"Princess Celestia!"

This time, when the doors to the Canterlot throne room are thrown open with such force that the walls are indented, the sun princess is not expecting the pony standing where the doors once did. With her legs spread slightly beneath her and her head lowered slightly, the only reason she doesn't take up a defensive stance against her own student is the wide-eyed and pleading look in Princess Twilight's gaze.

"I need to talk to you! It- It's about King Sombra!"

The guards flanking her shudder. They've been trained to remain stoic in the face of many things, but mentions of the Shadow King's very name are enough to shatter those facades like the thinnest of glass. Whether it's out of the sympathetic goodness of her heart or because she senses that the conversation they're about to have is not for prying, mortal ears, she dismisses all guards in the room with an order that they're all too happy to obey.

Adjusting her stance slightly - she had stiffened in shock, first, upon Twilight's sudden entrance, then slumped in relief - in order to better prepare herself, she then beckons the other closer with a golden-clad hoof.

"Of course, Princess Twilight. I see that you're unharmed, and you haven't attacked me...yet." She allows herself a small titter, attempting to keep the mood light, and receives a hard stare in return. She gets the distinct feeling that she's done something wrong. Clearing her throat, she continues. "So, what did you want to discuss?"

"Spike?" The baby dragon comes running up from where he'd been examining the palace walls, and taps her flank to get her attention. "Yeesh, Twilight. Talk about a dramatic arrival. Anyways, did you want me to read it out loud?" After a brief period of consideration, she nods once. "Ahem! The history of the Crystal Empire, as narrated by King Sombra Umbral Obsidian. 'The Crystal Empire was once a beautiful, thriving kingdom...'"

And so, he reads aloud King Sombra's entire recollection of the Crystal Empire's history, his voice echoing slightly throughout the vast chambers of the solar diarchs' throne room. As he speaks, a range of restricted emotions flash over Princess Celestia's face; a hint of happiness, a touch of empathetic grief, a glimmer of doubt, and as Spike finishes, her visage settles back into its unreadable slight smile, if not just a little bit grimmer than usual.

For a few minutes, there is silence in the room as Princess Celestia processes the tale she's been told and Princess Twilight gives her time to do so. Then, she speaks.

"And you believe King Sombra's word over mine?" As accusatory as the words may be, her tone betrays nothing of the sort; her vague smile remains, and her gaze is steady and judgment-free as it stays locked with Twilight's.

Although part of her wants to shrink away from those intense violet-pink eyes, the much larger part of her demands that she keep the contact and meet it with her own, much fiercer, much more determined one. "Yes, Princess. Especially since he asked me to cast Veritus upon him to make sure that I trusted his words."

And now Princess Celestia's shield breaks, a gasp of shock leaving her as, for just a moment in her mind's eye, the Princess of Friendship in front of her morphs into that tiny filly on the verge of tears, terrified at the thought of what sort of disgusting crimes a pony must commit to have that spell forced upon them, struggling to cast it because she could never really make herself focus hard enough, make herself want to cast it enough to do it properly. She shakes her head slightly, the flow of her mane interrupted by the motion before it resumes once more. The Twilight in front of her has returned to being an adult, alicorn princess. "He- He asked you to?" Her voice shakes slightly, doubt still tingeing her words.

She truly never thought she'd live to see the day where she grew impatient with her own mentor. "Princess Celestia, at the risk of stepping over my bounds, it's clear that you don't believe me, and that you won't believe me either until we've argued for hours, possibly weeks or months or years on end, or until you've literally read my mind." She sets her jaw, narrowing her eyes slightly as the implication of her words hangs heavy in the air between them. "I'm not asking you to do this. I'm giving you an ultimatum. Prove to me right here, right now, that King Sombra hasn't manipulated me, nor my memories, nor my magical abilities to effectively cast Veritus to its full power, or I'm walking out and neither of us know when or if I'll be back."

Her jaw drops. Despite herself, though, she must hold back the tiny, sad smile that threatens to break through the grief beginning to show in her eyes; this situation reminds her of the time Twilight threatened to run away because Princess Celestia refused to let her have an entire tub of ice cream for dessert, knowing full well the filly would come crying to her, begging to learn "the tummy better spell" that she used whenever her protégé got sick.

"Very well. I don't think I need to remind you to keep your defenses lowered as I-" She grits her teeth as she speaks the words she's spoken to so many criminals before, and that she must speak now to- to the student that she's had for so many years, to the student she views as practically her daughter. "-as I search your soul."

Horn glowing with a golden light, she rises from her throne and touches the tip of the glowing bone to Princess Twilight's own, both ponies' eyes opening wide and reflecting brief flashes of memories as Princess Celestia flips through them. They remain locked like this for some time, long enough that Spike eventually stops staring and sits down a few feet away, starting to doodle on a blank piece of parchment.

'Maybe I can draw King Sombra a picture of himself! The guy seems like he needs some cheering up...'

Finally, they break apart with a sound not unlike a particularly loud static electrical shock, both princesses slumping onto their haunches on the ground and panting slightly from exertion.

When Princess Twilight looks up at her mentor, the self-satisfied and triumphant grin that makes its way onto her face is only half as wide as it wants to be. She knows what that look on Celestia's face means, and she's ready for the incoming apology, and for the scroll with King Sombra's official pardon.

...okay, maybe that last bit is a bit optimistic, but she lets herself hope. The Princess is usually pretty forgivi-

"Princess Twilight. Although I found no manipulations of your magic, memories, or your ability to tell such, there is no known spell for detecting the kind of manipulation that the Shadow King was so well-known for. His words were like poisoned honey, and his subjects were loyal to the death - deaths which they found at his hooves, whether indirectly or directly." Even as she speaks, though, something feels wrong. She knows that Twilight is smart, and that she'd certainly be smart enough to tell whether she's being manipulated or not...but she's already said it and she's too stubborn to back down now. "The only pony that can tell you whether you're being poisoned by his words or not is you, Twilight. Your path is your own, and although I will always be here to guide you, I- Twilight!"

The first few words that Celestia had spoken had filled her with such joy, but then everything went downhill from there. As Princess Celestia continues to speak, rambling on and on about some fate or something, all she can hear is 'Twilight, I know my magic said you're not being influenced, but you're obviously too stupid to tell whether King Sombra's really evil or not, and I know better than you, so even if YOU say he's not evil, I say he is, so listen to what I'M saying' and her eyes grow wide as she begins to slowly back away. Tears begin to blur her vision as she backs up faster and faster until she bumps into Spike and, without glancing back at Princess Celestia, she levitates him onto her back and trots away like the very fires of Tartarus itself are upon her heels.

Back in the throne room, her mouth hangs open from where she'd last called out for her student, uncertainty painted all over her royal visage.

'...did I...should I have...'

"No. Celestia, you must retain your confidence in yourself; an insecure ruler is unfit to watch over so much as an ant, let alone all of Equestria." Her voice firms up as she gives herself this little pep talk, then sighs, wilting slightly in her throne, shaking her head. "I'm...I'm sure that Twilight will make the right choice. I will give her time to come back to me. She has and always will keep Equestria's best interests at heart."

On the train ride back to the Crystal Empire, Princess Twilight books a private car for herself and Spike, unwilling and unable to deal with the masses of overzealous princess fanponies right now. She can't even talk to Spike; she can't remember the last time she was this upset.

Speaking of Spike...she glances over at her Number One Assistant, meeting nervous green eyes with her own teary purple ones. She manages a weak, wobbly-lipped smile, unfolding her right wing and wrapping it around him to pull him in for a hug, one feather reaching up to poke at his cheek playfully.

The giggle she gets in return is more than enough to pull the corners of her mouth up into a more genuine smile, small as it may be.

