The Heart of Darkness

Chapters

Destiny
Rise of the Tyrant
The Princesses
Night and Day
Struggles

Destiny

“It's not good, Highness; the changelings have taken the Quartz Pass. Captain Ruby has pulled her forces back to the mouth of the valley. She's holding for now, I don't know how much longer they can last.”

Onyx Crystal snarled in frustration and turned his attention back to the map of the Crystal Mountains. “Can we get behind them?” with his horn, he indicated a narrow pass that opened up into the middle of the Quartz Pass. “Take a small force through there—” Diamond Ward was shaking his head before Onyx even finished, the reflected sunlight from his crystal mane throwing rainbows across the room.

“No good. One of the first things the changelings did was block off that pass with a rockslide.”

“So what can we do, General?”

Diamond Ward sighed. “We have only two options remaining to us: we can pull our soldiers back within the Empire's borders and fight them here, or we can strip the city of its protection to reinforce Captain Ruby. Both options are, of course, very dangerous.”

Prince Onyx lowered his head and closed his eyes. After a moment's thought, he looked Diamond Ward in the eye. “Strip the city, send everypony we have to protect the pass. I won't risk my citizens getting caught in the battle.”

“Your Highness, if the changelings break through Ruby's forces you'll be all but defenseless.”

“If the changelings break through Ruby's forces then we have the Crystal Heart. If that fails, then the Crystal Empire is doomed.” Onyx retorted, “We must do everything we can to ensure that doesn't happen.”

Diamond Ward bowed his head in acquiescence. “Yes, Your Highness. I shall lead our forces myself.”

“Good luck, Diamond Ward. The future of the Crystal Empire is in your hooves.”

Prince Onyx walked the streets of the Crystal Empire; seeing and being seen, lending a listening ear here and a kind word there. It was important to keep his subjects' spirits up in this time of trouble; only the Crystal Heart, powered by their good feelings, could protect the Empire if the changelings won through the Quartz Pass.

His roaming eventually brought him to the library. He frequently came here to study, to think, or simply to spend some time alone. Today he was not sure what he sought, but was drawn there nonetheless.

The massive bookshelves, filled with the knowledge of ages, seemed to him to hold the promise of salvation for his beloved Empire, if only he could find it. Onyx and his advisers had already pored over every book the library had about changelings, which had provided precious little information. Books on tactics, books on magic, books on weapons, all had failed to provide the answers they needed.

“They must have a weakness.” Onyx muttered for the hundredth time. He used his magic to pull one book after another off the shelves, and discarded each just as quickly. “They feed on love. Where are they finding love in the middle of a war?” he hesitated on a chapter that described changeling powers; aside from their shapeshifting, they were supposed to have very limited magical abilities. The changelings pouring out of the Crystal Mountains, however, were powerful beyond anything the Crystal Army had anticipated. Where were they getting enough love to fuel such magic?

Too many questions, and not a single answer. Books whizzed past Onyx's eyes almost too quickly for him to see, and he looked at each just long enough to confirm that he had already plumbed it for all it had to offer. At last, the shelf before him all but empty, he sighed and began returning the books to their places.

What's this? There was another book fallen behind the others. It was one that Onyx had not seen before, lost for who-knew-how-long in the endless rows. His interest piqued, he reached out with his magic and pulled the book to himself.

It had no title, only a jet-black cover, but etched into it was…

Onyx gasped and unconsciously adjusted the red cape that he always kept draped over his flank to hide his cutie mark. His mark and the symbol on the cover of this book were identical: the symbol of dark magic.

It can't be…

“Topaz Binding?” he called for the librarian. The ticking of crystalline hooves on tile answered, quickly drawing closer.

“Prince Onyx? Goodness me, I didn't even know you were here! How can I help you?”

Onyx, who had been making quite a ruckus since he arrived, ignored the lie and showed her the black-bound book he had found. “Where did you get this book from? There used to be a copy in the palace, but Mother disposed of it when I was just a foal.”

Topaz Binding looked at it curiously through her glasses. “I don't know, Your Highness. I have never seen it before.”

“Oh come now, Topaz," Onyx chided, "you know every book in this library. Did my mother give it to you? I will not be angry.”

Topaz shook her head, “I swear to you, Highness, I've never set eyes on it before now. It was on one of my shelves? I suppose somepony must have left it there by mistake.” she leaned in and squinted at the symbol on the cover. “Hmph. Not so much as a title. It looks like rubbish, if you ask me.”

Onyx flipped through a few pages to make sure that it was indeed the book he thought it was. Grim words and forgotten symbols, fearsome spells and occult enchantments filled the pages. Onyx felt a thrill of fear as he looked, but underneath the trepidation was a sudden flare of hope. With magic like this, he just might have the power to drive back the changelings -the power to save his empire and the ponies who looked to him for protection.

“Topaz, I am taking out this book.”

Topaz shrugged. “It's not one of mine, you're welcome to keep it; though I'm sure I don't know why you'd want a blank book. Probably a journal that somepony bought and forgot about.”

“Blank...?” it struck him that she couldn't see the spells. Only he, with his natural talent for the dark arts, could read the pages. “Yes, I imagine you are right. I could use something like this to set my thoughts down.”

“Suit yourself, Your Highness. It's all yours.”

Onyx felt a surge of anticipation. It suddenly seemed that he couldn't get back to the privacy of his chambers soon enough. “Thank you, Topaz. Farewell.”

He left the library and all but galloped up the road toward the Crystal Palace, his prize tucked away underneath the same cape that hid his cutie mark.

“Onyx?”

Prince Onyx jumped and whirled around. “Mother? You're not well, you should be in bed.”

“Oh, Onyx. All that's wrong with me is my age, and I'm certainly not getting any younger lying in bed.” Queen Crystal walked slowly into the room, her age showing in her faded mane and careful movements, but her eyes as bright and clear as ever. “You've been shut up in here for days. What have you been doing? Your ponies are scared. They need their prince.”

Onyx shook his head. “What they need is somepony with the power to save them. I've been looking for an answer, and I think I might be close.”

“What have you found?” she peered around him. When she caught sight of the black book on the table, she stifled a scream. “Onyx.” she said weakly, “Where did you find that book?”

“At the library, Mother.” Onyx answered, confusion evident in his voice, “I assumed you had taken it there.”

“No, Onyx. After… after you got your cutie mark…”

Some thirty years ago, King and Queen Crystal had taken their young son with them on a diplomatic trip to Saddle Arabia. While there, they had been surprised by a giant sandworm that had come bursting up through the ground, seeking to devour them. Onyx, who had been walking slightly ahead of the group in spite of his parents' commands not to, was its first target.

The next few moments were a blank in Onyx's memory. The next thing he could remember was the butchered body of the sandworm in front of him, and his father's voice pleading him to come back to himself, to stop using his magic. King Crystal had slumped to the ground a moment later, and had not risen again.

Onyx shook off the memory. The sandworm attacked him. That was what Onyx's mother had always told him.

“After I got my cutie mark you got rid of the book of dark magic. I know.”

“No, Onyx. I did not get rid of the book. I destroyed it. I threw it into the fireplace in my chambers and burned it. It took three days to burn away completely. If the fire ever went out, the pages would grow back. Finally there was nothing left but ashes, and I had four of my most trusted guards scatter them in lakes and rivers in the four corners of the continent.”

Onyx was thoroughly unnerved. His normally dusky coloration paled to a sickly gray. “So… so there was another copy.”

“Onyx, that book is filled with the dark magic that Maregan le Neigh herself developed. There could not possibly be more than one copy. I beg you, dispose of it. Seal it away someplace where nopony will ever find it, and forget whatever you have read in it.”

“But Mother,” Onyx said, his courage returning, “the spells in this book could save the Crystal Empire. I've never seen such magic. With power like this, I could defeat the changelings by myself!”

Queen Crystal placed a hoof on her son's shoulder and drew him away from the evil book. “At what cost? If you do this, even if you do win, what will it mean for you? For the Empire? We would simply trade one evil for another, perhaps an even worse one. Onyx, this is not the way.”

Onyx looked from his mother—so earnest, so frightened—to the book of dark magic—so powerful, so promising—and finally bowed his head. “If you truly believe this book is so dangerous, Mother, then I will heed your advice. I will take it to the vaults at once, and seal it with the strongest magic I have.”

Queen Crystal sighed in relief. “Thank you, Onyx. It may not seem like it now, but with that decision you have most likely just saved the Crystal Empire.”

Or doomed it. Onyx thought as he walked past his mother and out of the room, carrying the spellbook with his magic.

Onyx touched his horn to the large door, sealing it with a spell that only he could undo. On the other side, faintly visible through the unbreakable crystal, sat the book that Onyx had hoped would be the Crystal Empire's salvation. Onyx looked longingly at it one more time, then turned away and started back toward his room.

Along the way, he went over everything he had seen in the nameless spellbook—had it truly belonged to the legendary Maregan le Neigh?—and was pleased to find that he remembered most of it. His special talent for dark magic had served him well in his studies the past few days, allowing him to learn very quickly. He was afraid that he had not learned enough, however. The spells became stronger and more advanced the farther into the book he went, but he had been less than halfway through when his mother had found him. The thought of what incredible magics might be waiting on the last pages nearly tempted him to turn back, but he pushed away the urge and continued walking.

At last, Onyx entered his private chambers again and shut the door behind him with his magic. He took a step into the room, then jumped backward into the door with a thud. On the table in his sitting room was a small black book, an occult emblem etched into its cover. A jumble of thoughts crashed through the prince's mind.

It keeps finding its way back to me.

It is meant for me.

I promised Mother I would not use it.

It is too dangerous.

I only promised that I would take it to the vault and seal it. I did so.

I could save the Empire.

I could destroy the Empire.

I can control it.

Dark magic is my talent.

I am the only one who can control it.

It is my destiny.

Trembling with fear and anticipation, Onyx approached the table.

Why?! Onyx hurled Maregan's book across the room in frustration. Why doesn't it work? Onyx knew he was casting the spells correctly, but the dark magic dissipated as soon as it formed. Something was going wrong.

“Your Highness?” a voice came from the hallway outside.

“Leave me!” Onyx bellowed in anger.

“Forgive me, Your Highness, but I have a report from General Diamond Ward. The changelings have taken the Quartz Pass. Our forces are depleted, and Diamond Ward is pulling the remnants back to the city for… for a last stand.”

Onyx threw open the door to his room to find a young colt, one still in training to be a guard, cowering in the hallway with a rolled-up piece of paper in his teeth. The prince took a calming breath. “Rise, soldier. I thank you for the message.”

The grim news made it all the more important that Onyx find out why his magic wasn't working. What could be causing the interference?

Onyx thought furiously. Dark magic was fueled by anger, hatred, and lust for power. Its opposite was light magic, powered by the desire to protect, by hope and kindness and… love.

The prince felt as though the floor had dropped out from under him. He stood stock-still for a moment as the implications ran through his mind, then he was off and galloping in an instant. He flashed past the young guard-to-be, who stood staring after him in amazement.

