Emperor Sombra liked to think of himself as a fine conductor of the squeaky bed symphony. After all, he had numerous bed companions to sharpen his skills with. Granted, some of them were more willing than others and he was not exactly a gentle or caring lover. The tyrant had lost count of how many of members of his harem had blacked out while servicing him. He had long ago come to the conclusion that he was not the problem, he just needed a stronger partner with a bit more stamina. To his carnal delight, Mi Amore Cadenza, his one-time rival for the throne, was proving to be more than capable.

“You've had a lot of practice, haven’t you?” The tyrant said coyly as his crowned Empress bobbed her head up and down between his legs while he reclined on the royal bed. "Not many think to use their tongue like that."

Cadenza looked up at him with lust filled eyes. She slowly pulled back and released Sombra’s length with a wet pop.

“Do you expect anything less from the Alicorn of Love?” She asked with a sultry smile.

Sombra met her smile with one of his own. To be honest, he did not. Calling her variations of a whore, while intended as insult, did have a grain of truth to it. One did not live as long as an Alicorn without taking more than a few lovers after all. At the thought of the pink Princess’s long line of mates, a rather vain question popped into his mind.

“Tell me, how do I compare…” He asked confidently. “…to your old colt toy?”

It was a matter of pride. In his dark mind, the equestrian Prince-Regent was inferior to him in each and every way. He just needed to hear it. Cadenza pursed her lips in thought as she ran a hoof teasingly along Sombra’s erect and twitching pride.

“You don’t quite match in girth. He was a thick colt.” She said flirtily as she used a hoof to fondle his family jewels. “But I can tell you are much more,mmm,virile.”

The lusty Empress gave him a wanting look as she ran her tongue from his base to his tip. She took him back into her mouth and swirled her tongue around his head. The tyrant chuckled. If there was anything he loved more than having his pride stroked it was his ego.

“Come here and I’ll show you just how ‘virile’ I can be.” He said slyly with a 'come hither' gesture.

The Alicorn planted one last kiss on his stallionhood before she began climbing on top of him. Like an overgrown house cat, she dragged her warm body across Sombra’s until she was muzzle to muzzle with him. He leaned in and kissed his Empress, holding her head in place with a foreleg. She returned it eagerly, her nimble tongue brushing against his lips and seeking entrance. After making her wait a while, Sombra parted his teeth and engaged her tongue in a contest for domination of their mouths. Back and forth they went, moaning and grunting in pleasure as their bodies writhed against each other. Sparks of uncontrolled magic crackled off their horns while the enthralled Alicorn’s wings flared out involuntarily. As skilled as Cadenza was in rounding first base, she did not expect Sombra to trace a hoof down her barrel to the soft mounds between her legs. He tickled the rosy peaks with the rough edge of his hoof, causing her to break the kiss and gasp.

“Careful, they’re sensiti-ah!” The mare tried to whine only to be cut off by Sombra rolling them over with him coming out on top.

“And very soft.” He said as his pride found itself nestled between the mare’s mammaries. "I could learn to appreciate them."

He slowly moved his hips forward and back, enjoying the sensation of Cadenza’s silky flesh stroking his stallionhood. The mare looked up at Sombra, eyes filled with lust and want. She had her fill of foreplay.

“Ah! I need you inside me.” She said breathily. “Now! Stop teasing me!”

Sombra stopped his thrusting. Teasingly, he withdrew his length from her valley of cleavage and came to rest just shy of her winking sex. He could feel the heat emanating from her marehood like a blast furnace. He inched forward, parting her thick lips with his head but he was not moving fast enough for the amorous Alicorn.

“I said NOW!” She shouted as she enveloped his pride in her magic and forced him in up to the hilt.

Their thighs mesh together and Sombra felt his jewels slap against Cadenza’s rear. Her velvety tunnel squeezed tightly as if afraid he would back out. He planted his fore hooves on either side of her and worked his hips in a circular fashion. He may have not been able to churn her properly but at the very least he could stir her honeypot.

“That’s it, right there! Right there!” The former Princess moaned as the sorcerer stretched out her inner walls. “Stars above! That feels good!”

“You should see the look on your face, you little slut.” Sombra said with a toothy grin.

Cadenza’s mouth was hung open as she panted. Her lust clouded eyes rolled skyward, unfocused with mind numbing bliss. After a few fantastic moments, her love canal loosened its vice-like grip on Sombra’s member enough so he could begin thrusting in earnest. He wasted no time.

“Oh, Oh! AH! YES! HARDER!” The euphoric Empress screamed in passion as her lover’s tempo increased.

Sombra could only grunt as he focused on what he was doing and the body of who he was doing it to. Each time he slapped into her, her flared, downy wings twitched and she let out a short moan. The force of his thrusts inched her across the bed until she had to brace herself against the headboard. Even after all this, the insatiable Empress wanted more. She locked her long hind legs around her Emperor, holding him tight and forcing him to go deeper until she could feel his head at the entrance to her innermost chamber. From his perspective, Sombra was able to watch Cadenza’s face run a gauntlet of euphoric expressions from biting her lip to open mouthed panting. Down at the union of their sexes, he was greeted with the hypnotic sight of the Alicorn’s perky teats bouncing in time with his thrusts. The sound of magic sparking tore his attention away.

“AH! OH! I-I’M ABOUT TO CUM!” The last Amore screamed as she grabbed hold of Sombra’s head in her hooves.

The charcoal stallion rammed their lips together in an aggressive kiss as her magic erupted like a fountain, vaporizing the head of the bed and a good portion of the wall behind it. Her back arched against his body as her scorching hot tunnel rhythmically squeezed his member in an attempt to milk him for his precious seed. It succeeded. With one last thrust that hilted his pride deep within Cadenza’s marehood, he released over a thousand years of pent up sexual frustration into the pink Alicorn. They remained locked in orgasmic bliss for a few moments before Sombra broke their extended kiss and rolled off Cadenza, his member sliding free of her with a wet slick as he flopped down beside his lovely partner.

