Around mid-day, Trixie and the others came back to the door that only she and Starshine had been to before. Sombra laughed at it as Armora looked over it with interest.
"It smells ancient," Bark muttered as he sniffed it once. "Not as old as Sombra, but still fairly old." Sombra muttered something as Trixie walked back into the wagon, picking up all of the items that they had spent so long collecting and bringing them back outside.
"Then I think it's time we busted the old doors open and find out what's behind those giant doors," she said with a smirk as she walked up to each of the members. "Armora, I believe that you should be the one to insert the claw. Your actions have spoken more than your words ever could, and I feel like you deserve it." Armora bowed slightly as she took the claw while Trixie moved over to Bark.
"Bark, you can place the horn," she said with a smile before looking at Sombra, who shrugged and placed a hoof on his horn, muttering a word before taking it off. "You've been a steadfast ally and have helped us in tough times when we were lost. I would be honored if you would do this."
"I'll be wanting that back," Sombra said as he gave the horn to him before Trixie walked over to Sombra, a smile on her face as she levitated the trident to him.
"I didn't know if I could trust you, Sombra," she began. "Your spotty record, your reputation and your attitude made you a pony that I believed would place a knife between my shoulder blades just as soon as help me. But over time you have proven to be a great, if not a somewhat reluctant, ally. And by coming back to not only save us but also face your fears, you proved your worth to all of us. The trident is yours." Sombra said nothing as he took the trident, but he did nod towards her with a smile on his face.
"Are you certain? My wish is to get revenge on the princesses," he reminded her.
"I am certain. Just as I am certain that revenge may no longer be what you live for," she said with a knowing smile as she walked past him over to Starshine, who looked up at her with a bright smile as she smiled at him. "And you, my little Starshine, I give you the ruby of the very first adventure we went on. You are brave, you are courageous and you have a will that cannot be matched. The ruby is yours."
"Thanks Trixie," he said as he took it from her with a smile, before he and the others walked over to the door. Sombra tried to go first, but Armora passed him and placed her claw in its slot before he could react, smiling at him while she walked past as he grumbled. Starshine ran past as Sombra continued to grumble and threw his ruby at its slot, missing the first throw but making it on the second. Sombra glared at Bark once Starshine ran past, but the Diamond Dog motioned for him to go ahead. Sombra smiled as he placed the trident into its spot before helping the dog find his way to his spot. Bark placed the final item in the slot and stood back, all of them waiting for something to happen.
'They have been retrieved!' a voice echoed throughout the forest as the doors began to open, shaking the forest as the group backed away from them. Once the doors had fully opened, the items fell out of their spots and to the ground, allowing the group to pick them back up. Sombra reclaimed his horn, but tossed the trident to Armora, saying how he didn't want it. Bark took the claw and placed it over his own, smiling at how it fit perfectly. And finally Starshine took the ruby and held onto it as they all stared at the entrance.
"Well, I think it should be our fearless leader who goes in first," Sombra said as he looked to Trixie, the others backing away so that she could go first. She was touched and started to walk forward before she looked back at Sombra with a sly smile.
"Are you using me to check for traps?" she asked him.
"Hey, I'm not immortal anymore." She rolled her eyes but moved forward anyway as the others followed behind her, each of them nervously waiting to see what would be on the other side.
"It's...books," Trixie said with amazement, because the first room they came into was a huge library filled with books, more books than she had ever seen in any library across all of Equestria, even Canterlot. Sombra made a crack about what an egghead Star-Swirl was, while Trixie began to look at all the books, thinking of all the knowledge that could be within these pages. She had pulled out a stack of them and was set to read them when Bark cleared his throat.
"Trixie, I do not mean to rush you, but these books are not the reason we are here," he said, Sombra agreeing with him. "There is still the wish to look for as well."
