> King Sombra's Lineage > by Crystal Jade > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter 1: Snow, Always Snow > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Snow. Snow is... Simple. Snow is quiet, calming, and serene. Snow covers everything giving the world around me a blanket of muted color and darkness. Snow is my escape from everything, snow is my home. I can almost hear you questioning me about all of this snow talk. Well, snow has always been there. It is what I know, always snow, always crystals. My life has been filled with snow and storms as long as I can remember. Always snow, always storms. Again I know what you are thinking, "Who is this crazy mare?! She only knows storms? Ha! What a freak." Maybe I am a freak. I have always felt different, I am an outcast, and I am repeatedly looked at with fearful eyes. Honestly, I do not even know what I am. I look like any old pony, but I know my heritage and that heritage is not one you would normally mix. This is why I concentrate on snow. Always snow. Snow is always the same and is never judgmental. Snow is not afraid of who I am or who I will become. Snow does not care who my parents were. Always snow, always crystals. I guess you want to know about me, that's the point of a journal right? Well my beginning was forged in crystals. I am sure it will end in crystals as well. I have always had a pull towards crystals and sometimes I almost feel maddened because of them. Snow helps me concentrate, as I've said, snow is always there. My mother always loved snow. The shimmer of her jade coat would always sparkle against it. Her mane and tail the color of it, and eyes, eyes of violet crystal. Well, so I've heard. My mother died giving me life so all I have are stories and my looks. I am told I take after her figure and in that I gained Father's madness. For years I have been wandering around the kingdom enjoying the snow and the storms to control the madness inside, to make sense of it all. Until they came.... Them, the friendship ponies. HA. What an absurd outlook on life. I was never taught of friendship. It is kind of hard to learn if no one wants to step near you, but I never really minded. I always had snow and crystals. These friendship ponies, THEY TOOK IT AWAY. My snow is gone, and with it the last request of my mother and the only pony I could ever talk to..... Father. I use the word talk loosely here. Father wasn't one to really hold a conversation with. It was always business with him. Crystal Empire this, Crystal Empire that. Mostly I would just observe him when I wasn't out wandering the snowy wilderness. He always muttered a lot. Always crystals. I guess he truly is the reason I have my own crystal obsession, although I do not believe it goes as deep as his. Father was obsessed with crystals. They were his source of power, his very reason to live. I feel like my want is more mild. I do not need the crystals, but they are apart of my life. When I could get my father talking it was always about Mother. Mother was a crystal pony, one of the few who actually believed father was helping the empire move towards a greater purpose. She thought her fellow pony kind were insignificant and lazy. When Father came along she was nothing but ecstatic. Finally a pony who understood her, a pony of immense power. Mother, being weak for her age, craved somepony like Father. Some would say she was diseased, although no one could figure out what plagued her. She wanted the power that father possessed, although I do not believe she knew the cost would be her own life. Father loved my mother, and in that love I was created. Unfortunately that creation destroyed her. I guess you would say I am a bit bitter about the subject. I hear so much of my mother, I just wish I could have known her. I wish she were here to help me with the madness. Well, that is enough of the past, I must discuss what happen with the friendship ponies. The day before the friendship ponies came and banished Father was the first day he had actually talked to me about something other than my mother. He told me how I was reaching an age where I would need to learn my duties. As princess of the Crystal Empire, I would be taking his position when he left this world. He showed me his most sacred possession: his mirror. This mirror was the reason he succeeded when ponies denied him. Father did not tolerate those who would not bend to his will, and to your surprise I'm sure, we actually had a lot of crystal ponies who were on our side. However, there were still groups that refused, and he used this weapon mercilessly. The control of the crystal ponies relied on his power and his mirror. He talked about how I would one day weild these weapons and how I needed to control the crystals and ponykind. With the power that my father possessed, I do not see how he was undermined by these friendship ponies. Luckily I was not banished with him. I had taken a trip out of the empire to be with my only comfort, snow. I needed to process what Father had shown me. I saw the transformation from afar, the storm that always comforted me was suddenly gone, the snow melted around the empire. I could not believe my eyes. What was happening!? Where was Father? I had to find out what was happening to my home, what was happening to the snow. I made my way back towards the castle and that was when I saw them. The friendship ponies. I had heard stories of them from Father. They used the "power" of friendship and had been terrorizing Equestria. I guess they decided to descend on Father as well. Oh how joyed they were, it was disgusting. Father was nowhere in sight. Somehow I knew he had been destroyed in some shape or form, the crystals gave that away. I ran back to the forest and the snow as fast as I could. I could not be trapped or ensnared by these friendship ponies. I was the only other that knew of Father's mirror. I was the only one that could gain back his empire, if not save him as well.