Prologue: A Somber Meeting
A Somber Meeting
Ever since her coronation, things had seemed to be going fine for Twilight and her friends. But, just like always, the peace ended fairly quickly. Things had seemed to happen all at once. First, the princesses had gone missing, then the Everfree forest had began invading Povyville. Luckily, they were able to stop it, but everything comes with a price. They had to give up the elements of harmony. She could still feel the connection to the elements, or...at least her element. She actually didn't know if they still had their connection, but she could still feel her's strongly. Anyway, that was over now, and all she wanted to do was relax. But, of course, peace never lasts long in Equestria...
The darkness in Twilight's vision slowly faded, and she found herself in a dark, empty clearing. She blinked in surprise for a few moments, the darkness seemed to go on forever, and the deeper you went, the darker it became. But her surprise and confusion was quickly replaced with anger. "Hello?" She called out. She heard something behind her, or..she thought anyway. All sounds seemed to echo in the darkness, coming at her in all directions. "Where am I..? Who are you? Show yourself!" She called, a bit louder. Suddenly she could feel a dark presence behind her, an eerie, familiar presence that made her hair(or fur, whatever you wanna call it) stand on end.
"Ah ha ha...At last we meet face to face..." Came an all too familiar voice.
Still Twilight couldn't quite think of the name. She turned, eyes widening slightly as she spotted the blood red eyes of Sombra.
"...Twilight Sparkle." He finished off his sentence, stepping out from the shadows.
Rage quickly overtook her, taking a defensive stance and turning completely to face him. "What do you want Sombra?" She said harshly. "And that's Princess Twilight Sparkle to you!" She hissed, wings unfolding instinctively at her sides.
He walked toward her, stepping in a parcial circle around her before coming around to her side. "Ah yesss...My apologies, I wasn't invited to your...Coronation." He spoke out smoothly, almost venomously. "I must say, you wear your new wings well...Although, your new wings are hardly befitting somepony of your stature." He continued to walk around her, more slowly though.
Her eyes appeared to narrow slightly. "What's that supposed to mean?" She hissed.
The dark gray stallion smirked softly, giving an almost friendly tone...almost. "Oh, I meant no offense, my dear! I simply have to ask: Why be a Princess...?" He spoke the word mockingly. "When you could be a Queen...?" Suddenly a crown appeared beside him, very similar to his own, only more...feminine. The shape was similar to the Tiara she wore-the Element of Magic-and had her cutie mark perched on the top.
She stared at the crown for a long while, listening intently as he spoke, hanging onto each word as he continued. She looked up at him after he was done. "Wh-what?" She stuttered, surprised at his offer. Though dumbfounded, suspicious questions constantly lingered at the back of her mind.
He began again. "Back at my castle..When you first used dark magic...You took to it like a fish took to water. Even when you turned that potion to white..But you've barely scratched the surface. There is so much more you do not know!" He said, in awe of his own knowledge for the almost forgotten art. "But I know. I could teach you magic even Celestia cannot hope to control." He stared at the crown, holding it in his magic grasp. "...It's funny, we're not so different, you and I...We both-" He was cut short.
"Stop right there, Sombra!" She lavender alicorn raised a hoof toward Sombra, glaring. "I've heard this bit a hundred times in a hundred stories! You're gonna say we're 'Not so different', rattle off a bunch of traits you think we share, and try to convince me to join your side!" She stood tall, dark purple eyes blazing with a fire. A fire filled with deep hatred. "Well let me tell you, 'your highness', we are nothing alike! I earned my friends, my wings, and my crown! You took your throne by force and enslaved other ponies for your own selfish gain!" She spat venomously, taking a few steps toward him and tapping her hood on his metal armor. "I got to where I am through love and friendship. You tried to get there through fear and violence, and you were defeated for it. Twice!"
Sombra continued to stare down at her, expressionless. The crown still floating beside him.
Twilight closed her eyes, head angled more toward the floor. "You are not my equal..You're not even a real king.." She opened her eyes, looking up at him again. "You're just a cliched bad guy straight out of a mediocre fantasy book.." She finished, talking more calmly now.
Sombra just continued to stare, frowning deeply, eyes giving away no emotion. The crown soon disappeared, poofing away to some unknown place. He talked slowly, his deep voice echoing. "So...I'm just a 'cliched bad guy', eh...?" He tilted his head slightly in the opposite direction of Twilight. "From a 'mediocre fantasy book'...? Well then..." His head jerked back toward her. "You won't mind if I introduce a plot twist." He growled deeply, baring his large fangs. Purple smoke streaming from his eyes. Magic shot up from his curved, red-tinted horn.