“By the Lady, I missed that.” He panted as he bathed in the afterglow of post-coitus. “I think I see why that pretender picked you.”

The Alicorn just panted in pleasure as she gently rubbed small circles above her core. For a brief moment, Sombra could have sworn he saw a faint blue glow from within her abdomen but it vanished just as he noticed it. Cadenza regarded the unicorn with a sly yet very satisfied smile.

“On the contrary, my very virile stallion.” She purred. “I picked him and he should count his lucky stars that I did.”

Sombra raised an eyebrow at that but decided not to dwell too much in it. He was in far too good a mood to worry about whatever marital and political shenanigans his new lover had engaged in. Thinking of politics, the Crystal Tyrant remembered that still had some to attend to. As much as he wished otherwise, the empire would not run itself.

“Why don’t you go freshen yourself up?” He suggested to Cadenza with a tired wave of his hoof. “Can't have my beautiful Empress prancing around like a common tramp.”

“Oh, very well.” The Alicorn sighed as she leaned over and gave one last kiss to her lover. "By the way, Shining never came inside."

As she slid off the bed, Sombra got a great view of the result of their lovemaking. Their combined fluids were leaking down her legs and dripping onto the floor, leaving a pearly trail to her boudoir. She saw him staring and added a little extra sway to her rear as she trotted to her powder room. The slaver watched her all the way until she disappeared behind a door.

“I think this is the second time I’ve been left in bed to recover.” Sombra mumbled as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Fucking Alicorns. Can’t do much better than that.”

He lay on the bed for a moment longer, regaining his energy. With a tired grunt, he sat up and slid off the large bed. The unicorn levitated over his discarded cloak and regalia and slid it on as he trotted over to a large table with charts and parchment scattered about. If the slaves were working as they should, the outer walls would be repaired by noon. He did not know why but something told him that he would need them soon.

“After that, I’ll reopen the mining pits.” The tyrant planned as he sketched out the locations. “We have more or less cut off trade with the southern realms so we have to get income from somewhere.”

He was about to send a messenger to relay his orders to his herald when a loud, rapid series of knocks at his door interrupted his thoughts. Sombra frowned as he motioned for one of his Blackguards to let the annoyance in. An imperial legionnaire trotted in and immediately knelt before his lord.

“What is it whelp?” The Emperor said indignantly. “Why do you interrupt my work?”

“Begging your pardon, sire.” The minion said quickly. “But the pretender, Shining Armor, has escaped!”

“Impossible.” Sombra arched an eyebrow in disbelief. “How could he?”

“I don’t know, sir.” The pegasus replied. “We found the guards assigned to him murdered and his cell busted open like some wild animal torn through it.”

The sorcerer did not know what to make of this. Last he heard, the former prince was all but dead thanks to Dugore. Then again, it was possible he had healed himself back to fighting condition. The Emperor’s witch-fire eyes wandered down to the floor as he thought of the crystal statue he had left in the Black Library. It was also possible that Armor had received help. He shook his head to dismiss this possibility.

“There’s something else, sir.” The legionnaire said nervously.

“What is it?” Sombra demanded impatiently.

“A patrol found Herald Spinel and her bodyguards.” The hapless pegasus reported.

“They’re all dead, aren’t they?” The despot inferred. “Shit, Armor’s playing for keeps.”

“What’s that about Armor?” A refreshed Cadenza inquired as she reentered the room in form flattering royal regalia.

“He’s loose in the palace.” Her lover told her. “He’s already killed my thrall and a few guards.”

“Oh. Pity.” The Alicorn said in a tone that was anything but sincere. “And she was such a nice mare.”

Sombra ignored her and doubled checked the schematics of his palace. It sounding like Armor was heading up and if he was, there was only one thing he could be going for.

“Armor’s too dangerous to have roaming the palace.” He said. “We must stop him before he reaches the Crystal Heart.”

He came around the table and was about to join his Blackguards in hunting down the rogue regent when something tugged on his royal cloak. Sombra looked behind him to see it held in Cadenza’s magic.

“I think I should be the one to go after him.” She said confidently. “He may be a fool but you don’t know him like I do.”

The tyrant paused and mulled it over. There was something deliciously ironic about sending a wife against a husband. Also, what chance did a unicorn have over an Alicorn? Granted he had triumphed over her but he had help from a demon.

“Very well.” Sombra nodded to Cadenza. “Bring me his head. I want to mount it in the throne room.”

“As you wish, my dear.” Cadenza cooed before kissing him one last time. "I shall not be long."

The pink pony exited the room along with the legionnaire. Sombra watched them go, eyes drawn to the swaying flanks of his lovely companion. He only stopped leering once the door closed with a heavy click. Returning his attention to the plans, the Emperor though of something he hadn't considered.

“It’s not like an Equestrian to kill outside of self-defense.” He pontificated out loud. “What's gotten into you, Shining Armor?”

---

“He’s a demon!” A fleeing Crystal Blackguard screamed hysterically just as Armor impaled him with an expertly thrown spear.

“I've been called worse.” The unicorn spat bitterly as he trotted by the fallen legionnaires who had foolishly attempted to halt his quest for the Heart.

“Armor, I think you and I have different definitions of stealth.” His hidden passenger criticized.

“They were bound to find those bodies eventually.” Armor grunted. “We were lucky to get as far as we did unnoticed."

“A fair point.” The animus conceded. “Still, try not to get killed. There are two of us in here now, remember?”