"...so, do you...do you wanna, um...talk about what happened, Twi? I-I mean, I know I'm not a princess or anything, and maybe I can't really give advice on it, but you know," and here he puffs out his chest exaggeratedly, holding both his arms out and flexing his biceps, "I'm da man! And da man is always gonna listen to his favorite librarian and best friend."

When her body begins to shake against him, he worries that she's begun to sob again, but when he looks at her, she's silently laughing, and her eyes are still a bit teary but he doesn't think she's really stopped crying since they left the palace; at least her crying's slowed down.

'Wait. Why isn't she laughing out loud?'

"Um, Twilight?"

She looks at him, head cocked.

"...oh, jeez. You really are messed up about this, huh?" His voice is much softer this time, and he presses his cheek to her chest fluff, wrapping his arms around her neck.

Her chest heaves and warm air tickles against his back spines as she sighs in confirmation, returning the hug with one foreleg and nuzzling at the top of his head with her chin.

"Do you wanna write stuff while I talk? Or do you feel awkward with just me talking?" He offers her a comforting smile, just as judgment-free as the last time she'd gone nonverbal. "'Cause y'know, I'm a pretty fast writer!" He pulls out several fresh blank scrolls, a quill, and a pot of ink.

One side of her muzzle quirks up in thought, and after a moment of contemplation, she holds up one hoof: Option One. Her horn glows as she takes one sheet of parchment, the quill, and the ink pot, dipping the quill into the ink then starting to write.

'𝒮𝑜𝓇𝓇𝓎, 𝐼 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓂𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝒷𝑒 𝓈𝓉𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓈𝒻𝓊𝓁 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜𝑜.'

He frowns, giving her an exaggerated glare and huffing smoke from his nostrils just to complete the dramatic mini-tantrum. "Hey hey hey! We made a deal, missy! Don't you remember what it was?"

She winces slightly, nodding apologetically.

'𝑅𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉, 𝓇𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉. 𝒜𝒽𝑒𝓂: "𝑅𝓊𝓁𝑒 𝓃𝓊𝓂𝒷𝑒𝓇 𝑜𝓃𝑒: 𝒩𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝒶𝓅𝑜𝓁𝑜𝑔𝒾𝓏𝑒 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝑔𝑜𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓃𝑜𝓃𝓋𝑒𝓇𝒷𝒶𝓁, 𝒷𝑒𝒸𝒶𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝒾𝓉 𝒾𝓈 𝓃𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝒯𝓌𝒾𝓁𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝒮𝓅𝒶𝓇𝓀𝓁𝑒'𝓈 𝒻𝒶𝓊𝓁𝓉 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝒷𝑒𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝒶𝓎 𝓈𝒽𝑒 𝒾𝓈."'

The smile returns to her lips as she continues writing.

'"𝐼𝓃 𝒶𝒹𝒹𝒾𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃, 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝒶𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒯𝓌𝒾𝓁𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝒮𝓅𝒶𝓇𝓀𝓁𝑒 𝒾𝓈 𝒾𝓈 𝓌𝑜𝓃𝒹𝑒𝓇𝒻𝓊𝓁 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓊𝓃𝒾𝓆𝓊𝑒, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓈𝒽𝑒 𝓂𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝓃𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝒻𝑜𝓇𝑔𝑒𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉, 𝑜𝓇 𝓈𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝒽𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝒷𝑒 𝓈𝓊𝒷𝒿𝑒𝒸𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝒶 𝒸𝓊𝒹𝒹𝓁𝑒 𝒶𝓉𝓉𝒶𝒸𝓀 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒻𝑒𝓇𝑜𝒸𝒾𝑜𝓊𝓈 𝒹𝓇𝒶𝑔𝑜𝓃 𝓌𝒽𝒾𝒸𝒽 𝓈𝒽𝑒 𝒽𝒶𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒽𝑜𝓃𝑜𝓇 𝑜𝒻 𝓀𝑒𝑒𝓅𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶𝓈 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝒩𝓊𝓂𝒷𝑒𝓇 𝒪𝓃𝑒 𝒜𝓈𝓈𝒾𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓃𝓉, 𝒜.𝒦.𝒜., 𝒮𝓅𝒾𝓀𝑒!"'

And the moment that Spike finishes reading that, he giggles and does just that, smooshing his face into her chest and hugging her, scritching at her mane with his claws just enough to give her a relaxing massage and never once scraping or injuring her. "Haha, I forgot about that part, but I'm glad you remembered!" He steps back slightly and taps her nose with an index claw as punishment, though. "But I'll never forget the part about you being wonderful and never needing to be sorry for how you are, even if you're quiet sometimes."

She giggles silently through the cuddle attack, the tension in her body easing up somewhat at her assistant's antics before she nods at his words.

'𝐼𝓉'𝓈 𝒿𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝒷𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝒶 𝓌𝒽𝒾𝓁𝑒, 𝒮𝓅𝒾𝓀𝑒. 𝐼 𝑔𝓊𝑒𝓈𝓈 𝐼 𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝐼 𝒿𝓊𝓈𝓉...𝑔𝑜𝓉 𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝒾𝓉, 𝐼 𝑔𝓊𝑒𝓈𝓈.'

He hums, then sits cross-legged next to her, leaning against her side and pulling her wing over himself like a blanket, earning a playful glare from the mare.

"Well, it has been a long time since this happened, but...I dunno, I don't know much about stuff like this, but I don't think things like this ever really just go away, y'know? All you can really do is cope with it and do your best to not beat yourself up over it, and keep good friends around that'll help you to not be mad at yourself too." He smiles up at her, and gets a teary, grateful one in return. She leans down and kisses his forehead, settling onto her belly and yawning, using her left wing to wipe her face.

'𝐼 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝐼 𝓉𝑒𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝒶𝓋𝑜𝒾𝒹 𝓉𝒶𝓁𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝓂𝓎 𝓅𝓇𝑜𝒷𝓁𝑒𝓂𝓈, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝒫𝓇𝒾𝓃𝒸𝑒𝓈𝓈'𝓈 𝒽𝑜𝓃𝑜𝓇, 𝐼 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓎 𝒶𝓂 𝓉𝒾𝓇𝑒𝒹 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝑜𝒹𝒶𝓎'𝓈...𝑒𝓍𝒸𝒾𝓉𝑒𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓉. 𝑀𝒶𝓎𝒷𝑒 𝓌𝑒 𝓈𝒽𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝒿𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝓃𝒶𝓅 𝓊𝓃𝓉𝒾𝓁 𝓌𝑒 𝑔𝑒𝓉 𝒷𝒶𝒸𝓀 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒞𝓇𝓎𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓁 𝐸𝓂𝓅𝒾𝓇𝑒?'

When she receives a skeptical look from her adopted baby brother, she rolls her eyes affectionately and goes through the motions of a Pinkie Promise, mouthing the words along with them. A faint, ominous whisper echoes from nowhere and everywhere the second she finishes.

Or else...

'𝐼 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓎 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝓉𝒶𝓁𝓀 𝓉𝑜 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝑜𝓃𝒸𝑒 𝐼'𝓂 𝓁𝑒𝓈𝓈 𝑒𝓍𝒽𝒶𝓊𝓈𝓉𝑒𝒹. 𝐼'𝓁𝓁 𝓅𝓇𝑜𝒷𝒶𝒷𝓁𝓎 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒶𝓁𝓀 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑔𝒾𝓇𝓁𝓈 𝒶𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝒾𝓉 𝓉𝑜𝑜, 𝓉𝑜 𝒷𝑒 𝒽𝑜𝓃𝑒𝓈𝓉...'

Satisfied with her promise, Spike settles down into a little ball of a dragon by her side, adamantly refusing to stop protecting her even as they sleep. Soon, however, he's snoring, off in dreamland.

Twilight smiles and conjures up a blanket, draping it over Spike and tucking in the edges. She titters.

'He looks like a little blue bun!'

Yawning once more, she settles herself onto her belly, resting her chin down onto her crossed forehooves as she begins to doze off...

"Twiiiliiight...Twiiiliiight...TWILIGHT!"

