Hope and Sombra all walked out of the throne room to the main hallways that lead to the outside of the Empire. The air was cold and chilly. Sombra hadn’t felt actually cold since he was banished to the icy depths long ago. He shivered drawing his cloak over his body. Radiant Hope pressed up against his side trying to keep him as warm as possible. Sombra would never admit it openly, but he was grateful.

He only tolerated the action until he started to move again. Sombra walked out into the city with Radiant Hope, but Diana lingered behind. Sombra took note and turned his head slightly catching sight of the human woman just within his peripheral.

“Something wrong?” He asked.

“Yeah, I have something to take care of in the castle. Let Chrysalis know I’ll be joining the rest of you later, Hope,” Diana said, turning to walk back into the castle.

“Y-you’re not coming?” Hope asked.

Diana stopped drawing her sword and dagger. “Not yet. I have to take care of something.”

“Of course. I’ll let the others know,” Hope bowed.

Diana nodded and walked into the castle. Sombra snorted and walked on with Hope at his side.

“We need to get rid of her,” He said darkly.

“Why?”

“She’s got her own agenda that does not coincide with ours.”

Radiant Hope frowned at Sombra. He ignored Hope.

“She can be trusted Sombra.”

“No she can’t. We must dispose of this, human.”

Radiant Hope was about to say something but stopped when Sombra’s words echoed in her mind. Human. Human. How did he know what Diana was? How did he know about humans? Hope herself thought back to the times she spent learning around the world. She didn’t learn about humans until she went to a land far from the Equestrian lands. A land across the great seas to the east and west. A land barren and full of Ancient wonders, dragons, and many other horrid undead abominations.

“Sombra?”

“What?!” He snapped irritably at Hope.

“I-I just-“

“Out with it filly! I have more important things to do than listen to you babble!” Sombra snapped rearing on Hope making her cringe.

Hope didn’t like this. She adored Sombra. She was his best friend. Then again, best friends didn’t betray each other. She had to say something. Anything.

“Sombra, I’m sorry I turned on you,” She said, her eyes welled up with tears. “Sombra, I’m sorry for betraying you all those years ago. When the two sisters came I never thought they’d try to destroy you! I wanted to stop you from enslaving everyone, but you were too far gone. “

“I am a monster.”

“How can you say that?! You’re not a monster! You’re a champion! A champion of your people!”

“My people? You know nothing about my people, the umbra are monsters just like me,” Sombra declared walking around a corner as a changeling fell before him with a sickening snap and crunch.

Radiant Hope saw the poor black changeling writhing in pain. Its back had clearly been broken as a pool of green blood oozed around him as he choked. Hope acted quickly; she ran up to the injured changeling and used a powerful magical spell. Her horn glowed bright blue and surrounded the changeling in a dark bubble of magical energy. Hope’s cutie mark glowed ten times brighter blinding the changeling even from the confines of the bubble. The poor thing screamed in pain as his spine and shattered body healed itself in a manner of seconds. His bones snapped back into place and he felt his spine growing back together to the point where he could feel his legs again.

His suffering came to an end when he was released from the magical bubble and Radiant Hope nearly collapsed panting heavily. She had dropped the changeling on the floor and was on the verge of passing out having performed her healing spell twice so soon in one day.

Sombra helped up Radiant Hope to her hooves. She smiled up at him and tried to nuzzle him. Sombra felt his cheeks heat up and he instinctively pulled away from Hope making her heart sink. At the coldness he gave her. Yet she remained determined to stay by his side. She helped the fallen changeling to his hooves.

“Thank you. Y-you saved me pony,” The changeling said gratefully.

“Don’t worry little changeling. I know your kind is misunderstood like many others. I won’t fault you for being the way you are,” Hope smiled at the changeling.

“Well, in any case thank you,” The changeling took her hoof and kissed it. “I would have died had you not helped me.”
Hope smiled nodding to the changeling. Sombra snorted and started to walk away. Not wanting to lose him Hope bowed to the changeling and chased after the dark king.

“Sombra, what do you plan to do now that you’re back?”

Sombra got a cruel smile on his lips. The dark energy from his eyes became darker as he came to the center of the Empire where Hopes allies, Lighting Dust, the minotaur Iron Will, Flim and Flam, and the changelings were being gathered up and thrown into crystal cages. Shining Armor was trying to run back to the castle, but Twilight and Starlight were holding him back. Ember and the others were locking up the cages as Chrysalis went on to taunt them saying, “it has already started”. Of course Hope already knew what she meant. Sombra was coming back.

