//------------------------------// // Chapter 67- The Storm // Story: Of Flame and Shadow // by Garuda IV //------------------------------// Twilight appeared in the medical wing of the castle in a blinding flash of light with Flash limply floating in her magic beside her. "Somepony! I need help!" she shouted. Seconds later, several of the castle's medical staff in the room darted over and immediately saw Flash's condition. "He needs medical attention, now!" Taking him from Twilight, the doctors and nurses moved Flash to one of the operation tables and began removing his armor while one of them began to question her. "Princess Twilight, what happened to Lieutenant Flash?" the doctor asked her. "He was attacked," Twilight answered. "When we saw him, he just crash-landed by the Crystal Heart." "And those crystals?" "They were there when Dark and I got to him, but they're not from the crystalline floor that he crashed into." Twilight followed the doctor back over to Flash, just as they finished removing his armor. "Is he going to make it?" "We're not sure, Princess," one of the others answered. "The wounds are deep, and he is very weak. The only reason why he made it this far is due to those crystals still embedded in him, otherwise he would've bled-out by now." "So they're clogging his wounds?" "Yes, they are," the doctor answered, looking over his wounds more closely. "Although, the wounds seem to be slowly sealing themselves up as well." "You see that light above him?" Twilight asked as she pointed to Dark's Healing Flame floating above Flash. "It's a spell Dark casted on Flash that's healing his wounds." "In that case, since he's with us now, we should remove the crystals and begin working on him." "Thank you," Twilight thanked, lighting her horn to leave. But before she did, she looked back to them with a look of worry. "Also, you should call in any off-duty staff. I expect that we're going to have a lot of ponies in here soon, so we'll need as much help as we can get." Leaving it at that, Twilight teleported herself out of the medical wing and near the hallway to the dining hall. Not wanting to waste any time, Twilight flew above everypony, earning her a few stairs before she landed in front of Shining and Cadence. "Twily?" Shining said confusingly. "Something wrong? You don't look so goo-" "Oh my Celestia!" Cadence exclaimed, her eyes locked onto the ring on Twilight's horn. "Twilight! Did Dark propose to you?!" Immediately, everyone in the dining hall fell silent as their gazes all shifted over Twilight. However, this wasn't the time for that. "Yes, he did," she hastily answered, "but we've got more important things to worry about!" "What could be more important than my sister-in-law getting married?" Twilight gave Cadence and Shining her most serious expression. "Sombra's coming." There was a loud collection of gasps. "Twilight," Shining spoke, his tone hard and serious, "are you absolutely sure about this?" "I am," she soundly nodded. "Flash came crashing down by the Crystal Heart and had Sombra's crystals embedded in his side and legs, and he also had a gapping hole in his wing." Twilight placed a shaky hoof on Shining's shoulder. "Shiny, Flash said that Sombra has an army." Hearing everything that she needed to hear, Cadence stepped forward. "Attention, everypony!" she called out, "I am hereby issuing a Code Black. All guards are to prepare for battle while everypony else are to stay calm and make their way to the shelters!" "You heard her, everypony!" Gray shouted. "The enemy is coming, so let's move it!" In haste, everypony made for the doors and split into two groups. The civilians going left towards the shelters, while the guards went right towards the armory. While they were heading out, Celestia, Luna, Pyre, Night and Velvet, and the others all came up to them. "Are you for real, Twilight? Is Sombra really back?" Spike asked. "He is," she confirmed, causing Spike to nervously gulp. "And if he's coming here with an army, then we'll need everypony's help if we're going to beat him." "It'll take a while for the guards to get themselves equipped, Your Highnesses," Gray announced with his Lieutenants by his side. "Sombra's picked the worst possible time for us to attack us. Very few of our guards are actually armed and ready for combat. The rest were off-duty and attending Princess Skyla's party." "How long until they can be ready?" Shining asked. "About a half-hour if they move it," Saph guesstimated. "That won't be quick enough," he muttered. "We're going to need to find a way to stall Sombra's army." "I believe that we could you help with that, Shining Armor," Celestia offered. "But the last time we engaged Sombra, we nearly lost," Luna reminded her. "And he didn't even have an army with his that time. Speaking of, how large are his forces?" "We don't know," Twilight answered her. "Dark went up to the top platform to scout them out and said to meet him in the throne room." Celestia nodded. "In that case, we