Pitch in eyeing off the jewellery. He noticed one of the crystals hiding in the back of his neck fur was blue coloured. “Maybe we could ask him?” Sabre suggested nonchalantly. They jumped slightly as Sombra grunted and his eyes wearily opened again. It lasted a whole two seconds before they closed again. Sombra kept utterly and pathetically immobile as if he was trying to imitate a stone statue. “But then how did he manage to escape from here and appear in the Crystal Empire?” Pitch signed. “There must be some sort of explanation.” Sabre was starting to feel deflated. The cousins had messed up badly. The Crystal Prison had barely been described at all as no text described its function other than a holding cell. Pitch was dumbstruck that his studies in crystals as a functional property had never revealed something like this. He had never seen any type of crystal take away magically energies all by itself before. It was a new discover yet it troubled him. Pitch knew thusly, crystals; the ones referred to as containers or vessels, were made almost entirely out of light energy and could be imbued with magical energies from a source. Compared to other magic, dark magic was devoid of any traces of light energy and therefore a complete antithesis to anything crystal. A crystal could only sparsely hold a minimal amount of dark energy before shattering. The ones in the prison were very different. With licked lips Pitch knew he wasn’t going anywhere else at this moment anyway. He went through the motions of studying his surroundings once more. He pocketed a few smaller crystals into his saddle bag. He then paid attention to using a dynamic range of spells to try and remove the necklace from around Sombra’s neck. It could be broken apart but tendrils of purple light in-between the two broken pieces mended it back together. Trying to teleport the object yielded nothing at all. Sombra remained unmoving. “It could be enchanted for only the caster to remove?” Sabre suggested. “Hmm. That would be bad. An enchantment from Princess Celestia or Princess Luna wouldn’t break easily.” Pitch thought out loud. “We could just...drag him out?” Sabre looked around the small enclosure. He was starting to feel claustrophobic and wanted to leave. The two ponies took to one side each next to Sombra. Sabre knelt down ready to receive Sombra on his back. Pitch knelt down on the other side. As he went to touch Sombra he suddenly growled aggressively. Only his lips had moved to reveal pointed teeth. Pitch withdrew his hoof a little unsure if it would still remain intact if he touched the slumbering pony again. Magic wasn’t working. And Sombra wasn’t exactly giving off an aura of helpfulness. Woefully, both ponies were coming to their wits end at how to get Sombra out of the prison. “Come on now!” Pitch said firmly, reasserted himself. Pitch was about to try again when Sabre and his ears both swivelled towards the doorway unexpectedly. Quickening hooves slapped against the muddy stairs. The hoof steps got louder as they proceeded down. Pitch rejoined Sabre on Sombra’s side that faced the miniscule doorway. The cousins watched blankly, air stopping in their throats, as several royal crystal guards assembled quickly in the room. Prince Shining Armour stood at the vanguard. “Doctor Pitch, Sabre. I am here to escort you back to the Crystal Empire.” He said in an authoritative voice. Pitch and Sabre shrunk under the unflickering eyes of the Prince. Sombra hadn’t budged from his position. Now it would seem they would be court martialed for attempting to break a criminal from the prison. The guard's eyes shifted sternly from the two ponies to Sombra as he grunted and his eyes drew open, half-lidded. Their brows quickly tensed into a furrow and they took an offensive stance. Sombra, the dark arts master, slowly raised and stood on the spot, although he looked groggy. He yawned, a giant maw with razor sharp teeth and serpent like tongue showed off. “Easy stallions,” Shining commanded firmly as he lowered his body slightly. “There’s no dark magic to worry about while we are in this place.” Sombra took a weak step forward followed by another. From behind Pitch and Sabre his eyes looked through a crystal that stood at pony height. It reflected Sombra’s image back at him briefly before turning into stone. A large crack burst from the surface causing everyone else to flinch. Shining Armour drew out his sword, holding it in his magic. “Sombra!” He warned. The stone crumbled away, leaving nothing but dust. In the dust a small crystal fell and jumped up and off the ground towards Sombra’s hooves. He picked it up and with eyes closed he pressed it to his chest. Sombra turned and walked steadily towards Shining Armour. He passed by Pitch and Sabre, his eyes moving slowly across them. They in turn gawked at him. Sombra, in a dazed fashion, stopped almost nose to nose with Shining Armour, who hadn’t flinched from his imposing figure. Sombra’s lips drew a long, thin, dangerous line as his eyes made no effort to be