A Somber Appearance

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3

Chapter 1

A Curse In The Form of A Virus

Magic. There are many types of magic. Each and everyone different and having various categories under it. These are the following forms of magic known to Equestria: dark magic, harmonious magic, chaos magic, and ancient magic. Along with these different types of magic there are different uses for each type as well as different classes of magic that every being on Equus can use.

These classes of magic are called tiers. Tiers range from 1-5.

Tier one magic is magic that can be used by virtually any unicorn, pegasus, or earth pony according to their natural abilities and strengths. It’s main factor is innate ability. Pegasi are able to control the weather. Unicorn’s are able to lift things with their magic and move them around, this is an example of tier one magic. Earth ponies are generally good with land. This is an example of tier one magic. All tier one magic focuses on natural ability of each race with the exception of alicorns and other magically gifted or more potent beings.

Then there is tier two magic and beyond.

Tier two magic involves the manipulation of many artifacts at the same time or in intervals. A unicorn having the capability to not only use their magic for their special talent but also use it for other things like teleportation, the enhancement of their own special talent or even the ability to manipulate a myriad of objects all fall under tier two magic. Unicorns that are skilled with freely expanding their magical capability will be able to manipulate a multiple amount of things at the same or different times without much effort. This tier level of magic doesn’t necessarily require a unicorn to have large reserves of magic.

Tier three magic is based more off of skill than how well one is able to manipulate multiple objects at will. The primary skill unicorns need to have is not only magic but also creativity. Unicorns capable of adapting their magic to be used in different forms, like a levitation spell that could be used to keep an object afloat or other ponies, can be reversed into a gravitation spell with the right tweakage and correction of formula or procedure in which the spell is cast. However ponies will need to have enough stamina and a larger reserve of magic than the average unicorn.

Dark magic falls under this quite well, as it can be used to instill fear on it’s victims yet also can be a curse if disrespected and used without caution.

Tier four magic revolves around power and raw power alone, with only a few combinations of tiers three and two. Unicorns with unnaturally high levels of magical potential and will fit this tier. Tier four level magic focuses solely more on power and how it is used. A strong factor in tier four level magic is based off the strength of the will of the unicorn and the supply of magic they are able to use and regain within a short period of time.

Finally there is tier five magic. Alicorn magic; a combination of all five tier types into one. This category of magic belongs to-

“Sombra!” a voice called into the library.

A dark grey unicorn slowly lifted his head from the book he had been reading. Approaching him was a crystal stallion, with a light maroon coat and grey mane with green highlights. The crystal stallion wore the traditional armor of the crystal empire, as he trotted with some haste in his step towards the unicorn who had been so absorbed in reading his book on the different forms of magic that he hadn’t even heard his name get called the first eight times.

“Sombra, I’ve been calling you for the past five minutes what have you been doing in here?!” the crystal pony asked with annoyance.

“Reading. You know as well as I, Bright Sight that I always spend my time reading. I was also trying to learn if there was any magical relation to the recent illness that has affected the few of our nation. Anyway, are they here?”

Bright Sight nodded. “Princess Luna and Princess Celestia are indeed here. They are currently talking with our princess as we speak. They have summoned you to see if you have learnt anything new, but judging from what you’ve just said” Bright’s voice slowly dropping to a more quiet tone.

“I’m guessing you have found nothing. Is that right?”

Sombra nodded solemnly. “Yes, sadly I have been unsuccessful in locating the illness that has affected a small section of our population. I suppose for now we should meet the princesses so I can report my findings so far.”

Lifting the pile of books that had surrounded him the unicorn stacked all four hundred thousand, two hundred and twenty-nine books he had been reading, to find a cure for this ailment, in their respective shelves before turning to the Crystal guard.

“Ready?” Bright Sight asked.

“Always” Sombra stated following the unicorn out of the library.

The two unicorns exited the Crystal Library, both making their way towards the palace that lacked proper security, since some guards had to return home due to their families being ill or they themselves being ill.

As Sombra passed he noticed how empty the streets of the glorious empire was. Only a few crystal ponies outside and even fewer were near the castle as the studious unicorn and crystal guard made their way into the castle.

This illness is more of a mystery than I thought.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, the diarchy of Equestria sat in comfortable seats brought to them by a group of unicorns in front of the current princess of the Crystal Empire; Pristine Heart.

Pristine Heart, a pegasus with a plum coat, pink mane with light cerulean highlights and sapphire eyes, sat in her own thrown in silence. A sense of both relief and nervousness gripping at her since the appearance of her superiors.

It had been only three days since this catastrophe all began. At first she’d only assumed it was a cold or fever, the only real sign being a small cough which later turned into a fever. But as the hours had passed and those hours became days the ruler had learnt quite quickly that what now ailed her people was not a minor illness, but something completely different altogether.

“Princess Pristine” the regal yet kind voice of Celestia called gently. Pristine lifted her eyes to look at the princess of the sun, still lost in her own thoughts.

“Princess Pristine?” Celestia said again noticing the slightly wandering look in the pegasi’s eyes.

Pristine Heart’s eyes came back into focus, Celestia smiling at her as she did so. “Please tell us while we wait for your scholar and guard to return what exactly it is that ails this town.”

“Perhaps we may be able to offer our own help” Luna suggested.

Pristine Heart nodded, looking at the two guards in the room guarding the exit she said “You may leave us. Allow Sombra and Captain Bright Sight in once they reach the throne room doors.”

The two guards nodded and exited. Once they were gone and Celestia and Luna had dismissed their own guards the crystal princess cleared her throat and began speaking of what she knew and the information the medical teams had gathered.

“Three days ago one of our civilians returning from a recent journey from Baltimare fell ill with what we had originally thought to be a cold or flu.”

“What were the symptoms at the time?” Celestia asked.

“The usual. Runny nose, cough, a few shivers here and there, sneezing and dreariness.”

“We do not see the problem if this ailment is nothing but a cold, Princess Pristine” Luna stated somewhat strictly.

“That’s just it princess. It was what we had originally thought it to be. A few hours afterwards our civilian came out of her short-lived cold feeling much better. Three hours later I was given reports that several other ponies nearby this mare had gotten the same illness.”

