Chapter 19
Cadance quickly entered the throne room. She had been in the dining parlor drinking tea with Dew Doe earlier. Foxy had joined them shortly later when one of her guards arrived to inform her that someone very important had just arrived to the castle. The princess hadn’t been expecting this visit, especially considering the current situation.
“Aunt Celestia,” she cried when seeing the big white Alicorn princess standing by her throne. Celestia smiled warmly at her adopted niece and the two briefly hugged.
“Not that I’m complaining, Aunt Tia, but why have you come?” Cadance asked once the two parted. “Twilight wrote you letters to update you on the situation, didn’t she?”
“She did and that is why I have come,” Celestia said and her smiled dropped a little. “Has there been any new development since Spike sent the last letter?”
“Only that we believe we know where Sombra is headed. I’m waiting for Twilight before we head off to deal with him and rescue the twin brothers,” the younger princess explained. “Is Aunt Luna coming too?”
“No. She is keeping an eye on things in Canterlot in case Sombra tries something further south,” her aunt told her. She raised an eyebrow when Cadance frowned a little.
“Drat, I was hoping all four of us could go and take care of Sombra. I feel we are going to need all the firepower we can get, especially since we don’t have the Elements of Harmony,” Cadance said and wondered if she should try and convince Celestia to summon the Moon Princess.
“I think I see what you mean.” Celestia rubbed her muzzle with a thoughtful frown. “Sombra is certainly powerful enough, even as a spirit.”
Cadance proceeded to continue to explain the initial plan - how they were hoping to knock Private out to contain Sombra within his body, then take him to the city and give him a blast from the Crystal Heart. Celestia quickly noted though that there was some hesitation in her niece’s voice when speaking of the powerful jewel.
“Do you not think that would work? The Crystal Heart should purge or push Sombra out. You yourself have witnessed its power,” the Sun Princess commented. Cadance sighed and started to rub the back of her neck nervously.
“We are not sure if the Crystal Heart will do just that. It did outright kill Sombra the last time. What if it does the same with Private Iceland while Sombra is in him?” she said, her expression turning sadder.
She has a point. The Crystal Heart always was more of a protective weapon, Celestia thought as she considered this before putting a hoof on Cadance’s shoulder.
“I know it will be hard, but continue with the plan as is since we really have no other alternative. I am sure the positive energy of the heart will keep the stallion safe,” she said convincingly. “I trust you and Twilight to do what must be done.”
Cadance’s brow rose a little when hearing this. It didn’t sound like her aunt was planning on accompanying them at all. Yet she had come all this way to hear a new status report. The Princess wondered if something else was going on. She decided to just be blunt.
“I take it then that you are not coming with me and Twilight when we head out?” she asked and noted immediately a faint hesitation in Celestia.
“I am sure you are and Twilight are fully capable of handling this along with Shining Armor. You do have the most powerful spells that can affect Sombra, and Twilight is very good at learning spells on the fly,” the Sun Princess nodded, answering Cadance’s suspicion.
Now the pink Alicorn frowned ever so slightly. Many would probably just dismiss this as Celestia delegating duties, that was her right as the co-ruler of Equestria. Some with more unfair mindset might think she was just saddling duties on others she could and should take care of herself.
Cadance knew better, though. Celestia had sent Twilight and her friends after Discord because she and Luna were no longer the elements bearers and those were the only things that could defeat him. The Sun Princess had been more than ready to brawl with Queen Chrysalis and merely lost because the changeling ruler had sucked up so much power from Shining Armor.
However, she had sent Cadance and Shining Armor first to try and protect the empire from Sombra’s initial assault, then sent Twilight and her friends to help them find a way to protect it, without even bringing the Elements of Harmony with them.
The elements would only have re-banished Sombra. Was Celestia hoping we found a more permanent solution for him? Cadance thought for a moment before she looked at Celestia again.
“Aunt Tia, what are you afraid of?” she asked and noted once more slight hesitation in her aunt that most ponies would have easily missed.
