Chapter 11
“Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.”
— Confucius
The Frozen North, Outpost Frostbite
Twilight couldn’t believe it. She was actually staring onto the face she once believed had been vaporized, wiped off the face of Equestria and never to be seen again. It was the last she and her friends had seen of him after all, the last time King Sombra was still walking and breathing in the flesh.
But he was not of flesh. He was of spirit and dark magic, the coils of red, purple, and green cloaked in blackness swirling around his image, his limbs, his eyes and his infernal smile. It only affirmed to the Princess of Friendship that he was not entirely present. It was not entirely Sombra. But his presence still radiated that haunting, dominating power, as if he truly was there.
Everypony flinched backwards in shock and horror as the image appeared to them all. The confines of the cavern were illuminated in that flow of dark magic pulsating from the crystal tower, the veins of darkness also shimmering and glowing and spreading further within the ice. As if the illusion of Sombra had actually fueled the crystal around the mist with rejuvenated life.
Shining Armor protected his wife from that dreaded image regardless if it was real or not. He saw it. She saw it. Everypony saw it and reacted accordingly to the former tyrant of the Crystal Empire, and bane to all of Equestria. They either cowered behind one another like Fluttershy behind Rainbow Dash, crowded together and glared down the monster like Bon Bon and her T.I.T.A.N. agents, or faced the mist head-on with incredulous, shell-shocked expressions.
Celestia, Luna, and Twilight shared that particular look. Alongside the Council with Spike and Rainbow hoisting Fluttershy back to all four hooves. Assuring Fluttershy that they were with her, and that nothing would stop them as long as they were together. And Fluttershy, finding that truth, also found the courage she desperately sought and stood with them.
In unity, in friendship, together and stronger than ever before, they eyed the fallen king of the Crystal Empire just as his fangs opened and his mouth fell. A void of rancid red breath seethed from his shadowy mouth, a dark and laboring voice fully consumed in death, in darkness, and in shadows echoing throughout the cavern.
“Sooo... you have done it...”
The voice was not flesh. It sounded much darker, trapped in another plane of existence between the living and the dead. When he spoke, he did not stare to a specific pony. He did not acknowledge their movements, their voices, their interrupting presence. Almost as if he was just an illusion, just a trick to haunt everypony present. But Twilight understood better. She looked through the mists, through the vapors, through the shadows of confusion and knew what it was.
It was a message… magically recorded and concealed over a thousand years ago.
What Sombra said only affirmed her hypothesis, the fallen king sneering, “You have found my little... domain. Or perhaps... ‘prison’... would be a more appropriate title. Scouring the Frozen North since my defeat by your hooves has led me here... in this icy tomb... with my fellow monster... forsaken and trapped. Doomed to an eternal confinement in this frozen hell.”
Shortly after, Sombra’s smile returned, the creature’s glowing red eyes disappearing within the shadows of his eyelids. He chuckled softly. That laughter alone pierced and pulsed throughout everypony’s hearts and made their bones quake.
“But no more,” Sombra declared, opening his eyes and filling the cavern with that horrifying, hellish crimson light. “Discovering this tomb and activating its magic has given me the final piece. You... have given me the final piece to my vengeance.”
Though he did not look to them, Twilight made the connection and lifted her eyes to the former rulers of Equestria. Soon enough, everypony joined the Alicorn’s movements and stared to Celestia and Luna. Knowing they fell within the spotlight of Sombra’s dark cloud, the sisters kept their focus centered on the mass of shadows hanging before them. And for a brief moment, they could have sworn they saw the image flicker its eyes down to them specifically.
“Discovering these crystals is no coincidence... princesses. Yeeesss... it was always meant to be you to find me. Though my banishment to the wastes of the Frozen North was meant to be an eternal endeavor, I vowed to conceal the Crystal Ponies from the earth. Just as I have vanished from their midst, so will the Empire vanish from the world. A fitting fate for us both.”
Twilight breathed out a gust of frozen air. Her hypothesis was becoming clearer, becoming truth. What they were witnessing had to have been a magically recorded message, back during Sombra’s first defeat and the disappearance of the Crystal Empire. The sisters seemed to share her sentiments, her thoughts, all the pieces coming together to unveil King Sombra’s hidden intentions.
“The Crystal Empire and its false kings and queens will not reign a day longer. Not without me on its throne... and I am certain you have come to understand the Crystal Empire’s disappearance by now. It is why you are here now... led by your confusion... your worries... your fear...”
