All the Trolls. ALL OF THEM.

by Alex Prior

Act 5 Chapter 3 - End of Act 5.

Begin Chapter Three

The Elements of Harmony (minus Twilight, of course) held a short conference by the Crystal Palace. “We can’t keep this up,” Applejack groaned. “Ah’m all plum out of crystal berries, and there are too many demanding ponies for me to stop and make more!”

“I just made a hat out of three pieces of hay and a drinking straw!” Rarity complained. “I made it work, but that’s besides the point. Unless Twilight gets here soon, we’re going to have some unhappy ponies on our hooves!”

“There’s nopony by the petting zoo anymore,” Fluttershy moaned. “They got bored of cute animals. How could they get bored of cute animals?”

“Hey, it’s nothing personal, Fluttershy. Even I can’t entertain everypony forever,” Pinkie said while balancing on a ball with her front two hooves, juggling flugelhorns with her back two hooves, and playing a guitar solo with her mane and tail. She glanced over at the crowd observing her. “See. Only fifteen ponies! I can’t believe the rest wandered off.”

“Well, we’ve got to keep up the work,” Rainbow Dash ordered. “Twilight’s counting on us to keep these ponies happy. We need to improvise. Improvise everything. Do whatever you have to do to make sure everypony has a great time!”

“Um- Rainbow? That might be harder than you think,” Rarity proclaimed. Pointing towards the sky. The others followed her hoof, and their eyes widened in fear as they saw Cadence’s shield dissolve into nothingness. And their expressions became more and more horrified as a laughter rose from the storm surrounding the Empire, a delighted cackle that spoke of a creature brimming with darkness, eager to commit atrocities against his slaves and overjoyed to be given another opportunity to do so.

“He hehehe he hehe he. He ha ha hahahaha! Ahaha ha haha!!!”

“Oh, that doesn’t sound pleasant,” Fluttershy squeaked.

“Hey! Up there!” Rainbow cried. A dark shape, wreathed with wings of flame, descended from the tip of the Crystal Palace. The ponies watched in shock as Pyrope alighted on the ground before them, to the horror of the surrounding crystal ponies.

“Oh boy! Is that the Crystal Heart?” Pinkie asked, pointing to the hunk of diamond Pyrope carried under her arm. The troll nodded. “Well, don’t just stand there, silly. Give it here!”

“1’m sorry, P1nk13. 1 c4n’t do th4t,” Pyrope replied.

“Pyrope? What happened to the others?” Fluttershy asked. This time, Pyrope didn’t respond, and Applejack’s face twisted into a furious scowl.

“You trolls betrayed us again, didn’t ya,” she whispered. Pyrope nodded back.

“I knew we never should’ve trusted ya!” Applejack shrieked. Gesturing to her friend, she cried out, “Come on, Rainbow. Let’s show this cloud-brained haysniffer what happens when you mess with us!”

“Yeah!” Rainbow cried. “Wait- did you just use cloud-brained as an insult?”

“Err- it’s just an expression, Dashie,” Applejack stammered.

Pyrope raised her cane, pointing it at the aggressing ponies. “1t 1s my most s1nc3r3 r3comm3ndat1on th4t you surr3ndur. 1 c4n 4ssur3 your s4f3ty so long 4s you coop3r4t3.”

“You’re one to talk about cooperation, you treacherous swine!” Rainbow screamed. “You’re going to hit the ground so quickly you’ll swear that you’d just slipped and fallen!”

“I’m gonna smash your grey face in so far you’ll be able to see outa the back ‘a yer head!” Applejack threatened.

“So b3 1t,” Pyrope responded. Almost robotically, she split her cane in two, revealing the blades hidden within. Applejack drew her lasso, while Rainbow spread her wings and prepared to knock the traitorous troll down a couple pegs.

“Stop.” Applejack and Rainbow slackened their fighting poses as Fluttershy stepped past them, holding one hoof outstretched. Pyrope sensed Fluttershy’s approach, her eyes watching the pony blindly from behind her red glasses. Fluttershy halted when she was about five meters away. For the longest time, the two parties simply stared at each other.

“Vantas isn’t with you,” Fluttershy finally said. “You betrayed not only us, but your own friend for Sombra?” Pyrope didn’t respond, or even so much as move. “You don’t have to do this,” Fluttershy pleaded. “This isn’t the way things have to be.”

“You don’t und3rst4nd,” Pyrope replied, her voice intentionally cold and emotionless. “1 d1dn’t 3xp3ct you to, 4nyw4ys. Wh3n som3body s4v3s your l1f3, no m4tt3r who 1t 1s, 4nd th3n off3rs you 4 ch4nc3 to fuf1ll your d4rk3st d3s1r3s… th3y’v3 34rn3d your loy4lty.”

“Oh, how sssweet? Isss sssomepony talking about me?” His coat was ashen and his shadow flickered and flowed with each passing instant. His step turned the crystals black beneath his hooves. Crystal ponies everywhere shied nervously away from his path as he took his place at Pyrope’s side.

King Sombra had entered the Empire. Everypony’s shit was wrecked.

-----

“Ugh…” Vantas’s eyes slowly inched open. A crystal ceiling overhead, and a cold ache piercing through his chest. For a second he wondered where he was. Then the memories came rushing back.

“Aww FUCK! Pyrope!?” Vantas screamed, glancing around frantically. His eyes darted around the diamond room, confirming what his mind refused to believe. Pyrope had stabbed him and fled with the Heart. “Augh! That idiot!” he screamed. “She is going to doom us all!”

He rose to his feet, then turned to the ring of crystal through which Twilight Sparkle watched the troll’s temper flare. Vantas let out a scream of pure rage, burning like a match dropping slowly towards a lake of gasoline, growing brighter and louder with each passing moment. He turned to a wall, and smashed his fist against it in anger, cracking the crystal beneath his bleeding knuckles. Again and again he beat the diamond, as slowly his vision became less red and more blurry. His breathing fell, becoming more of a wheezing gasp, laced with the undertones of shuddering cries. His fist slammed into the crystal wall. Then his arm slackened and his hand unfurled. His arm leaned against the diamond and his head leaned against his arm and water dribbled down his cheeks and he muttered between his sobs.