Onyx burst through the front doors of the palace and raced down the main thoroughfare toward the center of the city. He ignored the shocked stares and mutterings of the ponies who watched him pass, intent upon his goal. Finally he arrived at his destination and simply stood, shaking and panting from the exertion, staring at the artifact that was supposed to save his Empire. The artifact that had doomed his Empire.

The Crystal Heart sat upon its pedestal, glowing with collected power, pouring its protective magic into the air: magic formed from the positive emotions of every pony in the Empire. This is why the changelings are so powerful. This is why my magic doesn't work.

“Your Highness, what is it?” one of the citizens, a mare that Onyx did not know, asked him. Onyx ignored her, wondering whether he dared to do what he was thinking of. Wondering whether he dared not to. He walked forward until his nose was practically touching the Heart.

“Your Highness…?”

Without warning, Onyx whirled around and kicked the Crystal Heart, knocking it to the ground. Gasps and screams came from all around him. Unsure how to react, the ponies milled about in panic and confusion.

Without the Crystal Heart's magic in the air, the sky turned darker. Colors seemed to fade, and the beautiful reflections and refractions from the crystal ponies disappeared.

“Prince Onyx,” one mare, more bold or more foolish than the others, stepped forward. “what have you done?”

Onyx closed his eyes, savoring the dark power that coursed through him, no longer held in check by the interference of the Crystal Heart. When he opened his eyes again, they shone with dark green fire.

“What have I done? I have saved us all.” He used his magic to pick up the Heart, now inert, and held it before the crowd. “The changelings have been feeding on the magic of the Crystal Heart. That is why our soldiers have been unable to defeat them. With the Heart deactivated, the changelings will weaken, and we will win this war.”

Silence greeted his pronouncement. When it became clear that nopony had anything further to say, Onyx took the Heart and turned toward the palace. Ponies silently stepped out of his way, not meeting his eyes, and many bolted for their homes as soon as he was no longer looking at them. Onyx ignored all of it. Nothing mattered now except saving his kingdom.

“Onyx,” Queen Crystal ordered, “explain this.”

“It's quite simple, Mother.” Onyx said, his exasperation becoming clear, “The changelings feed on love. The Crystal Heart's magic is based on love. The Heart wasn't protecting us; it was damning us. I will reactivate it as soon as this war is won.”

“Onyx.” his mother said softly, “You've never called this a war before. You've spoken always of defense, of protecting your ponies. Never of war.”

“It is a war!” he roared, “The changelings have invaded our land, and they will not stop until we are destroyed or they are.”

“Destroyed? What happened to driving them out? That was ever your intent.”

“You are trying my patience, Mother! Destroyed, driven out, what does it matter?”

“It does matter, Onyx.” Queen Crystal insisted, “Which do you intend?”

“I intend to do what I must! With the Heart gone, my magic is—” he cut off suddenly, realizing what he had been about to reveal.

“Your magic? What does the Crystal Heart have to do with your magic?”

“Nothing, Mother. Never mind.”

“Onyx.” Queen Crystal took a step forward, “I am not blind. You are turning darker, inside and out. Your eyes have turned green, and they glow, Onyx. I know what you have been doing, and I know what you mean to do. Please, heed my advice this one last time. Get rid of that book. Do not read another word, and forget what you have learned from it. If you cannot do that, at least swear to me that you will not use your dark magic. You may be right about the changelings feeding on the Heart's power, but now the Heart is gone. Let General Diamond Ward do his duty. You have done enough.”

“I have not done enough, Mother. Not yet. When the changelings are gone and my kingdom is safe, then I will have done enough.”

“Onyx, I am begging you…”

“Go back to bed, Mother. That is a royal command.”

“No. No, no…” Onyx stared in horror at the final page of Maregan's book, the spell that would mark the end of his studies and bring him to the apex of his dark powers. He thought he had been prepared to do what had to be done, but this was just too terrible. He read the horrid verse one time more, hoping that he had misinterpreted, hoping that there was another way.

To master the darkness, one thing more:

Death for life must even the score.

Do not grieve and do not mourn,

Rejoice in her life's blood on your horn,

Hesitate not, you've come too far,

No doubt must your conviction mar.

Pierce her heart, and these words speak:

“That which I have lost I will never seek;

That which I have found I will not release.

I surrender my self, for it is weak.

My rule, my life, will never cease.”

Be this not done within days four,

your life will end; you will be no more.

Onyx shook his head and frightened tears stung his eyes. There was only one interpretation, and it was the one he wanted desperately to avoid: the spell demanded that he murder his mother, and promised that if he did not, he himself would die.

Four days. Now that he had read the spell, he was trapped by its power. Oh, Mother, you were right. I've been such a foal.

Onyx spent the next two days in a haze of misery, the threats and promises of Maregan's magic whispering incessantly through his mind. At times he very nearly sought out Queen Crystal to complete the spell, arguing with himself that it must be done to save the Empire. After all, he was young, and she was old. If he died, soon enough the Empire would have no ruler at all. He always pulled away from the idea after a time, disgusted with himself for even entertaining the thought.

On the morning of the third day, he was awoken from uneasy sleep by somepony knocking on his door. Onyx lifted his head in time to see the door open and Diamond Ward enter. The steadfast old soldier looked exhausted and was walking with a pronounced limp, but he gave his prince a proper salute.

“Your Highness, forgive the intrusion, but I have dire news.”

Onyx climbed out of his bed and faced his general. “Speak.”

“The changelings have pushed us back to the very borders of the city. We are currently holding them at the outskirts, but I do not know how long we will last. Your Highness, I recommend that we evacuate at once. The city is lost.”

Onyx narrowed his eyes. “This city is the very heart of the Empire. If it is lost, then all is lost.”

“The Empire may be lost, but our people can still survive. We can rebuild somewhere else. As long as we live, there is a chance. If we remain here, there is no chance at all.”

“I don't understand.” Onyx burst out, “The changelings were feeding on the power of the Crystal Heart. With the Heart inert, they should be weakening.” he had been so certain.

“They are weakening, but too slowly. Your Highness, we must get the ponies out. There is no other way.”

Not too late, a voice—his own voice or another, he could not be sure—whispered in his mind, there is a way. You know the way, Onyx. Save yourself and your Empire. Onyx shook off the thought.

“Your Highness? Are you well?”

“I am fine.” Onyx lied, “Thank you, Diamond Ward. I must… I must speak with my mother. We will consider your advice. You rest, and return to the battle when you are ready.”

“There has been no rest for my soldiers, and there shall be none for me. I return to the front at once.” he bowed, “Your Highness.”

Onyx inclined his head slightly in return. “General. Thank you for all you have done.” the prince felt a great sadness as he watched Diamond Ward walk away. It had felt entirely too much like saying goodbye. Diamond Ward had been like a father to him ever since King Crystal had been killed by the sandworm. Tears stung Onyx's eyes at the thought that he may have just sent one of his oldest friends to his death.

True to his word, Onyx sought out his mother at once. He found her still asleep, but woke her with a gentle apology and shared what Diamond Ward had told him.

The queen averted her eyes.”Then the Empire truly is lost.” she whispered. Her voice strengthened again and she looked her son in the eyes. “Diamond Ward is right. So long as we live, there is still hope. An Empire can be rebuilt. A life, once lost, can never be regained. We will do what must be done.”

Do what must be done. The words echoed through Onyx's mind, again and again, but with a very different intent. What must be done. I could save Diamond Ward. I could save all of my ponies. We would not be refugees, we would not need to wander and starve and despair and die. I could do all of this, if I simply do what must be done.

“Onyx?” his mother's voice, tiny, insignificant, floated across the stream of thoughts and was washed away.

I could do these things, but at what cost?

What cost? One life, that is all. A single life: old, frail, soon to end.

What am I saying? She is my mother. She is the queen!

A queen should be glad to lay down her life for her Empire.

She would not survive exile. Her life is finished either way.

I could be great. I could be the greatest ruler that the Crystal Empire has ever known. An immortal king, strong enough to protect the Empire from any threat. My people need never know fear again.

I can do all of this.

I can.

I must.

I will.

Onyx opened his eyes, and they burned with dark power.

“Onyx!” Queen Crystal gasped.

Onyx did not hear her over the roaring in his ears, did not see her past the flames in his eyes. He lowered his head, pointing his horn straight at his mother's heart.

“Onyx, no! Guards! Guards, help me!”

Onyx charged. He felt an impact, and a sudden liquid warmth. Words of power sounded through his head, prompting him to complete the spell.

“That which I have lost I will never seek;

That which I have found I will not release.

I surrender my self, for it is weak,

My rule, my life, will never cease.”

His horn glowed with fiery power, and an eruption of dark energy burst from Queen Crystal's heart. Onyx was bathed in the magic. The prince was warped, changed, forever transformed. His body went from being dusky and faintly translucent to jet black. His eyes no longer simply glowed green, they were green, with burning red irises. Smoke trailed from those eyes, wisps of the power that could not be fully contained even by this great and terrible new form. He grew larger and bulkier as his muscles swelled, and his flat teeth sharpened into predatory fangs.

“Your Majesty!” a pair of young colts, mere guards-in-training, burst into the room, eyes burning with determination and horns glowing with magic. They stopped dead when they saw the being before them.

“Who… who are you?” one of them squeaked. The other saw the queen's body on the ground and screamed.

“What did you do?!”

“Who am I?” the dark entity replied. His voice had deepened to a gravelly growl. Do you not know your prince? Your king? I am Onyx.” he walked over to the two trembling young guards and held out a hoof to be kissed.

“The queen is dead,” he intoned, “long live the king.”

Rise of the Tyrant

King Onyx raced south, toward the Crystal Mountains and the Quartz Pass. His new body was tireless, covering miles in minutes. The ponies of the city stared at the dark blur that flashed past them, but Onyx found that he did not care what thoughts lay behind those alarmed eyes. His every thought was bent on destroying the changeling invaders and reclaiming his empire. Had he ever thought to look behind him, he might have noticed the trail of blackened crystals he left in his wake, the land itself corrupted by the dark power seeping out of him.

As the sun was setting, Onyx drew into sight of his army's encampment, roughly halfway between the Quartz Pass and the capital. The soldiers, preoccupied with their fighting retreat from the changelings, did not even notice the dark figure bearing down until Onyx was already among them. It was well for the ponies that they were not his target. Their shock was reflected in their eyes as Onyx soared overhead, his horn blazing green. Somehow, the glow pouring from his horn seemed to darken his surroundings rather than brighten them, as though it were drawing in and destroying the sunlight.

The crystal king landed in front of the soldiers and unleashed his rage. Dark magic poured out in a wave, a flood, and those it touched fell to the ground in agony. Some changelings created shields in time to withstand Onyx's initial onslaught, and these gathered themselves for an attack only to be thrown aside and scattered by a dark crystal erupting from the ground. The crystal exploded into a million razor shards, shredding the already-battered creatures. In mere moments, the changelings -only a fraction of their army, but a sizable group nonetheless- had been overwhelmed and destroyed.

