The light left the young mare's eyes and her body sagged limply, held up only by the crystal spike that was piercing her flesh.
"TWILIGHT!" Sombra shouted in horror, rushing to the young mare's side.
"Don't bother," Rabia said, drifting over next to him. "I punctured her vital organs, so she's finished. Ponies are so fragile with their physical bodies."
At her heartless words, Sombra's grief turned into something he was much more familiar with; rage. Whirling away from Twilight's limp form, he snarled at his mother, "How could you!?"
"She was making you soft, my son," Rabia replied. "Just look how much her death affected you right now. If it had been an enemy that had killed her, you would have been struck down before you could recover from the shock."
"You don't understand! But then, how could you? Even your own son was nothing but a disposable pawn to you!" Sombra growled, his fury spiking. "I swore that I would protect her. That no matter what, I would stand by her side. But now-"
Suddenly, a familiar voice echoed through the room, mirrored by a whisper in the back of Sombra's mind. A voice whose familiar words sent a chill up the stallion's spine and caused his eyes to widen in shock.
"I won't die."
Behind Sombra, a violet glow lit up the room, accompanied by the sound of shattering crystal. Before he could react or Rabia could do more than let out a shocked gasp, tendrils of shadow reached around the stallion, and pierced his mother's form. Sombra looked into his mother's eyes for a split second, and felt a surge of satisfaction as he saw her realize what was about to happen. The Umbrum matriarch let out an agonized scream, which was cut short as she was torn apart, the wispy remnants of her form dissipating moments later.
"Hehehe, wow. You must have gotten your brains from your father, Sombra, because your mother was an idiot," the mare behind him spoke up, so familiar in tone, yet with a sneering inflection alien to her voice.
Turning to face her, Sombra took in the sudden changes. The hole in her chest was closing before his eyes, Regenerating at a rate even he would have difficulty matching. Something both impressive and concerning, since he had yet to teach her that spell. Her eyes glowed not with the familiar green he knew, but rather a solid teal, broken only by magenta pupils and matched by a teal aura around them that seemed almost solid. Her mouth was twisted in a manic grin, as she watched her power disperse the final traces of Rabia's existence.
But the biggest note to Sombra, however, was her magic. Given how much time he had spent with Twilight, he could tell that her magic felt... different.
Narrowing his eyes, Sombra demanded, "You are not Twilight. What happened to her!?"
Rolling her eyes, the mare before him replied, "She's still right in front of you. Or perhaps you could say she's somewhere up here." She emphasized her claim by tapping one hoof on the side of her head. "Thing is, she needs a little help doing what needs to be done to those that threaten her and her friends. So, she's taking a little break, while I do the dirty work."
"And who are you, exactly?" Sombra asked with a frown.
"I'm still Twilight Sparkle, just... different," she said. "I suppose if you want another name, you could call me... Midnight Sparkle." Moving past him toward the stairs, she added, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go ‘take care of’ your extended family."
"Twilight, you can't do this!" Sombra declared. "We can find some other way to stop them."
"Why not? Look, I know you like to get more creative than killing, but I don't want you getting in my way, so why don't you just... chill?" Midnight said, as her eyes flashed with power. With that, she let out a cackle as she shifted to Shadowform and flowed up the stairs.
Sombra tried to chase after her, but his movement was arrested as his hooves were frozen to the floor... literally. As the magical ice spread up his legs, the stallion growled in frustration as he gathered his own power.
However, before he could release it, the ice encased him fully.
As the princesses swooped down toward the Crystal Empire, they could see that the city was overrun by strange, shadowy beings that were flying after the fleeing crystal ponies below. A single stallion was making a stand near the palace, but he was vastly outnumbered and being surrounded quickly.
"Shiny!" Cadance shouted, as she dove to her husband's aid. Celestia and Luna exchanged a quick nod before diving after her. As the Two Sisters began attacking the stallion's assailants, Cadance landed next to him to make sure he was not injured. "Shiny, are you alright?"
"Yeah, but it's a good thing you got here when you did. I'm not sure how much longer I could have held my own," Shining Armor admitted. "What in Tartarus are these things?"
As the beings retreated under the alicorns' onslaught, Celestia and Luna landed. "We believe they are called the Umbrum, kin of the vile King Sombra, but there will be time for further explanations later," Luna said.
"Indeed, our first priority must be protecting the citizens and stopping Sombra before he can do anything worse," Celestia added.
Nodding in agreement, Cadance asked her husband, "Shiny, do you know where Sombra is now? What about... Twilight?"
"They're in the castle. Sombra trapped me on his way there, but Twilight freed me when she arrived. We tried to reach him, but got separated when these things started pouring out," the prince explained.
