I was on the balcony with Cadance and Shining Armor when Rainbow suddenly shot in and told me about the Crystal Heart not being just some random centerpiece but an actual relic of the Crystal Empire. I quickly looked through the history book to see if I could any more information on the Crystal Heart only to find pages missing in the back of the book. I motioned to Rainbow Dash to follow me, as we ran out of the palace and headed off to the library. I explained to Rainbow that finding the Crystal Heart must be the test Celestia had sent me to undertake.

“I need you and the others to keep the Crystal Fair going in order to keep left the spirits of the Crystal Ponies,” I explained as we got outside the palace.

“What? With that … thing trying to get into the Empire?” Rainbow said with a confused look.

“Yes, remember the point of the Fair was and is to raise the spirits of the Crystal Ponies so they can power the Crystal Heart,” I said softly as I looked around to the nearby area as Applejack was keeping the fake heart under wraps before I turned to Rainbow again. “If the Crystal Ponies find out that King Sombra is trying to take over the Empire again, then their spirits will be totally crushed and it won’t matter if we have the Crystal Heart at all.”

“Keep the Crystal Fair running and the ponies morale up, gotcha boss,” Rainbow quickly sped off and told the others.

I looked to the barrier as I saw it fall but was then back up again. “Cadance doesn’t have much magic left to keep the barrier up.

I little bit of time passed as I made my way through the Fair looking for anything that might have a hint to the Crystal Heart’s location. Spike had decided to join me and swore not to lift a hand in helping, other than asking a few questions on his own and using his eyes to look around. I would often stop and ask the occasional passing Crystal Pony who had regained their memories but they would all tell me that after Sombra removed the Heart he hoarded it to himself and it never left the palace. Just to keep them from asking too many questions themselves I would tell them it was for a research paper.

Rainbow Dash suddenly landed in front of us out of breath.

“Rainbow, are you gonna be alright? You look like you just went through a one on one training session with Asta,” Spike ran to her side and help her to a nearby bench. I noticed that she had a book in her arms.

“I’ll be fine Spike… I just need to catch my breath,” Rainbow huffed as she held the book out to me. “Asta tossed this to me. He was on his way out of the Empire. He said he found out some missing pieces of info in it. I thought you could use it Twi.”

I took the old purple book from Rainbow and immediately started to read through its contents. It was all here. Princess Amore, that she made the Crystal Heart and how she started the fair to help power the Heart. It also mentioned how Princess Amore creating several other forms of ancient spells and artifacts in her efforts to find a more permanent solution in protecting the Empire before the creation of the Heart and how she locked them away in the Crystal Catacombs under the palace.

Suddenly a light went off in my head. “Thanks, Rainbow Dash. this is just what I need to finish piecing the puzzle together,” I ran off to the palace and Spike followed right at my heels.

I made my way to the edge of the Empire. I could sense some of Sombra’s evil ki inside the barrier now so I decided to track it down as that is where I’d find on the other side of the barrier. I walked along the edge of the barrier just inside of it until a came to the spot exuding the evil ki. There was a small dark crystal similar to the ones Celestia had created back in Canterlot.

“Mhm. This is the place alright,” I nodded as I crossed my arms. “Might as well come out and face me Sombra. I know you’re just on the other side waiting to come in,” I said pulling out my Grimoire and then using it to summon one of the Anit-magic combat gauntlets.

I crouched down and looked to the small dark crystal and shook my head in disagreement. I then infused my gauntleted arm with my anti-magic and grasped the dark stone. I yanked it up from the ground before turning my hand over I felt Sombra come out of the fog.

“NO! PUT IT BACK!” Sombra roared in anger.

“Oh, this,” I smirked as I flicked the crystal up in the air and caught it. “Sorry, but I can’t have your evil ass coming into this Empire.” I opened my palm. “Now,” I held the crystal up in front of Celestia’s sun letting light pass through it, but only barely, “ how to destroy this evil piece of trash?”

‘What is that book and that gauntlet he pulled from it. That power he’s using, I’ve never seen the likes of it anywhere before. That book houses a tremendous amount of that power along with a...presence whose darkness... is greater than even my own. I must make this creature work for me.”

