Hold Your Color

by Quillery

A Midnight Intervention

Dash was at a loss for words as she stood only a short distance from a living, breathing King Sombra. His eyes were focused in a motionless stare in her direction. There wasn’t a twitch or flicker of interest in them as he stared while listening quietly to the resonant chanting from the thralls that stood around him.

The lighting of the room was provided by a circle of candles which cast everything in shadows and dim silhouettes. The flickering candlelight danced in Sombra’s eyes, revealing an endless void of black behind them.

Dash took a single, careful step backwards towards her friends. “W-what is this?” she said. “Where are we?”

She turned to her friends. Shining Armor, Edweena, Yearling and Princess Luna all stood, frozen in confusion and fear as they stared at the sight of what should have been the late King Sombra, standing in the center of a dark, gloomy ritual chamber.

Luna sucked in a sharp, pained breath. “This… this is the Crystal Empire… one thousand years ago…”

“Is this a dream?”

“No… A clairvoyance charm… Meant not to recite what happened to Sombra in a book, but to show me first hoof…”

At that moment, the doors of the chamber burst open. An elderly pony strode in. He wore a grey robe with his hood folded back. A large, gilded book hung from his sides by a chain, bearing the exact symbol as the book in Dash's hooves.

The scrivener strode up to Sombra, who only barely acknowledged his presence with a faint glance. The elder’s face was set in anger, his hooves echoing against the chamber walls.

“Your Highness, I must insist!” he shouted. “This madness has gone on long enough! Your people yearn to see their beloved king’s face once again, and all you do is hide in the shadows of your palace!”

Sombra’s eyes drifted once more, regarding the scrivener with cold indifference. “What do the people know of the shadows I face?” he said. His voice was deep, resonant, earthly. “The shadows they all face. We are besieged on all sides, and they are blind to see it.”

“Besieged by what? Ghosts and myths? The Windigoes have been dead and gone for millennia. We are in a time of peace and prosperity. The people of your empire deserve joy and happiness, not fear and tyranny!”

Sombra at last turned his head. “Then… if the people are unhappy free under a king, then they shall live in chains as slaves under an emperor.”

The scrivener stepped back, shocked. “You… you cannot be serious my king! Can you not hear yourself speak? You speak of slavery like it was a simple choice. You speak of monsters at our gates when there are none. The only evils in this place is that witch you call a wife.”

Sombra’s eyes smoldered. “You would insult your queen in the presence of your king?”

The scrivener stomped his hooves. “I insult no queen, only a monster! She has poisoned your mind! Can you not see that?!”

Once again, the doors burst open. This time, a tall, slender mare strode in. She held her head regally under the weight of her crown and the the burden of her attire. Her mane flowed like a river of ink, and her eyes glittered like diamonds as she stared at the frustrated old pony she slowly approached.

The hooded ponies surrounding the circle bowed their heads to the mare’s entrance and began to chant louder. There was a bloated stillness in the air as she passed the scrivener. Sweat beaded at his temples as he watched her carefully.

The new mare stopped beside Sombra and kissed him gently on the cheek. “You are looking well, my King,” she said. Her voice dripped with ice that sent shivers down Dash’s spine.

“As do you, my Queen,” Sombra replied. He turned to the scrivener. “Perhaps, my trusted scribe, if you are so bold to defame my beloved in my presence, can you do so in hers?”

Amusement flickered in the mare’s eyes. “Oh, has he been saying things behind my back again? I do so enjoy the gossip that reaches my ears. I have not fully tallied the amount of dungeon space we shall need, but I would be thrilled to make room for another.”

She leaned in closer towards the scrivener, dangerously close. “Well? I’m listening.”

“I...I,” the scrivener stammered.

The queen puckered her lips in disappointment .”Oh, pity. I was looking so forward to a trading of insults from this old windbag.” She glanced at Sombra. “Why do you keep this pile of bones and dust around, my love? What purpose does he serve to your greatness?”

