That night everything was dead silent. No crickets chirped, no owls hooted, nothing seemed to be around. The streets were empty, the only sign of life outside was the shimmering shield surrounding the city. Inside of the castle there was a room that wasn’t so peaceful and quiet, though.

Draigo had wanted to sleep with all of his friends, but knew they’d be uncomfortable with him around all the time. So, he’d asked Cadence if he could sleep in the treasury room like he’d done when he first moved to Canterlot Castle. Cadence had given her consent while she and Shining kept the barrier up with their combined powers.

Getting comfortable wasn’t hard, Draigo could sleep nearly anywhere. He’d fallen asleep rather easily, but cursed himself for that when his dreams turned to nightmares of pitch blackness and silence.

Draigo awoke with a start, breathing heavily. He looked around in fright before growling in frustration and pounding a clenched claw onto the piled treasures beneath him. Taking a deep breath, before deciding to hey some fresh air. He passed a few wary guards who tried to stop him, but the sheer presence emanating from him made them remain silent while giving him a wide berth.

Looking out over the city that gleamed in the moonlight, Draigo looked for any sign of Sombra. The shield, continous snow storm, a few wandering ponies, and the city's buildings were all he could see. Letting out a small growl, he took off and flew to the top of the castle before taking in as much air add he could.

“Dragons who are awake and ready, join me. This place is in need of defense and the enemy is a worthy opponent. Come show this nation and it's former leader your power,” he ordered before taking flight and circling the city while he waited.

The first dragon to arrive was large white and pale blue. It was followed by a blue and orange dragon, a red and yellow, black and red, and so on until there were thirty dragons flying with Draigo. They all looked eager as they flew along, clenching and unclenching their claws and jaws in anticipation.

“Once dawn comes, spread yourselves out along the inside edge of the shield,” Draigo told his dragons. They nodded in understanding and Draigo grinned toothily.

[DRAIGO]
In the dark of the night I was tossing and turning
And the nightmare I had was as bad as can be --
It scared me out of my hide --
Nothing around but my voice inside!
Then I opened my eyes
And the nightmare was real!!
I was once the most neutral of all the ‘leaders’.
When Sombra made my fears rekindle he made a mistake!
His curse made me suffer and sway
All alone day after day!
Little Sombra, beware,
Draigo's enraged!
[DRAGONS]
In the dark of the night Draigo will find him
In the dark of the night just before dawn!
Aah...
[DRAIGO]
Revenge will be sweet
[DRAIGO AND DRAGONS]
When the search is complete!
[ALL]
In the dark of the night
[DRAIGO]
He'll be gone!
I can feel that my powers are slowly increasing!
Stick with Luna and Celestia as well!
As the pieces fall into place
I'll see him crawl into place!
Veyet'toon, Sombra, you wretch!
Farewell...
[DRAGONS]
In the dark of the night terror will strike him!
[DRAIGO]
Terror's the least I can do!
[DRAGONS]
In the dark of the night Draigo pursues.
Ooh!
[DRAIGO]
Soon he will feel that his end is very near.
[ALL]
In the dark of the night
[DRAIGO]
He'll be through!
[DRAGONS]
In the dark of the night
Draigo will find him
Find him!
Ooh!
In the dark of the night vengeance comes true.
Doom him!
[DRAIGO]
My foe, here's a sign --
[DRAIGO AND DRAGONS]
It's the end of the line!
[ALL]
In the dark of the night...
In the dark of the night...
[DRAIGO]
Come my dragons,
Rise for your master,
Let your power shine!
[ALL]
In the dark of the night...
In the dark of the night...
[DRAIGO]
Find him now,
Yes, fly ever faster
[ALL]
In the dark of the night...
In the dark of the night...
In the dark of the night...
[DRAIGO]
He'll be mine!

The group of dragons continued to fly around the city until the sun broke the horizon. When it did, the thirty dragons flew to the inside edge of the shield and did as they were told, spreading out to cover the shield’s entire perimeter.Draigo continued to circle above the city, waiting to aid his dragons. Below him, things weren't going to smoothly.

“No, no… no no no,” Twilight moaned with each book that wasn't any help figuring out how to save the Empire. She and her friends had been searching all day and they'd barely gotten anywhere in the massive library. “Any luck girls?”

“Nope.”

“Natta.”

“I found a wonderful book on clothing design a thousand years ago.”

“Uh huh.”

“Nopperooni.”

“Looks like this is going to take longer than I originally thought,” Twilight sighed and looked over amount of shelves they hadn't checked. “I hope Shining and Cadence can keep that barrier up long enough.”

“Are you kidding? Your brother's specialty is barrier and shield spells. With him and Cadence working together they'd probably be able to hold it for weeks,” Rainbow said as she hovered along a book shelf.

“Yeah, I'm sure you're right, Rainbow,” Twilight nodded before getting back to searching.

It's now been six days, beginning of the seventh, since Twilight and her friends began searching for a book to help them. They've gone through almost all of the library now and their spirits aren't as high as they were. Spike joined them on the second to make things go faster and to make sure they all ate properly.

