Ghost of the Crystal Empire

The Doctor returned to see Cadance sitting up in bed with Shining Armor kneeling down next to her holding her hooves.

“How are you feeling, Cadance?” asked The Doctor as he entered.

“I…I can see again!” she exclaimed, happily.

“But, how did the curse break?” pressed Shining Armor.

“Sombra spent more time trying to kill and hinder us to focus his magical energy where he really needed it.” The Doctor explained.

“Which is?”

“His life-force, he was using his dark magic as a substitute for it and being as vindictive as Sombra is he used far too much of it to seek vengeance instead of listening to his survival instinct.”

“You’re talking about him as if he were still alive.” Cadance noted.

“Well he is…sort of, you see; imagine a goldfish in a plastic bag filled with water.”

“Uh…okay?” mumbled Shining Armor.

“Back in the cave Sombra was that goldfish.” He elaborated. “Now, imagine that someone has taken a pencil and has stabbed several holes in it, water leaks out and the fish is having trouble breathing-that’s what Sombra did when he followed me outside-the crystal mirror he was stuck in had been preserving him, keeping his magical power at a steady level and since he no longer has a proper physical body or horn to channel it, that magical energy began leaking out the second he stepped out…or teleported…whatever.”

“So if he’s still alive, then couldn’t he attack again?”

“No, his magic-if he still has any left-is probably down to just a single spark, and without a host body he is nothing but, floating, wandering, consciousness with no real means to use it in his current state anyway.”

“So what you’re saying is…if Sombra was the fish, then he was more focused on trying to reach the one who punched the holes into the bag, instead of trying to breathe in as much as he could to prolong his life?” Cadance asked slowly.

“Exactly.”

“I still don’t understand how this broke the curse…” Shining Armor cut in.

“A curse that powerful and of that nature being used to possess the body of another would have required the user to tether their own life force to that individual, so that put some additional strain on his remaining life-force…or lack thereof.”

“So if Cadance had died back there in the cave…” Shining Armor began.

“Then so would he.” The Doctor finished.

“But, that’s insane! If he cast the spell, then he must have known to risks!” he exclaimed.

“Perhaps,” agreed The Doctor. “But, we know what anger does to us…all we see if red, we’re not thinking straight-if at all-we are so hell-bent on taking our retribution that we either don’t realize or don’t care about the negative repercussions, there’s a reason most crimes are committed on impulse.”

Cadance spoke up once more.

“Doctor, I’m afraid I still don’t fully understand; you said that Sombra wasn’t dead-but, he’s not technically alive either?”

“No, he’s in a sort of limbo state as I’ve said before-a wandering consciousness; not really died, but not alive either…he just sort of…exists as a sort of-well, ghost I suppose for lack of a better term.”

The royal couple exchanged glances.

“Does that mean…” Shining began.

“That I’m normal again?” Cadance finished.

The Doctor took out his Sonic Screwdriver and pressed a button on the side as the blue node at the end once again lit up accompanied by the same whirring sound as he waved it around Cadance’s body, scanning it before taking a step back and looking at the readings.

“It says here, you’re completely normal.”

“You…you’re sure?” she pressed.

“Well…if you don’t trust me, then I suppose you could ask Shining to give you a full physical once I leave.” He winked at the stallion and made a clicked his tongue causing the couple to blush at the comment.

His expression then turned serious.

“But there are still a few ways that he could regenerate his body or even create a new one-is there anything of magical or of a mysterious origin here or in Sombra’s old castle?”

“Well…Twily did mention something about a door in the castle…she said that it seemed to make you live your worst fears…”

“Show me.”

The trio stood together at the foot of an impossibly long, spiraling staircase that seemed to descend to the center of the Earth that only seemed to end once they had reached a door with a dark grey crystal above it.

“She also said it moved when she first tried opening it.” Shining explained.

The Doctor pulled out the Sonic once more and aimed it at the crystal as it began to emit the same magical aura that Sombra had used earlier when the door flung open to reveal nothing, but a dark chasm inside.

There was a low growl as a pair of familiar blood red eyes stared into The Doctor’s.

“What do you think?” he asked.

“I think you must be terrified of death…of falling into obscurity to do something as desperate as sending a part of yourself to become a part if the door of fears, or whatever you call this thing.”

“You do realize that stopping me this time was only a minor delay, don’t you?”

“Actually, I think you are the one who doesn’t understand Sombra-that Crystal Heart is locked in place, it will never, ever move again-the world may burst into flames, but that Heart is staying exactly where it is until the end of time.”

Sombra bared his fangs as he growled once more.

“You will pay for this, Doctor.”

“Yeah…so they say.”

The image began to dissipate into black smoke as the door and crystal above it began to dissolve.

The group stood there in awed silence for a few moments before Cadance finally spoke up.

“Doctor…what was that?”

“That,” he replied “Was the spark I was telling you about.”