Kindness and the Heart of Shadow

Chapters

The League of Villains
Hostage Situation
Fluttershy in the Dark
Enemy Unseen
Chaos
Kindness
Assignments
Flimsy Mortal
Grogar in His Quarters
A Council of Friendship
The Takeover Begins
Decay
News from Pony Express
Friendship in Practice
A Proposal
The Artifacts
Vignettes
Royal Summit
The Nightmare Recurs
Desperation
The Return
Eleventh Hour
The Heart of Shadow
Battle for Equestria
The Final Stand
Aftermath
Life Goes On
Shadows

The League of Villains

Author's Note

This AU departs from MLP canon after the premiere episodes of season 9. If any clarification on the differences between the AU and canon is desired, please read or comment on this post. Be warned that it may contain minor spoilers for events later in this story, though!

The League of Villains

“Stand back! It seems I have another resurrection to perform.” Grogar drew sigils in the dirt as Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow obeyed. A golden bubble grew out of the ground to encompass the symbols, large enough for a pony to stand inside.

“What is--” a flash of energy knocked Cozy Glow into Tirek’s shoulder before she could finish her question. The centaur swatted her away as the bubble filled with curling black smoke. Grogar looked on, frowning.

A glowing pair of eyes opened within the smoke. “Crystalssss….”

“Well, hi there, Sombra! Welcome back!”

“King Sombra!” The encapsulated shadow hissed, whirling to face the pink filly. A pause. Then, “Why have you brought me back again? Ha! You need me after all, do you, Grogar? Of course my powers are indispensable to your plan to conquer Equestria!”

“I do not need you; I could merely make use of you if you will agree to cooperate.”

“If you say so,” chuckled the shadow, and it solidified into a smirking gray unicorn.

“It is you who needs me, Sombra, or have you forgotten who has resurrected you twice now? You have proven that you cannot defeat the ponies on your own, but if you insist on mocking me I will return you to the aether and demonstrate to these other expendable second-rate villains just how much I do not rely on any one of you!”

Somewhere, a single drop of water freed itself from a stalactite and the plink of its landing echoed through the lair.

“Join us, Sombra! We could use another pony on this team! You and I could be best-pony-villain buddies!”

At that prospect, the King blasted the impervious bubble prison with magic, bucked and pushed and struggled to no avail.

“My offer to grant you rule over a portion of Equestria in exchange for your promise of loyalty still stands,” snorted the goat. Sombra shot a threatening glance at Cozy Glow over his shoulder before squaring himself into a dignified, kingly stance.

“I accept.”

“Since you have already appeared to the ponies, Sombra, you have volunteered yourself as the face of our operations for the time being.” Grogar stalked around the table where his questionable allies reclined. “It will be to our advantage to have our league go undetected as such for as long as possible.”

“A most agreeable suggestion, O Grogar – punish the delinquent by making him do all of our dirty work!” Tirek sneered.

“Or Chrysalis, disguised as Sombra!” In response, the Queen gave Cozy Glow a whack that sent the filly tumbling across the table.

Sombra caught Cozy Glow in his magic and proceeded to toss her away to the edge of the room. “I have a suggestion! A plan for our first move against the pony throne,” he declared.

“You forget who is in charge,” Grogar leaned into Sombra’s face and got a frown in response.

“Nevertheless, I believe you will find my suggestion most advantageous, and I will even agree to carry it out for you.”

“Out with it then, if you insist on telling us!”

“It may have been Twilight and her friends that last defeated me, but upon reflection I have realized that they were only able to do so with the aid of Discord. His power appeared to match my own as long as he wasn’t distracted, and for this reason I think we would do well to ensure that he takes no role in the defense of Equestria. We must eliminate him from the conflict to come.”

“Ha! You would take down Discord? You said so yourself that he is as powerful as you are.” Chrysalis chuckled.

“He is not! But he has revealed his weakness. I distracted Discord enough to injure him by aiming an attack at the pony he declared to be his favorite. If we kidnap--”

“If you kidnap,” Tirek interrupted.

“If I kidnap that pony and hold her hostage, Discord will agree to stay out of our way in order to protect her!”

“Hmm.” The goat paced around to the head of the table where his Seeing Eye sat and conjured in it imagery from Sombra’s most recent defeat. “I like where this is going. The chaos lord does appear to be sincere in his declaration of attachment. You kidnap the pony and appear before them all holding her as a hostage. In exchange for her safety, Discord promises not to intervene, or if he doesn’t promise, we kill the pony right away. In either case, Twilight and her friends will be missing an element and likely unable to perform their most powerful magic.”

“Not to mention how discouraged they’ll be to see King Sombra back again, after they already defeated him twice! Just imagine their faces!” Tirek erupted into uproarious laughter, to which Cozy Glow added her own shrieking giggles.

“QUIET!” Grogar stomped. “I have made up my mind. Sombra, you will kidnap the pony tonight. She lives in this cottage,” a small house abuzz with animal life appeared in the Seeing Eye. “And you can enter and exit through the Everfree Forest to remain unseen. Chrysalis! I will use your magic of disguise to fortify this lair with a cloak that should keep our activities undetected. Tirek and Cozy Glow, just stay out of my way until I know enough to issue more orders. Are we all understood?”

“Oh, yes, Grogar, of course we are, but, um,” Cozy Glow seated herself in the center of the table. “Just one, teensy little question. What are we going to do with the hostage once we have her? She’ll need to be kept somewhere out of earshot of all our masterful planning, and of course she’s just a mortal pony like me, so she’ll need to be taken care of in order to be kept alive you see, and...”

“Very well,” spat the goat. “You shall supply her needs, since you as a mortal pony will understand them best, and I have a room in the crypts beneath this fortress that can be altered to hold the prisoner.”

“Golly, that’s just great! Except I am not having anything to do with that pony! She was one of the teachers at the friendship school, and have you seen those big, sappy eyes of hers? Why, she was almost as good as me at guilt-tripping! I just hate to be challenged!” Steam rolled out of the filly’s ears. “So you see, I really can’t be trusted with the care of that pony.”

Grogar lowered his face into his cloven hoof and pushed out a heavy sigh.

Chrysalis stood up at her seat and pointed across the table at Sombra. “Why not make him deal with the prisoner? Taking a hostage was his idea after all!” Predicting an argument, Tirek grabbed himself a handful of recently-conjured popcorn.

“What?” Sombra took his turn to stand. “I only agreed to capture the pony! I will not put myself at her beck and call to attend to her frivolous mortal needs!”

“I’ve had enough of this bickering!” Grogar stomped a second time. “Sombra, you will be solely in charge of the prisoner, both her care and her interrogation. After all, it may be best if not even she knows of our league. Now,” he stood, “prepare yourself for your assignment; carry it out tonight and do not fail me. Chrysalis, come, we will erect our defense.”

The sound of hoofsteps retreated in two directions down the corridor and quiet fell over the table where Tirek and Cozy Glow still sat.

“So,” the filly began, “shall we—”

“No.” Tirek’s chair scraped the stone floor as he stood and soon there was another set of retreating hoofsteps.

“Aw, horsefeathers.”

Hostage Situation

“Goodnight, Angel bunny.” Fluttershy watched the white rabbit curl up under the blanket in his little bed, and then she reached over and turned off the lamp. Soon both creatures had settled into their own rhythmic breathing, peacefully asleep.

Inhale.

Thousands of stars twinkling musically above the little cottage.

Exhale.

The full moon blinked, and a chill blew in through the closed window.

Inhale.

A frigid wisp of shadow drew itself slowly over her cheek. Fluttershy bolted upright.

“Who’s--” but the wisp snapped over her mouth and more tentacles of darkness wrapped themselves around her wings and legs.

In the center of the shadow hovering at the foot of her bed, in the very darkest part, a pair of glowing eyes opened. “Come with me...”

Fangs sprouted from Angel bunny’s mouth. The moon was blood red and the sky blacker than it had ever been. Twilight and Rarity and Applejack and Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash all tumbled into a gaping chasm and the earth swallowed them. Every flower in her yard blackened under a different-colored flame. “Your garden is looking lovely today,” Discord said, and then faded into nonexistence. And all the world faded into nonexistence, and thousands of glowing eyes opened in the darkness, and they all trained on Fluttershy and cast a spotlight on her, and they all laughed…

Fluttershy started wailing.

“Get up already!” Sombra kicked the pony hard in the ribs. Fluttershy awoke to that winded, leaving it to her fearful gaze to plead her attacker for mercy. The corners of her eyes burned. “Now hold still,” and Sombra levitated a gag over her mouth and a chain around her hooves.

Fluttershy saw the dark room they were in, wherever it was, shift and transform. In a moment, it became the throne room in Twilight’s castle, and she and Sombra were on the map-table while five of the six thrones were occupied by their owners.

“I’ve looked everywhere, I tell you! She’s gonnnnuuuuhhhhhh….” Rainbow Dash’s mouth fell agape, as did everypony else’s around the table. Sombra took stock of their faces and broke out in menacing laughter. Fluttershy could only dart her eyes around in fear and confusion.

Twilight was the first to regain her senses. “I don’t know how you’re back again, Sombra, but we’ve defeated you twice already and we can do it again! Girls?” The five all joined hooves in a circle around the shadow King. He said nothing, but his eyes spoke amusement. Twilight reached for Fluttershy’s chained hoof, but when they should have made contact and initiated the rainbow, Twilight’s hoof instead passed right through Fluttershy’s.

“What?”

After another hearty laugh, Sombra finally spoke. “That’s King Sombra. You think I’m a fool, do you? Obviously, I’m more powerful than you reckoned. I and my hostage here are merely a magical projection, transmitted from a location you cannot possibly discover!”

Twilight naturally began trying to track the magical trail of the projection. “What do you want with her?” she demanded.

Rather than answering, Sombra returned coolly, “Summon Discord.” Fluttershy’s wide eyes grew wider when Discord then appeared in a flash of blinding light without any actual summons.

“Now there will be no magical disturbances in the throne room on my watch! Where’s Fluttershy?”

“MMMPH!”

Discord whipped around and a cage descended over Sombra. After slithering on top of it, Discord reached down to remove Fluttershy’s gag. “What is this?” He demanded when his paw went right through her.

“Discord,” The projected Sombra stepped easily through the bars of the cage. “I came to speak with you.”

Discord curled himself around the Fluttershy projection. “Well, hurry it up and give her back.”

“Hmm… No. You see, Chaos Lord, I’m going to take over Equestria again, and you’ve demonstrated to me that you are too much of a threat to be allowed a chance to join in the game. So! Here’s our deal: You promise not to intervene at all in the defense of Equestria against me, and I promise not to kill this pony.”

“MMM!” Fluttershy shook her head vigorously.

“Quiet, you!” Magically yanking Fluttershy’s bonds, Sombra sent her tumbling onto her chin, her projected image passing right through Discord’s body.

But the tears and the pain in Fluttershy’s bloodshot eyes were very real. Discord roared.

“I WILL FIND YOU! I WILL PUNISH YOU!”

“Hmph. Try,” Sombra examined a hoof nonchalantly, “and I’ll kill her.”

“DAAAHHH!” burst Twilight, drenched in sweat, “I don’t know how he’s done it but I can’t find them! Discord, I can’t find them!” The Princess’s voice rose in panic, and Applejack hopped over and laid a calming hoof on her shoulder, glaring daggers at Sombra.

Fluttershy was weeping, quietly, so as not to attract her oppressor’s notice.

Tears squeezed out of Discord’s eyes too. Angry tears. Desperate tears. “Release her!” He hurtled a ray of magic at Sombra.

It passed right through the projection, of course, and Sombra just held Discord’s gaze with a blank expression. Purple flames appeared at the corner of his eyes, then at the corner of Fluttershy’s. The captive pony flopped to the ground and began to writhe in agony.

“LEAVE HER ALONE!” Discord’s ears were pinned backward, all his teeth bared at the enemy. He flung a spray of little needles that flashed like sparklers when they hit Sombra’s projection.

“Discord, don’t--!” Twilight cried, too late. Sombra flinched and sneezed reflexively; one of the needles had struck him physically in the nose.

“HA!” cracked Discord. “I’ve got you!”

But before he could step through the dimensional rip he conjured, a magical noose tightened around Fluttershy’s neck and lifted her body partway off the ground. The pegasus, eyes white and flaming, struggled and flailed as her body began to fall limp.

“You mustn’t move an inch, draconequus!” Sombra bellowed. “Make your promise now, and she will live!”

Discord wrung his hands in desperation, his eyes bulged in fear. “You promise you won’t hurt her!”

The ponies were all stiff in their thrones except for Rarity, who fainted before she could even summon her fainting chaise. The King looked as serene as could be with the dangling, dying pony beside him.

“I will make no promise of the kind; only that she will live.”

“You can’t… There must… I...” Discord’s fighting stance drooped into defeat. “I will not interfere.”

“Good.” The noose evaporated and Fluttershy’s body crumpled to the ground. She was unconscious but her chest heaved in huge, shaky breaths. “See that you keep your end of the deal, and I will keep mine. This little pony may be of use to me, after all...” Sombra made a show of stroking Fluttershy’s unconscious face, locked eyes with Discord one last time, and then the projection vanished and the map-table was empty again.

“Discord,” Twilight’s voice was shaking, “I’m so sorry.”

“Aw, Sugarcube...”

“This is totally not cool!”

Discord met nopony’s eyes. He merely looked up at Fluttershy’s empty throne with silent tears streaming down his face and neck, choked in a lungful of heavy air, and blinked right out of Equestria.

Fluttershy in the Dark

Eyes opened in the dark. Left and right, up and down, no, no light anywhere.

“Is… Anycreature there?” She could feel in the almost-echo of her voice that she was in a room, a small one, without much in the way of furnishings. Each of her four hooves in turn made a soft tap on the stone floor that sounded big in the silence as she raised herself to a stand.

“Ow!” And just as quickly, she was kneeling. Her side was throbbing, and taking too large a breath made her esophagus burn. Fluttershy sat and took stock of herself.

Indistinct aches and soreness all over, from lying for a long time on a hard stone floor.

A bruise on her left side, still fresh and painful even to touch.

Searing sores along the outside corner of each eye.

A distinct, deep bruise, almost a cut but at least a dent, over the whole length of her throat.

Just as Fluttershy began to recall the source of her injuries, a barely-perceptible breeze caught her attention, almost like the room itself had drawn in a breath.

Light appeared with a gust of cold air. For a moment it blinded Fluttershy and she flinched in its glow, but then she recognized the shadow it cast.

Thunk. The door shut, leaving Fluttershy alone in a small room with Sombra. He hung his magic lamp on a hook in the wall.

“Hello, my little pony. Bow to your King and captor.”

Fluttershy stood and bristled, growling “What do you want with me?”

“Oh, nothing. And...” He used his magic to pull Fluttershy’s face close to his. “Many things.” The dim lamp illuminated little but his devilish eyes and his devilish grin.

“Eep!”

“First,” Sombra dropped his magical hold, “matters of business. I am warning you of what you probably already realized—that you will almost certainly never see any of your friends ever again—”

Fluttershy gasped.

“—As they will need to be destroyed when Equestria is once again under my command. Cooperate with me, however, and you out of all of them will be allowed to live.”

She glared at him, eyes glittering in hate.

“Oh, and don’t even think about Discord. Our little display worked like a charm. Discord vanished without a trace after we left, and not the slightest peep or magical hiccup has been heard out of him in the days since. It seems you’ve been abandoned!” This time, Sombra crouched to bring his own face down to Fluttershy’s. “Maybe he never really loved you after all.”

“Discord never—!” Sombra’s smirk silenced her.

“Well, you’ll have lots of quiet time alone to think about that. Now,” he stood up again, “I understand you are a mortal and have certain needs to fill in order to be kept alive. You are of much more use to me living, so do enlighten me. What do you need to live?”

Fluttershy did not appreciate the condescension in her captor’s air. She merely glared.

“Tell me or don’t. I will personally see to it that you live whether you want to or not. But I don’t expect whatever necessities I decide to give you will be to your taste.” Sombra lifted the lamp and started toward the door.

“Water,” she stated. Sombra paused his exit. “And food, like fruits and vegetables.”

“Water, fruits and vegetables,” Sombra repeated, turning back to face Fluttershy again. “Is that all?”

“No. I will need sleep, more sleep than I can get lying on this stone floor! I need a bed, or a cushion at the very least. And companionship. Mortals like myself tend to go mad without it.” In her eyes she said, and I wouldn’t be of any use to you mad either, now would I?

“Well!” Sombra faced Fluttershy fully as he hung the lamp on the wall again. “So much for the business; now for the pleasure! I think I can fill those last two needs easily enough.” He looked down his snout at his prisoner and ran his tongue over his fangs.

“Oh my.” Fluttershy shrank and shuffled backwards until her back made contact with a wall, and she almost didn’t notice the pain in her throat as her breathing sped up.

“I will provide your companionship, and your companion will bring you a bed as often as he brings himself!” And at that, an enormous bed appeared. It took up half the room. Fluttershy’s eyes just kept growing wider and wider as she mashed her aching body further into the wall.

“Please no, please no, please no,” she whispered, squeezing shut her eyes.

And then she felt her body whirling and her eyes flung back open in time to see Sombra catch her out of his magical grip with a front hoof and slam her down onto the bed underneath him.

“My, what a tiny, sweet morsel you are!” He gave Fluttershy’s cheek a relished lick.

It already hurt to breathe, and Sombra’s massive frame crushing her up to her chest made it even worse! Fluttershy felt like she was about to explode and it was a nightmare—it had to be!—with how powerless and afraid she felt. Except that hot, poison tongue on her face was all too real.

As Sombra angled his head down to get at her neck, Fluttershy quickly lifted her front hooves with what mobility she had and placed them on his shoulders. Then she began to rub.

“Oh, King Sombra,” she cooed, “you’re so very tense! If you’re going to enjoy yourself, you really ought to let me help loosen your poor stiff muscles!”

Sombra leveled his eyes on hers, a question in his face.

“I’m an excellent masseuse,” she added, daring a coy smile.

“...Very well.” The crushing weight lifted itself and Fluttershy quietly took as huge a breath as she comfortably could. “I will experience your massage.”

“Great!” Fluttershy sat herself on the edge of the bed. “First, it would be best if you removed all that armor, oh my King.” She bowed her head for good measure. Sombra raised a skeptical eyebrow but levitated away his armor and adornments. He didn’t look any smaller wearing nothing but his own fur, Fluttershy noted. “And then, lie down in the middle of the bed, right about here...” She gently pushed on his back and shoulders to arrange him lying on his stomach on the bed.

Then she began to work. Her hooves were well-trained after so many years of helping Hairy the bear loosen up after hibernation. Sombra’s tight shoulders were no match for Fluttershy. Soon, the King heaved a heavy sigh of bliss.

When his breathing began to steady into a deep rhythm, Fluttershy saw her chance. She sang a lullaby, and gradually lightened her pressure on Sombra’s shoulders. A few quiet moments passed and Fluttershy was certain her tormentor was just about asleep.

Until his head shot up. Sombra stood and swatted Fluttershy hard onto the bed in one quick motion.

“What spell are you working, wretch?” He gritted through his teeth.

“Oh, no spell, my King!” Fluttershy appeased, not even bothering to lift herself back up. “You were just so relaxed, you started falling asleep!”

“Sleep? I am immortal. I do not need sleep. You were casting a spell!”

“No, really! It looked like your body wanted to sleep, so I was just singing you a lullaby, the same one I sing to all my animals to help them fall asleep. Maybe you don’t need to sleep, but I bet it could still be useful to you! When is the last time you allowed yourself a good night’s rest?”

Sombra’s face softened in thought, and to Fluttershy he looked rather groggy in the dim lamplight.

“I don’t seem to recall.”

“Oh, then you must try it! I bet you’ll wake up feeling refreshed, stronger and more focused, even! Do let me help you fall asleep. —My King.” She bowed her head again.

“Hmm.” Sombra made a show of locking up the door with his magic and teleporting away the keys. “If sleep does not have the effect you describe, then I relax my way next time.” The King covered her up with his body again for emphasis.

“Oh, it’ll work! It’ll work!” Fluttershy exclaimed through his fur, trying to convince herself as much as him. Sombra wordlessly got off and repositioned himself on the bed. All the kindness she could muster for this cruel stallion, Fluttershy willed into her massaging hooves and her singing voice.

At length, Sombra fell deeply asleep. Fluttershy gazed longingly down at the bed beneath her, and then moved to find herself a spot on the floor. Her shifting weight caused Sombra to roll over, and his arm caught her and pinned her to the bed again. The helpless pony found herself trapped against the Shadow King’s stomach; she tried to shimmy free but her bruised side was down against the bed and any kind of movement exacerbated its pain.

Oh well, at least it’s kind of comfortable if I stay still. Fluttershy settled in for a fearful and fitful sleep.

She awoke many times in the night, but with no windows or clocks or birdsong, Fluttershy could never tell how much time had passed. She couldn’t even be sure that it was actually night. All that mattered to her was that every time her consciousness surfaced, she was still pinned under Sombra in one way or another. This beast of a stallion was just a naturally smothering force, apparently.

Eventually, he too awoke and banished the last of Fluttershy’s slumber by stretching like a cat on top of her, crushing her again under his bowing chest and front legs. Then he rose and lowered himself from the bed.

“Well, how do you feel?” Fluttershy sat up at last and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

“I feel… Refreshed. Stronger. More focused.” A pause, and his face hardened. “How did you know what effect sleep would have on me? I knew you were casting a spell!” Magic encased Fluttershy and flung her forcefully into the stone wall. She fell to the floor with a dull whump.

“I wasn’t, please King Sombra, I wasn’t!” She squeaked when she’d caught her breath again. “It’s just my talent. I’m good at taking care of animals, and of course I’m good at taking care of ponies too!” She fought back tears as she went on. “I could feel how badly your body wanted that sleep – all I did was help it do its own work!” Sombra stalked over, his eyes hard on the mare’s face. “Please, my King.”

“I will consider this, and perhaps I may come to you for sleep again. Until then,” the bed vanished and a bowl each of mixed fruits and water appeared in its place, “these will suit your other needs. I’ll return… oh, eventually. Now, a little gift to remember me by.” Sombra lowered his face to Fluttershy’s again, and she shut her eyes, too much in pain to escape and unable to sink any lower into the floor.

There was a nibble on her left ear. Fluttershy tensed and forced her eyes shut tighter.

Then there was a screaming pain, and a steaming warmth falling down her head and shoulders.

A clicking of hooves across the bare floor. A clinking and rustling of garments.

“I might as well leave this with you.” The softest tap of a lamp placed onto a hook. And a thump and click-click as the door closed and locked.

At last Fluttershy opened her eyes. The room was empty again, save for the magic lamp and the two bowls. She raised a hoof to her throbbing ear and found a cascade of blood streaming from it. No bandages, no scrap of cloth around. Fluttershy gently pressed a thick lock from her tail up to the wound to soak up the blood until it could close.

Indistinct aches and soreness all over.

A bruise on her left side.

Searing sores along the outside corner of each eye.

A bruise over the whole length of her throat.

New bruises on her right side, her knees and elbows.

And a puncture, clear through the side of her left ear.

Fluttershy shivered.

Enemy Unseen

The door creaked.

“Hiya, Twilight.”

“Oh, hi Pinkie.” Twilight lifted her book right back up in front of her face. Then she realized her friend was frowning and lowered it again. “What’s wrong?”

“I wish Princess Celestia would let us go help too.” She draped her whole front half over the map-table and laid her chin down between her hooves. Twilight set her book down completely and walked over to commiserate.

“I know what you mean. I can’t stand staying here in this cushy castle while ponies are out there being scorched alive, but it was hard enough to convince the Princess to let just Applejack go.”

“Do...do you think they’re really getting scorched scorched?” There was so much sadness in Pinkie’s quivering pout that some of it spilled over into Twilight and she found herself almost mimicking the expression.

“Well, no, probably not scorched scorched. All their lands and homes and belongings, maybe, but the ponies of Appleloosa are most likely going to be fine. If anyponies have the discipline and bravery to put out a wildfire that big, it’s the Royal Guard. I just wish the Princesses hadn’t sent so many of them...”

Pinkie Pie lifted her head into an inquisitive tilt. “What do you mean? Wouldn’t more ponies be able to put out the fire more quickly?”

“Yes, I suppose, but, well… As tragic as this fire is, I don’t think it should have all our attention right now. I want the ponies of Appleloosa safe as much as anypony else, but don’t you think the circumstances are just a little… off?”

Now the moping mare shot up to her hooves. “You mean you think this fire has something to do with Sombra?”

“I—”

“You think he made this fire! As a distraction!” Pinkie Pie jumped up onto the table and started pacing its diameter. “He’s breaking up the Royal Guard, destroying a huge portion of Equestria’s crops, and weakening its civilians all in one fell swoop! Next he’ll pull another dirty trick just like that one—or bigger!—and the Royal Guard will have to split up again to help the victims, and then he’ll do it again, and again, and finally he’ll storm Canterlot, and nopony will be left there to defend it! GASP! Twilight, this is bad! We have to do something!” She ended her speech taking Twilight by the shoulders and shaking her back and forth.

“I am!” Twilight broke herself free of Pinkie Pie’s grip. “I wish I were over there putting out the fire instead of the Royal Guard, but as long as the Princesses command I be hidden away in the safety of the castle, I’m going to be doing research and planning Equestria’s defense! Did you know that this fire is fully one and a half orders of magnitude worse than Appleloosa’s last record fire? It had to have been started or amplified by some very powerful magic, I’m sure of it. And it started just three days after Sombra stole Fluttershy and announced his return—that can’t be coincidence. And he’s back a third time, so soon and apparently unharmed after the most powerful burst of friendship magic we’ve ever created!”