While they were searching, Draigo and his dragons had been keeping Sombra at bay and bringing supplies into the city to keep the ponies fed. There had been a few skirmishes and the dragon's numbers are down to twelve. Some had been killed fighting Sombra, some were unable to continue and were licking their wounds, while others were scared into uselessness.

Cadence and Shining Armor had been able to hold out with a few falters here and there. Although, the shield could now be seen to flicker every once in a while with the intervals in between them shortening. The crystal ponies didn't seem to notice this, but the aid workers knew time was getting short.

“What kind of book are we looking for again?” Spike asked when he paused his search.

“Something that'll tell us about the culture and practices of the Crystal Empire before Sombra’s reign,” Twilight told him before plopping down and groaning in frustration. “I would've started in the proper section of the library, but King Sombra most likely hid anything that would aid ponies in defeating him. Turns out, though, I was right. We've searched the entire library and didn't find anything!”

“I did find that fashion book, Darling,” Rarity pointed out before continuing at a quicker pace when she see the look Twilight and the others have her. “But that doesn't help us defeat Sombra, sorry.”

“The locals can't remember anything either. It's like Sombra gave them all amnesia for the time before her ruled,” Rainbow said.

“101 Crystal Recipes, Twenty Ways to Use Crystal, Your Crystal and You,” Spike read off add get continued the search.

“And that just proves that Sombra hid the book. Those books aren't even in the right section!” Twilight groaned before they heard Spike cry out. They rushed over and find that Spike had stumbled upon a hidden staircase and fallen down them.

“Spike, are you alright!?” Twilight called down the stairs.

“I'm fine, Twi! There's a book down here called ‘History of Imperial Culture’!” Spike called back. Twilight and the others cheered at finally finding the book they'd been looking for.

“Great job, Spike! Bring it up!” Twilight told him. Spike grabbed the book and flew it back up to everyone. Twilight wasted no time reading through it.

“There's one problem I noticed about the book,” Spike said before Twilight finished reading it. She looked up and quirked a brow at her draconic assistant.

“What's that, Spike?” Twilight asked.

“The last page is missing,” Spike answered and placed a talon where Twilight was and turned the book to the last page. It was indeed torn out.

“Okay, okay. We’ll just have to do what we can with the information we have,” Twilight said nervously before giving out assignments to everyone.

They quickly got to work making the festival described in the book. Food, games, activities, and even a very convincing Crystal Heart they'd gotten Draigo to make and then, reluctantly, guard. Everything was in place and the Crystal ponies were slowly remembering things and regaining their color as they participated in the festival. This was both good and bad, it turns out. The more they remembered the more they wanted to see the Crystal Heart which was what the festival was for, to re-energize the Heart and spread the positive feelings stored within. That was until they saw Draigo guarding it. Every citizen froze upon seeing him and quickly went back to other festival activities.

It wasn't that Draigo wasn't told to be nice to the Crystal ponies. It's just that his appearance coupled him being big enough to encircle the fake heart with his body made everyone think twice about trying to see it. So, the girls were being hard pressed to keep the other activities going properly.

It was a little perplexing then when the ponies started running to Draigo instead of away from him. One look to the sky was took to see why, though. Sombra had encircled the city and its barrier.

“So, he wants to stop this before it's done,” Draigo muttered as he slowly stood. “I'll take the fight to him then.”

The Crystal ponies gasped at both Draigo’s words and the sight of the fake Heart, more the latter than the former. Murmurs of what was happening quickly spread throughout the crowd of ponies as Draigo walked towards the barrier. Twilight’s friends were doing their best to keep panic from ensuing.

“You insignificant pond scum, cease this worthless little festival of yours. Do you realize just how small you are to me? I could crush you all as easily as a dragon crushes an ant underfoot. Be glad I’m giving you this opportunity to serve me and live. And look! The little drake is back on his feet. What’re you gonna do this time? Run? Hide? Beg for mercy? I look forward to seeing it and refusing.”

“Run? Hide? Beg? No, none of those and I won’t let you do any of those either. No, this time… it’s to your death,” Draigo responded as he grew to his full size and took to the air to confront his enemy.

Sombra’s cloud form rushed to meet Draigo before he could build too much momentum, eager to finish this fight and get back to what actually mattered. Small shards of dark crystal erupted all throughout his body as he passed by Draigo hoping to shred his hide to pieces. To his annoyance, his crystals broke against Draigo’s hide and the drake passed by unharmed.

“Ha! Those pathetic crystals didn’t even tickle!” Draigo roared as he wheeled around to launch a fiery breath attack at Sombra.

The shadowy substance currently comprising Sombra’s body parted to allow the breath to pass through him harmlessly. True, his shadow form could be affected by very few things but it was better to be safe or it bred dangerous habits for when actual opponents arose. “My, what a pleasant breeze.” Deciding to get somewhat serious he readied to use his dark crystals yet again though making them far larger and tougher this time. Draigo smirked and let the crystals hit him, thinking they’d break like the last time. He gasped and growled in pain as the crystals cut through his scales and into his flesh. Sombra, pleased at the damage caused but still shocked at how little there was, turned back to his foe, his horn lit with a dark light. A massive beam of pure negative energy soared towards Draigo while Sombra anticipated his complete annihilation, but was supremely shocked when his beam was countered by one of positive energy and light.

