//------------------------------// // Chapter 207: My Way // Story: My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic: Stallion Edition // by SuperPinkBrony12 //------------------------------// With Discord's help the stallions were able to infiltrate the throne room where Sombra was waiting, perched atop Celestia's throne. "So you've come back for more, have you?" He remarked as he eyed the stallions. "I suppose I wasn't thorough enough with you the last time. A failure I'll soon correct." But Sombra's blast of magic was easily deflected by Discord. "Not so fast, Mr. Tall, Dark, and Ugly!" The spirit declared. "You're facing me now. And I think you'll find me to be a much harder opponent." If Sombra was at all concerned by Discord's presence he didn't show it as he rose from his throne. "Oh, I see how it is. Those ponies cower behind a guy like you because they're too weak to take me on by themselves. But if that's really the way they wanna play, that's fine. Let's get this nonsense over with, shall we?" Sombra was no match for Discord, blast after blast was dismissed by the spirit with a snap of his paws. All the while Sombra himself was growing steadily more frustrated. "You're not even taking this seriously, are you?! This is all some kind of game to you?!" "Now you're starting to get it," Discord replied to Sombra. "But to be honest, I was expecting a challenge from you. All I've gotten so far is disappointment. I could beat a bad guy like you in my sleep. You're definitely nothing like Tirek or Chrysalis, now those are baddies who could talk the talk and walk the walk." The black hearted king roared and grit his teeth! "Don't you dare compare me to those upstarts! They are nothing compared to me!" Discord waved a paw in dismissive fashion. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I touch a nerve? Why don't you run home and cry to Mommy? Oh that's right, you don't have one. You've got no one. You'll die alone, lost and forgotten to time," Then he turned to the stallions. "You know, it's kind of a shame this is how it all ends. Rather anti-climatic if you ask me. Along comes good old Discord to pull your rumps out of the fire and save the day again. Although, if you think about it, this is another victory for the magic of friendship. And hey, at least we see that Prince Shining here is willing to delicate authority to others when it matters. So maybe this is a partial victory for him too." Sombra stepped back as an idea came to his mind. A rather sinister smile formed on his face. "It seems you're willing to do anything for these... ponies, Discord. Clearly, you've gotten soft." "Nice try, Sombra, but I won't fall for that again," Discord retorted. "If that's your best then don't waste my time, just surrender and spare us both the agony of listening to you drone on." But the king only went on. "You know, I'm curious. What lengths would you go to for your 'friends'? It sure would be a shame if anything were to happen to them. Like, say, this!" He fired off a beam of magic in the direction of Thunderlane! "Noooooooooo!" Discord shouted in horror as without even thinking he jumped in front of the blast and took it head on! A blinding flash and a thick cloud of dust momentarily blinded everyone in the throne room! When the smoke cleared and the flash had faded, Discord was still standing but he looked quite visibly shaken. "That... didn't... hurt..." He weakly coughed. But then the mighty spirit of chaos felt his legs give way from under him and he crumpled to the floor! Sombra cackled with delight! "I can't believe you fell for that, you fool! The oldest trick in the book!" He jeered! "It's just as I thought, loyalty to those 'friends' of yours makes you vulnerable. And now you see what trusting others gets you." Shining immediately threw up a protective shield to block Sombra off. "That's enough out of you!" He roared to the king. "Just wait, Discord isn't through with you yet!" Braeburn added. "Yeah, he's just toyin' with ya. The big kidder." "Alright, Discord, very funny. Now get up and show Sombra who's boss," Shining called to the spirit. There was no reply, and that immediately struck the prince as odd. "Discord? Come on, Discord! The joke's over, stand up," But there was still no answer. "Discord?! Come on, snap out of it! Stop trying to drag this out!" Realization slowly settled in. "Guys, I don't think he's movin'," Big Macintosh nervously remarked. "I think that blast actually did somethin' to him." Horrified, the stallions all rushed to Discord's side! To their relief the spirit opened his eyes. "Discord, are you okay? What's going on?" Shining asked the spirit. "You're not..." The next words were slow to leave him. Discord interrupted. "Dying? Me? No, no, no. Don't be ridiculous. With magic like that Sombra couldn't kill anyone if he tried," Then he coughed. "But just because you can't die doesn't mean you can't feel pain. You'd be surprised what can hurt you so badly yet not kill you. There are fates worse than death." "What happened to you?" Thunderlane questioned. "Why'd you have to do that?" The spirit weakly groaned. "To protect you, silly. Fluttershy would never forgive me if I let any of you get hurt," He tried to stand up, only to collapse back on the ground. "I just didn't anticipate the blast hitting me nearly that hard. It took all the magic out of me." "Then... what are we supposed to do?" Soarin nervously inquired with a gulp. "You were our best bet against Sombra after we lost the Elements of Harmony." "I'll tell what you're going to do," Sombra interjected as he pounded against the barrier. "You're all going to surrender. You're going to drop to your knees and beg for mercy. And then I might spare you. Though I wouldn't get my hopes if I were you, I'm not in a very good mood right now." "Never! We'll never surrender to evil!" Shining retorted. "Especially not to someone as cold hearted as you! Do you