Author's Note

Disclaimer:
This chapter an all of the following were not proof-read, reviewed nor corrected by another person. I tried to do it on my own, but without help and with english not being my naitive tongue you'll likely encounter gammar mistakes, tense issues and such things. If you like this story and want to see it being polished, send me a PM. More info about this and other things is in the last chapters Notes.

If you can look past grammar and such things, please enjoy:

Chapter 4 - Two sides of the coin

At a normal day, I would have marveled at the variety of market stalls and the colorful flowers growing alongside the street in oblong stony flower pots, but this wasn't a normal day at all. Me and my boys have been here many times before, since our favorite tavern, 'The Winged Mug', was located in a thatch roofed building at the southern wall.

The roads leading to the gate were packed with ponies, most of them had been ordered by the guards into a reasonable formation, while others obviously didn’t know what they were supposed to be doing. I saw Major Gold Star standing next to another guard in golden armor, which held a clipboard in his hooves, counting every pony that passed by. Most of the citizens seemed to already have left the city.

As Steel Helm and I spotted and approached the Major, my companion ran ahead and shouted out: “Major Gold Star! The gate is lost! The crystal-ponies are breaking through our defenses, how is the evacuation going?!"

Shocked at the unexpected arrival of Captain Steel Helm and I, and the sudden outburst that followed, the Major signaled towards the stallion standing next to him.
"Corporal?" Gold Star addressed his assistant with the clipboard, who was one of the palace-guards I had sent over to help with the evacuation.

"According to my list, we have every citizen on the move, sir," the Corporal replied, after having another quick look at his documents.

The Major nodded in approval and then turned towards the other officer, who had just turned around a nearby corner and joined our meeting.
"Did you find out anything about the crystal-ponies, Stone Hide?"

Although being slightly out of breath Stone Hide reported:
"According to the records, the Empire was never known for its magic users. While there were some spell-casters in the past, none of them reached an advanced level necessary to blow up whole towers. I also didn't find any information about laughing shadows nor an army immune to pain. I am afraid I didn't find anything useful, sir." The officer shook his head apologizing, after he spoke.

"Major, you probably won't believe me, but 'He' has returned!" Steel Helm impatiently spoke up.

"He? Who are you talking about, Captain?" Gold Star lifted a brow.

"Sombra-" Steel Helm whispered with his voice trailing off.

"Sombra?! Impossible! He got defeated by Princess Cadence and Shining Armor, years ago." A couple eyebrows were raised in disbelief when he told them about the crystal ponies and their apparent leader.

"I know what happened, but Private Flare and I both saw him with our very own eyes. It was him and he’s more powerful and ruthless than ever before." Although he tried to put up a steely resolve, the fear in his voice was unmistakable.

“So this explains what’s this whole fuss is about, but now onto a more pressing matter. We have an entire city worth of ponies on the move, but no set place to put them. Any Ideas?” Gold Star asked while looking at each of our faces one after the other. Obviously I had forgotten to tell him where to send the evacuees.

“Private Flare has informed me that Princess Luna wishes the civilians to be sent to Ponyville,” Steel Helm explained while pointing his hoof at me.

“So the Princess gave you that order?” The Major turned towards me.
“Um... yes,” I replied stammering. “She also said that we must ask Princess Twilight Sparkle for help once we reach the town.” He remained silent for a moment, probably pondering my credibility before his glance wandered up into the sky behind me. A surprised look spread across his face, only to be replaced by revelation a moment later.

I turned around to see what he was looking at, then spotting the Princess hovering in the sky. Apparently she was watching us from afar.
“Then get your flank to the front of the crowd and guide them to Ponyville, Private!” the Major commanded turning his attention back to me, now being utterly convinced of what I had said.

“Me?! Why me? I’m just a Private! Shouldn't you or Captain Steel Helm lead them?” I practically whined.

“The Princess commanded YOU to evacuate Canterlot and lead her subjects to safety, didn't she? Who am I to question her highness's orders?”

“But- but Major- I-”

“Private, I am ordering you to the front. Lead those ponies like you were told or you will peel potatoes till the end of your service. Got that?!” he bellowed at me, making it clear that talking back would be no use.

“A-aye, sir!”

Gulping, I turned around and slipped out of the gate, now galloping past the crowds of ponies to get up to the front. But before I left Canterlot, I faintly heard Stone Hide's concerned voice:

“Sir, do you really think that this is a good idea?”

“If the Princess trusts him, so should we…”

While the top-notch railway system of Canterlot would have been the fastest way to leave the city, it’s not recommended to use the train in times of attack. Trapping a lot of ponies inside small coaches without a way to escape would give the enemy a good opportunity to attack a whole bunch of citizens at once. Another problem was that there weren't enough coaches to evacuate everypony. So escaping by train was not an option, I thought while galloping past the crowd of civilians

“Mommy, where are we going?” a little filly asked her mother, somewhere in the middle of the halfway organized horde.

“I don't know, dear,” the mother replied in a soft but concerned tone.

“I heard there is an invasion going on-” a stallion said to his friend as I galloped by.