“Well, that’s not something a normal dragon can do. Who are you exactly?”

“I should be the one asking you that, but I’ll answer your question. I am Draigo, father of all dragons.”

“Draigo...Very well then. I am Sombra, Sire of Negativity. This should be a worthy battle, Primordial.”

“I did not think there was another Primordial on this planet, Sombra, nor do I think there should be. At least when they’re like you,” Draigo said and enhanced his body with positive energy before once more breathing a beam towards Sombra. Deciding that running from a contest of power with another primordial would reflect poorly on himself the King of Shadow prepared his own beam at maximum power hoping to overwhelm Draigo’s breath. Seeing their beams collide and his getting pushed back, Draigo increased his own power to maximum. The two beams fluctuated back and forth, neither being seeming to have the advantage over the other.

Sombra quickly grew bored of merely standing still and blasting away and so he cut his beam and circled to his opponent’s left using Draigo’s breath as cover. He reached out to Draigo’s soul stoking the well of negativity he found within. The positive energy that had suffused Draigo winked out and he began fell to the ground, writhing and growling all the while.

“For all your strength and vitality your mind is as weak as any mortal’s. You have my pity for that,” Sombra snarled. Not content to leave Draigo alone, he prepared his strongest crystals. The crystals grew over Draigo engulfing him and pinning him in place. “Still, a being such as you will make for an excellent slave once I break you. Stay put while I finish this and we can finish your conversion.”

“Fool, you don’t know what you’ve done!” Draigo shouted as single eye glowed through the dark crystal. Sombra ignored Draigo’s shout reckoning it as the desperate plea of a defeated foe. He turned to fly to his palace and regain control of the empire but before he got more than a few feet away he heard the cracking of his crystals as Draigo broke free. In a burst of black dust and shards of crystal, Draigo broke free of his prison. Draigo’s eyes now had the same purple flame coming from them as Sombra’s and he glared at his opponent. “We’re not done yet, Sombra.” Draigo then lashed at Sombra with his tail the air whistling around it as it drew near. Sombra, sensing no positive energy in the strike, decided to merely shift to his mist form and allow the tail to pass through him.

“Honestly, such an uninspired being. A bit of a push and you're using Dark energy in a desperate move to...what? Kill the embodiment of Negativity with his own element? I take back what I said earlier, even most mortals would know better.”

“You try fighting off another personality who uses nothing but Dark elements and see how easy it is to fight without them,” Draigo said, the purple flames flickering in and out of existence.

“Split personalities? Is the other one as simple as you? Questions for another time perhaps.” As he concluded he fired a hair thin beam of magic straight into Draigo’s eye. The intent was not to harm the great beast but to plant a seed in his other self. Sombra was nothing if not pragmatic and a master strategist. He knew that against another primordial he may very well lose and so he would ensure his future victory by enslaving the corruption in Draigo’s heart and coaxing it to the surface over time.

For now, Sombra knew that if he had the Crystal Heart he would be able to achieve all his goals. He decided that stalling the monster in front of him would more than suffice for his purposes and began to gather all of his being not for an attack but for a spell of ultimate binding. His physical form flickered in and out of existence as the energy gathered, not in the same way as his cloud form but rather into something that most minds would refuse to comprehend driving any that looked upon him mad in the process. Draigo didn’t know what Sombra was up to, but he could feel the power welling up for whatever he intended. Thinking that Sombra might attack the barrier, Draigo rushed around and placed himself between the city and Sombra before gathering his own energy to counter Sombra.

“I won’t let you get through!” Draigo shouted as they gathered more and more power.

“You have little choice in the matter, insect,” Sombra said trying to provoke Draigo into a straight fight. An angry dragon was a predictable one and Sombra knew just how to deal with one. “Soon that barrier will be down and the vermin within rightfully back in my grasp. I will spread my negativity from here to the ends of world. After I am through feeding here there will be nothing more than a husk among the void as I journey to the next world.”

“Then I’ll just have to get rid of you in one final flash,” Draigo growled as he felt his power reach its peak. He opened his jaws and wings wide and sent a stream of pure energy as wide and tall as his extended body towards Sombra.

Sombra’s eyes widened as he saw the unadulterated force rushing towards him. He had planned to be attacked but he had never anticipated such a large and potent one. He hadn’t left himself enough room to get entirely out of the way. He desperately dove towards the ground allowing all of his power to drain back into the ether. The beam tore through his lower body, obliterating it from his ribs down. His consciousness barely had time to register the pain before it faded entirely. So this is death. It’s different than I thought it would be. I’ll be back though and when I am I’ll make sure that dragon pays dearly for this insult.

When Draigo’s attack was finished, he stood there breathing heavily before collapsing to the ground upon seeing no trace of Sombra before him. He looked up to the sky and smiled when he felt a wave of positive energy pass over him and an aurora borealis cover the sky. Feeling the presence of his evil self fade with the energy’s arrival, he let himself relax and sink into an exhausted slumber.