All Hail, Midnight Sparkle!

by MisterEdd

New Ally

Spike clamped his new hooves onto the sides of his face, shaking his head in distress. He peered out over sadly at his friends. Pinkie Pie was stoically placing an ice pack on Rarity's left knee, the elderly mare sighing in relief while Rainbow Dash was rocking a filly version of Fluttershy in an attempt to stop her crying. Applejack, now in Spike's body, took turns inspecting his-her-claws, wiggling each digit curiously. How could this have happened?

His best friend was possessed by a monster and he couldn't do anything to help her. After everything Twilight had done for them, they were unable to save her. Now Equestria was once more in peril and without Twilight, the Elements of Harmony were as useless as an umbrella filled with holes. Spike planted his rear on the ground and sniffled. He knew that Twilight would never put him or their friends down like that but hearing such awful things hurt him all the same.

"What do we do now?" He whimpered.

"Ah don't know, Sugar Cube," Applejack admitted. "We're not exactly in any kinda state t' do anythin' 'bout it, ain't we?"

Rarity smacked her gums. "We could try to get a message to Princess Celestia and warn her."

Applejack inhaled and blew out a thin cloud of smoke. Frowning, she tried again and again but this didn't bring about any different results. After a few minutes, she stopped altogether, exhausted from the attempt. "Ah can't," she wheezed in between breaths. "Golly Spike, how do ya do this?"

"I just kind of...do it. Princess Celestia enchanted my fire so I don't have to think about it."

"Ugh, if I had my wings, this wouldn't be an issue!" Rainbow groaned, her puny new wings flapping madly in a vain attempt at getting her airborne. "Dang it!"

Fluttershy, or rather, Flutterfoal, giggled at this.

"It's not funny," Rainbow pouted.

"You do look pretty silly," Pinkie stated flatly, the edges of her mouth crinkling into a poor imitation of a smile. She then dropped her smile and glanced downward. "It's just not the same."

"Come on, Twilight needs us...whoa!" Spike tried to stand on his hindlegs, stumbling forward and catching himself before he face-planted into the dirt. Remembering which body he was in, he resorted to using all four hooves. "We have to do something!"

"Spike's right, gals. We have t' stop Midnight."

"I don't see how we can do that," Rarity murmured, a tight pain shooting through her joints as she sat up. "Even if we find her, we have to stop her but without the Elements, it's hopeless!"

Applejack instinctively tapped a claw to her chin then paused briefly to stare at it. "Wha we need is uh way t' stop Midnight an' free Twilight. Maybe somepony tha knows uh thing er two 'bout magic."

"Not just that but dark magic," Pinkie pointed out.

"And it has to be somepony that can take Midnight on if things get ugly," Spike chimed in.

They all shared a knowing but uneasy glance.

Rainbow's eyes widened. "No, no, no, no, a thousand times no!"

Applejack sighed, "We need King Sombra."

"But how can we find him?" Rarity asked.

"Twilight has this summoning medallion thingy that Sombra gave her," Spike answered. "She sometimes takes it out to just stare at it. I bet it's still at the castle under her pillow."

"Then we ain't got time ta lose. Let's giddyup!"

~*~

The Canterlot Home for Orphaned Foals was a simple but presentable four-story limestone structure surrounded by a three-foot faded brick wall. Chalk drawings decorated the cement walkways and toys littered the lawns as a small group of colts and fillies laughed and ran with a puppy. Charity Case, the home's director, was a cream-colored pegasus with a two-toned red mane and jade-green eyes, an admittedly lovely young mare. Even a total stranger could detect the sincere devotion she had for the happiness of her charges. She clapped her hooves in delight at seeing the shrieking gleeful foals.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Guess Who!" Charity Case smiled. "The children absolutely adore him. Oh, you have no idea how much this means to them."

Sombra, or "Guess who," merely nodded, watching the foals playing with the dog. A mixture of happiness and sadness developed within him but he ignored it. "He'll be much happier here."

After giving Sir-Licks-A-Lot a much-needed bath followed by a small meal, Sombra brought him over to the home and met with Miss Case so that the orphanage could formally adopt the pup. For some unfathomable reason, he felt an ache in his chest at giving the stray up, instead preferring to keep him. But no, a pet was something that would have no place in his life and believed that this was a better option for the both of them. He turned away from the joyful sorrow sight of the gaiety and took a big gulp, dislodging the lump that'd formed in his throat. He'd lingered long enough and just wanted to get out of there.

