//------------------------------// // 93. The Crystal Empire - Part 2 // Story: Blaze the Pony Tale // by Wolven5 //------------------------------// Midnight followed Celestia through a rather enclosed hall, barely kept illuminated by wall-mounted candles so spaced apart they almost didn’t connect their light. It was ominous and Midnight was growing increasingly worried as to what exactly Celestia wanted to talk to him about. Finally, they came to a door kept locked by what appeared to be a magic circle. Celestia inserted her horn, unlocking it as the circle and its inner patterns and symbols brightened before dimming into nothing, the door opening and she led him into a room that looked like it hadn’t been visited in a very long time. A portrait on the wall was concealed by a dust tarp, there was a desk, upon which rested some kind of ornamental container, the lid askew to reveal what appeared to be letters. A bookcase and an old and unused fireplace, a few cushions provided for comfort but they looked rather cold. “What is this place?” Midnight asked, the very air felt depressing in here. “This… was a place I used to escape to,” Celestia answered solemnly. “But before I say anything more…” Her horn flared and Midnight gasped as a seal in his memories was broken. Shaking his head, realization dawned within his consciousness as he looked to the princess, who looked oddly anxious. “You wish to know about the Crystal Empire, what will happen.” Celestia nodded and listened as Midnight explained. “Twilight leads the girls in throwing a Faire for the crystal ponies but is initially unaware of the importance of the Crystal Heart. Once she realizes its status as a relic, she tells the others to make sure nopony sees the heart she provided is a fake. Cadance slowly weakens from providing protection while Shining Armor’s horn is disabled by a curse from Sombra. Twilight and Spike circumvent Sombra’s tricks and traps until the find the heart atop the citadel, but in her carelessness Twilight springs another trap and is unable to escape it. Sombra is almost upon them so she entrusts the heart to Spike with the task of delivering it to Cadance. With the heart and aid of the Crystal Ponies, Cadance wields the heart’s power and Sombra is destroyed.” Celestia gasped as she covered her mouth with a hoof, turning away. “Isn’t that a good thing?” Midnight asked, instantly knowing that was not what Celestia wanted to hear. “…Midnight, before I ask of you a mission I wish for you to undertake,” Celestia said hesitantly, “I must first tell you something I’ve never told anypony else in this era.” She fired a bolt from her horn, the fireplace instantly set ablaze, relieving some of the tension in the room, and she invited him to sit with her. After they were comfortable, Celestia began her tale. “Midnight, long ago, when Equestria had barely just begun… The three pony tribes relocated to the land discovered by Princess Platinum and Clover the Clever of the Unicorn Kingdom, Commander Hurricane and Private Pansy of the Pegasus Empire, and Chancellor Puddinghead and Smart Cookie of the Earth Pony Republic. "It was a long and arduous process, for even though the founders of Equestria had learned to put their differences aside and join together in friendship, the old rivalries and suspicions lingered. Disputes continued, arguments over territory, minor battles that were no less bloody… But the biggest argument of all was who would rule over the united tribes of Equestria? As you can imagine, each tribe wanted a pony of their kind to be seated upon the throne. "One pony took it upon himself to find and appoint a ruler that could unite the three tribes, but it had to be a pony who was not earth pony, pegasus, or unicorn but a pony that bore the characteristics of all three.” “And… he found you and your sister?” Midnight gathered. “He did, Star Swirl approached us when we were still fillies to beseech us into becoming the Princesses of Equestria. It was not an easy choice but although we accepted we were, as you would say, blank flanks, part of it was our delayed aging while the other was the fact the sun and moon were then still under the control of the unicorn kingdom. As we came under Star Swirl’s tutelage, he taught us the various branches of knowledge we would require to be competent and effective rulers. We grew into our adolescence and it was around this time when I would meet somepony… Somepony very special.” “Who was it?” “…I found this poor colt lost and hungry. He had been separated from his parents and long wandered looking for them. I took him home and nursed him back to health. Once he regained some of his strength, we introduced ourselves. That was the day I met Sombra.” Midnight gasped! But he didn’t dare interrupt, for every word drew him in. “Sombra told us his parents were earth ponies and they were actually his adoptive parents. He never found out where he came from or to whom he was born. I introduced Sombra to Star Swirl and he gladly took him in as another student. Eventually, Sombra discovered his own special talent and earned his cutie-mark, a cluster of red crystal, symbolizing his talent as a crystal mage! He was a prodigy, his