Chapter 21
Sombra stumbled a little when he and the six ponies arrived in the old empire's capital ruins. He had assumed his pony form and looked more tired. This had taken a bit out of him, but the king quickly rose back and never lost his grim expression.
“Woah,” Rainbow Dash was mildly impressed by the sight. It kind of reminded her of Daring Do novels.
Twilight was focused, already noting that the king looked tense. She figured that had to mean Rabia was nearby. When Sombra began walking, they all followed. They could already see a big open area in the ruins. Most likely the town square.
In the middle of the square was a base that had once carried a statue. It was long gone, but laying on top of it was Queen Rabia. She watched the seven ponies enter the square, smirking when her eyes met with her son.
“Ah, my son, I see you saw my message,” Rabia remarked, casually waving a hoof towards him.
“Queen Rabia, we can’t let you destroy Saddle Arabia. Whatever grievances you had with them, that is in the past. Modern Saddle Arabia had nothing to do with the destruction of your empire or the death of your daughter,” Twilight spoke up as she stepped forward, passing Sombra. The queen looked at her, her smirk changing into a sneer.
“Oh, and brought some friends, I see,” Rabia snorted and started to rise. “I was hoping I would be able to convince you to join me in the destruction of our enemies.”
Twilight scowled, not liking that she was being ignored. Her friends looked warily at Sombra. Rabia’s words worried them. Destroying his enemies certainly sounded like something the king would want to do, and they knew he really did not care much for the Saddle Arabians.
“Ah yes, and will the millennium of punishment happen right after that once we are done?” Sombra snorted. The sarcasm was heavy in his voice. “Oh, am I just so looking forward to that, mother.”
“I thought I had gotten rid of that impudence in you,” Rabia growled, and for a brief moment, fury was visible in her eyes. Then she seemed to calm down, and she smiled. “No matter, I have acquired some assistance anyway.”
“Yeek,” Pinkie jumped away when out of the shadow of a ruined building emerged a rage mutant.
More began to emerge from other shadows around the square until they surrounded the statue base and kept Sombra and the others coming closer. Twilight and her friends also noticed that the king had frozen again as he watched the creatures emerge. That hadn’t escaped Rabia either.
“Oh, still afraid of my pets, my Little Shadow?” she chuckled mockingly, reaching with a hoof to caress one of the mutants on the head.
“Where did you get all of those?” Twilight looked horrified around her. Every single mutant showed signs of having been normal once, but were now twisted and disfigured with tattered remnants of clothes on their bodies.
“Oh, I collected Saddle Arabian travelers here and there while biding my time, not exactly a grand army, but my powers will support them well enough.” Rabia took a moment to admire her handiwork before returning her attention to the group.
“Sombra, it’s okay. I know they are scary but remember in the woods. You could handle them; you can do that here,” the gentle, reassuring voice of Fluttershy addressed King Sombra. She reached up to give him a gentle pat. She felt very nervous, but she could already see that for the king, this ran much deeper than her general fright of the horrific-looking mutants gathering in front of them.
Sombra slowly stirred and turned his head to look at the pegasus. Parts of him were rather insulted to be talked like this as if he was a mere child. He had half a mind to snap at her and tell her to leave him be, but a more pragmatic part of him was already feeling this small gesture of kindness from a pony he usually saw as an enemy was having an effect.
It dawned on the king that he had misunderstood what Starswirl had meant regarding Fluttershy. What he feared most was his mother's wrath, and this small moment of compassion was helping him keep his mind clear, thus he was much more clear-headed. Thus he immediately noticed a fatal mistake his mother had made. Sombra returned his attention to his mother.
“Mother, there is just one problem with your little pets,” he chuckled and allowed himself to smirk. Sombra also now saw what his mother's plan was regarding the invasion. It all just became so clear. His horn began glowing purple and green. Suddenly over a dozen sharp crystals burst out of the ground, skewering most of the mutants. “They are still mortal flesh. Thanks for gathering them all in one place.”
“What!?” Rabia snarled as she saw most of the rage mutants dropping dead to the ground after having been so violently impaled. She didn’t quite get a chance to react further. Her son came barreling for her in smoke form, colliding with her and throwing her off the statue base.
“Get the elements ready. I’ll keep her occupied!” King Sombra roared as he continued to strike at his mother with shadowy tendrils. He knew what had to be done. Sombra needed Rabia to get angry, really angry.
“Go Fluttershy,” Pinkie cheered. They had, of course, seen the pegasus gently reassure the king and that had clearly encouraged him into necessary action. There were only about ten mutants now on the far distance of the square. They were already charging towards them, roaring in rage and pain.
