Chapters Harmony, Chaos, and Shadows
Months had passed since Twilight became a princess and she did not like her situation at all. Between her royal duties and obligations she hardly had any time to study or spend time with hers friends. Not only that but the prospect of immortality weighed heavily on her mind. The mere thought of her outliving just about everypony she’s ever met was so dreadful that she didn’t want to believe it. Spike was spending the night at Rarity’s and after finishing up some paperwork Twilight decided to turn in for the night. She knew tomorrow was going to be another long dull day and was not looking forward to it. Before she crawled into bed she looked out her window for a moment to take in the night sky and saw a shooting star go by. She decided not to waste the opportunity and made a wish.
“I wish I could go back to being a unicorn again.”
“Is that so?”
Twilight quickly spun around and looked to see where the voice came from. “Who’s there? Show yourself.”
There was a soft chuckling echoing around the room. “Oh poor Twilight, is the life of royalty not to your liking?”
Twilight continued to look around and then heard a pop. She turned and saw some strange creature coiled up on her bed.
“W-Who are you? What are you?”
“What I am isn’t important at the moment. My name is Discord.”
“Discord? Wait I’ve heard of you, but I thought you were just a myth.”
“I’m sure most ponies think that. I haven’t made a public appearance in a thousand years.”
“I can imagine. The stories I’ve heard about you are not very…flattering.”
“Oh but that was a long time ago. Things are different now. I’ve started helping ponies with their problems, not causing them. That’s why I’m here actually, to help you.” Discord then got up and floated over to Twilight. “I’d like to make you an offer, a deal if you will.” He snapped his paw and an unraveled scroll appeared in front of her. “Just sign this contract and I’ll give you what you want most, the life of a unicorn.”
Twilight gave him a suspicious look. “What’s the catch?”
“No catch, but there will be a price to pay for my services.”
“Which is?”
“Hmmm I’m not going to tell you. Call it a blind agreement.”
“You expect me to agree to something when I have no idea what it is I’m agreeing to?”
“Oh Twilight you’ll just have to trust me on this. After all offers like this don’t come around every day, this will probably be your only opportunity to make this happen. But if you’d rather stay an alicorn and watch your friends and loved ones slowly age and die around you while you stay the same then by all means continue to do that and I’ll take my leave. So what will it be?”
Discord did have a point. This could be Twilight’s only chance. “I need a minute to think.”
“Sorry but I’ve got other places to be and other things to do. Offer going once.” Twilight started to panic. “Offer going twice.”
“Okay I’ll sign!”
Discord produced a quill and ink well. She grabbed the quill and singed. “Excellent!”
He snapped his paw and everything went black.
Twilight woke with a start and sat up in bed. At first she thought it was all just a dream but looked at her sides and noticed her wings were gone. It worked.
Twilight smiled and looked out her window and it was night out. But she noticed something else and her smile went away. Instead of Ponyville she saw Canterlot, and it looked like several buildings were in the process of being repaired from some kind of damage. She looked around the room she was in and noticed it was her old room at her parent’s house. Then Discord popped in front of her, startling her a little.
“Well Twilight here we are. I have fulfilled my end of the deal.”
“I don’t understand, why am I in Canterlot and why do so many buildings look damaged?”
“Because you live here, and that’s just the aftermath of the changeling invasion during your brother’s wedding. After all you can’t expect them to have all of Canterlot repaired in just two weeks.”
“Two…what?!”
“Shh Twilight try to keep it down, ponies are trying to sleep at this hour,” he said in a hushed tone.
“I wanted to be a unicorn again, not travel back in time. And what do you mean I live here? Shouldn’t I be in Ponyville?”
Discord gave a soft chuckle. “Oh Twilight you’ve never been to Ponyville.” Twilight gave him a very confused look. “Allow me to fill you in on a few things. You were never sent to Ponyville, you aren’t the bearer of the Element of Magic, and you never became Celestia’s pupil.”
Twilight just stared at him for a moment with a dropped jaw. “T-That’s not what I wanted.”
“Actually it is. You see Twilight alicorns are powerful beings. I can’t simply undo that kind of transformation. So I had to go back and alter a few events. If you had become Celestia’s student you would have become the Element of Magic and would have definitely become an alicorn. Now I will say you did in fact pass your entrance exam and got into Celestia’s school. But you didn’t do it in the same grand fashion as before so you didn’t hatch Spike’s egg or catch Celestia’s eye and even if you had it might not have gone anywhere considering she already had a promising pupil at the time.”
