Crystal's Embrace

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November 5th, 1012 A.F. 2:30 P.M.

Crystal Empire outskirts, Frozen North

Three years ago I left the protection of my father to be an apprentice under Grand Knight Stalwart, and when I left I had seen that something inside my father was slowly changing and not for the better. Both Stalwart and I felt it but said nothing and now its too late to say anything. The empire was once covered in shimmering crystals that created a rainbow of color whenever sun would shine on them. Now, the crystals were dark and seemed almost tainted. The most shocking sight to my eyes wasn’t the fact that the empire itself had changed but how desolate and deprived it looked. The ponies that had once played in the streets and walked happily to work seemed to have no energy and their very happiness drained from them. Even from nearly a kilometer away you could feel the empire telling us to leave but I couldn’t bring myself to do that, and neither could Stalwart. Behind us stood several other Knights both old and new that had just completed their apprenticeship. Those of us who had just completed our apprenticeship wore chainmail and simple iron armor that covered most of our bodies but while the others chose to wear a helmet I had elected not to.

“Grand Knight Stalwart, what happened while we were gone?” I asked trying to find an answer myself but I couldn’t. Nothing could rightfully explain why our once beloved kingdom now looked like something straight out of a horror novel.

“I wish I could offer an explanation, even a lackluster one my prince and yet there is not one I could think of. We must find out if the king is still among the living. Come.” He didn’t hesitate as he started walking towards the darkened empire with us following short behind him. We walked with caution heavy in our footsteps the closer we got to the empire, once we reached the entrance we all felt it. Something within the empire was both beckoning us forward and warning us away, all I knew was that my father was in trouble or he was dead. Either way I couldn’t stand there doing nothing.

I was the first to step foot into the empire and I almost immediately regretted it as I felt a strange magic flood through my body and then disappear. It wasn’t normal magic at all, far from it, luckily my shield counteracted what effects it would have potentially had on me. I looked back towards the other knights and put my hand up to stop them from crossing over the border to the empire. “Shields up, this magic is but isn’t my father's. There’s something wrong about it, his wasn’t as malicious as this and he wouldn’t attempt to trap random citizens so they can’t leave his empire.” They nodded their heads in unison as they cast their personal shield spells over their bodies. While I adjusted the spell to be close to my body they kept theirs in a sphere around their body and when they walked over the border you could see the magic rush over their shields. The magic was green, black, and purple, far different from my father's red aura.

Yet as I analyzed the magic and broke it down I saw that it had used his mana to cast it. Whether I liked the truth or not I had to accept it, this was King Sombra’s magic at work and yet it had been tainted. I kept my right hand on the hilt of my sword strapped to my hip, keeping my guard up as I walked towards the Crystal Spire. Grand Knight Stalwart had chosen to follow behind to keep the other knights at ease while allowing me to lead us.

We were almost directly underneath the Crystal Spire when I noticed something above us and held up a hand, making them stop dead in their tracks. I pointed a finger up as I lifted my head to see what it was, I jumped backwards as a black shadowy mass slammed into the ground where I was, I drew my sword and shield holding my sword to my side and my shield in front of my body, bending my knees slightly taking on a defensive posture. Stalwart stepped in front of me holding his sword in a telekinetic grasp in front of him, ready to fight.

“My my, you would draw your swords against your king?” A strange voice called from the shadows as a head began to form with green eyes and red irises with purple smoke coming off of them. Slowly behind the head the body began to take shape with metal armor covering it and a red cape on its back. It was my father, no...a shadow of my father. King Sombra.

I tightened the grip on my sword and shield as I glared daggers into the shadow before us. Stalwart put away his sword and regained his demeanor as he bowed to him along with the rest of the knights. “Who are you?” I asked, my voice heavy with suspicion.

Stalwart shot me a look from his bowing position whispering harshly, “Bow to him Sidian, he is your king. Do not Question him!”

“Grand Knight Stalwart, be at ease it is only natural for him to be suspicious to be honest I’m more surprised all of your knights aren’t. Sidian, I am King Sombra, your fa-”

“You’re anything but my father.” I spat “My father wouldn’t allow his kingdom fall into such a sad state like this, yes he wasn’t kind to his servants but his subjects were everything to him. He did what was best for his kingdom.”

