Even from within his crystal prison, Shining Armor could hear the wicked laughter of King Sombra, as the greedy unicorn slowly but surely closed in on the empire he had once ruled. Things looked all but hopeless as far as Shining Armor was concerned, and he was almost certain his friends were feeling the same way right about now.
Shining Armor quickly discovered that teleporting didn't do him any good. The instant he teleported out of the crystals, he was automatically teleported right back in. And none of the spells he tried even scratched the giant crystals.
"Trapped like a rat, with no way out!" Shining Armor thought angrily to himself "If only my friends were here right now, I could really use their help."
"But your friends aren't here, they're down below, all because of you!" King Sombra taunted through his mental link with Shining Armor.
"Leave me alone, you've already all but got the Crystal Empire in your grasp, what more do you want?!" Shining Armor complained, as he felt the surges of dark magic growing stronger, and causing more painful headaches.
"Who are you talking to?" Spike asked Shining Armor.
"It's King Sombra, he's been sharing a mental link with me thanks to the crystals embedded in my horn," Shining Armor explained "And now it looks like he's come to rub in his victory some more!"
"You're mistaken, Shining Armor," King Sombra replied with a fiendish chuckle "I didn't come here to rub in my victory, for a wise pony never counts their chickens before they've hatched. I merely wish to propose an offer, one that I believe would be in your best interest to accept."
"Whatever it is, he's not interested!" Spike said angrily "So why don't you just buzz off?!"
"Excuse me, but I believe this is a 'private conversation'!" King Sombra hissed, and from a distance came a blast of magic that effectively silenced Spike by knocking him out cold.
"SPIKE!" Shining Armor exclaimed, horrified to see his first friend and little brother be struck down.
"Relax, he won't be out for long," King Sombra told Shining Armor "Unfortunately, my magic has little effect on dragons, or I would've done something much sooner to get rid of him. But he won't a problem for much longer, now that I've got your undivided attention."
"I'm not going to listen to anything you say! You can't make me!" Shining Armor said defiantly "I'd rather rot in this prison for all eternity with noone to talk to, rather than talk to the likes of you!"
"You really are a bothersome little pest," King Sombra growled "Perhaps, you need to be reminded of who's in charge around here!" And with that, he increased the intensity of the dark magic surges even more, to the point where Shining Armor's forehead felt like it was going to crack from the pressure applied to it. The strain caused his body to sweat profusely, and his legs felt like they could give way at a moment's notice if he tried to stand up.
"How.... are you.... doing this?" Shining Armor grunted, as he channeled every ounce of resistance he could muster into his body and mind.
"Painful, isn't it?" King Sombra asked "Well, there's only one way to make it stop. Give into the anger, the temptation, the rage. Stop trying to fight it, and let it flow freely through your mind, enveloping your thoughts. You may have used some dark magic to uncover the security measures I placed to guard the Crystal Heart, but you've only begun to scratch the surface of what it has to offer. If you embrace the darkness, I can teach you magic that even Princess Celestia herself would never dream of wielding. You would become my student, and together we would rule over everyone and everything. All of your foes would bow down to you, and beg for mercy so as to not be destroyed. Your friends and loved would lose all will to resist me, or you. We would be unstoppable! Surely, that is far better than just being Captain of The Royal Guard. The same royal guard that can't even find the princess' pet bird when it goes missing, and got shot down by Nightmare Moon."
"NEVER! I'll.... never join you... no matter what!" Shining Armor replied, even as the pain in his forehead only increased even more.
"Too bad, what a shame, now you DIE!" King Sombra bellowed "And if by some miracle you're still alive after I've reclaimed the empire, I will exterminate you personally, like the rat that you are! So enjoy your final moments, Shining Armor, knowing that everything you've struggled for was all in vain! But don't worry, I'll take good care of your friends, your sister, and YOUR wife!"
Those words touched off strong feelings for Shining Armor, and something inside him snapped "No! THAT'S IT!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, as his horn suddenly began to surge with a powerful display of magic. But it wasn't dark magic, it was his own magic, as was evidenced by the warm glow and pinkish aura. The magic washed over the unconscious Spike, waking him up.
Spike took one look at Shining Armor, and instantly he became frightened. Shining Armor looked like he was about to explode, taking the whole tower and everything in it with him.
But before Spike could even think about that in greater detail, he saw Shining Armor turn to him, and through the wall of crystals he shouted "Spike, take the Crystal Heart to Cadence! It's all up to you now!"
"What about you?" Spike asked "I'm not leaving you here like this!"
"I'll be fine, Spike," Shining Armor insisted "This time I really mean it. Don't worry about my well being, the well being of the entire Crystal Empire is more important."
"But I-" Spike protested.
"Do it now, while I can still speak to you without Sombra's influence spreading through me!" Shining Armor demanded "If you hurry, you can save the day. That's what you've always wanted, right? To be the big hero, even just once? Well, now's your chance!"
"Alright, I'll do it! But then I'm coming right back to rescue you!" Spike replied "I almost lost you once already today, I'm not about to let that happen a second time." He proceeded to quickly scoop up the Crystal Heart in his claws, only for dark crystals to start sprouting up behind him, cutting off the route he'd hoped to take. Seeing no other options, Spike reluctantly dove out the window of the tower, the dark crystals were sprouting up everywhere!
