Shadows

by Jay David

First published 26th of November, 2013

An enemy from Twilight's past returns to wreak havoc on Equestria.

An old enemy of Equestria returns from the darkness to wreak havoc, leading to many terrible memories and secrets revealed. As old rivals return, Twilight and her friends must unite once again to thwart this evil from consuming their homeland.

Temptation

The night air was cold as she walked down the main street of Cloudsdale. But it didn't bother her, for her mind was far more focused on just how upset she was. Lightning Dust, a green pegasus with blonde hair, and, until just a few hours ago, a recruit at the famed Wonderbolt Academy. was going over the events of the previous day over and over again in her mind. Every time she looked over it, it made no sense to her.

She had proved herself to be the best flier in the entire academy, having been praised for her accomplishment and even achieving the rank of squad leader. Becoming a Wonderbolt had been her dream since she was a small filly. And every moment of her life since then she had worked towards becoming one of therm. Training, practicing, making sure that her flying skill was the best it could be, the best that ANYPONY could be. And it seemed as though she just might make her dream come true.

And then, out of nowhere, it all came crashing down. Rainbow Dash, her squad partner and fellow recruit, had apparently quit over Lightning's use of a tornado during one of the training sessions. Some of her friends had been travelling to the academy to visit her and the tornado put their lives at risk. But Lightning knew that risks were to be expected. Even so, this had led to her being thrown out of the academy by the leader of the Wonderbolts, Spitfire herself.

It was a humiliation the likes of which she'd never expected. Nor was it one she understood. Ever since she and the others had entered that academy, they'd been told time and again to push themselves to the limit, to do whatever it took to advance themselves and to become the best fliers they could be. But it was all a lie. Spitfire had taken Rainbow's side in thinking that such actions were too risky. Too risky? Those other ponies weren’t even there when she started using the tornado. If they hadn't blundered into the training site when they did, this could have been avoided.

It was their fault, not hers. Or so she told herself. She had dreamed of being counted among the Wonderbolts her entire life. And now, these other ponies, these noponies, had taken in all away from her. Never again would she ever get the chance to fly with Equestria's most famous fliers. Fillies and colts would never look up to her, people wouldn't line up to have her write her autographs, and nopony would ever admire her.

"It's not fair." She grumbled.

As she kept walking down the cold, empty street, she was suddenly stopped by the sound of a voice.

"Indeed it wasn't."

Lightning stopped and looked up. She couldn't see anypony. It was dark, so she squinted her eyes to try and get a better look around. But all she could see was an empty street.

"......Hello?" She called out.

"Over here." The voice replied.

Hearing the voice again, Lightning turned to where she could hear it coming from. To her left there was an alleyway in between two cloud-houses. There, in the middle of the alley, was a figure. It was too dark to make it out, but the silhouette showed that the figure was cloaked. The general size and shape indicated that it was a pony. Whoever it was, Lightning knew it wanted something with her, which caused her to assume a defensive stance, wings stretched out, and a look of wariness on her face.

"Who are you?" She asked aggressively.

"I'm......a friend." The figure replied.

Lighting could tell from the voice that it was male, but the voice was strange to hear. It was deep, and possessing of a warm and caring tone. But there was an edge to it, something that made her gut tell her that she shouldn't trust him. She figured the best way to describe the voice would be a kindly grandfather, if you knew he was hiding a knife behind his back.

"A friend huh? Well, "friend", I don't know you. And right now, I'm, not in any mood for a conversation."

The movements from the shadowed figure indicated a nod of some sort.

"Oh yes, I'm sure. Today hasn't really gone as planned for you, has it?"

Lightning's expression became one of surprise? This pony knew what had happened to her? How? Her confusion quickly turned to anger.

"How do you know what's happened to me?" She asked.

"Oh my dear mare, I know all about it. How you were cast out, humiliated by those you once looked up to. Such a shame. For what it's worth, I think your actions were most impressive. I have seen few pegasi your age able to handle a tornado like that."

Lightning frowned at the figure, before turning away from him.

"Look buddy, I don't need your charity or pity. Whatever you want with me, I'm not interested."

She began to walk away, even as the figure started talking again.

"You WERE the best you know."

Lightning stopped at those words, turned her head around to look at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Excuse me?" She asked.

The figure raised a hoof and pointed it towards her, all the while staying in the shadows.

"Your skills as a flier are one-of-a-kind. The type of abilities those fools at the Wonderbolts would have given their own wings for to have in their little group. But instead, they were blinded by fear. Fear of appearing uncaring when those other ponies got mixed up in your impressive display."

Lightning Dust did not reply, but listened closely. It was as if the guy had read her thoughts, as much of what he was saying mirrored what she had told herself mere moments ago.

"That amateur, Rainbow Dash, does not deserve to bear your badge Lightning. But, I suppose in many ways it was for the best that they kicked you out".

It was here that she stopped listening and turned around completely, slamming her hoof angrily into the cloud-made ground below.

"What?! What do you mean by THAT?" She asked, clearly insulted by his words.

The figure lowered his hoof back down before replying.

"Like I said, your skills are more impressive than any I have seen. As such, they would have been waste had you joined the Wonderbolts. They may claim to be Equestria's best fliers, but what do they do with such talents? They spend their days putting on little shows for the masses, entertaining children and other lowly activities. But you......you deserve far better than that. You could be so much more."

There was that feeling again. The same feeling she'd felt when she first heard this guy's voice. Something about what he was saying and how he was saying it made her feel uneasy. His words slithered into her ears, making her want to listen more, all the while her instincts were screaming at her, telling her to get as far away from this guy as possible. But her instincts lost on this occasion, as she stepped forward, intrigued by what she was hearing.

"More than the Wonderbolts? What exactly is it that you're offering?" She asked.

Although she still couldn't see his face, she could tell that he was smiling with her question.

"What I offer is a chance to become more renowned and respected than the Wonderbolts ever were. A chance for all in Equestria to know your name, and to know that you are a pony to be reckoned with."

There was a pause, as Lightning considered such an offer. It was, after all, why she'd tried to become a Wonderbolt in the first place. To become known far and wide as the best. And now an offer had been made for just that.

"How could you do that?" She asked.

"A great change is coming to Equestria. A change for the better. A change.....of MY making. To make such a change happen, I need help. I require the aid of the best of the best. And you my dear are most certainly the best at what you do."

Even Lightning had to admit, flattery worked well on her.

"And when Equestria is changed, the ponies of this land will know that you had a hoof in it, that you helped to bring it about. And they will respect you for it. They will know that you are the best. They will flock to you as so many once flocked to the Wonderbolts."

Lightning tried to imagine it. Imagined a world where pegasi came to her, to learn about flying and how to become better, just as she once tried to do with the Wonderbolts. She confessed, the throught pleased her. But the way this guy had said it brought back the sense of unease. Whatever change he had in mind, he wasn't telling her everything, that much was certain. But still, her desire to be known as the best was one she had carried since she was a child, and was not shaken off so easily.

"You say you need me to help you. I won't be asked to do anything......bad, will I?" She asked warily.

The shadowy figure remained perfectly still as he replied.

"Let me answer that question with one of my own. What are you willing to do to be the best, and to have everypony know you are the best?" She asked.

Lightning opened her mouth, ready to tell him that she was willing to anything within reason, so long as it wasn't bad or wrong in any way, as anypony would sensibly have done in that situation. But before she could say a word, he raised a hoof to stop her.

"And please.....I will know if you are lying."

She closed her mouth, now feeling unsure as he stepped forward, still cloaked in darkness.

"Look deep inside yourself and ask, what are you willing to do......TRULY willing to do to achieve your greatest dream?"

Lighting remained silent. This whole situation was crazy. Who was this guy? What was she standing here talking to him about some big plan of his instead of just flying away right now? Why was she entertaining his notions like this? But she already knew the answer to those questions. And more importantly, she knew the answer to his question also. She'd known the real answer for some time, even back when she was at the academy. It was a promise she'd made to herself when she entered, when she made it her goal to achieve great heights.

Many ponies may have found such drive to be deplorable, as her fellow cadets did when she did what she did to achieve victory in the various tasks she had been set. But that's who she was. If other ponies couldn't keep up, or were bothered by the things she did, that was their problem, not hers. What mattered to her was being able to achieve greatness, no matter who got in her way or what obstacles she had to overcome. And knowing that, she now knew the answer this mysterious figure was waiting for.

"For my dream.......I'd do.....ANYTHING".

............................................

She trotted along the long marble hallway, having enjoyed a very restful night's sleep. Princess Celestia, mare of the sun and co-ruler of Equestria, had woken up bright and early this morning. Her aim was to surprise her little sister and relieve her from her duties early so she too going get some rest. Besides, she always made it a point to have the two of them be together during the switch-over anyway.

As she approached the large wooden doors that led out onto the great balcony of the main tower of Canterlot Castle, her horn began to glow in a yellow-coloured magic that soon covered the entire door. It swung open with her magic and she saw outside. The night sky was beautiful, as it often had been since her sister's long-awaited return. The views, even in the dark of night were breathtaking, owing to simply how high the tower was.

Looking ahead, Celestia smiled as she saw her sister on the end of the balcony, her back towards her elder sibling. Celestia approached, with Luna still not turning to greet her, which Celestia noted as unusual. But she decided not to let it bother her as she smiled before speaking.

"Good morning sister. I hope the evening treated you well?" She said amicably.

Luna, now aware of her sister's presence, turned from the horizon to look at her. Celestia' smile vanished as she saw Luna's face. There was a look of deep worry upon it, as though Luna was almost afraid of something. Celestia moved closer to her, now fearful for her.

"Sister! What is it? What's wrong?"

Luna opened her mouth to speak, but soon closed it, instead shaking her head.

"I......I don't know. But something......"

The night Princess turned away from her sister and back towards the horizon.

".....Something terrible has happened this night, although I do not know what."

Luna faced her sister once more, with both of them now looking worried.

"Celestia. I fear that something dark is happening in our land".

Flames

As she looked up at the sky, she felt at peace. Clear weather always had that effect on her, even back when she was a filly. A bright warm warm sun was pleasing to her, as it suited her task here today. Twilight Sparkle, newly crowned princess of Equestria, was sitting on the edge of a house in the sky. A house made from clouds. This was the home of one of her closest friends, the pegasus Rainbow Dash.

And speaking of whom, a sound from behind alerted Twilight to her presence. The purple mare turned to see the blue pegasus approach. She walked up to the young princess and stood next to her, staring out into the sky as she did.

"Ready?" She asked.

Twilight nodded.

"I am." She replied.

Twilight took a deep breath and stretched out her wings as wide as she could make them. It had only been a few weeks since she gained these wings, and with them the power of flight. But in that time she had received a fair amount of training in that skill by Rainbow, who was undoubtedly one of Equestria's best fliers. Her transformation into an alicorn had magically granted her some inherent knowledge of flight, as evidenced by her use of it at her coronation, but some of the finer skills had eluded her.

Today though, she would show what she had learned under her pegasus friend. She assumed a launch position, crouching low to the cloud-ground, staring out at her target. It was a solitary cloud some miles away. The task was to get there and perform some standard flight stunts, before flying back here with the space of a minute. It was a hard task, even for experienced pegasi, but Twilight was sure that she could do it.

With a strong flap of her newly-acquired wings, Twilight launched herself forward at high speed. She flapped her wings hard at intervals, making sure to remember the lesson she'd learned from Rainbow about timing her wing movements properly. And it seemed to work as she picked up speed well, rapidly approaching the cloud. As it drew closer and closer, Twilight furled her wings, becoming more aerodynamic, which gave her a final boost of speed to reach the cloud.

Once there, she opened her wings again and, once immediately past the cloud, began to move around it. She positioned her wings just right so she could perform a spin around it. This was a weather control measure used by pegasi to scatter clouds and prevent them from getting too big. Twilight flew faster and faster around it, making it spin with her. After a few spins, the cloud was moving so fast it began to disperse, getting smaller every second.

Once the cloud had completely disappeared, Twilight positioned herself so she was aiming back towards Rainbow's house. She flapped her wings hard and flew fast towards it. After about a minute, she reached where she started and landed, furling her wings once more. She looked at Rainbow, who was holding a stop-watch in her hoof, and was also smiling.

"Not bad Twi. Even faster than last time."

Twilight smiled.

"Thanks. It was hard. I don't think I'll ever get used to these new wings."

Rainbow nodded and was about to open her mouth to reply to that, but was interrupted when the two of them heard a scream coming towards them.

"TWILIGHT!!!" It called out.

Spinning around, Twilight and Rainbow saw Fluttershy flying as fast as she could to get up to Rainbow's house. Once there, she panted from the sheer effort it took her to get here. After a few deep breaths, and worried look from the other two, she finally spoke.

"Ponyville! Danger! Dra.....dra......DRAGON!!!"

The other two needed no explanation after that. A dragon, attacking Ponyville? This was a serious matter, and as Equestria's newest princess, Twilight knew it was her duty to protect the ponies of this village. She and Rainbow launched themselves into the air and flew towards Ponyville, leaving Fluttershy behind to recover after her own fast flight there.

Dash's house wasn't too far from the village, so it didn't take long for them to get there. Once the village was in sight, both ponies stopped in mid-air and looked with shock at what was in front of them. Fluttershy was not wrong, there was indeed a dragon attacking Ponyville. The creature was massive and coloured a deep red, with it's wings outstretched as it circled above the village. It let out a mighty roar that would have deafened anypony too close. It flew down fast, landing in the middle of the town square as all the ponies on the ground scattered.

The dragon got to work quickly, raising it's claws and smashing a nearby house. There were screams of the ponies ringing throughout the town. Rainbow got ready to charge the creature, but Twilight stopped her.

"Rainbow! Go to Spike! Tell him to send a message to Princess Celestia! We need reinforcements!"

Rainbow looked hesitant. The last thing she'd do in a situation like this was run away from a monster attacking the town, but she knew Twilight's plan was better. Nodding in agreement, she flew off in the direction of Twilight's home to find Spike. Twilight meanwhile looked at the dragon and narrowed her eyes, flapping her wings and launching herself towards it. The dragon meanwhile opened it's mouth and let loose a torrent of fire, incinerating almost an entire district in one go. Ponies were fleeing the town in droves, trying desperately to get out of the creature's way.

Twilight flew hard and managed to get close to the dragon, which so far had not noticed her. Upon seeing it closer, Twilight became shocked, for she recognised this dragon. Two years ago, she and her friends had been charged by Princess Celestia with convincing this very dragon to leave it's cave. From all accounts they'd heard, the creature had taken to flying a considerable distance away from any populated area. Why was it back here?

The young alicorn knew that, as a princess, she had the raw magical power to try and fight one of these things, but this was Twilight, so direct confrontation was something she wanted to save until she had no other choice. Instead, she tried a more diplomatic route. She flew around the creature, to where it's face was, and began to speak to it.

"Dragon! I am Twilight Sparkle! Princess of Equestria! I do not know hwy you have come to Ponyville, or what has led you to begin harming my people, but I must ask that you desist and leave the area immediately!"

The dragon's ears perked up, only now noticing her. It turned it's head so it was looking straight at her. And it was here that Twilight got her second shock. The creature's eyes were not as they had been when they last met. There was no look of intelligence in them, merely anger. And the eyes were outlines in some strange energy, perhaps a magical spell. Twilight, seeing this, understood.

"You......you don't even know what you're doing, do you?"

The dragon did not answer, merely opened it's mouth. Twilight worryingly saw that, down it's throat, a glow was emerging. It was getting ready to attack. She flapped her wings and, just in time, managed to get out of the way of the flames which now erupted from the beast's mouth. Twilight knew that this dragon was now incapable of even understanding her, so the time had come to put her new abilities to good use. She lowered her horn and aimed it at the dragon, concentrating hard so that her horn began to glow. After a few second, she let loose a powerful magical blast at the dragon. Since her ascension to alicorn, Twilight magical abilities has skyrocketed, and as such, this attack packed far more of a punch than it would have done if she'd remained a unicorn.

The dragon winced in pain as the blast struck the side of it's head, leaving a burn mark where it hit. It turned to Twilight, now angrier than before, raising it's claws to strike. Twilight noticed only too late as the claws bared down upon her. She quickly erected a magical barrier around herself, which kept her from being harmed, although the impact from the claws sent her crashing to the ground. The impact made her lose her concentration and her force-field disappeared as a result.

Her head was pounding from the fall as she gazed up into the sky. The dragon was above her, it's sheer sized blotting out the sun from her sight. She stretched out her wings, ready to fly off, but it was too late. The dragon brought it's clawed hand down on her fast, pinning her to the ground. She struggled, but she was not match for the creature's sheer strength. She looked up in fear as the dragon brought it's head closer to her, it's eyes filled with rage.

Twilight closed her eyes, preparing herself for what was to come. But instead, she heard a familiar voice.

"Get away from her!" It called out.

Twilight opened her eyes just in time to see a distinctive rainbow-coloured streak fly through the sky and towards the dragon's head. The beast turned to look at it just as Rainbow Dash slowed down, spun around and gave the beast an almighty kick with her hind legs, much like she had done the first time they met him. Unfortunately, this attack had just as little effect on him now as it did then. Instead, using it's free hand, it quickly struck Rainbow, sending her flying right into the wall of a nearby house, where she soon collapsed onto the ground afterwards.

The still-pinned princess looked on in horror as her friend's body was not moving. But what worried her even more was the sight of the dragon move it's head in the body's direction, opening it's mouth just as it had done before, ready to breathe fire on the defenceless pegasus. Twilight struggled harder and harder to get free, to do something to try and help. But she was trapped. She looked over at Rainbow again, tears growing in her eyes, and the dragon readied it's deadly attack.

"No...."

She said quietly to herself.

She began to see the start of flames emerge from the creature's mouth. She couldn't bear this. Not her friend. Not Rainbow. She was a princess. An alicorn! She HAD to do something! But what?! She was trapped here, helpless! But as she considered the prospect of this dragon....this monster, killing her friend. it was too much. An anger began within her, a terrible feeling of aggression towards this creature. Her eyes narrowed and her horn glowed menacingly.

"Leave....my......friend...."

The dragon closed it's mouth just before letting the flames loose on Rainbow and turned it's attention back towards Twilight. Twilight's anger was growing, so much so that something was beginning to happen to her magic. The colour of the aura surrounding her horn began to change, growing darker. And her eyes began to develop a green tint to them. But what was most terrifying was the look of hatred on her face.

"......ALOOOOONE!!!"

With that scream, Twilight let loose a blast of magic from her horn, more powerful than she had ever conjured up. It struck the dragon square in the chest, and was so powerful it forced him back, letting Twilight go. She flapped her wings and flew high into the air, now staring down the dragon, who had regained it's footing. The beast snorted angrily and prepared to swipe at her, But Twilight was too quick for him, surrounding him with her magical aura and lifting him off the ground. It clawed at the air, trying to break free, but her hold was too strong.

And Twilight, still fuming, used her magic to slam the beast hard into the ground, knocking the wind out of him. She then lifted him up again and repeated this assault, over and over again. The creature was becoming increasingly hurt by this, as evidenced by his pained growls. But Twilight wasn't through with him yet. She lifted him into the air once more and this time lowered her horn at him. The dragon knew what was coming, but couldn't escape.

Twilight's horn shot out another magical blast, which hit the dragon and sent him flying off, all the way out of town and slamming him hard into a field adjacent to Ponyville. The aura disappeared, as did the magical glow around his eyes, as he tried to move, but eventually succumbed to his injuries and fell unconscious. Twilight, hovering above him and seeing the damage, wrenched herself out of her state of anger. She looked down at the injured beast and a look of horror appeared on her face.

"What.......what have I done?" She asked.

Before she could take stock of what just happened, a sudden and massive feeling of fatigue swept over her. The magic she'd just used was more powerful than she'd ever wielded, and her body just wasn't used to it. She grew increasingly tired, so much so that she could barely keep herself in the air. To stop herself from crashing, she gently lowered herself back onto the ground before her tiredness got the better of her. She looked behind her, just in time to see Rainbow's body begin to move, as her vision became dark and she fell to the ground.

The last thing she heard was a gathering of familiar voices approach her.

"Twilight! Spike, get the doctors over here now!"

"Hang on Twi. We'll get ya patched up in no time!"

.......................................

It was growing dark as the sun began to set on the horizon. Through the air, a certain green-coloured pegasis with blonde hair, flew through the skies above the Everfree Forest. As she she flew, she looked down, scouring the area for her destination. Under normal circumstance, Lightning Dust would never come to a place like this. Ponies all over Equestria knew that you just didn't go into this forest. Dangerous creatures and the sheer untameable land itself made it a death-trap for those who had to walk it on hoof.

But she had little choice. Her "partner" had made this place a temporary meeting place of theirs. She didn't like it, but she understood the value in having a place where nopony would dare come. And sure enough, she saw it. It was an old fortification, dark and crumbling, right in the middle of the forest. She flew down and landed in the middle of an open space right before the main entrance. She didn't like coming here, something about this place just made her feel strange.

She walked through the entrance and into what once would have been a grand hallway of some sort, but the centuries had worn it down. There, at the other end, was the one she was looking for. The figure was dressed as he always was, in a black robe, his face covered in shadow. Even after all the months she'd known him, she'd never got a good look at his face. He was sitting on a cold, stone chair at the end of the hall. As she approached, the figure raised it's head. The way he carried himself gave the very clear message that he was tired.

"Trouble sleeping?" She asked jokingly.

The figure shook his head.

"My power is not what it used to be. And casting a spell on a creature as powerful as a dragon has.....drained me."

The figure raised his head and looked right at the young pegasus.

"And speaking of which, I assume you're here to tell me how our ferocious friend did?"

Lightning nodded.

"It's as you said it would be. The new princess was able to beat him. Some sort of dark magic. Threw him around like he was a rag-doll."

The cloaked figure chuckled, a sound which always unnerved Lightning.

"Excellent. Then the plan is going perfectly."

The figure raised himself from the chair and turned away from her, looking out of an old ruined window at the end of the hall.

"With that settled, you and I will need to find another place to continue our work. I have no doubt Celestia's forces will track the dragon's movements back here soon."

Lightning gave a smirk as she looked around the old castle.

"Good riddance. I was getting tired of looking at this place."

The figure did not face her but nonetheless replied to her remark.

"You should show more respect. In ages past, before the founding of Canterlot, this place used to be the capital of Equestria. How little you ponies remember."

Lightning frowned at him but decided not to throw insults at him over that. But then a thought grew in her mind, as she opened her mouth, ready to say something, but closed it, now unsure she wanted to know the answer. But it seemed her "friend" already knew the question.

"You wonder why I wanted out little beast defeated?"

Lighting looked at him, somewhat ashamed that she'd been so easy to read.

"Yes. If what you told me is true, why would you want our enemy to become more powerful like this?" She asked.

The figure faced her once more as he answered.

"It's very simple my dear."

He then waved his hoof and, without warning, a spell was cast right next to him It was a square outline of some sort, and within was a conjured image. Lighting recognised the image immediately. It was Twilight as she was facing down the dragon mere hours ago. Specifically, it was during the latter half of the fight, where she had used dark powers against it. She looked from the picture, at Twilight's green-tinted eyes, to the shadowed figure as he gave her his answer.

"Because now......it has started."

Recovery

Her head was throbbing. That was all she knew. Twilight could feel from her surroundings that she was lying down on something soft, a bed perhaps. Her entire body was aching, as she struggled to even move. What happened, she asked herself. All she could remember was that dragon attacking Ponyville, Rainbow got hurt, and that made her angry. After that......nothing.

Then, out of the dark, she heard a sound. To her surprise, it was snoring. Struggling, Twilight forced herself to open her eyes, and immediately she regretted it, for there was a bright light right above her which made her wince at the sight. As her eyes began to adjust, she took stock of her surroundings. She recognised this place as being a room in the Canterlot hospital. It was white, pristine, and her bed was adjacent to a large window which looked out onto the beautiful city.

Then Twilight heard the snoring again, and she turned to face the source. Beside her, sitting on a chair, and fast asleep, was a stallion. But not just any stallion, but the most important in her life. Her brother, Shining Armour. She smiled at the sight of him. The two had seen each other only infrequently over the last few years, and since they both became royalty, their visits would probably become even less common. But she was glad he was here.

She moved from her stationary position to reach over and nudge him with her hoof. Immediately, her brother awoke, head jutting up swiftly and looking around, as though he'd forgotten where he was. His eyes then locked on Twilight, who was smiling at him, and he developed a large smile of his own as he jumped off his chair and moved towards her. He took her hoof in his, clearly relieved to see her awake.

"Twily! I'm so happy you're up. How are you feeling?" He asked.

Twilight, in truth, didn't feel all that great. Fighting wasn't really in her nature, so to take on a fully-grown dragon had taken it's toll on her. But, she didn't want her brother to worry too much about her.

"I'm fine. A few scratches and bruises here and there, but nothing serious."

Shining closed his eyes and let out a sight of relief. As Twilight looked at him, a memory of the fight flashed back into her mind, that of Rainbow collapsed on the ground by way of the dragon. Startled by this memory, she nudged her brother again, getting his attention.

"What about Rainbow?! And Ponyville! What happened!"

Shining raised both hooves, trying to calm her down.

"Easy sis! Everything's fine. Rainbow was just knocked out, that's all. She's recovering back in Ponyville General. As for the town, there was certainly a lot of damage, but no casualties. The dragon just seemed interested in causing some havoc. Princess Celestia received Spike's letter requesting reinforcements and immediately sent out a garrison to help. But by that point you'd already taken care of the dragon, so all that was left for them to do was help to clean up the mess and move the creature to a non-populated area while it was still unconscious".

Shining then leaned in closer and took Twilight's hoof in his own again.

"The Princess sent a message to the Crystal Empire, letting me know what had happened. When I found out what had happened to you, I came down immediately. I haven't left you since you've been here."

The young princess smiled. It was good to know that her brother still worried that much about her. And on top of that, Twilight breathed easy from his account of the events. Rainbow was fine, as was Ponyville. Apart from her own injuries, this day seemed to have been saved, yet something was bothering her.

"Brother, how long have I been here?" She asked.

Shining's face became something grim, clearly not comfortable in having to answer her question.

"You've been unconscious for about a week."

Twilight's eyes widened with shock.

"A week?! But how? I thought my injuries weren't that bad? And why am I here instead of the hospital in Ponyville?"

Shining shook his head.

"True, your injuries weren't bad. But you were drained by your fight with the dragon. You used so much magical power, power that your body simply wasn't used to handling, that it fatigued you in a way that took far longer than an ordinary injury to recover from. As for why you're here, being an alicorn, few doctors outside of Canterlot would know how to treat magical fatigue like yours."

Twilight suddenly remembered. She'd grown angry at the dragon. Angrier than she'd ever felt in her life when she thought she'd lose her friend to the creature. She'd tapped into something. A power within her that she didn't know she had. It was something familiar. A magic she'd felt once before, but she couldn't place where.

She suddenly felt a hoof on her shoulder, and turned to see her brother, looking somewhat stern.

"Twilight, I have to ask. How DID you defeat that dragon?"

Twilight could tell from the look on his face that he already had some suspicion of how she did it, but just needed to hear it from her.

"I......I'm not entirely sure. I was fighting him and got trapped. I saw him about to use his fire on Rainbow and....and I got angry. Then something happened. I felt my magic grow stronger, but.....after that it was all a haze. I didn't know what was going on until the fight was over, and by then I was falling unconscious."

