End of the Elements

Chapters

Chapter 1 The Tea Party
Chapter 2 To The Crystal Empire
Chapter 3 King Sombra
Chapter 4 Eclipse
Chapter 5 The Ponilii Return
Chapter 6 The Battle of the Boats

Chapter 1 The Tea Party

The warm sunlight lit the narrow avenues of the bustling city. Another day in the packed city of Canterlot. Trade filled the busy town square, as ponies went about their day-to-day business. Several travelling ponies gaped at the gorgeous city. This was the greatest city in Equestria. Built into the mountains, Canterlot had prospered in the early days, an old mining city, only to be left in disarray during the climactic reign of Discord. Although decades had passed since his reign, there were still some remnants of the days when the world had been ushered into an age of Chaos and disharmony, the occasional house that was completely upside down. But that was the past. Now, Canterlot was busier than it had ever been, a player on the global stage, as was the prosperous small Equestrian Nation. The city's white walls shone against the sun, a pearl in the green mountains.

It was a great life in Canterlot. The Canterlotians were proud of their ancient city. And no place were they more proud of than the latest architectural masterpiece, Canterlot Castle. The beautiful castle shone over the city, its towers, still partially unfinished, though work was nearing completion on it. At the Castle entrance, a magnificent drawbridge lowered, as a large carriage rolled in, drawn by large, strong, yellow ponies. The carriage rolled in to a marble courtyard, where a small group of ponies stood waiting for the new arrival. The doors opened as a unicorn exited the carriage. Her skin was light gray, with a cutie mark of crossed farming tools, a shovel and a hoe, with an apple above it. The same icon was on the back of the carriage. The pony cantered up a set of stairs, where the ponies stood back, applauding quietly at her arrival. Before she reached the large double doors at the top, they flew open, to reveal another pony, this one an alicorn. She was white, with a golden sun cutie mark.

"Celestia!" cried the unicorn galloping up the last few stairs to nuzzle the alicorn gently.

"Duchess Daffodil, of the Plains of Everfree!" said Celestia politely. The Duchess raised an eyebrow at her.

"Don't pretend you haven't gained some power after all that you've done, Princess of Canterlot," she said jokingly. Celestia broke, laughing at her friend's antics. The two laughed, heading back through the doors.

"So, how was your trip through the mountains, I do hope it wasn't hard getting through to here,"

"Oh there was no trouble,"

"I do hope you don't mind, I was hoping construction would be finished by the time you all arrived but I'm afraid that there still is a little more. Construction's been slower than I might have hoped, I've heard Luna's finished her castle already.

"It's fine,"

"You're so early, I hadn't even gotten someone to make the tea, and I'm sure you've had a long-"

"Celestia! Please calm down. Don't get so overexcited!" said Daffodil, leaning forward at Celestia, putting a hoof over her mouth. Celestia nodded, taking a deep breath.

"So...how is life out in Everfree?" Celestia asked, trying to veer towards actual conversation.

"It's been going just wonderfully. We've been supplying the nation with grain, apples and our famous Everfree Exclusive stock, the zap apples,"

"In what ways are the zap apples any different in terms of production from standard apples?"

"Well, first, you have to make sure that you ba-," Daffodil caught herself, smiling a little at Celestia. "Oh no, you don't Celestia...that is a secret of my province," Celestia chuckled.

"You got me." The doors flew open again. Celestia and Daffodil turned to see another pony. An orange pegasus, shot in to the room, crashing into Celestia." Hey there Celestia," said the pegasus, giving the alicorn a playful noogie before leaping off of her. "Am I first? I flew here all the way from Cloudsdale in two hours and forty-five minutes...against the wind too,"

"Alas Cirrus, I got here first." said Daffodil, tapping Cirrus on the back. Cirrus whirled around. She raised her eyebrows.

"Daffodil? You beat me. Rats...I thought if anyone was going to beat me it would be Cumulus, what with her being another pegasus.

"What makes you think a unicorn or earth pony couldn't beat you?"

"The whole trip is uphill," Cirrus reminded her.

"Oh...right," said Daffodil.

"How is work on Cloudsdale? Wasn't the city completely destroyed under Discord.

"Yep...it was turned into Cotton candy and broken into a thousand pieces. We didn't actually find the pieces so we've been making new clouds. You might have noticed that skies have been clear for a long time, except over Everfree, which needs the rain. We've been working around the clock, but we're nearing completion within the next year."

"Oh...I see," said Celestia. Truth be told, she hadn't minded the lack of rain Equestria had been getting. Aside from the vital rain needed in the North, where the crops Daffodil's Everfree province was famous for, Equestria didn't really need too much rain. Rain had been schedule twice every four months, which had been fine.

"So what kind of a city are you making?"

"A large one...It's actually bigger than your Canterlot. Though, admittedly, less populated.as of yet," said Cirrus. She looked across the room. It was large, with a high, vaulted ceiling. They all paused for a moment, looking at the massive window which boasted a magnificent view over the city, at the bustling streets.

"Yes, I should get some architect ponies to get to work building another extension to the city. It's getting pretty crowded." But conversation was halted once again as another , Pegasus,this one baby blue, flew in, gasping for breath.

"*gasp* hello there everypony....sorry I'm late,"

"Cumulus!" said Celestia. "Glad you could make it!"

"Glad I could come! Life has been getting very busy."

"How are all the ports?"

"Great!" said Cumulus. Cumulus was in control of the most heavily populated areas of Equestria, the Southern Bay, which was rimed with dozens of the wealthiest, not to mention busiest, ports in Equestria such as Manehattan, Baltimare, and Fillydelphia. While Canterlot was bigger than any individual town in Equestria, with perhaps one exception, Cumulus controlled the greater part of Equestria's population and economy.

The doors flew open again, and two ponies entered. The first was a bright purple earth pony, who leapt in happily. The second was a dark blue alicorn. Celestia trotted over, hugging both. "Sugarcube! how's everything been going in the west?"

"You should ask Luna, she's been so helpful." Celestia turned to the dark alicorn happily. The pair hugged again.

"How is everything sister?" Luna opened her mouth to respond, but did not get the opportunity to before the doors were violently thrown open. Another pony, this one a Crystal pony, stood in the gates. The Canterlot guards were rushing to stop him, but, before anyone could react, he collapsed, breathing heavily. Celestia took a step forward.

"Who are you?" she asked the exhausted pony, curious. The Crystal pony either didn't hear, or didn't care.

"H...Help us," he gasped, before fainting at the gates.

Chapter 2 To The Crystal Empire

A meeting was convened the moment the crystal pony was brought around. Now he stood, shaking nervously, before the royal court of Canterlot. Normally, the room was a crowded parliament, filled with dozens of ministers, secretaries, and aides to aid Celestia, Princess of Canterlot. Now, the long wooden benches had been taken out of the room, exchanged for six large thrones, on which Celestia, Daffodil, Cirrus, Cumulus, Sugarcube and Luna sat. They all were leaning forward, listening carefully to the pony, who had introduced himself as Zinc Cadmium. He took a steadying breath and began.

"I come to you from the Crystal Empire," he paused. "Do you know much about the Crystal Empire?"

