Few ponies dare to even breathe as the weight of Sombra's words hits all of us. He has rarely spoken to me about Amoré, and none of the Crystal Ponies have spoken of her around me, so his use of one of her quotes - and one that even I recognise - is shocking in itself. The context of his speech makes it worse. He has gone from being scared to talk about his past in front of the Crystal Guard, to letting out all of his feelings at once. He has always been unpredictable, but even by his standards this is unsettling.

He turns on his heels and walks back inside the castle. I follow him, and hear the crowds of ponies talking as some begin to disperse. Radiant Hope rushes up to me, and the look of surprise on her face tells me all I need to know before she starts talking.

"This is not Sombra. He wanted to hit a nerve and hurt those ponies out there, and oh Tartarus, those words were like thorns. I don't know whether it's because of everything that happened this morning or not, but he's angry, and you're probably the only pony able to find out why."

I find myself worrying again, and go to talk to him.

He isn't in the dining room, nor the throne room. I knock on his bedroom door and there is no reply. He hasn't come looking for me, either. I return to the throne room and ask the guards stationed there how long it has been since they last saw him, and am told that he went to the dungeon. Sighing, I fly down several stairwells to the dungeon, and look at the prisoners as I pass their cells. The Solar Guard called Thunder gives me a scowl.

"Yeh fin'lly come back ter speak ter me an' the other Solar Guards, 'ave yeh?"

"Unfortunately, no," I admit. "I need to speak to you again though. Things have been busy recently."

"Now yeh sound like Celestia on her bad days."

A few other Solar Guards laugh at that.

"I promise I'll come back down here as soon as possible. But I'm looking for Sombra."

"The more annoyin' one of the two of yeh? Tha' way." He points to his left, in the direction of the sealed door.

"Thank you," I say. I walk down the corridor and through the wall opposite the sealed door. Then down, and down, and down, until I reach a slightly open wooden door, and dare to enter the room.

Lining the grey stone walls are torches in their brackets, and they have all been lit fairly recently. Sombra is sitting in the middle of the room, looking at something hanging on the wall that I think is a mirror, but in the dimly lit room it's hard to tell.

"It's a type of mirror, enchanted with dark magic, Moonlight," he explains.

"How did you know it was me?"

"I knew it was either you or Radiant Hope, and even though it is dark I could tell it was you from your height. You and her are the only two ponies besides myself who know how to get here. The only ones alive, I mean."

"Tell me what's on your mind." I take a seat next to him.

"What's on my mind is that our ponies still wish Amoré would return, that the alicorn Cadance who looks so similar to Amoré would take her place, our place. The way Wishbone acted earlier confirmed my suspicions that ponies still do not accept us, and I will admit that it hurts. I chose those words because I knew they would make everypony look at both of us differently, especially me. The crystal ponies know that you are really soft and want to do the right thing. They don't know that I am the same, or at least they didn't."

"You told them that you still wanted the best for them, but that you were upset they thought otherwise."

"Exactly. I want them to know that I do things a certain way because I think it is the best way for everypony. Remember that day with the other mirror, when some of my more irrational self-doubts came to light? I told you what Amoré said to me about being a ruler. She is probably right still. You can't win every battle, and you certainly can't make the right decision every time, but neither can you beat yourself up when you make a wrong decision. Part of ruling is accepting your mistakes, keeping a cool head and learning from where you went wrong. If a pony got hurt because of that mistake, it is what they would want."

"No. You should care, Sombra, and what you did out there is you told the world that you do. Ponies are going to start seeing you in a different light. They probably do already, but they're going to look at you like you're one of them."

"Is that a good thing or not?"

"I think it's a good thing. It means they don't think of you as a monster, which you aren't. We are ponies just as much as they are."

"We are also diamonds. You especially. You aren't grey really, despite your whole analogy about the light and dark in the world. Yes, you might seem grey on the outside, but on the inside, you are the brightest crystal in this universe."

"Grey on the outside," I say slowly. "Grey, dumb and boring. Nothing's changed since you and I first met, then. I need to grow my mane longer and see if that makes a difference."

