The Crystal Knight

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The blustering northern wind blew fiercely through the air, causing almost anything it touched to become frozen where it stood. Nothing but pure white snow could be seen in almost every direction one looked, say one.

There in the middle of the frozen wastelands, stood a single city. Within it, almost every single building was made of shining crystals, which should have been a beautiful, sparkling sight. However, the once brilliantly colored crystal city had been tainted, its appearance now that of a giant, ash gray shadow. The city was also surrounded by large dark, pitch-black spiked crystals, creating a barricade that could stop almost any attempt to enter on hoof.

This was the Crystal Empire, and it was under siege.

Several miles away on a hill that allowed one to see the whole city, two ponies were standing together, side by side as they glared at the empire before them. They were the two alicorn princesses, Celestia and Luna, who had been leading their army in the siege of the once beautiful city. Behind them was an entire army encampment, where their solders were currently resting and recuperating from their long day of battle. They had just fought a battle of almost unending consequences, as hundreds upon hundreds of soldiers had thrown themselves against the dark being that had taken over the city. But even with all that, they were still no closer to bringing this war to an end.

Luna glared at the city, focusing her gaze at the tallest tower of crystal castle that stood in the center of the city. "That blasted coward, hiding away while his slaves risk everything to keep him safe." She turned her head to her older sister, "Sister, we must attack now! We need to take that snake's head before its too late!"

Celestia nodded in agreement, only to then put her hoof in front of her little sister. "Luna, we can't advance our ground troops any further, and we have already lost too many of our pegasi to try an aerial assault. Our only option is for us to attack and deal the finishing blow before he can react."

"And how do you suppose we accomplish this?!" Luna asked her sister with a raised eyebrow. "He'll spot us coming from a mile away, and when he does, who knows what desperate last ditch attempt to stop us he'll make. That's the only reason why we haven't taken his head right now!"

Celestia frowned hearing this, knowing she was right. She let out a long sigh, shaking her head in frustration. "Luna, I understand your frustration and I agree but...we can't do that and you know it. We need some form of distraction. Something to keep him occupied long enough for us to attack, but we have both agreed that we don't know how or who would-"

"Me!"

The two royal sisters spun around. There, they saw a unicorn mare walking up towards them. This unicorn was different from the others in the army. Her coat was a bright blush red, while her mane and tail were dark scarlet and her eyes were ruby red. What set her apart from the others though, was the crystalline shine her coat and mane had. Around her neck was a red metal necklace, with a snowflake shaped ruby attached to it. On her flank was the image of a silver shield with a crystal rose on it. Celestia and Luna watched as the unicorn reached the top of the hill and stared at the place that had once been her home until it was stolen and corrupted by evil.

Celestia quickly shook her head. "Ruby, you can't be serious. You know I can't ask that of you."

Ruby gave her a small smirk. "You didn't ask me, I volunteered. Besides, I'm the only one who stands any chance of getting to him and keeping him busy." She crossed her hooves while her eyebrows hopped up and down. "Its our only chance."

Luna stepped forward, glaring at the unicorn before her. "Ruby, you will not do this. You do realize that this would put you in more danger than anypony else. If the plan fails, there may be no way of getting you out again. You'd be his prisoner."

Ruby sighed before turning back to the city. "I know, but I must do this. Princess Amore entrusted me with the protection of the Empire, so no matter what it takes, I must honor that trust." Her eyes then narrowed in anger. "Besides...he's had this coming for a long time." She turned back to the royal sisters. "I'm going, whether you grant me permission or not."

The alicorns glanced at each other, not liking the look they saw in her eyes, but knew she was right in being the only one who could get in there. They had no choice.

But Luna wasn't ready for it. Instead, she slammed her hoof down in front of Ruby, a blast of air coming out of her nostrils. "No Ruby, I won't let you do this. As your friend, I will not-"

Ruby just shook her head, smirking as she quickly hopped up and grabbed Luna into a hug. "Stop it Luna." she said as she tightened the hug. Luna wanted to resist, but soon returned the embrace anyways while Celestia smiled at the sight. The Sun Princess knew how close the two were, both of them becoming good friends over the past few years. After a few more seconds, Ruby ended the hug and glared at Luna straight in the eyes. "Listen, I'm going and that's final. You can't stop me."

"But Ruby, I-"

Ruby put her hoof over Luna's mouth, "Stop. I'm going in there because its my duty and you can't stop me. I am a citizen and knight of the Crystal Empire, and I will go in there and save the ones I have sworn to protect." Ruby removed her hoof and let out a long sigh. She then gave Luna a pleading expression as she continued, "Listen, let me go in there and distract him just long enough so you two can save the empire, okay? I promise I will succeed, and after that..." Ruby slung her hoof around Luna's shoulder, showing a slight smirk at the alicorn, "We'll go out for drinks like we promised earlier. Deal?"

Luna looked at the pony with a large frown, gulping slightly. She shook her head as she tried to reply, "Ruby, you don't have to-"

Celestia patted her sister's shoulder with her wing. "Luna, let her go."

Luna turned to her with expectant eyes, "But sister-"

"It'll be fine." Celestia interrupted, "Ruby is the best candidate for this and you know it."

"I..." Luna tried to say, her eyes shifting between Celestia and Ruby. As she looked at their faces, she could see that there was no choice. Both had made their decision. Seeing this, Luna let out a long sigh, her head now staring at the ground. "Very well."

Ruby gave her another hug, making it almost tighter than the last. "It'll be okay Luna. I'll make it back, I promise." she whispered to her, patting her back.

"Okay." Luna muttered as the hug ended.

As it did, Celestia glared at Ruby, leaning down at the crystal pony. "As I just said to Luna, I approve of this mission. However, you must remember that this mission is about freeing the empire. Do not allow your anger to cloud your judgement. Revenge is not your objective."

Ruby sighed, nodding. "I understand. I won't let that sway me, I promise." With that, she turned to the city before them, quickly glancing back as she readied herself to hop off the hill. "Give me an hour before starting the attack. That should be enough time."

As she said that, she hopped off the hill, rushing off before they could reply.

The empire was protected by what could only be called a dark crystal spike wall. It was fifteen meters high, and unscalable by basic hooves. It was as if it was made for wings to pass over the wall, making you an easy target if you flew over.

Luckily, there were other means of which Ruby could gain entry. She closed her eyes as her horn started glowing, along with the ruby on her necklace. As the gem glowed, several ruby colored crystals appeared before her and began to grow, taking shape. In no time at all, a pickaxe made entirely out of crystal was floating in front of her.

"Welp, here we go..." she said to herself as she took the weapon in her magic, starting her crusade through the crystal wall. As she did this, the dark crystal wall began to crumble as if it was nothing. The crystals that made the wall might have been strong, but not as strong as the crystals she could make. In almost no time at all, the crystal wall had a sizeable hole running through it, just big enough for her to squeeze through. Once past the wall, she used her magic to repair the hole so nopony would notice and sound an alarm.

Now inside the city confines, the crystal unicorn glanced at the castle in the middle of the city. Here, she saw the guards slowly patrolling around the city, causing her to quickly hopped into a building's shadow. With this, she slowly made her way towards the castle, as she found that the guards were not that attentive, though she could tell that the guards were just slaves, so motivation wasn't something they had. She moved with stealth and silence of a ninja, keeping out of sight until finally she found herself in the forecourt that once held the mighty Crystal Heart. Ruby's heart tightened when she saw the empty spot that once held the Empire's most important relic, but she knew that if she ever wanted to see it back in its rightful place, she had to succeed in her task.

Entering the castle soon after, the unicorn quickly crept along the crystal corridors inside, the building surprisingly short-staffed. It seemed that just about everypony else was outside, giving Ruby a great advantage. Staying out of sight, she slowly made her way to the throne room, creaking the doors open when she found the giant double doors.

As she stepped into the throne room and looked around, her glum expression increased. The throne was no longer the shining crystal chair that it once was. Instead, there were nothing but dark black crystals everywhere in the room, the carpets in the room dark purple and gray. She stuck out her tongue in disgust as she looked at the throne, which was nothing but a bunch of dark crystals shaped into a seat.

Despite this, she wasn't looking around to be disgusted about the room. Instead, she was looking for him. "Where are you?" she asked herself as she looked back at the throne. There, a small memory appeared in her head, one where she was bowing before the once ruler of the empire, the pony she vowed to be loyal to. Her heart tightened at the sight, guilt in voice. "Oh, your majesty....I'm so sorry."

"You should be."

Her eyes went wide before changing into a glare as she slowly turned towards the voice, spotting its owner stepping out of the shadows. He was a dark gray unicorn with a black mane and tail, a set of metal armor around his chest, neck and hooves. He had a blood red cape on his back and wore a metal crown-like head ornament. His horn was red and curved, while his eyes were a combo of red and green.

"Sombra," Ruby whispered with venom in her voice.

Sombra however, just chuckled as he trotted into the room, getting closer and closer to the mare. "Ruby Scarlet. To what do I owe the pleasure of being in the company of the Crystal Knight? Come to congratulate an old friend in his moment of victory?"

Ruby's glare intensified, air blasting out of her nostrils. "You lost the right to call me a friend a long time ago Sombra." Her horn and necklace began to glow, a crystal shaped sword soon appearing. She took it in her magic and pointed it at Sombra. "I am here to finally put an end to your evil and make you pay for what you did!"

Sombra however, showed no signs of intimidation at the blade pointing at him. In fact, he laughed at the sight before him as he shined a small grin. "Very well." His horn began to glow, conjuring a black cloud from the shadows in the room. The smoke soon took shape, revealing a long black scythe-like weapon with a large red blade that's end was shaped like an axe blade. He took the weapon in his magic, and swung it around his body before pointing it at Ruby, "Let us finally put an end to our story."

Ruby spun her sword in the air, her body taking an offensive stance. Her glare hardened as she yelled, "Tonight a story shall end...YOURS!" She shot forward and swung her blade, only for Sombra to quickly spin his scythe's staff, blocking the sword in single 'clang'. Grabbing his weapon in his hooves, he quickly twisted the scythe around, the blade's end swiping towards the knight. Seeing this, Ruby ducked as the blade barely missed her head, making her roll away as Sombra spun the scythe back into position. As he did, Ruby hopped back onto her hooves, her sword now spinning around her body.

Sombra smirked at seeing her skills. "Impressive, but I'm not the weak little colt you had to protect from bullies anymore. Now I have more power than you can possibly imagine." He leaned slightly back, gesturing his hooves into a 'come on' stance. "Come, I will you show you the new power that I have obtained." He put the weapon back into an offensive position. "After all, this is the power that I used to make the Crystal Empire mine."

"You mean the power of darkness." Ruby spat as she rushed forward, leaping into the air as she took her sword into her hooves. Spinning like a ball, she swung down at the enemy with a mighty roar. Sombra in turn blocked the strike, halting her charge as she yelled at him. "I'm going to beat you Sombra! Do you hear me?! Your power is nothing compared to the power that has been granted to me!"

"And what might that be?" Sombra asked in a mocking tone.

"Its the power from ponies working together, trying to create a truly strong world." Ruby replied as she pushed forward as their blade continued their standstill. As sparks continued to fly from the metal, she continued, "Its something you'll never understand."

"Oh please, like that power could defeat me." Sombra rebuked as his horn suddenly shined, a purple colored beam of magic instantly firing out and slamming Ruby's chest. The knight flew into the nearby wall, a scream of pain following. As she fell to the floor from the attack, Sombra let out a dark laugh, "Let me give you some wise words my dear. In this world, only the weak rely on each other. That is why they are weak. For you see, when I rule Equestria under my power alone, all that are weak will disappear. It is there that I alone will remain, leaving only what can be considered a truly strong kingdom."

Ruby slowly lifted her head, her eyes filled with an angry fire. "Sombra...you monster..." she hissed, levitating the sword back into her hoof. As her grip tightened, she yelled as she charged forward. "NEVER! I'll never let you do that to Equestria! Do you hear me?! I'll never let you win!"

"Oh, but you will my dear." Sombra flatly replied as he stood still, ready to take the charging unicorn. As she ran, she started swinging her weapon wildly, a volley of war cries following. Seeing this, Sombra spun his staff and blocked the sword again, only to spin his hooves as the bottom of the staff twirled, hitting Ruby's lower hooves. The knight was instantly knocked off balance as Sombra spun the scythe again, splitting the crystal sword in half with a single slice.

Ruby watched as the blade and handle of her sword were split apart as she tried to stumble back onto her hooves, leaving her defenceless as Sombra turned his weapon upon her. The scythe was quickly reeled back before he took another swing, ready to chop her head off in one clean swoop. But as his blade got within inches of her neck, a large wall of crystal shot up from the ground, dividing them two of them as Sombra's scythe was almost knocked out of his hooves from the emerging wall. "What in the name of-" Sombra sputtered as he started to backpedal, only to let out a roar as he gripped his blade and slashed the new wall into pieces.

However, those few seconds of slashing distraction were enough for Ruby to prepare for her next move. Once the wall was down, she was revealed along with two dozen arrow shaped crystals floating around her, quickly firing them. Seeing this, Sombra merely smirked as he raised his scythe and spun around, cutting every arrow in a few swipes.

Seeing the projectiles failing, Ruby looked down at the broken pieces of her sword. Grabbing them in her magic, she levitated them before growing a new handle and blade out of the pieces, forming a pair of blades. Gripping both in her hooves, she charged at her opponent. As she bum-rushed him, Sombra raised his scythe again, swinging his weapon as he tried to block both blades.

Ruby's swords started with a downward slash, both blades swinging down at the tyrant. Sombra spun his staff, blocking both strikes. But as he did, Sombra suddenly realized that the blades were no longer in her hooves, but in her magic aura. Before he could react, two back hooves slammed into his stomach, kicking him into a wall. Spit flew out of his mouth as he felt the crystal wall on his back. Feeling this, Sombra fell to the floor, he then saw that two blades were now crossed at his neck.

Sombra looked down at the weapons threatening to separate his head from his body, his expression unchanging except the slight grimace of pain. A small chuckle leaving his mouth, he looked back up at Ruby, still smiling his ever confidant smile at her. "So this is it. You have me right were you want me."

Ruby panted as she glared at him in the eyes. "Your evil reign is over Sombra. You're finished."

"Maybe...maybe not." Sombra replied, his smile growing. "Perhaps you could kill me...if you have the merciless spirit to end me." Ruby's gaze turned to confusion. She tried to say something, only for Sombra to continue, "Don't give me that look Ruby. We both know you don't have the heart to take a life in cold blood. After all, I'm defenseless right now. Killing me now would not be in defense, but in cold merciless blood."

Ruby continued to glare at him, trying with all her might to make the single motion needed to finally end him. Not a single word came from her mouth as she thought about his words. She couldn't stand it. No matter how hard she tried, she just felt her swords and hooves shake. Sombra watched her internal struggle, waiting for just the right moment.

A minute later, it happened. Ruby's two swords slightly moved away from his neck, causing the unicorn to shine a smirk. His horn quickly lit up, a bright light shining out of the horn. As it did, the light assaulted Ruby's eyes, forcing her to flinch back and close her eyes. She let out a groan of pain, only to feel a new surge of pain as Sombra turned and kicked her stomach with his back legs.

Ruby felt herself go flying back, her body skidding through the room. As she did, she stumbled back onto her hooves, her eyes barely open. She could only see a blur, as Sombra was pointing his horn at her. "Oh no you don't!" Ruby yelled as she lit up her horn, quickly summoning the crystal swords back to herself. She raised them into an X formation, ready to attack again, only for another beam of magic to fly out of Sombra's horn. Said beam struck the blades, shattering them into pieces, only for a second beam to hit the pony herself.

The blast knocked the Crystal Knight through the air, soon hitting the crystal wall behind her with a sickening crack before falling to the floor with a thud. The shattered remains of her crystal swords scattered along the ground as a trail to her now limp body.

Sombra looked down at his defeated foe, chuckling at the sight. "Pitiful little Ruby. You seriously thought you could take me?" With that, he turned and walked over to the nearby balcony. Here, he looked over his entire kingdom, smiling at the sight. That is, till he looked up and saw a pair of ponies flying towards the castle, which he instantly recognised as the false gods known as the royal princess sisters.

He sneered at them. "They're finally here. Do those two weaklings really think they can defeat me on their own?! How utterly pathetic!" His horn began to glow, ready to defend himself. But as he started to summon a spell, "YAAAUGH!" He screamed as an agonising pain shot through his side.

He looked down, trying to find the source of the pain. There, his eyes went wide as he saw a large chunk of crystal now thrusted into his side. He then turned around and saw Ruby, her horn flaring as she stared him down.

"You dare strike me?!"

Ruby let out a low, dark chuckle. "Yeah, I do. So, why don't you try stopping them now?"

"Why you little-" Sombra started, only to feel the pain of the crystal again. He could feel a drip of blood going down his body, causing him to look back outside again. There, he saw the princesses crossing horns, causing him to almost backpedal. He was out of time.

He turned back to Ruby. "I may not have won this day, but neither have you!" His horn sparked again, unleashing a weak flash of light, which quickly died down.

Ruby looked around, seeing nothing had happened before turning back to him. "What did you do?"

Sombra shined his usual smirk. "Oh, nothing much. I just activated my fail safe." He didn't say another word, as in that moment, the princesses unleashed a magic blast, which flew through the air and into the throne room. The light of the blast struck Sombra, causing him to scream out as he suddenly disappeared into nothingness.

As the light faded, Ruby stared at where the false king had once stood, only for it to be empty. Sombra was gone. She stared at it in amazement, only for something new to catch her attention. That something was the entire room beginning to glow, the light shining like a star.

The sight made Ruby gasp as she realised what Sombra had meant when he talked about a fail safe, causing her to push herself back to her hooves and rush over to the balcony. There, she looked down at the city and saw that all the houses were glowing. The whole empire was shining.

"No," she whispered before the light enveloped her completely.

Celestia and Luna watched as the light of the city continued to shine. As it did, both had to look away, the light now starting to burn their eyes.

"What's going on sister?!" Luna yelled as she put her hooves over her eyes.

"I don't know Luna." Celestia replied, only for her horn to start flaring. "Here, let me try-"

But before Celestia could even finish, the light completely vanished. Celestia and Luna turned back towards the city, only to gasp when they saw it was no longer there. The only evidence that it ever was, was the perfect circle of snow-less rocks that were quickly being destroyed by the weather.

Luna turned to her sister, her eyes already tearing up. "What...what has happened sister?"

Celestia looked down in shame, already guessing what had just happened. "Sombra must have been prepared for his defeat and created some kind of curse to punish everypony."

"WHAT?!" Luna yelped, pointing at the circle of rocks. "What do you mean he prepared something?! Where is the city?!"

"I...don't know."

The two flew down to where the city had once been, Luna landing first as her horn began to glow in a panic. "No...NO! This cannot be the end! There must be a way to undo this!"

Celestia walked up and put her hoof on her sister's shoulder. "Luna...its not that simple."

Luna swatted the hoof off. "NO! Don't you see what just happened sister?! The empire just vanished without a trace! Ruby and all the crystal ponies....they're all gone!" Luna yelled, tears now flowing down her face. "My friend..."

Celestia just shook her head, "Do not fret sister. Though powerful, a spell like this will not last forever. One day the Crystal Empire will return, and when it does, we must be ready as Sombra is also sure to return with it."

"But Ruby...." Luna whimpered, her hooves over her face now as a waterfall of tears followed. "Oh Ruby..."

Celestia once again tried to pat her sister's shoulder, only for it to be swatted away again. Luna had become distant recently, causing Celestia to just sigh as she turned around, staring at the circle. "It seems you won this round Sombra. I just hope that when you return, there will be a warrior strong enough to defeat you."

The Crystal Mission

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A Thousand Years Later...

A month had passed since the invasion of Canterlot.

One month since the Changeling Queen Chrysalis had kidnapped and replaced the Princess of Love, in an attempt to weaken her fiancé so he could not perform the shield spell that protected the royal city. Luckily, the Princess of Love Cadance, had been saved by her now sister-in-law and honorary brother. With her help, Shining Armor was able to use his spell to banish the invading changelings and the wedding could go on without a hitch.

Now a month later, we find ourselves in the canyon outside Ponyville. In the rock formation is the young Defender of the Peace, apprentice knight Flash Sentry, standing in the center with his Celestic Gear Lightbringer in hoof. Standing several feet away from him were his teammates and fellow Defenders of the Peace, Iron Core with Piecemaker and the young jakhowl Springer.

Iron grinned as he spun Piecemaker in his hoof. "Hope you're ready Sentry."

"Yeah," Springer was stretching his body out in preparation, "because we're not going easy on you."

Flash smirked a confidant smile before spinning Lightbringer around, resting the blade on his shoulder. "I wouldn't want you to." He closed his eyes, only for them to shoot open two new blank eyes. "Theta Mode!" he yelled before glaring at the duo, giving them a 'come on' stance with his hooves. "Bring it on!"

"It's brought, ya wuss!" Iron cried as he pointed his weapon at the pegasus. "Iron Lance Fury!" A barrage of iron projectiles shot off the spear's tip, all aimed at the orange pegasus. Seeing the projectiles, Flash spun his sword one more time as the smirk on his face grew. He already knew how to dodge every shard of iron. Cocking his hoof, Flash spun his blade around him at high speed, instantly destroying everything without even taking off.

As he destroyed every last piece, he saw a new threat running towards him. It was Springer, yelling as he raised both of his paws as they started glowing before turning into a three clawed weapon. "My turn! Steel Paw!" Springer leap forward, both paws now swiping at the defender. Flash quickly blocked the first two blows, only to flare his wings as he suddenly took to the sky before Springer could do a third swipe.

"Flash Cutter!" Flash yelled as he swung his glowing sword, unleashing an energy wave at Iron.

The earth pony raised his weapon. "Iron Guard Shield!" The spearhead transformed into a shield, blocking the attack instantly. Seeing the block, Flash started to frown before he felt something under him. He looked down, only to see an Aura Blast coming his way, causing the pegasi to drop down to dodge the sphere.

However, this was what Springer wanted, as he created a bone-shaped staff of energy. "Bone Breaker!" As the weapon swung downward, Flash blocked again with his sword. But as he did, Springer's right paw let go of the bone and created a Steel Paw. He quickly swiped at Flash, only for Flash to suddenly spin in the air, kicking the jakhowl in the head with his back hoof.

"Nice try bud," Flash said as he flapped his wings, still slightly suspended in the air. He watched as Springer land on the ground, creating a Bone Breaker as he did while Iron started prepping his weapon. Flash cricked his neck, ready to go another round before-

"FLASH!"

Flash froze midair before looking towards the source of the voice. There, he saw a rainbow blur flying towards him at high speed, eventually coming to a stop mere inches away from ramming into him. It was Rainbow Dash, which Flash gave her a curious look. "What's up Rainbow?" He asked as they slowly glided down, turning off his Theta Mode.

Rainbow took a deep breath before pointing to the town behind her. "Twilight sent me. The two of you have been called to Canterlot."

Flash raised an eyebrow at this. "Ooookay. Did the message have any details on it?"

Flash, along with Iron and Springer, watched Rainbow think for a moment, only for her to shrug her shoulders. "Wasn't really paying attention until Twilight asked me to find you."

"Of course you weren't," Flash sighed before motioning to his back. "Come on, buddy." Springer quickly hopped on as the defender took to the sky, Rainbow and Iron close behind them.

One transition to the library later...

Flash opened the door to his home, only to be greeted with the sight of the rest of his friends watching Twilight Sparkle rush around the room in a frantic panic. The sight made him want to sigh, but instead, he stepped up to Applejack while pointing at Twilight, "How long has this been going on?"

The cowpony shook her head. "Since dat letter showed up. Since then, she's bin looking for everything she thinks she needs for the test."

"What test?" Springer asked next, hopping off Flash's back.

This time, it was Rarity who answered. "Princess Celestia's letter said she had a test for Twilight and she also wants Flash to come along as well."

"Me?" Flash replied, pointing to himself, "Why would Princess Celestia need me to help Twilight with her test? You know, besides the part where I'll have to calm her down at some point before goes to Canterlot."

Rarity just shrugged. "Not sure darling. Perhaps the test is something extra important?"

"Bah, no way." Flash waved his hoof dismissively, "I've been around long enough to know that any test Princess Celestia gives Twilight is probably no big deal. Heck, one of Princess Celestia's 'tests' back in Canterlot ended up being a simple din-urk!"

Flash let out a yelp as he felt a very familiar, yet painful sensation. It was his ear, all wrapped in Twilight's magic as she pulled him towards her. As Flash grabbed his pain-filled ear, Twilight finished her pulling and began sniffing the stallion. That is, till she showed a face of pure discomfort as she grabbed his neck with her hoof. "Flash...Shower, now!"

"Seriously?" He asked with a deadpan look, rubbing his ear.

Twilight gave him a hard stare, air blasting out of her nostrils. "I'm not having you ruin my chances of passing because your stench knocks the Princess out!"

"But Twi-"

"NOW!" Twilight screamed, causing him to start backpedaling. As he did this, Twilight's magic let go of his ear as she turned around, restarting her mad rush to get everything she needed. "AUGH! I just wasted more time! Where are my quills?!" she yelped before instantly finding them, placing them in her magic as she started levitating them and some books off the shelf. "No, no, no, no, no! AUGH! I need the Magical Compendium Volumes one through forty six...WHERE ARE THEY?!"

Iron tiphoofed up to Flash and whispered. "Shouldn't we stop her?"

Flash gave the earth pony an 'are you serious?' look. "Iron, have you not met Twilight Sparkle? Only Princess Celestia herself can stop her when she gets like this." he said as he pointed back at the purple unicorn, only to see Spike get flattened by the books she was looking for.

"Err...good point." Iron grumbled, rolling his eyes at the sight.

"Flash cards!" Twilight yelped as rushed over to a drawer, magicking out several stacks of cardboard. "Spike!" she tossed them over to the recovering baby dragon. "I'm gonna need you to quiz me...on everything! Everything I've ever learned! NOW!" She glanced back at the stack and saw that they reached to about half way to the roof, only to frown. "That isn't gonna be enough cards." She spun back around and yelled again, "Shower! NOW!"

Flash rolled his eyes again as he motioned himself towards the stairs. That is, till his ears picked up Spike's voice.

"Twilight, calm down. It's just a test."

Flash froze and turned back to the two, knowing what was about to happen.

"Just a test?" Twilight said before rushing at the dragon, grabbing him in a pure manic manner. "JUST A TEST?!" Spike tried to get free, only for Twilight to keep yelling in his ear. "Princess Celestia wants to give me some kind of exam, and you're trying to tell me to calm down because its just a test?! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"

Spike's eyes shrunk as he got free and grabbed a bunch of pillows and a helmet, answering in a meek tone, "Uh...yes?"

Flash winced at his answer, knowing exactly what Twilight's reaction was going to be. Realizing that he didn't want to be in the same room now, he flared his wings and tried to reach the bathroom. That is, till he heard Applejack say something before Twilight let out a loud cry. The next thing he knew, he was suddenly pinned to the floor as the library was magically blasted into the sky, only for his body to hit the ceiling as the building quickly crashed back into the ground. Once the shaking stopped, Flash peeled himself off the roof and looked down, only to see nothing but books, which had all been thrown off their shelves due to Twilight's outburst. One by one, his friends dug themselves out of the sea of hard back bindings, none seeming to have been hurt in the process.

Chuckling at the sight, Flash responded, "Surprisingly, this isn't the worst thing I've seen her do before a test."

"SHOWER!"

"But you just-"

"SHOWER! NOW!"

One Hour Later...

A now fully cleaned Flash was sitting at the train station, his friends all sitting beside him while Twilight rechecked all her things for the twenty-fifth time. The only ones that weren't there were Iron and Springer, as Iron was not called upon and said he would keep collecting the 'Flash keeps skipping out on his job of being the town's guard' tab. Springer on the other hoof, had agreed to look after Scootaloo since Flash was not sure how long he would be gone. Once they boarded the train and it made its way to Equestria's capital, Flash watched as Twilight was now trying to reread nine books at once while being quizzed by Spike. He and the rest of their friends were sitting several rows back, Flash making them move over there so they would not disturb Twilight and suffer her wrath.

A few minutes in, Fluttershy broke the silence. "Should we um...be worried about her?"

Rarity nodded in agreement. "I don't know darling. I will admit I am worried...I haven't seen her this stressed since the 'Want It Need It' and 'Time Travel' incidents."

"She's fine," Flash assured them, waving his hoof dismissively. "She always gets like this when a test approaches. Believe it or not, when we were younger, she would read twelve books at once to prepare. That and uh...practice her magic on me and Spike at the same time."

Applejack let out a long sigh at the sight of her friend. "Does dat girl ever relax?"

Flash chuckled at the question before putting his hooves behind his head. "Not when there's a test she needs to study for. Heck, I'd bet 10 bits that Celestia only told her today because she knew if she told her a week ago, Twilight would be so tired from studying, she'd fall asleep on the test paper." They all laughed at this, only to see Canterlot in the distance out the nearby window. Flash hopped off his seat and motioned to his friends. "We're almost there. We better make sure Twilight doesn't forget anything."

They helped Twilight pack everything up as the train entered the city limits. As it pulled to a stop, the seven ponies and one dragon got off the metal machine as Twilight rechecked everything one more time. She tried to do another, only for Flash to tell her that if she did it again, she's be late. This was enough to make her get going, which they soon arrived at the castle gates.

"Okay," Twilight said once they got close to the giant building. "Flash and I will head inside, you girls will have to stay out here. Sorry."

"That's alright sugarcube," Applejack assured her, patting her friend's back.