awake. He hissed quietly, his red eyes back dropped with a green like venom that sluggishly tried to stare down Shining Armour. The guards’ perspective narrowed on him waiting for the command to apprehend him. Shining Armour’s perception took in Sombra, looking out at where he may strike. Sombra slowly and lazily stretched to his full figure, standing a bit taller than Shining Armour, and leered at each and every individual unicorn, pegasus, and earth crystal pony that stood around him. “Fear me...,” he hissed again. His voice muffled, albeit still not a normal tone level, his eyelids fluttered. The guards each tensed up as Sombra’s disdained gaze bored into them like swift, stinging sand. “Fear...ME!” Sombra huffed loudly, bearing his talon like teeth for all to see. A whirl of light spun around his chest causing Shining to jump a step back. He held his horn forward aimed at Sombra. All was was quiet, save for Sombra’s heavy breathing. Nothing happened and the room barely changed. Sombra’s breathe laboured intensely and he left his jaw to hang open. One of the guards snorted derisively. What was there to fear after all? Who would fear an obviously weakened unicorn surrounded by crystals that naturalised his dark powers? Sombra slowly and steadily regained his bearings, as if he had just woken up from a dreary slumber. He coughed disgustingly, flem building up in his mouth. He spat it out. He was started to look more awake and alive now. Once again he eyed each and every stallion in front of him, he saved an especially more focused glare for Shining Armour. Sombra raised a single right hoof above his head. “Ready guards!” Shining Armour jumped away from Sombra’s rising hoof. “Global formation and apprehend Sombra,” He ordered. Before they started to enact their strategy a purple wisp begun to drift from Sombra’s eyes. His hoof fell to pound the ground. “FEAR ME!” Several crystals exploded consecutively into rocky dust around them. As soon as the guards rushed a few feet forward they stopped suddenly. Sombra’s voice echoed in the small cavern and rang continually in every pony's mind. The crystals also seemed to bounce, back and forth, and reverberate his tone, chiming a soft accompaniment. For a moment no one moved, not a width or a breath. Sombra leered once again at each of the guards and finished on Shining Armour. A purple wispy smoke surrounded his eyes. “Sombra, you have no powers here,” Shining said firmly and with air of unyielding confidence. Sombra grinned slyly tilting his head to his left side. He chest moved as he chuckled deeply. Rummaging noises made Shining Armour take his eyes off of Sombra. His companions were looking strangely weary. One was rubbing his head, another looked like he was about to be sick. “Guards, form up! Now!” Shining barked at them. But the guards did not move. Sombra’s grin escalated. “Guards.” Sombra said softly, pointing a hoof at Shining Armour as their eyes locked together. “Sedate Shining Armour,” Sombra sounded gleefully. Shining Armour was aghast as he was swiftly rushed to the ground by his companions who each pulled a leg out from under him. Another two guards pressed their hoofs into the back of his armour to keep him down. Sombra sluggishly advanced forward on Shining Armour. He knelt down and touched the end of Shining’s horn with his own. Shining screamed and groaned as a dark, crackling magic, encapsulating around his horn. Sombra turned away from Shining Armour and moved towards the two aloof ponies in the background. Sabre watched in awe as pitch black crystals sprouted out along Shining Armour’s chalky-white horn. “That was the Prince.” Pitch said on reflection. “Was.” Sombra said apathetically. He looked around the den one last time, his brow creased. “We leave this place now and make for the surface of Crystal Mountain.” There was no tone of command or fear mongering, but rather a soft and gentle like suggestion. The cousins considered one another for brief moment and nodded. Sombra lead the pack out from underneath the mountain. Pitch and Sabre switching views between the figure in front of them and the ponies that carried and surrounded the now unconscious Prince Shining Armour. Sombra took a lungful of crisp cold mountain air and exhaled again, grinning satisfactorily. He turned to Pitch and Sabre, “In a way, you have my thanks. What are your names?” he said evenly. “T-thanks?” Pitch stuttered. He wasn’t expecting a thanks so quickly from Sombra. More so, he didn’t wholly believe that Sombra wouldn’t be confrontational to Pitch’s and Sabre’s rescue of him. “Uhh, I am Doctor Pitch and this is my assistant Sabre,” he quickly recovered to answer the question. Sombra nodded as way of greeting to Sabre. “Yes, my thanks. With the prince at my side it makes the next thing a shy more convenient,” Sombra explained to which Pitch and Sabre blinked unexpectedly. “And why, pray tell did you two come to this cursed place? To break me out?” His communication swayed vividly; condescendingly, his tone darkened