Sombra, fresh from a victory over the Black Dragons, returns home with his army and close friends eager to find rest and continue his budding romance with Celestia. Instead, he discovers a prophecy, that could endanger everyone he loves.
Sombra, Prince of the Crystal Empire and the adoptive son of Queen Amore, returns home after a long and hard fought war against the ancient Black Dragons and is eager to continue the budding romance that has started to flower between him and the radiant Princess Celestia of the southern kingdom of Equestria.
However, when he returns home he is swept up by a prophecy given to him by the Crystal Heart. A prophecy that foretells the doom of all he loves at the hooves of the Umbra. And so Sombra sets off once more into the wastes to confront this foe, determined to save his Empire and the mare he loves before it's too late.
Little does he know, he's playing right into fate's hooves.
The drums of war, his teacher had once called them. The steady, thunderous hoofbeats of a thousand soldiers marching at once, rumbling the earth beneath them as they move steadily towards their goal. He had always believed such descriptions of a marching army to be simply the flowing, romantic words of old soldiers, their eyes misted over by the memories of their youths spent fighting for honor and glory beneath the banners of now long-passed cities and monarchs.
Such feelings had changed the first time he had marched out with the Crystal Empire’s army, a young officer unsure of his place in the world and having nothing more to his name than the armor and sword he had been gifted by his adoptive mother. He had seen quickly how accurate the old soldier’s tales were, how indeed the ground rumbles beneath the hooves of a marching army.
How that steady, rumbling beat can make its way into your very soul.
Now, years later, marching at the head of the combined armies of the Crystal Empire and their southern allies in Equestria, Sombra finds himself having to amend what his teachers had once told him. For he does not march to the steady beat of drums heralding a war. No, today he marches to the clarion call of a force returned in victory. Today he marches not at the head of an army of soldiers, but leads a group of weary mares and stallions, who just like him are ready to return to their homes and families knowing that their actions the past month had secured a lasting peace for their children, and grandchildren.
Stopping has he crests the final hill that borders the verdant valley Mirrormere, the Capitol of the Crystal Empire, Sombra cannot help but breath a deep sigh of relief. On both sides of him, the two mares who had come with him as his fellow commanders do the same.
“I have never been so happy to see a city in my life,” Sombra chuckles as he pulls back the hood of his cloak and lowers the scarf over his muzzle. “A month in the wastes really makes you appreciate what you’ve got at home.”
“Agreed, Lord Sombra,” one of his companions, a dark blue alicorn mare, agrees. “Such splendor is well received after our long trek in the frozen reaches beyond your borders.”
“Luna is right,” his other companion adds as she moves over slightly to brush against Sombra’s side with one of her white wings. “I am looking forward to a nice hot bath, and warm bed tonight.”
Smiling brightly as he returns the gesture to the white alicorn, Sombra nods. “Yes, a warm bath and a comfortable bed sounds blissful.” He looks over at the white mare, smiling softly. “And, if I may be so bold, your majesty, I would also hope that I may spend this evening in your warm company as well?”
“We shall see,” the mare replies with an equally warm smile.
“Do not pretend, dear sister,” Luna smirks, her tone playful. “We saw the young lord sneaking into thy tent, Celestia, and you did not complain then.”
Blushing slightly, Celestia clears her throat. “It is cold out there, and I saw no reason to not to accept a little extra warmth.”
“And I was honored to help her majesty keep warm,” Sombra states with no small amount of pride. “Star Swirl would never allow me to return home if I let one of his precious fillies fall ill under my watch.”
“Yes, Grandfather Star Swirl is quite protective, isn’t he,” Luna giggles before nodding towards the city, and the soldiers streaming towards it. “But, he would also not forgive you if we arrived after all our soldiers have. We must keep up appearances, after all.”
“Quite right, I did promise him that I would see both of you safely back to him,” Sombra sighs as he rolls his eyes before nuzzling Celestia’s neck and winking to Luna. Starting off with his head held high, he gestures calls back. “Well, no point in keeping the old bag of bones waiting. I’m sure he won’t crumble to dust before we get there, but no point in taking that chance!”
The comment incites a laugh from both of the alicorns as they quickly follow after Sombra. The journey into the city is one of laughter as they pass by their soldiers, who all greet them with polite bows and salutes, and a few even walking with them for a ways to inquire after various things. All of them are treated as friends and equals now that they are no longer on actively an army, and Sombra cannot help but feel pride in the temperament and integrity of his troops, as each of the purple-clad ponies are wholly his.
And then they are in the city.
The beautifully crafted houses and businesses of Mirrormere glitter in the afternoon light, and are matched only in the beauty of the ponies that line the large main street leading towards the Crystal Sanctuary at the center of the city. All normal business had been suspended in favor of welcoming back the armies, as doubtlessly Amore had known that nopony would be able to focus when there were loved ones and friends to embrace.
The sight of ponies enthusiastically greeting their returning heroes makes Sombra smile even wider, and in a fit of boldness he leans against Celestia, who is bit taller than him, and nuzzles her cheek. The gesture, while surprising to Celestia, is well welcomed as she returns the nuzzle with one her own. Before their journey a month prior, such displays of affection would never have been done in public, but now? Now Sombra could care less, as he had spent an entire month with her, and his heart had only grown more fond of the beautiful mare beside him.
Reaching the base of the Crystal Sanctuary, the group is met by a small gathering of ponies, all centered around a tall unicorn mare of a very pale rose. Beside her stands an ancient grey unicorn who is grumbling and stroking his beard and a silvery-violet unicorn beside him dutifully trying to get him to stop.
Stopping before the small group, Sombra bows deeply, his horn nearly touching the ground. Beside him, Celestia and Luna incline their heads to their fellow ruler.
“Welcome back, all of you,” the tall unicorn says in greeting, her voice is soft, but commanding. “From the joyous looks upon the faces of your soldiers, I take it your quest was met with good fortune?” Her amber eyes drift to Sombra who is still bowing. “My dear child, please rise. You know you need not bow so deeply to me.”
“Forgive me, Queen Amore,” Sombra says with a blush. “Some habits break hard.”
“They do indeed,” Amore chuckles, turning her head slightly she continues on. “And it’s ‘Queen’ now? Are you trying to butter me up, young stallion?”
“No, Mother,” Sombra coughs, earning giggles from Celestia and Luna.
“Good,” Amore says simply with a smile as she turns her gaze to the two alicorns. “Celestia, Luna, I am glad you two have returned safely to our humble city. I knew I was right to assign Sombra as the commander of our forces, for he would do anything to see you two safely returned.” Her smile grows a bit as she narrows her eyes. “I trust you found his companionship satisfactory?”
“I fo- I mean we found his companionship to be a comfort in the wastes, your majesty,” Celestia states, her face developing a pale red tint. “He is an apt military commander, and we never believed for a moment he would not return us safely.”
“Indeed,” Luna adds in, “my sister and I found him to be most pleasant company.” She then winks to Amore, her tone becoming conspiratorial. “My sister, especially, found him to be quite warm company on the long journey, as expected.”
At the statement Celestia, Sombra, and the elderly unicorn all start and look between Luna and Amore who both are wearing huge grins. Sombra and Celestia both shuffle a little closer, sporting rather prominent blushes, and the unicorn glares at Amore and stands up.
“Amore, tell me you haven’t been attempting to play matchmaker with my charges!” He demands sternly, gesturing a hoof at Celestia and Sombra. “It’s not fair, encouraging him to aim that high with his prospects! Adoptive son or not, he-”
“Remind me again, dear grandfather,” Amore states sternly, turning to the unicorn with a frown. “Were you not aiming high when you fell in love with, and then married, my predecessor? Was not Queen Crystal Hope a mare that many would believe normally out of the reach of an acolyte? Or need I remind you that love knows no such boundaries and limitations as rank?”
“Amore that isn’t fair…” the unicorn replies, though with less anger than before.
“I know, Star Swirl,” Amore replies, her tone softer again. “But it needed to be said. You cannot control Celestia’s heart.” She then turns back to the three who are still standing before her. “Now, I think you three have stood around long enough in your travel clothes in the cold. Let’s get you inside where it is warm, and you can regale us with the tales of your adventure over an early dinner? I shall make sure there are baths ready for you three and chambers prepared so that you may take the remainder of the day to rest and recover.”
----
The warmth of the fireplace crackling softly pales in comparison to the warmth radiating from the mare laying beside Sombra. Truly, the warmth of a thousand fires could only pale beside the warmth of the sun, and the love Sombra feels for Celestia. Nuzzling into the side of her neck, the feel of her soft white coat and her flawless pink mane akin to the softest of beds, Sombra sighs happily.
Looking up from the book she is currently reading, Celestia turns and rests her head against Sombra’s, a content sigh escaping her.
“I’ve been dreaming of doing this all month,” Celestia whispers, extending a wing to pull Sombra closer. “No duties, no pressing emergencies, just us.”
“I won’t argue with that,” Sombra chuckles softly as he leans back. Reaching up with a hoof he gently caresses Celestia’s cheek, then leans over for a kiss which is returned with equal passion and care. When the kiss ends, Sombra pulls back slightly, his lips a hair’s breath from Celestia’s. “Have I told you lately I love you?” he whispers, almost reverently.
“I seem to recall you have,” Celestia replies, her breath hot on Sombra’s face before she leans back over and quickly kisses him. “But I never tire of hearing you say it.”
Smiling back, his heart beating in his ears from the sheer joy he feels, Sombra nods slowly. “Nor do I tire of saying it, my love,” Sombra chuckles as he goes back to leaning against Celestia. “And I plan on saying it as often as I can, for as long as I can.” The comment brings a certain silence between the pair, as Celestia turns her attention to fireplace.
Joining her observation of the fire, Sombra watches the dancing, flickering flames in the hearth, his eyes slowly drifting partway shut as he allows the warmth of both his love and the fire to lull him into a relaxed state. Beside him, however, he can feel Celestia tensing up slightly, a quick glance to her face showing her ears back against her head and her eyes unfocused. Clearly, she is thinking on something, and a feeling of fear pull Sombra up from his near-dozing state to sit up a bit more.
“Celes?” He asks softly, the uttering of her nickname bringing her back from her thoughts. “Is something wrong?”
“No,” Celestia responds, then pauses and sighs as her shoulders slump. “And yes… it’s complicated.”
“Whatever it is, you can tell me,” Sombra offers, a loving smile on his face.
“Sombra I…” Celestia starts, furrowing her brow as she looks at the fireplace.
“Yes?” Sombra prompts, his ears going back against his head as a cold pit forms in his stomach.
“Are you truly happy?” Celestia asks softly, her eyes never leaving the fireplace. “Being in love with somepony like me? I will never age, not physically at least. I will outlast you, outlast anything we do… outlast ou-” she pauses, the word sticking in her mouth.
“Our what, my dear?” Sombra asks.
“Nothing,” Celestia sighs, looking away slightly as a blush rises on her cheers.
“You were going to say our children, weren’t you?” Sombra asks, a warm smile spreading across his face as the dark pit in his stomach vanishes. Putting a hoof on her cheek and gently guiding her to look back at him, Sombra leans up and kisses her. “And, I am happier than I have ever been in my entire life, Celes,” Sombra answers her earlier question. “And no matter what, no matter how long you may live, I will always be with you. I may not be Amore’s real son, but she has taught me a lot about how love works.” He gently reaches over and places a hoof against her chest. “So I know, that once you love somepony, they’re never truly gone from your life, no matter how time ages them, or wars wound them. They shall always be perfectly safe in your heart, and in your memories.”
Sighing, Celestia settles back down and relaxes beside Sombra. At least until he opens his mouth again.
“Now, about that thing you almost said,” Sombra says in a teasing tone, his eyes aglow with mischief. “Would you really want to have a family with this poor orphan of a stallion? I mean, I have nothing to offer you but the loving heart of a mortal.” He smirks, leaning his head against Celestia’s neck. “But what is such a thing, next to the warmth of the sun?”
“Something far greater,” Celestia whispers, resting her head against Sombra’s. “And, I would love nothing more than to have a family with you. Perhaps someday, when Equestria is more stable…”
“And when I am king of the Crystal Empire,” Sombra adds, smirking.
“Well, potentially,” Celestia chuckles, “Though, I do not think you shall take that mantle for many, many years.” She sighs, closing her eyes and continuing to simply lean against her love. “I pray your mother does not pass for a long while, we lost her predecessor not all that long ago in the grand scheme of things.”
“I hope she is around a long time too,” Sombra replies, closing his own eyes and sighing contently. “But such worries are for later. We are home, safe and warm. Best to think on happier topics, than the sorrows of the future.”
Celestia humming is the only reply he gains, and for a long moment the two of them sit comfortably in each other’s company, their eyes closed as they bask in the warm glow of the fireplace and their love.
After a few more minutes of this, Celestia lets out a soft yawn, prompting Sombra to release one of his own.
“Perhaps her majesty would like to retire to the bed?” Sombra asks softly, nuzzling just behind Celestia’s jaw. “I promise, that it shall not be a cold, nor lonely, night.”
“If that is true, then perhaps it is time to retire,” Celestia replies in an equally soft tone before putting her book to one side and rising to follow Sombra to the large bed. Climbing up and under the covers, Celestia waits for Sombra to do the same before lifting the covers up and snuggling up close to him.
Letting out a content sigh, Sombra scoots closer to the large mare that had stolen his heart, and rests his head against the side of her neck as he snuggles against her back. Her warmth and scent fill him with with a feeling of peace, of unending love, and he can’t help but smile widely.
“I love you, Celestia,” he whispers softly.
“I love you too, Sombra,” Celestia echoes in an equally soft tone, before sighing herself and settling down, her breathing becoming slower and more even as she drifts off into her sister’s realm.
Yet, despite the love of his life sleeping peacefully beside him, Sombra’s own mind can’t seem to quiet itself sufficiently to allow him to sleep. It continues to whirl and spin with their earlier conversation, as well as the habit for constant vigilance at night born from the time spent in the wastes.
