Chapter forty seven

Sunflowers quaint little cottage lies just out of the boarder of Ponyvilles’ main established homes. Having an open view to the surrounding forest and being able to watch the birds fly about in the air was what drew the young mare in to the place to begin with. Her garden looking out towards town warmly welcoming any pony that would walk by and literally want to smell the roses.

Though it’s not as inviting as it used to be now… a pony like Sunflower would have never let them wilt like this. After all, if your name is Sunflower, you have it for a reason. Twilight knew the mare, not on a personal basis, but she knew enough that the pony who worked at a flower shop none the less would have never allowed something like this to happen to her pelted friends.

“Something is not right at all…” Twilight watches the bending and brown stems of the plant life, “…how did no pony realize this?”

Flash walks with her up on the path to the small home, taking note of their surroundings for any other watching them, “I don’t know, did she have any pony close to her? One that might have checked up on her from time to time?”

“That I’m not sure of either…” The princess kicks herself for not getting to know the residents of her own town better, and as princess she feels obligated to do so now more than ever, “I wasn’t close to Sunflower really, I only saw her on occasion in town, but mostly it was at the market when I would get fresh flowers from time to time. From what I knew she didn’t have somepony close…” she finishes off as they walk up to the door finally. Using her magic to try and push it open, Twi only feels the jiggle of the handle at first. ‘Locked…’ she mutters in her head, looking back at the guard, “…you didn’t see me do this.”

“See what?” Flash turns his head for a moment while taking the hint.

“Exactly…” the horn atop her head lights up momentarily, and the sound of locks and tumblers turning about quietly start for a second before the door eerily creeks open.

The inside looks just as bad as the outside, everything in its own place. However, a layer of dust has built up upon the surfaces and even a few spiders are starting to make their home on the furniture. While the few flowers that lined the window sills look just about as bad as those outside, and the fruit in to bowl on the table isn’t much better, as mold takes over. Both ponies look about to see if there was any sign of a struggle, but find nothing of the sort.

“…Sunflower!” Twilight yells out, hoping to hear some sort of response, as she pulls the blade slightly out of its holder on her side.

“Ahh… Twi…” Flash hates to remind her the cold hard truth of what changelings would do sometimes with their victims, “it has been quite a while and-”

“Stop right there…” she holds a hoof over his mouth, but pulls it away quickly to say her piece, “I can hope, at least, that she’s just tied up in a corner somewhere.”

“Sometimes that’s all you can do…” he nods in response, knowing full well she is right, “Just trying to prepare you for what you might find.”

“I know you are, Flash…” she mumbles enough so that he can hear as they make their way up the stairs.

Creaking open the bedroom door, Flash goes first with hoof on sword in case they really aren’t the only ones here right now. Though as they enter, by the looks of things no pony has been here in a while either. The occupant probably only came here to sleep and use it as their cover. Once the changeling in the woods that attempted to harm Twi was taken out of the picture though, no one else was here to take his place. Seeing as the ones who killed him would know instantly that something was wrong. Twilight and Flash though halt in their tracks at the sign of one thing, the rather large blood stain in the middle of the carpet before them.

The gloomy trace of a body almost being formed around the stain by the likely mare victim as she drew her last breath. Both of them look at one another, it’s painfully obvious that this wasn’t a changeling that would let their ponies live and only copy them in the shadows. No, this was one that when he assumed your identity, he consumed everything you did. Flash looks over to the small closet off in the room, noticing the broken bottle and seeing the spritzer that used to go on top of it.

“If you were to sleep in the same room as a body…” he says getting Twi’s attention as the idea of how this played out forms in his head, while they both snap their attention to the door.

“…I doubt you would want to smell your own work,” Twilight’s horn lights up one more time as the door handle turns and the door swings open from the weight of something pressing against it.

