If one was to ask what the meaning of hatred was, they’d probably give you many definitions. Intense dislike, to loathe someone, to detest something’s existence. But this list would be inadequate to truly describe the emotion.

Others might give examples of their own experiences with hatred. How they’ve felt the tingle of anger burning in their belly and engulf their entire being in fire, burning white hot and mean.

But they too wouldn’t truly understand it.

Hatred is not something that goes away. It isn’t something that momentarily sparks to life, only to die back down again. It is a way of life, and at every second of that life one should experience it.

To hate is to live.

To let go of it is death.

So I sat in my throne that I did not gain through heritage and watched my court I earned through bloodshed. Even with constant cleaning, the bloodstains could never be washed away completely from the floor. Though, I didn’t mind. It was a nice reminder of what I had to do to acquire my power. Along with who I had to get rid of.

Oh what bloody times those were.

“Your majesty,” an adviser said, bowing down to the proper respectful level entitled for his king, “the Equestrian monarch has arrived to meet you.”

Waving my hand softly at him, I said, “Bring her in.”

The doors at the end of my hall opened, revealing my guest–Princess Celestia herself.

The Princess walked boldly down the hall, ignoring the intimidating presence of my guards lining the wall. Neither was she bothered by my dark throne with the skulls of my enemies displayed for all to see, atop spikes reaching high to the ceiling. Though, most interesting of late was her complete disregard for my rather… disturbing appearance.

“King Sombra,” she said coldly to me at the end of her brisk march into my court. She shared no proper introductions such as bowing, of course. She actually believed herself an equal. “I do believe you have invited me here?”

“And you accepted my invitation,” I said, crossing my hands together as the faintest of smiles nudged my lips upward. “Just as I knew you would.”

Celestia scowled. Such a beautiful face for such a nasty look she was giving me. So exquisite and refined were her features that one would think her face was sculpted by the finest hands of the gods themselves.Truly, she looked almost like a goddess herself. Though now her eyes shone with less a magnificent ray of sunshine one would expect, and more like the burning coils of a fire ready to consume everything around it.

“Yes, I did. Immediately, once I received it. You can probably guess why.”

“Proper manners?” I mocked. The deepening of her frown further ruined her beauty, but only heightened my enjoyment of the situation.

“Stop dodging around my questions and answer me!” she demanded, etiquette abandoned so hastily. Not like she was planning much for some anyhow, by the look of her. It’s not every day you see a princess decked out in full body armor, much less one invited for negotiations. Covered in gold and jewels I could already tell were quite potent in magic, her entire appearance emanated a feeling of intimidation and deadliness.

“What’s to dodge?” I asked her, shrugging one shoulder slightly. “I’m just surprised, is all, at how poorly you’ve treated me ever since you’ve entered my court. No proper introductions, accusing me on scrupulous charges. Is this how you treat every negotiations meeting you go to; like a game?”

“This is only a game to you and no one else,” Celestia replied, waving her armored arm through the air as she took a confident stride forward. “Some sick reflection of your mentality you play on everyone around you. Your people, this country, and every other nation you can get your greedy hands on!”

Ah, so she was getting to the root of it already. Ill patience was definitely not one of Celestia’s strong suits.

I held up my hands in defence of my character. “Such strong accusations you make here, Princess,” I chuckled lightly, turning my open palms into fists. “But can you back them up, is the real question that should be answered.”

“The dead bodies you leave in your wake should be adequate enough of an answer.” Celestia swept her hand across my court. The once shining crystal floor had darkened to match the obsidian of my throne, and the walls resembled glass shards dipped in crimson blood more than actual crystals. “Or how about how you’ve corrupted this Empire to fit your twisted vision? The starving line of people I saw outside begging for food can also be ample proof.” Celestia crossed her arms, armor clanking together as she asked, “Do you need me to list more?”

“No, no, I think you’ve made your point,” I said, resting my hands atop my arm rests. Lifting one hand up to examine a fingernail with a nonchalant glance, I asked, “Then what is your point?”

“Point?” Celestia said with shaking anger stumbling her words. “The point is that you’re a tyrant!”

“Yes,” I said.

“Yes?”

I nodded. “I agreed with you. Or are you just going to continue repeating my sentences?”

Celestia was taken aback, eyes widening with surprise. “Then what are you playing at? You just admitted you were a tyrant!”

“Once again, I agree with you.” I shrugged, though the movement was inhibited by my cubersome shoulder guards. “What else do you want me to say?”

“Say? There’s nothing to say. Only action can fix this.” Celestia made her way forward, stopping at the foot of the steps that led up to my throne. Closer to her, I could examine her rage. So beautiful, even in anger. Like a flame, both brilliant and harmful.

“Action?” I scoffed, moving to the edge of my throne while leaning forward and resting my chin on my upheld hand. “What do you intend to do? This is but a negotiations meeting.”

“Don’t play me for a fool, Sombra,” she replied, pointing a finger accusingly at me. “You called me here with the intent to kill me.”

