//------------------------------// // Chapter 25: All-or-Nothing // Story: The Impossible Choice // by FireMaster //------------------------------// ~ April 19th, 1020 ME ~ ‘7:19pm‘ "You're a hard pony to get a meeting with Blazing Waters." "You've got a lot of nerve showing yourself, Sombra! Why are you here?" "It's simple really. Every single one of you has stolen something from me: my pride. I've been awaiting my chance for retribution for too long already." It was hard to figure out exactly where Sombra was located due to the light levels and the fact that all the mouths appeared to be moving simultaneously, but what was noticeable was patches of scars and burn marks dotting the gray fur of every changeling close enough to see. Evidently Sombra hadn't fully recovered after all. The front line of changelings were slowly advancing in on the group of friends. The ponies formed a circle to protect each other's blind spots. "Twilight, your detection spell would be real useful right about now." Blazing was scanning over the faces looking for some indication of one being different, but nothing stood out to him. Meeting eyes with one of the Sombra's that had been standing on a higher ledge did something to Blazings perception. The eyes of that Sombra were glowing green. He was now in a car driving a familiar highway in the cascade mountain range. His older brother John was in the passenger seat, both of them very much human. It was almost midnight. This was the night... They were on their way back from a beach trip. The occasional oncoming car passed by, but for the most part, the only noteworthy things were the light rain and snoring from John. Chase could feel the sensations of the car, but he couldn't change the course that he took. The events had already been set in stone. Coming around a mostly blind corner, Chase was met with headlights coming straight for him. A semi-truck was in his lane, the driver either drunk or asleep. Chases instincts kicked in. He yanked left as fast as he could; going right would have meant colliding with a wall of trees, but his actions were mostly in vain. He was too late to completely avoid the crash. The truck met the right half of his car. His sleeping brother was helpless against the car crushing in on him from the force of the semi. They were no match for the far heavier truck, getting sent backwards into the embankment on the opposite side of the road. Chase was stuck in what was left of the car with his right arm in great pain and the rest of his body bruised from the seatbelt and airbag, but the built-in safety features had done their job and saved his life. John wasn't so lucky. His body had been crushed, and he now sat limp and motionless. Chase struggled to get out of the car and reach his phone to call for help. All attempts were futile however, because the crush zone of the car had pinched him between the bottom of the steering wheel and the seat. To this day, the feeling of being stuck in the car while John may still have had a chance was his worst fear. He hadn't immediately died on impact, which was a miracle in and of itself, but he didn't make it before the first responders arrived on the scene. Chase felt heavy with dread ever since. What if they hadn't made the trip? Could he have done something different? Was it avoidable? Why did John have to die... it should have been me instead. Those questions hadn't changed the feelings that were there. Blazing was now stuck experiencing the feeling of being trapped in the car on loop. Sombra had shown him his biggest fear. All the while the changelings were getting close now. Twilight had formed a shield designed for magical attacks that was roughly ten feet in diameter. It provided much-needed light that permeated through the cave. "What are we going to do?" Rarity cried. "We've dealt with changelings before. We can do this girls." Twilight reassured. "Spike stay behind me... Blazing are you able to keep them at bay for a moment? Blazing? Blazing!" This was not the time for this! He appeared to be in a daze and hadn't moved at the sound of her voice. Looks like something is affecting Blazing. "Pinkie now would be a good time for a surprise party." "Okie... Dokie... Lokie... Good thing I planned for a lot of guests just in case." "Rarity, do you have the decorations?" "As a matter of fact, I do, darling!" "Applejack, what about the streamers?" "Yup, I got em." Twilight had planned for unexpected circumstances, but this was still a bit more than she had anticipated. Nonetheless, her friends had come through and were prepared to respond to her choice words. If there was one thing she knew, it was that her friends were at their best when they got to use their special talents. The horde of Sombra's began bucking the shield and blasting it with magic. The ones that did use magic were clearly not Sombra because their magic had a green tint to it, whereas Sombra's was often black from dark magic. Twilight's shield was showing little signs of damage since her magical capabilities as an alicorn were so great, but she still was feeling the slow drain of all the attackers impacting her shield at once. "It's time to do this the hard way." Rainbow shouted. At that que Twilight let down her shield and the Mane six sprang into action. Twilight immediately lit her horn, filling the surroundings with more lighting than before. Pinkie Pie pulled out her party cannon from her mane and fired at the Sombras