“And what of the mare who had recovered?”

Pristine Heart took a deep breath before sighing. “Emergency room.”

Silence.

“I’m sorry what?” Celestia said with disbelief.

“The mare who had recovered from her cold, Flitter Spark, about half an hour later of recovery had suddenly lost all color in her coat and mane, grown extremely weak to the point that movement was painful to her and her personality had taken a complete 180 degree flip.”

Neither sisters said a word. Luna shifted in her seat before speaking once again, “Continue.”

Pristine Heart nodded.

“A day later the same ponies that had been in her presence showed much later signs of their own ailments doing anything to them. Meaning, after they recovered it took much longer for the complete effect of the sickness to take effect and by then those same ponies had come in contact with different equines throughout the majority of the day.”

Luna’s horn immediately gained a glow before a translucent bubble formed around her then disappeared completely out of view.

Both the other princesses looked at her, but Luna maintained her serious expression from the blank stares she was receiving.

“If contact is all it takes then I refuse to be infected by such thing.”

Celestia understanding her sister’s point, nodded and turned her attention back to the crystal princess. She’d already casted a health bubble spell ahead of time.

Pristine Heart continued, “Two days into this ailment and there have no longer been signs of a cold showing. Just gradual personality deterioration and increased lack of energy.”

“Medical reports?” Celestia asked after a few seconds of thought.

Pristine Heart frowned shaking her head. “Useless, none of the skilled doctors of this empire have been able to find anything within the bloodstream of the sick equines. And what’s worse our medical staff is quickly deteriorating.”

“Did they not get protection before examination was begun?” Luna asked.

“That’s the strange thing. They did. Yet they were still infected with the virus. A quarter of the populace has already been infected and the numbers grow by the second. Before you two came in I got a hundred more reports of ponies falling under the same illness.”

Celestia and Luna exchanged looks before the older of the two talked. “Have you gone through the various cures and applied them?”

Pristine Heart nodded. “We’ve tried that.”

“Every single one?” Luna asked.

Pristine Heart nodded.

The room fell with a heavy silence. Neither of the sisters sure of what exactly this new virus meant, but knew one thing. If the ponies of Crystal Empire were getting infected by this virus then they had to make sure not a single pony traveled to the other countries of Equestria. For fear of such an incurable virus spreading would cause nothing but mayhem.

A few more seconds of silence before Luna broke it. “Sister...is it possible Discord could have-”

“No” Celestia said firmly. “Discord may have done a lot of things but something like this...” Celestia’s ears wilted and her eyes were filled for a brief moment doubt. Doubt which she immediately cleared from her solid resolve in a matter of seconds.

“No Luna. He couldn’t have done it. Even if he did all his magic would have been purged when we used the Elements of Harmony. He couldn’t have been the cause of this.”

Pristine Heart remained silent, obviously concerned by the current talk that had just went through her throne room. The mare had been ruling the empire for the past nine years ever since the last ruler of the empire’s passing, declaring her as the new ruler and the Crystal Heart had accepted her as such. Now after nine long years of hard work, everything was about to go out of control because of some silly unknown virus!

Pristine Heart had begun to sweat lightly, and as she did so the mare began to nervously tap her hoof against the diamond crystalline structure that was her floor in order to calm down. All while maintaining a calm disposition.

Almost entire incapacity of her nation had built a huge amount of stress on her in the past three days, and now only one thing was running through her mind.

Where is Sombra?!

The throne room doors flew open the sound of hooves clicking against the crystal sheet floors.

“Sorry we’re late Your Highness, getting Sombra took much longer than I thought” Bright Sight said with a bow.

“Thank you Bright Sight. You are dismissed, till further notice.”

The crystal guard nodded and rose, muttering a few greetings to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna before trotting off. As Bright Sight left the throne room he whispered something to Sombra then shut the doors behind him with a glow of his horn.

Sombra now stood in the presence of three princesses, however he was not nervous or worried in the slightest in being in the presence of royalty. As a scholar and one of the most well educated unicorns in the Crystal Empire he had been called upon many of times in the presence of the princess of his empire and had long since grown resilient to the presence of royalty, especially since he himself was of some noble lineage.

“Sombra” Princess Celestia said beckoning to come to the center of the room “Please come closer.” Doing as such Sombra moved to the center so all three princesses could see him.

Looking over to Pristine Heart Sombra waited till he was given the order to be allowed to speak. Princess Pristine nodded and with a wave of his hoof the scholar began.

“I have checked the Crystal Empire records, all historic facts related to illnesses in Equestria during both the Serene Era, where Princesses Celestia and Luna took control after the defeat of the master of chaos, and have looked in the Chaos Era, to see if any ailment of such a form has affected the equines of this nation or any other nation outside of Equestria before.”

“And what were you able to find?” the pegasus princess asked hopefully.

“Nothing” Sombra said frankly. “The past offered no information to an illness of this caliber and there are certainly no such forms of medical cures or procedures that can be taken for it. That I currently was able to locate or know of.”

Princess Pristine’s wings that had been raised in hope now sagged in defeat. The pegasus placed both hooves on her head sighing heavily, stress starting to take it’s toll on her from how her wings twitched.

Princess Luna turned her attention to the stallion before them. “There has been no record of this disease anywhere in Equestrian history.”

“That is correct, Princess” Sombra stated.

“And you have checked all that the library has to offer?” Celestia asked with a raised brow.

Sombra said nothing at this. For he had not truly checked all records and entries the archive had to offer. For just as he assumed Canterlot’s library has forbidden sections and wings that aren’t aloud to be entered so does the Crystal Empire. A certain part of the Empire’s library located on the east wing is forbidden to enter by non-royal members. He’d been told by the librarian the reason behind that was because there were books related to powerful ancient and dark magic in the East Wing that nopony aside from the ruler of the Crystal Empire was aloud to see.

This had bothered Sombra greatly but he’d said nothing.

“Sombra” Luna’s voice called driving him out of his thoughts.

Sombra looked up at the dark alicorn. “Yes Your Majesty?”

"Have you checked all the library has to offer?” Luna repeated her sister’s question with some stress.