should go to the throne room and-" Celestia went silent as she and the others heard a loud, low thrumming sound echoing throughout the castle. Ten seconds later after the thrumming sounded, they covered their ears and dropped to the floor as a massive explosion shook the entire castle. "What the Tartarus was that?!" Shining shouted in confusion. "T-They're not h-here already, a-a-are they?" Sweetie Belle fearfully asked. "No," Twilight answered. "I know what that was, and that wasn't from Sombra or his army." Without warning, Twilight lit up her horn and teleported them all to the throne room. Fighting off a wave of dizziness, she ran over to the balcony with the others following closely behind her. When they got there, all but Twilight, Spike, Rainbow, and Pyre gawked at the giant mushroom-shaped cloud of snow, dirt, and other debris off in the distance. All of which was illuminated by the fires from the crater that had appeared. "What in Equestria did that?" Gray asked bewildered. Twilight was about to answer when she caught something shining above her. "Look up and you'll find out." Listening to her, everyone on the balcony looked up to see a ball of light shining like a beacon near the top of the castle. Seconds later, a large beam of reds, purples, and some blues fired out from it, creating the same thrumming sound they'd heard earlier before it impacted the ground off to the right of where the mushroom cloud was. Throwing up a barrier around them, Twilight braced herself as the area where the beam impacted exploded, illumination the entire Crystal Empire and the surrounding area in a bright light. And though the light lasted for just a few seconds, it was more than enough time for everyone to make out the entirety of the army that was marching towards them. "Oh, no," Saph muttered. "There's got to be thousands of them!" Emerald exclaimed. "Tens of thousands, actually," Luna said grimly. "And this doesn't include those that were caught in those two blasts." "Alright, but what did that to them?!" Shining demanded. "Me." Turning around, they all watched as Dark materialized from the shadows, panting heavily and wobbling as he did. When he was fully materialized, he looked directly at Shining. "You wanted to know how I would be able to fight off several ursa majors all at one? Well there's your answer, Shining. Say hello to the Flare." "Are you feeling alright?" Twilight asked as she walked up and helped support him. "Yeah. Just a bit winded is all." Pyre stepped forward. "How's your limit? Still the same as before?" "Yeah," Dark panted. "Three shots are still my limit before I start to blackout." "In that case, you should rest and restore your energy, Dark," Luna suggested as she looked out towards the army with a night vision spell on her eyes. "Your preemptive strike against them has stalled their march. Probably in fear of you casting another Flare." "I saw that before I came down here," he said, regaining enough strength to stand steadily on his own. "I managed to take out about a fourth of their forces with those two shots, but there's still a lot more left." Casting a spell to increase the range of her eyesight, Luna looked at the army and grimaced. "Sombra's forces are all made up of skeletons from a variety of different races, and not just ponies either." "Then we don't need to worry about feeling guilty for killing them," Gray said. "But that just means that they won't feel pain or die like they would if they were still alive," Emerald pointed out. "So, in other words, we're still boned," Saph chuckled with dark humor. "I wouldn't say that," Pyre said with a fanged grin. "Oh, really?" Celestia questioned with a small smirk. "I'll admit that I was getting a little bored with that party in there, but with these guys here, I'll finally get to have some fun." Pyre began stretching. "Besides, it's been a while since I've fought an army of that size." "Well, don't you think that you're going in all alone now," Dark told him. "I'm coming with you." "So am I," Twilight said. "No, Twilight. You're staying here with the others." "No I'm not, Dark," she firmly argued, getting an equally firm look from Dark. "Please don't argue with me on this, Twilight." "I can fight them and you know it!" "I know!" Dark snapped before calming himself down with a sigh. "Look, Twilight, I know that you're powerful, but if they get past us or try flanking us and we're not able to intercept them, then who's going to protect everypony here?" Twilight frowned, knowing that he was right. But before Dark continued, his expression softened. "Besides, you're carrying our future with you, Twilight. It's not that I don't believe you can handle yourself in a fight, because I know you can. It's just that I don't want to risk anything happening to you or the baby." "As much as you probably don't want to hear it, Twilight, he's right," Cadence said sympathetically. "Even though you're still in the early stages of your pregnancy, if you were