The Crystal Knight
The blustering northern wind blew fiercely through the air, causing almost anything it touched to become frozen where it stood. Nothing but pure white snow could be seen in almost every direction one looked, say one.
There in the middle of the frozen wastelands, stood a single city. Within it, almost every single building was made of shining crystals, which should have been a beautiful, sparkling sight. However, the once brilliantly colored crystal city had been tainted, its appearance now that of a giant, ash gray shadow. The city was also surrounded by large dark, pitch-black spiked crystals, creating a barricade that could stop almost any attempt to enter on hoof.
This was the Crystal Empire, and it was under siege.
Several miles away on a hill that allowed one to see the whole city, two ponies were standing together, side by side as they glared at the empire before them. They were the two alicorn princesses, Celestia and Luna, who had been leading their army in the siege of the once beautiful city. Behind them was an entire army encampment, where their solders were currently resting and recuperating from their long day of battle. They had just fought a battle of almost unending consequences, as hundreds upon hundreds of soldiers had thrown themselves against the dark being that had taken over the city. But even with all that, they were still no closer to bringing this war to an end.
Luna glared at the city, focusing her gaze at the tallest tower of crystal castle that stood in the center of the city. "That blasted coward, hiding away while his slaves risk everything to keep him safe." She turned her head to her older sister, "Sister, we must attack now! We need to take that snake's head before its too late!"
Celestia nodded in agreement, only to then put her hoof in front of her little sister. "Luna, we can't advance our ground troops any further, and we have already lost too many of our pegasi to try an aerial assault. Our only option is for us to attack and deal the finishing blow before he can react."
"And how do you suppose we accomplish this?!" Luna asked her sister with a raised eyebrow. "He'll spot us coming from a mile away, and when he does, who knows what desperate last ditch attempt to stop us he'll make. That's the only reason why we haven't taken his head right now!"
Celestia frowned hearing this, knowing she was right. She let out a long sigh, shaking her head in frustration. "Luna, I understand your frustration and I agree but...we can't do that and you know it. We need some form of distraction. Something to keep him occupied long enough for us to attack, but we have both agreed that we don't know how or who would-"
"Me!"
The two royal sisters spun around. There, they saw a unicorn mare walking up towards them. This unicorn was different from the others in the army. Her coat was a bright blush red, while her mane and tail were dark scarlet and her eyes were ruby red. What set her apart from the others though, was the crystalline shine her coat and mane had. Around her neck was a red metal necklace, with a snowflake shaped ruby attached to it. On her flank was the image of a silver shield with a crystal rose on it. Celestia and Luna watched as the unicorn reached the top of the hill and stared at the place that had once been her home until it was stolen and corrupted by evil.
Celestia quickly shook her head. "Ruby, you can't be serious. You know I can't ask that of you."
Ruby gave her a small smirk. "You didn't ask me, I volunteered. Besides, I'm the only one who stands any chance of getting to him and keeping him busy." She crossed her hooves while her eyebrows hopped up and down. "Its our only chance."
Luna stepped forward, glaring at the unicorn before her. "Ruby, you will not do this. You do realize that this would put you in more danger than anypony else. If the plan fails, there may be no way of getting you out again. You'd be his prisoner."
Ruby sighed before turning back to the city. "I know, but I must do this. Princess Amore entrusted me with the protection of the Empire, so no matter what it takes, I must honor that trust." Her eyes then narrowed in anger. "Besides...he's had this coming for a long time." She turned back to the royal sisters. "I'm going, whether you grant me permission or not."
The alicorns glanced at each other, not liking the look they saw in her eyes, but knew she was right in being the only one who could get in there. They had no choice.
But Luna wasn't ready for it. Instead, she slammed her hoof down in front of Ruby, a blast of air coming out of her nostrils. "No Ruby, I won't let you do this. As your friend, I will not-"
Ruby just shook her head, smirking as she quickly hopped up and grabbed Luna into a hug. "Stop it Luna." she said as she tightened the hug. Luna wanted to resist, but soon returned the embrace anyways while Celestia smiled at the sight. The Sun Princess knew how close the two were, both of them becoming good friends over the past few years. After a few more seconds, Ruby ended the hug and glared at Luna straight in the eyes. "Listen, I'm going and that's final. You can't stop me."
