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Chapter 1: Secrets in the Dark3,535 words
Chapter 2: The Fall of Discord3,658 words
Chapter 3: The Battle of the Skies3,644 words
Chapter 4: The Battle of Sundered Heavens3,916 words
Chapter 5: The Banishment of King Sombra8,204 words
Chapter 6 - Part 1: The Rise of the Nightmare5,237 words

Chapter 5: The Banishment of King Sombra

Chapter 5: The Banishment of King Sombra

"The corruption of the most sacred realm is the Darkness' purest victory..."

The last of the silvery moonlight fell upon the browned page, drawing the intricate ink drawings to Blaze's attention. The crumpled paper was covered in the same flowing script that ran through the rest of the book, only this time dozens of pictures depicting shining multicoloured gems and crystals were laid out around the title. Surrounding those in turn were sickly black, violet and green flames, even the sight of which made the unicorn's magical senses tingle uneasily. Noting that the night would soon be over, Blaze hurried to read this intriguing chapter in Equestria's history.

The Crystal Empire and the Rise of the Shadow King

As told by the pegasus scout Far Gazer, present at the time of these events. Records taken from the Canterlot Royal Archives.

"It was during the sixtieth anniversary of the Fall of Discord, whilst the festival that we named the Grand Galloping Gala was taking place that we first started seeing the storms building up in the North. At first, we paid no notice to them. Beyond the borders of Celestia and Luna's influence the world was a wild and untamed place - or so I had heard anyway. I had heard of stories and rumours of forests that grew by themselves like the Everfree to the South, but also of weather that created itself without the influence of any pegasi! I had no idea if there was any truth in this, but somehow I knew that these storm clouds were not caused by Weather Squadrons.

The celebrations of Harmony also coincided with the start of the new year, and so the ponies of Equestria paid no heed to the darkness which started to seep from the Arctic North like poison. I myself had returned to the grand floating city of Cloudsdale, which was given as a gift to us by the Princesses for our bravery during the fabled Battle of Sundered Heavens nearly fifty years ago. My grandfather was one of those who fought against the Griffin armies - something regarded as a great memory and source of pride in my family.

But they eventually started to be noticed, the storms I mean. During the next few months, many travellers, mainly earth ponies, started to pour down from the North, forsaking their villages and homes out of fear for their own safety. While earth ponies are the least attuned to magic out of all pony races, even they could sense that something was very unnatural about the mysterious tempests. These fears were confirmed by the newly founded Order of Sorcery, led by an exceptional unicorn mare called Star Heart. The unicorns apparently had been watching activity in the Far North for several weeks, and the unusual build up of unstable magical power was interfering with the Heart Ley-Line or something like that. I can't remember completely, being a pegasus and all, and I only knew of these assessments due to my position in Canterlot as a guard.

However a few days later, I remember being called to the Royal Barracks' Great Hall with a number of other guards. I'd say around thirty of us were there, unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies alike. With all the talk about the storms, it didn't take long for us to guess our purpose here. Our regiment captain, Brave Charge, confirmed as much.

We had been selected as a scouting party to go into the icy North and find out what in Equestria was happening.

Seems the scrying powers of the unicorns and even the Princesses themselves were somehow blocked from peering into the deepests lands of the arctic, so we few had been chosen. I was one of thirteen pegasi tasked with scouting all areas around the central party. The unicorns would act as 'detectors' as it were, to find the source of the disturbance, whilst the few earth pony guards would carry our supplies and protect the unicorns should things go wrong.

I never liked the idea. Thirteen had always been an unlucky number for me, and I felt deeply uneasy as we departed Canterlot. And so we walked, galloped and flew for the next nine days, always going North. We encountered few problems before we reached the outermost borders of the Uttermost North. Blizzards raged, winds howled, and the snow froze us all to the point where none of the pegasi could fly.

It seemed grim, but we continued on.

To the young unicorn reading, the scenes being described sounded oddly heroic. Blaze, for some reason he couldn't put his hoof on, suddenly had a deep respect for these long-dead ponies. This expedition team...these pioneers...helped forge the way for a great age of exploration. If the guard remembered his dates correctly, in the following years, hundreds of ponies would follow in the hoofsteps of these few.

Nations like Neighpon, Prance, Germaneigh and Saddle Arabia would be founded, far from the Heartlands of Equestria. Blaze found himself smiling softly.

"The next day, we braved the arctic cold and began to long march through the snow. All sense of direction seemed to disappear in that white haze, I can tell you. Our navigator could no longer tell which way was North, let alone the way back. Our only source of position was the harrowingly black thunderhead that raged before us. North. We followed the storm cloud North.

