Beyond My Years

by Pinktuxcat

Chapter 7

“So… it’s alright if I take a break from my lessons to visit the Crystal Empire?” My ears twitched as I struggled to keep them from flattening in worry.

“Sunshine, my dear, you aren’t taking a break, because you are still researching your unusual condition. You have my complete permission to spend time learning about the Crystal Empire and its ponies with your friends.”

“Thank you, Princess!” I dashed off to tell Dewy and Foamy the good news.

Unbeknownst to me, Princess Celestia had begun a letter to a pony very special to her.

“My dear Princess Mi Amore Cadenza,

I am allowing a student of mine and two of her friends to visit your Crystal Empire to learn about its history and its ponies. She is lost in herself but understands friendship more easily and fully than Twilight did before I sent her to Ponyville. Perhaps you could do me a favor and educate her on the purpose of the Crystal Heart as well as the history behind it? I would be ever in your favor, for I feel that Sunshine Daydream is every bit as capable of great magic as Twilight herself, and needs only to understand herself more to utilize it properly. Thank you, Cadance.

I hold thee forever close to my heart, Princess Celestia of the Sun”

Some time later my friends and I were on the train that would take us north to the Crystal Empire. As we crossed the border into the kingdom, we all felt a tingling sensation wash over our coats and manes.

“Woah, WHAT was THAT?” asked Dewy, inspecting her wingtips to make sure no harm had come to them.

“I have no idea, but it was definitely weird,” said Foamy, checking his hooves, stomping them on the train floor to try and shake the ‘fallen asleep’ feeling he’d gotten in his legs.

I myself began rubbing my horn, the tingling sensation feeling to me much like after-magic, when a unicorn emits more magic than what is typically used for an action, and the nerves beneath the horn react. It would be like lifting a sandwich with the magic force enough to lift a boulder. Not only would the sandwich skyrocket higher than intended but it would also explode from the sheer magical forces being placed on such a small surface area. Foals in magic training often have this problem, when trying to force a magical action while not having total control over their magic yet. When I first started at Celestia’s school, I blew up more than one apple on occasion.

Suddenly we had arrived. The train’s doors opened and we all eagerly leapt out. As soon as our hooves touched the Crystal Empire’s ground, a change occurred. An unseasonably warm for the north breeze washed over our coats and ruffled our manes, and when we looked at each other, we were shocked. Our coats and manes were shining like crystals and our manes were styled in ancient ways, trinkets adorning our manes and tails and for Dewy and I, our ears had been bejeweled each with a set of earrings.

“Does… does this always happen when somepony visits the Crystal Empire??” I wondered aloud.

“Not every time, but when it’s a pony’s first visit with pure intentions, it will.”

Before us stood a beautiful alicorn mare: Princess Cadance, ruler of the Crystal Empire. We bowed low before her.

“Ah, my little ponies! You must be Sunshine Daydream! Princess Celestia let me know of your arrival. She also mentioned your friends, but did not give me their names. So, if you don’t mind, would you care to introduce yourselves?”

“Not at all, Princess,” said Foamy. “I’m Foamy Shores, one of the Earth Ponies from the seaside settlements attempting to strengthen the bonds with the Sea Ponies.”

Dewy scoffed. “Sea Ponies? Good luck with that. Every time I swoop down over the ocean when I see one to say ‘hi’, they swim down and away from me! They’re unfriendly, and your settlement is never gonna be able to change that.”

Princess Cadance frowned slightly. “Sea Ponies are very friendly, however very shy and fearful of what lives above the surface. Perhaps you should not swoop down toward them like a predator. It scares them. Try sitting at the coastline until one approaches you, miss…”

“Dewdrop Prism, but everyone calls me Dewy. I’m from Cloudsdale. Color faction. And hey, maybe I’ll try that next time. They should know by now not to be afraid of Pegasi, though. When have we ever hurt Sea Ponies?”

“Well, actually, hundreds of years ago, Sea Ponies were thought to be mythical. So every time a Pegasus was out flying over the ocean, they would try to capture one to prove its existence. Sea Ponies probably just haven’t gotten over that instinctive fear.”

“Geez…” Dewdrop looked shocked at the thought of her ancestors literally hunting down other ponies.