There was a gasp from Twilight as purple 'vines' sprung up from the dark, solid ground. Her wings flared defensively, and was instinctively about to take off in flight when the vines grabbed her front legs. It pulled her back to the ground roughly, and soon some other vines took hold of her wings, entangling themselves between the feathers. She struggled frantically until a final one wrapped itself around her throat, her tiara being knocked off her head in the process. Her eyes shrunk to pinpricks, screaming out in panic and surprise, only to waste breath.
Sombra watched the scene, merely cackling at the scene of her struggles. "Final Chapter, Scene One:..." He growled pleasantly, enjoying the sight. He slowly began walking toward her.
Twilight struggled fiercely in an attempt to escape. The vines forcefully pulled her to the ground, slowly suffocating her, cutting off circulation in her legs and wings. All her failed attempts at escaping were merely wastes of breath and energy. She trembled, panicking.
The dark unicorn stepped in front of her, looking down at her amusingly, smirking widely. "The big, bad villain kills the plucky young protagonist..Fade to black, end scene..."
Tears ran down her cheeks, the corners of her eyes tinted red.
Sombra bent down to her level, whispering menacingly. "How's that for a change of pace...Princess...?" He said mockingly, watching her, enjoying her misery, her final moments.
She refused to meet his gaze, now struggling to even get a fraction of breath into her lungs. Her mind raced. Was this really the end for her? Was this how she would leave her life, her family, her friends? ...No. She refused to let this be her end. Not like this. Never like this. Then everything went black...and a fiery rage took over. No control of her own actions, a flurry of emotions whipped through her, purple smoke coming from the corners of her now green eyes. A magenta aura overtook the purple vines, causing them to release their grip, although bad burns left in their place. A great pressure was released from her neck, legs, and wings, and shakily, she stood back up.
Sombra roared, standing firm. Their furious, blazing gazed met, identical.
She took control of the vines, turning them against their own creator.
They charged, though instead of wrapping around him as he had expected, they hit him, and hit him hard. He was thrown back a few feet, one of the vines ripping across his right eye. He landed with a deafening SMASH, head first into the ground.
Twilight landed gracefully on the ground as the rage neared it's end, the vines fizzling into the ground and vanishing. Once she landed the purple fumes evaporated, and Twilight collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. The burn marks stinging furiously. Her exhausted gaze turned to Sombra as he lifted himself off the floor with a growl. She panted, watching him intently. Would he try to attack again?
Sombra hissed, a deep scar across his right eye. Vision in his right eye had become blurred by purple smoke, a red tint where his pupil and iris should be. A small drop of blood trickled down his cheek from his now blind, scarred eye. He gasped, feline-like eyes narrowing to slits. But it didn't phase him for long. He turned, snickering as he gazed at her. "What did I tell you, Princess...?" He said. "Not. So. Different." He spoke in a ridiculing tone, tinted with a laugh.
Twilight simply glared, mind whirling. She became dizzy, the dark room started to blur as she continued to stare at the dark unicorn king. Suddenly everything began spinning, then blackness. Emptiness. Nothingness. Nothing was their except...the faint sound of many different voices..Who were these voices...? They were slightly familiar but...she couldn't remember names. No clue of what or who the voices might belong to. She gave up, and let exhaustion take hold of her once again, denying the waking world. Everything faded to dreams, the horrible reality of that nightmare gone...For now.
Reality
Consciousness slowly dragged Twilight back to reality, the burning light of Celestia's sun shining down on her face. She kept her eyes closed, but a light smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. She could feel a fairly thick blanket over her, warmth spreading throughout her whole body. Then she started to feel a stinging sensation on her neck and legs. Suddenly it hit her. That dream...what an awful dream. She could still remember it clearly..which was odd, considering that dreams are usually forgotten when you wake up.
Wait... She thought, If it was a dream, then why do I have burns? She had to know what had actually happened.
Slowly but surely, she opened her eyes. At first her vision was blurry in the brightness of the sun, but it soon cleared. She looked around. Up at the ceiling, down at the floor, and around her...this wasn't her bed. She wasn't in the familiar library she called home. She didn't know exactly where she was, but she would figure it out. It definitely seemed familiar. Hm...Green ceiling, blue walls, cream tiled floor...She looked to her left where a giant, pale blue sheet hung from the ceiling, blocking her view of the other side of the room. Wait...A sheet hanging from the ceiling? ...That's it! She was in...the hospital? But why?
