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Prologue500 words
Episode 1: Return of the Crystal Empire Part 14,059 words
Episode 2: Return of the Crystal Empire Part 23,332 words
Episode 3: Nightmare's Return2,047 words
Episode 4: Confrontation2,226 words
Episode 5: Acceptance5,413 words
Episode 6: Brother of the Hero?!3,753 words
Episode 7: (Not) a date1,126 words
Episode 8: Thawing Ice's Heart969 words
Episode 9: A Time of Change1,249 words
Episode 10: Chaotic Tolerance1,377 words
Episode 11: Longing2,573 words
Episode 12: A Dragon's Sorrow, A Nightmare's Love2,436 words
Episode 13: Dragon Unbound3,772 words
Epilogue177 words

Episode 2: Return of the Crystal Empire Part 2

All of the Crystal Empire stood still in horror. Rabia, Leader of the Umbrum, was standing right before them. All one needed to do was picture a female version of Sombra, and much older looking. A wicked sneer was on her face as she gazed down at her son Sombra. Who she had just impaled. "It looks like missed. No matter." Rabia flicked her wrist, and Radiant Hope was trapped within a jagged prison of null crystals to prevent her from using her magic. "Much better. I shall tend to you later. But first, I'd like to chat with my son."

"Mother...why?" Sombra wheezed as he tried to keep himself together. Literally and figuratively. Rabia had impaled him with a jagged crystal while he was half-way between physical and shadow form. Needless to say, he was in excruciating pain. "I...I'm your child..."

Rabia sneered once again. "I may have bore you, but I don't recognize you as my blood. You could have been of greater use to me if you'd killed Princess Amore. But your heart is so pitifully soft. You are not Umbrum, nor are you human. An outcast on both sides." Rabia got right in Sombra's face. "All you are is a tool. One that has failed me and my people. But worry not. You shall not meet your fate alone." Rabia turned to Radiant Hope and gave her a wicked smile. "Once I am finished with you, I think I'll have a word with the little witch who's ruined my darling son. But first..." Rabia snapped her fingers. Back in Radiant Hope's stasis chamber, the remaining crystal shattered! The Umbrum started to surge forth from the hole in their prison! In only moments they were flying around the empire! Rabia then returned her attention to Sombra. "Farewell. Son." She spat as she readied a blast of magic that would vaporize Sombra at point blank! Only to be sent reeling to the ground by a blast of green magic! Chrysalis stood with her hand smoking from the blast she'd unleashed. Her body was trembling, but not with fear.

"You..." Chrysalis growled. "How dare you call yourself his mother! You never bothered to see him! Where were you when he needed comfort from those who hurt him?!" Chrysalis kept hurling blast after blast at Rabia! Her eyes seething with fury! "Where were you when he needed someone to raise him?! What kind of sick monster does that to their own spawn?!" Chrysalis was soon pinned down by a gigantic shadow claw!

"One who does whatever they please." Rabia answered as she slowly stood. With her concentration broken, the crystals she'd used to impale Sombra and imprison Radiant Hope dematerialized. Hope stood over Sombra with tears in her eyes.

"Stay with me Sombra!" Hope pleaded. "I just got you back! I can't lose you so soon!"

As Sombra lay wounded, a small stream of blood trickling from his wound, his thoughts reflected upon all he'd wrought. His eyes starting to close as his life began to slip away. "So. This is where it all leads to. I spend my life searching for my family, and they betray me. And my only friend, the one who wished to help me, who caused me so much pain, is the only one who actually stayed by my side. Ironic. That the one who hurt me so much proved to be my dearest friend to my bitter end. I guess it all ends in the same way I was born. Alone"

"Sombra." A new voice called out. "Do you hear me? Do you remember my voice?

Sombra's eyes widened. "It isn't possible. I shattered you. Your body is scattered everywhere."

"Though my body is separated, my spirit remains whole." Sombra gazed in awe as the spirit of Princess Amore materialized within his mind. "It has been so long since I last spoke to you. It does my spirit good to see you once again."

Tears welled up inside Sombra. "Why? What reason do you have to be happy to see me of all people?! I shattered you! Took over the Crystal Empire! Made it disappear for a thousand years! All for the sake of my blood family! Only for them to betray me in the end!" The former tyrant then broke down into a crying fit. "You were right. That stupid vision! It only showed what could be! And now I'm going to die alone! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry...