Shining's expression was hard to read. He was clearly thinking hard about his sister's account of the events. But there was also a feeling of worry mixed in with it.

"Sister.....I have heard stories of those with great power using their anger in battle. Doing so unleashes great power, but does so with less control than other magic. It is a power fuelled by dark thoughts and desires. No doubt your anger at the beast let it loose."

Shining moved closer and took his hoof off her shoulder.

"I am happy that you defeated the beast, and happier still that you managed to survive. But I must ask that you be careful. This power you were able to call forth.....it is dangerous, both for those it is used against, and for those who use it."

Twilight looked concerned. She too had heard stories of powerful unicorns succumbing to dark emotions and letting their power take hold. Those stories never ended well. And even though she appreciated that her brother was looking out for her, his tone was one that reminded her of when she was younger, when her parents would chastise her over going someplace dangerous. She knew he had her best interests at heart, but was also slightly annoyed that he'd take this tone with her.

"Twilight....please promise me that you won't use this power again."

Twilight, in truth, had no desire to use such dark power again. The damage it had caused to that dragon horrified her, and the feeling she got when she used it, it was just.....wrong. So she had no problem whatsoever in making such a promise.

"I promise."

Shining sighed with relief. The two siblings smiled at each other and moved close, embracing each other in a hug.

"I really am happy you're okay Twily."

Twilight was happy also. The two were very rarely this close anymore. It comforted her to know her brother was here for her. The two parted and Shining began to move away from hr bed, moving towards the door of her room.

"I'll be sure to visit you later on. But I'm late enough as it is."

Twilight raised an eyebrow.

"Late? For what?" She asked.

"Princess Celestia informed me after my arrival to Canterlot that there was an important matter she needed to discuss with me and Cadence."

Twilight's ears perked up at that.

"Cadence? She's here too?"

Shining nodded.

"What does the Princess want to talk to you about?" Twilight asked.

Shining shrugged his shoulders.

"She did not say, only that it was important and that it was necessary for me and Cadence to attend."

The thought of something important enough to require the presence of the rulers of the Crystal Empire was not a pleasant thought. Perhaps the Princess wanted to discuss the dragon attack? Or something else perhaps? Twilight could not guess. But, she could see that Shining was now looking at her, still clearly concerned. She put on a smile for her sake.

"Go. I'll be fine. And I look forward to seeing you later." She said.

Shining gave her a small smile and began to move out of the room, closing the door behind him. Twilight kept her eyes on him until he was no longer in sight. She then turned her attention to the window, and pondered the situation. It was clear that something strange was going on, but she had no doubt that Celestia would be able to deal with it. Lying back down on the soft pillow behind her, Twilight looked out of the window and simply admired the sight of the city outside, deciding to try and assure herself that things were okay.

"Whatever it is.....I'm sure it can't be too bad."

An enemy revealed

He walked fast along the elaborate marble corridors of the palace, all the while worrying what would be waiting for him at the end of it. Shining Armour had just left the side of his sister, Twilight Sparkle, in the Canterlot royal hospital, having ensured her well-being, and was now making his way towards the meeting chamber of the palace. He'd been called there by Celestia herself to discuss, as described in her letter to him, a matter of great importance. Shining suspected it had something to do with the recent dragon attack on Ponyville, though that was mere speculation on his part.

After some time, he found his destination, a large wooden door at the end of the hallway. It was flanked by two unicorn guards, both of whom saluted him on approach. He gave a small smiled and nodded back. Although he was no longer captain of the royal guard, he had personally trained many of those who were still serving, including the two at this door. But he had no time to reminisce right now and, as he made his was towards the door, it was engulfed in the glow of the guards' magic, and soon opened.

Inside was a less well-lit room than the hall and was circular in shape. At it's centre was a large stone table, circular like the room. Around it stood several figures. The one closest to the door turned to face him and smiled. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. Cadence to those closest to her, and Shining's beloved wife. He walked beside her, taking his place next to her and nuzzled her head affectionately in greeting. It was after this that he turned to face the other figures. Two were the high princesses, Celestia and Luna. Although Luna nodded at him in greeting, Celestia did not look up to see him, instead keeping her head down and looking uncharacteristically unhappy about something.

As much as Shining was unaccustomed to seeing the princess like that, his full attention was drawn to the final figure around the table. It was a unique creature few had ever laid eyes upon. A body serpent-like in shape, with a combination of mis-matched body parts as though somepony had cobbled together many different animals to make one.

Discord, the lord of chaos, and one-time enemy of Equestria.

The spirit looked at the captain, gave a brief grin and then nodded. Shining turned to his wife, giving her a look of uncertainty. She smiled back and nodded, knowing full-well what was going on in his head. Shining had heard much of this creature, having been responsible for a great deal of suffering in this land. Only recently however, was he eventually turned to the side of good, having been convinced to abandon his mischievous ways by one of Twilight's closest friends, Fluttershy.

Although Shining was wary, if Twilight and the other princesses had vouched for him, he would accept his presence here. And so, he gave Discord a silent nod back. It was at this moment that the silence was broken by the sound of Princess Luna speaking up.

"Friends. We are gathered here today because Equestria faces a grave threat. One which requires serious actions".

The mood was ruined somewhat by the sound of Discord snorting, which drew everypony's attention.

"Oh please! From what I hear you ponies can't go one week without something major happening." He said dismissively.

Shining narrowed his eyes at such a disrespectful comment, but Luna spoke up again.

"This is different. We are dealing with an enemy. An intelligent enemy that seeks to do harm to this nation."

Luna turned her gaze away from Discord and towards Shining.

"Shining Armour. Cadence. As you know, Ponyville recently came under a serious attack by a dragon. Fortunately, from what the clean-up crews told me, the damage was mostly to the buildings and no pony was harmed. However, the fact that the dragon attacked at all is a cause for concern."

Shining nodded. Dragons were, by far, the most ferocious beasts in Equestria. The few times that ponies had interacted with them had never ended pleasantly.

"The reports we've gained, coupled with the fact that there was no gold or treasure in Ponyville for the dragon to covet, leads us to believe that the only explanation....is that it was enchanted."

The room fell silent at that statement, with even Discord suddenly sitting up and taking things seriously. Shining glanced over at Celestia, who was still looking morose and quiet, despite the severity of the situation. But his gaze drew back to Luna as she continued.

"Dragons are perhaps the most inherently magical and powerful creatures we know of. To influence their behaviour with magic, even slightly, takes both great talent and enormous concentration. But to influence a dragon in the way this one was, to take it over completely, that is magic on a whole other level. And that alone should tell us just how dangerous a foe we face."

Shining and Cadence turned to each other. It was clear from each other's expressions that both were concerned over this. There were only a handful of magic users in Equestria who could perform behaviour-altering magic, and none of them had ever been known to be gifted enough in magic to pull something like this off.

Cadence turned to look at Luna.

"What can be done to find out who's behind this?!" She asked.

Luna raised a hoof and gestured it towards Cadence.

"Fear not. Measures have already been taken to find out. After the dragon attack, we made efforts to try and trace the creature's path, trying to figure out where it might have come from. To that end, we enlisted the aid of one who knows much about dragons. A friend of Twilight, known as Zecora."

Discord looked at Luna and raised an eyebrow.

"Zecora? I don't recognise the name." He said.

Luna faced him and shook her head.

"I doubt you would. She's not a pony after all, but a zebra. And on top of that, she lives a fairly secluded life, in the Everfree Forest."

Discord put his hand to his chin, clearly intrigued.

"A zebra you say? My my. She IS far from home, isn't she? And you say she lives in Everfree? Good to know there's someone out there not scared to bits by that place." He commented jovially.

Luna ignored his remark and got back to business.

"Zecora accepted our request and got to work trying to find out where the dragon might have come from. Her people have always had an intimate knowledge of many magical creatures and their behaviour, so it didn't take long for her to find the dragon's trail. Her search soon lead her to what she believes to be the source of the dragon's journey........the Everfree Castle."

Shining's eyes widened with shock. The Everfree Castle? He'd heard only stories. Legend had it that it was the old capital of Equestria, prior to Princess Luna's banishment to the moon. Afterwards it became the resting place of the elements of harmony. And, not so long ago, it was where his sister and her friends became the new bearers of the elements and drove the dark influence out of Luna. But as fascinating as this was, one important question remained.

"That castle has been abandoned for centuries. What was the dragon doing there? And who could have cast a spell that powerful on it?" He asked.

Luna opened her mouth to speak, but then glanced over at her sister. Celestia, still silent, simply nodded grimly. Luna turned back to Shining and Cadence and gave a deep sigh.

"Actually Shining, we did find some evidence of who was behind all this. And it's the reason the two of you were called here today."

The married couple gave each other nervous looks. Whatever it was they were about to find out, it wasn't going to be good. And sure enough, as they turned to face Luna again, they saw her horn glow and levitate an object up from beneath the table. It was lowered gently down so that all could look at it. What it was, Shining could not tell, for it was covered in a brown cloth of some sort.

"What is that?" He asked nervously.

Luna's horn glowed again, and it opened the cloth, revealing what was inside. Upon seeing it, Cadence clasped both hooves over her mouth as she gasped, and Shining frowned angrily at the object. It was a crystal. Or rather, it HAD been a crystal. The kind found all over the Crystal Empire which they now ruled. But something was wrong with it. It was darkened, and crooked. It was corrupted by a dark and twisted magic of some sort. Shining and Cadence recognised this kind of crystal immediately. For there was only one person in all of Equestria who could produce such a thing.

The stallion looked up at Luna, still angry.

"That's not possible. He's dead. We saw him die with our own eyes. The power of the crystal heart shattered him into a million pieces. This......this isn't possible."

Luna then gestured to the corrupted crystal.

"And yet, there it lies."

Shining looked upon the crystal again. His mind was racing. It was about a year ago when he and his wife first set foot in the newly-appeared Crystal Empire, and it was already in danger, from a tyrant unicorn who sought to enslave it as he had done so in ages past. One who had risen again and sought to rule once more. One of the most dangerous foes he or those he knew had ever faced.

King Sombra.

But that so-called king had fallen that same day. The crystal heart, source of the Empire's power, had unleashed a powerful magic and destroyed him. Everypony there that day had witnessed his death. There was simply no way that he could have survived such a blast.

"Sombra is powerful."

Everyone at the table turned to see Celestia, who now had her head raised. This was the first words she'd spoken since the meeting started, so all of them listened. But her tone of voice was different to what they were all used to. It was hushed, almost melancholic. Shining knew that Sombra's return was something for everypony to worry about, but he'd never seen the princess so concerned over such a threat before.

"He is no regular unicorn. Remember, despite the efforts of my sister and me to.....remove him as a threat, he still survived his imprisonment underneath the ice sheets of the north. If his power was strong enough to allow him to survive such an ordeal, then it was also powerful enough to allow him to survive the crystal heart."

Shining had not considered that, but now that he thought about it, it made sense. But there were still questions that needed answering.

"What's he up to? When he last emerged, his goal was to take over the Crystal Empire. Now here he is again, far from that place and attacking Ponyville? Why?"

Before Celestia could respond, Discord interrupted her.

"The elements."

Everypony turned their attention towards the formerly-evil spirit.

"Aside from the crystal heart, Sombra probably knows that the elements of harmony are the biggest threat to his power. So he attacked the home of it's bearers. Seems pretty obvious to me."

Shining had to concede that. If that was indeed his motivation, then it was a wise move on Sombra's part. But there was something about all this that just wasn't sitting right with him.

"Sombra never used lackeys in the past. He's always tried to strike us head-first himself. Why enchant a dragon to do this?"

Celestia shook hr head.

"I do not know. Perhaps his power was weakened after his failure in the Empire? Or perhaps he was injured? Whatever the reason, it's clear that he's not going to show himself just yet. But if he IS somehow lessened in power, then we can't afford to waste this opportunity."

The sun princess turned to Discord.

"Discord, I have a favour to ask of you."

The spirit raised an eyebrow.

"Could you use your power to try and bring Sombra here? To Canterlot? I have guards on stand-by, ready to apprehend him with magic once he's here."

Discord gave a mischievous smile at that request as he raised his hand.

"Dear Celestia, your wish is my command."

With that, he snapped his fingers. A few moments passed and nothing happened. No flash of light as was customary with Discord's magic. No Sombra appearing out of nowhere. Nothing. Discord noticed this immediately and looked concerned. He looked at his fingers and snapped them again. Sill nothing. Then again. Still nothing. After a few more tries, he let out a growl of frustration. He then turned to Celestia with a nervous smile on his face.

"I'm sorry my dear. I swear this has never happened before."

He then shrugged his shoulders.

"But you know what they say, old age and all that....."

Shining glared at him angrily.

"Can you bring him here or not?" He snapped.

Discord's smile vanished as he turned o the prince.

"I can't. I don't know how, but he's blocked himself from my power."

Celestia sighed.

"I suspected as much. He's too clever to allow himself to be caught like that. Regardless, we need to increase our patrols around our borders. He will have most likely taken himself off somewhere where we ponies do not go. Perhaps deeper into Everfree, where we have not yet charted. Or perhaps some other, even less desirable location. Wherever he's gone we must remain vigilant now that he's returned."

All around the table nodded, even Discord, who was taking this whole thing very seriously.

"Once Twilight is up and about I will inform her of what's going on so that she can....."

Before she could finish, Shining spoke up.

"With all due respect your highness, I would ask that Twilight not be involved in this."

Everypony looked at him, shocked that he would make such a request. Celestia frowned a little.

"Prince Armour, your sister is a princess of Equestria now. As such she has responsibilities to defend it's people."

Shining nodded.

"I understand that. But as you said, Sombra may not be as big of a threat right now as he was back in the Empire. If not then I would rather Twilight not be put in any undue harm to try and stop him. I know you are her teacher, and I know that she's a princess now. But she's also my sister still. And I want her out of harm's way."

There was silence as Shining and Celestia stared at each other intently. Nopony else in the room spoke up, afraid of what might happen. Shining, in the past, had always taken issue with Celestia's decisions to put Twilight in potential danger. He'd known of many of the threats Celestia had asked her to face over the years, and had been quite vocal about it to her. But she'd always assured him that it was important to face such threats, as part of her training.

Now though, things were more serious. Not only was an old threat re-emerging, but it was one whose actions had already put Twilight in hospital. And that was the last straw for the stallion. He'd never directly opposed Celestia like this before, but for the sake of his sister, it was something he was more than willing to do. Celestia meanwhile, clearly understood the former captain's reasons for doing what he was doing, and sighed.

"Very well. I will not involve her just yet. However, I must warn you that if Sombra begins to take direct action, she will be called upon."

Shining nodded.

"Understood, your highness."

With that established, Celestia looked around at everyone else in the room before giving her final words to them.

"Understand. Things are becoming more dangerous in Equestria now. We need to be careful. You are dismissed."

They nodded in turn before making their way out of the room. Discord simply snapped his fingers to teleport himself out. Shining and Cadence began walking slowly out of the room before magically closing the door behind them, no doubt going to find someplace to discuss what they'd just learned. With those three gone, all that was left was Celestia and Luna. The younger sister looked at her elder with concern as Celestia once more hung her head down. The younger sister knew immediately what was going on in her head, much like she had known for some time now.

"You know you're going to have to tell them eventually."

Celestia nodded. She knew her little sister was speaking sense, but it brought her no joy to hear it.

"I know. I just......."

She looked up at Luna, her eyes beginning to well up with tears.

"......I just wish this hadn't had to happen again."

Alliances

"I hate to sound like some annoying little kid, but are we there yet?"

Lightning Dust was clearly in a fairly bad mood today. But then, she had every right to be, given her surroundings. For this was not the green and lush fields of Equestria. No, this was a place few ponies ever came, or even knew that much about. A vast dry expanse of barren rocks, mud and sand, stretching as far as the eye could see. It was hot. It was unpleasant. It was the last place anypony would ever want to find themselves if they had the choice.

The wastelands.

This was the kind of place mothers would want their children about. The stereotypical place "bad little ponies" would go. In truth nopony would ever be so cruel as to send one of their own out here, for this was not a place for the feint of heart. Those who came out here only ever knew hardship. And those were the lucky ones, for this place was known to be the home of terrible beasts and other horrors that rivalled even the monsters of the Everfree Forest.

But as much as Lightning wanted to just turn around and go back to the safety of Equestria's borders, she had little choice but to be here. Because, just a few metres ahead of her and walking forward with purpose, was her partner in all this. A pony-like figure clad in black robes, covering all of his body. The one who had put her on this path. A path from which there was now no return.

Sombra. Former ruler of the Crystal Empire.

It had been a few weeks since Lightning had learned who it was she was working for, and when she found out, she had to admit that she was scared. Very little could unnerve her, but this was no ordinary unicorn. It was a pony whose history was as dark as his abilities. If ever there was a unicorn you didn't want to mess with, it was him. But, despite her better judgement, she'd decided to continue helping him with his plan, having acted as a spy and helping him keep up to date with what was happening in Ponyville.

In fact, it was immediately after her last report, that of the dragon attack, that he decided to up and move to another place to continue their work. Though why he decided to travel to a place like this, she had no idea. But her pondering would have to wait as her "partner" spoke up for the first time since their journey began.

"Your long wait is at an end Lightning. Our destination is in sight." He said calmly.

Lighting looked ahead and saw a sight that was remarkable and intimidating at the same time. It was a mountain of some sort, but of a kind she'd never seen before. It was sticking out of the middle of the wasteland, clearly visible and imposing. It was formed of a rock darker than the kind they'd been walking on, and all over there were massive holes, as though something had been digging into it. The whole thing gave the impression of a termite mound if it was blown up to extraordinary proportions.

"What is this place?" She asked.

"This, Lightning, is where we will find one who can aid us in my plan."

The pegasus raised an eyebrow at that.

"Help?"

Sombra turned to her, his head and face still obscured by his cowl and black mask respectively.

"You did not think we could carry on with just the two of us, did you?"

Lighting decided not to press the matter. It hadn't really occurred to her, but he did have a point. The kind of change he was planning required many working towards it. But still, she wondered, what kind of help could be waiting for them in a place like this? As they approached the mountain, Lighting caught sight of one of the holes, this one close to the ground. It was clearly how they were going to get inside the place, though the sheer level of darkness within disturbed her.

"You're not afraid of a little darkness, are you?" Sombra asked mockingly.

Lightning frowned at him for that.

"I'm not afraid of anything!" She replied.

The dark unicorn chuckled before continuing onwards, stepping into the hole and walking without fear. Lightning meanwhile was more hesitant. She knew deep down that something bad was in here, but if she was going to achieve her own goals in all of this, she'd have to carry on. And so she followed Sombra deep down the tunnel. With every step they took, Lighting could begin to hear a strange sound. It was a buzzing of some sort, like a bee-hive.

Eventually, Lighting could begin to see something ahead in the darkness, a green glow. As the two of them pressed forward, they arrived at the exit to the tunnel, and what was within shocked Lighting. For they had stepped into a massive central chamber, no doubt stretching throughout the inside of the mountain. Ten thousand ponies could fit in here and still have room to spare. But that alone was not all she had to be shocked about, for she soon saw the source of the green glow.

All over the chamber, dotted about the walls, were thousands upon thousands of green dots in the darkness. Lighting could see that these dots were moving, and it soon dawned on her that they were eyes. Green eyes attatched to bodies black as night. The creatures looked like decayed ponies, feral and savage, and bearing razor-sharp teeth. And those eyes glared menacingly at the two who had now entered their chamber.

"Changelings." Lighting said disbelievingly.

She'd heard stories about these creatures, but had never actually seen one. Nor did she want to. These creatures, despite only having appeared in Equestria recently, had immediately become known far and wide as a major threat to the ponies. For these creatures had launched an all-out assault on the nation's capital, Canterlot, the only such attack the city had ever faced. If it hadn't been for the involvement of a handful of ponies, Canterlot, and by extension all of Equestria, would have surely fallen that day.

The chattering sound from so many changelings was almost deafening, but soon the chatter stopped as Lighting and Sombra heard a voice.

"Calm yourself my children. Is that any way to treat guests?"

The voice sent chills down Lightning's spine. She had no idea who that voice belonged to, but she already didn't want to know. She began to back away slowly, but Sombra stood his ground, instead choosing to reply.

"Do I have the honour of addressing Chrysalis, Queen of the changelings?" He said.

Lightning looked at him. The guy must have had nerves of steel to be standing in the middle of so many dangerous creatures and not even flinch, no to mention addressing their leader directly like that.

"My my. Such manners. Other ponies could learn much from you......your majesty." The voice replied.

Sombra's cowl moved, indicating to Lightning that he was now looking directly up.

"You know of me?" He asked.

The voice then chuckled, a sound Lightning found unpleasant to hear.

"Bu of course. News travels fast, even in the wastelands. Your attack on the Crystal Empire was quite a display."

"You flatter me your majesty. However, I did not come to reminisce." Sombra replied.

Then there was another sound. Another buzzing, but far quieter than the one they'd heard from the swarm moments ago. Lighting squinted her eyes, trying to find the source of the sound amidst the green gloom. Eventually, she managed to catch sight of a figure descending from the upper area of the chamber. As it got closer, Lightning got a better look. It was no doubt a changeling, given it's colouring. But she was far larger than the others, and bore a mane much like a pony would. But it was the eyes Lighting focused on the most. Those green, piercing eyes. They were the eyes of a predator. Eyes that Lighting wanted to look away from, yet could not.

The figure, Chrysalis Sombra had called her, lowered herself onto the ground and walked up to the cloaked figure of Sombra.

"If this were any other pony, I'd let my children have their dinner early today. But then, you are not any other pony, are you?" She said.

Sombra shook his head.

"No. What I am however, is a pony that finds himself in need of assistance."

Chrysalis chuckled again.

"Help? Oh yes Sombra, you are indeed in need of help. I can tell just from looking at you. I assume you're not in the best of heath right now?"

Sombra raised a hoof and clasped it over the front of his cloak.

"The crystal heart was more potent than I expected. The damaged it caused to me was......severe."

Chrysalis tilted her head again.

"And still you seek to move against Equestria? Against the princesses? You're tenacious, I'll give you that much."

This time it was Sombra's time to laugh.

"Perhaps. But there is more than enough fight in me to carry on. But even I can see the folly in attempting to strike alone. Which is why I have come here, to you."

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow before turning away from him and gesturing to the thousands of changelings still clinging to the walls of the chamber.

"No doubt you seek to add changeling might to your arsenal to use against Celestia and her kind? As much as I would love to put that sun mare in her place a second time, I will not risk it. My kind already suffered much at the hands of the magic of ponies. To try it a second time would doom us for sure."

Sombra nodded.

"Alone, that might be true. But if we join forces, we can achieve what neither one of us could accomplish alone."

Chrysalis faced him again, now frowning.

"Pretty words Sombra. But unless you can offer something more concrete than promises, you'll find no allies here."

Although his face could not be seen, Lighting could tell that he was smiling.

"What if I were to tell you that I had a certain.....influence over a very important pony. A powerful pony. A pony whose words and actions held sway over much of Equestria."

Chrysalis' frown lessened a little. Clearly, Sombra had piqued her interest. She took a few steps forward.

"You have my attention. What is it exactly that you propose?"

Sombra gestured with his hoof, inviting her closer. The Queen, clearly suspicious, nevertheless moved closer. Sombra leaned forward and began whispering to her. Lighting strained to hear what was being said, though she believed it was to do with that they'd set in motion already. Whatever he was telling her, it was working. For the expression on Chrysalis' face changed to one of interest, and then to a more devilish grin. She backed away from Sombra once he'd finished whispering before letting out a loud laugh, which echoed throughout the chamber.

"Oh my dear Sombra! I do adore the way your mind works!" She said jovially.

Sombra bowed his head a little.

"I thank you, your majesty. I take it that I can count on your support?"

Lightning looked from Sombra, to Chrysalis, who was clearly giving the matter a great deal of thought. Whatever Sombra had told her, it had impressed her. After a few minutes of sheer silence from her, Chrysalis gave a smile before replying.

"Very well. you shall have our aid in this. The changelings will support your plan."

Sombra bowed his head once more.

"Thank you. This choice you make today will not go unrewarded."

Chrysalis raised a hoof, catching his attention.

"But when Equestria is yours, I expect you to fulfil your end of the bargain. And in addition to that, I want those two love-birds brought to me in chains." She said menacingly.

"My Queen, It would be my pleasure."

Lightning didn't know how to feel about all this. Here she was, in the den of her people's most dangerous known foe, assisting them in doing something no other pony would ever even dream of doing. When she'd started working for Sombra, he had convinced her that her dream was worth any sacrifice she could make for it. And at the time, she'd agreed. Being the best, and being known as such had occupied her every waking moment.

But now, looking at those who surrounded her, and considering what company she was now keeping, it was impossible for her to not feel just the tiniest bit of doubt over all of this. But she had other things to worry about, as Sombra was now walking towards her. He stopped mere inches from her, which allowed her to gaze into the slits in his black mask where his eyes should be.

"And now, Lightning.......the REAL work begins."

With that said, Sombra began to walk past her. Lightning kept her gaze on him, never saying a word. The way he'd said that disturbed her to say the least, but not as much as it did to have him say his next words, which were said without even bothering to look back at her.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have an appointment with a young princess."

Nightmares

Something was wrong. Twilight knew that. All there was around her was darkness, and she could not see anything anywhere around her. She had no idea how she got to this place. The last thing she remembered was lying down on her hospital bed, still tired from her fight with the dragon. The next thing she knew was that she was in this strange place. The darkness was bad enough, but on top of that, it was cold. She was shivering as though it was the middle of winter right now.

"Hello? Is anyone out there?" She called out.

Nothing. No sound. No voice. No sign of any life. Against her better judgement, she tried to walk forward despite not being able to see anything. She started with a slow walk, before eventually starting to run. No matter how far forward she moved, she could not make contact with any kind of solid object.

"HELLO?!"

Still nothing. What was this place, she asked herself. Was this a dream? That seemed the most logical explanation, given what happened immediately before coming here. But there was something else in all this. A strange feeling within her. There was something very familiar about all this, as though she'd felt this before. But she couldn't put her hoof on what.

Before she could dwell on that further, she heard something. She thought it sounded like a breeze of wind. Spinning around, she strained her eyes to try and see, but saw nothing.

"Is somepony there?" She asked.

But there was no response. She started to walk in the direction of the sound, but felt nothing. Then, all of a sudden, the noise happened again, this time behind her. She still couldn't see anything, something which was starting to annoy her. She concentrated, tried to use her magic to conjure a light spell, much like she had done when imprisoned in the crystal caverns beneath Canterlot. But despite the purple glow of her horn, she could still see nothing.

She began to think this was indeed a dream, albeit a very strange one. She'd never had a dream like this before, but she took solace that, eventually, she'd wake up and everything would be fine.

"I assure you....you are NOT fine."

The voice had come from nowhere. Twilight spun around again to try and see it's source, but in truth it sounded like it had come from all around her. The voice was disturbing to say the least. It may have given the impression of calm, but there was an edge to it that made her shiver, even more so than the cold.

"Who's there?" She called again.

After a few silent moments, the voice spoke again.

"Oh, you don't need me to tell you the answer to that. You're a smart girl. You've felt this before, this darkness. Think hard, and you will know me."

