The Quest of Redemption PT2
The Crystal Empire was in a silent frenzy, having learned their former Princess might be returning to them. Having just sent their greatest protector and the one who had caused Amore's 'death' out to retrieve the final piece needed to revive her, the citizens of the Crystal Empire had returned to the city and awaited the pony's hopeful return. Though they were hoping for one pony's return more than the other.
Inside the castle, Springer, Spike and the Mane Seven were all sitting around, now realizing this was the first time they had ever been to the Empire without there being some crazy event filling their time. When the place wasn't almost being destroyed, it was kind of boring.
"Checkmate," Twilight told Flash when she pushed her queen into position.
Flash rubbed his face at this, "Why did I think I could actually beat you in this?" Twilight laughed at this, but wondered how much longer she would have to wait for her niece to finish her nap and be able to play. The others were all simply lounging around the great hall, Rainbow having fallen asleep while Rarity doodled on a sketch pad and Fluttershy was looking at clouds out the window. Spike was enjoying some nice gems and Applejack was pacing back and forth, leaving Springer, who was currently getting hit in the head by Pinkie using a rubber mallet she had pulled out of nowhere.
"Let me guess," he commented, "You're all bored."
They all turned to him and nodded. "I need to be entertained or my brain turns to oatmeal," Pinkie added, "The bland kind. Not the kind with sprinkles and whipped cream." She moaned at this, "Now I'm bored and hungry."
"I was okay before all the head trauma," Springer sighed before his eyes crossed. "Does anypony else hear bells ringing?"
Flash rolled his eyes at this, only for a bulb to go off in his head. "Hey! I know what we can do!" This made everypony turn to him as he turned to his girlfriend, "Twilight, can you ask Cadance where she left the pieces of Amore?"
"Sure," Twilight nodded, "But why?" Flash just gave her a smirk back.
Back in the Crystal Mountains...
Sombra and the two crystal ponies continued to traverse through the tunnel Jaden had discovered. Using their horns to light the way, they found the cave was a slope leading straight down, which luckily wasn't too steep. They were able to trot down without fear of slipping, the rocky surface uneven, so every now and then one almost tripped.
"How deep do you think this tunnel is?" Jaden asked.
"I think we're over a mile down," Ruby assumed.
"One thousand eight hundred and twenty two yards," Sombra replied, "So yeah, just over a mile." He glanced back at them, both staring at him with raised eyebrows, "What? Every step I take is a foot long, so every three steps is a yard. Don't you count your steps?"
"No," Jaden deadpanned, "Who the heck counts their steps?"
"The pony that knows how deep we are right now," Sombra quipped as he felt the ground leveling out. "I think we've reached the bottom. Or we're close to it." The crystal ponies soon followed, the ground slowly starting to get less steep before reaching a perfectly level tunnel.
"Please tell me the piece is close by," Ruby asked.
"The piece is straight ahead of us. Hopefully, that means it's just at the end of a tunnel. But...I don't know. I get the feeling this isn't gonna be eas-WHOA!" His hoof suddenly met thin air and he almost fell, Ruby grabbing him by the tail and pulling him back.
Once he was back on solid ground, the three looked down and shined a light. They then saw there was no ground, instead just a complete drop down. Looking to their sides, they saw the tunnel they were in had opened up into a long trench. Ruby formed a piece of crystal in her hooves and dropped it over the side, counting up until they heard a distant dinging sound. "Forty meters."
"That's a long way down," Jaden gulped.
"Well the piece of Amore isn't down there," Sombra sighed as he brightened his horn and tried to see further ahead. In doing so, he spotted a far wall on the other side of the trench, but there weren't any holes in the wall. "Damn." He glanced down, "There must be a hole or passage further down."
"Don't suppose you two brought any rope?" Jaden asked, both shaking their heads before Ruby sighed and lit her horn. The end of the tunnel started forming a crystal structure, which began zigzagging downward to make a staircase. She growled at this, making a structure like this requiring a lot of power and concentration. The staircase quickly vanished into the darkness, making her build without seeing, hoping the end result wouldn't result in a messy creation and they could climb down without issue.
The Crystal Empire...
Flash and his friends were now down in the castle courtyard next to the Crystal Heart. Twilight arrived with Cadance and Shining, Flurry still being down for her nap, with Twilight carrying the bag of Amore pieces. "Okay Flash," Shining stated as Twilight put the bag down. "Here they are. Now what are you planning?"
"Simple," Flash opened the bag and started taking the pieces out. "We're going to rebuild Amore."
"What? Why are we putting her back together?" Rainbow asked.
"You got anything better to do?" Flash quipped back. "Besides, we might have to end up doing this anyway. Sombra said she was going to return to normal when the pieces were all brought together."
"Yes," Rarity nodded, "Which is why they're bringing the final piece."
"But what did he mean by brought together? Do they just need to be in the same place, or do they need to be brought together the way a jigsaw brought together?"
Everypony was about to answer, only to come to a stop. "It could be either," Twilight spoke up, "And if it's the second one, then it could be ages before Amore is restored."
"Not if we start working on it now," Flash replied, "If we all work together, we might be able to complete the statue before Ruby gets back."
Everypony smiled, liking this idea. Twilight carefully removing all the rocks and laying them out on the floor. The ponies frowned as they saw how every piece of rock was differently shaped, all looking completely random. But as they saw this, Fluttershy put two of them together and they were a perfect fit.
"I have one," she smiled, the others turning to her before smiling as well.
And as they started to get to work, Cadance turned to Twilight. "I contacted Celestia, by the way." Twilight nodded, "I explained everything that's happening and she's making arrangements for her and Luna to come here. There's a few important things that need addressing in Canterlot, so they can't come right away. But hopefully, they'll arrive before Ruby gets back."
"That's good," Twilight responded, "It's only right they be here when Amore is revived. They were her friends after all." Cadance nodded in agreement as they continued working to put the pieces together, slowly finding the parts as they hoped they would be able done before Ruby and Sombra returned.
"Careful," Ruby repeated for the tenth time as they lowered themselves down the steps.
Jaden carefully placed a hoof down on a step and could feel the little grip that it had. "How deep are we?"
Ruby made another crystal and dropped it, hearing the clink a little later, "We've gone down ten meters."
"Another thirty or so to go," Sombra sighed as they kept going down. "Remember to keep your eyes open for a hole."
But as they continued down, needing to turn every so often due to Ruby making the staircase a square spiral, there was no sign of any holes. "It's possible the tunnel we're looking for isn't until the very bottom," Ruby pointed out.
"Maybe," Sombra nodded, "But I'd rather not have to climb all the way back-"
"THERE!" Jaden exclaimed, pointing at an area of the wall. The two followed his hoof and saw a hole right into the wall.