"A valiant effort, young Shining Armor," King Sombra said ominously, as Shining Armor's magic surge faded "But it will do you little good. Now, I'll leave you to your impending doom. And by the time you've been dealt with, the Crystal Empire will be mine once again!" And with a fiendish laugh that echoed everywhere, King Sombra severed his mental link with Shining Armor, who now found himself fighting a losing battle to keep the dark magic from overpowering him. The more he struggled, the more his body screamed at him to stop!
"Please, Spike, whatever happens to me, don't give up hope! And make sure Cadence, Twily, and the others don't either." Shining Armor thought to himself, as he shut his eyes, while he attempted to increase his concentration in the hopes of preventing his certain death.
As King Sombra began to invade the Crystal Empire, he shed his shadowy form and revealed his body for the first time in 1,000 years. "At long last, I am whole once again!" he proclaimed "And now, my crystal slaves, you will all bow down before me if you wish to live!"
Needless to say, the presence of King Sombra coupled with the absence of the real Crystal Heart, touched off a panic among the Crystal Ponies. They ran in every direction possible, hoping to somehow escape King Sombra's wrath.
King Sombra only chuckled in delight at the sights that greeted his eyes "Run all you like, it will do you no good," he taunted "All of you must realize that you are doomed!"
"Well, guys, I get the feeling that this time we're up the river without a paddle." Braeburn commented nervously.
"This can't be how it all ends!" Thunderlane insisted "It can't be! Shining Armor's going to come through for us like he always does!"
"I want to believe that, Thunderlane, really I do," Soarin replied "But it looks like King Sombra got to him first."
"It can't be true, he can't be gone!" Twilight said, as tears began to form in his eyes "He was my 'Big Brother Best Friend Forever', we did everything together! And what's worse is that Spike was with him, I've lost my brother, and my son!"
"Hey, look up there!" Rainbow Dash shouted, pointing a hoof to the top of the tower "You won't believe your eyes!"
"This isn't the time for one of your pranks, Rainbow," Applejack said angrily "Can't you see we're not in the mood?!"
"But I'm being serious, look!" Rainbow Dash insisted.
Everypony looked up, and gasped in surprise. There was Spike, working his way down the tower, the real Crystal Heart clutched firmly in hls claws.
"Spike!" Twilight happily exclaimed "Oh, thank goodness he's alright. At least he managed to survive!"
"And he's got the real Crystal Heart with him!" Pinkie Pie shouted "We're saved!"
"Oh no you aren't!" King Sombra replied angrily, as he fired off a blast of dark magic from his horn "I've waited too long for this day, and nopony or dragon is going to take it away!"
The blast of dark magic missed hitting Spike directly, but unfortunately, the resulting explosion caused Spike to lose his balance. He slipped off the tower, and began to free fall towards King Sombra along with the Crystal Heart.
"Oh my stars!" Rarity exclaimed in horror "Somepony do something, quick!"
"He's too high up!" Fluttershy replied "We'll never reach him in time!"
"Not if I can help it!" Princess Cadence said, as she flapped her wings and took off. The knowledge of what was at stake provided the motivation she needed to fly faster than she had ever flown before. In the blink of an eye, she caught up to Spike, snatching him and the Crystal Heart out of thin air just seconds before they would've reached King Sombra. She then brought Spike safely down to the ground, while she held the Crystal Heart aloft with her magic.
"Shining Armor's at the top of the tower, you've got to save him!" Spike pleaded with Cadence.
"We'll worry about Shining Armor after we've taken care of Sombra, don't you worry!" Princess Cadence reassured Spike, as she touched down on the ground in front of the Crystal Castle, crushing the fake crystal heart effortlessly in the process.
"Look!" shouted a Crystal Pony "The Crystal Princess, she has returned!"
"What?! No! NO!" King Sombra said angrily "You will not take away everything I've worked for!" And he began to close in on Princess Cadence, throwing caution completely to the wind in the process.
This was just the sort of mistake Cadence needed. "Muster up all the love and hope you can give!" she instructed, as the heart was inserted into a stand that materialized from out of the ground "To make sure that 'he' never comes back!" and she pointed to Sombra.
All of the Crystal Ponies obeyed without hestiation, they quickly forgot to be afraid. One by one their coats returned to their normal glimmering state, and the love and hope that they felt was channeled into the Crystal Heart, which began to glow brighter and brighter.
"No! Stop! As your king I order you to cease this behavior at once!" King Sombra demanded, as he prepared to strike at Princess Cadence.
"Sorry, Sombra, but you've been dethroned! You will never again rule over this empire, I swear it!" Princess Cadence replied heroically, as the Crystal Heart reached full power, generating a dazzling (not to mention blinding) wave of light.
When the light made contact with King Sombra, cracks began to appear on his body, as if he were made of crystal. Realizing what was happening, King Sombra let out a deafening roar. "You'll all pay for this! Somehow, someway, I will have my revenge!" King Sombra insisted, and those were the last words he muttered, before the greedy former tyrant was shattered into pieces, his horn flying off and landing in a small cavern beneath the Crystal Castle.
"Sister, look!" Princess Luna shouted, drawing the attention of Princess Celestia. The two alicorns looked out of one of the throne room windows, as an impressive light show appeared in the night sky. A light show that they had last seen 1,000 years ago.
"Shining Armor, Cadence, Twilight, Spike, and their friends have done it," Princess Celestia said with a smile "The empire is safe once again. And this time, hopefully it will be safe forever."