The bubble opened, and the two ponies fell.

They only fell a few seconds before hitting the ground. Or what may best be called "the ground."

Dr. Fie had screamed the whole way down, and still was. Because of that, Starlight Glimmer did not realize she was actually resting on something solid for a few seconds after she had come to a stop.

Starlight picked herself up and stretched her wounded limbs. Then she looked to Dr. Fie who, despite being face-down on the ground, was still flailing his four legs all about.

"Oh, dear! Oh, dear!" he screamed. "To escape innumerable perils, to outsmart such fiendish enemies, only to meet my end in the worst possible fashion of all! Oh, I shall hit the ground and be smashed flat! I shall be a pancake! I shall die a pancake! Oh, the indignity! They always say that tragedy is always centered on the fall of a great pony. In which case, I don't know what could be more tragic than this!"

Starlight put her hoof on Dr. Fie's shoulder and shook him. Hard.

"Oh, dear, it's beginning!" he said. "I have fallen against some mountain or other and the jagged rocks tear into my skin!"

Starlight rolled her eyes. Her horn began to glow, wrapping Dr. Fie in turquoise. He rose and was placed, right-side up, on his haunches. He still had his eyes closed.

"Oh, I feel as though the motion has stopped," Dr. Fie said. "I must have entered free-fall! I shall splat against the ground at any moment! Oh, dear! Oh, dear!"

"Dr. Fie, open your eyes!' Starlight yelled. She had never had the patience with the good doctor that Hope did.

Dr. Fie did open his eyes. "I know how the prospect of falling to one's demise must inspire such fear in lesser natures such as yours, but would you please refrain from that horrid screaming and allow me to spend my last few precious moments in peace?"

"Doctor, we're not falling," Starlight responded.

Dr. Fie looked around him. He looked up. He looked down. He looked to all sides. A smug look appeared on his face. "Oh, no? Then how do you explain the fact that everything is white?"

Everything indeed was white. There was nothing but whiteness, a direct contrast to the blackness both of them had just been in. But there had been features in that blackness, things that differentiated themselves within it. Here, there was nothing. There was only whiteness.

"Clearly, we are passing through some cloud or other on our way toward the ground," Dr. Fie said.

"I don't think it's a cloud," Starlight responded.

"Oh, don't argue with me about this, madam. I'm a doctor so I know about these things."

"If it was a cloud, I wouldn't be able to stand on it without magic," Starlight responded. "But feel. It's solid."

Dr. Fie put his hoof on the ground and felt. It did feel solid. He stood up.

"Of course, it is! Don't be simple, madam, with that 'cloud' nonsense! Hmph! I knew we were perfectly safe and sound the whole time! Oh, if only I wasn't shackled to a pony like you who goes into convulsions whenever she gets the slightest whiff of something unfamiliar."

Starlight's eyes narrowed. "Remember, doctor, there's nopony here but us. I could tear you apart and nopony would ever know what happened to you."

Dr. Fie let out a squeak and jumped back.

"Is somebody there? I thought I heard voices."

The voice was strong and deep, deeper than Dr. Fie's. It was definitely a stallion, And probably no ordinary stallion at that.

Dr. Fie galloped behind Starlight. "Oh, who is that now? Some other fiend come to torment us in this Tartarus?"

Starlight smiled knowingly as a large black and grey stallion, a stallion with green eyes, appeared from the whiteness.

"No, doctor," she said, "I think he's the reason we came."

Sombra looked at them, his expression rather blank. "I've wandered around this place for what feels like centuries. And I've lived ten centuries so I know how it feels. But I never found anypony else here. Not until now."

"You must be Sombra," Starlight said.

"Sombra!" Dr. Fie screamed. "Hope's Sombra? The Sombra who tried to seize control of the Crystal Empire? Three times, at last count? The Sombra who was champion of the umbrum? The Sombra who even the princesses had trouble vanquishing? That Sombra?"

"The same," Starlight said.

Dr. Fie slowly trudged out from behind Starlight. He approached Sombra and let out a nervous little laugh.

"Sombra.... Sombra...." he said. There was another nervous laugh as he raised his hoof and gave a weak little wave of greeting. "Sombra.... Sombra...."

Dr. Fie then turned to Starlight. "If you'll excuse me, madam, there's something I need to do."

Dr. Fie began to wobble around. His eyes rolled back in his head. He fell.

Starlight quickly grabbed him and set him aright. "No, doctor! You do not have time for that now! We have to save Hope!"

Sombra watched the scene. He had felt like he had been in a stupor since he arrived here. Now, the two ponies before him only added to his confusion. He shook his head slowly, wearily. They were not helping. But there was something in what they said that he recognized.

"Excuse me, but where did you two come from?" Sombra asked. "And did you and he both just say 'Hope'?"

Starlight nodded. "Yes. We're friends of Radiant Hope. We've come to rescue you."

A change came over Sombra's features. The stupor was gone in an instant. His ears pricked up. He was suddenly alert and attentive. "Hope? Where is she? Is she alright?"

"Hope is in trouble," Starlight responded. "We need you to help us save her."

Sombra nodded. "Of course. Anything for Hope. But how do we get out of here?"

Dr. Fie steadied himself. "I don't know what came over me. This realm must have some strange power over a pony's nervous system. That's the only way to explain what just happened."

Starlight's brows raised. "Sure it is, doctor. Sure it is."

Dr. Fie looked to the stallion whose bemused green eyes were staring back at him.

