//------------------------------// // Chapter 14: Sombra's Ultimate Gamble // Story: Fires of Friendship and Ice of Hatred // by Super Ponyman //------------------------------// (The Badlands, Salt Flats) The Badlands were never a particularly friendly place to visit, hence the name. It was filled with monsters such as the ferocious manticores, the ravenous Hydra, and various other creatures that could also be found in the Everfree. But the most dangerous creature was the Black Behemoth, a monster that was as tall as Twilight's castle, and as wide as Celestia and Luna's combined wingspan. Twilight had only heard tales of its existence, but from the books she read described it quite vividly. It had rows of sharp teeth almost twice the size of her, a head with two giant tusks protruding from its crowed by a pair of six horns, it had six legs, with the front two serving as its arms. On its back were six gigantic plates that allowed it to absorb solar energy to fire out beams of thermal heat that set fire to everything around it. Twilight Sparkle had dealt with much more dangerous foes in the past, such as Tirek and Daybreaker... but they still had to think. The Black Behemoth ran solely on survival instincts, it was the alpha predator in Equestria, and it had claimed the lives of hundreds. Twilight Sparkle had expected to have Cadence by her side when she was going out, but she had an urgent matter to attend to in the Crystal Empire. Now, Twilight was going out alone, and that was a horrible idea. Twilight could take on Chrysalis on her own, but she was walking into the lions den, Chrysalis had her hive at her back, so she would overwhelm Twilight with sheer numbers. Twilight thought to herself, "No monsters so far... which is strange. I would expect there to be at least one." Twilight Sparkle landed near a manticore nest and looked around, there was claw marks leading out towards the Everfree, it seemed like these things were scared of something or somepony. Twilight flew next to a Hydra Den, it was empty, with various puddles of what Twilight hoped to be drool on the ground as well as large footprints leading towards the forest as well. (The Badlands, Queen Chrysalis's Hive) Twilight arrived at the Changeling hive finally, it was strangely empty. She judged from the hastily made tracks that the swarm must have left with the queen in a rush. Twilight Sparkle said out loud, "Whatever scared Chrysalis must have been really frightening to see. Hydras and Manticores never run off unless they are outmatched by something stronger. And Chrysalis is usually brave enough to face off against monsters..." Suddenly, A loud roar caused the roof of the cave to collapse, Twilight flew out before she could be crushed and hit the side of something very large and covered in black and dark blue scales. The big beast turned around and Twilight went white with fear, The rumors were true! Before Twilight stood the Black Behemoth! The giant monster roared in her face, sending her flying backwards, it swung it giant spiked tail at her, she dodged and began to pelt it with magic arrows. They were unable to harm the Behemoth's armored hide. The Behemoth opened its maw and fired a Beam of thermal energy that cut a large ravine in the ground. Twilight Sparkle was glanced by the attack and fell to the ground, where she struggled to get up. The Behemoth roared and stomped towards her, its massive mouth open to eat the lavender Alicorn. Twilight knew she had to do something quickly, lest she become this monsters next meal. She began to concentrate, and her eyes began to glow sickly green, purple smoke emanated from her eyes as she blasted a bolt of Dark Magic into the Behemoth's face. dark green light filled the Behemoth's eyes, it roared back in fear, and ran away. Twilight Sparkle got to her feet and gasped for air, saying "Thank Celestia... I didn't think that would work... dark magic still wears me out a lot..." A voice filled her mind, "You have only just begun to see your real strength..." Twilight looked around to see where that voice came from, seeing nothing but more of the barren wastelands. She said to herself, "Great. Now I'm hearing things! am I going crazy?!" The voice echoed in her mind again, "No. you have not succumbed to insanity, Twilight Sparkle, but hearing voices in your head that aren't your own is worrying." Twilight Sparkle asked the voice, "Wait a minute, How do you know my name? Who are you?" Suddenly, Twilight's eyes widened as a large shadow overtook her, it was her shadow! Out of her shadow came a deep-purple colored Alicorn made with eyes filled with Dark Magic, she wore a silver and black chest plate and shoes as well as had a silver and red crown upon her head. It looked like the Element of Magic, except dark and twisted... Twilight Sparkle was seeing herself! Twilight Sparkle took a defensive position and said, "Who are you and why do you look like me?!" The other Twilight Sparkle began to speak in a distorted version of her voice, "Isn't it obvious? I am Twilight Sparkle, Element of Magic. Well... let me clarify, I am a manifestation of your Dark Magic side. Call me... Midnight Sparkle." The Alicorn known as Midnight Sparkle looked like Twilight, but her body seemed much more defined, more curvy and elegant. Like a... Another voice came from behind Twilight, this one deep and demonic, "...Like a queen? Wouldn't you say?" Twilight turned around to see that King Sombra had appeared as well, but his eyes were filled with dark magic and his horn bubbled with energy. Almost as if this was a trap... which Twilight now figured out it was! Twilight Sparkle stepped back in fear, seeing King Sombra standing in front of her, eyes full of unusual pride. Twilight Sparkle put two and two together, "It makes sense now! I wondered why Cadence had to attend an urgent matter in the Crystal Empire?! You just disguised yourself as her to make me walk out here without backup!" King Sombra decided to rub some salt on the wound, "This is not the first time somepony masqueraded as somepony you love, is it? You should have suspected that something was amiss when Candence rushed out the door to the train without announcing her goodbyes or any reason to abandon your friend Burning Star? isn't that the least bit suspicious?" Twilight Sparkle responded, sniffling, "D-did you do anything to hurt her?" King Sombra laughed, "No, I am not that cruel Twilight. I simply imprisoned the group in my room and impersonated you when I saw you leave. They fell into my trap