Onyx turned. His crown shone in the light of the sun, no longer dimmed by the rush of dark magic. His soldiers' eyes widened as they saw that crown, then further as some were able to see past the increased size, the glowing eyes, and the jet-black flesh that had replaced his crystal hue. A murmur ran throughout the army as, one by one, the soldiers recognized their prince; their king.

“Finish them.” Onyx growled. The ranks of soldiers parted before him as he left the battlefield, making for the camp. “Where is Diamond Ward?” he asked, as an afterthought, of nopony in particular.

One of the soldiers pointed back toward the camp with a trembling hoof. Another tried to speak, had to clear her throat, then said, “General Diamond is resting, um… Your Highness. He has not had time to sleep in days.”

Onyx nodded in acknowledgment and continued on his way. The soldiers he left behind looked to Captain Ruby, who had not said a word and whose normally rosy hue was looking rather pale.

“Well,” the captain finally managed, “Your prince gave you an order. Dispatch those changelings.”

Onyx reached the camp to find Diamond Ward already awake and ready to meet him. The general was flanked by five soldiers who were trying very hard to look as though they weren't guarding him from Onyx.

“Onyx.” Diamond greeted him warily. “It is you, isn't it?”

Onyx's green eyes flared. “You will bow before your king!” he hissed.

“King? Onyx, what of your mother? What has happened to you?”

“I have become strong, Diamond Ward. Strong enough to destroy the invaders.”

“Onyx. Tell me what happened to Queen Crystal.” Diamond lowered his head slightly, pointing his horn toward the monster in front of him.

Onyx's temper exploded. “You challenge me?! My mother is dead, you worm! I sacrificed all that I had, all that I was, to get the power I needed to lead my Empire.”

“You killed her.” Diamond said quietly. “You've submitted to dark magic and murdered your own mother, our queen. Prince Onyx, you are a murderer and a traitor!” he scuffed the ground with his front hoof, issuing a challenge. “I hereby declare you an enemy of the Crystal Empire.”

A low growl started in Onyx's throat. The sound grew with his rage, until it finally exploded in a roar of fury.

“I am the Crystal Empire!” Onyx leaped toward Diamond Ward, his horn shining with deadly green power, only to be turned aside by a pulse of Diamond's magic. He landed off-balance and Diamond charged, his horn pointing toward Onyx's exposed flank. Onyx used his magic to raise a crystal with a deadly-sharp point directly under Diamond, thinking to end it with a surprise attack. The old general, however, was a crafty fighter and still quick on his hooves. Diamond dodged to the side and continued his charge all but uninterrupted. His horn pierced Onyx's side, driving in deep toward the vital organs.

The other soldiers in the camp milled in confusion. Their general had declared this pony an enemy, but too many recognized him as Prince Onyx, which meant that his authority superseded that of the general. Who should they obey?

Onyx bellowed in pain and rage, but the wound -which should have been fatal- did not stop him. Diamond, realizing too late that he had over-committed to his attack, tried to dart backwards but fetched up against a crystal that had not been there a moment ago.

Onyx reached out with his magic and seized the general. Diamond fought back, but could not overcome Onyx's sheer magical strength. “Soldiers!” he shouted, “Attack! Atta-!” his words cut off with a gurgle as crystal spires shot from the ground, piercing him from every direction.

The light slowly faded from Diamond Ward's eyes, but he kept his gaze fixed on Onyx. His horn glowed blue as he tried to summon one more attack, but he did not have the strength. Diamond slumped but could not fall, pinned as he was by the crystals. He lifted his head one last time and looked Onyx in the eye.

“Onyx…”

Diamond Ward's head fell forward, and he moved no more.

Onyx gazed around at the other soldiers. His eyes blazed with furious green energy. “Does anypony else name me traitor?” he growled. “Bow before your king.”

The soldiers of the Crystal Empire dropped to their knees and bowed their heads. “Long live King Onyx!” they said in unison.

Unseen by the soldiers, Onyx blinked and shook his head slightly. Somewhere within that chorus, he could have sworn he heard Diamond Ward whispering his name.

The soldiers returning from the changeling slaughter looked grim despite their victory; nopony was comfortable with Onyx's orders that the changelings be killed when they were already beaten. Their expressions went from unease to utter horror as they saw what sat in the center of camp: Diamond Ward, still suspended from the black crystals that had ended his life, his translucent blood pooled on the ground beneath him.

“What is this?!” Captain Ruby demanded upon arriving at the scene. The soldiers shuffled uncomfortably, and none spoke up. “Somepony tell me what happened here. That is an order!”

“Diamond Ward attacked his rightful king.” a voice rasped from the shadows cast by the crystals. Onyx stepped out into the light and faced the captain. “He was executed as a traitor. My congratulations, Ruby; it seems you've been promoted to General.”

“I… I… yes, King Onyx.” Ruby bowed, and so did not notice Onyx flinch at the sound of his name.

“…Good.” Onyx said after a moment. “Then let us end this war.”

With Onyx's immense power leading them, and the changelings weakening day by day without the energies of the Crystal Heart to feed upon, it took mere days for the crystal ponies to sweep the enemy army back to the mouth of the Quartz Pass.

“The war is all but won, Highness.” General Ruby reported. “It is just a matter of pushing them through the Pass and out the other side of the Crystal Mountains, and then they'll be beyond our territory. We will set an outpost on the far side of the Pass to ensure that no enemies can come through there again.”

“Not good enough.” Onyx growled, staring at the map in front of him, “There.” he gestured with his horn to a small path that led deeper into the pass. Too narrow for an army, but enough for a small group to get behind the enemy. It was a gambit he had considered once when the Empire was desperately defending against the invaders; now he would use it to annihilate them. “Ruby, send a contingent through there. We'll trap them.”

Ruby swallowed nervously. She feared to speak against this new Onyx, but… “Your Highness, is that necessary? More of our ponies will die. We could continue pushing the changelings back with minimal losses.”

A low rumble came from Onyx's chest, and his eyes bored into hers.

“Y… Yes, Your Highness. I will give the orders at once.” Cursing herself for a coward, tears of remorse and frustration stinging her eyes but firmly kept from falling, Ruby galloped away to make the arrangements.

The ragged remnants of the changeling army stood in the Quartz Pass to make their last stand. It was a good position for them, or so they thought: the army of the Crystal Empire might have been depleted by the war, but it now outnumbered the changelings. The mouth of the pass would force the crystal ponies into a narrow line, allowing relatively few at a time to reach the battle. It was entirely possible, Ruby thought, that she had been wrong. The changelings might have held out after all. That is, they might have held out were it not for Onyx's magic. Were it not for the ambush that would spell death for every single changeling left in the Crystal Empire, and a fair portion of the crystal army as well.

Onyx himself stood on a small rise to oversee the battle. He was surrounded by six ponies: two unicorns, two pegasi, and two earth ponies. The soldiers had been hoof-picked by Ruby to serve as Onyx's royal guard, as though he needed them. Ruby was not certain that the king was even mortal any longer.

Ruby checked the position of the sun -it was just beginning to set behind the highest peaks. The time had come. “The Crystal Army will advance at a walk!” she ordered. The pony next to her raised his flugalhorn and blew a quick series of notes, relaying the order to the rest of the army. Once battle was joined, her troops hidden in the mountains would descend to hit the changelings from behind, trapping them in a fatal pincer.

A faint hissing and buzzing echoed from out of the canyon as the changelings set themselves for combat. The front lines of the Crystal Army were halfway through the canyon, perhaps half a mile now separating them from their foes.

“The Crystal Army will advance at a trot!” Ruby shouted. Her herald, Amethyst Watch, blew the appropriate signal and the crystal ponies quickened their pace, jogging flank by flank toward the killing ground. Ruby narrowed her eyes. She had to wait for just the right moment, soon enough to give her troops the needed momentum, late enough that they did not wear themselves out. Steady… steady…

“The Crystal Army will charge!”

Amethyst blew a series of sharp notes followed by a single long one, drawn out for as long as his breath could sustain it. The crystal ponies' ranks stretched slightly as they ran full-tilt toward their foes, horns ready to gore and hooves to kick and trample. They hit the front lines of changelings with a crash that was audible even as far back as Ruby stood. Any moment now, her soldiers would pour down the sides of the pass and the battle would begin in earnest.

“Where are they?” Ruby demanded. The foals should have attacked by now.

“General!” Amethyst shouted in alarm, “Look!”

Following his outstretched hoof, she saw chaos in her ranks. Crystal ponies had suddenly turned to attack each other, their neighbors not noticing their peril until too late. What was going on? And where is my second wave?!

An earth-shaking roar of surprise and rage caused Ruby to whirl around. The six soldiers Ruby had set to guard Onyx had gone mad all at once, and were attacking the king with hooves, horns, and magic. Onyx staggered as one of the earth ponies bucked and slammed his hind legs full-force into the king's head, then gasped as a unicorn's horn pierced his side. A bewildered Ruby half-expected to see Discord, the chaotic spirit who ruled the lands to the south, laughing hysterically as he played havoc with their lives. No, that isn't it. The simple, obvious truth hit her like a stallion's kick: changelings. The Crystal Army had been infiltrated.

“The Crystal Army will fall back!” Ruby yelled in a panic. She had to get her ponies out of there, regroup, try to salvage this disaster.

Amythest blew on his flugalhorn, desperately sounding the retreat. “What of the second group, General?” he asked between blasts.

“Dead, I'm sure.” Ruby said, not letting herself feel the pain of that statement; not yet. There was still a chance to save the rest of her soldiers.

“General, should we not assist the king?”

Ruby looked back to see Onyx still beset by the six impostors. She wasn't certain that she wanted to help him; wasn't certain that she should. Might it not be better for this demon to fall here, and not return to rule the Empire?

The decision was taken out of her hooves as spiky dark crystals erupted from the ground all around Onyx. His attackers' disguises failed as they were run through by the king's attack. Six changelings, revealed for what they were, fell dead to the ground.

The Crystal Army, however, was routed. Panicked ponies trying desperately to escape the changelings were running away with no thought to formation or defense. Some, braver or more foalish than the rest, stood their ground to protect their friends and were quickly dispatched.

General Ruby galloped toward the hill where Onyx stood surrounded by the bodies of his attackers. “Your Highness!” she shouted, “We have to get-agh!” She looked in disbelief at the black shard piercing her stomach.

Ruby was lifted off the ground as the spire she was impaled on continued to grow. She raised her head and looked with pleading eyes at Onyx. Blood poured from her mouth as she opened it to ask, “Why?”

Onyx barely spared a glance for his failed general -his second failed general- as he strode toward the disaster that this battle had become. He did not see her watching him accusingly, did not hear the choked gurgling as her lungs filled with her own blood. The dark power was surging through him again; all he could see was the promise of victory, all he could hear was its call to conquest.

Onyx passed through the back ranks of his troops as though they did not exist. Even caught in their blind terror, the soldiers parted to make way for him. Hemmed in as they were by the narrow canyon, the changelings had no escape from his wrath.