“Who?”
“A mare by the name of Sunset Shimmer.”
“But I thought she abandoned her studies and went to that other world.”
“Not in this timeline. In fact she is currently the Element of Magic.”
“But my friends…”
“Twilight they’re not your friends anymore. I mean you know each other. You obviously met them at the wedding but they’re more like acquaintances then friends. Some things may have changed but you still were that little bookworm who didn’t care about making friends.”
“So I don’t have any friends?” she said looking depressed.
“Now I didn’t say that. You’re pretty friendly with your co-works.”
“Co-works?”
“That’s right. You work at Canterlot University’s library, on the days you’re not attending class that is. So not everything changed, you’re still technically a librarian.”
“But I-” Discord put a talon to her mouth for a second.
“My dear try to look at the bright side. You’re still a talented and powerful unicorn, you have some friends, Cadence is still your sister in-law, and you have a comfortable living. So it isn’t all bad, you just need some time to adjust to your new life.” With a snap a book appeared in front of her and was titled The Life and Times of Twilight Sparkle. “Give this a read so you can get caught up on everything that’s happened in your new life up until now.”
“Okay, but you still haven’t told me why you sent me back here to this particular date.”
“Don’t you worry about that, it will make sense in time. Now you have nothing going on tomorrow so you have all day to read up on yourself. Well you should have everything you need so this is goodbye, but don’t worry I will return to collect my payment when the time comes. Oh and I wouldn’t mention me or our deal to anypony else, they might think you’re crazy or something, arrivederci.”
In a pop he was gone. I still don’t know what he wants from me but I don’t have a lot to offer at the moment so how bad could it be.
Harmony, Chaos, and Shadows
Chapter 2 - Unforeseen Consequences
Twilight woke up the next morning, one look at her room along with the book on her nightstand and she knew the events of last night did happen. Her life had changed and she was just going to have to cope with it somehow. She got out of bed and headed downstairs for breakfast.
Well here we go.
She made it down and entered the kitchen. Her mother was making breakfast while her dad sat at the table reading the paper. Night Light noticed her enter. “Morning Twilight, sleep well?”
Twilight took a seat at the table. “Yes.”
“So Twilight you have any plans for today?” said Velvet.
“Not really. I was just going to stay in and read.”
“But you do that all the time, live a little.”
“Your mother’s right. You need to step away from your books every once in a while and go out to do something, maybe find a nice stallion to bring home.”
Twilight blushed a little. “Daaad,” she said looking embarrassed.
“Just a thought.”
“I’ll try to keep it in mind.”
After breakfast Twilight went back to her room and started reading about herself. It took well into the evening but she managed to finish it and now had a better understanding of her new life and the important details she needed to know. Afterwards she hid the book so her parents wouldn’t find it and turned in for the night.
The next today came and Twilight got up, ate breakfast, grabbed her saddlebag, and went out the door. Today was Saturday and according to the book she had day classes on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. On the weekends she would work a few hours at the University’s library, but since she’s a student its volunteer work. Fortunately Twilight had scholarships that covered a good chuck of her tuition so she didn’t need the money. She made it to the grounds and went inside. Since she was the princess’s student Twilight never went to college and was impressed with the campus. She made it to the library and spotted the head librarian Dewey Decimal at the front desk. He noticed her walking up.
“Twilight, good to see you.”
“Good to see you to. Need help with anything at the moment?”
“Yes actually.” He pointed to a cart of books off to the side. “Those are returns that need to be reshelved, would you mind…”
“Not at all.”
A few weeks had passed and for the most part Twilight had adjusted to her new life. Although she did miss Spike terribly, but at least there was a chance she could become friends with Sunset and the others. She worked at the library and attended her classes although most were on subjects she had already learned such as Advance Magical Theory, so she wasn’t learning a whole lot of new information. It may not have been as good as her old unicorn life was but it was still good. It was late and Twilight was about to get into bed when she heard a pop from behind her. She turned and saw Discord had appeared.
“Hello Twilight, how are you?”
“Umm fine.”
