Decisions, decisions
The Trickster chuckled, thinking he'd bested the Student and her Friends.
'Harmony is officially... dead."
Twilight bucked at the crystals feebly. Her magic was almost completely drained and she was beginning to grow weary from the attempts to escape. The Crystals were too strong for her to break, magically or otherwise. This is it, I've failed Celestia. A tear rolled down her cheek. I've failed Equestria. She broke down in despair. She was so distraught, she didn't notice the red eyes watching her from the center of one of the crystals.
The crystals melted into shadows and swirled about. Twilight's ear twitched and she looked up to see it form into a tall gray Unicorn stallion with flowing black hair. He would've been quite handsome if it weren't for the menacing fangs that peaked out of his mouth and the curved red horn that jutted from his head. He eyed her like she was something stuck to his hoof that should be scrapped off. "So... you're what Celestia sent to defeat me?" He snorted. "I'm insulted."
Twilight rose to her hooves and took a fighting stance. "Princess Celestia defeated you before she can do it again."
Sombra chuckled. "Things can change in a Thousand years. I imagine its been peaceful, yes? I'm certain she's grown fat and lazy since then."
Twilight growled and fired a flare spell right at his face. He roared in pain and shielded his eyes. "How dare you insult the princess!?!"
Sombra snarled and began to form a spell at the tip of his horn. Twilight threw up a shield spell just as the bolt flew. "I am the King! I will speak as I please!" Cracks formed in the dome as he began to charge up another spell. "You will respect your King!" the spell shattered her shield and sent her flying back. He stalked towards her limp body, growling. Twilight cried out in pain as his dark magic gripped her mane and yanked back her head. He lowered his head and forced her to look him in the eye. "I'm letting you live because you serve a purpose. If you weren't Celestia's Pupil I'd just throw you off the side of this tower and listen for the splat."
His magic wrapped around her and teleported her to some remote part of the Castle. She rubbed her scalp and glanced around. Ow. She took a deep breath. "Okay Twilight, Analyze your surroundings. There has to be some way out of here." I wish I had a Quill and Parchment. It'd be so much easier to have a checklist. "First on my mental checklist, Find a way out. Second, find my friends. After that we'll run back to the train station and hoof it back to Canterlot. Simple!"
She facehooved. "Of course that entire plan hinges on me finding a way out. Sombra probably has way more complex spells in place than the ones around the Crystal Heart, there are hardly any Unicorns in the Empire as far as I can tell." She lit her horn and took in her surroundings. There was a window -barred- and a small, pathetic looking bed completed with threadbare blanket and poor, beaten pillow. In the corner there was -ick- a chamber pot. The door looked to be made from Silver or something similar to that. There was a thin slot to slide meals through but she didn't know any shrinking spells.
She ran a scanning spell over the walls and found that they were reinforced by the same crystals that had trapped her in the tower.
"Rah!" She kicked at the door with all the remaining strength she could into her kick. It didn't work. "Ow! Owowowow!" She flopped into the bed. "What is that door made from?"
Silk watched the shadows coalesce into Sombra. She said nothing and decided to just watch him. "You're judging me." Sombra grunted.
"I always judge you, i'm just not very vocal about it." Silk laid down sphinx style next to his throne, still looking up at him with deep blue eyes. "I'm surprised you didn't jump at the oppertunity to learn about this new time period."
"Maybe I'm just not interested."
"Uh-huh." She smirked "I call horseapples. You're always interested in everything. All the magic under Solaris's sun couldn't change that about you."
Sombra looked away. "I don't need an outsider's help."
They lapsed into silence, for a moment. "She's rather pretty though." Sombra's eyes shrunk down to pinpricks and a light blush colored his cheeks. "She's also very powerful and well liked by the Princess."
"Where are you going with this, Silk?" He huffed.
"Well, lets operate under the assumption that you gave two shits about the Empire. Were that the case, it would be in your best interests to find a way to keep Celestia from unleashing the power of the Sun on our little kingdom and destroying you for daring to lay a hoof on her dear apprentice." Silk grinned, noticing that Sombra was starting to pay attention. "One way is to just lock her in a cell and use her as a meat shield, which of course has it's own flaws. Eventually she'll figure someway to break out of that cell, Unicorns only get stronger with age. Then you'll have a powerful unicorn who's extremely pissed and probably not too stable mentally. You can see where that will go."
Sombra's eyes zeroed in on Silk. "I'm surprised you thought of this."
She shrugged. "My mind tends to go on tangents. The second Option is also a bit risky. You could try to brain wash Miss... Twilight was it?" Seeing his nod she continued. "This is assuming she has a very malleable mind since Celestia probably placed a few mental walls around her to ward off your influence. This could keep her docile and maybe even give you a chance to mold her into your own apprentice. This is of course assuming her friends do not escape and undo all your work with their presence.
"The third option is my favorite. Endear yourself to her. Restrain her magic but let her wander the castle. She might be less inclined to incinerate you once she'd gotten a look at your softer side."
"I don't have a softer side, he died along with my irritating cousin." He growled.