power over crystal unmatched by anypony before! …Or since. As we grew older, Sombra and I… found ourselves falling in love.” Midnight was immediately blown, he wanted so much to ask more questions but he felt it inappropriate to say so much as a whisper. “As our love grew stronger, we soon came to a decision. We wanted to give ourselves to each other.” At first Midnight didn’t know what she meant but then he noticed a slight blush on her cheeks and got the idea. Whoa! Guess even princesses have needs… “But then… everything began to fall apart. The night before we agreed to… do the deed, I passed by my room and heard…” She took a moment to gather herself and Midnight knew at once that what she’d found was painful. “It was a betrayal unlike any I’d ever known since. I opened the door and found Sombra in bed with… me! But I knew it was an imposter. Acting quickly, I used a spell to unmask the harlot… and revealed Luna.” “What?!” Midnight whispered in shock. “Yes… I never noticed, but Luna had long been jealous of me, having formed feelings for Sombra herself! She used a glamour to assume my guise and lured him to bed… Upon seeing he’d been deceived, Sombra flew into a confusion of rage and remorse, coming very close to killing Luna. Star Swirl managed to get him under control but the damage was done… Even though he was not at fault, I couldn’t look at Sombra without being reminded of Luna’s betrayal… and a part of me resented him for being fooled, for not realizing that he was giving himself to another and never suspecting that something was amiss. "Understand, Midnight, back then I was not the calm and collected princess everypony knows me as today. I was a teenage filly who’d suffered a most terrible betrayal from her own sister and unable to put any justifiable blame upon the pony she loved. In my heartbreak and confusion I soon turned to Star Swirl for advice.” When she paused, Midnight asked, “…What did Star Swirl say?” “My mentor was wise, Midnight,” Celestia said in a serious tone. “He was worldly, intelligent, and dauntless. But Star Swirl never had such an understanding of friendship as do you and your friends. "He told me the conflict between myself and my sister had to be resolved, and Sombra was a distraction… He advised me to end the relationship, and in my foolishness I did as he said… Sombra was heartbroken and filled with hatred towards Luna. He couldn’t bear to be near me, so he left. But he did something almost as terrible to Luna... It would be years before I heard from Sombra again. By that time, Luna and I had grown older, we’d earned our cutie-marks, but then Luna took time away and left to walk among the ponies of Equestria. I didn't see her for an entire year. It was around that time that Discord fell upon Equestria, ruling for a time and subjecting everypony to the misery of his chaos.” Midnight recalled that, back when he and the rest were called to fight Discord. For some reason, the outcome of that was a bit hazy but he did remember Princess Celestia praising them for defeating the trickster. “I managed to reunite with Luna, and though I could tell her journey had not been kind to her she refused to talk about it, for we had to focus on the task at hoof. After discovering the Elements of Harmony, Luna and I defeated Discord and reclaimed our right to rule Equestria. But the schism between us had not faded, and it only grew worse after Luna realized what Sombra had done to her… He’d cursed her with infertility, rendering her unable to have children.” Midnight was appalled by that but then he felt Luna wasn’t completely undeserving of such punishment. “As we worked together to rebuild Equestria after Discord’s madness, Luna, saddened by her daily struggles, proposed to me that we form a new colony, where the ponies who would join it would grow strong and happy. "…I cannot tell you how tempted I was to agree, Midnight. It would have meant Luna leaving to lead the proposed colony, and I would not be constantly reminded of her betrayal. But in my heart, I knew I could not allow this, part of it because despite what she’d done I still loved my sister and because it would’ve meant either just running away from my problems or that Luna might never return. So with a heavy heart, I forbade it, telling her that to divide the already weakened kingdom would be to shatter it… forever. "But Luna would go behind my back and defy me, in spiriting off dozens of foals of all three tribes to a secret place. These foals and their descendants grew up to be the first generation of Lunar Ponies from Luna's care and magic although I would not discover this until sometime later. "By this time, we heard of a kingdom in the north, and what we found astounded us!” “The Crystal Empire?” “Indeed. Sombra had used his crystal magic to create a shining citadel completely composed of crystal and invited many ponies to live under his protection. Most of the ponies that bowed to his rule were earth ponies and they became the first crystal ponies from the constant exposure of Sombra’s crystal magic. "Knowing Luna would not be welcome, I approached Sombra alone, with the proposal of peace and alliance. But Sombra refused, demanding we