XIV.
I’ve been to the Crystal Empire a couple of times during my life in Equestria. It always amazed me whenever I looked at it. Simple drawings generated by a computer screen couldn’t compare to what it actually looked like in real life. The crystal structures always shined like stars in the sky, with the sun’s light refracting through the gems, creating beautiful rainbows that colored the surrounding skies. Sadly, it didn’t look anything like that anymore.
It had been one hundred years since we defeated Tirek. Now Celestia, Luna and I faced a new threat. We stood upon an elevation with a team of elite guards behind us, as we looked at the once glorious empire, now dark and infected. Sombra had finally risen, and had conquered the Empire. The citizens were enslaved, either serving as labor, or as armed guards.
I remembered Sombra from the show, and I felt that I could have prevented this if I there had been any warning signs. But Sombra’s conquest came out of nowhere. We didn’t hear about it until it was over. He had done it singlehandedly, his powers of dark magic making him a one-stallion army. Anyone who resisted was slaughtered.
I’ve read a bit on dark magic in the castle library. It’s like a drug, one that corrupts the mind of the user, along with the body. I’m not sure what kind of pony he was before he became dark magic’s slave, but now he was a full on monster. As a nobody, I use the darkness too, only it’s much different than the kind that Sombra uses. It doesn’t corrupt me, possibly because I am made out of darkness itself, like a nobody. It took a while to convince the sisters to allow me to use my powers over darkness, but eventually I was able to convince them on the grounds that it didn’t affect my kind like it did ponies.
As I thought about the opponent we would soon face, I feel a hoof tap my shoulder. I look over to see Celestia standing behind me with a serious expression.
“Are you ready, Roxas?” I looked her in the eyes for a moment, before looking back at the empire.
“Yeah.” She nodded, and standing with Luna, we all turned to look at the group of soldiers behind us. There were twelve of them in total, all of them the best that the Royal Guard had to offer.
Celestia took a step forward, and addressed the group.
“My little ponies, today is an important day. For months now, the ponies of the Crystal Empire have been living in darkness. But today, we shall bring them back to the light!”
The guards cheered in affirmation. Luna then stood up next to her sister, and spoke as well.
“Our task is simple. King Sombra is the head of this venomous serpent, and so we must cut the head off. Once Sombra is gone, his slaves will be free. He keeps his laborers in chains, while his soldiers are forced to wear armor that robs them of their free will. It is because of this, that we are only authorizing lethal force as an absolute last resort. Our goal is to incapacitate the enemy troops without seriously injuring them. Is that clear?”
“Yes Princess!” the soldiers said in unison. The princess’s heads turned to face me.
“Roxas, do you have anything to add?” questioned Celestia. I closed my eyes and thought for a moment, before I shook my head.
“No. All I have to say is…let’s give Sombra hell. We’ll make him regret what he’s done.” I then materialized Oblivion in my right hand, and pulled my hood over my head. “Let’s do this!”
Everyone in the group now faced the Crystal Empire. And we charged.
Luna and Celestia flew while I ran under them, as the soldiers charged behind us. Luna then gave the troops their orders.
“Hard Rock, Brass, Tumbler and Silver Swiper, you four go free the slave laborers! The rest split into two teams of four! Draw the guards attention from the castle!” The guards did as they were told, going off to do their duty.
Celestia, Luna and I traversed the snow, finally coming to the magical seal that kept the empire protected from the cold. The princesses flew over the wall that had been built, while I jumped over it. The three of us passed through the shield, and instantly we could feel the difference. It was warmer than the frozen outsides, though it wasn’t as warm as it had been in the past. The dark clouds hung overhead, which blocked out the suns warmth. The land lacked true warmth, just like its dictators heart.
We made a strait beeline for the castle. When we came close to it, we saw several soldiers guarding the entrance.
“I count five!” called Luna. I dashed forward, teleporting quickly, and appearing above one of the armed ponies. I swung my leg down like a pendulum, hitting the stallion right in the head, knocking him out. As I landed, a pony on my left charged me with a spear. I readied Oathkeeper, and blocked. The soldier was about to strike again when Celestia hit him with a stun spell, which caused them to fall to the ground.
Celestia and Luna dealt with the other three quickly. Once done, we turned our attention to the castle. We stormed in through the large doors, and were instantly greeted by more armored ponies guarding the halls. As soon as they saw us, they charged. Celestia and Luna used their magic to disable the guards, while used my Keyblades and magic to do the same.