"A little" said Celestia. "I am aware that it is ruled by a merciful family of ponies who shielded some of Equestria's citizens from Discord. It's in the north,"

"Ah, you speak of our royal family," said Zinc, looking down sadly.

"What's wrong?" asked Cumulus.

"They're..."Zinc paused, closing his eyes, then looked back at Cumulus. "Dead," a gasp shot through the six ponies.

"Dead, or killed?" Daffodil asked swiftly.

"Killed." another gasp ran through the audience.

"Tell us what happened." Luna said. Zinc once again took a deep breath.

"It was a...standard day in the Crystal Empire. The sun shone magnificently over our peaceful kingdom. Everything was good...until he came,"

"Who?" Cirrus asked quickly.

"I believe he called himself...Sombra. He had....some supporters, but not close to as many as the royal family. His men overtook the castle...I wasn't actually at the castle."

"Who are you?"

"A messenger from the Crystal Empire,"

"A messenger from Sombra?" asked Luna, a little angrily.

"No," said Zinc quickly. "A message from the resistance,"

"So there's still some sort of a fight."

"Not really...we're sort of in hiding," Celestia rolled her eyes.

"Are there any ponies who were in any type of army?"

"No...We have been a peaceful nation for over a thousand years, and the only soldiers we had were guards for the Castle, and no one survived Sombra's purge of that particular reason.

"Where are they hiding?"

"The mountains that border our nation and yours... which is why I'm here. We would like your help," said Zinc.

"Give us a moment," said Daffodil. Zinc nodded, walking backwards and bowing, before he tripped over the carpet, fell, turned, and trotted off, blushing. Cumulus was the first to speak, once the large doors shut.

"We should help them,"

"I assumed you say so, element of kindness," Luna said.

"Would have us not?" asked Daffodil hotly. Luna leapt down from her chair. So did Daffodil. Celestia leapt down, stretching her wings out between the alicorn and unicorn.

"What we need to do," Celestia said. "Is figure out what to do,"

"Well, we can't just let them die!" said Sugarcube.

"But we can't go!" said Luna suddenly. Sugarcube looked at her friend.

"Why not?"

"Think about it," said Luna, dropping her voice conspiratorially. "Sombra was able to completely take over the empire on a casual day. Who knows how many ponies here might want to do the same, or, who's to say Sombra is going to try the same on us!" Daffodil gasped.

"She's right...we'll need at least one of us to stay behind and maintain calm throughout Equestria...just in case,"

"But then we won't be able to use the Elements of Harmony!" Cirrus argued.

"Sombra's only a unicorn...would we need the elements?" Celestia pointed out. Cirrus pondered for a moment.

"True...so I guess the next question is...who's going?" Cumulus asked. The six ponies looked around at each other.

"I think I could go," said Daffodil.

"I'll go," said Celestia.

"I...I'm afraid I'll be needed in Cloudsdale. I need to help the city be rebuilt. It's been taking ages, and it needs constant attention. I wish I could go," said Cirrus, annoyed.

"I will go," said Luna instantly.

"All right, I think we only need three," Celestia said. "Are you sure you can come with us?" she asked, turning to Daffodil.

"I am sure," said Daffodil. "How long do you think this could take?"

"It'll probably be done in a couple of weeks," said Celestia, shrugging.

"My realm can do without me for that long,"

"All right..."Celestia said, trotting off to get Zinc again.

Zinc was overjoyed at the news that three bearers of the Elements of Harmony were arriving. In addition, each of the Ponies were bringing a few groups of their own soldiers. Celestia had asked her captains to assemble a good twenty assorted unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies. Luna had sent orders back to her western province, the Land of the Night, to send twenty of her best men to Canterlot by dawn. Daffodil had sent similar orders to the Plains of the Everfree. Soon, it was time for the sun set. A crowd grew at the castle for the tradition setting of the sun. Little did these ponies know they were in for a treat.

Soon, a tall figure emerged on the ramparts. Recognized by her unique flowing mane and tall horn, as well as wings, the crowds cheered as Princess of Celestia emerged, waving happily at her admirers. Her mane flashing in the setting sun, her wings unfolded magnificently as she flew up to the sun, her horn glowing a dark gold, the same shade as the setting sun and, as the alicorn flew down, back to earth, the sun itself lowered. The world was engulfed in darkness. There were cheers from the crowd, which began to disperse. Only a few ponies who stayed for a while notice a second alicorn, this one only slightly lighter than the darkness of the empty sky, who flew silently into the air. All saw the moon raise steadily into the sky, as it had every night, lighting the world once again from complete darkness, incomparable to Celestia's sun, but a different sort of beauty. Luna flew down, nodded at the muffled applause she received. Few actually knew she was in Canterlot, so few had stayed. Luna nodded breifly to Celestia, who smiled in an apologetic, though sympathetic, way. Luna gave a smile, though it was more of a grimace, at her sister before heading to her room.

Luna had a different style from her sister. While the palace rooms were white marble, and capitals gleamed with gold, Luna had begged Celestia to allow her to decorate her own room. The room was dark, with a single open window letting in the pale glow of moonlight. The walls were made of dark obsidian, adding a softer feel than the smooth marble. Laying back on a bed was another pony, this one a pegasus, one of the very few ponies who could claim that their coats were darker than Luna's own skin.

"Moonshadow," said Luna, chuckling a little. "I thought you were at home with our son,"

"I came to deliver a message from the royal guard." said Moonshadow.

"Which is..." said Luna.

"Your troops have arrived."

"Excellent,"

"Why are we stationing troops in Canterlot?"

"I am sending troops in Canterlot to leave tomorrow,"

"Where are they off to?"

"The Crystal Empire,"

"Ah...yes, word spread about Sombra,"

"You knew about it?"

"Yes,"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"You'd already gone!" said Moonshadow, raising his hooves defensively.

"I still have a right to know!" said Luna.

"You probably found out before I did," said Moonshadow, trying to calm his wife down.

"And did you leave our son alone?"

"Of course not," he said. He turned around.

"Starshine," he called. A small colt trotted into the room. Like his Father, he was a pegasus.

"I saw you two lower the sun and raise the moon...it was awesome!" he said, trotting around his mother in excitement. "Can I do that?"

"Now, now," said Luna, instantly growing calm. "If you did that, what could I do,"

"Maybe raising the moon is my special talent!" Starshine said excitedly. Luna put a wing over his small body.

"You can try raising the moon tomorrow. You need to get some sleep," Moonshadow yawned.

"I should probably get to sleep myself." He turned and paused. "You coming?"

"Give me a minute," said Luna. "I just want to be alone with my night," Moonshadow nodded, cantering off. Luna walked slowly to open another door. Celestia had been very nice, their suite in the Castle sported a most magnificent view of the night sky, and the sleeping city. Asleep, where they would stay until Celestia came to raise the sun. Luna shook her head, opened her wings, and flew out into the night.

Dawn found the six ponies crowded in the courtyard. It was crowded because the place was crammed with sixty of the fines soldiers from across Equestria. The East Canterlotians sported golden armor, with a flagbearer with the sun icon. The West, the Children of the Night, wore midnight black armor, with a flag of the full moon. Finally, the Northern troops from the Plains of Everfree were dressed in tan, with the crossed farming tools on their flags. The six wielders of the Elements were saying goodbyes. Sugarcube was headed to Ponyopolis, the Western Capital, the only city that could rival Canterlot in beauty and . She lived there with Luna. Cumulus was headed to the South, namely to Manehattan. Cirrus was off to Cloudsdale, and Celestia, Luna, and Daffodil were off the Northern Mountains which bordered the Crystal Empire.

