Heir to the Throne

by Arkantos

Celebrations and hidden kingdoms

One day before Nightmare Moon broke free from the moon

“Sunset, it’s time for you to go to Ponyville,” said Celestia. “I just want you there to make sure that the Summer Sun festival preparations are in order. Here is a list of things to go through.”

But Sunset knew why she going to Ponyville, for she knew what Celestia knew. ”Of course I’ll make sure everything on this list is done. And who knows what will happen?”

Then she got on a golden chariot being pulled by pegasi of the Solar Guard. The pegasi took off and the chariot went as high as the pegasi would allow it. Sunset took in the view she had and enjoyed it.

A few hours later, the chariot began to descend and Sunset saw that they were landing. Once on the ground, Sunset went to the Solar guards and said, “Thank you for the ride. Now go and enjoy the day.”

The guards left, and Sunset went to the back of the chariot. She opened the birdcage holding her phoenix which came flying out into the sky, enjoying the freedom from the cage. Sunset levitated her saddlebag onto her back, then whistled, and her phoenix came down, landing on the saddlebag where her perch was.

As she entered Ponyville, Sunset saw the town hall, but it looked as if it had been decorated. Sunset could only guess that the ponies of Ponyville always decorated their buildings during the Summer Sun festival. She was just about to look at her list when a pink Earth pony saw her and gave a ”Gasp!” The pink Earth pony took off so quickly that Sunset had barely enough time to duck as she zoomed by.

Sunset looked in the direction of where the pony had run off and said, “That was odd. Are all the ponies like this?”

A voice answered her, “Well, not every pony here, no.” As Sunset turned around, she exclaimed, “Applejack!” Applejack waved as Sunset walked forward to greet her. Applejack continued, “At least, not every pony is as odd or random as Pinkie Pie.”

Sunset said, “Oh, Applejack, how long has it been? You look good in that hat!”

Applejack said, “It’s been a while since we’ve talked, that’s for sure. I’ll tell you what. Why don’t you come out and I’ll introduce you to my whole family. You and I can catch up as we walk to the apple orchard.”

Sunset replied, “I am actually here to go over the celebration preparations, but I’d like to hear what has been going on in your life over the last few years. Let’s go.”

---

As Twilight, Snow Trail, and Crystal Shade walked through the snow in the frozen north, the Princess of the Stars asked, “How far away is this Kingdom of Shadows?”

Snow Trail said, “It is deep into the north, but the entrance itself is inside a cave somewhere around here. I just hope we find it before-” [izap!

A blue lightning bolt came at them from out of nowhere, but Twilight raised a magical shield to block the strike. Then several unicorns emerged with the same horn as Snow Trail and Crystal Shade, and they were wearing black armor.

The leader of the group said, “Snow Trail and Crystal Shade! You were both charged with the murder of Dark Phoenix, and you were to be executed, facing the consequences and justice of your actions. And now you bring a stranger to the doorway of our land? Why, I have the right to kill you all right now. This would be a good time to say you prayers!” And he lit up his horn, changing into a shadow pony. His cohorts did the same thing.

Then Snow Trail shouted, “We found Sombra’s heir, and we will bring her here!”

All of the Umbrums changed back to their pony forms, and the leader said, “We’ll just see about that.”

He looked at one of his ponies who then ran off. A couple of seconds went by before the pony returned with a cloaked pony. The cloaked pony walked up to Twilight. The closer she got, the more her horn glowed black. All of the Umbrums gasped and bowed, with the exception of Snow Trail and Crystal Shade.

The cloaked Umbrum asked, “What is your name?”

Twilight replied, ”My name is Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of the Stars and the daughter of Luna and King Sombra.”

The other Umbrums rose and their leader said, “My name is Nightcrawler and this is my squad of Umbrums. We protect the doorway from ponies who seek it.”

The cloaked Umbrum mare responded, “My name is Nightshade. I help the Shadow Guard by keeping the cave entrance hidden.”