The regent snorted irritably as he continued his ascent of the tower. His foul mood was understandable given what they had learned from Sombra’s thrall. Armor had become more vicious and brutal as a result. What may have once been quick clean incapacitations had turned into merciless, almost savage killings. One could say he was going out of his way to make sure everything that crossed him died in the most painful and terrifying ways possible. The entity possessing the vengeful Prince knew it was because the object of his malice was out of reach and thus the poor minions of Sombra had to suffer in his place. The unicorn may no longer be subtle but he was still quite effective, if the trail of corpses they were leaving were any indication.

“I could make use of that in Barathrum.” The Lord of Shades thought within the privacy of his own mind. “But I still need to find it and I can’t access what I found in the Black Library without forcing Armor to regurgitate it. Later then.”

Once he was sure his host was not in any immediate danger, the Lurker withdrew into the mind of Shining Armor. The wandering creature knew the veteran Solar Guard had undergone some form of mental training and thus his mind resembled what he perceived to be the most secure place in the world: The royal palace of Canterlot albeit heavily fortified with a dash of Armor’s idea of decorum.

“I expected nothing less from him.” The abyssal shambler thought as he moved through the white marble halls with blue banners. “Now, let’s see if he has any leads.”

The dark interloper floated down the mental halls until he came to a grand room with selves of books and scrolls stretching from the floor to the ceiling. Contained within would have been the collective knowledge gathered all throughout the unicorn’s life. The Lurker drifted by the shelves, looking for anything pertaining to the message he had received from the Lord of the Sun through the late Light Keeper.

“A librarian would be useful right about now.” He thought as he passed some of Armor’s more trivial knowledge like the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow.

After a few moments of browsing, the inquisitive creature came upon an area containing nothing but maps and atlases. Homing in on the section designated ‘Equestrian Geography’, the Lurker glided over and withdrew a map of the Equestrian Heartlands. In contrast to the mostly book-based map of Mica, Armor’s was considerably more detailed as he had actually traveled around the realm in order to fulfill his duty as Captain of the Guard.

“Let’s see here.” The Lurker thought as he scanned the area depicting the mighty Everfree forest. “Anything regarding ‘a place without birds’?”

Armor had red flagged some areas as dangerous such as the haunted ruins of the Castle of the Two Sisters, the treacherous Ghastly Gorge, and other such hazards. Yet none of these fit the Lightkeeper's message. The Lurker was about to move on when something caught his baleful eyes. Northeast of the solitary Foal Mountain and Southeast of the raging Neighagra Falls was a small village. In contrast to the rest of the colorful pastel settlements located in Equestria, it was shadowed and lacked an equine related pun in its name.

“What do we have here?” The Lord of Shades thought as he selected the peculiar town and read what Armor knew of it.

Name: Hollow Shades

Population: Unknown (Est. mid hundreds)

Classification: Thestral Colony

A small town located in a relatively safe part of the Everfree. The name comes from the fact that the thick foliage blocks out sunlight for most of the day. Thus, it was the perfect location for the thestrals (aka bat-ponies) to settle once the Long Winter was over and Equestria was at peace.

The town is largely self-sufficient with the forest providing all the food and materials the residents need. They have cultivated a fearsome, almost diabolic reputation in order to persuade would be trouble makers to leave well enough alone. The only exports are bat-ponies looking to join the Night Guard, a tremendous honor for them as they view Princess Luna as their matron.

“Intriguing. I did the same with my home.” The Lurker reminisced about the horrid tales told of his domain before he read on. “It worked for the most part.”

Something worth noting is that despite the fact that Hollow Shades is located in the middle of the Everfree Forest, monster incursions are largely non-existent. The thestrals attribute this phenomenon to a nearby caldera lake where noxious fumes (geologists suspect a natural gas deposit or volcanic activity) bubble up from the brackish waters. The surrounding air is so toxic that any bird that flies over will drop out of the sky, dead before they hit the ground.

The ancient animus could hardly contain his excitement. What he had read fit too well with what the disciple of the Sun had described to be a coincidence.

“At long last!” The Lurker exclaimed excitedly. “Avernus!”

“What-nus?” Armor asked the suddenly vocal voice in his head.

“Oh, right.” The stygian being reminded himself that he was not alone.

“Just something I’ve been looking for.” He answered his host truthfully. “And I have you to thank for finding it.”

“Oh. Uh, well, glad to be of assistance.” The unicorn decided not to ask for details as he was nearing their goal. “We’re almost to the top of the tower. Get ready.”

“Will do.” The shadow fiend said as he rolled up the map and replaced it in his host’s mind.

Giving the library one last look over, the Lurker drifted out and headed back to the Prince-Regent’s forethoughts. As he floated through the stallion’s mindscape, he passed several rooms containing the many facets of Armor’s personality and emotions. His foalhood memories, his military training, his time on the throne of the Crystal Empire and so on all lined the mental corridor. Each was well organized and locked up tight to guard against anything wishing to tamper with them. However, there was one exception to the otherwise flawless bulwark.

“Love.” The stygian stalker identified the room.

In contrast the other rooms, the doorway into love was cracked and damaged with a dried out, chitinous membrane clinging to the frame.

“A memento from the changeling, I presume.” The Lurker mused as he passed the compromised room. “Ironic. He’s so reserved about becoming a father yet he may already have a few thousand bastards buzzing around.”

He returned to the forethought of Armor’s mind and looked through his eyes to find that they had finally made it outside directly below the shrine. The gale force winds of the maelstrom swirling over the empire forcing the regent to lay low or else risk being blow clean off. In front of him, illuminated by brief flashes of lightning, was the last flight of stairs that spiraled up the central pillar to the shrine.

“When Twily came up here, she had to invert gravity to make it to the top.” Armor recalled. “Think you can pull that off, Lurker?”