"So, you're Sombra," Dr. Fie said, giving him a once-over. "Glad to meet you! We're not so different, you and I, you know! But it will mean so much to dearest Hope to have you back. But there's just one thing I must say before we depart."

"What is it?" Sombra asked.

Dr. Fie looked to the long red cape with white ermine that covered much of Sombra's body. "While I applaud the effort to bring back the 'medieval royalty' look, dear boy, red is just not your color."

"Why do you call me 'dear boy,'" Sombra said. "Do you have any idea how long I've lived?'

"Don't worry," Starlight said. "He does it to everyone. Now, where is that spell?"

Starlight glanced over and saw that the spell had landed not too far away. She trotted over and levitated it up. Sombra and Dr. Fie followed.

"Brace yourself, Sombra," Starlight said as the bubble formed above them. "This takes a bit of getting used to."

"I've had plenty of that in my life," Sombra replied. "A little more shouldn't hurt."

In the darkness, the Empress waited. An umbra came before her.

"We have the traitor," she said.

The Empress nodded. "Good. Bring him forward."

The other two umbrum flew up. They held Invidia between them. They threw the weakened umbris down before the Empress.

Invidia looked up. "Hope...."

His head was slammed down by the Empress' hoof.

"Speak when you are spoken to," she said. "Now, Invidia of the Umbrum, you are charged with treason against your Empress. How do you plead?"

"You are not my Empress!" Invidia snapped. "Radiant Hope is."

"I am Radiant Hope!" the Empress replied.

"You are not her," Invidia responded. "You may control her body, but you are not her."

"Death is clearly the only punishment fitting for such words," the Empress said. "Or had you forgotten, Invidia, that umbrum too can die?"

"I don't think that's the best course of action."

The Empress and the umbrum looked. Roaring Storm flew over and landed next to them. He was cradling his head with his hoof.

"I'll admit, that particular umbris has always been too unruly for my tastes," he said as he rubbed his jaw. "But with a new collar, he should be a loyal servant once more. We need to be at full strength if we're going to attack the Crystal Empire and release your brethren."

"This time is too backward for you to make another collar," the Empress said.

Roaring Storm smiled. "With me, anything is possible."

The Empress rolled her eyes. "I think not."

Roaring Storm just managed to take flight before a blast of dark magic came his way.

"I'm getting more proficient with using this horn," the Empress said.

Roaring Storm landed in front of her. He was angry. Very angry. But he said nothing.

"Is there something you want from your Empress?" she mocked.

Roaring Storm composed himself. The anger was gone – or at least hidden. He smiled. But his wings began to vibrate.

"Have you forgotten who made you the Empress?" he said. "Who arranged everything so that you could take over Hope's body?"

The Empress laughed. "No, I have not forgotten. You were useful to us. But now your use is at an end. But do not worry. Your services shall be rewarded. You shall have a quick and somewhat painless death."

"You can't do that to me." Roaring Storm was not arguing, not protesting. He was stating it like it was a fact.

"You would have done the same to me, if it meant you could be a hero in your own time," the Empress responded. "I am merely repaying the favor."

"But Equestria still needs to be brought to its knees."

"It will be. Just without you."

Roaring Storm did not waste words. Instead, he leapt for the Empress, his wings stretching out in front of him. Immediately, however, he was knocked to the side by all three umbrum. They forced him to the ground and began digging their cloven-hooves into him. The Empress came up behind them as they did their work.

Nopony remembered Invidia, who silently floated away.

"Poor Roaring Storm," the Empress said. "All you ever wanted to do was to escape your mother's shadow. You never learned that there are some shadows you can never escape."

The Empress raised a hoof, signaling for the deathblow. But then the darkness of the boiler room was pierced by light. All looked to see the white bubble reappearing above the platform. Starlight Glimmer and Dr. Fie fell from it.

The Empress turned toward them. So did the umbrum. While they were distracted, Roaring Storm took the opportunity to crawl away. When he had put sufficient distance between them and himself, he took to the air.

"Ah, welcome back!" the Empress said. "Just in time. We're currently executing all the enemies of my reign. You two will be next. I told you, didn't I, that your little foray into the past wouldn't change anything? It was all for nothing."

"We didn't go to the past," Starlight said. "And it wasn't for nothing. Because we brought something back. Or somepony, rather."

A large, dark stallion fell from the bubble and landed behind Starlight Glimmer and Dr. Fie.

"Sombra!" the umbrum all said together.

Somewhere, deep in the recesses of Hope's mind, where she still held some dominion, the word Sombra reverberated over and over.

Sombra walked forward. "My people are back to their old tricks again, I see. I had hoped that Hope and I had managed, if nothing else, to seal you all away for good."

"I guess you failed with that, too," the Empress said. "Just like you failed with everything else."

Sombra took his first look at the Empress. He took a few steps back. His jaw dropped. His eyes filled with so many emotions. Chief among them were sorrow, pain, and horror. But primarily horror.

"Hope, what happened to you?" he said as he approached, his voice small and shaky.

The Empress grinned. "Hello, Sombra. It's been a while since you left me. Left me all alone, again, after you promised that you never would leave me. You lied to me, Sombra. I cured you of your darkness. But when I did, you saw the darkness inside of me and you were afraid. So you left me! And I embraced my darkness...."

"Hope, I didn't...." Sombra began. But he could not find the words.

"Don't listen to her, Sombra," Starlight called. "That thing isn't Radiant Hope. It's just controlling her body!"

