A Somber Meeting

Ever since her coronation, things had seemed to be going fine for Twilight and her friends. But, just like always, the peace ended fairly quickly. Things had seemed to happen all at once. First, the princesses had gone missing, then the Everfree forest had began invading Povyville. Luckily, they were able to stop it, but everything comes with a price. They had to give up the elements of harmony. She could still feel the connection to the elements, or...at least her element. She actually didn't know if they still had their connection, but she could still feel her's strongly. Anyway, that was over now, and all she wanted to do was relax. But, of course, peace never lasts long in Equestria...

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The darkness in Twilight's vision slowly faded, and she found herself in a dark, empty clearing. She blinked in surprise for a few moments, the darkness seemed to go on forever, and the deeper you went, the darker it became. But her surprise and confusion was quickly replaced with anger. "Hello?" She called out. She heard something behind her, or..she thought anyway. All sounds seemed to echo in the darkness, coming at her in all directions. "Where am I..? Who are you? Show yourself!" She called, a bit louder. Suddenly she could feel a dark presence behind her, an eerie, familiar presence that made her hair(or fur, whatever you wanna call it) stand on end.

"Ah ha ha...At last we meet face to face..." Came an all too familiar voice.

Still Twilight couldn't quite think of the name. She turned, eyes widening slightly as she spotted the blood red eyes of Sombra.

"...Twilight Sparkle." He finished off his sentence, stepping out from the shadows.

Rage quickly overtook her, taking a defensive stance and turning completely to face him. "What do you want Sombra?" She said harshly. "And that's Princess Twilight Sparkle to you!" She hissed, wings unfolding instinctively at her sides.

He walked toward her, stepping in a parcial circle around her before coming around to her side. "Ah yesss...My apologies, I wasn't invited to your...Coronation." He spoke out smoothly, almost venomously. "I must say, you wear your new wings well...Although, your new wings are hardly befitting somepony of your stature." He continued to walk around her, more slowly though.

Her eyes appeared to narrow slightly. "What's that supposed to mean?" She hissed.

The dark gray stallion smirked softly, giving an almost friendly tone...almost. "Oh, I meant no offense, my dear! I simply have to ask: Why be a Princess...?" He spoke the word mockingly. "When you could be a Queen...?" Suddenly a crown appeared beside him, very similar to his own, only more...feminine. The shape was similar to the Tiara she wore-the Element of Magic-and had her cutie mark perched on the top.

She stared at the crown for a long while, listening intently as he spoke, hanging onto each word as he continued. She looked up at him after he was done. "Wh-what?" She stuttered, surprised at his offer. Though dumbfounded, suspicious questions constantly lingered at the back of her mind.

He began again. "Back at my castle..When you first used dark magic...You took to it like a fish took to water. Even when you turned that potion to white..But you've barely scratched the surface. There is so much more you do not know!" He said, in awe of his own knowledge for the almost forgotten art. "But I know. I could teach you magic even Celestia cannot hope to control." He stared at the crown, holding it in his magic grasp. "...It's funny, we're not so different, you and I...We both-" He was cut short.

"Stop right there, Sombra!" She lavender alicorn raised a hoof toward Sombra, glaring. "I've heard this bit a hundred times in a hundred stories! You're gonna say we're 'Not so different', rattle off a bunch of traits you think we share, and try to convince me to join your side!" She stood tall, dark purple eyes blazing with a fire. A fire filled with deep hatred. "Well let me tell you, 'your highness', we are nothing alike! I earned my friends, my wings, and my crown! You took your throne by force and enslaved other ponies for your own selfish gain!" She spat venomously, taking a few steps toward him and tapping her hood on his metal armor. "I got to where I am through love and friendship. You tried to get there through fear and violence, and you were defeated for it. Twice!"

Sombra continued to stare down at her, expressionless. The crown still floating beside him.

Twilight closed her eyes, head angled more toward the floor. "You are not my equal..You're not even a real king.." She opened her eyes, looking up at him again. "You're just a cliched bad guy straight out of a mediocre fantasy book.." She finished, talking more calmly now.