Twilight had indeed felt this before, but only now was that memory vivid. It had been almost a year ago, when she had attempted to find the crystal heart in the northern Empire. She had come across a powerful magic, dark and corrupting. it had seeped into her mind and heart, attempting to force her to face her deepest fears. It was one of the most horrific experiences she'd ever known. But as she dwelt on that memory, her eyes widened with shock as she suddenly realised what this meant.

"No.....it can't be......Sombra?"

The voice laughed. It was cold and hard, much like her surroundings.

"Yes child. I am King Sombra. I must confess, you and your friends put up quite a fight back at my Empire. But as you can plainly see, or not see in this case, you failed to undo me."

Twilight's expression of shock changed to one of anger.

"It is NOT your Empire! The crystal heart purified it of your influence. It's free from you now."

"Oh yes, I can see. But you're naive if you think one defeat is enough to stop me. I am more powerful than you know."

Twilight could hear the sound from before whirring around her. Although she could not see Sombra, she knew that he must be circling her right now.

"But you.....you are also powerful, as proved by your defeat of my dragon. I see why Celestia chose you for ascension. Great users of magic have always caught her eye."

Twilight raised an eyebrow, confused at that remark.

"What do you know of the princess?" She asked.

The dark unicorn laughed again, a sound becoming increasingly unpleasant to Twilight's ears.

"Oh my dear child, you don't know anything, do you? Celestia and I know each other, from long before our conflict in the Empire. She might have told you that if she trusted you."

Twilight stepped forward, now angry at the remark he'd just made.

"She DOES trust me! I'm her student, her friend! We've known each other since I was a filly! How dare you say such things about her!"

"Oh, she may trust you to bear great power, but not to use it. A fragile thing like you, she'd want out of harm's way, much like all the others around you. They wouldn't ever think you capable of facing one like me."

Twilight stamped her hoof down.

"You're wrong! Princess Celestia trusts me, just like all my friends! And if you think that you're so high-and-mighty that I can't beat you, then you’re wrong about that too!" She stated angrily.

"Oh am I?" Sombra replied.

Before Twilight could react, she suddenly felt her limbs freeze up, as though some unseen force was holding them in place. She tried resisting, but could do nothing to break free. She couldn't even see what was going on with all this darkness. Concentrating, Twilight even tried using magic to help her, but to her dismay it was not working like it had done before. But as bad as all of this was, what horrified her more was what now lay before her. For there, emerging from the darkness, was the face of Sombra himself.

It was as he'd shown himself back at their journey to the Crystal Empire. He was mere smoke, with only a face emerging from it. His bright green eyes piercing her with his gaze.

"Such a confident young mare." He said coldly.

His face approached closer to her, unnerving her to no end. With every inch he drew closer, Twilight struggled harder and hard to break free from her restraints, to no avail. Eventually, she merely steeled herself for whatever Sombra had in store for her. And judging from the smirk on his face, it wasn't anything good. From the darkness, emerged what was undoubtedly his hoof. He raised it and placed it on the side of her face. He was cold to the touch, and the feeling of him touching her was sickening in itself.

"An intelligent mind. What secrets is such a mind hiding I wonder?"

Twilight didn't have time to ask what that meant as she suddenly felt something strange. It was a feeling she'd never experienced before, but instantly knew was bad. It was as though something was seeping into her mind, something twisted. It didn't take long for her to figure out that it was Sombra. He was doing something to her, to her mind. She tried resisting, but had no idea how to do so.

"Such happy memories. But where's the one I'm looking for?"

The young alicorn felt utterly helpless from this. She was completely at his mercy as he was doing whatever it was he was doing. The feeling in her mind was growing, making her dizzy and weak. But she did her best to keep standing, though it did little good. Sombra's piercing green eyes frightening her far more than they had done during their first confrontation back at the Empire. After what seemed like an eternity, Sombra's smile grew as he finally let go of her, the feeling of restraint lifting from her. She buckled and fell to her knees, looking up angrily at him.

"I have what I came for young one. If you seek an audience, find me in the mountain at the centre of the wastelands. I'll be waiting."

Sombra's face backed up and disappeared once mote in the shadows. Twilight felt strange, as though her mind was beginning to lift from the haze that had been put on it. The darkness began to disappear and was replaced by a light of some sort. The entire world around her changed from a strange and hostile environment to one very familiar. Twilight looked around. It was her room in the Canterlot hospital, and she was still in bed. After looking around, she placed her hoof on the side of her face.

"It....it WAS a dream." She said.

Then, after a sigh of relief, her eyes widened and her heart filled with worry.

"I have to tell Celestia!"

She leapt out of bed, her strength having returned at last, and bolted for the door. She didn't even bother to close it behind her, instead charging down the hall, oblivious to the shouts of all the doctors and nurses around her.

"I have to tell her he's back!"

Closing her eyes, even as she ran, Twilight focused hard on her magic, and within moments, she was engulfed in a bright purple glow. The next thing any of the ponies around her knew, she was gone in an instant. In truth, Twilight had used her teleportation spell, one she was quite familiar with. But since becoming an alicorn, the power of that spell had increased greatly, and was now capable of transporting her across far greater distances than before.

And so, she had used it to travel immediately to the front gates of the royal palace of Canterlot. The guards at the gates were, needless to say, quite surprised by the sudden appearance of the nation's newest princess. But they soon got their bearings and saluted dutifully. Twilight however was too busy to even notice them, and charged right past, making her way into the castle. She ran as fast as she could, going to where they would undoubtedly be, the meeting room. It was the logical place to look, given that her brother, Shining had told her that Celestia wanted to meet with him.

She knew this castle like the back of her hoof, having spent so many years here, and so had little difficulty in eventually locating the large wooden doors of the meeting room. The two guards adjacent to it saluted like the guards at the front gates, and this time, Twilight nodded in response. She stopped immediately outside the door, pausing for a moment to catch her breath. The run to get here, especially after she's only just recovered, was tiring.

But as she panted, she began to hear voices within the room. One of which she recognised immediately as that of her brother.

".......I would ask that Twilight not be involved in this."

That statement caused the young mare confusion. Shining didn't want her involved in something? In what? She glanced on either side of her to see the two guards. She gestured to them with her hoof and, after giving another salute, they walked off as commanded. With them gone, Twilight concentrated on the voices on the other side of the door. She could hear another voice, one that was responding to her brother. It was muffled, but it sounded an awful lot like Celestia.

She couldn't make out what she was saying, but that didn't matter as she soon heard her brother's voice again. But like with the previous voice, it was hard to make out everything he was saying, so the words came out in sparse fragments.

".......But as you said........Sombra may not be as big of a threat now........I would rather Twilight not........I know she's a princess now. But......."

Twilight felt crestfallen by the few words she had managed to make out. Shining knew that Sombra was involved in all this? He knew that he was responsible for the dragon attack? And in spite of that, it seems he still didn't want her to go out and try to stop him. But this was Shining. Her brother. He knew that she could handle herself, right? But then her mind called forth the memory of his visit to her in the hospital. The way he'd talked to her, scolded her from going against the dragon, like a child who'd over-stepped her boundaries. Perhaps he didn't think she could handle it, even after everything she'd accomplished.

But before she could think more on that, she heard the second voice again. This time it was spoken louder, so Twilight could tell that it was indeed the voice of Princess Celestia.

"........I will not involve her....."

Twilight had not caught the last words, but she didn't need to. She stepped back from the door, not wanting to believe what she'd heard. It was true. What Sombra had told her was true. Even after everything she'd done, all the evil she'd stopped, they still thought of her as a child, needing protection from the dark forces that worked against them. They didn't think her capable of handling this. She'd been given the great power of the alicorns, but for what? To stay at home and do nothing whilst others did her duty for her?

Her expression of sadness changed to one of determination. No, she told herself. An alicorn can beat Sombra, that much was proved when Celestia and Luna fought him a thousand years ago. And now that she was an alicorn, she could do it as well. Although the desire to prove others wrong had never been inherent to her, Twilight decided then and there to show her friends, and her family, that she was a worthy defender of this land and it's people, even if she had to do it alone.

Turning from the door, she concentrated on her magic again and was once more engulfed in purple light. There was a flash, and she was gone, just before the doors opened to reveal Shining Armour and Princess Cadence starting to walk out of the meeting.

....................................

He woke from his trance, having felt somewhat drained by the effort. Although he still possessed magic far above that of many unicorns, Sombra's present state made it difficult for him to focus on it. But still, he took solace in the fact that his efforts were successful. The invitation had been sent out, and now all he had to do was wait and see if it would be answered. As he regained his senses, he soon became more aware of his surroundings, the cold stone chamber that had been given to him as his quarters while he stayed here.

And, as his sense of sight returned more, he noticed that he was not alone here, as he had been before going into the dream-trance. For there, leaning against the egde of the entrance to his room, was his host. Queen Chrysalis, leader of the hive of changelings which called this mountain stronghold their home. She give him a disturbing smile as he brought himself back to stand on all four hooves.

"I take it your task went well?" She asked coldly.

Sombra nodded. If he had a mouth right now, he'd be smiling back at her.

"Yes. Twilight knows where to find me, and, unbeknownst to her, I found the memory I was looking for."

Chrysalis nodded. She turned and made a series of clicking noises. A few moments later, Sombra noted a changeling drone enter the room and bow before his Queen before she spoke again.

"Inform Sombra's little helper that she's required." She commanded.

The drone didn't reply, but bowed once more and left the room. Chrysalis faced Sombra again.

"It must have been fun, toying with a pony's mind like that." She stated.

Sombra afforded himself a chuckle.

"Indeed. To have one so strong in my grasp. To hold her close and see the look of utter terror in her eyes as she realised there was nothing she could do. To hold her life, her dreams, in my hands as I entered her mind.....was most gratifying."

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow and tilted her head.

"A little young for you, isn't she?" She asked jokingly.

Sombra chuckled again before shrugging his shoulders.

"Well, I was trapped in a block of ice for centuries. Can't blame a guy for wanting a little "quality time" with a pretty young mare, now can you?"

The two shared a laugh over the sick joke he'd made, just as they heard the sound of hoof-steps approaching. They turned their heads to see the green form of Lightning Dust arrive. The mare looked wary as she passed by Chrysalis, who kept her gaze locked on the pegasus. Lighting tried her best to distract herself from the changeling Queen by moving towards Sombra.

"You sent for me?" She asked.

Sombra nodded.

"Indeed I did. I've found where the ponies hid my property. You will go to a cave deep in the Everfree Forest, near the border between it and the wastelands. Once inside, you'll find it in a locked box. Bring the box here, to me."

Lightning looked from Sombra, to the Queen, and back to Sombra, a moment of hesitation in her eyes. But she sighed before nodding. She turned and began walking out the door, all while the other two kept their eyes on her. Chrysalis faced Sombra once more, her expression more serious than it was before.

"You are taking a big risk Sombra. By giving away your location, we could well have the entire Equestrian army bearing down on us soon. How do you know the little princess will come by herself, without aid?" She asked.

Sombra faced her, his masked visage giving away no trace of emotion.

"Oh, believe me your majesty. Twilight WILL come alone.......right into the belly of the beast."

A king confronted

Even though the mood was fairly sombre, the group tried their best not to let recent events dampen their spirits. Sitting around a table at Sugarcube Corner, were five mares and a young baby dragon. Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Spike, were all trying to enjoy their time here, despite everything that had been happening. The six of them looked around after eating their cakes to see outside the window at the state of Ponyville.

Ever since the dragon attack a couple of weeks ago, everypony here had been busy trying to rebuild. Whole districts had been wiped out by the monster and many had been left homeless. But nopony in this village was willing to allow their neighbours to be without a place to stay, and many had offered up their own homes for them to live in until the damage had been repaired and the destroyed homes rebuilt. It was times like this that made the mares proud to live in a place like this, where so many of the community would band together like that.

But, on a more personal note, they lamented that it could only be the six of them here today, and not seven. Twilight, one of their closest friends, had been in Canterlot since the attack. And even though they had every confidence in the doctors there, they were all worried that no word had yet been heard of her condition. Speaking of conditions, some in the group couldn't help but have their eyes drawn to Rainbow, whose bandages were a clear sign of how close they came to losing far more than they did.

This gaze did not escape her notice however.

"Oh come on guys! I told you, I'm fine! Can we please try and enjoy the evening?" She snapped.

They all knew that she just didn't want them to worry, but her tone wasn't exactly appreciated. Still, they agreed with the sentiment. The sun was shining, and they were all certain that things would get back to normal soon. So they busied themselves with the usual chatter, like Fluttershy and Rarity making their usual spa appointments, and Applejack talking with Rainbow over the upcoming rodeo. Pinkie and Spike meanwhile were just occupying themselves with their desserts, which they happily gulped down with no regard for table manners.

All-in-all, things were going well. But that soon changed when, all of a sudden, the door of Sugarcube Corner burst open. The heads of everypony ion the room snapped to attention and turned in the direction of the door. The six gaped in surprise at what they saw there. In the doorway, was a mare. A very familiar unicorn mare who, not very long ago, had caused quite a few problems for all of them. She was a light blue in colour, with her mane and even lighter shade than that. She scoured the room until she locked onto the six of them, though she was mostly trying to catch her breath, having apparently run a long way.

"Trixie?!" Spike said.

The so-called "great and powerful" Trixie, who had twice come into this town and shown herself to be a handful for the six mares and Spike. The last time they saw her, she'd appointed herself as the totalitarian ruler of Ponyville, enslaving eveypony, even them. And even though Twilight had accepted her apology for her actions, the rest of the group was, needless to say, not all that thrilled to see her again. A sentiment which was echoed by Rainbow's angry tome.

"What are YOU doing back here?" She asked.

Trixie walked up to them, still panting.

"Where....is......Twilight?" She asked, still trying to catch her breath.

The group exchanged confused looks before turning back to her, with Applejack answering.

"She's over in Canterlot. Why'd y'all ask?"

Trixie suddenly looked very worried.

"You have to help me find her! She's in terrible danger!"

..........................................

Although she had only heard of this place in books and from stories she'd heard as a child, Twilight could see easily why nopony ever came to this place. She was flying high in the sky, looking down on the rocky and barren land below her. The wasteland, as it was known, had certainly earned it's name. Very little lived here, and even the creatures that did were not the kind you'd want to meet. It was little more than a vast expanse of nothing.

Twilight couldn't help but think Sombra wise to come here. Nopony would ever think to look for him here, nor would they want to. But still, here she was, looking for him herself. It had been several hours since her incident with him at Canterlot. The nightmare he had created had unnerved her greatly. But, as much as she knew how dangerous Sombra was, she was still more than willing to try and confront him over the things he had done.

At first, she'd thought that maybe charging out like this was an unwise decision, that perhaps it would be better to call for reinforcements and strike at Sombra with a stronger force. But every time such thoughts entered her mind, they would vanish soon afterwards, replaced by the memory of what she'd heard back at the meeting room, and how hurt she felt over how little faith those around her seemed to have in her abilities. No, she told herself. She was a princess of Equestria. And she would prove to all, even Celestia, that they did not make a mistake in choosing her to be one.

But first, she had to find the one who had called her here, which did not take long. For there, ahead of her, was her destination. A mountain, vast and craggy, sticking out like a sore thumb amidst the relatively flat land of the wastes. Narrowing her eyes, she flapped her wings hard and launched herself through the air faster than before. With the advanced flying skills of an alicorn, it did not take long for her to reach the place. Gracefully, she landed on the ground, right in front of a large hole in the side of the mountain which was undoubtedly the entrance to this place. Looking at the gloomy darkness within, Twilight steeled herself.

"Well Twilight. This is it." She told herself.

Hesitantly, she began to walk inside. But with every step she took, she grew bolder, walking faster and faster within the tunnel. Concentrating, she caused her horn to glow, illuminating the tunnel in the same glow. She could see much further now, and saw that the tunnel went on for some time. The further in she walked the more she noticed that the tunnel was filled with large rocks, almost as big as she was. She ignored them however and kept moving.

Eventually, she came upon the exit to the tunnel. Emerging from it, she came upon a large open cavern, so large it must have taken up most of the inside of the mountain. Looking down from the high place, she saw, not far from her, a figure. it was the same size as an adult stallion, but was covered in a black robe and mask. As Twilight gazed upon the figure, a chill went down her spine. A very familiar chill that she'd felt not too long ago. She knew who this person was, and she walked forward to confront him.

"Sombra!" She called out.

Sombra, who had been looking at the ground until this point, lifted his head and set his sight upon the angry young alicorn who was now marching towards him.

"Ah, Princess Sparkle. How lovely to see you." He said calmly, bowing in mock fashion.

Twilight stopped walking towards him, her horn now glowing brightly as she began to focus more magic.

"It's over monster! You're coming back with me to Canterlot to face justice for your crimes against ponykind!" She announced.

Sombra looked up from his bow and chuckled.

"My my. How confident you've grown in your new position. Unfortunately, young one, I have no intention of going to Canterlot. At least, not yet."

Twilight lowered her head and aimed her now-charged horn at him.

"I'm not giving you a choice in the matter."

Sombra tilted his head, clearly unimpressed with the young mare's words.

"Oh, I’m sure you'll try. But the question is......"

He then pointed his robed hoof to something behind her.

"......how long can you last against all of us?"

Twilight was confused for a brief moment until she suddenly realised the meaning behind his words. Quickly, she spun around to see a very unwelcome sight behind her. Changelings. Dozens of them, all crammed into the tunnel entrance she'd just walked out of .Twilight was shocked. Where had they come from? There was nothing in that tunnel except rocks. Then, realisation dawned on her. They'd tricked her. The rocks had been changelings in disguise, just waiting for her.

This got worse when, out of nowhere, she heard an almost deafening sound. It was a buzzing of some sort, which snapped her attention to the chamber around her. Lining the walls were more changelings. Hundreds of them. Twilight's mouth was gaping open at this point. This mountain, it wasn't just Sombra's hiding place, it was the changeling hive! She faced Sombra once more. Although his face was obscured by his black mask, she had no doubt that he was smirking at this point.

The unicorn king raised a hoof and aimed it at her.

"TAKE HER!!!" He commanded.

And at that command, all hell broke loose. Changelings from every direction charged or flew down from the chamber walls, all aimed at Twilight. The young princess immediately erected a magical shield around herself, just in time to take the impact of dozens of changeling drones trying to ram into her. The shield knocked them back, allowing her just enough time to dispel her shield and flap her wings, launching herself into the air. Many of the drone soon followed her, shooting green bolts of magic from their own horns to try and strike at her.

But, despite her relatively brief experience in flying, Twilight managed to successfully dodged many of the blasts. But she knew she couldn't keep flying away and dodging, not with this many enemies. She stopped mid-air and aimed her own horn at her attackers, sending out a powerful burst of magic which kmocked well over a dozen drones out of the air at once. But despite this successful attack on her part, the enemy were simply too numerous to be deterred.

She resumed her high-speed flying within the chamber, with the drones in pursuit. As she flew around, she caught a glimpse of Sombra on the ground, who at this point had merely been observing the battle. An idea occurred to Twilight as she saw him. Her entire reason for coming here was to bring this guy down. If she could do that quickly and then try and escape afterwards, it would only be a matter of time before she re-entered Equestria's borders, and there was no way the drones would follow her once that threshold was crossed.

Chancing it all on this plan, Twilight changed direction and flew down fast towards the motionless king. Sombra, seeing her fly towards him, did not move. She flew closer and closer, dodging all the blasts and attacking changelings between her and him. Eventually, she was within mere metres of him, charging her horn and ready for a powerful attack that would no doubt defeat him. But little did Twilight know that this was the worst thing she could have done.

For mere moments before she reached him, Sombra raised a hoof and gestured to the young princess. As soon as he did, Twilight felt an unbearable pain throughout her body. It was so great that it caused her to lose concentration, allowing her pursuers to quickly catch up to her and knocked her out of the air and onto the ground. The impact was hard and Twilight now laid on her side as dozens of changelings now surrounded her. She attempted to get up, but before she could, the drones opened their mouths and shot out bursts of sticky green goo at her.

They struck all over her body, practically attaching her to the ground. Despite her struggles, she knew it was hopeless, as she had seen this substance before, back during the first time she'd witnessed these creatures. It was impossible to simply force her way out. Realising that she could use her magic, Twilight began to concentrate on her horn. But that plan soon died as another blob of the stuff hit her horn, covering it. No matter how hard she tried, the substance had prevented her from using magic. She was now completely covered in the stuff, with only her head exposed.

She looked on, increasingly fearful of the changeling swarm which now had her in their clutches. But her attention was soon drawn to Sombra, who made his way through the swarm and stood before her. Although his mask obscured his face from her, she had no doubt that he was silently gloating over this.

"Well now princess. How does it feel to have a nightmare come true?" He asked.

Twilight said nothing. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he was getting to her. She then noticed the crowd begin to move once more, as another, larger figure was approaching. Twilight's eyes widened in horror as she saw the very familiar form of Queen Chrysalis, now standing next to Sombra. The young princess knew just how bad this situation was now. Sombra returning was dire enough, but to have the Queen of the changelings ally herself with him was a level of emergency she'd never known.

"A successful hunt I see Sombra." She commented.

"Indeed you majesty. Now we will see if the seed has become ready to harvest." Sombra replied.

Twilight raised an eyebrow, unsure of what he meant by that. But she had little time to ponder as the dark unicorn approached her, lifting his hoof as he did so. Twilight didn't want to stick around and see what he was going to do, and so struggled with all her might against the goo which imprisoned her. But it was hopeless, she wasn't going anywhere. All she could do was look on as her enemy placed his hoof on her head. The moment he did so, that agonising pain from before emerged once more.

She thrashed around in her binds, struggling to cope with this pain she had never known. Sombra was doing something to her, something twisted. She began to feel something within her. It was a familiar, though unpleasant, feeling that she'd tried to forget about. It was the same feeling she'd felt back when she fought the dragon, back when she used dark magic. Twilight felt her power grow from within, and soon, as everyone around her saw, her eyes began to glow a bright green, much like they had done the last time she'd used this power.

Twilight tried to stop it, to try and bury this power like she had done before, but Sombra's own power was drawing it out. And soon, she saw his purpose. For the green glow of her eyes began to pour out of her, and streamed into the slits in Sombra's mask where his eyes should be. The crowd looked on, with many drones backing away in fear over what was happening. Twilight meanwhile was growing weaker, as she felt the power drain away from her, that dark feeling beginning to fade as it did so.

Eventually, the green magic was gone from her eyes completely, and Sombra removed his hoof from her, letting her lower her head with sheer fatigue. With Sombra, something was beginning to happen. There were streams of green light emerging from within his robes and mask, as changes began to occur to him. After a few moments, the light reached it's brightest, before eventually fading down. Twilight, still tired, raised her head to see her enemy.

The dark unicorn raised his hoof once more and placed it on the side of his mask. There was a clicking sound as he began to pull it off. Once off, Twilight and all others there could see him, just as he had been when he attacked the Crystal Empire. Sombra placed his hoof to his face and began to smile, a look which unnerved Twilight. He then placed his hoof on his robe and pulled it off, revealing him exactly as he had been before, complete with his regal-looking red cloak.

"And so I am restored! I must thank you, young one. Without you, none of this could have been possible."

And those were the last words Twilight heard before she lost her strength completely and fell unconscious. Chrysalis walked over to her and poked the side of her head, making sure she wasn't awake. She then turned to Sombra and gave her own smile.

"I must say Sombra, I wasn't sure this would work."

Sombra gave a brief chuckle.

"It is true. Had Twilight remained a regular unicorn, the magic that the dark power latched onto would not have been sufficient to restore me to my full glory. But since she became an alicorn, her magic has become far more potent. And so too did the dark magic once she decided to use it."

Chrysalis nodded before turning back to the unconscious Twilight.

"What shall we do with her now? In this weakened state, it would be so easy for me to.....end her."

The changeling Queen made her horn glow and began to aim it at Twilight. But she soon felt the touch of Sombra's hoof on her shoulder, causing her to stop casting her spell. She looked at him, confused.

"I believe she is far more valuable to us alive, my Queen. If we were to simply kill her, she would become a martyr for her people. A saint to be revered in death and a name behind which all ponies could rally against us." He said.

Chrysalis frowned and gestured to Twilight whilst keeping her eyes on Sombra.

"Then what exactly do you intend?"

The dark king smirked.

"We will send her back, humiliated and defeated. And doing so will send the ponies of Equestria a clear and unmistakable message. The alicorns are the most powerful among them. If one of them faced us, and lost, as Twilight did, then they would know that none of them are safe. They will doubt the ability of Celestia and the others to protect them from threats like us. Ponykind will tear itself apart in a mad scramble to ensure their own safety. Believe me, the fear that a defeated alicorn will bring will cause far more damage to their society than any show of force."

Chrysalis considered this for a moment before eventually cracking a smile at her partner.

"My dear Sombra. I do believe I'm growing quite fond of you."

Sombra gave a brief bow with his head before looking at Twilight again.

"But don't get me wrong. I have no intention of letting such a powerful adversary return without ensuring that she becomes......"less" of a threat" He said darkly.

His eyes began to glow a bright green, the sure sign of use of dark magic. He approached the unconscious Twilight, and once more placed his hoof on her forehead. After a few moments, as the changelings around them observed, Twilight began to become enveloped in the same green glow as Sombra's eyes. Something was happening to her, but what, they could not tell. The glow became brighter and brighter until eventually, it was too bright to see.

................................

"What do you mean she's in danger?" Rainbow demanded.

Virtually the entire group had got out of their chairs and faced Trixie, who was looking increasingly nervous around them. The moment she mentioned that Twilight was in some sort of peril, they'd been right up in her face, looking rather angry. She couldn't blame them of course. The last time she'd shown her face here, she hadn't left the best of impressions. But that didn't matter now. What did matter was that they understood what was going on.

"You have to believe me. Something bad is being planned for her! You have to tell me where she is so I can warn her."

Applejack snorted, clearly unimpressed with her words.

"Yeah right. What proof do y'all have that you're tellin the truth?" She asked.

Trixie opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, there was a near-blinding flash coming from outside. Everypony and Spike turned their attention to it, as it immediately died down soon afterwards. Their anger towards Trixie soon disappeared as they all exchanged nervous looks at one another. Not a word needed to be said as they all rushed outside. For many, their jaws were gaping open as they saw, lying in the middle of the street, a purple pony lying on the ground, unmoving.

They all rushed towards the unmoving form, and instantly recognised it as Twilight. They gathered close, with Fluttershy checking her breathing. She breathed a sigh of relief as it was soon confirmed that she was still alive. But as relieved as they all were that she was still kicking, that relief too turned to horror as they noticed something about her. Something that they knew should be impossible, but they saw anyway. None of them said anything, as all were hoping that their eyes were playing tricks on them. Eventually, it was left to Spike to finally say what was on all their minds.

"Guys........"

He knelt down next to his closest friends and placed his clawed hand on her gently, before turning back to the other with tears in his eyes.

"..........where are her wings?"

The truth

The weather had turned quickly, going from bright and sunny, to grey and cloudy. But despite that, she didn't care. She didn't care about anything except simply sitting here and being alone. Twilight was on the top floor of her home in Ponyville, looking out of the window as she sat on the edge of her bed. Depressed would, at this point, be an understatement of how she felt right now. She was devastated, having tried her best to overcome a great threat to her people, and not only had she lost, she had been stripped of something precious to her.