“- Then you take a cup of flour and add it to the mix-” an elderly pony said to another. They most likely didn't understand what was going on. Good for them.

Just before I reached the front I spotted a tired, but graceful looking mare, that drew my attention somehow. She was holding a magenta-coated newborn foal in her hoof. Seeing her, I slowed down and stopped running for a moment. With a presentiment, I scrambled to find the picture of the late Sergeant Feint’s foal I had stored in my uniform when all this mess started. After patting down my entire body and probably looking really dumb doing it, I finally found the picture. Looking at it I gulped, recognizing the foal.

...It was his.

...and that mare must be his wife. Patting the pocket I found the picture in, I made sure that the dog-tag was still within it, but it suddenly felt like it weighed a ton. Of all the hundreds of ponies I came by, why did I just notice her? Pushing that thought aside, I quickly averted my gaze from the mare and her child and made my way to the front.

“Erm- Hello everypony... M-my name is Private Flare and I was ordered to lead you to Ponyville…” I stepped in front of them and introduced myself.

“Tell us what’s going on!” somepony called from somewhere in the back.

“Yeah, we want to know!” another one agreed.

“Well, um- I- We have no time for explanation, now. This is an emergency and evacuating you is for your own good.”

“I won't move any further, before I know why we were dragged out here!”
somepony else called. A murmur of approval went through the mass of ponies to back up her statement.

“Um- I can't tell you right now, but it is very important to follow, trust me. I act in the name of Princess Luna herself.”

“Do you have any proof that you were sent by the Princess?” a female voice asked warily.

"Erm- no, but-" I panicked. Of course they wouldn't listen to me. Why should they? Plus explaining everything to them would cost precious time, something that wasn't on our side. It might even cause a mass hysteria or worse.

"Please, you have to follow me! It's for your own safety," I yelled desperately.

"I know you-" the Sergeant's wife with the foal spoke up. "You are one of the colts of my husband's unit, aren't you?" Her emerald eyes seemed to pierce right into my mind.

I gulped, but nodded shyly, trying to avoid her darting gaze.

“Listen, everypony, he is one of my husbands men. Feint would never allow a liar among his colts. I mean look at him, does he seem dishonest to you? If he says he was sent by the Princess I trust him and so should you." Again all of them mumbled to each other, not knowing what to do. Major Gold Star had finally reached the front and raised his voice:

"I am Major Gold Star, and I am the Commander of the Equestrian Force, during General Star Stripe's absence. All of you are in danger, so we decided to get you out of the crossfire. I can assure you, that this soldier here, got all the authority he needs by the Princess herself. Do you want to disobey, her highness wishes?" his stern voice echoed over the crowd of ponies. A moment of silence followed.

"Please, take us where we need to go, I'll follow you..." the Sergeant's wife softly addressed me, in an encouraging tone.

A murmur of approval spread around the crowd. I was really thankful for her support. I don't think that I would have ever convinced them without her help. I turned around and started to walk down the pass that led down the mountain range Canterlot was built upon. I was glad to see that the ponies finally followed me willingly.

While walking down the steep serpentine street I listened to the mumbling of the crowd behind me. They still wondered, why they were taken out of Canterlot all of a sudden, they wondered where the Princesses were and they wondered what was going on in the city. I couldn't blame them for their confusion, since I didn't understand everything myself.

After quite a walk in the bright sun the little village called Ponyville came into sight. I exhaled, relieved. Only a moment too soon. I heard a scream, from somewhere behind me and turned around startled. Rumor, gasping and whispering went through the crowd as the ponies that were walking at the end of the group spotted an armored pony, shrouded in a dark cloud and his following zombie-ponies. Although they weren't moving that fast, they had no problem shortening the distance. Commotion and confusion spread through the crowd of citizen, as more and more ponies saw Sombra.

Major Gold Star had noticed him too. Galloping to me, he now whispered:
"Private, you will stay at the forefront and make sure the civilians reach Ponyville. If that is done, find Princess Twilight and ask her for help." He quickly galloped past the procession, gathering all the remaining soldiers that had walked on both sides of the crowd. All of them regrouped at the end of the mass of ponies.

"Guards, we must protect those civilians at all cost!" he called at them. Most of the remaining soldiers were wounded or terrified of what they had seen, some probably thought about just fleeing and abandoning their comrades. At, this point most had figured that those ponies would just overrun them, like they did when we still had the advantage of our defenses at hoof.

"It is time to renew our oath!" he screamed, while he rearranged the formation with a motion of his hoof. He then spoke up, so that everypony could hear his words:

"Hear my words and bear witness to my vow. I swear, my loyalty to the ponies of Equestria and it shall not end until I go.
For the Sun and Moon, I shall live and die serving, no matter where I'm from. I pledge my life and honor to the Royal Guard, for this day and all the nights to come.
I am the candle in the darkness, and the sword of the light. I am the shield that guards the realm of Ponykind.
You have heard my words, now and here. I swear, I will always protect my people without fear!"