"I must be going now."

Charity Case looked surprised at the detachment in the stallion's voice. "Wait, don't you want to talk to them? I'm sure they'd love to thank you."

"No need. Have a good day," Sombra responded and left without another word.

It wasn't until he closed and latched the door to his dingy apartment that Sombra allowed himself a breather, throwing himself onto the steel-framed mattress and releasing a long sigh. The apartment was small, consisting of a kitchenette, a dining area barely large enough for two ponies and a bedroom. Egg-white wallpaper with light brown vertical stripes peeled away from the walls and an assortment of trash ranging from candy wrappers to Styrofoam cups littered the obnoxious pine-green carpets, parting gifts from whomever lived here last. Aside from a flower vase containing a single daffodil atop an upturned milk crate, there were no decorations of any kind, not even a painting or a clock. The smell of dust, burnt coffee beans and rotten fruit permeated the air.

Sombra shook his head. Why was he getting all bent out of shape over one mutt? He didn't even like dogs! Especially loud, smelly, inexplicably cute dogs that possessed an endearing innocence about them. Was it because it was one of the few things to not fear him? If so, then something must seriously be wrong with Sombra if he couldn't even scare one miserable little back-alley mongrel.

He sat up and took a disparaging glance around his abysmal domicile, the emptiness of it making the apartment look much larger than it actually was. Purple smoke writhed like living serpents from Sombra's eyes. Disregarding any fears of being reprimanded, he leapt off of the bed and with a roar, blasted the small plastic table in the dining area into the kitchenette. He turned his attention to the vase, telekinetically shattering it and then torching the daffodil, reducing it to ash. Drawing in heavy breaths, Sombra inhaled through his nostrils and slumped to the floor.

Oh, Sombra knew why letting go of the mutt-Sir-Licks-A-Lot-bothered him like it did, why he just went ballistic on his residence's interior. The truth was...he was lonely. And perhaps, in some twisted way, he believed that he deserved it. In his path for vengeance, Sombra had hurt innocent ponies, those he'd cared about and even some who he didn't even know but unjustly punished for the transgressions of others. He was no fool; he could never wash away the stains of what he'd done but maybe this isolated existence would somehow aid in atoning for it, even if it kept the ones he loved at arm's length.

Cadence....Twilight...

It was possible that they were better off without him.

A hum from his horn snapped Sombra out of his self-pitying state.

"What..what is-...?"

He looked to the carpet in front of his bed and watched as a series of crackling blue streaks raced across it, slowly forming a glowing magic circle:

Sombra raised a hoof, only to find that it was being sucked away in a streak of blackness towards the circle. He tried to flee, only for the rest of his body to follow suit, contorting into a mass of mist-like shadows. Before he could even let out a yell, he was fully yanked into the circle and through an inky dark void. Racing through the void like a bolt of lightning, he was propelled into a pinprick of light and was smacked with a sudden explosion of blinding luminescence.

~*~

The sextet stood anxiously in the center of Zecora's hut, feeling safe amidst the various herbs, remedies and spices that the zebra had collected over the years. Once Spike had retrieved the medallion, fumbling with it until Applejack elected to carry it, they headed off to the Everfree Forest in order to seek aid from the one who gave it to Twilight in the first place. Zecora was only too happy to lend a hoof upon hearing of their plight, feeling just as anxious as they were once they explained everything to her. Clearing away a sizable spot on the dirt floor, she carefully placed the medallion down and took a few steps back.

"So ya can make this thing work now?" Applejack inquired.

Zecora shook her head. "My means would bring about only harm, for it takes unicorn's magic to fuel the charm."

"Right. Rarity, could ya...?"

A drawn out snore emanated from the old mare's throat, followed by a sleepy mumble. Rolling her eyes, Applejack nudged Rarity, causing her to startle awake.

"The Peanut Butter Wizard did it!" Reassessing her surroundings, Rarity tittered nervously. "Sorry everypony, I didn't mean to take a nap. Turns out being old is quite exhausting."

"It's okay, Rarity," Spike smiled at her. "We just need you to fill the medallion with magic."

