It was a nice summer day as Twilight and Storm ran to Canterlot with Eric on his mom’s back as Spike flew behind them. Even though he was nine years old, Eric still enjoyed riding on his parents’ backs whenever he felt the need to. Once the four of them were close enough, Twilight flew quickly toward the city gate.

“Wait up, Twilight!” Storm said, running behind her.

They saw the rest of the Mane 7 standing at the entrance. They rapidly rushed past them, with the girls rushing after them.

“Oh good! We’re all here,” Fluttershy said.

Twilight looked back at the others, noticing they all looked as worried as she and Storm were.

“So everypony got an urgent summons to the castle with no explanation?!” Twilight asked.

“Yup! I just love a good mysterious summons,” Pinkie replied, “What’s it about? Do you think it’s a surprise party? Hey! Why are we running?”

“Because something could be terribly wrong!” Twilight said, “Somepony turned bad?! Another evil creature back for revenge?!”

“I bet it has something to do with Glacio!” Storm added.

“Don’t you two think you’re bein’ a little paranoid?” Applejack replied.

“Why else would the Princesses and Lord Emerald send scrolls in such a hurry?” Twilight asked.

“Good point. They know better than to make us worry,” Rarity replied.

“They might have good news for us, mom. Maybe they need our help with some big event or something,” Eric said.

“Whatever news they have for us, Eric, it’s urgent,” Twilight replied.

“Plus, I like it when you run so fast, the walls get all blurry!” Pinkie said as she turned to look at the zooming walls, then looked back as her eyes were swirling, “Wheeee!”

“Race ya!” Rainbow exclaimed. She flew so fast that Pinkie was sent rolling, but she still managed to keep moving forward.

They all reached the castle quickly, then rushed in and came to a stop, most of them trying to catch their breath. Just then, Pinkie rolled into Spike and almost knocked him over. They quickly noticed Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Lord Emerald smiling at them.

“Everypony, thank you so much for coming,” Celestia said.

“What’s wrong?! What can we do?!” Twilight asked in panicked haste.

They braced themselves for whatever news they might hear, only to see Luna with a big smile on her face.

“That’s just it. Nothing’s wrong! Everything’s perfect!” Luna replied.

They all shared a look as Applejack asked on behalf of herself and the others, “Did y’all call us down here just to tell us that?”

“With all due respect, majesties, you might want to save your urgent summons for matters that are a bit more...well, urgent!” Rarity said. The royal sisters just giggled at this.

“Well, there is more to it. Equestria is currently enjoying its longest period of harmony in recent years,” Luna replied.

“And it’s all thanks to you, Twilight and Storm. And your friends, of course,” Celestia added.

“It’s also thanks to you, Eric, and your friends as well,” Emerald said.

“Who, us?” Spike asked smugly.

“Oh, pshaw.” Rarity giggled.

“It’s about time you noticed!” Rainbow said, crossing her forehooves.

“Thank you!” Twilight said, with a bow.

“Because of all your efforts, there’s been less and less for us to do,” Luna continued.

“So, after much consideration, my sister, our husband, and I have decided it is time for us...to retire!” Celestia finished.

Everyone gasped at this, they were stunned silent as a bright light entered the room.

“Breaking news!” Discord exclaimed, wearing a reporter outfit, “The royal princesses and Lord Emerald retiring! I have so many questions!” He flew over to the three of them, “Who’ll take over? Who will run Equestria? Will it be someone tall, dark, and handsome? Or will it be the Lord of Chaos?” Several duplicates of his dragon claw appeared around him, all pointing at him, only for Celestia to smirk at him before pointing at their intended successors, Twilight and Storm. “Oh, fine. Go with the obvious choice.”

Twilight and Storm made a horrified noise as the others sensed they were about to freak out.

“You’re retiring?!” Twilight asked.

“Princesses can retire?” Spike added as Luna chuckled.

“Of course we can. I, for one, am looking forward to a little R&R. Maybe a trip to Silver Shoals,” Luna replied.

“And you want me and Storm to take your place?!” Twilight asked.

Celestia and Luna nodded, “Mm-hmm!”

“With the help of your friends, of course!” Luna added.

“We can’t think of anypony more worthy.” Celestia continued as she and Luna flew to their level, “Over the years, we’ve watched you grow. You’ve faced task after task...”

“...challenge after challenge...” Luna continued, approaching them while Discord floated past them.

“Countless adversities, yeah, yeah, yeah, we get it...” Discord interrupted.

“And you’ve always prevailed,” Celestia finished.

“Thank you,” Twilight replied while still looking terrified, “But that doesn’t mean that I’m...that we’re ready to do what you do!”