Sombra just continued to stare, frowning deeply, eyes giving away no emotion. The crown soon disappeared, poofing away to some unknown place. He talked slowly, his deep voice echoing. "So...I'm just a 'cliched bad guy', eh...?" He tilted his head slightly in the opposite direction of Twilight. "From a 'mediocre fantasy book'...? Well then..." His head jerked back toward her. "You won't mind if I introduce a plot twist." He growled deeply, baring his large fangs. Purple smoke streaming from his eyes. Magic shot up from his curved, red-tinted horn.

There was a gasp from Twilight as purple 'vines' sprung up from the dark, solid ground. Her wings flared defensively, and was instinctively about to take off in flight when the vines grabbed her front legs. It pulled her back to the ground roughly, and soon some other vines took hold of her wings, entangling themselves between the feathers. She struggled frantically until a final one wrapped itself around her throat, her tiara being knocked off her head in the process. Her eyes shrunk to pinpricks, screaming out in panic and surprise, only to waste breath.

Sombra watched the scene, merely cackling at the scene of her struggles. "Final Chapter, Scene One:..." He growled pleasantly, enjoying the sight. He slowly began walking toward her.

Twilight struggled fiercely in an attempt to escape. The vines forcefully pulled her to the ground, slowly suffocating her, cutting off circulation in her legs and wings. All her failed attempts at escaping were merely wastes of breath and energy. She trembled, panicking.

The dark unicorn stepped in front of her, looking down at her amusingly, smirking widely. "The big, bad villain kills the plucky young protagonist..Fade to black, end scene..."

Tears ran down her cheeks, the corners of her eyes tinted red.

Sombra bent down to her level, whispering menacingly. "How's that for a change of pace...Princess...?" He said mockingly, watching her, enjoying her misery, her final moments.

She refused to meet his gaze, now struggling to even get a fraction of breath into her lungs. Her mind raced. Was this really the end for her? Was this how she would leave her life, her family, her friends? ...No. She refused to let this be her end. Not like this. Never like this. Then everything went black...and a fiery rage took over. No control of her own actions, a flurry of emotions whipped through her, purple smoke coming from the corners of her now green eyes. A magenta aura overtook the purple vines, causing them to release their grip, although bad burns left in their place. A great pressure was released from her neck, legs, and wings, and shakily, she stood back up.

Sombra roared, standing firm. Their furious, blazing gazed met, identical.

She took control of the vines, turning them against their own creator.

They charged, though instead of wrapping around him as he had expected, they hit him, and hit him hard. He was thrown back a few feet, one of the vines ripping across his right eye. He landed with a deafening SMASH, head first into the ground.

Twilight landed gracefully on the ground as the rage neared it's end, the vines fizzling into the ground and vanishing. Once she landed the purple fumes evaporated, and Twilight collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. The burn marks stinging furiously. Her exhausted gaze turned to Sombra as he lifted himself off the floor with a growl. She panted, watching him intently. Would he try to attack again?

Sombra hissed, a deep scar across his right eye. Vision in his right eye had become blurred by purple smoke, a red tint where his pupil and iris should be. A small drop of blood trickled down his cheek from his now blind, scarred eye. He gasped, feline-like eyes narrowing to slits. But it didn't phase him for long. He turned, snickering as he gazed at her. "What did I tell you, Princess...?" He said. "Not. So. Different." He spoke in a ridiculing tone, tinted with a laugh.

Twilight simply glared, mind whirling. She became dizzy, the dark room started to blur as she continued to stare at the dark unicorn king. Suddenly everything began spinning, then blackness. Emptiness. Nothingness. Nothing was their except...the faint sound of many different voices..Who were these voices...? They were slightly familiar but...she couldn't remember names. No clue of what or who the voices might belong to. She gave up, and let exhaustion take hold of her once again, denying the waking world. Everything faded to dreams, the horrible reality of that nightmare gone...For now.