With a tired snort, he gently and slowly pulls himself away from Celestia, and rises from their bed, fetching a fur-lined cloak to drape it over his shoulders to stave off the worst of the chill in the air, before leaving the room to wander the castle to perhaps find some peace.
-----
Walking through the hallways of the Crystal Palace, Sombra cannot help but marvel once more at the subdued splendor that surrounds him in his home. All around him pictures and tapestries illustrating the history of the Empire sit side-by-side with beautiful flowers and crystal sculptures of creatures and ponies of legend.
Yet, for all it’s wealth, the palace’s interior is not covered in gold, nor jewels, though Amore could afford to do so if she wished. No, it is instead an open and friendly place, the hallways filled more with laughter and the quiet conversations of friends than the opulent displays he had seen on his few visits to Canterlot, and Celestia and Luna’s own castle. This is not to say that his beloved and her sister were the kind to flaunt the wealth and influence of their fledgling nation, great though it is. They are kind, and compassionate, to be sure, and truthfully Sombra is convinced that they have so many expensive items cluttering the halls of their castle because they cannot imagine not accepting a gift.
Turning a corner and starting down a flight of stairs from the private quarters, nodding to Guards as he passes, Sombra cannot help but smile warmly as he thinks of Celestia. Her kindness is what drew him to her, much like a moth to a flame, and made his heart yearn for her touch. And much like a moth, Sombra does not care if he is burned by that bright entrancing light, so long as he gets to bask in it for a while.
Moving from the stairs and onto the main floor of one of the floors reserved for the higher ranking servants and the low-ranking dignitaries, Sombra pulls his cloak a little closer, as this late at night the chill of the Empire’s surroundings is creeping into the crystal hallways. Some of the chill, perhaps, is also due to the earlier conversation. Seeing Celestia sad in any way made his heart all the less, for he knew he was the cause of it.
“Perhaps I am the one who should ask her if she is truly happy with me,” Sombra whispers to himself, turning yet another corner, “Can she tru-” He is cut off as he runs face first into something soft, causing him and the object to stumble with the tinkling of bells. The sound causes Sombra’s stomach to drop as he look up at the annoyed face of Star Swirl looking back at him.
“And what are you doing out of bed,” Star Swirl says slowly in an almost growl, “Your Highness.”
Clearing his throat, Sombra opens his mouth to retort with something witty, but then closes it and sighs, looking away slightly. “I was attempting to clear my head.”
“And why is that?” Star Swirl asks slowly, his eyes narrowing. “What troubles you enough to force you from your bed at this late hour?”
“A worry,” Sombra admits, pulling his cloak tighter as he sits down as if to shield himself. “Celestia and I… had words, and I am troubled because of them.”
“Heh,” Star Swirl snorts, “I see. You are finding she is different here, than in the field? That the romanticized creature you saw is not the same when she is allowed off her pedestal?” He turns fully towards Sombra, his eyes fully narrowed as he leans in.
“Wha…” Sombra asks, ears folding back against his head. “What do you mean?”
“I mean,” Star Swirl continues, leaning back and drawing himself up to his full height. “Do you find her different here, in a home, from out on the field of battle? Different now that she is not a leader of battle, now here where she commands from a throne? Or perhaps now the secrecy, the shadowplay, has been done away with the affair has lost its appeal?”
“It has not,” Sombra replies, taken aback by the barrage of questions. “If anything, now that we are here, safe and warm on the he homefront, I find my love for her grows only more!” He stamps a hoof, though not too hard as others are sleeping. “And why should my love for her diminish now that it is in the light of day? Do you think me ashamed of her? Or perhaps some colt who only chases a mare because he finds the chase more exciting than the end result?”
“I think you are young,” Star Swirl replies airily, “I think you both are. And I think think the young often charge in using their hearts and not their brains,” he illustrates the point by poking Sombra’s head with a hoof, though not hard, before pausing as his expression grows somber. “But I also know that you two shall not stay young forever, you more than she, and I do not wish for her heart to be broken once you realize she shall remain youthful and full of life forever, and you shall not.”
“So you still do not not understand, Star Swirl?” Sombra asks softly, “I offer to her the entirety of my life, when I am but a prologue in hers. A chapter at the start of the vast tome that shall be her life.” He looks up at the older unicorn, a small somber smile on his face. “She is my everything, and I am but the brief flicker of a candle. She shall endure, long after I have faded… and I am okay with this, so long as I spend what brief time I have with her.”
Sighing heavily, Star Swirl looks away and nods slowly. “No, I do understand, Sombra.” He looks back, a sad smile on his face. “I was young once too, you know, and in love. I am sure your mother has told you how well that worked out.”
“She told me that you and Nana Hope were very much in love,” Sombra replies, reaching out and gently laying a hoof on the older unicorn’s shoulder. “She told me that your love overcame tremendous darkness, and helped preserve what would become this Empire.” He smiles softly as he removes his hoof. “You overcame much through your love, Star Swirl, I only ask that you give me and Celestia the same chance.”
“All but one,” Star Swirl grunts softly before nodding to Sombra. “Very well, but if I am to give you this chance, and thus my blessing, young colt I must ask of you the same that was asked of me; Take care of her.”
“I will, Star Swirl,” Sombra says quickly. “You know I will.”
“Do you swear on your life?” Star Swirl asks, seriously, a small frown on his face. “Upon your mother’s? Before the very Gods of lost Equus?”
“I-I do,” Sombra once more swears, blinking slowly.
“Good,” Star Swirl sighs, his shoulder slumping, “I will hold you to that…” He takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “I should return to my quarters, the hour is late,” he looks to Sombra, a mischievous smirk forming. “And so should you, I think, m’lord. Lest Her Highness wake and find her bed cold and bereft of her prefered company.”
Blinking as his ears stand up straight, Sombra nods slowly. “You are right, of course,” he agrees quickly as he realizes what Star Swirl is speaking of. “I should return to her, for the nights are cold, and it would not do for her to catch cold.”
“No, it would not,” Star Swirl agrees as he turns to walk down the hallway. “Sleep well, Your Highness.”
“And you as well, Archmage,” Sombra replies, turning and quickly walking back from whence he came.
And as he walks, he finds the thoughts that had troubled him before no longer plague him, and in fact he feels more at ease than he ever has before. Perhaps, he simply needed to just proclaim his love out loud to someone again, to reassure himself of the truth.
And the truth is, he loves Celestia, and does not wish her to wake without him for a long, long time.
The warm rays of the morning sunrise gently caress Sombra’s face as he slowly rises from the dreams he had been graced with after returning to his bed and Celestia. The warmth brings him forward, and into the world of the waking, and quickly brings with it a feeling of absence.
Cracking an eye open, he finds that his beloved has risen ever so slightly, separating her body from his, her horn aglow with the brilliant golden light of her magic as she rises the sun beyond the window. The gentle rays of the new day frame Celestia, her long pink mane and pristine white fur seeming to almost glow with an otherworldly halo as she guides her celestial charge into the waiting heavens. The sight takes Sombra’s breath away, as it had the first time he had witnessed his beloved so deftly perform this feat, and once more he feels his heart flutter in his chest at the powerful mare who has stolen his heart.
“I’ll never get used to seeing such a beautiful sight when I wake up,” Sombra whispers, just loud enough for Celestia to hear. “Truly, I feel as if somehow I am living in a dream, for how else would I be so lucky to wake to such splendor?”
“I try my best,” Celestia giggles softly, turning to look over one of her shoulders. “I am glad you love my sunrise, though, dear heart.”
“Oh, I suppose the sunrise is beautiful,” Sombra concedes as he sits up and nuzzles into the space between Celestia’s shoulders. “But, I spoke more of the radiant beauty I share my bed with.”
“Be careful, Prince of my Heart,” Celestia whispers as she turns fully over, fixing him with a hooded stare. “Many who have dared behold this ‘radiant beauty’ have gone blind.”
“A fate I am willing to accept,” Sombra replies in an equally soft whisper before rising up a bit more and capturing Celestia’s lips with his own for a brief kiss, before continuing. “But, I think I am safe, for I am sure I am loved by the sun as much as I love her. She shall let no harm befall me, nor I her.”
The couple kiss once more, before settling back down into their bed, wrapped in each other’s warm embrace as they fall into a light doze. Or, at least Sombra does, for he is still tired, he cannot help but remain awake to continue to experience the feeling of Celestia’s soft fur against his face as he nuzzles into her neck. Her warm scent, a soothing mix of the lavender in her soap and her natural scent that could only be described as sunlight, luls Sombra nearly back into sleep, before a loud knock at the door causes both him and Celestia to jump.
“I hope you both are decent!” Amore’s muffled voice comes through the door, “because we’ve brought you breakfast!”
“It’s pancakes!” a second voice, which echoes slightly, adds in.
“We’re decent, Lady Amore,” Celestia yawns, “we were simply attempting to gain a few more moments of peace in each other's embrace.”
Opening to the door, Amore beams widely at the two who are now sitting up in bed. “Well, I can’t fault you for that,” she shrugs as she comes fully into the room, followed by a crystalline pegasus mare who is balancing a pair of trays on her wings. “But, Partner wanted to check up on you, and you know I can never really say no to her.”
“As I recall, Amore,” Partner chuckles, bumping her hip against Amore’s, “You were out of bed and pestering the kitchen staff this morning so you could bring your son breakfast in bed.” She looks at Sombra and winks one of her glowing eyes. “Your mother is quite excited to have you and Tia’s romance out in the open.”
“I won’t argue that,” Amore sighs, rolling her eyes. “But what mother isn’t excited to see their child fall in love for the first time!”
Taking both of the trays in his magic, he levitates one to Celestia before setting his own down in front of himself. “We are very excited to have it in the open as well,” Sombra says warmly, leaning over and gently nuzzling Celestia’s neck.
“We are indeed,” Celestia agrees, levitating her fork up and delicately cutting a section of the pancake before starting to eat. Sombra takes this as his own cue to start, and levitates the glass off of his own tray and takes a sip of it.
As he does, he catches Partner’s expression, and his heart hits his stomach as he notices the almost predatory gaze the construct has.
“So, Celestia, Sombra,” Partner starts in a sing-song voice, her smile growing as she props her face up on her hooves. “Amore and I were wondering…. When can we expect grandfoals?”
Having expected the question, Sombra only spits a little of his orange juice onto Partner’s face before swallowing and coughing. Beside him, Celestia, ever the example of grace and poise simply chokes on her pancake and beats a hoof against her chest while coughing with a stricken expression.
“W-we,” Celestia is able to cough out before swallowing and clearing her throat. “We had not planned that far ahead, Partner,” Celestia admits as she looks towards Sombra, who has by now also gotten his coughing under control. “Honestly, we were going to take it one step at a time, now that things are out in the open.”
Nodding vigorously, Sombra takes a few more sips of his juice before speaking. “So, did you and mom come here with food simply to tease us, or did you need something?” Sombra asks, a small smile forming on his face.
“Actually, we came with breakfast because we figured you two would be tired after the long trek home,” Amore answers, her smile turning motherly as she settles down next to Partner, “and we also were hoping to persuade you two away from doing anything official today, so you can continue to relax.”
“Plus we missed you,” Partner sighs, giving Sombra and Celestia puppy dog eyes. “Your poor mother was worried sick about you out there, in the cold, fighting Cosmos knows what! I think, for her sake, you should stay close to home.” The construct finishes the little speech by winking to Amore and leaning against her as the unicorn queen simply rolls her eyes.
“Or at the very least, you two,” Amore says, her motherly smile evolving into a smirk, “should spend some time together when not under the threat of being attacked, or freezing to death.”
“Actually,” Sombra starts as he looks over to Celestia, “I was thinking we could go walk around the city a bit? Give you a personal tour?”
“Sombra, I’ve been coming to this city for a long, long time,” the alicorn chuckles, before leaning over to kiss the tip of Sombra’s nose. “But, perhaps I shall find something new looking at it through your eyes?”
“Perhaps you shall,” Amore agrees, “I shall inform the guard of your plans?”
“After breakfast!” Partner cuts in, putting a crystalline wing over the unicorn’s back before leaning over and gently kissing her cheek. “It’s been ages since last we were all together for breakfast, and we’re going to enjoy it.”
“Well, then we shall stay here until breakfast is finished,” Amore giggles, nuzzling the crystal construct.
“Well, I for one would love to continue to discussing how are day shall go,” Celestia starts as she rises carefully from the bed, “but I fear I must excuse myself for a moment to deal with some morning business.” She smiles as she crosses to a nearby door to the bathroom. “I’ll be right back.”
As she vanishes into the other room, Sombra continues to eat his breakfast, pointedly ignoring the two sets of eyes staring at him with matching mischievous smirks.
“So,” Amore starts after a pregnant pause, “do you, perhaps, have any other plans for today?”
“Well, I figured perhaps Celestia and I could go to a nice lunch,” Sombra says coyly with a smirk. “I know the palace kitchens will be disappointed, but we’ve been on the march for so long I think the need to move and be in the open air has yet to leave us. Or, me, at least.”
“No, silly!” Partner chuckles, reaching out to lightly bat at one of Sombra’s hooves. “We mean are you going to give her that necklace! You know, the one you commissioned from that amazing goldsmith down on Fillyon Street.”
Instead of answering, Sombra simply gives his mother and Partner a knowing smile, before going back to his breakfast.
-------
The afternoon sun beams brightly above the Crystal Empire, lending it’s gentle warmth to the growing feeling of warmth and companionship that Sombra feels radiating from the mare beside him. The two of them had spent the majority of the day, at least after they’d been released from their room following the family breakfast, wandering Mirrormere with no real aim in mind as the real goal had simply been to spend time together.
Many of the citizens in the city had stopped to talk to them, or simply waved as they passed on with their own business. A few even offered them flowers or tokens of their affection towards their rulers, something that Sombra took no end of pride in. The love of his ponies, while it still came in second to his love for Celestia, was something that he had no end of pride for, as it showed him that even if he was not born into royalty his ponies still felt him worthy of his circlet.
Now, though, it was time to return to the Castle’s grounds for something far more important to Sombra.
