I opened my eyes to see a pair of light blue eyes staring back at me and filling my vision.

"Ahhhh!" we both screamed at the same time and I shot upwards only to hit my head against the company in the room.

I groaned as I sat up slowly and looked around and I saw that I was back in Faust's Library; the alicorn herself was rubbing her head from where collided with each other.

"Geez Faust, don’t do that! You nearly gave me a heart attack," I said rubbing my head.

"Deepest apologies Ash, but you smell different for some reason, it's a pleasant smell though," Faust said.

"Maybe it's because of the new soap I used before bed," I replied.

"That must be it. By the way well done in freeing Dream Catcher, also congrats for also gaining a place to call home for yourself and it’s a relief that Discord is at peace once more," Faust said.

“Thanks Faust but if Discord pulls another stunt like this morning he’s gonna wish he stayed a lawn ornament,” I said with a voice filled with malice.

“Yes I saw what you went through as well, I can’t believe a young mind can see so much horror and go through such pain and still call himself sane,” Faust said.

“Aren’t my memories from earth safe from anypony these days?” I asked myself.

“Don’t think so. Oh and Faust the water incident when last we spoke was caused by a young unicorn by the name of Twilight Sparkle,” Rage said as we separated.

“Yes I am aware of that but I can’t blame her, she didn’t know we were talking and it’s not like I can put up a sign saying speaking with Faust do not disturb. Also no damage was done thanks to a little magic,” Faust replied.

“Well Twilight will be glad to know that,” I said with a sigh on the end.

“What troubles you Ash?” Faust asked.

“Well it’s nothing really; it’s just every now and again I sometimes wish Rage and I were separated like Rage was his own man,” I said.

“I kinda agree with you there, I mean there are things I want to do myself and not be connected with Ash here,” Rage said.

“I believe I can help with that,” Faust said.

“What? How?” I asked with confusion.

“The next demon you need to kill is a cruel and foul ruler by the name of King Sombra,” Faust said with venom in her voice.

“A demon as a ruler? How did that happen?” Rage asked.

“Sombra was a demon sent by Heartless to take control of the Crystal Empire, a place of powerful magic led by a wise and fair couple; that is until Sombra came. He led an army of crystal creatures made of dark corrupted magic and conducted public executions of the entire royal bloodline. Elders, adults and foals alike; he spared no one and forced his subjects into slavery to dig in his mines for something. If there were any who stood against him they were killed on the spot,” Faust said.

As I thought about the poor souls who were suffering under the whip of this monster I looked at Rage who was having trouble hiding his anger. The flames on him were larger and were a little brighter and he was gritting his teeth.

“Where can we find this bastard so I show him my steel?” Rage asked in a dark tone.

“He will return to Equestria shortly because he was turned to pure shadow and was banished to the artic north thanks to the knights and Celestia and Luna,” Faust said.

“Forgive me for asking Faust, but how does this separate Rage from me?” I asked.

“Sombra’s soul is coursing with power and is very close to Heartless, you could call him his second in command. If Rage devours Sombra’s soul the power it holds will be able to separate you both and…,” Faust said.

“Strike a critical blow to Heartless,” Rage said.

“But this also means that this Sombra will be powerful,” I said with caution.

“Indeed, but I know both of you will prevail and Ash you will become stronger than ever when you pull this off,” Faust said.

“Don’t worry Faust we got this,” Rage said pounding a fist on his chest.

“Rage is right,” I said.

“Good luck and give my regards to Dream Catcher and Discord. One more thing Ash, a gift awaits you in your new closet,” Faust said as she sent us off with a flash of magic.

I woke up and looked around my new room. The window on the roof indicated the sun had just risen and was time to start a new day. I climbed out of bed and opened the window to the balcony to let Dust out. I then had a bath and got changed into a pair of blue jeans and a white top. I was about to walk over to my closet to see the gift Faust had left me only I caught wind of something cooking.

“You smell that?” I thought.

“Yeah smells like it’s coming from the kitchen and it smells good,” Rage replied.

“But aren’t we the only ones in the house?” I thought.

“Well we aren’t going to find out like this,” Rage said.

I armed myself with my hidden blade and phantom blade and walked out of my room towards the kitchen. Without a noise I reached the door of the kitchen through the dining room and peaked inside. To my surprise I saw a cream furred mare with a crimson mane and tail and green eyes wearing a skimpy French maid’s outfit. She was standing over a stove cooking French toast. Just then another maid came in with a broom in hand; she had blue fur and a yellow mane and tail with amber eyes and also wore a skimpy maid’s outfit like the other, but she had a pair of wings.

“Excuse me, but why are you two in my home?” I asked as I walked into the kitchen while extending the hidden blade behind my back.

“Oh good morning master,” the earth pony said with a smile, the last word caused me to tense up.

“Wait master?” I asked retracting the hidden blade.

“Yes, Celestia sent us to be your personal housemaids,” The Pegasus answered.

“Why didn’t Celestia tell me any of this?” I asked.

“She should have told you that we were coming last night, but fortunately she thought ahead,” the Pegasus said pulling out a piece of paper from her cleavage.

I blushed as the mare handed me the paper and I opened it to read the contents.

Dear Ash Blade

If you are reading this it means I forgot to mention to you that these two mares will be your personal housemaids. They are hard workers and a fun to be around. These two live in Ponyville so they won’t live in the same house as you do and I apologise for the inconvenience. Also the crown will be paying them so don’t worry about wages for them.

Yours sincerely

Celestia.

I pinched the bridge of my nose after I read the letter.

“You and I are gonna have serious words later Celestia,” I thought.

“You have to admit they look hot,” Rage said.

“Shut up asshole,” I thought in an angry tone.

“I believe we should introduce ourselves; my name is Feather Duster,” The Pegasus said as she curtsied.

“And I’m Silver Tray and it is an honour to serve you master,” the earth pony said as she curtsied.

“Ok first off, some ground rules. Don’t call me master or curtsy please, just call me Ash and treat me like a friend, so no bowing of any kind,” I said earning nods from the mares.

“Breakfast will be served in a moment its French toast,” Silver Tray said turning back to the stove.

“Alright, thank you,” I said as I left and teleported my weapons back to my room

After breakfast I showed the girls the house and once finished I walked into my room to view my gift from Faust. I walked into my closet to inspect everything but nothing seemed out of the ordinary at first. When I looked at the area where I keep my armour I saw a second mannequin with beautifully made robes that covered armour plates, the metal plates were wrapped in leather to prevent sound of clanking metal. The robes were grey but mostly black and had a shoulder cape that draped over my left arm and a mask covered the face.

A card lay in the chest area so I reached and grabbed the card and opened it.

Dear Ash

I’m sure you know by now that Altair, Ezio and Arno were part of a creed of assassins to protect humanity, these robes are similar to what they wore and I felt that these robes would serve where your armour cannot. Like stealth they were designed to fit your wings and handle the hidden blades with ease, I hope they are to your liking.

Faust.

I placed the card on a seat in the room and snapped my fingers; in a flash I was dressed in the robes. I looked at myself in the mirror and placed the hood over my head and pulled the cape over my shoulder. I had to say my reflection looked awesome and I thought Rarity would pass out from over excitement at the sight of my clothes. Before I placed the mask on I heard a knock at the door and I walked towards it.

“Come in,” I said in a loud tone to be heard.

Feather Duster opened the door and gasped in wonder at the sight of my new clothes.

“Not bad huh,” I said giving a little twirl for the mare.

“It’s impossible to describe. Oh there‘s a dragon at the door for you he says his name is Spike,” Feather said.

“I’ll see him now, thank you Feather,” I said as I walked past her and put on my mask.

I walked down the stairs and I saw Spike talking with Silver.

“Hey Spike, what brings you here?” I asked.

Spike looked towards me and his jaw dropped as he looked me over.

“Ash is that you? Damn! When did Rarity make you those?” Spike asked.

