They all watched as Clover limply fell backwards into the waiting forelegs of Sombra. However, before they even had a chance to voice their confusion as to what was happening, thick shadows began to billow out from the fallen unicorn's chest.

"Clover..." Luna looked on in horror at the scene before her. "What have you done?!"

Celestia fought against her chains that held her in place, "sister! What's happening?!"

"He...he just cut a hole into the dream world." Luna stuttered as the words left her mouth. "He's setting that beast free!"

"He's setting what free?!" Shouted Shining Armor.

"Clover has been keeping some sort of powerful shadow beast locked within his dreams," Luna hastily explained. "I first believed it to be Sombra when it tried to escape a couple nights ago. But now," she looked to the Sombra that was holding Clover's head. "Now I'm not so sure."

"Well how are we supposed to do anything with these chains holding us down," said Rainbow Dash as she struggled against her bindings.

Luna used her magic in an attempt to remove the chains holding Twilight, however all she got for her trouble was a headache. "It's no good, I can't remove them. They start draining my magic the moment I touch them."

The shadows continued to pour onto the ground, billowing into a mass as they continued to rush out of Clover.

"If'n Ah'm bein honest, that thing is givin me the creeps something fierce." Said Applejack as she continued to struggle. "Gosh darn it, ain't there nothing we can do about these chains?"

"Sorry, no," said Spectrum from the spot he laid on the ground. "You're stuck in Clover's chains unless you can either overpower them or he releases you."

"You ever say anything useful?" Snapped Applejack in frustration.

"Um, girls?" Said a scared Fluttershy. "I think it's getting bigger."

They turned their focus back to the shadows that had collected so much that they now reached the ceiling. From the center of the shadows, a pair of green eyes tinged with purple started to form.

Luna jumped forward and started to blast the forming shadows with her magic. The shadows flowed out of the way of the incoming blast and they began to slowly snake their way towards her.

"Luna! Look out!" The Celestia trio called out while pointlessly struggling against their own binds.

Luna panicked as she started to backpedal from the shadows that relentlessly pursued her, every inch she moved was another two inches of lead she lost to keep ahead of it. She fired bolt after bolt of magic at it without success as it continued to close the distance between them.

She felt her rump connect with the wall as it arrested her movement. She pressed herself up against the wall as the thing in front of her closed the remaining couple inches. A space in the shadows below the eyes broke to reveal razor sharp teeth that added to its malice filled grin.

Luna eyes grew wide with fear as its razor-filled maw started to stretch around her neck and just when she felt the end would come, the creature suddenly jumped away with a roar of pain. It shook its body back and forth in an effort to shake free the black crystal shard that now protruded from its neck.

All eyes in the room looked over in shock to see the attack had come from Sombra. "C-Come get me," he said with a trembling voice as he stood over Clover on wobbly knees. "I-I'm the one you want."

The creature of shadow disengaged from princess Luna as it turned to face Sombra and the fallen Clover. It slowly stalked towards them, slowly swaying its mass as it morphed its way forward. Acidic drool dribbled from its maw, the viscous fluid gouging a groove through crystal ground as it brought itself up to its full height, towering over the dark king.

"W-What are you waiting for?!" Sombra seemed to be fighting to build up his courage as shards of black crystal materialized in the air before launching themselves at the monster.

The creature roared in rage as the shards impacted it. It staggered back a bit just before lunging forward, its jaw extending several feet as it pounced on Sombra and Clover.

Neither Sombra, nor the downed Clover even tried to get out of the way as the shadow's maw snapped shut around the two unicorns that were once there.

The creature bellowed in delight as they heard ominous crunching noises from deep within its body. This went on for several moments, bringing shocked horror to the ponies in the room that could do nothing but watch in their current predicament. Slowly, it lifted its gaze to them and let out a loud belch that shook the very air they were suspended in.

As the noise died down, one by one Twilight and all her friends found themselves lowered to the ground as the chains that held them slowly dissolved. Whatever magic sustained them no longer holding.

"Clover...no..." Luna could be heard sobbing from her place against the wall.