“Do you know where the cave entrance is?” Twilight ask.

Nightshade lit up her horn and the mouth of a cave suddenly shown right behind the Shadow Guard.

Twilight, Snow Trail, and Crystal Shade walked forward into the cave. As soon as they were inside, Nightshade lit up her horn, activating the cloaking spell again.

They were walking deep into the cave. Twilight figured they were in the main tunnel. Then Twilight suddenly stopped, for she saw the doorway. Tt was in the middle of the Cavern and it looked very old. It had silver steel on its side. As soon as they began to approach the door, one of the side ruins started to glow green, purple, and black. Soon, all of the ruins were glowing.

Then, in the blank space within the doorframe, a smoky black shadow veil appeared. Snow Trail and Crystal Shade walked through and disappeared behind the smoky veil. Then Twilight walked through. It felt weird, like walking through water and fire, but it didn’t burn her or get her wet. And then, she was on the other side of the veil.

---

“Gasp! She didn’t do that, did she!?” Sunset exclaimed.

A laughing Applejack replied, ”She did! And not only that, but the whole town knows she did it.”

Sunset said, “Rarity hates mud, and she takes several showers when she gets mud on her?”

Applejack couldn’t control herself and laughed uncontrollably as they walked through the apple orchard on the trail leading to the farmhouse. Soon, Applejack was able to pull herself together. “Yeah,” she said. “I mean, I know there are some ponies that don’t like to get dirty, but Rarity takes things to the next level.”

As they entered the front door of Applejack’s home, Applejack said, “I feel like I should tell you that Pinkie Pie will definitely be setting up a surprise party for you, so expect that to happen.”

“Alright, Applejack,” Sunset said. “I’ll keep an eye out for that. But for now, it’s back to the celebration preparations.”

Applejack walked over to a triangle hanging near the doorframe, grabbed the accompanying metal pen, and rang the triangle, yelling, “Soup’s on, everypony!” As she said this, an army of ponies came stampeding through the door, bringing Sunset with them. Sunset found herself seated at a table with several different apple-based food options. Each type of food that was brought up was handled by a pony with that same food as their cutie mark.

Applejack pointed out her family to Sunset. ”Over there is big Macintosh.” As Sunset looked to where her hoof was pointing, she saw a big red stallion with an orange mane and tail. He had a harness around his neck. His eyes were bright green and he was covered with freckles. His cutie mark was a light green apple.

“He doesn’t say much,” Applejack said, before continuing. “And here is Apple Bloom.” Sunset looked at the filly with the yellow coat and red mane and tail. In her mane was a big pink bow. Her eyes were orange, and she did not have a cutie mark.

“She is a real troublemaker,” said Applejack, quickly moving on.

“And last but certainly not least, good old Granny Smith.” Sunset took in the elderly pony with the light green coat. Her mane and tail were white and tied into buns. Her eyes were reddish orange and she had a blanket draped around her neck. Her cutie mark was an apple pie.

Applejack yelled out, “Wake up, Granny, we got a guest!” And the elderly pony woke up from her nap, exclaiming, “What soup is on?“ And then she walked to the table as slowly as she could go.___________________________________

As Twilight went through the doorway, she found that she was inside a Northern dimension where the sun and the moon rose and fell on their own. As for land, she saw that there were several pieces of floating islands.

Some of the floating islands had small villages on them. Other islands had nothing on them except for what you’d find in the wilderness, like small forests. Some of the islands had livestock, like pigs. In one of the villages, there was a small store for anything a pony could need. These floating islands were connected through teleporting beams. Once you stepped into the beam, you could think about where you’d like to go and, just like that, you would get there.

As Twilight walked into a beam with Snow Trail and Crystal Shade, they were teleported to the Umbrum’s castle. This castle looked as if it had been made out of stone and crystal.

“It’s good to be home,” said Snow Trail.

”Is the castle always like this?” asked Crystal Shade, as Twilight and her friends walked into the throne room. “Who’s in charge now!?”