“How could… what did… why was she…?”

Twilight watched all this in utter silence, a permanent look of worry creasing her brow as betrayal and despair unfolded before her. A noise woke her from her trance. Behind her, and alicorn was stirring. As Cadence rose, she did so with a smile, and the bags beneath her eyes looked perhaps a bit lighter.

“That was- without a doubt- the best sleep I’ve ever had,” Cadence smiled. Her expression, however, quickly became more serious. “What do we do now, though?”

“We break out,” Vantas said. Twilight turned to find the troll striding towards her. He ran a hand over his eyes, but his expression was set hard and determined. “That mother fucker is about to make the worst mistake of her life, and I’m not about to let her do it.” He seemed ready to say more, but paused for a second. “Err- I assume you patched me up while I was out, eh?”

“Yeah. I don’t think I did the best job, though, having to do it from in here. You’re probably going to have a scar on your chest.” She hesitated for a moment, before continuing. “As for Pyrope… I’d love to help you, but I’m completely trapped in here,” Twilight explained. “The crystals are magic resistant- I can’t break them. And my teleporting spells keep getting nullified.”

“Then we just need a new plan,” Cadence concluded. “Hey, Vantas. Do you have any magical powers like the other trolls?”

“...No,” Vantas admitted.

“What?” Twilight cried. “Come on! The others could stop time or turn invisible or shoot enormous lasers from their eyes and you’ve just got nothing?”

“Oh shit, here we go with the aspects. Look, Time and Void and stuff like that are maybe a bit more direct in their effects, but trust me, Blood is nothing to mess around with. A competent Blood player will make everyone you love turn against you and it will have been your fault to begin with. Don’t. Fuck. With Blood.”

“Umm… I didn’t really understand any of what you just said,” Twilight admitted. “I’d like to, though! Maybe after this is all over we could sit down with some lined paper and compare notes!”

“Ugh. Sure. Fine. I don’t suppose you have any ideas on how we’re going to get you out of here?”

“Mmm- no. We left that up to you, oh mighty Blood player,” Cadence snarked. Vantas glared back at her, before sighing.

“Well, we obviously don’t have the resources to do anything right now. Maybe I could go get some help,” Vantas offered.

“E-Excuse me?” someone panted. All heads in the room swiveled towards the owner of the voice, wheezing with exhaustion after just climbing an enormous set of stairs on his stubby legs. “A little glass of water… please?”

And as Twilight’s eyes widened in concern, Vantas’s widened with inspiration. “That could work,” he grinned, eying the little purple dragon.

-----

“It’sss alwaysss wonderful to know that I can count on you, my Legissslacerator,” Sombra grinned as he slowly circled the rigid troll. “You’ve already disssabled both the Princesss and the Heart? Excellent, just excellent.” To Pyrope’s relief, Sombra broke his inspection of her, instead sweeping his gaze across the crowd of crystal ponies, the assembled population of the entire empire. The ponies cowered away from his glare, lowering themselves to the ground to prostrate before their returning overlord, trying to hide the tears running down their cheeks. “And we’ve even got the populace in check. Isssn’t thisss jussst a wonderful day?” Sombra’s scowl returned, however, as his gaze moved towards the Elements of Harmony, glaring at Sombra and readying themselves for the fight that was sure to ensue. “But then there’sss you five. I don’t sssuppossse you’ll lisssten to reassson and sssurrender?”

“In your dreams, you shady freak!” Rainbow spat back, an expression of absolute disgust scrawled across her face.

“When we’re done with you, you’ll wish you never thawed outta that glacier!” Applejack threatened.

“I’d admire your cape if only your color scheme wasn’t so bland,” Rarity proclaimed. The mare fixed Sombra with a hardened expression, before noticing the odd looks the others were giving her. “What? It really is a nice piece of work. Maybe if I gave it a dash of blue-”

“Focus Rarity,” Applejack ordered. Turning back to the dark king, she managed a threatening grin. “You really should be scared, Sombra. There’s five of us and only two of you.”

“Heheheha ha ha! Isss that ssso?” Sombra cackled. “Well then, I’d wager you’ve yet to be introduced to the new Empire Guard? Oh ssstallionsss!” Without a sound, five stallions emerged from the crowd of ponies, guards in armor, with black crystals sprouting from their helmets, pulsing with dark magic. Their faces were well known to the Elements, even if their eyes were green and red and their mouths curled into snarling scowls.

“S-S-Shining Armor?” Fluttershy stammered, her eyes widening with fright at the sight of Twilight’s brother, alive and completely enthralled by his new master.

“And the entirety of Epsilon Squad,” Applejack added in a weary voice, glancing at Cloud Cover, Bramble Scout, Rune Blaze, and Escutcheon. The five of them got into formation, surrounding and protecting the cackling Sombra and the silent Pyrope.

“Applejack, we can’t fight Shining,” Fluttershy whispered. “He’s Twilight’s brother! She thought he was dead!”

“...Far as I can tell,” Applejack said, lowering the brim of her hat over her eyes. “He is dead. That puppet of Sombra’s is no more Shining Armor than I am.” Raising her voice, she struck Sombra with a fiery glare. “And I ain’t gonna forgive you, Sombra!” she screamed. “Those were some good ponies before you spread whatever foul corruption you’ve cooked up, and I swear that I won’t show them or you any mercy!!!”

“Hmph. Be that way,” Sombra grinned. “I tire of you hero complex. Guardsss… dissspossse of thessse maresss.”

Applejack took off, her hooves flying across the crystal ground as she charged towards Sombra. Bramble Scout appeared in her path, raising his hoofs to block her rush. Applejack’s hooves met his, and the two stood there, locked in a struggle of power and will, each trying to shove the other away, but neither succeeding. Rarity and Rainbow rushed forwards behind Applejack, as Fluttershy rose into the sky. However, the pegasus was immediately thrown back to the ground as Cloud Cover zoomed through the air and rammed into her middle. Fluttershy crashed into a house of crystal before crumpling to the ground.

