//------------------------------//
// Cross 
// Story: Book 1 - The Behemoth came to Canterlot 
// by Equimorto 
//------------------------------//

Sombra hissed and drew back, turning towards Shining. In the time it took him to do so, Cadence hurled another spell at him, hitting him square in the side. He backed away farther, having to defend against blasts from both ponies, and found himself forced against his own wall. It was there that quickly, before the other two had time to intensify their efforts further, he let his shield spell take the next few hits unsupported while he slammed down both his hooves, leaving a small crater in the ground. The resulting shockwave shattered the already cracking shield around him, but pushed back and deflect the spells being fired at him too. More importantly it broke through the wall behind him, and he quickly turned to shadow to pass through it.
As he emerged a short distance ahead however, he was hit again by Cadence, then by Shining, then again by both of them harder than before. Smoke and ash rose from his body, and he hissed, rearing in pain. Before more spells could reach him, a tightly packed ring of crystals sprouted from the ground around him and sealed him off, closing into a cylinder capped by a spherical dome. Even through the crystals, or perhaps because of them, the heavy sound of his breathing was easy to hear.
After a few shots uselessly bounced off the protective cage, Shining prepared himself to cast something heavier in an attempt to break through, but he stopped partway through the process, magic still coagulating around his horn, as he heard Sombra speak from within his hiding spot. "We could have done this the easy way." There seemed to be an odd stutter to his words, a kind of hesitation that went beyond just a result of the wounds inflicted on him. He seemed to be talking to himself, too, until he spoke again, louder. "You are going to regret this." He almost chuckled. It sounded awfully close to sobbing.
"How'd you break through the crystal?" Shining asked quietly to Cadence, while the sound of something metallic hitting the ground came from inside Sombra's cylinder.
"I hit it where you were hitting." The sound of something like bones tearing through flesh came from the crystal cage, and Cadence repositioned herself, loading up her horn. "I figured it couldn't withstand being hit on both sides in the same spot, and I figured he'd made it to take hits from the outside and not the inside, anyway."
"How did you know where I was hitting?"
Something that could have been howling came from inside the structure Sombra had isolated himself in, and something black with hints of red began to ooze through the crystals and spread out along the bottom.
"Same way I knew you were asking did and not would," said Cadence, smiling despite everything. "I just did. And the sound of it."
Cracks began to show on the crystals surrounding Sombra. First one, then more, then they began to spread and connect and the entire thing bulged outwards like something was trying to push its way through. Then there was an explosion, a pillar of purple and black that rose a few metres into the air. Shining and Cadence stood at the ready, waiting for the shadows to clear.