It was moments like these in which Twilight wished she could travel back in time, so she could right her wrongs. Sadly, those were the desperate dreams of a mare running for her life. Twilight was running alongside the rest of her friends away from the once beautiful Crystal Empire with Cadence and Shining Armor trailing not far behind. Already, Sombra's corruption was working its way to the edge of the city at frightening speed.
Their escape plan was simple: reach the train station, board the closest train, and return to Equestria as soon as possible to inform the princesses of their failure. However, black crystals jutted up from the ground before they could reach their destination, blocking their path. A cold chill crept up Twilight's spine, the chill one felt when they knew they were being watched.
Twilight knew who was behind her. She knew they'd been caught. She didn't want to see, to believe the truth, but he was faster than they were, and she had no choice.
Slowly, she turned to face reality. She saw Sombra slowly approaching them, a smug grin on his face as if he'd already won. Twilight wanted to fight that reality, but she knew it was true. Sombra had won, and the blame rested solely on her shoulders. Sombra had been faster than her, and he got to the Crystal Heart before she could. Because of her pride, an entire civilization, a race, would pay the price. Shame and despair ruled Twilight's heart. How foolish could she have been? Due to her inability to let others help, an entire civilization would be enslaved under a dark ruler.
She had the chance to do what was right; she could have let Spike take the Crystal Heart and bring it back to Cadence, but instead she foolishly tried to do everything herself. She looked back at her friends, brother and sister-in-law. None of them looked back at her. They all stared at the approaching armored stallion with expressions ranging from anger to despair. She had failed them as well, and unlike the crystal ponies, her hubris may have cost them the ultimate price.
"No," she thought. "I won't let them suffer for my mistake!"
She shook her head to clear it, and with a renewed determination in her eyes, she glared at the approaching black figure that was Sombra with a fury, a dark ferocity she forgot she had inside her. "Rainbow, Fluttershy" she barked. "Start flying the others over to the other side of the crystal barrier. I'll buy you time to do it!" She didn't even turn to look at them. There were no doubts in her mind that they would obey her orders, but she also knew they would be hesitant to leave her alone. Despite her failures, it was she they looked to for leadership in times like these.
What she didn't expect was for Applejack, of all ponies, to voice their concerns. The longer they stood there, the less time they had to escape. "Hold up, Sugarcube. You don't expect us to just let you face 'im all by yourself, now do you!?" The question was rhetorical, and it was apparent that Applejack intended to stay; however, before Twilight could attempt to dissuade her, someone else answered for her.
"Don't worry! There's no way I'd let my little sister face such danger alone," Shining Armor, her brother, reassured as he walked to stand beside Twilight. Even though his magic had been disabled when Sombra cursed his horn, he would stand with his sister if it meant protecting her friends, and by extension, his friends and his wife.
Twilight knew she should have expected Shining Armor to come and help her, though she had prayed he would not. He would be at a severe disadvantage without the use of his magic. She looked back at Shining Armor with uncertainty and fear. After all, he was still cursed, and painfully so by the looks of things; the dark crystals jutting from his horn weren't receding. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves. She knew that it was impossible to try changing her brother's mind once he was set on a path he deemed righteous, so instead she nodded in agreement, though reluctantly still.
"Please dear, don't do this. You can't even use your magic right now!" the weak voice of Cadence pleaded behind Shining Armor as she embraced him from behind in fear that if she was to let him go he would disappear forever.
Shining Armor reciprocated her feelings by touching their horns together and squeezing one of her hooves with his own reassuringly in an attempt to soothe her fear of losing him. "Cadence, I have to do this. Twilight saved our lives at the wedding, and I owe her the same. I let her down the last time she needed my help, and I won't make that mistake again," Shining Armor said as he remembered the events of his wedding and how everything went to Tartarus because he wouldn't listen to or help Twilight. "I'll stand beside her and fight to buy you time to get to safety. Go get help. I'll be alright," He said with resolution as he let go of Cadence and took a step toward Sombra.
"Okay Shining, but come back to me; promise me this!" Cadence pleaded as tears ran down her face.
"I promise. Now go; start flying the others over already." Shining Armor said as he looked back at Cadence, then at Rainbow and Fluttershy. That prompted the former Pegasus to salute sharply and the latter to nod meekly. They each picked up one of their friends, and Cadence picked up Spike. They flew off, leaving Shining Armor and Twilight to fight Sombra alone.
As Cadence's hooves left the ground, a deep chuckle emanated from Sombra, which demanded their attention in an instant. Without warning, he sent a black ball of dark magic hurtling toward Shining Armor. He'd apparently been charging it up as the group discussed their plan. Just before hitting the stallion, the spell dissipated against a hastily placed shield. Shining whipped his head around to see his sister's horn glowing in a magenta aura. She had narrowly saved his life by placing that shield. After a second more, the thing shattered. Her magic could only do so much on such short notice.
"Woah! Thanks Twily, that's twice I owe you now," Shining Armor exclaimed as he looked Twilight over, wanting to ensure that she was alright, herself.
"You're my BBBFF. I will always have your back," Twilight said with a cheeky grin, which rapidly returned to her earlier frown as her gaze settled back onto Sombra.
For his part Sombra just chuckled in amusement upon seeing the purple mare's defiance. It would be a good way for him to exercise, after all someone doesn't spend a thousand and a half years locked away in cold exile without getting... rusty.
