Another ordinary day was transpiring in Canterlot, her citizens ambling through the streets in droves as they went about their normal routine. The royal guards that had been stationed on every street corner had been recalled back to the castle, apparently acting as part of a training drill but to the average pony, it appeared as though they'd been looking for somepony. Every citizen that'd passed by a guard were asked if they'd seen a dark gray stallion with a red curved horn and scarlet-colored eyes, which was oddly specific for a simple drill but once out of sight, the inquiries were put of mind as life went back to relative normalcy. Aside from being the seat of power for the land's dual monarchs, Canterlot was also the most populated and prosperous city in the nation, acting as the primary center for business. Businessponies trotted to and from their offices while shops offering various services were teeming with customers of a primary equine persuasion.
The peace of the beautiful day was interrupted, however, when witnesses observed a rumbling crash and two shapes smashed out of the roof of Canterlot Castle, flashes of golden and black and purple light exploding like fireworks. The two figures encircled the other, rays of magical energy ripping from their horns while Canterlot's denizens dropped everything to watch the conflict. One of the combatants, Princess Celestia herself, swung her neck out as she hurled a ball of fire at her foe, who countered by teleporting out of the way, seizing the ball with his magic and tossing it back at her. The ball split upon contact, the Princess of the Day unaffected by her own creation though it was evident that fury consumed her very soul. She let loose a roar and charged her opponent.
The other combatant, King Sombra, was held aloft in an aura of purple and black, his eyes green with curling streams of smoke, teeth bared in a vicious scowl. He raced to meet his foe, a column of magic rushing from his horn. Princess Celestia answered with her own column, the two energy blasts colliding with a deafening boom. They shoved against one another, one momentarily gaining footing before its opposite took control, resulting in a stalemate. Recognizing the futility, King Sombra broke contact and spun downward to avoid Princess Celestia's attack, releasing a multi-directional blast of telekinesis that propelled her backwards through one the castle's spires, knocking the structure loose.
Recovering from the impact, Princess Celestia quickly seized a hold of the debris and once certain that everypony nearby was safe, tossed it to the side to resume the battle. Surprisingly, King Sombra elected not to take advantage of the distraction, instead waiting for her return. Perhaps there was some shred of honor left in the former monarch or he simply didn't want to further tarnish his image in the eyes of the public by striking the princess down while she saved the lives of innocent bystanders. Whatever his reason, he was instantaneous in his assault, conjuring several purple spheres and launching them all at Celestia, who ducked to and fro to avoid them as they exploded all around her. Utilizing a falling leaf maneuver, Celestia broke into an aileron roll and fired bolt after bolt at her foe.
King Sombra erected a black, all-compassing force-field around himself, the bolts bouncing off the sphere like apples on a trampoline as Celestia barreled past him. Halting to turn, she locked eyes with the umbrum, a golden orb forming over her as the pair continued to share glowers of hatred. Without any prompting, they both zoomed forward and collided, creating a blinding flash of light that temporarily disoriented the spectators down below. The force-fields struck again and again, the booming of their impacts resonating like thunder, drawing all eyes and ears to their battle. Ear-splitting cracks and blazing lights commenced as the ancient nemeses rammed into each other, neither wishing to give even a quarter to their foe, adrenaline and deep-rooted animosity fueling them.
At the final collision, both of their force-fields shattered with a booming crack, sending out a shock wave of energy that knocked them both backwards. Without missing a beat, they both immediately recovered and locked eyes with the other, their intense gazes full of the untold animosity between them. They propelled themselves forward, raining bolt after bolt of energy in the other's direction, their projectiles either canceling each other out or missing by a hair's breath. In the streets down below, the citizens of Canterlot could do nothing more than watch the skirmish unfolding above them, the unblinking masses perceiving the struggle with a mix of awe and apprehension. It was as if they were witnessing the very conflict of light versus dark, the battle between gods with the very fate of Equestria hanging in the balance.
None of them knew how right they were.
~*~
Twilight Sparkle dashed through the streets of Dodge Junction, nearly colliding with several citizens and ignoring their incensed protestations. Normally she would've stopped to apologize for her rude behavior but right now, she was a mare on a mission. Her soul reinvigorated by Spike's speech, she was determined more than ever to stop Sombra and Princess Celestia from killing each, neither wishing to lose her teacher or her coltfriend. Her wings were still overexerted from the flight so the only option left was to catch the next train to Canterlot and prevent the incoming carnage. As dramatic as Twilight usually was when it came to losing, in this instance, failure was not an option.
