The tale of the war between Equestria and the Crystal Empire (based off the alternate timeline in the season 5 finale)
Rainbow Dash's rainboom never happened, so the elements of harmony were never found... and their holders never met. Without the elements of harmony to protect Equestria, a battle against a powerful foe was inevitable. With King Sombra's return, he enslaved his subjects and turned them into his own soldiers. With an army to back him up, Sombra declared war against Equestria. Now, every pony must pitch in to help the cause, and give it all they got to defeat Sombra before all of Equestria falls under his evil reign.
Celestia sat upon her throne, light shining through the stained glass windows that lined the throne room walls. All was still except for the constant flow of her mane. Her eyes slowly closed to take a breath in and then slowly exhaled. It was quiet, as usual. She could make casual small talk with the guards who stood beside her throne, but it wasn’t always enough. In fact, she was tired… Celestia should be proud though. By herself she managed to send her corrupted sister back to the moon, trap Discord once again inside a concrete shell, and ward off Queen Chrysalis and her changeling minions. Then why did she feel so empty? Like something was missing in her… or Equestria. This feeling would come to her so often that she assumed it was just normal now. She knew she needed to keep strong, for her subjects. They needed her so desperately when times were hard. Any force that threatened them it was her duty to protect and fend off anything that would put the peace of her kingdom in danger. She only wished she didn’t have to do it alone… She was thankful that at least she still had her adopted niece by her side. Cadence would be such a big help, visiting her, assisting her, and even traveling Equestria to look over many of the ponies. Cadence was all she had left of family...
Suddenly, a tingle shot up her wings followed by chills up her spine. She felt it, a disturbance somewhere in land. Her ears perked and her body tensed. She lifted up a hoof to wipe her brow...there was sweat. A guard took notice of the Princess’s strange behavior and turned to her.
“Your highness? Is something troubling you?”
Celestia snapped back to reality and looked around. She could still feel it...tremors and trembles all around. She stood and slowly got down from her throne. The two guards were now very confused but followed slowly behind their princess. Approaching one of the plain windows in the room, she stopped and looked out. She started to feel another force… a much closer one now. Hoof steps were approaching at a rapid pace and that was when Cadence burst through the giant doors.
“Celestia!”
She called out, but stopped when she saw the state of her aunt. She knew then for sure something wasn’t right. Celestia’s wide eyes met Cadence’s and she nodded her head. Cadence slowly came to stand next to Celestia and she too now looked out the window.
“You felt it too…?”
“Yes, auntie. It’s definitely something big.”
Celestia’s eyes focused over the horizon. She thought she could see something… something red. It was only a haze, but noticeable enough for her to see. She lowered herself to Cadence’s height and pointed a wing in the direction of the haze. Cadence squinted her eyes until she finally spotted what Celestia had.
“What is it?”
She asked quietly, feeling the nervous creeps all up her body again.
“I’m not sure… but I have a bad feeling.”
Suddenly the doors burst open again and a guard galloped inside. He was breathing heavily, his eyes full of fear. Approaching Celestia he bowed and tried to catch his breath.
“Your highness…”
Celestia turned to him, knowing exactly what the news was going to be about.
“We just got word from our Northern Equestrian centries. The Crystal Empire… has returned.”
He announced, then his eyes shifted to the marble floor below.
“I fear that this is not the only news you have to give me?”
Celestia asked, readying herself for what would come next. The guard took a breath in and looked into his princess’s eyes.
“It has also brought King Sombra back along with it.”
Celestia could feel her heart drop, but she didn’t let it show. Cadence however began to shake and she looked up at Celestia with worry. Celestia brought a wing down to wrap it around her fearful niece and gave her a soft look. Turning back toward the guard, her gaze stiffened; ready to take charge.
“Here’s what we’ll do. Send our best squadron out to meet Sombra. We will try and negotiate with him. I’ve fought Sombra- I mean, me and Luna did. It wasn’t easy, he attempted to turn the subjects of the Crystal Empire against us and use them as his soldiers. But now...Luna is gone, and I’m out of touch with the Elements of Harmony. If he were to attack again, it would not be easy to defeat him. I know he’s after the Crystal Empire, but we need to make a compromise.”