"Cadance, you should tend to your subjects," Celestia said. "Focus on getting them to safety. My sister and I shall find Sombra, and put an end to this. As for Twilight... we shall address her actions once the crisis has passed."
"But first, we must smite these fiends who stand in our way," Luna said, as she eyed the shadowy forms that were approaching once more.
Before either side could act, however, violet tendrils lashed out, rending several of the Umbrum to pieces like the claws of some arcane beast. The remaining Umbrum turned to their attacker, snarling in fury as they swarmed the purple unicorn.
They were torn apart just as quickly as her previous victims.
Taking a deep breath as she absorbed the remnants of their power, Midnight chuckled and said, "I love the smell of magic in the morning!"
"Twilight, what did you just do? Where is Sombra?" Celestia called out.
"Oh, you finally got here. Took you long enough," Midnight said with a snicker. "As for His Majesty, he took some time to 'cool his head', while I clean up his mess." Tilting her head as the scream of a crystal pony sounded nearby, she added, "Speaking of which, I have genocide to commit. Later, Princess!"
Celestia could only gape in astonishment at 'Twilight's' attitude, as the young mare shifted to Shadowform and darted off.
"What in Equestria happened to her?" Cadance asked in concern.
"I don't know, but when I get my hooves on Sombra, he'll pay for messing with my sister!" Shining Armor said with a scowl.
"I understand your ire, but as my sister said, the ponies here come first," Luna said. "Despite her odd behavior, Twilight seems focused on dealing with the same threat as us, so at least we need not face her as an enemy." 'Yet,' she added silently to herself.
With that, the royals split up, Cadance and Shining Armor gathering up the citizens they could find in order to better protect them, while Celestia and Luna focused on fighting the Umbrum threat directly. A threat that dwindled with each appearance of a certain purple mare.
"That can't be all of them, can it?" Midnight grumbled in frustration. "There were dozens of them, and I'm not even tired yet! I really thought this would be a decent challenge, if only due to numbers..."
As she darted from street to street throughout the city, the screams of terror had faded with each group of Umbrum she destroyed. Now the city was almost silent, until...
"Somepony help! Please!"
Rounding a corner, Midnight found one last Umbrum bearing down on a cowering crystal pony. Lashing out with her power once more, she tore the incorporeal creature apart before it even knew she was there. Dropping out of Shadowform, she grinned down at the pony the Umbrum had been about to attack.
"Th-That's King Sombra's magic!" The panicking pony cried out, as it stared at her glowing eyes. "Stay away from me, you monster!"
The smile vanished from her face.
"Monster?" Midnight repeated, as she narrowed her eyes in fury at the insult.
In desperation, the pony lashed out a swift kick. Not expecting such an attack, Midnight was taken by surprise, snapping her head to the side from the impact, but failing to do any real harm to her. Taking advantage of her stunned state, the crystal pony began galloping down the street.
"After everything I've risked... everything I've sacrificed... this is the thanks I get?" Shock turned into a manic grin that spread across her face once more. Talking to herself as she turned to look towards the retreating pony. "...I know! If you think I'm a monster, that makes you a threat, too. I wonder if Crystal Ponies might give me more of a challenge? I doubt it, but only one way to find out, right?"
As she began to aim an attack toward the now thoroughly terrified pony, a blast of magic caught her in the side, knocking her into a nearby building. The crystal pony took this opportunity to dash away, as Midnight regained her bearings, disoriented but otherwise unscathed from the attack.
"Enough is enough, Twilight!" Celestia declared as she and her sister stepped forward. "Facing down the Umbrum might have redeemed the mistakes you made with Sombra, but attacking an innocent pony is not something I can overlook!"
"I suppose that's true. Let me guess, a thousand years on the moon as my punishment? Or will it be two thousand since I'm not your sister?" Midnight shot back as she got back on her hooves.
"How dare you!?" Luna snarled, taking a threatening step forward. Celestia, however, looked away in shame as she remembered her inability to find a better solution for stopping Nightmare Moon.
Midnight remembered the dream lessons with Sombra, and took this opening to strike. As her eyes flashed, she launched a beam of magic without warning. Luna saw it coming and easily dodged out of the way. Celestia's distraction cost her as she was struck squarely in the chest, her eyes widening in surprise.
Celestia's expression of shock remained, trapped perfectly as she was turned into an amethyst statue.
"Sister!" Luna shouted in horror. Rounding on the one responsible, Luna's pupils shifted into slits, her own eyes turning teal as she snarled, "I knew you had fallen, Twilight Sparkle, but even I did not realize how far!"
"Bring it, Princess!" Midnight said as she licked her lips in anticipation, her tone managing to make the title sound more like an insult. "Sombra may have gotten you on the other side of the mirror, but now I have a chance to complete the set."
"Thou shalt pay for thine insolence!" Luna declared, as she launched an attack of her own.
