Crystal Symphony [CYOA]

“I’m…” you try to regain your composure as you strictly skim your hoof against the crystal surface of the pedestal’s basis, “Of course, your majesty.” You force yourself to take a bow of devotion and plea as you dust off the everlasting presence of his intimately eldritch touch and the cold, as if from the deepest pits of Tartarus itself, air that is surrounding him like an impenetrable and unreachable layer. “I thank you for your trust, this is my gift.”

The very vacuum around his body distorts and cracks reality as nods his head with an eerie and chaotic deformation; the slow gesture with which he does it is unfathomable with the actuality that is his fast and monumental speed. His gestures are akin to a jailed monstrosity trapped inside the carcass of pony’s body, he does not feel alive – even less than the last time you were forced to meet him. If you are to stand against him in battle, your chances are minimal.

You do not have to kill him in fair and noble combat however; it is not why you came all the way here for. You approach him closer and closer as you patiently attempt to look out for any type of his misjudgment and mistake. With every step you take, you dare to swift your attention from the supposed nightmare that is the eldritch only a few steps away from you as you heave the black canvas of your mind and engrave the bright, noxiously bright symbols of your spell. You constrain, like a wild predatory beast, the powerful and frenzied magic inside of you as can you can even fell the effect of your magical spell, with no way out, beginning to take shape inside of you.

When you lift off your veil, you awake to see and feel his cold and fiendish breath on your crystallized skin, despite the lack of rhyme or reason. It is then that you shove your head in his direction and let loose all of your tightly clutched magical illumination, the sphere of light exploding with the energy of a star. You can see him jolting his head in disgust and pain as you clutch the Crystal Heart closer to your chest as you immediately forecall yet another spell. With only a blink of a moment wasted, you shroud your entire body and the Crystal Heart with you in the mist of darkness; you take a leap of faith through Sombra as you shape-shift into a phantom of the shadows, the pedestal that is to bring the salvation and hope to the Crystal Empire just barely, only a couple of feet away from your touch.

However, with your spell still in power, you are stopped just a few inches away from the plinth; you are unable to place the artifact of love and hope; it is yet so close and yet so far. You detect your body being kept solidified in place by a grasp of ghastly and grotesque tentacles, like the claws and hooves and skeleton paws of hundreds of ghoul creatures, they crack and crush through your crystal flesh but in no way are they trying to kill you, as long as you do not make any kind of moves, with which, of course, you are unable to obey to. The king narrows his eyes and them, immediately, he jolts his head in the freakish and eldritch way only he is able to. After a grunt, he speaks out…

>Body Changes:
7% [-2] Alicorn ‘Dark’ Magic [Magic]
21% [+2] Volatile Arcane [Magic]
5% [-5] Velvet Jade [Crystal]
5% [-5] Crystallized Flesh ‘Foreign’ [Crystal]
26% [+10] Crystalline Debris [Damage]

“Color me surprised, color me impressed, you perfidious apprentice. It’s been three years and you have learned new tricks stranded in the body of my puppet; if there would be a time to thank me, the best moment would be now.”

“Ugh!” you grunt in a retort as you push and shove your body forward despite all the cracking and falling fragments.

“You don’t want to do this,” his whisper thunders with an uncanny and unreal loudness. His grin grows, “Do that, my treacherous apprentice, and I shall break her fragile neck. You do not want to be responsible for the death of the last “true” heir to the Crystal Throne and the only survivor of the Amore bloodline… or maybe you do not care for such trivialities? Will it be the life of anypony and the price of anything as long as you are able to defeat me, in the end?” As the hold of his alicorn magic tightens over the neck of the defenseless princess, he allows himself to release an unmoral and quiet laughter as he asks you, more in a jest than in a serious worry for his life: “Are you forgetting the place of weak in my world?! Have the cub grown some fangs, my unfaithful apprentice? Give. Me. The. Heart. Now.”

>What do you do now?

>>29862773
I'm pretty sure if we'll give him the Heart we all will be done for, and Cadenza will loose her head anyway. Prove Shadow King that we are now way stronger than we were back when we bowed to him, trembling in fear like a leaf before storm. Push forward, do it. If he will be defeated, world will be rebuilt.

>>29863588
>Wanting to kill the last bloodline of the amore.
I may not have a better idea, but you are really not that bring.
If we want to save the princess and place the crystal heart on the pedistal we need to make him lose his magic grip on amore. plus we can't rebuild a kingdom if there is no-one to rule it.

>>29863615
>we need to make him lose his magic grip on amore

And how are you going to achieve that, hmm? Besides, ever heard of electing a new ruler when the old bloodline is over?

>>29863625
yes and ever heard kingdom being destroyed after the old bloodline has vanish. And who is going to be the next ruler of the crystal empire?
We still have one more ace up our sleeve and that our lightning spell.

>>29863652
>implying we can Palpatine the fuck out of a living demon
Sure, you can try, I won't stop you, but please be prepared to just rush to the pedestal if things go south. We can't risk failure now.

>>29863663
Well if it work and the heart is on the pedestal, we need to kick his ass before he can kill off amore.

>>29863678
Then is is agreed? Lightning, rush if it doesn't work, then ass-whopping?

>>29863685
It's more like, Lighting, rush while he get his bearing straight, then ass-whopping.

>>29863697
If we'll rush anyway, I'm in. But there is one more thing. Should we actually wait for a while to see if remaining players will get their asses here?

>>29863708
I think we should wait, because there might be someone who can tell us that we are wrong.

Well... I have an update ready?

>>29864139
I am afraid.

>>29863708
>>29863724
That's assuming that he wouldn't just kill Amore the moment we tried anything. Still, it is better to have saved the world and lost Cadence than to lose both. Could always use TK to levitate the heart over.

I love you faggot so much for chosing to wai, you're the best.

>>29864151
he fuck is wai?
But I don't think we can TK the heart onto the pedestal over due to the fact that it's dark magic and sombre could of just grab it from our hooves even if he can.

>>29864195
True. I guess you both had it figured out then.

It's supposed to be "wait."

“You… You shall not get the Crystal Heart; I will not let you have the Crystal Heart, Sombra,” you tell him with a stumble as you stop struggling with his dark chains and then, grindingly, you slowly turn to face him, “If I give you the Crystal Heart everything is done for, you will be victorious. The Heart is the only thing that can stop you…”

“Do you… doubt me?” the King corks his eyebrow at you with a childish surprise, “Do you really think I will not slaughter her, my lawless apprentice? Are you saying that her life, or life of any other slaves in my domain, is worth sacrificing as long as it’s for the “greater good”? I am… impressed, you have grown. Do it, let me enjoy this exchange of vanity and life to the fullest! Prove me right, my perfidious apprentice; can you sacrifice it all for my defeat?”

“No,” you tell him in a whisper as you stand your ground with vigor of a horse. You allow the dark veil of your lifeblood to pull down the canvas of spell craft as you swiftly engrave the runic symbols of your most potent and most powerful of spells, “I will not let you do that either, Sombra.” You have to concentrate; you have to keep the leash on the primordial element of weather that is your lightning spell and force it to do what you say; you can’t allow it to spread and go on uncontrollable debauchery of death, harming the Princess Amore as well as the King.

You focus and constraint the swirling and streaming lifeblood of your body inside your soul until you can literally hear the cracking, bursting voltage of electricity attempting to escape out of your body – it only takes you a matter of seconds. You release the force of barely controllable lightning like a thunderous lightning cloud; it is abrupt enough to catch even Sombra off guard; he is forced to stumble back in a surprise when your spell rips through his shadows and ruptures through the air right towards him, like a demonic conglomerate of some sort of mythical, reality defying serpent and highly concentrated lightning bolt. You are barely able to keep your vision in the clear as you force yourself to take almost full control and utter constrict over your spell to keep it from spreading out like how it is originally suppose to work. Instead, you keep the sheer electrocuting magnitude of the spell in a single, linear motion until it hits the mark that is King Sombra himself. From the sound of the impact, the rumbling and thundering blast and the fact that Sombra is forced to let Amore free and ease your constrains just enough to have you break them ,you realize that even the King himself was not prepared for your secret, magical trick. Not yet.

>Body Changes:
6% [-1] Alicorn ‘Dark’ Magic [Magic]
22% [+1] Volatile Arcane [Magic]

“I see you have learned a new spell,” his hollow, empty voice whispers from the growing scarlet clouds, “I did not expect you to unlock the secrets of the Crystal Note; all it took for you is to die. We can try that again…” You do not have much time, if any. You strike your hoof against the vanishing shadows as you approach the pedestal and, without a single moment of doubt, you place the Crystal Heart upon it.

You feel a sudden, growing pain which feels like a hot fire that burns and turns your flesh into a rotten crisp, as the Heart finally jolts in motion. Slow, at first, it’s warm - painful to you - radiance gradually begins to spread all around it. However… you do not see a single change.

“The light… and the love of the Crystal Ponies… none of them realize what is going on; all of them are under his illusion and influence… And without their love and care the Crystal Heart is…” The Crystal Princess mutters through great effort as she winces in pain and jerks her head back in horror to where Sombra is supposed to be standing.

The King of Shadows picks himself up from the your powerful and deadly spell. With every step Sombra takes, you can see the cracks of his body widen up and grow, as if his flesh is nothing but a layer of a corpse; even part of his face, freshly electrocuted and outright burned, is quick to engulf in his pitch black flames and is quick to restore back to its usual, grotesque, yet at the same time uncannily royal, likeness. Sombra’s dark, and emotionally draining, fear inducing laughter echoes all around you as he strikes his hoof against the plateau with such strength and vigor, the ground trembles and the immediately becomes consumed in a wave upon wave of heavy and eldritch, black smog.

“Useless… It is useless, all of your efforts are fruitless – they were all in vain,” his fanged grin grows, “Tell me how it feels to be weak despite everything you went through? I really want to know; I will never understand this feeling.”

>What do you do now?

>>29864234
>inb4 nothing happens

>>29864246
No, we cannot give in to hopelessness. We need hope for the Heart to work, maybe even the hope of a dead mare. There's gotta be a way.