"Good eyes," Sombra commented as Ruby started constructing a bridge from the staircase towards it. "Hopefully, it leads right to the piece." When the bridge was completed, Sombra was the first to step over it. The bridge was a little thin, since Ruby had used most of her magic to build the staircase, so with every step, it cracked a bit. Eventually, he reached the hole and jumped into it and sent a burst of light down the tunnel, seeing it travel about sixty meters or so before hitting a wall he hoped went upwards. "Okay. Come across, but be careful." Ruby and Jaden nodded before the colt slowly stepped onto the bridge. The cracks continued to appear as he made his way across, the adults grimacing at this.
"Whoa!" He yelped, pulling his hoof back as a piece of the bridge broke away.
"Forget careful and run!" Sombra yelled, Jaden quickly cutting into a sprint. More cracks formed as this happened, an entire section of the bridge soon breaking off behind him, removing the support the bridge had, putting all its weight onto the end Sombra was at. "HURRY!" He used his magic to grab the bridge and tried tp keep it up, the weight being almost too much.
And as Jaden got within reach, the bridge broke apart. Jaden tried to jump for it and flew through the air, Sombra letting the bridge go and holding his hooves out to try and grab him, but the colt fell short and began to fall, Sombra gasping as he thrust his body forward. He managed to grab Jaden's hooves, but he had leaned so far he was unable to pull himself up and started falling himself. Luckily, something grabbed his tail and stopped him from falling. "Huh?" He and Jaden looked up to see Ruby behind Sombra, his tail in her mouth.
The crystal unicorn showing nothing but exhaustion on her face as she had just used almost all of her remaining magic to teleport over. "Hurry!" She grumbled through her teeth, Sombra turning back to Jaden.
"Climb up!" Jaden nodded as Sombra pulled him up, letting go of a hoof so Jaden could grab onto his cloak and pull himself up.
Ruby watched her apprentice get onto Sombra's back, accidently shoving a hoof into the unicorn's cheek. Once he was far enough up, he used all of his strength to leap from Sombra and landed on the edge of the hole. He then ran to Ruby's tail and started pulling on it, Ruby doing the same as the pair pulled Sombra up.
And once all three were safe, they sighed and panted as they leaned against the wall. "That was too close," Ruby moaned.
"Agreed," Sombra added as he looked back to the crystal staircase. The crystal was almost completely invisible within the darkness, "Getting back might be a problem."
"We'll be fine as long as we don't run into any more problems," Ruby replied, "My magic should replenish enough for me to build a more stable bridge." She took out her thermos and took a large gulp from it, Sombra and Jaden doing the same to get their strength back.
"So what now?" Jaden asked before Sombra pointed down the tunnel.
"The tunnel's straight for a good bit, then seems to stop. I'm hoping that means it goes up. Hopefully, it's not straight up. If it is, we might be in trouble." The crystal ponies nodded, the three deciding to take a small break before going forward.
"I think we're doing pretty good," Twilight commented as she scanned over what they had done. They had managed to rebuild one and a half of her legs, along with part of her tail and several parts they assumed went inside her body.
"I figured this would get boring after a while," Rainbow added as she put two more pieces together. "But it's actually kind of fun."
"Well, keep it up," Applejack continued, "Somepony's life is at stake here. She's countin' on us put her back together." The others nodded as they kept working, more and more crystal ponies started to gather around the courtyard. They were curious what the heroes of Equestria, their rulers and Spike the Brave and Glorious were up too.
In that moment, a servant rushed out of the castle. "Princess." Cadance turned to her, "The Rune Gate has just opened." Cadance nodded and got up, she and Shining Armor heading into the castle as the others continued working.
Flash then found two pieces that fit together and when they did, he was surprised to see they formed an eye. Quickly flying above the remaining stones, he tried to find one that matched the image on the rock he had. After a minute, he found it and managed to connect it to the other pieces. The others saw this and Flash smirked as he spotted another piece, quickly grabbing it and connecting it to form her entire face.
As he did this, Cadance and Shining returned, followed by Celestia and Luna. They all stepped aside, allowing the alicorns to look over the pieces of their former friend. Flash then flew over and showed them the face he had recreated. "It really is her," Luna whispered.
Celestia took the rock face and stared into it, seeing the look of terror upon it. "I'm so sorry we weren't there to help you. I can only hope everything we've done since the Crystal Empire returned has made up for it."
"I'm sure it has," Cadance chimed in, "And it won't be long now before you can see her yourself. Once Ruby returns, we'll be able to revive her." But then she saw the look on Celestia's face. "What's wrong?"
Celestia and Luna looked around, clearly worried one of the Crystal Ponies would hear. "It might have been too long," Luna whispered, the group all raising an eyebrow at this, "The spell might have been cast on her for too long. It's possible that even when the pieces are all together, she might not awaken. Her life force has been split up for a long time. Each pieces might have lost that life force after a thousand years."
"So you're saying all this might be for nothing?" Rainbow asked.
"That...that can't be," Fluttershy looked ready to start crying.
"We're not saying it is what's happened," Celestia replied, "But...we just want you to all be ready in case. We more than anypony pray it's not the case. But we must be prepared just in case it does happen."
Everypony grimaced at this, Springer feeling a great amount of fear beginning to form in them. He then reached down and picked up a rock, trying to sense an aura within it, only to feel nothing but a rock. But as he felt this, he just went back to work, Flash doing the same.
They all turned to them, Flash seeing their stares, "What?"
"Well..."
"You said that might be the case." Flash interrupted, "It's also possible she's still in there. And until I see reason to think otherwise, I'm gonna believe it. So come on, let's get back to work. I'm sure Amore's sick of being in pieces."
Everypony smiled at this, most nodding as they all started putting the pieces together again, Celestia and Luna helping this time. It might have been a thousand years, but they could remember Amore perfectly, these memories being a big help when it came to putting her back together. And as they all worked, they decided to follow Flash's logic. Until they were absolutely sure what her state of being was, they would believe she was alive and waiting for Ruby and Sombra to return with that final piece. And hopefully, that return would be soon.
Once they were rested, the three continued their voyage through the tunnel. Just as Sombra had hoped, the tunnel did go upward. And while it wasn't a straight up diagonal shaft, it was anything but unsteep. It was about a hundredth of a hundred and ten degree wall that went up. The wall was covered in holes and rocks sticking out of it, turning it into the perfect climbing wall.
"Great," Ruby sighed. "Like this couldn't get any harder."
"Well, we'll have to keep going if we want to find the piece," Sombra added before limbering himself up.
"Remember what I told you about climbing these kind of walls?" Ruby asked Jaden, the colt nodding back.
"Yup. Watch my footing and don't try to climb too fast." Ruby nodded as Sombra started climbing, sticking his hoof in one of the holes and hoisting himself up. The other two did the same, both making their way up the wall. Sombra then shot a sphere of light upward, seeing that the wall was about ten meters high, so they didn't have too far to climb.
But about six meters up, one of the rocks Ruby placed her hoof on broke away from the wall and she almost fell. They other two gasped, but she managed to grab onto another rock a meter down, keeping herself from falling. "You okay?" Sombra asked, Ruby nodding and pulling herself back up. They then went back to climbing, only for the sound of water to suddenly fill their ears.