"Yeah," Pinkie nodded in agreement. "We'll just go to that awesome Jazzy Juice place again while we're waiting on ya. Heck, after you pass, we'll party till we puke."

Rarity's face became one of disgust at hearing that, only to change back into a smile at her two friends. "Good luck darlings. Whatever it is Princess Celestia has for you, I'm sure you'll do marvelous."

Twilight nodded, gulping at the same time. With this, their friends turned around, walking away to the restaurant. Only Spike remained, wanting to offer his support to Twilight. But as Twilight saw her friends walk away, her whole body shivered in fear, her heart doing backflips. That is, till she felt somepony place a wing on her back, causing her to turn and see a smiling Flash.

"Let's go," he said, causing her to shine a small smile back. Nodding again, the trio went inside, though Spike had to stay in the lounge of the castle while Twilight and Flash reached Canterlot Tower, where the note from earlier told them to go. There, they saw the royal pony sisters Celestia and Luna, standing by the tower's newest stain glass window that depicted the defeat of the changelings, admiring the work of art. Flash also spotted his mentor Grand Hoof, standing a ways off. The look on his face showed Flash that whatever was about to happen, it was going to be serious.

Then, they looked back at the sisters, which had Luna currently talking to Celestia in a slightly depressive tone, "Are you sure about this sister? You do understand what is at stake here, do you not?"

"I do Luna." Celestia replied, leaning down as she put her wing over her sister. "That very reason is why you must not go there right now. Please understand this."

"I..." Luna tried to reply before letting out a long sigh. "Very well. I understand why you're doing this. I'm sorry."

Celestia proceeded to give her sister a small hug as she replied, "I know you miss her, but we must do this first. Alright?"

"Yes sister, I understand." Luna said as she returned the hug. A few seconds later, the embrace ended as Luna then leaned back with a half smile on her face. "I just wish I could go."

"I know. But we must trust them for now, alright?"

Luna nodded back, "Very well. But after this is over, I'm going to-"

However, Luna's words would be interrupted by the sound of Twilight coughing, getting everypony's attention. "You wanted to see us? To uh...give me a test?" Twilight asked, only for Luna to turn and walk past them with a look of slight unease crossed with sadness on her face. The look made Flash feel uneasy, but Twilight didn't notice as she levitated her heavy bag off her back. "I brought my own quills and plenty of paper to show my work." She dropped the bag, causing its jam packed content to fall out and unfurl a scroll along the ground. It was so long that it filled the gap between them and Celestia. Flash turned to his best friend and saw her panicking face.

"Sorry, sorry!" She tried re-rolling the scroll, completely forgetting that she could do it in three seconds by using her magic.

Luckily, Celestia did not forget and did so. "This is a different kind of test Twilight. This test is about something of truly great importance, much more than a quill and paper." she returned the scroll and everything else to the bag, her face not changing the already serious look on it. "The Crystal Empire has returned."

The two young ponies gave her a confused look.

"The crystal what now?" Flash asked her.

Twilight meanwhile, pulled a bunch of books out of her bag. "I'm sorry," she said frantically as she opened one of them. "I-I thought I'd studied. On no, I don't think there's anything in any of my books tha–"

"There wouldn't be. After all, few remember it ever existed at all." Celestia interrupted before Twilight could go into her third panic attack today. The purple unicorn looked up and saw Celestia motioning them to follow her. Soon entering the throne room, Celestia levitated a crystal off of a podium as she continued her explanation, "Even my knowledge of the Empire is limited." The floating crystal in front of them exploded with light, which then turned into a holographic image of a round city with a large crystal castle at its core. "But what I do know is that it contains a powerful magic."

"So what happened to it?" Flash asked as he and Twilight looked at the image in awe. They saw images of many earth ponies whose coats seemed to glow, all looking happy.

Celestia let out a long sigh as she shook her head. "That...is a tale of tragedy. For you see, one thousand years ago, King Sombra, a unicorn whose heart was black as night, took over the Crystal Empire." The image changed to show the city go from being a near utopia to a terrible looking place covered in black crystal spikes. The castle had also transformed into a black, spiked fortress, causing the duo to gulp at the ugly sight. On top of the building, they saw the image of a unicorn with a gray coat, black mane and a curved red horn. He opened his eyes to show that they were a combo of red and green.

"I'm getting a Lightning Blitz feeling here," Flash muttered as he remembered his former foe trying the same thing with Canterlot.

Celestia nodded. "Indeed. And much like Lightning, he was defeated with the help of a Royal Knight." The image showed another of the ponies, this one a unicorn mare whose coat and mane where differing shades of red. "This is Ruby Scarlet, the first and only citizen of the empire to have ever been inducted into the Royal Knights. She was the one who kept Sombra at bay, allowing my sister and I to strike the final blow." Everyone watched as the image of the Royal Sisters flew over the city, their horns glowing as they unleashed a united blast that struck Sombra down. "He was defeated. Turned to shadow, and banished to the ice of the arctic north." They watched as Sombra transformed into a shadowy cloud, which was blown away and sealed under the ice.

"Incredible..." Twilight gasped, blinking at the sight.

"Yeah...no kidding." Flash agreed, crossing his hooves in slight surprise. "So uh...what happened to the Empire? Wouldn't something like this be a major historical event?"

Celestia let out another sigh, her large frown still showing. "Though Sombra was defeated, it was not before he was able to put a curse upon the Empire. A curse that caused it to vanish into thin air." The hologram returned to its crystal form, which Celestia lifted into the air. "Now, let me explain the magic of the Empire. First, if the Empire is filled with hope and love," the crystal glowed a rainbow of colors, turning into a shining light illuminated beyond the holographic city. "Those things are reflected across all of Equestria."

Flash and Twilight stared in wide eyes at this, shocked at the amazing sight before them. That is, till Celestia tapped her hoof, getting their attention. There, she let out a low growl as she continued. "However, if hatred and fear take hold..." Her eyes suddenly turned bright green, her horn sparking a purple magic that struck the crystal. It changed into a colorless gray before projecting a shadow that moved over to the two ponies. Suddenly, bunch of black crystals shot out the ground, surrounding the two before Celestia shined a beam of light, instantly destroying the dark magic. The two turned back to the princess, only to then see Grand Hoof walk up next to her as Celestia then said, "Which is why I need your help in finding a way to protect it."

Twilight's eyes kept getting wider. "You want us to help protect an entire empire?!"

Celestia nodded as she returned the crystal to its podium. "It is, as I said, a different kind of test. But one I'm certain you will pass."

"What about me?" Flash asked as he pointed to himself. "Where do I come into this?"

This time, it was Grand Hoof who spoke. "Your mission is to help keep the empire safe until Twilight can find a way to permanently protect it. That, and there is also somepony there that I wish for you to meet. Ruby Scarlet."

Flash titled his head in confusion. "The knight who helped beat Sombra? Isn't she like...dead? You did say this happened a thousand years ago, right?"

Celestia shook her head, "No. The curse displaced the entire empire out of time. As such, everypony inside the empire has not aged a day. To them, it will be like only a day has passed when the curse ended."

Hearing this, something clicked in Flash's head. "She's the lost knight, isn't she?"

Celestia smiled, nodding. "So you've heard about that. Yes, Ruby is the lost knight."

Flash blinked at this, his head now lost in thought. As he thought about all the new information, Twilight spoke up, "Alright, how do we begin the test princess?"

"By joining Princess Cadance and Shining Armor in the Crystal Empire," Celestia explained as she began walking past them.

"My brother's there?" Twilight asked as she started following the princess.

Flash was about to follow, only to feel a hoof on his shoulder. It was Grand Hoof, who then asked, "Okay kiddo, what's wrong? Why ya lost in thought?"

"Huh?" Flash hopped in place, his eyes going wide at his statement.

Grand chuckled at the sight. "Come on lad, I've known you long enough to know how you feel from a single look. Now, what's the problem?"

Flash let out a long sigh. "Yeah...sorry. I'm just wondering...well, why send me? I mean, something like this, it seems like the kind of thing a real knight should be charged with. I'm just an apprentice, and you want me to protect an empire? I'm not ready for something like that. And also, why not send Iron? This is right up his alley."

"True," Grand agreed, nodding.

"Then why pick me for this?"

Grand placed both of his front hooves on the young pegasus, looking him straight in the eye. "Because protecting the Empire is only half of this mission."

Flash blinked, confusion on his face. "What's the other half?"

Grand stepped away from the pegasus and started walking down the hall, Flash on his heel. "I chose you for this because you have a power that you've barely scratched the surface on."

Flash tilted his head again, thinking about what he meant. "Wait...do you mean the power that protected me from Discord and Chrysalis? But I don't even know what that is, let alone how to control it. I mean-" He would have kept going, but hearing Grand chuckle made him stop.

"As impressive as that is, that's not the power I was talking about." This statement made Flash go blank, his mind now completely lost. Seeing this, Grand patted Flash's side with his hoof, "I'm talking about your ability to make friends."

Now Flash was really lost. "Come again?"

Grand chuckled again, shaking his head. "Good grief kiddo, you should know this by now." He put his hooves on Flash's shoulders again, "Listen lad, the knight Princess Celestia mentioned earlier, Ruby Scarlet, she has been gone for over a thousand years. The knights from her era are all gone, their descendants lost to time. Despite this, with all the danger that has been threatening Equestria lately, we need her to rejoin the Royal Knights."

"Ooookay." Flash replied, rapidly blinking. "And uh....you want me to make her join?"

"That's right lad. Out of all the knights and apprentices, you have the unique skill to make almost anypony trust you. You were able to make Iron open up to others, something even Sky couldn't do."

"That was more Fluttershy than me."

"But you were there as well." Grand shook his apprentice with his hooves, still glaring at his eyes. "I know you can do this."

Flash stared at his mentor for a few seconds, the statement of trust melting into his mind. That alone was enough as Flash gave his teacher a confident nod. "I won't let you down."

Grand chuckled again, only to then give his student a snarky smirk. "I know you won't lad. That and if you do fail, I'll make sure you'll never become a Royal Knight."

"Gee thanks Grand." Flash deadpanned, rolling his eyes.

"You're welcome. Now, you better go ahead and find your friends before heading off."

Flash nodded and flew out of the first open window. A few minutes later, he was at Jazzy Juice, as his friends were already there, even Twilight and Spike. Twilight turned to him. "Where have you been?"

"Grand was just giving me one of those obligatory mentor speeches. I'm guessing the princess gave you one too." Flash saw Twilight nod in agreement. "Alright. I'm guessing the others are up to speed."

"Kinda," Rainbow shrugged, slightly glaring at the purple unicorn.

"We'll give you more info on the way," Twilight replied as she motioned for them to leave. "Let's get to the train station. Trust me, this is gonna be a long ride."

They all nodded in agreement before turning to head to the station, ready to go on yet another adventure that would determine the fate of Equestria

The Crystal Empire

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As Flash stared out the train's window, all he could see was white. Blinking, he turned to the window to the left...only for more white, and in the window on the other side of car...even more white. It had been a long time since Flash had seen that much snow, causing him to comment, "Well, at least we know we're headed to the right place."

Rarity, who was sitting next to him while wearing a pink scarf, shuffled closer. "So Flash darling, when Celestia showed you the empire, was it really made entirely out of different gems?"

Flash rolled his eyes at the girl's one track mind. "Yeah, it was. Though if the place is like it was when this Sombra guy was in charge, you wouldn't think its...what's the word you'd use? Marvelous?"

Rarity frowned, letting out a huff. "I'll be the judge of that."

He chuckled a bit before hopping off the seat, making his way to the chair that Twilight was sitting at. She was staring out the window, a frown of pure dread on her face. There, he sat down and tapped her shoulder, "Nervous?"

The frown gave the answer as she replied, "A little. Princess Celestia seems to think I'll pass, but I don't know the first thing about this place. I'm going in completely blind."

Flash gave her a shrug, wrapping his wing around her. "We all are Twilight, that's why we're here to help. After everything we've been through, saving a city can't be that bad." Flash folded his wing back, letting out a sigh as he looked away. "I'm more worried about my task. I'm gonna be representing the whole Royal Knight faction to a solider that hasn't been in Equestria for a thousand years. If I mess this up, this Ruby mare won't want anything to do with any us."

Twilight put her hooves around him, giving a small hug. "Don't worry about it. You'll do great."

Before anypony could say anything else, the overhead speaker announced their arrival. The others looked up as Flash declared, "This is our stop." The group all nodded in unison as the hopped off their seats. The group began grabbing their stuff while Flash strapped his trusty LIghtbringer to his side. There, they made their way to the car's exit, Spike in the back, carrying the many suitcases that Rarity had decided to bring.

As the train came to a stop, the doors opened, only for the entire carriage to be suddenly filled with the freezing cold northern winds. The girls all began shaking and even Flash felt himself shiver slightly as they all stepped out onto the platform. Well, except Rarity, who was perfectly warm as she bragged, "Ha! And you all made fun of me for packing so many scarves."

Spike quickly followed, still carrying the suitcases with a grunt. "I didn't say a word." But as soon as his foot touched the platform, he slipped on the icy surface and dropped the cases. They all flew open, all of Rarity's scarves flying out into the wind. Flash watched as the little dragon chased after them before turning back to his friends, who were all looking around the frozen wasteland.

"This is the Crystal Empire?" Rainbow asked, her hooves wrapped around her body.

"No, its just the closest train station to it." Twilight replied as her teeth chattered, "I'm sure once we've found a way to save it, Princess Celestia will commission a new station be built much closer to it."

"That's good to hear," Applejack said as she pulled her hat down, trying to make sure it wouldn't get picked up by the wind. "So...what do we do now?"

"I guess we should start by-"

"Twilight!"

Everypony turned towards the sound of the sudden voice, looking into the frozen nothingness. Everyone recognized it, especially Twilight, "Shining Armor?" she asked as she tried to see through the blizzard.

Flash did the same, only to then see a lone figure walking towards them the through the snow. There, the figure morphed into a bulky white unicorn, a black scarf and glasses covering his face. Once he was close enough, the unicorn's horn lit up and uncovered his face, a smile following the unveiling. "Twily! Flash! You made it!" he yelled as he rushed towards them, soon hugging his sister. Flash walked up as well and the two stallions hoof-bumped each other. Once that happened, Shining's face became serious as he turned back towards the way he came. "Come on, we'd better get moving. There are things out here that we really don't want to run into after dark."

Hearing this made the ever frightful Fluttershy begin to shake. "What kinda things?"

Shining's gaze hardened as he turned back to them. "Let's just say the empire...isn't the only thing that's returned. Let's go."

Nodding at this, the group followed the captain into the white void. As they trudged through the blizzard, Flash called out to his brother over the harsh winds. "Hey Shining! I know we're in a rush, but how about you tell us what exactly what we're supposed to be afraid off? I'd rather want to know what I'm up against!"

The newly crowned prince glared back at the defender. "Something keeps trying to get in! We think it's the unicorn king who originally cursed the place."

"You mean King Sombra?"

"Yeah! The guy won't give up, and he might be the reason this blizzard is here too! Thankfully, he hasn't got through the empire's barrier yet."

This time, Twilight spoke up, "But Princess Celestia said I was being sent here to find a way to protect the Empire! If King Sombra can't get in, doesn't that mean things are already protected?"

Shining looked like he was about to reply, only to come to a screeching halt. As to why he stopped, it was a sudden sound, one that caught the entire group's attention. The sound was...well, it didn't sound anywhere near friendly. The noise sounded like a beast in the blizzard, one that even gave Flash goosebumps.

Fluttershy started panicking, looking around frantically for anything that might attack them. "Th-That's one of the things, isn't it?"

Shining growled before turning to them, motioning them to follow. "We have to get to the Crystal Empire, NOW!"

But before they could even try to start moving, a loud shrieking sound made them spin around. Flash's eyes went wide, as he now saw what could only be described as the pure white of the snowfall turning to a pitch black cloud. The cloud spun into a tornado shape, and at the top, he saw a pair of eyes that he recognised from Celestia's story. The eyes stared down at them, forcing all but one to start rushing in the opposite direction. Flash glanced back to see that Spike was still standing, probably petrified by fear. Luckily, Shining was already on it and had grabbed the little dragon in his magic. Unfortunately, as Shining pulled the drake, Rarity's last suitcase was then lost to the arctic north as they ran from the dark cloud.

"Go, go!" Twilight screamed as Shining put Spike on her back and continued their mad dash. As they did, they spotted something in the distance. A light blue pulse of light, formed into an dome that they all quickly realised was actually the Crystal Empire.

"We're almost there!" they heard Shining say, causing Flash to glance back at the stallion. There, he saw that their group was suddenly one short. Realizing what happened, he turned and flexed his wings.

"Flash?" Twilight's voice said as she and the others passed by.

He pointed towards the bubble. "GO!" With that, he ran into the dark cloud, soon seeing Shining and the cloud facing off against one another. He watched as Shining fired off several magic blasts, but the purple beams simply flew straight through the cloud. Desperation covered the unicorn's face as the cloud 'grabbed' Shining, covering him in its shadow.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Flash screamed as he unsheaved Lightbringer and pointed it at the cloud. "FLASH FORCE!" He unleashed the beam of light, only to then see that the attack hit the shadow. Unlike Shining's attacks, the light burned into the shadow's cloud, causing it to let out a mighty cry of pain as it's grip on Shining loosened.

Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, Flash re-sheaved his weapon and took to the air. He grabbed his adoptive brother and quickly turned around, bolting back to the city. However, as soon he started his bum-rush back, he heard the roar of the shadow creature behind him, causing him to flap his wings even faster. He then glanced back, seeing the creature was literally right over his tail. "No no no no! Come on Flash, you're faster than-"

SHING!

That was the sound of Flash flying through the empire's barrier, instantly making him crash into the new grassy ground under him. The tumble made Shining fly forward, both coming to a rolling stop.

"Ooooohhhh...that hurt. Did I make it?" Flash asked himself as he started blinking rapidly, raising his head as he did. There, his sight was bombarded by light and a brilliant warm breeze, causing him to go wide-eyed as he saw firsthoof the Crystal Empire. The beauty of the sight made him gasp as his eyes saw the array of crystals and light the land shone. "Whoa..."

"Flash!" He heard Twilight cry out, looking up to see her and the others rush towards them. Twilight's face soon contorted to a look of horror as she saw her brother, walking over to help him up. "Oh no...Shining Armor, your horn."

Flash looked up and saw what she was worried about, as Shining's horn was now covered in strange black crystals. By the looks of them, they were embedded into it. Shining looked up at his horn before trying to spark his magic, only for the glow to stop as soon as it touched the crystals. He kept trying for several seconds, but eventually he stopped and shook his head.

"I'm sorry," Flash said with a grim look on his face. "I wasn't fast enough." However, he soon felt a hoof on his shoulder and looked up to see Shining smiling.

"Not your fault bro. You managed to get me out of there alive, that's what matters. Plus, your attacks seem capable of harming that thing. I'm not sure if its because of the Alicorn Magic or your light based magic, but its something we can use."

Flash smiled and nodded as he and the siblings moved over to the others, who were all standing under a crystal archway. "Sparkleriffic!" Pinkie cried out and as soon as Flash saw what she was staring at. He had to agree as he saw that the images he had seen from Celestia's illusion were nothing compared to the real thing. The Crystal Empire truly was the most beautiful place he had even seen, as each and every building shone a brilliant light. And the castle they were heading to was even more beautiful, causing a certain member of their group to cheer.

"It's gorgeous! Absolutely gorgeous!" Rarity cried as she started making some incoherent mumbles at the sight around her. "There are no words!"

Her marveling was soon broken by Applejack, who tapped her on the shoulder. "Focus Rarity. We're here to help Twilight, not admire the scenery."

As Rainbow stepped past them, she spoke up. "Eh, I don't see what the big deal is. It just looks like another old castle to me."

Flash saw Rarity's face contort, mistaking the new color on her face for cherry red rather than actual red, with her being unable to make any sense with the words she wanted to use. "Another old-?!" She shot up to the pegasus. "Have you lost your mind? Look at the magni–" Her rant was stopped when both Rainbow and Applejack began to laugh before heading into the castle. She realized what was going on and pouted. "Very funny."

After seeing this exchange, Flash looked around again, only to notice something else. There was nopony out walking the streets. The whole empire...looked like it was empty. Flash turned around to ask Shining about why that hadn't seen any citizens, only for unicorn to speak up. "Come on inside. We're heading to the throne room so we can plot our next move."

The group nodded in unison as Twilight replied, "You got it BBBFF."

Shining continued to direct them through the castles corridors, which had an architecture the likes of which Flash had never seen before. The design and layout was nothing like Canterlot Castle, that being not a maze and made of crystals. He was already approving of the non-maze design, only for them to arrive to a pair of double doors, which Shining opened to allow them entrance inside. They stepped in and saw that they were now in the throne room, which had a purple carpet running from the doors to a large crystal throne. Sitting on that throne was the youngest of the alicorn princesses, a pink mare with a mane and tail of purple, pink and yellow.

When Twilight saw her, she smiled a brilliant smile. "Cadance!" She cried as she rushed over to her.

Cadance looked up and saw her, smiling as she got up and slowly ran up to her. Once they were next to each other, they did their traditional dance. "Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" The sisters-in-laws laughed, happy to see each other again.

However, Cadance's laughter stopped as she flinched in pain. As she did, the light outside seemed to flicker on and off for a second, only to become solid again as Cadance held her head. The alicorn let out a long sigh as she looked back at Twilight. "One of these days, we need to get together when the fate of Equestria isn't hanging in the balance."

"Are you okay?" Twilight asked, her lip trembling at the sight.

Flash nodded in agreement. "Yeah....don't take this the wrong way, but you don't look so good."

Shining stepped up next to his wife, putting his hoof around her shoulders. "Cadance has been able to use her magic to spread love and light. That seems to be what is protecting the empire." His face turned to one of concern and sadness. "But she hasn't slept...and she barely eats."

"So that's why we're here," Flash said as he crossed his hooves. "To find a way to permanently protect the empire so Cadance doesn't have to put herself at risk doing it."

"Exactly. I want to help her, but my protection spell has been countered by King Sombra."

"It's alright Shining Armor," Cadance assured him as she shrugged his hoof off. "I'm fine."

Shining shook his head at his wife. "You're not fine love. You can't go on like this forever, and if your magic fades..." Shining looked back at the group before poinitng to his horn. "Well, you saw what's out there waiting for that to happen."

Twilight shined a confident smirk. "That's why we're here."

"Why we're all here," Applejack corrected her as she and their friends stepped closer to them.

Seeing this, Shining continued. "Well, with Cadance putting all her strength into keeping her spell going and me trying to keep an eye on signs of trouble in the arctic, we haven't been able to gather much information from the Crystal Ponies."

"CRYSTAL PONIES!" Rarity screamed hysterically. "There are crystal ponies!?" At this point she noticed all her friends glaring at her, causing her to nervously laugh and regain her composure. "Please...continue?"

Shining nodded again. "Yeah, they keep uh...well, they're staying inside their homes right now. You probably noticed, but the streets are empty due to this. So far, we've only been able to talk to one of them, Ruby."

"The Crystal Knight," Flash continued, his face changing to pure seriousness. "She's the one I was sent to meet. Where is she?"

"She's been keeping the town safe. She's mainly been guarding Cadance's shield perimeter to make sure nothing finds a way in."

Twilight tilted her head as she asked, "Wait a minute, doesn't she know how to protect the empire? She did live here before Sombra took over."

Cadance was about to answer, only to smirk as she saw something behind them. "Why don't you ask her yourself?"

They all gave her a confused look, only to follow the princess's eyes. Turning around, they saw a now approching unicorn. She had a coat and mane that were different shades of red, all which seemed to have a glossy shine to it. Around her neck was a red metal necklace with a snowflake shaped ruby attached to it. The mare saw the group and began to glare as she trotted towards them.

Cadance chuckled as she then said, "Everypony, this is Ruby Scarlet. The Crystal Knight."

Before anyone could respond, Ruby passed right by them nonchantly and bowed to the princess. "Your highness, I have found no disturbances in the empire. All is calm."

"Very good," Cadance told her, her smile still showing. "Please, let me introduce you to our friends." Once Ruby stood back up, the alicorn pointed towards each of them. "This is Shining's sister Twilight, and with her are her friends. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie."

Ruby gave them what could only be considered a bored expression. "It is very nice to meet you all." she monotoned before turning to Flash, spotting Lightbringer, which caused her to smile. "So at last, another Royal Knight has arrived to offer assistantance. What is your name colt?"

"Er...Flash Sentry," he said with a salute. "Pleased to meet you."

Ruby nodded. "So when will the rest of the knights be arriving?"

This statement made Flash suddenly feel very self conscious. "Um...I'm the only one who's been sent."

Ruby's eyes grew wide with surprise. "You must be a very powerful knight if the princess saw fit to only send you."

Flash gave a nervous chuckle, unsure how to tell her the truth. Luckily, Cadance was there to lend a hoof. "Actually Ruby, Flash isn't a knight yet. He's still in training."

Ruby's eyes went from wide to looking insulted. "Are you telling me that the princesses chose to send a squire to do something that requires every knight Equestria has?! Are you serious?!"

"Um...yes?" Flash replied with a gulp.

Ruby now went from looking insulted to angry. "So the princess has chosen to forsake the empire. Why else would she send a squire?!"

Flash slammed his hooves into the floor. "Would you please stop calling me that?! I'm an apprentice knight, not a squire."

Twilight then stepped up, giving the knight a strong glare. "And the reason he was sent was to help keep the empire safe until we can find a way to protect it. I suggest you-"

"Be quiet civilian!" Ruby barked as she stomped over to Twilight, glaring daggers into her eyes. "The only way to protect the empire is to destroy the one who threatens it!" She then backpedaled before pointing at Twilight and her friends. "The only way to do that requires the Royal Knights and the Alicorn Princesses. A squire and a bunch of civilians will do nothing to save it!" With that, she turned around and started to make her way out of the room. "I was a fool to think I'd be getting any real help. It is clear that I must stop the villain myself."

"Ruby, stop!" Cadance said as she flew over the group and landed in front of the knight. "You can't do that, Sombra is too powerful in his current state. Give Twilight and her friends some time, they've never failed before."

Ruby's eyes twitched as she stared at Cadance, soon letting out a sigh. "Very well, they have until sundown. After that, I'm taking him on whether you like it or not."

Twilight walked around the two, giving a now expectant expression. "If you're going to let us do this, we'd appreciate any information you have on how the Crystal Empire was protected before Sombra ruled it."

Ruby opened her mouth, only to shake her head as she replied. "I...can't. Whatever Sombra did to the empire...affected us crystal ponies. I...I can barely remember anything right now. Just small fragments that would be no use of you."

Everyone sighed at hearing this while Twilight looked down at the floor, "Oh...sorry."

"Its fine." Ruby muttered, looking away from the rest.

Flash tapped his hooves, getting everypony's attention. "If that's the case, we'll just have to do this the old fashioned way. Let's spread out and ask everypony we can find if they know anything. Somepony's gotta know something."

"He's right," Twilight said with a nod. "We'll search this city from top to bottom until we find something that might lead us to finding a way to protect the city." She turned to the others with a confident smirk. "You all ready?"

They all cheered happily, Pinkie already spreading confetti out of her mane. "Hooray! This is gonna be fun!"

This statement made Ruby glare back at them, her eye twitching in anger. "There is nothing fun about this!" She almost screamed. "Don't you get it?! If Sombra takes back the Crystal Empire, then everything we did a thousand years ago will have been for nothing! All the friends I lost will be for nothing!" She turned and proceeded out of the room, steam blasting out of her nostrils in frustration. "This is not a game. You fools better understand that."

Seeing her leave, Pinkie's face turned into a large frown. "Wow. That girl needs to lighten up."

"Hold on everypony, just try and see it from her point of view." Cadance told them as she walked in front of the group. "Imagine if Ponyville was taken over and you lost almost everything trying to get it back, only to suddenly find yourself a thousand years in the future. Everyone and everything outside of the town, all gone with no clue about what happened to them."

They all thought about that, remembering the friends and family they had outside of Ponyville. The idea that they would suddenly be gone from their lives, with no trace of what they did or how they moved on, made them all frown. It was here that Shining added, "Don't forget, she can't remember anything either. When we found her here in the castle, she would barely talk. She just kept telling us she has a duty to the empire and...well, that's all she knows."

"Ouch..." Flash remarked as he rubbed the back of his head. "That does sound rough."

"Ah guess we can't exactly understand her pain." Applejack added, crossing her hooves in thought. "Ah know ah'd hate to be in her situation."

"No kidding." Rainbow said as she put her hooves behind her head. "That would suck."

Cadance nodded in agreement. "And now think about how you would feel if the one thing that you sacrificed everything to stop suddenly showed back up and retook Ponyville. How would you feel?"

"Probably how she feels now." Twilight replied, frowning. However, her frown soon changed to a look of determination. "Well, if that's the case, we won't let her down. Come on everypony, let's get out there and save the empire!"

"YEAH!" the all cheered in unison. Everypony turned towards the door and rushed out, leaving only Flash, Shining and Cadance behind.

"Aren't you going with them?" Cadance asked him.

The defender just chuckled. "I know they've got this covered. I was sent here to help keep the empire safe until they find a way to do it permanently."

The royal couple nodded before Shining spoke up, "I'd better show you where everything is then. There's a balcony a few floors up, follow me."

"Sounds good to me." Flash replied before glancing at Cadance. "Don't worry about a thing, we're here to fix this. You just focus on staying as rested as possible."

Cadance gave him a knowing smirk. "I will. And you better make sure don't do anything stupid."

Flash gave her a coy smirk back. "Hey, this is me we're talking about."