“And who’s to say I didn’t do this for my subjects? Perhaps this was the lesser of two evils I had to choose from. Not everything is quite black and white son.” He spoke calmly and yet carried authority in his voice.

“What were the two evils then King Sombra?” I asked as I put away my sword and shield standing straight up with my arms crossed, still cautious of him. Stalwart shot me another look but I ignored him.

“To discuss it here Sidian would be unthinkable, let us talk over a meal about this. You all have come back from three years of training, I’m sure you want to rest before you get updated. The state of things are grim Sidian, that is why I am how I am now and why the empire isn’t exactly how it was when you left.” He spoke quietly but fluently and without emotion.

“Fine, but I expect a full explanation father not a cheap one like you would give me when I was younger. As the Prince of this Empire I have the right to know everything.” King Sombra furled his eyebrow but nodded in agreement.

After that he disappeared in a cloud of smoke and floated back into the spire above. Once I was sure he was gone I spoke again, “Grand Knight Stalwart, I want you to make sure there are knights outside of the dining hall in case something happens during his explanation.”

He looked at me as if I were mad, “Are you thinking of betraying your father?!” He exclaimed as I shook my head.

“No, but I want to ensure your survival and my survival if it is a trap. If push comes to shove Equestria will harbor us. The King and Queen are kind, and if they find out my father has betrayed his kingdom they will do what they can to put a stop to him.”

“So you’re planning to u-”

“It’s a scapegoat Stalwart. You taught me that if I should ever find myself facing a situation that could end with my death that I should create one. This situation could result in the deaths of myself and the brothers I’ve been with for the past 3 years. I realized the spell that was cast when we crossed wasn’t normal magic and now I know what it is.”

“What is it?”

“Dark magic, specifically a siphoning spell. That’s why all the ponies have little to no spirit, they have been drained of their magic and the love that once powered the crystal heart as well.” I looked down at the pedestal under the spire as I wondered exactly where it was but could come up with no explanation. I dismissed it as I parted from the Grand Knight and made my way to my old room.

Several hours later…

The dining hall was anything but alive as we entered through the large crystalline doors that once gave me comfort. Everything I had known about the spire was different, everything from the minute details that would be unnoticeable to the untrained eye all the way up to significant differences anybody would be able to notice. The knights that I had trained with sat at the table waiting for me along with Grand Knight Stalwart, King Sombra sat at the head of the table staring straight at us. There were two empty seats flanking Sombra that we presumed were our seats so we proceeded to them.

When we got close to Sombra we both bowed out of respect but kept our eyes trained on him. He motioned up with his hoof to permit us to stand and take our seats. As I sat down I felt him staring at me as I held my hands near my mouth as I thought of what to ask or better yet how to word it as to not offend him. He picked up on this almost immediately. “If you’re afraid of offending me in what you need to ask Sidian don’t, you deserve the truth just as the rest present here. You are the knights who will be serving me personally, and the heir to the empire.” He stated flatly as everyone's attention was on him now.

“What caused this darkness not only over the kingdom but over yourself?” I was straightforward as possible.

He sighed as he seemed to relax into his seat, “The need for power Sidian.” He glared downwards at the table disappointment heavy in his voice. “What is said behind these doors from now until the end of this dinner will not be repeated outside, not even in discussion amongst yourselves. Not even in private with me unless I bring it up directly to any of you. Do you all understand this? And do you know what will happen if you disobey my order?”

We all nodded accepting the terms and showing our understanding. “You say the need for power my king and yet you have one of the most powerful armies in Equus, or you did before we left.” Stalwart spoke calmly as he addressed him. “Why would you need more power?”

“The Crystal Heart, the pride that drove our kingdom, is gone or rather it was stolen by an unknown entity.” He spoke as if what he just told us mattered little while Stalwart and I slammed our hands and hooves on the table as we shot up in unison.

“WHAT?!”

“Calm yourselves unless you give yourselves unnecessary heart attacks.”

“Be calm?! The Crystal Heart has been stolen!”

“It isn’t the only means of defense that we have yet the second means of defense is not one tread lightly or by the feint of heart. Yet I will bear the repercussions if in the end it means the survival of my people.”

Stalwarts frown turned into a scowl of hatred yet understanding as he sat down. “Dark Magic.”

