Chapter 7
___________________________________________________________
“So, let me see if I understand this correctly,” Twilight says, her eyes very close to bugging out. “This Empire was gone for a thousand years, you knew it was coming back, which is why you came here, you defeated some evil shadow unicorn and somehow made it look like Spike did it and now my sister-in-law is the ruler of the entire Empire full of a species of ponies that I’ve never even heard about?”
I nod, keeping my expression blank. “Nailed it on the head, Sparklebutt.”
We’re all sitting in a small room clearly meant for quiet times. It basically like the room Twilight finds in the Castle of the Two Sisters, only with a crystalline design and a table in the centre, where the six ponies are currently seat around, having listening to my explaining how the shit went down about a week ago.
“I... but you... and how...?” Twilight continues trying to say something, which each sentence stopping before she can even get more than two words in.
I hide a smirk. After I beat Sombra, it was child's play to create a shadow magic duplicate of him and control it, pretending it was him and getting Spike to make it look like he won against it.
In truth, he kinda did anyway. He has no idea it wasn't really Sombra. I got him up to where Sombra was hiding the heart, used a spell to portal it out from the hiding place, thus not activating the trap and had Spike leap down whilst my fake Sombra looked like it was going on the attack.
Shining tossed Cadance, though since she hasn’t been drained fighting to keep a shield of love and light up, I don’t see why she couldn’t have just flown on her own, caught Spike and did the big dramatic Crystal stuff, myself dispelling my fake Sombra as if it had been beaten by it.
That’s not to say Sombra wasn’t beaten, of course.
“So, how exactly did you manage... that?” Dash asks nervously, pointing.
Tucked away in one of the corners of the room is a small crystal three dimensional pentagon, about as big as a normal pony. Inside it, lays a shivering shadow figure with pure green eyes and moving black hair. It looks like a pony, but it has no Cutie Mark and, like I just said, no pupils, just green eyes.
“When I arrived, Sombra was shocked to see me,” I say, walking over to the pentagon, the shadow cowering as far from me in its prison as it can. “He was confused at first, but got pissed when I told him he had no concept of what true fear is.”
“And you do?” Twilight asks sceptically. Guess the questioning pulled her out of whatever stupor she’d been in. Shame. It was fun, watching her mind struggle like that whilst it lasted.
I just glance at her over my shoulder. “Sombra was the lord of fear and what’s left of his darkness is so terrified of me, it tries to get away, even when it knows I can’t touch it. You tell me.”
There’s silence as the gathered ponies process that, giving each other uncertain looks.
Just what did I do to Sombra, you may be wondering? Well, when I pissed him off, he tried to attack me. I opened my cloak and he was swept up, vanishing inside it. I don't really know what happened after that, but when I moved away, the darkness was outside of Sombra’s body and curled up in a ball in the snow, muttering “Make it stop. Make it stop.”
“Thank you again, Lady Raven.”
We all turn to see two ponies standing in the door way. One is a Crystal Pony by the name of Autumn Gem, she’s the pony Twilight and Spike are questioning in the episode. The stallion next to her is a tall, with a dark coat and black mane and tail and red eyes. His Cutie Mark is a trio of red gem stones clumped together.
Twilight frowns at the stallion. “Who are you? You’re not a Crystal Pony.”
I smirk. “Everypony, meat Summer Quarts, the host of King Sombra.”
“WHAT?!” all their eyes bug out, looking from myself to Quarts and back again several dozen times.
I nod, turning around to look at them. “Bet none of you thought of that, did you? It’s like Luna and Nightmare Moon, only the reasons differ. Whilst Luna became Nightmare Moon due to feeling neglected and unwanted by her subjects, this stallion, in attempts at learning all new forms of magic led him to try a spell he thought wouldn’t cause any harm.” I glance over myself shoulder at the ragged sigh that comes from the male pony. “Yeah. Didn’t go over well.”
“So... where’s Spike?” Applejack asks.
I can’t help rolling my eyes. “Spike with Cadance right now. let’s just say a few things need settling and he’s the only one who can help her do it.”
They all look confused at that.
“Please, m’lady,” I turn back to Quarts, who’s bowing low, so is Autumn. “I am at your service.”
“Uh, what’s he mean?” Dash asks, cocking an eyebrow.
Quarts stands up, a firm expression on his face. “Lady Raven saved me from that shadow,” he aims a glare at the darkness within it’s crystal prison, before bowing again. “I own her a debt I can never repay. I am hers to command.”
Worry starts coming from Twilight. “You mean... you’re going to serve her?”
He nods, his expression firm. “I owe her my life. It is hers to do with as she wishes.”
