A Crystal shattered

by CalebH

Chapter 3

Luna was having the time of her very long life. Her and Celestia had done nothing but play for the past six months. They were confident that their kingdoms would be in good hooves and would not suffer from their absence. She was not surprised when her sister felt the spell summon her, it had only been a matter of time before some issue arose and a steward felt their wisdom was lacking.

Celestia rushed to a small pond and cast a scrying spell. Luna followed behind her seeing if she could offer any wisdom on the issue that had arisen. She knew the vacation was over when she looked into the spell and saw the grave look the pony on the other side wore.

“Queen Luna, I have dire news your majesty,” he said grimly.

Luna realized right away that this call was not for Celestia but for her. “What has happened? Why are we not being called by Sombra?” she demanded of her sister’s steward.

“Your majesty once the snows of winter cleared and the way between our nations was free to travel once more, the merchant caravans approached your empire only to find it shrouded in blackness. I do not know what has happened. I only know that your subjects need you.”

Luna was in the air before he had finished speaking. She had caused a sonic rainboom and was traveling at supersonic speed before her sister had dissipated the spell. At such speed it took her only a few hours to reach her kingdom but they felt like days.

She had utterly worn herself out by the time she reached her kingdom. Though Luna would rather die than let her subjects be imprisoned by this darkness any longer she knew she was too exhausted to face the threat alone. She fought down her fury and protection instincts enough to rest and wait for Celestia to arrive.

As the sun reached its apex Luna looked up to see her sister descend to land beside her. She had not flown as recklessly as Luna had and was ready for battle when she landed. Her mane usually looked like a gentle sunbeam lightly shifting from one color to the next but now it took on the fiery violence of a solar flare. Her golden armor glowed with the warding enchantments placed on it.

Luna’s battle attire was subdued in comparison. It was only a helmet and shoes made from a falling star. The metal held enchantments even better than that of her sister’s armor and would serve as protection from anything that could be thrown at the night princess.

The sisters simply nodded at each other before beginning into the inky darkness that engulfed Luna’s realm. Once they passed through the barrier they found themselves at the foot of a high wall made from black crystal. Rather than announce her presence Luna flew over. When she crested the wall she saw what had befallen her kingdom. Every structure seemed to be made of the same black crystal and the few ponies that were out were dull compared to the once resplendent crystal ponies Luna had once ruled.

Luna released two bolts of magic. One destroyed the wall around her city and the other reshaped the dark castle to allow sunlight in and give her quick access to the throne room. She covered the distance between herself and her castle in the blink of an eye, landing gently on the newly made balcony just outside the throne room. She found a very surprised Sombra sitting the throne encased in cruel looking armor.

Sombra snarled and let loose a black bolt of magic from his horn. Luna’s magic lashed out in return, meeting the bolt in the middle of the room. Something was different about Sombra’s magic though it ate through her bolt like it wasn’t even there and struck Luna in the horn before she even realized she had not won the brief struggle.

---

Sombra had been shocked when the walls around him gave way to arched windows and an expansive balcony opened in front of him. The queen landed almost as soon as the changes were complete. Sombra snarled and let loose his conversion spell before the surprised look had faded from his face. The queen looked shocked for a split second before her face fell into a determined scowl and she countered with her own magic.

As Sombra had planned his magic cut right through hers. If they had used spells from the same school of magic Sombra had no doubt that he would have lost, but the general magic she used was fundamentally weak to his. Magic was based on emotion. His was based on hate, making it more violent than any other school and the only shields that were effective against his magic were based on overwhelmingly positive emotions. Luna’s spell though immensely powerful was at an elemental disadvantage from the start.

Sombra settled back into his throne with a dark smile on his face. It would be so enjoyable to watch the former queen go through the utter humiliation his spell induced before it enslaved her. Instead of writhing around on the floor as her soul was fragmented and enslaved Luna stood. The look on her face bore such withered fury that it seemed to pin Sombra to the throne.

Before Sombra could react Luna’s magic seized him and threw him out the balcony onto the street below. His armor absorbed most of the impact but he knew if he did not incapacitate the queen with his next attack he could not win. He summoned all the power he could even drawing out the magic from the crystals of the city, which began to return to their original brilliance. He cut power to every spell he had save his failsafe hoping to put every ounce of power into his next attack. Shadow coalesced around him crackling with dark energy as he searched for his target. In the sky he found not just one enraged alicorn but two.

---

As soon as the magic hit her Luna recognized it and knew how to defeat it. The spell had knocked her to the ground and started to infect her emotions seeking to break them. With a simple exercise of her considerable will she confined it to be dealt with later. She rose to her feet and glared at the usurper with a withered fury. Reaching out with her magic she grabbed him and cast him out the balcony into the street below before flying up to meet her sister in the sky.

Sombra was summoning all of the dark magic in the city to him, as it flowed out of the buildings they began to take their former radiant sheen and the shadows coalesced around Sombra crackling with energy. Luna bound his horn with her magic, he tried to resist and his horn took on a red glow with the effort and the sheer energy gripping his horn reshaped it into a smooth and aggressive curve but he could not prevail and free his magic.

Satisfied that her prisoner was subdued Luna spoke, “Do you think the moonbringer has never seen black magic before Sombra, you have made yourself a shadow upon this radiant city and so I pronounce judgment upon you. You will be nothing more than a shadow trapped within the ice to the north for the rest of eternity.”

Sombra tried to make a reply but the spell was already speeding from Luna’s horn to accomplish its purpose. It was already too late for the wretch to plead for his life and it was too late for Luna to save her city when she sensed the spell that bound its fate to his. Luna looked on in horror as the city she loved faded to shadow and disappeared around her.

Comments

[akajulester]

Her and Celestia had done nothing but play for the past six months.

Should have been "She," and there a few, minor grammar errors, but I like this story! Five out of five mustaches: