“Sombra!” the purple Alicorn shouted out, tears of joy welling in her eyes. The pitch black unicorn seemed to recognize that his voice was being called out. Both were standing on the heads of near-identical statues. The lavender mare recognized both-Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Then again, you’d be pretty dumb not to recognize it. This was the site of their battle, one thousand years ago, that left the earth scarred. The roar of the waterfall was all but a distraction to the two magical geniuses. She was happy to see her friend, until he took a step away from her. This made rage, previously unknown to the mare, boil over.
“You’re just going to run away?!” she shouted in disbelief. He seemed to recognize her voice, for he slowly turned around. She was fully prepared to hold her hoof out in sorrow. But, his eye...
“Hey, loser,” his right eye was a mimicry of the mare he was off to see. Queen Chrysalis. His right red eye was cold and uncaring. However, his left, sickly green, left eye, was dangerous and lethal. Twilight’s slightly shaken mind wondered how much more scary they would look under a pale moonlight. His black coat of fur and regal, slicked back black mane made him a fright in broad daylight. Twilight shook the thought off, and the unicorn in question gave a slight chuckle.
“Oh, just you this time, huh?” He said, seemingly amused. Before Twilight could ask what he meant, it occurred to her.
Fluttershy... she thought, remembering the shaken pleas of one of her closest friends.
"Please... T-T-Twilight... I... I couldn’t do it... I couldn’t stop Sombra..." Twilight’s new found rage was building up at the memory of her friend being in tears like that, "I... I think on-only...only you can, Twilight. On...Only you can bring him back," Twilight’s feelings of anger overrode her feelings of fear as Sombra held eye contact with her, seemingly unimpressed and uninterested, "Please, i..if you could... bring... bring Sombra back..."
“I told Fluttershy this, too, and you know how I hate repeating myself,” Twilight was snapped out of her flashback by his cold, uncaring voice, “Stay out of my business,” Twilight’s face deflated. Any hope of him simply returning peacefully was removed at this point.
“Kukukukukuku*.... What’s with the grim face? Kukukuku,” he chuckled as if it were a joke. Twilight’s look was now one of disbelief. She couldn’t believe the words out of her friend’s mouth.
How could he...? her mind went to all the fun times she had with him, be it in Canterlot or in Ponyville.
“Stay out of my business, and I’m sure we’ll get along just fine,” were his first words to her, when Celestia introduced him to her.
“Hah! I knew Celestia would make you go out and make friends at one point!” was his reaction to her going to Ponyville to make friends.
“Well... Next time, don’t jump up for seconds,” was his reaction to her plump belly after meeting Applejack’s family. The happy memories made her grit her teeth in aggravation.
“What’s with that grim face, loser?” was his words after saving her from Nightmare Moon’s wrath.
“Th-th-that’s none of your business!” she covered her blushing face with her hooves and turned away from her savior.
“Right...” he chuckled, “I’ll just go back to saving you, then,” he said, smugly.
“Why...?” she asked, tears of sorrow now welling in her eyes.
“I once lost everything... right in front of me. I was powerless to stop it. Now I have the power to protect those I love. And, I will not stand idly by as you throw your life away!” was his lecture to Twilight after they beat the Changelings.
“Why, Sombra...” she began, catching the stallion’s attention, “Why!? What made you like this?!” Twilight shouted out, in frustration. Sombra merely scoffed, and replied with a cold,
“What does any of this have to do with you, anyway?” Twilight was shocked, “I have my own path. And, I’m afraid, I won’t let anyone lead me on any other one...no matter who it is,” Twilight was torn. Her first friend was telling her to back off, but she had no idea why a pony like him would even consider going to a pony like Chrysalis for anything but revenge after what she did to Celestia.
“And, let me make this crystal clear to you, Twilight,” Sombra’s head was held high, as if in defiance of the newest Princess of Equestria, “My childish games with you pony folk are over. Go home,” This shocked Twilight more than anything. He just trampled over everything she thought she had with him. What she wanted with him. His coldness was too much for her to handle, at least alone.
“Spike, Applejack, Big Mac, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie... they all risked their lives for you-”
“Good for them,” Sombra began stomping on Luna’s statue, mockingly, “Do they want a prize?”
Twilight swallowed hard, thinking back to Big Mac’s speech before they left.