"What's that?" Jaden asked, the trio seeing the entrance to three tunnels in front of them.
"Sounds like a waterfall," Ruby replied as they all stood up. They looked over the three entrances and found the water was coming from the middle one. "That way. Must be an underground sping. Or maybe there was another tunnel down here that snow fell into and melted in."
"Well, we're gonna find out," Sombra added as he felt the pull. "The piece is in this direction." They nodded and continued down the tunnel. And as they did this, the water grew louder as a light appeared at the end of the tunnel. The light put them all on edge, wondering why such a light could exist underground, only to reach the end and find themselves within a giant chamber. So large that the whole of the Crystal Castle could fit within it, leaving enough space for several Manehatten skyscrapers and a few Ponyville houses.
They looked around and saw water rolling out of another hole above them, which filled a decent-sized lake at the bottom of the cavern that they assumed flowed out someplace else. Moss and a few plants could be seen growing on the many rocks that filled the chamber, and the light they had seen were coming out of pony-sized crystals that glowed brightly.
"Wow..." Jaden whispered as the three stepped out onto a ledge the tunnel lead to. Looking down, the ledge had several paths leading down. "I can't believe something like this was under the Crystal Mountains and we didn't even know."
"It is beautiful," Ruby nodded. "But we didn't come here to sightsee." She turned back to Sombra, "Where's the piece?"
Sombra frowned at this, the pull suddenly moving for him. "I don't know why, but it won't stay still. It just moved." This made the pair raise an eyebrow, only to see him move over to the edge and look down, the duo doing the same. And when they did, Sombra's eyes were drawn to something in particular. "There!" The other two followed his hoof and saw what he was looking at.
Down at the bottom of the canyon, leaning against the opposite wall, was a long and thin stone which was the length of a small house. And sticking out of its top was a thin crystal shard, which was the exact same color as the others Sombra had brought.
"That's it?" Jaden asked, Sombra nodding. "Great. Let's grab it and get out of here." He was about to go down, but Ruby held up a hoof.
"You said it moved?" She asked Sombra, who nodded. "How?"
"No idea," Sombra shrugged. "It was level with us before, but somehow it got down there."
"Probably just fell," Jaden added.
"That rock doesn't look like it fell," Ruby responded, "It looks...like it was placed against the wall by something. And the crystal couldn't have been imbedded into the stone by natural means. Something had to have placed it inside."
"But what?" Jaden asked, only for the trio to feel a slight shaking in the ground.
"Get down!" Ruby gasped, the three quickly going to the floor, only to see one of the rock piles start moving. The three's eyes slowly went wider as the rocks unfurled from one another and appeared to be arranged into a humanoid shape.
"What...is that?" Jaden whispered as the giant humanoid rock creature stretched itself out. It looked like it had just awoken from a nice nap, the creature walking slumped over and moving to the lake while scratching its butt.
"Well, that's a dignified pose," Ruby grumbled as the rock creature grabbed some water in its hands and began drinking it.
"I think that's an earth golem," Sombra muttered, "I read stories about them. Some legends say they live under mountains and constantly sleep. They only wake up for about an hour every month or so."
"Wow," Jaden chuckled, "Talk about lazy."
"Well, they are made of rocks," Ruby replied, "They probably can't do much in the waking world." And as the golem finished drinking, he reached back to try and reach something on his back, but its rock arms didn't allow a lot of limb articulation. "What's he doing?" He spun around as he tried to reach the spot and Sombra saw that on a rock just out of reach, a bunch of green stuff growing on it.
"Moss," Sombra responded, "Its probably trying to get rid of the moss that's grown on its back."
At that moment, the golem stopped and moved over to the stone with the crystal, picking it up and moving it behind himself.
"Oh Celestia," Ruby's eyes went wide. "Is he going to do what I think-" She got her answer when he pushed the crystal against the moss and started scrapping it along the green stuff, making the three ponies wanna puke. "When Amore's back to normal, nopony tell her part of her body was being used as a back-scratcher."
"Agreed," they all nodded as the golem kept scratching, soon getting the moss off and put the back scratcher down. It then returned to where it was previously sleeping and curled itself back up. "You said it only wakes up once a month?" Jaden asked, Sombra nodding back, "So when it goes to sleep, we can just grab the crystal and get out of here."
"Except it takes about twelve hours for a golem to completely fall asleep," Sombra replied, "You wanna wait that long?" Jaden frowned at this. "Besides, we might have another problem." He gestured to the back-scratcher, "That thing was moved before we got there. And if that first golem wasn't the one to do it..."
"Who was?" Ruby asked, only for more movement to catch their attention. They watched as another earth golem got up and started moving about, followed by another and another.
Soon, the entire cavern was littered with the walking rock-piles. Many of them were heading for the lake to get a drink, while others started scraping their backs against the wall to remove moss. But a few headed straight for the back-scratcher, forming a line like they were waiting for someone to vacate the bathroom. One by one, they used the crystal to remove moss from their stony bodies.
"We have to wait for all these golems to go to sleep?" Jaden asked, the other two just frowning at the sight.
"I want to say yes, but who knows how long that could take." Sombra watched the earth golem they had first seen get up and shift around, clearly not comfortable in the position it was in. "They could take longer than twelve hours for all of them to fully go to sleep. Even if we wanted to wait for them to all completely sleep, do we have enough rations to wait it out and get back to the Empire? Walking through those tunnels and through the snowy mountains isn't something you can do on an empty stomach."
"He's right," Ruby sighed, "We need to sneak in there once they're all down and grab the crystals without waking any of them up."
"Any idea how we do that?" Jaden asked before they all pulled their heads back.
"Carefully," Sombra replied.
And so they waited. They watched as the golems all moved around the cavern, getting water, scratching moss off their bodies and applying mud to areas of their body that the ponies realized were cracked and damaged. They waited and waited, two hours passing by with new golems waking up and moving around just as the first ones were going to sleep.
The three were rather intrigued at first, but after two hours of seeing them do the exact same thing over and over, the wonder had worn off. But eventually, the last of the golems returned to the spot they had been sleeping before and curled themselves up. They waited another few minutes at this, only to find no more golems moving.
"Okay," Ruby got up and saw the back-scratcher was exactly opposite them, "Let's go."
"Can't you just teleport the piece to us?" Jaden asked, Ruby shaking her head.
"No. I don't have enough magic to do that. We're gonna have to do this the hard way." They headed down into the cavern, wishing that the ledge they were on could have been connected to the other side somehow. But since it wasn't, they were forced to climb down to the cave floor and made their way through the field of living boulders.
"Nobody make a sound," Sombra whispered, the two nodding before zigzagging through the boulders while trying to do their best not to touch them. It was like walking through a giant maze, sometimes needing to go back the way they came when they reached certain areas they couldn't pass without climbing over the rocks. They went in so many directions that Jaden had lost track of where they had even started from.
