“That’s it!” Dash yelled. “I’m getting sick of this guy! Sunset, please tell me you've figured something out by now!”
“I’m sorry..." She muttered in fear, struggling to stand. “I thought if we all worked together, we could wear him down, but with only three of us left, I just don’t know...”
“Well, then...” Applejack responded. “I guess we’ll just have to rely on good old fashioned brute force.”
“But, we tried that already, we can’t beat him with power alone. Black Soul allows Sombra to attack and defend at the same time. He’s the one brute forcing his way through us.”
“We don’t have much of a choice, there just has to be a way to break through that armour of his.”
“But...” Sunset stopped herself, Rainbow Dash and Applejack had already made up their minds. There was no point in reasoning with them, this was the only way they knew how to fight.
“How do they do it?” Sunset thought. “They know they’re outmatched, that they can’t win, but they're throwing everything they have at him... and all I can do is watch, because I'm too weak...”
Applejack and Rainbow Dash went on the offensive, but even with their relentless assault, Black Soul shielded Sombra from all damage, but they pushed on, anyway. Their ferocious attacks kept Sombra on the defensive, as long as they kept piling on the pressure, Sombra was forced to block their every move. It was only a matter of time before he eventually dropped his guard.
Not wanting to fall victim to such a mindless strategy, Sombra slipped out of his dark shell leaving it behind as a decoy. He then side-stepped beside Rainbow Dash and belted her in the face. His power sent Dash flying into Applejack causing them both to tumble over.
“Dash! You okay!?” Applejack asked, helping her up.
“NO! That jerk just slugged me!”
“You girls certainly are tenacious, aren’t you?.” Sombra praised as his Stand armor returned. “But, surely, the fatigue must be setting in by now?”
“Never!”
The girls charged Sombra once again, in a blind, desperate fury. Of course, Sombra took advantage of this. With their attacks so unfocused and desperate, countering them was child's play. He grabbed Gimme a Break by the leg, captured Ride on Time and using his pure, physical might he slammed the two Stands into one another. The effects of the impact rippled through the girl’s bodies, knocking them senseless.
With the girls dazed and confused, Sombra was presented with the perfect opportunity to finish them. Not wanting to feel useless, Sunset’s Stand flew in to defend her friends. Sky rammed into Sombra's gut, but thanks to Black Soul's armour, he didn't even feel it. He punted the Stand away, like a football, knocking Sunset to the ground.
She could only watch helplessly, as Sombra lifted her friends up by their face with his blackened hands. “Good effort girls, now go to sleep.”
With one final pulse of dark magic, he dropped the unconscious girls to the floor, leaving Sunset as the last remaining road block between him and the ultimate Stand power.
Although Sunset had the strength to pick herself up, she couldn’t stop shaking. The magic of friendship had always found a way to save her and her friends before, but this time, there was no magic to save her. Sombra’s strength and mastery over his Stand far exceeded anything she could have prepared for.
She was overwhelmed with fear and shame, her failure to protect her friends was far more crushing than anything Sombra could do to her. She could only stand, frozen in fear as Sombra slowly strolled over to her.
He didn’t say a word, he just smiled smugly, already well aware Sunset stood no chance against him. In a fit of desperation, Sky lashed out again, but he easily held the Stand back with the palm of his hand. “That's enough, Sunset. At this point, you’re just wasting my time.”
“You were this powerful all along... so why? Why did you hold back?”
“Partly for my own amusement, but also out of curiosity. I wanted to examine the depths of your powers for myself. Besides, in order to achieve my goals, I couldn't use my full strength right away. I need you girls alive.”
Sunset was distraught over the suffering she had inadvertently brought upon her friends. She had no idea how far out of her depth she truly was.
“Still, I’m slightly disappointed in your performance." Sombra continued. "I was hoping to draw out the power of the Elements I sensed within you, but it seems that power was just a mere spark in comparison to your friends. No, more like table scraps. Oh well, I suppose if your power doesn’t suffice I could always use you as bait to lure out Princess Twilight instead.”