“Lastly, Ah’d like to tell ya’ll the most importan’ thing. Sombra’s not mah buddy or anythin’, nor do I particularly like ‘im. However, he’s a citizen of Equestria, just like the rest of us. He’s our comrade. An’, Ah dunno ‘bout you other ponies, but us Apples look out for our own. We’ll gladly put our lives on the line to safely see our comrade returned safely. That’s just how us Apples work,”
The dark pony began walking away, in his uncaring manner, when he noticed a shadow was fastly approaching from above. It slowly came into figure as Princess Twilight Sparkle.
“What the Tartarus has gotten into you!?” she shouted, slamming him into the ground as she propped herself on top of him, as the smoke cleared from her landing. She went to slam her hoof into his face, but stopped when she noticed something.
His face showed no pain, nor regret. This angered Twilight like nothing else, and her hoof went full force into his left cheek. His face lie, unmoving, on its left side for some time. For a moment, Twilight thought she might’ve killed him. But, slowly, he turned his head, and spat cold, crimson blood onto her lavender coat.
“Such a shame...” he muttered, “I really didn’t want to stain your coat,” Twilight grabbed the fur around his neck and brought him closer to her face. Before she could get off a lecture about how friends were important, she was cut off by Sombra.
“So, tell me, did I get any stronger playing with my so-called ‘friends’?” she stopped, “I’m going to Chrysalis. You should join me. After all, how many times have your ‘friends’ betrayed you? At least three times already,” she froze up. She hadn’t considered that. Then, she remembered why she couldn’t allow Sombra to go to her, much less herself.
“Chrysalis is a twisted pony who attacked Equestria and nearly killed Celestia, who’s still hospitalized! Do you think a pony like that will just give you power, just like that?!” she was furious with her friend, “She just wants to use you as a container for her kind! You might not be able to come back! You might be killed! I can’t just stand aside and-”
“I don’t care,” Sombra cut her off, colder than usual. That only fueled her rage even more, “All I care about is completing my goal. I suppose I can’t help it if you get in my way, but...” Sombra grabbed Twilight’s thin fur coat, nearly grabbing flesh.
“You can’t do it, Sombra! I’ll take you back with all I have!” Twilight shouted in his face. This gave him a humorous grin, before he gave off a few, true, chuckles.
“Kukukuku...” he chuckled. He thought back to the fight they had, meer days beforehand, on the top of the hospital. His light magic versus her fire magic...
Simply delightful... he thought, recalling the adrenaline pumping through his veins...
“Ah, but if I recall...” he slowly rose from the ground, despite Twilight’s best efforts to keep him down, “Our last fight was interrupted,” Twilight’s eyes went wide, recalling that fight.
“Come on already...!” Sombra groaned, getting impatient.
“Before we start, put your crown on. I’ll wait.” Twilight said, hoping her foe would comply.
“I won’t need it.” he brushed her off.
“Just do it!” she shouted.
“You won’t be able to put a scratch on my head anyway!” he glazed over his head with his right hoof for emphasis.
“No! I’m saying that it’ll show that we’re fighting as equals!” Twilight rectified, magically fixing her crown for emphasis.
“Do you really think we’re equal?” Sombra chuckled, “Now you’re an arrogant idiot.”
“Yeah, I’ve always thought that!” Twilight shouted, becoming annoyed, “Why would I be inferior to you?”
“Oh-ho-ho-ho! You’re *really** asking for it, Twilight Sparkle!”*
“That...” Twilight began, “I didn’t want that fight...” she said, sorrowfully, “Even...even now...”
“Oh, I’m sorry...” Sombra tightened his grip around Twilight’s neck, this time fully grasping her neck, “Why should I sacrifice my fun over your preference, Twilight?” As he rose, he transferred his unbalanced grip for a stone cold, absolute magical grip. It was obvious Twilight hadn’t expected that. He held her up there for a few seconds, cracking his neck, before releasing the grip and slamming his forehoof into her stomach.
She had never, in her entire life, experienced such gut-wrenching pain. To be fair, it did feel like his punch possibly rearranged her insides, and a fair amount of blood came out of her mouth, as if a ketchup packet had exploded in her mouth.
“AAAAAAAAAAAARGH!” she shouted in pain, as she was sent flying into the lake at the top of the waterfall. She flew across the lake, and bounced off the top layer of the water quite a few times, before sinking. Sombra, however, was preoccupied with his newfound power. His eyes were fixated on his forehoof. He gave an evil grin to this surge of power.
What is this... power? he thought to himself, Such a divine power... however, it soon was too much for his body to handle, and it slowly faded away. He gave a darkened smile.