Striding into the courtyard, the sun above warming his back as the one beside him warms his heart, Sombra leads a smiling Celestia over towards the Crystal heart before stopping just outside the range of the slowly spinning crystal artifact.
“And here we are,” Sombra says warmly as he leans up and nuzzles against Celestia’s neck, “the pride and joy of the Crystal Empire,” he pauses and winks, “oh and then there’s the Crystal Heart, that’s rather important to.”
“You surely are the pride of your people,” Celestia giggles as she lifts a wing and pulls the stallion close. “But the Crystal Heart is the embodiment of love, dear heart, it is quite important.”
“Well, it’s because it’s that embodiment of love that we’re here,” Sombra whispers as he moves in front of Celestia and leans up to kiss her gently. “That way, I can profess my undying love to you again, in front of a relic of love,” He pauses to smile widely, “for all to hear.”
“Oh?” Celestia asks as they continue to approach the center of the courtyard, and the Crystal Heart it contains. “And how are you going to profess your love anymore than you already have?” She pauses to lean down and kiss her love, “not that I ever tire of hearing it.”
“Well, you see,” Sombra says slowly, his magic reaching under his cloak, “they say when you look in the Crystal Heart, it can show you glimpses of the future,” the beautiful gold amulet with a sunstone set in the center he had procured earlier starts to drift from it’s hidden pocket. “I know this to be true, because when I look into the Crystal Heart,” he pauses, his eyes turning to the heart, “I see….”
-----
The sensation of a soft breeze, not too warm and not too cold, is the first thing Sombra feels as his senses return to him. Slowly, he opens his eyes, the light blinding him temporarily, causing him to hiss as they adjust from the shadows he had been in what felt like seconds before.
As his eyes open once more, and the world around him comes into focus, he is shocked to see a verdant field of brilliant emerald all around him. Looking down and lifting a hoof, Sombra is amazed to see it is grass, far greener and lush than he had ever seen in his entire life. But, why is he here? Where is the courtyard and the crystal heart?
Where is Celestia?!
Fear stabs into his heart at the realization that he does not know where his love is, a fear that far outweighs his own self preservation as he stands and does a complete circle. His frantic searching is stopped by the sound of a giggle, soft and carefree, that comes from beside him. Heart hammering in his chest, Sombra turns slowly and back peddles a little when he finds a young unicorn filly sitting behind him, a serene smile on her face and reflected in her deep blue eyes.
“Do not be frightened, child,” the filly says with a giggle as she stands up and starts forward, “I will not harm you, nor would I wish to even if I could!”
“Who are you?” Sombra asks quickly, backing up another step, “and why do you call me child? You’re clearly younger than me.”
“I am Little Love,” the unicorn, Love, says with a smile as she puts a hoof to her chest. “Before your mother, I was the one to bear her mantle, perhaps the last who shall ever do so by the ancient traditions.” Sighing, Love sits back down, patting the ground beside her with a yellow hoof. “ Your love for Celestia has called me here, and there are things I must tell you.” She aims a pleading look at the confused stallion, “Please, Sombra, our time is short.”
Blinking slowly, Sombra starts over towards the young filly. “I know of you, my mother told me stories of Nana Hope’s apprentice, the little filly who became the loving sibling to all the Equus refugees.”
“Their home was my home,” Love says brightly, her smile growing wider. “I could do nothing less than welcome them into my heart, as I welcomed my own family!” She scoots over a bit closer to Sombra as he sits beside her, patting him on the shoulder with a hoof, “Like your mother welcomed you into her home, and her heart, when you needed somepony to do so.”
Sombra looks down at the little filly, staying silent as he has nothing to add.
“But, that is not what I need to discuss with you,” Love sighs, looking down a moment before her gaze refocuses on the distant hills, “I need not tell you, Sombra, that there is evil in this world far more ancient and vile than a normal pony can comprehend. After your victory over the Black Dragons, you know this to be true.”
“I do,” Sombra agrees before looking to the hills with Love. “What of it?”
“There is a storm coming, Sombra,” Love whispers, her voice soft and afraid, much like the filly she looks to be, “an evil that Hope and I fought in life.” She looks up at Sombra, her blue eyes full of fear. “The prison’s seal is weakening, and will soon break.”
“What prison?” Sombra asks, a worried tone filling his voice as the icy grip of fear claws at his stomach.
“The Umbra,” Love whispers, scooting closer and shivering against Sombra’s side like a scared foal. So complete is the image of this ancient ruler being simply a scared filly, that Sombra instinctively lifts a foreleg and wraps it around the shivering Virtue. “The shadows unleashed by the fall of Equus. They will soon break free, Sombra, and you must stop them.”
“Me?” Sombra asks, agast, “Why me?”
“The Cosmos have chosen you,” Love replies, looking up at Sombra with a sad smile. “As they chose your mother, as they chose me….” She leans against Sombra’s side, her smile remaining, “and when destiny calls us, my dear child, we must answer.”
“And if I do not?” Sombra asks, pride overriding his fear for a moment.
“Then,” Love whispers, looking back towards the hills, “then everything you love will perish…”
At her words, the sky grows dark as rolling clouds seem to pour over the distant hills. Lighting flickers from them, and as they pass above, Sombra finds himself straining his neck to look up at the boiling clouds above. When he looks down, though, the meadow he and Love had been sitting in has been replaced by the courtyard he had sat in earlier with Celestia.
All around him and Love, ponies are bound in chains and strain under heavy loads of dark shadowy crystals as guards wearing wicked armor lash out at them with cruel whips. The sight horrifies and sickens Sombra, causing him to quickly stand and turn in a tight circle, his heart racing as he hears the cries of pain from his subjects, from his friends.
“This is what will come to pass if you do not stand and defend them when the time comes,” Love says in a hauntingly adult tone, causing Sombra’s attention to snap to her and recoil slightly at the serious look fixed on the filly’s face. “They will suffer, and many will die, beneath the lash of their oppressors.” She stands, and advances towards Sombra with what feels like terrible finality. “And once the shadow overtakes this place, and robs it of all it has to offer, it will spread, and spread. Like a cancer, from the Heart here, to other lands to consume them.”
Backing up as the terrible spectre of a filly advances on him, Sombra whimpers instinctively as he folds his ears against his head. He keeps going until he runs flank first into the solid crystal of one of the Sanctum’s support pillars. Something about the young dead virtue scares him as she talks, and without thinking he closes his eyes in a vain attempt to block out the horrible vision around him.
“But,” Love continues, her voice suddenly soft and kind once more, “if you fight this darkness, my dear little colt,” her hoof suddenly touches his cheek, the warmth of it spreading through his very soul like a balm, “then the fear you carry within you, of having to leave fair Celestia, will be no more.”
“How can you be sure,” Sombra asks, cracking open one eye to find the smiling face of Love and the verdant field once more.
“Because,” Love says with a smile that causes Sombra’s heart to burst with warmth and love, “here, in the realm of the heart, we are as we are truly meant to be.” She softly pushes his face to one side as he opens his eyes fully, only to gasp when he catches sight of a wing fluttering at his side. Sombra just sits there, his eyes growing wider as the wing unfolds and refolds itself at his command, his head whipping around to the other side to see a matching grey wing on that side two.
“How….” he asks softly, his eyes turning back to Love.
“The Cosmos works in mysterious ways, young colt,” Love replies as she pats his cheek before returning her hoof to the soft earth. “You fear not the long years you shall spend together, with her as beautiful and radiant as the day you first met her, but rather your heart aches that you shall not spend the years beyond your death with her. You fear leaving her alone, having loved and then to carry the weight of your loss for all time.” She pauses, her smile once more filling Sombra’s heart. “Do what the Cosmos ask of you, young prince, and what you shall earn your wings, and your fear shall never become reality.”
“I… I think I understand,” Sombra says softly.
“Good,” Love says brightly. “Remember, you must face them, Sombra, but only when the time comes. Not before.” She then steps back and turns slowly, “For now, though, I’ve said all I can. Heed my warning, Sombra, and all will be as it should be.”
“Have you truly told me all you can?” Sombra asks, standing and taking a step towards the young filly.
“Not everything I know,” Love says with a sigh, her ears folding against her head, “but, everything that I am allowed to say, yes.” She looks up at Sombra, and comes back over to kiss his cheek softly, “You’re going to do her proud, Sombra, your mother.” She then giggles and scampers off, quickly making her way towards a nearby hill, which when Sombra looks at the crown of it he spies a powder-blue Pegasus mare standing and smiling down at the young filly who is running to her.
For some reason, when he looks at the mare, he feels an intense hope and surety that the future shall be alright. So overwhelming is this feeling, that as the world around him starts to fade out again, Sombra cannot help but smile.
-----
“Sombra, please wake up,” Celestia’s voice pleads from what seems like a great distance.
“Give him some space, Tia,” the warm voice of Sombra’s mother says softly, “he will be just fine, I promise you.”
“But,” Celestia starts, her voice wavering and full of worry.
“He will be just fine,” Partner’s voice offers, “Sombra is a strong colt, whatever has occured I am sure he shall pull through.”
Opening his eyes slowly, he cannot help but smile to find his vision filled with the beautiful face of his love. Blinking to pull the rest of the area into focus, he finds he is back in the courtyard, not far from the Crystal Heart, with Celestia cradling him in her forelegs and his mother and Partner standing nearby with warm smiles. Celestia, for her part, looks worried, and the sight of his love in any distress causes his heart to break.
“What a lovely thing to wake up to,” Sombra whispers softly, “if this is the sunrise I shall always wake to, I fear you shall never be rid of me.”
Whipping her head down to look at Sombra, Celestia pulls him close and nuzzles into his neck, “Sombra! You’re awake!”
“I might pass out again if you keep squeezing me like that, my love,” Sombra chokes out through the iron-clad grip of the alicorn.
“Sorry,” Celestia says sheepishly as she relaxes a little, her cheeks and ears suddenly dusted in a pale rose as Amore and Partner laugh.
“It’s fine,” Sombra chuckles as he wraps his own forelegs around Celestia and leans up to kiss her. “Though, I owe you an apology.”
“For what?” Celestia asks, “for fainting?”
“For apparently being sought after by my mother’s predecessor,” Sombra sighs, his ears folding back against his head, “apparently the Heart had something else to show me than your radiant beauty.”
“You talked to Hope?” Celestia asks, attempting to power through the deepening shade of red on her face.
“No, it was…” Sombra starts, only to be cut off by his mother.
“Little Love,” Amore says softly, her warm smile never fading. “Hope’s ward in the dark days after Equus fell, and Mirrormere was just forming as that nation state that’d become the Crystal Empire.” She pauses, closing her eyes, “She has spoken to me before, and her council has never led me astray.”
“Then I should heed her warnings,” Sombra offers as he sits up and leans against Celestia.
“Yes, you should,” Amore agrees as she opens her eyes again to fix Sombra with a serious look, her smile fading at last. “What did she tell you, my son?”
“That something is coming,” Sombra starts, looking to his mother with an equally serious expression. “She told me that the Umbra are going to return, that their prison is growing weaker, and that I must stop them.” He looks up at Celestia, the promise Little Love made him on the tip of his tongue, but before he can speak them he swallows as he decides to keep that to himself, not wishing to get her hopes up. Instead, he leans against her and looks back to his mother. “She said I must face them, and if I do not, all I love and cherish shall come unto ruin.”
“Then face them you shall,” Amore says with finality, “at the appointed time, of course.”
“How did you know she’d told me that?” Sombra asks, eyes slightly wide.
“I am your mother, Sombra,” Amore smugly replies, “I know when you’re holding something back.”
“Right,” Sombra chuckles softly.
“Then it is agreed, tomorrow, before Celestia and Luna return to their homes we shall speak to Star Swirl,” Amore concludes as she stands and paces slightly. “Out of all alive, he would know the most of the Umbra, as almost all I know of them has come from him or Crystal Hope. With his wife beyond our reach, he shall have to teach you all he can to prepare you.”
“Then that is how it shall be,” Sombra says softly, his own mind awash with the desire to simply go forth and deal with the threat now, while surprise was on his side. He is drawn from his throughts by Celestia putting a wing over his back, and kissing his cheek softly.
“We shall figure it out, my dear heart,” she says softly, “Between your mother, Star Swirl, and you I am sure the Umbra do not stand a chance.”
“I pray you are right, dear,” Sombra replies in kind, leaning up and gently pressing his lips against hers for a fleeting moment, “for all our sakes.”
Full of the calm and peaceful air of a kingdom at peace, the Crystal Palace of Mirrormere slumbers along with the inhabitants who walk its halls in the day, leaving only those who care for its radiant halls beneath the moon to stir and work at the late hour; the night staff, and restless princes.
The quiet is broken in the kitchen, where normally the day’s food is being prepared for the various events and functions of the next day, by the clatter of an armored figure digging through one of the larders. The staff whispering softly amongst themselves violating the usual tranquil atmosphere.
Yet nopony stops Sombra as he continues to rifle through the pantry, occasionally tossing a foodstuff over a shoulder or carefully removing a more fragile but no less essential item from the space and into his saddlebag. He is about halfway packed when the door to the kitchen opens and the staff fall silent and stare at the advancing figure of a bearded unicorn, the sound of bells spelling out his name even more than words ever could. He comes to stop not far from Sombra, clearing his throat in a fair imitation of gravel sliding down a mountain.
“You are out of your bed at a late hour yet again, young Prince,” Star Swirl starts, a bit sternly. “Shouldn’t you be in your chambers? Soundly asleep beside your beloved?”
“No,” Sombra replies curtly as he continues packing, “it is for her that I am leaving, what I have seen must be dealt with before it has time to grow in power.” He pauses to look over his shoulder at the frowning face of his mother and love’s adoptive grandfather. “You of all should know how strong the Umbra are, Star Swirl, and what they can do when allowed to be free. I shall not, nay I cannot, allow them to gain power and roam free again.”
