//------------------------------// // Chapter III: Worlds Collide // Story: Concordia's First: Mingling Worlds // by Albi //------------------------------// Chapter III: Worlds Collide “Spike, do you ever have that feeling like your being watched?” Twilight Sparkle had taken a brief pause from her reorganization of the Golden Oaks library to ask her young assistant what she knew was a pretty silly question. Yet every so often she couldn’t help but feel that someone or something was watching her. Spike looked up from the pile of books he was trying to organize to fit Twilight’s new catalog system. “Uhh, you mean like when you stare at me in your sleep?” Twilight reeled back and cried, “What!?” “You sleep with your eyes open sometimes, it’s kinda creepy actually.” Twilight’s mouth opened and closed repeatedly like a fish gasping for air. She finally shook her head and said, “No, that’s not what I meant.” “Oh,” Spike shrugged, “then I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Twilight sighed and waved a hoof dismissively. “Forget it, it’s not important.” She watched the baby dragon shrug again and return to his pile of books. Twilight continued to stand perfectly still for a few moments, ears and horn on alert, but the feeling had passed. Whatever was watching her was gone; if anything had been watching her at all. She giggled nervously to herself, “Heh, I must be working too hard.” “You’re working too hard?” Spike mumbled as he began shelving books. “I’m the one doing most of the work.” “Hey, we split the work fifty-fifty,” Twilight countered. “True, but some of us don’t have magic to do the work for us,” he said wiggling his claws at her. The unicorn rolled her eyes. “Fine, why don’t you go make us some lunch while I finish up in here?” Spike’s stomach rumbled in agreement with this deal. He gave her quick salute and marched off to the kitchen leaving Twilight alone with the mess of books. Powering up her horn, Twilight began to organize her current disaster zone of a library. All of the books became wrapped in her purple aura and were lifted into the air. Filing them into an orderly line, Twilight levitated them past her, reading off the title and placing it on its respective shelf. She continued this process for the better half of an hour, watching as the airspace of the library become less and less crowded with books. Twilight smiled with a sense of accomplishment as she shelved the last book. “All done,” she breathed as she powered down her horn and turned to examine the rest of the room marveling at its neatness. When she and Spike had first begun one could hardly see the floor under the sea of books. Now the floor seemed to gleam with tidiness. Spike walked back in from the kitchen carrying a tray of food. He whistled, “See this is why we make a great team; you over complicate the Hoofy Decimal System and I make lunch.” He set the tray on the stump in the middle of the room before grinning at Twilight. The unicorn playfully ignored him and trotted over to the makeshift table. Spike had prepared a cucumber and daisy salad and a pot of hearty vegetable soup. Twilight licked her lips as she inhaled the warm aroma wafting off the freshly prepared meal. “Wow Spike, it smells delicious!” Spike beamed with pride as he ladled some of the soup into a bowl and handed it to her. “Just wait till you taste it. I think I might have outdone myself this time.” The purple unicorn sat down and levitated the bowl from his grasp before grabbing a spoon as well and taking in a mouthful. The spices and flavors popped inside her mouth as she savored the rich texture and bite-sized vegetables pieces. She swallowed and said, “Wow Spike this is amazing!” Spike couldn’t help but grin. “Glad you enjoy it.” They sat in relative silence, enjoying the dragon’s newest masterpiece of a meal. Twilight had just finished her second bowl of soup when there was a knock at the door. “It’s open!” she called. The door swung open and in bounced Pinkie Pie wearing her famous smile on her face. “Hi Twilight, hi Spike! Ooh it looks super neat in here!” she said, examining the tidiness of the library. “Thanks,” Twilight answered, “I spent all morning reorganizing it.” “Ahem.” Spike crossed his arms and began tapping his foot against the wooden floor. Twilight reached over and gave him a gentle nudge. “I mean we reorganized the library,” she smiled. Pinkie bobbed her head up and down. That’s nice. Sooo what are you gonna do now?” Twilight rubbed a hoof against her chin in thought. Using her magic she levitated a checklist over from her desk and began to flip through it. “Hmm, well since we finished early I think now I can get started on cleaning-“ Hearing a tittering noise from Pinkie Pie, Twilight looked up to see her shaking her head in mock disappointment. “Oh Twilight, that’s not how it’s supposed to go. See I say ‘what are you going to do now’ and you’re supposed to say ‘oh absolutely nothing Pinkie please save me from my boredom’ and then I say ‘great, that means you can come hang out with me and the girls’ and then you say ‘oh Pinkie that sounds fantastic! Spike do you want to come along?’ And then Spike says-“ “Absolutely!” “See Spike gets it,” Pinkie smiled widely at her two friends. Twilight burst into a fit of giggles, laughing at the pink pony’s antics. Spike and Pinkie Pie quickly joined in, the three of them giggling and snorting in joint amusement. Twilight wiped a tear from her eye and said, “Of course I’d love to spend time with you girls.” Pinkie began to bounce up and down on her hooves again. “Great! Rarity demanded a spa day so everypony is gonna meet up there.” “Sounds great. Spike, could you put the food up so we can get going?” “Sure thing, Twi.” Spike picked up the tray of food and walked off into the kitchen, leaving the two mares alone. “So, anything new, Pinkie Pie?” Twilight asked in a conversational tone. Pinkie tilted her head in thought for a moment before her face lit up. “Oh oh, I helped the Cakes make a wedding cake for a couple getting married in Las Pegasus, which is kinda weird cause I thought most couples who went to Las Pegasus were going to elope.” “Well I don’t think every couple goes there to elope.” “Well duh silly, otherwise we wouldn’t have to have made a cake.” Spike walked back in from the kitchen. “All set.” Pinkie Pie bounced towards the front door. “Then let’s go, you know Rarity hates waiting.” The trio headed out of the library and into the warm afternoon sun. Twilight could already feel it was going to be a good day. ****** The Lunar Army stood in waiting on the northern outskirts of Maria Village. Clad in armors of blue and black, the earth ponies and pegasi were almost invisible against the backdrop of night. The battalions of earth ponies were lined up in perfect order, still as statues. All of them wore thick metal plating that covered the majority of their body. Their manes and tails had been trimmed short. Above them floated the many squadron of pegasi, all who were arranged in V-formations. Unlike their earthbound counterparts, their armor was lighter and provided a little more air maneuverability. Yet on the front of every pony’s armor was the same insignia: a crescent moon against a black background; the cutie mark of their empress. Another item the soldiers shared was the visors they wore. Nightmare Moon had enchanted all of them to shade their eyes from the harsh light of the sun. It was far easier to enchant metal then to enchant each individual pony. They stood on the open plane waiting to begin their assault. Their empress had demanded that a new world be conquered. And because Her Majesty had wished it, it would be done. Nopony went against Empress Nightmare Moon, and those that did were dealt with swiftly and harshly. Though truth be told only half of the ponies standing in the dead field wanted to be there. The other half had been forced into joining the military either to put food on the table or because the draft had picked them. Nightmare Moon stood at the front of her army eyeing them with a scrutinizing gaze. Despite the rows of perfect order, she could see some of them trembling with fear. She let out a huff of displeasure. I remember when soldiers were made of tougher stuff than this. The lack of war in recent years has made them soft, she thought to herself. She looked over to see Sombra sitting at her side, eyeing the crowd with his usual impassive stare. Always calm, always unreadable. She hated that. She knew Sombra wasn’t stupid enough to raise a hoof against her, but she hated how well he could hide his thoughts. The black alicorn turned about and faced the small sleepy village lying at the bottom of the slope. It was her village; a piece of her empire. But in another world it belonged to Celestia. A world that lay just beyond her sight, protected by the walls of reality. A wall she was about to tear through like tissue paper. Her horn thrummed with magic, pulsing every second with massive stores of energy. She had been preparing this spell for months and knew it was finally time. Flaring her wings out, she took to the sky rising in a straight vertical