to take one wrong hit, it could mean the end for your foal, and possibly even yourself." Fighting back tears of sadness and frustration, Twilight leaned her face against Dark's shoulder. "This sucks," she muttered. "I've always been on the front lines with my friends and family, not sitting back here where it's safe while the ponies I love are out there risking their lives." Dark wrapped a wing around Twilight in a hug and began nuzzling her. "I get where you're coming from, Twilight," he sympathetically said, "but this is about more than just us now." "I know, but I still don't like it," she sighed. Looking up to him, Twilight gave him a good luck kiss. "Just promise me that you'll come back." "I promise," Dark smiled. "Me too," Shining spoke, gaining their attention. "What? You didn't think that I'd let my future brother-in-law go off to battle on his own like that now, did you?" With a thankful smile, Twilight hugged her brother and Dark. "You'll look out for each other out there, right?" "We promise," they answered together as they hugged her back. "Alright, enough already," Pyre groaned with an eye-roll. "We're wasting time here while we have guys that need killing." Releasing Twilight, Dark and Shining walked over to Pyre. But before Shining could go too far, Cadence stopped him with a kiss. "Good luck out there," she smiled. "Thanks, but with Dark watching my back, I don't think I'll need it," Shining chuckled. "Still, though, be careful." "I will." Sharing another kiss with her, Shining then placed a kiss on his daughter's head before turning around to the railing of the balcony. "Are you guys ready?" Pyre asked. "Ready," they answered. "Before you leave," Luna spoke, "allow for me to aid you with a bit of light." Lighting her horn, Luna raised the moon high above the night sky. As it rose, its light began to show brighter as it pierced the darkness. By the time it reached its peak, its light shown bright enough to illuminate the entire area, which was made that much brighter by the moonlight reflecting off of the crystal buildings and the snow, easily revealing the army approaching them. "Thank you, Princess Luna," Shining thanked. "Can we go yet?" Pyre huffed. "We've wasted too much time with the goodbyes, so you two will have to jump while I change and land on my back." "Wait, what?!" Twilight shouted. "Let's go!" Waiting a few seconds after watching Pyre leaping off the edge in a burst of flame as his body grew, Dark and Shining followed. Jumping into a freefall, Dark used his shadows to don his repaired armor, while Shining used his magic to summon to him his Draconium armor and sword. A few seconds later, they landed on Pyre's back, who'd grown several times bigger, allowing for them to walk across his back safely without having to worry about falling. "Where'd you get that armor from?" Dark questioned. "You didn't have it a moment ago." "Summoning circles," Shining answered with a smirk. "Got the idea from watching how you summoned your armor and weapons." "Neat. By the way, why the Draconium gear?" "Besides it being my best set of armor right now, it's to avoid accidentally being barbecued by Pyre. And what about you? Why're you wearing that armor again and not the new one you had Anvil make after you beat me at the Coliseum?" "It's not finished yet," Dark answered him. "We're almost there," Pyre called back. "How're you guys wanting to do this?" "Shining and I will take the right flank while you work on their left," Dark answered. "If we feel like we're getting overwhelmed, we'll send out a signal flare for you to come and help us." "Alright. I'll drop you two off then and-" "Thanks," Shining interrupted, "but we've got it. Just take us over them." Glancing back to give him a curious look, Pyre looked at Shining before shrugging. "Suit yourself then." Less than a minute later, Pyre was about to pass over Sombra's army when Dark and Shining stood on the side of his back looking down. Sharing a look, they met each other with a hoof/fist bump. "See you down there," Shining said with a grin. "You too," Dark returned. Jumping from Pyre's back, Dark and Shining fell into a freefall directly towards the heart of the right side of the army. As they fell, they both lit their horns with Dark lighting his body on fire and plummeting like a giant flaming spear, and Shining creating a five-layer barrier around himself as he dropped like a cannonball. After a long ten seconds of falling, they both impacted the ground, Shining shaking the ground and kicking up dirt, snow, and skeletons upon landing, while Dark's impact created a wave of fire that splashed out from where he landed, melting any that were too close to him. From the bottom of the crater his barriers created, Shining leapt out from it, blasting everything around him while creating magical shields and swords to protect him and cut down any that were too close. And while he noticed that they were fully armored and armed, it wasn't magically enhanced to