“I do know,” Star Swirl says softly, his features growing equally soft and tired. “I know far too well the price you pay for fighting them, too. The price paid for seeking them out and not doing as you were told; stay here and fight them when the time comes. Do not go off on your own in a vain attempt to defeat that which you do not understand.”
“I understand the price of failure well enough,” Sombra retorts as he levitates a final item into his bag before the bags themselves float to his back. “And it is not a price I shall pay if I can help it.”
“The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb, Sombra, remember that,”the Archmage says as Sombra raises to walk past him, only to step in his way and look him in the eyes. “Your family is here, colt. If this battle must happen, let it in its own time. Do not seek it out.”
“I will do as I must, Star Swirl, do not try to stop me,” Sombra growls as he walks around Star Swirl who simply breaths a slow sigh and allows his ears to lower in defeat. Stopping at the door, Sombra pauses long enough to look over his shoulder, and offer one last thing in a gentle tone. “Take care of her, Star Swirl, if I don’t come back, please tell her I did this because I love her.”
“I will,” the ancient wizard sighs, “I will.”
Once he is beyond the threshold of the kitchen’s door, Sombra picks up his pace so as to get through the hallways of his home without too many attempting to stop him. Striding with purpose and head held high, the young Prince of the Crystal Empire does his best to nod kindly to all he passes, but also to project an air of being rushed which causes many to step out of his way and go about their business without more than a simple greeting.
The few times he is stopped, however, he keeps the conversation short, and requests that they do not tell his mother until dawn has risen, as he does not wish to disturb the Queen’s sleep.
Walking through the final door into the crisp night air of his homeland, Sombra takes a deep breath, his eyes closing for a second as he steels his willpower into the fine edge he’ll need to see his task through, let alone come home and see his mother and his beloved. The thought of returning to Celestia nearly causes him to turn around, however, and seek her once more in their chambers so he could fall into her warm embrace. Yet, he knows his duty, and as those old tomes his mother had made him read had always said ‘Duty is not always easy, and often takes you from your family.’ Surely a pony with a name like Shiro Hoshi knew what he was talking about, right?
As he opens his eyes though, he finds a face nearly nose to nose with him as the pony’s narrowed green-gold eyes glare angrily at him.
“Sombra!” Radiant quietly, but forcefully, says his name. “Where in the name of the Cosmos are you going!?”
“For a stroll?” Sombra hedges, taking a step backwards and clearing his throat.
“In full armor?” Radiant counters, raising a single eyebrow in a fair copy of Amore, “in the middle of the night, with a full pack of supplies?”
“Yes…?” Sombra replies slowly. “I am feeling restless after so many days in the field, and need to get some exercise.”
“Uh-huh,” Radiant sighs as she steps back herself, allowing Sombra to get a good look at her. She is wearing her favorite traveling cloak, along with a saddle with twin satchels. “Look, I know what you’re thinking. And going after whatever you saw in your vision isn’t going to end well.”
“Your father told me much the same,” Sombra says sourly, “but I am not going to abandon my kingdom, nor allow the darkness to consume those I love.”
“I know you won’t,” Radiant says with a smirk, “because you’re a stubborn colt, and if I didn’t love you like a brother I’d haul you back by your ear to Celestia and let her sort you out.”
“But you do love me like a brother…as I love you like a sister so you won’t?” Sombra asks slowly, a hopeful smile on his face.
“Nope,” the heir of Hope says with a chuckle, “instead I am coming with you, to pull your flank out of the fire like I always do when you go do stupid things.”
“You don’t always pull me out of the fire,” the Prince shot back with a smirk, “sometimes I pull you out of the fire. Or that one time I pulled you out of that time loop your father had accidentally set off in his lab.”
“That was one time,” Radiant frowns, her eyes twinkling with amusement.
“Sure, but it was a time loop so it could have been hundreds of times,” Sombra posited with a raised eyebrow. “Regardless, though, you can’t come with me.”
“And how are you going to stop me, O’ Mighty Prince?” Radiant asks as she sits down and crosses her forelegs. “I can simply teleport after you, or just follow you on hoof.”
Sighing and shaking his head, Sombra looks at his adoptive little sister with a sad frown, “because you can’t follow me. I can’t stop you, but you can’t come with me, Radiant.” He steps forward and lays a hoof on her shoulder, his tone growing soft. “I need you here, if something happens to me,” He continues, adding hurriedly as she opens her mouth, “which it won’t, but if something does you’re next in line as Hope’s daughter.”
“That’s a sorry excuse, and you know it,” Radiant growls, her eyes narrowing.
“Then perhaps I just want my little sister to stay here where it’s safe?” Sombra admits, “perhaps I can’t bear to let her go into a battle with a foe she knows nothing about and potentially be a liability in combat?”
“I can fight,” Radiant insists. “Father has taught me a lot, and I learned a few things from your mother too!”
“Regardless, this would be your first time in battle,” Sombra insits, “and that isn’t even accounting for the wastes! No, my dear sister, you must stay.”
“But…” Radiant starts, her eyes starting to mist up.
“No buts, Little Hope,” Sombra says softly, using the name his mother often calls Radiant, “your place is here.”
“As is yours,” the younger unicorn once more insists, though she’s lost much of her fight.
“My place is where I am needed,” Sombra says softly as he pulls the smaller unicorn into a hug, “And right now, I am needed to defeat whatever evil it is threatens our home.”
“Just come home,” Radiant says softly, “I can’t lose you like I lost my mom.”
“I will come home,” Sombra promises before leaning back and smiling, “and just to make sure…” he reaches into his bags with his magic and pulls out a small gem. “This has a location spell on it, it’ll lead you to me should I get lost.”
Accepting the gem in her own magical field, Radiant looks up at Sombra with sad eyes. “And how will I know you’re lost, though?”
“You’ll know,” Sombra chuckes, “you always do.” He then leans in again and kisses her forehead gently. “I love you little sister, please keep my mother and beloved safe.”
“I shall,” Radiant promises with a sniffle, “but only if you promise to return to us safe and healthy.”
“Then I promise, on my honor and the honor of the Empire,” Sombra says softly as he releases his friend and sister. “I’ll be back before you know it.”
Turning from her and starting off, Sombra waits until he is out of sight to allow his shoulders to sag and his breath to release in one long sigh. As confident as he was in front of Radiant, his heart truly isn’t in it.
More than likely, this trip would be his end. But so long as it’s also the end of the Umbra, the Prince of the Crystal Empire doesn't care.
--------
The blisteringly cold air howls all around Sombra, the bite of it causing him to squint his eyes beneath the minor protection his cowl and scarf offer his face. And beyond that he is blinded further by the snow and shadows that seem to swirl and twist like a snake, confusing and contorting his vision so that every hoofstep the Prince takes fills him with dread that he has been led unto the edge of a cliff or ravine.
It had happened a few times before, at least three times now, when he had judged an area flat and safe only to find a shallow depression or pitfall to trip him up and send him to the icy ground. And each time he hits the ground, a little more of his warmth and strength is sapped from his body as the icy talons of the blizzard all around him seek to claim him. Stumbling over an unseen shard of icy rock jutting from the path before him, Sombra nearly meets the ground again and is forced to reach deep within his dwindling reserve of willpower to keep his hooves beneath him and moving.
The realization that his inner flame is starting to gutter out sends a chill far deeper into Sombra than the cold blizzard ever could. For though his determination to protect everything he loves remains as strong as ever, his body is slowly starting to give out, and for the first time the Prince fears his quest will end in failure. It is with that thought, that Sombra’s hoof strikes another stone hidden in the swirling shadows, and he finds himself falling farther than before.
This impact of his body upon the snow, the weightless feeling of falling, and the cold teeth of the winds and ice all register distantly as the air rushes from his lungs with each yard he slides and tumbles down the embankment. When at last he slides to a slow and painful halt in a patch of deep snow his mind turns towards home and the mare he pledged his heart to. The thoughts of Celestia bolster him somewhat, but not enough to help him lift his head more than a few inches from the cold frozen earth.
As the icy fingers of the blizzard around him claw into him, a small break in the clouds illuminates the area around him, and for a split second he fears the cold has caused him to hallucinate as he spies the form of a tall pony wearing a flowing white cloak walking towards him. Yet as the figure draws closer, Sombra feels hope blossom, a smile forming on his face as he takes a deep breath and shouts.
“Here! Please!” His voice is ragged and worn, but it carries far enough as he watches the mare’s ears twitch as she pauses.
“It is as I feared,” the pony, a mare from her voice, says softly as she once more starts towards him. “You are alive.”
Sombra opens his mouth to continue speaking, only to have the words stolen from his throat as he realizes the mare before him is far taller than any he’d met before. Far taller than him, and a few heads taller than his beloved.
“You should not be here, traveler,” the mare says softly, a golden glow coming from within the deep hood of her cloak, a unicorn then? “This way lies a city forlorn, a jail of those forsaken by the light.” The light envelops Sombra and lifts him to his hooves, a warmth he can only describe as life itself filling him. “Beyond lays eternal torment.”
“I care not,” Sombra barks, coughing as his dry and raw throat twinges. “I must press on, and nothing you shall say will stop me!”
“Why?” The mare asks, turning her hood-shrouded face towards Sombra. “Why do you wish to enter a place you will likely never return from?”
“I must protect my Kingdom,” the Prince says, “I must protect my family… and the mare I love.”
“Then I cannot dissuade you?” The mare asks softly, her hooded face peering his way still.
“No, you cannot,” Sombra replies with conviction.
“Then you must follow me, and stray not from the path my hoofsteps set,” the mare replies with a long suffering sigh. “If you do, you shall join the ranks of those I guard.”
“I shall not stray from your path,” the Prince says in agreement as he stumbles to the mare’s side.
Without further word, the mare starts forward in great ground eating strides that forces Sombra to nealy sprint to keep up. A few times he is forced to jump and leap through barrel deep snow, the mare beside him plowing through with a strength and drive that imparts to Sombra a power far beyond anything he has seen before, and by the time they reach what has to have at one point been a road he is panting and fighting back the numbing darkness at the edge of his vision once more.
Sitting down upon cobblestones long worn down by the ages and made cold as death by the blizzard surrounding them, Sombra takes a moment to catch his breath before looking up.
And what he sees takes that breath away once more.
Standing slightly ajar before him are gates far beyond anything he had ever laid eyes on. Tall as the Crystal Sanctuary back home, and studded with large iron bands, the gates are adorned with carvings and sculptures that must have at one point shown the wealth and prestige of those who ruled from it, yet now were heavily damaged and forlorn beneath the soot and snow.
“What is this place?” Sombra whispers, the thoughts escaping his mouth without his consent.
“A place of eternal sorrow,” the mare offers matter of factly, “though once a place of divine inspiration, a bastion of love and justice; now it stands beyond all time; prison for those that time forgot, and that had best be forgotten.” She looks down at the young prince, her face shrouded in shadows beneath her hood. “Abandon all hope, Ye who would enter here.”
Sombra hesitates for a moment, his heart tugging him back towards where he has come from, but he quickly stuffs that urge away as he does not wish nor believes he can afford fear. “If I need to abandon hope for myself so that my love and Kingdom shall live, so be it,” Sombra says confidently as he takes a step forward, head held high.
“Then your course is set,” the mare says with the tone that summons forth memories of his mother’s disappointed frown. “You are a stubborn colt, but if you shall not change your course then I shall not stop you from entering,” she pauses as she starts forth, quickly overtaking Sombra to lead him through the ruined gates. “But, know if you are to do this, there shall be a price. One you cannot deny me, and that I shall ask of you before you venture beyond my sight.”
“And what price is this?” the prince asks, “and when shall I pay it?”
“Soon, and you shall see,” the mare offers cryptically, “we shall speak further on it when we are in a place of safety, as the streets have too many prying eyes and curious ears.”
The comment forestalls any further conversation between Sombra and the mare as he falls in beside and slightly behind her as they enter the first of many streets within the ruined city.
The street they walk upon is far beyond perhaps anything Sombra could even call a ruin, so few of the buildings remain standing along the wide street, but those few remaining are beautifully constructed and Sombra finds himself wondering about the power and wealth of the nation that had founded this place. But as they progress, his eyes stray more from the ancient houses themselves, and more towards the shadows that fill their empty shells, and the eyes and smoky outlines that seem to lurk within.
“Pay my charges no mind,” the mare offers softly. “They sense your life force, and seek to corrupt it.”
“What are they?” Sombra asks without thinking.
“A horror leftover from the ending of an age, young colt,” the mare says softly. “They are the prisoners I guard, and they bind me here as equally as I bind them.”
“The Umbra?” Sombra ventures as he huddles close to his guide.
“Yes,” the mare whispers, “the doom of Equus, and my family.”
Her tone silences Sombra before he can ask more, and he instead focuses his attention once more on the ruined city all around him.
In the silence that evolves from his guide’s statement, Sombra’s thoughts drift once more to the ruined glory of the city’s building. More specifically how badly damaged everything is the closer they come to what Sombra believes to be the city’s center, or perhaps really one of them from the way the streets are shaped and the fact he can see a towering palace like structure distantly to his right. Yet as they continued down the streets, at one point going around a large snow filled void in the street, the prince realized they were heading to a large tower not unlike his own home.
The tower, quite unlike his own home, however was made of bricks and surrounded by a tall and battlescarred wall, the gates of which had the rusted blades of spears and swords driven into its worn face. Furthermore, there were barricades at least two ponies tall built of rubble and staffed with frayed banners guarding the slightly ajar portal.
Slowing down slightly to look at the ancient battlefield, he nearly loses his guide who continues to walk swiftly to the gate, then through.
Once past the gate, Sombra finds a courtyard free of the evidence of a battle, and instead what looks to be a hastily abandoned encampment, complete with ashen and snow covered cooking fires and a large pavilion tent with a weather worn green banner of a tree hanging from its banner staff. The banner especially captures his attention, though the fact that the entire camp is clearly a last stand of some sort also intrigues him, as the faded oak emblem is known to him from the history books that had survived the fall of Equus.
“That is Life’s banner,” Sombra whispers as he walks over and touches the rough fabric of the banner.
