Chapter 32

Steadfast sighed sadly as Rarity ran towards the dragon.

"General?" He heard Lt. Col. Dux ask from behind him. Turning he found his soldiers looking to him expectantly.

"Right then." Steadfast said. "I want the Battle Mages to move to the back and prepare to bombard the fortress on my mark, they're signal to fire will be a blue flare. Should Sombra appear a yellow flare will be for the MDP."

"You!" Stedfast said, pointing to a nearby pegasus and raising his voice to be heard over orders being passed through the ranks. "Get three Pegasus squadron to circle the fortress looking out for anything that could become trouble, the rest I want ready to provide air support should we need it, signal red flare.

"Sir!" The Pegasus said with a salute before taking to the skies.

"Dux! You'll lead the ground forces, cover my approach and ensure our mages stay protected." Steadfast pointed towards an Earth Pony standing beside Dux.

"Lieutenant, you and your platoon will be accompany me."

Steadfast watched as the Lieutenant quickly rounded up his charges. Just as the last soldier fell in line a cry rose up from nearby.

"General! Look!"

Steadfast whirled around and felt his blood run cold at what he saw.

“Rage and hatred coursed through Rarity's veins as she leapt forward with a loud battle cry, clearing the space between her and the tyrant king in a single bound. Landing lightly on her hooves directly in front of Sombra, Rarity thrust her sword upward with the intention of piercing his black heart.

A shockwave jarred the air and ran through her body as Sombra deflected her thrust in a flash of crimson, turning the blade downward and putting a notch in the blade. Placing all her weight on her front left hoof, Rarity used the momentum from the deflection to pirouette behind him and slash her sword upward.

Another jarring shockwave past through her body as Sombra again deflected the attack, flashes of crimson the only indication of where his scythe was. His dark smile grew wider as Rarity continued to swing her sword in a futile attempt to break through his defenses.

"You fight with a ferocity I’ve not seen since my time as king." Sombra said, catching Rarity's sword on the inside of his scythes blade. He spun his weapon in place, driving her sword into the ground at her hooves before coming full circle to rest against Rarity's exposed neck.

"You know?" He said slowly, leaning in close to Rarity. A single droplet of blood slid down her throat as she raised her eyes to meet his. "You remind me much of myself."

"I'm nothing like you." Whispered Rarity, boundless anger dripping from every word. Her horn flashed blue, sending a magical wave that pushed her out of his reach while also launching several arrows from her quiver towards Sombra.

He merely smiled at the onslaught, easily deflecting each arrow effortlessly with a quick burst of magic.

"I’m afraid it will take more than that to harm me." Said Sombra. He was about to say more when there was a bright flash of white light behind him followed by the loud clang of metal on crystal as Sombra blocked two downward strikes simultaneously with the shaft of his scythe inches above his head.”

"So nice of you to join us." Sombra glanced upward into Steadfasts steely grey eyes. "Captain."

Seeing an opportunity, Rarity snatched up her sword and dove forward, one hoof firmly on her hat, delivering a deep gash in Sombra's armour as sailed past.

"Grrawh!" Growled Sombra as he pushed Steadfast off, who with a neat backflip landed beside Rarity.

"You alright?" He asked, glancing towards the blood slowly staining her purple scarf.

"Im fine." she answered, glancing his way. "I do hope its not just you."

At that moment forty heavily armoured Earth Ponies took up position beside and behind them. Standing shoulder to shoulder, they all gave a shout and leveled their halbergs at Sombra.

Steadfast allowed himself a small smile as he answered. "Nonsence."

"My my." Sombra said, bringing an armoured hoof to his chest. "I appear to be outnumbered." He dropped his hoof back to the ground. "Allow me to even the field."

Sombras eyes flashed red as his horn glowed green. The air began to swirl and darken on either side of him as two portals opened up. They churned violently as lightning arced from within but yet they were strangely silent.

Just as Steadfast and the others were wondering at their purpose, two figures stepped out of the portals to stand beside Sombra.The one to his right was what appeared to be a small Pegasus wearing a black hood and chest piece and had shadows swirling around their hooves and tail, obscuring them. To his left was a large Unicorn armoured identically to Sombra save for the full helm covering its head and face.

Steadfast carefully eyed the newcomers. "I see you've found yourself some followers."

Sombra grinned malevolently. "Oh you have no idea." He motioned to those standing beside him. "Shall I introduce everypony?" He indicated the Pegasus to his right. "This is Shadowbolt, Captain of..."

His voice began a gurgle as an arrow caught him in the throat just above where his armour ended. Steadfast jerked his head towards Rarity who had already nocked and fired another arrow, this time directly at Sombra's forehead.

To their surprise however, the Pegasus disappeared in a cloud of shadows only to reappear in the path of the arrow with a red crystal sword drawn, shearing the arrow down the middle with a lightning fast strike.

"Not bad." Remarked the obviously female Pegasus. "Too bad I'm better."

She glanced back at Sombra. "You ok back there?"

