The shadow heirby Void StreakChaptersThe call to the crystal empireBack in the empireSearchingsuspicionsEscapeThe call to the crystal empireIt felt if it had only had been yesterday when rainbow dash and her friends had banished Sombra, the pony who she is supposed to call her father. Did she want to banish him yes and no simply because she felt like she was betraying him and yes because she had to, he was an evil pony yet why did she feel so different about him to get rid of these thoughts, she decided it was time to go to to sleep. Well it hadn't been five minutes when she was being shook awake by Fluttershy "Grr whats the matter Fluttershy can't you see i'm trying to get some sleep" she pouted. " Sorry Rainbow its just that Twilight said we need to meet her at the train station" Fluttershy whispered nervously. "Why has Queen Chrysalis returned. Is Equestria under attack" shouted Rainbow Dash. "No i'm not sure why, Twilight didn't say" Fluttershy said quietly. "Well lets go and find out" said rainbow and with that they flew towards Ponyville train station to find out what seemed to be the problem and why it was enough of a reason to wake her up. When rainbow dash and Fluttershy arrived at the train station their friends were waiting for them "what is so important that I get woken up from my beauty sleep" asked rarity Twilight responded by simply saying "girls we are going to the crystal empire" this lead to gasps being made around the room. "Why" asked rainbow dash nervously who was started to sweat praying that they haven't found out about her true origins "I'll explain on the way there" Twilight replied they then started to run towards the station. After they got onto the train twilight started to explain "the crystal guards have traced dark magic heading towards the crystal palace" this lead to the second gasp of the evening "But how, we defeated Sombra ages ago?" applejack exclaimed with a worried look on her face. "Celestia is saying that it isn't Sombra but is in fact his foal" twilight explained this caused everypony to gasp in shock. Shoot they know Rainbow Dash thought who was now shaking and sweating profoundly. "How are we going to defeat her?" Rainbow asked then she realised her first mistake "Wait a second I didn't say it was a girl" twilight stated with a questioning look aimed at Dash. "I meant how are we going to defeat it erm, actually don't answer that I think I need a drink yeah i'm going to get some cider from the snack cart" Rainbow blabbered. " Are you all right darling you don't seem yourself lately?" Rarity asked concerned for her friend. "Y y yeah i'm perfectly fine, totally cool" she stuttered and with that she went into the next cart to have some cider and to think about what she can do. She started to think, what If they find out I'm Sombra's foal, will they still be my friends or will they lock me up and throw away the key. I could escape they won't catch up to me, no I can't do that, I could always confess, NO that's even worse what to do, what do? I'll figure something out later she then started to return back to her friends, even more nervous than before. When she got back they started to discuss how they were going to catch him or her rainbow dash slightly felt bad for lying to her friends gah if I tell them I could get banished or worse she shuddered at the thought. "Well Rainbow does have a point, how are we going to catch her or him" asked Applejack. "Well first off we need to find out who it is" Twilight replied with a thinking look on her face. "Well it has to be a unicorn and it has to be someone who supports Sombra and wants him to come back, ooh and he or she has to be advanced in dark magic and they must know their way around the Empire" pinkie pie said loudly in one breath. "I hate to say it but i think pinkies right" said Applejack wait till they realise that Sombra's foal is a mare and a pegasus who can do dark magic and that it is their own friend thought Rainbow Dash it was kind of funny when she thinks about it. "hopefully they don't find out" Rainbow said to herself. "Not necessarily the pony might not support king Sombra in fact they might not know who Sombra or what crystal empire is" rainbow replied everypony looked at her with a dumb founded expression "what i'm just saying she might be reformed" Rainbow said hoping that they would have the same views as her. "Yes they could be reformed but still we shouldn't let our guard down" Twilight said bluntly the nodding their heads to show that they agree with her would they let their guard down for me Rainbow thought worriedly. Applejack started to yawn "I think its time to get some rest we've got a big day tomorrow such as finding a way to capture king Sombra's foal" Applejack said quietly The train whistle was what had woken them up everypony gave a yawn then twilight said "why are we still not at the Crystal Empire" she asked to no one in particular. Then over the loud speaker came the train conductors voice saying "there has been a delay due too a weird looking dark crystal in the middle of the track sorry for any inconvenience this has caused to your journey" This caused many grumbles however instead of causing a certain rainbow maned pegasus, this caused a panic to ripple through her like the ghosts going through your soul dark crystals mean one thing that thing is an omen, an omen that King Sombra is going to return she thought she didn't even want to think what would happen if he managed to take over the empire, she would be severely punished for her part in banishing her father she shuddered at the thought. *flashback* "How dare you try and convince my crystal slaves to rise up against me, how dare you!" Sombra bellowed Rainbow Dash started to say "I I i'm sorry." "NO SORRY DOESN'T CUT IT THIS IS THE FINAL STRAW. FOR YOUR PUNISHMENT YOU ARE GOING TO BE STARVED OF FOOD AND WATER FOR A YEAR!" Sombra cut in shouting so loudly ponies in the badlands could hear him. "But but." rainbow dash started saying but was interrupted yet again. " SHUT UP YOU FOOL, GUARDS TAKE HER TO THE DUNGEONS!" Sombra shouted loudly the guards came and dragged the now crying Rainbow Dash out of the throne room towards the direction of the dungeons. *flashback ended * You might be wondering how she survived being starved simple answer was she was immortal however even though she was immortal she still felt the pain both physically and mentally, that memory always brought tears to her eyes and compared to that he will probably do something much more worser most likely torture. Well she didn't like talking about it. However this was impossible because every time she went or even closed her eyes she would find herself in the cold dark dungeon starving and feeling weak and she was so skinny after that ordeal that even her bones were showing it took days for her to return back to her normal state she gulped her thoughts were interrupted when over the the loudspeaker came the voice of the conductor. "Mares and stallion colts and fillies welcome to the Crystal Empire" as the train slowly but surely came to a stop upon exiting the train they were all confronted by crystal guards they are here for me rainbow dash thought. Back in the empire"Mares and stallion colts and fillies welcome to the Crystal Empire" as the train slowly but surely came to a stop upon exiting the train they were all confronted by crystal guards they are here for me rainbow dash thought. "What's with all the guards" asked Applejack to no one in particular while looking around nervously. All of a sudden there was a loud yell "Twiley, you made it" shouted Shining Armour. "Shining I'm glad to be here but why's there so many guards around" Twilight answered, glancing around at all the rigid, statue looking guards but then she noticed that they all look nervous and even scared. "And why do all the guards look so jumpy" Shining sighed "well ever since we found that dark magic every ponies been on edge. At first it was just a slight nervousness but as soon as dark crystals started popping up out of the ground every pony went into full panic mode even some of the guards left their posts. They all think that Sombras foal trying to ressurect their father and well every pony is still terrified of him" After he explained the main 6 all looked nervous but while most of them were worried about Sombra Dash was worrying about getting discovered If they think I'm trying to help my father return then they'll never trust me, I'll be locked up she gulped. "Well any way I think its best if we get to the castle and we can talk about King Sombra's child and also so we don't leave cadance and Princess Celestial waiting for much longer" "Wait Princess Celestia's here too" asked Twilight with a surprised expression. Oh no, oh no mother's here too thought Dash eyes going wide. "Twilight!" "Cadance!" "Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake clap your hooves and do a little shake" both Twilight and cadence sung while laughing. "Hello my faithful student" greeted Princess Celestia with a warm smile. "I thought you was still in Canterlot" asked Twilight giving Celestia a questioning look. "I thought it would be best if I personally told you how my Daughter came to be" this made every pony gasp "Wait Sombra's foal is your daughter!" Shouted Twilight, her eyes going wide. "why didn't you tell me" "Well let me ask you a question how would it look if I had a filly with the most evil tyrant Equestria has ever seen" this made Rainbow dash look away with tears in her eyes so father was right my so called mother never wanted me