line. She rose above her subjects, her sapphire armor shining in her glorious moonlight. She halted her ascent a few hundred yards above the ground. She could see all of Maria Village and the edge of the Everfree from her height. Taking a deep breath, Nightmare Moon closed her eyes and began to concentrate. The once subtle glow of her horn became a bright shining ray of pure magic. Lowering her head, The Empress of the Night slowly pushed her horn forward meeting a surprising amount of resistance; though it came not from the wind. Nightmare pushed against what felt like at first, a brick wall. Sparks and streams of magic flew off of where she had made contact against the wall of reality, thought to everypony below her it simply looked as if she was putting on a light show. Finally Nightmare Moon felt the resistance give way and her horn vanished from view. But she could still feel it; it was like she had stuck her horn into a cool pond of water. Grinning with triumph, Nightmare Moon brought down her horn bringing a loud tearing sound with her. ****** The Ponyville Spa was always a place of rest and relaxation. Soothing therapeutic aromas wafted through the building while calming meditation music was played on the record player. Any pony who walked in could feel their troubles melt away even before they received any of the treatment packages. Six ponies and a dragon all sat in the bubbling hot tub at the back of the room giggling, sharing stories, and enjoying each other’s company. It had become a weekly occurrence for them by now. The ponies always spent time with one another when they could, but Rarity had demanded that one day out of the week should be devoted to a group spa time. Only Rainbow Dash had objected to using the spa as their weekly hangout but was vastly out voted. Still, even the brash athlete had to admit that relaxing in a hot pool with friends was a great way to spend an afternoon. “… So this morning a young stallion walks into my boutique wearing a plaid shirt of all things,” Rarity told her story to her friends while making dramatic hoof gestures as if to emphasize the tragedy of it. “You should have seen it, it was absolutely ghastly. Anyway, he comes in asking for a suit to wear for a date he has tonight. I would venture to guess that he has a great personality because no mare would date somepony with a shirt like that,” she finished turning her nose up. The surrounding group had to hold their hooves to their mouths to stop themselves from laughing to loud. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and said, “Rarity, has anypony ever told you that you take fashion way too seriously?” The white unicorn gave her an even look. “Well somepony in this town has to, I mean, is it so wrong to try and spread a bit of glamour here and there? Just look at this town, hardly any sense of fashion at all!” “That be because hardly anypony in Ponyville wears clothes in the first place Rare,” Applejack commented. “A complete travesty if you ask me,” Rarity lamented holding a hoof to her forehead. “I mean come now would it kill any of you to consider wearing some casual daywear? Like you, Applejack for instance, I could see you in a nice beige dress that would go well with your hat. Oh, and, Twilight you could wear a nice- oh, Pinkie would you please stop splashing me?” Pinkie had begun jittering and twitching excessively causing the bubbling water to splash about, most of it getting on Rarity who sat closet to the pink pony. “I c-can’t,” she stammered, her whole body starting to shake wildly, “I think I’m g-getting a D-D-Doozy!” With another violent twitch, Pinkie stumbled out of the large tub and on to floor where she began to bounce rapidly up and down the way one might shake a can of soda. The remaining mares and dragon all gasped and flinched recalling the last time Pinkie’s Pinkie Sense had sensed a Doozy. It had ended with a chase from a hydra, a near-death experience, and Twilight changing her world view. Fluttershy leaned over the tub and looked at her twitching friend. “I-Is it a dangerous Doozy? Should we hide?” She crouched low in the water, prepared to hold her breath at a moment’s notice. “I d-don’t k-k-know, this one feeeeels different from the l-last one!” “Different? Different how? Twilight inquired. “It feels… eerie. A-and it feels like it’s c-coming from the f-field j-just north of Ponyville!” “Huh, what could possibly happen there?” Twilight rubbed a hoof across her chin. “Still we should probably check it out; it could mean trouble for the rest of the town if we don’t do