with the deepened crease of his brow. The guards stayed positioned behind them at the mouth of the enclave. Sabre looked at Pitch hopefully. Things seemed well. Sombra was not giving off a total vibe of dark and evil just yet and didn’t seem too interested in corrupting them like he done the empire a millennia ago. Pitch had a number of questions on his mind that he was eager to ask, such as: What happened down there? Was that dark magic? Why didn’t he say anything to us? Why didn’t he say anything before? He just did that... Instead he cleared his thoughts and steeled himself for his next statement. “Well you see...” He rubbed his head for a moment before he made eye contact with Sombra. His eyes made Pitch aware of how different he was from Sombra. Those eyes; they looked sick and twisted, red and green. His back hoof shook involuntarily. Pitch considered whether or not it was wise at this point to reveal that Sabre and he were his grandsons. It was a good idea, he would have to know at some point, he deduced. To show that they were here honestly to help Sombra. Pitch swallowed nervously, “...You are our forefather. I think we’re about twelfth or thirteenth from your original bloodline...” “I see.” Sombra said in disbelief, noticing Pitch’s obvious nervousness. He expression changed from hard to soft as he looked at Pitch curiously. “I can...feel, you have some dark magic within you Doctor Pitch,” Sombra stated. Pitch swallowed nervously again. Sombra’s horn light up with a light dark mist. It swirled forward till it made a glowing crimson sphere at the end of his horn. He opened his mouth agape and begun to breath in. The tugging at his horn was indescribable. Pitch felt tired and ragged as magic was pulled out through his horn and into the maw of Sombra’s mouth. Sabre gasped as Pitch fell to the ground and saw that Pitch’s eye had turned a lifeless grey. His crystal pony coat faded. “Fear not. He will be fine. I need his power for just awhile.” Sombra said as Sabre lifted Pitch’s muzzle out of the snow. Sabre listened attentively to Sombra. He had sounded strikingly energetic and assertive and almost had a smile on his face. The situation wasn’t going to plan. Sabre shook his head uneasily as he held his cousin around his haunches worriedly. Sombra faced away from Pitch and Sabre. “You no doubt have some questions. Those I will answer later, my sons. But right now we should make haste. I have no doubts that these guards routinely report on their location back to the Crystal Empire. Thus, we head there now.” Sabre gulped nervously as his eyes twitched to Pitch and to Sombra. “This wasn’t how it was supposed to go at all,” Sabre muttered. Sombra’s horn lit up with new life, the dark energies surrounding it cackling with reinvigorated life-force. His body slowly became transparent. His body streamed out from him becoming a formless mass of shadow. Sabre watched shocked. The shadow engulfed the group of ponies and made its way into the sky. Sombra headed for the Crystal Empire. Like he had done so similarly not so long ago. The impenetrable darkness surrounding Sabre dissipated. He shook his head to realign his focus and could see light again. What stood in front of him took his breath away. They were at the forefront of the Crystal Empire. The crystal archway shone brilliantly in the daylight. Sabre closed his mouth as Sombra begun his march, unannounced, into the empire. The guards surrounding Shining Armour followed closely behind him. “Pitch, we have to do something.” Sabre nudged Pitch who laid on the ground. Pitch groaned, not moving. “Come on.” Sabre said gently and swung Pitch’s leg around his neck and helped his cousin from up off the ground. Pitch leant into Sabre to help steady himself and they slowly made their own way behind the march. The ominous approach of Sombra didn’t go unnoticed. Every pony felt an unexplainable change in their mood like their shoulders had just become heavier by some burden. The deeper Sombra went towards the castle of the Crystal Empire the more crystal ponies paused to stare. Disbelief pooled in their minds and nightmares came hauntingly back into their imaginations. Hooves rushed. Gasps were silent. Doors and shutters closed quickly. Sombra The King had returned. As the castle came into sight Sombra took note of the pony who stood at the balcony overlooking the empire. She morosely watched his every step. Princess Cadance visible shook. Tears started to run down her muzzle as she saw her husband being carried within the precession. The march stopped near the foot of the courtyard stairs that lead to the doors of the castle. Sombra looked up to Cadance his face vacant and unreadable. Cadance went through her mental checklist of keeping calm. Though all she wanted to do was rescue her husband she couldn’t well risk a sudden violent situation if she acted too hastily. Cadance spread her wings and jumped off the balcony, gliding down to stop a few hoof steps away from Sombra. Two pegasi guards glided down next to her; flanking