"It's a parasite your people made," Dr. Fie said. "They made it to use as a weapon in your place. And they're using it to control dear Hope!"

Sombra felt a hoof caressing his cheek. He looked back to the Empress. She smiled in a way both sweet and extremely wicked.

"They're the ones who are lying," she said. "It is me. It is Radiant Hope. I'm still the pony you left behind. But I'm willing to forgive you. I've always forgiven you for all the things you've done to hurt me. Just accept the darkness that's inside of you, Sombra, and then you can rule by my side. We can destroy Equestria together, just like you wanted during the Siege. And then, we can finally be happy."

"I have done a lot to hurt Hope," Sombra said. "I've done so much that has harmed her over the years. And so much of it was intentional. When I first thought she abandoned me, I wanted to hurt her. And so I did. And I'll have to live with that for the rest of my life. But it never broke her. She would never have turned to this, no matter how painful it was when I disappeared again. And my Hope would never want to see Equestria destroyed. You are not my Hope."

The Empress raised her brows. "Yeah, but I had you fooled for a while, didn't I?" Her horn began to ooze those dark bubbles. She fired a bolt at Sombra at point-blank range.

Magic appeared from his horn and deflected it easily.

"Please," Sombra said. "When I was the king of monsters, I was a master of dark magic. Did you really think I couldn't counter a foal-level attack like that?"

"It is not a foal-level attack!" the Empress screamed.

"That's another thing," Sombra said. "Hope was a far better magic user than you are. I see you've got a couple of burns on your body. Hope could have healed those already. But you can't. Do you know why? Hope's magic comes from light. Yours is all darkness. You'll never be able to tap into all the power that is inside of her."

The Empress' eyes rolled. "Whatever. Subjects, kill him."

The umbrum arose, ready to attack. Sombra sneered at them. His own horn began to glow green.

"Your dark magic is gone," the Empress taunted. "You can't possibly hold your own against three umbrum!"

"Watch me," Sombra said.

The umbrum dived. Sombra fired a blast which drove back one of them. The other two kept coming.

The second umbra was sent flying away by a turquoise blast. Sombra looked beside him to see Starlight Glimmer.

"Thanks," he said.

"Don't mention it," Starlight responded. "Let's just finish off the last one."

"These blasts aren't going to finish them off," Sombra said. "My people are too powerful. We'll have to do much more than that."

"How about we just focus on what's in front of us for now?" Starlight asked.

Sombra nodded. "Fair enough." They both focused their horns at the last umbra. They were about to fire when she was knocked from their field of view.

Invidia, having delivered the blow, now hovered over Starlight and Sombra.

"Emperor," he said as he bowed his head. "They don't like when I call Empress Hope by her title. But surely you won't mind!"

With a look of hatred on his face, Sombra readied his horn. "She is no Empress and I am no Emperor!"

"No," Starlight said as quickly as she could. "This one's on our side! This one's on our side!"

Sombra's horn went out. "Really?" he said, looking from Invidia to Starlight and back again.

"It's been one weird day," Starlight responded.

"I didn't think it was possible for any of the umbrum to be on the side of good," Sombra said.

"Why do you have to be like that?" Invidia said. "You're an umbris too!"

"He's got you there," Starlight said.

"Let's not get into that now," Sombra responded, a hint of humiliation in his voice. "We have to try and help Hope."

The three refocused on the Empress, who was slowly backing away toward the edge of the platform.

"What do we do about her?" Starlight asked. "Can you use your power to remove that thing?"

Sombra shook his head. "No. I can't do anything."

"Fat lot of good you are then!"

Sombra and Starlight looked to see that Dr. Fie had just ambled over.

"Where were you while the fighting was going on?" Starlight asked.

"The proper place of any commander is in the rear," Dr. Fie responded. "He is much to valuable to be on the front-lines with the foot-soldiers. But do you have any other brilliant plans, madam? Because clearly, this one didn't work."

"What I mean is, nopony can force it out of her," Sombra said. "Only Hope herself can do that. Knowing my people, they probably designed the parasite to feed on painful emotions, things like fear, sorrow, and rage. Most probably rage. Rage has always been the source of their power."

He approached the Empress.

"Stay back," she said, "or I'll step right off the edge and you'll never see your beloved Radiant Hope again!"

"You won't do that," Sombra said. "It would mean your own demise."

"Like you said, I'm not really alive," the Empress responded. "I'm just a virus. Viruses propagate, but they don't live. I was created to propagate sorrow and destruction. If I can do that, even just for you, than I'll have fulfilled my purpose."

"Maybe, but even a virus seeks its own continuance."

Sombra continued to approach until he was right in front of the Empress. Having nowhere left to back up to, the Empress stood there, at the edge of the platform.

Sombra looked into the eyes he had once known so well, now completely unrecognizable. He caressed the cheek that had once belonged to the pony he cared most about in the world.

"Hope, are you still in there?" he asked.

And then, just for a moment, Sombra thought he could see a spark of sky-blue break through the green and red in Hope's eyes.

"Sombra?" she said. The voice was small and weak, but it was gentle. Much gentler than how the Empress spoke.

"Hope, if you don't want this, if you don't want to be the umbrum's weapon, you need to be the one to stop it," Sombra said. "Remember, during the Siege, you knew I had to be the one to reject the umbrum's role for me. Now you have to do the same."

"I... I can't...."

"You can. I know you, Hope. You're strong. You're the strongest pony I've ever met. If anypony can break this, it's you."

"But there's too much... there's too much anger... too much rage...."

