A Crystal shattered

by CalebH

Rating: teen
Tags: Princess Luna, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, King Sombra, Tragedy, Princess Celestia
Length: 3759

More than a thousand years ago Luna and Celestia banished the evil King Sombra. Shortly after Luna fell to the darkness of Nightmare Moon but that's just a coincidence right?

Before Nightmare Moon Equestria was a very different place: Celestia ruled from a capitol where the Everfree forest now stands and Luna ruled from the Crystal Empire. When the two sisters decide to take a vacation together and leave their countries in the hoofs of stewards Luna is gravely betrayed by a pony who was once her most faithful adviser: Sombra.

Published 2013-07-02 17:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-07-02 17:50:01 UTC

Chapter 1

Luna sighed in contentment, settling into the plush throne as the last pony left. It had been a long day at court ruling over her empire. The court formalities had long since been ingrained into habits in Luna’s everyday life but sometimes they became a nuisance. Her subjects asked it of her and saw a strict adherence to the formalities as a sign of deep respect to their monarch. Luna assured them at every turn that it was not necessary but they always managed to talk her into keeping the rules in place.

Luna loved her subjects and saw them as her children. If they would honor her with their formality she would not disrespect that. She could hardly complain though, her crystal ponies might be overly formal to her but the respect they showed was always genuine. Her subjects would scrape and bow to show their love for their ruler and in turn Luna would hear out every one of them with courtesy and a motherly tenderness to show her own love.

Ruling an empire was rarely relaxing and in the few moments between official duties Luna took full advantage of every opportunity to relax she came across. The unicorn one level down on the raised dais shifted uncomfortably. He had been her chief adviser for years and in her absence for the following year he would sit the throne as her steward.

“Don’t worry yourself so, Sombra. You will do fine as a ruler and with the crystal heart freshly charged there is nothing that can threaten the empire until we return.” Luna spoke seeking to reassure her nervous adviser. He was a capable pony and a talented magician. He may not have had any experience ruling but her people were happy and thriving; even a foal could rule.

“Yes my queen,” he replied.

Since Luna had asked Sombra to be her steward as she and her sister toured their holdings he had become somewhat withdrawn and spoke less than usual. It was a big job and he was right to be nervous but Luna was confident that he would settle into the patterns of Ruling easily.

A Pegasus appeared at the entrance to the throne room, “Announcing the ruler of Equestria, her majesty Princess Celestia the Daybringer,” he called out in an official voice. Behind him strode a snow white mare adorned with golden jewelry. She was taller than any other pony save Luna would ever hope to be and her ethereal mane seemed to flow in the breeze even when there was none.

“Hail Luna, queen of the crystal ponies,” she called out in a gentle voice that lost no volume carrying across the vaulted room.

“You have no need of such formalities with us sister,” Luna said as she raced down the room. She pulled her sister into a warm embrace saying, “It has been too long since we have seen each other, Tia.”

“A mistake we will not make again, Lulu,” -Celestia said returning her sister’s hug. -“Your domain is beautiful I shall have to visit more often.”

Luna was by no means vain but she could not deny the truth to what her sister said. The single beam of moonlight coming in from a slit overhead was either reflected or refracted by every crystalline surface in the room and thus was more than enough to light the room.

The same was true for every building in the city. Even on overcast nights a single candle was enough to light an entire household. Her subjects themselves took on the same radiant nature of the crystals the lived and worked with; they became beacons of light wherever they went. Every surface in the city multiplied light so there was no need for the sun’s brightness. Her subjects slept through the day as her sister’s subjects slept through the night.

“It is good thou came in the night, sister. Looking upon the city in daylight is dazzling but painful.”

“Well us children of the day can’t always shun your beautiful work, sister,” Celestia said with a smirk that Luna did not return. It was an old sore spot that Celestia was trying to mend with a joke; in fact the yearlong tour of their combined holdings was aimed in much the same direction.

Luna did not begrudge her sister’s subjects for what they had done. As Celestia had said they were children of the day and rarely paid more than passing attention to the night just as the crystal ponies shunned the day. It was this difference however that finally led Luna to declare the crystal empire a sovereign state.