approaching from the cave entrance. The force of tablecloths, confetti, and cake batter briefly stopped their advance. On the other side, Rainbow Dash truly was doing it the hard way, zipping around a bucking changeling faster than they could respond. Once the surprise wore off, changelings began to react. Sticking to the Sombra persona rather than shape shifting, they activated their horns and performed telekinesis. They grabbed boulders and started hurling them at Twilight and her friends. Others were still trying to move in for hoof-to-hoof combat. The boulders were handled by Twilight, meeting the levitation with some of her own. She was grabbing them as they got close and flinging them off into the side walls of the abandoned mine. She was also trying to fire back a few stun spells when given an opening. Out of anypony, Rarity and Applejack were probably having the most success. Rarity was levitating various fabrics and threads in her telekinesis, using them as a way to tie up Sombra's that had been pushed close together by Pinkie's party cannon and Dashes martial arts. Applejack was similarly using her lassos to round changelings up as well. She had brought several extra ropes that would probably not have made the best party streamers, but they were serving her well. Meanwhile, while all this was happening, Blazing was still standing motionless. None of the mane six had come in contact with the real Sombra yet, and Spike was for the most part keeping changelings disguised as 'Sombras' away from Blazing via fire. His flames were running out however, from the physical exhaustion he still felt. Fluttershy was by no means enjoying all the fighting, but she wasn't helpless either. In fact, she was almost as active as Rainbow Dash! "Stay away from my friends." She was flying about and catching changelings from behind much like she did when she wrestled a bear that needed a massage. Having had experience with fighting changelings during Cadance's wedding, the mane six were doing a good job subduing their adversaries. Even though there had been nearly a hundred of Chrysalis' drones, a majority of them had been dealt with without causing too much harm. Applejack's ropes and Rarities sewing tools were flying and levitating all over the place. Loads of the changelings had been tied up in groups of six or seven. This was made possible by their close proximity to each other. As a result, some of them had become less concerned about playing the role of Sombra imitators. They decided to shift their colors into ones that would help them blend into the walls as a form of camouflage. They were being beaten and evidently Sombra wasn't helping on the front lines, so they began slinking away to escape the fate of their trapped brethren. The mane six watched as every last Sombra retreated deeper into the mines. This was a victory worth celebrating! "Yeah, you better run! That was awesome!" Rainbow Dash cheered. "Twilight!" All the elements of harmony had been busy feeling relieved that the battle was over, and they were no worse for wear. It had all happened so fast! Too fast... Spike's cry had been a startling one. The girls, having been watching the changelings retreat, turned around to see a floating Spike and Blazing in the magical grasp of the darkest magic user alive. Sombra had a devilish smirk on his face, He had distracted Twilight and her friends just long enough to make a move from his high vantage point. "I win this round." He vanished in a flash of magic along with the dragon and pony in his grasp. Blazing had his eyes closed, but a tear could be seen streaming down his face. How could I have been so stupid! Twilight thought. They had been so busy rounding up changelings that she had completely forgotten why all the shapeshifters had looked like Sombra in the first place. They had all known the real Sombra was there and yet she had not once thought to try and focus her attention on finding him with detection spells like Blazing had said. Now there was no way to track them down! Despite all the captured changelings, this made the mood switch instantly from victory to defeat. Being outsmarted by Sombra?! She couldn't believe it. Her number one assistant and her student and newest friend were gone in the blink of an eye. What now? Should they go deeper in the mine after the changelings? Should they abandon this mission and use their efforts to look for lost ponies including Blazing and Spike? I wish Celestia were here... Surely, she would know what to do... Location: Unknown Time: Unknown "I have the Stallion." "Good... now there will be no surprises when we march on Canterlot. With the Nightmare now involved, they will surely be overwhelmed!" "And the Crystal Empire? I will be King over all the crystal ponies!" "Yes, yes. You can have your small reward of the Crystal Empire, but while you enjoy that, I will be Lord over all Equestria! Why stop with just Equestria though? Once that is mine, I will rule all of Equus!" "Excuse me! Don't you mean we will have Equestria? Or have you forgotten who's drones you and Sombra have been abusing? My children have been sacrificing themselves, slaving away just so you can have the magic of ponies and they can take a little love. If we are working together to claim what is rightfully ours, then I demand my share of the nation!" A fourth voice coming from the walls joined the other three present in the cavern. "Sorry mortals, but when I have my own body, I