Pinkie Pie was nearly crying.

“And what worries me most is that this offensive is nothing like anything Sombra’s ever done before! Look!” Twilight levitated the history book she had been reading and flipped its pages past Pinkie Pie’s face faster than anypony except Pinkie and herself could have read them.

“You mean somepony else could be attacking Equestria too?”

“Pinkie, what if Chrysalis is back?”

Pinkie Pie’s eyes grew huge as saucers.

“Thank you all for getting here so quickly. And thank you Applejack for letting me teleport you back for this.”

“You’re welcome, Twilight, but I hope ya get this little meetin’ over with right quick too. I gotta get back out there!” The farm pony smelled strongly of ash, and Twilight regarded the dark circles under her eyes with compassion. She knew her friend hadn’t slept properly and wouldn’t until everything in Appleloosa was under control.

“It just doesn’t feel right to have a team meeting without the whole team here! I sure hope Fluttershy is alright.” Rarity thought back to the last sight she had of her friend and shivered.

“We’re here to talk about Fluttershy too, but first we need to make a plan.”

“Oh boy,” interjected Rainbow Dash.

“Equestria is in danger, Rainbow! I did some thinking. It looks like the fire in Appleloosa was intentional, and it was caused by very powerful magic. Maybe Sombra’s but he’s never been known to do any kind of magic like that. There’s a chance we could actually be dealing with Chrysalis, posing as Sombra to lead us down the wrong track!”

“Good heavens!” Rarity stared. Rainbow Dash and Applejack looked at each other, mouths agape. Pinkie Pie just stared down at the table.

“I hate to say it, but I don’t think the fire in Appleloosa should be the Royal Guard’s—or our—top priority right now. I’m going to try to convince the Princesses—”

“Now, hold up a minute! I got family out there! Just a few more days and we should have that fire under control!” Applejack gave Twilight a penetrating glare.

“You’re right. I can’t ask you to stop working on the fire. But just know that there’s a lot at stake, and if this fire was started by magic, it could be extended by magic too.”

The glare changed into a horrified stare. “Ya’ll had better find that villain quick.”

“Starlight and I are working on that. We think whoever’s behind all this will keep Fluttershy pretty close so she stays within range of their concealment spell, so if we find her, we’ll find our villain too. As the Element of Kindness, Fluttershy has an inherently strong magical signature, and it has resonance with all of ours, which makes it easier still to detect. Their concealment spell must be awfully strong since we haven’t found the slightest suggestion of Fluttershy’s presence anywhere yet, but Starlight proposed we could somehow try to tune the resonance of our magical frequencies in such a manner that Fluttershy’s will precipitate out—”

“Wasn’t that one of Discord’s specialties? Sensing magical disturbances? Have you tried getting him to help?”

“But Pinkie, he pledged not to get involved or Fluttershy could get hurt!” Rarity’s eyes added or killed.

“Yeah, but how much does pointing us in the right direction actually count as helping?” Rainbow Dash contributed. “I mean, how would our villain ever even know?”

“Girls!” Twilight silenced them with a flash of her horn. “Starlight and I already thought of that. But we can’t find Discord either.”

“Ya mean he’s up and vanished too? At a time like this?”

“As far as we can tell… Yes.”

“So you’re telling me,” Rainbow Dash squinted and pointed her hoof at Twilight, “we’re facing a really powerful unknown villain, with no sixth Element bearer to perform friendship magic, and no all-powerful Chaos Lord to rescue Equestria if we fail?”

“… I need to get in touch with the Princesses right away.”

Chaos

Discord alone could get in or out. Not even another creature with dimension-hopping powers could access him here. They wouldn’t even know where to look, for he was nowhere. Not in the pony dimension, not in his home dimension, not in any of the thousands of worlds he’d explored, and not even in the liminal space that acted as the hallway between all those dimensions. Discord was nowhere but his own pocket.

He could shift and shape this pocket dimension in any way he pleased, and right now, it was simply a swirling background of dim colors, devoid of any solid forms or gravitational center. Discord melted himself into the colors and floated and flowed with them as he contemplated his profound solitude.

Coming here to escape angry, order-loving oppressors had always been a solace to Discord. He could create any chaos he desired, however extreme, without consequence. He could become the chaos; not just the physical embodiment thereof. It would recharge him, and fulfill him, and inspire him to go out into real worlds again to share his finely-honed craft with the unappreciative masses.

But this time he came here, the first time in a very long time by pony reckoning, slipping into unbridled chaos just made Discord feel more empty.

What had happened? Why wasn’t chaos enough anymore?

The chaos knew the answer, much as its embodied personality tried to forget. Beside the dull colors that were Discord in this sublimely smudgy sea arose a few bright ones that did not belong. Sunlight yellow. Wild rose pink. Just a splash of glittering teal.

Discord had no eyes to close against the apparition.

And he knew what it meant. It was the one creature—the one creature in the untold millennia of Discord’s life—that gave chaos a chance and enjoyed it. Yes, she truly appreciated it, and therefore him, for exactly what it was. She was unprecedented.

And worse, her acceptance taught him that it was possible. Possible to be appreciated. Possible for chaos to complement harmony, without either degrading because of the other’s presence. Possible to belong.

Fluttershy had made herself more than just a friend to chaos incarnate. She had made herself precious to him. Necessary. Indeed, her kindness unwittingly changed the nature of the chaos. Discord could feel it in him, his essence remaining as it ever was but flowing in new, powerful directions, and he did not fight the change. It was good for chaos to have a context. He was part of a whole now; he mattered, in more of a way than a mere nuisance ever could. That’s how he needed her. His friend, his context.

His savior from eternal isolation.

And what did he do with this precious creature? He delighted in her attention. He sought out her kindness. He learned everything she had to teach. He lo… well.

For how much he needed her, for how necessary she had become to his new mode of existence, Discord could not fathom that Fluttershy could ever be taken from him. Not by anything short of her own aging, which Discord wasn’t sure even he could reverse. But anything else, he was sure he could protect her from anything else. He was so sure…

The dim colors grew dimmer and dimmer until there was only darkness unbounded. Discord did not resume his physical form; he let himself exist as pure darkness.

What could be done? Discord had known the day would come when his Fluttershy, his context, his meaning, would be gone. But he was supposed to have time to prepare. Time to learn how to exist in this new way without her. To be independent again, but still connected to the whole and in awesome chaotic harmony with it. She was supposed to teach him how.

Then Discord in the blackness became a nebula of horrible mahogany-red, pulsing and pulsing. Something had to be done. But what could be done?

Nothing. Nothing without risking her life.

Or his.

Kindness

The water bowl was already half empty, and Fluttershy felt completely empty. She didn’t know how long it had been since Sombra had come to her, since she was tortured in front of her friends, since she was stolen away to this awful room, since just about anything. And just as bad, she didn’t know how long it would be before Sombra or anycreature at all might come to check on her. She bent down to the water bowl and took the tiniest sip, really only a lick.

The food was a problem too. Fluttershy had asked for fruits and she got them, but fruits are hard to ration out over indefinite time. She had already eaten all the strawberries and bananas, since those would expire first. The apples and especially the oranges she hoped to keep as long as she could. There were a total of five pieces of fruit left, all softening but still edible, and she would have tried to eat just one every other day if she had any way of knowing when each day ended and the next began.

Fluttershy also wanted to wash her ear. The puncture wound from Sombra’s fang felt crusty and wasn’t bleeding anymore, but she couldn’t tell without seeing it whether its intense itchiness was because it was healing or because it was infected. She feared the latter, but she couldn’t spare the water to clean away the detritus and try to inspect it.

“Rarity, I hope you’ll join me for a long spa session after all this is over. If you want to, that is.” She could picture her friend standing there, and she cried because she knew it was just her imagination. “Oh girls, where are you?”

Fluttershy laid herself down and tried to ignore the pain of her bruises.

A small, dark room from which only Sombra, apparently, could enter or exit. Totally alone, no friends or creatures to care for anywhere around. Nothing that made her who she was. Now she was merely a weakened, broken body that was nothing more than a liability to herself and her friends.

“Why hadn’t I been more careful? If Sombra’s attacking, they’re not going to have time to think about rescuing me. They’re going to be sad and worried but stuck doing more important things, and I could have prevented all this if I’d just taken some precautions!”

She shut her eyes and tried to sleep—there was nothing else to do—but it just kept echoing from wall to wall in that little room. Alone, alone, alone. She couldn’t sleep. Alone. She couldn’t think. Alone. She couldn’t breathe. Alone. Alone.

…

There had been tears in his eyes. Just before Sombra’s abuse had knocked her unconscious, Fluttershy saw the tears in Discord’s eyes. She’d never seen him cry like that before.

“Maybe he never really loved you after all.”

Then why was he crying? But if he did, then why wasn’t he here already, or at least trying to contact her? Was Sombra lying when he said Discord hadn’t been detected in Equestria since then? Did he really give up on Equestria and abandon it? Abandon her?

It was Discord who had taught her to appreciate the unexpected, to be excited for the impossible made possible. As she had gotten to know him and grow fond of his antics, she had felt herself changing. It was still the same kindness, to be sure, but thanks to Discord’s influence, now it had begun to operate differently. Where kindness before was meek, now it was bold, and confident, and brave.

But Fluttershy wasn’t feeling very brave right then. She was feeling weary, and thirsty, and hungry, and alone. For hoofsteps or a squeak or a drip or anything at all, she listened, but all she could hear was her own forlorn heartbeat.

Fluttershy drew in a shaky breath and fell asleep thinking how much she was craving a glass of chocolate milk.

Assignments

“Is it my turn for an assignment yet? I’m feeling underutilized! Sitting around here all day is almost as boring as Tartarus!”

“You wouldn’t be so bored if you’d actually talk to me sometimes! I’ve made up all sorts of games for us to play, but now that we’ve been freed, you won’t have anything to do with me anymore!”

“I never wanted anything to do with you in the first place! We were just imprisoned next to each other and I had no other choice!”

“Are you two quite finished?” Grogar interjected. Tirek and Cozy Glow immediately shut their mouths and nodded. “Good. Yes, Tirek, I do have an assignment for you. Our fire in Appleloosa had an excellent start, but the ponies have begun to get a handle on it.” As he spoke, imagery appeared in the Seeing Eye under his hooves to illustrate his points. “We need that distraction in place for as long as possible, so I want you to see to it that the weather stays hot, dry, and windy—the better to encourage the conflagration. You will go and steal the weather-controlling magic of some pegasi. Don’t take too many from one place, and don’t take any from the region around Appleloosa lest you arouse suspicion.”

“As you command, Grogar.” Tirek bowed. When I have the magic I require, I will conceal myself near Appleloosa and maintain the weather you describe.”

“And take Cozy Glow with you,” continued the goat. “She should be able to lure ponies out so you don’t have to risk exposing yourself.”

“Whoopie!” Responded one.

“Ugh,” responded the other. “But before we depart, perhaps I could start right here. A little snack for the journey? King Sombra, your little pegasus prisoner won’t be needing her magic, now will she?”

Sombra’s vacant eyes suddenly flicked to attention. “As a matter of fact—”

“You will not take the prisoner’s magic,” interrupted Grogar. “If the Draconequus ever managed to find out, he may consider it a breach of contract and our job will become much more difficult. Furthermore, I expect the pony will be of more use to our study if she retained her magic.”

“Very well.” Tirek bowed again.

“Sombra, here is your task. You will question the prisoner. I need to know more about Twilight’s friendship magic. What are the extents of the magic’s ability? What is required to obtain, initiate, and operate this magic? How can Twilight and her friends be prevented from using it?”

“I will interrogate the prisoner,” Sombra nodded.

“Good. Are there any questions before we adjourn?”

“I have one,” grumbled Chrysalis, who had spent the meeting in silence, patiently awaiting her own assignment. “What am I to do?”

“If you really cannot handle yourself without something to do,” Grogar rolled his eyes, and Chrysalis scowled. “Practice your impersonation of Sombra. We will soon be expanding our operations, and I may need at least two of him in order to act without exposing our league.”

King Sombra laughed. “I don’t believe a vile creature like you could ever truly capture my elegant turn of phrase or my dashing good looks!”

“Hmph!”

“You all have your assignments,” Grogar interjected before the argument could take off. “Now get out of my sight!”

Flimsy Mortal

The bowls were empty, and had been for longer than she knew how to track. Fluttershy lay on her side on the cold floor, not fully conscious but unable to drift into merciful sleep. When she heard the door open—a sound at last!—she hardly had the energy to twist her head around to look.

“Prisoner! I am in need of information,” Sombra announced. Fluttershy stared with glassy eyes. “Up, you lazy worm! Stand so I can address you!”

Fluttershy wasn’t afraid of his anger. There was little more he could do to her, she thought, that would noticeably increase her already great suffering. Nonetheless, it was something to do. Her stiff, starving body worked and pushed until Fluttershy was just barely balanced in a drooping sit. Sombra watched her struggle wordlessly, his frown deepening but his eyes softening.

“Your bowls are empty, I see.” With his magic he refilled the water bowl. Fluttershy turned toward it and shifted her weight as if to begin walking across the room for a drink, but instead her front legs gave out and she slumped back onto the floor.

“Flimsy mortals,” Sombra grumbled. Seeing that Fluttershy was too weak to reach the water, the shadow King lifted her in his magic, teleported the bed back into the room, sat on it, and then sat Fluttershy right in front of him so he could support her in the upright position. Then he levitated over the bowl of water and tilted it up to her lips. She drank greedily and in no time had emptied the bowl. Meanwhile, Sombra held and watched her, and his eyes lit up with an idea.

“There now, that should do for the moment. See? I want to take care of you, little pony, but I can only do that if you cooperate. Just answer a few questions for me, and I’ll give you more water, and food too. And I’ll come back more often to make sure you never run all the way out. Does that sound good?”

“Why should I believe you?” Fluttershy croaked.

Sombra shrugged. “I don’t think you have any other choice, really.”

“They’ll come for me. I just have to… keep waiting...”

“Ha!” Sombra twisted Fluttershy around and held her by the shoulders so he could look her in the face. “Don’t you think if they really cared, they’d have come already? It seems they have much more important things to do than come rescue such a helpless creature as yourself.”

Fluttershy was about to exclaim “That’s not true!” but when she opened her mouth, her stomach heaved and expelled the water she’d drunk all over the bed and the King.

Sombra sat dripping and speechless for a moment as Fluttershy collapsed on her side in the filth.

“...Let’s get a bath, and then we’ll talk.”

The bed and Sombra’s soiled apparel vanished, and a large tub appeared in the room. First Sombra stepped in and magically poured water over himself as a rinse. Then he stepped out, put Fluttershy in the tub, and did the same to her. Once all the nasty water had drained away, it refilled with clean, steaming hot water. Sombra stepped back in with Fluttershy.

“There,” Sombra purred, lathering his hooves with soap. “Isn’t this nice?” He began rubbing the soap into Fluttershy’s fur, starting at her neck and working his way down her shoulders and back. Fluttershy merely shut her eyes and stood still, willing the ordeal to be over.

When he started getting too close to her hindquarters, Fluttershy suddenly allowed her legs to buckle and plunged herself under the water. Immediately, she rubbed at her left ear, cleaning away all the fermenting blood and pus from the puncture wound while she had the chance. Sombra soon lifted her back up, and in response she gave her whole body a shake, flinging water into the stallion’s face.

“Heh, fiesty.” He chuckled. “Even when you’re half-dead. Come now. I will feed you, and you will answer questions.” Fluttershy’s sunken eyes grew wide at the word “feed”. Sombra rinsed and toweled them both off and then brought back the now-clean bed.

Fluttershy sat on it and looked down at herself. It was such a relief to be clean at last! Her coat was a shade darker than it should have been, and every one of her ribs were visible. Then Sombra took her and settled her in his lap again, levitating an apple tart before her face.

It withdrew when she reached toward it.

“Not yet, little mare. I need you to talk to me. Let’s start with this: What did you do for a living before I brought you here?”

Surely there could be no harm in answering such a question. The tart was still hanging before her face and Fluttershy’s mouth was watering.

“I rehabilitate animals, and I am a teacher at Twilight’s school.”

“Ah, very interesting.” The tart floated up to Fluttershy’s mouth and she took a large bite before it retreated again. “You and this Twilight, you were always together in your little group. Tell me, what are all the others’ names?”

Fluttershy did not answer this time. Sombra waited and then answered himself.

“Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie Pie… You see, I already know. Care to continue?”

“Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Spike, and Starlight.”

“Good, good.” Sombra gave Fluttershy another bite. “And remind me, which one are you?”

“Fluttershy.”

“Fluttershy,” he repeated. “And I am King Sombra. Here.” The rest of the apple tart floated into Fluttershy’s mouth, and then a glass of water appeared before her. She took it and guzzled it down.

“Now that you’re feeling a little better, Fluttershy, let’s move to some harder questions.” A bowl of hot carrot soufflé now appeared out of the mare’s reach. “When you and your friends recently attacked me in the Crystal Empire, you used the power of some gemstones, which I then destroyed. What were the names of those stones?”

“The Elements of Harmony.” A bite of soufflé rewarded her answer.

“And six of you each wielded an element. What was the name of your element?”

“Kindness.” Another bite.

“Fluttershy, Element of Kindness, I noticed that after I destroyed your elements, you and your friends were still able to perform the same magic. How can that be?”

Now Fluttershy broke out in a sweat. While she would never want to keep friendship or its many benefits from anycreature, she knew if she taught Sombra about it now, when he was trying to take over Equestria again, he’d find some way to weaponize it like Cozy Glow did.

“Weren’t you paying attention to us last time we used our magic against you? If you didn’t listen then, I’m not about to tell you now!” Fluttershy crossed her hooves.

“I see.” The soufflé teleported away. “I do so wish to take care of you, Fluttershy, but I can only do so if you cooperate.”

Fluttershy merely shook her head. Sombra drew himself up to his full height on the bed and levitated his prisoner up before his face.

“If I can’t reward you for your obedience, then I’m afraid I must punish you for your obstinance. Either way, I will get my answers! Do you change your mind?”

Fluttershy trembled within Sombra’s magical grip, but after a moment, she meekly shook her head. Purple flames immediately burst from her eyes and Sombra’s as he whirled her into nightmarish fantasy.

The elements flew to the ground and shattered. Then, one by one, each of her friends stepped forward and shattered too. Fluttershy was alone and the glowing eyes all opened to laugh at her again. And as they laughed, Fluttershy felt herself growing bigger and bigger, and fangs grew in her mouth and the feathers fell from her wings, leaving behind terrible, membranous bat wings. When she reached full bat pony form, she couldn’t stop herself from rampaging about and capturing the owner of each set of mocking eyes in her teeth, and she would bleed her prey into husks and leave them barely alive to suffer. Her friends were gone and in her grief she had transformed into the embodiment of cruelty.

Aching and weak, Fluttershy moaned as she regained consciousness. She found herself lying in a corner of the room, bruised all over from thrashing about against the stone. Horror filled her as she floated upward in Sombra’s magical grip again. He was still standing on the bed, a look of amusement on his face.

“Ready for round two? Or will you answer my question now? How did you and your friends use your magic again after I destroyed the source of your power?”

Fluttershy shuddered and panted in fear. And the corners of her eyes were still burning, unbearably burning, from the flames of Sombra’s possession. “It’s friendship!” She burst into tears. “It wasn’t the elements that made the magic; it was our bond as friends!”

“Good pony,” Sombra cooed, setting her back on the bed. “Now, I wish to experience sleep again. Do as you did before, and if it works, I will leave you food and water again when I wake.” He laid himself flat on his stomach and Fluttershy moved over to begin massaging out his muscles, her tears still freely flowing. After a while, when her weeping stopped and Sombra had grown still, Fluttershy sang her lullaby and soon fell asleep herself.

Grogar in His Quarters

“It is time we made our move. The ponies are already growing suspicious after our prolonged fires in Appleloosa and floods in New Horseleans… Yes, and once we get started, we will need to move quickly and smoothly if we are to succeed...” Grogar approached the wall and turned to make another lap across the room. “Those four minions each have their own useful abilities to be sure, but sometimes I think none of them has ever heard of efficiency! I wonder just how clumsily they’re each handling their assignments...” Here the goat ceased his pacing and walked up to his Seeing Eye.

First, he located Cozy Glow and watched with fascination as she mauled a young rabbit, leaving it alive but immobile. “Now isn’t the time to be pursuing hobbies, little filly,” Grogar grumbled. But then the pony flew off to a nearby village and hailed the first pegasus she saw. Internally revoking his reproach, Grogar watched on as Cozy Glow showed the stranger the injured animal she’d “found”, while Tirek crept up in the shadows. The centaur consumed the pegasus magic without ever revealing himself, and the innocent filly put on an expression of horror.

—Golly, sir, are you alright? What happened?—

—I-I don’t know...—

—Well, you look awful! Let’s get you to a hospital right away!—

The gruesome image of the abandoned animal remained in the Seeing Eye as the characters left the stage and Grogar pondered what he saw. “Those two work surprisingly well together… Once Tirek has established the weather I need with his new pegasus magic, I will need him to collect much more other magics. There are a few remote Equestrian villages the two of them could go harvest, as long as no messengers escape. Meanwhile, I and the others will bolster our strengths with a few magical artifacts...”

Grogar panned out the view in the Seeing Eye until he located a few objects of particular interest. Most of them were protected and closely guarded in some way or another. “Not a problem for that shadow pony, if he will stoop to common thievery. I wonder how he’s handling the hostage.”

The goat turned his Eye to the dungeon room and found that oh, yes, Sombra was handling the hostage, alright. He held her in his lap, feeding her bites of delicacies. “Imbecile!” exclaimed the onlooker.

—What were the names of those stones?—

—The Elements of Harmony.—

“Hmph, at least he hasn’t forgotten his task. I shall have to talk with that stallion about his interest in that mare, though...”

Grogar turned to pace again. “While Sombra is procuring our artifacts—assuming I can get that foal to behave himself!—I will need to procure an army. Chrysalis will take pleasure in assisting.” He returned to the Seeing Eye a final time and conjured in it the image of Chrysalis in her quarters.

—Of course I can handle myself, that insolent goat! ...Insolent, powerful goat...— The changeling paused and considered the log she was holding.

—You’re right. It is in our best interest to do his bidding.— She transformed herself into King Sombra, complete with armor, flowing cape, and… log. The King raised his log above his head in triumph.

—Ha! That pony thought he would be a challenge, but I say he is a mere archetype! Proud, egotistical, vain, why, nothing could be easier! ME! MY KINGDOM, MY RULE! ME, ME, ME! YOU CANNOT DEFEAT ME!— The King sniffled in fear after the last exclamation, and then broke down and cried. Chrysalis transformed back into herself, wheezing with laughter.

—What a joke he is! Ha! He makes such a show of himself and then whines like a foal when he’s defeated!— She interrupted herself with more giggling, then became Sombra again.

—What are you talking about? I’m the most powerful being in Equestria! Nopony can stand in my way. Not even you!— And the King hurled his log full force into the wall for emphasis. Chrysalis promptly resumed her original form.

—No, no, I’m sorry!— She picked up her log and cradled it tenderly, cooing.

—Nopony is ever going to hurt you. Nopony...—

The Seeing Eye faded to black as Grogar gazed at it in a stupor.

“I have my work cut out for me.”

A Council of Friendship

“I’m sure she knows, darling.”

Twilight was pacing around the map-table. “If Celestia knows Equestria is in danger, then why won’t she do anything? Anything besides splitting up the army, our only defense, to chase after one natural disaster—one unnatural natural disaster—after another! First the fires in Appleloosa, now the floods in New Horseleans, tomorrow the supervolcano eruption in Timbucktu, or something!”

“Um, because she never helps? At least, not with anything that actually matters.” Rainbow Dash took a seat between Rarity and Twilight and gave her twilighting friend an affectionate nudge. “Look, I’m sure the Princesses are putting together a flawless defense as we speak, and they’re just acting ignorant of the danger to keep the enemy off their tracks. I mean, Celestia has had how many thousands of years of experience defending Equestria, right?”

Twilight sighed. “You’re right, Rainbow. The Princesses’ response shouldn’t be my main concern right now, anyway. No; now, it’s time we got rid of you!” Twilight nudged her friend back.

“What, me?” Rainbow Dash gawked, and Twilight nodded. “What are you talking about?”

“I’ll explain once the others arrive.”

The door opened as if on cue and Starlight and a sooty Applejack came in, taking their seats at the map-table.

“Well, that was fast. Alright girls, we’re here because Starlight and I may have come up with some solutions. I put together a little study on the mechanics of the magic of friendship to try to discern some of its nuances. In short, I think it may be possible to generate the same caliber of magical bursts with any number of participating ponies, regardless of the absence of one from our group!” Twilight surveyed the faces of her friends in excitement. They all stared blankly.

“That’s super-duper, Twilight! I didn’t understand a single word you said!” Pinkie Pie chirped.

“I think what she means is,” Applejack’s brow furrowed with the effort of translation. “We can still do our friendship magic even without Fluttershy. Ain’t that right, Twilight?”

“That—yes, that’s exactly it.” There was a general murmur of relief among the group before Rainbow Dash piped up.

“So… What’s that got to do with getting rid of me, exactly?”