Sombra’s eyebrows arched as he glared into the scriveners eyes. “The scrivener will do his duty, as he always has. He will witness this time of rebirth under your guidance and record it into the annals of history as he always has. Then the world will know our power, our greatness, as we ascend into the realm of gods.” Sombra nuzzled his wife, which brought a sickening feeling to Dash’s stomach as she watched. “Only the best for you, my beloved Nocturne.”

Nocturne’s eyes flickered as she swooned at the touch of her husband. “You are too kind, my King. It will be your greatness that the world will be held to account for. I am merely your humble servant.”

“I will do no such thing!” the scrivener shouted. “I will take no part in this madness!”

Nocturne turned away from Sombra, her head still pressed into his neck as she stared at the scrivener with narrowed eyes. “Oh! There is the resistance I wanted! Please! More! It will please me to see you tremble and beg for your lords mercy once he has ascended into godhood and tires of your service.”

The scrivener at last found resolve as he glared into Nocturne’s eyes. “I am not afraid of you any longer, you witch! You poison our king's mind with your promises of power and turned him against his own people. You fill his mind with illusions of shadows and monsters that besiege our gates when there are none! How do you expect to succeed when the people revolt?”

Nocturne laughed, causing a chill to crawl through Dash’s skin. Nocturne’s laugh was loud enough to sting, quiet enough to infest, and cold enough to freeze the blood in her veins. And it was so painfully familiar, memories grasping at the corners of her mind.

“I would like to see them revolt against the power our lord Sombra will command upon this very evening. Not even the princesses will contend with his might.”

The scrivener smiled. “Then we shall see very soon, witch. They should be here soon to stop this insanity.”

At last, Nocturne’s expression turned fearful. Her eyes twitched slightly as she mouthed her next words carefully. “What did you say?”

“I said the princesses should be here shortly. I warned them of your mad ritual and they have dispatched from Canterlot already. It will not be long until they arrive to purge your evil from this land and our king.”

Nocturne bared her teeth in rage. “Guards! I want his head for this treason!”

The scrivener didn’t blink as armored guards approached him and braced against his sides. He maintained his victorious smile, content that his duty had been done. “You may kill me now, and I will have done so in service to the true King Sombra, not this empty shell you have tied your strings around.”

Nocturne’s nose curled in barely constrained fury as she glanced at the guards with a quick, decisive nod. The sound of grinding metal echoed in the chamber as one of the guards withdrew a long, sharpened blade. He poised it above the scrivener’s head and quickly lifted it into a swing.

A single gesture from Sombra’s hoof ceased all movement in the room. The guard’s blade stopped, inches from the scriveners neck, the gleaming metal singing in anticipation. Nocturne turned to Sombra, her expression tempering. She took in a short breath and composed herself, discarding her anger. “My king? Has my jugement gone too far?”

There was no hiding the patronizing tone in Nocturne’s voice, not even from Dash. She sneered in revulsion at how easily the queen had control over Sombra and how oblivious he was to it.

“No, my queen,” Sombra said. “Your jugement is just. But, his service is required a moment longer before we can enact his punishment for defiance to the throne and treason to the kingdom.”

Nocturne nodded and bowed her head. “Of course, my king. But time grows short. If his words are true, the princesses would interfere with your ascension.”

Sombra glanced to the thralls that held their chanting. “Then we shall begin immediately. They will be too late to stop it, even if they should arrive in time.”

Nocturne blinked as her expression melted from calm composure to sadistic glee. Sombra didn’t even look in her face to notice. Nocturne did everything but rub her hooves together and cackle manically to signal her intense pleasure and anticipation of what was about to happen.

“Of course my king!” Nocturne turned to the thralls. “It is time, my subjects! Let the darkness flow and bring about the true age of nightmares and shadows!”