“Besides, Glacio and his army are still out there and he could capitalize on your retirement as this could be the perfect opportunity for them to attack!” Storm added.

“We’re sure you’ll figure out some kind of solution to stop him this time,” Luna replied.

“Oh, of course you are.” Celestia said, stepping back, “I realize this is a lot to take in, but-”

“Nope! Makes perfect sense. We’re awesome!” Rainbow interrupted.

The others gathered around as Rainbow suddenly gasped, “Wait...does this mean we get all your powers?! Ooh, ooh! I call dibs on showing up in everypony’s dreams!”

Celestia was about to say something, but Twilight grabbed Rainbow and pulled her back.

“You can’t be ready to step into their horseshoes just like that!” Twilight stated.

“Besides, I don’t think just anypony can be given alicorn powers, Rainbow,” Storm added.

“Well, if the princesses and Lord Emerald think it’s time to retire, we’re not a bad choice,” Applejack shrugged, “We always have Equestria’s best interests at heart.”

“That’s a fair point...” Twilight remarked, taking out a pad and quill, “Which should be taken into consideration when we have a round table discussion-”

“Well, I’m in!” Rarity said, then took out a measuring tape, “Darlings, we’ll all need a complete wardrobe update!” She then smiled at the princesses, “And I would love to pick your brain about mane maintenance when you have a moment.”

“As long as we all have each other, I’m sure we can do it!” Fluttershy said.

“Yay!” Pinkie cheered before holding out her hoof. “Protectors of Equestria! On three! One... two...” The others put their hooves in, leaving only Twilight, Storm, and Eric, as the others stared at the three of them, making them sigh.

“If you’re all on board...” She gulped, “I guess we are too.” She and Storm placed their hooves with the others, while Eric placed his hand in and the nine of them shouted in unison, “PROTECTORS OF EQUESTRIA!” They threw their hooves and hands into the air and Twilight sighed again, “It’ll be a bit of an adjustment. But I imagine the transfer of power will be a lengthy process, which will-”

“Actually, we just need a few days to put together a little ceremony,” Celestia replied. Twilight’s calmness was gone as she chuckled nervously.

“A few DAYS?!” Twilight asked. The others moaned, as their big speech had seemed completely useless.

“But that’s so soon! Shouldn’t there be some sort of training program that lasts weeks? No, months, if not YEARS?!” Twilight asked. The princess sisters chuckled.

“Everything you’ve gone through over the years has been a training program,” Celestia said.

“Wait. Have you been grooming Twilight and I for this since the day you met us?” Storm asked.

“Of course not,” Celestia replied, shaking her head, “I had smaller expectations when I first met you both, but you just kept upping the game. When she became a princess, I was hoping she would become somepony capable of taking my place. But even I did not expect her to come into that role so quickly.”

“Okay, but there’s gotta be a guide or a rulebook!” Twilight said.

“Yes, I have it right here.” Discord replied as he appeared next to them with a book of some kind, which he started flipping through, “How to Rule Equestria, by Nopony McPretendsmith.” If Twilight and Storm weren’t so frazzled by this whole situation, they probably would have realized Discord was joking with them. Before she could read even a sentence, he snapped it shut and teleported it away. Luckily, Luna was there to comfort her.

“The friendship journal you wrote yourselves is a better guide than any we could provide,” Luna said as she held up the book, which she gave to Twilight and Storm. She held it to her chest, then began hyperventilating.

“We have the utmost confidence in you,” Celestia added.

“And we hope you have the same in yourselves,” Luna finished, with a nod.

Twilight kept panting while using her magic to pull a paper bag out of Pinkie’s mane as a means to control her breathing.

“Oh, I’m absolutely certain they do,” Discord chuckled.

“Relax, Twily. Breathe calmly,” Storm said, gently patting his wife’s back. It wasn’t too long before she calmed down a bit.

“Mom, since the princesses and Lord Emerald are planning to retire, do we have to move here to Canterlot?” Eric asked.

“Yes, sweetheart. We have to,” Twilight replied.

“I’m sure gonna miss most of my friends,” Eric said.

“I’m sure we can arrange for you to see them often, sport,” Storm replied.

In a dark forest, Queen Chrysalis was standing in a circle of trees. The trees had slime around them, turning it into a nest comfortable enough for her to live in.

“One day! One day you’ll see! I will defeat Twilight Sparkle and her friends!” Chrysalis said as she cackled, “And they will pay for stealing my kingdom!” She was making this grand declaration to a log which currently had the image of an unreformed changeling carved into it.

