Spike ran as fast as he could down the spiral crystal, his arms holding the Crystal Heart against his chest. He had to deliver it to the crystal ponies waiting below, or the coming evil would swallow them all. As he descended, he noticed a line of black crystals rising rapidly from the ground, expanding in the direction of the Crystal Palace. The line suddenly stopped, and a crystal erupted from the ground at its end, the disembodied head of the dark king, Sombra, floating at the point. The sudden appearance of the evil king startled Spike, which, in turn, caused him to stumble. Not a good thing to do when running down a smooth crystal spiral. The Crystal Heart slipped from his grasp and fell over the edge of the crystal. Spike followed very close behind it. He found himself wishing his wings had grown already. Alas, he was but a young dragon, and it seemed his age would be the downfall of the Crystal Empire, as Sombra came closer and closer to the Heart. Spike closed his eyes, not wanting to witness what was about to happen.

Almost as soon as he closed his eyes, he felt himself no longer falling. I must have bit the dust…He thought to himself. Then he opened his eyes. Instead of the darkness he had expected, he saw light. The Crystal Heart was floating in front of him, held by Cadence’s magic. The Princess of Love had caught them both! She quickly turned in the air and flew towards the base of the palace, where the Crystals power could be utilized to purge the Crystal Empire of evil.
Cadence Landed at the plaza under the palace. Using her magic to levitate the Crystal Heart to its proper place, she addressed the crowd.

“The Crystal Heart has returned! Use the light and love within you to ensure King Sombra does not!”

The Heart began to shine as the crystal ponies channeled their love of their princess, and their love of their Empire through it. As the brightness began to rival that of the sun, it began to spin. An orb of power appeared around the gem, expanding rapidly. The black crystals shattered on contact with the orb. When the orb reached Sombra, he tried to block the light with his forelegs. As he attempted to peer between, he noticed a series of cracks running through his body. As he felt himself coming apart, he let out a final scream of defiance. His body shattered into miniscule pieces, scattering in the wind. The ponies cheered as they witnessed Sombra’s demise. However, one pony was not cheering.

Twilight Sparkle sat at the top of the Crystal Palace. She had given a shout of joy at seeing the dark king brought low, but her triumph was short lived. Having always been fascinated with magic, she had her eye on the orb of light that was still expanding outward. She watched as the orb suddenly stopped, right at the border of the empire, then fade away. The clouds of Darkness that Sombra had been controlling were unaffected by the power of the Crystal Heart, and even now were beginning to slowly invade the newly purified land.

The ponies on the ground were too caught up in their celebration to notice the cloud until it was halfway to the Palace. Panic quickly set in. The cloud seemed to take strength from this, as it began to move faster. As it neared the palace, the cloud began to rise, slowly churning as it climbed the palace walls. Twilight lost sight of her friends for a moment, but could barely make out Rarity’s horn as it lit up in the darkness. She continued to watch as the cloud reached the top and began to seep past her hooves, moving towards the insignia on the floor of the tower. As the cloud passed her, she felt her skin crawl. Wherever it made contact with her, it left a feeling of extreme dirtiness. As much as it disturbed her, she needed to know what was going on. But all the same, something had to be done about her hooves.

Her horn lit up as a small bubble formed around her. The cloud passed around this shield, seemingly uninterested. Twilight watched as the darkness made contact with the symbol on the floor. The symbol ignited in green flame, and the whole tower shuddered as a booming, malicious laugh echoed through the land. The shuddering grew more and more violent, until Twilight no longer felt safe.

“Buck this!” Twilight exclaimed as the vibrations nearly caused her to topple off the edge of the tower. Looking down, she noticed her friends running away. They had somehow gotten through the cloud to the other side. Rainbow Dash was already on the way to the tower to collect her. She quickly teleported to her friends on the ground. Rainbow Dash noticed the light and looked back to see her friend appear safely with the group. She high-tailed it back.

