Chapter 39: Fate’s Dark Confessions

Hope: Day 8
Nightfall: Day 22

Hope’s POV

The blizzard. Sweet Celestia. There was no end to it. The cold itself was just seeping through our thick cloaks we were all wearing. It was unbelievable. This was no ordinary snow storm. It was like piercing cold itself. Our group was taking turns enduring the incoming sides of it. Twilight had attempted anti weather magic but didn’t last 3 seconds. She just got tired re-casting each time. Celestia however succeeded in managing to make a heat-wave field with her magic. It really helped a lot.

The closer we got to the Crystal Empire. The darker and the more we all began to realise the very force we were all dealing with. The snow itself was thick and hard as brick ice. The trail we left behind vanished in seconds. It was pitch black and loud with thunder.

Trixie, unable to hold her magician hat as it got swept away. yelled barely enough for us to hear, “THIS IS SUICIDE!”

Finally reaching the entrance. Twilight shouted, “We have to find-” Then right in front of us, we heard a deep male voice through the storm, “My glorious pray.”

Twilight, finishing her line, “… King Sombra.”

We all turned towards the source and found a huge head formed of black and red smoke. Feeling the pressure of his mass, voice and the power of the weather he was conjuring, I spoke, “Holy… fuck…”

King Sombra then slowly began to morph, glowing with a crackling storm of red and black smoke, into an unicorn. He looked the same as Cocoon had shown last night, his body covered in cracks and his clothing partly ripped. King Sombra spoke with a grin, letting off the power with just his voice shaking the earth, as he took focus on the sisters, “It is nice to see thou both again.”

Celestia stared angrily, not taking her eyes of him for just a second and replied in frustration, “We have nothing more to say to you!”

King Sombra, walking to his right side, following the conversation on, “On the contrary, Celestia. I want to thank thou both for what thou and thy mother did for me.”

Most of us looked around at each other in confusion. The sisters must had just bite their lip as I’m sure I just saw their muscles twitched. Suggesting he just hit their nerves and they are holding back their temper. I hadn’t seen them react like this before.

I had no idea what was going on. However, unexpectedly. My best friend, Nightfall, blurted out, “So-… you’re the pony my Luna’s mother saved over a millennium ago?”

King Sombra turned towards him, growing silently in frustration, “And yet, those two couldn’t save my sibling!”

Celestia protested, “And yet- you hurt and slave other ponies, not only have you corrupted yourself in darkness over your selfishness.” She then shouted, “You not think everypony else has lives!?”

King Sombra, didn’t seem to like her reply. His eyes soon grew pale red as a red aura emitted and surrounded him from his chest. Revealing some sort of jewellery hanging there. Before we could say anything or react, Twilight shouted, “T-The Alicorn Amulet!”

King Sombra leaped into the air. Roaring and forming into a huge head shaped storm of darkness once again. He spoke in fury, shaking the earth with his powerful voice yet again, “That’s right. Soon, everything will be over!”

Quickly, fires started to burst from his darkness as he started to grow into a raging inferno of flames.

I growled in frustration and threw bolts of my lightning at the over-powering giant. Which in turn, smothering him in thousands of volts.

Trixie also started letting off blasts of magic energy, as so were the sisters. Celestia was using a powerful gold heat beam. Luna was using some kinda of blue concentrated beam that resembled ice.

Meanwhile. The Element Wielders began channelling their Elements. King Sombra could see what was coming and roared pushing us back with enhancing his flames, making them hotter and firing dark flamed streamed projectiles towards us.

Nightfall had managed to successfully manipulate many of the flame projectiles heading straight for us by sending them back at him with magic. Which in turn shielded us.

Just before he could engulf us to a fiery death. Well, the dragons probably survive since they can swim in larva. The Element Wielders fired their purifying rainbow light, pushing him back. All of us just managed to struggle counter him together, each of us groaning in the struggle.

King Sombra could only retaliate in fear, “No- no! RGHHH!”