Sombra’s shadow lifted his eyes and stared to them. Smiled at them with his long, razor fangs.
“Yet you remain untouched. You and your worthless sister... sitting in your cradle of power... drinking the wine of victory and breathing the splendor of the majesty you so falsely acclaim to be. Of which the fools of the earth have willfully surrendered to believe.”
Celestia and Luna both gasped. Stared to the coils of red mist slithering out of Sombra’s mouth.
“You understand now... that I could not let that go unpunished.”
“Celestia,” Twilight rapidly interrupted, her voice trembling and breath shivering. The Council and the two sisters turned to her, seeing only the fear laced in Twilight’s pupils. She shook her head, managed to hyperventilate, “Sombra was defeated. He can’t have any power here… or anywhere else. What’s going on?”
“If we refuse to believe it, then it is only false to us… not to reality,” Luna stated, turning to her sister. “And the reality is that Sombra has left us a message intended only for us. These crystals must be the last of his essence, the last of his influence on our world.”
Celestia met Luna’s gaze and faced away from it, stared onto the cloud of shadows and shook her head to Sombra’s speaking illusion. “His defeat at the Crystal Empire… his banishment to the Frozen North… the disappearance of the Empire… just to lead us here. To lead us to this message. But his crystals should have vanished upon his death. This is beyond even our understanding of Sombra’s dark magic. There is something more here…”
As they pondered aloud and conversed with another, Sombra only continued to speak, bringing forth their undivided attention onto the true horrors still living within the ice.
Sombra’s smile was cloaked under a dark and sinister grin, the shadow uttering, “And sooo... you have found my monster within the hold of the world. Within the ice... lies a demon even I could not fully understand. Nor could I control it. Its magic is beyond me... and beyond any depth of the dark arts. It is beyond the world as we know it... and therefore...”
Twilight Sparkle, the Council of Friendship, and everypony around them shakily turned their eyes onto the gargantuan, hanging claw of Monster Zero. Their breaths grew more audible, quicker and more uncontrolled. Sombra’s grin only widened, the red mist spewing past his fangs.
“Beyond your power.”
The shadow practically erupted like a bursting volcano, Sombra roaring, “So let this discovery be your undoing!”
With every word he uttered, he only grew more and more enraged. Like the cold that pierced his spirit for a thousand years of imprisonment. Like the lonesome tomb of ice and earth he was trapped in and forced to suffer through. Alone. Abandoned. Tortured for so long. All of that pain, all of that torment, all of that rage spilled forth and fueled his message with another level of unholy power.
And they felt it. They felt every ounce of his agony and hatred boiling within the cloud of shadows and exploding outwards from his agape and unnatural jaws. Every word was laced with thrashing, unbridled anger, but also held the triumphant declarations of an abominable king reclaiming his glory. Perhaps not to his throne, but to his enemies. Reclaiming his dominance and power over them to prove again who truly ruled the world.
They were silent to his rage, breathless and shaken by his booming voice.
“Let the earth crumble and the abyss be opened! And from the wretched and unholy fires come the damned Devil himself! For what I cannot control, so too you will never be able to control, nor will you ever come to defeat! If I am not meant to rule the Crystal Empire or this world, then let the Crystal Empire vanish from it! Let the world you know be bathed in an everlasting sea of fire!”
The atmosphere seemed to shift with every word he proclaimed. The ever-present foreboding presence in the air was replaced with pure fire, rage, and terror. Panic flushed between the ponies, even Bon Bon and the T.I.T.A.N. agents displaying signs of fear. Shining Armor and Princess Cadance stood close, stood frozen, and stood undeniably petrified by the false king. The Council of Friendship were already consumed under Sombra’s control, letting fear cloud their emotions, their hindsight, and their reactions.
“W-what’s he talking about?!” Rainbow Dash screamed.
“Ah ain’t likin’ this one bit, Twilight! What do we do?!” Applejack asked.
“Celestia…? Luna?!” Twilight cried, turning to her former mentors for guidance once again.
As for the sisters…
All they could do was stand there, their silence stifling among everypony else. The words unspoken merely strengthened the essence of fear infecting the cavern.
Like the dark crystals infecting the entire icy tomb.
And with that declared, the message was nearly finished. It finally came to an end when the image of King Sombra gazed down to the many insignificant ponies that never should have witnessed his message firsthoof. Preferably, it gazed down to where Sombra assumed Princess Celestia and Princess Luna would have been standing… and it was correct.