“She didn’t, these were a gift from Faust and these were designed by a creed of assassins which Altair, Ezio and Arno were part of,” I said.

“Damn you humans have quite a way of making yourselves look cool,” Spike said.

“Thanks, now what do you need Spike?” I asked.

“Oh Twilight got a letter from Celestia this morning. She asked both you and Twilight to come to Canterlot,” Spike said.

“I’ll be right over,” I said as I snapped my fingers and I was wearing my casual clothes once more.

“Why not keep the robes on?” Spike asked.

“I want to surprise the girls with it, especially Rarity,” I said.

“Gotcha and if I may ask why do you have maids here?” Spike asked.

“I’ll tell you on the way,” I replied.

We arrived at Twilight’s house and I saw everypony there while Twilight was running around in a frenzy.

“Flashcards I should make some flashcards. Spike I’m going to need you to quiz me on everything I’ve ever learned,” Twilight said handing him two huge stacks of cards that doubled Spikes height. “That isn’t going to be enough cards.”

“Twi you need to calm down it’s just a test,” Spike said placing the cards on a table.

“Just a test…just a test! Princess Celestia summoned me to Canterlot for something important and you’re saying it’s just a test!” Twilight shouted inches away from Spike.

“You may not be having a test at all Twilight,” I said.

“Didn’t you just hear me when I said that I was summoned to Canterlot for something important? Of course it’s a test what else could it be!” Twilight screeched turning towards me.

“All I’m saying is that I was summoned as well and I doubt I’m going to take a test because I’m not Celestia’s student. But feel free to bring some stuff for a test if you want to. My guess is this summoning has something to do with my next kill,” I said.

“Wait, kill? You mean you saw Faust?” Twilight squeaked in fear.

“Yes and you’ll be glad to know she holds no ill will towards you and her library is safe,” I said causing Twilight to breathe a sigh of relief.

“Hang on, is this kill supposed to be a demon because if it is I want in,” Rainbow said pounding her hands together.

“Same,” Gilda said cracking her talons

“I don’t know you two, things get really ugly when I fight demons and I’d hate to see any one injured or worse,” I said.

“We’ll be fine besides, you went last time with Luna and Rage by your side; now it’s our turn,” Rainbow said.

“Um Ash, can you tell me about this demon?” Twilight asked.

“I think I’ll let Celestia explain, I could be wrong about you taking a test and it having something to do with my target,” I said.

After Twilight gathered all the materials she thought she’d need for the test she and I boarded a train for Canterlot. When we arrived we walked straight to the castle and the guards allowed us entry and informed us of Celestia’s location. We walked off towards the throne room and as we arrived I saw Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Chrysalis and Princess Dream Catcher all looking at a window, which showed Rage and I battling the demon that possessed Chrysalis. Along with Shining Armour’s and Cadence’s bodies in a heart shape; sending out a blast of magic that killed the remaining demons.

“Ahem,” Twilight said politely causing the princesses to turn towards us “You wanted to see us to probably give me a test and an assignment for Ash. I brought my own quills and plenty of paper to show my work,” Twilight said as she unpacked her bags and grabbed a scroll. But she grabbed an end of it and it began to unravel, the scroll was so long it reached the princesses hooves “Sorry, sorry, sorry,” Twilight repeated as she tried to roll up the scroll.

“This is a different kind of test,” Celestia said as she rolled up the scroll with her magic and placed it back in her bag. “The Crystal Empire has returned.”

“Called it,” I said.

“Wait, you knew?” Dream Catcher asked in surprise.

“Faust beat you all in explaining it to me,” I replied.

“Care to fill me in, because none of my books say anything,” Twilight said with worry.

“There would be few that remember that it ever existed at all. Even my knowledge of the empire is limited,” Celestia said as she lifted a glass lid off a pedestal behind her throne and brought a purple crystal before Twilight and I. Celestia hit the top of the crystal with magic creating a hologram of the empire, showing ponies with crystal like coats living happy lives. “But what I do know is that it contains a powerful magic. 1000 years ago king Sombra a unicorn whose heart was as black as night, took over the Crystal Empire,”

Immediately the hologram changed the crystal palace and buildings turned black and jagged and I saw an image of Sombra. He was a dark grey unicorn with a black mane that flickered like fire. His eyes were green where the whites were supposed to be with blood red slitted pupils and purple vapours leaked from his eyes. He had sharp teeth and he wore dark armour and a red cape with a white fluffy trim with black spots. He also had a red curved horn poking out of his head. He was standing on a balcony of the castle overlooking the civilians in chains. Each one had either miserable looks on their faces or it was in pain as they faced the lash of a whip from one of Sombra’s crystal minions. My anger for this coward was spiking beyond measure, I was ready to spill blood.

“He was ultimately overthrown by both Luna and I and turned to shadow and banished to the ice of the artic north, while the five knights fought his army. But before he disappeared he placed a curse upon the empire, a curse that caused the entire empire to vanish into thin air," Celestia said as she dispelled the hologram and fired a beam of light magic at the crystal causing a bright rainbow to appear around it. “If the empire is filled with hope and love, those things are reflected across Equestria If hatred and fear take hold,” Celestia said as her eyes turned completely green and purple vapours poured from her eyes and she fired a beam of dark magic causing it to turn black. In its shadow three more black crystals grew out of the ground surrounding both Twilight and I. Celestia’s eyes returned to normal and she used her magic to shatter the new crystals that surrounded Twilight and I. “Which is why I need both of your help finding a way to protect it,” Celestia finished.

“You want us to help protect an entire empire,” Twilight said in an unsure tone.

“It is as I said a different kind of test but one I am certain you will pass,” Celestia said returning the crystal to its pedestal.

“Both Rage and I are already on board Celestia. This bastard is going to die, that you can be sure of,” I said.

“I’m glad to hear this Ash, but if I may ask why kill Sombra? He is a unicorn not a demon,” Chrysalis said.

“That’s where you’re wrong, he is a demon, he only looks like a unicorn. He made public executions of the entire bloodline. Also during his rule he ordered the civilians to dig in his mines for something. I don’t know what that was, but if that demon wanted no pony to find out about it, then it must be valuable to him,” I said.

“Sombra’s a demon. It explains why he was so hard to destroy when we fought,” Luna said in shock.

“Sombra isn’t any ordinary demon Luna, he’s Heartless’s second in command,” I said.

“Heartless?” Twilight asked.

“He’s the monster responsible for not only the demons that possessed Chrysalis and Dream Catcher; but also the reason why Faust is imprisoned in the world between worlds. She is acting as a seal to imprison him, but it won’t last forever. So for now Heartless sends his demon hoard to do his dirty work to claim Equestria,” I said earning gasps from everyone.

“So mother was forced to leave to save us,” Chrysalis said saddened.

“I’m afraid so, but if we take out Sombra we strike a critical blow to Heartless. I have two reasons to do this; one is to help free Faust and the other is personal,” I said cracking my fingers.

“Ash you know your task go to the Crystal Empire with Twilight and send the demon back to the abyss and if you wish, make it suffer,” Dream Catcher said with fury.

I snapped my fingers and I was dressed in my robes with my sword and shield on my back. Along with my hidden and phantom blades on my wrists and my scythes on my waist which earned gasps from everyone in the room.

“It would be my absolute pleasure Dream Catcher,” I said with a grin.

“Ash, where did you get those robes?” Twilight asked looking me over.

“Faust,” I said simply.

“The robes suite you well,” Luna said with a smile.

“Why thank you Luna, but I believe we should leave. Are you coming Twilight? The option is there to back out and I won’t hold it against you,” I said.

Ash is right Twilight, you don’t have to accept,” Celestia said.

Twilight raised a hand to her chin in thought.

“How do we begin?” Twilight asked with determination.

“By joining Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armour in the Crystal Empire,” Celestia said.

“My brother is there,” Twilight said in joy.