We kept this going as we traveled through the palace halls, making our way to the throne room. We made sure to leave the soldiers unconscious, but not seriously injured. After all, they too were victims of Sombra’s evil.
Eventually, we came to the entrance of the throne room. Celestia and Luna landed on the floor, and stood next to me with Celestia in the center.
“Are you two ready?” questioned the solar princess.
“As ever,” said Luna.
“Let’s do this,” I replied. Celestia nodded, and used her magic to slam open the door. We then made our way inside.
Sombra sat upon his throne, with two guards flanking him on either side. The throne room was darkened due to the lack of true light outside. Sombra’s throne could only be described in the way of the Iron Throne from Game of Thrones, only it was made out of black crystals instead of blades.
As we entered, Sombra smirked, not worried at all by our arrival.
“Greetings Equestrians,” he said with his deep voice.
“It’s over Sombra! Surrender now, and we may show leniency!” stated Celestia. The dark king merely chucked in response.
“Surrender? Please, I have been preparing for this fight for years! I wouldn’t dare miss out on a battle of this caliber.” He then addressed his guards. “Leave us.”
The guards nodded, and left the room, leaving us alone with the tyrant. I watched them go. They walked completely in time with each other with exact muscle movement. They were like robots.
“So, Princesses, I see you’ve brought your pet with you.” I tightened my grip on my weapons, turning to look him in the eye. I was more than ready to wipe that smug smile off of his face.
“We brought a friend,” replied Luna. He chuckled in response.
“Yes, I’ve heard of him. Sir Roxas of Equestria, the one who helped fell Discord and Tirek. Ha ha ha, It only makes sense that you would require three combatants to face me. After all, I have surpassed you all by so much that it wouldn’t be fair for me to face just one of you.”
“Your delusions of grandeur are your weakness, Sombra!” challenged Celestia.
“And your faith that the ‘villain’ always loses is yours!”
At that moment, Sombra lit his horn. It glowed blood red, and then dimmed as the room’s light did the same, nearly leaving us in pitch-blackness. The princesses and I stood with our backs to each other in a triangle. We lost sight of Sombra as he dissolved into the darkness. Celestia and Luna lit their horns, allowing us to see a little better. We waited for our opponent to make his move in complete silence.
Suddenly, I heard the sound of crystals growing as a shard shot from the ground, going strait for me. I blocked with my Keyblades in an ‘X’ shape. Celestia used her magic to bring more light to the room. We could then see a dark shadow slithering on the floor.
“There!” announced Luna. Celestia shot a blast of magic at the shadow, but it dodged to the right. Then, the darkness rose, forming the shape of King Sombra. He used his magic to conjure up a sword made out of crystal and then he dashed forward, swinging it down at Celestia. She teleported behind him, and bucked him with her hind legs.
Sombra laughed as he turned to smoke, her hooves passing through him. He materialized and spun around, swinging his blade at her. She used her wings to shoot backwards in the air, and fired a blast of magic at him. Sombra split in half like a piece of string cheese, the blast passing right through him before he reformed.
Suddenly, I leaped him. I whistled quickly to gain his attention. He turned to face me, and I smacked him right in the face with my Keyblades. He fell to the ground, sliding on the smooth floor.
Sombra raised his head, and growled angrily. He then summoned black tendrils, which shot at me. I jumped backwards, into a darkness portal that I summoned. As I did this, Luna appeared above Sombra, and shot down a magic blast. Sombra raised a shield, which blocked the attack.
Celestia shot forward, and attempted to kick him again. He dodged, before hitting her on the head with the butt of his blade. She recoiled back, and Sombra took advantage of this by swinging the blade towards Celestia’s neck. It was at that moment that I appeared again, blocking the attack with my weapon. I disengaged before whacking him again. Blood spewed from his nose as I made contact. He sunk back into the floor, retreating from his current position.
“You’re starting to annoy me, boy!” growled the unicorn.
“I’ve been around a lot longer than you,” I replied.
“Perhaps, but I am still far more powerful than you!”
Sombra levitated himself into the air, and then summoned nine orbs of dark energy in a circle around his body. He started to laugh manically as he sent them towards us. Three went to Celestia, three went to Luna, and three went to me. Celestia blasted hers with magic, while Luna raised a shield. I dodged the first one, and teleported away from the second one. As I landed on the ground, the third one shot towards me. I reared back my right arm, and swung my Keyblade at it, sending it back at its sender.
Sombra’s laughing was cut short when the blast hit him, exploding, launching him back. He collided with his throne hard, before hitting the floor. The sisters and I regrouped, and watched as the dark king got to his hooves.
