Sombra was in his throne room with his minions by his side. "At last, our moment has come." he declared. For the pass week, Sombra and his minions combined all their dark magic to create a dark version of the crystal heart. This version would feed off of darkness making whomever has it in their possession incredibly strong. "Those ponies won't be able to stand up to us with this baby. Not even that annoying human girl." Flame snarled.

Sombra smiled. "Just what I thought. Now... let's begin."

Sombra used his magic to levitate the heart and break it into four pieces. The dark crystal heart pieces were absorbed into the minions bodies, making them similar to King Sombra. "Alright!" Frost cried.

"Now, let's destroy those ponies and conquer United Equestria, once and for all!" Sombra thundered. The minions laughed along with their master.

---

Meanwhile, Sapphire was sparring with Lightning Dawn in the palace dojo.

Lightning lunged at her. Sapphire easily leaped over and kicked him in the back. "Agh!" Lightning got up and punched Sapphire. "Ugh." Sapphire recovered and her horn glowed in a bright golden light. "UNIFORCE!"

(Skip to 0:38... the uniforce behaves sorta like that)

She unleashed an enormous bust of bright, burning magic at Lightning.

KA-BOOM!

What and expolsion. When the smoke cleared, Lightning was laying flat on his back, dazed. "Awesome!" Rainbow cried. She and the gang were watching the battle to asses how Sapphire's fightning skills were coming along. Based on the outcome, they have really increase.

Lightning recovered and Sapphire helped him to his feet. "Excellent work, Sapphire. You're fighting skills have improved very much." he commented. Sapphire smiled, "Well I had some great friends to help me."

Lightning and the gang smiled.

Then Grand Ruler's voice sounded over the palace intercom. "Attention. Attention; please Lightning Dawn and team report to the throne room."

"Wonder what's going on?" Applejack said. That's when Snowflake, Smoke and Fire, Skystorm and Kyara burst into the dojo. The dragons were roaring in worry while Kyara was whinnying in fear. "Woah, woah, woah!" Sapphire called to her distressed friends. They calmed down. "What's going on?" Skystorm grabbed Sapphrie and flew out of the throne room. "Skystorm!" Fluttershy cried. Everybody followed the Deadly Nadder to the thorne room, where they found the changelings and Mykan present as well.

"You majesties, what's going on?" Pinkie asked.

"Look for yourselves." Grand Ruler said gesturing towards the window. Everybody looked out the window and couldn’t believe their eyes. There, floating in the sky…

“It’s… Sombra and the minions!” cried Cadance.

Sombra and the minions turned and could see them. “Oh, really…? Guess again!” he laughed maliciously as the skies grew darker and all the ponies and other creatures of the planet gazed up in horrors. Sombra just loved their whimpering, and the cries of frightened children. He turned back to face the others at the palace. “You ponies are about to find out what happens to those who mess with our master!" Frost exclaimed.

The entire planet began to rumble and quake, and there was no time to evacuate everyone or get them inside to safety. “It’s all over…!” shrieked Pinkie Pie “WE’RE DOOMED!! DOOMED I TELL YA!!”

The dragons growled at the four villians and were about to fly out there. "No, girls. It's too dangerous. You have to stay here." Sapphire said.

Their majesties agreed. "Sapphire, you stay here with the drgaons, Kyara, the changelings and Mykan." Luna ordered.

"Why do I have to stay, I wanna help." Sapphire whined.

"It's too dangerous. You're Sombra's main target. We can't risk you falling into his hands. You have to stay here." Celestia explained. Sapphire sighed. "Alright."

"Good. Come on team." Grand Ruler said as he, his wife, sister-in law, Cadence, Shining Armor and Lightning and his unit flew out the window.

The rumbling continued as lightning struck across the skies. “What are we going to do?” cried Rarity.

“There’s nothing we can do. Not against this.” said Spike.

The ground below where Sombra floated in midair burst open, revealing a breach into the dark dimension. Although it started out small, the darkness, which was already flooding out from it, began to consume the planet, cursing it with despair and fright. Soon the entire planet would be enveloped and sealed in the dimension forever!

