//------------------------------//
// Chapter 21. We are walking right into a trap here. 
// Story: Possession in the Crystal Empire 
// by Askre 
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Chapter 21
 
In a flash of a teleportation spell three Alicorns, one Pegasus and one Unicorn arrived close to the peak of Sombra’s Maw. Shining Armor was held afloat by a yellow glowing magic bubble operated by Celestia. He had declined a temporary wing spell, claiming they were too fragile, but his sister had a suspicion it was because they looked bit glittery for his taste.
 
Earlier they had formulated their plan - the three Princesses would head to Sombra’s Maw, they would only take Shining Armor and Flash Sentry with them as the team couldn’t be too large. Strictly speaking they weren’t going to take the Pegasus with them, but he insisted as he had promised Coal to bring back her father and uncle and the soldier intended to keep that promise.
 
The plan hadn’t changed much. It was still to contain Sombra within Private and hopefully knock the possessed unicorn out and bring him back to the Crystal Empire to be purged by the Crystal Heart. The main difference was now they had a bigger gun in form of Princess Celestia who also knew better how the Dark King thought and operated.
 
First they needed to approach the peak and that immediately became more difficult than even Celestia had anticipated. The moment the five materialized, beams of magic energy coming from the peak barely missed them. Twilight quickly erected a shield as the next barrage came that was enforced by Cadance since Celestia was busy holding up Shining’s bubble.
 
“It’s coming from a ledge near the peak,” Flash reported, having spotted the source of the magic beams.
 
“I figured Sombra would have some sort of welcome waiting, though not quite that one,” Celestia grunted and gestured for everyone to back up a little. As she had suspected, the attacks stopped. They were either far enough away for the sentry or out of range now.
 
“Flash, do a quick flyby and see what’s preventing us from approaching the peak,” Shining Armor ordered and pointed towards the ledge. He could spot something moving on it, but they were too far away to see clearly who it was.
 
Flash Sentry nodded and prepared to dive down towards the peak, but was halted by Twilight before he went off.
 
“Wait, I’m just going to put a temporary shield spell on you, it won’t work for too long and enough hits will shatter it, so don’t be overconfident,” she warned him as the princess cast the spell.
 
The Pegasus saluted and once the spell was done he dove down towards the peak. As soon as he was closer, the magic attacks began. Flash barely managed to avoid them as he came closer and closer to the ledge. Swerving left and right as he went, he managed to get close enough to see where Barricade stood guard by a cave entrance.
 
Living up to your name aren’t you, Flash thought as he quickly took a turn that would lead him away from the mountain before taking another that would take him back towards the Princesses. The whole time he had to avoid the magic barrage from the Unicorn, who didn’t let up. A few beams did manage to strike the shield covering him before he finally made it back.
 
“It’s Private’s brother, Barricade,” he announced the moment he was back behind the shield Twilight and Cadance had up.
 
“Sombra must have hypnotized him and placed him there as a sentry,” Princess Celestia said and frowned. “We are going to have to immobilize him somehow and free him from the spell.”
 
“Well he is only one. It shouldn’t be too hard for one of us to serve as a distraction while the rest move in,” Cadance pointed out.
 
“True, but we need to do this delicately. Sombra no doubt left booby traps along with the spell that keeps the pony under his control. We also preferably need to do this without Sombra becoming aware of it,” Celestia told her niece.
 
“Would ramming him work?” Shining asked and looked up at the Princesses.
 
“What do you mean, Shiny?” Twilight asked, the mares all arching their brows.
 
“Well, Flash could easily zigzag around, keeping Barricade’s attention on him, then either three of you could just throw me at Barricade. I could pin him down and one of you could undo the spell on him. He should be more than happy to talk with us once he’s out from Sombra’s control,” he explained.
 
“Not as delicate as I would have preferred, but it might be our best shot right now. I can’t undo the spell from this distance. I need to be in direct contact with him,” Celestia said.
 
“Right, Flash Sentry, start distracting him, keep his fire away, but don’t get cocky. Just make sure he doesn’t fire on us,” Shining Armor ordered Flash who saluted and dove back towards the peak, evading the magic beams shooting at him once more.
 
Celestia transferred the bubble holding Shining to Cadance with the words that she needed to prepare for the counter spell that held Barricade in Sombra’s thrall. The Unicorn looked unsure at his wife who was grinning at the prospect that she would be the one to throw him at Barricade.
 
