My Little Mages: The Siege of Krystalopolies

Chapters

Rey Sombra
Los ensayos de Sombra
La Regla Legitima
A la Ciudad de los Cristales

Rey Sombra

Author's Note

Woah... that took longer and is longer than I plan. Let start this out, in the comments of Chapter 1, in a spoiler I said quote

picture Sombra actually attacking and seriously injuring at least one maybe more of the mane 6

unquote. Well, I am delivering on that. Now on to the show...

Rey Sombra

The train's whistle bellowed as it pulled into the Borealton station. But the whistle was barely heard over the blustering wind as snow fell to the ground. Rainbow Dash bolted out of the train first, her at the waist was a small quiver in it was her bow. Upon being hit by the sub-arctic wind she landed on the platform. “I thought we were in late spring,” the elementalist shivered, her teeth chattering, “thththisisis fefefeels lililike winwinwinter,” rubbing the exposed part of her arms in a near-futile attempt to keep warm as she was clearly underdressed for the weather. Most of her arms and a fair part of her legs were exposed.

“The Crystal Mountains to the North and the Hyperborean Mountain to the east of here trap the weather fronts in this area and force whatever storms that develop from going elsewhere and thus the storms tend to linger,” Twilight informed, being the next to leave the train. Her dress was similar to her usual robes, but the sleeves were tighter around her arms and the legs were less baggy as they were tighter to the body to insulate her, all the while reading a book about Borealton and the surrounding area south of the Crystal Mountains held in her left hand and her staff in her right. “Did you know the garrison here is two hundred years older than the town?” Twilight commented as she marveled over what she read.

Applejack was next to exit the train. Under the paladin’s armor was a padded leather coat, in addition to her red shirt, that covered more of her arms, her pants were thicker than normal to better insulate them against the cold. Her boots went up to her knees and were flatter so better tread through the snow. At the paladin’s left side was her sword in its scabbard, a red delicious apple-shaped gem in the blade’s hilt. Fluttershy was next, she wore a thick jacket colored a deep yellow, a light green hood, with daisy yellow colored mittens, and a pair of light blue snow boots. Her oaken staff had a forest green lantern fixture almost seemed out of place with its light pink light which matched the druid’s hair. The ever happy pick-clad jester, Pinkie Pie was next to disembark from the train skipping all the way. She had a cotton candy pink coat and pants, in contrast to her usually bare legs over her leotard. She also had earmuffs and a pair of pink gloves, both of which were quite fluffy and matching her persistent aesthetic. Her jester’s hat seemed to be following a winter theme as well, right down to the images of classic winter items embroidered all about it, in lieu of the typical three balloons. Rarity was next to exit the train, the ever elegant enchantress wore a long alabaster fur coat, with a pair of deep purple earmuffs, an ivory colored winter hat, and milk colored gloves. Underneath the hat was her iconic tiara embedded with her focusing sapphires, “Well it's a good thing most of us packed, I think I have a spare coat. But it would neither complement or appropriately contrast with you.”

Spike was the last to exit, adorning a winter jacket that was so oversized for him it made him look like some kind of large toy one of the girls had purchased at a store somewhere, and he huffed out a small fire to warm the air, “I know that as a dragon, I have a fire inside of me, but we don't live this far north.” Also thankful his choice of attire was fireproofed.

“Well, given that you don’t have wings, you might actually be a drake,” came a familiar gentle baritone. The seven turned to see Shining Armor dressed as in fur and feather-insulated coat usually reserved for the harsh dead of winter. He also wore a gray scarf and had a pair of snow goggles, a type of eyewear with two small slits that would allow him to see by limiting the light that would hit his eyes when the sun was high on the white snow in addition to making it possible to see if he were to ever be caught in a snowstorm.

Twilight ran up to him and embraced him, “Shining! It's so good to see you. You should have told me when your honeymoon ended.” Twilight pouted at her brother for having left her out of his life again.

Shining gave a chuckle, “Sorry, Twily, but we just got back to Chantalot when Princess Celestia had us directed here. We literally just got off the train.” Shining rubbed his sister’s head affectionately, even though Twilight puffed out her cheeks all the while. That action earned a few laughs from the other six. “Glad you made it.” He turned to the north while the train left the station heading back south at full speed. “We’ve got to move. Krystopolies is not the only thing that returned.” Shining then started away from the station. “Now!” He ordered looking back to see that the others were not following him. The seven then started to walk at a fast pace and they all started to follow Shining, well for five of them as Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash elected to fly. Shining, however, quickly took the lead, all the while he continued to look around, listening as best he could for any sound other than the howling winds.

Fluttershy flew up to him, “What else returned?” she asked as terror grip her voice.

Before he answered, Shining made another scan for any threat to the group, he looked at Fluttershy and the horror of what he had come across was written on his face. “The evil king, Sombra. He’s been desperately trying to get in. Thus far we have been able to keep him out.” Shining answered as he continued to search for something, something like a shadow just on the edge of the world.

Twilight was confused “But Princess Celestia sent me here to find a way to protect the city,” catching up with Shining and Fluttershy, “If King Sombra can't get in, then it must already be protected, right?”

Soon they all heard a very distinctive howl, it was extremely guttural,...in fact, no one knew what to compare it too, it sounded so foreign, they all question that it was a howl. Shining froze upon hearing it, the others could tell that something wicked was heading their way. Fluttershy gasped, “Wa-was th-that him?”

Shining didn’t answer. Instead, as he turned around and there was a large thick black cloud that started to encircle them. “It’s Sombra! Run! Get to Krystalopolies! Now! Go! Go! Go!” Shining shouted trying to get the group to go ahead of him as he kneeled on the ground, his spear at the ready and muttering something as if he was casting a spell he had great difficulty with.

Rainbow Dash just laughed while she took her bow off her belt and readied it and aimed. “Oh please, one light arrow and this is thing will be gone.” Rainbow fired and the arrow dissolved in the black mist of Sombra and had no effect on the black cloud. A smoke-like tentacle came out of the cloud and managed to grab hold of the elementalist’s right arm, “What the…” she started to ask but was cut short. The sound of her right arm snapping like a twig, silenced her for a second. For a second. Rainbow Dash bellowed in pain, unable to focus on anything but the loss of feeling her right arm below her elbow and the separation of the bone in her upper arm, she collapsed to the ground. As she tried to rejoin her group, tears of agony dripping from her eye as she cradled her damaged arm.

Pinkie pulled out of her hair what looked like one of her toy mallets, but when it made contact with the ground it sounded like it weighed a ton. “Nobody hurts MY DASHIE!!!” Pinkie roared while she charged the black cloud. By the time the pink-clad trickster reached Sombra, he had changed his form to resemble a human, but stood well over seven feet and had formed from a crystalline red sword that matched his height. With one swing of the blade, Sombra sundered the mallet by cutting its head off.

Upon seeing what befell her weapon, Pinkie gave a weak ‘taha’ before she dropped the remnants of her weapon and ran back to the group leaving a trail of melted snow and burnt grass. She passed everyone screaming, “Run for your lives!” once she reached the dome of light crystalline blue magic she remembered Dash was still in danger. She ran back passing everyone again and grabbed Rainbow Dash after splinting the arm at the speed of light. As she lifted Rainbow, holding her over her head, and started to run back to the dome, she felt her left thigh shatter. She shrieked and wailed as she fell forward as she lost all support in her left leg. She and Rainbow Dash looked and saw that Pinkie was hit with the decapitated head of Pinkie’s mallet as they saw it fairly close to them.

Rainbow, using her left hand, reached into Pinkie’s hair and to find some of the same things Pinkie used to splint her right arm. She had to secure the leg as soon as possible, she knew, as an athlete, that an injury like that could destroy her typically bouncing friend if not secured and healed, and that’s not addressing the possible severing of the femoral artery.

All the while, Sombra continued to walk towards the two. But they were not left to their own resources. Applejack ran faster than anyone drawing her sword and intercepted Sombra, stopping him from finishing off the crippled Pinkie and maimed Rainbow. Fluttershy, Twilight, Rarity, and Spike rushed to get Rainbow and Pinkie to safety and to tend to their respective splint and break.

While Applejack could close the distance, the shade morphed again, a gray steel full plate armor forming around him, topped by a crown of the same gray steel with a ruby focus gem, shaped like a horn, like Twilight's own focusing crystal. On his shoulders, a red regal cape appeared, billowing immediately in the harsh winter wind. Sombra open his eyes, the whites were lime-green, the irises were blood red in color, the pupils were cat-like slits, and a purple smoke floated from the corners. However, that was not the thing that gave Applejack pause. No, it was his lipless, toothy mouth.

“Ah’m gonna smite yah back to whatever hell yah came from!” she put all of her weight and force into the swing, the sword glowing a divine white. It seemed that this would end the threat once and for all…. Seemed.

Sombra caught the blade effortlessly with his left hand. He looked down at the paladin a triumphant grin on his face as horror and terror froze Applejack in her place. Sombra then slashed her chest in an upward right diagonal motion cutting through her armor, clothes, and flesh. He then lifted her as she still clung to her sword and threw her with her blade at her friends. Narrowly, Applejack missed Rainbow’s arm and Pinkie’s leg. The girls all froze in terror at the power of the dark king.

Spike ran up to avenge his friends, roaring, growling, hissing all the while. When he reached the towering shade, Spike exhaled capacious amounts of fire to roast Sombra only to be punt back into Twilight, knocking the arcane mage off her feet and forcing the whole of the group to be knocked to the ground.

With Spike bested, Sombra advanced towards the seven to finish them off then and there. Yet, before he brought his sword down a crystalline blue force field appeared around the seven and stopped the tyrant’s sword mid-swing, “Go! Go! Go!” Shining all but roared as he walked to be in front of the others Shining’s spear in his right hand and lowered with its pointed at Sombra. Shining’s eyes glowed not the purple that his magic usually triggered, but a crystalline blue similar to that of Cadance, something not lost on Twilight. Twilight also noticed something off, Shining was straining as if he was casting a spell he either didn't know, had the training in, and/or had a component he normally never used before. Connecting two and two, Twilight concluded that Shining's spell was a using a copy of Cadance's spirit healer magic, something he had limited experience with, which she concluded was why it took him so long and why he ordered them to run in the first place.

Rainbow managed to get up in the air, still clutching her arm, desperate to shield it. Rarity and Twilight helped Pinkie and Fluttershy assisted Applejack and they and Spike booked it as fast as they could towards a magical dome that matched the crystal blue color of Cadance’s magic.

All the while Shining slowly walked backward, trying to keep as much distance between Sombra and the others as possible. But Sombra kept proceeding forward, forcing the shield bubble back. Shining’s shield spell held but Shining was forced back barely able to walk backward without tripping over himself. He then dropped the shield as he witnessed the girls and Spike pass into the dome of love and light that has thus far kept Sombra out. This resulted in the shade of King Sombra saying, “Commendable effort, boy.”

With a pant to contain his wrath, “I am just getting warmed up, Sombrero.” Shining charged his taller enemy and gave a war cry as his eyes glowed purple along with the point of his spear. Shining then skewed the shade. Sombra, however, was unfazed by the assault. Chuckling as he let his sword drop to the snow, he took hold of Shining’s head and roared. Shining bellowed in response as Sombra morphed back into a black cloud.

Twilight and the rest passed through the magical dome shield. “Everyone o…” Twilight looked at Pinkie Pie, whom she was helping Rarity support and Rainbow Dash as they gritted their teeth, she then turned to Applejack as Fluttershy was casting a cure wounds spell on the paladin’s chest. “Hehe, nevermind.” Twilight then looked around, “Where’s Shining?!” Just the Shining was thrown in, followed by his spear, which landed point down and so close to him it almost looked like it had tried to strike his right shoulder. As he got to his feet, Twilight saw that his focus gem and forehead were noticeably coated in dark crystals. Shining looked up and tried to cast a spell but the spell failed. “Oh, no! Shining Armor, your forehead!” Twilight shouted as she rushed over to Shining, a small frown forming on her face.

“We’ve got to get your friends to the infirmary.” Shining pushed his sister with a slight gruff to the side to pick up Applejack, as the paladin seemed to drift in and out of consciousness. Just then a dozen of the Borealton garrison arrived. “Get them to the infirmary, tell Sandalwood we have a broken femur, broken arm and massive gash. Triple speed!” The soldiers took Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie and bolted as fast as they could. Shining, Twilight, Rarity, and Spike quickly met the pace.

While she was carried, “Sparkleriffic!” Pinkie exclaimed before she shut her eyes and clung to her broken leg. Tears pooling in the corners of her eyes.

About ten minutes later, they all arrived in the center of the city, as they all discarded their winter coats, Rarity was the most ecstatic at the sight of all the crystalline buildings, in particular, the castle. Unlike most buildings, it was particularly above the ground at almost twenty… no thirty feet. Supported in four corners with a set of four arches that supported a dome, with a staircase into the castle within each arch. “It's gorgeous! Absolutely gorgeous!” Rarity started to mumble incoherently in a dumbfounded state over what she bore witness to, “There are no words!”

“Focus, Rarity. We're here to help Twilight, not admire the scenery.” Applejack coughed while being carried on a stretcher like Rainbow and Pinkie. Pinkie’s broken foreleg was lifted up a surprising distance, all the way to the back of her knee, and she was now walking with a peg leg where her foot would usually touch the ground, complete with an eyepatch over left eye and bandana on her head.