dash thought sadly. While Dash was thinking Celestia started to tell the story of how she gave birth to Spectrum Shadow. "I met Sombra during the Crystal fair, this was during time when the Crystal Empire was ruled by Queen Amethyst Shine and King Ruby Heart and Equstria was ruled by my mother and father, Queen Solar Light and King Night Light. I hate to say it but me and Sombra, or Crystal Shine as he was known by back then, really hit it off. He was kind and caring if you met him then you would never think he would become the monster he is today. Well after that day we became the best of friends every time we went to the Crystal Empire we would always play together and go out to party. Then one day I was asked to marry him so that an alliance could be forged between our two kingdoms, and I happily accepted. We was married I became Princess Celestia Shine. We would stay in Equestria for our honeymoon, that's when I started getting morning sickness and weird food cravings. I had a suspicion as to what it was, which I would confirm after a test came back positive. I was pregnant when I told Crystal we were both over the moon. We were both over the moon we immediately begun preparations we found out the gender through a gender reveal party where a crystal would shine pink for a filly or blue for a colt, it went pink we decided to call her aurora shine. Then the foal was born she was buatiful she even had the same mane colour as rainbow dash" this revelaction made Dash uneasy and tense. "Hey maybe your Aurora" Pinkie jokingly said while laughing. wait till she finds out I am Aurora thought dash trying to keep her emotions in check Celestia then began to continue with her story " where was I oh yes, she had a stunning Rainbow mane and her coat was a dark blue and her eyes were a ruby red and she was also an alicorn." All of a sudden Twilight interrupted gasping "she was an alicorn but I thought Sombra was a unicorn." "Not many ponies know this but Sombra is an alicorn he just always covered his wings up. Unlike most ponies he hated flying he preferred using magic saying that there is no point of using wings when you've got a horn. Anyway back to the story. At first things went all right but then tragedy struck while both our parents were on a cruise travelling to the griffon lands they were struck by a storm. Their ship sunk. They, nopony survived" this bring tears to Celestia's eyes. "Ahm sorry for ya loss, I too know what its like losing the ponies you love" Said Applejack taking her hat off in respect while every pony bows their heads. "Thank you Applejack well its best not to dwell on the past, so from that point onward things went down hill with us both having to go run our own kingdoms we had to have split custody over Aurora with her staying at the Crystal Empire for one montth and the Castle of the two sisters for another. It was on rotation until one fateful day, the day that Crystal Shine would become King Sombra. When it was my turn to have Aurora instead of my daughter I received a letter from Crystal Shine saying that he wants a divorce and wants sole custody over Aurora he also mention that he is now to be referred as King Sombra and Aurora had been renamed to Spectrum Shadow. I couldn't believe it I immediately travelled to the Crystal Empire to confront Sombra when I arrived. What I saw shook me to the core. Ponies, thousands of ponies in long Colloms chained to each other and the once bright and happy city now dark and miserable even the sky had changed from a baby blue to a hellish brown and all around me I sensed dark and even black magic. That's when I saw him Crystal Shine, he had litually transformed his one magnificent blue coat and his golden mane now a dark grey coat and a black shadowy for a mane and beside him my daughter." **flashback** "Crystal Shine what have you done" "What are you doing here Celestia oh and its Sombra now" "I'm hear for my daughter" "Your daughter, she's my daughter now she doesn't even remember you mwhahaha" "Who is she Daddy" asked Spectrum "No pony you need to worry about no-" But was cut off when Celestia shouted her face filled with rage "YOU PERFORMED DARK MAGIC ON OUR OWN DAUGHTER OUR FLESH AND BLOOD" Spectrum started to cry "do you really want to do this in front of our filly" Spectrum go to your room I'll be with you shortly the filly started running of her face full of tears "Now get out of my Empire" Roared Sombra he then magicked up a spell and shot it at Celestia **flashback ends** " All I remember was seeing white and then my throne room from that point onwards I never saw my daughter again after the crystal war Sombra told me my forces had killed her. It appears he was lying" finished Celestia closing her eyes trying not to break down crying. different to what he told me and I'm definitely not dead I managed to escape before the fighting broke out all I saw was Father and the Crystal Empire disappeared from there I put an illusion spell on myself to make me look like a regular pegasus and change my coat colour to a cyan blue. Unlike my father and to his deteste I loved flying SearchingAfter the story they were each sorted into three groups of two. Pinkie Pie went with Fluttershy to search the south side of the city, Rarity and Applejack went to go and search the West and Twilight and Rainbow Dash went of to search the north. First they decided to head to the library no surprise there thought Rainbow Dash. When they entered the library they were greeted by a friendly, greyish earth pony mare. "hello there, I remember you from when you saved us from King Sombra" the librarian shuddered after saying that last part, she then added "what can I do for you today?" she asked in a friendly manner. "Yes, we was hoping to look for a book about King sombra's daughter" after Twilight asked this the librarian's smile fell. She quivered "yes, unfortunately there aren't any books on her. The king kept her well hidden from the public eye. but from my own personal experience, I can tell you that she was often seen practicing her flying skills on the outer fields, always out of sight from her fathers eye. she was a good flyer I might add, rumour has it that she could even do a, whats it called, ah yes a sonic rainboom although her father would never let her prove that theory. To tell you the truth, she was a rebellious young filly. apparently she even tried to start an uprising" this revelation made Twilight gasp. maybe someponies will still think i'm good Rainbow dash thought, grasping at straws. With an astonished look she shouted "she tried to cause a rebellion" which earned her a glare from the librarian. "Hush, don't forget your still in a library, according to rumour anyway, if you was caught talking about the king or his family in general, you usually end up six feet under" "So do you think that she's a good pony" Rainbow asked hoping that she will say yes. "Nope, you get born from an evil pony, then your an evil pony yourself" she replied in a matter of fact manner. Dash thought horsefeathers her hopes diminishing Twilight gave her a weird look but decided not to proceed any further. Meanwhile in the west Rarity and Applejack were searching the main retail body of the city, well mainly Applejack was searching; Rarity was admiring the dresses in the store fronts. Applejack grumbled "Rarity get over here we're supposed to be searching, not going shopping" "I know that dear but just look at all the dresses, they're so magnificent" Rarity exclaimed joyfully hardly containing the glee on her face. "Yeah sooooo magnificent" Applejack replied sarcastically rolling her eyes "just stay focused, we've got a job ta do" Rarity pouted "hmph fine" reluctantly leaving the dresses to go walk with AJ "so what shall we do" "lets just look around" they started walking then Applejack asked with worry etched on her face "don't ya think Dash has been acting weird lately?" "A little why? she's been very jumpy lately, like she's scared" "She's hiding something" Applejack said unexpectedly " Ah dunno what but she's hiding something, and I intend to find out" "What makes you say that" "I'm the element of honesty for celestia's sake, I know when i'm being lied to" "Okay so you're going to confront her about it" "Too right I am. I hate being lied to" "Are you sure that's a good idea. Won't she try and hide it" "Ah don't care, we don't hide things from her so she shouldn't hide things from so she shouldn't hide things from us. I'm gonna get to the bottom of this even if its the last thing I do" "If you say so" Rarity said rolling her own eyes knowing the Applejack was Equestria's most stubborn pony. Meanwhile down south Pinkie pie and Fluttershy was going door to door however when they brought up the subject of the kings daughter most crystal ponies told them to go away and thusly slammed the door in their faces. "oh for crying out loud, my muzzle is starting to get sore from all this door slamming" Pinkie shouted after having another door slammed in their faces. "Now, now Pinkie, we must be patient. Everypony must still be terrified, i'm sure that once we've knocked on the right house them somepony might give us some information" Fluttershy said in a motherly tone. "Aww but why can I not just climb down somepony's chimney like Santa Whooves, that'll get us information" "No Pinkie, its illegal to break into other pony's houses. You could get into trouble" Fluttershy replied glaringly. "But Santa does it" "That's different, everypony knows Santa" After walking down the road they eventually stumbled across a house that looked a