leave him and his empire alone, that they remain an independent state. It went against my heart but I accepted his decision… and I cannot tell you how often thence I wished I had tried to change his mind. "Sometime later, we received a visitor from the Crystal Empire, a mare who told us of her beloved King Sombra, who had gone mad and was oppressing his ponies with an iron hoof. She alone had escaped. Our attempts to speak with Sombra were fruitless and we soon came to the conclusion, for the sake of the crystal ponies enslaved, we had to go to war… I meant to use the Elements of Harmony on Sombra, hoping I could save him from whatever evil had driven him to such vice! But in the battle, I was incapacitated, and when I woke up… Luna told me that Sombra did something, and the empire was gone.” “But… that’s not the story you told me and Twilight just now,” Midnight protested, “not entirely.” “That is because I told you an alternate tale,” Celestia explained, “for with Twilight in the room… I had to lie.” “I assume for good reason, Your Highness,” Midnight said respectfully. "There is a reason very few remember the empire ever existed," Celestia nodded sadly. "Because I saw to it all records of its existence were destroyed ...I could not bear for Sombra to be remembered as a monster." Midnight could understand that but said nothing. “Midnight, I will understand if you decline,” Celestia said with a begging look in her eyes, “But I must ask of you this mission, to be carried out without Twilight’s knowledge: I wish for you to capture Sombra and bring him to me.” Midnight was shocked by the princess’s request. How could he, a simple unicorn, possibly capture somepony so powerful as to make an entire empire vanish into thin air for a thousand years?! “I will bestow upon you the necessary tools and weapons to help you in this mission,” Celestia promised. “But you must also have the aid of your fellow Guardians of Harmony.” “Big Mac and Thunderlane?” Midnight was uncomfortable with that. It was one thing to risk his own life in something like this, but to ask the same of his friends? “I understand your hesitation,” Celestia gave him a sorrowful look, “but Midnight… I would not ask this if I did not have faith that there is even the slightest chance of seeing the pony I love again…” Midnight considered, and realized that Celestia truly and sincerely needed for him to say yes, and he understood why. She stood alone upon the throne for a thousand years after she banished her sister to the moon, and over the centuries she watched the ponies around her love her, revere her, trust her, and though she loved them all deeply it pained her to watch those she cared for grow old and die, the passing of her friends, watching them come and go. It made sense as to why Celestia never sought love, for any mate she chose would meet the same inevitable end, whether by happenstance, by ill-intent, or the slow decay of time. She just wanted her special somepony back. “I’ll do it!” Midnight swore, “But I make no promises about Big Mac and Thunderlane.” “Thank you,” Celestia whispered, a tear going down her face as she gave Midnight a grateful nuzzle, to his surprise. “I do not know the full extent of Sombra’s dark powers, so you and your friends must tread with utmost caution. But when the time is right, you and your fellow guardians will require… these!” She levitated a small jewel-encrusted chest with silver hinges. Contained within were three bands of gleaming platinum, each baring a jewel, one red, one yellow, the middle blue. “These bands will summon your Harmonic Armor, as well as your Helm of Faith. Simply wear them and strike the jewels in order to summon your armor. The bands themselves have been engraved with glyphs that will summon additional armor and weapons that will aid you. "Among them are special hoofboots that will be on your rear hooves. They are each imbued with a Fleet of Foot spell, enabling you each to move much faster than normal. Your forehooves will be fitted with golden bands that will be the true key in helping you capture Sombra.” “But what about our containment barrier?” proposed Midnight. “It nullifies any magic caught within it.” “Dark magic is different,” Celestia shook her head. “It corrupts and devours, your barrier will only slow Sombra down if you use it right away, and then he’ll be expecting it. No, you must wear him down, force him to expend his energy. Once he is exhausted, that will be the moment to use your barrier, and then he will be at your mercy! The bands that will appear on your front fetlocks can release special energy lines that will ensnare the closest source of dark magic once activated. Sombra will then be helpless and you will easily be able to bring him to me.” She placed the chest into a conjured pair of saddlebags before fastening them to Midnight’s barrel. “I won’t let you down, Princess!” Midnight swore. “Midnight, I am not asking you to throw your life away,” Celestia insisted. “If it comes down to it, if you are unable…” She turned away, stopping herself from crying and Midnight realized what she couldn’t say. If he was unable to capture Sombra, Midnight had Celestia’s permission to kill him.