Possession in the Crystal Empire

by Askre

Chapter 15. Almost thirty years.

Chapter 15

“Here we are,” Princess Cadance declared as she, Hard Shovel and Mirage Rock approached a door leading to a room deep down in the lowest levels of the castle.

The doorway was sealed up both with magic and a metal lock. It also had a sign warning ponies to stay clear of the door. The two elder Unicorns were surprised to see how barred up it was, considering what the Princess had told them about the room.

“We discovered the laboratory after we moved in and defeated King Sombra the first time and made a thorough check of the castle. The Crystal Ponies absolutely refuse to come anywhere near it,” Cadance explained and activated her horn as she began undoing the magic seals.

“That is understandable. Suppose they don’t want to come near anything that reminds them of their former dictator,” Hard Shovel nodded.

“The poor dears. Can’t imagine how this must have been for them. How long was Sombra in power?” Mirage Rock wondered and glanced around. They were in a long corridor that Cadance had told them led eventually to the old dungeon. It was also sealed off, since they had no plans to use it.

“Almost thirty years.” Cadance shook her head sadly. “Celestia and Luna have told me that they would have done something sooner, but Discord used the opportunity to invade Equestria shortly after Sombra usurped the throne so they had to deal with him first.”

“That would complicate matters,” Hard commented. Both his wife and Cadance nodded in agreement.

“We had plans to have an outside team come and examine this room and the contents, but with the upcoming Equestria Games we just haven’t had time to do it,” the princess explained as she removed the final lock and opened the door.

Princess Cadance entered the room and shuddered a little when on cue it was lit up by a reddish glow that seemed to come from the very walls. This was only the second time she entered the laboratory and she was still of the opinion that this was just as bad as the torture chamber they had dismantled down in the dungeon.

There were two tables with jars, bottles, various other containers and other strange equipment. A small desk was in one corner and on it rested an old-looking book that was closed. In another there was a cage. Considering how good the conditions were, it was hard to believe that everything in here was actually over one thousand years old.

“There must be some sort of an illumination spell in the walls,” Hard Shovel muttered as he hesitantly stepped into the laboratory.

“This is actually Crystal Pony magic. They are very good at infusing crystals with light that under certain condition illuminates, like say if a pony is present or touches the crystal,” Cadance explained to him and looked back at the stallion. She noticed that Mirage was hesitating in the doorway, looking nervously inside.

Shortly after they had eaten, the two archeologists had approached the princess with a few more questions about their sons. Mirage mentioned that Private had described a red room when talking about his supposed nightmare. Cadance had immediately recognized the description and offered to take the old couple down to it.

“Some of this equipment hasn’t been used in hundreds of years and some of this looks like Dark Pony in origin, what do you think, Mir?” Hard Shovel had been glancing around the room before looking towards his wife.

Mirage wasn’t really paying attention to anything in the room except the corner with the cage. It was just big enough so that an adult pony could be in there if lying down. Old hay was used to cover the bottom, clearly meant for bedding, there was a bowl for water in there as well.

The Unicorn mare walked over to it and gingerly touched the iron barred prison. She looked it over up and down before glancing over at her husband and the princess who watched her mildly concerned.

“T-this is where that monster kept him, didn’t he?” Mirage whispered and looked back at the cage. “This is where he kept my baby.”

Cadance winched a little when hearing how broken the older mare sounded. She regretted a little to have agreed to bring them here. The Alicorn felt she should have realized that of course it would be difficult for them to enter the very room their child had been kept prisoner so many years ago.

Hard Shovel walked over to his wife to comfort her. The princess in the meantime glanced around. When the room was first discovered, no one could say really what had occurred in it. Everyone assumed some sort of experiments had gone on around here. Most of the Crystal Ponies who had been forced to work in the castle during the king’s reign had not been privy to this part of it.

Cadence looked back to the old couple when seeing them now approach her. Mirage looked to have calmed down a little bit, but there was still lingering sadness in her eyes. Hard Shovel was putting on a brave face, but the princess could tell that this room bothered him just as much.

“Uh, Princess, Mir and I are archeologists and though things here are in more pristine condition than usual, we are qualified to examine it. We could do the examination for you,” the stallion told her.

