"Well met then King Sombra," Celestia said, following the stallion past the barrier, "I must admit, I have never encountered such a spell that erects a special barrier that could make the perfect conditions to sustain a colony. Much less an empire of this size."
"I said the same thing when my friend Starswirl the Bearded showed me this place," Stallion Sombra told her, smiling as he faced his shining empire, "He told me that there is a strong magical force within the Frozen North, where the palace was built on top of and the buildings surrounding it soon after. The ponies here needed a ruler when we discovered them so, with Starswirl's help, we set up some rules, trained the guards that you see, and even enforced the barrier to provide a much nicer climate. These days we have a nice temperature that keeps us nice and warm, while making sure that we have the proper conditions to grow the crops that sustain our empire. Last I saw of Starswirl was five years ago, when he said that he needed to make a visit to a faraway kingdom to visit some old friends before he attempted a new spell he had been working on, but I haven't heard from him since."
"Starswirl's been here?!" Celestia asked, following the stallion towards the outer houses, "Last I saw of him was when he visited my sister and I in Canterlot, during which he showed us a few of the spells he had been working on for the last few years. He told us that he was going to be visiting someplace in the Frozen North, an empire that neither of us had known existed in the first place. My sister Luna didn't want to come, so you won't have to worry so much about someone you don't know coming after me."
Nord Sombra pulled himself out of the snow, quickly brushed all traces of the white substance, and followed the pair of ponies towards the empire, all while he tried to understand what was happening in front of him. He had no idea who this 'Starswirl the Bearded' was supposed to be, but it seemed like he was someone - somepony he corrected himself- that was important to this world. He must have been some sort of mage or wizard, similar to Farengar of Whiterun that he had met when Raika wanted to warn the Jarl about a dragon that was burning the hold. He was sure that this Starswirl was some sort of Arch-Mage, but it seemed as if he was missing and that nopony knew where he was.
"You have a sister?" Stallion Sombra said, "I guess that would make sense, seeing how Starswirl told me that there were two sisters who moved the sun and the moon each and every day. Judging from your Cutie Mark you must be the sister that controls the movement of the sun, which means that your sister, Luna, is the one who controls the movement of the moon."
"I must say, Starswirl certainly told you enough about me and my sister for you to realize who I was." Celestia remarked, giving a smile to the stallion, "But enough about me, I'm more interested in learning about you and your empire."
"Like I said, I found this place thanks to Starswirl about five years ago," Stallion Sombra said, approaching the first crystalline structure, "the locals didn't know what to make of us, two strangers, unicorns no less, appearing out of thin air and asking them about their strange empire that existed in the middle of nowhere. All of these houses, you see, were here long before anypony even found this place, so nopony truly knew anything about the mysterious structures or the magic that keeps the barrier up. These ponies had no idea that their empire was sitting on some very powerful Ley Lines, the lines that connect all of Equestria's magic together, and I was more than willing to lend them my aid in figuring it out.
After intense study I discovered that an artifact know as the Crystal Heart not only rests in the Crystal Palace, but it alone powers the barrier that keeps all of us safe from the harsh winter wind. This place was so gloomy when we arrived that I thought there would be no way for us to cheer these ponies up, but when the Crystal Heart was activated the place became so full of life. Ponies began to rejoice and almost immediately they began to hail me as some sort of savior that gave them their lives back, despite the fact that all I did was activate the artifact that they didn't know existed.
Starswirl convinced me to stay here and lead these ponies into a prosperous future, while making sure that I studied the vastness of the Ley Lines that I now stood upon. What he wanted was for me to study the lines and understand the nature of magic that we found here, but eventually I gave all of my studies up so I could make sure my new ponies had a place to rest their heads. I made sure that I had easy access to the Ley Lines, in the unlikely event that somepony came to try and take the empire away from, but I have never needed to use that magic.