Reluctantly, she looked over her shoulder, at her back. A day ago, that back bore the wings of an alicorn. Now, they were gone. Even though she'd spent only a relatively short time as an alicorn, she had been happy as one. Now someone terrible had come along and taken that from her. She had been entrusted with great responsibilities and powers far above what many other ponies could ever wield. And in one moment of foolishness, she'd thrown it all away.

She turned away and looked back towards the window. The sight of her now-bare back would have sent her to tears, but she'd already spent them earlier today. It had not been long since she'd woken up in her bed, having been carried there by her friends. They told her that they'd found her in the middle of the street, unconscious, and most likely having been teleported there. Apart from that she was unharmed, for which she was grateful. For whatever reason, Sombra, and his partner-in-crime, Chrysalis, had spared her. Why? She could not figure out.

But even if she could, there was little she could do about it. If she couldn't beat them as an alicorn, there was no chance she'd stand any chance against them in her present state. Since her recovery, she'd asked that she be left alone. Although she appreciated that her friends had looked after her, she didn't want them to see her in this state. They no doubt wanted to be by her side right now, but had nevertheless respected her wishes and not entered the house.

But her solitude was interrupted by a loud knocking on the door. Twilight didn't turn to face it, merely kept her eyes facing the window. The knocking started again, this time followed by a very familiar voice.

"Twily? It's me. Shining."

At this, Twilight turned and looked at the door on the level below. She didn't budge from her spot, but she concentrated and her horn started to glow. She used her magic to turn the knob of the door, opening it. Sure enough, her brother was on the other side. He entered the house and closed the door behind him. After taking a few steps further, he finally caught sight of his sister on the second level. But she turned away from him as soon as she saw her.

As she looked away, she could hear him starting to walk up the stairs to get to her. Through the corner of her eye, she saw him walk next to the bed and sit down next to her. For quite a while, there was silence between them. Then Shining finally spoke.

"How.....how are you doing?"

Twilight sighed. She knew him all too well. He was trying to put up a brave front for her, just as she was for him by not crying right now. He was making small-talk, trying to make the situation less uncomfortable. But today, she was in no mood for it.

"Brother, must you really ask that question?"

Her tone was harsher than she intended for it to be, and her brother quickly withdrew to silence. The young mare felt a pang of guilt over making him feel like this. This was her fault that all this happened, her recklessness. If she'd merely gone to him in the first place, perhaps none of this would have happened. That thought caused her to speak up.

"Shining.....I'm sorry."

Her brother looked at her, his expression clearly one of confusion.

"Sorry? What could you possibly have to be sorry about?"

She turned to face him.

"This was my fault. If I hadn't gone there alone and tried to fight him.....this.....this....."

She couldn't bring herself to say it. The loss of her wings was still painful to have to think about. And her brother knew this, as was evidence by him gently placing his hoof around her shoulders in an attempt to comfort her.

"Yes. It's true you shouldn't have gone alone. But this was that monster's fault, not yours. Never yours."

Twilight shook hr head, her tears threatening to return once more.

"But I screwed up! I was charged with being a leader for Equestria. Instead, I made the biggest mistake of my life. I handed our enemy a victory. A victory that will come back to haunt us. I didn't deserve to ascend. I wasn't......worthy."

She hung her lead low in shame. This was something that had been on her mind for some time. Her rise to princess had been, without question, a great honour. But there was always some part of her that kept telling her that she wasn't worthy of the position, that perhaps she wasn't ready. This failure on her part only served to confirm her fears of that. In all her years of being princess, Celestia never made a blunder on this scale, and neither had Cadence. And here was Twilight, failing in her very first year in the position. It was enough to sadden even the most hardened of hearts.

But Twilight suddenly felt her brother draw her closer to him, leading to her looking up at his face. It was softened, and bearing an expression of understanding.

"Twily. You have ALWAYS been worthy. You have, in your short time in this world, had qualities few others could ever claim to have. You have shown bravery and kindness and an intelligence that puts others to shame, even me. Your skill with magic is unrivalled and you have always taken actions that you have felt was the right thing to do."

Her tears began to recede from her eyes as she became enthralled by the words her brother was saying to her. Shining closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against hers in an affectionate manner.

"If nothing else, you'll always be a princess to me."

Twilight didn't have it in her to answer to that. At certain moments in her life, she'd feared that she and her brother were growing further from one another, that they were becoming less close than they had been when they were children. Here, in this place and time, she knew how foolish she was to have ever thought that. This was Shining Armour, her brother, and the most important stallion in her life. In spite of everything that had happened, Twilight allowed herself to smile. The two embraced each other in a hug, and for just that one moment, everything in the world seemed like it was going to be okay.

But then, the two were interrupted by the sound of another knock on the front door of the house. The two broke away from each other and looked at it.

"Who is it?" Twilight called.

The voice that answered was not one that either of them expected.

"It's Celestia."

The two looked at each other with surprise. Shining got up from the side of the bed and began to move downstairs, with Twilight close behind him. Once at the bottom, Shining used his magic to open the door. Sure enough, there was the princess of the sun on the other side of the door. The former captain of the guard gave a bow to her, as he'd been so used to doing whenever she arrived. But as Celestia entered the house, she raised a hoof.

"At ease Prince Armour."

Shining stood up again. He looked up and saw that Celestia's expression was a fairly serious one. he looked from her, to Twilight behind him. It didn't take a genius to figure out that she had come here to speak to Twilight about what had happened. But, after what the two had just gone through together upstairs, he was inclined to try and protect her from further inquiry. And so, after giving his sister a final nod to indicate he was leaving, which she returned, he began to move past Celestia and leave the house, giving a final statement to the princess as he passed her.

"Don't be hard on her."

Celestia said nothing as the prince moved past her and used his magic to close the door. Now it was just Celestia and Twilight in this house. Twilight nervously started to bow to her, but another raised hoof from the princess stopped her. As the princess looked on and Twilight got up from her bowing position, Celestia couldn't help but feel a pang of regret over what she now had to say to her. But her position, and the actions this young mare took, demanded that she do so.

"Twilight, you know why I've come."

The unicorn nodded slowly, clearly still worried about what was going to be said about her.

"What you did......was a terrible error in judgement on your part. Nopony, not even you, can deny that. I will not ask what your reasons are for going off by yourself like you did, for your reasons are your own. But you should know that I am deeply disappointed in you for this."

Twilight remained silent in the face of all this. For her, it was like being a child again, being scolded by her parents for doing something wrong. But she couldn't really blame Celestia for this. After all, she HAD done something wrong, and paid the price for it. Slowly, she looked up at her mentor. The princess' face was stern, as it often was whenever Twilight had made a mistake. The last time she saw that face was over a year ago when she'd used her magic to drive the ponies of Ponyville crazy over her old doll.

This entire situation was uncomfortable for both of them. Twilight had become very close to Celestia over the years and it brought the princess no joy whatsoever to berate her like this. She knew full well that Twilight had been through something terrible and traumatic, and she wanted nothing more than to comfort her over what happened. And now that she'd said all the things she was obligated to as head of state, she allowed herself to do just that.

"Twilight......"

The young unicorn looked up at her again.

"......I am so sorry about what's been done to you."

Twilight was clearly taken aback by the princess saying that, so soon after her scolding. What was even more surprising was the princess placing her hoof on her shoulder, and looking down at her in that warm, motherly expression she'd become to accustomed to as a child.

"Regardless of what you did, I am glad that you managed to get home alive and safe."

Those words felt like a great weight lifting from her heart. She'd known that Celestia would be upset with her over her actions, but she'd known her for a long time, and so should have known that she couldn't stay angry at her forever. But, in truth, Twilight didn't really want to keep talking to this with other ponies. Her chat with Shining moments ago had been enough to get her out of her depression, and so she was not all that keen to have to go through with this again.

"Thank you princess, but I think I'll be fine. My brother and I have already talked about it. Something like this isn't going to hamper me."

Celestia allowed herself a small smile at this.

"That's good to hear. However, it is a matter of great importance that I ask you a few questions about what happened."

Twilight nodded in response to that. She'd been expecting this. A debriefing. It was rare that enemies of Equestria would band together in common cause against them. Celestia's presence here was to be expected. Twilight gestured to the table and cushions in the middle of the room behind her, and the two moved over to it. Taking their place on the cushions, Celestia began her questions.

"You say that Sombra has regained his physical form?"

Twilight nodded.

"And that he has allied himself with the changelings, and their leader, Chrysalis?"

Twilight nodded again. Celestia's expression was a sour one. But Twilight couldn't blame her. After all, the last time anyone had heard of Chrysalis, it was during the failed invasion of Canterlot. Celestia had attempted to thwart the changeling leader directly, but her power had been no match for the energy that Chrysalis had taken from her brother. Celestia's defeat had left a scar on her, emotionally, if not physically. But the expression soon changed back into Celestia's usual poker face as the questions continued.

"Do you know where they have made their base of operations?"

Twilight had not been looking forward to that question. Although she'd tried hard to remember where the fight had taken place, she was unable to do so. She could remember the fight and everything that had happened in it, but when it came to trying to remember where she'd gone to face Sombra, there was a blank. It was as though some dark cloud was hovering over that specific part of her memories. No doubt it was something Sombra had left behind in her mind to keep their location a secret.

Nervously, Twilight shook her head at the question. Celestia sighed.

"I thought as much. Sombra had always been talented in affecting the hearts and minds of ponies. I suppose I should have expected such precautions from him."

That statement piqued Twilight's curiosity. Sombra had said something to her before about Celestia knowing him somehow, though he'd been light on the details. Now it seems that there may have been some truth to his claim. Twilight knew that it probably wasn't a good idea to ask the question, but it was burning on her mind now and she knew that, if there was any way for her to better understand her enemy, it was to ask.

"Princess....." She began.

Celestia looked up at her student.

"......did you know Sombra.....from before?"

There was a silence between them. Celestia's blank expression became one of pain as she shut her eyes tight. She gave out a long exhale before finally opening her eyes again and answering.

"Yes. I knew him. Long before he tried to conquer the Crystal Empire, I knew him.....well."

"How? How could you have possibly had anything to do with that tyrant?" Twilight asked.

Celestia's expression became one of sadness, and Twilight immediately regretted asking the question. Whatever the connection was between the two, it was not a happy subject for her. But then, Celestia gave her answer. An answer that Twilight would not have expected even if she'd lived to be a thousand years old.

"Because.......he is my son."

Regret

It was as silent as the grave right now. Twilight sat there, at the other end of the table from Celestia, staring at her beloved mentor with her mouth hanging open. It felt like an eternity since Celestia had spoken, but no amount of passed time could make what she'd said any easier to swallow. It wasn't true, Twilight told herself. This was some sort of joke. There was no way that what Celestia had said could possibly be real. Maybe this was a dream, or even a nightmare.

But deep down, she knew that it wasn't. No matter how much she might wish it to be untrue, she had to face reality, however terrible that reality might have become for her. Not wanting to spend the rest of the day with her mouth hanging open, Twilight finally broke the silence.

"....Your.....your.....your son?"

The words had been hard to get out, almost as though her mouth refused to register them. Celestia meanwhile, merely sat on the other side of the table and quietly nodded. She said nothing, merely waited for Twilight to say something else. But what could she possibly say? What could any sane pony possibly say to hearing that their monarch was the mother of one of Equestria's most notorious despots? How could this have happened? How?

That thought finally gave Twilight something to ask.

"......How?"

Celestia closed her eyes and sighed. It was obvious to anypony with eyes that this was not a happy subject for her. A part of Twilight wished she hadn't asked. There was no chance this story she was about to hear would be a good one.

"Sombra....was born twenty years before his imprisonment in the north. When he was young he was....a different pony to what he would become."

Celestia opened her eyes and looked at Twilight. The young unicorn was enthralled by the princess' words, much like she would be when she was younger and being taught spells as Celestia's protégé. But this story brought Celestia no joy to tell. It was something that had gnawed away at her for centuries, never speaking about it to anyone, not even her sister. But now that Sombra had targeted Twilight and hurt her, she no longer had any choice but to speak out about it.

"When he was growing up, my son had a great love of magic, and of learning. He would spend many of his days reading and trying new spells. He was always so enthusiastic about it, always eager to learn and to become better at his magical skills. And as the days passed on, he became very talented."

Twilight looked upon her mentor. For a brief moment, there was a look of comfort on her face. Perhaps she was remembering happier times before Sombra turned, before everything went bad, but she could not tell, for that look descended back into the sour look she bore before.

"He was like you."

Those words, needless to say, surprised Twilight a great deal. The notion that she had anything in common with that monster would upset anypony. But, given what Celestia had just told her about him, it wasn't hard to see why she would think that. After all, her description made him seem very much like Twilight was back when she was a young filly, being tutored by Celestia after being taken in as her apprentice. This notion piqued her curiosity even more, so she listened even more carefully as Celestia continued.

"And, much like with you, I saw great potential in him. It was my hope, my dream, that one day he would achieve what you achieved, to reach the highest levels of magic and become and alicorn. I even told him as such when he was but a child. I encouraged him daily to work on his magic, to try and strive to improve himself. And along the way, he made friends. His life was good, and everything seemed to be going well. I truly thought that the day would come when he would finally be ready to cast his father's spell."

Twilight raised her eyebrow in confusion. His father's spell? If Celestia was referring to the magic that changed Twilight into an alicorn, then there was only one spell that she knew of that could do that. Then, as she dwelt on that, her eyes widened in shock. She looked up at Celestia, whose expression made it clear that she knew Twilight had figured it out.

"His father.......was Starswirl?"

Celestia nodded.

"Yes. Starswirl the bearded. Although, back when he and I first got together, he was simply Starswirl. He wasn't exactly the easiest stallion to get to know, always cooped up in his home trying new magic. But over time we grew closer and closer. Eventually, we had a child together. Sombra. Starswirl was a good father to him, always helping him out with his magic. Sombra's love of spells and experimentation with them definitely came from his father. If anything, he pushed our boy towards attaining alicorn status even more than me."

A thought came to Celestia and she concentrated, making her horn glow bright yellow with her magic. There was a bright blinding flash and soon, hovering next to her, as a small picture-frame. She used her magic to levitate it towards Twilight, who took it in her hooves. Shae stared at the picture, not quite believing what she was seeing. On the left side of the picture was Celestia, far younger than she was now. Her hair was not the same multi-coloured look it was now, but a bright pink. There was a grey stallion standing next to her, no doubt Starswirl, who was somewhat shorter than her, and not garbed in the outfit he became famous for.

But what surprised Twilight most was the small figure in-between them. It was a young colt, barely six years old. His coat a dark grey and his mane a deep black. Sombra. But this was not the same person who only recently had assaulted her. The colt in this picture bore no malice in his eyes, no dark tint of evil magic. He was happy. He was smiling and looking up lovingly at his parents. Twilight could not help but feel sad at looking at this picture. This was a good family. What could have happened to tear it apart like this?

Looking up from the picture, Twilight saw Celestia, looking very down. Although she knew she'd regret it, she knew she had to ask.

"What happened to him?"

Celestia's eyes shut tight, signalling that what was about to be told would not be good.

"What happened........was that my love, my Starswirl......died."

Twilight knew that Starswirl had died around the time when Sombra was supposed to have tried to take over the Crystal Empire, but the exact details had never been reported.

"But it wasn't some grand battle against evil that took him from us. He was, despite all his prowess in magic, still mortal. Over time, he simply.....grew old. And the day finally came when he simply went to sleep one day and.....did not wake."

The pained look on Celestia's face was evident. Clearly she had not spoken about this for years, not that Twilight could blame her.

"After that, something changed in our son. Sombra had never really understood the briefness of mortal life before then, never witnessed the death of a loved one. It caused something in him. A fear. A desperate fear to not have this happen to himself. For he knew that, as a unicorn himself, this could very well be his own fate one day. And so, he went back to his studies. But this time, things were different. No longer was he learning and developing his magic for it's own sake. Now, there was a purpose behind it. A selfish purpose."

Twilight had no doubt that a traumatic event such as that would affect anypony. And from what Celestia had told her, Sombra was still quite young when his father died. She'd seen this sort of thing before. Young ponies changing, and not for the better, due to the passing of a loved one. In many cases they were able to cope with such change and move on with their lives. But for those few who didn't, those who clung to that pain, it was a very different story.

"He began to drift further and further away from his friends, becoming isolated, lost to his work. He began all sorts of dangerous magic, in the hopes of increasing his own power and the span of his life. To that end he forged many magical artefacts. Objects of great power that could bestow mystical prowess on their users. In most cases these creations failed. But there was one which proved even more powerful than even Sombra himself could have predicted.

Celestia looked up and Twilight and narrowed her eyes.

"The alicorn amulet."

Twilight's mouth opened a little and her eyes widened with surprise. The alicorn amulet? She and her friends had encountered that object before. It had been used to greatly increase the power of an old acquaintance of theirs. Trixie. Her power had become great indeed, casting spells that were beyond even Twilight's ability. But it had also corrupted her, made her aggressive and selfish. This brought to Twilight something her friends had told her that Trixie had warned them that she would be in trouble. Perhaps there was a connection? If so, she would have to talk to Trixie to find out.

Although she'd known of the amulet from stories, she'd never once suspected that Sombra was the one who made it. It made sense in hindsight. Sombra was a very powerful unicorn, and only one of great magic could create such an object. A terrible notion then came to her. If the amulet's power had increased the magic of a unicorn like Trixie, what in Equestria would it do to a powerful unicorn like Sombra? One whose power had dwarfed hers without even being near the thing.

She looked up and Celestia as the princess continued.

"He named it the alicorn amulet because it was created for that purpose. To increase his magic to such a degree that he could make himself into an alicorn. But as great as his power became under it's influence, he failed to achieve that change, so he discarded it. He finally concluded that the only was he could achieve the immortality he so desperately wanted......was to come to me."

Twilight knew in her gut that this would not have lead to anything pleasant. The look on Celestia's face, a combination of pain and regret, was a sure sign that, as bad as things were, they would only get worse from here.

"He came to me. He marched right into the throne room of my sister and I and said, without hesitation, "make me an alicorn." At this point I had known about the changes that had happened in him. I knew the deep fear of death that had gripped him. Despite all my attempts to alleviate him of those fears, they had taken root in him like a disease, infecting his very thoughts. He had alienated all those who had once been close to him in this quest to achieve immortality. And that had hardened his heart, deprived him of all the qualities that made one worthy of being an alicorn."

Celestia then got up from her cushion and walked away from the table, with Twilight keeping her eyes on her. Celestia walked over to the window and looked out, keeping her face hidden from the young unicorn.

"And I refused his request. The spell to make one an alicorn must be cast by the one who must change. And even if he had cast it, it would not have affected him, not now. Not after he'd become so......lost."

Celestia hung her head, still feeling the pain after all these long centuries. The memory had lingered in her every day these past thousand years and they had never let go. Twilight meanwhile had a hard time taking this all in. When she was younger, she had often shut out other ponies, not letting them become friends with her. There was always "something more important" that she needed to do, some task or another that would keep her from forming attachments to others. If Celestia had told her from that start what she planned for her, to become an alicorn, would she have followed Sombra's path? Would she have shut out the world to focus on herself and the task Celestia planned for her? To deprive herself of friends and love to that end?

Could she have become like him? It was, to say the least, an unpleasant notion. But Twilight tried her best not to let it Distract her as Celestia continued.

"When I told him that, that I could not change him even if I wanted to, he said nothing. No argument. No shouts. No attempt to change my mind. He simply left. But the look he gave me when I refused him.......those were not the eyes of the happy child I had raised. He had become something.....else. He left the court, the city, and travelled elsewhere. I did not try to stop him, for I knew there was nothing I could have done to change his mind. It was over a year before I heard word of him again, when he......"

The princess turned back around and looked at Twilight.

".....when he tried conquering the Crystal Empire".

Twilight looked saddened by this news. For a mother and child to part ways, only to meet up again as enemies, was a terrible thought. She had no idea what Celestia must have gone through when she'd found out what Sombra had done, nor would she want to know.

"His quest for eternal life had finally forced him to cross the line. He had taken to trying to harness the great power of the crystal heart for his goal. And when the ponies of the Empire had tried to stop him, he fought them. He had grown immensely powerful by this stage, to the point where even the collective strength of the crystal ponies could not halt him. He defeated them, enslaved them, and when all in the Empire were in chains, he declared himself king."

Celestia then walked away from the window and right up to Twilight, who was still enthralled by her tale.

"And that is when my sister and I finally intervened. For Sombra had done a terrible deed that day. He had taken to harming others to pursue his own selfish ends. And so, Luna and I knew what we had to do. We journeyed to the Empire and gave him a choice. Give up this mad quest, or face us. He chose the latter and......well, you know the rest."

The two stared at each other in silence for ages. Twilight did indeed know the rest of the story. Celestia and Luna had done battle with Sombra over his actions in the Empire, which eventually led to them defeating him. That defeat had cast him deep into the ice sheets of the north, which served as his prison for a thousand years until his eventually release about a year ago. Twilight could hardly believe all this. Hearing this story, this tale of how a unicorn could become a monster, it boggled the mind.

But there was something else on her mind. Something she knew would only lead to more pain for the princess, but she had to ask anyway.

"Princess. Wasn't there another way? He was......he was your son."

Celestia shut her eyes tight. When she opened them again, they had the distinct look of holding back tears. It was a look Twilight knew all too well, for she had seen it in herself many times.

"By the time he took the Empire, he was no longer the colt I once knew. When Luna and I flew above his palace, and saw him stand on that balcony, I knew that. The look in his eyes had become twisted and cruel, filled with a darkness that could not be purged. A darkness of his own making."

Celestia opened her mouth to say more, but her lips were practically trembling at this point.

"Yes, he was my son once. And Luna was my sister. Yet when the time came when she too threatened the balance and well-being of Equestria, I enacted the same punishment. I am a princess of this land Twilight. And that means I am bound to serve as its protector. The vows I took mean that I must protect it's citizens from any threat. Those vows have been tested twice in my life. And in both cases I chose the people over my own family. And both times.......it broke my heart".

Twilight could not bear to see her mentor like this. Over the years, Celestia had become a sort of second mother to her. To see her in this state, so distraught over the things that had happened to her family, it was not a sight she ever wanted to see. After putting down the picture of Celestia and her once-happy family, she got up off her own cushion, Twilight gently placed a hoof on the side of the princess in an attempt to comfort her. Celestia gave a small smile in thanks, but Twilight knew that there was nothing she could do to make this situation any easier for her.

"Princess? Hasn't Sombra already achieved immortality? I mean, if he was able to survive under the ice for so long, and the blast from the crystal heart, doesn't that mean he already has eternal life?"

Celestia considered this for a moment before shaking her head slowly.

"No. His sheer power has made him more resilient than most. Vast reserves of magic keeping his life force going like a life-support system. But it would have been all but drained after his recent attempts to re-claim the Empire. After that, he would have been so drained that his body was barely holding together."

Twilight had no doubt of that. Before he regained his original form, Sombra had cloaked himself in a black garb of some sort, complete with a mask. He’d most likely suffered serious injuries after his failed conquest. It made her shudder to think just how bad a condition he must have been in. That explained why he needed her. If dark magic was what kept him going, he would have needed an external source: her. His body, after all that damage, had become incapable of regaining it's former power by itself, so it needed to take power from somewhere else. But as she considered this, Celestia spoke again.

"And I am sorry Twilight, but my failures have led to you being hurt over all this."

Twilight raised an eyebrow, clearly confused.

"Sombra's failed quest to become an alicorn has led, over the years, to developing an intense jealousy of them. And that jealousy grew within him until it became a hatred for them. That is where, I think, his decision to craft a spell to change one back into a unicorn came from. He wanted to hurt me, and so hurt you to do this. And for that I am truly sorry."

Celestia hung her head low before Twilight. The princess was clearly hurting over what had happened, both with Sombra and with what Sombra had done to Twilight. And Twilight herself had no doubt, after hearing that story, that this was indeed Sombra's plan. All this, taking the changelings as allies, turning her back into a unicorn, all of it. He wanted revenge. He wanted to hurt the ponies of Equestria, and more specifically, it's leader, his own mother. Such pain was evident in Celestia's final words to her.

"Everything that is happening.....is my fault. My failure to guide him properly, to prepare him for the inevitable mortality of those around him. My inability to help him out of his own fears. All of it has led to this darkness. And I can never make it right."

Twilight felt bitter over that thought. That one who was so close to her was being harmed by her own flesh and blood. Twilight wanted to do something, say something, to try and make this all better. But, as smart as she was, there was nothing she could do. All she could do was stay here, with the princess, and try to bear this pain together. She had n idea what Sombra would do next, or when. But she knew one thing. He would continue to move against them.

And knowing what she now knew, and having lost what she lost, she did not know if they could win.

Subjugation

No matter how many times she wandered these tunnels, she could never get used to just how cold it was down here. Lightning Dust had never felt comfortable in walking within the hive of the changelings, but at the very least she didn't have to worry about them attacking her. As Sombra's agent, she'd been allowed to move freely within the mountain stronghold, so even when she walked by the many changeling drones here, they paid her no mind.

She had just returned from an errand Sombra had sent her on, to retrieve something of his from a cave deep within the Everfree Forest. It had taken some time to find, but she had been successful in this task. Now, she was back, and looking for Sombra to return it to him. However, he was not in his usual quarters, so she had taken to looking around much of the rest of the mountain. As time went on, she started to become annoyed, mostly from her having to continuously carry her saddle-bags on her back.

Eventually, she swallowed her pride and eventually asked one of the nearby changeling drones where he was. They pointed her in the direction of the chambers of the Queen of the changelings, Chrysalis. Those chambers were right in the centre of the hive, but it didn't take long for Lightning to get there. Lightning figured that Sombra must be discussing some new plan with Chrysalis, or perhaps some new battle plan. Regardless, it wasn't long before she found herself before the heavy stone doors leading to the Queen's chamber.

Lightning noticed, to the right of the door, there was a hook sticking out of the wall, upon which hung a large red cloak. She ignored it however as she saw that the door had two drones standing guard outside. Drones who, as Lightning approached, blocked her path and hissed angrily at her. She narrowed her eyes at them.

"I'm here for Sombra. I have something of his."

One of the drones shook his head.

"You wait! Sombra is with the Queen."

Lightning looked at the drone, then to the door, then back to the drone before speaking again.

"What's he doing?" She asked.

The drones looked at each other before one of them answered.

"Sombra and the Queen were pleased over their victory over the purple alicorn. They decided to......celebrate."

It didn't take long for lightning to figure out what was being implied by that. Her better judgement, not to mention her stomach, decided that it was probably better not to enquire further. But then her mind returned to what the drone had just told her. Victory against a purple alicorn? That must be a reference to Twilight Sparkle. And if they'd achieved victory then that mist have meant that Sombra's plan had worked. The princess must have fallen into his trap. And that could only mean one thing.

All of a sudden, the stone door behind the drones began to slowly open. The drones quickly got back to their posts on either side of it before anypony saw them. Lightning kept her eyes on the door as it opened and, sure enough, a large grey stallion with black mane walked out of it. His hooves and head were clad in a dark iron armour of some sort and his eyes were glowing green. It was as Lightning had suspected, Sombra had regained his physical form. She'd never seen him like this before, and needless to say, he was an intimidating sight.