"I suppose," Trixie said with a sad sigh as she put the books away, promising to come back for them. "The wish that is said to grant the pony whatever they need most. If I know Star-Swirl, it will be in the center of the temple. Let us go look." The group continued on, walking past a number of odd rooms that amazed them as well. One room was filled with cauldrons and vials filled with every kind of potion imaginable. Another was filled with all sorts of crystals and gems that none of them had seen before, forcing Trixie to drag Sombra past it. The final room was less of a room and more like a giant bridge that was completely made of diamonds, stretching towards a circular platform at the end of it, which housed a crystal with a rainbow of colors swirling around it.
"That must be it," Bark said as all ponies looked upon it. "Even though I can't see it, I can still feel it and it feels powerful. That is the stone that will grant our wish. Let us go." The group walked across the diamond bridge to the room, all of them stopping just outside of the circle as they looked at each other.
"I guess the only question now is who goes first?" Trixie asked, causing every eye to look over at Sombra.
"What, you assume that I would just go in there first without any thought of you four?" He asked in an insulted voice before a smile crossed his face. "Yeah, I probably would. But how about this: We let the kid go first. I'd like to see what his wish is." Trixie looked to Starshine who nodded excitedly and raced into the circle, feeling a powerful magic begin to encompass him. He blinked once, and when he did he found a pony with a magnificent beard standing before him.
"Are you Star-Swirl?" Starshine asked, and the pony chuckled with a shake of his head.
"I am a memory of him, left behind to aid any who managed to make it into this temple," he replied with a smile. "Now then, I believe that you are owed a wish. What do you want it to be?" Starshine lowered his head for a moment before he looked up at the pony.
"I wish for a family." Star-Swirl smiled at the colt for a moment before he glowed once.
"Done." Starshine looked around excitedly for a moment before he realized that nothing had changed. He looked up at the smiling Star-Swirl again as the pony began to chuckle. "I am sorry Starshine, but I cannot give you something you already have." Starshine looked at him in confusion before he looked back at Trixie and the others, all of whom were looking at him with smiles, even if they were confused ones.
"I've been with my family this entire time," he said with a smile as he figure out what Star-Swirl was saying. "I've just been too blind to see it."
"No, it's probably because your mane has been in your eyes this entire time," Star-Swirl said with a chuckle as he looked at Starshine's mane, which had almost grown back out. "Now, go to them." Starshine smiled and ran out of the circle, where Trixie looked at him with concern.
"What is the matter? Didn't he grant your wish?" she asked him before he tackled her with a hug, looking up at her with a smile.
"He didn't need to, I've had my family all along," he said as he went back to hugging her. She smiled in return and hugged him back before he broke free and hugged Armora and Bark, before looking up at Sombra. "I guess I can," he said before hugging Sombra, who had no idea how to respond to the show of emotion. Starshine let go with a smile as he joined Trixie's side again.
"Guess I'll go next," Sombra said with a smile, only to realize that Armora was already in the circle. "One of these days I swear I'm going to..." Armora looked around inside of the circle before Star-Swirl appeared in front of her as well, causing her to back up and draw her blade.
"Do not worry, I won't and cannot hurt you," Star-Swirl said to her, smiling as she put her blade in its sheath. "But I cannot try to guess what you could want." Armora buzzed a few times in response and Star-Swirl smiled at her, understanding her every word. "Yes, rest is most often what a warrior wants. But let me ask you this: Despite hating the path that you have taken, how much good have you done once you joined with Trixie and the others? How many lives have you made better?" Armora looked back at the group with a small smile as Star-Swirl smiled. "Maybe that is your path, not to be a weapon but a protector." Armora sighed in defeat before walking out of the circle, Star-Swirl vanishing once again.
"So, did he grant your wish?" Trixie asked her, and she shook her head but buzzed a few times, everypony then looking to Sombra.
"She said that instead of granting her wish, he showed her a reason to keep on living," he translated. Trixie smiled at Armora and pulled her into a hug, while Sombra tried to sneak into the circle next.
"Sorry Sombra, but I'd like to return the favor that I gave you at the door," Bark said as he placed a paw on Sombra' shoulder and walked by him. Sombra growled in frustration and slammed his head into the ground in rage as Bark walked into the circle.
