"You should be focusing your powers into freeing us instead of burying your head in that book," a slightly mad War said to Sombra, who was looking through Star-Swirls book on lightning while writing down multiple ways to deal with Captain Marvel and the Elements of Harmony. "There would be no need for these plans if you just let us loose upon the town! We would decimate that hero and the Elements in a matter of minutes!"
"I agree with my brother," Death hissed into Sombra's ear. "We are the greatest threat known to Equestria in over a thousand years! Even Discord would be no match for all of us at our full! And without the old king and queen to stop us, even the Elements would be nothing!" Sombra sighed in annoyance at the constant talking, unable to concentrate on his current endeavors. He spun around and started to chew the two out.
"Will you two please shut up!? I need to find a way to defeat this Captain Marvel before we enter the final push against the ponies and their hero! If we don't have a plan for the both of them, we all may end up in stone...or worse," he muttered angrily, thinking about what it would be like to be trapped in stone for eternity. He turned to his book only to find Famine's spirit floating over his book. After he had a minor heart attack and had fallen over, he scowled at the spirit and tried to move him out of the way.
"Why do you insist on bothering me?"
"Because Sombra, you are the only pony in the world that wants us free and the only pony with the skill to do it," Famine explained in his silky voice, "My brothers are just impatient. They have been trapped for so long that they have lost whatever remained of their patience and seek to do what they do best: destroy." Sombra slowly backed away from the smiling spirit, not liking the look in his eye. Famine was always the calm one of the three, but for some reason he was more terrifying than the other two combine. He pushed his way past the spirit and sat back down next to his book, trying to get his mind back into his work. However, the spirits weren't done with him just yet.
"So, have you decided when you will free Pestilence's spirit?" Death asked with interest.
"For the last time, your last brother has powers that have a much graver effect on me than the three of you! His plagues will probably kill me before I have the power to unleash even the one of you. And I'm sure that you don't want me to die and leave you trapped for another five hundred years?" Sombra asked with a dark smile.
"You have made your point. Yes, Pestilence maybe one of our stronger brothers, but has a severe lack of control," Famine said with a sigh, memories of battles and accidents past running through his mind, hundreds dying from his brothers power. "For the time being we will keep our dear brother incased...for the time being. But you know that we will need him in order to defeat our foes."
'And by foes you mean me as well as the Elements...and me,' Sombra thought to himself, still very aware of what the three were planning. He knew that they would turn on him the moment that they had beaten the Elements and the hero, probably planning to rule the world, or destroy it, as a family. But Sombra had already created a plan to dispose of them while forwarding his own plans. It would be risky and there was only a fifty percent chance that it would succeed, but it was a gamble worth risking. But before Sombra could get back into his book, another distraction popped up to keep him from his work.
"Sombra..." a very weak voice said from the shadows. Sombra and the three spirits looked over to where the voice had come from and found to their surprise that the voice belonged to Erebus, who had dragged himself in through the door. He looked awful, with wounds covering his scorched and charred body. He looked as if he could barely stand and hobbled over to where Sombra was slowly, every step seeming to hurt him.
"Sombra...I've returned," Erebus managed to say weakly, almost collapsing at Sombra's hooves. "Please...help me..."
"And why should I do that?" Sombra asked with a sneer, looking down in disgust at the wreck of a pony that lay in front of him.
"Because...I can still be of use," Erebus begged, trying to get vertical again. "Please, grant me even more power." Sombra looked down at him with disgust, weighing his options. He hated those that failed him, hated them almost as much as the Elements of Harmony and the hero. He would love to just strip the dark pony of the energy he had given him and be done with it. On the other hoof, if he played Erebus properly he might be able to gain more information on the hero and Sombra preferred as much information as he could get.
"I will restore your power, but first you must tell me something of use," Sombra said with a stern tone, narrowing his eyes. "What happened to the hero? I could not see what became of him."