Sombra took a second to respond. Would it make a difference even if I said no? The East Wing is forbidden entrance, there’s no way I would be allowed to enter that section of the archive.

He shook his head. “No...I have not. There is a part of the archive I haven’t been able to check due to it’s forbidden entrance.”

Princess Pristine’s ears perked up at this, peering at Sombra from her hooves the pegasus cleared her throat to break the silence that had now occupied the almost empty throne room.

“I grant you permission.”

Sombra’s ears perked up at this, a feeling of excitement for the new depths of knowledge he’d be able to find while at the same time an opportunity for him to find a way to save his people sang in his head.

“Sombra , I, Princess Pristine Heart of the Crystal Empire, hereby grant you access to the East Wing and all other forms of information available in the archives.”

At that moment a feeling of joy spread within Sombra. A form of jubilation he had not expressed since discovering his very own cutie mark which was a symbolic representation of how dedicated he was to the Crystal Empire. And also a representation of his very own magical talent.

“Thank you princess” Sombra said bowing his head and forcing down any signs of the strong joy he currently felt. “I will do my best to find a cure, for now I will need a few days, to find the best sources to gather the necessary information.”

Pristine Heart nodded and rose from her seat, looking at the other two princesses who had also risen from their own seats.

“Well then. With this I suppose our meeting is adjourned” Princess Celestia stated. “Sombra, be sure you report any findings to all three of us immediately. And Princess Pristine Heart, I’m sure you know what we will have to do in the meantime to make sure this pestilence doesn’t become a pandemic case.”

Princess Pristine Heart nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation. “Do what you see fit Your Highness, we will see what we can do from our end.

“As will we” Princess Luna stated, placing a reassuring on the pegasi’s shoulder.

With the meeting over and all said and done, Sombra and the princess watched the sovereigns leave the throne room, in silence.

Sombra turned his attention to the princess after the regal sisters had left. Noticing how tired she looked now.

It was sad really. So much stress was currently being put on her shoulders and she had no one to help her aside from the guards and her trusted servant and his friend Radiant Hope.

And speak of the devil, the exact unicorn came trotting into the throne room doors a few seconds after the sisters departure.

“Princess” Radiant Hope said trotting into the room carrying another stack of papers.

Pristine Heart sighed. “More casualties?” she asked in almost a groan. Radiant Hope nodded sadly. “Correct.”

Another sigh.

“Put them on my desk, I will attend to them shortly” she stated getting up from her throne. Turning her attention to Sombra who was now lost in his own thoughts of what he should begin searching in the pegasus tapped her hoof on the ground twice to gain his attention.

Sombra looked at her with an apologetic smile. “Apologies, I was lost in-” Pristine Heart raised a hoof for silence.

Sombra did as such.

“Sombra. You may be the only one that I can trust to find and figure out a cure for what is affecting our people. And if we are unable to find a cure within the next few days before it has spread far, then the princesses will have no choice but to quarantine the entire empire.”

The scholar froze at these words. Quarantine all of the Crystal Empire? Isn’t that a bit much? But in reality Sombra knew this was reasonable, to save the rest of the world from suffering from such an illness measures needed to be taken.

And if their country, his home needed to be cut off from the rest of the world in order to preserve the safety of others than...so be it.

A spark of determination burnt within Sombra’s heart as he nodded at the princess’s words. “Don’t worry princess” he said with a confident smile as he made his way towards the door. “I promise you I will find a cure to this virus before anything of the sort can happen.”

Princess Pristine Heart smiled hopefully at Sombra’s words. Hopping that the unicorn would be able to find something that would be able to save the empire before it was too late.

Sombra left the throne room that afternoon to head into the library and finish his studies in the South Wing before he would finally go to the East and see what was there that it had to offer.

That day he left with confidence.

What time was it? Sombra thought to himself. He’d fallen asleep in a pile of the books he’d been reading, several different books based off of past events that led to a certain illness. three other books open based on magic strong enough to cure such an illness;

All nine books in total yielding nothing.

Getting up Sombra clicked his dry tongue over the roof of his mouth. He hadn’t eaten much in the past day nor had he stepped outside of the library since entering.

He currently had no idea what was happening outside the library, nor had anypony come in here once since he’d been in here after the meeting had ended.

It was...unsettling.

A unknown virus that wasn’t killing anyone but just weakening them. Crippling them. Changing them. It was like a spell he had read in a dark arts book once how a unicorn with enough magical power could strip a pony of their abilities. Doing so would result in dire consequences to the victim.

Of course Sombra had originally thought this was that same spell just being used as a form of disease. But when he had checked on the multiple victims, his friends, and even the doctors that had fallen to the illness none of them had lost a single cutie mark. They just looked extremely weak, tired, lifeless almost on a few occasions.

And in pain.

Sombra trotted towards the library’s exit. Expecting to see the librarian at her post only to see the desk empty.

He frowned. Has she been infected as well?

One of the things Sombra had noticed is that the virus in it’s earliest of stages during the first day of it’s arrival in the Crystal Empire was that it had shown the signs of being nothing but a cold. Cough, sneeze, etc. The princess had most likely told Princess Celestia and Princess Luna the same thing.

Later on as it developed, the virus with no name, soon showed no signs of a cold. Anypony that was infected would be fine, probably showing small signs of weakness or lack of energy which would only be normal for hard working equines of the crystal empire.

What Sombra now knew was that this virus's main purpose was to weaken and break a pony. All patients so far expressed pain whenever they tried to move, in worse cases there had been few who shortly after going through a personality defect, slipped into comas shortly after.

The most common personality defect was one of a silence that seemed to creepily effect more than half the victims of this strange disease, Sombra noted as he looked through some of the notes he’d left at one of tables.

“They never say a word, just remain silent and stare at you with sadness that knows no limits” Doctor Pep Sprite had stated in one of his notes, before falling ill to the very same sickness he’d been trying to cure.

Sombra sighed, getting up and looking out the dome glass ceiling. It was sunny outside, but as to what day it was he had not a clue.

I suppose I should check and see what’s going on outside. A glow emanating from his horn as the doors gently creaked open.