Dash jerked back as the hooded figures began to glow with dark radiance. White, glowing eyes emerged from underneath their hoods as their chanting grew louder. The candles danced and burned brighter in the twisting of magical energy in the air. The chamber doors swung shut of their own accord.

The scrivener watched in horror at the dark display of power and magic that he was witnessing. The guards held their steel to his throat, so it was all he could do but stand and watch.

Nocturne stared into Sombra’s eyes. She gently lifted his crown from his head with her hooves and placed it on the ground. She brushed through his mane with slow, affectionate strokes as Sombra closed his eyes, sighing heavily.

“There will be no need for mortal crowns any longer, my King. Only a crown worthy of your new stature will suffice.”

Nocturne turned and gestured one of her servants closer. A hooded pony stepped from the circle, bringing with him a small gilded box. He laid it beside Nocturne and backed into the circle, keeping his head low.

Nocturne opened the chest with a flick of her magic and reached inside. First she withdrew a new cape, lined with red and white along its edges. “A new cloak for his majesty,” she said, removing the old and replacing it with the new, “to show his continued regal grace into the realm of gods.”

Next, a set of dark metal sabatons were pulled from the box. She kneeled to remove Sombra’s plated slippers and affixed the new armor to his legs. “Metal of the earth, to show your iron will and determination to command all the realms that befit your majesty.”

After Nocturne finished with his leggings, she then pulled a metal chest plate and slid it carefully over Sombra’s head. It covered his barrel nearly completely and most of his neck. “Armor forged from the deep mountains, strong enough to resist even the might of the pantheons.”

Lastly, Nocturne pulled out the final object from the chest. It was a slab of rock, that glowed even darker than Nocturne herself.

Luna gasped. “Nightstone!”

Dash raised an eyebrow. “What’s that?”

“A very rare, very dangerous mineral that can only only manifest upon the death of a star as it falls to the earth. I have always held a careful vigilance to ensure each one is found and repaired to be returned to the night sky. How was she able to find one?”

Nocturne gathered Sombra’s old regalia in the center of the room. A spark of magic jumped from her horn and created a black, roiling flame on the floor, setting the clothing and armor alight. As they burned, she slowly lowered the nightstone into the flames, which devoured the rock as it crept closer.

The dark flames twisted and raged from the new fuel. The objects in the flames disintegrated in seconds, leaving only the crown. The fire danced around it and shrank steadily. The metal stained into grey and black as its natural colors died in the flames. All that remained as the fires vanished was a twisted, broken and corrupted reflection of its former glory.

The brim reflected like pristine platinum, lined with fangs around its form. Black shards of metal extended down from it’s sides, forming the crest of a helmet that would protect its wearers face. At the peak of the crown, was the remnants of the nightstone, now burning a bright red.

The crown complete, Nocturne carefully lifted it and positioned it above Sombra’s head. It hovered, the very air singing, screaming in anticipation for it to find its new home.

Nocturne looked again into Sombra’s eyes. “Are you ready for this gift, my king? There is no turning back.”

Sombra’s eyes were trained forward, locked in a distant stare. His brows arched into a determined frown. His head bowed slightly towards Nocturne, who smiled victoriously and lowered the crown onto his head. He closed his eyes as the crown slid into place. The metal ground against his horn like steel against a whetstone that prickled in Dash’s skin. She held her breath, waiting, watching for what was going to happen next.

Sombra’s eyes were moving behind his eyelids, spinning as if lost in a dream. His head jerked slightly as well as his hooves as the chanting grew ever louder. Nocturne herself joined in, adding her magic to the grand spell as the air twisted and churned in the air. Her mane danced in the influence of the magic as if it had a life of its own.

Sombra’s lips curled up, revealing his teeth, clenched shut as his face slowly showed signs of strain. The muscles of his face were pitted in a battle as the air around him radiated with dark, growing power. The air raged faster, the magic coiled tighter, howling for release like a dying animal.