“Don’t have to.” Grey responded candidly. “I doubt Sombra has had to time to put his traps back in place. Cadenza has him otherwise occupied.”

“Oh, don’t remind me!” The Prince-Regent snarled as he galloped up the winding staircase, invigorated by renewed rage.

Up and up they went into the crimson eye of the storm. While it was not booby-trapped by Sombra’s magic, it was still a treacherous climb. Armor made his displeasure known.

“I hate stairs.” The possessed stallion grumbled as he braced against the wall to weather another gust of wind. “I hope Sombra’s Hell is full of them and he was to climb each and every one with broken legs just to see how fucking stupid they are.”

“Oh, it will be much more than that.” Grey assured him.

After what felt like an eternity of pushing through hurricanes and hoping that lightning would not fry him, the possessed prince stood before the Black Heart of the empire in its obsidian chamber. Armor trotted toward the artifact with grim determination, ignoring the waves of dread and despair that washed over him with every dark heartbeat. The crystal began to glow eerily as he approached and harsh whispers began to fill his ears. To the flesh and blood mortal stallion, they just sounded like the now familiar ethereal choir he had come to associate with the presence of evil. The Lord of Shades, however, was able to hear them loud and clear.

“The Hidden One returns in the flesh of the Equestrian Prince!” The disembodied crystal unicorns said excitedly. “Does the Tyrant lie dead?”

“Soon, my vengeful shades.” The Lurker responded mentally so as to not alert his host. “It’s just a matter of exposing his neck to the executioners.”

“You got any idea how to break this, Grey?” Armor asked with a hoof against the heart chamber.

“Try hitting it really hard.” His dark passenger suggested.

“Really? That’s the best you got?” The unicorn said with a raised eyebrow.

“You’d be surprised what the direct application of violence can solve.” Grey insisted.

With a shrug of his shoulders, the Prince-Regent turned around and bucked his hind hooves into the obsidian wall. His efforts were rewarded with sparks of dark magic and hairline cracks. Armor had to admit he was surprised that had worked. He channeled some of the shadow fiend's borrowed power into his hooves for an extra kick and reared back one more time. With a shout of exertion, he drove his charged legs into the stubborn wall. The cracks spread out like a spider web and malignant energy flowed out from the chamber like a bleeding wound.

“Déjà vu.” The void exile thought to himself.

“One more should do it.” Armor decided after a quick look at his progress. “Give me a bit more, Grey.”

The Lurker complied and added just a bit more of his power to his host. The stallion reared back as far as he could go while maintaining his balance and kicked back with all his might, driving his legs into the weakened barrier and breaching it. The wall collapsed in a cascade of razor sharp obsidian shards and a surge of black magic poured through the compromised section of the wall, adding a low laying dark fog to the already ominous shrine. Armor ignored the fresh cuts on his legs and trotted toward the exposed Heart. He stopped short of the artifact, hesitant to get any closer to something radiating so much evil.

“To think this once protected the city.” The possessed Prince said testily. “Now look at it.”

“It’s ultimately just a tool.” Grey attempted to console him. “Better to fault the ones that wield it.”

The unicorn nodded in agreement and cautiously moved closer. He was about to seize the Heart when the disembodied crystal unicorns spoke up again. They did not sound happy.

“The Last Amore approaches!” They hissed venomously.

“I see you’ve taken a trot on the dark side, Shiny.” Cadenza’s honeyed voice called out from behind them.

Armor whirled around to face his wife. She was flanked by a pair of crystal pegasi, once normal Solar Guards assigned to their protection then crystallized after an extended stay in the empire, in full battle kit. The Alicorn herself smirked at him.

“Cadence!” Armor sighed in relief. “How did you get away from Sombra? I thought he-“

“’Emperor’ Sombra.” Cadenza interrupted, putting emphasis on the slaver’s self-appointed title. “He rules the empire now and no amount of whatever black magic you've gained is going to change that.”

Armor flinched liked he had been struck. It was uncanny hearing her imperious tone being used in defense of tyranny. He was about to make an appeal to what he hoped was the real Princess Cadence trapped within when the Alicorn’s horn ignited in an azure glow. His prepared debate died on his lips as an all too familiar numbing sensation spread through his head. Within Armor’s mind, the Lurker watched cautiously as cracks of fuchsia tore through the once pristine white marble walls. He was forced away from forethought as another presence took over his host’s body.

“She’s charming him.” The Hidden One realized. “But how? Between Armor’s mental defenses and myself, there’s no way she could have gotten in so easily. Unless she was already in here.”

The shadowy creature took off down the contested halls. If his theory was correct, he should be able to followed Cadenza’s spreading influence back to its source. His journey was hampered by the Alicorn’s magic warping the halls, bending and twisting them to her will.

“Can you come here for a moment, Shiny.” The Alicorn’s soft and seductive voice echoed about the stricken mindscape. “I need you to do something.”

“Of course, Cadence.” Armor responded automatically as he trotted forward. “Anything you say.”

The Lurker doubled his speed. He had only seconds before the love-struck stallion came within range of the pegasi's bladed wings. The halls were now almost completely pink, signaling that he was getting closer. After one more turn, the caliginous creature stood before the compromised room containing Armor’s love. A bright blue glow shone from within.

“Figures.” The Lurker thought as he slipped between the cracked doors as a nebulous cloud of darkness.

Reforming on the other side, the shadow fiend stood before Armor’s gallery of love. In the center, adorned with wreaths and wedding bells and shining with power, was Cadenza’s portrait. It dwarfed all others in the room and the cracks of energy coming off it was threatening to shake off all of Armor’s other loves like his family and friends. It did not take long for the voidian entity to deduce that the charm on Armor had been planted some time ago by somepony and nurtured until it was as deeply ingrained in the psyche as his since of duty.