"Exactly," Cadance replied, giggling. The two laughed before going their separate ways, Cadance returning to her throne while Flash followed Shining out the room. The two stallions traversed the corridors once again, coming to a flight of stairs that lead up to a higher floor. Once there, Shining directed Flash to a large balcony that let the two of them see the whole northern side of the city.

"Quite a sight, isn't it?" Shining asked him as they walked up to the edge.

"It sure is." Flash nodded in agreement. "In another life, I might have thought about living here."

"We'd be glad to have you," Shining replied, nudging Flash's shoulder as the duo chuckled. A second later though, Shining shook his head as he tapped his hoof in frustration. "Ruby has a point though. As long as Sombra's out there, the city will never truly be safe."

"But how the heck do we stop something like that?" Flash asked as he pointed to the blizzard outside of the city's barrier. "We barely got through that thing. Heck, I kinda wish we had just brought the Elements with us. One rainbow friendship blast and this whole thing could be over in twenty minutes."

Shining laughed at the idea as he tapped his horn, signaling Flash to look and frown. "It's never that simple Flash. You should know that by now."

"Yeah...sorry about that." Flash sighed, turning his head slightly away. "I should have been the one to hold him off while you and the girls got to the city."

Shining shook his head and slung his hoof around him, giving him a half-hug. "Stop that. I told you, you did what you could. You didn't know what you were facing, so of course you wouldn't want to face it. I'm glad you got me out when you did, but I would have called you an idiot if you didn't hold back." He then pointed to the city before him. "But the fact is, if Twilight's unable to find a way to keep Sombra out before Cadance runs out of strength...." He turned back to him, staring directly into the young defender's eyes. "You might be the only one capable of stopping him. Or, at least that blade of yours."

Flash frowned, not liking the pressure this put him under. Seeing this, Shining ended the hug before tapping Flash's chest. "I don't want to force you into anything, but I need you to promise me something. If the shield falls and what's out there gets in, make sure you keep Twilight and Cadance safe."

The next thing Flash saw was something rare from Shining. It was pure worry, plastered all over his face. Flash could see that he was trusting the safety of his family with him. Knowing he had that trust, it made Flash's heart swell. "I'll protect them Shining. All of them, I promise."

Shining shined a small grin before turning away from the balcony. "Then we'd better get out there and make sure everything's safe and sound."

Flash nodded and flexed his wings, taking off into the air as he began to patrol the empire. He spent the next hour surveying the city. As he did, he spotted more ponies on the street, all with the same gleam in their coat and manes as Ruby. But as he observed this, he decided to land down on a nearby street where he saw Ruby was patrolling. However, as soon as his hooves touched the ground, his ears perked up as he heard familiar voice.

"Flash!"

He turned around to see the voice's owner, only to see his friends running up to him. Twilight was in the lead as she held a book in her magic beside herself. Seeing this, Flash gave a slight frown as he asked, "Please tell me you've got something."

Twilight shined her usual confident smirk. "You bet we do."

The Crystal Fair

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"A crystal what?" Flash asked, blinking at his best friend. He, Twilight, Spike, Shining, Cadance and Ruby were now back in the castle's main hall. Spike was holding up a large book that Twilight was reading from as she explained how she intended to keep the Empire safe.

"A Crystal Fair," Twilight replied as she flipped through the tome. "According to this book, it was established by their first queen and became their most important tradition. The fair was held every year to renew the spirit of love and unity in the empire so they could protect it from harm."

"Okay, that makes sense." Flash said with a nod before turning to the Crystal Knight. "Hey Ruby, I don't suppose this is helping you remember anything, is it?"

Ruby had a look of deep focus on her face, rubbing her chin in thought. "It feels familiar, but...I don't know." She suddenly flinched and held her head, something Flash was told that happened to all the Crystal Ponies who tried to remember things before Sombra's rule. "Its...its still too fuzzy."

"The fact that you recognize it is a good start though." Cadance added as she went over to the book, flipping through it with her magic. "Hopefully, you and the other crystal ponies will be able to remember once they see it."

Twilight nodded in agreement. "My friends and I could put it together. After all, everything we need to know is in this book!"

"That does sounds pretty promising," Shining agreed, turning to Ruby with an approving smile. Unfortunately, she was still holding her head in pain.

"We'll get started right away," Twilight shut the book and pointed to her assistant. "C'mon Spike, we've got a Crystal Fair to put together!"

Flash and the others watched as Spike slowly followed after her, the book in his claws weighing him down since it probably weighed the same as him. Once they were both gone, Flash and Ruby turned to the royal couple, where Cadance then pointed at the two with a look of determination, "Alright, we have a plan. If that's the case, until the Crystal Fair is complete, it is important that the two of you stay on high alert."

"She's right," Shining told them as he walked up and gave his wife a half-hug. "Cadance is growing weaker by the second. It's very likely that her shield will give out before Twilight and her friends can get everything finished."

Flash shook his head, smirking at the couple. "I can gladly say that you're seriously underestimating the persistence of those girls." Flash then gripped his blade as he turned to Ruby. "Even so, we still need to get ready just in case things go wrong. Ready to get out there together Ruby?"

Ruby let out a low snort before turning towards the door. "Yes, though I think it would be best if we remain separated. It'll make our patrolling more effective." With that, she walked out of the room, leaving Flash and the royal couple behind.

"Okay...this is still going bad. I can't even talk to her." Flash grumbled as he watched her disappear. He did a slow facehoof as he held his head. "Grand is gonna kill me. I'm never gonna become a Royal Knight now..."

Cadance walked up and patted his shoulder. "Please don't blame Ruby. She's just trying to keep the Empire safe."

"I know that," Flash said as he slowly pushed the hoof off. "But ever since I got here, she's been treating me like I shouldn't be here. How am I suppose to convince her to rejoin the Royal Knights if she doesn't even want to be in the same room with me for more than five minutes?"

"Eh, you'll figure it out." Shining told him, walking in front of him with a smirk.

"Yeah sure. Thanks Shining." Flash mumbled with a roll of his eyes. He then walked towards the door, his head staring down at the floor. "I know she was expecting actual Royal Knights, but does she have to treat me like nothing just because I'm an apprentice?!" He didn't hear Cadance and Shining's answer, as his ears were already muting everything as he made his way out of the castle. As he left, he looked up and saw that Twilight had already gotten the rest of their friends busy preparing for the fair.

"Yo Flash!" He hopped in place and turned his head, soon seeing Rainbow flying towards him hastily.

"Hey. What's up Rainbow?"

"Jousting, that's what's up." Rainbow replied as she came to a stop before pointing at the defender. "You and me are gonna put on a jousting demonstration during the fair, so we've gotta get the field prepared and practice."

Flash looked at her as if she had grown a second head. "Rainbow...I'm supposed to be keeping guard." Flash said in a monotone tone, tapping his sword at his side. "I can't let Ruby do that solo."

Rainbow leaned over, their noses almost touching. "But I need you Flash! I can't joust solo, and everypony else is busy!"

Flash wanted to refuse her, but she then gave him some pleading eyes that he could not resist. Letting out a long sigh, he shook his head as he replied, "Alright, I'll help you set up. But its got to be quick, okay?"

Rainbow gave him a smirk before tapping her chest in confidence. "Don't worry. With our speed, it'll be done in no time."

"Then let's get going." With that, Flash and Rainbow took to the air and flew over to where they were gonna having the joust. It was a crystal sports stadium that reminded Flash of the gladiator arenas he had learned in his history of war lessons. The place looked like it had seen better days, with the seats looking cracked and the field having several large holes in it. Seeing this, Flash looked over at Rainbow and gave her a frown. "It'll be done in no time, huh?"

Rainbow just gave him a shrug along with a nervous chuckle. "It could be worse."

"How?"

"You could be listening to Pinkie trying to play the flugelhorn."

Flash's mind suddenly flashed back to having to hear Shining play that when he was younger, only for it to be replaced with Pinkie. He shivered at the thought, remembering how he wished he didn't have ears back then. "Maybe a little clean up won't be so bad."

"Told ya."

Flash stared a couple of daggers at her. "Shut up and get to work."

As such, the two quickly got to work. Rainbow zipped around the field to try and fill in all the holes while Flash found a bottle of something called crystal sealant. Turns out, it was a weird magical paste that he could use to fill in the cracks in the seats, which had the same crystalline shine to it. It also had a terrible smell, which disappeared when it hardened. He would have to make sure Twilight did not find out about the stuff, or he knew he would be stuck with that smell in the library while she studied it. Eventually, the last of the cracks were fixed and the final hole was filled, allowing the two to set everything they would need. It had taken about an hour and a half, but the arena was finally ready.

"Finally finished...." Flash moaned as he dusted his hooves off.

"Wonder how the others are doing?" Rainbow asked.

"Let's go see." Flash turned towards the exit, only to notice someone standing at the top of the seats staring down at him. "Uh oh..." Flash gulped as he and Ruby locked eyes. There was a large frown on her face, causing Flash to nervously chuckle before giving a small wave. The gesture alone made her turn and leave, her frown growing as she did. The sight made Flash facehoof. "Awwww great."

"You okay?" Rainbow asked, not noticing Ruby's presence as she had just fixed the last bit of the arena.

"I think I just went from being in Ruby's bad books, into being in her really bad books."

Rainbow let out a small chuckle before patting her hoof on his back. "Don't worry so much Flash. Come on, hopefully Pinkie stopped playing that stupid instrument."

Flash slightly nodded before flapping his wings, getting airborne as they flew out of the stadium and back to the castle's forecourt. Along the way, they saw everything the others had managed to do in the time that they were in the stadium. Several booths had been set up, along with a petting zoo filled with many adorable animals for the younger ponies to enjoy. Banners were tied between the tents that held the booths, and one corner of the fair ground was filled with carts that held many different foods. Flash licked his lips at seeing that before spotting Twilight, Spike and the others in the center of it all.

"This all looks great," Flash said as he and Rainbow landed next to them.

Twilight turned to him and beamed a smile. "This doesn't look great, it looks amazing! I don't know how I could've done this without you all!" She started walking around, the book in her magic. "One last check to make sure everything is in place and then the festivities can begin!"

"What's this thing for?" He heard Applejack ask. He then saw her standing next to some kind of crystal podium, with a heart shaped crystal balanced on top of it.

Twilight flipped the pages of her book to the very last one, which showed a sketch of a bunch of ponies bowing around some kind of heart. Flash noticed that lines were coming off the heart as Twilight then explained, "The last page of the book mentioned a Crystal Heart as the fair's centerpiece, so I used my magic to cut one out of a crystal block."

Applejack smiled at the pedestal, walking up and patting Twilight on the back. "Nice work, Twi. Ah think we're ready to get this fair up and runnin!"

"Yeah," Flash agreed with a nod, "If this doesn't get the crystal ponies feeling all lovey-dovey, then nothing will."

"YEAH!" The others all cried in joy.

"Then let's get into position," Twilight said as she turned towards the castle. "Pinkie, with me. The rest of you get ready to show the crystal ponies where everything is."

"Yes ma'am," Flash replied with a joke salute. Twilight rolled her eyes with a smile before she and Pinkie rushed inside, Flash and the others going to their needed locations. Flash flew up to the roof of a crystal building, making sure nopony was too close to the edge of the barrier so that they couldn't hear the announcement.

Seeing that nopony was, his ears were then suddenly bombarded by the sound of a horribly played flugelhorn, making him cover them and cry out, "And I thought Shining didn't know how to play!" He then had to suffer another blast of the horrible sound as the crystal ponies all stepped out of their houses to see what the racket was all about.

"Hear ye, hear ye!" Twilight called out to the city, getting impressive range considering her usual voice. "Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor do cordially invite you to attend the Crystal Fair!"

Flash saw the crystal ponies step out of their homes, all suddenly changing into a vibrant sparkling form as they did. "So that's what they're all supposed to look like." Flash told himself as he watched the ponies head towards the fairground. He took to the sky and watched them all gather around the castle as Applejack and the others began to show them around.

"Come on in y'all," the earth pony farmer said. "Got food and drinks that-away, games and crafts are that-away. Crystal Heart to the back near the princess." The second Applejack mentioned the Crystal Heart, Flash noticed that the crystal ponies began to murmur amongst each other.

And so, the festival was underway, with Twilight and all their friends running the stalls. Flash helped Fluttershy and Applejack man the stalls, putting aside something called a crystal berry pie that he could have later. He then helped Pinkie with her jester routine, tossing her objects she could juggle. After this, Flash returned to the food stall and got his pie before heading to a nearby roof so he could snack on it while looking over the fair. While he continued his watch, his tongue touched the shining treat, causing his taste buds to go to tasty heaven. His taste buds soon told his brain to tell Pinkie to add this to Sugarcube Corner's menu once this was over. That and tell his best friend Soarin about it, knowing the Wonderbolt's addiction to pies. Finishing the treat, he let out a loud burp before looking back down at the fair, catching sight of a certain somepony in the corner of his eye.

It was Ruby Scarlet, who seemed to be hiding away behind a building a few yards from the fair. Flash was only able to spot her because of his higher altitude. Grabbing his plate, Flash jumped off the roof and glided down to street level as he placed the plate on a nearby table. There, he walked over to the knight with a big grin on his face. "Hey there."

Ruby turned to look at him, a dull expression on her face.

"Come to enjoy the festivities?" Flash asked, his grin getting wider. "Everypony else seems to be having a good time."

Ruby turned back to look at all the ponies enjoying themselves, a soft smile appearing on her face. "No, I'm not joining, but...I am glad that they are all enjoying themselves, especially after everything they've had to go through. Maybe there is hope for us now."

Flash shook his head at the knight, chuckling at her response. "There's always hope for us. If there's one thing I've learned from everything me and my friends have been through, its that hope only disappears when we stop looking for it. As long as we keep trying, even when things look to be at their worst, there's always a chance."

Ruby let out a small giggle. "Really now? That's not something a knight or a squire usually says. Then again, I don't pit most soldiers as optimists."

Flash just shrugged at this. "I'm not an optimist, I'm a realist. Though its reality that isn't always as bad as you think it is."

Hearing that, Ruby did something she had not done in a thousand years. She laughed. "Indeed, you are an unusual one." She then frowned again, rubbing her hoof as she slightly looked away. "I'm sorry I've been so hard on you since you arrived. It's just...everypony I knew is gone and I...I failed my duty. Granted, I don't remember how it happened, but I know I did fail. Not only that, the Royal Knights, their squires, everypony...they're all gone and I can't even remember them. I can't help feel like-"

"Like becoming my friend or being close to anypony here would mean you're replacing them?" Flash finished for her.

Ruby sighed. "Yes...or no. I'm honestly not sure at this point with my scattered memories."

"I understand," Flash told her with a nod. "If it were me...I honestly don't know if I could take it. If I lost Twilight or Spike or Scootaloo or even Springer....I don't know what I'd do."

"Springer?" Ruby asked with a tilt of her head.

"My partner. He's back home, keeping the place intact. He's a jakhowl."

Ruby's eyes went wide as she felt a small click in her head. "A jakhowl?"

"Yeah. Did you know them?" Flash asked, now remembering that jakhowl were around back then thanks to Luna telling him at the gala.

Ruby replied with a nod. "Oh yes. I was friends with a jakhowl back in the day. His name was..." the knight tapped the side of her head in thought. "Hmm...ah! Now I remember! His name was Sharp Paw."

"Sharp Paw?" Flash tilted his head, his own mind now searching through his memories.

"Yes. He was a good friend to me and Princess Luna. He was the leader of the jakhowls back then, and was very loyal to Princess Luna. That and..." Ruby explained before another click went off in her head. Her expression turned to despair as she rubbed her head in frustration. "And now I just realized that he's somepony I'll never get to see again! AUGH!" Her head lowered down to the street as tears started to form in her eyes. "I really am all alone in this strange new world!"

Flash put his hoof on her shoulder, shaking his head with a soft smile. "Hang on there. You're not alone."

"But I-"

Flash leaned down and put both hooves on her shoulders. "Listen, losing everyone you've ever known, I understand that's difficult. But you're not alone." He got back up and pointed to all the crystal ponies enjoying the fair. "Look at them. They're all like you, lost and feeling alone. They need somepony like you to help show them that they still have a place in the world." He turned back to her, giving her a confident smirk. "And besides, there are those from before who are still around. Celestia and Luna are still here, and I'm sure they're looking forward to seeing you again."

Ruby thought about what he said. He made a good point, just because most of the ponies she knew were gone didn't mean it would stop her.

"And even if there wasn't anypony else here with you, you still wouldn't be alone. I can safely say that the Royal Knights will definitely let you back into their ranks. Maybe they can't be here right now, but that doesn't mean they don't want to help you." Flash leaned back down again, tapping his sword by his side. "And you're still here to protect the empire aren't you? I have a feeling that's not gonna change, even if a thousand years have passed."

"I...guess you're right." Ruby mumbled as looked down at the ground, her mind aflush with the new thoughts Flash had given her. Flash watched as her hoof seemed to raise up, touching the crystal on her necklace. He then noticed that Ruby didn't realize she was doing it, as if it was a habitual tick.

"What is that?" He asked, nodding at her necklace. Ruby saw where he was looking and began to stare at it. "Its obviously important to you and I was uh....just wondering."

Ruby smiled as she continued to stare at it. "Its called the Crystal Promise, and it was given to me by Princess Amore on the day I was knighted. Since she was not an Alicorn, she could not give me a Celestic Gear. Instead, she gave me this special gem that makes it easier for me to focus my magic. It helps me create things with less effort." Her horn and gem both soon began glowing, creating a makeshift crystal sword in front of Flash.

"Wow," Flash said as he took the crystal sword and looked it over. "Incredible. Its sharp and everything. But uh...why is it called Crystal Promise?"

Ruby once again placed her hoof on the gem. "I called it that so that whenever I look at it, I would be reminded of my Knight's Vow."

Flash blinked, a confused expression on his face. "Knight's Vow?"

Ruby turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "Don't tell me the Royal Knights no long hold the Knight's Vow."

"Uhhh...."

"I'll take that as a yes." Ruby deadpanned, almost facehoofing in frustration. "Unbelievable."

He gave her a nervous chuckle. "You might want to talk to the other knight's to be sure. I've never heard of it, but I might have not been listening when Grand Hoof was telling me about it." Ruby quickly glared daggers at him, insulted at the notion while Flash leaned slightly back, a shaky smile on his face. "Yeah...sorry. I do that sometimes."

Ruby let out a long sigh as she rolled her eyes. "For your information, The Knight's Vow is a sacred oath that all Royal Knights take when they are knighted." Ruby gave him a salute, her hoof over her chest. "It is a promise that they must keep until the day they no longer wish to be a knight. My Knight's Vow was to keep the Crystal Empire and all of Equestria safe from harm. To help those in need, even if it puts me in danger and to make sure that the Crystal Heart always shi...shining." Ruby came to a sudden stop, her body going rigid as she did where her eyes went wide. The knight then put her hooves over her head, shivering as her eyes began to twitch. "No....the heart. The heart..."

"Uh...Ruby?" Flash asked in concern, leaning over with a small frown. "Are you alright? You're not looking so-"

Ruby raised her head back up, glaring at his eyes with despair in Ruby's. "I...I remember. I remember everything."

"You do?" Flash hopped in place, his face shifting into a grin. "That's great!"

Ruby quickly shook her head, her expression turning a shade darker. "No. No it isn't. What I remembered isn't good at all."

"What do you mean?"

"The Crystal Fair. It won't work. It won't stop Sombra."

Flash raised an eyebrow. "Of course it will. What did I tell you about ho-"

"NO!" Ruby interrupted, her face zipping up to Flash's, just inches away. "It won't work because we don't have the most important aspect of the fair! We don't have the Crystal Heart!"

"But Twilight made a Crystal Heart." Flash replied, pointing to castle behind them.

"No, you don't understand." Ruby remarked as she shook her head. "The Crystal Heart isn't just some fancy looking display, its an ancient relic! Before Sombra, the empire was protected by the Heart's power. It created a special barrier that protected the empire from the ice storms outside of the city, along with anything that might try and destroy it. The purpose of the Crystal Fair was to help increase the light and love inside the hearts of the crystal ponies, which they used to recharge the Heart."

Flash's eyes went wide at hearing this. "Then...where is it?"

"Nopony knows," Ruby grumbled, crossing her hooves. "When Sombra took over, he stole the Heart and hid it away so it couldn't be used against him."

Seeing this, Flash flexed his wings. "Twilight needs to know about this. I'll go on ahead and tell her, so meet me back at the castle, got it?"

"Understood." Ruby replied, giving him a salute as the defender took the sky. She watched him fly over the fair at breakneck speed, blinking at the sight before turning around. She stared at the barrier over the city, the field flickering on and off. "Hmm...what should I do?"

Flash on the other hoof, had just arrived to the castle's main balcony. There, he found himself with Twilight, Rainbow, Cadance and Shining as he landed with a grim look on his face. "Guys, we got a problem."

Rainbow turned to him, frustration obvious on her face. "If its about the Crystal Heart, then we already know."

"Good." Flash turned to his best friend. "Got anything Twilight?"

Twilight was hastily flipping through the book. "I'm trying to figure out how I didn't before." She flipped the book back to the final page, only to a small scrap of ripped paper. "There was a page missing?! How did I not notice?"

"It's alright Twilight," Cadance tried to move over to comfort her, only for her stumble. As she began to collapse, Shining managed to catch her, but her horn began to lose it's spark.

"She can't keep this up," Flash grimaced, soon glancing at the barrier outside. There, he saw the flickers of shield, its power failing. Not only that, he saw a familiar dark cloud just outside the barrier, already ready to get inside the city. "That's not good."

"Sombra...." Rainbow gasped as she saw the pony's face appear out of the darkness.

"He looks mad," Flash said, his voice a mixture of humour and worry.

Shining stepped over to the balcony with Cadance, helping her see the rest of the city. "The empire is under attack." He said before giving his wife a reassuring smile. Cadance smiled back before she started to concentrate, flowing magic into her horn again. In a flash of light, the shield once again domed the city, keeping the cold and darkness out of it. However, the small surge made the Princess of Love almost collapse, saved only by Shining keeping her steady.

The new prince saw his wife's pain and grew angry as he looked out at the now retreating darkness. "I have to find the Crystal Heart."

Twilight shook her head, patting her brother with a look of determination. "No Shining. You're staying right here with Cadance. She needs you." Shining wanted to retort his sister, but as he looked down at Cadance, he knew she was right. At the same time, Twilight went up to Flash and Rainbow. "Alright, its up to us to retrieve the Crystal Heart." With that, she rushed back into the castle.

"Let's do this!" Rainbow yelled as she and Flash rushed after her.

As Twilight raced through the halls, she looked back at the two of them. "I've been trying to figure out how I'm meant to pass Celestia's test, and I believe retrieving the Crystal Heart is how I do it." Twilight closed her eye for a second before opening them with a look of pure determination. "While I do that, I need the rest of you to do something else."

"Name it!" Rainbow replied, smirking.

"We're at your service," Flash agreed with another mock salute.

"You and the rest of our friends have to keep the fair going."

Rainbow looked shocked at this suggestion. "What?! Are you kidding me?! You want us to do that while that...thing is moving closer to the empire?!"

Twilight nodded. "The whole purpose of the Crystal Fair is to lift the spirits of the crystal ponies so they can activate the Crystal Heart."

"Yeah...and?"

Flash caught on. "If the crystal ponies found out Sombra was back and trying to re-enslave them, they wouldn't exactly be dancing and singing."

"Exactly." Twilight replied as they finally made it outside. "If I find the Crystal Heart and they're not happy, we can't use it to save the empire. That's why you have to keep them happy here at the fair."

Rainbow nodded and gave a salute, finally understanding what she needed to do. "Got it! We'll keep the fair going and the Crystal Ponies' spirits high!" With that, she flew off.

Flash and Twilight were about to move out, only for Shining's voice to call out to them from the balcony. "You two be careful."

"We will," Twilight said before she and Flash looked at one another. "Go follow Rainbow and keep the fair going, okay?"

"You got it." Flash replied with a wink.

Twilight nodded before smiling. "At least this time I won't have to worry about you doing something reckless and getting yourself killed."

Flash smirked, pointing at his chest as he replied, "Reckless...moi?"

Twilight laughed before she turned away from him. "Good luck."

"You too!" Flash called out before turning to fly away. As he did, a certain click went off in his brain as he flew down the street. Something was missing, and that something was Ruby. He glanced around as he said to himself, "Wait a minute...Ruby should have arrived by now. Where is she?"

Meanwhile...

Ruby had been making here way towards the castle, but upon seeing the barrier disappear for a second, she had reversed her direction. Now, she was making her way out of the city, towards the wastelands. Even when the barrier had returned, she remained on her path.

"I'm sorry princess," she said as she ran at her top speed. "I'm sorry Flash, but I can't let the empire fall again. I must stop him."

She soon arrived at the edge of the city, stopping at the crystal archway at the entrance of the city. She turned around and stared at the place she called home, remembering Flash's words from before. "I know you said I wasn't alone, but you were wrong." She closed her eyes and turned away from the city, passing though the archway as she tapped the barrier. Her eyes shot open, the pupils filled with anger and rage. "I...I have to do this. And I...I must do this alone."

She tapped her necklace, a luminous glow shining from the weapon. "Sombra...I will defeat you this time." she growled under her breath, glaring at the flickering barrier before her.

Then, she put herself in an offensive stance, a lone breath releasing itself out of her mouth. She knew that what she was about to do was stupid, reckless, and would most likely get her killed. But she still had to do it. For her home. For the ponies she had failed to protect. For the queen she had failed to save. For the friend she had failed to stop on that fateful day.

As she saw the flicker of the barrier again, she broke into a run. As she did, her body soon felt the hit of the barrier, knocking her back. The knight let out a yelp before hopping back up, shaking off the strike of the shield repelling. "Can't let this stop me..." she panted as she charged at the barrier again, slamming her body into it. The blow made the shield waver, knocking her away again. As she got up once more, she let out a low groan. "Blast it! I can't let this stop me!"

Narrowing her eyes, she let out one last roar before charging again, her whole body bum-rushing the shield. As she did, she felt the barrier crack, her hooves now going through. The sound made her fall forward, breaking through the shield as she felt the snow embrace her hooves.

And as she landed on the pile of white fluff, she slowly got up. She could feel the chilling wind, the blizzard now in her presence. As she stared at the snowy storm, memories flowed into her head as remembered everything leading up to this moment.

"This feeling...I remember it so well." she whispered to herself before her nostrils let out a final blast of air. Her eyes then narrowed as she said, "Sombra..."

The Crystal Promise

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"The first thing I could ever remember was one thing. I was alone."

A five year old Ruby Scarlet was shivering in the bitter cold of the night, her body walking down a low, broken alleyway. Despite the Crystal Heart's magic keeping the blizzard like wind of the frozen north out, the city could still be very cold after Celestia's sun was lowered. The young filly's entire body was numb, a feeling she was all too familiar with due to her constant exposure to the cold.

"I never knew who my parents were, or what happened to them, but it mattered not. All I cared about was staying alive, hoping that maybe one day my life could change for the better. It was that very reason I lived on the streets, trying every way possible to survive. My life was always like that, and I didn't know why about that either. But then one night, though I don't why I did it, I went to the one place nopony would regularly go. I went to the Crystal Heart."

Ruby found herself nearing the center of the city, a place she never went to due to there usually being so many ponies around in the day. As always, she was looking for somewhere warm to stay the night. But as she did, she felt a sensation cover her body, as if a string possessed her and pulled her towards a certain direction.

The direction was towards the crystal castle, center of the empire.

"Perhaps it was destiny. Maybe it was luck...or maybe, just maybe, it was something I was fated to do. Regardless, I felt as if I was...called there. Called to the Crystal Heart."

As she drew closer to the crystal castle, she suddenly felt the air around her warm up. Like a moth to the flame, she followed the warmth and found herself in the courtyard of the Crystal Castle. There, she spotted the source of the heat. The Crystal Heart.

The heart shaped jewel shined a brilliant glow, eradicating any sense of cold from Ruby's body. As she felt the sensation tremble through her body, the little filly stared at the ancient relic, seeing her reflection in its crystal surface. Then, in a blink of an eye, she saw her reflection begin to flicker and change. Eventually, the image became clear, showing Ruby as a full grown mare, standing tall in the middle of a raging battlefield. This new Ruby also wore a metal necklace around her neck, one with a red snowflake shaped crystal attached to it. As she wore this, the mare's unicorn began to shine and conjured a sword that appeared to be made out of the necklace's gemstone.

The new image shocked the filly, causing her to jump back. As she did, she felt herself bump into something behind her. She quickly looked around and saw the thing she had bumped into was a light pink unicorn mare with a dark pink mane and tail as well as a snowflake cutie mark. She wore a necklace similar to the one the reflection had been wearing, but with a heart in place of a snowflake. Ruby knew this pony all too well, as she was the ruler of the empire and protector to all its residents. "Princess Amore..."

The unicorn looked down at her with a large smile. "What did you see?"

The little filly felt her whole body once again go numb, except this time it was not from the cold. Despite this, she did not want to be rude to the princess for not answering. "I saw myself, but I was older and I looked like I was some kind of warrior."

The unicorn princess smile brightened. "You know, they say the Crystal Heart's reflection has magical properties. In fact, it is told that it can reflect what is in your heart. Based on what you saw, I'd say you have the heart of a protector."

Ruby's eyes went wide in awe at this. "I do?"

Amore nodded happily. "Indeed. Tell me, what is your name young one?"

"Ruby, Ruby Scarlet."

"And why are you here alone, Ruby Scarlet?"

"I...I don't have anyone to be with your highness."