But what we were not prepared for was what we found ther-"

The passage trailed off yet again, this time a great tear in the bottom third of the page halting the account. Blaze snorted in annoyance, making the little brown owl next to him jump in surprise. Restraining any urges he had to hurl the book out of the window, Blaze instead turned the page gently.

Unbeknownst to the unicorn, the sun was beginning to rise.

"...birds sang. The snow gave way to lush green grass and running crystal clear springs. Before us to two mighty pillars, that looked as if they were made from solid carved diamond rods. Three perfect gems hovered gently between them, forming a quaint but magically enchanting archway. The entrance to this...this...Paradise...

But all was in shadow, and all trembled beneath the gargantuan magical storm clouds. The unicorns in our party suddenly started having these 'magical spasms', like the ones that foals get when their magic is still developing. Horns flared and flickered for no reason, and we soon bid a hasty retreat from this mysterious pocket of life.

The chill of the arctic winds almost killed me. That strange land, that...place of summer...had been so warm compared to the rest of the frozen North. And the crystals, the shining stones of light were dazzling. What in Equestria had we discovered?

Our commander, Brave Charge, ordered that a number of us remain behind at the border of this strange new land, whilst the fastest flyers report back to the Princesses on our discovery. I was sent away with six others. The flight back to Canterlot was much swifter than our journey toward the North, the stormwinds bearing us quickly towards our capital. It was two days before we first spied the spires of the Royal Palace, and I had never been happier to return home. However, I would never have guessed the discoveries that the unicorns here had made in our absence.

Archmagister Star Heart - Founder and leader of the Order of Sorcery -

"Never before had I witnessed any magical phenomena of such magnitude before, and that's saying a lot. The storms in the North were the most powerful artificial creations I had ever felt, and all of my measuring instruments were off their scales. Princess Celestia had ordered a contingent of Royal Guards to investigate, and I had insisted on sending some representatives from the Order to assess the situation at the storm's source, but the High Council overruled my petition. They said that it would be too risky to lose any of the Magisters, yet it was perfectly reasonable to lose guards.

The whole thing as ridiculous in my opinion. Nopony, not even the Princesses themselves, knew what was waiting for them out there. Nopony had travelled so far North before in the history of Equestria. There were rumours that dark creatures stalked the arctic wastes, creatures like Windigoes, Keythongs, Direwolves and Ice Dragons. My studies into piercing the blizzards had confirmed such rumours on more than one occasion. The Magisters should have been with the guards. They were volunteers! What the High Council were thinking was beyond me.

Anyway, three days after the expedition team left Canterlot, I ordered my most gifted unicorns to scry into the murky winds of the North. But for all our power and skill, the blizzards proved too powerful for even my magical gaze to pierce. Once the guards passed into the Uttermost North, they were lost to us. But I refused to give up on them, and so i began work upon my masterpiece: The Star Quartz Focusing Lens.

We - my companions and I - spent a great many nights working on creating a powerful magical telescope, strong enough to in theory gaze upon the stars in the night sky. This was undoubtedly the most complicated creation I had ever made, and Princess Celestia was gracious enough to donate many resources to our cause. With the Lens, we would be able to finally penetrate the winds with several highly focused beams of magic and discover the source of the storms. That is if the guard team didn't return with that knowledge first.

The Focusing Lens was magnificent, if I do say so myself. It was the single most powerful piece of scrying technology ever made, and Princess Luna ordered an entire new wing of the Royal Palace to be built to house it. The scope was over fifty hooves long, made from extremely rare and flawlessly cut Star Quartz bound in snow steel and brass. Over a hundred different lenses were present, and a complex system of weights and counterweights allowed it to move freely in the newly built Grand Observatory.

Our new contraption was put to use at once. I personally oversaw the first scrying attempt, as did the two Princesses. The results were miraculous. The focused magical beams that were concentrated by the team of Magisters cut through the arctic winds like a knife, revealing to us the land in crystal clear relief. The snowfields stretched on for hundreds of miles, broken only by the odd sheer sided frozen valley or massive glacier. Dozens of beasts roamed the landscape, and my thoughts once again flew back to the expedition team.

For a night and half a day we scanned the arctic wastes trying to find the source of the storms without any luck. Princess Celestia had ordered that we keep searching, until finally we found something which none of us, not even the Princesses, expected to find:

A lush, warm landscape filled with trees and wildlife, standing in defiance against the cold of the North. And at it's centre, a shining city made from thousands of great crystals.

The grey unicorn sat open mouthed. A city? In the heart of the arctic? So that was what the guards had discovered! This was incredible. Never before had Blaze heard of such a place, not even in foalstories or myths. The little owl next to him hooted. Emblazoned upon the browned page was a faded ink drawing of what Blaze suspected must of been the mysterious crystal city. Dozens of little houses carved like gemstones were set around a massive central palace, spearing into the stormy sky like a unicorn horn. The city itself was laid out in a symmetrical pattern reminiscent of a snowflake.