“Eh, I don't see what the big deal is. Just looks like another old castle to me.” Rainbow could not help but state, knowing how her friend would react.

“A– p– guh!” Rarity’s mind could not compute what she heard from Rainbow Dash. “Another old...! Have you lost your mind?” Turning and spinning in the open bottom of the castle, “Look at the magni–” Upon hearing her two more tomboyish friends share a laugh, Rarity stopped and turned to see Applejack and Rainbow Dash share a fist bump, as Applejack used her right hand and Rainbow Dash used her left hand, as the two and Pinkie were taken to the infirmary. Rarity elected to let them have this joke and after some thought, she had a subdued chuckle, “Yes, it was very funny.” Turning to Fluttershy, “I will go with Twilight and Spike, I think it’s best that you go with Rainbow, Applejack, and Pinkie.” Fluttershy didn’t stay to respond as she flew behind the soldiers that carried their injured friends to the infirmary.

Twilight, Spike, and Rarity followed Shining into the castle into the throne room. Unlike in Chantalot, there was only one throne and it was in the center of the ‘back’ wall. It was also significantly smaller and lacked the stained glass windows. In the throne was Cadance and from her tiara, a light blue light was being sent towards the sky. She looked as though she had not sleeps in days with her eyelids fluttering between being narrowly open and shut, under eyes were black rings and wrinkles. Twilight ran up to her sister-in-law, almost ecstatic to see her, “Cadance!”

Barely awake Cadance got off the throne with some difficulty, “Ooh.”

The two walked to each and meet about halfway through the hall, the two hugged and stepped back and covered their eyes, “Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake!” the two revealed their eyes and then started to clap each other’s hands, “Clap your hands and do a little shake!” as they turned to face the left wall and shook their hips.

The two turned back to face each other, as Cadance’s hugged her younger sister-in-law, “One of these days we need to get together when the fate of Mystica isn't hanging in the balance.” she gave a tired sigh as she wearily walked back to the throne.

Twilight walked with Cadance, followed by Rarity, Shining, and Spike, “Are you okay?” a slight frown on Twilight’s face seeing her sister-in-law seemed to struggle.

Shining dashed to his wife and supported her as she took her seat on the throne, “Cadance has been able to use her magic to spread love and light. That seems to be what is protecting the city.” Shining gesturing to the dome of crystalline blue light that kept Sombra out. Turning back to the current state of Cadance, “But she hasn't slept, barely eats.” Shining paused as he looked to Twilight and took a breath, “I want to help her, but my protection spells don’t affect Sombra.” To emphasize his point he tried to cast a spell only to see it fail, “And now with these magic draining crystals on me I don’t think I can even make a show of giving her support.”

Cadance took her husband’s hand and tried to reassure him of her capabilities, “It's alright Shining Armor, I'm fine.”

“She's not fine!” Shining took a calming breath, “She can't go on like this forever, and if her magic were to fade…” Shining turned his gaze to beyond the dome towards the tyrant lurking in the storm outside. “Well, you saw what's out there waiting for that to happen.”

“That's why we're here.” Twilight placed her right hand on her brother’s shoulder in an attempt to assure him that everything will work out.

“We haven't been able to gather much information from the Crystalborn.” Shining gave a sigh of frustration, “Despite the garrison’s best efforts while I am have been on patrol.”

“Crystalborn?!” Rarity could help but giggle in delight. “Hahaha, there are Crystalborn?! I only read about them in fairy tales. I cannot believe that they actually… exist...” Seeing everyone look at her with a slight scowl, “Um, ahem. Please continue.” She grinned as many guilty people do in an attempt to appear innocent.

Shining shook his head and took a breath, “But we have to believe one of them knows how we can protect the city.”

“A research paper!” Twilight’s eyes dilated at the prospect of researching something.

“Huh?” everyone else tilted their heads slightly baffled at Twilight’s action.

Turning from the other she looked the ceiling as if she was experiencing an epiphany. “That must be part of my test – to gather information from the Crystalborn and deliver it to you!” She turned back to her still confused friends and family, “This is gonna be great! I love research papers! Don't worry, big brother. I am really good at this sort of thing.” Twilight then bolted out of the throne room followed by Rarity and Spike. Shining and Cadance shared worried looks, wondering just what Princess Celestia had said to Twilight before she arrived in the northern territory.

Meanwhile, in the infirmary, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Applejack were placed gently on three beds. “Marshall Armor wants you to tend to them triple speed, medic.” Getting the attention of an Earthborn man while his armor was like the other soldiers in coloration, his was made of leather and hide. He had green hair done in dreadlocks, another contrast to the shortcut of the others.

“Relax, dude.” The man said as he walked over to the injured women.

“RELAX!” Fluttershy bolted passed the other soldiers and looked the medic in his face. Her nostrils flaring. “My friends could die and you’re telling me to relax!” The druid nose was within an inch of the medic.

Giving a weak ‘hehe’, the main then walked around the druid to tend to the girls. He first took a cloth and dipped it into a jar of liquid. He then walked over to Applejack, “Mind taking a breath?” Applejack inhaled and soon passed out. He then placed his hands, while they started to glow emerald green, over Applejack’s chest and the gash in her chest started to close up. “Get her clothes off, we can better mend her wounds from there.” The medic turned to Pinkie Pie, “This is gonna knock you out, dude, but given your leg, you’re going to wish you were out cold before we start.”

Pinkie took the cloth and inhaled it twice before she fell back on the bed and like Applejack she was out cold. The medic turned to one of the other soldiers, “I need one of you to hold her down as best you can and someone else to get something to secure the broken bone, I have to make sure her femur is properly aligned before I can secure the break with a cast.”

“I don’t let anybody oogle my naked body, that’s more of a sixth date sort of thing,” Pinkie joked in her loopy state.

“Please ma’am, we’re professionals,” said one of the assisting guard trying to restrain the jester so that the medic could set the bone. No one electing to question why and how the jester was still conscious.

“Dude, as guards, totally,” said the medic, “but I’m the only certified medic in the place.”

Almost as if on cue a generic female intercom voice was heard saying in an eerily calm tone, “Paging Doctor Sandalwood, paging Doctor Sandalwood, you have three patients that require your immediate attention.”

The medic blinked a few times before saying, “Okay, that was trippy,” He then took Pinkie’s leg, “Would you mind assisting me? Miss…”

“Fluttershy,” Fluttershy answered as she fluttered over to help with tending to Pinkie. “You must be Sandalwood?”

“Yeah, we can chat later… where is…” Sandalwood started to ask only to spy Rainbow trying to walk away, however she soon felt a needle puncture her skin. As she blanked-out she was again placed back on the bed. “This is going to take more time than I thought.” Sandalwood commented as he took a breath as he grabbed Pinkie’s lower leg. “Well, since you girls might not be comfortable being without you clothes during an examination with me in this sort of environment maybe you should handle that part, it might feel more comfortable.” He slid Pinkie’s pants leg up, after making sure to remove her peripherals and began going along to see how bad the offset was. “Now, miss, this might hurt a bit. I’m sorry, but I don’t think we have an anesthetic strong enough to dull the pain for a fully conscious Earthborn, and using the bulk of what we do have is a massive waste of resources.”

“It’s fine,” said Pinkie in her usual chipper voice, “you can just hit me really hard over the head.”

“I am not going to potentially cause more harm just to make sure you’re out cold.” He waved over to two pairs of Earthborn guard, “keep her other leg and arms down as best you can, she might thrash around a bit during the procedure.”

After Pinkie’s arms and unbroken leg were secured by the guards she said, “And I thought being tied down was kinky.” the loopy jester joked.

The medic and everyone else in the medical tent chose to disregard her comment, it was clear she was just trying to lighten the mood. “Once again, I’m sorry about this. There will be some momentary discomfort, but after we align and splint it the pain should dull over the course of a few minutes.” With that he secured both sides of her broken leg and began the careful realignment process, anyone who looked at Pinkie would see her trying hold back screams of pain. Once the break was set, Sandalwood and the others started began casting the whole leg, all the while Sandalwood and Fluttershy cast a healing spell, each’s hand glowing emerald and light pink, respectively. Upon seeing her leg bound up, Pinkie fainted then and there. “Okay, now we tend…”

“Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy informed as they walked over to the unconscious elementalist, and noticed just how severe the damage was, she wasn’t sure if she’d have been able to heal her friend effectively if it had just been her. After a couple of minutes, the bone was properly set and the healing process was started as Fluttershy and Sandalwood walked among Fluttershy’s three injured friends. The other guards left, leaving the two. “So you’re a druid? ” Fluttershy asked.

“Shaman, actually. So dude, what gave it away?”

“Your armor, it’s made of leather and hide I thought druids and shamans were not supposed to join the military?”

“Well most don’t, but there is actually no rule against it. Now the High druid might not approve, but that old man...” Sandalwood paused as he realized he might be overstepping things as he saw a frown forming on Fluttershy’s face. “Well he’s rounded tighter than a drum.” the shaman concluded.

Back at the palace, Twilight, Rarity, and Spike were at the doorway of one of the houses, having had questioned at least a dozen Crystalborn, inside the house was a woman about their age, she was dressed very not much different than many of the other female residences of Magiville, with a golden plant growth shown in. Her hair was a mulberry purple, her eyes blue. Yet the woman didn’t look Twilight, Rarity or Spike in their eyes as she mostly looked to the ground, a soft frown on her face as if she could not muster any want of care or joy. Twilight tried again to get information out of the woman, “Are you sure? Absolutely sure?”

The woman shook her head, “I'm sorry. I wish I could help you. But I…” the woman tried to recall but after some strain, as she scrunched her eyes, “can't seem to remember anything before King Sombra came to power.” The woman that frozen as she just stared right in front of her, she shivered and shuddered for a second. After that she looked back to the ground, “And I don't want to remember anything about the time....he... ruled over us.” The woman started to retreat back into her home. Before she shut the door, “Have we really been gone over thousand years?” the three questioning her nodded in unison. “Huh, it feels like it was just yesterday.”

Trying to make one last attempt to ascertain any sort of information, “If you think of anything, even the smallest thing…” the woman gave an ‘ahha’ before she shut the door in Twilight’s face.

The dragon voiced the failure to find anything from the most recent person the three had questioned, “Well, that was a total bust.” as the three started towards the next house.

“You're not going to get much from the residents.” Twilight froze upon hearing a tenure she never thought she would hear again, or at the ever least so soon. She turned and there in the golden colored armor of the Royal Guard, a sword at his waist, a heater shield secured to his back. He took off his helm and smiled at Twilight, “I never expected to see you here.”

Twilight ran up and jumped into a hug, “Flash!” almost knocking the guard off his feet. She brushed her cheek against him a closed-eye smile with her lips forming a slight upside down capital ‘c’. “It’s so good to see you again.”

Electing to complete the embrace, “Same here, Twilight.” After they ended their embrace. “But yeah, questioning everyone hasn’t gotten us very far.” Flash shook his head, “save that there is a libra..”

“Library!” Twilight’s eyes diluted as a massive grin formed on her face with stars forming in her pupils. “Which way?” looking helter-skelter for the library unable to contain her excitement.

Flash turned to Rarity and Spike, “You just had to say the ‘l’ word.” the dragon huffed.

“Follow me.”

About half an hour later, Twilight stood in front of the Krystalopolian Library. It was one of the largest buildings in the city and the second largest library Twilight ever seen. In the front of it were two statues of griffons. After stepping into it Twilight gasped in awe of all the books in the library, “I just... I don't even know what to... There are no words.” Twilight stopped trying to articulate what she thoughts as she looked at all the books around her. Rarity and Spike could only shake their heads. Flash on the other hand just stared at Twilight as he blinked twice.

“Ahem.” Twilight stopped and turned to see a much older woman, most likely in her late fifties, her eyes were a mulberry purple under her glasses and her hair was grayish pink. She was dressed like many of the librarians and archivist Twilight had seen in Chantalot, with an unrolled scroll pin on her sleeve. “May I help you?”

“They’re with me and my comrades, Ma’am.” Flash informed, “I know where the history section is.” Flash took Twilight and started to lead Rarity and Spike deeper into the library, “If we find something, we’ll let you know, thank you for everything.”

“I am sorry I cannot be of more help.” the older woman gave a sigh, “Best of luck, young man.” She then started heading to another part of the library.

“And to you as well, Darling.” Rarity called out following Flash with Spike and Twilight. “What's her name?”

“Amethyst Maysberry, ” Flash Informed the group. “And the women you spoke to before was Sapphire Joy." Turning to see the three look at him confused, “One of the first things I read here was the most recent census, completed a week before the city vanished.”

About fifteen minutes of walking past stacks of tome after stack next to empty bookshelves. The four found about a dozen of the garrison’s troop reading books. “Hey, is anyone else starting to think this is a lost cause?” one of the soldiers said as he finished another book and added to another stack.

“We’ve been at this for the better part of three days.” Flash then walked to one of three bookcases with all of its books still on the shelves. “We’ve alternating researchers, took us a day to find the history section.” Flash grabbed the first book and after blowing some dust off of it opened it, “If there is an answer of how the city was protected in the past, it has to be in this small part of the library.”

“With all due respect, Lieutenant, this is a lost cause.” another of the soldiers, a woman this time, called out as she finished the book she was reading.