Princess Amore's spirit smiled kindly, and wrapped Sombra tightly in a hug. "I know you are Sombra. But you've spent so long searching for what you already had. The family, the belonging you've yearned for has always been right beside you. She slept for a thousand years just to see you again." Sombra's eyes widened at the sudden revelation. "Blood is fickle. Just because one shares the same blood does not mean they share the same intentions as you. True family is bound by souls. The soul will never betray you. But I have more words I should have said to you while I was still among the living." Princess Amore's spirit tightened her embrace around Sombra. "I love you Sombra. My Son. Now. Wake up and live. For my sake, and for Hope's."

Sombra's eyes snapped open and he slowly got to his feet. Rabia was slowly crushing Chrysalis with her shadow claw! Until a pillar of onyx knocked her away! Sombra stood with a red aura around his hand. His wound had healed, and a cross expression was on his face. "Consider that my disownment."

Rabia snarled as she crawled out of the crater her impact left. "So. You would side with the very same people who showed you fear and hatred?"

"They can hate and fear me all they want. I don't care anymore." Sombra shot a glance to Radiant Hope. "So long as I've got one person who I can call my family, I know I'll be fine."

Rabia sneered. "How touching. However, you're sorely outnumbered! KILL HIM!" A swarm of Umbrum rushed at Sombra, but they were blown away with a charge shot from a blaster! Once the smoke cleared, Sombra saw Burst with his one of his Twin Burst blaster pistols drawn!

"Maybe. But you're severely outclassed." Burst said with a smirk as the other Elements of Heroism sprang into action! "HEROES TO THE CORE!" Burst started blasting Umbrum left and right! Each one instantly vaporized by shots from his blasters! One Umbrum tried to sneak behind Burst, but Burst swung his sword and the being of fear and shadow was sliced clean in half! And soon disintegrated thanks to the Duelist Arms destroying only evil entities! "Let's show these shadow puppets we're not scared!"

Inferno kept hacking away at any Umbrum that were in his path, or trying to slash at him with their claws! Inferno promptly shot the closest one with his Blackfire blaster pistol. "Looks like you guys lack substance." Inferno noted as the Umbrum he'd blasted dissolved into nothing. "Guys! They've got numbers, but they're not packing much in strength! Keep on mowing them down!"

"Gladly!" Tyrannus said as he used his Veloci Claw Gauntlets to slash through a squad of Umbrum that had surrounded him! Where many Umbrum once stood, there was nothing left of them. Tyrannus then noticed a swarm of Umbrum surging toward him. In response, he calmly drew his Tyranno Magnum blaster and held the trigger to charge a shot. The unleashed charge shot decimated the entire swarm instantly! "How're things on your end Fang?"

"I'm goin' wild!" Fang hollered as he reaved his way through the Umbrum like tissue paper! "These guys have good bark, but lousy bite!" Fang then fired the claws of his Destiny Reaver gauntlet, and pierced an Umbrum nearby before using it to whack all the other Umbrum in the area! Dissolving once the Umbrum that Fang was facing down were destroyed. "Unfortunately for them, I'm packing in both!' An single Umbrum tried to strike at Fang, but Venus destroyed it with a single lash of his whip! "Hey! I knew he was coming! I could literally smell him!"

Venus chuckled. "I know. But I couldn't let him interrupt your celebration."

"Well played." Fang said with an amused nod. "Now back to kicking Umbrum butt!" At the same time, Ace and Shadow were fighting off Umbrum that had encircled them.

"Uh, Ace?" Shadow asked as he cut down enemy after enemy. "Where did Ice go?"

Ace grunted as he bashed an Umbrum with his shield! "I lost track of him when the Umbrum started swarming us! But he'd packing a claymore. Something tells me he'll be fine!" In the meantime, Indigo Zap was getting sick of running, and broke off a large piece of crystal. She charged at an Umbrum, and whacked it! However, the attack did little more than annoy the beast! It was about to slash at Indigo, and she braced for the worst! But the attack never came. Indigo Zap opened her eyes to see the Umbrum split down the middle, and dissolve as it fell to the floor. Ice stood with his claymore where the Umbrum once stood.

"Miss me?" Ice asked with a smirk.

Indigo Zap blinked. "In this mess? You're a sight for sore eyes. I gotta find my friends!"

"Get behind me." Ice said with a nod. Once Indigo was behind him, Ice smirked at the flurry of Umbrum headed his way. "Things are gonna get messy real fast." Ice hacked down all the Umbrum in his path! He spared them no mercy as he carved a path through their numbers. "It's like fighting a bunch of living ink blots." Ice noted as each Umbrum dissolved into nothing after being cut down. He soon found Indigo's friends, but also noted the Umbrum circling them. "Well, well. Looks like you lot are gluttons for punishment." Ice slammed his claymore into the ground! "COME ON! GET SOME!!" And with that, Ice's oncoming foes met their end.