“You and Luna keep seeing through me,” Celestia sighed, realizing there was no point in denying it. Cadance was practically her daughter even if she was merely her adopted niece and thus had the luxury of not keeping the respectful distance from her so many of her subjects did. She didn’t even have the teacher/student relationship like with Twilight that had made the purple Alicorn more reluctant to question the Sun Princess.
“It is not quite fear that you are seeing. It’s regret.” The white alicorn looked at the pink one with a grave expression. “Cadence, I panicked back when hearing that the Crystal Empire had returned. My only thought was to protect the Empire at all costs and I knew Sombra would not be caught again in the Elements of Harmony. He is not that arrogant even if he may sound like it. I knew the only hope the Empire had was if the Crystal Heart was found. I hoped if it simply was present that he would retreat.”
“I didn’t intend to have him killed.” Celestia bowed her head and let out sad sigh. “My plans had been then to head him off as he retreated and reason with him. I didn’t count on it that he would actually stubbornly press on.”
“After Fluttershy successfully brought Discord to our side, I just felt more regret that I practically ordered Sombra killed instead of trying something else.” She raised her head and composed herself a bit. “What King Sombra did was terrible and I know the Crystal Ponies will never be able to forgive him and they shouldn’t have to, yet I feel we could have done better.”
“I don’t want to sound like I’m dismissing your feelings, Aunt Tia,” Cadance said, feeling a little conflicted now that she’s heard Celestia’s confession. “But Sombra has already killed six ponies and he isn’t even back in his own body yet.”
“Then perhaps he is beyond hope.” Celestia shook her head upon hearing this.
They were interrupted when Coal and Spike came tearing into the throne room in a game of tag. When both saw there were adult ponies in there and not just any adults, but two princesses, both tried to halt their run. The filly tripped as she did, somersaulted, landed on her back and skidded across the crystal floor. Spike didn’t fare much better. He swung his arms wildly before the dragon landed on his rump and spun in a circle.
“Oh dear, are you two alright?” Princess Celestia asked the two as she and Cadance approached. Spike was already picking himself up, but Coal just lay still on her back, staring wide eyed at the white alicorn standing above her.
“You are Princess Celestia,” the filly whispered in awe.
“Why, yes I am. And what is your name, little one?” Celestia asked smiling warmly, secretly glad for the momentary distraction.
“Coal.” The girls’ voice was barely audible. She didn’t even notice when Spike came running over and helped her get up.
“It is nice meet you, Coal,” the Sun Princess said. She wondered if this was a child of one of the staff working for her niece.
“Sorry for interrupting, we didn’t think anypony was in here,” Spike apologized with a sheepish grin.
“It’s quite alright, Spike, but why don’t you take Coal to the dining parlor? I think her aunt and mother are still there,” Cadance suggested. The dragon saluted and after prodding the still awestruck filly, the two disappeared back out of the throne room.
“That was the niece of the stallion who was possessed, as well as being the daughter of his twin brother,” she explained to her aunt. Celestia nodded. “So about what we were talking earlier?”
“Is there more to talk about?” Celestia arched her brow, but it was clear Cadance wasn’t quite done yet.
“Aunt Tia, I won’t even pretend knowing everything that you do, but so far from what I have seen, Sombra is a heartless monster who barely deserves any pity at all. So I hope you forgive me if I am at a loss why you are so hesitant to engage him, regret or no,” the pink Alicorn had to keep herself from rolling her eyes. “Don’t tell me this is a case of some estranged lover’s story?”
Celestia blinked in utter surprise when hearing Cadance’s remark, then burst into a giggle fit. This caused her niece to start laughing as well since now that she thought about it - that last one had been just too absurd. Then of course the Sun Princess let it accidentally slip.
“Well, not from lack of trying.” Celestia palmed her face when she realized what she had just said. Cadance’s jaw nearly scraped the floor, causing her aunt to look at her bemused. “What? I was young once.”
“Before he was King Sombra, he was Prince Sombra of the Dark Pony Empire and the most eligible bachelor across the world. I was smitten when Luna and I visited the Empire during its heyday. Sadly, it was not meant to be,” the Sun Princess shook her head.
“Why?” Cadance couldn’t help but wonder. One would think that being married to one of the rulers of one of the most powerful nations of the world would be quite the prestige.
