Corruption Kills

by BiniBean

Rating: teen
Tags: Tragedy, Violence, Princess Celestia, Dark, Death, Alternate Universe, Drama, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, King Sombra
Length: 1561

King Sombra and Princess Celestia have one final battle, after Twilight fails to get the Crystal Heart to save the Empire.

Sombra invades Canterlot after Twilight Sparkles fails to find the Crystal Heart to save the Empire. Celestia and Sombra have one final battle. (AU for Season 3: The Crystal Empire, parts 1 and 2.)

Published 2021-12-21 04:30:00 UTC
Last updated 2021-12-21 04:30:00 UTC

Demons

Princess Celestia of the Sun sat on the single throne of Equestria. The night was soon to come to an end as she cast a sideways glance to look out the stained glass windows. She had recently received news that Twilight and her friends had failed. The Elements of Harmony failed to gather the Crystal Heart and save the Crystal ponies.

They were now trapped in the empire, along with the rest of its citizens, along with Cadence and her husband, probably currently being marched towards their new position in Sombra's kingdom. While Sombra, using his dark magic, took a large population of the Empire to take over Canterlot. She heard the sounds of a deadly battle in the castle around her. The screams of unwilling crystal ponies fighting for the first time in centuries against the guards of the sun and moon.

She knew the Crystal ponies were losing. She knew Luna was on a warpath somewhere in the castle. Trying to push down her morals for the greater good as she slashed and cut through the ponies. She knew Sombra was most likely to be in denial about the failing army. He had a single goal. To kill Celestia. Once Celestia was dead, no pony would dare challenge him.

So, she sat alone in the throne room. Having ordered all her guards away from her to join the battle long ago despite their protests. Which died away quickly when she ordered them to go. Everyone was too distracted by the inside battle to notice the doors to the throne room swing open, allowing the fearsome king to step forward into the long room. Celestia spread her wings for intimidation as he slammed the doors shut behind him, never taking his red and green eyes off her as he held the door firmly shut with his magic.

"Celestia."

"Sombra."

He gave a smile and took careful steps forward. Celestia didn't flinch or move as he got closer and closer.

"I knew you would hide away like a coward." He said. Celestia held her head high. "Always the coward."

Celestia held back a smirk. She carefully thought about her next actions. She could use her usual magic. It would make the battle take more time. It would drain her. There would be no guarantee he would be dead unless she fought fire with fire. Unless she used his own tricks against him.

"You have kidnapped my niece, her husband, my student, her friends, an entire empire. If you think I am simply going to sit here and let you walk away from this, this time, you are gravely mistaken." Celestia replied in her usual soft tone, that held a hidden but deeply serious threat underneath it.

"You can't seriously believe your pathetic magic of light can defeat me? The darkness always wins. Darkness always comes back again and again. Your sister is a perfect example of this fact." Sombra snarled. Celestia let out a slow chuckle and a small shake of her head.

Sombra narrowed his eyes in suspicion. Temporarily confused as to what she thought was so funny about what he said.

"You don't have the elements. You can't banish me this time."

Celestia slowly rose from her throne. She shut her eyes as she ignited her yellow magic. Soon the magic changed. A rush of adrenaline went through her body as she felt her body accommodating to the dark energy engulfing her senses. She opened her eyes once again to show her eyes changing to red and green.

"I don't need the elements to kill you."

"You wouldn't da-" Sombra was cut off when purple sharp tentacles broke through the floor and quickly curled around his body, digging into him, leaving him with deep cuts as they tried to burrow their way into him. He quickly ignited them in the black fire with his magic before flinging dark poisoned crystals at Celestia. Celestia, with one huge flap of her wings, sprung into the air. Barely avoiding them as she slammed back down into the ground in front of him.

Sombra conjured up a scythe, before bringing it forward to slash at Celestia. He brought them down on her in fast motions. Cutting parts of her face and neck before she pushed him back and slammed more tentacles into his body. He yelled in rage as he frantically slashed at them. But this time, Celestia was prepared. They dragged him to the ground. Appearing faster than he could make them die.