Sombra meanwhile didn't really pay her much attention. He merely walked over to the red cloak that was near the door and used his magic to levitate it over to him and then draped it over his back. After clasping it to the neck section of his helmet, he finally looked at her.

"Ah, Lightning. I see you've returned. Was your task successful?" He asked.

Lightning hesitated for a moment, still in shock over seeing Sombra back to full strength like this. But then she snapped out of it and turned her attention to her saddle-bags. She placed a hoof inside one of them and pulled out a locked wooden box. Before she could say anything, it was levitated out of her hooves by Sombra's magic. She looked on as it hovered in front of him. His eyes glowed even brighter, causing sounds of creaks and cracks in the box. After a few moments of this, the box shattered.

The contents of the box were still hovering in front of Sombra. It was an amulet of some sort. Dark and metal like Sombra's armour. It was crafted in the shape of a horned pony with wings. An alicorn. At it's centre was a bright red jewel. Sombra smiled as he gently levitated the object into his hoof.

"The alicorn amulet. It's been a long time since I last laid my eyes upon this. It failed me once before. But now, it will serve another purpose."

Lightning raised her eyebrow at that statement, but her confusion was dwarfed only by her concern for what Sombra now had in his possession. The alicorn amulet. She'd heard tales of such a thing back when she was just a filly. A powerful artefact capable of increasing the magical power of a unicorn. She almost shuddered at the prospect of what it would do to Sombra. A feeling that only deepened when she saw him place it right on the clasp of his cloak.

A few moments passed and his eyes began to glow even brighter than usual, their green colour replaced with a deep red. Sombra grinned and his horn began to glow.

"Oh yes! Power! I'd almost forgotten what this felt like! To walk around, strong and mighty! I have not felt this in over a thousand years!"

He then turned to Lightning, still smiling.

"And I assure you, I do not intend to waste this opportunity."

Lightning looked at him, concerned.

"What's your next move?" She asked.

Sombra looked over at the changeling drones guarding the door before facing her once more.

"Although the changelings are powerful allies, we'll need far more muscle than they if we are to successfully launch out attack on Equestria. My task now is to recruit some more fearsome allies."

Lightning tilted her head. More fearsome allies? The changelings were some of the nastiest creatures she'd ever encountered. What could Sombra have been thinking of? Before she had time to ask, she saw Sombra's horn begin to glow. There was a blinding flash of light and, before she could react, Lightning Dust was no longer in the place she was a few moments ago. It took time for her eyes to adjust, and when they did, she did not believe what she was seeing.

She was in a rocky area, not unlike the wastelands that surrounded the changeling hive. But what was different here was that, all around the area was a tall ridge encircling it. She was in a large crater of some sort. And all across the ground there were large pools of lava, some bubbling quite ferociously. But as dangerous as this place was for a pony, it was nothing compared to the creatures that dwelled within. And soon enough, Lightning caught sight of them nearby.

Massive reptiles of all colours, shapes and sizes, sporting massive wings and possessing of razor-sharp claws and teeth. Lightning did not need to be told where she was right now.

"The dragon migration". She whispered.

The closest she'd ever been to a dragon was the one Sombra had enchanted into submission a while back in order to attack Ponyville. She'd never been this close to free dragons before, and certainly not in this many numbers. Even young ponies knew that only the best of them could dare to stand against dragons and live to tell the tale. And this place, the migration, was the closest thing to a capital they had, though in truth it was merely a spot they travelled to en masse every year.

Looking at Sombra, Lightning's expression of annoyance was clear.

"Teleportation. Never been my preferred way of travelling, but needs must". Sombra commented.

It was clear in Lightning's mind what her ally had in mind. He would recruit the dragons to his cause like he did with the changelings. But these were powerful creatures. What could he possibly offer them to make them want to work for him? All she knew of dragons was that they had a great love of gold and other treasures, and she knew that Sombra had no such objects in his possession right now. Before she could ask, she heard a thumping sound coming from behind them. She and Sombra turned to find a trio of very large adult dragons approach them.

The three reptiles were growling menacingly, and Lightning backed away instinctively. Sombra meanwhile, stood his ground.

"Good day to you my friends. I am Sombra, and I come to you today with a proposition."

The dragons looked at each other in confusion, though Lightning could not blame them. The only real interaction ponies and dragons had with each other was when they flew over Equestrian territory during their migration. They'd never really been approached like this before. The middle dragon eyed Sombra before lowering his head towards him. The two stared at each other for a long time before the dragon finally spoke.

"And just what does a unicorn want with us?" It asked in a deep and growling voice.

Sombra grinned before answering.

"I find myself in need of some allies for an upcoming venture. And you dragons are just the sort of help I'll be needing."

The dragon facing Sombra raised an eyebrow.

"And if we help you, what could you possibly offer us in return for such a service?"

Before answering, Sombra pointed his hoof in a westerly direction.

"Far from here is the city of Canterlot, capital of Equestria. Very soon now, that city will fall by my power. It contains the greatest collection of treasures and precious stones in all of Equestria. Help me to take it, and you and your kin may have it all."

Lightning was taken aback by that. An attack on Canterlot? She'd always suspected that this would have been one of Sombra's long-term goals. But to have him talk about it happening so soon, suddenly changed things for her. She looked at the dragon, who was clearly considering the matter carefully. Before he could answer however, there was a loud roar and all there turned their heads to see a large red dragon charging forward. Lightning recognised it immediately. it was the same dragon Sombra had taken over before.

It stopped just short of the unicorn before growling fiercely at him.

"YOU!!!" he shouted.

Sombra though, merely looked at the creature with no concern in his eyes.

"Ah, still around I see." He said calmly.

The red dragon growled again before the other one walked over to him.

"What is it?" He asked.

The red dragon looked at the other one and pointed his claw at Sombra. Lightning knew in her gut that this was not going to end well.

"This is the one! The unicorn I told you about! He took me. Changed me. Clouded my thoughts, my sight. I did not know what I was doing. He used some twisted power on me, controlled me!"

This lead to an immediate reaction from the other dragons. Suddenly, Sombra and Lightning found themselves surrounded by dozens of them, all looking down on them with eyes filled with anger and hatred. Lightning had never been more scared in her life. But Sombra merely stood there, unconcerned with all of it. He seemed to be studying the group as more and more dragons began to surround them. The first dragon spoke up again.

"You enslaved one of our kind! Do you take us for fools Sombra! You came here for our aid, but you will be lucky to leave with your LIFE!!!"

The statement earned a number of roars from the surrounding dragons, all of whom voiced their agreement to that sentiment. Lightning readied her wings, ready to fly away at top speed at a moment's notice. She didn't know if she'd survive so many dragons, but if she could just get away, her sheer speed could enable her to get to safety. Sombra, as though sensing her thoughts on that matter, raised his hoof to stop her. He then spoke to the group.

"Oh, I will leave with far more than that. I enslaved only one of you before because that was all I could do. Now though.....things are very different."

The red dragon snarled angrily.

"Enough talk! You will perish here uni......"

But he stopped talking mid-sentence. Lightning looked up at him to see what had stopped him, only to see that the dragon was practically frozen in place, his eyes glowing red. Suddenly, a thought came to Lightning as she turned to face Sombra. Sure enough, his own eyes were glowing bright red, along with his horn. It was as she thought, he was using his power to control the beast once more. Her attention was diverted to the other dragons, who were now baring their teeth aggressively.

But before nay of them could act, Sombra raised his hood and, suddenly, all of them froze in place much like the red dragon. Some tried to resist, but in the end, all of their eyes began to glow red like Sombra's. The entire group, easily fifty dragons, were now remaining silent, no longer displaying the same aggressive behaviour they had shown mere moments before. Lightning could not believe what she was seeing. She'd heard the stories that the alicorn amulet could increase power a great deal. But to control the minds of the entire dragon migration? That was a power she'd never thought she could ever witness.

Sombra made a gesture with his hoof and all of the dragons began to move in unison. They furled their wings, bowed their heads and knelt on one knee around the powerful unicorn. Then, at Sombra's command, they all spoke at once.

"How might we serve, my king?"

Lightning, still aghast over all this, stared at the dragons. These creatures were known far and wide as being perhaps the most powerful magical creatures known to ponykind. To have them subjugated like this was unheard of. Turning, Lightning looked at Sombra, fearful of what would happen now that he had such a mighty force at his command. Sombra though, looked at all of the dragons surrounding him in-turn before smiling. He then looked off into the sky towards the west and spoke, not caring if Lightning could hear.

"Well mother......your move."

Fractures

Fear. That had always been his greatest weapon. A pony's greatest fear, used against them. Forcing one to face that fear time and time again until they lost the will to resist. Sombra had always had a talent for influencing the minds of others, but now, he had used fear against her in a way that required no magic on his part. Celestia had seen this day just how much of a blow he'd struck against Equestria by defeating Twilight. A morale defeat to be sure, but the after-effects were rearing their ugly heads.

She sat there, upon her throne, and beside her sister, Luna. All day that had to assure and re-assure representatives from all over Equestria about the rumours and threats that had been emerging recently. The dragon attack on Ponyville was the start, but Twilight's defeat and transformation back into a unicorn had undermined the population's faith in her and the other alicorns abilities to protect them. Celestia could not blame them however. Sombra was a powerful enemy and, thus far, had not been hindered in his plans.

But things had been growing worse. As expected, the changelings had entered the fray. Reports had been coming in almost daily about raids and hit-and-run attacks by squads of changeling drones on outlying Equestrian territories and villages. Whenever the royal guards had been dispatched to try and help the locals, the attackers had vanished as quickly as they had come. Many homes had been destroyed and families uprooted by these attacks, and they showed no sign of halting.

Worse still was that the attacks left no clues as to the whereabouts of Sombra's hiding place. If they simply knew where he was then they could launch some sort of offensive. But as things were, all they could do react. And their reactions were simply not quick enough. Things had become so fearful among the ponies that many have begun to stop travelling in-between cities for fear of sudden attacks. Despite Celestia's best attempts to alleviate the ponies' fears, terror had gripped their nation.

Things weren't any better at court. Ambassadors from virtually every major pony city had come here, seeking an audience with the princesses to voice their concerns on the current crisis. Baltimare, Manhattan and half a dozen other diplomats were lined up in front of her It would have been so easy for Celestia to simply send them away and let her deal with it, but as always, she had to treat things diplomatically. Although she and Luna were the absolute rulers of Equestriia, they had always strived to show the ponies that they were not the tyrants that had ruled before them. And so, to that end, they listened to their concerns.

"Princess. Almost every day the farmlands in the east have been pillaged. My citizens are terrified that they might be next! The only good news out of all this is that nopony has been killed yet. But we need to know what you intend to do about this!"

The ambassadors all looked to Celestia, as did Luna, waiting for her response. Celestia got up from her throne before answering.

"Ambassadors. Understand this. The forces of the royal guard have been scouring our borders for days now. They have spent day and night searching for the changeling raiding parties, trying to find the headquarters of them and their master. As of yet we have had no success. But I promise you, our enemies cannot hide forever. Sooner or later, they will make a mistake, and when they do, we will deal with them."

Many of the pony representatives looked warily at each other. They had the greatest respect and admiration for the princesses, but times were difficult for all of them and few among them would be willing to make things worse by confronting their own leaders further about this. But, one look at the determined expression on Celestia's face made it clear that this was not something she wanted to discuss further. And so, bowing in respect, the ambassadors all left the throne room.

Celestia allowed herself a brief moment of relaxation before Luna nudged her on the shoulder. Facing her, she saw that Luna was looking straight ahead. Celestia then saw that one of the representatives, a pegasus stallion from Cloudsdale, had not departed with the rest. The princess was in no mood for further discussion on this point, but she cleared her throat and spoke as politely as possible under the circumstances.

"Ambassador. Is there anything further you wish to say?"

The pegasus stepped forward, though only just. He had the distinct look of somepony who knew that what he was about to say would not be received well. But he stayed there regardless and spoke.

"Your majesties. I wish to inform you that Swift Storm, the Lord-Protector of Cloudsdale has taken action to ensure greater security and protection of our fair city."

Celestia was not all that bothered by that. It was only natural that the various pony cities would be extra careful with all the recent attacks. So much so that it was odd it was being brought to her attention.

"And how does this concern us exactly?" Luna asked.

The ambassador was looking increasingly nervous as he cleared his throat.

"Well, your majesties, the Lord has sent out an order for the immediate recall of.....the Wonderbolts".

Luna stood up out of her chair, looking furious at the ambassador, who was now stepping backwards in fear over her reaction. Celestia meanwhile stayed sitting, though her expression was no less surprised. She remained silent as Luna spoke out.

"What?! Does that fool have any idea how much that would lessen this city's defences? The Wonderbolts are Canterlot's fastest response team. If they're recalled it will hinder our ability to respond to outlying changeling attacks!"

The Ambassador waved his hooves, trying desperately not to incur further wrath from the younger sister.

"I understand that your grace! It's just that....."

But he was stopped from speaking further by Celestia raising a hoof. The ambassador and Luna both turned to face her.

"Tell you Lord that he is free to pursue any path he sees fit to ensure Cloudsdale's safety." She said calmly.

Luna could not believe that Celestia was allowing this, but decided against questioning her in front of their visitor. She merely took her seat next to her as the ambassador, who was looking very relieved over her response, bowed in respect to them. He said nothing, and started walking out of the room the same way the others had done. Only one he'd left, and the door closed behind him, did Luna finally speak.

"Sister, are you sure about this? We know that Sombra will most likely try something against us directly soon. We will need all the help we can get if that happens."

Celestia nodded before replying.

"Yes. But the ponies of our land are afraid Luna. If the Wonderbolts returning can help them to feel safer, then that in itself is a worthy end. It may not help, but how do you think ponies will view us if we deny them access to the only ones they think can help them?"

Luna considered this for a moment. As much as she hated to admit it, Celestia was right. Sombra ruled through fear. If the ponies were given more cause to be afraid, his influence would spread. Realising this, she nodded in consent. Before either of them could speak further, the doors of the throne room opened once more. Luna and Celestia turned as a pair of ponies walked in towards them. One, a pink alicorn mare, and the other, a white unicorn stallion. Princess Cadence and Prince Armour had arrived. Once they reached the bottom of the steps leading to the two thrones, they bowed, though not as low as the ambassadors given their own status as Equestrian royalty.

"You sent for us, Princess?" Shining asked.

Celestia got up from her chair. Luna was confused at their arrival however. She had not been informed of this, so listened carefully to what was being said.

"Yes. As you both know, Sombra's forces have begun an attack on our outlying territories. I have no doubt that he will attempt a direct assault on Canterlot in the near future."

Shining and Cadence looked at each other. The worried look on their faces made it clear that they had the same concerns as Celestia. Ever since they'd been made aware of Sombra's return, they'd been worried about what he might do. Celestia could not blame them for that however, given what happened the last time Sombra had shown himself to these two. Shining looked determined now and stepped forward.

"Have no fear princess. Though I am no longer captain of the guard, I feel it is my duty to stand at this city's defence."

Celestia was pleased to see such devotion in her former captain. However, such dedication made it all the harder for her to have to say what she needed to.

"Actually Shining, I require you and Cadence to return to the Crystal Empire."

Those words silenced all of them, even Luna. They stared at Celestia, wondering if, perhaps, she was joking. But one look at her made it obvious that she was not kidding about this. The three others looked at each other with confusion. Shining's shield spell was among the most powerful in Equestria, as was Cadence's. If Sombra was indeed going to attack as Celestia predicted, surely it was in everypony's best interests for such defences to remain at the capital?

"With all due respect your majesty, I feel that this city's best chance of success against Sombra is if it has as many cards stacked in it's favour as possible."

Celestia nodded.

"You are correct. Luna, Discord and I will remain in the city to defend it should Sombra attack. However, although I have every confidence in our abilities to stop him, there is always a chance that he may be able to defeat us. If that happens, it would not do to have all of Equestria's leaders together in one place."

It was here that Shining understood her plan. If Sombra succeeded in his plan to attack Canterlot, having him and the three princesses together like that would just make them a bigger target. If he won, and they fell, then Equestria would become completely leaderless. That would make the rest of the nation easier to conquer. But if Cadence and him were elsewhere, behind the protective power of the crystal heart, they could hold out hope of defeating him one day.

Shining looked up at Celestia. The two had known each other for a long time, and so few words had to pass between them to understand each other. Celestia knew that Shining was not the kind of pony who could simply leave when he knew something bad was going to happen. And likewise, Shining knew Celestia well enough to know that she was not going to back down from a decision like this at this stage. And so, he said nothing, merely nodding in agreement with her decision. Cadence and Luna looked between the two of them, deciding against voicing any dissent.

Cadence gave her husband a look of concern, then finally understanding as she too nodded to the princess. The two then began to make their way out of the throne room, leaving only the two sisters behind. Celestia and Luna looked at each other, both knowing that they were worried about what would happen. In this place, Luna was free to speak her mind.

"Tia. You know I have every confidence in your abilities, and mine. But with Shining and Cadence gone, we may not be strong enough to hold off Sombra."

Celestia faced her, her face it's usual stoic expression.

"I know."

It took a while for Luna to understand that statement. But soon, understanding dawned on her, and her eyes widened with surprise.

"That's what you wanted, wasn't it? For Canterlot to appear weak?"

Celestia nodded.

"In part. What I told the other two was true, that Equestria' leaders are better off not being in one place during the attack. But yes, my plan is to lower this city's defences to encourage Sombra to attack."

Luna was aghast at this revelation. She could not fathom why her sister would do something so incredibly risky. A concern she was more than willing to tell her.

"Why?"

Celestia sighed before replying.

"Sombra is my son. I know him better than anypony. And I know that he will only risk exposing himself in the field if he's absolutely certain that he will achieve victory. If Canterlot appears weak, he will most likely be at the head of the force he musters against us. This will be our only chance to find him and.....deal with him."

Luna now understood her sister's plan. And she was right, Sombra had indeed become more careful after his previous defeats, never showing himself directly. If Canterlot's defences were lessened, he would appear to handle the city personally. But, as much as she knew Celestia's prediction to be right, there was another concern.

"Sister.....do you really think we can stop him this time?"

Celestia lowered her head mournfully.

".......I hope so".

.............................................

Far away, in the middle of a barren wasteland, in a dark and dank chamber in the middle of the changeling hive, Sombra was sitting. He was sitting on the cold stone floor, his eyes shut, but his mind far afield. Searching. Watching. Judging. After a few moments, his eyes awakened, glowing as bright red with the power of the alicorn amulet he still bore on his chest. Thinking over what he had just seen in his mind's eye, he did not laugh, nor mock, but merely smiled.

"And thus.....the crack in their lines is formed".

A slim hope

She sat on the edge of her bed, staring out at the bright and sunny day outside. It had been a few days since she'd been told the terrible truth about Sombra. And even after all this time, Twilight could not get her head around it, or even accept it. As far as she was concerned, Sombra was a monster. A creature without pity or remorse. The mere notion that he had the same blood as one she admired so much was anathema to her. But she knew Celestia would not lie to her like that. Sombra was her son. But Twilight knew that whatever bond between them there might have been died many centuries ago.

Maybe he was indeed a happy and friendly unicorn once. But that part of him was no more. All there was left of him was greed and bitterness and cruelty. That cruelty had hurt her personally, and it had hurt those around her. She knew that he would have to pay for his crimes. But the more she considered this, the more she wondered if she'd actually be able to act against him. As much as she hated him, he was still Celestia's son. Could she really bring herself to fight against him?

The rational part of her mind tried to convince her that she could. After all, she had been willing to fight Luna back when she was a threat to Equestria. Back when she was Nightmare moon and on the verge of bringing eternal night, Twilight had been more than willing to fight her. But, another part of her mind argued, that was before she knew Nightmare WAS Luna, or that she and Celestia were sisters. if she'd had that knowledge beforehand, she might not have been so willing to fight her.

Needless to say, this was all rather depressing for her. And on top of that, it was all speculative on her part. After all, Sombra had been powerful enough to forge the alicorn amulet. Any unicorn who could do that was beyond anything Twilight could muster, especially now that she wasn't an alicorn anymore. As she considered that, she remembered something. Her friends had told her that Trixie, a unicorn she and the others had conflicted with in the past, somehow knew that she was in trouble. She'd suspected that perhaps there was a connection between her and the alicorn amulet she'd used once.

And so, getting up off her bed, Twilight ran downstairs and, for the first time since her transformation back into a unicorn, left the library. The sun was bright for her, having holed away in her home for so long. But it didn't take long for her eyes to adjust. And when her vision cleared, what she saw on the other side of the street was indeed a welcome sight. For there, standing outside and waiting expectantly, were five, very happy-looking, mares.

The moment they saw her come out, they raced towards her, having apparently waited there for a long time. Once they reached her, they stopped, all bearing concerned looks on their faces. Rainbow spoke first.

"Twilight! Are you okay? We thought you'd never come out of there!"

Then Rarity.

"Indeed darling. Are you feeling alright? Is there anything we can do?"

Then Pinkie.

"Yeah! It's no fun without you around!"

Then Applejack.

"I knew you'd find it in ya to get out here Twi. You're tough".

Then finally Fluttershy.

"I'm so happy you're out again Twilight!"

Twilight, in spite of the seriousness of the situation, allowed herself a smile and a moment of happiness. She was truly blessed to have friends like these. She'd never been one for close pony friends outside of her brother before coming to this tiny little village. Now, she couldn't imagine her life without any single one of them. Appreciating the gesture, Twilight moved forward and embraced all of them in a group hug, much to the surprise of all of them. But it wasn't long before they reciprocated and hugged back.

After a few moment of this, they broke away from each other, Twilight still smiling.

"Thanks girls. I really appreciate this. And you don't need to worry, I'm fine. I spent most of my life being a unicorn. Going back to being one isn't going to stop me."

The group all looked at each other, unsure of whether or not she truly meant that. But, in the end, they decided to take her word for it, and smiled back at her, pleased that she had managed to recover from what Sombra had done to her. But then,. Twilights' expression became more serious as she suddenly remembered why she'd come out here in the first place.

"Girls.....is Trixie still in Ponyville?"

They all looked at each other again, this time confused at her request. Then Fluttershy spoke.

"Um....yes. After we got you to your house to recover, we asked her about how she knew you were in trouble. She said "she just knew", and told us she wouldn't talk to anypony about it except you."

Twilight considered this. If Trixie wanted to talk to her, then she probably had the same suspicions as her. Fluttershy continued.

"I er.....I offered to let her stay with me until she'd spoken to you. She's there now if you want to talk to her."

So she was at Fluttershy's cottage. Twilight nodded, her face filled with determination. She gave her friends a look of appreciation before heading off without a word. The others wanted to follow, but the look on Twilight's face when she parted from the made them realise that it was probably best that they didn't. And so she ran off towards the outskirts of Ponyville, where Fluttershy's cottage sat just outside the Everfree Forest. Having been there many times, it did not take long for Twilight to reach the house.

And sure enough, there she was. Trixie the unicorn. She was sitting down next to the small pond outside the cottage, staring down into the water. The last time Twilight and Trixie had met, it was not the happiest of reunions. However, at the end of it all, the two had reconciled their differences, and while they may not have been friends, at the very least they weren't enemies anymore. Trixie had always been so self-confident and sure of herself. To see her so quiet, just sitting down like this, was almost disturbing in and of itself.

As Twilight approached, Trixie heard the sound of hoof-steps and turned, seeing her. Her eyes widened a little with surprise as she got up, the two now facing one another. There was silence for a while, neither knowing what to say. But eventually, the silence was broken by Trixie.

"Twilight. I'd heard you'd finally woken up. I'm glad to see you weren't harmed."

Hearing such concern from Trixie was not what Twilight had expected, but she was appreciative of it.

"Thank you. But.....there's something important I need to ask you." She said.

Trixie nodded slowly. It was clear she knew what was going to be asked. So much so that she said it before Twilight had a chance to.

"You want to know how I knew you were in trouble, correct?"

Twilight did not respond, but nodded her head in agreement. Trixie sighed before answering.

"I'm not quite sure how to explain it. But.....some time ago I started having.....visions. Hazy images in my dreams, images from somepony else's eyes. I saw......."

She then looked directly at Twilight, her expression a disturbed one.

".......I saw through HIS eyes."

Twilight's suspicions were confirmed. Trixie could indeed see what Sombra was doing. This could serve as an important tactical advantage. But the look on Trixie's face made it obvious that the blue unicorn was not happy about this in the slightest.

"I saw him do things. Terrible things. I saw him enslave a dragon. I saw as he came face-to-face with the leader of the changelings. And, sometimes, I could even hear his thoughts. They were filled with....anger. I have been angry myself many times, but never like that. It was an intense desire to do harm to others. That's how I knew he had bad things planned for you. Your name appeared in his thoughts many times. You were a target for him. A step in his plans."

Twilight was saddened by this. She knew first hand how much it disturbed her to have Sombra mess with her head. He'd been in her mind not long ago, twisting her thoughts and violating her memories. It was a sickening feeling. But here, she could see that Trixie had been through it for far longer.

"Trixie. Can you hear his thoughts all the time?" She asked.

Trixie shook her head.

"No. I think he has a great deal of control most of the time. But when he's angry or feeling some intense emotion, his thoughts sort of....bleed through into my own mind. Like when he brought down the dragon or....."

A look of disgust came onto Trixie's face, piquing Twilight's curiosity.

"What is it?" She asked.

Trixie shut her eyes tight.

"Let's just say he's been doing things with the changeling Queen that I'd rather not think about."

Twilight suddenly felt her own sensation of disgust and tried desperately to remove such thoughts from her mind. Trixie was able to hear Sombra's thoughts, that much was certain. So Twilight decided it was time to let her in on her theory.

"It was the amulet." She said.

Trixie turned to face her, her own face now showing a degree of confusion.

"The....the alicorn amulet? What about it?"

Twilight walked over to her and sat down next to her as she started to explain.

"Princess Celestia told me. Sombra was the one who made the alicorn amulet, as a means of increasing his own power. Part of him is in it, so when you used it, it must have opened your mind to his. As for why you've only heard him recently, my only guess is that since he's only come back recently, your mind was safe from him until now."

Trixie looked away, a look of guilt on her face. Twilight didn't take long to figure out what she must have been thinking. Trixie had shown genuine regret over having used the amulet in the violent way that she did. To have her use of it come back to bite her like this must be like rubbing salt to and old wound. But as she looked on at Trixie's guilt-ridden face, something happened to it. The guilt washed away and was instead replaced by a look of sheer terror.

"......He has it." Trixie said.

Twilight began to look worried.

"Has it? Has what?"

Trixie looked up at her, her eyes filled with fear.

"The amulet. I can feel it. Sombra has it back!"

Twilight's jaw dropped at this news. Sombra had the amulet. This was perhaps the worst new she could have received. He was bad enough on his own, not to mention the fact that he had the entire changeling hive backing him. But to have the amulet as well? Whatever plan Twilight might have come up with to counter him soon shattered once she heard that. She'd seen first-hoof the power of that thing. If Sombra deployed it in battle, who knows what devastation he could cause with it.

"We have to stop him." Twilight said adamantly.

Trixie looked at her with a mixed look of disbelief and amusement.

"Stop him? Are you insane!? Nopony can stop him now. Not with that abomination around his neck. It's all over for us."

Twilight looked at her angrily.

"No! It's not! My friends and I have faced evil before and we've always defeated it. I do not intend to stand by and let this tyrant just walk right over us. I don't care how powerful he is. Doing something is better than nothing."

