By the next morning, everything was in readiness. Chrysalis and the Alicorns had finally built their magic reserves back up to full, and the group had their strategy all planned out.
"Okay, we're all set." Twilight declared, her horn glowing brightly.
"Time to teach Black Thorn a lesson." Constell added.
"Count me in." Starlight nodded. "That creep ruined a perfectly good trip for me. Time to pay him back."
"That's the spirit, Starlight." Shining grinned, proud of his niece's spunk.
"That's my girl." Flash said, equally proud.
"You'll have to get in line, though." Chrysalis snarled. "That fiend took my magic, and I intend on making him suffer for it."
"Oh, he's gonna pay alright." Sleight nodded. "Nopony messes with my wife and gets away with it."
"I'm sure we all feel the same way." Shining declared, giving Cadance a smile.
"As sweet as that is, let's not forget the real reason we're doing this." Cadance declared. "Namely, helping Nightshade take back his throne."
"Thank you all." Red Rose smiled. "Nighty and I are forever in your debt."
"There's no need to thank us." Constell said firmly. "We helped make this mess, so we're going to help clean it up."
"And even if we didn't have a hoof in it, we'd take on a monster like Black Thorn for nothing." Shine added.
"Hear, hear." Blueblood smiled. "Time to put that reprobate in his place."
"We're all in this together." Dusty smiled. "No matter what."
"And we won't stop until all wrongs have been righted." Luna agreed.
"We will defeat Black Thorn this day." Celestia declared. "Make no mistake."
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Sunset smiled. "Let's go."
"I'm afraid not all of us will be going." Echo said suddenly.
"What do you mean?" Sunset asked, confused.
"I mean, you're staying here." Echo clarified.
"Excuse me?" Sunset frowned.
"It's too dangerous for you to come with us." Echo declared.
"I can take care of myself, Echo." Sunset growled.
"Against a foe like Black Thorn?" Echo shook his head. "I'm sorry Sunset, but I cannot allow you to put yourself and our foal in harm's way."
"Allow?!" Sunset snorted. "Since when are you the boss of me?"
"Since we fell into this precarious situation." Echo countered, "Somepony has to look out for you and that pony is me."
"I don't remember deciding that." Sunset huffed. "I'm going, Echo."
"No, you're not." Echo glowered. "It's too risky."
"I have to agree with Echo here." Twilight added.
"As do I." Luna nodded.
"Perhaps you should stay, Sunset." Cadance mused.
"With all due respect, kindly stay out of this." Sunset said coldly. "You guys are going to need all the help you can get out there, and I'm going to do my part."
"At the risk of losing the foal, or worse?" Echo shot back. "I think not."
"You don't tell me what to do, Echo." Sunset snarled. "I'm going."
"You're staying." Echo said stubbornly.
"I'm going." Sunset repeated.
"You're staying." Echo retorted.
"I'm going." Sunset said again.
"You're staying." Echo said tersely.
"I'm. Going!" Sunset yelled. "And there's nothing you can do to stop me!"
"Oh, I think there is." Echo smirked. Opening his wings, he sent a swarm of crystals around Sunset's hooves, holding her fast.
"What... you..." Sunset spluttered, unable to free herself. "Echo, let me out of this!"
"I'm afraid I can't do that." Echo said firmly. "You'll thank me later."
"Like buck I will!" Sunset roared, outraged. "I can't believe you'd do this to me, Echo!"
"I'd do anything to protect you." Echo pledged. "Even if it makes you angry at me."
"And what's to stop me from just blasting these things off me?" Sunset powered up her horn.
"This." Echo sent a stream of crystals to cover Sunset's horn, smothering its magic.
"Oh, you did not just-" Sunset fumed.
"Calm down, Sunset." Twilight urged. "Echo's right. It's best if you don't exert yourself. You may be tough, but your foal isn't. Trust me, Echo is doing what is best for you."
"So I stay here, all by myself?" Sunset asked.
"She's got a point." Shining admitted. "What if the guards come back?"
"I'll stay behind and keep an eye on her." Flash volunteered.
"There you go." Echo smiled at Sunset. "You'll have a little company, at least."
"Hmph!" Sunset turned away from him, still angry.
"I'm sorry, Sunset." Echo sighed. "It's for your own good."
"Enough of the family squabble." Blueblood declared. "In case you've all forgotten, we have a would-be King to dethrone!"
"Like I could ever forget..." Nightshade said darkly.
"Okay son, lead us to this secret passage of yours." Red Rose told Day Light.
"You got it." Day Light nodded. "Follow me, everypony."
"Good luck, guys!" Flash smiled, as they started to exit the house. "Give 'im one from me!"
"We will." Twilight chuckled, planting a kiss on his cheek. "You take good care of Sunset, okay?"
"Hey, I'm a former Royal Guard, remember?" Flash grinned. "Guarding a pregnant mare who's stuck to the floor should be easy."
"Not if she strangles you with her tail, it won't." Sunset pouted.
"Play nice, Sunset." Twilight playfully chided her, as she too left the house.
The royals made their way covertly through Cairode, sticking to back alleys and shadows, until they reached the old well. It sat in a dingy corner, not far from the wall itself, just behind an old house.
"Okay, the tunnel is right down here." Day Light instructed. "We've gotta slide down the sides. Trust me, it's too deep to jump."
"That's encouraging." Blueblood gulped.
"We'll do it one at a time." Shine declared. "But we'll have to be quick about it. A guard could come by at any time."
"I'll keep an eye out." Chrysalis declared, taking on the form of a beautiful Earth Pony mare. "If any do show up, I'll spin them a lie."
"That's my girl..." Sleight smiled lovingly.
Day Light eased himself into the well. Gripping the sides with his hooves, his gingerly slid down. One by one, the others followed. As Chrysalis looked around the corner of the house, she spotted a guard drawing near. Realizing the others needed more time, she moved to intercept him.
"Morning, handsome." She put on her most alluring voice.
"Good morning to you, good-looking." The guard smirked. "And what's a lovely mare like you doing out in this grungy part of town?"
"Just out for a walk. You shouldn't judge by appearances, you know." Chysalis chided him. "What looks gringy can be quite charming close up."
"I'll have to take your word for it." The guard shrugged. "Say, you doing anything tonight? I know this great bar..."
"Sounds good." Chrysalis purred. "But I'm busy tonight, and you probably should get back to work. Being a guard must be a tough, thankless job..."
"It depends on who you're working for." The guard frowned. "My... new boss isn't the most pleasant guy. In fact, I really should get back to my patrol. If he found out I've been slacking off..."
"Don't let me keep you." Chrysalis spun him around and gently pushed him back in the direction he came from.
"Nice to meet you" The guard grinned. "What was your name?"
"Chrissie." Chrysalis lied. "Maybe we'll catch each other again sometime?"
"Here's hoping." The guard chuckled.
The guard waved as he walked away. Chrysalis waved back, smiling widely, until the guard disappeared from view. Her smile then faded into a grimace.
"Yuck." She spat, revolted. "Muscle-headed wannabe Casaneighva..."
Changing back to her normal self, Chrysalis walked over to the well. Only Sleight remained, diligently waiting for her to join him.
"All clear." She announced.
"Nice work, Chrys." Sleight smiled. He glanced at the well. "You sure you'll be able to fit down there? It looks like a tight squeeze."
"I've been in tighter spots." Chrysalis smiled saucily. "As you well know..."
"Yeah, good times." Sleight smiled. "Still, I think I'll go first."
Sleight slid down the well. Chrysalis followed, her bulky body compressing itself surprisingly well. Once they reached the bottom, they found a hole which led further down into a tunnel, where the others waited.
"Good, we're all here." Echo smiled.
"Okay, now we just head down the tunnel." Day Light declared. "Before long, we'll reach some stairs. They go up to behind a tapestry in the corridor, just outside the throne room."
"That's good." Shining declared. "Black Thorn is no doubt expecting us, so it's best that we attack as quickly and unexpectedly as possible."
"Not to change the subject, but how exactly did you find out about this tunnel, Day Light?" Red Rose asked.
"Oh, I found it when I accidentally fell against the tapestry." Day Light recalled. "It's come in useful over the years, for... this and that."
"Like sneaking out of the palace unnoticed?" Red Rose smiled knowingly.
"Sometimes." Day Light admitted awkwardly.
"As unhappy as I am with such an idea, I will admit that this passage of yours may have given us the edge we needed." Nightshade said fairly. "Good work, son."
"Thanks, dad." Day Light smiled.
"Pretty smart of Day Light, wasn't it?" Twilight asked Starlight, hoping to ease off her daughter's ire.
"Oh, yeah." Starlight said sarcastically. "Yet another secret he's been keeping. That's what he does best, isn't it?"
"Please, Starlight." Cadance urged. "We all need to work together here. I know you're still angry at Day Light, but you need to put that aside for now. Okay?"