Cloud Cover turned and spotted Rarity and Escutcheon locked in a magical struggle, as their respective beams of magic collided and each attempted to overpower the other. Cloud Cover’s eyes narrowed as he soared towards the mare. Alighting quietly behind her, Rarity didn’t notice a thing until a sharp pain blasted through her head when the pegasus struck her on the horn. Her hoof went to her head, cradling it as pangs of agony swept through her skull. Suddenly a blast of searing magic threw her backwards, and she crashed into the tough, rocky ground.

Cloud Cover allowed himself a smirk. He shouldn’t have. A blast of confetti and frosting threw him across the square. “Bullseye!” Pinkie called as Cloud Cover barreled into a carnival stand. Escutcheon charged towards the bright mare, but Pinkie quickly wheeled her party cannon around and blasted the guard away with another burst of festive ammunitions. As Pinkie grinned at her success, Rune Blaze took a subtle step towards the cannon. Lighting his horn, a burst of magic carved an intricate series of lines into the side of the cannon. Pinkie squinted at the lines. "I prepared explosive runes tod-uh oh,” she said to herself, right before the cannon exploded.

With a blast of sound, the device burst, sending parts flying and flinging Pinkie to the earth. Rune Blaze turned away from the downed pony, only to spot a streak of color zooming towards him. Seconds later, Rainbow Dash tackled him to the ground, grinding him against the rough crystal before tossing him into a carnival stand. The pegasus smirked at her victory, before turning her gaze back to Sombra. Rainbow blasted towards the king, intent on making him suffer for all the pain he’d put her friends through. Her eyes narrowed as her speed increased and Sombra grew bigger and bigger in her field of vision.

Suddenly, a pink wall, conjured from thin air, met Rainbow’s charge and held firm. Rainbow bounced off the wall as if it were made of concrete, and she crashed into the ground, skidding across the cold earth. “Rainbow!” Applejack cried, spotting the pegasus’s descent in her peripheral vision. The earth pony turned to Bramble Scout, her face twisted almost beyond recognition with fury, and with a roar of rage she lifted the guard off his hooves before tossing him away. As the guard crashed into the crowd of spectators, Applejack turned her anger upon Sombra, resuming her stalwart charge. Shining Armor stepped in front of her, firing a beam of pink magic. In one fluid motion, Applejack sidestepped the attack, and rammed her hoof into Shining’s stomach. The stallion crumpled as now nopony stood between Applejack and her target. The farmer galloped ahead with reckless abandon, letting forth a shriek of wrath as she approached the shadow king.

Pyrope made to step forwards, but stopped as the King stepped forth instead. “No. I can handle her myssself,” he grinned as his horn lit and crystals crept up his right hoof, forming a black gauntlet. Applejack, thrown into an utter rage, whipped a hoof back, winding up to give Sombra a destructive punch. Sombra ducked, the hoof flying wildly over his head; then his crystallized hoof slammed into Applejack’s throat, and the mare was thrown away. She crashed to the ground, choking and gasping for breath.

“Foolisssh Mud Pony,” Sombra growled, glaring at the fallen Elements. His horn lit, and before Applejack could return to her hooves, crystals sprouted from the ground, encasing her legs and fixing them to the earth. “It’sss time for you to join the other ssslavesss. No, that’sss too generousss even ssstill. Oh, my dear Legissslacerator?” Sombra called, turning to Pyrope. “I believe thessse poniesss have commited a crime. Asss you loved to sssay- court isss in sssesssion.”

A voice pierced through the air, a scream of pure ecstasy and terror simultaneously intertwined. “Yaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!”

-----

“You want me to do what?” Spike asked, a sceptical look etched across his little face.

“OK. Back where I’m from, there’s this tool known as a propane torch. Basically, it’s a concentrated flame that can reach extreme temperatures. It’s usually used for welding and things like that, but right now I’m hoping we can melt through the crystal, at least enough to make a passage they can escape through,” Vantas answered.

“And you want me to try and be a ‘propane torch?’” Spike asked.

“Yeah, pretty much,” Vantas confirmed. “Look it was the best I could come up with in such little time.”

“I know it may not sound easy, but from what I’ve gathered it makes sense,” Twilight offered. “But if you’re not comfortable with this Spike, we can always think of something else.”

“We don’t have time to think of-” Vantas’s outburst was silenced when he caught sight of Twilight’s harsh glare. The troll shut his trap.

“Hmph. No, if it could work then I at least have to try it,” Spike said. “I mean, you’re all kind of counting on me here, so I’d have to be some jerk not to give it a try. I just hope it works.” The little dragon steeled himself, taking a deep breath. Then, turning to the crystal, he blew out. Taking care to remain in control of the fire, Spike seared the shadowy diamond with a jet of green fire. Slowly, the crystal began to glow with heat, the black surface turning a fiery orange. Beads of sweat rolled down Spike’s forehead as he struggled to maintain the flame, keeping it steady as he heated the crystal’s base. The flame began to flicker and finally it went out, leaving Spike on the ground gasping for breath.

Vantas rushed towards the crystal. Seizing the spike in both hands, he gave a groan of effort as slowly he bent the crystal back, the melted base dripping and pooling on the floor below. When he was done, the crystal was almost parallel to the floor, leaving a sizable gap for Twilight and Cadence to climb through.

“Alright,” Vantas grinned as Twilight and Cadence regained their freedom. “OK. Now that we’ve got you two out of there, how are we gonna get back down to ground level? We need to help out Pyroooooooooopppee!!!!” Vantas’s question became a cry of surprise as he was lifted into the air by a blue telekinetic field. Spike and Twilight soon followed suit, leaving Cadence to grin evilly at the three of them.

“Oh, I’ve got an idea for getting down. I’ve always wanted to try this.”