“His mother.” Celestia actually frowned a bit now. “Queen Rabia, for some reason never allowed him to marry. No one was really surprised when Sombra then up and disappeared from her court, no doubt to get out from under her iron hooves. Imagine my surprise though, when he suddenly appeared many years later and brutally conquered the Crystal Empire right at our doorsteps.”
“Alright so you weren’t lovers, but you were friends?” Cadance wondered, thinking she might finally have the whole picture. She had to restrain from pumping the air with one leg when her aunt nodded.
“For my part, I considered us friends back when he was just a prince. He was actually quite polite and charming back then, very proper and conducted himself well with visiting dignitaries,” Celestia told her before shaking her head sadly. “But King Sombra was definitely NOT Prince Sombra. He changed so much when he took over the Crystal Empire.”
So Aunt Celestia is reluctant to go against Sombra because she feels she’s failed a friend? Cadance theorized in her mind. She could see that. The princess had a feeling there was more to it, but there wasn’t really time to grill her aunt about it. Twilight could return at any moment and then it would be soon time to leave.
“If you are not coming with us, at least could you stay while we go and keep an eye on the empire in case worse comes to worse?” Cadance asked. She held back a sigh in relief when Celestia nodded.
“Of course, that is the other reason I came here,” the Sun Princess said.
A distant sound coming from the outside caught their attention. The two princesses looked startled at each other and hurried out to the balcony that looked out towards the city. As they did, they heard the horrible, distant howl coming from the west more clearly. Down in the streets, ponies were also staring in that direction, many very frightened. That had not been the natural sound of the icy wind of the frozen north.
“Somba’s Maw.” Cadance stared towards the distant mountain. King Sombra had made it clear where he was. “This was an invitation to come and do something, wasn’t it?”
“Sombra would never advertise his location like this unless yes, he was counting on somepony to come,” Celestia nodded grimly. “This is a trap. Maybe I should come with you.”
Cadance just nodded, feeling very glad that that her aunt had changed her mind. That awful howl had clearly been a sign that Sombra was ready and waiting and who knew what awaited them there. This might even be a trump card in their favor. The Dark King probably wouldn’t count on three princesses coming.
Private landed rather unceremoniously on his face when Sombra reached near the peak of the mountain and dropped the Unicorn twins on a ledge. Barricade landed on all four feet and the first thing he did was look around for danger. The Dark King pulled back all the smoke and shadow and formed himself back into his pony shape standing out of Private’s shadow.
“Ah, even if it was ever there in the distance, it’s been quite a while since I was here last,” the king said and stared at a large cave opening in front of the three unicorns.
Barricade made no comment, just watched silently. His twin was slowly rising up to his feet, rubbing his sore muzzle after that hard contact with the ground. Private remained silent as well, feeling nervous and afraid, plus not looking too forward to what awaited him in the near future if Sombra actually succeeded.
“Barricade, you stand guard here on the ledge. You see anypony approach, shoot to kill,” the Dark Unicorn ordered his sentry. He simply bowed and turned around to face away from the cave, scanning the skies for any movement. He didn’t bother with climbing up since over the ledge was a hundred foot drop straight down.
“Private, get into the cave.” Sombra then turned his attention to his host who froze as he realized this meant he would be completely alone with the king. That hadn’t happened since the hospital back in the city.
It finally happened. Private Iceland snapped. He just could not do it. Somehow, the presence of his brother had kept him moderately calm. The knowledge that a familiar presence was there had kept the Unicorn somewhat centered. Barricade had forced Sombra to pay attention to him as well. Going inside the cave and thus being completely and utterly alone with the Dark King was just not something the Unicorn wanted at all.
“No… no, I can’t…” Private cried and backed away. “Barricade! I don’t want to be alone with him… please…”
Barricade showed no sign that he even acknowledged his brother now, but Private didn’t care. Even if his twin was so deeply hypnotized, it was simply reassuring to have him nearby.