"May I guess what you want?" Star-Swirl said as he rematerialized, Bark turning his head towards Star-Swirl's voice. "You wish to have your sight restored?"
"No. I was more blind when I had my sight, and only once I had lost it did I finally see," Bark replied as he sniffed the air. "But as for what I want...actually, what I need, I simply want to know the answer to a question."
"And what question is that?" Star-Swirl asked.
"...Is there hope for my son?" he asked. "Can he pull himself out of this dark pit he has fallen into?" Star-Swirl lowered his head for a moment before he looked up with a smile.
"There is hope for him, but it will be a tough battle for him to fight alone," Star-Swirl replied. "But with the help of his family, he just might make it." Bark sighed in relief and thanked Star-Swirl as he walked out of the circle, telling the others what he had asked. Trixie looked over at Sombra who was glaring at her, daring her to try and go up.
"Oh alright Sombra, go ahead," Trixie said, Sombra shooting up to the circle while Starshine looked up at her.
"Are you sure about this?" he whispered. "Sombra said that..."
"I know what he said, but that was when we first met him," Trixie replied. "I have a feeling that things might be different now." Sombra walked into the middle of the circle and looked at the rainbow gem, snarling as he threw his head back.
"Star-Swirl! Grant me the power to destroy the princesses! To do to them what they did to me!" He looked around after he said this for the wizard, but he never appeared. Sombra was about to start blasting in a rage when he heard hoof-steps behind him. He spun around with his horn glowing, but it went out as disbelief filled his eyes.
"No...it can't be," he whispered as a sea pony walked up to him. She was the same color as the sea and had a tail with fins on it in place of a pony's tail, and fins on her head in place of ears. But her eyes are what told Sombra who she was, eyes that he knew since they were little. "Gloria, it can't be..." he said.
"It is, Dad," she said with a smile as she walked up to him, wrapping her arms around his neck as she pulled him into a hug, Sombra returning the gesture after a moment.
"But...how?" he asked her as she let go. "You died...I saw it happen."
"Because this is your wish," she said with a smile as she placed a hoof on his cheek. "And because I needed to see you, to speak with you. I've been watching over you ever since that day and I'm...so sorry. If I had only listened to you and stayed inside instead of heading out to town-"
"Don't apologize," Sombra said to cut her off as he pulled her into another hug, doing everything in his power to keep himself from crying. "I should be the one apologizing. If I had only been stronger, if I had only been there..."
"You can't be everywhere at once," Gloria replied as she returned the hug. "But the reason I'm here now is to tell you to let go of the grudge you hold against the princesses."
"I can't..." Sombra said weakly. "They took you from me...they killed you that day..."
"They did not mean to. All they were doing was stopping a pony they thought to be evil," she replied gently. "They just never got to know you like I have. But now I'm asking you to let go of the past...to let go of me."
"No...I can't..." he replied weakly as he sank to the ground, looking up at her with tear-stained eyes. "You were my only source of joy, the only thing I cared about more than castles or crystals...you were my daughter."
"And that's why I have to ask you to let go," she replied as she began to back away. "This path, this holding onto your past and revenge, it's destroying you. You have to let me go." Sombra's will gave out and he let the tears fall silently from his face.
"But you're all I have..." he whispered.
"Not any more. You have new friends now...a new family," she said as she pointed over to Trixie and the others. "So please, as your caring daughter who only wants the best for you, let me go. Let go of the hate and live, for the both of us. Not as a revenge-filled pony, but as the loving pony I knew. Promise me."
"I...I promise I'll try," he whispered as he closed his eyes. When he opened them again she was gone, leaving Sombra to sit there for a moment before getting back to his hooves and walking out of the circle, where he walked past the others and sat at the edge of the circle, staring into the nothingness. Starshine tried to walk over to him, but Trixie held out her arm to stop him, shaking her head. Trixie inhaled once before she too walked into the circle, watching as Star-Swirl materialized in front of her.