something.” Four heads nodded in agreement before leaping out of the water and proceeding to dry off. Rarity however continued to sit in the pool, mouth agape. “What? Now? But we haven’t even finished our appointment! What about my seaweed wrap or my hooficure?” “Rarity this is important!” Applejack cried while running a towel through her mane. Rarity sighed, “Oh fine then, but one of you owes me a full spa package tomorrow. In fact, Lotus darling pencil me in for tomorrow around noon please!” A blue, pink mane pony at the reception counter smiled brightly at her before jotting Rarity’s name down. She was their best customer after all. ****** The late summer sun gave a mild warmth across Ponyville. Autumn would be upon them in a few short weeks and some ponies could already be seen training for the Running of the Leaves Race. Though not in training, six ponies and a dragon dashed through the streets making their way to the town’s northern outskirts. It was a large rolling field devoid of most trees giving a clear view to Canterlot sitting atop its proud mountain perch. However, upon arriving there the group noticed something was definitely out of place. “A floating piece of string?” Rainbow Dash hovered above the rest of the group scratching her head in confusion. She got no immediate response; looking down she found similar looks of befuddlement on her friend’s faces. Pinkie’s sense was going absolutely haywire at that point. Her body continued to spasm and twitch rapidly and the mare had lost all amusement form it. “Yep that’s it!” She gave another violent twitch which caused her hoof to smack Spike in the face before she began to shiver and shake. “Make it stop, make it stop! Dear Celestia make it stop!” she whined. “Seriously,” Spike affirmed rubbing his snout. Twilight took a step closer to the ‘floating piece of string’ and began to examine it. It was long thin black line that stretch from the ground in front of her hoof and up into the sky. She could feel cold wind breathing through it causing an unnatural chill to run down her spine. “Well, Twi, what do ya reckon?” Applejack stood at her shoulder peering at the black line in front of them. “I… I honestly don’t know.” Twilight was at a complete loss as to identify what ‘it’ was. Even by magic standards this was weird. Twilight walked around it only to find that the line was two-dimensional; a cold chill escaped from the back side as well. She walked back over to Applejack and shrugged, “I don’t know, it’s like somepony just drew a line in midair.” They all turned to Pinkie Pie who was now being sat on by a bored looking Rainbow Dash. Still shivering, Pinkie managed to stammer out, “D-don’t l-look at-t me; I d-d-d-didn’t do it!” Twilight’s ears drooped. She was kind of hoping it was just one of her friend’s unexplainable antics. Spike stepped forward up to the vertical mystery, a random spur of the moment idea hitting him. Very slowly he reached a claw out towards the line, feeling the temperature steadily dropping around it. Continuously wary, he pressed his claw against the line and to his surprise; it slid right in as if it were just a crevice in the side of a rock. “Whoa, girls check this out!” Twilight whirled around and gasped, “Spike don’t do that it could be dangerous!” She yanked Spike away much to his annoyance. “Relax, Twi I’m fine. There’s nothing on the other side anyways, just cold air.” Twilight continued to look him over, fussing like a mother hen. “You don’t know that for sure, there could monsters or demons inside there for all we know!” “D-demons?” Fluttershy squeaked hiding her face in her mane and beginning to back away from the group. “What do we do Twilight?” Done fussing over Spike, The purple unicorn addressed the rest of the group. “Well the only logical solution right now is to contact the princesses. We’ll need to get back to the library so I can write a letter… does anypony else feel that?” It was as if a sudden pressure had descended upon them causing all of their ears to pop. The cold wind began to intensify from a gentle breeze to a howling gale chilling their fur. The six friends all began to retreat from the phenomena while keeping their fronts towards it. Fluttershy was now taking refuge behind a rock some ways back. Then just as suddenly as it started, the wind and the pressure vanished, leaving an empty silence in its place. They all stood still for a moment before Rarity spoke, “What just happened?” Before anyone could answer her, a loud tearing noise echoed across the hill side. The gale returned in full force