The two nations were bound closely by the dawn and dusk accords declaring an alliance nearly as close as the sisters who ruled them. Everypony involved agreed that night and day should not govern each other and the motion to accept the Crystal Empire’s succession was never protested. Luna was much happier ruling subjects that did not ignore her, even if they were a bit stuffy.

“Now see here sister if thou plan on spending the entire trip trying to glean our forgiveness for a perceived slight we will not take another step,” Luna replied forcefully. “We have long since forgiven your subjects and will hear nothing more on the issue.”

“As you wish sister,” Celestia said relenting. “I have been eagerly awaiting our journey and I am overzealous in making sure there is nothing between us.”

Luna smiled at her sister. Celestia may have been blessed with more social grace but she never knew when to drop a sore subject and let time do its work; most forgave her just to get her to stop asking them to. “There is nothing between us, Tia. Now come we are eager to be away and drop the responsibilities of government for a time,” Luna said as she guided her sister out of the throne room and into the night.

Though the sister’s had set out a meticulous schedule for their journey they almost immediately abandoned it and gallivanted around Equestria like a couple of fillies. This would not have been a problem as they made themselves reachable by their stewards but one of them had drastically misplaced their trust.

Author's Note

more than anything this story is just me presenting my weird headcannon. I hope you enjoy it and it gets you thinking, If you have any suggestions or other weird headcannons leave a comment.

Chapter 2

Sombra waited for a full hour after the sister’s left to even dare move. He had barely been able to contain his excitement for the past few months and now that the day had arrived he could scarcely sit still. When the queen had threatened her sister with not leaving he felt his heart in his throat; he didn’t know if it was himself or Celestia that was more relieved to find she was only putting on airs.

After what seemed to be an eternity Sombra concluded that Luna was far enough away that she could not sense what he was about to do. He let out a dark chuckle and began his work. His horn took on a black magical aura and green smoke leaked out of his eyes, a telltale sign of the school of magic that Sombra had developed in secret. The beam hit the crystal above the throne and turned it black in an instant. The darkness seemed to take on a life of its own as it spread throughout the throne room and on to the rest of the castle.

Sombra felt the dark tendrils of his magic as they raced out to the outer reaches of the city where they drew up a wall imprisoning the city before its residents knew what had happened. The virulent darkness spread from the throne room and the new wall to the rest of the city and as dawn rose on the crystal empire, where there was once a dazzling jewel standing out from the landscape there was a dark blot that seemed drink up all the light that came by it.

Within minutes the first of his new slaves came to the throne room with their concerns. Where they expected to find an obedient steward serving his absent queen they instead found a king, dark and terrible in his armor. All the ponies cowered in a corner at the sight of him and he let them stay for a time. When most of the city had gathered in front of his throne Sombra addressed the crowd.

“You are well versed in the manners and proceedings of court; you are not arrogant unicorns from Equestria. Why do you not bow before your king?”

At once ponies found their courage and charged the throne shouting Sombra down for his betrayal. He laughed darkly. The fools had played right into his hooves and now he had an excuse to demonstrate his terrible magic. The few unicorns in the crowd were fast to react and had a shield in place but their magic was nothing against his. The shield fell as quickly as it had been conjured.

The black beam struck several ponies. Sombra felt panic rise for a moment when he saw that no physical harm had befallen the ponies. They stood in shock for a moment before the spell took hold. One wept for his mother, another cursed hers, a particularly smart one pleaded for the mercy of death.

The crowd watched in horror as the ponies were deconstructed from the inside out. The spell was designed to fragment the ponies and subjugate the weakest fragment and it worked with a terrible beauty. Sombra let the minutes stretch by as the once defiant ponies in front of him were reduced to sniveling wretches and their cries died to a wordless moan of mercy. Then one by one they were filled with darkness. They got up and bowed to him as if nothing had happened and assembled in front of the throne facing outward.

Finally Sombra saw fit to address the horrified crowd, “kneel,” he commanded. One by one the once proud crystal ponies and the few others in their midst kneeled to the new king.

Chapter 3

Luna was having the time of her very long life. Her and Celestia had done nothing but play for the past six months. They were confident that their kingdoms would be in good hooves and would not suffer from their absence. She was not surprised when her sister felt the spell summon her, it had only been a matter of time before some issue arose and a steward felt their wisdom was lacking.