resist his magical projectiles or blades. After a minute of blasting and slicing them down, Shining felt a tremor coming from behind. Turing around, he created another magical shield just in time to block skeletal buffalo that had charged him. Pushing it back, Shining fired a powerful beam at the unarmored gap on its snout, blowing the skull apart and causing the buffalo to collapse into a heap of bones and armor. However, as soon as it fell, three skeletal minotaurs charged at him, each wielding an axe with an axe head the size of Shining's body. Bracing for impact, Shining winced as the three axes all came down onto his shield, creating a crack in it. With a growl, Shining used his magic to push them back and conjured a row of seven magical spears that arched over his body before launching them. Much like with his duel against Dark, as soon as he'd launched one, another was there to take its place. Soon enough, Shining had impaled the three minotaurs with several magical spears each before turning his sights on the other skeletons surrounding him. Switching to an aggressive defensive tactic, Shining created several more magical shields around him and brought them in to resemble a turtle shell. Safe and sound, Shining created more magical spears and placed them in each of the open gaps the shields couldn't cover. Using his magic to rotate the dome of shields and spears, Shining began to slowly make his way over to where he saw Dark land. Chuckling in his magical fortress, he continued firing his magical spears out every few seconds, only for another to be replaced. Meanwhile, a few hundred feet away, Dark was having the time of his life. Not having to worry about friendly fire at the moment, Dark wasted no time in casting fire spells with reckless abandonment. Launching fireballs into the air, he watched as they exploded and began raining smaller fireballs down upon the surrounding army. Along with his fireballs, he would also create walls of fire that he would push out into a wave, conjure Fire Orbs for his Explosive Fire Needles, and of course, creating a flaming vortex around him. And while it was enough for most of them, the larger and more heavily armored ones were able to pass through them. Chuckling at how much fun he was having, Dark watched as the minotaurs and buffalo charged at him. However, before they hit him, Dark shrouded his body in a thin layer of shadows. When they struck him, they phased through him like a shadowy ghost, rendering him unharmed. Holding his claw out, Dark summoned his Death Reaver and cleaved the minotaur vertically in half before rounding on the buffalo that had ran through him. Slicing through it and its armor, Dark's eyes drifted to his sword as he saw the red gem embedded in the center of it glow after each kill. Channeling his death magic from his claw into his sword, Dark powered it up. Once the blade was glowing black with power, he drew it back and swung in a downward slash, launching a black wave of death magic from it that carved a clean path through any that it came into contact with it. Laughing from the thrill of battle, Dark's attention was soon caught by the sight of a skeletal zebra flying through the air, impaled by a magical spear. Knowing who was the cause of that, Dark turned in the direction he saw Shining land and began making his way to him, cutting skeletons down with his sword while blowing others up with his fire magic. After a few minutes of cutting through their forces, Dark and Shining finally regrouped with Shining creating an opening in his defenses for Dark to walk in. "So," Shining began with a light pant, "having fun?" "You have no idea," he chuckled. Chuckling along with him, Shining was about to add something more when he became distracted by an explosion towards the center of the army. "Hey, Dark, did you see that?" "Yeah," he nodded, "but who-" Dark went silent when he saw several gold and purple beams of magic flying into Sombra's army and exploding. Following the direction they came from, he and Shining both shook their heads in exasperation when they saw that they were coming from towards the top of the castle, and were phasing through the light-blue barrier that was surrounding the Crystal Empire. "Figures," Dark sighed. "I should've known that Twilight would find a way to help us from there." "Yeah," Shining agreed, "but if she and Princess Celestia are providing us with support from there, and Cadence is protecting the Crystal Empire with her barrier, then where's Princess Luna?" As it to answer his question, a flash of blue illuminated the area between the center of the army, and the Crystal Empire. Looking over in that direction, they watched as Luna flew, firing multiple bolts of lightning towards Sombra's forces and chaining them to the armored skeletons. When their bones were finally reduced to ash and their armor sparking with electricity, she moved on to begin it all over again. "... I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that