Princess Twilight, hearing her name reminded Sunset of Sombra’s true goal. If he wasn't stopped now, Equestria will have a super-powered tyrant knocking on their door, which only deepened her sadness.
“Now, hold still. This will only take a moment.” Sunset closed her eyes, as Sombra reached out his blackened hand, to put her to sleep, but his hand never reached her. There was a sudden loud stab. Sunset opened her eyes to find a rapier wedged into Sombra’s arm. As he clasped at the weapon, Sunset spotted Rarity limping out of the darkness.
“That’s... what you get... for HITTING A LADY!” Rarity’s Stand retrieved the sword, leaving Sombra’s arm a bloodied mess.
Black Soul quickly covered his body to prevent any further damage or bleeding as Sombra turned his attention to Rarity, who was ready to throw her sword once again. Although, she clearly hadn’t fully recovered from her wounds, her face still swollen from her earlier battle.
As Sombra drew close, Lady Fascination attempted to intercept him with the sword, but he smacked it away. It was obvious to both Sunset and Sombra that Rarity and her Stand didn’t have the energy left to properly defend themselves.
“No! Get away from her!” Sunset screamed as Sky frantically attacked Sombra, but with his armour, he barely even felt it. Rarity kicked and punched and flailed wildly, but Sombra lifted her up effortlessly and this time, made sure she was put to sleep.
“Well, that was a surprise, but with that, the last of your friends have fallen.”
Suddenly, a massive swipe across Sombra's chest, ripped Black Soul like it were made from fabric.
"What!? My armour, was torn!?"
He couldn't believe it, something shredded through his Stand's impenetrable defences and that something was Sky Should Be High, wielding the sword Rarity had left behind.
"I guess your Stand isn't as invincible as you think." Sunset explained. "Black Soul might be able to absorb a ton of physical damage, but it seems to have trouble with keeping up with the sharp precision of a blade. With a weakness like that, even Sky can rip you apart."
Sky continued swiping at Sombra. His Stand's armour was still incredibly tough, but with enough slashes, it started to tear and he was helpless to stop it, she was swiping too fast for him to catch. If Sunset could keep this up, if she could keep him pinned down long enough to tear off his Stand and attack Sombra directly, she could win.
Of course, Sombra would never allow something like that to happen. He detached his Stand, as it sunk into the ground and leapt back to avoid any further sword swings.
"There's nowhere to run, Sombra!" Sunset asserted. "You created this inescapable world of darkness, now-!" Her chastising was suddenly cut off, as an unbearable pain in Sunset's gut knocked the wind out of her.
Just as Sky was about to give chase, Black Soul, rose out of the ground, and uppercutted the Stand straight in the gut. Sunset had gotten so caught up in exploiting Sombra's weakness, she unwittingly ran right into another one of his traps.
She fell to her knees, clutching her stomach. Sunset had already shaken off enough punishment during their fight, but with that one, decisive strike, her body finally gave out on her. She couldn't recover, she couldn't even spare the energy to keep her Stand active.
Sombra detached his Stand, his arm had stopped bleeding and Black Soul was free to put Sunset to sleep with no further effort on his part.
"You were right. This is my world. And so long as you're in it. You can't win."
Her last ray of hope flickered out, her will crushed by Sombra’s might as she could do nothing, but wait for Black Soul to finish her. As it lifted Sunset into the air with its inky palm, her vision became clouded by darkness, until nothing was left and she fell into a deep sleep.
She drifted through into the abyss, as her mind went blank, slowly forgetting all her worries until eventually, she woke up, sitting at her desk in class, as if nothing had happened. The room was eerily quiet and completely empty. Her memories were barren and she felt light headed. She must have drifted off to sleep in the middle of a lecture.
