//------------------------------// // Chapter 56: The Empire Returns // Story: My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic: Stallion Edition // by SuperPinkBrony12 //------------------------------// It had been a few weeks since the "Royal Wedding Fiasco" as ponies were calling it, and things seemed to have returned to normal in the land of Equestria. Shining Armor and Cadence were now happily married, and Shining Armor's friends and sister all went about ther lives as usual. It wasn't easy carrying on without Shining Armor, but they managed. However, nopony could've suspected that the peace and quiet following Chrysalis' invasion was to be short lived. For a new threat was just about to rear its head. In the throne room in Canterlot Castle, Princess Celestia was busy reading over and signing various forms of legislature brought before her, when suddenly the doors burst open. Into the room raced a pegasus guard that stood out easily due to his yellowish tinted coat (nopony knew how to properly pronounce the actual color of his coat), and cornflower blue eyes. Princess Celestia recognized him at once as First Lieutenant Flash Sentry, the stallion tasked with running the royal guard in Shining Armor's absence. "A thousand pardons for bursting in on you like this, your highness," Flash Sentry apologized, trembling slightly "But I felt it was best if this information was brought before you as soon as possible." "What do you wish to report, First Lieutenant Flash?" Princess Celestia asked him "It sounds urgent." "I'm afraid it is," Flash Sentry said gravely "I just recieved word from our contacts in Northern Equestria, specifically The Frozen North. They say that IT has returned." "Do you mean?" Princess Celestia began. Flash Sentry nodded "The Crystal Empire has returned after 1,000 years! Time is of the esence!" That news was enough to cause Princess Celestia to drop her usual calm and collected composure, she quickly turned to one of the royal guards standing besides her throne "Go find Shining Armor and Princess Cadence, and tell them to meet me here at once!" she instructed. "Right away, your majesty!" the royal guard replied, and dashed off as fast as his legs would let him. "Shall I cancel your meeting with the delagates, princess?" Flash Sentry asked Princess Celestia. Princess Celestia nodded "If they ask, tell them that something urgent has come up and I must be on stand by in case my help is needed. Hopefully, that will not be necessary," and with that, she took out a quill and a piece of paper, and started writing a message which read as follows: My faithful student, Twilight Sparkle Please come to Canterlot as soon as possible! I have an important assignment for you, and your friends. The fate of Equestria could be at stake, please come prepared. Sincerely, Princess Celestia "Why do you suppose Princess Celestia wanted to meet with us on such short notice?" Shining Armor asked his wife, as they walked to the castle from the suite they'd been staying in since the wedding. (Shining Armor had wanted to return to Ponyville, but both Princess Celestia and Princess Cadence felt that a change of sceneary would do him some good). "Knowing my aunt, it must be urgent. Probably something concerning the fate of Equestria itself." Princess Cadence replied. "But why did she send for me as well? I'm still on leave as Captain of The Royal Guard for the time being," Shining Armor said glumly "Besides, you're an alicorn, and I'm just a unicorn that let himself be brainwashed, twice!" "Shining Armor, we've been over this a hundred times before," Princess Cadence said in a soothing tone of voice "You had no way of knowing it was Chrysalis, you were tricked. Nopony's perfect." "Even so, I could've prevented the invasion if I hadn't gotten so distracted with the wedding," Shining Armor replied "After a failure like that, it's a miracle the nobility haven't petitioned to get me permantely removed from the rank of Captain." "Well, I'm sure Aunt Celestia has a good reason for requesting we both show up," Princess Cadence smiled "And would you look at that, we're already here." Sure enough, the young royal couple had stopped in front of the throne room. The doors were currently closed, but that was about to change. As the doors swung open, there stood Princess Celestia, who seemed deeply troubled about something. "Good, you're both here," she said to Shining Armor and Cadence "I'm afraid the information I have to share will be different for the both of you, so Cadence you and I will speak first. Shining Armor, wait here, and we'll discuss your importance shortly." "As you wish." Shining Armor nodded, as Princess Cadence walked past him and into the throne room. Pretty soon, the doors closed once again, and now Shining Armor was left alone. But not for long. "So, my sister has sent for your help as well?" a familiar voice asked "She's certainly not taking chances, though I wish I could be allowed to help out." Shining Armor spun around, and spotted an alicorn standing in the shadows. He recognized her at once "Oh, it's just you, Princess Luna." he said, breathing a sigh of relief. "Sorry if I frightened you," Princess Luna apologized "But I've been monitoring your dreams closely since the wedding, you seem to be deeply troubled." "You can monitor my dreams?" Shining Armor asked. "Indeed I can, it a part of my duties as The Princess of The Night," Princess Luna explained "I can even intervene if I sense my help is needed, though I'm afraid I have been unable to do so with your dreams yet. You clearly regard them as your own personal struggles, which means there is little I can do." "It's just, I can't shake the feeling of guilt over what happened at the wedding," Shining Armor told Princess Luna "I should've seen the warning signs, should've realized that something was off about Cadence. But instead, I allowed for Canterlot to be invaded, and almost destroyed." Princess Luna was silent for a moment, as she allowed what Shining Armor had said to embed itself into the forefront of her mind. Then, after some relfecting on the statements, she said to Shining Armor "Do not try to keep these concerns to yourself, it will do you little good. You have friends, a sister, and a loving wife to help you. And you saw for yourself what holding onto your fears will do to you." "I understand. Thank you for the advice." Shining Armor nodded. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I believe I shall retire to my personal bed chamber," Princess Luna replied "I still have much sleep to catch up on, staying on guard prior to the wedding took a lot out of me." And with that, she left. Shortly after Princess Luna had departed, the throne room doors opened, and Princess Cadence walked out. She seemed to be slightly concerned, if the small frown on her face was anything to go by. Before Shining Armor could ask what was troubling his wife, Princess Celestia called for him to join her in the throne room. As soon as the two were alone, Princess Celestia turned to Shining Armor and asked "What do you know about 'Dark Magic'?" Shining Armor's mouth dropped open in surprise, he had not expected Princess Celestia to ask him such a thing. Despite this, he quickly tried to regain his composure and answered honestly "Not much. You've made dark magic illegal to study for decades, and sealed away all the books containing knowledge about it. Must ponies today think dark magic is just an urban legend." "Well, they're wrong," Princess Celestia replied ominously "Dark magic is real, and very dangerous! It is for that very reason that I have sought to keep all the information about locked up tight." "What exactly does this have to do with why you contacted me?" Shining Armor asked Princess Celestia. He was starting to wonder if perhaps this was all some sort of test, or trap. Princess Celestia didn't answer right away. Instead, she took out a crystal from a display stand, and cast a spell on it. Within seconds, a massive holographic display of a location that Shining Armor had never seen before appeared in front of him. "This, is The Crystal Empire," Princess Celestia explained "It is this very empire that Princess Cadence is the rightful heir to. 1,000 years ago, a greedy and evil unicorn by the name of King Sombra, took over the empire." Shining Armor watched in horror, as the display showed a picture of a pony that looked like they had crawled out of a scary story. The dark red horn and coat as black as night made it obvious that this pony was not one to be messed with. "King Sombra attempted to rule the empire with an iron fist, forcing his subjects to become his slaves and mine for crystals day and night," Princess Celestia continued "He deposed the previous ruler, Princess Amore, and made himself into a tyrant that nopony could stand up against. Thus, it fell to Luna and I to rise up and defeat him. However, Sombra cast a spell on the empire, so that when he was defeated and imprisoned in an icy crevice beneath The Frozen North, the empire vanished. Now, 1,000 years later, The Crystal Empire has finally returned. And I suspect it is only a matter of time until King Sombra returns as well, he must be stopped!" "Why exactly is this empire so important?" Shining Armor asked Princess Celestia "I'm sure Sombra deserves to be defeated, but I don't see why Cadence needs to be its ruler." "You ask all the right questions, Shining Armor," Princess Celestia replied "Allow me to explain," and she picked up the crystal she had used to project the holographic image "The Crystal Empire is a beacon of hope, love, and light. And when those traits are in control, their influence is reflected across all of Equestria in the form of the Northern Lights. But if despair, fear, and darkness take hold, all of Equestria suffers." Princess Celestia demonstrated this, by lighting up her horn. However, instead of its usual soft yellow glow, a mixiture of sickly green and bright purple appeared. Princess Celestia's eyes turned the same sickly shade of green, as the magic was cast onto the crystal, which turned black. In a matter of seconds, several similarly looking crystals popped up all around Shining Armor, before Princess Celestia vaporized them with her usual magic. "Was that dark magic you just used, Princess?" Shining Armor asked nervously. "I'm afraid so," Princess Celestia admitted "It is not something I enjoy using. Prolonged useage, especially for non-alicorns, can corrupt the user's mind, making them vulnerable to corruption. So I ask that you use caution when attempting to harness its power." "Don't worry, Princess, I've no intention of ever wielding such destructive power!" Shining Armor vowed. "I'm sure you think that with great confidence, but I know that there will be obstacles in the empire you will not be able to overcome with regular magic," Princess Celestia warned "I trust you to use dark magic with discretion, and only if all other options do not work. I will not lose you to the darkness as I lost my sister. Now go! You and Cadence will be reunited with your friends, and Twilight at the train station. You must ensure that The Crystal Empire does NOT fall back into Sombra's hooves!" And with that, Princess Celestia escorted Shining Armor out of the throne room.