“The Marshal ordered to search the library for a solution and we still have almost a thousand books to look through. You got two more hours on your shift, so get another book and read.” Flash did not once look up from the book as he gave the order, with no harshness in his tone.

“Sir, yes, sir.” the soldier said.

“You were promoted?” Twilight asked as she, Rarity and Spike each took a book and started to read.

“Technically I still haven’t received my commission, but your brother made that call after I took the helm of the evacuation of Borealton.” Not hiding his chuckle at why he was promoted. “Funny thing, I only followed the written procedure.” Flash turned the page, never once looking away from the book.

Twilight looked down at the book she had, “STOP!” Everyone turned to her as she opened the book. While a grin grew on her face, “Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!” She then showed the cover pointing to the title; History of Krystalopolies. “I just hope it has the answers we need.” Twilight shut the book and ran out of the library her familiar in tow.

About twenty minutes later in the castle, on a balcony in the castle, overseeing the city, Twilight presented the book to Shining and Cadance as she turned to the chapter in question. “A 'Crystal Faire'.” While Shining accepted the book and read the text, “According to this book, it was established by the first monarch and became their most important tradition.” While Shining shared the book with Cadance, “The Faire was held every year to quote, "renew the spirit of love and unity in the city so they could protect it from harm" unquote.” After the two finished reading, they handed the book back to Twilight, “I could put it together, with the help of my friends, even in their current state. Everything we need to know is in the book!”

“That sounds pretty promising, tell Flash to get as much of the garrison to help. Is there anything we can do?” Shining called out as Twilight and Spike started out of the room.

“Just try to keep Cadance awake,” Twilight called back before shut the door, “We'll get started right away.” After she shut the door and looking ahead to meeting up with her friends in the infirmary, “C'mon, Spike, we've got a Crystal Faire to put together!”

“Do we have to?” the dragon huffed.

An hour and a half later, with the help of the Borealton garrison, in spite of Applejack and Pinkie Pie being confined to wheelchairs for the time being and Rainbow Dash with her arm in a slightly tight cast in a sling close to against her chest, a small array of booths and stands were set up, with a jousting track and a tourny square were mostly ready to go. “It looks amazing! I don't know how I could've done this without you! One last check to make sure everything is in place, and then the festivities can begin!”

“Ah man, I so wanted to Skyborn joust!” the elementalist bemoaned as she looked at the hand of Skyborn soldiers replacing their standard issued armor and donned the crystal-looking jousting armor and checking their lances.

“You can at least walk, I can’t even scratch my itching foot. Why did my whole leg have to be in this thing? Stupid cast.” the jester pouted as she wheeled her chair as she crossed her arms and scowled.

“Not ta be one ta call the kettle black, but yah both at least have somethin’ to provide support and stability ta yahr wounds.”

Fluttershy gave a cough getting the attention of the three, “Now girls, there is no need for that kind of talk,” the three then looked at the druid. “As Sandalwood and I said, you three need to focus on your recovery.” Fluttershy turned her full attention to Applejack first, “Applejack you need to be as calm as possible,” then turning to Rainbow, “Rainbow Dash, you are going to have to use your left arm for the time being” and walking up to and speaking to Pinkie in the jester’s right ear, “and Pinkie, think about all the signatures you can get and all the friends you can make. Also, there is a cast removal party or two to think about.” Pinkie gasped and pulled out a notepad and pencil and started jotting things at the speed of light her signature almost impossible smile growing on her face.

As everyone gave a chuckle, Applejack noticed a stone pedestal and on it was stone carved into the shape of a heart, “What's this thing for?” Applejack then knocked on it the stone heart.

Twilight looked from the book to Applejack and the heart in question, “The last page of the book mentioned a Crystal Heart as the faire's centerpiece, so I used my magic to cut one out of a crystal block.” Twilight smiled at her handiwork.

As everyone also else looked over the heart and gave Twilight a reassuring smile, “Nice work, Twi.” The paladin said as she wheeled her chair away, “Think we're ready to get this faire up and runnin'.”

A few minutes later, Twilight and her friends were underneath a balcony of the castle, with Shining and Cadance having been spruced up by Rarity, stepping out to be seen. After Rainbow counted down to zero with her left hand, Pinkie Pie took a deep breath and blew into the bizarre looking horn she was given, called a flugelhorn. The blow resonated throughout the whole of the city, traveling faster as the sounded was reflected off of each of the crystalline buildings. After two seconds as every one of the subjects of Krystalopolies turned to the castle, Twilight spoke out, announcing the start of the faire, “Hear ye, hear ye! Princess Cadance and Marshal Shining Armor do cordially invite you to attend the Crystal Faire!” The Crystalborn started to smile and they soon their crystalline skin started to shine and glitter. They all started to chatter and cheer as they started towards the faire.

Many of the Crystalborn were meet by Applejack, “Come on in, yall,” she beckoned with the Apple Family almost trademark hospitality. “Got food and drinks thataway, games and crafts are thataway, Crystal Heart to the back, in the castle’s archways.” While pointing the directions of each thing she mentioned, “The joust will be startin’ in half an hour and in two hours the tourney will begin.”

A woman around the age of Twilight and her main friends, she had opal eyes and her hair was two colors, a bluish gray and grayish blue. Starting out depressed, “Did she say... Crystal Heart?” as she finished her question her entire demeanor changed and she, like many of the other Crystalborn, more or less turned from a dull unpolished rock to glittering gem. While she and more Crystalborn chattered among themselves blissfully and gleefully before dashing into the faire grounds proper.

Hovering next to the paladin, “We totally nailed it, right?” Rainbow said as he landed and shared another fist bump with her comrade. “They must be feeling a lot of that love and unity about now!” Rainbow Dash started heading to one of the stands for food, “Gonna have some grub, huh? What are you thinking? Krystalopolies berry pie? Maybe some crystal corn-on-the-cob!” Rainbow listed off until she saw a few Crystalborn chattering as if they were talking about something, she paused in confusion. “What is with these people?!” She asked turning to Applejack. The wheelchair-bound paladin only shrugged her shoulders.

The last woman Twilight interviewed before bumping into Flash, Sapphire Joy, turned to another woman, she had a dark mulberry purple eyes and her hair had two variants of light orchid purple-pink “Seeing all of this, I feel like I'm starting to remember. Remember things from before the king. You, Fleur de Verre?” The two were still in their low-spirited state.

“Me too.” the other woman said as if they started to recall something.

The two women looked at each other and after gasping in unison, “The Crystal Heart!” the two shouted as their skin changed to be like even more of the Crystalborn.

Fleur then to Sapphire asked the question, “Do you think they really have it?”

“Of course we have it!” Raindash played off as if she knew what she was talking, earning an eye roll from her paladin companion, “Can't have a Crystal Faire without the Crystal Heart, right?” the elementalist asked high off of her confidence as the two Crystalborn ran happily into the faire proper.

“Of course you can't.” Rainbow Dash and Applejack turned to see the older woman that was in the library, Amethyst Maysberry. In addition to her scholarly garb and glasses, she wore a green hat with a ribbon around it the same color as her hair with a small ruby and a small sapphire pinned in. “The whole purpose of the Crystal Faire is to lift the spirits of us Crystalborn, so the light within us can power the Crystal Heart, thus, in turn, the city can be protected!” Amethyst then gasped at what she just said as if something dawned on her. Her skin started to glitter and shine like the other Crystalborn, “I do work at the library!” She started to hum as she started towards the faire proper.

“W-what's that about 'powering the heart'?” Rainbow asked as she and Applejack looked at each other nervously.

Amethyst stopped and looked at the two foreigners she speaking to, "I just can't believe you found it. King Sombra said he'd hidden it away where we would never see it again! I only hope it will still be as powerful after all these years...!” Amethyst then paused as she spotted one of the food booths,“Mm, funnel cake!” ” She cheerfully proclaimed as she headed towards the booth in question.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack started to shudder at what they were told. The two shared a worried frown and Applejack nodded. Rainbow Dash then bolted grabbing a large cloth and in less than a second arrived at the craving of the Crystal Heart and covered it, accidentally covering Twilight who had elected to re-read the book. “Why did you–” Twilight wanted to question her speedster friend.

“We have a problem…” The horror was written on Rainbow’s face as her pupils constricted to the size of a pin.

About ten minutes later, Rainbow Dash and Twilight met up with Shining and Cadance, to form a new plan based on what the elementalist just learned. As Twilight started to go through History of Krystalopolies at a rapid pace. “I didn't know it was an actual relic! The book didn't mention anything about the Crystalborn powering the Heart!” Twilight continued until she reached the very end of the book. After seeing that the last word on the page had a comma after it, she placed her right finger next to the page and ran it down and felt that there was another page there but was removed, with a string cutting it. With horror over the desecration over the tome, “There was a page missing... How did I not notice?!”

“It's alright, Twilight.” Cadance reached out to her sister-in-law to comfort her before Cadance fell forward and passed out. Fortunately, she was caught by Shining Armor, but the spell Cadance was casting ended as the dome of love and light vanished.

“Twily…” Shining as he watched the black cloud of Sombra appear just outside of the city, “The city is under attack.” Looking beyond Shining spied the fell king. Sombra was just outside, he was both the large black cloud that surrounded the city, coming from where there were gaps in his armor due to the nature of the armor and the shade in the armor. However, after a few seconds, Cadance was able to recover and renewed the shield.

Sombra, however, was just waiting for the shield to start to come back down after Cadance regained consciousness. He reached out his left arm and it was cut at the elbow by the shield of love and light magic bearing down. The severed limb landed in between two crystals blood red in color. “Arrgh!” he roared as he pulled the rest of his arm back. Gritting through the pain, he watched the severed limb dissolve and fizzle away into the ground leaving a black patch. Sombra silently smirked as he returned to his cloud state, leaving his eyes still visible.

Los ensayos de Sombra

Author's Note

I will concede that there are a couple of problems with the pacing of the first section of 'The Crystal Empire part 2', mainly the back and forth between Twilight's search and the rest's attempt to keep the Crystal Ponies away from the fake heart and keep their spirits up. Another is the lack of what Shining and Cadance were doing. I hope this excuses the changes I have made here. Now on to the show...

Los ensayos de Sombra

As the shadow crept back, everyone but Shining Armor gave a sigh of relief. “Why did you not come sweeping in?” the ardent marshall asked rhetorically still looking outward.

“Maybe he's not as bright as Princess Celestia led Twilight on.” Rainbow Dash said offhandedly while shrugging her left shoulder as if to say she was unsure herself.

“No, he had this all planned out.” Shining stated as he turned to the others, “Don't you think it's odd that all he did was tear out the last page of the book. If he wanted to come in unopposed after the shield finally gives wouldn't destroying the book in its entirety make more sense?” Shining asked as he took the book. “No, he needs the faire to go on. He needs to destroy the hope of the Crystalborn, and what better way is to trick those that come to help set up the faire without knowledge of the actual Crystal Heart.” Shining then turned back to the window, “No he needs to wait for us to break. Cadance's love and light magic is not limitless and he knew that if he came rushing it he runs the risk of being repelled.” Shining glared, little knowing that he was, in fact, looking straight into the eyes of the blackguard king plotting his return. Shining growled clearly showing his frustration. “I have to find the Crystal Heart!” He exclaimed as he started to head out of the room.

Twilight rushed and stopped him, getting in front of him, “No, you stay here with Cadance. Only you can help her stay conscious, she needs you, Shining Armor. Also with Sombra's curse embedded in your focus gem and your pituitary gland, if you come across a magic-based trap or barrier, you won't be able to get past it. I have the magic to be able to pass them or solve whatever puzzles he might have also set up.” Twilight explained. “I know you want to do something, but the best thing you can do is help Cadance stay awake. I'll retrieve the Heart.” Twilight turned to Rainbow Dash.

The elementalist jumped into the air and thrust her uninjured arm in the air, “Let's do this!” As Rainbow then hovered back down to be just above Twilight, “So what’s the plan, egg-head?”

Twilight gave a sigh of frustration and an eye roll before she took a breath, “I've been trying to figure out how I'm meant to pass Princess Celestia's test.” As she looked at Rainbow then to Shining then to Cadance, barely noticing the crystal blue locket around Cadance’s neck. “Retrieving the Crystal Heart must be it.” She then looked back to Rainbow Dash, “But there is something else you can do.”

Making a salute with her left hand, “Name it,” Rainbow requested while she seemed to be itching for something to do.

Twilight took a couple of seconds to think, after some thought, “You, the rest of our friends and the garrison have to keep the faire going.” Twilight ordered as she handed Rainbow the book.

“What?” Rainbow almost yelled as she landed while accepting the book with her good hand. “But, with Sombrero trying to move into the city?” She asked as she looked from the book back to Twilight and then to the shield preventing Sombra from getting into the city then back to Twilight.

“You’re the one that informed us that the whole purpose of the Crystal Faire is to lift the spirits of the Crystalborn.” Twilight pointed out as she held her right and out directing Rainbow’s attention to the faire and all the Crystalborn. “So they can activate the Crystal Heart.” Twilight then gestured to the counterfeit heart.

“Yeah, and...?” Rainbow questioned not seeming to follow her friend and her plan as she turned back to Twilight.

“If the Crystalborn find out that King Sombra is trying to take over the city again, their spirits are gonna be anything but lifted.” Twilight took hold of Rainbow’s upper arms.