With nothing on her mind, acting purely on instinct, she looked out the window, mildly concerned by the black void that seemed to have surrounded the school and consumed the entire city. Guess she wasn’t going home just yet. She decided to leave the room to see if she could find somebody, but the door was locked, then the handle fell off and then the door disappeared, leaving an impassable wall. It was at this point Sunset started to suspect something was amiss.
She turned back around only to find the room had gotten darker and that someone was sitting at her desk.
“Excuse me?” Sunset asked the mystery person. “That’s my seat.”
“No, this is my seat.” The mystery person replied.
The mystery person looked familiar with her leather jacket and her red and yellow hair. The crimson skin, fangs and black eyes however, weren't so familiar.
“But, I thought this was my seat.”
“It is your seat.”
“What?" Sunset laughed. "You’re not me.”
“Yes I am.” The little devil conjured a mirror for Sunset to look into. The reflection she saw was the same as the devil sitting in front of her.
“Wait. This isn't me.” Sunset responded, staring into her reflection.
“But it is you. It’s always been you, no matter how hard you try to hide it.”
“This is who I really am?”
“Yes.”
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Really sure?"
"YES!"
"Really?"
The devil rose from it’s seat, wrapping it’s arm around Sunset. “Okay, you're clearly a little dazed and not all there at the moment, so let me spell it out for you. See, every time you try to push me away, you’re really just pushing yourself away and that’s not helping either of us, you know?”
"Either of us? But, I thought you were me?"
"Now, you're getting it."
Sunset was still confused and the haziness of her mind wasn't helping, but in the midst of her subconscious, Sunset did always feel like she was pushing something back, something she was afraid of. Although, even with a murky mind, she wasn’t sure if she could trust her other self or her devilish smirk.
“Haven't you been feeling weak lately? Low on confidence? If you accept me again I can fix all of those troubles for you. I can make you powerful.” The devil reasoned.
“Accept you... yeah. If you really are me, then I can’t keep pretending you're not and hope you’ll just go away, I have to accept you.”
Sunset and the devil’s hands touched as a black flames erupted from their hands joining together. Sunset felt a dark power consuming her.
"What's happening? What are you doing!?" She cried.
"I'm giving you the power you've been neglecting. That's what you wanted, right? The power to defeat your enemies? The power to beat Sombra? The true power of your demon Stand!"
"My Stand's true power?"
"Yes! The demon inside you. You can't run from it forever! Accept it!"
Just when Sunset was about to be taken over, there was a spark. A sudden reminder of what she was really fighting for.
"All right. I'll accept you."
The demon smiled, pushing its hand further into Sunset, but soon, the black flames quickly turned into a shining light.
“What the!?” The devil cried, trying to pull it’s hand out of the light only for the light to slowly absorb it. “What did you do!?”
“I accepted you.”
“But, why am I losing control!?”
The more the devil was absorbed by the light, the more Sunset’s memories began to return to her, as she slowly woke up from her daze.
“I understand now!”
“Now's not the time for an epiphany!”
“Whenever I was alone, I always felt worthless, because I was afraid that if I did do anything, I’d turn into you again. I was too afraid to figure out what my Stand could really do. But, thanks to you, I've remembered what I was fighting for. The friends who accepted me for who I was, who helped make me a better person. I don't want the strength to defeat Sombra, I want the strength to protect my friends!”
“So what? You can’t push me away forever. I’m a part of you, Sunset. You need me!”
“You’re right, I do need you. That’s why you became my Stand, but by I rejected you, like I was rejecting myself... ”
“That’s all very introspective of you, but that doesn’t explain why I’m losing control!”
“Because I’m not afraid of you, or myself anymore. I don't need to become a demon to get my confidence back, I just need to believe in my friends!”
“What are you talking about!?”
“I guess what I’m trying to say is: I accept you as a part of me, as a part of my past, but I won't let you control me any more! I'm not afraid of my own power! My past is not today!”
With her final declaration, the light absorbed the rest of the demon. Sunset checked over her body, as she looked in the mirror. She was normal again, better than normal in fact. She felt as if a massive weight had finally been lifted from her shoulders.