Out tumbles the remains of the once young and hopeful mare…

Her pretty brown coat, now giving way to the remaining flesh that is being picked at by maggots beneath the already protruding bones while they go to work on what’s left of her internal organs. Sunflowers long black mane and tail, withered away to nothing after being cooped up in the tight space with nothing to take care of it, as the mites and bugs that found their way in to the food source go to work. The mare’s once kind blue eyes, gone as the empty holes of her skull’s sockets take their place, filled with nothing but black. Other than the occasional mite that drops out to scurry and escape from their home at the sudden intrusion.

Twilight almost drops her stomach from her gut as the thick taste of vomit comes up in her mouth before she manages to swallow it. The cloud of stench from the kill finally reaches the guard as he covers his mouth to save himself after it had been contained by the door for so long. A door which now has bits of tissue stuck to it to dangle in the wind as they flake off, meanwhile the couple makes their exit from the room and make a quick call to the coroner, so they can get this mare a proper burial.

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Coming with a few police ponies, yet again, to the address. The mortician is somewhat surprised to see the same two ponies again with a body to call in for pick up. Though there isn’t much he can do at this point other than hoist the body up in to a bag of its purpose and put it in to a cart. Getting a brief look at the wounds that were inflicted, he goes and bows to the princess first before giving his own statement.

“Well I got to say, I wasn’t hoping to see the princess around another corpse any time soon…”

Flash and Twi rolling their eye in unison, considering the aging death colt has no idea the events that have transpired with them in recent times, “We both are hoping of that then…” Flash states simply while the coroner continues.

“Well I would have to say from a simple eye diagnosis that Ms. Sunflower was killed by a single blade stuck in to her side…” he states after looking over the body once again.

“How can you tell?” Twilight asks curiously, “isn’t she too rotted away to make that call?”

“The flesh may be rotted away for the most part, but her bones are showing. And there is a chip in one of her ribs, right where her liver is… a very vascular organ after all,” he explains to them, “she bled out fairly quickly from what I can tell, after all you can’t live long without your liver,” the colt grins at them at the poor joke. Quickly realizing the distaste the princess had for his pun as she shoots him a sinister glare. “I ahh… will be headed back then,” he starts to scratch the back of his head to try and find a way out of this awkward situation.

Leaving now with the police, as the body of Sunflower is taken on its final journey through the quaint little town she called home, her house emptier now than it was before while the princess and her guard decide to call it and go back home to finally take a load off.

The walk towards her own home that she shares with Flash is a warming thought after what they just bared witness to. Twilight making a mental note to get on a more personal level with those in town so she can better know them and see when something is off. No matter how outlandish this may sound to some, it at least gives her something to do other than think about the mare. Though with that attempt at avoiding the subject in her mind, she only thinks about it more.

“Is it bad if I’m…” Twi starts to stall, opening up a topic with Flash, “…if I’m glad she died alone?”

“What do you mean?” Sentry asks her, trying to get an explanation.

“I mean, it’s horrible what happened to her… after all no pony should ever die by such hooves as a changeling’s means to an end,” the princess talks about, keeping her voice down as they walk through Ponyville so not to cause a stir with the few ponies that pass by at this time, “but at the same time you know what they do to some ponies they intend to copy? What if she had a Colt to come home to? Or even worse, a foal of her own?”

Flash thinks about this more and more, at first it sounded bad dying alone with only your actual killer there to keep you company. But as the princess makes a valid point, he can see it in a new light. “I can understand that… some changelings don’t kill, and keep them alive so they can get out without a hitch. Though some, like this one, take the permanent route and finish the job all together…” Flash explains from what he knows on the matter, “More so when they intend on keeping their disguise up for a while.”

“How often do they go the distance and just kill?”

“It’s hard to say honestly… sometimes a pony is just knocked out and doesn’t even realize that they have been taken over for a little while,” Flash answers her the best he can, “after all to them it just feels like a deep sleep and they brush it off from there…” Sentry eerily remembers what Shining had told him about Bronze Smith’s family after they looked in to his home from the intruder being taken. The dead wife and foal to match, an entire family killed… and for what? So a king and queen can have their revenge…

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The door to her own home slowly opens up after the magical touch of the princess takes its hold as they walk in to the entrance way. Ready to get the images of the body out of their head, and mellow out for a bit. Which in Twilight’s case, means looking through several atlases at possible hide out locations across Equestria. Though as the couple walks in to the kitchen, their jaws almost hit the floor.

