Celestia and Sombra

Celestia was sleeping peacefully in her bed. In her dream, she felt more relaxed than she had felt in a long time. In the ethereal world in which she was, she was watching an eternal sunrise, sitting next to a large lake, in which the sunlight was reflected in a wonderful way. By the lake, there were Luna, Cadance, Dusk Shine, Spike, Sweet Creme, Sweet Caramel, Star Swirl, all the ponies that Celestia had great affection for. They were all there, playing and having fun together while she enjoyed just watching them laugh. Away from all the responsibilities and problems of her life, Celestia simply smiled without ever wanting to move from there.

“This… It must be a dream, right?” Celestia murmured with a small smile. With her mind slightly awakened to realize that such a scene couldn’t be real.

Deep down, Celestia knew that was just a dream, but her mind struggled to deny that statement. That was so wonderful, and she felt so happy... Why would she wake up and break that beautiful fantasy?

“I can sleep a little more… I still don't feel the need to wake up…” Celestia murmured in her sleep, finally giving in to the fantasy, because, already accustomed to waking up at the correct time for more than a thousand years, Celestia felt that it was not yet time to wake up. “If this is a dream… It's the longest dream I've ever had in my life…” Celestia murmured, subconsciously beginning to doubt her own dream. Little by little feeling that there was something strange about it. “But… if it were a perfect dream… 'HE' would be here, right?”

As if what Celestia said had been heard by someone else, from the distant horizon where the sun was rising, a silhouette appeared and began to approach. The silhouette of a tall, elegant gray unicorn approaching towards Celestia. Seeing him, Celestia's eyes lit up and her heart raced. However, that happiness lasted only a few seconds, because, although this new guest in her dream brought her happiness, it also made Celestia wake up more consciously, confirming that it was indeed a dream, because there was no way she could see 'HIM' in the real world.

“Heh… I thank you for the beautiful dream you gave me Luna, but I think it's time to wake up.” Celestia said with a sad smile. Raising her gaze to the sky to talk to her sister. Thinking that only Luna could be able to get into her dreams and create that beautiful fantasy.

Despite Celestia's words, nothing changed around her. The fantasy continued as if it were reality. Then, seeing that nothing changed, Celestia closed her eyes and activated her magic. Instantly, she woke up.

Celestia opened her eyes and saw that she was sleeping in her bed. She slowly stood up, smiling as she remembered her beautiful dream, and used her magic to move the curtains. As always, everything was still dark, because it was her job to raise the sun so that the other ponies in her kingdom would also wake up.

The alicorn approached the window smiling, but in a second, her smile disappeared. Celestia gave a confused look and began to look at everything around her with a strange look. Then she touched her window curtain and slowly felt it with her hoof.

“This… It can't be… Am I still asleep?” Celestia murmured with a shocked look. For if it were not for her extraordinary ability to sense magic, it would have taken her much longer to discover that this was still a dream.

No, that dream was about a high level of magical ability. Someone had created a first fantasy dream to keep her sleeping peacefully, but that was not its only function. The first dream was a fantasy to at the same time, if she managed to wake up, delay her in realizing that she had not really woken up, but had simply been moved to another level of dream... It was brilliant! Luna had the power to do it, but she didn't have that subtle ingenuity to create that trap. No, there were very few ponies with the magical ability and cunning to create that. Someone who could enter the castle and deceive even her…

“It was very clever of you to create that double illusion… Sunset Shimmer.” Celestia said smiling. Finally discovering who had been the cause of that trap in her dream.

Slowly everything in the room began to light up, and finally Celestia woke up in the real world. As she did so, her eyes slowly opened and she saw that she was still in her dark room, just as she had woken up in the previous illusion. The only difference was that in front of her bed was Sunset Shimmer, staring at her while her horn lit up with magic.

“I really thought I could fool you longer.” Sunset said, with a gesture full of frustration.

“You managed to fool me. And probably, if it had been another pony you did that trick on, they'd still think it woke up.” Celestia said smiling, moving to a sitting position on her bed. “Why did you do something like that?”

“Meh… I have my reasons.” Sunset responded with a shrug. “I arrived at the castle and saw that I had this great opportunity to practice my mental spells against the most powerful pony in the world. You can’t blame me for wanting to practice.” Sunset smiled with a mischievous smile.

At Sunset's response, Celestia simply watched her calmly without saying anything. For her part, Sunset realized that the princess was analyzing her and quickly continued speaking so as not to give her the opportunity.

“By the way, now that you've woken up, how about we have a little magic duel?” Sunset asked, putting on her most smug look.

Without saying anything, Celestia continued to observe Sunset in silence, without showing any expression on her face. This made Sunset extremely nervous, but of course, she didn't show it.

"Alright," Celestia responded smiling, which left Sunset even more stunned by that simple and direct response to her absurd request. However, she would not lose that duel of poker faces either, and she kept smiling presumptuously without showing her astonishment.

Celestia slowly got out of her bed and opened the curtains in her room. At that moment, she couldn't help but hide her surprise, slightly widening her eyes in surprise. It had already dawned... Someone else had risen in the sun while she was sleeping.

“Is this part of the surprise? So Luna is involved too…” Celestia asked, turning to look calmly at Sunset.

"I don’t know what you mean." Sunset replied, feigning ignorance. “I'll give you a moment so you can shower and get ready.”

"There's no need. If we have a magic duel, I’ll end up very tired, especially if it is against you. So I’ll take my bath later.” Celestia responded smiling. At the same time, she levitated her crown and other royal decorations to dress as she always did.

Following Celestia's comment, Sunset subtly narrowed her gaze and then quickly smiled, just as kind as Celestia.

“Okay, whatever you want.” Sunset said with a shrug, pretending she didn't care. “Follow me.”

Sunset left Celestia's room followed by the princess of the sun herself. Sunset began to walk calmly towards the stairs, while Celestia simply followed her, maintaining her silence and smiling calmly. As they walked down the stairs, Sunset kept glancing at Celestia. Who simply smiled as she walked looking at the ceiling and walls.

“She definitely knows something is up. Otherwise, she wouldn't have accepted my challenge to a magical duel so easily…” Sunset thought, annoyed with Celestia's attitude, not being able to figure out what was going through the princess's mind. No matter how hard she tried, Sunset couldn't predict Celestia's thoughts, and that made her very nervous, believing that this evidenced the difference in power between the two.

“You keep seeing the walls and the ceiling. Do you think you are still in a dream or an illusion?” Sunset asked with a teasing smile. Asking a question that would destabilize the calm smile that Celestia showed. However, her question had the complete opposite effect. Instead of getting nervous, Celestia raised her hoof and couldn't hide a small, amused giggle.