Sombra watched the whole thing with an amused glint in his eyes and a wide grin. This fearful portrayal of his host was already boosting him and replacing what he had wasted when making that quick travel to the mountain’s peak. The Dark Pony was actually acquiring reserves now. However, the king knew he was pressed for time, so there was no time to enjoy this to the fullest.
“Come along, Private,” he said, his tail forming into a shadow-like tentacle that grabbed the smaller Unicorn by the midsection.
“NO!” Private cried when feeling the shadow wrap around him and begin dragging him towards the cave.
“Barricade! HELP! Don’t let him take me! BARRICADE!! BAARRICAAAADE!!” the Unicorn screamed and tried to claw at the ground with his hooves, but no matter how much he struggled, the pony was mercilessly pulled into the cave after the spirit.
On the outside, Barricade still seemed to pay no attention to the desperate screams of his brother. His scowling gaze was fixed on the skies, ready to shoot at anything that remotely looked like trouble. Deep inside the mind however was a very, very angry unicorn, cursing and swearing, but also feeling horrible hearing his brother’s plea for help and being unable to do anything.
Oh I am going to rearrange your face for this, Sombra! Barricade growled, wishing he could somehow wrestle back control over his body.
Inside the cave Private still desperately struggled against the shadowy tentacle wrapped around his body. Yet no matter how much he wiggled, the black tendril just shifted around to make sure it still had a firm grip on the pony. Sombra ignored the struggle as he was approaching the innermost wall of the cave.
“Let us see now, the wards have deteriorated. I suppose that was inevitable after over a thousand years,” the Dark Pony muttered and his horn started glowing, illuminating the cave and strange runes that started to form on the wall.
Sombra floated back a bit as the glow from the runes intensified and then began flickering before dying out. The spirit waited and smiled when an opening began forming. It led to a tunnel that was lit up with crystal-like torches that gave a sickly blue glow.
“Well at least some things still work,” he remarked and looked back at his host who still tried to escape the shadow holding him. Sombra shook his head, the amusement of this sight was starting to wear off.
“Private, if you are worried something is going to happen, I would like to remind you that I am just a spirit. Until I get my own body again, which is still several weeks away, I’m about as capable of anything as a wooden training dummy,” he retorted. This caused Private to stop and actually look at him confused.
“Besides.” The king smiled again and pulled the tentacle away and reformed his tail. “I wouldn’t bother if I didn’t already know that deep down, you’re mildly intrigued.”
Private winced and shuddered, hating how well King Sombra seemed to know him. Granted it was because the spirit had been inside his head and had managed to dig up most of his secrets. The pony just wished he could argue back with things the king didn’t know about him. There were probably minor trivial things he wasn’t aware of, but they weren’t going to help in this case.
“I will be honest with you, Private, now that we are truly alone together,” Sombra said as he floated back to be near his host. “If I was in my body again, you would probably question if this was the same pony who was possessing you. In fact, as my powers grow and I’m able to be more solid, I feel my old self return. I think more on rational grounds now than emotional ones.”
“I’m no fool. I know you have major reservations and are deep in your mind battling the morality that you grew up with. I know that for the time being you are repulsed at the mere thought of being in my company any further,” the king continued. He smirked and leaned closer in, causing Private to try and lean back away. “But I’m already starting to see the cracks in your mind. You’ll give in, eventually,” the Dark King whispered softly into his ear before floating towards the tunnel. “Now come along. We need to prepare for our ‘guests’.”
Private took a moment to calm himself down. He really just wanted to bolt out of the cave and back out to the ledge, but realized the king would just grab him if he did. His panic was subsiding, but it still lingered deep inside of him, ready to burst out at a moment’s notice. Sombra’s not so reassuring words that he was cracking and that he would eventually surrender himself to the king had not helped at all.
“Private, you can walk on your own or I drag you through. Your choice,” the irritated voice of the spirit snorted when the pony still hadn’t moved.
Private held back a sniffle, rose up and with his head held low, started to walk towards the tunnel. Sombra waited until his host was inside before following. His horn glowed and the entrance vanished from sight, leaving just what appeared to be a solid wall.
Hopefully this will give them a little puzzle to delay them, the spirit thought as he followed his host through the dimly lit tunnel.
End chapter 19