> Alone
>  by Child of Stars
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prelude: The Tyrant King
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The end, it’s inevitable. Many kingdoms and nations have existed before just as many will exist after. All of them thought that they could prevail, that they could win. For a time most do, but in the end they all crumble into dust only to be remembered as nothing more than a small footnote in history if they’re lucky. Most aren’t.

Most are forgotten to time, lost completely to fade into obscurity. In each of those glorious empires there were creatures who never gave credence to the thought of obliteration the time of day. They heard the stories and rumors, the myths and legends of nations long past, yet they never once stopped to think that those kingdoms of old were once like them. They heard stories of their own, tales of the fallen and they never gave them any thought themselves. They gave no thought to how in those tales of kingdoms long gone that creatures just like them went about their lives with no thought that they could ever suffer the horrid fate of being forgotten.

If they thought it possible they’d only think about it for a moment before coming to their senses and reasoning that something that horrid wouldn’t happen to them. That even if their nation fell or their world burned they wouldn’t be around to experience it, they’d be long gone. Few however think how possibly the end could come in their lifetime, they push it off in their heads going on about their lives blissfully; however, absolution doesn’t care about those creature’s wishes. It doesn’t wait and it doesn’t stop. 

So, one day there will be creatures who hear about nations of the past. The tale enthralls and captivates them before they go upon their ways off to live their frivolous lives. Then at least a few would stop and ponder the notion that perhaps real creatures lived through the end of their own empires, and with this thought they’d shudder before laughing off the idea. They’d return home and speak of the tale they heard before telling their family of their silly notion that the end would come in their lifetimes. They’d laugh at the thought before continuing on with their days. Then right as they would be settling in for a nice long rest after a hard day they’d see it, the sky lit ablaze by fire. 

The fires of the end. The fires of Armageddon. The fires of war. Just like that it dawns on the creature that the end is here, and it waits for no one. As they’d scream, they’d be hit with the horrifying realization that they have become just like those old kingdoms in the stories. That everything they had ever done and ever been would be erased and lost to history. Their lives, family, friends, everything was meaningless. It was nothing more than a barely remembered story that someday itself will be gone. They’d realize that many had come before and said, thought, even breathed the same as them and never thought that they’d experience the end. Yet still there those creatures would lie, screaming in agony as their world burned and flames washed over them. And in the end, they are ultimately forgotten.

However, in almost every tale like that there would be at least one nation, one ruler, one creature who denies fate. They see the end and decide to fight back, they decide to try and persevere to a new beginning. Most times those rulers fail and their empires fall, but every once in a while the rare occurrence happens. A ruler pushes back and wins, and for the time being their kingdom is safe until the next catastrophe that the next ruler has to deal with. Rulers like those are the reason we still have civilization today. Rulers who fought back against fate, rulers who geared up for a war they had no idea they could win, rulers who in the end won. 

That is what Sombra strives to be, a ruler who won and a ruler who doesn’t let his empire fall. He can see the end on the horizon, he knows it’s coming. He’s known ever since the day he ousted the previous leadership of the Crystal Empire and replaced it with his own. From that very moment he was on a timer, one ticking down to the day Equestria would find out about his machinations and declare war. A war upon his empire, his ponies, their way of life, their beliefs, and him. He knew the moment he sat down on that crystal throne and took his place as king of the empire that his fate was set in stone.

What the sister rulers of Equestria don’t know however is that he has been waiting and planning for that day for a long time now. Even before he took the empire for his own he knew that war would come, and he made sure to make his own preparations to defy fate and be a ruler who wins. One who pushes back, and one who doesn’t let his empire be forgotten. For now though, the upcoming war is something he need not concern himself with. For not only has it not come upon his empire yet, but he also has something more important to him standing right in front of him.

“Sombra, is something wrong?” The pink mare opposite him asked with confusion clear across her face. “Did I do the spell wrong again?”

“Hm? Oh, no Hope you’re fine. You did everything fine, I just got lost in thought there for a moment,” Sombra responded. “You may continue as you were.” 

“Okay, but don’t hesitate to talk to me if something’s bothering you.” Hope said back to Sombra with concern evident in her voice and on her face.

“Ha ha,” Sombra gave a good natured chuckle. “I know Hope and I thank you for your concern, but really I’m good. Just caught me thinking about the war again.”

Hope was still clearly concerned as she turned back around to face the four training dummies that were behind her. “Alright then, I guess that’s why you're training me now anyway.”

“Yes, indeed.” Sombra responded as Hope took up a fighting stance once more and faced the first of the four training dummies. The dummies were set up in a row, each one shaped into the form of a pony and adorned with crystal armor painted in the colors of the Equestrian soldiers. Hope was currently at the leftmost one, closest to the windows. Sombra had this whole arrangement set up in the training grounds of the crystal castle. It was a large room with various training equipment set along the dark crystal walls just waiting to be pulled out and set up for soldiers to use. It had rows of wall mounted torches, fueled by dark magic, lining the walls. The dark fires blazed brightly with their green and purple flames. Just like the rest of the Crystal Empire the room was entirely made of black crystals that were imbued with dark magic. The whole room is one of the newer editions to the castle that Sombra had ordered to be constructed shortly after his reign had started. He had needed a dedicated place for guards and soldiers to train for any future conflicts and uprisings that were sure to happen. So, on most days the room would be packed with crystal ponies sharpening their skills for the oncoming war. Today however, the room was empty except for Sombra and Hope. And on Sombra’s behest nopony was to disturb them either, unless the matter was of utmost importance.

Sombra watched Hope carefully from behind while appraising her form and technique. He watched as she steadied herself and narrowed her gaze upon the dummy that was placed in front of her. She closed her eyes as her face contorted into an expression of concentration, sweat droplets slid down her features as she changed up her stance ever so slightly. Black lighting began to arc around the pink unicorn’s horn and a purple mist started spilling out from her closed eyes. Now on her right Sombra stared at her for a moment longer to check that her eyes were still closed. Upon confirming it was as such he let his mask of a cold and calculating ruler slip so he could gaze upon Hope with affection. 

‘Oh, Radiant Hope,’ Sombra thought. ‘My dear crystal pony queen, you are progressing in your training well.’ Radiant Hope, queen of the Crystal Empire and a rarity amongst rarities. Being a crystal unicorn or a crystal pegasus was uncommon nowadays in the Crystal Empire. Most of its citizens were only normal crystal ponies with no special extra adornments. But here Radiant Hope was not only a crystal pony unicorn, but the queen of the empire as well. Though if you asked any pony who didn’t work at the castle they’d have no idea that there even was a queen. Sombra chose to keep his wife’s existence as a secret only amongst him and his highest ranking castle staff. Outside the castle she doesn’t exist, and inside she’s just his personal advisor. Most thought there was only one ruler, the king himself and that was all, which was just to Sombra’s liking. If his enemies thought he had no connections or meaningful relationships then they wouldn't target those few he cared for. So, Hope was kept hidden to the best of his ability, and besides him most of his empire’s staff and government was unknown. If King Sombra took all the brunt of the Crystal Empire’s scorn then those few he trusted could continue to work in his best interests, they could stay anonymous and protected.

Radiant Hope’s horn sparked more as a purple and green aura formed around her horn, the black lighting continuing to streak through it. Her pink coat that had once glistened like crystals had long since faded to a matte pink. Her medium length mane flowed around her horn and down the side of her head before curling slightly up at the bottom just like her tail. Both shared the same light blue color that her eyes normally would be. Said eyes had just opened to reveal that the once round pupils had turned to slits. Those azure irises now a vibrant blood red color with her sclera having gone from white to a sickly green. 

She stared at the dummy in front of her intently as more magic built and bubbled up at her horn. Sombra’s expression long since having changed back to its original state now stared at her like he would any other soldier. He looked for every imperfection to see what he could instruct Hope on what she should give more practice. So far however, Hope seemed to be doing everything right much to Sombra’s satisfaction. Hope let out a grunt as the magic built more and Sombra raised an eyebrow at her efforts.

“Hope what are you doing?” Sombra questioned with slight irritation. “Release the spell.”

“I’m trying!” Hope said while struggling to talk. “It won’t go! It hurts!” Sombra’s irritated expression turned to one of understanding upon his gaze landing on a light coming from Hope’s chest.

“Cut the spell off.” He stated calmly. Radiant Hope looked at him for a second, face laced with pain, before she obliged. She canceled the spell causing the dark energy to seep back into her horn and her eyes to return to normal. Her knees buckled under the exhaustion, and despite her best efforts she lost the fight with her body to stand. Her legs gave out as she slid back unto her rump and sat glumly, gaze cast to the floor. Sweat poured from her as she breathed heavily while seething in a mixture of anger, embarrassment, and disappointment. Her azure locks streamed down around her head, obscuring her face.

Sombra looked down at her for a few seconds before sighing and softening up his expression. He kneeled down to her level and nudged the side of her head with his. Hope turned her gaze up to his as a questioning look entered her eyes. Only her eyes were visible from behind the blue veil of hair as Sombra looked into them with affection. A small smile graced his face as he continued to stare at Hope. In turn her features softened as her eyes glistened and a similar smile to Sombra’s then adorned her face. After a moment longer of staring, Sombra nuzzled Hope and she returned the gesture before they both rose. Hope’s horn ignited and a baby blue magic field materialized around it before expanding a vigor spell to the rest of her body. 