"Amazing..." Blaze breathed, sending a soft echo bouncing around the Library.

Unfortunately, the remainder of this particular page had been eaten away by some form of parchment mite, and the rest of the passage was lost. It was almost as if it had been deliberately done to keep the young unicorn from reading the good bits. But that wasn't the only source of annoyance for the Royal Guard. Shafts of soft golden sunlight burst through the high windows behind him, bathing the Library with blocks of white warmth. The moon finally sank below the Grey Guardians to make way for morning, and blaze's shift had officially ended for the night.

"Dammit...just when it was getting interesting"

The owl hooted its own frustration and hopped up onto the windowsill. Blaze could already hear the Library Guards coming from the corridor outside. Sighing, Blaze's horn lit up to open the tall window, letting in a soft cool breeze.

"There ya go, little buddy. Thanks for keeping me company" he smiled. The owl looked up at the unicorn before turning to spread its wings. Blaze could have sworn that the bird had winked at him, but as the owl flew off into the fresh morning air he simply smirked. Maybe today would be better than yesterday.

Blaze gently closed the book, revealing once again the ancient and beautiful front cover. The topaz studs of the sun glittered brightly, and the black inscription of the title was thrown into sharp relief as a ray of sunshine swept over it. Gingerly, the guard pony picked up the book with his magic and placed it back on the dusty marble pillar from whence it came. Celestia watched him with still, stained glass eyes.

"My Princess..." he murmured before bowing curtly to the window. As he stepped backwards, his hoof pressed down on the false panel in the floor. A great scraping sound was heard as the stone arch descended, finally concealing the hidden tome. With a forlorn huff, Blaze walked over to his things, levitating the golden white plumed helmet upon his head once again. With a skillful whip of his tail, he collected his spear. And with a final glance at the mysterious trio of arches, Blaze left for breakfast.

As the grey unicorn left, the Royal Library fell silent once again. Nothing sound save for the tweeting of songbirds outside filled the vast room, making the great aisles of knowledge seem incredibly lonely.

Suddenly, a faint tap echoed from the secret hidden door behind the sofas beneath the painted dome of the two Princesses. The wall slid away to revealing a single pony, tall and regal against the pale walls. She smiled at her archway. The guard had found her Sacred Text, but his duties had called him away before he had found out the whole tale. With a melodic whistle, the mare summoned to her one of her closest friends.

Outside the Library, a keening cry sounded across the Valley, echoing even here in the most quiet of places. Philomena glided through the window that the unicorn had left open, cawing gleefully as her mistress revealed herself from the hidden passage.

"I think we have a historian amongst the Guard" the pony chimed, her voice like music.

The scarlet phoenix cawed again, flaring her beautiful crest in excitement.

"Bring him the book. Make sure he finds it tonight. I think he deserves to know the full story."

Blaze couldn't remember a better nap in all his life. The side effects of being awake for hours reading had finally caught up with him, and the grey unicorn stretched as he awoke from his slumber. Sergeant Skyfire had been kind enough to give him the evening off in recompense, much to High Flyer's annoyance.

"Did you enjoy your little nap, your highness?" came a voice dripping with sarcasm from the dorm entrance. Blaze chuckled.

"Bet you wish you'd had the Library now"

"Not really. Books bore me. What did you even do to pass the time?"

"Nothing much" the grey unicorn smirked. |He didn't know why, but keeping this from anypony seemed to be almost exciting. A tiny voice in Blaze's mind piped up in despair. If you find that the act of reading a book needs to be kept a secret then you really need to get out more.

"Huh" murmured his pegasus friend, eyeing him suspiciously for a second, "anyway, this was left in your drop-box when you are asleep." High Flyer pulled out a heavy parcel, tied together with a simple white ribbon.

"What is it?" the silver maned unicorn asked as he levitated it over to his side.

"How in Tartarus should I know?"

"Someone's grumpy"

"I've just had to stand for three hours outside the Royal Kitchens! The heat!"

The unicorn chuckled, but said nothing further as High Flyer immediately threw his equipment down before turning to leave.

"Where are you going?" Blaze called.

"Dinner" came the blunt reply.

Shaking his head, Blaze set his parcel down on his bunk and unwrapped it. As he began to unwrap the brown crumpled paper, a little voice in his head began nagging at him in excitement. There was no recipient address, nor was there an address to Blaze himself anywhere on it. Whoever sent it must have done so personally. The magical aura of the unicorn unfolded the largest piece of parchment to reveal what was inside, and a jackhammer started pounding in Blaze's chest.