"Yes, I know what became of him! I watched as he fell from the sky and crashed into the forest floor. His powers are in some sort of flux. He can no longer keep his hero form it seems!" That was very good news for Sombra, eliminating one of the obstacles to his domination.
"Are you certain of this information?" he asked in a whisper.
"Yes, I saw it with my own eyes! His powers are no longer in effect."
"That is some good news...very well. I will give you back your strength. And maybe a little extra," Sombra said with a slight chuckle, unleashing his power and consuming Erebus in a wave of darkness. Erebus screamed as the dark magic not only began to repair his body, but began to change his form as well. He howled in pain as spike's shot through his skin and as his body began to expand in size, muscles growing to unnatural sizes. When the transformation finally ended, what was left of Erebus opened his eyes, showing only white.
"Wha...what did you do to him?" Death asked terrified, waving his hoof in front of the monsters eyes.
"He wanted me to grant him even more power, so I did," Sombra said with a dark chuckle, looking at his masterpiece with a smile. "He is now twice as strong as he was before and as an added bonus, he no longer has a mind to think with, meaning that he will only listen to what I command! Erebus, kindly go to Ponyville and finish the Elements of Harmony. Also, if you find that hero, crush him as well." The beast that was formally Erebus let loose a roar and vanished into the shadows, heading off into the darkness. Sombra watched him go with a chuckle while the three spirits looked on in wonder.
"I did not know that you could do that," Famine muttered aloud. "Why did you not do that to Cyclops’s when he battled the hero?"
"Ha, do you take me for a fool? The Cyclops would be too powerful to control. Besides, it not like I expect him to win even with these new powers. He will simply weaken the ponies even further, so when the four of you strike victory will be assured." Sombra walked back over to his book and resumed his studies, leaving the three spirits to themselves.
"Sombra is a lot more powerful than we gave him credit for. I hate to think what he would be like with his horn," Death muttered.
"He's still wouldn't be a threat to us," Famine said with a smile. "Besides, it's like he said. If Erebus doesn't finish them off, they will still be far too weak to do anything. Plus, the angel is now out of the picture, meaning we've already won."
"Agreed. The only reason we were defeated all those years ago was because the two princesses’ father and mother sacrificed themselves to seal us away," War muttered, remembering the battle with a smile. "Oh I can still remember their faces, such terror and hatred." The three chuckled at the memory, thinking about when they used to rule. While they did this, Sombra smiled to himself, finally finding the information he had been seeking. The final card to play against Captain Marvel. He had discovered a way to not only take Marvel's powers away permanently, but he had also found a little something else as well. The only downside was that the spell he needed would take days to master. But he had waited a while for his chance at revenge. He could wait a little more.
{S}
Billy had seen Rarity's Boutique once before, but the last time he had almost been blasted through it by the Cyclops. The place was exactly what he expected when he thought of a fashion designer. Big, loud colors and had in the windows what he assumed was the latest fashion. Looking at the outfits, he was hoping that Rarity wouldn't try to put one of those...unusual suits on him.
"Don't worry, Rarity isn't that bad," Twilight comforted him, reading his thoughts from his expression. "A little intense, but she's all around a nice pony."
"Yeah, as well as being the most gorgeous and beautiful pony in all of Equestria," Spike said with a sigh, his eyes in the shapes of little hearts. Billy looked at Twilight with a raised eyebrow and she rolled her eyes, opening the door for the two and letting them in. Billy took one look at the place and had to admit that his first impressions had been wrong. He thought of a fashion place being neat and tidy, with everything in its proper place. This looked like a tornado had come through her and tore everything apart, only to be put back together by someone who had no idea where anything went. Rolls of felt lay everywhere, papers with crossed out dresses lay in the oddest places and he thought that he saw a cat in a weird purple coat running around.
"RARITY, we're here!" Twilight called out into the mess, but she received no answer.
"I always thought that these kind of people, er, ponies were the really organized type?" he commented, kicking some felt out of the way. The sound of objects falling made them all look to the back, where a white mare came stumbling out with a basket on her messy mane. She saw them and smiled with a bit of embarrassment.