“Good, good. Anyhoo its time for you to fulfill your end of our bargain. Let’s go.”
“You still haven’t told me what it is you want. Wait…go? Do you know what time it is? Where would we go at this hour?”
“Oh everything will be explained when we get there. Now we have a meeting to attend.” Discord snapped his talons and suddenly they were somewhere in the frozen north just outside of a cave.
“Discord what in Tartarus are we doing out here in the middle of nowhere?!”
“Hello Twilight.” Twilight looked into the cave and saw a figure approaching. When they came into full view she gasped for it was King Sombra standing at the entrance.
“Tell me Twilight do you happen to know what todays date is?”
“I…wait, todays the day before I was sent to the Crystal Empire.”
“Exactly.” Discord put his paw on her back and sild her up closer to Sombra. “Here you go Sombra, one bride to be as promised.”
“WHAT?! I didn’t agree to that!”
“Actually you did,” he said as he waved the contract around.
“I-I don’t understand what’s happening.”
“Then allow me to explain. You see Twilight before I came to you Sombra and I worked out a deal of our own. Of course he wanted his empire back but what he really wanted was for you to be at his side. Now I could have easily accomplished that but he preferred it if I didn’t alter your mind in any way to make you more agreeable to this proposition. This made things a bit more complicated so I spied on you to see if there was anything I could use to entice you with. Finally the opportunity I’d been waiting for arrived when you wished you were a unicorn again.”
“I won’t do it, you can’t-”
“Make you. Actually I can. Sombra may prefer it if you stayed the same but if you don’t fulfill your contractual obligation and prove to be too troublesome I’ll have to make you more cooperative. Oh and Twilight you can’t tell anypony about these circumstances or deals. If you begin to talk or write about the subject you’ll be unable to get the words out. Well I suppose this is as good a time as any to take my leave. Sombra you know how to contact me if she gives you any problems, auf wiedersehen.”
In a flash Discord disappeared. It was just Twilight and Sombra now. Sombra began to step forward and Twilight started to back up. She was just about to run when Sombra used his magic to hold her in place for the moment.
“Now Twilight you need to listen closely.”
“No, I don’t care what deals were made. I’m not going to let you control me.”
Sombra let out a chuckle. “Oh Twilight you misunderstand. You’ll be my wife, a queen, an equal, not a slave. You’re free to make your own decisions.” Sombra released his hold on her.
“Then I’m leaving.”
“By all means go ahead. But the fact of the matter is I will retake the Crystal Empire tomorrow and your brother, sister in-law, and former friends are going to be there. And I don’t know if I’ll be able to guarantee their wellbeing.”
“You won’t win. Sunset Shimmer will find the Crystal Heart just as I did.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. Sunset may be talented but she’s no you. I doubt she’ll even discover the secret chamber under the throne room and if she does then there’s no way she’ll make it passed the fear door. Even you needed help from your little dragon companion to snap out of its hold on you.” Twilight opened her mouth to speak but stopped, he was right. “Now you can either go your own way or agree to uphold your end of the bargain and I’ll guarantee the others will be safe.”
Twilight tilted her head down in defeat. “Okay I’ll marry you.”
“Then follow me.” Sombra headed further into the cave with Twilight right behind him. They made it to a chamber that had a bed made from hay with a blanket. “Well it’s late and we should turn in for the night.”
He removed his armor and regalia, then got under the covers and patted the spot next to him. Twilight gave a faint blush. “You want me to sleep with you.”
Sombra gave a snicker. “Oh that can wait until after we’re married, I just want a warm body to lie next to.” Twilight’s blush deepened. “Best you should get used to the idea seeing as we’re going to be sharing a bed from this point forward.”
Twilight went over and got under the covers facing away from him. Sombra cuddled up close and wrapped his foreleg around her. Even though this was making her skin crawl Twilight managed to fall asleep hoping to wake up from whatever dream or nightmare this was in the morning.
Harmony, Chaos, and Shadows
Chapter 3 - Queen Twilight
The next day Twilight woke up and saw she was still in the same cave as yesterday. She rolled over and saw Sombra already up, donning his armor. He looked over and noticed her.
“Good you’re awake. I left food out for you for when you get hungry. I’m going out. The empire will have returned by now and your brother along with his wife should be almost there if not there already. I’ll come back for you later when my victory is near so don’t go anywhere.”
