Chapter 14
The Doctor peeked around the corner, so far no guard was in sight. The time pony glanced back at Private who was bringing up the rear. The the unicorn still looked to be in some discomfort from the hot potion he had been forced to drink earlier.
“We’ve been rather lucky with guards recently,” the Doctor commented. He found that rather suspicious.
“Yeah, but I know the next few corridors until we reach the chambers are heavily guarded,” Private whispered. He walked over to the entrance and peeked into the corridor himself. “Odd, there should be four guards here.”
That is odd. The time pony frowned in thought.
The Doctor sat down to think this over. At first when they escaped the study, the two stallions had evaded guards and other ponies working for the tyrant as they made their way downwards. Then suddenly it was as if they had all vanished. Now that the time pony took his time to consider it, it seemed to have happened shortly after Private could have sworn something was watching them.
I wonder. He looked at his friend who was still peeking into the next corridor. The time pony didn’t like this. Something was definitely not right.
“Hey, there are Foxy and Dew,” Private noted. He quickly looked around before walking into the corridor to meet the mares.
“Oh well, that simplifies things.” The time pony rose up and started into the corridor, he froze when seeing the mares and that they had glowing green and red eyes. Private had noticed it too as he halted on his walk towards them.
“Private, Doctor!” Dew called, excited. The two stallions noticed that the wings on both pegasi were not restrained.
“Private… we need to run.” The Doctor realized quickly that this was a trap. The guards must have been pulled aside and were just waiting for them somewhere. The time pony darted back the way they had come.
Private Iceland hesitated, but nodded in agreement. He quickly turned around and was about to head after the Doctor when hearing his name addressed. The unicorn looked back and saw that Dew and Foxy were trotting towards him. He thought they looked unnaturally happy.
“Private! Don’t forget to obey your king,” Dew called. This froze Private as he was about to run after the time pony who was already way ahead of him.
"You are mine!" The dark voice of King Sombra echoed through his head. "Obey me!"
“Gah!” Private stumbled and fell to the ground. There was a rush of movements and hooves reached down to help him back up. Dew Doe and Foxy were now by his side and the blue mare gave him a hug.
“Oh, are you alright?” she asked with a worried frown, gently caressing her friend’s mane.
Private didn’t respond to it, his expression had an uncharacteristic scowl and his eyes were now glowing green and red. The unicorn pushed Dew away and stared into the direction the Doctor had gone. The time pony was still visible in the distance.
The stallion glared back. Several guards had gathered behind them. Dew and Foxy stood by his side, waiting expectantly. Private only recognized the mares as friends and the guards were clearly there for his use. In fact, now his corrupted and mind-controlled self hoped he might be rewarded for a good service for his king. He looked at Dew and smiled.
"Serve me well and she is yours," the voice of King Sombra promised. That was all the unicorn had to hear.
“After him!” Private snarled as he pointed after the fleeing time pony. Then he ran down the long corridor with the mares and the guards following.
Oh this isn’t good. The Doctor was in a mad dash through the castle. He had heard what Dew called after Private and seen the change come over him. It was obvious that with the right words the unicorn would be brought right back under control of the king.
The time pony hated to admit it, but King Sombra seemed to have the upper hoof on him right now. All three of his friends were under the dark unicorn’s control, he didn’t know where the TARDIS was, wasn’t sure of Apple Core’s status and didn’t have any of his tools.
Need to get in contact with the Princesses somehow, that’s about the only way, he thought as he darted into yet another hallway that looked the same as the others. And would it hurt to show some creativity in the architecture?
Why was I so careless? I should have immediately left when seeing that the TARDIS hadn’t landed in Fillydelphia. He ducked into another hallway and to his dismay still couldn’t see any viable way to hide, so the pony kept running.
As the time pony ran, he recalled the last time he had been in these halls. So long ago...
***
The Crystal Empire, before Sombra’s reign.
“Applewood, here we… that’s too shiny to be Applewood,” the Doctor declared as he opened the door to the TARDIS. Instead of a bustling Equestrian metropolis, he was staring at a gleaming crystal city. Even the ponies appeared to be made out of shining crystals. In the center rose a tall, white tower.