“Princesses, your power has disappointed me,” he said as he spit out black blood. “But Sir Roxas, you are every bit as powerful as the stories told.” He then stood to his full height, cracking a smile.
“And you, you know the power of darkness, like me. It’s a shame that you’re a slave to the Princesses. Why, by my side, you could so much more!”
I closed my eyes and let out a heavy sigh, chuckling as well. Sombra’s smile fell.
“Why do bad guys always think they can entice me with false promises. I’ve seen ponies like you before, and I have enough sense to know that you’d turn on me the moment you were able. Besides, I don’t desire the power you do. I’m…happy with my place, and with my friends.”
“A shame. Well, I no longer wish to do battle with you, Knight of Equestria.”
“Then give up!” challenged Luna.
“Oh, you misunderstand. I’m not done with this fight! In fact, I haven’t even been using my full power. But that warrior of yours is bothering me. So, I am going to utilize one of the oldest strategies in war.”
He lit his horn, and as soon as he did, the floor beneath us began to tremble, like an earthquake.
“DIVIDE AND CONQUER!” As he yelled that, we could see movement through the windows. A loud roar akin to Godzilla could be heard.
“What is that?” questioned Luna.
“That is my secret weapon: the Crystal Behemoth!”
Another roar was heard as a chunk of the wall was torn away to reveal the creature Sombra had summoned.
It was huge, at least half the height of the palace. It had a hunched, bipedal body comprised of blue crystal, with glowing red eyes, and a large, fanged maw. The sisters and I backed away a few feet as we saw it rise. Sombra’s evil laughter filled the room as we took in the creatures might.
“Behemoth, get rid of the one on black!” Before I could react, the monster let out a loud roar, and grabbed me. He pulled me out of the palace, grasping me in one hand.
“ROXAS!” I could hear the princesses call. The monster then reared back and threw me into the air. I rose like a speeding bullet, spinning as well. When I reached the peak, I regained control, and righted myself, hovering in the air.
“Coward. Too afraid to fight all three of us, so you need this beast to distract me. Well fine.” I wasn’t scared of this monster. Sora had taken on opponents of his size in the games, and if he could do it, so could I!
I then stopped floating, and let myself fall, shooting towards the Crystal giant.
“Celestia, Luna, you take care of Sombra! I’ll take care of the monster!” I shouted. I’m sure their Alicorn hearing was able to pick up on what I’d said.
‘They’re more than a match for you Sombra. Like you, they haven’t been using their full power.'
I shot down further, rearing back my weapons as I approached the behemoth.
‘After all, I know how this ends. And I know for a fact-’
I reached the titan. I swung my Keyblades, striking it right in the head.
‘That you don’t stand a chance!’
Ok, so we kinda jumped forward a bit. So, you guys have been asking when we will get to modern times, and I've been saying; "Herp derp, I have no idea, I'm a big idiot" -BUT NOW I KNOW!
I've written the outlines for the final chapters of the past arc. This is chapter 14, the last past one will be chapter 17. This chapter was originally supposed to be the third to last, but I decided to split it into two. Why you may ask? Well, after, what, three years of writing horse fiction, I've come to realize that I get bored easy, and I have a short attention span. I prefer writing shorter chapters (less than 3000 words), writing chapters longer than that, and my concentration kinda- Oh look a squirrel!
So, hope you liked this chapter, we're going to be getting to modernity soon!
Also, I made a MLP animation:
If you want to check it out, I'd appreciate it!
Anyway, thanks for reading. Byyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I still find it funny I joined reading this story on chapter XIII
Nice chapter! keep it up
a) This could have been one paragraph. I initially thought Roxas was saying the second part.
b) Could *be so much more.
It annoys the fuck out of me when Dark magic is portrayed as a force of evil.
8136540
8136434 What do you mean by "flashback mode?"
8149958 I guess flashback mode refers to the entire story after chapter 1, since all of that takes place chronologically before chapter 1.
8149748 I now consider you to be worse than Hitler
JK
Excellent chapter! Loved it!
8150069 Thanks man!
8150074 No prob!
Your story is like a delicious dessert and wanted more and more as my story feast! Your story is great in other-wards, can't wait to see more.
God I love this story. :D
Man do i love this story keep up the good work bossman!
8152551 Will do
8205527 Thanks, though truth be told, I have bunch of other stories on hiatus
But I do hope to be able to finish them eventually
8205933
I feel bad for discord in your animation, but it does make you wonder what he would do when fluttershy is gone.
9497285
Thanks for checking it out!