“Yes, but that is not the history lesson you came here for. Sunshine, why don’t you explain to me your predicament? I assume it has something to do with your bare flank?”

“Well, it actually has everything to do with it. I can’t gain my cutie mark. I’ve tried every modern thing I’m capable of, and yet I still haven’t gotten my mark. Years ago, Princess Celestia suggested I look to the past to find my destiny, and I dismissed it once I started studying Starswirl the Bearded’s magical works. I thought perhaps magic was my destiny but it would seem that it isn’t helping much. These two are my friends now, but when we first met I had chosen them to be my assistants for my magical experiments.”

“I see. Well, come along, and let me tell you the history of the Crystal Empire. What do you know of it so far?”

“Ooh! I remember what they taught us in school just after the return of the evil King Sombra!” Dewy flew up into the air and hovered as she spoke.

“Our teacher said that King Sombra had a darkened heart and enslaved his entire kingdom to mine crystals in the underground caves. He put a protection spell on himself and the kingdom so that if he was ever attempted to be overthrown, everything would vanish in time and reappear later on to defeat Princess Celestia, and all the memories Equestria would disappear with the Empire. And it did vanish and reappear years later as though not a day went by. And he returned but was defeated by the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, and yourself, Princess.”

Dewy grinned at herself. She had actually done very well in school academically, despite Pegasi schools focusing on the body and not the mind.

“That is partially correct,” said Princess Cadance, “but you are missing vital pieces of information to the story. King Sombra wasn’t always evil. No pony is born with a darkened heart.”

We were near to the center of the main city at that point, the castle looming over us and just before us was a shining blue light, hovering between two crystal spikes.

“The Crystal Heart…” whispered Foamy, as though speaking the name would cause it to vanish.

“Indeed, my little pony. An artifact with a history as painful as it is beautiful. Let’s sit here on these benches and I will tell you the real, full history.”

We sat down, and as we did, Princess Cadance’s horn lit up in a light blue aura. “I’m going to actually show you the history, because it loses the same feel simply being repeated.”

A blue mist settled over my eyes, obscuring my vision for a moment, and then I saw the truth of the Empire for the first time.

“I hope you don’t mind if I narrate as you view the story. It helps if there are any questions.”

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King Sombra was not always evil. Nor was he always a king. Before he was King Sombra he was Prince Sombra, and before he was Prince Sombra, he was simply Sombra, the peasant outcast of Unicornia.

The unicorns of Unicornia were very snooty, and unkind to those they felt were ‘beneath’ them. They are the ancestors of the nobles and elite of Canterlot today. Sombra disagreed with the other unicorns because he was of a genuine and kind heart. So he left Unicornia and set out to discover a place where ponies could live in Harmony with each other and care for one another. This was before the time of Hearth’s Warming and before the founding of Equestria.

He traveled to other nations and lived with all for a time. In the south he lived with the Zebras, but though they were kind, they were afraid of his strange magic, which was unlike the herbal magics and natural healing magic all Zebras possess.

Eventually, he traveled north, where he discovered the Crystal Empire, though at the time it was not an empire, but merely a large city made of crystals mined from the caves beneath the city.

As he walked through the Crystal City, he noticed that none of the ponies seemed to be unicorns or pegasi, although they seemed more magical and delicate than simple Earth ponies. Except for one pony who WAS a Unicorn, the city’s heir to the throne, Princess Amethyst.

Sombra marveled at the beauty of the Crystal City and of its citizens, whose coats sparkled with the same intensity and luster as the very walls of the city itself. But most of all, he was enamored with Princess Amethyst, a regal Unicorn with a shining lavender coat, bright pink eyes, and a glittering mane of yellow, pink, and blue.

“My ponies,” she exclaimed, “Let the love and light within you shine, so that you may power the Crystal Heart and spread joy all across this place.”

At that moment, every Crystal Pony knelt and touched their forehead to the ground. Zigzagging lines of blue raced across the city into its center, where a blue heart carved from crystal began to spin.

Suddenly the light burst outward from the heart and washed over the city, all the way to the borders. Sombra felt a joy and peace he hadn’t in ages settle in his chest and mind. He was truly happy. He found what he was looking for in this crystal place: a home.

