Revenge of Sombra

by Compendium of Steve

Press Start

“Reactor 1, output normal. Adjust Fear Balancer to... 035!”

A glint as something rises from below.

“Let’s raise the anchor. Check Gravitational Spell Generator, 1, 2, 3 OK!!”

The rumbling of the earth as the behemoth awakens.

“Release the Sails. Solar level 666!”

As the beast spreads its wings, a virtuous spec races to meet it head-on.

“The time has come. The time to show our power!”

The evil king glares out at his impending conquest, bathed in rich twilight.

“Equestria’s lazy lifestyle will end! I shall rule!”

The intersection of fates is complete.

Off the bow of the Evil Magic Warship Nocturne, a winged deity of regal pink and beauty soars valiantly from a distant kingdom. Within the bridge, panic grips the officers.

“C...Cadence is here! She’s heading right towards us!”

“Oh golly! What are we gonna do?”

“She’ll get in the way. Get rid of her!”

The gryphon captain looks to his dark, brooding, armored leader. “Lord Sombra, what shall we do?”

Without hesitation, the evil king gives his order. “Soldiers near the deck, assume combat mode!”

Outside, Princess Cadence aims herself at the side of the vessel, and with a thrust of her wings, propels herself toward the deck. In a burst of speed she blows past the greeting cannon fire and lands, crashing through several ship hands and soldiers in a graceful display. Finding herself by the starboard battery, the alicorn gallops to the nearest cabin door and steps inside. Trouncing some hapless guards with her skillful magic, Cadence heads for an elevator and rides it downward.

Back in the bridge, sensor warnings go off.

“Cadence’s in the rocket valve!” reports the sensors officer.

“Release Giant Crab! Quickly! Quickly!” the captain orders.

The elevator soon reaches the bottom, and Cadence rushes to the door that would bring her back outside. Before her is a massive rocket engine, and standing before that is a giant metallic crab machine, pincers primed for attack. Cadences leaps into battle, battering the machine with her athletics and combat magic.

“Cadence is behind the nozzle. Fix her!” shouts an officer.

Sombra made a commanding hoofstomp and shouts, “Prepare to take off! Blow Cadence away!”

As Cadence readied to deliver a final blow, a deafening roar and blinding flash fills the area, obliterating the mechanical crustacean and launching Cadence off the ship. The princess no longer aboard, the Nocturne lifts into the sky. Relief befell those in the bridge.

“Cadence has been blown clear away. That sure was close,” one of the officers comments.

“We’ll conquer Equestria with the Nocturne!” the captain boasts.

Sombra makes a sly grin, then looking out of the viewport gives his next order. “Our first target... Crystal Empire!”

On the ground far below, Cadence stands up from her rough landing and shakes off the dust and soot. As she looks to the fleeing Nocturne, the ground shakes and two Wicked Crystal Spires shoot up in front and behind her. The living stalagmites split off shards to fling at her, but Cadence telekinetically grabs them in midair and tosses them back, dispatching the two in little time. The threats gone, Cadence rears back, spreads her wings, and launches back into the air in pursuit of the warship.

The sensors on the Nocturne’s bridge start beeping again, much to the sensor officer’s dismay. “Cadence is flying towards us again!”

“Main cannon’s ready. Shall we blast her?” the munitions officer asks.

“Yes, shoot her!” the captain says with a chortle.

Cadence soars into the skies, steadily gaining on the Nocturne. As she lifts to overtake it from the front, a blast erupts from the ship’s deck and a heavy projectile hits the princess in the side, detonating on impact. Cadence falls from the sky in a smoky trail and comes to a hard landing beside a mountain.

“We got her! She crashed by that mountain,” the sensors officer reports.

“Good! She’ll never catch us now,” the captain boasts.

“Are you sure?” the first mate asks.

From her crater, Cadence brushes off yet more dirt, but a whistle brings her attention to a strapping white stallion, none other than her beloved Shining Armor. He gives Cadence a firm nod, and she does the same before they both dash up the side of the mountain. Halfway up they both stop, and holding out his forehooves, Armor let Cadence drop into his grasp before taking aim and sending his beloved into the sky with a tremendous throw.

The sensors in the bridge go off again, the dismay of the sensors officer turning to shock.

“It’s Cadence again, but now she’s moving incredibly fast!”

“Cannons cannot lock onto her!” the munitions officer cries.

