Chapter 11: Of Hope and Of Fear
Chapter 11
Of Hope and Of Fear
“No...” Flurry muttered to herself as she looked at the ominous figure before her. She knew without a doubt that this was the one that the Crystal Ponies had mentioned during her conversations with them.
~“It seems my reputation has been lost to time. But I suppose that could not be helped with the fragile little minds of your kind.”~ Stated the Umbrum condescendingly as she made her way up the stairs of the altar.
“I know who you are.” Stated Flurry Heart with conviction as she stood firm.
“You’re the one that manipulated our Crystal Ponies and led them to the cold north. You tore the pages out of the Book of Grogar’s Order. You’re a Monster.”
The Shadow Pony raised a brow as if seeming impressed, ~“It appears somepony discovered the truth. Albeit far too late to make a difference. My plan has already been enacted thanks to my dear disciple. Isn’t that right, Sombra?”~
Flurry glared at the female Umbrum with disdain while pondering the new revelation. She then glanced at her husband with disappointment, “You lied to me Sombra. You told me you’d never heard of Omni.”
The Dark Unicorn looked ashamed as he shook his head, “I did not know she was Omni. I only knew her as Madam Umbara.”
Once again, Sombra looked and seemed innocent, but after the new events, Flurry was unlikely to trust his word.
~“You should not blame Sombra, for he was only following his Mother’s orders.”~
“Mother!? But that means-”
~“Yes. Sombra is my son. And now that you both are bound, by extension I am your stepmother.”~ The Dark Pony interrupted with a snide grin which rivaled that of her son.
This only served to rile Flurry more. But before she could take another step forward, several hooves held her in place. “You are no family to us, Countess Omni, nor are you welcomed here!” Stated Cadence as she stood strong.
The Umbrum did not take this lightly, as her eye twitch indicated. She lit up her crimson curved horn with corrupting dark magic as she spoke, ~“On the contrary, I am right where I belong. This is my domain, and I will not share it with the likes of weak, pathetic Ponies!”~
The Female Umbrum then shot a destructive blast of dark magic directly at the family of Royals only for each of them to dodge and avoid it. However, Flurry realized too late that they had not been the targets of this beam. After making contact with the Crystal Heart behind them, the sacred object shattered into thousands of shards that now littered the altar.
The Umbrum grinned maliciously as she looked up at the sky which rapidly shifted from a beautiful summer day to a bleak overcast. She then looked back down to the Ponies before her who were still trying to process what was happening. A sadistic smile crept across her face as she laughed loudly.
Without wasting another moment, the Elements of Harmony each nodded to one another and prepared to use their magic of friendship on the new foe. However, before they could act, the Umbrum vanished into a cloud and manifested herself back on the balcony from which she’d originated. As Countess Omni stared down at the crowd of frightened Ponies, she glanced back up to the sky which grew more depressing with each second.
~RISE MY KIN! RISE AND FEED OFF THE FEARS OF THOSE LESSER! RISE AND RETAKE OUR LAND!”~ She shouted with a tone so strong it echoed through the sky.
Within moments, a group of other shadow-like clouds emanated from the Crystal Castle and landed in the street of the Empire. Ponies from the crowd began to panic as what seemed like an army of Shadow Ponies appeared before their eyes. Each creature was slightly different in appearance, but most shared a similar color of mane and coat along with a pair of vampiric fangs. Unlike Countess Omni or Sombra, however, their manes did not wave like a curtain, and were rather disheveled and unkempt.
As the crowd began to scatter, the Shadow Ponies pursued them and began to cast evil enchantments to feed off their fears. Shining Armor and Cadence quickly ran into the crowd and called upon the Equestrian Guard to combat the threat. The Elements of Harmony along with Discord and the two former Princesses joined in as well to help in the fight, but as the numbers of Shadow Ponies grew, the odds became even more lopsided.
Flurry, however, remained glued in position as her brain raced with negative thoughts. Things had gone from bad to worse so quickly that she could not even think properly. She stared down at the crumpled shards of the former Crystal Heart with fear as she deduced what would happen shortly as a result. The cold tundra of the north would overtake the Crystal Empire for good.
The young Alicorn placed a hoof on her terror ridden face as she stated, “How could you do this Sombra?”
The Umbrum looked away in shame and finally replied, “I had no choice.”
“There’s always a choice! I chose to give you a chance! I stuck by you and believed in you!” She retorted with anger now riddling her tone.
“You would never understand. It is not so simple-”
~“Don’t sell yourself short Sombra, you did splendid.”~ Interrupted the voice of Sombra’s mother from behind.
Flurry looked forward and hissed, “Stop this madness Omni! Tell your followers they are not welcome in the Crystal Empire!”
