A shadow seeped down the dungeon stairs like a puff of smoke, causing the dungeon's eight inhabitants to instantly freeze as the shadow formed itself into the shape of a stallion. Opening his red eyes, Sombra looked from one uncertain face to the next and smiled wickedly at Spike, who earlier had belched out several scrolls, each one addressed to him and containing the answers he wanted to his demands. It's good to see the princesses using those empty shells that they call brains. Casually strolling past each and every prisoner, he then clapped his hooves together, which he did just about every time he was going to speak. Everypony prepared for his next words with anticipation.

"And how are my guests feeling today? How was the porridge?" He gestured to several bowls laying on the floor, each one cleanly emptied of their contents. Seeing as how it was the only meal that the prisoners were allowed and each meal time were few and far between, they had taken to greedily consuming every bit of their measly repast.

The hyperactive pink pony, whose energy and unbridled enthusiasm irritated Sombra to no end, licked her lips and replied, "Weeeeeeell, you added too much cinnamon and not enough apple but I thought it was delicious!"

"I'll make a note of it," Sombra muttered, finding the urge to strangle her harder and harder to resist. Just stay calm, Sombra. You can't make a trade if you don't have all of your bargaining chips.

"What do you want, Sombra?" Cadence spat, his name like venom on her lips. "I doubt it was to inquire about the cuisine."

"Indeed! This gruel you insist on serving us is an absolute abomination of the culinary arts!"

Silencing the white unicorn with a glare, and deciding that he loathed her far more than the pink pony, Sombra turned to Cadence and flashed her a toothy grin. "You're absolutely correct, Princess. The real reason I came down here was to congratulate you on your early release. Oh, I will indeed miss the pleasure of your company."

Shining Armor sputtered, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! What?"

"Uh, say what now?" Rainbow Dash questioned.

"Aw, thank you!" Pinkie Pie absentmindedly added.

"What are ya talking about, Sombra?" Applejack asked, being careful to keep her voice low and even. She'd seen the king upset before and, despite her reservations about seeing him in a good mood, decided that it was less scarier than his previous freak out.

"You're all going free today." With a wave of his glowing horn, the chains and manacles vanished, allowing them to all stretch and flex their sore and atrophied muscles. The two pegasi, two unicorns and alicorn all still had black crystals attached to their wings and horns, however.

Fluttershy rubbed her forelegs and quietly cleared her throat. "Um, ex-excuse me, King Sombra, but...but why are you just letting us go? Not that we mind but is there a catch or something?" She whimpered when Sombra bent down to look her dead in the eyes. No matter how badly she wanted to look away, her eyelids stayed glued to her face.

"A very astute observation. The truth is, the price for your freedom is a little...high. Luckily, the princesses had the wisdom to agree to my demands and thus, you can all leave this place."

Spike gulped, "Wh-what do you mean, 'high?' What price did they have to pay?"

"Ya asked for tha Elements of Harmony, didn't ya?!" Applejack shouted loudly, her voice full of fear and worry.

The umbrum momentarily blinked before throwing his head back and madly cackling like a hyena at a comedy club. "Those worthless baubles? What in the world would I want those things for? What I want is far more valuable, ten times as beautiful and much, much rarer than that."

Cadence, who had her forelegss wrapped tightly around Shining Armor's neck, paused and stared bafflingly at Sombra, a sense of dread working its way into her chest. "What did you ask for?"

There it is...the Crystal Empire. The city had changed drastically since the last time that Twilight had seen it: the magical barrier surrounding it was a jagged, blood-red globe of crackling energy, giving her the impression that it was alive. The crystalline buildings were thorny black structures that resembled burnt, twisted trees that had refused to die. The castle itself didn't fare much better, transformed into a spiky, onyx-like fortress as green and purple flames spouted from random clifftops. The tallest spire was crowned with a black banner depicting Sombra's crown, waving triumphantly above the foreboding castle.

Peering through the light brown mist seeping through land, Twilight spotted the empire's inhabitants and the sight made her heart sink into her stomach. When she'd first arrived, the crystal ponies were ignorant about their misery, trying to get by in their day-to-day lives. The ones in front of her, however, were hopelessly dejected, fear and despair openly worn on their faces as they each scuttled shakily past one another. What did Sombra do to them?