Sunset's demons were settled, her mind was clear and her memories returned, now there was just one last issue to deal with. "Where am I? And how do I get out of here?"
She suddenly gasped. “That’s what he meant! 'Go to sleep'. That wasn’t just a cool catchphrase, he meant it literally! Black Soul puts its enemies to sleep! That’s what Lightning Dust and her friends were talking about when they said Sombra’s powers were like a nightmare! He trapped them in darkness and then put them to sleep! They weren’t scared of Sombra, just the nightmares his Stand trapped them in! It all makes sense now!”
It was all coming back to her, being trapped in her own dream switched her mind into auto-pilot, but Sunset was back in control. “I can feel it, even in a dream, that light wasn’t just from me, it was my friends too, the Elements of Harmony. That spark he sensed in me is about to ignite into a blazing inferno!”
“This doesn’t feel right...” Sombra thought to himself. “I’ve incapacitated all of them with my Stand power and yet, I can still feel their magic...”
Sombra had never felt so anxious before. The Elements of Harmony weren’t considered the strongest force in Equestria for nothing. The fact that they were still active even with their users unconscious could only spell trouble.
But, there was one power that was truly concerning, the power inside Sunset Shimmer was growing, transforming. “Why is her power changing? Sunset isn’t the true wielder of the Element of Magic, but this doesn’t even feel like the Element of Magic any more. What is happening?”
He felt a great force of magic, building up inside Sunset, the Elements of Harmony were definitely reacting to the power inside her, conversely the only thing building inside Sombra was anxiety. “I don’t understand. I’ve already won, so why? Why do I have this horrible feeling of dread? Just what is this girl?”
Witnessing the rise of this new power, Sombra acted quickly. After coming so far, he wasn’t going to let some unexplainable magic ruin everything. In fear of letting all of his efforts go to waste, Sombra lifted Sunset by the head, morphed Black Soul into a shadowy, black blade and stabbed her straight through the gut.
“I would have preferred to use you as bait, but I can’t have you wielding some miraculous new power at the last minute. I’ll extinguish that light, right here and that will be the end of it.”
Sombra was relieved for a moment, until he noticed there was no blood from her wound, that Sunset's power hadn't subsided and that she was slowly starting to move.
“No! How is she waking up!?” Sombra cried.
“My friends...” Sunset muttered.
“What!? What have you done!?”
“I can feel their power... Sky... my Stand... it can feel their magic.”
Sunset pulled herself off of Black Soul’s blade and was back on her feet, her wound healed immediately. Although she still seemed a little dazed, a golden aura surrounded her, as her mind finally snapped back into reality.
“What did you do!?” Sombra’s impatience exploded, his handle on the situation quickly slipping away. “That power! That’s not the Element of Magic, I don’t know what that is! What is it!?”
“It’s my Stand.”
“But, you’re Stand was that demon, where is it? Where is your Stand!?”
“My Stand has become a part of me and it’s all thanks to you.”
“Me? What are you talking about!? I demand an explanation!”
“The nightmare you trapped me in, gave me the opportunity to confront and accept the demon inside me. Black Soul’s greatest strength, is also its greatest weakness! The nightmares you create are just like Naked Eye’s illusions, they’re not real and once you overcome those illusions, those nightmares can never haunt you again!”
Sombra tensed up, Sunset's new magic was a total mystery to him, he was too blinded by her light to fully comprehend the scope of her newfound power.
“Now, time for round two!”
Sharp wings suddenly sprouted from Sunset’s back. She flew at top speed toward Sombra, who was too stunned to react to her attack, as she landed a clean hit to his face. However, this was no ordinary punch, it took a moment to fully sink in, but being sent flying across the darkness was enough of a hint that Sunset’s strength far exceeded her natural abilities.
Even with Black Soul’s armour, Sombra’s face still burned from the impact. Sunset flew in again, but this time Sombra anticipated her attack, and grabbed her arms, pushing her back. This only presented Sunset with the opportunity to flip kick Sombra right in his jaw. The kick was powerful enough to rock Sombra’s world, nearly knocking him senseless as it freed her from his grasp.