slamming into the mares and the dragon like a punch to the gut. They all flew back across the field and past Fluttershy’s hiding spot now putting her closet to the commotion. Lifting her head over the rock, the yellow pegasus watched wide-eyed as the line began to expand wider and wider from its base, stretching up until both sides converged at a single point forming a triangle like shape. Fluttershy found herself staring at the oddest sight she had ever seen. Through the newly formed portal she could see a short swirling tunnel that looked comprised purely of magic. But what bewildered her even more was the sight beyond the tunnel. On the other side was a field that was perfectly identical to the one being obscured by the portal in front of her. She looked to the left and right, both sides matching up with the continuity of the scene perfectly. The only difference was that it was daytime here and night on the other side. Only then did Fluttershy notice the menacing army of armored ponies marching out of the tunnel. Fluttershy let out a screech of terror before zipping back towards her friends who were still picking themselves off the ground. Landing next to Twilight, she began to shake the unicorn with urgency all while hyperventilating, “Bad… portal… ponies… armor… mean… RUN!” Fluttershy stopped shaking Twilight who rattled on her own for brief second before shaking the rest of the dizziness off. She blinked at her pegasus friend. “Ok, run that by me again Fluttershy.” Instead of repeating herself, Fluttershy grabbed Twilight’s head and pointed in the direction of the encroaching army. Her eyes dilated to pinpricks as she shouted, “EVERYPONY BACK TO THE LIBRARY!!!” The ponies fled back to Ponyville just as they began to feel the rumble of marching hooves trampling the grass. They wasted no time in hurrying through the stone streets as Twilight led them down every shortcut she could remember to get them to the library as fast as possible. They reached the large tree housing the library just as the towns warning system began to blare all around them. “I’m guessing everypony else just noticed the giant army heading towards us,” said Dash. Twilight swung the door open and ushered them all inside, slamming it shut behind her. She took a few deep breaths trying to calm herself while saying, “Okay, let’s try not to panic here.” “Twi, the town is under attack. I think we have a legitimate reason to panic!” Spike exclaimed, hopping off of the unicorns back. Twilight walked past him towards the back of the room. “No it’s not, because we have the Elements of Harmony!” she said confidently. She removed the glass container from the pedestal and used her magic to distribute the necklaces to their rightful owners. Rainbow Dash clasped hers on and asked, “Do you really think this’ll work?” Twilight looked up at her with a confident look in her eye and said, “I don’t know!” The pegasus nearly fell out of the air. “Seriously; you don’t know?” Twilight’s confident grin turned into a sheepish smile. “Well, I don’t think anything like this has ever happened before; at least not in any book I’ve ever read. But I’m sure the elements can stop it!” The purple mare tired her best to sound confident, but on the inside she was just as unsure as the rest of her friends. She needed a backup plan. She turned to her baby dragon and instructed, “Spike, you stay here where it’s safe and write a letter to the princesses telling them what’s going on.” Spike recoiled and gaped, “What; how come I have to stay here?” “Because it’s dangerous outside and we have to make our way past those soldiers and back to that portal thing. I want you to stay here, in the library where it’s relatively safer.” Spike crossed his arms and was prepared to argue against her, but she began to look at him with those big pleading eyes, filled to the brim with concern. Spike sighed knowing he wasn’t going to win the battle. “Alright, I guess when you’ve seen one rainbow blast, you’ve seen them all.” Twilight enveloped him in a hug and nuzzled him affectionately. “Don’t worry; we’ll be back real soon.” She released him and wheeled around to face the rest of her friends. “Come on girls, we’ve got a job to do!” The five ponies nodded, swallowing some of their fear and followed Twilight out of the sanctity of the library and into the unfolding chaos outside leaving Spike alone at the writing desk. He grabbed a quill and dipped it into the inkwell, prepared to draft an emergency letter to the princesses when he heard a flutter of wings above him. He looked up to see a