"Whoa, Twi, wait!" Spike piped up from atop Twilight's back.
Twilight dug her hooves into the dirt and spun as she skidded to a stop, creating a small dust cloud.
"What's up, Spike?"
"Can't you just teleport?"
Twilight peered at the drake and bit her lip uncertainly.
"I've never tried that distance before! I could end up getting stuck in a brick wall or overexerting myself and winding up in a coma!"
"You've got to try! All Equestria is at stake!"
Spike was right, of course. Odds were that the next train would either be late or not even arrive in the desired time and even if it did, the ride itself would take too long. Twilight experimentally tried to raise a wing, the appendage refusing to open up to its full length. Okay, so flying was out of the question and that just left either teleportation, which was already established to be a bad idea, or running all the way to Canterlot. Twilight sighed and closed her eyes, focusing on her room in the castle, mapping out every detail in her mind's eye as she channeled her magic into her horn.
"Oh, I wish that this works. I wish, I wish, I wish!"
Light flashed before Twilight's eyes, her body going momentarily numb at the sensation of space displacement. Every fiber of her being cried out but she mentally silenced their complaints, gritting her teeth and willing both hers and Spike's forms to appear in the castle. Her body was stretched, compressed and compacted but finally, the pair materialized in the familiar settings of Twilight's room. Aside from new sheets, nothing had been changed from her last visit, which seemed to have occurred ages ago. Spike wobbled and fell off, managing to catch himself while trying to keep the compulsion to vomit down.
"Ugh, well...you did it, Twi."
Spots danced before Twilight's eyes, her vision fogging up as her eyelids began to droop. She teetered to and fro, legs stamping on the floor in an attempt to keep her balance. Her heart was racing yet also sluggishly limping along, chest aching with every breath. She collapsed against a chair for support only to inadvertently topple it over, almost joining it on the floor. Twilight swayed her heard lazily, a stabbing pain twisting at the back of her skull.
"I need to...rest a moment. Just...rest..."
She tumbled to the floor and darkness slowly crept up on her, Spike's alarmed voice barely registering in the background.
~*~
Manifesting a halberd, Celestia aimed the pole arm at Sombra's head only to be countered with a newly-conjured war hammer. Sparks leapt from their weapons with every impact, the clanging of steel on steel ringing like the tolling of a large bell. Celestia managed to get a jab in with the butt of her halberd, nailing Sombra in the ribs and, twirling it around, swung the top spike in a perpendicular slash. The top of the war hammer flew off of the shaft, the halberd's tip scraping against Sombra's gorget. Rolling over the halberd to avoid a thrust, he converted the war hammer into an S-shaped staff topped by a long, curved blade.
The scythe flashed, hacking the ends of Celestia's mane clean off, the pieces of hair turning pink as they uselessly tumbled through the air. Celestia tracked the scythe's movements, deflecting every blow with increasing difficulty. It'd been years since her last duel, magical or otherwise, and she was actually amazed how well that she was holding up. Nowadays, she'd spent more time behind a desk or at a peace summit rather than training for combat and this was even before the gathering of the new Element bearers. The truth was, this new century had been rather peaceful, that is, until Nightmare Moon's return and even then, she'd left Equestria's defense to Twilight and her friends.
Sombra, meanwhile, was visibly becoming tired, his strikes precise but lessening in speed and strength. While he was no novice in the ways of magic, Celestia had him beat in both raw power and experience, learning much in her thousand years as ruler of Equestria. Her opponent was exceptionally gifted, training rigorously with both books and application of spells and if it were a millennium ago, King Sombra could've easily won this bout very early on. It, however, paled in comparison to Celestia's own capabilities though she did have to give him credit for making it this far. Yes, she'd taken this far enough; it was time to end this contest and have Sombra back in his cell by dinnertime.
Disengaging, Celestia crossed her wings into an X and as Sombra charged her, flapped them forward, blasting him with a gust of air that sent him colliding into a billboard that was ironically an advertisement for couples' counseling. The umbrum smashed through the wood and vinyl, hit the side of a newspaper kiosk and rolled across the concrete. Calmly, Celestia landed a few feet away, her halberd poofing away as her horn crackled with power. Sombra grunted and slowly rose on shuddering limbs, chest heaving in breath, his eyes meeting Celestia's. A golden ray slammed him in the chest, knocking the wind out of him.