But eventually, they reached the back-scratcher on the far side of the cavern, which was much higher up than they were. Once close enough, Ruby tried to pry the crystal out of the rock with her magic, only to find it stuck. "What do we do?" Jaden asked, only for Ruby to lift him up and put him on her back.
"Sombra." The unicorn knelt down and Ruby climbed up onto his back, Sombra extending his legs to lift them both up. Ruby then stood on his head and shoulders as he jumped up and placed his front legs on the rock, Jaden doing the same to Ruby's head and shoulders. Together, the three were just about the same height as the back-scratcher.
Jaden strained and looked over the top of the rock, seeing the gemstone was lodged straight in the top. "Quick," Ruby whispered, "I don't know how long we can stand like this." Jaden grabbed it in his hooves, tugging at it with everything he had. He grunted with every pull, but the gemstone remained in place.
"You can do it kid," Sombra added.
"It's stuck!"
"Don't just try to muscle it," Sombra replied, "If you can't pull it out, try another way."
"What other way?"
"The golems must have put it in this thing. When you're trying to force something into a tight fit, what do you try and do?" Jaden blinked at this, only to imagine himself shoving a cork into a bottle. In that image, he didn't just push straight down, he twisted it.
"Huh." He tried again and moved the crystal clockwise and counterclockwise. Doing so caused the rock holding it to slowly scrape away, loosening it up. "I think...it's coming out!" He continued twisting it until he felt the gem seriously shift. Then, he pulled back with everything he had. "WHOA!" He cried as the gem came out, causing him to fall back. Ruby and Sombra tried to keep their balance, only to fall back as well.
As the adults hit the ground, he landed against one of the rocks and bounced off if. "Ow!" His voice echoed through the cavern as the gem fell to the ground. Sombra quickly got up and grabbed the gem, sighing when he felt the pull to it vanish. This was it. "We did it."
"Great," Ruby stood up, "Now let's get out of here before-" In that moment, scraping filled the place as the rock Jaden had slammed into began to move. The pony's ears dropped as they looked up to see the golem beginning to sit up. "Run."
The trio quickly cut into a sprint, the creature scratching its head and looking around as a few more golems began to wake up due to hearing Jaden's cry. They glanced back at this, only for one of them to see the back-scratcher had lost its most important piece. This caused it to scream, which awoke the rest of the golems.
The three intruders gasped as the rocks around them began to move, Ruby pushing the others to the spot they had entered from. The golems didn't seem to notice them, allowing them to continue as they all began to pick themselves up.
"Whoa!" Jaden had to jump back to avoid getting stepped on, the colt running through a golem's legs before Ruby picked him up and placed him on her back. Sombra had to side step to avoid getting crushed, but this made him nudge another golem's foot, making it look down at him. As it did this, the gem caught its attention and it roared at him as he kept running, the rest of the golems turning to notice the ponies.
But before the ones that knew could do anything, the ponies ran under some that didn't and those ones blocked the others. The ponies then reached the path leading up to the hole and ran up it, the golems pushing past those that were still waking up, only for the ponies to get out of reach just in time, leading to the golems beginning to climb the side of the wall behind them.
And as they kept climbing, the ponies reached the top and ran into the tunnel. Sombra was the last one in and as he ran, a golem reached the top and thrust its arm into the tunnel. "Gyah!" It grabbed Sombra's tail and began to pull him back, Ruby and Jaden gasping at this. "Augh!" Sombra tried to drag himself back on the ground, but the golem was stronger.
"Sombra!" Ruby cried as Sombra threw the gem shard to them. Jaden caught it as she rushed over and grabbed his hooves, pulling back, only to simply getting dragged back with him.
"Let me go!"
"No!" She yelled back, "They'll rip you apart!"
"Yes," Sombra nodded, "But I deserve it." Ruby looked ready to start crying, the unicorn wishing she had a spark of magic. The pairs looked into one another's eyes, as if accepting that this would be the last moment they would see each other.
But just as Ruby was about to let him go, Jaden rushed past her. "What are you doing?!" She yelped, only for Jaden to swing the gem at Sombra's tail. The edge of it was so scarp that it cut through the hair, chopping the tail in half and causing the golem's hand to suddenly fly back as the adults fell the other way.
"WHOA!" Ruby and Sombra rolled along the ground and eventually stopped, the ground shaking due to the golem falling outside the tunnel. The pair picked one another up and were looking into each other's eyes, both feeling something in their hearts.
But then they heard Jaden cough, the pair turning to see him staring at them. "You're welcome." The pair quickly realized their position and jumped up, Sombra taking the crystal back from the colt.
"Thanks kid."
"Don't mention it," Jaden nodded before another arm reached in and tried to grab them. The sight made them run for it, the golem now punching the side of the cavern the tunnel was on. This caused the tunnel to shake, the place soon about to collapse. They then reached the rock wall and quickly scaled the side, the shaking of the tunnel making holding on difficult. But they managed to get to the bottom and continue down the path. As they did this, the shaking got weaker and weaker before the three reached the end of the tunnel and stopped right at the drop.
They spotted the staircase and were happy to see the shaking hadn't broken it apart, Ruby taking a deep breath and summoning as much magic as she could. With a blast of light, another crystal bridge appeared and connected to the stairs. The three ran across, the weak bridge cracking and breaking apart as they did before scaling the stairway and eventually the top.
Thinking they were in the clear, the three took a breath and allowed themselves to walk through the tunnel at a less hasty speed.
"So now that we've got the last piece, will Amore be okay?"
"Yes," Sombra nodded as they headed up the path, "Once the pieces are all together, it'll reform her body and fuse together. Then she'll be returned to normal."
"That's good," Ruby sighed, "Let's just hope there's no more obstacles between here and the empire aside from the mountain." As she said that, they reached the end of the tunnel. Sombra then looked down at the crystal piece and kneeled down in the snow. "What are you doing?"
"This thing's been used to scrape moss off golem backsides for who knows how long." He placed it in the snow and started rubbing it into the crystal, "Do you want to put it back on her without cleaning it?" They nodded at this, Sombra thoroughly wiping as much of the crystal as he could.
But as he finished, something happened that put them on edge. A loud thumping sound filled the air, which caused the snow higher up the mountain to come loose. It stopped before reaching them, but another thump made some more snow come loose. "What is that?" Jaden asked after a third thump, followed by a fourth and fifth.
"Oh no," Ruby whispered. "We have to go!" They didn't argue and began running down the way they came, only to find the cause appear on the mountain. An earth golem stepped into view, looking very angry. Then another appeared, followed by and third and fourth. They had somehow gotten outside and had found their trespassers.
"Uh oh," Jaden gulped as Sombra tried to keep the crystal out of sight.
The four had blocked off their escape and all glared down at them, "What do we do?" Sombra asked as the first golem prepared to punch them.
"Wait!" Ruby cried, catching the golem's attention. "I don't know if you can understand me, but I'm sorry about what happened." The golems appeared to get what she was saying, but still looked angry. "I know that crystal was important to you, but it's just as important to us."