“He is and your friends and the stallions, plus Gilda will join you as well. l have every confidence that you’ll both succeed and when you do, I’ll know you’re ready to move on to the next level of your studies,” Celestia said.

“But what if I fail?” Twilight asked as the princesses walked us to the doors.

“You won’t,” Celestia replied

“But what if…,” Twilight started.

“You won’t; but Twilight in the end it must be you and you alone who ultimately assists Princess Cadence and Shining Armour, in doing what needs to be done to protect the empire; just leave Sombra to Ash Blade do you understand?” Celestia asked.

“Mm hmm,” Twilight nodded.

“Then go, you have no time to lose,” Celestia said as the doors closed.

Twilight and I met Spike outside the Castle and he asked about the test. Both Spike and Twilight started singing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1P53PMYoA8

"Uh prepared for what?" Spike asked as we arrived at the train station. But before either of us could answer we were greeted by the others who were impressed by my robes. Rarity was completely swooning over them which made things awkward for me.

“So how did it go?” Applejack asked.

“Are we going demon hunting with Ash,” Rainbow asked rubbing her hands together getting looks from Rarity and Applejack.

“Yes next stop the Crystal Empire,” Twilight said earning huh’s from everypony.

The trip was filled with me telling everypony about where we were headed and about Heartless along with Sombra as his second in command. This got the others concerned and excited as well as scared about the task.

“Damn that’s a whole lot to take in,” Comet said.

“Doesn’t matter, just makes this trip cooler,” Gilda said.

“Yep but there’s a restriction that applies to all of you. Sombra is my kill ok? So none of you interfere,” I said.

“But why?” Rainbow asked.

“Because I said so, just be glad you’re coming at all,” I said in an annoyed tone.

The room was silent and everyone was looking at me confused until Pinkie spoke up.

“Ugh how long will this ride take I’m so bored,” Pinkie wailed.

“I can’t make the train go faster, but I think I can help pass the time,” I said as I selected a song on my IPod.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJOn8PVBGqY

The train car was filled with music and the others sang along with the words, even Gilda sang. Not long after we reached our station, which was out in the middle of a frozen wasteland, we disembarked and the frozen winds rushed into our faces. But thanks to the thickness of the robes the cold didn’t bother me as badly as the others.

“Twily,” I hear a voice call out of the swirling winds.

I squinted my eyes to try and see into the blinding winds and soon a figure appears out of swirling ice and snow wearing thick artic explorer clothing, the figure removes his goggles and scarf around his neck to reveal Shining Armour.

“Shining Armour!” Twilight cries running up and embracing her brother.

“Glad you made it,” Shining said as he released his sister from the hug.

Nice ta see you Armour,” I said.

“You too Ash, nice robes by the way. Where did you get them?” Shining asked.

“Long story,” I replied.

“Well we’d better get moving, there are things we really don’t want to run into after dark,” Shining said with fear on his face and in his voice.

“What kind of things?” Fluttershy gulped.

“Let’s just say that the Crystal Empire isn’t the only thing that returned,” Shining said.

All of us followed Shining Armour through the blizzard as he explained the situation to us.

“Something keeps trying to get in, we think it’s the unicorn king who originally cursed the place,” Shining said.

“But Princess Celestia sent me to find a way to protect the empire, if Sombra can’t get in then it must already be protected,” Twilight said.

All of a sudden a strange moan part roar erupted above the sound of the wind.

“It’s one of the things isn’t it,” Fluttershy said in a panic hiding behind Mac.

“We have to get to the Crystal Empire now!” Shining shouted.

All of a sudden an enormous black mist appeared out of the ground behind us with a pair of eyes that matched Sombra’s.

“It’s Sombra, run!” I shouted getting all in the group to run except Spike, who stood frozen with fear.

I noticed Spike was not moving, so I ran back to grab him. Once I was close enough I grabbed him by the collar of his heavy winter clothing and pulled him along. Once he came to his senses he ran on his own. We did not stop running and soon we saw a bright dome through the winds.

“Almost there,” Shining said as he stopped and faced Sombra.

As everypony leapt through the dome I turned around and I saw Shining squaring off against Sombra. Shining fired a spell at Sombra but it went through him harmlessly, then Sombra brought his entire form down upon Shining, covering him.

“SHINING ARMOUR!” I shouted as I ran at Sombra and charged a large amount of magic into my hand and fired it at Sombra.

Sombra hissed in pain as the magic touched him and he recoiled slightly. I grabbed a semi-conscious Shining and lifted him onto my back and ran into the dome. I landed on my stomach and was breathing heavily as air filled my lungs as I rested.

“Thanks,” Shining said.

“No sweat, just promise me in future to never take on a demon without me around to back you up,” I said panting.

“Done deal,” Shining said.

“Shining Armour, your horn!” Twilight cried helping her brother off me.

I looked at Shining’s horn to see the same thing. Black crystals were growing out of it stopping him from using magic.

“I’ll see if I can do something for you later Shining but right now we have to save the Empire,” I said.

“Right,” Shining said as he helped me stand up.

Once I stood I noticed that that there was no snow about. Instead I saw grass and the sky was blue with fluffy clouds in it.

“Sparklerific,” Pinkie said gazing over a hill.

I walked over to the hill and I saw one hell of a sight. The Crystal Empire surly earned its name. Every single building was made of crystal, but the only problem, it was too bright.

“Ugh this is going to give me a headache,” Gilda complained.

“I hear ya,” I said.

We walked through the empty streets towards the palace, once we entered the throne room I saw Cadence sitting on the throne with the look of exhaustion on her face.

“Cadence!” Twilight shouted as she entered.

The pink alicorn smiled as we entered. Cadence walked over to Twilight and did their dance. When they finished Cadence almost collapsed from the exhaustion. But I caught her and helped her to stand on her own two hooves.

“Are you ok?” Twilight asked.

“Cadence has been able to use her magic to spread love and light that seems to be protecting the empire. But she hasn’t slept and barely eats. I want to help her, but my protection spell is useless against king Sombra,” Shining said.

“It’s alright Shining Armour I’m fine,” Cadence said.

“She’s not fine, she can’t go on like this forever, but perhaps now you can do something against him Ash,” Shining suggested.

“Shining it took me a great deal of magic just to sting him when he was like that if I go up against him like he is now, I will end up a lot worse than you; but if I can solidify him, put him in his body again, then maybe I can do some damage,” I said.

“And we’re all here to help,” Applejack said.

“Well with Cadence using her strength to keep her magic going and me keeping an eye on things in the artic. We haven’t been able to gather much info from the crystal ponies,” Shining said.

“Crystal ponies, there are crystal ponies?” Rarity exclaimed everyone gave Rarity a look that said “seriously?”
“Um please continue.”

“We believe one of them knows how to protect the empire without using Cadence’s magic,” Shining said.

“A research paper,” Twilight said.

“Huh,” everyone replied.

“That must be part of my test to gather information from the crystal ponies and bring it to you, this is going to be great, I love research papers,” Twilight said.

“Ain’t that the truth,” I said pinching the bridge of my nose.

“Don’t worry big brother, I’m really good at this sort of thing,” Twilight said as we left the throne room.

I walked around the empire but there weren’t many about. I tried knocking on the doors but every time the door was slammed in my face before I could speak. I was starting to get annoyed by this but for the ones that were in the streets, they looked at me strangely. A young colt asked if I was a human, which I answered with a yes before he ran off with a smile on his face. I was next to nothing about getting information.

“Howdy partner.”

I turned my attention to see Applejack walking up to me.

“Hey AJ,” I said.

“So how’s the search?” Applejack asked.

“Not going well I’m afraid. Every time I try to talk to one of them they either slam the door in my face or can’t provide an answer. What about you?” I asked.

“I only managed to get something about a library,” Applejack said.

“A library? Applejack that’s perfect,” I said.

“Uh how?” Applejack asked.