The Umbrum looked unfazed by this threat, ~“And what will you do to stop me? Without the power of the Crystal Heart, you are nothing.”~
Flurry then ignited the Alicorn magic in her horn as she prepared to face the arrogant monster. But before she could, Sombra stepped in front. The young royal growled, “Get out of my way Sombra.”
The Umbrum shook his head and looked to his side, “She is right Madam Umbara, call off our kin.”
Flurry’s face lit up with shock once more after hearing these words. Countess Omni, however, was less than thrilled with this defiance from her son. ~“Your compassion for these Ponies is making you weak Sombra. This is my final warning to you. Join me, or suffer the same fate as these pitiful Ponies.”~
Sombra glanced back to his now wife with what looked to be regret. He shook his head once more before turning around to face his Mother. “No. I am done with your orders. You will not control me anymore.”
Countess Omni’s eyes began to emit a dark magical aura as she scowled, ~“So be it.”~
Without warning, the Countess fired off a destructive blast of dark magic directly at her son. Sombra was familiar with this type of energy and managed to absorb the blast effortlessly with his horn. “Go, protect our Ponies. I will deal with Madam Umbara.”
Flurry looked at Sombra in stupor as she came to grips with what he was doing. Before she could think any further, he shouted once more, “Go!”
Needing no further encouragement, the Alicorn spread her wings and flew off as quick as she could. Her wedding dress made flying difficult, however, Flurry did not care. Her only priority was to keep her Ponies safe and ward off the Shadow creatures that were terrorizing the Empire. As she looked overhead, she could see the royal guards fighting with many Umbrums in a great struggle. But although many Ponies held their own, a great number of Shadow Ponies were feeding off the fears of the weak. Flurry could not allow this, and after descending into the courtyard, she used her strong Alicorn magic to blast away many of the Shadow Ponies.
While fighting the masses of enemies, Flurry noticed the sky overhead continue to darken as the air grew colder. With the tundra quickly encroaching, the Shadow Ponies would soon be the least of their concerns. As she looked around, she noticed Celestia and Luna attempting to free many of the Crystal Ponies from the enchantments of the Umbrums.
“Aunt Celestia! Aunt Luna!” She called out while flying their way.
After meeting up with her mentors, Flurry helped the two sisters to stave off some more shadow creatures.
“Flurry Heart! There are too many of them! We must get the citizens to safety!” Stated the former Princess of the Sun as she multi-tasked.
“There won’t be anywhere safe unless we can keep cold tundra away! I need you two to keep the clouds from engulfing the Empire! My parents and the Elements can help to get the Crystal Ponies to shelter!” Flurry stated confidently.
The sisters exchanged a brief glance before nodding, “We’ll do our best, Queen Flurry Heart.”
With that, the Alicorn twins rushed off to repel the encroaching clouds. Flurry then turned her attention to a large commotion in the main square of the Empire. She could see an intense battle ensuing between the Equestrian Royal guard and a large number of Umbrum. Not hesitating in the slightest, the young Alicorn rushed off to aid in the fight.
While Queen Flurry Heart protected her subjects, however, King Sombra remained in a fierce dual with his Mother. Using his strong dark magics, Sombra raised a series of jagged black crystals out of the ground in an attempt to trap Madam Umbara. However, after having been trapped in her son’s psyche for over a thousand years, Countess Omni was easily able to anticipate all of Sombra’s typical offensive techniques.
After avoiding each crystal-like stalagmite, the Umbrum Witch used her horn to shoot beams of destructive energy that seemed reminiscent of the power of Grogar’s bell. Sombra avoided each beam by using his shadow form to evade the destructive energy. After successfully dodging each attack, Sombra manifested himself hack in his physical form and raised himself up using a large black crystal as a platform. As he rose from the ground he fired off a salvo of dark magical spells, however, these didn’t so much as faze Madam Umbara who simply absorbed the attacks without a flinch.
~“Do you truly believe you can defeat me, my son? Even at your peak, your powers pale in comparison to mine.”~ Countess Omni taunted with a Patronizing grin as she stared up at her son.
Sombra looked unamused as he halted his ascent, “You talk to much.”
The Countess merely scoffed before calling upon a mass of dark energy which she used to blast the platform Sombra was standing on. Sombra teleported to the ground and summoned a strong black sword which he held with his magic. As he dashed forward, Madam Umbara sent off multiple stray blasts of energy. Sombra used his sword to expertly cut through each blast before attempting to slash his target. The sword, however, passed directly through Countess Omni without dealing any damage.
After having failed in his attempt, the Countess sent a pulse of ominous energy around her entire being which engulfed Sombra and trapped him in a web-like crystal structure. The Umbrum King growled in frustration before shifting into his shadow form to escape. Once outside of the trap, Sombra attempted to use his most powerful attack and transformed himself into a massive shadow-like form. He then attempted to engulf Countess Omni entirely and subject her to her fears.