“Excellent deductive reasoning,” I said, rubbing the sideburns that ran across either side of my face. “How’d you reach that conclusion?”

“It was quite easy when I heard rumors that every other leader of a nation or territory that enters your castle never leaves from within its walls,” Celestia said, a smug smile making its way on her lips. “You’re not so good at keeping a secret.”

I waved my hand at the skulls lining the spikes of my throne overhead. “I’m not too keen on keeping them. Better to present myself up front then give a guest a nasty surprise later. Which I commend you for. Not many realize that when they enter my court they shall only exit it in a coffin.”

“Not me,” Celestia said, resting a hand on the hilt of the hilt of her sword strapped to her side. My guards all grabbed their own weaponry as they were called to attention to protect their king. Just sticks to fuel the fire.

“Oh, I do believe so,” I said, grinning. “You have grown weak over the years, Celestia. The years have been hard on you, have they not? You are not yet healed from the era of chaos’ effects on you, are you? You haven’t been well in quite some time now.”

“Lies!” she barked back, gripping harder on her sword handle until her knuckles went white underneath her plated gloves. “You know nothing of my health!”

“But I do. I most certainly do.” I couldn’t help but bark out a laugh at the exasperated expression that overcame her face. “You are as much a fool as you are weak. Too naive to see what has been before you this entire time.”

“What lies are you talking about now?” Celestia demanded, sword fully removed from her scabbard. The blade shone with an unnatural bright white light, while the heavenly golden handle glowed with a luminous field of energy that seemed to electrify the air around it. She pointed the tip directly at my heart.

“No lies, only the truth you refuse to hear.” I leaned closer, half hanging out of my throne just to get a better glimpse at her face. “A certain truth only a certain someone could… acquire for me.”

Celestia’s face was impassive to my statement… at first. But then it sunk in. It was like watching an animal just before it’s slaughtered. Complete and mind-breaking shock, with your brain draining itself of all coherent thought as the grisly recollection presented its ugly head forward. I'd seen it so many times from the numerous dead, slain by my own hand, that the sight was both nostalgic and amusing.

“N-no… No! You can’t… she can’t…” Celestia gulped, hand wavering. The sword dipped with each tremble, threatening to clatter to the ground. “It can’t possibly mean…”

Before I could reply, the person behind my throne did it for me.

“It does, sister,” the voice spoke, revealing itself in the form of a splendidly adorned woman that struck a surprisingly similar resemblance to Celestia.

“Please… Luna, please tell me this is a lie,” Celestia begged, sword hanging weakly by her side. “You’d never do this to me. I know it.”

“Then you know nothing!” I laughed, slamming the bottom of my fist on my armchair in glee. “The perfect princess, betrayed by her own kin! Such excellent drama!”

“Luna… how could you do this?” Celestia asked, the flame now dying embers. “Your country. Your people. We all loved and depended upon you. And you gave it all up for this?” she asked, holding her palm up in my direction. “A heartless tyrant that treats his own people like slaves? Is that who you’d side with instead of your own blood?”

“We side with power, Celestia,” Luna replied, moving in a firm manner around my throne to be at my side. “Sombra got his through hard work and conquering, while we merely received it through birthright. Without the help of the Elements of Harmony, we never could have stood up against Discord’s wrath in the first place. We join what will be the future, while thou falls to the past.” Luna’s hard-lined lips broke out in a brief smile, “Tis just business, Tia.”

“Business with a genocidal monster!” Celestia reminded her. “Sombra means to destroy and kill us all! He won’t stop until he’s conquered the entire world with his iron fist! How can you possibly not see how hopeless the future will be by siding with him?”

“Thou art the one who is blind, sister,” Luna replied, waving a hand at Celestia’s protests. “Not siding with Sombra will lead only to thy death. Wise up now and join us. A seat of power under him is better than a seat in a coffin six feet under the ground.”

Celestia stamped her foot and pointed a finger directly at me. “I’d rather die than side with that psychopath!”

“Oh, getting testy enough to throw insults now, are we?” I asked, glancing to Luna at my side. Much like how the sun compares to the moon, the royal sisters were near polar opposites, yet still so similar as well. Luna shared her sister’s great beauty, though with a more youthful vigor in her cheeks, along with darker skin. She too was dressed in her own battle armor, but more befitting of her darker nature than ever before. Cobalt blue steel with silver trimmings, elegant yet fatal to all peering eyes. “Do be better like your dear sister, and be less rude around others, if you'd be so kind?"”

“Y-you… you bastard,” Celestia spat out, evidently surprised such vulgar language would ever be uttered by her like that. “What have you done to Luna? What spell did you cast?”

I laughed. Hearty and full of chuckles, a right and proper laughter that lifted up one’s spirits mightily high. Once the last guffaw left my breath, I smirked down below at Celestia. “You know, hatred is a funny thing. Now matter how pure or good you are, the hatred will always corrupt you. Like for Luna here. She allowed hers to become more powerful. To blossom. All because of you.”

