Destinies Intertwined: Canonical Battles of the Past ~ King Sombra Vs. Princess Cadance · 3:34pm May 22nd, 2018
Hey there, folks! Sorry about that. I was going to get it out last night. But then I realized what time it was... so I ended up passing out before I could get this blog up. Oh well. At least now I'm able to. I hope you enjoy it and I'll see you all next time. But for now, I shall present you with the fight between our two characters today! (And remember. Green is the text for optional music. And red is to stop said optional music).
King Sombra
Versus
Princess Cadance
Everything was going wrong. Twilight fidgeted in place, quickly she glancing right and left. She hastily turned a nearly full circle. But each direction she looked, black crystals barred her path. Princess Cadance’s barrier had given way, and now the dark king’s magic had finally begun its work. She whimpered as she felt the panic swirl more and more, like a dam nearly ready to break apart under the weight of her fear.
“The Crystal Heart… where’s the Crystal—!”
“Over here!” She turned towards the direction of Spike’s voice. He stumbled around on his feet, arms crossed, as little black crystals slowly grew all around him. “It rolled over here after you dropped it.”
“Don’t move.” He froze in place. But the black crystals kept inching closer to him. “You can move away, just not towards me.” He immediately backed up as far as he could.
With his safety at least assured for the time being, she let her horn’s magic come to life. She disappeared and smiled when she floated outside the barrier. Yet joy turned to horror as the barrier forced her back in, disappearing in a black mist before slamming into the crystal wall. Her breaths quickened, and she tried to push against the walls of her prison. They didn’t budge.
“How could I have been so foolish? I-I… I was just so eager to get it…” She ran to the other side and pressed her back against it in the vain hope that the other side would move for her. The same result happened just like before. “A-and when I saw what was going on outside…” What now, she thought? What could help her escape from this situation?
Physical might obviously had not helped her forced confinement. And even magic could not save her this time. She had nothing else to fix her situation. “You have to get out of there, Twilight!” She stared at Spike again as he spoke. “You have to bring the Crystal Heart to Princess Cadance. If you don’t, you’ll fail Celestia’s test.”
Words she wished she could unhear. The obvious peril of her now inescapable predicament was crystal clear. She was trapped with no easy way to escape. The odds of it happening were slim, and Cadance’s shield was near its destabilization. What could she do now?
Celestia’s voice returned to her thoughts. ‘In the end, it is up to you and you alone to ultimately assist Princess Cadance and Shining Armor in doing what needs to be done to protect the Crystal Empire.’ But how, she thought, how could she do what was necessary to protect the Crystal Empire? How could she…
That’s when she took a deep breath in. The only choice she had at her disposal. ‘T-there’s not enough time for me to escape. King Sombra is already attacking the Crystal Empire. If I take any longer, he’ll reach the palace… he’ll reach my friends… he’ll reach Cadance and my brother…’ She would not allow that outcome to happen.
She turned towards Spike and watched as he stumbled further and further backwards. Twilight blinked and knew what had to be done. “It’s up to you… to bring the Crystal Heart back to the Crystal Ponies… to Cadance.”
“B-but Twilight…? The test?”
“Go…” She frowned as he opened his mouth to argue. “Go!” With her last command, Spike pulled his hands away from his body, sweat trickling onto the floor, and he picked up the Crystal Heart. The black crystals grew in a horrifyingly fast manner, more jagged in appearance, and as he jumped out onto the balcony, the rest of the area around Twilight’s prison darkened in the forest of dark crystals.
Twilight stared at where Spike used to be and with a ragged breath sighed her worries out. “P-please… please let this be the right decision.”
Cadance slowly blinked her eyes as she stared out into the distance. She could see Applejack and Rarity waving to the Crystal Ponies down below them. She blinked again as the comforting presence of her husband’s hoof brushed her back. Cadance blinked once more. She felt so tired. Exhausted did not even begin to describe her state of mind. The shield surrounding the city flickered again, another indication of her mind’s fatigue.
She dared not to let the shield fall. Cadance, however, chuckled on the inside. ‘W-who are you trying to fool here…’ Her strength would not last a moment longer. She could feel the magic slipping away from her horn. Any second and the barrier would fall, leaving them to King Sombra’s overdue wrath.
“Don’t ya’ll worry your pretty little heads!” Cadance glanced at Applejack. “The Crystal Heart will be here any second!” An announcement to the Crystal Ponies below the balcony. How much longer could they go on lying to them? It hurt just to even think about it. She whimpered as a sharp pain shot through her head as the magic slowly began to disperse. Her blue aura broke apart before the last of it trickled out of her horn.