It smiled. “Since I was made to suffer... your world will be made to suffer in return.”
The dark tower absorbed his mist, his image, his message… and it exploded.
The blast took everypony by surprise, the shock wave managing to knock them all several feet backwards and onto their backs, onto one another, and even into the air for the Pegasi present. Painful yelps and cries filled the cavern. It knocked the wind and breath out of the crowd, the piercing ring following the eruption of dark magic flushing from ear to ear. Shadow and mist filled the cavern, and when the ponies finally started to come to, they noticed something else.
Scattered across the floor, among the chunks of lifeless crystal were fragments of ice. Twilight lifted her head, her eyes, and saw the ice surrounding her hooves. She felt the constant, tremoring eruptions and gazed through the chaos. Passed the haze, beyond the slew of ponies standing up and helping one another to their hooves, and onto the dark tower of crystal embedded within the ice.
But it wasn’t there anymore.
None of the crystals were.
From the blast, an array of domino explosions shot from every crystal, every gem, every unholy creation and extension of King Sombra was destroyed with thundering, explosive force. The eruption of magic flowed from the dark veins and was ignited from that point forward. Unstoppable. Uncontainable. Reaching every crystal within the confines of the underground facility.
And destroying everything it infected. Including the ice. Including…
Princess Twilight Sparkle’s eyes slowly grew. Her heart stopped and fell into a deep, dark abyss as the earth thundered and trembled around her. Because it wouldn’t stop.
Because every quake sounded more and more like the roars of an awakening monster.
And so our three main beasts are properly introduced. Good to see that Sombra is self aware enough to know when he is doomed.
Ghidora has awoken.
Mothra's has spoken.
And Godzilla...
Godzilla is still napping I guess.
Called it, sombra is waking Ghidorah up out of spite since if he can’t rule Equestria then it deserves to be destroyed.
So that’s it. A long lost parting gift from Sombra, will now be the worlds undoing...
Cause next...
Can't wait for alicorns to be literally swatted like flies XD
Especially if there will be a line after them laying in the snow like "I'm getting too old for this shit" or "I'm too old for this shit!"
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Sombra must have had a heart attack when he was brought back 2 times XD
He probably thought that he was going to be killed by Ghidora any moment
IT WAS ON THE HOME PAGE!
GREAT JOB PRIME!
Ghidorah has awoken. Our characters are completely screwed. They better get outta there as fast as they can.
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He's probably aware of us waiting for his presence in this fimfic and is taunting us by not appearing.
The devil.....HE AWAKES!!!! They better high tail outta there now! Big G is probably on his way now in two chapters
Dude that was a masterclass in suspense, bravo!
Now the war begins...
Damn! Where was this King Sombra in season 9? This version is much more terrifying, and this is just what was leftover from his dark magic after 1000+ years. He even acknowledged that Ghidorah was too much for him to handle, so this was his last act of vengeance in case he fell.
What would have been a great final line for Sombra to say before the explosion would have been: "Long live the King!"
The sisters should have heeded Mothra's wisdom. While Ghidorah would have awakened on his own eventually, their intervention sped up the process. Now, they, the Council of Friendship and all of Equestria, will suffer the consequences.
Sombra has left the Princesses with a parting gift, by unleashing a monster that not even he could control upon them. If he can't rule Equestria, then he will let the Devil himself, King Ghidorah, burn the whole world so that no one will. Even if he was alive, Ghidorah would've likely finished Sombra off himself since he bows to no one.
Annndd........here....weee...........go!
...hail to the King, the King of Terror that is.
Amazing, this was the sombra I wanted to see in S9, I can't wait to see what happens next!
Now all I can say is...ENTER THE DRAGON!!!
The Devil has finally risen
I said this before and I'll say it again GOD DAMNIT SOMBRA!
If he was still alive now and somehow won he would've kicked himself in the ass for this dumbass plan he created
As for the ponies at least until the King comes, they're fucked
Uh-oh...
So this was after his original defeat, not the return of the Empire.
Oh that's just a dick move, Sombra! Also: Called it.
Grand King Ghidorah:
RISE.
Oh, look who it is. Why am I not surprised? Gee, how about the large amount of dark magic crystals everywhere, huh? Yeesh, again, ponies are so naive. Don’t know if you read my comment from the previous chapter JD. If not, go back and read it! I ain’t retyping it all!