Sombra smiled warmly as he ran his hoof through the folds of Hope's mane. "You don't have to be angry anymore, Hope. I'm fine. I'm here with you again. What happened to us in the past doesn't matter now. There is nopony left to be angry at."

Sombra felt a little bit of shaking under his hoof. Hope's head was moving, almost imperceptibly, up and down.

"Yes... yes, there is...." Hope said. "Me."

Sombra's eyes widened. "Hope? No, Hope, you can't be... angry at yourself?"

"She is," Starlight said.

"She has been for a long time," Dr. Fie added. "It's been terrible for her."

Tears began to form in Sombra's eyes. "Hope, I never wanted this for you! I never thought.... I was always to blame for everything! How could you be angry at yourself? Hope, you have nothing to be angry about! You have no reason to feel guilty or to think that you're to blame! Everything was always my fault!"

"No... no, Sombra.... My fault, too...."

Sombra shook his head. "Hope, I'm sorry. But you have to let it go. If you don't let it go, you'll never be free. You'll never get that thing out of you unless you let that anger and that rage go. Can you do that, Hope? Can you do it for me?"

Hope did not answer. She just closed her eyes. Tears began to stream from them. Her whole body shook.

Sombra brought down his hoof and backed away.

"What are you doing?" Starlight said.

"I can't do any more for her," Sombra responded. "She'll have to find it in herself to let go, to get rid of the Empress."

"I suppose that there comes a time when everypony must face his or her own darkness," Dr. Fie said. "At those times, we often have to face it alone."

"How would you even know, doctor?" Starlight said. "You're the one who is always going off about how superior you are."

"Even I have my darkness, madam," Dr. Fie responded quietly.

Invidia floated past. "If I may interrupt, I think the other umbrum shall be arriving again soon."

"And where have you been, you cumulitic clod?" Dr. Fie said.

"Chasing down the other umbrum," Invidia responded. "They grow weaker, but they still have enough power to cause trouble. I too feel myself growing weaker. I can not keep bearing the brunt of the battle with them."

"Ah, retreating while the enemy is still in the field, are you, you vaporous vanity?" Dr. Fie asked. "Very well. We have no need of deserters in our ranks. We ponies of action shall handle it from here!"

There was a sound on the mesh of the platform. Dr. Fie let out a squeak and tried to hide himself behind Sombra's bulk.

The three looked to see Roaring Storm approaching them. He was battered and looked much worse-for-wear.

"Very impressive attempt," Roaring Storm said. "I doubt it will do any good. But, by all means, keep trying. Keep trying to get your beloved Hope back. It doesn't really matter to me. My plan's kaput, so you and the umbrum can destroy each other. I'm only concerned with getting that scroll and getting back to my own time."

"Like they'll take you back, after what you've done!" Starlight said.

"They'll never know," Roaring Storm said. "I'm sure Hope or the Empress or whoever she is now probably won't survive the night. If none of you kill her, the princesses surely will. My Plan-B is coming to fruition. I just have to return home and receive my hero's welcome. Then maybe I'll pay a visit to my mother and...." His wings began to vibrate. "Well...."

Sombra turned toward him. For a moment, he looked rather like his old self, the old king of monsters. Because the rage was back. The rage that Hope had banished from him, that he had banished from himself, had returned. Sombra glared at Roaring Storm.

"It's you!" he said. "You're the one that took me from Hope! You're the one that's caused her so much pain!"

"And what are you going to do about it?" Roaring Storm taunted. "Are you going to turn back into King Sombra and turn me to stone?"

"No," Sombra responded. "But I will hurt you."

Sombra fired a bolt at Roaring Storm. Roaring Storm took to the air, laughing as he dodged all the blasts Sombra fired his way.

The Empress looked on. Deep inside, so did Radiant Hope.

No, Sombra! Hope thought. Don't let the rage control you again! Not even for me! Please, you finally have a chance at a real life.... Don't throw it away!

You're one to talk, the Empress responded. It's the rage inside of you that's keeping me here. I am the rage inside of you.

I know, Hope thought. And I do feel rage. I feel like I can't stop it. It feels like it will always be a part of me.

It will.

Yes, but maybe... it doesn't have to control me. You don't have to control me.

Suddenly, Hope had visions of every pony that had told her how much untapped power was inside of her. She saw Invidia taunting her about how much power must be inside of her life-force for the umbrum to use.

But it was her life-force, not the umbrum’s. Not that of the creature they had put inside her. It was still hers. It had to be.

She saw the green pony again and remembered him telling her about how much power was inside of her. But more than that, she remembered how he had her heal the entire ER and she remembered his words, “Whatever happens, whatever has happened, and whatever will happen, this is who you are.”

And then she saw, in her mind, Dr. Fie. She remembered his words too. “You are a being of light! You are light! You are the light that can transform the darkness!”

Is it true? Hope wondered. Even with everything I feel inside of me, can I still be a being of light?

Sombra and Roaring Storm continued with their duel. Roaring Storm continued to laugh off Sombra's blasts, but he could not deny that they were getting closer. Sooner or later, Sombra would hit one. And in the yellow pegasus' weakened state, that could be the end of him.

Starlight Glimmer knew it too. She saw Roaring Storm turn his eyes from Sombra and Sombra's constant blasts to her. Or, more accurately, to the scroll she still held tight against her chest. Then Starlight Glimmer heard a squeak. She looked to see what Dr. Fie had been startled by this time. And then she saw that, circling the platform, where the umbrum. They had returned.