"Yeah!" Jaden nodded, "This crystal is the only thing that can bring somepony really special back to our home! We need it a lot more than you do!"
The golems glared at them, one even crossing its arms, only for Sombra to speak up, "We...we can make it up to you." He then showed them the crystal, the golems glaring and moving to take it. "Wait!" They stopped. "You can crush us if you want and take it back, or...you can have something better." This caught the golem's attention, Ruby and Jaden's too. "My friend here can create gems of any shape or size. If you let us take this back, she'll make you something even better than this thing."
The golems shared a glance, Ruby grimacing as she felt her magic wasn't working much. Sombra then turned to her, motioning her to at least try. She let out a sigh and closed her eyes, her magic coming out of her horn and slowly forming a crystal shape in front of them. The golems saw this and were amazed as the crystal extended. Soon, it was just as long as the Amore fragment they had taken, but Ruby chose to take it a step further.
The tip of the gem split into four separate tines, turning it into a fork with the points growing to be about half as long as the main shard. To top it off, the tines curved at the end to make it look like a rake. As soon as the gem was created, Ruby fell to the ground and Sombra caught the new back-scratcher. He then held it up and the lead golem took it in its hand, looking it over before holding it behind its head and started scratching, the golem letting out some sounds of pleasure.
The other golems quickly got in line to do the same, each enjoying the new toy.
"So...we good?" The golems looked down at them, seemingly glaring at them, only to spin around and walk off, disappearing behind the mountains, leaving them and the piece of Amore behind.
Once they were gone, Sombra sighed in relief, "That was a close one."
"Are you okay?" Jaden asked Ruby, the mare pushing herself back to her hooves.
"A bit of a headache, but I'll live." She turned to Sombra, "A little heads up on the plan to replace the thing would have been nice."
"Sorry," Sombra shrugged, "I was thinking on the fly. Figured anything you made would be better quality than anything I'd make, so it had to be you." He then held up the piece, "But at least we don't have to worry about anypony else coming after this now."
"Yes," Ruby nodded, "Let's get back to the Empire." She began walking at this, only to lose her balance, Sombra catching her.
"You clearly need a rest." He used his magic to pick her up and placed her on his back, handing the piece to Jaden to carry. "Don't push yourself. We might still need your magic later." Ruby sighed, but nodded and allowed herself to fall into a half sleep state.
Sombra and Jaden shared a glance, Jaden nodding at him. It seemed everything they had gone through had rubbed away some of his animosity towards Sombra. The unicorn could still sense some of it within the colt, but he could tell he wasn't going to insult him anymore.
It was a long journey back to the Empire. Luckily, there weren't any more storms or monster attacks getting between them and it. And when they arrived at the dome, Sombra stopped in his tracks. Ruby and Jaden turned to him, "Something the matter?" Ruby asked as Sombra stared down at the crystal in his hooves.
"Just...enjoying the moment," Sombra sighed, "As soon as I step through this barrier, I'll be a prisoner once again. And whether or not this actually works, the rest of my life will be decided by this moment." They nodded back as he added, "Maybe it would be best for you two to return the crystal. It might be best to wait at the border."
"No way," Jaden instantly chimed in, "You started all this, it's only right you end it. You need to return the final piece to the others." Ruby nodded, "It's the only way you can truly absolve yourself of this sin."
Sombra sighed, but nodded, "Very well." He then marched through the barrier.
Inside the empire, everypony was gathered around the almost completed statue of Princess Amore. With every piece that was added to the statue, the former ruler of the Empire became more and more recognizable. Twilight took the final piece they had and held it upward, slotting it into the hole on Amore's head to restore her horn.
"There," she stepped back and looked the statue over. It was almost completely restored, with the only missing piece being the part in her chest where her heart would be located.
Celestia and Luna stepped up at this, smiling when they saw their old friend was almost complete. "Please still be in there," she whispered as she looked into the shocked expression. As this happened, Springer's eyes went wide.
"Ruby!" He spun around, everypony else following him as a part of the crowd slowly stepped aside to make a gap. Looking through, they spotted three figures making their way down the street.
Flash then realised there was one too many ponies heading toward them, the knight focusing on the smaller one, "Is that...."
"Jaden?" Sunburst asked, everypony realizing what must have likely happened. Flash sighed and shook his head, glad to see he wasn't the only one with an apprentice that snuck into situations they weren't supposed to be in.
As the three approached, the crystal ponies moved further and further away, all glaring at Sombra. The unicorn's arrival was very different to the one he had yesterday, his head held high as he moved through the crowd to the castle. As he did this, the four Alicorn Princesses stepped up and glared at him as well.
Coming to a stop, he focused on the two alicorns he hadn't seen in over a thousand years. "Celestia," he nodded to her and glanced at the other, "Luna." Both alicorns continued to stare him down, only for him to add, "Well, as nostalgic as this is, I have a mission to complete."
The princesses continued to glare, Sombra now standing still, only for Ruby to step up and give the four a nod, as if to tell them to let him pass. They sighed and each stepped aside, allowing Sombra and the other two to see the statue. Ruby gasped at the sight in front of her, Jaden staring in amazement at the former ruler and Sombra felt a great pang of guilt flow through him. He quickly shrugged it off and moved up, taking out the final piece of her.
Once he was standing in front of the statue, he took a deep breath before slotting the shard into her chest. As soon as the crystal was in place, the cracks covering the crystal began to glow. They all gasped at this, watching the cracks to slowly begin to seal up, restoring the statue to its single piece. They then expected the rock to break away and reveal the unicorn...but nothing happened.
"Isn't something supposed to happen?" Spike asked, looking back at Celestia and seeing a heartbroken expression appear on her face.
Luna then dropped her head low. "It's too late. She's been in this form for too long. Her spirit is gone." That statement caused a wave of hopelessness to flow through the crowd, Springer feeling overwhelmed by the negative emotions flooding the streets.
"No," Ruby whispered as tears began to form in her eyes.
Jaden placed a hoof on her, all the while feeling like they had failed. They had gone through all of that, for absolutely nothing. Those that had come from Ponyville also felt it, Pinkie's hair deflating while Rarity and Fluttershy looked ready to start crying. It was strange. Even though they had never met this pony, they all felt heartbroken to learn she wouldn't be coming back.
But none felt as bad as Sombra, who simply stood there looking at the statue. Doing so caused him to remember the night he had done this. The night he had taken the Crystal Heart and turned the mare that had found him into a rock, scattering her to the winds. He had felt so proud of himself when he did that, but now he just felt empty.
"No," he whispered as he looked down, "No." He could feel all the eyes of those around him boring into him, but he didn't care. All he cared about was that he had failed and condemned her to a life possibly non-existence. "Please. Please don't let it end this way." Tears began to form in his eyes as he stared up at her. "I...I'm sorry." The tears started flowing, "I was so angry at you for lying to me. But you didn't deserve this."