“He’s not going to like this.” The Lurker thought as he extended his bladed talons and approached the painting with iconoclastic intentions. "Sorry about this, sweet Prince."

Back in the shrine, the enamored Armor had reached his wife and eagerly awaited her request. With a coy smile, she grasped his pilfered helm between her hooves and removed it. She then wrapped her fore legs behind his head and pulled him in for a kiss. As her soft lips connected with his, she pulled back just enough to force the stallion to lean forward and expose his neck. She discretely signaled the two pegasi who took up positions beside Armor, bladed wings extended raised for the killing blow.

“I must admit, you were one of the best, Shining Armor.” The deceitful Cadenza whispered in his ear. “It’s a shame it had to end this way.”

Just as she held her hoof up to tell the executioners to decapitate her soon-to-be late husband, she felt her hold on him falter as if something was tearing him away from her. His glossy eyes suddenly focused as the Blackguards swung downwards. In a split second, the Lurker’s arms manifested from the stallions horn and caught the wings a hairsbreadth from his neck. The claws swung the two pegasi around like ragdolls. One was smart enough to cut himself free of the blades while the other was hurled off the tower and into open air. The hurricane force winds snapped his flared wings like twigs and sent him screaming to his doom. The survivor barely had time to recover before Armor notched his skull by bringing his own wing-blade down on his head. The Prince-Regent breathed heavily from the rush of sudden combat, blood trickling from his nose as a result of the forceful removal of the charm. His narrowed gaze fell on the mare responsible. It was all he could do to stop himself from attacking her outright.

“How long?” Armor asked, his voice hoarse with the flood of rage and betrayal he was trying and failing to hold back. “How long have you been doing this?”

Cadenza composed herself and sneered imperiously at the possessed unicorn. There no point in maintaining the charade at this point.

“Since our wedding.” The Alicorn said snidely. “From the moment you said ‘I do’ in front of everypony.”

“Why?!” The unicorn demanded as he took a few steps toward a wisely retreating Cadenza. “Answer me!”

“You were weak, Shining!” She retorted condescendingly. “A little magic and some sweet nothings and that slut-bug took you straight to its bed! Do you honestly think I would risk that happening again?”

“That sounds more like jealously than concern for your well-being, if you ask me.” Grey gave his two bits to his host.

“You stay out of this!” Armor mentally fired back at his dark passenger who complied immediately.

“She was disguised as you! The only mare I love!" Armor shouted at his wife in frustration. “We've already been over this!”

“Oh, please!” The pink Alicorn scoffed. “I know you would bed that parasite again if given the chance! I've heard you moaning its name in your sleep!”

“I would sooner squash Chrysalis than sleep with her!” The stallion was running out of patience.

“And yet, you call it by name.” The mare scowled. “No, I was not to be usurped by some shapeshifting insect. The charm was the only way to insure your fidelity and if I could get you to do what I want without question, well, that’s just a bonus.”

“When we were last rutting…” Armor’s eyes widened in realization. "I can't believe it."

His face darkened and the ground beneath him started to crack and rumble with his mounting fury. This new information had shone a new light onto things he once brushed off as him being paranoid. He now wished he had listened to that side of him.

“I was just a prize to you!” He growled savagely. “You really are just a selfish bitch, aren't you?”

“Maybe I am.” The Empress said dismissively. “Ultimately, it doesn't matter now. I've found somepony much more worthy of my affection.”

She flared her powerful wings and with a couple of flaps became airborne. Armor watched her gain altitude, horn charged and muscles coiled in preparation for a fight. When the Alicorn reached the halfway point between the floor and ceiling she fired one last verbal bolt at her former husband.

“Face it, Shiny.” She said while making a rather lewd gesture toward her nethers. "You just don’t hold a candle to Emperor Sombra."

“Alright, that’s it.” Armor said to himself as he fired a bolt of black energy at the deceitful Alicorn.

Cadenza dodged out of the way while sending a flurry of magical bolts at the possessed Prince. He blocked them with Grey’s arms, much to the Lurker's discomfort, but when he lowered them, the Alicorn had vanished into the storm surrounding them. The stallion maintained a combat stance in preparation for the attack he knew was coming.

“I can’t believe she used me like that.” Armor said beneath his breath. “I trusted her.”

“You can get an annulment from Princess Celestia later.” Grey said after witnessing the whole ugly spectacle. “Focus.”

The pink Alicorn dived out of the clouds and strafed Armor with a beam of magic. The unicorn rolled out of the way, narrowly avoiding the lethal laser. He snapped off a few more shots at his airborne foe but she had already disappeared back into the cloud cover.

“Try aiming where she’s going to be instead of where she’s at.” Grey offered.

“I know how to aim, jackass.” Armor snapped indignantly. “But that does give me an idea.”

While the Alicorn was circling back around, the Solar Guard veteran fired off multiple volleys of energy. Rather than punch through the roof of the shrine, they congealed into melon sized spheres and hung in the air. He had created a veritable minefield and Cadenza would be none the wiser until it was too late. Said Empress was already soaring into the shrine, horn burning for another strafing run.

“Dodge this!” Armor smirked deviously as he clapped his hooves together.

“Oh shi-!” Cadenza looked up just in time to see the minefield explode above her.

The roof of the shrine was obliterated entirely, raining rubble down on the city below. The force of the blast sent Cadenza crashing to the floor, dazed but otherwise unharmed. Armor wasted no time charging his downed foe. The Alicorn could only manage a glancing shot from her horn before the stallion tackled her. The two tumbled across the floor in a pile of kicking limbs, flapping wings, and rogue shots of magic.

“Get off me!” Cadenza screamed as she struggled to get her wings free.

