Twilight Sparkle has a Pokemon Journey

by Darkmetroidz

Special Chapter: Blackened Sun

Four years ago…

Sunset Shimmer clutched the strap of her saddlebag as she approached the entrance to the Crystal Empire Gym. A cold wind was whipping through the city on that chilly winter day, but it was not the frigid air that made Sunset shiver. It was the black tower that loomed forebodingly over her, casting a shadow over a great swath of the city. Not only was it the Gym, but it was also the seat of power for the Crystal Empire. For centuries, the Kings and Queens of the Empire ruled from the Crystal Tower, and that tradition was upheld by Sombra, who was both the ruler of the Empire and its gym leader. Sunset took a deep breath to banish her fears from her heart. I don’t need to be afraid. Arcanine is at my side.

She took her first apprehensive step into the portal of the black tower, past the crystal pony royal guards who stood watch at the entrance. The interior of the building extinguished light from the outside, leaving the halls of polished crystal to be lit only by smoldering torches that burned in scones on the wall. Sunset found herself funneled deeper into the palace by guards who blocked every door, goading her further down the hallway toward a light coming from the far end. Sunset was familiar with such glows. There was no mistaking it; that was the arena. Her pace slowed to a crawl as her legs began to quake. Her nerves had come back with a vengeance, and she was beginning to feel very uneasy about being here. No other gym she had visited thus far had made her feel this way. The Ponyville Gym had been homey. The Appleoosa Gym had evoked the feeling of a high-noon showdown. Even the Hive Omega Gym, while in that creepy place, still felt like a proper sporting arena. This place felt like a mausoleum.

As Sunset approached the mouth of the coliseum, she took note of the paintings hanging on the wall. Generations of Kings and Queens of the Crystal Empire hung in rows, casting their scowling looks downward at her. Not a single one showed a hint of warmth or kindness. Instinctively, Sunset’s tail went between her legs. The gloom of this place was oppressive.

The misgivings Sunset felt did not let up when she entered the stadium. It seemed that the Crystal Gym’s arena was a repurposed fighting pit from times long past, complete with high vertical walls surrounding the ring to keep unwilling combatants from escaping. The chamber might have at one point seated thousands of spectators, but today there was nopony present but herself.

“I want to challenge the Crystal Gym!” Sunset announced. Her words reverberated around the stadium for several seconds, leaving Sunset to think that there was nopony there. But once the sound faded, it was replaced by a low, rumbling laugh. Sombra stepped forth from the darkness at the other side of the arena, smiling wickedly. Sunset took an instinctive step backwards. There was malice in that smile. Evil even. She steeled herself and readied her first pokéball. Were going to get through this.

---

Half an hour passed. In that time, Sunset saw three of her pokémon knocked unconscious, but for each loss she inflicted one back on Sombra. Still, the fight had begun to take a toll on Sunset. Sombra’s style was relentless. His dark types had battled her to a standstill, and each strike they inflicted on her pokémon was like a blow dealt to Sunset. Each time her pokémon cried out in pain from an attack, Sunset could feel their anguish in her soul. All of her hopes, and their sacrifice rested on this last pokémon. Sunset had just her Blaziken left to finish the four versus four match, but Sombra was left with his ace pokémon, a Sableye. With Sableye’s ghost typing, the advantage Sunset would have had by bringing out a fighting type had been negated, and Sunset was kicking herself in the rear for not using Blaziken earlier. The fight had already gone on for several minutes, and Sunset was starting to get worried. If she did not win this, all of the pain she had subjected her pokémon to would be for nothing. I need to win this. She told herself. I can’t let my pokémon go through this again. Sunset tensed her muscles. Everything would be riding on this attack. She needed to strike hard with a decisive attack, one that would be sure to destroy Sableye. “Blaziken! Attack with flare blitz! Give it everything you’ve got!”

Blaziken moved to obey his trainer. It had grown tired from the battle, and the strikes inflicted by Sableye had caused it a great deal of pain. But nonetheless, Blaziken cloaked itself in fire and charged at Sableye, neglecting the harm to itself while it plowed Sableye into a wall. Sableye fell unconscious, and while Blaziken was hurt, it was still standing.

“Blaziken!” Sunset cried. She galloped onto the field to tend to her injured pokémon. She knelt beside it as it struggled to find its feet. “I’m so sorry,” She wept, feeling wracked with guilt. “I pushed you too far. Please, forgive me.”

Sombra’s laugh echoed around the room again. “You’ve done well, young one. It takes an exceptional trainer to defeat me. Clearly, you’re not cut from the same cloth as most of the naïve foals that wander into my halls. You understand that in order to win, one must be willing to do anything, sacrifice anything.” Sombra’s rhetoric froze Sunset. She returned Blaziken to his pokéball and turned her attention to the gym leader while she fought to stymie the tears. “You see, it is a pony’s strength that is the sole measure of their worth in this world. There are some who have spent their whole lives on top and never had to fight for a damn thing. They are worthless to this world. When things get tough, they crumble to dust. But ponies like you and I are different. We got where we are by clawing our way to the top, relentless in our pursuit of what we want. We are the ponies that are destined to rule this miserable world. As recognition for your triumph today, you’ve proven yourself worthy of this Diamond Badge.”

“T-thank you…” Sunset stammered weakly.

“Do not thank me,” Sombra snapped, “Your strength alone is the reason you hold that badge. Remember this, Sunset Shimmer. There are two kinds of ponies in this world. There are those that value a diamond for its beauty, and those who value it for its unrivalled hardness. One will sit content with their baubles, while the other has a tool that can be used to accomplish ever greater things. Think about which of those ponies you would rather be.” With that, Sombra left, leaving Sunset Shimmer alone in the coliseum.

She had won, but at what cost?

For several days, Sunset felt like a corpse. The entire experience in the Crystal Gym had shaken her to her very core. She did not want to believe Sombra’s harsh rhetoric, but she could not deny his strength. Sombra had been the most difficult challenge she had encountered during her journey, and she doubted that even the elite four would be able to rival his might. Is this what Sunset needed to do if she wished to become the strongest trainer in Equestria? I can’t let that happen to me again. I WON’T let that happen to me again.

Author's Note:

So. I've been working at a good tilt lately. No promises it's going to keep up as the semester continues, but I'm going to keep going while I can. I can't even begin to say how badly I want to see this finished.

Comments

[GamePlayer64]

DiD Sombra became a member of the Elite 4?

[Darkmetroidz]

9212318
Nope, he is still gym leader of the crystal empire.