"DAUGH!" With one of her trademark yelps, she wakes up, eyes darting around wildly and her horn beginning to power up. "Spike, what's wrong, who's attacking us?!"

One hand places itself on her cheek, another flicking at her horn to jolt her out of firing off any potentially destructive spells. "Hey, calm down, Twi! Nothing's wrong, you were just REALLY asleep. I guess you were more tired than you thought!"

The familiar smile of her assistant brings her racing heartbeat back down to a much more normal pace, and she offers him a sheepish grin of her own, cheeks heating up. "Oh, uh, s-sorry. So, um, are we here, then?"

As if on cue, the conductor knocks on the door twice, then calls through it to announce that they have, indeed, arrived at the Crystal Empire, and that the train will be returning to Canterlot in five minutes.

She stands up, stretching her legs, then the rest of her body in a distinctly cat-like series of motions, before shaking herself loose and sighing contentedly. "Ahh...I really do feel much better, though, Spike! C'mon, we gotta go talk to the girls now." When she walks onto the train station's platform, though, she finds King Sombra waiting for her, holding a golden tiara with obsidian and amethyst pieces masterfully set into the jewelry. In addition, floating in his black and green levitation field just below it is a royal purple cloak, complete with a black faux fur trim.

"Hello, Princess Twilight! I figured I would meet you here to give you the good news." His grin is wide, showing off his fangs, but the excitement in his voice and face is so genuine that she can't find it in herself to feel threatened at all. "I've decided to crown YOU as my heir to the Crystal Empire's throne! Think of it as being my protégé, if you will. I shall train you in my most potent of magics, and-"

Suddenly, a ray of golden magic so bright that it sears the retinas of all who saw it for a good few seconds shatters the tiara and incinerates the robes within seconds, and the very core of the earth shakes as Princess Celestia lands with a furious growl.

"HALT, FOUL BEAST! MY student would NEVER succumb to your EVIL SCHEMES and treacheries!" She turns to Twilight and gives her the same motherly smile that she's grown up with for years before turning back to King Sombra with a murderous glare. "If I must DESTROY you to save my poor filly's innocence, then SO BE IT!" Rising to the air, she begins shooting destructive golden beams towards King Sombra, blasting apart the train station at every fiery-hot point impact.

"FILLY?! HA! You truly have lost your MIND, Princess Celestia! Princess Twilight Sparkle is a mature and BRIGHT alicorn princess, and she has the mind of a TRUE leader." Rising to the air as well, his body transforms into black smog as his head remains in its solid form, tendrils of shadow lashing out in attempts to pierce through Celestia's body. "She deserves BETTER than some OLD COW like YOU!" Crackling green lightning strikes down towards Celestia, narrowly missing the spot where she stood not more than one second ago.

"EEENOUGH!"

Horn glowing with strain, she forms the strongest shield she knows how to - silently thanking Shining Armor for developing and teaching her the spell - before stepping in-between the two, wings flapping as she blasts both of them with her own purple magic, temporarily disabling their abilities to use their arcana.

"Neither of you asked what I want! Does that not matter to you two?!"

Both of them float to be next to each other, eyes locking with her own as their mouths open and they speak in synchronicity:

"No."

And with that, one shadowy limb reaches out to wrap around her waist as another solidified tendril of golden magic grips her waist just above King Sombra's hold on her. She feels the breath yanked from her lungs, choking as her face goes redder and redder, and she desperately wants to beg them to stop, but their foci are no longer on her, intensely glaring at each other, and all she can do is gasp and wheeze and-

It feels like it happens in slow motion. First, her internal organs rupture. It feels like very thick balloons are popping within her. Then, her spine cracks. It's muted, and she doesn't think outside spectators really heard it that much, but she feels it more than hears it and it echoes throughout her skull so loudly that it hurts. Finally, her skin tears. She doesn't hear that part; her ears are ringing too much it's so loud and who's screaming oh she's screaming. Everything hurts so much, she just wants this all to be over with already. If she's dead, she won't have to choose, and she won't have to face her crazy teacher and she won't have to face the crazy king, and-

The world goes black. Not figuratively. Everything quite literally vanishes, and she finds herself whole once more, all pain gone and the air restored to her lungs. She gasps for breath anyways, because she desperately wants to feel normal again. Once she's panicking less, she screams again.

"What is going ON?!"

When Princess Luna appears in front of her, though, everything clicks into place, and she slumps in relief.

'A dream. Of course it was a dream.'

The lunar diarch bows her head slightly, before forming a pleasant meadow around them, a stream quietly burbling as it surrounds the pair in a perfect circle, the occasional, comfortably cool breeze flittering through the branches of the cherry blossom trees placed throughout the clearing.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle. We- I hope you will excuse my question, but...what was that monstrosity of a dream?"

The glare she levels upon Princess Luna could destroy cities. It lasts for exactly three point zero seven seconds before her expression crumbles and she collapses onto the ground, sobbing so hard that she gags occasionally, tears and snot dribbling down her face and wings covering her head as she shivers and rocks back and forth slightly.

"D- Duh- Doh- Dohohon't ma- muh- make mm- m-mme ch- chuh- choohoose t-tooo!"

She understands nothing, but Twilight Sparkle has never had any reason to express animosity towards her, and she feels that the other isn't...exactly a threat right now. So, she clops over, drapes a wing over the smaller princess, and pulls her head in until a damp purple muzzle is against her own broad indigo chest and the Princess of Friendship is free to bawl her eyes out for as long as she needs to.

It comes in waves. She shushes Twilight comfortingly, wipes her tears when she begins to calm, pulls her face back to her chest when she begins to wail out into the shade of the tree above once more, and pets her mane when she falls into whimpering spells. Eventually, though, Princess Twilight calms down enough to lift a trembling wing so that she can smear away snot and tears from her face. Luna can't help but to smile at the sight.

"I must remind you, Twilight Sparkle, that we are in a dream. Thou- you can simply wish for an infinitely absorbent handkerchief and it shall come forth to you."

When the smaller alicorn looks back up at her, her eyes are red-rimmed and still damp, but she offers the tiniest of grateful smiles, and she really does look like she may be ready to talk now. A pink hankie appears in front of her, and after a meek request for Luna to look away, she blows her nose so loudly that the honk echoes throughout the clearing before she wipes her tears away for - hopefully - the last time. All the same, she keeps it clutched firmly in-between her hooves, wringing them slightly as she nudges Princess Luna slightly.

"So, um...I-I guess I have to, talk to you about that dream, huh?" Her voice cracks as she talks, and Luna conjures up some honey ginger tea in a mug shaped like her own head. A laugh leaves her at the sight, but she sips at the tea all the same.

"You do not have to do anything, Twilight Sparkle, but we- I feel that it would benefit you greatly to at least unload your troubles upon somepony who wouldst fail to judge you for anything you are feeling, whether it be conscious or not." She pauses, a sardonic little smile coming to her lips. "Although...perhaps it could be argued that it is now, indeed, conscious." Her head tilts as she gazes down at Twilight. "Before you begin, however...whatever did you mean by 'choose', Twilight Sparkle? We- I did indeed catch the tail end of your dream, and while I believe we can both agree that it was symbolic of two sides, I do not see how I would play any part in this struggle for...possession of you, I assume?"

A soft sigh leaves her at the wording. "'Possession' is right. I feel like I can't do anything without hurting at least one pony, Luna." She sips at her tea again, chewing on a ginger slice and letting the sting of the root ground her more firmly. "I spoke with King Sombra, and...basically, he's not as evil as Princess Celestia told me he was. Not even close." When she looks back up at the lunar princess, she's somewhat confused at the absolute lack of a rebuttal.

"You're...you're not going to argue against that or something?"