"Hello there young...can it be?" he asked in disbelief as he looked at Trixie with amazement. "Could it be...I am sorry, it is not important. What is your wish?" Trixie lowered her head for a moment, thinking about what she wanted...what she needed.
"Can you erase me?" she asked him, causing Star-Swirl to raise an eyebrow in confusion.
"I don't follow," he responded.
"I shouldn't even be alive, not after all that I have done! All the ponies in this land fear me, to the point where they'll stay awake at night guarding their homes when they get word that I am near! Can you remove me from their minds, remove the fear from everyone of them?! Nothing I do matters to them, so I just wish to be forgotten." Then, to the utter shock of Trixie, Star-Swirl began to laugh.
"Forgive me Trixie, but what you said cracked me up a bit," he said before taking on a more serious face. "You say that your actions don't matter, but I say that you need to open your eyes and look around you. Or rather, look behind you." Trixie did as he said and saw Armora, Bark and Starshine all looking up at her, with Sombra still staring into the void.
"I see my friends," she replied. "What of it?"
"What of it? If it hadn't been for you, none of them would be alive," Star-Swirl told her with a frown. "Starshine would have probably died in the streets, alone and unloved, if you hadn't taken him into your home. Sombra would have never been able to show whom he could become if you hadn't taken the time to help him. Armora would have fought 'til she died if you hadn't healed her wounds, both physical and emotional. And Bark would have died in his cell, knowing that his son was going down a dark path to his own destruction had you not offered to let him come with you. From what I've seen, your actions have benefitted so many, yet you always look to your failures instead of your success."
"But the world still hates me," she whispered. Star-Swirl walked over to her and lifted her head so she could see into his eyes.
"But did that stop you from helping others, from trying to be the best pony you could be?" he asked her as he backed away. "You have shown so much generosity to others despite the hatred they showed to you. Maybe it's time you take a look at what you have achieved," he said as he motioned to the others. "Instead of what you have yet to achieve." Trixie looked at her friends for a moment before she let tears silently fall down her smiling face as she looked back to Star-Swirl.
"You changed their lives Trixie, never forget that," he said to her with a smile before his eyes grew wide. Trixie turned to see where he was looking to see that the silver mare was standing in front of the circle, looking at Trixie with urgency. "Go Trixie, this will be important."
"What is the matter?" she asked the silver mare, who waited until Sombra had come over before she spoke.
'The sixth has been found and the Dark Knight has failed to stop the darkness from coming,' she said quickly as Trixie's eyes widened. 'The time has come for you to stand with the Knight and fight against the evil, or all of this world will be consumed by the demons.'
"What demons?" Sombra asked her in a dead voice. "There are a number of them you know."
'Two of the most dangerous. Azarock and Daragon.' Sombra's eyes widened as she said this, and Trixie knew why. She had only read the legends about the two demons, who had once battled for control over all of the world. 'She fights them alone, but she stands no chance. You must aid her.'
"Of course I will," Trixie said as she looked to Starshine. "I want you to stay with Sombra and the others. I will be back if we win."
"The hell you will." The group all looked to Sombra, who shook his head at her with a fire in his eyes. "I fought Dagaron back when I ruled over the Crystal Empire and I know it is a battle that you can't win alone, especially if his brother is there to back him up. If I wish to honor Gloria's last wish, then I have to help you. And I will."
"As will I," Bark said as well. "The demons pose a threat to all of Equestria, not just Canterlot. I will fight beside my friends." Armora buzzed fiercely in response as well and Sombra translated that she would fight to the death alongside Trixie.
"And we're family now," Starshine said as he looked up at her. "And family has to stick together, especially in the most dangerous of times. So don't tell any of us to stay behind, because we're all going." Trixie looked around at them all with pure gratitude showing in her eyes. She smiled once before looking at all of them with a stern look.