They focused on his horn. They slammed him to the ground before grabbing a good hold on his horn and with one clean snap, the horn was thrown to Celestia's hooves. Sombra howled in pain as the dark magic, with a combination of blood poured from where his horn once was. Celestia flared her magic again to force the tentacles to wrap around his torso, any movement tightened their hold. He got the message as he was trapped to the ground. Celestia flew back down to the ground, sitting upon her throne. Complete with the deep cuts and dark magic showing through her eyes.

Celestia crushed his horn under one of her hooves. She gained control of the magic holding the door shut. Instead of opening it, she kept it locked. Making sure no pony would know what was happening.

Sombra briefly groaned in pain. The pair fell into a tense silence as the battle noises died down around the castle. As the guards started to realize that the throne room was locked by foreign magic. As they scrambled to gather up the enemy's pathetic army and find the Princess of the night.

Celestia's internal clock signalled to her that the day was supposed to come. She reluctantly started to raise the sun in her usual manner. Not having enough time to banish the dark magic from her system. The sun rises slowly across the horizon. The sunlight shined through the window.

Celestia gazed from her throne as she watched her sun raises higher and higher. The moon falling below the horizon. She carefully examined her sun. Noticing it didn't seem as pure as it did before. It didn't seem to cast its usual comforting warmth that Equestria loved so much.

She tilted her head back to Sombra. As the broken unicorn laid as still as he could on the floor. The tentacles wrapped deeply around his body. His armour was dented and dug into his body.

"You are pathetic. For all your talk, you were defeated by me. Again. Unfortunately for you, I will not be as...merciful this time. I have had to deal with your annoying little take-over attempts, you and the rest of those villains for centuries. Ever since my rule began."

Celestia paused. Listening to Sombra's raspy breathing. Choosing to ignore the shouts of alarm for the door being held shut by dark magic. The same dark magic that weaving its way across the floor to the nearest magic source to latch onto. Celestia herself.

"Thank the gods I am putting you out of your pathetic misery."

A smile crossed Celestia's bloodied face. A sort of sick smile that seemed unnatural as Sombra's magic combined with her own and made it their new home. Sombra's body shook...from fear? Exhaustion? Pain? Celestia didn't quite have enough motivation to care as she lifted him into the air, letting the tentacles sink back into the ground and disappear.

Sombra. still being held in the air by Celestia's dark magic opened his mouth to speak but all that was heard was gurgling. She took in a deep breath and sighed as she felt content at the power rush going through her system. It was small moments like this she appreciated. When ponies discussed dark magic, they always focused on the negative. Never the overwhelming positive that could come. The power. The sense of control. The sense of freedom.

Of course, she would never reveal that information to Twilight.

Because the feelings always faded. Faded when the darkness left. Leaving her craving more. It was never enough. But, like a good little Princess, she always slammed it away for the sake of her kingdom.

She conjured up a corrupted sword of sunlight. Sunlight Sword was made of dark crystals. She plunged the sword into Sombra's chest without remorse. Blood poured from the wound and quickly followed by his mouth. Spilling onto the red carpet of the throne room. She dropped his body to floor. Watched the blood spread around his body.

She began the process of pushing the darkness down. She, unknown to other ponies, even Luna, had used dark magic before. Each time it had gotten harder to ignore the pull of the power it contained but she-

Something was wrong.

It wasn't going away. Her ears flickered at the sound of frantic movement outside the throne room. Of her sister yelling orders to guards to fight their way past the magic keeping them locked.

She had to silence the darkness now. Or risk her sister knowing the truth of what she did.

She tried again to lock it away, behind the mental walls she had constructed and perfected over the centuries she was alive. But, as Celestia should have known by now...

Nothing is perfect.

Nothing is unbreakable.

No pony can escape their demons.

---The End---