“It doesn’t have to do with getting rid of you, exactly. There were two things I wanted to talk to everypony about today, and that was the other thing. Here.” Twilight handed Rainbow Dash a scroll. “This will tell you everything you need to know about doing friendship magic with fewer friends. I’m going to explain that to everypony else after you’ve left.”

“All this talk of me leaving! Why am I leaving?”

“You’re leaving to help us find Fluttershy.”

“Oh, yeah! I’m totally up for some bad guy plot-whippin’!” Rainbow Dash flew up and threw a few punches as a mock warm-up.

“That’s...not what I need you to be doing, actually.” The alicorn gestured for her friend to return to her seat. “Starlight?”

The named unicorn stepped forward and everypony gave her their attention. “Okay, so Twilight and I did some research in the library, and I managed to put together a spell. Fluttershy and all of you are each bearers of the Elements of Harmony, which obviously still exist even though the gems that focused them are gone. Since you all have that magical bond, my spell can open a channel between you via that bond. It basically means I can use all of you to establish a distance and direction to your missing member. Correlating this information with the map-table should give us a pretty good idea of where Fluttershy is being held.”

“But,” Twilight added, “we need to make sure the information Starlight’s spell yields is accurate. Rainbow Dash, that’s where you come in. I need you to fly as fast as you can to some far-off place. Tomorrow, Starlight will use her spell on the rest of us to find you, and the day after, you fly back and confirm where you went.”

“All alone, at a time like this?” Rarity’s eyes were wide with worry.

“Hey, I can handle myself!”

“I know you can,” assured Twilight. “That’s much of the reason I’m giving this task to you. But please try to go to a city, somewhere you won’t be truly alone, just in case.”

“You got it! Bye!”

“Rainbow, wait!” Twilight caught her enthusiastic friend in her magic. “First, don’t forget your scroll. You can read it while you’re waiting around tomorrow.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“And second, I need to cast a cloaking spell on you. It’s not the same one our enemy is using on Fluttershy, but at least we know if Starlight’s location spell can find you even when you’re cloaked, it’s more likely to be able to find Fluttershy, too.” Rainbow Dash nodded, and Twilight powered her horn.

“There. You may not feel too hidden, but the spell I just cast only disguises your magical presence, not your physical presence. Trust me when I say that from a magical standpoint, you’re now totally invisible.”

“Cool!” With a few quick goodbyes, Rainbow Dash was off.

“I sure hope she stays out of trouble,” Applejack worried when her friend was gone.

“It’s a risk we need to take, and, knowing Rainbow, I don’t think the risk is all that great. Now, back to the matter of friendship magic.”

“LET’S MAKE SOME RAINBOWS!” Pinkie Pie bounced in her seat. “What do we need to do, Twilight?”

“The magic of friendship isn’t exclusive to our group of friends, so we know it’s not the group, the specific combination of all six of us, that works the magic. It’s the bond itself, and as long as there are at least two ponies present with the same kind of bond, they’ll be able to work some kind of friendship magic.”

“Okay, okay, and?” Pinkie Pie was still bouncing.

“If we want to produce strong friendship magic, like we did with Fluttershy present last time we defeated—well, thought we defeated—King Sombra, we need all six elements of friendship represented among us. That means we each need to embody every element at the same time.”

“But Twilight," Rarity protested, "wouldn’t it still work if we just got another pony to stand in for Fluttershy as kindness?”

“Only if that other pony were as good a friend with all of us as Fluttershy is.”

“Not it,” Starlight exclaimed. “I know I’m not a friendship student anymore, but I don’t think I’ve had enough practice yet to embody kindness as fully as Fluttershy does...”

Twilight resumed. “Essentially, Rarity, your suggestion works in theory, but I don’t think it’s going to be practical for us at the moment, and we can’t waste any time.”

“But now we gotta wait for Rainbow to get back anyway.” Applejack made it her business to be the voice of reason.

“I was hoping we could try it now, actually. The four of us will have to compensate for both Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash’s absences, but if we can get at least something to happen, it will be a good sign that my theories about friendship magic have merit.”

“I’m down! Let’s do it! Let’s make some rainbows!” Now Pinkie Pie jumped onto the map-table and resumed her bouncing.

“Why don’t you guys take it outside?” Starlight suggested. “You know, in case something does happen?”

The four of them marched out to a grassy spot far enough from any structure to avoid posing a threat. Starlight watched from the safety of a window and took notes for Twilight. Nothing happened when the friends joined hooves, but a faintly-glowing dome of magic encased them when Twilight began reciting the names of all six elements, and the others closed their eyes in concentration. When the alicorn powered her horn, the glow intensified, the four began to rise, and their manes started flowing. Rainbow-colored sparks emanated from the points of contact between their hooves.

“It’s working!” Twilight’s eyes glowed white.

“I just don’t know how Fluttershy does it!” Rarity’s eyes looked normal. “I’m trying so hard to channel her kindness, but I can’t stop thinking about her captor, and I just can’t get myself to feel kind to such a vile creature!”

“And I sure don’t feel like laughin’ when my loyalty to my family in Appleloosa is callin’ me back out to the fires!”

“Hang in there, girls! I think we can—” Just then the glowing sphere appeared to pop and the floating ponies fell back to the ground.

“I’m sorry, Twilight,” Rarity dusted herself off and didn’t look up.

“I didn’t realize how difficult it would be to embody all of ya’ll’s elements! Honesty comes so naturally to me, I didn’t think the other elements would feel any different.”

Pinkie Pie was frowning. “We didn’t get to make any rainbows. Twilight, can we try that again? Pretty please?”

Twilight looked around, but her friends looked as deflated as she felt. “No, Pinkie, not today. Maybe it will be easier when Rainbow gets back. For now, I think we’ve at least proven that we can get something to happen.”

“Until we try that again, I think I’m going to go and practice all of the elements of friendship as much as I can. Like Applejack said, none but my own element comes very easily.”

“Good idea, Rarity. Just remember, we don’t know who our enemy is or when they’ll strike next. We need to be prepared to work our magic at any moment. The fate of Equestria may depend on it.”

The Takeover Begins

Author's Note

A slightly shorter update for you all today, but it had to be for the flow of the story.

Also, I just realized that I had mentioned in this chapter a power plant when ponies in this AU still don't have electricity. I changed it to a Magic Logistics Plant because I guess ponies living in cities have their homes lit by government-provided magical energy. Yeah, that sounds decent. Worldbuilding!

The Takeover Begins

Chrysalis lurked in the shadows as Grogar uttered indiscernable incantations to himself. He was totally concentrated. She was totally irate. Finally, the changeling Queen gave up waiting.

“This is unacceptable! I demand my share!”

Grogar grunted in frustration and met her eyes impatiently. Chrysalis continued.

“You send Lord Tirek off to feed as his heart desires and increase his power, but you would have me starve! If I must capture an entire city of ponies for you, I deserve to feed on at least a portion of their love! I must be strong too!”

Grogar sighed. “You realize this city of ponies is the beginning of our army, don’t you? We need them to have strength as well! If you must, drain a very small portion of love from each pony you capture, without leaving them weakened. Capture enough ponies and you can still have your feast that way. Will you agree?”

“It is not my accustomed way of behaving toward my prey, but it will do.”

“Good. Now leave me be until my powers are prepared.” Grogar finished casting the spell on himself that Chrysalis had interrupted, then produced his Seeing Eye and peered into it. Cozy Glow and Tirek were following orders exactly. The town they raided looked exceedingly remote, consisting of only two parallel rows of buildings and a house set apart from them, and Grogar watched as Tirek consumed the magic of apparently the last pony there. The centaur tossed the dull half-corpse into a pile inside a cellar and Cozy Glow shut the door and locked it from the outside.

After their conversation the previous day, Grogar wondered whether Sombra was cooperating with his orders as well as the filly and centaur team was. He had to admit that Sombra’s intention of seducing the hostage may serve the interrogation process well, provided the Shadow King also did not end up seduced himself. Grogar doubted the stallion’s fortitude. Nevertheless, he agreed to allow Sombra to take his pleasure in the mare as a token of trust if Sombra would agree to commit to serving the aims of the league.

Here was the test. Grogar located Sombra in the Seeing Eye. It was no easy task, for Sombra could conceal himself well in his shadow form. Finally, watching the long locked box tucked deep into the corner of a dark cellar, Grogar saw the shadows creep closer until the box was engulfed in darkness. Then the shadow retreated, and the box was no longer where it had been. Grogar followed the shadow out and into the wilds beneath Canterlot, where it solidified into Sombra, holding the box. He examined the lock as if to open it and claim the contents as his own, and the observing goat prepared to teleport himself to the scene and punish the traitor.

Instead, Sombra encased the whole box in his magic and teleported it away. Then he teleported himself. Grogar found the locked box safely in his private quarters, and Sombra in the prisoner’s cell.

“Fair enough,” muttered the goat. “Chrysalis! Let us begin.” Chrysalis came before her leader, transforming herself into Sombra as she stepped toward the center of the floor.

“With pleasure.”

Sombra stood atop city hall and cackled maniacally, the laughter amplified by magic to echo across all of Whinnyapolis. Sickly orange oblique light cast by the setting sun lit the surrounding skyscrapers and set a dramatic stage for the attacker. “Prepare yourselves for a new reign! Bow before your King!”

Huge black crystals sprung from the inside of the hall and pierced through the walls, causing the building to crumble inward somewhat. The roof cracked and sloped but left Sombra on a high perch where he continued to overlook the city. Back in the abandoned warehouse at the edge of town where the duo had hidden themselves, Grogar watched from a window.

Now Sombra looked toward the city Magic Logistics Plant. His horn powered with a green aura. At the same time, Grogar’s collar glowed yellow. Jagged crystals now sliced through the plant, and all the lights abruptly shut off across the landscape. Ponies ran out into the streets in a panic.

Everywhere Sombra looked, the black crystals grew and destroyed. Grogar almost struggled to keep up with the enthusiasm, for of course it was he creating the crystals, using the same dark magic for which the true Sombra was so well known. As fires broke out, streets flooded, and buildings toppled, the helpless citizens scrambled across rubble toward the edges of town, stumbling and injuring themselves in the failing light of dusk.

The local police were hard after the invader, but they couldn’t seem to catch him. Every time they began to draw near, Sombra would vanish and reappear elsewhere in the city.

They never noticed the humble pigeon fleeing from wherever Sombra had last been seen. When enough destruction had been wrought and before most of the city’s inhabitants had found their way out, the pigeon flew to the outskirts and in a flash of green flame returned again to the form of King Sombra. He sprinted along the perimeter of downtown, sped along by magic and raising tall dark crystals as a wall on his way, which were enchanted to prevent unicorn teleportation in or out. Once the city was enclosed, Sombra returned to the warehouse.

Grogar looked again into his Seeing Eye, summoned the image of Cozy Glow, and encased the orb in his magic. “Cozy Glow!” He shouted. The filly startled and looked around for the source of the sudden voice. “Have you and Tirek finished with that last town?” She nodded. “Okay, I’m bringing you here for the other half of your assignment now.”

In a moment, Cozy Glow appeared in the warehouse.

“You know what to do?”

“Yes sir, Grogar, sir!” She saluted.

“Then be off! Keep away from the pegasi in the skies; I’m about to round them up!”

Cozy Glow saluted a second time and whizzed off. Grogar teleported himself to the roof of the warehouse and Chrysalis stayed inside, transforming back into her native form. From the roof, Grogar caught pegasi in his magic as they attempted to fly over the crystal walls. He drew them inward and flung them into the large storage chamber of the warehouse. Inside, Chrysalis was quickly encasing all in slimy green capsules, where they would be unconscious and immobile. The pegasi were soon enough all secured and Grogar proceeded to scour the streets for the unicorns and earth ponies as well. The process took until the end of the next day, but finally the population of Whinnyapolis was piled in a huge putrid heap of changeling goo that filled the warehouse. Chrysalis delicately took her fill of love as promised, and Grogar summoned the true Sombra to perform his nightmare brainwashing on each and every victim. They had captured the first company of their army.

Cozy Glow arrived at the center of the town and immediately cried loudly for help. Ponies turned in the streets or emerged from their houses to see a gasping filly with mane in total disarray and smudges of ash dyeing her coat gray. She easily won their attention.

“It’s Sombra, it’s Sombra! He’s taken Whinnyapolis! He’s taken my parents!” A murmur of fear broke from the crowd Cozy Glow had amassed. “Oh, won’t anypony do anything to stop him? He’s going for Foaledo next, and then Baltimare! I heard him say it!” She panted for a moment and then mumbled, still loudly enough for the front rows of ponies to hear “Or, or was it Chicoltgo, and then Fillydelphia? Oooh!”

A middle-aged stallion with silver in his mane came up to Cozy Glow. “Now calm down, little filly. We’ll call in the big authorities for help. Come on, let’s get you somewhere nice and comfy to stay.”

“Oh, no sir, no thank you sir! I’ve got to keep going! My brother's still out there and I want to make sure he made it alright! Bye!” Off she went again, before anypony could protest. As one, the villagers all looked toward the northern horizon, where they could sometimes see the Whinnyapolis skyline if it was a very clear day. Now, though, they watched a thick plume of smoke rise from where the city should have been.

Decay

Author's Note

Advance warning: This chapter contains abuse and manipulation. Things will get better for Fluttershy in the end, but I've tagged the story "Dark" for a reason. Please skip this chapter if there is any concern.

Decay

His arrival was always relief and terror. A warm greeting, a drink of water, precious moments of companionship—of a sort—to make the endless hours pass faster. Sombra brought all these things. But he also brought questions, dread, nightmares, and greedy, greedy eyes. Sometimes he brought food. Always he brought fear.

Fluttershy felt the telltale spark before the flames burst from the corners of her eyes. The magic did not knock her unconscious into dreams this time, instead inducing hallucinations while she was still painfully awake and aware. The lamp seemed to turn a searing red. The walls all tilted and bent inward. Chunks of the floor fell away and left Fluttershy stranded on a wobbling pillar of stone, surrounded by a chasm the black depths of which she could not fathom. She couldn’t fly; her wing feathers had been falling out from severe malnourishment over the last days, so she was left to lean back and forth to keep her last piece of floor in balance. It didn’t help that her icy blood made her legs numb. It didn’t help that her rapid, shallow breaths made her dizzy. It didn’t help that the dim red light seemed to just barely illuminate the contours of horrible, grotesque monsters writhing around her pillar far, far below…

Just as the edges of her vision grew dark and her body tumbled sideways, the door opened and Sombra’s face appeared.

Fluttershy felt the impact of her body on the ground and opened her foggy eyes. The floor was back. The walls were straight. The light was white.

“Hello, my dear little subject! Did I catch you in a nap?” His smile was soft and sweet and his eyes wore sincerity.

Fluttershy could see right through this mask of innocence. He asked questions as usual but she gave him nothing. And he gave her nothing, to eat or drink.

Or to protect her from the floor falling away under her hooves again.

Until her captor’s next return, Fluttershy spent her days pacing the perimeter of the room, gingerly testing the stability of every square inch of floor and barely catching the odd hour or two of sleep whenever her body could hold up her consciousness no longer.

“Fluttershy!” The door burst open and the King marched in. “You’ve had nothing to eat or drink in a little while. I thought I’d bring you something nice to refresh your spirit. The bed appeared in the room with what looked like a picnic blanket laid over the duvet. Sombra levitated in a wicker basket. Once he’d sat himself on the bed, he motioned for Fluttershy to sit across from him. She obeyed.

“Let’s start you with this.” A glass of water appeared. Fluttershy drank deeply until it was all gone as Sombra laid out the contents of his basket between them. “Strawberries, cucumber sandwiches, macaroons, and best of all...” A porcelain cup and saucer floated out of the basket and landed in front of each of them, and last came a tea kettle, already steaming. “Ginseng,” Sombra smiled.

Fluttershy froze, even as her mouth watered and her stomach howled. Her eyes were fixed on the cucumber sandwiches. Somewhere deep in her mind, she could feel an important memory stirring. But what was it?

“Something wrong?” Sombra gazed into her magenta eyes with concern. He made no mention of the faint wisps of purple flame streaming across her cheeks.

“No, I...” Fluttershy’s thought perished when a snap sounded in her ears. She glanced around frantically but saw no source for the noise. That sounded just like…

Before her mind could produce the name “Discord”, the haggard pony froze again, this time staring at the wall. It was oozing blood, gobs of it, thick and dark. A single broad fang gleamed in a corner of the room and became stained in the gruesome drizzle.

“Fluttershy. Look at me.”

In a stupor, she obeyed. Her mind was blank and screaming at her with a fervor she couldn’t understand. Then she saw Sombra, sleek mane flowing as gracefully as wisps of smoke, ruby eyes wide with care, a halo of clear, brilliant air surrounding his image and rendering invisible the bleeding walls behind it. Her stupor became peace, and all the tension in her muscles melted away.

“I’m all you need, Fluttershy; don’t worry about looking anywhere else.”

She held his gaze and breathed “Okay.”

“Good. I brought some of our favorites because I know they always help you relax. Won’t you have a bite?” He levitated a cucumber sandwich before her face and she took it and started to eat.

“Now, you were going to teach me about Equestrian diplomacy today. Tell me, I’m quite interested to learn about Celestia’s allies! Which ones are her favorites?”

Fluttershy swallowed and took a sip of tea, her gently burning eyes never leaving Sombra’s. Then she started the lesson.

They had been sitting side-by-side on the bed, Sombra laughing at the story he was telling and Fluttershy quietly munching hooffull after hooffull of sweet pineapple chunks. Apparently, the looks on the Royal Guard members’ faces as they scoured the razed Whinnyapolis and found no survivors had sent King Sombra into such a fit of laughter that he almost exposed his hideout in an abandoned warehouse. He had been mind-cleansing a storeroom full of captives to convert them into joining his army. If the Gaurd ponies had discovered him, he’d have had to quickly recruit them too!

“Soon enough, those rebels will learn not to stand in the way of a good cause,” Sombra stated, turning serious. Fluttershy did not question him, for she was too busy eating as much pineapple as she could.

Then Sombra smiled at her. “Well, this has been nice, but it’s time I got going. I might be gone a bit longer this time, so here’s some food to hold you and some extra water.” The bowls appeared as described and the bed teleported away. Suddenly, “Sweet dreams!” and he took Fluttershy in his magic and hurled her into a wall.

Winded and dazed, Fluttershy forced an eye open to see, rather than hear, the King laugh as he exited and slammed the door behind him. Her whole body screeched in pain, and worse, her eyes were burning again. She forced them closed and tried to prepare her mind for the nightmares that would soon come to torment her.

She didn’t know what was real anymore.

Finally, the enchanted flames went out when the door opened again. As Sombra walked in, Fluttershy saw the bloodshot eye that had been staring at her from a hole in the wall for she didn’t know how long blink shut and the wall became intact again.

“Oh, King!” Fluttershy jumped up despite the ache in her joints and ran forward, wrapping the shadow pony in her hooves and clinging to him for all she was worth. “It felt like you’d never come back! I was so afraid!”

Once he’d gotten over his surprise, Sombra draped a front leg over Fluttershy in return. “Of course I was coming back. I can’t go too long without seeing your pretty little face, you know!” He then pushed her back a little so he could look into those adorable fuschia eyes. Fluttershy responded with the softest, daintiest giggle.

“Your water is all gone, I see, but you never touched your food.” Sombra quickly teleported away the rotten fruits and vegetables. “Are you alright?”

“I am now! I was just feeling too scared to be hungry.”

“I see. Well, I’m here now, and you are perfectly safe. Shall we have a meal together?”

“Oh, yes! I would like that very much.”

Soon they were picnicking on the bed again, this time with kiwi, grapes, and starfruit, celery sticks with peanut butter, cream cheese, and ranch dressing for dipping options, and raspberry hoofprints and chocolate cherry cordials. The cucumber sandwiches and ginseng tea were the same.

Sombra described his most recent adventure recovering an ancient artifact called Yksler’s Helm from a school that was carelessly displaying it where all the grubby children could touch and ruin it. Fluttershy listened to the story initially, but with every sip of tea she felt thirstier, and with every bite of sandwich she felt hungrier, so much so that her mind finally sharpened enough for her to remember her circumstances. She stopped partaking in the picnic and stared blankly at the boasting King, horrified at how he had been manipulating her. After a few more sentences, Sombra stopped and interrupted himself.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she lied, and waited for the familiar singe at her eyes. It didn’t come.

“No really,” Sombra cocked his head, “what’s wrong?”

For a few more moments, Fluttershy stared. Then she picked up a cucumber sandwich and sighed. “It’s this.” She picked up her teacup. “And this.”

“What about them?”

“These were Discord’s favorites. He brought them all the time to our tea parties.”

“Discord...” Sombra stiffened. He looked hard at Fluttershy, up and down, taking in all the changes in her body. Noting especially that the black line starting at the infected hole in her left ear had traced her veins all the way down to the base of her throat, by now only a few inches from her heart. “You must be mistaken,” he finally resumed. “Discord used to come to your tea parties, but he never brought anything. He is too selfish a creature. The cucumber sandwiches and ginseng tea are what I bring to you.”

Fluttershy’s faced scrunched up and her mind clouded. “I don’t...” But she thought back. She remembered having tea parties with Discord. But she remembered seeing him fly off into the night when she asked him for help getting home. Then she recalled the last time she’d had cucumber sandwiches and ginseng tea. It was Discord who was with her! No, it was Discord’s blood dripping from the walls. Sombra was the one who cared. As Fluttershy waded through murky thoughts and memories, she began to nod dumbly at Sombra. A grin spread across the King’s face, exposing his fangs.

He was pushing the boulder away from what looked like a cave entrance when suddenly he fell through it. Then he stood back up and glanced down at his body, but it looked like he was sprouting out of the stone.

“This can’t be good.”

“You’re still half-starved,” Sombra pointed out. “Eat some more and clear your head.”

Fluttershy obeyed.

“I don’t like bringing this up, but I need to talk to you about something hard. About those friends of yours.”

The fuschia eyes met his as Fluttershy continued to eat.

“I know you were very close with them, but once I brought you here, they never took the trouble to come get you. You know this already. What you don’t know is what they’ve been doing without the Element of Kindness there to temper them. They’ve been writing powerful spells, practicing their attacks, sharpening their weapons. Do you understand?”

Fluttershy shook her head.

“They’re rallying their forces against me, prepared to do harm and to kill. And for what? They want to defend Equestria from me, to defend Celestia’s Equestria. It’s hypocritical!”

“What do you mean?” Now she stopped eating to give the King her full attention.

“I mean Celestia’s Equestria is a land of strict order and enforced harmony. Somehow, the Princess has convinced your friends and most of her citizens that her idea of perfectly idyllic peace is worth doing violence to protect! Does that not sound a little backwards to you?”

“I suppose it does, but… I don’t think you’re casting it in the right light.”

“Of course I’m not. What you’re calling the ‘right light’, it’s Celestia’s light. She tried to steal your mind too, but I know you’re smarter than that. Celestia is the Princess of the sun—she’s all about light, all the time, everywhere, but can’t you see that light is blinding? She uses it to stifle individuality! She uses it to see everything that doesn’t conform to her tastes and to squash that seed of variance before it can grow and bloom.”

“Oh my! But what about Princess Luna? Her night is nice and dark!”

“Luna’s night is merely Celestia’s allowance to her sister and her subjects, there to provide contrast and increase the citizens’ yearning for the light of her day when each night inevitably ends. Better neither day nor night.”

“What do you propose, then?”

“Shadows, my dear...” Passion glinted in Sombra’s eyes and his smoky black mane flowed with more enthusiasm. “Where there are shadows, you can have light when and where you want it. And when you don’t want it, you can retreat to your darkness and have the freedom to be whatever you long to be. Your friends fight me because they don’t understand it, but my reign will bring to Equestria a kind of liberation!”

“Oh, that… that kind of makes sense…”

He tried to teleport home, but he could not. His mind raced to think what he could do to heal himself without becoming exposed. What he still had the power left to do. He was sprinting through a forest trying to trip on a root, crash into a tree, trying to get his body to feel something, anything! Trying to find some creature who could help…

But then, as he ran straight through tree after tree, he noticed the trees were getting taller. No, he was getting shorter. He looked down and realized he was sinking into the ground. He couldn’t fly. He couldn’t jump. He couldn’t grab onto anything to pull himself up. In another moment, he was underground.

He watched layers of dirt, then strata of rock pass as he continued to descend. He had failed. He was going to be lost and she was going to be lost and they all were going to be lost. The tears he shed as the earth consumed him soaked into cracks in the rocks.

One day, many millennia hence, sparkling, colorful gemstones might grow in those tiny pockets of water.

“I guess I’m better off staying with you than going back to them, huh?” Fluttershy grinned at the King and he appreciated the new sharpness in her canine teeth.

“Perhaps it is best that way. But you mustn’t regret all that time you spent with them, for you too were deceived and it was not your fault.” Sombra levitated a cherry cordial up to Fluttershy’s mouth and fed it to her.

“You are good to me,” she remarked after she swallowed the candy.

“I care about you, Fluttershy. Now, I want to know about Discord. He has a different kind of magic, I think. Could you describe it for me?”

“Oh, well, um, I’m not sure how much I remember… Discord uses chaos magic, if that helps, and it usually causes all kinds of destruction and hurt. I’d be happy to tell you more if it comes to mind, but maybe for now you could tell me more about shadows?”

Those wide, fuschia eyes were simply irresistible and Sombra could hardly help but smile. “Of course.” As he began to speak, Fluttershy moved around the picnic blanket until she was leaning against Sombra’s side. He leaned into her too, and took the opportunity to stroke the dusky quartz of her mane.