She snorts and stomps one hoof gently. "Princess Twilight, after all you have done for the citizens of Equestria, not to mention me, it would be a grave insult to the both of us if I were to imply that you were unable to judge any pony's character. Whether that be a commoner or King Sombra himself, it is still your judgment and we- I trust it."

Twilight nods gratefully, continuing. "Well, after Sombra and I talked and I realized that he isn't evil, I decided that I had to come talk to Princess Celestia and tell her. We were sent there to protect the Crystal Empire, and looking back, I think she told me that history because she believed he was evil, which means we had to protect it from King Sombra. Since he's...well, I don't know if I'd say good, but he's not bad. Anyways, since he's not bad, she could just...I don't know. At least let my friends and I be friends with him." She takes a deep, shuddering breath, tears threatening to spring up again. She swallows the bit of ginger in her mouth, washes it down with more tea, then chews on another slice.

"But when I told her what King Sombra had told me - his 'version' of the Crystal Empire's history - she didn't- she WOULDN'T believe me!" Her hooves shake as they hold the mug, a scowl crossing over her face. "So I snapped at her, and- and I told her that the King asked me to cast Veritus on him. The history he told me was true. All of it was true. And then I told her to read my mind. To read all of it." She chuckles mirthlessly. "I guess I got that idea from King Sombra. Anyways, she did, and found no trace of dark magic or his influence in my mind." A snort of irritation. "As if I wouldn't be able to tell."

"...then...th-then she...basically said that I was being manipulated. How does that even- augh! Manipulated by WHAT, Princess Luna?! By the TRUTH?!"

As Twilight speaks, Princess Luna's face had slowly grown more and more irritated until, with Twilight's final words, she stomps again, much harder, and growling with anger. "That. STUBBORN. FOOL!"

If not for the fact that the first time she had met Princess Luna, the mare had used her Royal Canterlot Voice, she might have fallen over backwards. As it were, though, she simply jumps slightly, nearly inhaling ginger and coughing as spicy spit attempts to make its way into her lungs.

The taller alicorn stands and begins to pace around the clearing, wings flared and flapping occasionally as she rants. "That idiotic, bull-headed, stubborn, cake-addicted, nosy, power-hungry, holier-than-thou, bratty know-it-all SOW!"

The force of her yell sends the leaves and petals flying off of the tree that was unfortunate enough to be nearest to her. She pays it no mind, instead turning to Twilight, inhaling deeply before huffing out a breath in an attempt to calm herself.

"We apologize, Twilight Sparkle. This is...well, we- I thought it was-" She presses a forehoof to the space in-between her eyes, gently, before setting it back down. A tiny speck of mud clings to the fur there. "It is unusual behavior for my sister. At least, I wish to believe that it is. Your time together, with her as your mentor and you as her student, has taught her to be much more selfless and caring, less egocentric, and I thought that would teach her to stop self-aggrandizing. It seems I was wrong. At least, to an extent."

She sets her mug down and walks over to Luna, one purple feather flicking away the mud on the lunar diarch's forehead as she smiles weakly, still a bit shaken by the sheer volume with which Luna had screamed. "Well, at least it changed her enough that this caught us both by surprise, right?" The smile soon melts into a contemplative frown once more. "...so what do I do, Princess Luna?"

A midnight blue wing comes down to wrap around her shoulders, the coolness of the night comforting her as she's pulled closer to Luna, close enough for a gentle nuzzle. "I cannot tell you who to pick, Twilight Sparkle, nor can I be so bold as to simply suggest one over the other. However, what I will say is that the path that will hurt you the least is the one where you follow your heart." She smirks lightly. "This is a rare situation where I will say that it truly does not matter, right here and now, who your decision hurts. As long as your pain is minimal, that is all that matters."

Despite the pain that rises in her heart when she thinks of her teacher, though, Twilight sniffles and huddles closer to Luna. When she speaks, her voice comes out as nearly a whisper. "...b-but, Luna...I...I don't want to...I don't want to lose my- my mentor..."

Her wing tightens gently around Twilight's barrel in another hug. "Dearest Twilight, let us- me tell you of a lesson that I learned a long time ago the hard way: 'If thou loveth something, allow it to leave. If it doth not return, it simply was not meant to be.' I believe that it is time for my sister to learn the same lesson the hard way." She wipes away the single tear balancing on Twilight's lower lid with a cool feather.

Taking a deep, shaky breath, she unfolds one wing to return the hug before stepping away from Princess Luna, giving her a grateful bow. "I...I'll keep that in mind. I-I think I have some thinking to do, so, um..."

Luna smiles and nods, returning the bow before rising into the sky.

"Twiiiliiight...Twiiiliiight...TWILIGHT!"

"DAUGH!" With one of her trademark yelps, she wakes up, eyes darting around wildly and her horn beginning to power up. "Spike, what's wrong, who's attacking us?!"

One hand places itself on her cheek, another flicking at her horn to jolt her out of firing off any potentially destructive spells. "Hey, calm down, Twi! Nothing's wrong, you were just really asleep. I guess you were more tired than you thought!"

The familiar smile of her assistant brings her racing heartbeat back down to a much more normal pace, and she offers him a sheepish grin of her own, cheeks heating up. "Oh, uh, s-sorry. So, um, are we here, then?"

As if on cue, the conductor knocks on the door twice, then calls through it to announce that they have, indeed, arrived at the Crystal Empire, and that the train will be returning to Canterlot in five minutes.

She stands up, stretching her legs, then the rest of her body in a distinctly cat-like series of motions, before shaking herself loose and sighing contentedly. "Ahh...I really do feel much better, though, Spike! C'mon, we gotta go talk to the girls now." Just before they step onto the platform, though, she freezes up, getting the strangest feeling of déjà vu.

'Hasn't this happened bef-'

"Hello, Princess Twilight Sparkle. Do you plan on getting off of the train any time soon?"

"GAH!" But when her frantically searching gaze finally lands on the source of that voice, she finds her big brother, face halfway between a cheeky grin and a pained wince, one hoof clutching at the back of his head as Cadance folds her wing. She gives Twilight a wink as the purple alicorn walks over to the couple.

"Sunshine, sunshine, ladybug's awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!"

Both mares giggle as they dance through their fillyhood hoofshake before hugging tightly. When they pull apart, however, Cadance grabs Twilight's face in both hooves, squishing her cheeks slightly and examining the bags under her eyes, her sleep-mussed mane, the red rims of her eyes, and the bit of dried snot that she missed with her wings before passing out.

"Oh- Twilight, what happened to you?!" She conjures up a warm, wet washcloth before starting to scrub at her sister-in-law's face, ignoring her dramatic cries for help - "Hewp mwe, she's towtuwing mweee!" - and examining her, carefully cleaning off the tips of her primary wing feathers until she's satisfied with Twilight's state. With another poof of magic, the washcloth is gone.

Red-faced and glaring indignantly at Princess Cadance, the expression lasts for maybe three seconds before she giggles, leaning against the other mare gratefully. "...thank you, Cadance. And I'll explain everything once we're back at the castle. It's...it's been quite a day."

Shining Armor walks up and gives Twilight a gentle noogie - Cadance shoots him a dirty look as he ruins the hard work she'd put in to straightening her mane - in greeting. "You and me both, sis."

"Excuse me! You're not the only one that's been talking to the citizens of the Crystal Empire all day, Prince Shining Armor."

He gulps, and turns to his wife with a sheepish grin. Full name. He's in hot water. "O-Of course, dear! It- I was joking. To make Twilight, uh, happier. Yeah!"

A giggle from behind the three of them pulls their attention to a snorting Spike, who looks to be on the verge of falling to the ground laughing as he keeps both claws clasped over his mouth. With a roll of her eyes, Twilight picks him up in her magic and plops him down onto her back, looking pointedly towards the Crystal Castle.

"So. Shall we?"

"So, what did you mean when you said you were talking to all the Crystal ponies?"