"But Ruby, I-"
Ruby put her hoof over Luna's mouth, "Stop. I'm going in there because its my duty and you can't stop me. I am a citizen and knight of the Crystal Empire, and I will go in there and save the ones I have sworn to protect." Ruby removed her hoof and let out a long sigh. She then gave Luna a pleading expression as she continued, "Listen, let me go in there and distract him just long enough so you two can save the empire, okay? I promise I will succeed, and after that..." Ruby slung her hoof around Luna's shoulder, showing a slight smirk at the alicorn, "We'll go out for drinks like we promised earlier. Deal?"
Luna looked at the pony with a large frown, gulping slightly. She shook her head as she tried to reply, "Ruby, you don't have to-"
Celestia patted her sister's shoulder with her wing. "Luna, let her go."
Luna turned to her with expectant eyes, "But sister-"
"It'll be fine." Celestia interrupted, "Ruby is the best candidate for this and you know it."
"I..." Luna tried to say, her eyes shifting between Celestia and Ruby. As she looked at their faces, she could see that there was no choice. Both had made their decision. Seeing this, Luna let out a long sigh, her head now staring at the ground. "Very well."
Ruby gave her another hug, making it almost tighter than the last. "It'll be okay Luna. I'll make it back, I promise." she whispered to her, patting her back.
"Okay." Luna muttered as the hug ended.
As it did, Celestia glared at Ruby, leaning down at the crystal pony. "As I just said to Luna, I approve of this mission. However, you must remember that this mission is about freeing the empire. Do not allow your anger to cloud your judgement. Revenge is not your objective."
Ruby sighed, nodding. "I understand. I won't let that sway me, I promise." With that, she turned to the city before them, quickly glancing back as she readied herself to hop off the hill. "Give me an hour before starting the attack. That should be enough time."
As she said that, she hopped off the hill, rushing off before they could reply.
The empire was protected by what could only be called a dark crystal spike wall. It was fifteen meters high, and unscalable by basic hooves. It was as if it was made for wings to pass over the wall, making you an easy target if you flew over.
Luckily, there were other means of which Ruby could gain entry. She closed her eyes as her horn started glowing, along with the ruby on her necklace. As the gem glowed, several ruby colored crystals appeared before her and began to grow, taking shape. In no time at all, a pickaxe made entirely out of crystal was floating in front of her.
"Welp, here we go..." she said to herself as she took the weapon in her magic, starting her crusade through the crystal wall. As she did this, the dark crystal wall began to crumble as if it was nothing. The crystals that made the wall might have been strong, but not as strong as the crystals she could make. In almost no time at all, the crystal wall had a sizeable hole running through it, just big enough for her to squeeze through. Once past the wall, she used her magic to repair the hole so nopony would notice and sound an alarm.
Now inside the city confines, the crystal unicorn glanced at the castle in the middle of the city. Here, she saw the guards slowly patrolling around the city, causing her to quickly hopped into a building's shadow. With this, she slowly made her way towards the castle, as she found that the guards were not that attentive, though she could tell that the guards were just slaves, so motivation wasn't something they had. She moved with stealth and silence of a ninja, keeping out of sight until finally she found herself in the forecourt that once held the mighty Crystal Heart. Ruby's heart tightened when she saw the empty spot that once held the Empire's most important relic, but she knew that if she ever wanted to see it back in its rightful place, she had to succeed in her task.
Entering the castle soon after, the unicorn quickly crept along the crystal corridors inside, the building surprisingly short-staffed. It seemed that just about everypony else was outside, giving Ruby a great advantage. Staying out of sight, she slowly made her way to the throne room, creaking the doors open when she found the giant double doors.
As she stepped into the throne room and looked around, her glum expression increased. The throne was no longer the shining crystal chair that it once was. Instead, there were nothing but dark black crystals everywhere in the room, the carpets in the room dark purple and gray. She stuck out her tongue in disgust as she looked at the throne, which was nothing but a bunch of dark crystals shaped into a seat.
Despite this, she wasn't looking around to be disgusted about the room. Instead, she was looking for him. "Where are you?" she asked herself as she looked back at the throne. There, a small memory appeared in her head, one where she was bowing before the once ruler of the empire, the pony she vowed to be loyal to. Her heart tightened at the sight, guilt in voice. "Oh, your majesty....I'm so sorry."
"You should be."
Her eyes went wide before changing into a glare as she slowly turned towards the voice, spotting its owner stepping out of the shadows. He was a dark gray unicorn with a black mane and tail, a set of metal armor around his chest, neck and hooves. He had a blood red cape on his back and wore a metal crown-like head ornament. His horn was red and curved, while his eyes were a combo of red and green.