After a quick study of Shining Armor, Sombra dismissed him completely, deciding he posed little threat without the use of his magic. He instead began to charge a more powerful blast meant for Twilight. However, he was surprised out of the attack as Shining came at him with an upward vertical strike with his sword, meant to cut Sombra's head through the center. It was all Sombra could do to summon his own sword of black crystal and hold it up in his magical grasp, barely deflecting the blow before the sword pierced his flesh. With a grunt, Sombra managed to shove Shining several meters back, surprisingly strong, even for a stallion of his size.
Shining Armor slid back into place beside his sister. Leaning in to her ear, he hastily whispered, "Twily, I need you to start charging up for the most powerful spell you know. I'll distract him in the meantime."
"Okay, but be careful Shiny. I won't be able to help you while I'm getting this ready," Twilight explained nervously. Her eyes let on just how worried she was as she cast her gaze upon him.
"Come on Twilight! Show that big meanie who's boss!" Came the exited voice of Pinkie Pie. Looking back at her friend, Twilight couldn't help but smile. Pinkie was jumping up and down, a pair of pom-poms on her hooves. No matter what, her friends would always be there for her.
"Unless I mess up here." She looked back to her brother and gulped.
Shining nodded at Twilight, giving her a reassuring smile as big brothers always do. He once again launched himself at Sombra, his sword in mouth. He swung the sword horizontally from left to right, attempting to gut the dark king. Unfortunately, his actions were slower without the use of his magic, and Sombra saw this second attack coming. He was more than ready for the white knight this time. In the blink of an eye, the swords collided, clashing and sparking as they ground together in an impressive show of force.
The stallions jumped back, parting from one another as neither managed to break through their opponent's defenses. Sombra smirked smugly at the unicorn, and Shining Armor stared back with determination, a calm expression of stone which held no fear, a testament to his time in battle.
This time, it was Sombra who took the offensive. He lunged at Shining Armor for a downward strike that Shining easily dodged to the side. So caught up in plans for a counter-attack, Shining Armor left himself wide open for Sombra to continue his assault. The dark king thrust his sword at Shining armor's side. A mere moment before the unicorn was impaled, he was pulled away by an arcane force, a magenta aura carrying him to safety. He'd been sloppy, and his imminent danger had broken his sister's concentration.
"Thanks little sis," Shining said, sighing in relief. Had that blow hit, Shining would surely have met his end.
"Be more careful next time, Shiny. I won't be able to save you every time," Twilight warned, as she continued to concentrate on building up the spell she intended to end Sombra with. The spell must have been powerful, as it was clear that simply preparing it was taking a toll on her body. Sweat fell to the ground below as it dripped in beads from her body.
Meanwhile Sombra was taking his time to watch and study the pair that stood before him. As he had thought, the white stallion was nothing more than a hindrance, but the purple mare was something else entirely. He could feel the magical energy building up around her, and it would have been terrifying to him if he did not already possess such strength, bestowed upon him when he acquired the Crystal Heart. How one could produce such power without an artifact though was beyond him. Guessing what she had in store for him, Sombra cast an invisible shield around himself, a barrier against magic of such high caliber.
When Sombra was busy casting the spell, Shining Armor took the opportunity to strike, but Sombra heard him as he charged. His spell was long finished before Shining got within range. Sombra prepared to cast a second spell which would incapacitate the white stallion long enough for him to attack with a deadly blow without resistance.
As Shining saw Sombra's horn enveloped in its dark light, he tried to send a magic bolt to cancel the flow of magic, but remembered too late that he had lost the use of his magic as long as Sombra's curse remained. He had no choice but to continue his charge unprotected now, too close to stop. Sombra's horn emitted a blinding magical light. Shining slid across the ground as he battled his momentum to stop, shielding his eyes with a hoof as well.
As the light dissipated, Shining reopened his eyes just in time to react as Sombra stabbed in his direction, straight for his heart. His training in the Royal Guard allowed him just enough skill and experience to save his life. He quickly parried Sombra's sword to the side.
Unfortunately, he was incapable of completely deviating the sword from its course at such close range, and the sword pierced his right shoulder instead, coming out the other side with savage force.
Shining Armor cried out in pain, dropping the sword from his mouth. The blood was already pouring from his wound and pooling on the ground below. The sword held in place was all that kept him from dying of blood loss. As he felt Sombra begin to pull his sword away, Shining grabbed the blade painfully with a hoof, grunting as it dug into the flesh of his fetlock. With his other hoof, he punched Sombra in the jaw with as much force as he could muster in his current condition. The blow wasn't strong enough to do Sombra any actual harm, but it did surprise him, and that alone made him let go of his sword with his magical grip and stumble back a few steps.
Twilight heard Shining's cry of pain, as well as a collective gasp from her friends as they watched from the other side of the barrier, and instantly opened her eyes, careful not to break the concentration she held on her spell. Surveying the scene, she saw Shining Armor standing in a small pool of blood, a black sword through his shoulder. Sombra sat upon his haunches just a few meters away, rubbing his muzzle as if he'd been hit. He most likely had been, but obviously not before trading a much deadlier blow for it. In her concern for her brother, Twilight nearly lost control over her spell, but her years of study under Celestia's tutelage allowed her to calm her mind in time to save her progress. Already, Sombra was advancing once more upon Shining Armor.
Her brother was helpless, sitting on his haunches and breathing heavily, doing all he could do to stop the bleeding. She knew the spell wasn't ready, but she had to use it, lest her brother be slain. With a gentle sigh, she let her magic go. A massive, magenta beam shot from her horn toward Sombra, lightning bolting from it in all directions.