Taking a step outside Sombra’s ears twitched.

Silence.

It gripped at Sombra like a cold hand the size of a full grown dragon, that held him tightly in it's claw. There was not a single soul present in the entirety of this space. Not even the guards that had been guarding the castle gates were present.

Doubt wormed it’s way in the scholar’s mind. His eyes narrowing as he took into consideration what could have happened to everyone.

So he did a round. Moving around the homes and work spaces of every building in the area Sombra did a clean inspection to see if anypony was home or within their working grounds, anypony that hadn’t been infected at least.

Not a single building, work display or other for of business was open. All were closed.

His eyes narrowed, his brows furrowed, Sombra looked around once more taking in just how empty the city was.

It was time he pay a visit to the hospital.

Five hundred.

That was the number of equines that currently filled only one of the Crystal Empire’s most prestige hospitals. Medical staff and civilian alike all falling under the strange effects of this illness.

None dying, just laying there. Weak, useless, unable to do anything but lay there either in silence. Brooding over something that no one could tell or even begin to understand. It was disturbing, unsettling to Sombra at most as he trotted through the corridor and peered through the two way glass.

Bright Sight stood beside one of the doors at the end of the corridor, looking a little weak himself.

“Well well, look who decided to show up after almost two days of seclusion.”

That long? Sombra thought. He shook his head and smiled weakly at his friend. “Is there a reason you’re guarding this particular room?” he asked.

Bright Sight’s mild grin faded in surprise. “You haven’t heard?”

Sombra cocked a brow in confusion, his head slightly tilted to the side. “Heard what?”

Bright Sight sighed, his coat only seeming to lose more color as he did so. “I can’t believe no one told you- Well...I guess I can’t blame them since there are seven guards left in the entire kingdom and-”

“Wait” Sombra said with a raised hoof. “What?!”

Bright Sight nodded. “There’s only seven guards left, myself included. While you were studying, searching for a cure. The princess ended up getting infected by one of the guards shortly before he submitted his own entry into one of the other hospitals. Princess Pristine Heart and Radiant Hope are in this room right here, two of the other guards who have been infected but are showing signs of fighting the virus are guarding them as we speak.

“I’m probably the only guard left that hasn’t been as infected as the others” Bright Sight sighed sadly.

Sombra couldn’t believe his ears. In a short span of two days or maybe it was one and a half- it didn’t really matter, the virus had spread from a quarter of the population, to nearly the entire populace.

“Anyway” Bright Sight’s voice said as he drew Sombra’s attention back to the present matters. “The princess wants to talk to you. Radiant Hope wants to see you as well, I suggest you make sure that you keep protected, whatever she wants to tell you it’s important so I’m glad you decided to come here.”

Noticing the slightly shocked look on Sombra’s face Bright Sight frowned, lifting a hoof and about to touch his friend on the shoulder he froze and retracted his forehoof. “Sorry, almost forgot physical contact transmits the virus. Go on inside.”

A light green aura covered Bright Sight’s horn as he stepped aside and opened the door for Sombra.

Taking a steady breath Sombra entered the room, now realizing that if this virus prospered and he remained unaffected.

He would be the last Crystal pony in all of Equestria. The last of his own, and as Sombra made his way down the small foyer then past the two guards guarding the doors to the room that now harboured the princess and his friend Sombra swore under his breath.

“I will do everything in my power to cure my people of this curse.”

Author's Note

Originally meant to be a one-shot I'm going to stretch this out a bit. Enjoy, comments are always welcomed.

Chapter 2

A Wondrous Discovery

The sound of a clock ticking slowly was the only sound that could be heard throughout the large section that was the East Wing.

Sombra had listened to the few words the princess had to offer him on his research. “Look deeper. Dig deeper, there’s bound to be something” he recalled her saying.

So now here he sat, going through the fourth book he had found in the East Wing on magic artifacts that could cure the illness plaguing the citizens of this empire. But so far all he had found were vague facts and nothing concrete.

A sigh of frustration escaped his lips as he tossed the book away and picked up another with his magic. “What am I missing?” he muttered.

Before leaving the princess had told him that magic on a much higher level must be used if there was ultimately no solution that science had been unable to find. And if he contacted the princesses now, there was a chance and only small chance that his allies would have no choice but to seal off the entire empire while they found a cure for this ailment.

And who knows how that long it could take to find such a cure. Days? Weeks, months, years? No...I have to find a cure first. Only till I’ve found one will I actually be able to relax.

He turned the page on the book he was reading tilted Ancient Magic. This had been one of the books he’d been trying to find but had been unsuccessful in locating till now. Turning the page Sombra saw many ancient artifacts that had nothing to do with his current predicament.

He was starting to get angry. Frustrated almost.

A thought popped into his head as he continued flipping pages. What if I do end up being the last Crystal pony on Equus? While all the others, the princess, the citizens, Radiant Hope, my friends...they all slip into permanent comatose? Leaving me the last one of my kind to survive this horrible virus.

Leaving me to be...alone.

Sombra shook his head, knocking the idea out of his mind. “That won’t happen” he told himself. “I won’t let it.”

And so he continued to read. Seconds became minutes, minutes became an hour, and finally that hour turned into complete frustration that bubbled up in Sombra with every book he tossed away as useless every single time. Until finally...he exploded in rage.

Thrusting his head upward as he rose to his hooves, crystals shot out of the ground dispersing the books he saw as useless.

The ground became caked in Sombra’s crystal shards, dispersing every single book in it’s path all except for one.

When Sombra had calmed, his anger diminishing, his breath regaining a steady pace and his teeth no longer gritted in blinding fury, he took a deep breath and exhaled. The burning bright red glow of his horn receding into a small spark at the tip of his spiral horn before it died within a second.

Looking around at the mess he had made the unicorn frowned before trotting forward, gathering books, torn pages and overturned shelves fixing all that had been damaged as he moved deeper into the East Wing.

A few minutes of fixing his own mess and he was done, but not before he noticed the one book that had gone unaffected by his magic.

Moving towards the book Sombra stared at it with interest, unaware that the book had managed to protect itself from his fury when he’d lashed out in his rage.

