Within the center of a large, dark area, our heroes appeared via a brief flash of light. No longer did they feel the warmth of the light they had grown accustomed to.
"This place sure feels strange..." Luneth said.
"We gotta hurry and beat that Cloud of Darkness! Let's go!"
"Wait!"
"What now?" the pegasus groaned.
"Look, Rainbow Dash."
The area they were in led to five different places; straight ahead of them was surely the path to the Cloud of Darkness, and yet Twilight felt they needed to explore the other areas. But if they were to do so, they had to do it swiftly, for time was not on their side. With whatever items they had left in their inventory, the group proceeded through the northwestern portal.
The portal took our heroes to another area where they could somehow walk on dark clouds and black platforms.
*music fades out*
Once they passed through the doorway, the Equestrians and the children gasped at what they were looking at which lied in the center of the area: a Crystal. Not a Crystal of Light, but rather, a Crystal of Darkness. Once they approached it, a large three-headed canine appeared. To the Equestrians' surprise, it looked just like Cerberus, the guardian of Tartarus.
"You cannot stop the flow of darkness! This will be your final resting place!"
Taking up their battle positions, the Equestrians and the Warriors of Light prepared themselves. Spike quickly threw a shuriken at the beast, causing it to howl in pain. Cerberus glared at the dragon ninja and charged at him but was intercepted by Applejack who gave him a good buck, sending it sliding across the area. Luneth then launched some shurikens of his own which sent the monster back whence it came.
Upon Cerberus' defeat, the Crystal shone a vast light, which manifested as a warrior in special armor.
"Who are you?!"
"I am one of the Warriors of Darkness. One thousand years ago, we Warriors of the Dark prevented a calamity brought on by the Wrath of Light. I have come to join you."
"You, a Warrior of Dark, join us and the Warriors of Light?" Rainbow Dash asked, skeptical of the mysterious warrior's words.
"Yes. Light and darkness... are attracted to each other, and yet they keep themselves at a safe distance. They coexist in a precarious balance. Should the two come into contact, they cancel each other out, and nothing left is where they meet... That is the Void."
"That's such a terrifying thought," said Rarity.
"Indeed," the Dark Warrior replied grimly. "This universe began with the Void, and soon it will return to the Void. However, there is one force that stands against the ever-present threat of the Void. It is what you call 'hope.' In time, the Void shall consume all. But now is not that time! As long as there is hope in the world of light... and in this world of darkness. For as long as hope prevails, the Void shall be kept at bay!"
"Wow. I guess it's true... Just because you're from this world, it doesn't mean all its inhabitants are."
"Correct. I sense that the rest of my comrades are trapped within the other Crystals. Free them, and we shall aid you."
Returning to the entrance, the group headed straight and took a left turn to the northeastern portal.
Another minion of the Cloud of Darkness took physical form; it was a giant two-headed dragon.
"Darkness will flood the world and return it to the Void!" the dragon laughed. "We will devour your meager light!"
"That's not going to happen!" Twilight retorted.
The dragon was even more difficult than Cerberus, for its health was higher and had more devastating attacks. It started off by striking Pinkie Pie with its claws, injuring the fun-loving earth pony. She then tried to speak, but somehow she couldn't! Twilight then cast Protect on everyone while Refia cured Pinkie of her silence.
"Thank goodness for Esuna, otherwise I wouldn't talk again," she said.
Our heroes fought with almost everything they had, until finally... The dragon was put to rest by the combined strength of Excalibur and Masamune.
With the dragon defeated, the second Warrior of Dark appeared in front of our heroes.
"The Warriors of Light! Thank you for freeing me."
As before, the party listened to everything the Warrior of Darkness had to say.
"The balance between light and darkness is kept by the four Crystals--the Crystals of Wind, Fire, Water, and Earth. When Xande halted the flow of time, the light of two of those Crystals was sealed away... Because of this, the balance between light and darkness shifted drastically and gave birth to the Cloud of Darkness... an entity whose sole purpose is to return the entire world to the Void. The Cloud of Darkness tried to seal away the two remaining Crystals on the Floating Continent... It created the earthquake that you have witnessed; it almost drew the Floating Continent to the surface world."
"So, it wasn't Xande like we thought," said Twilight.
"Correct. The Cloud of Darkness is powerful, but with our powers of light and darkness combined, we may be able to defeat it!"
"Alright, that's two down, and two to go."
Going through the southwest portal next, they defeated several ninja called Kage and reached the next Crystal. Then appeared a large creature with long red claws, a snake-like tongue appeared in front of them. It appeared to be attached to the ceiling.
"Wh-What the hay are you supposed to be?!" cried a flabbergasted Applejack.
