Ghost Squad

by Sollace

chapter 14: The Heart of Evil

Twilight was waiting for her when she arrived. Even before she could see, Rainbow Dash could feel Sombra’s presence. His magic hung heavy in the air, spreading across it like a black infestation, permeating it, staining it. Every flap of her wings brought another wheeze, and a strained pull of her muscles. Her back ached and the straps of her Harmony Pack were beginning to cut deep, but she pushed on.

“And so you return...” said Sombra. The dark shape of Twilight Sparkle flitted through the darkness, tendrils of shadow and mist trailing behind her. A flap of a wing, the wink of magic, and a tiny glint flashed across Rainbow’s vision as Sombra bared his teeth from the distance.

He was circling, a vulture scouting it prey—or perhaps a falcon eyeing a wounded robin. Several other comparisons shot through Rainbow’s mind’s eye—images of giant bird, giant flying lions, with sharp talons tearing blue-pink flesh from bone. A sharp acrid taste welled in the back of her throat, causing Rainbow to swallow and dryly lick her lips.

Her eyes narrowed, Rainbow Dash forced herself to focus in to the distance, squinting as she followed—albeit barely—Twilight’s circles through the fog. She flicked back her ears, eye trained forward as she searched behind her with a hoof. “They told me to run, you know,” she called out.

Twilight’s voice echoed back, distance, ghostly familiar with a bellowing cackle. “And why did you not?” It almost sounded like her, but when the fogs cleared, it became evident it was anything but. Sombra’s smirk was unwavering, Twilight’s horn a bright glow with dark magic. Black crystals and shards of ice had begun to gather on her form, giving it an almost lifeless look. Everything about her was changed. Her face was drained and dry, looking more and more like King Sombra’s old desolate visage than herself. Everything, but Twilight’s eyes, however...

“B-because I know you.” She had to force the words out. It hurt just to breath, and to continue to look this mare in the face—Rainbow’s hoof fished back over the side of her Harmony Pack, tracing the borders of its main control dial. She kept her eyes focused, trained directly on King Sombra as he stalked closer out of the darkness, slowly pushing her back away from him. “Twilight,” she whispered, her voice hoarse as if speaking the words for the very first—or perhaps last—time. She backed up further, straining her wings to keep ahead of the encroaching threat. Rainbow felt her hoof tightening her grip on the nozzle by her chest. Her breath caught, and then released as she spoke. “Twilight, please, I know you don’t want to do this. S-Sombra’s ju—“

Twilight’s body tensed. Her eyes widened, as if looking Rainbow in the eye for the first time. Sombra himself snarled. “Don’t,” he said, and started towards Rainbow Dash. His teeth revealed, sharp fangs glinted a bright white against her faded grey coat. “Don’t call me that...”

Rainbow persisted, strafing back as she turned the dial on her pack. The device’s response was immediate, turning from a silent purr to a low, trundling growl as its magical reserves began to build. “You can fight it.” Rainbow’s ears pricked back, her attention trained back on King Sombra. “You can fight him. Twilight, don’t you remember everything we’ve been through—“

“No!” Sombra shouted, growling as he sped forwards, full intent on ramming Rainbow Dash out of the sky.

She deftly dodged it, barely missing the attack by a hair. A small tug of her mane and a splattering of coloured hairs across her vision was the first reminder of how close she’d just gotten to certain death. But still she persisted, steadying herself in the air once again. “Nightmare Moon? Discord? Tirek? You showed them all the value of friendship, Twilight. You showed us all, you taught us so much.”

Thunder broke and the sky split open. Lighting crashed around them, dancing arcs of electricity charging the already magic-laden airs. The soft hiss of falling rain filled the silence around them, followed by the calming hiss and distant rumble of the storm above their heads. For a moment, even the fog seemed to cease, and Rainbow Dash was given pause as she felt the water begin to trail down her cheeks.

Pink droplets and sweet trails started their ways down her face, marking her like some kind of sugary war-paint. Her vision blurred, causing Rainbow to respond by wiping her face—smearing the remnants of her adventure even further—with the back of her fetlock.

Still the rain fell, turning now into a heavy downpour, oddly salty against Rainbow’s cheeks.

It wasn’t the rain.