honestly think ruling over your subjects with fear is the hallmark of a good leader?!" Sombra shook his head. "It is as I told you before, prince, ponies fear that which they do not understand. They chose to fear me and look down on me for who I was. So I became the monster they always wanted me to be," He proceeded to hiss. "Even Radiant Hope, my childhood friend, turned on me eventually. When she saw what I did to Queen Amore she couldn't stand the sight of me. She was the one who ratted me out to the princesses, especially because she was destined to become one of them herself. So if I can't be loved I shall be feared! Now make peace with your maker, because it's time I broke down this barrier and sent you all to her!" Discord weakly called out to the stallions. "Don't listen to him. You can beat him. You don't need me, or the princesses, or even the Elements of Harmony. You just need each other," He ran his paws over each of them. "You've always embodied the elements. You've displayed time and again the true values within them. You're all here, together, willing to give everything that you've got for Equestria. Nothing and no one can ever take that away from you, because that's who you are." Sombra scoffed. "Pah, what a waste of your last words. As if a mere speech could stop me. Now it's time to end this!" But Shining stepped forward as he grit his teeth. "You're right, Sombra! It is time to end this! Time to end your reign of terror! Even without the Elements of Harmony, I will send you back into the darkness from which you came! No, even better, I'll make sure you never again pose a threat to anyone! I'm not afraid of you anymore!" And with that he dropped the barrier. "So go ahead, do your worst!" "Bold words from a weak stallion!" Sombra retorted. "But if you're willing to die that's fine by me. Your destruction will serve as a warning to others. Just remember, you asked for this." Lighting up his horn he fired off a beam of magic even more powerful than the one that had brought Discord to his knees. As the blast neared Shining he began to light up his horn. But suddenly, his eyes began to glow! His horn didn't need to spark, he effortlessly swatted away the blast of magic as it if were nothing. "What is this sensation? I feel all... tingly." The other stallions' eyes began to glow too, and the same tingling sensation overtook them. "Hey, what's going on here?!" Fancy Pants wondered. "This feels strangely familiar." Discord and Sombra could only watch in utter amazement as the six stallions were encased in bright bubbles and seemed to undergo a startling (yet recognizable in Discord's case) transformation! Soon the stallions descended from above, their manes and tails altered significantly and their bodies glowing with all the colors of the rainbow. "All right, the rainbow powers are back!" Discord cheered in a raspy tone! "You'd better say your prayers, Sombra!" Sombra, for his part, looked quite rattled. "How?! How is this possible?! How can you still have so much power?! I destroyed the source of your power! You have no magic left!" But Shining simply trotted forward, flanked by his friends as he told Sombra. "Bad guys like you never learn, do you? There's a magic that can never be destroyed so long as ponies like us are willing to fight for what's right." "It's somethin' you bad guys just don't seem to understand," Braeburn taunted. "Friendship! As long as we have that, the good guys will always win in the end." Sombra stepped back in fright. "W-wait a minute, there's something you're not understanding! I-I can change, I swear!" Soarin just shook his head. "Now who's the one begging? You think you're going to be given mercy after everything you've done? You may have cheated death twice before, but this time you won't be so lucky. Three strikes and you're out!" "Please! You're making a mistake!" Sombra pleaded in a whimper. "You don't wanna do this!" "Oh we most certainly do," Shining remarked as he and his friends approached the king. When they got close they were lifted into the air as their eyes again glowed brightly. Shining's voice took on an echo as his mane and tail started to flow not unlike the way Celestia and Luna's did. "This is for Cozy Glow and for all the innocent lives you've taken or endangered in your pursuit of power!" A moment later, six colored beams of magic shot out and enveloped Sombra! But as the king felt his body began to break down again, and realizing that this time there was no coming back, he simply opened his mouth and began to sing at the top of his lungs: And so, the end is near, Thus I face the final curtain. To all, I'll say it clear, I'll state my case on which I'm certain. I've lived a life that's full, I traveled each and every single highway. And more, much more than this, I did it my way. Sombra kept on singing as he slowly embraced his fate. His life flashed before his eyes: All the way back to his earliest day and on through his ascent to becoming the dark hearted king he was destined to be known for for all time: Regrets, I've... had a few, Yet then again... far too few to mention. I simply did what I had to do, And I saw it through without any exemption. I planned each charted course. Each and every careful step along the byway. Yet more, much more than this, I did it my way. More recent memories started to play in his mind, particularly his resurrection from the ether at the hooves of Grogar: Yes, there were times, I surely knew. That I'd bitten off, Much more off than I could chew. Yet through it all, When there was doubt. I simply ate it up, And spit it back out! The record shows that I took the blows! And did it MMMMMMMMMMMMMMYYYYYYYYYYYYYY WAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY! Sombra held the last note until he had no more breath and his body ceased to exist! In a brilliant flash of light his whole body disintegrated into nothing! That was that, King Sombra was nomore!