//------------------------------//
// Chapter 24. What just happened? 
// Story: The Last of the Dark Ponies 
// by Askre 
//------------------------------//

 Chapter 24

The twins looked at each other, unsure what to do. Private then eyed the mirror. The surface was all cracked and broken, but it was reflective now instead of pitch black.

“What just happened?” Barricade asked, glancing at the mirror as well.

“I… uh…” Private slowly turned his head back towards his brother. “I think we may have accidentally brought back the most powerful queen to ever rule the Dark Pony Empire? The mare who raised Sombra.”

“Oh, is that all?” his brother blinked. “So, should we just head over to Tartarus and free Tirek while we are at it? Because this feels like we practically did that.”

“You may not be wrong,” Private grimaced and hurried to the entrance of the study. Sombra and Rabia were nowhere to be seen, but the hole at the top was open again.

Private hesitated. He could hear magic being thrown around up there. It was clear Sombra and Rabia were battling it out. The unicorn steeled himself and started up the stairs. Barricade was right behind him. When the brothers reached the top they carefully peeked out and their eyes opened wide at the sight.

Dark magic blasts were going everywhere as Sombra tried in vain to barrage his mother in turn. Rabia stood still and calmly deflected or dispelled every single shot. Her son looked enraged as he rushed around in his smoke form, blasting at the queen. Sometimes he tried summoning sharp crystals to skewer her, but Rabia just produced a shield that shot outwards and destroyed them.

“Hmm, smoke and shadow form. I will admit, you have improved on our shadow-walking abilities,” Rabia stated as she deflected another shot from her son.

“So, who do we root for? The guy who keeps tormenting us or the mare who seems to be owning him?” Barricade asked, feeling a little vindicated seeing Sombra unable to do anything.

“When I’m done with you, I will head over to Saddle Arabia and I shall do to them what they did to my daughter and my subjects. Not a single pony will be allowed to survive,” the queen said so casually it was like she was planning a summer vacation.

“Oookay, not on the team with the mad, evil queen,” Barricade gulped when hearing Rabia’s plans. Private just shook his head. At least Barricade was sounding more like himself.

“Ugh, I tire of this,” Queen Rabia muttered. She suddenly shot out a powerful blast of magic. It struck Sombra, tearing him out of his smoke form and right back into his pony body. The king roared in pain as he crashed to the ground with a loud thud.

“Tsk, tsk, my poor, misguided son,” Rabia clucked her tongue and casually strolled over to where Sombra lay stunned and disoriented from the fall. “Typical stallion. So emotional, so out of control in his rage.”

“Uh, should I add sexist?” Barricade arched his brow. Private hoofed his face before he started climbing fully out of the hole. His brother blinked when seeing that. “Wait, what are you doing?”

“Your majesty?” Private addressed the queen, who was gently caressing Sombra’s mane with a hoof. First her eyes merely shifted to glance at him, before she turned her head.

“Remember me? I visited your court once,” the unicorn slowly approached, not really sure why he was doing this.

“Hmm, you do look rather familiar,” Rabia stepped away from Sombra, who raised his head, staring at Private with an uncertain expression.

“I was with my friend Dew Doe. Your daughter showed her around and your son showed me around,” Private explained and halted when feeling he was close enough.

“Oh indeed. You rather unexpectedly arrived in my land,” Rabia murmured as she walked closer and began circling the unicorn. “How is it that you live? It’s been over a millennia, hasn’t it?”

“I travelled back in time with a third friend,” Private explained, keeping an eye on the queen as she went around him.

“Indeed, and who has such powerful magic?” Rabia arched her brow. “I heard rumors that Starswirl the Bearded created a time magic spell, but I somehow doubt you used that.”

“My friend is a time pony,” Private told her. He eyed Sombra who was slowly trying to rise.

“Oh, just a moment.” Rabia also noticed. She swiftly walked over to Sombra and struck him hard with a hoof. The king slumped back to the ground, groaning in pain. “Stay down. I’m busy right now.”

Private swallowed nervously as the queen returned her attention to him. It was rather strange to see Sombra in this kind of situation.

“Now where were we? Ah yes, time pony. I have never heard of a ‘time pony’,” Rabia mused and stopped right in front of Private. She looked at him and smiled warmly. Using one hoof she gently put it under his muzzle to raise his head. “Please tell me more.”

“They are the keepers of time; they take form of normal Equestrian ponies, but always have hourglass cutie-marks. They tend to be reclusive and bit isolationist, though they do work for Celestia,” Private told her, feeling more nervous to be this close to the queen than ever with King Sombra.

“Well that is unfortunate. My powers have not grown enough to challenge the Princess of the Sun,” Rabia sighed and lowered her hoof a bit, then she smirked and raised it higher to tap her own muzzle. “Then again…”

“Private, duck!” Sombra suddenly yelled. He had managed to rise to his hooves. Private yelped as he saw a huge dark magic blast heading their way. He quickly did as he was told just as it struck Rabia hard and sent her flying across the former throne room. She crashed into a ruined wall which crumbled even further all around her.

