//------------------------------//
// Chapter 10 - Return 
// Story: Kingdom of Friendship 
// by SkyFlare 
//------------------------------//

	Twilight was abruptly awakened by a guard.  “Twilight Sparkle, we have received word from the Princess that we need to move you to a more secure location.” 
Twilight yawned causing her eyes to tear up slightly.  “More secure?” she asked drowsily.
“Yes, Mayor Mare has suggested a tunnel system that can be found beneath the Town Hall.  Please come with me.”
“What about my friends?” Twilight asked as she climbed clumsily from her bed.
“They will be coming too.  But we must hurry; there isn’t a great deal of time.”
“What’s going on?” Spike asked, rubbing his eyes.
“We’re leaving.  I don’t have time to explain it again.” the guard grunted.
Twilight slowly started toward the stairs.  Spike jumped up and grabbed the sandwiches that he had prepared earlier and chased after Twilight.  The pair followed the grouchy guard through Ponyville.  The streets were just as empty as they were right before the Heartless first attacked.  It was eerie to Twilight, it made her feel sick to her stomach, as if something awful was about to happen.
“Hey Twi, why don’t you have a bite to eat?  You said that you were hungry last night, but you fell asleep before I could get the food to you.” Spike smiled, noticing Twilight’s less than thrilled expression.
“Thanks Spike.” Twilight smiled back, trying to refocus her attention.  “I’m sorry about that; I wasn’t intending to sleep for a while.”
“You needed it though, so don’t apologize.” Spike replied.
Twilight nodded before lifting a sandwich from the plate Spike was holding.  She took it to her mouth, trying to eat slowly as to not make herself any sicker than she already felt.  It was hard not to just swallow the sandwich whole, but she resisted the urge.
“We’ve arrived.” the guard stated, leading Twilight and Spike into the Town Hall.
They walked into a back area of the building that Twilight had never seen before.  It was dusty with cobwebs lining the corners.  In the center of the floor was a trapdoor, which the guard lifted slowly.  They were ushered into the caverns below the town.  Once the guard made his way down there, he started to lead them down a tunnel that had a green gem near the entrance.  There were five other paths, each having a different gem color at the entrance.  Green, red, blue, purple, yellow, and black gems designated each path.
They went down the tunnel for a few minutes before they reached a fork.  There were three paths that could be taken: white, blue, or black.  They took the white path, eventually taking another path that had a red gem.  The last turn that they made was to a path that had a yellow gem.  At the end of that path, instead of a fork, they reached a hub for the tunnels.  There were three entrances, including the one that they had taken.
“Twilight!” Pinkie Pie shouted cheerfully, bouncing over to her friend.
“Pinkie!  Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy!” Twilight noticed that each of her friends was inside the hub.  “Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, you’re here too?” she asked.
“So am I!” another voice laughed as it approached Twilight.
“Note!” Twilight saw the young colt as he galloped toward her.
“It was you who got rid of the black thing that was over the mountain, wasn’t it?” Note asked.  “I knew it was you!”
“You didn’t give me time to answer.” Twilight pulled her head to the side with a smile.
“Your expression says it all.”
“Note ere’s been tellin’ us ‘bout how ya saved him from a dragon Heartless.” Applejack smiled.
“Drake, but yes.  Where is Mist Valley?” Twilight asked, noticing that he was the one pony who seemed to be missing.
“He said that he had to take care of something.” Note answered, staring down at the ground.
Twilight didn’t have much time before she got pulled into a conversation about what all had happened while she had been away from her friends.  She came to tears after hearing about Blade’s passing, feeling like it was entirely her fault.
The hours passed and the group became impatient to leave.  The fillies needed more space to run; they had spent the hours coming up with ideas on how to earn their cutie marks.  Rarity had been standing on a blanket the whole time, avoiding any contact with dirt, as per the norm.  Rainbow Dash couldn’t fly very much so she was getting frustrated.
“How much longer are we going to have to stay in here?” Twilight asked as she walked up to the guard.
“Until Princess Celestia sends us word that it is safe for you to leave.” the guard answered, obviously aggravated by his task.
“What about Mist Valley?  Where is he, it’s been hours?” Twilight interrogated.
“He isn’t going to be here, I was told that I am only to watch eleven, not twelve.  There are eleven here, and so no more will be arriving.”
“What are you saying?” Twilight was getting angrier than she had thought possible while not under the influence of dark magic.
“I’m saying that everypony that is supposed to be here, is here.  So stop arguing and let me do my job.” the guard was almost to the point of shouting.
“What do you mean everypony is here?” Twilight shouted.  “Everypony is not here!  Mist Valley is not here!”