Twilight got up and began pacing back and forth by the pond, with Trixie watching her. The purple unicorn was thinking, trying to come up with some way to beat Sombra. But as much as she hated to admit it, his sheer power he now possessed meant that he would no longer have need for working behind the scenes, or biding his time. He could simply strike at his leisure. But then, she stopped, and a small smile crept onto her face as she suddenly remembered something. She looked at Trixie, who was confused over her now happy expression.

"Sombra forgets that we too have objects of great power. The elements of harmony! If we can bring them into the field of battle and use them against him, we might still stand a chance."

Trixie's look of worry from before lessened somewhat, but it still remained.

"Do you think it will be enough?"

Twilight shook her head.

"No. We'll need another edge against him. And that's where you come in."

Trixie now loocked mortified. She got up from her sitting position and backed away from Twilight.

"What? Me? ……..No! I…..I can’t! I can’t do something like that!”

Twilight walked up to her.

“Trixie…..why did you come to Ponyville to warn the others about me?”

Trixie opened her mouth to respond, but hesitated for a moment, as though embarrassed by the truth. Eventually though, she finally got her words.

“Well I……it’s just that……you gave me a chance. Back when I was last here, I did terrible things to you and your friends. And not only did you free me of the amulet’s corruption but you were willing to forgive me for it. I came back here to warn you and the others because……I felt that you deserved that much. You helped me and…..I wanted to repay you for that kindness.”

Twilight gave her a small smile.

“You see Trixie. You’re a good person. And I know that, deep down, you have it in you to take a stand against evil people, just like me and my friends.”

Trixie could tell from Twilight’s expression that she was being sincere about this. She’d half-expected her to mock her over what she’d just confessed to, but seeing that it was not only accepted, but also appreciated, helped to make her less apprehensive about speaking to her. And it was fortunate that she did because she decided to get back to the matter of Twilight’s plan.

“Thank you….but still, you can honestly expect me to try and FIGHT him do you?"

Twilight walked up to her and put a hoof on her shoulder, trying to calm her down.

"Relax Trixie. I'm not planning on having you fight him. We don't need your magic here.....but your mind."

Trixie regained her look of confusion, prompting Twilight to explain.

"When the amulet opened your mind to Sombra, it was like a door being opened. Through it, his thoughts passed over into yours. But like any open door, it can be passed through both ways."

Trixie considered this for a moment. She'd never considered trying to go into Sombra's mind. He terrified her too much for her to even think about it. A concern she was more than willing to tell Twilight about.

"I don't know about this Twilight. Do you really think I can do this?" She asked.

Twilight paused for a moment before finally shaking her head.

"No, I don't."

Trixie looked at her, shocked. Twilight, despite not knowing Trixie that well, knew exactly what was going on in her mind. Sombra was, perhaps, the most powerful unicorn in Equestrian history. And Trixie, despite having more than the average pony in terms of magic, was nowhere near his level. And he'd beaten Twilight without even breaking a sweat, yet here she was, trying to thrust her into fighting him, in mind if not in body. She couldn't really blame Trixie for her apprehension. If their roles were reversed, she'd think Twilight were insane for even suggesting it.

But Twilight had a plan. All her past attempts at forming a plan against Sombra had all fallen flat due to the sheer magical force he possessed. But now, with Trixie's help, they stood a chance. But there was one part of her plan she had yet to share with her. But then Trixie saw Twilight develop her smile from before, as her next words sparked a glimmer of hope within her. A hope that maybe, just maybe, they could really pull this off.

"But......how do you think he'd fare against TWO minds?"

Preparations

"What do you mean she isn't coming?"

Lightning Dust was, understandably, upset over this news. She stood at the entrance to the main tunnel leading into the changeling hive, the air within cold and damp, and served as a stark contrast to the dry and hot air of the wastelands surrounding it. Her anger was directed towards the one who stood by her, Sombra. Under normal circumstances, he might have been rather upset that one of his subordinates was speaking to him like this. However, he was annoyed by the news himself.

"Chrysalis' command was clear. She will not be joining in the battle. However, you and I have command of hundreds of changelings that she has given to us in trust. Couple that with the other recent addition to our forces and we'll have more than enough raw power to take down the city."

Lightning had no doubt that they had amassed a very impressive force. All she had to do was glance to her right, out of the tunnel entrance to see that. Out on the wide open spaces in front of the hive, was their army. Hundreds of changeling drones, arranged in groups of a hundred, all lined up like a professional army. In between the various groups was their other ace-in-the-hole, the dragons. There were dozens of them, all standing silently in-between the changelings, their eyes still glowing with the enchantment that Sombra had placed on them.

But still, Lightning was uneasy.

"Sombra, even with all this, Canterlot will be no easy target. Did Chrysalis give a reason as to why she won't be joining?"

Sombra simply shrugged his shoulders.

"She gave no reason. Regardless, it's probably better if the army only had one voice to command them instead of two."

Lightning wasn't satisfied with that answer, but nodded in agreement anyway. Another look at the large force outside the hive was enough to intimidate even a mare like her. This was it, she told herself. Ever since she'd been made privy to Sombra's plan to eventually attack the Equestrian capital, she could never quiet believe it. She'd always suspected that something or somepony would come along to thwart his plans. But instead, Sombra had achieved victory after victory, with the other side only ever able to react to his actions rather than stop them.

She had no doubt at this point that Canterlot was in for one hell of a fight. And turning to see Sombra, and that look of sheer determination on his face, she knew that he intended to unleash a devastation that Canterlot had not seen since the first changeling invasion a few years ago. Sombra caught a glimpse of Lightning's face and her apprehension, which she foolishly tried to hide from him by looking away.

"You have no need to hide your concern from me child. I know that you've been worried about my plan for some time"

Lightning's heart froze. Did he suspect her of treachery? Perhaps a desire to leave his group? Whatever he thought, his face showed no anger or sign of being upset with her, instead bearing his usual stoic expression.

"But you need not worry. Even siding with me, you will face no consequences. For the time will come when it is I who rules this land. History is written by the winners after all, so your involvement will be seen as that of a hero, not a traitor. Have no fear Lightning. For with the power at my disposal.......even Celestia will fall."

............................................

Gazing out on the balcony, she allowed herself a brief moment to enjoy the still air. The skies were clear, the only sound that of a gently breeze, and the city of Canterlot looked magnificent as always. But as pleasant as things may have seemed on the surface, Celestia knew it was all a lie. The calm before the storm, she told herself. That's what this was. Nothing more than a brief respite before the terror that would soon be unleashed upon this city.

The princess soon heard the sound of hoof-steps coming from behind her. She did not need to turn, for she knew that sound well. It was her sister, Luna, no doubt returning to inform her of the preparations that had been made to defend Canterlot. Soon enough, Celestia could see her in the corner of her eye as the night princess took her place by her side. There was a pause for a while as the younger sister also allowed herself to enjoy the calm, as much as she knew it couldn't last.

"Sister....the preparations are complete."

Celestia nodded before finally turning to face her completely. Luna's expression was one of apprehension, as was to be expected. They both knew battle was coming, and despite both of them being powerful enough to overcome most foes, neither had ever revelled in a fight. They'd always tried to avoid it through diplomacy or some other non-violent means. But now they faced a foe who was interested only in their destruction. But, choosing to deviate from such thoughts, Celestia enquired further.

"The civilians?"

Luna nodded.

"They've all been evacuated down into the crystal caverns beneath the city. It's been made safer down there for them to stay for an extended period of time. Even if Sombra smashes this city to pieces, the ponies will be sheltered down below."

Celestia was relieved to hear that. Even though no ponies had been harmed in the last changeling attack, there had always been the chance that they would, so efforts had been made to provide safe shelter should such an attack occur again. But now they had to consider other defences.

"The royal guard?" Celestia asked.

Luna nodded again.

"The unicorn divisions have been posted to all the towers and battlements around and within the city. Should the enemy attack from the skies, which they no doubt will, they will fire upon them with magic. The pegasi have been assigned to the mountain range behind the city, ready to fly down on the enemy in ambush. As for the earth pony guards, they've been placed within the palace and other important buildings to fight the enemy on the ground in case the first two divisions fail."

Celestia nodded. All the preparations had been made. Now there was only one final step. Luna looked towards her sister as she closed her eyes tight. The younger sister was concerned for her, as she frequently was, and placed her hoof on Celestia's shoulder, breaking her concentration.

"Celestia, You have not had to cast such a large defensive shield for a very long time. Will you be alright?"

The elder sister gave Luna a small smile. Having Luna show such concern for her was one of the few things about this whole situation that gave her some comfort. But, as much as she appreciated such concern, she knew she had no choice but to proceed.

"I will be sister. Shining Armour may have been more proficient in shield spells than I, but hopefully my alicorn power will make up for that."

Luna opened her mouth to try and convince her otherwise, but she knew there was no point at this stage. She merely sighed and nodded, allowing Celestia to get back to work. She stepped back as Celestia closed her eyes once more and concentrated. Her horn began to glow it's usual bright yellow colour, which grew brighter and brighter as the moments rolled by. Eventually, Celestia was ready, and she pointed her horn directly up at the skies above Canterlot, ready to cast her spell.

...........................................

"Did Twilight say what we're doing here?" She asked.

The group had been standing on the train platform for some time now, waiting for their recently-recovered friend to arrive. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie had all been asked by Twilight to wait at the station for her. And they did as instructed and had been waiting patiently for her to join them. None of them, knew what she was planning, only that it was urgent. Rainbow, who had been the one to ask the question, was the most jittery about the whole thing.

"She knows how much I hate waiting. What could she possibly be planning?"

None of the others had any answer to that, being just as much in the dark about this as she was. But soon, they no longer needed to speculate, for they all heard the sound of rapidly-approaching hoof-steps coming towards them. Turning, they smiled to see their friend, Twilight, run towards them. But their smiles vanished as they saw who was with her. It was a blue unicorn mare running alongside her. Trixie. The group still had their issues with her and were, needless to say, less than thrilled about her being here.

But that thought was pushed aside as they noticed something that Twilight was doing. Because, as she was running, she was also using her magic to levitate six objects above her head. Five golden necklaces and one golden tiara, each containing it's own specialized jewel. The elements of harmony. It was here that they group realised that, whatever Twilight was planning, it was serious. As Twilight and Trixie approached, they slowed down, eventually stopping as they reached the group.

"Thanks for coming girls." Twilight said.

They all nodded at her after she said this, but many among them began to stare at Trixie with less-than-friendly looks. Trixie looked away from them, knowing full-well how they felt about her. Twilight meanwhile looked from the group, to Trixie, and then back to the group. It didn't take her long to figure out that her friends weren't happy about having her here. She didn't blame them for holding a grudge, given everything she'd heard Trixie did during her absence in Ponyville, but there were bigger concerns here.

"Girls. I know you've had problems with Trixie in the past, but we need to focus. Sombra is close to making his move and we have to work together to stop him."

That got their attention. The group gave each other looks of concern before Applejack stepped forward.

"What do we do?" She asked.

Twilight concentrated on her magic and moved the elements. The tiara landed gently on her head and the five necklaces went to each of their respective owners. Once all of her friends had their elements, she explained the plan.

"We're getting on this train to Canterlot. That's where he'll most likely make his move. Trixie and I are going to do what we can to try and stop Sombra. If we can, we'll need to use the elements of harmony against him."

The group understood the plan, and nodded in agreement. As happy as Twilight was that they would follow her in this, she felt a need to explain to them just how dangerous this whole thing was going to be.

"Girls......I won't lie to you here. What we are about to do could well be the most dangerous thing we've done together yet. Sombra will not be attacking Canterlot alone. He'll have the force of an entire changeling army behind him, as well as more magical power than we've ever seen him wield."

It was clear from their expression that they understood just what that meant. They'd seen Sombra's power before, able to surround and corrupt an entire empire without much effort. If his power had become even greater than that, then their chances for victory became even less than they'd feared. But Twilight continued regardless of this.

"I won't force you to come with me. There is a very real chance that any one of us could become hurt by this. Perhaps......even worse than that. And so, if any of you don't want......"

But Twilight was stopped by Rainbow Dash, who landed right in front of her with an angry look on her face, making Twilight step back.

"Don't you dare Twilight! After everything we've been through, how can you even think that we'd leave you hanging?"

Twilight's mouth was gaping open, having not expected to be interrupted like that. Rainbow continued.

"You're our friend. You've brought us back together many times before, at points when we all thought all was lost. You gave us hope at times when we could find none. You've led us against evil time and again. And even when you fell, we did not abandon you. We will NOT abandon you here!"

Twilight looked from Rainbow to all of her friends. All of them had looks of determination on their faces, each one ready to accept this task Twilight had gathered them for. The purple unicorn couldn't help but crack a smile. Silently, she blessed her stars that she had been fortunate enough to have friends like these. Rainbow stepped forward and placed a hoof on Twilight's shoulder, smiling back at her and nodding. This was followed by nods from all of the rest. Glancing at her side, Twilight saw that even Trixie was looking ready for this.

Twilight sighed and nodded in response. Then, all of their attention was gained by the sound of the horn of the train, with steam pouring from it's top. They all gave each other one final reassuring look before boarding their cabin. After a few moments, the train began to move, gradually building up speed. As the speed of the train increased, Twilight, having taken her seat in the cabin, looked out of the window and saw Ponyville becoming smaller and smaller as the train moved away.

She had every confidence in hers and her friend’s ability to fight evil. But in spite of that, doubt ever gnawed at her heart, and she wondered to herself, with the power at Sombra's command, did they even stand a chance?

The battle begins

Ever since she was a small filly, Twilight had always enjoyed the sound of trains, as well as the way they moved along the tracks. She had not travelled on them much prior to her move to Ponyville, but on the few times she would venture on one with her parents, it was always a pleasant experience. She tried desperately now to focus on those happy memories, as a way of distracting herself, calming herself. But not matter how much she tried to, the grim truth of reality always broke through.

She opened her eyes, having had them closed previously to try and focus on the train sounds, and looked around her cabin. Her friends were all there, sitting in their respective seats, as was Trixie. All of them had the same look of worry and concern. Despite Rainbow's speech prior to their departure, it was clear that it had done little to alleviate their fears. Even Pinkie, who was usually so upbeat regardless of the situation, was looking uncharacteristically down.

Twilight sighed, secretly loathing her decision to bring them here. They were all important to her and the last thing she wanted was to put them in danger. But she knew she had little choice in the matter. Turning from them, she looked out of the window. The rain was now travelling along a stretch of mountain range, one that Twilight knew well. It wouldn't be long before they stopped in Canterlot. From there the plan was clear. Wait for Sombra to arrive and see what they could do to stop him.

She focused on that. They had a weapon to use against him. And although she did not know if it would work, she knew that it was their only hope. But she was jarred from her thoughts but a sudden jolt. The train was stopping almost immediately, shocking everypony on-board and causing the entire group to leap out of their seats in surprise. The screech from the train's wheels braking was almost deafening. The group all looked at each other with confusion and concern.

"What in tarnation was that?" Applejack asked.

Twilight had no answer, but she didn't need to, because the door of their cabin opened and a stallion in a blue uniform, no doubt one of the train operator, entered, looking very nervous.

"Mares and gentlecolts! May I please have your attention! Due to unforeseen circumstances, the train has had to come to a stop. We apologize for the delay!" He said.

Twilight, concerned that her plan was now in jeopardy, ran towards him and brought her face up close to his.

"What do you mean, unforeseen circumstances?" She asked angrily.

The stallion took a nervous step backwards as he hastily tried to explain himself.

"We....we don't know! There's some.....thing blocking the train! Keeping us from Canterlot! I don't know more than that!"

Twilight said nothing in response. Instead, she looked over to the window she was sitting next to a few moments ago. Curious as to what was happening, she ran over to it, opened the window and poked her head outside the train. Looking ahead, she understood immediately why the train had stopped.

Because there was Canterlot right ahead of them. But the train had stopped just short of a glowing yellow mass of magic. Twilight had seen such magic once before. It was a barrier spell. She'd seen her brother, Shining Armour, cast such a spell over the city not too long ago. Looking up, she saw that the field encompassed the entire city, just as Shining's had once done. And the colour of the magic made it clear who was casting it. She'd seen that magic plenty of times to know that it was Celestia who was behind this.

Pulling her head back into the cabin, Twilight turned and saw her friends and Trixie gathered around, no doubt waiting for an explanation. So Twilight gave it to them.

"It's a magical shield. I think Princess Celestia is preparing for Sombra's attack." She said.

The group gave each other looks of concern before Rainbow spoke up.

"How? The last time one of those shield was up, the train was able to move through just fine."

Twilight nodded.

"Yes. But Shining Armour didn't have the spell on at full strength. It was only partially powered to let ponies and the train through. If the enemy threatening Canterlot had arrived, he could have used his full power at a moments notice." She explained.

Rainbow seemed frustrated at this answer, as evidence by her tone when she spoke again.

"So what do we do? Can we get past it?" She asked.

Twilight considered this for a moment before answering.

"I'm not sure. I've never tried breaking through a shield spell before. But I suppose we could try."

The group nodded in agreement at that and all turned in unison and began walking towards the door leading outside of the cabin. They opened it and leapt out. Once outside, the group began running along the train tracks until they reached the front of it, mere feet away from the barrier. Twilight approached. closer than the others. Gently, she placed a hoof on the barrier. It felt warm to the touch. She knew it wouldn't harm her unless she really tried to force her way in.

Looking back at her friends, she saw them all give her reassuring smiles. Twilight nodded at them before turning her attention back to the barrier. She closed her eyes and concentrated, causing her horn to glow. She aimed a beam of magic straight at the barrier, but it just soaked it up like a sponge. Frustrated, Twilight tried ramming her magic-infused horn right into it, but that did little better. Frowning, Twilight tried to think of some other way that they could get through. But her thoughts were interrupted by the feeling of a hoof on her shoulder. Turning, she saw Fluttershy, looking very scared about something.

"Twilight......what's THAT?!"

Twilight saw her point to something and turned to se what she was looking at, as did the rest of the group. They saw, far away in the sky, what looked like a dark cloud of some sort. Twilight stepped forward and squinted her eyes, trying to get a better look at it. The cloud appeared to be getting bigger, but it was not long before she realised that it was, in fact, getting closer. Her eyes widened with horror as the cloud became more clear to her.

For it was not a cloud at all, but the changeling swarm. Hundreds of drones, all flying in unison, soaring through the air and towards the city. It would not be long before they reached the shield. Looking at her friends, Twilight was at a loss for words. She didn't know how to get into the city with this shield up. So she instead turned back to the sight of the swarm, which for the time being didn't seem to notice them. It was here that Twilight noticed something flying ahead of the swarm. Something that looked like a much smaller, and blacker, cloud.

Her eyes widened further as a cold feeling grew within her heart. She knew that darkness anywhere.

"It's.........him!"

.....................................

It had been many centuries since he last felt excitement such as this. Sombra, though he lacked the wings of an alicorn or pegasus, was held aloft in the sky by the sheer force of his dark magic. And he had plenty to spare for what was coming. He looked down from his high place, surrounded by his changeling followers, at the glittering white city below. Canterlot, they called it. A city that did not even exist a thousand years ago, when he was first imprisoned.

A city that rivalled even the glittering palace of the northern Crystal Empire, which he himself had once conquered. And now, as before, he would conquer again. He felt the same rush as he did back then. Waves of his enemies would throw themselves at him in a desperate attempt to thwart his plan. And like centuries ago, they would fall to him. True, this time his target may have had the protection of two alicorns, something the Empire never had, but this time he too had upped his game, with an army.

As he gazed upon the city, he broke into a wide grin.

"Such a beautiful city. A thousand years it must have taken to forge a place such as that. And in just one day, I will crush it."

Sombra looked through the corner of his eye to see his lieutenant, Lightning Dust, flying alongside him. He didn't need to look at her completely to know that she was clearly nervous about the upcoming fight. He wondered silently if she had the stomach for it. Regardless, it didn't matter right now, because first he had to get past the city's first line of defence. A massive bubble, created from powerful magic. Sombra knew that magic anywhere, and chuckled at the sight of it.

"Nice try mother. But it will take more than a simple shield to stop me."

With that, he turned around to the changeling horde behind him. The sound of all their wings buzzing was near deafening, but he ignored it. If he knew one thing, it was fear. And he knew that these changelings were afraid, and with good reason. The last time they were here, they were defeated. And so, being their current commander, Sombra decided that the time was right for a little motivational speech, as cliché as that might have seemed to him.

"Changelings! Before you stands the capital city of Equestria! Many of you know it, for this is not the first time your eyes have beheld it. When last you laid siege to this place, you were defeated. You were broken. You were cast out and humiliated. But today! Today, it is the PONIES who will know the sour taste of defeat! Follow me on this day, and we will show Equestria what true power looks like!"

That did it. The changelings snarled with approval, a sound almost as loud as their buzzing. Sombra, having frequently worked alone, would have preferred to just get on with the attack, but he knew the value of a little push here and there. But now was the moment of truth. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on his magic. The jewel on his alicorn amulet began to glow a bright red, as did his horn. Opening his eyes again, they too were glowing. His magic was building higher and higher, to the point where the changelings surrounding him began to back away in fear of him.

Eventually, his magic had built to sufficient strength, and he pointed his horn directly towards the shield surrounding Canterlot. With a look of almost joy, Sombra fired. The magical blast from his horn was larger and more powerful than any magic seen by the changelings, or Lightning. No doubt given additional strength by the amulet, it streamed down through the air and approached the shield at tremendous speed. In mere moments, it collided.

The impact of the blast upon the shield sent shockwaves through the air, to the degree that many changeling had to flap their wings even harder so as to not get blown away. The blast continued to pummel against the shield, with Sombra growing more and more angry the longer it took. Eventually though, cracks began to appear in the area that was being attacked. With his smile back once more, Sombra pushed even further with his magic and the blast made it's final efforts.

With the full power having been brought down upon it, the shield broke. It's cracks spread all over and it shattered like glass, with it's pieces disappearing as they fell. The city was now exposed. Their first line of defence brought down without so much as a sweat on Sombra's part. The day was going well it seemed. Turning back to his changeling army, he looked at their faces, at the looks of utter glee and anticipation. They were eager for battle. Hungry for it. Turing back to the city, he pointed towards it with his hoof and gave the command.

"Changelings...........ATTACK!!!"

A traitor discovered

"SISTER!!!"

Luna rushed forward as her elder sister, Celestia, fell to the ground. Just in time, she caught her before she collided with the stone ground on the balcony. Luna could not believe what she had just seen. Celestia had erected a powerful shield around the entire city, using some of the most potent magic Luna had ever witnessed. And with one attack, Sombra had shattered it. Torn it apart as though it were nothing more than paper. Luna's expression bore a look of dismay and horror over this. Looking down, she saw her sister began to stir and regain consciousness over the shock of having her spell broken.

"What......what happened?" Celestia asked.

Luna felt no joy in explaining what happened.

"Sister.....Sombra has broken your spell. The city is unguarded!"

That snapped Celestia back to attention as her eyes widened with surprise. She knew her son was powerful, but for him to possess the kind of power to shatter her shield in one blow? That was a magic she'd never seen him use. There was no way he could have gained so much power, even with his restored body. But then, as she considered this, a terrible thought came to mind. Struggling, she got back on all four hooves as she looked down at her younger sister, a look of fear on her face.

"The amulet. He has it back!"

Luna took a few moments to understand what her sister was saying. When she understood, she looked dismayed.

"The alicorn amulet?! But.....how?"

Celestia shook her head.

"I do not know. But it matters not how he got it, but how we will stop him now that he has."

Luna looked from her sister and back towards the changeling swarm, which was still hovering just outside the city. Eventually, she noticed that the swarm was moving once more, approaching the city boundaries with great speed. Luna pointed towards the swarm, causing Celestia to notice the approaching force. The elder sister frowned, considering what to do now that she realised what power her son had brought down upon her city. She turned to Luna.

"Sister. Lead the city."

Luna turned to her sister, eyes wide with surprise.

"What? What about you?"

Celestia sighed before replying.

"I cannot lead our forces. Because I know.......he will come for me."

Luna opened her mouth to speak, but knew better of it. She knew her sister was right, as much as she did not like to admit it. Sombra would undoubtedly go straight for Celestia. And if her sister were amongst others, they would sure get caught in the crossfire. The two said nothing to each other, merely moving close and embracing each other, knowing that what was ahead for both would test them and harm them in a way they had not endured for a very long time. Turning away from her sister, Luna spread out her wings and flapped them hard, flying into the air, ready to command their forces.

Celestia remained behind, keeping her eyes on Luna until she was no longer in sight. Once she was gone, she turned and re-entered the palace, making her way down the stairs towards the front gates. She knew her son well enough to know that this is where he would come for her.

"Well Sombra.......here I am."

...........................................

Had she been on the ground at the time, Lightning Dust's jaw would have been on it by now. She couldn't believe what she'd just seen. Sombra, shattering Canterlot's protection as though it were nothing. Even when he'd given his big speech to their army, she stayed focused on the city. But that focus was soon interrupted by the sound of buzzing as hundreds of changeling drones immediately flew past her at break-neck speed. She kept her eyes on them as they raced towards the now-vulnerable city.

Not wanting to get left behind, she readied herself to try and catch up to them. But before she could set off, she saw Sombra's outstretched hoof bar her path. Looking at him, she saw his serious expression as he turned to face her.

"Not you Lightning. I have a special task for you." He said calmly.

Lightning tilted her head in confusion.

"What?" She asked.

Sombra lowered his hoof and turned to face the city once more before replying.

"I feel a great magical power near the city. One not of alicorn origin. It appears that the bearers of the elements of harmony have decided to intervene in my plan."

That news shocked Lightning. Twilight and the others had come to the city? She couldn't believe it. After what happened the last time the former princess faced Sombra, she was sure that she'd want to stay as far away from the guy as possible. For her to willingly put herself in his path again made her either very brave, or very stupid.

"What will we do?" She asked.

Sombra grinned and faced her again.

"Oh, it won't be we Lightning, but you."

She backed away a little in surprise over that.

"Me? By myself?"

Sombra nodded.

"Indeed. I have full confidence in your talents. After all, it wouldn't be the first time you've put their lives in jeopardy. Now though, it will be intentional. Go down there, face the bearers, and stop them before they can interfere."

His tone was harsh, and Lightning knew that there was no negotiation on this. After everything she'd seen, she was terrified of Sombra, and what he could do. If she refused him now, at this critical stage, he could very well turn on her there and then. And so, reluctantly, she sighed heavily and nodded. Looking back towards the city, she spread her wings wide and launched herself forward, gaining speed as she was flying, and keeping an eye out for those six ponies who were now, at long last, enemies she would have to fight.

...........................................

"What in was THAT?!"

Rainbow's shock mirrored everypony else's. The sight of a shield shattered in one shot, needless to say, astounded them. If ever there was proof that Sombra was dangerous, this was it. The shockwaves from the impact of his magic had knocked many of them over, but they'd quickly regained their composure. Twilight stared in horror as the changeling swarm rushed through the sky towards the city. But unlike their first attempt to take Canterlot, this time, the ponies of the city were ready.