"You misjudge the amount of time I've spent inside your head. Anyway the problem with option Three is that she might not be too inclined to trust you after today's... outburst." She flinched at the thought of Sombra throwing the poor mare around like a ragdoll.
"... You want me to apologize." Sombra said, dangerously calm.
Well life, we've had a good run. We accomplished a lot and I'm a bit disappointed I won't be bringing anyone with me but I have no regrets... Except maybe not carving Sombrero Suckz in the dungeon before my untimely demise. That would've been fun. "Yes."
Sombra leaned back in his throne and closed his eyes. "I tire of this." He teleported away to his room, leaving Silk alone in the throne room.
"I guess that means he's going with option one." I'll go prep for our impending doom... and maybe feed the prisoners.
Twilight rubbed her back hooves and whimpered. They were starting to swell and they had chipped in such a way that Rarity would throw a fit. She set down her head on the pillow. I'm just closing my eyes for a second.
"Twilight Sparkle, Lady of Ponyville!" The Herald cried as Twilight entered. She wore a dress similar to that of the one she wore to the Gala. The ballroom was filled with bright and happy Crystal Ponies. Cadence and Shining were dancing together and the Girls were all chatting cheerfully.
"Twilight!" Spike wrapped his arms around her foreleg. "We did it! We saved the Empire." She smiled and hugged him back, proud that he'd saved the Crystal Heart in time.
"Presenting, Princess Luna Of Equestria!" The Alicorn stomped into the ballroom, earning quite a few bows from the Crystal Ponies. She was dressed in her regalia and flanked by two lunar guards. She eyed everything before making her way towards Twilight and her friends. Twilight smiled at her and waved. "Princess! When did you get here?"
"Twilight Sparkle, How does your mission to the Empire Fare?" Luna waved away a Crystal pony who had offered her a drink.
Reality came crashing down on her. She'd failed, Sombra had her and her Friends captive. The Crystal Heart hadn't worked. Tears filled her eyes as the dream began to fade. "I... Failed. I'm so sorry princess." She collapsed at Luna's hooves and sobbed.
Luna wrapped a wing around Twilight. "Fret not Twilight Sparkle. I told my sister that you were not yet ready for a test of this magnitude. But worry not, There is still hope. Has Sombra destroyed the Crystal Heart?"
Twilight sniffed and shook her head. "He hit it with some Dark Magic but I can still feel it's presence."
Luna nodded. "Follow me, Twilight Sparkle, Sombra most likely has the secret to the Hearts whereabouts hidden in his dreams." They began to walk and Twilight noticed a change in their surroundings. "Be wary Twilight Sparkle, His mindis riddled with Dark Magic."
They passed what looked like memories. Twilight stopped and peered into one, seeing a very young Sombra practicing Dark Magic. His horn was not red and curved and he had no fangs. Twilight almost didn't hear Luna remind her to stay close. "Princess," She began. "Are we really in Sombra's mind?"
"Yes, He must not be back to full power quite yet if he has not placed any wards around it." They passed a memory of Sombra battling the Two Sisters. "He must still be awake, I do not sense any dreams at this time."
"Greed will be the end of you," A voice chirped from a nearby memory. "These Crystals do nothing to stop the Corruption." Luna's eyes zoomed in on the memory and gestured for Twilight to follow her in. The Memory was in what she assumed was in Sombra's bedroom. A Pale blue Crystal Pegasus mare bounced on the bed, fluttering her wings. "You could, of course, just stop using Dark Magic. That might work."
"I've already tried that." Sombra growled from beside the fireplace. "It didn't work."
"Magic Addiction is such a wonderful thing, isn't it?" The Pegasus rolled over on the bed and smiled at him. "What do you want me to do about it? As far as a can tell there are only two ways out, Cold Turkey and True Loves Kiss and by the time you find someone willing to look past the Dark Magic it'll be too late."
"Silk," He looked up, a look of genuine fear across his face. "I don't want to die."
Twilight gasped as the Mare, Silk, jumped off the bed and approached him without a hint of fear. She sat right across from him and looked into his eyes. "You die and we're all free," She quirked an eyebrow at him. "I could give you some vaccinations, they won't do more than prolong it for a bit. I'll have to give you love from my personal stores since there won't be many festivals soon to fill me back up..."
"Do it." He whispered.
Silk leaned in and gave him a half-lidded stare. "Hold still." She gave him a small kiss on his nose and his coat briefly took on a crystal sheen. "Ow!" She rubbed her lips.
Luna's horn glowed briefly and they returned to the Ball room. This time it was completely empty of ponies, Crystal or otherwise. "This... changes everything." Luna murmured.
"If that means what I think it means, than Sombra found a way to turn the Crystal Heart into a Pony." Twilight took a deep breath. "How is that possible, Princess?"
"We don't know, We-I should tell My sister about this." Luna laid her wing over Twilight's back. "When We-I return, I shall teach you to dreamwalk on your own. It would be simpler that way."
Twilight nodded as Luna disappeared, leaving her alone in that empty dream.