There sitting at the table, is King Sombra himself, reading the paper as if nothing is wrong with this picture in the slightest. It takes even a few seconds for both Twilight and Flash to register this in their head completely, as they snap back to reality and realize this is really happening. Both guard and princess draw blades in unison, and aim ready at the dark and shadowy colt.

“Oh… you’re back?” Sombra says looking over to them away from the paper, “I was just about to get to the funnies, and you had to interrupt me.”

“What are you doing here?!” Flash yells at the king, although he could really care less at the moment as for why.

“Oh don’t mind me… the queen can get rather vigorous in the sack, and tire me out from time to time,” he answers slowly rising, “I’m here for a breather… oh and one more thing.”

“What might that be?!” Twilight gears up her sword, ready for the fight that is sure to come.

“You… my dear,” Sombra clenches his own blade in its holster, “I came for you…”

Flash instinctively gets in front of the princess and holds a wing over her. Although he knows that she can hold her own, Sombra is not a unicorn to be played with and every precaution should be taken in this case in his eyes, “over my dead body…” Sentry threatens.

“Well that’s kinda the idea actually…” with that, the king darts forward and tackles the other colt, both of them tumbling in to the entry way floor as Flash ends up on the bottom.

Using his powerful legs, Sentry manages to lift and even kick the armored form of the king off of him and on to the ground as both he and the princess find their place on either side of him in this case. The king stands up to see that it’s a two on one match, as his horn glows red and the sword draws out from the sheath.

“Well this is going to be fun…” Sombra bites down on his teeth while Twi swings at him and the king manages to block her attack using his own blade, while bringing up a magic wall to do the same to Flash. More than holding his own against two opponents at once, Sombra draws back one leg and kicks Twilight square in the chest to a more manageable distance.

The buck right to her sternum doesn’t crack any thankfully as she stumbles back, sliding across the floor while she charges up her own spell and takes aim. Both Flash and Sombra go back and forth with metal meeting metal as the blades fly and strike at one another. The king has been doing this far longer than Sentry could have ever hoped for and right now that is showing. The guard mentally kicking himself for not paying more attention in the ancient combat section of recruit training, as the dark unicorn breaks out combat skills that he has never seen or could hope to have learned now. Other than maybe from a pony who was around at that time.

With one swing, Flash brings the blade right over the top of Sombra’s head, quickly doubling it back for a second pass. Only to have it caught in the vice like grip of the king’s own mouth, as he grips it just behind the fangs, the edges of his cheeks barely missing the edge. Even allowing a small smirk to grow as he glares back at the guard for the attempted attack. In one go, Sombra latches on to the guard’s wings and toss him in to the wall. The move does stun the bright orange colt, though at the same time, it gives Twi the opening she needed.

The lightning bolt that she has been charging, shoots out of her horn and in to the once king, as the metal plate armor acts as a perfect conductor while he feels the charge run through him and even singes some of his hair. By muscle contractions alone, Sombra is sent leaping off the floor for a second and hangs there, before head butting the floor. With a headache approaching, his red and green eyes look up from the tile and dig in to the very soul of the mare across from him.

The gaze puts Twi’s guard on edge, as she brings up her sword to defend herself from the onrushing king. Only to be tripped up, as Sombra slides his rear hoof under her own, and brings the princess to the ground. Attempting to slices against her chest, the kings attack is blocked by Flash as he hurtles himself across the room at speed with some help from his wings. Feeling the wind knocked out of him even through the armor, Sombra holds his hind legs on to the floor to stop the guard from pushing him any further back.

“Try again, you twat,” he taunts the Pegasus, before bringing his hoof up to slam it against the back of the guard.