“I don’t understand. Why didn’t you try to get there before them?”
“When the Crystal Empire first returned and I broke free of my imprisonment I was too weak to get there before they shut me out. Now there’s no rush seeing as I’ll win anyway. Besides once everypony gets there I’ll have more bargaining chips to work with when negotiating with Celestia and Luna.”
“Tell me Sombra, what does Discord want from you?”
“I don’t know actually. I made the same blind agreement you did. The only difference is I specified things he couldn’t ask of me.” He then turned to shadow and disappeared.
Hours passed by, luckily Sombra had left some books so she could pass the time reading. Although usually therapeutic it did her little good as she wondered if she’d ever come to terms with her current situation. Sombra returned and brought her to an area a little ways away from the empire.
“You see the shield flickering Twilight. It’s only moments away from failing completely. Stay here for the moment. When the empire is completely covered in black crystal come find me in the dungeon.” Sombra left and all Twilight could do was wait. Inside the empire the Crystal Ponies were beginning to panic after they discovered the Crystal Heart at the fair was a fake and Applejack’s reassurances weren’t helping. Cadence's magic finally gave out and the shield fell, Sombra made his way in. He appeared behind the others on the balcony and they quickly took notice. Sombra used his magic to grow crystals on Cadence and Rarity’s horn. Rainbow Dash charged him but a quick stun spell and she stopped in her tracks. “Now then you all can get through this ordeal a lot quicker if you follow me to the dungeon, or I can drag you all there myself. Which would you prefer?”
“You may have beaten us for now but you won’t win in the end!” said Shining.
“Prefer to do things the hard way I see, very well.” Sombra used his magic to pick them all up and walked them to the dungeon. After he dropped them off he went to the throne room and found the hidden chamber was open. He went down and found Sunset Shimmer staring at the open fear door with dark magic and tears in her eyes. He cut off her magic before closing the door snapping her out of her trance and she looked at him. “It appears you’ve failed Miss Shimmer.” Sombra grabbed her in his magic and took her to the dungeon as well.
The city was completely covered in black crystal now so Twilight went in. The streets were empty as the Crystal Ponies were too scared to leave their homes after Sombra’s return. Twilight made it to the dungeon and went in, starting to hear voices the further she got. Everypony was in one large cell with Sombra standing outside of it.
“You can’t keep us here forever!” said Dash.
“Nor do I plan to. You’ll all be released when the princesses and I reach an agreement.” Sombra then noticed Twilight approaching. “Ah there you are my dear. Don’t be shy come say hello.”
Twilight came into their view which surprised everypony. “Twilight…how?” said Shining.
Twilight turned her head away not being able to look at them. “I’m sorry I…” she said in a quiet tone.
“Don’t worry Twilight it’ll be alright, we’ll get out of this.”
“You don’t seem to understand. Twilight’s not a prisoner, she’s my bride.”
The others were in a stunned silence for a moment. “No, that can't be...Twilight?”
“I...” Twilight couldn't take it anymore. She ran off and found a secluded place to have a cry.
“Alright back to business. Miss Dash I hear you're pretty fast.”
“What of it.”
“I need you to do something for me.”
“Go fuck yourself!”
Sombra opened the cell, pulled Rainbow out with his magic, closed the door, and then produced a scroll. “All I need is for you to deliver this to Celestia, now go.”
Dash looked at the others. “Don't worry I'll comeback for you, I promise.”
She took the scroll and bolted. “Now if the rest of you will excuse me I have some business to take care of and then a wedding to attend.”
“BASTERD! What did you do to my sister?!”
“Absolutely nothing, she made her choice.”
“When I get my hooves on you I'll-”
“Careful now Shining. I'd hate to have to kill my soon to be brother in-law.” Sombra walked away laughing.
“This doesn't make any sense. Twilight would never be involved with somepony like him, right?” said Cadence.
“I reckon I’m mighty confused as well. Didn’t the princess say this Sombra guy was imprisoned for like a thousand years or somethin’? How’d they even meet?”
“I don’t know darling but we can figure that out later. Right now we should focus on our current predicament.”