The bright blue shield protecting the city broke apart. A brownish sky replaced the more pleasant blue, as if the sky itself had been stained by the smoke of a large forest fire. She could hear the pleading cries of the Crystal Ponies down below, the screams of terrified foals — all of it was nearly too much to bear. There was a loud slithering voice not too far in the distance. Cadance struggled but raised her head just a little. Her heart sank at the sight of King Sombra.
“My crystal slaves…” He smiled at the mass of ponies below him. Even if he remained in his smoky form, it was not enough of a reassurance. Without the Crystal Heart, they could only do so much by themselves.
“H-hey, up here!” Everypony looked up to one of the crystal pillars a few stories above them.
“Spike?” Rarity was the first to speak.
“I got it! I got the Crystal Heart!” That joy inside her rekindled. The heart like a rod stoking the coals to give birth to a new flame.
But it was short-lived, as she watched Sombra’s gaze harden. He inhaled a menacing breath and roared, “That is mine!” And like a shark having jumped from the ocean, he phased into the ground to form a line of black crystals.
It wasn’t long before a larger protrusion broke the ground, and as Spike ran down the pillar, Sombra rose towards the platform at a fast pace. She gasped as Spike tripped himself up and fell off the pillar. “Spikey-wikey!” Rarity cried and shielded her eyes.
Cadance felt her body shift as Shining picked her up on his back. When she looked up into the sky, the Crystal Heart gleamed in her eyes. She opened her wings when Sombra retained his pony form. As the gap between Spike and Sombra closed, she felt Shining pick her up with his hooves.
In a mere moment, the wind brushed past her as she closed the distance in only a few seconds. The light reinvigorated her, and she felt her strength come back to her. She grabbed the Crystal Heart in her magic and felt Spike holding onto her.
She had succeeded, and for a moment, she felt that they had won. As she quickly turned towards the palace, however, Sombra roared and quickly surged towards them on an extension of black crystals. “This isn’t over!”
Cadance yelped as she dodged a dark beam but spun out of control for a brief moment. She saw the incoming ground and formed a bubble around her and Spike. The impact shook them both as the ground gave way beneath them.
She opened her eyes and ran a hoof across her body. Nothing seemed to hurt either. Quickly she looked for Spike and found him on her back still. “You alright?”
He shakily nodded. “Y-yeah…”
“That heart belongs to me!” Sombra descended from his dark crystal pillar. “Give it to me, now!”
“Spike,” she murmured. “Get behind me.” He did as she asked before she slowly began to back up.
“Do not make this harder on yourself,” he hissed and only followed them. The Crystal Ponies that were nearby ran off in any direction they could go that wasn’t near the two ponies. “Just give me the heart. And I promise to lessen the degree of you, your husband, and your friend’s punishments.”
She glared defiantly in return. “You will not get this heart! Not so you can enslave the Crystal Ponies again.”
His frown grew harsher, and a dark portal formed around his horn. “Then it is you who will have sentenced those you love to their slow and painful demise!” A black crystal battle axe appeared from the dark portal.
She gasped as he lunged forward and swung with an overhead strike. She threw a field around them and caught the blow, but flinched as the pain returned. He swung again, and the sharp sting intensified.
Over and over that pain felt like she was getting stabbed in the head. She growled and flashed the shield forward, pushing Sombra back towards the indented ground. Cadance quickly rushed Spike forward, yelling, “Run, run! Get the heart to the palace!”
She ran behind him but stopped at the tyrant king’s roar growing behind them. She turned around and threw a barrier in front of her but yelped as his axe broke through, crying out as she felt the hit.
She was thrown backwards but landed on her hooves. Her eyes widened when he reached a hoof towards Spike. Cadance quickly shot a spark at his hoof; the unicorn growled in rage and turned towards his attacker. “You insolent mare!”
He jumped forward and swung his axe towards her, but she dodged the strike and quickly moved over to Spike. “You have to keep moving, Spike!”
“But what about you? What if he hurts you?” The concern was appreciated, but now wasn’t the time.
“You have a job to do, Spike. Now get going.” When he froze in place, she softly murmured, “Please, get going, now!” He shook himself out of his stupor and quickly ran down the road.
As Sombra turned towards them, Cadance’s horn lit up. A crystal wall formed from her magic. She heard Spike’s worrying cry before it was cut off. But she gave a soft smile. “It’ll be okay, Spike,” Cadance whispered.
She looked up and watched as Sombra stood a short distance away. “You’re very stupid fighting me alone.” He wasn’t entirely wrong, she thought. The Crystal Heart had only reinvigorated her just a little. Even then, she didn’t know how long she’d last against him.
