High above the skies of Equestria, the Storm King's stolen aircraft smoothly glided above the cloud layer. The ship was now being helmed by King Sombra, who was planning on using Storm King's ultimate weapon himself, and using the giant laser to destroy the Crystal Empire! Or was he still on course for Canterlot? He didn't exactly make his intentions clear before locking everyone else up.
Below the main deck, in the prison compartment of the ship, Amber Glow, Chrysalis, Grogar, Sludge, Mane-iac, were locked up in individual cages.
Mane-iac and Sludge pondered for any chance of plan they could hatch, while Grogar slumped, for he was afraid he had met his match.
Amber meanwhile banged her head against the wall, and Chrysalis watched Amber's frustration, as they both mourned Cozy and Tirek's fall.
"Listen. Calm down, Amber." Chrysalis said.
"I can't calm down! I want to exact my revenge!" Amber exclaimed. "I can't believe she's gone again! We never should've pursued any of this. We should've just stayed hidden and kept to ourselves."
"Yeah we wanted answers? But what have we found? Nothing! We walked right into Storm King's trap, and now they're gone..." Amber exacerbated.
Mane-iac sighed in her cell. Even she was heart stricken watching Amber mourn the loss of Cozy and Tirek.
"So what are you planning on doing next?" Mane-iac asked Chrysalis and Amber.
"Hmph." Amber grumbled and faced away from everyone.
"Come on. Aren't you two like, really smart? I mean Grogar here has gone on and on about how you guys all thwarted his plan. He fears you guys. Really he does. So why let this King Sombra pony push you around?"
"I guess we bit off a bit more than we could chew this time." Amber said.
"You think you guys have issues? I've only been here for a short while. I think. My memory tells me I've lived much longer, but by all accounts, I only manifested a short time ago. I don't know what loss feels like. But if you don't stop the laser, there is going to be a much bigger loss." Mane-iac said.
Chrysalis gave an assured, but distraught look at Mane-iac
"Very well. Sludge, any ideas?" Mane-iac asked.
"On?" he asked.
"On stopping King Sombra?! Geez! Seems like I'm the only one who's concerned with the sanctity of everything! And I'm supposed to be the villain!" Mane-iac said.
"King Sombra, you say? King Sombra, eh... Well, legend has it that King Sombra did once love." Sludge said.
"Say what?" Mane-iac asked.
"Yeah, according to this legend, he once was in love with a fair maiden named Radiant Hope." Sludge said.
"And how is that helpful?" Mane-iac asked.
"I don't know. But that's about all I got after skimming this book on his history." Sludge said.
"Wait. King Sombra? Book?" Mane-iac asked.
"Yeah. I snatched it from the library. Figured it'd be worth its weight in gold, and therefore easy to carry around than all the actual gold from the castle." Sludge said.
Mane-iac looked at the book, and had a sudden realization. She had an idea for how to stop King Sombra.
"Wait a sec. I was born from your comic book, to mimic the form of a character. Maybe I can mimic the form of Radiant Hope from the book, and..." Mane-iac said.
"You're going to transform into Radiant Hope, and stop King Sombra?" Chrysalis asked.
"Why not have Chrysalis transform into Radiant Hope?" Amber asked.
"Because Changeling disguises, for all your credit, are possible to see through. For me, I literally become the character written on and illustrated on the page." Mane-iac explained.
Amber and Chrysalis were unsure, but there wasn't much in terms of options left.
"Seems risky. But it's probably the best chance there is." Chrysalis said.
Chrysalis and Mane-iac nodded at each other. It was do or don't.
Sludge still was fairly disinterested, but did as Mane-iac requested anyway. He opened the book to a two page art piece of Radiant Hope, and slid it through the bars and outside the cell. Mane-iac reached out of her cell and put her hoof to the book.
She closed her eyes and concentrated. Her hoof started to glow, along with the rest of her, as she absorbed the essence of the book. She had previously been created by the essence of the Power Ponies comic, but now she was absorbing the essence of King Sombra's book.
Her whole body started to glow, and change form. The bright glow blinded every creature. Eventually the glow dimmed, as Mane-iac's new form took shape. Conveniently her new form took shape on the other side of the jail bars, effectively freeing her. Mane-iac stood up, but she was no longer a lean green long maned machine. She was now a sleek and stylish mare. She was the purple and blue maned mare, Radiant Hope.
"Excellent. Now sneak up to King Sombra, earn his trust, and then stab his back!" Amber said.
"I'll uh... I'll do what it takes to make him change course." Mane-iac... I mean, Radiant Hope said.
Radiant Hope gave everyone an unsure look, and went upstairs.
In the command deck of the ship, King Sombra struggled to make sense of any of the ship's controls. He figured the steering wheel on the top of the ship seemingly was just a prop, and down below deck, the control panel had many different buttons and levers, but nothing was labeled. It didn't seem to matter too much. The ship appeared to be on course for Canterlot, and the laser was bright and charging. Seemingly it was on an automated timer. The destruction of pony capital is exactly the type of disaster from which Sombra would need to rebuild his new empire from.
"Hmm. I'm not exactly sure how all of this works. But it seems like everything is predetermined for me. And once those ponies are blasted, I will step in and rebuild my own empire!" King Sombra said to himself.
He heard hoofsteps coming down the steps.
"Huh? Who goes there? How did you escape from-"
Sombra was frozen in shock when he saw the pony who stood before him. How could this be? Surely this wasn't possible. But there she was. His fillyhood friend from ages ago was here in the now.