The groups moved in silence. Pegasi flew into the air to keep watch on the areas around the rest of the sixty pony army. Steadily, the group, lead by Zinc, headed North. Zinc was in the lead, and next to him, Daffodil, Celestia and Luna. Behind them were their flagbearers, and behind that, they're small army. They marched steadily, without incident, down the tall mountains, dotted with ancient mines, out of the Canterlot Disctrict. In a few hours, they were out of the mountains, heading into the magnificent fertile plains of the Everfree. This was Equestria's agricultural hub, the source of food for most of the nation. The very soil was extraordinarily fertile. Farming ponies, out tilling land paused from their plows to stare at the army, bowing respectfully before the two alicorns and their own ruler. Celestia smiled, and Daffodil waved. Luna smiled uneasily. The plains of Everfree were flat, with very few hills, and, if one had a good enough view, once could see straight across the large district, to make out the dark mountains of The realm of the night, and a few of the spires of Ponyopolis. Luna was squinting, trying in vain to see her kingdom.

Equestria was, by all accounts, relatively large. However, Canterlot was already very far up, and, by nightfall, the small band of soldiers and the three princesses could make out the tall mountains that marked Equestria's northern borders. Zinc squinted ahead at the mountains. He pointed to a thin pillar of smoke.

"That's where our encampment is," he said, pointing. Luna looked at it.

"You lit a fire?" she asked.

"Of course," said Zinc, a little confused. "It get's cold in the mountains,"

"I was under the impression you were trying to maintain secrecy," said Luna, raising an eyebrow at the crystal pony. Zinc blushed

"I don't suppose we thought of that," he said.

"How many are there of you?" Daffodil asked, looking at the smoke nervously.

"About a hundred."

"How many ponies does Sombra have on his side?" Celestia asked, looking over her own small force.

"Initially he probably had less than that...but many have joined him because they are afraid of what may happen if they don't," he said, sadly.

"Would you prefer us to go there now, or shall we encamp in Equestria for the night?" Zinc looked nervously at the mountains.

"I think it might be better if we got there as soon as possible...perhaps even better if we got there at night," he said. Celestia nodded, and the rest of the ponies sped up ever so slightly. The cantered the rest of the way, towards the high, snowcapped mountains.

The climbed for the rest of the night. The pegasi had it easy, flying alongside the rest. The unicorns had it slightly harder, teleporting from ledge to ledge, working their way up slowly. The Earth ponies had no choice but to climb straight up the mountain face. They did so, grumbling a little. Finally, they were at the top. Celestia gasped at the sight. Positioned in a small valley between three high peaks, had been a small camp. had...the camp, a set of small tents was burning as the watched. Another crystal pony was standing in the middle of what had once been a fire, ironically, the only part not on fire. His coat was as dark as Luna, and his mane was unkempt. He held a long spear in his hooves. Chained together behind him were the other Crystal ponies.

"Zinc!" the pony cried out, an evil grin emerging on his lips. "I was afraid you'd escaped into Equestria. Glad to see you've returned...and you've brought-" his jaw dropped, and he knelt into a rough bow towards Celestia and Luna.

"You're majesties," he said. "I will take you to see our leader, Sombra." Celestia turned to Luna, nervously. "Tell Daffodil to keep the others back," Luna nodded and turned.

"Where is your sister going?" said the pony.

"Never mind, she will be back," said Celestia, trying to brush off the gesture. "What is your name?"

"Cadmium," said the pony.

"Well, Cadmium, where is your leader?" Iron gestured over his shoulders.

"Sombra is in the city. I will take you to him," Cadmium looked over his shoulder and shouted something in a different language, the language of the Crystal Empire. Another Crystal pony cantered over, and muttered a few words.

"My men will deal with the others," he said.

"Zinc will stay with us," Celestia said swiftly. Cadmium looked like he wanted to argue, but decided against it when Princess Luna flew down, realizing that he was outnumbered and did not have any magical ability to handle two alicorns on his own.

"Very well," he said, and he trotted away. Celestia looked at the other ponies sympathetically, and they bowed respectfully in her presence. The two alicorns spread their wings and flew after Cadmium, with Zinc cantering to keep up with the others.

Chapter 3 King Sombra

The four of them cantered down from the mountains, towards the heart of the Crystal Empire. It was said that the City of the Crystal Empire, more often known as the Crystal Empire, as there was very little of the Empire’s vast holdings beyond ice and snow, was one of light, a jewel in a cold and frosty world. The Crystal Palace was, quite literally according to some accounts, a pillar of light. This descriptions of the city, although the varied throughout history, always mentioned one thing; light. However, at present, the Crystal Empire was not very bright. A tall black tower protruded from a city. A dark city. The small houses that dotted the cityscape were dark as night, and, as they neared them, the ponies noticed work being done, on the outskirts. A group of four or five ponies. They were working on a small wall, made of an unrecognizable black stone.

“It’s Sombra’s own creation,” said Cadmium. pointing a hoof at the small wall. The ponies trotted over the wall. “It helps him with his brand of magic,” he said. Celestia and Luna noted the eyes of the ponies. The whites of their eyes were not white. Instead, they were a ghostly green. Cadmium’s eyes had also turned green, perhaps even a stronger green that that of the builder ponies once he had crossed the line. The moment Celestia and Luna passed over the small wall, they felt as though a slight pressure weighed on their horns, slightly restricting their magic. While the two alicorns were not stopped, the average unicorn would have found it difficult to perform standard magical operations. The city was dark. There was really no other word to use for it.

“So, tell me about yourself,” said Celestia, trying to draw some conversation from the silent Crystal Pony that was their guide.

“What would you like to know,” said Cadmium, pausing momentarily to look at them.

“Tell us about how you met Sombra,” said Luna.

“Well, I was one of his first followers. I was with him when he was just beginning to discover himself. I am sure you are aware that, although he is descended from only Crystal Ponies, he is a unicorn,”

“We’ve never actually heard of him except from what Zinc told us,” Cadmium stopped, turning to look at the two of them.

“And what did Zinc tell you?”

“Only that Sombra suddenly take over,” Cadmium looked at Zinc, annoyed.

“He is reclaiming control over the Empire,”

“He is of the royal family?” Celestia asked.

“The Royal Family?” Cadmium seemed to burst with anger. “What right did the Royal Family have to power? Sure, their great great great great great grandfathers were...great, but that was centuries ago. Sombra is here to restore power to who it belongs to,”

“The People?”

“The Strongest,” Celestia snorted, passing it off as a cough before Cadmiums enraged expression.