She turned to another log and picked it up, using her magic to carve another changeling face into it. But before she could talk to it, a black shadow engulfed her and she disappeared while the logs fell to the ground.

Deep in Tartarus, two of its most notorious prisoners were still trapped. Inside the bigger cage, Tirek scratched another line into a tally chart, another of hundreds of days that he had been stuck in the accursed prison. “Psst, Tirek!” Tirek then turned to the filly in the smaller cage.

“It is Lord Tirek,” the centaur growled, “And what is it now?”

Cozy Glow smiled at him. “I just wanna make sure you can see my best friends rock sculpture from over there!” Cozy Glow said. She pointed to a spot between their cages, where a bunch of rocks were stacked together to show Tirek carrying Cozy on his shoulder.

The centaur stared at it, then at the tallies before letting out a groan of frustration. If he didn’t get out of there soon, he would go even more insane. As if he wished for a miracle, a puff of black smoke suddenly engulfed him and he disappeared. Cozy’s eyes went wide, only for another puff to take her as well, causing the statue to completely fall apart. Cerberus wouldn’t notice for hours that its two most notorious prisoners were gone.

In another underground area, an unseen figure stared down and placed a familiar broken-off horn on the ground before using a stick to draw a circle, then an M shape through a straight line in the ground. The magic circle glowed blue as runic symbols appeared inside it. In a matter of seconds, the evil unicorn it belonged to appeared as his eyes were glowing green with eyebrows burning purple.

It was then that Tirek and Cozy Glow appeared in the main room of the ice fortress. They were standing on one of the staircases and before either of them could say anything, another wisp of smoke dropped Chrysalis off on top of a ramp. She turned around at this and gasped, “Lord Tirek?!”

“A changeling?” Tirek asked, raising an eyebrow before turning to Cozy Glow, “See? She gets it.”

Cozy rolled her eyes, as Chrysalis marched down the ramp. “Chrysalis, queen of the changelings! Or at least I will be when I’m restored to my rightful place!” She said, jumping off the ramp and landing at the foot of the stairs they were on.

“Why did you summon me?” She asked, charging up her horn, “What do you want?!”

This made Cozy Glow yelp and jump behind Tirek.

“Oh, golly! We didn’t bring you! I thought you freed us from Tartarus!” Cozy Glow replied as she gave her the cutest look she could as Chrysalis flinched.

“Tartarus? Whoever pulled you from there must have been somepony very powerful indeed,” Chrysalis said.

Just then, they heard cackling as King Sombra was teleported into the room.

“King Sombra! You have returned? Why did you bring us here?” Chrysalis asked.

“He didn’t. It was I, Prince Glacio, the rightful ruler of Equestria,” the evil alicorn replied as he and his top officers entered the room.

“Tirek and I have heard of you,” Cozy Glow said.

“We meet again at last,” Sombra added.

“It’s been a long time, Sombra and now I have brought you back to life,” Glacio replied.

“You two know each other?” Tirek asked.

“Correct. Over a thousand years ago, Sombra lived in the Crystal Empire as an apprentice to my past lover, Princess Amore alongside Radiant Hope, who is currently a doctor in Canterlot. When he found out that the Crystal Princess chose Radiant Hope as her successor, Sombra was jealous and he came to me for guidance. I could feel his anger brewing and I convinced him to give in to his hate and let the darkness consume him until his heart became black as night,” Glacio explained, “I’m the reason he enslaved the Crystal Empire all those years ago. As for you, Tirek, remember that it was I who lured Cerberus away from Tartarus so you could escape in the first place.”

“By the way, Tirek and Cozy Glow. I’m General Frostbite, Prince Glacio’s second-in-command,” Frostbite said.

“My pleasure,” Tirek replied in a neutral tone.

“Anyways, I have summoned you here as part of my plan to rid Equestria of Twilight Sparkle, Storm Blade, and their friends and take over Equestria once and for all,” Glacio said, then cackled evilly.

“In case either of you had not noticed, I am very weak,” Tirek replied.

“Perhaps I can help with that,” Glacio said as he presented a vial of water of some kind, “This is a vial of water collected from a magical spring called Pool of Power deep within these mountains. I suggest you drink it, Tirek.”

Glacio offered the vial to Tirek, who then drank it as the water made him glow before growing bigger, with the light vanishing to reveal his more muscular form. He wasn’t too powerful, but he looked about as muscular as a standard minotaur, though his horns weren’t as long. He looked his new body over and even kissed his muscles.

“I thank you for the power boost, Prince Glacio,” Tirek said.