“Simple, if the library has a history book about this place then we can find out about how this place was protected,” I said.

“Well why didn’t I think of that?” Applejack wondered.

“You tell Twilight and the others, I’ll head over to the library and see if I can find the book,” I said.

“Got it, just head down the street and make a left, it’s the building with the two griffon statues in-front of it!” Applejack called out to me as we separated.

I followed Applejacks directions and arrived at the library and stepped inside. I saw that it was as large if not larger than the castle in the Everfree. I turned my head to see an elderly mare wearing a pair of reading glasses, reading a book.

“Um hi sorry to bother you but I’m just looking for a history book and then I’ll be gone,” I said.

“Of course, feel free to look about,” she said.

“Thank you,” I replied as I began to walk into the massive library.

“Just a moment, are you by any chance a human?” The mare asked.

“Yes I am is that a problem?” I asked.

“Not at all it’s always nice to have the five knights of Equestria here in the empire, I just didn’t know there was a sixth,” The mare said.

“She doesn’t know about the five knight’s deaths, maybe even the fact that they were banished for 1000 years. Sombra’s curse must have done more than I thought,” I said to myself. “Well I really should find that book,” I said.

“Of course,” The mare said as she left.

I turned to face the library and then I realized something.

“This will take too long I should have asked that mare if she knew where the book is located, but then again thanks to the curse I doubt she will be of much help. So option two it is,” I thought.

I closed my eyes and focused on finding the history book. When I opened them my sight was moving but my body didn’t take a step. My sight lead me to some shelves close to the roof and my sight singled out a red book, in gold writing were the words.

History of the Crystal Empire.

I blinked a few times and my sight and my body were one again. I followed the path my sight had taken and found the book I needed.

“Got to love seeker spells,” I whispered to myself.

I flew down to the entrance with the book in hand and I saw the others arrive.

“Hey guys, found the book we may need,” I said as I landed.

“Already? Damn Ash you work fast,” Applejack said.

“I had a little magic assistance, but anyway, let me just loan this out so we can get back to the castle and figure this out,” I said.

“But can’t we at least look around here first,” Twilight pleaded giving me the puppy dog eyes and a quivering lip.

“Twi you know we can’t, but after we’re done saving the Empire we’ll have a look around before we leave. Also I told you puppy dog eyes don’t work on me either,” I said.

“Ugh I forgot you’re made of stone when it comes to that,” Twilight said in defeat.

“True, now let’s pray this book has the answers we need,” I said.

“A crystal fair according to this book, it was established by their first queen and became their most important tradition,” Twilight read the book to Shining Armour and Cadence when we returned to the castle. “The fair was held every year to renew the spirit of love and unity in the empire so they could protect it from harm. The others, Ash and I could put it together; everything we need to know is in the book.”

“That sounds pretty promising,” Shining said looking at Cadence who was looking really weak.

“We’ll get started immediately,” I said getting Twilight and I to run to the door.

Twilight and I arrived in a small room with the others; Twi placed the book on the table and began to sing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kESi3hksPg0

As we all sang we got started on the fair. The stallions and I put up the tents and did the heavy labour, while the girls stuck to their talents. Rainbow and Gilda practiced for the knights duel that was part of the fair and they wanted me to join but I declined. We finished the song just as we finished setting up the fair.

“Whew! I don’t know how, but we did it in almost no time at all,” I said wiping sweat off my face.

“Indeed, but let’s make one last check to make sure everything is in place then the festivities can begin,” Twilight said.

“What’s this thing for?” Applejack asked tapping a stone statue of heart on a pedestal shaped like a crystal.

“The last page of the book mentioned a Crystal Heart as the fairs centre piece. So thanks to Ash, Caramel and Mac they cut one out of a crystal block,” Twilight said.

“Nice work you three, time to get this fair up and runnin,” Applejack said nodding to Caramel, Mac and I.

“I’d love to stay and help but I need to check in on something,” I said as I began to walk away.

“And just where do you think you’re going?” Rarity asked.

“I want to know why Sombra and his demon buddies are so interested in the Crystal Empire and the best places to start are the mines that Sombra forced the crystal ponies to work in,” I said.

“Ok just don’t do anything reckless,” Twilight warned.

“Have I ever done such a thing,” I said before I flew off in search of the mines.

I circled around the empire for a while looking for anything that would look like a mine, until I saw a path that lead to the edge of the empire. I landed on the ground and followed the path to an area that had a small collection of hills with mine shafts in each one; along with mine cart tracks leading out of them.

“Well if these aren’t the mines I’m looking for, then I don’t know what are,” I said to myself.

All of a sudden I heard the same roar I’d heard earlier when Sombra attacked and I saw that the shield around the empire was disappearing. Just then Sombra’s shadow appeared and surrounded the empire. I flew up into the air and looked towards the entrance and I saw Sombra’s head had materialized and he had an evil grin on his face, just as he was about to enter the empire.

“Oh no you don’t! Not on my watch,” I said as I flew off.

I saw the barrier was slowly appearing but unfortunately Sombra noticed it to and rushed forward. I put on more speed and managed to once more pull off a shadow boom and reach the barrier at the same time as Sombra.

“Arrrhhh!” I let out a war cry as I drew Whispering Wind and sliced off Sombra’s horn.

Sombra cried out in pain as I cut off his horn and I landed on the ground just as the dome finished rebuilding itself. I looked at the ground and I saw the tip of Sombra’s horn on the ground.

“Keep your nasty body parts outside the dome,” I said as I kicked the horn into the dome causing it to dissolve into dust.

I flapped my wings and rose into the air and flew off back to the mines in a hurry. I prayed that the dome would hold for a few more minutes for the festival to work and for me to figure out what’s in these mines. I landed in-front of a mine shaft and walked inside, the mine was filled with glowing crystals that ranged from blue, green and red. I was fascinated by my find but was confused by the fact Sombra wanted them I grabbed a green crystal and pulled it from the wall, but as I did another Crystal grew in its place.

“That’s interesting, explains why this cave is full of these things but it still doesn’t tell me why he wanted it though,” I said as I tossed the crystal into the air and prepared to catch it, but the crystal just hovered in the air. “Ok that’s weird,” I said as the crystal fell and landed in my hand I tossed it a few more times and the crystal repeated the process of hovering in the air for a few seconds before dropping. “Now this is starting to get good,” I said as I grabbed another crystal only a red one this time, another crystal grew back like the last time. I tossed the crystal into the air but it fell like it should, however when I caught it, it pulled me towards the ground; I picked myself up and looked at the crystal lying on the ground. I reached down and gently pushed my hand against it, only the ground beneath my hand and crystal was crushed. “What strength from this thing, it’s no wonder why Sombra wanted these,” I thought and went to test the last crystal the blue ones. I grabbed it and threw it into the air and caught it and pushed it against the wall with no results. I then decided to try hitting it with a spell. I used a simple blast spell and I fired it at the crystal only for it to absorb it. “Ok that happened,” I then thought about the crystal releasing the magic but all of a sudden a blast of magic shot from the tip of the crystal and bounced around the walls. I was dumbstruck by this, I thought about releasing magic from the crystal again and the crystal performed beautifully.” Damn the princesses will like this,” I said to myself as I placed all three crystals in one of the pouches on the waist on my robes and turned to leave the mine. I stepped outside the mine and I saw that the shield was fading in and out. “Where the heck is Twilight? Shouldn’t the fair have worked by now?” I said before I flew off back towards the fair. When I arrived I saw that the crystal heart that I helped cut out was covered and Applejack was diverting ponies away from it. I was about to fly down and ask before…

“Ash!”

I stopped and looked around and I saw Rainbow flying towards me.

“RD what’s going on; the barrier’s fading, where’s Twilight?” I asked.

“It’s the crystal heart it isn’t some piece of stone that could be cut from any old stone, the crystal ponies need to power it in order to protect the empire,” Rainbow said.