“Hahahaha,” Sombra bellowed. “You can’t destroy my crystal with your meager power. It would take an exceptionally powerful unicorn like Starswirl the Bearded or one of the Alicorn sisters.”

“Oh, so you have to be extremely magically inclined then,” I tilted my head slightly as while raising an eyebrow as I looked at the evil unicorn.

“Yes and I can sense that power in you is not magic at all,” He smirked snidely.

I held the crystal up to his face on the other side of the barrier. “I actually have access to magic but currently have no way of invoking it. This ‘power’ you keep speaking of is, on the other hand, a weapon against magic itself,” I tossed the crystal up in the air and caught it in my hand.in a closed fist and began to apply pressure to it.

Sombra simply chuckled. “No such power exists.”

“Really, “I squeezed hard on the crystal and it started to crack and release dark magic that my gauntlet quickly absorb and converted into anti-magic. Sombra saw what was happening and was speechless as the crystal shattered into pieces of dark magic that were merely absorbed into my own power. “My power is such a threat that the Royal sister themselves said not even they’d be able to take me on in a two on one fight.” I dispelled my gauntlet back into the Grimoire and closed the book. I then walked through the barrier and was now face to face with the evil tyrant with my own evil grin on my face.

“What? How? Not possible,” Sombra spit at me as I walked to him while he kept backing up.

“Tell ya what,” I opened the Grimoire and pulled the Demon-Dweller sword and the Demon-Slayer sword out. “Let’s cut away all this fog and see what you really look like!”

I inhaled deeply and controlled my blood flow while tapping into my dragon speed. I shot into the fog and started to slash through it. The more I cut the dark magic the more I absorbed and converted to my own power.

“What are you doing? STOP THIS!” Sombra roared as he charged at me firing beams of black magic at me. I slashed with Dweller and blocked them with the Slayer. He was right on top before I knew it and I sensed him bring down a sword. I blocked the strike by crossing my swords then I jumped back to get some space between us.

There before my vision was a very tall stallion in dark spiky full plate armor. On his head was a spikey dark crown with a crimson red focus crystal in it. He was a regal red cape with a white fur trim with black spots on it. His mane and tail were a thick charcoal black and in his hand was a large black crystal cutlass. On his face was a very angry twisted scowl.

“What is that power?” he growled at me.

I smirked back, “It’s anti-magic.”

“NOT POSSIBLE!” Sombra lunged at me with his sword over his head and brought it down, hard. I dropped the Dweller and used the flat of the Slayer to block the blow. The strike force sent a shockwave throughout the surrounding ice field. I then saw the barrier fall and I knew this would be the last time it did as I could sense Cadance had no power left.

Sombra looked over his shoulder and wickedly smirked before returning his gaze to me, “A much as I would love to keep asking you about this ‘anti-magic’ and what you are. There is an Empire I must reclaim.”

He pushed me back and then landed a good kick to my gut sending too my back. “No, you won’t.” I shakily got to my feet using the Slayer to help me. I raised the sword above my head and concentrated shot in front of the dark king as I did I swung my Slayer while I infused it with some anit-magic. “BLACK MOON, CRESCENT SLASH!”

In a wave of black and red outlined anti-magic, I managed to push Sombra back a good bet.

“Annoying pest of a creature,” He hissed as he then smirked and looked at me with a snide look in his eyes. “Fine, I’ll play along with you and give you a taste of my power.”

Sombra raised his cutlass up and stabbed into the ground and then he blasts dark magic into the swords handle from his focus crystal. The sword then grew into a large series of what appeared to be crystal pony soldiers.

‘Oh, this could get messy.’

I grinned as more and more crystals formed until Sombra had a very large army in front of him.

“Still think you can protect the Empire?” Sombra sneered at me.

“Hahahahaha,” I notice the Dweller sword was next to me. I picked up my second sword and then crossed my blades and began to concentrate and let the anti-magic flow from my weapons into my body.

“Grrrr… Very well I will make the next move then,” Sombra shot a beal of magic at me and immediately incased my body in a large dark crystal. “Now that that’s out of the way. I’m taking back my throne from that FALSE Princess. HAHAHAHAHAHA!”