Her thoughts were abruptly scattered when a shadow wove its way serpent-like through the landscape, sending crystal ponies fleeing for their lives and into the crystalline monstrosities they called homes. It slid past the barrier and instantly solidified into the grinning visage of King Sombra. Twilight's stomach did several backflips as she beheld the figure from her dreams, both enthralled and disgusted by the shadow pony. Crimson eyes fell upon her, the orbs softly burning as they beheld her with something akin to curiosity and beguilement, nothing at all like the shadow spawn she'd first encountered in what seemed like an eternity ago. What is going on with him?

"Twilight Sparkle, I'm so glad you could make it," Sombra smiled, his tone light and welcoming.

"Where are my friends, Sombra? We had a deal."

The umbrum's smile dissipated. "Very well then. So much for niceties." It was strange; he sounded as though he was hurt. He stomped one hoof and a large, multi-sided black crystal rose out of the ground right inside of the barrier. The front crumpled away to reveal all eight of Twilight's friends, trapped up to their necks in black crystals. Sombra lit his horn up and the crystals crumbled to pieces, allowing the eight to move. Seeing Twilight, they all burst past the barrier at break-neck sped, all except for Spike, who yelled and pounded his tiny fists against the magical wall as it denied him admittance.

"Spikey!" Rarity yelled and hit the barrier repeatedly. "Spike, hold on!"

"Remember Twilight, the hatchling stays with me until you're on the other side of that wall," Sombra reminded the unicorn, slowly snaking his way to her left side to whisper into her ear. "That was the deal after all."

"Twily, what's he talking about?" Shining Armor asked, his mouth hanging open.

Twilight pried her eyes away from Sombra's mocking smile to face her friends, who all gathered around her with the same question on their minds. With a heavy heart, she groaned, "Sombra offered me a deal: he would release all of you...on the condition that I stay with him...and become his queen." The words tasted of bile coming out, the reality of her predicament hitting her like a ton of bricks. As expected, she was suddenly bombarded by questions and angry protests.

"That's enough, everypony!" Cadence shouted, placing a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "Twilight...I don't understand..."

"Neither do I but it's the price that was set and I...agreed to pay it."

"Yes, she did. Now, we go," Sombra interjected coldly. He made for the barrier only to find Twilight missing from his side. "Twilight, now!"

Tears built up in her eyes but Twilight forced them back, knowing that she had to be strong, if not for her sake, then for her friends'. "Could I have a moment to say goodbye? Please?"

Sombra rolled his eyes. "Fine. Make it quick."

Twilight turned back around to find Shining Armor had tackled her in a bear-hug, his shoulders shaking as he began to sob uncontrollably. Unable to hold them back, she let loose her own tears, frustrated with life and furious at the one forcing her to leave her friends and family behind. "I'll miss you too, Shining Armor."

"Don't go, Twily! You don't have to go!"

"I know." Twilight then said softy, "I don't want to go."

Shining Armor finally relinquished his grip on Twilight when Cadence lightly brushed a hoof against his shoulder and gave him a gentle loving glance. He sniffled and stepped aside, allowing his wife to pull Twilight into a much gentler hug.

"Cadence, I-..."

"Shh. It's okay. I know why you did this. I just..." The alicorn's voice cracked. "I'll miss you so much."

"Me too. Sunshine, sunshine ladybugs awake..."

"...Clap your hooves and do a little shake," Cadence finished, touching the tip of her horn to Twilight's. She then ran into Shining Armor's awaiting arms and began to weep. Twilight found Pinkie waiting for her, her coat a grayish-pink and her hair hanging deflated over half of her face. She then cried loudly, torrents of tears pouring out of her eyes like miniature waterfalls. Despite being the Element of Laughter, Pinkie was known to be very sensitive and morose on occasion, becoming an emotional wreck in situations like these.

"You can't marry that meany-bo-beany!" Pinkie screeched, burying her face in Twilight's chest. "IknowyoumadeapromisetoSombratomarryhimsohewouldletusgobutIdon'twantyoutogo!"

Twilight lifted Pinkie's face up and smiled, "Pinkie, do you remember when we first went out to find the Elements of Harmony? Do you remember what you said to me when we encountered those scary trees?"

"I told you that I...laugh the fear away," Pinkie replied through her tears.

