Champion of Equestria: Dark Desires

by Buddy Hooves

Chapter 3: Core of the matter

His dark mist form waited outside the shield that the princess had casted, as the weather outside raged around him. The Crystal Empire had finally reappeared in Equestria after a thousand years, and this royal couple had the gaul to try and rule it. But he was King Sombra, the true ruler of the Crystal Empire, and he would have his rightful throne back. It was just a matter of time. The ponies still didn't know where the crystal heart was, and the shield the princess had around the empire was begin to weaver. There was also the small piece of his horn that chipped off and made its way in, allowing more of his dark crystals to spead from inside.

But time was not on his side, as a purple unicorn mare and a baby dragon was getting closer to finding the crystal heart. If he didn't find away to stop her soon, then these ponies would win. And he simply could not allow that to happen.

But then, all the pieces fell into place. The princess was too weak to keep the shield around the empire anymore, so it finally vanished. The mare and dragon had found the crystal heart, but she activitated the trap he had put there ages ago, and was now surrounded by his dark crystals. Now was the time to act. His mist form crossed the threshold, as he made his way to the crystal heart. He would take back the crystal heart, punish these intruders in his kingdom, and rule once again.

The purple mare threw the heart over to the baby dragon, who was outside of the trap he had placed. But it didn't matter, he was no match for Sombra's dark magic. As pillar after pillar of dark crystals popped up around the dragon, he made his way closer to him. He was closer now, and could almost taste the sweat victory that was almost near.

And then everything went wrong.

The dragon fell from one of the pillars that was high in the air, dropping the crystal heart from his claws. But before Sombra could take it for his own, the princess soared through the air and took it from him. She land on the ground, wings spread out, surrounded by the crystal ponies. Those commoners, his slaves, bowed before her like she was their ruler. Then the magic inside the crystal heart poured out, and a explosion of it's magic spread out across the whole kingdom.

The wave reached Sombra before he could react. The bright light shined around him as the magic burned his whole body. All he could do was scream as the magic began to rip apart his body.

---

I woke with a scream.

"Not again." I muttered to myself as sat up in the bed. Sweat pouring from my face.

I had another dream about Sombra's past. The memories were so clear, so vivid, it was like I had really lived it. And in a sad way, I really did. As much as I didn't want to face it, Sombra was now a part of me. All of his past memories were so mixed into mine, that I was starting forget what my life as a human was really like. I tried to remember my parents back on earth, but all I could picture was Sombra's. My school life was a mix of highschool and magic school, with everyone's image slowly becoming ponies.

The more I thought about it, the more I was beginning to lose my mind. Remembering all the good times I had since I came to Equestria helped a little, but then they brought new fears to the surface. I was afraid that Sombra would one day take over, and that he would hurt my friends. I couldn't let him do that to them. Not my Applejack.

As I pondered more about this subject, I decided to get up and make my way to the shower. I was staying in Twilight's castle again, since I really had no other place to go. I asked Twilight if it would be okay with me staying here, since Starlight Glimmer was already living with her. But Twilight said they had plenty of spare rooms and didn't mind at all.

I thought about how helpful her and the girls had been to me, and I couldn't help but take comfort in it. I let out a huge sigh and tried to let all my worrying thoughts go. I was worrying too much about everything. The girls would help me if anything happened, plus I had much better control of my magic since I did months ago. With that thought, I opened the door to the bathroom hoping a nice hot shower would make me feel better.

What I saw made me froze in shock.

Starlight Glimmer was already inside the shower/tub, soaking in a bubble bath. We both stared at each other in total shock for about a few seconds, before she decided to act first. "Get OUT!!" She screamed before throwing a soap bottle straight at my head, hitting me right between the eyes. She then used her magic to throw me into the hall before slaming the door behind me.

"Look, I said was sorry, okay?" I tried to explain myself.

After the little accident, I decided to skip the shower and just make breakfast. As I was finishing making some toast and juice, Starlight walked into the kitchen. As she made herself some coffee, she gave me the death stare. A look that most girls gave guys when they were angry at them. I had seen that look more then a few times to know what it was.

"Can we just pretend it didn't happened?" I pleaded.

"You should have knocked." She said in a bitter tone.