Sombra, for his part, could not believe the audacity of this stallion. For such an impudent foal to lay a hoof on him, there would be no mercy. Nay, the stallion would die by the Sword of the Dark King Sombra! This was the end. Just as Sombra had approached Shining once more, and his magic had set about pulling his sword from the unicorn's shoulder, something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. Turning his head completely, he saw the spell hurtling toward him at ungodly speed. It was more powerful than he had expected, and his shield would possibly do little in the way of protection. He had no time to brace himself or strengthen the barrier before the blast hit him square in the chest. The beam threw Sombra back, carrying him through the air into some unfortunate soul's home.
Twilight jumped in child-like joy, surprised that the unfinished spell had such a satisfying effect; however, the moment died soon after it started when she remembered her brother was in need of immediate medical attention. As fast as she could, she ran to Shining's side to assess the damage the sword had inflicted.
To say she was shocked by the severity of the wound would have been paramount to saying that Pinkie was a little talkative. She was, in fact, horrified. Her eyes widened and jaw dropped in terror at the wound before her. Shining's foreleg was nearly severed by the sword, as its massive width was almost enough to cut it clean off. Twilight surmised that if Shining could move his leg, any attempt to do so would undoubtedly be painful and risk severing the limb completely.
Shaking herself from the shock-induced catatonic state she'd found herself in, Twilight assessed the wound more closely to determine what she could do to save her brother. Knowing that any more blood loss could result in death, she cast a stasis spell on the shoulder to stop the bleeding altogether before pulling the sword from it; however, the wound would need to be cauterized and stitched together on each side soon, or the damage could be irreparable. Unfortunately, the spell used for the cauterization of wounds required highly focused magic to be built up within the horn, causing a white hot heat. It was advanced magic that couldn't be done quickly. She needed to get her brother and her friends out of the Crystal Empire first. She could operate on the train.
Shining smiled at Twilight as she treated his wound, happy that he'd been able to distract Sombra long enough for Twilight's spell to take effect. Just as he was about to congratulate her on a job well done, he caught something from the corner of his eye. It wasn't anything more than a twinkling of black and green from the center of the dust cloud surrounding Sombra's body, but Shining Armor knew that was trouble. Instinctively, he utilized his good leg to push his sister to the ground and out of harm's way.
Unfortunately, he had no time to save himself. Just as Twilight hit the ground, a sharp pain shot through Shining Armor's chest. Slowly looking down at himself, he could see several black crystals had embedded themselves in his chest. His vision grew blurry, the sounds around him muffled. He could just barely make out the screams of terror from his sister and wife before losing consciousness. His seemingly lifeless body slumped down to the ground.
Twilight was in disbelief as the events played over and over in her head. This couldn't have happened. Sombra had been defeated! He was dead! Shining had to be alive. She screamed in terror and pain. Her sobs were met with clouded vision as the tears welled up in her eyes and fell upon her brother's body below. It wasn't long before she composed herself. She looked back up in Sombra's direction with a fiery hatred in her eyes. She saw Sombra approaching from the settling dust, completely unscathed from the spell that had sent him flying into a building. Twilight's cries became those of rage as her mane and tail became roaring flames. Her fur began to pale to a bright white, and her eyes began to glow a bright crimson. In her fry, Twilight's horn discharged all of her magic at Sombra, but this was no spell. This was raw, magical energy meant to completely obliterate all traces of the Dark King from existence. She wanted to disintegrate Sombra.
Sombra smirked as he saw the rage and sorrow he'd caused Twilight. This was the source of his power: fear, hatred, rage. It warmed his heart to feel such power surging through him. The moment didn't last long, however, as his smirk deteriorated into an expression of shock as an even larger burst of magic came hurtling toward him. It was too quick to evade, and the wall of magic collided with him, sending him once again into the rubble of the same house he crashed into not a moment ago. This time, his barrier was not enough to protect him completely, and he cried out as several of his ribs broke under the pressure. Large bruises began forming on his back as he was thrust against the previously undamaged wall on the far end of the house. Shakily, he rose to his hooves. He hurt all over, and his head was spinning both from the raw magic infiltrating his mind and the sheer force at which he'd been hit.
Meanwhile Twilight slumped to the ground, panting hard and completely exhausted, with her magical reserve at a critical low. With a glance in Shining Armor's direction, relief washed over her. He was still breathing, though his respirations were agonizing. He would surely die if not treated soon, but he was still alive, and that alone gave Twilight hope that he could survive, that they all could survive. She returned her gaze to where she'd once more sent Sombra flying through the air in the hope that he'd be gone, disintegrated under the full force of her magical might, only to have that hope crushed as she watched him emerge from the dust once more, only injured as if he'd lost a common scrap.
She knew that this time it was over. She could not defeat him, nor did she have the power to try again. She was exhausted both physically and magically. Looking to her friends, she could make out the faint shape of Rainbow Dash in the distance, obviously on her side of the barrier once more. The magic Twilight had emitted had caused the billowing dust to even surround herself. Twilight understood what Rainbow needed her to do. She smiled faintly, and with the last of her strength, she took Shining Armor in her magical hold and hurled him at the oncoming Rainbow Dash. The last thing she saw was Rainbow Dash catching her brother before she fell to the ground.
She had done it. She bought time for all of her friends to escape. Her vision grew dark, and she lost consciousness.
Once he emerged from the heavier dust cloud, Sombra's dark expression deepened as he saw that blasted purple mare had used her magic to send the white stallion to safety. However, his mood improved when he watched the unicorn slump unconsciously to the ground. His muzzle broke out into a wicked grin. This was just what he wanted. The mare had proven herself to be a magical prodigy, and he would enjoy nothing more than breaking her into the perfect tool of destruction.
With that thought in mind he approached Twilight Sparkle, limping to close the short distance between them. He levitated her up and onto his back and began to make his way back to his castle where he would place her in his new dungeon. As he approached it, the castle began to change, reverting back into the dark, black towers he'd known and loved.