Midnight gave out a mocking laugh as she surrounded herself in a violet light, blocking the alicorn's attack with an aura of raw magic. "That might have worked a month ago, but after draining the power of Celestia and Cadance in the Mirror Reality, that hardly even tickles!" With her gloating done, Midnight coalesced her aura around her horn, before using a beam of her own to push back Luna's magic.
Luna gritted her teeth and threw everything she had into her attack, but despite her best efforts, the point where the beams met was inexorably driven closer to her. Finally, Midnight's attack connected with her horn, and the Princess of the Night skidded backwards, her hooves scraping sparks against the street as she barely managed to stay standing.
Before she could catch her breath, Midnight was upon her, the mare's flashing eyes the last thing Luna saw before joining her sister in Crystallized oblivion.
"I suppose I shouldn't have expected anything more," Midnight said to herself as she trotted toward the castle. "After all, it took both of them to take down Sombra. Maybe I should have given Celestia a fighting chance after all..." As the castle came into sight, she saw her brother and Cadance watching over the gathered Crystal Ponies, keeping them calm. Approaching them, she called out, "So this is where the rest are. Saves me the time looking, I suppose." Her eyes narrowed as she spotted the pony that called her a 'monster', and she growled out, "There you are..."
Stepping between the approaching pony and her subjects, Cadance demanded, "What's going on, Twilight? Where are Celestia and Luna?"
"I imagine they're back where I left them," Midnight said with a sneer of contempt. "After all, it's not like crystal statues are just going to get up and walk away." Seeing the looks of shock and horror on Cadance and Shining armor's faces, she went on with a cackle, "Come now, it's not like Equestria needs a ruler who is constantly sending her student to clean up her messes or one who causes more trouble then she solves. Really, I did the world a favor. For that matter, I suppose we don't need a ruler who is constantly playing the damsel in distress, or one who always relies on their sister to fix things, now do we?"
"I am no 'damsel in distress'!" Cadance protested.
"Of course not!" Midnight said, before pointing toward her brother and adding, "That part was referring to him."
"What are you doing, Twilight?" Shining Armor asked, trying not to let the insult get to him. "It's like you're trying to pick a fight!"
"Oh, good. For a moment there, I was worried we weren't on the same page," Midnight replied, before charging an attack.
Shining Armor quickly put up a barrier around himself, Cadance, and their gathered subjects, but before Midnight could launch her attack against it, a dark form slammed into her, sending her crashing through the wall of a nearby building. The gathered ponies were shocked to see none other than King Sombra standing before them. Sombra turned toward them, and flung something in the direction of the royal pair.
Shining Armor braced for an attack, only to nearly drop his barrier in shock as the Crystal Heart skidded to a stop against his magic.
"Do not just stand there, get the Heart working again!" Sombra shouted. "Its power should disrupt Twilight's Dark Magic long enough for her to come back to her senses. I doubt she will just stand idly by while you do, so I will keep her restrained in the meantime."
"But if you are keeping her pinned down, won't that mean the Crystal Heart will affect you, too, when it is finished charging?" Cadance asked.
Suddenly, tendrils of Dark Magic burst through the walls of the building Midnight had been thrown into, as the mare came striding out, the building collapsing behind her, a confident grin on her face and she declared, "Why does everypony insist on blindsiding me when it clearly doesn't do anything?"
Turning to face her, Sombra called over his shoulder, "There's no time for obvious questions. Just get the Heart working as fast as you can. Even I can only hold her back for so long." With that said, he charged toward Midnight.
Sombra fired a beam of magic, so Midnight echoed the action. Their magic collided, struggling for a moment, before Midnight's magic began inching closer to Sombra.
'I knew she was powerful, but this is insane,' Sombra thought as he struggled. 'As expected of the one worthy of being my student. But no matter. After all, brute force was never Dark Magic's forte!'
Midnight's grin nearly split her face as her magic grew ever closer to overwhelming her mentor. So focused was she on that struggle, that she did not notice Sombra's shadow stretching along the ground towards her until it was too late. As the shadow reached her, it peeled off the ground and began rapidly winding its way up her body. Taking advantage of her distraction at the sudden contact, Sombra sank into his own shadow, letting Midnight's attack pass above him, turning a nearby building into crystal.
Midnight struggled, but was swiftly cocooned in darkness. This only lasted a moment, however, before the ball of shadows began to writhe and bulge. Seconds after she was trapped, the first violet tendrils of Midnight's own Shadowform began to pierce through, forcing her way to freedom in one last surge, she burst free, both combatants collapsing back into their corporeal forms as they stared each other down once more.