"Sombra," Ruby whispered with venom in her voice.
Sombra however, just chuckled as he trotted into the room, getting closer and closer to the mare. "Ruby Scarlet. To what do I owe the pleasure of being in the company of the Crystal Knight? Come to congratulate an old friend in his moment of victory?"
Ruby's glare intensified, air blasting out of her nostrils. "You lost the right to call me a friend a long time ago Sombra." Her horn and necklace began to glow, a crystal shaped sword soon appearing. She took it in her magic and pointed it at Sombra. "I am here to finally put an end to your evil and make you pay for what you did!"
Sombra however, showed no signs of intimidation at the blade pointing at him. In fact, he laughed at the sight before him as he shined a small grin. "Very well." His horn began to glow, conjuring a black cloud from the shadows in the room. The smoke soon took shape, revealing a long black scythe-like weapon with a large red blade that's end was shaped like an axe blade. He took the weapon in his magic, and swung it around his body before pointing it at Ruby, "Let us finally put an end to our story."
Ruby spun her sword in the air, her body taking an offensive stance. Her glare hardened as she yelled, "Tonight a story shall end...YOURS!" She shot forward and swung her blade, only for Sombra to quickly spin his scythe's staff, blocking the sword in single 'clang'. Grabbing his weapon in his hooves, he quickly twisted the scythe around, the blade's end swiping towards the knight. Seeing this, Ruby ducked as the blade barely missed her head, making her roll away as Sombra spun the scythe back into position. As he did, Ruby hopped back onto her hooves, her sword now spinning around her body.
Sombra smirked at seeing her skills. "Impressive, but I'm not the weak little colt you had to protect from bullies anymore. Now I have more power than you can possibly imagine." He leaned slightly back, gesturing his hooves into a 'come on' stance. "Come, I will you show you the new power that I have obtained." He put the weapon back into an offensive position. "After all, this is the power that I used to make the Crystal Empire mine."
"You mean the power of darkness." Ruby spat as she rushed forward, leaping into the air as she took her sword into her hooves. Spinning like a ball, she swung down at the enemy with a mighty roar. Sombra in turn blocked the strike, halting her charge as she yelled at him. "I'm going to beat you Sombra! Do you hear me?! Your power is nothing compared to the power that has been granted to me!"
"And what might that be?" Sombra asked in a mocking tone.
"Its the power from ponies working together, trying to create a truly strong world." Ruby replied as she pushed forward as their blade continued their standstill. As sparks continued to fly from the metal, she continued, "Its something you'll never understand."
"Oh please, like that power could defeat me." Sombra rebuked as his horn suddenly shined, a purple colored beam of magic instantly firing out and slamming Ruby's chest. The knight flew into the nearby wall, a scream of pain following. As she fell to the floor from the attack, Sombra let out a dark laugh, "Let me give you some wise words my dear. In this world, only the weak rely on each other. That is why they are weak. For you see, when I rule Equestria under my power alone, all that are weak will disappear. It is there that I alone will remain, leaving only what can be considered a truly strong kingdom."
Ruby slowly lifted her head, her eyes filled with an angry fire. "Sombra...you monster..." she hissed, levitating the sword back into her hoof. As her grip tightened, she yelled as she charged forward. "NEVER! I'll never let you do that to Equestria! Do you hear me?! I'll never let you win!"
"Oh, but you will my dear." Sombra flatly replied as he stood still, ready to take the charging unicorn. As she ran, she started swinging her weapon wildly, a volley of war cries following. Seeing this, Sombra spun his staff and blocked the sword again, only to spin his hooves as the bottom of the staff twirled, hitting Ruby's lower hooves. The knight was instantly knocked off balance as Sombra spun the scythe again, splitting the crystal sword in half with a single slice.
Ruby watched as the blade and handle of her sword were split apart as she tried to stumble back onto her hooves, leaving her defenceless as Sombra turned his weapon upon her. The scythe was quickly reeled back before he took another swing, ready to chop her head off in one clean swoop. But as his blade got within inches of her neck, a large wall of crystal shot up from the ground, dividing them two of them as Sombra's scythe was almost knocked out of his hooves from the emerging wall. "What in the name of-" Sombra sputtered as he started to backpedal, only to let out a roar as he gripped his blade and slashed the new wall into pieces.