I was in the palace looking at anything that I could think of that might trigger a passage to the Crystal Catacombs and possibly the hiding place of the Crystal Heart. I looked under every bust, behind every statue, and, as much as I hate to say it, pulled every book from every shelf I could find. I then noticed Spike trying to lift up a rug in one of the rooms and I quickly scolded him for trying to help when he said he wouldn’t lift a hand.

“I don’t understand,” I looked around as we walked passed the throne room. “Where could he have hidden the Heart other than the Catacombs under the castle if no one ever saw him with it? But how could he hide it in them if their’s no entrance to them ?”

“This was his seat of power during his rule,” Spike commented. “Where else could he have hidden the entrance

Then something caught my eye as we passed the throne. The crystal at the top of the throne looked exactly like the one Celestia had back in Canterlot. I then recalled her words on light and dark and how she used that dark magic on the crystal. That was it. I had been looking for and entrance, in the wrong castle. Sombra had taken and hidden the Crystal Heart during his reign as King which meant that in order to find I had to look when this place was much darker.

I stood in front of the throne and began to think up dark thoughts as I focus my magic through my focus crystal. It was incredibly hard as the Dark magic want me to use it for evil purposes. I then forced the evil magic into my a beam and shot it at the crystal most atop the throne. As I did this the room in front of the throne change into a dark crystal variant of the throne room that it was but directly in front of the throne was a massive pit with a long twisting spiral stairwell leading into the bottom and what I assume was the Crytal Catacombs and the Crystal Heart.

“Yes,” I smiled as I clapped my hands together. “This is why we couldn’t find it, Spike. We weren’t looking in Sombra’s castle at all.”

“Woah… How far down do you think it goes?” He asked amazed at the depth.

“Don’t know?” I tilted my head. “If I had Asta physicality I bit I could run down it no problem in no time at all. But I don’t and more importantly, I don’t have time to waste here gawking at a hole.” I made my way down the stairs.”You stay up here.”

“No arguments out of me there,” He gulped as he looked from the hole to me.

I made my way down the stairs a bit when I heard Spike call out to me. “Can you see what’s down there yet?”

“No,” I let my focus crystal to give me some light to see. “I can’t even tell how far this thing goes,” I broke I piece of crystal off the wall and tossed it down to listen for when it hit the bottom. It took a few minutes before I heard a thud and wincd at how far down it must be. “Spike, what’s it look like outside?”

After a minute I heard him cry out,” Not good! The barriers up but I don’t know for how much longer. I can see somethings going on outside the barrier. Asta must have started to fight Sombra! Hurry Twilight we don’t have much time left.”

“Alright,” I took off running but tripped and tumbled all the way to the bottom. I got to my feet and rubbed my head a little from where landed on it. As I moved my hair out of my face I came to face a door. “Spike, I believe I found it,” I reached for the door and pulled it open the only to find myself back in Canterlot Castle’s throne room. “What? How’d I get back here?”

“Why are you here Twilight?” Princess Celestia asked me sternly.

“I don’t know? One second I was in the Crystal Catacombs opening I door I thought led to the Crystal Heart and the next I’m…” Celestia turned and angrily scowled at me.

“I mean what are you doing here Twilight? You are no longer my student as you failed the test?” She turned to face me completely with a glare of disappointment.

“What would do mean?” I looked at my teacher horrifed. “I …I don’t understand?”

“What else is there to understand?” She went back to going through papers. “You failed the test which means you failed in your studies. And that means you won’t be moving forward and are no longer under my instruction.”

“What? But I…?” I looked up and saw an evil stained glass window of King Sombra taking over the Crystal Empire. “What do I do now?”

“I don’t know and I don’t care as long as it’s not here,” Celestia left leaving me alone with my tears.

“Twilight… Twilight… Twilight,” I heard a voice calling out to me and I found myself back in the Catacombs with Spike calling my name right next to me. “Twilight, your back. I know you said to stay up top but I didn’t hear from you after I heard you take that tumble down the stairs so I came to check on you and you were just staring at this wall.”

I shook off the feelings of failure as best I could while Spike went over and examined the wall. I then noticed the crystal above the door started to glow green and purple. My attention then turned to Spike.

“What the… Ponyville. It’s… in ruins,” He started to back away from the door. “What,\? Why are all of you coming after me? I didn’t do this. No, I’m not a monster.” Spike's eyes started to water as his face turned into one of fear and sadness. “Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, no not you too Twilight. Please, don’t… I’M NOT A MONSTER!”