"I still think we're making a huge mistake."

Applejack glared at Rainbow. "Do ya got any better ideas?"

The pegasus' mouth quickly slammed shut and she instead redirected her attention to the filly strapped to her chest.

"Well, I'll see what I can do." Rising to her hooves with Zecora's help, Rarity peered at the medallion situated on the dirt floor. "Right, here goes nothing." She grunted as little blue sparks fizzled and popped around her horn. Fighting through the sudden onset of exhaustion, she managed to direct a thin ray of light into the medallion, the symbols upon its surface burning a bright blue.

A whooshing blast of energy shot from the medallion and a swirling tornado of darkness erupted from its center, forming into a black cloud. A set of hooves formed from the cloud's bottom, which began slowly receding to reveal a large, dark gray stallion, his muscular frame wrapped in a ragged black cloak. He drew his head back and the cloud vanished into his dark mane as the stallion's eyes shot open to reveal brilliant and dark scarlet pupils. Sombra quickly spotted the group and scowled, his dark red horn blazing with a black, violet and green aura. Purple smoke poured from his eyes.

"What is this? What am I doing here?"

Applejack stepped forward. "Now hold on there, pardner. We just want ta talk ta ya."

The aura and smoke vanished, a look of confusion appearing on Sombra's face. "Applejack?"

"Eeyup. We're inna bit of uh jam an' we need yer help."

"I'll have to pass."

"Please Darling, we have nopony else to turn to."

Sombra cocked a brow. "Rarity? I have to say, you've become quite unattractive."

"I BEG YOUR PARDON?!"

Spike held back the flailing mare. "Please Sombra, it's about Twilight!"

Looking Spike up and down, Sombra shelved his question for later. "What about her? Did something happen?!"

They each took turns telling him the story, explaining Twilight's recent behavior, the party planned to cheer her up, her conversion into Midnight Sparkle and their own embarrassing fates. Throughout it all, he remained silent, even when Pinkie veered off into a non sequitur about finding the elusive thirty-second flavor of ice cream. At the story's finale, Sombra nodded thoughtfully, digesting the information calmly though his eyes betrayed the worry that he felt.

"With the tale at it's end, will you offer aid to saving their friend?" Zecora asked.

"Yes...but on one condition."

"Name it," Applejack pressed.

"You must promise to allow me my freedom once this is all done. I walk away and you don't try to stop me."

Rainbow shot up in her seat. "What?! We can't promise something like-..."

"Done."

Rarity gave Sombra the stink eye but remained where she was. "Do you know what this is that we're dealing with?"

"Indeed I do. It's what's known as an eidolon."

"Aha, I knew it." Pinkie donned a deerstalker hat and puffed on a pipe, a series of bubbles floating up from the bowl. "What's an eye-do-lin?"

Sombra folded his hooves together. "It's the most dangerous type of spirit in existence. Sometimes when a pony dies, they leave behind a kind of echo of consciousness, which is where ghosts come from. An eidolon, however, is far worse as it is a culmination of that pony's anger and hatred. As it lacks a solid form, it acts as a parasite, attaching itself to a living host and feeding off of their worst emotions: fear, envy, rage, et cetera."

"So this thing is what made Twilight so moody?" For once, Rainbow addressed the stallion without any kind of an attitude.

"Partially. In order to keep up a consistent food source, the eidolon takes what is already there and fuels it. If, for example, a pony has a quick temper, the eidolon will create strife so that the host will become more agitated. This is why they are so feared and why we've got to free Twilight from it's grip as soon as possible."

"You sure know a lot about these things."

Sombra turned to Spike, his expression somewhat haunted. "Let's just say that I've had my own dealings with them." It was clear that he wasn't going to say more on the matter so Spike didn't push the issue.

"If what you say is true," Zecora intoned worriedly. "Then dear Twilight must've had a serious issue or two."

A heavy sigh escaped Sombra's lips. "I am partially to blame. I thought that If I stayed away and kept our correspondence to a minimum, then she'd be safe. But I was wrong." He stood up and held his head high. "Everyone, I swear to you that Twilight will be freed of this monster."

Applejack nodded and grinned. "Then let's get started."

Comments

[Viper Pit]

Damn

[TundraicMagnus]

10351043
Damn indeed.