However, those few seconds of slashing distraction were enough for Ruby to prepare for her next move. Once the wall was down, she was revealed along with two dozen arrow shaped crystals floating around her, quickly firing them. Seeing this, Sombra merely smirked as he raised his scythe and spun around, cutting every arrow in a few swipes.
Seeing the projectiles failing, Ruby looked down at the broken pieces of her sword. Grabbing them in her magic, she levitated them before growing a new handle and blade out of the pieces, forming a pair of blades. Gripping both in her hooves, she charged at her opponent. As she bum-rushed him, Sombra raised his scythe again, swinging his weapon as he tried to block both blades.
Ruby's swords started with a downward slash, both blades swinging down at the tyrant. Sombra spun his staff, blocking both strikes. But as he did, Sombra suddenly realized that the blades were no longer in her hooves, but in her magic aura. Before he could react, two back hooves slammed into his stomach, kicking him into a wall. Spit flew out of his mouth as he felt the crystal wall on his back. Feeling this, Sombra fell to the floor, he then saw that two blades were now crossed at his neck.
Sombra looked down at the weapons threatening to separate his head from his body, his expression unchanging except the slight grimace of pain. A small chuckle leaving his mouth, he looked back up at Ruby, still smiling his ever confidant smile at her. "So this is it. You have me right were you want me."
Ruby panted as she glared at him in the eyes. "Your evil reign is over Sombra. You're finished."
"Maybe...maybe not." Sombra replied, his smile growing. "Perhaps you could kill me...if you have the merciless spirit to end me." Ruby's gaze turned to confusion. She tried to say something, only for Sombra to continue, "Don't give me that look Ruby. We both know you don't have the heart to take a life in cold blood. After all, I'm defenseless right now. Killing me now would not be in defense, but in cold merciless blood."
Ruby continued to glare at him, trying with all her might to make the single motion needed to finally end him. Not a single word came from her mouth as she thought about his words. She couldn't stand it. No matter how hard she tried, she just felt her swords and hooves shake. Sombra watched her internal struggle, waiting for just the right moment.
A minute later, it happened. Ruby's two swords slightly moved away from his neck, causing the unicorn to shine a smirk. His horn quickly lit up, a bright light shining out of the horn. As it did, the light assaulted Ruby's eyes, forcing her to flinch back and close her eyes. She let out a groan of pain, only to feel a new surge of pain as Sombra turned and kicked her stomach with his back legs.
Ruby felt herself go flying back, her body skidding through the room. As she did, she stumbled back onto her hooves, her eyes barely open. She could only see a blur, as Sombra was pointing his horn at her. "Oh no you don't!" Ruby yelled as she lit up her horn, quickly summoning the crystal swords back to herself. She raised them into an X formation, ready to attack again, only for another beam of magic to fly out of Sombra's horn. Said beam struck the blades, shattering them into pieces, only for a second beam to hit the pony herself.
The blast knocked the Crystal Knight through the air, soon hitting the crystal wall behind her with a sickening crack before falling to the floor with a thud. The shattered remains of her crystal swords scattered along the ground as a trail to her now limp body.
Sombra looked down at his defeated foe, chuckling at the sight. "Pitiful little Ruby. You seriously thought you could take me?" With that, he turned and walked over to the nearby balcony. Here, he looked over his entire kingdom, smiling at the sight. That is, till he looked up and saw a pair of ponies flying towards the castle, which he instantly recognised as the false gods known as the royal princess sisters.
He sneered at them. "They're finally here. Do those two weaklings really think they can defeat me on their own?! How utterly pathetic!" His horn began to glow, ready to defend himself. But as he started to summon a spell, "YAAAUGH!" He screamed as an agonising pain shot through his side.
He looked down, trying to find the source of the pain. There, his eyes went wide as he saw a large chunk of crystal now thrusted into his side. He then turned around and saw Ruby, her horn flaring as she stared him down.
"You dare strike me?!"
Ruby let out a low, dark chuckle. "Yeah, I do. So, why don't you try stopping them now?"
"Why you little-" Sombra started, only to feel the pain of the crystal again. He could feel a drip of blood going down his body, causing him to look back outside again. There, he saw the princesses crossing horns, causing him to almost backpedal. He was out of time.
He turned back to Ruby. "I may not have won this day, but neither have you!" His horn sparked again, unleashing a weak flash of light, which quickly died down.
Ruby looked around, seeing nothing had happened before turning back to him. "What did you do?"