Most of the remaining soldiers started to join in his solemnly chant after a short time of hesitation. It was the same oath they had sworn, before they joined the Equestrian Force, the same words I said several years ago. Nopony could have known what those words meant at that time, but now all of them yelled the words they had said before as one voice, stepping in the way of the approaching invaders. They finally understood that there would be no easy way out of this situation. Most of them had friends and family in the crowd, some even had children they wanted to protect. All of them now remembered what was hanging in the balance, and that they would be the only protection for the citizen.

"Louder!" I heard Gold Star's command from the back of the procession. All the soldiers repeated their oath, now speaking up with every word they said.

"I said, LOUDER!" Gold Star repeated, after they had finished yelling the words a second time, the crystal-ponies quickened their pace, now charging right into the waiting formation of soldier-ponies.

"May the Sun and Moon stand by our side!" were the Major’s last words, before the din of the battle drowned out all additional voices.

"Quick, everypony! We need to reach the village, now!" I called in a calm but stern tone to the now terrified citizen. I was quite surprised, about the courage and assertiveness in my voice. Without any additional word, they started picking up pace, now trotting after me towards the small village. None of them looked back at the battle their relatives fought to protect their loved ones.

Ponyville - once only a small petty spot on the map, which acted as a mere rail junction between Canterlot and other far away regions like Dodge City or Las Pegasus, soon came to fame when a young mare came up with the recipe of the famous 'Zap-Apple-Jam'. This delicious delicacy attracted a whole lot of ponies willing to invest in the now blooming apple industry. Even though the village quickly grew in population, it never lost its original rustic charm. The town never forgot where its fame came from, being one of the most important apple suppliers in the entirety of Equestria. And so, the old traditions were still cherished to this day. The most noticeable inhabitants of Ponyville, besides Princess Twilight Sparkle of course, are Octavia, a well known Cello virtuoso and Vinyl Scratch, the unofficial 'Princess of Bass'. Why I thought about all this while I ran past the sign that stated ‘Ponyville’ was beyond me, though.

When I reached the edge of the village I quickened my pace some more, now dashing past several half-timbered houses, I was heading for a giant oak-tree, whose treetop I easily spotted in the distance. The tree was hollowed out completely and it's inner space now acted as the local library. It was also the adoptive home of the newly coronated Princess, Twilight Sparkle.

I impetuously knocked, almost kicking in the red painted door until a young purple dragon opened the door.

"Yeah, what is it?" He said in a annoyed tone. Obviously the way I knocked at the door had displeased the young dragon. Taking a second look at me, he noticed my battered, dirt and bloodstained armor and his eyes widened.

"Quick, where is Princess Twilight?!" I addressed him directly while looking into the inside of the library, trying to spot the Princess somewhere. Hearing her name, she stepped down a set of wooden stairs.

"What is going on? With all this noise I can't concentrate on-" her voice trailed off, as she saw me standing in front of the door. Her mouth dropped open and she whispered: "Oh my, what happened to you?"

The Princess was a young lavender-coated alicorn with a dark purple mane, streaked by a pink and light purple stripe. The book she had held in her levitating magic dropped to the floor when she scanned my messy outfit. Although being a Princess, she didn't make the impression of being one. The way she moved, acted and talked provided no indication of her title, so unaware ponies might assume her being a regular pony until they recognize her being an Alicorn with both wings and horn.

"Highness," I addressed her without any formality, "Canterlot has been invaded by the Crystal Empire. Sombra returned and broke through our defense, using an army of crystal-ponies. Princess Luna ordered the immediate evacuation and told us to come here, asking you for help and advice. However Sombra followed us here and the remaining guards are trying to buy us some time. They are fighting the approaching invaders, as we speak-" my voice was shaking and trailed off, just as I finished my sentence.

"Wait wait wait... What?! Sombra has returned?!" she screamed, before her jaw hit the floor.

"Yes, your highness."

"-And the Guard is fighting him in front of Ponyville, right now?" her voice became more acute.

I just nodded impatiently. Her eyes widened even more.
"Highness, please act quickly, my comrades are dying out there!" I plead her desperately.

"Yes, yes of course!" A purple glow surrounded her horn and shortly after, a golden tiara came into sight, softly landing on her head afterwards.

She then nodded to me and together we left the 'Golden Oak Library', galloping back towards the edge of the village. Meanwhile the canterlotean civilians had reached the village as well and stood on the main plaza next to the round town-hall building, not knowing what to do.
Attracted by the sound, some local citizen had opened their windows or stopped passing by, interrupting their daily business, looking curiously at the large crowd of scared ponies, standing in the middle of their village.

When we reached the village edge, Sombra and his army had already defeated most of the Canterlot force and drew near the small village, by stepping over their dead bodies. However, somehow it seemed like the amount of invaders had increased in numbers, since I last saw them. While having another look, I noticed ponies in battered armor, among the lines of the invaders.

"You said, the Crystal Empire is attacking us, so why are there guard-ponies among their troops?" Twilight asked me confused. I, however didn't have an answer myself. I was just as surprised as the Princess, since I thought the speech of Major Gold Star had encouraged the soldiers.
Then I spotted the Major, standing as one of the last remaining guards on our side, together with two other guard-ponies.