"I'll try." Starlight frowned. "Don't expect any miracles, though..."
Day Light bowed his head in woe. Red Rose supportively placed a hoof on his shoulder.
Before long, they reached the stairs Day Light had spoke of. Day Light went up first, poking his head through the tapestry and looking around.
"Okay." He whispered to the others. "It's all clear for now. Let's go."
One by one, they passed through the tapestry, and leaned against the walls outside the throne room. A quick glance inside by Shine showed Black Thorn sitting on his throne, bored, with a couple of guards and the statues and mummies surrounding him.
"He's not alone." Shine announced. "So we'll still have a fight on our hooves."
"That suits me just fine." Nightshade growled.
"On three." Celestia whispered. "One, two, three!"
The royals raced into the throne room.
"Black Thorn!" Nightshade roared. "Your reign is at an end!"
"Well, well." Black Thorn smirked. "What kept you?"
"I had a feeling you were expecting us." Nightshade declared. "We didn't want to disappoint."
"It would be disappointing if you didn't come to make one more futile effort to stop me." Black Thorn declared. "Seeing you struggle hopelessly is just so entertaining."
"Your fun is about to come to an end." Echo announced.
"We won't allow you to keep you grip on Haygypt for a moment longer." Celestia growled.
"'Allow' me?" Black Thorn snorted. "Like I ever needed permission to do whatever I wanted..."
"You have two choices, Black Thorn." Luna declared. "Either surrender, or be vanquished."
"I think not!" Black Thorn pulled a rope, causing a loud ringing sound.
"He's called for the guards." Red Rose realized. "It's now or never."
"Then we fight." Chrysalis snarled.
"For once, we agree." Black Thorn snarled. "Attack!"
The mummies, statues and guards charged at the royals. Chrysalis and the Alicorns, their magic back at full power, did considerable better against their unliving foes this time around; One blast from Celestia's horn shattered a mummy's rotted bones and burned it's wrappings to cinders. As a statue reached for her, Cadance blasted its hoof to dust.
"It's not so easy this time around." Constell chided Black Thorn, as she blasted a mummy away. "Now that we're at full power again, your lifeless goons aren't that much of a challenge!"
"Wanna bet?" Black Thorn sneered. "These guys don't get tired. Even with all your magic, you're at a disadvantage."
"You keep thinking that." Shine sneered, as he tripped up a statue, causing its face to shatter as it hit the floor. The statue got back up, and continued its assault.
Meanwhile, the non-Alicorns concerned themselves with the guards. A dozen of the armored foes approached Dusty and Blueblood.
"Stand down, foreigners!" One of the guards yelled.
"Not today." Blueblood smirked. "Ready, my love?"
"Ready." Dusty nodded.
"Let's give them what-for!" Blueblood charged.
Blueblood punched one guard in the face, who quickly returned the blow.
Meanwhile, Dusty, taking full advantage of the self-defense training her uncle Salt had provided her, flipped over another guard, and tripped him up. She then leapt up and kicked another in the face. A third guard charged at her, but she slid under his legs, kicking him in the groin as she did. The guard fell to his knees, just as another came over. Dusty vaulted the wounded guard, wrapped her legs around her attacker's neck, and brought him down.
At the same time, Blueblood was still trading blows with the one guard. The guard punched him in the stomach, then banged his head against an altar.
"Watch the mane!" Blueblood yelled.
Dusty continued taking down guards, flipping, kicking and tripping. She was like a blur; the guards could barely keep up with her.
As Blueblood was put in a bear hug by his foe, he clamped his teeth onto the guard's ear. As his enemy screamed in pain, Blueblood punched him in the stomach, then the face, knocking him down.
"I got him!" Blueblood cheered. He turned to see the rest had been dispatched by Dusty. "...Oh."
"Good work, dear." Dusty kissed him on the cheek.
At the same time, Starlight blasted a guard sideways. As the guard turned to confront her, Day Light struck him down.
"We make a pretty good team, don't you think?" Day Light smiled.
"Remember what I told you about the whole 'don't talk to me' thing?" Starlight growled. "One little assist doesn't make up for what you did, pal."
Starlight turned to fight another guard. Day Light sighed forlornly, then punched a guard who was trying to attack him from behind.
Nightshade was doing well, despite his lack of magic, taking down a couple of guards.
"Traitors!" He roared. "How dare you attack your Prince?"
"Perhaps we wouldn't have to, if you could have controlled that monster." One of the guards said coldly. "Then he wouldn't have threatened our families, putting so many of us in this position."