Tier Six: Dark Magic, the title read. It looked a brand new and had a lock on it, the book was also rather large for it’s size.

Interesting, he thought lifting the book up in his magic.

With the book Sombra trotted towards one of the desks that occupied a insane amount of space with the notes and few books he had left on it. Running his right front foreleg over the table he knocked everything cleanly off and dropped the massive book down with a thud, before placing his front hooves up on the desk and sitting on his haunches.

“Let’s hope you have what I’m looking for” Sombra said with some self-assurance.

Sombra was about to flip the book open with a raised hoof, but he stopped when he considered what he was about to do.

He’d heard things, stories when he was young on how curious ponies who stuck their noses in business that was never meant to be prodded ended up inviting something horrible on themselves.

But then the princess’s words echoed in his head. “Dig deeper, there’s bound to be something.”

Sombra stared at the book, that though appearing much older than him still looked new. His thoughts swirling with both caution, desire for comprehension and a rigorous determination to save his people before it was too late.

Sombra’s forehead slightly wrinkled, as brows dropped with pensive thought. Whatever is in this book, was meant to be locked away, sealed from any eye, judging solely off the spell placed on it he thought, his horn tingling at the sense of the strong protective spells placed around the lock.

But if I’m going to stop this pestilence from becoming a global epidemic than I’m going to have to make sacrifices, he decided. Besides he added for his own comfort. “I’ve always wanted to see what the ancient arts had to offer.”

And so Sombra began his attempt to break the spell that now surrounded the lock. His horn tingling and feeling warm with every second that passed as he began trying to gauge the level of magic used on this book.

Once he had been able to get an idea of how strong the spell was Sombra began trying to apply different formulas in his mind to find out a way to break it. The charm casted on the lock was meant to keep anypony of low magic level out and even those of tier three out. But Sombra who believed himself to be quite skilled in magic, saw this as not a problem, for he had always believed himself to be of the tier four class.

And so he began applying the formulas he had been vaguely able to collect from his judgement of how strong the spell was. It took time, his first attempt a failure when he ignited his horn and tried to break the tumblers in this lock, only for there to be a shock sent to his horn and forcing him to stop as a small headache began to hit him.

But this did nothing but invigorate the stallion to continue. For now this was not just about him gaining knowledge, but it was also about him saving his fellow ponies. And to Sombra that was of crucial importance at this exact moment.

So he tried again. Though like a newbie lockpicker, Sombra was unsuccessful his first five attempts. Pushing on now actually starting to work up a sweat and his horn starting to tingle from the number of shocks he’d received on each fail, Sombra gritted his teeth and focused. One steady bead of sweat sliding down his temple as he applied the altered formula and algorithms he had made for this attempt.

“Alright” he said letting out a calm breath. “Let’s try this one...” closing his eyes and focusing on the spell, Sombra began applying the new synthesized formula he had made as his horn reignited for the eighth time.

Silence, aside from the gentle sound of the library clock echoed out through the room as Sombra gave all his attention to the challenge at hoof

“...” CRACK! The first barrier out of three had been broken, Sombra let a small successful smile appear on his face, but his expression grew firm once more as he could not lose focus.

The second barrier was tougher and would require more magic. Sombra added on to the power his already glowing horn now releasing a small parade of sparks shooting out the tip of his horn before the aura increased in size.

A slight fracture sounded in the air as the second barrier had begun to break under the magical force being applied. Sombra focused even harder, the slightly wavering glow of his horn steadying itself as he applied a bit more attention.

CRACK!

The third barrier was all that remained and Sombra still hadn’t let up, for if he lost focus now it would mean he would have to create an entirely new formula, for every time he failed the barrier would readjust slightly in aspects it had failed.

Sombra added a little more juice into his magic. Things had gone smoothly so far and the barriers hadn’t proved as hard as he had originally thought. This was good.

Barrier three proved him wrong though.

For this particular barrier Sombra had to maintain focus and slightly alter his formula at the same time to match this barrier. It was trying, but after several minutes he did it.

Good, now to break this blockade. With his horn gaining a brighter luminescence and second overglow Sombra poured his determination into his magic and finally, the last crack told him he had finally made it through security.

He sighed, his shoulders drooping, his face that had strained as he focused relaxing and his horn losing its glow as he allowed his focus to slip.

When he opened his eyes, the skull like lock that had been on the rather large book was shattered, the bits of which Sombra brushed away with a hoof before he opened the book, another sigh of relief escaping him glad to see he did not have to face another tough security measurement like the last.

It was time to get reading.

Sombra opened the first page to the rather large book. Flipping through the extra pages that were blank the stallion’ finally stopped at the first page.

It was blank.

Sombra’s brow rose. He flipped to the next page and looked at the second and third. Both were blank.

His eyes slanted in suspicion. Igniting his horn Sombra let his aura stretch to the pages of the book he now stared at, and no sooner had his magic surrounded the cover and touched the very first page did he receive a shock that threw him slightly off the table and away from the book.

“Ugh” he groaned rubbing his horn. Rising back to his hooves slowly Sombra took a look at the ancient tome.

It was blank.

What in the name of the eight gods?! he glared with a slam of his hoof.

“I wasted over two hours of my time for this when the princess and the rest of my fellow citizens are out there suffering?!” Sombra exclaimed with annoyance as he stared at the blank pages.

“Do something!” he demanded. “I refuse to have my empire, my home be nothing but a speck of nuisance in history! I refuse to be the last known citizen of my empire, who could have done something but because he wasn’t strong, because he didn’t have the knowledge, the skill, he let everyone down. I refuse such a fate do you hear me!” he snarled at the book.

Nothing happened.

But then again what did you expect. It was a book. A book that had had a powerful protection spell on it that had taken him nearly three hours to crack.

Shouting at it was like shouting at a rock. You’d never get a response.

Sombra’s anger slowly died down as he realized his own stupidity. His forehooves that had been so firmly pressed against the desk now sliding down it slowly.

“I suppose I should continue looking elsewhere” he said to himself, preparing to rise from his seat.

That is till his eyes caught the appearance of words on the book. Words he could not understand.

Immediately dropping back to the book’s side Sombra stared at the words trying to figure out what language it was.