without me even trying to lure them in! Your friends are idiots, Twilight!" Midnight Sparkle laughed an eerie laugh, "Exactly Sombra! Hence the reason I killed them as soon as I could. Even my brother wasn't smart enough to anticipate the Dark Magic poison I slipped into their ciders! Hahaha! The look of their faces as they convulsed in agony as foam erupted from their mouths. Burning Star couldn't do anything, then again... how could he? He was dead, killed by the Windigos." Twilight Sparkle shuddered and shook with dread at the thought of killing her friends. She had stuck with them for almost 2 decades now... Would she really kill them? Twilight Sparkle responded with a shout, "No! I would never do that! I... why are you doing this to me of all ponies?! What could you gain from mentally torturing me?!" Sombra put his hoof around Midnight Sparkle, "An immortal student and a real and EXTREMELY POWERFUL ruler." Twilight Sparkle began to cry, she was hearing of the horrific possibilities that Sombra described. Midnight Sparkle walked up to Twilight and wiped away her tears, saying in a soft voice, "Don't cry, Twilight. Once the ritual is over, you will have no need for those friends you have. Friends are nothing more than an illusion, only there to distract you from the truth. The Magic of Friendship isn't the reason you are strong, you are strong because you are born to be!" King Sombra evaporated the dark version of Twilight Sparkle, appeared next to Twilight and began to speak into her ears, "Twilight, I have an alternative. If you join with me willingly now... I will spare your friends lives, I swear that no harm will come to them, no harm will come to anypony you love..." He continued to speak, "Under my training, Twilight, you could become the strongest user of Magic in the world! Magic has two sides Twilight, the light and dark. In order to understand the true powers of magic, one must learn both sides... rather than ignore the dark, like your mentor Celestia. Twilight Sparkle stared with a combination of both shock and amazement as the crown that her dark version was wearing appeared on her head, as well as the regalia she was wearing as well... A mirror appeared in front of her, and Twilight saw her eyes, they were not filled with green like Sombra's... rather they were deep purple with red irises... Twilight Sparkle looked at her new appearance, the pink stripe that ran down her mane and tail was now a metallic purple, while the rest of her mane and tail was a midnight purple that flowed like water. Her cutie Mark had changed to a black and red six pointed star, and she felt in her mouth that there were sharp white fangs. Sombra smiled, showing his sharp teeth, "Ah, much better. You look more mature, more powerful, and also a lot sexier in my opinion..." Twilight Sparkle did enjoy the new look, and her body was admittedly good looking. Sombra continued to flood her mind with temptation, "I know you crave knowledge, Twilight. I did as well, Become my queen Twilight, and I will share my thousands of years of wisdom with you, you will know all there is to know about Dark Magic... including the most powerful spell, the ability to extend the lifespans of other ponies, even keep them from dying altogether... how does that sound?" Twilight Sparkle imagined sharing her eternal life with her friends, they would never leave her alone ever again... even Spike. Sombra decided to put the final nail in the coffin, "Twilight, you are more powerful than you think... you know that, I know that. Accept your destiny! Join me and complete your training as the true ELEMENT Of MAGIC!" Twilight Sparkle suddenly smirked, causing Sombra to raise an eyebrow, she said in a knowing tone that sent a chill down Sombra's spine, "You are a fool, Sombra. Such a naive, simple fool..." Sombra recoiled in agony as his mental Link with Twilight was broken with a loud shatter, he flinched as blood dripped out of his nose. Twilight Sparkle said with pride in her voice, "The mental Link spell? Foals play, Shadow King. Burning Star taught me it in order to communicate with me telepathically from long distance... and he told me about an hour ago about your plan!" Sombra stammered, "Impossible, I-I had your brain in my hooves. I never did... what... what just happened?" Twilight Sparkle grinned like a madpony, "When you jumped me as the Black Behemoth, I instantly knew it was you, hide your crown better! Horns don't cut it!" Twilight knocked Sombra to the ground, fury in your voice "You thought you could use me as a tool for your own desires! You thought wrong, Sombra!" Sombra suddenly felt very small, his vision becoming blurred. When it cleared, he saw his worst nightmare. Behind Twilight stood hundreds of ponies. unicorns, pegusai, earth pony. Even other species stood behind Twilight, an solemn look in their eyes. Twilight said to Sombra, "Behold... your legacy Sombra. Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of lives lost because of you rage and hatred for the one pony you could never best, yourself." Twilight Sparkle glared into Sombra's eyes and said, "You gambled on my addiction to knowledge, Sombra. But you forgot one crucial detail!" Sombra felt fear, for the first time in thousands of years, he was terrified. "I am TWILIGHT SPARKLE! THE ELEMENT OF MAGIC, THE PRINCESS OF FRIENDSHIP, AND THE REFORMER OF YOUR STUDENT, BURNING STAR!" Twilight Sparkle grasped Sombra by his neck and said in a voice that sent chills down his spine. "And I am your worst NIGHTMARE!" Sombra screamed in terror as he quivered on the ground, absolutely terrified and shaken from his gamble gone wrong. Twilight Sparkle then smirked, "You Lose Sombra, but all that Dark Magic Stuff, I would have like to learn about that, but I already learned it from Burning Star." Sombra stood back as Twilight's eyes became pools of white, he would never forget the experience that happened next... Twilight Sparkle began to absorb Sombra's soul into her body, Sombra begged and pleaded to not end up trapped within her mind... It did not work, and with one last haunting scream, Sombra was sucked into Twilight's horn, her head hurting immensely from the process. She staggered, but she stood her ground, saying with tears in her eyes. "May you find peace, King Sombra. Be it within my mind, or within my heart..." Twilight looked North with a ferocity in her eyes that had never been seen before. "I am a princess of Equestria... and I will defend my people, no matter the cost. I'm on my way Burning Star."