“You insolent, ungrateful whelp!”  Rabia snarled as she rose up from the debris. Her own eyes were now glowing red and green, purple smoke poured from them.

“Oh, that really hurt, mother,” Sombra snorted sarcastically and rose up again in his smoke form.

Rabia growled and shot a beam of magic at him. This time however, Sombra parted his form so it missed. Yet he didn’t retaliate. Instead he shot out two tendrils of shadow that grabbed Private and Barricade and yanked them closer to him, then he turned and sped away as quickly as he could.

“Come back here! You are not running away from me again, Sombra!” Rabia roared and dark magic began building up all around her as she continued to scream in rage. Shadows congregated and began surrounding her and the queen began dissolving into it.





“Okay, when you said your mother was complicated, I didn’t think you meant that!” Private shouted as he and Barricade flew over the desert, firmly held by Sombra’s shadow tendrils.

Sombra said nothing, he seemed to be concentrating on just getting out of there fast as possible. Private looked down at Barricade who faced the direction they were fleeing from. His brother looked pale.

“Barricade? Are you alright?” Private asked, worried that his brother was having a panic attack. His twin said nothing, just pointed with his hoof.

Private twisted around the best he could so he could look behind himself. His eyes grew wider and wider. The entire horizon behind them was filled with dark, shadow-like smoke that was following and gaining on them.

“Must go faster. MUST GO FASTER!” Private cried, realizing what that was.

“I… I don’t think I can,” Sombra finally spoke. The twins glanced at each other skeptically before turning to the smoke that held them. Their captor sounded afraid.

“Is… is…he…. Wait, you’re afraid?” Private just couldn’t believe it.

“Believe me, Private. When you really get to know my mother, you would not be so surprised,” the king whispered.

“She is gaining on us,” Barricade shouted out in alarm. He hated to admit it, but he preferred Sombra’s company right now.

“GAH!” Sombra suddenly screamed. Two yellow beams had struck his shadow form. He lost concentration and dropped back into his pony body and fell to the sand below.

Private and Barricade, however, were caught in dark blue, transparent magic bubbles and gently floated down. The twins weren’t sure if they were dreaming...descending from the air were Princess Celestia, Luna, Cadance and Twilight.

“Okay, that works too,” Barricade whispered, watching as all four Princesses landed in front of the groaning form of King Sombra, looking at him angrily.

“You fools!” Sombra looked up slowly. “I’m not the shadow you should be shooting at!!!”

The four Princesses looked up and balked at seeing the mass of huge, shadow-like smoke heading towards them. Luna, who was the one holding the twins in her magic, quickly set them down behind the alicorns.

“What is this?” the lunar princess asked, confused.

“This… would be… my mother,” Sombra groaned and slumped back down. The blasts from Celestia had really taken a lot out of him, not to mention his previous battle with the queen. Weakly he glanced back at the incoming mass of darkness.

As it got closer, it finally halted and for a second remained still right in front of the four princesses and King Sombra. Then slowly Queen Rabia’s head formed. It was larger and much more monstrous than Sombra’s had been.

“Queen Rabia? Alive? How can it be?” Luna looked at her sister, who was staring gravely at the huge shadow form in front of them.

“We may have… uh had something to do with that,” Private spoke up. Three of the princesses looked at him.

“Not on purpose,” Barricade quickly added. “Well there was this black mirror and well she appeared in it and… yeah…”

Everybody’s attention was brought back to Rabia when she laughed softly. Celestia and Luna stepped forward, past where Sombra still lay. Cadance and Twilight remained where they were. The younger princesses gave the king a firm glare as if to tell him to remain down.

“Queen Rabia, we are only here for the ponies your son abducted and tormented. We have no quarrel with you,” Celestia calmly said. Her sister nodded in agreement.

“That is true,” Rabia responded, her voice was unearthly and echoed all around them. “I am currently chasing him; I have no interest in your subjects.”

While the celestial sister spoke with Rabia, Twilight turned to Private and Barricade while Cadance stood guard over Sombra, who made no attempt to move.

“I am really sorry how your birthday party went and that I couldn’t keep you safe in my castle,” the purple alicorn addressed the twins. “But we are going to transport you back now. You’re safe.”

“Yeah about that,” Barricade had never once taken his eyes of the massive shadow in front of them. “That missy plans to attack Saddle Arabia when she’s done with her son.”

“Wait what?” Twilight gasped and immediately galloped back to when Private nodded to confirm what his brother said.

“Celestia wait,” the young princess shouted. “The twins said she’s going to attack Saddle Arabia!”

“Oooh.” Rabia eyed the twins with an almost motherly disappointment. “Spoilsports.”

