A full moon hung over a mostly sleeping Canterlot, as a single bedroom housed two occupants. Tired from the day's events, two ponies rested in bed, one wrapped in the other's hooves, the two slumbering quite soundly. All was still, and not even the wind disturbed the peace. Suddenly, and with little warning, a sharp rap echoed throughout the entire house.
One of the bed's occupants, a black haired, red horned unicorn, shot up like a lightning bolt, eyes ablaze with a purple flame. Scanning the surroundings, the unicorn eyed the window for just a moment before hearing the rap again. It was coming from downstairs, and a faint whisper could be heard.
“Sombra, Sombraaa!”
It was a pitiful attempt at a whisper at this time of night where sound traveled exceptionally well. Upset at being disturbed, the unicorn slowly, careful to not awaken his companion, tip-toed from the room. Opening the door with a red aura, Sombra made his way downstairs, passing by several closed bedroom doors before reaching the front door.
It was a quick trip really, and thankfully none of the stairs creaked from his weight. Taking a peek through the front door's peephole, Sombra put on a scowl as he seemed to recognize who was at his door at this hour. Not bothering to use magic, the displeased unicorn opened the door with his left hoof, immediately revealing a pegasus member of the royal guard.
Clad in glittering gold armor, it was a surprise that Celestia allowed any of her guards to walk around the city at night with that garb on; they would be seen from a mile away by criminal and vigilante alike. Then again, maybe that was the intent.
“What do you want Thunder? I am on vacation." Sombra growled, baring his teeth in an attempt to get the pegasus to leave. No such luck as the stubborn guard carried on with his message.
“Captain, a message from Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.” The guard fidgeted, as if trying to display a nervousness unbecoming a member of the royal guard. “You are to come off of leave and immediately report to the sisters' castle.”
Sombra furrowed his brow, his dark mane seemingly hissing in anger at the report's contents. “And should I refuse?” Sombra almost dared the pegasus to threaten to drag him from his home; it would be a good show, at least for his family that is.
Thunder flattened his ears against his golden helmet; he apparently did not have an answer for that. If the captain of the guard refused, then only a superior would be able to pull rank and force him.
“I do not know, but the way they said it, it is very urgent. I am not sure they would be pleased...”
Sombra slammed the door, scowling as he began the trek back upstairs. Whatever it is, it would wait till morning, he reasoned. Otherwise they would have sent a more assertive guard who would back up the urgency.
A knock at the door yet again, this time with much greater force.
Content to ignore it, Sombra carried on upstairs until a familiar voice threatened, “If you walk up those stairs Sombra, you can say good-bye to any sort of pension.”
Sighing, Sombra returned downstairs and re-opened the door. The voice had shifted dramatically to a certain princess of the night's, whom Sombra had little desire to see in person at his front door. Lo and behold, Thunder had went from being just a royal guard stallion to princess of the night, Luna.
Luna had apparently disguised herself, though for what reason Sombra could only guess at. She eyed Sombra with a critical look; Sombra silently cursed himself for not picking up on any signs of a transformation. He was supposed to be skilled in detecting fakers among both the guard and the royalty.
Thoughts of the past few weeks came to Sombra, particularly in regard to his reception when he finally came home for the first time in five years.
Sombra had been tackled by his wife and kids at the door. When he announced his vacation time the family was suspenseful, doubtful even, that it would last longer than a few days. Within a week, the foals became convinced, and started literally dragging him anywhere and everywhere.
With his filly, Shade, he went to school plays and magic shows, and his colt Umbra to play dates. Alone time with Violet had been sparing through all of this, but she didn't seem to care, as long as Umbra and Shade were enjoying their father.
The crimson earth colt and hot pink unicorn filly hardly resembled their purple, earth mare mother and grey unicorn father; Shade did not even have Sombra's horn.
Reinforced with these memories, Sombra's frown and furrowed eyebrows, combined with his now steely glare, created an expression of irritation and defiance.
His facial expression did not go unnoticed, and Luna intended on getting the point across that the previous message had been a direct order, rather than a request of any sort. “Report to the castle, immediately, for briefing.”
“You know what, I am not going anywhere." Sombra stomped a hoof to the ground, firmly leaning forward with the kind of audacity that would make one question his sanity.
Now it was Luna's turn to frown; her eyes became piercing daggers on their own as she returned Sombra's body language, practically standing in his face at this point.
“Sombra, the situation is dire. Explaining it to you here might unnecessarily jeopardize lives; cooperate, for there is no other pony that we can get to do this.”
Sombra growled, but backed down, having to reconsider his options. After all, if she had to, Luna would drag him from his home, unconscious and in a comatose state, with not so much as a word to Celestia regarding her methods.
Sombra leaning back and standing straight, with a more respectful stance towards the princess, brought a smile to Luna's lips. That was more like it.
Sombra cast a look to the side as he thought about what kind of situation he was in.