Twilight tried not to think about the dead bodies as she and her friends began charging up the elements. As Sombra had told her, these were now just husks. Whoever these ponies had been, they were long gone. They were, however, momentarily distracted when there was a rage-filled roar. Up from the ground burst a mighty column of shadow and smoke, far bigger than Sombra’s and in it coalesced the demonic form of Rabia’s head as she continued to battle her son.
It was difficult to follow the battle. Shadowy tendrils were shooting all over the place, and the two shadow shapes moved like slow-moving tornadoes around each other. One was though bigger than the other. Sombra didn't seem to be actively battling. This looked far more like a distraction.
The element-bearers began to rise as the harmonic magic began surging through them. The remaining rage mutants could no longer reach them. Twilight closed her eyes and knew the moment she opened them; the full force of the Elements of Harmony would be unleashed.
Sombra noticed the increasing glow of light. Violently he ripped his shadow form away from his mother’s, ducking out of the way of the incoming blast he knew was coming. Rabia also stopped her attack, glancing towards the light.
Once more the Elements of Harmony shot out, bathing the area in the rainbow-colored light. The dark crystals, the rage mutants still around, and the dead ones' bodies began to disintegrate. On a half-dismantled roof of a ruined building, Sombra materialized in his pony body, averting his eyes. When it was over, the six ponies dropped to the ground. The area looked clean.
“Did we do it?” Rainbow looked around for any sight of Rabia. They all froze when hearing a mocking chuckle.
“Oh please, don’t tell me you thought I would just stand around and take the hit,” the mocking voice of Queen Rabia addressed them. She was herself standing on top of another mostly ruined building, having dodged the incoming blast. She didn't look pleased though, in fact, she looked positively livid.
“Well, Nightmare Moon, Discord, and Tirek did,” Pinkie Pie grouched, while most of her friends stared slack-jawed at the queen. “Heck, Discord did it twice.”
“You have robbed me of my army. My son refuses to join me. It looks like I’ll just have to do it all by myself,” Rabia snarled and started to dissolve into her smoke form. “Catch me if you can.”
Before anyone could react, Rabia took off over the desert towards the south with a terrifying rage-filled roar.
“We got to stop her!” Twilight shouted when she finally recovered from her shock. At that point, Sombra teleported himself to the group.
“No, we go to the second plan. I’m too tired to teleport all of you, but I can cut ahead if I go by myself. Remember, we need to lead her to the museum,” Sombra said and used his magic to conjure up six water canteens. What he didn't tell them was that everything was going like he had expected it to.
“Here is water. Saddle Arabia is straight south across the desert. There are roads that make the journey easier that you will be able to follow. It’s only a day’s journey if you hurry,” he said quickly, and before the six mares could even utter a word, he had already transformed into his own smoke form and disappeared in an explosion of black smoke.
“He’s right. Rainbow, you are the fastest. See if you can get there quickly. You will probably overtake Rabia, but avoid her and try and get past her and join Sombra and the princesses,” Twilight ordered. The rainbow pegasus saluted, grabbed the canteen left by the king, and was off in a blast. Twilight looked at the others.
“It seems Rabia is too smart for the Elements of Harmony to work effectively against her, but we have to get to Saddle Arabia. I can teleport us some distance south, but the rest we must run,” she said, gathered up magic in her horn, and soon the five ponies disappeared in a flash.
The hot desert wind blew through Sombra’s mane as he watched the horizon, standing on the Saddle Arabian capital's north wall. Far in the distance, he could see the approaching form of his mother. He could also see a rainbow flash approaching at a rapid pace. The king smirked. He had already noticed his mother looking a little weaker before taking off from the Dark Pony capital. The elements may not have hit her directly, but they had sapped her strength a bit.
“Glad you could join me. Where are the others?” Sombra addressed the pegasus when she landed next to him.
“On their way, but they won’t reach here in time,” Rainbow Dash remarked, eyeing the king warily. Rabia had not even bothered with her as the pegasus had zipped past her, either noticing Rainbow or not caring. The dark pony just nodded, never taking his eyes off the incoming shadow and smoke.
“I still don’t like you, but your mother is just sick and must be stopped,” the pegasus grunted and turned her attention to the north.
“I can live with that.” Sombra shrugged. He started to turn to smoke slowly. “Get ready; we need to get her to the museum.”
“Yeah, yeah, I got the plan,” Dash snorted and took to the air.