"Glurg." He said, pulling the arrow from his throat in a spray of blood. Black tendril filled the hole, healing it completely.

"Quite well." He casually examined the arrow before tossing it away. "Though it is my fault for monologuing."

He leaned his head to the right and turned and snapped his jaws shut, catching another arrow between his teeth.

The Pegasus whirled just in time to dodge an arrow aimed for her. "Whoah!"

"Seems that Rarity isn't interested in talking." Sombra said snapping the arrow in two by clenching his jaws. "Perhaps another time." He finished with a smile.

No sooner had he finished did the Armoured Unicorn let out a bone chilling yell before charging forward.

"Spear wall!" shouted Steadfast.

The Earth Ponies moved forward and created a protective line in front of Steadfast and Rarity, bracing the butts of their halbergs into the ground as they readied themselves.

With another otherworldly yell, the armoured Unicorn slammed into the spear wall. Three halbergs pierced the Unicorns armour with a loud squeal and buried themselves deeply in its body. The Unicorns momentum bent the shafts to their breaking points and pushed their owners back several feet until the Earth Ponies found purchase enough to bring the Unicorn to a stop.

To their surprise it continued to thrash, despite sustaining what should have been a killing blow. The halbergs already inside snapped as it pushed forward past Steadfast's position. He could only look on in amazement as others broke from the line to impale their own weapons into the creature until it closely resembled a pincushion. "Don't just gawk at it! Kill It!" Ordered Steadfast to the remaining soldiers.

"What do you think of my Maletha?" Sombra said, drawing Steadfast's attention away from the creature and every single soldier he had brought with him. "Amazing isnt he?"

Before Steadfast could respond, Rarity fired another arrow at Sombra who caught it with his magic. "This is becoming tiresome. Shadowbolt, take care of her." He said with a wave of his hoof.

Shadowbolt seemed to hesitate. "Fine." She said, almost reluctantly. She vanished in a cloud of shadows and appeared above Rarity, sword poised to strike.

With a quick sidestep, Rarity avoided the blow and swung her own sword in retaliation. Her sword cut through thin air as Shadowbolt disappeared.

She spun in place and only just managed to parry a slash intended for her throat. Pushing forward, Rarity followed up with several rapid strikes all which Shadowbolt either deflected with her sword or vanished before they could hit her.

Their fight carried them away from the others, not that Rarity noticed, focused as she was on trying to gauge where the next strike would come from.. She struck out with everything she had all the while, Shadowbolt seemed to be playing with her.

With a loud cry she swung her sword in a sweeping arc but again it passed through empty air.

"You'll need to be faster than that!"

Rarity whirled in the direction of the voice and brought her sword up in a parry, catching the crystal shortsword just above the hilt. A quick twist of her blade sent Shadowbolts weapon flying from her mouth before she reversed the swing.

"And you need to talk less." Retorted Rarity as her blade cut deeply into Shadowbolts throat spraying blood all over her.

Shadowbolt fell to her knees with a gurgle, clutching at her ruined throat. The shadows that swirled around her fell away revealing her cyan blue fur and rainbow coloured tail.

"Impossible!"

She jumped forward and ripped the hood away from Shadowbolt's head revealing a sight that shocked her to her very core.

Staring up at her with a pained grin as her life blood drained away was non other than Rainbow Dash. With what looked like a wink, she vanished in a puff of shadow, leaving Rarity completely dumbfounded.

"I just killed Rainbow Dash?!" The thought of what she had just done making her sick inside. She turned slowly around and saw Sombra standing over Steadfast with one of his swords pointed at his throat. The very sight of him filled her with a burning rage.

"No." she said aloud, eyes burning with intense hatred towards The King of Shadows. "He’s the one to blame." She broke into a run and readied her bow.

Steadfast moved to block Shadowbolts attack but found his own blades stopped by a crimson scythe.

"Its considered dishonourable to interrupt a duel, Captain." Sombra said with a smile as Rarity and Shadowbolts fighting moved away.

Steadfast sneered at Sombra. "Its Captain-General now, and don't speak to me of honour fiend." The Maletha howled in rage some distance away.

"Captain-General?" Sombra said, eyes glowing brightly. "Thats quite an advancement." His smile darkened. "Congratulations."

Steadfast yanked one of his swords free and stabbed it into Sombras chest. It squealed as it cut through the metal chest plate but Sombra seemed unphased.

"Brazen as always." With a quick twirl of his scythe, Sombra rammed the butt of the shaft into Steadfast's head. While his helm absorbed most of the blow, the weight behind the strike still sent him staggering backwards in a daze.

Sombra pulled the sword from his chest and idly examined it. "Excellent craftsmanship." He said as black tendrils repaired the damage to his chest and armour. "Very high quality." Seeing that Steadfast had recovered, Sombra looked to him. "I wonder if you have ever felt its bite?"

His horn glowed green as his crystal scythe fell to the ground where it change into black goo which then was absorbed by his shadow. "Now then." Sombra raised the silver sword in challenge before dropping into a fighting stance. "Shall we?"