“So it’s a battery and my guess Twi went to find it while you lot keep the fair going,” I said.

“Got it in one, but what did you find?” Rainbow asked.

“Something powerful and dangerous in the wrong hands. So failure is not an option here. Keep that fair going for as long as possible while I find Twilight,” I said.

“Roger that, I think Twi went into the castle. Oh by the way, awesome shadow boom,” Rainbow said before she flew off.

I flew towards the palace and entered by a balcony and I saw Cadence was getting weaker. I searched the palace but couldn’t find her. Then I heard something…

“Twilight, Twilight!”

The voice belonged to Spike and it was coming from the throne room. With a destination in mind I flew towards the throne room. Once I arrived I saw a large dark staircase that went downward, I decided to just fly down there instead of wasting my time with the stairs. I flew into the air before I dived into the pit, the staircase went on for a while. I saw the bottom come up to meet me and I spread my wings and bent my legs and landed in a crouching position. I looked around and I saw Spike had just arrived as well. Twilight was standing at an open door staring at a wall behind the door. I walked forth and grabbed Twilight and pulled her away from the door, once we were far enough I saw Twilight was in tears.

“Twilight are you okay?” I asked.

Twilight spun around and wrapped her arms around me in a hug and cried into my chest, I placed my hand on her head and around her back and held her there and gently shushed her.

“I was back at Canterlot and Celestia was there and she said I failed her and that I killed friendship and you, she also said I was no longer her student,” Twilight said in-between sobs.

“Twilight have you ever known Celestia to be so cruel?” I asked.

“No,” she said.

“Whatever you saw was a lie Twilight. Friendship will never die, this much I am certain of and you won’t fail this test alright,” I said.

“You’re right,” Twilight said wiping away her tears.

I smiled at Twilight and then I looked at Spike standing in the door like Twilight was.

“SPIKE GET AWAY FROM THAT!” I yelled as I grabbed Spike’s tail and pulled him away from the door and slammed the door shut. I looked at Spike and saw him sitting on the ground crying.

“We were home, Twilight said she was replacing me with you because you can do a better job than me and I was being sent away,” Spike said with tears in his eyes.

“I would never dream of taking your job Spike because you have something I don’t have,” I said.

“What’s that?” Spike asked.

“Your brotherly charm and cooking skills,” I said rubbing the scales on top of his head.

“Ash is right, you’re like a brother to me Spike and I will never replace you and I’m not going to fail my test either,” Twilight said as she fired a beam of magic at the gem above the door.

The door glowed before it opened to reveal another room. Twilight walked inside and looked around.

“What’s in there?” Spike asked.

“*sigh* Stairs,” Twilight answered.

“You two had better get a move on. Cadence’s magic is fading fast, both of you need to grab the heart while I deal with Sombra,” I said as I extended my wings and took off.

I flew upwards to reach the top of the stairs but to my surprise I saw bipedal creatures made of crystal and pulsing with dark magic materialise out of the floor. I drew my scythes and waited for the creatures to make a move; one of the crystal monsters hands turned into a pair of swords and it charged at me. The creature struck at me first but I stepped to the left and drove my scythes into the creatures back and rolled along it and threw the beast into the ground shattering it. I then connected the hilts together and knocked the next creature into the air before I impaled it on my scythes blade and slammed it into the ground shattering it like the last one.

“They ain’t so tough,” I said to myself.

I felt Rage split from me and I turned around to see a shattering crystal creature and Rage with his blades drawn and in his armour.

“True, hardly worth the fight, but they are sneaky,” Rage said as he twirled Fury and Hate.

“Let’s head to where Cadence and Shining are and warn them about these things,” I said.

“Right, but if I think what’s happening is happening, we’d better hurry,” Rage said as we ran down the hallway to the balcony

As we neared the balcony the walls began to turn black and I heard marching and clinking chains coming from inside the room where the balcony was. I stopped Rage and made hand gestures to enter silently; I then remembered a trick that Luna taught me that allowed me to turn my body into smoke. I focused on it and I could feel my body become lighter I looked at myself and I saw my body turned into a dark grey almost invisible fog. I moved to the door and tried to push it open but I just slipped through the gaps in the door I then looked at Rage who did the same as me only he was red. We entered the room and slipped into the shadows and looked around and I saw to my horror that Sombra was in the castle and was solid and the tip of his horn had grown back. He was surrounded by his crystal soldiers and I saw that all of my friends were in chains and on their knees in front of him.

“Celestia sent you pitiful lot against me, I’m actually really insulted,” Sombra said in a deep voice.

“You won’t get away with this Sombra,” Shining said in defiance.

“Oh but I have and there isn’t a thing you can do to stop my master. I’ve already sent my crystal guards after the one who went after the crystal heart. Soon, nothing will stand in my master’s way. Once I regain full control of the empire our forces will take over Equestria with little ease,” Sombra said with an evil laugh.

“I doubt that you and Heartless will be sent to oblivion when Ash gets his hands on you,” Rainbow said.

“Ash? Is he the human using a smoke spell and hiding in the corner waiting to strike along with his double?” Sombra said looking over at Rage and I.

As soon as he said that I dropped my spell and charged at him along with Rage, but Sombra fired a blast of dark magic at us. I screamed in pain while the others looked on with worry at us as we collapsed. Some of Sombra’s guards came over and placed some anti-magic shackles on me and Rage and dragged us over to him. I was placed in a kneeling position next to Rage and in front of my friends while two of Sombra’s guards held us at blade point.

“So this is the great knight of Equestria that freed both princesses from their demons, those two were fools. But no matter, the old knights went to battle against me without getting caught or scratched from my soldiers. Oh how the mighty have fallen,” Sombra said.

“Well you’ve fallen farther; if I was able to wound you twice before maybe you’re getting old,” I said earning a look of anger from Sombra and a kick to my face.

“Pathetic whelp, your nothing compared to me,” Sombra said as he summoned a red whip that was sparking with electricity.

Sombra raised the whip above his head and brought it down on me causing me to half cry and half grunt after each lash.

“Stop it you monster! You’ll kill him!” Cadence shouted at Sombra.

“Be silent whore, I’ve got some for you too,” Sombra said as he lashed his whip at Cadence.

The whip slashed across Cadences cheek causing it to bleed.

“CADENCE!” the others called out in worry. As they looked at Cadence with worry I looked at Cadence in shock before my gaze was directed towards Sombra as I got back on my knees.

“Listen here Sombra, you can beat me with that whip, torture me, rip me apart, throw me into a blazing inferno and laugh while I burn. But if you harm a hair on my friend’s then you’d better be ready “CAUSE I’M GONNA SEND YOU BACK TO HEARTLESS AS A CORPSE!” I roared.

My eyes blazed white with power and the magic that was being blocked by the shackles became so strong it overpowered and shattered both the shackles that held me and Rage, freeing us. The crystal guardians holding blades to Rage and I shattered from the magic shockwave. As soon as the shackles broke I lunged at Sombra and wrapped my hands around his neck and squeezed, but the force I used to lunge at him launched us through a window. Sombra and I fell from a terrific height and Sombra tried to throw me off him, but my grip remained firm, the ground was coming up fast. I twisted my body so Sombra was below me and I held my knee in Sombra’s face, once we hit the ground I crushed Sombra’s jaw and rolled off him. I looked around and the crystal ponies were looking at me in surprise. I walked over to Sombra and stood above him and was ready to pull out his soul, but Sombra made a sword out of red crystal and swung it at me. I simply leapt backwards to avoid the blade, Sombra stood up and felt his destroyed jaw but used magic to repair it.

“I’m going to personally send you to the deepest darkest corner of Tartarus to suffer an eternity for that!” Sombra yelled.

“Do your worst,” I said as I drew Whispering Wind and my shield and made a come at me gesture with my hand.