“It’s not much, but it’s better than your former weakened state. Blueblood tells me that my sisters are planning to retire and pass the throne to Princess Twilight Sparkle and Prince Storm Blade. This’ll be the perfect opportunity to strike,” Glacio replied, “I’ve heard about each of your humiliating defeats at the hooves of those seven puny ponies. And do you know why they’ve always bested you?”

“Because they cheat!” Chrysalis guessed.

“Because they are annoyingly lucky,” Tirek added.

“I’m just a kid, so...” Cozy Glow tried to say.

“It is because they work together. Where one is weak, another is strong, and thus unified, they are a formidable force! But we shall use their own strategy to defeat them,” Glacio said, cutting the filly off.

“What are you suggesting?” Chrysalis asked.

“I suggest nothing. I demand that you join my forces, and together, Equestria will be ours!” Glacio replied.

“I don’t do “ours”. I only do mine,” King Sombra retorted, then got into Glacio’s face, “I will take back the Crystal Empire on my own, and I will destroy any pony who gets in my way!”

“Such confidence. Go! Try to take back your kingdom. I shall send you there myself. If you prevail, you may keep it. But when you fail, you will submit to me!” Glacio said, getting into Sombra’s face.

“And if I refuse this deal?” King Sombra asked.

“Then I shall return you to the darkness from which you were summoned, and while you’re at it, destroy the Tree of Harmony. I will not be imprisoned in the ice again, you’ll know it when you see it,” Glacio replied.

“Fine! But this is a waste of time, as I will crush those who defy me. I will defeat all who get in my way! I’m—” Sombra ranted as Glacio teleported him out of the fortress.

“I advise the rest of you to prepare to work together with my army!” Glacio told the others.

“Well, working together sounds an awful lot like making friends, so... you two are in luck, because I know all about that!” Cozy Glow said, sitting on Tirek’s shoulder. The centaur rolled his eyes and flicked her off. She cried as she was sent flying across the room, crashing into the wall.

In the Crystal Empire, dark clouds appeared in the sky and dark crystals came up from the ground as King Sombra entered the city. Crystal ponies were fleeing the evil unicorn as he advanced. The evil king appeared out of the smoke in front of a terrified crystal filly as he looked down at her with an evil grin as her parents tried keeping her safe.

“There is no escape,” Sombra said darkly, then placed the crystal pony family under his mind control.

Just then, a spear was thrown at him but missed as four guards rushed at him. Sombra conjured up a crystal pillar which knocked the guards away as he gave them an evil look and conjured up a mind control helmet. He then put the helmet on the guard’s head and did the same with multiple other guards and various other crystal ponies as they advanced to the castle. The evil king conjured up some crystal stairs for himself and his newly brainwashed minions to enter.

Several remaining guards led by Captain Brawn noticed Sombra enter with looks of fear.

“Fire crossbows!” Captain Brawn ordered as the archers fired their arrows.

King Sombra easily deflected the arrows being fired at him, then caught one guard in his magic and fatally broke his back on the ceiling. He then deflected more arrows and sent them back at the guards, killing them. Sombra conjured up a crystal shard and cut down any guards in his path, he then relieved the guards of their crossbows. He caught another archer in his magic and quickly broke his neck. It was then that he conjured up a crystal spike and fatally stabbed another guard. Captain Brawn escaped with a few survivors and managed to reach Shining Armor.

“All too easy,” King Sombra said smugly as he and his brainwashed army kept advancing.

It wasn’t long before Shining Armor, Captain Brawn, and two remaining guards rushed into the throne room.

“The guard says Sombra’s breached the castle!” Shining Armor told his wife, who was writing a letter to Twilight.

“Hurry, Twilight! We need you!” Cadance said as she sent her letter and asked, “Do you have Flurry Heart?”

“I thought you had her,” Shining Armor replied.

They gasped in fear and then rushed to their daughter’s room only to find Flurry in Sombra’s clutches.

“Mama!” Flurry cried out, turning to her parents.

Flurry’s cry made her mother want to blast him, but Shining put his hoof in front of her.

“You won’t get away with this!” Cadance said defiantly.

“Oh, but I already have,” Sombra replied.

Flurry made angry noises as she tried to bite Sombra’s hoof, but he pulled it away, laughing evilly. It wasn’t long before Sombra captured the Crystal Heart, with dark crystal spikes impaling it.

“With the Crystal Heart now in my possession, there is nothing to stop me from ruling the Crystal Empire!” King Sombra said as he sat on the throne.

He looked down at the three royals as the masked guards pulled them toward the throne.

“Kneel before Sombra!” the evil king said.