The princess smiled again before turning towards the castle. "Well Ruby Scarlet, would you like to come inside my castle for some warmth? If you are one to have a heart of a protector, I will need to help guide you. In fact, why don't we use tomorrow to look into finding you a more permanent residence?"

Ruby almost didn't respond. She didn't say a word as a smile appeared on her face as she nodded to the princess, soon following after her to stay out of the cold night.

"That night changed my life forever. Before I knew it, Princess Amore was helping a street urchin like me find my destiny. She started out by trying to find out who my parents were and where I came from, hoping that would lead me to my path...but it was all for naught in that direction. Though she tried very hard, Princess Amore couldn't find out where I came from. As such, she sent me to live at Chestnut Fall's Orphanage."

Ruby and Amore were standing outside a building titled 'Chestnut Fall's Foal Center'. The door opened and out stepped a light brown crystal earth pony with a dark brown mane and tail. A smile graced her face as she opened her hooves to me. "Hello Ruby, my name is Chestnut Falls. You'll be living with me for a while, okay?"

"Before I knew it, I was one of the many foals in that orphanage. But despite no longer being on the street, I still found myself alone. I was the only crystal unicorn in the orphanage at the time, causing the other crystal ponies to shun me. Despite that, the Crystal Heart's vision had given me a purpose, to one day become a great protector. Because of this, I believed that I had to fulfill this destiny. And so, all of my free time was spent training, to become the hero I was destined to be."

A ten year old Ruby was in the orphanage's garden, a stick in her magical clutches. She was swinging the stick around haphazardly, trying to hit the tree she was aiming at. But each time she did, it would miss, either going to far left or to the far right. "Blast it!" Ruby yelled, growling as she levitated the stick by her side. "Come on Ruby, you can do this."

But before she could continue, the sound of snickering caught her attention. She turned around and saw a group of fillies and colts that also lived at the orphanage, all of them giggling at her.

"Still trying to play hero huh?" A light blue colt with a white mane and tail said.

"Aren't you too old to be playing such a foalish game?" A pink filly with a blue mane and tail added.

"I'm not playing, I'm training." Ruby growled, turning back around to the tree.

"Training for what?" a filly with a dark blue coat, mane and tail replied. "You trying to become the greatest stick twirler or something?"

The young ponies all laughed at this, making Ruby turn around again. Here, she gave what could only be described as a look of pure determination. "Stop laughing!" she yelled as she pointed at herself. "I'm training to become a protector, as that's what I'm gonna be when I'm older. I saw it in the Crystal Heart!"

The colt walked up to her face, showing an all-knowing smirk. "Oh please, like a loser like you could ever be a protector."

The pink filly behind him walked up and gave Ruby a scoff. "Yeah! I bet you made that up because the Crystal Heart showed you some lame future. What are you really gonna become? Some low-life janitor maybe?"

"Nah, I bet she won't get a destiny at all." the colt added, snickering. "I bet she'll just be some-"

"NO IT DIDN'T!" Ruby screamed back. "I'm gonna be a hero, no matter what!"

"Oh really? Then where's your cutie mark?" the blue filly remarked with her tongue out. "If you already know what you're gonna be, then you should have a cutie mark."

Ruby was about to respond, but she stopped as she looked back at her blank flank. Seeing this, the others began to laugh and insult again, "See? You're nothing special, you stupid freak." The colt spat while the others giggled. "Now do us all a favor and stop messing around in our playground. It's getting annoying loser." The trio laughed at her before turning to strut away, leaving Ruby alone.

The little filly's legs gave out, making her fall to the ground as a sad frown appeared on her face. Were they right? If she really was meant to be a protector, then shouldn't she already have a cutie mark?

"That was the first time I ever felt like I had wasted my life. I felt as if I didn't matter, just like when I was on the streets. I stopped my training, believing it wouldn't help. But not for long. I would soon restart it thanks to him."

It was breakfast time at the orphanage and once again, Ruby was sitting at a table alone, none of the other ponies wanting to be anywhere near her. But as she finished off her bowl of oats, the main door opened and Chestnut walked in. She was followed by a gray unicorn colt about her age, with a black mane and tail. However, unlike the rest of the ponies in the room, he had no crystal coat.

Chestnut cleared her throat, getting everypony's attention. "Listen up everypony. This is Sombra, and he'll be staying with us from now on. I want you all to help him adjust to living here, understood?"

"Yes Miss Chestnut!" The young fillies chanted, a response basically programmed into them at this point.

Ruby watched as Sombra moved over to another empty table, looking around the room with a look that she could only call fear. Finally the colt's eyes landed on her, causing her to look back down at the empty bowl.

"At the time, I didn't think anything would happen of being around him. He would most likely think of me in the same way as the others, so I kept my distance. Over the weeks, Sombra quickly began to adjust to life in the empire. Despite not being able to say anything other than his name at first, he quickly began to learn and could eventually speak in a 'relatively' normal way. But even so, that did not help him fit in."

Ruby was in the garden with the other young ponies, sitting under the tree she used to use for training. The others were playing with a ball, ignoring her like they usually did. Ruby leaned back on the tree, her eyes slowly closing as she decided to use it to take a small nap. That is, till her ears heard a certain voice.

"Greetings friends."

Ruby opened her eyes and looked for the voice, only to see Sombra step into the garden. There, he moved over to the other ponies, a happy smile plastered on his face.

"Can Sombra play too?"

The same three ponies that had made Ruby give up her training all rolled their eyes. The pink one sighed before talking to the others, completely ignoring Sombra. "Why does he talk like that? I don't even know why they keep him around, he's not even a crystal pony."

The blue one nodded in agreement. "I don't even know what he is. He doesn't even have his cutie mark."

Ruby rolled her eyes in frustration. What was it with those three and their obsession with cutie marks? She then watched as the others turned away from Sombra and walked away, their heads held high. "Go away sombrero. We don't want anypony to see us with a weird pony like you."

"Yeah! They might think we're weird, like you!"

"But-"

The pink one turned and flicked Sombra's nose, "Didn't you hear us you stupid, weirdo freak?! We don't want to be seen with you! Go away!"

Ruby blinked at this, her teeth grinding inside her mouth. She didn't know why, but she couldn't stand seeing what was in front of her. Getting up from her napping spot, she walked up and said, "Hey! Why don't you lot get off your high horses and stop thinking you're all Celestia's gift to Equestria!"

Everypony turned to look at her, followed by laughter from the trio as the blue filly pointed at her, "Look everypony, it's the great protector. So, still trying to be a hero?"

"Yeah! The great protector of weirdos!" the pink filly chimed in. "What a loser!"

Ruby just shook her head before walking up to Sombra, patting his shoulder. "Don't bother trying to be their friends. They're not worth anypony's time."

The three hopped in place at this insult. "We're worth more time than you disgusting freaks." the pink filly said as she patted her chest. "We're real ponies unlike you weirdos."

The blue colt stuck out his tongue before pointing at Ruby and Sombra. "Eh, let's just leave these losers alone. After all, you two deserve each other."

With that, they all walked away, leaving the duo alone. Once they were gone, Sombra turned towards Ruby and smiled. "Thank you for helping Sombra."

Ruby smiled back as she patted him again. "Don't mention it."

"After that day, Sombra and I were inseparable. I don't know why we were, but we just became that way. We played together, enjoying our youth to the fullest. He sat next to me in every class, usually passing notes to each other that were written in our own little language we invented. The other ponies still laughed at us, but we didn't care. As long as we were together, we were happy.

Eventually, I told Sombra about the Crystal Heart and what it had shown me. Unlike the others, he believed me and begged me to start training again. Granted, it took over a week to convince me, but I eventually caved in. Heck, we both practiced our magic, seeing as we were both unicorns.

At the time, I didn't know better. I didn't what was going to happen when I did what I did. For you see, I decided to show Sombra what I had seen. I asked him to come with me to go see the Crystal Heart."

"Come on Sombra!" Ruby cried happily as they raced through the city towards the castle, making their way to the Crystal Heart. Before they knew it, they had arrived and Ruby slowly pushed Sombra up to the relic. As the two stepped up to the heart, they began staring at it as they waited for it to show their reflections. Ruby watched as her reflection changed to the warrior pony she had seen before, the vision making her heart jump for joy.

But when she turned to look at Sombra, she noticed a look of terror on his face. Before she could say anything, Sombra leapt back, much like she had done five years ago. And just like five years ago, he bumped into a familiar unicorn, causing the duo to gasp in surprise.

"Princess Amore." Sombra whispered as he looked at the regal ruler he had just bumped into.

The princess smiled down at him. "You know, they say the Crystal Heart's reflection has magical properties. In fact, it is told that it can reflect what is in your heart." Ruby smiled at hearing the same words the princess had said to her so long again. But that was when Amore looked down at Sombra, her smile slightly growing. "But I've always believed we have to power to shape our future however we want it, so whatever you saw...you have the power to change it Sombra."

Ruby was taken back at those words. They were completely different from what the princess had told her all those years ago. The filly turned to Sombra, who replied to the princess with a look of uncertainly. "B-B-But I didn't see anything. All I could really see was darkness. Like...like a shadow or something."

Amore nodded. "I believe you Sombra." She raised his chin with her hoof as she continued to smile before glancing at Ruby. "Now, you two both better go home for now. The Crystal Heart is not something foals should just play with, okay?"

"Yes your majesty." they both replied in unison.

"If only I had known that that was the day Sombra had gotten his first glimpse of his future. I could have prevented everything...but I was a foal. A naïve foal, who didn't know a thing.

Four days later, the Crystal Fair arrived. I had gone before and had told Sombra about it, specifically about the fair's crystal corn, a treat I adored when I was a filly. He had never gone to the event, so Sombra and I had been saving our money, wanting to spend it on the fair's treat. But on the day of the festival..."

As soon as Celestia raised the sun, Ruby shot out of bed and rushed from her room towards Sombra's. "Sombra, wake up!" She cheered as she kicked open his door. "It's time for the fair!"

But as she entered the room, she found Sombra in his bed. Sweat poured down his face as he laid there, his whole body shivering. "Sombra? Are you okay?"

Sombra at first didn't reply. Instead, he looked over at her and gave her a pained look before slowly saying, "I...I don't feel so good."

"The doctors had no idea what was wrong with him. He just laid there in bed, pain flowing through him. As the day wore on, Sombra's condition got worse and worse. As for me, I stood by his side the entire time, comforting him any way I could. And as I did, he kept telling me to go to the fair, but I refused. I wouldn't leave him.

It wasn't until the fair came to an end that Sombra's pain subsided, allowing him to rest easy. The next day, Sombra was feeling better then ever. Heck, we even began planning for the next year's fair.

But that never happened, as on the day of the next fair, Sombra once again grew ill. Again and again the fair came, and Sombra's sickness left him bedridden and in pain. And as the years went by, I realized why he kept getting sick and decided to see if I was right."

"Why are we up so early?" Sombra asked as he rubbed his tired eyes while Ruby pulled him out of the orphanage.

Ruby didn't look back at him as she continued walking towards the edge of town. "I think I know why you keep getting sick."

"You do?"

"Yeah, I do. I think its the Crystal Fair." she replied as they hit the edge of the city. She turned to Sombra with a glare. "I don't know why, but I think its causing you to get sick. But we need to be sure, so we're leaving the city for the day."

Sombra's eyes went wide. "Are you nuts?! That's suicide! We'll freeze out there, or get eaten by monsters!"

"We'll be fine," Ruby said with a wave of the hoof. "If anything bad happens, I'll keep us safe with my magic." She was referring to the crystal making spell she had been working on for several months, but there was only one tiny problem with it.

Sombra came to halt, his left eye twitching. "As I just said, are you nuts?! You've never made anything bigger than a few inches. How is that supposed to help us?"

Ruby looked back at him and grabbed his hoof. "We'll be fine. Come on Sombra, let's find out the truth about you and that fair."

The two arrived at the barrier, seeing there was no blizzard in the distance. After giving Sombra a hardened glare, he agreed and the two walked through the shield. There, the chill of the freezing wind instantly embraced their body. The duo quickly huddled together for warmth as they started heading towards a nearby mountain. As they reached the first edge of the massive hill, Ruby turned to her friend. "How are you feeling?"

Sombra looked up at her before glancing at his own body, blinking, "I feel...great. No pain whatsoever."

The news made a large frown appear on Ruby's face. "So I was right. The Crystal Fair is the thing that's hurting you."

"But why?"

"I...don't know."

Sombra was about to ask another question, but the words disappeared when a new sound caught his ear. It was a low, yet powerful growl that filled the air. The two ponies spun around to see the source of the noise, only to then see a large white bipedal creature with think fur around its head. On its head was a red crest, which complemented its blood red eyes and sharp teeth.

Sombra's eyes went wide as he cried, "YETI!!!"

Ruby reacted and leapt in front of her friend as the yeti let out a powerful roar. "Back off!" She yelled as she closed her eyes and sparked her horn. However, as she did, only a small red gem appeared and flew into the yeti, hitting it on the head. In response, the yeti scratched his noggin for a second in confusion. That is, till he decided to let out another roar, charging as he swiped his claws at them. Both ponies let out a cry as they tried to dodge the attack, both of them getting hit by the tips of the claws.

Ruby hit the snow with a yelp before quickly scrambling back up, her horn soon sparking, "Come on, work!" She fired another magical attack, this time creating two small gems that hit the yeti on the shoulder. But the beast didn't even seem to notice, instead focusing on Sombra as it prowled towards him with its claws and fangs ready.

"Get away!" Sombra cried in fear, scrambling on the ground as he tried to get away from the monster towering over him. "HELP ME!"

"Sombra!" Ruby yelled as she rushed towards them, only for the yeti to turn and backhand her with its claw. She let out a cry of pain as she smashed into a nearby rock, her head hitting the rubble first.

"RUBY!" Sombra cried out, only to get the yeti's attention. "Oh no..."

Ruby's head felt like it was on fire, her vision now blurry and unfocused. But even with her state of mind, Ruby could hear Sombra's cries. She tried to pick herself up, but her legs instantly gave out and she fell into the snow. "Sombra..." she whispered in defeat. "I...I...have to...."

"AAAAAAHHHHH!!!! RUBY!!!"

Sombra's cries once again filled her ears, causing her eyes to shoot open. As they did, they began to glow, a pink aura suddenly flowing out of them. The aura reached up to her horn as she slowly started to pick herself up. Sensing something was wrong, the yeti turned and froze at the sight of the crystal unicorn.

"Get...away....from...HIM!" On that last word, her horn exploded in a dazzling pink light. The light made the yeti and Sombra close their eyes, the light now illuminating the mountain top. It was then that the light began to take a solid shape, finally fading to reveal a twenty foot crystal sword levitating above Ruby's head.

"Go...away..." Ruby whispered before levitating the sword over the monster. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!" she roared, magically slamming the sword into the ground, causing a mini quake to happen. The yeti roared in fear, quickly spinning around the rushing back up the mountain pass. With the danger gone, Ruby's crystal sword dissolved as Sombra stared at Ruby, his eyes wide in amazement.

"That's was...incredible."

Ruby's eyes returned to normal as she staggered towards Sombra, giving him a weak and worried look. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but how did you-" Sombra tried to reply only for his eyes to see something that made him gasp. He lifted his hoof and pointed at it. "Your...your cutie mark."

Ruby blinked at his statement, only to then follow his hoof to her flank, soon an image of a silver shield with a crystal rose on it. "My cutie...mar-"

Before Ruby could say another word, her body went limp, instantly embracing the snow below her. Sombra cried out again, quickly going to her side. As he did, he turned back to the empire, seeing the city in the distance as he glanced back his friend.

A few hours later...

The next thing Ruby knew, she was waking up in a hospital bed. Her eyes slowly opened as she woke up on that mattress, her whole body aching from the blow of the yeti's claw. "Oooohhhh..." she moaned, blinking as she tried to look around. "Wha....where am I?"

"Oh Ruby..." Ruby blinked again, only to then see Princess Amore standing over her along with a doctor.

"Princess? What the...what happened?"

The princess gave her a large smile. "You finally unlocked your full potential my dear. We saw the light coming from the mountains and when we went to see what it was, we found Sombra carrying you back."

"Sombra..." Ruby's eyes went wide with worry as she bolted up from the bed's pillow. "Is he okay?!"

"He's fine. Though he did start getting weak when he entered the city, but-"

"It's because of the Crystal Fair! It hurts him!" Ruby interrupted, glaring at the princess. "Why?! Why does it hurt him?!"

Amore's face became one of sorrow as she let out a long sigh. "I don't know. Whatever is inside him seems to be causing him pain when the fair happens. I don't know why this happens, but I can only hope that it one day disappears and he can enjoy the fair with the others."

"But-"

The princess's hoof placed itself on Ruby's muzzle, instantly silencing her. "But that's a discussion for another time, my little pony." Amore's horn glowed and opened the hospital door behind her. "Right now, there's somepony I'd like you to meet."

Ruby turned to the door and her eyes went wide as two not crystal ponies enter the room. They were a pair of tall mares, the taller one having white fur and a rainbow mane while the shorter one was dark blue and had a mane that looked like a nebula. These ponies were like nothing she had ever seen before, both of them sporting a horn and wings. Amore pointed to the two with a smile on her face. "Ruby, meet Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. They're the rulers of Equestria and old friends of mine."

Celestia walked up to the bed, leaning over with a kind grin. "Hello Ruby, I'm Celestia. Amore has told me a lot about you. Apparently, you want to be a protector."

Ruby didn't respond. She just stared at the sight in pure, dumbfounded silence before nodding.

This time, Luna stepped up with a slightly smaller smile. "We can help you with that. After all, that is why we are here, as we wish to help you master your natural ability and grow into a true warrior."

Ruby's eyes went wide hearing this.

Amore put her hoof over Ruby's forehead, her grin growing. "You should take their offer. It's a great opportunity for you, and unlike the Crystal Empire, they have true warriors there that you learn from."

"To be fair, I had heard of Equestria. I had never thought of going there, but at the time, it felt like a dream come true. I was going to be trained to become what I'd always wanted to be. To become...a protector.

But as with all things, there was just one problem. I would have to leave my best friend."

The next day...

"You should go," Sombra told her as he helped Ruby out of the hospital room. "After all, isn't this your dream?"

Ruby tried to respond, only to frown as she began to stare at the floor. "But...but if I do...you'll be all alone."

In that moment, Sombra rose her chin with his hoof. "No I won't." Sombra replied, giving her the kindest smile she had ever seen. "Because even if you're a thousand miles away, I'll still have a piece of you with me. Our friendship is one that'll never be destroyed."

Ruby's heart felt like it was gonna explode, tears filling her eyes. She then threw her hooves around his neck, hugging him with everything she had. "I'll come back, I promise! I'll become the hero you inspired me to be! I will!"

Sombra hugged her back, tears starting to appear in his eyes as well. "I know you will."

"And so, I left my home, soon arriving at a place named the Castle of the Two Sisters. There, I was inducted into the guard and began to train. Though I was mostly focused on my studies, I had hoped to find friends there. But alas, it was once again not meant to be. The other ponies of the guard saw me as too strange, with my crystal coat, they seemed unsure of me.

It seemed I was fated to be alone and friendless as always. It seemed that Sombra would be my only friend. That is, until one day..."

A sixteen year old Ruby was in the courtyard, swinging a crystal sword at a training dummy. In the last year, she had learned how to craft almost any type of weapon out of her crystal magic. As she swung it around, three other guards walked into the courtyard, all wearing simple training armor. At the front of the trio was a unicorn with a brown coat and green hair, who quickly stepped up to Ruby with a big greasy smile on his face, his teeth shining like a row of pure white lights. "Hey there. You know, I've been watching you this last year. You ever do anything other than train and study?"

"What else would I do?" Ruby responded in a low, monotone voice. She didn't even turn around to face the stallion, as she suspected this was just another round of insults. "We're here to train."

The stallion quickly walked around and leaned on the training dummy, his grin growing. "There's more to life than training sweetheart. You need to open up a bit, have some fun."

However, Ruby didn't reply. Instead, she pulled the crystal sword out and began to morph the gem into a spear, her eyes making sure they weren't looking at the guard. As he saw this, the stallion let out a snort before placing his hoof on the spear, interrupting her magic. "You know, you're not half bad to look at."

Ruby froze in place, blinking rapidly as she gave him a quick glare. "Excuse me?"

The stallion just shrugged as he stopped leaning on the dummy. "Sure, the crystal coat thing's weird, but aside from that, you're pretty nice looking." His eyebrows then began to hop up and down as he pushed his hoof down on the spear she was holding, "How about you stop your training today and have some fun with a real stallion?"

With a flick of her horn, the spear vanished, causing the stallion to slightly stumble. As he did, Ruby turned around, "No thanks."

Growling at the rejection, the stallion rushed over to grab her by the shoulder. "Hey! Don't you walk away from me!" He spun her around with a tug, now glaring at her eye to eye. "Listen sweetheart, don't you know who I am?"

Ruby stared at the stallion for a second, only to push his hoof off as her glare intensified. "No, I don't. Should I?"

The stallion's grin turned into a huge frown, his sparkling white teeth showing again as his two friends walked up behind Ruby. "You're gonna regret that." he growled, leaning down until his and Ruby's muzzles almost touched.

"I don't think I will."

Meanwhile...

Princess Luna was taking her usual awakening stroll, as she had just woke up from her day time slumber to prepare for the night's work. Beside her was a tall bipedal figure, complete with a blue coat that had some black fur on it, red eyes and a white spike in its torso. Its name was Sharp Paw, an adult jakhowl and an old friend of Princess Luna's. The duo were about to take their usual path to the kitchen, only for Sharp Paw to come to a halt.

"Hmm? What is wrong Sharp Paw?" Luna asked, coming to a stop as well.

Sharp Paw turned and stared at a nearby hallway. "Something's wrong in the courtyard. The auras are...flustered."

Raising an eyebrow at the statement, the two quickly made their way to the courtyard. There, the duo came to a sudden halt again, their eyes going wide as Luna yelled, "What is going on here?!" She asked, restraining from using her Royal Canterlot Voice.

In front of her was three battered and beaten stallions, one of them now no longer having a perfect smile as four teeth laid out on the ground. Just a few feet away was Ruby, who gasped and quickly bowed at the sight of royalty. "Princess Luna! I-I-I-I'm sorry! I uh...they just-"

"Enough!" Luna stomped her hoof, prompting Ruby's mouth to stop. Luna took another look at the stallions, who were all moaning in pain, and then back to her. "Did you do this to them?"

Ruby slowly nodded, gulping as she admitted, "I did. Please forgive me, I just-"

Luna quickly walked up and put her hoof over Ruby's mouth, pausing the young mare. Ruby blinked at this before looking back at Luna's face, a large smile shining. "Impressive. There guards are several ranks higher than you, but you beat them with ease. I can tell, as you don't have a scratch on you." Luna then slightly turned her head, staring at her jakhowl companion. "Sharp Paw, gets these three medical attention immediately."

Sharp Paw did a quick bow. "Yes your majesty."

Luna turned back to Ruby, chuckling as she put her hoof around the unicorn's shoulders. "Its been a while since I've see a mare show soldiers above them what true talent is. Come, we will talk to my sister about having you moved up to a position that is more your...skill level."

"I was shocked after that moment. I thought for sure I would be punished for my violent actions, and I technically was going to be as Princess Celestia didn't like what I did. Thankfully, Luna convinced her to not punish me and had me join her guard. There, she began to train me personally, and the two of us soon became close.

Turns out, she was similar to me, one that was unnoticed and rejected by many ponies. I was originally surprised at this fact, as she was a princess, but it seems that whatever social standing you are, you can still be rejected. Despite this, I spent years under her tutelage. She taught me the way of swordponyship with my hooves, something I had not trained much with since I am a unicorn and prefer to use my magic.

We trained and fought together on missions, and she introduced me to the jakhowl clan, lead by the honorable Sharp Paw. I soon bonded with the aura-wielding warriors, having several of them join me on missions against all sorts of monsters like trolls, rogue griffons and Tricksters. I particularly became good friends with a jakhowl named Calm Paw, who was my fighting rival in those old times. She still beat me in our duels together, that being 30 wins to my 28.

It was here that I soon realized that I had made my first friends after Sombra, and more were soon to follow. Over the years, I bonded with the rest of Luna's guard, along with many of the Royal Knights of that era. And the more friends I gained, the more I wished to grow stronger and protect them. But despite all that, I never forgot about my first and best friend. I could never stop thinking about him.

And then finally..."

"Arise, Ruby Scarlet...The Crystal Knight."

A twenty two year old Ruby stood up as soon as she felt Celestia's sword leave her shoulders. She spun around to the room of ponies that had come to see her knighting, including Princess Amore, who were all cheering. And as the celebration continued, the princesses started a small banquet in my honor. As they did this, Princess Amore took Ruby aside.

"I'm so proud of you Ruby," Amore told her, putting her hoof on the knight's shoulder as they walked down a hallway. "You've come so far since the night I found you."

"Yes...I know." Ruby responded, slightly nodding as she continued to walk beside Amore.

"Are you alright?" Amore asked, leaning down as she saw the increasing frown on Ruby's face.

The new knight let out a low, long sigh. "I...I just wish Sombra had come. I miss him so much."

As soon as these words entered Amore's ears, she quickly turned her head away, "I know. I tried to have him come Ruby, but..."

Ruby came to a stop and glanced at the princess, blinking, "But what?"

Amore paused for a second, coming to a halt as well. She then looked back at the knight, a small smile on her face, "Its nothing. Don't worry about it."

"But-"

Amore shook her head and put her hoof on Ruby's shoulder. "Don't worry Ruby, you'll see him soon enough. After all, Celestia and Luna have allowed you to be stationed in the empire, didn't they?" Ruby nodded in response, her frown disappearing. Seeing this, Amore's grin got wider as she her horn began to shine. "That's reminds me, I need to show you something." A flash of magical light later, a box appeared and floated over to the knight. "This is a little present from me and the other princesses."

Taking the box in her own magic, Ruby opened up the box and her eyes went wide. It was a necklace, the same one Ruby had seen in her vision in the Crystal Heart, a necklace in the shape of a red snowflake. "This...this is..."

Amore leaned down and put her hoof over the necklace. "I worked with the princesses to forge this relic. Unfortunately, I am no alicorn, so it is not like a Celestic Gear. But the crystal inside the necklace will help you forge your weapons without using so much magic."

Ruby could feel tears brimming in her eyes as she put the jewelry around her neck, turning to Amore as she gave the princess a salute. "Thank you princess. I promise on this necklace, I will do everything in my power to keep the empire and everypony in it safe. I make it my knight's vow."

"It was here that me and Amore decided to call my new weapon, The Crystal Promise. I then said my goodbyes to Luna and my other friends there, as I began the last part of my journey to be a protector. I had succeeded, and returned to Crystal Empire as I would begin my duty as its hero.

But as I arrived, there was somepony I had to see before I started my duty..."

Ruby looked down at her piece of paper she held in her magic, then up at the small house. It looked more like a run-down shack, as its roof was rotting and the wooden door in the front had several slash marks over it and the walls. Was this really where he was living?

Ruby stepped up and knocked on the door, already feeling a tinge of hesitation in her body. Seconds passed with no answer, the knight slightly fidgeting as she started to worry. That is, until the door finally cracked opened. A familiar eye poked out from behind it, going wide when he saw who it was.

"Ruby?" The voice grumbled, the tone mature but still the same one she remembered from so long ago.

Ruby shined a huge smile. "Hello Sombra. It's been a long time."

"Yes...it has." Sombra replied, his tone still mumbling. "Its been seven years."

"I know. Time really flew, didn't it?" Ruby responded as she leaned towards the door, her smile widening. "It's good to see you. Can I come in?"

"No," Sombra immediately said, his hoof quickly shutting the door. "I'm...busy. I'm sorry, you must leave."

"Sombra?" Ruby reacted, her smile instantly disappearing. "What is-"

"Go away Ruby." Sombra replied, his voice growing colder by the second. "Please....just go."

"But Sombra-"

"GO AWAY!" Sombra yelled, making Ruby slightly backpedal at his raised voice. She had never heard him raise his voice like this. But as soon as she did, Sombra continued in a low, almost sad tone. "Please Ruby....just leave me be."

Ruby blinked at this, feeling tears starting to form in her eyes. She walked back up and tapped the door with her hoof. "Sombra? What's wrong? Why won't you let me see you?"

"I..." Sombra tried to say, only to then shut the door completely. "I'm sorry. I can't see you."

"Sombra-"

"I'm sorry Ruby." Sombra said again, his tone once again growing colder. "Please...just go."

"I should have known better when he reacted like that. Unfortunately, even after all that training, I was still naïve. I was such a foal to not have realized what was happening to my friend.

To be fair, I tried reaching out to him again and again, but every time Sombra would find an excuse not to be near me. And as the months went on, I tried less as I worked to keep order in the empire. I soon found myself as the head of Princess Amore's guard and was respected as such. In fact, the ponies that once ignored me, despised me while I was in the empire, now treated me like I was a princess. I had became the protector I wanted, no...what I was destined to be.

But as I said before, I was so naïve. So foolish to think I could be the protector I was destined to be. No, I was nothing more than a fool, a fool that lost everything on the eve of the next Crystal Fair..."

Ruby had finished her final patrol for the night, the last bit of it being a trip back to the empire's castle. As the knight walked down the dark streets under Luna's moon, her eyes spotted a pair of ponies she knew all too well. It was Princess Amore and Sombra standing face to face, Sombra wearing a black cloak and carrying a sack. In that moment, Ruby noticed something missing from its usual spot. The Crystal Heart.

Seeing this, Ruby kept to the shadows, wondering what was going on.

"All those years of suffering," Sombra spoke with a voice darker than any she had ever heard before. "And you knew why because you made it! You made the Crystal Heart to hurt me!"

