My Little Pony: The Light of Harmonys Hope

by kahnac

The Beginning of The End Ch. 3

"W-WHAT....JUST HAPPENED?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed in horror.

How else could she respond to the sight of an enemy they assumed annihilated arriving out of nowhere, and somehow killing the Tree of Harmony. Complete horror at the sight of King Sombra triumphantly laughing in the face of destruction wrought by his hooves alone. As his new wings flared in excitement, he he raised up the broken branch of the tree for all who were present, and still reeling from the agony of the death of the tree - and its true self, Bahamut Laurana.

"The Tree of Harmony can't be gone!" Fluttershy exclaimed in horror AND shock.

"Oh, but it can, and it is!" Sombra retorted to the cowering ponies as he hurled the broken branch at the group. With wicked glee, he caressed the spire of crystal that aided in his wicked deed. "You fools thought I could be so easily defeated? Have you forgotten the princesses used the elements against me once before, and only ever reduced me to a shadow form? A form which makes it far easier to escape unnoticed, and use your sense of triumph to my advantage. Without even a second thought you lead me to the source of your power." A wicked grin crossed his muzzle. "Among so many other things, i honestly can say i've never killed an Elder God, before. I'd heard the legends that the Bahamut of Harmony and Light had actually made herself the soul of her 'gift to ponykind'. Now, she has learned the folly of entrusting her very existence to our kind, hasn't she?" His body suddenly began glowing with a dark, red aura as he felt Darkness washing over him. "Ah, yes! The sweet taste of the Death of Harmony, AND Light: all in the same day. And look above!" To the ponies dire horror, the skies immediately began turning to cloudy Darkness as the light of day was enveloped. Leaving only a dark, and eerie red sky in its place.

While the others grew confused on this sudden turn of events, with Pinkie asking, "Uh...guys? Why's the sky going all freaky deaky?", Dusk Shine somehow sensed exactly what this was. His shaking legs finally gave way, and he fell to his knees as he said in a shaky tone, "It's the balance." The girls, and Sombra, turned to the alicorn prince as he gazed upon the sky in abject horror. "The balance of Harmony, and Anarchy: it's been tipped! With the Tree of Harmony gone, the greatest source of Harmony, and Light in Equestria is gone!"

Sombra chuckled. "That's right: that leaves only Anarchy, and Darkness to reign in supreme absolute power! It appears the centaur had the right idea after all."

"Centaur?" Dusk questioned, but quickly realized the answer. "You mean Tirek?!"

"HE'S behind all of this?!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Even bringing you back?"

Sombra scoffed as he said, "Don't give that dual-horned parasite all of the credit. How I returned is my own secret to keep. But, you could say that we've recently had.......dealings." Dusk grew curious, even in his despairing state. "What kind of dealings? Tirek told you to destroy the Tree of Harmony?" King Sombra growled as his eyes flared. "Noone would DARE give an order to King Sombra!" After the outburst, he recomposed himself. "However, centaurs are known for their own craft, and wit. When we first met, and I planned my hostile conquest of my empire, he.....advised me. Saying that if the ponies heroes believed I had perished, then they would unintentionally lead me to the source of their power." A wicked grin crossed his muzzle. "And here we all are."

"W....what do you plan to do now?" Fluttershy stammered.

"I should have thought it obvious, Bearer of Kindness." Shadows began forming around him in a circle, with tendrils forming and sprouting like shadowy, oily vines. "I will have my revenge."

"Dusk, darling!" Rarity exclaimed in fright. "Whatever are we to do now?"

Dusk, unfortunately, couldn't say or do anything. For some reason, he had felt the closest to the Tree of Harmony, and its destruction impacted him the worst. Maybe it had something to do with the Elder Goddess, Laurana, and his mark being one of the symbols etched upon its surface: along with princesses Celestia, and Luna. Maybe there was a deeper connection than he realized beforehoof. But now that she was gone, it had ceased to be. Like a fragment of his own soul had died, and could never return. He felt sorrow in his heart as he picked up the broken pieces of the Element of Honesty, attempting to fit the pieces back together despite being the wrong fit. "I-...........I don't know." he said with a broken voice. "Without the elements......I don't know how we can win."

"Well, I say we try, and do it the old, fashioned way!" Rainbow shouted, punching her forehooves together. The rest of the girls gained inspiration enough to follow her lead. And all but Dusk charged at the Dark Alicorn. With an amused laugh, he merely tapped his hoof to the ground, and sent the shadows across the ground like serpents to circle around the whole group, and then sprout a cage of dark crystal. Its appearance finally jolted Dusk out of his stunned state, and got him on his feet. Rainbow ended up smacking into the cage, but she quickly recovered. In desperation, Dusk fired an offensive beam of magic at the crystal, hoping to at least crack it. All that happened was it ricocheting through the cramped space until it hit the ground. The display made King Sombra chortle with mad glee as he approached his captives. "Haven't you understood anything that has happened, you little novice? You are no match for me now. With the ultimate source of Harmony, and Light gone, the Darkness now has a foothold in this realm. And as you already see, my power is greater than ever, thanks to the bond I hold. Soon, even darker forces will arise - and I shall be the one to lead them in the conquest of the Crystal Empire."

The ponies all glared at the evil king. Angry at his inept desire, and plans, but unable to stop him. It only grew worse when a thought crossed his mind. "No!" He then chuckled. "How foolish of me! With you six out of my way, I now have the means to conquer ALL of Equestria!"

"No!" Dusk shouted in horror.

"Oh, yes!" Sombra hissed. "And just to be clear: Tirek also warned me of those 'children' who were chosen to be your replacements. I honestly must admit that I am surprised you would be so diverse in sharing your culture, Prince Dusk Shine." Dusk remained quiet as he listened on, yet allowing a feeling of fear for his students to begin bubbling. "But it hardly matters, anyway. I sense no other creatures save for the ponies, your pet dragon-" He halted, as he closed his eyes, and allowed his magical senses to probe the region. "And a Griffon holding magic, along with a teenaged earth pony?" When his eyes opened, they narrowed as a malevolent grin crossed his muzzle. "So, two of your successors are nearby. Harmonia's power has now betrayed them, too. Laurana was wise to hide them from me: now, thanks to all of you, her failure is complete. It is all too clear that if my true empire is to rise, it must have a starting point. One with weak-minded thralls to serve me as I gather my forces." He laughed aloud. "Yes, indeed! The heart of darkness, and my dominion, should most fittingly be in your little home town, itself!"

The ponies all gasped in horror, before Rarity angrily demanded he leave ponyville alone. The shadow king merely scoffed. "And what will you do if I don't? Your eminent jewels are shattered, your tree is broken, and the spiritual force that gave you your power, and connected you together is no more! You are nothing to me, now, and it would be so easy to enslave the six of you right now." As soon as he said this, dozens of thin, claw-like hands began forming out of the shadows, and slither towards the Mane Six. All of them huddling together as they prepared to suffer the same fate they did in the empire, but with nothing to protect them. None save for the king, surprisingly, who suddenly recalled the shadows. "But why waste energy on such a fruitless task? If there's one thing I enjoy more than conquest, it's in the torment of my enemies. And the greatest torture any of you could endure is watching as i turn all those you love into my eternal slaves. Not to mention killing the two whose presence radiates that of Harmonia, itself, would remove the only true threat to my reign."

"No!" Dusk cried out. "Leave them alone! They have nothing to do with any of this!"

"They have EVERYTHING to do with this!" Sombra roared in anger, before his smile returned. "I suffer no threat to my existence. And if the death of those young ones you seem to care for ensures their "new" elements cannot defeat me, then so be it. Just knowing how it will effect you is more than enough justification for me." He then started moving backwards, away from the cage, as his eyes began glowing with dark magic. "And besides: natural fear is far more potent than mind-induced fear. And the loss of your home, friends, family - all that you know. Swallowed whole by Darkness, and Anarchy while you are helpless to stop it. THAT..........is your greatest fear now." With only his echoing laugh of triumph, and the protests of the mane six, Sombra returned to his shadow form, and sped off for Ponyville.

All while the darkening skies, and forest below began to stir.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back in Ponyville, Spike had caught up with Starlight at the entrance to town. As they chatted, with Spike explaining all of the events which had taken place in the empire, that's when they began noticing something strange was going on with the sky. It appeared as though the clouds themselves were in conflict with each other, and endlessly fighting to swallow the sky whole. "Looks like a storm's coming in." Starlight assumed.

"That can't be right." Spike said inquisitively. "Ponyville's not scheduled to storm for another 2 weeks."

"Are you sure? It could just be a hiccup with the weather factory schedule, or maybe they just decided to bring it in early."

Spike's brow furrowed, and his own senses were now beginning to flare up. "No. This.......this isn't anything Cloudsdale would come up with." He then sniffed the air. "Something's wrong, Starlight. Something is seriously wrong. I can feel it." As the clouds grew even more savage, and began swallowing the sun, Spike gasped in fright. "Dusk! We gotta make sure they're alright! Something bad might have happened to them!"

"Spike, calm down!" Starlight exclaimed, getting the frightened young dragon to calm down enough to talk. "I know things are starting to look.....suspiciously bleak, but we have to keep calm. I'm sure Dusk and the others are fine. We just need-"

"Counselor Starlight!" came two young, familiar voices.

The pair looked to see two of the Young Six running up to them. Both of them looking rather frantic, and worried about something. "Gallus? Sandbar? What's wrong? You both look like you saw somepony get axed." Spike remarked, unwittingly making a morbid reference, which made both males even more despondent. "Well, no, we didn't see anything like that." Sandbar admitted.

"But.......we felt like it." Gallus said grimly.

Starlight, now feeling more cautious about what was going on asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"Just a few minutes ago, we felt something." Gallus explained. "I don't know how to completely explain it, but.....it felt like a part of us just.......died. Like someone took a sword, and ran it into our hearts. And then that part of us disappeared." He looked to Sandbar to confirm if he was accurate, and received a nod as the pony took over. "We think it might have something to do with the Tree of Harmony. Look at our crystals!" He pointed towards his Neo Element, and Gallus did the same. Both jewels were eerily glowing, and seemed to act as though they were hanging onto life by a thread. "Ever since we were hit by....whatever that pain was, this has been happening. Something is seriously wrong, and we don't think it's a coincidence."