These ponies treat me well and I, in turn, made sure that they were safe from everything that could possibly harm them. It has been an interesting five years, but if somepony asked me if I would ever leave the empire I would tell them 'no'. Now that I have spent all this time with these ponies I couldn't think of leaving them alone, not when there's nowhere else for me to go besides the cold winter that surrounds us. Better to stay here, with the ponies that respect me, and make sure that we have a thriving empire that not even winter can touch."
"Why King Sombra, your a scholar," Celestia commented, nodding to the ponies as they walked towards the tallest structure of all, "and that means that Starswirl put a lot of effort into making sure you were well trained."
Nord Sombra took in the sights as he followed the pair towards the Crystal Palace, still surprised that nopony had noticed the specter following the royal pair. He suspected that, due to some strange type of magic, he was rendered invisible to everypony around him and that, in turn, allowed him to study the empire that he previously ruled. Or, maybe, it was his eyes that were playing tricks on him and he and the stallion didn't share anything more than a name. He followed them into the Palace, around several twists and turns, before coming to some sort of throne room, which he knew by sight thanks to the throne made of crystal near the back on the room.
"Forgive me Princess Celestia," Stallion Sombra said, dipping his head just a bit, "but I have an experiment that I was working on that I had to leave behind when I was told of your coming. If you will allow me a few minutes I'll make sure something hasn't happened to it and then I'll be back before you notice me missing."
Princess Celestia merely nodded before turning her attention to the room she was in, allowing both Sombra's to make their way to a chamber that only the stallion knew about. When he reached the chamber he pushed open the door and slipped inside, locking the door tight behind him. A locked door, however, could not stop the Nord Sombra from passing through the wooden frame and entering the chamber. What he found inside the chamber was a second unicorn stallion with a light grey coat, a light blue cape that covered most of his lower body, a long white beard, and a hat over his head.
"I see you have met Princess Celestia," the stallion commented, not even turning around as both Sombra's entered the chamber, "I'm sorry that you had to leave our experiment to oversee her arrival, but she cannot know I am here."
"And why is that, Master Starswirl?" Stallion Sombra asked, standing directly behind the other stallion, "I actually enjoyed sharing the Empire with somepony who hasn't had the chance to learn about it. How goes the experiment?"
"Fine, just fine," the second stallion, the mysterious Starswirl, replied, "My portal is almost complete and my time in Equestria is drawing to a close. I'm afraid that soon you won't be able to draw my infinite wisdom, so I have written most of my knowledge in this singular library for you and you alone. If you wish to let somepony else gaze upon my knowledge you'd have to manipulate the spell on the door, but until then I recommend leaving it alone."
"I shall put it to good use," Stallion Sombra said, bowing his head despite the fact that the other stallion wasn't looking at him, "When will you be leaving?"
"If I can hold on, maybe a week." Starswirl immediately replied, putting down a quill, "Go, attend your duties as the King of the Crystal Empire and I'll discuss my final project with you later."
Stallion Sombra nodded his head and exited the chamber, but Nord Sombra found that he could not move another inch in any direction. The stallion turned around and his eyes locked with Sombra's, almost as if he could somehow see him.
"Ah, it is you old friend," Starswirl chuckled, "and, at the same time, it is not you. I can see that most of your memories are missing and, even now, you cannot remember who and what you were with the help Celestia and Luna have given you. For you to remember everything I must forcefully unlock them for you, so forgive me if this hurts."
A bright light engulfed Sombra, covering his entire body as his mind as assaulted by a continuous surge of memories, visions of a life that he had been forced to forget. He screamed his throat raw as he clamped his hands on the sides of his head, unable to take his eyes away from all the events that played out before his very eyes. Eventually he let loose one last scream and found himself sitting back in the monastery that his friends had stopped at for Raika, only with the women Tia sitting next to him and her arms wrapped around him. Or, as his restored memories revealed to him, Princess Celestia.
"Princess Celestia," Sombra whispered, drawing her attention to him as he smiled, "I remember everything."
And with that Sombra collapsed from exhaustion, right in the arms of the mare that he loved with all his heart.