Sombra could hardly bring himself to stop laughing with wicked glee. “Dusk Shine!” shouted Celestia. Sombra gazed down and could see her and everyone else gazing up at him. “Well, well, Celestia. It’s been such a long time.” he snickered “And Celesto, well, look what the three-horn has become in the past millennium: a powerful monarch.”

Grand Ruler clenched his fists “You’ve changed a lot over the ages, Dusk Shine, but for the immense worse. You’re still nothing more than the same schoolyard bully who feels the need to torture others just feel grand about himself!”

Sombra chuckled “And what if I am? Look where it’s gotten me. With every passing second, the darkness seeps through and my power increases. After all these ages, I am finally getting the greatness I deserve. The planet is mine now-- to rule as king”

“You are unworthy to even think of yourself as King!” growled Celestia “You cause nothing but pain, suffering and misery to everyone around you and for only your own amusement. You’re nothing but monster, Dusk Shine!”

“Ha!” growled Sombra “You’ve still got that same old attitude as before, Celestia, but it will no longer intimidate me, and one more thing…” he fired a shot at her which she barely dodge “…It’s Sombra! “Your majesty” to you, slaves!”

“You vile beast!” snarled Shining Armor “We won’t ever bow to you! No one will!”

“Really…? Perhaps you’d like to see how PERSUASIVE I CAN BE!!” Sombra raised his arms out and the dark crystal heart on him glowed along with the spewing darkness in the ground. “Now what is he doing?” asked Rainbow Dash.

Through the dark smog, they could all hear the sounds of cackling, snarling, and hissing, and finally the sound of marching. The gang could hardly believe they’re eyes. It was practically every single monster they had defeated in the past. All of Sombra’s monsters, Titan’s monsters… there were even many of the monsters that Starfleet had defeated from way back over the centuries that couldn’t be captured, banished, or changed.

“It cannot be!” cried Grand Ruler.

“Oh, but it is…” hissed Sombra “With the dark crystal heart in my possession, and the darkness ever spreading, it was no difficult task to resurrect the evil magic spirits of those you defeated in the past.”

All those snarling, growling beasts just eyed at the gang, and it didn’t take much to realize they wanted payback. “There’s so many of them!” cried Rarity.

“We don’t stand a chance against them all!” added Spike.

“We have to do something!” cried Pinkie.

“There’s nothing you can do!” sneered Sombra “Me and my ever expanding army of monsters will continue to grow stronger as the darkness increases, and all the creatures of this world will have no choice but to bow to my every command if they wish to survive!”

All over the planet, more monsters appeared and wasted no time in terrorizing the inhabitants and forcing them into Sombra’s slavery-- every stallion, mare, and child, and all the other creatures as well. Already their fears were turning into hopeless glumness, which only further accelerated the growing darkness.

“Your world is now mine. Bow to me!” growled Sombra.

“Never!” shouted Celestia. That’s when the sound of brigade trumpets called out followed by the hollering and rushing of the entire New Canterlot army of guards, and all the Starfleet officers coming to aid the gang, and also those from all the other planets that had long since arrived on United Equestria ever since Sombra’s ship blew up, and ready to fight. Krysta had even summoned some of her best fairy fighters to join in form her home-world. “Now we’ll really see who has whom beat!” snarled Grand Ruler.

The two forces stood at opposite ends of the wide open areas glaring at each other fiercely until Sombra and Grand Ruler both yelled out “…ATTACK!!” The two armies rushed into extreme action, covering almost every square foot of nearly half the planet with fighting.

“Warrior-mode, go!” shouted Celestia, and she transformed into her warrior-garments. “Girls, come, form a circle around me!” ordered Celestia as the friendship ponies huddled around her. “Altogether now!” and using the Element of Magic bestowed upon her, the other Elements of Harmony awakened from within the girls and all six of them used their magic to help restore power to Lightning and the Starfleet ponies.

“Wow! I feel totally pumped up!” said Lightning.

“Me too!” added Starla

“Okay! No more taking things light.
It’s time to fight for what is right!” said Rhymey

All the others agreed with courage and determination. “Well, what are we waiting for?” Lightning said “Let’s go!” and he and his friends transformed.

“STARFLEET MAGIC!!”

Then the girls transformed…

“HARMONY HOUR, FRIENDSHIP POWER!!”

And finally, little Spike…

“DRAGON POWER!”