"After Principle Dusk Shine left with his friends to the Crystal Empire, we felt something else was wrong." Gallus said. "Like something somewhere was being messed with, and effecting The Tree of Harmony. First we feel our elements weaken, and now this?" he indicated towards the now darkened, and reddening skies along with their gems. "Something bad is happening, and we need to get to the Tree as soon as we can. We have a feeling the rest of our friends might have also felt it, and are on their way here now!" he exclaimed with worry.

"That's what i've been saying, too!" Spike exclaimed in the same worry as the other two boys. "We need to get to Dusk and the others, and make sure they're okay!"

Before any action could be taken, however, a familiar black cloud arose to surround the town, with a haunting laugh echoing throughout the valley. It coincided with the horrible, darkening sky hanging over their heads. If anything, it succeeded in driving every single pony back into the town - all save for our group of four, who were still at the edge of the Ponyville. And thus, they were the first ones to greet the evil unicorn as he materialized out of the shadows. HIs bat-like wings stretched out far, and long to overshadow the group standing in front of him. After he furled them up again, he finally took notice of his surroundings. "Heh. So this is where the magic happens. .........Quaint."

"Sombra!" Spike stammered fearfully, garnering the shadow king's attention.

"King Sombra, to you, insignificant peon!" Sombra sneered as he easily recognized the dragon. Who he didn't recognize were the two ponies, and Griffon standing beside him. "A Griffon among other ponies? I had no idea equestria had been making allies of its competition. Seems their standards have sunk even lower than I ever imagined."

"Oh, yeah?!" Gallus exclaimed angrily. "How about you say that to my face, you lousy jerk?!" Only Sandbar prevented him from actually charging him, and making a mistake by means of biting and yanking his tail. Unfortunately, Gallus had gotten close enough to give Sombra a perfect view of his chest-borne Neo Element. He even tasted the energy of harmony radiating off of it. Looking at the ocean green earth pony, he noticed he also had a jewel embedded in his chest like the gryphon. His eyes widened in shock momentarily as he quickly put two and two together. "You two!" he exclaimed to the pair, who jolted in surprise. "You reek of magic from the Tree of Harmony - and those jewels are the source! What are they, and how did you come by them?!"

The boys eyes widened in horror as they both realized what he was talking about. Both covered their chests, and took a few, slow steps back out of growing fear. "N-no idea what you mean, man!" Sandbar said shakily, trying to sound brave. But his false bravado didn't fool the shadow king for an instant. "Very well." He snarled. "Perhaps you'll be more inclined to talk after experiencing your bodies full capacity.....for agony." Both boys gasped in fright as Sombra ignited his horn, ready to strike. But in his haste, he had completely forgotten about Starlight being there. And she capitalized on it by encasing him in a mass of crystal just before he could cast any kind of spell. The same kind of spell she used on Twilight during her time travelling fiasco. "Gallus, Sandbar: you need to run, now!"

"W-what?" Sandbar questioned. "But what about-?"

"I'll try and hold him off while I can, but you need to find Dusk, and the others! They're probably in trouble, and I was dumb enough to ignore the idea!" Suddenly, Sombra scowled in his crystal prison, and his dark magic began to cause the crystal around him to bubble black. Realizing there was no time, Starlight turned to them, and said, "Hurry! Find Dusk Shine, and find out what's happening!"

"But we can't just-!" Sandbar didn't finish, because Starlight cast a teleportation spell on him, and Gallus to send them as close to the castle of the two sisters as possible. She had a feeling they were key to stopping Sombra, and needed to help Dusk and the others to do so. But before she could do the same thing to Spike, the crystal completely turned black, and exploded in a burst of black clouds that sent her flying backwards. She skidded across the ground until hitting a nearby statue. Her body struck with pain, she staggered back to her feet to face Sombra. And she was filled with a chilling fright as she saw the Umbrum cloaked in complete darkness as his eyes glowed with the same dark power. His scowl made all the more intimidating as his wings unfurled. Spike recovered around that same time, having been knocked several feet away from her. Fear filled his heart as he saw Sombra radiating with such evil, and directed it at the only other mare he considered a sister. It was the fear of him hurting Starlight that drove Spike to do something reckless: flapping his wings, he charged at the Shadow King at full force.

"Spike, no!" Starlight exclaimed, seeing the little dragon charge the Umbrum, but her feeling too weak to stop him. Thus she watched as the young dragon's emerald flames struck Sombra's black, ethereal cloak with all his might. All it seemed to do, however, was annoy the Shadow King. And he found himself ensnared by several black tendrils emerging from the shadows - even muzzling him so he doesn't use his flames. With the nuisance taken care of, he turned his gaze back to ponyville, and finally grinned. "Now, where was I? Ah, yes." Raising his wings up, and igniting his horn, he shouted a single order to the town, and all who lived within. "SUBMIT!!!" A clap of his wings later, and the spell that enthralled the Crystal Empire consumed the whole of Ponyville as Dark Crystals sprung like a plague of weeds, damaging some homes as they sprouted. And every pony within instantly fell to the power of the Dark King. Even Starlight herself wasn't strong enough to resist his will, especially with her body struck with pain. To the young dragon's sorrow, as his muffled cries went ignored, all of ponyville appeared before King Sombra, with coats a dull, grey layer of color, and their eyes glowing lime green.

"OUR WILL IS YOURS, MY KING." They spoke simultaneously while bending a knee to their master, who laughed in triumph at his second victory. The raging storm adding to his menace as he admired his hoofwork. Soon enough, when his own laughter died down, he finally noticed he still had Spike in his clutches. Pulling him in, King Sombra eyes the dragon with malicious intent, before an idea came to him. "I've no doubt your unicorn friend sent those two children to find your keepers, dragon: meaning they will inevitably escape, and come for me." His horn then began igniting with dark magic as he said, "But once Canterlot is mine, and those fools confront me, imagine how they'll look when they realize that I am not alone."

Spike gulped in fear at the implications, though he could do nothing to stop what Sombra did next.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"-leave you here!" Sandbar exclaimed. Then he, and Gallus noticed they were no longer in ponyville. "Wha-? The Everfree Forest? Counselor Starlight sent us all the way out here?" he asked rhetorically.

"She did more than that, Sandbar! Look!" Gallus shouted over the loud winds blowing through the trees, while pointing in a single direction. The place he aimed at was one he and Sandbar knew all too well. "The Castle of the Two Sisters!" Sandbar exclaimed. The two then ran to the edge of the ravine, where they were met with a horrific sight that made them gasp in shock.

"The Tree of Harmony!" Sandbar distraughtly said, observing the massive hole where a familiar cave once stood. "It's gone!"

"How could this happen?!" Gallus exclaimed, feeling just as mortified as his pony friend. Now they understood why they felt that staggering pain a while back. And the stunning realization only made their hearts ache even more. Both stood in silence as the winds raged, the skies rumbled, and the reality of the situation hit them like massive hammers. It was Sandbar who finally spoke first. "We gotta get down there, now!"

"Why?" Gallus asked in confusion.

"Don't you remember what Starlight told us?" Sandbar asked, then pointed at a very noticeable black cone in the former cave. "And if I were to guess, that might be where our teachers are being held up. We need to help them out right now!" Without even waiting for Gallus to say anything, Sandbar raced over to the stone stairs leading into the ravine. Before following, Gallus stroked his whole face while giving an exasperated groan, followed by him saying, "Too much craziness in one day! Maybe I should've gone back to Griffonstone: less chance to deal with stuff like this!"

But still, he followed after his friend, deciding to just run after him considering he didn't trust these winds not to throw him around. Though the climb down was almost as hazardous, given both of them almost tripped at least 3 times coming down. But they eventually made it to ground floor, and ran over to where the cave used to be. Their hearts sinking at the sight of a massive, black crystal spike acting as a pike, standing over the rubble that was once the Tree of Harmony. Undeniable proof to oppose any doubts they may have had before. Any further thoughts were halted when they heard commotions coming out of the dark crystal cage just in front of the pike. Nodding to each other, the boys ran up to the cage, with Gallus taking to the air to look inside. His eyes widened and he exclaimed, "Professors!"

They all looked up to where the voice came from, and saw their student above them. "Gallus?!" shouted Rainbow Dash. "Is that really you?"

"Yeah, but he's not alone!" Sandbar shouted from the side of the cage, with the others recognizing his voice.

"Sandbar!" Applejack called out. "We're sure'n happy you two're alright, but what are you doing here?"

"It's Sombra!" Sandbar answered, earning gasps from everypony in the cage. "He just appeared out of a black fog at the same time the sky started going crazy!"

"Oh, goodness!" Rarity exclaimed with worry. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No. Counselor Starlight teleported us as close as she could to you guys before the creep could try anything." Gallus said with contempt. "I can only imagine what he's doing right now." But then he asked, "What about you? He didn't hurt you guys, did he?"

"No, he.......kinda acted cliche when he caught us." Pinkie admitted. "He had the chance to turn us into evil, mind-controlled zombie ponies, but he said he didn't need to, and after making a bad guy threat he just ditched us here." Gallus gave her an incredulous look before saying, "Th-....that's stupid! He's stupid! Why was he being stupid?! He had an opportunity to off you guys, and he just leaves you?! If it were me, i-" His eyes jolted as he realized what he was saying, and blushed with embarrassment when he realized what he was saying. "Sorry." he chuckled nervously, before landing next to Sandbar, who asked, "Awkward tyraid aside, how do we get you guys out?"

"I don't know!" Dusk exclaimed as he began letting his emotions get to him. "The Tree of Harmony instilled balance between Light and Darkness, it grew the Elements of Harmony, and it kept the Everfree Forest at bay! I never thought its destruction would cause so much anarchy in so many ways! Now the world is going to tear itself apart, King Sombra will conquer what remains, and it's all my fault! I knew I wasn't ready to take up the princesses mantle: but i never thought i'd mess up THIS badly!" He panted, trying to hold his anxiety in check as he lowered his head in shame. His friends all gathered around him in an attempt to comfort him, when they turned to the only pony who hadn't joined in. "What are you all looking at me for?"