“Broken arm! Broken arm!” Rainbow pointed out while she gave a slight wince in pain.

Twilight gave an apologetic ‘tehe’ as she loosened her hold on Rainbow Dash’s broken right arm, “Sorry, but it won't matter if I find the Crystal Heart. They won't be able to make it work. You have to keep them happy here at the faire.” After letting of Rainbow she looked at her brother and sister-in-law. “Besides, finding and retrieving it shouldn't prove too difficult. He might have set a few traps, but chances are they’ve lost effectiveness due to being out of date in our current era.” She smiled, confident in her abilities.

“Keep the faire going and the Crystalborn's spirits high. Done and done!” Rainbow Dash saluted with her left hand, still holding the book and flew from the balcony back down to the rest of her friends to enact her part of Twilight’s plan.

“Twily, be careful!” Shining called out as Twilight also left the balcony into the castle and started out of the castle.

“I will!” Twilight called back before she vanished from Shining’s view. Shining sighed as he turned back to Cadance.

“It will be okay, Shining,” Cadance said trying to assure him of Twilight and her plan. Shining was not so sure as glanced back to the dome and the shadow just beyond it.

After leaving Shining, Cadance, and Twilight, Rainbow Dash saw a lot of the Crystalborn eating and seems to be having a great time. She flew down to the counterfeit Heart, all the while covered by a cloth, with Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Spike, and Pinkie Pie huddled. “Girls, we got a new plan,” she whispered so that only they could hear, “the heart is a real thing and Twilight is going to look for it, we gotta keep the Crystalborns’ spirits as high as possible. Oh, and make sure the ‘heart’ we have isn’t seen by the Crystalborn before Twilight gets back.”

Spike’s eyes shot open when heard that, “Wait she’s looking for it on her own?” Spike asked as he looked around.

“Yeah,” Rainbow almost brushed aside the dragon’s concern. “Now, back to the plan, we need to keep the Crystalborn’s spirit sky high.” As Rainbow Dash continued, Spike slipped away silently. “I’ll watch over the heart, while you guys help the keep the fair going,” She turned to Fluttershy, “Flutters, you tend the petting zoo and such,” Fluttershy nodded as she flew off with determination. Rainbow then turned to Rarity, “Rares, you got the arts and crafts and all that stuff.” Rarity rolled her eyes as she started off towards the faire ground proper to tend to the finer things. Rainbow then saw a flugelhorn, and after giving the book she had to Applejack, picked it up and handed it over to Pinkie. The jester was almost bouncing in her wheelchair as she accepted the horn. “Pinkie, you do what you do best. Throw a party!” Pinkie rolled away, her signature smile on her face. After rolling away so far she took a deep breath and blew the flugelhorn with all her lungs. She then continued to do that after traveling a meter or so.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack shook their heads with smiles on their faces. Rainbow Dash then saw a couple of the Crystalborn at getting close to the heart and wanting to peek under the cloth to see the heart, “What are you lookin' at?!” Rainbow flew up to the two, giving them a bit of fright, diverting them from the heart. “That's what I thought!” Rainbow continued as she directed them away and back to the faire.

Applejack wheeled up to Rainbow Dash and pulled the elementalist away from the Crystalborn and pulled her down to whisper into her left ear, “Uh, Rainbow Dash? We're supposed to be actin' like nothing's wrong.”

Breaking free from the paladin’s hold, Rainbow Dash looked towards the crowd, “Exactly.” She finished with a growl as she scanned the faire a scowl on her face.

Applejack rolled her eyes and the made the elementalist look her in the face. In a hushed voice, “What Ah mean is, maybe yah should let mah keep the Crystalborn away from the fake Heart.” Rainbow could not argue with the paladin. Applejack continued, “While yah psyche them up with the jousts and tourneys.” Rainbow paused at that and having given the paladin’s words some thought, Rainbow Dash flew off to the towards where the jousting track and tourney field were.

Watching everyone else head back into the faire proper, Applejack remained near the counterfeit heart. Just then Sapphire Joy walked up to the area looked at the covered heart with longing eyes. “How are y'all feelin'? Havin' a good time, miss...?”

“Sapphire Joy and this is the best I've had in over a thousand years!” Sapphire said with a smile on her face as she turned back to the heart.

“Well, that's good, Miss Joy! Gotta renew that spirit of love and unity if you're gonna power up that Crystal Heart, right?”

“I sure would like to see it before the ceremony. It's been such a long time.”

Applejack needed a plan to divert Sapphire and any other Crystalborn, “Oh, Ah hear ya, but wouldn’t it be more meaningful for everyone to see it together?” She asked which gave Sapphire paused. Seeing the handicapped paladin’s point, the woman looked down and started to frown. Seeing that, Applejack took hold of Sapphire’s hand, “Say why don’t yah get yerself some of Krystalopolies nectar, maybe even the Krystalopolies fritters?” That brought a smile back to Sapphire.

“And they got the recipe right, would you like anything?” Sapphire asked as she started towards the booths. Applejack only shook her head. Just then a trumpet was blown, “The joust is about to start! I hope I get there in time for a good seat.” Sapphire then started to the joust track, but stopped and turned back to Applejack, “Aren’t you coming?”

“Sorry Sugarcube, but someone has to make sure that everyone sees the Heart at the same time.” Applejack said as she shook her head. “Besides, while Ah am bound here, Ah ain't gonna get a good view.” Applejack then dug into one of her pockets and took out a coin, it was a twenty-bit coin. “Bet it as yah see it, Sugarcube.” Applejack tossed the coin, as Sapphire caught it she smiled and ran off. In a hushed voice, Applejack spoke to one not present, “Come on, Twilight... These Crystalborn are more curious than a cat!” Applejack then looked around, “Where’s Spike?”

Meanwhile, Cadance was trying to keep awake, but it was clear that time was not on her side. “Hey, let's talk about baby names.” Cadance weakly laughed.

Shining’s eyes shot open, “Wait, you mean…” as his jaw hang open in as a massive open-mouth smile formed as he looked at his wife.

“Well, it’s too soon to know for sure..” Cadance started but then Shining picked her up bridal style and spun with her in his arms, “Woh! Easy there!” Shining then kissed her on the lips before he placed her back on her feet. Cadance couldn’t help but giggle a little.

Shining then took his knees and spoke to Cadance’s womb and the child he thought was starting to develop therein. “Hey, there little one. I am your daddy.”

“Shining, it’s still too soon,” Cadance said as she rubbed her husband’s head. Shining chuckled as he got back up. “You’re going to be a big dorky dad.” She wrapped her arms around her husband’s neck.

“Odds are I’ll be the one getting up for him or her. So I think I’ll earn the privilege to dork out in front of them.” Shining told as he completed the hug. “How does ‘Skyla’ sound for a girl?”

Cadance pulled out of the hug, “We’ll put a pin in that.” A little unsure about the name, “What about ‘Sterling’ or ‘Gold Lily’ if the baby is a girl?” Offering alternatives to the name.

Shining gave it some thoughts, “What if we have a boy?” The two paused for a second in thought.

“Leon?” They asked each other in unison. “Leon.” They both agreed and hugged each other.

After a few seconds, Shining felt Cadance tremble in his arms as his shoulder started to feel moist from Cadance’s tears, “I am going to die before Twilight gets back.” Cadance couldn't hold it together while tremble and cry in her husband’s arms.

“You know I would never let that happen,” stated Shining hold his wife tighter and then stepped in away to be in front of her, “hey, can you see me just running after Little Leon to get him to eat his vegetables?” Shining mocked run as if he was chasing a child. He then stopped, “Or me chasing off some idiot that broke Gold Lily’s heart.” Shining said as he picked up his spear and acted as if he was chasing a scared young man. Cadance chuckled as Shining continued to tell more and more such stories. Sadly, the couple knew that he was putting on a brave face for her, and they knew that she only indulged this facade because neither was ready to let go. They had just started the next level of the game of Life together, a co-op level, and it looked like their run was going to end soon.

All the while, Twilight was lost in thought, she had to find the heart. But she had no idea how to proceed. Just then she heard a pant, “Twilight! Wait!” Twilight turned to see her familiar run up to her, having left her other friends. “I'm coming with you!” Spike finished as he looked up to Twilight.

Twilight shook her head. She knew Spike desperately wanted to help, but she could not see how the little dragon would be of any help. “You can't.” Twilight looked down at her familiar a small frown on her face. “I have to retrieve the Crystal Heart by myself.”

“Said who?” Spike countered in a near growl in the voice looking up to Twilight as a small definite scowl started to form. “Sure, Princess Celestia gave you the task to save this place.” Spike lightened his temperament as he turned to the group as they planned what to do. “But she sent you with all of us,” He then turn their attention to the balcony where Shining and Cadance were, “with Shining and Cadance beforehand. Everyone else has a task,” Spike then took a moment before he continued, he knew he would have to give somewhere and after he thought he got an idea of what to give, “But I promise I won't lift a claw to help you with your task of ‘saving’ this place.”

Twilight gave a sigh of frustration and looked away from Spike for a moment, after a thought “Fine, not a claw, Spike.” she declared.

Spike took right claw and started to perform the ‘Pinkie Promise’. “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” After he removed his left claw from his left eye completing the ritual he looked to Twilight, “Where are we going to start looking?”

Twilight down, and started to think as she looked around the city. She needed to find out where Sombra hid the heart. Okay, if I was an evil king were would I hid an artifact that can stop me from reclaiming a city. It would have to be where no one would look for it. Twilight then looked to the castle. She had an idea as she got up, “I think I might know where King Sombra hid the Crystal Heart.” She then started towards the castle.

Spike spun around and ran after her confused about the sudden change in Twilight’s direction. “The castle?”

After the two passed the everyone and everything, as they started to climb one of the stairs into the castle, in a different part from where the balcony that Cadance and Shining where “Sombra would've been counting on the fact that nobody would dare come looking for it here. He instilled so much fear in them, they would avoid anything that reminded them of him and the best place is the castle.” Twilight finished as the two continued to climb the steps.

“I hope you're right,” Spike said as he caught up with Twilight as they entered the throne room

“You and me both,” Twilight muttered under her breath. The two then started to look around the throne room. Before Spike could ask, “And here is where he sat and given what Princess Luna and Princess Celestia showed me, none of the Crystalborn would avoid this place like a plague.”

As Spike walked up to the throne, “After we got here whatever barrier you placed on our link dropped and all that came flooding in, why would anyone do what he did?” Spike asked as he sat on the throne and continued to look around the room, scanning with his draconic eyes, not lifting a claw as he promised.

“I have no idea, Shining wouldn’t, Dad wouldn’t, Big Mac wouldn’t and none of the guards I have met would.”

“I think you haven’t known Flash long enough to make that call. But given what Princess Celestia said when she introduced him to you, I’d give him the benefit of the doubt.” Spike still scanned the room giving a huff of annoyance, his eyes finding nothing.

Twilight, however, had been looking all over the room, lifting objects, moving things, “It's gotta be here somewhere. It's just gotta be!” Twilight was starting to panic, acting a lot like she was when she got the letter from Princess Celestia that started this. She then saw a crystal above the seat of the throne high enough that King Sombra even in the seven-foot shadow in armor state it would still be visible. Then she heard Princess Luna’s voice echoing in her mind, “If the city is filled with hope and love, those things are reflected across all of Mystica. If hatred and fear take hold…” Twilight then facepalmed herself and shook her head, “Of course!”

“What? Did you find it?” Spike jumped off the throne excited for Twilight.

Twilight shook her head with a smile, “No. Because this isn't King Sombra's castle.” Spike raised an eyebrow as he tilted his head to his left not following her. Seeing this on her familiar but before he could ask, “Well it is, but it didn't look like this.” She then started to copy the spell that Celestia cast on the gem. As the white area of her eyes shifted to lime-green, her irises became red, a purple smoke seemed to float from the corners of her eyes as black bubbles form around her focus gem, all the while she grunted in pain as the spell was cast, an obsidian black beam jettisoned to the crystal on the throne. The gem then reflected the beam to in front of the throne. Twilight and Spike stepped to the side as a large square was cut in front the throne, revealing a long spiraling downward descending staircase.

Spike looked down the staircase. The staircase was barely wide enough for three ESM soldiers walking in tight formation, for those not trained as such it was about as wide enough for two people to walk with just enough wiggle room. There was no railing and it was fairly steep, one wrong step the person descending or ascending the stairs would either fall off the edge or tumble all the way down. “Woah.” Spike then looked back at Twilight as she took a breath, “When did you learn to do that?” Spike looked to Twilight after she recovered from casting that spell.

After massaging her temples to relieve a partial headache, “That was a little trick Princess Celestia taught me” As she started down the stairs she held out her hand stopping from following her down. “You stay here,” she ordered the dragon before she restarted her descent.

“Huh, if you insist.” Spike then sat on the top step as Twilight continued down the stairs. After about ten minutes as Twilight vanished from even his draconic eyes as she followed the stairs. “Can you see what's down there yet?” his voice echoed down the stairs, resonating in the cavernous walls.