Sunset toppled back slightly, even with her power, crazy acrobatics like that were still felt a little excessive. As she fell back however, she felt something by her feet.
“Well...” She pondered. “If I can’t break through you armour, then I’ll just pierce through it!” She grabbed the object from the ground and threw it into the air. It was Rarity’s discarded spear, which she transformed into a sword. Sombra attempted to stop her melding, but a sudden barrier kept him at bay.
By this point, it was obvious to Sombra what new powers Sunset had obtained.
“Unbelievable.” He scowled. “It’s little wonder her new powers left me confused, she’s channelling the powers of the other Elements. When the five Elements of Harmony are brought together the sixth shall appear, but I never imagined it could manifest in this world. I have severely underestimated these children.”
Sunset charged at Sombra swinging wildly at him. What her swings lacked in technique, they made up for in sheer force, keeping Sombra on his toes. Even when an opening presented itself and he attempted to counter, Sunset shook it off immediately and continued attacking. She didn't need technique when Sombra couldn't even hurt her.
The battle felt like a lost cause. Freesia’s barriers, Break’s strength, Lady’s transmutation, Ride’s speed and Birthday’s invulnerability. The combination of these powers created an opponent that was impossible for Sombra to overcome, but every Stand had a weakness and based on a hunch, he soon discovered hers.
He purposely allowed Sunset to attack him, manipulating the pace of the fight until he reached his destination. He leapt out of her range and toward her friends.
They were all standing, but seemed to be in a trance, as they fed their magic into Sunset. Sombra picked Pinkie Pie by the head and dangled her in front of him.
Sunset quickly caught up to him. “What are you doing!? Put her down!”
“I don't think so.” Sombra taunted. “Your power’s certainly surprised me, but the magic of friendship can only save you, if said friends are still alive. The downside to stealing your friend’s powers is that you’ve left them completely defenceless.”
“Hey! She didn’t steal them!” Pinkie disputed, much to Sombra’s surprise.
“Pinkie! You’re awake!?” Sunset yelled, also surprised.
“Well, duh, we all are.”
“Oh, thank goodness.”
“Yeah, that nightmare sure was scary, but once I figured out I was dreaming, I just dreamed of something more fun, instead. After that, I felt this strange power and an even stranger light and then I just kinda woke up. I mean really, what’s the point of trapping your enemies in a dream if they still have control over that dream, anyway?”
“Yeah, I guess the darkness isn’t all that scary once you know what's lurking in it.”
“Shut up!” Sombra roared. “If I can’t put you to sleep, then I’ll just knock you out, instead!”
“Knock me out? Oh yeah, that's all you can do. You need us alive, or else your whole plan falls apart.” Pinkie giggled.
"Silence!"
"Wow, you're really mad!"
“Sombra! Let her go!”
“I don’t think so. She and the rest of your friends are giving you their power, so all I have to do is remove them from the equation and you’ll be back to your weak self. Checkmate, Sunset.”
Not ready to give up yet, Sunset threw her sword at Sombra. With the sword being tossed under the influence of Freesia’s strength, Sombra had no choice but to detach his Stand to take the blow for him to prevent any further damage to his body, the sword lodged itself inside Black Soul.
“Now, Pinkie, punch him in his left arm!” Sunset ordered.
“Okay!” Pinkie swung her fist into Sombra’s exposed arm. Although the bleeding from earlier had stopped, the wound left by Rarity was still present and Pinkie’s punch re-opened it, causing it to throb and bleed once more.
As Sombra recoiled in agony from the attack he loosened his grip, freeing Pinkie. He clutched his arm tightly, paralysed by the pain.
Sunset closed her eyes, spread her wings, widened her stance and focused all of her friend’s magic into her fist.