"Because this is usually where you say something humorous to lighten the mood, and lift our spirits, Pinkie?" Rainbow asked desperately. But to her, and the others surprise, all Pinkie could do was look downtrodden and admit to them, "Sorry.....but nothing about this is funny to me." Something that made everyone in the chamber realize the weight of their situation. "Oh, man. We are doomed, aren't we?" Sandbar asked his Griffon friend.

"I have no idea, bud. I-.....i don't know." Gallus said with uncertainty, as the other ponies began to grow emotional from the severity of their situation. Rarity was actually the first to openly cry, to the concern of her friends. "Oh. I'm so sorry." She said in a light wobble while wiping her eyes. "It's just....I can't bear having the thought of my dear Sweetie Bell under the control of that evil monster."

"Or the cakes, and their sweet little twins!" Pinkie said sadly as she sat down with ears and eyes cast down.

"Or Spike! Or Starlight!" Rainbow begins as her anxiety grows, before she gasps. "Scoots! Oh, Scootaloo!" she said with such fear, and sorrow she almost broke.

"And mah whole fam'ly, too!" Applejack added.

"And Angel Bunny, Zecora, and all those dear, sweet animals!" Fluttershy openly cried.

Dusk's head fell lower to the ground than before. In fact, he lost the urge to even sit, and laid his head in his forelegs. "It's hopeless. We failed them."

Hearing this, though, Sandbar could only growl in anger at hearing the heroes he admires giving in to despair. "Don't say that!" He shouted loud enough for the group to hear them. "You're still around, aren't you? That means you haven't failed anyone just yet! I know it seems hopeless, but you six have always faced impossible odds in the past! When everything seemed to go wrong, I remember all those stories about how you found your way." He said, with a strong feeling of pride growing in his heart. "You found it in you to fight against the evils that tried to destroy everything you ever cared about. And even though it seemed impossible, you found a way! King Sombra thinks he's won, but he's wrong! He hasn't won, because he was arrogant enough to leave you alone! And you all defeated him before! Why should this time be any different?"

"Look around you, Sandbar." Rainbow said in an almost sullen tone. "The Tree of Harmony is gone, and as far as we know, so is Laurana. Without them, our chances aren't looking to good. And even if you're right, how do you expect us to beat Sombra? He had us played for suckers since we came to the empire! Now we're stuck here with no way out! Dusk's right: it's completely hopeless." Sandbar was about to argue further against his teacher's defeatist statement. But then Gallus made a humming sound loud enough to hear, and he said, "Actually, Sandbar's right." The girls, and Dusk, all looked to each other in confusion. Even Sandbar was a little surprised until Gallus continued. "You CAN beat Sombra, and you can start by getting out of this cage!"

"But how?" Pinkie asked.

Gallus collected his thoughts, and then asked, "Principle Dusk Shine? That crystal cage you're in: it's a type of magical barrier, right?"

Dusk considered this, and answered, "Actually......yes, it is. One that's meant to prevent any magic user from teleporting out, and is impervious to normal magical attacks. SInce it's the product of Dark Magic, the only way to break through is with its opposite: Light Magic." He then sighed. "But i haven't taken the time to learn how to use that kind of magic. Otherwise we'd be out of here by now."

"But maybe that isn't the only way!" Gallus exclaimed with complete confidence. His headstallion's silence was enough que to continue, and he asked, "Do magical barriers form a complete dome that goes into the ground? You know, so that the subject can't escape by digging their way out?" Dusk once again considered the idea, then answered when he remembered. "No. Usually, magical barriers are limited to whatever surface they're cast on, unless whoever or whatever the spell is cast on is suspended in the air. Then it forms a complete orb around them, keeping them imprisoned inside."

"Well, Sombra's magical barrier seems limited to the ground floor. Like a wall of crystal pikes all melded together. It might be possible they don't actually sink into the ground." Gallus hypothesised. And thanks to that, Dusk was able to catch on quickly to what his student implied, and his determination and confidence returned. Wasting not even a second, he ran to the edge of the barrier, and began digging his way into the earth in front of it. "Dusk? What in tarnation are you doin'?" Applejack asked.

"I know it might seem farfetched, but I feel like Gallus may be onto something." Dusk answered. "Either way, I can't just give up when others are all depending on us!" And he resumed digging like a canine. His sheer determination inspired the others, and put smiles back on each of their faces as they approached. "Move over a little." Rainbow asked. "I'm faster, so i'll definitely be a big help." And she then proceeded to dig along with her alicorn friend.

"Um, I can help too, if that's alright." Fluttershy rhetorically asked from force of habit, before digging as well.

"I like digging!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Let's get down to earth!" She then turned her mane into a drill, and shot into the ground.

"Give us a scootch if'n y'all got room to spare." AJ asked, before also helping out.

"Normally I wouldn't even dream of touching dirt...but right now? SHOW ME THE MUDDY!" Rarity shouted, before raising her forelegs into the air, and "pouncing" on the growing tunnel. With the six of them working together, it only took them a matter of seconds before emerging a few feet away from the cage. The griffon and earth pony heard the sound, and both looked happy to see their teachers safe and free at last. "Alright, it worked!" Sandbar happily shouted. "I knew you could do it!" Dusk turned to his students, and smiled. "Maybe......but it was Gallus' wits that helped us figure our way out." He turned to the blue and yellow hybrid, and complimented, "You should really show how intelligent you are more often. You're alot smarter than you might think you are, Gallus. You should be proud of that fact." The young griffon sheepishly chuckled at the compliment, before turning to Sandbar, "Well, Sandbar deserves credit, too, for not giving up on you."

Dusk, and the girls all turned to the ocean green teenager, and gave him a heartfelt smile. "Indeed." He then put his hoof on Sandbar's shoulder. "Thank you for having faith in us, even when we didn't have any left."

Sandbar chuckled lightly. "Wouldn't be much of a good friend if I didn't try and help my friends, would I?"

Suddenly, the loud clapping of thunder erupted, and startled the group into looking out at the sky. Now, it had become a red, and black inferno of cloud that flashed with frightening light, as raging winds blew across the forest. In fact, so strong it was that a tree hanging overhead of the cave toppled over, and almost crushed the group. Were it not for Dusk's quick teleport they WOULD have been crushed. While they all looked panicked at the tree, Dusk gained a serious expression, and said, "We have to get going. Whatever Sombra's done, I have a feeling won't be easy to fix. I don't even think he understands what he's done."

"Well talking about it won't save Equestria, will it?" Rainbow questioned.

"Definitely not." Dusk agreed, igniting his horn. "Everybody hold still: there's no way we can risk going through Everfree like this, so i'll get us as close to Ponyville as I can. Let's hope we aren't too late."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Mane Six made their way to Ponyville with Sandbar and Gallus in tow. All of them were horrified by the state of their home, and even more so to see the citizens in an eerily familiar appearance as Sombra's thralls. They all ran to the town, while all of the ponies seemed to be walking in a certain direction. All of them were looking for somepony specific, while Sandbar and Gallus looked on in sadness for their teachers, and friends. After frantically looking around, Dusk finally saw a familiar purple pony on the move. It broke his heart to see Starlight enslaved to King Sombra like all the other ponies, but he didn't blame her for it. What did concern him was the lack of someone he knew should have been with her. "Starlight!" He called out worriedly. "Starlight, where's Spike? I thought he was with you!" His only answer from her was a monotone, "We must lay siege to Canterlot." His expression widened, and he frantically said, "Starlight, please! Don't let him control you! You're stronger than Sombra's magic! You have to fight it!" But his pleas fell on deaf ears as she continued walking away.

"Please, Applebloom! It's your sister, Applejack! Look at me, sugarcube!" Dusk heard AJ plead to her younger sister, only to get the same ignorance he received from Starlight. As soon as he reached her side, she turned to him and fearfully begged, "Please, Dusk: you gotta free her!" She had no need for begging, as she knew he would do it anyway. And try he did: running in front of the foal, and holding her in place, Dusk attempted to break Sombra's spell on her. But when he tried to undo the evil spell, it caused a surge that made her flinch, and sent him flying backwards. Applejack ran to him, and helped him up. "I-i'm-...i'm sorry, Applejack! I can't break her free! His hold on her is too strong! It's the same for everypony here!"

"Sweetie Belle, please!" Rarity pleaded to her young sister, only to be ignored like the rest of her friends. "I can't get her to stop!" She cried out to Dusk. "I can't-" Dusk silenced her with a hoof to her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Rarity, but none of us can. Sombra's power over them is too great. There's no way we can help them like this." Just as Rarity's expression fell, Fluttershy and Rainbow flew in, with the former saying, "The animals at the sanctuary are alright, thank Celestia!", and the latter frantically saying, "But I can't find Scootaloo! If she's been mind swiped, she should be with the others, right?!" Before Dusk could answer, a loud, and bawling "NOOOOOOO!" cried out into the air loud enough to cut through the thunder. The gang ran over to where they all heard the sound, and saw Pinkie holding onto the leg of Mr.Cake, while he and his wife drew a cart holding their infants, and a hugly (horrible and ugly) black cake with toxic green frosting, and jagged spikes on each surface. After a few seconds, she let go and was no longer getting dragged across the ground. But she still moaned in misery as her friends arrived. "He made them bake a Black Licorice Fruit Cake that says Congratulations to our favorite, supreme emperor, King Sombra, in cream frosting! IT'S THE UGLIEST CAKE I'VE EVER SE-E-E-E-E-EEEEN!!!" She wept comedically in Rainbow Dash's chest, with the pegasus saying, "Shiney? This is bad. Like, really bad!"

"I've never been so scared in my whole life!" Fluttershy said in a teary voice while holding onto Pinkie.

"There's gotta be something we can do!" Gallus exclaimed.