The family glared at him, but the chains were pulled, and they were forced down to the floor. Seeing this made him sigh as he leaned back and said, “Long live the king.”

Back at the Castle of Friendship, Twilight, Storm, and Eric were pacing in the throne room. Just then, the others, including Starlight, Jasper, and Smokey entered.

“Thanks for coming so quickly—“ Twilight tried to say before Discord appeared.

“Sure thing. But if you’re gonna be the ruler of Equestria, you may want to work on your penmanship. This looks like it says, ‘Cadance sent an emergency message. Sombra’s back, and he’s taking over the Crystal Empire.’” Discord said as he read the letter.

“That’s exactly what it says!” Twilight replied, flying up to Discord.

“But... But how is that possible?! I thought the Crystal Heart had dispelled him into the ether!” Rarity said.

“I have no idea! But he’s back, and it’s up to us to save the Empire, my brother, sister-in-law, and our niece!” Twilight replied.

“This must be Glacio’s doing,” Storm suggested.

“Shouldn’t somepony tell Celestia, Luna, and Emerald?” Fluttershy asked.

“Ooh, good point! One of us should probably loop in the real rulers of Equestria,” Discord said, pulling Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Spike against him.

“No. If we’re going to run Equestria, we’ll need to handle things like this on our own,” Twilight replied as she flew back to the cutie map.

“Oh, Twilight! Could this mean that you finally have the confidence to ascend to the throne like the princesses believe you can?” Discord asked.

“Maybe? Unless you’d consider taking care of Sombra for us?” Twilight replied, with a pleading look.

“Oh, no-no-no-no! You’re absolutely right! You need to learn how to handle these things on your own,” Discord said, shaking her hoof and conjuring up a grad cap, trophy, and check, “Ta-ta!”

It was then that Discord teleported out of the castle, leaving the Mane 7, Spike, Jasper, Smokey, and Eric to themselves.

“Handlin’ things on our own is all well and good, but last time we defeated Sombra with the Crystal Heart,” Applejack pointed out.

“What if he has it already? How are we gonna stop him?” Spike asked.

“With the Elements of Harmony!” Twilight gasped, then flew back to the floor, “With those, we can defeat anypony! Even Sombra!”

“Ah, no-no-no. You didn’t need the Elements the last time you defeated Sombra,” Discord said as he reappeared while in the middle of a shower, “And I’m not sure that using them still counts as ‘handling things on your own’.”

“Our family is in danger. I’m not taking any chances,” Twilight said.

“Good thinking, mom,” Eric replied.

“She’s got a point,” Rainbow added as she flew up to Discord.

“Ugh, fine,” Discord grumpled as he disappeared.

“What’s his problem?” Pinkie asked.

“Starlight, can you stay here and-” Twilight tried to say.

“-take care of the school and watch Eric? I’ve got you covered,” Starlight replied, cutting Twilight off.

“So do we,” Jasper and Smokey added in unison.

It was then that the Mane 7 teleported out of the castle.

“Starlight, d-do you think King Sombra might come to Ponyville?” Eric asked with fear, “‘Cause I don’t want to be around if he does and I want my friends to be safe too.”

“I’m not sure, Eric. If that does happen, we can teleport to Canterlot,” Starlight replied, hugging him.

It wasn’t long before Eric was reading a Shadow Spade book. After half an hour of reading, Eric noticed his locket was glowing dark red. He gasped at this and said, “Show me my parents!”

The locket showed him a magical projection of his parents and their friends looking on as crystals came out of the ground and ceiling. They were thrusted into the Tree of Harmony, ripping pieces off of it and knocking the Elements loose from where they rested. Before any of the ponies could react, the largest crystal rushed out of the ground and impaled the center of the tree. The Tree of Harmony was destroyed as the Elements were sent flying, all hitting the ground in front of the Mane 7 and shattering to pieces.

Eric gasped in horror as he saw the whole thing through his locket, “Oh no!” He then rushed over to Starlight and tapped her shoulder.

“Starlight! The Tree of Harmony has been destroyed! My locket detected it and showed me,” Eric said.

“That’s not good. That means the Everfree Forest will overrun Ponyville!” Starlight replied.

“Show me King Sombra,” Eric said to his locket.

Eric’s locket showed him an image of a dark cloud swirling down to the ground before taking form. It was revealed to be King Sombra, standing on the shattered remains of the Elements with an evil cackle. Eric watched and heard everything that was going on in the cave as the Mane 7 were trapped in a crystal spike cage.

Author's Note

I had King Sombra voiced by James Earl Jones in this story, as a nod to his voice work as Lavan the Lava Demon in MLP G1, while also sounding similar to Darth Vader.