bit like a witch's hat. "lets ask here" Fluttershy said quietly while knocking which was might as well have been tapping. "Here let me try" Pinkie said loudly but before she could knock the door opened by itself revealing a dark, circular room. In the centre was a large, black cauldron. They could hear the sound of bubbling emanating from the inside. When they entered the door slammed shut behind them startling Fluttershy, then they heard a voice that sounded mystical and mysterious "Hello and welcome to my humble abode. I believe I know what you seek". Out of the shadows stepped a zebra that reminded the group of Zecora, a zebra that lived in the Everfree Forest. Unlike Zecora however this zebra's coat was shimmering like the rest of the crystal ponies. "My name is Zee Zee and your name is Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie" Zee "Woah your psychic" Pinkie gasped her jaw dropping like an anvil. "No just very intuitive" "Could you tell us where spectrem shadow is then, only if you want us of course" Fluttershy asked shyly hiding behind her long pink mane. "The pony you seek is more closer than you may think" Zee exclaimed mysteriously. "Oooh is this a riddle. is it Gummy" Pinkie then whipped Gummy out of no where "No you're not Spectrem Shadow your an alligator not a pony" "Not a riddle but a clue" "Could you give us another clue If you don't mind" Flutttershy asked politely. "The pony is in plain sight" she then added "I am afraid our conversation must come to an end for I have urgent business to attend" with that she then pushed the two pony's out the shop before slamming the door. They then left without another word thinking about what Zee Zee told them. They then headed in the direction back towards the castle. Back at the castle the group sat around the same meeting room where they discussed the crystal fair back when the Crystal Empire first returned. After mane 6 told the princesses and prince about what they found out. Shining armour pointed to the mane 6 and said "So you, Rainbow Dash and Twilight found out about some background info about our mysterious princess; Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie spoke to some weird zebra who gave you a bunch of clues that doesn't make much sense but while you were all out doing your jobs you two" he then pointed towards Applejack and Rarity "went shopping, please tell me you are joking" "Well don't look at me, ah tried telling Rarity to look for information but she kept going back to the stores" Applejack defended while glaring at Rarity. Rarity sheepishly replied "I did find something out, I found that Crystal Empirean fabric is simple the best" after this everypony groaned. Princess Cadance finally spoke "its starting to get late. I think its time we all went to bed, even you Twilight I know how you get when you are confronted with a mystery" After being shown to her room Rainbow Dash waited until everypony else went to bed she then creeped out of bed I need to find this zebra and try and persuade her to shut her gob Rainbow thought while sneaking to the window. Her face fell when she noticed that the window was locked. shoot, I really was hoping to not use magic, ill just have to risk it she thought before teleporting. suspicionsTwilight was having trouble sleeping she was thinking about what the zebra said The pony you are looking for is closer than you think, she is in plain sight "but what does it mean" she shouted to herself wincing, quietly she looked over at Spike thankfully he was still fast asleep but not for long as all of a sudden a shrill, ear splitting alarm started going of along with flashing, red lights. "what's going on" shouted Spike now wide awake. "I dunno Spike but stay here" Twilight shouted back while running to the door. Everypony was sticking their head our of their doors. "what in the hay is going on" "Can a girl not get her beauty sleep" they could see crystal guards running into a room that's when she realised that it was Rainbow's room. Twilight and her friends quickly ran into Dash's room only to find the Rainbow maned Pegasus, nowhere in sight. "What's going on?" Twilight asked looking towards her big brother. "We've detected Spectrem Shadow's magic in the castle and now Rainbow Dash is missing" Shining replied solemnly. "WHAT" the mane 6 shouted, their jaws dropping to the floor. They were now sat at the big, circular table in the meeting room. "Why would she take Rainbow, that big meany" shouted Pinkie her expression turning from worry to anger her impossibly curly mane flattening making a sound that would've been comical if it was in a different situation now it sounded depressing. Then Twilight said guiltily "maybe she wasn't taken". They all looked at her bewilderedly "what ever are you suggesting darling" Rarity finally asked, breaking the silence that had washed over the room. "What if Rainbow Dash is Spectrem Shadow" Twilight finally replied dramatically. For what appeared to be the second time that day everypony gasped. "I was only joking before" Pinkie exclaimed. "What makes you say that, Twilight?" Celestia asked eyeing her student it made Twilight feel like the sun princes was looking into her soul. "If you think about it Dash has been acting odd ever since we first defeated Sombra. Then I started getting suspicious when Pinkie made that joke about Rainbow being Spectrem it looked she had a guilty expression as if pinkie was telling the truth. the librarian also mentioned that Spectrem could do a sonic rainboom and what can Dash do, a sonic rainboom. Not only does have a similar look to Rainbow Dash but she even tried defending her. And now she's just miraculously disappeared when we're closing in on shadow, sounds like she's running away to me." "This is a very serious accusation to make but nether less you make good points, Shining I want Rainbow Dash brought in as peacefully as possible and preferably without alerting the townsponies. The last thing we need is a mass panic" Celestia ordered then she looked towards the remaining mane 6 "I need you girls to help find her I also need you to help convince her to hoof herself in and Twilight I need you to be prepared to use magic against her in case she doesn't come quietly" she added grimly. Twilight swallowed "yes princess" meanwhile Dash easily managed to find the witch hat house. Landing, she started to walk towards the house not knowing what to expect. Just like with pinkie the door opened by itself walking in side the darkness didn't affect due to her night vision spell. That's when she heard it a deep, chilling, evil laugh "I've been expecting you, my dear spectrem" King Sombra greeted with an evil grin. Dash started walking backwards, shaking uncontrollably "D D Daddy" Rainbow said with pure fear. "surprised to see me because you should see my surprise when I see you with the enemy, WHEN I SEE YOU HELPING TO BANISH ME!" King Sombra shouted he then added "you're not the only one who is good at disguises" he then fired a magic bolt at her which melted away her illusion. He then smiled "now there's my true daughter unfortunately for you that isn't going to stop me from giving you your punishment" he then magicked up a whip and started walking towards her. Before Dash could even move Sombra had grabbed her with his magic he then put up a sound proof bubble around them both. "No please no" she then screamed. meanwhile The mane 6 had been walking down the main street when they heard it, a blood curdling scream. "That sounded like Rainbow Dash" They then ran to the source of the noise and came across the witch hat house "This is the same place where we met that zebra". Running inside they Spectrem Shadow lying across the floor in the fetal position, blubbering like a foal. That's when they noticed the scars. "Those scars look fresh and where's this zebra" all of a sudden she was shoved out of the way as several crystal guards including Shining Armour came busting through the door. "Shining Armour then said in a commanding tone "Spectrem Shadow, you are under arrest for treason" before she could protest Shining levitated hoofcuffs, wing cuffs and an magic inhibitor ring securing her. She was then roughly dragged across the floor towards a prison carriage all the while Spectrem was howling with pain as the floor rubbed against her scars. After they threw her in the carriage he then ordered "take her to the dungeouns" he then turned to Twilight "she didn't hurt you did she" after Twilight assured Shining that she was ok he then took them back to the castle. meanwhile Spectrem Dash lay on the cold hard crystal floor, eyes red and puffy from crying. She had a cold, metal collar that had a short chain leading to the wall stopping her from moving towards the door. The cell was dank, dark and cold. She still had the wingcuffs and the inhibitor ring on. She had been laying there for what seemed an eternity but in reality it was only half an a hour. Then she began to hear hoofsteps, looking towards the cell door, which was only a crystal door with a small barred window. The door then swung open revealing her friends, Shining Armour and Cadence. "Are you Rainbow Dash or did you kidnap her?" Twilight asked glaring at the prisoner however she received no answer Spectrem kept looking at the ground. Shining then grabbed her muzzle in his magic and forced her head to look at him and Twilight "Answer her now" Shining snapped; Shadow continued to ignore him. This had continued for an hour before they decided to leave her to wallow in her misery. When the mane 6 went back into the meeting