On one hoof, if he went, then his family would be devastated, and may even show some signs of resentment towards him for choosing work over family, again.
On the other hoof, if some other pony was sent on this job, they might would fail, and he might be forced out of his vacation time anyways if the screw up drags the country into a conflict of sorts.
Or worse, Luna might remove his family and insist that he had no further reason to resist complying with her simple order. After all, it could be nothing more than a high profile delivery mission.
Sombra shifted his gaze again, making eye contact with Luna as he finally gave in to the seemingly less dangerous option.
“Very well then, what, in short, am I to be doing?”
Luna blinked gestured with a flick of her ears towards a chariot manned by two bat-winged pegasi. Sombra rolled his eyes, getting the hint.
“Alright, let me get my armor...”
“No!”
Before Sombra could fully turn away from Luna, two small voices cried out in protest, likely having eavesdropped on parts of the conversation.
Shade and Umbra rushed downstairs, moonlight filtering through the open front door just enough to illuminate their small forms. Eyes watery, they rushed to Sombra's hind legs, wrapping their hooves in protest around his rear limbs. The unicorn nearly stumbled from this hindrance to his mobility.
“You just got back!” Umbra cried out, “You are leaving us again?”
Sombra bit his lip, for a moment lost for reply as he focused on the two foals obstructing his movement. A soft set of hoofsteps brought his attention back to the staircase.
“Foals, back to bed,” Violet demanded, her azure gaze staring past her immediate family directly at Luna.
At first, the two youngsters seemed to refuse, but the purple coated mare was not to be denied for long, and when her icy glare went upon them, they released Sombra and dashed upstairs, giving Sombra one last look before heading up.
Their faces were a mixture of grief and hurt, both of which caused Sombra to avert his gaze from them to Violet.
Knowing full well that they would stop at the top of the stairwell to listen in, Violet looked towards Sombra, her dark blue mane quite the mess from having just gotten out of bed.
The earlier door slamming had probably awakened her, but Shade and Umbra coming downstairs likely convinced her to get out of bed.
“So, duty calls yet again huh?” she dully stated, gaze softening slightly “And here I was thinking you were really on leave this time.”
“I am!” Sombra insisted, turning full face towards Violet, his back now to Luna, “Listen, Violet...”
“This is not exactly the first time that Sombra has had to leave unexpectedly,” Luna curtly pointed out, just a hint of impatience coming across, “Make this quick. It is not like Sombra will not be coming back.”
Violet restrained some of her irritation with Luna's blunt force method of hastening their farewell, largely because Luna was one of the top princesses of the land.
She could not bite back a bitter remark, however, just for the sake of making a point. “What if he doesn't come back though? And even if he does, he will just be called back again.”
Silence lingered as Sombra racked his brain for a solution to ease her worries.
Luna's demeanor shifted completely, and she seemed to completely shift into an alternate version of Celestia. Her face softened, her body language more erect and restrained as if she sought to ease the tension.
“Is there anything I can do to make this easier on you?” Luna sounded as if conflicted between the task and Somnbra' personal life.
“Sombra has to follow through with this mission, and I do not think worrying about his wife's state of mind will help him perform at his best.”
Suddenly, Sombra realized the most sensible solution to their problem.
“Make this my last mission before retirement, and we have a deal,” Sombra offered as he turned to face Luna, “After this one last mission, I can come home with full pension, more than enough so that I am not required to rejoin the active service.”
Luna's face twisted into a wry smile, almost as if barely containing an outburst of laughter, as if Sombra were joking. However, as she looked towards Violet, who had trotted to Sombra's side by this point, it became clear that Sombra was quite serious.
Another silence, as two hearts nearly stopped when Luna opened her mouth to announce her decision.
“Very well then. Do this one last mission, and all will be arranged for your departure from our forces, just short of a funeral service.”
Sombra turned his head to look towards Violet, who seemed just a little cheered up at this.
Despite appearances, Violet still held some suspicion about the worth of the agreement. “How long is this mission going to take?”
“I, uh, we, need it done in a week,” Luna answered very quickly, “Should not take any longer than that.”
The two spouses smiled, overjoyed at the relatively short mission time. They looked towards each other once more; a resounding cheer came from upstairs, and Sombra and Violet brought their heads together.
“Just a week,” Sombra cooed with a glint in his eyes, “one last mission, and then that honeymoon I promised years ago.”
“I look forward to that,” Violet replied with a wide grin, “Make sure you come back in one piece.”
“Don't I always?” Sombra replied before succumbing to a deep kiss from Violet. As the two began making out, Luna frowned, as she impatiently awaited the two to part.
When they did not part within seven seconds, Luna raised a hoof to rap on the door. But before she could leave a mark in the door from the force of her rapping, the two spouses parted, and Sombra turned to Luna with a wide grin.
“Alright, I'll go get my armor, and then we'll be off.”
Seven Days Later
It had been nearly a week since Sombra had departed, and today Violet had a special event planned for his expected return. She intended on bringing him into the shop while the kids were at school, immediately closing it and locking the place down.