Steadfast, unmoved by Sombra's display raised his remaining sword in a similar fashion before adopting his own fighting stance. Seconds passed as the distant sounds of battle floated over them.

Simultaneously, they rushed towards one another, silver swords flashing in the pale sunlight. Sparks of silver and gold erupted from the blades where they made contact, filling the air with dancing lights and thunderous clangs.

They moved around each other in a deadly dance. At times their bodies becoming intertwined, swords locked between them, only to have them break away in a flurry of motion before coming together again.

The seconds seemed as minutes and the minutes seemed as hours as the two continued their display. Steadfast had scored no less than three dozen nicks on Sombra, some deep enough to pierce the armour. Likewise he himself could feel just as many on his body along with a particular bothersome cut on his forehead that kept dripping blood into his eyes.

Thier blades become locked together as they took the time to breath.

Another yell from the Maletha drew their attention over to where what remained of Steadfast's honour guard continued to face off against the creature. Its amour had all but been stripped away along with most of its flesh leaving it little more than a screaming pony of sinew and muscle that thrashed among the many fallen soldiers as it sought to kill the last one standing.

In a final effort, the last soldier gave a mighty cry and leapt at the creature, driving his broken halberg into the small crystal amulet imbedded in its neck. The Maletha gave an ear shattering cry before dissolving into dust. Standing victorious, the soldier gave a half hearted salute in Steadfasts direction before falling dead.

"Im impressed, General." Sombra said looking unphased apart from the many wounds. "You and your soldiers have actually proved a challenge."

"Likewise." Steadfast said, between heavy breaths.

"You flatter me but we both know how this will end." In a flurry of movement, Sombra knocked the sword from Steadfast grasp and rammed the pommel into his chest, driving him to his knees with a loud gasp where he then used the pommel again as a club to bash him in the head.

Steadfast saw stars as he fell onto his back, still gasping for breath. Sombra stood over him, a sadistic smile on his face.

"Princess Luna was in a similar position." He said as he placed a heavy hoof on Steadfast's chest, increasing the difficulty of breathing. "I wanted to end her wretched existence but another convinced me to stay my blade. Instead..." He hovered the tip of the blade over Steadfasts right eye. "I took her eye."

Sombra increased pressure as Steadfast tried to lift the hoof from his chest to no avail. "As I have no qualms with any other than the Alicorns, I'll offer you a choice." He pressed his hoof harder into Steadfasts chest to ensure he had his full attention. "Forsake the Alicorns and swear your allegiance to me and I will spare your life." The tip of the sword pressed lightly into his eye.

The vision in his right eye, blocked as it was by the sword began to become blurry as the tip was pressed ever so slowly into the cornea.

"Well?" Sombra asked impatiently.

Despite the situation, Steadfast had already made his decision.

"Go to Tartarus!" He spat out even as the sight from his right eye went dark.

"Such a shame." Sombra said with a shake of his head. Black lightning sparked from his horn onto the sword, cracking the blade as it traveled down into Steadfast's eye, eliciting a loud cry of pain from Steadfast. "You would have served me well."

A faint whistle sounded and without turning he swung the cracked blade behind him, shearing a arrow in two.

"Here I thought you would have run out of arrows by now." Sombra said, mild annoyance entering his voice. He turned to face Rarity, allowing Steadfast to crawl weakly away.

"It seems Shadowbolt wasn't enough to defeat you."

Rarity used her magic to remove her empty quiver and tossed it, along with her bow to the ground. "Rainbow Dash was once my friend." Rarity said, seething rage present in her eyes and voice. "But because of you she’s dead!"

"You killed Shadowbolt?" He asked, a gleeful smile spreading across his lips. "Impressive." HIs smile grew dark. "Most impressive."

Tears began to fall from her eyes as she advanced on Sombra, sword at the ready. "You deserve to die for the atrocities you've committed against me, my friends, and Equestria." She continued, her horn beginning to glow with magic. "But thats not why I will kill you now." A mad smile stretched over her face. "No, I will kill you because I want to, because nothing in this world could make me happier than seeing you dead at my hooves."

With that she leaped into the air, firing beam after beam from her horn as she dropped towards Sombra.

His own horn glowed green as a claw burst into existence. It grabbed Rarity before she reached him and then slammed her into the ground multiple times.

Struggling to stay conscious, Rarity managed to raise her head up and found herself face to face with Sombra.

"It seems you were mistaken." said Sombra. His eyes flicked to his right where the air seemed to blacken and swirl as a small black crystal with a sharp point materialized.

Through her daze, Rarity saw Steadfast fire two flares into the air, one yellow and the other red before her vision was blocked by Sombra placing his mouth next to her ear.

"We're more alike than you know."

She felt a sharp pain in her chest that was quickly overwhelmed by an unbearable coldness that seemed to flow out into every part of her body.

"You'll soon come to understand that."

The last thing she saw was a wall of magical energy racing towards her before the world went black.