"It's not that. I just realized that my look made you very nervous. I guess you think I can read minds or something, but trust me, I don't have that power.” Celestia smiled, saying that paradox that Sunset immediately grasped.

Saying that she didn't read minds just when Sunset thought that, reaffirmed the exact opposite of what she denied! No... Celestia couldn't read minds, but she could read faces and expressions just like Sunset did, with the difference that Celestia had hundreds of years more experience doing it. That was what Celestia was really saying to Sunset, and Sunset immediately noticed.

“So that's it…” Sunset replied smiling, hiding her annoyance at feeling slighted by the princess. “I thought you would be wondering why I asked you to duel so suddenly? Or maybe you’re wondering if Cadance’s classes failed and you should really be worried if I turned evil.”

“Hehe… Don't be silly Sunset. There is not a wicked hair in you.” Celestia laughed amused. “If you wanted to scare me by making me believe that you broke into my room, it won't work. Sweet Creme didn't come to my room this morning, so you probably talked her out of going. For this reason, it’s most likely that Luna is involved as well, since if it were something that Luna asked for, the maid twins would obey her without hesitation. Furthermore, only she could use her magic to raise the sun in my place… Am I right?”

"I don’t know what you're talking about." Sunset responded bluntly. Annoyed to see how quickly Celestia was jumping to conclusions and getting closer to the truth.

“As for the reason for the duel, it’s quite obvious.” Celestia said smiling. “You want to distract me from something, keep me busy for some reason. That's why you created that illusion so that I would stay asleep longer, that's why it also affected you that I didn't take my bath and followed you immediately after waking up, and that's also why we went down the stairs instead of teleporting directly to the garden... I think that's why I am distracted by looking at the walls and the ceiling. I'm distracting my mind from guessing what you're planning, since it's been a long time since anyone gave me a surprise and I wouldn't want to ruin whatever you're planning by guessing ahead of time." Celestia added with a tender smile.

This time Sunset didn't respond. She just kept walking, unable to help but put on an annoyed look. Basically, what Celestia was saying was that if she wanted, she could guess what she was planning, but she didn't do it just for fun. That made Sunset very nervous and left her unable to respond to any sarcastic comments as she always did in those situations, because with every word she said, it seemed like she was unintentionally giving Celestia more clues about her true intentions... Still, there was something wrong with Celestia's reasoning, and Sunset smiled internally, seeing that she still had an ace up her sleeve to fool the princess of the sun.

After a long walk up the stairs, with Sunset intentionally taking the longest route, both mares finally reached the south garden of the castle. Upon leaving, Sunset walked quickly towards the flat part, followed by Celestia, who simply walked smiling, enjoying getting out of her routine. Celestia raised her eyes to enjoy the sky that morning; however, Sunset began to speak immediately, as if from one moment to the next, she was more hurried.

“It will be a magical duel of attack and surrender. The first pony to give up, be immobilized, or fall exhausted, will be the loser.” Sunset said quickly. Getting into an attack position, illuminating her horn and looking menacingly at Celestia. “We’ll only use white or elemental magic. We’ll not use dark magic.”

“I would prefer a spell duel and just compare our spells. But I guess you enjoy these types of duels more.” Celestia said with a small motherly smile. “If you want to use dark magic, that's fine. I trust in your great abilities and that you will know how to control it, without putting yourself in danger.”

“Hah! Enough of false modesty… That will be your downfall.” Sunset responded with an arrogant smile. “We’ll fight on equal terms… Now, enough talking, let's get started!”

Without wasting any time Sunset illuminated her horn with a large ball of energy and threw it directly at Celestia. For her part, the alicorn simply used her magic to create a magical barrier in front of her, causing the beam of light to explode against the barrier without even touching Celestia.

When that flash occurred after the beam of light exploded against the wall, Sunset took advantage of it and in less than a second she teleported behind Celestia, remaining right in her blind corner. Quickly shooting another powerful beam of light directly at her body.

“It was very obvious that that first lightning bolt was just a distraction…” Celestia thought, turning around just as Sunset attacked her from behind. Again putting another magical barrier between her and Sunset's lightning, at a speed that no normal unicorn would have been able to create a barrier this strong. “I know how clever you are Sunset. That's why I knew you'd make that second move.”

Contrary to what Celestia expected, Sunset's powerful lightning bolt managed to break through her barrier and attack her directly. Celestia was so surprised that she was almost hit squarely by the beam of light, and only managed to use her magic at the last second to deflect the beam upwards. So unexpected was the power of that attack, that even Celestia's crown flew away when hit by Sunset's lightning bolt.

After deflecting Sunset's beam of magic, Celestia looked up in surprise as the beam she deflected flew away, then she lowered her gaze and looked at Sunset in amazement.

"What's wrong? Did I leave the princess of the sun speechless?” Sunset scoffed, happy to finally rid the princess of her superior smile.

Enjoying Celestia's gaze, and knowing that the cunning princess would quickly discover her trick anyway, Sunset decided to show it earlier, to make even more of an impression. Then, two shiny golden wings appeared on Sunset's sides, giving her the perfect appearance of an alicorn.

Those wings were obviously made entirely of magic, and their shine showed it, but the effect of looking like an alicorn was something that Sunset really enjoyed, and as she expected, it left Celestia even more impressed, since she still didn't understand what was happening. Then, Sunset moved her mane and revealed a necklace with an amulet, which had the emblem of the sun on one side, and on the other side, had the emblem of the moon.

“The medallions… She has both…” Celestia thought, opening her eyes in surprise. Recognizing those medallions.

Those two amulets were kept by Luna and Celestia in case of emergency. In them, they had stored part of their alicorn magic so that if one of the two could not perform their tasks of raising or lowering the sun or moon, the other could do it more easily with the help of those medallions.

“I told you we would fight on equal terms.” Sunset smiled proudly. Flapping her magical wings and again threatening Celestia with her horn.

“So the unicorn most skilled in magic in recent centuries, now possesses alicorn magic…” Celestia thought with a small nervous smile, full of amazement, concern, and also, excitement. “Yes… It could really be a problem…”

Without wasting time, Sunset launched herself again to attack Celestia, who this time didn’t remain motionless, putting up barriers. This time, Celestia also moved. She could no longer trust herself, so she had to fight seriously to defend herself and think about how to immobilize Sunset.

Light rays, freezing rays, plant growth rays, teleportation, telekinesis, the most orthodox spells and spells that Celestia was even unaware of. Sunset used her entire arsenal of spells, always attacking Celestia directly. Sometimes, she would lose sight of her and immediately use her teleportation to redirect her attacks and again attack her from the front.