familiar brown owl. “Hey, Owlowiscious, want to keep me company?” The owl landed on a small perch over the desk and hooted, “Whoo.” “You.” “Whoo.” Spike gave the bird an annoyed expression. “You know what; I’m not playing this game right now.” ****** Sombra marched down the main road towards the tall building he assumed to be the town hall. Three armored soldiers flanked him though he doubted he would need them; these ponies weren’t foolish enough to attack him. He gave a victorious sneer as he watched the panicking citizens throw themselves out of his way as he paraded down the streets. They fled into their houses, or dove underneath their carts; anything to avoid the imposing unicorn. Overhead, the skies were now teeming with armored pegasi who were keeping a lookout for runaways and uninvited guests. They filled the air and lurked on rooftops crouched and ready to strike at a moment’s notice. Sombra arrived at the steps of town hall and proceeded towards the small podium at the center where a trembling tan pony stood fiddling with her grey tail. The closer he got to her the more she shook with fear. Finally when he stood towering over her, she spoke in a tiny voice. “S-sir,” she quavered, “Y-you have no right to be here in P-Ponyville, I d-demand that you and your b-brutes leave at once… please?” Sombra made a throaty noise that could have been interpreted as a laugh. He leaned into the mare’s face, so close that she could feel his hot breath on her face. “You’d be wise to run along while I’m still in a good mood,” he growled. The Mayor didn’t need to be told twice. Turning on her hooves, she galloped away down one of the adjoining streets and out of sight. The dark unicorn made another throaty growl as she watched her flee. He turned towards the podium and, with a flick of his magic, tossed it aside. He cleared his throat and with an amplified voice yelled, “Citizens of…” he rolled his eyes and spat, “Ponyville! You are now an occupied territory under the Lunar Empire and her Imperial Majesty, Empress Nightmare Moon! Any attempts at resistance or rebellion will me met with swift and severe punishment!” He let out a sadistic grin. “So by all means try to resist.” All the ponies closest to the town square began uttering murmurs of fear and confusion. “Nightmare Moon?!” “But I though Luna was good again?” “Where’s Princess Celestia?” “What’s going to happen to all of us?” The cries of panic grew louder with each passing second until it was a cacophony of noise and terror. His job complete, Sombra walked off stage motioning to his guards to leave him be. There was one other thing he had to attend to alone. ****** Spike sat on top of Twilight’s bed occasionally glancing out of the window to check the progress of the town. Although the armored ponies didn’t appear to be hurting anyone, all of the townsfolk were in a frenzied panic. He pulled himself away from the window and rolled on to his back wondering how Twilight and the others were doing. He had sent off a letter to Princess Celestia, but she hadn’t responded to him yet. In a situation like this, Spike was wondering if the princess would show up in person. He let out a sigh of discontent. He was used to being left behind by the others, but that didn’t mean he liked it. He had saved the Crystal Empire, but everyone still treated him like a little kid. So what if it was dangerous outside, he could handle himself! Big ponies wearing heavy armor, a small voice in the back of his head told him. Alright, maybe not in this situation; but still, being told to stay home wounded his pride a little. And he was bored out of his mind. He sat up and looked at Owlowiscious who was sitting on the headboard preening himself and groaned out of boredom. He hopped off the bed and was at the bedroom door, prepared to go make himself a snack when he heard something slam open downstairs followed by a series of very heavy footsteps. He slowly backed away from the door, panic and terror beginning to settle into his stomach. He looked up at his owl companion who was staring wide-eyed at the door as well. Spike swallowed and said, “That doesn’t sound like Twilight does it?” “Whoo.” “You know who I mean,” Spike snapped, trying to keep his voice low. “Come on, we gotta hide somewhere.” At first he glanced out the window wondering if he could survive the three-story drop. Actually, he probably could, seeing as he had once jumped from a much higher cliff into a pool of molten lava. But then there were the guards outside he had to worry about, and he felt a lot less safe without his