She sat up, every move she made stung furiously. These burns must be fresh...ugh, how long was I out...? She thought silently. Every muscle in her body screamed at her to lay back down. She looked over at the door as it began to creak open.
A pale yellow earth pony mare walked in, she had a light turquoise mane and green eyes, obviously a nurse here. She looked at Twilight, blinking in surprise. "OH. You're awake!" She trotted over beside the bed, nudging Twilight gently with a hoof. "Just lay down, for now, dear. I'll be back with the doctor." And with that, she turned and hurried out the door.
And then Twilight was alone again. She sat back again as the nurse had said to, and waited. Alone with her thoughts, she let her mind wander back to her "dream." Alright, so...Sombra invades my dreams, tries to get me to join his side, we fight, and I wake up in the hospital with burns...That would mean that my dream is...more than a dream. But how is that even- Wait...what about my friends? Where are they, what happened to them? Are they okay? She bit her lip, looking out the window. I'll have to find them later... Her thoughts were interrupted as a caramel-colored stallion entered the room, blue eyes focused on the clipboard he was holding in his magical aura. He wore a white coat, with a stethoscope hanging over his shoulders, and silver glasses.
He looked up from his board, and smiled at Twilight. "Well, it's good to see that you're finally awake." He said, trotting over to the side of the bed.
Finally...? Twilight looked at him, raising a brow. He took one of her forelegs in his hoof, taking off a bandage that Twilight hadn't noticed was there until now.
He looked over the burn marks, squinting his eyes slightly to see the more minor details. "Hm...alright, it seems to be healing well, though slowly." He said, before taking another roll of clean bandages and wrapping up Twilight's forelegs again.
Twilight winced as he did so, ears folding back.
He took his pen in his aura and wrote something down. He sat beside the bed. "Alright, Twilight. Now, what do you last remember doing?"
Twilight bit her lip again, looking at her hooves. I..I can't tell him about the dream...That's a little personal..but..maybe i can remember something beyond that.. She thought hard, but nothing came to mind. Finally she spoke. "Before waking up? ...Nothing." She looked at him.
He simply nodded, and wrote something down again. "Alright. I'll be back. But in the meantime you just try and relax. I'll have the nurse send in something to eat." He stood up, and walked out of the room.
Twilight sighed. "I might not remember what happened before the dream...but at least i can remember my friends and family." She smiled faintly, watching birds flutter around outside her window.
Meanwhile, Dr. Stable trotted down the long hallway, stopping at the front desk. "Have some food sent down to Room 264, please." He said before trotting off again, only stopping as he got to his office. He walked in, sitting down at his desk. He pulled open a drawer, and shuffled around some papers, then pulled a note card out, clipping it to his clipboard. He picked up the phone that he had, and dialed a number.
Twilight munched on the food that they had brought for her. She had gotten her mind off of the dream, and was distracting herself with a book. To be more specific, the newest Daring Do book, "Daring Do and the Griffon's Goblet". "Heh. Daring Do can do anything." She chuckled quietly, continuing with her reading. About half an hour later, she finished the book and placed it on her side table. She flicked her ear and looked toward the door. It had opened again, but no one walked in. She blinked, raising a brow in suspicion. Her mind began to wander again. Is it Sombra? Is he back to get revenge on me? Her heart began to beat faster, ears pinning to her head. Suddenly she was tackled by a fairly large force. She closed her eyes tightly, muscles tensing, waiting for the thing to hurt her.
"What are you doing, silly? Don't go back to sleep yet!" Giggled a familiar voice.
Twilight opened her eyes, looking up at the force. Immediately a bright smile appeared on her face. "Pinkie!"
"Hihi!" She said joyfully, standing over the lavender alicorn.
"Pinkie, get off of Twilight..Ah'm sure she doesn't wanna be suddenly tackled after just wakin' up." That was the voice of Apple Jack as she came into the room, shortly followed by Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash.
Twilight beamed. "It's nice to see you all again."
"Well, it's better to see you awake." Rarity cooed, smiling softly at Twilight.
"Yeah, you were out for a long time..." Fluttershy looked at her hooves, ears flattened slightly.
Twilight's cheerful smile turned to a frown. She looked down, fiddling with her hooves. "...How long was I out, exactly...?" She asked hesitantly, afraid of the answer she was going to get.
Rainbow Dash, who had been silent since they had entered, finally spoke. "Three weeks. Roughly." The cyan mare said bluntly, looking to the side. She glared at the wall, rose-red eyes showing more concern and worry then anger and frustration.