Without further ado, Cadence shoved the three of them out the open window, before climbing through it herself. The facade of the Crystal Palace, stretched out beneath them, reaching down to the central plaza of all the Crystal Empire. Crazy as it sounds, it turns out that the curved surface of the Palace made for an exhilarating slide. As the wind whipped through his hair and the ground approached at an ever-increasing rate, Vantas released a scream of both terror and ecstasy. “Yaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!”

Vantas’s scream was silenced as he crashed into the ground at the palace’s base. Moments later, Spike crashed into the ground beside him.

“V4nt4s?” Pyrope asked, sniffing out the familiar shape of her friend as he slowly rose to his feet.

“Another one? Bah. Kill it. Kill them all!” Sombra ordered. “SSStrike them down where they- yah!” The king let out a scream of surprise as a blast of purple smashed into his face, knocking him to the ground. Twilight let out a squeal of delight before she too face planted into the ground at the palace’s base. The Crystal Heart, previously held aloft in Sombra’s magical grip, flew through the air before a streak of pink darted forth, seizing the heart. Cadence grabbed the hunk of diamond, gliding through the air and landing next to the fallen king.

“I’ve got the Crystal Heart,” Cadence grinned. “Sombra, it’s all over now.”

“Cadence?” The alicorn in question whirled towards the sound of the voice, a voice that, for a time, she’d worried she’d never hear again.

“Shining Armor?” Cadence dared to ask as her eyes filled with tears at the sight of a stallion she’d presumed dead. Shining Armor stared back at her, though for some reason his face seemed less filled with joy. In fact, it seemed… aggressive.

A beam of magic struck Cadence in the chest. The alicorn, blown away by Shining’s unexpected attack, dropped the Crystal Heart as she was blasted across the plaza. The heart sailed through the air, before coming to rest in Sombra’s hooves.

“Rule number one, Misss Cadenza,” Sombra sneered at Cadence’s slowly recovering form. “Only the villainsss are allowed to gloat. And now, my legissslacerator, comesss the time when you ssshould kill them all.”

Pyrope glanced at Cadence, at the Elements of Harmony struggling in their crystal bonds and at Twilight Sparkle, still trying to lift herself from her ungraceful landing. “...4s you w1sh, your m4j3sty.”

“Wait!” a voice cried out. Pyrope turned and saw Vantas, one arm clutching his side, the other held out, gesturing for her to stop. “Pyrope,” he said, desperation evident in his voice. “Pyrope, don’t do it.”

She looked, between Sombra and Vantas. Her breathing quickened; it was obvious that she was wrought with indecision.

“Pyrope?”

Vantas limped nearer. “Despite what you did, and let me assure you we are gonna have a fucking long talk about this, I will still tell you.” He narrowed his eyes at the assorted ponies. “And if any of you laugh I’ll just replace Black Snooty over there.” (Pinkie snorted with laughter, but managed to keep it quiet.)

“You’re about to doom everyone with a bad decision.” His eyes flashed brown. “I might be acting like a total fool, but I can see connections between stuff. You’ll doom them to another eternity. You’ll doom us to a life of betrayal. You’ll doom me.” He sighed. “And worst of all, you’ll doom yourself. You’ll doom yourself to a lifetime of blood and false justice, of serving a pony who shouldn’t be allowed to exist, and I can’t let that happen. This may or may not be the correct time, but frankly, I don’t fucking care and you really need to fucking hear it. Redglare Pyrope, I love you. Yes, I said what you think I said, I am completely flushed. I admire you, I adore everything about you, even now when you’re about to make this huge fucking mistake. I love you, Pyrope. And… I hope that you also love me.” He knew he had seconds at the most before Sombra said something. In those seconds, he summoned everything he loved about Pyrope into his mind, and collaged the scattered memories into a look, a soulful gaze that he knew Pyrope couldn’t possibly see, but that he hoped she could feel.

“Think about it.”

She thought about it. She thought about it for only a moment, but in that moment a recent memory surfaced, one that she’d once promised to lock away.

-----

The sour scent of licorice stung at her nostrils, drawing tears to her red eyes and coughs from her dry mouth, and the sounds of crackling fire and screams of agony filled the wrecked lab. The surrounding scene was in complete disarray, a detail that only served to highlight the horrifying spectacle truly on display.

Pyrope’s friends lay dead on the ground, their bodies stacked in some great corpsepile, their blood spilt across the floor. The smell of death filled the air, mingling with an outright buffet of tangs and scents that would’ve smelled like a great feast had they been released in different circumstances- as a great meal of congeniality and not a twisted cornucopia of bloodied fragrances. The worst detail, and the one that no matter what she could not ignore, were the black marks around their wringed necks, or worse, the bloody symbols carved into their corpses. Her symbol. Libra.

A chill passed through the room. Pyrope’s eyes swiveled to spot a dark shadow, in the shape of a darker king, stalking slowly towards her.

“Excellent job, my legissslacerator,” it whispered. “You’ve done well. Now sssoon your journey will be complete. Embrace the darknesss within you. Give in to your desires. Admit that the justice you claim to ssseek is but a front, an excussse to bring ssstrife and despair to all you can.”

And to her horror, a tendril of smoke curled around her mouth, and the words slipped from her tongue without her mind’s approval. “Yes, your majesty.”

“Good,” the shadow rasped, extending itself further around Pyrope. It wrapped coils of darkness around her arms and legs, so as to stumble her forwards, guiding her body on a wispy string. Slowly, she advanced into the darkness, though her brain screamed for her to stop her limbs rebelled, carrying her farther into the night. She stepped onto her platform, one half of the scale, a lone spot series of gray blotches in a pitch black surrounding. And across the scales stood the creature that had vexed her ever since its introduction to her all those years ago. Alexandr Vantas stood on the other side of the law, staring up at her with fear in his eyes.

No, her mind said, but the shadow twisted itself tight around her stomach. It pinched at her lips, tugging her cheeks into a malicious grin as Vantas stood beholding her in absolute terror.

“P-Pyrope. What’s going on? What’re you doing?”

“Why, th4t’s s1mpl3, V4nt4s,” Pyrope replied with glee. “You comm1t3d your cr1m3s. 4nd now- you’ll h4ng!”

