A lone unicorn stallion stands in the whipping, wintery wind of the northern climes, his red scarf his only semblance of protection from the cold. He stands vigilantly, surveying the area before him. He sighs and prepares to continue on his trek. He slowly begins walking forward, leaving broken hoofsteps in the snow.
He stops, closing his eyes and focusing on the sound around him, or lack thereof. He smiles, hearing nothing, but then hears something that he never expected. Frantic galloping, and heavy breathing, heading in his direction.
He opens his eyes and glares behind him, but his gaze softens when he recognizes who it was that had followed him. A mare, with stunning blue eyes and an amethyst mane, had followed him. He immediately realizes that she is Autumn Gem. She stares up at him with pleading eyes, ears laid back against her head. Her ears perk up and she shakes her head sadly, on the verge of tears. She’s visibly shivering, although whether it’s from the cold or her sadness, the unicorn has no idea.
He closes his eyes again, focusing on his magic, and teleports his scarf around her neck. Her eyes widen in surprise at the sudden action, but she immediately recovers and looks up at the unicorn again. He looks back at her and smiles as he walks to her side. He pulls her into a hug, sheltering her from the cold. He releases her and walks her back to the Crystal Empire.
Immediately after escorting Autumn Gem home, he heads to the library. There, he searches through book after countless other books, before something finally catches his eye. A dark magic spell, one that will give him limitless control over the ponies of the Empire. He begins reading, and is introduced to a story.
There once was a prince, who was unhappy with his position in the Crystal Empire’s hierarchy. He sought for power, looking to rule the Empire. He spent countless days and nights combining different pieces of magic before finally creating the spell he wanted. Dark magic pulsed from his horn as he chanted these words:
“Audi vocem meam, et adorabunt.
Etium dominum tuum, in conspectu tuo, posui.
Rex novus sum, audientes faciemus ea.”
Once those words were spoken, the entire Empire fell under his control, although the takeover was gradual. The Empire’s only form of defense, the Crystal heart, was stolen away and sealed into a room. It was not until King Amethyst rallied the guards of the Empire and returned the Heart to it’s rightful place that the prince’s reign was over. Since then, the Empire has remained peaceful, King Amethyst’s line continuing to the present day.
The unicorn looks down at the book and can’t help but imagine himself as that prince. A green fire begins burning in the stallion’s eyes and he starts chanting the words, charging up his horn. It becomes sheathed in a black aura, green and purple sparks jumping from the tip. He focuses on his magic, and the one candle in the room sputters out.
When he wakes up, the book is burnt, and so is the ground. He hears a maniacal laughter from behind him and turns to see himself standing there, only his horn is a curved, wicked-looking thing, all red. His eyes are a pure green, and purple mist flows from the corners of his eyes. His black mane and tail are flowing as though manipulated by the breeze, yet there is no wind.
The unicorn stallion’s eyes widen as he realizes what he has done. He stands, and turns to face the evil duplicate, but he is no longer there. The unicorn stallion curses and hurries outside, following the faint hoofsteps left in the snow.
The noise of his galloping reaches Autumn Gem, and she secretly follows him, his scarf wrapped around her neck again. They reach a frozen lake just outside the Empire momentarily. The unicorn stands at the top of a hill overlooking the lake, and Autumn Gem stands behind him, hidden among the trees. The snow and wind whip around the unicorn as he searches for his target.
The stallion’s twin shows himself out on the lake, and spots the unicorn standing atop the hill. The unicorn teleports down onto the lake and faces his twin with a growl. Autumn rushes to the edge of the hill, anxious to see what happens. The twin smiles menacingly and teleports the Crystal Heart away.
The unicorn closes his eyes, memories of Autumn Gem flashing before his eyes. The chain of memories ends with an image of what she’ll be like if he doesn’t win this. He charges up his horn and opens his eyes, glaring at the twin. He creates a volley of crystal shards, holding them behind him.
With another growl, the unicorn throws the shards at the twin, who just laughs and creates a small shield, catching the shards and dropping them to the ground. The unicorn, unfazed, creates a sword of crystal and charges at the twin. The twin launches a beam of dark energy at the charging stallion, shattering his sword and weakening him drastically. The stallion picks himself up, standing straight and charging up his horn again.
With a cry of hatred, he slams his forelegs down on the ice, causing cracks to ripple out towards the twin. They reach the twin and an enormous red crystal shoots up out of the ice, catching the twin off guard and flinging him backwards along the ice. The unicorn teleports over the twin and pins him to the ice as the cracks continue radiating out towards them. The twin grins and transforms into a black cloud, chaining the unicorn to the ice.
The cracks continue growing, until they finally reach the stallion. He charges up his horn but it’s no use. With one last look back, he sees Autumn standing on the hill, but then the ice below him opens up and he plunges into the cold water, the black cloud still wrapped around him. He tries holding his breath, but the cold makes it impossible and he releases the breath, slowly fading out of consciousness.
He reaches his hoof out towards the hole in the ice, but the darkness takes him. The black cloud invades the stallion’s body, making him the perfect image of both the stallion himself and the twin. The stallion’s cutie mark changes from a red crystal to a black one.
Autumn watches the whole thing happen in shock, sadness, and anger. She feels helpless, and mentally berates herself. Tears form at the corners of her eyes and freeze in midair as they fall to the ground. She presses her ears against her head and shakes her head slightly in disbelief.
With a green burst of light, the now-possessed unicorn emerges from the water, landing on the ice and grinning. Autumn’s disbelief grows and her ears perk up, before she realizes that he’s not the same anymore. In a flash of light, the stallion teleports both himself and Autumn to the Crystal Castle. He sits on the throne and crowns himself king, enslaving the population of Crystal Ponies, including Autumn Gem.
She looks up at him sadly as he stands on a balcony overhead. She turns to her friends, sighing. “He’s changed. He’s not the Sombra I used to know…”