“Are you sure?” Cadance asked. She would love to have this room fully examined and investigated so they could finally just get rid of everything in it, she just wasn’t so sure if the old couple was up for it.

“Perfectly, besides it gives us something to do, I mean we are no use in the search and rescue, considering our age and the fact that King Sombra is probably well out of our league,” Hard Shovel assured her. Mirage as well nodded in agreement with her husband.

“Very well, then I give you full access to this room. Is there anything you need before you begin?” Cadance wondered, but then noticed that Shining Armor had appeared in the doorway and was trying to catch her attention. She gave him a signal that she would be right with him.

“We’re probably going to need things to write down with and probably boxes and things to put things in. I have my magnifying glass here and everything else I need in my vest pockets,” Hard Shovel informed her.

Princess Cadance assured him that she would have these things brought down, then she excused herself and walked over to her husband who waited patiently for her by the doorway. He gestured for her to come with him further down the corridor.

“Flash Sentry just came in,” he started once they were a bit away from the laboratory. “They found definite signs that King Sombra had been in the Crystal Ale Inn. I’m afraid the bastard killed six Crystal Ponies there and put the rest of the inn patrons under some sort of a spell. Flash took few extra guards with him and a cart to carry the bodies. Twily went with him to see if she could do anything about the spell.”

“He killed six ponies?” Cadance cringed, already dreading having to tell the families about it. She was really starting to feel more and more contempt towards the former tyrant.

“I’m afraid so yeah, but we are on the right track at least, now we just need to find where he’s headed,” Shining Armor said and put a comforting leg around his wife.

“Good, we need to stop that monster before anymore ponies get hurt,” the Alicorn whispered and shook her head. “What about the mare that the guard Blackberry came with. Has she said anything?”

“She’s still recovering in the hospital. She had quite a shock so I haven’t really questioned her yet,” he told her as the stallion let go.

Cadance nodded and sighed deeply, wishing quietly that no more would die before they could finally stop Sombra. The couple looked towards the door to the old laboratory when hearing what sounded like a cry. With worried frowns they went to the entrance and looked in. Mirage and Hard Shovel were by the book. The elder mare had carefully opened it with her magic and the two were going through it.

“Is everything alright?” the princess asked. She could see that Mirage was visibly upset, one hoof over her mouth. The old stallion was gritting his teeth, but they both tried to assume composure when hearing her and glanced towards the royals.

“We… this is a journal. It describes when he was pulling ponies back in time,” Hard Shovel said and eyed the book. “We just found the first entry that talks about our son.”

Cadance and Shining entered the laboratory and walked over to the old couple. The two elders stepped aside to give them access to the book. The Alicorn frowned when her eyes landed on the page and realized she couldn’t read the script.

“I can’t read this language,” she said and looked at them.

“Oh, I’m sorry, your highness,” Mirage stepped back to the book. “It’s written in the script of the Dark Ponies.”

“Wait, why would Sombra write a journal in that language? I always thought he was a Crystal Unicorn,” Shining Armor tilted his head.

“No, King Sombra is a Dark Pony. I suppose it makes sense he would write in his native language,” his wife informed him. She looked at Mirage. “You can read this?”

“Oh we have studied the ancient Dark Ponies before, princess. We even got permission from the Saddle Arabians to investigate some of the ruins in their ancient cities in northern Saddle Arabia,” Hard Shovel told her with a small grin. “Heck, it’s thanks to us that the crown jewels of Queen Rabia are now on display in the Saddle Arabian capital. But Mirage here has a gift with ancient language. Give her enough time and she can crack almost any ancient text presented to her.”

“I don’t know about that; I would need a sample translation to work with.” Mirage smiled weakly but it dropped when her eyes fell on the journal pages again. With a sigh she started to read:

“Immortality still eludes me, so I continue with my backup plan that ensures that in the instance of my death a pony will seek out my spirit, so I may possess it and rest within the confines of its mind until I am strong enough again to regenerate my body. It is an immortality of sorts, but I would prefer just not being able to die.”