Starlight caught Roaring Storm's eyes again. He changed course. No longer focusing on just evading Sombra, he was coming toward her. He couldn't do it at his usual speed – Sombra made sure of that – but he was coming. Coming for the scroll.

Starlight knew what she had to do.

Starlight unfurled the scroll. She gazed at it, sadly perusing the contents one last time.

The scroll levitated upwards until it was directly above Starlight's head. And then, a turquoise flame appeared that, in an instant, had devoured the whole scroll. It was no more.

"Goodbye, sweet revenge," Starlight said. "Twilight Sparkle will never know what I just spared her from."

Starlight heard Roaring Storm's angry scream. But she did not have time to react. The pain in her chest was too great.

She heard Roaring Storm whisper in her ear. "Well, at least we both know that your life never would have made much of a difference, anyway."

Roaring Storm withdrew his wing and Starlight Glimmer fell over.

"No, Starlight!"

Everypony stopped and looked. They looked because the Empress had said this. Or rather, Radiant Hope.

Inside, the Empress taunted. There's another one you couldn't save.

No! Hope responded. I can't let her die!

And what, exactly, are you going to do?

I am a healer! I have to heal her! If I am a pony of light, I have to do this!

Hope still did not know if it was true, if she was a pony of light. But she had to try to be. Maybe, just maybe, she didn't need to defeat the darkness. Maybe she just needed to tap into the real power that everypony seemed to think was inside of her – not the power the Umbrum were after, but whatever was behind and below that, whatever was distinctly her. Maybe she just needed to find the light.

The Empress did not give up easily. Hope felt a new surge of pain go through her, and it was worse than any that had come before. It was worse than any pain she had felt in all her life. Well, any physical pain. But this was the mental realm. And as much as it hurt, Hope could tolerate it up here. She had lived long enough and had learned to accept this kind of pain.

From Hope's horn, a light appeared. A strong, rich, blue light. It tore upward through the darkness, in the direction of the umbrum, sending them scurrying.

Stop it, you! Stop it! The Empress screamed internally.

You will never use me to hurt anypony ever again! Hope responded.

Hope did not stop. All the pain that the Empress was sending her way only made her try harder, push harder to reclaim her own magic.

You will not cause those I love any more pain! Hope thought. You will not cause me any more pain!

The pillar of light shooting out of Hope grew stronger and stronger.

Roaring Storm, busy wiping blood off his feathers with his hoof, noticed what was happening. He looked up at the blue pillar of light and smiled.

"What do you think you're doing, Hope?" he said. "Trying to fight your true nature? You're always going to be the monster the umbrum made you into."

“Okay,” Hope responded.

And then, the light flashed green. And, all of a sudden, the darkness flew from Hope’s eyes. They were once more a perfect, crystalline blue. All her wounds healed. Her coat and mane became bright, shining crystal once more.

Dr. Fie watched in amazement. Almost to himself, he spoke.

“This ends now!” Hope called out, once more in control of her own voice.

The umbrum rallied to attack, but they were all sent crashing to the metal platform. Hope had directed the beam of light against each of them, one by one. It did not destroy them, but it weakened them all considerably.

Hope began to gallop toward Starlight Glimmer. Roaring Storm was about to stop her, but he was suddenly thrown to the ground. Sombra was on top of him.

"You will not hurt her anymore!" Sombra said.

Roaring Storm grinned. "Well, at least mother taught me one very useful thing in my life." His wings began to vibrate.

"Is that the only thing you can do?" Sombra asked.

He stomped his hoof down hard on Roaring Storm's face, dazing the yellow pegasus. The wings stopped vibrating.

"Time to clip those wings," Sombra said. He put a hoof on each wing and pressed down. There was a loud crack.

Hope reached Starlight. Dr. Fie and Invidia were already there.

"I'm afraid there's not much we can do for her," Dr. Fie said as he checked Starlight's pulse. "She's fading quite fast."

"But she's still there?" Hope asked.

"Yes, but–"

"Then we can do it. We did it for Lailoken. We can do it for Starlight."

"But fighting the parasite must have cost you so much energy," Invidia said.

"He's right, dear girl," Dr. Fie responded. "I don't know if you'll be able to do it again like you did before."

A look of determination came into Hope's eyes. "Lailoken nearly died in three separate ways, all at once. Starlight has only one wound. I'll be able to do it."

Hope's horn glowed. Dr. Fie and Invidia had been right; she had lost a lot of energy. She was pushing herself, harder than she had even pushed back against the Empress. But she had to do it. She could not let Starlight go.

Hope felt herself teetering on the verge of unconsciousness. But she had to keep going. She sent all her light, all her magic, into Starlight. At first, it seemed to have no effect. But Hope kept going. She had to keep going. Once more, the light of her horn went from blue to verdant green.

Slowly, surely, the wound in Starlight's chest began to heal. It closed up. Starlight's blood replenished at an incredible rate, replacing all that had been lost. And then, Starlight Glimmer opened her eyes.

"Wha-what happened?" Starlight asked as she tried to sit up. "Hope? Is that you? Is that really you?"

"I saved you," Hope responded. Then, she collapsed on top of Starlight.

"Hope, Hope, wake up, dear girl!"

Hope slowly opened her eyes. She saw Dr. Fie and Invidia and Starlight Glimmer all looking back down at her.

"You're okay," she said. "You're all okay!"

But then relief turned to concern. "Where's Sombra?"

None of them answer.

"I said, where's Sombra?"