that's her," Dark joked as he threw up another wall of fire behind them. "You know, this makes me wonder why Sombra decided to attack us now," Shining mused out loud, absentmindedly launching his magic spears at the army surrounding them. "I mean, yes, our guards were unprepared due to Skyla's birthday party, but between Princesses Celestia and Luna, Twilight, Cadence, Pyre, and the two of us, you think that he would have thought this through better." "Speaking of Sombra, where is he? You'd think that with all the commotion we've caused, he would've come to check it out by now." Shining furrowed his brow. "That's not good, then." Suddenly, a thought popped into his head. "Hey, when you were up there, did you see a detachment unit anywhere else?" "I only saw the main force," Dark answered. "If there is one, then it either held back so that we would be distracted by the main force, or they were sent on ahead of time so that by the time the main force came in, they could flank us." Shining looked at Dark in surprise. "For a guy who lived in an isolated village for nearly all of his life, you seem to know some military tactics." "I read a few books about them while growing up," he shrugged. "That, and I had to think like a tactician while defending the village." "Huh... well, let's hope that Sombra's just overconfident in his army and is somewhere around here, instead of secretly leading another group." Back in the castle, Twilight and Celestia provided ranged support with Cadence and Twilight's friends right behind her. With Night and Velvet having taken Skyla and the Crusaders to hide in their room, Twilight breathed a little easier knowing that they were safe. And while she would've like for Spike and Soul to have gone with them, they were being unusually stubborn about it, but were allowed to stay on the condition that they both stayed close. As Twilight and Celestia continued their attack, Applejack and Rainbow stepped closer to the edge to get a better look at the action. Looking across the snowy landscape, they both gave a low whistle at the size of the army being illuminated by Luna's moonlight, and the fire from Dark and Pyre. "That's a lot of bad guys," Applejack commented. "Yeah," Rainbow nodded in agreement. Continuing watching, she chuckled when she saw a pillar of fire jutting up from the army. "Looks like somepony's enjoying himself." Another flash of blue lightning drew their attention towards the centerfront of the army. "Looks like he's not the only one," Applejack said. "Seems like Princess Luna's havin' herself a fun time, too." "Yeah. Kinda makes me wish that we were down there with them." "I wouldn't advise that, Rainbow Dash," Celestia spoke. "While I know of how well you two can do in combat, you wouldn't last long against numbers like that, especially if Sombra really is somewhere down there." "And Dark and Shining Armor can?" she questioned before hearing Pyre roaring as he flew over the army, breathing fire down upon them. "With Pyre and Luna also down there, I wouldn't worry too much about them." "And besides Twilight and Aunty Celestia supporting them," Cadence began adding, "pretty soon, they'll also have the crystal guard backing them up." Groaning, Rainbow looked back to her friends. "Hey, Pinkie, can't you use that giant party bomb of yours on them?" "Sorry, Dashie," Pinkie shrugged, "but The Bigger Big One is a bomb meant just for parties. Now, if I'd packed my newly remodeled war balloon, then we'd definitely be able to do something about them." "Is that the same one we used durrin' the Ponyville Invasion?" Applejack questioned. "Yep, but I made a few changes to it, so it's a lot more fun now and-" Pinkie stopped herself when she saw Soul standing off to their right, staring off into the distance. "Soul? Something wrong?" "I'm... I'm not sure," he unsurely answered. "What is it, Soul?" Twilight asked, overhearing them. "I feel.... I don't know, like a great mass of hate and disdain?" "Where?" Soul pointed ahead of him. "Over there." "Is it Sombra?" "Probably," Celestia said. "But if it is him and he's trying to sneak in, then he'll find it difficult between Cadence's barrier, and the Crystal Heart's protection." Twilight hummed to herself as she continued to fire beams of magic at the Sombra's army. "Regardless, we shouldn't ignore him. Soul, keep your... uh... senses on him, and tell us if he starts to move." "Okay, Twilight," he replied, focusing his attention on the negative emotions that he'd been sensing. "And what about the rest of us?" Rarity wondered. "Just stand by for now. I'd rather that you girls stay close incase I need your help with something." "Gah! But waiting like this is so boring!" Rainbow exclaimed, throwing her hooves up in exasperation. "I want to be out there where the action is, not sitting on my flank up here on the sidelines watching it!" "Ah know, sugarcube," Applejack agreed. "Ah wish Ah could be out there too, but we're better off here." A few minutes