“Mother! Why don’t you catch me if you think you can!” Sombra shouted. He could by now make out Rabia’s face in the dark shadows rapidly approaching the capital. He smirked when hearing the enraged roar coming from it. He also noticed that her monstrous form was slightly a bit smaller than usual.
Rainbow and Sombra quickly left the wall just as Rabia descended onto it, smashing those parts that her shadow form touched and sending it crumbling down. The king darted towards the museum, along with Rainbow Dash. There they landed, and the dark pony assumed his pony form.
Rabia was quickly entering the city. Anything her shadow and smoke touched was shattered with a powerful force. The queen roared in rage, her eyes locked on where her son had gone. Slowly she started to approach them, smashing through any building that was in her path.
“Warn the princesses. They should be inside, and then keep out of sight,” Sombra instructed Rainbow Dash. The pegasus frowned, more wanting to smack her hooves into the oncoming queen, but decided to be stubborn later. She nodded and darted into the museum.
Yes, she looks tired. She won't be able to hold that form for much longer, Sombra thought to himself as he returned his attention to Rabia.
“I don’t know why I keep calling you, mother. You were never a mother to me. Even my most beaten-up slaves were more tender parents than you were,” Sombra snapped at the incoming queen. He was nearly blown off his feet at the enraged scream that was thrown his way. Right, that should do it.
Sombra quickly ran into the museum just as Rabia came barreling down to ground level. The Queen dropped out of her shadow form just as she hit the steps, unable to hold the form anymore. However she ignored her weariness. So mad was the mare that she tore the doors off their hinges with her hooves, then stalked inside.
“Get back here, Sombra!” She snarled. “I dare you to say that again to my face!”
Rabia glared around, wanting to smash the place up in search of her son. She lit up her horn as if to do just that but then noticed the crown jewels, which caused her to pause. Then she saw the painting depicting Queen Odio leading her people across the desert.
“What is this?” she snarled and walked further into the museum. “What mockery is this?”
There was no response, just eerie silence. The queen sneered and continued further into the museum. “I can sense you, Sombra! You can’t hide from me! You could never hide from me!”
The queen stopped when hearing a clang. Looking down, she saw that her hoof had struck a plaque. It was the one that had been at the entrance of the museum. When the queen had torn the door open, it had loosened and skipped inside.
“What!?” Rabia tilted her head as she read what was stamped on it.
Rabia kicked the plaque away and started to look around again. Then she noticed the entrance to the hall of rulers. The mare could sense a dark pony in there. With a sneer, the queen started to approach it.
“I know you’re in there, my Little Shadow,” Rabia hissed as she entered the new room. She glanced around quickly, barely noticing the paintings lining the walls. Then she looked forward, the sneer vanished from her face, replaced with mild shock.
Bathed in the soft magic glow was the painting of Queen Ira, still staring sadly towards anyone who was viewing it. Rabia started to approach it, mouth and eyes wide open. Once she was within reach, the mare raised a trembling hoof to touch the image.
“My daughter…” she whispered, her lips started to quiver. “Oh, you look so beautiful.”
“Why… why would they…” slowly Rabia tore her eyes away from the painting and looked at the others, seeing former queens and kings of the Dark Pony Empire, all looking so stern and majestic. There was even one of her, standing tall in front of her throne.
Rabia looked back at the painting of her daughter. A single tear started to crawl down her cheek. “My daughter… I just wanted you to be strong...like your brother…”
The queen raised a hoof to wipe the tear away. She then continued to regard the painting sadly for a moment. Then she sensed something; she started to light up her horn, but changed her mind. Instead, her expression turned grim and the queen didn’t move, just continued to stare at the painting. Rabia ignored a whispering voice the queen heard, didn’t even move when two magic barriers suddenly surrounded her. Shackles formed on her legs, and still, the dark pony didn’t budge. She didn’t even react when a manacle formed on her horn.
“It can’t be that easy.” Princess Luna appeared from behind the large painting, along with Princess Celestia and Starswirl. Rabia still just stood there, in grim, stoic silence, as she continued to stare at the painting of Queen Ira.
“Queen Rabia?” Princess Celestia addressed the queen with a frown.
“A queen knows when she’s been defeated,” Rabia simply said, still refusing to take her eyes off the painting.
“Uh, guess it was that easy,” Rainbow remarked, emerging from deeper in the room.
“No, she’s spent,” Sombra chuckled as he emerged from the shadows. “She wasted too much energy traveling here, smashing the wall and the buildings, then chasing me in here. She was going to do something, but realized she had no energy left. She also barely avoided the Elements of Harmony. That really drained her.”
