*Calming Blaze POV*
*Thud*
*Sigh*
Releasing a tired sigh, I look up to the orange sky.
Time to head back.
"Wake up dude" I say as I push some greenery out of the way, along with some leftover snow.
Which was strange since Ponyville had their whole 'Winter Wrap Up' ceremony almost a month ago.
Then again, it's the Everfree.
With a yawn, Drega comes out of a burrow in the ground.
Extending a hoof, he climbs sticks to it, climbing on my body to curl up on my back.
The trip back was calming, to say the least.
Other me hasn't tried anything in the last few weeks, fortunately.
Which brings us to today.
Walking back home, I see the ruins of our newly built house that we've waited for a month and a half before finally being stopped.
Once again, it was destroyed right before being finished, this time by a swarm of something called a 'parasprite'.
No idea what that is since I missed it by working out.
They also apparently caused half of the construction crew to get injured, not too badly, but enough to stop them from working.
Which was annoying since now we'll have to wait at least 2 more months before construction even begins.
The trees, not counting the Everfree, were all yellow and orange, finally giving that calm Autumn feeling.
And I have to participate in a race because apparently I was supposed to help in Winter Wrap Up, and I also didn't go to the biggest party for fouls since coming here.
At the very least, mother says so.
I think she's noticed my absence these last two months.
I can tell, she's not asking about it, but she knows something is up.
I love her for that.
The ponies were setting up stands and seats around the entrance of a different forest, this one without a name.
Remembering something, I take a sniff of myself.
"Eugh, I forgot to take a bath"
Now, with a clean body this time, I'm sitting at milkshake stand with Button as our mothers have a delightful conversation about the easiest way to incapacitate any kind of beast.
Mothers are a bit scary, aren't they?
Button, however, is talking to a new filly on town, almost completely ignoring the other new filly in town.
Sweetie Belle, the one that Button is talking to, is a unicorn with a white coat and a light pink and light purple mane that moved from Manehattan to her sister, Rarity, unsurprisingly.
The other filly is named Scootaloo, with an orange coat and mix between pink and purple as a mane color.
She's a pegasus that moved in form Cloudsdale to Ponyville, though with whom she's moving in with, she didn't tell.
Applebloom was also here, talking to Scootaloo about some harvest that Applejack was too stubborn to get help for or something.
I wasn't paying too much attention as I sipped my milkshake and they didn't seem to really notice my presence, which was good since I was too busy thinking about what I should do.
Getting a forge might be a good idea.
I can't always depend on that magma hammer from before.
Heh, that makes me wonder.
Can I become an alicorn the normal way this time, or will I have to force it again?
Either way, I need to make an actual weapon first.
For that, I'll need materials, expensive materials, AND I'll need help with the enchantments.
I should be able to ask Luna for that.
Don't know if she'll agree though.
"Racers, please take your positions!" Pinkie Pie announced as she stood on a hot air balloon.
"I'll be back" I tell the others before I leave as they give me their words of encouragement.
Standing at the starting line, I look around as I crack my neck and check if my number paper is still on my flank.
Should I win? Or should I just take my time and have fun?
Rainbow Dash seems to be having fun already, teasing Twilight in light banter.
Twilight does seem the type to never run or exercise, only reading books and all.
Then again, most of these ponies aren't athletes, but they still participate anyway.
Anypony can run I guess.
Though, the prospect of learning how to race from a book does seem kind of counter-intuitive.
"Alright ponies, are you ready!" Pinkie announced in her showpony accent.
"Get set!" Spike announced as all ponies, including me, prepare to take off.
With the ring of the bell, I take off, ignoring the ponies around me.
Spike and Pinkie seem to be doing their job as announcer/narrator, but I can hardly hear them as I try to dodge the random hooves of ponies that are racing.
The horde of ponies ran as fast as they could with Rainbow Dash and Applejack at the front.
Opting to save my energy instead, I go down to a slow but winnable speed.
Though with my enhanced body, that seems to be slightly below the speed of the sprinting ponies.
My concentration, however, was ruined as I felt a slight magic disturbance from the trees.
This brought me to a stop as I turned to look at the disturbance.
Luckily, I'm already pretty far away from the starting line and away from any other ponies.
Deciding that checking this out is more important than winning some race, I head into the woods.
Walking in further, the feeling in my gut tells me that something is insanely wrong.
Passing through the woods, I see a worrying sight.
The woods, it was blurry.
A camouflage barrier.
Anypony without experience would barely even notice it.
Entering the barrier, I'm now more than just slightly concerned about the situation as I peer at the pony in the middle, looking away from me.
The mane flowing with pure dark magic.
The ashen grey coat, pressed down by the silver armor.
The red cape that was lined with real white fur.