“What are you getting at?” Celestia barked, already regaining some spine after the shocking turn of events.

“Everyone has hatred in their hearts, my dear Celestia,” I whispered, palms closed together almost in prayer. “It grows and lives inside each and every one of us. Beautiful, vile, disgusting, irresistible hatred. We will always feed it, never snuff it down.” Her will had cracked slightly from the sisterly revelation, but her confidence hadn’t wavered. Her intent was still to end my life. “And as long as this world has that wonderful hatred, no matter how insignificant it is, I will always rule over these lands.”

“I’ll stop you,” Celestia said through gritted teeth. She raised her sword up and took her stance. “Even if I have to move heaven and earth and kill you, I will stop you. Your people shall be slaves to your tyranny for no longer. Today, it ends!”

“Such bold words from someone who has already been defeated even before they set foot into this castle,” I said, rising from my seat.

“It is rather foolishness than confidence,” Luna said next to me, smug with her venomous smile towards her sister. “Thou never could learn when to give up, could thee, sister?”

“You never understood the meaning of loyalty!” Celestia snapped back, eyes focused purposefully on me, never wavering. “After I deal with Sombra, dear sister, you’re next.”

I shrugged my velvet red cape from my shoulder, revealing the blood red sword attached to the side of my belt. Grasping it firmly, I said, “While your sibling squabbles are quite intriguing, I believe your death is to commence soon?” I raised a hand and snapped my fingers. My guards immediately came to attention, surrounding Celestia in a circle with weapons drawn. “But where are my manners?” I laugh, waving my hand for my guards to close in on her. “I didn’t even introduce the main course.”

One guard raised his armament high above his head, a double bladed axe with a razor sharp edge. Before he could strike down upon the Princess with it, Celestia’s sword streaked through the air, fast as lightning, cutting down his attack when both his arms fell from his sides.

Celestia stared back up at me, the agonized screams of the guard ringing through the hall. Squirts of blood from the guard’s stubs of arms covered her sword’s no longer gleaming surface, while droplets of blood fell upon her cheek. “Is the involvement of your guards really necessary?”

“Like I said, Celestia, the hatred inside us only grows stronger the longer we feed it. Their deaths should be an ample food source for your own hatred to flourish. And I’d much prefer to kill a worthy opponent than feeble weakling.”

“Then you are a fool,” Celestia said, stepping out of the way without a glance as one guard suddenly rushed her. Slashing his back as he moved past her, this guard fell to the floor with a crash, legs unable to move from spinal damage of some sort. “Hatred will grant neither you or me power. Nor will I kill your men.”

I smiled. How one so foolish could have ever come to a position of power was beyond me. Though I did have to compliment her on her fighting style. Elegant yet deadly, with quick hacks and slashes to vulnerable areas of the body that would leave the attacker crippled instead of dying a painful death.

Now the guards were all going at it at once in an effort to overpower her. Crowding together, they blindly stabbed and thrusted their swords in an attempt to leave a wound, but their efforts were for naught. For Celestia’s magic soon had them all moaning on the floor as a concussion blast wracked their bodies.

Out of the once violent crowd of fighting men stood Celestia, not a scratch on her and the blood spattering her armor that from her opponents.

“Now, will you stop being so much of a coward and fight me?” she asked, flicking the blood off her sword in one smooth motion so that it was once again sparkling with a splendid radiance.

“Should we deal with her?” Luna asked me, hand already on the hilt of her silver sword.

I held up my hand. “No, no, I believe I can handle taking out the trash myself.”

With an almighty yell, Celestia charged up the steps to my throne, sword at her side before she brought it up in a hacking motion. Unsophisticated at best, it was an easy maneuver to block with my own sword. The two blades clanged together, magical energies opposing one another as the light surrounding both our swords grew brighter: hers a sun soaked yellow that shone with an almost angelic luminescence, while my own cast a bloodsoaked shadow of darkness that eagerly leached the light from her sword.

Smiling down at her as she pathetically tried to push against my strength with her blade, I said, “Is this really what the Equestrian leader has to offer? I was expecting more from you, Celestia dear.”

“I bet you didn’t suspect this!” Celestia shouted, pulling back her sword, along with my push against it. My blade fell forward with my arm still pushing it, causing my body to lean with its descent.

That descent leading to Celestia’s sword whipping towards my head as she twisted her body around to allow her sword to come back at the side of my face.

I instantly drew in the dark magic inside of me and converted myself to shadows and smoke. The blade passed through me harmlessly–or so I thought. Instead, the cold steel still cut through cut through me as though I were in my skin and flesh form. Holding back a cry, I moved hastily down the steps, conforming to my true form in the center of the court far from the body pile of my guards.

Holding a finger up to the cheek that her sword touched, I was shocked to discover blood there, right from a large gash in my cheek.