She wanted no interruptions in their intimate time alone.
But that was for later in the evening; as for now it was still morning, with just a bit of sunlight streaming through the partially opened blinds. The small jewelry/pawn shop seemed rather homely, with wood panel floors and walls.
It was a small business, only a single row of jewelry on display and such, but there were many exotic goods acquired from foreign lands that attracted more than a few customers.
Of course, today, considering the strange extension of evening that everyone had had yesterday, and the strange figure seemingly cast onto the moon, there had been a haunting fear of imminent danger from non-Equestrian objects.
Adjusting, Violet switched to a more standard jewelry set, with the standard sapphires, diamonds, and imported crystals (that few would recognize as imported).
Business had been slow regardless of her efforts, and the single unicorn that had come in so far was going to be her first and only sale at this rate; if she could only convince him to buy a diamond.
On the plus side, he had an upcoming wedding, or so he claimed, so that meant that he was not likely to leave without buying at least something. Violet wanted to make sure she made a profit off of it so that she could close the shop without regret.
“This diamond will shine perfectly for your engagement,” Violet claimed, showing a rather large and ornate diamond to the dark blue stallion.
“I don't know." The stallion eyed the jewel with some scrutiny before glancing at the price tag on the countertop. “The price is a little out of my range.”
“Well, what does your fiancé value more?” Violet inquired with a sly smile, “A fancy wedding, or a diamond that she can wear around her neck and show off to all of Canterlot?”
“Hm, well, when you put it that way." The stallion tapped his chin in thought, as if weighing the two points on an imaginary scale. “I suppose she always preferred the long term things. It is still a bit out of my price range.”
“I will go lower by only ten bits,” Violet hastily bargained, “I will even throw in the chain for free.” Was it really for free? Already included in the price, but her client did not need to know that.
“Alright, I will take it!” the stallion resolved with a cheer before adding, “It will not lose its vibrancy with time will it?”
“Of course not sir,” Violet assured as she quickly bagged the item, “These gems do no so easily lose their shine.”
The stallion paid his bits, retrieved his prize (a gold chain for it to hang on as well), and left the shop, opening the door and bowing to Violet's next customer.
A long horn preceding a flowing mane of vibrant colors; what really caught Violet's attention, however, was the blazing sun proudly presented on the visitor's flank.
Violet's eyes then moved to the white wings which, combined with the very long horn, meant that her newest visitor was none other than Princess Celestia.
“Princess!” Violet chimed as she humbly bowed from behind her counter, “To what do I owe the honor?”
In one fluid motion, Celestia used her magic to lock the doors, shut the blinds, and turn towards Violet, eyes ablaze with a strange fire.
This display unnerved Violet, who now rose from her bow. If Celestia wanted to talk in private, outside of her castle grounds, then it meant that something was wrong. Sombra had always joked that that was a sure sign somepony had died, or worse, was about to.
“Violet Gladis? I presume there are no others in here?” Celestia's eyes had just the tint of red, as if she had been weeping the previous night. Violet did not give it much more thought as she tried to think of the appropriate response to give to the simple question.
“No your highness," Violet squeaked, her heart gripped with terror at whatever news could be coming, “Is everything alright?”
Celestia titled her head, as if the question seemed very odd to her. “You have not heard the news? Yesterday was a very, eventful day in Equestrian history.”
Violet shook her head, the dark blue mane swinging from side to side. In part, she had heard rumors from guards that the princess had been grieving last night, but with that being so recent, it was somewhat hard to know for sure.
Celestia sighed, as if not wanting to go into the details at any length.
“Yesterday afternoon Sombra had to be dealt with, and later that evening, a mare named Nightmare Moon attempted to overthrow me.”
Violet gasped at both pieces of news that, by no coincidence she reasoned, happened so close to each other.
“Did Princess Luna have something to do with it?” Violet's eyes began to water as she thought of the possibilities. “And Sombra, where is he now?”
Celestia looked away briefly as she answered, “I am appointing a new Captain of the Guard at noon today, and Luna is not with us.”
Violet's head swooned, just barely able to hold herself up any longer. Her breathing increased rapidly, tears welled to her eyes, and a violent shaking began to overtake her movements.
“Is he, is he...” she stuttered, fearfully debating on whether she wanted to know the answer.
Celestia looked again towards Violet, her eyes resolute.
“You, nor your foals, will see him again in your lifetimes, to put it briefly,” Celestia ominously declared before taking a step towards the shaken shopkeeper, “I need to know, from you, if there was any connection between the two, as your response seems to imply.”
“Luna sent him on a mission,” Violet spoke, barely listening to Celestia at this point as if she were lost in her memories, “She said it would only take a week...”
“Answer me directly, Violet,” Celestia quipped with obvious signs of anger, “Did Sombra have anything to do with Luna's transformation?”