Salvatoris Nostri, Nostra Reginae

The book fell onto the bed, followed by an immediate curse as Blaze scolded himself for losing focus. This was probably the most precious thing he'd ever touched and it would hardly be a good thing if over a millennia of history was destroyed by his clumsiness. Gently, he levitated the book over to his bedside table. Who in Equestria had sent it to him? And why? How did they know he was reading it in the first place? Questions he realised, couldn't be answered right now. The book was here, which meant he should use the most of this incredibly lucky experience.

The light of the afternoon slowly sank into that of the evening outside, and the blue sky melted to yellow to pink. High Flyer would most likely be gone for the rest of the day - probably trying his luck with Nurse Blossomkiss again. The grey unicorn grinned to himself before stretching out upon the bunk. His golden armour was neatly stacked in the chest beneath him, revealing his strong athletic body freely, his burning star shaped cutie mark glinting in the sunset light.

Blaze levitated the sacred tome to him, and taking one last look at the dorm door, the young guard began to read again from where he left off.

"Upon relaying our findings to the Princesses, all they seemed to do was fall silent and stare at each other intently. They came at once to the Focusing Lens after I explained the finer aspects of our discovery, and I was certain that the central keep like structure contained the source of the storm clouds. Celestia looked through the Lens personally, and to this day I have never seen anypony look so shocked in all my life.

"We Magisters watched with bated breath as the two monarchs of our land discussed our best course of action. it was highly likely that the expedition team would have discovered the mysterious city by now, that is, if they hadn't been torn to shreds by a Keythong. We sat there in our sanctum for an entire night as the two Princesses talked at their secret meeting place at the summit of Mount Everwhite. Everypony was forbidden from journeying up there, even the pegasi. There were even rumours of a great fountain of magical power located at the top of the mountain. Whatever the case, our rulers came back down to Canterlot with their decision, although as to why they had made it, none of us knew:

"The Royal Guard would mobilise fully along with the Order of Sorcery, and move out towards the North."

Far Gazer -

"As we drew near the capital, the first sight I remember seeing was a gleaming column of ponies parading through the streets towards the North Gate, a great many of them in gleaming silver armour. It seemed as if the Royal Guard were marching out of Canterlot, and with them came a great many unicorns clad in royal violet robes. As we descended, we were stopped by a squadron of our brethren.

"They informed us of a great operation devised by Princess Celestia that was now being put into action. Before we could deliver our findings to the High Council, me and the others with me were forced into the aerial divisions of the host. There were a good hundred of us, the largest march that I had been a part of. It seemed as if we were going back the way we had come, back towards the arctic crystal city. At our lead strode the two Princesses. It seemed that this incursion's cause was unknown to everypony except for them.

"For another twelve days we marched, the journey taking longer due to the host's size, but the addition of the Magisters enabled us to dispel a great many of the windstorms. Compared to my first trip to the North, this was a breeze. The Magisters of the order of Sorcery were led by their leader personally, Star Heart. I had never seen a mare so bossy before. Even the commanders of the Guard kept well clear of her.

But on the thirteenth day as we came to the heart of the Uttermost North, we found my old team. Or what was left of them. All of them were dead, the snow half-burying them as the icy wind howled around us. Thirteenth was never a lucky number for me, and I felt a deep fear and sadness at the sight of my fallen comrades. The markings around them showed signs of a struggle, but the footmarks were not those of any beasts. They were attacked. By other ponies. The burns upon their silver armour were reminiscent of unicorn spellfire, but tainted with a dark power, one which made Princess Celestia shudder. That small sight alone will stay with me more clearly than the sight of my fallen brothers.

We buried our comrades properly and collected their supplies and armour. That evening, Star Heart could be heard all over the campsite screaming her lungs off at the commanding officers of the Guard, saying how a team of Magisters should have gone with us originally. Maybe she was right.

The next morning revealed to us a sight which filled me with sickening dread. Before us, a few miles further than the skirmish site, was a colossal, sickly green magical wall. The unicorns in the Guard and even those with the order started having magical spasms, causing more than a few ponies to be injured - not seriously, thank Celestia. But this wall, this...shield or barrier, wasn't here previously. This had only been standing for the past few days at most. Our two Princesses strode forward first, that I remember. Princess Luna struck the wall of green magic with a simple energy spark. The entire bubble howled in protest of her magic, and the mystical force shimmered at her touch. I didn't like the feeling of that, and neither did anypony else around me.

But Celestia, her mane and crown shining bright, simply struck the shield again, this time with a yellow lightning bolt. The shield screamed, and I could have sworn that whatever was on the other side, whatever had killed my brothers in arms, was now coming to meet us.

'Stand fast, my little ponies! Hold your ground and defend yourselves!' I remember Princess Celestia calling to us. Her voice was so strong, yet gentle, like an orchestra or a great waterfall. We did as we were commanded, every unicorn in our ranks flaring up their horns in response. The snowfields were lit up with a multitude of colours as the different magic auras glowed brightly. I, being a pegasus, simply raised my wings into ready position.