Now the process could begin.
Rainbow was surprised to see Shining Armor being hurled so carelessly at her through the air, but at least she saw him before he had time to collide with her, and so she had time to position herself so that he landed safely on her back, just under her wings. From that position, she could carry him to safety. She didn't have the strength to carry both Twilight and Shining, and that meant she didn't have time to survey the situation. She needed to get Shining over the barrier so that she could come back for Twilight. She hadn't even thought to assess Shining Armor, though she felt something run across her back. Once she arrived at the edge of the city though, the gasp of her friends and Cadence made her look down at Shining Armor for the first time, and only now realizing how injured he was. His blood had been what she felt, trickling down her body slowly. Something was still stopping him from bleeding too much. Shocked at just how badly he'd been beaten, she lowered him onto the ground.
Immediately, Cadence broke from the group, running to the unconscious form of her husband. She knelt beside him with tears streaming down her face as she looked him over more closely to assess the damage done to him. When she saw him for the first time, within Rainbow's arms, she thought he was dead, but to her relief, and to the relief of the others, he was breathing, although it was shallow. No, he wasn't dead, but he was dying.
"If Shining Armor is in such a condition, what happened to Twilight?" Cadence demanded as she looked up from Shining Armor to Rainbow Dash with bloodshot, worried eyes. Her tears fell from her face onto her husband below as she looked up at his savior.
"I don't know" Rainbow answered, unsure of herself. "I could barely see a thing, and he was falling through the air. Twilight must have thrown him at me or something! I didn't stay long enough to check on what happened to her after that big explosion she caused," Rainbow explained, he fear for her friend's safety clearly written across her face. "I-I gotta' go! Don't worry, I'm going right back in there to get her!" With that, she bolted away, ready to help Twilight in her battle with Sombra; however, she had no way of knowing that the battle had long since finished. Rainbow Dash was too late, and Sombra had been the victor, taking Twilight as his prize.
When she arrived on the scene, Rainbow Dash saw only rubble and a house in shambles. Crystal ponies were emerging from their homes in terrified curiosity, but there were no signs of their dark king or Twilight anywhere. "Where the hay are you Twilight?" Rainbow called out, scanning the battlefield once more for any sign of her friend but coming up empty handed just as before. Rainbow didn't want to believe that Twilight, of all ponies, could have lost to Sombra, but if they were both gone, that could only mean one thing. Sombra had defeated her. It was painful for Rainbow to even think, but here she was living that reality.
She flew over the entire area, scanning it twice, three times, and a fourth time. Still, no sign of them. She landed at the location of the battle, Shining's blood still fresh on the ground.
Her worry turned to rage as she turned and punched the crystal barrier, leaving a few small cracks as well as bloodying her hoof. Twilight was gone, and there was nothing she could do...
A tear ran down Rainbow's cheek, and with a pained sigh, she flew back to let the others hear the upsetting news. They were anxiously awaiting her return. When she landed, they were each surprised to see that she was alone. She was swarmed by frantic questions from her friends.
"Where is Twilight?"
"What happened to Sombra?"
"Why is Twilight not with you?"
"Did we win?"
"Should we go back?"
"Is Twilight alright?"
Rainbow's brow twitched angrily at the barrage of questions. Taking a deep breath to ready herself, she shouted, "ENOUGH!"
The group quieted down, but it was at that time that Cadence stood up, stepping away from her husband for the time being to approach Rainbow Dash cautiously. As calm and collected as can be, she asked a single question in a gentle voice, scared what the answer may be. "Rainbow, Where is my little sister?" There was a dark, icy twinge of fear in her voice as she spoke those words.
Looking dejectedly to the side with her head hanging down in shame at having left her friend behind, Rainbow shuddered in her failure. She could have stayed and fought, but she'd left Twilight to fend for herself. "I don't know, Cadence. I'm sorry. I looked everywhere, but I couldn't find her. I think Sombra took her. I think... he won."
Not one of them said a word as the crushing reality of what Rainbow had just said crashed down upon them. It rocked them to the core. Twilight Sparkle, personal student to Princess Celestia and magical prodigy, had been defeated. Pinkie's hair deflated as Fluttershy and Spike began to cry, hugging each other tight. Applejack took off her hat and looked away with a grimace. She wanted to stay, to fight for Twilight, but she knew where that course of action would lead. What help could they be in their current condition. They would only suffer more casualties.
"Ah think we should leave now, girls." Applejack piped in, the only one to speak since Rainbow Dash. She sounded disgusted with herself, but this was the only course of action: live to fight another day.
"Whoa, whoa, AJ! We can't just leave Twilight like this! She needs our help right now!" Rainbow answered incredulously. She couldn't believe Applejack would suggest leaving a friend in peril such as this.
"And how do y'all expect us ta do that, Sugarcube? Look at us; we’re not fighters, an' even if we were, Cadence is exhausted and Shining is out for the count." Applejack explained.
Rainbow scoffed. She didn't want to admit it, but she knew Applejack was right. She couldn't see any positive solution to this, no matter how she looked at it. She felt responsible for all this. She could have helped. Twilight could have been saved, but instead she had abandoned her friend. Now she was at the complete mercy of King Sombra, and there was nothing any of them could do about it. Defeated, Rainbow asked, "What are you suggesting we do then, AJ?"
''Ah'm suggesting that we go back to Canterlot, inform the princess' of what happened, and then come back to save Twilight with help," she answered.