Still, none of them answered.

Hope, even though she felt intensely weak, stood up. She resisted her friends' attempts to push her back down.

"You can't exert yourself anymore, dear girl," Dr. Fie said. "You've lost so much energy already!"

Hope ignored him. She looked from side to side. When she did not find Sombra, she turned around. And then she saw him.

Hope let out a gasp. Sombra was currently pounding his hooves into Roaring Storm's increasingly-bloody face.

"We have to stop him!" Hope said. "He'll kill him if we don't!"

"Is that really such a bad thing, dear girl?" Dr. Fie asked. "I mean, all things considered."

"We can't let Sombra give into his rage!" Hope said. "If he does, I'll lose him again. And I didn't save him just to lose him to his darkness again."

Hope tried to run over. But her legs were wobbly under her. She could not make it more than a few steps.

"Sombra!" she called out. "Sombra, don't hurt him anymore!"

Sombra stopped. Her voice had made him stop. But he did not get off of Roaring Storm.

"But he hurt you," Sombra said. "He's done so much to hurt you. He took me. He infected you with that virus. He's been using my people against you. He deserves to pay!"

Hope looked to Starlight and to Dr. Fie. "Help me up!" she said. "I need to get over there."

Dr. Fie rushed over to lift Hope to her feet.

"Wait!" Starlight said. "I have a better idea."

Her horn lit up and Hope was surrounded by a turquoise glow. She rose into the air and floated toward the two stallions. Starlight put Hope down right in front of Sombra, so that their eyes met.

"Hmm, not bad," Dr. Fie said. "That gives me an idea."

Hope reached out a hoof to touch Sombra's face. "Maybe he does deserve it. I don't really think we're the ponies to judge that, though."

"I just don't want him to hurt you again," Sombra responded.

"He won't," Hope said. "But long ago, when you first found out who you were, you hurt somepony else that you thought was hurting me. And he's been suffering over it for a thousand years."

Sombra was stunned. "I... I never meant for something like that to happen."

"I know," Hope said. "Don't let it happen again. Don't give in to your rage."

"I know I told you to let it go," Sombra said. "But it is so hard!"

Hope nodded. Her eyes became gentle, kind. They were filled with understanding.

"I know, but we can figure out how to do it, together."

Hope smiled and then Sombra smiled. Sombra got off of Roaring Storm.

The yellow pegasus got to his hooves. "That's all very nice," he said, "but what are the two of you going to do now? You're still surrounded by umbrum. They're weakened, but they're still more than a match for all of you. Thanks to you, we're all going to die!"

Starlight Glimmer, Dr. Fie, and Invidia approached.

Hope looked around at the umbrum. "I can still use the spell!" she said. "I can use Starswirl's spell to destroy them!"

"Oh, but then you'd kill all your friends, too!" Roaring Storm said.

Hope turned to Starlight. "Starlight, are you strong enough to teleport?"

Starlight shrugged. "I don't know, Hope. I could try. But you still can't want to use that spell, can you?"

"Why?" Sombra said, picking up on the concern in Starlight's voice. "Why wouldn't she want to?"

"Hope, you can't kill yourself now that you've finally got something to live for!" Starlight said.

"Kill herself!" Sombra said. "Hope, you can't do that! I won't let you do that!"

"It's because I've finally found things to live for that I'm more determined than ever to keep the umbrum from causing any more harm," Hope responded. "I have to protect those things."

Dr. Fie motioned to Invidia. The umbris leaned in close to the doctor.

"Will you follow me over here, dear boy," Dr. Fie said. "There is something which I need to discuss with you."

"I know you want redemption, Hope," Starlight said, "but this is not the way to redeem yourself! Not like this!"

Hope gave Starlight a look Starlight had once given her. Now Starlight was being treated like the poor, deluded one.

"Starlight, you never understood, did you?" Hope said. "This has never been about redemption. Not for me, at least. No, for me, it's always been about love. Because I love you all, I'll don whatever it takes to stop the umbrum."

"No, Hope, you will not!" Starlight said. "Sombra and I, maybe even Dr. Fie and that shadow, won't let you. We all came here to keep you from throwing your life away in the first place, remember?"

Hope nodded. "I know, but if it's what I have to do...."

Sombra shook his head. "No, Hope, you do not have to do this!"

"Besides, Hope," Roaring Storm said. "Are you really going to go through with it? Are you really going to kill me? That would just add another pony to your... your what? 1,036 dead? Can you really break your vow like that? Even to stop me? To stop the umbrum?"

Hope looked to Roaring Storm. Then she looked to Starlight and to Sombra. Then she looked down. "No.... I can't...."

Roaring Storm smiled. "I thought not. You do have more strength than I gave you credit for. Too bad it will be the death of all of us."

"Not all of us! Never fear, Fie is here!"

Suddenly, the four ponies found themselves surrounded by purple light. They all looked to Dr. Fie, his horn glowing.

"Now, dear boy!" he said.

Invidia swooped down and took hold of Roaring Storm, pulling him out of the area of Dr. Fie's magic and throwing him toward the edge of the platform.

“What are you doing?” Hope asked in alarm.

“Trying to teleport,” Dr. Fie responded matter-of-factly.

“But, whenever you do that, something else always goes instead!”

Dr. Fie smiled. “I know.”

Hope’s eyes widened. “No, doctor! We need to stop the umbrum! What about the spell?”

Dr. Fie removed the scroll containing the explosive spell from his coat pocket and unfurled on the ground.