“Things are not going so pleasant now, are they Sombra?” Celestia called out, jumping from the apex of my throne to glide through the air as if she had wings, and then touched down right before me. My blood was on her sword, the first time I’ve been wounded in years evident on her weapon. “This blade shines the light of justice on even the most wicked of hearts. Your dark magic will no longer protect you now.” Holding the handle now in a two-handed grip, Celestia got into a battle stance and lowered her back to prepare for the attack.

I stared at my blood. The blood of a conqueror. Of a tyrant. Blood I had seen numerous times on the battlefield, yet almost never my own. For those who fight for glory and power and win it all do not bleed themselves. They bleed the bodies of their enemies dry.

“My magic never protected me, Celestia,” I said, holding up my bloodied finger for her to see. “Defense is gained through brute, physical force. But there is one thing my magic does do.” A smoky, purple haze collected on my fingertips, until my entire hand was covered by the violet, luminous light. The spot where my blood had collected now sparked a fire. Pointing my fingertip with the dark red, blazing ball of fire forming from my magic at her, I smiled, my eyes glowing a vicious green with that same purple fog pouring from their sides. “Attack.”

What followed after that word was an inferno of flames sprouting from my fingers, engulfing Celestia in the blaze. So great was the fire that the bodies of my guards quickly turned to ash.

After a few seconds my arm grew numb, signaling that my magic was drawing thin for the time being. Turning my hand into a fist, the fiery storm of magic died out, leaving with it scattering flames on my once pristine floors and ash and smoke hanging in the air.

From the smoke came a hacking cough.

“Is that all you got?” Celestia asked, stepping out of the shadows of the smoke. Her multispectral hair was covered in soot, along with much of her armor and face, but a victorious smile could clearly be seen on her lips. Drawing her sword up high to blaze a bright brilliance upon the room, she asked, “Or will I be disappointed with this fight you promised me?”

“Dead, yes. Disappointed…” I pointed at her my own sword, our dueling weapons as different as the night and day. “I would hardly think so.”

With that I sprinted at her, as light as a shadow, and as visible as one as well. Smokey tendrils followed in my wake as I drew near, sword at my lower left side being drawn up into a vicious swipe to her upper body. Our blades met with a ferocious intensity of steel against steel, magic against magic, good against evil. The ring of noise that rose up was not only from the physical impact, but the magics dueling for control as well.

Seeing that neither of us were gaining ground, we broke apart, only to meet back in the middle seconds later with our swords flashing through the air like lightning. The din of metal striking against metal filled the court, our attacks resulting in nothing but blocks and assaults upon the other. From an unsuccessful downward slash at her stomach that met nothing but her blade to a spin of my body to deliver a stroke to her left side that was beat back by a swing as powerful as mine, I knew we were too evenly matched. Locked in battle, both our senses and styles of attack resulted in nothing.

Time to tip the playing fields in my favor, then.

“You know,” I began, leaning back to hastily avoid the tip of Celestia’s sword from removing my nose. Attempting a forward thrust of my sword, she managed to dodge my stab with a quick sidestep of her feet. “For a princess, your combat skills are quite impressive. How did one such as yourself learn them?”

In a two-handed grip Celestia brought her sword down upon me in a downward stroke, one that I desperately avoided from cleaving me in two by bringing my sword up sideways in a block in my own two-handed grip.

“Fighting a war against a reality-shifting demigod gives you plenty of practice!” Celestia grunted, trying with all her strength to push the razor sharp edge of her blade to my throat. Unfortunately for her, my armor was specially designed to protect my neck from all forms of attack, along with the fact my superior height gave me the edge I needed to throw her off. Backpedaling, she said, “Why does this matter to you?”

Parrying another fast stroke to my shoulder, I smiled. “Because, your form is still lacking.” A look of confusion appeared briefly on Celestia’s face, which gave me time to deliver my next blow.

It was a deliberately slow attack. I didn’t even bother to change my stance at all. Celestia easily blocked it. What she didn’t block, however, was the sweep of my foot under her as I brought my right arm back from the parry and my left leg in. A one step move that resulted in my opponent on the ground, defenseless.

Holding my sword tip to her throat, I chuckled. “You fight by the rules. Quite boringly, I might add. Entirely predictable. You never fought in a real battle, where there is no etiquette or manners.” I pressed the tip closer, smiling as I saw her wince when I drew blood. “Only blood.”

Before I could slit her throat though, I felt the sudden sensation of falling. Or rather, moving upward while on my back as a great force just exploded near my stomach. If not for my steel cuirass blocking most of the blow, my ribs would surely have collapsed on themselves.

Soon I felt the impact of the ceiling against my back. Only momentarily, for I was still rapidly flying upward through the air until I fell with a crash on the roof of my court. I had rolled a couple of feet from the hole I had created, and could already feel the bruises forming on my very sore body.

Turning over on my side and using my sword to pivot myself up, I looked at the hole to see Celestia enter through it. On her back was a pair of translucent angelic wings that glowed with a holy light that blinded me for a brief second. The wings quickly disappeared in a flash of sparkling light.