"Not you Sombra," Amore replied, shaking her head. Her voice was firm yet still caring. "I saw that you had the potential to be better. I see it even now. You can choose-"

"ENOUGH!" Sombra screamed as a great flash of light appeared between the two, only to die down in an instant. As it vanished, Princess Amore disappeared, only for a statue of black and red crystal to stand in her shape. Ruby gasped at the sight, immediately running towards the statue.

"Sombra!" She yelled, causing him to hop in place. As he did, his hood unveiled itself, showing his horn to now be curved and red. Ruby blinked at the sight before looking back at the statue and saying. "What have you done?" She put her hoof on the rock as she whispered, "Princess, please talk to me. This is just a joke right? Some harmless joke that you and Sombra are playing on me."

"This is no joke." She turned back to Sombra, seeing a sinister smile on his face. "This is how things were meant to be."

"What are you talking about? Why have you done this?!"

"I have done this, because it needed to be done. I was destined to do it after all."

"Destined?" Ruby gasped, barely able to see anything else.

"Don't you see Ruby?" Sombra continued, his horn now starting to glow as his grin grew. "This is our destiny. To take over this city. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you before, but I could not risk anypony finding out about this. If they had, my work would have been for nothing."

Ruby looked back at the statue, her eyes filled with tears. "Why?"

"She wanted us to serve her, knowing we were the ones who were meant to be served. She restrained us, making us weak and broken. She made me suffer for years on end..." Sombra let out a low hiss, only to begin chuckling, "But now I've broken my restraints and shown the world who the true broken one is." His horn once again glowed, firing a beam which struck the statue, shattering it into a million pieces.

Ruby felt her heart break as she watched the only pony she had ever seen as a mother crumble into a pile a rubble. Then, the shards began to float into the air, all of them suddenly shooting off into the sky. Ruby closed her eyes, fighting back the tears that threatened to escape.

That is, till they reopened, now showing nothing but anger and rage. She spun around, her horn glowing as a crystal sword appeared into her hoof. She let out a mighty battle cry, quickly charging the dark unicorn. But as she tried to strike him down, the unicorn merely smiled at her attack, his body suddenly turning into a dark shadow.

Sombra soon reformed behind her, a chuckle escaping his lips. "Don't think you can stop me Ruby. I have become more powerful than you could ever hope to defeat."

"Shut up." Ruby replied, turning around as rage filled her being. "You'll pay for what you've done here. I will avenge Princess Amore and destroy you, you monster!"

Sombra just shook his head, laughing as he did. "I am not just any monster Ruby." He magicked off his cloak, revealing a royal cape that had been hidden beneath it. "I am the king of the monsters!"

"DIE!" Ruby screamed as she charged him again, only for her whole body to come to a stop. She soon saw that her whole body was wrapped up in his magic aura, paralyzing her as he levitated her towards him. "Let...me...go!"

"Don't worry, I will Ruby." Sombra replied as Ruby floated up to his face. "As I said before, I believed that we were supposed to rule together. However, I suspect you'll turn down my offer as my queen. Because of this, I'm going to let you live as part of our previous friendship." Sombra leaned forward, his wicked smile growing on his face. "I will let you leave this city unscathed and...well, you can make your own decisions after that."

"Don't you dare-"

"Goodbye Ruby. I'll make sure that the crystal ponies suffer for what they did to me." Sombra interrupted, only for his horn to shine again. This time, the aura covering Ruby flung her across the city, her body instantly hitting the snow outside in just a few seconds from the throw.

As she hit the snow, she felt herself lose consciousness for a few seconds. And as she woke up from the blow, she looked back at the city, only to see a wall of dark crystals to suddenly appear, barring the city from the outside. The knight soon tried to get up, only for her ears to hear a new sound. It was sound of the crystal ponies screaming as a dark shadow covered the city in an instant.

Ruby could only sit there, agape at the sight. A few minutes later, she turned and ran, knowing she could not win the battle alone.

"Nothing went right after that. I had failed, and I should have known better. I soon warned the princesses, and they laid siege to the castle. I did my part as well, working to try and take down the monster that had replaced my friend. But it didn't matter in the end. I still failed. That was all there was to it.

And as I think back on all of this, there is one question that has always lingered in my mind. That question was never what happened to my parents or why they left me. It was never telling me why the heart showed me my destiny, or why everypony around me picked on and hated me. I never questioned if I should have stayed and served under Luna, Celestia or if Amore was the right decision. No, there was only one single question in my mind."

The Present...

Ruby could feel the frigid snow under her hooves as soon as she broke through the barrier. Her body tensed as the freezing winds scattered throughout the land in front of her, already chilling her to the bone. But as she stood there in the snow, she only took a few steps forward. As she did, her horn lit up, instantly activating her snowflake necklace. The air around her shifted as a crystal sword appeared, shining in the white blizzard abyss around her.

"I know you're there." she said to the wind, her eyes narrowed as she pointed the blade forward. "Come to me."

It was not even a split second before the blizzard in front of her changed colours. The white snow morphed into a hazy, gray gas as the shadow within the storm began to appear. As it did, Ruby stared forward, only to see a pair green glowing eyes covered in a long dark smoke. The figure sped through the snow, instantly appearing before her as it towered over as a giant ball of shadowy smoke.

Then, a mouth formed within the smoke cloud, a grin soon following as it spoke.

"Hello Ruby."

"Hello...Sombra."

The cloud leaned over, the grin widening as Sombra asked Ruby one single question. "Tell me Ruby, are you ready to fail your kingdom again?"

Ruby didn't say a word. Instead, she shifted her body into a fighting stance, her sword now twirling beside her. A small breath of air came out of her nostrils as her hooves moved the snow. Letting out a tiny breath, she then replied, "No. I will protect them all Sombra. I will defeat you."

As the last few words exited her mouth, the shadow now grew a long, blood-red unicorn horn. With it, the smile grew again as it said, "I was hoping you would say that." With those words said, Sombra's horn began to glow. "Come. Let us finish what we started."

"Let's."

"For you see, there was only question I always thought about. It was this: Could I have prevented all of this? Could I saved everything if I had given up my destiny, my mark, my everything...could I have saved him if I had just stood by his side?"

The Crystal Darkness

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Canterlot...

Princess Celestia was not happy at the moment. Her face was filled with worry as she walked down the many corridors of her castle, all in search of her sister. She had already checked her room, only to find that Luna was not asleep. This made her come to only one conclusion, one that she found when she found her little sister inside Canterlot Tower.

"Sister?" Celestia asked as she walked up to Luna, who was currently in a trance as she stared at the many stain-glass windows. "Why are you up? You should be resting."

Luna continued to stare at windows as she replied. "I can not sister. I could not fall asleep."

Celestia knew where this was going. "You are worried for Ruby."

Luna nodded, a small tear trying to form in her right eye. "She was one of my closest friends before the Nightmare. You remember what happened when I lost her..." Luna began to look down at the floor, "And how it helped me lose myself..."

"Stop that Luna." Celestia grabbed her sister's head, turning her to stare at her straight in the eyes. "Don't go down that path again sister. You need to believe in her, and believe in Twilight and Flash. They will succeed."

Luna just stared at her intensely, her lip trembling as she responded. "Sister...you don't understand what you're asking. You don't know what Ruby would say about Sombra. They were best friends. Ruby spoke of him often, never with a negative word against him." Her expression turned a shade darker as she continued, "I was amazed when she came to us for help, telling us how the same innocent colt murdered one of the strongest unicorns we've known since Starswirl. Do you honestly think she will be able to fight him like back then?!"

"I...I do not know," Celestia turned to look up at the stain glass windows herself. "But I do know this sister. She will not be alone."

Meanwhile...

Ruby stood alone in the snow covered wasteland, glaring up at the mass of black shadows that stared down at her. Sombra's wicked smile made her feel a chill that ran down to her very soul, but she showed no signs of fear. She had cast them away, even those of her own death, long ago. She would defeat him, even if it cost her life itself.

She magically swung her sword around her body, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

Sombra let out a chuckle before slowly lowering himself towards the crystal mare, locking eyes with her. The shadow summoned a dark hoof, presenting itself directly in front of the knight, "Ruby, it doesn't have to be this way. Join me in my conquest of the empire, and together we will rule this land. It is our destiny."

"Never." Ruby immediately replied, pointing her sword at the shadow monster, "I will never join you after what you've done."

The shadow shook its head as Sombra's face disappeared into the dark gas. In that moment, the black cloud began to spiral around itself as it shrank in size, soon taking into a shape that Ruby knew all to well. It was Sombra, who soon stepped out of the shadow while looking exactly as he did a thousand years ago. The only difference was that his eyes were no long red and green, but instead green and white like when he was young. "I only did what I was sent here to do."

Ruby just blinked at the statement, her sword almost lowering. "What are you talking about?"

Sombra shook his head again, still chuckling, "You once called me your best friend, but you don't know the first thing about me."

"Oh really?" Ruby responded, narrowing her eyes at the tyrant. "Then who am I talking to?"

Sombra shined a dark grin, his pure white teeth shimmering as he started to talk, "I am something beyond what you could imagine Ruby." His eyes started to turn back to the red and green form, "I am no ordinary pony, for I...am a king."

"Of a stolen throne?!" Ruby spat back. "One that you have no right over?!"

Sombra just shook his head again. "No. I am a king. A king of shadows."

A thousand years ago...

"Sombra. It was the only word I could say when they found me. No matter what they asked, the only work I would say was Sombra. So they made it my name.

I had no family, as I was found alone in the blizzard plains of the north outside of the empire, so the Crystal Guard brought me to Chestnut Fall's Orphanage. I soon tried to adapt to the place though I was years behind my classmates. They all knew things I had never even heard of. Saying their words felt like chewing peanut brittle, like my mouth wasn't meant to say them. But I was a quick learner, and Ms. Chestnut Falls would help when I couldn't understand the words I was supposed to speak.

And as I lived there, I soon found out that I was different. I was not a crystal pony, who had coats that shined like jewels or manes that glistened like diamonds. Instead, I had a dull gray coat and a dark black mane, my body unable to shine.

And as I saw that I was different, I found that there were troubles that came with it."

"Greetings friends," Sombra said to the three ponies who were playing with a ball. It was in the afternoon at the orphanage and Sombra had just started to fully learn how to talk. Seeing this, he decided to try and have fun with the other foals his age. "Can Sombra play too?"

He watched as the pink one sighed before talking to the others, completely ignoring him. It was here that his ears easily picked up the sneering of the pink foal, "Why does he talk like that? I don't even know why they keep him around, he's not even a crystal pony."

The blue one nodded in agreement. "I don't even know what he is. He doesn't have his cutie mark."

Sombra frowned at hearing this, looking back at his blank flank. As he did, the three turned and walked away, their heads held high. "Go away sombrero. We don't want anypony to see us with a weird pony like you."

"Yeah! They might think we're weird like you."

"But-" Sombra tried to say, only for the pink one to turn around and flick his nose.

"Didn't you hear us you stupid, weirdo freak?! We don't want to be seen with you! Go away!"

"But why is-"

"Hey! Why don't you lot get off your high horses and stop thinking you're all Celestia's gift to Equestria!" yelled a sudden new voice. They all turned to see a crystal unicorn filly who was several different shades of red.

Then, the trio began to laugh as the blue filly pointed at the unicorn, "Look everypony, it's the great protector. So, still trying to be a hero?"

"Yeah! The great protector of weirdos!" the pink filly chimed in. "What a loser!"

The unicorn shook her head, soon walking up to Sombra and patting his shoulder, "Don't bother trying to be their friends. They're not worth anypony's time."

The three hopped in place at this insult. "We're worth more time than you disgusting freaks." the pink filly said as she patted her chest. "We're real ponies unlike you weirdos."

The blue colt stuck out his tongue before pointing at the duo. "Eh, let's just leave these losers alone. After all, you two deserve each other."

With that, they left the duo alone. Once they were gone, Sombra turned towards the filly and smiled. "Thank you for helping Sombra."

The unicorn smiled back as she patted him again. "Don't mention it."

"That was the day I made my first, and only, friend. Her name was Ruby Scarlet, and we soon became inseparable. I sat next to her in every class, usually passing notes to each other that were written in our own little language. The other ponies still laughed at us, but we didn't care. As long as we were together, we were happy.

And as those days passed, she told me about the Crystal Empire's greatest artifact, the Crystal Heart. It was an object that told somepony what their future is, and Ruby had seen it. She told me that it had shown her, which was a future where she was a mighty warrior and protector. Ironically, she had given this destiny up, but after about a week of encouragement, I convinced her to restart her training to be a warrior.

But of course, I too wanted to know what the heart would show me. So some time later, we went to the Crystal Castle to gaze upon the Crystal Heart. I wanted to see what my fate was, what true destiny that I would be given.

As it turned out, I knew nothing of what fate truly had in store for me."

"Come on Sombra!" Ruby cried happily as they raced through the city towards the castle, making their way to the Crystal Heart. Before they knew it, they had arrived and Ruby slowly pushed Sombra up to the relic. As the two stepped up to the heart, they began staring at it as they waited for it to show their reflections. Sombra saw Ruby smiling as she saw her reflection, so he turned to stare at the heart.

But what he saw was something he never expected.

His reflection showed not some great hero or protector like Ruby. No, his image was much darker. Instead, he saw his body concealed by a shroud of darkness, an evil smile on his face and a pair of monstrous eyes that gleamed a sinister stare.

"No!" He cried as he leapt away from the heart, only for his back to collide with something. Looking around, he saw the ruler and protector of the land, Princess Amore.

The princess smiled down at him. "You know, they say the Crystal Heart's reflection has magical properties. In fact, it is told that it can reflect what is in your heart. But I've always believed we have to power to shape our future however we want it, so whatever you saw...you have the power to change it Sombra."

Fear and dread raced through Sombra's entire body. What would they do if they knew what he had seen? Would they make him leave? "B-B-But I didn't see anything," he lied. "All I could really see was darkness. Like...like a shadow or something."

"Yes your majesty." they both replied in unison.

"I was wracked with guilt all the way home. I don't know why I did it, but I lied to the princess. It was as if it was instinct on my part. Little did I know, I had actually saw the truth. I saw what I was supposed to become.

But as for the guilt, it was all but soon forgotten four days later, when I first felt the pain and agony of the Crystal Fair. It was an event Ruby had told about to me for weeks, only to find out that I couldn't attend. For some reason, I instantly found myself bedridden as soon as the day of the fair started. The pain I felt that day was like nothing I'd ever felt before, something that tore into me like a dagger throughout my body.

And that was just the beginning. For you see, every time that the fair happened, I found myself bedridden again and again. I kept getting sick on that day, and we had every doctor in the city to try and help me, only for nothing in return. I stayed sick, broken when the fair happened.

It wasn't until our fifteenth year that things began to change. Ruby had figured out that it was the fair that was making me sick, so she proposed a plan to me. She asked me to join her to leave the city on the day of the fair, to find out if her theory was true.

She turned out to be right, as on that day out of the city, I was fine. I didn't feel a tinge of sickness or pain, I was fine. But as I we left the city into the frozen wastes of the north, we found new danger. We ran into a yeti, a snow monster that attacked us without hesitation. And as it did, I soon thought my life was going to end, dead with my friend on a frozen mountain in the middle of nowhere.

But then Ruby changed. She summoned a giant crystal sword, one that scared the yeti away. And as the monster ran, Ruby gained her cutie mark, a mark showing a true protector like she had told me she had seen in the Crystal Heart. She soon fainted and I carried her back to the empire, only for my sickness to hit me as soon as entered the city.

Before I knew it, both of us were bedridden, though for different reasons. And as the day finally ended, I found out that Ruby was asked by the Royal Sisters to train with them. I knew she wanted to go, but I also knew she did not want to leave me. But I could not live with myself, knowing I had stood in the way of everything she had ever wanted. So I made a sacrifice."

"You should go," Sombra told her as he helped Ruby out of the hospital room. "After all, isn't this your dream?"

Ruby tried to respond, only to frown as she began to stare at the floor. "But...but if I do...you'll be all alone."

Sombra hugged her back, tears starting to appear in his eyes as well. "I know you will."

"And so, Ruby left to train with the Royal Sisters, and I was left alone. We wrote to one another, her telling me all about her training while I lied about how well I was doing. I knew I couldn't make her worry, but I also knew that reality was cruel. In truth, as soon as she left, I quickly found that I had nothing. Nopony to be with or talk to.

I was alone. Despite everything I tried after she left, I was still rejected by those around me. Everyone shunned me, spoke behind my back because I was different, because I wasn't a crystal pony. It seemed that I was destined to be forever alone, as Ruby would be my only friend.

And so, days began to pass. Days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months, and eventually the one year mark of Ruby's departure arrived along with another event I was dreading. Not wanting to endure the pain of the Crystal Fair alone, I left the city as I had done the year before. Only this time, I was alone. Alone in the frozen wasteland of the north."

A sixteen year old Sombra trudged through the snow, clutching the ragged cloak he was wearing for warmth. Not wanting a repeat of last year, he chose to avoid the mountains and instead walked through the wasteland. But as he did, the snow was not gentle, and instead started to kick up a gale storm. Sombra shivered as his coat was soaked through the incoming storm, the icy water chilling him to the bone.

"Maybe...maybe this is what I'm fated to be. Just a lone pony, alone in this wasteland of a world." he said to himself as he took another deep step into the frozen water. "Ruby...I'm so sorry..."

As he took another step, he suddenly felt the impact of the snow below him, the fluff covering his face as he hit the white ground. As he did, he tried to get up, only to feel nothing. He couldn't move, his body was frozen.

"Is...is this the end?" he whispered, slowly moving his head upward. He tried to open his eyes, only to feel another burst of cold air blast his face. The force made him drop his head once more, his mane sinking into the white frozen water below. "Ruby...I just wanted to see you one more time." he muttered as he felt his mind slowly drifting away. "Lonely...I'm so lonely."

Then, his ears heard something.

"Sombra."

Energy suddenly surged through him as the voice rang out in that wastland. The unicorn's eyes flew open at the mysterious voice. He was sure he had never heard it before, but somehow it sounded...familiar.

"Sombra."

Sombra tried to raise his head again, trying to find any sign of who was speaking. His mouth creaked open as he squeaked out, "Who's there?"

"Over this way. Come to me."

As those words entered his ears, his body suddenly stood upright. Before he knew it, he was on autopilot, fully picking himself up and starting to walk towards the voice.

"That's right, this way."

As Sombra followed it, a new feeling filled his body. It was a coldness, but not like the cold touch of the snow. Instead, this coldness seemed to warm him up, as if that made any sense. But as he continued, he found the source of the cold warmth, something that made his eyes widen as he saw it. It was some form of a red and black crystal that was stuck in ground in the middle of the snowy wasteland. This crystal was like nothing he had ever seen before.

"Are you the one who was calling to me?" Sombra asked the crystal, unsure as to why he was talking to a load of super condensed minerals.

But then, the crystal did something truly unexpected. It spoke.

"I am. I knew you would one day return to me."

"Return to you?" Sombra replied, tilting his head in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"What's the matter? Don't you recognize your own mother?"

Sombra's eyes went wide hearing this. "What?!"

"That's what you should call me. After all, I'm the one that brought you into this world."

Sombra froze at this new information. He blinked at the crystal as he stuttered out his response. "What are you...I don't understand. You...are my mother? But you're a crystal!"

"I am. But I am a crystal that talks, am I not? Not only that, where were you when you were first found?"

"I..." Sombra tried to reply, only to realize what the rock meant. "The Crystal Guards found me out here..."

"That they did. Not only that, haven't you ever wondered how you got here? Haven't you ever wondered why you are different from everyone else? Why you don't have one of those silly little cutie marks or a crystal coat like everyone else?"

"I...I've always wondered." Sombra said insantly, his eyes trying to get wider as the crystal continued its questions. Before he knew it, he ran up to the crystal and touched it, pure desperation in his eyes. "Please....please tell me! Tell me who I am! What am I?! Why...why am I alone?"

"The answer is so simple my dear child, my dear Sombra. You're not like them because you're not one of them. You're not a creature of shining crystal, you're the opposite. A creature of shade and smoke. You're the thing they fear...an Umbrum. A shadow pony."

Sombra frowned at hearing this, almost backpedaling as he said, "They're not afraid of me."

"Oh they are, they just can't remember why. You see, we're the darkness they fight to keep at bay. We haunted their every nightmare until they created a weapon to keep us away. After all, hasn't there been a time where you've felt unnaturally sick? A time where something is presented throughout the city you leave in?"

A lightbulb turned on in Sombra's brain. "The Crystal Heart. That's what you're getting at, isn't it?"

"Correct."

A tinge of anger appeared in Sombra's eyes. "So that's why the Crystal Fair makes me sick. Because it's supposed to protect them from me." The tinge disappeared as he then asked. "But why? Why does it hurt me? I haven't done anything to them. Heck, I can't do anything to them."

"Oh, but you can. Your magic is very powerful, but your magic makes you vulnerable to the heart. That's why we locked your magic away, until you were ready."

"Ready? What do you mean? Ready for what?"

"Your destiny of course. A destiny that you and you alone can accomplish. One that only being alone will allow you to become something truly greater."

"Destiny...of being alone." Those words ringed in Sombra's head for some time, slowly sinking in as he blinked at the crystal. He let out a low, dark chuckle. "I'm always alone, so would that really change things?" Then, as if on instinct, he asked the pivotal question. "How do I prove myself ready?"

"You have nothing to prove to me. But changing you into what you were truly meant to be will take time. Your body must slowly adjust into it, or you'll basically explode from the power."

"Then what must I do?"

"For now, I will weaken the seal contain your power. That will cause a little of it to seep through, allowing you to slowly get used to it. But be warned, doing this will also cause the pain you feel during the Crystal Fair to intensify."

"Of course it will..." Sombra sighed, shaking his head. "I can't escape it, can I?"

"No, you can not. After all, this is what the crystal ponies want to do to you."

"They don't want to hurt me." he replied back, anger now returning to his tone. "Why do you keep saying that?"

"But they do. The princess fears you, that is why the crystal is displayed so heavily each year. After all, the more she shows, the more quicker your death will come."

Sombra's eyes went wide from this. "Death?!"

"Yes. It will eventually kill you, seal removed from you or not."

"But...why?"

"Because Sombra, she fears you. Didn't you ever ask yourself why she never really tried to help you when the fair happens? She know about it after all, our existence is known to her. You can ask her yourself."

"But that's...I mean...." Sombra could feel his world crumble around him as he heard these words. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. But as he did, he thought up another important question. "What do I do to prevent it from killing me? How do I live from this?!"

"Why, you accept your destiny, of course."

"But didn't you say that will make things worse?"

"It will. The more powerful you become, the more being around Amore's weapon will hurt you. Once you have regained enough of your power, simply being in its presence will cause you to wither in pain. However, it is when you at the peak of your power is when you will be able to change your destiny. The power you gain can defy the death that the heart wishes to give you."

Hearing this, Sombra's expression became one of determination. He knew what he had to do. "Alright, I'll do it. Give me the power I was destined to have! Break the seal!"

"Very well. I hearby declare you worthy of accepting your destiny."

With that, a bolt of purple lightning shot out of the crystal and struck his horn. As it did, it was as if somepony had flicked a switch in Sombra's brain. He suddenly felt a rush of power, which made him cry out as magic surged through his body. And as the magic began to die down, the crystal said one last thing.

"Good. Very good Sombra. Now, for the next year, you must train yourself in body and mind so that when we meet again, you can take even more power. Don't worry, I'll tell you what you need to do in this next year of training."

"And so, I began my training. Fearing that I would be discovered, I left Chestnut's Orphanage the next day. After that, I found and bought an old run down old shack with the money I had saved for the Crystal Fairs that I never attended. It wasn't much, but it was enough.

With this place for myself, I spent my every moment training, preparing myself for future. As I did, If found one of the many upsides of my new power, specifically that I no longer required food or sleep, though I could do both if I wished. With this, my training was able to go leaps and bounds rather quickly, though I could be exhausted when using too much power.

However, the news of me moving got to the ear of the one pony I did not want to meet as I started my new training."

A week into the training...

Sombra was sitting in a meditative stance, his eyes closed and his mind in an almost full trance as his horn began to glow. As the light of his horn grew, several objects in the room began to float, all of them covered in a thick magic aura. Then, Sombra began to shift his hooves around as if he was conducting the objects, his eyes still closed as he chanted to himself, "Slowly...keep the pace slow Sombra. I must..."

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

"Aaah!!" the unicorn yelped as the sound of hooves smacked his shack's door. The objects in his magic all fell to the floor as his horn's aura spurted out, causing him to hop in place. Sombra turned to the door and yelled, "Who is it?!"

"It is I, Princess Amore. Please open the door Sombra."

The voice made Sombra almost freeze in place. He could feel an army of shivers going down his spine as he started to recount what his mother had told him. What she had said about how Amore wished to do him harm, only to then think about how Ruby adored the princess, telling him about what a great pony she was.

With a giant gulp, he got up and creaked the door ajar. "H-h-hello, your majesty." Sombra squeaked as he started to open the door slightly more, bowing as he did.

"Arise Sombra." she replied, a mix of a smile and frown on her face. "There is no need to bow right now. I am merely here to see how you are Sombra."

"See...how I am?" Sombra stuttered, his eyes shrinking at her statement.

Amore nodded. "Yes. I heard you...acquired this place, and I was worried."

"Why would you be worried about me, your majesty?" Sombra replied, his eyes darting away slightly for a second. "I mean, I'm just a lowly-"

His mouth stopped moving as Amore put her hoof on his shoulder, a look of pure worry on her face. "Don't say that Sombra. I care for all my subjects, including you. You are a wonderful pony, capable of anything. I am here because I am worried, worried that you are trying to isolate yourself from everypony around you. Tell me, does Ms. Chestnut know about this?"

"Yes." he said, knowing full well he had lied. He had told his orphanage owner that he was leaving and thanked her for taking of him, but that was it.

"I see." Amore replied, letting out a low sigh. She then leaned down as she now put both hooves on his shoulders. "Now Sombra, I want to say one more thing to you. I am always here to help you, you only need to ask. Understand?"

"I...understand." Sombra responded, his eyes staring down at the ground.

"Amore kept coming by after that, her visits were probably at least once a month. But despite all this, I kept away as much as possible from her. I...I just couldn't trust her anymore. I knew I had to be alone, and that included being away from her.

And as time passed for that next year, I continued to train. I trained until the fair came around again, where I then left the city to visit my mother again. There, she gave me more power, unlocking more of the seal. I repeated this again and again, leaving each year on the day of fair to break the seal. And as more of my power returned to me, the more pain I felt when I went inside the city. The pain started to happen even after the fair, almost to the point where I couldn't train a few weeks after the fair.

Despite this, I endured it all. All for my destiny.

Then one day, six years after discovering what I truly was....she came back."

A twenty-two year old Sombra was in his shack, his mind in a deep trance as his horn shined like a star. Around him was a dance of shadows, all under his power as dark magic filled the room. That is, till his ears picked up the sound of someone knocking at his door. A look of surprise covered his face, as nopony ever came to visit him. Getting up off the floor, he moved over to the door and cracked it open. He peered out of it, only for his eye to go wide.

"Ruby?"

The now fully grown mare gave him a huge smile. "Hello Sombra. Its been a long time."

""Yes...it has." Sombra replied, his tone mumbling. "Its been seven years."

"I know. Time really flew, didn't it?" Ruby responded as she leaned towards the door, her smile widening. "It's good to see you. Can I come in?"

"No," Sombra immediately replied, "I'm...busy. I'm sorry, you must leave." With that, he shut the door, sighing in pain. Ruby continued to try to get Sombra to respond, but he kept telling her no. And as he did this, he looked up at his now curved red horn, a recent development after his last power infusion. If she saw him like this, she would surely try and find out what was happening and that would put his plans in jeopardy.

"It hurt, but I could not be around my oldest friend. I had to keep myself away from other ponies. I had to be alone. That was my destiny. I must be alone until the day arrived that I could reveal my true self. Luckily, that time was closer then I thought."

The day before the next Crystal Fair...

"You are ready!"

Sombra's eyes went wide as he stood before his mother. "Are you sure?"

"I am. I am amazed at how much you have grown. It has taken much less time than I expected for you to grow in strength, but you can now handle your full power. Are you ready?"

Sombra took a deep breath. He had been ready for this moment for years. "I...I need to know who I truly am. Do it!"

Once again, a blast of purple lightning shot out the crystal and struck his horn. This time however, he did not feel the seal crack. Instead, the seal burst as a rush of power like nothing he had ever felt before spread throughout his body.

"In that moment, I knew exactly who I was. I was a pony of shadow, and I knew and understood everything about what I could do as one. At that moment, I truly understood what I had been destined for. The destiny that I alone could accomplish."

"There. How do you feel?"

Sombra did not reply at first, his eyes closed as he felt the new power surge through him. Then his eyes opened, the once green and white orbs now red and green, with purple magic seeping from them. He flexed his hooves a few times, feeling the cricks of magic flow through his entire power. "Amazing. I feel....powerful! As if nothing can stop me." Shadows appeared around him as he said those last words, engulfing his body and transforming him into a cloud of smoke. "Incredible. This is my true power?"

"That was the day that the true me, the me that had been hidden away for so long, was born. The power of being alone, of changing destiny and gaining power had given me true strength. Destruction was my talent, and darkness was my cutie mark."

"Excellent. You are now ready to complete your destiny."

Sombra turned to his mother. "Destiny? I have achieved the power you have trained me for mother, what else is there? Is there something else I need to do to escape my death from the heart?"

"No. Your destiny and why you were sent to the Crystal Empire are one and the same. After all, this is what all this work has been for."