later, they heard hoofsteps echoing from the stairwell. Moments later, Gray showed up. "Your Highnesses," he said with a bow. "Captain," Cadence returned with a nodded. "How's everything going with the crystal guards?" "I'm pleased to report to you, Princess, that they were able to move faster than what we'd originally thought. When I left to report to you, almost all of our forces were armed and ready for battle." Cadence nodded with a sad sigh. "Thank you, Captain. I'm sorry. I would much rather not have to give you and your soldiers this order, but-" "Don't worry about it, Princess Cadence," he interrupted with a smile. "You don't need to give us the order. The Crystal Empire is our home, and we're all willing to do what we need to do to protect our families and homes from that monster, Sombra." Cadence smiled, feeling as though a great weight had suddenly been lifted from her shoulders. "Thank you, Captain. Be careful out there, and good luck." Giving them a salute, Gray was about to go on down when Rainbow scooped him up in her forelegs, earning her a confusing look from Gray and the others. "What?" she asked. "I may not be able to help them out there, but I can at least fly this guy back down to where the guards are faster than he would running." Without another word, Rainbow flew off the edge of the platform with Gray and flew him down the side of the castle until they came to the throne room balcony. Turning inside, she flew him through the hallways, following his directions until they came to the castle's armory. Setting him down, Rainbow hovered alongside him. "Well, I guess good luck out there," she said. "You're not wanting to come?" he questioned. "I heard you complaining all the way from the bottom of the stairwell. That, and I've heard about how fast you are, and I've read the report on the invasion on Ponyville about how you helped them." Rainbow sighed. "As tempting as that is, I would never hear the end of it if I did." Waving to him, Rainbow turned around to rejoin her friends. When she was out of sight, Gray chuckled to himself before turning to his guards. Seeing that they were all ready, he shared a salute with them before turning back around and leading them through and out of the castle. Coming to the edge of Cadence's barrier, he stopped as was flanked by Sapph and Emerald. With his two remaining captains and the crystal guard at his back, he marched them through the barrier to meet Sombra's forces. As they passed through, they watched as Sombra's forces had gotten close enough that the undead unicorns were now firing beams of magic at Cadence's barrier, though the long range had reduced their power. Picking up the pace, Gray and his captains broke into a gallop, followed by their forces as they shouted their war cry and charged head-on against Sombra's army. Less than a minute later when they'd gotten close enough to them, Gray drew his sword with his mouth and leaped into the front lines of Sombra's army. Blocking and parrying the first few incoming attacks, he then bucked at a pair of earth pony skeletons before slicing the head off of a unicorn skeleton. Seconds later, he heard the clanging of swords, spears, and shields as his crystal guard finally made contact with Sombra's forces and began driving into them. With the running start the crystal guards had, they were able to wedge themselves deep into the undead army before spreading themselves out. Up above, Luna watched with a satisfied smirk before firing several bolts of lightning towards the back of Sombra's army, making sure that the chain effect her lightning had wouldn't reach to her allies. Breaking her connection, Luna began to fly around in the air, dodging the magical projectiles that were being shot at either her, or at Cadence's barrier behind her. However, as the battle continued, she found more beams of magic being fired off, forcing her to magically don her old armor as she flew down to join her allies on the ground. Feeling invigorated having Luna fighting alongside them, the crystal guard cheered for her as they continued to slowly push their way further into the enemy's ranks. With their shieldponies up front and their spearponies right behind them, they were able to save most of their forces from the spells and weapon strikes that clashed against their shields. But, when it came to the armored minotaurs and buffalo skeletons, they did little to stop them. With several minotaurs and buffalo breaking their lines, the others behind the spearponies drew their swords and began their assault of them. After taking a few losses of their own, they finally managed to put them down. However, Saph became wounded by them and was fading fast. "Sir!" one of them shouted to Gray. "Captain! Lieutenant Saph is wounded! We need to get him back to the Crystal Empire!" Hearing them, Gray turned around and made his way back to Saph's side with Luna and Emerald following right behind. Standing by his side, Gray kneeled down to take a