News from Pony Express

Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie stood in a circle, and Starlight sat in the center. When she powered her horn, four white beams of light stretched radially from it and connected with the foreheads of each of the friends surrounding her. Then spurts of color flashed up the beams back into Starlight and an image of Rainbow Dash’s cutie mark appeared above her head. The symbol floated over the map-table and then swung in pendulum-esque motions until it finally settled into one spot. Starlight released the spell and the image remained.

Twilight sauntered up to the map-table. “It looks like our friend flew to Whinnyapolis.”

Rainbow Dash was napping on a cloud, recovering from her long flight. Her dreams were disturbed by a bit of commotion from the city below, but she didn’t wake until something cold and hard sliced across her back.

“Woah!” She leaped awake and cringed against the fresh pain. A massive black crystal had pierced through her cloud from below and grazed Rainbow Dash’s skin on its ascent. The thought that she very easily could have been impaled instead invaded her mind, but the pegasus quickly pushed it aside. She needed to get to the bottom of this.

Peering over the side of the cloud, Rainbow Dash observed a wall of these crystals rising up to encircle Whinnyapolis. “Sombra. Of course,” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Good to know my nose for danger still works.” As she took in the sight of the smoking, crumbling city below her, Rainbow Dash hastily assessed that she shouldn’t try to face the enemy alone. She instead dove down into the city and kept herself as hidden as she could among all the rubble. Any information she gathered about Sombra’s offensive could be useful to Twilight.

But as Rainbow Dash roamed among the destruction, she could find nothing of interest. She helped out a few trapped or injured ponies, but when the growth of the evil crystals around the city at last ceased, the pegasus realized she’d better make her escape while she could. Nearby, a flock of pegasi were flying straight up, apparently aiming to get over the wall. Rainbow Dash saw her chance and took it, flying up into the center of the group to keep herself concealed.

Then all motion suddenly halted. She was trapped with the whole flock in a yellow magic aura. Collectively, they were carried back down and then flung into a huge abandoned warehouse.

There was a muffled shout from outside the castle. It almost sounded like “Twilight!”

Then there was a thunderous CRASH, and Rainbow Dash landed in a heap on the map-table among the shards of what a few seconds ago had been a stained-glass window.

“Good heavens, dear! Are you alright?” Rarity immediately began levitating glass pieces out of Rainbow Dash’s skin.

“Never better. Twilight!”

“You’re back almost eight hours earlier than expected,” responded the Princess. “What happened to you?”

Rainbow Dash didn’t even pause to boast about her fast flying. “I was in Whinnyapolis, and—“

“We know! The spell worked perfectly!”

“Okay, but it’s gone! The city was attacked and all its inhabitants are being rounded up as we speak!”

“What?” There was a general gasp from everypony in the room.

“It was Sombra and Chrysalis!” Rainbow Dash then launched into her story, telling how she was accidentally slashed by a black crystal and how she ended up in a storeroom where innocent ponies were being trapped and piled in a mound of green changeling goo.

“How’d ya get out of there?” Applejack’s faced looked as stunned as everypony else’s.

“Fortunately, I landed at the bottom of the flock of pegasi I was with. Chrysalis didn’t notice me, but I could see her pick up the top pony in her magic and drain his love! She was distracted by the feeding, so I zoomed around to the back of the pile of gooey ponies, out of sight. Then, as soon as I saw another group of ponies being flung into the room, I dashed out through a window on the opposite side, and I flew over the nearest wall real quick. I managed to get to the other side just before Sombra could nab me in his magic again, and then I flew straight here nonstop! Thanks,” Rainbow Dash took the glass of water Starlight brought and drank it all in one go. Rarity had just removed the last of the glass, and Applejack was applying first aid to all the cuts and scratches.

“Oh my goodness!” Pinkie Pie piped. “You must be so, so, so, so, so tired! I’ll be right back!” There was a pink blur as the pony sped out of the room. The remaining group watched her go and then turned back toward each other.

“So they’re working together,” Twilight processed verbally, wonder and terror mixed in her voice. “That might explain why the attacks we’ve observed hadn’t seemed to fit either one of their individual styles. Rainbow, do you know what they were doing in Whinnyapolis?”

“Well, I don’t know why they had picked Whinnyapolis specifically for their attack, but it looked like they were trying to capture all the citizens alive. I mean, Chrysalis was draining some of their love, but she was still leaving them mostly unharmed. My guess is that once they’d rounded everypony up in that room, Sombra was gonna go in and brainwash ‘em to make an army!”

The pink blur returned. “Here you go!” Pinkie Pie set down a tray of fresh cupcakes in front of Rainbow Dash. The flavor looked ambiguous, but they were colorful and appealing. “Something to restore your spirit, and your body! I made them with a special protein formula I whipped up just for you!”

“Oh, thanks!” Rainbow Dash tore through two cupcakes before she blurted around her mouthful “These are really good!”

“Of course they are, silly! I tailored them exactly to your specific needs and tastes!”

“...Not gonna ask how you did that.”

“Pinkie,” interjected Twilight, “you might need to make a batch of those for each of us. We’ve got to get to Canterlot right away, and since the train lines are down, it looks like we’ll be traveling by hoof!”

“On it!”

As Pinkie Pie baked and everypony hastily packed their bags, Twilight scribbled a quick note.

Discord—
I know you’re in a terrible position after Fluttershy was taken from us, but I just learned of an alliance between King Sombra and Queen Chrysalis, and the danger to all of us grows greater by the day. Please, if there is anything you would be willing to do to help us, we need it. And wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, be safe. I don’t want to find out another of my friends has been taken hostage or hurt.
If you need us, we will be in Canterlot.
Sincerely,
Twilight Sparkle

Not knowing where Discord might be, Twilight did her best to channel chaos in her magic and then sent the note at random when her mind was at its most confused. After all, she had begun to learn from the unruly draconequus that she could put her trust in chaos, and more often than she would have expected, it would work in her favor.

“Then it is as I feared,” Celestia responded to Twilight’s explanation of events. “I had been informed about the attack on Whinnyapolis and I received a tip that the villains will strike in either Foaledo or Chicoltgo next.”

“Who told you that?”

“A townspony who was near the city when it was taken. He said a filly who’d escaped heard it from King Sombra himself. Twilight, my sister and I are each going to take what remains of our Royal Guards and each defend one of the targeted cities. I need you and your friends here to watch over Canterlot.”

“Certainly, Princess, but what if—“

“Your brother and Princess Cadence are on their way with as many volunteers from the Crystal Empire as they could gather. They’ve agreed to back up the capitol city while their own Guard stays behind to protect their home. It is our hope that since the Crystal Empire is so remote, our enemies will not plan an offensive against it yet. I just wish more of our cries for aid would be answered...”

“What do you mean, Princess?” Twilight was beginning to realize that Celestia and Luna had not been as idle in response to the threats as she had thought.

“I mean I have sent out many messages to our allies outside of Equestria. The hippogryphs, the changelings, the dragons, I’ve even tried the gryphons. No creature has responded. You say you all ran here because the train line was down. I have gotten many reports of trains down from massive crystalline growths in the tracks or sudden natural disasters. The weather has been so volatile across the Kingdom that whenever we send up even a single balloon or chariot all must soon make emergency landings, and every brave pegasus who has volunteered to carry a message solo seems to have vanished.”

“But how can just two villains orchestrate such a thorough attack? They must be everywhere at once!”

“My dear Twilight, I am beyond suspecting there are only two villains in league against us.”

Friendship in Practice

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie shared a room in the royal castle, while Rarity and Applejack shared another. Nopony particularly wanted to be alone in this climate of danger. Except for Twilight, of course, who insisted on her own room precisely because she didn’t expect to use it much—she would be in the library, doing research.

In their room, Rainbow Dash lounged on her bed reading Daring Do. The fictional battle scene between the adventurer and an ancient golem left to guard a powerful artifact gripped the reader’s attention—until it didn’t. “Ugh. I can’t wait to clobber that Sombra guy. Daring Do is making me jealous.”

“Just Sombra?” Pinkie piped. “What about Chrysalis?”

“Well, her too, but Sombra especially for taking Fluttershy. I’m afraid to think what he’s done with her all this time.”

“Yeah...” Saying as much naturally made Pinkie Pie think it, and Rainbow Dash saw her friend deflate a little.

“Hey, uh, no need to dwell on that right now!” At that moment, Rainbow Dash noticed the pile of papers and glitter markers Pinkie Pie had strewn across her bed. “Whatcha’ up to there?”

“Hmm? Oh, all these! I was just sketching up some new pages to add to my party files.”

Rainbow Dash walked over and had a look. And a sniff; the paper was vanilla-scented. “You mean like the file you used to bake me the perfect personalized cupcake?”

“Exac-a-tac-aly!”

“Wait, King Sombra?! You’re making a party file for King Sombra?”

“Yep! And Chrysalis too!”

“But… Why?”

“I’m still holding out hope that maybe, after we all battle those meanies and smash them to smithereens, they won’t be in too many smithereens and we can try to reform them! After all, we’ve already managed to get a few of our former enemies to see the magic of friendship. Why not these guys too? And when they do decide to turn over and be good, I’m going to throw them the biggest, most amazing, most fun-tastic party they’ve ever seen!”

“How very, uh, Pinkie of you.”

“I just have to believe the magic of friendship is for everypony, you know? Even the ponies we don’t like.”

“Yeah. Yeah, Pinkie, I guess you’re right! That sounds an awful lot like loyalty! Heh, maybe we still do have a shot at doing our friendship magic and saving the world again.” Rainbow Dash gave Pinkie Pie a light punch on the shoulder, and the two shared a laugh.

“Darling, what are you doing?”

“Trainin’.”

“You train by… Moving mattresses around?” Rarity was sitting on the edge of her bed, using her magic to reach down and give herself a hooficure, but she watched perplexed as Applejack peeled all the sheets and blankets off her own bed and then pushed and pulled her mattress until she had it leaning up against a wall.

“Well, I guess that’s kind of part of it, but what I’m really tryin’ to do is this!” She bucked the vertical mattress with force. It absorbed most of the impact, but Rarity still noticed the chandelier above their heads swinging slightly.

“Must you really do this right now?”

“Sure I do! I wanna be ready to fight any of those goons at any moment, just in case!”

“I agree with your point, but I guess it just seems a little odd to me that when everypony else is settling in for the evening, you’re up kicking a mattress to get, well… stronger? Especially when you’re already just about the strongest pony I know!”

“I probably am the strongest pony you know, and that’s why I gotta keep trainin’! Physical strength doesn’t just exist on its own; ya gotta work hard to maintain it.”

“Oh, now I understand.” Rarity held up her file. “Maintenance is exactly what I’m doing this evening too!”

Applejack bucked her mattress again, then cocked an eyebrow. “Maintainin’ shiny hooves?”

“Why yes, darling, beauty is something that requires constant maintenance, but that’s not all. I’ve found that taking some quiet time to work on my beauty is a wonderful way to calm and focus my mind. And the more focused the mind, the better the magic abilities! I may not be anywhere near as powerful as Twilight or many other unicorns, but nonetheless, I feel like I am at my strongest when my mind is sharpest.”

“Huh. Never thought of things that way. I wonder how I’d feel if I tried that.” Applejack walked over to Rarity and held out a hoof. “Would ya wanna do mine next?”

“Would I ever! But listening to you, I was thinking I ought to try out a little physical training myself. Maybe you’ll help me do what you’re doing for a while, and then we might visit the palace spa together?”

Applejack laughed. “That sounds like such an unusual arrangement!”

“Unusual times call for unusual measures, darling. So what do you say?”

“I say I’m in!”

“Excellent!” Rarity hopped off the bed and she and Applejack both stood in front of the propped-up mattress. “How do I begin?”

“Well, first ya gotta line yourself up about perpendicular to your target. Then ya shift your weight forward onto your front hooves like so...”

Rarity lasted about fifteen minutes. She did her best to mimic her muscular friend, but more often than not, she kicked herself off balance and toppled to the ground. Eventually, she decided she had been bruised enough and let Applejack continue alone until she too was tired. They visited the spa as promised, but it was only in mimicking Rarity just like Rarity had mimicked her that Applejack finally found the treatment relaxing. By the end of their evening, the two friends were both experiencing a new and potent kind of refreshment.

“Thank you for a most unexpectedly invigorating evening, Applejack.” Rarity’s voice bloomed from across their room in the warm silence of the night.

“Yeah, uh, thank you too, I guess. Turns out tryin’ your way of focusing was just what this old stick in the mud needed. Goodnight, Rarity.”

“Goodnight.”

A Proposal

“The problem was, Celestia is so confident that her light penetrates all corners and exposes all truth. She could not fathom she would be deceived!” King Sombra laughed heartily, and the resulting motion in his body bounced Fluttershy back and forth, for she was lounging on the bed against him.

Fluttershy said nothing in response, merely taking a bite of the pemmican that had levitated up to her mouth. She had not questioned the unfamiliar food any further after Sombra informed her it was a traditional provision in the far north. It was a little tough and chewy, with a strong taste of berries smothering an alien yet appealing tang. The King levitated the mysterious treat back up to himself and also tore off a bite.

“It was most humorous to hear my informants’ reports,” he continued enthusiastically around his mouthful. “Apparently, Celestia took her Royal Guard and camped outside of Chicoltgo, and Luna with her Guard watched Foaledo. My spies spent several days knocking out a fire hydrant here, or starting a minor fire there, just anything small to keep the Princesses in place and distracted. They ran themselves in circles looking for my attack, when all the time I was storming Manehattan and having such a delightful time of it, too!” He laughed again.

“I take it you were successful, then, my King?”

“Oh yes, perfectly so,” he purred. Sombra ate another bite of pemmican, and then, still holding the stiff snack with his mouth, lowered his head and offered the rest to Fluttershy. She took it. The King, while his mare worked on chewing, let his lips find the line of her jaw and took a moment to explore it with a few gentle nibbles.

Fluttershy finished her bite and coyly pushed Sombra’s head away from hers, so he continued his story. “Once all the Manehattan citizens were rounded up and released from the poison of Celestia’s light, they were quickly convinced of the justice of my cause. Every last one of them joined my growing army.”

“I’m not surprised, Your Greatness. Your arguments are very persuasive.”

“Indeed, I told them exactly what I told you not so long ago. Only,” Sombra rested his chin on top of Fluttershy’s head, “None of them were intelligent enough to understand as quickly as you did.”

Fluttershy giggled. “I think you’re just flattering me.”

“I am flattering you, but not only just! It’s true, you know.” The mare giggled again, and they shared a moment of contented stillness. Then Sombra lifted his head again and sat up. “Fluttershy, I have always ruled alone.”

The seriousness in his tone caused Fluttershy to sit up as well and face the King.

He continued: “But I believe my next reign will have some permanence at last. I’ve been thinking; perhaps it is finally time I took a Queen.” Then, whispering in Fluttershy’s ear, he asked “Will you be my Queen?”

A shiver ran down her spine. Queen? Wife of this powerful stallion, who seemed to have the whole world dancing on strings controlled by his own hooves, and yet cared so much for her? It was an intoxicating thought.

Something deep in her mind, so deep it might have been not in her mind but her bones, objected violently. This isn’t right. You must say no. You must say no and flee.

Fluttershy did not like her angry bones. She wanted the sweet wine of Sombra’s promises. After only a moment of hesitation, she smiled broadly and succumbed to the enchantment of temptation. “Of course, my King.”

“Good,” he returned, voice low and savory. “I think we will have a very happy reign.” The mighty stallion delicately brushed a lock of hair out of the dainty mare’s face as her smile shifted from euphoric to captivated. King Sombra began to lean forward, and Fluttershy closed her eyes.

Then he froze.

“What’s wrong, Your Highness?”

“I sense I am needed elsewhere immediately. Here is some water and a few Tackish delights. May they tide you over while I am gone.”

“Thank you, good King.” Fluttershy offered a final smile and Sombra teleported away, leaving the treats and even the bed behind. Alone again, the mare sprawled out on her back, sucking on a candy and reflecting giddily on King Sombra’s attentions.

Author's Note

"Tackish delights" = Turkish delights. Tack, like horse equipment. I don't know, puns aren't really my thing...

And about the pemmican: I guess being destroyed and then resurrected so many times has made Sombra a really, really troubled dude. You might be surprised to know I actually kind of like show-canon Sombra, despite how I've been characterizing him in my story. Just don't tell Flutters about her questionable snack; she's having a hard enough time as it is.

The Artifacts

One place at the table was conspicuously empty. Grogar stared at it, glanced over at the door, then sighed and addressed the others present. “So far, our offensives have gone exactly according to plan. It is time we prepare ourselves for the final battle. However, I have just detected—Sombra, you are late.” The stallion in question kept a neutral expression and took his seat with dignity. “I suggest you spend less time with that mare and spend more time focusing on the task at hoof!”

The King gave Grogar an indignant frown. “That mare is to become my Queen once we succeed in taking Equestria!”

That news surprised exactly nocreature. Cozy Glow started coughing in a poor attempt to disguise her laughter, and Tirek passed a smug Chrysalis several golden bits. Grogar’s own frown deepened.

“As I was just about to say, we are currently in danger of not succeeding in taking Equestria, so you will do well to pay attention! If any of Celestia’s allies come to her aid, our job will become much harder. I just detected a vessel of messengers from the Royal Guard launching from the port at Seaddle. They must be stopped. Sombra, I entrust this task to you.”

“I will not disappoint you.”

“See that you don’t.”

King Sombra swirled himself into a smoky shadow and teleported away. Grogar turned back to the others and caused several objects to appear in the center of the table. One was the Staff of Sacanas, which the goat had been using to produce ill weather around Equestria's borders ever since Sombra had acquired it for him. The others were Yksler’s Helm and the Amulet of Aurora, both stolen from displays in Twilight’s School of Friendship.

“We will use each of these to our advantage,” began Grogar, picking up the Staff of Sacanas.

“Ooh, what’s this one do?” Cozy Glow placed Yksler’s Helm on her head, though it was several sizes too large. A pulse of smooth white magic radiated out from the filly, passing harmlessly through all present yet knocking the Staff from Grogar’s hooves.

“Don’t touch anything yet!” He growled, snatching the Helm from Cozy Glow’s head. His outburst also caused Tirek and Chrysalis to freeze in their attempts to snatch the remaining artifact off the table. Grogar rolled his eyes and picked up all three items in his magic, levitating them out of his eager subordinates’ reaches.

“The Staff of Sacanas I will wield. It lends great magic and can only be effectively controlled by a user with great magic to match. Yksler’s Helm I must enchant. It’s power, as we have just seen, is to disarm any creature within range, and we do not want to be disarming each other in the great battle. Once it is ready, I will bestow it upon Cozy Glow—“

“Hooray!” interjected she.

“—for she is the most maneuverable of us and will be most effective in confusing our enemies by flying among their ranks and causing them continually to lose their weapons.”

“And,” hissed Chrysalis, pointing at the third artifact and glancing sideways at Tirek, “Which of the two of us gets the last one?”

“Ultimately, neither of you.” Grogar dropped the charm in question from his magical hold into his hoof. “I have other plans for the Amulet of Aurora.”

“What do you mean?” demanded Queen Chrysalis. “What’s the point of having it if we aren’t going to use it?”

“The point is to tempt the ponies into using it!” Grogar’s audience looked utterly bewildered and appalled, so he continued. “The information our hostage has revealed to us has lead me to conclude that our best defense against the ponies and their ‘friendship magic’ is to tear apart their paltry friendship. We will use this amulet to help us accomplish that.”

“It can do that?” Lord Tirek questioned, no less confused.

“No, no, let me finish!” Grogar stomped angrily and caught the amulet back above his head again in his magic to keep himself from damaging it in his frustration. “The Amulet of Aurora merely influences large bodies of water. We are going to force the ponies to argue by giving them this artifact and tempting them to use it, and Chrysalis, I have selected you for this task.” He passed her the amulet and the Queen beamed. “You do not get to keep it,” Grogar reminded her.

“Fine.” Now she held the charm but moped as Tirek and Cozy Glow tried to stifle their giggles. “What would you have me do, then, if I am not to keep this infernal thing?”

Grogar broke into a malicious grin.

Vignettes

Fluttershy rolled over and over and over in the bed, enjoying how big it felt having it all to herself. She had already finished all the Tackish delights and now had only to wait until her King returned to her. How kind he was to leave her the bed! Fluttershy was relieved to sprawl on the cushy mattress and give her bruised body a break from lying on the stone. The exercise of rolling over, however, had caused her pulse to increase, and her whole heart hurt like a bruise with every beat. She propped herself against a pillow and took a break to examine herself.

There was a black streak under her skin weaving its way down toward her heart. Though it didn’t yet connect, Fluttershy could see her heart struggling with the infection if she held her breath and sat still enough. The beating motion was labored, and she wondered if there wasn’t some inflammation beneath her ribcage.

Her dark yellow fur was mostly worn away at her knees and elbows, and across her whole chest and stomach—a result of spending so much time lying on the coarse, hard ground. Where the fur was scant, her gray skin was blotchy with varying shades of bruises. There was a bruise for each rib that poked conspicuously out, and a few here and there on her stomach from King Sombra’s rough play.

Fluttershy gazed fondly at all the little marks of his possession her King had left on her body. Suddenly, the large bed she had been enjoying felt awfully lonely without him there to share it with her. She gazed down the length of her exposed ventral side and imagined King Sombra lying there on top of her, his muscular charcoal body covering up all her blemishes and hiding her from the pains of the cruel world. And there was the savory, smoky scent of his jet-black mane billowing about his face, which would be tucked delicately under her chin where his crimson horn probably wouldn’t gouge out her eye if he twitched.

He was thoughtful like that.

As Fluttershy closed her eyes and imagined the physical sensation of her King’s smothering embrace, something about it shifted. She furrowed her brow and tried to understand the changes without looking, but she couldn’t fathom what had happened. Had Sombra grown… Longer? Yes, she opened her eyes and confirmed, the soft body lying upon hers was now elongated and serpentine. Its fur was a lighter gray and its tail tapered in maroon scales. Fluttershy tried to look into the body’s face, but the long neck held it too far aloft, and the face was darkened in shadow. Startled, the mare blinked.

And all apparitions vanished, both Sombra and the unfamiliar long creature. Who or what had that been? Fluttershy hadn’t felt frightened by its appearance, and indeed there was something tucked far away within her that seemed to recognize the body and take joy in its touch. But try as she might, she could not recall who that body might have been.

She sat bewildered for a few minutes, then slowly began to turn over and over in the bed again. Reigniting the pain of her bruises would remind her of her dear King’s affection, her future husband’s loving touch. He would return for her soon, she was certain, and until then, she would relish in the gifts of pain that he had given her.

“We do not wish to believe you are guilty,” Princess Celestia assured. She was in a dark room occupied by only two other ponies.

“My test could prove your innocence, if indeed you speak the truth.” This was Princess Luna’s voice. “Will you allow me to perform it on you?”

“Yes.” The silver-maned stallion shook in his seat, but he was resolute. Luna nodded at her sister, and Celestia retreated to a far corner of the room.

“Now, train your mind on what you saw. Make the image as clear as you can, and I will cast a sleeping spell on you. What you saw in reality should appear in your dream. I will question you further from there, and your subconscious mind will be unable to lie to me. If I find that you are indeed innocent, I will release you from the dream. Do you still want to do this?”

“I am innocent. I have nothing to hide from my Princesses. Please, proceed.”

Celestia watched as the stallion slumped and Luna turned transparent from the spell that would carry her into the suspect’s dream. In a few minutes, the Princess of the Night returned to solid form with concern on her face.

“This stallion speaks true. It was the filly who had planted the false information, and sister, you are not going to like who it was...”

She flew, fast. They were gaining on her! Queen Chrysalis chanced a look over her shoulder to see six San Franciscolt police officers only a few lengths behind. She pretended not to notice when she whipped her head forward again that the parcel she had been carrying in her magic slammed against a tree branch and tumbled to the ground behind her. Nothing mattered now but escape, for if she were caught, their entire invasion could be compromised.

At last! The sea sparkled before the Queen’s harrowed eyes. In another moment, she had launched herself over the sea cliff, flew in a neat 180, and dove down into the cover of a cave system.

Three pegasus officers tried to follow, but soon had to turn back from the labyrinthine passages. “It looks like that may be her lair,” they reported to others.

“And she must have stolen this,” the chief officer displayed the parcel, broken open from its impact with the tree. “We should probably let the Princesses know about everything we saw here.”

Spike saluted Starlight. “You’ll get an emergency note from me wherever you are the instant there’s any trouble.”

Starlight sighed in relief. “Thanks, Spike. I know Twilight’s not going to like it when she learns I left, but nopony in my old village ever responded to the letter I sent when things started getting bad. I’m really worried about them!”

“Heh, I now. You were almost twilighting with worry yesterday.”

“You sure you can handle the school for a couple days? I know there aren’t any students here right now, but it’s a big, otherwise empty building, and you just never know what could happen.”

“I’ll be fine. You must be taking worrying lessons from Twilight! Anyway, I’ve invited Big Mac over for the nights that you’re gone. That way, I won’t be totally alone.”

“Good. If everything looks fine in my village, I’ll be back here in a flash. Twilight will never even have to know.”

