Chasing Shadows

by Yukito

16 - Encounter In The Skies

Princess Celestia sat within her chariot with a focussed look into the distance, with her four companions sitting behind her. Princess and Heart were asked to wear special clothing that would protect them from Sombra’s dark magic, whilst Captain and Shield were readying their weapons for the coming battle. Whilst there were no guns in Equestria for Shield to use, he was still a skilled marksman and so had requested to borrow a crossbow from the Royal Guard’s armoury. Captain was showing him how to use it with his hooves, which was going about as well as Heart’s attempts at flying earlier that day.

“Your Shining Armor,” Princess began to Heart, “He said he would need a weapon to ‘take down Sombra if necessary’. By that, he meant he was prepared to kill him… didn’t he?”

Heart paused for a second before nodding. “Even if he was once a colleague, he has become a serious threat to not only our own Country, but to Equestria, too. If necessary, he will have to shoot to kill. Our boss will understand.”

“But I won’t,” Princess said, shaking her head. “I don’t understand how you can talk about killing so easily. When our world’s King Sombra was destroyed by the Crystal Heart’s magic, I had nightmares and felt that the blood was on my hooves. I couldn’t stand it… Even Shiny, despite being a Captain of the Royal Guard, could never kill somepony in good conscience.”

Heart wasn’t sure what to say to that. She knew that this world was bound to be different from her own, she just never considered what exactly those differences were. Fortunately for her, Shield spoke up first. “The US has a population of three hundred and fourteen million,” he said. “I have sworn to protect all of the innocent citizens of our Country. To do that, I will erase whatever foes dare to threaten them.”

“It must be hard to sleep at night,” Captain said. “Do you… hold Twilie with those hooves?”

“… Whenever possible, I try not to kill,” Shield admitted, “But sometimes, it cannot be avoided. I take one life, and I save countless innocents. That thought alone is what keeps me sane. Twilie’s a smart girl. She probably knows on some level what my job entails, but so long as I don’t bring it up, it won’t cross her mind. And there’s no reason for her to know.”

“The population of Equestria,” Celestia said, “Is just over one-and-a-half million. We haven’t had a serious war for five hundred years, minus the recent changeling invasion.” Celestia turned to face Shield with a face that he wasn’t sure of how to read. Stern? Calm? “I won’t question the workings of your world, because it is very clear that your people are in a very different situation to ours. However, I would ask that you save killing as a last resort only… and after Twilight and her friends have been moved out of the picture.”

Shield stared into Celestia’s deep, focussed eyes for a few seconds. “… I will try,” Shield said, “But if Twilie seems to be in even the slightest danger, I will not hold anything back.”

“… I understand,” Celestia said as she turned back towards the direction of Ponyville. She rose to her hooves suddenly. “CEASE MOVEMENT!” she shouted, to which her guards responded immediately by slowing to a sudden stop.

“Princess, what’s wrong?!” Captain asked as he jumped to his hooves, his horn alight with magic.

“You two, get down!” Shield shouted to Princess and Heart, who both obeyed by lowering to the chariot’s floor. Shield picked up the crossbow he had borrowed and followed Celestia’s eyes, only to find nothing waiting for them. “Your Highness?”

“Sombra! I know that you’re there!” Celestia shouted. “I recognise that magic anywhere, King Sombra.”

A soft chuckle filled the air, causing Captain and Shield to look around themselves for the source. “So this is the ruler of this land, Princess Celestia?” The air in front of the chariot began to distort, and Celestia narrowed her eyes and stood on her guard as she watched, waiting for Sombra to make his appearance. “I would ask that you watch where you point that thing,” the voice said.

Shield, who had pointed his crossbow up to the distorting air, scoffed. “Or else what?”

“Or else you might anger the good Princess here.” A dark figure began to manifest itself in the air, and soon the group could see the grey stallion that they had been searching for… along with a blue mare that only Celestia recognised. She was being suspended by rings of black smoke around her four limbs, in a perfect position to shield Sombra from any and all attacks. “Or are you okay with killing an innocent citizen of Equestria, sir?”

Celestia immediately extended her foreleg in front of Shield. “Lower your weapon!” she demanded. “I will have none of my subjects’ blood be spilled!”

Shield grunted, but obeyed. “That’s good,” Sombra said. “Princess, I must say that I am impressed. Stealth was the one thing I was known for back in my own world.”

“… Who are you?” Celestia asked. “You’re clearly not from this world, yet you reek of King Sombra’s magic.”

“That’s because I am both,” Sombra said. “I am the FBI agent Sombra, and I am the King of the Crystal Empire Sombra. Or rather, I am his power.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Heart asked.

“Simply put,” Cadance said, “He’s the Sombra you knew, but with access to King Sombra’s magic.”

Sombra nodded. “That is correct.” He rose a hoof and pointed to the red object around his neck. “I believe it was two months ago? This horn was discovered by a housewife in Russia, who sold it to a wealthy Chinese businessman. You may recall a certain case where a famous toy manufacturer was found to be secretly smuggling weapons?”

“… Wait, the case that earned you that big promotion?” Shield asked. Sombra nodded. “Of course I remember. You were the talk of the office for weeks!”

“It was through that case that I found this horn. The horn of the deceased King Sombra. Somehow, it had made its way into our world. I guess it must be because I’m compatible with it, but when I touched it, I suddenly knew everything that King Sombra knew… Well, more-or-less. I knew of Equestria, I knew of magic, I knew of the Crystal Heart… Everything I needed to know.”

“And then what?” Shield asked. “You decided to turn traitor and invade this Country with our new weapon?”

“You mean this?” Sombra asked, using his magic to expose the large metallic device hidden behind Trixie’s back. “At first, I had no intention of invading Equestria. Even with King Sombra’s magic, it would be a foolish effort. After all, he was defeated twice, so why should I be any safer.”

“And that weapon somehow protects you?” Heart asked.

Trixie gasped as the gears in her head clicked. “I see!” Everypony turned to Trixie, surprised to find the hostage joining in the conversation. “So that’s it! All of Equestria’s defences rely on magic! The Elements, the Crystal Heart, even when the Princesses banished you the first time, it was by a spell!

“But if that magic in ineffective against you…”

“‘Ineffective’?” Captain asked.

“She has me figured out,” Sombra said with a shrug. “Yes. The moment I learned what this device did, I knew that I had nothing left to fear. Stealing the device was child’s play for a stealth specialist like me, and with it, invading Equestria would be like a walk in the park.”

“I won’t let you,” Celestia said with a stern look on her face.

Sombra simply laughed. “I don’t see how you have much choice,” he said as he pointed the device at the group. “I have been letting this device absorb background magic for the past two days now, and with the boost provided by my lovely assistant here…” The tip of the device began to glow a very bright purple, and Celestia’s eyes widened.

“GET DOWN!” she shouted as she used her magic to form a shield. To her shock and horror, however, the shield wavered and was drawn towards the device.

“STOP!” Trixie shouted, struggling against her bonds. “IT ABSORBS MAGIC AND FIRES IT BACK! YOU’RE ONLY MAKING IT STRONGER!”

With a gasp, Celestia quickly released her shield and attempted to instead unleash a quick teleportation spell.

“Too late.”

Comments

[Breaking News]

Sombra Squared, ouch. So without magic how do you fight a foe with that? Hoof-to-hoof?

[Pinklestia]

You fight it with non magical weapons, or you try to overload the device.

[Emperor]

Sombra, Sombra, Sombra. You managed to hit #4 on the Evil Overlord list about shooting not being too good for your enemies, but you completely FAIL at #6 'I will not gloat over my enemies' predicament before killing them.'