Some more of his flames busted from his inferno. Some managing to hit us. One just scaring my chest and alighting it on fire which I quickly pat it out as another hits Rarity in her hind hoof causing her to roll in the air screaming in pain. Even one popping a hole through Pinkie’s mane.

Then suddenly, just before I thought we were about to own him. We all noticed a red barrier of magic forming from King Sombra. It grew like a huge bubble until it exploded, sending us back flying. He yelled out like a war cry and started to charge at us with frightening speed.

The sisters combined a spell to protect us in a barrier of their own but it slowly begin shattering. Celestia demanded, shouting and groaning at the struggle, “Everypony fall back now!”

Luna doing the same, “That’s thy orders!”

Everypony stared worriedly and realised they had no choice and began falling back through the storm to the train. Applejack picked up and carried Rarity with Spike running besides her worried.

I knew this was beyond my level- our level of opponent. I growled and kept sending surges of lightning as it did have an effect on him. Nightfall then shouted, “Hope, Fluttershy! She needs you! Like Luna needs me!”

He was right. But I do not like to stand down from a threatening enemy. Specially one that is evil and cruel as this. So just before I retreated with the other group. I turned and began charging everything I could muster. The storms in the sky were getting increasingly violent and the snow was melting under my hind paws, caused by the heat which was intensifying from the charge.

Then, not knowing how long I just been concentrating. I blasted and surprisingly stroke the dark unicorn with one huge massive bolt of lightning from the heavens above. Not only did I also smoother him in an area of white hot thunder. King Sombra could only yell in extreme pain and startle back as I meanwhile took the order and ran after the group, after near popping my ear drums.

While running. Last thing I heard was King Sombra threatening in rage, “RGHHH! THOU WILL SUFFER, LITTLE PUP!”

I just wanted to go back and finish where I started. But I knew I was not allowed so I just growled wildly running on all fours to the group while panting from a huge power drain.”

However. Things just got bad to worse. Right in front of me was a smoke figure of Fluttershy, staring aggressively at me. I knew well it was one of King Sombra’s dark magic illusions because obviously she had no scent like the real one.

I just blasted it away and carried on running. Although, more shadows of other friends kept appearing on the small journey. A dark male voice could be heard from them at the same time, all of them laughing.

---

Princess Celestia’s POV

I was just sick of King Sombra. Threatening to harm all the other ponies after he was spared from death a millennium before I had to banish my sister. Fear and hatred was all that was left in his heart. There was no need to hold back any more. I can’t let him harm the other ponies.

Just after Sombra had just yelled from Hope’s huge impressive attack and threatened him. He resumed his inferno rampage, trying to burn us to a crisp.

However, things had just got worse as huge pillars of black crystals started spiking up from the surface, trapping us inside a small area. Not only did he also just fired a red beam, a spell, to the sky. Creating a summon glyph.

I, Luna and Nightfall. Fearing and staring at what he just conjured above us. That glyph glowed a great red radiant, forming into what was known as a meteor.

The meteor was beyond our ability to dispel, since it was protected with his distorting dark magic, and it was heading our direction.

I, my sister and Nightfall were startled. The very weight of its power prevented us from even teleporting us to safety.

We could only begin panting in sweat and fear. Luckily, Luna then called to us with a plan, “We fly and cover from it just seconds it hits!”

Turning our focus back on King Sombra who was roaring and raging with his inferno. I began to realise that we all had managed to actually injure him somewhat since he was just struggling with just the three of us now. Before, we were struggling with everyone else here and the cracks on our barrier were repairing slowly. Still, we were being drained rapidly of all our strength.

Not long now before impact, with us all heavily drained mentally and physically from channelling our barrier, I yelled, “N-Now!”

Instantly. We all concentrated as one and pushed hard our magics at King Sombra, making our magic barrier explode the same way he did with the Elements’s beam. Which in turn, giving us the opportunity of stunning him for a few seconds as we turned and flew back over the black crystals surrounding us, retreating.