A shadow floated along the surface of the water, invisible in the dark except where it briefly obscured the reflection of a star or two. King Sombra spotted the ship and was soon standing on its deck, still undetected. For a moment, he considered just piercing the hull with a crystal growth and getting on his way, but then he decided the small company of Equestrian Royal Guard would make a fine personal Guard for himself once he had his kingdom, and he would want the boat to get his victims back to shore.

Without waking the sleeping ponies below deck, Sombra first attacked the two watchponies. All it took was a second of possession each, and their free will was erased. “Sit,” the King commanded, and they obeyed. Next he gave the same treatment to the pilot of the ship, and then, one by one, he captured the rest. Only one Guard, the highest-ranking on the vessel, put up any kind of a fight. King Sombra recognized him and let him try to re-capture his own ship just for the satisfaction of watching the white unicorn live out one of his worst nightmares.

Finally, the King mercifully brainwashed this stallion too. He commanded the pilot to turn the ship around and make for a secluded bay. Then, he conjured a seat and sat down to watch over his victims and to ruminate on the stars shining above in the sky and below on the quiet water.

“Such beauty in the darkness,” he sighed. “A shame most ponies scarcely know how to appreciate it.” But not my pony. Soon she will be a creature of the shadows like myself, and she will fully understand my darkness which conceals. Then I will receive some genuine appreciation and praise at last!

“Oh Fluttershy, my future Queen, you do not know how well your devotion fuels me!” King Sombra reclined and imagined crushing her up to himself, delighting in the softness of her fur, especially where it had been growing longer along her neck and shoulders. He imagined inhaling the scent of her mane, the syrupy sweetness of decay like overripe fruit. He imagined tasting those delicate lips…

Huh. He had thought this lava field had long been drained of lava. Dropping low onto all fours, he crept up to the hole from which the faint smoke was rising. It did not smell sulfurous. Slowly, quietly, without knocking a pebble out of place, he fit himself into the opening of the lava tube and slithered down into the gloom, following his nose when his vision failed.

“This shall be the final piece.” Grogar peered greedily into his Seeing Eye. With the capture of this artifact, he could set in motion a cascade of devastation for his enemies and win himself ample power to take down those stubborn ponies at last. He would force them to battle soon after playing this move, when they would be at their weakest. “My victory will be sure to follow!” Grogar burst into laughter, and it echoed ominously down the stony corridors of his lair.

Royal Summit

“You are all well aware of the urgency of this meeting. We were deceived into defending the wrong cities and in our error have lost Manehatten. Princess Luna and I have questioned our informant and determined that he is innocent. It was the pony who had informed him that was culpable for the misinformation, and that pony was none other than… Cozy Glow.”

Five Element-bearers and one Princess of the Crystal Empire gave a collective gasp. Twilight started breathing hard and Applejack briefly left the room to locate a paper bag for her friend.

“Sombra and Chrysalis working together is bad enough, but Cozy Glow too?” Twilight’s eyes suddenly bulged. “If Cozy Glow has escaped from Tartarus, then—”

There was a flash of light in the middle of the room and a “Twilight!” Starlight fell into a kneel as soon as she appeared, both in deference to the Princesses and in exhaustion from the long-range teleportation.

Seeing her friend in such a state immediately reset Twilight to a calmer mindset. “Starlight, what’s wrong?”

She didn’t answer right away because she was busy breathing into the paper bag that Applejack had just given to her, since Twilight no longer needed it. When her breathing had slowed down again, Starlight spoke. “Please pardon my intrusion, Princesses.”

Celestia, Luna, and Cadance merely nodded.

“Twilight, I just went to my old village to make sure everypony was okay. And they’re not! Every single one of them has had their magic drained away!” The unicorn paused to take another shaky breath and fight back her tears. “They said Tirek was there, a week ago, and Cozy Glow was there too! She locked them all up in a cellar to starve!” Finally, she collapsed to the ground sobbing, overcome by the memory of her suffering, empty friends.

“Oh no!” “Good heavens!” “What in tarnation?”

“All of Equestria’s greatest foes,” mused Luna. “But why would they have banded together all of a sudden?”

“I don’t know, sister, but Equestria is in dire straights. With every train track out of Equestria blocked by impervious black crystals, every road guarded by brainwashed civilians, and the weather too violent and unpredictable to send up aerial messengers, I haven’t been able to get a word out to our allies!” Celestia’s voice had rose and rose in agitation until the end of her sentence came out almost as a wail. She sighed, and finished in a whisper. “I sure hope Shining Armor and his vessel succeeds, for he is our last hope of receiving aid.”

Princess Cadance finally chimed in, filling in as Chief of Defense in the absence of her husband. “Equestria’s citizens flee the countryside and flock to Canterlot by the thousands every day. I’m hoping more than anypony that Shining Armor returns to us in success, but this is our final stronghold, and we must be prepared to battle with what resources we have left.”

“But, excuse my asking, Princesses, what resources do we have left?”

Celestia’s only response to Rarity was to look from her to the other side of the round table. “Starswirl?”

The ancient unicorn levitated open a scroll. “We know for certain that the Staff of Sacanas, Yksler’s Helm, and the Amulet of Aurora have all been stolen by one or another of those ruffians.”

At the listing of the latter two, Twilight and Starlight shared a glance of surprise. Then Twilight spoke up. “The helm and the amulet were both on display in my school! I’m so sorry I didn’t keep better guard of them!”

“It is too late to dwell on such matters.” Luna’s voice was stern. “Whether or not you can be blamed for the loss, Twilight Sparkle, is not important at this moment.”

Twilight pressed her ears back and nodded, then turned back to Starswirl. “But how did you know those artifacts were stolen when I hadn’t even noticed?”

“Simple, young princess. They were not stolen until you left to come here. I only knew they were missing because Princess Celestia bade me go and gather up all known magical devices for our own use. It is a shame that I was too late to recover three of the five most powerful.”

“Not exactly, Starswirl,” Celestia won the room’s attention. “This just arrived back to us an hour ago.” She levitated a charm into view.

“Why, the Amulet of Aurora! But that was most assuredly gone only two days ago!”

“A San Franciscolt police chief braved a great storm in order to return this to us. She reported that Queen Chrysalis was seen fleeing the city with this amulet. When they gave pursuit, she dropped it and fled into a network of sea caves below a cliff. Further investigations have revealed evidence that our villains may be based out of that cave system.”

“Then let us take the offensive!” Cadence stood, excited.

“Yeah! Lemme at ‘em!” Rainbow Dash joined her.

“Wait,” admonished Twilight. “We can’t waste any time getting ponies lost in an uncharted cave system. Besides, sea caves are especially dangerous if you get trapped by the tides! It’s just too risky to try to chase them out or battle them inside.”

“What about that doohickey, then?” Applejack pointed to the Amulet. “Doesn’t it have power over the tides?”

Now Starlight spoke up, tears staining her cheeks but no longer flowing. “She’s right. We could send a crew into the caves and post somepony with the Amulet outside, where they can keep reversing the tides to ensure a safe exit!”

“Wait, I thought the Amulet of Aurora summoned tsunamis!” Rarity glanced from face to face in confusion. Twilight returned the glance, and her face lit up.

“Yes, it can do that too! Why don’t we circumvent the issue of getting lost and just create a tsunami to flush our villains out? Literally!”

“But all those poor ponies in San Franciscolt,” Pinkie Pie frowned. “Wouldn’t a tsunami hurt the city?”

“The city might get hurt anyway if we don’t stop these bad guys!” Rainbow Dash mimed a few punches from where she was hovering above everypony’s heads. “At least if it’s us who has to threaten the city, we can give everypony a chance to evacuate!”

“I agree, but that’s still such a terrible thing to have to do to those ponies! Even if they evacuate, they won’t have any homes left to return to!” Rarity moped in sympathy with her imagined scenario.

“We can rebuild ‘em!” suggested Applejack.

“We all have to make sacrifices in these desperate times,” Twilight added.

“That’s easy for you to say—you’re not the one who’s making the sacrifice!” Pinkie stood with her front hooves on the table.

“You think I haven’t made sacrifices?” Twilight mirrored her.

“We’ve all made sacrifices, but who are we to demand that an entire city of innocent ponies sacrifice everything just so we can do things the easy way?” Rarity glared at Twilight.

“What do you mean easy?” “Let’s not be so hasty, here!” “We have to act now!”

Celestia, Luna, and Cadence each tried to interrupt the argument at different points, but as it heated up they couldn’t get a word in edgewise. Finally, Celestia stood abruptly. Her chair’s loud scrape against the floor caught everypony’s attention and silenced them. “This bickering will get us nowhere. The four of us Princesses will hold a council this evening to decide what shall be done with the Amulet of Aurora. We would do well to speak no more of it at this time.”

“But—”

“Take your seat, Rainbow Dash,” Celestia warned. The pegasus obeyed slowly, still eager to fight but unwilling to ignore the order. “And Starswirl, I apologize for the disruption. Please continue with your report.”

“Very well, your Highness, but I had only this left to add. The two most relevant artifacts that remain to us are the Helm of Shadows and the Alicorn Amulet.”

“Both of these lend tremendous power. I wonder why they weren’t taken?” Cadence addressed the question to Starswirl, but the other Princesses answered.

“Perhaps they hadn’t gotten to them yet,” offered Celestia.

“Perhaps they were too afraid of them. Sister, please take my word on this. We cannot trust the helm to be tamed for our use. Anypony who so much as touches it will instantly be driven mad by its power! I know from experience,” Princess Luna shivered at the horror of her own memories. The other ponies stared still and silent, understanding the gravity of Luna’s admonishment.

“I agree, Luna. We will keep the helm under special watch so it does not fall into the hooves of our enemies, but I will see to it that it doesn’t fall into our own hooves either.”

“Seconded,” added Cadence. “Now, what about the Alicorn Amulet?”

The five Element-bearers all inhaled simultaneously to voice their opinions, but Celestia predicted another argument and held up a hoof to silence them before anypony had a chance to begin. “We will address the Alicorn Amulet after we have all had a chance to rest and clear our heads. Starswirl, girls, you are dismissed.”

“No, no, no, wait!” Twilight burst, then flinched. “Oh, my apologies, Princess Celestia.”

Celestia exhaled, then spoke through her teeth. “What is it, dear Twilight?”

“I just remembered that I need all the Element-bearers for something that could help us decide whether or not to use the Amulet of Aurora.”

“Oh?”

“Oh yeah!” Rainbow Dash flew back to the center of the room. “Fluttershy!”

“Precisely! Princesses, Starlight developed a spell that can use our inherent magic as Element-bearers to locate any who are missing from among us. We already proved it works by enchanting Rainbow with a cloaking spell and sending her off to a random city.”

“But I just had to pick Whinnyapolis.”

“Right, so when she came back, we all galloped out here right away and forgot to try the spell again to find Fluttershy! Can we do it right now? It might help us figure out once and for all where our villains are hiding.”

“Very well. If Starlight is up for it, that is.”

Starlight stood up. “Thank you, Princess Celestia, but I think I’m recovered. Let’s see; I had originally anchored the spell to the map-table, but I think any map should do. Would any of you be willing to project a map of Equestria onto the floor for us?”

Cadence stepped forward and did so. In a few moments, the pulsing lights connected the friends again and Fluttershy’s cutie mark appeared above Starlight’s head. Everypony but Starlight, who closed her eyes in concentration, stared at the image like the fate of Equestria rested on its motion.

The butterfly trio floated over to Cadence’s projected map, and as before, it began to swing back and forth in pendulum motions. Calibrating. Seeking. But just as the swings narrowed over a particular spot, the arc would widen again and the image would move elsewhere on the map. Beads of sweat dropped from Starlight’s brow as she worked to keep the spell going. The swinging image accelerated. In another moment, it was thrashing so quickly from one border of the map to the next that the three butterflies could hardly be distinguished.

Then the image moved so fast that it vaporized in a puff of smoke, and Starlight fell over. Her friends, suddenly released, rushed to her side.

Celestia had watched the effort in silence, but now a shadow seemed to fall over her eyes. “It looks like the Element of Kindness has ceased to exist. I am sorry, my little ponies.”

The Nightmare Recurs

The debate over the Amulet of Aurora lasted until dusk. Princesses Celestia and Twilight agreed they ought to use it to summon a tsunami and wash their enemies out of their lair before any more of Equestria was overtaken. Princess Cadence and especially Princess Luna, however, were in opposition. As Watchkeeper of Dreams, Luna understood better than anypony how the psychological damage to the evacuating San Franciscolt citizens could scar and embitter them, and she argued this point hard against her sister and Twilight.

“It is not our place as Princesses to force our subjects into sacrificing their needs for our interests. Even if we think our interests are best for them. We may be rulers of Equestria, but we must not allow ourselves to be tyrants. I learned this lesson the hard way, sister, and I would do everything in my power to ensure you do not take upon yourself the same agonies I bore when I became Nightmare Moon.”

“Thank you, Luna.” Celestia wrapped her sister in a hug. “And I would do everything in my power to ensure you do not continue to suffer from your memories.” She retracted her arm and looked her sister in the eyes. “But the threat to Equestria is just too great. Believe me, I do not wish to exercise this forbidden power, but I hold the needs of my people above even my own moral misgivings.”

Luna scowled and turned away.

“I’ve got an idea!” Twilight interjected. “What if we summoned a tsunami, but at the same time protected the city from it? We only want the waters to flood the caves, after all. Maybe we can modify a water-deflection spell to amplify it to city-scale!”

“An excellent suggestion, Twilight! Let us visit the library and work together. We may be able to finish such a spell by the morning! Luna, Cadence, will you join us?”

Princess Cadence yawned. “I should probably go check on Flurry Heart and relieve the poor babysitter.”

“I have my night duties to perform,” Luna stated flatly. She stalked out toward the balcony where she typically did her work without meeting her sister’s eyes.

Celestia turned back to Twilight. “Looks like it’s just the two of us. Shall we?”

“Amazing. How do you do that?”

“Research is a skill, Princess, and I have a lot of practice.” Twilight didn’t look up from the three books she was flipping through simultaneously while also jotting notes on a parchment. “I’m finding several spells that can widen the sphere of influence of other spells, but none of them correct for dilution of potency. Do you know of any books that mention magnification of spell efficacy in addition to casting radius?”

“...I’ll go have a look.” Celestia started to walk away down the rows of shelves, but suddenly paused and glanced over her shoulder. “Would what you need would be under ‘P’ for ‘Potency’, or ‘E’ for—”

Celestia noticed an odd green glint in the eyes of the librarian pony levitating a glossy object above Twilight’s head.

“Watch out!” She exclaimed, throwing herself into Twilight and swatting the object out of the unicorn’s magical aura.

“HISSSSSSS, you fools!” The librarian transformed into Queen Chrysalis and quickly retreated into the labyrinthine shadows of the dark library.

“What was that?” Twilight was wide-eyed and shocked, lying in a pile of the books she had just been reading.

“I don’t know...” Celestia began to slowly walk toward the object Chrysalis had been levitating, now lying on the floor. She picked it up in her hooves and contemplated it. “It is… The Helm of Shadows.”

“Princess, please put that down!” Twilight pleaded, now understanding the danger they were in, but Celestia appeared transfixed on the Helm and did not acknowledge.

“What is going on in here?” The commotion had alerted Princess Luna and she burst into the library. When she saw her sister slowly lifting the Helm of Shadows above her own head, Luna’s mouth fell open and all she could do was stiffen and whisper “no.”

Celestia’s grin stretched unusually wide as she began to slide the Helm onto her head.

“No!” Luna now shouted, and dove for her sister. She managed to magically wrest the artifact from Celestia’s grasp and retreated a few steps to make sense of the situation.

Twilight was frozen in place, her face wearing pure, dumb shock.

There was a movement in the shadows that looked like Queen Chrysalis, horn powered to prepare to take the Helm again.

And Celestia was stalking toward Luna. Her pupils were narrow with greed and her face was contorted to express a depth of rage Luna didn’t know her sister could feel. It took her one moment to understand that Chrysalis tried to use the Helm to recruit another ally, and that Celestia had accidentally touched the artifact in the struggle.

It took Luna another moment to see that having touched the Helm, Celestia was already consumed beyond herself by the lust of its dark power.

It took Luna a third moment to process that there was only one way she could save her sister from the shadows. She felt all the worst parts of herself rising up inside her, choking her. Darkness, jealousy, anger, deceit, hate, greed, all coalesced into a face that still plagued Luna in her nightmares. Then the corrupted face transformed into Celestia’s, and the pain of the future seemed harder to bear than the pain of the past.

“Twilight,” Luna urged, “you have defeated me once before. I know you can do it again!” Then she looked into Celestia’s angry, delirious face, and tears sprang into her eyes. “Forgive me, sister.”

Celestia’s pounce was quick but Luna was quicker. The Helm of Shadows was reunited with its original bearer, and thus it released Celestia from its influence.

Princess Luna began writhing and boiling with the transformation into Nightmare Moon, and Celestia dropped to the floor, wailing as she came to herself and realization struck.

“No! Luna!”

“Quickly, this is good enough!” The shadow spoke. Chrysalis appeared beside the helpless Moon Princess and bound her in changeling slime before Twilight or Celestia could mobilize themselves. Then another shadow, glowing with the eyes of Sombra, covered the Queen and her victim and teleported all three of them away.

“Oh Luna, Luna...” Celestia wept into Twilight’s fur, barely able to speak between gasping breaths and great, choking sobs.

Desperation

Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, and Starlight all found themselves quite suddenly in Twilight’s room, and most unhappily awake.

“Alright, Twi,” Applejack rubbed her eyes. “What’s so urgent?” The other ponies who weren’t yawning at that moment all nodded in agreement with the question.

“They have the Helm of Shadows.”

“That ain’t good!”

“They have the Helm of Shadows,” Twilight continued, her voice cold and her face blank, “and they have Princess Luna in it.”

“You mean…?” Rainbow Dash started.

“They brought back Nightmare Moon?” Pinkie Pie finished. Nopony was yawning anymore. Twilight nodded.

“Chrysalis ambushed me in the library. I think she meant to put the Helm on me, but Celestia saw her and knocked it out of her hooves. Princess Luna showed up as Celestia became corrupted from touching the Helm, and Luna had to put it on herself to protect her sister. Chrysalis imprisoned Luna in changeling slime as she was transforming, and Sombra emerged and teleported them all away.” Telling the story made reality set in for Twilight, and a sharp sob escaped her throat. “How could I let this happen?”

While everypony else was still gawking over the news, Applejack wrapped her friend in a hug. Twilight’s tears slowed after a few moments, and her friend looked her over. “Now Twi, you know it ain’t your fault. Okay?” Twilight nodded. “Good. How’s about you tell us what ya’ll were doing in the library so late at night?”

“Princess Celestia and I were researching magic. We were hoping to develop an amplification spell by morning.”

“I could have provided you with a spell if you’d asked,” Starlight put in, “but what in Equestria did you guys want an amplification spell for?”

“To amplify a different spell, a water-deflection spell, so we could protect San Franciscolt from the tsunami.”

Rarity snapped herself back to attention. “The tsunami? So you’ve decided to do it anyway?”

“Yeah!” Rainbow Dash flew up in her excitement. “Let’s make ‘em pay for taking Fluttershy and Luna!”

“Not yeah! What if the tsunami hurts our friends?” Pinkie Pie crouched into an attack posture and glared at the flying pegasus.

“Nightmare Moon ain’t our friend, and we’ve already determined that Fluttershy’s plum gone, so it don’t matter. We need to knock those bad guys out before they do any more damage!”

“Hear, hear! Avenge Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash cheered.

“Plum gone,” Pinkie Pie repeated quietly, standing down from threatening Rainbow Dash and glumly taking a seat.

“Well I, for one, am still holding out hope that Fluttershy is alive. I’m still loyal to my friend, unlike some pegasi I know!” Rarity flipped her mane over her shoulder.

“Hey! Wanna say that to my face?” Rainbow Dash swooped down until her snout was inches from Rarity’s.

“I just did!”

“Girls, this isn’t helping!” Starlight thrust herself between the unicorn and pegasus, then looked to Twilight once Rainbow Dash and Rarity had turned their backs on each other. “Twilight, even if we summon the tsunami and protect San Franciscolt in the process, what did you plan to do next? The waters might flush the villains out, but do you really think it will kill them? We have to have a plan of attack in case they come out alive.”

“Well, I had thought we could just ambush them as they were fleeing since they’d probably have their guard down, but now that they have an Element of Harmony and Nightmare Moon, I don’t know if we’ll be strong enough!”

“Not to mention all those fancy magical artifacts they stole,” Applejack added.

“But wasn’t there something else those ruffians didn’t take? Besides the Amulet of Aurora, I mean.” Rarity turned back around so her question could be addressed to the whole group. Twilight answered.

“The Alicorn Amulet. I know things look desperate, but I really don’t think we can risk using it.”

“Just how desperate do we have to be? I think we’ve passed that point, Twilight.” Now Rainbow Dash turned around too. Her face was stern.

“Well, what are you going to do if the amulet corrupts me too?” The alicorn snapped at her friend, her voice rising. “That might just be the doom of Equestria!”

“Yeesh, and I thought I was the proud one,” Rainbow Dash muttered.

Now Pinkie Pie bounded up, smiling, and put a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “If anypony can resist that amulet’s evil temptation, it’s you Twilight! I believe in you!”

“We all believe in you,” Rarity added. “However the final confrontation happens, there’s nopony I’d trust more than you to bear the risk and save Equestria!”

Twilight took a few steps back from her advancing friends. Her eyes were huge and her mouth hung open. “No! You guys don’t know what you’re asking! If I fail, I could hurt so many ponies, and I’d bear the guilt forever. Please, you mustn’t make me do this!”

“Come on, Twi!” “Trust yourself!” “We’re behind you all the way!”

“Wait.” The girls stopped cornering Twilight and turned to look at Applejack. “It doesn’t have to be an alicorn to make that amulet work, right?”

“Not it!” Starlight screeched. “I’ve already been a villain and I don’t want to risk going there again!”

“I wasn’t talkin’ about you, sugarcube.” One by one, all the ponies turned to look at the other unicorn.

“You couldn’t possibly mean...” Rarity started.

“Oh yes,” interrupted the earth pony. “Remember how you were sayin’ that you know you’re not as powerful as other unicorns? Well, now you will be, to the benefit of all of Equestria!”

Rarity shrank into herself. “That’s not at all what I wanted...” she whispered.

Twilight didn’t take notice of her friend’s misgivings. “It’s perfect! With you wearing the amulet, we just might have enough magic on our side to defeat our enemies, but not so much that we wouldn’t be able to stop you if the amulet were to overcome you! —Not that I’m saying it will, of course.”

Pinkie Pie was looking back and forth between Rarity and Twilight, and she was frowning. “Twilight, I don’t think Rarity is comfortable with this...”

“Maybe not,” the Princess answered. “But since she’s the Element of Generosity, I know Rarity will agree to sacrifice her comfort for the salvation of Equestria and our friends!” Applejack and Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement.

“Right, how generous of me...” Rarity hung her head and said nothing more.

Grogar let the imagery in his Seeing Eye fade to black. “Excellent.”

The Return

The door clicked. Fluttershy lifted her head.

“Oh Fluttershy, my pet! I have a treat for you!”

“My King! Welcome back!” The gaunt mare heaved herself up to her hooves and then glided down from the bed and into Sombra’s waiting arms. Glided, for all the feathers had finally dropped from her wings and left in their place broad, membranous limbs like the wings of a bat.

After breaking from the embrace, King Sombra shed his armor and garments, climbed onto the bed, and set up the picnic blanket and basket. Fluttershy meant to join him when he patted the bed to summon her, but it was too high. She tried lying her torso on the bed and hopping her back legs up, but she didn’t have the strength to jump. Even flapping her new wings didn’t help, for she couldn’t seem to flap them fast enough to generate lift. Watching her struggle and sweat, Sombra mercifully lifted her in his magic and placed the defeated pony in his lap so he could hold her up.

“Thank you, oh King,” Fluttershy smiled. The King responded by reaching down to kiss her forehead, noticing how the corners of her mouth pushed her cheeks up around her drooping eyes, and how her ears fell winsomely to either side of her head.

“You seem tired, dearest. Allow me to revive you with a drink and a tale.” He lifted a darkened bottle out of the basket, followed by two glasses. As he poured deep purple liquid into each glass in turn, Fluttershy watched it seem to swirl with life and glow from within like embers. Her mouth watered in anticipation. One of the glasses levitated up to her lips and tilted a sip of the drink into her mouth. She swallowed, then gagged.

“It burns my throat!”

“Shh, do not fret. It is a purifying tonic that burns because it is working. The process is nearly complete.” Now the Shadow King took a sip from his own glass, maintaining a neutral expression. “Drink it slowly, and I will distract you with my story.”

“As you wish, your Highness.”

“Yesterday evening, it came to my attention that a band of dissenters was so afraid of the truth, they tried to flee my impending reign on a ship in the night. The ocean is such a dangerous place, and foreign shores can be even more dangerous, so I knew I had to go rescue those poor, misguided ponies right away. I boarded their vessel in stealth and took control of it before they even realized what was happening!”

Fluttershy finished choking down another sip of her drink. “And were you able to convert all of them and bring them back to shore?”

“Why, my dear little pony, do you realize who you’re talking to? Of course I had them all swearing their allegiance to me in no time at all! As they piloted the ship back to a secret bay I knew about, I sat on the deck and watched millions upon millions of stars turn overhead. But when I took in all that beauty around me, do you know what I kept seeing in my mind’s eye?”

“What?”

“Those brilliant ruby eyes of yours.”