Dash slapped her hooves to her ears as the sounds became unbearable, and her friends did the same, save for Luna. She had barely moved since the vision had began, and even in the midst of the dark ritual unfurling before her, she could only watch in abject horror. She knew it was a dream and she could do nothing to interfere. Only watch.

Dash looked back to Sombra. Whatever battle he was facing inside, she had no way of telling if he was winning. She could feel the air getting colder as her coat began to bristle her skin.

After an eternity of chanting, frigid winds and swirling magic, a sudden halt broke in the chamber. Sombra stood, heaving ragged breaths behind closed eyes as Nocturne and her followers watched in silence, rapt with interest.

“My King?” she asked. “Are you well?”

Sombra’s eyes snapped open, and Tartarus itself was let loose. The fallen king let loose a primal roar of ancient evil, malicious power and endless hatred. The very crystal quaked under Dash’s hooves as the mad king of shadows’s power was coming to fruition right in front of her. His eyes were flowing with dark energy, which slowly tainted his sapphire eyes into crimson. His mane writhed and twitched as if it were a living shadow, pouring even more magic into the air around him.

“Yes!” Nocturne shouted. “Now my servants! Offer your wills to your King. Aid him with his ascension! Give your lives if necessary, but do not let him fall!”

The chanting began anew, even louder than before. The thralls channeled their magic into Sombra. His roar lessened in intensity, but his body began to deteriorate, as it he was being torn apart from the inside. He stomped his hooves and shrugged his head, bearing his teeth on deep focus.

Nocturne was laughing. It echoed throughout the halls over Sombra’s howls as she poured her magic into his own. “Yes! More! More power!”

A sudden, shattering explosion rocked the room. Nocturne turned suddenly towards the door, confused. Another boom rattled the chamber, as the door began to quiver from the outside.

“King Sombra!” a powerful voice shouted from the other side. It rocked the room with deafening clarity. Dash gasped and turned to Luna. She was blinking as her eyes fell on the door.

A second voice, equally as powerful roared through. “You’re crimes have been brought to light, King Sombra! Your people lie in chains and shrouded in darkness no longer! Surrender yourself before our might and we may find mercy on your mortal soul!”

Nocturne sneered and turned back to her servants. “Continue the spell! I will not let those foalish princesses interfere!”

The doors rocked against their hinges with each strike. Cords of white and silver light peeked through the slivers that chipped from it.

“Now you see the fury you have wrought, witch!” the scrivener shouted. “The might of the true goddesses of this world will see you banished to the darkest pit of Tartarus for this!”

Nocturne’s face twisted into a gleeful smile. “They will discover, you miserable creature, that I, Queen Nocturne, Mistress of Shadows, am the darkness and will never be shackled under its eternal might! It is they who will be lost to it!”

The room began to quake from yet another source as Nocturne began to channel her own furious magic around herself. As if she drew strength from Sombra, the overflow of magic that emanated from him was hastily drawn into herself. She began to grow in size, her mane stood on end as it came to life, and her eyes began to darken into spheres of utter shadow.

The door was giving way to the assault from the other side. The crystal bent and broke from the magical onslaught, chipping away from the adjoining walls. The slivers of light that pierced through grew larger, stronger, brighter. The beams struck against the veil of darkness swirling in the middle of the room, hissing in protest.

The chamber door offered one last groan of resistance before one final blast reduced it to crystalline splinters. A wave of light, mixed of a burning white and searing silver erupted from outside. It crashed against the whirling storm of magic of the ritual, shrugging aside like a tide beating against a stone.

The guards holding the scrivener were blasted aside. The frail old unicorn took his chance to rush to the side of the room, bracing himself against the wall out of the line of fire as a swell of light poured into the now open doorway.

Behind the curtain of light, the silhouettes of two resplendent figures filled the entrance. Celestia glowed like the sun itself, adorned in golden armor, while Luna shimmered like the moon in her silver plate. They held spears of pure energy, gold and silver aloft in their magic.

