Sombra's Crucible, Twilight's Corruption

by Dusk Raven

V: Reaping

“So, what’s your plan?” Shining Armor asked Twilight.

“Sombra’s no fool. He’ll keep the Crystal Heart close to him… I just need to get him away from it, or distract him long enough for you all to take it and return it to its place.”

Applejack pawed the ground nervously. “How in the hay are you gonna do that?”

Twilight hesitated a moment. They weren't going to like what she had in mind, and she knew that because she didn't like it either. “…I have an idea. Just be glad you won’t have to go through this. And whatever you do, don’t interfere. In the meantime, though…” She frowned. “We’re going to need some help, and I think I know the right pony for the job. Spike, take a letter.”

...

Twilight strode into Sombra’s throne room alone. Her stride was a little less confident than she would have hoped… but this was something she had to do.

Sombra had a grin on his face as he slouched on his throne, clad in armor and robe. “Twilight Sparkle, “redeemed” from the darkness. Why am I not surprised?” He doubtless could see the change in her eyes, the half-defiant, half-afraid expression on her face.

Twilight gulped. “You knew this would happen? That your little tricks would fail?” That really came out less confident than she would have hoped.

“I suspected it. Still… it was worth a shot. Besides, I enjoyed myself.” He grinned even more, showing off his fangs.

Twilight thought she could see the Crystal Heart, embedded in the wall above the throne. Not very well protected, but a moot point if Sombra insisted on taking the Crystal Heart with him at all times. His previous method had worked well, but he’d be a fool to rely on the same tactic too much.

Twilight, meanwhile, had a very strong urge to punch that grin off his face. She was getting tired of seeing it. And, to the rest of the world, it looked like she was going to do just that. She suddenly broke into a gallop, magic in her horn charging. Sombra reacted quickly, forming a black crystal spire between them, but Twilight fired a magical blast at the tower, shattering it as she leaped through the shards and straight into Sombra.

The two locked eyes as Twilight called upon dark magic for what she hoped would be the last time.

Suddenly, the two found themselves enveloped by darkness. They stood apart now, several lengths away, and Sombra was looking around with a mix of confusion and admiration.

“Ha ha… you really do learn quickly, my dear student. Thinking to trap me in my own nightmares, hmm?”

Twilight tried to focus, trying to keep Sombra’s mind contained in the dark world. Sombra’s laughter, meanwhile, began to turn maniacal.

“Have you forgotten!? I am the lord of nightmares!” The darkness melted away, turning into a hellishly-lit version of the stained-glass hallway of legends in Canterlot Castle.

“Welcome to MY WORLD!” Sombra sent out a massive wave of energy that threw Twilight off her feet, sending her flying into the back wall, as the force blew out the stained-glass windows and revealed a vista of Canterlot in flames, the sounds of screaming ponies drifting up through the openings.

Twilight righted herself in time to face a swarm of stained glass shards heading her way. Quickly, she erected a barrier, the shards grinding themselves into dust on impact. Next, Sombra telekinetically wrested a pillar from its position, and hurled it like a javelin at her. Just before its impact against her barrier she teleported, reappearing a moment later behind Sombra.

Sombra turned in time to receive a magical blast to the face. Undeterred, his horn radiated darkness once more, and black crystals began to sprout from the floor around Twilight. She quickly darted to the side to avoid being impaled as spires erupted where she had just been. Another wave of spikes burst forth, surrounding her, but she teleported away before the rising spike in the center could impale her.

Sombra let out a dark chuckle. “You are a scholar, Twilight, not a warrior.” He turned and, spotting her position, fired a blast of dark energy at her, only for her to teleport away. “I have the advantage of countless methods of violence available to me.” The air around her began to heat up to searing levels, and she teleported away again, while Sombra continued, “I’ve been toying with you, but only so long as it amuses me.”

He fired a series of dark magic spheres into the air, which paused for a moment before zooming towards Twilight. As quickly as ever she teleported away, but rather than slamming into the floor or wall they halted, only to resume their course towards Twilight as she reappeared. Eyes wide, she teleported away again, this time reappearing just behind Sombra, with him between her and the spheres. As they zoomed towards him, they suddenly dispersed, and Twilight received a sharp buck to the face.