Sombra stepped forward, now standing in front of his army, saying in his horrible hissing voice:
"Surrender and you might survive, resist and you will die an agonizing death!"

"I will never surrender to you, fiend!" Gold Star said, spitting on the ground.

"That was the wrong decision, however I hoped you'd say that," the dark King casually replied, while an evil grin spread across his face.

The shadow of the Major began to move and wriggle. Not knowing what was happening, the Major quickly got entangled by those dark colored tentacles, I have seen before. Knowing what would happen next, I closed my eyes and turned my head away, still hearing how the grip tightened and with no further hesitation tore the trapped pony apart. Once again I heard the King's demonic laughter, that cause goose bumps on my entire body.
Shocked by the cruelty, she had just witnessed, Princess Twilight just stood there with a pale face and an opened mouth, hardly grasping what she just saw.

"I- I surrender-" one of the two remaining, low-rank guards screamed, prostrating before the dark King.

"Me- me, too!" the second one agreed and did like his comrade, kneeling down in front of Sombra.

"Ha-ha - good choice my little ponies-"
His horn glowed in that unholy green light and once again the shadows of the kneeling ponies began to move.

"No- please, we surrender!" both ponies squealed terrified, watching the tendrils wrapping around their body.

But instead of ripping them apart, the tendrils stretched and widened themselves, until their unholy surface covered their body like a black blanket. After every inch of their body got covered by that shroud of darkness, the shadow faded again, leaving both ponies, kneeling on the ground, unharmed. They got onto their hooves, turned around towards us and I recognized their vacant face expression. Then they stepped back into the line of Sombra's followers.

After some time that felt like ages, Princess Twilight, regained her composure, again, now stepping towards the King, who just stood there chuckling.

"Sombra!" she addressed him, in a calm tone, trying to suppress her irritation.

"It is still KING Sombra! At last we meet again Twilight Sparkle," he snickered amused.

"It is PRINCESS Twilight Sparkle, now!" she replied copying his phrase, trying to tease him. He however seemed to psych her mind game and remained calm.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot. My deepest apologies, I couldn't come to your coronation, 'Princess'. It seems my invitation got lost on its way-", he replied with an artificially insulted tone, while bowing down. He also accented the word ‘Princess’ very deliberately.

"You look like the Sombra I know, but you seem very different... I didn't know you could actually talk in full sentences," she said that with a smirk.

"There are certain events that can change a pony entirely, but I have always been able to speak like this," he replied smiling.

"What do you want, Sombra, why are you torturing and killing innocent ponies?"

"Oh, isn't it obvious, my dear? It is my duty. I also came to reclaim my kingdom…“ He then turned his gaze away from the Princess and looked past her, over at the frightened citizens, remaining in the center of Ponyville. He then bobbed his head and slightly nodded towards them.
“... and my subjects."

"Those ponies aren’t and never were your subjects. What do you want here in Ponyville, you used to rule over the Crystal Empire-" the Princess wondered aloud.

"I am still ruling it, my dear, but then I thought, why should I only focus on the Crystal Empire? It is so cold up there, you know? Then I wondered, why not expand my borders a bit more? Also I wanted to visit some old friends of mine-"
His voice became soft and playful, sounding almost innocent as like he was speaking about a casual thing. However his evil grin left no doubt about his true intentions. He turned towards the Princess again and smiled at her - A wicked cruel smile.

Meanwhile, attracted by the noises, most of the Ponyville-Ponies had noticed the large crowd of ponies standing on the plaza. Windows got opened and heads appeared in the gaps of open doors. Many of the Ponyvilleans had friends or relatives living in Canterlot and so they came outside to greet the arrivals. Most of them didn't understand, why the canterlotean ponies were here, so they approached them probably to ask what was going on. I averted my gaze from that crowd of ponies, that now started to chat with the local citizens.

"How did you survive? I witnessed how Cadence used the Crystal-Heart to banish your sinister mind from this world," Twilight wanted to know.

"-And it worked quite well, if I might add that. Yes, my body got destroyed, and my mind got banished to the void of the twisting nether. It hurt..like a lot. Can you imagine, what it's like to float through infinity, for years, without a body?"
"No, of course you can't!" he continued after a dramatic pause.

"You have no idea, what it feels like your body getting vaporized to dust, your mind getting dragged in a dimension of eternal darkness, being alone without the ability to move or free yourself. You were here the whole time, having parties with your precious friends." The more he spoke, the more despicable his voice became.

"Suits you right, Sombra!" Twilight interrupted his speech, grinning at him gleefully.

"Didn't I tell you, it is 'KING' Sombra?" he replied unimpressed, returning to his calm innocent-sounding tone.

"However, maybe I should thank you and Princess Cadence, for doing so?" he continued smiling slyly.

"Whatever do you mean?" Twilight asked confused.

"Well, without my banishment to that realm, I wouldn't have been 'enlightened'."

"Huh? Enlightened?" she asked him puzzled.