For moments, because of the direction of Sunset's attacks, Celestia thought she was leading her towards a trap, but no matter how hard she looked, she couldn't detect one, and the truth was, she didn't have time to think about anything other than defending herself. Sunset barely gave her time to react. Thus, finally, Celestia also began to attack Sunset, seeing that she was being cornered and that, in those circumstances, a good attack was the best defense.

Both mares used all their ingenuity to try to surprise and capture their rival, but they always managed to save themselves thanks to their cunning and power. The minutes passed, and to the surprise of the maid twins and the other palace servants who were attracted by the noise, both ponies seemed to be evenly matched.

Celestia and Sunset had been dueling for almost half an hour, and little by little, they both saw that one of them was slowly gaining more of an advantage. Sunset's body struggled to control the alicorn magic stored in those medallions, and although she had done a spectacular job, her body was too exhausted to withstand such a burden for much longer. Even if she could endure it, the medallions didn’t hold infinite magic. This was a battle not only against Celestia, but also against time, and if she was going to win, she had to do it as soon as possible.

"Wait! My plan is not to win!” Sunset thought in surprise, after evading two walls of earth that almost crushed her, managing to save herself thanks to her new wings. Then, Sunset realized that she had gotten too carried away by the excitement of the battle and that her true plan was something else.

That small second of distraction was enough for Celestia to use her magic and manage to freeze one of Sunset's legs. An ice that spread quickly throughout her body, leaving only her head exposed.

"I have you! Huff…” Celestia said tired but happy, landing after also having evaded a blast of lightning launched by Sunset. “When you evaded the stone wall, I knew your new wings would help you. But even though you have wings now, you don't know how to fly, and you only used them to stabilize yourself a little in the air. That's why I calculated that the ice would reach your hoof. Although you could have avoided it if you hadn't been distracted…” Celestia added, stopping smiling, realizing that detail. “What distracted you?”

“What distracted me? I was running out of ideas!” Sunset replied, pretending to be upset. “The medallions have a time limit and-”

“You didn't want to win… With the excitement of the duel I almost forgot, your priority was to distract me from something.” Celestia said, thinking out loud. No longer listening to anything Sunset said. Now, with her fun over, her agile mind was fully focused on solving the real mystery. “Throughout the entire duel, you kept attacking me in one direction…”

At that moment, Celestia opened her eyes in surprise and realized that at all the times Sunset's attacks were from South to North, and every time she changed position, Sunset quickly attacked her again from South to North... Why she would do that? There was only one explanation! Celestia looked up at the northern sky and squinted her eyes carefully, until she finally noticed something strange that left her gasping.

Celestia used her magic and in an instant, the sky cracked as if it were glass, revealing another identical sky behind it. Seeing that, Celestia turned to look at Sunset with a look of amazement and even a little fear.

“She didn't just use two illusions… She used three illusions! The third was to hide the northern sky! Throughout this duel, she maintained that illusion while distracting me so I wouldn't see it and it would take me longer to discover it.” Celestia thought, genuinely amazed at Sunset's talent. “How skilled can this unicorn be!?”

After putting her surprise aside, Celestia smiled proudly at Sunset and then turned back to look at the northern sky. Why did Sunset want to distract her? Why hide the sky? There was the answer... Far in the northern sky, a green light could be faintly seen, that of an aurora, which should not be able to be seen at that time of day. Seeing it, Celestia opened her eyes wide and turned pale. She quickly took flight to get a better look at the sky. Then, her mouth trembled as she confirmed what she suspected... The northern aurora shone like never before, with a unique magic, the magic of the Crystal Empire.

Without a second thought, Celestia flapped her wings and began to fly north; however, as soon as she flapped her wings, she was teleported back to the ground in front of Sunset Shimmer.

“This is not over!” Sunset shouted after teleporting back to Celestia. Also using her magic to force the ice that enclosed her and break it by force.

“Sunset! This doesn't-” Celestia said scared.

"Silence!" Sunset interrupted, as she made some chains appear to bind Celestia. Materializing magical chains alongside real chains, creating the most elaborate trap her mind could devise.

“I must not let Celestia go north, that is my mission! That's the mission Luna gave me!” Sunset thought, mentally and physically exhausted, as her magic created the most perfect chains that magic could create. So strong and resistant that not even Star Swirl himself would be able to get out.

Little and nothing was left in sight of Celestia's body. Just a bunch of heavy chains wrapping around her and covering her completely. Once Sunset hid the last of Celestia's body from view, the unicorn fell to the ground exhausted, while her false alicorn wings disappeared.

“It’s… It’s done…” Sunset muttered, completely exhausted.

Sunset's peace lasted only two seconds, as she quickly felt herself sweating as she felt great heat coming from the enormous magical chains. To her amazement, the chains began to slowly melt, until they finally exploded, revealing an enraged Celestia. Celestia's mane and tail had been replaced by flames hotter than the embers of a volcano, while her eyes glowed with an intense glow.

“Enough games.” Celestia said, with a calm voice, but an angry look. Then the alicorn used her magic and disappeared from there.

After a few seconds of disbelief, Sunset fell back and heaved a big sigh.

“It can't be… Did she still have all that power?” Sunset said with some frustration, speaking towards the sky. Then Sunset smiled. “Hahaha… She was just playing with me…” Sunset laughed, finally collapsing from exhaustion. Annoyed at not having been able to hold Celestia longer, but also proud of the great duel they had.

Far in the sky, Celestia was flying at full speed, now with her normal mane and tail, after her outburst of fury. Her duel with Sunset had left her more exhausted than she thought. At any other time, Celestia would have stopped and told Sunset how proud she was of her and praised her great potential, but Celestia's mind only had one thing on her mind, getting up north as soon as possible.

“I waited so long for this… Just wait a little longer!” Celestia thought scared. Forcing herself to fly as fast as possible while slowly regaining her magic.

'Celestia Flashback.'

It had taken a lot of effort on the part of the three great pony tribes, but after many years, the Kingdom of Equestria had come to fruition and was quickly becoming one of the largest and most prosperous kingdoms in the world. A kingdom that had been born through the search for new lands, fleeing from the cold and hatred generated by the separation between the tribes, and, more importantly, for the spark of friendship that was born between those same three tribes of ponies the day they arrived in those lands. For this reason, the appearance of the two young alicorns filled that union with strength, precisely representing the union of earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns in a single being, or in this case, in two beings.

The story that began to spread by word of mouth among the ponies of all races was that those two celestial beings, who ruled the day and the night, had come to the world as a sign of the union between all the ponies. Equipped with ancient magic to protect their nascent new kingdom... Part truth, part myth, which the nobles of that time made sure to maintain, knowing that they needed 'something' to keep the tribes together. Beings whom everyone will respect and love, and, if necessary, fear.