Because, as the horde approached, the seven mares saw bolts of magic shoot out from the towers and other high places in the city. No doubt the unicorns of the royal guard had been posted there to try and fend off the enemy. As hundreds of changeling poured out of the sky, it soon became utter chaos. Drones dodged and weaved to avoid being hit, sometimes rushing a unicorn on their post on a tower. But in many cases, the unicorns hit their marks. However, the swarm was so vast, and so numerous, that it was only a matter of time before they were overwhelmed.

Narrowing her eyes at this destruction, Twilight looked towards Trixie and the others. They all looked at her and understood immediately what she was thinking. Although he probably didn't intend for it, Sombra's attack had benefitted them. With the shield down, they could now enter the city to help defend it. And so, without saying anything, the seven of them charged forward, entering the city. The sounds of magical blasts and explosions from above unnerved them, but they knew they could not falter. If they did not succeed here, their nation was doomed.

But things were still hard for them. Canterlot was a big city after all and it took a long time for them to get from one side to the other. They took the main streets, running as fast as they could. Sometimes a defeated changeling drone would drop out of the sky and land near where they were running, but they simply ignored it. But, as they were running, something happened that they could not ignore. The wind began to pick up, and soon it was blowing far harder that they expected it to at this time of year.

"What's going on?" Twilight asked.

Rainbow flew into the sky to get a better look around. After scouting the immediate area, her eyes widened with shock as she saw what was coming.

"Tornado!"

The other looked where she was looking. Sure enough, a massive tornado was approaching them. The group began to run again, trying desperately to outrun the deadly tornado. Rainbow, having power over the weather, immediately charged the thing, circling in the opposite direction to where it was spinning, in an effort to undo it. But it was blowing hard and she struggled to keep in the air whilst circling it. She took comfort however in the fact that she was buying her friends time to get away from it.

That sense of victory soon disappeared however as, all of a sudden, something slammed into her side, halting her efforts and causing her to fall hard to the ground. It hurt to collide with the stone of the ground like that, but it wasn't the first time Rainbow had fallen in such a manner, so she was soon on her hooves again and looking around to see what had hit her. She looked up and her mouth hung open with surprise. For there, flying above her, was a young pegasus she did not think she'd ever see again.

Lightning Dust. Her former team-mate at the Wonderbolt Academy. She was looking down at Rainbow with a look of disdain on her face. Rainbow was confused as to why she was here, but put that confusion aside to get straight to the heart of the matter.

"Look Lightning, I don't know what you're doing here, but I don't have time to....."

She stopped talking when she suddenly felt that something was wrong. Realising what it was, she looked down at her chest and saw, much to her horror, that her element of harmony was missing. Frantically, she looked around in a desperate attempt to find it. And then something occurred to her. A thought that she did not like, but continued nevertheless. Looking up at Lightning once more, her fears were confirmed when she saw that the mare had, in her right hoof, Rainbow's element.

"Looking for this?"

Fight and flight

"Lightning......I........what are you doing?!"

The distress in her voice was clear as Rainbow, still on the ground, looked up and her former squad-mate, Lightning Dust. The green pegasus was flapping her wings, keeping above her rival, holding the element of loyalty which she had taken from Rainbow in the confusion of the tornado. She did not see what had happened to the other element-bearers, but it didn't matter. Because as long as just one of them was kept out of the fight, they couldn't use their elements.

"I'm doing what I have to."

Rainbow looked incredibly confused, and Lightning could not blame her. The last the two had even seen each other, it was back at the Wonderbolt Academy, when Lightning was kicked out. And even though Lightning had been keeping up-to-date with Rainbow's activities, the latter probably hadn't even given her a second thought, as evidenced by her continuing look of confusion.

"What do you mean what you have to? I need that element!"

Lightning looked to the golden necklace in her hoof and then turned back to Rainbow, frowning as she did so.

"I know."

Rainbow said nothing, merely looked at the look of utter distain on Lightning’s face. It took a few moments, but Rainbow slowly began to understand. Lightning's continued holding of the element hindered their plan to thwart Sombra, so if she was refusing to surrender it, that could only mean one thing. Her expression of confusion slowly morphed into one of horror as she looked up and Lightning, hoping desperately that she was wrong.

"You.......you're......with HIM?!"

Lightning waited for a few moments before slowly nodding, confirming Rainbow's fears. The rainbow-mane pegasus hung her mouth open with shock.

"You.....you....."

Then, a look of utter anger burst through and she spread out her wings in a threatening posture.

"YOU BETRAYED US ALL!!!"

Lightning narrowed her eyes at the angry mare.

"Yes. I did. And I don't have to explain myself to you or anypony else!"

Rainbow's frown deepened more.

"No explanation needed.....TRAITOR!!!"

Before Lightning could reply to that, Rainbow flapped her wings hard and launched herself into the air, straight towards Lightning. The latter did not react fast enough, and Rainbow soon collided with her, forcing her backwards. Although she'd been winded by the attack, she was clear-headed enough to see that, as Rainbow was forcing her back, she was reaching for her element. Regaining her strength, Lightning pushed back, giving herself just enough space to be able to spin around fast enough to kicked Rainbow in the face with her hind legs as she attempted a second attack.

The green pegasus then flew higher up into the sky, with Rainbow in pursuit. Lightning knew that if she could just keep the element out of Rainbow's reach long enough, they would win. Looking behind her, she saw the very angry pegasus flapping even harder, catching up to her. But Lightning was not concerned. Even though Rainbow was undoubtedly one of the best fliers she'd ever known, she was better. And she would prove that today, not only to Rainbow, but to all of Canterlot.

The two flew faster and faster, oblivious to the raging war all around them. The sound of magical blasts and fights amongst the guards and changelings made it hard to hear, but that made little difference to the two of them. Lightning darted and weaved around the towers and spires of the city, hoping to shake Rainbow from her trail. But Rainbow kept up with ease. She'd clearly improved her flying ability in her time at the academy, much to Lightning's chagrin.

But then a smirk appeared on her face as a thought occurred to her. If Rainbow had improved, then perhaps it was time to show that she had too. One of the benefits of working for a guy like Sombra was that, with all the spells and magic at his disposal, he could make those who worked for him even stronger than before. Focusing on just such a strength, Lightning began to pick up speed, as Rainbow quickly noticed. She flew fast and faster until finally, she began to pierce the sound barrier. Rainbow's eyes widened with shock. She'd only ever seen that skill once, when she had done it herself.

But when the sound barrier broke for Lightning, it was not a multi-coloured rainbow effect, but a ring of bright yellow, like the colour of lightning itself. It sent shockwaves throughout, almost knocking Rainbow out of the sky. The young pegasus could not believe it, and was, needless to say, annoyed to no end that a talent of hers was now being used by a pony like Lightning. And so, she decided that it was time to fight fire with fire. She concentrated on her own sonic rainboom, which she had practiced many times now, and was soon breaking the sound barrier herself. A massive rainbow-coloured ring spread forth when she broke it, and soon she was hot on Lightning's tail once more.

The latter had no idea what Rainbow was catching up to her, perhaps unaware that her old rival had such a talent at her disposal. In fact, so much had Rainbow practiced this ability, that soon she was mere inches behind her. Rainbow knew that if she was going to catch up, this would be her only opportunity. She flapped her wings mightily and launched further forward, tackling Lightning from behind. The shocked mare could not react in time to this, and soon the two of them were plummeting out of the sky, grappling with each other in a bid to gain possession of the element. But soon their fight was brought to an abrupt end when they hit the ground.

The speed at which they'd hit it made it an unpleasant experience to say the least, but as both of them were students of the famed Wonderbolt academy, they'd both had training in dealing with quick recoveries, and thus they were both up and glaring at each other angrily in no time. Lightning still had the element in her hooves, but Rainbow made no move towards it. Without saying anything, both mares knew full well that they were on equal terms in their flying abilities, something that annoyed them both to no end. And so, Rainbow decided that perhaps it was time to resort to something she never thought she'd have to. Diplomacy.

"Why, Lightning? Why have you done all this?" She asked.

Lightning's frown deepened.

"You wouldn't understand. Nopony would!"

Rainbow could see something on Lighting's face. Embarrassment perhaps? Maybe even pain of some sort? Whatever it was, the pegasus could tell that there was something forcing Lightning to be doing this. Even though she'd only known her for a brief time, Rainbow had come to understand that Lightning was not an evil pony. She could be selfish, uncaring for the safety of others, driven to the point of shutting out everything but her own success, but evil? Like Sombra? No. There was something else behind all this.

Rainbow took a step forward, causing Lightning to step back.

"Tell me. Let me help."

Lightning hesitated. She wanted to talk about this, but not to Rainbow. This was the mare who was responsible for her being cast out from the Wonderbolts. If there was one pony in all of Equestria she didn't want to reveal to, it was her. But as she looked at the understanding look on Rainbow's face, something changed. A need overtook her. A need to let out something she'd been wanting to let out for a very long time now. And so, against her better judgement, she spoke.

"I.......I wanted.......to be the best."

Rainbow tilted her head in confusion as Lightning continued.

"Ever since I was young.......since I was just a filly.....I have tried. I've tried to be the best flier. I've tried so hard over my life to win admiration. And the Wonderbolts.......they were my idols. I practically worshipped them. Everything I did, I did to impress them.......to be counted amongst them. And so I trained and practiced every hour of every day for years. And then, when the time came for me to train under Spitfire herself, I could not have been happier."

Rainbow listened intently, and could not help but feel a sense of familiarity with this story. She too had trained hard over her life to impress the Wonderbolts and be one of them. But she knew there must have been more to it than that, so she carried on listening.

"But then.......YOU happened!" Lightning said angrily.

Rainbow had to fight the urge to take a step backward, given the threatening tone she'd spoken with.

"Because of you, I was cast out! Humiliated! Everything I'd worked for was destroyed because those I admire were too soft to accept that there are casualties in the road to greatness. And YOU...... you fed that weakness with your friends!"

Suddenly, something clicked in Rainbow's mind. During their time at the academy, Rainbow had often discussed with Lightning about all of her friends, about Twilight and the others. But, now that she thought about it, she couldn't remember Lightning having spoken of any friends of her own. Could it be that, perhaps, she had none? That her insatiable quest to improve herself had driven away what friends she had before? Rainbow shuddered at the prospect that, had she too become so driven, this could have been her betraying Equestria, instead of Lightning.

"After that....I had nothing! My dreams had been taken from me, and my one chance to achieve great things had been stolen! THAT is why I'm doing this Rainbow! I will prove to all of Equestria, to you, to the Wonderbolts, that I am the best!"

Lightning took another angry step forward. Rainbow had no doubt that she would attack her soon, and raised her hooves in an attempt to calm her down.

"Lightning! Listen to me! You don't have to do this! You could be great even without Sombra! Without the Wonderbolts even! You don't want THIS!"

Lighting frowned again.

"Don't you dare tell me what I want! I want ponies to look up at me and see somepony to aspire to! I want to be known far and wide as a mare of talent! I want....."

But, before she could finish, a loud explosion from far off distracted the two. They turned to see that, at the other and of the street from them, a tower had been assaulted by dozens of changeling drones. It was being swarmed all over, and the unicorn guards posted on it were simply overwhelmed by their numbers. The drones had attacked the foundations of the tower, and soon, it was beginning to crumble. Lightning and Rainbow looked on in horror as the unicorn guard screamed out for somepony to help them as the tower collapsed.

The two did not see what happened to them, as they were consumed by the dust cloud caused by the collapse. The two stood in silence at the sight of such destruction, before Rainbow turned to Lightning with an angry look on her face.

"Tell me...."

Lightning turned to face her as she angrily pointed to the rubble of what was once the tower.

".......did you want THIS?!"

Lightning, as she had done many times now, felt a sharp pang of doubt and guilt over what she had just witnessed. She looked from the wreckage of the tower, back to Rainbow's angry expression, before finally laying eyes on the element of loyalty in her hooves. And, for the first time in her entire life, she didn't know what to do.

When darkness meets chaos

Ever since she'd entered the fray, it had been a complete melee. Luna had not had to do any real fighting for many centuries, and it showed. Her movements were more sluggish than they had been in her youth and she was unaccustomed to having so much happen around her at once. Changelings would strike at her and attempt to knock her out of the sky in droves, knowing that if she fell, it would deal a serious blow to the morale of the ponies forces.

But in spite of that, Luna was no pushover. As an alicorn, she was an incredibly skilled flier, weaving past the many attacks by her changeling foes and bucking them in mid-air attacks. And if that wasn't bad enough for the changelings, there was also Luna's considerable talent in the field of magic. Her blasts from her horn had sent dozens of the beasts reeling and falling out of the sky. It was clear to all why Celestia had sent her up here, for Canterlot would easily have been lost by now if it hadn't been for Luna's involvement.

Further hope came for Canterlot when, as planned, the pegasi division of the royal guard had been summoned to come out of hiding. Many divisions of them came flying out from their hiding spots in the mountain ranges behind the city, attacking the swarm from above. The element of surprise had worked to great effect, bringing down almost a hundred drones in the first attack. But even though that surprise had worked in their favour, the changelings were simply too numerous to be stopped by an attack like that, and they just kept coming.

And then there were the dragons.

Even Luna had been shocked by the arrival of those fearsome beasts. She knew her nephew, Sombra, had great power in enchanting the minds of others, but to have control over so many dragons at once was, without question, a seriously bad piece of news for the defending ponies. The reptiles had swooped out of the sky and set fire to many of Canterlot's towers and defences. True, every now and then a barrage of magical attacks from the unicorns posted on those towers could repel one, but against the might of a whole group of dragons, there was little chance.

Luna surveyed the sky-line of the city, dismayed by the columns of smoke rising all over. It broke her heart to see this place in such a state. But as a princess and guardian of Equestria, she knew that she could not falter, nor allow such pain to sway her from her charge of defending the ponies. Turning back to the attacking dragons, she saw that one of them had caught a glimpse of her and was flying straight towards her. Narrowing her eyes in anger, she flapped her wings and also began to charge.

"Have at thee foul beast!" She called out.

The two opponents flew faster and faster, approaching each other with intent to kill. But then, just as they were about to reach each other, something strange happened. The dragon was engulfed in a blinding flash of light, bright enough to cause Luna to cover her eyes. After a few moments, the light died down, allowing her to see what had happened. The dragon had disappeared. Confused, she looked around but could see no sign of the creature. Before she could continue wondering however, she heard a laugh from above. A very familiar laugh.

Looking up, she gained a look of surprise as there, floating in mid-air was a creature of many mis-matched body parts, clutching his gut and laughing loudly. Discord.

"Oh my! Did you see THAT Luna? The poor creature had no idea what was coming!"

Under normal circumstances, Luna would be fairly irritated by Discord's attitude, especially at a time like this. But she soon put two and two together.

"You made the dragon disappear? Where?"

The spirit shrugged his shoulders before answering.

"Who knows? Inside a cave perhaps? Maybe a swamp somewhere? I just care that he's not here anymore."

Luna couldn't deny that. Now that Discord had joined the fight, their chances were looking better. That is, if he could focus for more that two seconds. Even though Discord had, for the most part, restrained himself from his previous trickery, he was still prone to bouts of sneakiness and self-amusement, much to the dismay of the Canterlot palace staff. He had, nevertheless, held to his promise of defending the city from Sombra's forces, and Luna decided that now was the time to press him on that.

"Discord! The city is in flames! The dragons and changelings keep pressing their attack! You have to do something!"

The spirit yawned in a nonchalant manner, irking Luna to no end, before finally replying.

"Oh Lu-Lu, must you always be so serious about this? I'll defend the city, as promised. But In my way."

Before Luna could give her angry response to that, Discord suddenly snapped to attention as a devious grin appeared on his face.

"And look what we have here! Two prime chances for some fun!"

Luna turned to where he was looking and saw, to her horror, a pair of dragons attacking a tower on the eastern side of the city. The creatures were clinging on to it, snapping their massive jaws at the poor unicorn guards on top. Luna tried to say something to Discord, but before she could, he disappeared with a snap of his fingers. She knew that if she tried to go after him, which as a tempting prospect, it would do no good. Besides, there were other areas of the city under attack that needed her attention.

As the two dragons began clawing at the tower, causing it to crack, Discord appeared above the two of them, catching their attention.

"Good evening friends! How about we play a little game?"

The dragons, still without minds of their own, merely spread their wings and lunged at Discord. As they flew higher and closer to him, the spirit merely chuckled and raised his hand.

"Tsk tsk. No flying!"

He then snapped his fingers and, with another flash of light, the dragons suddenly found themselves without wings. Having already let go of the tower, their lack of flying ability caused them to suddenly plummet to the ground at great speed. Discord held a hand up to his ear, listening intently for the sound of the dragons crashing against the ground. He soon got his wish as they collided hard with the stone beneath them. The impact caused many of the surrounding buildings to shake somewhat. Looking down, Discord saw the creatures lying motionless. They were not dead, as he could still see them breathing, but the shock of falling had knocked both unconscious. Either way, this had given Discord cause for laughter once more.

"Priceless! Absolutely priceless! Now then......where next? Maybe I could-WHOA!"

Before he finished his sentence, he reacted to a sudden magical blast aimed directly at him. He only just dodged it in time, having been caught off-guard by the attack. Surprised at having been directly assaulted, he turned to see what could have caused such magic, and his eyes widened with what he saw. A unicorn stallion, clad in dark armour, draped in a red cloak and floating in the air without the aid of wings to do so. Sombra, the leader of this invading force.

Discord was, admittedly, surprised that the enemy leader had chosen to engage him directly, but that surprise soon passed as he regained his usual smirk.

"Well well. If it isn't Celestia's little boy."

Sombra frowned at that comment.

"I am the son of Celestia, it is true. And soon, I will sit upon my mother's throne and rule this land as it's king. You would do well to keep that in mind, spirit."

Discord couldn't help but chuckle at the dark unicorn's statement.

"Oh my! I do so apologise, your majesty! But I've never been one for manners, so I hope you'll forgive me if I don't bow."

Sombra merely smiled at that.

"No need. I'd prefer that you KNEEL!!!"

Without warning, Sombra shot a blast of magic from his horn straight at Discord. But the snake-like spirit merely stepped aside and dodged it with little effort. Frowning, Sombra shot at him again, but the attack missed yet again, this time from Discord snapping his fingers and teleporting behind Sombra, leading to the latter spinning around to face him once more. This was beginning to annoy Sombra. His magic, enhanced by the alicorn amulet, gave him a might that nopony could withstand. But this Discord person had magic of a different kind, tricky and slippery. Beating him in a full-on fight was going to be difficult, even for him.

But he would never think to look at him. The spirit was simply dancing in mid-air, in an attempt to mock and frustrate Sombra. Though he had to admit, the attempt was working.

"So this is the dreaded Discord? My mother told me stories about you, you know."

Discord stopped dancing and looked at Sombra, eyebrow raised with piqued interested.

"Oh, do tell."

Sombra shook his head.

"When I was young she would often tell tales of her and Luna's battle against you. How before that you spread misery and fear to all corners of the pony world. I'd grown up think of you as a demon, as a monster who was to be feared above all else."

He then gave Discord a narrow-eyed look.

"And yet all I see before me is a clown, parading about as though war was nothing but a game. How shameful. How undignified. How very......disappointing."

Discord was clearly unmoved by Sombra's words, having pretended to be asleep, only to then feign waking up.

"Sorry. Was somepony talking?"

Sombra frowned at this display, before turning to something beneath the two of them. Discord then looked on curiously as Sombra gained a rather disquieting look before turning his attention back to him. The smile he now had on his face was disturbing to say the least, and Discord knew all about disturbing smiles.

"Still.......at the very least I can hurt you."

Discord chuckled again.

"Hurt me? My dear boy.....you can't even HIT me!"

Sombra then gave a chuckle of his own, wiping the smile from Discord's face.

"Oh.......I have no intention of hitting YOU."

Discord raised his eyebrow, confused by that comment. Sombra gave no explanation, merely looked down to the ground beneath them. Discord turned his head to see what Sombra was looking at, and what he saw shocked him. For there, standing far beneath them, looking up at the two, was a very familiar pony. A pegasus mare. Yellow in her fur and pink in her mane. And she was looking very frightened as the dark unicorn glared down upon her. Discord's jaw dropped open at the sight of her.

"Fluttershy?"

There were very few things in this world that surprised Discord, but this was certainly one of them. What was she doing here? He had no idea that Futtershy was even in the city, let alone right in the thick of the battle. She was supposed to be in Ponyville right now, with her friends, and far away from the danger. And speaking of danger, Discord suddenly realised what Sombra had meant earlier. He looked up and him and glared angrily at him. Sombra merely kept his smile.

"Say goodbye to your pretty friend......master of chaos!"

Discord didn't have time to react. Sombra aimed his horn down at the defenceless mare below and shot a massive blast of crimson magic down at her. Discord's eyes widened with shock as he saw this. There was little time, so he knew what he had to do. Snapping his fingers, he teleported himself down to the ground, right next to Fluttershy. The mare looked up at him, terrified over what was happening. Discord looked up and saw the magic head straight for them.

He couldn't think straight, and didn't know what to do, and so, in a move that would have shocked him to no end a year ago, stretched out his arms and stood between Fluttershy and the blast. Closing his eyes, ready for the impact, discord felt sheer agony as the magic struck him. He howled out in pain as his limbs began to freeze up. He knew this sensation well, for it was exactly what the power of the elements of harmony did to him. Opening up one of his eyes, he saw that he was turning to stone once more.

But he stood his ground, not wanting Fluttershy to be exposed to this, and merely took what was being dealt to him. And soon enough, the powerful spirit was completely encased in stone. Sombra, having seen that his work was done, gently floated down to the ground, right next to the statue of Discord. He knocked on it mockingly with his hoof, before turning to Fluttershy, smiling as he did.

"Well done. I must say that even I was convinced by your performance."

"Fluttershy" then smiled herself, before closing her eyes. Her entire body then convulsed and was engulfed in a bright green glow. Her limbs began to darken, a horn protruded from her head and her wings became more insect-like. The green glow died down and Sombra beheld her true form, a changeling drone. He nodded in approval over this successful deception, before turning his attention back to the battle still raging above his head.

"I suggest you re-join the fray. No doubt your kind will have need of a few extra drones."

The transformed drone said nothing, merely bowed towards it's temporary commander. It flapped it's wings and flew high into the sky, joining up with the rest of the swarm as they pressed their attack. With the drone gone, Sombra turned his attention back to the stone form of Discord.

"Another threat down."

With that thought done, the dark unicorn turned and set his eyes on the glittering royal palace at the centre of the city.

"Just you and me now.....mother."

An unhappy reunion

"What just happened?"

Fluttershy was, understandably, upset over what had just occurred to them. As far as the group knew, Rainbow had gone off to try and stop a tornado that had just come out of nowhere. Although the tornado in question seemed to have been successfully stopped, the group, as of yet, could not see their friend anywhere, sparkling a great deal of concern from all of them.

"I don't know. I saw her fly into the tornado and then....I don't know.....I think something might have hit her." Applejack said.

Twilight, who was still getting back to her hooves after having been knocked about by the tornado, looked at Applejack with confusion.

"Something hit her? What? A changeling?"

Applejack shook her head.

"I don't know. All I know is that I can't see her anywhere."

As concerned for Rainbow as they were, they all knew that this situation was made even worse by the fact that, without her, their plan to use the elements of harmony wouldn't work. Twilight, knowing she would have to take charge here, made a decision.

"We have to keep going."

The rest of them, Trixie included, looked at her as though she'd gone mad.

"I know what you're going to say, but it's our only choice. If Rainbow's okay, then she knows the plan, to meet at the palace and use the elements. If not.....then we still have a responsibility to do what we can to stop Sombra."

The group wanted to say something, to convince her that they should stay and wait for Rainbow to come back at the very least. But deep down they all knew that Twilight's plan was the right one. Looking at each other, it was clear that nopony was happy about all this, least of all Twilight. The purple unicorn turned from her friends and looked back towards their destination, the royal palace. It wasn't too far now. It wouldn't take much longer to reach it. And given how bad the battle above seemed to be going, she knew they had no time to waste.

And so, she ran off towards the palace, with her friends following close behind.

........................................

As she looked out upon her beloved city, under siege and set ablaze, Celestia wanted to do nothing more than get down to her knees and weep. Many ponies lives would have been ruined by this attack, their homes and livelihoods destroyed. She had always prided herself on being a protector of this world and those who dwelled within, and here she was, standing in the middle of a city nearly brought to it's knees. The only comfort she could offer herself was that, with the population down in the crystal caverns, they could at least prevent civilian casualties.

However, as she stood outside the front doors of the royal palace, alone, she knew this was small comfort. Looking down the steps leading from the door, at the empty street below, she wondered to herself if he would come, if he would face her. But she knew he would. All that he had done so far had been to hurt her. There was no chance he wouldn't take this opportunity, especially since he was now in an overwhelming position of power.

And then, a feeling crept upon her. As though an icy grip had taken hold of her heart. it was a feeling she knew well, as one sensitive to magic would know. Her expression was stoic, as she waited, not wanting to allow herself to be disturbed his this presence. Closing her eyes, she focused, sensing the dark force grow closer and closer, until finally, it stopped approaching. She knew what would be there when she opened her eyes, and as she did so, her instincts were proved right.

For there he was. Standing just a few feet away from her, on the steps leading up to the palace, was Sombra. Her son. A stallion she had not laid eyes on in over a thousand years. The sheer force of dark magic that was being given off by him was immense, no doubt a side-effect of having used it for so long. His eyes were glowing bright red with powerful energy and, as she'd feared, the alicorn amulet was upon his chest. But it was his expression that unnerved her the most. She's expected perhaps some gloating, or some cocky over-confidence. Instead, he looked at her with a gaze that almost pierced her. The kind of look that was reserved only for those whom a person hated with great intensity.

As he stepped forward, his tone reflected that hate.

"I have returned to you........mother."

After all these centuries, Celestia felt bitter at hearing herself be called that by him, which was something she was sure to let him know.

"You are no longer any child of mine."

In spite of the tension, Sombra afforded himself a brief chuckle.

"Ah yes, I'd forgotten you had a new favourite these days. However, I doubt she'll be as great as you once thought she'd be."

Celestia had to restrain herself at that comment. No doubt he was referring to Twilight, as well as what he had done to her recently. Her voice reflected that anger she felt as she spoke.

"What you did to that girl was unforgiveable. Her and everypony else. And I will see to it that you do not lay a hoof on another."

Sombra laughed again.

"You seek to protect these creatures? In which case mother I must say that you're doing a marvellous job of it so far. An alicorn vanquished, a city on fire, and you stand here just waiting for me. Oh yes, I see the great protector truly takes her responsibilities seriously."

Celestia narrowed her eyes at him.

"This conflict is between you and me. No other need be harmed for our grievances with each other."

The smile faded from Sombra's face, replaced by a look of utter seriousness.

"For once mother.......we agree."

Without warning, Sombra' horn glowed bright red as he aimed it towards Celestia. He shot out a massive burst of magical power, enhanced by the magic of the alicorn amulet. Celestia only just had time to erect a barrier between them, but the power of Sombra's attack was so great that to force her and her barrier backwards, right through the doors of the palace behind her an into the main entrance hall. Sombra stepped forward, into the hall, his blast continuing. Celestia tried her best to hold it back but she knew she'd never stand a chance in this fight if she remained on the defensive.