“Precisely Stalwart. How did you know?” King Sombra was intrigued by his knowledge.

“Because I explained what the spell was when we entered the kingdom. It attempted to siphon our life energy to create a shield around the kingdom which is why all of the crystals have changed here. They’re storing the excess magic and slowly changing it into dark mana via a large matrix surrounding the empire. It uses six large crystal towers bordering the outskirts of the crystal empire which also create the boundaries for the shield. Each tower represents a different primal aspect of magic: Water, Earth, Fire, Air, Order and Entropy. This allows the shield to draw from any type of magic but the most effective is life magic or what we call dark magic.”

“But healing spells don’t take away from the user's life force, right?” One of the knights two seats down from me spoke. I nodded my head. “So aren’t life magic and dark magic different?”

“Healing magic operates under five out of the six primal aspects, leaving out entropy thus not classifying it under dark magic. Dark magic isn’t exclusively used for evil as many think it is, although frowned upon it has a lot of practical uses.” I demonstrated as I created a black crystal in the palm of my hand. “This crystal was created by taking my life force and solidifying it creating a catalyst from which I can cast a multitude of spells. Watch.” I pointed the crystal at the knight at the far end of the table and lifted him and his chair high into the air floating it over to us and setting him down next to me. “Levitation magic is a breeze with even this small of a crystal, yet this crystal that is about six inches tall, guess how much of my life it took away?”

“I don’t know, how much?”

“Two months.” My father chimed in, “That six inch crystal took off two months of your life. Why did you do that?”

“To show them exactly what you are doing father, the streets used to have many ponies walking happily through them and now there's hardly a pony that wants to leave their home. The empire doesn’t just seem desolate, it is desolate. This small crystal took two months off my life, how many centuries did the crystals in the empire take away?” The others in the room finally seemed to realize what I had just shown them and now they were not happy.

“The sacrifice of the few is for the overall survival of the empire long into the future Sidian. The casualties of the oncoming war would have far outweighed the deaths now.”

Stalwart and I looked at one another as we realized what he had just dropped on us. “Who would be stupid enough to attack the Crystal Empire?”

“Her allies Son, her allies.” Sombra stated solemnly “The moment that word had spread that the crystal heart had been stolen, our allies thought I was unfit to rule and thus demanded me to abdicate the throne to someone more worthy. When I declined they became hostile. Our allies to the south, the ones we thought would never harm us are the ones who had first denounced us. How Equestria has fallen from grace under Celestia's rule.”

“I thought that King Solaris was still in power? And only Princess Celestia? I thought that when they finally died or abdicated their positions would be given to both daughters?” I was confused as when I left King Solaris and Queen Nebulus were the leaders of Equestria, they had been the ones that maintained the peace between all kingdoms on Equus. Why was their daughter Princess Celestia on the throne now? Let alone where is Princess Luna?

“The King and Queen...they’re…” my father looked down before he spoke, both the King and Queen had long been not only his allies but essentially family to him. “ no longer among us Sidian. Two years ago they were assassinated by an unknown creature, it moved as swift as death itself instantly ending their lives before their subjects during the summer solstice celebration. A year later Princess Luna fell to darkness and became Nightmare Moon, she was banished using the elements of Harmony by her sister Princess Celestia. Now I fear that our time is coming soon when she will try her hoof at banishing us and before she arrives we must be prepared for the worst.”

“My actions in activating the shield and creating the dark crystals to power them will be seen as tyrannical at best. The way I have treated my subjects in the past year and a half after the crystal heart disappeared will set my name in stone as an evil ruler and I doubt my subjects will ever forgive me. Even if all I do is in their defense and in the name of the Crystal Empire, it will be the sin our family bears from now until the end of time itself.”

“If it comes to it, I will activate the matrix surrounding the empire.” He spoke cryptically and without feeling leaving a cold tone to embed his words into our minds.

“You don’t mean…”

“I do, I will seal away the empire for as long as the magic stored in the crystals will allow. With what we have now it will at least sustain the seal for 900 years and at the most 1300 years.” His eyes betrayed his words as I could see inside he would do it but how long it would be is far from how long it would really be.

“This news is a lot to take in my King, but we swore we would defend your kingdom against all enemies even those who once were your allies.” Stalwart stepped to the side and bowed, “What would you have us do your highness?”