“I activated the spell once more. This will be the tenth time I pull a pony away from its proper time and place. For some reason though, the spell has brought me a child. A young colt, no older than six winters. His mane and tail are colored a bit like gold, just a little darker and his coat almost matches mine, just bit lighter. He is a unicorn, but shows no skills in magic. I suppose he has not begun learning how to utilize it yet. For a brief moment I almost thought I had acquired a Dark Pony foal, but he spoke some form of Equestrian, so he must be an Equestrian Unicorn, though there is no mark on his flank. He must not have acquired it yet. I have no hope the child will survive the spells I will infuse into him.”

Mirage had to stop reading as she was choking up. Cadance reached to put a wing around her, feeling for the poor mare who had to read about her own son in captivity. Hard Shovel stepped closer, intending to take over the reading, but his wife shook her head at him, then she continued:

“I am impressed, the child survived the first spells that prepare his body to receive the sleeper spells. It was almost amusing how stubborn he was when refusing to drink the first potion I gave him. I had no time to deal with it, so I simply hypnotized him and had him drink it. He showed no sign of realizing I did that and the potion will help even further to prepare him for the eventual spells.”

“I suppose I have underestimated the resilience of children, it is now the third day and the boy still lives. Though he clearly fears me and I often find him weeping in the corner of the cage, he still lives. It is time soon to put the sleeper spells on him. If he survives that process I shall be thoroughly impressed.”

Shining noticed that Hard Shovel’s face was darkening, the prince couldn’t say he blamed him. Who would want to hear their child going through something like this and being unable to stop it since it has already happened? Neither stallion said anything though as Mirage continued to read the dreadful journal.

“Now it’s the fifth day and the boy survived the preparations and the sleeper spells. Like every other pony I’ve pulled back and will continue to pull back, he is pretty much ready to serve as my host if I ever die in his time period. Yet his resilience continues to fascinate me. It’s a pity that in two days’ time he will be sent back. I almost wish to keep him and see what other spells he would survive being subjected to.”

“Then again, he bears a striking dark gray coat, almost Dark Ponyish. I wonder what would happen if I were to draw out some of my essence and put it within him? Usually by this time I leave the pony be, let them settle down before being sent back. It should help convince them when they return that they merely woke up from a nightmare.”

“He wanted to keep him?!” Mirage gasped and started to shake. Cadance pulled her closer and started to speak soothingly to the upset mare. Shining somehow managed to show no signs that he and Cadance had actually known that piece of information, but inwardly he was cringing. This time it was Hard Shovel who continued to read.

“I gave him the infusion potion, mixed thoroughly with small parts of my essence. He was too young to comprehend what was happening, but I could sense it. That colt has Dark Pony ancestry - my essence joined him seamlessly as if fragments of his ancestors that were within him were welcoming a familiar face. His blood is muddled, mostly Equestrian, but it is there. Dark Pony blood. Now I do wish I could keep the boy. Alas the spell will send him away come the next day.”

“The journal then goes on to the next pony he called back with that time spell of his,” Hard sighed and looked at the others, his wife was calming down again.

“This was written one thousand years ago. How would he be able to tell Private had Dark Pony ancestry?” Shining wondered and glanced at Hard Shovel when hearing the old stallion clear his throat. The elder Unicorn looked at his wife almost as if he was unsure about something, Mirage nodded.

“I probably should add why the Saddle Arabians gave us permission to dig in the old Dark Pony ruins,” Hard said and sighed. “The Saddle Arabians call the fall of the Dark Pony Empire their Greatest Shame. It’s not very well known within Equestria, but the Saddle Arabians and the Dark Ponies were bitter enemies and fought many wars.”

“In the propaganda, the Saddle Arabian had the upper hoof. Managing to paint the entire race of the Dark Ponies as evil, dark magic cannibals due to the fact that Dark Ponies eat meat and are naturally inclined to use dark magic, so not many shed tears when the Saddle Arabians finally managed to destroy the empire,” the old stallion continued and glanced at the journal.

“What few Dark Ponies survived scattered across the world and some made it here to Equestria where Princess Celestia and Princess Luna welcomed them and allowed them to settle, not worrying what the Saddle Arabians felt about it. In fact they had both been adamantly against their destruction, not believing the entire race was wholly evil.”