The king bellowed his challenge. Crystals erupted from the floor and walls of the canyon, killing changelings by the dozen. Changelings who had been preparing to meet Onyx in combat found themselves pinned to walls or suspended helplessly in the air as their lives drained away. Those who tried to fly were caught as the crystal shot ever higher up the walls.

Freed from the threat behind them, the soldiers turned to face the changelings who were still harrying them from within their own ranks. With no formation or plan, it quickly degenerated into a frenzied melee. Ponies lashed out at those changelings who had dropped their disguises, while others attacked their friends and comrades, thinking them impostors. Onyx turned from the enemies in front of him to face those behind, but was as helpless as the others to tell changeling from crystal pony. His eyes narrowed as he considered the situation; the dark magic singing in his blood, however, allowed only one solution.

Spattered horn to hoof in blood and changeling ichor, Onyx left the Quartz Pass. He had accomplished his mission: not a single changeling who had entered the Crystal Empire had escaped his wrath. The entrance to the Pass was choked with bodies, and Onyx, who had sent the full might of his army to face the invaders, returned from the battlefield alone.

The Princesses

“King Onyx!”

Sombra flinched at the sound of his old name. It echoed through his mind in his mother's voice, then Diamond Ward's, then Captain Ruby's, then all of the countless ponies he'd killed with his dark magic: a cacophony of damnation. Sombra roared, and the unfortunate guard who had called out found himself with a deadly crystal spike pricking his throat.

“King... Sombra, Your Highness, forgive me, I—”

“Enough!” Sombra barked, “What do you want?” the crystal grew another millimeter, drawing a bead of blood.

The soldier's mouth was suddenly horribly dry, but he didn't dare even to swallow. “Your Majesty, the scouts you sent to the south have returned. They will be entering the city momentarily.”

“Pah.” Sombra waved a hoof dismissively, and the crystal threatening the hapless soldier disintegrated. “Have one of the sergeants take their report. Is that all?”

“Y... Yes, Your Highness.”

Sombra turned his back on the guard to gaze out the window. The guard, unsure whether he was dismissed, stood rooted to his spot for a few moments longer. When Sombra made no move to turn or speak again, he whirled and galloped away as quickly as his hooves could take him.

Outside, Sombra watched as ponies moved listlessly through the streets or gazed up at the proud walls of his crystal palace with fear in their eyes. Those were the ones who had very specific jobs: soldiers, farmers, armorers, and such. Everyone else would be laboring to clear the surrounding land and harvest more crystals, so that Sombra's glorious city could continue to grow.

Something is missing. a voice in Sombra's head insisted; a tiny voice that still called itself Onyx and did not run from the memories that name stirred, but accepted them as its due.

Not for long. Sombra answered the Onyx-voice in his mind. Once he had the report from the south, he would know exactly how to go about expanding his territory. Once he had a foothold south of the Crystal Mountains, it would only be a matter of time until he conquered the entire continent. Once that was done, he could turn his gaze to the sea, and whatever might lie beyond it. Grandiose plans, perhaps, but not beyond his abilities; he had the magic to make whatever he wished a reality, and all of eternity to do so.

The small, faint voice insisted that Sombra was missing the point. There was a reason, that irritating shadow of his former self insisted, that the prospect of his dreams coming true did not excite him. That was true enough. Sombra felt no joy at the thought of bringing the world beneath his banner. The dark power coursing through his soul insisted that the world belonged to him, but it held no more pleasure for him than eating or sleeping; it was simply something that would be done. Why hadn't he gone to take the report himself?

Sombra shook off the disturbing line of thought and squelched that dissenting voice beneath an iron hoof. A dazzling green glow surrounded his horn. The window expanded into a door and the palace wall sprouted a balcony as the world shaped itself to his will. He stepped out onto the new platform to gaze down at his city. Ponies dropped to their knees all around him as they realized their king was watching, some fearfully nudging their slightly slower neighbors. Nothing was missing: the Crystal Heart was sealed away where only Sombra himself could reach it, every pony in the Crystal Empire knew their place, and soon every pony and changeling, griffon and dragon in the world would know theirs.

Driven more by a listless boredom than any actual desire to hear it, Sombra decided that he would take the scouts' report himself after all. He walked forward straight off the balcony -had some of those gasps from below sounded faintly hopeful?- and landed unharmed with a mighty crash and the quieter tinkling of shattered crystal.

“Fix that.” Sombra ordered the nearest pony without looking at her. He gestured toward the cracks radiating out from where he had landed. “Now.”

Knowing his command would be followed, Sombra did not wait to see it carried out. He walked down the broad road that led toward the center of the city, where even now his scouts would be disembarking from their sky chariots and unloading their gear.

“Your Majesty!” Lieutenant Peridot sprang to attention as she saw Sombra approaching. “Ponies! Ten-hut!” Everypony dropped what they were doing and bowed to King Sombra.

“Report.” Sombra ordered.

“Your Majesty, we ran a thorough investigation of the lands to the south. Things aren't the way we thought.”

“Hm?” Sombra arched an eyebrow.

“Well, Your Majesty, in my own opinion, it would be an excellent time to launch an attack.”

“What of Discord?” Sombra growled. The omnipotent spirit of chaos was, perhaps, the one creature in the world whom he had cause to fear.

“Discord no longer rules there.” Peridot whinnied in terror as Sombra flowed forward. The dark king didn't seem to have walked, he was just suddenly much closer to her than he had been a moment ago.

“What do you mean?”

“Discord… Discord has been defeated!” Peridot squeaked. “Two alicorns named Celestia and Luna imprisoned him in stone, several months ago!”

For the first time since his transformation, Sombra felt true shock. Discord defeated? “How?” he demanded.

“They possess magical artifacts called the Elements of Harmony. The ponies we spoke to all agreed that there are six of them, and that their powers combined were enough to overpower Discord.”

“That is interesting. Very interesting.” Sombra mused, “What of the ponies in Discord's lands?”

“The two alicorns have taken over what used to be Discord's territory. They are calling themselves princesses, and have named the land Equestria.”

“These alicorns: how strong are they? How secure is their rule?”

“Well, Your Majesty, it is difficult to say—eep!” Peridot cut off as Sombra growled in her face.

“Answer me!”

“The ponies there adore them; they think of them as goddesses! One has power over the sun, the other over the moon. Apparently... apparently the two have been keeping order in the world for thousands of years!”

“Absurd.” Sombra rumbled. Anypony with that much power would have made herself known long ago. “Their military?”

“They have no standing army, Your Majesty.”

“How can that be?” Sombra demanded of Peridot, “How do they enforce their rule?”

“It's... it's like I said, Your Majesty. Their subjects love them. They obey because they want to.”

“You are incompetent, Lieutenant!” Sombra sneered, “No military? Mark my words: they have an army, but you did not see it. Rule through love?The ponies are cowed by those who overthrew Discord. Get out of my sight!”

Peridot galloped back to the rest of the soldiers to hasten their departure.

Less than a week later, the Crystal Army was marching south through the Crystal Mountains toward the newly founded kingdom of Equestria. Their orders were to kill those who resisted, subjugate those who did not, and bring the two upstart alicorns and their magical Elements of Harmony back to Sombra in the Crystal City. Perhaps he would be able to twist the Elements to his own purposes; if not, he would simply seal them away with the Crystal Heart so that nopony else could use them either.

“General Agate, sir?” a hesitant voice called from behind the leader of the expedition.

Agate turned his head to see a young sergeant trotting a few steps behind him. “Obsidian Edge, right?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Well, out with it. What's on your mind?”

Obsidian picked up his pace until he was even with the general. “Sir, it's the mission. A lot of the ponies don't like it, and I have to agree with them.”

“Like it?” Agate arched an eyebrow. “It's not your job to like it, just to do it.”

“I understand that, but… permission to speak freely, sir?”

“Speak.”

“It isn't right. Fighting the changelings was one thing, but this time we're attacking them. These are other ponies we're on our way to kill!”

Agate sighed and looked at the ground for a moment. “The changelings. You saw the aftermath of that; King Sombra wiped out two armies single-hoofedly. If we don't do as he commands we'll be the next ones up on crystal spikes, and then he'll go wipe out Equestria himself. We aren't fighting to kill other ponies; we're fighting to protect ourselves.”

“General, isn't there some other way?” Obsidian begged.

“No, soldier.” Agate's voice turned as hard as his namesake stone, “We have our orders, and we will carry them out.”

“But—”

“Dismissed, Sergeant.” Agate watched as Obsidian Edge trotted dejectedly back to his place in the ranks. The truth was that he didn't feel any better about their mission than the young sergeant did, but what he had said was true: either they obeyed Sombra, or they all died for nothing. I'm doing what I have to. Right?

Another week saw the Crystal Army on the borders of what was now Equestria. Remnants of Discord's rule were still evident here on the outskirts: large pieces of the land hovered in the air, boulders sat unnaturally on tiny points, and a candy-cane striped tree floated past as the soldiers watched.

“Telescope.” Agate ordered. A unicorn soldier trotted up with the requested item hovering beside her. A small bit extended off of the bottom of the telescope, which placed the glass right at eye level when Agate bit down on it. He scanned the distorted landscape, which even now had ponies working to undo the last bits of Discord's magic. A team of earth ponies heaved at one of the boulders until at last it overbalanced and came crashing down to rest as it should. Elsewhere, a pale yellow unicorn was using her magic to bring down more of the floating trees. It almost reminded Agate of the forced-labor crews that Sombra used to harvest crystals for his ever-expanding city. The difference, if Agate wasn't mistaken, was that these ponies looked happy to be working. Is that...? Agate's ears twitched as a distant but unmistakeable sound reached him. The ponies were singing.

Agate shifted his gaze farther south. Closer to the heart of the kingdom, Equestria was beautiful. Not a hint of Discord's reign remained; instead, there were clear skies, green fields, and sapphire-blue waters as far as his telescope could reveal.

A glint of white from high in the mountains caught his eye. There, nestled among the peaks, sat a gleaming ivory city. Agate had heard the reports: that must be Canterlot, the seat of power for Equestria's new rulers. That was their target.

Even now, some of them were nudging their neighbors and pointing up to the mountains, where the Crystal Army made an imposing sight arranged against the skyline.

“Raise the banners.” Agate ordered. He hoped that a show of force would frighten these ponies off, sparing him the need to… to do what he would have to do otherwise.

“General, pegasi approaching from the east!”

Agate whirled, suddenly sure that their intel had been wrong, and that this was the vanguard of the Equestrian army. How did they get here so quickly?

But no, it was only a pair of pegasi, one of whom still had a sweat band wrapped around his head. Simple laborers, not soldiers. “Why are they coming towards us?” Agate breathed.

“Hiya!” the gray pegasus with the sweat band called out. His cutie mark was of three small clouds arranged in a triangle.

“Stand down, soldiers.” Agate ordered as some of his ponies began reaching for weapons. He stepped forward himself to speak with the two pegasi.

“You're from the Crystal Empire, arent'cha?” the other, barely more than a filly chimed in. “Aren'tcha?”

“I am General Agate Shine of the Crystal Army.” Agate introduced himself, glowering at the two foalish ponies.