“Where have you taken us now?” A green pony head with a darker green mane peeked out of the TARDIS. It belonged to a pegasus stallion who stared awestruck at the city and ponies before him.
“Swift Mane, welcome to the Crystal Empire. One second,” the Doctor said and rushed back inside and to the consoles. After a moment, he returned outside to join Swift Mane again. “As a matter of fact, we are over one thousand years ago in the past.”
“This city looks amazing! Where is it?” the pegasus asked and looked at the time pony. He arched his brow when he saw the contemplative look on his friend.
“The Crystal Empire… thousand years ago… I’m forgetting something,” the time pony muttered, but very quickly resumed his more cheerful appearance. “Ah that doesn’t matter, let’s get Trinity and check it out. I have a friend here.”
Swift Mane shrugged, having long since gotten used to the Doctor switching moods at the drop of a hat. He turned to enter the time machine again when he saw a chocolate-colored earth pony with purplish hair step out. The mare looked around before glancing at the stallions.
“This is shiny,” she remarked with a chuckle.
“Welcome to the Crystal Empire, Trinity,” the Doctor said and gestured towards the city with a flourish.
Once all three ponies were out, the Doctor locked the TARDIS and they headed into the city. The two Equestrian ponies half expected to be taken deep into the city to meet this friend the time pony had spoken of; they were not quite prepared for him to take them straight to the large crystal tower.
The city was glistening with light and color. Trinity actually had a bit of trouble focusing on one thing - it was just sensory overload for her eyes. Swift Mane wasn’t much better, so he just focused on the direction they were going. They soon reached underneath the tower and marveled at the heart that rose up on a dais right in the middle.
“The Crystal Heart, the source of their protection from both the elements and enemies alike,” the Doctor told them with a solemn smile before changing it to a more cheerful one as he took them to one of the four entrances to the tower.
“Please tell Princess Amore that the Doctor is here,” he addressed the guards who both looked at him mildly confused. Then one relented to head inside with the announcement.
“Doctor, this friend of yours, it’s the…Princess?” Swift Mane whispered, shocked.
“Very old friend,” the Doctor chuckled, causing the pegasus to glance unsure at Trinity who did the same.
Soon enough the guard came back and nodded to his fellow guard to let them in. The Doctor happily trotted into the tower with his confused friends in tow. The crystal pony escorted them up many stairs and halls before they eventually came to a throne room.
On the throne sat a tall unicorn mare with the same crystalline coat as the ponies outside. She was a pale vermilion in color and her mane was a gradient of raspberry to cobalt blue. The Princess didn’t wear a crown, but instead a golden heart was on her forehead under the horn, held up by a blue band. She carried a similar golden heart on her chest and on each of the four bands that went around her legs.
“Doctor? Is that really you?” Princess Amore said with an exciting tone in her voice.. She rose up from her throne and quickly trotted over to the three newly arrived ponies.
“Princess Amore,” the Doctor and his two friends bowed. “And yes, it is me.”
“But, you’re a unicorn now, what happened?” the Princess asked curiously as she dropped all formalities and gave the time pony a hug. “I will say, blue coat does suit you.”
“Tall cliff, I’m leaving it at that,” the Doctor said and blushed with embarrassment and coughed. Then he gestured to his friends. “My current companions, Swift Mane and Trinity.”
“It’s nice to meet you. Welcome to the Crystal Empire.” Princess Amore turned to them and smiled warmly.
“It’s good to be here,” Trinity was the first one to find her voice, still a bit awestruck at being in the presence of a Princess.
“So!” A sharp voice caused everyone to look towards the entrance to the throne room. “My ears did not deceive me. The Doctor has arrived!”
Into the throne room walked a surprisingly tall pegasus, tall as Princess Amore, sky blue in color. He was wearing black armor accented with gold and on the chest was a golden lightning bolt. His helmet was similarly colored with a tall, black plume. His tail was black, indicating that the plume was possibly just his mane. If Trinity had been awestruck, it was nothing compared to Swift Mane, whose jaw scraped the floor.
“Commander Hurricane, wait you’re still alive?” The Doctor was maybe not as stunned as his two friends at the sight of the legendary pegasus, but he was definitely surprised.