Sombra let out a screech that summoned more crystal guards while the civilians ran from the existing crystal guards. I was surrounded but I wasn’t alone for long, Rainbow and Gilda flew down from the balcony and landed next to me with crystal swords in hand. Just then Rage teleported with Mac, Pierce, Caramel, Thunderlane, Comet, Soarin, Applejack and Pinkie Pie, all armed and ready to fight.

“Don’t think today you were going to get all the glory,” Soarin said.

“I’m actually glad you guys decided to join, me but what about the others?” I asked.

“They’re taking care of Cadence, also Shining says to make sure Sombra’s death is a painful one,” Comet said.

“Sure thing,” I said as I turned to our opponents.

“I’ve grown tired of this, kill them!” Sombra said ordering his troops to close in on us.

“You ready!” I shouted.

“IT’S PARTY TIME!” Pinkie said. As she yelled she pulled out a cannon from her mane and fired it at the enemy entangling the crystal guards in a load of party gear.

While Sombra’s minions tried to unravel themselves my group cut them down with ease but Sombra kept summoning more of them. One of them leapt into the air and tried to strike at my head, but I used my sword to block the strike. I pushed our blades to the side and brought mine back and slashed at its head, decapitating it with ease. Another came at me and made a thrust towards me, but I dodged it and slashed downwards cutting its arm off before I brought my blade up again and hacked off the other arm. I then slashed across its midsection cutting it in two. I saw Rainbow handling herself well and was cutting her foes down with ease, but I then saw a minion sneak up behind her and prepared itself to strike against Rainbow. I teleported behind her and thrusted Whispering Wind into it and watched as it fell apart before I turned to Rainbow.

“Were getting over run here,” Rainbow said.

I looked around and I saw she was right even Rage was struggling and we hadn’t been fighting for very long I then looked at the crystal monsters and I saw they were slightly glowing red and I figured they were absorbing our energy.

“I got an idea,” I said as I sheathed Whispering Wind and my shield then drew my scythes and connected the hilts together. I made sure both the blades faced opposite ends to make it look like a double ended scythe. “Get down!” I shouted as I threw my scythe into the swarm of crystal minions.

Everyone did as I said and the scythe spun around like a saw blade cutting down minions and circled our group like a boomerang before it came back to me. I caught the scythe and jumped into the air with a flap of my wings and slammed the blade into the ground. A small portion of the ground around us spiked up and impaled the minions. No sooner as the spikes appeared they disappeared leaving behind Sombra and a good portion of his creations.

“Very brave Sombra to stand behind your army and let them get slaughtered, but the demons I slayed before you had more of a spine,” I taunted.

If Sombra wasn’t mad before he sure as hell was now, he stepped forth with his sword in hand as I did the same.

“Kill the slaves, I’ll deal with this,” Sombra ordered getting his troops to go after the crystal ponies.

“Guys!” I shouted.

“We’re on it. Good luck Ash,” Pierce said as the others left to go after the troops leaving Sombra and I to fight.

I looked at Sombra and let silence envelop us both until I spoke.

“You won’t win this y’know,” I said.

“You seem sure of yourself,” Sombra said.

“I’ve faced demons before, why should be scared of you?” I asked.

“I’m Heartless’s General, one of his best. You should be scared of me for I have nothing to fear from a tiny insect like you,” Sombra said.

“Clearly you don’t know the human spirit even after a thousand years of banishment,” I said before I charged at him.

Sombra saw my charge and charged at me also and we met in the middle. As soon as our blades clashed against each other a shockwave shot out around us causing the very ground to shake and crumble.

“You have power I’ll say that. I offer you this question, would you serve in Equestria or rule in Tartarus alongside me and my master,” Sombra said.

“I choose to stand by my friends,” I said

“Then die,” Sombra said as he pushed me away and charged at me as he prepared to strike.

I blocked Sombra with my shield and pushed him away and slashed at him twice, only for Sombra to block both my strikes. Sombra brought his sword downward on me and I went with an upward strike and our swords clashed again. I tilted Whispering Wind and flipped our blades and wedged them into the ground with my blade on top. I then used the hilt off my sword to hit Sombra in the face, he recoiled from the hit and I slashed Sombra across part of his chest and his shoulder. The attack penetrated his armour and black blood spilled from Sombra’s wound and splattered onto the ground. I smirked at my work but it disappeared as Sombra healed himself instantly.

“Don’t you see boy, you cannot kill me,” Sombre said with a laugh.

“So you’re like Heartless, can’t die unless it’s by your own hand,” I said.

“Correct. At least you apes have some brains,” Sombra said.

“Well it just means you’ll be practice for when I fight Heartless,” I said as I charged.

Sombra and I connected once more, clashing steel against crystal. Sombra made a swing at my legs but I jumped over it and struck back at his gut as he didn’t even block allowing the sword to thrust through him. More blood spilled from him but it didn’t even weaken him. Sombra just sighed and impaled his sword into my left shoulder that was still flesh. I screamed as a result and pulled my sword out of him and slashed at his neck decapitating him. I leapt away from him and pulled his sword out of my shoulder and threw it away. I looked back at Sombra and to my horror Sombra’s body just picked up his head and placed it back on.

“Damn, this isn’t good,” I thought.

All of a sudden Sombra’s horn lit up and summoned thousands of crystal spikes. Sombra used his magic to fire them all at me. I used Whispering Wind to deflect every one of them but I couldn’t keep up with the speed of them. Eventually I missed one and I was hit in the chest. I missed more and more spikes. Once Sombra had finished crystals were jutting out all over my body, I was lucky I’d stopped them from hitting vital areas and the amour in my robes helped, but I knew I couldn’t keep it up; I had to end this soon, otherwise I was a goner. As I removed some of the spikes that were in my way and restricted my movement, Sombra walked up to me. I was about to raise Whispering Wind but Sombra just kicked me in the chest causing one of the crystals to be pushed deeper into me. I landed on my back and Sombra knelt on my left beside me with his sword at my neck.

“You put up a good fight, it’s been a while since anyone lasted this long, almost an hour, but this is it for you,” just then a bell began to toll from somewhere within the empire. “Do you know the old saying for whom the bell tolls, well it appears the bell tolls for you. Let’s wait until the bell strikes twelve until I finish you,” Sombra said as he grabbed me by my throat and lifted me up and held me above him and held his blade to my neck.

I struggled to get air into my lungs and I had to think quickly I tried to use my magic for anything. I then noticed the black puddles of Sombra’s blood were reacting to my magic. While Sombra was listening to the bell I fashioned his blood into a makeshift dagger and poised it at Sombra.

“The twelfth tolling of the bell, time to die,” Sombra said as he reeled back his sword to impale my throat.

“Doubt it,” I said as I used my magic to thrust the dagger into Sombra's back.

Sombra screamed in pain and released me as well as dropping his sword. I looked at Sombra and was surprised by the effect, all of a sudden I heard someone call out from above.

“Hey up here!”

I looked up and I saw Spike was standing on a piece of the roof while holding a glowing crystal shaped like a heart.

“Spike what are you doing up there!?” I called.

“I have the crystal heart!” Spike yelled showing me the heart.

“Hang on Spike I’ll be right there,” I said as I extended my wings and flew up to him.

BANG!

“Ahhhh,” I felt pain run right through a bone along the edge of my wing. I fell to the ground with a crash.

I looked at my wing to see it had a hole in the bone that connected to my back. I then looked around and I saw Sombra holding a black and copper brown handled pepperbox with a smoking barrel. I realized that Sombra had shot me in the wing like I was a bird.

“You just stay there while I go claim what is mine,” Sombra said as a pillar of black crystals grew underneath him lifting him towards the roof.