Despite all the power you have you are nothing Sombra. You would rule a kingdom of corpses and darkness. No chance for life or love. A world where ponies can live with their loved ones, their family, and simply be happy, that is why I continue!

>>29864246
Weak? There is always somepony stronger. Unlike you I'am not afraid of that anymore. What is even the point with being powerful if you don't have a purpose for it?

“Weak? Weaker than you, maybe, but there is always somepony stronger out there Sombra; I’m not afraid of this realization, I embrace it. I’ll never be the strongest, but I do not want to be. What you are trying to achieve is a world without loved ones, world without family happiness and joy. Despite all the power you have you are nothing but a terror Sombra that will rule the kingdom of corpses and darkness. What is even the point of it all without purpose?”

The King of Shadow pauses, he allows enough time for the clouds of red ash to settle and dramatically reveal his completely rejuvenated and regenerated body. In his empty and long, ghostly pause, you are not fast enough to realize or notice that his body has materialized right before you from the layer of shadows beneath your hooves; his original body soon disappears akin to a deceiving mirage. As the shadow paws slowly begin to intimately creep up your hooves and further, the King approaches the Crystal Heart. He does not even bother looking over you, instead, he tries to press his hooves and take the Crystal Heart from the centre of hope and love, where it belongs. As you prepare to scream and cast yet another spell in his direction to stop him, he jolts his hooves by his own accord.

He can’t take the Crystal Heart from its place on the pedestal; somehow, he’s unable to do it.

“I see,” he pauses, “Even though it is very, pitifully weak, there are still ponies here who believe in the power of love, friendship and kindness like the gullible sheep they are,” he whispers and turns his head at you, and then at the beaten and practically defeated, but still harshly breathing and struggling Princess of Love, “How... depressing.”

“Sombra,” you grind your head with growing vigour and hostility, “I won’t stop fighting you.”

“Your spell will not work on me the second time, my two-timing apprentice,” his cold voice echoes as he takes a step forward, “In fact, perhaps I should use it to break the chain of Amore’s deception once and for all, wouldn’t that be ironic?” Sombra looks away in a surprisingly unimpressed fashion and, after a short nod of his head, he follows, “The power to step over others in order to get what you need, it is the only thing you had over others, and now you are refusing to use your only strength, apprentice. Pitiful. Let me make it clear, as it seems you have forgotten it: weakness disgusts me. I will take on the crown and reshape the world in my true vision, and as the strongest of them all I shall be standing on top of it, rightfully and eternally. I will give ponies the chance to resist me, but I will not make it any clearer what the cost of it shall be. If they can, so be it. In my world, the only right will be strength.”

>What do you do now?

>>29864731
Why don't you crown the Crystal Heart then? Even in it's weakened state you can't touch it. It is by far more powerful than you are, even if that strength comes from others.
The only things I can think of is destroying the tower so Sombras gaze doesn't work, or letting them somehow notice that the Heart is on it's pedestal. Cast the light spell in the air to get their attention maybe?

>>29864731
Sounds like a nightmare. Play god just to watch civilization fight and die for your amusement and crush any who think of standing against you? That's sad. What's wrong with the world as it is enough to destroy it and remold it at any cost?

Guys, we need options on how to recharge the heart.

>>29864841
The only option to recharge the heart is to destroy the tower, but we got the bullshit king here and the princess.

>>29864832
Doesn't matter. Everyone is either brainwashed or have helmets.

>>29864832
>cast a light spell
>everyone is still brainwashed from the tower
What a waste of a spell.

>>29864846
>>29864886
>>29864947
So where going to do nothing and keep talking?

>>29864993
The only plan I have is grabbing the princess and head to the stupid tower to destroy it.

“Why don’t you take the Crystal Heart back, then? Do you lack the power to do so?” You ask him as you attempt to step over and shake off the tar that is his dark magic, “Even if it’s weakened, you can’t touch it. The Crystal Heart is an antithesis to everything you preach, Sombra: it is by far more powerful than you are, even if that strength comes from positive emotions of others.”

“That’s true,” he snarls and turns to face you, “Not for long, however, it is just a useless artifact without the ponies to support it. If those ponies are weak and fall by my hooves, then they and the Crystal Heart are weaker than me.”

“Your world is a nightmare, Sombra,” you continue as you prepare to draw the symbols upon the canvas of your imagination. Despite your concentration and readiness, you are mentally grasping for invisible air due to his eldritch and demonic presence, “You are doing all of this for your personal amusement – nothing less and nothing more, and you know it! What's wrong with the world as it is enough to destroy it and remold it at any cost?! Stop it!”

Unimpressed and apathetic, Sombra lazily takes a few steps away from you and the pedestal and turns his back to you. Despite this melancholic gesture, a skeleton claw made out of leaking black tar-like shadow raises out of the ground to grasp you by your throat, “It’s rotten, the ponies no longer fight and stand for themselves; they fell to the fake melancholy of happiness and joy that Celestia and every other Princess have promised them. I will not lie to them; I will not lie to my Equestrian slaves and subjects. What I say is what I mean, unfaithful apprentice.”

“Might makes right, the strong rule over the weak and anypony who is able to defeat me can bask in the glory and power that I have right now – it’s crystal clear and it’s real. The Princess of the Sun lied.”With that, he nods his head towards the sun. “Harmony, peace and love – none of that has aided her in her endeavor to stop me, she was powerless. She has attempted to put the veil of kindness over her subject’s eyes, but it always remained so.”
“Celestia allowed herself to be loved and triumphant but… she’s a hypocrite and a liar, apprentice, I do not see why you are unable to see it. The strength to wield the Elements of Harmony, the strength to banish her own sister to the moon and even the strength to turn a living and breathing unicorn into a hungering shadow and then imprison him for thousands of years… It was not love or care but her power that has helped her achieve this. Celestia, and Luna and Amore, made their subjects weak in their ignorance and dependence, nopony could ever stand to oppose them, not because they lacked the love and friendship of their kin, but because they were weak. I will not have my subjects and slaves be lied to, once again, I make it clear: if you are a disgusting maggot who is unable to oppose me it is not because you lack kinship and friends, devotion or care, no. It is simply because you are weak and pathetic.”

“You are… absolutely tyrannical; you are insane. You won’t be able to convince anypony in your overblown delusions, Sombra,” the Pegasus Princess speaks through her painfully grit teeth, “You do not understand that without those things ponies are nothing more than empty shadows, banshees. As long as you are standing, there will be ponies with hope in their mind and love in the hearts to stand against yo-”

“Enough of your foolishness,” Sombra materialized himself from the growing and everlasting shadows right in front of Cadenza as he picks her up by her neck and shoves his grim, hungering grimace right in her tattered face, “Your ancestor is no better, if not even worse, than Celestia herself. I hope you take it in that the grand legacy of your reign ends with a final chain link of failure and disappointment.” He pauses and take a long overlook over the entire crystal plateau - his hypnotized subjects are seen walking the empty, gray streets of his Empire, “On second thought,” he pauses in a discourteous and insultingly grave jest as he tilts his head first at yours and then Princes Amore’s direction, “I will allow your faithful subjects and close friends and relatives take your life instead, Mi Amore Cadenza.” With this, his horn overwhelms with a blistering, toxic flame of green and yellow as he raises it upwards.

Soon, all of the hypnotized ponies stop either on the ground or in mid air. As the “King’s Glare” bursts with an even greater and more potent power, so does Sombra’s control over his subjects. Soon, every single one of them turns on their mindless patrol and begins marching towards the Crystal Castle – towards you, Sombra and the Princess.

>What do you do now?

>>29865180
Shit.

Can we break free or run? We would have to destroy his glare to defeat him.

>>29865180
We got to protect the princess, the element of loyalty should be able to help us.

Sombra shares with you and the Pegasus princess a wicked and victorious smile as he takes an echoing step forward to casually and graciously, despite the reality breaking presence of his previously Tartarus imprisoned self, approach the Crystal Heart. Sombra stops at the very front of the pedestal to uncomplainingly, and even with some sort of wicked joy, await your defeat; in the far but quickly shrinking distance his low chuckle is followed disastrous and bloodcurdling monotone of hundreds of ponies marching towards your position. Your flame of hostility grows and blazes as you rush towards the groveling but struggling Princess to stand before her and his approaching army. You notice a sparkling amulet, the necklace of the Element of Loyalty, lying near barely breathing body of Gliding Wind; without a moment of hesitation, you grab the talisman into your hooves and pull it alongside your crystallized neck.

“Your struggle is formidable, my faithless apprentice. Formidable but, in the very end, it is a waste of time.”

“I made a promise to my friend on the way here, Sombra… The promise was that I won’t fail in stopping you.”

“Promises are meaningless,” he shakes his hoof in your direction in a lazy dismay, “Meaningless if you are not strong enough to keep them. A rabbit can promise another rabbit it won’t let a fox eat him, but he won’t be able to.”

“Loyalty goes a long way, Sombra,” you retort back as your crimson body begins radiating with a powerful, enchanting light and the remains of your Alicorn Magic empower in a glistering, stalwart fire, “No matter the cost.”

It is then, as if by the poetry of your ironical and self-dependant statement, that something unexpected happens. The vile and tyrannical glance of the giant eye starts disappearing behind the thick shadows of tall and powerful branches of evergreen; under the potent veil of the very antonym of the alicorn magic: the magic of ever-free nature. Before yours and Sombra’s eyes the bamboo-like trunks start growing from underneath the very edges of the “King’s Glare” tower, they grow so tall and thick that they soon completely surround the powerfully cursed eye in their Ent like clutches. Soon after, the entire tower is assaulted by all sorts of emerald vines, branches and thorns.

“Who…Who dares?!” Sombra’s voice echoes all through the Empire as he charges forward and begins disappearing into a shadow-like phantom, already in a prepare to engage the vigilante assaulting his towering creation. In his haste, he does not even realize that the ponies previously in his control are, once again, at loss…standing dead still.

>What do you do now?