“My plan did hinge on coming here with an army.” Rabia slowly looked at her son. “And you knew that.”
“Of course. You destroying Saddle Arabia alone? That was never going to happen, or you would have done that the moment you came back to life,” Sombra chuckled mockingly.
Rabia said nothing, just returned her gaze towards the painting.
“That’s why it took her so long to do anything. She was busy grabbing unwary Saddle Arabians, twisting them into her rage mutants. She probably had just enough to do some serious damage, no doubt intending to capture more from the fleeing population to create more of them. She left a contingency of mutants as a trap at her hideout to attack me, however, the Elements of Harmony dealt with them, then the remainder of her force was with her in the Dark Pony Empire. I dealt with most of them. The elements did the rest,” the king explained to the others.
“Rage mutants?” both Celestia and Luna looked confused. Starswirl, however, looked grim, and Rainbow Dash shuddered.
“Yeah, not sure you want to know,” the pegasus muttered.
“We will talk about that later.” Celestia nodded and returned her attention to the queen. “So you agree to stand down and face the consequences of your actions?”
“I only wanted to avenge my daughter and my people,” Rabia said coldly.
“Your son more than did that over one thousand years ago. The ponies living here today had nothing to do with the atrocities the ancient Saddle Arabians committed,” Princess Celestia said sternly and with Luna dispelled the magic surrounding the queen, who refused to comment on that.
“Sombra, I want to…” the words died in Celestia’s mouth when she turned to look at the king, but there was no sign of him. Everyone looked at Rabia when the queen started chuckling.
“What’s so funny?” Dash asked.
“My son is no longer here; in fact, he disappeared the moment you captured me. What you saw was an illusion. None of you noticed that he never left the shadows over there?” Rabia smirked slightly and pointed towards the dark area between the paintings where Sombra had stood.
“He’s gone!?” Luna shouted and would probably have rushed out if Celestia hadn’t stopped her.
“We’ll worry about that later. We still have his mother to deal with,” the Sun Princess said, but looked far from happy.
“Are you telling me Sombra is loose now?” Rainbow Dash groaned and hoofed her face.
“Come on, let’s get her out of here,” Princess Celestia said, gesturing to Rabia, who had reassumed her grim, stoic expression.
As they began escorting Rabia out of the hall of rulers and towards the museum's broken entrance, they met up with Emir Horsefar and his mother, along with a small contingent of guards. All the Saddle Arabians froze a bit when seeing Queen Rabia, even if she was chained up.
"We got a message that Queen Rabia had been caught," Manemin said, confusing Celestia and Luna, who had not sent any word yet of the capture.
"Who is that child?" Rabia snorted, for a moment dropping her grim expression, replacing it with mild confusion.
"This is Emir Horsefar, ruler of Saddle Arabia," Celestia informed her. The Queen snapped her head towards the Sun Princess, looking bewildered.
"The ruler is a CHILD!?" She shouted. She could barely believe it.
"You didn't know?" Princess Luna asked. Then again, Rabia had been busy plotting her revenge against her most hated enemies. She probably hadn't done any in-depth research on them; she probably didn't think she needed it.
"No, I did not." Rabia's expression turned grim as she faced forward again. By the first Queen, he's even younger than Ira...he barely understands the responsibility on his shoulders.
"Your Majesty. I... hope you understand why I can't let you harm my people. I had to ask the Celestial rulers of Equestria and your son to assist me," Emir Horsefar finally worked up a nerve to address the queen. He did take a step back when Rabia looked at him; Manemin almost immediately stepped forward a bit to shield him.
Amazing, even when she's all chained up, they still really fear her. Luna noted that the guards also had gotten ready for anything.
"You are his mother?" Rabia looked at Manemin, who nodded. "His Regent?"
Manemin nodded again. Rabia did so as well and then looked forward again as if she had nothing further to say. Then closed her eyes for a moment as if to consider her words before the Queen looked at Manemin.
"Then I am at your mercy," Rabia simply stated and finally fell silent, refusing to say another word.
What have I done, passed through her mind as everyone got ready to continue to escort her out. She did give one subtle glance over the museum. Is it possible that I was... wrong?
Multiple startled cries just outside then suddenly caught everybody's attention. Rainbow immediately darted to the entrance and blinked when seeing her five friends in a pile on the street.
“Guys? How did you get here?” she asked, surprised.
“I don’t know. There was just this black smoke, and suddenly we are here,” Pinkie Pie shrugged as she sprung to her hooves.
“What… she said,” Twilight could really only say. Still a bit dazed over her abrupt arrival and hard contact with the street.
End chapter 21