“I plan to take my revenge!” He said turning into a smoky form and charged the Elements of Harmony.
Hope clenched her eyes as she watched Sombra strike down Rainbow Dash and Shining Armor. Sombra then freed Hope’s allies and a long grueling fight ensued. Hope couldn’t stand the sight of the fighting.

She watched as Sombra and his allies fought the Elements and their allies. Shining teamed up with his sister Twilight. A powerful duo if Hope ever saw one. She looked in her satchel where the Crystal Heart was suppose to be, but it was gone. Panic filled her heart as she looked around to see Iron Will fighting off Applejack who had the other satchel probably with it.
She teleported to him and took the satchel from him as Applejack gave a powerful buck to his gut sending him flying across the area into a crystal pillar. Hope ducked away from the angry farm pony and used an oncoming changeling swarm for cover as she slipped away. By now the fight was in Sombra’s favor and the Elements and their allies were falling one after the other until there was only Twilight, Shining Armor, and Starlight Glimmer.

The three unicorns fought valiantly. While Twilight and Starlight fought off the changelings with their powerful magic spells Shining used his shield magic to protect them. Sombra formed before them with Chrysalis at his side ready to fight.

“You’ve lost Princess Twilight! I’ve won this battle!” Chrysalis boasted. “Surrender now and I promise you and your friends a swift death. Especially you, Starlight Glimmer.”

Chrysalis’s words poured with venom at Starlight who lowered her posture to fire a magical blast at any moment. Twilight held up a hoof stopping her student.

“You won’t win Chrysalis! Nor will you Sombra! We will stop you two no matter what it takes and save the Crystal Empire!” Twilight declared.

Shining and Starlight nodded in agreement. Sombra snorted and Chrysalis cackled.

“Oh! You think you can stop us?! Well, try this then!”

Chrysalis fired a green beam of energy at Starlight who used a magical shield to stop the shot from striking her. Twilight retaliated with a blast of her own the struck Chrysalis in the head knocking her back a few paces. Sombra circled around them and fired several short burst shots in rapid succession that overwhelmed the three unicorns striking their bodies and burning their fur and flesh. Collapsing into a pile the three ponies panted and groaned as their bodies ached and burned from their injuries.

Sombra reformed next to Chrysalis who was now cheering over their victory.

“I did it ! I finally beat her! Subjects, take them to the cages and make sure their magic is confined!” She cheered.
Several of her changeling’s drones flew over the fallen ponies and picked them up. Sombra stopped them and placed a spell on them that made their horns spark with dark energy that crystallized over their horns and left them without magic. They were then promptly thrown into the cages with the others and sealed inside while Sombra glared at them and Chrysalis continued to gloat.

“Ha! I’ve finally won! Now we have the Empire! Victory is ours my subjects!”

Chrysalis looked over her changelings who cheered with their Queen, but Sombra had other things in mind.

“Yes it was a good start.”

“A good start?!” Chrysalis roared turning on him and pressing her nose to his with a deadly glare. “We have the Crystal Empire! It’s ours!”

“Not yet it isn’t!” A serene voice called from overhead.

Sombra’s neck snapped up to the sky and he saw them. The two who sealed him away long ago.

“YOU!” He snarled. “I’ve waited so long for this day.”

“Hello Sombra.”

Over them landing on a nearby mound stood Princess Celestia and Luna. The two princesses looked down at Sombra and Chrysalis with contempt in their eyes.

“We received word from our niece Cad-“Luna started to say but was cut off by Chrysalis.

“How did you get here so fast!? Seriously!!”

Sombra stomped his hoof down cracking the ground.

“Enough!” He fired a flame of dark energy at Celestia who met it with a fire beam of her own. “We settle this now Celestia! When we last fought I was young and inexperienced now I am a magical master!”

“The only thing you’re the master of Sombra if vile and hate!”

Just as she spoke her word a light blue beam hit her side and mildly stunned her. Celestia gasped falling down as a small figure stood by Sombra.

Luna called to her, “Sister! What happened!?”

Celestia managed to look back to see Luna fighting off Chrysalis and winning by the looks of it if Chrysalis’s angry strained face had anything to say about it. Celestia then notice the pony at Sombra’s side and immediately recognized her.

Radiant Hope smiled nodding to the Princess. “Hello again Princess.”

“Hope!? But how!? I thought you were lost, and we never found you!”