Before Snow Trail could answer, the voice of an Umbrum said, “That would be me.”

The Umbrum who spoke got up off the throne and walked over to them. She had an orange coat and her mane and tail were black with red and blue mixed in. She had a silky silver rope which is around her neck. Her cutie mark was covered.

The Umbrum bowed and said, “My name is Mayor Tex.”

She rose up, then turned and looked at Snow Trail and her son. “I was hoping not to see you two again.” A little anger was present in her tone as she continued. “But you found the next heir to the throne, so it’s my duty to welcome you back and tell you that you can go claim your house, as is your right.”

Snow Trail said, “Still quite the charmer, aren’t you?” She and her son then walked out of the throne room.

“You’ll have to excuse my manners. I have a history with Snow Trail,” said Mayor Tex.”

“Of course,” said Twilight, then continued. ”But I want to know, how did all of this come to be?”

Tex replied. “Long ago, before the founding of the pony tribes, there were the changelings and the elemental senator, the Sphinx, the east ponies, the minotaurs, the Mighty Helm, the zebras of the west, and us, the Umbrums. Back then, there was a war going on. It didn’t matter who or what you were. If there was a war, you had to fight. It was like this for generations.”

”Until, that is, a most unique group emerged in the form of three heroes: the Earth Mighty Helm pony War Path. who could cause entire armies to tear each other apart. A thestrals mare called Shadow Strike who had a spear that could come from anywhere. And lastly, the Umbrum Mystic Coat, who could cause the most powerful of foes to rethink their course of action.”

“Together, they were an unstoppable force and they showed us all the right way to change the world. The ponies thanked them by building several structures, like this castle, and improving our homes. But the three legends suddenly disappeared without a trace.”

“As time went by, the ponies and the Umbrums lived in peace, but then an empire rose up. It was made from crystals and ruled by an alicorn named Princess Amore. She saw one of the Umbrum’s shadow forms and believed it was unnatural and evil.”

”So she got her empire to raise an army that asked no questions. To make a long story short, the Umbrums almost got wiped out. The ones inside our kingdom remained safe, but the Umbrums outside were hunted down.”

“And so we remained here.Every once in a while, we send one of our own to get supplies and food, just as long they don’t use their Umbrum abilities.”

---

As Sunset walked out of the apple orchard, she looked at her list and read, “The celebration requires clear skies.”

She looked up and saw the sky was full of clouds. She stopped on a small bridge and looked around. She found the pegasus who was supposed to be clearing the sky, spotting her on top of a nearby tree.

Using her magic, Sunset picked up the lazy pegasus and dropped her down in front of her. Only then did she recognize the light blue coat with the rainbow mane and tail, the maroon eyes, and the famous can do attitude.

“Rainbow Dash? You’re in charge of clearing the skies?”

The pegasus dusting herself off and said, “Well, yeah. Hey, what was with the magic grab and drop? You know you could’ve just called out and I would’ve heard ya.”

“I’m sorry, I just didn’t think you would have heard me. But I’m still stuck on that you of all pegasuses would be in charge of anything.” Sunset said with an unsure look.

Rainbow gave Sunset a big grin and said, “Apology accepted.” Then she gave Sunset a friendly hit to the shoulder.

As Sunset rubbed her shoulder, she said, “I was told that Ponyville be hosting the celebration. I’m curious, what were you doing?”

Rainbow smiled widely and replied, “I was practicing my flying so as to accomplish my dream.”

“And that dream is,” Sunset asked.

“To join the Wonderbolts! I heard they’re looking for the best flyers in all of Equestria!”

Sunset laughed loudly and Rainbow frowned. As soon as Sunset was able to control her laughter, she said, “They would never hire a Pegasus who cannot keep the sky clear for one lousy day.”

Rainbow yelled, “Hey! I can clear the sky in ten seconds flat!”

Sunset replied, “Oh, yeah? Prove it.”