“What’s going on, Cadence?” Twilight inquired. “This is definitely dark magic, but not any I’ve seen or heard of.”

“I do not know either, Twilight.” Cadence frowned. She had thought the Crystal Heart would save her people from the darkness, but the current situation spoke volumes in opposition to that.

By this time, the darkness had almost completely ascended the tower. The visible bottom of the Palace looked similar to Sombra’s castle, dark and foreboding, and every area that the cloud slowly revealed compounded this appearance. As the last of the darkness reached the top, a concussive blast tore through the air. The force of the blast was so great that it picked up the group of refugees and flung them into the arctic wasteland surrounding the Empire. Twilight screamed as the snowy ground flew up to meet her face. She blacked out on contact.

Noises.

Loud noises.

She just wanted to sleep…

“How is she doing?” A familiar voice asked.

“P-princess!” Twilight sputtered, bolting awake. “I-I’m fine! What are you…doing…here? Um…”

Twilight looked around. She was in a hospital bed, an IV attached to her foreleg. Her gazed shifted to the large white alicorn standing a few feet from her bed. Celestia eyed her student worryingly.

“Checking up on your health. You took quite a beating out there.” The regal mare responded.

The last few moments of consciousness returned to Twilight.

“Princess! What happened to the Crystal Empire? We beat Sombra, then there was a dark cloud, and an explosion, and-“

“I already know what happened, Twilight. Your friends woke before you and gave me all the details.” Celestia told her. She turned to the doctor. “How is her health?”

“Her physical injuries have healed. All we were waiting for was for her to awaken.” The doctor stated while walking up to the bedside. “If I may?” The stallion asked Twilight, gesturing with the flat end of his stethoscope.

Twilight nodded. He placed the earpieces into his ears and listened to several places on her chest. Seemingly satisfied, he made a note on the clipboard hanging from her bed, before removing the stethoscope and picking up an otoscope, which he placed against her ear and peered into.

As he worked, he filled Twilight in on her condition, and that of her friends.

“When your group came in, there seemed to be no external damage, aside from punctured eardrums. Yours have healed nicely, by the way,” he stated, putting down the otoscope and picking up a pen. “Follow this with your eyes please” He said, moving the pen slowly to the left and right. “The amount of internal damage was rather bad though. The concussive blast caused multiple ruptures in your bodies.”

“How are my friends doing?” Twilight asked, anxious to hear how they had healed.

“Fine, mostly. I’ll let them tell you themselves.” He replied. He wrote a few more things on the clipboard, then turned to her again. “Everything seems to be fine now. Would you like to try walking?”

“Yes, please,” She said, eager to find out more about the incident.

“Alright then, let’s take this nice and slow- wait on a sec now!” The doctor exclaimed as Twilight practically launched herself out of the bed. She landed on her hooves before collapsing to the ground.

“How long have I been in bed?” Twilight asked, staring at her hooves as if they were a strangers.

“It’s been four days, Twilight.” Celestia, who had remained quiet throughout the checkup, spoke softly. Her horn glowed briefly, and Twilight felt warmth return to her legs.

“That long? What’s happened while I was out? Is the Crystal Empire okay? D-Did I pass the test?” She whispered the last question nervously.

“The test was cancelled, Twilight. We will talk more about it later, once you’ve had a chance to catch up with your friends.” Celestia replied, before opening the door, revealing said friends. They immediately pushed into the room, pelting her with questions.

"Twilight! Are you okay?" Asked the small dragon that had wrapped its arms around her neck.

"I'm...fine...Spike" Twilight gasped as Spike's arms tightened.

"YAY! That means we can finally throw our Come-Back-From-The-Crystal-Empire-Alive party!" Pinkie Pie squealed in excitement. "Oh, I've got so much to do! Balloons, streamers, cake, invitations..."

"I think it can wait til we get back to Ponyville, Pinkie.." Twilight said with a giggle. Pinkie simply beamed.