His guide stops near the stairs into the tower, her hooded gaze turning towards Sombra and offering a wane smile. "Once, she strode these streets, yes,” she then sighs and turns her attention to the banner, her smile seeming to melt into a frown. “But, this banner was carried by her Life Guard, who continued to fight on even though the fate of their Virtue was unknown, and likely lost.” Looking back at the entrance to the tower, the mare shivers and draws her tattered cape closer to herself. “But we have spent too long in the cold already, please save anymore questions you may have until we are safe beside the fire in my hearth.”
“As you wish,” Sombra says with a shrug as he quickly trots over to follow the mare inside.
Once inside, the mare secures the door, which itself is a work of art with the beautiful carvings and iron fittings on its face, effectively cutting both the outside’s chill and the light from the sun off. The sudden darkness causes Sombra to panic a bit, lightning his horn and causing the area around him to be cast in the flickering shadows over the surroundings. His eyes are instantly drawn to the massive fallen depiction of the stars and planets surrounding Equus in the center of the vast chamber, followed closely by the vast amount of cots and sleeping rolls strewn around it.
The fact that some of them are occupied by shrouded forms also does not escape him.
“Welcome to the Celestial Tower,” the mare says, he voice carrying through the entire room as her own horn lights and the torches around the room burst to life. “Once known the world over as…”
“The Tower of Fillyon,” Sombra whispers, looking around slowly. “My mother told me stories of this place, but…” he pauses to look at the mare, “Fillyon is gone… lost when Equus fell.”
“Lost for good reason,” the mare intones, “but clearly not lost enough to not be found by foolish young colts.” She then smiles a ghost of a smirk, before turning and walking towards a grand staircase that wraps around and up the outside of the tower before vanishing into the ceiling. “Come, let us get to my apartments, and you can tell me of your mother and how she knows of this place.”
“Her grandmother told her,” Sombra offers as he starts after the mare as she ascends the stairs. “Well, she was her adoptive grandmother, but she told her stories of Equus, of its splendor… and its fall.”
“Who was she?” The mare asks, turning her head slightly, her ears turning towards Sombra. “This grandmother who knew of Equus?”
“Queen Crystal Hope,” Sombra states proudly. “I… only saw her once, before my mother adopted me, but she was an amazing mare. Her very presence just made you feel so…”
“Hopeful,” his guide chuckles, warmth and happiness flowing from the mare for the first time since he’d met her. “So she made it, I knew if anypony could…” She then frowns and looks forward again, “though if you are the adoptive son of her student, I’d expect you to be smarter and avoid such places as this.”
Frowning, Sombra opens his mouth to reply but then thinks better of it as thoughts of a warm fire and a place to lay his head fill his mind. And with those thoughts, memories of a certain mare come to the surface, as well as everything he is fighting to protect. Thoughts of Tia keep him occupied as he follows the mare up the stairs, and through hallways until they reach a pair of pristine wooden doors with a sun and moon carved onto their faces.
“It has been ages since I last entertained visitors,” his guide says softly, her horn glowing bright yellow as the doors swing open on silent henges. “Please, come inside and I’ll light the fire so we can further discuss your reason for being here, and your departure in the morrow.”
“Unless you know of a way I can defeat the Umbra tonight, I won’t be leaving tomorrow,” Sombra stated calmly as he follows his host into the room beyond.
The two quickly cross the entryway and into a large living room filled with sheet covered furniture. Slowing, the Prince goes to the large form of a couch, and runs his hoof over it and causing a large cloud of dust to billow up and force a sneeze out of him.
“Bless you,” the mare says absently as she stands before the large stone hearth at the other end of the room. Her magic is deftly maneuvering wooden logs into the fireplace, which looks to be used fairly regularly if the large cushions in front of it and the relative lack of dust that Sombra can see in the area is any indication. Walking towards one of the large cushions, Sombra continues to look around until he hears the fire come into existence with a roar.
As he starts to settle down his eyes stray up towards the area above the fireplace and the large family portrait there. In it, four alicorns sit smiling out at those looking at the painting, with the two larger being a stallion of dappled rich dark blue and white and a mare of pure white with amber along her hooves and wings. The smaller two, however, cause Sombra to do a double take, as he recognizes a young Celestia sitting beside a small dark blue filly with black dapples. Except, the little dappled filly looks like Luna. But Luna isn’t dappled… right?
The sound of a pained grunt, followed by a relieved sigh brings Sombra’s attention back to the mare beside him, who has laid down on a cushion next to his with her head tipped forward towards the fire.
“So, this is your home?” Sombra asks softly, suddenly finding his voice unsure and quiet in a place that Celestia had once called home.
“It is,” the mare agrees in an equally soft voice. “Once it was a beautiful home, so full of life…” she turns her hooded gaze up towards the picture, not quite all the way back but far enough that Sombra knows she must be gazing at it. “My family and I were so happy here, before it all fell apart. I can still hear the sound of my daughters’ hooves on the wooden floor, their tinkling laughter filling our apartments with joy.” Her melancholy tone tugs at Sombra’s heart, and he shifts over a bit towards her as every instinct tells him to comfort this mare. She sniffles and lowers her gaze back towards the fire, a few trails of wet tears dripping off the end of her muzzle.
“You’re the mare in the picture, aren’t you,” Sombra whispers, his own tone somber, “Lady Aurora?”
Smiling softly, the tears still dripping from her muzzle, Aurora looks over towards Sombra, “another name taught to you by your mother?”
“Yes… but not only her,” Sombra says softly as he come forward hesitantly, the spectre before him now far more frightening than any foe he has faced before. “She told me your name, but it was your daughter… it was Celestia who truly shared memories of you.”
“Tia?” Aurora whispers, her entire body going stiff.
“Tia,” Sombra agrees as he walks closer to the ancient alicorn. “Your daughter, she talks of you and her father often…”
“She would,” Aurora chuckles weakly, “she adored us, the silly filly.” She pauses and Sombra can see her wings flutter weakly beneath her cloak. “Do you know her well? I don’t imagine she’d share stories of her lost parents with just anypony.”
“She is the love of my life, Your Grace,” Sombra states with more confidence then he feels, “She misses you, you know.”
“I know….” Aurora sighs, her entire body seeming to just deflate, “My poor little filly, I wish I could go to her and little Lulu.”
Stepping closer and laying a hoof against Aurora’s shoulder, Sombra is both surprised and disheartened at the fact he can feel her shivering beneath her cloak even with the warmth of the fire.
“Why don’t you?” He finds himself asking.
“I can’t,” she offers softly, almost absently as she reaches a surprisingly steady hoof to her hood. “The mother they knew before the war is gone… and I am just the shell she left behind to guard her final mistake.”
Sombra watches as her hood is pulled back to pool around her shoulders, a sharp gasp at what is beneath, held in only by the fact he has been holding his breath.
The visage of the once beautiful Goddess of the Dawn is as ruined as the tower they sit in, with horrible scars defacing her once regal features with deep canyons and craters, all centered around a thick blindfold that is now damp from the tears the mournful goddess is weeping. Yet, the worst by far is her horn, for now that Sombra can see it a sense of sickening horror fills his stomach at the web of cracks and missing bone, soft light leaking through it and sparking fitfully as she uses her magic to clutch the broach holding her cloak on.
“The Gods of Equus all paid a price to stop the tides of darkness, young colt,” Aurora says, one notched ear turned towards the princeling, “some with their lives, others their souls… and I…”
The broach unlocks with a soft click and her magic winks out, the bright yellow of it leaving the room darker for its absence.
“I paid with my body, my freedom,” Aurora whispers as the cloak falls from her shoulders to pool on the floor.
Taking a step backwards as the cloak falls Sombra forces himself to sit down, the sound of his armored plot hitting the carpet beneath him causes one of Aurora’s massive wings to flutter like a tattered sail in a breeze. For a few of the longest heartbeats he sits motionless as he takes in the fallen Goddess before him, his mind searing everything into his memory from both shock and horror.
Beneath her cloak, The Lady of the Dawn is wearing a set of fine barding that must have at some point been the magnum opus of some long dead armorer, but now the guilding has worn away from age and use with the cold metal beneath on full display and rusting in spots. And the longer he peers at it the more he can make out worn sun and moon motifs, the crescent moon cradling the sun, as well as what he recognizes as the symbols for the various Virtues. Breathing again, his lungs gasping and pleading for air finally overcoming his shock, his eyes are drawn to the mare herself beneath the armor as he rises once more and takes a few steps forward almost without thinking.
Her body is covered with scars, some so deep that Sombra is surprised to not see bone poking through, with the worst damage being her wings which while they still have the majority of their beautiful feathers are a broken and mangled set that no longer sit completely flush with her body. He can also see one of her back legs looks as if a large creature had bit her, the ring of scars left behind by what could only be teeth circling her cutie mark.
Aurora, once the envy of all mares in Equus for her beauty, is broken and battered and Sombra cannot help but feel his heart going out to his love’s mother. Removing one of his iron horseshoes and reaching out with a shaking hoof of his own, he gently touches his host’s shoulder again, the contact causing the large mare to shiver and knicker frightfully.
“Why?” the Prince of the Crystal Empire asks, “why show me?”
“So you’ll know,” Aurora replies in a choked voice, “the price you pay fighting the darkness held in this city.”
“I can defeat it,” Sombra insists, “I can set you free and defeat the darkness that I saw in my vision!”
“No, my little pony,” Aurora chokes, “you cannot, as much as I would love such hope to find a place in my heart again, I know you will fail lest you leave.” She then takes a deep breath and looks towards the fire, “Stay here beside the fire and banish the cold from your bones, I shall go and find us something to eat, then we’ll sort out where you shall stay for the night.” She pauses, a small mischievous smile growing on her face, “Perhaps Celestia's room? I am sure she would not mind her stallion seeing her foalhood room.”
“I-I think I’d like that,” Sombra says warmly, a small smile of his own forming, “and… if you’re willing, I’d love to hear more about your daughters when they were young?”
Smiling brightly as he sits in the shade of one of the many trees in the garden of the Castle of the Two Sisters, Sombra cannot help but feel a deep feeling of peace as he watches his son and daughter play, his wife’s sun streaming down from on high to give their game of tag that little extra bit of energy as they teleport and fly around as only alicorn foals can. Everything had turned out alright, all the adventures, wars, and hardships he had faced in the past, and now he was able to reap the rewards with this small period of peace.
“Be careful you two!” A voice comes from behind Sombra, followed by a large white alicorn mare laying down beside Sombra, a pristine white wing settling over his back as she pulls him closer.
“But mama!” Sombra’s daughter whines as she teleports behind her brother, “we’re being careful!”
“My dear husband,” the mare says, causing Sombra to look up at her face and smiling at the sight of her mischievous pink eyes, “please tell your children to be careful.”
“I don’t know, they seem to be doing fine to me, Tia,” Sombra says softly as he leans up and kisses Celestia gently, causing her wings to flutter softly, “and I like where I am right now. Beside the most beautiful mare in the world.”
“I like you where you are too,” Celestia retorts with a blush and bright smile, “but they really do need to be careful, we can’t have them getting hurt before our trip to visit your mother.”
“You are right my love,” Sombra sighs softly, his lips a hair’s breadth from hers, “as always.”
Kissing her one last time, Sombra rises, and stretches his wings, the light gold primaries fanning out as he groans and shivers at the feeling of his wife’s sun against them. He then trots off at a quick pace, looking around slowly to find his children have wandered off somewhere, and that he’ll have to track them down now. As he makes his way through the garden, the foliage grows thicker, the air heavier, the sky darker. He pays this no mind, until he hears a scream from nearby, and he breaks into a gallop as some primal part of his brain identifies it as his daughter’s voice.
Rounding the corner of a hedgerow, Sombra finds his children backed into a corner by a cloaked figure of flickering shadows.
Charging forward, horn alight, Sombra throws a shield up around his children, watching a spark of hope grow in their eyes as they see their father. Yet even as that hope grows it is extinguished as the figure’s own horn, twisted and blood red, ignites and smashes through the shield to take his children’s lives.
And as they scream in anguish, the figure turns to look at Sombra.
And Celestia’s husband is horrified to see his own face staring back at him.
The feeling of sunlight drafting across his face, the warmth and faint smell of ozone tickling his nose, causes Sombra to slowly rise from the depths of his dreams. Or perhaps nightmare, if he is being honest with himself. Yet, the feeling of the plush bed, and the soft scent that can only be described as her tickles his nose as well, and puts his mind at ease.
Taking a deep breath of the lingering scent of his love, the pillow and bed he had slept in being the one she had slept in as a filly, he feels his resolve reform and become strong again. He is here for her, and for their future children should they have any.
The fact that her mother was alive and well had boded well in his mind, the stories she had told him while they had sat before her fireplace last night had only reinforced his desire to do what needed to be done. Lady Aurora, once the Goddess of the Dawn of Equus, deserved far more than to languish in this darkened and dead city. Yet, she had refused and rebuked him last night when he had told her his plans, clearly she was not thinking properly after all these years of isolation.
It was up to him, then, Sombra decides as he rises from the bed to dawn his armor. Lady Aurora will not help him, give him no shelter beyond this night nor any aid in fighting his foes. His task will be harder for it, but after last night a new determination had taken hold deep within him. He was not only fighting for his home, his people, and his love anymore. Now, his love’s mother needed him to help her be free of this place, even if she would not admit it. His children should know their grandmother, and she should know them.
By the time he is shrugging into his cloak, Sombra’s mind is made up, and he heads for the door to start on his quest in earnest now that the goal has grown more important.
Entering into the hallway, he slows his stride so as to not make noise, but also to look at the time worn paintings and objects that the lady of the house had found valuable enough to keep hanging, even now that the city is dead. In the light of the new day he can see that most of the items remaining uncovered and still on the wall are paintings of her family, or of ponies that Sombra is more than sure are long dead now. There are a few of Star Swirl with a mare Sombra has seen many a time portrayed in stained glass too, and Star Swirl decides when he gets back he’ll ask about Aurora from the old coot. Provided he doesn’t come back with her.