room Shining told Celestia "she takes the right remain silent Very seriously. Not one single peep" he then asked "why don't you interrogate her, she might listen to you?" Celestia sighed "she won't listen to me, she hates me" "But she's ya daughter, your flesh and blood" Applejack exclaimed. When the princess didn't answer Twilight added "if it is Rainbow then she would've heard your side of the story. We should give her a chance" "Fine but I want to do this alone" Celestia finally agreed while leaving the meeting room to walk down to the dungeons. When she arrived she saw her daughter sat in the centre of the room her gaze directed to the floor. "Aurora is that you?" she asked startling the prisoner. Spectrem finally spoke "m mummy" she then added "That's not my name" still looking at the floor. "What should I call you then?" Celestia asked as motherly as possible. "Spectrem" "Of course" Celestia reluctantly agreed closing her eyes before opening them again. She then asked "was you Rainbow Dash" Spectrem nodded she then told Celestia "He's back. Daddy's back, he whipped me because I helped banish him" Spectrem started crying "he told me that you was evil and that you tried to kill him, so he sent you away" "That's all lies, I was never the evil one your father was" she then asked "why don't you help us defeat him" "I can't, I love him" "Even after he hurt you" "He's still my dad" "Then I'm afraid you'll be staying here until you decide to help us" Celestia finally said with a sad expression, she started to leave. "Wait, please don't leave me here" Spectrem shouted trying to run towards her mother only to choke on the collar pulling her back. However it was futile as Celestia still left without even stopping locking the door shut behind her. Meanwhile King Sombra had watched his daughter being taken away maybe this will finally convince her that her mother is evil he thought to himself. He was inside of a cave on the outskirts of the city. He was holding a map that had a red blip on it. what Celestia doesn't know is that Spectrem had let him place a tracking spell on her which allowed her to locate her, listen to her conversation, look through her eyes and even allowed him to communicate with her telepathy. "Soon the Empire will be back in my grasp" he shouted with an evil laugh. EscapeSpectrum shivered, the jail cell was freezing, looking around, there was nothing to keep her warm, she tried to use her magic to create a fire however the inhibitor was too strong. Suddenly she heard her father call out to her through her mind ”Now do you see that your mother is evil and doesn’t care about you?” Spectrum only nodded in agreement. ”Good now you can redeem yourself and we can ignore your little betrayal never happened, but only if you help me” Sombra told her. “Okay” she agreed reluctantly. ”Excellent, now I need you to tell your mother that you have changed your mind and that you want to help her” he ordered. “Okay Daddy” she said before shouting for her mother. *** Celestia and the main five were all sat in the meeting room “She talked to me and told me that Sombra has returned” this made everypony gasp in horror she then added “I asked her if she would help us but she is still blinded by her love for her father. We have to keep her locked up until at least we have defeated Sombra” “But how can we defeat him without Rainbow Dash, the elements are useless” Twilight exclaimed, on the verge of full panic mode. Applejack then asked “But ah thought that the Crystal Heart is supposed to protect the empire from him?” Cadence then answered “It doesn't protect the empire it just stops him from converting the Empire back to his vision” Suddenly their conversation was interrupted when a Crystal Guard told them “Sorry to disturb you, your majesty but Spectrum is requesting to speak with you” he informed them, saying Spectrum’s name with spite. They all looked at each other with suspicion. Celestia then ordered the guard “Bring her here but make sure she is extra secured I don't want to let our guard down” The guard nodded before rushing of to finish his task. Twilight then asked “What do you think she wants?” “I don’t know but it can’t be anything good” she said. They then heard the unmistakable sound of chained hooves clopping into the room. Several guards entered with their spears pointed at Spectrum Shadow, who was wearing hoofcuffs on all four hooves with her front hooves being linked to her rear hooves via a single chain, this had made it impossible for her to buck anypony, she was also wearing wingcuffs and her inhibitor ring along with a metal collar and chain leash, which was being pulled by a guard. Her scarlet eyes looked up from the floor towards her friends and her mother. Celestia’s lavender eyes met her daughter’s scarlet eyes before she quickly looked away, out of fear or guilt? Celestia didn’t know. “What do you want?” Shining Armour asked harshly, eyes narrowing at the prisoner. Spectrum ignored him, instead focusing on her mother “I thought about what you said and I want to help you.” Celestia didn’t trust her “What made you change your mind?” She asked. She didn’t answer straight away “I got a change of heart” she answered vaguely. This did nothing to ease her suspicions so she closed her eyes out of guilt and told het coldly “I’m sorry but I can’t trust you while your father is still out there” “Mummy, what are you saying?” She asked desperation filling her voice. Her eyes beginning to well up, she ignored her daughter and told the guards “take her away” For Spectrum, time seemed to slow, as tears started to fall from her eyes. Hearing her mother telling the guards to lock her up seemed to confirm that her father was right and that her mother didn’t care about her. She tried to fight against the guards who started dragging her back as she pleaded “Mummy, please I’m begging you. Please I hate it down there, it’s so cold and lonely down there” this made Celestia hesitate, opening her eyes, she could see her daughter in tears as she tried to reach out to her mother but was unable to because of all the chains. Celestia then ordered to the guards “stop!” The guards looked at each other in confusion. Hope started to rise in Spectrum heart as Celestia turned to Cadence and asked “Is there anywhere else that she can be kept somewhere that is a little more comfortable?” Cadence pondered before saying “We could keep her in her old room, the room that she was staying in as Rainbow Dash” Celestia nodded before telling the guards “Take her there but make sure you lock the door, release her hind hooves from her chains but keep her front hooves and wings chained and keep her inhibitor ring on, I also want a guard stationed outside her room 24/7” The guards then took Spectrum away. Twilight asked “Why didn’t you let her help us” “I have a suspicion that her father may have contacted her” she explained. Shining Armour replied “How? Its not possible the entire castle is filled with Dark magic sensors we’d know instantly if he was even near the castle let alone inside.” “I don’t know how but thats why I had he locked up in her old room, to keep a closer eye on her” she explained. *** “I’m sorry father” Spectrum said fearing that her father was angry at her for failing. ”I am disappointed in you Spectrum Shadow” “I’m sorry father but said she doesn’t trust me” ”I don’t care, you are a failure, a disgrace to the family name. Now I will have to risk myself because you can’t do one simple task” Sombra told her angrily. “I’ll try again, please let me show you that I am still loyal to you” She pleaded. ”Don’t bother” he snapped. *** Sombra paced across the room thinking about how he could get into the castle. His only plan relied on his daughter who was trapped but suddenly he had an idea. He telepathically communicated to his daughter and asked her “Is there a way to get that inhibitor ring of your horn” ”No its been locked on” Spectrum said miserably. “I see that there is a wardrobe in your room, check it for any coat hangers” he told her. Sombra could see through his Spell that she was checking the wardrobe and there just as he suspected was a bunch of coat hangers. ”There’s coat hangers but why would I need them?” “Perfect, I need you to straighten the hook out and then jiggle it around the lock of the inhibitor” he explained, watching her walk to the bathroom and looking into a mirror she then started the process, which was made difficult by the fact that her hooves were still chained. After a lot of patience and perseverance, the lock finally gave way and the ring fell to the floor. Sombra smiled at his plan working “Now the rest is simple, blast those cuffs of and blow a hole through the window. After you’ve done that, steal the crystal heart and fly to the outskirts of the city towards the mountain at the top you, will find a cave. That is where I am.” ”Okay, daddy” *** Celestia and the rest of the main six were still sat in the meeting room, they were making theories as to where Sombra could be but so there they came up with nothing. Shining Armour entered the room where he told them “We’ve searched the zebra’s hut but there was no sign of him although we did find large traces of dark magic” All of a sudden they heard a loud boom. Cadance shouted “That came from Spectrum’s room!” They immediately rushed to the room, where upon opening the door they found a massive hole where the window once was. Lying on the floor was the discarded cuffs and ring horn. Celestia had no idea how she could’ve escaped but through the hole, she could see her daughter flying away along with the hope of getting to know her daughter”
