Ending, Middle, and Beginning
"CRYSTAL HEART!" the angry roar echoed across the Crystal Empire. The illusion of safety that had been maintained by Cadence rapidly began to fade as the alicorn's will and energy failed her. Clear, blue skies were soon replaced by an ominous, orange horizon as the love and hope that had protected the Crystal Empire disappeared. Crystal Ponies looked toward the malevolent form of Sombra and immediately twisted memories of fear and obedience returned. Sombra disregarded all of them. "MINE! ALL MINE!"
Sombra flooded into the streets of the Crystal Empire, wherever his shadowy form touched turned to dark crystal, a mockery of what it had been moments before. Billowing out across the entire city his scattered mind focused solely on one spot within the city. Hate filled eyes glowered at the central spire of the city toward where he sensed the return of the Crystal Heart.
"RRAAAAARGH!"
The Crystal Heart! The Crystal Heart! It was all that he could think about and it was all that he wanted. To devour it and the hopes of the Crystal Ponies in his anger and rage. There was nothing in this world that he wanted more then to cover everything in darkness, forever.
A glint of light caught his eye causing the wall of shadow to stop. Only for a moment. Something deep within his dark form danced at that wonderful light. Voices long gone from the world chattered inside of his mind as a wave of memories tried to swell up from within his heart, but the light was only a glimmer. The voices and memories were engulfed once more by his raging spirit and they were once more forgotten by Sombra. Though, the barest emotions persisted through, but instead of healing his darkness it seemed to taunt the dark hole where his hear had been. Sombra didn’t understand any of it; all he knew now was that he wanted the Crystal Heart more than anything.
"MY HEART! MINE! MINE! MINE!"
-
"You will bow in the presence of your, King." King Sombra growled, stamping his iron shod hoof into the crystal floor. The floor cracked and smoked as his dark magic seeped through his body and into polished surface.
"Y-y-yes, my King..." the Crystal Pony cowered in her chains, hooves over her head as she pressed herself into the ground. Her coat had once been pure and beautiful, now it was pale and...less than what it had been. King Sombra seemed to suck the very happiness from everything around him.
“There will be no more silly little fairs…no more games or sweet treats. There will be no more glorious knights or uplifting horns. There will be only obedience and fear. Do you understand?” Sombra’s horn glowed for a moment before a dark blast of magical energy ripped into the fairground below. Twisted flames quickly sprouted and ate the entire fair until nothing was left, but ashes.
“We…we…understand. There will only be…S-shadow.” The Crystal Pony whimpered, a single crystalline tear fell down the side of her face. Splashing onto the floor it hardened into a black diamond and after a moment shattered.
"Good. You, all of you, will know your place. From now on your Crystal Empire...your very lives, all of it, belongs to me!" King Sombra grinned like a dragon as he looked out over the entire crowd of Crystal Ponies, hundreds cowered in fear of King Sombra's power, but also that not a single one of them had the heart to disobey.
His horn glowed for a moment and then the screams of the Crystal Ponies began as the dark crystals that now polluted their homes began to shudder and grow. Looking at the dark crystals one could see magical static as black as night arcing across the surface of one rising crystal before shooting out to strike at one of the Crystal Ponies. Immediately, the Pony was covered in iron chains and before any other pony could move the black magic leapt to another pony and then another, and another. In a hoofull of moments every Crystal Pony was imprisoned by King Sombra’s will.
"Mine..." King Sombra whispered as he sat down on his throne, the Crystal Heart clutched to his side, "All mine..."
--
"Shadow Dancer! Pure Heart! Dinner is ready!" an elderly voice called across the castle courtyard to reach the ears of the two playing Unicorns. The white maned of the two paused for a moment, which was all the time his brother needed to snatch the wooden lump from his hooves. Bumping his brother aside the wooden heart was suspended in the air for a moment before falling neatly into a outstretched hoof.
"Aha! The Fair Maiden's heart is mine!" Pure Heart laughed in triumph.
"Nu-uh! Her heart is mine and always mine!" Shadow Dancer snorted and leaped at his brother, causing them both to roll around in a particular mud pile. Their coats had been dirty before, but now they were both absolutely covered in wet, sloppy dirt. Both Unicorns looked completely identical as they pulled at the wooden shape clutched in each other’s hooves.
"Let it go, brother! I made it! It is mine!"
"I taught you how to make it! It is mine!"
"COLTS!" the elderly voice, now VERY angry and VERY unmerciful, echoed across the courtyard, "GET IN HERE NOW OR NO SUPPER FOR EITHER OF YOU!"
The two colts gasped and rushed away as fast as Pegasi. The mud sliding away from their bodies showed that neither Unicorn had a cutie mark to speak of. The wooden heart disappeared into the depths of the mud puddle.
WE ARE BACK IN BUSINESS! As you can tell I have just watched the Season Premiere of Season 3 and I am stoked for what we will see in the next couple of months.
Spoilers
For now though, I am focusing on the figure of Sombra. While he was present throughout the entire episode he didn’t have much interaction. Therefore as soon as the episode was over I have been compelled to write this. The Tale of Sombra.