Sombra got out of his chair and stood over Stalwart with a smile as his eyes turned green and a purple mist came off of them. “Go and prepare the towers around the empire, ensure the archers have ample arrows and the warriors are prepared. We expect the enemies forces to arrive within a week's time. If they get past the outer defenses the matrix shall activate and the empire will be lost for centuries to come. Do you understand the gravity of the situation Grand Knight?”

“Yes my King, I shall not fail you.”

“Then see it done.” He waved his hoof as Stalwart stood and left the dining hall. He turned his attention to me.

“What would you have me do father?”

“Return to your Quarters, you shall not be taking place in this war.” I scowled at him.

“I trained for four years as a knight for the empire so wh-”

“Because you are the prince of the Crystal Empire! You’re inexperienced and this war is not something you are ready for, even if you are a knight. While I am handling things here in the empire you will-”

The doors to the dining hall slammed open as a guard came running in sliding into a bow in front of King Sombra. “My King! The enemy, they’re here!”

“WHAT?! How is that possible?!” He growled in anger at the guard who was cowering under him.

“She has demanded an audience with you, if you refuse she will-”

“She will what?! She will die, for this transgression. Even if we are at war how dare she come to the empire by force.” He created a scythe out of the black crystals surrounding us and grew in size, slowly turning into a shade with only his head on top of a ghost like body. Before I could speak he was gone, disappearing through the dining hall doors. The guard who was cowering on the ground was nearly a ghost white as he witnessed Sombra’s transformation.

I ran past him and towards the throne room where no doubt Princess Celestia had been after running for what seemed like hours I finally arrived but the large doors that had once been there were now shattered into tiny crystals and the throne room was collapsed in on itself.

“Sidian, run. Get as far away from the empire as you can, warn those you can to run as well. The matrix is starting up, the enemy is at our gates and heading our way.” I heard my father's voice inside my head although it was jagged his words got across clearly.

“But what about you?!” I shouted as I began to run towards the spires exit.

“Sidian, I’m afraid I won’t be coming with you. he spoke in a sad tone. “The first thought that went through my mind when I found you all those years ago was why did I not kill you? A foreign creature trespassing in my lands, one that could potentially harm my subjects and yet I took you in. As you grew and I cared for you, you reminded me of myself when I was young: kind, smart, and compassionate. Perhaps that is the reason I let you live and why I cared for you.”

“Even now with darkness consuming me, you still swear your life to defend not only me but this fallen empire. Don’t let it be in vain, should you live until I return with the empire take control of it and if need be *kill** the shadow of my former self. Remember...remember the fifth of November the night the crystal empire disappeared from existence.*” His voice died out and was replaced by a sadistic laugh before cutting off completely. Shortly thereafter a large explosion rocked the entire spire forcing me to run as fast as I could. Tears blurred my vision as I ran, twisting and turning avoiding debris falling from all around me. The exit wasn’t far now as I saw a flash of lightning strike outside the exit.

As I reached the exit I was sideswiped by a earth pony who was trying to escape as they saw who I was they reeled back in fear. I raised my hand towards them to ask why they were scared of me but they turned around and ran for their life. This only added to my confusion, what was going on with them? Why were they afraid of me? My thoughts were cut off as a blinding light surrounded the empire, slowly we were enclosed in the light that created a dome over us.

“I guess this is goodbye.” I sobbed as I turned and ran down the street towards the outskirts of the empire after running for ten minutes straight I was finally outside of the empire itself but not the seal. As I was catching my breath I felt a strange sensation, my body had become extremely weak as I fell to the ground in pain. My lungs were on fire and my heart had slowed down to a near standstill. Crystal started to encase my hands and legs, entrapping me. Although I was in pain I struggled to escape but it was to no avail, I tugged on the crystal with magic to try and break it but it only made it grow faster.

My body was fully encased in crystal now and it was making its way towards my head. Maybe this is for the best…maybe I’m not worthy to live here... the crystal had crawled up my chin and barred me from breathing as the crystal further grew. Slowly the crystal grew over my eyes, the last thought that went through my mind was that of my father and Grand Knight Stalwart. Thank you both, for everything. I’ll see you again when I wake up. hopefully and yet hopeless the final crystal grew over my right eye and threw me into a slumber from which I knew not if I would wake from.