...no, disrespect or anything, mate.
Anywho. Great Sombra scene. This Sombra actually felt...well...like a threat. Like he could actually get some stuff done if he were still alive, if you catch my meaning. Want proof? He’s actually accomplishing his revenge scheme. Unleashing Ghidorah would most certainly gaurentee that no one would have anything ever again. No empires, no kingdoms, no subjects, no power...nothing. For the world would be consumed and devoured.
Oh, Celestia and Luna. You really should have listened to Mothra. Because now, you only have one hope left.
Good thing they could never catch Him.
Also:
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Sombra and Ghidorah. The two biggest pains in the asses in the entire fictional multiverse....aside from Pennywise, maybe (don't count on it).
And ohoho, the ponies aren't gonna be even in the least bit prepared for the shit Ghidorah can do.
And Godzilla's still taunting us by not appearing.
But I'm here.
Not you.
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I'm alright with that, Godzilla has that movie coming up. He needs the rest.
I also love the build-up that's happening. By telling us that he is not only in existence; but powerful, giant, and terrifying, JD has made his eventual reveal that much more powerful to us. Rather than an "Of course." it's going to be a "FUCK YEAH", and I like that. It's a fun hype train.
10659097 Soon, it will be Godzilla's time to shine.
10659099 Sombra's endgame.
10659139 Hehe... hehehe... HAHAHAHA!
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10659148 Featured again! WOO!
10659173 It's a literal race for survival now.
10659183 They better escape before the literal earth comes crashing down on top of them.
10659221 Thanks!
10659243 The Alpha War...
10659251 Always felt that Sombra needed a little extra edge to him. Now seemed as good of time as ever. Thanks again!
10659282 Question is... which two are gonna die?
10659291 That's a great way to put it. If Sombra cannot rule the world... no one can.
10659715 The false king!
10659768 Indeed it is!
10659877 This was the Sombra we needed, and the one we deserved.
10659957 Yeah, that would've been awkward if Sombra actually won in Season 9 and this played through.
10660107 Yes! This message was recorded after Sombra's first defeat by Princess Celestia and Luna!
10660127 Well, you ain't wrong. The ponies are naive. They think they control the world and therefore they have no reason to fear it. Not until now, that is.
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You have a good point there.
Thus, the most psychological, murderous kaiju in the Toho fiction awakens…
Thx for letting me doing the cover art.
Chapter illustrations will be done soon
10662259 Absolutely, and look out for those chapter illustrations, everyone! They'll be awesome! Thanks again!
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Love the new cover art! Can't wait to see the new illustrations. :D
Gosh I'm an idiot, I received the notification that the chapter released and then totally forgot about it, curse me !
That aside, now that it happened it seems really obvious that those crystals would be bombs. After all what other purpose would they serve aside from that ? Still was a good idea and a good parallel to the movie itself while connecting it to MLP universe. Great job on that.
As for what Sombra has unleashed, I think that even the "If I go down, I'm taking you with me !" saying is an understatement to the pure nightmare that he released upon this cursed land, I'd say "may their deities save them" but it wouldn't work cuz I doubt even the princesses will be able to do anything about that.
There's only a single way to stop the walking catastrophe, and it's to wake the one true King and to let them fight.
PS: New cover art is amazing ! Dunno who made it but congrats to them !
10662937 Thanks for finally getting to the chapter! And Shrekzilla made the cover art! He'll be illustrating the story from now on, including illustrations for chapter 1, chapter 6, and upcoming chapters.
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Now this, does put a smile on my face.
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Nopony's gonna ever forget treading into monster mania in this fic. Both this and the previous chapter made my day. :)
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*Meanwhile in pony hell*
Sombra: Huh, I forgot about that room.
Ok so Sombra didn’t come back to life, but still I was surprisingly close.
Sombra seems to be a trend in crossovers lately. Not that I'm complaining. And yours was just a recorded message. So... different spin. Good job.
10676284 Guess a lot of people just wanted to give him one last hurrah.
Well S#@! just got real.
Welp, Sombra just screwed the world.
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In my personal opinion: Destoroyah owns that title. But, Ghidorah does fit it too as well.
So the king of fear releases one last terror
I think the crystals were meant to keep him in. But now that they are gone......
oh dear
LONG.LIVE.THE KING
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Sombra just doomed everyone to die due to his own pettiness. It's frightening.