We felt it before we saw it, a deep rumble booming through the ice. It sounded larger and more powerful than the magical storm that raged above our heads. The Princesses flared their wings in defiance and lit their horns like beacons. Then it came.

The great green shield parted, and from the smoke was revealed the crystal city, but it was not how it looked several days ago. In place of the shimmering diamond gates now stood sickening beautiful growths of jagged black onyx and decayed ruby. The sky beyond was a disgusting shade of brown, the colour that reminded me of rot and impurity. And looming above it wall was a dark, imposing castle built of razor edged crystal facets and black quartz. From its highest spire, a single accursed green lightning bolt flashed upwards into the sky.

But before us now, stood a terrifying figure of black and crimson red. He was a unicorn, but unlike one I had ever seen before. His fur was so dark it looked burned, and his horn curved upwards like a scorpion's sting. His mane flowed like sickly black smoke behind him, and his eyes blazed with dark power that set my teeth on edge. And worst of all, he had fangs, like those of a lion or dragon, curving downwards from his mouth like stalactites. This pony was an abomination.

Around his body flowed a royal blood red cloak lined with fur, beneath which were set dozens of interlocking dark grey armoured plates. Upon his head rested a cruel looking crown of jagged iron and twisted crystal. It was a mockery of the royal regalia of our Princesses.

This, this Nightmare King stood upon a great spur of black crystal, jutting out of the ground like an insect sting. The rock pulsed with a powerful magical power, like veins. The wicked stallion looked upon our host of barely a hundred and laughed, a sound which shook he to my very bones.

'Thou hast come here to the gates of my kingdom, MY Empire. Thou strike the shield that I hast forged in your arrogance. Thou cannot take the Crystal Empire from me! The ponies here belong to the will of the Shadow, and none will pass beyond this point alive! So come then you fools, come to your doom and gaze upon thy death!'

I remember the voice of Celestia ringing out over the thunderclaps above us. I had never been more afraid in all my life, but the voice of my Princess made me stronger, gave me comfort. Her words were those of a deep set anger, as if she knew this pony from somewhere before.

'Silence, monster! Your power has no jurisdiction here, nor anywhere else in Equestria. Freedom is the right of all under our protection, and we will defend everypony we can from tyranny. The darkness cannot hold these lands for long, for even the darkest night will end and the Sun will rise!'

I couldn't be sure, but I thought I saw Princess Luna regard Celestia with an odd look. I couldn't put my hoof on it exactly, but something wasn't right in the Night Princess' demeanour. The Shadow king laughed again.

'You cannot stop me. The dynasty of Crystal Monarchs has fallen, and nothing you can do will defeat me. I am immortal, invincible. I am a god!'

A bright flash erupted towards the dark stallion, and he was only saved by using his magic to physically move the jutting ledge of crystal out of the way. Princess Luna strode ahead of us all, sending another lightning bolt towards the evil pony. The crystal bank kept shattering and reforming in a different place, making it impossible for the Night Princess to strike him. Celestia tried to stop her sister's advance, but Luna shrugged her away strongly, casting bolt after bolt before finally sundering the ledge itself into oblivion.

The jet black fragments hurtled in all directions, and i had to shield my eyes with my wings. But it seemed that the dark king had teleported away, cackling like a maniac. The dark alicorn's eyes flared in fury, followed by the loudest scream I've ever heard come from a single pony. She roared her anger, causing even Celestia to fall back in shock. We all cowered away from our Princess, such was her wrath.

Until finally, the Shadow King spoke again.

'Thou art all even weaker than I imagined. If thou feel like fighting, come to me and engage with me in glorious combat upon the field!'

This time, another white flash appeared, but this time from Celestia. She sent a wave of searing white hot flames leaping towards the stallion, forcing him to conjure a great shimmering shield of deathly green fire. For several heartbeats, we all watched with bated breath as white fire battled green, until Luna once again intervened. She launched another dazzling lightning bolt, but Celestia stood in front before she could do so again. My guess was that the Sun Princess wanted this tyrant alive to face justice, not blasted into dust.

But the darker sister continued to fire, creating a blinding display of power crashing against the green fire. Celestia screamed at her to stop, but it finally took a wave of force to knock her back and stop her. What happened immediately afterwards i could not say, as the evil stallion sent all the power his fell shield had absorbed and sent it flying outwards in a wall of hot wind. I was knocked off my feet and sent flying backwards. All I remember was a great wave of sound. Screaming, cries, shouts, magical blasts, and an explosion.