“It was my own fault the first time Celestia. I can’t let you hurt Sombra again. He’s my best friend.” Hope said trying to appeal to Celestia.

Celestia jumped into the air and shot another jet of flames at Sombra who turned into a dark mist and swirled around the flames. She spiraled of the jet of flames like it was a stairway to Celestia. The white alicorn went wide eyed and dispelled her attack and created a barrier between her and Sombra’s as the dark king reformed point blank range and fired a black beam into her chest.

Celestia screamed loudly and fell to the ground with a deep hole in her chest that went right through her regalia. Luan screamed rushing to her sister’s side.

“Sister! Are you alright!?”

Luna tried to help her sister up but both of them were struck by Sombra with a powerful spell. The two sisters screamed together, their screams echoed as their bodies became stiff, their skin and fur petrified and turned to solid stone.
Twilight and the others gasped calling to the Princesses, but it was too late. The spell was done and the Twin Sisters were encased in solid stone by Sombra’s spell.

*Diana*

Diana was busy looking over Sombra’s journal.

She was looking over it and several other books and scrolls that were about in his study. If there was one thing she wanted was details about the locations of the dark soul. From what she gathered during the age of dark, and even prior, was that the dark soul was an immortal soul. It never faded or died like the souls of the Old Lords of Cinder.

She came across an old legend that told of the Furtive Pygmy, who took the dark soul and birthed the human race from it. At least that’s the shortened version of the story. It was also said the Dark Soul possessed a power. An ancient and primal power to create worlds.

Diana found the works of an old human from long ago named Atrus who spoke about creating worlds with the dark soul. Supposedly he created elaborated worlds that stretched the imagination. Wondrous contraptions filled his worlds and supposedly the people of his worlds were pure and untainted by desire. Ariamis the painted world was where she discovered this tale in books and scrolls left by Atrus himself. That was where Diana’s ambitions changed.
She remembered that day well.

When she returned to the Firelink Shrine Loreane was there waiting for her. Diana had defeated the previous Lord of Cinder. Loreane, known simply as the firekeeper at the time, was waiting for her with a special gift. A spark of eternal flame she had made for her. Diana kept this flame in a small locket around her neck. A constant reminder of what she threw away.

She thought of what she did afterwards. She took Loreane's hand and took her to the Kiln of the First Flame. There she killed the firekeeper and took the First Flame as her own. The flame was fading however. Soon she wouldn’t have it and there was no telling what would come if she didn’t fix everything soon.

The world would fall into darkness again and she would lose her one chance to be rid of the Abyss once and for all. Long ago during the age of darkness Diana consulted an old mage who served Manus Lord of the Dark who spoke of a prophecy that the denizens of the Abyss feared. The end of days.

It was a legend that was said to end the Abyss when the longest age of darkness took place. Diana had seen all the signs the mage perceived. After much consultation she took action. Now however as time spiraled down to the crucial moments she wondered if there was something worth more than she was doing. She felt doubt riding up like a coiled serpent ready to strike at the heart with all its venom. Threatening to take hold of her completely.

She shook her head and pressed a hand against her chest. It no longer beat with a heart's pulse. She lost that the day she took Loreane’s life and became a lord of Cinder. This day wasn’t going to be easy, nor would the next few days. She hoped that Loreane would be alright with her little friends. Despite how she hated Trixie, that azure unicorn had proved time and time again to be resourceful and extremely lucky, according to her scouts.

Not that it mattered. Soon. Soon she’d have the location of the Dark Soul she sought. However, there was a pressing issue Diana had to solve first. She was reading a scroll, ancient and tattered, on the verge of turning to dust it seemed. This scroll had the answer she sought, if only she had a way to translate a part of the scroll. It was written in a language that was all but dead. In the ancient scroll there was one word that kept being referenced, R’yleth. Without context and knowing the meaning of this word the context of everything was lost. Yet, her gut told her this was important. R’yleth. This had to be the clue she was looking for all these years to locate the Dark Soul. Unable to decipher the scroll further, Diana, stored it was in a sealed cylinder container and put it in her satchel so she could study it later.

Since the scroll yielded no results Diana moved onto another problem she had. Supposedly the Dark Soul was guarded by a powerful being. So powerful it could reform the universe around it if it so choose. She needed a way to deal with it or verify if it was real and not just a rumor meant to dissuade adventurers. She opened a journal of Sombra’s and read it.

She had to figure something out.

