//------------------------------// // Chapter 9 // Story: A Dark Twilight // by Ugly-Duckling123 //------------------------------// Twilight had stopped looking at the walls watching her friends, and turned her attention towards the Crystal Heart, which had gone black. She was recalling what Starswirl had said... "Know one side will make your friends happy, while the other will put them in shackles and will be forced to pull carts hating you for the rest of eternity." Looking at the Heart Twilight remembered how she had found it... With her friends she put on a Crystal Fair, and she had made a crystal heart, only to find out it was not the one the history book was talking about. Then she and Spike went searching inside the Palace trying to find it while her friends kept the fair going. But as Twilight and Spike found the Heart, Twilight set off a trap, and had to send Spike out to give it to Cadence. "Cadence..." Twilight said turning her thoughts on her old foal-sitter. Cadence had always been so forgiving, so kind, helpful, and thankful when Twilight rescued her from the Canterlot caves so she could have her wedding day with Shining Armour. Sighing... Twilight now thought about her brother. How he was always there for her, how they never had a single fight when they were kids, how he taught her to fly a kite, how even though he didn't believe her at his wedding rehearsals he forgave her once Chrysalis was gone and the real Cadence was back. Tears were starting to sting her eyes. What had she become? Why was she being so mean and heartless? Was this what Discord felt when he didn't have friends? Was this why he turned evil? "Well I have friends," Twilight said wiping her eyes with the back of her hoof, "And I will not let them get hurt because of some spell Sombra put on me." The Crystal Heart began to glow again, and shone it's light all around the cave. "Twilight, I've gotten inside their stupid Palace," Sombra's voice told her. "It's time to take the thrones my queen..." Nodding to herself knowing what to do, Twilight grabbed the Heart, put it back in the saddlebag from before, and teleported to the Palace's throne room. In the throne room, the rest of the main six took up fighting positions around Cadence while Shining Armour was staring Sombra in the eye, charging up his horn. Sombra looked around the room, then his eyes fell on Celestia an Luna their horns glowing as well. "Ah... Nice to see you two have not changed since the last time we met," Sombra said, shaking his head grinning. "When you berried me under the snow for a thousand years!" his eyes shot open as he fired two beams of Dark Magic at the sisters, who started fidgeting. Every-pony knew what their worse fears were, Luna's was turning back into Nightmare Moon. While Celestia's was losing her only sister to that darkness. Suddenly Sombra was caught off guard by a green fire ball Spike had shot at him. "Give us back Twilight you big fake!" he screamed trying to get to Sombra to rip him to pieces only to be held back by Applejack and Rainbow Dash. "How can I give back something I did not take Dragon?" Sombra asked smirking at how much Spike was trying to get to him. "She came to me willingly. Granted I gave her some of my Darkness to help her choose to come to me... But in the end Twilight Sparkle choose to be my Queen." He smiled as this only made Spike fight against his friends even more. "My sister will never be yours Sombra!" Shining Armour said firing a shot at the king. "And never will this Empire." "Ha! You sound like Rubeus when you say that Young Prince." Sombra said laughing. "So I guess it will end in the same way as well..." Sombra fired a spell of darkness at Shining Armour, who fired one of his protection spells right back. Both stallions held up rather well, and had to cut their magic off so not to be tired out. "You're very good Prince, I can see why she," he pointed to Cadence who was being protected by Rarity, Pinkamena and Fluttershy, "wanted you." "She wanted me because she loved me, not my power." Shining Armour said panting a bit. "Also what Rubeus said." Sombra said shaking his head. "Lets just get on with this so we can get Twilight back," Rainbow Dash said flying a kick right at Sombra, who dogged making Rainbow who was flying too fast to slow down, hit the wall. "I would have thought you learnt something about that from Discord Rainbow Dash." Sombra said hitting her with his magic now. Rainbow Dash was a five year-old filly, flying in between two other Pegasi. The stallion, Spectrum Dash, had rainbow colored hair just like his daughter. While the mare, Firefly had Rainbow's cyan blue fur and magenta eyes. They had just left the Cloudsdale Couldasseum after Rainbow saw her first Wonderbolts show. "Mom, Dad I want to be a Wonderbolt," Rainbow said smiling. "Ha like you could ever fly as good as a Wonderbolt Rainbow," Spectrum laughed making Rainbow freeze in mid-air stunned at what her father had said. "Wha... What do you mean Daddy?" Rainbow asked tears in her eyes. "He means look at your tiny wings darling," Firefly answered pointing out her daughter's wings to her. "You're barely getting off the ground as it is, do you really think you'd be able to fly as great as a Wonderbolt someday?" "I'll show you I can fly!" Rainbow muttered tears leaking out of her eyes as she was affected by Sombra's spell. "So," Sombra said turning back to the rest of the ponies. "Who's next?" Twilight Sparkle had been spying on what Sombra was doing to her friends and family the whole time. Every second more getting more angry at the King for the pain he was giving them. "Spying is not very lady like my dear," a voice said. Spinning around, Twilight saw a red crystal Alicorn standing next to a pink one in a sky blue dress. Not knowing what to say, but thinking 'since their Alicorns they must be royalty', she bowed. "No need to bow to us Clover the Clever," Rubeus said nodding to her. "If anything, in some ways we should be bowing to you for all you have done for our Crystal Empire." "But... But I haven't done anything for the Empire," Twilight said looking up at the king and queen. "If anything now I've made things worst." she said tears forming. "That may be the case, my dear," Rose said smiling "But you've bought the Heart back to us, twice." she said pointing to the saddlebag. "And even though you have had Sombra's Dark Magic within you for so long, you never lost your feeling for you friends." "So how are my friends and I going to save the Empire now?" Twilight asked opening the door again to the evil that was going on in the throne room. Two more friends were down. "You will need to use the Scepter, using all your love for your friends and family, along with the Heart to destroy Sombra and banish him from your mind." Rubeus said teaching her how to use the Scepter. "But, will it work, with Darkness inside me?" Twilight asked turning back to the king and queen, only to see they were gone. Sighing, Twilight teleported to the other side of the door knowing to act as though she was still on the side of Darkness, for now.