“Oh my.” Fluttershy was too flattered even to smile, but she managed to tilt her head straight up to meet Sombra’s gaze with those brilliant eyes of hers. “Oh my!” She startled. “Ruby? Have my eyes turned red, oh my King?”

“Yes, they have. Do not worry; it becomes you.”

“I—thank you, good King—I think this has happened before. I mean,” she finished her sentence by looking down at her cutie mark, three bats where once three butterflies had been, and unfolding one of her membranous wings.

Sombra narrowed his eyes and levitated Fluttershy to the other end of the bed where he could look at her. She blushed under the scrutiny. Then he observed dryly, “You have changed much since I brought you here. Why is that?”

Now the mare scrutinized herself too. The fur on her neck and shoulders, around her throat, and down her spine was longer and almost woolly, as if to protect her frail body from chill. There were large cracks in her untended hooves. And the black line under her skin now connected all the way to her heart, which felt swollen and labored beneath her ribs. A pair of fangs protruded from her lips. Fluttershy’s eye color was really the only change she hadn’t already noticed. She shrugged and sat.

“I think it has to do with the magic of Kindness. For a long time, I’ve suspected that my body, for whatever reason, changes to mirror those with whom I share a deep connection. In fact, I’ve sometimes wondered if my ears have gotten longer to look more like my pet Angel Bunny’s,” Fluttershy laughed.

Sombra chuckled too, and then used his magic to unfold one of Fluttershy’s wings again. “But what of these? Did your bunny also have bat wings?”

The image Sombra suggested sent Fluttershy into a fit of giggles. “No, no! These wings, this cutie mark, the fangs and the red eyes, all of this came from an incident with my former friends a long time ago...” Sombra listened with mild interest as Fluttershy told the story of being accidentally transformed into a vampire fruit bat-pony hybrid, and how even after Twilight reversed the spell, some of the bat traits would occasionally show up again whenever she was stressed or sick. “It’s that connection, like I said. Ever since the fruit bats’ thoughts and desires, all the nonphysical things that make the fruit bats fruit bats—ever since they were transferred to me, it’s like my body gained some of the physical things that make them what they are too, and it never really forgot those things.”

“How peculiar.” Sombra wore an indulgent smile. “Have another drink of that tonic.”

“Right,” Fluttershy agreed and downed the rest of the drink. After a brief coughing fit, she concluded her explanation. “So you see, since I have so much kindness for you, my King, it only makes sense that my body would also change to suit yours.”

Now the King’s eyes finally perked up. “Is that so? Well, I’m in need of some good relaxation after yesterday. Shall we see just how well-suited we have become?” As Fluttershy blushed again, he teleported away the picnic setup and magically pulled the mare up in front of himself. Then he leaned forward until he was lying on top of her and began tickling her chin with kisses.

Fluttershy giggled, taking pleasure in her King’s pleasure.

She awoke when she felt the weight of Sombra’s body abruptly lift off her chest. The stallion was hurtling through the air, and Fluttershy had opened her eyes just in time to see him hit the wall.

“I’ve found you at last, you miserable hunk of meat,” a strange voice bellowed.

“How…?” Sombra started to rise to his hooves. There was the sound of a snap, and ghostly white arms of every size and shape grew out of the wall, seizing the Shadow King and holding him in place. He fired magic at the arms, but it passed right through them. He fired magic at the attacker, still hidden in a shadow, but there was another snap and the magic fell to the floor as confetti. He tried struggling, but the arms only forced him upright onto his hind legs where he would be least powerful and most vulnerable.

The attacker now took a step forward and the dim lamplight illuminated half of his tall, serpentine body. “Where is Fluttershy?”

Hearing her name finally roused the mare from her groggy stupor. “No! My King!” She leaped off the bed with strength she didn’t think she still had and flew up to Sombra, trying desperately to pull him away from the wall.

“F-Fluttershy?”

She landed and whirled around to face the invader. “Leave him alone!”

As the bat-pony stood bristling, her knees wobbling but her will too strong to let herself collapse, Discord gawked. Was this walking corpse really Fluttershy? Her coat was yellow and her mane was pink, but they were dull, and wispy like smoke at the ends. Her eyes were wide and adorable, but sunken and red, and there were burn scars at the outside corners. Her body was skeletal. Her hooves, cloven. Worst of all, this strange, familiar mare bore a black blood infection that ran from a gruesome, festering puncture in her ear all the way down into her heart.

This was Fluttershy indeed, but Sombra had infected her. She was fast turning into a shadow pony like him. Discord had hardly finished processing his shock when he felt the magical ripples of a teleportation.

“What is going on here?” It was an angry blue goat.

“I don’t have time for this!” Discord shouted. He picked up his pony and magically hurtled the newcomer into Sombra before Grogar had a chance to fire his magic. The impact was so great that both he and Sombra broke through the stone wall and fell in a heap of rubble in the next cell over.

Fluttershy wailed “Sombra!” and tried to kick free from her captor’s grasp. Her body gave out at that moment. She fell unconscious in Discord’s arms, and the fear did not leave the draconequus’s face as he snapped his fingers and teleported them both away.

Eleventh Hour

There was an emergency meeting. Grogar glared furiously at the faces surrounding him. Tirek, Cozy Glow, Chrysalis, a very distracted Sombra, and Nightmare Moon, whom Grogar had just finished subduing and converting to his league when the disaster happened.

“We have to go now,” shouted the goat when all were gathered. “Discord has found us and taken our hostage. We must launch our attack before he can warn the ponies. Come, to Canterlot! We have everything we need.”

“But,” moped King Sombra, not rising from his seat as the others had done, “he took Fluttershy.”

“It’s no matter now!” Grogar roared into Sombra’s indifferent face. “We win this battle, and you can have her back along with all the mares your puny heart desires. Now come!”

Celestia was overseeing the outfitting of the citizen volunteers to the Equestrian army. They would need armor and weapons for the battle that was likely to follow after they flooded the San Franciscolt sea caves with their tsunami. Pinkie Pie burst in, singing in a high, shaky voice.

“They’re here, they’re here, oh, sweet Celestia, they’re just over the hill!”

“Then it is time. We must revert to our defense plan,” stated the Princess, looking to her Lieutenant Captain of the Guard.

Princess Cadence stepped up to her side and began barking orders. “Everypony, battle formations!” There was a general scramble, and Pinkie Pie exited to summon the others. “Ready? March!”

In minutes, a few thousand ponies marched out of the castle courtyards and through the city streets. Their rows and diagonals were mostly straight, but only the remnant of the Royal Guard, which took the frontlines, managed to stay in step with each other. There was a deadly quiet throughout the city.

As they approached the front gates of Canterlot, the quiet broke in an eruption of bizarre, dissonant music. It was Pinkie Pie playing a yovidaphone as she preceded the army. The sound caused the thousands more Equestrian citizens who were camping as refugees outside the city walls to clear a path for the approaching ranks.

Ponies lined up on either side of the wide road out of Canterlot to watch the army pass. Fillies and colts stared at the glittering light reflected off that sea of metal armor and weapons. The adults with eyes wide as the childrens’ made furtive glances out to the horizon, fearing what might appear. Some spotted a loved one marching with the grim company and broke down into tears. For a few suspenseful moments, not a sound could be heard but stomping of thousands of hooves and that eerie yovidaphone rising above all.

Behind Pinkie Pie marched the three Princesses. Twilight shifted uncomfortably in the royal battle armor, fitted specifically to her but still foreign. Next were the other Element bearers, as well as Starlight and Starswirl. They had all been suited in armor too, and Rainbow Dash and Applejack took to it immediately. Rarity tugged at the amulet around her neck.

Then the yovidaphone stopped. So did all the marching hooves. A gentle breeze carried in echoes of their thunderous hooffalls. No, not echoes; another army. The tops of dark helmets appeared, and soon the first rows of Sombra’s nightmare-brainwashed horde crested the hill.

All of the Equestrians held their breath.

One by one, wails of anguish rose from the edges of the refugee camps. The ponies were recognizing their friends and family in that dark enemy company, and realizing that if they didn’t lose their loved ones in the Equestrian defense, they would almost certainly lose others from the opposing side. Twilight glanced back at her friends and saw them all bleakly staring ahead, visibly repressing their emotions.

Nightmare Moon flew up above the frontlines of her side’s army, and Celestia too pursed her lips.

The Heart of Shadow

“Now, sir, y-you did the right th-thing in bringing her to us, but I need you to let me h-help her...”

“You mustn’t hurt her! She’s already suffered far too much!” The distressed draconequus stood defensively on all fours over the unconscious Fluttershy. While he was threatening the nurse, another hippogryph crept in behind him. She carefully lined up her needle and inhaled.

In the blink of an eye the syringe was emptied and the brave doctor had catapulted herself across the room. Feeling a prick, Discord screeched and whirled around, but his lion paw slashed through empty space.

“What was that about?” He demanded. The doctor and the nurse merely stared, each pressing themselves into a corner. “What did you… do to me...” Discord tottered from his perch upon the hospital bed, and his eyes drooped. The two hippogryphs rocketed back to the bedside just in time to catch Discord’s limp body before it crashed down onto Fluttershy. With some heaving and struggling, they managed to slide him off the bed and onto the chair beside it.

“I’ll hazz you knoww dis iz a CAPITOL ovvence!” The draconequus slurred, weakly lifting an arm in accusation before he watched, bewildered, as it fell back into his lap.

“I thought you were going to sedate him,” said the nurse to the doctor.

“So did I,” she shrugged. With the Lord of Chaos out of the way, however temporarily, the two hippogryphs got to work on their patient.

Discord awoke by degrees. First he noticed white, everywhere. Then he noticed walls, then a little table with two glasses of water upon it, and finally, the bed where a strange pony was sleeping. He rubbed his eyes and then the memories all flooded back. In half a moment, he was standing over Fluttershy again, but he quickly relaxed when he realized that he was alone in the room with her.

Despite all the little tubes and wires those hippogryphs had connected to her body while he was unable to defend her, Fluttershy looked worse. Her eyes, closed as if in peaceful slumber, were sunk deep in their sockets. Her mane and tail were turning black like smog and billowing more steadily. And that one vein with that infernal shadow infection, it protruded from under Fluttershy’s thin, translucent skin like some vile snake coiling greedily along her neck. At its end, where the black line dove deeper into her chest, Discord could practically see her swollen heart pushing against her ribs, beating slowly and erratically. The impression of decay overwhelmed him and he collapsed beside her, wrapping her in a gentle hug.

“Oh Fluttershy, please be okay. Please don’t leave me. Not like this...” Discord let himself shed a few tears onto her pillow, then pushed himself up off the bed again. He took one of the glasses of water and slowly poured a drop onto Fluttershy’s lips.

At first, she was still. Then without waking, the patient licked up the water.

“Yes!” Discord celebrated. “More!” He slowly poured just a little more water. Fluttershy again licked.

And then she bolted upright, bloodshot eyes wide open, and coughed violently into her lap. Discord tossed away the cup he’d been holding (it transformed into harmless bubbles behind him) and lunged forward to help her. It only took a few firm pats on the back for the coughing fit to cease, and then Fluttershy crashed backward again, unconscious as ever.

Discord sighed and slumped back into his chair, never taking his eyes off the suffering pony.

Twice the doctor and nurse came to check on Fluttershy, and Discord followed their movements with his eyes, but did not move from his spot. The hippogryphs eyed him back and gave him a wide berth as they worked. The second time, once she finished writing something on a clipboard, the nurse clicked her tongue in pity and shook her head. She didn’t make eye contact with the draconequus.

Another hour passed. Discord stared. Nothing changed. Nothing except that her breaths were becoming shallower and shallower, and every once in a while a moan that sounded almost like “Sombra...” escaped her throat.

Then, a hiccup. Fluttershy opened her eyes and slowly stood herself up on the bed, ignorant of the cords and wires attached to her. Discord too rose in anticipation.

A great tremor shook down the mare’s body. She suddenly arched her back and vomited all over the bed. What came out of her, it… squirmed. Like thousands of tiny black worms. Fluttershy stared at the mess as transfixed and horrified as Discord. As the worms started sizzling and somehow vaporizing into black smoke that quickly dissipated, Fluttershy toppled onto her side. Her eyes stayed open, but they were glassy.

Discord watched her chest expand shakily as she took a huge breath, and then… stillness.

“No!” Discord went wild with terror. Before he could think, his ear was at her chest. Quiet. His paw was against her nostrils. Quiet. He let out a harsh wail and snapped his claws.

The chaos he wrought caused him to collapse too, but he fought hard against his body to remain conscious. Grunting and panting, he reached up and grabbed the bedpost, pulling with all his might until he was halfway off the floor and could see Fluttershy.

She was breathing again. Deep, even breaths. Discord let himself fall back down and just lay on the floor. His chest ached immensely, and when he looked down at it, it was swollen.

Discord awoke again when he felt the telltale shockwave of a teleportation. Standing all the way up, he wobbled, then recovered his balance and steadied himself against the bedpost. His chest still ached with every heartbeat, and now he was looking into the face of a pony he desperately did not want to see.

“Hello, draconequus. I believe you have taken what is mine,” King Sombra grinned.

“She belongs to nocreature but herself, you creep!” Discord growled, and punctuated his accusation with a snap. The small hospital room was suddenly huge, and the bed where Fluttershy still lay was a long way away from Discord and Sombra. “Shouldn’t you be with your little pals, conquering Equestria or something right now?”

“Some would say I should be,” Sombra’s fangs glinted in his grin, “but I thought it far more important to come and rescue my beloved Queen.”

“Rescue? QUEEN?!” Discord thrust forward his arms and flexed his claw and paw. Flames sprung from the floor under Sombra’s hooves, but the King transformed himself into shadow before he could be singed.

The shadow laughed. “Is that the best you can do, Chaos Lord? Why not save us both the trouble of a battle you will lose and let me carry her off to safety?”

“You lie!” This time, a lightning bolt. Sombra dodged and then precipitated back into smug unicorn form. Discord clutched his swollen chest, panting.

“What’s the matter? Your hideous mis-matched body not agreeing with itself?” He laughed again and fired a blast of magic at Discord.

It hit, he fell, and his body twitched up and down. Then he forced his consciousness back into place and, still clutching his chest with his claw, shoved himself back to his feet. “What are you trying to achieve?” Discord dodged a blast. “Do you think,” another dodge, “she actually loves you?” The next blast he canceled with a blast of his own magic.

Sombra paused his assault. “Think? Ha! I know she loves me. Just look how much she’s changed in order to please me!” He gestured to Fluttershy off in the distance, who was now awake and sitting in the bed. Her ruby red eyes were so wide, the rest of her face could hardly be discerned around them.

“She didn’t change voluntarily! You forced this upon her!” Discord wielded his tail like a whip and cracked it at Sombra.

The King lunged out of its way, then powered his horn and grew a ring of tall black crystals around Discord. “She told me herself that her body changed like that because she has so much kindness for me. It sounded pretty voluntary to me.”

Discord roared. The crystals turned into black licorice at his touch and he ripped them aside. “You tortured her and fed her lies!”

“And you have never lied to her?”

“I… Not any more!” Discord took a firm stance and thrust his left arm up and the right one down, causing two columns of rock, one above and one below, to crush the spot where Sombra stood. But Sombra was already a shadow again, and unaffected by the blow.

“Are you so sure?” He hissed. “How do you know you aren’t lying to her when you spend all your days lying to yourself?” Purple flames appeared at the corners of Sombra’s eyes, and Discord stood still and dumb as they appeared in his eyes too. He didn’t notice himself falling over, not even when he collided with the floor. Sombra returned to pony form and stalked toward him. “Do you really think you can love her, a mortal, harmony-loving pony, the way she needs to be loved?”

Discord convulsed, his eyes flaming.

“Do you really think she could love you, a creature of chaos, the opposite of harmony, and so wily that you were imprisoned in stone for a thousand years because pony-kind simply couldn’t tolerate you? I at least am a pony, and one that can give her everything she needs!”

Discord convulsed again. Sombra stretched his neck down and whispered into the draconequus’s ear. “Fluttershy could never truly love you.”

That was the wrong thing to say. All at once, Discord broke from the nightmare spell and seized Sombra by the throat. He stood with the King in his clutches and doused the magic from his horn with a bucket of water. “You say nothing that is true,” he snarled, his voice rising, “and I refuse to be fooled!” Discord slammed Sombra into the floor and summoned a shining golden javelin. He stepped down on his victim’s stomach and took aim.

The King merely smiled, patronizingly. “You can’t kill me. She’s watching, you know.”

Fluttershy was indeed watching, and seeing Sombra at the end of a javelin prompted her to wail a protest across the vast hospital room.

While Discord was distracted looking at Fluttershy, Sombra transformed to shadow, slid out from under his foot, and summoned a sharp crystal to stab the draconequus through the spine.

Discord caught the crystal in his claw and crushed off the point before it could hurt him. “Very well, I will not kill you, much as you deserve it.” Sombra launched a magic beam. Discord launched a canceling blast. “But I will never succumb to your lies! Whatever you may have taught her to think, I know you do not love her as you say you do!” A floor tile with razor-sharp edges rose and spun toward Sombra. He dodged, but it grazed his side and left a deep scratch. Smoke, rather than blood, seeped from his body.

“Discord, you wound me,” the King joked, ignoring his pain. “Of course I love Fluttershy. Why do you think I came here all by myself to challenge you for her?” Crystals sprang up under Discord’s feet and catapulted him into the ceiling.

He recovered his breath and decided to stay up there, running along the ceiling like another floor. “You don’t love Fluttershy! You love power! You have taken control over her mind,” he launched down a blast of chaos magic, “and her body,” another blast, “and her heart,” a third blast, which struck Sombra square in the chest and stunned him, “but as far as I can see, the only love you’ve demonstrated is love for that control!” Discord materialized a pile of apples to fall on Sombra and keep him in place as he dropped himself back to the floor and stalked over. “I used to be the same way,” he gritted his teeth, “but dear Fluttershy spent an enormous effort to teach me that’s no way to treat a mare or anycreature, and I listened to her.”

Sombra had been struggling among the apples, but when Discord stood over him and finished speaking, he gave up, rested an elbow on the pile and rested his chin on his hoof. “You speak so harshly, yet what have you ever done to demonstrate your correct and harmonious love for that mare, hmm?”

Discord whacked Sombra’s smug face and sent him and half the apples flying across the broad room. “Well for starters,” he shouted, “when I saw she was dying, I took her to a hospital and stayed with her to help her heal.”

“Anycreature could do that,” Sombra scoffed, pushing himself back up onto his hooves.

“And then,” Discord continued, “I saw that her heart was failing—because you infected it,” he summoned a cage over Sombra, “—and I saw that my own heart was healthy.” He took a step toward the cage, and it began to shrink. The magic Sombra fired couldn’t break the enclosure or stop the shrinking. “So do you know what I did?” Another step. “I switched them! I switched our hearts!” Another step. “Let my healthy heart heal her sickly body, I thought.” Step. “And let my healthy body heal her sickly heart!” Step. “So now I fight you handicapped by Fluttershy’s own infected heart, because I love her too much to see you take her back and finish draining the very life out of her!” Step. The cage shrank until it was tight against Sombra’s skin and he could not move at all.

Nevertheless, the King smiled. “You have taken her heart. How sweet!” His eyes started flaming. “Unfortunately, your valiance will be your demise!” The purple flames started pulsing slowly at first, then faster and faster.

Before Discord could understand what was happening, the heart beating in his chest sped up. It was racing so fast he could hardly breathe, and his vision started going dark.

The tight cage around Sombra melted harmlessly away when Discord fell over. He watched the draconequus push against the floor, but fail to lift himself.

“You’re one of the most powerful beings in Equestria, and yet you are weak!” King Sombra kicked the defenseless draconequus, sending him sliding several feet away. “Clearly, your idea of love is flawed, if you loved Fluttershy so much and could not save her.” Sombra powered his horn, and a few black crystals sprouted out of Discord’s chest.

Blood started seeping from his mouth and nose. “Please, don’t,” he breathed. “You can kill me if you want, but let her be free...”

“Ha!” Sombra pulsed his horn, and a crust of tiny crystals now grew over every inch of Discord’s body. “Fluttershy is mine.”

Discord exhaled and fell unconscious. Sombra grinned in triumph and began powering a massive blast of magic.

“STOOOOP!”

Crystals, not black, but beautiful and clear and sparkling, grew from the floor and ceiling. The enlarged hospital room became a cave with the glassy growths scattering beams of gentle light here and there. The suddenness of the landscape change arrested Sombra mid-attack and he turned about to seek the source of the transformation. Fluttershy delicately hopped off her bed and weaved her way through the crystal shards.

Her eyes revived.
Her step was soft.
And on her face
danced radiant light.
The King despised
this hall of frost,
but at such peace,
he shook in fright.

“You stay out of this!” Sombra now powered his horn at Fluttershy as if to blast her back into her bed.

Fluttershy
did not react.
A crystal grew
and cast a light.
The King was wrapped
within its glow.

He leaped backward out of the light and looked down to see burn marks on his chest and sides. “How are you doing that? I said stay out of this!” Sombra’s voice was a screech and his legs jerked stiffly with every step backwards.

The pegasus
advanced with calm;
her pleasantness
was not a balm.

Sombra crouched to fire a blast of magic, but the power died from his horn when another crystal appeared above his head and streamed down its singing light. The wild King reared backward and as he did, a glassy crystal erupted from beneath and engulfed him. Sombra was trapped inside.

Now Fluttershy
stood gazing up.
“I thought I loved
you, but I see
now, what you are
and what am I
and what you’ve done.
Your hooves of blood
shall be made clean.
Imprisoned here,
you will pay your sins with patience.”

A new beam of light, brighter than all the others, streamed from the ceiling and illuminated Sombra’s crystal until it appeared to glow from within. The Shadow King’s face stretched tight in anguish, but he was frozen in place.

His captor glanced
up one last time,
then turned and pranced
to him behind.
One crystal more
did she produce,
which sliced through light
to cast a rainbow.
Colors draped
on Discord’s form.
No more consumed
in crystal blight,
he breathed again.
And she fell faint.

Sunnybreeze arrived at her patient Fluttershy’s door. She didn’t expect to see any improvement—indeed, she expected the opposite—but she let out a sigh and pushed the door open anyway.

Her clipboard dropped from her talons.

It looked like a giant bubble was occupying the entire room, and her beak was just about to pop it. Inside the bubble was a sort of cave of tiny crystals, and in the center, Sunnybreeze could make out the shapes of Fluttershy, Discord, and another pony she didn’t know. Curiosity bid her touch the strange bubble. Her talons went through its outer wall without damaging the structure, and Sunnybreeze gasped when she saw that her own hand at the end of her arm now looked tiny. Tiny, or far away…

She came back with a team of hippogryphs to enter the bubble together. When they got inside, they found themselves at one end of a broad space. Gazing in wonder as they walked among the crystals, the group eventually reached the center where the three figures, now life-sized, rested. They extracted Fluttershy and Discord, but the unknown pony was inside a crystal that they could not move or break, so they left him.

After the hippogryphs and their two patients were all evacuated from the room, or cave, or whatever the space had become, Sunnybreeze closed the door again and locked it.

Battle for Equestria

Rainbow Dash hurtled toward the ground amid a spray of hostile unicorn magic. She angled her hooves into a single point beneath her and pulled up at the last moment.

Clang! Four ponies toppled over, knocked unconscious. The impact of her hooves sent a shadow helmet flying and revealed the face that had been behind it.

“Oh gosh, sorry Quibble!” Rainbow Dash cringed in sympathy as she ascended to prepare another strike. “How do you even defeat an army without hurting anypony?”

The void of dark sky into which she’d shouted gave an answer: “You don’t.”

“OOF!” Something slammed into Rainbow Dash and flung her all the way back down into the dirt. The pegasus landed hard on her side and the crack of her bones echoed off the mountain walls. A set of hooves landed beside her a moment later, and she tried to push herself up. “Hey, you...” But searing pain flooded her senses and Rainbow Dash fell unconscious herself.

The figure who had grounded her launched into a great, resounding laugh.

“TWILIGHT! Did you see that?” The din of battle almost drowned out Pinkie Pie’s voice as she bounded up and pointed. “Something just knocked Rainbow out of the sky! It looked like she hit the ground really hard! Come on!”

Twilight released a radial blast of magic that knocked her ring of attackers down, then teleported off with her friend.

“THE REIGN OF SUNLIGHT HAS COME TO AN END. WE FIGHT ON THE SIDE OF DARKNESS, AND WE SHALL NOT YIELD!”

“Luna! It doesn’t have to be this way!” Celestia dodged a crackling beam of shadow. “Please let me help you!”

“LUNA? HELP? LUNA IS NO MORE. THINE ‘HELP’ KILLED HER SPIRIT LONG AGO. WE COME NOW TO AVENGE THAT FILLY!”

“Please...” The tear that escaped Celestia’s eye immediately vaporized in the heat of Nightmare Moon’s next attack. Celestia dodged, tensed, and launched a laser blast of her own, but it was dim and weak.

A dozen enemy ponies were flung into the air before the red shockwave attenuated.

“My my, this little bauble is really something!” Rarity lifted the amulet around her neck to gaze at it, then trotted delicately through the mess of writhing, broken ponies she had just created. Others ran at her in attack, but a mere flick of her eyelashes and puff of red magic was enough to send them to their knees every time. “Ha ha! Nopony can touch me! I suppose I really am something of a magician after all!”

“Indeed!” A black figure stomped to the ground in front of Rarity, knocking the unicorn backwards. Her horn began to glow, but the newcomer only laughed.