"Applejack is right, Rainbow," Cadence pitched in as she stood by Applejack With her husband at her hooves, she looked down at him and ran a hoof through his mane. It wasn't easy being a princess, but for the sake of others she had to appear strong, and right now supporting Applejack's decision was for the best of the group, especially for Shining Armor. "We have to warn Aunt Celestia and Aunt Luna if we want to have even the slightest chance to save Twilight. We could have the entire Royal Guard backing us."
Rarity was staying strong for the others, murmuring gentle encouragements to Fluttershy and Pinkie to calm them, despite having a hard time coping with the situation herself. She felt it would be selfish of her to let that pain be known when the others still needed help. Something else though, or lack thereof rather, began to worry her to no end. She began to pace, looking this way and that, but no matter how hard she looked, there was no trace of Spike. "Girls!" she cried out. Her call went unnoticed, unanswered, and so she repeated herself, louder this time. This earned her the attention of the entire group. "Where is Spike? Has anypony seen Spikey?" That was the million bit question. Where was Spike?
As the others starting looking around, they stopped talking, stopped crying or sniveling, and they all began to hear it. It was the sound of sobbing in the distance.
Rarity was the first to hear the sound, and as she approached the crystal barrier, the sobbing grew louder. When she peered around a large piece of black crystal jutting from the ground, she finally found Spike, sobbing as he clung to the barrier and peered inside. "Spikey! there you are, Darling! Please, we have to leave now, before that ruffian Sombra gets back." The words fell on deaf ears. Spike was broken, the news that Twilight had been captured putting him in such a state that he was shut away from the world. She pulled him up and away in her magical grip, but he began to thrash and scream, fighting to get back to Twilight. It pained Rarity to see him like that, but she kept on. They needed to leave.
Once the group was reassembled, they passed through the barrier into the empty tundra that surrounded the Crystal Empire, and made their way to the train station. Shining Armor was draped across the backs of both Applejack and Pinkie Pie, and Rarity continued to hold Spike. He fought against her magic the entire way to the train station, kicking and screaming for Twilight. From there, they bought tickets to Canterlot, where they would approach the princesses with the grave news of their failure. Cadence just prayed that there would be a doctor on board.
Twilight felt as though she were floating. Floating... upside-down. She had absolutely no sense of direction in this senseless abandon, nor could she feel the ground beneath her hooves. However, her head felt extremely flushed as if gravity was taking hold, which led her to believe she was upside down. She could feel herself gliding forward, pulled by some unknown force, and she trembled from the unbearable cold that enveloped her body entirely.
True to her scientific mind, her thoughts were a jumbled mess of possible explanations and questions as she struggled to remember the nightmare she had just woken from...
Furthermore, she couldn't remember having ever fallen to sleep at all...
That's when the pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place. She hadn't fallen to sleep. With that fact established there was another question yet to be answered; where exactly was she?
She remembered the crimson-red sky, dotted with clouds of black smoke that billowed out from somewhere. She remembered her friends, her brother... Cadance... with a terrifying grin, a shadowy figure approached... then, there was fighting, though she could scarcely recall the details, and... Rainbow Dash...
Twilight swore she could feel her heart stop beating. Suddenly everything made so much sense, including the disorientation she'd been feeling.
She was in the Crystal Empire. Her loss of consciousness had been caused by extreme stress on her magic reserves. She prayed her friends had escaped. They had escaped... right? She had sacrificed herself, letting them escape and staying behind alone with...
Sombra...
A sinister voice invaded her mind, creeping into the most private recesses of her thoughts and taking hold like sick tendrils. It filled her head with the cruel laughter of her captor. She could only describe it as the voice of darkness itself, and it chilled her heart.
"Oh my, did somepony have a bad dream?" the darkness mocked. It felt so wrong for it to be speaking directly to her mind like this. "Well, I'm afraid it wasn't a dream, my dear. Open your eyes."
She refused to comply. Her studious mind was already reeling with so many more unanswered questions. She struggled to find the answers to them, including the identity of this vile voice. It sounded eerily familiar... Hoping to feign unconsciousness, she still refused to open her eyes and face this voice head on.
"Don't bother playing dead with me. So long as you are under the effects of my magic, I can read your every thought. Now, open your eyes."
Despair flooded her bosom, causing an intense wave of nausea. She knew the spell. She'd used it once on her own friends. She was helplessly motionless, trapped in the magical grasp of some...thing. Had she been captured?
"I said... open. Your. Eyes," the voice growled.
She felt herself stop moving forward, and a chill went up her spine as some immaterial force gripped her eyelids.
"You will obey me, or I will make sure you can never close them again." The darkness was growing ever more impatient with her, and she dared not call its bluff.
Slowly, she opened her eyes. Rather than the blinding light she had expected, she was met with a dimly lit corridor of grey crystals that had long since lost their shine, giving them the appearance of common stone. Blood-red flames poured out of black sconces on the walls, providing an eerie light.
Possibly before the room itself, she noticed the aura around her, a hardly-visible black and red stream. Just seeing it caused a foreboding chill to course through her veins.
"Good. Now look at me." The stern voice was no longer in her head; it was right next to her right ear.
Twilight felt every muscle in her body tense up. Under normal circumstances, she recognized the voice all too well. She didn't want to believe he was there. She wanted to believe she was still dreaming, or that it was all some cruel joke... She could deny it all she wanted, but the lord of darkness would still come.
She struggled against the iron grip of the magic which surrounded her. She aimed to turn her head away from the voice; she aimed to be defiant.
Her struggle was in vain.