A few paintings also portray a tall white alicorn stallion, his piercing red eyes giving him a hard and disciplined look that reminds Sombra of one of his drill instructors. Silently, he hopes he never has to meet him.
Going farther down the hall, an open door catches his eye and he pauses a moment to peer inside.
Beyond the doorway is a dark wood room with a faded blue carpet, large floor to ceiling bookshelves and a desk occupy most of the room, along with a large fireplace full of slowly dying embers. In the middle of it all on the carpet is a bed roll big enough for an alicorn of Aurora’s size, the blankets and pillows askew but no alicorn in sight. Why she is sleeping there, in this room and not in a bedroom puzzles Sombra, but is a question he decides to answer later.
The rest of the trip to the stairs, and then down it to the first floor of the apartments is uneventful, silent. For a moment Sombra is afraid that Aurora was going to come out of a dark room and haul him back, forcing him to stay in the apartments until he agrees to leave the city. Yet the downstairs is just as devoid of her, no attack from the shadows comes, and by the time he makes it to the large family room he is sure that he has outsmarted the old goddess. He pauses a moment beside the ash filled fireplace, the dying embers glowing weakly within it taunting him with the last warmth he will feel in this city.
With one last look to the painting of the happy family, he turns and heads to the door, opens it, and heads down the winding staircase to the ruined main floor of the tower.
However, once he gets there, he realizes he had been too quick in believing his luck would hold out, as a large cloaked figure blocks the door to the outside, a disapproving frown on her scarred muzzle.
“I had prayed to the Cosmos you would be smarter than this, my little pony,” Aurora says softly, her voice carrying through the deathly silence of the shroud strewn floor. “But, then, I guess it was too much to ask for a colt such as sure of himself as you are to listen to this old broken Goddess.”
“I listened,” Sombra offers as he draws closer, head held high. “I heard your words, and I saw to their heart. You are broken in more than body, Lady Aurora. Your spirit has likewise been torn, and you now lack the will to do what must be done.”
“And pray tell, little pony, what must be done?” Aurora asks gently. “So you still intend to stride forth and fight the shadows themselves? Do you believe yourself strong enough to destroy the Umbra? That your pride will not be the death of you?”
“It is not pride,” Sombra says, “it is duty, the same as what has bound you here. Duty to my family, as well as yours. I shall not let your daughter, whom I love with all my heart, be threatened by this gathering shadows that you have grown too weak and frail to slay.”
“Perhaps you are right,” Aurora whispers softly, “perhaps I have grown weak in my time here. Perhaps I am no longer able to slay them. But even at my weakest, I am stronger than you, little shadow. I beg of you, do not go out there. Whatever conflict you foresee for the world beyond this city, fighting the Umbra here shall not stop it. This is not the answer you seek.”
“Then I shall fail,” Sombra replies, coming to stand before her with a sad look. “I cannot afford to fail. I must slay them, for my kingdom, my mother, my love. And for you, for now that I have found you, I cannot let my Tia’s mother languish here, alone and with no hope.”’
Sighing softly, Aurora sits down and lowers her head so that her veiled eyes are level with Sombra’s.
“This is not the answer to your vision, and while I am honored to be included in your list of those you must protect, you shall serve no one by dying here. Leave, little one, please. For my daughter’s sake if no one else’s.”
“I cannot turn back,” Sombra replies sadly.
“Then your path is set, your fate decided,” Aurora whispers, “I shall stand in your way no longer. I only ask you to leave with me something, to ensure your return in victory, or to give my daughter in death.”
Thinking a moment, Sombra reaches into a saddlebag and takes out an object wrapped in a sheet. He starts to levitate it towards Aurora, then stops.
“You won’t let me leave unless I give you this, will you,” he asks.
“No,”
“Fine,” he sighs, levitating the object the rest of the way to float between them. He unwraps it to show off a finely crafted golden necklace with a pendant in the shape of the rising sun. “This was going to be my engagement present to your daughter. I was to propose to her, but the vision I had got in the way. If you truly wish to hold onto something to ensure I return to you in victory, then hold onto this.”
“And the sheet?” Aurora asks, leaning her head to one side.
“It uh…” Sombra says slowly, “it was the bedsheet from our… bed in Mirrormere. It… smells like us, and she gave it to me as a token to remember her by.”
Smiling gently, Aurora’s magic takes the sheet and necklace from Sombra’s. “I shall guard this token from your Princess well, young colt, worry not.”
“See that you do,” Sombra says gently, “I shall return for them when I claim victory, and inform you that you are now free to return to the world at large.”
For a long moment, Aurora is silent, and Sombra starts to walk around her before her voice drifts from beside him, forcing him to pause for a brief moment.
“I hope you return, and that someday I might call you my son,” she whispers softly.
With nothing more needing to be said, Sombra walks past her and to the door, which swings open in his magic, and over the threshold into the ruined city beyond.
Once beyond the walls of the tower and into the city proper, Sombra draws his blade and takes a deep breath. Now he must be on his guard, for danger beyond any he has ever known lurks just beyond his sight and lingers in the shadows of the broken homes and pockmarked streets. Yet for all the danger, the only sounds are his armored hooves upon the snow-covered streets, the beating of his heart and his breathing. The feeling of eyes upon him, though, fills the air louder than any noise, and he cannot help but slowly wonder if Aurora was right. Is he the right stallion to do this? Can he truly face them down?
Shaking his head, he tries to imagine the city at its peak. The wondrous and beautiful city he had heard and read about in the books in the library at home. Slowly, he interlays what he imagines over the scenes of death and destruction, his mind's eye playing out scenes of every-day activity in an effort to distract him from the dark eyes staring at him just outside his view. But beyond lessening his anxiety, his attempts to imagine this city as it was helps him to navigate through the landmarks his mother had told him stories about, and slowly he is able to make his way deeper, and deeper, into the city.
Before long he comes to the edge of what must have at one point been a beautiful public garden or park in the center of the city, a great structure looming up from the center of it like the bones of some long dead dragon.
His first steps into the garden dispel the happy image he had crafted in his mind, as the crunch of the dried leaves and snow force him back to reality. No one had maintained this place in the ages since its fall, and the very ground beneath his hooves feels dead even to his unicorn senses. Resisting the urge to shiver and turn back, Sombra readies his blade and prepares a few spells to defend himself against ambush as he pushes towards the structure.
As he does, the shadows around him seem to lengthen, the gnarled shadows of the trees seeming to stretch towards him and he can see flashes of movement all around him. The air fills with a chorus of voices, whispering all at once of promises and threats of his family and of his future. He ignores them, his ears lowering as he grits his teeth to drown out the chattering.
And then, he reaches the door, which stands before him open into the dark and dangerous interior, the den of the foe he has come to meet and vanquish.
“Come,” the voices all whisper as one.
And he does.
Prancing in place with barely restrained excitement, Radiant Hope cannot help but look up to the hill she knows her brother will soon be coming over. It had been weeks, a month even, since he had walked out into the frozen wastelands that made up the world to the north of their Empire. The others had given up hope, but not Radiant. Nope, she had held onto it, kept the hope of him returning alive for Amore and Partner, who had missed him terribly.
Even Celestia had started to have doubts, but Radiant had kept them at bay for her teacher and friend, telling her that Sombra was going to return without a shadow of a doubt and then they’d be a big happy family again.
And today, her faith had been rewarded.
Her brother was coming home.
Her reflection is broken by the sound of cheering and a soft nudge from the tall stallion beside her.
“Lass, the scouts just crested the hill, yer brother shouldn’t be far behind,” Tartan whispers in his gravel-soft voice.
Nodding Radiant stands up on the tips of her hooves, struggling to see up and over the hill from her position at the edge of the city limits. All around her the citizens of the city had gathered, some curious about why she had run to the city limits with a full complement of guards, others brought by word of mouth once word had spread that their Prince would be returning to them. So far, all she can see are the scouts at the top of the hill, their heavy hooded cloaks hiding everything but the tips of their horns as they wait, one looking behind and gesturing to somepony unseen.
Then another figure crests the hill, his tattered and worn black cape fluttering in the wind at the top of the hill, the armor she can see beneath covered in frost and bearing the scars of battle, yet beneath it all she can see her brother, and her heart fills with joy and warmth at his appearance. She fights the urge to run forward as he nods to the scouts, clearly saying something at the way they salute him before he starts down from the hill. The urge to run to him grows only stronger with each step, and before he makes it to the city limits Radiant rushes forward.
“Brother!” She shouts, eyes alight as she teleports the last few yards. Yet the instant she materlizes before the cloaked form of her brother, Radiant is hit with an intense feeling of unease and nausea. All at once her excitement flees her, and she takes a few steps back as her brother lifts his head slightly, his ashen-grey muzzle splitting into a fanged smile.
“Radiant,” Sombra’s voice rumbles out of the monster in front of her, “dear sister, come to welcome me home?” He steps forward, and Radiant steps back. “Do you fear me, sister? You need not, my eyes are open now. I know the truth now.”
Continuing the backpedal, Radiant looks to the scouts that escorted her brother, or whatever the spectre before her was, to the Empire from the wastes. Yet, when they look back at her she is horrified to see their eyes shrouded beneath sickly green and purple magic. Turning, she makes a run for it as Sombra starts to laugh behind her, the dark and cruel sound so unlike her brother’s voice, yet still hauntingly familiar.
“Tartan!” Radiant shouts, her pace picking up as she starts to hear hooves behind her, “Rally the guard! That is not Sombra!”
Even before she reaches the large form of Amore’s personal guard, the stallion is already drawing his blade along with the others, civilians already fleeing towards the safety of the Crystal Sanctum. She passes by Tartan, sparing a glance behind her as the large pony moves into place to block her attackers, who turn out to be the scouts that had found Sombra. The sounds of steel on steel, and ponies crying out in anger and pain, soon fills the air as the scene of battle is quickly swallowed up by the mass of fleeing ponies around Radiant.
Yet, right before her vision is blocked she spies Sombra advancing forward, shadows spilling forth from beneath his cloak.
Continuing her frantic pace towards the Sanctuary at the center of the city, Radiant is forced to teleport once or twice to avoid large groups of ponies, or to get around defenders urgently rushing towards the sounds ever nearing of battle. By the time she reaches the edge of the great plaza, she is out of breath and sweating and is forced to take a moment to stop and breathe.
As she does, she spares a glance back out towards the edge of the city where Sombra had entered, and is dismayed to see a growing mass of rolling storm clouds steadily inching their way towards the Sanctuary as the cries of panic and battle inch closer beneath them.
As soon as she can breath steadily again she makes to move towards the entrance to the Castle, only to find Amore standing tall beside the heart, a deep worried frown on her face.
“Amore!” Radiant cries out to her godmother, rushing over and embracing the taller unicorn, “Sombra! He-”
“I know,” Amore says softly, “I can feel it… he did not heed the warning, and has returned to us corrupt.”
“What do we do?” Radiant asks, tone pleading, “is there any way to save him?”
“I do not know it if there is,” Amore says softly, sadly, “Hope may have… but… she is gone, and the Heart is silent.”
“What do we do then?”
“We stand, and fight,” Amore says softly, releasing the smaller unicorn as her face grows somber, resigned. “We can do nothing more than that. Or,” she says softly, looking to Radiant, “I can do nothing more. You… you can yet avoid the worst.”
“What do you mean?” Radiant asks softly, looking up at the Queen of the Crystal Empire with worry.
“Go. Flee to Canterlot, warn Celestia and Luna,” Amore states calmly. “Inform your father the worst has come to pass, he must make ready to fight and avoid the same fate for the fledgling kingdom in the south.”
“I can’t jus-” Radiant starts.
“You can, and you must,” Amore states firmly, “go. I will not lose my son and my god-daughter on the same day, Radiant. Go! Go and warn them. Go and live. Survive.”
Radiant shakes her head, but starts to power her horn as the sounds of battle grow closer. As the aura around it grows to its brightest, she hears the dark chuckle of Sombra from the entrance of the courtyard, and right as her teleport spell is at full power she turns and casts one last glance to Sombra.
And then she is gone in a deafening peal of thunder and a bright flash of light.
Thousands of miles south, in the stately stone throne room of a castle surrounded by wood and thatch houses, she reappears upside down and crashes on the back of her teacher.
“Radiant, we didn’- ” Celestia starts, smiling brightly at her student.
“Tia!” Radiant shouts, the fatigue of the mana drain her teleport required catching up to her, voice strained as she fights to stay conscious, “The Umbra have returned! Sombra - my brother has failed…”
It had been a long year since last Celestia stood upon this hill and gazed down at the splendor of Mirrormere as she rose her sun. The memories of standing here, head held high and eyes closed as she basks in the feeling of the warm sunlight, imagining she was there beside her mother still.
She could almost forget.
Almost.
The cold biting sting of the northern winds pulls her from her memories, and back to the horrible reality before her.
Sighing and allowing her horn’s glow to fade away, Celestia opens her eyes and gazes out beyond the hill, down unto the blackened and corrupted sight of the once shining Mirrormere, its streets filled with mind-controlled ponies in armor, silently swaying back and forth as their helmeted gazes stare forward into whatever dark abyss Sombra had cast their minds into.
And then there was that. Her love, the light of her life, Sombra had done this.
She had scarcely believed Radiant when she had teleported into the throne room, exhausted and wide eyed with fear. But the reports of what was happening soon started to trickle in. Then it had become a flood. The border towns had come under attack, other cities and settlements in the Crystal Empire, even some of their neighboring nations in the Griffon and Dragon kingdoms.
Turning around, Celestia sighs as she strides back through the vanguard of their assembled forces, the banner of the First Legion hanging proudly from the bannerstaffs at the forefront. One of her officers, a unicorn mare wearing the laurels of a captain, passes Celestia her helm and poleaxe as she passes, a soft smile and a murmur of thanks is returned before Celestia schools her face and places her helmet back on. Striding forth once more, she pauses only to allow her personal guard to fall in step behind her, their stern faces reminding her so much of her uncle, the measured cadence of their armored hooves bringing a cold comfort to her heart.