"That is not what I meant."

"I know, I'm joking. Nothing has changed, though. It's still you and me against the world, except a little bit of the world believes us now. Would you want it any other way?"

"Yes. I want the two of us to tie the knot officially."

"Wait until we can have a proper ceremony. Then we will. Promise." I lean over and kiss him. "Will that do for now?"

"Yes. Now let's go see what the world thinks."

"Not just yet. What's with this mirror?" Up close, I can see that there are many jewels embedded in the silver frame. I see nothing but our own reflections in the glass, though.

"I created it."

"What's it for?"

"It was one of several traps I made in this castle. As you know, I am proficient in spells that have an effect on the mind. This mirror can show a pony a lot about themselves and use it against them. The things that are most important to the individual, their fears, their weaknesses, their destiny, and whatever is in their heart. Who they are, in other words. Usually, it only works on one pony at a time, so I doubt you can see anything other than our reflections."

"What do you see?"

"Amoré telling me that I failed. A pair of glowing red eyes in the darkness. The crystal ponies refusing to look me in the eye. Radiant Hope asking me why I chose this path, as she has done so many times. Crowds of ponies and creatures unable to accept that this is me, not least myself. Black crystals everywhere, and a dark purple star. Celestia and the Element Bearers. And then... I see you."

"Just me?"

"Just you. You are always on your own."

."And what is that supposed to mean?"

"It means I love you, I'm afraid of you, and you are important to me."

"Afraid? I didn't realise I was that ghastly."

He laughs, albeit grimly. "Not in that way. You have no idea, but most ponies and creatures feel some degree of fear towards you. Remember Starlight Glimmer? She didn't recognise me at first, but she knew exactly who you were. The crystal ponies have always been willing to do as you say, haven't they? Considering you didn't even grow up here like I did, that is quite a feat. Celestia, the Element Bearers and everypony else tried to slam on the breaks and stop you from, I don't know, turning into a crazed monster capable of using powerful dark magic, and since they were unable to do that, they're worried. And occasionally, I worry too. I worry that either you will become like me or you'll get hurt."

"Am I supposed to be proud, concerned or offended?"

"Not offended. Definitely not. You should be proud because you chose your own path in life. Concerned? Maybe. You are a very special mare, one who I want to protect. That is something I have never wanted for anypony else before. All this talk about destiny, about Celestia and an unnamed mare, that is something to worry about, but we can't cross that bridge before we find the river."

"True."

His foreleg wraps around my chest and pulls me closer to him. "What now?" I say.

"King Sombra wants attention."

Sighing, I hug him back, and he holds me there, my head resting on his shoulder. His tall, muscular form makes me feel even smaller than I am, but also makes me feel safe. I know that no harm will come to me whilst he is around. I want more of these moments. His hoof suddenly moves, and lifts my face towards his. He casts a spell, and I find my mane moving in an invisible breeze. He smiles.

"What is it?" I ask.

"When your mane is like this, you look a lot like Luna. I'm assuming you take most of your looks from your father, but you do remind me of her. From the moment I first saw her I thought she was quite a stunning pony."

"Oh, so now you tell me that you had a thing for my mother when-"

"I didn't, but at one point when I first rose to power she and I met each other, and I realised at the time that she was very elegant, but not over the top. Ponies worship Celestia, but they admire Luna in a different way. Celestia is treated like a goddess, but with Luna, you know that she is still a pony, and all she wants is to be treated as one. I, admittedly, did not treat her nicely, but I held back a little at the time. For some reason, I did not give her everything that was on my mind. A lot, yes. I've heard that it took her a few months to heal. But I could have done much worse, and I decided not to. Perhaps some part of me knew that she and her child would help me later on in life. I have the right words now. You cannot help but think of her as a mother figure."

"I believe you."

"She is quite a stunning mare, and that was passed down to you. Although, there is something about you that she doesn't have. It is not easy to explain. I always had some idea, but I didn't realise how much it meant when I first met you."

"What do you mean?"