“You know it’s moments like these that remind me just how much I love you Hope.” Sombra stated softly.

“What?” Hope questioned with a snort. “You remember how much you love me in moments when I fail to even do a basic dark magic spell?”

“No, not quite,” Sombra chuckled lightly. “I mean times when you, despite the odds and your own limitations, push forward towards your goal. You couldn’t do the magic spell, so instead of stopping you just tried even harder to do it.”

“Well, that’s nice I guess. Thanks.” Hope responded as a slight blush became just barely visible from within her pink fur. 

“That and the way you overreacted when you failed and looked downwards sullenly was cute.” Sombra said with a cheeky grin.

“Epp!” Hope let out a squeak before her face flustered to a bright red that shone right through her coat. “Hey! Don’t say that…” Hope then trailed off into a mumble. She looked quickly away from Sombra and back towards the dummies in embarrassment; however, upon seeing the dummies her blush receded and her face became one of confusion. Sombra stopped smiling and noticed Hope’s attention had been drawn back to the training dummies causing him to frown. He looked towards the dummies before speaking. 

“Before you say anything Hope you did everything perfectly, just as I’ve taught you,” Sombra said calmly. He looked back to Hope who now had turned her own head to look back at him. “In fact, you couldn’t have been more perfect in your execution of the spell.”

“But Sombra, I failed to release the spell! I must have done something wrong!” Hope decreed. “I mean I have been feeling a bit...” Hope broke off as her eyes shifted slightly side to side before landing back on Sombra, “Funny recently. So, I don’t know how the fault could be anypony’s but mine.”

“No Hope, the fault isn’t yours but mine,” Sombra stated with confidence. “It is completely my fault. I should have foreseen that your power and proficiency with dark magic would have risen to such heights by now, but I was foolish.” Sombra stared at Hope for a second as if waiting for a rebuttal. Upon receiving none he continued, “I just didn’t expect you to reach that level this quickly. I figured that your natural affinity for harmonic magic would mean your progress with the dark arts would be slower than it evidently is. Do not get me wrong though, your inclination towards the lighter magics did play a part in your struggle.”

Hope looked at Sombra as understanding lit up her face before it was swiftly replaced with more confusion. “But wouldn't that mean it was my fault then? And not yours?”

“Hope think,” Sombra stated simply. “What is it that could possibly restrict your dark abilities that would be of my doing?” Hope stared blankly at Sombra long enough for him to raise an eyebrow before shooting a glance at her chest and back at her. Hope looked at Sombra in confusion at first, but upon him repeating the same action again it dawned on her what he was referring to. She cast her gaze down towards her chest and saw it.

“The necklace!” Hope exclaimed. 

Sombra lifted his right foreleg and pointed right at her. The armored hoof glistened as its silver color was caught by some nearby torch light. “Yes!” He said loudly, “The necklace exactly.”

Sombra lowered his hoof back down to the floor and gazed at the necklace that dangled from his wife’s neck. ‘To think a construct of my own design could unwittingly work against me.’ Sombra pondered. The necklace to which Sombra had cast his gaze towards was simple in appearance yet complex in purpose. It was a small black crystal about the size of a pebble that was cylindrical in shape and came to a point at the bottom. It was stuck into a silver bowl shaped receptor that had an array of three tiny red gems encrusted into it. Said receptor had a little loop on it to then connect it to a chain so it could be worn as a necklace. The necklace as a whole acted as a way for a pony to use dark magic without it corrupting them with its temptations. The magic caster would call upon the arcane arts and summon the dark magic spell of their choosing, then once a spell was selected and being put to use the necklace would come into play. The dark crystal, imbued with dark magic, would attract the magic summoned by the pony to it so it could build. Then the receptor, filled with harmonic magic, would suck up the dark magic into it before flowing it back into the caster. The dark magic then taken on and used by the caster would be a form of cleansed dark magic that would not corrupt the wearer. Due to how the cleansing process works the user would end up using a form of fake dark magic, one that still worked the same but had some limitations and was overall weaker. 

Sombra had recently had the necklace developed as a way for Hope to be able to practice dark magic without allowing the magic to sink its dark tendrils into her as it had him. He cared for her and didn’t want her to befall the same fate as he did. ‘She needed a way to get the darkness to heed her call,’ The dark lord thought to himself and then looked up to meet Radiant Hope’s gaze. ‘When war breaks out I won’t always be there to protect you, Hope.’ The necklace could also have limitations placed on it by anypony who could use dark magic comparable or superior to that of the amount used to make the thing. The pony could set how powerful of a spell they would let the wielder of the neck charm use, as not to overwhelm the gem or the wearer so they could have a ceiling and slowly get accustomed to dark magic. Though if the wearer tried to use a powerful enough spell, and they kept trying, they could overflow the crystal and break the necklace and its limiter causing them to start to use raw, corrupting dark magic.

“I set a limit on just how much dark energy I’d allow the gem to let through and consequently let you to use,” Sombra said with a sigh. “Here let me fix it.” A red glow then engulfed Sombra’s curved crimson horn and the necklace. The blood red magic soon turned a dark black with streaks of neon purples and vibrant greens throughout as Sombra unlocked the limits of the necklace and placed new ones much higher. Then the glow dissipated and purple smoke ceased to billow from Sombra’s eyes as they turned back to their normal state, red irises and slit pupils respectively. 

“There that should do it,” Sombra calmly stated as Hope looked from the king to her necklace, and then back to him. “Go ahead, try and obliterate that dummy now.” Sombra nodded his head towards the first training dummy that Hope had previously struggled with. She looked at him with glee and flashed a quick smile before turning back once more and starting the process of building up the dark magic spell all over again. 

As smoke began to spill from her eyes, Sombra's own had trailed back to the mark that adorned both sides of Hope’s flanks. ‘A golden pole with twin gold snakes wrapped around it. Each facing inwards at the other with eyes closed and a golden ball above them, one that sprouted its own pair of gold feathered wings,’ Sombra’s ruminated. ‘A symbol of healing and harmony.’ Sombra’s gaze then traveled back to Hope’s face as she built up more black magic. ‘I fear that she may soon hit her limit when it comes to the dark arts. She has a natural affinity for the lighter healing magics, so could this be it? Radiant Hope, I don’t know if you can surpass what abilities you currently have.’ Sombra’s expression became melancholic. ‘I fear as though you’ve gotten as strong as you possibly could, and you won’t go beyond as I’d hoped.’  

The dark king looked skyward as he retreated into his own mind momentarily. The ruminations on cutie marks had gotten him to think of something he had not thought about in a long time, himself and his past. His thoughts drifted from the day he was first found and brought to the Crystal Empire, to the day he met Radiant Hope, to the day he and Hope decided to be more than just friends, to when Hope saved him and gained her cutie mark, and to the day he joined the Crystal Empire’s army. His thoughts then were drawn to darker memories like the day he discovered his true nature and the darkness that laid dormant within him, to when he cast his first dark magic spell and killed his mother, to the time when he studied the arcane arts while Hope was in Equestria studying under the princesses, and the day when Princess Amore revealed her treachery to him. He had long since forsaken his own shadow pony kind, the Umbrum, since that day he met his mother, but after that day he spoke with Amore, he had forsaken her as well.

From there his mind drifted to the beginning of his rule when he overthrew Amore and her regime with the military’s backing, to him announcing himself as King Sombra the new ruler of the Dark Crystal Empire, to Hope’s return to the empire and her horror at what Sombra had done, to her deciding to stay and support him after hearing out why he did what he did and Amore’s betrayal, to him enslaving the empire’s citizens to accumulate more resources in preparation for war, to his restructuring of the government and the development of his obedience helmets for those who wouldn’t fall in line, and finally to the day he proposed the Radiant Hope and then married her shortly thereafter. 

The king was brought out of his memories by the sound of magic being fired off. He looked down and saw the training dummy in front of Hope was now nothing more than a smoldering pile of ash. Surprise quickly turned to satisfaction as he looked over at Hope to see her giddily bouncing up and down at her successful spell casting. Her celebration soon came to an end as Sombra walked up next to her and turned to speak.

“Good job Hope,” he said and gave her an approving nod. “You’ve done quite well.” 

Hope smiled, “Thanks to you fixing the necklace.”

“Oh no Hope, I may have fixed the charm, but you performed the spell all by yourself. This is your accomplishment and yours alone.” Sombra smiled reassuringly. Hope’s smile widened at that, and a happy gleam entered her eyes.

“Thank you Sombra.” Hope’s cheery disposition was infectious. Soon the dark lord himself felt his spirits lift if only for a moment.

“Well how about you try that dark crystal spell I taught you a few days ago on the second dummy there.” Sombra suggested as he pointed with a hoof to said dummy.

“Are you sure?” Hope questioned hesitantly. “I mean I only just learned it.”

“Why not Hope?” Sombra shot back. “Just give it a try. The worst you could possibly do is fail to cast the spell and no one besides me is here to see the outcome. And you know I wouldn’t judge you if you messed up.”

“I g-guess you’re right,” Hope nervously responded with a gulp. “Okay then, here goes nothing!” Sombra backed up and watched intently as he went back into his instructor mode. He looked for every imperfection to possibly critique Hope on as she readied the dark crystal hex. Just as she was about to cast her spell the doors to the training room slammed open with a loud crack. Hope’s concentration was shattered by the loud noise causing her to lose the spell and squeak in surprise.