By the time we had pulled ourselves up again, four unicorns from the Order and two Royal Guards were seriously injured. The wicked stallion was nowhere to be seen, and smoke swirled all around us, and a warm rain had begun to fall from the unnatural storm. Princess Celestia stood above us on a raised ledge, lightning flashing behind her. Not for the first time that day, the Princess eased the storm within me.

'Hear me, my faithful subjects. What you have seen here today is evil at work, the darkness trying to bring down all we have strived to build. All of you have been born in times of peace and security, times bought on the price of your ancestors' lives. And today you have seen what we defend our way of life against. Against tyranny and wickedness. Here, at the roof of the world we will stand against those who would tear out the heart and soul of Equestria and the world. To be living is to be free! And there are ponies out there, ponies who have had that right taken away from them! This upstart, this, this Shadow King...he will answer for his crimes. And you will be my sentencing sword! Come my little ponies, there is a reckoning to be had!'

I cheered with the rest of them. This was the greatest sight I had ever seen. No magical duel could compare to the simple sight of my ruler and liege standing in defiance against the darkest storm I had ever witnessed, the rain whipping around us like a blizzard. We would take this 'Crystal Empire' from the darkness, and liberate those trapped within. We felt like justice itself."

The Battle of the Crystal City and the Downfall of King Sombra

Archmagister Star Heart -

"My heart soared as Celestia declared her will across the blasted fields. It was truly a glorious sight. After the dark magician pony sent us reeling back, I had thought that to be the end of us. I sensed a great amount of power running through him, dark twisted power that could only do harm. It this fell power that had transformed the shining city of crystals into this monstrosity of a land.

Yet despite our new sense of purpose, I couldn't help but look at Princess Luna. Her horn was smoking from the sheer amount of magic she had unleashed, but I could tell that that wasn't the only thing plaguing her mind. Her gaze was downcast, away from Celestia, and her expression turned to one of steel determination when we cheered. But it was a look of dark conviction, not of a mutual purpose.

I drove it from my mind soon afterwards, as a great call was sounded. Our host was marching into the crystal heartlands. We were laughably few, barely more than a hundred, but that didn't stop us. We were united and free ponies, and I felt as if no force in this world or the next could stop us.

The march into the mysterious lands of the North was marked with explosions. It seemed as if the Shadow King was hurling magical projectiles at us as we approached, and a harrowing horn call echoed from the heart of the twisted crystal made city. We knew that a battle was coming, but what we would be facing, we had no idea. But we pressed on. Princess Celestia led from the front, forming a great golden shield around us, blocking and deflecting the bolts of shadow and witchfire being hurled at us from the great palace.

We felt invincible. But from that accused citadel came our opponents: The Legions of the Black Mirror.

There were hundreds of them: massive living statues - golems, if you will - carved from onyx in the likeness of pony warriors. But these creations stood at twice the height of an earth pony stallion, and it didn't take a genius like me to see that they were much stronger. Column after column of these constructs marched towards us menacingly, and I finally began to feel fear. But I would not falter, I would not flee. We were justice itself, and as Celestia had said, we were her 'sentencing sword.'

Where the Sun Goddess galloped, the dirty red grass flashed green once again, and where Luna followed, the sickening dark diamonds cracked and shattered. And it was as we charged into the outermost areas of the city proper did we see the terrible truth.

There were ponies everywhere, bound in iron chains and manacles, shuffling slowly through the streets in great lines. Slave Drivers whipped them on, but they faced the lashes with heartbreaking dignity. These weren't normal ponies, I could tell. They possessed an old magic, though none of them seemed to be unicorns. There was something about them, something I couldn't figure out there and then. But as Luna splintered the black crystals, I saw it.

The coats of these slave ponies brightened, until one managed to break her bonds. Her mane and coat flared brilliantly, half blinding the Slave Driver. Her coat and mane glistened like a thousand gemstones. That was it. These, these Crystal Ponies, they were in-tune with the world around them. The power that ran through their veins was old magic, possibly the first spark of power ever to shine in the world. And that bound cracked the iron chains around that mare's neck and hooves.

And she wasn't the last.

Everywhere, as the crystal ponies saw our approach, chains and bonds were cast away in a wave of glittering colour. The enslaved ponies were rising up against their oppressors. It seemed strange at first, to be fighting in this faraway land for a people of whom we know nothing, but we had a duty to protect those you could not protect themselves. Such were the teachings of Celestia.

The crystal ponies immediately began to fall upon their masters, cracking skulls and bones with the very stones that paved their city. The Royal Guards ran down the ones that fled. Princess Celestia blasted away another Slave Master, before shattering the chains of a dozen ponies with nothing more than a stamp of her hoof. Flashes of light shone everywhere as the enslaved ponies regained their former powers, and I felt a great surge of pride run through me as I saw the previously subdued fight back.