The curved horn, that started as grey, which quickly turned to blood red, is all I needed to see to figure out who it was.
"Sombra" I say with thinly veiled anger.
Although quiet, my voice rings loudly in the silence of the forest.
He turns to face me as the purple flames around his eyes burst to life.
His mouth widened to reveal the teeth of a predator, almost completing his villainous look.
After he fully turns to me, I notice that his crown is missing.
What the?
That guy is too self obsessed too just leave his crown somewhere.
After he opened his eyes though, I got all the answers I needed.
His signature blood red eyes with a thin pupil, now surrounded by a light blue sclera, and the cloudy look he gave me.
He's being controlled.
Without a single word, he pounces at me with impressive speed.
Putting up both my hooves as my guard, I block the heavy attack, the knockback alone pushing me back along with the dirt, leaving a trail in the ground.
Then he jumps away, landing near a heart shaped crystal that boasted its pure dark appearance, fully corrupted under Sombras' influence.
What the fuck?
What's that doing here?
The Crystal Empire isn't even back yet.
I look at Sombra, trying to figure out what I can do about him.
The dragon was easy, just punch his jaw a few times and wake him up.
But Sombra?
He's not one to be underestimated.
That smile that used to seem taunting more than anything now just seems creepy with his unmoving jaws and his cloudy eyes.
*Sigh*
With a sigh, I think about which one to use.
"The sun didn't work out against you last time, didn't it?" I ask Sombra as I take in the magic around me, the same way I took it in last time.
The difference this time, the memories.
Remembering the feeling of fighting and knowing exactly what she felt as she fought against me.
This time, not Daybreaker, but Nightmare Moon.
The magic comes in through my veins once more.
The icy feeling now surrounds me, freezing whatever I come in contact with.
The very ground turns to ice as dark clouds manifest in the barrier.
No need to check, I can't leave without using force.
My body felt cold, the feeling of blood moving whilst frozen felt like countless needles stabbing into my veins as my nervous system was being forcefully worked through magic whilst frozen.
Covered in numbing ice, but being forced to work through magic was an intense pain I've never felt before.
Gritting my teeth, almost cracking them, I turn to look at Sombra who's surrounded by the aura of his intense dark magic.
My body grows to the average height of an adult pony.
My horn grew to a great length, now showcasing a sharp end.
My coat turned slightly blue from being frozen.
My mane, now much longer and filled with stars and cosmos, fluttered slowly in the wind from an impossible breeze.
"Thanks for waiting" I speak as I flew at top speed, practically teleporting.
A war hammer, the same size as the last one, now made out of ice and bound together by darkness, in my hooves.
He responded in kind as his signature scythe manifested into his magic, handling it much better than Nightmare Moon.
*CLANG, BOOM*
The aftermath blew away the leaves inside the barrier, spikes made from ice and crystals grew from our perspective sides, coming into existence from our corresponding sides.
Just after our contact, Sombra leaps back as a lightning bolt strikes down from the thundercloud, striking the spot Sombra was in as cloud of dust arose.
Sensing his position through magic, I charge up a spell as I leap forward for a surprise attack.
Just as I suspected, exiting out of the smoke, Sombra was in the air, swiping his scythe at my neck.
*Crack*
The scythe digs deep into the neck, washing away the outside of the clone to reveal an ice sculpture as I jump in from the side to initiate an attack of my own.
Hammer in hoof, I strike with a fearsome side attack, going for the head as a crystal wall came in the way.
*Bang*
The wall stops my hammer as cracks go over it, allowing Sombra to strike with his scythe with an upward swing.
Guiding with both magic and hoof, the shaft of my hammer comes in the way as an icicle with a sharp end grow from right underneath me to pierce his neck.
Another crystal for a block.
With a swift wave of my horn from top to bottom, another lightning strike comes down, blowing us both away.
*Thud*
Landing with a thud, I stand low as I look at the spot he was in as shards of ice manifest around me.
He stands up with a swing of his scythe, blowing away the dust.
His overbearing figure was riddled with burns from the lightning, before quickly being healed by his blackened aura that resembled a living being more than anything.
His overall strength however, gets significantly weaker.
What?
That never happened before.
The startling part of it was that, the crystal heart let out a burst of magic, mimicking a shrill scream of agony.
The magic quickly gets absorbed into Sombra as his strength is back to full.
I internally kick myself for not doing anything when he was vulnerable.
Preparing for another rush, this time however, towards the crystal heart.
The shards of ice gets launched towards Sombra at high speeds, causing him to erect another crystal spike.
The ice shards all break at contact, but it bought enough time for me to reach the crystal heart.
Rearing up my hammer to the skies, I slam down once with might.
A bang, quickly followed by a shockwave emerges from the strike.
Another burst of magic from the crystal heart pushed me back, like it was defending itself.