"Don't panic!" Sandbar said, trying to keep everyone calm despite Dusk pacing in the background. "I know there's a way we can help them! There is, isn't there?" He asked the now frantic Dusk. "I don't know, Sandbar! I have no idea what to do, how to free the ponies, OR how to defeat Sombra!" His wings flared as he stopped in place. "Everypony was so sure i'd be perfect for the job of ruling Equestria! But this is exactly what I was afraid of! Can anything else possibly go wrong?!"

"Well...........with the Tree of Harmony, and Laurana gone, there is a chance that with the inclusion of this crazy storm blowing everything away, the everfree forest could come to life, and start to take over!" Pinkie said in a panic.

"Darling, that's oddly specific." Rarity said with confusion. But her lips sealed, and everyone gasped at the sight of hundreds of thousands of monstrous vines emerging out of the forest to slither towards their home. "Didn't anyone make it a point NOT to use the phrase Headstallion Dusk just used?!" Gallus squawked. But noone really heeded that statement as they saw the vines draw closer, and closer by the second. Wrapping themselves around anything they could get their mass around. Now Dusk was more fearful than ever before. "It's just as I thought: without the Tree of Harmony, and Laurana's power to give it strength, the Everfree Forest is growing out of control!"

"Oh, man, it's that Plundervine fiasco all over again!" Sandbar exclaimed.

"What do we do, Dusk?" Fluttershy asked frightfully.

"We have to hold it back, somehow!" Dusk said, walking in the wild vine's direction. "Even if we do get everypony free of Sombra, and defeat him, it will all be for nothing if the forest runs wild, and leaves no place for everypony to come back to!" He gave Rainbow a look, and she got the message. She ran o over to the nearby florist stand, and picked up all of the tools she could find. In a Dash, she presented the group of eight with a variety of gardening tools: an ax, a pair of clippers, a rake, a planting knife, a rake, a shovel, a garden hoe and a sickle. Dusk got the rake while Aj and Fluttershy took the clippers, pinkie took the hoe while Dash took the ax, and Rarity, Sandbar, and Gallus took the knife, shovel, and sickle respectively. They all stood together in single-file, and with determined expressions they took up arms and hooves, and prepared to do their duty.

"For our friends!" Fluttershy exclaimed.

"For our Families!" Rarity and AJ exclaimed.

"For our home!" Pinkie and Rainbow exclaimed.

"For Equestria!" Dusk, Sandbar, and even Gallus exclaimed.

Just as the vines reached the town limits, the heroic figures charged at the chlorophyll-based horde, and prepared for their next battle.

"FOR EQUESTRIA! "

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, all of Ponyville continued its mindless, monotonous trek across the path to Canterlot. Just several meters away from the city gates, when King Sombra himself appeared at the head of the army he had crafted in a plume of smoke. A triumphant grin on his face as they reached the moat. The castle guard, needless to say, were startled by the display, and readied to sound the alarm. But Sobra was faster, and obliterated every horn at their disposal. He then turned to his army, and said, "You! Break it down!" He had addressed Big Macintosh, who charged at the gate without hesitation. With only a single charge, he broke it down, and reduced it to splinters, with Sombra and his army passing through with ease. Seeing no other choice, the guards stationed at the gate flew down, and aimed their spears at the king, demanding he surrender. The Shadow King merely laughed at their bravery. "You demand I surrender? Adorable. You!" he addressed Starlight. "Restrain them. Then summon every pony in this city, and hold them in this spot." He then fired a powerful augmentation spell into her, and increased Starlight's strength by ten fold. Once that was done, she wasted no time in following her Emperor's orders. Her horn ignited, and the next thing the guards, and every pony in Canterlot knew, they were all frozen in place by a magical aura after being summoned.

Once they were in place, Sombra cast his dark magic on all of them, and enslaved them as he did ponyville. Once their eyes filled with toxic green light, and their coats dulled, he nodded to Starlight to release them. She did so, and gave him the freedom to change the guard's armor into Darkhelm Armor, just for amusement as well as ensuring security. "Guard this gate with your worthless lives." he commanded his army, who nodded in obedience, before returning to his shadow form, and heading into the castle. Along the way, he ensnared every guard he came across with his enslaving magic, until he finally stood before the doors to the throne room. But to his surprise, the throne room was completely empty. Surprise quickly turned to disappointment. "So they fled? Feh! Who could have imagined the Royal Sisters were too cowardly to even face me. I guess without the Elements of Harmony, they truly are dependent on their own subjects."

"The princesses left an hour ago, my lord." One of the throne room guards said. "Nopony knows where, because they left without a word."

"Hm? Is that so?" he asked, receiving a nod in reply. "How interesting." Suddenly, the guard was reduced to pure, black crystal. "Something must have drawn them away if they were to have left without any warning." He made his way up the walkway until he stood upon the throne ramp. "No matter. If they were somehow expecting my arrival, and left to prepare, they will not find me so easily surprised. Is that not right my new, shadowy friend?" he grinned, as a tall, winged figure appeared out of the crystallized guards shadow, and then proceeded to shatter him to pieces. The display being enough to make the shadow king laugh in amusement.

For he had so much worse in store for the ones who would soon come to defy him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Try as they may, the heroes of Equestria, and two of their successors, were fighting a losing battle. For every vine they cut down, every tendril they severed, another took its place. Fluttershy managed to save any animals that were nearly ensnared, at least. But at the end of the day, it was like they were fighting an army of hydras: new heads replaced every new one they cut off. "Is it just me, or is this starting to look hopeless?" Rainbow questioned.

"We have to keep trying!" Dusk desperately cried as he whacked at the vines. But this one was caught by them, and drawn from his magical grasp. He watched as his only weapon was broken in half, and more vines grew. Pretty soon, he and all of his friends were surrounded. Except for the occasional swing of an ax or sickle, they were at the end of their rope. And all of them knew it, too. Unless something happened to give them a saving grace, they would not even be able to reach Canterlot to even face Sombra. They may very well be doomed.

That is, until beams of Golden Yellow, and Night Blue vaporized the approaching vines. To the heroes surprise, and relief, the Princesses had arrived out of the storming sky, allowing a ray of light to emerge. They then began barraging the vines as they flew in to hold off the forest's advances with their magic. "This is incredible!" Dusk exclaimed with a hybrid of relief, surprise, and joy. "I can't believe you're here!" Suddenly, a bright white light flashed beside them, and the Pillars of Equestria appeared. "Nopony is meant to handle this on their own! Rockhoof!"

"Aye! Silly ole' vines! One dirt trench comin' right up!" Rockhoof shouted before bearing his shovel in his mouth, running as far as he can to the edge of Ponyville, and like lightning, dig a trench to slow down the vines advances. Starswirl then gave Mistmane a nod, which she gave back with a smile, and she began to use her magic on the forest along with the princesses. He turned to Meadowbrooke, who also nodded as she donned her mask, and ran to the other side of the princesses. Tossing specific potions at the forest to slow the vines down. That left only Starswirl, Somnambula, and Flash Magnus. "Starswirl?!" Dusk exclaimed in enhanced shock. "You're here, too, and with the other Pillars?"

"Well, not just us." he indicated sheepishly, before revealing the four individuals behind him - all of whom Sandbar, and Gallus were especially happy to see.

"Guys!" Sandbar shouted as he ran up to Yona, Smolder, Silverstream, and Ocellus to hug them. Though he normally wasn't one for sentimental mushiness, Gallus himself couldn't help but join in on the group hug. Both of them were just happy their friends were alright, and safe. "It's awesome you're alright," Sandbar happily said, "but how-?"

"We met up halfway to Ponyville when we ran into these guys." Smolder pointed to the Pillars. "Turns out they were heading our way."

"And the Princesses were with them, too!" Silverstream said.

"Yona think they know that, Silverstream." Yona said to the hyperactive hippogriff.

"There was no way we could leave them in this horrible storm alone," Stygian said, appearing from behind the Student Six, "so Starswirl decided it be best to bring them with us."

"Stygian!" Dusk happily exclaimed, giving the gangly unicorn a friendly hug. "It's great to see you after all this time!"

"Well....the life of a newfound novelist is quite a busy one these days." Stygian joked. "I was planning to visit recently, though." His warm demeanor lessened as he looked around. "I only wish the opportunity arose at a better time."

"Guys, what's going on?!" Ocellus asked in a scared voice. "Why is all of this happening?!"

"There's so much to explain right now." Dusk said remorsefully, before turning to his idol. "Starswirl: the Tree of Harmony! It's been-!"

"I know, Prince Dusk Shine." Starswirl raised his hoof to calm his young friend. "The tree.....has been vanquished." Everyone in the gathered group except the Mane Six, Gallus and Sandbar gasped in horror. "I alerted the other Pillars as soon as I could. The princesses arrived sooner than the others, and explained their shared fears." His tone turned somber, and to one of grief. "I felt it, when it happened: it was as though a fragment of my own soul - a piece of my own essence - broke apart from my very being, and suddenly......ceased to be." He looked around him to the gathered group. "And given how all here are connected to the Tree in some manner, I can only assume it was the same with you?"

"You're right." Dusk said with regret in his voice. "I'm so sorry!" His eyes closed, and his head lowered in shame, as he could not look the wizened wizard in the eye. But Starswirl simply cupped his chin, raised his head and said, "Don't be! I have more than enough magic in me to aid in holding the forest at bay! Rockhoof, Mistmane, and Mage Meadowbrook will be of special aid in the task!"

"You can really do that?" Dusk asked.

"Of course! The Pillars, and I planted The Tree of Harmony!" He then gave Dusk a knowing look. "Who do you think kept the forest at bay before it did?" He then trotted toward his former students, and unleashed his most powerful beam of magic at the tendril vines. All of them rent asunder from his awe-inspiring might. "Ah, yeah! Go get 'em, beardy!" Dash exclaimed as Starswirl took his place inbetween his former students. Together with their continuous blasts, Mistmane's mystical influence to calm the forest, Rockhoof's continuous digging to deepen the trench, and Meadowbrook continuously casting potions to nullify the vines, with Somnambula spreading a few bottles from the air, a barricade had ultimately been produced. Seeing that the danger of the Everfree Forest was under control, Dusk felt free to warn his fellow rulers of what has transpired. "Sombra's behind all of this! He destroyed the Tree of Harmony, and now he's enslaved all of Ponyville to invade Canterlot!"