I’m stopping here for today, will continue tomorrow. You guys are very slow but thanks for playing!

>>29866200
We're just scared to post. Plus I was busy.

>>29866200
We got ponies that will do anyone bidding. Quick command them to go close to the crystal heart and touch it.

>>29866200
Bearvalski!

>>29866200
Wake up sheeple! It's time for love, the love, happiness and all the good feelings that can free us all!
>>29866368
This is not good course of action. They must be free-willed for all this Crystal Heart bullshittery to be strong and meaningful. Can we free them?

>>29869623
I agree, we should try to wake them up while we have the chance.

>>29868030

“Bearwalski,” you whisper in delight and happiness as you grind your head to watch the quickly crumbling ebon tower succumbing to the overgrowing and lush green of the Oaken Bear Cub’s powers. Soon after, you notice a black hole appearing with a crushing cacophony out of thin air and from within it, a barely recognizable and disfigured shape of a Unicorn King that is Sombra; your friend bought you just enough time to act, you cannot waste it!

“Stand up, Princess Amore,” you nudge your crystal head under her neck in a supporting gesture as you attempt to help to recover and regain her composure, “Sombra will not be busy for long, we have to act now. Speak up.”

“I…I don’t know who you are but… thank you,” the voice of the Pegasus speaks out in a lowly and tired serenade, “You are right but, I don’t think they can hear me. Those helmets they wear, I know it blocks all of their thought.”

“Then we will concentrate on those who are not wearing the Fidelity Helmet first, Princess Amore. I will try to bring them as close as possible to the energies of the Crystal Heart but it is your love which must resonate in their heads loud enough to wake them up from their curse. I know it can work, they just have to experience and feel it, for real.”

“You… You are right,” Cadenza mutters under her breath as she takes a hostile and struggling stride forward, “I will speak out and preach of love and kindness until my dying breath.” With that, she approaches the pedestal and the Crystal Heart standing on the very center of it. She places her hoof on top of it. Soon after, a bright and luminous light begins flowing and slowly crystallizing her body and flesh as her eyes light up with the shine of the most luxurious, rare and magnificent of all gemstones. The Princess of the Crystal Empire spreads her wings, and so does she spreads her ever-glowing presence. With a painful grunt she jolts her head forward and start quietly humming.

“Come on you, move it, we are trying to save you,” your hollow crystallize voice grinds to a haul as you attempt to push one of standing ponies to follow in front of you, to not avail. Like ghouls with no purpose, those ponies that are corrupted by the gaze of King’s Glare stand unmoving. You try push and force them forward and, thanks to the help of the Element of Loyalty, you are able to do so easy enough, however, there is another problem. Those ponies who were cursed to wear the Helmet are not bond to the will of Sombra’s tower alone, but also his devilish armor piece. After a short and uncertain pause, they recover and, following his “glorious and grand” vision, they continue moving forward; bound by their curse, two of the visible Manehattan Vanguard members, are prepared to charge towards you.

>What do you do now?

>>29873656
Damn it all. Wait for the to charge before getting out of the way Toro style.

>>29873656
We should not worry about those Vanguard, yet. Keep pushing the pony to the heart.

You continue on your endeavor despite the fact that the half-machines of the Royal Hastiliarius are about to engage you in battle. You have no bones to break and no blood to spill; the most important thing now is to carry on as many deluded and corrupt ponies to the salvation that is the Crystal Heart as it is possible. You are forced to drag akin to some sort of indifferent flesh golems; they stand with a single response or movement to either you or King Sombra.

When the metal wings wielding ponies of Blackward’s Vanguard are just close enough to slam into you - their augmented hooves festooned with all sorts of sharp weaponry and horseshoes - you jump out of their way. One after another they keep interrupting and disturbing you, their numbers quickly growing from two to four an even more; and one after another you keep evading them with just any kind of recourse and barely any damage. While some of the heavily robotized ponies are quick to change their course and, with a single roll through the air, continue their attack, some of them are not so lucky and end up slamming into and through the pedestal with a heavy impact.

Once you manage to push enough ponies to the Crystal Heart and bask them in its supposedly warm and luminous light, you stop to shield them from the Fidelity Helmet wearing hostilities. Princess Cadenza gives you an accompanying nod of gratitude as she clears her through and, in a fashion similar to a sing-along, begins her speech:

“Dear and anxious ponies of the Crystal Empire, I ask you to stop and I beg you to be able to say no to him. I ask you to resist the violent and assaulting voice of the tyrant that is Sombra and speak out again him, I ask you to think of the grandiose of the Crystal Empire that is your home, of the smiling and giggling voices of your foals and loved ones, your friends and family. The Crystal Heart is here, am I here too – for you. Either Sombra falls today or his rule carries on until nothing but tinder and ash remains in the wake of cities and their citizen depends entirely on all of you!”

Certainly, it works; the glowing and spreading energy of the Crystal Heart grows in magnitude and volume and begins spreading not only though the rest of the plateau, but also the even further, seeping kindness and hope from under the center that is the Crystal Castle. As the corrupt green veil begins lifting off the eyes of the ponies standing right in front of the Crystal Heart, they begin waking up from their hallucinations. In shock, lost for words and even scared and chaotically unresponsive, all of them eventually stand still with a glooming shimmer in their crystal eyes.

“The Crystal Princess…” one of them mutters in insecurity as the others throw him, and then Princess Cadenza herself, a face of absolute shock and gratitude. With tears flowing down their cheeks, they kneel before her and allow their thank you and optimism stream towards her and the rest of the Empire. “We waited for so long…!”

You, on other hoof, do not feel the warmness or the happiness, the joy and love. Instead, under the glowing reflection of harmony you slowly begin to feel your dark magic weaken and the control you previously had over your body becoming a whirlpool of blurring madness. It is even more tangible than that, however, as you feel parts of your crystallized flesh cracking under the pressure of the Crystal Heart’s magic, and then slowly erupting into dozen of broken shards. The magic of the Crystal Heart is not welcoming you – no - instead, it opposes that what you are.

You feel a sudden, echoing fracture as a hoof one of the augmented ponies collides with the side of your back, sharp blade passes and then cuts through a huge chunk of your body like butter. Being too slow to respond, you are forced to grab the pony by his neck and then smash him right into the ground beneath you with all the power you have. As the ground begins cracking and loudly trembling from the impact of your attack, some of the ponies turn in their oblivious fear to look. You slowly grind your head to speak up, but you are interrupted when everything, every single flower and stalk and branch covering the King’s Glare, erupts into miasma and plasma of uncontrollable green fire.

>Body Changes:
02% [-3] Velvet Jade [Crystal]
00% [-5] Crystallized Flesh ‘Foreign’ [Crystal]
34% [+8] Crystalline Debris [Damage]

>What do you do now?

>>29875591
It doesn't matter, we can still stop him. Get more ponies the the heart, rally them! Tell them that by their hope and love we are already stronger than him! Do not fear!

>>29876244
We still have the ponies with the Fidelity Helmet on attacking us.

>>29876284
Fuck 'em. We'll deal with them as they come.

“I’m on your side,” you whisper through remorse as you bow your head in Princess Cadenza’s direction, “I am here to stop Sombra once and for all for the atrocities he has committed on the ponies like me and you! You do not need to be afraid of me, we have to stand together against Sombra; we have to stand and fight – please, stand up.”

The small number of the woke ponies exchange uncertain and unnerving glances as they take a step back away from you, practically hiding behind the beaten and barely strong enough to stand figure of Amore’s heir. If there’s a will or even a beating drum of strength in their hearts to stand for themselves and clash against Sombra’s might for their friends, it is only because Princess Amore is here – and not any other reason. That is fine, there must always be a reason, a cause for the ponies to stand behind; if the prophet of this reason is the heir of a throne – the better.

“She is right, ponies of the Crystal Empire,” Mi Amore Cadenza slowly nods her head in your direction as she turns to face the completely swallowed up, smoldering tower, “This might be our only chance, we must stand here and now!”

“I need their help to bring as many of the brainwashed ponies as close to the Crystal Heart as possible, Princess Amore,” you tell them straight as you, barely, avoid another assault of a duo of a Vanguard Soldier and Lunar Guard.

“That is enough!”Sombra’s booming voice erupts through the area as he swiftly emerges from underneath Amore’s hooves like the phantom of death – the Grim Reaper himself. Without a moment of hesitation, with an obvious hostility and tangible distaste, his dark and powerful magic surrounds the Princess in a charcoal aura and begins slowly smoldering her skin to some sick and disgusting merging of magma and flesh. The pain and sting are clearly visible on his face because of such a close proximity to the Crystal Heart. As the ponies that are no longer under his control exasperate and cry in gasping fear before the emergence of the tyrant, practically helpless to stop him, they cover and try to hide themselves. One of the ponies even tries to run away but is immediately stopped by his magic.

“Enough,” he whispers once more, this time more delicate as if he has the situation under his control. As he lifts the slowly deforming and quickly crystallizing and gagging silhouette of the Princess, he allows himself to turn to face you, “A surprising attack from an element of nature, my dear apprentice, I will admit of slightly underestimating you. You really prepared yourself, you really gave it all, you are honestly struggling, despite the fact that you are already dead, to stop me; it almost makes me want to take a pity on you and your friends, but that won’t be honest to me and my ambitions, neither will be it honest to you. I made a mistake, it won’t happen again. You might think that by taking out my tower that you somehow weakened me but… that is not true. The very sun itself is the surface of my power, my apprentice! As for you, the only reasonable and honest reward for you will be death. Stand yourself.”

>What do you do now?

>>29876881
Welp, I'm out of ideas. Anyone?

>>29877017
We can hit him with the beam from the element of loyalty, but that is all I got.

Also, last post for today. Thank you for playing. I intend to end it tomorrow so I hope you can join me then.

>>29877055
>I hope you can join me then
Your schedule is killing me.

>>29877368
Yeah I'm sorry man, wish I was American. It sucks to be a wage slave, as well.

>>29876881
Actually, I think fighting could encourage more ponies to take our side.