“The Princess told me that this could be my hardest job ever, but I thought that she was talking about Sombra, not some argumentative mare.” the stallion growled before walking out into one of the tunnels.
“What’s he saying?” asked Note as he walked up to Twilight, leaving the Crusaders behind.
“He’s saying that Valley isn’t supposed to be here.  But if the Princess is trying to protect me and my friends, he should be here.” Twilight answered.
“Maybe he’s just in a different place.” Rarity suggested, almost stepping off of her blanket.
“Yeah, they took Big McIntosh and Granny Smith to a different hidin’ spot.  Maybe he’s with them.” Applejack added.
“Why separate him from Note though, I don’t see the point.” Twilight argued, looking down at the worried colt.
“Maybe because of limited space?” Spike asked, trying to be helpful.
“We could comfortably fit another five or six ponies in here at least.” Twilight refuted his point as quickly as he could think of it.
“It was because he has something very important to do.” a new voice entered the conversation.  “I’m sure that the Princesses will not approve of me telling you this, but I felt you needed to know.”
“Vim!” Twilight spun around, locking eyes with the robed pony.  “What are you talking about?”
“He is helping them get to Sombra.  They feel that this is their only way to beat him.” Vim answered.  “I’m helping, but they want for you to stay here, where you’ll be safe.  I agree.”
“Twil-” Spike started, but Vim raised a hoof to her mouth and approached the dragon.
“Yes, that used to be my name, but your Twilight is much more deserving.  Let’s keep my original name our secret.” Vim whispered to Spike, making sure that nopony else would hear.
“Vim, what about the Keyblades?” Spike asked, “Shouldn’t we fight him with as many as possible?”
“I would normally agree with you, but if we are to fail, then nothing is standing between him and the rest of Equestria.  You and Twilight are the only two that will be able to stop him if that happens.” Vim explained.
Vim walked away and faced the stone walls that surrounded her.  She looked back and smiled at Spike one last time before teleporting away.  Spike silently nodded back, wishing the best for Vim on her mission.  Twilight stood there in awe, trying to grasp what Vim had told them.
Twilight shook her head before walking toward one of the tunnels that led out.  “Yellow, red, white, green.  I’m coming…” she muttered almost silently.  If it wasn’t for the complete silence at the moment, she wouldn’t have been heard.
“What are you planning?” Rainbow asked, swooping down in front of Twilight, blocking her path.
“I can’t let them fight him while I just stand here and relax.” Twilight snipped.  “I’m going to help.”
“You heard what Vim said, if they fail then it’s up to us.” Spike intruded, blocking Twilight as she tried to walk around Rainbow.
“The more help that they have, the better the chance to win.” Twilight argued, levitating Spike to the side.
“Then let me come with you.” Spike ran in her way again.
“No.” Twilight teleported past him that time.
“Why not?” Spike grabbed her tail.
“I’m not going to lose you again!” Twilight shouted as she teleported down the tunnel, out of her friends’ reach.
She paused for a moment and wiped her eyes.  She hadn’t even realized that she’d started crying.  The unicorn took a deep breath and started walking, hoping that she wouldn’t be too late.

“Isn’t anypony going to go after her?” Fluttershy asked, hovering over to the exit.
“That pony can be so stubborn!” Applejack shouted.
“Oh, look who is talking, miss ‘I don't need no help from nopony’ last Applebuck Season.” Rarity rolled her eyes.
“Oh would ya jus’ shut up, prissy.” Applejack grunted back.
“Why don’t we just stop fighting for ten seconds and help Twi!” Rainbow shouted.
“I’m in!” Pinkie yelled, cupping her hooves to improve the echo.  “She’ll need some help if she’s gonna fight all of those monster things.”
“But how are we going to get past the guard?  I can’t teleport like Twilight, especially with other ponies.” Rarity confessed.
“Get up by the wall, I have an idea.” Note stated.  “I will get them all to go to the center to help me, and while they’re distracted, you all can make a run for it.”
“Are ya sure?” Applejack asked.
“I want to help anyway that I can.  If this is where I can help the most, then that’s what I’ll do.” Note nodded as he darted to the center of the cave.
The remaining eight ponies and one dragon ran up to the side that Twilight had teleported down.  They squeezed as close to the wall as they could, clinging to the shadows for cover.
“Help me!” Note screamed from the distance.  “The monsters came and took the others!”
Instantly, six guards came rushing in, two from each of the three exits.  They met up and the center and began questioning the young colt, giving the others a chance to escape.  Rainbow Dash led them down the tunnel, since she was the one who had heard the pattern from Twilight.