The skirmish continued through the central avenue of the city towards the central citadel, but before long our path was blocked. The onyx golems stood resolute before us, still and silent like statues. The ground rumbled as they began their ominous march forwards. Princess Celestia stopped, spreading out her wings to signal our halt. But Princess Luna paid no heed. The Night Princess flew over the golems, her horn burning a brilliant blue as she showered bolt after bolt of starry lightning upon them. The crystal ponies followed in her wake, shoving past us in a valiant yet doomed effort to reclaim their home.

But Princess Celestia finally relented to the mass of freed slaves, and ordered the charge. I remember clearly the sight of her splitting the ranks of black monsters in half with a bubble made of sunlight which burned anything that came into contact with it. The golems were forced to divide their ranks into two halves. The Sun Princess took on an entire flank alone, whilst the other was assaulted by me and the rest of the host.

The air became a blur of colour as bolt after magical bolt screamed across the city from every unicorn in the Guard and the Order. Onyx fragments showered the streets as the golems were obliterated one by one. Yet for all our power, the golems kept coming. I saw friends die that day, whether under the hooves of the golems or by the Shadow King's sorcery. Princess Luna gave us aerial support, but her strikes were erratic and quite frankly dangerous. I myself was less than a yard from a magical missile fired by her, and I fought on regardless.

It was the first time in my life that I had seen so many ponies fighting side by side. Royal Guard fought alongside Order Magisters, who fought beside these mysterious crystal ponies. And yet, the golems continued to come.

I remember Celestia shattered three of the constructs with a single wave of fire. She stamped her hoof upon the ground again, creating a mighty fissure, through which roared fountains of searing sunlight. She received more injuries from the flying shards of defeated golems than from the statues themselves. Wave upon wave of fire burned the creatures by the dozens, and the unbreakable ranks were finally smashed after a well aimed fiery lightning bolt.

Finally, after the smoke had cleared, our Princess revealed the name of this tyrant of a king. How she knew, none of us knew, but I suspect that our ruler had met him before.

'Sombra! No more games. Come down and face your judgement. If you surrender peacefully, you will be shown clemency!'

I remember the shouts of protest from the crystal ponies more than the Shadow King's laughter. Celestia silenced us all with a thunderclap caused by her wings alone.

The page disintegrated into a brown mess. Blaze would have punched the book if he wasn't sane. This account was so detailed, so thrilling! A Crystal Empire? Crystal Ponies? What was this new land, and why hadn't he heard of it before? So many questions, and such rich history.

A soft click snapped the unicorn from his musings. The door to his dorm opened before closing with a rather loud bang. High Flyer waddled in downcast before setting himself down upon his bed.

"What happened to you?"

The white pegasus sighed miserably. "Nurse Blossomkiss is only dating Glider."

"Oh, um, sorry dude. There's always plenty more fish in the sea, as they say."

"Not in the Royal Barracks! The only other mare worth going for here is Nurse Sanguine, and I swear she's a fillyfooler."

Blaze spluttered. "What possible evidence do you have for that?"

"Just a hunch."

"You are unbelievable, you know that?" the unicorn laughed.

High Flyer brushed a hoof through his mane before kicking back on the bunk. "Damn right I do"

Marvelling at the fact he and his friend were so different, Blaze turned his attention back to the book. The damage seemed to spread over halfway on the other page. Dammit.

-thunder and rain. Princess Luna fired one final energy blast, breaking the support columns and bringing the obsidian archway down upon the doorway, trapping the Shadow King on his balcony. Despite this, he still fired three missiles of fell magic, two of them missing with the third being blocked by Celestia's glimmering gold shield.

This was it. The Downfall of this King Sombra.

There was no final threat, no memorable speech. Our two Princesses flew into the lightening sky, their silhouettes standing against the rising sun, with their angry gaze locked upon the unicorn.

Celestia's horn exploded with the greatest display of magical power I've ever seen a single pony perform. From its shining length, a single glorious ray of sunlight fired upon the balcony. King Sombra's screams sounded more of outrage than pain, and his iron crown was cast from his head. His royal red cloak caught fire and his armour plates shattered. For this was no ordinary spell. This was the Great Banishment Incantation, never used successfully by anypony in history before today.

Sombra's body cracked and splintered, revealing rivers of dark magic in place of blood. With a final roar of rage, King Sombra was destroyed in a blinding flash of light, his body cast into shadow before being carried away by the raging tempest winds that swirled around the ruined spire of the palace.

With his defeat, the great black and red crystals simultaneously exploded. Great chunks of obsidian, onyx, and black diamonds shattered in a spectacular display of beautiful ruin. The hateful, twisted city was destroyed, revealing the Crystal Empire in all of its true glory. And with the darkness fell the storm, the black clouds melting away into a bright, stunning blue sky. The new dawn."