"Well, maybe enlightened is the wrong term to use, but it turned out that my banishment was the best thing that could happen to me, so again thank you, Princess-"
Silent but obviously amazed she kept listening to him during the following monologue.

"While floating through that empty realm of eternal darkness I had a lot of time to think. There isn't much else to do if no one can hear you screaming and you don't have a chance to move at all. I was furious at first, I hated you and your friends for what you did to me, but soon I realized how foolish I was. I attacked the Empire again, without having a plan, without thinking straight. I realized that it has been my own fault, that I failed."

"All alone, being surrounded by eternal darkness for such a long time, I started to reconsider the events. That's when I started to hear distant whispers. Thinking that this voice being my dawning insanity, I ignored it at first. Over the years I started to accept the surrounding darkness, since there was nothing I could have done to escape it. I started to relax and I learned to embrace it, while the voice got louder. The whispering asked what I desired most and I replied: Revenge!"
Sombra's eyes glowed, while he spoke out the last word.

"I got asked, what I would be willing to do, to reach my ultimate goal and I replied, absolutely everything! Ever since then I have begun to actually feel the surrounding darkness. I learned how to manipulate it and after a while I learned how to control it. Or rather, I RElearned it.” Again he made a dramatic pause and smiled.

“Soon enough the darkness felt natural, almost like a second skin. It felt like something I was used to in the past, something that originated my whole existence. The voice kept whispering to me, it reminded me who I really am. I am a King, no snooty Prince, A KING!" he yelled excited.

"I could feel the darkness changing me. It crawled into my mind and slowly formed a new body around it. I didn't know how much power darkness had until then. For me like anypony else, darkness was just an abstract notion."
The Princess remained silent, thinking about what he just said, but it obviously didn't make much sense to her, nor to me.

"By that time I had absorbed enough dark energy to free myself and I finally realized who that voice, I have heard, actually was.”

It seemed like Twilight was going to ask who he was talking about, since that question went through my head as well, but before she could phrase her thoughts he continued and she closed her mouth again.

"Do you know what that means? No, you don't, I can see it in your eyes... I was completely beaten and destroyed, yet I managed to restore myself, I evolved, I absorbed a seemingly endless energy making me stronger and I learned how to use it and in the end I was able to break free. All by myself, it just took some time to figure things out. In addition I remembered my forgotten past. I remembered why I am here and who had sent me. So thank you Princess for making me a god again."

The Princess just stood there, blinking at him. It seemed like she had a hard time to understand what he just said. Honestly, his explanation sounded like complete buffalo-shit to me. However he just continued his monologue:

"When I was hit by the pure might of the Elements of Harmony, Celestia and Luna used against me, my soul got shattered and while being trapped within the icy ground beneath the Crystal-Empire, it took me aeons to put the shards back together. Obviously I missed some pieces of my shattered soul and forgot who I truly am. When I finally escaped their seal, I only was blinded by rage. After being shackled to the icy earth of the Empire, for a millennium, I was so angry, so full of anger. My only desire was to make Celestia and Luna pay for what they did to me. That tunnel vision kept me from thinking straight yet speaking properly, since all I could think about was to reclaim MY Empire. That's the reason I got defeated by that blasted filly Cadence, that easily."

"-But now that is different, since like I've said: I have changed, I became more prudent. I now know who I am and I am ready to continue where I left off."

"No matter who you are or whatever freed you, Cadence will banish you again, using the Crystal-Heart." Twilight spoke up, sounding secure of victory.

"Oh, you mean 'this' Crystal-Heart?"

None of us had noticed the necklace he had worn around his neck, the whole time. It was a gemstone, carved in the shape of a heart, but its color was black like polished onyx. Most of the time it was covered by his dark aura he was still surrounded by and due to its black color you could easily overlook that detail. He used his green glowing magic to show it to us some more, while addressing the Princess with a fanged grin.

"That's a fake!" Twilight bursted out instantly, but not utterly convinced of her statement.

"Oh no, my dear, I can assure you, that this is the same gem, your precious friend used back in those days."

"How did you get it then?" she wanted to know, while trying to suppress the upcoming edginess in her voice.

"Tz tz tz, do I look like a fool to you, Princess? I am not like those stupid villains in your fiction books, that explains every detail of their plan, giving the hero enough time and information to come up with a way to escape certain doom."
He smirked, while shaking his head. None of them said anything and for a moment, an uneasy silence followed.

"If you are no 'stupid villain', why are you even telling me all this?" the Princess cooed.

“Maybe I like to play with you? Maybe it is part of my plan to tease you? Maybe I want to enjoy the moment before I beat you, Princess, and be sure that I will. I have spent such a long time in that other dimension that I just wanted to let you know, what force you are going against. I heard that you are hungry for knowledge, so let me lecture you about the might that will kill you in a few moments.”

The Princess’s stance widened as she tensed up, like she was expecting an attack. Sombra, however, didn’t seem like he was going to assault her just yet. Instead he casually continued:

“Did you know, that darkness is not a shade, not an abstract term. I realized that, if darkness is present in a realm of nothingness, it must be everywhere. Light can cover darkness like a blanket, but if you remove that blanket again the darkness will return. Darkness is immortal. It does not only surround you during the night, the darkness is omnipresent even within everyponies hearts. Fear, hatred, malice - the darkness has many names, but in the end, it is still all the same."