This move, however, proved fruitless as the Umbrum Witch laughed wickedly, ~“You dare use my own spells against me? You are a disappointment!”~
Not a moment after, Sombra was blasted back into his physical form and held in place by the Countess’ dark energy. Sombra looked ready to retaliate before he felt a sharp stinging pain surging throughout his entire being. Bolts of poisonous purple and green energy pierced his body and began to create cracks in his form. Sombra yelled in a raspy tone with agony as the pain reminded him of his first exposures to the power of the Crystal Heart when he was a colt.
As her son suffered from the devastating spell, Madam Umbara looked on with satisfaction, ~“You are unworthy of my powers, Sombra. You are unworthy of our kin’s legacy. You are unworthy of being a King!”~ She shouted before amplifying her already destructive spell.
While Flurry attempted to get many of the Crystal Ponies and other guests of the wedding to safety, she saw the ensuing battle between Sombra and Omni in the corner of her eye. She had been stunned to see Sombra standing up to his own Mother, and even more stunned to see Sombra stand up for the Crystal Ponies. However, the young Alicorn could tell that Sombra was clearly outmatched by the Umbrum Witch.
It was then that she heard the sound echo throughout the empire. Sombra’s shouts of agony as his physical form was being shattered like the shell of a turtle. After fighting off yet another Umbrum warrior, Flurry looked to the origin of the shouts only to see a barbaric spell tearing her Husband’s being apart with each passing second. As if acting on instinct, Flurry Heart flew as fast as she could over to the battle.
~“I told you nopony would stand in my way, Sombra. You were foolish to think you could stop me. Now I have no other choice than to destroy you for your disobedience. And as for your naive wife, I have saved a very special spell for her.”~ Madam Umbara explained as she walked around her son’s rapidly deteriorating body.
Upon hearing these words, Sombra used what little strength he could muster to open his eyes. Recent memories flashed before him as he remembered the time he’d spent in the Empire. As the pain began to drown out, Sombra remembered the words Flurry Heart had spoken recently, ‘There’s always a choice! I chose to give you a chance! I stuck by you and believed in you!’
She believed in him, and he’d betrayed her. Sombra had never intended for things to go this way. He’d only wanted to fulfill his purpose and free his kin from their imprisonment, however, he could now see that it had never been his purpose all along. It was his cruel Mother’s wish. As he closed his eyes, Sombra felt a sensation that he hadn’t since he was but a colt; a teardrop. His efforts to revitalize his kin had only doomed the one that he now knew he cared about just like they had over a millennia ago. On that thought, the Umbrum King accepted his fate knowing he had failed for the last time.
…
A bright light shone throughout the grounds as a tremendously powerful blast of energy hit Countess Omni. The unsuspecting Umbrum Witch was sent directly into a hard wall of the Crystal Castle and slightly cracked the stone upon impact. Umbara’s connection with her destructive spell had been severed as Sombra fell to the ground in a very weakened state.
The Shadow Pony huffed in anger as she glanced up to the young Alicorn who had cast the powerful spell. Flurry Heart had landed and stood defensively in front of her diminished husband with a determined expression. “Stay away from him.” The young royal stated with conviction.
After regaining her footing, Countess Omni slowly approached the two with a menacing dark magical aura exuding from her entire being, ~“You would defend Sombra after everything he has done to you? To your Ponies? To the Crystal Empire? Such misplaced faith.”~ Madam Umbara stated with a conniving grin.
Flurry Heart sneered before finally putting all the pieces together. Countess Omni was likely the root cause for all of Sombra’s tyrannical actions. “My faith is not misplaced. I just know who my true enemy is.” She strongly replied as she prepared to use the magic in her Alicorn horn once more.
Countess Omni’s grin remained, ~“I admire your confidence, Alicorn. But as I told you earlier, without the powers of the Crystal Heart you are outmatched.”~
Without warning, the Umbrum Witch raised her two front hooves and slammed them into the ground with incredible force causing a seismic crack within the earth below. The crack rapidly approached Flurry Heart before she took flight and narrowly avoided a group of razor sharp black crystal spikes that erupted from the cracks. The Alicorn then retaliated by shooting a barrage of magical beams towards the Countess.
Madam Umbara teleported in quick succession to dodge each beam, but some managed to graze her dark hide. After Waiting for an opening, the Umbrum absorbed the final beam and shifted into her shadow form before trying to engulf the Alicorn in darkness. Flurry Heart quickly cast a strong protection spell around herself and expanded the magical shield outwards to repel Countess Omni’s dark presence.