I stepped in front of Spike and took hold of him in my arms. “It’s okay Spike. I know your not a monster. Come back, none of it’s real.”

“Wha? Twilight but you and the others… The whole town… it was all destroyed. Burn to the ground. You all said the I… did it,} He looked down at the floor as tears filled his eyes.

I held onto Spike even tighter. “It was Sombra's dark magic. It’s a trap designed to make whoever opens the door live their worst fears. None of it was real Spike. We know you’re not a monster.” I dried his eyes. “Now,” I let my focus crystal and blast the crystal above the door shattering it. “Time to get the Crystal Heart.” As the dust fades we saw an actual doorway. I walked on through.

“What do ya see?” Spike tilted his head.

I looked up and huffed then looked back to Spike with a fed-up smile,” Stairs. A lot of… stairs.” I started to walk up the new staircase before I looked back at Spike again. “You should come with me this time Spike. I’d feel better with someone to watch my back.” He smiled and trailed right behind me as we walked up this new staircase.

I was with Cadance on the Balcony when I noticed there was something going on at the borders of the barrier. I could see someone just inside the barrier stand there as they were talking to someone on the other side of it. I then could make out a faint speck of green on the outside of the barrier.

“Wait a minute,” I looked closer with a nearby telescope. “That’s Asta down there. What’s he doing?”

“The last thing I heard from Twilight’s friend, Rainbow Dash, was that he was headed off to the edge of the city to face King Sombra,” Cadance huffed in exhaustion.

“Then why is he just standing there talking with the evil prick? Asta must be trying to make a deal with Sombra to gain his favor?” I snarled at the thought.

‘To think I thanked that bastard!’

“Shining don’t… jump to conclusions,” Cadance leaned on me I saw the barrier waver a bit. “Twilight and all of her friends trust and have faith in that Stallion. My aunts have even placed faith in him.”

Suddenly my attention was brought back to the borders of the Empire by the sounds of battle. I looked to the border through the telescope again and I was met with the site of Asta slashing into Sombra’s fog form with a set of swords. One massive and the other not as large but still looked to have a good weight to it.

My attention was then brought back to the Balcony as I looked over to tell Cadance what I’d just saw. I looked over to my wife but didn’t get the chance as I rushed to catch her from hitting the floor. As she fell into my arms the barrier surrounding the city fell as well.

Sombra was now standing at the gates of the exposed Crystal Empire with his crystal golem army ready to invade. He had faced the odd creature that he’d spoken with earlier in the day and had defeated it by encasing it in his dark crystal. Still though, there were thoughts playing at the dark unicorn’s mind. He quickly turned and went to the trapped being.

“That power you wield would’ve been most useful to me in the subjugation of the Crystal Empire,” Sombra hissed at the creature as he stared into his reflection. “But even I am weary of this ‘anti-magic you wield as you could easily turn it on me if not, properly conditioned.”

Sombra was thinking he could use a mind-control spell to gain control of his imprisoned foe. The creature not only had the ability to nullify his magic, but it also absorbed it when it used the swords to cut into his fog form earlier.

“Yes, I think I will take you as my pawn,” Sombra sneered at the trapped Asta. “Then, I use you to take over Equestria. Nhahhaha!”

Sombra’s focus crystal glowed red with green edges. He then shot a beam of wispy magic into the crystal holding Asta. What he didn’t expect was the extra company that Asta had with him when his Grimoire was in use.

Now inside Asta’s mind, Sombra began to wonder about to try and find Asta’s mental self. He wonders around for some time before he finally came across the Knight lounging about playing on a guitar and singing a song.

“What is this nonsense?” Sombra hissed at Asta.

“Oh, it’s not nonsense,” Asta got to his feet and tossed the guitar over his shoulder. “And the first mistake trying to miss with the Crystal Empire, cause that really pissed me off,” Asta shot in front of Sombra and sent him flying with a hard fist to the gut.

“RUGH!” Sombra got to his feet shakily. “How could you land a blow like that here? This is a mental space?”