"Is he serious?" Jaden heard one of the crystal ponies growl, "He think he has a right to be upset about this."
"He's faking it," another stated, but Jaden knew he wasn't. And by the look Springer was giving him, he could feel Sombra's emotion.
Ruby rubbed her tears away and took a deep breath, moving over to stand beside him. "Sombra." She placed a hoof on his shoulder, "It's over. We tried. I think Amore would have appreciated that much."
Sombra just continued to cry, "If I could, I would give my life for hers. If it meant undoing this mistake, I would gladly sacrifice my worthless existence so she could come back." A lot of ponies probably would have made that trade, Sombra taking a deep breath and standing up. He moved over to Amore's statue and touched her hoof, a single tear leaving his eye. And with all the remorse his heart could muster flowing into the tear, he blinked it from his eye as he looked up into her eyes. "I truly...truly am sorry."
As he said that, the tear hit her hoof.
He let go of her and turned to the crowd, ready to face whatever punishment they wanted to give him. But as he did this, the part of the statue the tear had touched began to glow. It went unnoticed for a moment, but then the light slowly began to spread. It travelled up Amore's leg to the rest of her body, soon everypony catching sight of it. Sombra watched in amazement as the light completely engulfed her. "What's happening?"
"Maybe there was more to the spell you cast on her than you thought," Celestia chimed in, "Or maybe this is just your own power, manifesting in a new way."
The light radiated off every part of her body and as it did, new cracks began to form along the stone. Many feared she would fall apart again, but then parts of the rock fell away from the statue and revealed the pony trapped below. First it was her hooves, followed by her legs, body, and finally, her head became uncovered. A loud gasp escaped her lips as her body filled with air for the first time in over ten centuries.
"Amore!" Ruby cried as the light began to fade from her. As it did this, she closed her eyes and swayed back and forth before beginning to fall. Luckily, Flash and Springer moved fast enough to catch her, "Is she alright?!" Everypony rushed in as the two put her down.
"Give her space!" Celestia yelled, everypony quickly backing up. "Being trapped in stone isn't easy. Believe me, I know. She's been like that for a thousand years. It'll probably take her a while before she can recover." But Amore then let out a groan and slowly her eyes flickered open. "Or not."
"Amore..." Ruby moved to her side as the unicorn began to pick herself up. "Please don't push yourself. You've been through a lot."
"Ruby?" Amore asked, turning to see her. "Is...is this a dream?"
"It's not a dream, your highness." Ruby smiled as she hugged her, "You're okay." Amore then glanced around, seeing many of her citizens, then spotted several figures she didn't recognize. She smiled at the sight of Celestia and Luna before raising an eyebrow when she saw Cadance and Twilight, and then gasped at seeing Sombra.
The male unicorn looked down when their eyes met, expecting her to yell to her guards to seize him. "What's going on?" She asked, "Sombra...you're...normal." Sombra looked back at her as the princess looked him over. "I can feel it. That body isn't just a disguise anymore. You really are a unicorn now."
"Yes," Sombra nodded, "My umbrum form is gone. I've been striped of most of my power. I'm just your run of the mill unicorn now."
"But...how?" Amore asked as Celestia and Luna stepped up.
"It's been a long time, old friend." Celestia placed a hoof on her shoulder, "A very long time."
Ruby then spoke up, "Princess, me becoming a knight, Sombra turning into an umbrum and him trapping you in stone and stealing the Crystal Heart...that all happened over a thousand years ago." Amore's eyes went wide, the mare looking around as all the ponies nodded to confirm that was true.
"A thousand years?! But...how are you all here? Were we all trapped in stone?" She glanced at Sombra, seeing he was still looking guilty.
"No," Celestia told her, "it's...a long story. You've been through a lot and need to rest." She turned to the rest of the empire. "We will take her inside the castle to recover. Please leave her care to us." The crystal ponies nodded and all began to leave, calling out to Amore as they did and telling her how happy they were to have her back.
Sombra remained where he was and sighed as Shining and several guards stepped up to him. "Yeah, I know. It's back to the cell for me. You can relax. I'm not gonna fight back." Sombra quickly found himself chained up again and his magic sealed by an anti-magic ring.
Amore watched as he was taken back into the castle, sighing as she did so. "Clearly, Sombra's change wasn't before he did a lot of bad things."
"You have no idea," Cadance chimed in, Amore turning to her as the Cadance stood ridged. "Sorry. I should probably introduce myself. I am Mi Amore Cadenza. But you can call me Cadance. I've...been ruling the Empire in your stead. Ever since it returned."
"Returned?" Amore asked, but shook her head. "I see." They began leading Amore into the castle, Cadance having prepared a room for her. Most of the Defenders chose to leave the royals to get up to speed, so only the alicorns, Flash, Shining and Ruby joined her in her room. Once she was settled in the bed, Celestia began to explain everything that had happened. Amore listened intently, horrified when she learned what Sombra had done after trapping her in stone. She frowned when she learned about the Empire vanishing for a thousand years, returning along with Sombra and the battles that had resulted until the recovery of the Crystal Heart.
Ruby then told her about the adventure in the lost city. How Sombra had been revived by Shadow and turned into the host of an evil armor. How she and Flash had freed him from the armor and used the power of a goddess to turn him into a unicorn. How Sombra had told them the truth about her apparent death and how, after the war, he had left to find the pieces of her body.
"And now, here you are." Ruby smiled at her. "I'm so glad you're back. The Empire wasn't the same without you."
"Yes," Amore nodded, "It's clear a lot has happened since I've been gone." She turned to Cadance, "But it appears the Empire was in good hooves."
Cadance smiled before looking down, "I understand if you wish to reclaim the throne. It was originally yours."
"It was," Amore nodded, "But not anymore." This made them all tilt her head at her, "Surely you all know."
"Know what?" Luna asked.
"The Heart has chosen its guardian. In order to protect the Crystal Empire, the Crystal Heart's power is needed. So, of course, evil would want to remove the Crystal Heart or destroy it. Much like how Sombra removed the Heart, attempting to free the umbrum. So, the Crystal Heart chooses somepony to become its guardian. One that becomes infused by the Heart's energy so that they may keep it safe."
"And that was you?" Flash asked, Amore nodding.
"It was. But not anymore. When Sombra...trapped me, my connection to the Crystal Heart was broken. The Heart might have found somepony else that never knew they were the Heart's guardian, or whatever Sombra did prevented it from finding another pony to protect it. That chosen pony's magical aura will become connected to the Heart."
Celestia's eyes went wide, "When I found Cadance, I mistook her for you because you both had the same magical aura. I thought she was your descendant or your reincarnation. But you're saying you shared an aura because you were both connected to the Crystal Heart?"
Amore nodded and focused back on Cadance. "Were you born an alicorn?"
"No. I used to be a pegasus, but I managed to ascend into becoming an alicorn."
"Well you've already done better than I ever did. I could never awaken as an alicorn, nor could my mother or the ruler before her. I guess you're special."