“I am capable of great feats of magic too, you know,” Dr. Fie said. “Just because I struggle with teleportation, you all think I'm not. But even the greatest of ponies must have some limitation, you know. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be fair to the lesser beings who have to live in this world alongside them.”

Tears once more filled Hope’s eyes as she began to fade. "No, doctor, you can't do this! Starlight, Sombra, stop him!"

"I can't," Starlight said. "My magic is still too weak to break free."

Hope turned to Sombra. "Please!" she said. "Please save him!"

"My magic is worn down too," Sombra said. "Both from my time in that place and from what I expended tonight. I'm still getting used to not having dark magic at my disposal."

Hope herself could not break Dr. Fie’s spell on her. She did not have the strength.

"Please, Dr. Fie, no!" Hope said. "You said you'd never leave me!"

"I'm not," Dr. Fie said. "I'm with you to the end. That just happens, for me, to be right now. But fret not, child. 'It is a far, far better thing that I do than I have ever done; it is a far far better rest I go to that I have ever known.' Or I think that's how it goes. I was never very fond of that book, to be honest."

Invidia came back over.

"Invidia, stop him!" Hope cried.

"No," Invidia said. "The doctor and I have spoken. We have decided that this is for the best."

"Hope," Dr. Fie said, "I know that I'm not the bravest pony in Equestria. I'm certainly not the best. My whole life, I've been a liar, a cheat, and a coward. But not now. Not now. Not if the choice is between my life and yours. When you're in harm, suddenly I'm no longer a liar, I'm no longer a cheat, and I'm no longer a coward. When I factor you into the equation, everything changes. It always has."

"No, doctor, please! Please, don't do this! I'm not worth you sacrificing your life!"

Dr. Fie smiled a warm smile. "And what father would ever have to think twice about giving his life that his daughter might live? Besides, it's finally time to face my darkness. My whole life, I've avoiding it. I've spent my whole life running from it. No more. If Fie is to die, at least you may say that he died as he always should have lived. That is better than just going on with life, isn't it?"

Hope could barely control herself. "But... doctor... I need you!"

Dr. Fie looked from Hope to Sombra and Starlight. "No, dear child. You finally have the ponies you need. I was just a temporary caretaker. But, if there is such a thing as fate or destiny, I give it thanks that it let me be that to you for even a short amount of time."

Hope looked to Invidia. "And you're willing to just give up your life too?"

"They were good days, Radiant Hope," Invidia responded.

Hope was confused. "What?"

"Those days we went on picnics to the lake of yellow sludge," Invidia said. "They were good days. I only wish that I could have appreciated them while they lasted. Maybe then I would not have become a monster like my brethren."

"You're not a monster, Invidia! Not anymore!"

"It does my heart, if we umbrum have hearts, good to hear you say so. Farewell. You will always be my Empress. No, you will always be my friend."

"Goodbye dear friends. Farewell, Radiant Hope," Dr. Fie said. "Be happy with your life. You've earned that much. I just hope this final act of mine will give it to you."

“But… but why?” Hope said. "Why do all this... for me?"

Dr. Fie gave Hope one last smile, a long, sad one. “If I told you, dear girl, you would never believe me.”

In a flash of purple, Hope, Starlight, and Sombra disappeared.

They reappeared outside the ship. Dr. Fie had done a good job. The three had not only appeared outside, but above the water level.

Except, the ponies realized suddenly, they had not actually reappeared on top of anything. All three looked down to see the water below. There was a mighty splash in the cold ocean when they landed.

The light was just beginning to dissipate when Dr. Fie lit up his horn once more and sent another pillar upward. This formed another dome, purple now. It extended again, more rapidly due to the extra magical energy that was in the air from Hope's previous attempt.

“What are you doing?” Roaring Storm snapped.

“Oh, don’t be simple, dear boy,” Dr. Fie responded. “I’m doing the same thing dear Hope was. Ending this once and for all.”

The umbrum, despite their weakened state, all dived for Dr. Fie. But Invidia shielded Dr. Fie in mist, knocking back their attacks. He then looked to see the dome completely surround the area, cutting through the catwalks and forming a bubble all around them.

"Now, who is the bubble-headed booby?" Invidia said to the doctor.

“Oh, spare me the jibes, you jocular jackanapes!” Dr. Fie responded with a wave of his hoof.

“But why would you do this?” Roaring Storm asked. “Why would you give up your own life?”

“Must everything be explained to you?” Dr. Fie said. “What matter is losing a life when you just might be saving a soul?”

Hope struggled against the waves. She was tired, so tired. She did not ever have the energy to make it to the pier or to the nearby beach. All she could manage was to keep herself above water. And her strength was failing. She could not even manage that for very long.

Sombra grabbed onto her and held her above the water. He had to do the same for Starlight, which meant it made it very difficult for him to keep himself afloat.

"Do you think you can teleport out of here?" he asked Starlight.

"I can try," Starlight said. "Hopefully, it'll only be a small jump."

There was a turquoise flash in the waves. All three ponies reappeared, soaking wet, on the pier.

"It was a small jump," Starlight said. "Thank goodness! I don't think I could do any more."

“Dr. Fie!” Hope screamed as soon as they landed. "He and Invidia still in there with the umbrum! We have to save them!"

Dr. Fie glanced upward to the pillar of light coming from his horn and then around at the bubble as it began to pulsate. "Looks like it won't be long now."

By now, the umbrum had been knocked back to the bubble's edges by Invidia.