Looking besides us, me and my sister, just realising Nightfall wasn’t here with us. We both looked back over the snowy hill were we were taking cover and found he’s still back there. He was on the ground panting in sweat, too exhausted to even fly.

I stared frozen, not knowing what to do. My heart raced. I looked towards my sister as she was breathing heavily, holding out a hoof in his direction. I had no choice but to jump on top of her, pinning her down, before she could attempt to rescue him.

Luna, trying desperately in struggle to free her way out of my hold, trying in vain to fly to her loving stallion. The poor thing was sobbing in tears, my heart was aching from seeing her like this. She called to him, “Nightieee!”

But it was too late as he fell and rolled on to his back. Bracing himself, covering his face in defence. Soon after the meteor landed right on top of him with a huge thud, crushing him, as it exploded with volcanic rocks, larva and flames everywhere in miles. Me and my sister just dodged everything barely behind a weight of snow. Almost getting snowed in underneath.

King Sombra, regaining his stand at the entrance to the Crystal Empire. Kicked dirt mockingly at the location of the impact and broke out in laughter at his victory.

I could only bite my lip and snort at him in anger. However, I feared for my sister as I then look down at her and saw she was staring in the direction of where her recently wedded husband was last standing.

My sister, Princess Luna, was just shocked and devastated. Her eyes slowly began to water and pour with tears. No way he could had survived that rock. We both just couldn’t find him in the vicinity after hoping for some miracle. My sister, heartbroken, her breathing increased as she began sobbing into her hooves.

I, myself, look towards King Sombra who was still breaking out in laughter. I grit my teeth staring at him to the point I was close to snapping and shouted angrily, “What are you laughing at!?”

King Sombra, quieting down with his laughter, answered, “Hahaha, why, haha, I’m laughing at thy pathetic sister.”

I growl slightly, still shouting in frustration at him, “You have any idea what you had just did!?”

King Sombra growled slightly with a grin. A grin that anypony would want to hoof in the face. Even I was quite tempted, but I couldn’t since of my position in royalty. After he growled, he answered, “Hehe. Demonstrating the path I choose,” he turned his focus to my sister, “Do not worry, little Luna. Thy rodent can’t harm thou any more.”

Princess Luna groaned as she held her chest in hurt and spoke lowly, removing her hooves from her eyes and looking down sadly, “-e -s -ot.”

As I attempted to comfort my sister, in a hug, to lessen the hurt she was in. King Sombra, curious, asks her, “Pardon?”

My sister shot her head up, her eyes pulsing with magic. At the same time, I felt a strong magic aura radiating from her, as she busted out in her Royal Canterlot Voice, the power, just as mighty as the other night in the Throne Room in Canterlot, “WE SAID ‘HE IS NOT’!!!”

King Sombra was heavily fazed, startled in shock. I could tell he was not expecting such a mighty voice from my little sister, specially not one such as that.

My little sister, glaring at him in frustration, shouted again, “THOU DO NOT KNOW HIM!”

King Sombra growled in contempt as he re-engulfed himself in infernal flames and broke through the grounds, cracking the very earth open with volcanic flames bursting out and heading our way.

My sister’s magic had repelled me off. She was glowing a mix of black and blue. In her eyes, I could see the nightmare was awakening inside her again. She was in a phase where she’s herself and Nightmare Moon at the same time.

I attempted to hold her back and retreat with her before she loses herself, “Sister, please, don’t, come on.”

I was unable to hold her as she pushes me away and fires a powerfully concentrated black and blue beam at the ground where King Sombra was trailing his path of destruction. Thankfully, the spell formed into an exploding thick pillars of burning ice that made him yell in pain, holding him back for a moment. Luna had lost her temper as she fired multiple beams of exploding ice on him.