At the sound of the doors being opened Sombra’s calm and relaxed face instantly contorted into one rage. That rage only heightened upon seeing Hope startled enough to cause her to fail in casting the spell she had so far been doing perfectly. The dark lord snapped his head around to see who dared to interrupt him and his wife. What he saw caused his blood to boil as he whorled his whole body around to face the lowly crystal mage who now stood before him.

The mage stumbled upon his entrance before quickly regaining his footing and kneeling deeply before the king. His features were all obscured by the dark gray mage’s cloak he wore with only his light blue muzzle peeking out from the front of his hood visible. 

“My king, I-” He started before being cut off by the irate king.

“DO YOU FORGET YOUR PLACE?!” King Sombra seethed as he focused all his wrath on the mage in front of him. Hope backed away from the two and awkwardly looked off to the side of the room. “You barge in here despite knowing full well I wanted no intrusions, and you have the audacity to speak to me without my permission!” The mage whimpered as he cowered on the floor knowing he’d made a grave mistake.

King Sombra’s ire was far from extinguished as his horn ignited with a dark aura. His black magic wrapped around the mage as he lifted him into the air before slamming him hard against the crystal floor. The mage let out a grunt of pain and started flailing about when King Sombra picked him up again. Hope watched worriedly with her mouth parted in unspoken protest of Sombra’s treatment towards the mage if he tried anything more. King Sombra summoned some dark crystals and pointed them directly at the mage’s throat. 

King Sombra brought the mage close to his face and with a horrifyingly calm voice said, “You are lucky we have a witness. If she wasn’t here I wouldn’t have even entertained this conversation with you.” Sombra squinted at the petrified mage causing the purple smoke flowing from his eyes to stream out slower. “As soon as you stepped through that door and spoke out of turn I would have lobbed off your head. Do I make myself clear?”

“Y-y-y-es…” The terror-stricken mage mumbled.

“SPEAK UP!” The tyrant king yelled in the mage’s face.

“Yes!” The mage hurriedly responded. Sombra glared at him before letting his dark crystals dissipate and chucking the mage across the room with ease. The young thaumaturgist hit the crystal floor and slid back a bit before he carefully got to his hooves and bowed before Sombra.

“Som- I mean, King Sombra!” Hope said frantically, only barely managing to catch herself before she blurted out Sombra’s name without the proper honorifics in front of the crystal caster. The dark magic ceased to flow from Sombra’s horn as he cut off the magic and glanced back at Hope. 

“It’s fine advisor, I’m ready to listen to this intruder now.” King Sombra stated with a measured cadence. He looked back to the mage groveling at his hooves and bowed his head to the castor’s level and menacingly whispered, “This better be important you arrogant foal. Because if it’s not, then my advisor’s being here won’t stop me from freeing your head from your shoulders this time.” The mage nodded his head up and down quickly as he prostrated even deeper, having his nose touch the ground.

King Sombra raised his head back up and narrowed his eyes as he gazed down at the young mage in front of him. After a few more moments he relented, “You may lift your head and speak to me now.”

“Y-yes, of c-course my lord,” The mage stuttered out. “It’s Ablazer, he s-said there’s been a breakthrough with the amulet.” At the mention of the amulet Sombra’s and Hope’s demeanor changed completely. Sombra’s became one of surprise and joy while Hope’s became that of confusion and intrigue. 

“Ha! Wonderful news!” Sombra exclaimed. 

“What amulet?” Hope quietly asked Sombra as she came up beside him. Sombra turned to her and mentally debated telling her or not but decided to let her in on his project.

“Come with me and I’ll tell you along the way there.” He whispered in return. 

He turned to the mage in front of him, “Now then, you. First, is Ablazer in the usual chamber?”

“Yes my liege.” The mage stated quickly.

“Good. Secondly then, you shall go on ahead of me and my advisor and alert Ablazer of our arrival.” Sombra sneered. 

“O-of course, your highness.” The mage spoke.

“And finally, GUARDS!” King Sombra called out as two guards adorned in the black crystal armor of the empire holding spears came in through the opened doors. “I assume you let this fool into the training grounds because he said he had an important message from Ablazer for me and he showed off his mark?” The two guards nervously looked at one and other before nodding hesitantly. “Good then,” King Sombra spoke. “I want you to follow this idiot to his destination. Then once he’s done speaking with Ablazer I want you to escort him to the dungeons and lock him in one of the cells. I’ll figure out what to do with him later.”

The guards nodded as the mage stood up, eyes wide but knowing better than to speak back to the king, as he hung his head in shame and walked out the doors. The two guards flanked him on either side and walked with him down the crystal hallway beyond. Sombra let out a sigh of annoyance as he turned to Hope. “Let’s get going, we can finish your training later.”

The king started out of the room with his queen right beside him as he shut the doors behind him. As the red flare of his magic petered out, Radiant Hope turned to him.

“You didn’t have to be so mean you know.” She commented.

“If I’m not harsh they’ll never learn to fear me. And if they don’t fear me Hope, they’ll revolt. So, always remember that ruling through fear is the best possible way to keep others in line, they’ll never dare strike out against something that terrifies them.” Sombra spoke. Hope’s expression was a conflicted one as she mulled over what her husband had said. 

As the pair continued through the dark crystal halls of the palace, crystal ponies bowing to him all the way, Sombra took note of his wife’s discontent and decided to try and change up the subject. “So, you want to know what mark I spoke of the guards checking for on that impudent mage?”

Hope looked up to Sombra and said, “I guess so.”

“Well, you see all mages who work on the amulet project are assigned by me and Ablazer personally. Each one is then branded with the symbol of the dark arts using a hot metal mold. It’s burned into their flesh over top of their cutie marks showing absolute loyalty to the crown, project, and to me. Plus, it’s hard to fake convincingly, so no pony outside of those I deem worthy could learn of this project’s true nature. I will say though, that particular mage must be a newer one chosen by Ablazer because I didn’t recognize his voice at all. I’ll have to talk to Ablazer about his choice of candidates for the project as well as possible replacements.” Sombra spoke as Hope perked up at the word amulet. 

“So, what is this amulet that the mage and you mentioned?” Hope questioned.

“Right, you wanted to know,” Sombra said. He looked around the hallway the two were in and saw no nearby ponies. Deciding that it seemed like as good a time as any to tell her he divulged, “Well simply put it’s a magical amulet that I’ve dubbed the Alicorn Amulet. It's something me and Ablazer have been working on that actually acts in a similar way to the Crystal Heart, they’re even both weapons. Honestly that necklace you’re wearing is kind of like a prototype for the amulet come to think of it.”

“Wait, what?!” Hope asked in startled confusion. “Okay first off, what do you mean the Crystal Heart is a weapon?”

“Ah yes. Most don’t know after all,” Sombra conceded. “Alright so the Crystal Heart is a weapon that was developed by the first rulers of the Crystal Empire. It was devised as a way of protecting the empire from the harsh elements of the north and a way for the rulers of the empire to ward off attackers. Sometime in the past a type of creatures called changelings tried to take the love of the empire but were fended off by the heart’s power which proved its effectiveness to the empire’s rulers at the time. When Amore…” Sombra trailed off for a moment before swiftly recomposing himself, “When Amore was ruler she declared all Umbrums enemies after they tried to conquer the empire. Hence why as I grew up, I was slowly being hurt by the heart more and more over time as it recognized me as an Umbrum more.”

“And she knew all along and still let you be hurt by it…” Hope said sadly.

“Yes, she did, and so did the Umbrum. Yet, neither waited to tell or help me till it was much too late for there to be any hope that I’d help them out.” Sombra said with disgust.

Hope tried to say, “I know and I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. If only I had stayed, I could have helped you-” 

“No Hope it’s not your fault and you shouldn’t blame yourself; we’ve talked about this.” Sombra cut her off. Then, before she could retort he went back into his explanation. “Anyway, when I destroyed Amore’s statue the heart recognized me as the new ruler. I changed the Umbrum ward so it would affect all Umbrums but me. Then I took the heart and have been experimenting on it.”

“Experimenting on it?” Hope asked.

“Yes Hope, experimenting on it,” Sombra responded. “I want to see if I can use dark magic to morph it in a way that it would only ever listen to our family bloodline for the rest of time to ensure we’d never be able to lose our rights to the throne.”

“Oh.” Hope said in a kind of worried tone. Sombra paid it no heed as he continued onwards.

“I want to use the heart also as it was originally intended, as a weapon. If I could get it working Hope, I could flatten Equestria before they could ever even dare to wage war on our nation! The only reason I even decided to start these experiments on the heart if you’re wondering is because after changing up the Umbrum ward it stopped responding to my call. It still recognizes me as ruler, but it won’t do anything I command it too. I read in an old scroll that it will only respond to actions that have good intentions behind them or something. But wouldn’t you say that protecting the empire from war by obliterating Equestria is well intentioned Hope?”

“It seems so I suppose.” Hope said back. 

“Perhaps since you’re my wife the heart will recognize you as queen and grant you access to its powers sometime. We should test that out later.” Sombra thought aloud as Hope and him neared ever so closer to their destination. They passed by a few more servants and guards on their way when a realization hit Hope, one that caused a pleasant smile to grace her face.

“Hey Sombra, now that you’ve told me about the heart, mind telling me about the amulet?” Hope asked.

