Forgotten

Twilight and her friends took up defensive positions in front of their small encampment. The last thing they wanted was for Sombra and a couple of brutish guards to come in and slaughter them all. The princess made mental notes of how Sombra had changed through the forced revolution of Equestria. He was shorter, but his eyes still burned with the same fire and his mouth still opened in a laugh that was soft, subtle, and completely sinister.

"My little pets," he growled at them.

"We are NOT your pets!" Rainbow Dash challenged.

"Oh, but you are," Sombra said as he trotted around to the blue Pegasus, "you're my playthings in this world of complete and utter chaos. That's why I…took certain liberties with you while you were trapped in my limbo. For instance, I took away Rarity's creativity."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Rarity screamed, "my creativity was all I had!"

"Exactly, my dear, and now you're as dull as the next pony. I took away Dash's speed, Applejack's strength, and what little was left of Fluttershy's bravery. I put all of them in this jar." Here, the evil overlord revealed a small jar filled with different colored magical dust. The elements of each pony's personality seemed to cry out to be rescued, but nopony could.

"I almost had Pinkie Pie's insatiable, and might I add, extremely annoying, hyperactive sense of complete silliness, but then she escaped. Equestria is in my hooves, and I cannot allow any obstacles to pop up that I didn't plan for. Now, Pinkie, be a good little filly and come to Sombra…"

"Quit treating her like a foal!" Twilight yelled in anger as she spread her wings, "or I'll give you something to cry like a colt about!"

"Oh…such a threat," Sombra said sarcastically, "you know I do love a good threat. You're beginning to think like me, Twilight…and that works out perfectly, considering the future I have in store for us here."

"Future? The only future I have is back in the old Equestria, married to Flame Mane, and surrounded by my friends!"

Flame was taken aback by Twilight's declaration of devotion. He had planned on asking her to marry him at some point, but he had no idea she had already made her mind up. He smiled and couldn't help blushing a bit. He pressed closer to her, and the new couple gave Sombra the hardest stare they could muster. Twilight even growled a little bit.

"I do hope the wedding invitations haven't been sent out yet," Sombra sneered, "because there's nothing you can do to stop me! I have Equestria, and Celestia. She's putty in my hooves. I've been wooing her since the day I arrived in Canterlot, fresh off my latest brilliant scheme! I told her I was wrong, and that I wanted to join her side. Like a FOOL, she believed me! Then I had free roam of Canterlot as one of her top guards."

Twilight was shocked. Celestia had trusted Sombra, even after everything he had done? There were absolutely no red flags whatsoever? She couldn't believe that her oldest friend had done something so reckless. Sombra must have had her under some sort of spell, she told herself.

Thankfully, one of her friends had the same thought she did. "Celestia would never do somethin' so foolish!" Applejack said hotly, "you must've weaved some kinda magic over her. Now you're gonna pay for it! You're more evil than bad apples in an apple pie!"

"Uh, AJ, you might wanna work on that country-ism," Dash said.

"Oh, no…WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!" Applejack shouted at Sombra.

"I took away your Southern charm and country folk innocence, Applejack. Now all of your attempts at normal country comparisons will fall flatter than your sibling's attempt at delectable weekend only breakfast confectionaries."

"What?" Dash asked.

"I think he means 'fall flatter than Big Mac's muffins on Sunday morning.'" Twilight explained.

"Wow…mine might've been bad, but y'all's was even worse!" Applejack said before guffawing, "maybe your little plan's done backfired on ya!"

"Oh, I don't think so," Sombra said, "I didn't come here to make witty country sayings. I came here to remove a thorn in my hoof, and that thorn is you, Twilight Sparkle. You've been stopping me for too long now. So I got on Celestia's good side, and then I forced bird brain here to cast that spell. I told him that it would be a wonderful way to make an impression on you. He was so desperate for attention, that the poor fool went and cast the spell right under my nose. He didn't even bother to ask my name. But when you're Bumble Trot, the clumsiest pony in all Equestria…I guess that stands to reason."

Flame Mane looked at the ground as he felt a familiar burning sensation return to his cheeks. He blushed heavily and wanted to turn tail and run as fast as he could out of there. All of the times he had messed up came running into his mind and they began beating his brain. He saw the moments where he had been betrayed, lost, forgotten, abandoned, and violently beaten for money.

But then, he felt a hoof on his own. He turned and saw his beloved Twilight looking at him. Her eyes shone and silently spoke love back into his mind. We can do this, she seemed to tell him, I believe it…now I need you to believe it, too. It doesn't matter what he says. It doesn't matter what anypony says. It only matters what we feel for each other. That will stand against anything.

He suddenly felt incredibly brave and stood shoulder to shoulder with her. "You can say whatever you want, Sombra! But I know I have my new friends and the mare who means more to me than anything else in the world standing next to me! You can't win!"

"Oh…but I already have, Bumble Trot."

"My name…is Flame Mane!"

"How cute. You actually thought that a name change would change you? How pathetic. You're still the clumsiest and most accident prone pony in the land. This dream you have of marrying Twilight will never come true! Because I intend to kill her, marry Celestia, and then rule Equestria as KING!"

Flame Mane instinctively put a foreleg in front of Twilight, trying to protect her. The princess was unsure of how to react to the gesture. On the one hoof, she could definitely take care of herself. But on the other, it was such a brave and humble maneuver on Flame's part that she couldn't help but love him for it. So she decided to unite with him even further. She put her own hoof in front of his.

When the other ponies saw the solidarity of their friends, they did the same thing. Soon, all eight of them were locked together by crossed forelegs, building a pony wall in front of their campsite. Twilight smiled in determination as she fed off of the true magic of friendship. "Sombra, you may think you've won, but as long as there's breath in our lungs, we will fight to stop you. You can't stand against all of us!"

"But I can stand against one of you," he sneered, "the one I've wanted to fight one-on-one since the day I met her…you, Princess Twilight Sparkle." He spat her name in disgust and some of his saliva ended up on Twilight's hoof. She gritted her teeth and forced herself to remain with her friends. Not now, Twilight, she told herself, the time will come.

"What are your terms?" She asked him. Her friends looked on in shock. Surely Twilight wouldn't fight Sombra alone, would she?

"I'll only accept a fight to the absolute death. I'll rip those wings off your side and shove them down that pathetic little throat of yours!"

"Rules?"

"No magic," Sombra said, "I'll even turn off my own. I want to see how good you are against THESE!" He produced his hooves, which were sharp as knives and carried a metallic quality about them. "I'll toss you around like a rag doll, and I'll make sure your blood splatters the ground!"

"What happens if I win?" Twilight asked, "if you're dead…will Equestria be returned to normal?"

"Unfortunately, yes. My magic holds the illusion together, and without it, Equestria would return. But thankfully, I'm still here…and I don't plan on going anywhere."

With a sneer of hate, he stepped towards Twilight and held out his hoof. "Shake on it, and we'll do battle tomorrow at noon at Canterlot Stadium." Twilight, with a bit of apprehension and a lot of bravery, stuck her own hoof out and shook it. "It's a deal," she said firmly, "but don't you dare try to weasel out of it."