The Umbrum’s dark aura struck Flurry Heart’s shield like a large wave on a boat or a powerful gust of wind on a brittle house. Though the Princess’ protection spell was strong thanks to her father’s teachings, it would not protect her forever. After a few more seconds of bombardment, Flurry teleported out of danger and attempted to trap Countess Omni in a containment spell. An orb of magic energy surrounded the Umbrum Witch who had returned to her physical form. Umbara seemed impressed with this showing from the Alicorn who she’d clearly underestimated thus far.
Nonetheless, the Umbrum was not finished yet. After summoning a mass of evil dark energy, the Shadow Pony Queen charged to the barrier of the spell and cracked the enchantment open using the tip of her curved horn. Flurry Heart now looked worried as she had used many of her strongest abilities to little success. Umbara, on the other hoof, looked as though she was only beginning to showcase her powers.
After staring at one another for a few moments, Countess Omni transformed into a large black cloud with only the image of her nightmarish green, purple, and crimson eyes at the center. In just a second, she split the cloud into a dozen identical copies of her physical form. Flurry had seen spells of illusion before thanks to Discord, but this time she truly had to keep her guard up as any of these images could be the real Omni.
As she stood her ground, Flurry used her magic to summon her Equestrian sword. After closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she shot forward using her strong wings to propel her through the air like an arrow shot from a crossbow. The Alicorn cut down Countess Omni’s illusions one after the other with expert precision making each image disappear after a hit. After defeating 5 of the figures, the Umbrum launched an attack with each illusion taking a different position while firing off beams of destructive energy the Alicorn’s way.
As the battle above raged on, Sombra managed to regain consciousness after his near fatal experience. The Umbrum King glanced up to see his wife locked in combat with his cruel mother. He was impressed to see Flurry Heart holding her own, but after hearing his Mother’s final words to him, he worried Madam Umbara was hiding a devious scheme. Sombra attempted to regain his footing, but try as he may he could not muster the strength needed.
Flurry Heart had defeated nearly all of Countess Omni’s illusions, but remained focused as she knew the real one had yet to reveal itself. She blocked an attack from the 10th figure and quickly retaliated with a vertical swipe which made the image vanish. There were only several more figures, however, while she’d been focused defending herself, she hadn’t noticed one of the figures was missing. The Alicorn then dodged a spell from the last figure before stabbing her sword into the image making it disappear like the others. She then scanned for the last target before sensing an object quickly approaching. By instinct, the Alicorn flew upwards and avoided a massive black crystal spike that grazed her wedding dress.
After looking down she could see the final figure of Madam Umbara staring at her with an unamused expression. Flurry caught her breath and immediately launched a powerful horizontal strike on her opponent. Countess Omni was prepared for this attack, however, and raised another black spike to block the blow. Only once Flurry’s sword made contact, the crystal changed form and engulfed the weapon in its mass. Flurry attempted to pull the sword out before the Umbrum Witch shot a destructive beam her way.
The Alicorn abandoned her weapon and teleported to safety. The young Royal’s heart was beating very quickly. She’d been in life threatening battles before, but never any this intense, nor without help. Flurry had not yet reached her limit, but she knew it was not far. Regardless, she could not give up. The lives of her Ponies, her Family, and of Equestria depended on her.
While catching her breath once more, the Alicorn could see steam exuding from her breath which indicated the temperature of the empire had drastically fallen. Flurry briefly looked up to see the two Alicorn sisters still attempting to keep the encroaching clouds at bay but to little success as the tundra’s escalation was too quick to be contained.
Countess Omni noticed her opponent’s unease and smiled proudly, ~“You may as well take it in. For this may be the last time you see the Crystal Empire and the rest of your pitiful Ponies.”~
Flurry eyed the Umbrum with revulsion, “As long as I’m alive you will not take over the Crystal Empire or my Ponies.”
Umbara’s smile remained, ~“We shall see.”~
The Umbrum Witch then ignited her dark magical aura but with intensity Flurry Heart had not yet seen. Madam Umbara roared like a Manticore as she transformed into a colossal shadow figure that towered above all others. Most of her defining physical traits had been lost and all that remained was her devilish eyes and her sharp red curved horn. The figure then began to expand a cloud of darkness that surrounded Flurry Heart.
The Alicorn ignited her own magic and stood her ground while firing strong blasts of energy to repel the darkness. This was a losing battle, however as the cloud regenerated with every blow and only continued to grow with each second. Flurry did not know how to stop the Countess as all her offensive techniques had all but failed until now.
While defending herself against the shadow, the young royal glanced around to see her friends and family also struggling against the superior numbers of the Umbrum army. Shadow Ponies managed to overpower many of the Crystal Guards and cast enchantments on them to feed off the Ponies fears. She could hear the shouts and screams of agony and terror from her subjects as they slowly succumbed to the overwhelming might of the Monsters.