Equestrian...no....Deerheimian? No. Macropulian? Wolf? Griffon? No none of these. Sombra’s eyes continued to scan the book as the words continued to emerge on the paper. A few seconds later the display of what Sombra could assume were sentences ended with a question mark.

Sombra stared at the pages for what felt like five minutes before he shook his head.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying, let alone what you’re asking if it’s even a question” he said with a sigh. “If only it was in Equestrian.”

The book turned a few pages on it’s own revealing another blank page. A second later, words began to appear on that page just as the previous one. This time it was in words Sombra could understand.

“What do you desire?” he read.

“What do I desire?” he whispered to himself not fully understanding the question. Hm, an idea brewing in his head.

“Show me dark magic. Any kind it does not matter what, just show me” he stated.

A second passed. Then another, the book responded: “As you wish.”

Any source of light that illuminated the room was suddenly cut off or dimmed, filling the entire East Wing with utter darkness, save for a few candlelights and the book’s now glowing words.

Wind that shouldn’t have been able to reach where Sombra was, turned the pages till eventually they stopped somewhere in the middle of the book. A second later a list of information ranging from spells to incantations, to potions, to summonings were all displayed in the book.

Sombra flipped through page after page. His eyes hungrily grazing every spell, every word on the page.

It was enamoring.

Soon enough though Sombra’s resolve for his original purpose came back to him. Shaking his head and focusing, the stallion tore his eyes away from the spells and spoke to the book again.

“Show me a way to save the Crystal Empire.

The pages, that were covered in nothing but either dead spells or incantations all disappeared. The next thing that appeared, bleeding itself on the page, in bright green letters were the words: “Turn The Page.”

He did as such.

Nothing was there as Sombra had expected. The book took time to reveal whatever secrets it held, so he waited. Seconds became minutes and nothing happened.

Sombra stared at the book, waiting, expecting his only chance to bring fruit something that would allow him to save the Crystal Empire.

Nothing.

...Let me try something. His horn glowing Sombra, waited one more second to see if anything would happen. Still nothing. “Here goes then” he said taking in a deep breath Sombra extended his metaphorical hoof to the book’s blank page, in the process his aura encompassing the entire book.

Doing so the pages turned a light sick green color, and the next thing the scholar knew his vision had been clouded by it.

“I will show you the way to save your empire” a voice said to him.

The stallion was now surrounded by darkness, no longer was he in the Crystal library, or the East Wing or even Equestria itself. He was just in a large space. No sky, no ground, nothing. Just floating there as the voice spoke to him.

“In exchange, this journey may cause you to lose sight of who you are. Are you sure you wish to seek this sort of power?”

Sombra hesitated. Power. In truth deep in Sombra’s heart. In a more darker part of him it was something he’d always wanted. Not to do wrong or gain control of the empire but for the sake of knowledge and to make things right for the better. To help. And now here was his chance, to help his people and get something he’d wanted for quite some time.

No. “I don’t want it for myself” he said with some minor hesitation. “I want it for my allies. No matter what the challenge is I will go. Just tell me what it is that can give me this kind of power to save the Crystal Empire and it’s people.”

Silence, before the voice of the book spoke again. “Very well. In the heart of the crystal mountains, there is a cave. A cave that contains a vial that will grant you the power you desire. Once this power has been bequeathed unto you, you must return to the Crystal Heart and use the magic enhancement you gain on it. Whatever healing spell you desire should open the way to save your people. The Crystal Heart should do the rest of the work, that it wasn’t able to before.”

A feeling of relief washed over Sombra. But it was brief.

“But” the voice said. “You will need to face your own greatest fear and overcome the darkness within before you will be able to obtain the power you desire.”

“And if I lose?” Sombra asked with some uneasiness.

“Then you and your people are doomed” the voice stated.

A few seconds of strong tension filled silence, filled the spaceless area as Sombra took in the weight of what he was about to accept.

If I succeed my people live free of this curse. If I fail we all go. Is it worth it?

The voice dragged him out of his thoughts with it’s next question. “Do you accept this journey?”

Silence.

The voice tried again. “Do you accept this journey?”

Sombra considered it. This was his life he was about to sacrifice after all. Ultimately though he made the wise choice.

“I accept.”

With a flash of light Sombra awoke back in the East Wing, slumped over the book. The book that had been glowing brightly now died out, revealing a picture of the small vial containing a purple liquid in it.

Underneath the vial was a name under it reading: Magnus.

Sombra stared at the vial for a few seconds before rising to his hooves and heading home.

He had a trip to prepare for.

The sound of hooves crunching against snow as the strong icy winds whipped a grey stallion’s dark black mane against the wind, along with his deep red scarf as he slowly yet gradually made his way out of the Crystal Empire’s vicinity.

The blizzard’s winds grew stronger with every step the unicorn took, till he was finally deep enough within the blizzard unable to see even the distant view of the Crystal Empire’s figure from his viewpoint.

Looking up through his goggles at the faint shadow of the mountain in the distance, Sombra’s eyes narrowed with determination as he lifted a hoof to tighten the scarf around him, for even the smallest fraction of warmth it may give.

The unicorn trudged onward through the snow. Ready to face whatever awaited him ahead.

Ready to gain the power necessary to save his people, at any costs at all, Sombra had promised Radiant Hope and the princess before he left.

“I will save you.”

Author's Note

Hm. Interesting enough? Decided to get educational with this one.
In case none of you noticed the whole book thing is in reference to Harry Potter.

Chapter 3

Sacrifices Made

Snow crunched with every step he took. Now climbing up the mountain top towards the only cave he’d been able to see, was one unicorn risking it all.

With each inch Sombra covered, the worser the blizzard seemed to get. But he did not give up, for this was his chance to do something. To make a change, that would benefit the others. And he would not be beaten by a mere blizzard and chilly altitudes.

So he pushed on.

Twice the stallion had nearly slipped and fallen to his death. But twice he had recovered and willed himself to continue. Thinking of his home, thinking of his friends, the ones he considered family. The children; foals, fillies, colts, elderly and young alike. They were all suffering from an unknown illness and it was his duty to save them now.