Her horn began to glow and she summoned a blank scroll in front of her. Levitating a pen, she began to write her requests and orders down.
“Here’s what we’ll do : I will send a squadron of my best soldiers, but we will not attack. We will offer Sombra full control of the Crystal Empire. If he agrees, he is to not set hoof in Equestria. In return, we will open up our trade to him.”
She wrote down her signature on the scroll and rolled it up. She handed it down to the guard and placed it in his hoof. Cadence had a look of worry and stared up at her aunt.
“You mean, you’d just give up the empire? All those ponies who live there… they’d never feel love again.”
Celestia closed her eyes, it hurt to hear her niece sounding so disappointed in her.
“I’m sorry, Cadence. But I cannot lose Equestria. Sombra isn’t like the other foes we’ve battled. His magic is dark and evil. Even me and Luna struggled to defeat him, in the end all we could do was trap him in the Arctic North…”
Cadence still felt there could be another way to save the ponies. But… if Celestia believed they couldn’t do it, then it must be dangerous. She wasn’t alive during the time of Sombra’s reign, so she had no idea what power he held.
“But Celestia, if he chooses to refuse the compromise?”
Celestia looked down at her niece. She could see the fear in the princess’s eyes. A look she never wanted to see… because they both knew what would happen if Sombra didn’t agree to their terms. Celestia held herself high, she would not look weak. Looking to the guard in the room she took a breath in and opened her mouth to speak.
“Tell Sombra : if he refuses our demands. Then Equestria will declare war on the Crystal Empire.”
Miles away, lays the Crystal Empire. The once bright and colorful land was now tinted black and red. A castle that was once ruled with love was now ruled with evil. Up above lay a red sky, the clouds were all a ghostly red hue. Under it marched it’s subject’s, their hooves chained knee to knee. Up on a lookout from the tower, a dark figured appeared. Behind him a purple and green fire formed wherever he stepped. His red eyes scanned the empire he had once again conquered and he let out a maniacal laugh.
“I’ve waited thousands of years for this moment to come. And now thanks to the curse I put upon the empire, it has returned weak and fragile. Enough for me to finally take claim over it once more!”
He gazed down at the ponies in chains and he grinned.
“With no love or hope, they didn’t stand a chance. Now I’m King! The Crystal Empire is mine!”
His laugh echoed through the land, and any pony who heard it would surely be filled with fear. Sombra sat down and admired his work; and himself of course. He was filling up with so much power thanks to the empire, almost all of his magic was returning. Which means he would become the most powerful being in the land. So… what was stopping him from conquering all? Oh that’s right… Celestia and Luna would. He growled at the remembrance of his defeat. How could he have been such a fool and let those two princesses beat him? Well, this time he would not let that happen again. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted something. In the distance he spotted troops marching his way, Equestrian troops. He chuckled to himself and his horn began to glow.
“Looks like I won’t be getting a warm welcome.”
Levitating himself, he used his magic to transform himself into a shadow and creep down toward the guards. The troops stopped at the Empire’s gates and awaited for whatever would come. In the blink of an eye Sombra appeared before them, fire encircling himself where he stood. The troops readied their weapons but the commanding officer ordered them to put their weapons down. The white colt slowly approached Sombra, his chest held high to try and seem unphased by the evil king that stood before him.
“My name is Shining Armor. Captain of the Royal Guard. I come with word from our princess, Princess Celestia.”
Sombra raised a brow.
“Oh? Only Celestia? What about her sister. I’m surprised she isn’t joining you this fine evening.”
“Princess Luna is no longer with us.”
Shining Armor told him as he began to remove the scroll from his pouch. Meanwhile, Sombra’s expression changed slightly but he kept still.
“Oh… that’s a shame to hear.”
Shining Armor unraveled the scroll and levitated it towards Sombra.