“Ah yes, well the Alicorn Amulet was crafted by me and some of our top mages. We made it to act as an ace up the empire’s sleeve to win the war if it’s fully completed in time. Right now it’s only in its prototyping stages, but as Ablazer has clearly sent word of he’s had a breakthrough. Hopefully that means we’ll soon have it finished so that Equestria won’t know what hits them.” Sombra explained.

“Okay so how does it work and oh yeah, what does it look like?” Hope asked, fully intrigued in her husband’s secret project.

“Well,” He starts, “It is an amulet infused with dark vampiric magic used to suck the magic and life force from any creature the wearer chooses. I’ve imbued it with my own dark magic as a base, but I plan on using it, once it’s fully finished, on the two alicorn sisters if they do end up declaring war on our empire and are foolish enough to face me head on. It would suck up their magic and filter it through the amulet. Then it would give it back to me, combining it with the base dark magic to force me to ascend.”

Hope’s expression changed to one of shock as she asked Sombra something she couldn’t believe she was saying, “You don’t mean...”

“Yes Hope, I do,” Sombra responded with pride. “It would make me an alicorn.” Radiant Hope stopped dead in her tracks as her ears splayed back. She couldn’t believe her ears, Sombra just said he intended to steal the Equestrian princesses magic and become an alicorn. “Now mind you,” he went on, “I wouldn’t be a true alicorn and would need to wear the amulet at all times to keep the immense power from causing my body to decay. But once I had worn it long enough, I could take it off and be just fine. I’d basically be a true alicorn in almost every sense, there would only be a few things I couldn’t… Hope?” He stopped as he realized that Hope had fallen behind. Upon hearing her name, the pink queen of the Crystal Empire snapped out of her stupor and caught back up with Sombra. The two started to walk again and Sombra gazed at his wife in worry.

“It’s fine, I’m fine,” she said. “You just caught me a bit off guard is all.” Sombra’s black flowing mane and tail whipped around as his red kingly cape fluttered due to his movement as he shifted on his hooves.

“I don’t intend to use the amulet unless push comes to shove, so you don’t need to worry. Besides it may not even be finished in time, war could be declared any day now so who knows.” Sombra tried to comfort his wife as they turned a corner and saw their destination lay at the end of the hallway in front of them.

“So as I was saying, the amulet would imbue me or any user with some dark magic during the process of ascension. If enough regular ponies were drained of their magic to equal an alicorn’s a similar process would also occur. The amulet would hold all the magic till it equaled the power of an alicorn then transfer it to the wearer. To use its magic sucking abilities the user would need to perform a special dark incantation to open the gem on the center of the amulet up and drain another creature. Another similar spell would be needed to initiate a transfer between amulet and user. It should also be able to amplify the bearer’s normal skills while they’re wearing it even without the power of others inside it. Also, as a way of preventing the amulet from being taken from me, or I suppose any creature wearing it at the time, it can only be removed by its user. Oh, also I’m currently trying to get the amulet to give the user immortality much similar to mine or the Equestrian princesses own. That way I could possibly grant others immortality if I so deemed so, I don’t really know I’m still working out the kinks.” Sombra concluded.

The mention of Sombra’s immortality caused Hope to flinch, something that did not go unnoticed by the dark lord. “Hope you already know I’m looking for a way to give you immortality too. It’s why the immortality experiments with the Alicorn Amulet are happening in the first place. And you know I’d sooner find a way to rid myself of immortality rather than go on living without you.”

“I know...” Hope said as she looked off to the side. A thought clicked in Sombra’s head as it dawned on him that Hope didn't know what the amulet looked like.

“Hope, you wanted to know about the amulet’s design?” He asked to which Hope looked back at him and smiled slightly. Sombra returned the smile as the setting sun sliced through a nearby window and caught on Sombra’s crown causing it to glow a silver light. 

“Right then, as of now it’s just a simple silver metal band with a large indent on the front of it where the actual red gem that’s the centerpiece of the amulet resides. It’s meant to be worn around the neck and in the future will hopefully have a much more intricate design. Ablazer has already drawn up some sketches that look quite appealing. I’m thinking the final design will look something like the silhouette of a black and red alicorn, or at least something along those lines. Ablazer said it would look menacing and go great with my royal attire. Based on the sketches I’ve seen I’m inclined to agree.” Sombra articulated as Hope laughed at that last part, putting the two in good spirits as they reached the door to the research lab the Ablazer was said to be in.

The guards, having spotted the king, moved in front of the large crystal doors to push them open once he neared closer. It was at that moment an earlier thought resurfaced in Radiant Hope’s mind. The thought caused her to stumble as the weight of the idea caused her to momentarily reconsider what she was about to do. 

“Advisor?” Sombra asked Hope. When she didn’t answer he walked closer and saw her blushing furiously as she looked towards the floor, her baby blue mane streaming over her face. “Hope?” He tried again in a quieter voice once he was closer to his wife. She looked up at him with a glint in her eyes and a mixture of embarrassment, nervousness, and joy. Confused Sombra was about to inquire once more when she suddenly spoke.

“Sombra, c-can we be alone for a moment? T-there’s something I need to tell you, i-in private.” She cast a quick glance at the waiting guards over his shoulder. He nodded in response and turned to the guards. 

“Guards, leave us!” The king commanded, to which the guards saluted before carrying out their lord’s wishes and leaving into a side hallway away from the pair. Then Sombra put a magical sound canceling barrier around the two. “There you go Hope, guards are gone and nopony outside of this bubble can hear us. Now, what did you want to tell me?”

Hope decided then and there that she’d tell him. So, she cleared her throat and raised up her head to look her husband right in the eyes. She took a deep breath and steadied herself for what she was about to say. Filled with anxiety and barely able to contain her excitement, Radiant Hope spoke.

“Sombra, I’m pregnant!” 

Dead silence followed her announcement. King Sombra stood still as a statue, his eyes wide, pupils like pin pricks, and unblinking as he processed the information he’d just received. Hope’s own expression changed from one of joy to worry at her partner’s lack of a reaction.

“Sombra? Are you-” She was cut off mid-sentence as Sombra’s brain started up again and he let out a mighty cheer before tackling his wife to the ground in a loving hug. Hope’s own expression shifted from one of worry to one of satisfaction and then to one of pure joy as she laid on the floor with her jubilant husband. Sombra squeezed his wife for a few more moments before breaking off the embrace and standing back up with Hope as pure joy and love filled his body.

“Were you going to ask if I was mad or okay!?” He exclaimed. “Because I can tell you Hope I’m certainly not mad and I am more than okay, I couldn’t be happier! I’m going to be a father!” Sombra’s own face now mirrored Hope’s as they laughed and celebrated together. Sombra drew his beloved wife to him as they kissed one and another in joy.

Then it hit Sombra that they weren’t exactly in a private area, and he still had business to attend to. “This is wonderful news Hope, it’s amazing!”

“I’m glad you think so! I’ve been thinking up names since the moment I found out. I have so many good ideas for colt and filly names, I’ve even written a few of the best ones down.” Hope said quickly as adrenaline pumped through her at her confession. 

“And I can’t wait to hear them and celebrate more once we’re in a more private setting. As soon as I’m done here with Ablazer and the amulet I’ll go straight to our bedchambers. I can assume you’ll be there waiting for me?” The crystal king questioned.

“You sure can, I’ll get the list out a while so I can write down more names. Once you get back you can help me come up with some new ones!” Hope exclaimed. 

“That I will Hope,” Sombra said. “Because for the first time in a long time I have something in the future to look forward to and to take my mind off of war.”

Hope smiled and simply stated, “I love you Sombra.”

Sombra dissipated the magic bubble around the two and approached the doors to the lab. Then he turned around and smiled back at his wife and said, “I love you too Radiant Hope.” With the thoughts of his foal’s birth on his mind Sombra entered the lab and shut the doors behind him leaving a doe-eyed Radiant Hope to make her way back to her and Sombra’s personal chambers.





The Frozen North, much like the rest of the world, was a wasteland. Nothing moved, nothing shifted, nothing lived. It was an arctic desert full of nothing, though at one point in history it housed life. There are myths and legends of a glittering and gorgeous city made of crystals. It was said that there everything, even the inhabitants themselves, were made of crystals. It was a bastion of beauty until an evil ruler toppled its government and took over. The vile beast had nothing in its heart but darkness and hatred. It corrupted the nation and enslaved its citizens as its poison slowly spread throughout the world. The terrible tyrant had no love for anypony and in turn could never be loved by others.

Then one day two valiant heroes, a princess of the day and a princess of the night, came to free the crystal subjects. The mad monstrous ruler fought tooth and nail to keep its kingdom of darkness in its grasp but ultimately it was for naught. For the twin princesses fell the beast and liberated the kingdom of crystals. However, the dastardly villain had one more trick up its sleeve. It cursed the nation to vanish into the abyss with it. Despite the princesses best efforts, the nightmare managed to drag the city into the ether with it. It completely disappeared and left nothing behind. 