Violet could no longer contain her tears as the reality sunk in; Sombra was gone, banished or killed, both of which meant that he was not coming home.
That she could not see his stern face, smell his rancid morning breath, or see him play with Shade and Umbra. That he was gone from their lives, now and forever.
Violet snapped back to attention by a shattering noise. Celestia had tapped gently on the display glass; despite her intentions, her strength proved too great for the glass and it shattered. The effect had been to catch Violet's attention; she had outright commanded it with this result.
“Luna personally gave him a mission,” Violet started, tears still running down her face while apparently returning to what she had earlier glazed over, “He was supposed to be back here today.”
“Was there anything strange about Luna's behavior?” Celestia lowered her head to look into Violet's eyes. “Anything at all?”
“It was my first time meeting her face to face,” Violet confessed, unable to avert her tear streaked eyes, “I do not know if anything was off about her.”
The uneasy stare down continued, with Celestia clearly withering the smaller mare with every passing minute. The re-emerging sobs from Violet eventually caused Celestia to ease up and raise her head, 'releasing' her from the scrutiny.
“I believe you,” Celestia finally finished as she turned to walk towards the door, “I am sorry for your loss. His remaining pension will be paid out by tomorrow, and I will have this glass display replaced at my expense. Have a fine day.”
As Celestia left the shop, everything was restored to its old settings, even the broken glass. The blinds were pulled back open, letting in the morning light, the “open” sign was raised, and the front door was unlocked.
Violet, now alone, rushed over to the sign and switched it back to closed. She lasted until she personally locked the door again; trembling, she bit back a wail, tears still flowing like two rivers.
Forget the pension, forget the stupid display, damn the whole shop to Tartarus!
"Sombra..." It was all Violet could utter before she found herself on the floor, trying to keep herself from shrieking in agony. Some of the shattered glass had found itself underneath her hooves; thankfully most of it was still in the display, or else she probably would have fallen right atop them.
"Mom, is something the matter?"
Violet's head shot up like a bolt of lightning. Standing directly in front of her was both Umbra and Shade with worried expressions on their faces. She could not tell which of them had spoken, but it did not matter, as they both had the same looks.
As much as she wanted to sugarcoat the truth, Violet knew that her actions, and the departure of Celestia, could only be interpreted as a narrow spectrum of things. The most obvious cause of her distress would become apparent, with what she was about to say.
"Som... your father, will not be coming back to us. Go pack your things. We are leaving Canterlot in the morning."
Princess Celestia stood in a large library/den of sorts, her eyes closed in contemplation. She sat on her bed cushion, facing her cackling fireplace, the night sky moonless tonight.
In her castle in Everfree, the place did not quite feel the same anymore. The past few days had been quite trying, not just on Celestia's body, but also on her mind.
Both her co-ruler and sub-head of the military had to be compensated for or outright replaced, respectively.
Barely a day and a half had passed since she had to banish her sister to the moon; hardly two days since Sombra cursed the Crystal Empire and had to be banished to the far north, and already Celestia missed them both for various reasons.
The amount of work that Luna put into the night sky was so overwhelming for the inexperienced nightscaper that Celestia hardly bothered to show the moon's facing tonight. The stars even were largely absent; to say the least, it was a very dark night.
Of course, seeing the lunar landscape would remind her of what she had to do to her only sister, and that she may not seen her true self for at least several hundred years, maybe more. She needed a little bit more time before being faced with that on a nightly basis.
Most of the ponies were vaguely aware that something had happened to Luna, but the guards knew the fully that the night princess had been banished to the moon. Ironic, some would call it, that she would be imprisoned in the same cell that she had moved countless nights beforehand.
Then there was the issue with Sombra.
Explaining the disappearance of one of the most decorated officers in the military had been a chore, as he had been a very well respected and looked up to Guard member.
She only professed to the public that a conspiracy surrounding Sombra attempting to instigate a war with the Crystal Empire, and he just so happened to vanish along with it without a trace in the process.
Speculation and conjectures that Celestia had a hoof in it hardly waited till after her speech and proclamation of a new Captain of the Guard, though none at the time had been bold enough to shout it at her.
Fortunately for them that none had the audacity to call her out right then and there.
At the time she had not been in the mood for wild stories of her being the one attempting a coup against her sister, and getting rid of the old Captain for his loyalties to both princesses.
The former was backwards and the latter questionable considering the circumstances.
Greeting other bold ponies on the moon would have kept Luna busy for a few days had even one had enough nerve to proclaim it to her face in front of her subjects.
In hindsight, it would have been a kind gesture to send Luna a few companions to talk with, as there was no telling how long she would be stuck on the moon. The Elements of Harmony and banishment spells tended not to have exact time stamps to go by.
Now, the second any of her subjects began to suspect that she was in a punishing mood, ponies left and right would either start trying to worship her in order to avoid joining the list of the banished, or perform slander and liable by calling her a tyrant in an attempt to instigate a rebellion.