The call to the crystal empireIt felt if it had only had been yesterday when rainbow dash and her friends had banished Sombra, the pony who she is supposed to call her father. Did she want to banish him yes and no simply because she felt like she was betraying him and yes because she had to, he was an evil pony yet why did she feel so different about him to get rid of these thoughts, she decided it was time to go to to sleep. Well it hadn't been five minutes when she was being shook awake by Fluttershy "Grr whats the matter Fluttershy can't you see i'm trying to get some sleep" she pouted. " Sorry Rainbow its just that Twilight said we need to meet her at the train station" Fluttershy whispered nervously. "Why has Queen Chrysalis returned. Is Equestria under attack" shouted Rainbow Dash. "No i'm not sure why, Twilight didn't say" Fluttershy said quietly. "Well lets go and find out" said rainbow and with that they flew towards Ponyville train station to find out what seemed to be the problem and why it was enough of a reason to wake her up. When rainbow dash and Fluttershy arrived at the train station their friends were waiting for them "what is so important that I get woken up from my beauty sleep" asked rarity Twilight responded by simply saying "girls we are going to the crystal empire" this lead to gasps being made around the room. "Why" asked rainbow dash nervously who was started to sweat praying that they haven't found out about her true origins "I'll explain on the way there" Twilight replied they then started to run towards the station. After they got onto the train twilight started to explain "the crystal guards have traced dark magic heading towards the crystal palace" this lead to the second gasp of the evening "But how, we defeated Sombra ages ago?" applejack exclaimed with a worried look on her face. "Celestia is saying that it isn't Sombra but is in fact his foal" twilight explained this caused everypony to gasp in shock. Shoot they know Rainbow Dash thought who was now shaking and sweating profoundly. "How are we going to defeat her?" Rainbow asked then she realised her first mistake "Wait a second I didn't say it was a girl" twilight stated with a questioning look aimed at Dash. "I meant how are we going to defeat it erm, actually don't answer that I think I need a drink yeah i'm going to get some cider from the snack cart" Rainbow blabbered. " Are you all right darling you don't seem yourself lately?" Rarity asked concerned for her friend. "Y y yeah i'm perfectly fine, totally cool" she stuttered and with that she went into the next cart to have some cider and to think about what she can do. She started to think, what If they find out I'm Sombra's foal, will they still be my friends or will they lock me up and throw away the key. I could escape they won't catch up to me, no I can't do that, I could always confess, NO that's even worse what to do, what do? I'll figure something out later she then started to return back to her friends, even more nervous than before. When she got back they started to discuss how they were going to catch him or her rainbow dash slightly felt bad for lying to her friends gah if I tell them I could get banished or worse she shuddered at the thought. "Well Rainbow does have a point, how are we going to catch her or him" asked Applejack. "Well first off we need to find out who it is" Twilight replied with a thinking look on her face. "Well it has to be a unicorn and it has to be someone who supports Sombra and wants him to come back, ooh and he or she has to be advanced in dark magic and they must know their way around the Empire" pinkie pie said loudly in one breath. "I hate to say it but i think pinkies right" said Applejack wait till they realise that Sombra's foal is a mare and a pegasus who can do dark magic and that it is their own friend thought Rainbow Dash it was kind of funny when she thinks about it. "hopefully they don't find out" Rainbow said to herself. "Not necessarily the pony might not support king Sombra in fact they might not know who Sombra or what crystal empire is" rainbow replied everypony looked at her with a dumb founded expression "what i'm just saying she might be reformed" Rainbow said hoping that they would have the same views as her. "Yes they could be reformed but still we shouldn't let our guard down" Twilight said bluntly the nodding their heads to show that they agree with her would they let their guard down for me Rainbow thought worriedly. Applejack started to yawn "I think its time to get some rest we've got a big day tomorrow such as finding a way to capture king Sombra's foal" Applejack said quietly The train whistle was what had woken them up everypony gave a yawn then twilight said "why are we still not at the Crystal Empire" she asked to no one in particular. Then over the loud speaker came the train conductors voice saying "there has been a delay due too a weird looking dark crystal in the middle of the track sorry for any inconvenience this has caused to your journey" This caused many grumbles however instead of causing a certain rainbow maned pegasus, this caused a panic to ripple through her like the ghosts going through your soul dark crystals mean one thing that thing is an omen, an omen that King Sombra is going to return she thought she didn't even want to think what would happen if he managed to take over the empire, she would be severely punished for her part in banishing her father she shuddered at the thought. *flashback* "How dare you try and convince my crystal slaves to rise up against me, how dare you!" Sombra bellowed Rainbow Dash started to say "I I i'm sorry." "NO SORRY DOESN'T CUT IT THIS IS THE FINAL STRAW. FOR YOUR PUNISHMENT YOU ARE GOING TO BE STARVED OF FOOD AND WATER FOR A YEAR!" Sombra cut in shouting so loudly ponies in the badlands could hear him. "But but." rainbow dash started saying but was interrupted yet again. " SHUT UP YOU FOOL, GUARDS TAKE HER TO THE DUNGEONS!" Sombra shouted loudly the guards came and dragged the now crying Rainbow Dash out of the throne room towards the direction of the dungeons. *flashback ended * You might be wondering how she survived being starved simple answer was she was immortal however even though she was immortal she still felt the pain both physically and mentally, that memory always brought tears to her eyes and compared to that he will probably do something much more worser most likely torture. Well she didn't like talking about it. However this was impossible because every time she went or even closed her eyes she would find herself in the cold dark dungeon starving and feeling weak and she was so skinny after that ordeal that even her bones were showing it took days for her to return back to her normal state she gulped her thoughts were interrupted when over the the loudspeaker came the voice of the conductor. "Mares and stallion colts and fillies welcome to the Crystal Empire" as the train slowly but surely came to a stop upon exiting the train they were all confronted by crystal guards they are here for me rainbow dash thought.
Back in the empire"Mares and stallion colts and fillies welcome to the Crystal Empire" as the train slowly but surely came to a stop upon exiting the train they were all confronted by crystal guards they are here for me rainbow dash thought. "What's with all the guards" asked Applejack to no one in particular while looking around nervously. All of a sudden there was a loud yell "Twiley, you made it" shouted Shining Armour. "Shining I'm glad to be here but why's there so many guards around" Twilight answered, glancing around at all the rigid, statue looking guards but then she noticed that they all look nervous and even scared. "And why do all the guards look so jumpy" Shining sighed "well ever since we found that dark magic every ponies been on edge. At first it was just a slight nervousness but as soon as dark crystals started popping up out of the ground every pony went into full panic mode even some of the guards left their posts. They all think that Sombras foal trying to ressurect their father and well every pony is still terrified of him" After he explained the main 6 all looked nervous but while most of them were worried about Sombra Dash was worrying about getting discovered If they think I'm trying to help my father return then they'll never trust me, I'll be locked up she gulped. "Well any way I think its best if we get to the castle and we can talk about King Sombra's child and also so we don't leave cadance and Princess Celestial waiting for much longer" "Wait Princess Celestia's here too" asked Twilight with a surprised expression. Oh no, oh no mother's here too thought Dash eyes going wide. "Twilight!" "Cadance!" "Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake clap your hooves and do a little shake" both Twilight and cadence sung while laughing. "Hello my faithful student" greeted Princess Celestia with a warm smile. "I thought you was still in Canterlot" asked Twilight giving Celestia a questioning look. "I thought it would be best if I personally told you how my Daughter came to be" this made every pony gasp "Wait Sombra's foal is your daughter!" Shouted Twilight, her eyes going wide. "why didn't you tell me" "Well let me ask you a question how would it look if I had a filly with the most evil tyrant Equestria has ever seen" this made Rainbow dash look away with tears in her eyes so father was right my so called mother never wanted me dash thought sadly. While Dash was thinking Celestia