"That may be true." Nightshade spat. "But I won't let you stop me from putting things right!"
Sleight was surrounded by a group of mummies and guards.
"That's it, gather round." He smiled, drawing his card. "The performance is about to begin."
"You think a bunch of cards can stop us?" One guard snorted.
"You'd be surprised." Sleight grinned.
"Enough of this." Another guard growled. "Get him!"
As a mummy charged toward him, Sleight threw a card, which exploded on contact, showered the floor with chunks of bone.
"And that was just the opening act." Sleight chuckled. "Ready for the main event?"
Snarling angrily, one of the bigger guards lunged at Sleight. Sleight threw a card at him. In a flash of light, the guard found himself trapped inside.
"Attack from both sides!" One guard yelled.
As two guards came at him, Sleight created a card portal in front of one of them. The guard fell through, coming out of the portal that had popped up next to his comrade, and crashed into him.
"What do you think?" Sleight taunted his foes. "A real show-stopper, huh?"
On the other side of the throne room, Black Thorn was personally fighting Echo, Shine and Constell.
"You made a big mistake, coming back here." Black Thorn sneered. "I still have a ton of Alicorn and Changeling magic on top of my own!"
"Power alone is nothing." Echo countered. "What matters is how you use it."
"Figures you'd say something like that." Black Thorn snorted. "Speaking of power, where's your precious little fiancé? Think you can keep her and that hybrid freak in her belly away from me, huh? Guess again. Once I'm done here, I'll find her, and 'abort' Sterling's little would-be super-soldier."
"You won't touch her!" Echo roared, sending a stream of crystals his way.
Black Thorn easily demolished the crystals with a blast from his horn, then pushed Echo away with a shockwave.
"Oh, you think you are going to stop me?" Black Thorn chuckled menacingly. "Sterling was a fool to pick a bat pony and a Unicorn to make a supersoldier. Hybrids are inferior to the pureblood species!"
"That is always a problem I see with ponies like you!" Echo snarled. "You condemn all who were born from interracial couples, thinking that having the blood of two races make them weak. We may not be pure, but neither are the likes of you!"
"Oh, now you're just being mean." Black Thorn pouted mockingly. "You're going to hurt my feelings if you keep this up."
"It's not your feelings I aim to hurt." Echo retorted, lashing out with a crystal whip.
"Well, once I'm done here, I think I'll show Sterling what true Nightcrawlers can do." Black Thorn declared, dodging the whip.
"I don't think so." Echo glared. "You're not going anywhere when this is over. Except perhaps prison."
"Oh, and you think you can overpower me?" He chuckled. "Don't make me laugh."
"If anypony's a joke around here, it's you!" Constell shot back, firing a bolt of magic from up in the air.
Black Thorn dodged the blast.
"Is that the best you can do?" Black Thorn taunted her.
"Not really." Constell admitted, as she fired another beam, that Black Thorn also dodged. "But that's the point of a distraction."
"What?" Black Thorn frowned, holding a hoof to his ear.
"She said 'distraction'!" Shine yelled, punched Black Thorn as hard as he could.
As Black Thorn fell to the floor, Nightshade suddenly did the same thing.
"Ahh!" Nightshade yelled, clutching his face.
"Nighty!" Red Rose ran to him.
By this point, most of the guards had been dispatched. The only royals watched in shock at Nightshade's unexplained tumble.
"What the-" Shine glanced at his hoof.
"What's going on?" Celestia asked.
"Ah yes, the big question." Black Thorn smirked, as he got back up. "It seems the original drawback of the Gemini spell is still in effect. Pain felt by one of us is felt by the other. Allow me to demonstrate."
Black Thorn turned and kicked his throne as hard as he could.
"Grrh!" Nightshade cringed, as a twinge of pain ran through his hoof.
"Consider that payback for what you almost did a couple of nights ago." Black Thorn told him spitefully.
"If I'd have known of the connection sooner, perhaps I would have gone through with it after all!" Nightshade spat.
"Oh, how noble." Black Thorn jeered. He picked up a fallen guard's spear, and dragged it across one of his cheeks, leading a thin red line behind it.
"Nrrr!" Nightshade groaned, as his cheek burned in pain and a bleeding scar appeared in the same spot.
"You've always been weak, Nightshade." Black Thorn said mockingly. "I can handle a little pain, but you never could."
"Why, you vile-!" Luna lunged forward.
"Ah-ah-ah!" Black Thorn waved his hoof. "Think about it for a second. You hurt me, you hurt Nightshade."