“You have been waiting for a chance to do this haven’t you?” he grunted as Cadance flew off with him to get into a more proper position for the throw.
 
“It’s all done with love, dear,” Cadance said, throwing him an air kiss as she carefully maneuvered closer to the peak without catching Barricade’s attention.
 
While they got into position, Twilight stayed behind with Celestia whose horn was glowing but not really emitting a spell. The purple alicorn watched the Sun Princess, working up the nerve to speak. Even if they were no longer formally a teacher and student, it was difficult to break the habit of having reverence towards the white mare.
 
“What is on your mind, Twilight?” Celestia asked without opening her eyes.
 
“I’m just… uh… well… not that you being here is unappreciated, I’m just wondering why you opted to come with us?” Twilight asked, rubbing her front hooves nervously together, she simultaneously eyed her former teacher and towards Cadance who was almost in position to throw her husband.
 
“Twilight, when I sent you first to deal with Sombra’s return, I knew his spirit would be stuck on fairly simple emotions. A 1,000-year exile in ice couldn’t have done any favors to his mood or emotional stability,” Celestia said and slowly opened her eyes. “I knew you could do it and you did, Sombra was so intent to just swoop in that he really had no time to plan and concoct any new plans or traps, having to rely on his old ones that you successfully bypassed.”
 
“This is different. He’s calmed down, he’s had time to think and when Sombra has time to think,  he becomes a far more dangerous adversary. It’s not that I don’t trust you and Cadance to handle this… but…” The white Alicorn watched as Cadance prepared to toss Shining Armor towards the peak. Twilight did so as well, knowing they would only have a split second time to go down there and free Barricade while he was pinned down.
 
“There is something off about this whole thing, something is not right, it worries me that Sombra advertised so readily his location when in a more fragile spirit state…” Celestia had to stop as Cadance had at that time just tossed Shining Armor straight at their target.
 



 
Oh I hope this was a good idea, Shining Armor thought as he sailed through the air towards his target. He flashed his horn briefly to form a shield around himself, just in case Barricade saw him and started shooting.
 
Flash Sentry, however, was doing a surprisingly good job at keeping the hypnotized pony at bay. He was intent to get him, it seemed. Shining figured if he would live through this, he would give the Pegasus a promotion.
 
No time to dwell on that though. The white stallion allowed himself to roar as he finally slammed into Barricade and the two Unicorns collided with the mountain wall. Unlike his twin brother, the hypnotized pony was actually fit and looked to be able to handle himself in a fight. Shining Armor found that out quickly when he was effortlessly thrown off.
 
Crud. Shining Armor’s shield had broken at the impact and he didn’t really have time to get a new one up as Barricade was already throwing a hoof at him in a punch.
 
The Prince quickly blocked and swiftly stepped aside and attempted a powerful kick. Barricade jumped to avoid it, his eyes glowing brighter green as he reared and tried to slam both front hooves into the white pony.
 
Hmmm, I’m seeing some basic training here, but very basic, Shining Armor thought as he ducked out of the way and responded with a rear kick, that made contact and threw his opponent across the ledge.
 
Barricade quickly recovered and rose back up, but any thoughts of retaliation were quickly dashed as suddenly his entire body was bathed in yellowish light and the stallion rose up from the ground.
 
“That’s enough!” Celestia said in a stern voice as she landed on the ledge, holding the struggling unicorn in her magic. “This is not you my little pony. Reject this darkness that envelops your mind!”
 
Twilight, Cadance and Flash arrived on the ledge close to Shining Armor as the Sun Princess brought Barricade closer with her words and touched his horn with hers. They all watched, holding their breaths, even though they were all sure Celestia could easily free him.
 
“Do not fear. Come back to us, free your mind,” the white Alicorn continued, but this time in a softer, more motherly voice. “Come back into the light, Barricade.”
 
Barricade struggled fiercely at first, but with each word spoken by the Sun Princess his movements slowed down, until finally he just hung in the air, only his horn touching Celestia’s as her magic seemed to be pouring into him. Suddenly he let out a whimper and dark smog began pouring out of him. He would have screamed, but Celestia quickly closed his mouth with magic. Finally the dark gray unicorn hung limp and seemed to have lost consciousness. Gently the Alicorn put him back on the ground.
 
