Rarity’s leg gave out under her, the pain too much to bear. She limped on regardless, following the direction of the shadow. Behind her was the mature Ruin Worm, eating the forest and all the creatures within it. No matter how hard Twilight fought against it, the creature shrugged off her attacks and barely paid her any attention.
As Rarity continued she saw smaller worms jutting out of the soil around her. Earthworm-sized worms. They were black and squirmed as though under the shock of electricity. Shadows in the forest began feeding them dark magic, causing them to grow to pony-sized monsters within moments. Rarity continued on, determined to stop Sombra and convince him this wasn’t what he wanted. If he isn’t stopped soon he’ll mature all the worms of the forest! Not even all four princesses will be able to stop them!
A cart-sized Ruin Worm lunged for Rarity. Her mobility was hampered, but the baby worms were clumsy. She moved aside and used her magic to wield a thick branch like a toy sword. “Back! Back, I say!” she shouted, thrusting the branch at the monster.
The Ruin Worm latched its mouth onto the branch and began pulling deeper inside of its body, slowly destroying the branch in the process. Rarity let go of it with her magic and hobbled away. What was she going to do now? Fighting had never been her forte… normally when she got involved it was with the Elements of Harmony but… she couldn’t use them by herself…
Rainbow Dash flew in right as the worm made a second lunge. With one powerful kick to the body, the worm was thrown back into a tree and stunned.
“Rainbow Dash! I’m so glad to see you!” Rarity gasped in delight.
“Rarity, what’re you doing out here?” Rainbow Dash spat. “This isn’t a place for you!” She quickly scooped Rarity up into her hooves and flew away from the worm, leaving it far below them. Rainbow Dash turned toward Ponyville but Rarity shook her head.
“No, Rainbow Dash! You’re going the wrong way! We need to go deeper into the forest! Quickly! Before the worms get out of control!”
“Yeah, I know what’s deeper in the forest! More Ruin Worms!”
“No, Rainbow Dash! Sombra is there! We have to go talk to him!”
“Sombra? He’s behind some of this mess? I should’ve known! Let me get my hooves on him…” Rainbow Dash turned in a wide arch as she flew back in the direction Rarity had indicated.
“We mustn’t fight him!” Rarity pleaded. “I just need to talk to him!”
“We’ll see how well that turns out when we get there…”
Rainbow Dash was an apt and competent flier. Within moments they were near the other side of the Everfree Forest and Rarity knew they were close. “Down there!” she commanded Rainbow Dash. The both of them circled down. Rainbow Dash unceremoniously dropped Rarity to the ground when they landed, further exacerbating her wounded leg.
“Ah!” Rarity sucked in her breath, biting back the pain.
“Where are you, Sombra!?” Rainbow Dash shouted, never even noticing that her friend was in pain. “Come out, you coward!”
Dark laughter filled the clearing just at the edge of the forest. The shadows wrapped and formed the silhouette of a unicorn stallion. “You’re too late. The Ruin Worms are free and turning your pathetic village into rubble.”
“Oh yeah!? I’ll turn you to rubble!” Without so much as a glance back, Rainbow Dash burst forward, a stream of rainbow light behind her. Sombra dissipated into shadow fragments, allowing Rainbow Dash to pass through him harmlessly. Undeterred, Rainbow Dash flipped around and charged again, her anger ever more apparent on her face.
Sombra laughed as she passed by and allowed one of his shadows to hit the Pegasus out of the sky. Rainbow Dash tumbled to the ground but she wasn’t out for the count. In one swift move she jumped to her hooves and galloped toward him. At close range she bucked as hard as she could, but Sombra swiftly used his curved horn to knock Rainbow Dash away, cutting her legs in the process.
Rainbow Dash took to the sky, but the shadows lashed out faster. Once she was touched, black crystals sprang up on her feathers, weighing them down and preventing her from flying. Rainbow Dash crashed back to the ground with a hard thud, but even that wasn’t enough to stop her.
“Isthatallyougot!?” Rainbow Dash slurred. She shakily got to her feet and dug into the dirt.
“Sombra, stop!” Rarity called out, slowly limping into the commotion. “Stop this! You aren’t like this!”
Sombra sneered when she got closer and dismissively waved her away. “Leave me, peasant. You’re a distraction on my path to power. Nothing else matters. Not you, not your sister… nopony.”
“It’s the Nightmare Gem talking, not you! You must try and realize that!”
“The Nightmare Gem is me, fool! Get it through your thick skull… I am the dark, shadowy magic you see around you! The Shadow King himself!”
Before Rarity could answer, Rainbow Dash bucked Sombra across the face, sending him staggering backward. He rubbed at his jaw and narrowed his eyes into a glare at the earth-bound Pegasus.
“Whachagottasaynow?” Rainbow Dash boastfully slurred, preparing for anything attack.
Sombra unleashed a wave of dark magic upon the Pegasus, sending her into the dirt on her back. She was lying prone, now unconscious, and Sombra lifted a boulder with his unicorn magic to finish her off.
Rarity, despite the pain, leapt over Rainbow Dash. “No! Stop this!” Sombra hesitated and dropped the rock but his eyes and mannerisms told Rarity he wasn’t intending to halt any time soon. “You said you felt different around me! You said you could focus! Please try and remember!” Rarity used her magic to float his scarf over to him. He allowed it to be wrapped around his neck, much to Rarity’s surprise.
For a second he seemed to contemplate her offer, but that was short lived. “I’ve won, peasant. You’ve lost. Your friends should have dealt with me when they had the chance. Now I’ll go free.”
Suddenly, a Ruin Worm burst into the scene, destroying half the clearing in its quest to reach Sombra. “Tsk!” he grunted as he leapt out of the way. “Talking to these fools has distracted me… I cannot let the Ruin Worms sense my dark magic…” Like a shadow caught in sunlight, Sombra disappeared. The Ruin Worm, now without a target, began to thrash about, taking down anything in its way.
Like a true friend, Twilight Sparkle was there when Rainbow Dash and Rarity needed her most. She swooped in front of the Ruin Worm, distracting it and drawing it away from her injured friends. Rarity took this moment to scan the treetops of the forest. There must have been twenty worms now… all getting larger in size by the moment… We’ll never win at this rate… Never…
Inspired by what she had seen in Sombra’s dream, Rarity had a plan. She left Rainbow Dash’s side and walked out toward the Ruin Worm. She knew her plan was risky, but it was either this or sit by and watch the ponies she cared for tear each other apart while monsters destroyed her home.
“You! Brute!” Rarity used her magic to form a raw beam, but it was tiny and not very powerful. She was almost embarrassed when is fizzled against the hide of the worm like a defective firework.
Whatever she did, though, it had worked. The monster turned its attention to Rarity instead of Twilight Sparkle. Twilight flew down to rescue Rainbow Dash, but Rarity didn’t leave her spot. “Come and get me,” she proudly declared, resting her weight on her three good legs.
The worm, saliva dripping from its maw, raised up and prepared to plunge.
“Rarity! Run!” Twilight Sparkle commanded.
Rarity did no such thing. As the mouth of creature descended upon her, she closed her eyes. This better work… But… I wish I could have said goodbye to Sweetie Belle… Just in case…