He uses magic to draw symbols in the air. Two red shards of crystal, and a black four-pointed star. Then, he stands up, and just for a moment, I notice his cutie mark. The same crystals and star are there. I look down at the crescent moon and the purple star that adorns my own flank.

"You and I have almost the exact same star on our cutie marks. I never knew."

"I didn't want to tell you, in case you decided to change your mind and do something else with your life. However it seems you have made your choice, and I'm more than happy with that. Should we go and confront the world now?"

"Whatever you say." I stand and the two of us trot through the corridors back to the dungeon.

The world thinks King Sombra is a different pony. The guards stand taller, and nod at us as we pass. The servants do not say anything, but they don't scurry around in the shadows and avoid us, either. We walk outside, and when we do, the crowds are there again. One pony starts clapping, then another, then another, until hundreds and maybe thousands of ponies are joining in. Many changelings are in the crowd too, taking part. I am taken back by this sudden show of support, and wonder what the catch might be.

Four guards approach us, between them carrying two large wooden boxes, each one painted black. Sombra and I open them together, and find matching red cloaks with fur trims, though they are longer than Sombra's current cloak. There is another much smaller box for me as well. Within I find a silver tiara, embedded with rubies and pieces of what I believe is a rare purple sapphire.

"What's all this about?" I ask.

A stallion at the front of the crowd explains, "It's our way of showing you that we accept you as our leaders. The cloaks are made of the finest furs that we could afford as a community. The tiara is made of jewels and precious metals found in the mines. It was finished a few days ago by Radiant Hope and Wishbone Willow. We decided not to say anything until these were complete. The truth is, few of us worry about the past, and we've known for a long time that you care for us as deeply as Princess Amoré did, if not, more so. Perhaps that's what led you to making some of your decisions. Either way, you are both forgiven, and we hope these gifts help you to forgive both us and yourselves."

He sinks to his knees in a low bow, and the motion spreads throughout the snowflake pattern of the Crystal Empire. Then, something magical happens. The dark crystals that the city is made of begin to glow in different pastel colours, like they used to before Sombra invaded, and the coats of each pony look a little brighter than they used to. The buildings begin to lose their colour again after a few seconds, but the ponies remain the same; glowing with happiness.

"Wow," I breathe, "thank you."

Are those tears I see in Sombra's eyes? I cannot tell, because he blinks and they disappear. He tells the crowds, "Moonlight and I are happy to take the places as the co-rulers of the Crystal Empire. I... I didn't truly feel like a leader before. This is more than I expected from you. I should not have lost my temper earlier. I am not ashamed of any of you. I had no idea that you thought of us this way."

Gradually, the ponies rise to their hooves. A mare steps forwards. "There is one more thing we would like you to do before you go back inside, and there are two more gifts we have to give. We know that a huge celebration would be the perfect time for Celestia's guards to attack so we aren't going to have any of that until this nonsense with Equestria is over, but we should make everything official."

Another mare adds, grinning, "That way, you are both legally in charge, and Celestia has nothing to complain about."

One more box is placed at our hooves. Inside are two gold rings. A four-pointed star is carved into each.

Sombra looks at me. "Moonlight, what do you think?"

"We need to sooner or later, and I think sooner is better than later," I answer. I place my ring on my left front hoof, and Sombra does the same.

The crowd parts, and four smiling faces approach us: Chrysalis, Cozy Glow, Wishbone and Hope. They each bow to us, and Wishbone walks closer, carrying a book bound in a leather cover with her cutie mark on the front. Back in the Everfree Village, she was sometimes asked to conduct wedding ceremonies. She opens the book, and reads aloud.

"Do you, King Sombra, accept the wonderful Moonlight Shade's hoof in marriage?" she asks. I try not to roll my eyes when she uses my surname.

"I do."

She turns to me. "And Moonlight, do you accept King Sombra's hoof in marriage, and your new responsibilities as Queen of the Crystal Empire?"

"I do," I reply.

"And does anypony have any objections to this?"

You could hear a pin drop.

"In that case, King Sombra and Queen Moonlight are now married, and the official rulers of the Crystal Empire. King Sombra, you may kiss the bride." She nods, and Sombra and I lean forwards, closing our eyes as we kiss. He picks up the tiara in his magic and gently places it on the top of my head.