Once again Twilight lay sprawled on the ground. Once again, as before, Sombra pressed his hoof down on her chest, but this time the pressure was crushing. She could barely breathe as he spoke, “Enough of this. Release us both from this waste of time, or I shall turn your existence into one worthy of the term ‘eternal nightmare.’” To accentuate his point, he used his telekinesis on her, gripping her and slowly crushing her.

She gasped slightly, desperate for air. But she kept the memory of her friends alive, determined to buy them as much time as possible. Only she could undo this nightmare, and she had no intention of doing so, because for every moment she suffered, her friends had more time to activate the Crystal Heart.

After a long moment the pressure released, only for an array of spikes to form beneath Twilight, impaling her on a bed of dark needles. Her gasp of breath became a scream. Sombra growled. “You’ve lost, Twilight. Surrender or face eternal torment.”

The spikes receded, and Twilight managed a choking laugh. “I don’t need to beat you… to win.”

Sombra’s eyes widened, just as a wave of emotion flooded over Twilight - the feelings of love and unity, coming from seemingly no source at all. At that moment, she knew. Her friends had activated the Crystal Heart. They’d won.

Sombra cried out in pain, staggering away from her. Twilight jumped to her feet, triumph on her face. “Your body’s been destroyed, Sombra, I can feel it. You’re so far gone even the power of love can’t help you. I’ll gladly end this nightmare, and leave you trapped in it forever!” The now-ruined hall of Canterlot Castle faded to darkness as Twilight gave Sombra a smirk.

“Not so fast!” Sombra snarled at Twilight.

The smirk faded.

Sombra gave a roar as tendrils of darkness erupted from nowhere around Twilight, grappling her and constricting her, as his will forced its way into her mind. “I shall take your soul with me, Twilight Sparkle!” She felt his mind ravage hers, going over her feelings, her memories, threatening to shatter them all.

And then he came to the letter she’d dictated to Spike such a short time ago.

As if on cue, new presence intruded into the nightmare. A dark blue alicorn appeared behind Twilight, and in the glow of her horn the bonds around Twilight receded.

Sombra growled. “You!”

Luna put a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Goodbye, Sombra.”

The nightmare faded, and Sombra with it, his roar of defiance fading into silence.

Twilight awoke, lying on her back, with Princess Luna standing over her and her friends and family surrounding her. The Castle had regained its natural color, as though Sombra had never come to power. The only trace of him remaining was his horn. Twilight smiled. “I assume you were able to help get the Crystal Heart?”

Luna nodded. “We recalled enough dark magic to be able loose it from its perch, and we swiftly ferried it to its rightful place. The defiance your friends had shown to Sombra roused enough crystal ponies to action to activate the Crystal Heart.”

“But then we found you lying here,” Pinkie Pie said, “and Fluttershy asked, ‘What should we do?’ and Rainbow Dash said, ‘We need to snap her out of it!’ and then Luna went and her eyes went all dark and then you came back!”

Luna stepped back while Twilight rose to her hooves again. “Thanks, all of you. I couldn’t have done this without you…” Her friends took this as a prompt for another group hug.

Despite this, Twilight’s smile faded slightly. “I… I just don’t know what I’m going to tell Celestia. I mean… I was almost turned to evil and became Sombra’s lieutenant. I think that counts as failing the test…”

“Fear not, brave Twilight,” Luna said. “thou hast endured things beyond most ponies nightmares, and at long last we triumphed. I am sure she will be lenient.”

Twilight’s smile returned and she broke from the hug to give Luna’s neck a brief nuzzle. “You’re right. I can think about what to say on the way back.”

She turned to her friends and family, all smiling at her. “Let’s go home.”

And with that, the group trotted, skipped, and walked out of the throne room, through the halls of the castle and towards the Crystal Empire’s streets where a throng of cheering Crystal Ponies awaited them beneath the aurora-filled night sky. But Twilight was slightly slower than the rest… for as she left the throne room she heard in her head a dark, husky voice.