The latter knew full well that she could not banish or imprison them for lies alone without confirming a tightening grip on the relatively free society, confirmation of which would start a cycle of suppression that would lead even the reasonable ponies to reject the "sun tyrant".
Tyrant rang rather nicely compared to what the guards muttered when they thought she could not hear them. Sompony had even made a statue with Celestia standing proudly over the Equestrian flag, with an inscription reading: "My way, or the Lunar way."
The statue lasted only five minutes once Celestia beheld it with her own eyes. It had taken her four minutes just to garner what kind of reaction was appropriate for a princess to take.
Burn it? Smash it? Eat it in a display of feigned insanity just to scare her subjects?
Luna would have been amused by the last one, but Celestia eventually went with options one and two, smashing the stone propaganda to pieces and melting it down with her magic.
She would have poured it over the guards' heads, as she knew they were the ones behind its creation, but reigned in her emotions just before tipping the cauldron over the sides of the castle walls.
It would take centuries to repair public relations, and even longer if Celestia lost both morality and self-restraint.
And yet, when Celestia finally got some time to think, she found some strange messages had been delivered straight to her chambers here in the castle.
The only way they could have gotten there was through direct teleportation, and after briefly inspecting the contents of the letters, Celestia determined that they were indeed just letters, and not laced with poisons, toxins, or inappropriate followers' idea of fan art.
Only one pony other than herself knew the combination to that magical inbox of sorts, and would send reports that may hold some value.
Celestia finally re-opened her eyes, having thought over the past few days' events and looked towards her desk. It was a simple desk made of wood, today the resting place of the few pages of parchment that had arrived.
They were unrolled and crisp, but as of yet, Celestia had not poured over them with a detective's sort of scrutiny. Perhaps she feared what she would find, or worse, what she would not find.
Well, she would screen them, and if they presented any new information, she would be the one to determine whether it was worth telling the public about or not.
Shaking her head, mane stubbornly flowing in the wind as if her head had not moved at all, Celestia walked over to the desk, staring at page one.
Among the many articles that had vanished after Sombra had been sealed, a few notes that he had written on dark magic and on his last assignment remained missing. Her first suspicion had been that Sombra had sent these here in his haste to get rid of incriminating evidence.
A quick skim over the first page revealed that, contrary to her earlier belief, these were both far too few to be the entire collection and far too focused on the Crystal Empire to be completely related to dark magic and its uses.
Sombra must have recorded some of the events surrounding his mission, and sent them here prior to his banishment.
Hope welled within Celestia, as it seemed that she might finally get some answers, or at least, some closure as to what really happened. Maybe Luna and Sombra had overestimated dark magic and had been possessed.
That could be forgiven very easily, albeit, they would both have to go through the unpredictable cycling of the Elements of Harmony just to be on the safe side.
With renewed vigor, Celestia dove into the top piece of parchment, beginning her investigation.
Entry 354
I wonder if Starswirl the Bearded ever bothered to count every time he recorded something down. Anyways, today, as I watch the crystal ponies miserably trot off to their daily labors, in chains of course, I have come to a realization.
In a world filled with magic, magic powered by emotions, in my studies of dark magic, I conclude that there are two very powerful emotions. Love, and hatred, both of which may one day lead to the other.
When I first came here, these ponies were so carefree, I could hardly have called them a threat to Equestria.
Then, I realized that they were happy without the direct rule of Luna and Celestia. With their ability to project emotional waves throughout all the land, they could influence the very mindset of Equestria without lifting a single spear towards her.
The crystal heart is the key to this great power (and weapon), and their princess, an earth pony mare named Amore leads them defiantly against the conquests of Equestria.
I cannot describe my mission here too much, as Luna strictly made me promise to secrecy, but one day I plan on giving these notes to Shade as a guide for her work in magic.
I'm glad she did not inherit my horn type, though I would not have minded had her brother, Umbra, taken on a more unicorn lineage.
I married an earth pony, so sure I should have expected it after seeing a unicorn daughter, but father-son talks might be a little awkward.
Moving on, their love fueled the power of the crystal heart; it will do me no good to attempt to use dark magic directly against it. I need to neutralize their ability to use it, or else I will never be able to complete my mission in time.
Whoops, I guess I kind of gave something more away. Oh well, I'm sure Luna won't mind. By the time anyone gets this, the mission will be complete.
Celestia implores that I send her my latest report on dark magic, and I think I may include this entry. I know from war that hatred is powerful; can you believe that the griffins seriously believe that they could stand against the two sisters?
I admit, it was a noble gesture for them to go out fighting, but their nation has lost quite the numbers attempting to overthrow Celestia and Luna, as have the dragons.
The two by themselves are quite powerful, and sparingly intervene directly in fights. But if they do, then you might as well kiss your tail good-bye if you oppose them.
The griffins, reluctantly, have left the continentn for good as a soverign power, and the dragons have settled for their lot on the world stage.