Through bursts of anti-air fire, Cadence bobs and weaves with impeccable speed straight at the ship’s bow, extending her wings only when she landed.

“She’s back on the Nocturne!”

“Persistent one isn’t she?” the comms officer remarks.

“Alright, let’s be calm and think of a plan,” Sombra says in a cool tone, but the captain pushes him aside to activate the ship’s PA.

“All soldiers! Get Cadence now!”

The deck had become sheer bedlam. Soldiers of all ranks and practices flung themselves at the invading princess, but she merely blows through them like a typhoon through tissue paper. In the wake of her destruction the forward deck ruptures and catches fire until only the central cannon is left intact.

“She’s at the Main Cannons!”

“Fire! Unload on her!” The captain shouts the command, but it hardly makes a difference. Up close the massive cannons are practically useless against the swift Cadence, who grabs a sharp section of the deck to cleave the cannon in twain. A violent explosion follows, destroying the remaining portion of the forward deck as Cadence flies off to the port wing of the ship.

“The main cannon has been destroyed!” the munitions officer reports.

“Holy cow! What happened?” the captain cries with bulging eyes.

“I just said—”

“Cadence is heading for the left wing!” the sensors officer interrupts.

Cadence battles the buffeting winds as she heads down the wing’s base toward the midsection. Some soldiers on rappel lines and carrying bombs rose to meet her, but a magical severing of their life-lines send them plunging to the wild yonder, leaving their bombs to fall against the wing and explode. Within the bridge, warning klaxons ring off as new damage reports begin filling the monitors.

“Serious damage to the left wing! Approximately 74%!” the maintenance officer reads off.

“Gu....u!” the captain chokes.

“We’re gonna lose balance!” an officer cries.

“Lower the sail! Increase right wing power!” Sombra orders, remaining clear-headed amidst the chaos.

Down on the left wing, a hole into the ship is revealed, and Cadence ducks into it.

“Cadence has entered the duct system,” the sensors officer reports.

“What is she doing?” the captain asks, rubbing his chin.

“Is she lost?” the first mate queries.

Within the bowels of the Nocturne, Cadence navigates the tight corridors, battling all opposition that dares show itself. Quickly she makes her way through a devious switch-and-door puzzle, all the while being watched by the ship’s leadership. The captain slaps his talons together as a smile appears on his face.

“Wait... I have an idea. Hee hee hee.” He goes to the control station and pushes some buttons to execute a heinous command.

Free from the confines of the ducts, Cadence barely has time to appreciate the open hallways before a loud clanging approaches from behind. She looks back to see the robot crustacean from earlier, back in one piece and looking to mince her into quivering pink chunks.

“Hee hee hee hee. Get Cadence, Giant Crab!” the captain cackles.

The bulky metal foe stomps after Cadence, who turns tail and flees deeper into the ship. While the alicorn has to maneuver through tight spaces, Giant Crab simply crashes through whatever gets in its way, be it debris, bulkheads or delicate equipment. In little time much of the lower decks were reduced to rubble, and the ship’s stabilizers begin failing.

“Stabilizers failing!” the maintenance officer shouts.

“Oh no, our battleship is being destroyed...” the sensors officer sobs.

“That’s not important now! Go ahead!” the captain cheers rather menacingly.

Onward the Giant Crab marches in pursuit of Cadence, who manages to lead the behemoth to the core of the ship. The enemy machine fires a rocket at Cadence, but she flips elegantly out of harm’s path, leaving the rocket to blow open a thick bulkhead door which led into a room of great whirring mechanisms.

“Cadence and Giant Crab have reached the reactor!” the sensors officer shouts.

“If we lose power, we’re doomed!!” the maintenance officer pouts.

“Relax. The reactor is in good claws with the Giant Crab,” the captain assures his men.

Cadence rolls into the reactor room to avoid a charge from Giant Crab. Getting back on her hooves, Cadence finds her back against a large, round machine with thick cables hooked to it. Giant Crab lets out a roar and lunges at Cadence, but the princess deftly leaps over its charge and delivers a back kick to its rear. The force of the kick causes the robot to tumble forward and into the machine, crashing and tearing into it in a flurry of sparks and explosions. All around, panels and various devices begin exploding, and Cadence takes flight before the entire room vaporizes. Through a cloud of smoke, Cadence flies through a hole made in the bottom of the ship, then turns upward toward the command tower as the Nocturne rattles in a death throe.