started to tell the story of how she gave birth to Spectrum Shadow. "I met Sombra during the Crystal fair, this was during time when the Crystal Empire was ruled by Queen Amethyst Shine and King Ruby Heart and Equstria was ruled by my mother and father, Queen Solar Light and King Night Light. I hate to say it but me and Sombra, or Crystal Shine as he was known by back then, really hit it off. He was kind and caring if you met him then you would never think he would become the monster he is today. Well after that day we became the best of friends every time we went to the Crystal Empire we would always play together and go out to party. Then one day I was asked to marry him so that an alliance could be forged between our two kingdoms, and I happily accepted. We was married I became Princess Celestia Shine. We would stay in Equestria for our honeymoon, that's when I started getting morning sickness and weird food cravings. I had a suspicion as to what it was, which I would confirm after a test came back positive. I was pregnant when I told Crystal we were both over the moon. We were both over the moon we immediately begun preparations we found out the gender through a gender reveal party where a crystal would shine pink for a filly or blue for a colt, it went pink we decided to call her aurora shine. Then the foal was born she was buatiful she even had the same mane colour as rainbow dash" this revelaction made Dash uneasy and tense. "Hey maybe your Aurora" Pinkie jokingly said while laughing. wait till she finds out I am Aurora thought dash trying to keep her emotions in check Celestia then began to continue with her story " where was I oh yes, she had a stunning Rainbow mane and her coat was a dark blue and her eyes were a ruby red and she was also an alicorn." All of a sudden Twilight interrupted gasping "she was an alicorn but I thought Sombra was a unicorn." "Not many ponies know this but Sombra is an alicorn he just always covered his wings up. Unlike most ponies he hated flying he preferred using magic saying that there is no point of using wings when you've got a horn. Anyway back to the story. At first things went all right but then tragedy struck while both our parents were on a cruise travelling to the griffon lands they were struck by a storm. Their ship sunk. They, nopony survived" this bring tears to Celestia's eyes. "Ahm sorry for ya loss, I too know what its like losing the ponies you love" Said Applejack taking her hat off in respect while every pony bows their heads. "Thank you Applejack well its best not to dwell on the past, so from that point onward things went down hill with us both having to go run our own kingdoms we had to have split custody over Aurora with her staying at the Crystal Empire for one montth and the Castle of the two sisters for another. It was on rotation until one fateful day, the day that Crystal Shine would become King Sombra. When it was my turn to have Aurora instead of my daughter I received a letter from Crystal Shine saying that he wants a divorce and wants sole custody over Aurora he also mention that he is now to be referred as King Sombra and Aurora had been renamed to Spectrum Shadow. I couldn't believe it I immediately travelled to the Crystal Empire to confront Sombra when I arrived. What I saw shook me to the core. Ponies, thousands of ponies in long Colloms chained to each other and the once bright and happy city now dark and miserable even the sky had changed from a baby blue to a hellish brown and all around me I sensed dark and even black magic. That's when I saw him Crystal Shine, he had litually transformed his one magnificent blue coat and his golden mane now a dark grey coat and a black shadowy for a mane and beside him my daughter." **flashback** "Crystal Shine what have you done" "What are you doing here Celestia oh and its Sombra now" "I'm hear for my daughter" "Your daughter, she's my daughter now she doesn't even remember you mwhahaha" "Who is she Daddy" asked Spectrum "No pony you need to worry about no-" But was cut off when Celestia shouted her face filled with rage "YOU PERFORMED DARK MAGIC ON OUR OWN DAUGHTER OUR FLESH AND BLOOD" Spectrum started to cry "do you really want to do this in front of our filly" Spectrum go to your room I'll be with you shortly the filly started running of her face full of tears "Now get out of my Empire" Roared Sombra he then magicked up a spell and shot it at Celestia **flashback ends** " All I remember was seeing white and then my throne room from that point onwards I never saw my daughter again after the crystal war Sombra told me my forces had killed her. It appears he was lying" finished Celestia closing her eyes trying not to break down crying. different to what he told me and I'm definitely not dead I managed to escape before the fighting broke out all I saw was Father and the Crystal Empire disappeared from there I put an illusion spell on myself to make me look like a regular pegasus and change my coat colour to a cyan blue. Unlike my father and to his deteste I loved flying
SearchingAfter the story they were each sorted into three groups of two. Pinkie Pie went with Fluttershy to search the south side of the city, Rarity and Applejack went to go and search the West and Twilight and Rainbow Dash went of to search the north. First they decided to head to the library no surprise there thought Rainbow Dash. When they entered the library they were greeted by a friendly, greyish earth pony mare. "hello there, I remember you from when you saved us from King Sombra" the librarian shuddered after saying that last part, she then added "what can I do for you today?" she asked in a friendly manner. "Yes, we was hoping to look for a book about King sombra's daughter" after Twilight asked this the librarian's smile fell. She quivered "yes, unfortunately there aren't any books on her. The king kept her well hidden from the public eye. but from my own personal experience, I can tell you that she was often seen practicing her flying skills on the outer fields, always out of sight from her fathers eye. she was a good flyer I might add, rumour has it that she could even do a, whats it called, ah yes a sonic rainboom although her father would never let her prove that theory. To tell you the truth, she was a rebellious young filly. apparently she even tried to start an uprising" this revelation made Twilight gasp. maybe someponies will still think i'm good Rainbow dash thought, grasping at straws. With an astonished look she shouted "she tried to cause a rebellion" which earned her a glare from the librarian. "Hush, don't forget your still in a library, according to rumour anyway, if you was caught talking about the king or his family in general, you usually end up six feet under" "So do you think that she's a good pony" Rainbow asked hoping that she will say yes. "Nope, you get born from an evil pony, then your an evil pony yourself" she replied in a matter of fact manner. Dash thought horsefeathers her hopes diminishing Twilight gave her a weird look but decided not to proceed any further. Meanwhile in the west Rarity and Applejack were searching the main retail body of the city, well mainly Applejack was searching; Rarity was admiring the dresses in the store fronts. Applejack grumbled "Rarity get over here we're supposed to be searching, not going shopping" "I know that dear but just look at all the dresses, they're so magnificent" Rarity exclaimed joyfully hardly containing the glee on her face. "Yeah sooooo magnificent" Applejack replied sarcastically rolling her eyes "just stay focused, we've got a job ta do" Rarity pouted "hmph fine" reluctantly leaving the dresses to go walk with AJ "so what shall we do" "lets just look around" they started walking then Applejack asked with worry etched on her face "don't ya think Dash has been acting weird lately?" "A little why? she's been very jumpy lately, like she's scared" "She's hiding something" Applejack said unexpectedly " Ah dunno what but she's hiding something, and I intend to find out" "What makes you say that" "I'm the element of honesty for celestia's sake, I know when i'm being lied to" "Okay so you're going to confront her about it" "Too right I am. I hate being lied to" "Are you sure that's a good idea. Won't she try and hide it" "Ah don't care, we don't hide things from her so she shouldn't hide things from so she shouldn't hide things from us. I'm gonna get to the bottom of this even if its the last thing I do" "If you say so" Rarity said rolling her own eyes knowing the Applejack was Equestria's most stubborn pony. Meanwhile down south Pinkie pie and Fluttershy was going door to door however when they brought up the subject of the kings daughter most crystal ponies told them to go away and thusly slammed the door in their faces. "oh for crying out loud, my muzzle is starting to get sore from all this door slamming" Pinkie shouted after having another door slammed in their faces. "Now, now Pinkie, we must be patient. Everypony must still be terrified, i'm sure that once we've knocked on the right house them somepony might give us some information" Fluttershy said in a motherly tone. "Aww but why can I not just climb down somepony's chimney like Santa Whooves, that'll get us information" "No Pinkie, its illegal to break into other pony's houses. You could get into trouble" Fluttershy replied glaringly. "But Santa does it" "That's different, everypony knows Santa" After walking down the road they eventually stumbled across a house that looked a bit like a witch's hat. "lets ask here" Fluttershy said