The Crystal Empire threatened war if Equestria continued to expand towards it. I once would have laughed at the notion, but I have seen their Crystal Guards.
Cheerful lot, but make no mistake, they know how to fight; I have seen them in action against Ursa minors and majors. A conventional conflict with them will not be a piece of cake without the princesses.
Unlike with the griffins, however, Celestia cannot afford to further irritate the residents, as their emotions reflect onto Equestria, as previously noted.
As long as they remain defiant, resistance movements will continue to spread like a wildfire. As long as these ponies have any sort of will to live under slavery than the royal sisters... Well, then there can never be true peace in Equetsria.
I need to break their will. I only have three of seven days left; I will have to use dark magic en masse.
Celestia sighed as she finished with that piece of parchment; levitating it into the air, she did a quick run through before hurling it into the fireplace. Already she could tell that what she sought would probably not be within these pages.
Sombra had, for the most part slipped in details of what he was actually doing there, almost as if he expected the letter to be skimmed in some sort of screening process.
Celestia had missed it in her skimming, but she had high doubts that if he felt that Luna would read this without checking every word for dangerous information.
This must have been written prior to any sort of conflict between the two, the likes of which Celestia reasoned Sombra would touch up on at some point. Or so she hoped. She carried on reading, taking a seat at her desk, not knowing what next would come to light here.
Entry 356
The Nightmare Moon spell is a dreadful, but useful, kind of magic! With Luna's help, I cast the nightmare vision spell on the entire Crystal Empire, from the capital to the very fringes of the Unicorn Range.
Their fear is almost empowering, as most of them cannot fathom their worst fears coming to life before their eyes. Such illusionary torture is drastic, but I see use for it. I will need to incorporate it into the defense of the Crystal Heart once I get some spare time.
Oh yes, that's right! The Heart has been more receptive to my dark magic lately. Well, I can at least levitate it; stripping it of its source of power, the residence, means that that is taken care of as far as threats go.
Strong positive emotion flares it up though, so I had best not think of my family while around it.
Strange thing is, I was able to keep my family out of mind until I neared that Heart. It bucked my heart like an apple tree bucker, causing some unresolved feelings to surface. Some feelings that otherwise would be better left unstated.
Violet Gladis, guh, I really wish I could change that last name, but alas, my own surname is not much better, and shall not be mentioned here. The Heart is definitely a bit of light magic.
Now, hear me out before you go scoffing, Shade. If fear and hatred fuel dark magic, then love and hope may fuel light magic.
Friendship evokes so many of these emotions; fear of losing friends, hope that they may be alright, love for the bonds forged, and hatred for anything that dares stand against it.
It is far fetched, but I bet the Elements could be used by a single pony if they were able to master the light and the dark aspects of friendship. Then again, I doubt anyone other than Celestia and Luna both, together, could even wield the Elements to such capacity.
Celestia paused here and chuckled to herself. Thank Equestria Sombra was not always correct, or else her fight with her sister would have went very differently.
Truly, the Elements were the primary way of defeating Luna without doing serious bodily harm; though, imprisoning her inside the moon could not be good for her sanity.
Then it hit her. Sombra had directly commented to Shade, his daughter. So she was the expected audience here? It seemed strange to Celestia, but at least he had touched up again on the Crystal Heart.
It was a powerful relic, and in the wrong hooves, could be a more devastating weapon than the Elements of Harmony, if in the least because it required a less specific connection of sorts in order to make it work.
Celestia looked around the chamber, eyeful of any flicker, anything that might alert her to another presence in the room. Sombra now seemed to be more boldly lacing his report with what was going on, and the last thing she needed was for some pony to enter her chamber and catch even a glimpse of these letters.
She had enough conspiracy theories to last her a millennium. Once satisfied with her few minute scan, Celestia resumed reading.
Understanding emotions is key to controlling the Crystal Heart and its warriors. When they are dominated by fear, the Heart is inaccessible to them; give them a reason to continue going on, just a mere spark of hope, and the Heart will spring to life and empower them.
I am quite fearful that when Celesstia and Luna arrive to overthrow me, air quotes I emphasize, the ponies might be so overjoyed that I might be destroyed in the process.
Thankfully Celestia and Luna will wield the tools of my downfall; I am confident that they will make a spectacular show for the ponies while allowing me the chance to slip more or less unscathed and homebound.
Why I am bothering to write this when, in all honesty, secrecy is the only way this is all going to work?
Well, just as a precaution, as while I trust Celestia, I have reasons to be wary of Luna's intentions.
Do not get me wrong, she permits my sometimes inappropriate dreams of the Royal Sisters, and she was the master of the ceremony during my wedding, but I have reason to suspect that she has ulterior motives for being so genuinely interested in a quiet coup.
Her personal hoofwork in Amore's assassination has a bloody arrow or two to attest that she is willing to kill in order to see that I succeed.