Vantas’s hands found his neck, and then they found the rope wrapped tightly around it, the rope that lead to the arm of the scale above. Suddenly the platform didn’t exist anymore, and there was only him, swinging back and forth from the rope like a disturbing pendulum as Pyrope’s raspy voice filled his ears.

“You w3r3 4 fool. You b3l13v3d 1 m1ght r3turn your f33l1ngs? You d4r3d 1m4g1n3 1’d th1nk of you th4t w4y! You’r3 4 p4th3t1c w1mp, V4nt4s, 4nd you’ll do th3 world 4 f4vor 1f you’d shut up 4nd d13!!!”

No! Pyrope’s interiors shrieked, frantically trying to fix this, to shake the black snake loose of its coils around the puppet girl. No! Th1s 1sn’t r1ght! Th3s3 4r3 l13s! Don’t l1st3n to us V4nt4s! Don’t l1st3n to us...

And somewhere, somewhere far, far away, a small voice echoed through the endless void. “Twilight… Twilight… Twilight…”

-----

The memory flashed through Pyrope’s mind, and she gulped. She opened her mouth--

“Hehehehahaha. Aw, what a sssweet declaration, my loyal ssservant.” Sombra grinned, showing off his fangs. “For that, I can offer him a quick death. After all, he need not sssee what we are about to commit, eh, my L3g1sssl4c3r4tor?” Pyrope’s shoulders stiffened. “But it ssseemsss that you have your own opinion, hmm? Why won’t you ssshare with the classs? Actually,” Sombra gave an indifferent shrug, “I don’t really care. Hang them.”

“No.”

The unicorn blinked. “I beg your pardon?”

“1 s41d no.”

“SSSurely you weren’t moved by that pathetic ssspeech? What do you mean by, no?”

“1t m34ns, no.”

“Then I’ll jussst kill them myssself.”

“No!”

She was panting in fury. “V4nt4s 1s r1ght. 1’m m4k1ng 4 m1st4k3!” Unnoticed by all at the moment, faint traces of green were sparking across her body. “Th1s 1s wh4t 1’m do1ng, Sombr4. 1m r3nounc1ng you!” The green sparks were forming the Mind Symbols. The Crystal ponies were yelping. “4nd 1’m not gonn4 stop th3r3! Now, 1 don’t th1nk 4ll my cr1m3s w1ll b3 forg1v3n. Th3y won’t!” Faint connections were forming between the neuron patterns, with a Mind Symbol appearing on her forehead. She remained oblivious. “But 1’m not do1ng th1s for th3m. 1 don’t g1v3 4 sh1t 4bout th3m, b3c4us3 1n th3 3nd 1t w4s 4lw4ys 4bout m3. 4nd now 1t’s 4bout m3 r3nounc1ng you 4nd your corrupt l3g1sl4tur3. 1’m r1dd1ng th3s3 poor souls of on3 monst3r, 4nd b3for3 1’m through 1’ll h4v3 r1dd3n th3m of 4noth3r. 1’m do1ng th1s for Just1c3!”

Sombra snorted. “And what would you accomplisssh? You can’t defeat me. You don’t have a weapon that could hurt me. The Heart isss mine. You don’t even have a plan!”

Pyrope hissed. “You’r3 r1ght- 1 h4v3 no pl4n. 4nd do3sn’t th4t sc4r3 you?”

The Black king considered it for a fraction of a second. “Nah.” And he stabbed a crystal spike through her heart.

For several seconds the world froze. Vantas opened his mouth but made no noise, Fluttershy’s eyes clouded with silent tears as Twilight attempted to avert Spike’s gaze, and Pyrope was but a black shadow of a figure, impaled upon a sharp rocky thorn. Then the spike retracted, leaving Pyrope with a minty green hole through her chest, teal liquids slowly dripping down her back. Then, she toppled like a wobbly tower of blocks, and fell.

The L3g1sl4c3r4tor’s body fell, almost in slow motion. Vantas’ eyes widened. ‘No. This wasn’t what I meant. You... You should have just fled. Redglare...’

One by one, the Mind Symbols were winking out. The Crystal Ponies were staring at the corpse. Only Pinkie, who had recognized them for what they were, was watching them wink out with concern. Suddenly, her eyes widened in realization. She bounced to a Crystal Pony with a dwindling symbol, whispered something in her ear, and bounded away. The pony glared at the body, and spoke the word.

“Just.”

The Neurons flared. One by one, they lit up again, as the Crystal ponies repeated the word, that fateful word. Its power grew, and the Neurons spread. King Sombra whirled around. “What isss the meaning of thisss?” But his word was ignored.

The Crystal Ponies were chanting now. Vantas perked up. That sounded like....

The glowing Neurons had spread across the entire Empire. A Neuron touched the fallen corpse, then lit up with a brilliant light. A single word was carved in the air, and the ponies’ chant of it had reached to deafening levels. Pinkie suspected that the chant was reaching Heartsong levels.

The body was in the air now. Teal and mint spirographs were circling it, the Mind symbols everywhere converging upon it. Even Sombra shied away from the spectacle. (Vantas on the other hand showed nothing but delight.)

Without warning, the glow ceased. The Neurons vanished. The chant stopped. And there, left hovering on minty-teal translucent wings, was Pyrope. She was left wearing a green robe with a hood that covered her eyes. And she was smiling. In each hand, she held half her cane.

“H3h3h3. Just1c3 pr3v41ls!”

Noticing Sombra’s furious glare, Pyrope made to back away from the unicorn. Thoughts ran through her mind, sparks of electricity along organic wires. Taking a breath, she retreated inward to the mind below sea level, and saw what her brilliant logic told would come next. Twilight Sparkle, always the eager friend, would set about freeing the Elements from their crystal bonds. Meanwhile, Sombra, desperate to reignite a spark of fear amongst the crystal ponies, would attempt to kill her. This was something that needed to be avoided, immediately.

“V4nt4s!” Pyrope called, signalling the overjoyed troll below.