"Oh, hello darlings. I apologize for the mess, I've just been so busy with the new orders that came in that I haven't had time for sleep," she said with a small yawn. "What can I do for you?"
"I'm here to ask a favor. Would you mind making a new outfit for Billy? His cloths are...well," she said hesitantly, pointing at his outfit. Rarity looked at his dirty, torn clothes and her eyes widened.
"Dear Celestia! What are you wearing?" she practically shrieked, running over to Billy and examining the outfit, turning slightly green in the process. "Dear child, these clothes, these ABOMINATIONS shall not stay on you for one more second. I must make you something new, fashionable to wear! Come with me!" Billy didn't have a choice as she dragged him over to her fitting station, making him stand still while she took his measurements.
"Dear me, I do not think I've ever had to make fashionable clothing for one like you before," she said with a slight intake of breath, looking at his odd measurements with a sigh.
"There's no need for you to do this, I am perfectly happy with my clothes," Billy said.
"Oh no no no, you must have real clothing, not those rags that you wear," she said, staring into his eyes to make sure he understood. He gulped nervously as she started to rummage through her supplies.
"By the way, where's Sweetie Belle? I was told she lives with you?"
"Oh, she's off crusading with her friends. Now hold still, I need to see if this color would work for you," she ordered, holding a blazing red felt up to his chest. "Yes, I think that will do nicely. Now, let's try this green." Billy looked over at Twilight with a plea for help in his eyes, to which Twilight responded with a smile and a shake of her head, telling him that he was on his own. He sighed and tried his best to not show how bored he was while she went over countless colors, multiple designs and even more posing.
"So darling, can you tell me a little about yourself? I've only heard from Sweetie Belle about you and I always enjoy hearing more about others, even if they have no fashion taste."
"Well, there's not much to say. I'm just a kid from earth with no parents and a pretty rough life. Other than that, I'm fairly normal," he said with a shrug, which caused Rarity to scream and redo all her measurements, making sure he held still this time. 'And there's no point mentioning that you have a super powered alter ego,' he thought to himself. Spike had also begun to help Rarity, but Billy noticed that he just mostly held clothes and scissors. Although at one point she used him as a pin cushion, the sight of that caused Billy to flinch and forced Rarity to re-fit her design, mumbling to herself about kids unable to hold still.
"There," she finally said after an hour of work. "You're all finished, take a look!" She swung a mirror around so Billy could see himself and he had to admit, she had done a good job. She had made him a very comfortable red shirt, but she had sown a yellow lightning bolt onto the side of it. When Billy saw it, he had gone straight into panic mode. Had she figured it out? Did she already know his secret?
"Cool shirt, but what's with the lightning?" he asked in as calm a voice as he could, which was not very calm. Spike was also looking at Rarity nervously, thinking along the same lines as Billy.
"Sweetie Belle told me that humans don't have cutie marks, but that if you could that you'd want a lightning bolt. I was originally against it, but it seems to go well with your shirt," she said with a shrug." Not sure why, it just felt right." Billy let out an inward sigh, relieved that it was only because Sweetie Belle had told her about the cutie mark thing. His new pants were made of a black felt that had the lightning bolt running down one leg, something that Billy like a lot.
"Thanks for the clothes, but I have no way to pay you back," he said with a slight smile. "But I can work it off if you want."
"Oh no darling, I don't need payment. You've been forced to live on your own in your world and then you get dragged here, I think you could use a little generosity."
"Well thanks again. I love to design," he said, glad to finally be able to move. He took one step forward and weakness over took him, resulting in him face planting the floor. The three ran over to his side as he tried to stand back up.
"Billy, you're still wounded, you need to rest," Twilight said gently, picking him up with magic and placing him on her back. "Thank you again for taking time out of your busy day to do this Rarity, it means a lot to me."