Twilight's ears folded back completely, eyes widening. "Three weeks...?!" Her jaw dropped. "...H-how?..." She asked, mostly to herself.
"The doctor said you were in a coma...H-he didn't know when you would wake up..or I-if you even would.." Fluttershy spoke softly, sitting down. Small tears welled in the corners of her eyes as she recalled the memory of those awful words the doctor had said.
Rarity put a hoof on Flutter's shoulder comfortingly, then looked over to Twilight. "No one could figure out why you had even fell into the coma, due to lack of...advanced magic.."
Twilight frowned deeply, silent for a while. "So....what happened when I...fell into the coma...?" The words felt odd to say. She had been the one this had happened to, and it was scary. Right now, this was really the last thing she wanted to talk about, but she had to know more.
Rarity sighed. "Me, you, and Fluttershy were heading to the spa for another ordinary appointment. You hadn't wanted to go, you said you had an assignment from Celestia. I coaxed you into it, but..now I think it might have been best if you stayed in your home.."
There was a spark in Twilight's eyes, the memory rushing back to her as Rarity went on.
Twilight looked up from what she was writing, looking up at Rarity. "Rarity, I would love to join you, really I would, but I'm really busy...This is a really big assignment and I want to get it finished before I do anything."
Rarity only pressed on more, trying to convince the lavender mare. "Oh, come now, Twilight. You simply must come with me and Fluttershy. The twins are giving out free massages, and it's only for today."
Fluttershy just stood beside Rarity, looking around the library.
Twilight sighed. She knew that ultimately Rarity would probably just end up dragging her away from her work anyway, but she was still reluctant. She looked back at her paper, biting her lip. "Weeellll...I..guess I don't have that much work left to do so...I guess I can afford a small break..."
Rarity immediately perked up, standing. "Let's go then! No time to lose!" She turned and trotted to the door, waiting for Fluttershy and Twi to follow.
Rarity was looking at the ground now. "And then...as we were walking there...that's when everything happened.."
The memories flashed again.
Twilight trotted down the dirt-paved street, following Rarity and Fluttershy to the spa. She couldn't get her mind off her work, so she attempted to distract herself with other things. The weather, the mail, upcoming holidays, anything that might grab her attention away from her assignment. She looked ahead, Rarity and Fluttershy were discussing something, probably about fashion and how she wants Fluttershy to model for her again.
Her head suddenly started throbbing. She winced, ears flattening. The two in front didn't look back at her, not even seeming to notice. Or if they did, they probably didn't think much of it. The throbbing became more intense, she could hear the pounding, like the beat of a war drum. She slowed her pace, falling behind more then she already was. Her vision was beginning to blur. She tried to pick up the pace, but that made everything worse. Thinking made it worse. Anything made it worse. It was then that her friends noticed.
"Twilight? Dear, are you alright? You're looking kind of...pale." Rarity blinked, continuing to walk, but falling back to a slower pace. Her pale sapphire eyes shining with concern.
Her eyes went wide, the silhouette of Sombra smirking at her from behind her friends. She lifted a hoof to take another step before she collapsed in her tracks, then, black. She was still conscious, and could hear every word her friends said, though the voices echoed in her head, like they were far away. Distant.
"Twilight!" Fluttershy hurried over to the collapsed mare, eyes wide, heart racing.
Rarity was right behind her. "Twilight! Twilight, darling, can you hear me? Twilight?"
The voices soon faded, and only silence accompanied her. Dark, hollow, lonely silence..
Twilight snapped back to reality, words rolling off her tongue, thinking out loud. "..Dark magic...Sombra..." She murmured, inaudible.
"What was that, dear?" Rarity asked, Fluttershy and the others looking at Twilight expectantly.
Twilight looked back at them. "huh? Oh...nothing." She said.
Rarity hesitated for a moment before talking again. "And then, we took you here...I told the others, and we've been keeping track on how you've been doing since then. We kept in close contact with Dr. Stable, in fact he called us and told us that you had woken up. And then you know the rest." She looked at Twilight, then out the window. Luna's moon had risen in the darkening sky.
"Well, it's gettin' late. We should pro'lly get goin' for the night. Leave ya ta rest." AJ stood up, tipping her hat forward slightly. A quiet murmur of agreements followed. "Right then. Night, Twilight. See ya in the mornin'." The orange earth pony trotted out the door, followed by all the others and their good nights.
As the last of her friends closed the door and turned off the light, her ears drooped. Alone again... She thought. She didn't want to be a lone again. The fear of being alone...Alone in that dark, lonely place. With no one to comfort her, no one to talk to, no one...It frightened her.