Dash had never seen Celestia or Luna filled with such unbridled fury and appear so earth shatteringly dangerous. The very ground under their hooves burned and cracked from their touch as if they both burned like stars.

They glared into the chamber, focusing their attention on Nocturne who stood defiantly before them.

“Queen Nocturne!” Celestia said. Her voice shook the room with the ancient strength of ages past. “What madness is this?! What abominations have you dared to let loose?!”

Nocturne grinned as her own darkened form continued to feed from Sombra’s expulsion of energy. “Oh come now, Celestia. You can’t possibly tell me you didn’t see this coming. After all, we were so close once, and you didn’t see my true intentions.”

Celestia’s spear blazed as a lance of light sliced across the floor and struck Nocturne’s barrier. “That is Princess Celestia to you, cur! You will see justice done today for your crimes, fallen one.”

Nocturne’s size suddenly grew as she absorbed more power. Sombra was screaming wildly in agony behind her, but he held his ground. He stomped against the binds of the spell, sending quakes of shadows throughout the room. Fissures split in the crystal earth, glowing with dark magic.

Celestia and Luna’s expressions wavered slightly at the unimaginable power that was unleashing from Sombra and the might that Nocturne harnessed for herself.

Nocturne cackled. “Do you see it now, puny princesses!? The might you see is only a fraction of what is to come! No mortal can hold this burden alone, but together my darling lord and I shall rule over the darkness and shadows together and extinguish your precious lights forever!”

Nocturne let loose a nova of shadows towards the princesses. The crevices in the floor roiled and spit forth black miasma. Luna was the first to react and drop her spear into the floor. A cord of silver magic burst forth and swiped the dark magic aside.

“You’re power of darkness is no match for the might of the solstice,” Luna bellowed. “You toy with powers beyond your understanding and control!”

Nocturne bit her lip as her maddened grin widened. “But you both taught me so well!” She formed a tendril of dark magic and launched it at Luna. “All those endless days and nights of studying!”

Luna tried to pull her spear from the earth, but could not in time. It was Celestia that stood forth and brandished her weapon to guard her sister and cleave the dark projectile in half.

Nocturne formed more lances, pulling stone and crystal from the floor and adding it to her arsenal. Without a pause, she loosed another volley. “All those practical exams!”

Together, Celestia and Luna deflected the strikes with practiced ease. They advanced slowly in the breaks of Nocturnes assault, even as they grew larger and more powerful.

Nocturne began smashing the ground and sending fissures of her own, coursing with dark magic at the sisters. “You both tried so hard to make me the perfect student! And you succeeded!”

Celestia continued her advance, sidestepping the approaching waves with a flick of her wings. It was almost a dance to her, flowing side to side, watching the strikes drift past her like an errant wind. Luna lingered behind, returning her own consecration upon the ground towards Nocturne. Silver met with black, mixing and warring as the very ground of the chamber began to buckle under its might.

“Are you not proud of me, princesses!?” Nocturne shrieked. The air filled with dozens of black limbs, their razor edges glinting in the light. “Am I not everything you wanted me to be and more!?”

Her spines launched towards Celestia and Luna. Celestia continued her evasive dance in the air, her spear acting like a skilled partner as she ebbed like a flowing stream, slicing and cutting through Nocturne’s attack.

Luna took to spinning her spear like a windmill, creating a silvery disk that ground the tendrils into dust. She flicked her weapon aside, letting the dark ooze fall from her weapon and spray onto the ground.

Nocturne raged, stomping the earth in a tantrum of fury. The very world seemed to shake from her might as the chamber began to split at its seams. Dash was finding it very hard to stand amidst the battle as it only escalated further.

Celestia had the high ground and Luna had the low as the approached closer and closer to Nocturne and Sombra. Nocturne took a step backwards into her King, her eyes darting between the advancing princesses. The ritual had yet to complete as Sombra’s transformation continued to wage a war on his body and mind.