"Think nothing of it. Always happy to help," Rarity said with a wave as the three walked out of the shop and back to the library. Darkness was once again descended upon the town and all the ponies were heading inside, wrapping up the repairs for the day. Twilight opened the door to the library and carefully helped Billy over to a chair, which he collapsed in almost immediately.
"You alright Billy?" she asked with concern.
"Yeah, just a little tired," he said with a slight pant.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have made you stand like that for so long, I forgot how tired you were. Spike, would you kindly get him some pillows?" Spike ran upstairs and came back down a few seconds later with four pillows. He placed three of them on the floor and tossed the remaining one over to Billy. Billy hadn't been paying attention and the pillow hit him in the back of the head, knocking him out of the chair and to the floor.
"SPIKE! What are you doing?" Twilight yelled in disbelief, turning to the little dragon with rage in her eyes.
"Sorry Twi, I thought he could-" Spike's sentence was cut off as the pillow nailed him in the face and knocked him over. Twilight turned back to Billy, who was sitting up with a huge smile on his face. Spike tossed the pillow up and looked over at the smiling Billy, a smile of his own forming.
"Oh, so we're going to play like that are we?" he asked while lifting the pillow back up. Billy quickly got to his feet as Spike tossed the pillow at his head, missing by an inch. Billy picked up the pillow and hid behind a chair, tossing the pillow toward Spike. Spike blocked that pillow with another one before tossing that same pillow towards Billy, who got caught in the face again. Billy smiled and knocked over a few chairs, bringing them together to form a fort. Spike had hidden behind a pile of books on the floor and constructed a fort of his own, taking three of the pillows with him. The two began to throw the pillows back and forth at each other, laughing the entire time.
"Will you two cut it out? Billy needs to rest and I doubt that physical activities would be good for his recovery," Twilight said, getting in-between the two. "Now, what do you say we head up to bed?" Billy and Spike both looked at each other for a moment before two massive grins broke out on their faces. At almost the same time, the two of them each launched a pillow into Twilight's face, covering her in feathers. She slowly removed the feathers while Billy and Spike both rolled around on the ground laughing.
"Oh, it is on," Twilight said with an evil smile, levitating all four pillows around her. Spike and Billy stopped laughing in time to get hit under an avalanche of pillows. The two quickly dug themselves out and dove behind Spike's fort, taking cover from Twilight's assault. With a chuckle, Twilight levitated more pillows down from the upstairs closet. Spike and Billy both gulped as Twilight turned towards them with the pillows floating beside her, an evil smile on her face.
"Nice knowing you Spike," Billy said.
"You too Billy." And both of them were bombarded with a multitude of pillows, feathers flying everywhere. Twilight laughed as the two pushed the pillows off themselves, looking at each other and nodding. They both started chucking pillows at Twi, who either dodged or caught them with her magic. She returned fire and the two were forced to hide under the books.
"What do we do?" Billy asked spike, who was using a heavy book as a shield.
"We fight back!" Spike yelled with a laugh, tossing one of Twilight's books into the air. She immediately dropped her books to catch it, leaving her open for a pillow to the face. She smiled as she dropped the book and continued the ultimate battle of pillows. Their fight went on into the night for a few hours, finally wrapping up around midnight. Twilight was finishing up putting all the books back on the shelves that had fallen off during the battle.
"I have to admit, you two can really fight," she said with a chuckle, turning back around to where the two had been playing cards. A small smile crossed her face as she saw that the two had fallen asleep, cards still in their hands. Spike was completely passed out, lying on his back snoring like a bear. Billy had fallen asleep on his arms, snoring softly. She slowly removed the cards from his hands and put them back into the deck. She then grabbed a blanket for bill and gently draped it on his shoulders.
"Good night Billy," she whispered, picking up Spike and taking him upstairs to his bed. She placed Spike in his bed and then climbed into bed herself, looking out the window at the moon lit land, smiling to herself. She then rolled over and closed her eyes, quickly slipping off to sleep. But while she slept soundly, what she had failed to see was a very dark shadow heading to the town, bent on destruction.