Seeing what she was trying to do, Armor managed to get on her back and lock his fore legs around her left wing. He rolled in the other direction, taking the feathery appendage with him. The Alicorn screamed in pain as he twisted it in a direction it was not meant to go. He kept going until he heard the bloodcurdling sound of bones snapping. Cadenza shrieked in agony as she finally managed to buck Armor off of her but the damage had been done. Her ruined wing hung limply by her side. She had been grounded.

“YOU BASTARD!” She screamed at Armor.

“It’ll match your ass once I’m done kicking it!” He challenged with a feral snarl.

With a savage neigh, Cadenza charged the stallion with her horn charged and aimed at his neck. Armor answered her attack with one of his own. The two former lovers collided in the middle of the shrine, horns locked in a raw display of corrupted love and lust against abyssal energy.

“How could you betrayed me?!” Armor asked over the din of their clash. “In front of Celestia, no less!”

“Ha! You simple foal!” The Alicorn cackled. “Who do you think gave me the idea in the first place?”

“What?” The assertion made Armor lose focus for but a moment.

Cadenza capitalized on it and knocked him to the ground with a quick strike from one of her fore hooves, pinning him beneath her. She smiled down triumphantly at her former husband. One shot at his exposed neck and it would all be over.

“Dear old Autie Celestia wanted me to settle down with, what she called, a good stallion.” She taunted as she brought her still glowing horn closer to his windpipe. “She taught me all I needed to know to keep you and more.”

“Then you’re a terrible student.” Armor responded as he kicked his hind legs into Cadenza’s midsection.

The blow drove the air from her lungs and pitched her head over tail. She slammed against the obsidian heart chamber, splintering the remaining side. The Alicorn could not even catch her breath before Armor was upon her. Like a shot from a cannon, her barreled into her, sending both of them crashing through the chamber. They came to a stop at the base of the pedestal where the Black Heart pulsated as if it were enjoying the display. The stallion straddled the mare and began raining down blows from his hooves, his anger turning each one into a hammer of vengeance.

“You are a liar!”

He struck her across the nose, drawing immortal blood.

“You are a whore!”

Another against her skull, cracking the floor beneath them.

“AND YOU ARE NOT MY WIFE!”

One last blow knocked the silver crown off her head. The trinket rolled across the floor in small circles until it came to a stop a short distance away.

“The crown’s the linchpin of Sombra’s hold of her!” Grey informed Armor urgently. “Destroy it!”

“Why the Hell didn’t you tell me this before?!” The unicorn mentally screamed.

“You told me to stay out of it.” The Lurker said defensively.

Armor groaned as a tenebrous hand reached down, picked up the trinket and dropped it in his hooves The Lurker inspected the small bit of jewelry through his host's eyes for a moment before Armor crushed it to dust. Cadenza let out a pained moan as her horn began to spark with both sickly green and brilliant azure. Without the crown, Sombra’s hold on her was weakened and her true self was trying to emerge. The dark side of her was not giving up control so easily however.

“Keep her pinned, Armor.” Grey instructed his host. “I might be able to help her.”

“Do what you must.” The Prince concurred as he held down the convulsing Alicorn. "But don't kill her, if you can."

The black claws appeared again and grasped both sides on Cadenza’s head. They sank into her skull and Armor felt the dark presence surge forward once again.

“FORFEIT YOUR MIND, HARLOT!” A voice not his own commanded the corrupted Empress.

Her eyes paled as the Lurker forced his way into her mind on a wave of pain and dread. The shadow fiend once again found himself inside Cadenza’s mind. Unlike last time, the vibrant pink walls and hearts were gone. Instead, there was only a massive circular platform surrounded by impenetrable darkness. In the center were two figures locked in desperate combat. One was the familiar fair Princess while the other was a more sensual seductress. The Empress side was winning. She had the Princess pinned beneath her and was throttling her. The Lurker quickly altered his form to something Cadenza would find appropriate to avoid having to explain who he was for a third time and approached the two to intervene.

“Why do you resist?!” The evil half screamed at the good. “We are the Alicorn of Love and are to be worshipped as the goddess we are! The masses should be crawling over themselves to even catch a glimpse of our divine being! Only the best studs should have the privilege of knowing us! We should not be tied down to some low born guard!”

A tap on her shoulder interrupted her mad ravings. She looked behind her to find a knight in blackest armor looming over her with baleful pale eyes shining out from his face-concealing helm.

“That’s enough out of you.” The dark knight boomed.

He wrapped his plated hand completely around her neck and lifted her into the air. The debase mare struggled in vain against his iron grip before he slammed her into ground with enough force to leave a crater. The Lord of Shades left the dazed and confused Empress where she lay and looked down at Cadenza. He offered a helpful hand.

“Princess Mi Armore Cadenza.” He greeted cordially. “Welcome back.”

After a moment’s hesitation, the good mare took his hand and allowed him to help her to her hooves. There was something eerily familiar about the stygian sentinel.

“Who are you?” She asked, weary of her rescuer’s sinister appearance. “What are you?”

“The knight in shining armor.” He answered coolly. “Now, I believe you have some unfinished business with your inner demon over there.”

He pointed to the slowly recovering Empress. Cadenza narrowed her eyes at her darker half and stomped toward her with righteous fury. A blast of magic from the Princess knocked the adulterer back down.

“You ruined everything!” The Alicorn shouted as she advanced. “Enslaved thousands of my ponies!”

Another blast seared off most of the mane of the corrupt equine.

“Spread your legs for that tyrant!”

She blasted a wing off the wretched mare with yet another bolt.

“Drove the stallion I love away from me!”

She struck dead center and exposed raw flesh and bone. The evil Empress was now at the very edge of the abyss, hoofs held up defensively in futile plea for mercy. Cadenza knocked them aside and forced her to look her in the eyes.