“Queen Rabia, we cannot allow you to do that.” Celestia’s stance changed immediately. She frowned and spread her wings, as did Luna, Cadance and Twilight.

The shadows began to recede, as did the disembodied head of the Dark Pony Queen. Soon Rabia was back in her pony body, looking mildly disappointed.

“Well, as I told your subject, Princess Celestia, I am not ready to challenge you or your sister,” the queen said before smirking. “But I will be soon.”

Without warning, there was a flash of light that blinded everybody. When they could see again, Queen Rabia was gone. The princesses looked quickly around, but saw no sign of her. Then a groan from the ground diverted their attention there. Sombra still lay beneath them, having no energy to make his escape.

“Oh sure, leave me behind. Love you too, mother,” Sombra muttered and then eyed the four pairs of stern eyes glaring down at him. “Well, what are you waiting for? I have no strength left after fighting my mother and a blast from you, Celestia. Do what you must.”

“You have a lot to answer for, Sombra,” Celestia said. There was a hint of fury in her voice. “And I have given you plenty of opportunities to stand down. Why now?”

Sombra groaned and slowly began to rise, but his legs were shaky. Cadance frowned, activated her magic and cast a spell. Chains formed on the king’s legs and a manacle also went around his horn that blocked his magic.

“He’s afraid of his mother,” Private spoke up. For once he didn’t even flinch at the glare he got from the king. The unicorn felt it was a nice payback for Dew Doe.

“Private,” Sombra growled. “Of all the times to forget that you are supposed to be the quiet twin.”

“Is your mother really the reason you are giving up so easily?” Luna sounded skeptical. 

Sombra sighed in frustration, gave Private another stink-eye before glaring at the Lunar Princess. “Let’s just say that right now I feel safer encased in stone, sent to Tartarus or blown up again by the Crystal Heart,” he muttered and now looked away.

Three of the alicorns looked at Princess Celestia, who was frowning as she considered this. Then she nodded and turned to Luna.

“Take him to Tartarus for now, but only for now. Rabia’s plans worry me. I’m hesitant to admit it, but we may need Sombra’s knowledge of her,” she declared. Her sister nodded and grabbed Sombra’s chains with her magic before teleporting away with him.

Celestia and the two remaining princesses turned to the unicorn twins who could do little but watch the events unfold.

“Well, I am relieved neither of you are going to the hospital this time around,” Celestia addressed them with a gentle smile. “We are taking you back to Twilight’s castle, where your family awaits.”

“Oh okay, so we are finally free of him?” Barricade chuckled nervously. “Then I can finally do this.”

The alicorns watched in surprise as Barricade dropped to the ground as he passed out. Private smiled nervously and gently patted his unconscious brother.

“This has been really trying for him,” he said.

“I’m sure it was,” Twilight smiled in understanding. “Let’s get the two of you out of here.”

Celestia activated her magic and teleported all five ponies out of the desert, leaving nothing behind but the wind and the sand.





Tirek grunted in his cage, bored out of his skull. There wasn’t much to do when stuck in the most secure prison in Equestria. Occasionally Cerberus would walk by on his usual patrol, but that was about the only thing that mitigated the tedium a bit.

So, when a portal opened close to his cage, the centaur looked up curiously, wondering what was suddenly happening. He arched his brow when seeing Princess Luna step through, pulling a new prisoner in who was soon caged right next to him. This one though had shackles on his legs and a manacle on his horn.

“King Sombra? You are alive?” Tirek inquired when seeing the Dark Pony sitting stoically in the cage now in front of him.

“Lord Tirek.” Sombra looked at him and nodded. “You are looking… frail.”

“We’ll see how you’ll look after spending some time in here,” the centaur retorted and sat down. He narrowed his eyes as he regarded the pony. “Why would they even bother sending you to Tartarus?”

“I did list them alternatives. They chose this one. Apparently they believe I could be an asset against my mother,” King Sombra rolled his eyes. He eyed the centaur who looked momentarily shocked.

“Wait, your mother? Queen Rabia is alive as well?” Tirek didn’t quite like the sound of that. “The Queen of Rage and Wrath is back?”

“So it would seem and no, they did not imprison her,” Sombra shrugged and looked away sighing slightly.

“They didn’t…” the centaur frowned and grabbed the bars of his cage and looked around. “Suddenly staying in Tartarus doesn’t sound like such a bad idea.”

“Personally, I would have preferred oblivion,” the king muttered and lay down in his cage.

Well that’s that, burned out by my own mother, dragged in chains to Tartarus. Sombra stared at his shackles. It was a foolish errand anyway. It wasn’t working… I just couldn’t accept it. I just wanted it so badly, the king laid his head on top of his legs. The Dark Ponies are truly gone. Only their Equestrian descendants remain.
 
Well, aside from me. Sombra frowned and then scowled as he remembered his mother. Oh and her, I suppose.

Damnation, I miss Private already, the king grunted and closed his eyes, trying to rest for now.

End chapter 24