"Yeah? Well you should have locked the door." I stated dryly.

She mumbled something under her breathe, but I didn't hear it. I just snorted and returned my attention to my food. I didn't have time for this shit. It was too early, and I had other, important things on my mind.

"Good morning, guys." Twilight greeted us as she and Spike walked into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Twilight." Starlight replied.

I took the last few bites of my toast and downed my drink. "Well, I gotta go." I said, walking away from the table.

"You're leaving so soon?" Twilight ask, giving me an confused look.

"Yep. I told Applejack I'd help her out of the farm today, and I don't want to be late."

"Oh, well have fun." Twilight smiled at me.

I walked over to the door before I stopped. A thought crossed my mind, and it was too good of an opportunity not to pass up. I turned to face Starlight, before giving her a sly look. "By the way, you looked cute with your little rubber ducky." I said before walking out of the kitchen.

"What was that about?" Twilight asked.

"N... Nothing ." Starlight nervously said.

"You have a rubber ducky?" Spike asked.

Ha ha. Revenge.

I made my way to Sweet Apple Acres, I took the time to enjoy the walk and admire the day. It was another peaceful day in Ponyville, and I was enjoying every second of it. Yesterday, as I explained where I had been and what I been doing in the past months, the girls told me about some of the things that happened to them. But as things were wrapping up, Applejack made me promise that I'd come down to the farm and help her with some of yard work. I agreed, as I felt it would be the perfect way to make things up to her, and spend time with her as well.

I soon came to the gate of the farm, and gave a quick look at my surroundings. Off in the field, Big Mac was tending to the crops. Further in, I spotted Apple Bloom playing with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. It was hard to spot this far away, but I saw that they finally got their cutie marks. Good for them. I thought to myself. Now they can move on with their lifes and just enjoy their youth.

I decided to walk up to Big Mac and say hi. That, and test the waters. So to speak.

"Hi Big Mac. Nice day today."

"Eeeyup." He replied.

"Is Applejack nearby?"

"Eeeyup."

"Thanks." I said before I started to walk away. But then I was surprised when he continued talking.

"I'd be careful if I was you." He said, causing me to stop and look at him. "AJ hasn't been riled up in long time. She may take it out on ya for awhile."

"I was afraid of that." I replied, looking at the ground in defeat.

"But I wouldn't worry. She'll calm down after she's had a chance ta cool down." He stated.

"Thanks, Big Mac."

"One more thing. If you ever break my little sister's heart again, I'll break your legs." He calmy said as he starred me down.

I gulped. Hard.

"There ya are." Applejack said as she walked up to us. "Ya're just in time ta help feed the critters."

Before I could react to anything, she grabbed me by the hoof and started leading me towards the animal pens. I took one last quick look behind me, and saw Big Mac still had his eyes on me. He gave me a hard look that I couldn't tell it meant, 'you better be good to her' or 'lay your hooves on her and I'll snap your neck'. Either way, I was more then a little nervous. I may have had the spirit of Sombra inside of me, but nothing was scarier then a pissed off protective older brother.

"Come on, Mark. Put some backbone into it. Time's wasting." Applejack said as she watched me carry a cart full of apples.

For the last few hours, Applejack had been working me like a dog. First, she had me clean the pigs feed troth, which ended in me in getting all muddy. At least I was hoping it was mud. Then she had we carting barrels of apples into the barn for storage. At least that wasn't too hard. She then had me walking around the apple fields picking up all the rotten apples on the ground. That ended in me being swarmed by a bunch of fruit bats, which at least earned a chuckle from Applejack. And now I was hauling around a cart as she went around apple bucking.

"Are we about done yet?" I moaned. It was now the afternoon and I was tired.

"Just a few more trees and then we can take a break." She said, perfectly bucking the apples from the trees.

"Why are we doing this?"

"Now come on, Mark. Quit your belly aching. We have have ta collect the rest of these apples ta finish out the season." She replied. Sounding a little upset at my complaining.

"That's not what I meant. I mean, why did you have me do all this? Is this some form of punishment?"