Celestia rushed to a small pond and cast a scrying spell. Luna followed behind her seeing if she could offer any wisdom on the issue that had arisen. She knew the vacation was over when she looked into the spell and saw the grave look the pony on the other side wore.

“Queen Luna, I have dire news your majesty,” he said grimly.

Luna realized right away that this call was not for Celestia but for her. “What has happened? Why are we not being called by Sombra?” she demanded of her sister’s steward.

“Your majesty once the snows of winter cleared and the way between our nations was free to travel once more, the merchant caravans approached your empire only to find it shrouded in blackness. I do not know what has happened. I only know that your subjects need you.”

Luna was in the air before he had finished speaking. She had caused a sonic rainboom and was traveling at supersonic speed before her sister had dissipated the spell. At such speed it took her only a few hours to reach her kingdom but they felt like days.

She had utterly worn herself out by the time she reached her kingdom. Though Luna would rather die than let her subjects be imprisoned by this darkness any longer she knew she was too exhausted to face the threat alone. She fought down her fury and protection instincts enough to rest and wait for Celestia to arrive.

As the sun reached its apex Luna looked up to see her sister descend to land beside her. She had not flown as recklessly as Luna had and was ready for battle when she landed. Her mane usually looked like a gentle sunbeam lightly shifting from one color to the next but now it took on the fiery violence of a solar flare. Her golden armor glowed with the warding enchantments placed on it.

Luna’s battle attire was subdued in comparison. It was only a helmet and shoes made from a falling star. The metal held enchantments even better than that of her sister’s armor and would serve as protection from anything that could be thrown at the night princess.

The sisters simply nodded at each other before beginning into the inky darkness that engulfed Luna’s realm. Once they passed through the barrier they found themselves at the foot of a high wall made from black crystal. Rather than announce her presence Luna flew over. When she crested the wall she saw what had befallen her kingdom. Every structure seemed to be made of the same black crystal and the few ponies that were out were dull compared to the once resplendent crystal ponies Luna had once ruled.

Luna released two bolts of magic. One destroyed the wall around her city and the other reshaped the dark castle to allow sunlight in and give her quick access to the throne room. She covered the distance between herself and her castle in the blink of an eye, landing gently on the newly made balcony just outside the throne room. She found a very surprised Sombra sitting the throne encased in cruel looking armor.

Sombra snarled and let loose a black bolt of magic from his horn. Luna’s magic lashed out in return, meeting the bolt in the middle of the room. Something was different about Sombra’s magic though it ate through her bolt like it wasn’t even there and struck Luna in the horn before she even realized she had not won the brief struggle.

Sombra had been shocked when the walls around him gave way to arched windows and an expansive balcony opened in front of him. The queen landed almost as soon as the changes were complete. Sombra snarled and let loose his conversion spell before the surprised look had faded from his face. The queen looked shocked for a split second before her face fell into a determined scowl and she countered with her own magic.

As Sombra had planned his magic cut right through hers. If they had used spells from the same school of magic Sombra had no doubt that he would have lost, but the general magic she used was fundamentally weak to his. Magic was based on emotion. His was based on hate, making it more violent than any other school and the only shields that were effective against his magic were based on overwhelmingly positive emotions. Luna’s spell though immensely powerful was at an elemental disadvantage from the start.

Sombra settled back into his throne with a dark smile on his face. It would be so enjoyable to watch the former queen go through the utter humiliation his spell induced before it enslaved her. Instead of writhing around on the floor as her soul was fragmented and enslaved Luna stood. The look on her face bore such withered fury that it seemed to pin Sombra to the throne.

Before Sombra could react Luna’s magic seized him and threw him out the balcony onto the street below. His armor absorbed most of the impact but he knew if he did not incapacitate the queen with his next attack he could not win. He summoned all the power he could even drawing out the magic from the crystals of the city, which began to return to their original brilliance. He cut power to every spell he had save his failsafe hoping to put every ounce of power into his next attack. Shadow coalesced around him crackling with dark energy as he searched for his target. In the sky he found not just one enraged alicorn but two.

As soon as the magic hit her Luna recognized it and knew how to defeat it. The spell had knocked her to the ground and started to infect her emotions seeking to break them. With a simple exercise of her considerable will she confined it to be dealt with later. She rose to her feet and glared at the usurper with a withered fury. Reaching out with her magic she grabbed him and cast him out the balcony into the street below before flying up to meet her sister in the sky.