Meanwhile, Chrysalis was holding off as many Umbrum as she could. However, since they were beings of fear and hate, their mere presence weakened Chrysalis. However, she didn't expect Shining Armor to jump in with a shield spell to block any blows directed at her! "You alright?" Shining Armor asked. Chrysalis nodded. "Good. Sit tight. They're mine. Time to get me some action! Can't let Burst and the guys have all the fun!" Shining Armor charged at the Umbrum! Cutting down any that tried to come at Chrysalis! All the while, Chrysalis couldn't help but blush at Shining Armor coming to her aid, as well as realizing the connection to his name. At the same time, Burst had made his way to Sombra to assist him in his fight against Rabia! Twilight pulled the Crystal Heart out of her bad, and Rabia instantly locked onto it!

"The Heart!" Rabia screamed as her shadowy form slithered over to Twilight! Summoning a cage of dark crystal trapped Twilight!

Twilight looked around frantically, and spotted Spike! "SPIKE! CATCH!" Twilight hurled the Crystal Heart over her prison, and Spike caught it! "Run for it! Head to the pedestal at the center of the empire! GO! NOW!" Spike took off sprinting! Carrying the Crystal Heart in his hands! Rabia snarled, and pushed Sombra and Burst away with a jet of shadow as she slithered across the ground in shadow form! That is, until she was met with a wall of onyx crystal! Sombra was standing once again. However, his eyes were green instead of red and his curved horn started to crack. And instead of the poison-purple smoke coming from his eyes, a more royal shade of purple was leaking out.

"I will not be denied my reign!" Rabia hissed at Sombra! She snapped her fingers, and a squadron of Umbrum set after Spike! Burst flew after them leaving Sombra to deal with Rabia!

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Sombra growled as he made a broadsword out of the onyx pillar beside him. His curved red horn shattering in the process. "I've lived as a monster. So if I fall here, I die as a man!" Sombra charged at Rabia! Using his sword to block any shadow tendrils that tried to rip into him! All the while sneaking glances at Burst guarding Spike all the way to the Crystal Heart's pedestal.

Rabia scowled as their clash went on! "Fool! Do you really believe you can win against me?! I made you. And now, I'll unmake you just as easily!" Sombra raised his onyx broadsword to block the incoming strike, but the force of the blow shattered it! Rabia then grabbed Sombra by the throat and gazed hatefully into his eyes. However, she was disturbed by the low chuckle coming from Sombra. "What's so amusing?"

"I never expected to win." Sombra said with a weak smirk. "I just had to distract you long enough so you wouldn't pay attention. You're already beaten."

Rabia turned around, and froze in horror as Spike placed the Crystal Heart back in the pedestal! The Crystal-Sapiens' hope ignited, and the channeled all their hope and love into the Crystal Heart! "NOOOOO!" Rabia screamed as she and the remaining Umbrum were sucked back into their prison! However, she used her shadow powers to snatch Sombra! "If we go, you go with us!" However, she no longer felt part of her arm! Burst Stream has severed it, and it fell to the floor! Dissipating into nothing! "On second thought, you're the bigger nuisance!" Rabia summoned a shadow tendril, and snatched Burst with it! Burst was sucked into the Shadow Prison, and an image was soon projected from the Crystal Heart. When Burst came to, he found himself surrounded by the remaining Umbrum. Rabia gazed spitefully at him. "You could have avoided this fate. All you had to do was let me leave with the traitor so I could dispose of him. What's the life of one person to that of an entire empire."

"You'll never stop at one." Burst said as he drew his Duelist Arms! "I'LL TAKE YOU ALL ON!" Burst charged at the Umbrum! Slashing and shooting down any in his way, and any that came at him! His friends looked in with both shock and awe. Never before had they seen Burst fight with such force before! Then it hit them. Burst was cutting loose. Dozens upon dozens of Umbrum fell to Burst's blasters and blade! However, Rabia was not a fair fighter. She slithered around in shadow form, and slashed Burst across the back! "AGH!" Burst fell to one knee, and found himself being swarmed by the Umbrum! Though he managed to fight them off, he did not escape unscathed! Burst was covered in scratch marks from where the Umbrum had cut him with their claws. But he wouldn't give in! However, he couldn't keep fighting forever. Being swarmed and fighting since the Umbrum escaped had started to take its toll. A factor which Rabia gladly exploited as she back-handed Burst into a wall of Umbrum that pushed him back into the fray!