“As the years passed, the Saddle Arabians realized their error and call this their Great Shame. Today anypony who is descendant of the survivors of the Dark Pony Empire has permission to visit the former homeland of their ancestors,” Hard concluded. Cadance and Shining’s brows had risen high as they listened to the story from the old archeologist.

“So, you are a descendant of the Dark Pony refugees who came to Equestria?” the prince asked the old stallion.

“Mir and I both are. Although at this point our bloodline crisscrosses with Equestrian Unicorns, Pegasi and even Earth Ponies, Dark Ponies always had this innate magic that allows them to sort of sense once another, it’s subconscious and today almost none of us pay much attention to it. Most of us who are aware of our Dark Pony connection just joke about it.” Hard Shovel shrugged then glanced at the journal. “A pure Dark Pony hasn’t walked this world in over a millennia. We think King Sombra was the last.”

Silence followed afterwards, nobody was really sure what to say. Cadance couldn’t help but wonder if this was one of the reasons King Sombra had been so thorough in destroying records from before his reign. Was it maybe a subconscious desire to be remembered as the last of his race, or maybe there was a darker reason, not wanting anyone to remember it?

“How can Sombra be the last of his race? Wasn’t… no wait you said last pure one.” Shining Armor was the first to break the silence.

“Yes, the Dark Ponies who escaped to Equestria were commoners, their bloodlines had already been muddled with Saddle Arabians they were friendly with and other pony races. Only the royal line was still pure,” Mirage explained, she closed the journal using her magic, not really wanting to hear another word from it at the moment.

“Wait, does that mean Sombra was… is actually royalty?” Cadance found that hard to believe, but the looks on Mirage and Hard Shovel seem to confirm it.

“With what we have been learning from the return of the Crystal Empire and King Sombra’s reign, we who are descendants of the refugees think he must be the lost son of Queen Rabia,” the old mare told her.

“Dark Pony society was strictly matriarchal, only a mare could assume the throne. The last queen was Ira, Rabia’s eldest daughter, but Rabia had an older son who disappeared well before Ira assumed the throne. Very little was known about him and he sort of faded into legend. But if our suspicions are true and depending on what we discover as the Crystal Ponies give us more information about their past, we do think Sombra may well be that lost son. It is said he sought power for himself, which went completely against Dark Pony traditions,” Hard Shovel added in.

“Well we definitely know that King Sombra desired power,” Cadance shook her head and glanced at the journal. “And it sounds like he was doing this to attain immortality of sorts.”

“I much rather he continues to stay dead,” Shining Armor grunted. No one disagreed with that statement.

“Speaking of, we have had news of Sombra and your sons. They were last seen at a roadside inn in the west. We still don’t know where they are heading, but we should find out soon enough. Princess Twilight is heading to the inn as we speak,” the princess told the old couple who both nodded their thanks.

“How about we leave the journal for now, Mir, and just focus on cataloguing the equipment?” Hard Shovel gently suggested to his wife who did not protest that idea at all.

Cadance and Shining Armor decided to leave the elders to their work, the princess promised to have someone come down with the extra items they had requested before the two royals left the room.

End chapter 15

Author's Note:

Proofread by Hail King Sombra

This chapter has been a long time coming, it reveals my headcanon for Sombra's origins though I spiced it up a little with the Spanish name theme we got for the Umbrum in the comics.

Comments

[Ice Star]

Finally, the lore of the Dark Ponies and the insight into Sombra's desire to be an Extra Old Stallion: Forever Edition. Historical journals and mysteries are one of my favorite little bits to see in stories, so watching Cady and Shiny comb through all these things was fun.

Though, it's a weird implication that Dark Ponies appear to be named and largely characterized on their coat colors being, well, dark.

[Askre]

9622740

Finally, the lore of the Dark Ponies and the insight into Sombra's desire to be an Extra Old Stallion: Forever Edition. Historical journals and mysteries are one of my favorite little bits to see in stories, so watching Cady and Shiny comb through all these things was fun.

Glad you enjoyed it.

Though, it's a weird implication that Dark Ponies appear to be named and largely characterized on their coat colors being, well, dark.

Not an intentional one I assure you. It was always meant to be because of their dark magic, but yeah since that isn't mentioned here, I kind of see how that might be implied differently.