These legends were once thought by some to be true, but as time moved on less believed them and eventually the stories themselves faded. They faded away until no creature ever knew that an empire in the north had ever existed. It was a nation that was lost to history, a nation that once thrived, but in the end it crumbled like so many before it. However, unlike many nations that predated it this one refused to be forgotten. For in the Frozen North, where there was once nothing, a bright flash of light exploded as a city of legends appeared. Sadly though, no living creature was around to witness this miracle. There was one thing that stirred in the wake of the city’s marvelous resurrection, however. Something in the shadows of icy peaks shifted as darkness from all corners of the tundra seemed to coalesce into one spot. It was small at first, but slowly it grew larger and larger until all at once it suddenly stopped. Then without any warning the thing lurched forward as an agonizing wail tore through the air and two bright green eyes on its shadowy surface suddenly snapped open…
> 1. The Return
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

To Sombra his banishment felt like nothing more than a dreamy blur. During it his entire life ran through his head on repeat from the moment he was brought into existence to the moment he was cast into an icy prison. Different memories would surface and then fall to the wayside as others took their place. Two memories stood out to him, however. The first was that day his wife gave birth to a beautiful little filly, and the second was the day he lost the war against Equestria. For some reason those two days just kept coming up in his mind over and over again constantly as the time went on. 

Time was a concept that didn't apply to Sombra in his icy imprisonment. He had no idea how long he’d been in there, for all he knew his banishment might only last a year or 100,000. He was stuck in a trance like state where everything seemed to go on forever, yet it all was over in an instant. One last memory, the day his wife told him she was pregnant, lazily floated to the surface of his delirious mind before he was assaulted by a bright light that cast him out of the darkness.

It was slow at first, but soon the fallen king’s shadowy form began to seep out of cracks in the ice. The growing darkness began to pull from surrounding shadows to build upon itself as black crystals shot up from the snowy ground below it. Then all at once consciousness returned to the dark shape that had once been king. It opened its green eyes as purple smoke billowed out and a screech of agony tore across the surrounding tundra.

Sombra felt an indescribable pain rattle his whole mind. His shadowy body was moving erratically as the unstable thing threatened to completely disappear. Sombra fought hard to get his new body to stabilize as he racked his mind in an attempt to find out what had happened to him. Then with a great effort he managed to restabilize his body as his mind cleared and he remembered. 

‘One thousand years,’ The dark lord recalled. ‘They banished me for one thousand years!’ Sombra’s fury exploded as another wail of rage was sent out through the air. Sombra’s memory, while still fuzzy, was becoming clearer as the fog of his banishment lifted. ‘Those wretched princesses dared to banish me, to try and take my empire!’ Sombra’s rage continued to grow just like his own shadowy form. His memories became clear once more as he remembered the princesses of Equestria joining their spells as one to cast him into the ice. They told him that his banishment would last 1000 years, then upon his release if he didn’t relinquish his evil ways that he’d experience the full and unmerciful wrath of the sun and moon. 

Sombra’s dark cloudy form flowed upwards as it became larger and larger than it had ever been. Then all at once he stopped as a thought dawned on him, a thought that ceased his outrage and replaced it with laughter. ‘Those fools,’ Sombra thought as he let out a dark chuckle. ‘They’re not even here to secure my conformity? HA! All they’ve done is given me the opportunity to rise again. This time however I’ll be stronger, smarter, and better prepared. Oh Celestia, Luna…’

The dark king’s thoughts trailed off as his green eyes suddenly filled with the shape of slitted black pupils and red irises. Sombra looked around the snowy wasteland in front of him as another dark cackle split the air and his ghostly vocal cords came to a distorted life. “They know not what awaits them!” 

The king’s gleeful mood was short lived as the realization of his current surroundings put a damper on his mood. ‘The empire!’ Sombra realized. ‘Did I succeed? Where is it? Did I bring it with me?’ He swung his shadowy body around as he looked in all directions attempting to locate the Crystal Empire as snow floated down all around him. When his search of the immediate landscape seemed to bear no fruit, he decided that his first act upon his re-emergence would be to locate and recapture his empire if it had managed to go through time with him. If it didn’t, then he’d simply have to take over whatever new version of the Crystal Empire stood in its place.

Acting with haste Sombra shot his shadowy form into the air and willed it to spread out. The darkness followed his command as it expanded outwards and became like a new dark cloud cover. A cloud cover that threatened to release a storm even more destructive than those that naturally plagued the Frozen North. As Sombra felt himself expanding and his dark smoky tendrils reaching further outwards he felt his own strength grow. ‘Soon it won’t be too long before I am back to full power. I only hope I can find my empire and regain my position before Equestria finds out I’ve returned, if they don’t already know.’ He thought. 

Soon enough his darkness managed to come in contact with a magical signature that was all too familiar to the dark king. He laughed in triumph as he realized that he’d found not only the Crystal Empire, but his version of it from 1000 years ago. Without wasting much time Sombra descended from the heavens and touched a part of his shadowy form onto the ground as his eyes opened up on its surface and he set his gaze on the Crystal Empire that laid in front of him. 

“Glorious.” He simply stated. He approached the crystal kingdom and peered into its dazzling city. Much to his satisfaction he saw only his scared and confused crystal subjects running about. There was nary a sign of any other unwelcome occupants. ‘The princesses haven’t sent anypony at all?’ He internally questioned as his joy slowly turned to anger, ‘Do they truly think of me as such a non-threat?! They think I’m a joke!?’

“Well, I’ll show them what happens when you dare take King Sombra so lightly!” The dark king bellowed out in rage as his shadowy form began to spin around wildly. Darkness shot out of his body from all directions as it slowly wrapped itself around the Crystal Empire like a sandstorm about ready to break. His shadowy form moved to the gate of his empire as the darkness built onto his form and swirled around his eyes. The shadows then broke like skin as a wicked blood red curved horn forced its way atop the newly forming shadowy head of Sombra. The large imposing head of the king now sported his flowing mane as his face turned to its normal slate gray color. The face of the king smiled maliciously with his newly formed mouth and teeth; his fangs glistened in the natural light of the empire.

 Sombra looked skyward at his dark shadows that blanketed the sky and then threw his gaze towards the empire in front of him as his smile grew larger. He let out a small chuckle as his shadowy form shot up into the sky over the empire and grew into a large collection of billowing darkness. His large maw opened and let out a thunderous laugh that shook the crystals around him and caused all of the crystal ponies to look up at him in terror.

“MY CRYSTAL SLAVES!” Sombra bellowed out. All of the crystal ponies stood still as the panicking stopped and everypony gave their full attention to the dark clouds above them. Too terrified to move, they all waited to hear what their king would say. “The Equestrians tried to destroy our empire and our ways of life. They tried to destroy me! Yet, they failed! I, your true king, live! The princesses attempted to banish me for one thousand years and take you all away, yet I wouldn’t let them. I saved you; I brought you with me into the future! And now we can have our vengeance upon them! I am here before you as a testament to the empire’s strength. That no matter how many times they try to get rid of us…”

King Sombra fell silent as he let his imperious gaze sweep across the capitol before continuing, “WE ALWAYS SURVIVE! Now rejoice, for I have returned to lead you once more into glory!” Then without wasting any more time, the dark king let out a ghostly howl as he dived down towards the empire and released his darkness that began to flow through the crystal streets. With black lighting streaking through the clouds, the ponies below began to panic as they cried out in fear running wildly to and fro. Sombra laughed all the way as his shadows touched down in the empire and he let himself flow forward towards his crystal castle. 

Dark tendrils shot out of the darkness and forced their way through the city as they infected the crystals around them, turning them black as night. His darkness continued to flow through the city with vigor when a few brave crystal soldiers attempted to throw spears at him. Laughter exploded out from his dark form as the spears passed harmlessly right through him and the soldiers were swept up in his shadows. His darkness swept up all in its path as crystal ponies were bound in chains, loyal soldiers were armored back up, and troublesome ponies had helmets of absolute obedience placed upon their heads. All of his subjects were forced right back to where they were when the empire vanished 1000 years ago, right where he desired them to be.

His shadows forced their way through the last little bit of the empire before they coalesced at the castle and stopped. They flowed around the castle like a moat for a few moments before roaring back to life as they slammed into the castle’s base and started their way up the towering spire. They slowly converged into one point as they made their way up the castle. The shadow slithered around the spire like a snake as it approached the top, infecting the castle’s crystals all the way. As it neared the top King Sombra’s massive head re-emerged on its front and smiled wickedly. 

His long snake-like body shifted and squirmed as two massive shadowy arms extended from its surface. The arms each grew a hand of five clawed digits that grasped onto the tip of the crystal castle and heaved the dark lord’s head to the top. The hands shifted and sunk their claws into lower parts of the castle and infected them with darkness as Sombra gazed out over the whole of the Crystal Empire that was now fully back under his control. A small content smile momentarily graced his face as he felt the fear of his crystal subjects fill him up with power. He looked a little longer over his empire before letting out a triumphant laugh and letting some of his shadowy cloud covering dissipate. 

‘Celestia and Luna truly don’t know what a mistake they’ve made…’ King Sombra’s thoughts trailed off as his large shadowy form began to shift once more. Being at the top of his crystal castle’s spire caused Sombra’s attention to be drawn to the artifact that laid on the platform below him. He lowered his shadowy self as his snake-like body disappeared and the dark king took on a much smaller and pony-like shape. His new shadow pony body touched its hooves down on the crystal dais as his dark-magic-free eyes gazed upon the crystal object floating in front of him.

King Sombra walked towards the thing, deactivating the alarm he put around it, and stopped directly in front of it. He tilted his shadowy head side to side for a moment before opening his mouth to speak aloud to the crystal construct. 