As she watched the scene unfold, Twilight got an idea! "Everyone! Channel your hope to Burst Stream!" Twilight clasped her hands together in a prayer-like position. "You can't give up now Burst! You've faced down Equestria's worst! Nightmare Moon! Discord! Heart Eater! Every time you've been faced with a challenge, you always come out the winner! I believe in you! We all do! And I know you won't let us down!" Soon, everyone put their hands on their hearts as brilliant white lights shot out from their cores! In the shadow prison, Burst heard Twilight's cry. And soon, he felt something more. Hundreds of tiny white lights soon surrounded him, and voices from everyone seemed to be coming from them.

Burst was about to fall to his knees, but stopped himself! He lifted his head, and a small smile graced his lips. "Everyone...thanks for believing in me. I won't let you down. I'll be the hope..." The hundreds of lights soon gathered around Burst and covered him in a shining white aura of energy! "...THAT LIGHTS OUR DARKEST HOUR!" A pillar of brilliant blue-white light shot up around Burst! When the light faded, Burst stood in an armor similar to Chaos Form! However, this armor had a more sleek and metallic look to it. A blue orb was at the center of the armor, and it was white-silver in color!

Armor is based on this: http://alanmac95.deviantart.com/art/Neo-Blue-Eyes-Shining-Dragon-Render-637193847

"KILL HIM!" Rabia screamed! The Umbrum began to swarm Burst Stream, but he vaporized them with a field of energy generated from his armor! "I swear I'll extinguish you! YOU AND THAT ACCURSED LIGHT OF HOPE!"

Burst narrowed his eyes under his helmet. "The darker you make things, the brighter my light shines!" In response, a shining aura flared around Burst! Burst then fired beams of magic fueled by hope at the Umbrum! Instantly incinerating any unfortunate enough to get caught in his line of fire! The Umbrum had the advantage in numbers, but Burst held the edge in sheer power! "And right now, I'd say things are starting to lighten up." Burst then fired s gigantic stream of magic that sent Rabia reeling into a wall of her fellow Umbrum!

"You think you can keep this up?!" Rabia snarled as she stood once again! "Sooner or later, you will tire! And then I shall personally extinguish your life!" Rabia was about to hurl a blast of magic, but was shocked when Burst latched onto her! "What are you doing?!?!"

"Taking you all down at once!" Burst shot back as he gathered all the hope, love and joy that was coursing through him! Beams of light shot out from his armor! One piercing Rabia right through her core! "HERE I GO! SHINING HOPE NOVA!" An explosion of light stormed forth from Burst! The Umbrum screamed in agony as the light burned them to nothing! Rabia's cry was silent as the light burned her up completely! When the light faded, Burst's armor dissolved and he floated in the center of the prison with an exhausted smile. "I did it..." His senses soon snapped back into action when the spirit of Princess Amore appeared before him.

"Well done young hero." Amore said with a gentle smile. "You have done what most would consider impossible. You have aided my kingdom greatly. And now I shall repay that kindness by returning you to where you are needed. There is another who is waiting for you. One you are quite familiar with."

Burst was confused by Princess Amore's words, but didn't have time to ask any questions as he was wrapped in a sphere of blue light and rocketed towards a newly opened portal! The portal launched him out of the Crystal Heart, and the sphere flew him away from the Crystal Empire! His friends were concerned, but knew he wouldn't want them to worry. However, celebrating didn't feel the same without Burst there with them. At the same time, Burst found himself flying over Equestria! He soon found himself over the Everfree Forest, and the sphere was beginning to slow down as it seemed to be closing-in on its destination. However, Burst had no time to take it in as the sphere crashed into wherever he was supposed to land! Burst's vision was blurry as he looked to see where he'd crashed. What he saw brought back memories from his first major fight. 'This looks like the Castle of the Two Sisters. But...it looks like someone's been busy.' Burst fought to stay conscious when he heard what sounded like footsteps. 'Is...someone here?' As Burst started to lose consciousness, he caught one sight of one object. A single black feather falling from above was all he say before he fell into an unconscious state.

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Bahamut0

Bahamut0 #1 · Jul 16th, 2017 · · ·

8298622
The next episode is up. You won't be disappointed.

ArcticAce01

ArcticAce01 #2 · Jul 16th, 2017 · · ·

8300941
So Epic! The entire fight so epic and amazing! And I love were ice was there to protect Indigo Aswell and with that ending in the chapter we finally have the return of Moon meeting Burst

Bahamut0