“Oh my gog, Pyrope, you’re alive!” Vantas cheered. “I thought you were dead! I thought I’d never see you again!”

“Y3s, V4nt4s, 1 4m v3ry much 4l1v3. Th4nk you for po1nt1ng th4t out,” Pyrope groaned. “Now g1v3 m3 4 h4nd h3r3. W3 n33d to stop-”

“Kill them! Kill all of them!” Sombra ordered his corrupted guards. The crystals mounted on their helmets pulsed with magic, and the stallions obeyed, striding forwards towards the immobile Elements of Harmony. Twilight and Spike, working hard to free Rarity from her crystallized trap, glanced up to see the guard approaching. Their eyes widened with fear, until Vantas and Pyrope stepped up to defend them.

“ H3y, just work on fr331ng your fr13nds. W3’v3 got th1s,” Pyrope called. Twilight nodded, before she resumed her attempts to shatter the crystal fixing Rarity to the ground. Vantas and Pyrope, meanwhile, turned to the quickly encroaching guards.

“What was that about us having this?” Vantas whispered nervously.

“H3y. Trust m3 for onc3, w1ll y4?” Pyrope grinned. “W3’r3 gonna w1n. 1’v3 4lr34dy m4d3 up my m1nd 4bout 1t.”

With a growl, Shining Armor charged forwards, madly waving his spear about. Pyrope stepped forth, her cane-blades at the ready. Crossing the weapons in front of her, she blocked the Prince’s attack, before she shoved the unicorn away from her. Shining stumbled back, before Redglare leapt forwards, delivering a kick that sent Armor sprawling to the ground.

Escutcheon, aggressing Vantas, made a wild jab at the troll. Vantas caught the attack on a sickle, hooking the scythe around the spear head before yanking it from the pony’s grip. With his free hand, the Threshecutioner delivered a Vantas Punch! and Escutcheon was knocked away. Vantas grinned, before a blur of muscle slammed into him, and Bramble Scout tackled him to the ground. Vantas glanced up as his attacker leaned over him. As the Earth pony made a stab at Vantas’s head, the troll’s reflexes kicked in and Vantas moved his head to the right, barely avoiding the spear head as it plunged into the ground. Dropping his sickle, Vantas wrapped both his arms around Bramble Scout’s middle, before flinging the guard off of him. As Vantas began returning to his feet, a recovered Escutcheon charged towards the vulnerable Threshecutioner. Vantas grabbed his sickle, before with a furious swing he swatted Escutcheon away with the flat side of the tool.

Rune Blaze’s horn lit as he stepped towards the active fray. Building up energy, Rune Blaze smiled as his eyes narrowed on Vantas’s back. Suddenly, Pyrope was in front of him. His spell went out as Pyrope struck his horn with the flat side of her cane, sending waves of pain shooting towards his brain. Pyrope followed suit with an uppercut to the guard’s jaw, smashing him away. The wind whistled in her ear- Pyrope turned and raised her cane, blocking a blow from Cloud Cover. The Seer deftly gripped the other half of her cane, before with a swift strike she cleaved the pegasus’s spear in two. Discarding his now-useless weapon, Cloud Cover darted towards Pyrope and got a face full of boot for his troubles.

Pyrope grinned, before a blast of magic narrowly missed her, shooting right past her ear. Glancing backwards, she spotted Shining Armor on his hooves again, readying another energy beam. With a flap of her newly-acquired wings, Pyrope took to the sky, Shining’s attacks undershooting his mobile target. “Hey, Pyrope!” Vantas cried. Redglare glanced down to see Vantas again wrestling with Bramble Scout, a contest of strength which Vantas was quickly losing. “Urk- it’s a bit of a long shot, but any way we could maybe disable these guys permanently?”

“W3ll, only on3 w4y to know for sur3,” Pyrope replied. She glanced towards King Sombra, who stood taking the scene in with a harsh glare, the crystal ponies looking apprehensively at him. Bringing a hand to her forehead, Pyrope allowed her mind to flow, summoning the raging stream of consciousness to float a message in a bottle down to it’s dry shores.

“Br34k th31r h3lm3ts,” Pyrope ordered, grinning as the new information came to light. Vantas, his throat rapidly being crushed by the strong hooves gripping it, wasted no time applying Pyrope’s advice. Flailing his arms, Vantas knocked the helmet from Bramble Scout’s head. The guard’s expression mellowed, his eyes returning to their normal coloring. He dropped Vantas to the ground, where the troll lay for a while, gasping desperately for breath.

“What… what happened?” Bramble Scout asked.

With a cry of rage, Escutcheon came charging towards the two, his spear held aloft. The guard raised the weapon, preparing to bring it down on the pony before him. Bramble Scout’s hoof shot out, and socked his commanding officer in the face, hard. Escutcheon dropped his spear, his hoof instead flying to comfort his bleeding nose. Bramble Scout grabbed the Lieutenant’s helmet, tearing it from his skull.

“Oww,” Escutcheon groaned as his mind returned to him. “Private, if you could, next time attempt to disable me without any bodily harm. Err- thank you though.”

“No problem,” Bramble Scout replied. “I secretly wanted to do that for months.”

Pyrope dodged another beam of pink, bobbing and weaving around Shining’s attacks. Cloud Cover darted into the air after her. The pegasus zoomed towards the troll, his eyes narrowed in concentration as he made to ram into her stomach. Redglare grinned, reconnecting the two parts of her stabbing cane. As the guard approached, Pyrope swung the cane like a golf club, walloping Cloud Cover across the head. As he fell towards the ground, his body went one direction while his helmet went the other. Both crashed into the crystal earth, but only one shattered to pieces, and thankfully it wasn’t the pony. Rune Blaze took aim, releasing a scorching beam of light. Pyrope evaded the attack as easily as any others, flashing Rune Blaze a taunting grin. The unicorn’s expression fiercened as he fired several more bursts of magic- then a fist he’d never seen coming slammed into the side of his head, and Vantas knocked the guard to the ground, before snatching the helmet from him. Rune Blaze groaned, and slowly returned to his hooves, regaining his senses.