For a brief moment, Luna’s voice calmed. “Give in, Nocturne,” she urged. “Perhaps the fates will hold mercy for your soul if you turn back now. Do not commit yourself to Tartarus for this power. You will find no other home if you do.”

Nocturne face trembled in anger. “It will be you who will find no peace in Tartarus! This realm is mine to control, and I will not let the moon nor the sun stand in my way!”

Nocturne’s body melded into pure shadows and receded into the ground. A dark taint quickly overtook and stained the crystal floor, reaching every edge of the room. Luna’s eyes traced the floor, while Celestia searched the walls.

Panic gripped at Dash’s heart. She had seen this tactic before, not long ago. She searched herself, finding two pinpricks of light forming in the shadows above Celestia. She shouted in vain to the memory of the princess, as Nocturne appeared above her and crashed into her sides from above.

Luna turned her head upwards to Celestia’s grunt of surprise as she and Nocturne crashed to the ground. Celestia was in a daze for only a moment, but Nocturne’s fluid form allowed her a quick recovery. Before Celestia could regain her awareness, a great blade of shadow formed at Nocturne’s will and plunged it towards the ground.

Both Dash and Luna, the real and the image shouted,” No!”

A flash of silver burst in the room. Dash winced a brief second, blinking.

Nocturne herself, blinked in shock, as instead of sinking her weapon into the flesh of Celestia, it was Luna’s form that stood before her, impaled with her shadowy weapon.

Luna’s body trembled and held her head down, as her breathing became labored and pained.

Nocturne, on the other hoof, could barely contain her glee. A grin, slow and sadistic formed on her lips as she took in the relief of victory. ”Yes…” she breathed. “Yes!” she said. “Yes!” she screamed.

“No!” Celestia shouted. She tried to stand, but Nocturne quickly turned her attention back. Before Celestia could get up and help her sister, the ground burst with more tendrils that lashed her down.

“Ah, ah…” Nocturne crooned. “You must wait your turn, dear Celestia. You will meet your fate in time.” She turned back to Luna. “But first… little Luna, it is your suffering we will enjoy first.”

Luna wheezed a painful sounding breath as she struggled to speak. “I… I think I will pass, if it is all the same to you, dear Nocturne.”

Nocturne chuckled venomously. “Now, Luna. There is no need to be formal. We are all goddesses here. We can—”

Nocturne’s head shrugged forward as a silvery spear plunged into her chest. Her head recoiled in shock as her eyes slowly fell onto the blade. Blood dripped from her lips as she struggled to look up to Luna.

The Princess of the Night was smiling. The blade that had stuck through her evaporated into the air, revealing no wound, no blood, no nothing. She stood to her full height, perfectly fine.

She lowered her head into Nocturne’s ear, speaking softly. “Clearly you forget who’s realm the power of darkness hold sway. The night commands the dark. It is the natural order. It seems, my dear student, that you were not as attentive to your lessons as you claim.”

Luna withdrew her spear from Nocturne, who lurched back to the ground, clutching at her wound. She stumbled back, crawling towards Sombra as Luna flicked her spear to free her sister from her shadowy bonds. She turned back, casting a powerful gaze over the retreating Nocturne. “It pains me greatly, my dear, former student, that you have made your choice.”

She glanced at Sombra. The fury surrounding him began to abide and wane. “This ruse of power is over, Nocturne. I may yet pay homage to the fates for mercy, but I would not guarantee it.”

“No…” Nocturne wheezed as she coughed up blood. “No no no…..” She struggled to wrap herself around Sombra. “My King!” she wailed. “Your Queen calls for aid! Show these false godesses your true power! Awaken, Lord Sombra, King of Shadows!”

The air went suddenly still, suddenly cold. Like a great breath of the earth itself was released, the air tremored like a beating heart. Shivers crawled up and down Dash’s spine with each pulse as Sombra’s eyes finally reopened.