Luna, Cadance, Shining Armor, and Fratello stood tall along with everyone else, and Lightning stood in the center in front of Grand Ruler and Celestia. He gazed up at them and they gazed down at him proudly, and let him make the call! “…TO BATTLE!!”

Everyone dashed forth hollering like true warriors against the monsters along with their many comrades. Shining Armor and Fratello joined them on the ground, while Grand Ruler, Celestia, Cadance, and Luna flew straight at Sombra and brawled with him. “Oh, how I’ve waited for this.” Sombra hissed as he fought back fiercely against the four royal alicorns…

They all punched, kicked, and fired their magic at him, only for him to show how much his fighting had improved by blocking and evading their attacks and hitting them all back, one after another, but the royal ones weren’t giving up!

While down below everyone was fighting ever so fiercely. Some monsters they recognized, others they didn’t, but they all seemed to be much stronger than before thanks to all the evil magic Sombra had cast, but not a single fighter was willing to give in.

Lily Bud and her team of Starfleet ponies and Herbolites stood up against a swarm of monsters. Buddy Rose landed to join her by her side. “Colonel…”

She smiled at him “Captain…”

“Attack!” they both shouted.

“LEAF SWARM”

“FLOWER CANNON”

The Herbolites unleashed their own powers, straight at the monsters knocking them all down.

Dyno and Myte joined their mother and father, punching, kicking, stomping, and blasting every creature that came their way. “ARRIBA!” they hollered slapping each other a four way high-five.

Krysta and her fairies were faced with a swarm of monsters stampeding right at them. “Now!” shouted Krysta, and she and her fairies created a warp-hole some of the monsters dashed into and then popped back out of again crashing into each other. Other’s reappeared over small cliffs. The fairies even proceeded to use their incredible strengths, able to lift things up to three thousand times their own weight, to lift up some of the lighter monsters and bashed them into the others. “Not bad for a bunch of half-pints.” Krysta joked.

Shining Armor fought valiantly as he kept on punching, kicking, and blasting the enemies he shouted at them “This is for Twilight… and so is this… and this…!” Suddenly, he ran straight into one familiar monster that was once Artie’s statue-- Dark Twilight! She glared at Shining Armor, snarling at him, and her almost froze up and found him unable to hit her, feeling that it was really his sister, but Spike and Fratello leapt down in between and attacked the monster. “It’s not Twilight.” Spike reminded Shining Armor, snapping him out of his trance. “You’re right! Let’s get her!” and together, the three knights blasted Dark Twilight hard, but she got right back up again, as did many of the other monsters that had been knocked down or blasted hard.

Lightning and his team gave some of them a good taste of their finishing attacks, but still the monsters got back up. “They won’t stay down!” cried Buddy Rose.

“Oh, yes they will!” hollered Rainbow Dash as she and the girls charged forth fighting and brawling, but still the monsters wouldn’t give in!

Sombra laughed wickedly at their futile attempts. “These are the spirits of monsters that you have already defeated. In this darkness they are immortal. You can never beat them, but they can beat you.” he was suddenly tackled hard by Grand Ruler, shoving him to the ground. “We’ll beat you yet, Dusk Shine!” he growled as he socked him hard in the face, but he himself was kicked off by Frost. “Now, now, Celesto… I’ve told you before… IT’S SOMBRA!!”

All four of the alicorns rushed him at once, only to get blasted hard in a huge explosion throwing them to the ground, much to the horrors of the main team, but they were all, one-by-one, tackled down by more monsters, and soon… all the monsters were back on their feet again, and seemed to be completely unharmed, just as Sombra had promised, and they looked ready for more fighting.

Some of them blasted at Lightning and the two teams back hard and off their feet. “Wow! That hurt!” groaned Pinkie.

“It’s no use…!” cried Fluttershy “There’s no way we can win now. We’re done for!”

Applejack softly slapped her across the face in attempt to snap her out of it. “We can’t let ‘em get us like this.”

“But what else can we do?” said Rarity “Sombra is the one controlling them all and feeding them power, and he…” She paused, and suddenly everyone began to realize what she was saying. “Of course!” snapped Lightning “Get Sombra! If we beat him maybe we can stop all this!”