quietly while knocking which was might as well have been tapping. "Here let me try" Pinkie said loudly but before she could knock the door opened by itself revealing a dark, circular room. In the centre was a large, black cauldron. They could hear the sound of bubbling emanating from the inside. When they entered the door slammed shut behind them startling Fluttershy, then they heard a voice that sounded mystical and mysterious "Hello and welcome to my humble abode. I believe I know what you seek". Out of the shadows stepped a zebra that reminded the group of Zecora, a zebra that lived in the Everfree Forest. Unlike Zecora however this zebra's coat was shimmering like the rest of the crystal ponies. "My name is Zee Zee and your name is Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie" Zee "Woah your psychic" Pinkie gasped her jaw dropping like an anvil. "No just very intuitive" "Could you tell us where spectrem shadow is then, only if you want us of course" Fluttershy asked shyly hiding behind her long pink mane. "The pony you seek is more closer than you may think" Zee exclaimed mysteriously. "Oooh is this a riddle. is it Gummy" Pinkie then whipped Gummy out of no where "No you're not Spectrem Shadow your an alligator not a pony" "Not a riddle but a clue" "Could you give us another clue If you don't mind" Flutttershy asked politely. "The pony is in plain sight" she then added "I am afraid our conversation must come to an end for I have urgent business to attend" with that she then pushed the two pony's out the shop before slamming the door. They then left without another word thinking about what Zee Zee told them. They then headed in the direction back towards the castle. Back at the castle the group sat around the same meeting room where they discussed the crystal fair back when the Crystal Empire first returned. After mane 6 told the princesses and prince about what they found out. Shining armour pointed to the mane 6 and said "So you, Rainbow Dash and Twilight found out about some background info about our mysterious princess; Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie spoke to some weird zebra who gave you a bunch of clues that doesn't make much sense but while you were all out doing your jobs you two" he then pointed towards Applejack and Rarity "went shopping, please tell me you are joking" "Well don't look at me, ah tried telling Rarity to look for information but she kept going back to the stores" Applejack defended while glaring at Rarity. Rarity sheepishly replied "I did find something out, I found that Crystal Empirean fabric is simple the best" after this everypony groaned. Princess Cadance finally spoke "its starting to get late. I think its time we all went to bed, even you Twilight I know how you get when you are confronted with a mystery" After being shown to her room Rainbow Dash waited until everypony else went to bed she then creeped out of bed I need to find this zebra and try and persuade her to shut her gob Rainbow thought while sneaking to the window. Her face fell when she noticed that the window was locked. shoot, I really was hoping to not use magic, ill just have to risk it she thought before teleporting.
suspicionsTwilight was having trouble sleeping she was thinking about what the zebra said The pony you are looking for is closer than you think, she is in plain sight "but what does it mean" she shouted to herself wincing, quietly she looked over at Spike thankfully he was still fast asleep but not for long as all of a sudden a shrill, ear splitting alarm started going of along with flashing, red lights. "what's going on" shouted Spike now wide awake. "I dunno Spike but stay here" Twilight shouted back while running to the door. Everypony was sticking their head our of their doors. "what in the hay is going on" "Can a girl not get her beauty sleep" they could see crystal guards running into a room that's when she realised that it was Rainbow's room. Twilight and her friends quickly ran into Dash's room only to find the Rainbow maned Pegasus, nowhere in sight. "What's going on?" Twilight asked looking towards her big brother. "We've detected Spectrem Shadow's magic in the castle and now Rainbow Dash is missing" Shining replied solemnly. "WHAT" the mane 6 shouted, their jaws dropping to the floor. They were now sat at the big, circular table in the meeting room. "Why would she take Rainbow, that big meany" shouted Pinkie her expression turning from worry to anger her impossibly curly mane flattening making a sound that would've been comical if it was in a different situation now it sounded depressing. Then Twilight said guiltily "maybe she wasn't taken". They all looked at her bewilderedly "what ever are you suggesting darling" Rarity finally asked, breaking the silence that had washed over the room. "What if Rainbow Dash is Spectrem Shadow" Twilight finally replied dramatically. For what appeared to be the second time that day everypony gasped. "I was only joking before" Pinkie exclaimed. "What makes you say that, Twilight?" Celestia asked eyeing her student it made Twilight feel like the sun princes was looking into her soul. "If you think about it Dash has been acting odd ever since we first defeated Sombra. Then I started getting suspicious when Pinkie made that joke about Rainbow being Spectrem it looked she had a guilty expression as if pinkie was telling the truth. the librarian also mentioned that Spectrem could do a sonic rainboom and what can Dash do, a sonic rainboom. Not only does have a similar look to Rainbow Dash but she even tried defending her. And now she's just miraculously disappeared when we're closing in on shadow, sounds like she's running away to me." "This is a very serious accusation to make but nether less you make good points, Shining I want Rainbow Dash brought in as peacefully as possible and preferably without alerting the townsponies. The last thing we need is a mass panic" Celestia ordered then she looked towards the remaining mane 6 "I need you girls to help find her I also need you to help convince her to hoof herself in and Twilight I need you to be prepared to use magic against her in case she doesn't come quietly" she added grimly. Twilight swallowed "yes princess" meanwhile Dash easily managed to find the witch hat house. Landing, she started to walk towards the house not knowing what to expect. Just like with pinkie the door opened by itself walking in side the darkness didn't affect due to her night vision spell. That's when she heard it a deep, chilling, evil laugh "I've been expecting you, my dear spectrem" King Sombra greeted with an evil grin. Dash started walking backwards, shaking uncontrollably "D D Daddy" Rainbow said with pure fear. "surprised to see me because you should see my surprise when I see you with the enemy, WHEN I SEE YOU HELPING TO BANISH ME!" King Sombra shouted he then added "you're not the only one who is good at disguises" he then fired a magic bolt at her which melted away her illusion. He then smiled "now there's my true daughter unfortunately for you that isn't going to stop me from giving you your punishment" he then magicked up a whip and started walking towards her. Before Dash could even move Sombra had grabbed her with his magic he then put up a sound proof bubble around them both. "No please no" she then screamed. meanwhile The mane 6 had been walking down the main street when they heard it, a blood curdling scream. "That sounded like Rainbow Dash" They then ran to the source of the noise and came across the witch hat house "This is the same place where we met that zebra". Running inside they Spectrem Shadow lying across the floor in the fetal position, blubbering like a foal. That's when they noticed the scars. "Those scars look fresh and where's this zebra" all of a sudden she was shoved out of the way as several crystal guards including Shining Armour came busting through the door. "Shining Armour then said in a commanding tone "Spectrem Shadow, you are under arrest for treason" before she could protest Shining levitated hoofcuffs, wing cuffs and an magic inhibitor ring securing her. She was then roughly dragged across the floor towards a prison carriage all the while Spectrem was howling with pain as the floor rubbed against her scars. After they threw her in the carriage he then ordered "take her to the dungeouns" he then turned to Twilight "she didn't hurt you did she" after Twilight assured Shining that she was ok he then took them back to the castle. meanwhile Spectrem Dash lay on the cold hard crystal floor, eyes red and puffy from crying. She had a cold, metal collar that had a short chain leading to the wall stopping her from moving towards the door. The cell was dank, dark and cold. She still had the wingcuffs and the inhibitor ring on. She had been laying there for what seemed an eternity but in reality it was only half an a hour. Then she began to hear hoofsteps, looking towards the cell door, which was only a crystal door with a small barred window. The door then swung open revealing her friends, Shining Armour and Cadence. "Are you Rainbow Dash or did you kidnap her?" Twilight asked glaring at the prisoner however she received no answer Spectrem kept looking at the ground. Shining then grabbed her muzzle in his magic and forced her head to look at him and Twilight "Answer her now" Shining snapped; Shadow continued to ignore him. This had continued for an hour before they decided to leave her to wallow in her misery. When the mane 6 went back into the meeting room Shining told Celestia "she takes the right remain