Teardrops seeped down from the former Princess’ cheeks as she watched the tragedy unfold before her all the while being powerless to stop it. As Madam Umbara’s cloud of Shadow grew larger Flurry could no longer repel the force, in a last attempt she cast a powerful protection spell around herself. Her field of view grew darker and darker until only a black void remained. The sounds of her friends and family faded, but one thing that remained was the chilling cold.
The Alicorn opened her eyes and looked around. Nothing. Flurry could not see a single definable detail. The young royal took a step forward but did not even feel her hoof make contact with solid ground. It was almost as though she were levitating like the Lord of Chaos himself. ‘Where am I?’ She thought while scanning around.
The young royal was then exposed to a sickly laugh that echoed through the void with an ominous tone. Her eyes darted from direction to direction trying to pinpoint the exact origin, but she could not see anything. Not a moment later, however, the laughing stopped.
~“How strange.”~ Stated the voice virtually right next to her.
Flurry’s fur perked up as she quickly turned around to see the image of the Umbrum Witch’s two glowing purple and green eyes. As she backed up, the eyes followed her steadily. ~“Normally I would have begun to feed on your fears. However, it seems they have been hidden from your psyche.”~
The Alicorn did not understand what this meant. She was about to respond before the voice continued, ~“But no matter. This curse shall keep you contained long enough.”~
Flurry watched as the pair of eyes began to vanish. She then ran after the image before summoning her magic and shooting a powerful beam of energy its way. “Why are you doing this!?” She asked with a commanding tone.
The pair of eyes then returned for a moment before transforming into the full image of the Umbrum Witch, ~“I believe that question answers itself. I am a Monster. And being a Monster gives me life.”~
Flurry sneered as she attempted to blast the Countess with another bolt of energy. However, the attack did no damage and simply passed directly through Madam Umbara as if she were an apparition. The Umbrum looked to the spot where the energy had passed through her and looked back to the Alicorn with a devilish grin, ~“I have also spent a millennia trapped in a half form due to your nasty Pony magic.”~
Umbara then retaliated with a blast of energy of her own. The bolt connected with Flurry Heart and sent her falling to the floor with a shout of pain as the dark magic stung like venom. The Umbrum’s wicked smile remained as she followed up with another concussive magic attack that harmed the Alicorn. Flurry Heart could not defend herself against Countess Omni’s overwhelming power, nor could she call for help in such a place.
Before the Umbrum Witch could cast another dark spell, however, her blast was intercepted by another. Omni glanced to her side and was surprised to see Sombra. Her son looked fatigued as he panted to catch his breath. The Countess rolled her eyes, ~“You never learn, do you?”~
Sombra shook his head while still breathing heavily, “You of all should know that I’m all kinds of stubborn.”
Omni sighed with a solemn expression. Without warning, she then shot a beam of energy which clashed with one of Sombra’s own. The exchange released many sparks that lit up the void around them. Flurry looked up at the battle while still on the ground, having been weakened by the Countess’ attacks.
‘I am sorry Flurry Heart. This is all my doing.’ A voice spoke within the Alicorn’s head. Flurry looked around sporadically trying to find out where the vocals had come from.
‘It is me. Sombra. I can communicate with you telepathically in this realm. But I do not have long.’ The voice stated. Flurry looked over to see Sombra still in an intense battle with his evil mother.
‘How do we stop her Sombra? Without the Crystal Heart-’
‘You do not need the Crystal Heart. You just need to believe.’ Sombra interrupted as he exchanged a brief determined glance her way before resuming his focus on his opponent.
‘Believe? Believe in what?’ She asked with a worried look.
There was a pause as Sombra once again looked her way, ‘Believe in yourself, Flurry Heart. From the first day you confronted me, I saw in you what you are truly capable of. You reminded me of-’
Sombra’s time, however, had run out as his Mother’s beam overpowered his own and struck him with great force. Flurry Heart watched as her husband fell to the floor and looked back to the Umbrum Witch, “Stop it!” Flurry shouted in desperation.
Madam Umbara looked Flurry’s way with a sadistic look, ~“Oh I think not, Alicorn. Your magic may be powerful, but it lacks purpose. And therefor you cannot defeat me.”~
Flurry Heart watched as Countess Omni ignited the magic in her curved crimson horn and placed her hoof on Sombra’s face, holding him in place as she prepared to end him once and for all. ~“You are not a Princess of Love, nor are you a Princess of Friendship. So tell me, Alicorn. What are you a Princess of?”~
Flurry Heart finally managed to find her footing before glancing down at Sombra. With his eyes closed, he seemed as though he had submitted fully, but as she looked up to his horn, she noticed same ring she had gifted him many moments ago. A word then flashed through her mind as she contemplated Countess Omni’s question.
“Hope.” She stated as she looked directly at her opponent.
The Countess raised a brow, “What?”
“I am the Princess of Hope.” The Alicorn stated as she continued to stare at the confused Umbrum.