The wave of relief that had washed over her was very, very visible in the way her body had instantly relaxed upon the sight of her best friends waiting in the Crystal Castle's meeting room, all already seated and sipping at their various beverages. Twilight had elected to conjure up another cup of honey ginger tea. She has the strangest feeling that it's going to become one of her favorite drinks from now on.

A flash of regret runs over the faces of Princess Cadance and Shining Armor, and they sigh heavily as they slump in their chairs somewhat. "We've...been talki-"

"We've been givin' those memory-wiped Crystals a whole lotta talkin', but they haven't given us squat to work with!"

She looks over to Rainbow Dash, tilting a brow in confusion. "What do you mean? I thought King Sombra-"

"Darling, that's just the issue. None of them want to remember that...dreadful creature," and she doesn't notice the way Twilight visibly flinches at the name-calling, "and it's been putting a halt to every single potential lead we've gained!"

When Cadance opens her mouth to interject, though, Pinkie Pie decides to cut her off, and nopony's stupid enough to try and interrupt Pinkie Pie.

"Yeah! That nasty shadow pony's real good at hiding! I dunno if I'd say he's better than me, but I think I'd at least say that he's as good as me, or maybe at least as good as me? Either way, we gotta make up aaa..." She grabs a SOM-72 out of thin air and puts it on herself, the deactivated helmet causing her voice to echo. "...BATTLE PLAN!"

Purple pupils constrict at the sight of the device. Her heart tightens next.

"Pinkie Pie! Quit foolin' around." Applejack firmly bangs a hoof onto the table, nearly upsetting her glass of apple juice.

Her heart lifts slightly. Maybe her farmer friend-

"Now, y'all, the only thing that Pinkie said that's useful is that we gotta make a plan of some sort t' make sure that we kin capture that savage."

This time, her heart simply shatters. She guesses it's because it tightened too much.

"Ah say we lay down some sorta trap, get the jump on 'im. An' then, when he's all unaware, BAM!" She slams her front hooves together, the loud clop bouncing off of the crystal walls.

For a time, there's silence as Twilight Sparkle's friends watch her, waiting for her plan on how to take down Sombra. Her head is buried within her crossed forelegs, but they've seen her do weirder things while plotting.

"Uhm...Twili- eep!"

Fluttershy quite literally rolls backwards, head over hoof, until she lands against a wall, dazed, as Twilight forms a protective purple shield around herself and begins to sob.

Shining Armor and Cadance exchange looks with each other before Shining nods, his magic surrounding Cadance before sinking into her body. She promptly gives everypony in the room - save for Fluttershy - a good thump to the back of the head before stepping through Twilight's shield. She breathes a sigh of relief; thank goodness his suspicions were correct. Leave it to Twilight Sparkle to use her B.B.B.F.F.'s amazing shield spell when she needs to feel protected.

She doesn't say anything once she's close, though. She simply pulls Twilight out of her chair, then upright enough to hug the purple mare into her chest, wings wrapping around her to cocoon her in a warm blanket of safety.

Shining Armor and Cadance are busy being worried, Fluttershy's busy recovering from her wall trip, and the others are busy being in various states of shock, so it comes as quite the shock when a low voice echoes throughout the Crystal Castle's meeting room.

"...have I come at a bad time?" Just a hint of discomfort flashes over his face as everypony turns to look at him. Twilight jerks so suddenly that Cadance checks her pulse with her magic just to be sure that her sister-in-law isn't suddenly seizing up.

"K- Ki- King Sombra?! Why- I-I mean, you- y-you're- I'm glad to- to see you, but-" Her voice wavers from the residual constrictions of the sobs that had been wracking her throat, but she swallows them back down.

He stares at her, stunned. "I...saw the train from Canterlot arriving from a distance. I was up on the top of the castle, to...think. After our, er, conversation, I needed some time alone to recover. I figured I would greet you here." He shuffles his hooves awkwardly, starting to back away. "...this is my fault, isn't it." The tone of his voice leaves no room for argument; it's not a question, not really.

Too impatient to lower it properly, her shield pops before she walks - wobbles - over to poke a hoof firmly into his chest. "No. This is-" Her voice chokes up again. "This is Princess Celestia's fault." She turns to level a reproachful glare upon her friends. "And my friends' faults too." She turns back to King Sombra. "So don't you dare blame yourself for me crying." A small smile comes to her lips as she summons a cup of honey ginger tea, offering it to the king. "I'd say you've had long enough to do that. Now have some tea. A good friend introduced this to me, and I think you'd like it too."

"Excuse me?!" He takes the cup in his magic, silently noting that it does smell quite nice, but he sets it down on the table before pulling out a chair and nodding towards it before sitting on one himself. "You're saying that Princess Celestia- she- she broke you like this?"

When he raises his voice, the other five mortal ponies in the room bristle, preparing to attack, but a warning glow from the Princess of Love's horn causes them to settle back down.

Twilight sniffles slightly, nodding before sipping at her own tea. "Yes. She...basically said that she doesn't trust my judgment of you, and that..." She grimaces, not wanting to hurt the other but seeing no other way to word things. "...that you're, um...manipulating me...somehow...by telling me the truth!" She growls and slams a hoof down onto the table. "By telling me the TRUTH! How does that even WORK?!"

But much to her surprise, a deep, booming laugh comes forth from King Sombra, and she stares at him quietly for several moments as he does so, before he finally calms down enough to try his own drink. "Mm! This really is quite tasty. Thank you, Princess." He clears his throat. "Rest assured, I am not laughing at you. I'm laughing because the solar diarch is still just as stubborn as she was over one thousand years ago." His horn flares up with magic as it swirls upon the table, not doing anything in particular, simply showing off the way black and acid green interlock with each other. "It seems that some eternal beings either change too much...or not at all." He shakes his head and sighs, the arcane forces dissipating into thin air as the smile leaves his face.

"Regardless...this is a terrible conundrum that you have been presented with, Princess Twilight Sparkle, and one that I never anticipated at that." He traces a hoof over the mug's handle, lips pursed in thought. "...I believe that I still retain the knowledge of the original masking spell. If I were to whisk us away into nothingness once more, you would not have to deci-"

"Absolutely NOT!"

The sheer force with which she speaks causes his hoof to stutter, and he yelps slightly as hot tea spills into his lap. A whisk of magic cleans his coat and heals the slight burn before he looks at Twilight, seeing determination and righteous anger flaming within those violet eyes.

"If...i-if she..." She closes her eyes, clearly struggling to speak. "...if she refuses to see that you tried your best, then she doesn't deserve to see. She doesn't deserve to- to see m-me, to see you, and she doesn't deserve to see the truth." Her eyes reopen, and she meets Sombra's shocked gaze with her own. "I've made my decision, and I'm not backing out." She turns to her friends, leveling that same unwavering, confident glare upon her five friends. "So. You saw and heard what just happened. Are you with me - with us - or against us? I won't fight you guys, but you're going to have to leave if y-"

Five warm bodies smash into her, ten hooves wrapping around her - two pink hooves nearly crush all of the air out of her lungs - in loving hugs.

"Oh Twilight, we could never leave you!"

"Darling, of course we'll support you!"

"Ah reckon you got a darn good reason for sidin' with King Sombra."

"Hey, I'm stickin' with you no matter what!"

"No party's fun without you in it, silly!"

All of the confirmations flood her ears at once, and she feels tears springing to her eyes once more, her heart swelling with love - or maybe she's just crying because she really can't breathe now.

"P-Puh- Pinkie- a-a-air-!"

"Oops! Sorry Twilight!" Everypony quickly climbs up off of her, those same pink hooves pulling her up into a sitting position as she wheezes for air. Eventually, she's breathing normally, and now she definitely knows that she's tearing up out of happiness as her friends all offer her supportive smiles. However, a question remains within all of their eyes: 'Why?'

