Surrounded, and seeming like the end is near; the group all huddled together, and cautiously looked around for an opening, or an opportunity to exploit. Sadly, there isn’t any. And what’s worse is that the bandit commander is accompanying the guards. Because of that; the bandits have good command of the situation, and is basically ready for just about anything really; even an escape.
It seems like a few hours have passed; (despite it being only five minutes). Everyone by the front door is staying still; just waiting for an opportunity to exploit. Without thinking; King Sombra blurts out; “so; what now?” Feeling confident; the bandit commander said; “well first; we’ll imprison y’all for a while without food. Secondly; we’ll hurt y’all very severely. Thirdly; we’ll make y’all work twice as hard than ever before. And lastly; we’ll make the rest of your life so miserable; that you’d be begging for us to use these spears.” After that; he performed an evil laughter.
Cadence; having heard this voice before too just like Sombra has; paused to figure out what was the voice that she knew before.... . However; before she could say anything; her husband: Shining Armor; beat her to it, and says; “you!... . H-how could you Flash Magnus?! I thought you were a goner?!”
Feeling a hit to his pride; he jumped in front of the group, and shouts; “oh you wish that I was! Just so that way your precious commander can take all the glory for herself!” Confused; Shining Armor asked; “what are you talking about? What glory?” Flash then said; “do you really wanna know? Or are you just as clueless as I once was?” Without missing a beat; King Sombra says; “I’ve heard of your story already, but I wanted to hear it again; just because it’s interesting. Right?” With a sigh, Flash Magnus replied; “right”, and began his tale... .
“When I was the new drill sergeant for Princess Celestia’s army; I thought I had it made... . The pay was good, I made a lot of new friends, and then I had a secret love interest. That is until she sent me and my legion on a secret mission: to eradicate and destroy any possible targets that’re around the Everfree Forest... . And so with that; I putted my own personal needs on hold, and accepted the mission. Little did I know that this mission was gonna be my legion’s last... .”
Before he could continue, King Sombra asked; “so if your soldiers all perished, then how did you survive?” With a sigh; Flash Magnus continued; “by doing what was necessary: to ditch my fallen comrades, and to plot my revenge on Princess Celestia for ever having me to accept that mission! I mean sure the previous missions weren’t bad... . Just mostly peaceful ones, and peacekeeping as well. But that one final mission I undertook; it was horrible... . Just horrible... .” Sombra then asked; “wanna continue?” Flash Magnus nodded, and continued his story.
“So after my legion’s fall; I knew what I had to do... . I escaped the area, and then I began to plot my revenge. First I had to recruit some common criminals, and ex-soldiers. Next; I have to supply them with weapons and armor. Thirdly; I had to train them. And lastly; I have to build a fortress.” Before he could continue again; King Sombra said; “and that’s where we come in huh? To help you finish your dirty work?” Feeling sheepish; Flash Magnus said; “well.... maybe a yes and no... .” Sombra then said; “come again?” Flash Magnus then said; “yes because I haven’t finished the fortress yet. And no because I’ve finished one fortress, but not this one.” Cozy Glow then said; “wait a minute; there’s more than one?” With a sigh, he nodded, but replied; “yes, but it’s not really meant to be a fortress though... . It’s meant to be a prison; like it once was before.” Cozy Glow nodded, then said; “okay”, before going back to being scared... .
After what seemed like hours; (despite being five minutes again); King Sombra looked at Flash Magnus, and says; “you know pal; you really don’t have to do this. You can just get Celestia to help you, and maybe apologize to you too... that’s all. I mean; I would’ve gotten Twilight: my archenemy; to apologize to me if I were to be given the chance. Right?” Cadence then said; “As much as I hate to say it; he is right about that.” Feeling a little infuriated; Flash Magnus shouts; “enough!” and slammed his hoof to the ground. He then continues by saying; “I’ve had just about enough of your feeble attempts to distract me!” With that; the bandits raise their spears once more, and then Flash Magnus asks; “any last words?” before unsheathing his sword from his holster. Sombra smirked, then said; “just one”, before giving out a signal. With that; the front doors bursted open, and an entire army of Crystal Empire guards were at the ready: ready to attack any threat that lied before them. With a quick unsheathe of his sword; King Sombra shouts; “charge!” and began to attack the bandit guards. With that; the others followed suit; bringing out their own weapons to get ready for a fight.
Hours passed, and it seemed that the group was winning; (especially the Crystal Empire royal legion). That is, until... .
“I will get you!.... .” Flash Magnus said as he’s gotten his spear raised, and was charging full speed at someone in the group. Before that could happen; somepony got in the way of it, and saved them. With that in mind; Flash Magnus was then taken down by somepony else, and the fighting has stopped. With their adversary defeated; Flash Magnus was about to lash out, but fell and passed out due to so much pain that he was in.
With the bandits surrendering; (unfortunately with a few of them gone missing due to escape); King Sombra approached Flash Magnus, picked him up, and threw him into a waiting carriage which contained a cage. With a salute; the soldiers left, and the doors to the bandit prison was closed again. However; right before he was about to celebrate with the group; he remembered something, and rushed back to the group as quick as he can.
When King Sombra got back to the group; it was bad... . There, lying motionless in Pumpkin Cake’s hooves, was her brother: Poundcake; battered and bruised, and not looking so well. While the others were looking around for any more bandits that could still be in the prison; King Sombra, Chrysalis, and Flurry Heart went to Pumpkin Cake, and tried to see if Poundcake was alright. Unfortunately, he wasn’t. And then Poundcake drew his final breath before passing out. With a sniffle; Pumpkin Cake fixed her brother’s mane, and began crying. With that; the rest of the group got back, and saw what happened. Seeing what’s happened; the younger ones in the group began crying alongside Pumpkin Cake; especially Shining Armor. Reason is because he knew Poundcake very well over the years. And knowing that his daughter’s best friend was gone, and that his daughter’s best friend’s sister was there; he was pretty much basically an emotional wreck at this point. And he just couldn’t take it. Mainly because he’s a soldier. And he’s not usually known for taking losses very easily; especially if it’s one of his daughter’s friends as well... .
However; just before the group were about to say their final goodbyes; Poundcake woke up, and then asked what happened. With joy and relief; Pumpkin Cake hugged her brother tightly, and then just started bawling. Flurry Heart and Cozy Glow joined in too, and began bawling as well; as their friend was okay and alright. Meanwhile; the grownups were just ecstatic. And began hugging each other as well because they haven’t lost a member in their group; so to speak. And so; after the group had finished getting emotional; King Sombra opened the door for them, and went with them back to the train station to return home. But, just before he did so; King Sombra took one last look at the prison, and never looked back again as he began to move again with the group, and was happy that it was all over... .
The end.