“What? You didn’t expect this old warhorse to be still kicking?” Hurricane laughed loudly as he walked closer to the group. “Or to be in service of the most beautiful Princess to ever grace these lands?”
Now the Doctor was about as surprised as his friends. Commander Hurricane proceeded to grab for one of Amore’s hooves, lift it and give it a gentle kiss, before dropping it.
“Oh you old flatterer.” The Princess just smiled at the affection given her.
“Well pardon my surprise, Commander, it’s just that I happen to know we are past the point when the founders of Equestria are well… uh dead,” the Doctor said trying to sound as tactful about it as possible. This only caused Hurricane to laugh again.
“Yes, you would be right, sadly it is so. Chancellor Puddinghead, Princess Platinum, Smart Cookie and Private Pansy have sadly passed on. However, things went a little differently for me, though I have heard rumors that Clover the Clever is still kicking,” the Commander said once he had regained his composure.
The old pegasus was clearly going to start telling his story, when the wail of a baby interrupted them. Princess Amore gasped and immediately ran over to the throne and to a cradle that was close to it. The others could only watch as the unicorn cooed as she lifted up a small pink baby foal from it. It didn’t have a horn, but they could see tiny wings just before Amore wrapped the baby in a blanket.
“Ah, that would be our most precious jewel.” Commander Hurricane smiled wide as he watched Princess Amore return to them, holding the baby gently in her magic aura.
“Wait, wait, wait, you and Princess Amore… um… wow, that’s I…” the Doctor frowned suddenly. Why don’t I remember that?
“Didn’t think that I of all pegasi would marry a unicorn, huh?” Hurricane chuckled. “No, that Hurricane is dead and buried. Her birth is further proof of that.”
“Everypony, meet Mi Amore Cadenza,” Princess Amore said as she presented the little filly to them. The baby had calmed down in her mother’s care, but was awake and babbled happily.
“Oh she’s adorable.” Trinity went closer and was surprised when Amore instructed her to sit so she could hold the child.
“Well I don’t know what to say, except congratulations, ” the Doctor said, though deep inside his mind something was bothering him. He was a little troubled not knowing about this.
“Very kind of you, Doctor, this is indeed a magical time to live in. Little Cadenza will be the first pegasi Princess,” Commander Hurricane remarked, smiling as he watched Trinity cuddle his daughter.
“It is a magical time indeed, Commander,” a voice addressed them all.
The Doctor turned his head to look at the newly arrived pony. It was a unicorn, wearing a dark cloak. His mane was black, his coat dark gray and the horn curved up and was crimson red. He smiled politely, revealing the slight tips of fangs in his mouth.
“Oh Doctor, this is our Royal Crystaller, he oversaw Cadenza’s Crystalling a few days ago. You should have been there; it was a wonderful ceremony.” Princess Amore gestured to the newly arrived pony.
“I do not believe I have heard of you before, Doctor, yet the Princess seems familiar with you,” the Royal Crystaller said, looking at the time pony intently.
“The Doctor is an old friend, he just comes and goes as he pleases. These are his friends, Swift Mane and Trinity.” Amore gestured to the other ponies.
The Doctor glanced at Commander Hurricane who had become unusually silent when the Crystaller arrived. The old pegasus’s eyes had narrowed and he glared at the dark colored pony, it was clear that the commander did not like him one bit.
“I’m sorry, we didn’t catch your name,” the Doctor addressed the strange unicorn.
“Well that’s no surprise, it was not spoken. Call me Umbra, a humble servant of the Crystal Princess,” the Crystaller said and put a hoof on his chest as he gave Amore a short but courteous bow.
Umbra, huh? The time pony just nodded, accepting this answer for now.
***
The Crystal Empire – Sombra’s reign.
Umbra, the Doctor snorted. What a thinly disguised way to hide your true name.
The time pony glanced back and cringed when seeing he was still being followed. He pressed on, found another corridor to duck into, then found a flight of steps to go down. This did delay his pursuers as they couldn’t go after him all at once. He used the opportunity to disappear down a hallway and then immediately turned to enter another one, giving him a precious head start.
His thoughts though kept going back to the past. When this castle had been a happier place.
***
The Crystal Empire, before Sombra’s reign.