"You can't deny what you are!" The Empress shouted desperately. "I know you miss those halcyon days where we were free to do as we pleased!"

“I may have been like you once but I am a Princess of Equestria now!” She declared with certainty. “I have a duty to my little ponies and you will never threaten them again!”

The Princess hoisted her defeated debauchery over her head and hurled it into the black abyss of oblivion. She watched it fall away into darkness before she snorted contemptuously and turned away. Cadenza trotted back toward a waiting Lurker-Knight and regarded him gratefully.

“I can’t thank you enough for showing up when you did.” She said.

“Don’t thank me.” He corrected. “Thank your husband. He’s the one who beat some sense into you.”

At the mention of Shining Armor, at look of despair came over Cadenza. The full weight of everything she had done and said while under Sombra’s spell came crashing down on her.

“By the Sun, Moon, and Stars!” She cried in dismay. “What have I done?!”

“It would be best to tell him now…” The looming sentry said as he began to withdraw from her mind. “…Before he throws you off the tower, again.”

Armor watched with baited breath as Grey’s limbs released Cadenza. She twitched and mumbled a few more times before she sat bolt upright, eye to eye with the fuming stallion.

“Shiny!” The Princess cried and she embraced the motionless Prince-Regent. “Oh, Shiny! I'm so sorry!”

The stallion remained silent. He merely stared at the mare sobbing into his shoulder, debating with himself if they were crocodile tears or not. The temptation to tear off her remaining wing and toss her off the tower was very strong.

“I should have told you!” The Princess’s voice hitched in her through as she poured her heart out to the stone faced Armor. “I was only trying to protect you! I swear I never meant to hurt you!”

She did not beg for his forgiveness. In her mind, she did not deserve it. In fact, she would not be surprise if Armor left her then and there and never looked back. The thought of that very likely possibility made her break down completely. The stallion’s stoic silence was not helping either.

“Shiny, please say something!” She whimpered.

Armor inhaled deeply and held it for about four seconds. He breathed out slowly, a long tired sigh. Cadenza felt a hoof gently and soothingly stroke her matted mane. Her husband held her close until she finished crying. Once she had calmed down enough. He gently but firmly held her out until they could look each other in the eye again.

“Cadence.” Armor said normally. “I’m glad you’re back but when this is all over, you and I are going to have a very long talk.”

The Alicorn wiped her eyes with a scrap of her ruined dress and nodded. Together, the royal coupe helped each other to their hooves.

“Sorry to spoil the moment but we came here for a reason.” Grey interrupted.

Armor looked away from his wife and to the still glowing Black Heart. Regaining Cadenza was but a small victory in the war against Sombra. However, with her by his side, they may be able to do more. He turned back to his still sniffling wife.

“Cadence, listen to me.” He said. “We need nullify the Crystal Heart so that Equestria can bring in reinforcements and put an end to this madness.”

The pink mare looked at the corrupted heart and frowned. She could tell that Sombra’s influence was far too great to be simply defeated. They only had one option.

“We can’t save it at this point.” She said defeated. “We have to destroy it.”

Armor was about to protest against the plan when Grey suddenly interrupted.

“She’s right." He said factually. "I know it’s not what we planned but thanks to Sombra, it’s rotten to the very core.”

“Are you sure?” The regent asked both of them.

“Believe me, I wish there was another way.” Cadenza answered sadly.

“Sombra has anchored his soul to it.” The Lurker explained with the faintest hint of anger. “So long as it exists, he’s functionally immortal.”

The regent relented and joined the Princess by her side. They faced the Heart of their stolen empire and charged their horns. Twin beams of azure and black shot out from them and merged together to form an incandescent shaft of inverted light. Their combine magic completely enveloped the Heart, snuffing out the volcanic core and turning it into a silhouette. The very tower seemed to tremble as the couple poured everything they had into their spell. The Black Crystal Heart seemed to come alive, twisting and distorting in every direction until it exploded with a cacophonic boom. Armor and Cadenza were knocked flat from the blast as thousands upon thousands of black shards floated in the air like ash. By some unknown force, the shards were slowly sucked back into the center of the shrine were they coalesced into a new form. A single onyx octahedron hovered over the Heart’s former pedestal, radiating malevolent power.

“I’ll be taking that.” The Lurker thought as he snatched the Obsidian Shard from its stand and absorbed it into his being while the two Equestrians were recovering, none the wiser to his ploy.

“The Hidden One has favored us with his protection.” The crystal unicorns seemed delighted by this new development and home. “We may finally deliver vengeance upon the slaver ourselves.”

Armor sat up first. He looked around at the now dissipating storm and vacant pedestal. The Prince-Regent let out a deep sigh. He had hoped to recover the Crystal Heart and purify it but circumstances had conspired against him.

“Cadence, you alright?” He asked.

“I’m fine.” She responded.

“Good, now listen carefully.” Armor said as he helped her up again. “Princess Celestia and Luna should be here soon. You can’t fight in your condition so I want you to stay up here and wait for them. Throw up a signal and somepony should come get you.”

“What about you?” The Princess asked.

“I’m going after Sombra.” The veteran said with a glance down the stairs. “So long as he’s still alive, the Crystal Empire will never be safe.”

Cadenza nodded in understanding. Before her husband left, she embraced him one last time.

“Please be careful, Shiny.” She pleaded. “Sombra is far more powerful than when we met him last.”

For the first time in a long time, the unicorn smiled at her.

“So am I.” He said confidently.

With that, Armor exited the shrine and began his trek to the throne room and the tyrant. Even with a dark knight aiding him, Cadenza feared that the white Prince was galloping to his doom. She looked up to the sky just as the last of the storm dispersed to find a peculiar sight. It must have been almost midday yet both the sun and moon hung in the sky, bathing the frigid land in a pseudo-twilight.