“I’ll take you to the Castle. Be warned....Sombra’s been very busy renovating the city...the interior of the castle has not much changed since after the siege.” By this time, they had reached the very center of the city, where, located above a small square, a massive tower of a building loomed over them, dark as the many other buildings that surrounded them. Cadmium swung a massive door open, revealing a long, white hallway. Celestia gasped. The otherwise spotless and beautiful hallway was tainted. The walls and floor were splattered with great stains of blood right across the room. Clearly, a battle had been fought. Could a pony could survive bleeding this much? Zinc fainted on the spot. Cadmium ignored him. The ponies left him there, as they continued through the maze of hallways. As the ponies worked there way up lengths of stairs, headed up to the throne room, they were accompanied by more and more stains of blood. Just as Celestia and Luna began to feel as though Cadmium had taken them through the palace simply for the shock value it had, they reached a pair of massive purple doors, decorated in detail with the seal of the Crystal Empire, a single, white snowflake. Standing guard were two rough ponies, one black, one tan. They both leaned against the walls, with no regalia, and no discipline. They barely nodded at Cadmium, though they had second glances for the alicorn duo that followed him in through the massive doors to enter a magnificent hall to rival Celestia’s palace in Canterlot. It was very similar, except the walls were made of crystals, covered, as the entire city was, with dark magic, though here it seemed perhaps a little stronger than at the city walls. But both alicorns eyes went to the end of the long hall, where a magnificent throne was located. Sitting in the chair was the Crystal King, the last of a dynasty that had lasted a thousand years, a pony with who had saved countless live by opening borders with Equestria, sending his own ponies into danger for other ponies. The two alicorns galloped towards him, only to skid to a halt a moment later when they realized why the King stood so still. His eyes, wide with fear, were blank. And, protruding from his chest, nailing him to his throne forever more, was a long, black spear. A pair of doors to the left of the throne swung open, and in walked in four gray crystal ponies. They wore dark grey armor, and each stood uneasily, trying not to look at the gory sight before them, aware of the magical prowess of the two alicorns beside, each of whom could blast them into dust without blinking. Then walked in another. Luna and Celestia quickly recognized him for their leader by his actions. While the rest looked away from their former king, he stared for a moment, a proud look on his savage face. Then he turned to see the two. The King paused, and the two alicorns could tell he was dying to yank the spear out of the dead king and launch it at them. Unlike his comrades, or anyone they had yet seen, he had a horn, a curved, red horn. He wore flowing robes. He grinned at them, and began to speak in a deep voice.

“Celestia...Luna...what a welcome surprise,” he said, taking a few steps towards them.

“Sombra,” said Celestia. Luna gave a look at his guards, who looked at each other uneasily.

“Leave us,” said Sombra, waving a hoof. The ponies left.

“So,” said Sombra. “I didn’t expect you to come this soon. How did you find out about me this soon? My wall isn’t even completed,”

“When you slaughter the entire royal family and take over the nation and don’t want people to tell others, you really should work on your borders,” said Luna. “There was an entire rebel force preparing out there,”

“Oh, you mean the refugees,” said Sombra, shrugging. “They are being….dealt with,” he trotted towards to balcony, looking over his dark city. “That’s what I sent Cadmium to the mountains for,” he turned to the two sisters. “Now, let’s skip the formalities and get to the point,” he said. “How many are there?”

“Of who?”

“Your own army,” said Sombra.

“We have not entered this city with any army,” said Celestia, truthfully. Their army they had left on the other side of the mountains. Sombra gave them a nasty smile.

“Well, in case you’re wondering whether violence is the answer you must give me,” he gestured to the Crystal King. “There is your answer,” Celestia looked at the pony for a long moment.

“There is my answer,” she said. she turned to Sombra. “What would you like us to do?”

“I would like only your friendship and-”

“Enough time to build an army to invade Equestria? I don’t think so,” said Celestia, angrily.

“Well, if you did not come with an army, and you do not seek diplomatic relations…” said Sombra, turning on the Alicorns. “Why are you here?” Celestia, stumped, turned to Luna. Each of their minds raced.

“Did you just come to see him?” he said, pointing up at the throne once again.

“Stop talking about his body like that!” Luna said in an angry outburst.

“Take him down if you like,” Sombra replied cooly. Luna glared at the unicorn, but did not make any move towards the Crystal King. Celestia decided it was time to change the subject.

“How are you a unicorn?” Sombra turned to her, curiously.

“I would have thought you would have known. You are the expert on magic...your creation of those elements of harmony was unmatched.” Celestia raised her eyebrows.

“Was?”

“Yes...for there is a new pioneer in the field of magic...me,”

“What kind of magic have you created?” Luna retorted. Sombra gave her a cold smile.

“As I’m sure you know, the first kind of magic was simple magic,” he said, taking a few steps away from the pair, looking out on the balcony. “Unicorns used it on a larger scale to raise the sun in the sky. Thus began Equestria, a nation with such power as to raise the sun and moon. Then,” he turned to face them again. “As I’m sure you’ll remember, Discord arose, with a new kind of magic, the oldest kind of magic, the magic civilization was built to stop; Chaos Magic. He took over the world, or so you believe...he never had much power up here, see. Then you two came and created your own magic, the perfect foil to that… harmonic magic. You overthrew him, and resurrected Equestria. And then there’s me….I created a new magic as well, I created dark magic.”

“Dark magic? What is it?” Celestia asked.

“As always Celestia, you wish to know everything about magic...but I think I will keep that information with me.” Sombra replied. “Know this only...Dark magic is superior. The wall we build will reinforce our dark magic, and will also, when completed, cancel out harmonic and chaos magic.” Sombra turned. “Go to your armies...don’t pretend you haven’t got them, and tell them of him. Tell him that twenty of my men were able to make it here, a place not even Discord tread. Tell them we are now over three thousand…tell them this, and see what they say,”

And without another word, Sombra left the hall, and the guards escorted them out.

Chapter 4 Eclipse

“Why can’t we fight him now?”

“Because we cannot fight him alone,”

“Why not? The elements of harmony -”

“The elements of harmony do not work within the premises of the city. That wall stops our magic” Celestia reminded.

“Then we destroy the wall,”

“With what?”

“Magic,” Celestia sighed.

“But our harmonic magic is useless near the wall.”

“Then what should we do?” asked Luna, frustrated.

“We need to…”Celestia paused, thinking

The two were pacing across the a small field half a mile away from the limits of the City, made by the wall. They looked at the tall gray spire of the Crystal Palace...gray?

“Luna...what color was the Crystal Palace when we got here?”

“White, it was a bright…” Luna turned. Her mouth fell open. “What...what is he doing?”

“He’s using his Dark magic against the light magic embodied in the building itself.” said Celestia, the more scholarly of the two.

“We can’t let him get away with that,”

“We need a plan! We can’t just barge in there and-”

“ Why not?”

“Look. Sombra’s men were able to take on the Crystal Guards, and killed the Crystal King, who was adept at the exact opposite of the magic Sombra advocates Now, they have magical defenses…” Luna sighed.

“Do you have a plan,”

“We need to contact Daffodil and our own army.”

“And lay siege to the city!”

“No! I want to do this quietly. Listen.” She leaned close to her, and whispered in her ears for a few moments. Luna’s eyes lit up.

