Chapter 7: The Storm Rises

"I hope the others are alright," Princess Cadence says to herself, pacing about her room. She had been on edge ever since Sunburst left to help Twilight's friends and her husband after Twilight returned them in a comatose state. Cadence sighs heavily, not only due to her physical condition but also because she hates feeling useless in life-and-death situations; being confined to their bedroom only diminishes her sense of worth even further. She looks over at Spike, who had fallen asleep at his sentry position by the door, and chuckles; the princess did not want to bother him, and in any case, she figured he would wake up as soon as the others arrived.

Suddenly, Cadence feels the floor shake similarly to in the ballroom; she topples over and notices shadows moving across the floor and walls to the center of the room, materializing into King Sombra right before her eyes. Instead of feeling frightened, she stands up and glares menacingly at the ancient king, her horn flared up and ready to attack.

"Get out of here!" she shouts to the intruder, "You're no longer welcome here!"

"On the contrary," Sombra says coolly as he walks towards Cadence, "Seeing all these terrified ponies running around makes me feel right at home again."

"Stand back!" Cadence shouts again, "I'll make you pay for what you've done to my subjects!"

"Oh, really?" he mocks, "In your condition, I doubt you could manage a single spell, let alone prevent what you have coming to you." Cadence moves awkwardly around him in her state, causing Sombra to chuckle darkly, "Moving a bit slower than usual, hm? Well then, defeating you should be easier than I thought."

"I can still kick your sorry flank across Equestria," Cadence replies vehemently and shoots a beam of magic at Sombra, whose eyes widen in surprise. Instead of flooring him, however, the spell merely bounces off his breastplate, which makes him cackle evilly; Cadence, on the other hand, buckles slightly under her added efforts.

"Is that it?" he asks mockingly, "Then this will really be easier than I thought!" and fires his own magic at the crystal princess. Cadence barely has time to fling herself to the side before Sombra's magic hits the spot on the floor where she was just standing. As she tries to get back to her hooves, she feels a sharp pain in her abdomen; Oh no, not now! she thinks to herself as Sombra turns towards her again.

"Come on, princess," Sombra growls, "You cannot delay the inevitable; now BEGONE!" he shouts and shoots a beam of dark energy towards her; Cadence flinches and braces for impact.

Instead, a flash of light appears before her and Sombra's magic is sent through the ceiling of the room, resulting in a shockwave that sends Sombra flying across the floor. When he stands back up, he whips his head around to see Starlight Glimmer, encased in her shield spell, standing protectively over Princess Cadence. "YOU! Traitor!" Sombra exclaims in anger, "You will regret this," he adds menacingly.

"I won't regret anything," Starlight says confidently, "You put my friends in danger, you'll have to go through me," and begins shooting a volley of magic at Sombra before he can act; as they pummel Sombra and push him back, Twilight and the crystal rebels barge into the room, causing Spike to wake up.

"Woah, what happened?" he asks nonchalantly, then sees the scene before him in the room, "Holy Celestia, GO STARLIGHT!" he shouts in encouragement, temporarily breaking her concentration. Sombra takes the opportunity to shoot a beam of magic, which connects with Starlight and sends her flying into a wall; he then disappears into the shadows again, making the room grow silent.

"STARLIGHT!" Twilight exclaims, spreading her wings and flying across to Starlight laying in a crumpled heap on the floor. At that moment, the Mane 5, Sunburst, and Shining Armor burst into the room, panting from racing up the stairs.

"Cadence! Are you alright?" Shining Armor calls out, galloping immediately over to his wife.

"I-I'm fine," Cadence stammers as he helps her to her hooves, "Sombra appeared out of nowhere and attacked me; I defended myself as best I could, but it was Starlight who protected me in the end." The Mane 5 look over at Starlight, who begins to stir after her encounter with Sombra, and all at once their doubts about her start to dissipate.

"Oh my, are you okay Starlight?" Fluttershy asks and flies over to her and Twilight, concerned for her well-being.

"I-I think so," Starlight says weakly, "Ooh, that hit took a lot out of me, though," she adds as she winces in discomfort.

"We're terribly sorry for how we've treated you, darling," Rarity admits, bowing her head in respect, "I didn't believe you could have truly changed your heart, but you certainly proved us wrong." The Mane 5 murmur and nod their heads in agreement, which makes Starlight smile gratefully. As Twilight and Fluttershy tend to their fallen friend, the crystal rebels catch the others up on what happened since Twilight and Starlight left the library.

Suddeny, Cadence let's out a yelp and a moan; "What is it, honey?" Shining Armor asks.

"With all this activity. . .ooh. .I-I think it's time," Cadence groans, "The baby's coming!"

"Oh, Celestia, we need to get to the hospital immediately!" Shining Armor exclaims.

"Then let's go-" Starlight begins to say, but stumbles a little as she tries to stand.

"You shouldn't do more than you have to," Fluttershy advises, "You've already done so much to help; let us take it from here."

"Yeah, it's kinda what we do best," Rainbow Dash brags, "We'll make sure Sombra doesn't get anywhere near you two," she directs at Starlight and Cadence.

"We'll help, too," Crescent Star speaks up, to which his fellow crystal ponies agree. As Cadence lets out another painful moan, everypony quickens their pace and makes their way to the royal chariots. Shining Armor quickly arranges teams of guardsponies to pull three chariots: one carrying him, Cadence, and the crystal rebels; another for Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Spike; and another for Twilight, Fluttershy, Sunburst, and Starlight.

"Twilight, wait! I need to tell you something," Starlight says as Fluttershy and Rarity help her into one of the carriages.

"What is it?" Twilight asks urgently.

"The crystal ponies," she says, "They're the only ones who can stop Sombra!"