Luna halted her attack.
"He's right." Sleight realised. "We can't fight him. Not if it means hurting Nightshade too."
"No." Nightshade shook his head. "Don't worry about me. Do whatever it takes to beat this fiend."
"See what I mean?" Black Thorn rolled his eyes. "Always so sickeningly noble." He raised his hooves to the others. "Come on, then. What are you waiting for? Give me your best shot!"
"Change of plans." Twilight said suddenly. "We must contain Black Thorn without hurting him, and by extension, Nightshade."
"Easier said than done." Chrysalis frowned.
"Lady, you don't know the half of it." Black Thorn chuckled, his horn glowing. "Let's take this outside, shall we?"
Black Thorn suddenly released a blast from his horn, blowing everypony out of the throne room. The wall outside broke from the force, and they tumbled onto the sandy ground outside the palace.
"Aahh!" Sleight groaned, as he landed hard. "So much for keeping sand out of my suit..."
"Everypony okay?" Dusty asked, as they struggled back to their hooves.
"For now, at least." Chrysalis said darkly.
"There, that's much better." Black Thorn grinned, as he and the statues and mummies followed them outside. "Lots more room out here!"
The battle continued. The royals were forced to fight defensively, pulling their punches, while Black Thorn let loose with all his power.
"You can't keep this up forever, Black Thorn!" Celestia declared, narrowly dodging a blast. "Sooner or later, the magic you stole will run dry!"
"Trust me, you'll be dead long before that happens." Black Thorn sneered, firing another blast.
"What do we do now?" Twilight asked, as she kicked aside a mummy. "How do we stop Black Thorn if we're forced to hold back?"
"There must still be some dark magic binding Nightshade and Black Thorn together." Echo surmised. "I may be able to find and and extract it using my crystals, if I'm allowed a few moments to concentrate."
"We'll buy you what time we can." Cadance assured him.
"Don't worry, we'll keep Black Thorn busy." Shining added.
While the others fought Black Thorn, Echo moved over to Nightshade.
"This may tingle a little, your highness." Echo declared, as his crystals emerged. "I picked up this little trick during my studies, but I haven't had the chance to use it much, so things could get a little rough..."
"After what Black Thorn did to me, I doubt it'll be too excruciating." Nightshade frowned.
As Echo's crystals flowed over Nightshade's body, the others, having been relayed the message, struggled to keep Black Thorn occupied. Sleight unleashed a dragon made out of playing cards. The beast grasped Black Thorn in its jaws and swallowed him. But moments later, Black Thorn blasted it apart from the inside.
"Is that the best you've got?" He sneered. "Cheap parlor tricks?"
Black Thorn fired a blast at Sleight, but Shining blocked it with his shield. The magic dome shuddered, but held.
"You're not so tough." Shining chided him. "You can't even break my little shield!"
"Wanna bet?" Black Thorn growled, falling for Shining's ruse. He blasted the dome with a continuous beam of magic. The dome held for a few seconds, but ultimately shattered under the onslaught, sending Shining flying.
"Shining!" Cadance gasped, running to him.
"Anypony else care to try me?" Black Thorn growled.
"Only all of us." Twilight declared.
The royals started firing beam after beam of magic at Black Thorn, who managed to dodge or deflect most of them. Even at full strength, their magic wasn't unlimited, and they started to grow weary.
"How much more more time does Echo need?" Blueblood panted.
"No matter what, we have to keep Black Thorn's attention off of him and Nightshade." Twilight declared, sweat running down her brow."
"Is that all you got?" Black Thorn sneered. "Even at full power, you're pathetic! I could do this all day!"
"That's what we're counting on..." Shine muttered.
Meanwhile, Echo's crystals were all other Nightshade, as Echo tried to "feel out" the dark magic still inside him.
"Almost... there!" Echo smiled, finally locating it. "Hang on, here it comes..."
Nightshade grimaced as the remaining piece of dark magic was pulled out of his body and into Echo's crystals, before finally dispersing.
"Did it work?" Red Rose asked.
"There's only one way to find out." Nightshade declared, his eyes locked on Black Thorn. "Professor Alchemy, I want you to hit me as hard as you can."
"As you wish, your highness." Echo said reluctantly.
Echo punched Nightshade in the face.
"Ugh!" Nightshade grunted.
Black Thorn, still countering the royals' attack, didn't even flinch.
"It worked." Nightshade smiled.
"Thank goodness." Red Rose smiled.
"Now, let us rejoin the battle." Nightshade grinned.