“Not as trapped as I feared, but his mind had deeply receded. Sombra used one of his strongest fears against him to keep control of him,” Celestia murmured.
 
“I wonder what that was,” Twilight said as she and the others approached the two.
 
“That is for him to tell if he wishes,” the Sun Princess said and would go no further into the subject. They now all watched Barricade as he was slowly stirring.
 
“Ugh… when I get my hooves on… aaaaah!!!” Barricade had been slowly opening his eyes but they flew wide open when seeing Flash Sentry and Shining Armor who were both armor clad. He jumped up and backed to the wall, but then he realized that he was not just staring at two royal guards, but three princesses as well.
 
“Um… hi?” he peeped, looking really uncomfortable for a moment, but then he took a deep breath and let it slowly out. “No… no time for this…Private… he’s in that cave with that bastard!”
 
“It will be alright, Barricade. We will get your brother away from him,” Celestia assured the Unicorn who only now realized just which Princess that was. His jaw dropped.
 
“Uh… sure…” Barricade for the first time had trouble with words, but this seemed to calm him down further.
 
“Right, let’s go,” Shining Armor said, figuring it was best not to hang too much on Barricade’s reaction. He had after all just been freed from a powerful hypnotizing spell.
 
“Wait, let me scan for traps,” Twilight called and leaped in front her brother, the memory of the inn still fresh on her mind. Celestia nodded in approval and the rest allowed the purple Alicorn to use her magic on the cave entrance. No traps were detected and they all began to carefully maneuver into the cave.
 
Flash went last inside, noting that Barricade was already looking more confident but still wary. The Pegasus figured he was keeping himself going with the thought of his brother. The guard took one final glance around, frowning a little as he did. He could have sworn they were being watched, but saw nothing and none of the Unicorns nor Alicorns had detected anything unusual.
 
Shrugging it off, he entered the cave and saw that a problem had already arisen. There was no visible way to continue much further. The cavern ended on a wall and nobody was inside. There were only saddlebags.
 
“B-but they went in here!” Barricade protested and went in circles to look around. “I could have sworn…”
 
“You were not wrong,” Celestia said and gently put a hoof on his back both to stop him and to reassure him. “There is a powerful illusion spell here on the wall.”
 
“Oh…” Barricade regained his composure, feeling a bit silly for not having realized that. It wasn’t like he hadn’t been in a company of a powerful Unicorn already for several days, even if it was the ghost of one.
 
Celestia stepped in front of the wall, but stepped back immediately, frowning heavily. Everyone looked at her but no one dared speaking a word since the white Alicorn seemed to be concentrating. It took a minute before the Princess spoke.
 
“Cadance, Twilight, I may need your help with this one,” she whispered and gestured to them to stand on either side of her.
 
“We must combine our magic for this spell and throw it at the wall,” she instructed them.
 
The smaller princesses nodded and took position on either side of Celestia. They all closed their eyes to concentrate, slowly building up the magic in their horns. Then tendrils of the energy emitting from the three powerful ponies slowly began to float towards the wall. Before it reached it, the different colors began intertwining in the center before hitting the stone in front of them.
 
Shining Armor, Flash Sentry and Barricade took a step back as that happened, the light from the magic was getting more intense and the sweat was starting to pour down the Alicorns. Whatever Sombra had put on that wall was clearly meant to keep ponies out.
 
“Brace yourself, this will not just break the spell but the wall as well,” Celestia called as the light of the magic got even brighter.
 
The Alicorn had barely let those words go when there was an explosion. Going mostly on instincts, Shining Armor immediately erected a shield around everybody to protect them from the debris. He didn’t let the shield go until he heard no more stones falling.
 
The air was still thick with dust and they could barely see, but Flash Sentry quickly fixed that using his wings to get most of the dust through the cave entrance. Once there was more visibility they could see that most of the wall now was gone and so was a big portion of a tunnel through it. They could see into another cave that was lit by crystal torches.
 
“Private!” Barricade shouted and rushed into the other cavern before anyone could stop him. The Unicorn was rushing to a still form in the middle of the floor.
 
The others followed quickly, hoping Barricade hadn’t set off any traps. Lying on the floor was Private Iceland, completely still and unconscious. But before his brother could even touch him, Celestia grabbed Barricade with her magic and pulled him back.
 
“Wait, we are walking right into a trap here, Barricade. Don’t forget that your brother is still possessed,” she reminded him sternly.
 