A week later, the palace of Sombra would be subjected to the final stage of its transformation. The once shining capitol building, one of the finest pieces of architecture in the world, was now a dark gray. It had been subjected every hour, on the hour, to a dose of powerful dark magic. Now, it had changed. It had taken much longer than he thought, the building must have had far more powerful enchantments than he had thought, but at last, it was done. He closed his eyes, concentrating on the source of dark magic itself...hatred. He had been hated, by his mother, a reminder of the affair she’d never meant to have, his stepfather had hated him, hated him so much he’d thrown him out. He had been forced to live on the streets of the Crystal Empire. He’d grown up hating, hating his parents, hating the thugs on the street, who he’d had to fight off for years, until he became the thugs, he had a group, but he would not rule the alleyways in the night, oh no, he would take on the government, and he had, and he had won. He would rule the world from this, a capital of hatred, and dark magic. His eyes opened, glowing with dark essentia, a bright purple, as a bolt of black magic shot out of his horn, hitting the high vaulted roof and finally, it changed. No longer was it a sickly gray, but a beautiful obsidian black. The black spot extended, covering the roof, sloping down through the walls. The once glowing throne was now as dark as the rest of the room. Sombra laugh, a dark, evil laugh. He heard screams from outside, the citizens were panicking. Sombra trotted out, still chuckling.

“Crystal Ponies!” he shouted down from the balcony to the gathering crowd. “Some time ago, I conquered this empire from the insipid and useless Crystal King.” There was muttering in the crowd, but no one dared speak out. “Now, you might have noted the changes we’ve been making. The wall, and,” he looked up at the dark castle. “The Castle’s renovation” he said, smiling. “These are the signs of a complete turnaround for this empire. We have been for centuries an empire of light. Now, we will change. Darkness is more powerful than light. For proof, look at who rules you, and who he took over from.” More muttering. “Anyone who disagrees...says so to me!” His guards moved forward, surrounding the crowd. They would kill the first to voice disagreement. A figure stepped forward. Whoever he was, his head was covered by a robe. “I say so,” said a strong, feminine voice. Two guards approached, drawing out steel axes. Both swung, and the figure, with greater talent than Sombra would have guessed, dodged both. The axes clanged against each other, and tangled together. The figure threw her robe off, and, by the translucent mane, the dark wings, and the long horn, Sombra gathered the Luna had made her way into the crowd. She had a long sword, and, at the sight of it, the two soldiers abandoned their attempts at untangling axes, and fled. More figures threw off robes to reveal leather, golden, and dark iron armor. Sombra stared, transfixed, as Celestia flew up towards him. He snarled, unable to meet her in air, and sent a blast of dark magic at her, which she dodged.

“Surrender now Sombra!” she called out.

“Why? I am surprised you acted, yet, but that does not mean that you can stop me...you can’t use your harmonic magic.”

“We don’t need our harmonic magic.”

“We can cause enough chaos-”

“I’m surprised you’d dare, but chaotic magic doesn’t work around here either!” snarled Sombra.

“We can cause enough chaos with simple magic,”

“Prove it” he shouted at the Alicorns. The two smiled and their horns lit up with a magical glow. Sombra’s eyes widened as the moon rose up blocking out the sun. Darkness filled the air, as ponies screamed. His guards were running out of control, bumping into each other and tripping over pebbles. The only ponies unfazed by this were the Equestrian troops, who continued towards the palace, up towards the throne room...his throne room. Sombra roared in anger, pulling out a few spears and throwing them with his magic out of the balcony, hopelessly trying to hit Celestia and Luna.

“Surrender!” Celestia shouted from behind him. He struck blindly, but felt nothing.

“NEVER!” He shouted, continuing to swing and blast magical bolts across the room to no avail.

“Then we must stop you” Luna said. A loud blast sounded from a distance. By a pain in his magic, he knew what it meant...his wall, his nation’s best defense, had been broken. He focused. He needed light. His horn glowed, and by a poor beam of light, he noted that he was facing the throne. He turned, and there they were. He blasted Luna, then Celestia, but, now able to use harmonic magic, they blocked easily.

“Kill me then,” he said, dropping all pretense. “You have bested me. Rule the Crystal Empire as you see fit.”

“Really?” said Luna.

“No,” said Sombra, annoyed. “I’ve spent years planning this takeover. You didn’t think I had no backup plan if my wall was breached and I could not defeat the attackers.” The sisters took a step back. At the same moment, the doors burst open, and guards poured in. Sombra grinned, and hit the first with a bolt of dark magic. He gasped, and turned to dust. The guards backed away, raising their shields, while the unicorns levitated bits of stone at him, which he repelled easily.

“Stop now Sombra.”Luna shouted. In answer, Sombra shot another bolt of magic at the unicorns. Their eyes turned green, and they started shouted, fearful of something that was not there. Celestia ran towards them, but backed away as a few started to wildly swing their swords in her direction. She turned to Sombra.

“What have you done?”

“Simply bit of dark magic. I’ve made them see their worst fear.” He chuckled at Celestia’s incredulous expression, and, unfortunately, did not notice the build up of energy from Luna’s horn which sent a bolt of magic straight at him. He turned, terrified, his eyes widening in realization that this was the spell he had sent to turn one of the guards to dust earlier...his own magic. His body was sent flying and it landing in the throne, a heap of dust. Celestia turned on Luna.

“What have you done?”

“I defeated him,”

“You used dark magic...that’s unethical.”

“We were in a bad place...we needed to be a little unethical,”

“Luna you can’t just-” she was broken off by laughter...Sombra’s laughter.

“You didn’t really think my own magic would destroy me?”

“Well, you are dust now!”

“A minor setback,”

“If you say so…” Celestia raised a hoof silencing Luna.

“You can’t keep this up for long...I’d give you about five minutes, if you are really powerful,”

“I don’t need five minutes,” the voice was angry now. The dust rearranged itself into a smoky mass, with glowing green eyes.

“I only need one spell,” His horn glowed.

“It’s the vaporization spell!” Celestia screamed, and her huge wings opening, she fled, Luna in hot pursuit. The pegasi, startled, dashed after her, as the wingless ponies eyed Sombra in terror.

There are few accounts of the final moments of the Crystal Empire. Some say the city was completely destroyed, turned to dust like the tyrant king himself. Other’s say it was consumed by dark energy, then sank into the frozen wasteland surrounding it. But the guards, the only survivors who spoke of it, as neither Celestia nor Luna have ever spoken of it, saw the entire episode from inside the throne room. They spoke of the massive walls evaporating, and of the gasps of the Crystal Ponies - they only had time to gasp- as they too turned to dust. The spells power wiped out the entire city but for one object.

Celestia turned. Her army was standing in the snow, an icy wind blowing snow in their faces. The Empire was gone. It had vanished. Well, most of it...almost all of it. All that remained was a single crystal, the finest piece of Crystal magic to ever be created. It had been hidden when Sombra had taken over and had thus been saved from Sombra’s corruption of the castle itself. Lying in the snow, the jewel gleamed brightly, even against the white snow.

“What happened?”

“He vaporized the Crystal Empire,” Celestia said softly. “All of it...the entire city,”

“Why are we still alive?” a guard asked.

“The beam was weak. I think Sombra made it focus exclusively on Crystals and crystal ponies.”

“Then why is this thing still here?” said another guard, gesturing at the Crystal heart.

“It was more powerful than Sombra.”

“What do we do with it?”

“We keep it here,” protests rang through the army.

“Why?”