A mixture of curiosity and confusion shadowed Princess Twilight’s face. She remained silent however.

"I also realized, that we are not so different, you and I-" he continued after a pause.

"What?! No, we are in no way alike!" Twilight then yelled filled with indignation. "You are evil, enslaving ponies to serve your will, you killed ponies for pleasure, you tried to rule, through violence and oppression. No, we are in no way alike! You are not even a real ruler!"

"Hmm you might be right, that I have no kingdom, yet, but as I said before, I am going to change that. However you are wrong with the other part. You recklessly abuse the power of love and friendship, to buff-up your own magic abilities, don't you? Well I do the same, but I use the power of fear and hatred, instead. As you might see, both are sides of the same coin. An ancient coin-"

"Didn't you even use dark magic, back in the days, to find the Crystal-Heart?" he continued in an excessively curious tone.
"How did it feel? I bet you've never experienced something like this before, did you? I also bet it felt strange to you, yet exciting. You were curious, what it would be like, on that other side. It felt to you, like you only tasted half of the cake."

"I- err- no! That is not true!" the Princess replied shouting, but appeared like she was just caught with one hoof in the cookie jar. He kept looking at her and displayed a fanged grin.

"I kinda knew, you would say that. Allow me to demonstrate the power of the darkness-"

He lifted his head and his horn glowed in a vicious green shine, streaked with darker orbs. Twilight got herself ready for an assault, while he focused more energy into his horn. Twilight's shadow began to move, but she was already expecting that. She jumped aside, however she couldn't shake off her own shadow just by doing sidesteps. Having an idea, she ascended into the air, using her new wings, now floating in midair.

"Ha! You can't reach me here, since my shadow stayed on the ground. Your magic is powerless against me, Sombra!"

Looking at the Princess hovering above him, he tilted his head and smiled.

"Good move, Princess, however I wouldn't be too cocky, if I were you-" he said in his playful tone.

Twilight's scornful smile started to fade, just like her self-confidence.
Sombra tilted his head slowly to the other side and suddenly the sun, that had shone above us all, lowered itself, by a remarkable amount, almost touching the horizon. Astonished, Twilight gazed at the setting sun, although it was early afternoon. She was too distracted, that she didn't notice that her shadow had crawled up the wall of the half-timbered house, she was hovering in front of. Tentacles erupted from her shadow on the wall and wrapped themselves around the body of the surprised Princess. Unable to use her wings anymore, she fell to the ground, like a stone.
Struggling and fighting against those tentacles, that had wriggled around her body, she looked up at Sombra, who stepped near her, bowing down to her, so their eyes could meet.

"How- how did you do that-?! As far as I know, only Celestia’s magic is able to control the sun..." she stammered breathlessly.
"Well, that is not entirely true. I bet that Luna could do so as well, if she just tried. It would be much more taxing for her doing so, though. So in a way you are quite right, my dear - Only Celestia can fully control the sun," he chuckled, then burst into a short demonic laughter.

"But how? Did you do something to her? Did you kill her and somehow absorbed her powers? Do you want to spread eternal darkness over Equestria, now?" Twilight said shaking her head relentlessly, like she could abandon her thoughts by doing so.

"Silly Princess," Sombra shook his head with a pitying expression. "Why would I want to hurt Celestia? Why would I want eternal darkness? No, I kinda like the look out of the window, when I get up in the morning-"

"-Because she will rip you a new one, as soon as she gets here-" the trapped Princess spit out.

"Oh, I doubt that, actually both of us are close friends now. You may even say, she is like a sister to me..." he smiled at her. Twilight's face became even more puzzled in confusion.

"Didn't you listen, Twilight Sparkle? I said light and darkness are two sides of the same coin. Without light there is no darkness, and without darkness there is no light. Both can be suppressed but not fully destroyed. Why should I limit my power, by spreading eternal darkness over Equestria? You see, I am not an Alicorn like yourself, I could have never done such a thing on my own. Without the help of the sun's light, I wouldn't have been able to trap you like I did, would I? If darkness gets predictable by staying forever, it would lose it's threat," he spoke to her in a lecturing voice, lowering his head further to directly speak into her ear.

"OK, history lesson is over. Now if you please excuse me, Twilight, I have other business to tend to-"

He lifted his head again and stared at the escapees, that had witnessed the whole scene, from afar. Seeing the Princess lying on the ground defeated, the panic that had lingered between them intensified even more. Noticing his gaze, I bravely stepped between the ponies and the unholy King and his army.

"Princess!" I spoke up, "He somehow corrupted Princess Celestia. She turned against her subjects and even tried to kill General Star Stripe and myself. The General then stayed to bring her to justice. I don't know how, but she is on Sombra's side, now-"

"Oh very good-" Sombra applauded, turning towards me. "You actually managed to survive her wrath? Impressive! And yes you are right, she will keep my throne warm for me, until my return to Canterlot. So would you be so kind and move out of my way, so I can greet my subjects?"

