Corruption of Dawn

by LordLycaon

The Light of Dusk

Celestia was blown back by a powerful burst of dark magic, sending her clean through a stone wall and crashing against the ground. Luna didn't fare much better, as she was struck by a pulse of energy that very nearly broke both of her wings when she hit the ground. The princesses stood shakily, their bodies and armor heavily scarred and littered with burns and scrapes. The battle against Sombra wasn't going so well for them.

The dark king held a sadistic grin on his face, his fangs bared and his eyes burning villainously as he trotted towards Celestia, who was breathing heavily with a look of desperation in her eyes. The evil stallion laughed in amusement. "You have grown weak, Celestia," he pointed out in a tone that made it sound like it should've been obvious. "Your precious kingdom as well. Why can you not simply learn to kneel as your former student has?"

The Princess of the Sun sneered at the question. "You are a liar and a manipulator, Sombra," she said with venom in her tone. "I will not allow you to claim victory this day. I will stop you, even if I have to kill you."

Sombra merely smirked at her statement. "You certainly don't lack for confidence, Celestia, I'll give you that. But it is sorely misplaced. You overestimate your own abilities. A mere princess can never defeat a king." He began to charge his horn once again, a black aura enveloping it and green sparks shooting off. Celestia attempted to charge magic into her own horn, but it only fizzled weakly. She wasn't strong enough to fight back anymore. All she could do was brace herself for what could be the final blow.

Suddenly, just as Sombra was about to launch his attack, a blast of purple magic struck the evil king, sending him spiraling away and into a building that collapsed over him. Celestia turned her shocked gaze over to her savior… and her eyes went even wider. "T-Twilight?"

The purple unicorn galloped over to her mentor and hugged the white alicorn tearfully. "I'm so sorry, Princess," she said woefully, her voice laden with regret. "I made a stupid decision, and now everypony I know is getting hurt because of it."

"Twilight," the sun princess said with almost a disbelieving look. She soon gave a small, warm smile to the young mare. "I understand, Twilight. Sombra can be cruel and convincing. You are forgiv-"

"No," Twilight interrupted, pushing away from the confused alicorn. "I don't deserve forgiveness. I don't deserve redemption." She turned away from her teacher and faced the area where Sombra had been buried by debris. The stallion was already making his way back to sunlight. "All I can do is clean up the mess that I caused. I'll accept whatever punishment you give to me when I'm done. If I'm alive, that is."

Celestia watched as Twilight walked toward Sombra's place, her eyes wide with disbelief, shock, joy, sorrow, and so many other emotions that she couldn't name all of them. Her student was finally free of Sombra's influence, but she was going to fight the evil king by herself? This had to be some sort of cruel joke. Twilight wouldn't stand a chance against Sombra in a one-on-one battle. She would be torn apart like a wet tissue against a hurricane. But she knew that in her current state, she would fare no better. All she could do was pray that Twilight would be able to stop Sombra. Somehow.

The king burst his way out of the rubble, his eyes flaring with rage and annoyance. "Who dares to attack-!?" He stopped when he saw Twilight approaching him, her eyes, horn, and coat having returned to their original appearance. She had a look of determination in her violet gaze. Sombra frowned at this, knowing what her differing appearance meant. "So, you've betrayed me, have you?"

"The only ones I've ever betrayed were my friends, Sombra," Twilight replied as her horn began to glow with purple magic. "I only just realized what I lost."

Sombra actually chuckled at that. "So, you're going to try and win it back, are you?"

"No. I don't deserve what I used to have." Twilight's eyes flickered pure white for an instant. "All I can do now is fight you, and try right my wrongs."

Sombra narrowed his eyes at the mare, who was now in a battle-ready stance. He chuckled again and gave her a bone-chilling glare. "Then let us begin." Out of nowhere, he unleashed a blast of dark magic that nearly caught Twilight off guard. The young mare managed to erect a barrier around herself just in time to deflect the attack. She lowered the barrier when the attack faded, only to be greeted by a hoof planted onto the left side of her head, knocking her away several feet. Sombra laughed arrogantly as he rubbed his hoof on his chest. "I expected you to betray me at some point. Better to deal with you now anyway."

Twilight groaned as she picked herself up off the ground. Her cheek burned painfully, and it felt like it was already beginning to swell and bleed. That blow had left her dizzy. She hadn't expected Sombra to attack at close range. She wouldn't be able to fight that way. She could only rely on long-range tactics. This would prove far more challenging than she could've imagined.

She began charging her horn with magic, and quickly released a volley of magic bolts at the dark king, who teleported in puffs of black smoke to evade the attacks. He held a mocking grin on his face the whole time. He was toying with her.

He suddenly appeared in front of her, towering over her with a disapproving look in his twisted eyes. "You still have a chance to surrender, Twilight Sparkle," he said. "I can easily forgive this minor transgression."

"Never again!" Twilight growled as she attempted to strike the elder unicorn with a magical beam from her horn. He deflected the attack with ease and created a black ring of smoke around Twilight's hooves. She looked down at the ring with wide eyes. "What the?" The smoke rose like fire, turning into a sphere of darkness.