“Y-” She sniffed. “You taught us that Friendship really is magic. You showed us that we—” She gestured, not really in any particular direction, but around all the same—“our rag-tag group of ponies that I would have never seen getting along, that we can become friends. You gave us each other; you gave me Loyalty, but—

A single chime, loud and clear, cut through the air beside her. Rainbow’s ears flattened back as she withdrew the handle of her Harmony Pack. The humming behind her turned to a full, eager bellow, as the machine made its will known.

“But—Above all else: you gave us you, and if you think I’m going to give up on that...” She held the nozzle at the ready, pointing it towards Twilight, but not really aiming it at her. Her pack was ready. “Then you can call me a foal; because I love you, Twilight Sparkle.”

~ ~ ~

I love you, Twilight Sparkle

“Eeeyouch!”

Applejack doubled over in the spot, clutching at her temples as she keeled into the dirt, barely propping herself as a throbbing ran through her head. Big Mac and Granny Smith were at her sides, the former looking over her with concern etched into his face, a hoof rested on Applejack’s back, reassuring. “Applejack!?” he shouted. “What”—He glanced to her bandaged knee and then her face, ears splayed flat.—“Is it the bite flaring up again?”

“N-” She stuttered. Wearily, Applejack shook her head. She glanced up to Big Mac, her expression turned grave. “No, it’s—I” She paused to collect herself, and rest a hoof against the side of her head to rub her lobes. “It’s like I felt a million stallion and mare suitors all cry out in agony; and then they were all suddenly silenced.”

She felt Big Mac’s hold tense beside her, and a loud gulp as the stallion trembled. AJ’s ears perked and she looked up into his eyes. He was pale, with the slightest glint of fear in his eyes. “Ah th—”

“There is something gravely wrong with the horse!” Granny Smith croaked from ahead. They both snapped their heads to the crooked old mare, who had somehow gotten herself stuck half-way between some crooked old trees. Granny was grappling with the ground and gravity as she dragged her cast iron ball behind her. She thrust a hoof forward—“To Ponyville, return immediately, we must!” she screamed, then slipped, and immediately slammed her hoof back down as the mud swallowed her to the flank.

“Uh...” Applejack frowned. “Granny?” She asked.

“Shh...” Big Mac silenced her with a hoof and hush from the side. He leaned in near to her and whispered into Applejack’s ear. “Get the shovel.” His eyes shot to Granny for a moment; a glare that could cut steel. Then, his hoof raised for secrecy, he continued, “Ah think she gone seen too many o’ them Star Horse movies.”

“Hoof it, ye’ youngens! We got t’ save the day, ‘wise it’ll be total anarchy; cats and dogs livin’ t’gether!”

Big Mac and Applejack slowly rose to their hooves, the latter shaking her head. “Now ah know that ain’t The Pastern Menace.”

~ ~ ~

Rainbow Dash gasped for breath. With all of her last strengths, she hauled herself and her pack around the corner, grabbing cover at the last moment as the wave of magic hit. She’d just had enough time to close her eyes and pull her wings in to her sides before the air around her exploded into a searing heat. Red, black, and purple flame swirled around her, broken by the stone pillar as it passed.

Then, just as quickly as they had come, the flames passed leaving a dark void in their wake. The air turned chill, causing a shiver to run up the pack of her spine, and the mists slowly returned, encroaching around her lithe form, eager to accept Rainbow into her wave.

“Okay—” She gasped “—This, this I can work with...” Rainbow cracked open a single eye. She glanced to the side, only seeing the white fog and the looming dark figures of the other pillars, and the same to her right. She was alone, but for how long? There was no telling. Sombra was acting more like an animal than ever before, but there was no doubt he had something plan—

The flap of a wing drifted from the distance causing Rainbow to flinch. Her ears pricked forward, and she glanced in the direction.

Nothing.

The dark swirls of the fog encased any movement. She silently cursed herself for coming up here alone. It was a suicide mission, and only ponies with a death-with would ever consider facing off against the Celestia-damned Prince of Darkness.

But he had her friend. He was her friend. There had to be something she could still appeal to. Maybe if she tried again...