"R-Radiant Hope? What are you doing here?" Sombra asked nervously.
Radiant Hope (aka Mane-iac, aka a self conscious literature spell) paused for a sec to access her knowledge of Radiant Hope, and come up with the best answer.
"I've uh... I've been away, as you know. But I finally came back for you, Sombra." Radiant said.
Sombra was nervous. It'd been so long since he had seen Radiant Hope. The only mare to truly be his friend. Something about this encounter seemed off. It didn't seem to make sense.
Sombra put on the stink eye, and made Radiant nervous.
"Yes, it has been peculiar that you've been gone for so long, and have chosen now of all times to rear your head, and in such an unlikely place. How did you board this aircraft?" Sombra asked.
"The um... *gulp* The power of love brought me here! Sombra, you fool! I know you've made all these mistakes, and let the dark path lead you to do unspeakably horrible things, but god dammit I still love you! I always have!" Radiant Hope exclaimed.
"How do I know you don't have some sort of ulterior motive?"
"Well I, you see..." Radiant said, stumbling on her words.
"Are you excited to see my grand slam operation to level off Pony capital? Or are you here to once again attempt to sway my heart to the side of good?" Sombra asked.
"Eeeeum....." Radiant searched her memory banks to try to think of the best response.
"I... um... Yes! Sombra you're right, I was foolish before. You have my utmost support from now on." Radiant Hope said.
"That's more like it. No conflicted morals. Just one determined plan.
Sombra and Radiant watched Canterlot castle grow ever so slightly bigger as they drew closer to it. Radiant watched the laser counter, and saw it only had xx:xx remaining.
Radiant leaned against Sombra, startling him, but rather than resist, he stiffened up nervously.
"What are you doing?" Sombra asked.
"Shh..." Radiant shushed him. "I have something to show you."
Radiant eased Sombra. She nuzzled him, and rubbed her head against him. Sombra stared back at Radiant's eyes, and couldn't help but be enamored. Radiant put her hoof up for Sombra, and he put his up, and they slowly inched towards each other. The two lovers touched hooves, and they both started to glow.
“Let’s go, Sombra. Let’s be together for always, the way we were meant to.” Radiant Hope said.
Sombra looked ahead, but decided that Radiant is the pony he wanted to be with. and he wanted it more than he wanted to rule Equestria.
King Sombra and Radiant Hope started to float, and ascend upward. Their bodies glowed brighter, and they also became more and more translucent, as they continued their ascent.
Radiant Hope opened her eyes and saw that the ship was still on course to fire its laser onto Canterlot. Radiant attempted to reach for the control panel, but her body was already half faded, and her hoof phased right through the buttons.
And now she had ascended too far.
I guess this is it. I've done my job. I've given this grueling dictator a happy end after all. Now it's up to you guys to finish the job. she thought as her thoughts fleeted away.
The two of them ascended into the heavens, and faded from existence...
The cells opened, freeing every creature.
"Did she do it?" Chrysalis said.
"Hmph. I don't like how that vile villain gets a happy ending." Amber said in a grumpy tone.
Even so, the aircraft shook violently. It seemed the laser was still active.
"That Sombra may be gone, but I don't think she stopped the ship." Sludge said.
"Then we have to finish the job. Come on everyone!" Amber exclaimed, determined.
Amber rushed up the stairs, with Chrysalis. However, Grogar stayed behind.
"Don't think for a moment I've become your ally, little one. I haven't forgotten who I am. I will have the last say." Grogar said to himself.
"Who are you talking to?" Sludge asked.
"Would you just go away! I can't think of a single use you've served in... well, ever!" Grogar exclaimed.
"You know, Mr. Father of Monsters. I pretended to be a father to a dumb little baby dragon one time. But you're an even worse father than that." Sludge said.
"Then why don't you just leave?"
"Fine. After all I've done. They wouldn't have been rid of Sombra were it not for me telling them about the book. But if no one wants me here, I'm just going to leave you all. After I take with me all the treasure on this ship." Sludge said.
Sludge wandered off in his own direction on the ship.
"Hmph. Good riddance." Grogar said.
Grogar looked around. His two recruits were gone. It was just him.
"Trying to work together with any creature was a mistake. I will finish this myself." he said to himself. "Storm King made my job easy, by eliminating Cozy and Tirek. Now to finish the job, and claim the elements of disharmony for myself."
Even so, he followed the group upstairs.
]
On the top of the deck, Amber and Chrysalis looked out, and could see they were aimed directly at Canterlot. They were traveling at quite a brisk speed, but Canterlot was still quite far out. Still, if the laser had half the power Storm King said it did, then Canterlot was still in danger.
"Alright. Obviously our course of action is to save Canterlot." Chrysalis said.
"Yes. We have to find a way to shut down the laser. Barring that, maybe we can steer this thing in another direction." Amber said.
Chrysalis wasn't sure about the latter idea. They didn't know how powerful the laser was, so aiming it in a random direction could be destructive anyway. Even so, there didn't seem to be any controls for the laser itself on top of the ship.
"There isn't anything up here. In fact, I'm not even sure this wheel is real. The laser controls have got to be somewhere else." Amber said.
"Well then we mustn't waste time. We have to stop this laser.
"I agree! Come on, Chrysalis!" Amber said with haste.
Chrysalis and Amber went downstairs to try to find how to stop the laser. When they reached the lowest deck, they would be met with the toughest challenge the two of them have faced so far.