Before I could recover, the blade of an awfully familiar scythe stands in my vision as it appeared right in front of me.
Turning to mist, I dash backwards to dodge the attack at the last second, quickly followed by lightning coiling around my hooves as my body becomes a blur and my hoof punches Sombra away.
Turning it off, I direct magic to heal my hooves as the smell of burning flesh fill the area.
Never using that trick again.
With that, I rush for the crystal heart, only for a blob of shadow to grow into a sharp strike, forcing me to stop and block the attack with my hammer.
The blob grows and takes shape as Sombra emerge and follow it up with a scythe attack from my right.
With a swipe of my hammer, I parry the attack, only for the scythe to spin around him and come from the other side.
Raising my hoof whilst covering it in ice, I successfully stop the attack as the scythe tip gets embedded into my hoof.
Quickly dropping the hammer, I manifest an ice dagger the same I did with the hammer.
Lunging forward, I stab the dagger into the direction of his neck, forcing him to turn to shadows and take a step back which freed my left hoof from his scythe.
I let out a sigh as the dagger gained more mass to turn into a longsword.
"If a hammer is too slow, then I guess I could use a change of pace" I mutter as the longsword made of ice turns sharp with the aid of darkness.
Rushing in, I make a wide swing with my magic, which he dodge by tilting his head back.
Not even a second after, I jump as my snout almost touches his as my hoof reached the handle of my sword, dragging it back with extreme speed, finally landing a hit on the bastard.
A half arch of ice grows right on top of me and block his overhead strike, encasing the end of his scythe.
Going for a stab, a crystal spike grew to encase my sword which I quickly let go of and sprinted around the structure as I face Sombras' face once more.
A quick jab from my right hoof to buy time, dazing him.
Raising my left hoof, small blade made from ice with barely a handle manifests on it, swiping it down swiftly, another large gash on his chest.
With that, my right hoof comes in with a haymaker, fully coming in contact, forcing myself to follow along with it, I push further with my connected hoof, throwing him on the ground head first.
The dirt around him cracked at the force.
I raise my horn as ice grows from beneath him, fully encasing his body in ice.
The crystal heart lets out another burst of magic.
With a large jump into the sky, the hammer I dropped flies into my hooves with magic as lightning gather on the surface of the hammer head, turning it into a conductor.
As I drop from the sky, I concentrate most of the magic in my veins towards my front hooves, ice fully encasing them, yet they remain fully functional.
A second passes.
The lightning inside the thundercloud gather into one.
Another second passes.
The hammer came down, powered by the power of a thousand lightning strikes, the barrier is filled with intense light, reaching a decibel I couldn't hear as a single sound was the sign of victory.
*Crack*
The light faded away, giving me a sight to behold.
The crystal heart was filled with a million cracks, but it stood its ground.
With one final burst of magic, it shattered into uncountable pieces.
The dark aura of Sombras' magic vanished into the air.
The crystal shards floated in the air as they came back together to form a cube of crystal that was tightly packed.
Even though it was compressed, I could tell, the crystal lost over at least half of its mass.
As I raise my hoof to grab it, I notice a peculiar sight.
In a puddle of water, most likely from melted ice.
The sight shocked me to my core.
It was something that I thought wasn't possible.
No, that can't be.
Quickly raising an icicle, clear enough to see reflections, I tilt my body slightly to look at my flank.
My cutie mark, or rather, my lack of one was disturbing.
"Where the tartarus is it?" I ask myself whilst breathing heavily to calm myself.
This is bullshit.
A cutie mark is the personification of a ponies' destiny, their role in the universe.
And to lose it means that you have failed your destiny.
I was quickly taken out of my stupor by a sharp pain inside of me.
With a sigh, I release my overload of magic, quickly unfreezing my veins and blood.
My mane returns to its former bright orange, covered in ice at different parts as it grew back to its original length.
My body shrank back to my normal height.
My horn that had a sharp end, turned back to normal.
With a sigh, I shudder as my nerves now fully feel the cold.
"Screw it, take it like an alicorn Blaze" I say to encourage myself as I lift my hoof to grab the crystal cube.
"This, will prove to be useful" I mutter to nopony as I hold the crystal cube.
The sheer power floating out of it surprised me to say the least.
It was good material.
As I held the crystal, the barrier came down as the outside breeze warmed the cold air in the area.
Holding the cube in the air, I approach a piece of paper on the ground.
Thankfully, my veins only throbbed in pain this time, nothing too bad.
The paper was drenched in water and the ink was washed off, meaning I was disqualified from the race.
*Thud*
With a sound so small that it was almost non-existent, somepony lands right behind me.
"Good afternoon princess, what can I do for you?" I ask as I turn around to see Celestia standing there with a worried expression.
