"Twilight, wait! I'm coming with you!" A white unicorn galloped to a purple unicorn who was just walking up the castle stairs.
"I'm sorry Rarity, but you can't... I have to retrieve the Chrystal Heart by myself. You will get yourself killed if you come."
"I need to...I feel like I haven't seen you in a while darling, and it would be nice to have an adventure." Rarity lightly nudged the sighing Twilight.
"Alright. But you MUST promise not to interfere, and to obey my rules."
"I promise not to lift a hoof. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." The glamorous pony said, her hooves repeating the famous Pinkie Promise.
As they run down the halls inside the Crystal empire, both cringed while hearing their other friends hold off the attack. "We have to hurry Twilight." Rarity whimpered. "If we don't find the heart soon Sombra will break through the defense and all will be lost."
"Don't pressure me! This is hard enough as it is. Aha! I think I know where King Sombra hid the heart."
"The throne room?" Rarity replied, confused.
"Yes... The king would've been counting on the fact that nopony would dare come looking for it here. The Crystal Ponies would have been too afraid to even try."
When they reached the throne room, instead of a blue shining aura, there was a shadowy orange. "It isn't here Twilight." The purple mane pony pony glanced around the room, hoping the heart would fall from the ceiling. "Maybe if I coul-"
"It has to be here somewhere! Not a hoof Rarity, it was Celestia's orders. I am the one supposed to retrieve the heart. It's the only way to protect the empire and find my true destiny. Hmmm...I have an idea."
Celestia's words echoed through Twilight's head. 'If the Empire is filled with hope and love, those things are reflected across all of Equestria. If hatred and fear take hold...'
"I get it now...This isn't King Sombra's castle."
"Yes it is Twilight. All the Crystal ponies and Celestia said so."
"No Rarity. It is, but it didn't look like this." Groaned Twilight. She shifted her stance as her horn color changed from a magenta to a deep purple.
"Twilight! Are you okay Darling!?"
The powerful unicorn opened her eyes. No longer was her eyes purple, but bright green with deep purple mist at the end. With a final groan, the room turned a much darker grey as the chair began to sink into the floor. As soon as the chair disappeared, a set of stairs took its place.
"Ho-How did you do that?" Rarity has never seen Twilight so serious and calm at the same time.
"Princess Celestia taught me that trick. It only took a few seconds to learn. But please, stay here. I don't want you to get hurt."
"If you insist, but there must be something I can do."
"Please, what ever you do," Twilight placed a hoof on Rarity's shoulders as her eyes reverted back to normal. "Don't come down here. If I don't return in four hours, let everypony know that we failed." Twilight used her horn and levitate a piece of wood scattered around the stairs. She let go and waited for the plank to hit the bottom, but it never came.
"Um...I hope I don't trip down there." She chuckled nervously. Before descending down, Twilight paused to give Rarity a quick peck on the cheek. "I'm going to miss you."
The white unicorn just slumped down and stared out the window, silently crying.
For every minute that passed, the sky outside grew darker. Rarity hated being shut up like this, she needed to help her friend. That's why she is the element of Generosity. Finally she couldn't stand it any more. "Twilight! Answer me! Are you okay?" Silence.
"Cadence's magic is getting weaker, I don't think she could hold the barrier any longer. Her magic is fading faster than before!" Still nothing.
"Please Twilight...don't leave me like this." Her sadness soon turned into frustration. "I don't care if I am much more weaker at magic than Twilight. She is my friend! And friends need to stick up for each other! Forget waiting, I need to investigate."
She nervously trotted down a couple of steps. Her heart nearly broke when she realized she broke a Pinkie Promise, the most sacred of promises. 'I bet Pinkie Pie is shaking her head in disappointment right now.' It's for the good of Equestria. I must do this.
Rarity never expected the trip down the spiral staircase to be so terrifying. Shadows moved everywhere threatening to grab her into the unknown. Not even with her horn glowing could she throw her fears away. She walked in complete silence, her hoofsteps echoing off the walls. "Twilight?" She yelled loudly. Did she fall?
As the farther she traveled down the stairs, the room became colder and colder. Soon she could see her own breath as she shivered slightly. 'I knew I should have brought my scarf down, it's dreadfully chilly.' Unfortunately she was too far down. She couldn't even see the entrance anymore.
Ignoring the cold, she continued down the steps, missing some green glowing eyes hiding in the dark. Even with the failing empire inspiring her, Rarity felt like she couldn't continue any further. She has been traveling for what felt like hours on end, and her hooves were beginning to crack.
Hours on end?! Time is running out! Rarity traveled down at nearly a sprinting pace, not wanting to trip. However, fate betrayed her. Somehow her hoof slipped on what felt like a bone and she tumbled down the stairs. 'Twilight?' No..it couldn't possibly be. A hard landing on her side brought her back to attention. No! This is the. Worst. Possible. THING!
"Ow Ow Ow Ow Ow Ouch!" She continued to say those words, along with a couple of unladylike others as she continued to fall. She couldn't stop herself! Rarity tried using her magic to grab onto anything, to stop her, but it only brought objects closer to her. They fell alongside and bruised her.
It would be miraculous if Rarity got out of this alive. Every step she tumbled down her vision grew blurrier. She also could have sworn she saw blood gushing out of her head. She tried one last time to latch onto anything, but only succeeded in breaking off a piece of her horn.
No!!! Before she could react, her body automatically fell unconscious from the pain as she continued to fall.
Rarity woke up, only to be met with a world with pain. Ulgh, she might have broken a rib or two. The only sounds she could hear were rats scrounging around on the hard cement floor. She struggled to get up, but her frail body was never meant for this kind of endurance.
Hoofsteps rang out from the bottom. "Twilight!" Rarity cried out as she managed to drag herself towards the sound. She was met with some glowing green eyes, didn't Twilight's eyes already revert back to normal? A laugh came from the mysterious body. It was deeper, almost sounding insane. It wasn't Twilight.
Rarity's eyes finally adjusted to the darkness, and was met with the still form of King Sombra. His coat and mane was as black as night, while only his horn and his old-fashioned cape was a scralet red, the color of blood.
"How did you escape?" Squeaked Rarity, trying to curl herself into a tiny ball.
"Shame you came down here...it wasn't worth the effort." He pulled the severed head of Twilight from under his robe. "The Chrystal Empire fell just a couple of minutes ago, and you weren't there to watch it."
"I killed them. I killed them all! Everypony that you brought here is dead, including Spike." Rarity tried to scream in anger, but only could let out a long moan of pain.
"Without Twilight Sparkle, the most powerful member of your group, the Elements of Harmony are useless, don't even try. It was such fun, torturing everypony in sight. I didn't even know how loud a baby dragon could scream. "
'My poor spikey-wikey...'
"I used my magic to trip Twilight, and that bone you stepped on was her horn. She was practically dead by the time she reached the bottom, and I was kind enough to finish her off. You are a different case, you're just a backwater pony from an old fashioned town. You have no importance to me. I don't even want your filthy mortal blood on my hooves."
Sombra picked up the grieving mare with his magic, and studied her carefully. She started flying up high in the air before being placed at the top of the stairs. The last words she could faintly hear were, "Who's ready for round two?"
