A Princess in Time

The view from Thauma's chambers never failed to catch her eye, particularly on a clear night like this, when the stars above were matched by the soft glow of the city below. Her handmaid knew her habits, and set up her bench close by the window so the princess could gaze out through the transparent crystal while her wings were preened and her hair was brushed.

Thauma lost herself in the vista and the gentle tugging at her mane. She only came back to herself when the door to her chamber opened with a quiet click. In the window's reflection, she saw the tall form and familiar silhouette of Sombra. She smiled, relishing the increase in her heartbeat at seeing him. "Good evening, darling."

His blue eyes and white smile grew in the reflection as he crossed the room. He bent to nuzzle her neck, making her shiver. "Hello, my dear." He waved her handmaid toward the door. "I will finish brushing her mane. You may have the rest of the night off." She lay the brush down and bowed her way out, giggling.

As the door shut behind the girl, Thauma turned to kiss him. Their hungry lips met eagerly. A long while later, they pulled apart. Thauma leaned against him, breathless and enjoying the equally breathless heave of his broad chest.

She raised a hoof to touch the amulet around his neck, its gold and ruby striking against his gray coat. "It's lovely. What does it mean?" The amulet bore a stylized unicorn head and pegasus wings above the huge diamond-shaped ruby.

He chuckled. "I was hoping to save it for a surprise, but now is as good a time as any to show you, I suppose."

The amulet's ruby flared like a torch. Puzzled, not yet concerned, she looked up to ask him what he meant, and froze when she saw his eyes: not the familiar, beloved blue, but red and glowing with an inner fire. He stared down at her as his horn lit with the same red brilliance.

His magic had not yet touched her when she found herself across the room, the tingle of teleport magic crackling away from her skin. Forcing herself to shake off her confusion, she shook her head sharply, not taking her eyes off of Sombra. Through gritted teeth, she growled, "Explain yourself."

"There is so little to explain, my dear." He circled the room slowly, confidence in every line of his body. "I will make better use of the Crystal Empire than you ever could, so naturally, I should rule."

She barked a laugh. "Setting aside that declaration of treason, how do you propose to take the crown? You may be the court wizard, but are you addled enough to have forgotten what I am?"

"Yes, yes, the mighty princess of magic, very likely the most powerful being in the known world. Or at least, that was true until today." Thauma hesitated. Her eyes flicked to the amulet. Sombra nodded approvingly. "Have you ever known me to approach a problem unprepared? If one's problem is the alicorn of magic, one creates a way to best her." He touched the amulet. "A work of genius, even if I do say so myself. It took years just to gather the materials."

"Years?" Her stomach churned. Days and nights flashed through her mind like nightmares become reality. The remembered taste of his mouth became like ash. Had it all been lies?

He saw the question in her face. "I did love you. A part of me still does. You brought out the best in me." His voice was tender. Her cheeks burned like she'd been slapped. "And that best showed me that I am better than you." His horn flared with crimson energy.

Quick as thought, her own blue magic lanced out toward him at full force, a killing blow that nothing could resist. An actintic light blazed, and when it faded, Sombra stood casually and unharmed. Her mouth fell open. She struck again, filling the room with the same flash of brilliance.

Sombra sneered at her. "I know you better than you do, my dear. I have studied you carefully during our time together. I know what you will do, and without the advantage of surprise, your sad little power is so very easy to turn aside."

She was cold inside. What would he not expect? Her horn glowed and a dagger of blue magic raced toward the back of his head. Even before it was deflected by his monstrous shield, she teleported toward the open air beyond the window--but found herself still inside the room, dazed and confused.

"Did you think I wouldn't prevent you from teleporting away? Come now, Thauma." Sombra carelessly took his eyes off of her to look back at the door behind him. "Guards, you may enter now. The princess is ready to be taken to her accomodations."

The door opened on noiseless hinges. Thauma's heart pounded at the sight of blood in the hallway and on the outside of the door. A dozen palace guards filed in, none she recognized. Several of them were spattered with blood. None of it seemed to be theirs. A hard-eyed sergeant stepped forward and leveled her spear at Thauma.

Still fighting the dregs of her knock against the teleport shield, Thauma shook her head. One thought rose from the morass whirling in her brain: Sombra could not succeed. Once she had that thought, more came to buttress it: this Sombra, the real Sombra, would rule with terror. Her people would be mistreated. When she spoke, her voice was so filled with fury that it hurt her throat. "What use will you make of my empire?"

He ignored the guards fanning out between them, keeping his alien red eyes locked on hers. "The empire? Merely fodder. The Crystal Heart, now, there is a worthy prize." He smiled at her confusion. "It truly never occurred to you? The Heart is the greatest weapon in the world. Your lack of imagination is one more reason that I am fit to rule and you are not." He broke eye contact and addressed the guards. "I feel that this interview is over. Gentleponies, if you would be so kind?"

The sergeant nodded a salute and drew forth an ugly lump of metal from her bag. It took Thauma a moment to realize what it was. When her brain made sense of it, she recoiled. An Equestrian magic collar. Placed over a unicorn's horn, it would prevent the use of magic. Fear filled her throat with acid, but an instant later the fear was replaced with a stony calm. She had let Sombra control this battle until now, but no longer. Despite his boasting, he could not be a match for her, but she had believed him after a single demonstration.

There was some way to escape. No defense was perfect. She would put his to the test.

Thauma sucked in a breath. Her horn glowed blue, then blue-white as she gathered herself for a supreme effort. Sombra's eyes widened. Her magic burst forth in a dozen directions, a score, two score. The guards were thrown back and pinned against the walls. Sombra slid back across the floor before negating her force, and barely managed to stop the dozen blades and lances and whips of white-hot magic which sought his flesh. She leapt to her hooves and he spared her a glance. His red eyes and mocking smile could take no hold in her heart. Some part of her was glad of that.

Her magic took hold of the massive window and yanked. It tore from its seat with a boom. The ton of transparent crystal darted over Thauma's head toward Sombra as though it weighed no more than a feather. His eyes were locked on the window and his horn glowed brilliantly red, and in that instant, Thauma's magic hit the sides of his hooves. He spun in the air and landed heavily on his back. The breath whooshed out of him and his magic winked out for barely the space of a thought. The window struck, shaking the palace and sending up a cloud of dust. Thauma let out the breath she had been holding.

She glanced out the empty space where the window had been, but discarded it. There was no telling what traps Sombra had set out there. Her horn's light pulsed once and the floor she stood on vaporized, revealing an empty column of space directly under her all the way down to the ground. She let herself fall down into the vast audience chamber on the ground floor, then spread her wings and flew deeper into the palace. Behind her, a bestial roar from the shaft through the ceiling told her that she had not killed him.

Sombra had wanted her alive. That had to mean that he had not turned everyone in the palace. She would find reinforcements.