Wincing in pain, King Sombra ignored the ache in his chest to watch Celestia nearing him. The truth was, no matter the time he'd taken to train himself up for this bout, the alicorn was the superior conjurer and warrior, outclassing him in both strength and arcane knowledge. While he'd been no slouch, reading modern books on magic during his time in Ponyville and imprisonment, it paled in comparison with what Celestia could feasibly know. She was no longer the green-horned mare he'd once known so a new strategy is in order if Sombra had any chance of victory. Thankfully, having known Celestia for so long meant that he knew which buttons of hers to press.
"I'm sorry about Luna!" King Sombra called out, making Celestia quirk a brow in confusion.
"What are you talking about?"
"Aside from the Elements of Harmony, the only reason you won our last duel was because of your meddlesome sister, so I had to remove her from the board...permanently."
Celestia visibly shuddered, her jaw agape in disbelief. "You...you couldn't. Not even you would sink so low..."
"Why not?" King Sombra grinned maliciously. "I disposed of my adoptive parents and sister. The only difference being that Luna was so much easier. Poor mare didn't even put up a fight. It was pathetic."
Celestia began hyperventilating, tears trickling down her face as she fought to keep herself from audibly weeping. She raised her eyes to King Sombra in anger, her normally pink irises replaced with orange, the pupils reduced to cat-like slits. Her rainbow-colored mane and tail straightened and ignited, combusting into streams of roaring orange and yellow fire.
"No...NO!" She roared, flames streaking across random spots of her ivory coat. "NOOOOOO!"
Like a fiery bullet, Celestia charged Sombra at full speed, knocking him through the air right through the display window of a clothing store. A flash of green and purple and Sombra emerged to leap back through the broken window, a cruel toothy grin dominating his features. He materialized a black double-bladed axe and dashed towards Celestia, swinging the weapon wildly. Fireballs shot out at Sombra in rapid succession, their target either slapping them aside with his axe or bobbing and weaving away from the deadly projectiles. This only added fuel to the metaphorical and literal fire.
"I'm going to kill you!"
A column of flames predictably raced towards King Sombra but before they could reach him, he disappeared in a swirl of blackness. Puzzled, Celestia's head jerked around, eyes surveying the nearby area for any signs of the dark magician. What game was he playing at?
"Where are you, Sombra?! Show yourself, you coward!"
She spotted him racing behind a nearby cafe only to suddenly reappear on the roof, twirling the axe above his head as he wagged his tongue at her lewdly. When Celestia screamed that she was going to kill Sombra, it wasn't a figure of speech, like, "If my mom finds out, she's going to kill me." No, she was being one hundred-percent serious. Forget imprisonment, it was going to be the morgue for him. Celestia shot up and landed onto the cafe, her hooves cracking the rooftop.
"Now, you die," she growled.
Sombra grinned. "I've already done that. Care to give it a try?"
Beating her wings, Celestia rose above Sombra, her entire body combusting into flames. With a roar, she unleashed a massive column of heat, bathing Sombra in a conflagration that reduced the umbrum to ashes.
"FEEL THE WRATH OF THE SUN! RETURN TO THE SHADOWS THAT SPAWNED YOU!"
After a minute, Celestia disengaged her attack, revealing a blackened hole where Sombra once stood. She frowned, sensing that something was off. For how hard the two had fought, she'd expected more of an effort out of Sombra. He just stood there instead of running, teleporting or even use umbrakinesis. Inspecting the hole, Celestia scanned the area and discovered the presence of recent dark magic usage, particularly a cloning spell.
That would mean that the Sombra that I blasted-...
A sensation like being struck with a sledgehammer hit Celestia full-force on the back, propelling her onto a neighboring rooftop and crashing along the stone and gravel. She glanced over her shoulder to find a black shape landing on the roof, morphing into the form of Sombra. Celestia turned in a half-circle and pushed herself to her hooves.
"You forget Princess that shadows are formed by the light," Sombra half-smirked.
The two met in a flurry of strikes, bright golden rays clashing against bubbling black and purple arcs. Celestia struck at Sombra with a ring of spinning swords, only to be countered with a spiked flail, shattering the swords and responding with a series of ebony flechettes. Swatting the flechettes aside, Celestia deflected Sombra's flail blows with her force field before using it like a battering ram. Sombra retreated to the air in a black streak and Celestia gave chase, reigniting her fiery mane as well as her hatred for her opponent. They traded blows once more, only this time there was more vitriol behind every impact.
This time, it was a duel to the death for both involved parties.
