Blackness was quickly replaced by bright lights and the sound of ponies muddling about. Nexus' eyes took a second to adjust but he could vaguely see a massive audience spanning out in rows upon rows of seats with a balcony holding even more. All of the ponies there gleamed in the dim ambient light and their coats held a pearly sheen to them. They were Crystal ponies. Nexus couldn't even begin to fathom why he was even in the Crystal Empire. It was one place he had never been, so why would he be standing before them now?

It took Nexus a moment to see the band in the pit past the apron of the stage. How he knew what those were he had no idea. He looked to either side for the stage director but only saw ponies zipping by in the darkness backstage. Hoping his audience was to enthralled with talking to one another, he slipped backstage and watched the controlled chaos.

Ponies moved back and forth as the director and stage manager bossed everypony into place. The show must have been just about to start. Nexus blinked and was suddenly somewhere else. The back stage area was now a dimly lit room. The room was simple, gray couch, gray carpet, brown coffee table and a vanity adjacent to the door. Standing in front of the vanity mirror was a tall black unicorn. His coat shined brighter than any of the ponies Nexus had seen in the crew but that was probably from some kind of makeup.

The unicorn's mane was silver with a single lock of white going down over his left eye and through his tail. On his flank, a golden treble cleft sat shining brighter than his coat. The stallion's eyes were as gray as his mane. He wasn't blind, he was diffidently using the mirror to fix himself up. The stallion sighed and leaned on the vanity.

"Okay Goldenchord. Time to shine. Not literally, okay you are shining literally, but that's genetic. You've been waiting for this moment. Everypony watching you, their eyes and ears on you as you spin the sounds that enrapture their hearts. Ah! I'm so nervous!" Goldenchord told himself.

A knock came at the door and a crystal mare stuck her head in. "You're on in five Goldenchord." she said.

"Yeah. I'm ready. I'm on my way out." The mare shut the door behind her and Goldenchord went back to his mirror self for one last peppy word. "You got this. The King's going to love you and so's the crowd. You da pony!"

King? This was the first time Nexus had heard anything of a king in Equestria. Or the Crystal Empire for that reason. Maybe Shining Armor finally got that promotion from General? The unicorn jumped up and down a couple times to loosen up and trotted out of the dressing room. How'd he not notice Nexus was there when he turned around? Or when he left? Did he have an invisibility spell active? Didn't matter, Nexus followed him out of sheer curiosity.

The pony walked past members of the crew and they all nodded to him and waved. He waved back and stopped just short of the stage. The stage director walked up next to him and Nexus stood behind a fake brick wall. The director nodded to the stage director and she nodded to him. Goldenchord took a breath and stood up straight as he walked out on stage. With his head held high, he let the sound of the thundering applause wash over him. It rattled his ribcage and made his heart jump in his chest, and he loved it.

Nexus on the other hand felt unmoved by it not knowing who he was. Goldenchord stopped center stage and nodded to the conductor that looked a bit like Commander Firebrand for some odd reason. The conductor turned to face his orchestra and waved his stick to start the rhythm. The orchestra followed with a long, low note from the string section in a key Nexus didn't know, followed by the reverberating bass of the brass section.

Despite having a lot of base, they kept quiet as Goldenchord stood there. He waited for a measure or two before he opened his mouth. He didn't know what kind of music it was, it sounded like a solo choral piece but he could've been wrong. Nexus couldn't understand a word coming out of his mouth but he was certain the crowd did. He peaked around the curtain and saw a lot of them swaying to the melody. Goldenchord was amazing! His smooth voice spread across everything and made Nexus feel happy and hopeful. He didn't know why, but it did.

The music wasn't even a factor anymore as Goldenchord hit a high note and held it with the orchestra. Right after that note, a deep voice that shot Nexus from his peace rocked the theater.

"Enough. Stop this now!" It said. Nexus knew it instantly.

He looked out over the audience and saw Sombra, the old Sombra, sitting in a throne at the front of the balcony. He knew it was his old form. He'd seen paintings of it in the archives a few times.

"Sombra!" Nexus shouted spreading his wings and bolting towards the bastard.

Just as he reached Sombra, Nexus folded his wings and let his momentum carry him. He spun in midair and prepared to land an aerial roundhouse kick to Sombra's jaw. Just when he thought his metal hindleg would meet flesh and bone, it passed through and his leg dissolved into smoke. Nexus shouted in surprise and skidded to a halt in the isle right behind Sombra.

He looked back to his leg and saw it reform again before looking back to Sombra. Oddly enough, Sombra didn’t even seem to notice. In fact, he was still staring down at the stage.

"What is the meaning of this?" He asked Goldenchord.

"What do mean Sire?" he replied, his voice still carrying.

"That song, what does it speak of?"

"Of peace and light Sire. A day when we all stand in the light of Faust and-"

"Treason! I am your ruler here, not her. Guards! Take him to the mines."

Nexus moved up next to Sombra and watched as Goldenchord was taken from the stage, dragged by two Crystal Guards, kicking and screaming in anger.

"Let this be a lesson to you all. Songs such as those are forbidden here. Return to your homes now!"

Everypony there shuffled out silently with their ears down and their heads low. Nexus turned to confront Sombra again only to be enveloped by a light and returned to reality.