“You have been unusually quiet, Doctor,” Trinity noted. The Doctor sat by the window the tower’s guest room, staring outside.
“Something is not right, Trinity,” the time pony said and looked at the mare. “I just can’t put my hoof on what it is. It’s probably staring at me right in the face. I just can’t see it.”
“Okay, Commander Hurricane’s story adds up in parts. I remember it now. After he retired his position to his son, he did start traveling in Equestria and ended up in the Crystal Empire. There he had a magical accident that nearly drained the life out of him. Only the magic of the Crystal Heart and Princess Amore’s magic saved him. This gave him unusual longevity for a pegasus, maintained by the Crystal Heart and if he strays too far away from it, he dies. What I don’t remember is him and Amore marrying and having a foal.” The Doctor frowned and looked back out the window. “And this Umbra, is bothering me. He’s a dark pony.”
“A what?” Trinity had never heard that term before used to describe someone.
“Dark pony. They are extinct in your time. In this time, very few are left. In fact, even now they should be all gone,” the time pony explained to her. “Unless the legends of the Lost Son of Queen Rabia are true.”
“Queen Rabia?” Now the mare had no idea what the Doctor was talking about.
“The second to last Queen of the dark pony Empire. Very powerful, very morally ambiguous. You don’t want to be on her bad side, if she ever had a good side to begin with.” The Doctor shook his head. “Anyway, legends say she had a son who disappeared from her court, never to be heard from again. It was said he could almost rival his mother in power.”
“And you think this Umbra is it?” Trinity asked.
“Trinity, Umbra is a Saddle Arabian word for dark ponies. He hasn’t actually told us his real name,” the Doctor snorted.
They were interrupted when Swift Mane entered the room, followed by Commander Hurricane. The Doctor rose from the window, wondering why the old pegasus had come. His green friend had been invited by the legend to go on a short fly around the Empire. He had wanted to stretch his wings with another pegasus as it had been a while.
“Enjoy your flight?” Trinity asked and chuckled when seeing the ecstatic look on her friend.
“Nopony at home is ever going to believe that I just flew with Commander Hurricane,” Swift Mane wheezed. He was a bit out of breath, not being military trained like the commander.
“For a civilian, he flew well. If I was younger and still in command of the Pegasi Tribes, I would make a fine soldier out of him,” Hurricane said with a loud laugh, patting Swift hard on the back.
“They do call him Swift Mane for a reason,” the Doctor chuckled. “Forgive me for pointing this out, commander, but I couldn’t help but notice that you didn’t seem to like the Royal Crystaller.”
“You’re not wrong, Doctor.” Hurricane’s voice lowered and his eyes narrowed. He gave them all a signal to gather around in a close circle and the old pegasus made sure the door was closed.
“You know I’m an old horse, Doctor. I’ve been around for a long time. I know a dark pony when I see one, especially since they are all supposed to be gone. I’ve heard the legends of the Lost Son and I think we are hosting the Demon Queen’s spawn in our house,” Hurricane said and glanced around as if he was suspicious of spies.
“But Amore, she has always been compassionate and saw no reason to deny him entry here, he speaks well and has a silver tongue that I fear may have blinded her. She even dismissed my concerns when she appointed him the Royal Crystaller,” he continued and sighed.
“What does he do when he’s not attending to his duties?” the Doctor wondered.
“He spends a lot of his time in the royal library. The librarian says he’s frightening, often speaking to himself in a strange language and says his eyes sometimes glow green. The servants did at one time complain that he treats them like dirt,” Hurricane explained to him. “Amore spoke to him about his attitude towards the servant and he apologized for it, but they do not trust him.”
The Doctor nodded as he considered this information. He could only wonder what Umbra was seeking in the library. The time pony wondered if he should also question Amore and hear her side of things.
“Commander Hurricane, I promise you. I will get to the bottom of this and if Umbra is truly untrustworthy, I will reveal him,” he told the old pegasus who nodded his thanks.
***
The Crystal Empire – Sombra’s reign.
Well I didn’t keep that promise did I? Well we found out… just too late, the Doctor sighed and shook his head sadly.