Then Rainbow got up and started to bust clouds. And to Sunset’s amazement, she got it done in ten seconds.

As Rainbow flew down, she said, “See? Ten seconds flat. I never leave Ponyville hanging.”

Sunset didn’t realize her mouth was hanging open until Rainbow inquired, “Is there anything else?” Sunset closed her mouth and said, “Nope.”

Suddenly, Sunset felt like her mane was on fire. She looked at her reflection on the water and saw that her mane was on fire. She then jumped into the water. When she emerged and climbed out, she noticed her mane was drenched. Rainbow smiled and said, “Don’t worry, I got just the thing for this. I call it the Rainbow Dryer.”

As Rainbow said this, she flew up and around Sunset in a circle, flying faster and faster until she created what was essentially a tornado that dried Sunset’s mane. As Rainbow flew down, she said, “No need to thank me, and-”

For some reason, Rainbow started to laugh uncontrollably. Philomena then flew down and landed on Sunset’s back. The phoenix took one look at Sunset, her eyes widened and then she tried to hide her beak, for the Sun Bird was laughing as well.

“Let me guess,” Sunset said. ”My mane is a mess right now, isn’t it.”

Sunset thought about it a bit more. Philomena must’ve accidentally caught my mane on fire.

Sunset then walked down the road to continue checking things off of her list for the celebration.

---

Snow Trail and Crystal Shade were walking toward their home, but as they walked, some Umbrums gave them the stink eye.

Snow said, “Just ignore them. They want us gone.”

Crystal Shade asked, “What crime did you claim to have committed?”

As they neared a teleporting area, Snow said, “I’ll tell you when we’re home. I promise.”

Crystal nodded his head and continued walking. They arrived at the teleporting area and were teleported out of the castle. They reappeared in the furthest village. Each village was unique in some way. This Umbrum village was less populated; there were six Umbrums living here. As Crystal and Snow walked, no Umbrums came up to them; they just did their job and nothing else.

They continued on to a building that was not close to the village. It was closer to the small forest that covered part of the floating island.

Crystal Shade asked, “Is this is where we live?” He took a good look at the building. It looked very rundown, with holes in the roof, busted windows, and a door that was open and making squeaking noises every time the hinges moved.

Snow Trail answered, “Yes, but I believe I have a tale to tell.”

Crystal listened as his mother turned to him and began. “You have to understand, if there was another way, I would’ve taken it. The crime I committed was stealing personal items from inside the Kingdom of Shadows. As you can imagine, it was against the rules set by the Umbrum ruler.I didn’t get caught, so I did it again, and again. As time went by, life continued on. I met your dad, and let’s just say he caught me doing it. For some reason, he didn’t tell anypony how I earned a living. We had a long conversation about it. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, we fell in love.” She said this with a dreamy look.

“So, where is he now?” asked Crystal Shade. Snow shook her head and said, “I don’t know. The last time I saw him, he was going to get supplies for the Umbrums. He was also going to get me a ring, but he never returned. As the weeks went by, I found out I was pregnant with you. I did what I do best. I lifted an Umbrum saddlebag. But it was Mayor Tex’s saddlebag.”

Snow continued. “Mayor Tex called the Shadow Guards. I didn’t know what to do, so I ran away. But as I ran, I accidentally knocked over a wooden beam which held up several barrels of nails, nails that are used to keep a house from falling apart. As the barrels rolled down the street, all of the Umbrums got out of the way. All except for one. One of the barrels hit him and exploded, the nails piercing his coat, and the other three barrels hit him in the head hard. His neck snapped, and from what I heard, he died instantly.”

“When the Shadow Guard caught me, they brought me to the king himself, King Sombra. After hearing what crimes l had committed, King Sombra told me that I was banished from the Kingdom of Shadows. He said that if I tried to come back, the Shadow Guard would kill me where I stood. The only way I could return was if I had the word of the ruler that I could come back.”