"We left the city defenseless!" Luna exclaimed in horror. "How could we be so foolish?!"

"That's not the worst of it." Dusk said in a lower voice. "I think he's in league with Tirek." This made everyone except Dusk's friends halt in their tracks, and adopt fearful expressions. "He's the one who told him to fake a defeat, and use us to find the tree of harmony. I think he's planning something..and Sombra's only the prelude to something much worse."

"Something we will worry about another time. For now, go, Dusk Shine!" Celestia commanded. "Stop King Sombra, and save Equestria! We will contain the Everfree Forest!"

"We'll go with you, your highness." Flash Magnus said as he flew next to the alicorn prince. "If this King Sombra's enslaved the ponies in your home, then the chances are he's done the same to the royal guard in canterlot. Thankfully, i've trained the guard enough to know how they operate." He then gave a confident smirk. "Plus, it wouldn't be bad to have a helping shield in case a fight comes up."

"I will aid you, as well." Stygian said. "I might be able to aid in creating strategy to combat the shadow king. We may not have fought him, but I have read about him.......a little. But I promise to be of aid." Dusk smiled, and said, "And we'd be grateful to have you, Stygian."

"Don't forget about us!" Smolder exclaimed with confidence. "The Tree of Harmony might be gone, but these babies are might still have some harmony juice left in them to wipe that Sombra guy out." she said, indicating to her Neo element. "Besides, he needs to be taught a lesson!" Dusk was about to argue against it, given the fact none of them should even be here in the first place, and what they were about to go up against was dangerous. But then Sandbar spoke up, saying, "We know it's gonna be dangerous, Prince Dusk. But right now, you need all the help you can get. And we already proved ourselves once against Tirek. Sombra should be no different." Dusk still felt conflicted about this, and wanted to say no. But then Sandbar said, "Please: for Laurana.", and that was it. He realized that no matter what, the Student Six would do everything in their power to help. Equestria had become as dear to them as their own homes, and they cared for the Mane Six, and ponyville equally. There would be no stopping them. "Alright." He reluctantly agreed. "But you six stay close, and be careful, understand?"

"No worry, Headstallion Dusk!" Yona said. "Yona and friends best at being careful!"

"Unless you count what happened at the school last semester." Gallus remarked, earning an elbow from Smolder.

With all of that out of the way, the defenders resumed their attack, and Dusk rejoined his friends with their added companions. "At least we're back to only one problem, now." Pinkie said enthusiastically. But that didn't quite help alleviate the groups worries. They knew exactly what they would be facing, and the dangers it would entail. It was going to be a difficult battle in more ways than one. But they also were unwilling to allow fear to control them, and make mistakes that could cost them their loved ones. They would fight, and they would protect Equestria. Their resolve remained strong as Dusk Shine teleported them all to Canterlot.

And to their final confrontation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They appeared outside the city gates. Some of them were actually hopeful entry into the city would be easy. But to their ever-growing chagrin, it was not. "Oh, dear." Rarity said with dread as she, and the others observed the hundreds of ponies overlooking the gate, standing atop the ramparts, and at the numerous watchtowers. All of them like statues, whose eyes glowed toxic green from enslavement. "It truly is dreadful seeing so many ponies like this: especially ones we know so well."

"Does this mean what I think it does?" Silverstream asked with worry.

"Sombra's gonna force us to fight all of our friends?" Fluttershy asked with fright.

"Not if I can help it! I'll fly overhead, and give 'em the slip!" Rainbow Dash boasted as she took off. Flash Magnus and Dusk told her no, but she was too far away to hear. Though it hardly mattered, for as soon as she got close enough, she was blocked off by the Wonderbolts. ALL of the Wonderbolts, she noted. "Aw, come on!" She suddenly jolted to the side as a magical bolt barely missed her. A group of unicorns were firing on her from down below, and with intimidating speed that forced her to retreat back to her friends. "Okay, maybe I spoke too soon!"

"Ah'll say!" Applejack remarked in annoyance. "How 'bout ya think before ya fly off like that again, huh?"

"Nevermind that!" Stygian shouted. "Here come the thralls! Ready yourselves!"

Exactly as soon as Stygina had completed that sentence, the drawbridge had been lowered. And on the other side were all the other ponies Sombra had enslaved, galloping to join the unicorn 'guards' that had previously teleported to attack Rainbow Dash. Only their numbers had increased to include all of Canterlot. Our heroes had gotten themselves scattered by the oncoming masses in an attempt to avoid harming them, and getting captured by them. Poor Rarity had found herself being chased by Fancy Pants, and many other Canterlot nobles she had recognized, with a large net. "Oh," she moaned while dodging a stallion, "sorry about this, Fancy Pants!" She then used her magic to grab his bowtie, and wrap it around his eyes. This distracted him long enough for her to take the net in her own magic, and throw it down on the pursuing ponies. Pinkie, and AJ then arrived to grab each end of the next, and tie the net to a pair of dark crystals. Thus safely securing the enslaved ponies. "We promise to let you out as soon as we can!" Applejack said, hoping they could at least hear her.

The student six were doing their hardest to avoid conflict, but had found it almost difficult. "Ah! Yona not like when ponies make creepy eyes!" Yona exclaimed, pushing against a group of the ponies. Then, to her surprise, the ponies that attempted to pile on top of her were ensnared in a spider web from above. Along with any other ponies coming her way, and the way of Sandbar, who was using his size to avoid getting caught. To their relief, Ocellus had turned herself into a giant Spider-Fly, and was being aerial support. Seeing her like that might have terrified Yona in the past, but after last semester in school, she learned to actually love arachnids. And this flying arachnids colors made her easy to recognize. "Alright! Way to go, Ocellus!" Sandbar whooped, before yelping at an oncoming guard that was suddenly knocked over by Gallus. The earth pony sighed as his griffon friend landed with his chest puffed out a little. "Thanks, Gallus!"

"Pfft! That's what best friends are for, remember?" Gallus smirked, and bumped his fist with Sandbar's hoof. But their excitement turned to fright as Sombra Guards emerged out of the shadows to ambush them. The young griffon suddenly remarked on how they might be in real trouble as the menacing ponies in black armor approached. But to their great fortune, Flash Magnus appeared in a 'flash', and began doing battle with the Sombra Guards. Taking a bipedal stance with shield in hoof, Magnus began to overpower the soldiers with a series of punches, kicks, and shield thrusts that incapacitated them. Pretty soon, the group was left with their mouths wide open in amazement at the display. "Awesome!" Gallus shouted. "If that's what being a guard's all about, then sign me up!"

Flash chuckled, "Appreciate the enthusiasm, Gallus." His face then turned back to the oncoming horde. "But there's no time for admiration! We have a battle to win!" The three teenagers made sounds of agreement before charging forth with Magnus, having gained the confidence to stand up to the Sombra Guards that appeared, at least. All the while, in the skies above, Silverstream and Smolder were helping Rainbow and Fluttershy to keep a group of Pegasi Sombra Guards away from Ocellus as she continued to shoot webbing down from the sky at any pony not wearing Darkhelm Armor, in order to keep them safe. The pegasi were formidable fliers, but their movements were as robotic as if they were on the ground. So it was able for the trio to make a plan with but a look. Flying right towards each other, the three fliers maneuvered the Sombra Guards in an X-axis towards a middle point. Then, once they were close enough, they dived up into the air, and made the guards collide into each other. Dusk caught them as they fell, and safely placed them on the ground. All this time, he and Stygian had been on standby, trying to think of a way to get past the army of thralls. The alicorn prince putting sleeping spells on any pony that approached them, with Stygian warning him of any pony coming from a certain direction. Despite his initial worry, Dusk was seeing his students, and friends holding their own against Sombra's army very well. Flash and the three students with him beat down any Sombra Guards in their crosshairs with their own skills while Ocellus was subduing all the ponies they could safely incapacitate.

The battle seemed to be going well.

But then, Dusk caught sight of an aqua-colored flash of light. And his eyes widened when he realized it was Starlight. Still full of the enhancement spell cast on her, the enthralled unicorn used her own magic to not only free every from their bonds: she also returned many to consciousness, and knocked Ocellus and the other fliers out of the sky with a scattershot of magic. All except Rainbow Dash, who barely evaded the attack. But it hardly mattered, as the Wonderbolts finally arrived to corner her with the others. Flash and his group, Rarity, Pinki, Aj, the fliers, Stygian and Dusk were all backed into a single spot. Surrounded on all sides, with a unicorn who rivaled Dusk himself in magical strength, and with no way out. "Oh, dear." Stygian nervously said. "This doesn't appear good."

"Ah think Stygian's right!" Applejack said. "We can't keep going on like this now that Starlight's out here, too! We need to find a way inside!"

"But we can't just leave them all like this! All possessed and Sombra-fied!"

"It doesn't look like we have much choice, Miss Rarity!" Silverstream exclaimed.

"What do we do, Dusky?" Pinkie asked frightenedly, as the horde drew closer.

"I have no idea," Dusk said, while igniting his horn, "But we can't waste anymore time here."

Just as the army tried jumping them, they disappeared in a lavender flash of magic.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once again, the groupd found themselves stunned from the instant teleportation, but in the halls of Canterlot Castle. "Sorry, everyone." Dusk apologized. "But that was the only way I could think of to get us in the castle as fast as possible."

"Don't worry about it, Dusk." Flash reassured the alicorn, putting a hoof on his shoulder. "You got us inside: now we just have to find King Sombra, and-" The sound of loud crunching suddenly emerged, interrupting the orange furred pegasus. Confused, the gang all looked around to see where it was coming from. That was when a familiar mismatch of mischief floated down from above with a jar of pickles in his arm. He was already helping himself to one, even as the group gawked at him. The most surprised to see him were Flash, and Stygian, who had not met him until now. "Prince Dusk.......is that....?"