She spread her wings and flew into the air, above Sombra's attack. Sombra noticed this just in time to see Celestia shoot a blast at him from her own horn. But even knowing that attack was coming, Sombra did not move. Instead, he changed himself, as he often did, into a cloud of black smoke. In this non-physical state, Celestia's magic simply passed right through him, charring the ground behind him instead. She stopped her attack, allowing Sombra to change himself back. His horn then glowed again, but this time, he simply vanished with a flash of light.

Celestia was wary now. Teleportation spells were something she'd taught him personally, and she knew he was good at them. Suddenly, she heard the sound of the spell from behind her. Just as she thought, he was attempting to attack her from behind. But before Sombra could hit her with his own magic, Celestia also cast a teleportation spell, disappearing before his attack could strike her. The dark unicorn growled with frustration at this, but then smiled devilishly as a new idea came to him. He concentrated hard on his magic and, with great effort, sent a wave of powerful magic in all directions.

Because of the wide-spread effect of this magic, Celestia, who was appearing some distance away, was knocked back as soon as she re-appeared. The blast hurt her, but it also damaged the surrounding room, shattering many of the hall's stained-glass windows. Celestia landed on the ground, still feeling pain from the attack, but she kept her eyes on Sombra, who stepped forward, his eyes still glowing. The princess readied herself for another blast, but it did not come.

Instead, Sombra used his magic to levitate all of the pieces of shattered window glass in the hall. Celestia looked around as the jagged pieces of glass all turned in mid-air, with their sharpest point aimed at her. Then, Sombra used his power to shoot all the pieces straight at her, with rapid speed. Celestia quickly raised another magical barrier just as they struck. The thousands of pieces hitting her barrier was like the sound of some deadly rain, but the barrier held, much to Sombra's irritation.

With the last piece breaking itself upon the barrier, Celestia lowered it, and the two simply stared angrily at each other.

"I see the years haven't dulled your power, mother." Sombra commented.

Celestia frowned.

"I have strength enough for this."

The dark unicorn then smirked.

"And how can you beat me when you can't even know that what you face is but a shadow?"

Celestia took only a few moments to realise what was being said to her. The Sombra that stood before her then, with no warning, vanished in a puff of smoke. An illusion, she realised, no doubt conjured up while she was focusing on keeping the glass at bay. Her eyes widened with realisations as she quickly spun around, only just in time to see the true Sombra right behind her, letting off a powerful magical blast right at her. This time, she did not have time to react or defend herself, and the attack struck. She screamed out in pain as the sheer force of the attack pushed her back. After what seemed like ages, Sombra finally let up, stopping his attack.

The magic disappeared and Celestia, now exhausted from this ordeal, finally collapsed to the ground. The side of her body, where the attack had hit her, was charred and still smouldering somewhat, and was, without question, agonizingly painful. Her breaths were short and rapid as she tried her best to ignore the pain. But her attention was then drawn to the sound of hoof-steps approaching her, getting closer. Opening her eyes, she saw Sombra stand right next to her collapsed form, looking menacing as he gazed down upon her.

"Oh how the mighty have fallen."

He knelt down and lowered his voice.

"I see now that my quest for an alicorn life was misguided mother. I did not need such a status to be powerful, to stave off death. I achieved all this myself, without having to change."

Celestia, in spite of her pain, spoke out.

"And in doing so, you gave up everything that made you who you were. You were happy once. Kind. Compassionate. You gave all of it up to become this. You allowed your fear to rule you, my son."

Sombra frowned at that as Celestia continued.

"You pushed your friends away. You pushed ME away. You isolated yourself and became corrupted by your fear of death. Corrupted until it was all you could think about. You are no king Sombra......you are a slave......to fear."

Sombra's anger grew within, but he did not let it out, instead allowing his mother to carry on in spite of her condition.

"You had so much potential once, and you squandered it in your selfish quest for self-preservation. You ruined the lives of others just to benefit yourself."

Celestia looked up at him, her eyes now filled with scorn for the powerful stallion.

"........And your father would be ashamed of you."

At the mention of his father, Sombra finally lost it. He bared his teeth angrily and his horn began to glow a fierce red in colour, as he aimed it towards his mother, who was now powerless to defend herself.

"Then allow me the honour.......of sending you to him!"

A tyrant's last stand

The pain was great, but she ignored it. All that mattered to her now was that her own son stood above her, ready to end her life without the slightest hesitation. His horn glowed a bright red and his eyes bore a look of great anger. Sombra had won. After all of her hopes, her plans, her belief that things would turn out, all she had done was delayed the inevitable. Imprisoning him a thousand years ago hadn't stopped him, nor had his defeat at the Crystal Empire when he was free. She had failed to stop him completely, and now she was about to pay the price.

"Well mother......any last words?"

In truth, there were many things she wanted to say to him. But she also knew that it didn't matter now. Instead, she closed her eyes and gently laid her head on the ground, waiting for him to just get on with it. Seeing this reaction in her, Sombra's frown deepened.

"So be it."

With her eyes closed, all Celestia could hear was the sizzling sound of Sombra's magic grow closer, no doubt from him aiming his horn at her. But then another sound emerged. The sound of something approaching at rapid speed. She opened her eyes just in time to see something flying fast through the shattered windows, straight at Sombra. The dark unicorn didn't react in time and was impacted by the flying object, forcing him back towards one of the nearby walls and slamming him into it.

Celestia could then see what had attacked him. It was a pegasus mare, with green fur and a bright yellow mane, looking at Sombra with a look of hate in her eyes.

"No more! I can't let you hurt anypony else!" She said.

Sombra's expression was one of shock as the mare pinned him against the wall. That look soon turned to one of anger as his eyes, and horn, glowed red once more. Lightning Dust's eyes widened as she attempted to back away quickly to get away from his inevitable counter-attack. But she wasn't fast enough, and soon a blast of crimson magic burst forth from Sombra's horn and engulfed her. Caught in this magic, the mare screamed out in pain as Sombra stepped forward.

"You pitiful little creature! You dare betray me! You......DARE!!!!"

With that, Sombra used his magic to slam Lightning against the opposite wall, with her still screaming out in pain from his magic. Sombra stepped forward as his expression turned from one of anger to one of sadistic pleasure.

"But I will not end your life for this, Lightning. Oh no. I will hurt you far worse than that. I brought down an alicorn, and I can do the same to you!"

He concentrated hard on his magic and the pain in Lightning, if possible, became even more unbearable. There was a bright flash of light, causing Celestia to once more closer her eyes to avoid it. But the light soon dimmed and she opened her eyes once again. She looked over to where Lightning had fallen, and gained a look of horror on her face. For Lightning was lying there, unmoving but still alive. But what shocked Celestia was that the mare was not as she was before the flash of light.

She had no wings.

Celestia looked over at Sombra, who now looked back at her.

"She wanted to be the best flier in the world. Now she will never fly again."

The grin on Sombra's face as he said those words sickened Celestia to no end. But a sudden fear came into her as her son approached her again, his horn and eyes glowing, ready to finish what he started a few moments ago. But this time, Celestia kept her eyes open defiantly. Sombra stopped just a few feet away from her and aimed his horn at her.

"Goodbye......mother."

Celestia braced herself, ready for what would be a painful end to her life. But, instead of firing, Sombra began to, rather unexpectedly, hesitate. Celestia looked confused as he seemed to almost shiver in place. His hoof then slowly raised up from the ground. A look of frustration and pain crossed his face, almost as though he was fighting his actions. The fallen princess had no idea what was going on, only that something was happening that Sombra didn't want to happen.

Then, much to her shock, Sombra's hoof placed itself over his alicorn amulet, which resulted in even more struggling from him. The princess looked on as, with one mighty tug, Sombra ripped the amulet from his chest, causing the red glow from both his horn and his eyes to fade. As if to make the situation even more shocking, Sombra then threw the amulet to the side, onto the floor. Then something happened to him. His expression of frustration disappeared, replaced by one of confusion, an emotion he shared with Celestia at this point.

Then, a look of realisation passed to him, as his eyes widened, as though he suddenly understood something. Spinning around, he looked right towards the entrance to the palace. Celestia followed his gaze and saw something very unexpected standing there. Two unicorn mares. One a light blue in colour, which she did not recognise. The other was one very familiar to her indeed. Twilight Sparkle, bearing the element of magic on her head. Shortly after, Celestia saw the other element bearers arrive, now standing on either side of the two unicorns. Both unicorns had a look of determination on their faces as Sombra took a step forward.

"You?! But.....how?" He asked.

Twilight gave a small smile.

"You can enter our minds.....so we can enter yours!"

Celestia noted that Sombra still had his back turned to her. She realised that this was her only chance. Quickly, she got to her hooves and aimed her horn at the alicorn amulet cast aside on the ground. Sombra turned just as her horn began to glow. Realising what she was about to do, he ran straight for the amulet. But he was too late, as Celestia shot the most powerful blast she could manage in spite of her injury. Sombra looked on in dismay as his precious amulet was struck, cracking the red jewel at it's centre.

"NO!!!" He called out.

The dark unicorn charged towards the discarded amulet, leading to Twilight and the others near her to also run towards it in an attempt to keep it away from him. Sombra saw this and shot a blast of magic towards them, causing them to back away, giving him just enough time to reach his goal. Using his own magic, he levitated the amulet off the ground and attached it back to his chest. He focused on his magic once more and his horn began to glow. Everypony there began to step backwards, worried that perhaps he could still use it. But those fears soon disappeared as they saw Sombra looking increasingly worried. The cracked jewel on the amulet began to spark, as did the magic on Sombra's horn. He looked worried, and tried to yank the amulet off him. But something was keeping it stuck to him. He began to panic, trying harder and harder to get it off.

The others all looked on as his horn and eyes began to pour out vast amounts of red magical energy, which was clearly causing him a great deal of stress and pain. They didn't know how to react, and soon they were unable to, for his grunts of frustration soon became ones of distress as the power of the broken amulet began to overwhelm him completely, pouring out magic from him as though it was a raging river during a rainstorm. He was on his knees at this point, desperately trying to get the thing off, but the magic kept coming, weakening him as it began to leave him.

Eventually, he let go of the amulet, looked up at the ceiling and screamed with agony. Magical burst out of him and straight upwards, breaking through the ceiling and shooting out into the sky like a beacon. The others covered their eyes as the light became almost blinding.

.........................................

The fighting outside had reached a stalemate. Some of the dragons had been beaten by Luna's efforts and, although the changeling army still outnumbered that of the ponies, the royal guard were able to hold their ground. But then, in the midst of the fighting, a shot of red energy could be seen bursting out of the top of the royal palace, catching everyone off-guard and drawing their attention, bringing an end to the fighting. As they all kept their eyes on the strange occurrence, something began to happen to the dragons.

They began to shake their heads, the glow from their eyes beginning to fade. The spell which had enchanted them all had apparently lost it's power, and many of them soon came back to their senses. Seeing the devastation around them and realising that they were far from their homes, many of them immediately turned tail and flew away from the battlefield and from Canterlot. The changelings saw this and knew immediately what it meant. One of the larger drones frowned at the sight of this and flew upwards, addressing the others.

"My brothers! Sombra has failed! By order of the Queen......RETREAT!!!"

The other drones needed no encouragement after that. With that command given, they all abandoned their own individual fights and flew back in the direction they came from, back towards the hive in the wastelands. The defending ponies looked on with joy as the dragons and changelings abandoned the battlefield. They all cheered out, their hearts lifted by this apparent victory. Princess Luna also joined in the cheers, having largely been exhausted by her own encounters with Sombra's forces. But she knew she would have to get back to her sister soon to find out what it was that just happened.

As she flew towards the palace, something was happening on the ground. Discord, who had been encased in stone by Sombra's magic, began to shake. Cracks appeared in the layer of stone imprisoning him, and soon, the layer began to break apart and shatter with his movement, the spell having also lost it's power over him. With a few stretches, Discord was free, and collapsed on one knee after his efforts to break out of the stone. Looking around, he gained an expression of confusion as he not only saw no invading changelings, but also heard cheers from the ponies.

"What did I miss?"

.......................................

The ponies looked on, not quite believing what had happened. Sombra, the great enemy, was now lying motionless on the floor. The alicorn amulet on his chest, having apparently exhausted it's vast supply of magic, shattered into mere dust on the floor. All they heard from the dark unicorn was the sound of his breathing, with great difficulty. In this lull, Twilight rushed over to Princess Celestia and helped her up to her hooves again. The princess looked down at her pupil and smiled appreciatively.

"Thank you Twilight. I don't know how you did it, but your diversion may have just saved all of us."

Twilight smiled back at her. But that smile faded as she looked over to Sombra again. To her surprise, and the surprise of everypony, something was happening to him. His dark grey fur was beginning to grow more pale in it's colour, and his jet-black mane was becoming white. His face was becoming gaunt for some reason, and these changes all led to Twilight looking up at Celestia with confusion.

"What's happening to him?" She asked.

Celestia gained a look of great discomfort as she answered her student.

"Sombra has stayed alive all these centuries because of his great magical power. But using the damaged amulet burned it all out."

The princess looked down at Twilight, her expression one of seriousness.

"His age is catching up to him."

Twilight's eyes widened with horror. She felt no warmth towards this stallion. He had hurt her and many others during his life. She knew he had to have been brought down one way or another. But this fate, to have his life end like this, was something not even she could have seen coming. Had she known this was what would happen, she didn't know if she could have done it. Regardless though, it WAS happening, and Celestia walked over to the still-unmoving form of Sombra, her movements somewhat limping from her injury.

Sombra, his breathing still difficult, looked up as Celestia reached him.

"Well......it seems victory is yours, mother. Does it bring you joy? To see me like this?"

Celestia frowned at that comment.

"I take no pleasure in seeing anypony like this. Not even you, even after everything you've done."

Sombra frowned himself, letting out a rather painful cough before speaking again.

"How noble of you. You'll forgive me if I don't quite believe you."

The princess’ frown remained.

“Is that all you have to say to me? After all these years. All the things we’ve done to each other…….and that’s all?”

Sombra looked away.

“If I said more…….would it change anything?”

Celestia considered that question carefully, and then let out a sigh as she gave him her honest answer.

“…….No.”

Sombra did not reply, instead just remained on the floor looking away from her. Celestia said nothing, closing her eyes and turning her head, ready to walk away. Before she did however, she felt something on her hoof. Opening her eyes, she looked down and saw Sombra' had grabbed onto her with his own hoof.

"Wait......I.......I would like somepony with me during.......during my end."

The princess remained silent. It would have been easy for her to reject his request and just leave him there. He had hurt her beyond words, forcing her to witness and feel great pain in her years both from his betrayal of her, and from what he had done to so many of her people. But seeing him like this, at the very end of his life, powerless and unable to defend himself, she couldn't do it. In spite of what others might have wanted her to do, she knelt down to the now-greying stallion.

"I.......I'm dying......aren't I?" He asked.

Celestia closed her eyes and nodded. Sombra looked away from her and leaned his head against the floor. The look on his face said it all. He'd given up.

"I........I don't want.....to go."

Celestia opened her eyes again. It was clear to those looking at her that she was fighting to hold back tears, as evidenced by the wobble in her voice as she spoke.

"I know."

Sombra's breathing became even weaker. But he had enough strength in him to say something else. To speak his final words, both to Celestia, and to everypony.

"I'm.........afraid."

The princess' eyes began to well up as she lowered her head towards him, the anger she had once bore towards him now gone from her face.

"I know." She replied.

Sombra's pained breathing was all the more evident to the other ponies. They'd remained silent during this entire time, merely looking on as Celestia, still keeling next to him, kept her eyes on him. The princess watched as her child forced another breath, and another, and another, until finally, he let out his last exhale, his body now devoid of even the slightest movement. They all knew now, he was gone. Celestia tried her best to remain stoic, but the tears in her eyes betrayed the heartbreak she was experiencing.

Raising her hoof, she placed them on Sombra's brow and passed it over his eyes, closing them, before saying her own final words to him. Words she'd been denied the opportunity to say for over a thousand years.

"Goodbye..........my son."

A fading shadow

As she stood there, staring up at that old wooden door, Rainbow hesitated. For those who knew her, hesitation was something that was very much against how she usually was. But on this day, she made an exception. This particular tower of the Canterlot royal palace was not as attractive on the inside as the rest of the building, owing largely to it's purpose of holding criminals. The walls were darker, colder than the other rooms, and the whole place was just largely unpleasant. She focused on this because it didn't seem right for her to be here.

But Rainbow knew that she would have to address this. If she didn't, she'd regret it for the rest of her life. Raising a hoof, she pushed the old door open, and it creaked loudly, no doubt alerting the room's lone occupant of her arrival. The room within was small, with only a small window letting in any light. There was a small bed, upon which stood a young mint-green mare with a short yellow mane. Lightning Dust. Rainbow found it very difficult to look upon her, because her condition was not something she would have wished for her.

Lighting was a pegasus. "Was" being the main word there. Right now, her back, which was all Rainbow could see of her, was without wings. They had been taken from her by the dark magic of Sombra. The very idea of a pegasus' wings being taken was one that sent shudders down Rainbow, and deep down she never wanted this for her, even after everything she'd done. The green mare kept her back to Rainbow, but nevertheless acknowledged her.

"Why are you here?" She asked.

Rainbow sighed before answering.

"I......I wanted to see if you were okay."

Although she could not see her face, Rainbow knew she would have been angered by that question.

"Okay? My wings......are gone. I'll never fly again. Never have a shot at the Wonderbolts. Never......never do anything that mattered to me."

Rainbow could feel the pain in her voice as she spoke. She'd known Lightning only for a short time during their days at the Wonderbolt Academy, but even then, she knew just how important her flying skills were to her. It was her life, all she lived for. And now that had been taken from her in an act of undeniable evil. It made her wonder if her own friends would end up like this if they lost something that mattered to them, like Twilight with her magic. Rainbow knew that Lightning was too proud to accept sympathy from her, so decided to change the subject.

"What will happen to you?" She asked.

Lightning, still looking away, raised her head.

"Celestia herself came to me today." She answered.

That piqued Rainbow's interest as she continued to listen.

"She told it to me straight. That I was a traitor. That I put my own selfish needs above everypony else's and that my actions aided a tyrant in almost destroying Equestria."

Rainbow's ears flopped down. She'd never heard of Celestia saying such things to a pony. Though she couldn't blame her. When Rainbow had discovered Lightning's treachery, she too had been angry at her. The green mare continued.

"But......I'm free to go."

Rainbow raised her eyebrow at that.

"You're......not being punished?"

Lightning shook her head.

"No. The princess said that my......affliction by Sombra was punishment enough."

The rainbow-maned mare couldn't deny that. Having a pony's most precious thing stripped from them would have been a fate she wouldn't give her worst enemy. So it made sense that Celestia wouldn't want Lightning to endure further suffering. It was at this point that the latter got up off her bed and walked over to Rainbow. The two stared at each other for the longest time before Lightning broke the silence, her voice tainted with an angry tone.

"I'm leaving now. I don't know where I'll go, or what I'll do, but I can't stay here."

Rainbow considered this for a moment before getting an idea, though she had low hopes of that idea's success.

"Why don't you come to Ponyville? It's far from Canterlot and I'm sure there are plenty of ponies there who'll...."

But she was stopped by a raised hoof from Lightning. The green mare's eyes were icy cold, and it was clear that Rainbow's offer had not helped.

"Don't. I need no pity from you or anypony else. I joined Sombra, and did the things he asked me to, because I had hate......for you."

Rainbow remained silent, and merely stayed in place as Lightning spoke out against her.

"You took everything I had worked for, and though I may have acted out against Sombra in the end, that does not change what I feel towards you. I know that you and the others can never truly forgive me for what I did. But neither can I forgive you."

Rainbow frowned. It was clear that nothing she could say to her was going to change things between them. Lightning kept her eyes on Rainbow for as long as she was willing to do, before eventually letting out a long sigh and walking past her. Rainbow didn't bother to look at what she was doing, but could hear the creak of the wooden door as Lightning closed it behind her. Rainbow couldn't help but feel disappointment at this. Although nopony could ever blame Rainbow for what happened to Lightning, she nevertheless felt that, in some way, it was her fault.

And Lightning was right. She could never truly forgive her for siding with Sombra. But in spite of that, she bore no ill will against her now. Where Lightning would go after his, she could not say. Neither did she even care to think on it. All she knew was that this mare had left her life, and doubtless many others, and would spend the rest of her life miserable because of her one, terrible, mistake.

....................................

"You're leaving?"

Twilight stood there, at the entrance to the royal palace, looking upon a mare who had helped her much recently. Trixie. A unicorn who had once been a threat to her, had proven herself a valuable ally. The blue mare stood on the steps leading down from the palace, unsure of how to respond. In truth she had been surprised that Twilight would even come down to say goodbye at all.

"Yeah. Sombra's gone and all so I figured it was time to head on back to the road."

Twilight understood her reasons. Getting rid of Sombra had been Trixie's primary motivation this whole time, not to mention her sense of debt for having forgiven her previous crimes. It was only to be expected that she'd want to leave now that the danger had passed. Still, Twilight couldn't help but feel as though she should do more here.

"You know, you could always come back with us to Ponyville."

Trixie looked at her with a surprised look on her face. She seemed to give the notion some thought before sighing and answering.

"Thank you, Twilight. I appreciate the offer. I truly do. And one day I may take you up on it. But right now I'm just happy to have that monster's thoughts out of my head."

Twilight accepted that. She knew it was a long shot, asking her to stay, but she was more than willing to let her go her own way after this. Trixie took a step forward, about to leave, before hesitating for a moment. She turned and faced Twilight once more, who was now looking confused. Trixie paused for a moment before moving towards the purple unicorn. She came to within a foot of her, before stretching out her hoof towards her. Twilight looked at the hoof, then to her face, before smiling at her. She took Trixie's hoof into her own and shook it. The two smiled at each other, the bad blood now finally put to rest, before they parted and Trixie made her way down the steps.

Twilight kept her eyes on her one-time rival until she was no longer in sight. Then her expression became more sombre as she looked up at one of the nearby towers of the palace. She knew who she had to see now, but she took no pleasure in the prospect. She made her way inside the palace, walked down the hallways and up the stairs of the tower until she was at the top. Walking out onto the elaborate balcony, she laid eyes upon her. Princess Celestia, who was standing right at the edge of the balcony, looking out upon the city.

As Twilight moved beside her, it was hard for her not to feel bad about the sight below. The changelings and dragons had done a massive amount of damage to this place. Towers collapsed. Buildings and homes destroyed. The outer walls damaged greatly. Even though civilian casualties had been kept to a minimum, it pained her to see her old home town in such s dire state. But at the very least, repairs were already under way. From what she'd heard, it would only take a few months before the city was back to normal, assuming there were no problems along the way.

Looking up at Celestia, Twilight couldn't help but notice the wound on her side, from where Sombra had struck her. Although the worst of it had passed, there would probably be a massive scar from this, not to mention the pain the princess was undoubtedly feeling from it. Twilight hesitantly looked away as she noticed Celestia looking down at her.

"Are your friends all alright?" She asked.

Twilight said nothing, merely nodding her head in response. Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie had all recovered from their ordeal of trying to get through the capital during the invasion. Fortunately for all of them, the changelings had been too busy to try and fight the royal guard to really pay them any attention, so they'd managed to escape the incident with a few bruises at worst.

"Good." Celestia replied.

But Twilight had not come here to do small-talk. There was an important matter which needed to be discussed, and she couldn't allow her fears to get the better of her here. She opened her mouth to speak, but to her surprise, Celestia had already beaten her to it.

"This is about Sombra.....correct?"

Celestia looked down at Twilight, who was still clearly unnerved at the thought of asking about this. The elder princess placed her hoof on the unicorn's shoulder, giving her a reassuring smile as she did so.

"I appreciate your concern Twilight. I thank you for it. But there is no need. I'm fine."

Twilight believed her, but still had something she needed to say to her.

"Princess......I just want you to know that........we mourn your loss. All of us."

Celestia's smile faded somewhat, and began to look away from her pupil.

"Thank you. I mourn my son also. But I mourn the colt he was........not the stallion he became."

There was silence between them for a few moment, with Twilight afraid of how best to proceed here. Her mentor had just lost a close family member. And she had no idea how to respond to that. But Celestia continued.

"At the very least I finally have a..........a body to bury after all these centuries."

Twilight had known her mentor long enough to be able to recognise when she was hurting. She placed a hoof on her side, gaining the princess' attention once more.

"Princess.......he was your son."

Celestia's expression became somewhat stern towards Twilight.

"No Twilight Sparkle,. My son died many centuries ago. This........this was just the end of something else."

This time, it was Twilight's turn to gain a stern look.

"Princess. Who is it you are truly trying to convince of that?"

Celestia wanted to deny that claim with all of her being. But she knew that Twilight wouldn't know it to be a lie. In all of her years as leader, she had tried to be strong. To show that nothing bothered her or hurt her. But this was a pain that had lived in her for years, and now that things had finally ended for her son, she wanted nothing more than to let it out. Another touch from Twilight caused Celestia to look down at her. The young unicorn looked up at Celestia, giving her a look of sympathy, and a small nod.

That was all the permission Celestia needed. Her eyes began to well up and her knees buckled. She feel to those knees and wept, with Twilight there to offer what little comfort she could. Sombra's passing was, without question, a good thing for Equestria and the ponies that lived there. But even then, Celestia and Twilight knew what pain his turn had caused to the princess. And here, away from the prying eyes of the public, in the company of her trusted student, she could finally allow herself to let it out.

....................................

"So, he has fallen then?"

Chrysalis, Queen of the changelings, was lounging on her carved rock which served as a bed for her. She looked on at the hapless drone before her, who was practically shivering at being here. She couldn't blame him for this, as he brought her news he assumed would anger her. Sombra had failed in his attempted attack on Canterlot, and had not only lost the battle, but also his life. The drone was confused however as to why his Queen wasn't as furious as he expected her to me, and simply nodded in response to her question.

The changeling Queen remained silent for a while before speaking again.

"How many of our drones were lost in the attack?" She asked.

The drone's shivering began to increase, no doubt his answer wasn't a good one.

"From what we can tell.....maybe a third?

Chrysalis narrowed her eyes at the drone. She bore him no ill will. He was but a messenger. A messenger which she was actually glad to see alive. Sombra's plan was a pipe dream as far as she was concerned. Having faced the peoples of Equestria herself, she knew it wasn't going to be as easy as he'd believed it would be. That was partly why she'd abstained from joining the fight herself. The battle could, in theory, have been won for their side had the changelings kept fighting, but she had ordered them to retreat if Sombra fell. They were her people and the last thing she would allow was for even more of them to die for a dead pony's cause.

The Queen looked at her drone, who now had his head hanging with shame.

"Forgive us my Queen. Our alliance failed."

Chrysalis gave a small smile and placed her hoof under the drone's chin, lifting his face up to look at her.

"There is no need for you to be so concerned. Sombra may have failed, but the alliance served it's purpose. I took what I needed from that so-called king, so his usefulness came to an end. Having the Equestrians finish him off just meant I didn't need to risk it myself."

The drone was still confused, but was at least relieved that he wasn't going to be in trouble for this. A gesture from the Queen gave him permission to leave her presence. And so he left, closing the door of her chambers behind him. Now Chrysalis was alone with her thoughts. There would be much for her to do. Many years would pass before she could fulfil her plan. But she knew it would be worth it. Smiling, she looked over to her abdomen, which had swollen since Sombra had last seen her, and gently placed her hoof upon it.

"Fear not child. For where your father failed......you will triumph".