Star Swirl never agreed with nobles trying to turn young alicorn girls into earthly goddesses, but he was only one, and he knew that maintaining a nascent new kingdom would be complex, so he finally had to give in and keep silent. Despite this, the great wizard always reminded the nobles that there were not two alicorns but three and that sooner or later, their own lie about the myth of Luna and Celestia would fall. The older nobles knew about it, and therefore, they felt blessed when Queen Amore simply disappeared. Her disappearance, along with that of the former kingdoms, was taken as a sign that they were on the right path and were the only true pony kingdom in the world.

The reappearance of the Crystal Empire scared the nobles of that time and scared them even more after learning that Star Swirl had taken the two alicorn princesses with him. They didn’t believe at all the story that the two princesses had escaped and had secretly followed him. For those stubborn nobles who only feared losing their power and wealth, Star Swirl could very well be trying to take the alicorns to be with the pagan Queen, so that the power of the three alicorns would only be controlled by another kingdom. However, after the appearance of the Crystal Empire, it disappeared again as soon as it appeared and Star Swirl had returned to the two princesses without problems. Leaving only misgivings on the part of the nobles of the kingdom.

For that same reason, years later, when the Crystal Empire reappeared, Star Swirl was much more cautious. That time, Star Swirl almost jumped out of his bed when, in the middle of the night, the screen mirror, which had been dormant for years, activated again, showing it the image of Amore, asking for his help.

Without telling anyone, Star Swirl traveled alone to the Crystal Empire and spoke one last time with Queen Amore. There, she asked him for help to save Sombra from his illness, a great pain that attacked him once a year and that, if he didn’t stop, would end up killing him. However, Star Swirl saw that he could do nothing alone and left the Empire in search of the only ponies with enough power to help him find a solution, the alicorn princesses. Although he hurried, it was too late. When Star Swirl returned to Celestia and Luna, the Crystal Empire had closed again.

“Girls… You must promise me something.” Star Swirl said that time, in the middle of the snow. With a look full of terror, looking into the void of the storm, where the Crystal Empire should be, displaced on another plane. “If the Crystal Empire ever opens again, you must immediately go to help Amore.” After saying that, Star Swirl sat down with a look of defeat and helplessness. “Amore… Everything has its price… Life cannot escape death. That is a curse…” Star Swirl murmured, closing his eyes in pain. Thinking out loud.

Celestia looked at her master and didn't know what he was talking about. She would only understand it many, many years later...

The years passed and both alicorns were now completely adults, recognized in every corner of their enormous kingdom, even beyond their kingdom. The old Star Swirl had disappeared a little over a year ago, and after searching tirelessly for him, without achieving her goal, Celestia finally dared to mess up her beloved teacher's room, looking for some clue. She had done it before, also trying to look for clues about the whereabouts of the old unicorn, but this time she was willing to search every corner and every page of every book of her master's enormous personal library, to see if she had missed something.

That's how Celestia found a secret room that the old wizard had never mentioned to his star student. There, Celestia saw many scrolls with the studies he had done during his long life, as well as various magical items he had studied and created. However, the first thing Celestia focused on was Star Swirl's secret diary. To Celestia's disappointment, after reading the diary, she was unable to find out what her master's last whereabouts had been. However, she discovered many other fascinating things she didn't know about the old unicorn. Although, for some reason, Star Swirl didn’t delve much into his own past prior to arriving in Equestria, Celestia learned about Star Swirl's true origin, originally from the Sparkle family. While reading the diary, Celestia came to a very important part that she almost forgot about her past, the time she, Luna and the wizard visited the Crystal Empire to see Amore. There, Celestia remembered what she heard secretly that time with little Sombra, and which she now confirmed with what Star Swirl had written. The wizard mentioned how he had confronted Queen Amore for creating copies of ponies thanks to the kingdom's magic mirrors and crystals, and how he suspected that the dark emotions and memories that were kept in the Crystal Heart could one day be very dangerous. Reading that, Celestia remembered the promise she made years ago to her master about helping Queen Amore when the empire reopened, something that never happened... until a few years later.

One night, just like decades before, Luna ran quickly to wake up her sister. As Celestia woke up grumpily, Luna opened the curtains in her room, opened the window, and pointed to the sky.

"It came back!" Luna said almost in a shout. Pointing to the night sky and showing Celestia the great greenish aurora that could be seen from there. One that immediately took away all trace of sleep in Celestia and left her with her mouth open.

With the conviction of wanting to fulfill the promise of their missing master, Celestia and Luna flew that same night to the Crystal Empire. Upon arriving, their suspicions were confirmed when they saw that the enormous crystal city had appeared again in the storm of that remote place in the north. Both alicorns walked closer to the city until they felt the limit of the magical barrier and crossed it.

As always when they arrived there, their eyes were amazed to see the enormous crystal city just as they remembered it, shining under a brilliant sky as if it were daytime there, without any hint of the storm that was outside the barrier. Without wasting time, both alicorns opened their wings and quickly flew towards the castle, ready to help Queen Amore in any way they could, following Star Swirl's warning.

“Look! The Guardian of the Empire! There are two!!" The crystal ponies shouted excitedly from below, who didn't remember ever seeing an alicorn before other than the statue in the Empire. And just like Amore, they would soon forget they had ever seen another alicorn.

Upon arriving at the throne room, Celestia and Luna saw a mare with lilac fur and light blue mane. As soon as the mare turned around, Celestia and Luna were amazed to see how beautiful she was. In fact, she reminded them a lot of Queen Amore herself, before she fell ill.

“It can't be… It worked!” Radiant Hope shouted excitedly. Jumping to hug Luna. “Do you remember me, Woona?”

“W-Woona?” Luna asked surprised. “Wait… Are you Radiant Hope!?” Luna shouted in surprise, seeing how much Hope had grown, since the last time she saw her, Hope was just a little filly.

“Wow… You've really grown up.” Celestia said smiling. Glad to see a familiar face. “Tell me, what did you mean by 'it worked'? What worked?” Celestia asked, quickly putting on a more serious look, deciding that she wanted to find out as soon as possible if there was any problem there or not.

“She means that we finally managed to reopen the kingdom.” A male voice said from behind Celestia. Then Celestia turned around and saw that it was a tall, handsome unicorn with gray fur, and deep, beautiful green eyes. “By the way, I grew up quite a bit too.” The stallion added, with a gallant smile.

“W-Wait… You're little Sombra!?” Luna shouted very surprised. Still being hugged on the neck by Radiant Hope. “I… I knew it had been a while, but still, it's a shock to see you both this big.”

“Well, it's been many years.” Radiant Hope said, finally letting go of Luna's neck and smiling at her.