"I...don't understand. I thought this was to save me." Sombra looked back at his shadowy form, blinking as another question entered his mind. "Also, this is something else I wish to know. Why am I the only one of my kind in this world?"

"You aren't. There is an army of Umbrum waiting below the city. We only wait for you to dig down and set us free, then you can lead us as the king you were truly meant to be."

Sombra floated back at this. "Me...a king?"

"Yes, but first you must get rid of the one thing that can stop us. Amore's Crystal Heart."

It was then that Sombra remembered Ruby, the one and only friend he had ever had. The thing that had been the most precious to him. "If I do this, I'll lose my only friend."

"You have no choice, Sombra. If you do not remove the Crystal Heart, then during the next Crystal Fair...you will be destroyed. That will be your destiny if you don't, even with this new power."

"But that's tomorrow!" Sombra barked back.

"Exactly. So what will you do? Abandon your subjects and be destroyed, or do what you were sent to do and free us. I told you before Sombra, it is your destiny to be killed by the heart. If you don't do this, if you don't use your new power to rid the empire of the heart, you will die."

"But-"

"Please free us Sombra. You are our champion and king. Only you can save us all from the heart."

"At the time, I had my doubts. I believed there was something else I could do to change it....but I was out of time. Not only that, but when I went to the Crystal Heart, I found myself face to face with Amore. She told me that she knew, and that's when I realized what had happened all this time. She had lied to me, about how I could change my future. She wanted me to abandon my destiny and remain trapped as her servant, which meant nothing more than a meaningless death to the heart.

But I would not die to such a destiny.

I took my revenge upon her, trapping her essence in stone and scattering it to the far corners of Equestria. Maybe someday, somepony will be able to rebuild her and set her free. But that would not be before I conquered all before me. As I did, my one and only friend was cast out of the empire, as she tried to kill me for what I had done. As she left to seek help, I stole the Crystal Heart, hiding it away as I took over the Crystal Empire. It was so fitting to see the ponies that had once ignored and mistreated me, now locked in shackles and forced to dig for my Umbrum army. I made sure they screamed out for the Heart or the princess to save them, only for nothing to get an answer.

But then an obstacle appeared. It was in the form of my best friend and the Royal Sisters. They laid siege to my empire, forcing me to stop my plans to unearth my subjects. As they did, Ruby returned to me as an enemy, and stopped me from finally defeating the foolish sisters. But I would not go down without a fight, as I used a special curse my mother had shown me over the years, allowing me to lock away the empire away until I was ready to return."

The Present...

"And now, I have returned to complete my work." Sombra stared at Ruby, trying to determine her reaction to his story. "I will retake the empire and once again work to free my people."

Ruby just stood there, her whole body and face shaking. She was unsure on how to feel about this new development. All this time, her best friend had been the enemy. But as she tried to think, Sombra tried to step closer to her, only for her to raise her sword again and point it at his throat. The king merely shook his head at this as he responded, "You must understand Ruby. What if your people were trapped with no way of escaping for the mere crime of simply existing? If you had the power to do so, would you not try and do everything you can to help them be free? Don't we have that right?"

"I...don't know. I don't know what to think anymore." Ruby replied, her sword slowly floating down as she looked away. As she did, Sombra's eyes went wide as he saw what her face did next. Ruby...was crying.

"Ruby?" Sombra asked, blinking at the sight. "Why are you crying?"

"I...I don't know why." Ruby looked back at Sombra, tears flowing down her face. "Is this all true Sombra? Is everything you just said true?"

Sombra quickly nodded. "Yes, it is. Why? Do you doubt me?"

Ruby shook her head. "No. I just..." the mare let out a long sigh before giving him a look of pure sadness. "Why didn't you tell me about this back then? Why didn't you tell me that you were suffering when I returned to the empire? Why...didn't you trust and tell me this?"

"What?!" Sombra yelped, not expecting this response. "What are you talking about?!"

"Sombra...if you had told me this when I returned to the empire all those years ago, I would've helped you!" Ruby barked back, anger now slightly forming on her face as the tears continued. "If this is really true and the heart was hurting you that much, I would've helped you find a way around it!"

"What are you-" Sombra stuttered, his mind trying to comprehend what he was hearing. But as he did, he gritted his teeth as he yelled back, "You can't be serious Ruby! Did you not hear me?! Amore was going to kill me! There's no way you would've helped me! You were loyal to that snake!" Sombra's horn began to flare as he stomped forward, steam blasting out of his nostrils. "You would have never-"

"I would have!" Ruby screamed, interrupting Sombra as he took a step back from her reply. "If I knew about this, I would have helped you Sombra! I would have helped you confront her over the heart and stood by your side! I would have tried to help you figure out some kind of other solution to save you Sombra!" Ruby's tears began to flow again, "I loved you Sombra."

"You're lying." Sombra hissed back, his horn still glowing. "YOU'RE LYING!"

Ruby just shook her head, "No, I'm not. When you betrayed me and the princess, it broke my heart. I didn't understand why you did it and it tore me to pieces!" Ruby wiped her eyes as she continued, "I thought I had lost my best friend because I wasn't there to help him. I thought...I thought my destiny the heart showed me had destroyed my best friend. I....I started to hate you and myself because of it!"

"I...you..." Sombra tried to respond, his eyes shaking back and forth as he tried to understand the scene before him. "You're lying...you have to be. You're loyal to her...to that snake..."

"I was loyal to her Sombra." Ruby calmly replied, her tears finally stopping. "But I would have gladly stood against her if you had told me what was happening to you. I would have defied her to help you." Ruby's face finally showed a smile as she said, "You were my greatest friend Sombra, I would have done anything for you."

Then, the sword she had made earlier started to float by her again. "But you didn't trust me. You did all those horrible things...and I don't have a choice now. I...we have to fight, as you know I can't let you take the empire again Sombra."

Sombra was silent. He closed his eyes as he heard this, a sigh followed as he slowly opened his eyelids. "Well, you were wrong Ruby. I have no friends, and the empire belongs to me. I am above all those so-called ponies in the empire, as they deserve to be my slaves." Sombra's nose twitched as he said the next words, "I had hoped that we could restore our friendship and you would become my queen...but I was wrong. It seems I am truly destined to be alone, where power truly comes from." Shadows began to surround his body, his eyes morphing into the previous red and green form. "Now, if you will not join me of your own accord, then I have no choice...BUT TO FORCE YOUR HOOF!" With that, he was consumed by the shadows and flew at the Crystal Knight.

Ruby reacted quickly, leaping out of the way as the cloud flew overhead. She then jumped back onto her hooves and raised her sword in her magic, the cloud behind her turning and charging towards her. She swung her sword at the cloud, only for the cloud to split in two. The two balls of smoky gas quickly spun around her, forcing her to create a shield as the first flew towards her. Blocking it instantly, the cloud reflected off the shield and fell into its other, morphing back into one form. A grin shined in the smoke, only for the gas to start spinning, morphing into a tornado in the wasteland.

The sight made Ruby go wide eye, quickly grabbing her sword in hoof and striking it in the ground. She gripped the weapon tightly as the tornado began to pull her off the ground, a small yell escaping her mouth as she felt the tornado pull her into the air. But then the tornado simply moved towards her, increasing the pull even more. It wasn't long till Ruby lost her grip, another scream coming out of her as she lost her grip. As she began to fly towards the raging magical wind, her sword vanished as her horn glowed, quickly forming a crystal cocoon around her. With it, the cocoon flew into the rampaging blasts, only for no damage to befall her encompassing shield.

Sombra saw this and instantly stopped the tornado, the cocoon soon landing in the snow with a gentle thud. As she did, Sombra dispersed his dark vortex, returning to his solid form. The shadowy king's horn began to shine as he started staring at the cocoon. He didn't know how long he glared at it, as the cocoon just sat there, unchanged. That is, till a small crack chipped out of the top of it, only to grow over the whole thing. Sombra's horn started to glow even more till-

SMASH!

The cocoon shattered, releasing a brilliant light that forced Sombra to shield his eyes.

"Crystal Saber!" He forced his eyes open and saw Ruby charging towards him, a crystal sword in her magical grasp. Sombra's horn sputtered as he quickly morphed into his shadow form, dodging the blade as it cut through his black cloud. However, Ruby quickly spun around and yelled, "Oh no you don't! Crystal Shot!" In a flash of light, a swarm of crystalline arrows appeared in the air, all firing at once.

But as the arrows flew through the air, Sombra quickly dodged as he morphed into the ground with his shadow form, the projectiles just barely missing him. The moment made Ruby smile, an idea quickly hopping into her head. "So that's it. That's how I get him." Her horn began to glow, creating a crystal pillar under her hooves that propelled her into the air. As she flew, she swung her sword again, only for the cloud to split in two again.

Sombra's shadows faded as the cloud quickly took to the ground while the knight was still midair. His horn shot out of his smoky form, shining as it suddenly summoned a legion of thick red and black crystal spikes. The spikes shot out of the ground, causing Ruby to go wide-eyed, but only for a second as her horn glowed again, her necklace shining at the same time. A flash of light followed, only for what could only be called a crystal surfboard to appear at her hooves. She fell towards the closest spike and grinded down it, sliding towards the ground. Sombra growled at the sight, quickly shooting his shadow form into the air in an attempt to body slam her.

"Crystal Guard!" She cried as a shield appeared between the two of them, only for Sombra to smash right through it with ease. But as his body shattered the barrier, his momentum slowed as he finally hit his target. The resulting blow didn't do any damage, but instead had the duo fall off the surfboard and into the crystal below. They both rolled down the spike, slamming into the ground with Sombra on top of Ruby. The crystal pony mare quickly recovered and kicked up her back legs, propelling Sombra off of her as he let out a small snarl of pain. The shadow pony soon landed as he changed back to his shadow form, growling at his opponent as he readjusted himself.

"Don't bother with that charade," Ruby remarked as she created another sword. "I know you still have a physical form in that strange shadow of yours. Why else would you dodge my arrows?"

Sombra chuckled at her remark, his horn beginning to shine. "Think you have me all figured out, do you? Let's see about that." He shot forward again, a wicked grin on his face. "Come and kneel before your king!"

"I don't bow to you." Ruby replied as she gripped the sword in her hoof before tapping her necklace. "Crystal Shot!" A barrage of arrows shot out of the necklace, instantly firing at the charging Sombra. However, as soon as they got close to him, they immediately phased right through his cloudy body, soon embedding themselves in the crystal spike behind him. Ruby's eyes widened at the sight, "WHAT?!"

"You'll never beat me Ruby!" Sombra yelled as his horn's glow brightened. "Take this!"

"Oh no you don't!" Ruby barked back, quickly charging and swiping her sword at the king's neck. As she did this, she soon saw that her blade went right through his body, just like the arrows. "What in the-"

"Surprise!" He said as his head suddenly appeared in front of her, his horn towering over her. "Have a nice a trip." A beam then shot out of his horn, quickly hitting the knight before propelling her body into a nearby crystal spike.

"Augh!" She cried as she smashed into it, pain rocketing through her body. She felt her whole form sink into the snow as her sword fell to her side. A series of coughs escaped her breath, only to look up and see Sombra stepping towards her with an evil smile.

"We're done here, my dear. You lost."

"No...no, we're not Sombra." she moaned out as she slowly picked herself up. "I'll...I'll never give up Sombra!" As tears began to appear under her eyes again, her horn started to flare, so bursting with a volley of light. "CRYSTAL FORCE!" From her horn fired a powerful tornado laced with crystal shards, all of flying at Sombra.

The one who called himself king was taken by surprise, not having enough time to take his shadow form before the tornado struck him. As it did, he was pushed through three of his spikes before coming to a stop. Seeing this, Ruby felt her body weakening, only to grab her necklace. "I...I....I won't lose! SOMBRA!!!!" She let out her battle cry as she charged forwards, creating a pair of crystal swords as she did. She knew he would go back to his shadow form, so she leapt onto the top of a nearby spike as she prepared herself for another round. "SOMBRA! Come out and face me you-"

Her next words never came out as she saw the next sight before her. Her eyes felt like they were playing tricks on her as she stared at the sight before. It was Sombra, but he now looked he did when they were young. His horn was gray like his coat and his eyes back to normal. His royal cape and attire were now missing as he sat there, looking up at her with a look of pure fear in his eyes. "Ruby..." he whispered in the same voice she had heard him speak in whenever the Crystal Fair came around. "Please, don't hurt me."

Seeing this made Ruby's body react without a thought. She landed on the ground and pulled herself to a stop, her blades mere inches away from the young pony she had once called her friend. She couldn't even speak as she stood there, her blades slightly shaking. She just stared at him, unsure what to do next.

But Sombra knew exactly what to do next, his usual smile and eyes returning in an instant as he turned into a shadow once more. Ruby tried to counter, only for another beam of darkness to fly out of his horn, blasting her across the snow. The knight let out a scream as she hit the ground with a thud, her swords flying out of her hooves.

As she laid there, Sombra stepped out of the shadows, his body now back to his regular stallion form. "Fool," he whispered to himself before slamming his front hooves into the ground. As soon as they hit the earth, the ground began to shake, soon summoning four crystal pillars around Ruby. She tried to get up, only to see that the pillar's tips were now touching each other, creating a pyramid-like design with Ruby inside.

"What the-" Ruby tried to say, only to feel a new sensation of pain flowing through her body.

"You should be honored," Sombra told her with a low, dark chuckle. "You will be the first to experience my ultimate weapon, one that will make sure I am never defeated ever again." His horn shined a crimson glow, only to shoot out a blood red beam that that struck the top of the pyramid. "Spirit...BREAKER!"

Ruby could only watch as what looked like red lightning sparked around the four pillars, only for a bolt of magic to fly down from the top, striking her instantly. "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" She screamed as her whole felt the electrocution. For a full minute she felt the blinding, searing pain rip through her body.

Then, the lightning ceased, causing the pillars to retract back into the earth. And as they did, Ruby was left standing, her body limp as she felt the last sting of pain course through her. With that, her legs gave out and she fell into the soft snow. She soon tried to move, only to see that she couldn't even shake her body. To her, it felt like she had been awake for a week and had been running at her best speed the entire time.

"What have you done to me?" She asked as she watched Sombra step towards her.

Sombra smiled down at her. "Spirit Breaker. Its a spell I've spent the last thousand years mastering. It rips the physical energy of whomever it strikes, leaving them too exhausted to even stand." Ruby's eyes went wide at hearing this, causing Sombra smile to grow. "I see you've figured it out. Yes, with this power, nopony can stop me. Even your precious princesses won't stand a chance if they have no energy to cast spells."

"No..." Ruby moaned, trying to move her body, only to fail again.

Sombra just shook his head at the display of weakness. "It did not have to be this way Ruby. I gave you the chance to join me of your own free will, but now you leave me with no choice." His horn glowed once more, quickly shooting a beam into the ground that caused a crystal to grow from beneath Ruby's body. It then morphed into a crystal pillar, which was slowly surrounding her body.

"What...what are you doing?!"

"What I have too. This crystal is infused with my shadow. Once it consumes you, it will slowly change your body until you become like me."

"WHAT?!" Ruby barely screamed, her body shaking like a leaf as she tried again and again to get up. "No...don't do this Sombra!"

"You will become an Umbrum," Sombra said with a sigh in his voice, ignoring her pleas as he continued to explain. "I did not want to do this, especially since the process may leave your mind slightly unhinged. But I would rather be with you like that, then not at all." He turned away from her and started walking towards the empire. "The change should be complete by the time by I have taken the empire back. I will return afterwards to release you."

Ruby's eyes filled with tears again as the pillar grew higher, soon covering her legs. "I'm sorry everypony," she said to herself as she felt the crystals move past her legs. "I wasn't strong enough."

And as those last words floated out, her body became completely enveloped, leaving only her neck and head. The crystals then started to grow around them, forcing Ruby to close her eyes. "This is...the end."

SMASH!

Suddenly, the crystals around her body shattered, causing her eyes to shoot wide open. As she did, she felt gravity take hold of her, only to find herself landing on something soft.

"I gotcha," she heard a familiar male voice say as she felt herself slowly glide towards the ground.

She used all of the remaining strength to turn her head, only to then catch a glimpse of orange and blue. "Flash?"

Flash Sentry let out a long sigh of relief as he carefully landed on the ground, placing the knight on the soft snow soon after. He then kneeled down and rubbed her forehead. "You okay?"

Ruby looked up at him, her eyes barely open. "What are you doing here?"

Flash shined a big goofy grin. "When I couldn't find you in the city, I figured you'd probably gone and done something stupid like try and fight Sombra alone. Looks like I was right."

"You...you can't be here Flash! You have to get back to the city...you have to find the Crystal Heart!"

Flash shook his head, his grin widening. "Eh, don't worry about that. Twilight's on Crystal Heart getting duty, so right now, I need to get you to safety."

"You can't. You have to-"

Flash put his hoof over her mouth. "Stop. You know I can't do that. I'm not going to-"

"Ahem." said a third voice. The two glanced up, only to see a certain black unicorn with a vicious frown on his face. "What do you think you're doing?!"

Flash just blinked at the king, soon pointing his hoof at Ruby, "Uhhh...saving the day by saving Ruby from that uh...crystal magic thing of yours? At least I think that's what it was."

A burst of air flew out Sombra's nostrils as his horn started to glow. "You have ruined a scared magic of the Umbrum, colt. You will pay with your...wait." Sombra's frown began to grow as he snarled at the defender. "You're that brat from before! You blasted me with that stinging blade of light!"

Flash smirked, unsheathing his sword. "Well that's good to know. Guess you're in for a lot of stings then." Flash pointed his blade at the monster, his smirk growing. "Let's go big guy! Show me what you got!"

"Oh, you're going to challenge me?!" Sombra laughed as he pointed at the pegasus. "You actually think you, a mere squire, can defeat me?! You're out of your league boy."

Flash let out a long groan as he rolled his eyes. "What is it with everypony from a thousand year ago underestimating me? I'm more powerful than you think I am."

"Is that so?" Sombra asked with a low dark chuckle. "Very well then. I have some time before I unleash unending terror to those pathetic crystal ponies. Let us see just how powerful you are squire."

Flash began twirling his blade, soon gesturing a 'come on' stance. "Let's."

The Crystal Battle

View Online

On the outskirts of the Crystal Empire near the crystal archway, a single spot stood out amongst the rest. This spot was where Sombra had attempted to gain entry into the city when Cadance's shield went down, only to slam his head into it once it was back up.

However, not all of Sombra was kept out. The tip of his horn, which was quickly restored afterwards, had broken off and landed inside the shield. That piece of the dark king melted into the ground, a puddle of green and purple magic forming in its wake.

Then, something new sprouted out of the ground. A single, tiny, red and black crystal.

Inside the empire, the Crystal Fair continued to be a great success as the rest of the mane seven worked to keep the crystal ponies happy. It seemed to be working, as the crystal ponies started to glow a crystal sheen. As they continued to celebrate, Twilight was walking through the town, trying to figure out where Sombra could have hidden the Crystal Heart.

"I don't understand. Just where would it be? I looked at every bit of the castle and there's not a clue about the heart." Twilight grumbled to herself, Spike following right behind her with worry on his face. "I know I'm missing a clue. I just need to figure it out..."

It was here that Rainbow started floating above the unicorn, calling out to the crowd, "Who wants a flugelhorn?"

Pinkie, who was now dressed as a jester, popped out of the crowd with a smile. "I want a flugelhorn!"

Rainbow rolled her eyes, turning her head away. "Not you Pinkie. Now, who else wants a flugelhorn?!"

Pinkie began to pout as she yelled, "I want a FLUGELHORN!"

As Twilight started to ignore at the ridiculous display in front of her, the unicorn turned around and looked back at the Crystal Castle. She began to stare at it, wheels turning in her head. "No....it couldn't be! Don't tell me the solution is that!"

"Twilight?" Spike asked as he saw her expression change. "Are you-where are you going?!"

"I know where it is!" Twilight replied back, already rushing past the drake as she ran towards the castle.

"Twilight, wait! I'm coming with you!" Spike yelled back, running after her and hopping on her back.

The young unicorn turned her head back and frowned at him. "Get off me Spike. I have to retrieve the Crystal Heart by myself."

Spike's expression become one of sheer determination, where he then hid his claws in his armpits. "I know. I promise I won't lift a claw to help you."

Twilight came to a stop, glaring at the dragon for a second. Despite this, she knew he wouldn't budge and let out a long sigh. "Fine. But not a claw Spike, got it?"

"Got it." Spike nodded as Twilight restarted her run back to the castle. "So, where are we going exactly?"

"I think I might know where King Sombra hid the Crystal Heart. Its in the castle." Twilight looked upwards towards the giant crystal palace as it got closer into view.

"He hid it there? But didn't you already check everything?"

"Yeah...but I thought up a new idea as to where it is." Twilight let out a low gulp as she said her next words, "I just hope I'm right."

"Me too..."

As they rushed to find the heart, the other friends remained besides the fake Crystal heart, which was covered by a flag Rainbow had snagged. After the 'conversation' with Pinkie, Rainbow had agreed to help Applejack with standing guard over the fake heart, making sure no one figured out it was false. Here, time began to pass again and as it did, Rainbow had a particularly sour look on her face, which scared off most of the crystal ponies from checking the covered object.

That is, till a crystal stallion started walking towards them, causing Rainbow to get up in his face. "What are you looking at?!" she glared, causing him to slowly back pedal in fear. "That's what I thought."

"Uh...Rainbow Dash," the Applejack whispered as she walked up to her daredevil friend. "We're supposed to be actin' like nothing's wrong."

"I know...." Rainbow groaned, rolling her eyes. "I'm just sick of sitting here, guarding this thing."

Applejack then slung her hoof around the pegasus's shoulder. "Yah know, maybe you should let me keep the crystal ponies away from the fake heart while you show off your joustin skills? Maybe that'll cheer 'em up better than making stink faces at 'em."

Rainbow thought about this for a moment, nodding as she did so. "Seeing my awesomeness does have a way of putting ponies into a pretty good mood." She shot into the air. "Now...where's Flash?"

Meanwhile...

Flash was outside the empire, staring down its number one enemy.

Sombra simply smiled at him, obviously seeing his challenge as amusing. "Before we start, I must admit that I do find this interesting. I was honestly hoping a bit more of a fight for my prize, and I did see the skill you had when you saved that annoying unicorn. Obviously, you've been trained well...though you're quite young to be challenging me."

Flash just smirked, resting his blade on his shoulder. "Well you're right about one thing, I have been trained well. Heck, I've been training since I was a colt."

Sombra let out a mocking chuckle. "My my, they do start them off young. Seems Celestia hasn't lost her touch in making useless garbage at an early age." the unicorn's grin started to widen. "I hope you were paying attention during that time, because I have no intention of going easy on you, even if you are a squire."

Flash's smirk increased, gesturing his hoof at the king. "You don't scare me. I've faced worst than you."

"Is that so?"

Flash nodded. "Ancient alicorn, chaotic draconequus, shape changing insects...heck, you're not even my first deranged unicorn, and he was super charged by an ancient relic."

Sombra's eyebrow raised itself, tilting his head in slight curiosity. "Oh? You've been through a lot, haven't you?"

"I don't like to toot my on flugelhorn, mainly because I'd probably be worse than Pinkie, but yeah, I have."

Sombra's smile grew even more. "Is that so? Tell me colt, how many of those foes did you defeat on your own?"

That made Flash go quiet. In all honesty, he had never defeated any of his former opponents alone. The closest he came was Lightning, and that was after both Cadance and Iron had gotten several hits in. Sombra sighed at his refusal to answer, shaking his head. "I see...how sad. And you actually think you can beat me. How pathetic."

"How is that pathetic?" Flash barked back, gripping his blade as he took it off his shoulder.

Sombra's face morphed into one of disgust. "Ugh....I really don't want to explain this to a weak, pitiful squire." A small blast of air came out of Sombra's nostrils as he let out a shrug. "But, I'm in a good mood today, so I'll give you a lesson before beating you with ease."

"Oh yeah?" Flash asked, slightly flaring his wings in irritation. "What makes you so confident you can beat me?"

"It should be obvious colt." Sombra replied, his voice going extra low in tone. "You see, in this world, there are two types of ponies. There are the strong and the weak."

Flash rolled his eyes at this. "And let me guess, you're one of the strong and I'm one of the weak, right?"

"Correct."

"Yeah...no." Flash mockingly responded, faking a yawn. "There's no need to do that old 'evil is more powerful' shtick with me." Flash spun his blade in his hoof, repointing it at the unicorn. "Just shut up and fight."

Sombra just laughed at this, now pointing his hoof at the defender as he shook his head. "So impatient. It seems Celestia is still making garbage solders, just as I said. If you would just slow down, you could learn something colt."

"Like you could teach me something." Flash barked back, his grip on his blade tightening.

"Oh, but I can." Sombra said with a smirk, waving his hoof at the pegasus. "As I said before, there are two types of ponies in this world, the weak and the strong. But the difference between the two isn't much though." Sombra shook his head with a smile at his next statement. "Their difference is very simple colt. You see, the weak can only survive by huddling together, always having their 'friends' to protect them." Sombra pointed his hoof at Flash again. "That is why you're weak colt."

"Seriously?!" Flash scoffed back, disbelief on his face. "You think my friends make me weak? You're kidding, right?"

"I am not colt. After all, how do you think I became king?"

"Uh...by being an evil jerk with dark magic?"

Sombra's glare stiffened at the jab. "No. I became strong, and I gained that power because I was alone. I made sure that I had no one to help me, no one weak around me." Sombra then raised his hoof, flexing it with a huge grin. "With that power, I created a kingdom where the weak have no right to exist, no right to huddle together like the pathetic filth that they are."

Flash wanted to respond, but he was slightly baffled out how dark the outlook of the world Sombra had. As he stood there, Sombra shook his head at the sight, slowly pacing in the snow as he said, "So you see boy, do yourself a favor and stand down. It'll save me time and you a world of hurt." He began to walk around him, only for Flash to leap in front of him, pointing his trusty Lightbringer at the king.

"No way!" He almost yelled, conviction vibrating in his voice. "I'm not letting you anywhere near those ponies!"

Sombra's horn began to flicker at the defender's response. "Why? Why put your life on the line for ponies you know nothing about, who never asked for your help. It makes no sense."

Flash simply glared at the dark king. "I might not know them, but why do I need to?" Sombra raised an eyebrow in confusion as Flash continued. "Just because I don't know them personally doesn't mean I don't want to help them." Flash lowered his sword and looked back at the city, seeing the shield once again begin to flicker. "I don't know what kind of hell they've gone through, but I know that if I can find a way to help them, then I will." The defender then shined a massive smile, one that made Sombra almost sick to his stomach.

Flash then put his sword over his chest as he continued. "Cadance, Shining, my friends... and Ruby too. They've done everything they can to keep this city safe." Flash turned his head around, glancing at Ruby. "In fact, before all of this, I was thinking about my Knight's Vow after Ruby told me about it." Flash glanced back at Sombra, a look of pure determination on his face. "The funny thing is, I didn't need to even think about it. My friends, who are kindness, laughter, honesty, generosity, loyalty...and magic. They are the vows that my friends stand for, and I will stand for them as well. I...I will be loyal to them all and do everything I can to protect them!" Flash let out a deep breath of fresh air, his eyes staring down at the king with a look of fierce power. "That is my Knight's Vow."

His sword began to glow, its light radiating around the pegasus. "When this is over, I want to see Ruby and the crystal ponies smiling. I want them to know that they don't have to live in fear. That...that is something I believe is worth fighting for!"

Ruby was amazed to hear him say this. To think he would go through all this, just so a bunch of ponies he did not know would smile. Sombra on the other hoof, stuck out his tongue as his face cringed up. "Ugh. How disgusting can you get?!"

"What was that?!" Flash barked back, glaring at the monster.

"You seriously don't know the first thing about who you're trying to 'save' colt." Sombra replied, his tone draining at the word 'save'. He then pointed at the empire in the distance. "The so-called ponies in there are nothing but despicable fiends, all that live to persecute my kind."

"Persecute?"

"That's right. And even if you do think you can 'save' them, it won't matter. You can't beat me colt." Sombra let out a low, confident hiss. "There is nothing that can beat me."

Flash just smirked at this. "Not even the Crystal Heart?"

"HA!" Sombra guffawed, confidence on full display in his expression. "That relic will never hurt me again. It is gone, tucked away thanks to my reign a thousand years ago."

"Don't bet on it. My friends will find the heart and kick your flank before we even finish our fight."

Sombra shook his head at this. "Ah...the delusions of the weak. Always thinking that banding together will make them win. Always thinking that being together allows them to actually be able to beat the strong. Always thinking that they actually matter when they never realize that they're nothing but bugs for me to step on." Sombra's horn began to shine, ready for battle. "How pathetic. I can't wait to get back in my empire and break your friends along with the crystal ponies. It will be my greatest moment yet."

Hearing this made Flash grip his sword even more, the blade now shining. At that moment, Flash's entire body was now illuminated by the light of his sword as he said, "Not a chance! If you want to get to them, you'll have to go through me!"

Sombra laughed again, shadows starting to swirl around his body. "Is that a challenge colt? Consider my interests peaked. It'll be amusing to see just how strong the Royal Knights have become in the thousand years I've been gone." He raised his hoof and performed a 'bring it' gesture.

That taunt was all the encouragement Flash needed, gripping his blade as it shined even more. The pegasi took flight instantly, charging forward as he swung his blade at the king. The speed caught Sombra off guard, as the blade struck the king's chest armor. The light from the sword dissipated the shadows instantly as Flash spun like a top, turning and kicking Sombra in the face with his back legs. The blow made Sombra stagger back, only for Flash's tail to grab Sombra and pull him forward, letting Flash flex his wing up and smack the king in the face.