Suddenly the time pony realized that he was heading straight towards a dead end. The past had distracted him so much he hadn’t paid full attention to where the corridors led. The Doctor halted and turned around. Maybe there was still time to take another turn.
The Doctor hurried forward, hoping he wasn’t too late, but as the pony neared the intersection he could hear hurried hoofsteps and the clank of armor. The time pony stopped and quickly backed away just as his three friends and the guards came into the corridor.
Oh I am in trouble now, he thought as the pony continued to go backwards. He looked at the trio and judged that at the moment there was no getting through to them. Sombra had them under tight control. Then his gaze moved towards the guards and caught something that caused him to pause.
The Doctor hid a smile and stopped walking. In the thong of guards, he had spotted something the others hadn’t, but he made sure not to look at it so as as not to draw attention.
“All right, I surrender,” he declared.
“Chain him up. The King wants him thrown down in the dungeons again. Put him in a more secure cell. His Majesty will deal with him tomorrow,” Private ordered the guards. “And remove that crystal off his head.”
Oh Private, I know you don’t want to be saying this. Don’t worry, I’ll get you all out of this, the Doctor thought as he gave his friends a solemn look. They barely gave him an indifferent glance now that he was in custody.
Two guards approached him with chains and began tying him up. The Doctor tried not to chuckle to himself, most of the other guards were dispersing now that he had been caught and secured. Even Private, Foxy and Dew were leaving. All had looked up as if they were being summoned and they were soon out of the corridor.
“Let’s wait before doing anything until we are heading towards the dungeon,” he whispered to the smaller guard that was chaining him up. The mare looked up at the time pony, the golden-colored muzzle produced a coy little smirk.
Private, Foxy and Dew were heading towards the throne room after hearing the summons of King Sombra in their heads. They walked in a single line, Private first, Foxy last and Dew in the middle.
“And so the Doctor falls and his friends now all serve me,” the voice of the tyrant echoed through their heads. The mind-controlled ponies didn’t show any outward reaction and just continued to walk on.
“Very good job. Private Iceland, why don’t you retire for the night? You may take Dew Doe with you. She is yours,” King Sombra addressed Private who halted his walk, causing the rest of the line to stop. The unicorn looked at the mare in question and smiled.
“Dew Doe, you have done well. You may spend your time with Private,” Sombra then spoke to Dew Doe who gasped and smiled.
Private found that he was now free to move of his own volition. He didn’t waste much time. The unicorn reached down and gave Dew Doe a lustful kiss on the muzzle. She returned it just as eagerly.
“Come with me,” he then said and began walking in the direction that led to the guest chambers. There was no hesitation from the blue mare. She immediately hurried after him.
That left Foxy, who waited further instructions, yet she was a little uneasy. What if the king had forgotten her? Hadn’t she done her part? She gulped and was no longer sure what to do as the mare hadn’t been told to resume her walk to the throne room.
“Oh Foxy, I haven’t forgotten you,” King Sombra said in a gentle tone, easing the worries of the mare. "Come to me. The entrance to my chamber is by the throne room."
“Yes my lord,” Foxy whispered and hurried onward.
It didn’t take her long to reach the throne room. She spotted the open and inviting doorway further inside. The mare hesitated for a moment before hurrying towards it. She peeked inside and gasped at seeing the table that was laid out with food. Candles were the only illumination and standing nearby was King Sombra, waiting.
“Come in, Foxy Stripes. We will dine before retiring for the night.” The king smiled and beckoned to the mare to come closer.
Foxy smiled and entered the chamber. The moment she was fully inside, the door closed by Sombra’s magic. The king then picked something up from the table and floated it over to the mare. It was a flower made of crystals. For a moment he presented it before Foxy who stared transfixed at the beautiful yet fragile looking plant. Then the king carefully put it behind her right ear, fastening it there.
“Thanks, it’s beautiful,” Foxy whispered and blushed a little.
“A small token of appreciation for such a lovely mare that grants me the honor of her company,” King Sombra said as he gestured for her to sit down, holding out the seat for her.
I will enjoy you tonight, dear Foxy and later I will enjoy your sister, the Dark King thought as he found his own seat close to where Foxy sat. Perhaps once I have dealt with the threat of the Princesses, I shall enjoy you both at the same time.
End Chapter 14