“And even more so here, in this kingdom. Here, time moves faster than outside.” Sombra added, looking at Luna and then out of the corner of his eye, looking back at Celestia. “In fact, I think we're the same age as you now.”

Even though Sombra was looking at her, Celestia was stunned. It had taken her completely by surprise to see Sombra so grown up, and what was more, she had never seen a stallion as tall and handsome as him. All of this had left Celestia speechless.

“I… Uh… Y-Yes. It's quite a surprise." Celestia quickly responded, shaking her head as she realized she had been staring at Sombra with a goofy look. “It's just like Luna says. We were very surprised to see how much they have changed.”

“Well, you have changed too.” Sombra said, getting in front of Celestia so they were face to face. “You've grown quite a bit, but now, I can look you right in the eye.”

Seeing his big green eyes and his bright smile, Celestia opened her eyes wide and looked away, feeling that for the first time in her life her cheeks were burning. Seeing that reaction, Luna looked at her sister in confusion since Celestia, like her, had been taught not to be intimidated by anyone's gaze since they were princesses. For her part, Hope put a hoof in her mouth and gave a small giggle, immediately realizing that this was not intimidation but nerves caused by another more romantic feeling that was beginning to be born in Celestia.

“By the way, where is Queen Amore?” Luna suddenly asked, remembering the mission their master gave them. “Star Swirl said to come help if the Empire opened its barrier again.”

At Luna's question, Hope put on a confused look, while Sombra tensed.

"Our mom? Mom… Does she have a problem?” Hope asked confused, as if she was having trouble remembering. "Hmm I don’t know. She hasn’t left her room in a long time.”

“Maybe we should go talk to her.” Luna said, looking seriously at Celestia, who simply nodded silently, her cheeks still blushed.

The cheerful Hope began to guide the alicorns towards her mother's room, jumping and smiling happily. In contrast, Sombra hurriedly walked beside her with a much more somber look. While behind them were Luna and Celestia, with Celestia looking confused at the floor while her sister looked at her attentively.

"What's wrong? You feel bad?" Luna whispered to Celestia, seeing her sister acting in a way she had never seen before.

"I don’t know." Celestia answered honestly, just as confused as Luna.

"What was that? Why was my heart beating so fast?” Celestia thought confused. Looking up slightly to see Sombra again and feeling like she couldn't see him without feeling her cheeks turn red.

Finally, the four ponies arrived in front of the Queen's room, the same one the four of them had been in the last time they were together. There, Hope knocked on the door, while Celestia and Luna watched attentively, leaving Sombra behind them all.

“Mom, are you awake?” Hope asked, putting her ear to the door. “Luna and Celestia arrived! The Empire is open again!”

Several seconds passed without any response, until finally, something was heard.

“I'm fine… I'm sorry… I can't go out…” Amore's voice said from behind the door, with a monotonous and tired rhythm. “I'm sorry… I must rest…”

After the answer, Hope turned around and looked at the alicorns with a sad smile.

"It’s always so. She’s very sick and says that for our sake, she cannot see us.” Hope said with a sad look. Then, she put on a thoughtful look. “I… I haven't come to see her in a long time… I should visit her more often…”

“The best thing will be to believe in mom. You don’t have to worry.” Sombra said with a sad smile. Approaching Hope and touching her side. “Why don't you take Luna for a walk instead? There are a lot of things you need to catch up on.” Sombra smiled.

As if she had returned to being a filly like on that occasion all those years ago, Hope's smile quickly returned to her face and she quickly pushed Luna to accompany her so they could be together again. While Luna couldn't do anything while her former friend pushed her away from there. Finally, only Sombra and Celestia were left there, and upon noticing this, Celestia felt that, for some reason, she felt very nervous.

“Did you notice anything strange?” Sombra asked, looking with a sad look at Celestia.

"Uh? S-Something strange?” Celestia asked confused. Trying in vain not to feel so nervous next to Sombra.

For a few seconds, Sombra remained still and silent. Simply staring at the floor, as if debating with his own thoughts. Until finally he closed his eyes tightly and looked at Celestia with a sad look, on the verge of tears.

“I shouldn't tell you this, but I think you're the only one who can understand it.” Sombra said looking at Celestia intently. Using his magic to unlock the door, opening it wide. “Like me, you heard the conversation my mother and Star Swirl had that time. You know the truth behind this kingdom and… the sacrifices that must be made to keep it safe.”

Seeing Sombra's look, Celestia knew that he was carrying a great weight and that what he was about to tell her was something very serious. With that, all her nervousness went away and she returned to being the firm and serene princess she was when the ponies of her kingdom needed her. Thus, Celestia entered Amore's room and was surprised by what she saw.

"There is no one here." Celestia said very surprised. Seeing the bed in which years ago she had seen the Queen lying, but now, completely empty.

“My mother… Queen Amore, died years ago.” Sombra said, looking away sadly. “A dark being called umbrum entered my room when I was sick, and my mother sacrificed herself to save me.”

“I-I don't understand… That was her voice.” Celestia said shocked by the news, very confused.

“With my magic, I recreate my mother's voice in this room every time Hope knocks on the door.” Sombra said, with a dark and sad look.

“W-Why would you do something so macabre?” Celestia asked as tears began to fall from her eyes. Both for learning of the death of someone who was like her mother in her childhood, and for having misjudged that stallion, seeing how dark he was.

"You don’t get it. I have to hide it from Hope.” Sombra said, scared to see that Celestia was misunderstanding him. “Hope's feelings and emotional state are too attached to the Crystal Heart... After our mother's death, her negative emotions affected the Crystal Heart too much and it couldn’t recharge properly with the happiness of the crystal ponies. Therefore, I had to hide our mother's death, until her heart heals and she forget the trauma of seeing her die.”

Celestia was silent for a moment to fully understand what Sombra was saying. She understood how the Crystal Heart worked, and just as Sombra said, if the bond of Hope's emotions was too great, this seemed like a solution.

“Why didn't you completely erase Hope's memories of the Queen?” Celestia asked, looking seriously at Sombra. Realizing that that would be more effective.

"I… I couldn’t do it. If I erased her memories, the pain and trauma would still be inside her.” Sombra replied, looking away sadly. “First her heart must heal, and then, someday… she will forget her.”

At that moment, Celestia opened her eyes in fear when she realized that she had been the insensitive one. Sombra could have done that thinking only of his kingdom, but he was also making sure to take care of Hope. Even more, it was clear that Sombra didn’t want his sister to forget her mother; he didn’t want to carry the weight of being responsible for that cruel act.