“Do you not know what it is doing?” Luna asked.

“No,”

“It is rebuilding the Crystal Empire,”

“You mean that it isn’t gone?”

“It is now...but the heart will be able to rebuild that Empire, and all of its inhabitants.”

“Including Sombra?”

“Including Sombra.”

“How long will that take?”

“Centuries...maybe even millennia.”

“What should we do?”

“Remember, and leave” answered Daffodil, who had just trotted over. The troops nodded, and turned from the wasteland, heading back to the mountain ranges that marked the border of Equestria.

Chapter 5 The Ponilii Return

Weeks passed. Few had even heard of the Crystal Empire, and although few knew it had gone, all felt it. Celestia settled back into Canterlot, into the finally completed grand castle. Luna headed to the West, where her family, and Sugarcube, were waiting for her. Daffodil had more work than either of them, as the harvest period was beginning.

No place was quite as busy as the Southern Bay, where droves of ships sailed in for trade. The small nation also had a healthy flow of immigration, as ponies came for work in the great cities, or further north in the plains of Everfree.

Thus, Celestia was quite surprised to be interrupted one day by Cumulus, bursting into the throne room. Celestia leapt down to meet the blue pegasus.

“What’s the matter?” she asked swiftly. The smaller pony was shaking a little, and gasping for breath. Evidently, she had flown all the way here from Manehattan, her capital.

“Invasion,” she managed to whisper. Celestia gasped.

“Where? How have we not heard of it!” Celestia trotted nervously. “Who?”

“We are not yet...invaded,”

“But who?” Cumulus looked up at her.

“The Clan Ponilii”

“But that’s impossible,”

“I’ll show you,”

Within hours, the two touched down in the Royal Courtyard of Manhattan. The largest city of the Southern Bay, the tall arches that surrounded the courtyard were light blue, the color of the skies and the sea, the Southern Bay’s most important aspect. In the center of the courtyard was an enormous fountain, at least fifty feet tall, with water gushing down. Manehattan was the busiest port in Equestria, and the most Eastern of the great ports. It was closest to most of the great nations of the world, and all sorts of ships and creatures could be found in the bustling metropolis. The sails of a thousand merchant ships flew in another busy day of work.

Manehattan had been the least affected by Discord of Equestria’s cities, as it was far from Canterlot, the, as he would have called it “Chaos capital of the world”. It had been the center of resistance, though they had not produced the materials that would end Discord’s reign. That had come from the western mountains, where the Elements of Harmony had been harvested.

Cumulus flew up to the balcony that rested atop the arches. The balcony lead to the main part of the building, a great glass structure that stood mightily, the tallest building in the city. From its top an enormous telescope monitored the sea for miles. The two ponies flew up to it.

“Look for yourself,” said Cumulus. Celestia did, and, sure enough, far off, just on the horizon there were three ships. The sails were not pure white, rather an enormous, ancient seal had been imprinted on the cloth. She had seen it in books before.

“That’s...incredible...but it is the seal of the Ponilii,”

“What are they doing here? I thought they had died out,”

“They did,” Celestia shut her eyes, trying to remember. “They were one of the ancient tribes. Once the original six tribes united, and founded Equestria, they ruled as one for centuries. Then they began to split, not based on type of pony, but by family. There were twelve ruling families, and the Ponilii were the most powerful. They were in charge of the military. When Discord arose, all the tribes fought him, and none came close to victory, except for the Ponilii. This was mainly due to their sheer number, as they were the biggest of the tribes. But they failed at the last moment, and none survived. There would not be another challenge to Discord’s reign for centuries. The tribes dissolved, and Chaos took hold.” Celestia sighed.

“So...how are they there?”

“I have no clue,” Celestia admitted. “But there are just three ships. I don’t think we should be too worried,”

“There are more,”

“Where?”

“Behind those ones...that’s the advance guard…”

“Oh.” Celestia looked again at the telescope, panning across the horizon. Sure enough, she could see the tips of a couple sails.

“Are you sure they are malign?” asked Celestia. Suddenly, with a great crackle of electricity, a unicorn teleported onto the massive palace.

“Ponies of this city!” he bellowed. Celestia and Cumulus turned, startled.

“We have come to liberate you!” Magic allowed his voice to ring across the city, as the uncharacteristically silent city listened to his words.

“We have come to liberate you from the tyrant. Our ships will arrive in two days. Stand with us, or be burned.” And without another word, he vanished, in a crackle of magic.

“I guess they are” Celestia looked out towards the sea. Cumulus turned to Celestia, nervous.

“What should we do?” Celestia was silent, hesitant for a moment.

“We prepare for war.” she said quietly. Cumulus paused for a moment then nodded, and flew off.

Preparations for the arrival of an enemy fleet were swift. All merchants ships were informed that they must leave, for their own protection, and each were given a letter to be shown to the Port authorities of Baltimare, Fillydelphia, or whichever port the sailors decided to take up residence while the city began its preparations. Ancient walls were refortified, and gaping holes from Discord’s attacks, for he had indeed attacked the city on multiple occasions, were filled. A powerful wall no extended across the cities land side. On its sea side, a more turreted wall was fortified, and droves of Unicorns prepared themselves to blast the ships as they sailed towards. The ships probably had some magical protection, but a heavy fire might bring about the destruction needed to keep the city safe. Celestia personally created the massive magical shield around the city, though such a large sphere was limited, and the ships could destroy it. Troops arrived from Baltimore and Fillydelphia. Daffodil sent her regards and apologized for the lack of military support, the harvest was in its peak and every hoof was needed to feed the young nation. Cirrus arrived, along with fifty of the finest pegasi soldiers she had. They immediately set up a vast operation to keep a constant eye on a circle, five miles in diameter, around the city. Finally, news came in of the ships. They were heading at a slow speed, but they were massive. There were reports that the flagship of the Ponilii was two hundred feet long, though no one dared get close to it, for the ships were close together and crowded with troops, several of them pegasi.

At noon on the second day of preparations, Luna arrived, along with fifty of her soldiers. This provided much needed assistance, as well as another powerful alicorn. The two of them took turns keeping the sphere up. The walls were ready, the sphere was now slightly more powerful, though it would fall at a reasonably heavy assault, and the city was evacuated, just in case.

Finally, a shout rose from the troops stationed on the coast. The ships were coming into view. Cirrus, Cumulus, Luna, and Celestia flew towards the coast. Sure enough, at least a dozen massive warships had appeared.

“Wow,” said Luna, the only one who had not seen the ships before. “That’s an impressive vessel,”

“Isn’t it though?” asked Cirrus. “We should ask them about it,”

“We could build a nice navy with blueprints like those,” Celestia said thoughtfully.

“If we could focus on the matter at hand” Cumulus reminded gently.

“Oh...right,” Celestia turned. “Prepare the long range-weapons!” she shouted. On the roofs of the houses directly against the coast, massive ballistas had been set up, powerful enough to destroy the standard merchant ship. These hulking war ships would take a few shots before they went down.

“Are they within range?” a nearby colonel shouted.

“Not yet sir!” shouted one of the troops. “We’ve got a few min-” he was cut off with a blast. A huge sphere made entirely of iron had been thrown forward, and had blown up upon impact with the magical sphere. Cracks emerged, but Celestia quickly mended them.