The ice however quickly started melting. No way I could leave her behind. Just before I attempted to use a spell. A miracle happened. Behind us was an army of changelings, all firing streams of green beams at the cracks on the ground where the ice had melted. Leading the changelings was Twilight Sparkle, Queen Chrysalis and her King.

The battlefield got chaotic as he retaliated, after roaring, by sending great swarms of trailing flames at us on the ground and above the cracks.

Over the hill with the royal changelings, something I would never would had guessed was happening. Princess Cadance and her Prince, Shining Armour, were both making love, kissing and caressing with cuddles, helping fuelling the changelings their power. I smile happily and whispered, “Oh Cadance and Shining Armour.”

Snapping out of my distraction. King Sombra roared again from the barrage of attacks, yelling, “IT’S NOT OVER!”

Then suddenly, under the cracks being covered in a barrage of changeling attacks, an explosion of darkness engulfed us all in the entire area. The changelings were stunned and struggling to barely attack because of it. However, surrounding us, where these illusions. Twilight asked in confusion, “What’s going on?”

I explained, “We are in King Sombra’s worse nightmare.”

The illusions started to manifest images of King Sombra’s dark and horrible past. In one area, we could see a past version of King Sombra holding the hoof of another pony. Presuming it’s his sister slowly dying before his eyes from the disease, in the Hospital Wing in the Crystal Empire.

Another area shows that fateful day, a millennium ago, in our Throne Room in Canterlot were he pleaded us for help.

Above us. We could see scenes of other ponies hating and taunting him, blaming him for her death.

At the side of us. The scene had fragments of a library. It looked as he was going through some spell books that’s radiating darkness. One book he focused on was titled “Forbidden Alchemy”.

In front of us. One illusion shows him getting kicked out the Crystal Empire. Behind that illusion though was a dark silhouette unicorn walking towards us. Which appeared to be King Sombra after he stepped through the illusion.

King Sombra, very frustrated, stared at us angrily and spoke, while red sparks were emitting form him, “Well now thou know. But thou all shall never leave alive.”

The surrounding area had gotten quite dark now. Just as King Sombra stepped forward, most of us took a step back. King Sombra grinned in triumph. However, he soon realised that red sparks started to admit from his chest chaotically as soon as he was just about to cast a spell.

King Sombra, turning his attention towards it. He stuttered, “What!? No, no!” after seeing that the Alicorn Amulet had been damaged somewhat from him being barraged of attacks.

As he attempts to take control of it from getting unstable. Soon the amulet however shattered into pieces, landing on the floor, in front of him.

He growled in frustration and turned his attention to us. For the first time, he knew he was the one in trouble now. But that didn’t stop him as he dived into the ground and came right for us after roaring.

This time, instead of trailing flames of destruction, he was violently making a path of black crystals, spiking out the ground like spike traps, and heading right for us. I snarled at him and then cast a spell that forced him out of the ground which in turn dispelled his dark crystals away.

Behind us, Twilight called, “Oh, King Sombra.”

When I looked back and checked, her and the element wielders had already began channelling the Elements of Harmony. Just as King Sombra was falling down, they fired their purifying rainbow towards him. He yelled, “NOOOOOOOOOO! RGHHH!!!”

He attempted to escape but it was too late. The elements power was already doing its work of purifying him. For one moment there, he stared blankly in a distance, like he was having an epiphany or was seeing something we couldn’t see.

Then something I never seen him do since over a millennium ago. He spoke silently as a tear flew down his cheek, “… Crystal…”

Soon his body started to look a lot cleaner and brighter. His eyes no longer emitting a dark aura. Then, his body started to fade away in a twirl of mini magic lights. The surrounding area of darkness and illusions began to subside. I spoke, after the sparks of light of him vanished, “I believe we had put an end to his suffering, not only his but everypony else’s.”

After the element wielders finished. They came towards me and Twilight Sparkle asked, “I don’t understand. What happened? What did we do to King Sombra?”