"Discord!" Dusk exclaimed happily, unintentionally ignoring Stygian's question, and earning the Draconequus' attention.

"Whaaaaaat?" Discord exclaimed in a nonsensical, exaggerated tone. "What in Celestia's name is this?! No elements, no princesses, only two out of six of the might "Pillars of Equestria" at your side, and your little circle of diverse friends that have yet to master the "Neo-Elements" sticking out of their chests? Looks like you gooby-goobers are in a bit of a pickle." He said while waving his half-eaten pickle on a fork. "Or would you maybe say that you're in," he suddenly summoned a jar of jelly, "more of a jam?", which he then proceeded to stick his half-eaten pickle into, before eating the rest of it. Dusk paid his jests because of how happy he was that the chaos spirit was here: and that meant there was hope for them. "I'm so glad to see you, Discord, but.....what are you doing here?"

"Well, I WAS getting ready to hang out these "Congratulations to your new rulership of Equestria, Dusk Shine" banners throughout the castle," he said while conjuring banners with pictures of Dusk himself drawn crudely in crayon, as if a foal had drawn it, before he folded it up, and made it disappear, "right before your coronation, but I guess it's a little premature, now." He said in a voice of mock sympathy, though without any real malice. "And besides, after sensing AND seeing everything that's been happening, how could I miss this? After all, inbetween hanging around, and waiting eleven weeks for Kahnac to get off of those stupid drawing projects of his, and finally get back to writing this chapter, this is the most excited i've been in a long while!" Discord said, while giving me an annoyed look.

Thankfully, Pinkie went up to him, and defended me by saying, "Hey, don't insult Tim like that, Discord! Writing and drawing aren't all that different from each other, and the worst they have in common is finding inspiration, and motivation!" The others were increasingly confused by this sudden conversation, but remained quiet. "I'm a baker, so I know how much time art takes to work on. And Tim's been making alot of awesome artwork recently even with all the stress he's been under to get back into writing. At least he's been working on the chapter bit by bit, and he's gotten his writing spirit back, so you can't complain about that, can you?"

Discord grumbled before he said, "Well......I guess not, since I consider chaos an artwork of sorts, as well. So I know what writer's block feels like."

"There you go!" Pinkie said. "At least you understand that patience is key when it comes to art AND literature. And Tim's an amazing writer and artist anyway. So the wait was definitely worth it."

Thank you for that, Pinkie. I really appreciate that, and if I could, i'd hug you for being nice - nice, AND squishy!

"You're welcome, Mr. Kahnac!" Pinkie giggled.

"Okay, can we PLEASE get back to the story, now?" Discord asked in annoyance. "I know fourth wall breaks are mine, and pinkies thing, but this is ridiculous!"

Anyway..........

"Well, we're glad you're here!" Dusk said. "King Sombra's back, and he's taken over Canterlot! What's more, he's destroyed the Tree of Harmony!" Discords eyes suddenly widened in seriousness. "You don't say?" He asked in a neutral tone. "I guess that explains why the balance of our world's been thrown on its head, and placed into Anarchy."

"Uh, don't you mean chaos?" Smolder asked confusedly.

"No, my little drake friend, I meant what I said: this goes beyond any chaos I could ever produce, and has risen to its more wicked aspect, Anarchy. Unless something's done about it, and quickly, I have the feeling something worse than crazy winds, lightning strikes, and a shift in the scales of mystic power will be the least of your worries."

"Then it's a good thing you're here to lend us a hand now!" Dusk exclaimed, flying up to Discord's eye-level. "We could really use some all-powerful lord of chaos help right about now." Discord put a finger to his chin, acting as though he were giving it thought. But then said, "Who, moi? Oh, I couldn't possibly!", in the most exaggerated tone before walking off. This worried the heroes a great deal, and they began to follow after him. Not soon after, they found themselves in in the hallway leading to the throne room. Four Sombra Guards were there, and upon seeing the intruders, got into a charge to attack. The group grew worried, as Dusk pleaded with Discord to help. Gallus, however, had his own idea on how to get the draconequus to help them take out the guards without hurting or killing them. "Forget him, Dusk! It's four against fourTEEN. We don't need that walking zoo's help to take care of them if he's going to be an absolute jerk about it. That's all that he's good at being, anyway, aside from being completely useless."

That got the chaos spirit's attention, and almost not in a good way as he looked up from the book he was reading, and angrily slammed it shut while poofing it out of existence, while tossing a pair of spectacles away out of existence, too. "I Beg your pardon, young griffon?!" He almost bellowed as he stomped his way past the group. "Have you already forgotten who I am, or is your brain the same size as an average bird?!" Gallus glared at that possibly specist comment, but said nothing as he awaited his reverse psychology to take complete effect. "I was merely rooting for our future ruler here in silence, waiting for him to finally handle things on his own, and gain that amazing spark of confidence we know he has inside." He said with what actually sounded like praise, before his tone turned sour. "But if you have the gaul to think I, the all-powerful lord of chaos, am useless, then it seems that i have to correct you - starting right now!" With a few snaps of his fingers, he sent two guards into a giant web, one down a trap door leading to whoknowswhere, and trapping the other two in giant scoops of icecream. Thus neutralizing the threat, without anyone getting hurt. Discord himself grew smug as he put his hands to his hips, and puffed his chest out three inches wide. "So, how did you like that, Mr. Doubting Mustafa?"

"Hoho, you sure fooled me!" Gallus sarcastically remarked, before smirking as he said, "Though Prince Dusk probably just wanted this dealt with quickly, we really could have done this on our own. But I didn't want to undermine him, so I just gave you a little "confidence boost" to help us out." Discord raised a hand to speak........before his jaw fell down slack, and his eyes comically bulged out of his head. "First ponies, and now a smarmy griffon wins uses that reverse psychology on me - and wins?!" he exclaimed, turning into a sheep of himself. "How sheepish can someone make me feel?"

"Don't feel bad, Discord." Dusk said to the spirit as the group made their way to the throne room doors. "You WERE a big help, since Gallus was right about my not wanting to risk hurting the guards because of their innocence in all this." He smiled, and said as he walked away, "I really don't know what we'd do without you." This, however, did not have a good effect on the draconequus, who seemed concerned about something as he returned to his real form. Whatever it was would have to wait.

King Sombra awaited.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Inside the throne room, the chamber had become a cornucopia of dark crystal. Sombra had been blasting every part of the throne room with his dark magic, and sprouting his crystals all around. All of them were filled with the essence of Darkness, and only further allowed his power to stay consistently strong by drawing upon the magical essence in the very air, and channeling it into him for strength. Among other uses he kept to himself. But above all else, it appeared to be instinct that drove him to do this. As it may well have been instinct for all of his Umbrum race to do, as offspring of the Darkness. He cared little, either way, as it only helped assert his dominance wherever he went. And helped to strike fear in the hearts of his enemies. Speaking of enemies, he cast a glance behind him when he heard the doors of the throne room open, and in came walking a huge group of creatures and ponies. Far more than he actually expected, but he paid no heed to it, still. They were still no threat to him.

"It's over, Sombra! Surrender now, or else!" Dusk commanded with authority in his voice.

The Shadow King only chuckled as he finally turned around to face the group. "Here to make a pathetic attempt at a final stand? Brave, but.....completely foolish. You have no power over me: King Sombra is supreme now." A loud yawn escaped from Discord's mouth, purposefully drawing attention to him as he crossed his arms in a bored fashion. "Good gracious, I heard you were an average, run of the mill villain, but you take it all the way up to eight-hundred."

Sombra raised an eyebrow as he said, "Discord. So it IS true: you're free," he looks to the others with disgust, "and allied with the weaker species you once saw as playthings."

"And it seems the rumors of your compensation for your lack of something was true." Discord remarked, making neon fingers point at Sombra's sides. "Where'd you get the wings? Bargain sale at the "Villains R Us" store? I didn't know they were still in business."

Sombra scowled. "And I didn't know you were as big a fool as Tirek made you out to be." This got the condescending smirk to wipe off Discord's face - literally - and finally made the Draconequus glare at the Umbrum alicorn. "Care to correct yourself, shadow boy?" he said in a low, threatening tone while his eyes shined threateningly. An action which actually made his friends back away somewhat. Sombra, however, wasn't intimidated in the slightest, and only laughed in the face of Discord's bravado. "Why should I..when you were foolish enough not to consider a possible trap." Discord blinked in surprise, and the other creatures eyes widened in fear. But before any could even make a move, he tapped his hoof on the ground, and a wave of black magic spread through the room and into the black crystals. The result was a barrier of darkness that encased the entire room, and trapped all of the figures inside. Everything except the doors, and windows remained. And all of the element wielders, and even Discord himself, felt their strength suddenly begin to leave them. "Wh.......what's happening?" Ranbow questioned.

"I feel pooped out." Pinkie said weakly.

"He's done....something." Flash Magnus said in a strained voice. "My strength.......feels like it's draining."

Sombra laughed in amusement at the sight of the fifteen creatures practically bending a knee to him. He took this time to do what he did best: gloat. "You ignorant fools! What did you think would happen when you came to confront me? That through some miracle you would find the strength to defeat me once, and for all? I think not! My crystals are not merely for decoration: they enhance my power over the Darkness, after converting the mana in the very air into energy for me to absorb. Only now the effects are even greater with the Tree of Harmony gone, and the Balance turned in evil's favor." He rubbed on a dark crystal he summoned out of the ground. "Through this mineral, I can channel my own powers at great distances. Spreading my will across any region I desire." He then grinned at the company that was struggling to get up. "And as of now, I channeled a dampening spell that weakens your bodies will to fight. To me, you are as harmless as a baby hew. The best chance to field test my new toy."