Rainbow Dash flew as fast as her wings could take her. It was a long fly but she made it back to Canterlot and went into the castle. Celestia and Luna were having dinner when Dash burst into the room, slid to a stop after landing on the table, and tried to catch her breath.
“Rainbow Dash? What’s wrong?” said Celestia. It took Dash a moment to speak.
“Its bad princess, Sombra took over the Crystal Empire and captured us. He released me and said to give you this.” Rainbow held out the scroll and Celestia took it in her magic and began to read it.
Dear Celestia,
If you want your niece and the others safely returned to you then you and your sister need only meet my demands. You will grant me dominion over the northern territories, sign a treaty, and give me the Element of Magic. We’ll meet tomorrow at the empire’s train station around noon, and don’t keep me waiting.
Luna read it over as well. “The fiend, he shall pay for this!”
“Easy Luna, we can’t do anything rash. We’ll have to comply for the moment.”
“Sister you can’t seriously be considering giving him what he wants.”
“We have no choice. Sombra holds all the cards right now and there’s no telling what he’ll do to them if we try anything. I’ll start making preparations for our departure.”
“That’s not all princess. You remember Shining’s sister Twilight right?”
“Yes, why do you ask?”
“She was there as well and apparently she’s Sombra’s bride.”
Celestia and Luna looked perplexed for a moment. “I’m sorry I don’t know if I heard you right. Did you say Twilight was Sombra’s bride?” Rainbow nodded yes. “How is that possible?” said Celestia.
“This does seem rather peculiar. Was he not imprisoned for as long as we though he would be and if so how did they meet?”
“I don’t know but the guy seemed to know about us. If you ask me she probably tipped him off about our arrival ahead of time. He tried to attack us not long after we got there.”
“We can discuss this later. Right now we need to get Cadence, Sunset, and the others back here safe.”
Twilight and Sombra were in the throne room finalizing the marriage. “Twilight Sparkle I hereby take you as my wife and crown you Queen of the Crystal Empire.” He opened a box next to him and pulled out a cape like his along with a crown which had a slot in the shape of the Element of Magic. He placed them on her, kissed the bride, and the ceremony was complete. As soon as Sombra wasn’t looking she wiped her mouth. “Well this has been quite an eventful day, the first of many I’m sure but it’s getting late. We should retire for the evening. The princesses will be here tomorrow to get Cadence, Shining, and the element bearers assuming they meet my demands that is. So it’d be best if we were well rested for the meeting.”
“You already made contact with them?”
“Yes I sent Rainbow Dash to deliver my terms.”
“And I suppose part of those demands includes the Element of Magic seeing as there is a slot for it in my crown.”
“Well it is rightfully yours after all.”
“Not in this timeline.”
“Oh Twilight you’ll come around eventually.” Sombra surrounded them in shadows and they reappeared in their bed chamber. He then began removing his armor and regalia. “Are you ready to consummate the marriage?”
Twilight blushed and decided she needed to put her hoof down. “I may be your wife but I’m not doing anything sexual!”
He let out a sigh. “Very well if you want to take things slow I can abide by that. Now let’s go to bed.”
Sombra got under the covers. Twilight removed her regalia and did the same. Again he cuddled up close to her and even though the idea of her sharing a bed with him still made her skin crawl a little she would have to deal with it. At least she wouldn’t have to worry about him trying anything, she hoped.
Harmony, Chaos, and Shadows
Chapter 4 - The Aftermath
Sombra decided to get an early start the next morning and went about trying to revitalize the empire’s military as well as put the rest of the Crystal Ponies to work. Noon was fast approaching so Sombra, Twilight, and their prisoners (bound in chains) made their way to the train station. Twilight kept her eyes forward unable to bare the sight of the others the way they were. They waited on the platform and a few minutes later a train pulled into the station and Celestia, Luna, and Rainbow Dash disembarked.
“Ah princesses so good of you to come. I believe you’re familiar with my wife Twilight.”
“Yes, she was a promising student in my school.” Celestia’s disappointment stung worse than anything she had felt before. Twilight couldn’t bring herself to make eye contact with them, especially Celestia.
“Now then have you agreed to my terms?”
“We have.”
“Very good, then both of you sign this.” He floated over the treaty and they signed.
“There now release them.”