“The only blood you’ll be seeing is your own,” Celestia said, her voice ringing with the powerful magics running through her veins. Her eyes glowed still from the spell she just cast on me, two yellow orbs in her sockets that flared with the intensity of the sun. “Tonight, your tyranny ends.”

I wiped a spot of blood from a cut on my lips. Grunting in pain, I managed to get back to my feet. “So, you think you can stop me?” I asked, back straightened once more as I dug my sword out from the rooftop.

“No one else will,” Celestia said.

A wind blew, the breeze flapping my cape and hair. The cold air felt pleasant against my skin. Really, it was the small pleasures in life that made living wonderful.

“And why is that?” I asked, spreading my arms wide. “Why do no other challengers face me? Every nation that gets in my way is shortly crushed or absorbed into my empire. All but yours, of course. You are the only possible thing left stopping me from conquering the entire world. Which is why I have to ask…” I frowned. “Why?”

“Why?” Celestia scoffed, her eyes dimming back to their normal state. “There is no simpler answer. You are pure and heartless evil, Sombra. I would rather die than see this world under your control. I stand for the good that this world and its people can bring. Yet you, you stand for the darkness in our hearts and the maliciousness of our minds. You are a destructive force of nature that will burn the heavens themselves to the ground to get what you want. And for that, I stand against you no matter what.”

If I hadn’t been holding my sword just then, I might have applauded. “Yes, yes, quite a riveting speech, Celestia,” I agreed, nodding my head and drawing closer to her, sword tight in my hand. “But I already know why you’re here. Stopping me puts you in a position of great power. After all, the downfall of my empire puts your kingdom at the top of the foodchain. And the opportunity to conquer the Crystal Empire yourself.”

“I would never do such a thing!” Celestia said, appalled.

“Just like you’d never lock away Discord in stone and steal away the lands he ruled?” I laughed, showcasing my razor sharp teeth to Celestia. Either my comment or alien smile made her wince in disgust. “How am I any different?”

“There were once kind and benevolent rulers of the Crystal Empire on the throne. The empire was once made up of people who loved their ruler,” Celestia replied uneasily. Taking another step forward, she said, “But you have turned it into a dictatorship of hatred! Nothing but the building blocks of tyranny hold it together!”

“Yes, and isn’t it grand?” I asked, sweeping my hands over the rooftop we were on. Behind me stood the Crystal Empire. My empire. The empire I ripped from the hands of its previous queen through bloodshed. The empire I earned by hunting down and executing everyone of royal descent. The empire I forged through the blood and tears of its enslaved citizens.

It was my empire.

And it was truly grand.

“What was once love and companionship between its citizens is now bitter hatred and despair!” I laughed, looking down into the streets. Already at this time of night, lines of slaves shackled to one another walked through the streets to the crystal mines, the slave drivers whipping them relentlessly for even the slightest hint of insubordination. “The once prosperous people of this empire are nothing more than puppets to my will!”

“How could you possibly think that is grand?” Celestia asked, still horrified at me. “This is beyond cruel. How can you treat your own people in such a vile way?”

“You think I was treated any better?” I asked, raising my hand up into a fist. “I had to fight for every scrap of life when I was young. Dive down into the dirt for coins. Work like a slave for meager bits and then eat like a dog for my reward. Does that sound like I loved my rulers? My empire? Does it?” I snapped at her.

Celestia didn’t respond. Of course she wouldn’t. She wouldn’t know hardship if it bit her in the ass.

“It was there my hatred was planted. It was over the years living as a dirty street urchin it grew. What food I didn’t have physically, I’d feed myself with hate instead. It kept me alive in the gutters.” I came to a halt, facing her with only a couple of yards dividing us. “Hate made me who I am today. And this empire as well. From it, we have both been made into something better. Stronger. A god. More attuned to ruling this world as it should be.”

“Sombra, the power has made you go mad,” Celestia said. “Power doesn’t make someone a god.”

“You’re right. Someone getting that power by their own merit and right.” I held up my fist, opening it to an flat hand. Dark energies rose like a storm cloud from palm, sweeping to the ground like a dark fog. “That is what makes them a god.”

Celestia scowled, putting both hands on the hilt of her sword. “Strike that. You’re not mad. You’re completely insane.”

“If insanity is the price of my power, then so be it!”

“The only price you’ll pay is that of justice’s might!” Celestia shouted, running at me with her sword held high.

With a quick flick of my wrist the ball of shadows I had been forming in my hand shot forward. One fast swipe of her sword later and Celestia had cleaved the ball in two.

Too bad for her, that was exactly what I wanted.

The two parted pieces of the orb of darkness separated and started spinning around the princess. In a swirl of black tendrils they surrounded Celestia in a thickening smog that grabbed onto her legs, body and arms. No matter how much Celestia struggled her actions were in vain, for the tendrils just grew tighter and pulled on her more powerfully.

“So, is justice always this vulnerable?” I asked, taking my time to walk towards the defenseless princess. “If so, no wonder it’s so frail and weak.”

“Unhand me!” Celestia demanded, still furiously fighting against her bindings. “Fight me like a real warrior! Unless you’re too much of a coward!”