“The second mistake,” Asta shot was in front of the dark king once more. “Was trying to imprison me.” Astakicked Sombra into the air and then jumped up above him and brought his heel down causing it to collide with Sombra forehead sending him flipping back to the ground.

“Third mistake was thinking you could control me.” Asta once more in front of the king bent down and picked Sombra up by the neck. He tossed him up slightly and unloaded a barrage of punches into the evil monarch.

“How can you be this strong in a mental space?” Sombra got to his feet once more as he did his best to stay stable He wiped the blood from his mouth.

“Mental space, whoever said this was my mind?” Asta smirked evilly as Sombra’s eyes shank in fear. “This is my me,” He gestured to himself, “And this space is my Grimoire. But it not only acts as a safe haven for my mind by also a prison.”

“A prison?” Sombra raised an eyebrow as he winced from the pain. “A prison for what?”

“Things like you. See you can’t leave unless I say you can,” Asta pointed to himself. “O hand this place is home to the like of him.” Asta pointed with his thumb over his shoulder and a giant shadow with horns, sharp teeth smiling evilly, and wings appeared behind him. “That’s the demon I have to deal with every time I open this Grimoire but I’ve enough time kicking your mental self to the kingdom come.”

Asta turned his back on Sombra and walked over to the demon. The Demon-Dweller and Demon -Slayer swords appeared in his hands. “I believe it’s time for me to have the next level of my power.” He thrust the swords into the demon and it began to be pulled into Asta’s body, all while laughing the whole time. “See you on the outside, Sombra,” Asta smirked as everything faded into darkness.

Sombra finds himself back in his body. He then starts to back away from the imprisoned Asta. The crystal that was encased the creature was starting to crack and hiss. It was as if Asta was trying to force his way out through expelling hid anti-magic.

SHIIIIIIIIII

CRACK!

THROOM!

The crystal exploded sending shards of it everywhere. Sombra was flung back into his army as he managed to barely put up a shield to protect himself from getting blasted with fragments. Once the smoke and dust cleared from the blast Sombra couldn’t believe what stood before him.

Asta had taken the anti-magic into his body and took on the form similar to that of the demon trapped inside the Grimoire. The right half of his body was now covered in the black anti-magic. As the anti-magic ran up the right side of his face, where a green eye had been was now red while his teeth had grown sharper. Asta’s right arm was completely black. His hair was now spikier with what appeared to be a forward curved horn. On his back was a massive singular black tattered wing. His swords seemed to drip with anti-magic as they were now solid black while his Demon-Dweller sword center glowed with a red cross with six more glowing red crosses closer to the hilt. Asta had now shown his first trump card, Black Asta.

“Ready for round two,” the demonic-looking knight glared at the dark unicorn with eyes that hungered for his magic. “King Sombra.”

“Why are you against me, We’re the same. We should work together and rule this land,” Sombra tried desperately to sway Asta as he prepped a spell. “You’re a demon yourself. If anyone understands your dark power, it would be me” He smirked as he turned and shot multiple beams of magic into the golem army. Sombra then turned back to face Black Asta. “ Forward to the Crystal Empire. Not even a mere singular demon can stop me.”

“I’m not the demon here,” Asta growled as he took flight. “I’m a Might Knight as well as a Demon Slayer.” Asta held the sword out lengthways on either side of himself and started to rotate like a top“BLACK HURRICANE!” Suddenly as he was spinning he launched himself at the army and started to uncontrollably tear the golems to piece.

Sombra wax at a loss as he saw his army torn to shards before his eyes by the demon of a creature. He looked back to the Crystal Palace and decided to take the opportunity to retake the Empire while Asat was distracted. He passed the gates to the Empire and they suddenly turned in a dark crystal.

“The Crystal Empire will be mine once more,” Sombra laughed as he walked through the gate. He once again took on his fog form and moved along the road corrupting the crystal as he went on his way.

“Oh no it won’t,” Asta flew in front of Sombra with a determination to keep him back at all cost. “Give me a real fight Sombra.” Asta charged forward colliding with the evil unicorn.

The fog was knocked to his waist as Sombra was using it to propel himself forward while duel wielding crystal blades. Blow for blow, slash for slash, Sombra and Black Asta clashed in the skies above the Crystal Empire. Their blows sent waves of anti-magic and dark magic in every direction across the sky splitting the storm cloud in twain to never reform.