She didn't say anything after that, but I knew I had hit the nail on the head. She was still upset at me because of how I left her. I couldn't blame her. She had a right to still be made at me. But at least she was still seeing me, so that at least gave me hope of repairing our relationship. Even if she was literally making me work for it.

"There. That should be the last of them." AJ said as took the last bucket full of apples and put it in the cart behind me.

I grunted as more weight was added in, and I shifted myself to get more comfortable. This cart was heavy, and I wasn't used to hauling things around by my back like everypony else was. But the promise of us being done spur me on.

"Whoo howdy! Sugar cube, I hate ta tell you this, but you smell worse then the dickens." She stated.

Geez, you think? I thought to myself. No shower + hard work = sweaty smelly stallion.

"Yeah. I kinda wasn't able to take my shower this morning. So..."

"Well, come on. We'll put everything up, and then you can use our shower." She said as we started making our way back to the farm.

"Thanks." I replied, trying to keep up with her as I pulled the full cart behind me.

As we walked, we stayed mostly silent. I didn't know what she was thinking, but I knew there was still something eating at her. I knew that I had to say something to get the ball rolling again. To fix the cracks in our relationship and friendship. But I wasn't sure how to start. Please, don't let me put my foot in my mouth.

"Applejack. I'm sorry."

"I know." She calmy replied, not even bothering to look back.

"Look, I just want you to know that you wasn't the reason I left. It was me." That caused her to stop. "I was afraid, AJ. After defeating Sombra, everything about me and my life changed. My memories, my looks, even the type of pony I was, all changed to be more like Sombra. And I was afraid that I was becoming too much like him."

She turn to face me, and I saw that those beautiful emerald eyes were full of concern.

"So that's why I left to join the guard. I thought that if I was out of the picture, then there would be no risk of something happening to you and the other girls." I finished.

"Ya stupid fool. Ya didn't have ta face all those worries alone. We could have faced them together."

"I see that now. I still have many of same worries that I did before. But at least something good came out of my time away. I made a few friends and even got better with magic and combat." I smiled.

"Well, I'm just glad your back." AJ said, continuing our walk towards the barn.

"Me too."

After getting the fresh apples stored away, and putting the cart back in it's place, we made our way inside the house. Granny Smith was inside the kitchen, hard at work on supper. Applejack told Granny that I was using their shower, and then pushed me up upstairs before the the old mare could say anything. For a little old mare, Granny Smith sure knew how to push AJ's buttons. After handing me a spare towel, she left me so I could take my shower. It felt amazingly good to wash the stress from my muscles and feel clean again.

With the shower finished, I cleaned the mess I made in the bathroom before making my way down stairs. I then saw that the Apple family was heading to the kitchen to start their dinner. Granny saw me just standing there in the living room and waved for me to join them.

"Don't just stand there. Come on over and get yourself something to eat." She yelled to me.

"I couldn't. I wouldn't want to be a hassle." I called back.

"Don't be silly, youngin. We made pleaty for everypony. Come on over and join us." She retorted.

I couldn't turn down such a kind offer, plus, after all that work I was pretty hunger. So I decided to take them up on their hospitality. "Sure." I said, before walking into the kitchen and joining them at the table. It was a delicious looking meal, though most of it was apple based. Like the apple pie or the apple fritters. But it was all still tasty.

"So Mark, AJ says that ya've been away on duty as a royal guard. Is that right?" Granny asked.

"Yes, ma'am. I was stastioned at different posted all across Equestria." I answered.

"Cool. I bet ya got ta see a lot of amazing places." Apple Bloom said.

"I did. From the Macintosh hills, to the Hayseed Swamps, and even the Frozen North."

"Sounds like ya've been all over the place." Granny stated.

"Did anything happen while ya was there?" Apple Bloom asked, eyes full of wonder.

"I won't lie. Me and my unit have run into our share of problems while at our posts." I said.

"Like what?"

"Like the time we ran into a group of bandits while escorting a nobel to Baltimare. Or the hydra that attacked out post in the swamps. And then there was the snow creatures we fought off while guarding the trade route between the Crystal Empire and Yakyakistan." I explained. "Nothing too life threating, but it did keep me on tips of my hooves."