“Petty insults? Really, Celestia? Is that what we’ve come to?” I stopped in front of her and grabbed her cheeks in my hand. Squeezing them so that her lips stuck out, I couldn’t help but chuckle at the ridiculous face she made. “Royalty is expected to follow basic manners, no? I invite you into my court, and this is how you pay me respect?”

“I will never respect you,” Celestia said, spitting at my cheek.

Wiping my face with the back of my hand, I smiled. Then I slapped Celestia with all my strength, the tendrils of darkness the only thing keeping her from falling to the ground.

“Really? After everything I have done? You can’t respect me for all the people I’ve killed, for all the nations I’ve made bow at my feet? That breaks my heart, Celestia, it really does. Into a thousand tiny little pieces.”

Sighing, I took my hand and brought the palm up to face her. Her eyes widened at the swirling, inky blackness that was fabricating between my wrist and fingers. And before she could react, I shoved my hand forward to latch onto her forehead, the purple tinged smoke soon covering her face.

“Shhhh, don’t complain now, Celestia,” I whispered, her screams so loud my words could barely be heard. She struggled in my grip, but once again her actions were futile. I tightened my hand over her head, and when she opened her eyes, I was satisfied to see her pupils the same crimson red as mine. Even her eyes were slowly changing to a vicious green glow. “You see, while I’d normally kill you, keeping you as a pet seems like a much better idea. That way, I’d get to force you to watch as everything you love, from your kingdom to its people, slowly crumble before my might.”

“N-never!” Celestia choked, moving with relentless force to throw me off. “I’ll… I’ll never give up!”

“Oh, come now, Celestia, don’t you see how futile it is? Your own sister abandoned you! And my power is tenfold what you could ever dream of having!” I said, pointing with my sword at the grandeur that was my empire. “I feed off of hatred! And in such a short time I made the Crystal Empire the hatred capital of the world! They’re miserable and despise me and their very existence! And with that comes unlimited power unlike anything you’ve ever seen!”

“Hatred will never win, Sombra,” Celestia gasped, squinting her eyes just as dark purple smoke sprouted from the sides of her eyes. “It is a weak emotion for the foolhardy. Only love can ever be truly victorious. It is love that built my nation, and it is the very thing that will stand against you.”

“Oh really now?” I asked, bringing her closer until our faces were only inches apart. “Was it love that brought you here tonight to kill me? Was it love that drove your sister away into my arms? Was it love that will result in the deaths of your people in the days to come?” I grinned, showcasing my demonic smile to her. “No. It is hatred. All love is easily corrupted by the hatred in our hearts. And soon, Celestia, very soon, you shall fall to it as well.”

“You… are… WRONG!” Celestia shouted, her right arm breaking free of its hold. Backing away as quickly as I could, I was still unable to avoid a slash at my lower left side. Her shining blade cut right through my armor, slicing through my skin and flesh.

Holding my side with a hand as blood poured out like a stream, my vision blurred. But Celestia was still in the center of it, blinding me with her radiant magics as they surrounded her in a halo of light.

“You hatred ends here, Sombra! Prepare to feel the power of the light!” Celestia yelled, her wings returning as she flew through the air with her sword at her side, ready to cut me in two.

I just stood there, unmoving. My sword hanging low to the ground, my hand lying heavily at my side. Not a muscle being used to move, as my death came sweeping towards me.

A small smile formed on my lips.

Celestia raised her sword up and brought it down in a killing blow. One that was sure to reduce its target in two pieces. All her power, might and magic was being poured into this one attack to end my life.

And it might have worked, too, if I hadn’t raised my hand in the nick of time to grab ahold of her sword.

With a well placed kick I halted her advance and sent her spinning through the air, only to land and slide on the rooftop for several feet until she stopped just in time to avoid being swept off the roof. I still held onto her sword blade, the angelic energies inside the powerful steel humming in my hand.

Calmly walking towards her, I waved at Celestia with her sword, the weapon now losing brightness and becoming dull in my grip.

Celestia struggled to get up, the force of my hit having knocked the air from her lungs. “No…” she gasped, seeing me holding her sword. “Only one pure of heart and upholder of justice can wield that blade. It’s… it’s impossible–”

“For justice to be corrupted?” I laughed, spinning both swords in my hands. One hatred incarnate, and the other the corruption of justice. A nice mix, if I do say so myself. Halting above her body I pointed the tip of both swords at her neck. “How naïve of you to believe such a thing couldn’t happen. After all, your own sister was corrupted by my will. Now your own weapon as well.” The blade that had once belonged to Celestia now lit up in a black flame, with a red glow like that of burning coals appearing on the steel. “And soon, you too shall become mine!”

Before I could corrupt anything, however, there was still the pesky presence of Princess Luna to deal with. Several seconds ago I had sensed her flying up through the hole in the ceiling behind me, and now she was on a deadset run at me with her sword drawn.