Flurry Heart then took a step forward showing no fear to her opponent who until now had yet to be challenged by her. Madam Umbara scowled and turned her focus on the Alicorn approaching her, ~“What is hope, but a vague promise and a lie!”~
Flurry Heart shook her head and closed her eyes briefly, “You’re wrong, Omni.”
The Alicorn opened her eyes once more and looked back at her opponent, only she could now also see the world around her again as opposed to the infinite void. The Crystal Empire had now been coated in a layer of cold snow and ice as the clouds had nearly entirely engulfed the sky above. The shadow creatures had overwhelmed many of the Crystal Ponies.
As Flurry Heart glanced down, she noticed that she was standing before the broken shards of the Crystal Heart. “Hope is what brings us Ponies together.” She answered simply as she levitated up the fragments of the shattered object.
It was then that the fragments began to glow an iridescent white as they magically circled around the princess as though they had a mind of their own. Madam Umbara watched in bewilderment as the shards rotated around the Alicorn resembling a whirlwind. After gaining a substantial amount of speed, the fragments then amassed directly above Flurry Heart’s horn.
The Alicorn then summoned her own magic which then merged with the shards and transformed them into a liquid energy-like substance that then coated Flurry heart’s entire body. As Countess Omni watched on, she let her hoof off Sombra’s face, allowing him to also glance over at his wife’s transformation.
Flurry Heart’s cutie mark began to shine through the energy coating and physically changed as well. While it had previously only depicted the Crystal Heart itself, it had now evolved to have a golden Caduceus merged with the Heart. Sombra’s eyes lit up as he immediately recognized this familiar mark. ‘I knew it.’ The Umbrum thought to himself as he witnessed Flurry Heart’s change enfold.
The energy surrounding the Alicorn began to warm and even melt the snow around her as Flurry Heart continued to change. Countess Omni snarled and shot a devastating beam of her magic towards the Alicorn who was paying her no mind. Instead of destroying Flurry Heart, however, the blast was completely absorbed as though the energy coating her was an impenetrable barrier.
The Umbrum Witch’s stared in shock as she hadn’t expected this. ~“No. That’s impossible!”~
At this point, many of the other Shadow Creatures who had been focused on the Crystal Ponies now turned their attention to the Alicorn. Their normally cunning and cold leader now looked perturbed as she witnessed the spectacle before her.
The energy layer around Flurry Heart had now merged completely with the Alicorn’s body and had fully revealed her new form. The Princess’ stature had grown a few inches as had the length of her already large wings. Her mane and tail now naturally waved in the wind like an unfastened sail resembling a beautiful sky blue and magenta waterfall.
The previously terrified Ponies also witnessed the spectacle as every shadow creature had released their holds on them.
“I don’t believe it.” Stated Luster Dawn as she gazed on in amazement of her friend’s incredible change.
Flurry Heart opened her eyes and looked at the perplexed Umbrum Witch with determination. Her new form radiated a virtuous aura that began to rapidly melt the snow around her. “It’s over Countess Omni. Leave the Crystal Empire and take your shadow creatures with you.” Flurry Heart ordered as she took several steps forward.
The Umbrum however, had no intention on obeying this command. ~“You may be different, Alicorn. But it still changes nothing. My power is absolute. FEAR IS ABSOLUTE!”~ She yelled as she ignited the vile aura in her eyes.
Flurry simply stared at Umbara, “My name is Flurry Heart. And your power means nothing to me.”
The Alicorn then conjured a powerful spell which sent a pulse throughout the entire Crystal Empire. The snow and ice that coated the streets, roofs, and gardens instantly melted just as the dreary clouds in the sky vanished. The Crystal Ponies watched in amazement as the Empire was terraformed in the blink of an eye by their Princess’ power.
Madam Umbara shook her head in disbelief, ~“How. How is this possible!? The Crystal Heart is gone!”~
At this point Flurry Heart looked behind her to see her subjects with a proud expression, “No. The Crystal heart lives on all of us. It was only ever a conduit. A conduit of hope.”
The Umbrum growled again and took a step forward. Her Shadow Pony subordinates did the same and surrounded Flurry Heart with looks of malice. ~“I don’t care what magic that cursed object has given you. You are no match for all of us. TAKE HER!”~ Ordered the cruel leader.
Without hesitation, all the shadow ponies converged on Flurry Heart while conjuring dark magic spells to overwhelm her. However, before they could hit their mark Flurry cast a protection spell around her whole body. Every attack deflected off the shield while dealing no damage. After a few seconds, the Alicorn expanded the shield which began pushing many of the shadow creatures back as they could not repel its power.
Once she’d overpowered the shadow creatures, the Princess stomped her front hooves which created a ripple of golden energy that quickly made its way to her Crystal Ponies and her friends. The spell coated everypony in a thin golden layer of energy that shone like a bright candle.