"HEHEHEHE," a deep throaty laugh could be heard from deep within the depths of the shadow as it began to shrink in size. "Finally! After a thousand years of fighting that fool, I've finally won!"

The shadows continued to coalesce as the body of the thing solidified into an equine shape. As it turned to face them, they once again found the face of King Sombra looking down at them. Gone was the fear that had clouded his face but a few moments prior. Now that same face radiated fear and a savage delight that took joy in causing others pain.

"Ah, my new subjects," Sombra licked his lips as he settled into the throne behind him. "Come to pledge your fealty already? I haven't even made you watch the deaths of your loved ones yet."

"We will never bow to you," declared the three Celestias as they stared up defiantly at the evil that stood before them.

"Ah...the mighty Princess Celestia," Sombra stepped down from his throne as he approached the trio. "I remember you being taller."

"Stay away from her!" Declared Twilight as she took a battle ready stance, separating the king from the much weakened solar princess.

Sombra scoffed at her as he brought down a backhoofed blow that sent her sailing into her friends. "I will let that slide just this once, but only because I'm in such a good mood."

"Twilight?!" Her friends gathered around her, checking to make sure she was ok.

Sombra smiled a crooked smile to Celestia as he slowly strode up to her, "I should thank you, you know."

"And why is that?" Celestia spat back.

"A thousand years ago, when I fought against Clover, he had me dead to rights. Slowly draining my eldritch might with magics I couldn't understand." Sombra explained in detail. "If you hadn't interfered with our battle, I would've been cast into oblivion."

"You?...Huh?...What?!" Celestia was taken aback by this accusation. She had no memory of watching them fight, nor interfering with them. Was her memory failing her?

"Well, whatever the reason," Sombra took a step forward and held up the unicorn version of Celestia head under her chin, bring her eyes to meet his. "As your reward, I will make you three the finest of my concubines." He took great delight in the disgust plastered on her face, drinking in her ire with a savage grin. "Think of the fun we'll have."

Celestia took a few quick steps back from him, "We will never allow the likes of you to court us."

"It's a good thing you don't have a choice," he eyed her hungrily as he stepped toward the rest of the group. "Now there's only one thing that could truly make my victory complete." He focused his sinister gaze on the prince, "the Crystal Heart, where is it?"

"We'll never let you lay a hoof on it, Sombra," declared Shining Armor as he took a defensive position in front of the rest of the girls, his wife slung across his back.

*Cough* "...It's in the plaza," Twilight's twin said as she struggled to her hooves. "If you hurry, you can get it before the last of Clover's friends secure it."

"Hmmm," Sombra strode forward and the shadows rushed forward to surround the purple unicorn, throwing everyone else back and pinning them to the walls. "You seem awfully forthcoming with that information, why share it so willingly?"

"I follow the strong," Spectrum said sternly, a firm resolve in his eyes. "For the longest time, that was Clover. Now that he's gone, slain by your hoof. I wish to see where that power will bring you and do what I can to help you achieve it."

"Interesting," Sombra slowly walked past him with an approving grin on his face. "Ambition in a willing minion is something quite valuable. Once I secure the heart, you will be the finest of my generals." With those parting words, he wrapped himself up in shadow and rushed out the door, eager to claim his prize.

As the doors to the throne room shut, the walls of shadow holding everyone else back dropped and allowed the angry herd of ponies to converge on the now surrounded changeling.

"How could you do that?!" Accused Twilight. "I thought there was something good in you."

"Do you have any idea what Sombra getting the heart means?!" Shouted a teary Luna. "The amount of damage he could do..."

"Totally not cool," said an angry Rainbow Dash.

"Hehehehe, that was a whopper if I ever heard one," Applejack laughed heartily.

"Oh no," said a concerned Pinkie Pie. "I think Applejack just broke."

"Hehe..." Applejack smiled at the Twilight doppelganger. "You were lyin just now, weren't you partner?"

Spectrum made a strained bow, knees buckling a bit, "guilty as charged. *Cough* Leave it to the Element of Honesty to see through a cheesy lie like that."