Sombra grinned ominously. "Say farewell to your sanity while you're in there for me, will you?" he requested darkly.

The last thing Twilight saw before the sphere closed completely was Sombra's vile gaze. She couldn't win. The sphere closed completely.

It was then that Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity finally arrived at the scene. They had only seen just enough to see Twilight be trapped in a black ball of some kind. "W-what is that?" Fluttershy asked fearfully.

Sombra turned to the newcomers with a smirk. "One of my personal favorite spells," he bragged gladly. "She will face all her worst nightmares, one after the other, each far worse than the last. Eventually, if she has a strong will, she will come out a broken shell of her former self. Otherwise, she might just die of sheer terror."

"That's… that's just horrible!" Rarity proclaimed with a very unladylike scowl on her face. "We demand that you release her at once!"

"And why would you want that?" Sombra inquired. "She betrayed you all to join me, then tried to kill me. She's nothing more than a lowly deserter. Why would any of you wish to associate yourselves with someone so untrustworthy?"

"Because she's our friend!" Pinkie declared confidently with a sure and wide beaming grin. "And friends don't leave each other behind!"

Sombra chuckled in amusement at that. "Friends? How quaint. It's almost adorable how naïve you all are. 'Friendship' is little more than a distraction. I learned as much from my own mentor."

"Your own mentor?" Rainbow Dash parroted with a raised eyebrow. The others looked just as confused.

The dark king sighed and looked up at the sky. "Perhaps I've said too much already." He returned his attention to the five young mares. "You all should focus on the now. And right now, I feel like gutting someone." His horn began to glow with dark, magical power. "And the five of you look like you'd make wonderful playthings. Please, don't die too quickly. I want to enjoy this."

-o-

She opened her eyes to see nothing but empty blackness. It was cold. She shivered from the chills that ran down her spine. Something didn't feel right about this place. It was eerily silent. Dead even.

'Am I dead?' Twilight asked herself. She tried poking herself a bit roughly. She felt it, clear as day. She doubted she'd be able to feel even that slight discomfort if she was dead. Where was she?

"Twilight…" whispered a harsh voice from seemingly nowhere. Twilight's head darted around, trying to find the speaker. She couldn't find anypony.

"H-hello?" she called out timidly, almost afraid of what might answer back. "W-who's there? Who are you?"

"Who am I?" the voice answered back. It was deep, throaty, and masculine. It was the kind of voice that sent chills down one's spine and scared those chills right back up. "I am no one that you know of, nor does anyone know of me anymore. Not even your precious Princess Celestia remembers me."

Twilight gulped nervously. "You know the princess?"

"Yes. I know her. I was there when she was born. I was there when her sister was born. I was there when their parents were born. And I was there when their parents were born. I am nothing if not aware of when something great arrives in this world. I was there when you were born as well."

"You… what?"

The voice hummed slightly. "I am unsurprised by your reaction. You have a great and noble destiny ahead of you, little mare." Suddenly, a pair of massive, blazing red eyes opened right in front Twilight, startling the young unicorn. "Your fate is intertwined with that of this entire world. However, my disciple turned you over to our cause before you were ready."

"Your disciple?" Twilight asked as she backed away slowly, the eyes still drawing closer to her. "You mean… Sombra?"

"Yes," the voice replied, the eyes narrowed as if disappointed. "He was a wonderful student. So eager to learn the ways of my magic. He was always one of my favorites, right after that draconoquess that you ponies call 'Discord'." The eyes lifted up a little, as if they were looking at something above. "It would appear that my time here is shorter than I expected."

"What? Wait, you were Discord's teacher as well? Who are you?"

"I have no more time to answer petty questions, Twilight Sparkle," the voice answered in annoyance. "But I shall leave you with one message…" Suddenly, the entire space lit up like a bonfire, and before Twilight stood a beast enveloped in dark fire, blood-red eyes gleaming like rubies in the sunlight. It opened an enormous maw of fire, where she saw her friends and family screaming and writhing in agony. "My return is inevitable. When I rise again, after so many eons of imprisonment within my own domain, I shall again walk the earth. When I rise, ashen snow will burn the skies, rivers will run red, and sun and moon will fade. Farewell, Twilight Sparkle. We shall meet again."

And with that, a piercing light enveloped the scene, tearing it away and blinding Twilight almost completely. The purple unicorn could just barely keep her eyes shielded from the rays that permeated the darkness. Soon, the light faded just enough for her to be able to see without going blind. She lowered her foreleg to see that she was now in a vast, wide-open field, with flowers of infinite colors blooming everywhere she looked. Above was a blue sky, filled with gently moving cumulus clouds. There was no sun, but there was still light.

"Hello, young one," said a soft, gentle voice that came from seemingly everywhere. It was calm, feminine. Twilight instantly felt a little bit at ease by the voice she heard now, she was still tense.

"Who are you?" Twilight asked, her horn glowing and ready to fight. "Sh-show yourself!"