“Maybe.” Cadance frowned. She looked up to him as a light floated in front of her chest. “But I’m doing what’s right. I’m protecting the Crystal Ponies from you!” And from the light flashed to life two different objects.
In her magic, she held a sword and a shield and readied herself. Sombra growled before he charged forward. Sparks glinted from the metal as her shield clashed with his axe. And in a flurry of movement, the two traded blows, none gaining ground over the other.
Cadance ducked from one of his swings. Her eyes widened as she blocked an overhead swing, teeth clenched as she felt the full brunt of his force. The tyrannical unicorn blinked for a moment as the two struggled against one another.
He let out a wispy cackle. “You remind me of somepony.” Sombra glanced for a moment longer before his cackle turned to laughter. “Yes… are by chance related to Princess Amore?”
The mare she had heard so much about, her title uttered by such a foul voice. “Wh-what’s it to you? You’re the one who murdered my ancestor!”
“Yes. And I’ll kill one of her descendants, too!” Cadance pushed him back and blasted him with magic, the crystal dirt upturned as he skidded across the ground, hooves planted as he jumped back forward.
She lunged forward and thrust her sword forward. Sombra jumped to the side, and Cadance choked as he shoved the haft on her neck. The wind breezed past, and she cried out as she hit the wall. A loud crack as her back hit the crystal.
Sombra jumped back as his horn lit up with a dark green and purple aura. Cadance yelped again as he shot bolt after bolt, each randomly hitting one part of her body. The wall fractured more and more until he shot off a wide beam.
She screamed and felt a loud crash behind her, skidding across the crystal ground. “Cadance!” She shakily looked up to see Spike a short distance away; her gaze met his terrified glance.
“K-k-keep going, Spike…” With what energy she had left, she stood up and readied her sword and shield.
“How long do you think you can keep this up?” Sombra stepped through the gaping hole and smiled as he set his axe to his right side. “Not for much longer I see… but I will compliment you on this. You’ve lasted longer than your predecessor.”
Cadance growled and slowly backed up. Spike was near the palace. They had almost won this battle. She just had to keep him distracted for a moment longer. “And I’ll make sure that you pay for what you did to her.”
“Ah yes… when I turned her into stone.” He simply laughed. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you join her when this is all over.” He dashed forward but disappeared into the ground. She hurriedly glanced the area in front of her.
She felt a pit form in her throat before she turned towards Spike. A black crystal formed in front of him as the drake yelped in surprise. Sombra laughed as he emerged from the ground and raised his battle axe up.
Quickly Cadance surrounded Spike in a blue aura and pulled him away, the axe nearly clipping Spike’s arms, and she levitated him back onto her back. “Will you just give up already!?”
He charged forward again but now with Spike by her side she had an idea. “Spike?” She quickly asked. “When I give the signal, use your fire on him.” He nodded and held on tightly to the Crystal Heart.
When Sombra raised his axe, she quickly ducked underneath the attack. A roar came from the tyrant as he was surrounded in a flurry of green flames. As fast as she could Cadance opened her wings and flew towards the palace.
As she moved towards the center, she landed and crushed the fake Crystal Heart. “Behold! The Crystal Princess!”
Even after the beating she had taken, she couldn’t help but smile. “The Crystal Heart has returned. Use its light and love to make sure that King Sombra does not!” And with those hopeful words, she threw the Crystal Heart into the center, blue lights illuminating a snowflake symbol as two pillars met and held the heart in place.
A bright light gleamed from the heart. And as Cadance watched it happen, a blue wave of light shot past her. She felt it bring back all her strength and glanced over her shoulder. Sombra was knocked back but tried to stand tall.
Cracks formed on his body as the light seemed to break him apart. He roared in pain and blew apart from the overwhelming light. And as he disappeared, Cadance let out a quiet sigh. ‘Now… you can rest, Amore.’
Great story here. Cadance is a tough princess!
4867038
Well... I mean. XD Yeah. But if this were Celestia or Luna... Sombra would've been toast. But then again... technically, if Cadance was at full strength, she could've probably gotten him to a stalemate at least.
4983639
I wonder who you would say, at full strength, is the most powerful, Twilight or Cadance?
4983648
Umm... if I'm going off where I will start from with this Destinies Intertwined, story. It would most definitely be Cadance right now. If we're talking princesses? Then most possibly Twilight.
4983649
That is what I think too. Being an alicorn could indeed enhance one's strength and power compared to the three pony attributes.
I am currently following an author who is preparing a fanfic on the following theme :
The 4 princesses enter a contest with various trials (hoofwrestling, racing, dancing, knowledge, ...) to determine which of them is the Best Princess. This could be interesting.
4983651
Sounds intriguing.