“How were they able to do that then?” shouted the colonel.

“No Clue!” the other pony yelled, confused. “There’s nothing we’ve got that can go that-” He was again cut off by a tremendous explosion.

“I can’t keep repairing the sphere without any chance of destroying those long-range...things,” Celestia said. “By the time we get within range, the sphere will be gone, and we’ll be vulnerable to their magic as well.”

“So what should we do?” asked Cumulus. Cirrus stepped forward. “My pegasi can fly close to them, and try to dismantle the ship’s weaponry.

“You’d take very heavy casualties” Celestia warned.

“Heavier than we would if are shield’s are down?” Celestia looked up, thinking.

“Fine,” said Celestia. “Take my pegasi too though,”

“I’ll go too,”

“Luna-”

“Pegasi can only fly...I can use my magic to attack them as well,”

“We won’t be flying without any weapons!” objected Cirrus. “We’ll have our spears.”

“Long-range magic will be better than a spear. Plus, you'll need some magic to disable the spheres”

“I’ll come along as-” Celestia began, but Luna cut her off.

“You know we need you to stay. Without you, the shields wouldn’t even be there,”

“The unicorns can teleport” began one Unicorn soldier.

“They’ll likely have a similar shield as us, preventing teleportation spells. The pegasi will be on their own.” The Unicorn backed off, head low in respect. Luna smiled. “I’ll see you later Celestia,”

“Be safe!” Celestia called, as Luna, along with a division of pegasi took off. The shield vanished for a moment. The pegasi flew silently, watching as the cannonballs flew past them, towards the shielded city.

The ships were arranged in a long line, nine ships long, sailing steadily forward. The huge white sails bore the emblem of the Ponilii; a large hoofprint in dark blue. The ships themselves were made of a dark spruce, and perched atop each the prow of each vessel was shining silver cannon, firing repeatedly at the city. Waiting on the decks were dozens of unicorns, all keeping within the protective sphere that made the ships glow a deep gold.

“All right!” Shouted Cumulus. “First Brigade, you take the ships to the left of us. Second Brigade, the ships of the Right...third brigade...the ones in the middle. Luna, keep the ships main guns distracted, fire on their shields, and - SCATTER!” They had flew within range of the ships unicorns, who had instantly began shooting magical bursts into the crowds of pegasi, who dissipated under the heavy fire. Luna looked around. Pegasi were falling, into the shields, as others tried to destroy the shields that protected the unicorns. She dodged a spell shot from the middle ship, which lead the fleet. She sent a blast of her own magic which sent a massive crack right across the top of the protective orb on the ship. She kept up her fire, and slowly the attacking unicorns stopped attacking, concentrating on repairing the shields, while Luna sent powerful magical blast after powerful magic blast.

Celestia watched the battle from afar. From what she could tell the pegasi, from this distance mere dots attacking the central vessel, were not able to attack the shields. A slightly larger speck, which Celestia presumed to be Luna was firing tiny bolts of magic into the ship.

“What do we do?” asked Cumulus, also intently watching the ships.

“Do we have any ships?”

“Yes, but they won’t last in a fight against those warships.”

“Well,” said Celestia, turning to her. “It’s a good thing those ships are distracted,” Cumulus smiled, realizing what Celestia had in mind.

Chapter 6 The Battle of the Boats

As the pegasi flew around the ships, dodging the unicorns assault, Luna sent another blast into the middle ship. Despite the numerous unicorns who had abandoned the attack and were anxiously repairing the shields, they were weakening. Luna concentrated, dodging a few blasts from unicorns from neighboring vessels, who’d notice the decrease of fire from their compatriots, and fired another, powerful blast of magic directly into the small bubble on the middle ship. The cracked like glass great chunks of magic dissipating before it could touch the ground. The pegasi dive-bombed the unicorns, and battle raged on the ship. Luna watched as the ships neighbors moved closer, as more unicorns prepared to board the ship, to aid their falling fellow fighters, and quickly began attacking the shields of another. The depleting task of lowering nine different magical shields was unyielding on her.

Back at Manhattan, the earth ponies and unicorns cheered at the smoke rising from the middle ship. Luna had destroyed one of the shields. But there were still eight more ships sailing steadily towards the city, though the great guns that had initially barraged the city were silent, their wielders more concerned with the battle on their ships then besieging the distant city.

“All merchant ships have left the city, taking refuge in neighboring ports,” Cumulus announced. “But we have a few ships of our own. They will not hold in a fight against those ships, however,”

“Those ships are under siege now,” Celestia reminded. “What I want you to do is sail some unicorns out to the ships and destroy their shields so that our enemies can be attacked. Then we will attempt boarding. There will be no need for ship to ship combat.”

“I understand,” said Cumulus, nodding in agreement. She turned to her generals, and relayed the strategy.

“You know you will have to stay here,”said Cumulus.

“Of course not!” said Celestia, outraged. “Now that those weapons are down, we do not fear attack. any unicorn can maintain these shields.

“It would take many unicorns to maintain this large a shield, and we need those unicorns on the ships.” Cumulus looked anxious. “We need these shields to protect the city.”

“And what do the earth ponies do?” asked one such earth pony.

“We need as many ponies as possible to fight at those ships, but that doesn’t mean that the Ponilii do...we need you to hold the city walls in case of an invasion, and to protect Celestia.

“I don’t need-” began Celestia angrily, but stopped at the smile Cumulus gave her.

“I’ll be back soon,” said Cumulus taking off. Celestia cantered over to the port, where a dozen or so small wooden ships sailed towards the hulking vessels in the distance.

“Be careful!” shouted Celestia.

Luna landed powerfully on the ship. A battle raged around her. A unicorn charged at her, a long spear floating above him. Luna pulled her own spear, blocked and, with the blunt end, hit him full in the chest, knocking him down, and swinging her weapon like a bat, knocked him off the ship. More ponies arrived, and Luna switched to magic, shooting paralysing spells, freezing the ponies before sweeping them off the ship. She looked around. A hatch had opened from a lower deck, and more ponies, dressed in iron armour, had flooded out. Several pegasi were on them in moments, and soon the air was once again filled with the clangs of metal on metal. Luna leapt forward, knocking a helmeted warrior over, joining the fray.

Silently, the small band of ships sailed forward, towards the ships. The tiny wooden ships could easily be overpowered if the huge warships were to fight them. However, with the pegasi preoccupying them, they might be able yet to score a couple critical hits, destroying the hull of the powerful vessels, paralyzing them, stopping the threat to the city, and, with a few more hits, sinking them.

“Prepare yourselves” Cumulus muttered. The unicorns nodded, each focusing their magic when - BANG! A huge sphere flew across the small armada, blowing up in the water nearby, almost capsizing the flimsy vessels. One of the ships had noticed them, and several had begun firing their massive guns into the small fleet.

“How long until we get within firing range?” Cumulus shouted at the captain, who manned the rudder in the tiny ship.

“Not much longer now!” He yelled back, as another explosion came, this time on the opposite side of the fleet, narrowly missing the closest vessel. “Give us a couple of minutes.”