Twilight stopped as she looked over the sides of the stairs. “Not yet. I can't even tell how far down this goes!” her voiced echoed back unable to see her familiar. She found a lone tiny stone, picked it up, she looked it over, got a good idea of its mass and size and dropped it over the edge. She waited, and waited, and waited, and waited, after another second she massaged her right ear as if to dislodge ear wax to better hear. It was three seconds later when she heard a faint and distant clatter as the stone made in impact. Twilight’s eyes shot wide open in terror. “Spike?” She shouted back up as she renewed her descent, her voice echoing all the way.

“Yeah?” Twilight heard the echoing voice of her familiar respond.

Twilight shouted backed cupping her hands around her mouth so her voice would more likely to reach her familiar as she continued down the stairs, “Can you see outside?” she asked.

Spike looked out one of the windows and saw the shield that Cadance conjured phase in and out four times before it finally remained solid, but Spike could tell things were not going well. “It's not good! Cadance's magic must be fading faster than we expected!” Spike shouted backed.

Twilight started to run down the stairs as fast as she could. Every so often she tried to teleport farther and farther down. As she arrived at the bottom of the stairs. “I reached the bottom. I found a door!” Twilight shouted her voice taking a while walked up to it. The door then started to move around the room at the bottom of the staircase. “What in the…?” She started to ask as she tried to catch up with the door. “Stop... moving!” She tried casting holding spells, but after three attempts, she tried casting the spell that revealed the stairway down in the first place, her anger over the moving door fueling the magic. With the door finally in place, “Spike, I think it’s in here!” Twilight called out as she opened the door only to walk into the throne room of the castle in Chantalot. “Huh?” Princess Celestia was going through paperwork, a scowl on her face. Not far were all the things Twilight brought with her to the capital when Twilight was summoned to the capital.

Princess Celestia looked at her paperwork and turned to see Twilight. Princess Celestia scowl increased as her eyes narrowed, “What are you doing here?”, with a fair amount of both anger and disappointment.

Twilight took a step back in spoke as she looked around, “I don't know!” As she stopped she turned looking for the door, “I opened the door and–”

Celestia cut Twilight short there, “And now you must go.” Celestia then walked towards Twilight and gave her all the things that Twilight left before catching the Borealton bound train.

As Twilight caught the items with her magic, “Go where?” Twilight was baffled at where and what she was to do.

“Doesn't matter to me.” Celestia then turned away from Twilight. “You failed the test, Twilight!” Celestia then summoned her paperwork to her, as they levitated around her with quills with ink on them and had the levitated quills write on the papers.

Twilight shook her head trying to understand what her mentor was saying,“I don't understand! The test?” She looked to her teacher pleading for an answer.

Celestia turned back to Twilight, the scowl of disapproval still on her face.“Not only will you not move on to the next level of your studies, you won't continue your studies at all!” Celestia commanded in a harsh tone as she conjured a letter in Twilight’s hands. The letter basically read that Twilight was expelled from the school, terminating her apprenticeship.

As Twilight the letter a thousand times at the speed of light.“I…” Twilight looked to Celestia as tears started to pool in the corners of her eyes. “You didn't say anything about no longer being your student if I failed!” Twilight plead as she threw the letter away, ending her magical hold on all her items as she desperately clung to the princess she idealized so much.

Celestia forced Twilight away with her wings. “Didn't I?” She then walked away leaving Twilight all alone.

Twilight could not look away as the princess left her there. “But…” she started but then the doors to the throne room slammed as Twilight was only one in the room. “What do I do now?” Twilight then turned and saw a stained glass depiction of King Sombra in a cross of his cloud form and his towering armored shade clutching the Crystal Heart in victory with the bodies of Twilight’s friends, family, the whole of the Borealton garrison at his feet. King Sombra’s deep guttural triumphant laugh echoed in Twilight’s mind. Twilight fell to the ground and broke into tears, crying as darkness crept into the room engulfing the room. All the while Sombra’s victorious laugh echoed throughout the room.

La Regla Legitima

As Twilight laid on the floor crying, she heard Spike’s voice coming closer and closer, starting from very distant, “Twilight! Twilight? Twilight!” Spike called out as stepped off the last step of the stairs seeing Twilight huddled up in a ball crying. “Twiliiiight!” Twilight got off the ground, her eyes were red both from the crying, but from her most recent use of dark magic, the whites of her eyes were still lime-green but the purple smoke was gone. “I know you told me to stay up there, but you were down here for such a long time and you weren't answering and I got worried so I came down here.” Twilight slowly turned to face Spike. The dragon continued to speak as he walked up to her nervously, like a child that broke a rule, “and you were just staring at that wall and... I was calling your name, but I couldn't seem to get your attention, and– What were you looking at?” Spike continued to ask as Twilight never gave him any answers. “I mean... it's just a wall.” Spike then saw the door. “So you found the way…”

After Spike walked through the door he arrived into the Golden Oak, little knowing that his irises changed to red and the whites of his eyes became lime-green ending the magical hold on Twilight. “How did I…”

“What are doing here?” Spike looked up and saw Twilight come down the stairs. She looked at the dragon with a scowl. “I thought I told you to leave and never come back.”

Spike froze at what he just heard, “I...I...I…” he stuttered as he tried desperately to comprehend what Twilight just said.

“We are no longer master-familiar, Spike!” Twilight said as she levitated all of Spike’s things towards him. She then used her magic to open the door. Spike couldn’t move. He could understand or process what was going on as Twilight looked away. After two seconds Twilight turned back to Spike, “What are you still doing here? Get out.”

Tears started to form in Spike’s eyes, “Please, Twilight, Don’t.” Spike ran up to Twilight grabbing her right leg. “PLEASE!” Spike was then surrounded by the Twilight’s magic. He was then thrown out followed by his stuff and then the door was slammed shut. “Twilight! Please!” Spike’s voice gave, he could no longer call out in Basic. “Please! Don’t! Twilight! Sister!” he chirped and cried in Draconic. “MOMMIE!” Suddenly he felt himself being pulled away and into an embrace. He couldn’t see through his tears, but he knew who held him secure in their… her arms. “Mommie,” he cried as he buried into Twilight’s chest, not hearing the slamming of the door.

Twilight held her familiar, her little brother, her son as close as she could. She knew exactly what he saw. Her casting him out. “I will never send you away.” After Spike stopped crying, “We both fell for Sombra’s trap. Using dark magic to open the door will lead you to your worst fear.” Spike the looked to Twilight, “I am not going to send you away and I am not going to fail Princess Celestia!” Twilight then thought about how to open the door. Then she had an idea, she took a breath and focused on the spell Princess Celestia cast that on the gem that reflected light on the map. After a second the yellow beam hit the door and it opened. Twilight then let go of Spike, got back to her feet and walked through the doorway.

“What's in there?” Spike asked from the other side of the open doorway before he looked into the new room.

Twilight looked up and all she could see was a flight of stairs that went up at least twice if not thrice as high as the set of stairs that she went down to reach the door. She gave an exhausted sigh before she answered her familiar. “Stairs. Lots and lots of stairs.” she sighed again, clearly not looking forward to the climb up. “Maybe you should come with me this time.”

Twenty minutes later the two started to pant as they climbed the stairs. The two then took a minute to collect their breaths, Spike could not help but voice his mind. “What if this is just more of his magic? He makes a door that leads to your worst nightmare. Why not a staircase that goes on forever?”

Twilight gave Spike's questions some thought. In fact, she started to think about everything that she and her friends had to do for her to get to this point. Then it dawned on her, Sombra's plan prevented a single person from stopping him, however bringing an army would also have been useless. Only a small band of people could beat him. However, that was dependent on at least one member of the group was a spirit healer able to project his or her love and light magic to keep the evil king in his shadow state out. Even then that would leave that person stuck, then the group would have to find the book, and give the size of the Krystalopolies library that would take a long time. Then to set-up and conduct the faire, which would take up most of the group, assuming they found out about the missing page or that the Crystal Heart was a real thing. Then they would have to know his old throne room and know the dark magic Sombra employed to find the staircase down. Then use dark magic to hold the door in place.

“To waste time,” Twilight answered. “Sombra's whole plan has done nothing but waste time. But why...” Twilight stopped as it dawned on her, Sombra’s whole plan was to waste the time, all he needed was to force the clock to run out. She needed a way to circumvent that plan. “Anti-gravity Spell!” Twilight then grabbed Spike, “Antivarytita!” After the spell was cast, “Hold on, Spike.” As the two floated up to the bottom of the fleet of stairs above them “Whoa.” The two then started to slide up the stairs like a slide. “Whoaaa! Yaaaah!” The two cheered like children enjoying the ride.

At the location of the two red crystals near the edge of the dome, where Sombra’s arm landed and dissolved into a black patch, the black patch had grown to the base to of the two crystals. Black lightning then started to crack between the two crystals as a shadow started to manifest. Within seconds King Sombra’s humanoid started to form with his armor and crown. After his new body was complete he turned to look at the shield, it was flickering, beyond it was the better part of himself still in the cloud form. He then turned back as the red crystals started to grow and spread towards the city. He smiled as he watched his hold grow again.

At the tourney field, Rainbow Dash had an announcing horn, “Alright ladies and gentlemen, we are in the final round of the tourney and it’s a three-way fight. The man to beat, the recently promoted lieutenant of the ESM Borealton garrison, Flash Sentry!” The Crystalborn in the audience all cheered as Flash Sentry held up his sword and shield. Rainbow Dash then turned to Sandalwood, like Flash he had a mark on his armor, a set of three bent arrows that formed a triangle, armed with a club as he relaxed on the side post of the tourney’s field. “Contender number 2, the garrison's newest medic and a shaman, Sandalwood!” The crowd cheered, but not as much as Flash. Turning to the last contender, he was slightly shorter than Flash and while he had no armor, he had to gauntlets and arm braces and dressed not unlike Twilight and like Sandalwood had a patch on his robes that was made of three oblongs centered around a small red circle. “And contender number 3, a technomancer and the garrison’s newest… um…”

“Smithe! It’s pronounced just like ‘smith’ but you and an ‘e’ at the end.” The third combatant shouted as he took a screwdriver and tinkered with his left gauntlet. Still seeing the confusion on Rainbow’s face as she stared blankly. He gave a sigh of frustration, “Just say quartermaster.”

“Quartermaster, Micro Chips.” The crowd then cheered about as much for Micro Chips as they cheered for Sandalwood, while Micro Chips held his left hand up as he put the screwdriver back.

“FIGHT!” Rainbow Dash leaped into the air and the three engaged in the combat. Sandalwood swung his club at Flash, while Micro Chips stepped back to as he charged his gauntlets as fire and lightning started to circle around one, as water and acid mixed and formed to spiral around the other. Flash however dropped and rolled away from Sandalwood as towards Micro. After a few more rolls, evading Sandalwood, Flash evade once more as Sandalwood swung again as Micro Chips attempted to strike Flash from the behind, each knowing that Flash was the best of the three. Flash used this to his advantage as he forced his two opponents to strike each other as Sandalwood’s club hit the side of Micro's head as Micro Chips struck the shaman under the chin. As the two staggered Flash flew into the air and dive-bombed and the resulting in the two being sent into the air and causing them to land outside of the ring. “DOUBLE K.O.!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she landed and taking Flash’s hand after he sheathed his sword. “And the winner of both today’s joust and tourney is Flash Sentry!”

“I won all the bets!” Sapphire Joy jumped up and down. “Can I kiss my champion?”

“I am sorry Miss Joy and all you gorgeous ladies, but I already have someone who has dibs on me.” Flash took off his helmet as he walked up to Sapphire, “But milady would understand If just kissed your hand.” Flash took Saphire’s left hand to his right and kissed the back of it. Sapphire and most of the other women in the audience fainted.

“We got a lady killer here, gentlemen. Better lock up your wives and daughters.” Rainbow joked as Flash was applauded as he got off the stage to tend to his last two opponents.

Near the fake heart, Rarity walked as Pinkie rolled her wheelchair up to Applejack after the paladin re-directed another small group of Cyrstalborn back into the faire proper. “How’s et goin’?” Applejack asked turning to the jester and enchantress.

Rarity looked back to booths and seeing how little material was left at the many craft booths. “Well for the moment, things are going smoothly, but we are running low on materials for the crafts booths! I had to make a hat out of three pieces of hay and a drinking straw!” Rarity then took a few breaths knowing she if she continued she would panic. After calming down, she ran her right hand through her hair as if she was trying to pat herself on the back. “I made it work.” Seeing that her Earthborn friends were not amused with her tangent. “But still!”

Applejack shook her head with a sigh. “Wah gotta do everythin’ wah can to keep this thing goin'.” Applejack as she turned back to faire and then looked up to the balcony where Cadance and Shining would be. “Cadance can't be lookin' so good. Ah can't imagine her magic is gonna last much longer.” She then turned back to her friends as she looked to the faire and back to the two. “It's gonna be fine. These people are gonna power up that Crystal Heart when the time comes, and we won't be needin' her magic anyway.”

Pinkie pulled out several balloons, inflated them with her breaths. “I sure hope that time comes soon!” Pinkie Pie was making a balloon animal and such things. “Even I can't keep a party going forever!” In the background, one of Pinkie’s party cannons went off.

Cadance was leaning against the wall of the castle, Shining was by her side. She was slipping in and out of consciousness. Her breath was heavy, short and slowing down. At this point, one could argue that the only things keeping Cadance upright, were the wall and her husband “I ... I…” Cadance’s eyes rolled back as she fell forward, the light blue magic from her tiara tapering into nothing. Shining caught her and held her loosely in his arms as she slowly regained consciousness. “I can’t…” was all she was permitted to say as Shining, with his silent embrace, did all he could to comfort her.