Falling onto his back, Sombra quickly rolled over and got back on his hooves. But as he did, Flash flew towards him at high speed, Lightbringer once again glowing. "Flash Cutter!" He once again slashed him in the chest, the energy blade sending the unicorn flying back into one of his crystal spikes. Seeing he still had an advantage, Flash keep charging, ready to perform another slash of the blade. Seeing the incoming defender, Sombra quickly leapt away, causing the pegasus to spin around in midair and bounce off the crystal, pointing his sword towards Sombra. "Flash Driver!" He transformed into a drill of light, soon striking Sombra again. As the blow knocked Sombra away, Flash stopped himself in mid-air and pointed his Celestia Gear straight at the knocked over king. "FLASH FORCE!" The light laser poured itself out of the blade, instantly striking Sombra into another crystal spike.

Flash spread his wings and gently glided towards the ground, watching as the crystal Sombra struck shattered and fell over, soon creating a cloud of snow in its fall. The apprentice knight smirked, resting his blade over his shoulder. "This is the guy everypony's been worried about? He can't even put up a fight."

However, the smirk was short lived, as the sound of chuckling filled the air. Flash followed the voice to the snow cloud, which faded to reveal a pile of crystal shards. Standing atop the pile was Sombra, who had taken his shredded cape in his teeth and threw it away. He didn't have a single scratch on him. The one who called himself king then smiled down at Flash. "Is that honestly the best you can do?" Flash's eyes went wide as he realized why Sombra didn't fight back. He had been gauging Flash's skills. Sombra started to walk down from the pile, shaking his head. "I expected more from you, but it seems my expectations were set a bit too high. You do not deserve the title of Royal Knight, you pathetic worm."

Flash let out a soft growl at hearing this, gripping his sword again. As he put himself in an offensive stance, shadows appeared around Sombra's hooves, spiralling around him to conceal his body. "I warned you on what would happen if you challenged me, you pitiful colt. But you refused to listen to your king. You will pay for not listening to my commands."

His body slowly vanished inside the cloud of darkness as Flash kept growling. "Oh yeah?!" Flash barked back as he flared his wings, taking to the air. "I'll show you!"

Sombra let out one final chuckle as the last of his physical form faded away. "You've wasted enough of my time colt. Prepare to witness the full power of the Umbrum. SHADOW CLOAK!" His shadow form shot up into the sky, quickly zipping like a lighting bolt. Before Flash could react, Flash felt two hooves slam into his back, knocking him towards the ground.

"Augh!" Flash cried out as he was pushed forwards, quickly flaring his wings to try and regain his balance in the air. No sooner than he had, the shadow flew back around and hit his back again. Flash quickly swung his sword around, firing off two energy blades to no success. And as the second attack flew out of Lightbringer, two hooves slammed into Flash's stomach, spit flying out of his mouth as the blow shook his body. "Urgh!" Flash moaned as his body flew into a nearby spike, pain surging through him.

Flash groaned as he began blinking, his head trying to regain its balance. "Damn, he's fast. That's not good...." The defender let out a low breath, closing his eyes as he did. "But speed isn't enough to defeat me. Theta Mode!" He opened his eyes again, the once sky blue orbs now completely blank.

With his new perception, Flash saw the unicorn drawing closer in that second. Acting on instinct, he flexed his hooves on the broken crystal behind him, instantly pushing himself off the ground with his back legs. The take to the air let him dodge the charging monster, who soon smashed the rest of the crystal Flash was just on. The pegasi then continued his flight, flapping his wings as he looked back down at the broken crystal. There, he saw the Umbrum escaping the giant mineral, shadows once again engulfing his body. Sombra then looked up, his shadow form flying up into the sky.

"Flash Cutter Barrage!" Flash unleashed a spinning flurry of energy blades, all that flew at the shadow. However, they all went right through him, causing Flash to stop in a moment of confusion. "What the heck? How did he-urk!" He asked before the shadow tackled him, knocking him into the snow with a mighty thud.

Flash, now out of his Theta Mode, picked himself up and rubbed his aching head as he saw Sombra land, turning back to his pony form. "What's with this guy? One minute he's like a ghost, but the next minute he's solid as a rock."

"I wondered the same thing." Flash turned to see that he had landed close to Ruby, who was still struggling on the ground. "It's like he can switch between being tangible and intangible."

"Is that so?" A lightbulb lit itself in Flash's brain, a smile creasing his face as he reentered Theta Mode. He then shot towards Sombra, slashing at him. However, Sombra quickly changed to his shadow form, making the blade go right through him. Flash swiped at him again and again, but Lightbringer simply went right through him, its light not even touching the shadow.

"Give it up, you worm." Sombra told him, raising his hoof as the failed attacks. "You can't hurt me."

But Flash wasn't listening, instead focusing on something else as he whispered, "Five, six, seven, eight..." He continued his slashing and counting, only for a hoof to smack the defender's face, knocking him away again.

The apprentice knight staggered back, his Theta Mode having a hard time staying on. Sombra let out a low sigh, shaking his head. "This is so disgustingly pathetic. I told you worm, you can't hurt me."

Flash however, had a smile on his face. "Seventeen seconds."

Sombra raised an eyebrow at the odd statement, but quickly dismissed it when Flash once again leapt at him, slashing away once more. Letting out another sigh, the king turned into a shadow as the attacks went through him again.

"One, two, three," Flash whispered to himself as he slashed. But once again, his strikes went right through the Umbrum.

Ruby blinked at futile attempts, trying to understand what was going on. She then looked at Sombra, seeing him about to ready his next attack. "Watch out Flash! He's about to-"

"Fifteen, sixteen, SEVENTEEN!" In that moment, Sombra once again dodged his sword swipe, only for his body to become solid as he started his counterattack. But this time, the pegasus was ready and leapt backwards, dodging the strike before pointing his sword at Sombra. "FLASH FORCE!" The laser flew out of the blade, striking Sombra back with a yell of pain.

Ruby's eyes went wide, as she watched Sombra crash into another crystal spike. "What the-what did Flash just do?!"

That was what Sombra wanted to know, his head quickly emerging out of the crystal. "Grrr...you insolent little whelp! What did you just do?!"

Flash simply smirked, twirling his blade around on his hoof. "Seventeen seconds. That's how long you can stay in your shadow form."

Sombra's eyes went wide. "How did you-"

"You don't live with Twilight Sparkle for half your life without picking up a thing or two. Plus, after a recent...body swapping incident, I've had a small interest in chemistry. Your gas like shadow is the most unstable form of matter, meaning you can't stay as it for very long or you'd probably fall apart."

Ruby was awestruck. To think a squire had figured that out in a few minutes, while someone who had been a knight as long as her had not. But as she thought about this, Flash continued his explanation. "You try to mask this flaw in your power by hiding yourself in that huge clouds of shadows, making it tough to hit you. But I've got you figured out now."

Sombra stared at him for several seconds before laughing lightly. "You certainly are more than meets the eye worm. I wouldn't have thought you had any actual smarts in that brain of yours." Sombra rubbed his chin as a new thought went into his head. "To think Celestia would actually start making her soldiers use their brains...or is this just this 'Twilight Sparkle' you just mentioned?"

"She's my best friend." Flash replied, glaring at the king as he heard a rather mocking tone from Sombra as he said his friend's name. "Something I'm guessing you don't have."

"No. I don't." Sombra remarked, "And I'm guessing that means you're even weaker than I thought if you have a friend. That's too bad, as I actually thought for a second there that you were something worth acknowledging."

This comment made Flash's eye twitch, anger now in his voice. "I suggest you shut your mouth." Flash crouched down with his sword at the ready. "You shouldn't...UNDERESTIMATE ME!" He shot forwards towards Sombra, only for the king to retake his shadow form and launched himself into the air.

Flash soon followed him, chasing the shadow while counting under his breath. But as he did, Sombra dove back down, hopping onto a side of a spike as he turned back to his unicorn form. Seeing this, Flash gripped his blade, only to see Sombra instantly turn back into a shadow and hop to another crystal. Flash quickly turned to try and chase Sombra again, only to Sombra to hop to another crystal, constantly switching his forms.

"This is bad," Ruby watched as the two kept following each other. "Sombra's going in and out of his shadow form at random intervals so Flash won't know when he can strike."

That was not all that was happening, as Flash was begining to exhaust himself as he kept chasing the king, the pain from the earlier blows now increasing. Sombra on the other hoof, was not so easily weakened. The shadow form was effortless for the king, which allowed him to dodge anything as Flash kept trying to follow him.

Then, he saw the exhaustion on Flash's face. A smile shined on his face as the Umbrum came to a stop and changing to his unicorn form on a crystal. The apprentice knight flew forward again, only to see the king leaping towards him in pony form. Flash swung his blade at the oncoming attacker, only for the sword to go right through him as Sombra morphed again. But as he dodged the sword, Sombra turned back to a unicorn and immediately a beam of magic from his horn, striking Flash in the back.

The pegasus hit the ground like a rock, kicking up a cloud of snow. As he tried to pick himself up from the blow, Sombra suddenly appeared next to him as his horn began to shine. "Be glad you got your hits in worm, because it won't happen again!"

With that, a volley of beams began to strike the pegasi, causing him to scream in pain. "AAAAHHHHH!" Flash cried as the blows kept hitting him, pain surging through him. As the attack continued, Sombra laughed at the sight, his horn unleashing another beam, this one blasting the weakened Flash into the air.

"FLASH!" Ruby screamed as she saw him fall back to earth, crashing with a thud.

Seeing the beaten warrior hit the snow again, Sombra chuckled at that sight as he moved over to the pegasus. Seeing him try and pick himself up, the Umbrum knew what he had to do. "Game's over colt. This ends here."

As those words came out of his mouth, Flash's head slowly lifted itself. "Don't....count on it." Flash moaned, only to hear a fit of dark chuckles.

"Oh? Think you can still hurt me?" Sombra mocked, raising his hoof to his face. "Let me show you how pointless this is. For starters, look at where you hit me with your beam of light earlier." Flash then stared at the hoof, his eyes widening as he did. There was a small cut, only for it disappear in a split second. Not only that, Flash noticed that Sombra's horn didn't spark, meaning there was no magic involved.

And as he saw Flash's eyes grow, Sombra began to laugh. "HA! You should see your face colt! I can finally see some despair overtaking you! That's good..." Sombra cricked his neck, letting out a low hum as he slowly said, "Because your life as a squire is now over." The king lifted his front hooves and slammed them into the ground, causing it to shake. Then, a familiar quartet of crystals shot out of the ground and formed a pyramid around Flash's body.

"Oh no, not that thing again!" Ruby said as she once again tried to pick herself up, "FLASH! GET OUT OF THERE!"

Flash looked up at the pyramid, letting out a wheeze as he stared at the crystals. However, he found that his body wouldn't move as Sombra laughed at him, his horn beginning to grow crimson. "Spirit...BREAKER!" He fired at the tip of the pyramid, causing the red lightning to spark around the four crystals.

Flash watched this, still trying to move. But as his attempts continued to fail, the bolt of red lightning shot down and struck his body. "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" He screamed as the electrocution started, all of his physical strength being ripped out of his body. The pain kept flowing until the crystals stopped shining, soon returning to the ground. And as the spell soon finished, Ruby and Sombra watched as Flash's body collapsed into the snow, becoming as weak and helpless as Ruby.

"Flash," Ruby whispered as tears filled her eyes. "No..."

Sombra looked down at Flash, who appeared to have lost consciousness before letting out a long sigh. "I warned you worm, you can't beat me. I will admit that you were a good opponent, but that's all I can respect." He turned away and stared at the city in the distance. "I've wasted enough time. My mirage should have made its way to the capital by now."

"Mirage?" Ruby asked, glancing at the city as well.

Sombra nodded at her question. "The last time the shield went down, I managed to sneak a small piece of myself into he city. It's slowly growing, inch by inch. Once the crystal ponies see it, the despair that they will feel will make the Crystal Heart useless. Then when the princess's shield finally gives out, I'll be able to take the city back."

"No..." Ruby whispered, tears starting to flow.

Sombra let out a low chuckle before turning back to the Crystal Knight, walking up to her as his horn began to shine again. "Now....before I get back to the city, let's do what I tried to do before I so rudely interrupted by that worm."

"What are you-"

"I'm going to turn you into an Umbrum Ruby." Sombra interrupted, slightly leaning down at the struggling knight. "I told you before, you will be with me after I take over the empire."

"So that's it. That's why you were so confident when fighting me." said a voice, causing Sombra to turn around. There, his eyes went wide as he saw Flash standing on four hooves, glaring at the shadow pony, "All this time you've been keeping us busy while your crystals cause the ponies to get scared. Big mistake buddy."

Sombra on the other hoof, just gasped at the sight. "No...that's impossible. You shouldn't have any energy left, so how can you stand?!"

Flash started staggering towards him, spotting Lightbringer on the ground between them. "Don't be too amazed. It's not like I'm running a marathon right now." He picked up his sword, which now felt like it weighed a ton. "Every second it feels like I'm about to pass out...but I'm not gonna lose." He raised his sword as a golden glow seemed to radiate from his body, not his weapon, and he stared Sombra down with blank Theta Mode eyes. "I can't let you WIN! I'm...I'm gonna beat you!"

The light disappeared as he shot forward at blinding speed, not giving Sombra enough time to retake his shadow form. The following blow stuck the unicorn, knocking him into another spike. "RAUGH!" Sombra cried in pain, his body feeling the crystal fall over. He quickly reoriented himself and looked up to see Flash once again racing towards him. The dark king tried to call upon his shadow form, only to see a few wisps of dark smoke. "No...I used too much of my magic when I preformed the Spirit Breaker on him!" He was then forced to leap away from the spike as Flash shot at him, smashing through the crystal while the king barely dodged the blow.

Sombra spun around to see a large hole that went right through the crystal, Flash standing on the other side, looking completely unphased after his charge through the mineral pillar. The pegasus turned back around and glared at the king, anger pouring out of his eyes. Then, Flash shot like a bullet out at the Umbrum, swinging his sword at breakneck speed. And as the blade was about to strike, a scythe suddenly conjured out of the air, blocking it with a clang.

There, the two stood in a deadlock, both blades creating sparks as Flash tried to push forward. As he did, Sombra's horn started to stop glowing as he gripped the scythe with his hooves, only for Flash to feel an even greater strength pushing him back. Sombra shined a small smirk and pushed forward, instantly knocking Flash back into the snow. The pegasi quickly rolled backwards, getting his balance as Sombra charged at him, readying his scythe to strike. Seeing this, Flash flared his wings, shooting into the air as Sombra missed his fatal swipe form his scythe.

"Flash Driver!" Flash screamed as looked back down and he shot towards Sombra, becoming a shining drill that was pointed right at him. Seeing this, Sombra then struck the ground with his scythe, instantly creating a dark crystal wall in front of him, stopping the drill attack.

Ruby blinked at the fight as Flash hopped off the crystal wall, taking back to the air. She couldn't believe what she was seeing as Sombra leapt onto the crystal wall, swinging his scythe at the flying pony with his magic. There, Flash quickly blocked the weapon, their blades locking in mid-air. Sombra then hopped and grabbed the blade, pushing Flash back to ground. There, their lock continued, both growling at each other.

As the two pushed against one another, Ruby just kept watching. "How is he doing this? How is Flash able to keep fighting after being hit by that attack that got me?" She remembered when the Spirit Breaker was cast on her, still feeling her weak ad exhausted body. But here was Flash, who had the same spell cast on his while way after her but he was still fighting. "Willpower? Or maybe something...else?"

She then remembered the glow that had radiated off his body. "Is that what's allowing him to fight? No...it couldn't be. He was able to stand up before it appeared. This strength is coming from inside him." She continued to stare at he pegasus, who she had dismissed so callously. "Flash Sentry, how powerful are you?"

At the same time, Sombra was thinking the same thing as they continued to lock blades, pushing each other with all their might. "How?!" He asked out loud. "How are you still standing? Why is a disgusting worm like you still resisting me?!"

Flash smirked as he continued to push forwards, causing Sombra to step back a few feet. "Isn't it obvious?! I told you Sombra....its my knight's vow! My Knight's Vow to uphold my friend's greatest qualities! That is what gives me strength!"

"Seriously?!" Sombra barked back, spit flying out of his mouth. "You're still on that 'protecting' garbage? You truly are disgusting."

Flash however, ignored his insults as he continued. "As I said, I'll uphold their values. Right now, I'll uphold Honesty. I vow to be as honest as Applejack, and honest ponies don't break their promises!" He once again pushed Sombra back, forcing him back. The push made Sombra's scythe knocked out of the blade lock, instantly making him open.

"I will beat you! Flash Cutter!" He swung the blade, unleashing the energy attack that flew at Sombra's chest.

Sombra grunted at the impact, a cracking sound following as his armor on his form started to break. His eyes narrowed as he glared at Flash, hissing as he did. "You dare strike me?! You insignificant little-"

"I made a promise!" Flash cried as he shot forward, tackling the king into the snow. Sombra quickly countered with a hoof to the face, only to then feel another slash at his chest. More pieces flew off his armor, only to then feel hoof to his left cheek. "And I'm not gonna break it!"

And as he swung his sword again, memories of his conversation Shining rang through his head.

"I don't want to force you into anything, but I need you to promise me something. If the shield falls and what's out there gets in, make sure you keep Twilight and Cadance safe."

"I WON'T LET YOU TOUCH THEM!" He screamed as he shot forward with his wings, throwing himself and Sombra through two crystal spikes, their bodies colliding and stopping the third. But as this blow happened, Sombra's eyes slit, anger pouring out of his face.

"ENOUGH!" His horn burst with purple energy, instantly knocking Flash back.The pegasus hit the ground rolling, only to jump back onto his hooves before coming to a skidding halt. He then turned back to Sombra, only to his horn flaring with rage as the king screamed, "YOU DARE STRIKE ME?! YOU DARE TRY TO BEAT ME?! DIE, YOU WORM!!!"

A beam of pure magic blasted out of his horn, causing Flash to point his sword at the king. "I won't let you! FLASH FORCE!" He cried as he unleashed the sword's laser, both beams colliding. The two magics remained locked in place, the purple and gold light pushing against one another.

Then something new happened, as the two beams began to form a sphere in the middle. The gold and purple orb grew bigger by the second, but the two ponies refused to let up. Ruby watched as this happened, fear gripping her as she thought about what could happen if that sphere exploded. That is, till she saw that Flash and Sombra were both beginning to glow the same color as their attacks, this going completely unnoticed by the two as they continued.

Then, the orb of light exploded, engulfing the two as Ruby sat there in the snow, blinking as she stared at the burst of white light.

It began with Flash's eyes flickering open. As he did, he began to look around, only to see that he was floating inside a white void, not unlike the one he had found himself in during his fights against Discord and the Scorpentine.

"What is this?" he asked himself as he spun around, only to see he was not alone. Sombra was drifting around several feet away, looking just as confused as Flash felt.

The one who called himself king glared around, spotting Flash and giving off a low growling sound. "You! What have you done!?"

Flash just gave him a shrug. "I dunno. This isn't me. I don't know what this is."

"Lies!" Sombra cried as he scrunched up his face, obviously trying to cast a spell. But nothing happened, his horn didn't even spark. "What?!"

Flash then tapped his side, only to see Lightbringer was also gone. It seemed that the to two of them were without any form of fighting one another except their hooves. However, before either of them could say anything, a bright light shone down from above them, catching their attention. Looking up, the two of them saw what looked like a large sphere of light. The inside of the orb reminded Flash of a lava lamp, as gold and black light swirled around each other within it. Flash knew he had never seen this thing before, but some how it felt...familiar.

"What is this?" Sombra asked, blinking at the sight.

"I dunno. But it feels like-"

Before Flash could say another word, two specks of light shot out of the sphere, one gold and one black. The lights flew around the orb for several seconds, pulsing like hearts, until they flew down below it. The lights then began to change shape, molding like clay until they took form. The gold light changed into the silhouette of a body with both wings and a horn. "An alicorn?" Flash asked himself in confusion, seeing that this alicorn looked buffer than the ones he had seen before, making him think this might be a male one.

He then looked around at the other light, which was the black light that had also taken the form of a pony, but this one lacked wings and had a curved horn. "An umbrum?" Sombra spoke out loud. "What is this?"

But as he said this, a bunch of black lines appeared underneath the two silhouettes, three under the alicorn and two under the umbrum. They were only a few inches long, but underneath each of them appeared came another silhouette. Two new umbrums and three new alicorns appeared, with black lines appearing under them followed by more silhouettes.

Before the two could say anything, more lines appeared beneath the silhouettes, with more silhouettes appearing beneath them. This cycle continued again and again, and as it did, the two noticed different creatures being born through the cycle. Flash watched as the alicorns began to become ponies without wings, horns or both, while Sombra watched his umbrum become creatures he had and had not seen before.

Flash at the same time saw thestrals and other pony-like creatures appear, seeing images that reminded him of creatures he had previous fought like the changelings. He even saw two images that looked like a cross between a horse and some kind of ape, while another looked like those gargoyle statues he had seen in pictures. It was only now he noticed that the alicorn line had stopped, the last two being images that reminded him a lot of Celestia and Luna.

Sombra also watched as the umbrum's line suddenly grew thinner and thinner, the creatures being born were few and far between. They then watched as several times the family trees intersected, creating a combo of creatures, one of them Flash instantly recognizing.

"Discord?"

"What does this all mean?" Sombra asked.

"I'd sure like to know," Flash replied.

They got their answer when the silhouettes of the original alicorn and umbrum sudden turned from black to gold, as the lines beneath them changed to that color along with the silhouettes beneath them. The two watched as the glow spread down the family tree like image, with less and less silhouettes lighting up as the generations went on. Eventually, there were only two lines that illuminated, one that was part of the alicorn's line while the other was from the umbrum. Finally it reached the bottom row, with only two silhouettes glowing.

Flash looked at the one from the alicorn, seeing that the silhouette was a pegasus.

"Is that...me?"

Sombra looked at the one from the umbrum, expecting to see himself. But instead, the silhouette was that of a pony, a unicorn by the looks of it, but not an umbrum like him.

"I don't understand."

He did not get an answer, as in that second, the images disappeared and the sphere of black and gold released a wave of blinding light that forced the two to shield their eyes.

BOOM!

Flash felt himself be shot through the air, crashing into a pile of shattered crystals. The pegasus moaned as he started pulling himself out of the rubble, only to feel his body going numb. "Ooohhhh...that really hurt." Flash groaned as he pushed a few pieces of crystal off of his body. "What was that?"

But as he tried to put himself back together, he saw a familiar hoof slam into the ground. The thud that followed caused him to look up and see Sombra staring down at him. The dark king glared at the apprentice knight, air blasting out of his nostrils as he growled. "I don't know what that was, but it will not save you. I will admit that you aren't the garbage I thought you were, but you're still one of the weak."

"Oh yeah? I'm pretty sure I can-AAAAHHHHH!" Flash tried to say, only to feel Sombra strike his left wing with a beam of magic, knocking Flash to the ground. Then, Sombra walked over and pinned the left wing with his hoof, causing Flash to yell out in pain.

"Be silent trash. You are before a king, a true ruler. If you will not bow, you will suffer." Sombra then leaned down, whispering as his eyes flared with blood-red darkness. "Besides, before I kill you, I will show the true face of despair. Look upon my form and see how pointless this is." The king leaned back, only for Flash to see that the armor that the defender had cracked before was suddenly repaired. In fact, it looked sturdier than ever. "You see? Your blows along with Ruby's amounted to nothing. I merely toyed with you for my amusement."

The king then conjured a scythe out of shadows and pointed it towards Flash's head. Seeing the sharp end, Flash's eyes quickly darted around, trying to find his trusty Lightbringer, only to see it had fallen out of reach behind Sombra.

That is, till Sombra's hooves slammed down on Flash's wings again, both of them this time. A scream of pain followed as Sombra chuckled at the beaten defender. "Pathetic little bird. Do you feel pain in your wings?" Sombra mocked as he twirled the scythe in his magic, the blade's edge now lowering down to Flash's chest. "This is just the beginning filth. You have made me angry, and very few ponies make me angry. And you will pay for this."

The tip of blade began to pierce Flash's flesh like a knife, blood starting to pour out. Flash cried out in pain as the blade dug into his skin, not so deep that hit anything important but enough that it likely cause a scar. Finally Sombra was done and ripped the curved blade out, ripping through even more skin and causing more blood to rush out.

"Good bye worm. As I said before, I can not be beat, especially by one who does not understand the power of being alone." Sombra's horn started to glow, raising the scythe back as he prepared for a single, deadly strike. That is, till his body shook slightly, causing the king to shine a wide grin. "Ah. It seems my magic is back. Granted, its only about eighty percent..." The Umbrum tapped his hoof, dismissing his scythe as his horn began to shine a different glow. "Let's try an experiment before I take back my throne. I was planning to have you squirm in pain before giving you a clean kill with my scythe, but now that I look at it...maybe I should do something different. How about..." Sombra leaned down again, chuckling. "Let's see what happens when I use a second Spirit Breaker on you."

Flash's eyes shrunk at this, sweat pouring down his face as he heard this. Flash wasn't one to be afraid, but he knew the pain from Spirit Breaker, and it was something he didn't want to feel ever again. However, Sombra saw the fear in the defender's eyes causing his grin to widen even more. "There we go. That's the sight I want to see. There's fear in your eyes now. That's a good time to perform the spell."

But as Sombra raised his hooves to summon the spell, his eyes took one glance at the empire behind Flash, causing him to go wide-eyed. "No..." Sombra gasped as he felt another feeling. It was one that he hadn't felt in a long time. "NO! IT CAN'T BE! Somepony has got to the Crystal Heart! I can feel my barrier over it being messed with!"

Flash quickly turned his head around, only to see a shining light above the empire while the barrier did one last flicker. And as the barrier stopped, Sombra's face contorted to one of rage as he hissed, "The Crystal Heart, how could such disgusting, filthy worms have found it?!" Sombra's body turned into its smoke form as he yelled, "I must stop them!"

The king then shot into the air, flying towards the castle. Flash tried to pick himself up, but his body was still unable to hold his weight. He could feel the cold snow under him, freezing his whole body as his wound shivered his body in pain. Then, his eyes started to close as he felt the cold take him.

A few minutes ago...

Inside the city, Twilight was currently standing at the top of the castle's tower. It was here that the Crystal Heart had been hidden, in plain sight over the entire city. But when she and Spike had discovered the last resting place of the Crystal Heart, she had been so eager to get it that she did not stop to think there may have been a trap. As such, the second she got close to the heart, she had set it off and found herself stuck in a crystal cage.

Fortunately, the Crystal Heart had been knocked out of the cage, but with Twilight stuck inside, she was unable to get it to the fair. She began to try and teleport out of the cage, only to be sucked back in as soon as she finished teleporting.

"Augh!" Twilight moaned as she slammed back into the cage with a thud. "Ugh....I can't get out." She shook her head as she got back up, only to then see something in the corner of her eye. It was giant bright light in the distance that was in the shape of an orb. The sight made her eyes go wide, only for her face to morph into pure anger. "Oh no...don't tell me that's Flash."

"Flash?" Spike asked as stood outside of the cage. "What about him Twilight?"

"See that light in the distance Spike?"

The drake turned and squinted his eyes. "Yeah...what about it?"

Twilight let out a low groan as she facehoofed. "I bet you twenty bits that's Flash. I told him to not be reckless and now I'm betting he's out there, fighting Sombra alone."

"Won't Ruby be with him?"

"Doesn't matter Spike, he'd do it with her or without her." Twilight replied as she got up and stared at the cage, grumbling at the puzzle before her. "Right now, we need to get the heart to the fair. There has to be some..." Twilight looked back at the orb of light in the distance, only to see that it was gone. Blinking at the sight, Twilight turned to her assistant outside of the cage. "Spike...you have to be the one to bring the Crystal Heart to the fair."

Spike hopped in place, his eyes wide as he pointed to himself. "Me?" he asked, only to feel a small dark crystal appear under his foot, making him take a step away. "But Twilight-"

"Go."

"But-"

"GO!"

Spike didn't need anymore motivation. Grabbing the Heart, he leapt out the nearby window and onto a ledge. There, he looked down, only to see that things were not going so well. The fake Crystal Heart had been exposed and now the ponies were calling out to see the real one, forcing the rest of Twilight's friends to stall for time.

"Now, don't y'all worry your pretty, little crystal heads!" Applejack called out from the balcony. "The real Crystal Heart will be here any second!"

Rarity leaned over to her, whispering. "I don't know if they believe you."

"Ah don't know if ah believe me," Applejack replied, her tone slightly louder.

At the same time, Cadance was laying on the balcony, Shining by her side as her horn's glow finally gave out. This caused the shield to disappear, shocking everypony inside. As it did, everypony saw a new sight as the barrier fell. It was a giant dark cloud, one with a very familiar evil face.

"He's back!" one of the crystal ponies cried. "Its King Sombra!"

Sombra chuckled at seeing the pony's fright, soon looking over the populace. "My crystal slaves, I have returned for you all! I have defeated your precious Crystal Knight and now I shall-"

"Hey, up here!" interrupted a voice, causing everypony to look up.

"Spike?" Rarity asked as she recognized the voice. They all looked up to see him as he held the ancient artifact in his claws.

"I got the Crystal Heart!"

Sombra saw him and his eyes went wide, as he leapt into the air. "THAT IS MINE! RELEASE IT NOW, YOU WORM!" He yelled as he struck the ground, transforming into a shadow that slivered along the ground. As the shadow made its way to the heart, crystal spikes to shoot out of the ground in his wake. Seeing this, Spike quickly climbed down the tower, only to see a large crystal pillar rise in front of him, Sombra appearing on top. "GIVE THAT TO ME! IT IS MINE, ALONG WITH THIS EMPIRE!"