“See, Thunder?” the younger one practically bounced in excitement, “I toldja they were from the Crystal Empire!”

“Well, nice to meet you, Mr. Shine.” the one called Thunder said more calmly, “Welcome to Equestria!”

Agate blinked at the two of them. Didn't they realize that they were giving a friendly greeting to an invading army? “Why did the two of you approach us?”

“Huh? Well, we wanted to say hi, of course!” Thunder answered.

“Yeah! And now we have!” That simple fact seemed to fill the younger one with joy.

Agate blinked. How could these two be so foalish, sonaïve? “Now you two listen to me very carefully.” he growled. The pegasi blanched as they finally seemed to realize that something was amiss. “This land now belongs to the Crystal Empire. We know all about you: your princesses have ruled for only a few months, you have no standing army, and you are still struggling to recover from your time under Discord's rule. Equestria has no chance against us.”

“W—what do you mean?” Thunder asked, fear finally showing in his big yellow eyes. “What are you gonna do?”

“We are going to claim all of Equestria in the name of King Sombra. You,” he pointed a hoof at Thunder, who flinched, “are going to carry a message to your princesses that we are coming for them and their Elements of Harmony, and that we will kill anypony who fights back.” Agate's gaze softened as he spoke what was in his heart, “I would truly prefer not to kill anyone. Please, urge them not to resist.”

“Why—?” the younger one asked plaintively, before Thunder pushed her behind him, placing himself between the Crystal Army and the pony whom Agate was now certain was his little sister.

“Thunder, was it? Take my message to Canterlot as quickly as you can. The sooner the princesses present themselves to us to surrender, the better it will be for everypony.”

Thunder took a few steps back, his large eyes filling with tears. He blinked them back and glared as rage took the place of shocked sadness. “Oh, I'll tell them alright. You've got no idea what you just stuck your hoof into. C'mon Cumulus, let's get outta here.”

“Goodbye, Mr. Shine.” Cumulus said sadly. She took off toward Canterlot, her brother right behind her.

The Crystal Army had made camp another twenty miles south, just beyond the corrupted landscape, to await the delegation from the princesses. Agate didn't truly expect it to be this simple, but he would give them a chance. If this thing could be done without killing anyone, that's how he would do it.

“Sir, we've got incoming from Canterlot.” One of the soldiers was holding a telescope to his eye in a field of pale blue magic.

“What is it? Emissaries or soldiers?” The next few hours would decide the fate of many, many ponies.

“Definitely not an army, sir, it's—AGH!” The crystal unicorn flung the telescope away from his eye as a blinding light shone from the south. From Canterlot.

“To arms!” Agate roared over the sudden commotion. The little foals. He thought sadly. They're actually attacking us. He turned back to see what was coming—and froze.

It was as if the sun itself were descending upon them. Nothing was visible to the south; nothing at all could be seen past the terrible light that engulfed the Crystal Army. Agate's mouth hung open, halted in mid-shout. Somewhere in the heart of that light Agate spotted a tall, slender form, racing toward the Crystal Army faster than he could believe.

“Spear!” Agate shouted, turning away from the radiant being. Nopony responded; all of his soldiers were still caught in the spell. Agate snarled and grabbed a spear-thrower from the nearest soldier. He turned back to find the sun-demon nearly upon them. His knees went weak and shaky, but his discipline endured and he whipped his head forward, hurling the spear with all of his strength.

It incinerated almost instantly.

The being landed before Agate without a sound. The blinding glow faded, but the monster herself still shone with a terrible light. No, not a monster; this was an alicorn, tall and proud and… beautiful. Agate knew beyond a doubt that this was none other than Celestia, princess of the sun. Her multicolored mane—an ethereal mane like Agate had never seen before—flowed over and around her as she stared down imperiously at the soldiers of the Crystal Army.

Agate stepped backward, trembling, and dropped to his knees, bowing down before he even realized what he had done. King Sombra was frightening, but this creature, this alicorn, was terrifying in a way that he could not hope to achieve. To cross Sombra was to throw one's life away, but to cross Celestia was… unthinkable.

“Who dares to enter Equestria in arms?” Celestia bellowed, her voice carrying effortlessly across the entirety of the army.

Shamed by his own cowardice, Agate began to rise to his hooves. “I am—”

“We did not give thee permission to stand, miscreant!”

Agate fell back to his knees, trembling even as he tried to force some courage into his voice. “I am… I am General Agate Shine of the Crystal Army, and…” It suddenly seemed absurd to say that they had come to conquer Equestria. The full strength of the Crystal Empire had been beaten by Celestia's voice!

A soft thump alerted Agate that somepony else had arrived. He risked looking upward and saw that a second alicorn, smaller and less magnificent, though no less beautful, had landed beside Celestia.

Oh, clop me, they're both here! The newcomer could be none other than Celestia's sister Luna, princess of the moon. He gritted his teeth to keep them from chattering, wondering whether it would be better to sound the attack and go down fighting, or to keep quiet and hope for a quick and merciful death. “Your Majesties—”

“Silence!”

Agate cringed into the dirt, hating himself for being so weak, yet unable to muster the courage to stand before these majestic beings.

“Sister,” the second alicorn's voice was surprisingly gentle, “enough. Cumulus was right: these ponies are terrified.”

The filly? A stray thought surfaced through Agate's dread. She said that wewere afraid?

Something touched Agate's chin and he tensed, certain that the killing blow was about to fall. Instead, he found himself being gently lifted to his hooves by Princess Luna.

“Why art thou truly here, General?” she asked gently. Agate blinked at her archaic mode of speech: perhaps she was thousands of years old. “Thou came to Equestria in force, yet stayed only just within Our borders. When thou couldst have attacked ere ever We knew of your presence, instead thou harmed nopony and sent Us a message seeking peaceful surrender. If thou dost not truly wish for war and conquest, why hast thou come?”

Half-a-dozen lies flitted through Agate's mind, each dissipating instantly under Luna's knowing gaze. At last he spoke a single word: “Sombra.”

Luna tilted her head slightly, silently inviting him to continue.

“King Sombra rules the Crystal Empire with an iron hoof.” Now that he had started the words flowed from him freely, drawn out by Luna's soft, kind eyes. “Anyone who disobeys him dies. Now he wants Equestria, and if we don't give it to him…” What am I doing? These two are all that defend Equestria; I should be striking her down, not pouring my heart out to her! Agate trembled, paralyzed by his conflicting feelings.

“Why do you not stand against this tyrant?” Celestia demanded. Her voice had dropped to an ordinary speaking level, but still thrummed with power and authority.

“We can't. Nopony can.” Agate answered her quietly. “Sombra's power is limitless.”

“A true pony would stand for what he knows is right.” Celestia reprimanded him. “No one's power is limitless.”

“Sombra's is; or it might as well be!” Agate stomped a hoof in impotent rage as tears of mingled fear, shame, and anger stung his eyes. “He's immortal. He can kill with a thought. He once struck down two armies at once with a single spell! Don't you think we tried to resist him?!” he screamed at last, “Ponies fought against him, and they all died! Every single one.”

“Hush, now.” Agate froze stiff as Luna wrapped a wing around him comfortingly. Some of the crystal ponies shifted uneasily, but none attempted to interfere. “Quiet, now. Thou art safe here.” She shot her sister a reproachful look which Agate, staring at the ground, did not see. “It is clear to Us that thou dost not wish to see this come to bloodshed. Tell Us more of this King Sombra; perhaps We can help.”

Agate trembled in Luna's soft embrace. The tears in his eyes threatened to embarrass him further by spilling down onto his cheeks. “It would only be a matter of time before Sombra realizes. He would come here himself. Your offer is very kind—kinder than I deserve—but…”

“My sister is extending you the hoof of friendship.” Celestia said in the gentlest tone he had yet heard from her, “I suggest you take it.”

“Friendship?” Agate said the word as though it were foreign to him. “What could powerful rulers like yourselves need my friendship for?”

Celestia and Luna shared a significant look. “'Tis not a question of need, General.” Luna answered. “I think We begin to understand the depths of your plight. Come, walk with Us. Tell Us more of this tyrant. Our sister will see to your soldiers.”

Panic flashed through Agate. “'See to' them? What do you—?” he turned back toward his army and relaxed. Even now Celestia was moving among them; not violently, but kindly, speaking gentle words here and there. Many of the crystal ponies had already removed their armor and laid their weapons on the ground.

“Thou truly art frightened.” Luna said pityingly. “Our poor little pony. Thou hast nothing to fear from Us.”

Agate wasn't sure how he felt about being called a “little pony.” Then again, compared to these two, he certainly felt insignificant.

“Walk with Us.” Luna invited him again. “We would know more of the Crystal Empire, and of its ruler.”

Agate found himself following her, telling this beautiful princess everything he could think of, anything that might help them find a way out from under Sombra's hoof.

For better or worse, the crystal ponies had thrown in their lot with Equestria.

Night and Day

“Tell Us of this tyrant king.” Luna prompted again as she and General Agate Shine walked a short distance away from the rest of the army. Celestia was doing what she could to calm the ponies of the Crystal Army: some were angry, some were ashamed, and all were terrified. They were in good hooves, or at least Luna hoped they were. Her sister could be… abrasive. Shaking the thought from her mind, she turned her full attention to General Agate, who had at last begun to speak.

“He is a unicorn.” Agate said. “His favorite means of attacking is to use his magic to create jagged crystals, though he is capable of much more than that. He can be wounded, but as far as I know no injury has ever slowed him down, even those that should have been fatal. He has no weaknesses that I am aware of.”

It was a soldier's answer: informational, almost clinical, spelling out the enemy's strengths and vulnerabilities in preparation for an attack. Luna shook her head. “We need to know more of the pony himself. What of his temperament? Has he any friends or family? How doth he treat his subjects?” She thought she already knew most of those answers, but it would be best to hear it straight from the horse's mouth, as it were.

“His temperament?” Agate shook his head wonderingly. “I don't think I've ever seen him be anything except angry and angrier. He has no friends; I don't know if he's even capable of making friends. Even if he could, he would not bother. He cares nothing for ponies except in terms of what they can do for him. As for family… Onyx killed his family a long time ago.”

“Onyx?” Luna interjected, “We thought his name was Sombra.”

Agate froze, suddenly terrified that this beautiful alicorn would think he was lying. “His name was Onyx when he was growing up. He… no longer likes that name.”

“So he hath abandoned friendship, family, and even his own name.” Luna mused. “Has he no redeeming qualities?”

“No.” Agate spat with a vehemence that surprised even himself. “Sombra is a monster. He's single-hoofedly caused more death and suffering than the changelings ever did, and there's nothing we can do except serve him! Serve him, and hope we don't say the wrong thing, or look in the wrong direction, or… or breathe when he doesn't want us to!” Agate was trembling again, and it took all of his soldierly discipline to bring his suddenly boiling emotions back under control. Where had that come from? Agate cleared his throat and attempted to regain his composure, only to flush when Luna once again draped a comforting wing around him. It was such a simple gesture, yet so warm and caring; so different from anything he could ever expect from his own king.