Normally I would be pleased to be working with someone so dedicated, but when she fired those arrows through the nighttime balcony doors of the castle, she almost shot right through the mounted mare, straight through my forehead.
I will not go into details of why I had a mare mounting me in the princess' bedroom, but I think your mother will understand that it was for the sake of the mission.
Had I not laid back in time, I might would have joined Amore in Tartarus, if such a place exists for ponies like her. Sweet, kind of naiive for a ruler (Luna and Celestia are my comparisons) and very skilled in the art of seduction and lovemaking love in general.
Deceiving her tested my morality and relative chastity (ha, how silly that latter thought is now that I think about it) but the job got done. I lured her into a vulnerable position, facing away from her assassin's point of attack, and far more focused on yours truly than the open night air.
I still have suspicions that the second arrow may have been meant for me, as double tapping an earth mare is normally not necessary when you shoot an arrow through her chest. I hope you will not have to know exactly what I mean by that anytime soon.
What am I worried about though? Luna is Celestia's younger sister; I should not worry so much. She knows as well as I do now that in order to control this Empire, you must have a pony who is emotionally intelligent, sympathetic, and quite loving in order for all to prosper.
And in order for Equestria to control this Empire, that pony must be Equestrian in loyalty and nationality.
I am playing the opposite role and, while the crystal mines are busier than ever, the inhabitants are hardly frolicking. Some of them have even tried escaping; it wasn't in the mission directives as to what I was supposed to do about that, so I decided that it was better to just keep them in the city.
My black crystals, as the agents of my projection, terrify them right back into their place.
Celestia and Luna will swoop in and play the heroes, the ponies will worship the very ground they walk on, and all will be well.
Celestia pondered the information set before her, bringing her hooves gently onto the table. Her head resting on the parchment, she could sniff the various types of ink used in the writing.
Clearly Sombra had a draft or two of this, and likely added to this after the events foretold, as there was no way all of that could have occurred in the same day.
Then again, Sombra did both knock up his wife and lead the Guard in a successful invasion of Trottabama on the same day, so it would not be too far fetched. Still, Celestia had her doubts that he connived Amore and sent the crystal ponies to work in the mines on the same day.
A sharp rap at the door alerted the princess to a visitor. Ears standing on end, the princes was on her hooves before her head could finish preparing a scorch spell, potent enough to reduce even armored combatants to ash in as little as four seconds.
"Who goes there?"
The voice that came out the other end was gruff, but at least was the familiar voice of her newest Captain of the Guard. His name escaped the princess in a her fight-flight state of mind though.
“Princess, the Court is requesting your presence...” The captain did not sound like he actually wanted to be the one to deliver the message, but responsibilities had apparently fallen onto him. Likely lost in a casting of lots.
“Tell them that Court will not reconvene for two more days!”
Celestia tried not to raise her voice to the level of shouting, but this matter with the letters took utmost priority, and the walls lightly shook from her volume.
She managed to lower her voice before continuing, not wanting to send the guard scurrying to tell the nobles that they were all next in line.
“If any of them protest, see them out of the castle. At the point of a spear if you must.”
“As you wish,” the captain replied, likely doing a salute behind the double doors. He knew better than to press the princess when she was not even in the mood to hold Court. Hoof steps could be heard as the guard departed to do his ruler's bidding.
Celestia waited for the guard to leave before returning to her reading, still hotwired to attack anything that moved.
It was clear from these letters that Luna had been plotting behind her back even then, and may have even attempted to kill her Captain while he was undercover.
Not only that, but the whole Nightmare Moon transformation may not have been a spur of the moment thing, and might truly had been Luna's way of asserting herself over Celestia.
Celestia also suspected that the Crystal Heart may had been a part of her plan to set the world into a state of eternal night. Celestia needed to be sure before making such accusations in the history books.
Entry 359
Today is the day! As the sun rises, the unfortunate subjects of this Empire come close to liberation! I worry about nothing, as all I can think about is returning home to Violet, Shade, and Umbra.
I miss them dearly, but at least after this, I'll be retiring. My pension plus some self-lend out should be enough for me to hold up my end of the monetary bargain, even when Violet's jewelry shop is running slowly.
At high noon, this mission will finally come to a conclusion. I think I will bring the foals here once the princesses set up their regents of choice. I have a curse ready should I be betrayed, but I do not think I will need to use it.
Luna said that all I needed to do was go out on my balcony, look over my subjects, and appear as menacing as possible.
She strictly told me not to move from the balcony though, no matter what flashing lights might suggest otherwise. I mean, wouldn't it make sense for the battle to take place outside the view of the subjects?
I mean, they do need to buy that Celestia and Luna are liberating them from a tyrant, not switching from Equestrian martial to civil law. These ponies are emotionally driven half the time, but they are not stupid.
Details, details, all of them! I tried to contact Celestia as to inquire as to who will be replacing me, but for whatever reason, my letters have been sent right back to me.