“We’ve given Twilight all the time we can. You don’t have the energy to maintain focus for the spell much longer, we can only hope we bought her enough time to do what needed to be done. I know it sounds a bit callous, but you need to get some rest now. Hopefully, you’ll have enough energy for what comes next.”

“But…”

“You can't do anymore.” Shining lowered Cadance so that she could set down. “Not in your current state, even if you’re not pregnant.” Shining knelt down to be on the eye-level of his wife. He took the gave her his waterskin. “Drink and rest.”

As Cadance accepted the waterskin and took a few drinks, “At least let me stand.” Shining shook his head but helped Cadance stand back up but made sure he was supporting her, with her left arm over his shoulders.

Come on Twilight! We’re out of time!

The ending of the dome was not lost on anyone. Everyone turned away from what they were doing and looked at the sky above them. Everything and everyone fell silent. One of the Crystalborn men walked backward into the pedestal in terror about his memories being relieved. In his panic, the fake heart was knocked from the pedestal. He looked and saw it for the fraud it was. “This isn't the Crystal Heart.” His terror soon turned to horror.

Rarity tried to calm everyone down, but she couldn’t help but laugh nervously. “Oh, of course, it isn't. The real one is being polished!” Sadly, this did not go over well as the Crystalborn all came to see the charade. Their skin and hair suddenly dull back to the depressed state they were when the city first returned, but this time a small black-red spot developed in their hearts.

A calm, soft tenure but with a great degree of authority was then heard, “Soldiers, shape-up! We must protect the citizens. Fall back to and stay within the castle’s ground.” Everyone turned to see Flash in the air, his shield on his left arm, directing the soldiers to form a shield-wall of shorts around the perimeter. He landed in front of the others and drew his sword ready for a fight.

All the while red and black crystals grew into the city and with them, Sombra’s cloud form got deeper and deeper into the city, to the second circle of the city from the faire grounds and the castle. There Sombra’s humanoid armored shade reformed. He gave a silent laugh as he started towards the city on foot as silence started to fall upon the city, like rain. Softly at first slowly growing harder and harder to the point where the only sound that could be heard is his steps.

It had been about five minutes since Twilight cast her anti-gravity spell. “Whoooooahahaha!” She and Spike cheered as reached the end of the stairs. “Varytita!” She shouted and the two stopped falling to the ceiling and landed on the floor of the room at the top of the tower. “I actually studied gravity spells, thinking it might be on my test! Turns out I was prepared for this! Wooo-hooo!” She couldn’t help but laugh as she got up and brushed herself off. Spike didn’t brush himself off as the dirt and such didn’t bother him. The two then noticed that the room’s windows had no glass and the wind blow into the room. Both of them noted that the dome of love and light magic was gone. Slight panic took over Twilight, but then she saw the Crystal Heart on a pedestal. “THE HEART!” Twilight then ran to the Heart and as she stepped with a meter away from the stairs, into a circle on the floor that was black in color. Once in that circle, the Heart was sent away from the center as black crystals manifested from the floor and trapped Twilight in a cone.

Twilight tried to teleport out of the trap, thrice she got out and thrice the dark magic of the trap teleported her back in. “The Heart…” Twilight tried once more but the trap would not let its quarry go. “Where's the Crystal–”

Outside, Spike had stayed close to the stairs, away from the trap. Near his feet was the Crystal Heat. Before Twilight could finish the question, “Here! It rolled over to me when it dropped!”

Spike tried to step forward to Twilight, in an attempt to get his master out. Twilight saw him “Don't move!” Spike grunted in response. Here that, Twilight knew she had to explain better, “You can move, just not toward me!” After a second or two of thought, “How could I have been so foolish? I was just so eager to get it! I…”

Spike didn’t let Twilight finish, “You have to get out of there, Twilight! You have to be the one who brings the Heart to Princess Cadance! You know the test!” Spike tried to argue for Twilight to make another attempt to get out of there.

Twilight finally understood what Princess Celestia had meant by this being a “test” she was forced to make a choice, either face Sombra alone and try to return the Crystal Heart or leave the part of returning it to someone else while she ran interference. In short, this had been a test of who she is, not what she knew or had to accomplish. With his shadow abilities, Sombra could easily move past the barrier to claim his prize, but Spike was already outside the barrier due to being missed by Sombra’s trap, which was stopping Twilight from returning the Heart to the Crystalborn.

Following this epiphany, Twilight shook her head, she knew what needed to be done. “King Sombra is already attacking the city. He could reach the Crystalborn at any moment... reach Princess Cadance, my brother, my friends. There may not be enough time for me to find a way to escape.” All the while the trap grew around her, but she could still get a few of Spike.“You have to be the one to bring the Crystal Heart to the Faire.”

That caught Spike very much off guard with that command. “Me? But Twilight–” Spike then saw the heart start to levitate surrounded by Twilight’s magic. From inside the trap, she used her magic to force the Heart into his claws, the Heart shaped crystal gave a small pulse that neither noticed.

“Go!” Twilight’s voice was slowly getting distorted by crystal cone as it started to complete.

“But–” the dragon tried to challenge.

“GO!” Twilight’s voice was the closest to an orderly roar as she could muster. Spike gulped and started to make his descent using the growing crystals from Sombra’s magic.

Meanwhile, in the Crystal Faire grounds, everyone started to huddle together in terror of what might befall as everything fell silent. One of the Crystalborn women was scanning and panting in a panic. “He's back! I can't take it!” She then started to run away from everyone shrieking not looking ahead. She then bumped into something metallic causing her to fall to the ground and land on her rear. “Ugh!” She then looked forward and up. “No...No...No…” She stumbled to get back on her feet and run away, shrieking all the way back to the rest. “KING SOMBRA!”

Everyone else turned and saw the tyrant slowly walking towards them, Sombra. The only sound that could be heard was the heavy metal boots making contact with the cobblestone streets. The garrison all turned to confront the vile king. Sombra gave a deep guttural bass laugh as the century of soldiers that made up the garrison. What fools. I have forced the hand of Celestia and Luna, I bypassed their newest demigod and I broke their pretender to my throne. He took hold of one of the crystals that grew as he progressed and fashioning another crystalline blade that matched his height. However, he didn’t charge straight in but waited for the garrison’s archers and ranged magic users to fire upon him first. The garrison opened fired and he used his blade to send each spell back, breaking the shield wall of the more martially inclined. He then charged the garrison. With one swing of his blade, he sundered all the shields that were right in front of him, almost cutting to the bone of the shield arms of the soldiers. The force of the blow also sent most of the front line back knocking them onto their backs and exposing the rear. Yet Sombra was no fool as spun in his swing, resulting in the soldiers that tried to flank him also being rendered prone. He then proceeded to continue his assault on the members of the garrison, using his more cloud-like form to brush aside all the other soldiers. However, one warrior of the south still stood.

Flash discarded his busted shield as he gripped his sword with both hands. He gave a battle cry much like Shining Armor as he flew towards Sombra. Three seconds. Three seconds. Three seconds was all it took for King Sombra to send the much younger warrior flying into an arch of the castle and broke the youth’s back. The king turned to see his subjects quaking as the memories of his reign, seconds away from starting a new. Order, his order, was about to be restored in the city and soon it will encompass the world.

From above, Spike continued his descent down to the ground. “Whoa! Huh!” he cried out as he tried to keep his foot as the crystals continued to grow and form spikes that seemed to attack Spike. The young dragon exhaled fire in bursts as he continued to climb down. Viewing that he had bested the crystals, the dragon could not help but cheer. “Yah!” Yet the crystals continued to grow. In a slight panic, Spike looked down and tried to get the attention of anyone. “Hey! Up here!” Everyone then looked up and saw the dragon holding the Heart aloft. “I got the Crystal Heart!”

King Sombra looked up saw the small dragon try to get down using the red crystals that Sombra had spread and now infested the city, and tripped on one of the crystals. “That is mine!” The former king then leaped into the air as the red crystals started to grow upward not unlike a massive tidal wave. He rode it towards his prize. While rising Sombra’s form changed yet another time. He began to shrink to be slightly taller than Shining Armor, his shadows became flesh and bone again. The whites of his eyes lost their lime-green color and the purple smoke that floated from the corners vanished. He was human again and once he had the Heart he would be a god.

“Spike!” Rarity screamed as she saw the dragon trip and Sombra started his ascent towards the to stake his claim.

Simultaneously Shining, still supporting Cadance looked up and say the crystal heart and Spike fall, also saw Sombra raising to catch the heart and claim it. He looked at the locket that Cadance had and saw it glow to match the Heart as If they were made from the same crystal and with the same magic by the same person. After a split second, “Do you trust me?”

“Yes.” Upon answering what she felt was a stupid question, Cadance felt herself being lifted up and found herself over Shining’s head as if she was a spear. Shining them throw her with all his might at where the Crystal Heart and Spike were ahead of her. As Cadance flew she saw what the Crystal Heart start to glow with her locket. She let her wings unfurl and flew as fast as she could to intersect the Heart.

Sombra looked up as the Heart was falling right towards him. He reached out his right hand as he licked his recently reformed lips. He outsmarted the two demigoddesses of the south that tried to steal his domain. He subverted and took down the dome of love and light made by a third and much weaker demigoddess. He tricked the Southerners into starting the Crystal Faire without the heart. He knew that the one that found the heart fell for each and every one of his traps. And now takes to this dragon, the Crystal Heart was his. He wo… “What the?” He shook his head after seeing the third and the least of the Southern demigoddesses just flew past him In a pink blur as she claimed the Crystal Heart and caught the dragon. He stopped his ascent befuddled, and watched as she flew down to the ground.

“The Crystal Princess! Princess Amore's daughter, she lives!” One of the Crystalborn shouted as Cadance landed next to the fake heart. She stomped on the fake heart destroying it.

As Cadance used her magic to levitate the Crystal Heart as she sent it to the center of space under the castle. “The Crystal Heart has returned. Use the light and love within you to ensure that King Sombra does not.” Once the heart was there it stopped as two spikes emerged from the ground and from the center of the dome. The spike stopped about a centimeter from the actual heart as it started to spin.

Sombra looked down as everyone started to kneel on the ground and place their left hands on the ground, “What? No... No! Stop!” He jumped down from the crystal he used to reach the heart. His sword at the ready as he ran to the Heart as he landed a second later. He ran past everyone and was about to strike the Heart but a force field manifested around it and sent King Sombra back and landed on his back before his blade could make contact. All the while the love and light of the Crystalborn flowed into the Heart like a river. As Sombra got back up and charged the Heart again with the love and light magic of the Crystalborn was sent back in the form of a light blue sem-sphere accelerating at the speed of light. This caused every Crystalborn’s and everyone that came from the south skin and hair become a near clear crystal, Applejack’s gash was healed as if Sombra never slashed her, Rainbow Dash’s and Pinkie Pie’s casts were shattered as their arm and leg were fully restored as if they were never broken, to begin with as well as the injured of the members of the garrison.

However, Sombra was not so fortunate, cracks the same color as the light formed along his body, he fell to his knees as his eyes lost all their color. He roared as his body and his red and black crystals which infested the city exploded into quintillions of pieces and scattered into the snow outside of the city more or less harmlessly, leaving only one piece in tack; the focusing gem of the tyrant.

The crystalline trap that Twilight was in shattered, as the dome love and light magic encompassed the room. Twilight saw that her skin and hair were now crystalline much like as the Crystalborn, but she was almost transparently clear. She rapidly concluded that her familiar was able to reach Cadance in time. She gave a sigh of relief, “Good job, Spike.”

The next day, as the Crystal Faire continued, but Twilight and her friends were at the Borealton train station as they started to board the train as the population of Borealton started to return, many electing to go over the new returned city and take part of the faire in Krystalpolies. Shining was there to see them off. As Rarity was the first to board the train, “I do so wish it was permanent. Did you see how my hair just absolutely sparkled?”

Applejack boarded the Chantalot bound train next, “But good things are better when they're a ...rarity.”

“Aww.” Rarity hugged her marital friend as everyone else but Twilight boarded the train and started to take their seat.

Outside as Twilight stepped aside with her head dipped down a soft frown on her lips. This was not lost on Shining as he turned her attention to him. “Everything's gonna be okay. You've gotta stop saving my rump like this. It's starting to get embarrassing, I am the Marshall of the ESM for crying out loud.”

This didn’t have the intended result of making Twilight laugh, “We both know it wasn't me who saved you, in the end, either time. It was Spike this time around.”

Shining Armor kneeled and while there was a time he would still look down at his sister, and for a while, he looked at her eye-level, he was actually looking up to her. “Princess Celestia will understand. You got to stop not giving people who inspire you credit in our faith and understanding. She told me about the time you two first met. And she was right, I don't care if you are a magical dunce, you are my sister and you worked hard and did your best, that's all that mattered. And if this was for this was a test, are certain that what you think it was, was in fact what Princess Celestia was testing you on?” Shining then hugged his sister, trying to be assuring. “You got this, Twily.” As he ended the hug, Twilight then boarded the train, waving goodbye to her brother.