"Gladly." Echo smiled.
The three walked over to the others, who stopped firing.
"Did it work?" Dusty asked.
"I think we're about to find out." Shine declared.
"Black Thorn!" Nightshade yelled. "Time to end this!"
"Oh, you want some more, huh?" Black Thorn sneered. "Take this, you pain in the neck!"
Black Thorn headbutted one of his statues, visibly hurting himself.
"How you like some of that, you spineless bucker?!" Black Thorn grunted, blood seeping from his forehead.
To his surprise, Nightshade didn't react at all.
"What the..." Black Thorn snarled. He kicked the statue with his hoof, inducing even more pain in himself. Nightshade yawned mockingly. "What did you do?!"
"The connection between the two of you is broken." Echo declared.
"Looks like you just lost your trump card." Sleight smirked.
"Really?" Blueblood groaned.
"Now there's nothing stopping us from beating the dark magic right out of you." Chrysalis growled.
"You meddling foreigners..." Black Thorn snarled. "I was just starting to have fun with that, and you took it from me?!"
"You've tormented my husband enough for one lifetime, monster." Red Rose spat.
"That's it!" Black Thorn growled, his horn sparking. "I've had it with all you!!"
An enormous shockwave burst out of Black Thorn's horn, sending them all flying.
"You're all going to pay for this." Black Thorn seethed, as they landed hard. "Sticking your noses into my business. I am Black Thorn, King of Haygypt. I waited a lifetime for the chance to take what is rightfully mine. After keeping me a prisoner inside his pathetic mind, I had a lot of retribution to enact on Nightshade, and that connection was the perfect way to do so. I could have tortured him for months on end, but you meddling fools ruined all that. Now, I am going to make you pay for your interference. And I think I'll start with..." He scoured the battlefield, looking for a suitable target. He saw Starlight, who had landed on her wing, and was struggling to get up. "You!"
Black Thorn fired a massive beam of dark magic out of his horn.
For the next few seconds, it was like the world had gone into slow motion. Starlight's eyes widened as the beam neared her, while the others gasped, frozen in horror, none of them near enough to help her. Then, from out of nowhere, Day Light jumped into the path of the beam.
"Day Light?" Starlight was able to choke out.
"…I love you." Daylight whispered.
The second the beam struck Day Light, there was a blinding flash. Once the light faded, nothing but a pile of sand was left.
"No..." Nightshade gasped.
"Day Light..." Starlight whispered, stunned.
"NO!" Red Rose started to cry. "Not my baby!"
"Oh, Faust..." Constell gaped.
"It can't be..." Twilight gasped.
"That poor boy..." Celestia whispered.
"He didn't deserve that..." Luna bowed her head.
"Black Thorn has gone too far this time..." Chrysalis growled.
"No kidding." Sleight agreed. "Day Light was just a kid..."
"That monster..." Blueblood snarled.
"How could he?" Dusty shook her head in disbelief.
"Don't forget, he was aiming for Starlight." Shining pointed out. "If Day Light hadn't jumped in the way..."
"Either way, it's one loss too many." Cadance declared.
"Nightshade..." Shine tried to comfort the Prince, as he stood frozen with anguish. "I can't imagine what you're feeling right now."
"Not quite who I was aiming for." Black Thorn admitted. "Still, at least it means I finished what I started before. Never liked that rotten little brat anyway."
Nightshade started breathing heavily, overcome with anger. His eyes began to well up and his hooves were shaking…
"You monster..." He snarled, his voice nearly breaking. "How could you... how could you do this? You took my son from me... you took my BOY!"
"Hey, I did you a favor." Black Thorn said nonchalantly, "Now you don't have to worry about him going anywhere. Except maybe the grave!"
"How dare you!?" Nightshade screamed. "You not only killed my son, but mocked his memory!"
"He wouldn't be dead if he hadn't jumped into the blast like that." Black Thorn shrugged. "Then again, I would have killed him eventually. Funny, I thought he'd be a lot harder to get rid of, but that was easy. Guess the smug punk wasn't as tough as he thought...."
"I swear... I will destroy you!" Nightshade roared. "Buck dark magic! Buck Alicorn magic! Buck everything! If it takes my last breath, I will murder you for this!"
"Bring it on, you weakling." Black Thorn spat. "You'll go down just as easily as the brat did!"
"RAAAARRRGH!!" Nightshade roared, as he charged towards Black Thorn. One way or another, he was going to settle things with Black Thorn, and avenge his son, even if it meant his own life was forfeit...