They moved quickly through the tunnels, wanting to take advantage of the opportunity that Note had given them.  The only light in their path came from Rarity’s horn, which she tried to keep dim enough so that it would not reveal their location.
“Finally, the green tunnel.” Rainbow smiled as she took the final turn.
“All right, now that we are practically out, how are we going to get to Twilight?  Also, how do we intend to stop Sombra?” Rarity asked.
“I’ll find her since I can fight the Heartless.  I need you all to get to Canterlot as soon as you can.” Spike ran off, leaving his friends to their task.

“Midnight Vim, are you sure that you want to do it this way?” Luna asked the mare.
“Yes, I want to show him that I am better than he is.” Vim nodded.
“You must clear your mind if you are to overcome his powers.  You cannot let him access your hatred, lest he use it to control you.” Luna explained.
“I know… but what he’s done…  I can’t forgive him.” Vim whispered.
“I understand the darkness of your emotions, I do not know how it was in your world, but here, I let the darkness take hold of me.” Luna confessed.
“I heard about something, but I never really saw you, I was taken here a few years after… what I did…” Vim started a dig at the ground with one of her hooves.
“I fell victim to my own resentment for the love for the day that the ponies had.  I receded back into my darkness and became Nightmare Moon.  If it were not for the light that I had been shown, then I would have been beyond saving.”
“So you were Nightmare Moon.  The books in my universe claimed that one day; you would return and bring eternal night.  I wasn’t around for that though, Sombra had taken me into this universe by that point.”
Vim turned and started to walk away, she couldn’t bear thinking back to her old home.  Her actions terrified her, but she couldn’t deny them.  She couldn’t just blame Sombra for everything; it was her who committed all of those horrible acts.  Luna wasn’t helping, she had done terrible things, but she had been forgiven.  The only ponies who could forgive Vim, couldn’t anymore, she would have to live with guilt for the rest of her life.  She could only hope that her actions here would atone for her past.
She looked around the large throne room of the Canterlot Castle.  Luna had gone back to Celestia to speak with her.  Ironwall was standing next to Knight, Valley, and some other pony that Vim hadn’t met yet.  The last pony was a bigger unicorn stallion than the others, towering over them.  His sleek black mane had fallen over his eyes, covering practically his whole face.  His coat was a dark grey and he had a magnifying glass for a cutie mark.
Everypony had a group that they could relate with, but Vim was alone in every definition of the word.  She had nopony with whom she could speak to casually, nopony who she could confess her feelings to.  She did once, but he was gone and it was her fault.  She couldn’t bear to get close to anypony anymore; it just caused too much pain.
Soon a group of about five or six guards galloped toward the Princesses, undoubtedly telling them that it was time to make their move.  The Princesses turned to the five ponies that occupied the room other than themselves and the newest group of guards.  Princess Celestia took a slow step forward.
“All right, it appears to be growing close to the opportune time to make our move.  King Sombra seems to be focusing all of his Heartless to guard the northern border of the Empire.  Gather close and I shall teleport us to the southern border so that we can make our move.” Celestia declared.
Obediently, each of the ponies approached their Princess.  They were all engulfed in a bright, warm yellow light, teleporting them to Sombra’s domain.
“Now or never, Valley, Looker, with me.” Knight stated.
The trio moved stealthily toward the castle of King Sombra.  They focused on staying out of sight long enough to get inside the castle.  Luring him into the library where Celestia, Luna, and Vim could strike a surprise attack on him.
Celestia had cast a spell so that she could see everything that Knight could see.  The downsides were, she couldn’t move her body while the spell was active and she couldn’t see anything that Knight couldn’t see.
The bond of the spell broke as Celestia could feel her body falling.  When the Princess’s consciousness returned to her own body, she was being held up by Midnight Vim.  While her sister stood, mouth gaping open at a sight in the distance.  Ironwall was as focused on the sight as Luna.

Twilight stood at the edge of a massive, dark purple shield, staring more Heartless than she had thought existed.  As far as she could see, it was an endless sea of black with unblinking yellow eyes.  She’d beaten Princess Celestia there, meaning that she could possibly help them fight if she could find them.
On step forward and she’d be mauled.  The only thing that kept Sombra from coming out personally was the spell that Twilight had cast.  She made herself look different, a white mare with a blue mane and tail.  Her mane and tail were uncombed and looked messier than Rainbow Dash’s.  She’d also made it seem like there was an army behind her using an illusion spell, hoping that Sombra would try to figure out who was leading an army against him.  She prayed that he didn’t come out there to wipe them all out in one foul swoop, discovering her and making everypony’s efforts in vain.
“What am I doing?  One screw up and I’m dead, I should have waited where I would have met up with the Princess and everypony else…” Twilight muttered, second guessing her attempt to help.