It was the following day, in the throne room of the Chantalot castle, Celestia and Twilight looked at two stained glass windows, one was the depiction of Celestia and Luna defeating Sombra and a new one that showed Spike in profile holding up the Crystal Heart and the love and light reflecting from it destroying Sombra in his cloud form and the Cyrstalborn cheering. “It's beautiful.” Celestia then turned to Twilight. “Spike did great.”

Twilight hung her head as if depressed and ashamed, “I wish it had been me who ultimately made it so. But it wasn't.”

Celestia placed her left hand on Twilight’s right shoulder and turned Twilight’s head to tilt up with her right hand to face her. “Twilight, as I understand it, Spike brought Princess Cadance the Crystal Heart because you weren't sure how quickly you could find a way to escape the tower. You weren't willing to risk the future of the citizens of the Krystalopolies in an effort to guarantee your own.” Celestia smiled at her apprentice. “I think you learned something and I would like to hear it.” Celestia then lets go of Twilight.

Twilight walked away and started to think, holding her chin with her right hand. After some thought, “The meaning of self-sacrifice, and knowing when to put others interests before my own.” Twilight turned to back to Celestia. Seeing a smile of pride on Celestia’s face as the princess nodded. “Does this mean...?”

It was twenty minutes later as Spike and the others were outside the castle, Pinkie was hopping about on her left leg, still unable to grapple that the leg as if it wasn’t broke. Rainbow Dash was doing one-arm push-ups with her right arm. While Applejack laid on the ground as Rarity and Fluttershy were braiding each other's hair. “She's totally gonna lose it!” Spike panicked as he bit his claws nervously. After a few seconds, he stopped biting his claws and started to breathe heavily. “Keep it together, buddy... Gotta stay strong... for Twilight...!” Everyone just rolled their eyes as Spike tried to calm down. Just then the doors opened as Twilight stepped out.

Twilight’s head was down as if she was depressed. Everyone got up and turned to Twilight, Applejack took off her hat. Twilight the opened her left eye as a playful smile grew on her face. She then brought her head up triumphantly. “I passed!” The group then got into a group hug, happy for their friend and her success.

Epilogue: A Gamble, A Book, and An Amulet

Celestia and Luna again watched as the day ended and night began, as Twilight and her friends were on the most recent train to Magiville. “You were right to send Twilight and the others, albeit it was mostly due to luck. May We ask, how did you know they would succeed where we failed?”

Celestia looked up ahead, “Because Twilight is of Sombra's seed.” Celestia stated.

“What?” Luna could not process what she was just told.

“Night Light is the direct descendant, father to son, of Sombra, via the son Sombra never knew with Radiant Hope and by extension King Bullion as Sombra was sired by the line of Platinum's illegitimate brother, again Father to son,” Celestia said as she, with great effort and some strain, placed a heavy tome on the table, almost thrice as heavy as the next book. The solar demigod started to rub her arms to massage them.

“The Lines of the Six,” Luna read the title on the cover. “You kept the records.” Luna was flabbergasted that the book in question still existed. She turned to the section on Clover the Clever and her descendants, which counted her and Celestia as adopted daughters and then to the one focused on Platinum and her descendants. It did not escape her that both Rarity and Twilight could count Clover and Platinum as ancestors if they read this book. The most surprising thing to most people would be that Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash could trace to the marriage of Hurricane and Pansy. “So, what are you planning to do with this?” Luna then shut the tome and slide it along the table back to Celestia.

Upon receiving the book back, “Nothing else, this was just to make the point that Twilight had what it took. Unless you want to see her school work?” then conjured a portal and was about to reach into it.

“No, No, We are good.” Luna flailed her hands in an attempt to get Celestia to stop.

Celestia chuckled as she closed the portal and turned to her sister. “Now I ask you which should we do now? Have Fluttershy attempt to reform Discord or give Twilight Star Swirl’s grimorum for her next and final test?”

Luna gave it some thought, “Let’s see if Discord is reformable first.” Luna declared. Celestia nodded and returned to her tea. “So when are you dropping Discord off?”

“Oh, I am not,” Celestia pointed to herself and then pointed to Luna, “you are.”

“What!”

“Well, I am the most qualified to handle the incorporation of Krystalopolies into Mystica, granted right now it would be an autonomous principality with Cadance ruling as she is the daughter and heir of our cousin, Amore. ”

Luna could tell there was much more in play as she was just as qualified as Celestia to help the incorporation process. “You’re playing the seniority card, aren’t you.”

Celestia then took a sip of tea. “Yep and it is working wonderfully.” Luna could only groan and roll her eyes in response as Celestia had a chuckle at Luna’s reaction.

In a run-down shop, a gray steel amulet shaped like an upside down triangle with a unicorn’s head with wings in profile with a ruby cut into a rhombus in the center started to glow and shake for a second. A guttural laugh was then heard for a second. A young woman wearing a wizard’s cap and a cap adorned with stars on a purple field, she also wore blue gloves, a black dress with knee-high boots, she also had light blue hair and purple eyes searching through the shop. She soon spotted the amulet. “The Great and Powerful Trixie will take this.”

“But that is just some old dust collecting amulet.” The shopkeeper said, “400 bits.”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie, will pay 200 bits.”

“375”

“225”

“350”

“250”

“325”

“275”

“300”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie, agrees to that.” Trixie then handed the shopkeeper three 100 bit notes, took the amulet and left. Once a fair distance away from the shop, “Foolish simpleton, the fabled Alicorn Amulet is The Great and Powerful Trixie’s.” Trixie then laughed at her success as she donned the amulet, “Soon Twilight Sparkle, The Great and Powerful Trixie will have, The Great and Powerful Trixie’s Revenge. And at such at the stupidly low price of 300 bits.” Trixie then started to laugh not noticing that her shadow had changed as Sombra’s eyes flashed open and closed within it. “Oh yes, Twilight Sparkle, you will pay dearly for the humiliation you dealt me. My shows haven’t had the same draw or flair since we last met, but I promise you that your humiliation will be well worth the wait,” at which point the illusionist gave an evil laugh that lasted for about three minutes.

Author's Note

It's done the King Sombra's siege had been lifted. I hope that maybe I have given people some pause to writing off Sombra as a villain. And yes while I like Flash Sentry, did you honestly expect him to fair better than Shining Armor?

Hopefully, now we can have some sort of pea...

"Oh Foxhelm, did you forget about me?"

:facehoof: Discord's reformation is next as a bonus chapter to "My Little Mages: Erisomachy"
Why do even ask myself?

A la Ciudad de los Cristales

Author's Note

This AU's answer to The Crystal Empire, now I want to preface this, if anyone was to ask me which MLP:FiM Villian is the best, I will ask 'as a character or as a villain?', as a character Discord is the best villain. But as a villain, I hold King Sombra as the best.

Watch this video and hear the case out before you write King Sombra off

Maybe with this, the King will be given the respect he deserves.

A la Ciudad de los Cristales

Prologue: La Ciudad ha regresado

Celestia was at her desk in the throne room as one of her office staff placed a stack of paperwork, “Alright, your majesty, this is the last of the recent proposals. This one is about expanding the northern settlement of Borealton northwards towards the Crystal Mountains.” the staff member said as another member of the staff took the rest of the paperwork off of the desk to be sent out. Celestia placed her elbows on her desk held her face between her hands stuck out her tongue and blew raspberries like a disgruntled and bored child clearly not wanting to do any more paperwork. “Your Highness it's the last thing you need to look over and either sign or veto.” The first staff informed. Celestia removed her right hand and resting her left check on her left hand after folding it into a fist, she repeated the action.

Just then a male Skyborn in the armor of the royal guard came running into the room. He stopped just before he got to the desk and genuflected, taking off his helmet, revealing his blue hair. “Your Highness, (pant) a report (pant) from the end (pant) of the northern track (pant, pant).”

“Report, Chief Warrant Officer Sentry,” the princess ordered as Flash caught his breath.

“A city, a city of crystals had appeared out of (pant) thin air just south of the Crystal Mountains,” Flash reported.

Celestia opened her mouth as something dawned on her, “Find Princess Cadance and Shining Armor!” she ordered her voice thundering in the hall, “Wake my sister!” she ordered another guard. “Take a note and light a dragon-fire candle.” a staff did just that, “Twilight, I need you in Chantalot, post haste....” Celestia started to dictate as the staff scribed the letter.

A la Ciudad de Los Cristales

Inside the Golden Oak, Twilight was running around so much that a chicken with its head cut off was much more orderly, which Spike learned the hard way when he ate one of Fluttershy's chickens when he grew exponentially before his body settled on its current form during that gem mine incident. Twilight's breathing indicated that she was in a panicked state, “Where are all my quills?” She asked as she rushed around looking for items to take with her. “Brbrbr.” She babbled as she gathered more and more supplies. To the average person all that was needed was a set of flashcards, a few pencils and/or quills and maybe a notebook or two all that could fit in a small attache bag, but Twilight... she was anything but normal as she packed a mountain trail back-bag not only of those supplies, but textbooks, reference books, and spell books, “No, no, no, no, no... Ugh!” Twilight exclaimed as started looking through more and more of her personal books. “I need the Magical Compendium volumes 1 through 36!” Twilight asked as she searched for the books in question. “Where is it?!” Twilight almost raged until she found the books, putting them into her bags with a thud. Twilight then straighten up, “Flashcards!” She exclaimed as she started to run to one of the desks. “I should make more flashcards.” She then turned to her familiar, “Spike, I'm gonna need you to quiz me. On everything. Everything I've ever learned. Ever.” She then ran to bags and pulled out the cards she had, “That isn't going to be enough cards.” she said after a count.

Spike rolled his eyes watching all this, if only the letter arrived three hours earlier, this would all be on Owlowiscious' watch. However, the dragon knew what needed to be said and to be fair, Owlowiscious had not been with Twilight long enough to handle a ‘Celestia sudden quiz’ Twilight meltdown. “Twilight, calm down. It's just a test,” he explained.

Twilight froze and turned to face Spike, “Just a test?” She asked as she was starting to boil over. “Just a test!?” She shouted at her familiar. “Princess Celestia wants to give me some kind of exam, and you're trying to tell me to calm down because it's just a test?!"

Seeing how things were going, “Uh…” Spike started before he ran to get some padding and a helmet, “ yes?” he asked as he put the makeshift armor on.

Outside the Golden Oak, every one of Twilight's friend was watching the effects of a Twilight-academic panic from the windows. After having evacuated the library of all civilians, with Rarity having enchanted the books with a temporarily indestructible enchantment. Rarity spoke up, “So does anyone think she's taking this well?”

“Ah'd say she's handlin’ things pretty well, considerin'.” Applejack commented as she and everyone but Pinkie looked at each other, shrugging shoulders.

“No, Twilight the one on your other left, if you use that one!” Pinkie shouted as she watched Twilight grab something.

“Urgh!” Twilight yelled and then there was an explosion within the Golden Oak. Just by luck, the tree was still standing.

After seeing the results, “Buck!” Rainbow almost cursed as she dug into her pockets. “Hey Shy, can I get an IOU?”

“Sorry Rainbow, but your line of credit is past due. I have to call-in your tab.” Fluttershy informed the elementalist as she closed her eyes with a slight frown.

“Hey AJ can you spot me a few bits?” Rainbow Dash asked Applejack for help in paying off her debt to Fluttershy and pay her wager.

“Enope, yah still have to pay off yahr cider order this year.” Applejack informed as she also closed her eyes calling attention to the debt Rainbow Dash still owed her.

“Pinkie can I...?” The elementalist started to ask the pink-clad trickster.

“Sorry, Dashie, but I am still waiting for what you owe to pay for Tank’s adoption party. Do you know you how much time it took me to find a cake recipe that was safe for all our pets?” Pinkie asked rhetorically as she called attention to her own labors in setting up the party in question, making it clear that they didn’t come out of thin air.

“Rares?” Hoping against hope that the enchantress would help her out fiscally.

“Given your current debt-repayment status…” Rarity paused as she weighed her options, however, in spite of how loyal Rainbow Dash was, Rarity was still a businesswoman and seeing that the three other members of the group that ran some sort of business were still owed money from the elementalist, Rarity knew that in this case, the most generous thing she could do was force Rainbow to pay her debt, “Most dreadfully sorry, Darling, but you are on your own.”

“Gah!” It was at this point Rainbow realized how much she was limiting her options, granted it was in pursuit of a quick fix or resolution, but then again that was Rainbow’s biggest fault. She made choices based on what she that would be the fastest, not the most effective.

All the while Owlowiscious seemed to just appear on one of the outer branches of the Golden Oak. Surprisingly, he slept through the miniature catastrophe played out so close to him.

In Chantalot, hours later, as they waited for Twilight’s arrival, looking at a stained glass window what for long time remain was blank as it shifted to reveal what looked like a male Magicborn in full armor, a red cloak fit for a king, on his head was a helmet not unlike Shining Armors’ but was more like a crown and the focusing gem was horn like and being turned into a shadow and forced below ice by a beam of light that was a merger of the lights of the sun and moon, stood Luna and Celestia. “Are you sure you don't want Us to go as well?” Luna asked. “we have bested him before.”

“Yes,” Celestia answered her sister as the two still looked at the window. “Princess Cadance and Marshall Shining Armor are already there, and while Twilight will be here soon, her friends will be joining her here and will meet up with them there.”