An involuntary gasp of horror escaped her lips as she came face to face with the stallion of her nightmares, the stallion which took all her might head on and still came out on top. There was the face of King Sombra, so close she could feel his breath wash over her muzzle. Her field of vision was nearly filled completely by those captivating eyes. How menacing they were, red irises set upon green sclera and pupils that held no reflection. Instead, they seemed they could trap the soul of any whom gazed into their darkness.
She let out a piercing scream, shutting tight her eyes to avoid Sombra's gaze. In a terrified frenzy, she attempted to shoot a burst of magic at her captor, but it had hardly left her horn before it was met with the dark aura enveloping her form and came back at her in full force. At such a close range, she had released enough concentrated magic to possibly kill smaller animals. As her world went black, her heart was once more gripped by despair.
_____________________________________
Just as before, Twilight returned to the living world within a disorienting darkness. The only difference she could ascertain from this experience and the last was that she no longer felt the ominous sensation of floating, held in mid air by Sombra's dark magic. However, it was apparent she was still upside-down. Her head throbbed with the stinging pain that accompanied several hours of being held with her head closest to the ground. The sensation was nigh unbearable.
Still shutting her eyes to the terrible reality of her situation, she felt herself being held to some cold, hard object she dared not guess the identity of by her rear legs. At least that explained why she was still upside-down.
She waited. With the throbbing of her head ticking the time away like a silent metronome, she awaited the cruel laughter of the dark lord. She anticipated his sickly hot breath upon her muzzle. All that greeted her was a dead silence that terrified her far more than anything else.
After what she assumed to be several minutes, Twilight declared she was alone and it was safe to open her eyes. Tentatively, she did just that.
I'm awfully close to the ceiling... oh, right. Upside-down, she thought. Apparently the blood rushing to her head for so long had muddled her thought process.
Twilight took note that she was in the back-left corner of some sort of cell. There was a window near the ceiling to her right. Her position in the opposite corner, gave her a view of the still-crimson sky, but she had to strain to see it. She assumed night hadn't fallen yet... or that she had already slept the night away. The wall opposite her had a metal door with a slat cut out. It had metal bars there to protect any viewers and prevent her escape. She found the entire thing to be a bit redundant considering the rest of the cell wall was composed completely of said bars.
Celestia had always taught her not to panic in such situations. She'd warned Twilight that it took a level head to get out unscathed, and so she took a deep breath, letting it out shakily. She would have to work on the whole "not panicking" thing. Still, one by one she began to recall the events leading up to her current predicament and put them in the proper order. To any normal pony, this would be considered a timeline of sorts, but this was no ordinary pony. This was Twilight Sparkle, and Twilight Sparkle had extraordinary anxiety issues. No, to Twilight this was no timeline. This was a checklist of events which needed to occur to create the exact situation she found herself in. That was much better. It was organization, and nothing calmed her down like organization.
Okay, Sombra cornered us... she thought.
I told Rainbow and Fluttershy to fly the others to safety...
Shining and I fought him...
Shining was... injured... She involuntarily gulped as she recalled the details of such injury and what it had taken just to stabilize the wound. Shaking her head, she moved on to the next event.
I was exhausted... got low on magic...
Uh... what happened next? Oh! I used the rest of my magic on Sombra... She shuddered. I never want to be that angry again....
But he got back up... again. Twilight's exasperation was clear, even in her thoughts.
Everyone else was over the wall except me and Shiny...
I tossed him at Rainbow Dash...
Then... I was... in a hallway? I must have blacked out, because I can't remember anything else in between...
But then... that voice...
I can't remember anything after that except...
Sombra's face.
Relinquished from Sombra's dark magic, the cold aura that had once enveloped her was long gone, but that didn't keep a chill from travelling down (or up) her spine at the mere thought of that vile creature's face.
Her only companion was still the maddening silence that permeated the air like a thick fog. There was no way she could calm down as she was. She needed to hear something. With the blood rushing to her brain, it took three head throbs to remember that she too could make noise. Had she the energy, she would have smacked herself for not thinking of it sooner. She began to think out loud, talking to herself.
"I'm a prisoner here... in the Crystal Empire. Oh Celestia, I'm so sorry... I failed..." Twilight whimpered. "The others got out. My friends are all okay, but how many others could have died from my failure? Why couldn't I just let Spike take the Crystal Heart? I may have failed your test, but at least these lives could have been spared! Now Sombra controls everything here... Maybe he's already enslaved the Crystal Ponies again...
Maybe some of them will fight back?" she asked, mostly to herself. "The festival almost made them normal again..." Twilight tried to hold on to that last glimmer of hope, but it was shattered when she remembered the Heart.
Sombra had full control of the Crystal Heart and, by extension, the Crystal Ponies. She remembered how the Heart had turned jet black, a crack forming down the middle with a murky green light leaking out.
With the last of her hope extinguished, Twilight gave in to the feeling of despair she'd become so accustomed to. With hope out of the question and having already assessed the room, as well as categorize the day's events, Twilight was at a loss for what to do next to pass the time and distract her from the terrible silence which once more threatened to take hold. Having refused to do so before, she decided to look at her rear legs and the apparatus which held them, but she had to strain and bend her midsection to get a clear look. She let out a low growl and held in her breath, clearly struggling to hold her body in that position.
Her hooves were being held in place to the crystal wall by metal clamps, but as far as Twilight could tell, there was no release mechanism to speak of. In fact, she wondered how Sombra had managed to apply the clamps in the first place. They were clearly fixated to the wall. Her frustration from being perplexed by such a device allowed her to ignore the pain they caused as they bit into the flesh of her fetlocks. They were fighting against gravity to hold her suspended in place.
