It wasn't long before the clouds arrived. The crystal ponies were gathered around the crystal heart. Cadance was in the palace with Armor, the mane six, and countless guards.
Play had run off, onto a balcony, with his camera rolling. He knew it was probably a bad idea, but the plan to defeat Sombra seemed pretty straightforward: Sombra came, the crystal ponies activated the heart, and Raven is revealed. It didn't seem too dangerous.
Clarity stood at the gate, waiting.
The cloud materialized into the soot-gray unicorn she had come to fear, yet love.
"Well, unguarded, I see," Sombra said, "I expected more from the heir to the empire."
"The empire is under the rule of another," Clarity replied, "Now neither of us will rule."
"We'll see about that," Sombra replied, his horn surrounded by orbs of green and purple, "Are you going to fight, or would you never bear to lay a hoof on your own brother?"
Clarity answered, realizing something, "You are not the Raven that I remember playing and having fun with. The one who would be there for me. I am not your sister. Not while you're in that state."
She paused, and added, "But you will always be my brother. I fight with love. And with love, I will defend this empire!" She took to the air.
Sombra fired at her, but she dodged the blows. He began to summon the huge, jagged crystals, and she counteracted with her own crystals. This is how the battle went for the first several minutes.
"Think about what happened a thousand years ago!" Sombra roared, "What makes you think that you are any more powerful then than you are now?!"
This question took Clarity off guard, and Sombra hit her with a black beam.
Play gasped. He saw black crystals begin to form around Clarity's body.
"She's more powerful because she knows that she's not alone!" He yelled, firing at Sombra.
"Play's right," Clarity said in a weakening voice, "I'm not the shy, frightened filly I used to be. I know that I have more friends than I could ask for. Our unity is what helped me overcome my initial fear of you." As the crystals progressed to her neck, she added, "And I want you to truly understand our unity."
She closed her eyes, and the crystal heart began to glow. The crystal ponies stepped forward, and the roadways of the empire lit up once more. The black crystals reached Clarity's horn, completely encasing her, but her horn glowed.
The lights suddenly shot back to the heart, causing it to rotate at its breathtaking speed. A glowing shockwave pierced the air, and Clarity's prison. She opened her eyes, shakily stood up, and looked at Sombra.
The heart shot a pale teal beam at Clarity, who in turn fired it at Sombra.
Glowing cracks could be seen forming in his armor. His eyes glowed pure white. He screamed. The world went black.
..............................
Groaning, Play got up.
'What happened,' he thought. He looked at his camera and rolled through the hoofage. He heard himself screaming at Sombra. He saw the blast that shattered Clarity's crystal prison. He heard Sombra scream. Then the screen went static.
'The blast must've shorted out the camera,' he thought. He cautiously peeked over the balcony, seeing other ponies beginning to stir.
'Guess I wasn't the only one knocked out,' he thought as he made his way down, 'To be honest, what all just happened now feels like a bad dream.'
The mane six bursted out the door with Cadance and Shining Armor.
Clarity slowly stood up, getting her balance.
When everyone was up, they all looked at the damage, shocked.
Because there was no damage. The only sign that anything happened was the navy blue unicorn who was trying to stand up.
"Raven," Clarity said, with her eyes surprisingly dry.
The former dark king just looked at his older sister with a look of half anger and half fear.
"Clarity," he said.
"I don't like where this is going," Rainbow Dash said, "I'm taking him down." She began to shoot towards him but was stopped by Twilight's aura.
"Calm down!" She said, "This is not going to be like when Luna was stopped. Clarity's willing to forgive and forget, but Raven's not. Let those two talk it out."
"It's been over a thousand years since I've felt at ease around you, brother."
"So it has."
"Listen, I'm sorry for not being there for you. I tried, but I guess that I didn't try hard enough."
"It's not your fault. You had it all. The attention, the throne, the power. Everything that I didn't have. That's why I shut you out."
Clarity pondered for a while, and said,
"I don't want us to live in hatred with one another. I'm aware that we will never be the bright, young, innocent foals we once were, but I want to be your sister again. The wounds are raw and deep, but time will soothe the pain." She then turned to Princess Cadance and said, "Cadance, although it was never made official, I pass the empire's crown on to you. You and Shining Armor are ruling the empire far better than I ever would. I am unsure of my true role in the empire, but I know that I won't be in the journey on my own."
Raven looked rather insecure, but followed Clarity into the palace.
"Hay! Wait up!" Play called. Clarity and Raven turned around to let the unicorn reporter catch up.
"So, you want an interview?" Clarity asked.
"A what?" Raven said.
"I'll explain," Clarity said, "Just correct me if I get something wrong, Play."