“T—” Her voice came out broken and Rainbow Dash felt her body tremble as she was shook by a fit of coughing. She cupped her hoof over her mouth for the best part of it, and blinked the tears out of her eyes to look up and direct all her attention into the distant fog. “Twilight,” she said, raising her voice barely above a whisper. She repeated, shouting just a little louder. This time her voice echoed through the empty space as she spoke her friend’s name. “Twilight—Sombra—Twilight—“ She shook her head. “I-I don’t even know anymore. Whoever, I know you’re out there.

Motion flickered out of the corner of her eye, and Rainbow craned her neck, following the trail as a darkened figure drifted out of sight behind the pillar. “I know you can hear me.” Her voice was sterner. Though unsure, she begged. “Please, let us help you, Twilight.” Her ears pricked to something stalking behind the pillars, almost like the drawing of feathers as they passed through the heavy air. “I know—I know if you just fight it; it we fight it together we can—”

“Hi-a!”

“yah!” Rainbow almost jumped out of her skin. She let go of the pillar for a moment as she yelped, then immediately scrambled to regain her hold before she started the long, very-likely-to-be painful slide to the very bottom. “Pinkie Pie!” She glared to the pillar nearest her left, where a pink pony was dangling at an odd angle to the side. Pinkie seemed to defy gravity itself as she clung to the vertical surface by nothing but sheer force of will. At least Rainbow had her pegasus magic; all Pinkie seemed to be using was a free hoof whilst she fussed with clipping her Harmony Pack over her head. “What are you doing!” Rainbow practically screamed. Her ear was pounding, and she was sure it would’ve exploded if it hadn’t already. “I thought you were going to get to safety!?”

“I’m sorry, but-um...” A meek voice whispered over Rainbow’s shoulder and, as she rotated herself to look the other way, she spotted Fluttershy hanging on to the opposite pillar in a similar way, with Ditzy Doo hanging onto her back like a gelatine sea-anena- Sea-aneme—Those prickly things Twilight talked about. “We’re, um... Not going to let you do this alone.” She squeaked, and retreated back behind her mane, eyes watering with embarrassment.

“Eeeyup!” Pinkie nodded. “If you think you’re going to beat the big-bad-baddy and take all the credit and the cake, then I you have another thing coming!” She stuck out her tongue at Dash, then turned to her side, producing a notepad from her mane. She grabbed a pen on the end of her curl and quickly scribbled something down on the checklist. “Reminded, get more chocolate icing for the ‘Thanks for saving the world cake’.” She stowed the list, turning to Dash with a smile. “I swear, I never seem to have enough of that stuff...”

“Well, um...” Rainbow couldn’t help but crack a smile. Leave it to Pinkie to lighten up even the most dire of moods. “I appreciate the help, guys, really”—She looked to each of them in turn—“But this is just way too dangero—“

“No buts, mister!” Ditzy peeked up over Fluttershy’s back to give Rainbow the stink-eye. “We’re not leaving your back. And I’m not leaving here; or something...” her eyes straightened slightly as she frowned in deep through.

“But Dinky’s—“

“We took her a looooong way away from here,” Pinkie chirped.

~ ~ ~

Meanwhile, in a conveniently placed Brook closet...

“.... Hello?”

~ ~ ~

Dash stared at Pinkie, her mouth hanging partially open. Ditzy took the chance to fill in the gap and quickly piped up, saluting a congealing hoof in Dash’s direction. “so what’s the plan, captain Dash sir?”

She shook off her dumbfounded look and clicked her jaw shut with a clack. “Well—” She looked to each friend in turn. Neither of them showed any desire to budge. It was either the best thing ever, or the worst mistake ever. Either way—she sighed. “Well, first we have t—“

A loud crack split through Rainbow’s ears, and her voice was cut off as her breath suddenly left her. The stone pillar behind her exploded into a cloud of dust and shrapnel, and she felt herself thrown forwards as King Sombra erupted through the stone.

“Ahhhh!” She heard herself scream, but the world just spun, and whiled. The clouds whipped past in a blur, and the last thing she heard was a collective gasp from her friends before she collided with the far wall.

There was a loud crunch, and pain shot through Rainbow’s spine as her body was embedded deep into the stone. Sombra, sneering, leered over her with baring teeth. Twilight’s body looked stretched up close, with sunken glowing green eyes and fanged grid. He had her pinned, with his claws etching deep into Rainbow’s sides. “Got you” he snarled.