With an irritated huff, Twilight allowed herself to flop down into position, but her head spun as all the blood came rushing to her head once more. "Great," she grumbled, "Now this is really going to bother me. How in Celestia's name did he get me in clamps that can't open?"
Twilight began to think of alternative means to escape captivity. It was now apparent there were no locks to pick, not that she knew how to pick a lock anyway. She'd read a book on it once, but many times over her friends had reminded her that without hooves-on practice, knowledge of such things had no real practical use.
Magic was out of the question as well. The heightened blood pressure in her head made casting spells of any sort dangerous, most likely the reason she was still upside-down at all. Even a juvenile spell could cause a burst blood vessel, an aneurism, or even a minor stroke. A spell like teleportation could do much, much worse.
She once read an article on an incident surrounding an unfortunate Unicorn submariner. His one-pony submersible had undergone a complication, and the hull was breached, forcing him to swim to the surface. He didn't think he would make it, so he attempted to cast a water-breathing spell. The immense water pressure, which should have killed him anyway, combined with the struggle of casting the spell, caused his horn to explode.
Surprisingly, the stallion survived, even receiving a timely horn transplant. Interestingly enough, there are quite a few donations of horns each year, either from the elderly or young adults who discover they're "Earth ponies in Unicorn bodies." To this day, the submariner lives his life with a horn of a different color than his coat.
Twilight tried to imagine herself walking around with an orange horn, or maybe a blue one before deciding this juvenile train of thought was produced by the increased cranial pressure she was experiencing. This was a serious situation, and so she shook her head in an attempt to dismiss the thought all together. It wasn't a well thought out plan, and thus it was one she immediately regretted. Her stomach rolled over in a fit of nausea as the room spun around her.
When the world was finally still once more, she raised her front legs to rub her horn. She was met with a jingling sound.
Only now did she realize that her front legs were bound together by a primitive iron cuff, which had a chain leading off of it and into the wall directly to the left of her. The cuff itself only had one opening, occupied by her own hooves. The other end was closed off, preventing her from even seeing her hooves.
Twilight heaved out a defeated sigh. There was no way she was getting out of here.
"I can only hope the others don't forget me h- AHH!"
One of the clamps on her rear legs suddenly released with a shhhink, causing her head to nearly touch the ground as she dangled uncomfortably. She quickly moved her forelegs toward her torso. The last thing she wanted was to land on her back with them underneath.
When the second clamp released, her forelegs did little to slow her down. She hit the stone head first with nothing to cushion the impact of her skull on the hard floor, as if it didn't hurt enough already. Fortunately, the first fall to her head did help cushion the impact when her back inevitably hit the floor.
Though the pressure in her head was at long last released, the pain from the fall was much worse. She ascertained that she'd hit her horn first and feared a fracture. The room spun even more than it had before as she lay motionless on the ground. Even in freedom, she was helpless to escape.
When she finally felt like she could move without vomiting, she rose shakily to her hooves before sitting awkwardly on her haunches in the corner of her cell. She had prevented her forelegs from being trapped beneath her, but she didn't quite think it was in her to keep them from buckling under her weight, especially with her front hooves bound together. She wasn't a gambling mare, so she decided she'd quit while she was ahead. At least she'd answered the riddle of the cuffs. They slid in and out of the wall, most likely controlled remotely.
The pain in her skull and horn was sharp, and it caused her to take in a sharp breath as the reality set in. A quick magical scan showed nothing but a tiny scratch on the surface of the bone, but the warm feeling slowly running down her forehead told her otherwise. The damage was still serious. No matter how minor, cuts above the eyes bled profusely. In fact, she had to close her right eye as the blood trickled over it on its way down her muzzle and to the floor.
Twilight tensed. Her respirations grew rapid as a foreboding feeling shot ice through her veins. She could feel a presence approaching from the hall. Something was very wrong, and her supposed savior may not have been all that it seemed.
True to the feeling, a black mist flowed into the hall outside her cell. Passing through the bars with ease, it slinked across the floor, growing more opaque the closer it became until it came to a stop in the center of her cell. Following a sinister Cheshire grin, two glowing green eyes formed from the mist, indigo flames flowing from the outer edges with an ethereal force.
The name barely escaped Twilight's dry lips. "S-Sombra..."
_____________________________________
Train to Canterlot
Nopony dared say a word as the Friendship Express raced down the tracks toward Canterlot. The only sound to break the uncomfortable silence was the chugging of the engine and grinding of metal wheels upon the tracks. The air between the group hung heavy with the guilt and hopelessness they all felt at having to leave the fate of their friend in the hooves of such a monster as the Dark King Sombra.
They could all feel some small amount of solice in the fact that their adventure in the Crystal Empire wasn't all for naught. They had managed to stall Sombra long enough for a small group of Crystal Ponies to escape before the obelisks of obsidian jutted from the ground like a great, jagged wall around the entirety of the empire.
Among them were even some Pegasi whom had managed to fly over the wall just after it had risen; however, it had been near seconds after that they all came hurtling to the ground, each of them finding their wings completely inoperable. Some of the weaker of the group found difficulty even lifting a feather from their sides. No matter how hard the Pegasi tried, the magic fought harder against them. Everypony thought it safe to assume that this was some sort of curse cast upon them by Sombra, and the same affliction had prevented the majority of ponies from escaping his reign.
In fact, it was bittersweet at best just how few managed to escape. Spreading out amongst themselves as they each felt comfortable, the entire group of refugees hardly filled the two train cars they occupied.
Meanwhile, Twilight's friends sat in their very own car at the back of the train, thinking it best to segregate themselves from the Crystal ponies in such a time of mourning for the group. They wished not to sully the freedom the others surely reveled in as they stewed in their dismal silence.