Back in the bridge, it’s complete pandemonium.

“We are losing power! Engine No. 3! Engine No. 5!” the sensors officer lists down with complete despair.

“Ain’t any power left! We can’t fly anymore!” the maintenance officer yelps, shedding tears uncontrollably.

Remaining as calm as ever, King Sombra thinks to himself, (We’ve failed... it is over). Raising his head, he shouts a final order. “Attention all crew! Evacuate ship!!”

“Waah! The ship’s going down!! I’m outta here!” the captain screams as he runs for the escape pods.

At the base of the command tower, Cadence touches down and trots onto an elevator, which takes her upward. As she nears the final confrontation, Sombra addresses his dutiful crewmen.

“It is time you all evacuated, too.”

“I-I want to stay!” the sensors officer says.

“We’ll fight with you!” the first mate stands ready.

“No, save yourselves.” Sombra turns from his crew, a piercing green flame flowing from his eyes. “I alone can deal with her.” After taking one last glance, Sombra steps through the cabin door and seals it shut.

Cadence’s elevator finally reaches the top, and the alicorn rushes out and into the hallway beyond and through the door at the very end. The room is completely dark, however a voice shouts from above.

“Cadence, this is it! Prepare to die!”

A large window shutter raises to fill the room with sunlight, revealing a gilded sword in the center of the room. Cadence quickly takes up the sword as she looks to the rafters where Sombra stands with his own personal sword. He points it at her challengingly, then tosses aside his velvet cape before leaping down to face her at ground level. The two powerful warriors cross blades, matching one another through strike and parry. Sombra employs his dark magic to conjure up a devastating tornado and several warping slashes. Cadence finds herself on the defensive, taking a cut to the side and once to the face, but she presses on, taking any hit she can.

After much struggle, Cadence sees an opening and knocks aside Sombra’s sword, and with him unarmed she thrusts her own sword into his chest. The tyrant stumbles from the mortal blow, and Cadence powers up to fire a concentrated beam of purifying light into the sword, causing Sombra to burst into shadow, leaving nothing but his armor behind.

An alarm goes off in the room as a shutter opens on the wall across from Cadence. Dropping her sword she dashes for the shutter and leaps through, falling down a wide shaft as a countdown of 50 seconds is announced. After some seconds, Cadence lands in a rocket-powered minecart and speeds off. As the princess made for the outside, a dark shadow forms overhead.

“You Shall Not Escape!”

Green, venomous eyes form within the cloud as Sombra makes a final attack on the fleeing Cadence, casting lighting and dark fire in her path. Swerving and jumping over these attacks, Cadence soon reaches the rear deck of the ship, and fires a beam of light at the attacking shadow, dispersing it into a dying roar. Her path clear, Cadence raises the throttle and rides off a ramp, sailing clear of the stern and downward.

The minecart falls for some time before clattering to a landing on a cliff by the sea. Cadence looks off to the ocean and watches as the Nocturne, crippled and smoking, crashes into the watery depths before the setting sun. The vile ambitions of a cruel and tyrant king no more, Cadence steers her minecart to the open plains and drives off back to home, and to those she has saved this day.

“So, what do you think?”

Nothing but silence followed, as everyone in the throne room were registering what they just saw play out on the screen. Cadence was the first to speak up.

“This is supposed to be an interactive retelling of Sombra’s recent defeat, right? It’s... interesting, to say the least.”

“I believe that a video game would be a fun way for the Crystal Ponies to experience what you did that day for themselves,” the game’s creator, Analog, explained.

“That fun aspect is correct,” Princess Celestia said. “Since positivity is vital for the Crystal Empire to remain free from harm, something such as this will no doubt prove uplifting as well as engaging. A little unorthodox, though I must admit.”

“But that’s nothing like what happened that day,” Cadence said.

“Oh yes, well, from what I heard the actual showdown... wasn’t very intense.” Analog rubbed a hoof on his neck. “I thought I’d snazz it up and make it more, uh, more engrossing.”

“Embellishing is more like it,” Twilight balked. “Cadence was too busy maintaining a protection spell to do any fighting, and there was certainly no airship at any time.”

“Also, who were those other ponies with Sombra? And there weren't no gryphons,” Applejack pointed out.