She saw a shadow ascend from the ground amidst her illusion army.  The shadow slung its claws through one fake pony and it fizzed from existence.  The shadow sunk back into the ground and returned to its group.  As it did, a second, larger shadow formed in the ground, rising up slowly.
“Twilight, I know it’s you…” the shadow spoke with Sombra’s voice.  Twilight watched as color filled it and it became the King of Shadows himself.  “You can’t hide from me, I know where you were, I was just waiting for dear Celestia’s attack to fail so that they couldn’t get in my way again.”
Twilight made an illusion of herself and made it charge at Sombra.  The real Twilight was slowly backing up, hoping to not be noticed.
“Illusion spells are so beneath you, Twilight, especially those of this caliber.  We both know how competent you are, we’ve both seen you using the darkness.  Take that darkness and strike me, it’s your only hope.”
Twilight made another illusion, hoping that it was keeping Sombra from finding the real her.  The fake Twilight shouted, “Never!  I won’t go back to that!”
Sombra placed his hoof on the fake Twilight and the hoof passed through it.  “If you don’t, they could die.  What a tragedy that would be?” Sombra smirked, turning away from the real Twilight.
“Even if I did, you would kill them!” another copy Twilight shouted.
“I wouldn’t dare hurt them.  I don’t break my promises, they are my solemn vow.  You would kill them.  You wouldn’t be able to resist the urge, then you would become addicted, just like with dark magic.” Sombra laughed in his terrifying way.
“I don’t use dark magic anymore!”
“Killing a pony is scary at first; ask Vim, she’ll tell you.  But after she killed her mother, her father, and her brother, my prized pupil went on to kill her dimension’s Princess Celestia.  You will just have to start with Celestia, higher standards and all.”
“I won’t kill anypony but you!” Twilight had several clones, all shouting this in unison.
“It is that hatred that you feel for me that feeds the dark magic you use so willingly.” Sombra said in a way that made it feel like fact.
“I don’t use dark magic…” a clone muttered.
“I beg to differ, look at your horn.” Twilight felt a hoof touch her should and she jumped.
The unicorn spun around quickly as her eyes met a second Sombra.  The other was still testing the illusions.  There were two Sombra’s…
“How…” Twilight asked.
“Simple, the dark offers higher level illusion spells, one’s that don’t fade when they come into contact with anything.  I had one of my illusions distract you while I pushed you to the darkness.” Sombra explained.  “If you don’t use dark magic, do you mind explaining your horn to me?”
Twilight looked up and saw the tip of her horn, glowing with a dark smoke.  She’d gotten so scared that she hadn’t even noticed when she’d started using the darkness.  Her hooves scrambled across the snow as Twilight tried to escape Sombra’s reach.  With every step however, he teleported beside her.
“I- I…” Twilight stuttered.
“It’s more proof that you belong with me, not that light-loving feather brained Princess of yours.  Come Twilight, I can teach you so much more than Celestia could ever dream of knowing.” Sombra offered Twilight a second chance to go with him, but no lies this time, everypony would die.
“I’d rather… die…” Twilight summoned her Keyblade, the Dawn Star.
“Try this one.” Sombra used his magic to toss over a new keychain.
Twilight caught it with her magic and it instantly summoned a Keyblade.  The blade was tipped with three black crystals that shared a point of origin.  The guard on the handle was shaped like two bat wings coming together.
“Black Diamond.  Very few wielders were able to summon this Keyblade, even back in ancient times, ages before Star Swirl the Bearded’s great grandmother had even been thought of.  You are the first wielder in over a thousand years, and the first in over ten times that to be able to hold the Black Diamond.” Sombra smiled.
Twilight could feel a power coursing through her body.  It was unlike anything that she’d ever felt before, but it didn’t feel scary.  It was warm, like a bright summer morning, not like that shadows that the name made her think.
“The Keyblade doesn’t seem to agree with what you’re saying, Sombra.” Twilight smirked.  “It was called Black Diamond by one pony and one pony only, you.  To the last pony who could wield it, the Keyblade was named Crystal Light.”
As the words left Twilight’s mouth, the Keyblade began to glow a brilliant gold as the form changed.  The bat wings became the wings of pegasi and the black crystals at the end turned gold.  The center rod of the Keyblade faded from black until it was white.
The Keyblade flashed a white light and Sombra vanished, teleported away unwillingly.  Twilight was left standing alone with her group of illusions.  Seconds later a darkness gripped the Crystal Empire castle and pulled it to the ground.  Through the falling rubble, Twilight could make out four shapes on the other side of the castle.  Two alicorns, a unicorn, and an earth pony.