His form burned in black fire as the shadows encompassed him. He turned his attention to the princesses, their weapons bared before him. His eyes burned with unimaginable hatred, almost burning, yet the feel of his gaze was as cold as ice.

“King Sombra!” Celestia said. “Surrender yourself to the judgment of your princesses. Your dabbling in dark magic has forfeited the right of your succession and the sovereignty of your crown. Surrender peacefully, and we may grant mercy to your soul as they are judged by the fates beyond.”

A dark, malicious growl perverted the air as Sombra spoke. His voice turned cold, like a great echo in the endless dark. “Mercy…” He shook his head. “No mercy…” He took a step towards the princesses. The earth shook. “No princesses. No goddesses.”

A small, flicker of Sombra’s magic emanated from his horn, now curved into a sharpened tip that burned like hellfire. “Only power… Only darkness. Only… slaves!”

Like a tidal wave, Sombra’s magic roared to life as a monstrous surge of darkness appeared from nothing and raged towards Celestia and Luna. They blinked in surprise, bringing forth their magic and holding it against Sombra’s attack.

Gold and silver met against black in the air, heaving against each other as magic crackled everywhere. The ground beneath both Sombra and the princesses shrugged under the pressure and broke away. The walls split like glass and shattered, sending debris and rubble in every direction as the room fell apart.

Dash had no other word to describe what she watched than amazing. The full fury of Celestia and Luna raging against Sombra in his ancient prime. The two forces were perfectly matched as their combined magic clashed in the center, neither side giving way.

“More… power…” Sombra echoed.

“Yes, my King!” Nocturne begged. “Take back the power I have borrowed. Use it to lay low our enemies!”

Sombra’s gaze flickered a moment to Nocturne. An extension of his will emerged from his shadowy shape and plucked her from the ground. Her eyes widened as Sombra lifted her by the throat.

“M-my King? she gasped. “W-what are you doing?”

Sombra stared into her eyes. “My… power…”

He opened his mouth wide and took a deep breath. A cord of darkness was ripped from Nocturne as it poured into Sombra. She wailed in agony, writhing in his grasp. “N-no! My King! Stop!”

Sombra did not stop there. His shadowy form grew further, extending towards Nocturne’s many servants. Like a needle, they punctured into flesh and tore their magic, their minds and souls asunder, claiming it for Sombra’s own.

“Sombra!” Luna roared. “Stop this madness!” With a heave of effort, Luna and Celestia broke the clash and deflected the great wave of shadows aside. Luna charged forward in the break, spear aloft. With a mighty swing, she severed the cord that Sombra drained from Nocturne, and reached to pull her away.

The moment Luna touched Nocturne, an otherworldly wail of agony and despair shook Dash to her core. It was for a brief moment that Nocturne’s form blazed in incomprehensible darkness. Her very body burned in black fire and her screams of agony pierced Dash’s ears. The image of Luna watched in horror as Nocturne disintegrated before her eyes as the fire claimed her.

Luna recoiled as the flames threatened to take her as well. Her body was trembling as black ooze coated her hoof. She stumbled backwards, frozen, helpless, as the same fate was met with all of Nocturne’s followers.

Sombra grew further as he stole their magic and their lives, leaving only himself, the princesses and the scrivener alive. The elderly pony struggled to stand against the crumbling wall and tried desperately to reach the exit. A wave of light shaped as his hooves, as the shaking earth steadied for only a moment.

He glanced at Celestia, who shrugged her head to the exit. “Get out of here! We shall deal with him. Find somewhere to hide!”

He needed no other order and bolted for the door. The screams and roars of the dark magic began to fade all around, and the memory started to bleed into incoherence. The whirling vortex of light that had brought Dash and her friends to this place returned as he escaped the chamber, leaving only the echoing thunder of Sombra’s evil rattling in the distance behind him.

The light of the ancient spellwork began to unravel around Dash and everyone else, tearing the memory apart, leaving nothing but darkness and shadows behind them.