~*~
Flash Sentry struggled against the black crystals that held his hooves in place, desperately tugging at his limbs to free himself and aid his princess. He could only watch impotently as that scumbag King Sombra attacked Princess Celestia and while there was no doubt in his mind she would prevail, the ex-tyrant actually managed to fend off her attacks. The spectacle was short-lived, however, when they blasted a hole in the castle's roof and vanished from sight. Irregardless of magical prowess, or lack thereof, it was Flash Sentry's mission to defend the princesses and he was going to do just that. As schmaltzy as it sounded, he was willing to die for them, Twilight especially.
Even if she'd never love him.
He groaned, thrashing angrily until he tired himself out. His fellow guards fared no better, some being trapped in crystalline pillars that snagged half their bodies or stuck to where only their eyes were visible. They all shared the same thought: "How did this happen?" One minute, it was just another day in Canterlot and the next, they were unable to stop a supposedly ineffectual enemy of the crown from attacking their co-monarch and forcing her to flee to Faust knows where. Hours passed, during which Flash started up a cycle of grinding his teeth as he feebly attempted to free himself, slump back exhaustively and then try again once more.
In between breaths, Flash thought back to his previous interactions with Twilight as well as King Sombra. What did she see in him anyway? He was repulsive for one thing, possessing a curved, blood-red horn and those horrid fangs. Internally, Sombra was worse, a cold, sadistic, heartless monster that should've been executed a long time ago. And then there was the blatantly obvious fact that he was a vicious tyrant, one of the most prolific villains in Equestrian history.
Flash, on the other hoof, held the distinction of being a royal guard, a coveted and noble profession dating back thousands of years. Ponies killed to even be where he was, which he had attained through a grueling and rigorous stint in boot camp. This not only was a socially respectable position but one that gave him benefits that could allow him to financially support any mare of his choosing, with the exception of Twilight given her royal status. As for looks, well, not to toot his own horn, Flash was considered quite the handsome stallion, being a heartthrob in his schoolcolt days and at one point voted "Most Likely to Succeed at Life." Although he was far from perfect, he tried his best to be nice to everypony and to push himself every chance that he got.
So why did Twilight choose Sombra of all ponies over him?
A soft, rumbling sound drew Flash's attention to the black crystals encapsulating his hooves. Cracks like lightning bolts shot up the dark mineral, the opaque stone shattering to the floor and dissipating upon contact. As random as it was, he wasn't about to question a good thing and instead chalked it up to divine intervention. As he shook the feeling back into his limbs, he noticed the same thing happening to his fellow guards, their crystal binds mysteriously crumbling down all around them. One by one, they were all freed, running up to one another and chattering excitedly, even throwing in some hugs and hoof bumps for good measure.
"Flash!"
They all turned, finding a short, stubby reptilian running into the throne room. He stopped and bent over, his claws on his knees and panting heavily. Flash approached the newcomer, puzzled at his sporadic appearance.
"Spike? What are you doing here?"
The dragon wiped his brow and swallowed some air. "It's Twilight! She teleported us here to help Princess Celestia but she fainted! I think she needs a doctor!"
Flash needed no further prompting. "Gleaming Helm, Blazing Shield, you're with me. Windsprint, find a doctor as quick as you can. Everypony else search the castle grounds for any signs of Princesses Celestia or Luna. Spike, lead the way."
Spike hurried up the steps towards Twilight's bedroom, where they discovered the mare lying unresponsive in a heap on the floor. Flash gave her a gentle shake and uttered her name but she refused to give any indication she felt or heard him. Carefully, the three guards placed her into bed and pulled the covers over her. If it hadn't been for the steady rising and falling of her chest, one might get the impression that she was dead. After a few minutes, Windsprint came speeding in followed by an elderly stallion Flash recognized as Doctor Urgent Care the royal physician .
"It's good to see you, Mr. Sentry, even under these circumstances."
"You as well, Doctor. Princess Twilight isn't responding."
"She teleported us from Dodge Junction and then just collapsed!" Spike exposited anxiously, waving his arms. "Will she be okay?"
Studying the unconscious alicorn, Doctor Urgent Care stood back and wiped his glasses. "Princess Twilight Sparkle is suffering from magically-induced exhaustion. She expended too much energy and now her body has temporarily shut down from the strain," he concluded.
"When will she wake up?"
Doctor Urgent Care turned to Flash. "Thankfully, there's no permanent damage. It might take a while, an hour or more."
Flash moved a stray hair out of Twilight's face, regarding her with a mix of love and worry.
"We might not have the time."