>>29878027

>>29881184

>>29883201

File: king_sombra.png (1MB, 779x1025px) Image search: [Google]

1MB, 779x1025px

Bump.

>>29885962

>>29887508

Fair Trade did nothing wrong.

>>29890368
Stick a cactus up yer arse, laddy.

“You speak of butchery and slaughter like you have the damn right to take the lives of anypony you desire,” you whisper in a barely audible monotone as you slowly take a step forward; the flames of his black fire can be felt ruthlessly caressing and visibly smoldering your body, “Your world and vision have nothing to do with the ponies who have the determination and strength to achieve great triumph; all this is about is the strong bullying the weak, isn’t it? I will… stop you,” subsequent to your voice, a bright spark reflects off the crystal surface of your necklace.

He raises his eyebrow in a grimaced and insulted surprise. Following a blinding and grotesque grin, he gives his awakened, trembling audience of crystal ponies a reminder of his despotism with a simplistic and crude chuckle. The King of the Shadows presses his hoof firmly against the swiftly petrified body of Princes Cadenza as he leisurely advances forward and shakes his head in a tired gesticulation, “How many of my subjects and soldiers have you injured on your way to reach me, my unfaithful apprentice? How many of them have you killed? Even in the front steps of your death you are denying the truth and lying; realize, apprentice, that I am correct and you are wrong.”

“Nopony wants to see the world you wish to “rebuild” from the ambers, Sombra – nopony, but you. I will stop you.”

“Then try, my faithless apprentice!” he taunts you with an insult leer as his horn immediately swallows up with a boiling toxicity of a livid and appalling ignition, “Make your resistance that much wonderful for me, do what you can do – do your best because no matter how hard you struggle, you won’t be able to stop me! I am stronger than you; I am stronger than every single one of you!” Sombra ends his boisterous exclamation with a demonic swing of his head as the eldritch energy escapes off his horn in a quickly growing and spreading form of a barrage of hellfire.

Despite your best efforts, you soon find yourself being surrounded in a literal encircle of Tartarus with no way out, the swiftly enclosing fire soon blacks out your vision of the clouded, orange sky and then, it completely swallows you in its absolute predatorily power. You push the black veil of your magic over your eyes as you attempt to concentrate and call out for the powers of your inner arcane blood to quickly find a way out before it is to late… however, you stop when you notice that something is not going in complete accordance to Sombra’s will. Instead, his black fire is being pushed away from you, like a thick layer of dust under a powerful and protective blast of airstream.

The Element of Loyalty upon your neck shines with a power and vigor you have never seen or even experienced before, its scarlet glow is unlike the eldritch and cold vividness of the alicorn magic either you or Sombra wield; instead, it shines with a crimson, harmonious reflection of warmth, courage, passion and, loyalty. The power of the Element of Harmony is enough to bash away the omnipotent spell of King Sombra in a way no other magic could. When the dark flames fades away into the bare air around you, you notice an armored and heavily bruised cerulian hoof holding in to the outer frame of your element. Gliding Wind, despite her injuries, is still able to breath and talk.

“I think that is mine,” the Initiate of Loyalty gives you a prideful and, despite the slightly present arrogance, jovial look, “Can you… give it back to me, crystal golem?” she clears her throat and, with a painful gesture, pushes her wings to assist her on slowly standing up without having to rely on your support, “Is… what I want to say but can’t, that would be irrational,” the beautiful mare gives you a melodramatic wink; soon after, she adjust her stance and completely stretches her wings in all their majestic and grandiose beauty. She picks up her helmet with a beautiful and simple, dancing motion and places it over her head. Once the helm is on her head, she turns to face the King.

You make a short and unnerving pause before you come to a decision to remove the element necklace from your neck and lower it to press it against Gliding Wind’s hoof. “It is even stronger when we both hold it,” you speak out.

She answers you with a short, prideful nod, “I acknowledge that you are correct, my golem comrade. Now then…”

“How could I forget the pathetic attempt of Celestia to oppose me and find the so-called Elements of Harmony…? The fact that the best she could find are those worthless “Initiates” confirms that there was no reason for me to even worry. How sad, Pegasus – you could have had a chance to survive and live if you simply pretended to be de-”

“Hey you, shut your trap, you despot!” Without any shroud of shame Verity interrupts Sombra in the middle of his monologue, “I know every single thing about being honest and even I can say that you are out of your bloody mind!”
The unicorn with the power to transmute metal joins your discussion uninvited, but you are happy regardless. As the Element of Honesty shimmers under the influence of her strength and the presence of the Crystal Heart and other two Elements nearby, she takes a long and deep breath and whistles out, “The spirits are unhappy with you.”

>>29891636
Sombra grimaces and strikes his hooves in a quickly growing arrogance and annoyance, “Another one?! I am more than certain I put the intention of slaughtering you behind my spell, how dare you still be standing?! …So that is it, I see… Of course, as inadequate and worthless as the Elements of Harmony are, they have somehow protected you from a killing blow… You make it increasingly hard not to wish to twirl and twist your entrails and intestines inside out here and now, worm!” subsequent to such declaration, Sombra cracks his head and once more, surrounds his horn in his sinister alicorn magic the boiling and toxic fire of which erupts into a noxious vortex made out of chaotic and extremely sharp winds. The tornado of shadow surrounds him; every single zephyr slashes through the plateau.

“You’re taking the concept of safe spaces too far, mister Sombra, see?” Calm and tranquil voice joins in, a voice of a Pegasus pony you have not meet or seen before. Wielding the indigo Element of Laughter, the yellowish mare has her eyes lessened and her lips broken into a large and soft smile. Her brown, short and somehow coltish mane is waved into a dozen of round orbs and on her neck, aside from the elemental collar she has also has a bigger bead necklace with different kind of tea leaves and barks inside of each of the beads. “Take a deep, calm breath, mister Sombra, see? There, that’s it, mister Sombra. Let us talk this over; I’m sure we can come to an agreeable soluti-”

Sombra reacts with a crude motion; his emotionless face is betrayed by restlessness and aggravated twitch of his eye. The King stands unimpressed, frustrated and angry; he is nearly ready to explode. Sombra gnaws his jagged teeth in a murmur as his red eyes completely succumb to the bright, green veil of his magic; the purple flames flicker and burn with an unstoppable force and vitality as he turns his head towards the Initiate of Laughter and with it he directs every single wind of his magical attack towards her.

>What do you do now?

>>29891646
Fucking charge to distract him.

>>29891646
He left himself open. Use the opportunity to rush him.

>>29891646
Holy fuck, oh my god!

We're going to Harmony blast Sombra... and Aurora is going to be the element of Loyalty! I'm fucking excited!

You use the possibility and moment you have been granted by the Lady Luck as you slam your hooves into the thick, fog-like layer beneath your hooves; the demonic smog withers under your touch and soon, starts vanishing. You leave the Element of Harmon in Gliding Wind’s hooves and under her assertive and faithful gaze, you make a mad dash towards the exposed side of Sombra. The gorgeous mare spreads her wings and, with a grandiose touch, she lifts herself into the air. The purple glows of her eyes flares up behind the visor of her helmet as she gently shifts her wings in your direction, her silent breeze swiftly turns into a colossal protective tornado that pushes Sombra’s dark magic even further away from the level high-layer of the Crystal Heart’s pedestal. With no opposition and no remorse your struggling but burning body reaches the Shadow King in a blink a moment as you swing your crystallized hoof right in his face. As your punch collides with the body of the Shadow King, you are able to hear a loud but, at the same time, deafening and slightly hollow collision. Your punch passes through as he turns to shade.

Meanwhile, the sharp winds of his alicorn magic are being pushed away and reflected by the current of the Element of Loyalty, and the dangerous gust that remains comes crushing down a massive metal wall transfigured and created by the highly powerful spell of Verity. Despite its best efforts, Sombra’s magic is unable to break or even cut through the metal of one of the Elements of Harmony, leaving nothing more than basic cracks and scratches on its surface.

“Thanks miss Verity. I did say you were the best, see?” the Pegasus mare speaks with a gentle smile as she nudges her head out behind the protective wall and gives her friend a nudge; no wait, she pushed leaves in her mouth.

“You have to learn to fight for yourself, Inner Tranquility!” Verity grumbles with a short aggravation as she spits out the leaves and shows the Pegasus her tongue, “We’re facing the evil incarnate here; raise a hoof for Goodness sake!”

“You know I hate fighting, as well as blood, see?” the Element of Laughter answers back with a gentle shrug.

“This… shouldn’t be happening,” Sombra’s demonic form emerges from the darkness of your shadows in shape of a massive colossus, only his putrid and zeal, green eyes visible and present. Every single one of you, including the Princess and now, slightly braver than before, citizens of the Crystal Empire, turns to face him. “You are… really trying your best to stop me, you maggots but I know as much as you that you don’t have all the Elements with you!”

“You lost Sombra, you have underestimated the ponies who oppose you – you’ve underestimated their friendship.”

“Lots of big words, abundance of overconfidence,” Sombra’s dark blood begins slowly dripping and leaking on top of the crystal floor as his massive figure ominously overhangs above you. The droplets sizzle and boil in some sort of possessed agony before his dark crystals emerge from them beneath you; several of them impale through your body and leave you with a massive chunk of your torso and leg, as well as that it highly damages your neck!!! Verity is able to guard most of her body with her magic while her comrade avoids the worst of it, she only injures her hoof; however, the moment Inner Tranquility notices fresh blood she nearly falls out cold. Gliding Wind is able to avoid the worst of Sombra’s attacks as well; however, she is in addition forced to dodge his tall shadow presence.

>Body Changes:
30% [-5] Dragon’s Blood [Crystal]
05% [+5] Dragon’s Blood Debris [Damage]
11% [-5] Crystallized Flesh [Crystal]
00% [-2] Velvet Jade [Crystal]
41% [+7] Crystalline Debris [Damage]

>>29893235

You experience a brilliant recollection. You are barely able to move your body with the crystal edge remaining pierced through you; you slowly grind your head. You covert a hollow smirk, “The Crystal Heart was created from the Fire of Friendship, Sombra – the Element of Magic and the Artifact of Love, they are both connected by us.”