“Forgive me, Your Highness.” Agate said when he could once again trust his own voice. “I am fine.”

Luna did not look as though she quite believed the orange crystal pony, but she did take her wing back and resume simply walking with him.

“I admit, I am not certain what information you are looking for, Your Highness. What can I tell you that would help you fight Sombra?”

“Well, let us begin with his origins. You said that his name was Onyx when he was growing up. Who was Onyx, and how did he become Sombra?”

Agate briefly explained Prince Onyx's history and his transformation into King Sombra. “It seemed like he was keeping the power under control, but one day he suddenly ran out into the city and deactivated the Crystal Heart. That's when it all went straight to Tartarus.” Agate suddenly realized just who he was cursing in front of. “Er, when it all went wrong.”

“What is this Crystal Heart of which thou speakst?” Luna inquired.

“It's an artifact designed to gather in the emotions of everypony in the Crystal Empire. It produces a field of positive magic that protects the Empire and keeps it prosperous. Except, it turned out that the love magic was making the changelings stronger, so Onyx got rid of it.”

“And by so doing he strengthened his own power. That tells Us much, General Agate. We thank thee.”

“It does?” Agate looked sidelong at her. He had to admit that it was nice to be able to speak his mind without fearing for his life, but he couldn't imagine that anything he'd said would be useful in a fight.

“Indeed. If magic such as thou hast described were interfering with King Sombra's magic, that means his own magic must surely be of the opposite kind. Moreover, it telleth Us that Sombra's power is weaker than that of this Crystal Heart, else it would have been the artifact that ceased to function, not Onyx's magic. We assure thee, his strength is not without limits. Where is this Crystal Heart now?”

Agate shook his head. “Nopony's seen it since Onyx deactivated it. Most of us assume it's somewhere inside the palace, but there's no way of knowing for sure.”

“Were the Heart restored to its former state, would Sombra's power be sealed again?” Luna asked.

Agate blinked. “Perhaps.” How had that never occurred to him? “I could not say for sure, Your Highness; I am a simple soldier, and know little of these things.”

“Thou art far from simple, General.” Luna admonished him. “We shall see what Our sister thinks, but We believe this artifact may be the key to defeating Sombra.”

“What about the weapons you used to defeat Discord?” Agate asked.

“Thou speakest of the Elements of Harmony? They are not weapons, as such, but could indeed defeat this tyrant king. Unfortunately…” she trailed off, and Agate thought he saw her look at her sister from the corner of one eye.

“Unfortunately what?” Agate prompted.

Luna shook her head slightly. “Never mind. Suffice it to say that We cannot use the Elements just now.”

Agate did not understand, but did not press the matter. “I see. Even so, with the power that you and your sister displayed, and the Crystal Army behind you, perhaps it can be done.”

“The Crystal Army?” Luna sounded legitimately surprised. “Nay, Our little pony, the Crystal Army shall stay here where it is safe. Thou hast suffered enough.”

Agate frowned, and when he spoke again it was as a general. “I must protest, Your Highness. Going alone would be a serious mistake. You do not know the territory or the enemy, and the Crystal Army could help you fight.” He broke off, remembering how easily the entire army had been cowed by these two. Perhaps their military strength was inconsequential when placed alongside goddesses and monsters.

“'Tis true, the Crystal Army is a great force.” Luna allowed. “Had thou not surrendered when thou did, 'tis likely thou couldst have overpowered Us. Not easily,” she warned, “but powerful as We are, We could not have defeated an entire army.”

“Then you need us!” Agate stomped a hoof decisively. “You can't single-hoofedly defeat an army? King Sombra can. He's more powerful than you know. Besides, I can't just… I can't let you just go off and do what I should have done myself.”

Luna narrowed her eyes but smiled slightly, somehow managing to look stern and amused at the same time. That same expression on Sombra's face would have meant that somepony—or perhaps many ponies—was about to die. “Thou art in Equestria now, General, and subject to Equestrian rule. By royal command, thou and thy army shall stay here and recover from thy ordeal. If We are not mistaken, The Crystal Empire shall have need of thy leadership once We return.”

Agate bowed his head. Taking orders, at least, was something that the soldier was accustomed to. “Your Highness, I must ask…”

“Yes?”

“Aren't you worried about leaving an entire army camped on your border? Even without our weapons, we could cause a lot of destruction while you and Princess Celestia are away.”

“Thou thinkest We are naïve, true?”

A flash of panic hit him. “Not at all, Your Highness!” Agate hastened to assure her, “I meant no offense!”

Luna sighed sadly. “We have told thee, General Agate, thou dost not need to fear Us. The reason We do not worry about leaving the Crystal Army within Our borders is because thou hast shown thyselves to be good and true ponies. Granted the perfect opportunity to strike, thou stayed thy hoof. Thus, We grant thee Our trust; We would be very surprised, and deeply disappointed, to find that trust had been betrayed.”

All that Sombra could do was kill him; somehow he knew that Luna's disappointment and anger would pain him far more than Sombra's wrath. Agate bowed to the Princess. “It will not be, Your Highness. I take personal responsibility for the actions of my ponies while we are in your land.”

A rush of air and a soft impact alerted Agate that Princess Celestia had joined them. He deepened his bow in deference to her.

“Are you finished, Luna?”

“Indeed. General Agate has been most helpful.”

“Your Highness,” Agate said to Celestia without preamble, “Princess Luna intends for you and her to attack King Sombra alone. I think it would be in your best interests to take along somepony who knows the territory and the enemy.”

Celestia arched an eyebrow as she gazed down at him, then turned to her sister. “Is this true, Luna?”

Luna shifted nervously, but met Celestia's eyes. “Yes, sister. These ponies hath suffered far too much already. Besides,” she turned her head toward Agate, who took an involuntary step back before the combined gazes of the sisters, “did thou not promise but a moment ago to stay here and keep thy troops in line? Wouldst thou break thy oath already?”

“I… no Your Highness, of course not, but—”

“You may join Us, General.” Celestia ignored the twin gasps from Agate and Luna. “If you are able to keep up.” The majestic alicorn winked, which was a greater surprise than her words, and made a white streak in the air as she flew back toward Canterlot to prepare.

Luna chuckled. “Fare thee well, General. We shall look to see thee upon Our return.” A dark blur followed the first across the sky.

Finally free of the awesome presence of the two sisters, Agate looked back toward his army. He saw many confused, frightened, and lost ponies, but a small fraction of them also had a look he had never seen upon their faces before: hope. The Crystal Army's weapons and armor were melted, twisted heaps of slag; perhaps the princesses were not quite as trusting as they pretended after all.

He then turned to gaze out at the land called Equestria: lush, green, rich, ripe for the taking even without their weapons. Luna had even admitted that the Crystal Army could overpower them. Agate took a deep breath, then barked an order in a voice trained to carry across battlefields.

“The Crystal Army will make camp!”

As the Crystal Army cleared away the melted remains of their armaments and prepared camp, Celestia and Luna were making preparations of their own.

“I do wish you had consulted with me before volunteering our help.” Celestia said as she donned a suit of gleaming golden barding. Her cutie mark was embossed on the criniere, and the champron looked like a stylized version of her own face hardened into an expression of righteous anger. “I could not decline without undoing all that we had done, and losing a great deal of face besides.”

Luna was well aware of that. “I apologize, sister, I simply did what I believed was right. The ponies of the Crystal Empire deserve freedom from this King Sombra every bit as much as the ponies of Equestria deserve to be free of Discord.” She was wearing barding of her own, lighter than her sister's heavy plate, with a white crescent moon on the flanchard where her own cutie mark was and flakes of diamond scattered across the entire suit like stars in the night sky.

“You are not wrong,” Celestia allowed, “but it was hasty and foalish to promise that we would fly off right away to the Crystal Empire. Moreover, you have left an enemy army on the very border of Equestria! I destroyed their weapons, but they have more than enough ponypower to do severe damage to the kingdom before we return. How could you be so careless?”

“They are not enemies!” Luna shouted back, “Not anymore! 'Tis true they came with ill intent, but they are good ponies. Why is it that you must always look for the worst in everyone?!”

Luna knew she had gone too far. She cut off her rant about a dozen words too late and took a half-step back from the fury in her older sister's eyes.

“You may prefer to hide in shadows and dreams,” Celestia hissed, “but it is the nature of light to expose that which would remain concealed. You see what these ponies dream of being; I see what they are.” She strode toward her sister. “I warn you, Luna: if I lose a single one of my subjects to these invaders, they will answer to me. As will you.”

“'Tia, I…”

“Do not call me that.” Celestia turned her back on her sister and went over to the large bay window. “Let us go.” Without waiting for a response, she flared her wings and leapt into the sky.

“Sister, wait!” Luna galloped after Celestia and threw herself out the window after her.

The ponies below saw two alicorns in all their glory, one shining bright as day, the other gleaming black as night, soaring like comets toward the north. They did not see the tension, did not hear the strained silence. They did not notice how the darker one stayed just slightly behind, where she could avoid her sister's judgmental eyes, or how both had their teeth gritted in anger. They did not feel the disharmony that prevented the sisters from using their most powerful magics as they raced to battle against a mighty enemy.

The soldiers of the Crystal Army stopped their work and looked up as Celestia and Luna soared overhead, well aware that they had wagered their lives on two ponies whom they had met only briefly and knew nothing about. It was an act of pure desperation, and every one of them knew it. Still, watching the mighty sisters rocketing toward the mountains and beyond, they could not help but feel hopeful.

Agate broke his gaze away from the dwindling specks of the two alicorns. “Captain Alex.”

Alex Andrite, who was helping him to oversee preparations for their stay in Equestria, looked over. “Sir?”

“Continue setting up camp. I am going to visit the village.” He gestured to the southwest, where the laborers were staying while they cleaned up the last of Discord's twisted magics.

“Alone, sir? I must protest. At least take a few soldiers for protection.”

“If the townsponies are hostile, two or three soldiers will not make a difference. I will return by nightfall.”

“And if you do not?” Alex asked.

Agate opened his mouth and closed it again. “If I do not… do not come after me. If you have still not heard from me by morning, then assume that I am captured or dead. You will assume command of the Crystal Army, but take no hostile actions unless the Equestrians attack first. That is an order!” he barked when it looked like his second-in-command was about to protest.

Agate Shine left behind a camp of worried and confused ponies and trotted deeper into what had, only fifteen minutes before, been enemy territory. He glanced around nervously at the strangely opaque ponies, who watched him with expressions ranging from curiosity to fear to anger. It was a marked difference from before Thunder and Cumulus had approached the crystal ponies; ironically, the Equestrians' attitudes were more suitable to an invading army now than they had been before.

An hour's walk brought him to the edge of the town. It was quite small, with enough housing for perhaps a hundred ponies, most of which were out working at the moment. Still, Agate saw a restaurant, a post office, and what looked like some kind of administrative building. Not simply workers' housing, then, but a town in its own right, most of whose citizens happened to be laborers? That didn't quite make sense either. Most likely the princesses had conscripted the townsponies for their project. None of his business anyway.

