I spend a few minutes reading over the speech that Sombra has written for us. It's not too frosty, but still gets our point across. How he writes like that, I have no idea.

"That would be Princess Amoré's fault," he answers, startling me.

"Ah! Stop reading my mind!" I say.

"What? I can't exactly help it! Dark magic is influenced by emotions, and I was wondering what was on my beautiful queen's mind."

"Stop trying to flatter me. It's not an excuse for scaring me like that. Besides, I'm not your queen just yet." I shake my head. "Never mind. You say Amoré taught you to write speeches."

"Myself and Radiant Hope. She had the two of us down as potential heirs to the throne."

Hope walks into the room, and her ears prick up, a smile forming on her lips. "Talking about Princess Amoré, are we? How she offered to teach the two of us? Moonlight, you wouldn't believe how eager to please we were, Sombra especially."

"I think I do," I tell her, ruffling Sombra's mane and causing him to scowl. "There's only two ponies I've known who are so eager to impress, and both of them are stallions." Sombra, and my old friend Casper the guard. That doofus was always trying to please me, even if he made a complete fool of himself in the process. I pause. "What happened, though?"

"I don't know. Sombra?"

An uncomfortable silence fills the room before he finally mutters, "You know the story already."

I clear my throat. "Not all of it. We aren't about to judge you, Sombra. If I judged you, I wouldn't have decided to help you in the first place."

"I'm not sure that we should be discussing something like this in here," he says quietly.

"The guards aren't going to tell everypony, Sombra. Even if they do, it doesn't matter. It's in the past now. Telling us won't hurt." I glare at each of them in turn. "You're not going to tell anypony, or you'll find yourselves in the dungeon. There's a particularly annoying draconequus and a few Solar Guards down there for company, but that's it. Understood?"

"Yes, Commander," they chorus.

I look at him. He glares, then sighs. "Fine, then. Many things happened. You already know that Hope and I were bullied as foals. We didn't fit in. Then Amoré took us in, saw our potential. She taught us how to use magic properly, and had no problem with us learning dark magic in a safe environment. When Hope gained her cutie mark, she was adored. Me? Not so much. Nopony knew what mine meant, whereas hers is a symbol of beautiful healing magic."

"I'm sorry-"

"Stop trying to take the blame for my mistakes."

"But-"

"No," he snaps at her. "The blame does not lie with you, Hope. Let me continue."

She gives up on trying to reason with him, and just gives him a nod.

He tells us, "Amoré continued teaching us, and one day she taught me an odd little spell. I have no idea why, but Hope wasn't there. The spell, it made me see everything differently, as if I had been wearing a blindfold my whole life. I was shown how much power I could have. I wanted to follow that dream, to have that power, to be able to change things and make my mark on history.

"I tried harder than ever in our magic lessons, and I asked questions. About ruling the kingdom. About powerful magic, dark magic in particular. One of its nicknames is alicorn magic because it is so powerful, and after seeing Celestia and Luna's power, I was curious as to whether an ordinary unicorn could use this wonderful 'alicorn' magic. These questions made Amoré suspicious that I was planning something, and she told me so. Hope went to Canterlot to study under Celestia. Cozy Glow was popular. She had her own friends, and I felt stupid spending so much time around a foal so much younger than I. The orphanage kicked me out, and I struggled to bring home enough money to rent one room. Then Amoré and I had a fight, one that led to my banishment. I disappeared into the Frozen North for many months." He looks at the guards stationed in the room, all of whom are surprised to hear him tell us so much. "You know the rest. I returned and took out my anger on Amoré, claiming the throne of the Crystal Empire for myself."

"You've still done good things, silly," I tell him. "You opened my eyes too, and I didn't like what I saw. I saw an angry cow called Sunbutt, and wanted to stop her from being a cow."

That lightens his mood. "Really?!"

"I saw that I'd been looking at the world from the wrong perspective, like I'd been dangling from a tree branch my whole life. Quite possible, since I'm a bat pony. You taught me that the world isn't black and white, and choosing a path isn't easy. But you helped me choose as well. It led me here."

"And let me think what else I did. Enslaving an empire was not one of my proudest moments. Amoré kicked me out for a reason, and I should have stayed out."

"You're looking at it all wrong, Sombra. You're looking at all... this." I hold out a hoof towards him. "That's what other ponies see. Not us. I see what's in here." I place a hoof on his chest, or rather the plate of armour covering it.

Hope laughs, "You're forgetting that his heart's a lot further down than that, in his horseshoes."

The guards manage to keep straight faces. I wonder how they do it.

"Ha ha, very funny, Hope," Sombra replies. "Just so you know, there is a dungeon downstairs, and you don't want to upset me."

"I'll take my chances, as I did with Amoré that one time when I borrowed an ancient spell book from her. And didn't give it back for nearly three months. Was she furious."

I can barely contain my laughter as a brilliant thought occurs to me. "You know the Bearer of the Element of Magic, Twilight Sparkle? She's a complete bookworm and perfectionist. Apparently, she's never returned a library book late in her whole life. If she heard what you two just said, what would her reaction be?"

"One of complete and utter horror. She would probably say something like, 'I knew you were always evil!' That is a look I would love to see on her face. I don't believe that she and Celestia would rather destroy another being than try to resolve the situation using their own methods of acceptance and friendship."

"With Celestia, she was so determined to stop me, that she made me want to fight her. It's not my fault I'm related to her, even if it is a huge bugbear for both of us."

Another round of laughter. Another guard enters the room carrying a letter, and we compose ourselves.