“Ponies of the Crystal Empire! We can defeat these monsters if we work together! Join me!” Flurry Heart commanded with a strong tone as she spread her wings and held her head high.
After seeing the looks of confidence and eagerness from her subjects, Flurry turned straight towards the horde of shadow creatures and charged forward with her wings. The Ponies of the empire followed her into battle with newfound bravery and clashed with the legion of Shadow Ponies head on. With their new protective barriers, they were immune to the dark magic attacks of the Umbrums rendering the monsters’ main advantage nearly useless.
The Ponies of the Empire used their physical abilities to great success with the Earth Ponies using their superior strength, Pegasi using their agility and flight, and Unicorns using their magical spells that had been amplified by their Princess’ powers. With every shadow creature defeated, Flurry cast a new spell to seal them away beneath the ground just as they had been for a millennia. The numbers of monsters began to dwindle with every second as more and more were sealed away by the Princess of Hope.
Madam Umbara watched as her warriors were defeated one after the other by the Alicorn. ~“I always have to do everything myself.”~ She muttered with malcontent.
As Flurry Heart dispatched opponent after opponent, she sensed a strong magic blast heading her way. After narrowly avoiding the shot, she glanced down only to see nopony. However, in the blink of an eye, a massive black crystal stalagmite erupted from the ground below and nearly impaled her. Flurry Heart looked to the top of the spiked object and noticed the pointed edge turn into the form of Countess Omni.
The Umbrum Witch did not waste a second before attacking the Princess with a series of deadly spells. With her newfound powers, Flurry Heart countered the spells with ones of her own which nullified the dark magic. After stopping many of her opponent’s attacks, Flurry managed to go on the offensive and clashed horns with Countess Omni. The Alicorn Princess used her wings to push the Umbrum forward while both their horns discharged sparks like the embers of a raging fire.
Although Umbara was losing ground, she was far from finished and had many devious tricks she’d yet to reveal. While pushing against the Alicorn’s force, a wicked smile crept along her face as she prepared to use the same spell that had contained Flurry Heart before. Just as she got ready to use her spell, however, a separate bolt of magic struck her from behind and broke her concentration, allowing Flurry Heart to overpower her.
After being thrown to the ground, Omni looked behind to see her son standing tall with the magic of his red horn at the ready. ~“Impudent child! How dare you!”~ She yelled as she glared at him with pure hatred.
“Your time has come, Madam Umbara. Submit, or be destroyed.” Sombra stated seriously.
Omni continued to stare at her son, ~“Your threats are empty as always Sombra. You cannot destroy me.”~
“You’re right. I can’t. But she can.” He then locked eyes with his wife as the two shared a nod.
Knowing her son was not bluffing, Madam Umbara quickly manifested a tremendous amount of energy in her red horn before unleashing the limit of her power. Uncontrollable sparks of purple and green electric-like energy flickered throughout her body and shot out to her shadow pony warriors before pulling them into her essence as though she were a magnet. Umbara’s form absorbed the power of every standing shadow Pony before growing to a massive size and towering over her enemies. Her body’s hide looked like the black crystal spikes from her spells while her mane resembled the smoke from a deadly fire. What little sanity she had was lost as her form reached its completion.
Flurry Heart looked to Sombra and the two nodded before the Alicorn addressed her subjects, “This is our moment everypony! We must stop Countess Omni now!”
Every Pony in the Empire bravely joined their Princess and stood firm as their enemy began to approach slowly. Flurry looked to her sides with pride as she saw how unified her Ponies were. Now was not the time to be distracted however, as she heard a menacing roar from the evil entity. After closing her eyes, the Alicorn Princess amassed a sphere of golden magical energy that swirled like a tornado.
The Ponies instinctively closed their eyes as well before a series of virtuous energy seeped out from their essence and found its way to Flurry Heart’s sphere. The round mass of energy continued to grow as everypony contributed until it was nearly the same size as the Umbrum’s form. Still in a raged state, Countess Omni blindly charged at the Ponies without any caution.
The sphere had now been imbued with the essence from every Pony in the Empire and Flurry could feel its incredible power. It was the power of hope. Of harmony. And of love. Flurry Heart used every ounce of strength she had to push the sphere forward toward her foe. Within moments, the sphere and its target collided, creating an unbelievable explosion of multicolred light that nearly blinded everypony. The Alicorn could hear a shout of agony from her opponent as Madam Umbara’s form began shatter to pieces and instantly disintegrate upon contact with the incredible power.
It took no more than a few seconds for the sphere to finally eliminate its target for good. At long last, the Empire was rid of Countess Omni and the Shadow Creatures.