Agate turned his steps toward the structure that looked like an office building, reasoning that anypony important would be there. He opened the door to find that it was not so much an office building as it was an office. Where Agate had expected to see a waiting room and a receptionist, he instead saw a desk and a single pony sitting behind it. There were two thin cushions on the floor, clearly meant for visitors to use, but Agate was not yet certain how welcome he was. He cleared his throat to announce himself.

The pony behind the desk, a grizzled brown earth pony with a grey-streaked mane, looked up from a stack of papers and his eyes widened, then narrowed. He looked as if he were about to call for help, though Agate was not sure what he hoped to accomplish by that, as most of the town was currently out working.

“Sir.” Agate said as politely as he could. He was a soldier, buck it, not a diplomat! “I am General Agate Shine of the Crystal Army. You are the…?” Agate realized that he did not know what titles were used down here.

“Mayor,” the middle-aged stallion replied, “I'm Arid Wilds. What brings you to Chaos End?” His words were kind, his tone was anything but.

“Peace, I hope.” Agate answered. “I want to talk.”

“Talk?” Arid Wilds placed his hooves on his desk and leaned forward. “Well, let me tell you what I know: I know you came here with a huge bucking army. I know two of my pegasi tried to talk to you, and you ponies sent them running scared for Canterlot. Next thing I know, Their Majesties are flying down here looking like they mean to vaporize the lot of you. Now you're talking about peace. What am I supposed to make of that, huh?”

He couldn't blame the mayor for being suspicious. In his place, Agate would probably have called the guards immediately. Then again, perhaps there simply were no guards. “Mayor Arid, I know we got off on the wrong hoof, and I take full responsibility for that.”No foaling, I came here to conquer them! “By your own princesses' orders, we are to be neighbors, at least for a short while. I had hoped to make amends.”

“That so?” Arid grunted. “What did you have in mind?”

Noticing that he hadn't been kicked out yet, Agate finally sat down on one of the cushions in front of the desk. He had considered this very question on the walk over here. What did Equestrians want? Gems? He had plenty of those. Gold? He wasn't even certain that Crystal Empire money would be worth anything here. Agate knew exactly one thing about these ponies: they had a big job to do. He was struck by sudden inspiration. “I would like to offer my services, and those of my soldiers, to assist you with your project out by the border.”

“Hrm.” Arid sounded entirely unimpressed. “How many ponies you got? We can't feed or house 'em, and we haven't got the budget to pay 'em either.”

“We have our own supplies and tents, Mayor Arid. They will be paid from the army's coffers, as usual. This is simply a show of good faith.” Agate paused to gauge the mayor's reaction. He was listening, if nothing else. “To answer your original question: including myself, there are ten thousand five hundred and eighty-three ponies in the Crystal Army.”

Arid Wild's jaw dropped. “You're lying,” he said flatly, “that's almost as many ponies as there are in all of Equestria.”

Agate shrugged. “The Crystal Empire is much older and much larger than Equestria. Count my soldiers if you wish.”

“And why did an army that could sweep the entire kingdom march all the way over here to offer its soldiers up as day laborers?” Arid demanded.

Because a kind and beautiful pony showed me another way. Agate shook off the sappy thought. “Suffice it to say that we have met your Princesses and we no longer wish to be your enemies.” He ignored Arid Wilds' smug snort. “Their Highnesses have agreed to allow us to stay on the border so long as we abide by their laws. That should be enough for you, shouldn't it?”

“Well, sure doesn't look like I can stop you.” Arid Wilds still looked a bit stunned. “S'long as you're here, you might as well make yourselves useful.”

Agate smiled in relief. Diamonds and opals, how long had it been since the last time he smiled like that? “Thank you, Mayor. You will not regret it. With your permission, I will send a few representatives here to learn what needs to be done.” Noticing Arid Wilds' alarmed expression, he made a quick decision. “Five. I will send five ponies over, unarmed, and no more than those five. Give us a day or two to learn how to do the jobs, and we will add our soldiers to your workforce. Is that acceptable?”

Arid Wilds finally nodded. “I'll, er, I'll get the paperwork ready,” he stammered, “have your representatives here tomorrow morning. Six o'clock. Sharp, mind!”

Agate smirked and saluted. “Yes, sir. Six o'clock, sir.”

The mayor's eyes narrowed. “Now you're makin' fun of me.”

“No, sir.”Maybe a little. “Have a nice day, Mayor Arid Wilds.” Agate rose and departed. As he shut the door behind him, he could still hear the mayor muttering.

“Ten thousand! By Discord's plot, even if they're lousy workers, we could be done by next week…”

Struggles

Two meteors streaked across the sky heading north. Two alicorns raced to confront a tyrant and free his subjects. Two sisters flew in silence, avoiding eye contact and their own conflicting hearts.

Luna flew slightly behind Celestia, looking nervously out of the corner of her eye at her sister. Though Celestia would join in this fight to save face, and would give it her all, the friendship and harmony that was the source of their magic was missing. Brute strength they would have, but none of the control, none of the subtlety that marked a truly powerful magic user. Luna had not been lying when she had told Agate Shine that his army could have bested them: when the sisters were in harmony, they were unstoppable. As they were now…

“Sister, we must talk,” Luna finally breached the uncomfortable silence.

Celestia's eyes flashed. “About what?” she demanded. “About how you have put us both into mortal danger, again, because of what you think you saw deep in some creature's heart?”

Luna slowed her flight, forcing Celestia to turn around lest she fly deeper into enemy territory alone. “Thou used to be so kind, so caring. What hath so darkened thy heart, Celestia?”

“I nearly lost you in the battle against Discord, Luna!” Celestia snapped. “At our moment of triumph, we nearly lost everything because you believed his lies about needing a friend.”

“They were not lies, Sister, nor did they stay my hoof,” Luna retorted. “Are not thou the one who always spoke of the magic of friendship? Were there some way to turn our foe's heart, would not that be better than defeating him outright?” Luna at least thought she now understood a little of what so clouded her sister's eyes: fear. Fear of losing what she loved, what she had fought for.

“Now, you have forced us into another battle, one which we are ill-prepared for. It was masterful politicking, I must admit; you completely outmaneuvered me. I have never met anypony who can be so clever and so foalish at the same time.” Venom dripped from every word.

Luna did not cower from her sister's anger. Not this time. “Thou didst see those poor ponies. Someone must do something about this King Sombra. Thou and I are the only ones who can.”

“And if we fail? What if we are defeated? What if we are killed? Equestria is not yet stable, and it will not endure without us. It will be snapped up by the first powerful being to come along, most likely this very Sombra you would have us face before we are ready. You may have just thrown away a thousand years of preparation because of what you deluded yourself into thinking you saw in some scared pony's heart.”

“Then 'twould be best if we did not lose.” Luna's voice and gaze were firm until Celestia finally huffed and turned back north, picking up speed as she raced toward the Crystal Empire. Luna dashed after her only a wingbeat behind, her flying as steady as the facade she put on for her sister.

Now that Celestia was no longer looking, Luna allowed tears to prick her eyes. The Celestia I knew would have agreed with this decision. She would never have thought to do otherwise. Oh, Sister, what happened to us?

Agate accompanied four of his officers back to Chaos End to learn what their jobs were to be.

“Thought you said you'd be picking representatives?” Mayor Wilds asked gruffly upon seeing Agate again.

“I did. I chose myself, along with these four.”

Arid Wilds shrugged. “Suit yourself. Now, there are three main jobs for the three different types of ponies. Pegasi deal with what's in the sky, obviously. That means clearing out any weird weather that's left over, bringing down any trees and rocks and the like that are floating around, that kind of thing. Earth ponies fix whatever's wrong on the ground: setting rocks back in place, smoothing out the ground, tracking down any of Discord's weird mutant animals, what have you. They also need to be ready to help the pegasi bring down anything that's too heavy for them to deal with alone, especially those big floating islands. I'm sure you saw them.

“Unicorns are where it gets tricky. We've got a couple of 'em who specialize in reversing Discord's chaos magic, but it ain't easy. Any unicorns you've got who could help out with that would be as useful as the rest of you lot put together.”

Agate nodded his understanding. “The Crystal Empire is inhabited primarily by earth ponies, but we do have a few pegasi and unicorns in our ranks. Lieutenant?”

A female unicorn trotted forward and saluted. “I am lieutenant Diamond Ring. I lead our magical battalion, which consists of three hundred and sixteen unicorns, myself included. If you have somepony who can teach me the anti-chaos spells, I will do my best to learn them and will pass them along to my troops.”

“At ease, Lieutenant,” Agate ordered, “I think you're making him nervous.” Indeed, Arid Wilds looked a bit uncomfortable in the face of Diamond Ring's no-nonsense competence. “There you have it, Mayor: three hundred and sixteen unicorns to help undo Discord's magic.”

“Hm.” Arid Wilds looked a little disappointed at the relatively small number. “Alright, so be it.”

“It must be better than not having an additional three hundred unicorns,” Agate gently pointed out.

Arid Wilds nodded. “It is that. Heck, that's about as many ponies as our entire work force put together. Alright then, uh, Miss Ring, you'll be working with Wild Star. He'll teach you what you need to know. You'll find him out in the field. He's a red unicorn with a shooting star cutie mark, you can't miss him.”

“Understood, Mayor Wilds.” Diamond Ring saluted again, made a sharp about-face, and trotted out the door. Agate sighed at her stiff formality, though he certainly understood that she wasn't quite comfortable with the situation. Buck, he wasn't quite comfortable with it himself!

“Right.” Mayor Wilds shook off the lingering awkwardness. “Now, I see you've got a pegasus there too. Tell me you've got some kinda pegasus battalion to help us out in the sky?”

“Lieutenant Sapphire?” Agate prompted.

The light-blue pegasus stepped forward. “I am Lieutenant Soaring Sapphire, I lead the aerial forces of the Crystal Army. We have one thousand, two hundred and twelve pegasi to contribute to your efforts here.” Sapphire, too, was stiffly formal, if not quite so uptight as Diamond Ring.

“That's wonderful.” The mayor sounded as though he actually meant it this time. “Shouldn't take you folks long to learn what to do, so I'm sure we'll have the sky clear in no time.”

Sapphire nodded and stepped back into line.

“Now then,” Mayor Wilds looked at the remaining representatives, “what in the hay am I supposed to do with almost nine thousand earth ponies?”

Agate and the two other earth ponies, Sergeants Night Opal and Dawn Champron, exchanged glances. “The Crystal Army is already divided into units to allow commands to be given and followed efficiently,” Agate explained. “You can give orders to a unit as if you were speaking to a single pony, and the entire unit will work together to carry them out. It really is not much different from what you have been doing, just on a much bigger scale. The sergeants and I are here to help, as well.”

“Uh huh.” Mayor Wilds still looked a little uncomfortable with the situation, but he was not about to turn down the assistance of nine thousand ponies, especially considering that their help wouldn't cost him anything. “Right. Well, let's get to it.”

King Sombra paced his throne room restlessly. Everything was in place. Even now his army would be crushing the fledgling nation of Equestria. With Discord beaten and the Crystal Heart locked away, nothing in the world could oppose him. So why did he feel uneasy?