In one quick move I turned and swiped with my sword of hatred, releasing all the pent up energy I had built in there. Luna looked surprised to see me face her, but that astonishment was quickly met with a wave of dark magics charging right at her. She barely had time to block the attack with her sword, but alas, the magics were too great, for she was knocked to her knees as she fought desperately against the power of the darkness.

Tisking under my breath, I turned my attention back to Celestia. “I was wondering when she’d finally do that. If you’ll excuse me for a moment, my dear–” Bringing my sword up high and pointed down, I stabbed Celestia’s right shoulder, the blade sinking right through her flesh and a few inches into the roof as well, “–while I go end your sister’s life.”

“NO!” Celestia screamed, tears falling free from her eyes as she desperately tried to pull the sword free. But the hatred generated from its blade halted each of her advances, causing her to be wracked with unimaginable pain each time she even attempted to touch it. I could just imagine the sword digging into her muscle and bone would drive her to madness from the agony soon.

I ignored her shrieks and begging to march towards Luna, Celestia’s blade scratching a dark line into the roof at my side. “Really, Luna, I must thank you!” I called out, Luna getting slowly to her feet. “You just made the job of eventually getting rid of you all the more easier for me!”

“Th-thou knew we would betray?” Luna asked, with hardly any time to react to a sword swipe at her face. Backpedaling while blocking my attack, she had to parry another strike aimed at her chest.

“Yes,” I said, throwing at her a flurry of jabs, strikes and thrusts all meant to slice her to pieces. “It was quite easy to see, actually. While your resentment towards your sister was obvious from the start and your envy of her sun was certainly clear, the hatred just hadn’t built up enough inside you. In time, it might have, but as of now, you are worthless.”

She was driven back more and more, narrowly keeping up to counter each of my attacks, but she was slowing down, while I was speeding up. She couldn’t contend with the fury and power of my hacks and slashes. Here and there I landed a blow; usually it was a cut to her arm, a dent in her armor, or a slice on her side that was quickly bleeding her out.

“Celestia was always the better one,” I egged her on, forcing her back again with a quick thrust to her right. “More powerful, more graceful, and certainly more beautiful as well. You were just another one of my puppets to use at my leisure, while I awaited my true prize. And now that I have her, you are no longer needed.”

“Thou wilt never own our sister!” Luna yelled, gritting her teeth as I landed a gash to her shoulder from an upward slash. Backpedaling as much as she could to catch her breath, she winced at the pain the lacerations across her body were causing her. “We have sworn to fight thee to the very end. Even if it meant trickery! Thine evil shall never see the light of day!”

“And neither shall you,” I said. Deforming into shadows, I snuck underneath her and appeared behind her, becoming whole quickly just as she turned. Just as she was about to strike down upon me with her sword, I grabbed ahold of her throat, knocking her weapon out of her hand with barely an effort.

“Your hatred is weak. Your magic miniscule. Your very existence a pitiful excuse for life that I shall wipe away from the earth.” I tightened my hold on her throat. Luna pathetically tried to remove my fingers from wrapping around her throat, but she had no strength to budge them. Her weak kicks soon died out as her strength ebbed. The only thing she could manage was shallow chokes for breath as her mouth opened and closed like a fish sucking air on land. “My only regret is having to end our time together so soon, Luna. Under better circumstances, I would have made this last longer. But don’t worry. I’ll be sure to put your head at the seat of my thro–”

My sentence was cut off from an icy explosion in my midriff. Like someone punched me in my back, and my body was quickly becoming numb from the area of the impact. Luna fell from my grip as I fell to my knees, not enough strength to stand. And with a horrific realization, I saw the tip of my sword sticking out from my stomach.

“Never harm my sister,” Celestia said from behind me.

“Im… Impossible!” I coughed, blood dripping from my lips. My hands shook as I touched the end of my sword, the crimson of the blade indistinguishable from my blood. “You shouldn’t have been able to wield my sword. Only one whose heart is filled with hate would be able to do that.”

“Indeed,” Celestia spoke, moving around me to help Luna back to her feet. Celestia’s eyes glowed the same green as mine, and in her stare I only saw only a reflection of myself. “If it means saving my sister, then I will sink to your levels.”

I hacked another cough, more blood spilling from my lips. The numbness was spreading to more of my body, the hatred from my blade hurting rather than powering me.

“So… foolish,” I muttered. Celestia managed to get her arm underneath Luna and heave her to her feet, the younger sister being supported by the elder. “The end is here.”

Celestia raised her hand and her sword returned to her grip. The dark corruption that had covered its surface disappeared in an instant, returning back to its original glow. “It is. The end of your reign of terror is at hand.”

I looked up, into her eyes. My eyes. The eyes of someone willing to do whatever it takes, no matter what, to gain what they want.

“Then do it already,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “End me. Kill me now and save what you can of my empire.”

I got no reaction from Celestia. Her eyes just glowed with the same intensity of dark magic that I had. Two opposing forces, staring down one another.