Barricade grunted but nodded, conceding that point. Now the six ponies approached the unconscious one carefully, Shining Armor and Flash Sentry looked warily around not liking the looks of this place at all.
 
“Where is…” Twilight was about to ask but then looked at Private and shook her head. “Of course, he’s in there, isn’t he?”
 
“This is too easy,” Cadance said while looking at the unconscious pony. It almost looked like they were being handed the victory on a silver platter. She and the others froze when there was a dark chuckle all around them.
 
“I must admit, you ponies arrived a little earlier than anticipated, so I needed a moment to compose myself. I figured I might as well give you a puzzle while I got ready,” the dark voice of King Sombra spoke all around them.
 
Up in the ceiling, smoke began to form and in the middle appeared the ghostly head of the unicorn spirit. He grinned maliciously down at ponies beneath him. Then his gaze met Celestia’s who stared right back at him with a hard expression.
 
“Why Celestia, I wasn’t expecting you at all. Come down from your ivory tower to actually do something about me? Not just sending some rag-tag to deal with me this time around? You do see how well that worked last time,” King Sombra chuckled mockingly, causing Twilight, Cadance and Shining Armor to narrow their eyes. Flash Sentry frowned and Barricade scowled hard.
 
“Sombra, I only sent Twilight to the Crystal Empire to protect it from you and prevent you from entering it. I did intend to give you a chance to back off, allow you to end your exile free, albeit without your ill-gotten crown,” Celestia stated calmly. Much to the other’s surprise there was no mocking laughter from Sombra, he actually tilted his head and seemed to be listening.
 
“Indeed, how charitable. I probably shouldn’t have expected any less of you, Princess Celestia,” he finally snorted, though not with contempt. “But I suppose I gave my answer to that proposal already.”
 
“It would seem so. You are still intent on reclaiming the Crystal Empire,” the Sun Princess said. “You realize I can’t allow that, not after what you have been doing since your second return.”
 
“Yes, I’ve been very naughty,” King Sombra chuckled darkly and the smoke began to descend towards the back of the cave to keep distance between him and the rest. There the smoke changed into his Unicorn form. Twilight noticed quickly that Private’s shadow suddenly stretched and connected with the Dark King.
 
He’s still bound to Private. Is this just another projection? She thought and looked at the former king who was glaring at the group.
 
“I should warn you about something, Princess Celestia,” Sombra said as a malicious grin began crossing his muzzle. “I don’t need many days until I can fully recreate my body and become alive again, but don’t think I need my current host for that to happen.”
 
“What do you mean?” Princess Celestia arched her brow.
 
“I’ve been preparing for this for a long time. Private here is just one of many little ponies I’ve prepared to serve as my host. Don’t you remember all those ponies in the hospitals all around Equestria? Each and every one of them could serve as my host,” he continued, the grin turning wider.
 
“I would much prefer to continue to use Private as my host. I’ve grown somewhat attached to him so to speak, but if it comes down to it, I am not above ridding myself of him and just possessing someone else. Maybe someone in a far corner where I can grow in power in peace,  far away from your reach until there is nothing you can do to prevent my return,” King Sombra said, his voice lowering to a whisper.
 
“W-what are you saying?” Twilight didn’t like the sound of this. Suddenly without warning, two dark and sharp looking crystals shot out of the ground and stopped mere inches from skewering Private’s throat, freezing everyone.
 
“What I’m saying is, if Private dies, I simply go to another host. As I’m now powerful enough to control the transfer, I could go anywhere I wish instead of just jumping randomly,” King Sombra chuckled darkly.
 
Suddenly a large rock broke off from the ceiling and landed uncomfortably close to Flash Sentry who jumped back. The ponies looked up and now noticed the entire roof of the cave was shaking. They all looked at King Sombra who was grinning a muzzle-splitting grin.
 
“The entire ceiling is rigged to crash down on top of you as my dark magic has slowly been loosening the rock in it. The trap was triggered by your presence in this cave. You can leave,  but you can’t take Private with you because the crystals will slice his throat if you try to move him and I just go to another host. You can stay and all of you get crushed by the rocks, even Private and I just get transferred to another host,” Sombra explained to the horrified ponies.  “It doesn’t matter to me what you do. Either way, I’ll get time enough to become alive again.”
 
End chapter 21