Sombra scrambled together his Stand armour as he debated whether to take another one of Sunset’s friends hostage, but it was too late. Sunset opened her eyes, her golden aura burning brightly and she set her sights squarely on Sombra who could only look on in silent fear.
“Sombra! We win.”
Using her friends power, she dashed forward at such speed that she briefly disappeared from sight. That brief second felt like an eternity, as Sombra braced himself. Before he could so much as twitch, she reappeared, channelling all of her power into a single dynamite punch.
Sunset’s fist planted itself deep into Sombra’s gut, crushing his armour. The fissures that erupted from the impact of the blow travelled across Sombra’s body, re-opening the tears from earlier, ripping his Stand apart until the force of Sunset’s strike caught up with them. It felt as if a high pressure bomb had detonated into Sombra’s stomach, shattering not only his Stand, but his entire world, as the darkness that had imprisoned them burst apart like shattered glass.
Sunset put everything she and her friends had into that single burst of magic and Sombra felt every bit of it, as he skidded across the ground while pieces of his Stand fell around him like black shards. He was completely defeated.
“We did it? We did it!” Relieved that their hard fought battle had finally been won, Sunset regrouped with her friends who all congratulated themselves for their victory while Sombra continued to lay on the ground, devastated by their power.
“That was one heck of a trick you pulled out of your hat, but what exactly was all that?” Asked Applejack.
“I’m not sure. It kinda felt like when I fought Twilight. All our powers combined into one. This must be Sky’s real power...”
Sombra slowly worked up the energy to pick himself up, only managing to kneel before the victors. It was hard to believe they were struggling for their lives only moments ago. Even with Stand powers, the Elements of Harmony were a power far beyond his grasp and understanding. Upon reflection, it was obvious he never stood a chance of controlling them even if he did win.
He stifled a laugh. “I should have known better, not to mess with a demon.”
“NO! FREAKING! WAY!” Howled a voice, as a girl stumbled out of the bushes.
“Oh no.” Groaned Sunset. “Not her again.”
Starlight Glimmer made her way to the scene, positively ecstatic over the outcome of the battle. “I can’t believe you actually defeated Mr. Shadowman! And here I thought I’d have to do that part myself, by the way did you ever learn his real name, it was hard to hear or see anything through all that darkness.”
“His name’s Sombra!” Pinkie happily obliged.
“Get lost, Starlight. This battle’s over.” Scolded Sombra.
“Why? You don’t think I’m planning something nefarious do you?”
“Stealing my notebook, drawing the runes for the ritual, not to mention your experiments with the other Stand users.”
“Experiments?” Sunset asked.
“Oh, let’s just say I’ve been busy this past week, learning how to do this!” Starlight’s Stand, Diva, fired a blue beam from each hand, one targeting Pinkie while the other catching Sombra. While the beams caused no harm, they were far from powerless.
Starlight then picked up a sharp rock and used Diva to throw it at Pinkie Pie. She reacted with her usual antics, but once the rock actually lodged itself into her shoulder, she felt a sharp pain followed by bleeding.
“Ow... that hurts...?” Cried Pinkie. “That really hurts... where’s Mini me, Birthday Train... hello?” Pinkie was distraught over the sudden disappearance of her Stand.
Sombra forced himself up, realising the danger of the situation. “Stop this Starlight. The power you’re seeking isn’t something a child can handle.”
“I don’t think you’re in a position to be giving me orders, with the miserable state you’re in.”
Sombra replied to her taunt with a swift uppercut to Starlight’s smug face. She reeled backwards, but all he accomplished was sending Starlight into a fierce rage. Her hand became inky black as she returned Sombra’s attack by grabbing his face, holding on tight until he fell unconscious.
“Why do they always go for the nose!?” She took a deep breath, calming herself down. “It’s okay, Starlight. Everything is going just as planned. You successfully hijacked Sombra’s operation, you have all the powers you need and all the ingredients for the ritual are right in front of you."
"Starlight... what are you going to do?" Sunset asked out of genuine concern.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm about to create the ultimate Stand!"