Second Chances

Darkened Sky stood on a cloud just above Snowgleam and Trixie, watching the confrontation. Twilight and rainbow Dash stood on ether side of him.

"Sky, are you sure this will work? I have a bad feeling about this," Twilight whispered. She had been reluctant to try anything other than attacking Trixie.

Seeing Trixie take a few steps towards Snowgleam, he nuzzled Twilight. "You see? It's working. Now we just need to wait for my sister's—NO! Plan C, now!" Darkened Sky jumped off the cloud and landed in front of Trixie. "Trixie, fight her off! Stay in control, we are going to save you!"

"You've lost, boy. The mare you knew as Trixie Lulamoon is dead. There is nothing that can stop me, especially now that you lost your powers." Trixie Deathmoon horn started cracking with red energy. "I have an offer for you."

Darkened Sky backed up a step. "What makes you think I would accept any offer from you? And what makes you think I have no powers?"

"I know you have no powers, otherwise I wouldn't be still be talking. As for the offer, it's more of a threat. Serve me or I will kill your sister, along with every single one of your friends."

"I would rather die than serve evil." Darkened Sky got ready to charge Trixie.

"What a shame, I was looking forwards to having your friends work in the mines. I had bets on who would go insane first." She turned to Snowgleam, and fired a bolt of magic at the white pegasus

Somehow, Darkened Sky managed to throw himself in the magic's path. The bold hit him and sent him flying into a tree beside his sister. "Snowgleam, get out of here! Find Twilight." He got back to his feet and ran at Trixie, teeth bared.

"You think you can take me? Prepare to die!" She hit him with a second bolt of red magic, sending him into an other tree. She stalked over to where he lay, groaning in pain. "It was nice knowing you, Darkened Sky. Don't worry about your country, I will make sure it gets spared. I'm going to need a lot of test subjects for my projects. I will make your death as painful as possi—Ahhh!" A large rainbow wrapped itself around Trixie and obscured her from view. The high pitched scream emanating from the swirling magic abruptly cut out. The colourful ribbons faded away revealing a Trixie shaped statue.

Twilight and the rest of the Element Bearers ran out of the woods. Twilight rushed over to where Darkened Sky was laying. "Sky, it worked! She was transformed, just like you said. What's that smell, are you alright? Your coat is smoking!"

"I'm fine. Is Trixie alright?" Darkened Sky go to his feet and looked over to where he had last seen Trixie. "No! She was supposed to be cleansed, not turned to stone!" He limped over to the statue, tears starting to drip down his muzzle. "Trixie, I'm so sorry. This wasn't what I intended, I promise, I will find a way to fix this."

Twilight followed her fiancée, eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, cleansed? And how did you even know we could harness the Tree of Harmony's power without the elements?"

"I didn't know. I was told it was the only way to save Trixie by the creature that brought me and my sister back from our Fallen state." Darkened Sky looked towards the main part of the battlefield. Trixie's entire army had been defeated. "Snowgleam, get the other three Princesses and tell them to meet us at the Old Castle. I have the feeling we might need back up. Twilight, can you grab Trixie? I don't think I'm stong enough to carry it."

Twilight nodded and picked up the statue with her magic. Snowgleam hugged Darkened Sky and flew off to find the Princesses. The rest of the group slowly made their way to the castle.

By the time the seven friends made it to the castle, Darkened Sky could barely walk. Twilight put the Trixie statue down beside the entrance and looked around the eery courtyard. There were scorch marks everywhere, along with a pile of shattered crystals. "Sky, there's nopony here."

Darkened Sky slowly made his way to the center of the open space. "Black Nightmare! Show yourself! You were wrong about the Elements. They didn't save Trixie, they petrified her!"

A laugh that sounded like grinding rocks echoed through the courtyard. "I wasn't wrong about what would happen, I just didn't say what it would cleanse her of. Her dark side, or her flesh." A large creature dropped down beside Darkened Sky. It's fur was black with red splashes that moved constantly. It had two sets of wings, bat and pegasus, along with a long horn. Instead of forelegs, it had a dragon's arms. "Now that you've served your purpose, I see no reason to keep you alive." The creature shot a ball of black magic at Darkened Sky, sending him flying for the third time that hour.

His smoldering body landed right in front of Twilight's, blood seeping from hundreds of gashes. He raised his head and looked at her. "Twilight, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize he might have been corrupted before I released him from his prison.Run, warn Luna the Nox has risen. The Coldfire shards must be gathered." Darkened Sky gasped and let his head flopping to the ground. " I love you." His eyes unfocused and dulled to pure black.