Celestia was anxious. She paced through the massive hall. A loud bang broke the terrible silence. Celestia rushed out, her wings unfolding, flying up to the roof of the great palace. She had not felt the slightest disturbance to the shields, and that troubled her immensely. She landed on the battlements. The small armada was coming closer and closer to the smoking vessel, and they had been noticed. The great guns capable of hitting the city were no firing directly into the small approaching fleet. The only good news was that the navy was distracted. One ship was in poor state, while the others were either attacking the armada or the flying pegasi, though most had flown down to the available ship. Celestia cantered towards a nearby general.

“How does everything seem?”

“Everything’s fine here,” the general squinted across the sea, towards the battle. “Not sure about over there though...but if those ships keep sailing at that pace, they’ll be within reach of our ballistas in a half hour. We only have the capacity to shoot down a couple of ships that powerful...and the pegasi and unicorns need to be able to take down at least six before they get within range.”

“Good news Princess!” Luna slashed at another soldier, knocking him down.

“Don’t call me Princess!” She shouted over her shoulder at the young soldier who’d spoken.

“Sorry Princess!” He shouted, ducking a blow from another troop, bringing him down with a well placed blow with the butt of his sword. “Sorry!” he shouted again, jumping out of the way of another guard, and, after parrying with his sword, he hit him hard on the top of his head with the blunt side of his sword. The battle continued to rage on the lower decks of the ship, as Equestrian and Ponilii fought for supremacy of the cramped quarters.

“What is your news?” Luna asked, backing out of the fight, and sending a blast of a magic at another pony.

“We’ve got the guns. We can take down the other ships!” Luna turned, her eyes lighting up.

“Do we know how to work them?”

“Yes,”

“Well, get to it then!” She said, sending out three more blasts, each finding its mark in the attacking ponies, bringing them down.

“We’re within range!” shouted a pony at the leading ship.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Screamed Cumulus over the blast of the enormous attacking guns. The assorted sounds of fifty blasts of brightly colored magical spells rang through the air, sinking into the hull of the ship, whose magical shields were dulling. Unable to use magic, the blue pegasi cheered on her vessels unicorns, who continued their bombardment. The shields sputtered under the heavy magical assault and shattered, sending great shards of magic everywhere.

“Take it down!” Cumulus yelled, but the unicorns needed no encouragement. Already weakened, without shields, the hull of the ship creaked ominously, before splintering under the magical attacks. The ship went down its sailors yelling, leaping over the sides. But even as it sank, one of the other ships enormous guns finally found its mark. A single great blast was enough to shatter the small vessel the Equestrians were riding in, as the leading boat sank with its great enemy. In this very moment, the captured ship lit up as it let out its own guns, sinking four shots directly into both its neighboring ships.

“Split up!” Cumulus yelled, and the unicorns did, slowly moving off, letting out streams of powerful magic. Soon those two ships would be sinking.

“One ship is down, One is conquered, and two more are suffering heavy fire,” reported the colonel manning the massive telescope. “ But they need to take down a few more ships within the next few minutes, or our ballistas won’t be enough to take them all down,”

“How much time have they got?”

“Another ten,”

“I’m going out there,”

“Your Majesty, we have the rulers of two of our provinces out there already!”

“Then another one won’t hurt!” said Celestia, taking off.

“We can’t let you go! No one can maintain the shields. The moment you leave, Manehattan will lose its best defense, and they’ll notice, and they’ll be able to destroy the city. You’re the only thing maintaining the time limit right now...you have to stay,” Celestia landed heavily.

“Fine,” she snarled. “I guess I am forced to watch my subjects die…”

“So that others can live...yes,” said the soldier gently.

The ship Luna was on was in trouble. Having lost four ships to the attack, the remaining five were all headed directly for the solitary captured ship.

“What do we do?” Shouted one of the soldiers, as a cannonball ripped through the unprotected vessel.

“Maintain your post!” said Luna. “When one get close,” another bang, silenced her for a few moments, and she paused for the dust to settle. “When we get close, I’ll send out some powerful magic. With the unicorns weakening the shields, we’ll be able to bring down the shields, and board a different ship.” She pointed to another soldier, the only survivor on a cannon crew as the rest were blasted away. “You! Can you pilot this vessel,” he nodded. “Go to it,”

“Where?”

“Into any ship of your choosing,”

“Into?”

“Into,” The man smiled and galloped up to the top decks.

The entire armada was surrounding Luna’s ship, but they still had some cannons on Cumulus’ small fleet, and they were being hit with impunity. Two more ships had sunk, along with two dozen unicorns. The battle was going very poorly. And then Luna had a brainwave.

“Pegasi!” she shouted. “Let’s go! Grab a unicorn and lets go!” the pegasi looked at her, momentarily confused then realization gleamed in their eyes. as droves of pegasi flew out, onto the decks, and into the sky.

“Are they leaving us?” asked a scared young soldier, firing a weak shot into the hull of the nearest ship.

“No,” said Cumulus quickly. All the same, the small cloud of flying pegasi fleeing the wrecked ship was not encouraging. And then, the troop turned, flying straight at them.

“What are they-” the unicorns was grabbed by flying pegasi, who took off into the air, carrying their magical brethren.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” asked Cumulus, as Luna flew over her. Luna laughed.

“We’re uniting. Get your unicorns to fire on the ships. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this earlier.”

“I still don’t understand,”

“Well, the pegasi are able to navigate quickly, and are thus able to avoid the fleets attacks. But they cannot dismantle the shields without suffering heavy casualties. The unicorns, on the other hand, can take down the shields, but can’t navigate through the waters quickly. So, the pegasi will carry the unicorns, dodging their attacks, and keeping out of trouble, while the unicorns take down the ships,”

“That’s...brilliant,” said Cumulus. Luna grinned at her, and they took off.

Celestia was pleased. By the look of it, the ship Luna had been on had sunk.The pegasi had fled just in time. The pegasi had flown across to the unicorn’s little fleet, and plucked them up, carrying them around, letting the unicorns take the shields down while dodging the vessels attacks. Another two ships shields went down in moments. A few moments later, they were sinking. It was brilliant strategy, with Luna’s thinking all over it. An earth pony general trotted over to her.

“Princess, the remaining vessels are in range,” Celestia’s eyes gleamed.

“Then fire at will,” the general turned and shouted the order. A dozen or so ballistas fired as one. They launched large, fiery arrows directly into the weakened ships’ hulls.

Luna turned just in time to shout “Get out of the way!” as about fifteen large arrows pierced the sides of the surviving ships. With a great moan, the ships pace slowed to a halt, and, giving way to the sea, sank into the ocean’s watery depths.

“It is done,” said Cumulus, flying over to her.

“It is a pity though. I had so many questions,”

“Like what?”

“Were they really one of the old clans? Where did they go to escape Discord? Why were they coming back after all these years? Who even were they?” Luna sighed. “I suppose we’ll never really know”

Cumulus’ smile vanished. “I guess there might be...one more opportunity.” She was gazing off into the distance. Luna frowned.

“What do you-” she turned, and gasped. A single, massive ship, larger than all the others ships combined, was sailing towards Manehattan. The ship was made of black oak, and on the sails the great emblem of the Ponilii glowed with magic. A huge shield surrounded the vessel, which moved slowly towards the city.

“The flagship,” Luna whispered.