As Spike ran down the roof with the crystal heart in hand he tripped and fell off the roof and dropped the heart. As Spike tried to reclaim it Sombra was nearing both Spike and the heart; it was like time slowed down as Sombra and Spike were tied to reclaim the heart. But at the last second a pink blur appeared and both Spike and the heart were gone. I searched the skies for them both. Once I spied them I let out a cry of joy; Cadence was up on her hooves or in this case wings and was holding onto Spike while she held the Crystal Heart in her magic. But Sombra wasn’t pleased with the action, he drew the pepperbox again and was prepared to take another shot at the still flying Cadence. I saw this and picked up Whispering Wind and ran at the crystal pillar Sombra was standing on. In one swift blow I cut the lower part of the pillar toppling it and leaving Sombra buried beneath the rubble, but I knew it wasn’t over.

“I injured him before but what was different about it then,” I thought as I looked around and I saw the puddles of Sombra’s blood

I remembered that Faust warned me that only Heartless can injure himself and I figured that blood is a part of one’s self; it’s just separated from the body. I walked over to the blood and placed the tip of Whispering Wind in it and used my magic to cover the blade in Sombra’s blood. Once I’d finished I saw Cadence land with Spike in-front of me.

“Thank you Ash for saving us,” Cadence said bowing her head.

“Ash we need to get you to a hospital,” Spike said looking at my blood drenched body and crimson wing.

“I’m fine Spike, but you guys need to get the heart in place while I finish this little dance,” I said.

“Right just hang on Ash,” Cadence said as she and Spike turned and left.

I heard the sound of moving rubble and turned and saw Sombra pushing bits of broken pillar off of him. He looked at the fleeing Spike and Cadence before he ran after them but I stepped in and slashed at Sombra’s right arm severing it from his body. Sombra cried out and then looked at me before he looked at his arm and smiled at me.

“Haven’t you learned when you cut off my head that I’ll just but it back on?” Sombra asked as he picked up his arm and placed it back on his shoulder. But when he released the arm it just fell to the floor and the smile on Sombra’s face disappeared and he turned to me in anger. “What did you do!” Sombra shouted.

I responded by showing him Whispering Wind covered in his blood.

“Blood is a part of you so it became clear when I hit you in your back with the dagger that I can use it as a weapon,” I said with a smug grin.

Sombra drew his pepperbox from behind his back and shot me again in the chest. I felt the bullet go right through me, I covered the wound and gasped for air and threw up blood. I looked at the wound and saw that the bullet had managed to puncture my right lung.

“You have been even more of a pain than I thought possible. I’m going to enjoy killing you,” Sombra said as he punched me in the face and knocked me onto my back.

Sombra stood over me and pointed the gun at my head ready to pull the trigger. I just moved my head closer to the barrel till my forehead was touching the gun and stared defiantly at Sombra.

“Goodbye knight of Equestria,” Sombra said as he squeezed the trigger.

Before the gun sealed my fate the ground lit up around us; I looked at the ground confused at first, but then I saw all of the crystal ponies glowing. An even greater light came from the Crystal Heart while my friends held off the remaining crystal minions.

“What? No, stop!” Sombra ordered, but his plea fell on deaf ears as the entire empire was soon glowing. Once the brightness reached its peak; a beam of energy shot out of the heart destroying the remaining crystal minions. The black crystals on the buildings shattered from the light and an aurora borealis spread across the sky from the peak of the castle. Sombra remained and became enraged and turned back towards me to finish me off, but I was already on my feet. I knocked the pepperbox out of Sombra’s hand and wrapped my metal hand around Sombra’s neck and lifted him off the ground.

“Know this Sombra, it is not for duty that I kill you now,” I said as I shoved my right hand that was covered in Sombra’s blood, which had leaked from his shoulder, up and under his ribcage and released his throat. “Tell your master that I’m coming for him,” I said as I summoned my magic. Not long after Sombra’s body began to heat up and there was a look of fear was on his face as his body continued to get hotter. He started screaming in agony as his veins started glowing with heat, even his eyes shone white. He continued to scream while I remain unfazed, soon Sombra exploded leaving falling embers, spilled blood from our battle and his soul I held in my hand. Sombra’s soul was slightly different than the others; it was larger than the others and had a small black orb in the centre. I looked at the soul for a while and saw I had an audience. My friends, Cadence and the crystal ponies were looking at me with blank looks on their faces and my friends coats were crystal like. Just then the crystal ponies let out cheers and applause at my victory; I let out a smile before all the adrenalin wore off. I began to feel the effects of the battle I coughed up some blood then fell to my knees and then everything went dark.

I felt like my head had been run over by a train. I opened my eyes to be greeted by a bright light. I turned away from the stinging light and more of my vision came back into focus. I saw I was in a hospital, I sat up slightly in my bed and looked around and saw all of my friends were sleeping on other hospital beds or in chairs, or curled up on the floor. Pinkie, Pierce, Fluttershy and Big Mac all slept on the hospital beds with each other, Twilight and Rarity also slept on some beds while Comet sat in a chair, his head laid on Twilights bed. Thunderlane also slept on a chair but his face was looking up at the ceiling with his mouth open and snoring lightly which I chuckled at. I then saw Shining sitting in a chair off to the right, his horn no longer had black crystals growing from it and Cadence slept peacefully on his lap. I looked at the ground and I saw RD was lying at the foot of Rarity’s bed and snoring loudly which surprised me; how anyone got any sleep, and on either side of her I saw both Gilda and Soarin. Finally Spike was curled up at the end of Twilight’s bed with a peaceful smile on his face my guess; Luna was treating him to a nice dream. I removed the bed sheets that lay over me and I saw that my chest was wrapped in bandages and I was still wearing my pants. I then looked at my damaged wing and I saw that it was also bandaged. I then looked around and I saw the top half of my robes were folded neatly on a chair with my hidden blades and mask sitting on top of them and my other weapons in-front of the chair. I then noticed a tray on wheels that was made to serve food and on it was three items; a cloth bag that had a slight red glow to it which I figured was Sombra’s soul, the crystals that were in my pouch and Sombra’s pepperbox. I then thought about Rage and wondered why he didn’t eat the soul already.

“Hey Rage you there?” I thought.

“Well look who woke up after five days,” Rage said.

“Wait five days?” I thought in a surprised tone.

“Yep, the others got a little banged up but nothing serious though, you lost a ton of blood,” Rage said.

“Why didn’t you eat the soul and split us?” I asked in thought.

“I wanted you to be awake for that, also we forgot to tell the princesses about what it will do,” Rage said.

“Right, well thanks for waiting,” I thought as I sat up from bed but I didn’t realise I had a cannula in my arm that was connected to IV drip.

As I stood up the cannula pulled the drip towards the bed resulting in a light clang of metal. I remained still for a moment and looked at the others and I saw Shining had begun to stir. I removed the cannula from my arm and went to put on my robes. I looked at Shining who had opened his eyes sleepily and looked at me then he shut them again. I placed on the top of my robes and I found no damage in them; my guess, Rarity stitched the holes closed after the battle. I looked at Shining again and I saw his eyes snap open and look at me, but before he opened his mouth I closed it with my magic. I brought a finger to my lips to signal for silence which Shining nodded in reply, I released my magic grip on him and walked over to my weapons and picked them up and put them on. I then saw Shining place Cadence on the chair he was sitting on without disturbing her, before he turned back to me.

“Glad to see you’re up, you gave us all a fright when you blacked out,” Shining whispered.

“Sorry, Sombra was a bit more of a pain to deal with than I thought,” I said.

“Well it was scarier when your heart stopped,” Shining said

“Wait what?” I asked.

“Three times actually,” Shining said.

“My heart stopped three times huh?” I asked slightly surprised.

“ASH!”

My vision was suddenly filled by a load of pink fur giving me a good idea who it was that had yelled my name.

“Mmemf mef mff (Pinkie get off),” I mumbled my response was met by many hands grabbing the pink fur ball of energy and pulling her off me, but Pinkie held on. “Piiiinnnnkkkkiiiieeee!” I shouted causing the mare to release me and I was sent into some hospital machinery while the others fell to the floor.