Rarity hesitated in her recognition. “Queen Chrysalis! Oh!” A blast of green magic grazed her side and unbalanced her. When Rarity was able to face her attacker again, the changeling queen was gone and a tall black unicorn with a flowing white and violet mane stood in her place.

“Darling, you’re wasting your time,” it said.

“Who are you?” Rarity demanded, powering the Alicorn Amulet again.

“Why, I am your creative vision. Your magical prowess has given me a body so I can advise you and fight alongside you.”

Rarity looked back at herself, and then to the unicorn again. The amulet still glowed red. “A powerful unicorn needs powerful advice. Speak, Vision!”

“I only wish to warn you that you are fighting on the wrong side. Your Princesses aim to suffocate you and keep you weak. But you are strong! Turn the tables and topple them! We will fight together and create upon the ashes of Equestria the kingdom of freedom and power and beauty that we deserve. Join me and stomp these peasants into submission!”

Rarity’s eyes glowed violently red and the amulet squeezed itself tight around her neck. “Yes...” she mumbled, unseeing as the black Vision summoned a nightmare helmet in a wreath of green magic. Rarity took a deep breath as if to shout her new allegiance.

Another shout interrupted her. “Oh no, ya don’t! Take that!” There was a whack that shook the ground and Rarity watched as Applejack’s kick sent the Vision, now transforming back into Chrysalis, flying to the other side of the battlefield.

“I reckon’ that’ll keep her out of the way for a few minutes, at least. You alright?”

“Applejack! I am terribly sorry, but I believe you are now in my way—”

“What?”

“—And now you shall be my first victim!”

“Oh, it’s that danged amulet! Yah!” As Rarity powered her horn, Applejack took a giant leap, planting her hat on Rarity’s head as she sailed over.

“Eek! This thing is filthy!” The white unicorn flung the offensive accessory away at once (Applejack bounced up and caught it on her head) and sat down to run her hooves over her mane. “Hat hair, hat hair,” she shrieked.

Applejack walked up. “Calm down, Rarity. Fix your hair like ya do and focus. That amulet is getting to your head!” Rarity said nothing but whimpered as she worked her mane back to perfection.

Then she sighed. “Thank you Applejack. I believe I am myself again.”

“Uh-oh,” Applejack pointed at the advancing foes, “looks like break time’s over. Why don’t you give your magic a rest for a bit and fight like I showed ya?” She bucked the air for demonstration.

“I think you’re right darling, but maybe you ought to stay by my side for a while?”

“You got it!” Applejack swung around to stand at Rarity’s side facing the other direction, giving her a hard bump of encouragement that made her friend stumble as she did. “Yeehaw!”

Covering each other’s backs, the pair set about fending off the circle of brainwashed ponies.

“Rainbow!” Twilight bent down to her friend and initiated a healing spell as soon as she and Pinkie Pie arrived.

“Uh, who’s that?” The Element of Laughter pointed very seriously to the side.

“Not now, Pinkie!” An eruption of unfamiliar chortling broke Twilight’s concentration, so she whipped around to confront. And gasped. “You’re… You’re Grogar!”

He laughed again. “That’s right, my pitiful little pony. Equestria will soon be mine, and you have no power to stop me!” Grogar lowered the Staff of Sacanas to point it at Twilight.

The alicorn summoned a domed forcefield over herself and her two friends just as a massive wave of energy washed over them. When it passed, Grogar was already preparing his next attack.

“He’s right!” Another instant was all it took for Twilight to teleport the three of them away to regroup.

She took them to Celestia. “Princess! We finally know who’s leading the attack on Equestria! It’s Grogar!”

Celestia didn’t respond at first as she fired another blast at her corrupted sister, then panted from the effort. “Grogar? I don’t...Oh. Oh my.” Celestia turned to look at Twilight. “Did you see him? UGH!”

Nightmare Moon took advantage of the distraction and landed a blast on Celestia’s face. The Princess now lay on her back, barely conscious and bleeding from her nose.

“Princess!” Twilight ran to her mentor’s side.

“Twilight, wait!” Pinkie Pie pointed to Nightmare Moon, who was strutting over wearing a malicious grin.

“TAKE THAT!” A red sphere of light crashed into Nightmare Moon and sent her flying into the next scuffle over. “HA HA! Look at me! Bow—”

Applejack slapped Rarity. “Get ahold of yourself!”

“Right, yes,” the unicorn mumbled, rubbing the red spot on her cheek.

Twilight stepped into the circle of her friends. “Good, we’re all here. Pinkie Pie and I just found out our enemies are far more dangerous than we had even dared to imagine.”

“We did?” Pinkie Pie interrupted.

“Yes, we did. They’re being led by a very ancient evil, maybe even the founder of evil himself, and he’s wielding the Staff of Sacanas to boot! We don’t have a chance without friendship magic, so we need to—”

“SHINY, STOP!”

The friends turned to see the afterglow of a pink explosion and the body of Princess Cadence launching into the sky. But before Twilight could mobilize, her sister-in-law’s wings extended and she brought herself safely back down to the battlefield.

“Is it time to rainbow-blast them to smithereens?” Rainbow Dash lifted her head, trying to smile but obviously shaking from the effort.

“Yes it is! Everypony ready?” Twilight looked around as her friends all nodded.

“What fortune! It has been far too long since I’ve had any real magic to snack on around here.”

The five friends turned as one to behold the owner of the familiar voice. Lord Tirek stood tall over them, his body strong and muscular again. Cozy Glow sat on his shoulder brandishing a huge grin on her face and Yksler’s Helm on her head. A white pulse emanated from the filly and the glow of Twilight and Rarity’s powered horns evaporated. Tirek leaned down to smirk in their faces.

“Miss me, Princess Twilight?”

The Final Stand

Discord lifted his head and his vision spun. Then he saw her. “Fluttershy?”

The pegasus lying in a hospital bed stirred. Gently, Discord crawled out of his bed and onto hers. He sat beside her and stroked her mane, watching her even and easy breaths. After a few quiet minutes, Fluttershy’s eyes cracked open.

“Discord? Where are we? What happened?”

“We seem to be in a hospital room, but that’s all I can remember.”

“Oh.” Sitting up, Fluttershy leaned into Discord and gazed around the room, trying to jog her memory. “Oh!” She exclaimed when her eyes landed on her own cloven hooves. Discord noticed as the mare stood to scrutinize the rest of her body that her movements now looked strong and healthy. “Someone did this to me,” she remarked, gesturing to herself.

“You’re right.” Discord rubbed his chin. “It was… It was Sombra! I rescued you from Sombra and brought you here!”

“Sombra,” she muttered, her eyes darkening. “I remember he convinced me you weren’t coming.”

Now Discord leaped up and levitated above the bed, subconsciously catching his tail in a stranglehold. “Well I remember he tricked you into loving him! I remember he convinced himself he loved you back, and he came to try to steal you away again!”

“And then you two were fighting! Oh, I was so scared I felt like I couldn’t move! Discord, I didn’t know who to root for. I didn’t want Sombra to get hurt—I still thought I loved him!”

Discord landed back on the bed and studied Fluttershy’s eyes. “You don’t still think that, do you?”

“I, well, no. I think something you said changed my mind.”

“Say, what happened to that pitiful unicorn, anyway? I remember fighting him, but I can’t recall how it all ended!”

“I think… I think he was about to kill you. Suddenly, I was so angry, and then, then there were crystals everywhere, and I felt like I was losing control of myself.”

Discord grabbed Fluttershy’s shoulders. “What happened?”

“I don’t remember! I think I wasn’t quite myself at that point.”

“Gaah! Well we’re here and Sombra’s not, so it must have been something good. Let’s go see if we can find out!”

Discord’s teleportation landed them right outside the door of Fluttershy’s former hospital room. The mare tried jiggling the handle, but it was locked.

A hippogryph appeared around a corner of the hallway and started running at them. “Hey! What are you doing out here? You can’t go in there!”

“Alright, we do this my way!” Discord grabbed the handle and melted it in his paw. The door then swung open, Discord and Fluttershy dashed inside, and Discord fashioned a new lock onto the door out of a carrot he pulled out of his ear. A few seconds later, there was a jiggle, but the hippogryph in the hallway failed to get the door to open. Discord and Fluttershy turned around to investigate the room.

Their mouths fell agape. They were not in a hospital room, but an immense cave of clear, glowing crystals. In the center, they found Sombra, encased in the largest one.

Discord gawked at the still figure, then turned to Fluttershy and furrowed his brow. “Remember anything yet?”

Fluttershy didn’t stop staring at Sombra. “Yes…” Haltingly, as vague memories flowed in, Fluttershy told a transfixed Discord her story as she grew the cave, imprisoned Sombra, and healed her friend. “How did I do all that?”

Discord started laughing as realization struck. “My dear, you used chaos magic!”

“Huh?”

“Yes! Sombra had poisoned your heart and you were dying, so to save you, I switched our hearts!” Discord laughed again, and put his ear up to Fluttershy’s chest to listen. “That’s my heartbeat in there! You had chaos magic in your veins and somehow you wielded it!”

“Really?” Fluttershy held Discord’s gaze in wonder.

“And the switch must have worked! Look how much better you are!”

“But if you had my heart and it was sick, didn’t it hurt you?”

Then Discord leaned down and wrapped Fluttershy in a hug. “It certainly did, my dear, but not nearly as much as losing you would have hurt.”

Fluttershy blushed as she hugged the draconequus back. “Thank you.”

They both stood and breathed, savoring each others’ touch.

“Wait, we can’t just be hanging around here!” Discord shot up. “Your friends are in great danger. We have to go help them!”

“Oh my! But what about him?” She pointed to Sombra.

“Good point. First, here.” He snapped, and Fluttershy felt a brief rush behind her ribs. “We each have our own hearts again. And now...” Discord made broad motions with his arms as if he were gathering up a giant wad of something and crushing it down to fit in his palm. As he did, Fluttershy watched the crystal cave shrink, leaving only her old hospital room, completely back to normal, in its stead. Discord tossed up his ball of crumpled space and caught it again. “I had put a pocket dimension in this room for the battle. Now it can go right back in my pocket, and Sombra with it!”

Discord pulled out a section of his skin to form a pocket and dropped the dimension inside. Then he scooped up Fluttershy and with a snap, they vanished from the room.

“I will handle them.” Celestia now stood over the circle of friends, ignoring the blood caked to her muzzle. “Go and do what you need to do.” She was visibly shaking.

“But princess—”

“Now!”

Twilight teleported herself and her four friends away immediately. While Cozy Glow aimed Yksler’s Helm at them to try to halt the spell, Celestia fired a hasty blast right at the filly’s head. The magical impact hit the helm and nothing else, sending it careening off into the battlefield. Cozy Glow dove after it.

Lord Tirek watched unamused as his partner disappeared. “That will only delay the inevitable, you know.”

“A delay may be all I need!” Celestia powered her magic and Tirek did the same.

Starlight darted behind one boulder and then another for cover. “Think, think, think,” she muttered. Every few seconds, between incoming bursts of magical blasts and flying arrows, the unicorn would pause and cast a spell.

Removing the helmets did nothing. Halting spells only froze attackers for a few seconds. Desist spells would make them drop their weapons, but they’d immediately pick them up again. Awakening spells seemed to do the most. The green glow of her brainwashed friends’ eyes would diminish and they would vigorously shake their heads, but the effect never lasted. Starlight kept thinking and dodging and casting.

Finally, she tried a variant awakening spell combined with a clarity spell. The unicorn it hit halted, the green glow of his eyes vanished, and he removed his helmet.

“Sunburst? Oh my gosh, are you okay?” Starlight bounded up to her friend and lead him behind a boulder out of the line of fire.

“I… I think so. What’s going on?”

“You were brainwashed by King Sombra and fighting with him and his league of villains to take over Equestria.” Starlight hugged her friend. “Oh, I’m so glad you’re okay!”

She was so glad indeed, that she didn’t notice as Sunburst’s frame grew larger under her arms. Starlight didn’t even pull back until she heard the wrong voice laughing maniacally.

“What a simple little foal you are!”

This wasn’t Sunburst; it was Queen Chrysalis! Starlight fired up an attack.

“Don’t even try,” Chrysalis laughed again. Then she opened her mouth and drained some of Starlight’s love. Once in the Queen’s grasp, the unicorn was powerless to attack or escape. And when Chrysalis finally dropped her, she found she couldn’t move, for her hooves were trapped in green slime.

“Thank you for that refreshing snack. I may return for the rest of your love later. If you’re still alive, that is!” Queen Chrysalis flew off with a final chuckle.

An arrow struck the ground in front of Starlight as magic lasers flew overhead. She swallowed, and her face went white.

Rainbow Dash was standing again, but Applejack could see she was working hard to disguise the pain on her face.

“Alright girls, let’s do this!” Twilight powered her horn and her eyes started to glow. The others all tensed and shut their eyes in concentration as they lifted off the ground. Purple sparks erupted. Then some orange, and white, and pink. A rainbow stream of light began to weave among them.

Cozy Glow arrived, wearing Yksler’s Helm again. “Stop, in the name of me!” A white pulse went out and the filly looked among the floating, glowing ponies expectantly, but they were not disarmed. “What? Why won’t this stupid thing work?” She exclaimed.

All of a sudden, the rainbow dropped, and five ponies fell.

Rarity landed on her hooves with her amulet and horn already flaming red. “You little beast!”

“Aaah!” Cozy Glow retreated immediately.

“Rarity, we almost had it!” Rainbow Dash growled.

“Sorry darling,” Rarity retorted, clearly not sorry. “I simply cannot channel generosity or kindness or anything friendly in the presence of such a vile, dastardly character!” She gave her mane a flip.

“But how are we gonna beat the bad guys if you don’t make friendship magic with us?” Pinkie Pie pouted.

“Well, I suppose we can try again if we must, but—“

Twilight interjected. “Rarity, I think the Alicorn Amulet might be getting to your head. Maybe you could concentrate on friendship better if you took it off...”

“Take it off, now?! But this beautiful trinket is my only defense, my greatest power! Oh, I get it. You just want to see me fall!” With the last statement, Rarity lunged at Twilight, horn glowing and teeth bared. Applejack covered her eyes. Rainbow Dash crouched to pounce but fell over in pain instead. Pinkie Pie launched herself into the scuffle.

There was a blinding flash of light.

“Just what is going on here?” A large balloon appeared over the ponies’ heads and promptly popped. The noise and burst of air caused the four standing friends to fall backward onto their haunches, and the fighting stopped. After a pause for recognition,

“Discord! Are we ever glad to see you!” Twilight stood again and smiled, relief written all over her face.

“Who’s that?” Pinkie Pie gestured to the figure in Discord’s arms.

“Don’t you recognize your own pal Fluttershy?” The draconequus glanced back and forth to survey the battlefield as he replied, and the pony he held waved sheepishly. “No time for long explanations. You guys do your sparkly rainbow friendship thingy, and I’ll go see what I can do out there in the meantime.” Discord set Fluttershy down, put a safety helmet on his head, and whizzed away down an invisible zipline.

Nopony said anything as they stared at the stranger that was supposedly Fluttershy.

“Um, sorry to surprise all of you like this, but I’ll be happy to tell you all my story later. For now, could we pretty please do our friendship magic and stop all this awful fighting?”

Twilight opened her mouth to agree, but Rarity jumped forward first.

“NO! You all just want to steal my power, but I won’t let you!”

“Um—”

“It’s the Alicorn Amulet,” Twilight explained, “and we didn’t have any choice but to use it. The wearer is the only one who can remove it, but she refuses!”

“Oh my. Um, Rarity...”

The unicorn turned to Fluttershy with a snarl on her lips. Fluttershy kept her head low and took a step forward.

“You know I would never want to take away your confidence, but I think you don’t need that amulet as much as you think you do.”

Rarity’s horn glowed red. Fluttershy took another step forward. Everypony else held their breath.

“My friend Rarity is the boldest, chic-est, most beautiful pony I know. Her generous spirit is so powerful, it helped even a shy, weak little pony like me learn how to be confident and love herself.” Fluttershy had kept advancing toward her friend, and now that she was right in front of Rarity, she embraced her. “I missed you, Rarity. I still do, because you’re not yourself.”

The unicorn tensed at Fluttershy’s touch. In a few seconds, she relaxed, and in a few more, she de-powered her horn. “Dearest Fluttershy, you’ve been gone so long, and it looks like you’ve suffered so very much.” Rarity pulled out of the hug and looked her friend in the eyes. “I’ve decided to give you a gift in celebration of your safe return.”

Slowly, haltingly, Rarity sat and bent her hooves to the back of her neck. The Alicorn Amulet fell away and landed in the dust. Then the unicorn grinned and hugged Fluttershy again. While they were thus occupied, Twilight hastily teleported the amulet away to Canterlot Castle.

“Sorry for all the fuss, Twilight,” Rarity said when the hug broke. “I believe I’m quite ready to save Equestria now.”

“HALT, CENTAUR!”

Tirek turned away from Celestia to frown at Nightmare Moon. “What do you want? Can’t you see I’m busy?”

“THAT PONY IS OURS. DO NOT STAND IN THE WAY OF OUR REVENGE.”

“What, and sacrifice this feast of magic just so you can live your petty fantasy? I don’t think so!” Lord Tirek and Nightmare Moon squared up to each other.

“Well, if you two can’t reach an agreement, maybe neither of you should have her!” The two villains turned in time to see Discord jump off an invisible zipline and stick a landing between them and Princess Celestia.

The Princess, standing but barely, perked up. “Discord. I am glad to see you.”

“I’m sure you are. Now, which of you shall I pummel into interdimensional quantum space dust first?”

Lord Tirek responded by giving Nightmare Moon a great shove to the side. “Nevermind, Moony, you can have your revenge. I want the draconequus!”

Nightmare Moon launched herself at Celestia. Tirek prepared to attack, but Discord summoned a giant pot of honey which poured itself over the centaur’s head. Snorting out smoke, Lord Tirek pawed the ground and charged.

“Tirek, desist,” a new voice commanded. Grogar marched into view. “I cannot allow you to consume Discord’s magic. You may become too powerful, and our league must maintain balance.”

“Oh, so you would have his magic, then!” Tirek bristled.

Discord crossed his arms. “Excuse me, I’m right here.”

“I know you are!” Grogar suddenly launched a bubble of magic at Discord which popped against his leg. The burst felt sharp, but Discord was too focused on retaliation to investigate an injury. Instead, he snapped his claw and a hundred pink blossoms sprouted from Grogar’s horns, continually dropping petals in the goat’s eyes.

“Very funny,” he grumbled, shaking the flowers away. “Tirek! Seek other prey!” Grogar caused a great gale of wind to erupt from the staff he held and carry the centaur to the other side of the battlefield. Then, speaking to Discord, “Do you really think you can defeat me?”

“I have no doubt of it!” Discord summoned a trio of porcupines and launched them at Grogar’s face. The porcupines screamed battle cries as they soared through the air.

Grogar deflected them with a shield of magic energy. “Well, I’m more worried about them than you.” He looked over where Twilight and her friends were gathered in the distance. Then he stepped upward and began galloping across the air. “I’ll deal with you later!”

“Oh no, you don’t!” Discord pursued, launching eclectic bursts of magic along the way.

Behind them, there was a dark explosion studded with stars. And there was a piercing scream, and a roiling, triumphant laugh.

The rainbow was just starting to weave between the six friends when Grogar’s landing jolted away their connection. “I don’t think so,” growled the goat.

“I don’t either!” Discord landed on Grogar’s back and roped him in a flaming harness. “YeehaACK!”

Now Discord appeared to be chocking himself with his own hands. While he was thus occupied, Grogar reared up to slide him off his back, then tore off the harness and stomped it into the ground.

“What’s the matter, Chaos Lord? Something in your throat?” Grogar grinned and Discord released himself, collapsing to the ground. The ponies moved as if to help their friend, but his face kept contorting back and forth between expressions of fear and malice.

“League, to me!” Grogar shouted across the battlefield, then turned his eyes back to Discord. The Lord of Chaos snapped, and Lord Tirek, Cozy Glow, Queen Chrysalis, and Nightmare Moon instantly appeared in a circle around the ponies. Grogar looked among them and muttered “Where is Sombra?”

“What are you doing to me?” Discord wheezed, still unable to get up. The ponies arranged themselves back into their magic circle.

“No matter!” Grogar shouted. He stomped and caused the ground to break up, some patches rising and others falling, thus tearing the friends and their magic apart again.

When she recovered her balance, Twilight roared. “I know who you are Grogar, and you won’t prevail!”

“Oh, won’t I? Since Discord so kindly returned to join my side, I cannot lose!”

“No!” Discord was flailing, but couldn’t seem to get control of himself. “Th-that’s not! I’m not on your side!”

“Maybe you aren’t,” chuckled the goat, “but your body and your magic now are! I struck you with a possession shard; the more you use your magic, the more control I gain over your will. And now that I can control your magic,” Discord snapped and fireworks made of fireflies exploded overhead, “you are powerless to resist! But don’t worry—I’ll make sure to reward you with an equal share of rulership in my kingdom.”

“WHAT?” The rest of the league exclaimed in unison.

“You would diminish each of our promised lands just so you can reward this last-second addition, who isn’t even fighting willingly for us?” Queen Chrysalis hissed.

Tirek shook his head and crossed his arms. “First Nightmare Moon, and now this? You already denied me the power I required to fight at my full strength, and now you add more and more unnecessary members to our league!"

“UNNECESSARY?!” Nightmare Moon glared. “WE WOULD HAVE THEE KNOW THAT WE HAVE PERMANENTLY INCAPACITATED THAT MISERABLE ALICORN PRINCESS CELESTIA—SINGLE-HOOFEDLY!”

Twilight gasped at this news. Lord Tirek began shouting over Nightmare Moon. Discord continued to writhe.

“So, uh,” Cozy Glow flew up to Grogar. “Are we gonna cut King Sombra out of our little rulership-inheritance thingy since he’s playing hooky?”

But Grogar didn’t hear the question. His face was taught with a smile and he was powering up the staff. “Twilight Sparkle!” He announced. “Your friendship magic overcame each of these pitiful characters I now command. I have been studying you, and I have finally mastered the technique that will end you and your precious harmony once and for all!”

Grogar, Cozy Glow, Queen Chrysalis, Lord Tirek, and Nightmare Moon all rose in a circle above the circle of ponies, and Discord flew up in the center and above all. The other villains were still arguing and glaring at each other when Discord’s eyes shone white and five streams of wild, sparking magic burst from his chest. A stream fell onto each of the villains’ shoulders, and everycreature went quiet with fear and wonder. Except for Grogar, who never stopped grinning. A black ribbon extended in either direction from his chest and grew to connect the whole league of villains.

“Behold, ponies, the magic of enmity!” At Grogar’s declaration, magic cascaded out of Discord’s body and down into the connected five. A beam of pulsing, blistering gray and red proceeded from each of them and joined into a massive, swirling storm. It stewed and thundered, kicking up a ferocious wind that tore across the whole battlefield. And then it dropped and berated the six ponies below.

Discord may have been unwillingly supplying the magical fuel for the attack, but he was still conscious, and he was in agony for his friends. They were consumed. How long did that awful magic fall? Seconds, minutes? Hours?

That rushing sound, was it the gale, or was it a scream?

That streak of red, was it the storm, or was it blood?

That crackle in the aether, was it lightning, or was it a spirit fleeing a body?

Was it her spirit?

Discord could see Grogar, too, was conscious, and wore a victorious expression. It angered him.

He tried to flee, to fall, to flail, anything, but he could not move and he could not stop the flow of magic. Well, he may not have his body or his magic, but he had his mind, and the mind of the Lord of Chaos is a very unpredictably powerful thing. Discord sucked in a huge breath.

And stopped his own heart.

His magic flickered, and in a few seconds, it went out entirely. Discord plummeted while the rest of the league descended more slowly. The ponies were on the ground and moaning, but alive. They had all faded to almost completely grayscale.

“What?” Grogar was practically foaming as he snapped at the fallen Discord. “I command you to rise!”

No response.

“Rise, you imbecile, rise!”

Twilight rose instead. “You’re wrong, Grogar. Enmity is not powerful enough to destroy friendship. Friendship creates harmony, while enmity is created by chaos. But the Spirit of Chaos found friendship!”

By now, the other ponies were rising to their hooves. The villains were dazed by the power that had flowed through them, Grogar was snarling, and Twilight continued.

“And when he found friendship, he didn’t want to create enmity anymore. Discord sacrificed himself for his friends, and now friendship will prevail! Ready girls?”

""READY!""

They joined hooves, and the rainbow started to form again, restoring color to each pony in turn as it reached them.

Grogar tried to retaliate, but the friendship magic swirling around the ponies simply snuffed his magic out like a candle flame. The rest of the league all watched in resigned amusement as their leader flailed and screamed; most of them had experienced this once already and knew resistance was impossible.

The rainbow poured onto each of the villains and then flooded out over the whole landscape. When the intense light faded and the rainbow evaporated, the sun shone.

Grogar had been vaporized, and the staff and his collar lay on the ground. Lord Tirek was slim and frail. Queen Chrysalis was a tiny green changeling egg. Cozy Glow was locked in a magical bubble, with Yksler’s Helm on the ground outside her reach. Nightmare Moon was little, de-powered Luna again. The din of battle had ceased, for all brainwashed ponies had been freed.

“Discord!” Fluttershy stumbled to Discord’s body, and her friends quickly followed her. The draconequus had a bluish cast, and he lay eerily still. “No, no!” Fluttershy started chest compressions.