“S-” Her vision was spinning as Rainbow slowly opened her eyes. She could barely focus on the monster in front of her, but instead looked on to see her friends still on their pillars—just blurs in the light. Then, she focused on King Sombra, Twilight’s form coming into sharp relief as her eyes re-adjusted. “T-Twilight—“

He slammed her against the wall, receiving a loud crack and a groan from the Harmony Pack between rainbow and the castle’s back-bone. “I told you to. Stop. Calling. Me. That!”

“Twilight,” she repeated. She lifted the nozzle of her pack, her hoof shaking as it inched forward and up to face Sombra.

He shoved it aside, then grabbed Rainbow Dash by the withers and threw her out of the crated they’d formed.

The world spun around her, and this time Rainbow made no move to save her fall. She tucked her wings and limbs in tightly, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes, and focusing all of her attention on the cool sensation of the wind whipping past her mane. Crashing was easy, after all. Nopony had done it more than her. It was just a matter of—

Sombra collided with her chest, baring his claws deep into her flesh as she plummeted them both into the ground below. The earth hit hard, winding Rainbow Dash, and Sombra continued his unrelenting assault, battering Rainbow in the face with his front hooves until she felt blood streaming from her nose and the world around her seemed to give off a throbbing white light.

“Now,” he said, grinning. Twilight beamed with pride as Sombra leaned her body back to take in his work. Her lowered himself over Rainbow’s broken body and whispered into her ear. “...Say my name.”

“....t-t—Twilight—” Rainbow coughed.

Sombra roared then slammed Rainbow’s back against the ground, a loud crack being heard as the tiles shattered below her. “Say my name!”

“Twilight—”

~ ~ ~

Her heart was pounding. It formed a rhythmic, unrelenting beat as it pounded in her ears. Fluttershy clung to the side of her pillar for dear life, staring agape, motionless. She simply watched, and gawked, in a mixture of shock and outrage at the gap left by her best friend. She only dully heard the impact, and through the ringing, she heard Pinkie Pie’s shouts.

“...fluttershy--- Fluttershy!” Pinkie screamed across the gap.

‘Shy snapped back to her present and she panic. “Ah! Rainbow Dash l—” As she looked around, everything slowly dawned on her at once. That explosion, the impact, the—Another rumble rocked the pillar she was on, and Fluttershy blanched, suddenly remembering she was on a pillar. “Eeep!” she squealed, then threw herself against the vertical stone. The strong, hopefully-not-about –to-collapse-at-all stone surface.

“Fluttershy, it’s okay.” A calming voice whispered in her ear, and Fluttershy felt somepony’s hoof press down on her shoulder, offering a reaffirming strength. Her ears perked and, trembling, Fluttershy peeked over her shoulder to see Ditzy Doo—the transparent gelatinous blob of the hour, still hanging happily from the back of her Pack. She didn’t even care that she was starting to drip off, or that Fluttershy’s coat would likely, permanently, bear parts of her being. “Yeah”—Ditzy’s expression softened when she saw Fluttershy’s eyes peek past her mane—“You can fly, remember?”

“I—I knew th—” She nodded weakly. “Where is Rainbow Dash?”

Sombre roared from behind her, causing Fluttershy to flinch, and her hold on the pillar to tighten. A blue and pink blur shot past, arced through the air and into the distance, followed by a purple and black smudge as the two took off between them.

Fluttershy pinner her ears back. She looked behind her, to the giant crater in the wall, and then to Pinkie Pie and whispered. “We have to stop them...!”

“What!?” Pinkie almost did a double-take, as much of one as she could without falling to her own death. “Are you loco in the coco!? He’ll kill you!”

She wasn’t listening; instead Fluttershy crunched her muzzle as she fidgeted with her holding against the pillar. She was shaking all over, but she forced herself to focus, to stay strong. She carefully inched her arms around the sides of the pillar as she shouted back. “I don’t care!” she screamed, then quickly corrected: “I—We have to. If we don’t, then he’ll kill her!” The stone gave way to corners and wasted no time in hooking the tips of her hooves around the, doing the same with her hind legs. She silently whispered beneath her breath, intent on keeping her last words from Pinkie. “... and I’ll never forgive myself if he does.