“Luna is a very good friend of Hope, so I ask you to please not tell her. Not yet." Sombra added, closing his eyes and shedding a tear. “I'm sorry for involving you, but… It's a weight I've carried for many years, so I needed to tell someone.”

At that moment Celestia approached Sombra, still with tears in his eyes. Then she hugged Sombra, thanking him for the trust placed in her, and above all, wanting to support that stallion, seeing how alone he was in that kingdom. They both stayed hugging for several minutes in complete silence, until both of their tears dried up.

“I'm sorry you couldn't protect your mother, but at least you could protect Hope.” Celestia said, finally breaking away from the hug.

“I try that… I promised my mother that I would take care of her, and also this kingdom.” Sombra said, with a sad smile. “No matter what it costs, I’ll protect them all. That is the duty of a ruler.” Sombra added, remembering the words his mother had said to him years ago.

Celestia and Sombra left the room and Sombra closed it again with his magic. Sombra then asked Celestia to accompany him, because, now that he ruled the Crystal Empire, there was something he wanted to show her. Sombra guided Celestia to his room, where he showed her two large mirrors that he hid behind a blanket. Seeing them, Celestia immediately recognized that they were not normal mirrors, she had seen those types of mirrors a long time ago. Those were magic mirrors.

“These are the last two magic mirrors left in the kingdom, apart from the small screen mirror my mother had.” Sombra said with some pride, standing in the middle of the mirrors. “The last relics of the original Crystal Empire, when magical crystals were abundant and powerful enough to make these mirrors.”

“I remember them…” Celestia said, approaching the mirrors. Remembering Star Swirl's notes and knowing that those mirrors must have been some of the strangest there were. “These are the special ones… What kind are they?”

“This is the 'warning mirror,' which shows some danger nearby.” Sombra said, pointing to his right. “And this is the 'future mirror,' which… well, the name explains itself.” Sombra added, pointing to his left.

“Queen Amore never let me see these mirrors. She said they were dangerous to use…” Celestia said, approaching the warning Mirror. However, Sombra stretched out his hoof to stop Celestia before she saw in the mirror.

“They are dangerous… Some mirrors show things we shouldn't see. For the same reason, I don't want you to see this mirror.” Sombra said, looking away sadly. “I know what danger threatens the kingdom, and now, that image haunts me day and night in my mind, always keeping me on alert. I wouldn't want you to see something that makes you feel persecuted and scared for no reason."

After saying that, Sombra covered the warning mirror with a blanket again and with his magic he also prepared to cover the other mirror. However, he paused for a second and looked at Celestia before doing so.

“The future mirror is similar. It can show you a beautiful image of your future or something very horrible. It’s the risk you run when you see your future, a future that you will not be able to evade or see a different one until that future comes true.” Sombra said, looking seriously at Celestia. “I'd prefer you not see this one either, but I don't want to force you into anything. It should be your decision if you want to risk seeing something in your future, just like I did.”

Celestia carefully weighed Sombra's warning, and finally stepped forward and risked a look into the future mirror. As with all magical mirrors, instead of seeing her own reflection, Celestia saw a blurry image that became increasingly clearer, until she could make out something. The alicorn stared at that image for a long time, until she turned her head slightly with a confused look.

“I see something… I think it's Luna, but… I don't understand what it means.” Celestia said, looking at Sombra in confusion.

“The future is uncertain. If it is a blurry image, it may mean that it is something that will happen far in the future. Which wouldn’t surprise me, since you’re an alicorn.” Sombra said with a small smile. “For now, I suggest you not worry about what you saw.”

“What did you see?” Celestia asked, returning her gaze to the mirror to try to understand what she saw.

"I'm seeing you." Sombra responded smiling.

Turning around, Celestia saw Sombra staring at her, his cheeks slightly blushing. That made all the nervousness that Celestia had put aside come back to her and she also blushed and looked away.

“W… What do you mean?” Celestia asked nervously.

Sombra approached the future mirror and this time he was the one who looked into it. As he did so he saw an image that made him smile and blush.

“What I see is you. The two of us, together in the sunlight.” Sombra responded smiling, turning to look at Celestia. “Hope and I have never gone out to see the sun because we live here. Our only light is the aurora. Therefore, I know that our future together will be beautiful.”

At that comment, Celestia looked away again and blushed even harder than before. Little by little she began to understand the feeling that was growing inside her, a warmth that she had never felt before, one that grew every time Sombra looked into her eyes or said those romantic comments.

"Come with me." Sombra suddenly said, raising his hoof for Celestia to take.

Celestia timidly looked at Sombra's hoof and finally touched it, feeling its warmth. Then, Sombra used his magic and they both teleported to another part of the castle, in front of the door of another room.

“Do you remember that Star Swirl and my mother said that time moved differently here than in the outside world?” Sombra asked, smiling at the alicorn.

"Yes. Here, time moves much faster.” Celestia responded, until something distracted her and she raised her head slightly, softly illuminating her horn with magic. “But now… It feels a little different than that time.”

“You’re very insightful.” Sombra said smiling. “Indeed, time continues to move faster than it did outside, but it does so slower than the last time you and Luna were here. That is a sign that what my mother said is being fulfilled, and that one day the time of both planes will be equal and both will be able to unite permanently.”

Without saying more, Sombra used his magic to unlock the door to that room, opening it. As he did so, Celestia marveled at seeing a large garden hidden in that room, so large that it seemed impossible for it to be inside the castle, full of greenery, flowers and trees. Sombra invited her in and closed the door once they both entered. As soon as she stepped inside the room, Celestia realized that, just as she felt when she arrived at the Crystal Empire, a magical time dilation was also felt in that room.

"What is this place?" Celestia asked surprised. Looking everywhere and realizing that the place seemed much bigger than a simple room. In fact, except for the gate behind them, the other walls could not even be seen on the horizon.

“I studied the books that Star Swirl left in the kingdom once he left. Thus, I was able to learn about magic mirrors and also a little more about the time studies that he carried out here in his youth.” Sombra responded, stepping forward to walk through that park and for Celestia to follow him. “I also read the magic books that my mother wrote. My goal was to learn more about the temporal magic that surrounds the kingdom and thus be able to speed up time here even more, so that it wouldn't take so many years to be isolated from the world. However, I was unable to replicate my mother's great magic, and I was only able to recreate this small plane within this room.”

“You could only do this!? Sombra, this is amazing! I don’t even know if Star Swirl or I could do something like that.” Celestia said surprised, looking even more amazed at that heavenly place. Astonished to know that it had been created by that stallion.

"Thank you." Sombra smiled shyly, blushing at the compliment.

As Celestia looked at the huge garden created by Sombra, she was struck by seeing that several trees had several golden leaves on them. However, as she approached, Celestia saw that those were not golden leaves, but that the trees had hundreds of rings hanging from their branches from which small golden papers hung, each one with something written.