“Forgetting something?” Celestia gave him an unpleasant look, pulled out the Element of Magic, and tossed it at his hooves. “Perfect.” Sombra placed the element in the slot of Twilight’s crown and released the others. They quickly made their way to the princesses. “Our business is concluded, now be gone you.”
As much as the princesses didn’t want to leave the Crystal Ponies to the fate they would receive under Sombra’s rule there was nothing they could do at the moment. Aside from the Crystal Heart the Elements of Harmony was their best chance at defeating him and now they could no longer use them. They boarded the train, it pulled away from the station, and the pair headed back to the palace.
The train ride back was eerily silent for the first few minutes until Shining spoke up. “How could this have happened? I know my sister. She wouldn’t do something like this.”
“Well she did. Sombra seemed to know a lot about us. She could have been spying on us for who knows how long. Face it, she sold us out,” said Dash.
Shining got up in an aggressive manner. “Shut up!”
Rainbow Dash did the same. “Make me!”
Celestia put up a barrier between them. “Both of you calm down. Captain I realize this is a difficult time you for but try to control yourself. The same goes for you Rainbow Dash.” The two retook their seats. “Now from what I observed Twilight seemed to be reluctant and uncomfortable being there. It’s possible she is not there by choice but if that is the case then what could Sombra have done to make her stay?”
Cadence tried to comfort Shining and he hung his head low. “How am I going to break this to mom and dad?”
“Don’t worry, Tia and I are going to do our best to look into this matter. Although there’s no telling how long that may take.”
Twilight sat at the desk in their room with her head buried in her forelegs having a soft cry. Sombra walked in and approached her. “There, there my queen, this is not only a new beginning for you but for us. Give it some time, and when you’re finished meet me in the throne room. The nation isn’t going to run its self after all.”
He made his way to leave when Twilight lifted her head up and turned it towards him. “Why? Why was it so important that I be here?”
Sombra stopped and turned back around. “Because I was impressed with what I saw. With your intellect and talent for magic you had the means to do great things, and I knew if you were at my side we would become an unstoppable force. There would be nothing that could stand in our way.”
“You mean your way.”
Smobra went over and put his foreleg around her. “Twilight do not think you are a mere pawn in this. I said I would treat you like an equal and I will.”
“You say that but when it comes down to it your word supersedes mine. Just leave me be for now.”
“Very well.”
After Sombra left she took a moment to think to herself. It’s my fault. I was being selfish and didn’t think about what could happen because of it. Now I’m paying the price.
Cadence decided to help Shining break the news of what happened in the Crystal Empire to his parents and they just finished explaining the situation. “This is some kind of cruel joke right…right?”
Shining let out a sigh. “I’m sorry mom. I know this is difficult to hear. I still can’t believe it myself.”
“No, Twilight wouldn’t do this, she wouldn’t,” said Night.
“I’m sorry but my aunts and I have witnessed this. We want to believe Twilight didn’t choose this but we don’t know anything and until we do we can’t rule out any possibilities.” Velvet broke down crying and Night tried to comfort her as best he could.
In the throne room Celestia and Luna were talking to Sunset and the others about what to do going forward. “Forgive me princess but this is bullshit! You expect us to sit around and do nothing!” said Dash.
“And what would you have us do? We have a treaty with the Crystal Empire. If we were to break it and go on the offensive it would destroy relations and diplomacy with other nations. Who would want to deal with us if we went to war so soon after making peace without just cause?” Rainbow was still pissed but understood Celestia’s reasoning. “Luna and I will handle this, in the meantime you all should return to Ponyville for now.”
“Princess you’re sure there’s nothing I can help with?” said Sunset.
“At the moment no, but I’ll let you know if anything comes up.”
“Okay it’s just, I feel like such a useless failure for not being able to get the Crystal Heart and stop Sombra,” she said getting teary eyed.
“It’s alright sugarcube. It ain’t your fault.”
Celestia went over and wrapped her wing around Sunset. “No it isn’t. I know you did your best, and none of us saw this coming.”
“Yeah if anything it’s that bitch Twilight’s fault.” The others gave Dash a look. “What?”
“Rainbow Dash we still don’t know what her involvement was and if it was willing or forced,” said Luna.
“Please she was probably just putting on an act to make herself look innocent.”
“We are not going to debate this matter until we have evidence to support it pointing one way or the other. That is all for now.”