She turns to King Sombra, gesturing him closer with a hoof. He hesitates, clearly still wary of the other five ponies, but when they all call out to him to come over too, he decides that it's...probably safe. Slowly, he clops over, before eventually sitting on the floor next to her. They form a nice little circle - more of an oval, really - on the meeting room's ground, and he looks to her, head cocked in confusion.

"I figured I should have you here while I, uh...tell your story. If you can't handle hearing it again, though, I won't be offended if you need to leave."

After a brief period of consideration, he shakes his head. "No, I believe that my...period of meditation, if you will, was more than sufficient in allowing me to reprocess the emotions I have surrounding my empire's history." One side of his muzzle quirks up into a smirk, just enough that a fang pokes through. "Although, no promises on whether I will remain silent or not."

"WOAH that's so cool! Mister King Sombra sir, is that a fang! Do you have two? Can I see? Oh wait sorry, is that, like, totally rude? Sorry if that's rude, I just think that's SO super cool!"

The bewilderment on his face is clear as day when he turns to face Pinkie Pie, but she must get that a lot, because no offense shows as she grins brightly at him, expectation for an answer clear in her eyes. He clears his throat awkwardly, then grins widely enough to show off all four fangs, opening his muzzle slightly to let her get a good look. She gasps in awe, and he could swear that her eyes physically grow larger as she examines them, before she nods to confirm that she's gotten her fill.

"WOW thank you thank you THANK YOU King Sombra! That's really neat I didn't know somepony could even HAVE four fangs! OH can I call you Somby? Or maybe Sombry. No, wait, that sounds kinda weird. Unless you like it? Then I can TOTALLY call you that! I've had weirder names than Sombry!"

He blinks in confusion. Helplessly, he turns to Twilight, who simply smirks back at him, shaking her head slightly.

Nope. You gotta deal with this on your own, buddy.

"I- uh...w-well, my, uh..." He clears his throat again, taking a sip of his tea to buy some time. "My comra- er, friends, would just call me Sombra." After a moment of consideration, he adds on, "but, er...my full name is King Sombra Umbral Obsidian, so...if you'd like to make a, uh...a list, I suppose...of nicknames that you might want to call me, then...we could, perhaps, look over it together...?" He allows himself the smallest of smiles. "Also...thank you. Nopony has ever really...appreciated my teeth. It is a nice change of pace to not be treated like a freak."

And suddenly his nostrils are filled with the scent of frosting and sprinkles and sugary bread and there are unbelievably strong forehooves wrapped around him in a hug.

"Aww silly, you're not a monster! You're just a great big teddy bear with a REALLY COOL NAME OHMYGOSH I gotta get started on that list! As soon as Twilight's done telling us about you, I gotta get some paper and a quill and think on what I can call you oh speaking of names mine's Pinkie Pie! Nice to meetcha!" And then she's pulling back and his hoof is in a firm grip that's shaking it so hard that he can feel his brain rattling around. He returns it the best he can, and then she hops back over to her seat.

Finally, Twilight allows herself a snicker. Leave it to Pinkie Pie to be the first of the others to befriend King Sombra. Soon, however, her facial expression and very aura shifts into something much more somber.

"Alright...I'm afraid that I'm going to have to ruin the good mood now. Spike?"

"Yes sir!" He pulls out his notes of King Sombra's recollection, handing them over to Twilight before he hands a rolled-up scroll to Sombra. "Psst! Don't open this 'til you're somewhere private. It's a, uh...well, I guess it's a sorta feel-good gift! To lift your mood a bit after all of this is done." He gives the king a thumbs-up and a wink before taking his place back at Twilight's side, oblivious to her snickers.

'Oh, Spike...you're terrible at whispering.' She sighs. 'But you're a wonderful friend.'

Unrolling the first scroll, she begins to tell them Sombra's side of history, interspersed with the occasional correction, addition, or quip from King Sombra himself. Afterwards, they're all in various states of shock, but when they look at him, it's with a new, respectful light in their eyes.

After a few moments wherein the five mortals in the room gather their thoughts, Princess Twilight Sparkle remembers that she has a brother and sister-in-law. Her eyes widen in apologetic surprise.

"Oh, gosh, I-I'm sorry! I was so-"

They both chuckle, waving her apology off. "It's alright, Twilight," Cadance says with a warm smile. "I can hardly blame you for being just a little bit distracted."

A grateful little smile makes its way across her lips before the corners of her mouth turn down into a contemplative frown. "So, um...I'm guessing you already know what I'm going to ask y-"

She's interrupted by a blue hoof with shaggy white fetlocks pressing into the top of her mane, rubbing into her scalp with fond, brotherly affection as its counterpart wraps around her neck.

"Hush it, Twily. L.S.B.F.F. and B.B.B.F.F.s gotta stick together 'til the end, and that's never gonna change. You're my little sister, and I already learned to trust your judgment above all others' when I married the love of my life - the real love of my life. I don't plan to learn it again." He hugs her close to his chest, finally releasing her disastrously mussed mane with a crooked smirk of a grin before he turns to Princess Cadance, who returns his gaze with her own, pensive one. "Speaking of my gorgeous wife, though...Cadance?"

Pursing her lips, the silence that fills the meeting room rings off of the crystal walls far louder than anything else that's been said thus far as she thinks for several long moments before she walks over to the pair and wraps her wings around the hugging siblings. "As much as I wish this didn't have to be a choice...I am the Princess of Love, and my choice was made before we ever entered this room." She shoots King Sombra a look, and an unspoken conversation passes between them, spanning across eons and yet mere milliseconds, before she turns back to smile warmly at her husband and her sister-in-law. "I truly do believe that Celestia will eventually come around. But, until then, I must remain with the king that prioritized love above all else and the ponies that are willing to sacrifice nearly everything they know to support that king." She turns to face King Sombra fully, bowing low to touch her nose gently to the cold crystal floor before rising, holding herself regal and tall, chest out, head high, and wings flared not in a threat display, but as a show of acknowledgment for their respective, powerful statuses.

"You are the true king of this empire, King Sombra. I wouldn't feel right usurping you from your throne. It was our plan when we first believed you to be a cruel tyrant, but clearly that isn't the case." That small smile is back on her lips, tinged with just a tiny hint of that grief deeper than any mere mortal could know. It grows only slightly as Sombra opens his muzzle to protest at her bow and her words. "Regardless of my status as a Princess of Equestria and as an alicorn, it is not only customary for Equestrians, but a personal belief of mine, that everypony within a ruler's kingdom show that ruler the respect that he is due. And King Sombra, we have quite a bit to make up for."

If the lump in his throat makes itself known in the way his voice is suddenly much hoarser and wobbling due to the tremor in his bottom lip when he next speaks, nopony makes any indication that they hear it.

"I- I-I don't know what to-" He chokes, slightly, a burning making itself known behind his eyes, and he tears his gaze away from Princess Cadance's down to the floor so that he can furiously blink it away before he looks back up at her. He draws himself up, chest out and head held high as his magical aura swirls around his horn and his hooves in a similar display of power, eyes glowing slightly, before he returns her bow with his own, just as deeply. When he rises, he takes a deep, steadying breath, and his eyes still sting slightly, but his shoulders feel just a little bit lighter as his arcana dissipate into the surrounding air and he speaks once more. "I...I don't know what to say, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, except thank you. I will, of course, happily reclaim my throne." Here, he pauses, however, turning his gaze to Shining Armor as one side of his muzzle quirks up into a smirk, one fang flashing in the light. "But...I will need a new Captain of the Guard." He struggles to keep the sadness out of his voice, tries to keep the mood of the room light, and succeeds. Mostly. "Only the best of the best can replace the one who was lost so long ago. I do not plan to ever allow for another bout of senseless violence, but that doesn't mean that I don't wish to keep my empire protected."