Shining Armor glanced at Epsilon Squad, freed from King Sombra’s puppetry, and at the trolls who’d singlehandedly brought it about. His scowl deepened, his horn crackling with powerful energy as he began invoke a majyck sealed away millennia ago, unlocked once again due only to the powerful rage building inside him. A cry of pure anger pierced through the plaza as Shining Armor’s green eyes and the black crystals on his helmet bubbled with strange and foreign energies, and-

A pair of pink hooves wrap around Shining’s helmet, yanking it off. The spell at the tip of his horn fizzles out, his furious wrath fading away. Shining Armor returns to reality.

“Ugh. What? How did…” The pair of hooves turn Shining around, eager to introduce him to a pair of lips. Shining Armor’s eyes widen as Cadence kisses him like she hasn’t in over a week. The two wrap each other in a loving embrace, as tears slowly trickle down Cadence’s cheek. Finally, they break away.

“No, seriously. What happened?” Shining asked.

“I thought I’d lost you forever,” Cadence almost sobbed. “I’m so glad I was wrong.” She kissed Shining Armor again, drawing an “Aww!” from practically every sentient being in a five mile radius.

Sombra glanced from Pyrope and Vantas to the triumphant looks on the crystal ponies’ faces. This was not going anywhere near how he planned it, but it was still salvageable. He had the Heart, and so long as the artifact remained within his possession, he could not lose. Everything else was a trivial annoyance.

Sombra’s internal dialogue was interrupted as a blast of purple struck him in the side of the chest. Sombra barely flinched, but instead fixed the attack’s originator with a furious gaze. Twilight Sparkle met his glare, showing full well that she would not back down- and neither would her recently freed friends. Twilight and Rarity fired another volley of beams at Sombra, forcing him to erect a large crystal to absorb the attacks. Applejack raced towards the crystal, Bramble Scout not far behind. Together, the two grabbed the crystal, and with a tremendous feat of strength managed to rip the spike from the ground. Sombra backed away in surprise.

“Surprise!” Pinkie shrieked as she suddenly appeared in Sombra’s field of vision. Yanking a banana cream pie from the temporal anomaly that was her mane, Pinkie Pie hurled the pastry at the shadow king. In a flash of purple, Sombra teleported out of the projectile’s path, appearing behind Pinkie. Seizing the mare in his telekinesis, Sombra hurled her into a crystal house. Pinkie flew into the building, slamming face first into the house before peeling slowly off the wall and dropping to the ground with an additional *Oof.*.

“Now!” Applejack cried. The farmer and her guard companion hefted the large crystal spike between them. Then, each taking a deep breath, they hurled the crystal like a javelin towards Sombra. The king, spotting the crystal incoming, vanished into a cloud of smoke. The crystal sailed harmlessly through his incorporeal form as Sombra’s head emerged from the tip of the shadowy figure. His horn lighting with dark magic, Sombra summoned at least a dozen of the same size crystals the earth ponies had attacked with, levitating them effortlessly around him. “Oh dear,” Applejack squeaked as Sombra sent the black crystals rocketing towards Bramble Scout and her.

“Get down!” Rune Blaze screamed as he rushed in front of the two. Hefting a smaller crystal intricately carved with shapes and symbols of glowing red, Rune Blaze flung the rock into the cloud of rapidly approaching crystal spears. Seconds later, the crystal detonated, consuming Sombra’s attack in an enormous magical explosion, pulverizing every crystal caught inside it. Rainbow Dash and Cloud Cover flew through the clearing smoke, zooming towards the shadow king. Coordinating their movements, the two pegasi split apart, before rushing towards Sombra from different angles, their hooves outstretched. Sombra gave a low growl before surrounding himself in a shield bubble of purple and green- both pegasi bounced off the shield, crashing to the ground. Sombra gave a smirk and dispelled the bubble… only for a third pegasus to slam into him from behind. Fluttershy tossed the tyrant into the air, and Sombra struggled to right himself and land on his hooves. The unicorn glanced up at the retreating pegasus. Charging up a ball of energy on the tip of his horn, Sombra released a blast of dark magic that exploded just in front of Fluttershy, the force of the blast sending her careening into an abandoned carnival stand.

Sombra didn’t have a chance to rest, as Escutcheon dashed towards the king, his twirling his spear as he relentlessly aggressed the tyrant. Crystal’s crept up Sombra’s hoof- seconds later he had a threatening looking crystal gauntlet, which Sombra used to block another of Escutcheon’s stabs. The Earth pony appeared undaunted, continuing his attempts to skewer the unicorn, adding in some martial arts kicks between jabs. Sombra evaded and blocked each attack, growing more frustrated by the second. “Yaah!” With a scream, Vantas joined the brawl, slashing at Sombra with his sickle. Sombra’s movements sped up, his shadowy form becoming almost a blur as he countered, dodged, and fought back against his aggressors. Finally, with a roar of rage, Sombra teleported away from the two. Immediately following his retreat, Sombra’s horn released an enormous burst of energy, a shockwave of black magic lifting ponies off their hooves and flinging them like rag dolls, sending Vantas flying and landing next to a stumbling Twilight Sparkle.

“This isn’t going to work,” Vantas advised as he got to his feet. “We need to get that Crystal Heart back. It’s the only thing that can stop him now.”

“I can see if I can create an opening,” Twilight groaned back, her eyes narrowing as possibilities raced through her head. “Or maybe I can distract him and get Pinkie to swipe it.”

“Hmm. Looks like somebody’s beating you to it,” Vantas said, pointing towards Shining Armor and Cadence, staring down the furious Sombra.

“Your time is nigh, Sombra,” Shining threatened. “As Prince of the Crystal Empire, I will defeat you.”

“Hmph. You?” Sombra laughed. “You couldn’t defeat me alone before, nor can you defeat me now!”

“Oh, but he’s not alone,” Cadence said, stepping up next to her husband. “He’s never alone. And neither am I.”