Cadance had long since passed out from exhaustion, and had curled up with Shining Armor. The latter had recently stirred awake. His wife had been quick to find a capable doctor aboard one of the train cars, and despite her frantic cries, what had once been serious, life-threatening wounds were quickly patched up to perfection. Still, the pain was clear on his face as he stroked his tired wife's mane. Rarity could hardly blame Cadance for passing out under such circumstances; after all, it was she who had solely powered the barrier which had kept Sombra's dark magic at bay for as long as it had! Still, as she stared absently across the booth at the couple, she couldn't help but harbor feelings of frustration that Cadance could look so peaceful in her sleep after such a situation while the rest of them suffered endlessly for the mistakes made. Where Rarity saw a peaceful sleeper, Shining Armor saw his exhausted wife up close. He could see this for what it was. Her gaunt, emaciated features were all too apparent to him upon her typically youthful appearance.
Thoughts of those poor souls they were forced to leave behind, Twilight included, weighed heavily upon the minds of the others as well, and they each expressed their sorrowful concern in their own ways. Pinkie's rather buoyant hair had lost its volume and luster, and it sat flat upon her head as she stared wide-eyed and whimpering out the back window as if she'd just seen the end of existence itself. Meanwhile, Fluttershy and Applejack had huddled close to Rarity, holding each other for support as Rarity clung to Spike with a foreleg. With the exception of Rarity, they all had shut their eyes tight, as if refusing to see the reality around them; however sleep eluded each of them. Whilst Rarity could hardly decipher a word or name every so often, Spike was muttering incessantly under his breath; she decided that was a huge improvement over his tormented screams from earlier, though just as unsettling. From her other side, she could hear whimpering, and though it was hard to tell which mare it spawned from, she assumed it was Fluttershy crying, but only faintly audible.
Surprisingly enough, it seemed Rainbow Dash was taking this the hardest of all of them. None in attendance had seen her so thoroughly distraught before. She sat across from her friends, on the opposite end of the booth from Shining and Cadance (because there were way too many ponies on that booth to fit). With her head in her hooves, Dash stared straight to the floorboards of the train car, going over the past events in her head, over and over. This went on for some time before she raised her head just enough to stare longingly out the window. She watched as the Crystal Empire, Twilight's prison camp, slowly faded out of sight until even her Pegasus magic wouldn't allow her to see those looming towers of black any longer. Soon, even the peak of the castle, the last bit of purity in the sea of corruption, was obscured.
Worse still, the skies above them were still a crimson red.
The silence lasted for what seemed to the passengers to be an eternity, though the clock overhead informed anyone with the will to glance at it only about thirty minutes had passed. It was broken by a light sob. Silence once more until two more sobs broke out, growing louder than before. Two more lonely sobs broke out, growing into a crescendo before the crying was steady and violently despondent.
Expecting to find the yellow mare the culprit, everypony looked to Fluttershy in order to confirm their suspicions. They were all surprised to see that her tears had dried long ago, and she too was caught off guard by these sobs.
As they glanced around, each of them came to the same, shocking conclusion: it was Rainbow Dash. Sitting there in her own solitary corner of the booth, Rainbow was sobbing uncontrollably. After the initial shock, Fluttershy gently pried herself away from Applejack and half crawled her way to Rainbow's side. She held out her hooves, and Rainbow greedily accepted the embrace, her cries muffled as she soaked Fluttershy's shoulder.
Concerned for her typically stoic friend as well, Applejack was the next to come to Rainbow's aid. She gently rubbed Rainbow's cyan shoulders with a caring hoof as she attempted to console her friend. "There, there, Sugarcube. It's alright now, y'hear? It's all gonna' be alright. We'll tell the Princess' what happened, and they'll come with us ta' put that nasty ol' Sombra back in the dirt where he belongs," she explained. Seeing her words had little to no effect, she frowned harder, her brow furrowing as she attempted to think up more reassuring things to say.
Rarity interjected before she could put any to use. Taking a shaky breath, she asked, "Whatever is the matter, Darling. I mean, don't get me wrong; we're all distraught over this, but none of us are reacting quite like... well, this."
Rainbow sniffled, her breath hitched several times as she tried slowing her sobs enough to get a sentence out in reply. After a moment, she managed to breathe out, "T...Twilight... I-I-I couldn't help her..." Her sobs continued on, seemingly unaffected by their brief interruption.
The others frowned hard and looked away as they understood just what Rainbow was so beat up over. Rainbow had been there. She had the option to save Twilight, to ignore the Unicorn's pleas to flee. Instead, she had flown away, racing off with Shining Armor on her back and leaving her friend behind to face evil alone. Of course Rainbow Dash would feel the blame rested exclusively upon her shoulders.
Even though they all understood why, Rainbow Dash never cried like this. If somepony so strong could be reduced to tears like this, how could they hope to hold on? Had they any chance of retrieving their friend, much less liberating an entire country from a mad king? Though they had each jumped to the same conclusion about what Rainbow had meant by her words, not one of them could have denied that they felt there was more than could be perceived at the surface.
None of them had any idea how much Rainbow had lost to Sombra, because none of them could have had any idea at the time how Rainbow truly felt about Twilight.
Author's Note
Okay, now that this chapter is all done and in much better condition, I can continue to write the next chapter.
Infinite thanks to LightningBass94 for his amazing editing work (this is honestly more of a collaboration with how much he's helped). Go show him some love!
What do you call it when you edit somepony's edits? Is it edit-ception?? Because that's what happened here.
Hope you enjoyed the revision of this chapter. It's been posted as a whole new chapter to replace the old one.