Taking a deep breath, Fluttershy loosened her grip. She cast Pinkie one last look of determination, and took her plunge.

Pinkie took pause. Her mouth opened to protest, but then she closed it, put on a frown, and dropped down after.

~ ~ ~

“SAY MY NAME”

King Sombra screamed in a blind rage. His heart was throbbing, his body was shaking. Every motion was like a battle against something deep inside him—a screaming, crying voice calling for him to stop. Even now, as he stood, all-powerful, near victorious, something in the back of his mind told him this wasn’t over.

He snarled down at the blue-pink pegasus crushed and beaten beneath his hooves. Rainbow Dash coughed. “SaY MY NAME”

She flinched then cowered away from her. Him. “T-T—” The coughed. “Twilight—”

~ ~ ~

Fluttershy dashed across the empty throne-room floor in a blind panic. Her eyes were glued to the skies as she practically flew. Her wings gave the occasional flap, giving her an extra few feet as she glided over the fallen rubble and destruction laying in Sombra’s wake. All the while, she gaped, unable to look away from her target.

A blue streak, prismatic streak arced across the sky, tumbling and wobbling over itself. It made a few loops and attempts at gaining altitude—a fact that made Fluttershy catch her breath—but then continued it ever-increasing decline.

“Fluttershy” — Pinkie panted from behind her, several feet away. Her mane was starting to sag from sweat as she struggled to keep up and haul her heavy pack in tow. — “Slow down, I can’t—”

“Rainbow!” ‘Shy screamed, ignoring Pinkie’s protests, her eyes glued to the spec as it made its trail. She stopped cold, spreading her wings to make herself as big—and loud—as possible. “Rainbow, Rainbow Dash!” She jumped on the spot, almost shaking a dazed Ditzy off her back. “Pull up! You have to pull—”

A black bolt shot out of the darkness. It slammed into Rainbow Dash and they both spun out, the two bodies locking together as they turned to a full-vertical drop. Both ponies dropped like stones before her very eyes.

“BUCK, Bo—” She swore. Fluttershy took off after just as they slammed into the ground ahead. The shockwave alone washed over her, forcing Fluttershy to squint and hide behind a fetlock as she slowly advanced.

~ ~ ~

Dash was about to pass out. Her vision was blurred, and she struggled to blink to keep it clear. Her head was throbbing and she could barely hear Sombra’s words as he leaned over her, their muzzles inches from each other. All she could see or hear was the gnashing of his teeth and the violent beating of her own heart.

She simply repeated again. “Twilight...”

Sombra pulled back and his face was replaced with the sickly green glow of magic. Rainbow’s words were cut short by a gag as his telekinesis clamped down around her throat. “Do you have any last words, Rainbow Dash...” He whispered into her ear.

Rainbow’s ears flattened. She could as much as move a single muscle. It took all of her strength to just reach her hoof over the handle of her Harmony Pack—holding onto it like the last vestiges of hope. As she looked to the side, her eyes met with those of King Sombra’s.

Dark, sunken, glowing with hatred; there wasn’t so much as the barest glint of recognition, or the mare she’d once knew. It was just... him.

Her voice was dry as she opened her mouth and whispered, repeating her mantra.

“Twilight...” she said, “...I’m sorry.”

And with that, Rainbow Dash squeezed her eyes shut. She blinked away the tears as she tightened her hoof’s hold on the pack’s nozzle. The mechanism gave with a decisive clack, and the jangle of glass rang out between them.

A large gem shattered against the ground beside them, and Rainbow thrust the end of the nozzle against Sombra’s chest moments before her pack burst to life, unleashing its full charge.

“What are y—” Sombra’s face shifted through several expressions: surprise, shock, horror, agony, and finally hatred as a beam of pure Harmonic energy twisted and exploded through his chest. The rainbow of energy twisted and writhed violently, turning the world around them into an on-going explosion as it rent through his flesh and ripped past and around them taking pieces of fur and stone with it.

She felt Sombra’s hoof leaving her neck and Rainbow Dash opened one eye, squinting past the lighs to see Sombra retreating. His voice was barely a whisper above the tornado as he screamed at the tops of his lungs.