As the years went by, Sombra had the opportunity to introduce himself to the Princess and as he was the only other unicorn besides her residing in the city, she offered him the position of her personal royal guard. He accepted.

More years passed and Sombra was still happy. The subjects of the Crystal Kingdom, as he’d come to call it, treated him kindly. The princess even more so. It was apparent that over the years she had grown fond of Sombra. Through the prodding of a few of Sombra’s friends he admitted his feelings for Princess Amethyst and she admitted hers for him.

On the eve of their wedding, Princess Amethyst asked Sombra if he would soulbind with her. To Sombra’s puzzled look, she explained that if two or more ponies touch the Crystal Heart, their thoughts, fears, hopes, desires, and truest feelings will be open for the others to view and feel.

A soulbinding was complete only when the ponies truly understand each other’s hearts, minds, and souls, and the Fire of Friendship would appear around them. Sombra agreed, but it was to be his biggest downfall and worst regret.

Prince Sombra and Princess Amethyst were happy in ruling their kingdom in the two years to follow their soulbinding and wedding. Princess Amethyst became pregnant with their foal, and the whole kingdom rejoiced.

However, not every love story has a happy ending. Near the end of her pregnancy, Princess Amethyst became very sick. Though the cause of her sickness was never determined, it was apparent to all the best doctors of the kingdom that she would either live and the foal would not survive, or she could sacrifice herself and the foal would live on.

She decided on the latter out of love for the unborn foal.

Sombra was in despair. He had finally found his place of belonging, his home, his love, and now his foal, and now it was being ripped apart at the seams. He could not be consoled.

Four weeks after Princess Amethyst’s decision she started to go into labor. The doctors quickly removed the foal and tried desperately to keep Princess Amethyst alive but it was in vain, and she passed.

The Crystal Heart was not lit that day.

The foal survived, and it was a small unicorn filly, the spitting image of her mother, but pink. Sombra, even in his sorrow, loved the young filly and named her ‘Princess Mi Amore Cadenza’ because she was his love’s song and the heir to his throne.

Less than a year had passed and Sombra was not himself. He withdrew from his subjects and was irritable at best when around them. Servants now fully cared for his daughter.

Sombra’s heart had been torn in two. There was only one thing he could do to rid himself of the despair and sorrow he felt. He went to the Crystal Heart and reversed the soulbinding.

As the spell took all the love for Princess Amethyst from his heart, he had an idea. Why stop at just his love for her? Every time he saw his young daughter he was reminded of Princess Amethyst. He amplified his spell and the Crystal Heart removed the love he had for his daughter too.

Sombra loved his subjects and cared for them, but he didn’t want to any longer. He amplified the spell once more and with that, the Crystal Heart removed all the love from his heart.

There was nothing but emptiness and hatred left in the shell that had once been Prince Sombra, the kind unicorn ruler who loved and wanted to be loved and live in Harmony with everypony. The hatred changed him, molded him into something awful, and he became a pony everypony feared.

He demanded the subjects call him ‘King Sombra’. He sent his daughter away to Unicornia so that he did not have to see her again. He forced hard labor in the mines on everypony. He did not care. He did not love. He only hated.

Gradually the world changed in the couple decades to follow and when Princess Celestia and Princess Luna rose to power after the bonding of the three nations, they discovered the Crystal Ponies in the north and tried to reason with King Sombra. But there was no love in him. He had hidden away the Crystal heart and destroyed all that was good in the kingdom.

Just before the kingdom disappeared from Sombra’s curse, a message was sent to Celestia. ‘Princess Mi Amore Cadenza is furthermore in your care until my inevitable return. And I WILL return. Sombra.’

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The blue haze lifted from my eyes.

“Wow,” was all I could think. We all sat there, silent, staring at the glowing Crystal Heart that caused so much pain, yet spread so much love across Equestria.

“And now you know the truth,” said Princess Cadance, sadly.

Author's Note:

I wanted to explore King Sombra's untold backstory and thought this was a good way to do it. It also ties in why Cadance is the ruler of the Crystal Empire but didn't disappear with the other ponies. You can make up your own story of how she discovered who she was and ascended as an alicorn before the Empire even reappeared.

Comments

[applesparkle]

That was incredible!!!!!!