"Wait..." Said the Celestias as they joined the group. "You were lying? So where's the heart?"

Spectrum responded by clutching his stomach and started making a sudden gagging noise. He buckled over as they watched a small lump travel up his throat before a small hoof sized slime covered bundle splashed on the ground.

Rarity was the first to stagger backward at the sight, looking like she was about to faint at any moment.

"That was really weird to watch my own body do that." Twilight said, looking a more than a little repulsed. "And definitely very gross."

Twilight's double had a dazed look on her face as she collected the bundle she had just expelled from her stomach and started to clean the slime off of it, "it's...it's not gonna be long before he realizes I tricked him and I imagine he'll be quite...quite upset about it." She said between labored breaths.

Spectrum opened the small bag once he extracted it from the slime and stretched it wide. Allowing the Crystal Heart to fall from what appeared to be a spatial enchantment. Alongside it, six gleaming metallic objects rested on the ground. Every pony's eyes grew wide and a grin broke out across their collective faces once they realized what they were looking at.

Spectrum appeared to be fighting to hold down a coughing fit as a bit of blood trickled down the corner of his mouth, "I...I trust you know what to do with these?"

Sombra soared from the throne room on his shadowy mantle and straight off the balcony. He descended on the plaza underneath the palace, taking note for a moment on the lack of a city surrounding the palace.

"I wonder where the rest of the city is?" He wondered aloud to himself before scoffing. "Hmnf, it matters not. Once I have the heart, there's a whole country south of here, ready to enslave."

He stepped from the shadows, smiling as he approached the Crystal Heart on its plinth. He almost dared to think this was too easy if not for the thousand year detour that accursed Clover had forced him to take.

He reached forward and plucked the artifact from its resting place, delighting in the power that now coursed through his hooves. With this he shall be unstoppable! All shall tremble before the might of King Sombra!

His thoughts were cut off when he noticed something was wrong. Where was the endless power? He shuffled the heart in his hooves, wondering what was wrong with the thing.

As he turned it over and over, he eventually noticed some text inscribed on one of the facets, which he read aloud.

"One to one scale replica of the Crystal Heart, curtesy of the Crystal Empire GIFT SHOP!!!" He screamed in rage as he slammed the fake heart to the ground, shattering it to a million pieces. His eyes shot up the way he just came. How DARE those ponies make a fool of him!!! He was already thinking off all the elaborate tortures he would subject them to as he took back to the sky.

"Looking for this?!" A voice shouted down from the balcony he just came from.

He looked up to see the white and blue prince holding something gleaming from the balcony, something blue and heart shaped. The Crystal Heart!

He glared daggers at the thief, "THAT'S MINE!!" He roared as his body turned back into black mist and he flew after him.

Sombra made it up to the balcony and saw the unicorn running down the hallway with his prize. How dare he deny his king his rightful due! He chased him in his shadow form, a small part of him laughing when the pony ducked into the throne and closed the door. The fool thinks that a simple door will stop him?

The shadow busted through the door, blowing it off its hinges. He'd soon have what was rightfully his!

However he slowed to a stop when he saw the stallion just sitting there holding the Crystal Heart with a smug look on his face. In his state of confusion he took stock of the rest of the room. Six of the mares were gathered up in a circle looking several levels of happy to see him.

That wasn't right. They were terrified of him only a moment ago. What changed? What's that they're wearing?

As he looked them over, he saw five of them wearing necklaces embossed with a gemstone of some kind. The alicorn that stood at the front of their little herd was wearing a crown. Was she trying to declare herself his queen?

"Hey Sombra!" The purple alicorn shouted. "You know what we say in Equestria?!"

"What?" He said through gritted teeth. He was in no mood to play these games.

"Friendship is Magic!" She shouted as the six of them lifted up into the air, beams of power began to connect the jewelry they wore.

Sombra didn't have any time left to wonder what was happening as rainbow colored magic gathered between the six mares and he found himself blasted with the full force of harmony.

Author's Note

And you thought I didn't have a reason why all of Twilight's friends were there.

Day 4 of the finale.
See ya'll tomorrow.

Friendship is Magic!