“Coward! End me!” I shouted at her, spitting a wad of blood at her foot. “I will not stop until you and the rest of your kingdom are burning embers beneath my feet! I will enslave your people down to the last man, woman and child! Do you not understand me, you thick headed fool?”

“Yes… I do,” Celestia said, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. When she opened her eyes, they had returned back to their normal rose colored pupils. “I was willing to kill you. That’s what I came here to do. To break a vow I made so many years ago. But if I did, then I’d be no better than you, would I? No better than self entitled monster with a god complex. But I won’t become you, Sombra. Never.”

“You bitch.” Another cough wracked through my body, my attempts to stop the flow of blood from my wound all in vain. “You doom me to this fate?”

“Your fate will be a prison where you’ll never see the light of day.”

I looked downward, hiding my face from her. “Heh. Ha ha ha ha ha.”

Celestia arched a brow at my chuckle. “Why do you laugh?”

“Because…” I look back up, my eyes glowing with a renewed power. “You just subjected my subjects to my own fate.”

“What do you–” Celestia gasped. From my feet spread the same dark tendrils from before. They covered the roof, sinking down the walls of my castle at a forever quickening pace, the darkness covering the city streets like a flood once it hit the ground.

“Damnation upon us all!” I laughed, holding my fist up in victory. “If I can’t have the Crystal Empire, no one can!”

“Sombra, what have you done?” Celestia asked, just as Luna screamed. A tendril was snaking up her legging, tugging her down to the ground.

“Sister, help us!”

“Sombra, end this now!” Celestia shouted, pulling Luna out of the tendril’s grasp.

“Oh, it will end. It will end for us all! I made sure that if I couldn’t control the Crystal Empire under my power, then no one would! We are all damned here!” I smiled as Luna continued to be attacked by tendrils, while the smoky purple haze grabbed at her arms. “And since Luna belongs to me, she shall be damned here as well!”

“Release her!” Celestia demanded, going up to me with and holding her sword to my neck. “Or I swear, I will become as bad as you!”

“Oh yes, kill me,” I said, staring down the end of her sword up at Celestia. “With my death follows the deaths of every citizen in my empire! Are you willing to execute an entire nation just for your sister? Are you?”

“What will it take?” Celestia asked, her hand wavering. “I will not leave here without my sister.”

A breeze swept by. So calm and pleasant, as the world around me was descending into Tartarus. I stared to the side, where the black fog had now covered my entire empire. It was slowly rising in the sky, soon to cover it and encircle my lands in darkness. For how long, I still didn’t know.

The cool breeze ended.

“A thousand years,” I said. “A thousand years alone with just my empire. You will not try to enter it or awaken me in that time. If you do, my curse will claim your sister to me forever. Do we have a deal?”

Celestia frowned. But a quick glance at the disappearing horizons helped her reach a decision.

“Deal.”

“No, sister, do not trust him!” Luna begged.

I snapped my fingers, the smoke dissipating from trying to hold Luna under control.

“It doesn’t matter, Luna, we have to go!” Celestia said, her golden wings forming on her back as well as Luna’s silver wings shining forth.

“Celestia, we just can’t leave him here!”

“Luna, we have to go now before we’re trapped here!”

“So very… very foolish,” I chuckle. Sisters bickering to the very end, it would seem. How very normal for such abnormal events. How quaint.

Luna removed herself from Celestia’s support and backed away. “We leave that monster here and he’ll just be back! A thousand years, two thousand years, it doesn’t matter! His evil will never leave us!”

“You’ll leave me if we stay any longer!” Celestia argued, grabbing ahold of Luna’s hand and refusing to let go no matter what. “We’re leaving, and we’ll talk about it later!”

“So long, princesses,” I said, still on my knees with my stab wound to contend with. I wink at Celestia, smirking all the while. “Especially to you, lovely Celestia.”

“You’re scum, Sombra,” Celestia said, wings flared out in preparation for flight. “You deserve to be trapped in this hellhole for a thousand years.”

“I’m not the only one,” I reply, my eyes flicking to Luna’s face. “I’m not the only one.”

Without another word the princesses departed, flying through the air and hastily escaping the darkness before the smoke formed a dome over my empire. With the last light I’d ever see being their light just before the hole closed behind them, I was left in darkness.

With a grunt I got to my feet, the pain from the sword lodged in my stomach almost too great to allow me to move. But one step after another, I slowly made my way to the edge of the rooftop of my castle.

Before me was my empire, the people scared and fearful of their new darkened surroundings. Surroundings theyd be getting used to for a thousand years now.

“You know… hate is a funny thing,” I whisper. “No matter how much you stamp it out or try to destroy it, it’s still there. Waiting and watching for the moment to strike. Growing stronger with each passing day.”

I raised my hands in the air, staring up at the total darkness of the sky. A wide smile parted my lips.

“And now I have a thousand years to grow. Then, Celestia, my dear, we’ll meet again.” I closed my eyes, forming my hands into fists as my blood dripped freely from my wound.

“Then, and only then, will you finally be mine.”