silent Very seriously. Not one single peep" he then asked "why don't you interrogate her, she might listen to you?" Celestia sighed "she won't listen to me, she hates me" "But she's ya daughter, your flesh and blood" Applejack exclaimed. When the princess didn't answer Twilight added "if it is Rainbow then she would've heard your side of the story. We should give her a chance" "Fine but I want to do this alone" Celestia finally agreed while leaving the meeting room to walk down to the dungeons. When she arrived she saw her daughter sat in the centre of the room her gaze directed to the floor. "Aurora is that you?" she asked startling the prisoner. Spectrem finally spoke "m mummy" she then added "That's not my name" still looking at the floor. "What should I call you then?" Celestia asked as motherly as possible. "Spectrem" "Of course" Celestia reluctantly agreed closing her eyes before opening them again. She then asked "was you Rainbow Dash" Spectrem nodded she then told Celestia "He's back. Daddy's back, he whipped me because I helped banish him" Spectrem started crying "he told me that you was evil and that you tried to kill him, so he sent you away" "That's all lies, I was never the evil one your father was" she then asked "why don't you help us defeat him" "I can't, I love him" "Even after he hurt you" "He's still my dad" "Then I'm afraid you'll be staying here until you decide to help us" Celestia finally said with a sad expression, she started to leave. "Wait, please don't leave me here" Spectrem shouted trying to run towards her mother only to choke on the collar pulling her back. However it was futile as Celestia still left without even stopping locking the door shut behind her. Meanwhile King Sombra had watched his daughter being taken away maybe this will finally convince her that her mother is evil he thought to himself. He was inside of a cave on the outskirts of the city. He was holding a map that had a red blip on it. what Celestia doesn't know is that Spectrem had let him place a tracking spell on her which allowed her to locate her, listen to her conversation, look through her eyes and even allowed him to communicate with her telepathy. "Soon the Empire will be back in my grasp" he shouted with an evil laugh.
EscapeSpectrum shivered, the jail cell was freezing, looking around, there was nothing to keep her warm, she tried to use her magic to create a fire however the inhibitor was too strong. Suddenly she heard her father call out to her through her mind ”Now do you see that your mother is evil and doesn’t care about you?” Spectrum only nodded in agreement. ”Good now you can redeem yourself and we can ignore your little betrayal never happened, but only if you help me” Sombra told her. “Okay” she agreed reluctantly. ”Excellent, now I need you to tell your mother that you have changed your mind and that you want to help her” he ordered. “Okay Daddy” she said before shouting for her mother. *** Celestia and the main five were all sat in the meeting room “She talked to me and told me that Sombra has returned” this made everypony gasp in horror she then added “I asked her if she would help us but she is still blinded by her love for her father. We have to keep her locked up until at least we have defeated Sombra” “But how can we defeat him without Rainbow Dash, the elements are useless” Twilight exclaimed, on the verge of full panic mode. Applejack then asked “But ah thought that the Crystal Heart is supposed to protect the empire from him?” Cadence then answered “It doesn't protect the empire it just stops him from converting the Empire back to his vision” Suddenly their conversation was interrupted when a Crystal Guard told them “Sorry to disturb you, your majesty but Spectrum is requesting to speak with you” he informed them, saying Spectrum’s name with spite. They all looked at each other with suspicion. Celestia then ordered the guard “Bring her here but make sure she is extra secured I don't want to let our guard down” The guard nodded before rushing of to finish his task. Twilight then asked “What do you think she wants?” “I don’t know but it can’t be anything good” she said. They then heard the unmistakable sound of chained hooves clopping into the room. Several guards entered with their spears pointed at Spectrum Shadow, who was wearing hoofcuffs on all four hooves with her front hooves being linked to her rear hooves via a single chain, this had made it impossible for her to buck anypony, she was also wearing wingcuffs and her inhibitor ring along with a metal collar and chain leash, which was being pulled by a guard. Her scarlet eyes looked up from the floor towards her friends and her mother. Celestia’s lavender eyes met her daughter’s scarlet eyes before she quickly looked away, out of fear or guilt? Celestia didn’t know. “What do you want?” Shining Armour asked harshly, eyes narrowing at the prisoner. Spectrum ignored him, instead focusing on her mother “I thought about what you said and I want to help you.” Celestia didn’t trust her “What made you change your mind?” She asked. She didn’t answer straight away “I got a change of heart” she answered vaguely. This did nothing to ease her suspicions so she closed her eyes out of guilt and told het coldly “I’m sorry but I can’t trust you while your father is still out there” “Mummy, what are you saying?” She asked desperation filling her voice. Her eyes beginning to well up, she ignored her daughter and told the guards “take her away” For Spectrum, time seemed to slow, as tears started to fall from her eyes. Hearing her mother telling the guards to lock her up seemed to confirm that her father was right and that her mother didn’t care about her. She tried to fight against the guards who started dragging her back as she pleaded “Mummy, please I’m begging you. Please I hate it down there, it’s so cold and lonely down there” this made Celestia hesitate, opening her eyes, she could see her daughter in tears as she tried to reach out to her mother but was unable to because of all the chains. Celestia then ordered to the guards “stop!” The guards looked at each other in confusion. Hope started to rise in Spectrum heart as Celestia turned to Cadence and asked “Is there anywhere else that she can be kept somewhere that is a little more comfortable?” Cadence pondered before saying “We could keep her in her old room, the room that she was staying in as Rainbow Dash” Celestia nodded before telling the guards “Take her there but make sure you lock the door, release her hind hooves from her chains but keep her front hooves and wings chained and keep her inhibitor ring on, I also want a guard stationed outside her room 24/7” The guards then took Spectrum away. Twilight asked “Why didn’t you let her help us” “I have a suspicion that her father may have contacted her” she explained. Shining Armour replied “How? Its not possible the entire castle is filled with Dark magic sensors we’d know instantly if he was even near the castle let alone inside.” “I don’t know how but thats why I had he locked up in her old room, to keep a closer eye on her” she explained. *** “I’m sorry father” Spectrum said fearing that her father was angry at her for failing. ”I am disappointed in you Spectrum Shadow” “I’m sorry father but said she doesn’t trust me” ”I don’t care, you are a failure, a disgrace to the family name. Now I will have to risk myself because you can’t do one simple task” Sombra told her angrily. “I’ll try again, please let me show you that I am still loyal to you” She pleaded. ”Don’t bother” he snapped. *** Sombra paced across the room thinking about how he could get into the castle. His only plan relied on his daughter who was trapped but suddenly he had an idea. He telepathically communicated to his daughter and asked her “Is there a way to get that inhibitor ring of your horn” ”No its been locked on” Spectrum said miserably. “I see that there is a wardrobe in your room, check it for any coat hangers” he told her. Sombra could see through his Spell that she was checking the wardrobe and there just as he suspected was a bunch of coat hangers. ”There’s coat hangers but why would I need them?” “Perfect, I need you to straighten the hook out and then jiggle it around the lock of the inhibitor” he explained, watching her walk to the bathroom and looking into a mirror she then started the process, which was made difficult by the fact that her hooves were still chained. After a lot of patience and perseverance, the lock finally gave way and the ring fell to the floor. Sombra smiled at his plan working “Now the rest is simple, blast those cuffs of and blow a hole through the window. After you’ve done that, steal the crystal heart and fly to the outskirts of the city towards the mountain at the top you, will find a cave. That is where I am.” ”Okay, daddy” *** Celestia and the rest of the main six were still sat in the meeting room, they were making theories as to where Sombra could be but so there they came up with nothing. Shining Armour entered the room where he told them “We’ve searched the zebra’s hut but there was no sign of him although we did find large traces of dark magic” All of a sudden they heard a loud boom. Cadance shouted “That came from Spectrum’s room!” They immediately rushed to the room, where upon opening the door they found a massive hole where the window once was. Lying on the floor was the discarded cuffs and ring horn. Celestia had no idea how she could’ve escaped but through the hole, she could see her daughter flying away along with the hope of getting to know her daughter”