---

South of the Crystal Empire, within the Crystal Mountains boarding the Equestrian heartlands, ex-vanguards Max and Stone Skin huddled close to a flickering fire. The two had spent all night and most of the day fleeing from the darkness consuming the north. They had only stopped here in the shelter of a small cave to weather another of the Frozen North’s wild blizzards.

“Not my idea of a first date, eh Stony?” The she-griffon asked playfully as she rubbed her talons together in an attempt to warm them. "I'd offer to fool around to keep warm but I'm worried about literally freezing my tits off."

“Haha. Frostbite is a Hell of a mood killer.” The burly minotaur said with a short, mirthless laugh. “I wish we brought some better winter gear.”

Max scooted closer to the fire, almost threatening to ignite her feathers. She threw a few more twigs onto the campfire which did little to improve the ambient temperature. The former legionnaire shivered in the ineffectual firelight.

“Where the fuck is Fleabag?” She complained. “He was supposed to get some real firewood.”

“Hang on, I’ll check.” Stone said, standing.

The scarred warrior pulled his cloak tighter around him and walked over to the entrance. Out in the blizzard, he could barely see five feet in front of him. He cupped his had around his mouth and called out.

“Fleabag! You out there?” His voice echoed about the mountains.

Some distance out in the storm, the diamond dog tried to answer but his voice was lost in the gales. He eventually gave up and focused on not dropping the armful of firewood on his paws, again. The ex-vanguard ambled off in what he hoped was the right direction.

"Bah! All dis stumblin' around inna storm iz naff." The hound complained to the universe at large. "We should find ah burrow n' ride out dis blizzard."

Through the swirling snow, he spotted what appeared to be a group of lights steadily approaching. Fleabag adjusted his hold on the wood and freed a paw to shield his eyes. He could not tell what they were.

"Stone? Max?" He called out. "Dat you?"

Out of the whiteout emerged not a minotaur nor a griffon but a cohort of gilded equines that shined brilliantly despite the lack of a sun. While he was not the most worldly dog, Fleabag knew just what these armored figures were. He dropped the firewood and reached for his weapon.

"Canine scum." One of the Solarii pronounced in disgust as the slit in his helm began to glow.

Back near the cave, Stone had ventured out a bit further from the shelter. He was wary of taking another step less he lose sight of the fire and become lost. He cupped his hands around his mouth and called out again for his missing companion.

"Fleabag!?" He shouted. "Howl if you can hear me!!"

The sharp reports of magic discharging were his response. Stone's hand immediately went to his sword as he waited for secondaries. Instead, he saw a lumbering figure dragging itself through the snow toward him. The minotaur entered a combat stance but dropped it when he recognized the hunched silhouette of a diamond dog. He stomped forward through the snow to meet Fleabag halfway. He stopped short and gasped as the gem hound fell to his knees, smoke drifting from multiple smoldering wounds. His fellow ex-legionnaire rushed to his friend’s aid.

“Holy shit, Fleabag!” He exclaimed. “The Hell happened to you?”

The canine hacked up a lot of blood and struggled to stay upright. Stone could tell by the way he was breathing that he was not long for this world. The smell of burning flesh and hide did little to make him think otherwise.

“Dem gold’n boyz iz ded ‘ard.” Fleabag said weakly. “Gor, dose are way too many 'oles tah be in a dog like me.”

It was then that the minotaur became aware of a group of figures making their way toward them. He carefully lay his dying comrade down and reached for his weapon again. As the equines drew steadily closer, Stone was able to see that they were not so much ponies as equine shaped beings encased in golden armor. The light of the sun shone out from their visors, creating a piercing gaze.

“By my horns!” Stone exclaimed as he drew his sword. “Solarii!”

“Stone! Help!” Max cried out.

The minotaur looked behind him to find Max being dragged out of the cave. Instead of golden sentinels, a trio of thestrals in midnight black armor held her down. Their unnatural crimson eyes narrowed as they saw him.

“Drop your weapon and surrender!” One of the vampiric bat-ponies commanded past predatory fangs. “Or you’ll end up like that mutt!”

Stone wisely complied with a angry snort but Max was not ready to give up just yet.

“Let go of me, you bloodsuckers!” She screeched as she tore an arm free.

In response, one of the stealthy nocturnal thestrals struck her behind her head with a talon-like cloven hoof. Max went limp immediately.

“Hey! Don’t you-AH!” Stone was about to object to the treatment of his partner but a Solarii effortlessly blasted him to the ground and held a lance of light to his throat.

“By decree of Her Brilliance and our Eternal Monarch, Princess Celestia, you curs are under arrest!” It commanded authoritatively. “Resistance will beget severe consequences!”

The vanguard wisely remained silent as the dark and light equines took him into custody. He was force to march ahead of them while Max was carried across the backs of one of the golden guardians. They left Fleabag to be buried by the snow, much to his consternation. He silently wished his fallen friend safe passage into the next life until his still form was lost in the blizzard. The group moved southward until they came to a port in the storm. A massive magical dome had been erected to keep out the blizzard and Stone was forced through it. On the other side, he was greeted by the sight of hundreds of gold plated sentinels and black armored vampires with a small mix of regular guards in tyrian plate mail. All of them looked ready for war. At the head of all of them, conversing about what Stone could only guess were battle plans, stood the three mares Dugore had gone out of his way to avoid confronting.

“Mistress Luna!” One of the bat-ponies called out to his matron. “We've captured some interlopers.”

Before the midnight blue Alicorn could address him, the youngest of the Princesses flew toward the minotaur. His captor forced him to kneel as the lavender pony landed in front of them with a solid thud.

“What have you done with my brother?” Princess Twilight Sparkle demanded.

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