Making her way quickly into the heart of the camp, she pauses before the curtains of the large tent that sits in the direct center, the voices within raised and arguing over various matters for the coming assault.
“We should simply charge in, sweep the streets, and take the Sanctuary,” a voice, her sister’s voice, echoes from inside, “be done with it before he can cause more damage.”
“Those are our country ponies in there, Princess,” another voice, stern like a teacher or a scholar, “I shall not have them sacrificed upon the altar of battle for a quick victory.”
“He’s right, lass,” yet another male, “we cannae simply abandon our vows t’them, if it within our power t’save ‘em, we have ta’ try.”
Steeling herself, Celestia pulls back the curtain at the entrance, and strides in as Luna starts to argue.
“Be that as that may, we canno-”
“We can, and we will,” Celestia’s kind, but tight, voice cuts through Luna’s stern objections, “we will not cut through the people of Hope’s final gift. We will not discard Love’s people.” She smiles softly to Luna, who is looking back with her mouth halfway open, “not again, sister. We cannot fail them again.”
“Well said, lass,” the second male voice snorts.
“That doesn’t solve our problem, though,” the first sighs.
Turning to look to the owners of the voices, Celestia’s smile doesn’t slip as she looks over the tall highland pony in the armor of an Imperial Lieutenant and his friend, a green unicorn in what can only be called ‘armor’ in the loosest and most liberal of terms.
“Tartan, Veridian, my sister and I will lead a charge, preferably of the Imperial First and any Imperial Militia that wish to come with us, while the Equestrian forces we have brought continue to keep the city contained,” Celestia offers. “It is direct, like my sister wished, but you and your troops can hopefully disable them, and add to your numbers as you are friendly familiar faces. At the very least, you can keep civilian casualties to a minimum.”
“The Imperial forces are fewer in number, sister,” Luna says softly, turning to her sister, “and we cannot in good conscious, ask them to attack their own families.”
“I will not be asking them to slaughter them, Lulu,” Celestia replies softly, offering a sympathetic smile to her sister, “simply delay them. While we…” Her breath hitches a little, and she has to swallow down the sudden lump in her throat as she looks back to the map of Mirrormere on the table in the center of the group, “take care of the threat.”
“Princess, you don’t hav-” Viridian starts, but is promptly cut off by Tartan putting a hoof on his shoulder.
“No, lad, she does,” Tartan says softly, “Sombra was her love, wouldn’t be right to let anyone but her try and do what needs be done.”
For a long moment the tent is silent save for the sounds of Celestia shifting from hoof to hoof in her armor and the muted sounds of the soldiers beyond its walls. The depth of it causes Celestia to start to fear her sister won’t back her plan, and the arguing will continue, that Sombra will continue to corrupt the city, and the damage will spread.
“Very well,” Luna states calmly, a hint of worry in her voice, “we shall go with your plan, Tia. But if things go wrong, our forces will need to sweep the city clear.”
“We will accept that,” Tartan offers as he puts his helmet back on, “I’ll rally what remains of the Sanctuary Guards and the First Legion. We’ll get you to Sombra.”
“I’ll go get the militia in order, then,” Viridian states, turning as his makeshift armor clanks, “we won’t be able to press as deep, but we can perhaps get a few of those helmets off of ponies, perhaps get a few of the chained ones free, too.”
As soon as they are gone, Celestia sigh and looks at the map of the Empire’s capital once more, her mind drifting once more to better days and the warmth she so dearly misses right now.
“Are you sure about this, sister?” Luna asks softly, nosing at her sister’s neck, “you do not have to go in. I can lead the charge. Spare you the pain.”
“No, Lulu,” Celestia replies softly, breaking her gaze from the map to gently nuzzle at her sister’s mane, smiling softly as her sister giggles softly as she messes with her mane. “I have to. I owe it to the Empire, to our ponies, to see this through.”
“And to Sombra,” Luna states quietly, stepping back so she can look up at her sister, her worried gaze capturing the older Alicorn’s. “‘Tis not even likely still him, for all the corruption such shadows have doubtlessly caused within him. You owe him nothing.”
“I have to try,” Celestia whispers back, looking away from her sister, “I have to. I won’t lose another… we already lost so many to this. I won’t lose him too… not if I can help it.”
“Very well,” the Lunar Alicorn sighs, “perhaps you do. If for not other reason than to see with your own eyes that your love was lost in the wastes, and the monster that returned is not him.” Taking her helmet and putting it on, Luna turns and goes to the entrance of the tent, waiting for her sister to join her before leaving.
Once they leave, Celestia watches Luna go through her pre-battle rituals, much as the elder alicorn had done before coming to the tent. Watching her sister steel herself, that hard edge entering her eyes, the way she slips into the solid stance of a seasoned swordsmare the instant her blade is taken up in her magic, sends a chill down Celestia’s spine. This was not to be their life. When they were young, they dreamed of being at their parent’s sides, spending their days in peace surrounded by love and family.
Here, instead, they had found themselves in a field of blacked mud and dark sunless days full of hate and bereft of compassion.
But in this field, they might yet preserve hope and find love again.
Striding once more to the hilltop, Luna at her side, Celestia nods to Tartan who has gathered to him the First Legion of the Crystal Empire, their dented and cracked armor shining in the morning sunlight.
“Are you ready?” she asks simply.
“We are, lass,”
Turning her gaze to the city proper, Celestia takes a deep breath and looks towards the Sanctuary at its center. In the stories told by their father on those dark and stormy nights this would be the time for a speech, but Celestia finds no words can properly convey her feelings, nor can she find any that might inspire her troops. Instead, she lifts her weapon, the polished steel of the poleaxe’s blade glinting in her sunlight.
“Order the charge, sister,” Celestia says softly, “it is time for the grim work to be done.”
Raising her blade, Luna turns towards the assembled masses, “You all know what must be done! First Imperial Legion, Seaddle Militia, retake your city while my sister and I put down the foe who has taken it!”
The voices of a thousand weary Crystal Ponies rings out through the air as they all bellow out ‘For Queen Amore! For Crystal Hope!’
“Soldiers of Equestria! Make sure none leave the city, nor any reinforcements break our lines! We leave this most important task to you! Listen to your officers, and we shall see the moon rise yet!” The response from their troops is immediate, the ground shaking beneath their hooves and the air trembling with their war cries. Even a few warhorns split the air.
“Ponies of the Empire,” Luna says one last time, turning her gaze towards Tartan, “With us!” She then points her blades towards the city, “Charge!”
The charge down the hill becomes a blur after the first few steps, her eyes locked onto the Sanctuary’s darkened spires as she charges just behind the standard bearer of the First Legion, the landscape rushing past her in the thunderous stampede she is in the center of. Vaguely, she is aware that her sister is to her left, blades drawn and face split in the raucous grin she always wears in the heat of battle, as if she is enjoying the fight just a bit too much.
For a split second, as they enter the city and the shadow of a building passes over them, Celestia swears she can see Luna with fangs and glowing draconic eyes.
The battle is joined quickly, only three or four blocks in, forcing the two alicorns to take to the air, barely avoiding the pikes and lances of the mind controlled soldiers that are currently being tackled and subdued by their counterparts. Their quick ascent brings them under assault from arrows and spells flung from behind the lines, forcing both to quickly bring up shields to deflect the deadly assault as they fly with all due haste towards the Sanctuary.
Their flight takes them high above the battle, and for a moment as they circle to gain altitude, Celestia allows herself to look down at the ponies fighting in the streets. She sends a silent prayer that Tartan and his troops are able to subdue more than they’re forced to kill, but in her heart she knows there will be many a funeral tomorrow.
Her attention is drawn back to the task at hoof as the shadow of the Sanctuary passes over them, and Luna takes a sharp turn to the left and towards a window that Celestia knows leads to the throne room. Making a sharp turn herself, she picks up speed before folding her wings in front of her and empowering them with her magic. The sound of the glass shattering fills her ears the second after her brain recognizes the window she’s passing through as a memorial to Crystal Hope.
Landing on the floor of the throne room with a resounding boom, the crystal actually cracking slightly beneath the force of her and her sister’s entrance, Celestia perks her ears forward, breath coming out in great steaming plumes as she holds her polearm ready for the attack that surely is coming. Yet, the only sound she can hear over the pounding of her heart is the musical tinkling of the glass hitting the floor around them.
“Sombra!” Luna shouts, her voice rattling the windows, “show yourself, coward!”
“Coward?” Sombra’s echoing answer comes from nowhere, yet everywhere, “Luna, my dear, you wound me.”
“Come within reach of my blade, and I may yet wound you more,” Luna growls as both her and Celestia start circling in their little shafts of light from the shattered windows.
“And what say you, my love?” Sombra whispers, so close that Celestia swears his breath tickles her ear. “Do you think me a coward?”
“I think you a shadow of the love I have lost,” Celestia replies sternly, turning quickly to try and catch a glimpse of her foe.
“My dear sweet Sun,” Sombra chuckles darkly, “I am the same stallion you fell in love with. The same stallion that charged headlong at the Black Dragons, and ended their threat by your side.”
“Lies,” Celestia growls, “my love is lost to the snow and shadows. You are the evil that has simply taken his shape.”
“Is that so?” Sombra chuckles darkly, the sound echoing around the throne room in a deep twisted bass. Then, the shadows gather inward before Celestia, and the figure of her love in his armor strides out of them.
For a moment the Alicorn of the Sun’s blade wavers in her magic, her breath heavy as she stares at the smiling face of Sombra, her heart hammering in her ears.
“Hold, Sister!” Luna’s distant voice barely registering in her ear, “it is a foul trick of the shadows! Tis not your love!”
“My love,” Sombra says softly, his voice caring as his ears lower and one hoof raises towards her, hoof held upward, “please… don’t turn your back on me.”
For a moment, Celestia’s own hoof raises, shakily reaching towards his, but then her eyes flick towards his, and in them she sees no love as they glow a sickly green and purple.
“No,” Celestia whispers, as she retracts her hoof, the magic surrounding her blade flaring, “you are not him. My love is dead.”
“So be it,” Sombra chuckles cruelly, his smile changing from one of love to a fang-filled look of malice. “I had wanted you at my right hoof, the Empress to my Empire. The crown jewel of the new world.” As he speaks the shadows once more swirl behind him, as echoing whispers fill the air. “But if I cannot have you. None shall.”
Celestia raises her weapon in time for a strike from her left, the sounds of battle suddenly rushing to her ears and causing her to look over towards her sister, who is currently embattled with tendrils of darkness herself, and from the brief glance Celestia gets of her eyes she has been for the entire time she’d been talking to Sombra.
Turning her attention back to Sombra, who simply calls forth a blade of shadow and dark crystals as he waits, Celestia steels her heart once more.
Then she rushes forward with an anguished cry, and joins the battle in full.
Celestia’s first few strikes are deftly parried by the shadow of her love, his wicked smile only growing in intensity with each rattling strike of blade against blade. And with each strike Celestia pours in more of her power, as with each time the blades spark against each other she sees her love’s face, and her heart cries out in fury.
Soon fury overtakes her and she swings her poleaxe hard enough that instead of simply being deflected it cascades down in a shower of sparks past Sombra’s face and into the crystal floor beneath her with a resounding and terrible pearl of thunder. The blade wedged deep into the floor, Celestia is unable to pull it free in time to deflect a blow from her foe, and before she knows it her vision is full of stars and she is tumbling, then sliding, across the floor. Grimacing against the pain and trying desperately to catch her breath, Celestia props herself up on one hoof, her magic reaching out to her blade again, only to have her head struck just beside her horn by Sombra’s own blade.
“None of that, my dear,” Sombra chuckles as he raises his blade, crystals forming around Celestia’s legs and horn. “Be good, and hold still.”
Time seems to slow down as Celestia desperately pours magic into her horn, only for it to spark and fizzle as the crystals absorb it. As the blade comes down, Celestia’s ears fold down against her head as tears fill her eyes, her only cold comfort in knowing she’ll be with her love soon.
As the blade is about to strike, her vision is suddenly filled with blue and the sound of steel on steel.
“You forget she is not alone, Shadow,” Luna growls, the shadows seeming to flinch away from her as she strides towards both of them, the magical blade holding off Sombra’s own weapon glowing almost casually.
“Far be it for me to assume she is alone, dear Luna,” Sombra rumbles, pulling his blade back to assume a more guarded stance, “I am surprised that you would defend the source of all that scorns your charge.”
Leaving a copy of her blade behind to guard Celestia, Luna frowns, “My charge is the safety of this world, of which you are a threat to.”
“Ahhh, but what of your precious night? Surely a fellow creature of the sunless hours should want the sun to not rise again. Your sister controls it, just let me end her, and let the shadows spread,”
“The Moon does not shine without the sun,” Luna says softly, “but you are right on account. I am the mistress of the midnight hours, and you are but a foal playing with fire.”
Luna takes another step forward at that, and once more the battle is joined. Shadows fill the room, as Sombra attempts to fight Luna from all sides, and Luna pushes them back with her magic. Flashes of steel on steel breaking through the shadows to give Celestia glimpses of the combat within, along with the scowling faces of her sister and Sombra. The flow of battle seems to hover in a stalemate for a while, but slowly it starts to shift towards Luna.
And as it does, Celestia swears she can see her sister’s eyes become those draconic eyes once more, framed by a fang-filled smile.
Then all at once, Luna’s blades find their mark and the shadows explode outward, leaving just Luna and Sombra in the center of the room just below the throne.
“It is done,” Luna intones softly, digging her blade deeper into Sombra’s chest, her visage once more the one Celestia saw every day. As the blade digs deeper, Sombra coughs, and his magic fails him, the crystals around the throne room shattering, including the ones holding Celestia down.
As soon as her legs are free, Celestia is on her hooves, rushing forward to catch Sombra as his own legs fail him, and he collapses to the floor. Cradling him in her own magic, Celestia pulls her helmet off, her pink mane cascading down around both of them.
“I know that face,” Sombra whispers softly before coughing and smiling, the dark magic dissipating from his eyes.