The trapped Princess rolled around, until she could face me and nodded encouraging. I shook my head.

"Ugh- this again-" he rolled his eyes annoyed and shook his head. "What's with all you foolish guards, are you so eager to die? Fine have it your way-" He slightly nodded towards me and the army of zombie-ponies set itself into motion, drawing closer.

"Kill everypony that dares to resist!" he commanded his army by raising his voice to make sure everypony present heard him.

Behind me I heard the screams and sighs of the terrified crowd as the mass hysteria ultimately got unleashed. I can't say that I was much braver than them, but it was my sacred duty to defend the ponies of Equestria, just like General Star Stripe had said. I closed my eyes and prepared myself for my final fight, even though I was scared to death. If it was my destiny to die here and now, I won't let it wait for me, I thought. Then I heard the relieved cheers.

"Look it's the bearers" someone behind my back said.
"The Elements of Harmony have arrived!" a female voice cried delighted.
"Thank Celestia, we are saved!" a male voice agreed.

The ponies behind me shouted exultantly. I turned around, seeing that four more ponies had showed up at the plaza, each equipped with a sparkling golden necklace, resembling their Cutie Mark. I exhaled relieved, since I won't have to deal with the evil King and his minions anymore. Those ponies have saved Equestria many times before and I had no doubt, that they would do it again.

"Oh no, it's the bearers, I am so doomed-" I heard Sombra's shocked voice from behind. Gleefully I turned towards him, to see his frightened expression, however I only saw a broad smile on his face, noticing that he once again had used his artificial voice to trick us.
"At last you showed up. I thought I had to do everything by myself," he then continued finding his cheerful tone again.

Meanwhile, an orange-coated blond earth-pony had swung a rope like a lasso and caught one of the unaware civilians with it. His incentive cheering got stifled as the rope tightened around his neck, choking him.
The face of the caught pony turned green, then blue, while he yanked his hooves at his neck, trying to get rid of the rope that was garroting him. However it didn't seem like he ever had any chance to break free from that mare's stranglehold, since the orange pony was said to be the strongest of the six. From what I have heard about her, she possessed an exceptional physical strength for a pony her size and could wrestle with a bear and might actually win. Of course such stories are always quite exaggerated, although that pony indeed seemed rather strong to me.

That afflicted victim was still wrenching at the rope around his neck, desperately gasping for air, before he ultimately succumbed and collapsed. Amazed the surrounding ponies witnessed his death, with wide opened eyes, and then took a step back from the now lifeless body. None of them had moved a muscle to help that strangulated pony, most likely because of mere astonishment.
The still trapped Princess Twilight's eyes were wide opened and her face expression displayed unknown disbelieve, as she witnessed, how one of her best friends had killed an innocent civilian.

"Applejack, what are you doing?!" she cried bewildered.

I witnessed how the pink-coated one pulled out a cannon, made of blue painted steel equipped with lavender colored wheels, out of the blue behind her back. In normal circumstances, I would have wondered how she had hid such a big device behind her body, but those weren't normal circumstances. She then fired a barrage of random things into the paralyzed crowd. Although the pies and cupcakes, she had fired, wouldn't be lethal at all, the bricks, anvils and flower pots certainly would. The bullets, then took out several ponies one after another, that were standing in the front of the crowd.
I couldn't believe what just happened and so I just stood there with my jaw dropping to the ground. Those were the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, the most loyal and trustworthy ponies I have ever heard of. Instead of saving everyponies flank, like I had hoped they would, they just went on a killing-spree.

"Pinkie Pie, no!" the Princess's wailing voice whispered.

Awakening from their state of shock, panic spread through the escapees and each of them fled in different directions, while screaming horrified. A cyan-coated Pegasus, however, quickly flew past the fleeing ponies and electrocuted some of them with a quickly summoned lightning-shooting thundercloud. The sheer speed and agility she displayed, while roasting her victims one after another, left me speechless.

Finally I regained my composure right in time, noticing a fourth white-colored mare, charging her horn with bluish magic. At second gaze I noticed several metal needles, that sparkled in the sunlight, levitating in the air in front of that mare.
I noticed the Staff Sergeant's wife, standing next to her, right in the field of fire, still holding her foal tightly in her hooves. Even though she appeared to be just as terrified as the Princess, me or the rest of the civilians, she bravely tried to shield her foal with her own body. Without thinking, I swiftly dashed over at her, ramming my shoulder into that mare's side, to push her out-of-the-way. Instinctively she had wrapped herself around her foal to dampen the fall. While rolling on the floor, I heard the swishing sound of the needles flying past our heads, hitting the bodies of the ponies that had stood behind us. Throats, chests and heads got impaled by the barrage of sharp projectiles, not giving the unlucky victims a chance to avoid them.

Unintentionally I had pushed Mrs. Feint towards a back alley, that branched from the Ponyville Plaza. Looking up and realizing our position, I then hectically dragged her into the alley and pushed her against the cold stone wall to cover the bodies of the elderly mare and her foal with my own, expecting the white-colored mare to come after us. I tightened my body, expecting the stinging pain of her needles in my flank and back, but it never came.