She needed more information. She looked up everything about R’yleth but in the end she found nothing in Sombra’s collection of tomes, scrolls, books, and even his journals. Apparently he never saw any significance to R’yleth, but even he concluded it would be worth looking into later. He referenced it many times and all of it centered around a location far north in the unknown regions of the winter north of Equestria.

The Neverwinter.

The Neverwinter was massive region of Northern Equestria that was covered in snow and a constant blizzard. It was said to be so cold it could freeze the soul of a windigo solid.

She read over several notes about his trip to the Neverwinter. Then something caught her eye. A journal entry she found where Sombra spoke about a failed expedition to the Neverwinter.

( 1123 CC day 10 of expedition.

I found a large swamp in the heart of the Neverwinter. A city of stone that layered over itself. Ruins within ruins, possibly for many generations covered in ash and soot. The smell of rot and decay is overwhelming to my colleges. The city is massive in of itself, but it was a collection of various types of architecture that possibly spanned over many generations. If I could compare, it was as if every age of Equestria was shoved into a large pile and shoved over the edge of the world to nothingness.

The edge, of the edge.

As i stand before a long lost library I can see the edge of the world where nothing lies beyond. Yet I know this to not be true. We know the planet is round, yet here it seems as if the word was flat. So strange.

1123 cc day 15 of expedition.

My entire expedition team is dead. After scouring the library for days we came up with a vast amount of knowledge, but most of it we couldn’t decipher, mostly because we were attacked by shadow creatures. These, things are swift and deadly and can phase through all matter before us. I’m calling off this expedition and taking what I’ve got with me. I won’t let my friend deaths be for nothing.)

Diana smiled at the small bit of kindness Sombra once displayed. “That’s awfully kind of him. Wonder what happened to him?” She wondered reading on. The next several entries were about Sombra’s escape from the ruins and the creatures he encountered in as much detail as he could. Other than that nothing of value to Diana’s cause. She was about to put the journal away when she noticed a word in the journal she recognized in the ancient language she just read. “R'lyeth”. She gave the journal a long blank look before reading the next entry, which turned out to be what she was looking for.

(1123 CC day 134 of expedition/the return home.

I just returned home. One thing I didn’t have time to write was about my last great discovery. As I fled the ruins of the great city of stone and ash, I came across a great swamp inhabited by what I figured out where humans. Witches who possessed magic and a great mastery of fire based magic. Like Celestia herself sent them as her emissaries. Though their hostility towards me was a dead giveaway that they weren’t.

The attacked me with great prejudice and I fled. Thankfully the “angels” were there. They came out of the sky in bright flashes of light and rained arrows of light from their bodies all around me and the witches. Had this not happened I would most likely be dead now.

While the “angels” fought the witches, I myself was fleeing from one that noticed me. I survived by dumb luck it seems.

Fleeing from this “angel” I wasn't looking where I was going and fell into a deep chasm into an old ruin. Remarkably well preserved I might add. -[Seriously? Is this really Sombra? He sounds so calm and collected in this journal. What changed him?”]- I fell for at least several hundred meters before I fell into a large pile of ash. Even from that height it should have killed me, but I won’t tempt fate. It was here in these ruins, safe from the “angel” that I discovered an ancient language that possibly was the root for Pony Latin! The roots are so similar it was inconceivable!

I took notes, as much as I could, until I was run out by two large batlike beasts of fire. I fled into a building where I was trapped.

For several days I lay there waiting for these beasts to leave, but they were persistent. As time went on I felt an urge inside me grow as the hunger and my sanity went and my fatigue built up. My mind went back to the dark beings I encountered that killed my team. These dark wraith like creatures could alter their very form turning into dark smoky clouds that could fly. Thinking of this and my will to survive I myself transformed into a dark mist and flew through the creatures injuring one and snuffing its fire out. The last thing I remembered was heading towards the opening above where I fell and a soft voice calling to me, and the chiming of a bell, then darkness.

The next thing I remembered was waking up outside the Crystal Empire with all my things I carried, but inside I feel different. Something inside me has changed. I can feel a, craving. Craving for knowledge, to learn what happened to me. What I was.

Nothing about what I know or learned allowed me to do the things I did in the ruins. Yet, I did. Something was different. In my dreams I learned many things that I think I knew before, but long forgot. Now, I need to know. I need to relearn myself. I need to learn about my origins. I need to know about the umbrum.)

Diana’s eyes dilated as she read the last line. She closed the journal in her hand and stormed out of Sombra’s hidden study. Her abyss watcher cape fluttered behind her making papers on the pedestal she stood by fly around her and to the ground.