"So it was the Crystal Heart that helped Cadance evolve into an alicorn?" Twilight asked, Amore nodding. "But...that doesn't make any sense. The Crystal Heart was still lost when Cadance ascended. The Empire hadn't returned yet."
"The Crystal Heart has many amazing powers. Many that might not have even been discovered yet. All that matters is that the Heart chose Cadance and Cadance was able to use it to become an alicorn. To become the ruler this Empire truly needed. My time as its ruler is over."
"I just hope the rest of the Empire see it that way," Ruby gulped.
"Pardon?"
"I'm not in the crystal pony's good books right now," Cadance added, "I didn't tell them I knew Sombra was back, and they're upset he's been walking free instead of paying for his crimes."
"I see," Amore nodded. "This is all my fault. I had hoped not knowing his true heritage would keep him from embracing it. But I was wrong."
"You knew the Crystal Fair was hurting him," Ruby continued, "Why didn't you ever do anything about it? Send him with me to train with the princesses or someplace else? Why keep him in the Crystal Empire?"
"I knew he was an umbrum in pony form," Amore replied, "But I didn't know how much of the umbrum remained in him. He had to have been mostly unicorn in order to escape the seal holding them. I had hoped that the Crystal Fair would destroy the umbrum inside of him and leave him as a pure unicorn. But it's clear I was wrong."
"So..." Flash spoke up, "what happens next with him?"
"We lock him up," Shining responded, all turning to stare at him, "What?! What else can we do? He might have helped you beat Shadow and he might have helped revive Amore, but that doesn't make up for everything else he's done. He's dangerous."
Amore sighed and shook her head, "Not as dangerous as he once was. He might have caused us a lot of pain, but we caused him just as much pain growing up. He didn't ask to be a pawn in the umbrum's attempts to free themselves. But you're right about him being guilty of many crimes."
Cadance put a hoof on Amore's shoulder, "You were the one who knew him better than anypony. I know you've renounced your position as the Empire's ruler, but I think you should be the one to decide his punishment."
Amore sighed again, but nodded. "I will. Will you give me some time to think about it? I haven't gotten to sleep in over a thousand years." They nodded and Celestia motioned everypony to leave, Amore laying back in her bed as she felt a great amount of exhaustion flow through her.
And as she drifted off, she thought about everything she had learned had happened to her home since she was turned to stone. All that pain. All that heartache. All that could have been avoided if she had been open with Sombra. He was as much a victim of her as she was of him. She needed to think of a suitable sentence for Sombra, one that was fair and just.
The next day...
For the third day in a row, the ponies of the Empire were gathered around the Crystal Castle. They stared up at the balcony, waiting to see their returned ruler. And sure enough, the four alicorn princesses walked out before stepping aside to allow Amore to come forward.
Many of the older crystal ponies smiled, having thought they would never get to see this sight again. Amore looked down at the crowd and smiled, "Ponies of the Crystal Empire!" She announced loud enough to be heard by all, "I am pleased to see you are all safe and sound. My last thoughts before I was trapped in stone were fears of what might happen. I have been told about your plights and the pain you have had to suffer through...and I am here to tell you I am sorry. Had I been more diligent, none of what happened would have occurred. I am truly sorry."
The crowd murmured amongst themselves, but all began to cheer telling Amore she had nothing to be upset about.
"We cannot change the past. We can only learn from it and focus on the future. As such, I hereby renounce my claim to the throne and give it to Princess Cadance." This made the crowd gasp, but she continued anyways, "I know many of you are still upset about what she kept from you. But I am just as guilty. I knew the truth behind Sombra's origins and kept it a secret from him and you. If I hadn't kept it a secret, what happened might have been avoided. We were wrong to keep those secrets, and we swear that we will be better." She turned to Cadance, who stepped up beside her. "I have discussed this with Cadance and we have agreed that I will stay in the Empire as her advisor. Should she think of keeping a secret like this again, I promise I will tell the citizens."
The crowd below cheered, happy they were going to keep living under the rule of their two best princesses.
"Thank you," Cadance replied, "Having you here will be a big help."
"I hope so. I am a thousand years behind the times." Amore then turned to look back at the crowd. "But before I renounce my rule, I have one final duty to perform." As she said that, a group of guards marched out of the castle with Sombra between them.
Once again, he was shackled up and his magic sealed.
The guards brought him to an open spot directly in line with the balcony, where a stage had been placed for him to stand on. Once there, the guards left and Sombra looked up at the princesses.
"Sombra, you stand before us charged with many great crimes. Enslavement, torture, brainwashing and kidnapping the ponies of the Empire for a thousand years. How do you plead?"
"Guilty," Sombra sighed, "And willing to accept whatever you deem necessary as a punishment." The crystal ponies all went wide-eyed, murmurs filling the crowd again. Many wanted her to fire up the Crystal Heart and blast him back to nothing, while others knew that probably wouldn't work on him now.
Instead, Amore spoke up and said, "I will not be the one deciding your fate. You are." The statement caused confusion to cover the crowd, more murmuring following this.
"What's she talking about?" Rainbow asked Twilight, the alicorn shrugging back.
"What are you saying?" Sombra added.
"Sombra, you've done many terrible things. And if I had been open with you and told you what you truly were, you might have chosen not to do them. You've never had a choice in the matter of what you've done. Well, now I'm giving you that choice. A choice of two sentences. Both equal and fair. You will chose which sentence will be administered and you will accept what will happen when it does."
"What are my options?"
"From what I've been told, a new prison has been built up in the Crystal Mountains. If you chose that, you will be sentence to stay there for the rest of your life. Or...you can stay here." That filled the crowd with gasps and shocks. "If you chose to stay here, it will be for a life of servitude. You will clean whatever you're told to clean, cook whatever you're told to cook and any other task given to you."
"Any task? Would I have to drop what I was currently doing if somepony else ordered me to do something for them, then stop doing that if another gives me a new job?"
"You will answer directly to Princess Cadance and anypony she puts you to work for. If she asks you to help the guards, you'll listen to the highest ranking guard there. If you're made to clean, you'll obey the head janitor until your task is complete."
"I see," Sombra nodded, "Makes sense. So basically, I'll become a slave."
"If that's what you want to call it," Amore replied, "You'll be given food and a place to sleep. If, in a few years, you prove yourself deserving, you might even be given a small salary. But you'll be barred from leaving the Crystal Empire unless directly ordered. You'll work every day unless gifted time off. And you will not complain no matter what task is wanted from you."
"Guess it would be a fitting punishment," Sombra nodded back.
"I understand if you feel this kind of sentence is beneath you," Amore added, "If you'd rather be impris-"
"I'll do it," Sombra announced. "I will work as the Empire's servant." Amore raised an eyebrow at this, "It beats spending the rest of my days in a crappy cell. At least this way, I won't get bored. I accept the sentence of a lifetime of servitude."