I shall take your soul with me, Twilight Sparkle…

Author's Note:

That was certainly an ordeal to write. I am proud to present the conclusion of Sombra's Crucible, Twilight's Corruption. I am also pleased to report that I do have an idea for a sequel in mind... although that's going to require a lot more thought, time, and preparation, as well as me getting the concept of deadlines out in my head.

Other thoughts - in the show, Sombra is like Sauron. In this story, he's like Diablo. Also, quote shout-outs ahoy.

Scenes that didn't quite make it in:
-Corrupted!Twilight visiting Spike in the dungeon and dictating a snarky letter to Celestia,
-Corrupted!Twilight actually beating her friends and throwing them in the dungeon, where she "meets" Shining Armor and Cadence, and starts the path to her restoration. I threw this idea out because I had no idea how to make it work, and I liked the idea of Twilight's friends having the chance to incapacitate her but not taking it, because they're her friends.
-Restored!Twilight entering Sombra's throne room to find Shining Armor in his telekinetic grasp... Sombra says a few words before snapping SA's neck in the hopes that Twilight will either become enraged enough to use dark magic, or use dark magic to heal SA, in which case Sombra could corrupt her once more.
-Some other scene that I totally forgot, but probably involved touches like Pinkie Pie taking a pie out of nowhere and throwing it at Twilight's horn, forcing her to drop them all during the battle with her friends.

And that's all I can think to type at the moment. Thank you all very much for reading this far. Even though I felt rushed by my self-imposed deadline, it's all worth it to finally produce a small work of writing like this, and to have it be read. Words cannot convey my gratitude, and I'd like to think I'm good with words.

Comments

[Dusk Raven]

Gah, I hate how I'm constantly making micro-edits. In this case, I accidentally left out a part of chapter five, at the very beginning. It's not critical, but it's in now.

[firebirdabirdoffire]

If the sequel comes to be, can you let us know by adding a chapter in this story? You know like a lot of stories that have sequels. And by the way I found this a really enjoyable read. My only little nit-pick is that in Chapter 4 Twilight turned back a little too fast, but how she turned back, that was fine.

[Cosmos Darkstar]

I can't wati for the sequel! Make sure to link it or somehting.

[Dusk Raven]

2991667 Oh, you.

And yeah, it was just a teeny bit rushed. I mean, I was really on a roll when I was writing it, just getting everything out, and I didn't want to stop for anything. I just wanted it to be... out there.

Might have helped if I'd have stopped to look things over. Or if I had an actual editor.

[Dusk Raven]

3003760 Yeah... it's a mistake I deeply regret making, but on the other hand I'm not sure what I could have done to pad the story out more. I had ideas, but not the knowledge of how to implement them.

[Arzoo]

It was short, but I think its a good thing to be able to tell your complete story relatively quickly. To be honest, if you'd written this as one single long chapter, and tightened things up it would be called an awesome one-shot.

[Hail King Sombra]

3003853

I'm not sure what I could have done to pad the story out more. I had ideas, but not the knowledge of how to implement them.

Heh, you don't need to pad a story to make it flow. In fact, that's a mistake often made. You can always PM or Skype me to bounce ideas off of for anything Sombra-related. I've written him and those in stories with him in a wide variety of ways and can always help guide a fellow Sombraphile to discover the best way to tell his tales

[Dusk Raven]

7988010 I had to re-read that part to remember that... I thought I'd done the whole "This is what happened to your friends" part later in the story.

...I should give this quite an overhaul, I've been putting that off.

[Dusk Raven]

8159506 I tend to be more about redemption stories, so having her stay evil was never part of the plan. Besides, I don't think Twi's personality really fits with being evil in a long-term sense. Not in this particular instance, anyway

I did have a separate idea where Sombra corrupts her, without any mind-control, and she never really does return to the way she used to be...

[Princeling]

You should add the Alternate Universe tag

[Dusk Raven]

8178250 I actually recently removed the tag, largely because of this blog: https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/736472/the-problems-of-alternate-universe-fanfiction

Basically, I felt it didn't differ enough from canon (other than comic canon, of course) to warrant the AU tag.

[Zubric]

Hmm kind of thought the entire thing would be in her head. Another mind game sort of thing.