//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1 - You Want Me To What? 
// Story: Would You Defeat Me? 
// by Toon 
//------------------------------//

Twilight felt defeated in every conceivable way, her hooves chained, she rattled with the makeshift cage that she was trapped within. Dark crystals as bars with the floor and ceiling made of the same material but smoothed out cleanly. A strange accommodation for the prison as spikes would intentionally have to be sanded out. She sighed as the wheels and sounds of synchronized hooves echoed in the hall.  Two soldiers in front and two in back holding their spears.

That note of description had a bad taste in her mouth, the poor ponies were nothing more than slaves to their equipment, something only heinous enough made by the worst kind of creature, Sombra.

Twilight and her friends had made the mistake of not realizing the gravity of their situation, taking the bait and traps one after another to find themselves separated and defeated. She couldn't believe how it all went so smoothly, his mischief and cunning knew no bounds.

Twilight could only slouch against the bars of her new home, she didn't know how long she would receive back-up, the blizzard would be a fog wasteland, strategically speaking Sombra could easily put his soldiers to work in lying within the snow.

Cursing inwards she could only scold herself more for not truly calculating the situation, she let the new victories go to her head, she relied too much on her friends. There was so much she could've changed, so much more to be wary of and overcome. Sighing she let her hair lay loose, tired and defeated, she waited until she met her destination.

The rumbling of the wheels came to a stop, her eyes opening a bit bigger she turned around to lay her eyes on Sombra. Anger and resentment built inside her body as she looked upon her enemy.

With his silver boots, red cape outlined by white fur with black dots, and his makeshift crown. His black hair flowed like flames, flickering against the air while keeping its spark. Eyes of light red with slits of darker shade, his teeth that showed made her flinch at the sight of fangs. His horn's tip was dunked in bright red with darker shades going down before stopping above the half mark. It was as if it was like a weapon in a furnace cooling off the heated metal.

Sombra lay on his throne slouched with his legs hanging loosely, his arms upon the armrests. His eyes were looking out to the hall in some lost search. 

The soldiers, unicorns, levitated their spears centimeters over the ground before bringing them down in unison.

Sombra closed and opened his eyes swiftly as the sound echoed across his throne room. Pupils widened before focusing to meet Twilight's gaze, hers was of a fiery rage while his were of surprise.

Sitting upright clumsily he lifted his silver-plated neck to clear his throat upon the new audience. "Twilight, I presume?" An eyebrow cocked as he smiled smugly. 

Twilight practically threw her body weight at the crystal bars, ignoring the slightly uncomfortable feeling she barked at him with words. "Sombra! You haven't won yet! Celestia and Luna have already realized the absence of my letters. They'll be crashing down onto the Crystal Empire in hours at most. They'll come and you'll be taken down and destroyed!

Sombra lifted his neck higher, his eyes coldly calculating Twilight with precision that made her swallow her anxiety underneath such intense scrutiny.

"Guards, leave me to the prisoner, I think she requires some" Stopping mid-sentence the ash colored unicorn smiled as he licked his teeth from fang to fang in a slow, methodical motion. His eyes narrowed upon her like a predator about to feast on their meal. "Lessons of her own."

The mindless soldiers turned around to walk the long hall that they had pushed forward with the prisoner. Sombra took a slow step onto the carpet roll that was placed over the stairs, his eyes stayed glued to Twilight. She felt her fear overtake her body as each cold, calculated step he took, led to her making two back.

Before she knew it she backed up against the cage as he was millimeters away from the front of the cage. The sound of the great doors behind them sounded the opening and closing of the entrance to the hall.

Sombra leaned out his head to the right to look behind the cage to find his soldiers gone. Sighing he softened his eyes to Twilight with a smile.

"Would you go out with me?"

The words echoed across Twilight's mind as she was frozen in place, not of fear, but of confusion. Seconds stretched to a minute before she could work her muzzle. "What?"

Sombra's eyes widened before falling back with his plot to the floor. Raising his hooves to his face he ran through it up to his mane that was no longer flowing.

"Ahhhh, fuck" his body was now slouched, he hid his face in embarrassment, and now flushed he stammered out. "I-I meant to ask something first, fuck fuck fuck."

Twilight, too conflicted about what to exactly focus on, stood there in complete loss.

Moving his hooves away from his face his dark coat was now a full light shade of red as his eyes looked down on the floor as if his hoof was caught in a cookie jar. "I-I mean, would you be able to defeat me?" His eyes flicked to her but only immediately looked to his surroundings in loss. Bringing his hooves up to clap them together in slow intervals, his mouth line was now strained. "L-like as in w-we make a fake fight with fake magic and y-you hit me with a final blow and everyone thinks I'm dead." He flicked back to her, catching his eyesight, he dipped his head a bit low as his shoulders raised in compensation. "I-if you're cool with that, heh, of course." His front hooves clasped at each other in awkwardness. "I uh, meant to ask you that first question after the plan, which now seems super dumb, and like I totally get if you think it's dumb now because I was kind of pushing a lot on you which is now even worse and- I'm gonna stop talking now." rushing his hooves to his mouth he stopped midway through his ramble. Closing his eyes in embarrassment he buried his face in his hooves. Groaning in failure his words muffled within his confinement.

Twilight's mind slowly let the proposed 'plan' soak in her mind. A fake battle of lights and action to make up the fact he died in battle? It wasn't a bad idea but why? What could he gain from this? Was it a trick?

Thoughts and theories marinated in the head of the student of the crown. Here a tyrannical ruler was asking to give a light show to fake his death.

Slowly, drops of words of his first question dripped into her memory...each word like a vague mystery making her question them before all at once his first sentence reeled back in her mind. 

Twilight's body stiffened as her face blushed in full force. "WHAT?"