Suddenly, a bright light began to wash forth from the direction of the castle. Remembering what happened to Sombra when he was caught by its power, Midnight turned to run, only to be knocked to the ground as Sombra physically tackled her. "What are you doing!?" Midnight demanded. "The Crystal Heart's power will kill us!"
"Underneath all that Dark Magic, Twilight Sparkle is still a pony. She will be fine," Sombra said as the magic washed over them.
As the light filled her vision, Twilight felt herself in control once more, and more tired than she could ever remember being. As the light cleared, she opened her eyes, once more restored to their natural violet, and struggled to her hooves, trying to makes sense of what just happened.
"Twilight... are you... alright?"
Twilight looked to the source of the question, and saw Sombra laying on the ground, cracks of light spreading across his dark form. "Sombra... what...?" Twilight looked down, eyes widening in understanding as she noticed the way her coat sparkled. "The Crystal Heart... we have to get you out of here!"
"Don't bother... You'll never make it... on hoof..." Sombra gasped out. "I'm just glad... you're with me... in the end..."
"No... NO!" Twilight's eyes began to glow with Dark Magic once more, the fear of losing somepony she cared for was strong enough to restore some of her expended power. However, as soon as Dark Magic filled her form once more, the power of the Crystal Heart went from a calming warmth that soothed her mind to a searing agony that burned away her magic.
Gritting her teeth, Twilight forced herself to act though the pain. Shifting into Shadowform, something that only worsened the pain, tendrils of Dark Magic lifted up Sombra's form, before she began fleeing to the edge of the Crystal Heart's power as fast as she could. Even with her enhanced speed, she could feel her power fading by the second, even as the cracks on Sombra's body spread. The next few moments were a haze for Twilight, pushing herself forward even as her senses were blurred from the torment of being exposed to the Crystal Heart.
Finally, she surged past the border of the Crystal Empire, tumbling to the ground in her pony form as relief washed over her. Forcing herself not to rest just yet, she dragged herself next to Sombra to check on him. However, despite being beyond the Crystal Heart's range, its power was already inside him. It was fading, but not as quickly as his own remaining Dark Magic.
"No... there has to be something I can do." Pressing her horn to his, Twilight tried to give him her remaining Dark Magic, tried to close the cracks the same way Midnight had restored her own body, but she barely had any left. Fear, anger, even pride, all the emotions she could think to fuel it felt numb, muted. Twilight quickly realized that dealing with the Nightmare Forces, getting to the Empire, her time as 'Midnight', and finally fleeing the Heart... All that had happened since she had last been able to rest, had drained her emotionally, had used up all the magic those emotions could produce.
"Twilight... that's enough..." Sombra's whisper broke through her mounting despair. "I made my choice... I have lived... far longer than... I had any right to... I was born to darkness... but you showed me not all light... is blinding... I'm glad you were the pony that found me... I just wish... I had had been able... to tell you..."
As his speech faded to ragged breathing, Twilight felt a tightening in her chest, her mind going back over their time together, everything that had happened. In the beginning, things had gone much as she expected. Of course, it was Discord that caused things to take a turn for the strange. However, it was more recent memories that made that tightness in her chest grow. He had comforted her after the incident with Chrysalis, with an empathy no one else could, in that situation. He had chosen her well-being over his revenge in the mirror world, not to mention his words to her right before the final battle there. Before the Nightmare Forces attacked, they had shared a moment that might have become so much more if the Princesses had not interrupted.
Faced with the threat of losing him, Twilight knew she would do anything to save Sombra.
As soon as that realization hit her, Twilight felt that tightness in her chest blossom into warmth, her power flaring greater than ever before. Happiness and warmth were considered the antithesis of Dark Magic, and yet, love was an emotion, too, and one of the strongest at that. In that moment, Twilight felt she was capable of anything, but there was only one thing she wanted.
Twilight Sparkle was going to save the stallion she had come to love.
"You're sure Sombra gave you the Crystal Heart on purpose?" Luna asked, as she flew through the air.
"Yes. Whatever happened to Twilight, I think it was a result of freeing him from the Nightmare Forces," Cadance replied.
"I can only imagine that they infected Twilight afterwards," Celestia said. "I can't imagine Twilight Crystallizing us, otherwise."
"I can't believe she managed to overpower me!" Luna said in indignation. "Or that Sombra would willingly sacrifice himself for somepony else."
"I saw the state he was in before Twilight carried him away," Cadance said. "He was barely alive. I know you two don't want to trust him, but I really think that there's more going on-"
The three alicorns' attention was drawn by a powerful pulse of Dark Magic. Swooping down to the source, they found their targets. Twilight was kneeling next to Sombra's prone form, an aura of shadows swirling around the pair. As they landed, the magic drew back into Twilight's body as Sombra began to stir, his body looking as healthy as ever.
Then Twilight stood up, turning to face the princesses as she spread her new wings.