"Would you tell me why, I felt such a worrisome magical aura from this place" she said as she donned her professional ruler mask.
I take a peek at the spot Sombra should've been, only to see the ice coffin still there.
It was slightly melted, but still enough to hold Sombra in.
It means he died.
"It's pretty personal to me, so no, I don't think I would tell you" I ask as I put out a large smile.
"Personal, you say?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
Her eyes, now indicating that she understands that I don't really like her, gazed at me with an icy glare.
Couldn't blame her.
This matter is one of great importance to her.
Then again, that's not my problem, now is it?
"If it eases you, the problem has been solved for now" I tell her the truth.
Lying by omission.
Such a great tool.
"For now?" she asked calmly.
"Yes, for now"
If she was frustrated, she was great at hiding it because the only thing I can see, is the cold glare of a ruler who's passing judgement.
Mine shouldn't be too different.
Fully extending her wings, she stands over me, showing off her alicorn might before me.
"YOU WILL TELL ME, WHY I COULD FEEL THE PRESENCE OF SOMBRA FROM THIS FOREST!"
"Aren't you being a bit too overbearing?" I ask as I get myself higher by raising a pillar beneath me.
Putting on a strained smile, I face Celestias' domineering magic.
The coward would never fully use it though, I've seen plenty of proof to realize that.
As our eyes are locked together, the aura surrounding her increases to a dangeroud degree and it stayed there as the air increased in temperature.
After a few seconds of the ridiculous condition, she finally gives a weary sigh as her magic goes back inside of her.
"Fine, since you don't want to tell me, I can't force you to"
"Good, I can at least assure you that Sombra, will not be a problem as of now"
She gave me a glare of suspicion, her time ruling wasn't completely useless you know?
"Why don't we head back, the race will end soon" She suggested as she turned to walk away.
I chuckle at the slight irony.
The pony of the sun can be so cold to those she doesn't trust.
We parted ways after I reached the tracks, opting to rather sprint the whole way to take my mind off of the situation.
That was definitely dangerous.
Luckily, I was correct about her not using violence, but the reason for it was different.
I guess having her sister back led her down to a completely different path.
I've forgotten to stay calm.
That, could be fatal.
Breathing in a steady pattern, I force a bit of magic into hooves to increase my speed.
The winds brushed against my face with the fresh air calming my nerves.
The leaves fell as I stomped hard on the ground, creating strong vibrations.
As I ran, I noticed a sign that had an arrow that pointed to the left.
"I already memorized the path, so I know this is the correct way" I mutter to myself as I ran to the right side.
Sprinting at my fastest speed, I start to overtake ponies who were tired and one Twilight Sparkle, who said hi to me, which I responded with a hi and left behind.
Leaving behind ponies in the dust, I started to cut off from them, once again leaving me alone with nature and the dirt track.
Soon enough, the finish line is in sight.
Oddly enough, the ribbon was there.
Did neither Rainbow Dash or Applejack make it yet?
Jumping the last step, I take the ribbon with stride.
Landing on the ground as my hooves leave multiple trails in the dirt, kicking up a slight dust as the sounds of cheering fill my ears.
"And we have our WINNER!" The combined voices Spike and Pinkie Pie announces loudly.
Seriously?
I thought I'd be dead last since I got delayed.
About 10 minutes, but still delayed nonetheless.
"Oh Blaze, I'm so PROUD of you!" Mother exclaimed as she brought me to a hug.
Right as she was about to explode out of happiness, I did something I haven't done in the last 130 years.
I sneezed.
"Ah, Blaze, honey, why is your body so cold?" she said with worry as she looked me in my eyes.
I only sneezed once more as a response.
"Oh dear, I think you caught the flu" she said as she let go of me, but wrapped a scarf around me.
Why was she carrying a scarf in this weather though.
"Congratulations for taking 1st place Calming Blaze, and I'll hope for your safe recovery" Celestia said with her kind voice look as she adopted her signature motherly face.
Masked bitch.
"I am grateful for the opportunity your highness and thank you for your concern, but you need not worry, it is only a cold" I say with a small bow as I adopt my kindest face that I only give to assholes.
"Hello Princess Celestia" a voice exclaimed with a happy voice as she came over.
Taking the chance Twilight had given, both me and Celestia unanimously decide to end the argument with our eyes as she starts talking to her student and I, to my mother.
"Let's go home mom, I'm kind of tired after the race" I say as I give her a genuine smile this time.
"Alright honey, but you're going to take a shower first, you reek of sweat" she jokingly says as we walk our way back home.
"Yeah, that sounds pretty nice actually"
With that, we head home as the cube of crystal floats after me.
Weird how mother never asked me about it.
Whatever, it works in my favor and I know she's on my side anyway.