“These are her requests and demands. If you are to meet them, then there will be no trouble between our lands.”
Sombra took the scroll and began to read over it. The guards all stiffened, awaiting the response from the dark king. Shining Armor stood his ground, keeping a steady breath to try and calm himself down.
There was a chuckle. Then that chuckle turned into a laugh. Then it turned into bursts of laughter. The guard’s eyes shifted from one another as the evil unicorn let out his deep, bellowing, laugh. He finally was able to catch his breath and he rolled up the scroll. He began to slowly levitate it towards Shining.
“Ah, yes. You can tell Celestia that I agree...”
Shining began to levitate the scroll and looked up at Sombra with a glimmer of hope.
“I agree that… you all have no choice but to declare war against me.”
He answered in a deep, bone rattling voice. His horn glew and the scroll burst into flames. The guards began to yell in shock and disbelief. Shining Armor unsheathed his sword and poised it at Sombra.
“You will regret this Sombra…you'll regret ever challenging Equestria with war!”
Sombra grinned a sharp, toothy, smile. This was his chance. Celestia was alone, so she must be weakened. His horn glowed bright red as the ground beneath them began to tremble. Shining’s head darted back and forth, trying to figure out what was going on. Sombra approached him, and looked him dead in the eye.
“No. It is you who will regret ever challenging me, Equestrian.”
Suddenly from the ground shot giant crystals, many of which impaled the troops standing above them. Shining’s eyes widened as he watched the squadron being flung into the air or stabbed by the crystals. Dead bodies fell to the ground below while others twitched violently upon the tips of the jagged rocks. The troops still alive were furious and had their weapons out and ready to fight. Shining Armor turned back to Sombra, breathing heavily with rage.
“For Equestria, we fight!”
He yelled, before charging head first at Sombra followed by the shouts of the small number of troops left behind him. There was no going back : the war had begun.
Celestia paced back and forth, impatiently waiting at the castle doors. She didn't know what to expect when those doors would open. She had been waiting for so long that she had to finally lower the sun to give way to the night. There had been nothing so far… she was beginning to fear the worst. Cadence was there with her, she had a team of medics standing by in case any of the troops had been attacked. Then she heard it, hoof steps approaching. She heard voices outside the door yelling,
"Make room, he's in critical condition! Let us pass!"
Quickly, she opened the doors with her magic and two of her guards came running in. On both their backs was the body of Shining Armor, covered his cuts and wounds that still bled. Celestia was horrified at the sight before her, how could she let this happen…? Cadence and her team quickly rushed over with a mat that she let the guards lay down the injured Shining Armor on. He was limp, his eyes closed. Cadence sat down next to him while her team readied their medical supplies. With everything now out and organized she turned her attention to Shining.
"Hello! Solider, please wake up…"
A nurse placed a wet rag over his forehead and the rest of the nurses stepped back. There was nothing. Cadence set an ear against his chest and listened. Bump….bump…She let out a sigh of relief, he was alive. Suddenly he coughed and his body began to struggle immediately. Cadence set a hoof on his chest to keep him still.
"Shhh, hey soldier it's alright. You're back in Canterlot now."
Shining's eyes slowly opened, and he was met with the lilac colored eyes of Cadence. He finally calmed down but was awe struck. She was the most beautiful mare he'd ever seen…
"I'm…Shining Armor."
She didn't know why, but him introducing himself made her smile. So, this was the Captain of the Royal Guard?
"I'm Princess Cadence, I don't think we've met properly."
Shining's eyes widened a bit. He'd never met Princess Cadence before since most his orders were always given by Celestia. Now that he had, he couldn't take his eyes off her. He bet he looked liked hell too.
Celestia approached the two of them now and Cadence got out of her way. She and the nurses began to take out gauze wraps to tend to Shining's wounds. Celestia almost couldn't bear the site of her commanding officer. He was beaten up so badly she was surprised he made it out alive.
"Shining Armor, I know that you've gone through an experience unimaginable. But I must request that you inform me of what happened with Sombra."