Dusk and the others wondered what Sombra meant by that as he ignited his horn with that sickening, bubbling dark magic again. Suddenly, right before the group appeared a pool of darkness. And out of this darkness slowly rose a winged figure. One whose entire form was shrouded in shadow, and whose eyes were yellow lights. Based on its physique, they could tell it was a dragon in its late teens, given it was almost Discord's size. Yet its build was imposing, its wings were grand, its tail long and barbed with a stinger, and pair of horns and tusks were on each side of its head, making it look more like a demon than a dragon. But upon closer inspection, Dusk noticed a familiar pair of spikes on the creature's head, shaped like a frill. One he recognized all too well. "Spike!" he yelled out, earning everyone's attention.

"Spike?" Smolder asked weakly. "Where? I don't see......." But then she looked at the creature again, and her widened in horror. "Oh, no!"

"What wrong?" Yona asked Smolder. "Why Smolder afraid? And where is Spike/baby dragon?"

"That thing." Smolder all but whispered as she pointed at the shadow beast. "That thing IS Spike!"

"What?!" came a collective shout from everyone in the team, with Rarity herself saying, "Preposterous! My spikey-wikey could never be that-..t.....that thing in a thousand years! Right, Dusk?" Her confidence wavered, however, when she saw the distraught expression on the alicorn's face. And the faint sign of tears appeared at the corner of his eyes. "D-..Dusk?"

"Denial is merely the first stage of death, and grief, they say." Sombra said in a mocking tone. "I believe the next emotion is fear.........which we now have an abundance of." He grinned again. "Now comes the anger." A statement proven true when Dusk turned from horrified to enraged as he forced himself to his hooves. "You-! You evil freak! What did you do to him?! WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY BROTHER?!?" He roared in pure hatred, causing the others to recoil at his anger. It was rare to see him like this. But when they did, they always hoped it was never directed at them......though Pinkie Pie once ended up on the receiving end of his anger once. Now it was in action again, but Sombra only laughed in amusement. "Still gnawing away at that branch, are we? Yes, this is your little pet dragon: with vastly greater improvements. Dragons have always been the perfect tools of war, but...their endless greed makes them all but impossible to use." The Shadow King smirked as he continued. "Yet despite the fact they teeter on the edge of Darkness, somehow they hold the will to safely walk the line without succumbing. All.........except for the young of the species. Their mental, and spiritual defenses are weak, as this one proved when you and he encountered my Door of Nightmares. This idea was also owed in part to that insidious centaur, as he suggested that drawing out a child's latent darkness is far easier than corrupting adults. Now he is the first of a new generation of long lost warriors of Darkness, not seen since the ancient days of the First Generation since Lord Tirac. Hence why the most fitting name for these creatures of darkness, and in turn my new weapon, must be the most simple: Tiracian."

"Pfeh! Lame!" Discord chided as he stood back up.

"Say the kettle to the pot. But nevermind that. Now I believe it's time......for bargaining to come forth."

"I'm warning you right now, Sombra!" Dusk hissed, forcing his horn to ignite, and aimed it at Sombra. "Change him back, or i'll make sure you won't even be able to return to the Aether after i'm through with you!" Without warning, Spike the Tiracian, sped in front of Dusk at frightening speeds. He then punched him hard across the face, and sent him flying backwards. Sombra laughed at the sight of his enemy being so easily swatted like a fly. He then watched as Spike took advantage of the heroes worry for Dusk, and he flashed to each, and every creature, and knocked them to where Dusk had hit the floor. Flash put up some resistance, but with Sombra's dampening spell at work, it didn't last long. And he too joined the pile. Spike began to menacingly approach the group, with Dusk giving his young brother a pleading look. "Spike, please, listen to me! I know you can hear me! It's Dusk! Your brother!" Spike remained silent as he drew closer, and drew from the darkness a blade of indigo energy that he poised for striking. Tears now began to fall from Dusk's face as he looked into the empty yellow eyes of the creature that was his younger brother. "Don't you know your Dusk?" Silence remained as the dragon turned Tiracian stood with his blade raised, and ready to cut down his enemies. The others also pleaded with the drake to stop, but he ignored them too as the blade ignited with dark power. Power that would undoubtedly incinerate them all once it struck. All Dusk could do was close his eyes, and wait for the end.

But the end never came as Sombra stomped his hoof, and bid Spike to stop. The purple flame went away, but his sword remained as he flew backwards near Sombra. When Dusk noticed the lack of a seering, and excruciating pain, he opened his eyes to see what was happening. "And there is the acceptance." Sombra chuckled as his horn ignited. "Face it, Dusk Shine: you have failed. The Dragon is mine. Equestria is Mine. The Darkness will return, and the last thing you hear will be my laughter. Now join your pegasus boyfriend......IN HELL!" He then fired his magic at the gathered group, and prepared to erase them all from existence himself. Discord, however, decided enough was enough, and he slithered through the air until he stood in front of his friends. Then he snapped Sombra's attack into cake frosting. This surprised both Sombra, and the creatures. The latter saying, "Incredible! I knew you were strong, Discord, but you continue to surprise me! Not an easy feat from those inferior to me, but I tip my crown, either way."

"Don't flatter yourself, Sombrero." Discord jabbed, doing his best to hide the strain in his body. Because of the Balance's fracture, Discord's own chaos magic had begun to falter as Anarchy replaced chaos. And the magics of King Sombra were nothing to sneeze at, and did a good job of weakening him. But he still had enough magic in him to match Sombra, at least, and he would make sure to keep it that way. "Did you honestly think a measly little spell like yours could keep the Lord of Chaos down? Not in a egagillion years." he chuckled. "Like I said before: I WAS rooting for Dusk Shine to show everypony that he can handle things on his own, and prove just how great a ruler he'll be." He sighed with a bit of disappointment as the others slowly got back to their feet. "But I suppose i'll have to be the MVP of this matchup. Although, given how Dusk Shine is the Prince of Friendship, this may in fact prove to be a win for him after all, since I am his friend. And friendship IS the greatest magic of them all, right?" He then spun his eagle hand in a circle a few times before saying, "But then again, i AM everyone's friend, so that means everyone wins." He then turned to a certain, yellow furred and pink maned pegasus, and said, "Though out of all those friends, i'd definitely say i'm closest to Fluttershy. She's my favorite."

Whether it was an intentional slip-up or otherwise , Sombra was extremely quick to capitalize on it by launching another attack: on the cream-colored pegasus the draconequus idiot had pointed out. He poured as much power into this attack as possible in order to ensure its speed would be too great for her to evade. Yet as she, and all the others looked in in fearful dread, Sombra's true intent came to fruition when Discord realised what was happening, and lept in the way of the blast. And in his weakened state, he knew he couldn't deflect with his own magic. Thus he made himself the shield for his beloved friend, and took the full blast. He was sent flying backwards, until he skid to a halt in front of the place where the doorway once was. A large burn mark on his torso as he lay there on the ground.

Motionless.

"DISCORD!" The group collectively shouted in horror. Which was followed by triumphant, and boisterous laughter of King Sombra. "Even the Lord of Chaos is no match for the Darkness! And with the fall of Discord goes your last, fruitless hope! Victory is mine, and you are nothing to me, now." He then turned around to the two seat, and grinned. "Now.....to deal with this clutter of garbage taking up my throne room's space." He then tore the seats to shreds as he created a large mound of dark crystal to act as his throne.

"Discord!" Dusk cried out as he, and the others ran to their unconscious friend. "Discord, please, get up! We need you!"

Fluttershy, on the other hand, was even more distraught than her friends as she openly wept for him. Pleading repeatedly for him to be alright as she held his neck in her hooves, and cried into him. For a time, it appeared they had well, and truly lost him. But his eyes weakly opened, and he gave the relieved creatures a weak smile to let them know he was alright. Fluttershy cried out in joy as she squeezed him in her 'arms' ever tightly. Afraid that he might disappear if she let him go. But while he was happy Discord was alive, he was more afraid than ever after seeing the Chaos Spirit dealt with like that. "Discord, please, you have to get up! We can't beat Sombra without you!"

"You couldn't defeat me with him, either." Sombra said as he took his seat.

Discord coughed into his hand as he weakly said, "I'm sorry.....but I have nothing left to give." To prove his point, he tried to use his magic - but nothing happened when he snapped his fingers. "I'm no help to you now. It looks like you're on your own." This was grave news, indeed, as the direness of their situation fully sank in. "That's it, then?" Applejack asked, with defeat in her voice. "We've lost?"

King Sombra only laughed harder upon hearing that statement. "Has it truly taken you this long for you to realize it? Look around, fools: Harmony has failed! The Balance has been broken, and Darkness reigns supreme! And I am King of Darkness, and King of all I survey! You have no Hope!" he laughed boisterously, making the group glare at him in anger, and hate. But their attention was drawn back to Discord, who coughed as he tried to sit up in Fluttershy's lap. There was something he needed to say, and now was the perfect time to say it.

"Listen to me." He weakly said. "You can't give in to what he says, because Hope is NOT lost. Don't you understand? You don't need the elements, or the princesses, and you certainly don't need me. You've always been bound by friendship, even since before you all met. You were chosen by Laurana herself: and through here, by Harmony itself to be its bearers. They chose you because of how strong your bond is as friends. The elements of harmony may have strengthened your bond, but they are not what brought truly brought you together. They are not what define who you are - you do."

He then began addressing each of his friends as he spoke their greatest attributes, which were the core of who they are. All of them tearfully smiling as he rubbed Fluttershy's cheek with such a caring, and gentle touch it was heartwarming.

"Fluttershy, you will always be kind. Applejack, you will always be honest. Rarity, you will always be generous." He took a deep breath, and continued, "And Rainbow Dash will always be as loyal as can be. Pinkie," he smiled, making the party ponies eyes well up with an even greater smile, "dear sweet Pinkie, will always bring laughter wherever she goes. And Dusk , as strong in heart as in body and soul: you are, and always will be the embodiment of Magic. You lost sight of what's in front of you: you're here - together! Willing to give everything you have to protect your world," he raised his fist dramatically, before looking to the Student Six, who were in the same emotional state as the Mane Six, "And inspiring others to do the same. Carrying on the legacy you will one day leave behind as you defend Equestria. You six are what friendship, and harmony truly represents. And nothing, and noone can EVER take that away from you. Because that's who you are." Even Stygian and Flash Magnus, who had been watching from nearby, felt great emotions welling up inside of them as they listened to such inspiring, and wondrous words be spoken.