“Krystalopolies' magic is powerful. It cannot fall again, Our sister. Are you certain Twilight, even with the help of her friends, Cadance and Shining will succeed? Let Us go as well.” Luna requested as she turned from the window to look at her sister.

Celestia turned to face Luna, “No.” she declared calmly. “You and I both know you have yet to recover from Nightmare and her aftermath until she was finally destroyed not even a week ago, and you're charging the Tantabus to torment you in your dreams all the while from your return to then had made the whole matter even worse,” Celestia said to her sister, she knew that she did not need to remind Luna of what happened a week ago, however, this was not a time for sensitivity over Luna's past. Seeing Luna turn her head away, both in anger and in shame, Celestia brought Luna's face back to face her and continued to speak. “But back to the matter at hand, Discord might have given pause to the dynamics of our relationship, however, we both know it was not him but...” Celestia paused as she scowled at the stained-glass rendering of the man in the window as if she heard the man depicted was laughing at her in delight over her anger, “Him that truly sowed the seeds for the change in the first place.” Celestia then turned back to Luna. “Do you think he wouldn't have planned for us to attempt to stop him again? He took it with him before, we cannot try the same thing. But Twilight, she will succeed at her task. And when she does, we'll know that she is that much closer to being ready.”

“Are you certain, even if she...” Luna started in an attempt to challenge her sister’s plan but stopped as she heard a door open.

The two turned to see Twilight enter with several backpacks full of books, papers, pens, quills, inkpots, pencils, “Ahem.” Twilight said timidly.

Celestia looked at Luna, “Trust me, little sister.” the elder sister said trying to assure Luna of her faith in Twilight.

“As you command, your highness,” said Luna a slight dissatisfaction in her tone, then turning her attention to Twilight and started to leave the royal hall. “Know this, Young Twilight, you can still call for Us, no matter what Our sister says.” Luna then placed her hand on the door.

“Luna, please, stay. I’ll need you here as well.” Celestia called out, Luna stopped and walked back to her sister, walking past Twilight.

Twilight dropped everything she had, “You wanted to see me?” She asked. Rapidly going the next question. “To give me a test?” She then pulled out some of what she brought with her. As she spoke Luna look to Celestia, the slightly disapproving look on her face silently voicing her questioning of Celestia’s choice. Celestia gave a weak smile in response. Luna could only roll her eyes in response. “I brought my own quills and plenty of paper to show my work.” As everything started to scatter around her on the floor, “Sorry, sorry!”

“This is a different kind of test, Twilight,” Celestia said as she levitated everything back into Twilight’s bags. “Krystalopolies has returned,” Celestia said as she walked over toward the thrones and started to levitate a gem that was on a pedestal to the right of her throne towards her.

Utterly befuddled and baffled at what her mentor just said, “Kryst, what?” Twilight asked. The younger arcane mage went back to her bag starting to bring her books on history. “I'm sorry, I-I thought I'd studied.” Twilight continued as she scanned through history book after history book “Ooh. I don't think there's anything in any of my books th–” Twilight was cut short.

Luna spoke cutting Twilight off as she walked to join her sister, “There wouldn't be.” The princesses then placed one of the hands on the large crystal. “Our sister and Us are the only ones alive today in Mystica that know it ever existed at all,” Luna said as the room was bathed in white light before Twilight saw that she was in a city with buildings that looked like crystals. The humans there seem to have a crystalize over-skin. “But both of our knowledge of the city is limited. However, what we do know is that it contains a powerful magic.” As Luna’s voice seemed to have echoed Twilight witnessed the people out in about, young lovers holding hands and showing their affection. Children playing in the streets, parents watching their children and many other groups of people happily going about their days even shopping at the many vendors selling their wares most of those were variants of what Twilight could find in Magiville but at least a millennium older. Luna ‘s voice continued as Twilight was caught up in the history she was witnessing, “Over a thousand years ago, King Sombra, a Magicborn, specifically a Shadowborn, whose heart once noble went foul, took over Krystalopolies.” Twilight turned to see a man in his late thirties, he was dressed in gray steel plate armor that protected all but his face, over it and flowing from his shoulders down his back was a red cape trimmed with white fur with black spots, Twilight knew that was something that screamed ‘king’. On his head was a dark gray crown that allowed his jet hair flow. As part of his crown, over his ‘third eye’ was a horn like focusing gem, not unlike Twilight’s, however, his started out black at the base but shifted as if it bled into a blood-like rudy. What Twilight barely noticed was an amulet the same coloration as his armor shaped like an upside-down triangle and what looked like a unicorn’s head with wings in profile, with a ruby cut into a rhombus in the center. His eyes were red with cat-like pupils. The whites of them suddenly became a lime-green not unlike Chrysalis’ magic and from them, a royal purple colored smoke seemed to form and float out, not unlike Celestia’s and Luna’s hair. He gave a wicked smile, showing that all his teeth were more akin to a pure carnivore to the more generalized teeth most humans poses. He gave a triumphant laugh as everything Twilight witnessed rapid changed consumed by a lime green fire.

Looking around her, Twilight saw the once happy and lively crystal-skinned people reduced to a miserable, dejected, forlorn, etc, slaves as many were chained to together as they were forced into gurgling and harsh labors, Some, however, were spared the labors, but their fate was no less cruel. As Twilight saw a line of women being directed to the throne room, all the while Sombra seemed to reveal not so much in the misfortunes of his subjects but his power over them.

Everything then changed again as Celestia’s voice was heard, “Luna and I were ultimately able to overthrow him.” Twilight saw that she was standing in the northern part of Mytica, She looked and saw the man before standing with a two-handed sword, the blade itself seemed to be made of a red crystal, Twilight didn’t notice the absence of the amulet. Twilight then looked around and saw Celestia and Luna, Celestia was in the armor she wore when she came into the Dreamscape during the whole Nightmare Rarity incident. Luna was also in armor, but it was more night-sky and moon themed and colored. “We fought in the tundra just north of Borealton, the northernmost city in Mystica would be found.” Twilight witnessed as Celestia and Luna charged and used their magic to confront the man, however, he seemed to be able to beat them at every turn, it was clear that the two were not using their full power. Twilight could tell they knew what the effects of using their true power would be. However, Twilight could tell Sombra had no such reservations and seemed to enjoy the fight and unlike Celestia and Luna seemed to grow more powerful as it went on. After thirty seconds Sombra had best the two princesses and threw Luna back into Celestia laughing at his apparent triumphant, Twilight heard Celestia’s voice again. “There he met us in battle.” Twilight witnessed the two call forth the six gems that made the Elements of Harmony and targeting Sombra, “While the Elements of Harmony had no effect on him,” the magic of the Elements had no effect on him as he remained standing in the wake of the blast of the Elements. The two sisters looked at each other as their hands started to glow, golden in the case of Celestia and silver in Luna’s as the two light merged and spiraled combining as they left and flew towards Sombra. As Celestia’s voice is heard saying, “our combined power turned him to shadow, and banished to the ice of the just south of the Crystal Mountains.” Sombra’s body was forced into being what tantamount to a black cloud as he in his new state was forced into an opening in the ice. Sombra roared in defiance as the ice closed on him trapping him therein.

Luna’s voice is heard as Twilight followed the gaze of the Princesses she was shown to the city, “But not before he was able to put a curse on the city.” As Luna continued to speak Twilight witnessed the city vanished before her eyes. “A curse that caused it to vanish into thin air.” There was a sudden flash of light as Twilight was back in the throne room of the castle in Chantalot. She looked and saw a map of Mystica on the floor with the gem that Celestia and Luna used to project what Twilight just witnessed over the location of Krystalopolies. “If the city is filled with hope and love, those things are reflected across all of Mystica. Driving back the Windigos that still linger, waiting for the Fire of Clover to extinguish.” As Luna said that Celestia’s eyes became solid solar yellow and from her tiara, a rainbow of light hit the crystal and soon covered the map and spread beyond the borders of Mystica. Luna then dipped her head and in a somber tone, “However, if hatred and fear take hold…” As she spoke Celestia closed her eyes and opened them showing them as fields of lime green and nothing else, from the corners came a purple like smoke. As Celestia focused pitch black magic seemed to bubble around her tiara until an obsidian black beam left from her tiara and made contact with the gem. From it, the map was covered in darkness as blood red and black gems started to emerge and spread from the Krystalopolies and just Mystica but it the whole of the world. After seeing that Twilight, in her horrified stare at the map, understood that only ill would befall the world she Sombra succeed, Luna spoke again, “Which is why we…” it was clear how Luna said the ‘we’ that she meant Celestia. “have sought your help finding a way to protect it.”

Confused at what was said, “You want me to help protect ...?” Twilight asked as she looked to everything she brought with her and had the realization that she brought all the wrong things.

Celestia spoke again as she levitated the gem back to where she got it from, “It is, as I said, a different kind of test.” As she turned back to Twilight a smile was on her face. “But one I'm certain you will pass.” the princess said her confidence in her student written on her face.

Twilight was a loss at what she could do she looked to her mentor and asked, “How do I begin?” seeking an answer.

Celestia walked up to Twilight and placed her hands on Twilight’s shoulders, “By joining Princess Cadance and Shining Armor in Krystalopolies.” Celestia informed, “They already have mobilized the garrison based in Borealton and have since evacuated Borealton.”

“My brother is there?” Twilight asked upon hearing that Shining Armor and Cadance were already at the destination.

“He is, as his and Candance's honeymoon is now over and matters of the state are to be addressed, Krystalopolies’ reappearance being the most recent event.” Celestia informed as she removed her hand and started directing Twilight towards the door, “And your friends, after they join you at the station, will travel with you there. I have every confidence you will succeed. And when you do, I'll know you are ready to move on to the next level of your studies.”

“But what if I fail?” Twilight asked as she and Celestia proceeded towards the doors out of the throne room.

“You won't,” Celestia announced confidently, having no doubt in her student’s capabilities given everything Twilight and her friends have already accomplished, with and without the Elements of Harmony, together and separate.

“But what if–” Twilight started, but was cut off by her teacher.

“I know you won't.” Celestia declared cutting her student off, there was a subtle inflection that Luna picked up that Celestia had enough of Twilight’s doubt about her skill. Celestia took a breath. “Please, have faith in my faith in you, my student.” Celestia requested as she walked leading Twilight towards the doors out of the throne room. Reluctantly Twilight nodded as the doors were opened by Celestia’s magic. “Then go,” Celestia said as Twilight stepped through the door almost in a daze. “There is no time to lose.”

After the doors closed, “We still think We should go as well.” Luna commented. Celestia only sighed in frustration. “So what do we do with…” Luna said as she turned to Twilight’s stuff. “Mail it to Magiville?

Twilight was at a loss at what to do. She was tasked to help protect a city that had vanished for over a thousand years from a threat that has not been around for the same amount a time and also threaten not only the city, or Mystica but the whole world. How could she do that? She asked herself silently as she walked through the castle towards the exit and the train station. All the while she seemed to not notice anyone or anything thing else, even that she forgot her things. “Ah! Twilight!” she barely heard her familiar exclaim as she walked passed him. The dragon rejoined her, “That was fast!” he cheered all the while Twilight was not able to speak, her words lost in her thoughts, not knowing how to explain what she was shown and tasked with to the young dragon. “Let me guess, you got a perfect score?” Spike asked with confidence not only with his guess but his master’s capabilities. Twilight did respond, by shaking her head. “A-minus?” Spike asked baffled that his perfectionist master would score less than perfect. Twilight shook her head again, this time with closed eyes, a sign to Spike that things didn’t go well, “B-plus?” he asked hoping for some sort of verbal response. Not getting an answer from Twilight, he gasped, after which he asked, “Twilight, did you…” he stopped and continued in a hushed tone “fail?” he asked as terror gripped him at the prospect that Twilight had failed something.

Twilight shook her head, “No, but I have to prepare.” She informed as she started towards the Chantalot train station.

“Uh, prepared for what exactly?” Spike asked as he walked with Twilight. He wanted to know, but for some reason, he could not seem to get anywhere with his master-familiar connection, it was if Twilight was blocking him.

“I’ll tell you when we meet everyone at the train station.” Twilight informed her draconic familiar. She even caused an anti-divination spell on herself so that Spike could not use their master-familiar link to find out what was hidden by her.

About an hour later Twilight and Spike waited for the next train from Magiville to pull into the station. After the train stopped, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie exited the train. Twilight smiled as she felt her confidence rise as she had her friends with her and she knew that with them she could accomplish anything. Her friends then turned and walked to her happily.

“Twilight!” Applejack proclaimed happily as the group embraced their friend. “Uh, did you pass?” Applejack asked the question that was on everyone else's’ minds and hers as they all ended the group hug and everyone look to Twilight waiting for the answer.

Assuming the answer to the question, Pinkie Pie pulled out her party cannon, “Are we gonna celebrate your awesomeness with Princess Celestia?” Pinkie Pie asked as she jumped happily up into the air as her party cannon fired as part of the pre-party celebration.

“Not quite.” Twilight’s voice was heard saying as Pinkie Pie landed her smile gone leaving a confused and befuddled expression on her face as the confetti that was fired from the cannon returned to the cannon. As everyone turned to from the confused jester to Twilight. Twilight “We're going to Krystalopolies!”

“Crys-what?” Rainbow Dash asked putting to words the confusion everyone else had as they remained stupidly silent.