The voice giggled a little bit. "Very well, child," it said. A flash of light burst into existence before Twilight, and transformed into…

"Princess Celestia?" Twilight asked with a dumbfounded look. "But… but how…?"

"Celestia" chuckled at Twilight's confusion. "Forgive me for this, but I am not Celestia. I have merely taken on her form so as to make you feel more at ease."

"But… who…?" Twilight couldn't quite think of any words.

The Celestia imitator chuckled lightly. "I am known by many names, child. But you may know me as 'Mother Faust'."

Twilight's jaw dropped. "Y-y-you're Mother Faust? The World Mother?" The elder mare nodded. The purple unicorn had no idea what to say. Was she really in the presence of the being who had created the entire world? Was this real?

"I can assure you," the elder mare said with amused little grin, "that this is all very real." Her expression suddenly became deadly serious. "I must warn you, Twilight Sparkle, that what you saw before I arrived was no mere nightmare that Sombra cursed you with. The Accursed One seeks to again rise from his prison in Tartarus, and wreak havoc upon the world. It is your destiny to confront him."

"I… you want me to face that… thing?" Twilight asked in a shaky voice. "But… why me?"

Mother Faust hung her head as if in shame. "If I knew why Fate chose this course of events, I would tell you, child. And I fear it is not as simple as you fighting him. You will choose the destiny of this entire world: you will choose between Light and Darkness."

"Choose? But I've already made catastrophic choices! What if I make the wrong decision again?"

"There are no wrong decisions, young one," said the World Mother in a wise, knowing tone. She raised her head toward the sky, her horn glowing with a pure white light. "You must go now. Your friends need you. I shall grant you the strength you need to face Sombra. Farewell, Twilight Sparkle. I wish you the best of luck."

Before Twilight could say or do anything, there was an explosion of light, blinding her almost totally.

-o-

He thoroughly enjoyed doing this. He loved beating away arrogant little whelps like these five mares who thought that they could be a challenge for him. He had easily overpowered each of the four who tried fighting, while simply standing in place was enough to terrify the little yellow pegasus into trying to hide herself in vain.

He laughed sadistically as he once again blasted that insolent blue pegasus with the rainbow mane into the ground. "Is this all you have to offer?" he asked. "How very pathetic. You are all less than trash compared to me."

Rainbow Dash stubbornly tried to get back onto all fours again, glaring exhaustedly at the dark stallion. She didn't have much strength left in her. She wouldn't last much longer. She eyed the black sphere in which Twilight was trapped. If only she could get to that sphere and somehow free Twilight, they might be able to beat Sombra. She tried to fly, but her wings gave out almost immediately. One of them felt like it was broken. She cursed silently under her breath. Without her wings, she was next to useless.

Sombra was only amused by this. "You still wish to fight, do you?" He laughed a little. "I must admit, I admire your determination." He levitated Rainbow up off the ground so that they were at eye level. "Although, I feel I must also tell you… that I do not envy your intelligence." He slammed her onto the ground, earning a pained cry from the young pegasus. He did so again. And again. And again. He repeated the process until he grew bored and dropped the mare onto the ground, leaving her still alive, though just barely conscious.

Fluttershy's eyes went wide at the sight as she pressed herself against a nearby wall. She looked over at her other friends, who were all scattered out on the ground, all of them battered and beaten into submission. Tears welled up in her eyes as it became clearer and clearer just how hopeless this was. Sombra was too powerful. He was going to win.

"No…" she whispered in terror, which drew Sombra's attention to directly to her. He grinned maliciously at her, making her shrink away in fear.

"Ah, I almost forgot about you," he said darkly. "How rude of me. I suppose it would only be fair that I deal with you in the same way that I dealt with your little friends." His horn began to glow again, that vile dark light flaring up and oozing menacingly. Fluttershy tried to back away, but she was already pressed against a wall. She could only watch and cower as she was levitated off the ground. She closed her eyes as tightly as she could, bracing herself for the worst.

Just then, a loud crack was heard. Anyone who was still awake turned to look at the source of the sound: the black sphere that held Twilight prisoner. Sombra's eyes went wide when he saw a large, glowing crack in the ball. "But… but that's impossible…" he said in disbelief, releasing his magical grip on Fluttershy, who backed away from Sombra without taking her eyes off the sphere. Everypony watched with shock as the sphere continued to break open, eventually exploding in a shower of light. From that light, Twilight Sparkle emerged, hanging her head low.

Sombra's eyes went even wider then. "B-but that's impossible!" he shouted. "Nopony should be able to escape from that trap! No soul has ever escaped!"

Twilight raised her head then, shaking it slightly. "King Sombra," she said in a tone that barely sounded like Twilight. She opened her eyes then. They glowed pure white, gleaming with power. "You manipulated me into your service. You used your magic to force your own people into slavery. You hurt the ponies that I care for the most." Her horn began to glow with a brilliant, radiant light. "It's time that somepony stopped you once and for all!"

Comments

[SpiritofPonies]

Things get exiting now don't they
Maybe a little more power to celestia she is the princess of the Sun after all