"I am Echidna. You have done well to come this far... but this is as far as you go! The darkness will engulf the world and return it to the Void!"
"'Echidna'?! Can I call you Knuckles?"
"Do not mock me, weakling," it said, knocking Pinkie Pie away.
"Hey! You mess with any of my friends, you mess with me!"
The creature pounded the ground with its fists causing a huge earthquake. Twilight levitated the whole group and brought them back down when the tremors ceased. Rarity then cast Thundaga, dealing moderate damage. Soon, Echidna then summoned a powerful tornado, but Rainbow Dash countered by circling around the funnel and directed it back at its caster. It groaned in pain, unable to believe that a mere pony could use its own attack against it. At that point, Luneth threw four shurikens at it, causing tremendous damage. Twilight then summoned Bahamut, who then fired a devastating Mega Flare, finishing it off.
Suddenly, like before, another Warrior of Darkness appeared.
"I am one of the Warriors of Darkness. I thank you for releasing me from my prison. The Cloud of Darkness had also appeared when the light threatened to engulf the world ages ago... We, the Warriors of the Dark, had managed to stop back then, at a great cost... A millennium later, the balance between light and darkness has inverted once again. Light had existed around the core of darkness, but darkness now revolves around the core of light. But the light has lost its brilliance. The overflowing darkness is threatening to extinguish the light that remains. A flood of darkness... Only you, Warriors of the Light, have the power to stop it! And you, the ones from another universe. As you know, your world is under threat as well. You know what must be done."
The Equestrians nodded.
As expected, the final guardian appeared before them. It was a floating monster with bat wings and a ball-shaped body with only one eye.
"The ebb of darkness is getting stronger! Soon, none will be able to stop it! As for you, you will never leave this place alive!"
"Oh yeah? Bring it!"
The Ahriman started off with a screech causing the ground to shake; the group jumped backwards but were unable to escape the tremors for long. Twilight cast Curaga on herself and the rest. Rainbow Dash then swiftly threw shurikens at the creature, followed by Spike and Luneth. Rarity then summoned Leviathan who then called forth its signature Tsunami, knocking away the Ahriman around the chamber and against the wall to the left. The creature then barely returned to the air, but its wings were starting to tire out. At that moment, Spike finished the battle with his MoonRing Blade.
Defeating the Ahriman allowed our heroes to release the last Dark Warrior.
"Thank you for releasing me, Warriors of Light. And you as well. Light and darkness... one cannot exist without the other, much like and the sun and the world."
"Or night and day," Pinkie Pie added.
"Indeed. Xande has severed the link between the world and the sun, creating a world without day or night, a world devoid of time..."
"All just to make himself immortal," Twilight recalled.
"Yes, but he was blind to the consequences of his actions, for he could not foresee that he would even call forth the Cloud of Darkness, or that he would fall under its control... If we do not stop it here and now, not only will your world be engulfed in darkness, but the ponies' universe and our worlds of light and darkness will both be devoured by the Void." He then turned his attention to Twilight. "It would also appear that the Cloud of Darkness had gained a new ability as well: to enter the dreams of those sensitive to its presence."
Twilight looked away, knowing exactly what the Warrior of Darkness was implying.
"If we, the Warriors of the Dark, and you, the Warriors of Light, combine our powers, we may be able to stop it. Let us unite, and defeat the Cloud of Darkness!"
With all the Warriors of Darkness free, our heroes then returned to the ventral area and set forth to end this, once and for all. They returned to the central area and marched to the north, battling even stronger monsters on the way. Before reaching their destination, a pair Kage stood in their way, but the party easily overcame the two, thanks to Luneth and Spike throwing the shurikens, allowing them access to the next chamber.
At that point, our heroes stopped in front of a large circle on the ground. They could feel an overwhelming aura emanating from it; there was no doubt that their goal was in reach.
"I have something to say," Twilight spoke, addressing the human children. "We never did find out where your old homes used to be."
"Hm? Oh," Luneth realized. "Yeah... I... I guess I never thought about 'til now."
"Me neither," Arc added.
"Likewise," said Refia.
"I must admit, the thought never even crossed my mind as well," Ingus spoke. "We've been completely focused on this journey and because of that, we never did seem to uncover our true origins. After all, the only thing I can remember throughout my life is serving the royal family of Sasune."
"And me being the blacksmith's daughter," Refia added.
"Arc and I have been living in Ur for the longest time, and I can't even remember my real hometown," Luneth recalled.
"I can't remember either," Arc said sadly.
"There is one thing we do know," said Applejack. "Y'all got each other right now, sugarcubes, and that's what's important."
"No matter the hardships, you've always looked for each other," Rarity added.
"We've been through a lot, but we still had fun times," said Pinkie.