“It… was?” Princess Cadenza’s voice echoes through her imprisonment as her melodic voice whispers, “Of course…”

“I know what you are going to say and you are correct, Sombra, we do miss some of the Elements of Harmony,” Verity says with a kind and gentle smile that immediately turns into one of merry enjoyment as she cracks her neck in a preparation, “All that means is that we will show you no generosity and no kindness; not today, you tyrant!”

“This is the end, Sombra.” you calmly shake your head, “You are going to die alone, all by yourself; like you deserve.”

The shadow of evil stands in silence, the only noise which surround him is the silent cracking of his void cloak and the booming and tenderly singing glow of the Crystal Heart. The pause is heavy and rash, however, his phantasm remains unmoving. Then, with a creepy and uncanny motion, it turns to face you and in his deep and empty, green eyes, you notice a putrid flare and nothing but malicious response. The toxic green layer of the sun begins to slowly melt off the surface of the star like some fresh, oil paint as his magic, once more, begins blistering with absolute power. Soon after, the entire circle of the pedestal turns pitch black, with crimson colors of bloodied and tarnished velvet, the ground slowly begins to shift beneath you with a rapid, chaotic coil. A flash of his green fire consumes everything in sight.

“I know you can feel the pain that the keeps growing with the power of the Crystal Heart, apprentice,” Sombra’s voice ricochets all around you with an eerie coldness and demonic echo, “You are going to die too, with me, once it is powerful enough. I know who you are, Aurora Flare – I know how you think. Those ponies do not deserve your sacrifice; your life is worth much more than theirs. Tell me, apprentice, why do those ponies deserve to continue on living when you are forced to die for their… frugality? You crawled and gasped for life, you clanged and fought your survival despite the diabolic odds everypony else, and I, have put against you. Do you care for them that much? – I don’t think you do. The ponies that only bask in friendship and love do not deserve to be happier than you. I won’t kill you; you have proven yourself worthy to be beside me. Surrender, give up and I’ll will let your friends survive.”

>What do you do now?

Good night for today.

>>29893239
I already tried living for myself once. I died scared and alone, loved or cared for by nobody. I... I have nothing else in this world for me, the best I can do is leave a better world behind for my friends. No Sombra, I will not give myself to you, not again.

Very impactful dialogue from the last ditch bargaining from the king. Nice writing, Vince.

>>29894782
I support this suggestion. We're a changed mare, shaped by the events we had to witness, by fight, by care, and by our love. We won't die alone and won't be forgotten again. The world you are offering to create is a dark, cruel place. We don't want to be a part of it.

I still thing Verity a shit, thou.

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

“…No,” you mutter in a silent monotone before you dare to stare into his pitch black eyes, “No, even if I have to die to stop you now and here… so be it. You are wrong Sombra, I am different now – a different mare. Three years ago, when you made me your apprentice, I ended up dying in utter wretchedness with nothing but my own empty ego and my hollow crystallized carcass. I died scared and alone, I was loved or cared for by nopony; but now, now it’s different. I am not alone now; I have friends who care for me, Sombra. They will remember me after I die, forever.”

“That is what you want to believe, faithless apprentice,” Sombra’s voice rings through the darkness that is surrounding you, “Years and years after your sacrifice will not only be forsaken, it will be worthless and futile! The only thing those ponies around you remember is fear and strength. You are a means to an end, just a useful tool.”

“I disagree, I’d rather have anypony but me live in a world free of your cruelty and tyranny than be the only one alive stuck in the dark and cruel place that is your vision of Equestria,” you hush with barely any strength left as your body trembles in agony once more, the power of the artifact strengthens. Sombra’s pitch black reality begins to die out as one after another ponies of the Crystal Empire light up from the energy of the Crystal Heart and push the darkness away from their hearts and their minds. Successively, akin to a guiding light, mares and stallions stand their ground and challenge the shadows head on, their bodies as bright as the stars. First a few, then a dozen and, in the end, hundreds of white beams emerge and soon completely destroy the presence that is Sombra’s dark magic. Cowering, even the shadows tremble and withdraw from the luminosity that is the all vigorous and all powerful Crystal Heart.

“Worms and maggots, you are going to suffer for this insolence. All of you – I will make all of you, your friends and closed one, your brothers and sisters, your fathers and mothers and everypony you care for, I will make them all , and you, pay!” Sombra’s voice hisses as his eldritch phantom form crumbles and gives way to his regular, stallion form. The King of Shadows lights up his horn in a desperate attempt to cast another spell but… falls short and fails as the remains of his alicorn magic wither away in a pathetic sight of dark green sparkles. Soon after, Sombra finds himself completely surrounded by a circle of his slaves and victims; there is nopony here who is left loyal to him.

It is time… You notice the freed princess Amore placing one of her wings upon the surface of the Crystal Heart, quickly transforming her into her true, majestic crystalline form. The energy of the heart surges and cracks the deep, dark layers of the Crystal Heart, releasing the brilliantly glowing and radiant semiprecious stones underneath it!

“No… No! I command you to stop! I order you to stop! Obey me, you slaves! I will not be dethroned!”

This is it, your last moment of existence – dying and refusing the offer of a dark and maleficent voice… once again.

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza turns to face you. With a soft smile and gleaming tearful she whispers, “Thank you.”

>What is there left to do?

>>29898016
Don't you dare forget me. Build me a statue with Golden Shield, Red Sulfur and Lunar Meridian. I couldn't have done it without them. Find Fair Trade there is something just as bad as Sombra inside of her, and I don't mean her foal.

>>29898629
That is really selfish what you post there, also we need to inform her about the warden tree needing help keeping the demons of tartatus from escaping.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ltt1-Mv0AbI

“Don’t you… forget about me,” you offer her a nod as your crystallized voice cracks under the influence of powerful and surprisingly hurtful and destructive influence of the Crystal Heart – it does not discriminate between either you or Sombra, as the tyrant himself is now kept nailed and bowed on his knees. The skin of the king cracks with an obnoxiously loud and painful noise and his lifeblood hisses and dematerializes into untainted and chaste, white light.
“I want the sacrifice of my friends to be remembered, Princess – and to never be forgotten. Give us a memorial, if you can,” your body lights up, it begins literally burning from within with an unimaginable and hardly passable agony. Your dark magic burns away and your crystallized body impetuously breaks into thousands of tiny splinters and fragments, there’s barely a layer, a crystal skeleton of your body present that is somehow able to hold all the pieces together. You have a couple of seconds, maybe more, before the magic of love and harmony destroys you.

“Golden Shield, Red Sulfur and Lunar Meridian – they are the ponies you should be forever grateful to, Princess! Be wary of the one they call Fair Trade – The Vizier. The powers of the Crystal Note and Sombra still linger inside of her! Assist the Oaken Bear cub and protect what remains of the Warden Tree, for it is the entrance into Tartarus! And…”

“I promise you, Aurora Flare,” Princess Amore gives you a royal and confident strike of her hoof against her chest.

“…Very well, I’m ready.” Are you? “Let the song of love spread all across Equestria, Princess.” You don’t want to go.

“This is not over yet, Cadenza! Aurora! I am the Eternal Sovereign! Bask in your pathetic little victory while you can!”

Yours and Sombra’s voice deafens under the dazzling tremble of the extraordinarily brilliant, sapphire flare-up. The blue radiance of the snowflake plateau soars through the streets, pathways and roads all over the Empire; the magic cleanses the streets of Sombra’s evil and vice, destroys his pillars, drives back the toxic orange veil of clouds and brings back life to every single tree it reaches. The Crystal Empire slowly recovers all of its, previously long forgotten, grandiose appearance. The concentrated blast, eventually, reaches and covers you and Sombra whole; you feel your physical form evaporating into a brightly glowing stardust and soon after, into nothingness. You see ashen white light shoot up from the castle's base to the top crystal; it fires a ribbon of magical energy into the sky that results in one final, ground-shaking blast of rainbow light above the empire that frees the skies of Sombra’s tyranny entirely.

The rainbow strip spreads out all across the sky like paint upon canvas until it forms into a beautiful aurora…

And then…

Nothing…

…

>Body Changes:
00% [-6] Alicorn ‘Dark’ Magic [Magic]
28% [+6] Volatile Arcane [Magic]
00% [-11] Crystallized Flesh ‘Foreign’ [Crystal]
00% [-5] Anadalite [Crystal]
57% [+16] Crystalline Debris [Damage]
01% [-29] Dragon’s Blood [Crystal]
34% [+29] Dragon’s Blood Debris [Damage]

File: The Aurora Borealis.jpg (304KB, 1920x1080px) Image search: [Google]

304KB, 1920x1080px

The End.

Thank you all for playing Crystal Symphony.

No, I'm sorry; that's not true. It's not really over just yet. A little bit more to follow tomorrow.

>>29899378
Still 1% of Dragon's Blood left hmmm...

>>29899609
It's going to be place in a statue of us, or we will just be a phantom of the Crystal Note.

>>29899378
Fukkin beautiful Vince.

>>29899378
I kinda regret not joining Somrero now. We ded, and I'm sad. Still a beautiful and glorious way to go. See you in pony heaven, Aurora Flare.

>>29900509
>I kinda regret not joining Somrero now.
I hope you're not serious.

The only thing I regret is not killing Trade.

>>29900797
Yah, we had a chance to get her and we blew it. I'm only half-serious, and I regret us dying more than anything.

>>29901525

*** *** ***

You find yourself standing on top of expensive, oaken stage flooring of an orchestra hall. Your head is turned towards an empty performance pit. With no pony in sight, an incredible amount of untouched musical instruments rests in utter, uncomfortable silence. The pit, the stage and the rest of the concert hall basks in the warm, azure light present that mirrors and shines the dawdling and almost nonexistent dust floating in the air. You blink and tighten your eyes as you accidently stumble forward and then, haphazardly drop your conducting baton on the uncannily clean floor. The echo of what should be a soundless collision echoes all across the concert hall and the auditorium.