“So, it all comes back to you. You never worked. I tried everything to get you to work, every light and dark incantation, every member of the royal family, everything! All my efforts on trying to figure out and protect the empire using your power, yet in our time of need you shunned us…” Sombra silently seethed a rage born over 1000 years ago, “Some Crystal Heart you turned out to be.” Then without hesitation the dark king used the dark arts to corrupt the surrounding crystals with his black magic and get the pulsating Crystal Heart back under his control. “Humph, easier than I thought it would be. You’re losing your edge, heart.” 

With the Crystal Heart back under the king’s control, he felt a pressure lift off his soul allowing him to finally return to full glory. He gathered dark magic around his horn then around his body as it became cloaked in shadows. Then the shadows stopped moving as he stepped out fully reformed in his physical, fleshy body. The dark clouds began to dissipate as his empire fell back into its old routine. King Sombra smiled genuinely for the first time since his return as he looked over his armor-clad body. Silver segmented greaves on all four hooves, royal red cape with a white and black spotted fluff trim, a silver segmented neck guard, a silver glistening crown with black face guards and a silver jewel with two red spikes curved around it, and a black mane and tail, both flowing with power and immortality. “Yes,” he said. “I truly am an eternal king.”

King Sombra then turned away from the heart and approached the edge of the crystal platform as he gazed out across his empire. He saw an orange glow now engulfed his empire, so he looked skyward and saw the newly rising sun slicing through the dissipating darkness over the empire. ‘Hmmm that’s…’ The reborn king’s thoughts trailed off, ‘Odd. The sun feels, different? No, huh. I can’t tell, one thousand years can change things I guess.’

King Sombra looked at the sky a bit longer before turning away. The snowy storms that naturally occurred around the Crystal Empire usually kept the sun and its slight magical aura covered up. So, he couldn’t tell if the sun had changed or not. Either way he paid it no mind as his own began to wander. ‘I have other things to worry about now.’ As the king descended the nearby stairwell into his castle with thoughts of Equestria on his mind, the rising sun hung in the sky menacingly as it cast a harsh orange glow across his dark empire. An empire now returned and reborn.
> 2. The Castle of King Sombra
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Horn alight with a dark magical aura, King Sombra cast off the dark enchantment he had placed on the stairs that lead from the crystal dais at the top of the castle to the castle’s halls. The enchantment placed upon the steps was to connect them to a pocket dimension of the king’s own design, one with an absurd number of stairs. The whole dark spell was meant as a way to ward off and dissuade anypony who attempted to steal the Crystal Heart for themselves; it was one of many traps put in place to safeguard the empire and keep everything under Sombra’s control.

Now that the king had deactivated his hex the original steps appeared, ones that weren't so long. At their bottom was an exit that originally was an ornate door, but due to King Sombra’s meddling the exit now led out to a secret passageway. The secret entrance was covered up by a moveable section of the palace’s crystal walls and an intricate tapestry depicting the dark lord standing triumphantly over the broken remains of Equestria. 

Coming out from behind the tapestry and into the bustling halls of the crystal palace proper Sombra was lost deep in thought. Deep enough that he missed the castle staff and guards frantically running about trying to get back to their 1000 year old positions. When they saw the dark king approach, they would bow respectfully till the master spell caster passed, then they’d fearfully scamper away thankful to avoid his piercing gaze. Guards suited back up, superiors barked out orders, servants kowtowed excessively, but all of it went unnoticed by the king of the Crystal Empire. And as he turned another corner into yet another hall it dawned on him that he’d been wandering aimlessly.

King Sombra looked up and took in the activity going on around him for the first time. He noticed every little detail of the panic crystal staff around him, from their matte coats to each step they took. After a moment of observation more the ruler looked around for the path that led to the destination he had in mind. Upon finding it he reoriented himself and marched towards the Crystal Empire’s throne room with purpose as he found himself being drawn back into his thoughts.

‘So, there’s been no sign of aggression towards the empire from Equestria yet. Not a single soldier, spy, or citizen has appeared to my knowledge.’ King Sombra cast his gaze out the massive windows that lined the hallway to the horizon, ‘Sloppy, how very sloppy Celestia. Your underestimation of me shall be your undoing. Really I’m surprised, grateful yes, but still quite surprised.’ Sombra turned his head back in front of him as he continued to think. ‘It’s not like you or Luna to act this blasé about a perceived threat to your nation…’ The king turned his gaze to the ceiling as he racked his brain for answers. ‘Why would you two not do something about the empire returning, it just seems so unlike you. Usually, you two nuisances are always on top of things like this. Perhaps they're just being slow in their response? Has something changed in Equestria in the past one thousand years to cause them such a delayed response?’ The dark lord gave it a little more thought before he shook his head and smirked. ‘It matters not. Nopony could know what those two wretches are thinking except themselves. If they want to act stupid and ignore the threat I and my empire pose to them then so be it!’ King Sombra’s smirk became a full on toothy smile as he barked out a laugh.

“I vow It will be their downfall!” He said triumphantly. His sudden laugh and outburst caused all nearby crystal staff to stop dead in their tracks as they gazed at their king fearfully. King Sombra looked up in confusion at his palace’s staff and upon surveying them that confusion soon turned to irritation. And upon seeing the unpleasant look on their ruler’s face and hearing the growl coming from his lips they all unfroze and bowed deeply in terror. Seeing this display caused a slight smile to briefly grace Sombra’s face before it fell and he started to move towards his throne room again. 

“You may all rise,” The dark king commanded those around him, “And continue on with your jobs.” The castle staff quickly got back up and thanked Sombra before going on their way. The dark lord paid them no heed as he kept going towards his destination. A thought crossed the master of fear’s mind when he saw five of his loyal castle guards making their way across the hall to another part of the palace.

“You five guards, stop!” The king ordered. The guards stopped dead in their tracks and turned to face their king.

“Sir!” They all called in unison and saluted. Four stallions and one mare composed their group, each one decked out in the black crystal armor of Sombra’s Dark Crystal Empire. They had segmented armor pieces on each one of their limbs, armor was covering their backs and shoulders, and their necks were fully protected with the same plating. They each wore an open-faced helmet that covered their whole head and was adorned with a decorative black plume. King Sombra’s red and silver royal crest, the one that was also on his crown, sat on the front of the helmets. The black plume that was on the helmets had a sister that was also acting as the guards’ tails. And to pull the whole intimidating armor set together, spikes were protruding out of various places on said armor as well.

“At ease,” Sombra commanded, “Come hither.” The guards approached the king before bowing before him. Sombra grunted at the display. “You may rise.”

One of the stallion guards stepped in front of the others and spoke, “Thank you my king. What is it you need from us?”

“Follow.” Sombra stated simply as he began his trek towards his throne room once more. The five guards fell in line behind the dark king as they did as they were told. The six of them walked for a little while before Sombra started speaking once more. “Three of you, come forth next to me.” After a moment of conversation two of the stallions and the mare stepped forward next to the dark lord. Sombra looked at each before saying his next command.

“You,” He pointed with a foreleg to the mare on his right, “I want you to go find Shard Break and bring him to me in the throne room, I’ll be waiting.” The mare nodded and headed off to find the general of King Sombra’s crystal army. Sombra turned to the two stallions on his left and looked at the one closest to him. “You are to find Ablazer for me and bring him to the throne room as well.” The guard saluted and left. King Sombra turned to the remaining third guard, “And finally you are to fetch me Radiant Hope and Gleam Heart. I’m sure you can guess where I’d like them brought?”

“Yes sir!” The guard said as he raced off into the palace.

“Hmmm,” Sombra hummed, “The two of you still behind me are to accompany me to the throne room. Once we get there you are to wait outside the throne room’s doors and alert me once those I have requested for have arrived. Do not let any in who are not them.”

“Yes sir!” The two guards said in unison as Sombra retreated into his own mind once more. ‘My beautiful wife Radiant Hope and precious daughter Gleam Heart, I plead that you are safe and unharmed. I know that fall did not k-kill you Hope. I know you’re still with me! The princesses did not take you from me!’ Feeling himself starting to get angry caused him to quickly abandon that train of thought. Being so wrapped up in thought caused him to nearly miss the fact that he’d made it to his throne room. 

He looked up at the ornate doors before he grabbed them in his red magic and opened them up. The two guards that were with him took their places next to the doors as the king made his way into the room and shut the doors behind him. He crossed the room and sat down upon his crystal throne in wait for his subjects to arrive. After a little while of looking out at his empire through the throne room’s open windows he sighed and decided to focus on his magic as a way to pass the time. In his meditation he was caught off guard when he delved into the world’s magic pool. A central pool of mana that connected all of the world’s magic together in a central hub, one that to Sombra felt off. It felt strange and different to the one he knew over one thousand years ago, and on top of that another oddity made itself known.

To the north of the Crystal Empire King Sombra could sense something he knew was not around in his time, a magical dead zone. A place where not only no magic resides, but a place magic cannot be called upon or used in any way. ‘That is something that I will have to keep in mind for later, that could be useful when it comes to fighting the princesses. If I could set up some kinds of traps there then…’ His thoughts trail off as his mind begins to ponder other startling ideas. 

‘What if Celestia and Luna aren’t around anymore? That could explain why they haven't acted against me or the empire yet.’ “Hmmm…” The dark king looked to the sun, squinting his eyes. “One way to find out I guess.” He murmured and then sent his magic out to the sun to see if he could feel Celestia’s magical signature propelling the thing into the air, to which he did. “Well then, I guess at least that self-aggrandizing sun princess is still around.”