“We have each other,” Shining finished. “And you, Sombra, have no one.”

“Eh, company is overrated anywaysss,” Sombra dismissed. “Now finisssh your babbling already. I want to watch you ssscream.”

Sombra’s horn lit with a dark, foreboding aura. Lunging forwards, the black unicorn released an enormous beam of black magic. Cadence and Shining Armor responded as one, their blasts of pink and blue twisting and swirling together, a single beacon of heart and hope, a beam of light to counter Sombra’s darkness. The two attacks met at the crossroads of fate, a power struggle for superiority, a confrontation to determine an Empire’s destiny, and the glistening sweat and clenched teeth of both sides indicated that each was giving it their all, the beams in the middle fluctuating in power, struggling against the other, vying of dominance and control.

“No! 3nough of th3s3 stup1d b34m struggl3s!” Pyrope appeared from nowhere, darting towards Sombra with her leg outstretched. The tyrant never saw the kick coming, and as he crashed to the ground, his light of his horn winking out, Pyrope seized both opportunity and the Crystal Heart. “C4tch!” Pyrope called as she tossed the artifact toward Cadence. The alicorn took to the sky, seizing the relic in her telekinesis before turning towards its pedestal at the Palace’s base. With a swift movement of her horn, the Heart took it’s place floating between two spires of Crystal, hovering midair waiting for a jumpstart.

“Citizens of the Crystal Empire!” Cadence proclaimed, addressing the amazed crowd. “The Crystal Heart has returned. Lend us your love and compassion to ensure that King Sombra does not!”

“What? No!” Sombra screamed, turning towards the bright-eyed crystal ponies. “Let fear and sssorrow into your heartsss. SSSubmit to my rule!” As he said that, their coats lit up, their bodies became shiny as crystal, and the Heart began to glow. And with it, Sombra’s declarations became even more desperate. “No! You can’t! My fear isss inessscapable. None can defeat me!” As the very streets below him lit with a lovely glow, and the heart pulsated with brilliant energy, Sombra’s apprehension turned to panic. “You can’t. It’sss… not… posssible. No. No!” The Crystal Heart shone like a star, and a wave of amourous energy rushed outwards, sweeping across the empire like a comforting gust of wind, a calming light banishing whatever shadows flickered there before. “Nooo!!!” Sombra screeched as he felt himself crackle with energy, before he was shattered and swept away. “Noooooo…”

His voice faded off, now merely an unpleasant memory. The Empire was bright and sparkly, a beacon of hope already spreading love to all who lay eyes on it. Pyrope gaped at the sight in disbelief, Vantas at her side. The Elements of Harmony gazed proudly over the newly-reclaimed empire, while Epsilon Squad glanced at each other, silently congratulating each other on a job well done. Shining Armor had eyes only for Cadence. Cadence had eyes only for Shining Armor… and a warm bed. She hadn’t slept in days.

-----

“Are you sure you have to go?” Twilight asked. Vantas and Pyrope stood at the edge of the Empire’s border, ready to exit into the snowy hills beyond the Heart’s protection.

“Yes, I’m sure,” Vantas answered. “We kind of left our friends on a sudden note. We wouldn’t want to leave them waiting… Though, they’ve probably been watching everything that’s been going on since we left.”

-----

“Aha ha ha ha ha!”

“I still think the best part wwas his proposal. Smooth movves VVantas. Smooth movves.”

“Are you kidding? The 8est part was their impromptu musical num8er. Oh, I am never going to let them live that down!”

“22h. Guy2, they’re talkiing agaiin. Quiiet down.”

-----

“Well, we were oftly glad to have you here,” Applejack told the trolls. “Ya’ll were a big help… even if we weren’t always on the same side.”

“Y34h. 1’m r34lly sorry 4bout th4t,” Pyrope said, her head lowering a bit.

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” Pinkie smiled. “You came around in the end and that’s all the readers really care about!”

Cadence stepped forth. “I would like to make it official. On behalf of the Crystal Empire, its citizens, and its allies, I would like to thank you both for your serviced in aiding the state of defeating a dangerous criminal. You are both welcome here, always.”

“Thanks, Cadence,” Vantas said. “Though, I kind of have to ask a favor. Put in a good work for me with the Princess, would you? All this animosity between us is kind of getting old.”

“We’ll make sure Princess Celestia hears all about what you did,” Fluttershy said warmly. “And I hope that this can be the beginning of something really excellent.”

“...Well, I think that’s about it,” Vantas said, raising a hand to wave goodbye. “I’ll see you all another day, I guess.”

“F4r3w3ll, pon13s,” Pyrope grinned. “1 n3v3r h4d 4 ch4nc3 to s4y th1s b3for3, but you 4ll sm3ll d3l1c1ous.” With that unsettling comment, the two trolls exited the Empire and walked off together into the snowy fields.

“Geez. That is one wriggling shitmaggot of a temperature drop,” Vantas groaned as he wrapped his arms around himself. “Brr. Let’s just transportalize back home, eh?”

“Hold 1t,” Pyrope said. “You s33, 1 s33m to r3c4ll 4 c3rt41n troll m4k1ng 4 d3cl4r4t1on of 4n 1nt1m4t3 k1nd.”

“Oh. Oooohhh,” Vantas moaned. “Oh yeah, about that. Listen, Pyrope, I’m sorry if I sort of put you on the spot there, and I understand if you don’t feel the same way about-” Vantas was cut off as Pyrope swooped in, planting a kiss on his puckered lips as she wrapped him in a tight embrace. Vantas gave an initial yelp of surprise, before slowly his eyes drooped closed and he returned the hug.

The two stood like that for several minutes. And then, the cold became too much to bear, and they transportalized away.

End of Chapter Three.

End of Act Five.

Author's Note:

So that is a little late. Oh well.

(Feedback?)

Comments

[nighters]

so were they just human versions of the trolls all along and that why they follow cannon crushes or attitudes a lot?

[Dismay]

Maybe? They sure acted like the trolls they are now before getting changed

[Enderstorm]

This was all I had on for the entirety of this chapter.