"Aww, I knew she'd be fine. Nothing can keep Twilight down for long." Rainbow Dash commented, walking over to Twilight and giving her a rather rough slap on the back. Twilight had to struggle to keep her balance.

"Oof! Well, I'm glad we all made it back in one piece" Twilight happily said.

"As am I." Celestia spoke. The questions died down as attention turned to her. "As much as I'd like to let you celebrate, there is much to explain, and time is short. Please, follow me to the throne room."

"I'm sure you all have questions about what happened." Celestia began. "I have quite a few myself. But I do have some answers, which I will now share with you." Celestia faced her throne, and a single beam of light traveled from her horn to a small gem above where she usually sits. Her throne silently slid to the right, revealing a stairway.

"Great. Even more stairs..." Twilight remarked sarcastically. The others just giggled. Celestia silenced them with a glance.

"What I am about to show you is a secret only myself and Luna know of. It involves the Elements of Harmony, and I think you will need the power hidden here to combat the evil that was released by Sombra's death." Celestia spoke softly as they descended the stairs.

The stairs went down in a spiral before opening in to a corridor. The corridor was carved with inscriptions in a language Twilight could not understand.

"What language is this, Princess? I don't think I've seen these characters before..."

"You would not have, Twilight. This language is not from this world. Allow me to explain what I know. Back before the incident with Nightmare Moon, my sister and I ruled Equestria from the Royal Castle of the Alicorn Sisters, where you first discovered the Elements of Harmony and used them to defeat Nightmare Moon. Back then, the Everfree forest did not exist. We chose to build the castle there because of the fertile land around it, and because the area had an unusually high concentration of magic. This is back when we were younger, and needed more power to move the sun and moon and still protect our ponies."

Celestia stopped for a moment, her horn glowing. Twilight felt something in the air snap and realized that the princess herself had placed magical wards through this corridor. Celestia continued walking and talking.

"One day, we discovered a secret chamber underneath the castle. Inside this chamber was a large crystal. This crystal is where the abundant magic came from. With direct access to the source, we were able to utilize more of its power, and Equestria quickly expanded and flourished. Realizing that this could be a breakthrough in the origins of magic. We set up a team to scour the land, looking for other magical signals similar to the crystals. We found one. Which is why, after the rise of Nightmare Moon, I moved the capital here. Deep in this mountain, we found another crystal.

After listening to the story, Twilight inferred that they were headed to this second crystal. She began feeling the air for any strange signals. The amount of magic in the air was definitely greater than usual, but nothing strange. She looked up at her mentor, wondering if it was something only an alicorn could sense. But didn't she make a team of other ponies to find more? Which means she should be able to sense it.

Just as Twilight opened her mouth to voice her thoughts, Celestia's horn lit up again. Another snap was felt in the air, and suddenly, a foreign energy touched her horn. It sent shivers down her spine, all the way to the base of her tail. Glancing over, she saw Rarity shiver in much the same way.

"Good heavens! Is that the energy you were talking about, Princess?" Rarity asked.

"It is, though it is differs slightly from the first crystal's signal. I had to place wards to keep curious ponies from discovering this place." There was a flash of light, and a golden box appeared next to Celestia. The box opened, revealing the Elements of Harmony.

"My sister and I are not sure why, but the Elements seem to give off a reaction to the signal. I ask that you put them on before we continue."

Twilight looked in the box and saw that the elements were indeed reacting. They were giving off a slight glow, and her tiara was vibrating slightly, though when she put it on, it stopped its vibrations.The others put their Elements on, and the box disappeared in a flash of sunlight.

"Let us continue." Celestia turned and began walking again. Her story, however, was apparently over.

After a few more minutes of walking, they came to a door. Celestia's horn lit up again, and several snaps could be felt. As the last snap faded from existence, Celestia used a hoof to push the door open slowly, then gestured for them to enter.