will be taking Equus! I will leave you to rule it as you'd like, but I will be the most powerful being on the planet, even greater than Discord! My children will be allowed to roam free and not just in the everfree. Destruction will come on Equestria, and Luna will wish she could come running back to me." "You can all keep dreaming about what reward you will receive when I defeat Celestia, but I'm going to go take care of more important business. I don't want to keep our prisoners waiting for their demise." He made his way out of the room leaving Chrysalis, Sombra, and the Nightmare to bicker. Blazing had been constantly dreaming of being stuck in the crashed car, but this time the first responders never showed up. He just wanted to do something! Too much physical and emotional pain had been built-up from the accident already. Unlike when Sombra had tried to mind control Blazing, showing him his worst fear had taken away his awareness of his surroundings. The mind control spell didn't completely block out the brain from having thoughts, while the worst fear ability created a dream or trance-like state until somepony could snap the individual out of it. When Twilight had experienced it for herself in the Crystal empire, hearing her name had been enough to snap her back into reality. Spike, who had begun feeling hopeless having no one to talk to in the stressful environment, had been trying for a while to get Blazing back. He said a multitude of things to Blazing with no luck. It wasn't until Spike said, "Chase" that Blazing twitched. He had moved more than just breathing. Chase Waters was blaming himself over and over for the wreck he was still stuck in. How could he go on like this? "Blazing... Blazing, can you hear me?" Someone was trying to talk to him. Had help arrived to get him out of the car? Except as he started looking around, the car had suddenly vanished. He had been trying to find the source of his savior only to have his surroundings replaced with a cold, dark, damp environment. Worse still, cell bars surrounded him. Blazing, are you back?" "I'm not sure... This doesn't look much better than what I just left... What happened? Is Twilight alright?” "I don't know how to answer that... As far as I know, Twilight wasn't captured, but Sombra really played us. The last look I had of Twilight was her look of horror while we were teleported straight here. I don't even know where here is... We need to escape before Sombra gets back!" On que with Spikes comment, hoof falls were clicking against the stone, getting louder by the second. Trying to act fast, Blazing attempted to use his magic to freeze the lock so they could break it off, except nothing was happening. Blazing couldn't figure out why it wasn't working, but the ring on the base of his horn might have something to do with it. His hooves were tied together so there was no reaching the suppression ring before their captor arrived. "Well... If it isn't just the pony I was looking for, and a dragon no less. You've had my attention ever since your run in with that Ursa, and now we can finally meet! But first... I will be taking something that is rightfully mine... your magic!" The horned centaur with white hair, a black chest, and a lower half resembling a gray horse began absorbing every last drop of magic found in the captives. Spike and Blazing tried to resist, but there was no stopping Tirek. "It was surprising to see Sombra bring you in successfully, but this! This is an unexpected surprise!" "I'm... Human?" Chase was back to standing on two legs, with no more horn, tail, or fur, to remind him of his ponification. Without magic, Chase wasn't just a pony that had lost their cutie mark. His body had originally been transformed by magic, completely changing the structure of his anatomy, but the only thing that made the form permanent was the complex spell still existing within himself. With all magic being absorbed by Tirek, Chase had reverted to his true self. A form without the ability to store magic internally. "No wonder our infiltrators reported that Discord couldn't take his eyes off you. Chaotic indeed! I feel even more empowered now! Not even the so-called magic of friendship could help you Human. This world rejects us! Everything I have achieved has been due to hard sacrifices. I've taken what I deserve from this poisonous world after it cursed me with this body calling it a joke. "The only joke here is you, Tirek. Thinking you stand a chance against the elements of harmony after last time is foolish talk. Twilight and her friends-" "Quit talking boy! I could pulverize your fragile body with all the magic I have stored up from the captured ponies. I will refrain for now just to show you why it was foolish of you to side with the ponies! Power is freedom, not friendship! You will be some of the first to see Equestria when it's in ruins!" A few changelings began approaching the fuming centaur from a tunnel leading away from the cell. "Put them with the others! I want them out of my sight." The changelings moved in and grabbed Spike and Chase in their magic, pushing them in the direction they had just come from, but not before fixing Chase's restraints and stealing a little love, sapping some of the energy from the captives. Tirek, the former-human-turned-centaur, was growing stronger already from all the magic he had stolen. It was only a matter of time before he was ready... and then the real battle would begin.