I am perturbed, but I have faith that she is merely busy, The culmination of my studies, from the very first note that I made when I first started practicing dark magic, I had planned on sending to her as a retirement gift. Ha, me giving her a gift for my own retirement.
I think Violet may appreciate them a little more though, as I am sure that Celestia already knows everything about dark magic, and just wanted me to uncover it for myself.
Starswirl once composed that wisdom and cunning go hoof in hoof. Celestia is very hard to read when she puts her mind to it.
Alarm bells immediately went off as Celestia began to conclude where the rest of the pages were. If Sombra had granted them to his wife before his banishment, then extensive, first hoof knowledge of dark magic and this incident was still out there.
Casting that parchment into the flame, Celestia frowned as she thought about the rejection of Sombra's letters. Luna had warned her that he might try to capture her in some sort of powerful magic if she were to read anything composed by him.
Believing her sister at the time and thanking her for the warning, she had sent Sombra's letters right back to him, unopened, giving the appearance of outright rejection.
Now she regretted that move, as now she had to find where the remainder of this account had been sent. No matter what, that information had to be limited to those under her watchful eye.
Celestia's muscles tensed preparing to teleport, when she noticed a final page of parchment.
Frowning, she contemplated on whether to read it or not. Oddly enough, Celestia could notice slight scorch marks within the print, indicating that Sombra had used magic to inscribe the words. This had likely been his latest, and last, entry.
It may have been the last minute thoughts and feelings of the stallion before he was banished to the icy north as a shadow.
A slight amount of guilt caused her to relent from preemptive burning action, and she decided to read the last entry.
Final Entry
These are my last thoughts, as I stare down reality. The two sisters have me cornered; I was not taught to retreat unless out of tactical necessity, and there is nowhere in the entire palace that I can flee to, so there is no tact to retreat at this point.
They must want to cut loose any remaining ends that could point to their involvement.
Celestia, however, is acting far too well, as if she genuinely does not know the plan at all. And Luna has done nothing to remind her that I am not actually the enemy, not that I can recall.
I may have been betrayed, but for what reason? Did she really want me out of the picture so badly? I did my duties well; no pony even looked at Celestia funny without my knowledge, much less try to harm her.
Even when on occasion I guarded Luna hardly any pony got past me, though Luna is a bit more brash than Celestia and would pick a fight if she thought any of her subjects had it out for her.
Made her easier to fight with, but not easier to guard. Out of all of this, I hardly told my family about this; my name will go down in history as the tyrant who enslaved the Crystal Empire.
What a fate... I hope Violet will teach the kids differently, and remind them of the times that we had. I hope they dont' go after them, I could not bear the thought. If Luna thinks that she will get her hooves on the Crystal Heart, then she has got another thing coming.
I curse this blasted Empire, to vanish from this world till I can return, claim the Heart, clear my name, and take vengeance upon my backstabbing rulers.
They will be the victor's today; I can feel my body giving way to their combined magic, my very spirit crying for me to defend myself. I believe they are banishing me, rather than outright killing me. Strange, I feel I should fight against this somehow.
But that would be pointless; I cannot take on two alicorns. I must pool the remainder of my strength into making this empire disappear and composing this, all in one magical act. Ha, Shade would appreciate that humor in fact.
Farewell, Violet, our honeymoon will have to be postponed... again... Foals, there is a very long road ahead of you and Violet, but I just want you all to know that I love you.
Celestia tore herself away from this last entry, crumpled it up, and threw it into the fire. Sombra had been too good at his job, and Luna had been too eager to undermine Equestria's official stance towards the Crystal Empire.
But it seemed as if she had good intentions, and so did Sombra. At least, in some shape or fashion.
But Sombra's family would not see it that way; she could not afford for such a scheme to be leaked to the general public, lest she further damage public relations, and perhaps even international ones as well.
The truth, or what could be passed off as the truth if Celestia took these letters into account, could not ever be revealed in full.
Those last letters, especially that very last one, held information far too sensitive to be left unburnt.
There was little more incriminating than those messages in their entirety, and if Sombra indeed sent anything regarding this “mission” to Shade, then she, her sibling, and her mother were prime targets for damage control by this point.
There was only one solution to this problem that both benefited Equestria and honored Sombra's sacrifice at the same time. Celestia had no doubt that Violet would resist with teeth bared, but it would do the pony no good to try to defy the princess.
Celestia lit her horn up, cast a final look at the fireplace, and then vanished in a brilliant yellow flash from her den.
Author's Note
Some of my may be a little disappointed by the overt expository nature of the story; but I felt that it would be more compact this way. After all, I can always make a sequel/side story detailing the events of the mission in that kind of detail, but for now, I think that this was the best way to go about it until I have time to make a completely new story with the details of those seven days.
I hope you enjoyed this, nonetheless, as I did struggle with finding a happy medium with which to describe these events.
As always, comments and constructive criticism are welcome.
P.S Don't forget to re-read the first chapter if you have not done so, I made some minor edits to it to make it flow better.