Though before Sombra can get the hit in, his hoof stopped in an aura of magic by Twilight. Sentry taking the opening right in time, and upper cutting the king. Hurtling him across the room in to the living room, as his weighted body falls to the floor yet again, but not before crashing through the coffee table.

“Ugh…” the unicorn rubs his head at the moment, already feeling the throbbing pain come forth, “… I’m never going to live this down…”

“Where did you take the Elements of harmony?!” Twilight blurts out as she takes a stance next to her guard, “and what did you and Chrysalis plan on doing?!”

“Now what in Tartarus makes you think I would tell…ack,” he stops, feeling the weight of a hoof pressing down on his throat from Flash as he leans on the king.

“Don’t toy with us right now…” Flash quietly snarls as he stands over the king, doing his best to hold him down as he continues putting his weight down on Sombra’s throat, “It wouldn’t take much to, just, keep, pressing…”

“Oh I don’t doubt it…” in a burst Flash is sent hurtling back in to the living room as the magic from Sombra’s horn hits him square in the face. Before the mare realizes what has happened to her coltfriend, Sombra has already doubled back almost like an acrobat, as he puts his fore hooves on either side of Twilight’s head and picks the feather weight mare clear off the ground.

Sentry is just about on his feet, when he gets the full weight of his marefriend thrown in to him by Sombra as now they are both sent tumbling up and over a recliner and in to a wall. Thankful that his armored self took most of the brunt, though Flash isn’t so happy with the sharp pain from his ribs coming back at the moment now to haunt him.

Stumbling as he tries to get up, Twilight knows exactly what it is after seeing the look on his face, “The ribs… there broke again aren’t they dear?”

“They were never fully healed…” he answers her, mustering what strength he can to fight through the pain, “it was just a matter of time before something was pushed too far again…”

“Wait, wait, wait… Dear?” the king coos, drawing their attention as he watches the guard lean slightly on his princess for now. “So this is not only the princess’s new guard, that she got from my old empire none the less… but it’s also her own Coltfriend?” Sombra tries to hold back his tears, but soon breaks down in full-fledged laughter, “Oh… oh this is just too…rich!” Sombra surprisingly beams at the young couple.

“We still are here and kicking Sombra!” Twilight intimidates him, only feeding his joy.

“Oh I know, but right now this new detail just makes my job ever so much more, fun,” his crazy eyes build up in blood lust. The bright red glow of his horn taking hold, as the curtains are closed and the lights go out, giving nothing but darkness to them all. Sombra’s green and red eyes being the only thing to show now in the mist that surrounds them, as even they blink once…

Twice…

And are gone.

Twilight grasps her sword while trying to help keep Flash up as he starts to use his own wing as a crutch, both of them holding their blades close for when he comes around. Taking one from her old play book, Twilight musters her horn and disperses an illumination spell that manages to light up the whole room. Only giving them the sight of the gloomy Shadow form of the king, surrounding them in and around their hooves.

“Where did I go…?” the sinister, dark and wicked voice of the troubled king echoes in to the room.

“Show your self, Sombra!” Flash yells out, biting down on his own lip when the rib acts up again.

“Big words coming from a colt who has to lean on his mare…”

“Fine then…” Twilight whispers, “show yourself to me Sombra! I didn’t get my fill from the cave!”

“Even taller words, seeing as I am the one who…” she hears the voice close in her ear, “… beat you…” Twilight turns her head in time to see the matching shield for his armor, conjure up and ram her in the face.

The mare is taken off halter and stumbles back in to the ground in a daze as blood starts to run from her muzzle down her lavender colored neck. The sight of the red ooze coming from her is enough to send Flash in to over drive from the hormones trudging their way through his system, like being stuck with another needle of adrenaline. The enraged colt lashes out at Sombra, after pulling out every ounce of energy he can, cocking back his hind legs, they meet the king in the jaw and send him up to his hind hooves as he tries to balance himself from falling over. But not before Flash swipes the sword at him, the king barely missing the full brunt of the blade as it draws a nice clean line of blood across his unprotected stomach.