"Arc, you've pretty much proven your own bravery when you stood by us the whole time," said Rainbow Dash. "Heck, you even stood up to those creeps that bullied Alus back at Saronia. I'm proud of you."
"Thank you," the boy smiled.
"And we're gonna help ya put this no-good Cloud of Darkness away for good," said Spike.
Gathering together on the circle, our heroes teleported straight to the lair of the Cloud of Darkness. Filled with determination, the group stepped toward it, ready to do battle once more. They found the entity in the form of a glowing green orb floating in the center of the area.
"We are the Cloud of Darkness," it proclaimed. "None shall stand before the flood of darkness. With it, we will bring the Void to this world, your light world, and Equestria as well..."
"We won't let you! Not if we have anything to say about it!" Luneth argued.
"That's right!" Rainbow Dash added.
"You're not gonna cause any more problems for our friend!" said Applejack.
The rest of the group agreed. The evil entity laughed mockingly.
"You forget one important detail, our little ponies. This is the world of darkness where light is powerless; you cannot touch us!"
"That's why we're here!"
The party turned to see the Warriors of Darkness standing firm.
"The hopes of light and darkness unite! We shall not let the Void reign free!" said the leader.
"Fools! Do you not know the consequences of what you are about to do?!"
"We do," said another Dark Warrior. "If it means saving all of existence, then so be it!"
The Dark Warriors charged toward the creature, each disappearing one by one, undoing the Cloud of Darkness' invincibility.
"You may have destroyed the Dark Crystals, but that is of no consequence," the Cloud of Darkness scoffed. "We will devour your light and use it to return this world to the Void!"
Taking the humanoid shape from before, the Cloud of Darkness glared at the Warriors of Light, intending to end their lives once more.
Twilight braced herself as the evil entity's tentacles lunged at her. Spike threw the Moonring Blade at one of them, slicing it off. Luneth then finished off the other.
The Cloud of Darkness once again fired its Particle Beam. This time, however, the group was able to endure, thanks to the Warriors of Darkness.
"You are as persistent as Xande was..."
"Don't you DARE compare us to him!" said Twilight. "Everything that's happened so far is because he couldn't accept that gift from his master."
"Like you, Twilight Sparkle? Were you not given a gift that you did not ask to be bestowed? Join us, Twilight. We can give you the gift of mortality once more...."
"No! Not if it means sacrificing my friends, family and all of existence!" she cried, flaring her horn and summoning Bahamut. Thanks to the dragon king's Mega Flare attack, the entity suffered a great deal of harm. Next, Arc cast Blizzaga, followed by Ingus summoning Leviathan and having the sea serpent call upon a powerful Tsunami. The gigantic wave did as much damage to the entity as Bahamut's Mega Flare. Rainbow Dash then threw several shurikens, causing even greater damage.
"Now so tough now, are ya?!" the pegasus taunted.
Spike then threw his Moonring Blade, but at that moment the entity caught the weapon, threw it back and unleashed yet another Particle Beam. Refia responded by casting Curaga on everyone, but the Cloud of Darkness wasn't finished. Seeing that the entity inhaled, Twilight then began to brace herself. The being then exhaled a foul breath that nearly robbed nearly the entire team of their senses and abilities. Thankfully, Ingus, Pinkie, Rarity and Refia were the only ones to wear ribbons, thus ensuring their safety. Unsatisfied, it then shoved Applejack across the chamber much to Rainbow's anger.
"Why you...!"
The pegasus then attempted to unsheathe her weapon, but not before she too was struck by the Cloud of Darkness.
"Submit! And you may be spared..."
Our heroes panted heavily, still glaring at their opponent. If they were to lose this battle, it would then absorb everything into the Void, undoing everything they had managed to accomplish. Topapa the elder, Nina, Princess Sara, Desch, Cid... They knew everyone was counting on them, and not just the inhabitants of this world, but all of Equestria as well.
Pinkie then gave Twilight the final Elixir. The purple alicorn then summoned Bahamut once more, dealing a ton of damage. Luneth then fired his last shurikens, bringing the evil being to its last leg. Twilight Sparkle then walked up to the monster that had been haunting her for several moons with a firm look.
"We are not afraid of you! I am not afraid of you anymore!"
With one final flare of the horn, Twilight summoned a very powerful wave of magic, engulfing the Cloud of Darkness for an extended period of time. How long... no one could say. As soon as the magic attack ceased, the Cloud of Darkness began to disintegrate just like Chaos and Emperor Mateus had done. The only difference was that the entity appeared to accept her fate as it closed its eyes and wore the same blank expression.
"So... we have been defeated once more... Very well..."
And with those words, the Cloud of Darkness was gone, living no traces behind. Twilight collapsed, both from exhaustion and relief.
"Twilight!"