“Kukukukukuku... So this is the power Chrysalis was talking about... My body is just...adapting to this new power...” he was ecstatic. If it was that much just then... how much power would I recieve if I broke this seal...?
Meanwhile, Twilight was resurfacing from the bottom of the lake.
Ugh... where did that power come from? He’s... not like he was before... she solemnly thought, as she reached the surface. Focusing magic onto her hooves, she slowly stood proper on the water. It similar to the pegasi art of cloud walking, but this was more... holy. She glared up at him, as he released a confident chuckle as he looked down upon her. She dashed for the statue he was standing on, and he jumped off. They met each other halfway to the top and bottom, respectfully, when he caught a punch with his hoof. Then, twisting his body, he unleashed both of his hind legs onto Twilight’s face. As she fell, she thought back to the conversation Twilight had with Fluttershy before Sombra left.
“Don’t worry!” she reassured, but Twilight questioned whether it was herself or her she was trying to convince, “Sombra would never give in to a monster like that! He’s strong enough as is,” then, she put on a fake smile, “I promise,” She could tell her friend felt for Sombra, but had no idea how to assist him.
That’s why... she thought, as blood flowed from her lips. She flared her lavender wings, and readied a kick as she flew in close. Sombra, having no means with which to navigate flying-wise, was kicked into a wall. Twilight landed on Luna’s horn, and looked down at her friend.
“Did that wake you up!?” she demanded to know.
“Yeah... I’ve been awake for awhile now...” he muttered loud enough for her to hear it, “Awake from a foolish dream my younger self had... who dreamt of a future with friends, drunk with a false sense of peace,” his horn glowed, and he disappeared. Twilight had all of a second to react to the deadly serious pony beside her on Luna’s horn.
“That’s why I left Equestria. That’s why I sought power!” he punched her off the horn, and down the waterfall, “I’m afraid the future isn’t where my dream is,” He had a solemn look on his face, as if he was thinking back to something.
It’s in the past... That’s where it will always be...
- - -**
“Yes... You can’t be my sister!” a hysteric, younger Sombra shouted, after witnessing his entire clan being killed by a certain periwinkle mare, “Be...because my... my-”
“The sister you wished to spend time with has done this to ascertain your... ‘abilities’,” she spoke, coldly, almost as if she didn’t have a heart. The young Sombra looked confused, as if he didn’t understand exactly what he was being told.
“I continued to act as the elder sister you desired, and became your companion, to see if that potential lies hidden. You found me disagreeable and resented me for it. You continued on, hoping to surpass me. For this reason, I will allow you to live... for my sake. You can access the same Darkness as I. However, there is a... requirement,” the young Sombra, powerless and weak, did nothing as his older sister spoke down upon him.
“You must kill your closest friend,” The young Sombra was flabbergasted. He couldn’t imagine killing a pony, much less a dear, personal friend, “In order to become like me...” that was when the pieces clicked into place for him. A few weeks ago, three clan members confronted her about killing a pony. Then, he would have never thought she did it. Now, however, was a different story.
“Sis...Sister... Did... Did you kill Twinkleshine?” he asked, shaken.
“Heh... Thanks to her, I was able to unlock the Darkness, in its full, raw form. For this reason, and this reason alone, I’m allowing you to live. If you are *truly** able to unlock this power... heheheheh... Then there really was reason to keep you alive. Right now, however... It would be worthless to kill somepony as weak as you. My foolish little brother... if you want to kill me, curse me! Hate me! Live a long and unsightly life! Run, run far away, and cling to your pathetic life.*
“And, someday, when you have the same Darkness as I... We shall meet again,”
Any feelings of enjoyment left the stallion’s system after remembering what his older sister told him. Now, all that mattered was achieving that absolute Darkness. Luckily, the lavender mare that had long been his friend resurfaced as his flashback faded into memory.
“Look’s like you really are serious about this... damn,” she sighed, wiping blood off her chin.
“Yeah, I’m serious. I have full intentions on killing you,” he said, looking directly at her with a honor-bound gaze for once.
“But... why!? Do you no longer consider us friends?! Did everything we do together, even before we met the others, did that mean nothing to you?!” Twilight shouted, enraged by his coldness.