*Sombra*

Sombra walked around the captured Elements of Harmony looking at Princess Twilight Sparkle and her student.

“You’ve lost, Princess. Now I have you and every threat to my Empire trapped away. Once I dispose of you lot, there will be nothing to stand in my way.” Sombra declared triumphantly.

Queen Chrysalis snickered behind him.

Sombra leaned into the cage and smirked at Twilight, inches from her face, “And when I release the unbrum nothing will stop us.”

Chrysalis cackled. “That’s right! Once we release the umbrum nothing will-Wait the what!?”

Sombra ignored the changeling Queen and turned to leave making one last comment at Twilight, “Rest well Princess. Your end is coming at the hands of the Dark Hand of the Umbrum.”

Twilight glared at Sombra wondering what he meant as a baffled looking Chrysalis gawked at Sombra. “Somba!! SOMBRA!”

“Ugh, what now?” Sombra groaned feeling weak from the battle.

Diana stormed right up to Sombra and with her armored hand delivered a powerful blow to his face that sent the dark king to the ground. Hope screamed and ran to his side trying to comfort Sombra. Blood ran down his face from a nasty cut across his cheek. Sombra growled, his eyes glowed dark red as he rose to face Diana.

The two looked like they were predators ready to fight to the death. However everyone was able to see a deeper anger in Diana, and Chrysalis could feel a deeper set of emotions inside, fear. Absolute fear.

“You can’t release the umbrum, Sombra! You’ll doom this planet!” Diana yelled at the unicorn.

“So?” Sombra asked tilting his head.

His anger was soon replaced by a look of amusement. It was clear to everyone there that he either didn’t comprehend, or he didn’t care.

Hope spoke quickly, “Why not? Why can’t we set them free?” She asked.

“Set them free?” Chrysalis sneered. “The umbrum are evil, vile creatures. They will suck all the emotions of this world leaving only despair and death behind.”

“No! The umbrum are a kind gentle race. They’re simply persecuted for being different from us!” Hope rebutted with them. “I know, I lived with them for hundreds of years.”

“You? You lived with them? For hundreds of years?” Diana asked with a huge amount of skepticism in her voice. “I find that hard to believe.”

Chrysalis then stepped in taking position over Hope. The young unicorn averted her gaze as Chrysalis looked into her eyes. It was unnerving to the unicorn. She tried hard not to look into the changeling's eyes, but a strong hoof forced her to. Chrysalis looked deep into Radiant Hope’s eyes and she could see the truth. It was there a touch of darkness.

“She has been among them.”

Diana looked disturbed. “How can you tell?”

Chrysalis looked up at the human beside her with a dangerous, but also concerned look in her eye. Never before had Diana seen fear in Chrysalis. Understandably so.

“She has the darkness within her doesn’t she?” Diana asked.

Chrysalis nodded. Everyone else looked confused at what was transpiring. Diana sighed drawing her farron greatsword from her back and lugged it over her shoulder till the tip clanked to the ground next to Radiant Hope’s hooves. Sombra cocked a brow looking between the two, Chrysalis took a step back, and Twilight and her captured friends watched. Lighting Dust, Iron Will, and the Flim Flam Brothers, who were now freed, also watched from afar. The feeling in the air was tense. Hope looked at the large blade. It was very worn but well kept. She noticed a small chip near the tip of the blade that looked like it clashed with another blade. Hope followed the length of the blade up to Diana’s hand and then up to her face.

The woman’s long black hair flowed behind her well tanned skin. Hope then became mesmerized with her eye. They were beautiful. Yet, the eye instilled fear into her heart. She watched as Diana then drew her dagger and raised her greatsword with a sad look in her eyes.

“I’m sorry kid. I can’t let you live.” With that said Diana brought the sword around her body. Using the momentum of the swing she brought the hilt overhead leading the blade down and over her towards Hopes head. Hope had only a split second to react. She closed her eyes and looked away instinctively and waited for the pain of death to take her.

A loud clang resonated and no pain came to her. No death. She dared to take one peek and saw a pool of red blood on the ground. She followed a trailed of blood that was flowing to the ground to Sombra who took the blow to his head, but was holding the blade with a magical shield now.

“A foolish error you made today, Lady Diana. Now you die.” Sombra said.

“Not if I have anything to say about it!” A strong voice called from overhead.

A jetstream of fire blew across the path destroying the ground and crystals it hit. A small blue dragon with a scepter in her claws flew over the group and above them.

“It’s Ember!” Spike said pointing at the dragon.