‘But if she’s fine and still raising the sun then why hasn’t she done anything concerning the empire? It just doesn’t make sense!’ The king’s eyes lit up in realization, ‘Could something have happened to Luna? Maybe. I’ll have to check the moon for her magical signature later then when I get the time.’ He looked around his throne room with a disgruntled expression as the answers he sought eluded him for the time being. 

“Too many things aren’t adding up,” The king commented to himself out loud, “And everything seems strange in some way or another. Just what is going on out there?” King Sombra gazed out his throne room’s windows once more before a knocking on the room’s doors broke his concentration. ‘Questions for another time I suppose, I have other things to attend to now.’ 

A crystal guard poked his head in the doorway and spoke, "Sir, they're here as you requested but-"

"Let them in." Sombra cut the guard off.

"But sir-" The guard tried to speak again before King Sombra angrily cut him off once more.

"Guard! I do not have time for this! I am your king and you will listen to me, or else." Sombra said in annoyance that his guard tried to talk back to him.

"Yes sir!" The guard quickly said before saluting and disappearing behind the doors. 'I'll deal with that guard later, for now I have company.' And as the throne room doors opened Sombra’s guests were treated to the sight of a very imposing stallion sat upon an obsidian crystal throne.
> 3. The Crystal Throne
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Everypony stood dead still. Each one either shifted back and forth on their hooves or had beads of sweat adorning their faces. All were too terrified to even move an inch. For there in front of them, sat regally upon the crystal throne was the dark king himself. And he did not look pleased.

The tension in the air was palpable, and the silence near deafening as King Sombra’s gaze continued to bore a hole onto an empty spot upon the throne room’s floor. After a few more seconds of this he tore his gaze away from the crystal ground and looked at all the ponies in front of him. His harsh gaze kept them all on edge as his head swung back and forth, looking down the row of his subjects. Finally, his head stopped and his eyes locked onto their target, a lone crystal guard. The king stared at the soldier for a moment before his lips parted and his gravelly voice drew to life. 

“Where is my wife and daughter?” Sombra said darkly as his eyes shifted to become full of dark energy. Upon the birth of his daughter Sombra had decided to reveal to the castle staff that Radiant Hope was his wife and their daughter to be the next heir to the crystal throne. He had concluded that no one of his castle staff would dare to betray him. If the palace staff knew of Hope’s and Gleam’s status as of the royal bloodline then they’d try to protect them from harm even harder, fearing what could happen to them if the royals were injured in any way.

“And for that matter, where is Shard Break?” King Sombra said with thinly veiled rage. When the petrified guard didn’t speak, Sombra ignited his horn with a black energy. Right before anything could escalate further a female crystal pegasus soldier spoke up and made her presence known. 

“My king!” The mare said, drawing Sombra’s ire. He nearly exploded in rage at her when he heard her speak to him without permission, however; he stopped upon seeing her armor. It was different from the common soldier, the same in most aspects, but just slightly different in other key areas. The feathery plumes upon her armor pieces were purple in color instead of the black of normal soldiers. Her armor was also lined with some red detailing in a few different places that were normally a plain black. Finally, a small black soft pauldron was draped over her left shoulder pad. It was adorned with the flag of the Crystal Empire, completely drawn in red. The whole ensemble was brought together with a silver chain linking her two shoulder pads and going across her neck. Sombra recognized that armor, but from where eluded him at the moment. 

“My humblest apologies for speaking out of turn, but I have urgent information regarding Shard Break.” The mare had come forth before the seated tyrant and kneeled. With her now kneeling in front of the king, he got a better look at her. She was a crystal pegasus, that much was obvious, but what was interesting was the condition of her fur. It was a soft icy blue, nearly white in color, and it was pristine from what Sombra could see. ‘Odd,’ he mentally noted, ‘Not even a singular scratch on her? Is she perhaps new? And that armor, whose is it?’ The mare looked up at Sombra with the cool demeanor of an experienced soldier. ‘No, definitely not a new recruit. Hmmm…’

Her messy mane was flopped over the right side of her head, light blue in color with a few white streaks streaming through it. Her dark blue eyes gazed upon the king with respect and affection, a kind born out of an undying loyalty. Her tail was much the same as her mane in color and style, it just streamed down plainly. Who this mare exactly was still confused the king. He had the feeling that he’d met her before, he just couldn’t place where. Some of his past memories were still a bit hazy due to his banishment. So, in hopes of gleaning a clue he shot his eyes to the mark that sat on her flank. And from what Sombra could see of her cutie mark it appeared to be of three shooting stars. The stars themselves seemed to be light blue and crystalized with the middle one being bigger than the two offset to the sides. The trails looked to be white in color and just barely visible upon her fur. 

It was at that moment, when the dark king saw the mare’s cutie mark that he remembered not only that the armor she wore belonged to his military’s lieutenant general but the mare’s name. 

“Rise and speak to me. State your name and rank.” King Sombra commanded the mare.

“Yes your royal highness, of course.” She spoke softly as she stood to attention in front of him. “General Crystal Skies at your command, sir!” She saluted. 

“At ease. It’s as I thought.” He commented.

“Sir?” Crystal Skies asked with a flutter of her wings.

“Remember your place, soldier, and think nothing of it.” The king said with an irritated tone. He thought it best to keep his slightly fuzzy memory a secret from the others, for he saw no benefit in sharing that news. 

“Of course my king, I apologize.” The crystal general said with emotion.

“Hmmm fine, but can we please stop with the pleasantries and get onto more pressing matters? Like why did you call yourself general, lieutenant general?” The threat was clear in the king’s voice. If Crystal Skies gave an unsatisfactory explanation, then Sombra would surely punish her accordingly. 

“Because, your highness, I am your crystal army’s general now.” She began to say.

“Oh? Do pray tell.” The dark king said with interest.

“Well, that’s part of the information I have to tell you about Shard Break. On the day that this empire was taken with you into banishment and the future by your whim Shard Break left his post. He left the empire and ran from the fight like a coward!” She finished with an edge in her voice.

“What?” King Sombra said darkly as he shifted slightly upon his throne and a shadow fell upon his face, obscuring his features forbye his glowing red irises.

“Yes, my liege. During his escape he even found me amidst the battle and tried to convince me to leave with him. Of course I’d never betray you, so I tried to stop him. But I could not subdue him in time before he teleported away, and for that failure I am sorry. He betrayed me, the empire, and you.” Crystal Skies disdainfully spat out. 

A quick magical scan of the empire confirmed Crystal Skies accusations. Sombra could find no trace of Shard Break anywhere within his empire and he wanted to scream. He was beyond furious. His right hoof pony, his own general, betrayed him on one of the most important days in the Crystal Empire’s history and fled. He ran like a sniveling coward, tail between his legs as he forsake his king and all that he was given. Sombra thought he was his most loyal, yet when push came to shove, he folded. He even had the audacity to try and persuade his lieutenant general to leave with him. It was enough to cause Sombra to go into a blind rage against any who got in his path.

Yet despite all that, he didn’t. Instead, he simply grimaced and took all his burning rage inwards, letting it cool off. It may have felt like yesterday to him and the other crystal ponies of his empire, but in reality it had been 1000 years. This one small fact did cause the king to smile too. Even though he may not get to carry out his wrath upon Shard Break he could at least take some solace in knowing that the traitorous general had long since died. 

However, the tyrant’s smile quickly fell when he thought about it for a bit longer. ‘So, on the same day the amulet is stolen, Shard Break just so happens to run?’ The revelation causes the king’s anger to reignite. He knew that if he had the Alicorn Amulet to fight the two princesses of Equestria that perhaps he could have won the war. When he had opened the vault in which it was housed to collect it and found it missing, he could only guess at who could have taken it. Few ponies knew of the necklace’s existence, and even fewer had access to the vault it had rested in. At the time Sombra could only brush past it in anger as he tried to come up with a new strategy to win, a new trick up his sleeve. 

Now, however, Sombra has time to think. And everything lined up perfectly to point at Shard Break as the thief. He knew of the project, he had access to the vault, and he dared to flee from the empire knowing what could happen to him if he was caught. ‘The only way he’d be stupid enough to try and leave was if he thought he was strong enough that he could take me on, if only for a moment. And the amulet would have given him just the confidence boost.’ Sombra internally seethed. ‘That cur! He not only betrayed me but is at least somewhat responsible for my defeat!’

The crystal king exhaled from his nostrils and relaxed his face in an attempt to keep his cool in front of his guests. They didn’t need to know whether or not Shard Break’s betrayal got to him. Another realization then struck the king, ‘The amulet can give its wearer immortality, so that traitor could still be alive!’ This fact did not sit well with Sombra, ‘Well then, I swear it I shall look for you later Shard Break. And if I find you alive and well, then you’ll wish you would have just been caught 1000 years ago. For now, your punishment shall be worse than anything you could have possibly imagined.’

“Well then, General Crystal Skies, it seems you really are the general now. And I presume you wouldn’t be foolish enough to betray me too?” King Sombra said calmly. 

“No!” Crystal Skies immediately responded in a panic. Sombra raised an eyebrow at her outburst causing the mare’s face to flush red in embarrassment. “Er- I mean, no your highness. I would never dream of betraying you like that vermin Shard Break did.” She corrected herself. The way she put emphasis on vermin and her soft voice seemed to crack, caused Sombra to suspect that something more than just the betrayal happened between the two. ‘Something more personal must have been destroyed when Shard Break left, hmmm.’ He thought before brushing it off and smiling slightly at his general’s display. Her burning cheeks showed vibrantly upon her face, due to her light fur. The way she spoke, the cadence of her voice, how emotional she seemingly could be when talking about certain things all reminded Sombra of somepony else. 