pony friends with him. Taking his chances, the baby dragon dove underneath the bed, scotching as far back as he could and gestured for Owlowiscious to follow him. The owl descended and settled next to him and gave the dragon a concerned hoot. “I don’t know, just be quiet and pray that they don’t come up here,” he whispered before pulling the sheets lower to hide them from view. It was then he heard it: a loud thumping growing closer and closer with every step. He grabbed Owlowiscious and pulled him closer protectively, praying to Celestia that the intruder would go away. He breathed slowly and quietly as not to give their position away. It remained quiet for several long minutes. The only noise being the muffled chaos outside and the synchronized breathing of Owlowiscious and Spike. The dragon was just about to believe that the intruders were gone when the door violently busted apart sending pieces of wood scattering everywhere. Spike threw a hand up in front of his mouth to stop himself from yelling in surprise. He pressed himself against the back wall trying to make himself seem as tiny as possible. The sound of armored hooves filled the room, slowly pacing about. From the amount of clinking, Spike could make out that there was only one of them. Maybe I can take ‘em. He shook his head loose of that idea. There was no way he could fight a huge burly pony who was no doubt trained in combat. He had once had a wrestling match with Shining Armor. Needless to say, Shining had flattened him. No, he was better off hiding and praying to Celestia that the intruder would just walk away. There was a pause in the intruder’s movement. From the thin space between the floor and the bedding Spike could see the tips of silver metal boots standing idle. Give up, Spike pleaded, come on, give up! For a moment, Spike thought his prayers had been answered. The hooves moved away from his narrow field of vision and back towards the door. Just as he was about to take a sigh of relief, Spike felt an invisible force take hold of his body and yank forward from his hiding place. Owlowiscious fell from his grip and tumbled onto the floor as Spike was lifted up to find himself face-to-face with the intruder. “King Sombra!” he yelled. The unicorn grinned devilishly. “King Sombra, no one has called me King in a while.” Spike couldn’t believe his eyes. Standing before him, holding him in a magical stranglehold was the very dark presence he and his friends had defeated not so long ago. It was like looking at a ghost. “But, but you’re supposed to be…” “Dead?” Sombra finished for him. “Yes, maybe in your world. Yet here I am very much alive. But I haven’t forgotten who had a hand in defeating me in the first place!” Spike swallowed a lump in his throat. “Yes little dragon, I know it was you and your meddling that caused my downfall. You killed me, so it’s only right that I should return the favor. Spike’s eyes widened in horror at Sombra’s words. His heart pounded in his chest and his breath became labored as the realization took hold. He twisted and squirmed in Sombra’s magic, trying desperately to get free, to escape death. Yet it was useless, the more he seemed to struggle, the tighter the magic around him seemed to get until he was sure it wasn’t just his nerves that were inhibiting his breathing. Sombra let out dark chuckle as he watched the squirming drake when something soft flew into the side of his face. He turned to see a brown ball of feathers hooting madly at him. Sombra gave it a bored expression before lazily smacking it with his hoof. The owl sailed across the room and crashed into the wall leaving a shallow crater. “OWLOWISCIOUS!” Spike screamed while Sombra’s chuckle grew into a roar of laughter. “You’re worried about that thing? I’d be more concerned with myself if I were you.” Spike turned his attention back to his captor, his eyes filling with tears. “P-please don’t kill me.” He knew begging was pointless but at this point in time it was his only option. He was now severely regretting not jumping out the window. Sombra sneered at him, “Oh I won’t kill you just yet, but by the time I’m done with you, you’ll beg me to kill you.” With that his eyes took on an emerald color with black fire streaming from the sides. A black swirling vortex opened up underneath Spike and he was slowly lowered in. “TWILIGHT, TWILIGHT HELP! ANYONE PLEASE HELP ME!” Spike screamed as the tide of darkness began to pull him in. But no one came to his rescue. The last thing he heard was Sombra’s deep booming laugh before the entire world went dark.