“I’m here, my love,” Celestia says gently, brushing some of his mane from his face, “you’re safe. The shadows cannot harm you now. I’ll save you.”
“You already have,” Sombra chuckles, “you and your sister both.”
“No, no the magic is gone, we can-” Celestia starts, her horn glowing brightly.
“It’s too late,” Sombra coughs, “and… and for what I’ve done, for what I’ve seen… let me pass, Tia.”
“I can’t,” Celestia whispers, “I won’t!”
Leaning up with what must be the last of his strength, Sombra kisses Celestia’s cheek, “Goodbye, my beautiful sunshine.”
Pushing more magic into her horn, Celestia scans Sombra as his eyes start to dim, her magic finding that his injuries are far beyond anything she knows how to heal. Desperately, she tries, and earns nothing more than a painted whimper from the stallion she is holding onto as he starts to slip away faster. Finding no other recourse, she pours more power into her horn, the light of it causing the entire room to be filled with power strong enough to cause even the farthest shadows to roll and boil, and Luna to raise a wing to shield her eyes.
The light fades as Sombra breathes his last, and Celestia collapses across his still form sobbing.
For a long moment, nothing echoes through the room save for Celestia’s distraught sobbing. Then, a rumble starts to shake the ground, causing Luna to raise her blades again and get into a guarded stance above her sister. However, no foe comes forward and instead the rumbling grows as the crystal around them starts to crack.
“What sorcery is this?” Luna shouts over the sound of breaking glass and shattering crystal. “Sister, the city is coming apart! We must flee!”
“I can’t leave him!” Celestia cries.
“You must!” Luna growls, grabbing her sister by the back of her barding and hauling her to her hooves, “We must rally the civilians and our troops! They have lost enough leaders this day, we cannot leave them without our guidance!” She picks up Celestia’s helm, then wrenches free her polearm from the floor with a flourish of her magic, “Now! Take up thy blade and thy helm and leave the dead where they lie! They are already saved, let us save now the living who yet need us!”
Celestia blinks for a moment, then nods and takes up her helm and blade again before spreading her wings and launching into the air to leave the way she had come in. Luna follows suit behind her, and they’re soon out into the chaotic air beyond the Mirrormere Sanctuary. The city beyond is breaking much like the inside of the Sanctuary, great cracks extending from the center of the city as screams fill the air and ponies try desperately to flee.
Banking down towards the streets, both the celestial sisters attempt to levitate or teleport as many as they can to safety, but after the battle against Sombra both are drained and their minds and magic weakened. By the time they reach the outskirts of the city to deposit the few they’ve levitated, the city has all but broken into dust, and they are forced to watch as with a pearl of thunder the entire city of Mirrormere ceases to be as a massive blizzard seems to explode outward from where the city once was, the howling winds biting through their armor and the warm clothing beneath.
For a long moment, they all just stand there, Alicorns and the ponies they’ve rescued alike, staring at the terrible maelstrom where the city once was. Then, with one last silent sob, Celestia rises and silently starts walking towards where the Equestrian lines had been, her back to the city.
Luna soon rises as well, gathering the survivors they had rescued, and follows behind her sister.
The next few hours are filled with them searching for survivors once they reach the Equestrian lines, and ends in disappointment and mourning as how few have made it out.
In the end, the Equestrian Legions march south, a scant few hundred of the civilians of the Crystal Empire in tow, to mourn the loss of the shining city.
Star Swirl growls loudly as he stares at his desk, the spell he has been working on for the past week still eluding him. He knows it was possible to go further in time than a few minutes, he had visited plenty of places and times far further in the future than the calendar had years! Yet, for some reason, finding the exact point he wants to find in the timestream seems to be impossible!
How, with all the power, all the research, all the countless years and all the training, how can he not find his daughter!? How could she just vanish from under his nose? From under the watchful eyes of not just one, but two goddesses?
“Where is she!?” Star Swirl shouts, sweeping a hoof over his desk, papers and magical devices scattering across the room. Breathing heavily, ears back against his head, Star Swirl starts pacing. “Why can’t I find her? Where could she have gone to remove her so firmly from the world?”
Turning around he stops and looks at the fallen notes and objects on the floor. Sighing, he picks them up and starts putting them back where they belong, pausing to look at each one in case he missed something the first hundred times. He is clearing missing something, some small minute detail that would make all the pieces fit correctly. Tossing the last few papers back onto the desk, he sits down and stares at the window, his eyes unfocused.
“I’m a terrible father…” he whispers, ears going back against his head, “I can’t even keep track of my daughter... “ He looks over at a picture on his desk, an aged pegasus mare smiling back at him. “Hope, where did I go wrong? How could I have failed you…?” The picture, of course, does not reply, for his wife had been dead for many years now.
Shaking his head, Star Swirl rises from the desk and walks out of his study, going up the stairs to the room he keeps some of his more dangerous or fragile experiments and instruments. Perhaps one of them holds the answer? At the very least, getting up and walking around will help him think.
Stopping at the door, Star Swirl uses his magic to open the various locks and disarm the different magical traps and obstacles he has placed upon the entryway. You could never be too careful, especially after he had caught Radiant’s friend attempting to sneak out that spellbook on forbidden magic! He had known that colt was a bad apple, but did anyone listen? Well… Amore had, but the poor mare had decided to try to tackle the problem with love, instead of locking him in a dungeon and throwing away the key like Star Swirl had insisted they do.
And where had that gotten them? Amore was dead, Radiant was missing, and it was all because Sombra had smiled and made Radiant’s heart flutter. So what if he was a prime candidate for the Captain of the Crystal Guard, or that he was admittedly a handsome stallion. Or that he was a gifted student of magic, or that he had complimented Star Swirl on his theory of transdimensional displacement when he had finished creating the mirrors. He was still a horrible, terrible pony! He had destroyed everything Hope had fought to build up! The last true vestige of the Equus Empire outside of Celestia and Luna was now gone! Destroyed because some young colt couldn’t resist power!
Growling, Star Swirl opens the door a little harder than he intended, causing a boom to resound through the tower, the sound not too far from a peal of thunder. Ignoring the fact that he has likely stirred awake half the Castle -- with perhaps the exception of Luna who is likely still awake -- Star Swirl walks into the room and closes the door with another thunderous boom.
Striding to the center of the large room, Star Swirl looks around, his eyes drifting from object to object in the hopes that something will spark an idea, a thought, anything. However, no matter what he looks at, from the mirror leading to a universe populated by ‘humans’ to the wall of scrolls holding his most expansive spells, nothing sparks an idea.
Nothing, that is until he looks at the massive hourglass he had built. Normally, it was supposed to sit idle, the sand frozen in time and space until he needed to use it to test one of his spells. Perhaps he has been going about this the wrong way. Perhaps, he could use the sand to track the power of the Virtues through time? Radiant had some of that power, she had shown herself to perhaps be the pony to take over for her mother… perhaps… perhaps?
Running over to the hourglass, Star Swirl levitates one of his spells off of the rack nearby, and opens it up. Yes, perhaps he can use it to track her that way? If he uses the sand to lock onto the Virtue of Hope?
Powering up his horn, Star Swirl doesn’t even think twice.
The spell impacts the hourglass, and for a moment the sand shifts, then nothing. Growling, he powers up his horn again, directing more power at it. Once more, the spell seems to work for a moment, but only a fraction of a second longer. Stomping a hoof, Star Swirl draws on more power.
For what seems like hours he draws on increasingly more power with the same results until, in a fit of rage he draws as deeply as he can on every single magical reserve he has stashed in his tower, down to the primal magical energy that holds together the very fabric of the universe. Howling in rage, his horn and eyes glowing brightly as the very power of creation is held within his hooves, he aims the spell at the hourglass and releases it. In slow motion, he watches the beam of pure creation impact the glass, which for a moment resists it before allowing it to impact the sand beyond with a muted sound.
Stumbling, Star Swirl leans against a nearby table breathing heavily as the sand starts to glow brightly. Then flow forward.
He had done it! The spell is working!
As the sand flows forward, images start to appear. Pictures of strange ponies Star Swirl has never met flash across it, the most common being a grey unicorn with dark blue hair. For a moment, Star Swirl swears he sees her wearing Hope’s bracers, but before he can get closer the glass starts to crack and the hourglass starts to vibrate dangerously. Star Swirl is able to take a few halting steps backwards before the energy contained inside the hourglass, which was never meant nor built to handle the stress he has put it under, shatters in an explosion of sand and shards of red hot glass.
Instantly, the aged wizard throws his arms up in front of his face, expecting to feel the sharp pain of the flying shrapnel. Instead he feels nothing, and when he peeks around one arm he finds a shard of glass hovering frozen in the air before him. In fact, the entire room seems to be frozen, objects and papers suspended in the air as they are thrown from their perches by the energy of the explosion. Leaning his head to one side, Star Swirl regards this curious turn of events silently wishing he had a roll or parchment and a pen to write down his observations. Reaching out with one hoof, he touches the shard of glass in front of him, and suddenly everything rushes back towards where the hourglass had stood with a very loud, very jarring, boom….
--------
Waking with a start, a young colt breathes heavily as he lights his horn to illuminate the room around him. Placing a forehoof to his chest, the feeling of his heart beating in his chest like a drum, the colt blinks away tears as he looks around with wild and fearful eyes slowly.
For a single terrifying moment, he had heard a voice speaking to him as he slept. The voice had been old, if the scratchy and worn quality of it was any indication, and had shouted a single sentence.
“Find my daughter…” the colt whispers softly, his dark grey wings coming out from beneath his blanket to wrap gold and blue primaries around himself protectively. “That was scary…” Shivering at the memory of the nightmare, the young colt gets out of the simple bed he has and grabs the warm blanket he had been sleeping under as he makes his way slowly towards the door of his room.
Opening the door slowly, the young alicorn defly slips into the hallway on silent hooves, his blanket wrapped around himself like the cloak of some ancient wizard or king with only the tip of his muzzle and end of his horn daring to peek out from beneath. He advances swiftly, his quest taking him beyond the towering glass windows that look out to the ancient snowbound city beyond, pausing only to gaze once more at the perpetual blizzard that holds his home in it’s icy talons.
Yet he does not dare linger long anywhere, and soon he finds himself at the bottom of the tower he calls home, pausing only when he reaches the ancient and worn doors that bear the sun and moon upon them. Raising a hoof to push the door open, he stops when he hears voices from inside.
“I know he came here!” the voice of a mare shouts, the ferocity of it reminding the colt of the voice he heard in his dreams. “He came to this city, and found something here that took him from us! And I know he returned to it when he was slain, I felt it!”
“I cannot help you, young one,” another voice, another mare, the familiarity of it bringing comfort to the colt. “As I told your friend I could not. This city was his doom, as it will be yours if you do not leave it.”
“I will not leave until I find him,” the mare says softly, her voice carrying an edge to it. “And I will not allow an ancient shadow to tell me that I cannot.”
“Then go,” the familiar voice says, “go and meet your fate, as he did.”
“I’ll be back,” the angry mare says, followed by rapid almost stomping hoofsteps towards the door.
Scurrying backwards, the young colt quickly dives into the shadows of a nearby plant pot, the small crystalline bush held within hiding him from view. He pokes his head out right as the doors open, only to shrink back as a dark purple unicorn mare with a light blue mane storms out of the room beyond the doors.
She stops, her angry blue eyes looking around as she adjusts what looks to be plate armor beneath her heavy black fur-lined cloak, the clinking of metal and the creak of leather drawing forth unfamiliar memories in the colt. Then as quick as she came, the mare turns and canters quickly down the hallway, and the colt finds himself coming from his hiding spot slowly as he tries to keep her in his view. Something about her is familiar, tugs at a part of him that he does not know, a part that is full of shadowy memories of darkness and despair.
But above all, he can recall the image of a dark unicorn, draped in shadows and wreathed in blood red flames. A tyrant, though he does not know how he knows, the pony scares him above all.
Shivering heavily, tears forming in his eyes as he tries to suppress the images of the evil pony, he sniffles and sits down.
“My dear child,” the familiar voice comes from the open doorway to what had once been a meeting hall, “what are you doing out of bed at this late hour?”
Turning to look up at the form of the cloaked white mare behind him, the colt stands up and quickly goes to latch onto one of her forelegs. “I had another nightmare, mama,” the colt says softly as he trembles against an amber and white leg.
“Shhh, it’s alright,” the mare comforts the young colt as she sits down and pulls him against herself before leaning down and brushing a tear from one of his cheeks with a hoof. “It’s alright now, no nightmare can get you while I’m here.”
“Can I sleep with you tonight, mama?” the colt asks softly, looking up at the mare hopefully.
“Of course,” the mare replies as a warm smile spreads over her scarred face, the blindfold she is wearing shifting slightly. “Come, let us retire then for the evening.” She releases the colt and stands up as she extends a mangled wing from beneath her cloak to lay across the colt beside her. The action clearly pains her greatly, but she does it all the same as she leads the way back through the ancient tower, the only light in the hallways coming from her and the colt’s horns.
Soon they are back up at the top of the tower, and moving towards the large room in which the mare slept. To get there, they pass by the still slightly ajar door of the room the colt sleeps in, which has the emblem of a sun on it, and the name ‘Tia’ painted on it in faded gold lettering.
Moving into the master bedroom, the colt hurries forward and jumps up onto the large four poster bed, and quickly settles down as the mare removes her cloak and folds her wings back up. The last action causes the large alicorn mare to wince and hiss slightly, causing the colt to look at her with worried eyes.
“Are you alright, mama?” the colt asks softly.
“I am,” the mare replies softly as she goes and climbs onto the bed. “The cold is simply seeping into my old injuries a little more today, that’s all.”
“O-oh,” the colt murmurs softly as he goes and snuggles up against the mare’s side. “I’ll keep you warm, then,” he offers innocently.
“Thank you,” the mare chuckles as she leans over and kisses the colt softly on the top of his head. “I love you, sleep well my little Luz.”
“I love you too mama,” Luz replies before yawning and laying his head down against the mare’s side.