Prince Shining Armor rises from his hug from Twilight to stand in a perfect salute, raising one foreleg to hold his hoof across his forehead. "Sir, yes, sir! It would be an honor and a privilege, sir!"

A giggle - a giggle, he can't remember the last time he's giggled - escapes the king, half out of surprise and half out of admiration. During his and Princess Twilight's talks before her train had arrived, she couldn't stop gushing about her big brother, Prince Shining Armor, the Captain of the Royal Guard. He had expected a good, even great guard, but clearly Shining Armor hasn't allowed the prince's life to soften him or erode away any of his training in the slightest. "At ease, Captain." He gives his own salute, grinning wide and proud.

And so it's decided.

Even as his heart races at the thought of the upcoming event, as he watches Princess Twilight Andromeda Sparkle frantically pace around the meeting room - 'Is there a GROOVE in the floor?!' - and check and recheck and re-recheck the seven-foot-long scroll full of notes on the speech she intends upon giving to the citizens of the Crystal Empire, he's beginning to think that she's about ten times as nervous as he is. When he turns his bewildered gaze upon the other seven ponies and one dragon in the room, however, they all give him the same, knowing smirk:

'This is normal.'

However, as the clock ticks and the public address itself grows nearer, it's as though Twilight goes through a magical transformation: She brushes her mane and it stays laying smooth and flat, her eyes lose their frantic, darting gaze, her voice returns to its bookish tone, and her overall presence begins to gain a royal confidence to it.

He stares at her, then back to her friends and relatives. They give him that knowing smirk again. He shakes his head, absolutely mystified by this mare.

Princess Twilight Sparkle is the first to walk out onto the balcony. Her horn glows with a vocal amplification spell, surrounding her vocal folds and ensuring that her voice is heard throughout the entirety of the Crystal Empire.

"Citizens of the Crystal Empire! Please gather around for an important royal address from Princess Twilight Andromeda Sparkle and her friends, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, Prince Shining Armor, and a very special, final speaker!"

Several trees rustle at the force of her voice, and several more lose a good portion of their leaves. She blushes and lowers the strength of her spell. Still, it did its job; every single Crystal pony stops what they're doing and files into the Crystal Plaza, looking up at the balcony, most of their heads tilted in confusion.

"Ahem. When my friends and I first arrived here, we only knew what I knew. And what I knew was what Princess Celestia told me about this beautiful empire. She told me that, over one thousand years ago, there was an evil king. This evil king was composed of dark shadows and made use of the most vile of magics to create prisons of black crystal and armor to trap and enslave his innocent Crystal ponies. This evil king was named King Sombra."

When a shudder of terror and disgust ripples throughout the crowd beneath her, she grits her teeth but keeps her composure, only a hint of a wobble in her voice as it reverberates throughout the plaza.

"Princess Celestia told me that my friends and I had to come to the Crystal Empire to protect it. More specifically, I had to come here to find a way to protect it. And after I had heard her side of the Crystal Empire's history, I believed that I had to come and protect it from this evil King Sombra after defeating him once and for all."

This time, the crowd's murmurs are those of confusion, whispers amongst them as they ponder just what she meant by 'side.'

She pays them no mind, instead turning and gesturing towards the other five Element bearers and Spike to come forwards onto the balcony with her. As their cheers of amazed shock (and some coos of adoration at his size) rise up, for once the baby dragon's chest doesn't puff up with pride; his face remains somber and serious as his own throat glows with purple, then begins to speak.

"Um, hello, everypony. My name is Spike the Dragon, but you guys can just call me Spike. So, I'd like to tell you all what Twilight meant when she said that she told all of you Princess Celestia's version of history. I'm sure you're all pretty smart! So, um, that means that you guys have probably figured out that that means that there's more than one perrr...per-speh-ctive...that ponies have of the Crystal Empire's history. I was there when- uh, when somepony that knows King Sombra very well told us about how he sees the empire's history, and I wanna tell it to you now."

And so, for what feels like the millionth time, Spike reads aloud King Sombra's recounting of history to the dead silent crowd of Crystal ponies below him. Were it not for his voice booming out and bouncing off of the many reflective surfaces of the plaza, it would be quiet enough to hear a pin drop throughout the entire tale.

"Thank you, Spike."

She conjures up a glass of water, gently patting the top of his head with a proud smile. "Rest your voice some."

"What Princess Celestia taught me was WRONG, in every sense of the word, Crystal ponies. And, by extension, I was wrong, and I am so, truly sorry for tainting your views of the most loving and worthy leader that you have ever had."

"How do we know we can believe you?!" The tone of the stallion's voice is accusatory, but there's apprehension laying just beneath it in the form of a quiver and the way his scowl fails to meet his eyes. The clouded, biased snippets of memories that Twilight and her friends had brought forth are beginning to take a new flavor in his mind, and he's confused, unsure whether he should trust the fear of King Sombra or the warm trust starting to take root.

Princess Twilight Sparkle smiles at the accusation. King Sombra, still hidden well out of the view of the masses, smiles as well.

Applejack's throat is the first to glow.

"Hay, everypony. Some of y'all might've already met me, but fer those of you that haven't, mah name's Applejack, and Ah bear the Element of Honesty. While Ah ain't perfect at detectin' deceit an' lies, Ah'm pretty dern good at it. Good enough to know when a pony's lyin' about the history of an entire kingdom. When this pony was tellin' King Sombra's view of this here empire's history, I ain't sensed a single. Dang. Drop. Of dishonesty."

Pinkie Pie is next.

"What's up, shinies! I'm Pinkie Pie, and I'm the Element of LAUGHTER!"

In true Pinkie Pie fashion, she pulls a party cannon out of thin air, pulls the trigger, and blasts confetti into the air. As it slowly flutters down, several Crystal ponies' coats glow just a little bit brighter as their smiles grow.

"But right now, I'm gonna get kinda serious, okay? I don't like things that hurt ponies, not even other ponies! And there's a lot of ways to hurt ponies, unfortunately, but the ways I see the most are things that make ponies sad, which is the total opposite of laughter! I've met a looot of total grumpy grumpster grumpypantseses! But Ki- I mean, the pony that told us about King Sombra's history stuff? He was no meanie grumpy pantses at all! And neither was King Sombra. You guys know better than probably every other kingdom out there that love is one of the BIGGEST sources of joy and laughter and happiness in the entire world and universe ever, right? And King Sombra, he did some things that hurt other ponies, and that stuff did make me kinda sad. But what matters is that he's still super duper super full of love, and I can definitely party with a pony like that!"

With another pull of the party cannon's cord and another cheer from some ponies down below, she steps back.

Violet surrounds Rarity's vocal folds. She tosses her mane, then speaks.

"I am Rarity Belle the Unicorn, and I am the bearer of the Element of Generosity. As Pinkie Pie said, King Sombra did some rather...unsavory things...during his reign. However, he also made sacrifices. Many, many sacrifices. And, again, as Pinkie Pie stated, they were all borne from his great love. Specifically, his love for all of you, his dearest Crystal ponies. Generosity stems from empathy, sympathy, a desire to help and give to others, to alleviate suffering and to further elevate those who are doing well, and King Sombra was no different. In fact, I would say that, in the Crystal Empire's prime, he exemplified my Element far better than I do as I stand right here and now. In my eyes, that is a pony worth not only not hating, but a pony worth calling your king."

Several ponies gasp as a flash of gryphon feathers and blood run through their minds, shadows bursting out of her brains and her death squawk echoing through their minds' ears. They go pale for a few precious seconds before the ponies around them hold them up, supporting the weakened Crystal ponies against their own bodies.

When Rainbow Dash steps up, she stomps one forehoof and there's a fire burning in her eyes that rarely makes itself known.