"My beautiful queen," he says. "Remember our little golden rule?"

"No secrets, no spies, no pain and no lies. Our vows to each other."

"Good."

There is a moment of silence. Then, all at once, the guards, servants and civilians cheer, "Long live the King and Queen!" We listen to the second round of applause.

I smile at Sombra. "See? You're one of the crystal ponies. I am too, now. A whole treasure trove of diamonds to the north of Equestria. Celestia's going to be annoyed, and our subjects are going to help us show her who's in charge."

He grins back, and I suddenly find myself wrapped in his embrace. "These ponies are mad if they can forgive me just like that."

"We aren't mad," a guard replies. "We just have our opinions. Now do your job and show Celestia who you are."

Author's Note

Bonus: Writing The Shadows Clear And Show The Light - Parts 1 and 2

Woah. We've officially reached 100k words. That's amazing! And thank you all for joining me on this journey.

Much of what I included in these chapters was supposed to be at the very end of the story. However, it didn't feel right in my head. This story is going to be quite a bit longer than I originally thought back in August 2020 when I started writing it, and as I was writing the first of these two chapters, I realised that I couldn't make you all wait until the end of the story. I know these last few chapters have been very detailed, and I've given you, dear reader, a lot to think about. But what with Chapter 50 around the corner, it just felt right to include what I did in Part 2.

These are really an extension of Wish Upon a Star - Parts 1 and 2, in the sense that more of the prophecy has been revealed. Something I love about Sombra is his apparent lack of a cutie mark, which means we get to have a little bit of fun and be creative. I knew from very early on in the story that Sombra and Moonlight would have very similar cutie marks. The four-pointed star was always meant to be there. They were always meant to be together. It's symbolic of the saying Only in the darkness can you see the stars. What that means for Starlight Glimmer since she has a purple four-pointed star on her cutie mark too, I don't exactly know, but I plan to give her a larger part later on in the story. Hopefully you enjoy what I have planned for her, but that's for another day.

In these chapters I got to explore more of the Crystal Castle. I know in the comics there are a network of caverns beneath the castle, but in this story I want it to be more organised, the tunnels purpose-built, everything unusual to an outsider but making perfect sense to those who call the Crystal Empire home. A large part of the Crystal Castle is its defences. I haven't talked about this up until now, but in the season 3 premiere I loved the idea behind the secret passage and the door that trapped you with your fears. As terrifying as that would be in real life, it makes sense that Sombra would install traps like these should somepony try to attack the Crystal Castle. Once again, they will be featured much more later on.

Regarding Princess Amoré: she's quite an unusual character to me. I don't include the comics in my headcanon as I don't really read them and only go off of what's on the MLP Wiki Fandom, but she definitely feels like an important part of the Crystal Empire and I see her as the ruler of the place I have come to love in FiM. I don't know if you picture her this way, but I imagine her as being just like the Empire itself: breathtakingly beautiful; very pure (before Sombra took over); but so cold it burns sometimes. She was kind to Sombra originally, but became suspicious of him and cut him off, which of course only led to him following a darker path in life.

I also think she is very proud of her kingdom, and that's probably where Sombra gets his sense of pride from. The reason Sombra's use of her quote was intended to hurt was because of the purity in her heart and his supposed lack of it, to show that she had the power to hurt and he had the power to be good. Of course, he had no understanding of his subjects' true opinions of him. Anger clouds our judgement. He's still learning to control his emotions and trying to become a better a pony, but he'll get there eventually.

Now I've finished writing and proofreading them, these chapters - and Chapter 50 - bring me a sense of peace. They signal the end of one of the major arcs of this story. However, this is only the end of the beginning. When I was writing these two chapters I forgot about something. Something... big. Something that's going to make the chapters after Chapter 50 very interesting. If anypony can guess what it is, they get to choose an OC who will make a small appearance. I'm probably going to need one.

So, that's a bit about these two chapters. I hope you enjoy them, and I wonder if you can find out what I forgot!

~ Angel