“Let me do that part.” Twilight pushed Fluttershy toward Discord’s head and lowered her horn to his chest. “Stay back, everypony.” There was a jolt. The unicorn provided the compressions, and then Fluttershy filled Discord’s lungs once, twice. A jolt, compressions, borrowed breaths, they repeated several times, and minutes passed.

Fluttershy thought hard as she worked. “Twilight. This is going to sound crazy and it’s going to require a lot of explanation later, but—” she breathed into Discord again, “—but Discord’s heart knows my body, and my heart knows his body. Could you try switching our hearts?”

“What? No! What if you die, or both of you die? I won’t do it!”

“But this isn’t working, and it might be Discord’s only chance!”

“NO.”

“Twilight, please switch our hearts!” And then Fluttershy promptly collapsed onto Discord, and both creatures in the pile were so, so still.

Twilight froze mid-compression.

Applejack and Rarity traded glances.

Rainbowdash chewed on her hoof.

Pinkie Pie stared with laser focus, her whole body vibrating.

After a moment, the four ponies all turned and glared at Twilight.

“It wasn’t me! I didn’t!” Twilight glanced over her hooves. “I-I don’t think I did...”

“Well don’t ya’ll just stand there!” Applejack started pulling Fluttershy to lay her on her back on the ground. “Little help, Twi?”

But there was a sharp cough, and a desperate gasp. Discord shot up.

“What happened? Did you win?”

Twilight was reeling in confusion and shock, but she managed to point at Fluttershy and bark “Yes. Help.”

“For the love of chaos, what is this?” Discord had his ear to Fluttershy’s chest in an instant. Pinkie Pie bounded up to him, smiling now. Her left eye was winking and her ear twitched in bursts of three, so she had all the confidence in the world.

“Fluttershy was so worried about you, she asked Twilight to switch your hearts! And then Twilight was like ‘no,’ and Fluttershy was all ‘yes,’ and then she fell on top of you!”

Discord relaxed. “Oh, well, if that’s the case, this will be an easy fix!” The ponies all stared in confusion. Pinkie Pie thought Twilight looked especially funny and laughed at her furrowed brow and open mouth as Discord positioned his paw over Fluttershy’s chest.

A shiver ran up the draconequus’s spine, down his arm, and into Fluttershy. Discord withdrew his hand, and the pegasus inhaled. The ponies all cheered.

“Well done, my little ponies.” Princess Celestia landed nearby. “And Discord too, I see.”

There was a silence, and Twilight was the first to break it. “Princess, your… your horn!”

Author's Note

Two chapters to go. Stay tuned for all the answers!

Aftermath

Princess Luna was inconsolable, but Celestia tried her best anyway. “You sacrificed yourself for me, little sister, and everything that happened after you put on that helm was not your fault.”

“It was an impossible choice!” Luna leaned into her sister and sobbed for a minute. “How could I have known which path would be worse? I knew the depth of pain and regret the Helm of Shadows would bring, and even for how desperately I wanted never to experience it again, I still couldn’t bear the thought of you having to live with that pain! But now in sparing you that, I’ve brought you to grief anyway! Why, why does my every decision always result in suffering?”

As the sisters continued to wet each others’ fur with tears, Fluttershy whispered into Discord’s ear. “Isn’t there anything you could do?”

“It may be within my power to put it back, but that would accomplish nothing. Her magic would have to pass through a strut of chaos magic every time she tried to cast a spell, and you can imagine how that might go. Better let her adjust her magic to the broken horn than try to fix it.”

“Oh.”

“Starlight!”

The pony in question moaned as she awoke.

“Starlight, oh my gosh, are you okay?”

“Trixie, am I ever glad to see you.” Starlight tried to rise, but the changeling slime still anchored her to the ground.

“Here, let me help.” Trixie dug away some of the goo with a stone, then pulled her friend until she popped free.

Starlight moaned again, rubbing her head. “I thought I was dead.”

“Well you’re not, and I’m not! The Great and Powerful Trixie was so worried!” The two shared a hug. Her friend’s affection perked Starlight up considerably.

“Thanks for coming for me. I’m feeling much better! After Queen Chrysalis left me trapped, I must have fainted, and all the brainwashed ponies moved away.”

“Well, however it happened, Trixie would certainly have saved you from those meanies herself if she had gotten here sooner!”

“I know you would have,” Starlight smiled, hugging her Great and Powerful friend once more.

Twilight finally spoke up. “Princesses, what do you think we should do with these other three villains? We can’t just lock them up and risk their escaping and banding together again.”

Celestia and Luna now stood beside each other, still grieving but reconciled. The former raised a hoof to her chin in thought.

“Pardon me, Princess Twilight,” Discord interrupted, “but I believe I have the solution to that. Princess Celestia, if my perception is correct, you are in possession of a pocket dimension, yes?”

“I, well yes, but what does that have to do—”

“Suppose I gave you another.”

“What?”

“I can create pocket dimensions at will. I have multitudes already, in fact, but the point is I can rig them such that I and only I can enter and exit or allow entrance and exit. You understand?”

Celestia looked foggy, but Luna lit up. “You’re saying we could incarcerate the villains in limited-access pocket dimensions! Why, that could work splendidly!”

Now Twilight interjected. “But can we trust Discord to be the sole guardian of three of Equestria’s greatest villains?”

“Oh no no no! Only one! I’ve captured King Sombra already, you see. I would simply furnish a few more pocket dimensions and bequeath them upon every princess with the power to manage them, and four of us will each bear only one. That’s fair, right?”

Celestia stepped forward. “Let’s do it.”

Shining Armor’s eyes came into focus, and he immediately dropped the spell he was preparing. “Cadence! Cadence, are you hurt?”

The alicorn stood. “Oh, Shiny, you’re back! I’m fine.” Cadence rested her head on her husband’s shoulders, and he reciprocated the gesture. “How about you?”

Shining Armor pulled back and looked himself over. “A couple of bruises, but yeah, I seem to be okay. Were you battling me the whole time?”

“Yep.”

“Wow. We must be pretty well-matched.”

Cadence giggled. “Of course we are! I wouldn’t have married you if we weren’t a good match!”

They laughed and embraced, and for a moment, they knew nothing but relief and peace.

Twilight and her friends all walked back toward Canterlot Castle, except for Rainbow Dash, who had a broken rib and was being carried by Applejack. As they went along silently, Twilight tested the magical sensation of the new pocket dimension tethered to her. The weight of it felt great; her former student Cozy Glow was trapped inside. She hated to lock the filly up once again, but at least in this situation, the Princess of Friendship might be able to give her proper counseling. One day, even, Twilight might be able to reintroduce Cozy Glow into society as a changed filly. Or a changed mare, depending on how long the therapy would take. Everycreature was lost in such somber thoughts of their own, but finally, Applejack spoke up.

“So Fluttershy, now that all that’s over, wanna tell us what happened to ya? Why do ya look so different?”

“Oh, well, when Sombra ponynapped me, he locked me up in this cold, dark cell. Um, to leave out all the details, he, um, he tortured me. Physically and emotionally and mentally, until I didn’t know what was what anymore. Twilight, remember how you accidentally transformed me into a bat-pony?” The alicorn nodded, and Discord raised an eyebrow. “I think my body remembered that, and a bunch of those bat traits came back as it tried to cope with all the abuse. I must have been almost dead when Discord rescued me and brought me to a hippogryph hospital. When I got kind of recovered, he brought me to all of you, and then I guess we’re all caught up!”

After such a story, the ponies walked quietly for a few minutes.

Rainbow Dash broke the silence. “You sure are tough, Fluttershy!”

“Thanks Rainbow.”

An expression of surprise flashed across Rarity’s face, and she piped up. “Discord, where were you these last few moons while everypony here was suffering?”

Discord mimed offense. “Just because you never saw me doesn’t me I wasn’t helping, you know. I couldn’t interfere openly for Fluttershy’s sake, so I cloaked myself and searched for her in stealth. Once she was back with all of you, I figured you’d have no trouble doing your little friendship magic thingy and setting everything back to normal, as you prefer it. But then I found Fluttershy nearly dead, so I had to do something. And then Sombra showed up to try to steal her back again, and then we battled, yada yada, and that’s how I came up with the pocket dimension prison trick and kept ol’ shadow boy out of the battle we just finished up.”

“So what you’re saying is,” Pinkie Pie bounced up, “you’ve been hard at work behind the scenes without any thanks this whole time and in addition to the big super-fun congratulations-we-saved-the-world-again party I’m gonna throw for everypony, I should also throw a big MVP party to celebrate you!”

“I don’t know, Pinkie,” mused Discord, trying to hide how touched he felt, “I can only let you throw me a party if you can bake me a cake in a flavor I’ve never tried before!”

“Dealio! Wanna shake on it?” Pinkie Pie moved in front of the draconequus and extended her hoof. Discord took it and immediately convulsed in a giant twitch.

“Gotcha!” Pinkie Pie revealed the joke buzzer she’d been hiding, and the seven friends all shared a much-needed laugh.

Everypony had retreated to their rooms in Canterlot Castle for the night. Fluttershy was designated a room to herself, but there was no way Discord was going to leave his friend’s side so soon after rescuing her. He snuck into her quarters and reclined on the ceiling as the two stayed up late in conversation.

“Why did our hearts switch again?” Discord asked.

“Your heart had stopped, and Twilight and I couldn’t revive you the usual way.” Fluttershy sat on the edge of her bed, craning her neck to look up at the upside-down draconequus.

“Twilight?”

“Yes, Twilight. She gave you shocks to try to restart your heartbeat.”

“Okay, so what did you do?”

“I, um, I tried to, um, help you breathe.”

“Ah.” There was a tense silence. Discord glanced at Fluttershy’s lips and she was looking away, already blushing. “Well,” he finally coughed. “That—that did it, then?”

“No, it didn’t!” Fluttershy immediately recovered herself. “I was so scared, and you were turning blue, and I thought you were going to die! Then I remembered how you switched our hearts to save my life, and I thought maybe if we did that again, I could save yours! But Twilight didn’t want to perform the switch because she didn’t understand. I was so desperate, and then something compelled me to throw myself on top of you. I don’t remember anything after that.”

“Maybe Twilight switched our hearts when you were unconscious?”

“Maybe, but… I think my magic as the Element of Kindness had something to do with it. You see, when I have a deep connection with something, either emotional or physical, my body starts to assume characteristics of that thing. That might be why I transformed back into a bat-pony after all this time.”

“Right, I wanted to ask you for that story. It sounds most fascinating...”

“Sure, another time. I was just thinking, since your heart had been in my body once already, maybe my body still had some chaos magic in it. Maybe the memory of your chaos magic in me is what allowed me to switch our hearts and save you.”

“Incredible. Well, after you fell unconscious and I woke up, Pinkie Pie told me what you said and did. I realized you must have my heart and gave you a little jolt of chaos to get it going again, and voilà, you woke up too.”

“So, um, do I still have your heart in me?”

“Goodness me, how could I forget? Yes, you do! Shall I switch them back now?”

“That might be best.”

He snapped. “There we go! Does that feel okay?”

Fluttershy inhaled and exhaled. “Yes, all back to normal. Thank you.”

What can be said after switching hearts with someone twice? Another silence fell. Fluttershy took her pulse as if to double-check, and while she did, she thought she heard Discord sigh and whisper “Incredible...” again.

“Hey Fluttershy, uh,” he started, aloud, “That Sombra guy was a fool, but he seemed utterly convinced that you were in love with him. Is—is that true?”

“He got me totally delirious, Discord. That’s the only way he could have persuaded me of anything. He made me believe I loved him after making me believe that you had abandoned me. I’m sorry I lost hope in you.”

“Don’t you apologize to me, Fluttershy. Really, it’s I who should be apologizing to you! I should have found you sooner and rescued you before you had to endure all that!” To demonstrate his sincerity, Discord materialized a big, fluffy teddy bear with a pink bow around its neck and set it next to Fluttershy. She took it and hugged it up against her chest.

“No, but you have to let me apologize. I, he—he tricked me into thinking I was in love with him. You were always in the back of my mind somewhere, but I couldn’t bear to let myself think of you. It was like, it was like somehow, in feeling love for Sombra, I was betraying you. But you know, I don’t think Sombra could have gotten me to love him if he hadn’t, um, well, he took feelings of love I already had, and um, displaced them onto himself.” She tried to keep going, but her voice was rising in pitch and her mane fell in front of her face to hide the growing blush. “Love for, y-y’know, um...”

As Fluttershy trailed off, Discord’s eyes grew wide and his face taught, neither smiling nor frowning. Slowly, he floated down and seated himself on the end of her bed. Then he got up and moved, hesitating, like he didn’t know what he was doing, to sit beside Fluttershy instead. They were so close, they were touching, and Discord brushed back her mane and fixed his eyes on hers.

“My search for you took so long because I almost died. I had to suppress my magic so I couldn’t be found, and you remember what happened last time I stopped creating chaos. My body started dissolving and I couldn’t stop myself from sinking deeper and deeper into the ground. With every mile I fell, my existence faded more and more and more. And then right before the end, somehow, I received a letter from Twilight. She must have sent it using chaos magic, and it had just enough residual chaos for me to use it to teleport to a pocket dimension and recover myself.”

Fluttershy stared, so transfixed and horrified by his story that she dropped the stuffed bear. Discord stared back silently for a second and then shook himself. “But that wasn’t my point! My point was, through all that, I didn’t care what happened to me. It was all for you, and you’re worth dying for, and my only regret was that if I died, I would have no way of knowing if you were rescued, if you would ever be safe and happy again. I spent all those weeks searching, endangering myself, because I realized how much you mean to me and how much I need you. Fluttershy, I realized...”

A panicked look spread across Fluttershy’s face even as she blushed, but still they were locked in each others’ gaze.

““I love you.””

They both froze, and the same shade of deep red painted both of their cheeks. Fluttershy looked terrified.

And Discord looked surprised. “Y-you said it too!”

She nodded, now smiling meekly. “I love you, Discord. I don’t ever want to be separated from you again.”

Discord threw his arms around the mare so eagerly that he knocked them both over on the bed. Exhilarated, ecstatic, exuberant, they savored the embrace and the new freedom to express a need that had long been growing in both of them. Fluttershy, however, was also exhausted. Her body was beaten up, the weight of the admission she’d just made had sapped all her mental strength, and now she was lying down and warmer and cozier than she’d ever been. She soon fell asleep.

Magically blowing out the candles that lit the room, Discord gave his beloved Fluttershy one more smile and likewise surrendered his consciousness. The two slept peacefully in each others’ arms.

Life Goes On

Three moons later, Equestria was well on its way to recovery, and no new threats arose against the blossoming peace. Princesses Celestia and Luna continued to rule as cities were rebuilt and lives were re-established. Even so, they made public their plan to retire and began transitioning many of Celestia’s duties over to Twilight and her friends, since the Sun Princess was now handicapped. The six of them all moved to Canterlot Castle. They would live there for the first year or two of their joint reign until individual roles were settled. Applejack, naturally, was adamant that she should eventually be able to do her share of royal duties from Sweet Apple Acres. No way was she staying in the city.

Fluttershy didn’t really mind moving to Canterlot, but she didn’t want to be cooped up in the castle. A plot of land within the gardens was set aside for her, and Discord conjured up a cottage there. He managed to design a house that would satisfy everycreature; the outside was pleasant and covered in plants to make it blend beautifully into the garden landscape, and the inside consisted of a cozy “front house” and a secret “back house”. The former was where Fluttershy and her animal friends lived, and where she entertained guests. The latter, the back house, was actually another pocket dimension accessible through a hidden door attached to the back of the front house, and it was a refuge of freedom and creativity and chaos. In other words, it was the space where Discord chose to live, and where he and Fluttershy often spent their time together.

That’s where they were this morning, cleaning up after breakfast. Today, the kitchen looked like a tropical jungle with trees that grew polished bone in place of bark. Fluttershy had to follow a treasure map Discord gave her just to find the sink to wash the dishes. It was a fun little game, and the pegasus laughed almost as hard as the draconequus about it.

As Discord watched Fluttershy search high and low for that sink, he wondered how the scene would look if the pegasus were still the adorable, plush, round little thing she had been eight moons ago. Granted, he loved seeing this adorable, velvety, almost angular bat-pony that Fluttershy was now—maybe he even preferred her new form, just a little bit—but did Fluttershy want to continue to bear the scars of her captivity?

“Fluttershy, dear, you’ve spent three moons recovering and have gotten so much stronger. Now, I love your new look, but perhaps its time I try to restore your body to the way it was before. Would you want that?”

“Oh, um, I guess I hadn’t given it much thought.” She glided over to stand before him. “How about I consider it over a glass of chocolate milk? Pretty please?” She made her eyes big and fluttered her lashes for good measure.

Discord just laughed. “One more? But you’ve had three glasses already this morning!”

“Don’t tell me how to live my life!” Fluttershy bristled, her expression suddenly the opposite of what it had been. Discord tumbled backward in surprise and tangled himself in a net of blue and purple vines. As he hung there, he snapped the requested drink into existence. Fluttershy calmly took it and began to sip.

The chocolate milk was half-finished when she spoke again. “Sorry I snapped at you. I don’t know what came over me.” She sipped again awaiting a response, but Discord was silent. “Discord?”

The draconequus was still tangled up, staring at her. No, not quite at her. Fluttershy stared back, trying to figure him out. He wasn’t staring through her, really, either. More like… into her? The mare gazed down at herself, trying to find where Discord’s eyes were resting. Finally, she looked back up at him. “Um, Discord?”

“I’m sorry I didn’t rescue you sooner,” he started, without breaking his stare. “And I think restoring your body is going to have to wait a few more moons.” Fluttershy noticed as Discord’s eyes began to bulge. She looked back down at herself again.

“What are you...”

Two more moons passed. Fluttershy eventually told her friends about her relationship with Discord, and was surprised to learn that nopony was surprised. In fact, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack each immediately tossed a few bits to Spike.

“We all figured out this was coming ages ago, darling; we just wanted you to get to it at your own pace.” Rarity hugged her friend in reassurance.

Her friends’ approval and congratulations were a great comfort to Fluttershy, who had spent the last few weeks battling intense anxiety attacks. But she had regained enough confidence by Pinkie Pie’s congratulations-on-becoming-a-couple party that Fluttershy decided to make another major announcement. Not that she could put it off too long anyway. Nopony had predicted this one, and her friends took this news much harder. Except for Pinkie Pie, of course, who immediately started planning another party.

At the end of that rollercoaster of a day, Discord and Fluttershy reclined together in the back house. The mare lay on her back against Discord’s side, and he had one arm wrapped around her shoulders behind her head, and the other laid gently on her stomach.

“Are you still certain you want to do this?” He asked.

Fluttershy nodded. “It’s going to be hard, but I think… it will help me feel better.”

“Okay then. Ready?”

“Yes.” Fluttershy strained to roll herself off the chaise. Discord helped set her down on her hooves.

“Just call for me whenever you want to come back. I’ll hear you no matter how loud or quiet.” He snapped his claws, and Fluttershy was gone.

When the scenery changed, Fluttershy immediately sat down and didn’t even try to move until she was certain of her bearings. There were beautiful, transparent, sparkling crystals everywhere. They hung from the ceiling. They sprouted from the ground. And soft beams of light slanted in from above, reflected at all angles by the crystals.

The center of this cave was visible from anywhere, and after a minute of rest, Fluttershy stood and walked in that direction. Before her loomed a crystal larger than all the others, and it was glowing as if filled with liquid light. A dark gray unicorn reared frozen within this stunning prison. Fluttershy gazed at him, then sighed and spoke.

“Hello again, Sombra. I don’t know how much you’re aware of, but you’ve been in here for five moons. Well, five moons in Equestrian time. I suppose time doesn’t really pass here, since nothing ever happens…”

Unless nothing ever happens, but time does pass. That would be excruciatingly boring. Fluttershy cleared her throat and started pacing a circle around the crystal.

“I’m sorry it ended like this. I can still remember how fervently I loved you—thought I loved you. But now I see how you manipulated me. You tortured me in every way possible, and fed me lies instead of food. You made me powerless and took advantage of me while I couldn’t fight back. I don’t like to say it, Sombra, but you deserved this punishment.”

Fluttershy sat herself squarely in front of him, far enough back from the crystal that she could peer into his face and he, if he had any awareness, might peer into hers. Without restraint, the mare let her tears fall. They made delicate plink sounds against the hard floor. It hurt that Sombra remained still and cold to her grief and her accusations, but of course Fluttershy knew that he was incapable of response in that prison.

“You know, I wasn’t really aware of what I was doing when I trapped you in that crystal, but now I realize that what I did was deliberate. In here, in a crystal in a pocket dimension that you can’t possibly escape, you can never hurt another creature in any way ever again. But you aren’t dead. You’re still there, aren’t you? Maybe one day you will let go of your anger and malice. Maybe one day, we can free you again, and I or Discord or the next Element of Kindness can teach you about friendship. Even though I suffered so much because of you, I still wish I could give you the gift of friendship.”

She let her head hang for a few minutes, mulling over the thought she’d just expressed. Yes, after everything, she still meant it. She would offer friendship even to Sombra if she could. The tears continued to flow.

“I hope you can hear me, Sombra. And I hope you think about my offer of friendship. Maybe someday, if you can give up your hatred while I’m still living, I can introduce you to your foal.”

Sombra’s eyes suddenly jerked down to rest on Fluttershy. She startled, stumbling backward and landing on her rump. The position fully exposed the new roundness of her growing belly. Fluttershy didn’t try to get back up right away; instead, she let Sombra take it in, and gazed back at him with glistening, determined eyes. Now she knew he was there and listening.

“You did this to me, Sombra, and without my consent. I want so badly to hate you, for all you’ve made me suffer and for all the suffering I fear our foal will face in this world.” She spoke through clenched teeth, and now she pushed herself back up to a stand. “But I can’t. So I will love and cherish this foal, and I will tell it nothing of its father.”

Walking up to Sombra now, Fluttershy touched a hoof to the crystal. “Unless maybe, you decide to change.” The stallion’s eyes had followed her, and now as she met his gaze, Fluttershy thought she could see the light emanating from his crystal grow just the slightest shade dimmer. It was as if the light that was holding Sombra captive lost a tiny fraction of its power.

“Maybe I will get to release you someday. But now, I don’t want to see you again for a very, very long time. Goodbye, Sombra.” Fluttershy backed up several paces and tilted her face toward the ceiling. “Okay, Discord, bring me back.”

And Sombra was left all alone.

Discord held Fluttershy as she wept hard. He might never be able to understand the depth and complexity of her sorrow, so he kept quiet, dimmed the lights, and conjured little glowing fish to swim and dance in the air around them.

The mare choked on a sob and sucked in a desperate breath. “You’ll be its father, won’t you, Discord? This foal will need a good father...”

“Of course, my dear.” He stroked her mane, willing her to feel all the devotion in his gaze. “It will be our foal.”

“Our foal...”

Discord lifted her chin as her tears finally slowed. “Our family.” He brought his face all the way down to hers. She leaned into his kiss.

In the warmth of his body against hers, in the cotton candy smell of his breath, in the beauty of the multicolored glow of swirling fish, in the pressure of a gentle weight growing in her belly, Fluttershy lost herself. Together, they would be alright.

.
.
.

THE END

Shadows

The forested path looked lovely on a summer evening. Fluttershy listened to the birds singing, and paused to watch a mother deer lead her fawn out to a meadow. It would have seemed perfect peace and tranquility, except as Fluttershy walked she couldn’t shake a feeling of foreboding, like dusk was fast approaching and she was still a long way from the safety of her cottage. But that ray of sunshine dancing on the forest floor needed more than just a glance to appreciate, and oh, those wild roses looked too cheery not to sniff! Fluttershy couldn’t seem to will herself any faster as her sense of danger grew and grew.

Then she looked up into a tree, and all her fear melted away.

“Discord! I’ve been looking everywhere for you! Would you care to accompany me home?”

“Hmm?” The coiled draconequus lifted his head to gaze disinterestedly at the pony. “Why, fancy meeting you here,” And he laid his head back out of sight. The shadows all around Fluttershy seemed to deepen rather suddenly.

“Um, I, um… Discord? I think it’s getting dark, and I don’t really feel safe out here. Could you at least maybe teleport me home, since I’m still so far away?”

“Why would I trouble myself to do that?” He didn’t even look down to her again.

“Because, well, I—I thought you cared about me? You always used to look out for me...”

“Oh, maybe I did care about you once, but then you vanished. I realized how much I don’t need you, and how much happier I am on my own. So get lost!” With that, Discord took off flying the wrong direction down the path. Fluttershy started galloping after him.

“Wait, Discord! Please, can we talk? Don’t go away! I still need you!”

With every step, the forest grew darker and darker until finally Fluttershy had to stop because even the ground under her hooves had become invisible. She was standing in infinite darkness and she felt very, very vulnerable. “I need you...”

Her whisper echoed into emptiness. Fluttershy curled up into a ball and started crying. How could he leave her? After all the tea parties they had together, after all the memories they made, after all the learning and growing together—how could he do without her? She didn’t think she could do without him anymore.

Had his smiles, his company, his hugs, his sacrifices—had all been a cruel trick? The Lord of Chaos working his finest deception yet?

The darkness echoed with the hollowness of betrayal.

She needed him, even after everything, how she needed him! But where was he in the vast darkness? How could he be reached? Fluttershy abandoned her hope in his reappearance and gave herself over to the loneliness and fear of the shadows.