“I thought it was pretty cool!” Pinkie Pie said with a bounce. “All those explosions, awesome sword fight, chase scene at the end. All great attention-grabbers!”

“The music was really nice,” Fluttershy demurely praised.

“It did look awesome, but where was Spike?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Shouldn’t he be the big hero in this game? By the way, what about the Crystal Heart? Wasn’t that the thing that defeated Sombra in the end?”

“That... bit involving me was pretty accurate,” Shining Armor acknowledged, making a slight cough.

“Eh heh, well, as Cadence was called the Crystal Princess, I thought she’d be more fitting for a game catered solely to Crystal Ponies,” Analog further explained. “But I understand what you’re saying. It’s still in beta phase, so changes can be made. I just wanted to make this game accessible for all ages, but I wouldn’t want to offend anypony, especially you, the ones who were actually there.”

“It’s alright. I apologize if I sounded harsh,” Twilight said. “Now, I have some suggestions on how to make this game more accurate while remaining just as fun.”

“More text boxes don’t make a game exciting Twi, just so you know.”

“Exposition is the foundation of any good story, Rainbow. Too little of it makes things confusing and unenjoyable.”

“And way too much makes it super boring and just as unenjoyable.”

“Well you should include Spike in there as a starring role somewhere,” Rarity spoke. “It’s the least you can do for all his bravery. For that matter, it seemed a little sparse in there. Maybe add in some more ponies or towns, or better yet Crystal Ponies, this being a game for them to enjoy and all. And of course have them be extra sparkly.”

“I don’t have anything to say on the matter. Then again, I’m no expert on video games,” Applejack admitted.

“Actually, if I can offer just a teeeeeeny bit of criticism, I think it was too short,” Pinkie critiqued with exaggerated hoof gestures. “I mean, it was all exciting and action-y, but it ended too quickly. Maybe if you made it longer, or tougher. No offense Cadence, but you were WAY too strong in this thing.”

“Yes, well, mind you I don’t make a hobby of going around blowing things up,” Cadence said, but a squeal from Pinkie silenced everyone.

“I just had the most super stupendous idea: why not make MORE GAMES within this one!”

“Huh?” Analog tilted his head.

“What, do you mean exactly?” Twilight asked.

“He said he wanted to make this game accessible for all ages, but honestly I didn’t see much in there that would entertain a foal, or an old pony. All explosions and not much else really. But you could make a racing game, or an exploration game, or even a farming game, and instead of putting them on separate cartridges you can just make them super short like the game you have and put them all on just one. That way there’s a game for everypony at home!”

Another bout of silence as everypony in attendance looked amongst each other. Twilight tapped a hoof to her chin, then said, “That... is actually a good idea. Can it be done, Mr. Analog?”

The game maker gave a little start before replying, “I-In fact, it can. The game as is doesn’t use up much data on the cart, so I could whip up some other kinds of games to fit on there. Different genres, options... it can truly be something for everypony!”

“In that case, you should put a flying game in there,” Rainbow said with some added enthusiasm. “Not much air battles were going on there. Gotta have variety, y’know.”

“Ooh, and there could be a dress-designing game, for the more fashion-minded, sophisticated player,” Rarity suggested with a flourish of her mane.

“Maybe there can be one where you look after small, adorable animals. Or-or, pet-sit for other ponies,” Fluttershy said with delight-filled eyes.

“Um, these are all good suggestions, but could you write them down for the time-being,” Analog said, waving a hoof. “Data space is limited on these cartridges, so just think out exactly what you would want to play before I do any programming.”

“If you need any help compiling code or cataloging those suggestions, then I’m just the mare for the job,” Twilight offered proudly, tapping a hoof to her chest.

“Come to think of it, some sports wouldn’t hurt,” Shining Armor thought aloud.

“Just none that involve tossing me around all the time,” Cadence teased, chuckling a bit.

As her guests talked amongst themselves of gaming prospects and ideas, Celestia made a contented sigh. “I knew this was a good idea. Wouldn’t you agree, dear sister?”

“That I would,” Luna answered. “I dare say that if all works out, this could be well-received by not just the Crystal Ponies. It could very well be a best-seller just about anywhere in Equestria.”

“Just be wary that there are no profits in a product made solely out of goodwill, Luna.”

“But of course...”

“However, a small donation to charity could be asked by selected merchants.” Celestia made a sly smile as she looked to her sister.

“You remain ever shrewd, sister.”