“AaaaaahhHHHHHHHH”

Twilight’s body was cracking, showing clear trails of glowing dark energy and swirling rainbow light through the corners of her mouth and skin. Rainbow did the first thing that came to her mind and lunged forward. She wrapped her fetlock over Sombra’s withers, pulling him in close to a tight hug as she pushed the end of her nozzle deep into her abdomen.

This resulted in the alicorn thrashing and throwing violently in her hold, forcing Rainbow back a few inches. She could feel her hooves slipping, little by little. Sombra was baring his teeth, yelling obscenities and snapping as her muzzle like a cornered animal. She could see his eyes turning crazed, almost glazed over, as the harmonic energy continued to flow between them.

“Release me... Agghhhh...” It was like wrestling a bear, or a lion, or a lion-bear-cockatrice hybrid that she couldn’t even look in the eye. Every second was like a battle, a battle she was slowly losing.

Her hooves slipped again, and Rainbow Dash frantically squeezed tighter, hugging King Sombra with all of the strength she had left—of what little she had left. She could feel him slowly inching away, breaking free with the added Earth Pony strength his alicorn form lent him.

“Ragh!” He thrashed one last time, and Rainbow felt her hold release. Her slipped away and started a quick descent, when suddenly a second beam shot from the void, soon joined by third.

“Hold on, we’re here!” Fluttershy called out of the distance. Both she and Pinkie Pie rounded through the rubble, their packs on full blast as they fired away at King Sombra.

Rainbow took the chance and pushed herself off the ground, bringing Sombra’s body back within reach. She wrapped herself around his back and pulled him to the ground, holding firm against the nozzle as it continued to unleash its full force.

“You—” Sombra fought against the trifecta of Harmony, his teeth grit. Twilight’s entire body took on an ethereal glow as cracks traced around her form, slow and gradual, growing like tendrils from every corner. “You—” He bucked one, twice, and then started to slowly weaken.

The beam of magic hiccupped and Twilight’s body lurched. Her eyes rolled back. Her mouth dropped open and her tongue dropped out as a dark magic started to see out from her back, dragged forcefully away by the constant rotten of flowing energy.

King Sombra, in his full glory, emerged through Twilight’s back. The unicorn still clad in his old armour, resembled more and old man than a king. Her thrashed and kicked with rage, his translucent form unable to resist the upwards force as he was slowly drawn away towards the sky.

~ ~ ~

Fluttershy trotted nearer the two, angling her beam upwards to follow the ghost as it inched every higher. “Keep going,” she shouted, glancing to Pinkie.

Pinkie Pie gave an affirmative, turning her nozzle up in much the same way, Together, they guided the ghost up the beam, slowly towards the open portal in the sky.

“Fools!” King Sombra screamed, His voice echoed, distant and drawn as his form started to tatter. “You have not seen the last of me. I will return,” he said, “I will have my”—As Sombra neared the portal, a couple of twin ghosts appeared around the edge. Their eyes glowed a bright yellow and they revealed their sharpened teeth as he neared. As Sombra crossed the threshold, the Corn Kernels grasped hold of him and the portal slammed shut.

His last word echoed over the castle.

“... Revenge.”

Moments passed and the sky cleared. Small dots of sun light started to peek through the clouds, and the chirp of a bird called out the beginnings of the morning.

Fluttershy finally collapsed to the ground, exhausted. Her pack flicked off, as did Pinkie’s. Even Rainbow’s pack was starting to splutter as it gave off its last droplets of energy.

Looking around, Fluttershy breathed a final sigh of relief. “We... did it?” she asked. Fluttershy felt the corners of her mouth turn up, the first smile she’d felt in almost forever. As if it’s been three years since the last time she’d laughed. She couldn’t help but looking to Pinkie for confirmation. “We-We did do it, right?” she asked.

Pinkie Pie didn’t smile. She simply nodded, but with a grave frown as she trotted past Fluttershy.

~ ~ ~

The portal closed above her, and Twilight’s body went limp. Rainbow’s eyes fluttered shut. She saw the first spots of sunshine breaking through the clouds as she slowly drifted out of consciousness. As she went, she smiled to herself, caressing Twilight’s motionless body in her hooves, weeping as she whispered. “We did it, Twi’... We did it...”

The last words she heard were Fluttershy’s.

“... r– ainbow?”

“... Rainbow—?!”

“Rainbow Dash!!!”