He shivered, as a cold gust of wind sailed by the mountain, whipping him harshly with even more snow as Sombra could now see the peak of the cliff.

“Almost there” he whispered through squinted eyes. “Just a bit more” Sombra thought, ignoring the aches in his body. The soreness of his muscles making themselves well-known, as he set another hoof up on a easy handling space.

Hoof by hoof, Sombra pulled himself up the cliff till eventually, he placed a shaky hoof on the peak of his objective. Placing another hoof at the entrance, Sombra pulled himself up to the top and with some effort pushed through the whirlwind of snow and wind,entering the cave with a heavy breath.

Once inside Sombra allowed himself to collapse on the wall of the cave’s mouth. Letting his body rest a few minutes from the strenuous effort he put on it. Walking up the steep mountain then climbing the rest of the way had been tougher than he thought.

The cold air, slightly high altitude, and snow had done him no good either.

“There...that wasn’t so hard” he said in between breaths and a rather weak chuckle. With a grunt Sombra lifted himself back up to his hooves and began trotting deeper into the cave.

For a while he saw nothing. He just kept going and getting deeper and deeper in the cave, hearing a few drips and drops till eventually he saw a light.

Breaking into a small gait Sombra quickly moved towards the light only to stop and see, he was back outside at the cave’s entrance.

It took a second for him to figure out what had just happened. He’d been walking through the cave for minutes and he was pretty sure he’d been getting deeper in the cave, but now he was back outside the cave’s entrance.

His brows rose with realization. “Illusion magic” he whispered with a slow nod of his head. Turning his back to the cave’s entrance, Sombra began scanning the area for any caved in side or slope that would allow him to get through this never ending illusion with ease.

He found it.

The ceiling had a steep drop, acting more like a slide of sorts. Seeing this Sombra grinned, “Smart idea, using the ceiling as the only way to reach the item, make it difficult for creatures that can’t fly or those that don’t have enough magical potential to cast gravitational spells.”

His horn ignited, aura slowly covering his entire body as he cast the reverse gravitational spell on himself and began floating towards the ceiling. “Lucky for me I’m not one of those unicorns.”

Landing on the ceiling Sombra immediately slid down the slope, the entrance behind him fading as he shot down the slide like surface. In a matter of seconds Sombra could see a drop just ahead of him, one he hadn’t been able to see before on ground.

“Looks like I was right.” The moment his momentum had slowed, Sombra immediately fell through the rather large drop, shooting out into another part of the cave.

Quickly readjusting the gravity around him, Sombra landed on the ground with a slight thud a few inches from the drop.

It took a second for anything to happen, but after a few seconds and once his eyes had adjusted to this new level of darkness, a platform appeared with lights turning on rather suddenly.

Sombra had to shield his eyes from the brightness, but once they’d adjusted he saw three orbs of purple light, floating around a vial that rested on a small stalagmite like make-shift table. Above the vial where the three purple orbs floated around it was a stalactite.

Moving slowly and with caution Sombra approached the vial, and the three purple orbs. Every step he made, made Sombra’s heartbeat quicken. This was it, this was the moment. The moment he drank that vial he’d be able to save his people.

But then again if he lost, it would mean the end of him and probably the complete isolation of the Crystal Empire.

I can’t let that happen.

With confidence the unicorn stepped onto the platform, and lifted the vial off its resting place with his magic.

Magnus, read the vial. “Ratin for “great”,” he said with a small smile.

Taking a deep breath he popped the cork on the vial, then shifted the contents around a bit.

“Bottoms up” he said, tilting the vial into his mouth Sombra swallowed every drop of the liquid.

When he finished he released his hold on it, then waited to see if something would happen. A second passed. Then two more. Then a whole minute, yet nothing happened.

“Was the book lying when it said I would have to face a challenge?”

When nothing happened after two minutes and the purple orbs had went from purple to red Sombra merely shrugged and began to turn towards the exit.

He stopped when he felt a tingling sensation on his horn. At first it felt tingly, then quite suddenly his horn began burning, pain immediately shot through his horn as soon as the burning sensation died down.

Then something else happened. Making him turn his attention back to the three floating orbs. They were red now, and emitting from them was red like electricity. Each orb crackled with magical power as the three moved away from the stalactite they had been circling and formed a horizontal line pointing directly at Sombra.

His eyes narrowed, when the first red orb cracked ominously. Then a shot of electrostatic shot out at him.

Jumping out of the way, Sombra watched the ground get scorched where he had just been standing. Trying to activate his magic Sombra only managed a wince when the pain came back with a new force through his horn.

Another shot from one of the red orbs came at him, this one connected with his horn.

The only thing Sombra could do was wince in pain as he felt the orbs magic hit his horn with such a force that it made him yelp. The other two orbs added into power by pumping their own energy into the first one. Doing this the red orb that was currently shocking Sombra’s horn lifted him off the ground, continuing to unleash it’s electric fury on him

The pain only grew as Sombra remained suspended in the air. Every few seconds he would hear a horrible cracking sound, like bones breaking. Then would feel an immense pain coming from his horn as if it were being broken and glued back on.

This continued for minutes. The pain growing worse as seconds passed, till all Sombra could do was yell in pain. His own voice mocking him as it echoed through the cave.

Finally after what could have been five minutes had passed, the orbs all cut off their assault, lost their red ominous glow, then faded out of existence their jobs done.

Sombra landed on the ground roughly with a heavy thud. His horn still immensely paining him. His eyes burning with tears and his teeth firmly clenched.

Lifting a hoof up Sombra touched his horn and let out a painful gasp as he forced himself to rise on his shaking legs, wincing once more as his headache came back.

“What do you desire?” a voice asked him.

Sombra panted, he was currently sweating from the pain that still remained in his head and his possibly reformed horn, as he could now tell it had a slight curve to it now and was feeling pretty warm from the midsection upwards.

With grit teeth he managed to stutter the word “power.”

A chuckle echoed in his head intensifying the pain, before responding in his own voice. A much darker version of his voice: “As you wish.”

Feeling another shot of pain run through him, Sombra collapsed on the ground, darkness slowly filling his vision.