"Sup? I'm Rainbow Dash, and I'm the Element of Loyalty. I'm sure you guys know about Loyalty, at least kinda. I'm sure once you guys get over your weird amnesia stuff or whatever, you'll know what I'm talkin' about. Anyways, the reason I'm up here today, up here right. Now. Is because I heard this Sombra guy's story first-hoof, just like the rest of my fellow Elements did, and the things that King Sombra went through for you guys? He didn't just sacrifice things as your king, he sacrificed things as a fellow pony, alongside you in combat. He was never above you. He stuck by you guys no matter WHAT. And that's the kind of loyalty that not a lotta rulers show. Not in the history books, and not even now. Most ponies think it's easier to just throw in the towel and run away when things look real cruddy than to stick with their subjects through the toughest of toughs."

More ponies shudder as the gryphoness' grisly death replays in their minds, but the first victims gain more than just that. They relive the king's tender interaction with the shaking foal, and how, despite his changed appearance, he hadn't changed at all. Not in any way that mattered to the Crystal ponies. His love still radiated outwards towards them, and they had real, physical proof of it; how else could the Crystal Heart's shield still be spinning, still be guarding their empire with its bubble, stronger than ever?

The whispers grow in number as those still affected by the amnesiac barrier ask if the pale ponies are alright, and then, as the coats of the first ones who had nearly fainted suddenly shine several times brighter, the crystalline structures of their bodies beginning to make themselves known, several small crowds begin to form around them as they mutter amongst themselves, asking how it happened. The memories spread like wildfire amongst the Crystal ponies.

Finally, Fluttershy's throat glows. When she first speaks, she's still just barely audible to only the front half of the crowd. She smiles sheepishly and clears her throat, then tries again, raising her voice.

"Um, hello, everypony. My name's Fluttershy, a-and I hold the Element of Kindness. I'm...not the greatest at public speaking, so, please forgive me if I bumble my words. I was there, too, to hear King Sombra's, um, telling, I guess, of the Crystal Empire's history. And...it was scary. It was really scary at some parts. A lot of parts, actually. But I'm used to being scared; my name is Fluttershy, after all! But, um, the thing that made me a lot less scared was the way King Sombra's actions showed his true kindness. Every time something scary happened to you guys, he was so...sad. It really hurt him a lot. And even though he did some stuff that hurt some ponies, and even more gryphons, I understand a lot, and it came from a place where he was...he was really just trying his hardest in an awful and scary situation. Kindness and Generosity are pretty closely linked. And, if Rarity has such high praise to give King Sombra, then, I-I guess it's no surprise that I also want to say that I'm...I'm so, so proud of him. He always tried to do what was right, because he just wanted the best for you guys. He didn't give up, didn't do the unkind thing."

All five of their throats glow again as the amplification spells are canceled, and Twilight steps back up to speak, but right as her mouth opens, all of the Crystal ponies' bodies pale, several faint, and she gasps, one hoof coming to her mouth.

'Oh no...was this a bad idea?'

Then seven manes are blown back by the sheer force of the blast of energy that the crowd of Crystal ponies exude, their coats reflective as the day before the empire was first invaded and their eyes wide and knowing. They never wanted to forget because they hated King Sombra's SOM-72s; those had just about nothing to do with the amnesia. They didn't want to work to fight against it because of the traumas of war, because, after all of the years of peace within their own, time-frozen bubble of land, to have to face the reality of the past and other life once again combined with the sudden banishment of their king by foreigners was too terrifying to bear.

A relieved smile crosses Twilight's lips. She doesn't need to say anything else. Her horn glows one more time, canceling out the spell on her own throat and casting it upon the pony hidden in the shadows'.

The dark form stepping out onto the balcony is unmistakable. The Crystal ponies remain silent, save for a few, shocked gasps.

"...p-ponies. I...I am so deeply, deeply sorry. I should never have hidden the Crystal Empire away as I did. It was a rash decision, and led to this fate which was so easily preventable. I was only- I-I was so terrified of losing more of you to more of my absolute failures to keep all of my beloved Crystal ponies safe. I should never have allowed so many of you to fall, nor should I have hidden the Heart away. I can only hope that, one day, you will all forgive me enough to truly accept me, once more, as not only your king, but as your beloved King Sombra."

When he dips his head and takes his bottom lip in-between his teeth, gnawing at the skin and unable to look down upon his subjects, though, his ears lay flat down upon his skull as the roar of furious voices rise up towards the balcony. Despite his better judgment, one ear perks up and listens to one of the many infuriated cries, and when he does, his eyes fly open in shock.

"Don't you dare apologize for trying your best, honorable King Sombra!"

Hesitantly, so, so hesitantly, he raises his head from its shamefully bowed position, and looks out over the scowling crowd. He listens, again, to more of their screams of outrage, and finds that with every single shout he hears, his heart is filled with more and more relief and love. His eyes begin to fill with tears, a large, wobbly grin beginning to make its way across his lips, his cheeks aching with the strain of upholding such a massive expression of joy.

"We love you no matter what!"

"You're our king and nothing's gonna change that!"

"Don't apologize! It wasn't your fault, King Sombra!"

"You're not gettin' away from being our great and honorable King Sombra that easy!"

With every single word of encouragement and forgiveness, his horn glows brighter and his flanks do the same. When he raises himself up to his full height, chest puffed out with pride and his jaw set firmly, there's a fire blazing in his eyes that nopony on the balcony has seen within the king since they first met him.

"Beloved Crystal ponies, together, we will restore our glorious Crystal Empire to first how it was in its prime, and then to even greater heights than anypony could ever, EVER imagine! Because yes, I have always done my best for my subjects, but that is because you deserve a ruler that always has your best interests at heart, and a ruler that will love you tirelessly and without end. I am more honored than you could ever imagine to stand here and call myself your beloved King Sombra!"

As he bows his head towards his subjects, one by one, the Crystal ponies do the same. With every single muzzle that touches the ground of the Crystal Plaza, King Sombra's flanks glow brighter and brighter as the Crystal Heart spins faster and faster, bright blue lines racing towards the ancient relic and filling it with more light and love than it has seen in over a millennium. Finally, with an explosion of light and a magical throbbing pulse that leaves the taste of peaches and happiness within the entire empire's population's mouths, a wave of pure love energy pushes outwards from the Crystal Heart and reinforces the shimmering blue shield surrounding the Crystal Empire, washing over all of the ponies within it and leaving their coats pristine and crystalline.

While all of the Crystal ponies below rejoice and begin to dance and sing, the seven ponies up on the balcony with King Sombra stare at the dark king's flanks, their jaws dropped - save for Rarity, who's currently too busy admiring herself in the nearest crystal wall and 'ooh'ing and 'ahh'ing at her own reflection - as they view his cutie mark. Through all of the drama that they've endured surrounding the king and the decisions to be made concerning him, his cutie mark never really came into consideration; it was never a factor that had to be taken into account.

But as they finally take the time to look, now, they see that the colors and shape adorning either side of King Sombra's flanks are very familiar. They're familiar, because they're an exact, mirror copy of the same artifact that's currently, furiously spinning in-between two crystal spires directly below them right now.

King Sombra stands on the balcony, face turned up towards the sun and eyes shut as he revels in the glory of the sounds of his Crystal ponies' joy, but eventually he gets the distinct feeling that several pairs of eyes are staring at him. When he turns, he finds that his new friends are quite interested in his butt. His cheeks go red, at first, but he quickly realizes that they're staring, more specifically, at his cutie mark. He grins.

"Oh, did I never mention that I'm the creator of the Crystal Heart?"

Author's Note

If you find any errors, please let me know! I strive to keep my works as clean and well-flowing as possible.

(In retrospect, maybe I should have broken this up into several chapters, but...yeahhh, not gonna happen. I'm too lazy to come up with more chapter titles.)