As I looked around the table, I noticed I was getting quite a few different looks from my little story. Ganny Smith was giving me a warm smile, happy to hear my tale. Apple Bloom was looking at me in awe and wonder, which wasn't much of a surprise there. Big Mac's expression was calm, but as long as he wasn't trying to break my bones, I was happy with that. And then there was Applejack. Her's was a mix between interest, disappointment and something else that I couldn't pin down. It was a look not too unlike that eyebrow look Dwayne 'The Rock' would do in wrestling.

"So I take it that there were moments ya all didn't like being on duty?" AJ asked, keeping her gaze on me.

"Well, of course." I said as I rolled my eyes at the examples. "That royal armor was uncomfortable for one thing. I only really wore it when I had to." Which was all the time. "I hated how there would be long weeks were nothing would happen, so I had to do nothing but stand around all day. I hated the fact that I couldn't enjoy the little moments, like us at this dinner. And I regret leaving in the first place. Because sadly, being a guard is not my calling in life."

"Then why did ya leave?" Big Mac surprised everypony by asking.

"Come on, Big Mac. He doesn't have ta answer if he doesn't want ta." AJ defended.

"No, no. It's okay. I don't mind answering that." I said, waving a hoof up dismissively. "Truth is, I was afraid and needed some time alone to think things over for myself. Fight my own personal demons, if you will. But facing things alone wasn't the right thing to do, nor was pushing my loved ones away. I see that now."

That earned approving smiles from everypony across the dinner table. The rest of the meal consisted of idol small talk, such as how our day went to happy memories. All in all, it was a heart warming meal that I enjoyed. As the Apple family treated me like one of their own.

After dinner, Applejack and me walked into the fields to spend some alone time. It was late in the evening now, as Celestia's sun was beginning to set. The sun was setting past the apple trees and behind the hills was beautiful. And had it been any other moment, it would've been the perfect romantic scene. But as things stood right now, I thought it best to not push my luck with Applejack. At least she wasn't mad at me.

So we just sat there under an apple tree, enjoying the view and each other's company.

"It's a pretty sunset." AJ was the fisrt to break the silence.

"Yeah."

I then felt her hoof resting on top of mine. I dared to glance over, and found she was looking at me with a cute little smile. My heart skipped a beat. At that moment, Applejack was the most beautiful mare I had ever seen. All I could do was stare into those emerald eyes.

"I'm sorry I was a little upset with ya, Mark. I had no idea that what ya've been going through." AJ said.

"It okay. I'm the one the one who should be sorry. I didn't trust you girls, and pushed you away."

"So is really true what ya said earlier? That your memories are becoming more like Sombra's?"

I nodded yes. "When I try to remember my past, all I can picture are moments in Sombra's life. I've even had nightmares of taking over the Crystal Empire or by being defeated by you guys."

"That doesn't sound good. I think ya should tell Twilight and the other princesses about that." AJ stated.

"I know. I've just been working up the courage to do that. I mean, it took a nudge from Princess Cadence to come back here and face my mistakes. I'm not a strong pony, Applejack." I sighed in defeat.

Then, before I knew it, she leaned in and kissed me. It was a long, slow kiss, that was simple but sweet. She pulled away after a few seconds later, but it was enough to smell her sweet scent. Cinnamon.

"You're stronger then you know, Mark." She said as she rested her head on my withers.

We said nothing else as we enjoyed the rest of the sunset. A huge smile was on my face. For the first time in months, I wasn't afraid of the unknown. I wasn't worried that Sombra was inside my head. In that moment, I was happy just being there with Applejack. And I knew that whatever problems I would face in the future, I knew I didn't have to face them alone.

---

On the back porch, Granny Smith and Big Mac watch the young couple spending time together.

"She sure is happy ta him again, isn't she?" Ganny questioned with a smirk.

"Eeeyep." Big Mac replied.

"It's so nice to see that she's finally found somepony."

"Eeyep."

Author's Note:

And with that, another chapter is done. It may not be the best one, but at least I've finished the issues between Mark and Applejack. Now I can move on with the plot of the story.

In the mean time, drop me a comment and tell me how I'm doing so far. It's been awhlie since I've wrote, so I feel a little rusty. If nothing else, tell me what you thought of Starlight Glimmer and her rubber ducky.