The yell made the baby dragon let out a scream, hopping in place in fear. And as he did, he slipped and dropped the Crystal Heart, the relic now falling off the pillar. The two then looked down as the heart fell, only for the drake to suddenly leap off the tower at the artifact, not even thinking as he tried to grab it with his claws.

"SPIKEY WIKEY!" Rarity cried out while the others just stared.

And as they continued to stare at the sight, Princess Cadance, who was still sitting on the nearby balcony, also saw the falling relic. A shiver went down her entire body, causing her to feel a surge of energy as she whispered to herself, "The heart...." She quickly turned her head to her husband, glaring at him as she commanded, "Shining, you have to throw me!"

"What?!" Shining's eyes went wide at his wife's sudden demand.

"Throw me at the heart. DO IT NOW!"

A click quickly going off in his brain, Shining grabbed and chucked his wife into the air, her wings spreading as she took flight. Before she knew it, she was in front of the falling heart, Spike falling onto her back. Her horn began to alight as the heart shined above her, already in her magic as light began to flow out of her.

"WHAT?!" Sombra yelled as he saw Cadance take the heart with ease. He gritted his teeth as his horn began to shine, hundreds of dark pillars appearing behind him. "THAT IS MINE, YOU FALSE RULER! GIVE IT TO ME!"

As his battle cry finished, a beam of pure darkness shot out of his horn, trying to destroy the heart in one go. But Cadance was faster, her horn shining as a beam of light shined through her horn as well, its power amplified by the heart. The two beams collided, causing a brilliant light to shine over the whole kingdom.

And as the two began to push each other back, the crystal ponies beneath them were awestruck. It was amazing, seeing the object that had once kept them safe again after a thousand years, and now in command of their new ruler.

"Behold!" One of them spoke aloud, "The Crystal Princess!"

Hearing this from the crowd, Cadance quickly yelled as she kept fighting Sombra back, "Everypony! The Crystal Heart has returned! Use the light and love within you to ensure that King Sombra does not!"

Seeing the sight, all the ponies quickly bowed, their coats shining like a row of infinite crystals. At the same time, the Mane Six all nodded to each other before bowing as well, the coats starting to shine somewhat. And as they did this, the heart began to glow even brighter, slowly pushing Sombra back.

"No....no....NOOOO!" Sombra screamed, magic pouring out of his horn like a geyser. In response, the beam coming out of his horn grew, slowly pushing back Cadance again. "I WILL NOT LOSE TO THAT PIECE OF GARBAGE! THIS EMPIRE IS MINE!"

And as the push between light and darkness continued, Twilight looked at the battle in the cage and fear covered her face. "Oh no...at this rate, Cadance won't win. But...what can I do?"

Meanwhile...

Flash just laid there in the snow, his mouth barely moving as he tried to stay awake. He couldn't move, he could barely feel his own hooves. The very motion of trying to speak was hard, as it felt like there was no energy left in him. But that wasn't what hurt the most. It was the fact that he hadn't changed a thing in the battle against Sombra, as the king showed to him that their fight was pointless. And now, his body laid there in the snow, unable to move.

"Is...this how I die?" he asked himself in a low, bare whisper. "Twi...light..."

Then, his eyes began to close again. The very motion of the world going black felt warm as he closed his irises to the world. But as he did, he felt a tug at his right hoof.

"Flash!" yelled a voice, causing him to crack his eyes open.

"Wha..." Flash moaned as he tried to find the voice's owner, only to see that they leaning over his head. "Ruby?"

Her horn began to shine, just a bare spark coming out of it. As she did, a small thin crystal came out of her necklace and floated over the long cut Sombra had given Flash, covering it in one fell swoop. She then put her hooves over it, just barely pushing down as sweat poured down the Crystal Knight's face.

"Hang on Flash. Don't give up..." she moaned as she pushed down, panting as she did. "Rule number one of a knight: Even if you're going to die, you don't give up."

Feeling the push of her hooves, Flash let out a series coughs. The motion sprayed his coat with spit, but allowed him to raise his head as he whispered, "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet Flash. We still have a job to do."

"But...how? I...I lost." Flash asked, his words almost turning to muttering nonsense. "He...beat us."

"Yeah, he does that a lot." Ruby replied as she stopped applying pressure, letting out a sigh of relief. "There. That should be okay for a little bit. Granted, my magic is almost out, but we'll worry about that later."

Flash raised his head again, only to feel a new sensation on his belly. It was his trusty sword, laying there with Ruby's hoof over it. "Lightbringer...you brought it to me?"

"Yeah, I crawled over here with it." Ruby admitted as she grabbed Flash's hooves, placing them on the blade. "This blade..." she then let out a huge breath of air, panting as she almost fell over Flash's body. "This blade....it....it uses light magic, right?"

Flash blinked at her before saying, "Yes." He was amazed at how she was holding up, her body covered in bruises as exhaustion was screaming all over her face. "Yes it does."

"Good. Think you...think you can try one last shot at that monster?" she replied while moving Flash's hooves around, her panting increasing. "I'll...I'll aim it for you. All you gotta do is pour a little magic into the sword."

"Ruby...I don't feel an ounce of energy in me." Flash said as he looked at the blade and then up at the sky. There, he could see the dark shadow encompassing over the Crystal Empire. It was Sombra, locked in battle with Cadance. He glanced back at his blade. "What...what can we do?"

"We fight." Ruby remarked as she tilted the blade toward the shadow, winking as she took aim at the figure inside the dark cloud. "Tell me Flash, why are you here? And don't tell me that its because you're here for the empire, that's what your friends are here for." She glanced back at him, a look of determination in her eyes. "Why did Celestia bring you here, squire?"

"To convince you to rejoin the knights."

"Heh...of course." Ruby chuckled, smirking as she turned back to the shadow in the distance. "Good old Celestia, hasn't changed one bit. Come on Flash, if I have just enough energy to move, then so do you. You gave me hope when you said that you wanted to see the crystal ponies smile, so I need you to give them hope too."

Flash tried to smile at this, but he couldn't. He couldn't even grip his sword. "But...I don't-"

Ruby glared back at him, still trying to hide her exhaustion. "Don't give up. Sombra may have done that spell on us that takes our energy, but we're more than that. You know what we are?"

"Knights?"

Ruby shook her head. "No. We're weak. That's why we need each other to beat the strong." She then shined a huge grin, causing Flash to grow his own smile.

"You're right Ruby." Flash said as he started to grip his blade, feeling just a tiny bit of energy in his body now. "Let's do it."

"Let's."

Back at the Empire...

"STOP RESISTING!" Sombra screamed as the beams of magic from his and Cadance's horns continued to stay locked in place. "STOP IT RIGHT NOW! I WILL NOT LET FILTH PREVENT ME FROM TAKING WHAT IS RIGHTFULLY MINE!"

"I'll never give up Sombra!" Cadance yelled back, her horn's light now pouring out like a geyser as well. "I will protect my subjects no matter what!"

"You will do no such thing, false princess! Those so-called 'subjects' are mine! They exist so that I can punish them myself!" Sombra barked back, an audience of new dark crystals appearing under him as he continued to push Cadance back. "They all belong to me! This empire belongs to me! And soon...Equestria itself shall belong to me as well!"

As these last words came out of his mouth, his magic pushed Cadance back even more. Spike held tightly to her back, closing his eyes at the sight of the evil king. But as he did, he squinted his right eye open, only to see a shimmering light in the corner of his eye. He soon opened his other eye, blinking at the sight in the distance. Then, on reflex, he whispered, "Hey...that's Flash and Ruby. What are they doing down there?"

However, his whispers did not fall of deaf ears, as Sombra also noticed the change in the drake's expression in the corner of his eye. Seeing this, his took a split-second glance back as he continued to pour his magic back at Cadance. "Hmm? What is-"

BLAM!

That was the sound of a Flash Force laser, the smallest Flash had ever shot, blasting out of Lightbringer. And as the attack flew into the sky, Sombra tried to react.

But it was too late. The attack had hit its mark.

"RAUGH!" Sombra yelled as his head jerked back, pain suddenly striking him. "MY HORN! BLASTED WORM JUST HIT MY-"

The next words were interrupted by another surge of magic attacking Sombra, this one from Cadance. And as she pushed him back with her magic, the Crystal Heart by her side, Sombra turned back to her and let out a mighty roar. "DON'T YOU DARE FALSE PRINCESS! I WILL-" as Sombra tried to speak, he felt a new sensation. It was pain, as Cadance magic had won their lock of power between the two. The light from the Crystal Heart shone right through the king's darkness, hitting his body with a surge of light. And as it did, the shadows surrounding his body...were now gone.

"What....no! STOP!" He yelled as he watched his pillar under him start to crumble. As it did, the shadows and smoke disappeared, and his body began to show cracks of light. "This is...NO! I REFUSE TO LOSE! I AM STRONG! I AM SOMBRA, KING OF SHADOWS! I AM-"

BOOM!

With that, his body exploded in a blast of light, his crimson red horn flying off of his head and into the distance. King Sombra was gone, and the dark crystals he created disappeared in a flash of light from the Crystal Heart. And as the light shone from the heart, it exploded across the empire, causing the whole city to glow along with its ponies.

The Crystal Empire had been restored.

With the threat gone, the light had one more thing to do. With one final burst, it cause sent out a blast that caused the snow that surrounded the empire to disappear and reveal a bright blue sky. A rainbow of light shot out of the castle, creating an aurora that could be seen all over Equestria. And as the wave of light from the heart shined past the city, the light hit the two soldiers that were laying in the once blanketed land of white snow. Flash blinked at the sight, suddenly seeing his coat turn into a crystal gleam. "Whoa..." he remarked as he looked at his body, only to feel a wave of refreshment over his body. "What is happening?"

"Its the Crystal Heart." Ruby responded, slowly standing up as Flash noticed her coat shining twice as much as he was. Not only that, a bunch of her bruises on her body started to fade. "Its healing the empire, and that includes its ponies. The light it wields can heal almost anything, or anypony."

"Wow..." Flash said as he started to try and pick himself up. However, the long wound over his chest told him otherwise, causing him to cringe in pain. "Ugh...looks like it isn't healing everything."

"Don't push yourself Flash. You went through a lot." Ruby said with a chuckle, putting her hoof around Flash's neck as she slowly helped him up. "Just keep yourself steady, okay? Lean on me if you need it."

"Okay..." Flash mumbled as he felt his hooves wobble, pain still somewhat there. His body began to stagger again, causing Ruby to push him up slightly as she kept her hoof around his neck.

"Flash? You okay?"

"Yeah..." Flash tried to nod, blinking as he responded, "I'm..."

His next words faded into mumbles as his body suddenly slumped over. "FLASH!" Ruby cried as she managed to catch him, gently lowering him to the ground. Looking at his face, she saw that he had lost consciousness. "Flash...say something! FLASH!?"

The Crystal Harmony

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"How much longer is he gonna sleep?"

"Calm down Rainbow. The poor darling went through a lot."

"She's right sugarcube, just be patient."

"Oh, I hope he wasn't hurt too badly."

"Ooh! Ooh! I think he's coming around!"

"Then let's give him some space."

Flash's eyes slowly flickered open, only to be bombarded by a volley of light over his head. He quickly closed his eyes, turning his head away from the glare, only to open his eyes and see that he was laying on a bed made out of light violet crystals. The sight made him blink in surprise, only to feel another sensation. It was his body, which felt stiff, as if he had been sleeping in the same position for a week. It was in that moment that he remembered the battle before he passed out, the beating Sombra had easily given him.

He began to blink again, adjusting his eyes to the light as he tried to look back up again. As he did, he started to lift his head, only to then see Rainbow, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie and Shining staring down at him. Each one had a look of both joy and concern on their face, some with tears starting to form under their eyes.

He blinked one more time before lifting his hoof and rubbing his eyes. "Morning." Before he could say anything else, the five mares leapt at him, burying him in a hug pile. "AUGH!" he wheezed, his body feeling both pain and happiness. But mainly pain. "Okay, okay...I get it. You're all happy to see me."

"You know it partner," Applejack said as they all got off of him. "You had us all worried."

Rarity nodded. "Indeed darling. When we saw Ruby drag you back into the city, we feared you were..." the unicorn mare shivered at her next words, "gone."

"So I'm guessing Ruby told you what happened?" Flash asked, letting out a small yawn at the same time.

Shining chuckled at the question, only to smirk at the pegasi, "Yes. She told us you were being reckless again. You really can't stay out of trouble, can you?"

Flash smirked back, giving a small shrug in response. "Its a gift." Everypony laughed at that, happy to see Flash was okay. At the same time, Flash finally started looking around the room he was in. It gave him a very...hospital vibe. "Say, uh...where am I?"

"The Crystal Castle's medical center," Shining replied, patting the bed with his hoof. "Ruby said we should bring you here, as its the empire's best medical facility. I gotta say, she wasn't wrong."

Rainbow nodded in agreement. "The docs said you were suffering from-" She turned to the others, "what'd they call it?"

Rarity rolled her eyes, almost facehoofing. "Total bodily failure brought on by extreme fatigue, darling. That and..." Rarity then pointed to Flash's chest, causing him to look down as she continued, "A scar from your battle."

Flash didn't hear the next few words from his friends as he stared at the new scar that covered his body. It was from Sombra's scythe, the one he had used to meticulously and very slowly cut Flash's chest. The scar was a small but noticeable X shape that stood out against his fur, one that looked like it would be there for the rest of his life. Despite this, there were no bandages over it, causing Flash to think a new question to ask.

"Say, uh....how long have I been asleep?"

Rainbow gave him a flat stare as she answered. "About six months."

"WHAT?! SIX MONTHS?!" Flash yelped, only for his ears were then bombarded by a wave of laughter, which made him give them all the stink eye. "Not funny."

"Sorry. It was just-hee hee," Rainbow replied, chuckling. "It was just too easy."

"Ugh...typical." Flash groaned, resting his head back on the pillow. "Should of guessed that one."

Seeing this, Shining decided to give him the real answer. "You've been asleep for about three days. Ruby explained what happened with Sombra's uh....'Spirit Breaker' spell? At least I think that's what she called it. Said it takes the energy right out of ya, but you were still able to fight. It sounds like it was quite the battle."

Flash did a slightly embarrassed shrug at the praise. "Eh, I just knew I couldn't let him win, so I kept going. Though it was super painful..."

"And it was very impressive."

Everypony turned to the now opened door, where they saw not only Twilight, Cadance and Ruby, but also the Royal Sisters as they stepped in. As soon as Flash and Twilight's eyes locked, he saw her eyes fill with tears before she shot towards him. Before he could react, she leapt onto his bed and threw her hooves around his neck. "YOU IDIOT! What did I tell you about being reckless?!"

"Augh!" Flash yelped as he felt the force of her hooves, making him cringe at the sudden forced pain. "Ow! That hurts Twilight!"

Twilight jerked her head back, glaring right in the eyes of the defender. "It should! You were reckless again!"

"Yeah...I know." Flash mumbled, his expression turning into one of shame and apology, "I'm sorry."

"No you're not! You were being reckless, like always!" Twilight yelled, air blasting out of her nostrils as she tired to hold back her tears. "You reckless, irresponsible, promise-breaking meathead!"

Ruby leaned over and whispered to other ponies in the room, "Are they always like that?"

"Yes." they all whispered back in unison.

"And they'll never figure it out." Cadance finished, letting out an annoyed grumble as she then said, "Trust me, I've tried way too many times to try and make them figure it out, and its my job to make ponies figure it out."

"Figure what out?" Shining asked, a slightly blank look on his face.

Cadance let out a long sigh, "Something you'll never figure out either...just like your sister with our relationship."

As Shining blinked at this comment, Twilight continued to yell at Flash. "You stupid moron! I told you not to be reckless and now you have a scar on your chest! Why don't you ever listen?! Why don't-"

"Ahem." Luna interrupted with a slight cough, causing Flash and Twilight to turn and glance at her. "It's good to see you are finally awake young Sentry."

"Indeed. We were all worried about you." Celestia added as she gave him a knowing smile as she looked at the mare still hugging him. "Some more than others."

Flash gave a small nod. "Thanks. So I'm guessing the empire is safe? This time for good?"

"Yes." Cadance told him, pointing at her sister-in-law as she continued, "Twilight and Spike found the Crystal Heart just in time. The citizens of the empire were able to recharge it, allowing the Heart to destroy Sombra once and for all."

"That's good to hear," Flash said with a sigh. "I don't wanna have to fight that guy ever again." He then glanced at Ruby, only to now notice that her coat still had the crystalline shine she and he had had after being hit by the Crystal Heart's magic. "How are you doing?"

Ruby just shook her head, only to then give him a small smile, "I'm fine, thanks to you. Granted, you gave me a real scare after that fight with Sombra but...you still kept him distracted long enough so Twilight and Spike could get the heart. The Crystal Empire owes you a debt of gratitude."

Flash shrugged at the knight, "Eh, just doing my job."

"No Flash," Ruby told him, shaking her head once more. "What you did was beyond the call of duty. You pushed yourself past what should have been ponily possible to protect us all. If the rest of the Royal Knights are anything like you, then I'll proudly stand by their side to help protect Equestria once more." Flash shined a big smile at her, happy he had achieved his goal. Ruby on the other hoof, gave Luna a knowing smirk, "Besides, even if you hadn't convinced me, I'm sure my old teacher would have done the same job in getting me back with the knights."

The other ponies, except Celestia, all looked at Ruby in surprise at hearing this. Seeing this, Luna's eyebrows hopped for a second before she gave Ruby a big goofy grin, "I can always convince you Ruby. Who else taught you how to fight properly?"

"Now now you two, why don't you go catch up somewhere else private. Me and Luna did just arrive and I'm sure you have much to talk about." Celestia interrupted before gesturing to the rest of the room. "As for everypony else, I think we should let Flash rest in peace. Why don't you all go and enjoy what the empire has to offer, now that its no longer under attack."

The ponies all nodded and left the room, leaving only Flash and Twilight. The pegasus turned back to the unicorn, who was still holding onto him tightly and had her face pressed into his coat. "Twilight-"

"Why do you keep doing this?!" Twilight asked as she pulled her face away again, glaring daggers at him with her tear-filled eyes. "You keep putting yourself in danger and not caring what might happen to you! If you had...I don't want to lose you Flash!"

Flash's heart fell into his stomach at hearing this. He could feel the guilt as he knew Twilight wasn't alone over this. His other friends were probably worrying just as much. After all, at the time, all he had thought about was trying to stop Sombra, not thinking about what might have happened if he had failed.

"I'm sorry Twilight. I just...I had to."

"Why?! Why is it always you that has to face all these threats alone?! Why couldn't you have had Shining, or Rainbow, or anypony go with you?! Nightmare Moon, Lightning, Discord, the Scorpentine, and now this! Why do you always feel the need to be alone when facing something so dangerous?!"

Flash was not sure how to respond to that. He hadn't realised it, but stuff like this had happened a lot since they first arrived in Ponyville. But as he thought about this, Twilight continued. "What if the next time you do something like this, you're not so lucky?! What'll happen then?! All the ponies who care about you, how do you think they'll feel? Scootaloo, who just found out she has you as a brother or Springer, or-or-or me, your best friend!" Twilight yelled, pointing to her self. She started to pant as more tears fell, only for her gaze to fall as well, "What if...what if you die and leave us?! What then?!"

Flash's guilt increased as he thought about what she said. She was right. He had far to much he cared about, to go and throw it all away by dying. A part of him wanted to make Twilight a promise that he would not do something that reckless again. But he also knew that if he could go back to the moment he first started to fight Sombra, he would do it again in a heart beat. He had sworn to keep his promises, but this was a promise he would not be able to keep.

He took his hoof and placed it under her chin, raising it so her eyes now met his. "Twilight, I'm sorry I keep making you worry, but I'm not sorry for doing all those things I did. Its who I am. Its...look Twilight, you have to know that I'm somepony who'll put his life on the line to protect others."

More tears appeared as Twilight began to sniff from her cries. "But why do you always have to be the one to do it?"

"If it wasn't me, then it'd be somepony else and somepony they knew would have to worry." Flash put his hoof over his chest, a smile on his face as he continued, "I'm proud to be the pony who risks his life for others Twilight. That's who I am. Granted, I'm not proud to be the pony who makes those he cares about worry...but I can't prevent that." Flash took his hoof off his chest, now putting it on Twilight's. "So I want you to make a promise for me. Promise me that you'll stop worrying about whether or not I'll come back alive and I...I promise that no matter what happens or who I face, I'll come back to you alive."

Twilight continued to stare at him, tears flowing as she bit her lip. "You can't promise that."

"Yes I can. And as a part of my Knight's Vow, I'll never break a promise I make."

Twilight then looked away, staring at the bed now. "And how can you be sure you'll be able to come back next time?"

"Because I have too much to live for." Flash replied instantly, raising her chin again. "When I die, it'll be when I have nothing else to live for, and that won't be for a very long time."

Twilight continued to stare at him, trying to hold back more tears. As she did, she could see the determination in his eyes, the look of pure confidence in what he had just said. She let out a long sigh as she turned away, rubbing her eyes. "Okay. I...I believe you."

"Thank you Twilight." Flash replied as he then scooted over on the bed, patting the side for Twilight. She then laid down with him, letting out another long sigh. Seeing this, Flash chuckled as he said, "Why don't we talk about something else? Say...how did your test go? Considering you got the Heart to Cadance, I assume that means you passed."

Twilight frowned and shook her head. "I didn't get the Heart to Cadance. I got trapped in one of Sombra's traps and...and I had Spike get the heart to her, though I had to force him to do it."

Flash's eyes went wide in concern, "So you-"

"I still passed," Twilight interrupted closing her eyes as her frown increased. "Celestia said the fact that I was willing to put the needs of others over my own meant I was worthy of passing."

Flash shined a smile as he slowly put his hoof around her neck. "Good to hear. Great work Twi."

"Yeah...thanks." Twilight slowly said, closing her eyes as she let out another sigh. With that, the two simply laid side by side, enjoying the peacefulness of each others company. Flash then turned his head to look out the window, admiring the beautiful lights that now filled the skies.

In another part of the castle, two other ponies were watching the lights in the sky. It was Ruby and Luna, both standing on one of the castle balconies. Seeing the love and light be spread throughout Equestria thanks to the Heart, Ruby let out a long sigh as she looked at her old mentor. "I never thought I'd see this sight again."

"Neither did I," Luna replied, a smile gracing her lips.

Ruby chuckled at that remark. "For you, it must have been a long wait. Its been a thousand years since then Luna...though I gotta say, you still look the same as you did when we last spoke." Luna began to frown at that, causing a look of confusion to spread on Ruby's face. "You okay?"

Luna shook her head, sighing. "Let's just say...I didn't have to wait long to see it again, or you."

"What do you mean?" As Ruby's question left her mouth, Luna began to explain everything that had happened to her, both after the empire's disappearance, and the Nightmare. Once the story ended, Ruby's eyes were wide in shock. "I don't believe it."

"Well believe it, because it happened. Losing you and...and my jealousy was just too much for me. The loneliness just became too much for me. Much like Sombra, I fell to the dark path and was punished for it."

"But you were saved!" Ruby barked back, nudging her with her hoof. "Flash and his friends, they used the Elements to save you!"

"Yes...they did." Luna then turned to the Crystal Knight, seeing a look of deep thought on her face. "I know what you are thinking. You believe that the Elements may have allowed Flash and the others to do to Sombra what they did for me. After all, you told me many times how much of a friend he was to you, only to see him turn. So, I suggested this method to my sister before she sent them."

Ruby didn't like where this was going. "What...what did she say?"

"That my reformation was due to the Elements expunging the unnatural dark magic from my body, reverting me to a prior stage of life. Since Sombra's umbrum magic was a natural part of him, the Elements could not do the same as they did to me."

Ruby let out a long sigh, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "I...see. So this truly was the only way."

Luna placed a hoof on her shoulder. "I know it was hard, but you know that this was the right thing to do."

Ruby just nodded. "I know. I just..." She hesitated as she pushed the hoof off and looked back up at the sky. "I know I can't keep looking towards the past. For the sake of the empire, I must focus on the future and learn as much as I can about this new world we find ourselves in." A single tear went down her face. "But I miss him Luna. I really do."

"I know you do Ruby." Luna replied as she put her wing over Ruby's back, looking up at the sky as well. "There is so much we lost."

"Yes...I know." Ruby responded, only for a few more tears to form. "Its just so hard..." her body began to shake as she said her next words. "I mean...if you had known him like I did Luna, how he really was before all this. Its just..."

"Unbelievable?"

"Yeah. I still can't believe what I fought out there three days ago." Ruby put a hoof over her eyes, rubbing the water away. "I could barely recognize him. He had truly become a monster."

"I was afraid of that." Luna admitted as she tightened her wing-hug on Ruby. "I'm sorry you had to endure such a thing."

"Thanks..." Ruby hugged her back, the tears finally stopping. And as they did, Ruby slung her hoof around Luna's shoulder. "I know that I need to move on. Will you help me?"

"Of course." Luna said with a wink. She then shined a small smirk, "Say, we never got to go out for drinks, did we?"

Ruby's face summoned a big grin, "No, I don't believe we did. We were gonna go have a night on the town, weren't we? Sing some songs, drinks some drinks and flirt with some stallions?"

Luna's smirk widened, "Oh yes, we definitely need to get you to Canterlot. You'll have loads of fun there. Heck, I also need to introduce you to my new student Trixie, and she can join us."

"Trixie? Is she another knight in training?"

Luna giggled at this. "Not quite, but you can thank Flash for the idea of having a more...non-military student, and for having Miss Lulamoon and I meet."

Ruby let out a hearty laugh. "I see. I must say, the more I learn about that colt, the more of me feeling like an idiot for underestimating him."

"You are not the first, and you will certainly not be the last." Luna then gave her old student one last hug. "Come, lets see what Princess Cadance can do about your schedule so you and me can have a night on the town."

Meanwhile...

Out in the bitter cold wastelands, the skies were now illuminated by the light that came from the empire. As it shined, a single object laid in the snow. It was the last piece of the umbrum king, which was a curved, bent and broken crimson red horn.

Suddenly, the horn began to glow a black aura, soon shaking and levitating into the air. And as it did, the horn shot into the air, flying through a blizzard in the distance. It flew through the falling snow, the frigid wind not stopping it for a second.

Then, it began to slow down, only to fall into a black coated hoof. It was a unicorn wearing a long black cloak. Its horn stuck out of its hood, a thick, black aura surrounding it. Strands of red hair drifted outside the cloaked as the pony began to fiddle with the horn.

"Is this the course of my vision?" The pony asked itself in a low, dark and draining voice. "It looks like the horn I saw on the unicorn alongside that pegasus. What does this have to do with me?"

The unicorn said nothing more, instead levitating the horn into his cloak before turning away. He then walked off, disappearing into the blizzard.

The next morning...

After a good fourth night's rest, Flash was now able to get out of bed with little trouble. He still had the scar from his fight, but the Crystal Heart had reduced the wound to a minor pain. Thanks to this, he could now move around freely and the rest of his friends were now all set to return to Ponyville. Right now, they were walking towards the train station, which the Heart's force field now surrounded.

"I can't wait to get home." Fluttershy commented as she looked back at the empire. "The empire is pretty, but I miss my animals."

"Same here," Applejack added as she tipped her hat. "Those apples ain't gonna buck them selves."

Rarity nodded in agreement. "I too wish to return home. Being here and seeing all this has gotten my creative juices flowing. I simply must get to work before the inspiration fades."

Flash smiled at seeing his friends all eager to get home. "Glad you're all ready to go home. I just hope Springer and Scootaloo haven't wrecked the library."

Spike scoffed at this. "If they have, you're helping them clean up."

Everypony chuckled as the exchange as they arrived at the station. There, Cadance gave Twilight a hug as she said, "Well, this is it everypony."

Twilight returned the hug before staring at the princess and her brother. "So you're really staying here?"

"We have to." Shining told her as he put his hoof on her shoulder. "With their princess gone, the crystal ponies need a leader, and with our knowledge of the current going-ons in Equestria, we're the best choice."

"I know," Twilight said as she looked down, a frown widening on her face. "But living here means we'll be seeing even less of each other."

Shining placed his hoof under her chin and pulled her face up, looking her in the eyes with a reassuring smile. "We'll see plenty of each other. Sure it won't be as much as we used to, but that's all part of growing up. We have our responsibilities here, while you and Flash have your stuff in Ponyville. Remember, even if we don't see that much of each other, we're still family."

Twilight stared at her brother for a few moment, only to then pull him into a hug. "Thanks BBBFF."

Flash meanwhile, was talking to Ruby. "You make sure to keep this place intact. I won't be around to bail you out again."

Ruby giggled as she put her hoof on his shoulder. "I'll be fine. You just need to try and keep out of trouble. From what I've been told, that seems to be attracted to you like a magnet."

Flash smirked and then nodded, the two sharing a hoofshake before he and his friends boarded the train.

As the train pulled away, the seven ponies and one dragon all popped their heads out the window. They waved at the three ponies on the platform, who all waved back, saying their goodbyes as they returned home after another great adventure. The Crystal Empire had been saved, and the love and light that had returned with it made Equestria stronger than ever. One can only wonder, what the future has in store for the land of ponies next?

Flash Sentry, Crystal Darkness

by Banshee531

The Crystal Knight

The Crystal Mission

The Crystal Empire

The Crystal Fair

The Crystal Promise

The Crystal Darkness

The Crystal Battle

The Crystal Harmony