The others all agreed, and broke away from the monsters, and left them to the other fighters to hold them off.

While the four royal ones were still not holding off very well. Celestia got punched. Luna was kicked. Cadance was grabbed by her tail whirled around and bashed hard into Grand Ruler. “Get up, quick!” cried Grand Ruler, but Sombra blasted all four of them down again with his power, and it felt as if he was growing stronger all the time, and not just from their getting weaker.

He stepped forth laughing at them. “How does it feel to fail?”

“You should know.” growled Cadance.

“Not this time!” Frost, Flame and Breaker raised their arms and fired a pulse at them, but the blasts were intercepted by Lightning’s power, and he and the others stepped out before the royal ones. “We’re on to you now, Sombra! The game’s up!” Lightning sneered.

“You’re too late!” growled Sombra “As the darkness increases, so does our power. Nobody can stop me now!”

“No one but us, you see…
We will claim victory!” said Rhymey.

Sombra and the minions roared and charged forth, and all the others charged at him. The royal ones joined them, feeling weak but not beaten, but even still, nineteen against four, Sombra and the minions still fought fiercely and hit them all with huge attacks, while the team did their best and managed to land a few successful hits on them, but hardly damaging them at all, but neither of them were willing to give in with the fate of the planet at stake.

“DRAGON FLAMEWHEEL” shouted Spike as he curled himself up and charged in a blaze at Sombra, but Flame leaped into front of Sombra and raised his cape in front blocking him, and after a small struggle forced him back hard into some of the others, colliding in a big explosion. “Fools, haven’t you had enough?” he sneered.

Sapphire and the others were watching from the window. "I've gotta help them. I have to!" Sapphire cried.

"Sapphire, did you not see how strong Sombra and the minions are with that dark crystal. There's no way you can face all four of them by yourself." Pharynx exclaimed. Sapphire grunted in anger. "I can't just stand here! There's gotta be something we can do. What I can do!"

Just then, the Elements of Harmony began to glow. "What's up with the Elements?" Mykan asked. Soon, the glow spread to the dragons, changelings, Kyara and Mykan. "What's happening?" Pyrite squeaked in fear. Suddenly, they were all teleported out of the palace and to the Tree of Harmony Cave in New Everfree Forest. "The Tree of Harmony?" Pyrax added.

"What are we doing here?" Silver questioned.

They got their answer when the center of the tree began glowing. A line from the center moved down to the root of the tree creating a flower. Sapphire walked over to the flower an touched it. The flower bloomed and showed a chest with one key hole. "A chest? How can that help us?" Crystal asked. "How are we suppose to open it?"

The Element of Hope began to glow. It floated out of the necklace and fired a beam at the keyhole. The keyhole absorbed the magic and it magically fired a beam at the Tree of Harmony. "Woah." they gang gasped. The center fired a beam at Sapphire's crown. The elements all floated out of her crown and circled the gang. In a bright flash of magic, the gang transformed;

Sapphire's blond hair and tail gained, light blue, white, light orange, pink and purple highlights as well as Mykan's hair. Sapphire also gained small marks on her face and hand that matched her cutie mark. The dragons gained their own rainbow colors. Kyara gained light blue and yellow highlights on her wings and body. The changeling, on the other hand, completely transformed.

The five changelings now looked completely different.

Pharynx: Dark Green with some red shading near the bottom of his neck. His wings were moderate amaranth with a blue violet covering. His eyes were moderate blue violet too.

Pyrax: Dark Yellow with orange shading near the neck.

Crystal: Light neon green with light blue eyes with a yellow underbelly and tail.

Silver and Pyrite. Silver was light purple with moderate light blue wings and covering. Pyrite was very light orange with lime green shading near her neck. Her tail and wings were also lime green.

They all were surrounded in a ball with the elements of harmony colors. "Awesome! I feel totally charged up!" Mykan exclaimed.

“Me too!” Crystal added.

The dragons roared in agreement feeling really powerful. Kyara flapped her wings and neighed happily.

"Come on, guys. Let's show Sombra some real magic." Sapphire said with a smirk. The others nodded.

To be continued...

Next Chapter: Episode 23: Part 2: Ultimate Battle and a New Beginning Estimated time remaining: 15 Minutes