I began explaining, “The real King Sombra was never actually truly a King, nor did he really wanted to be one. But he was a part of the royal family in the Crystal Empire long ago. The part of him that wasn’t him, the corruption, made him seek power to become one. Those illusions we saw was his forgotten past. A past that made him what he became. Our mother gifted him with immortality long before that. But he suffered with the lost of his sister and the blames of her death. Just like our mother, he lost something. That something being the most important pony to him. He wanted to find a salvation, a release, from his torment so he thought using darkness to bring his sister back would solve everything. You six mares, with the changelings help forming an alliance, had put an end to the poor unicorn that had suffered long and hard for a millennium.”

Applejack asked, trying to grasp the contents of information, “So, Sombra was never a King eh?”

Twilight Sparkle, after summarizing, “If that’s true, he was… actually a nopony. The stories in the books about him were lies to make him seem bad. But the ones when he took the throne must be accurate.”

Hope then asked the Queen of the Changelings, Chrysalis, “One thing I never understood. From the crystal ball’s scenario. How come you didn’t betray us?”

Chrysalis explained, “Why you think I stayed behind, dears?”

Spike, who is currently sat on Twilight Sparkle’s back answered, “Oh, I know, So he couldn’t harm the Queen.”

Twilight Sparkle, agreeing, “That’s right, Spike. The mistake we would had made was bringing her to the front line.”

Twilight Sparkle then began to notice somepony was missing, “Wait… Where’s Night?”

Almost forgetting. Everypony and I look towards my sister. Everypony, noticing her expression of sorrow and looking down at the thick layers of snow below soon realised what had happened. I couldn’t help but think what we could had done differently to save her husband. My sister couldn’t hold back her emotions as she began to release tears. Nopony knew what to say. I could only sit beside her and hug her in comfort. I didn’t know what else I could do at this moment except apologise, “Sister, I’m… I’m so sorry.”

Princess Luna could only sob more and I could only comfort her by stroking her back. Eventually, she broke the hug and began to walk in the direction where the meteor caused its devastation and crushed the very pony she loved more than anything.

Once we got to the location. We noticed there was some thick blue-like magic mist. Luna, not sure but hoping stood in front of it and whispered, “… Nightie?”

The mist unexpectedly responded like it was alive since it moved. She gasped lightly and gently placed a hoof on top of it, hoping, “Nightie- are thou- are thou there?”

The mist responded by moving around in random poses. Princess Cadance who came by with her husband, Shining Amour, asked, “Is he still alive?”

Princess Luna responded smiling happily in relief, “He is- he’s still alive but… I don’t think he knows how to exit that form.”

My sister then leaned down and began channelling magic from her horn on to the mist. The mist responded as it started to radiate and slowly began forming into a shape of a creature. Eventually, it formed into the shape a pony, more specific an alicorn. She then began to struggle as she called out, sobbing a few tears, “Come on, Nightie, come back to me.”

After a moment. The mist subsided and formed into a pony. It was Nightfall. Nightfall had survived. For a moment, I thought our hope was lost as he collapsed and my sister cached him before he landed on the floor.

He silently spoke just audibly, before he fully passed out, “L-Luna…”

She sobbed into his coat and admitted, “My Nightie… I thought I lost thou…”

It looked like he was still breathing but was out cold from exhaustion. I smile and then slowly left him on to my sister’s back.

With only the silence of the cool winds blowing. The Changeling King spoke, “Guess everything turned out as we planned. Well… just barely acceptable.”

Rarity spoke, not pleased after examining her hooves, “I should really get my hoof seen to. My fur is burned.”

Fluttershy also spoke, “I’m really concerned if the critters are okay. That was really terrible weather. I just hope they okay in Ponyville.”

Then Pinkie blurted out, “Does anyone have a mane dryer?” just realising that Sombra had put a hole through her mane, causing us all to laugh lightly.

Twilight Sparkle, giggling, “Yep. I think everything is going to be just fine.”