"Alright then, but we're going to need every edge that we can get. Sombra, gather those crystal you used on the kraken and bring them here. Armora, any healing potions in the wagon will also be needed. Starshine...stay close to one of us once we get there, since we don't know exactly what we're up against. And you," she said as she faced the silver mare. "Once we get there I want you to aid me and Batmare." The silver mare nodded and all of the group members ran off to their different jobs, leaving the silver mare alone with Star-Swirl.
'So why didn't you tell her?' she asked the pony.
"Tell her what?"
'That she's your descendant. I think she would have liked to known.' Star-Swirl sighed as he watched Trixie go before he looked up to the crystal.
"Because compared to all she has done, my achievements are child's play," he replied with a sigh. "She is already so much greater than me, why bother telling her something that doesn't matter?" The silver mare nodded with agreement. Trixie had just gathered the crystals from the wagon when Sombra walked up beside her, looking at the golden mask that she had pulled out of the chest.
"You know, I never understood why you would work with Morgaine in the first place," Sombra muttered as he picked up the mask. "Yeah, in everything I read it was because you were evil or something along those lines, but I know that's not true. So what's the real reason?" Trixie stopped what she was doing and looked over to the mask, a sad sigh escaping her lips.
"Because she was a mother to me," Trixie said. "My actual parents kicked me out when I was little for being a failure at magic, so when Morgaine took me under her wing...I was ready to do anything for her, even take down the princesses and all of Equestria. If a certain filly hadn't helped to see through my own hatred, I may have just doomed everypony."
"So that's why you took in Starshine and the rest of us," Sombra said with certainty. "Because you hate to see that happen to any pony else." Trixie nodded as she slipped the crystals over her neck, heading out of the wagon before Sombra stopped her.
"You asked me why I stayed behind in Atlantis when I could have escaped at anytime, well...Gloria is the answer," he said weakly. "I had met her when I first went to Atlantis as an ambassador, and she...saw through me, through the king and the evil pony. Only she saw the tiniest of good that I had within me, and brought it out. Over time, I got to know her and began to care for her. So when I found out that she was to be sacrificed to the kraken, I had to figure out a way to get her out before she did was sacrificed, even if it meant I had to endure whatever the kraken could throw at me." He hung his head as he said this, before slightly raising it as Trixie hugged him gently.
"Thank you for telling me," she said as she let go. "And for letting me see the real pony underneath all the arrogance and showboating."
"That damned silver mare said that I was different from all the other Sombra's she had met in the other worlds, so I guess I should thank Gloria for that," he said. "But it was all of you who helped me pull myself out of the dark...a bit. I'll still always be somewhat evil."
"We'll work on that," Trixie said as she turned to the temple. "But she would have been proud to see whom you had become in such a short time."
"Don't think too highly of me yet Trix, we still have to go save the world," he said with a smirk as they headed back to where the silver mare was.
"We're ready," Trixie said to the silver mare, who nodded and began her teleportation spell. Trixie took one last look at Star-Swirl the Bearded before she got something. 'He grants what we need, not what we wish for,' she realized. 'That's why he didn't appear for Sombra and he only talked to the rest of us. We already had all we needed.' The spell finished and the group vanished in a flash of silver, leaving the chamber as empty as it had been for five hundred years.
/T\
Trixie and the others appeared on one of the roof tops of Canterlot, but they all gasped when they saw the city. Demons were running through it and killing all in their path, while a giant pillar of darkness shot out of the roof of the castle, letting Trixie know what was happening.
"The demons are releasing their armies into the land of the living!" Trixie yelled as she blasted one of the demons off a guard. "So we'll have to--"
"Trixie! Over there!" Trixie looked to where Starshine was pointing to see a creature covered entirely in white swat away a pony that wore armor that looked like a bat. Trixie realized who that was and what was happening and knew she had to react fast. She leapt off the rooftop where she stood and used her magic to shoot herself over to the castle, landing on the building beside it just as the demon walked towards the fallen Batmare. Right before it could finish her off, however, a bolt of azure struck the creature down and sent it skidding across the rooftops. Batmare raised her head toward where the blast had come, knowing only one pony with magic like that.
"Trixie."