There was a brief pause as Asta looked to the Crystal Palace. He’d sensed Twilight and Spike’s ki was shooting up the in workings of the tower. He then looked at Sombra.

‘I need to get him closer to the tower so he can be blasted by the light.’

Asta flew forward at Sombra and met his blades with his own. They both snarled at each other as the swords sent sparks off each other.

“Tel where you hid Amore’s Statue,” Black Asta growled.

“I wanted a trophy and she wanted to look out over her subjects so I hid her with her precious Crystal Heart,” Sombra snickered.

Asta smiled back. “That’s all I need to know.”

He raised his Dweller up in his left hand and in taking in a deep breath increasing the blood flow to his arms brought it down hard shattering Sombra’s sword to bits.

Not giving Sombra a second to recover Asta world around back to the right and with the flat to the Slayer and smacked Sombra with so much force he was sent flying into the side of the Palace forming a crater upon his impact.

“I... won’t… lose… my...Empire!” Sombra howled in anger as he peeled himself free and landed on a dark crystal that forms below his feet. He looked up and placed his palms on the crystal and he began to move up to the top of the Palace on it.

We made it to the top of the stairs in no time at all thanks to Twilight using her reverse gravity spell. We soon found ourselves at the top of the stairs with a strong wind blowing. I looked around and then down to see all of the Crystal Empire. We were at the very top of the crystal Palace. My eyes came to rest on a black crystal statue of a beautiful unicorn mare who had a look of sorrow on her face. I noticed floating above her focus crystal was the Crystal Heart I saw
Twilight staring at it too and then she looked at me with a smile on her face.

There was a sudden shockwave causing us to hit our knees. I got to my feet and looked out the nearest window to see what looked like Asta but in some kind of new powered-up form facing off with who I assume is King Sombra.

“Twilight, you better get the Heart.” I looked over to see she was doing just that. She plucked the Crystal Heart from its perch but then a strange alarm sounded. Twilight was then surrounded by a cage of black crystal on all sides. She tried to teleport out but as quickly as she was out dark magic pulled her back in.

“How could I be so stupid. I should’ve known there was going to be a boobie trap,” Twilight explained in a worried tone.

“Come on Twilight. You need to get out of there and get the Heart to Cadance,” I looked on as she continued to try and get out of the trap. “Sombra is already here and who knows how much longer Asta can hold him off.” There was a loud boom and the whole tower shook.

“You’ll have to take the Crystal Heart to every one Spike, “ Twilight explained hastily. “There’s not enough time for me to get out.”

“But-”

“I believe in you Spike, now go!” She exclaimed.

I grabbed the Heart and pulled out my Grimoire. “Emerald Flame Magic: Dragon’s Wings.” Green flames erupted from my back and took the form of draconic wings. I flew down to meet up with others.

“Everyone,” I called out causing them to look up at me. I then saw Sombra headed my way.

“That’s mine!” He yelled as he was riding a black crystal.

“No, it’s not,” I dove past him to the others landing next to Cadance. “The Heart your Highness.”

“MINE!” Sombra roared in anger as he came at us. Suddenly, Asta shot out of nowhere and grabbed him.

“No, you’re mine!” Asta yelled as he grabbed Sombra and held him back. “DO IT NOW!”

I held the Crystal Heart up to Cadance and as she touched it we were all engulfed in a bright light and the ponies of the Empire knelt down touching the and the light grew more intense until everything was white.

I heard Sombra yell out. “NOOOOOOOOO! IF i’M LOSING THIS BODY I’LL HAVE YOURS. ASATA!” I could just make out Sombra pull off his focus crystal and stab Asta in his right arm with it before he was burnt away.

As the light cleared we all looked as we were made of gemstone. I noticed Asta on the setting on the ground against the wall holding his arm blood coming from a circular wound but there was no crystal.

He smirked at me, “That bastard got one in on me just before he fried. Sorry guys but I’m tired and I need a nap. “ he passed out there on the spot as we all rushed to him. Shy used her healing on him to close his wound and then we took him to the hospital.

“We owe him big time now,” Dash commit.

Okay guys here's the next half of the Crystal Empire. Next chapter we get a special guest.