Sombra scoffed, before giving her an answer, “Hardly...” No matter what... he thought, pausing his response, That power belongs *solely** to me. She is a disgrace for having it, and I will rectify that mistake for the gods.* “I don’t know when it happened, but... You’ve become my closest friend, Princess Twilight Sparkle," He closed his eyes and gave a smile to her reaction, which was one of confusion. When he reopened them, he had accessed his clan’s magic. Dark Magic. His eyes grew catlike, and his cornea turned green.
“I’ve... become your friend? Then, why!?” she demanded to know. He scoffed.
“That’s exactly why, dear Twilight. That fact is why you are worth killing,” His dark gaze penetrated Twilight’s, and they kept locked for some time. After a minute, Twilight sighed in resignation.
“I don’t quite get it, but... seems like you’re dead set on this, aren’t you... Sombra?” they kept in place a little longer, before dashing off, Twilight flaring her wings and flying off, and Sombra jumping off the horn. Both opponents met on Luna’s left foreleg, where their hooves clashed, both being blocked by the others, and their horns in a deadlock.
Quite quickly, Sombra jumped over the Princess, and grabbed one of her saddlebags, and pulled out a knife. Twilight, reacting quickly, used her magic to pull out a smaller knife. Both of them threw at the same time, and both clashed, as they fell into the water. Then, using his quick teleportation magic, Sombra appeared beneath the flying alicorn, and kicked her square in the jaw with his hind legs. After falling to the river that the waterfall flowed into, the Alicorn Princess looked up at Sombra, who was hanging upside down, with an ecstatic grin on his face.
“Haven’t we been waiting to do this, Twilight? For our magic powers to clash? However, unlike last time... Cadence nor Fluttershy will be here to stop us,” he jumped off his solid ground, and landed in the middle of the waterfall, using a simplistic water-walking spell to keep him from falling, “I’ll say it again, in case it didn’t stick the first time.
“I will kill you, dear Twilight,” then, he activated his trademark attack. The Light of a Phoenix. A horn attack, where the user’s horn becomes razor sharp and heavenly. The sound of the technique hitting something sounds like the cries of a bird.
“Shit... Alright, I’ll just have to beat sense into you!” Twilight shouted, activating her own attack. The Flames of a Thousand Fires. Another horn attack, but this one made the user’s horn into a swirling vortex of fire, brighter than a thousand fires. Hence the name. As she charged it, Sombra began his descent. It was a quick descent, only because he didn’t have time for formalities.
By the time she finished, he was already halfway to her. Exhaling sharply, she began her charge. To the two, it seemed as if time had slowed down. However, when their horns crossed...
Sombra had never experienced such an adrenaline rush before in his life! It was obvious whoever let up first in this deadlock would feel the wrath of the other’s technique. His eyes and grin widened as he came to the realization that his power was closer than he thought. If Twilight’s mana reserves were low, he’d have her head impaled on a crystal spike before dinner, and still have time to get to Chrysalis.
Twilight, however, was torn. Her friend had full intentions of killing her, no matter what. If she died, she could only imagine how her friends would react. If she failed, she would be outcasted by them. However, if she brought him back...
I will bring him back! I never go back on my word! her resolve once again found, she pushed more against Sombra than she had before. Their power’s, apparently evenly matched, canceled each other out with an explosion, sending both participants back, both skipping across the water a few times. Sombra ended up submerged beneath the waterfall, whilst Twilight ended up on the far side of the valley. An enraged Sombra emerged from beneath the waterfall, a sour look on his face.
Dammit... My full power Light only went that far?! What the buck is that technique she’s using?! That fucking looser... he thought, annoyed at his lesser.
Meanwhile, Twilight was taking this moment to reflect on what was happening, under the water.
Damnit... Damnit...! she thought, as she slowly resurfaced. There’s no doubt, now... Twilight thought, looking over at her friend, you really are serious, Sombra.
Sombra, on the other hand, had more important things to worry about, I can only use that technique twice... anymore, and it’s more than likely I’ll die... I’ll have to pin her down, and impale her... he strategized.
Twilight, however, was less than level headed. Can you really just.... kill me, Sombra? In your head right now... you really are planning on it... He’s one hundred percent serious on killing me... Her attention was drawn away from her own thoughts, however, as white specks appeared over her opponent’s body. They slowly appeared, and seemed to originate from his back.