“Oh gosh are you ok Ash?” Fluttershy asked.

“I’ll be fine, but I could have done without Pinkie clinging to my face for dear life,” I said as I stood up and looked at the crushed medical equipment.

“Eh heh heh, sorry Ash,” Pinkie said offering me a sheepish smile.

I rolled my eyes and looked around and I saw some of the girls were crying.

“Why are you guys acting like you’ve been to a funeral?” I asked.

“You scared us half to death, you know that!” Twilight screamed.

“My heart stopped three times I know, no big deal,” I said.

“NO BIG DEAL!” everyone screamed.

“Did Sombra melt part of ya brain or something!?” Mac yelled.

“No, it’s just if I die then I die, no big deal,” I said dismissively.

“How can you have such a small regard for your own life?” Cadence asked.

“Cadence, why should I fear something that’s inevitable?” I asked.

Cadence didn’t answer me; she just looked at me in surprise.

“Anyway, I’ve been close to death hundreds of times now, it’s kinda become a regular thing. When that happens you begin to lose your fear of death,” I said leaving the others speechless as I reached for Sombra’s soul and placed it and the crystals in my pouch.

“Hey Ash, what’s with those crystals?” Soarin asked.

“These crystals hold great power in them and it’s what Sombra was after, but I don’t think it’s a good idea if I show you why here,” I said.

“Power, what power?” Twilight asked excitedly.

“I’ll show you once we all get back to Canterlot,” I said.

“Actually Ash, Cadence and I aren’t coming back with you guys,” Shining said.

“Why?” I asked.

“Celestia sent us a message after we delivered a report about the Crystal Empire and it said that we must stay and look after it. The report also included your injuries explaining why you haven’t returned and everything you did here and I mean everything,” Cadence said with a creepy smile

“Oookaayy, well I guess I can show you two,” I said pointing to Shining and Cadence.

“What why can’t we see?” Twilight asked stomping her hoof.

“Cause I originally wanted to show everypony at Canterlot. But since Shining and Cadence will be staying here I think they have a right to see first,” I said.

“But…but,” Twilight stammered.

“Chill Twilight, you’ll see these things when we get back, I’ll even let you study them,” I said.

“What are you gonna use them for?” Caramel asked.

“Something wicked cool that you and I will enjoy making,” I said.

“Well what are we waiting for? I want to know what’s so special about these things and what you’ll do with them,” Shining said.

“Oh before we do Ash, I want you to have this as a token of the empire’s thanks. One of my new subjects found this and brought it to me,” Cadence said as she picked up the pepperbox and handed it to me.

“Sombra’s pepperbox,” I said as I took the gun.

“You know what that thing is,” Thunderlane asked in surprise.

“Sure do, it’s a human weapon,” I said twirling the gun on the trigger earning gasps from the group.

“How the heck did Sombra get something like that? What does it do?” Twilight asked.

“No idea for your first question and this did that to my wing and lung,” I said pointing to the spots where I was shot making the others gulp.

After standing around outside a room and trying to listen in on the conversation inside Twilight Sparkle gave up and went back to pacing.

“Twilight if you keep pacing like that you’ll wear a hole in the floor,” Rarity said.

“Yeah, after all Ash said that he would show us what them fancy crystals were for,” Applejack said.

“I know but it’s hard to be patient also I’m a little nervous about what happened with the Crystal Heart I might of failed Celestia’s test,” Twilight said.

But before anyone could reply the doors of the room opened to reveal Shining, Cadence and I.

“And you’re sure you can make those crystals work like that?” Shining asked.

“I can only hope, but I’ll make sure I get the princesses permission before I start,” I said.

“Well the topic with Sombra’s soul is a little startling but do you honestly think he’s trustworthy?” Cadence asked.

“If he wasn’t trustworthy he would have done something by now, besides Faust gave us the info and if she didn’t find him trustworthy she wouldn’t have told us this,” I said.

“Fair point,” Cadence said.

“Now what are you talking about,” Twilight asked.

All three of us looked at Twilight before I answered.

“Tell ya when were back at Canterlot, I promise,” I said.

“Ugh, I hate it when secrets are kept from me,” Twilight pouted.

“Don’t worry kiddo, what Ash has is a secret worth the wait, I can promise you that,” Shining said as we walked.

“Shall we go, I need to have a few words with Celestia about the two maids that I discovered in my house this morning,” I said.

“Wait, you have two maids working in your home? You sly dog,” Soarin said waggling his eyebrows.

“Can’t you keep that perverted mouth of yours shut?” Comet asked sending him a glare.

“Wait, what do you mean maids?” Cadence asked.

“The pair of maids that wore skimpy outfits. Apparently Celestia forgot to warn me about them,” I said.

“Damn it auntie, that’s not what I meant by a push,” Cadence whispered.

“What was that?” I asked.

“Nothing,” Cadence said quickly getting me to raise an eyebrow.

As we walked down the hall I looked at the statues that stood on either side of the hallway until one caught my eye, I stopped in my tracks causing the others to run into me.

“Hey why’d ya stop in-front of us like that for?” Mac asked.

“Because of that,” I said pointing to a statue off to the side of a female Draconequus trying to shield herself away from something.

“So, it’s just a statue,” Rainbow said.

“I stopped because I can sense a soul inside that thing,” I said getting everyone to look at me weird as I walked up to the statue.

“How can you sense a soul in there?” Twilight asked.

“It’s like how I can hear and smell better when I’m a wolf but with a little magic I can see a soul in everypony,” I said.

“Really, what’s mine look like?” Pinkie asked excitedly.

I was caught a little off guard by the request but closed my eyes and focused my magic into my eyes, once I opened them my eyes glowed white with power and I could see everyponys soul.

“It’s pink and bouncing all over the place like a bouncy ball that doesn’t; actually won’t stop bouncing and it looks happy,” I said earning a squeal of joy from Pinkie as she jumped up and down.

“Whoa, do you think you can teach me that,” Twilight asked.

“I’ll try but it’s possible that this trick only works on humans, but I will try,” I said getting Twilight to squeal in joy much like Pinkie

“Ok what about the Draconequus, what’s her soul like?” Rainbow asked.

I looked at the Draconequus and summoned my magic.

“I can’t tell, the stone prison is made of Sombra’s dark magic I can’t tell what it’s like, all I know is that there's one in there,” I said.

“Then the soul must be good if it’s trapped in dark magic,” Pinkie said.

“Let’s get her out then,” Rainbow said.

“Hold it, we don’t know for sure,” Twilight said.

“So what do we do,” Applejack asked.

“Only one way to find out if it’s good or bad,” I said as I walked over to the statue and placed my hand on it.

“Ash are you sure that’s a good idea?” Cadence asked.

“Nope, but we’re not gonna know anything if we sit around and do nothing. Just be ready for anything,” I said as I filled my hand with magic and sent it into the statue resulting in cracks appearing on it.

The cracks spread all over the statue and the cracks began to glow. Soon the rock statue exploded. I shielded my friends from the rocks by extending my good wing in-between them and the statue. Once the rocks stoped pelting my wing I lowered it and looked at the cloud of dust. Once the cloud cleared I saw the female Draconequus on all fours before she stood up and cracked her joints.

“Are you okay?” Twilight asked.

“Ugh sort of, but believe me when I say you don’t want to know what it’s like to stay in the same position for 1000 years,” she said cracking her back.

“I’ll take your word for it,” I said.

“Oh a human, been a while since I’ve seen your kind here your kinda cute as well,” she said as she appeared behind me and slithered along my back.

I leapt away from her as did everyone else leaving her in the centre of the group.

“Ok um, care to introduce yourself?” I asked.

“Oh how rude of me, you can call me Eris the goddess of chaos and daughter of the god of chaos himself Discord,” Eris said with a slight bow causing the groups jaws to drop.

“Fuck,” I muttered.