"What is this?" Celestia asked, taking one of the golden papers hanging from a branch, and reading: 'I want my granddaughter to be born strong and healthy.'

“I have named it the ‘wishing garden’.” Sombra responded, approaching Celestia. “As crystal ponies forget their memories, it occurred to me to use my magic to listen to the wishes of my ponies and write them down here on these papers next to these trees. So, if the ponies ever forget their wishes, I won't.” Sombra added, putting on a more serious look. “I know that our kingdom is special and that some might think that those ponies are just memories, but I know that they’re alive and have wishes. And my duty as its ruler is to ensure the happiness of all.”

After Sombra's words, Celestia looked at him with deep admiration, seeing how much he cared about his kingdom. She must have done the same with her own kingdom, and she knew how difficult and lonely that was sometimes.

Seeing that Celestia was looking at him, Sombra also looked at her, and Celestia again looked away blushing. At that moment, Sombra also blushed slightly when he saw how beautiful Celestia looked under the golden glow of those wish papers. Sombra then gathered his courage and stood in front of Celestia, touching her face to make her look at him intently.

“From the moment I saw you that time, I couldn't stop thinking about you for a day.” Sombra said blushing. Causing surprise in Celestia. “I dreamed of this moment, of inviting you here and for you to see this little paradise that I made, just for you.”

Celestia felt like her cheeks were going to explode from how red they were. She opened her mouth to try to say something, but her lip trembled too much, feeling for the first time that her heart was beating for love.

“I didn't think you were so shy.” Sombra said smiling tenderly, after seeing that his beloved Celestia had been left speechless.

“W-Well, if someone comes and tells you that they made an entire garden thinking about you, it's natural to feel a little overwhelmed!” Celestia responded, blushing with embarrassment. Making a childish pouting face when she thought Sombra was making fun of her.

Seeing that face on Celestia, Sombra couldn't help but burst into laughter, seeing how cute Celestia looked like that. Meanwhile, Celestia stared at Sombra in amazement. For a second, she thought he was mocking her, but Sombra's gaze wasn't mocking at all, but tender. Then Celestia realized that for some reason, she could be herself when she was in front of Sombra. She didn’t act like the imposing and serious princess that everyone expected her to be, but in front of that stallion, she was just another mare who let herself be carried away by her emotions. Realizing this, Celestia began to smile little by little, until finally she was infected by Sombra's laughter and also began to laugh, feeling a certain unique freedom when being in that garden with Sombra, being able to laugh without thinking about nothing else that worried her. They both laughed for a long time until they were lying on the grass of that large garden.

“You say you've been thinking about me all this time?” Celestia asked, looking up at the sky while still lying on the grass. “I… I can only remember you as a young colt who said… that he liked me, for some reason.”

“Yes… Actually, I said I wanted to marry you.” Sombra responded smiling, also looking up at the sky. Then he realized what he said and quickly looked at Celestia, who was now looking at him with a completely red face. “I-It's not like I'm going to ask you to marry me now! I-I was just a foal!!” Sombra quickly added, just as red as Celestia. Then he sat up, took a deep breath, and looked at Celestia more calmly. “Like I told you, I can see the souls of ponies. And from that day until now, I have never seen a soul as beautiful as yours. That’s why I… feel what I feel.” Sombra added, blushing again, this time with a shy smile.

Without saying anything, Celestia also rose from the grass to sit in front of Sombra, lifting her hoof and resting it on the stallion's cheek, a gesture that Sombra imitated. They both stared at each other in silence, their cheeks blushed. For the first time, Celestia believed she understood what Sombra said about seeing souls, feeling that with her hoof, she could feel the warm and beautiful soul of that stallion.

“How much faster does time move in this room?” Celestia finally asked. Feeling like she could stand there staring at Sombra's face all day. However, she knew she had to get back with Luna at some point.

"Don't worry. We still have a long, long time left.” Sombra smiled, with a tender smile.

Several hours had passed in the Crystal Empire. Time Luna and Hope shared, laughing together as if they had become fillies again. Sharing a lot of information about what happened in the absence of both, although Luna was surprised that Hope at times seemed a little disconcerted every time Luna talked about Queen Amore, but it was something that Luna didn’t want to get involved in if her friend didn't want to talk about it. Thus, night fell, and Luna and Radiant Hope began to search for Celestia and Sombra, but it seemed that they were nowhere in the castle.

Just as both mares passed by Sombra's room, the door to Sombra's secret room opened and behind it appeared Sombra and Celestia walking together. Both laughing happily, as if they had just told each other some joke.

“Hey! Where were you?” Luna asked, raising a slightly annoyed eyebrow. “We've been looking for you for hours.”

"Oh, I'm sorry." Celestia responded, with a small smile. “It's just… We lost track of time.” Celestia added, giving Sombra a knowing look. Who, for his part, laughed.

After that, Luna and Hope led the way, heading towards the dining room, and behind them, Sombra and Celestia walked close together, unable to look away from each other, while their hearts felt fuller than they had ever been in their lives…

Before leaving the Crystal Empire, Celestia and Luna said goodbye with warm hugs from Radiant Hope and Sombra. With the promise that Sombra and Hope would keep the barrier open, so that Celestia and Luna could return whenever they wanted. That was the only way they could see each other since Amore's storm magic was very strong, and the only way to keep the barrier open, was for Hope and Sombra to stay inside it. So for the queen's two children, it was still impossible to know the outside world.

“Promise me we'll meet again.” Celestia said worriedly, looking at Sombra. Turning one last time before crossing the barrier of the Empire.

“I promise, dear Celestia.” Sombra said with a calm smile. Just as eager to get back together as soon as possible with the pony he knew was the love of his life.

'End of flashback.'

The Crystal Empire was busier than it had ever been. Although it was true that something similar happened once a year, since the Crystal Faire was always held on that date, this year was different. For the first time since their creation, ponies had full access to another range of feelings that were not just joy. Grief, anger, fear, frustration, confusion, dozens of new feelings filled thousands of ponies in that big city, causing everything to be much noisier than usual.

Princesses Luna and Cadance quickly organized Shining Armor, Spike, and Dusk's friends to return to their posts, to the tasks they had previously assigned. Rainbow Dash returned to the jousts, Applejack took care of the baking, Rarity took care of the basketry, but three stands were not enough for the enormous number of ponies that quickly filled the large central square of the city. Fortunately, Radiant Hope also very quickly organized several crystal ponies, among which the oldest founders of the city stood out. Those ponies had attended more than a thousand festivals, and therefore, they knew exactly what to do and how to organize dozens of other stands. So much so that even Fluttershy was saved from fighting again in another joust against Rainbow Dash, and in exchange, she was given the quiet task of taking care of a petting zoo with tiny ewes, which Fluttershy happily accepted.