But the moment was ruined when King Sombra released another bout of mocking laughter. "Poetic. I admit you almost touched me with such devotion, and faith, Discord.", he mockingly sighed as he wiped a crocodile tear away from his eye. "Fortunately, such moments pass quickly. And words hold no meaning unless you can truly live up to them. Allow me to demonstrate." he said, before turning to Spike. "Tiracian: kill them!" Without another moment's hesitation, the wraith-like form of Spike drew the same purple sword from before, and flew at the Mane Six. His arm raised to strike down the first pony he drew close to: Dusk, himself, before the alicorn had any time to defend himself.

"No, you don't!" Shouted Gallus as he intercepted Spike, and tackled him to the ground. The two began struggling, with the "tiracian" thrall trying to get the griffon off of him. "Guys? Could use a little help here!" Just as soon as he was in striking position for Spike's tail, Yona leaped on top of his entire lower body, and held it firmly in place. "Nasty tail! Won't sting Yona's friends!" And soon, all the other teenagers ganged up on the shadowy apparition, using their combined strength to pin him down. "Geez, is Spike strong!" Smolder remarked while holding down his right arm. "You think that's the dark magic, or-?" She grunted as he pushed against them, further demonstrating that he was not entirely helpless. "It doesn't matter, because we're going to keep him safe!" Silverstream declared, holding down. "He'd be heartbroken to know he hurt someone, so we get to keep him, and everyone else safe from danger!" She glared at Sombra, who gave an annoyed look at the whelps. "Sombra's a bigger bully than the Storm King, and I, for one, won't let him have his way!"

"That's the way, Silver!" Sandbar exclaimed proudly, helping Gallus to hold the drake down. "As long as we work together, just like our teachers, Sombra will never win!" This was followed by the jewels on the Student Six's chest beginning to shine, and envelop them in the same kind of light. They found themselves now more capable of holding down the Tiracian thrall so that Dusk and the others could continue the fight. When he saw the Mane Six looking at them with concern, he shouted, "Don't worry about us! Remember what Discord told you: you can win as long as you believe in your bonds of friendship! Hold onto it, and you can beat Sombra!"

"He's right!" Stygian said as he and Magnus stood beside Discord. "We'll look after Discord, and you end this nightmare once and for all!"

"We all believe in you!" Magnus declared. "Don't let Discord's sacrifice be in vain! Win this battle! Restore harmony to our world, and do so with the strength of your friendship!"

"ENOUGH WITH THIS ENDLESS PRATTLE!" Sombra roared aloud, shaking the throne room, and drawing all remaining attention to him. "Slaves always fail you in the end! I'll crush you all myself here, and now! Just as I should have done before!" He then began marching down the throne lane towards the Mane Six. But they were not intimidated. Their friends faith had given them a new sense of willpower. And they were ready to see this through to the end. "Our friends are right!" Dusk said aloud, as his friends stood by his side. "As long as we're together, we've nothing to fear!" He then glared at Sombra as he began moving towards him. "Do you hear me, Sombra! I'm not afraid of you! I'm not afraid of what you can do, OR how much power you have!"

"You should be." The Shadow King growled, before firing a powerful burst of dark magic at the alicorn. The prince erected a magical barrier to defend himself. And to the surprise of himself, and the others, it held as it only pushed him back eight feet. Renewed confidence sparked in his heart, and he marched forth to face the dark one head on, with his friends directly behind him. "You may knock us down, Sombra, but each time we will get back again." Another blast was fired, and deflected, but this time pushing Dusk back only a few inches. "And again." One more, and this time Dusk simply swatted it to the side like it was nothing. "And again! As long as we're together, we always will stand up to your evil, and fight to defeat you!"

King Sombra hissed in rage as he fired his strongest beam at Dusk Shine, who fired his own magic at his strongest, too. The two locked into a stalemate, with Dusk grunting with exertion to hold back the dark alicorn. He was afraid he would slip up, and allow the attack to hit him. But then a most wondrous thing happened as his friends held his hooves, and joined together with each other: his magic began interlacing with the girls, and enveloped them in an orb of rainbow light. Sombra's own magic was pushed backwards with zero effort, and caused him to stagger. When he looked, his eyes widened in horror at what he was seeing. The Mane Six themselves became surprised by what happened next: each were enveloped in colored bubbles representing their elements, and they themselves transformed. Their manes grew, and extended as streaks of color filled their manes. This was a power unfamiliar to King Sombra, and the two pillars in the room. But the mane six knew what this was. For it was the very same power granted to them by The Tree of Harmony not long ago. The power that vanquished Lord Tirek at the height of his godly glory. The power that restored magic to Equestria after it had been taken. And the power which had planted, and grown the Castle of Friendship itself. A power that stemmed beyond even the Elements of Harmony themselves.

The Rainbow of Light.

"No! It's not possible!" Sombra exclaimed in horror.

"For our friends!" Fluttershy called out.

"For our families!" Rarity, and Applejack called out.

"For our home!" Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie called out.

"FOR EQUESTRIA!" Dusk Shine roared as the light melted away the darkness encapsulating the throne room, and breaking the binding spell that held them in here. Sandbar, his friends, Magnus, Stygian, and Discord stared in wonder at the sight before them. For King Sombra, however, it was a sight of horror, and rage. "No! This should not be possible! Laurana is gone! He assured me-.......it's not possible! I am the Darkness itself! You power cannot overcome my own!" He growled in pure hatred, and roared in absolute rage, "I KILLED THE BAHAMUT OF HARMONY, AND LIGHT! I DESTROYED THE SOURCE OF YOUR POWER! YOU CAN'T HAVE THIS KIND OF POWER! I WAS PROMISED!"

"That's where you're wrong, Sombra." Dusk said with a smug look. "Laurana will never be truly gone, for she lives inside of us all. So long as we embody all of the elements she gifted to us, her spirit will live on. Our friendship is what keeps her alive, and you can't destroy our friendship.

"And we keep telling you bad guys over, and over again." Rainbow said.

"But you just don't seem ta listen." Applejack added.

"FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC!" The Mane Six cried out in unison, as their power surged. Realizing what was going to happen, Sombra attempted to blast the ponies one final time. But in the end, it proved fruitless. White light flashed in the eyes of the six ponies, and the orb of light pushed forward. Their will sent the Rainbow of Light outwards, and it began to envelop everything. Despite his attempt to disappear, his powers were rendered useless in the face of this light, and he was backed up into his throne. The Light enveloped him to, and as he cried out in defiance, his body burned to ash, and disappeared into oblivion. King Sombra, once again, was no more. And The Rainbow of Light continued its work as the Mane Six sent it surging out of the throne room, and beyond. Every black crystal in the region was erased like greasy smears on glass. Those whose minds had been enslaved were now free. The soldiers garbed in the Dark Armor were released. The Student Six felt the power of the light wash over them, and give them some unknown strength they knew nothing of yet. Spike himself had also been cleansed of the Darkness that had imprisoned him, and changed him back to his real self.

Though it would later be noted he was not quite the same as he was before.

All across the land, the effects of Sombra's wicked deeds had been cleansed as the Dark Crystals disappeared, and the terrible storm that terrorized all vanished into nothing. Cleansing the skies, and returning them to peace. The same happened to the Everfree Forest, as the wildvines also disappeared as the light washed over them. The Pillars of Equestria felt the light wash over them, and felt a sense of familiarity to it. But to Princess Celestia, and Luna, who also felt the same as the Light passed them over, knew exactly what it meant.

"Well done, my former student." Celestia quietly said to herself. "Well done."

Author's Note:

You have no idea how ashamed I am it took me this long to get this out there. I really wanted to finish this, but alot of other things got in the way. Namely designing for this story, and making an entire new race for it. Once you read this, you'll probably notice I referenced said race, and kind of foreshadow what's to come.

And before you say anything, there will be an epilogue part to this. I don't wanna push my limits with spacing, and i'm already over 16,000 words in. So the actual ending of the episode will be the epilogue of the 3 parter. And it will also be a prelude to the rest of the story, and what to expect later on. And I assure you all that I have big plans in mind for this story.

Very big plans, both good and bad.:D

Comments

[N3xmaz1ng]

Hey Kahnac, don't you think that you should make Flash Sentry a girl?

I'm just asking because I saw how King Sombra called Flash Sentry as Dusk Shine's boyfriend, and I think that it's weird and probably wrong to other viewers that homosexuality exists in the Harmoniaverse.

You don't have to change Sentry's gender if you really don't want to. I'm just saying that I believe that with Dusk Shine being a male and Twilight and Flash loving each other in the Canon series, it would make a whole lot more sense for the Flash Sentry of the Harmoniaverse to be a female. That's all.

Also, please tell me that he (hopefully SHE, later on) is ALIVE AND WELL!!!

[N3xmaz1ng]

I believe that the girl version of Flash Sentry is called: Flare Warden. If you want a picture of what that would look like, just look up "Dusk Shine and flash sentry girl". There should be a picture at or near the top.

[kahnac]

10065693
I hope this isn't homophobia talking. Because there shouldn't be an issue of two male characters being together when the whole gogdamned fandom has no issue shipping same sex characters together. Even if I was planning on making the two a couple, why should I be condemned for it when Lyra and Bonbon are supposedly an official couple? With all due respect, if people can make same sex relationships in their fanfics, then so can I. As one of my friends once said: fuck the haters.

[N3xmaz1ng]

Okay I understand. I just had to be sure, only because I felt that it would make more sense, and I was afraid that people wouldn't want to read your stories because of it.

[kahnac]

10065750
That would make them hypocrites given they've probably shipped same sex characters together in this fandom, and read plenty of fics based on that. And if the shot made Lyra and Bonbon an official couple, then people should have no issue with this kind of thing. And if they have issues, they can just leave. Noones making them read this. This is MY story, and i'm making it for the same reason other people write: because I want to. I just like sharing my creations with others, for good or ill.