“Mine as well,” Autumn says, her expression just as firm, before looking tenderly to the stallion. “I thought I’d lost Quarts forever that day a thousand years ago. She’s gave him back to me. I can never repay her.”
“So, even though Raven ain’t a princess or anything, she’s got her own followers?” Dash asks, before grinning. “Cool.”
“Not cool. Not cool at all!” Twilight snaps, glaring at Dash, then me. “You mentioned you weren’t quite sure what you did to Sombra. How do we know it wasn’t evil itself.”
I just give Twilight a cold stare. “I’ve been in Equestria for over a month now, Twilight Sparkle. If I really wanted to do anything against you all, I would have by now. You have no concept of where my powers are derived. They make your Tartarus seem like a foal's playpen in comparison.”
There’s silence for several long moments. After it becomes too quiet, not to mention the emotions are just making me uncomfortable, I turn to Quarts and Gem. “Yes?” they asked eagerly, if a bit nervously.
“Just remain in the Empire for now,” I say, ignoring the shock I feel from Twilight. “If I do require you for anything, I’ll let you know. Til then, simply live your lives in the Empire, like you did before. Enjoy being with each other and hold on to what you have.” I then give Quarts a firm look. “But, if you think a spell you’re trying to learn is even remotely off like the one you used that something that,” I nod my head to Sombra, “inform me first. I’ll know.”
“Yes, Lady Raven,” they say, bowing.
Quarts stands up first, a slightly confused expression on his face. “Um, how would I contact you, Lady Raven?”
Urgh. I get the feeling I’m going to be getting the Lady Raven as much as Spike will Spike the Brave and Glorious.
I hold out my hand. Floating above my palm is a red crystal, like the one in my forehead. “Just call my name into this. I’ll come right away.”
He nods, his horn glowing with a red aura and taking the crystal in his magic.
I nod, before glancing over my shoulder. “This Empire’s to bright and colourful for someone like me. I’m going back to the Everfree. Think I’ll stay with Zecora til after you fix your screw-up, Sparky.”
Before any of them can respond, though I do smirk as I feel Twilight’s rage, I open a portal underneath me, it coming up my body until the Empire is gone from my sight.
___________________________________________________________
“Screw up? SCREW UP?!” Twilight seethes, her nostrils flaring. “Why the smart mouthed biped! Where does she get off talking to me like that?! I’ve never screwed anything up in my whole life!”
“Want it, need it spell,” Dash coughs, earning a glare from the unicorn.
“There was also how ya’ll handled lettin’ us know Cadance wasn’t Cadance at the weddin’,” Applejack pointed out.
“Alright, two times in the recent year, but—”
“Twilight, darling, everypony makes mistakes,” Rarity said gently. “Raven probably was just being a little bit rude. I don’t think she’s gotten over how you treated her during our first meeting.”
“Then there’s also how you blatantly just excused her of evil or whatever you were talking about regarding Quarts and Gem wanting to serve her,” Rainbow reminded.
“Maybe, if you tried to get to know her better, you’d realize you both have a lot in common,” Fluttershy suggested, before hiding behind her mane. “I mean, if you want, that is. You don’t have to. I was just suggesting...”
Twilight fumed for several moments, before sighing, frowning. “Fine. I’ll try, alright? Though, with the way that... Raven acts, I doubt she even wants friends. Also, just what was she even talking about? What do I need to fix?”
___________________________________________________________
The group of ponies walked out trying to figure out whatever it wanted the purple unicorn to fix, the lights in the room going out. The other source of illumination becoming from the prison inwhich Sombra resided.
He sighed with relief. It was gone. He still couldn’t get the images of what he saw under that... thing’s cloak out of his mind.
“Well, seems he was right after all,” a soft, yet cold female voice said suddenly. “You were useless.”
Sombra looked up, his eyes scanning the room, before he noticed a pair of pure green eyes, much like his own, staring at him from across the room.
They just stared at him and he felt the disgust wafting off of the being they belonged to.
“I suppose I shouldn’t have expected one of your kind to stand a chance against her. She’s far more powerful than anything you could’ve dished out.” A green glow appeared around what looked like hands, just like it had. “Guess I’ll have to find another way to make my sister pay for her sins. Too bad you won’t be around to see what happens.”
There was a flash of green light and the sound of crystal smashing. When it faded, as the light from the shattered crystal dimmed, where the darkness of Sombra had once been, there was now a small pile of ash.
“Not like I care though,” the figure chuckle, lifting a black crystal, a portal opening behind her. “You weren’t even real to begin with.”
She walked through the portal, which closed behind her, the room slowly falling into darkness as the last remnants of energy faded from the shattered crystal.