look at Saph and frowned when he saw the deep gash along his left side. "The wound is too great," he said. "He won't make it back to the Crystal Empire in time." "What if I were to teleport him back?" Luna suggested, but before she could get an answer, she and the others watched as Saph took his last gurgling breath before his eyes glazed over. Silent bidding his friend farewell, Gray ran a hoof over Saph's eyes and closed them. "We have to keep pushing forward," he told them. "Even though we lost Lieutenant Saph, we still have an empire to defend." With one last salute, they left Saph to continue their assault. For the next ten minutes they fought back their outnumbering opponent, doing their best to keep themselves and their allies alive while trying to strike down their enemy. Several long minutes later, off to their right, Gray, Emerald, and Luna spotted Dark and Shining as they cut through the undead with a whirlwind of magical swords, shields, and fire. Glad to see their prince unharmed and reunited with them, the crystal guard cheered with renewed morale and pressed harder into the opposing army. Cleaving through another dozen undead, Dark and Shining regrouped with them and helped relieve some of the pressure from their sides. Once things seemed to be under their control, they made their way behind their allies towards Luna, Gray, and Emerald. "Glad to see you two made it," Luna said with a small smile. "You too, Princess Luna," Dark returned with a grin. "By the way, nice lightshow you put on there." "It was of no trouble. To be honest, the metallic armor they wore only helped with spreading my lightning." "Sorry to interrupt," Shining spoke, "but where's Lieutenant Saph? Shouldn't he be here with you all?" Removing their helmet, Gray and Emerald bowed to Shining. "Your Highness," Gray remorsefully began, "I am sorry to inform you that Lieutenant Saph has fallen in battle." Shining remained quiet for a moment before speaking again. "Could you tell me where his body is?" "With the others who've fallen, Your Highness," Emerald answered, pointing towards the thirty fallen who were laid side-by-side in six rows of five. Without a word, Shining walked over to them and stood in silence. A few moments later, Dark walked up alongside him. "I'm sorry about what happened to them," he said. Shining sighed. "It's not your fault, Dark." Silently nodding, Dark remained by Shining's side as they both looked them over. As they did, Dark began to notice that while they were indeed dead, their wounds. while fatal, could be mended. Glancing down to his Death Reaver, Dark smiled upon seeing the red gem glowing much brighter than what it was before. I know what you're thinking, Dark, Nocturne told him. And? Dark questioned. What's your take on it? I have no objection over it. You've collected plenty of souls from those undead you struck down with this weapon to do it. Good. "Hey, Shining?" "Yeah?" he sighed as he silently mourned for his fallen friend. "Mind standing back a little bit? I'm gonna need some room for this." Despite being confused as to what Dark was up to, Shining took a few steps back until he was back with Luna, Gray, and Emerald. Seeing that Shining was far enough away and he had plenty of room to work with, Dark walked between the rows of bodies until he was standing at the center of them. Raising his Death Reaver above his head, Dark flipped the sword around to hold it in reverse. Focusing his power into his right arm, Dark began to channel it into his sword, causing the gem to begin emanating red sparks of magical energy. "Today, nopony dies!" With that declaration, Dark trusted his sword down into the ground. When he did, bolts of red magical energy ran from the gem, down the sides of the blade, and split off towards each of the fallen crystal guards. Remaining in this position, Dark continued pouring more power into his sword, causing the gem to pulse faster while the arcs of energy crackled with power. As Dark continued the spell, everypony else who was watching watched in awe as every wound on each of the corpses began to mend themselves. Once they were all healed, they saw Dark send one last pulse of magic from his Death Reaver into the ground, causing the pulse to spread out and for each of the dead bodies to spontaneously jerk upon making contact. Seconds later, each of the bodies gave one last jerk ask they all simultaneously snapped open their eyes. All around Dark, a collection of gasps, coughing, and groans sounded as the once dead crystal guards began to move on their own. However, unlike Sombra's army of undead skeletons, these ponies were all just as alive and well as they were before they all died. Feeling the exertion of the spell, Dark leaned on his sword as he took a quick breather. As he took his break, he looked around with a small smile as he saw the once dead ponies begin to stand up and look themselves over in confusion. "Oooohhhh. What happened?" Saph groggily asked. "Uhhhhh... you don't