her on both sides. Sombra grinned. He took in the vision of Cadance slowly, lingering on her horn and wings. Sombra lifted a hoof to the opposite shoulder and lowered his head. Cadance’s eyes narrowed. She didn’t say anything as she tried to over analyse this action. A mock bow? The real deal? “The crown on your head is no longer yours to bear,” Sombra spoke calmly, with a toothy grin, as he raised his head and lowered his hoof back down. A mock bow. “Sombra.” Cadance spoke as calmly as she could, her nerves starting to betray her. “You have no authority in Equestria to make such a claim.” She said boldly. Her own brand of authority had a strong stern tone. As Cadance spoke, more and more guards surrounded Sombra and his group. Pegasus landed with a thump and unicorns and earth ponies clicked and clacked in their armour as they took up defensible positions surrounding them. “None?” He grinned, showing off all his pointed pearl white teeth. “I make my own authority Princess.” He eyed each of the guards at her side. Sombra acted swiftly. Short beams of light shot out from his horn. His horn glowed with darkness and the purple mist had begun to seep and swirl around his eyes. A platoon of guards jumped into motion, charging at Sombra. “Wait!” Cadance yelled. The guards froze. Cadance was now pinned to the ground. One pegasus guard forced her down with his hoof while the over held his spear to the Princess’s neck. The guards had dreary; bleak, shrunken eye expressions on their faces. Sombra chuckled. “By your life Princess, do you wish to stop these loyal guards from apprehending me?” Cadance saw his rouse. She juggling the two options that Sombra wittingly presented her. Her life for his re-capture. Cadance grimaced from the pressure in her back. She looked past Sombra to the unmoving body of Shining Armour. His chest slowly rising and falling. He was alive. Cadance closed her eyes tightly trying to stop her tears. As Cadance cried silently it didn’t take long for Sombra to walk right up to her. "Inaction in the best course of action here Princess.” He said solemnly, making the decision for her, as he approached her. He leant his horn down and touched her horn lightly. A crackle of sound and obsidian crystals sprouted from the top of her horn. Sombra then turned away from her, deciding not go into the castle. It wasn’t the throne he was after. It was only an overzealous chair after all. There was something else. Something more important that needed immediate attention. None barred his path but pegasi hesitantly floated nearby watching him with intent in their eyes. Sombra paid them no mind. Sombra slowly made his way around the castle keep to the northern side. He continued to ignore the guards who glared daggers at him. Sombra kept his eyes straight and to himself. Out in front a large structure sheltered the most valuable possession of the empire. Perhaps the most valuable in all the land of Equestria. The Crystal Heart. Sombra stood outside the laying structure. He eyes narrowed, staring into the refracting reflections of the blue heart shaped crystal as it rotated midair. His horn glowed, the purple ether that surrounded his eyes whipped about. “ “I will reach out and consume it all, all of it, in fear.” Sombra said and licked the back of his teeth. A magical light erupted from Sombra’s horn and pasted into the spinning Crystal Heart. The dark light pulsed rapidly and dug into the core of the crystal. Sombra grinned. He twisted the crystal, changed it so and remade it to his liking. The Crystal Heart slowly stopped turning as Sombra stopped his magical assault on it. There was no movement anywhere. The crystal jarred slightly. The crystal jarred slightly again. Suddenly, it begun to re-spin. The spinning continued to pick up pace, blurring the heart into a spherical shape. The guards nearby watched apprehensively. Then there was a sound of an explosion. A clear dark sphere spread out from the epicentre of the Crystal Heart. The dome was felt by everypony it passed through, sending shudders through their bodies. The dome stationed itself around the Crystal Empire in a matter of seconds. A crystal pegasus in royal guard attire floated down right next to Sombra. Sombra grinned at the pony. He could see it in the pony’s eyes. A faint shadow licking the surface of the eyelids. The revered crystal coat was no more. Only a dull, organic, lifeless coat that no longer shined in the light. Sombra bent his head to one side, cracking his neck audibly. His horn aglow, the necklace around his neck expanded to allow itself greater length. He floated a shard of crystal closely to the heart and a vague trail beelined into the heart. The crystal briefly glowed while the heart dimmed. He then pulled the crystal necklace back and returned it to his neck. He looked back over his shoulder. The first stage of his plan was coming to fruition. To have dominion over the Crystal Empire like he had a millennium ago. Teeth showing, he chuckled darkly. “This is only the beginning.”