The first thing Twilight noticed was, obviously, the crystal. Back in the Crystal Empire, she had seen entire buildings made of crystal. It was impressive, but it was done with magic. The crystal before her though. It was huge, and seemed to be growing naturally out of the wall of the chamber. The crystal was a stunning shade of red, and was hanging out from the wall over a pit. There was a burning light rising up from the pit, and Twilight could smell the molten rock at the bottom.

The second thing she noticed was the dais in front of the pit. A series of round steps led up to the raised platform, upon which rested a large stone slab similar to an altar. The light reflecting off the crystal from the lava below shined upon a small item upon said altar.

The third thing she noticed was Rarity slowly walking towards the giant red crystal, apparently oblivious to the lava pit.

"Rarity, stop!" Called out Twilight as she started to run for her friend. Rainbow Dash ran past her, catching Rarity and grabbing hold of her, pulling her back.

"Snap out of it, Rarity!" Rainbow Dash pleaded.

"But its just so big and...shiny...MINE!" Rarity shouted, redoubling her efforts.

"ENOUGH!"

Everyone, Rarity included, turned to look at the delicate looking Celestia, a hoof covering her mouth.

"Excuse me..."

Rarity slumped down, the sudden adrenaline rush wearing off. She looked back at the shining hunk of rock, before looking below said rock.

"That could have ended badly..." She said

"Yeah, no kidding..." retorted Rainbow Dash as she rolled her eyes and released Rarity

Celestia stepped forward. "Twilight, I'd like you to examine the item on the dais. I believe the Element of Magic held the strongest reaction to this place. See if it tells you anything."

Twilight did as her teacher asked, approaching the altar and looking at the item placed upon it. It looked similar to Spikes claws, except longer, and rounder at the tips. Two of these round claws rested upon the altar, a small band upon each one. Each of the bands looked different from the other, and a small magical field emanated from them. Other than that, there was nothing out of the ordinary.

"All that's up here are these strange claw figures." She reported, reaching a hoof out to touch one. As her hoof made contact, she felt a jolt of energy. Her Element suddenly began thrumming with power.

"Twilight, whats goin' on up there?" Applejack called out.

Twilight couldn't hear her. All she could do was listen to the roar of power her tiara was emitting.

The crystal shifted.

The rest of the group jumped at the sudden sound, and began stepping back as the crystal slowly began to remove itself from the wall.

Twilight saw the crystal move, and watched as it now pulled itself from the wall and floated across the pit, coming to a stop before the altar. Her Element told her to stand upon the altar. So she did. Here Element told her to press her horn to the crystal. So she did. Her Element told her to accept the contract. What contract? Doesn't matter. She accepted.

Celestia watched as her prized student pressed her horn to the crystal. A bright light flared as thousands of cracks formed across the surface of the glittering jewel. Through the light, Twilight silhouette could be seen leaning farther, and farther, and farther...until she fell off the altar. Straight into the pit.

With a cry of alarm, Celestia moved to rescue her pupil. At that moment, the crystal shattered, letting off a booming report that echoed loudly in the chamber. The shock wave threw Celestia against the far wall, where she stayed, help down by some sort of magical pressure. She pushed against the pressure with her magic, but to no avail. She couldn't push back if she didn't know what was pushing her. She noticed the others all held to the ground in a similar manner. Returning her attention to the pit she had just watched her favorite student fall into, Celestia reached out with her magic, hoping to feel anything from Twilight. Instead her magic was severed. Violently. Imagine a rubber band, stretched beyond possibility, suddenly snapping back and hitting you. Now imagine the rubber back to be the size of a fire hose.

The recoil of her magic slammed her head against the wall. Celestia saw stars. Then she saw something much more pleasant, but much much worse at the same time.

Rising up from the pit, with the wings of a dragon on its back, was a bipedal creature. In the bipedal creatures arms lay the still body of Twilight.

Author's Note

If you see any errors, let me know.

This is the manifestation of an idea I've been kicking around for a while. Basically, after the prologue, I'm going to read any and all comments I get, and whatever most people think the adventurers should do next, will happen.