remember?" Emerald questioned, still trying to process the fact that his friend was just resurrected before his eyes. "Besides taking a minotaur axe to my side, the last I remember was Captain Gray and Princess Luna standing over me. After that I... don't know. I blacked out I guess?" "You died, son," Gray said as he and the others hesitantly approached him and the other resurrected ponies. "But... if I died, then how am I alive?" "You can thank Dark for that," Shining said, sighing in relief. "What?! How?!" Standing back up, Dark pulled his sword out from the ground and turned to Saph. "I'll tell you later, but right now, you and the others better pull yourselves together. We've still got a battle to win." South of the Crystal Empire, Sombra stood, waiting until the right time for him to strike revealed itself. As he waited, he watched in the distance as lightning and fire shot up from where his army was, but frowned when he saw the dragon flying overhead and burning them. "So, they somehow got Pyre to fight on their side," he said to himself with a snort. "This could prove problematic for us." Continuing to watch, Sombra's ears perked up at the sound of wings approaching him from behind. Frowning further, he turned his head to see a hooded stallion landing alongside him. "You said you'd be back yesterday," Sombra growled. "What happened?" "They were a bit more difficult to negotiate with than I thought," he answered Sombra. "It didn't help me much either that a former accomplice of mine whom I thought to be dead, was actually still alive." "Then that's your own fault. But enough about that. Did you mange to get them on our side or not?" The stallion pulled down his hood, showing Sombra a toothy grin. "It took some convincing, but after saying a few choice words that caught their attention, I managed to get them to agree." "Good," Sombra chuckled, but it didn't last long due to the glare he was getting from the cloaked stallion. "Now, Sombra," he began, "would you mind telling me why you went on ahead and attacked the Crystal Empire without me?! You've deviated from the plan! If you would've waited for me, then I could've casted an illusion over the army and hidden them until they were marching into the Crystal Empire!" Sombra's shadowy mane flared in anger. "If you would've been here on time, then I wouldn't have had to! That illusion you casted to hide the entrance wore off, which allowed for their scouts to find the temple!" Composing himself, Sombra turned his back to him. "If I had waited any longer, the attack would've been ruined." The stallion growled beneath his breath. "Fine. Now, how are our forces doing?" Sombra frowned again. "We've had a few unexpected surprises which resulted in the loss of over a third of our forces already." "What?! How?!" "I don't know what they've got up there, but a superweapon of sorts destroyed a forth of our army in just two blasts. Thankfully, there hasn't been any more since then." "Anything else?" "Yes. Turns out that Pyre, Lord of Fire, has joined their side and is currently fighting our forces." "A minor inconvenience." "Princess Celestia and Luna are there as well." "Didn't you say you had something for them just incase?" "I did." "Then why even bring them up if they're of no threat to you?" he snorted before walking up ahead of Sombra. "And where do you think you're going?" Sombra questioned. "To begin the next phase of our plans," he answered. "Speaking of, you are able to get me though that barrier of theirs, right?" "Only with your help I can. However, they will notice it." Together, Sombra and the cloaked stallion began making their way towards Cadence's barrier. As they did, Sombra glanced at the cloaked stallion and noticed something missing. "You seem to have lost your sword," he commented. "No, I didn't," he answered Sombra. "I left it with our new allies to have it reforged into an entirely different kind of sword. While I loathe to admit it, it was well-made and has served me well. But, I would much rather have it remade into something... more to my liking. I'll be going back to visit them in a few weeks or months to pick it up from them." Silent nodding, they made their way up to Cadence's barrier and stopped at the edge of it. Lighting their horns briefly, Sombra and the cloaked stallion combined their magic and pried open a small gap for the latter to walk through. Once he was through Cadence's barrier and the invisible force field provided by the Crystal Heart, the cloaked stallion turned back to see Sombra standing outside the barrier as it sealed itself back up. "You better not get caught," Sombra warned him. "If you do, then this whole plan all be for naught." "Have you forgotten already?" the stallion chuckled as his body and cloak beginning to disappear. "With my power over light and life, nopony will be able to see me coming, and their Crystal Heart won't expel me. And by the time they find out what I'm up to, it'll be too late for them to stop me."