“She’s come back to help us!” Flutterhshy cheered.

Ember smirked at the group of villains tapping her scepter in her open palm.

“Sorry I took so long. Had to make sure I wasn’t captured. Then I had to find help,” Ember said.

“What help?” Sombra asked.

As if to answer his question a pink beam of magical energy struck Chrysalis from the side tearing off one of her wings and hitting Sombra in the side too. Both went down and Diana rolled for cover only to get hit in the leg by another pink beam. The searing pain was enough to make her cry out as she crawled behind a crystal mound.

Everyone turned to see Cadence in all her glory. She was wearing curvy but form fitting pink armor lined with gold and a trojan style helmet that covered her horn as well as most of her head. She had a tall lance and a shield over her sides with an angry glare and several Crystal pony Guards at her side.

“This is your only chance evildoers! Surrender now and you’ll be spared!” Cadence called.

Sombra groaned betting back to his hooves. Diana drank from her estus flask healing her wound almost instantly. Chrysalis managed to crawl over to her for cover while Radiant Hope tried to help Sombra to his hooves. Sombra then chuckled. Hope was sure he’d lost his mind for he then went into a full blow evil laugh.

Cadence frowned. “What’s so funny Sombra? You’re outnumbered even with the changelings! I have Both my aunts guards assembled AND my own! You can’t win! Release the others and surrender!”

Sombra never looked at Cadence. He reached into his cape and pulled out a dark crystal that was filled with dark energy. Diana looked at the crystal and got a cold chill down her spine. She grabbed Chrysalis and managed to get them over to the cages where the Elements of Harmony and the others were being held. As they ducked back Sombra used his magic to fly the crystal towards Ember. The dragon didn’t notice it until it tapped her chest and lodged into her chest.

Ember screamed in pain as she felt her insides burn like it was on fire. Pain was all she felt and the crystal poured its dark energy into her. Ember dropped her scepter and felt her body beginning to change in many unnatural ways. Her bones snapped and shifted as she grew in size, two more wings sprouted from her back with her main ones. The dark energy continued to fill her as her scaled dulled and greyed. Small patches of crystal formed all over her body like boils, tearing through her flesh and scales causing excruciating pain. Her eyes narrowed and her teeth became gnarly as her body become as large as a two story house.

Sombra smiled at his work, while everyone else, including Hope stared at Ember’s new form with fear and pity for the poor thing. Finally after what felt like centuries the pain had come to an end and Ember was no long crying out in pain. Instead the dragon flared her wings and turned to stand by Sombra’s side.

Everyone stared at the deformed dragon. Spike was in tears at the site of Ember as she was. Rarity and Fluttershy were no better off, each being held by Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Starlight took Spike in her arms and patted his back, while Shining Armor looked appalled at Sombra.

“You monster! Does your evil know no bounds!?”

Again Sombra chuckled. “Yes, it does. Ember?”

The dragon looked down slightly.

“Kill them.”

The words rang in Radiant Hope’s ears. ‘Kill them’, he said. Just like that. Hope watched as Ember flared her four wings roaring loud enough to shake the ground. Then with a mighty beat of her wings corrupted Ember flew into the air, a trail of fire breath followed close behind as she did a fly by dragon breath incinerating several guards before they could properly defend themselves. Cadence called for a retreat as they made their way back to the castle with Ember on their tails.

“This isn’t my Sombra anymore,” Radiant Hope said, tears running down her face as Sombra’s cracking filled the entire Empire.

Far above the Empire a dark cloud formed overhead blocking out the sun and filling the streets with a vile smelling purple mist that was nauseating to the senses. Ponies remained inside out of fear of the mist and the ongoing battle outside. The sounds of battle rang throughout the Empire for many days and nights to follow littering the ground with bodies of the dead, as Diana’s undead forces moved into the city.

Author's Note

Almost there folks! Whew! Been one heck of a ride huh? Yeup! So here we are at the Crystal Empire and what the heck is going on? Seems the baddies are having trust issues, and now poor Ember is on a rampage under Sombra’s control. Man oh man, what will the heroines do when they get here?

I’ll try not to leave you all in suspense to long! Already started working on the next chapter, and thanks to Mr. Pankcake800 I have a editor now! Thanks Mr. pancake! Also, due to some formatting issues some paragraphs had to be manually spaced. If you find any please let me or Mr. Pancake know.

Otherwise sit back and enjoy the ride. remember to vote on the last major point! Spare or kill Quelaag.