Shining finally looked away from Cadence and at Celestia. Memories of the battle were coming back to him and he sighed. He lifted his head and cringed at a gash that burned on the back of his neck. Cadence quickly moved the wet rag to the back of his neck and it relieved some of the pain. Taking a deep breath he began to recall exactly what happened.
"When we got there Sombra came down to meet us. He was calm at first and read your scroll. Then he burned it and attack us. He used his magic to summon sharp crystals from the ground. Half the squadron was killed; just like that. Sombra quickly deflected me and killed off all of the soldiers on his own. I thought it was over for me too… then he told me tell you that, "he wouldn't stop until every soldier was dead, and all of Equestria was his to rule." Then he just let me go. I guess he wanted somepony to give you the news, I was just lucky enough to be the one."
Shining hated being the only pony left alive while all his soldiers, all his friends were dead. It wasn't fair… some Captain of the Royal Guard he was.
"Thank you Shining Armor. I'm very sorry that you had to go through that."
"It's alright Celestia. I knew what I was getting myself into when I became Captain of the Royal Guard and the troops knew it too. They all fought hard for Equestria, they died with honor."
"And they will all be remembered," she turned to her guards," tonight we will hold a ceremony for the soldiers who have died in battle. Inform all their families immediately."
Her guards bowed their heads and left through the castle doors. She glanced down at Shining who gave a nod of approval before resting his head back down.
"I also require that this ceremony be broadcasted. For tonight I will have to also announce the declaration of war."
The words held heavy on her tongue and tasted bitter. She didn't want it to come to this, but she was not going to give up Equestria so easily. She knew as their princess what she had to do.
"Shining Armor, I'd hate to ask of you this in your current state. But would you be willing to attend the ceremony and speak to the ponies?"
Shining looked over himself and set his hooves on the ground. He struggled to stand, the pain was almost unbearable. Cadence came to his side and helped lift him up though, and he smiled. Now on all his hooves, he looked up at Celestia with great respect.
"Of course, your highness. Everypony deserves to know what has happened today."
Celestia nodded and beckoned him to follow her. Shining glanced over at Cadence who rested a wing across his back. He was thankful she was so willing to help him; now together they followed behind Celestia.
"Come then, we must discuss what we will be said at this ceremony. Because all that happens today and tonight… will forever be remembered in the history of Equestria."
Upon the steps of the castle were the photographs of the soldiers who had passed. Ponies from all around were gathered there to mourn. Candles and flowers were placed gently around the memorial sites by the families and loved ones of the deceased ponies. All around sobs could be heard and soft whispers that said "it's going to be ok…"
Celestia stood at the top of the steps, greeting every pony who came up to her. For each pony she thanked and apologized. She thanked them for coming, thanked them for being strong, and thanked them for letting the pony they had come to mourn be apart of the royal guard. She also apologized, for their loss, their heartbreak, and reassured them that their loved one would not be forgotten. Soon all the ponies had gathered in one large crowd; Celestia took this opportunity to began the ceremonial speech. She nodded to Cadence, who was standing next to Shining Armor, to begin the broadcast. Cadence unfolded her wings and lifted herself into the sky. At the sight of Cadence above them, the ponies began to quiet down and shush each other.
"Attention ponies. Celestia will now give you all a ceremonial speech. What will be said is very important, so I ask we all give our full attention to her. Thank you, and may your loved ones rest in peace."
With that said, Cadence turned to Celestia and her horn began to glow. A beam of light shot from her horn and was now shining down on Celestia. This spell began to emit a signal that could be picked up only by guards who possessed magic. All across Equestria were unicorn guards who cast a spell that brought up a movie like screen. On it was the ceremony, now being broadcasted live for all around them to hear. Seeing that the broadcast was now live, Celestia took a deep breath in before beginning her speech.
"My loyal subjects, my friends, my family. We're all gathered hear tonight because of a great tragedy. The pictures you see below me are pictures of the soldiers who have lost their lives today. Now, I know you're all wondering how they lost their lives, and I regret to inform you the news is indeed frightening to hear."