“Is Radiant Hope so really worth losing your life over?” one of them called out.

“You had her for a thousand years, and you still don’t know the answer to that?” Dr. Fie said. “You really are all ninnies, aren’t you?”

Roaring Storm tried to crawl. He did not know where. There was nowhere to crawl. But he had to try. He had to try to survive. In a last desperate attempt at survival, he reached for his wristband and pushed the green button.

He never expected it to work. But it must have, because a portal began to form in front of him.

"Mother!" he called out. "Mother, you came! You came to get me out of here!"

"Call me ma'am," the voice on the other end said. "And no, I did not come for you. You have failed. Hope and Sombra are together again. The timeline goes forward, despite your intervention. You have accomplished nothing other than the destruction of Starswirl's spell. If the timeline rights itself, we shall lose all our temporal technology now! This will probably be the last thing I'll ever be able to send through time. All because of you!"

"You can still get me out!" Roaring Storm said. "If you open the portal a little more, I can get back. Mother, please, help me get back!"

"I would not if I could," the voice responded. "You have done nothing to deserve it. You have done nothing but to prove me right. You are nothing but a disappointment."

The portal closed. Roaring Storm let out a scream of anguish. "Please, mother! Mother, please!" But it was too late.

"It looks like we must all face our judgment sometime," Dr. Fie said. "For you, as much as for us, that time is now."

Roaring Storm buried his head in his hooves and began to sob.

Dr. Fie let out a deep sigh and looked around him. “It’s ready. Any moment now. Oh, dear Hope, the things I do for you. Maybe now you’ll finally believe me. That’s all I want anymore. Maybe now you’ll understand. And maybe you'll finally find some happiness.”

Reclining on his haunches, Dr. Fie put his hooves to his chest. He rolled his eyes heaven-ward.

“Oh, the pain, the pain….”

The explosion rocked the Empress of Equestria. It disintegrated a large portion of the lower decks by the bow, sending water pouring in. The Empress had been designed with large watertight hatches for just this sort of emergency. But it did not matter. The damage was too widespread. The ship was going down.

“No!” Hope screamed. She rushed toward the ship as it rapidly sank.

Sombra grabbed onto her and pulled her back. “No, no!”

“Dr. Fie! We have to save him!” Hope screamed hysterically.

“It’s too late, Hope,” Starlight said. “That explosion was too powerful. He never could have survived it.”

Hope stopped fighting. Instead, she laid her head on Sombra's shoulder. He pulled her into a large hug. As the Empress of Equestria disappeared one final time, finally toppled by the very waves it had so long ruled, Hope cried.

"I wish I knew what to say to make you feel better, Hope," Sombra said. "I still don't understand most of what just happened."

"Let me try," Starlight said.

She tenderly ran her hoof through Hope's mane. Starlight did not want Hope to see, but a stray tear was making its way down her face, too.

“It’s okay, Hope,” she whispered in her motherly tone. “It’s okay. The umbrum are gone. He stopped them. He stopped the umbrum once and for all.”

Hope’s crying subsided. Her head arose from Sombra’s shoulder and she nodded. “I know. He did it for me.”

She broke out of Sombra's embrace and turned to face the waters. “You know, I didn’t believe him. Even after he told me how much I meant to him, I didn’t believe. I thought I knew him better than that. I didn’t believe him, not till the end.”

“I know,” Starlight said. “I wouldn’t have believed he had it in him, either.”

“I know he seemed so contemptible all the time,” Hope said with a sob. “You were trying to spread your message of Equality and I was trying to stop the umbrum. He always seemed like he was just after his own benefit. But he was the most noble of all of us.”

“True nobility often comes from the most unlikely of places,” Starlight said. “My father used to say that.”

“I can’t bear to think of him down there, in that horrible, evil place, surrounded by darkness for all eternity,” Hope said. “He shouldn’t be the one trapped down there. It should have been me. Not him, me. I should have been blown up or drowned and buried in Davy Jones’ Locker.”

"Don't say that, Hope!" Sombra said. "Don't ever say that. He made a sacrifice for you. I know from personal experience what that's like. Don't dishonor it by saying something like that."

Starlight put a hoof on Hope's shoulder. “My father also used to tell me a legend some of the navy colts told him, about a paradise for ponies that died at sea. It’s a place where there’s no work, not hardship, just leisure and food and music. Dr. Fie would like that. Because he’s not in Davy Jones’ Locker, Hope. A pony like him, he wouldn’t end up down there. No, he’s in Fiddler’s Green.”

Starlight let out a small chuckle. “Ha, Fiddler’s Green. Quite appropriate, what with his name being Fiddly Fie and all. Strange name. I wonder why his parents would name him that.”

“Is it any better than Radiant Hope or Starlight Glimmer?” Hope asked.

"I'm not the right pony to ask about pony naming conventions," Sombra said. "It's not like the umbrum had any better ideas."

Starlight shrugged. “Well, Starlight Glimmer does have a certain eloquence to it. Radiant Hope, though, I don’t know. Did you used to say you always hated that name?”

“I did,” Hope answered. “I don’t anymore.”

“Radiant Hope, Starlight Glimmer, turn around and put your horns where I can see them,” came a booming voice behind them. "And you too, King Sombra!"

Author's Notes:

The lines of poetry come from the last stanza of Matthew Arnold's "Rugby Chapel." In addition to capitalizing "Hope," I have changed the second line from the original plural to the more appropriate singular. The first two lines appear in their original form in Chapter Three.