I opened my eyes again and stared into the confused face of the Sergeant's wife. Everything has happened so quickly that she needed a moment to fully understand the situation. Still expecting an oncoming attack by either of the element-bearers, I looked around strained. It was a rather narrow alley, we were able to escape to and the low sun threw a long shadow leaving most of that back street in gloomy twilight.

Then I turned my attention back to that mare, that was still lying under me with her body trembling. I quickly scanned her body to make sure that she was unharmed and returned my gaze to her teary emerald eyes, filled with shock, fright but also gratefulness, as she was trying to say something. I, however, hushed her silently and she nodded. All this whole time, the foal in her hooves, didn't make any sound that may have blown our cover. I inspected the child more closely, to make sure it was unharmed and indeed it appeared quite healthy. It just looked back at me with its large bright amber-colored eyes and smiled warmly. Maybe it understood the situation somehow, but I had no time nor the nerves to wonder why.

I carefully looked around the corner of the house the three of us crouched next to, seeing that the white mare had turned her attention to other victims and the other three attacking elements were otherwise occupied. It appeared like none of them had noticed that we were gone. Now was the moment for me to sigh in relief.

"We are doomed!"
"They'll kill us!"
"Where are the Princesses!"
"All hope is lost!"

The voices of the alive citizens filled the air. Then all of a sudden, each one of them got surrounded by that black tendrils, that then covered their bodies and turned them into more emotionless zombie-ponies.
It appeared like each one of them had lost all hope, or just gave in to their defeat, making it easy for the darkness to cloak them. After their transformation, the new slaves trotted over to join the lines of Sombra's fellowship.

From our hideout I heard Twilight's voice calling Sombra, who had given his army a signal to stay back, enjoying the massacre:

"Why are they doing this?! What have you done to them?!" she addressed the King furiously, after she rolled around once more, to look at him.

"Oh me? Well I didn't do much, really. All they needed was a little incentive to join my side," he chuckled obviously amused by the display.
"Believe me or not, Pinkie Pie was the easiest to corrupt. You wouldn't expect the dark feelings that ever smiling party-mare had shut away deep in her subconsciousness. It was quite easy to stimulate her doubt and almost non-existing self-confidence and fill her heart with remorse. Her dark side was the most fun to play around with, too," he snickered.

Twilight’s eyes widened in shock.
"With Rainbow Dash's fear of being futile and Rarity's greed for appreciation my seeds of hatred found the perfect environment to bloom. All I had to do was whispering to their darkest fears and desires and voila-" he snapped his hoof as a way to finish his sentence.
"Applejack on the other hoof was a much harder nut to crack. Her stupid honesty and sympathy towards everypony, made her able to resist my 'charm' for some time, but in the end, I was able to convince her, that her family-members might have some 'minor accidents' in the future-"

From my position I saw the King bending down to the trapped mare, winking at her grinning.

"As for your beloved mentor- Well let's just say she wasn't quite satisfied with her job and the current general situation."

Now I finally understood. He could only brainwash ponies, who had either lost all hope or were otherwise filled with too many dark thoughts. It seemed like good emotions shielded your mind from the corruption, while bad emotions weakened it enough, that Sombra was able to turn the ponies into his slaves.

"You monster!" the Princess shouted distraught, while tears dripped down her cheeks landing on the not so far away ground below her head.
"I will never forgive you!" she continued squealing.

Suddenly her horn blazed in a dark greenish way, while her eyes turned bright green, now emitting a foggy purple aura. The once black tentacles that had held her captive, turned brighter, changing their color to a lavender tone and started to wriggle like they were going to let her go. Then the Princess finally broke free, by spreading her wings and ascending, shaking off the now magenta colored tendrils. The bubbly green glow of her horn then intensified, just as the lavender glow, that her bright green eyes emitted. I slightly ducked back into the alley, thinking that she got converted as well, but I couldn't avert my gaze from her entirely.

With a maniacal expression on her face, she lifted one hoof and pointed at Sombra, while the magenta colored tentacles rushed forward and attacked the dark King, under her command. He then got hit by each tentacle, forcefully knocking the now surprised-looking King to the ground. She then slowly glided to the ground, but collapsed on the sandy street. The Princess then shook her head and opened her eyes again, abandoning the evil expression she has had a second before.
Very slowly the knocked down King regained his composure and got back on his hooves again. With his once crimson cloak now stained by dirt and his body shaking, he turned towards the Princess and started to laugh right into her puzzled face. I couldn't understand that maniac at all. He got hit right into his face and all he did was laughing? Why did he get hit anyway? Maybe he hadn’t have the time to turn himself into that invincible cloud?

He laughed for some time, before he wiped away the blood that was trickling from a cut on his lip, and raised his voice once more:
"Very good, I must admit, that you surprised me. I am quite impressed. Maybe now this discussion becomes a little more interesting-" he smirked.

"Hehe - See what did I tell you? NOT-SO-DIFFERENT!" he then continued his evil conniption.