“Tell me, Twilight... have you ever heard this one in your books?” Twilight’s interest was peaked at that, “That if you and your opponent are first class spell casters, that they can hear each other’s thoughts when their spells meet? We’re both pretty good, aren’t we? So, I suppose the need for words is mute. You really are naive, aren’t you? So, answer me this before we begin...” his horn flared, and a slight mist formed around him, “Can you hear it? These thoughts of mine?!” he shouted, releasing a shower of sharp crystals. Twilight flared her wings again, and flew up, evading them. Sombra, however, was one step ahead of her, and kicked her in the jaw yet again with both of his hindlegs. He gave a wicked smile as she fell.
Sombra... I knew you were always alone... Always into books... That’s why, I... in the beginning, I was relieved to find somepony like me. In fact, I was more than relieved, I thought I was in love. In fact, I wanted to talk to you straight away... she splashed into the water with a grunt of pain as she continued thinking about it, But... you didn’t speak. You could do anything, you were Celestia’s favorite... as she slowly got up, tears of regret rolling in her eyes, Sombra jumped behind her. There was no time to react as he grabbed her in a nullifying magical grasp. His horn went from red to white, to a sharp, holy object as she dangled in his grasp, We were just... too different. So, like a foal, I rejected any feelings of compassion toward you. How foolish I was... I just... didn’t want to lose. Because you always called me loser, that’s what I thought. Even when we came to Ponyville, things remained the same. I stubbornly continued to lie, but... he sent a vengeful forehoof across Twilight’s face, I always wanted you to recognize me... like Celestia had. That’s why...
“Huh... not bad. Keep that up, and one day you might be strong enough to compare to my power,” when you said that, I was truly happy. You had acknowledged me as more than just a nuisance. I guess that’s what...
His horn flowed with radiant power, that nearly blinded Twilight. Sombra, who had spent weeks perfecting this technique, was well used to it’s near-solar like rays.
But, our horns didn’t have to cross for us to understand... Even though we didn’t speak before that time... we... we were friends,
“It wasn’t meaningless. To me, you’ve become my closest friend.” So then why?! Why are we doing this?! Both your intentions and feelings are true, so why!? I don’t understand! a deadly, grey ash-like aura surrounded the lavender mare.
“It’s far too late now... Twilight Sparkle!”
“You did what?!” a recently recovered Celestia demanded to know. Her first order of business since recovering was visiting her student. However, she was shocked to see Shining Armor and Cadance there. They dropped a pretty huge bomb on her- they sent seven unqualified ponies after Sombra-most of them were Element bearers, and one of them was her student.
“You did this without so much as running it by me?” Celestia was annoyed. Not angered, but annoyed.
“It was necessary. You were still in coma, and Sombra is a very important pony around here. If we waited, there would’ve been no chance of catching him at all,” Cadence sighed, “I just hope they’re alright...” Celestia sighed, and began walking off.
“He-hey! Don’t you have court duties or something?!?” Shining Armor shouted. Celestia waved her hoof.
“Eh, it won’t take that long. I’ll come straight back when I’m done,” she said, and nopony could really argue. She held a stoic face as she walked away from the crowd, her personal guard making sure they didn’t follow her.
When she reached the edge of the small town, she focused magic into her horn to summon a particular group of young fliers. Quickly, they assembled when they felt Celestia’s call. A small, group of pegasus ponies assembled on her command. For the most part, they were silent and indistinguishable from one pony to another. You could tell male or female apart easily, but their manes, tails, and furs were all covered by their signature uniforms.
“Twilight Sparkle and Sombra have gone missing. Find their trail, then call me. I’ll be there ASAP. Got it?”
“Ma’am,yes ma’am!” they all saluted.
“Good. Scatter!” she shouted, and they followed her command. The stoic Princess of the Sun was contemplating how she initially decided to deal with them fighting.
With Sombra’s intentions... a loud bang was heard, signalling Celestia, Alright... just let me get there in time...! flaring her wings, she flew off in the direction of the signal.
Maybe I was the only one that thought we were friends, Sombra... Twilight thought, as blood flowed like the waterfall in front of her from the hoof-sized hole in her chest. Sombra’s technique had cut through her, fur, skin, bone... all of it. Truly, there was no way for her to recover from such a blow, even if...
“You prevented me from hitting your heart. How meaningful,” Sombra’s voice was dripping in sarcasm, “However, I still hit your right lung. You can’t use your right foreleg, and... by Luna, listen to you! You can hardly breathe!” Sombra almost laughed at the pitiful state she was in. His concentration tightened on her neck, causing her already horrid breathing to become choked and meaningless.
He’s... choking me...! she thought, eyes lowering with blood loss.
“It’s over, Dearest Twilight Sparkle. I...win.”