“Argh!” Sombra yells out, feeling blade cut in to him slightly by edge of his opponent’s blade, while crimson blood starts to seep out. “You’re going to pay for that!”

“Pity… I was hoping it’d been deeper…” Flash teases, though that has only the effect of angering the king as the two fuming colts go at one another.

Using his own sword handle like a ‘roll of nickels’, Sentry punches the king square in the face, and even hears the sound of the monarchs neck crack from the force, as Sombra squares off in no time at all and takes the shield out in an attempt to do the same to him as he did to the princess. Though Flash is far quicker than he anticipated and the king only succeeds in slamming the hunk of metal in to a couch arm, shattering it to pieces as it snaps off the end. However as Flash brings his sword around at the stunned king, he makes one crucial mistake.

It takes only one hoof to hold a shield. Sombra lifts his other hoof clear in to the guard’s chin, sending him head over hooves backwards on to the actual couch.

The princess stammers to her feet after taking a shield to the face, shaking it off as she opens her eyes to the sight of her coltfriend taking a hoof to the jaw. After seeing Flash get hit, the mare makes a hasty jump at the king. Only to end up with a single hoof to the face as well, sliding across the tile floor and on to her back. In the attempts to ignore the pounding across her body from everything hurting. The mare is soon met by a hoof on her chest, and the full weight of the unicorn stallion holding her down, making it harder and harder to breath.

“You really shouldn’t play with blades, my dear…” Sombra repeats the events of the cave fight, and stomps on her hoof while she tries to reach for the sword that was presented to her by Luna, “Somepony could get hurt after all,” he lifts the blade in his own magic and hurtles it across the room.

Flash stands up from his daze after being treated like a rag doll… right in the path of the oncoming blade.

He never feels it enter his body at first. Although she doesn’t use it often, the princess has kept it more than sharp enough to do its job, only leaving little force needed to puncture flesh. Stepping back a few feet after the hit, Flash only looks down in a gasp and sees the ornately decorated blade sticking out of his gut, right under the armor.

The cutie mark of his marefriend staring right back at his eyes in a sick twist of irony. The weight in his legs continues to rise up to the point that it feels like they’ll buckle, as the guard takes a knee, feeling the blood drain out of him. It’s a burning in his chest, which he oddly enough remembers having the first day he saw the mare that would become his marefriend, that hits the guard above all else. Though the only thing that fills the empty air, is the sound of the mare’s cries.

“Flash!!!” Twilight whimpers as she lays helpless under the king’s weight, unable to help her beloved in his time of need, “No-o-o-o! Flash!” sobs from the princess fall out only on deaf ears while her coltfriend is unable to do anything as well. The rush from combat leaving his body almost as fast as his blood.

“Twilight…” Flash touches the plasma as it starts to seep out of his body, looking down as his fluids cover his now red hoof.

“Please, Flash stay with me!” She tries to plead with her colt as he falls down to the ground entirely, though the king has other plans.

“Oh he can stay there…” Sombra grabs her by the neck in a choke hold, “you’re coming with me though…” in a mist he starts to turn both of them in to his shadow form. The princess watching powerlessly as the life blood leaks out of Flash, by her own blade none the less. “I told you… you shouldn’t play with blades,” the king tease, focusing on his spell now that he has to do it for two. Twilight’s eyes remain fixated to the guard laying on her floor dying, flashing before her eyes as she tries to think of something… anything to help him in his most time of need.

‘…Maybe…’ Twilight ponders for a split second. Although she has never done the spell before, this may be his only chance.

Her horn starts to light up a bright green, as yellow sparks shoot off as the enchantment powers up. Aiming the magical appendage at Flash, the bolt shoots off in to him just as his eyes start to fade out of the light. And like that, with a final cast of Sombra’s own spell, the princess is gone from the room in a puff of dark smoke. Now taken to where ever the queen and king reside. Flash lays there on the floor surrounded by his own blood at the moment, while he starts to fall out of reality.

Author's Notes:

For those of you who don't like Flash... You can laugh while he took the sword to his gut.