With its foe now vanquished for good, the sphere dissolved into the air like evaporation after a long rain. Flurry Heart looked up at the bright sky as the last remnants of energy passed away. With a sigh of relief, she descended to the ground below and landed gracefully. Silence filled the area as everypony stared at the Princess with anticipation. After turning to see the speechless crowd, the Alicorn Princess managed a smile
“It’s over.” She stated simply.
In an instant, the crowd erupted with cheers and shouts of delight. The noise was even louder than Flurry Heart’s wedding not long prior. But regardless, she did not care. The Alicorn made no attempt to stop the tears swelling up in her eyes after feeling the solace knowing their struggle had ended. Before she could move a muscle, she heard her name called several times as her two parents came running to her side.
“Flurry! Sweetheart! You did it!” Cadence and Shining shouted over the crowd in unison as they impulsively embraced their daughter.
The Alicorn Princess returned the heartfelt hug, wrapping her large wings around the two. “We’re so proud of you Flurry. You were so brave and so strong.” Cadence complimented with pride.
The sentimental moment lasted fairly long as everypony knew just how much of an ordeal they had overcome. Cadence and Shining eventually released Flurry but could not take their eyes away from her amazing new form. “Your mane...” Shining stated with amazement as he pointed out his daughter’s ethereal hair that waved like a flag.
“What do you mean Dad? What’s wrong with my mane?” The Alicorn asked with worry. She could only hope that her mane had not been entirely ruined in the chaos of the battle.
“Nothing’s wrong sweetheart… It’s just...” Cadence trailed.
If Flurry had a mirror, she would be frantically checking it to see what her parents were talking about. “Flurry, you’ve ascended.” Shining stated with an unbreakable smile.
The Alicorn’s face lit up with shock at these words before another voice chimed in, “Congratulations, Queen Flurry Heart. You truly have earned your power.”
The white coated Alicorn turned to see her aunt Twilight also carrying a proud smile. To the Princess of Friendship’s sides were her faithful assistant Spike, and her prized student Luster Dawn. Seeing her friends safe once again brought tears to the Queen of Hope. Flurry Heart could not formulate any words to describe her feelings, however, seeing the looks of understanding on her friends and family, she did not even need them.
The indigo coated Alicorn then took a knee and lowered her head in honor, “Thank you. Your highness.” Twilight stated humbly as the two on her sides also took a knee in respect.
Flurry looked prepared to protest before the rest of the Ponies in the crowd quieted down and followed the Princess of Friendship in paying tribute to the new ruler of the Crystal Empire. In this moment of silence, Flurry Heart heard a single pair of hoof steps approaching her way. After looking toward the origin of the sound, Flurry noticed one sole figure that had remained standing. Her husband, Sombra, stood tall with a stoic expression as he looked her way.
Not a moment later, however, the Umbrum lowered his knee like the rest. His eyes remained fixed on the Alicorn as if studying her new form. “Long live the Queen.” He stated simply before lowering his chin in respect.
Flurry smiled warmly before slowly approaching her husband. Once only inches away from him, the Alicorn took her front hoof and lifted the Umbrum’s chin. Sombra opened his eyes to see his Wife’s face glancing down at him with a look of fondness. The Alicorn then lightly lifted his chin further, motioning for him to rise. Sombra did exactly that and now stood at eye level with his partner.
The air in the Empire was as silent as a library as the two rulers stared at one another. Flurry Heart’s blue eyes glistened in the bright sunlight as she peered into Sombra’s crimson ones. “And long live the King.” The Alicorn stated before leaning forward and pressing her lips against her husband’s.
Sombra did not protest at all and proceeded to engage in the heartfelt exchange. In this moment, he finally understood what he had seen in the young Alicorn that had attracted him to her. She was brave, selfless, and strong. All the same defining characteristics that his sole friend as a colt had shared. Hope may have been gone for thousands of years, but her essence, soul, and purpose had endured. They all lived on in Flurry Heart.
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My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
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Amazing chapter, can't wait for the epilogue. Please mention the kids of Flurry and Sombra!
11576425
Thanks! It's coming very soon!
I cant waittt. I just found this story and I already finished ittt. This was amazingg, especially when sombra being flirty and being protective with flurry. I always giggle when they kiss hehe. I quickly add this to my favourites
11586177
Thank you so much! I loved writing those scenes and I'm glad you enjoyed them! Last chapter is coming shortly!
Is the author Canadian?
11593628
Yours truly is most certainly Canadian! Drunk on maple syrup while writing MLP fanfiction!
What a spectacle! You've really outdone yourself! This entire saga was masterfully written! Good job, man, good job!
11668968
Thank you so much! I enjoyed every minute of it! I really hope you'll appreciate my next fanfic coming soon called "The Blood Doctor". It's gonna be a bit more violent and won't focus on canon characters but I will invest every bit of effort in it just as I did with this one. Cheers!