Yet more damage eroded the remainder of the text away, and blaze was only able to catch the last few words of the final paragraph.

And so the Crys- mpire was never seen again in hist- , the curse King Sombra had laid lasting a thousa- years.

"Wow"

What else could Blaze say? It was brilliant, all of it; like something one would find in a fantasy epic, not in a history book. Crystal ponies and tyrant kings, griffin wars and the foundations of Harmony, everything was so rich and raw. And that fact stunned the unicorn more than everything else.

His reverie was interrupted by the sound of High Flyer's snoring, the sounds ripping the silence to shreds. A quick glance outside told Blaze that it was night, and that he too should get some sleep. But first...

Easing himself off his bunk quietly as to not wake his friend, Blaze levitated the aged tome in his magical grip before creeping gingerly out of the dorm.

The archway rose upwards into the ceiling, revealing once again the ancient stained glass window of Celestia. Her glass eyes watched him as he set the book once again on the pedestal. Blaze sighed a little sadly. Of course he would love to carry on reading, but something inside the young guard's heart told him that he had learned enough of the past, at least for his tastes. There was nothing stopping him from returning here, and he didn't want to risk any damage to the book whilst it was in his possession.

The grey unicorn lifted his back hoof from the false panel and watched the stone archway descend once again.

"Not what you expected?" chimed a melodic voice from behind him.

But strangely, Blaze half expected it.

He turned round to reveal Princess Celestia standing there, proud and beautiful, her aurora mane dancing serenely behind her. With a half smile, the guard bowed before his monarch.

"Rise good sir. I take it you received my gift?" This took him by surprise however.

"You? I, I mean. You sent me the book, Your Highness?"

"Of course" Celestia giggled, "who else would it have been? I saw you last night reading the hours away by the window. I must say that you were far more interested than I thought you would be. Can you tell me as to why that might be?"

The grey unicorn swallowed. "I'm not sure, your, Your Highness...I, I wish I had an answer."

The white alicorn nodded, a look beyond understanding decorating her face.

"I know why you put the book back. History has an odd effect on those who look back, don't you agree?"

The grey unicorn shifted uncomfortably on his hooves. He was still dazzled by the fact he was actually speaking to the princess for this amount of time.

"I guess I was sad, in a way. This, this Crystal Empire...it just vanished? Just like that? It makes me sad to think that such a place of beauty and light can be lost like that in the blink of an eye. It makes one realise how insignificant we are in the grand scheme of things, how our little lives mean nothing at all, and that one pony cannot make a difference."

He wasn't sure where this all came from, or if he really felt like this at all, but it seemed right to say at such a time. The Sun Goddess seemed to ponder this thought, cocking her head very slightly to the side before speaking, her voice like soft wind chimes.

"You are right in a way, but also not. I've seen many individual ponies rise to greatness, both for good or for ill, and their stories have rewritten that of all of us. Even the smallest pony, griffin, zebra, deer, can change the course of the future in the believe for what they follow."

She paused...and glanced fleetingly at the mysterious central archway.

Blaze's heart hammered in his chest as the Sun Goddess stepped forwards, still watching the arch. The young unicorn might discover the secret identity of this mysterious third Princess...but his hopes fell as Celestia pressed down once again on her own false panel. The first arch rose once again into the vaulted ceiling, scraping roughly as the fragmented mirror of the Princess was revealed once again.

Using her magic, the white alicorn opened her Sacred Text and flipped expertly through the pages past The Banishment of King Sombra. The double page spread that met the gaze of the two ponies was covered in ink drawings. Royal violet and night blue swirls and stars adorned the edges of the page, above which was drawn a circular design depicting the phases of the moon. In the centre of that in turn, was a picture of a broken sun.

"The War of Eternal Night..." Blaze breathed in awe.

"Like I said...those ponies have rewritten our stories, forever"

Suddenly, Celestia turned to meet the unicorn's eyes.

"If you had carried on, this is what you would have read next. Would you like to know what really happened all those years ago?"

"I..." he paused. This was something incredibly close to the Princess' heart, something painful. Every pony in Equestria knew the story, but then again, all knew of the story of Discord - look how different that turned out to be. "If, if you want to read it, Your Highness, I would gladly listen."

"Some things cannot be simply expressed in a book" Celestia chuckled, "but..."

She breathed deeply.

"Some things can be shown"

The steady rhythm of Blaze's heart soared. To see those events, all those years ago? Through, what, a memory spell? It was the chance of a lifetime, and the unicorn's fiery curiosity got the better of him.

"Yes, Your Highness. I, I would like to know..."

Yet as he said the words, Blaze knew that he had somehow made a mistake. With a single nod and a deliberately slow blink, Princess Celestia leaned forwards and touched his forehead with her horn.

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