"Very well." Amore took a deep breath. "I, Princess Amore, sentence you to indentured servitude until such a time that it is determined you have repaid your debt to the Crystal Empire. You will have until tomorrow morning to prepare yourself. Proper lodgings will be provided to allow you that preparation. You are dismissed."
Sombra nodded and was taken away by some guards, Amore looking out at the crowd and seeing many mixed expressions. Clearly, they thought Sombra was getting off lightly. But Amore had determined this to be a satisfactory conclusion to everything. She gestured for Cadance to step forward, the Princess of Love taking her spot beside her. Amore would now officially renounce her title as the Crystal Empire's ruler, giving the reins over to the young and promising alicorn.
"Here it is," Shining told Sombra when they arrived at the room.
Sombra stepped inside and found it was a square room that looked barely big enough to fit six ponies in. A bed was in one corner, a wardrobe was in another and a desk and chair sat between them. Sombra moved over to the bed and sat down, taking off his cloak. "Thank you."
"Yeah...just get some rest. I doubt anypony will be letting you off easy just because it's your first day." Sombra nodded as Shining left, the king laying against the bed. As he did this, his hoof moved up to his neck where a collar had been placed. It had been enchanted with runes, which would activate at anyone with the authority's command and cause his body to freeze. It would also send a signal if he ever tried to leave the Empire without permission, meaning Sombra truly was a prisoner of his old home.
Sombra let out a sigh as he felt himself begin to drift to sleep. The bed he was on was the most comfortable thing he had gotten to sleep in since...probably since he was defeated over a thousand years ago. He knew it was more the he deserved, but he wouldn't complain. From this point on, he would be a servant working to atone for his sins. Amore had given him this chance and he would gladly take it. He didn't think he would be able to make up for all his crimes in his lifetime, but he would try.
Over in the throne room, Amore smiled as she sat upon the throne. "You don't have to do this," she told Cadance as the Princess, her husband, daughter and their friends smirked.
"It's the least I could do," Cadance giggled, "One final time sitting in your old throne. You deserve to enjoy that." Amore smiled back and nodded, though she was starting to feel uncomfortable on the seat.
"Well, this was fun, but I think I'd rather let the true ruler take the seat." She got up and offered it to Cadance, who smiled and sat on the throne. Amore then looked out the window and sighed as she saw the Empire in peace. "I still have a lot to catch up on. Hopefully, being so behind the times won't effect my use as your advisor."
"I'm sure you'll be fine," Luna added, "I was gone for over a thousand years as well," Amore turned to her with wide eyes, only for Luna to continue, "And I was able to adapt, with help from those around me of course."
"Yes," Celestia nodded, "Just don't try and push yourself. It's not like you have to understand everything right away."
"Thank you." She then turned to Ruby, "And thank you for keeping the Empire safe whilst I was gone. I know it must have been hard, but it's clear to see I made the right choice allowing you to train with Celestia and Luna." Ruby nodded as Amore turned to the other heroes. "And thank you all. I was told how you helped protect my home from many dangers. You have my thanks."
"Of course," Twilight nodded back, "We're always happy to help. I'm just glad everything in the Empire is back to how it used to be a thousand years ago. Only now it's better."
Amore giggled at this before turning to the window, Ruby knowing what she was probably thinking. "You made the right choice with Sombra." Amore turned to her, "I'm sure he'll work hard to make up for everything that's happened. You were right to give him that choice."
"Yes, I think Sombra will come to enjoy his new life. And I'm sure that one day, he'll have earned the forgiveness of the Empire." Everypony was in agreement and Amore focused on Ruby, "Now, I hear you have a taken an apprentice." Ruby smiled at this, "I'd very much like to get to know him."
"Of course. And I'm sure you'll want to hear about many of the things that have happened in Equestria since you've been gone. We can discuss it all while we eat."
The Crystal Empire had its former leader back and could now truly put the past behind them. Now it could enter a new future without worry, and carve a new path for its citizens. But only time would tell what that path would entail.
Stats
Page generated in 0.02 seconds
Total duration
1,067 users online
1,658,914 hits today, 2,054,621 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Very good ending, maybe for most people it was to fast, but for me it doesn't need to be more longer. Good work as always.
Well, since this is the end of Sombra's story, I wonder who will take his place as main villain of Season 9 "The Beginning of the End" since not only he's not dead but it would undo all of his efforts if he went bad again?
Anyway, glad to know Sombra got good ending. (Let hope he will eventually gains trust from Crystal Empire again the same way Lightning gains trust from Ponyville)
Here's highlights
I imagine she would not like this at all!
First Aid: What about me?!
I hope she's right about this.
(Looking at "Grogar") No! Bad Discord! BAD!!! You ain't going to ruin an unicorn's life for your lesson for Twilight!
A karma (at least, he chose that karma on his own)
I thought it was a great chapter and really enjoyed it.
That was really nice. Looks like Sombra's story has come to an end. His goal of reviving Amore was a success, despite a few close calls, but he still has a long way to go to truly earn his redemption from the rest of the Empire. Between becoming a servant for the rest of his life, or spending the rest of his life locked in a cell, I definitely think Sombra made the right choice becoming a servant, since now he can work to earn forgiveness and redemption. Something tells me some of the Crystal Ponies might not make it easy on him though, but at least he'll have Ruby with him.
The earth golems were certainly a fun obstacle. Thank goodness they were willing to trade the last piece of Amore's statue for a substitute back-scratcher. It is also cool that Amore chose to become an advisor to Cadance instead of taking back her throne. I wonder what her and Sombra being in the Empire could do to change the events of the season premiere?
Nice reference to that game night short from RWBY Chibi.
That's hilarious! Though there are actually worse things it could have been used for.
Oh yeah, there is definitely still some romance lingering between these two.
Oh there's gotta be some symbolism to the last piece they were looking for being her heart. Or at least a joke of some kind somewhere in there.
That moment kind of makes me think of tears being used for powerful effects, like healing others. Maybe I'm just associating that with Steven Universe...
11409937
Yeah, it's quite the change isn't it? I have my own theory or two on who could potentially replace Sombra as the villain.
11410174
PM me of who you think going to replace Sombra. (Just curious to hear your theory)
Sweet ending to Sombra's quest, still feel a bit sorry for him for the 2 choices given at the end but at least it was the lesser of 2 evils!
Maybe he'll get a chance to prove himself coming S9 & speaking of which I wonder who'll take his role in the legion of doom, time-travel evil Flash maybe? (he's still unaccounted for
)
Also cool Quest for Camelot reference there with the earth golems, well played Banshee! (poor Amore though
)
For Highlights :
lol poor Springer's holding the bag in terms of boredom quencher!
Yay, jigsaw puzzle time!!!
Thank you for the Doom & Gloom sunbutt, glad Flash/Springer wave her off on it!
At least it wasn't the golem's butt!
Good chapter Banshee, till the next one!
Okay, whew, so, Cadance stays on the throne, Amore becomes an advisor, and Sombra's now an indentured servant. That works. Let's see how this affects the development of future stories.