The sudden and obnoxiously loud noise makes your heart jump and your ears deafen as your eyes inadvertently hop towards the elevated ceiling. There is no ceiling. To your astonishment on the usual place of the housetop you discover an infinite ethereal space full of stars and nebulae; an untouchable nexus of shining and shimmering galaxies and universes. The soaring, gilded pillars and even the ornamented walls crumble into tiny fragments which idealistically float in midair and even turn to blue stardust once they reach and touch the otherworldly layer of stars.

Clop. Clop. Clop. Clop...

You take notice and look behind your shoulder to the sudden, friendless applause resonating behind you; until this point you have been standing the way a conductor is suppose to – with your backside facing the audience hall and your front facing the rest of the orchestra. The auditorium stand almost explicably empty; entire screens and layers of soft, velvet seats lay in a ghostly silence. However, the loud ovation reveals a lonely, gray figure of a unicorn stallion in one of the far away seats of the audience room. Despite his normality, you are able to recognize... him.

“What a performance,” the voice of Sombra is surprisingly real tone and emotional – it’s lacking its usual coldness and hiss, “Well done, the martyr of the Crystal Empire. You must be so proud of defeating me; please, be proud.”

>What do you do now?

>>29905294
Why should I be proud of killing a husk of a stallion? I'am proud of my friends, for helping me despite the risk involved. All I did was repeat my sacrifice on a greater scale. I fail to see the greatness in murder.

>>29905294
What are you doing here?

“Why should I be proud, Sombra?” you ask him straight as you slowly turn a circle and make a silent approach the edge of the platform, “I’m not proud of killing you, an insane husk of a proper pony – there’s no glory in murder.”

The crownless king stands from his seat, a dismal vision and a reminder of his once grand throne, as he begins to step between the rows and lines of sits towards you, “You beaten me - you did not murder me,” he begins to speak after an eerie and silent pause, with the clop of his hooves and the breath of his nostrils being the only sound present for that eerie and dreadful moment, “The power of the Crystal Heart has destroyed us both – love can hurt.”

“I can’t believe you are saying this,” you grind your teeth in a quickly growing anger, “How can you even be so calm after being killed by me; no – how can you even be this tranquil after everything you did to the Crystal Empire?!”

“I did it for the greater good, for a stronger Equestria where everypony value and respect strength,” he continue speaking as he approaches the nearer rows and stops himself in front of the stage, “Be happy for your victory for it proves me and my vision correct – that as long as you are strong you can do anything, defeat and defend anything!”

“I’m not,” you tell him in a hush. Soon after, you shake your head at him and repeat it louder, “I’m not happy about my victory or your death, Sombra. I’m proud of my friends for helping me with this despite the risk involved.”

He snaps his head in silence and then, after an uncertain shake, his bares his fangs and smiles back at you, “I wonder how those ponies, your “friends”, are going to carry on living without have you to support them, to rely on you.”

“What… are you saying?” you stare him straight in his face; his deep amber eyes reflect your flesh appearance.

With an unimpressed gesticulation he simply shakes his head, “Just like the rest of Equestria without Celestia, so will your friends fall and succumb to their weakness without you, a strong pony, being there for them. The beasts and prisoners of Tartarus are already ravaging and destroying whatever they are able to see and touch – most of them are frivolous, volatile and very destructive monsters; those who are not are fiends, they could probably rival me.”

“I know that, releasing them is unforgivable!” you shout at him with a grudge, why are you and he even here.

“I freed them from their imprisonment because it was unjust and cruel, as it was the case for the torture that Celestia enforced upon me,” he says as he slowly raises his head at you, “And also because I am strong enough to overpower and stop them when I deem it necessary; without me, those beasts are free to reign without care.”

“You are as much as a monster as them… What are you doing here?”

He chuckles and lazily waves his tarnished, black skinned hoof in your direction; then, he raises it towards the star-filled nebula ceiling, “I’m here to say that you are denying and delaying the inevitable… Aurora Flare – that is your name, right?” He asks in uncaring ignorance, “Regardless, you are stuck here with me until the end of your existence. Eventually, the last of your memories will be consumed by this magical filled plane and with them, so will you and your essence; they will become one with the chaotic energy of the universe that is surrounding the two of us…”

>What do you do now?

>>29906113
How do you know that? I never heard of anypony coming back from the dead, not even you. If this is death, then how does a pony that is still having to die know so much about it?

>>29906113
We should continue to delay the inevitable.

>>29906113
I was hoping I would see Golden Shield again...

>>29909914

>>29906113
So is this like, antechamber to the afterlife? Isn't this supposed to be our personal experience, without the King's bullshittery spoiling it for us? Plus >>29906632 and >>29906823. Get out of our metaphoric head, you bastard.

What is this? A bump!

>>29910603
Eh, we're both dead. No use being angry at him now is there?

File: Ambassador Sombra.jpg (32KB, 564x646px) Image search: [Google]

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I'm here, I'm here, writting the update as we speak. This is how Sombra's appearance right now is, btw.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3e8Hp-zOJA

“How do I know that you are not lying – there’s no way you know anything about this! I never heard of anypony coming back from their grave, not even you! Is this death; is this either afterlife or purgatory?! Answer me, Sombra!”

The overthrown king shares with you an arrogant grin as he nonchalantly approaches one of the seats and places himself upon it; he gestures for you to join the place near him as he heedlessly waves his hoof. You refuse with a negative and rash shake of your head in retort towards which, Sombra simply sighs back. “We have a couple of moments or maybe a couple of infinities to spare – whenever you wish to join me or entertain me on the stage is your chose, faithless apprentice. Now, to say that I have no experienced death would be an outright lie, you.”

“What are you talking about?”

He bites his lower lip in a showcase of insult to your so-called arrogance, “How much more obvious must I make it? Did you dare to speak of my role in history without even knowing it? That is arrogant… very arrogant, my faithless apprentice. When I first succeeded in taking over the Crystal Empire from the ill-bred hooves of Amore, I was challenged by Celestia and her sister, Luna, for even daring to oppose their beliefs. I was weak - they defeated me.”

“I know that much, everypony in the Crystal Empire has been forced to live through your tyranny not only once but twice, Sombra! You were turned into shadow and jailed, but not before putting the Empire into a cursed slumber...!”

“For one thousand years…”

“For one thousand years,” you point and then shake your hoof at him with present hostility, “Exactly! The Empire and every one of us have existed outside of time, outside of Equestria! Thousands of years; gone in a single blink!”

“I wanted to keep my Crystal Empire and my subjects in perfect shape until I was strong enough to return. Unlike you and the rest of my subjects, I did not exist outside of time. I was turned into a hollow, a shade of my previous life, by the supremacy and combined power of the Princesses; I was executed, more or less. Think about it, dare not to deny it, what pony could survive and continue living after thousands of years of banishment with no water, food or daylight? Only a pony that is already dead. While the magic of Tartarus keeps one healthy without them having to sleep or eat, though always tired and hungry, my banishment was different. Instead of outright executing me and letting me rest, they instead chose to turn me into a suffering shadow and torture me for hundreds of years.”

“They… they must have had no other choice, you refused to cooperate and free the Empire willingly!”

“I don’t care for their reasoning,” he gnaws and snaps his teeth, “They are no benevolent rulers, they are as good, or as bad, as me – only those who dare to oppose them and their ideology are able to see through their deception. Deep beneath the crust of the arctic, frozen north I waited, I improved my dark magic and bide my time until I the Crystal Empire, my empire, has returned. With her own sister banished for disagreeing with her rule and with the Element of Harmony weakened and useless, Celestia was unable to stop me once again. She paid for her recklessness.”

“To fulfill my destiny and rebirth Equestria in my image from the crimson ash, I searched and eventually found the gateway to Tartarus, only to face and be defeated by its guardian dog – Garmr; of course, I laid the killing blow but was unable to protect myself from its breath. Did you know that every hour in Tartarus feels like centuries of torment, each? With no body or form, I was forced to pace the prison of souls mindlessly for two years in reality that felt like a never endless lifetime? However, that did not stop me. I meet other prisoners, made arrangements...”

“What… are you even trying to say here, Sombra? I do not feel sorry for you, not one bit.”

“I do not want your pity; it is I who pity you for being so ignorant. Nevertheless,” he pauses and crosses his hooves over his chest, “This is not afterlife, neither is this hell or heaven – you and me are already dead and there’s nothing for ponies to experience once their rotten bodies are placed inside the coffins. This is the magical nexus, the milieu and matrix of all manners of magic, its primordial form. You have caught a glimpse of it before, I know – so have I… The Crystal Note is the key to its unlimited magic, but it is only a small window – this is how it looks up close and personal. You are just a miasma of magic with a memory of Aurora Flare, and what you see here is all you remember; so it the case for me, although I prefer to keep my memories small and personally. Eventually, this room will disappear, then the memory of your own body, then the memory of your voice and eventually – you yourself.”

“Me – you say this as if it of no concern of yours, are you preparing to return back? Why you think you are able to?”

“I’ve told you before, did I not? I won’t stop crawling through dirt and destiny until I am victorious; even if I fall or is defeater or am killed, I will not stop. I will return, knowledgeable of my mistakes and more powerful than before, my ambitions and my dreams will not be clenched or dried until the world I wish to create stands before my eyes. This is why I am still alive despite everything that has happened to me; this is what separates me from the rest of weaklings and worms and maggots who only know how to tremble and cry. You are admirable; you do not have this devotion.”

>What do you do now?

>>29912690
Choke him.

>>29912690
No. I won't let you. If you return I will be there to stop you. If you can come back then why can't I?

>>29912857
There's no point. Let's just calm down, I don't want Sombra to get to us so badly. Though he kinda is.

“I’m fighting an urge to choke you here and now, Sombra,” you exclaim as you raise your trembling hooves.

“I do not think you are listening,” he slowly raises his eyebrow and leans forward; his front hooves fall upon his knees as he continues speaking, “I’m already dead, so are you. Choking would be unreasonable and useless.”

