“Prince Sombra!”
I awoke, a bit groggy after my all-nighter studying. As was typical during my testing periods, my face was still down on the desk, many books on subjects ranging from arcane lore to equestrian politics lying open around me. As I glanced up at the window, I could still see the moon up there, although the palest flickers of dawn licked at the horizon. It wasn't even morning...
“Prince Sombra! Come quickly, your father is ill!” cried a voice from outside my study door. One of the guards, probably Captain Bloodmane. The grizzled old veteran was one of the few guards still stationed in the palace, most of the others dispatched around my father's beloved Crystal Empire to defend it from the threat to the south.
I stared at the window a few seconds longer, before suddenly what the guard said broke through my morning fog. My father? Taken ill? Umbra Nightshade was one of the strongest stallions I knew! Finding my legs and voice, I rushed to the door, yanking it open to reveal the ancient warrior, standing there out of breath. By the looks of it, he had rushed up every flight of stairs to get to my tower. For a moment, I regretted having my study at the highest point in the whole empire, but that washed away in my fear for my only remaining parent.
“What happened?!” I cried, but he only beckoned me to follow him, heading back down the stairs. What in the world could be such a problem? To render this old veteran silent? I wondered. I feared what the problem would be, but as my father had told me, Courage and Strength were the only way to defend against the greatest threats that the world had to offer. The Courage to face them, and the Strength to overcome.
Captain Bloodmane led me through hallway after hallway, before arriving outside my fathers bedchambers. Without even glancing at the Royal Elites standing guard, I barged in, fearing the worst. I saw three nurses and my father's personal physician, but for the life of me I could never remember his name. He was leaning low over the figure in the bed, and whispering. Without hesitation, I strode forward, calling out “Doctor! How is he?”
To my utmost relief, my father pulled himself up to a sitting position, coughing a bit, but managing a strong smile. “Sombra, my son! Dont worry your head off for me. All I had was a bit of a sudden nap. Dozed off while I was on my way to see to the Crystal Heart. Doctor Steelheart here is just overworried, that is all. All right, Doctor. Get out of here, I'm just fine. You two, Bloodmane” he said. I waited quietly, as I had been taught, for everyone to leave, before going over to him.
“Father, what is wrong?” I started to ask, but with a stern gaze he cut me off.
“Sombra, my son. I am getting old. There is no way around it, and no way to stop it. As much strength as you can marshall against it, the last enemy do be defeated shall be death. And we still have many enemies before then. Discord wreaks chaos to the south, and thus far, only the Crystal Heart has kept him at bay. Now, listen to me.”
I listened. As I sat at my fathers side, he told me of the goings of the world that I had thus far not been privy to. Things kept in political meetings and the scryings of his court mage. He told me of how various nations had tried to keep Discord at bay, but that none have succeeded. The Zebras far to the east had the most success, for a time they kept their land due to their natural bond to it. Their magic was strange to us, and presumably even stranger to discord, for it took him nigh on a century to overcome them with his blasted chaos.
To the south-east, the Gryphons held out not through their strength of arms or their formidable military might, but instead banded together using their loyalty and discipline. Yet after only thirty years, their government had dissolved, and civil war still raged across their land.
And to the direct south... Our neighbor, Equestria, sat leaderless, and broken. They had yet to find any way to reverse the chaos, and only rumors told of a brave duo, sisters, attempting to stem the tide. Discord ruled as the supreme sovereign of the known world.
But our nation, the Crystal Empire, held fast and stubborn against him. Try as he may, he could not work his vile magic into our hearts, our minds. He was helpless each time he came before us, and so great was our might he could not even enter our lands. Our magic was that of Love and Loyalty, and together those protected all of us.
“But... Sombra, my son. Our magic is not enough. Our power, it is failing. This sickness of mine... yes, sick I am. This sickness is the first tendril of his power, the first probe and test of his ability to work his ways here. I cannot hold these lands against him much longer.”
“Father! Do not say things like that!” I cried, unable to bear the thought of his passing. After the death of my mother the queen, he had been the only one able to comfort me. I had always taken pride in being the son of such a powerful colt. To think he could succumb to some sickness...
“Sombra, change is the way of things. As I assumed the throne from my father, you shall assume it from me. You must find a new magic, and must use it to keep us strong. Remember always, the crystal heart is the key to all the power in the empire. Now let an old man get some rest” he said, and I watched him recline in his pillows.
I thought that he would get better over the next few weeks, while I took my magical exams. And for a while, he did recover, bolstered by the faith of an entire empire. I even took a trip to the outer edge of our great city state, to assist in the crystal fair. It went off well, and my father made it to the balcony, announcing the start of it.
It was not to be so. I awoke one morning, and the entire palace was draped in black.
My father, King Umbra Nightshade the Third, had passed away. I was now the Crystal King.
How was I to protect this empire against Discord, the Master of Chaos?
COULD I protect it?
I only knew one thing: The Crystal Heart was the key. I had the Courage to face this problem, and I would gain the Strength to overcome it.