She paused to look at the ponies's concerned faces, all waiting to hear what had murdered their loved ones.
"Thousands of years ago, a place called the Crystal Empire used to exist. It was a place of crystal ponies whose magic was based on the power of love that powered a crystal heart. But the empire was taken over by an evil unicorn known as King Sombra. He turned their empire into a place of fear and hate. With Luna and I's powers combined, we were both able to stop him before real damage could be done. However, he set a curse upon the empire that caused it to vanish into thin air. Only till now has it returned… but it's brought King Sombra along with it."
She paused again to let the ponies take in what they were hearing. Many of them began to discuss, but Celestia needed to carry on.
"Today, I sent out a squadron to try and reason with Sombra. Sadly, he didn't agree to my terms and now the only pony left from the battle is my Captain of the Royal Guard, Shining Armor."
Hearing his cue, Shining limped up next to Celestia and presented himself to the crowd. Many gasped at the many scars and bandages covering his body. Celestia nodded down to him and he stepped forward to speak.
"Citizens of Equestria, my name is Shining Armor, and I was the pony who led the squadron to confront Sombra. As their Captain, as their friend, my heart aches for their losses. They were some of the best troops I've never known. They all fought till their last breath, for Equestria, for your safety. They will not be forgotten, that is why we are dedicating a wing of the castle as a memorial in their honor. The names and photos of all who have died in battle will be put up upon the walls. This wing will be open to anypony who wishes to view it, so that future generations may know of their brave sacrifices."
The sound of hooves clapping filled the area and ponies of the crowd cheered loudly. Shining was brought to tears from his speech and stepped back to stand next to Celestia again.
Celestia leaned towards him and smiled, whispering, "You did great."
Shining brought a hoof up to wipe his eyes and nodded. Celestia now stepped forward, waiting for the crowd to die down before she could continue. She knew this would be the most important part of the speech to deliver.
"What Sombra did today was unforgivable, and intolerable. He has… declared war on Equestria."
Gasps and shouts erupted from the crowd in shock at the news. Celestia raised a hoof to silence them and lowered it back down.
"My subjects, I cannot replace what Sombra has taken from you all today. Your family, your friends. But, I can promise you that they will not die in vain. King Sombra should've thought twice before challenging our strength. Because we are Equestria and we've been through hell and back. When there is a threat we stand and fight because this is our home! We worked for it, built it, and have created a land of peace and harmony. We haven't come this far to let a being of pure evil take over a land formed by love and friendship."
The ponies in the crowd were starting to perk up, fear was now being replaced by hope and inspiration. Cadence looked down at her aunt with pride; it was no wonder she looked up to her so much. Celestia had her way with words, and could inspire an entire world if she wanted to. Celestia stood tall, her wings outspread and eyes glowing to present her power.
"We are Equestria, and together we posses enough power to defeat any evil. This is why I've decided to go to war with King Sombra. We will show him what we all can do together. We will take back the Crystal Empire, and we will protect Equestria!"
The crowd burst into a flurry of cheers, their princess's speech had done it's job. Ponies across Equestria of all kinds were inspired. Some were even brought to tears by her words. Celestia lowered her wings and her eyes returned to normal. Yes…she did believe they could do it.
"Now, if we all follow along with my plans and orders, we should have everything to win this war. I'm calling out for a wide scale request to help the cause. Every pony must play their part to be successful. Orders and commands will be sent out by mail, and we are currently accepting any pony who's above the age of 18 to enlist in our army. As for your children, I've organized a group of my soldiers to build camps near every city and town. In these camps we'll provide food, shelter, education, and protection for your young. The times ahead of won't be easy, but as long as we work together, we can win this fight."
Ponies began to mumble to each other once again, discussing what would become of Equestria during the war. No pony knew for sure, but they did know they had a chance.
"Thank you all, for meeting with me here today. And to those tuning in, my guards will answer any questions you may have. I wish you the best of luck Equestria, and may this war end quickly."
With those last words, the speech and broadcast was over… and the war was officially underway.