It was that damned voice in his mind, the last vestiges of that weakling Prince Onyx. It told him that he was overlooking something, insisted that there were forces in this world that could overcome even the absolute power of his dark magic. He drowned Onyx's voice in the endless black tide of his power and rage.

His thoughts were interrupted by an incredibly loud voice, undoubtedly enhanced with magic, that echoed even through the crystal walls of his palace.

“Princesses Celestia and Luna of Equestria seek audience with King Sombra of the Crystal Empire!”

A dark smile spread across Sombra's muzzle. This was even easier than he'd imagined. His army could not have reached Equestria more than two days ago, and its rulers had already come to surrender. Sombra threw open the doors to his balcony and stepped outside, seeking the one who had spoken.

Two alicorns hovered a short distance away, not so close as to be threatening, but not so far as to seem frightened. Sombra also noted that they adjusted their altitude to match the height of his balcony, rather than waiting below on the ground, as would be proper. He also saw that they had come geared for war, in full barding. Sombra growled at the show of insolence.

Dark crystals erupted from the ground, forming an enormous staircase that led from his balcony to the alicorns. The final step placed Sombra slightly above them once again, so that he could look down at his conquered foes.

“I am King Sombra,” he stated, “and I am prepared to accept your surrender.”

“Surrender?” the dusky alicorn spat. “Thou mistakest Our intent, King Sombra.”

Sombra's fiery green eyes narrowed. “Explain yourselves.”

“The commander of your army has made a truce with Equestria,” the other one, taller and brighter than her sister, informed him. “Commander Agate Shine has agreed to abide by Our peace and Our laws. Your army is defeated without a single loss. On either side.”

Sombra bared his teeth. “Traitors! Traitors all!” His rage cracked the crystal he stood upon and caused the ground to shake.

You see? the smug Onyx-voice in his mind gloated, there are powers that you cannot overcome, no matter how mighty you are.

Sombra bellowed his wrath, causing ponies all over the city to clutch their ears and drop to the ground, trembling. Without warning he lashed out at the two alicorns who had enraged him, crystals breaking off from the platform he stood upon and shooting toward the sisters. They were caught off guard, but managed to avoid the wild attack with hasty aerial maneuvers.

A counterattack of radiant yellow magic from the white alicorn blasted Sombra from his perch and sent him crashing to the ground below. He lost his magical grip on the black crystals, causing them to shatter and fall to earth as a fine dust. The alicorns landed in front of him.

“Thy ponies quake with fear,” the darker of the two stated, a judge pronouncing Sombra's sentence, “thy land withers and dies. Thou rule with an iron hoof with no care for those thou crushest beneath. We have been in thy kingdom but a moment, and already thy tyranny is clear. Thy reign ends now, King Sombra, and far too late for Our liking.”

Sombra's eyes flared open and crystals erupted from the ground, aiming for the bellies of the two ponies. They flared their wings and took to the air. They evaded serious injury, but he was rewarded with a cry of pain as a crystal spike scored the ankle of the darker one.

“Keep to the sky, Luna,” the other commanded. “The advantage will be ours.”

“Yes, sister,” Luna answered.

Sombra sprang to his hooves, forgoing his crystals in favor of raw blasts of dark energy. He attacked the white alicorn, only to be repelled by a radiant shield. A beam aimed at the dark one, Luna, passed cleanly through her. He grinned, thinking he had scored a meaningful blow at last, then snarled in frustration as she shimmered and reappeared a foot to the side. He had hit an illusion.

Celestia and Luna counterattacked, but their blasts were caught by a wall of crystals that sprang up around the king. The crystals shattered, leaving Sombra unharmed.

Sombra attacked again, and this time it was not any recognizable type of spell. It was simply a burst of raw magic and wrath, a dark wave that raced toward the two sisters. They braced themselves against Sombra's fury, but were sent hurtling through the air like leaves on the wind.

It was more than mere force: Sombra's magic burned. When the sisters regained control of their flight, both sported injuries that their barding had not saved them from. Luna looked around to see that the violence of Sombra's attack had damaged the surrounding area. The crystals that formed the paths were cracked, as were several of the nearby buildings.

“Sister,” Luna said urgently, “we must lure Sombra away from this place, lest we kill the very ponies we mean to save.”

“Do not speak to me of 'must,'” Celestia spat back, “but in this case you are right.” Her eyes narrowed as she considered their foe. “Sombra is driven by wrath. Taunt him, make him pursue us, and we will lead him away from the city.”

Luna swooped down and fired a ray of silvery-white magic at Sombra. He blocked it with contemptuous ease, but it had only been meant to get his attention.

“Thou art nothing to Us, monster!” Luna called, her insult echoing across the entire city for all to hear. “Fight Us, if thou be not afraid!” Pausing only long enough to be certain that she had Sombra's attention, Luna turned and arrowed through the streets of the Crystal Empire, trying to avoid anyplace that seemed densely populated. There were no ponies on the streets, thankfully, for they had all raced for shelter the moment they realized a battle was to take place, and Luna made an effort to stay away from buildings as she lured Sombra away.

Sombra, for his part, pursued her in a blind fury. When his hooves could not keep up with Luna's wings he resorted to magic to create a dark crystal underneath him. The crystal grew with alarming speed, carrying him along with it. Unlike Luna, he cared nothing for the damage he caused nor the lives he took with his reckless use of power.

As they passed the borders of the city, Luna slowed enough to tempt him into an attack. He took the bait, hurling himself forward off of the crystal, meaning to tackle Luna and bring her to the ground with the sheer strength of his body. He was intercepted in midair by a white comet that pierced his side with a long, sharp horn.

Celestia's gambit had worked perfectly. Her horn slipped between the plates of Sombra's armor and into his flesh. She focused and channeled her magic directly into Sombra, attacking him from within with the full fury of the sun.

Sombra roared in pain as her searing magic broiled him alive. Light shone from his open mouth and from the wound Celestia's horn had made. He thrashed in agony, and with an immense effort was able to dislodge himself from the alicorn's vengeful horn. He fell to the ground again, this time not rising, but twitching and moaning weakly.

Celestia and Luna, fearing another attack, did not land but hovered a few feet above the ground to face their fallen enemy.

“So,” Sombra coughed, “this is the power that defeated Discord. Most impressive.”

“By Faust, what are you?” Celestia asked in something approaching awe. “That blast would have slain a dragon.”

Luna's eyes went wide. “Sister, 'ware his magic!”

She had seen Sombra's intent a moment too late. Crystals rose from the ground all around Celestia and grew together into a spire, trapping the alicorn within. Celestia screamed something in fury, but her voice did not penetrate the black stone.

Luna turned to Sombra in fury. “Release her at once!”

“Or what?” Sombra laughed, “You will kill me?” As if to prove the futility such a thing, Sombra rose to his hooves again. He was weakened by Celestia's attack, but not beaten. Not yet. Not ever.

Luna stomped a forehoof in the air and lowered her head.

“You intrigue me, Luna,” Sombra said. Luna stopped and looked at him in confusion. Sombra was rather surprised himself. That faint stirring he felt... was it lust? He had thought himself beyond such things, but on the other hoof, why not? He meant to conquer the world. Why should he not conquer this mare as well? “As powerful as the other, yet you obey her. Why is that?”

Luna snorted angrily. “We obey Celestia not as a subject, if that is thy implication. We listen to her as a friend and sister.”

A surge of power pressed against the crystals imprisoning Celestia. Sombra responded with a pulse of his own magic, causing dark lightning to surge through the prison. Celestia writhed and screamed, though nopony could hear her.

“'Tia!” Luna shouted. She channeled power into her horn, causing it to glow brightly, and pointed it at Sombra. A wall of crystals sprang up between them in anticipation of the attack, but Luna's strike was not of the nature Sombra expected, and no physical barrier could stop it.

Sombra's eyes clouded as Luna's magic forced him into a waking dream. He found himself standing in an endless abyss. Above him there was an infinite swirling green vortex of magic, while below him there was simply... nothing. He stood on nothing, yet it was solid; breathed nothing, yet his lungs filled and emptied. Half-seen specters loomed in the darkness, while voices of those he had killed whispered curses, imprecations, and the word he hated more than any other: Onyx.

In the midst of the phantasmagoria an alicorn appeared, her dusky coat seeming bright against the jet-black backdrop, the green light from above giving her an eerie cast.

“What have you done?” Sombra demanded.

“We wished to see thee for what thou art,” Luna replied. “This is thy dreamscape. It contains thy hopes, thy fears, thy failures and successes.” She looked around herself. “We have never seen one so empty. Is this truly all there is in the deepest recesses of thy soul? Is there really nothing within thee but darkness and specters of thy past?”

Sombra growled and reached out with his magic, but there was nothing for him to latch onto. There were no crystals here, nothing he could use as a weapon, and even the infinite vortex of his own dark magic seemed infinitely far away, unreachable.

Luna shook her head. “This is a dream,” she said, “and there can be no physical harm done here. Now thou shalt face Us on Our terms.” Suddenly, something seemed to catch her attention. She looked to the side, and her eyes glowed as she enhanced an aspect of the dream.

A cage, previously so far away it could not be seen, drew into view. The voice of its occupant, a dark but translucent unicorn, grew louder.

“You will fail, Sombra,” he was muttering, seemingly unaware that he now had an audience. “You cannot win. Grow as strong as you like, there will be something stronger. Destroy all who stand against you, there will be some who survive. Diamond Shield, General Ruby, Mother. Oh, Faust, what have I done? What have I become?” he subsided into weeping and crazed muttering.

Luna turned to Sombra. “Somepony from thy past?”

Sombra's eyes flared green with fury. Here at last was the source of that voice that he could never quite silence, bury and squash it as he might. He tried again to reach out, to obliterate the last remnants of Onyx from his soul, but again found himself stifled. He tried to move, to solve the problem with his own hooves, but in the nature of dreams he found his body unresponsive.

“That is the weakling whom I used to be,” Sombra growled.

“This is the last of thy old self, then?” Luna questioned. “It is nearly dead.”

“Yes, and not nearly soon enough.”

Luna shook her head sadly. Her horn glowed, and there was a too-loud click as the cage unlocked.

Sombra's eyes grew wide, and a hint of worry entered them for the first time. “What is this?” he demanded. “What are you doing?”

Luna faced him, her glowing eyes seeming to fill his entire field of vision. “Reminding thee of who thou once were. Allowing thee to see who thou could be again. This pony's name is Onyx, is it not?”

Sombra shook his head and snarled as the damning chorus of those he had killed echoed through his mind, all shouting that one word, “Onyx.”

“Deny it not. The voices of those thou keepst in thy heart have spoken it clearly. There is no hope for Sombra, but Onyx may still be saved.”

Sombra roared. His fury finally shattered the dream-state, leaving only one whispered word in his mind.

“Remember...”

Sombra's vision cleared and the waking world returned to view. The white alicorn's prison of crystal was shattered, the two sisters gone without a trace.

Sombra's anger echoed across every corner of the Crystal Empire.