“Hey, being the festival minstrel is great!” Spike said, walking alongside Shining Armor amidst a crowd of crystal ponies. Wearing a jester's hat and playing a crystal flugelhorn from time to time. “If Pinkie Pie doesn't come back, I wouldn't mind doing it all day.” Spike added, blowing the crystal flugelhorn again while some ponies applauded next to him.

“Yeah, it's weird that Pinkie isn't back yet.” Shining Armor responded, glancing sideways at the castle. “Dusk and Sombra haven't shown up yet either.” Shining added with concern.

Shining knew that he had given Dusk a mission and he had not yet returned. Upon noticing that, the only thing Shining thought about was going in search of him. However, making sure everything was going well during the festival was a more difficult task than he had imagined.

The more than a thousand crystal ponies played, chatted and had fun in the different stands at the fair. However, very often, their new emotions would suddenly flare up, whether it was from losing a game, not finding what they wanted, or simply anxiety from feeling all those new emotions flowing within themselves. This went against the purpose of the Crystal Faire, which was to recharge the Crystal Heart with joy. For the same reason, Cadance and Luna had to run throughout the festival, using their magic to calm the hearts of hundreds of ponies, every time their emotions skyrocketed. As the two of them couldn’t cope with the enormous number of ponies present, Shining also began his surveillance, doing the same work. Thus, more than an hour had passed and Shining still couldn't go back to the castle.

“I must stay here. There will be no point in going after Dusk if the Crystal Heart is not energized enough.” Shining thought, just as he saw a couple of ponies arguing for no reason. Using his magic to calm both of them, and for their new emotions to stabilize again.

Despite Shining's fear, the Crystal Faire continued without major problems and the laughter became increasingly noticeable all around. Little by little the emotional outbursts subsided as Cadance, Shining and Luna ran throughout the afternoon, using their harmony magic to stabilize everyone's emotions.

“There are too many ponies…” Luna thought exhausted. Stopping for a moment to rest after calming a crystal pony that was too scared to hear a crystal flugelhorn next to him. “At least, it seems that they are already getting used to controlling their emotions again on their own.”

“They’re not the only ones who should have a good time at the faire.” Radiant Hope suddenly said with a smile, who approached her friend, seeing how tired she was. “You should enjoy it too.” Hope added, offering Luna a crystal corn-on-the-cob.

Seeing what Hope offered her, Luna opened her eyes in surprise as she remembered that Hope had told her the day before that they would eat crystal corn together at the faire. Then Luna smiled and took the crystal corn, each one eating their corn while they watched the ponies around them smile. As they did so, Luna glanced at Hope, noticing that her gaze looked more mature and serene than when she had seen her the day before, as if recovering her memories had made her much more mature, although deep down, her eyes continued to radiate that spark of inner joy that they always had.

“I think we did it. Everyone seems to enjoy the faire.” Luna said smiling. “With all this happiness, the Crystal Heart will be charged more than ever.”

"I hope so." Hope answered, with a fleeting thoughtful look. Then she turned, looked at Luna and smiled serenely at her. “Be that as it may, I am sure that this will be the greatest and happiest Crystal Faire of all and that it will forever be engraved in everyone's hearts.”

The afternoon went on and the celebration continued to grow, with more and more laughter and excitement, reaching its peak when the final of the joust was held. At that final stage of the duel, Rainbow Dash arrived, along with the captain of the Palace Guard.

“You can do it, Iron Shield!” Most of the crystal ponies shouted excitedly from the stands. Cheering on the captain.

On the other hand, there was Rainbow Dash, who had less support as she was the foreign contender in that competition. So all her friends and other ponies in Equestria took her side to support her.

“That's the captain of the guard. He’s lazy and doesn’t take his job seriously.” Shining Armor said next to Rainbow Dash, remembering his arrival at the Empire and the negligent palace guards. Forgetting his mission for a moment and filling himself with the euphoria that filled that place. “Show him how we compete in Equestria!” Shining added, encouraging the blue pegasus.

"Sure! I never lose!" Rainbow Dash said excitedly. Lowering her helmet, just as they gave the signal to run.

Rainbow Dash and Iron Shield ran towards each other, pointing their spears at their opponents. Ready to see who would finally be the winner of that exciting competition. When they collided, the loser's helmet flew into the air, while that pony also flew and fell on its back in pain. Meanwhile, the public, upon seeing who had been the winner, burst into applause and shouts of pride... Their captain had won.

"Well done." The captain said proudly. Walking over to Rainbow Dash to help her up.

The pegasus made a pouting face when she saw that she had lost, but like a good loser, she gave the hoof to her competitor and accepted his help. Then, the captain glanced at Shining Armor and smiled sadly.

“It's like a blindfold has been removed from my eyes.” Iron Shield said, lowering his head in front of Shining Armor. "Thank you very much for your help."

Shining Armor smiled at the captain's gesture, realizing that he was not only thanking him for helping him recover his feelings, but also asking for forgiveness for being so indolent and negligent as the captain of the palace guard.

After winning the competition, the winner's flag was raised, which in this case, was the Crystal Empire's own flag. With this act, all the crystal ponies stood up and sang their anthem. For the first time, they didn't sing the anthem just because they were happy to have had a great festival. This time, they also sang excitedly about everything they experienced that day. Some crying with emotion, others with nostalgia, realizing that this would be a Crystal Faire that would live forever in their memories and hearts.

With that great gesture of emotion, the Crystal Heart began to shine and rotate much more intensely than it had been until then. That surprised the princesses and other ponies coming from outside, but the crystal ponies knew perfectly well that this was normal. Then, everyone followed Radiant Hope and surrounded the Crystal Heart as it shone even brighter and spun faster.

“The amount of magic it emits is impressive.” Shining said surprised. Thinking that he had never felt a magical item as powerful as what he felt at that moment. So much so that it made his skin crawl.

“This is my mother's gift to all of us.” Radiant Hope said with a calm smile. “Her heart has protected us for years… This is her love for her kingdom and for life.” Hope added, a small tear in her eye.

'CRACK!' Suddenly a cracking noise was heard. In an instant, dozens of similar noises were heard, all coming from the Crystal Heart... In less than a second, before anyone could do anything, a great light blinded everyone present and the sound of a great explosion was heard. When everyone was able to open their eyes again, they saw that the Crystal Heart had disappeared. Instead, there were millions of broken crystals all over the floor.

The Crystal Heart had broken.

End of chapter 38

Author's Note

Many thanks to 'Silveranon' for his great help