“I know, I don’t care, Sombra; I want to choke and gag you regardless – you sicken me.”

“Are you purposefully ignoring me just to keep your narrative, Aurora Flare?” he asks you as he shakes his head and sighs, “If there’s anything I’m not - it is a liar, my faithless apprentice. This is how it happened and what brought this course of destiny into motion. Many have tried to stop me, including you but, in the end, my resolve is inevitable.”

You strike your hoof against the wooden surface, “I will be there to stop you, then – every time you return I am going to be there to challenge you.” You pause and catch your breath, you hiss and exhale through your teeth, “And if by some miracle I am not there, there will be ponies that will rise to the occasion and stop you and others like you. If you can come back then… why can't I? I’m going to do it the same way you think you will!”

“Will you?” he asks you simply without any kind of interest or emotion behind his voice.

“What?”

“Do you want to fight and hold on to the red string of faith to be able to have a chance to come back? Do you really?” His red eyes bury themselves into your heart, “You will not be living in your imaginary memories, and you will be fighting every second and moment to hold down to what you think you know. You will doubt and questioning your own memory, praying for the pain of loss to fade away. Nothing but the star nebulae will exist around you, and eventually you will become a part of the nebulae struggling every living second to be separated. And maybe, eventually, after a couple of years or maybe centuries your magic will be able to escape from here… if you still have a part of you left in Equestria, and if not, you might be struggling forever. What is holding you so much to that life?”

>What do you do now?

>>29913217
Protecting my friends and getting Fair Trade. I want revenge, or at least justice. I need to make sure she pays for her crimes and that the evil inside of her is being dealt with.
When they won't be able to deal with tartarus or your return, i will be there to help.

>>29913217
My friends, my friends and to stop you. Even if Celestia is a tyrant she is much more favorable ruler than you. You've taken so much away from good ponies. Their homes, their friends, their families, and their lives. Your took it all from me and I won't let you take any more!!

You pause as you look at your yellowish hooves in a perplexing and uncertain silence; you feel his judging glare upon yourself. How dare he judge you? “I want revenge and I want justice, Sombra,” you begin as you slowly pick up the baton and unhurriedly and carefully begin to twist it in your hoof, “Fair Trade still has the phantom of the Crystal Note inside of her, as you are more than certainly aware of, and it’s bidding its time when it can be free. I do now know what horrors and damage Winter Solstice will unleash when he’s freed, but I would rather be there to stop it.”

“I almost forgot about yet another problem left wide open because you got rid of me,” he chuckles back at you.

“I also have friends and my father, unlike you I have ponies that are sad about my death and I… don’t want them to be sad if I can help it, Sombra. You… Most of all, I’m going to make sure I come back to stop you. You admit plain and flat that you will never stop your tyrannical reign as long as you can help it, all for the sake of tomorrow where ponies and their lives are worth less than old cattle or weed. Even if Celestia is a tyrant, even if she spoke lies from time to time… she is a much more favorable ruler than you; the ponies under her shared happiness with their relatives, they had hope, loyal friends. They might not have been strong, but their lives were filled with significance!”

“It means nothing when they cannot protect what is dear to them once their “armor” is gone, faithless apprentice.”

“I’ve heard enough, now you listen here,” you point the baton in his direction menacingly as he cocks his head at you with a weak astonish and curiosity, “You took everything from those ponies and… I… I won’t let you take any more.”

“What a declaration,” he leans his head back into the velvet cushion and narrows his eyes in a nonchalant and joking manner, as if completely unimpressed, “It would be… out of the ordinary if you do manage to survive this. I though me making you my apprentice and then using you as a golem was a mistake on my own part but perhaps, it was another joust of the universe at me. Hm,” he rubs his chin and nods, “I want more ponies like you in my world…”

“I’m not going to let you create your world, Sombra.”

“This could be the birth of a beautiful rivalry.”

“I’m not going to be your rival or your warlock or even your murderer, Sombra. I am going to be your warden.”

“It seems we have much more in common than I thought, and more than you think,” You are able to hear his voice resonate with an echo yet, to your surprise, his body appears invisible, “I will not be careless again. Enjoy yourself.”

And with that, you find yourself desolated and alone inside the orchestral hall of your memory. You take silent steps off the stage and approach the pit of desolated and forgotten musical instruments. You take a deep breath and look around you as if in an excuse. Soon afterwards, you approach the heavy, metal conducting stance and, with a gentle motion, you strike your baton against its edges. As you follow a swing of a melody and a silent command, you leave the baton on top of the stand and silently gallop towards the largest instrument on this stage, the double bass. You keep your eyes shut you press and push your hooves against the brazen bronze strings dragging a heavy melody...

It is settled. You will keep your sanity and reminiscence for as long as it will be required of you– even if it means performing thousands and thousands of symphonies all by yourself. You will be the bass player, the harp player the violin and clarinet player. You will play the trumpets and horns, the tubular bells and gongs, the drums and xylophones – all by yourself. You will be the conductor and the rest of the instrumental ensemble – all by yourself.

You will do whatever it takes to cling to the memory that is you.

Your name is Aurora Flare, you will remember it, and this… is your crystal symphony.

*** *** ***

How long has it been: Hours, days, weeks, years? – You do not know. Eventually, even your visions have lost their meaning as the only thing you could concentrate was your own imagination, for you have refused to stare into the stardust abyss and be consumed by its magical void. Stranded in the pitch darkness, remembering the placement and the sound of each musical instrument by memory, you kept playing all the symphonies you could until you were forced to compose your own – a talent you did not even knew you had. Of course, you do not realize as one darkness replaces another, however, the unexpected and sudden presence of an alien voice and noise awakes you.

“My dear ponies, mares and stallions – fillies and colts, we are gathered here today to pay our tribute and respect…”

You open your eyes to find yourself trapped inside pitch blackness – what are they saying? Where is the voice coming from? Your grunt and shiver until you are able to hear and feel a frail and weak crack. Despite the ever-present pain and disheveled mix of memories, dreams and realities, you concentrate and allow the little speak of magic that you have and are able to control to slowly begin to seep all the way across and through your prison…

>Body Composition:
[Crystal] 01% Dragon’s Blood
[Crystal] 90% Fluorspar
[Metal] 08% White Gold
[Magic] 01% Alicorn ‘Dark’ Magic

“…In our darkest hour, they took great risk to serve under Sombra to recover and bring back the Crystal Heart…”

You see a layer of marble fall from the veil of your eyes as your ebonite irises flash with an alicorn spark; it slowly reveals the world you thought was lost – but never lost hope. As the presence of your dark magic grows, and the control you have over this strange new body empowers you, you are finally able to calm yourself and take a silent look around you. You are a statue – of course you are – which stands on top of a tall, broad, square stone platform. You are located inside a beautiful, crystal garden that is now, it seems, acting as a remembrance graveyard. Aside from regular tombstones and gravestones, there are also countless unmoving crystal golems present here…

“I present this memorial sculpture to the deceased memory of Aurora Fla-” Cadenza’s voice drops in distress.

You nudge your head first and slowly move your body forward. You break off the captivity of the marble.

“That statue is… moving!” you hear and then spot a figure of a wavering and shaking filly as the crowd gathering of more than hundreds of ponies looks upon your clandestine figure in shock and alarm as they run away in panic.

You wake up. You feel a cold, shuddering wind passing by your… skin. It is painful, but not harmful. Not yet...

>The End.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQI55OdQxso

There is a long epilogue to follow tomorrow but aside from that, that's it. Thank you all for playing. It might be best to wait for the episode but if you have any comments do share.

>>29914284
Can we still suggest things during the epilogue or is it greentext only?

>>29914331
Only text, sadly.

>>29914284
I really am speechless. Not sure how to feel after a journey that took about two years including CW. It's bittersweet and I had wished better for Aurora but I guess it just shows that there's more for her. Also,
>I'm not going to be your rival or your warlock or even your murderer, Sombra. I am going to be your warden.
Fucking beautiful.

One thing that scares me though, is "The Crystalling" have importance to what happens next? Because I stopped watching the show long ago. Finally, is the epilouge going to be about what happened after Aurora died?

>>29914440
>is "The Crystalling" have importance to what happens next?
No, it's just mildly Crystal Empire related and using the regular ending theme felt weird.

>Finally, is the epilouge going to be about what happened after Aurora died?
It will be about the current status of Equestria after Sombra has been defeated and the time that has passed since Aurora's death.

beep boop

buda beem boom

Crystal Symphony Epilogue:
https://pastebin.com/raw/qx0xgAzC

>>29918615
yes thank

>>29918615
>But that's another story, for another time.
I really hope you actually want/plan to continue this further someday, and don't just toy with my heart. Really rooting for Aurora, she is easily one of my favourite characters in cyoa history.

Two weeks have passed since the day Sombra’s tyrannical reign had ended and the Crystal Heart had been reclaimed and brought back to its rightful place. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza had ascended the throne and had been coronated as the sole sovereign of the Crystal Empire under the applause, cheers and relief of everypony in the Crystal Empire.

In the absence of the banished and entrapped Princess Celestia, with nopony else for days to rule the ponies in her steed, her nephew prince Blueblood took on the crown and sovereignty of Canterlot; he did so by laying a slaying blow to one of the Tartarus monsters: Argos - a massive mastodon-creature with hundred eyes – who was previously stopped and defeated by Celestia when he made an attempt to lay siege to Canterlot after Sombra had freed him.

Prince Blueblood made a single effort to free his aunt from her imprisonment but the petite amount of forces he had gathered and sent were heavily injured and were unable to break through the Frozen North barrier. It was clear that Princess Celestia is unable to gather enough magical power to leave her imprisonment alone while also continuing to rise and control the sun and the moon. Despite the cycle, ponies realized that days grew shorter and nights longer.