Sombra was summoning all of the dark magic in the city to him, as it flowed out of the buildings they began to take their former radiant sheen and the shadows coalesced around Sombra crackling with energy. Luna bound his horn with her magic, he tried to resist and his horn took on a red glow with the effort and the sheer energy gripping his horn reshaped it into a smooth and aggressive curve but he could not prevail and free his magic.

Satisfied that her prisoner was subdued Luna spoke, “Do you think the moonbringer has never seen black magic before Sombra, you have made yourself a shadow upon this radiant city and so I pronounce judgment upon you. You will be nothing more than a shadow trapped within the ice to the north for the rest of eternity.”

Sombra tried to make a reply but the spell was already speeding from Luna’s horn to accomplish its purpose. It was already too late for the wretch to plead for his life and it was too late for Luna to save her city when she sensed the spell that bound its fate to his. Luna looked on in horror as the city she loved faded to shadow and disappeared around her.

Epilogue

“Luna, please, go out and find some fresh air, be rid of this library for a while,” Celestia pleaded with her sister.

It had been three years since Celestia and Luna had given up on reversing the spell and bringing back her sister’s kingdom. The elements of harmony had abandoned her. Kindness, Generosity, and Honest, once blazing jewels were now little more than cold orbs of stone with their ancient symbols carved upon them. The only hope that remained was that such a spell would eventually fade. It was only meant to bind one pony not an entire city so there would be some limit to how long it would hold. Luna poured herself into books to pass the time but her increasingly disheveled appearance gave testament to the tensions building inside her.

“Will you walk with me, Tia?”

“I can’t tonight Luna there is an important meeting,” Celestia felt guilty for not being able to make time for her sister but running a country and free time rarely went hoof in hoof. Luna’s face fell and she mumbled something that sounded like ‘I understand’ before burying her nose back in her book. Celestia excused herself quietly before heading to her meeting.

“I can’t tonight Luna there’s an important meeting,” Luna heard her sister say.

She never has time she doesn’t even care. Luna was thankful her nose was buried in a book and her sister didn’t see the expression that accompanied those thoughts. “I understand,” she mumbled holding her breath until her sister had left, “I used to have important meetings too.” Luna knew it was foolish but she didn’t care. She couldn’t sleep because of the nightmares and so her paper thin hold on her emotions grew weaker with every waking moment. Even burying herself in books had lost its insulating effect.

She tossed aside the tome in front of her in frustration. Maybe a walk would do some good. She stepped outside of the castle unnoticed. No one cares about a queen with no country, she thought as she left.

Luna desperately needed somepony to care. She looked up into the night sky hoping to find solace among the stars. She had arrayed them beautifully tonight, hoping that if she made the night lovely enough her sister’s subjects would stop ignoring her. They did not acknowledge her as the mistress of the night or as a fellow pony. She had tried to walk among them in her sister’s court but hearing a whisper of, “banished her own kingdom,” was enough to end that idea.
Now she just wandered the streets alone, so alone. Luna was desperate to find anypony out under her shining night, but they shunned her children just as they shunned her. Luna did not know where she finally stopped walking. There was nopony out to care if she was outside their house, nopony to care that her heart was breaking, and nopony even to share a kind word.

The stillness of the beautiful night was broken only by the weeping of the one who made it. There was nopony awake to hear and offer solace. If some kind soul had heard and offered up the company that misery so loves then perhaps the long dormant spell would not have broken its bonds and enslaved the night princess, but the will that kept it at bay was broken.

Luna felt the spell awaken within her. It was meant to fragment a pony’s soul to such a degree that they could not think for themselves but she would not allow it. She fought to erase the spell from her. Even with her will broken Luna was quickly gaining the upper hoof. Then she felt it, her heart seemed to rip in two. She finished off the spell before it could do any more damage but it had already split off and infected her most dangerous part, the corner of her heart where she buried her envy and hurt.

Luna woodenly walked back to the castle in the predawn light as the two halves of her heart battled for control. Her darker half was winning foothold after foothold by the time Luna met Celestia in the tower for their ritual she had lost and could only observe as her anger infected with Sombra’s hate took control and turned on her sister.