Sombra shined his usual smirk. "Oh, nothing much. I just activated my fail safe." He didn't say another word, as in that moment, the princesses unleashed a magic blast, which flew through the air and into the throne room. The light of the blast struck Sombra, causing him to scream out as he suddenly disappeared into nothingness.
As the light faded, Ruby stared at where the false king had once stood, only for it to be empty. Sombra was gone. She stared at it in amazement, only for something new to catch her attention. That something was the entire room beginning to glow, the light shining like a star.
The sight made Ruby gasp as she realised what Sombra had meant when he talked about a fail safe, causing her to push herself back to her hooves and rush over to the balcony. There, she looked down at the city and saw that all the houses were glowing. The whole empire was shining.
"No," she whispered before the light enveloped her completely.
Celestia and Luna watched as the light of the city continued to shine. As it did, both had to look away, the light now starting to burn their eyes.
"What's going on sister?!" Luna yelled as she put her hooves over her eyes.
"I don't know Luna." Celestia replied, only for her horn to start flaring. "Here, let me try-"
But before Celestia could even finish, the light completely vanished. Celestia and Luna turned back towards the city, only to gasp when they saw it was no longer there. The only evidence that it ever was, was the perfect circle of snow-less rocks that were quickly being destroyed by the weather.
Luna turned to her sister, her eyes already tearing up. "What...what has happened sister?"
Celestia looked down in shame, already guessing what had just happened. "Sombra must have been prepared for his defeat and created some kind of curse to punish everypony."
"WHAT?!" Luna yelped, pointing at the circle of rocks. "What do you mean he prepared something?! Where is the city?!"
"I...don't know."
The two flew down to where the city had once been, Luna landing first as her horn began to glow in a panic. "No...NO! This cannot be the end! There must be a way to undo this!"
Celestia walked up and put her hoof on her sister's shoulder. "Luna...its not that simple."
Luna swatted the hoof off. "NO! Don't you see what just happened sister?! The empire just vanished without a trace! Ruby and all the crystal ponies....they're all gone!" Luna yelled, tears now flowing down her face. "My friend..."
Celestia just shook her head, "Do not fret sister. Though powerful, a spell like this will not last forever. One day the Crystal Empire will return, and when it does, we must be ready as Sombra is also sure to return with it."
"But Ruby...." Luna whimpered, her hooves over her face now as a waterfall of tears followed. "Oh Ruby..."
Celestia once again tried to pat her sister's shoulder, only for it to be swatted away again. Luna had become distant recently, causing Celestia to just sigh as she turned around, staring at the circle. "It seems you won this round Sombra. I just hope that when you return, there will be a warrior strong enough to defeat you."
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It's gonna be Flash Sentry, isn't it?
An interesting start, I was expecting something else. But let's see how this plays out.
Well that’s an interesting prologue. I wonder how things between Flash and Sombra will be in this story, considering how they were in your Yugioh story. I’d like to see more of this Ruby character and her relationship with the princesses.
Hey, this got featured! Its on the bottom, but still...Way to go!
Edit: And its gone...oh well. Still, it was nice to see this featured.
8808223
Don't jinx it next time
8808314
Well, it keeps going in and out on the featured board.
Cut to Flash sleeping comfortably in bed. Then, Scootaloo jumps him like "Come on, big bro! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" Flash attempts to crawl back under the covers. Then, Scootaloo jumps on him even harder.
I'm not making demands or anything, but this would be so cute if it actually happens.
8808318
I see it! I see it!
Well. We may get a new knight. Great job. I can’t wait to see if Flash can meet Ruby.
Geez, a Flash Sentry fic in the Featured box? Is the world ending?
I haven’t seen this story in the featured board, but it is in the popular stories list.
8808682
Turn off Mature View
8808733
Oh, I see it! Awesome!
8808751
Yup!
Yesssssss
8808355
That would work...if this was at the end of this first chapter. I think the transition to the next chapter won't work as well.
8809388
Well, I can picture someone maybe adding that scene if this ends up getting adapted into a movie or a TV special.
8809425
True. Can't deny that.
Ruby Scarlet is a royal knight from the Crystal empire and along with the kingdome she disappeared
Why does Sombra even need a weapon? He's threatening enough with his magical powers.
How does a pony run with weapons in both hooves?
10768368 Unicorns use their magic, Pegasi can fly so they don't need their hooves and earth ponies hold them in their teeth.
10768371
There also seems to be some kind of "inner power" in your verse, so who knows, Iron Core might be become Magneto himself (if something like this happens don't tell me, I'm a first reader).