"Your majesty, it is addressed to you directly."

Those words spark curiosity and mild panic. Most ponies would address a letter to both of us now, not just Sombra. He takes the scroll in his magic and reads it aloud. "Here is what it says. 'Dear King Sombra - if that's what you're calling yourself - you'd better be ready for us. Leave the Crystal Empire before we blast you to Tartarus.' That is it. They didn't even give their name. Should we be worried?"

I sigh, "Well, the two of us already have to talk to the ponies out there. Guards, spread word of a royal announcement, but don't repeat anything else we said. Sombra, what time would you say is best?"

"This afternoon, five o'clock."

"Yes, your majesties," all of the guards answer, rushing out of the room. There was an 'es' on the end of that sentence. Though I am not technically the Queen of the Crystal Empire, the guards seem to act that way around me. Despite the less-than-ideal situation with the mystery letter, I can't help but feel happy.

Hope looks around to make sure the guards haven't stayed behind to eavesdrop, before she asks, "Any ideas who wrote that?"

"Either it's from a group of ponies, or the one who wrote it speaks in The Royal We," I say. "It could be from Celestia, Cadance and Shining Armour, the Elements or somepony else whom we haven't met but is clearly hacked off with us. It isn't important, though. Whoever is sending us hate mail is going to have a hard time living up to their postal threats unless they appear before we make the announcement."

"True. Let's hope that doesn't happen."

Thankfully, it doesn't and there are no unexpected guests. At twenty minutes to five, ponies begin making their way to the centre of the town. I stand on the balcony looking down at the crowd, keeping my face expressionless as I listen in on the conversations some of the ponies are having. Some of them are excited. Most are worried. As they should be. I have a feeling that our mystery pen pals are the Element Bearers and I don't fancy the idea of being hit with another rainbow laser. They hurt. A lot. I've been hit by those things twice with Luna - one from Celestia, another from those six mares - and I'm counting on the fact that lightning doesn't strike three times in a row. Then again, I have had some outrageous luck.

"Stop worrying," Sombra tells me, his voice drifting towards me from within the castle.

"Gah! Really? Everypony's watching us, and you scare me like that?! I've already told you not to do that."

"I didn't mean to. Never mind, I have to make a speech to the public."

"And what about me?"

"How do I put this without upsetting you? It would be best if I handled this alone."

"Understood." I take a few steps forward and say to the crowd, "It is time for King Sombra to deliver his message."

Silence falls, and Sombra walks to the edge of the balcony. The ponies in the streets below look up with a mixture of fear and awe. Although I would never dream of using magic to find out, I sometimes wonder what they really think of us, and this is one of those times. Are they accepting of us? Do they see us as the rulers of the Crystal Empire? Or do they plan to get somepony else to sit on the twin crystal thrones in the room behind us?

Sombra clears his throat, then begins. "It has come to my attention that our enemies are growing smarter and stronger, and the Crystal Empire is becoming increasingly vulnerable. Regardless of your opinions on myself, Commander Moonlight, Celestia or anypony else involved in this war, none of us want the front line and the home front to merge. I am looking at pursuing different methods of increasing our security whilst also bearing in mind that I want to keep all of you safe, well and happy. After discussing with Commander Moonlight, Queen Chrysalis of the Changelings and a few others, we came to the conclusion that a curfew is one of the best ways to protect the Crystal Empire. Between dusk and dawn, I expect only the guards who work on the night shift to be outside. Anypony else spotted outside, including changelings, will be arrested immediately and punished accordingly. My hope is that you all co-operate with these new rules, and that said punishments do not have to be given out.

"The Crystal Guard will also be undergoing a few minor changes. Before you all start panicking, I have no plans to bring back the Elite Guard. What I will say is that I have noticed a few of the guards are not taking their role as seriously as they should be. From today, should I encounter any guards who are not doing their job properly, I will make sure that they know what they are supposed to do in future. I hate to revert back to some of my old customs, but I cannot stand for weakness, especially from the ones who are supposed to protect the Crystal Empire and its ponies. I hope that all of you are understanding of this, and that we, the crystal ponies, can rise above the challenges we currently face, and shine like we always do in the face of adversity."

Something hits me in that moment. Sombra is more proud of the Crystal Empire than Chrysalis is of her hive. I arch an eyebrow at him but get no response. However, I can tell he is annoyed for some reason.

They're not listening.

What do you mean? I ask. They look like they are to me.

Look down there. Even as I speak the guards are ignoring me, talking about something pointless amongst themselves.

Should I-

No. Please let me sort this out on my own.

Fine. You want to do things your way, so I'll let you.

Thank you.

He looks at the scroll he has been reading from, then discards it, a scowl on his face. He closes his eyes, and I can tell that his emotions are weighing him down, though of course no tears fall. He is too strong and stubborn to be seen in such a state in public. "I may have disagreed with the Crystal Princess Amoré on many different accounts, but she was right about one thing especially: we are diamonds. We might not always be recognised for what we are among the pebbles, and we may be left in the dust and darkness at times, but when we step into the light and show our true colours, the world notices us. We are stronger than everypony else, we are unique, we have a rich and interesting history, the light within us reflects across the world, and pressure only makes us better than we were before. The world may have changed a lot since Princess Amoré said those words, but we will always be diamonds. I am ashamed that most of you forgot that."

Author's Note

Not sure exactly what to say here. I feel like this doesn't flow properly, but let me know what you think. Maybe you can see something that I've missed.

~ Angel