Both Typhos - a massive wendigo that made Cloudsdale its lair - and Karkinos - an uncontrollable celestial cancer that started terrorizing the Horseshoe Bay and the rest of the Celestia Sea – remained undefeated. Cloudsdale Refugees Forces Supreme Commander Spitfire, Air Colonel Rainbow Dash and the newly appointed Initiate of Kindness Soarin made their sanctuary and center on the cliffs of Neighagra Falls. Typhos proved to be a powerful and illusive beast and the Pegasi ended up struggling for their home in the sky. Under the command of Fillydelphia Forces Commander Slate Fire, Rock Troopers Chief Cloud Quartz and the Baltimare Forces High Officer Merryland, their combined armed forces have been raging battle and defending against the unpredictable attacks of Karkinos every single day.

Prince Blueblood and the rest of the United Equestria Officer Circle had forced Cadenza to put every previous member of Sombra’s Royalty through individual hearing and tribunal, in exchange of freeing the captured subjects of war from their current imprisonment on “Cloud Nine”. The most influential and infamous of them all – the Royal Vizier Fair Trade and the Royal Overseer Acid Trust, have went missing. Under the rule of the tribunal a bounty had been put on their head and both the forces of Canterlot and Crystal Empire have been heavily mobilized to find them. To avoid full fledge panic Red Sulfur and Princess Cadenza have decided to keep Solstice’s deal undisclosed.

For their deeds in helping to secure the safety of the Crystal Empire and the rest of Equestria and brining the end to Sombra both Red Sulfur, as the Royal Enchanter, and Lunar Meridian, as a Royal Agent, along with her people, have been pardoned for their crimes. Ginger Spice and Golden Shield have been freed from their charges and allegations past their demise; although Prince Blueblood had refused to peace his memory for heavily harming Princess Celestia. The Royal Supplier Beetroot Sugar and the Royal Sculptor Petroglyph have been given a light sentence of five years working and assisting with their previously knowledge the rest of Equestria with their rebuilding efforts. Apprentice of the Royal Sculptor La Mazza have been reunited with her family, the court had refused to incriminate against her.

Red Sulfur had given up the Crystal Note to Princess Cadenza under her security and protection. Red Sulfur, using his newly appointed position as the Crystal Empire’s Alchemist, and the assistance of both his Quartz Eye “Spectra” and the Ring of Destiny, had been spending all of his time in the alchemist chamber of his deceased master working on cures and crystal wonders to assist the rest of Equestria in its restoration. Despite Cadenzas arguments, Red Sulfur insured and insisted that he was going to develop a way for free Fair Trade of the phantom in her soul without harming her foal, find a way to speed up the recovery of the Warden Tree, discover a remedy to break through the Frozen North and nullify the effect of the draining crystals to free Princess Celestia. Assisting the Wizardy Division of Equestria, Red Sulfur and the gifted unicorns had managed to develop a way to break the defensive curse on the Fidelity Helmet and finally free those under Sombra’s corruption from his plague.

However, the damage the Fidelity Helmet did to a pony differentiated and varied from one pony to another; some were able to recover only after a couple of days while the others were left traumatized, upset and shocked; Princess Mi Amore Cadenza has ensured that those who suffered through the trauma would get the required medical assistance.

The majority of the Manehattan Vanguard ponies, however, were left heavily scathed, their bodies harmed and destroyed beyond any grotesque possibility to make way for cold metal tubs and misshapen clockwork. Suffering to live the rest of their lives as only just barely living ponies, the soldiers of the Manehattan Vanguard did not take their awakening as calmly as it was anticipated and hoped for; eventually, chaos broke out in the streets of Manehattan and the Royal Hastiliarius Blackward had been captured and publically and painfully stripped of all his clockwork mechanizations with just barely enough of his head and torso and automations left to let him survive and breath.

Blackward has been delivered to the court in his handicapped form. Despite the fact of crippling nature and the lynch justice of the ponies of Manehattan, or in addition to it, the verdict was to imprison Blackward for his crimes and transgressions against the ponies under his care, and the offenses of war, for ten years on the highest levels of “Cloud Nine”. On other hoof, in a bizarre and nonchalant attitude and a refusal to work to repair the relationship between the Crystal Empire and the rest of Equestria and rebuild what was destroyed under her, the Royal Strategist Quoits Clover had been sentenced for five years. She was happy she could keep Blackward some kind of company.

Despite his record and loyalty to the previous king, Mudbrick was the first to betray Sombra and personally pledge his allegiance and bow his head to the Crystal Princess. In the tribunal it was settled that Mudbrick is to receive the same sentence as Beetroot Sugar and Petroglyph, five years of assistance; unlike them, Mudbrick was the only pony aside from Red Sulfur who was allowed to keep his rank and stay under Princess’ side. Mi Amore Cadenza had insisted that his fear of miscalculations and serious and perceptive attitude would be of help to the Crystal Empire.

As for Lunar Meridian, nopony have been able to see her after the tribunal that she reluctantly agreed to face; in a showmanship of challenge more than anything else. After the battle for the Crystal Empire the Lunar Guard isolated themselves in the deep and dark forests of the Hollow Shades and had refused to speak or face anypony who made a diplomacy attempt. Those ponies that were able to enter the bat pony forest were forced to either flee in fear or travel for days to no end until they either left by their own decision or fell out cold and found themselves outside. Rumors spread that Lunar Guard await the day the powers of Celestia grow weak enough to allow the stars to aid Nightmare Moon to overpower her sister and escape from her banishment and finally bring back the Eternal Night.

With no Celestia to guide them, the Elements of Harmony have been forced to face and embrace their destiny alone. Promoted to full fledge Elements of Harmony after the battle for the Crystal Empire, Verity and Inner Tranquility and Gliding Wind have been seeking the so-called spark of magic to use the power of the elements to banish the escaped prisoners of Tartarus and be prepared for Nightmare Moon’s return. Princess Cadenza has been given the Element of Magic, Soarin have been given the Element of Kindness and Scarab Amber was granted the Element of Generosity.

Princess Cadenza had granted previous members of the “Revolution Song” a medal of honor and devotion. Salt Sphere had promised to find and capture and bring his own sister to justice and to continue protecting the Crystal Empire from internal and external threats. Salt Sphere had turned the “Revolution Song” towards different goals and responsibilities, many of who have decided to follow him; even your friend Trampled Flower had joined the song to assist them on their mission. With that said and done, Nifty Ribbon left the “Revolution Song” and had joined the volunteer a cappella group instead. With entertainment and orchestras destroyed, she made sure that ponies will be able to hear songs and music regardless of the hard and difficult times. Who knew her talent was plainsong singing?

You were surprised to learn that Scarab Amber had been appointed a diplomat by the hoof of Celestia herself despite her quirks and age. After she had been appointed an Element of Harmony, Prince Blueblood had been unable to retire the filly from her position and instead send her and several other ponies to Yakyakistan to improve the relationship between them and his subjects. As for the other members, the griffins of Griffonstone have opened themselves up for diplomatic talks while the isolated dragons remain… isolated. News spread from the land of Zebrica of a freed warlord and a rare zebra unicorn - Abada - who had began taking over the guiltless villages under his tyrannical control with the power of his dark, blood magic.

Bearwalski had return to the ruins of the Warden Tree and had then replaced the previous garden spirit of the Tree with the help and assistance for the ponies of the Crystal Empire. With his power and vigor, Bearwalski was able to sprout the sights of the tree’s revitalization and mending in forms of flowers and vegetation.

Until the prisoners of Tartarus are brought back and imprisoned once again, Bearwalski left the gateway to Tartarus open and in wait. It will take a long time for the world of Equestria to heal but the sprouts are there, and the sunrise remains bright.

As for you… at first, your awakening caused a massive panic and terror through the streets of the Empire but, eventually, the ponies of the Crystal Empire had accepted a walking memory of tyranny strolling among them, as you were also their salvation. You were forced to face the tribunal because of your infamy as Royal Apprentice but, of course, you were forgiven and granted amnesty. Your friends were extremely happy to see you back and kicking, Trampled Flower and Scarab Amber had the biggest grins on their faces! Red Sulfur had changed but he also greeted you with a kind and respecting nod. As you were expecting, with your Dragon’s Blood organs destroyed by the blast of the Crystal Heart, Red Sulfur had made it clear that there was, sadly, no way for him to bring you back to flesh.

You made the journey to the Cloud Nine and have escorted your father back to the Crystal Empire and its medical quarters. To your heart retching disappointment, the might of the Fidelity Helmet had crushed the mind of your father and had turned him completely senile and frenzy. Northern Light was able to hold down to the memory of you and your mother and the time you three have spend together but because of this frenzy, he could not acknowledge you in the grotesque form that you were now and the hollow, unrecognizable voice you were stranded with…

When Soarin heard the news of your return he, and Spitfire, send you a letter for they were unable to leave their current mission of reclaiming Cloudsdale just to meet you. Soarin had promised you to secure tickets on the first row to his Wonderbolt Show when everything is said and done and they peace of Equestria is restored, to which you had answered that you will be waiting for it. You never saw a Wonderbolt Show before. Before her departure Scarab Amber had made you meet with her mother who thanked you for protecting her daughter and then, under the reminder of Scarab Amber, told you a fairy tale about an object you have forgot, a story of the Changeling Heart…

The story tells a tale of a changeling who once infiltrated a village under the command of her queen to feed on the love and emotions of others, but had eventually refused to leave. She spent her entire existence living the life of another pony, playing with a foal and loving the husband of another mare and eventually, on her dead bed, she had realized that she had been living not her own life, but the life of another pony. In her melancholy, her heart has crystallized and turned into a “Changeling Heart”, a magical amulet that allowed the wearer to take the form of the previous owner and remained on his or her neck until he or she were dead. It stole his or her identity and granted it to another wearer. The story then depicts several occasions and causes when the Changeling Heart had been used…

Perhaps, it is nothing but a fairy tale; perhaps, taking a form of another pony is despicable and wrong… however, this powerful magical artifact could be your only chance to be a pony of flesh and bones once more. It will not hurt to try.

But that's another story, for another time.

Total word count of CS+CW is 309,008.
The date of first CW quest is 2015-12-03.

>>29862712