Crystal Skies reminded him of Radiant Hope.

His bemused expression quickly faded as his jovial mood was soured at the thought of his missing wife. The anger he had felt earlier reignited within him upon remembering that his wife and daughter were nowhere to be found within the throne room. Ablazer and his guard stood nervously to the throne’s right, Crystal Skies and her guard stood off to his left, and in the middle was the lone guard who had failed to bring his wife and child to him. Shaking his head in dismay he looked back to his general who was staring at him expectantly. 

“Good. And don’t worry,” The king started. “If Shard Break is still around then I will make sure to find him, that’s a promise. He will learn why one should never take betraying me so lightly.” King Sombra stopped speaking with an air of finality, and when nopony spoke up for a few seconds after the conversation had clearly reached its conclusion. With that over the Crystal Empire’s new general bowed her head one more time before stepping back to join the ranks of her other crystal guests.

“Now with that out of the way…” King Sombra said with a slow draw as he slowly shifted his gaze to the lone stallion guard in the middle of the throne room. He squinted his eyes menacingly as they reignited with a dark flame, “We can get onto a more pressing matter.” The guard facing the full wrath of his ire trembled in fear and withered under it. 

“Stop trembling and step forth, soldier.” The king’s voice foreboding and expression dark. He carefully articulated each word to make them as poignant as possible. Each one was like a dagger slicing into the crystal guard’s skin, causing him to wince with every word said. Upon being commanded the armor-clad crystal pony ceased his trembling and slowly crawled forth before his king. He was so low to the ground that the clinking of his armor could be heard by all as it bounced across the floor. 

‘Such a pitiful display.’ Sombra thought with disdain. His displeasure became clear on his face when his lips twitched back in a snarl and the indigo vapors that trailed from his eyes became more rapid. However, it was the growl of annoyance that escaped the king’s lips that finally got the soldier to change his gate and quickly stand to attention before the dark lord. King Sombra looked the guard up and down, inspecting every detail closely. His gaze felt like a fire to the soldier, burning his skin and causing him to falter slightly under its intensity.

“Huh,” The king sighed in disappointment, “How pathetic.” 

“My k-king?” The guard nervously said with a gulp as he turned his gaze up to Sombra. “May I speak?”

“You can.” The crystal king said simply.

“Oh my lord please know I am unworthy to even be graced by your presence and I am truly humbl-” The guard started with a cry, getting low to the ground before Sombra cut him off.

“ENOUGH OF THESE THEATRICS!” The king bellowed out as he stood from his throne. “YOU HAVE FAILED ME AND SHALL BE PUNISHED FOR THAT FAILURE LATER!” The guard cowered to the floor as every other pony present flinched back in apprehension. The only ones to not were a worried looking Crystal Skies and a curious Ablazer.

“Just accept the fact that you will receive a punishment and cease the groveling. The only thing that succeeds in doing is making your punishment worse.” The tyrant said threateningly as he leaned towards the cowering crystal creature splayed out on his throne room’s floor. 

“Y-yes, o-of c-cour-rse y-your highness.” The guard said back with a terror laced voice. Sombra’s eyes narrowed a little more before he let up and sat back down upon his throne.

“Good, now why is it that my wife and daughter have not graced us with their presence yet?” He asked the guard before him.

“M-my liege, I’m s-sorry but I could n-not locate the queen and princess. I looked everywhere to the b-best of my abilities but still could not f-find t-them.” The crystal guard’s head was bowed so low that his nose had touched the floor. 

“So, it is as I had assumed. Well then, I shall do what you failed to do, I suppose.” Sombra finished with a dismissive grunt that caused the guard in front of him to shakily get up, salute, and walk back to the others. During the soldier's retreat Sombra had begun to power up a light magic spell. His eyes lost their green hue as the purple smoke stopped flowing and his horn became ignited with a red magical glow.

He closed his eyes as he began to concentrate on the locating spell he had conceived. In his head he pictured the magical signatures of Radiant Hope and Gleam Heart and cast out his spell to lock onto and find them. He let his magic flow out and drift through the castle expecting to lock onto his family’s magical signatures almost instantly. However, neither his crystal unicorn wife nor filly seemed to be in the castle. Annoyance became clear as crystal on the king’s face when he failed to locate them. ‘Why are they not here, they rarely ever leave the castle.’
He internally questioned. 

Putting a little more force and power into the spell Sombra extended its range to that of the entire empire. Yet, he was still unable to locate either of the two. The king’s face changed from annoyance to one of worry as the implications of this discovery sunk in. ‘No. I refuse, they are not gone!’ He thought with a twinge of worry. 

Exerting himself even more he forced the spell to expand once more so that it covered all of the Frozen North. Sombra’s lip quivered as he quietly spoke to himself in a barely audible whisper, “No, n-no, n-n-no, no, no, No, NO!” His voice gradually grew in intensity as panic set in and the king’s eye twitched. His breath had become labored, and sweat had slightly started drizzling down his face. His features were contoured in a deep grimace as the other ponies in the room began to get nervous.

“M-my king?” Ablazer dared to ask with worry.

“NO!” Sombra screamed as he slammed his hooves down on his throne and opened his eyes. Veins protruded out upon his face and his eyes looked strained as they filled with a dark energy. Combining the locating spell with his dark powers Sombra pushed the spell past its limits and began to rapidly expand it across all of Equestria.

“Sir!” Crystal Skies called out in worry and reached a hoof out. Yet her cry fell on deaf ears as the king pushed on with the spell. 

His magic expanded faster as it covered more and more ground, desperately searching for the only two ponies that meant anything to him in his life. Through every mountain, crevice, ravine, town, and unfamiliar structure his magic went searching all the way. He was desperate, desperate for an answer, for a sign, for anything to deny the only thing that he, the master of fear, feared. His breathing became heavier, movements more sporadic, a pressure built inside his skull as he pushed beyond his limits to expand the spell.

‘Further.’ He thought. 

Another piece of land scoured.

‘Further!’

Yet another.

‘Further!!’

Another.

‘Further!!!’

Wait, he was beginning to feel something.

‘FURTHER!’

It got closer.

‘FURTHER!!’

Closer still.

‘FURTHER!!!’

Almost.

“FURTHER!” He shouted aloud as dark magic flared from his eyes dangerously. 

He was there.

“FURT-” He was cut off as his magic hit the magical dead zone he had sensed earlier. Touching the unnatural zone caused all his magic to instantly cancel out and a strange sense of calm overcame Sombra as he blankly looked out across his throne room at the opposite wall.

“AHHHHHH!!!” The king suddenly screamed out in agony as gray streaks of lighting shot out from the dead zone and forced his deactivated spell back. It was pushed all the way back to the tyrant’s horn, one that upon contact with the dead zone’s energy, caused it to flare up in immense pain. Gray bolts of lightning exploded from the dark lord’s horn momentarily and struck some of the nearby crystals around him causing them to fade slightly in color. As quick as it came it was gone as Sombra got the magic under control and then fell weakly over. He breathed heavily, eyes wide in shock, and limbs twitching slightly as he laid upon his obsidian throne. 

He was afraid. 

“My king!” Ablazer shouted out in shock as Crystal Skies started to rush forward with worry. Her attempt to help the crystal king was short lived however as Sombra collected himself and stood up on his throne. 

“ALL OF YOU CEASE!” He shouted in rage. Crystal skies stopped dead in her tracks and Ablazer flinched back at the outburst. “I AM FINE AND NONE OF YOU SHALL SPEAK OF THIS TO ANYPONY!” He glared at them all with the intensity of a thousand suns.

“IF YOU DO THEN YOU SHALL BE STRUNG UP AND HUNG FROM THE GALLOWS! I CARE NOT FOR YOUR RANK YOUR ALL EXPENDABLE AND REPLACEABLE, SO DO NOT THINK YOURSELVES ABOVE ANY PUNISHMENT!” He went on in fury. “NOW ALL OF YOU LISTEN AND LISTEN WELL.”

Sombra’s form became more smokey as he calmed down and turned to his general. “General Skies, get your troops together and mount some defensive formations around the empire to start up a border defense and secure the empire’s land.” She nodded vigorously as she listened to her orders. “I will join you later, for now I must take care of other matters. In my absence, you should begin strategizing and coming up with plans for the war ahead.”

“Sir, yes sir!” Crystal Skies saluted quickly. 

“And Ablazer,” The dark lord turned to his grand mage, “You and your team should start on cooking up some new spells for the upcoming fight.”

“Yes, of course your highness.” Ablazer bowed.

“Also get working on that Crystal Heart problem some more.” King Sombra said with agitation as his form dissolved ever more.

“Your wish is my command.” The mage said sugarly, much to the king’s contempt.  

“And finally,” He turned to the castle crystal guards, “Put the city and castle on lock down until I say to end it.”

“Sir!” All guards said and saluted simultaneously. 

Satisfied and unable to keep his emotions suppressed for much longer, King Sombra quickly dissolved into shadows and rapidly rushed his smokey form backwards through the air to an unseen hallway behind the crystal throne as his subjects began to leave the room to carry out their king’s orders. The last thing any of them heard was the sound of a heavy pair of crystal doors slamming shut. Those doors were the doors that lead to King Sombra’s chambers.