Last thing he remembered hearing was his own voice telling him: “Good luck.”

Sombra once again found himself in darkness, this time he was not alone though.

Standing before the unicorn in the darkness was not a pony at least not in his eyes, but something else entirely. It was himself.

His own reflection, yet different. This Sombra had a curved horn, possibly mirroring his own image as well, but then again this Sombra had what appeared to be almost fangs. A nasty grin and eyes that glowed a sick green color as the dark arts book had. And those same eyes that stared at him radiated nothing but a constant desire for power.

A desire for not only power but a desire to conquer all. Rule all with an iron hoof and nothing else. This Sombra, was not the one the unicorn wanted to become.

Yes he wanted power, but who doesn’t every now and then? Yes possibly deep down within Sombra he felt that he should rule the Crystal Empire. There was so much he could do. So much he could change, but he wasn’t about to betray the princess for his own selfish desire.

His evil twin laughed, seeming to read his mind. “Do not lie to yourself. You know you want it. The power, the strength. You can feel it can’t you?” the shadow asked taking a step towards the scholar.

Sombra took a hesitant step back. His shadow smiled, a cruel smile that only a tyrant could give. “You can’t lie to me Sombra. I am you, and you are me.”

“I am not a tyrant!” Sombra shouted with a slam of his hoof.

His shadow merely smiled wider, laughing, sneering at his refusal to accept the truth.

Sombra scowled, allowed his new horn to glow and with a gentle tap of his foreleg a crystal formed in the dark abyss. Sending the crystal shard directly into his shadows body Sombra watched with an icy expression as the laughing shadow became impaled with the shard.

The shadow fell silent. Merely staring at the crystal shard that imbedded his chest.

Sombra smile confidently, believing that he had conquered this challenge with ease, he waited for his body to awaken out of this horrid slumber.

But nothing happened.

Sombra’s smile faded into a confused expression. He looked at his shadow, the being with glowing green eyes still stared at the crystal shard, unmoving.

He was sure he had finished his shadow off with ease. He had won...right?

The shadow smiled, then lifted it’s head up staring at Sombra, the original. “See” the shadow said, the crystal within him slowly getting sucked into the being’s body. “I am you, and you are me.”

“We are nothing alike” Sombra stated his horn glowing once more.

“You just attempted to kill me. Only one who uses force would do that without negotiating, wouldn’t you agree scholar?”

His magic faltered. The shadow continued, “You said it yourself did you not? You desire power. Crave it. You believe that you, yourself should take control of the Crystal Empire, you know that you can do more good than our current princess. So why stop there? Why not make sure that something like this never happens again?”

The shadow moved closer to his original, walking around Sombra with a pleasant grin on his face as Sombra fought with his morals and the somewhat wise words being tossed in his direction.

“I...I can’t” Sombra said turning his head away, his horn losing its glow. “I cannot betray the empire, the Crown in such a way.”

A chuckle. A dark chuckle, then Sombra felt his head get lifted up by his copy’s hoof. “It is not betrayal, if it is for the greater good” Sombra’s shadow said with a friendly smile. “You came out here to gain power did you not? You have it now. What’s wrong with bettering one’s kingdom with that power.

“After all isn’t there a wise saying, “The odds, justify the means?”” the shadow said.

Sombra’s eyes narrowed in thought and inner turmoil. He knocked the hoof under his chin away then backed up from his dark side.

“No” he said firmly.

“You’re making a mistake” his copy said. “What’s wrong with indulging in your own personal desires. You came out to sacrifice yourself for others, so why not have some fun along the way? Embrace your darkness, enjoy it, let me get you the power you desire. So you can change the world. Watch over it under an iron hoof! With power you can make your enemies tremble. Fear brings obedience.”

“But obedience through fear is not true loyalty” Sombra corrected his horn glowing once more.

Sombra’s shadow’s smile faded, his lips pursing together to form a straight line with lidded eyes that only showed disdain.

“I see” his shadow said, his green green eyes brightening as his own horn glowed with dark magic. “There is no changing your mind then?”

Sombra shook his head. “I would rather wait for my time to come as king, then force my way to power.” The clone laughed darkly, his voice reverberating back to them throughout the vast dark abyss.

“We’ll see, scholar. We’ll see.”

“Yes” Sombra said his eyes now expressing steeled resolve. “We will indeed.”

Both horns glowed. One red, one dark. A flash of magic brightened the area, before darkness once again filled the void.

Sombra awoke seconds later, having done what needed to be done. Getting up he moved through the cave and reached the exit in a few seconds.

With resolve once again burning in his eyes the unicorn stared at the shadow of the Crystal Empire down the mountain.

Sombra stepped back out into the cold, ignoring the way the snow nipped at his pelt, his body, his arms and his newly reformed horn as he made his way down the cliff once more.

Once back down the mountain and re-entering the Crystal Empire’s vicinity, Sombra saw Princess Luna and Celestia waiting for him at the kingdom’s border.

The two looked slightly surprised by the appearance of his horn. He merely ignored them and continued to walk through the emptiness of the castle without another word to them.

Luna and Celestia exchanged looks before following their ally towards the Crystal Heart. Once there Sombra’s horn glowed with a powerful bright red light, which he gently touched against the ancient artifact.

The Crystal Heart glowed red for a brief minute, then a second later the heart spun at rapid speeds, Sombra backing up as Princess Celestia and Luna watched the artifact release a powerful surge of magic that covered the entire empire. Curing all the ill and sick within the hospitals in the process.

Luna smiled a bit at Sombra her eyes still staring at his new horn. Celestia gave him a somewhat encouraging smile as well before the three waited for a few citizens to come out of the hospitals.

A few seconds later Sombra turned his back to the two princesses heading in a different direction. A voice stopped him, he turned to see Princess Celestia staring at him with observant eyes.

A second passed and the two did not break eye contact. Sombra merely smiled at her. The princess of the sun did not return the gesture.

“What did you do Sombra?” she asked after a few seconds of silence, the three ignoring the cheers of the crystal ponies returning to their homes and duties.

Sombra smiled weakly before it faded into a warm yet stony expression.

“I did what I had to.”