Twilight nodded and wiped Pinkie's face. "I now need you to laugh the sadness away. Can you do that? For me?"

Whimpering softly, Pinkie choked out, "Cross my heart and hope to...to fly. Stick a c-c-c-cupcake in my eeeeeye!" Twilight placed Pinkie's head on her shoulder as the earth pony resumed her crying. Fluttershy led Pinkie away, smoothing out her dull mane and fighting the tears that streamed down her face too. She quickly hugged Twilight and managed a squeaky goodbye before joining Pinkie, the two tightly embracing one another as they cried for their friend.

"Applejack?"

Twilight suddenly found the orange mare with her arms around her neck, her face hidden beneath her signature hat. From the way she was shaking, it was evident that she was ready to ball her eyes out. Snaking her arms around Applejack's waist, she returned the hug and felt the cowgirl trembling against her.

"Twilight, ya don't let that scoundrel push ya around now, ya hear? Ah ain't gonna be able to protect ya in there so you've got ta do it yerself. Promise me?"

"I promise. Thanks for always looking out for me. You're the strongest pony I know."

Applejack pulled away, keeping her hat pulled down as she turned away. "No I ain't. That'd be ya." Without another word, she ran into Cadence and Shining Armor's arms and shuddered uncontrollably. It was hard for someone so tough and self-reliant to cry in public, since it denoted weakness to let yourself be seen as vulnerable. Twilight disagreed; letting others see your vulnerability was strength and she meant it when she said that Applejack was the strongest. When it came time for Rarity, the white unicorn's face was puffy and streaked with black from her running mascara, her blubbering loud and screechy. Her words were indecipherable through her sobbing but Twilight got the gist.

"Rainbow Dash?" Twilight found the Pegasus standing stiffly with her arms folded across her chest, her whole body shaking as she kept her lips tightly pressed together. She kept her eyes averted, as though even looking at Twilight was tantamount to staring into the sun. "Dashie?"

"I'm not dong it," Rainbow said though gritted teeth. "I'm not breaking down like everypony else. You can't make me."

Twilight sighed and gently eased her into a hug. "I know you're not. You're Rainbow Dash. The toughest, fastest, most awesome pony I've ever met and will ever know. I think I might miss you more than the others."

"Damn you!" Rainbow seethed and Twilight felt something wet hit her shoulder. "Don't look at me!" The hitched breathing and light sobbing told her that the prideful future-Wonderbolt had gone back on her word. Twilight did as she was told, instead looking at the clouds above and when she'd looked back, she found Rainbow Dash had already zoomed away, unable to say her goodbyes to a best friend nor let her see her as a weeping mare like the others.

"Alright, you've said your goodbyes. Come on," Sombra growled and began entering the barrier, glaring expectedly over his shoulder at Twilight. After giving her friends a long parting glance, she reluctantly followed the shadow pony and was immediately tackled by Spike, who, by the looks of his red eyes, had already gone through the crying phase.

"I...heard everything and I want you to know that you're the bravest pony that I've ever met and that you've been like a big sister to me." He smiled sweetly and pressed his cheek against Twilight's chest. "I love you, Twilight."

Lifting the dragon up in her arms, Twilight held him close as memories of Spike as a hatchling came pouring in. Evenings spent feeding him, reading him to sleep, rocking him in her arms as she sang a lullaby. She'd helped to raise him and dragon or no, he was her blood and that would never change. "I love you too, Spike. You're my little brother." The moment was cut short when all at once, Spike was yanked out of her arms and enveloped in a violent red aura.

"This is all very touching but I have a kingdom to run and a wedding to plan. Fare thee well," Sombra hissed and shoved Spike through the barrier, where he landed with a soft thud. The dragon growled and viciously attacked the barrier with all of his might but to no avail. Ignoring Spike, who began to spout obscenities that Twilight never would've dreamed he was capable of using, Sombra gestured towards a an enclosed, crystal pony-driven carriage. "Shall we?"

Author's Note

Yeah, this chapter was long but I'm glad I did it. It was a little tough writing how each character would deal with their emotions in this situation but I hope I did a good job.

I think Sombra's thoughts about wanting to strangle Pinkie Pie were added for comedic purposes but I don't feel that way. Pinkie Pie's my dream girl! Rarity, on the other hand, who else feels like it wouldn't be a loss if she..."went away?"