My Little Dream Becomes Reality

by Tilltheafterlife

Chapter 10: A Crystal War, Heart, and Stone

Author's Note:

Tired is all I have to say after typing all this stuff.

"Come on! Where is it?" Lyra panicked and rushed around the Golden Oak Library, searching high and low for the coke bottle. Wherever it was, it had to be here. Twilight could not have brought it in and magically dispose of it to nothing. Otherwise, she would've left with it in her hooves.

Lyra looked out the window, stopping herself from letting the cold snow and wind in. All of Ponyville with the exception of herself lined up in formation. She spotted them wearing a suit of armor meant for the cold winter. More importantly she spotted Twilight occupied by the disaster far away. This is perfect, so long as Twilight and the others remain there steadily, Lyra could search peacefully.

"Let's see here. I checked under the bed, the closets, the tables, the carpets, even outside of this library. Just where is it?" Lyra walked up and down the wooden staircase, thinking where Twilight could've possibly hidden it.

*Knock, knock*

Lyra's ears shot up, her heart pounding at the assumption of Twilight or some pony else who would snitch at the door. Jumping out of the window would only risk injury and get her caught with the intrusion anyways. She gulped, walking up to the door and unlocking it with a simple push of her hoof.

The door gradually creaked open, then suddenly the pony from the other side yanked the door open, revealing herself as the crazy gray pegasus, Lyra knew. "Helloooooo!" the pony excitedly greeted. "Can I come in?"

Lyra nodded. Those strange aligned yellow eyes never got old. "You're not going to tell them I'm here, right, Derpy?"

"Of course not. I'm with you, Lyra. I saw you looking by the window of this tree. And I told myself this is the perfect place to hide away from war."

"Uh huh." Lyra's horn lit up the room with a bright yellow as she hoovered the books off the shelves and onto the floor.

Derpy gazed at Lyra's actions. "Oh wow. You're tossing books to pass the time. That looks like fun!" Derpy trotted to the opposite side of the library, grabbed a red book with her hoof and paused to question Lyra. "Won't Twilight get mad at us?"

"We can reorganize the books after we're finished. Right now, I need to continue searching."

Derpy's eyes trailed off to another book. "Searching? For what?"

An imaginary light bulb popped above Lyra's head. A little extra help shouldn't hurt. "It's some kind of dark potion. Would you like to help me find it?"

Derpy smiled in stupidity, "sure!"

"Great! You search upstairs, while I continue to search here. If you see anything strange, tell me. Twilight is full of magical surprises, so her own home should be full of the same."

Derpy flapped her wings up the stairs and within a few minutes she already created havoc among the furniture and the other fragile things. Lyra, knowing the crazy mare, predicted such chaos would happen. If Twilight were to find out, she'd put the blame on Derpy to only be punished for trespassing.

The cyan unicorn took her precious time opening and closing each spell book she came across. Twilight's books were dreadfully boring to read, and too straight forward. The chances of finding clues were quite slim. At least Derpy was there to num the boredom with her hilarious distracting stupidity.

As she was about to give up on the search, she found one peculiar book on the shelf.
Lyra stared at the cover. Twas noting but a simple drawing, colored with simple and cheap colored pencils. The three main components of the cover she paid close attention to, was the male alicorn, the monster on top, and the...coke... bottle.

With a slight amount of unease, Lyra lifted the front cover to see the first page. "What? The author is Lyra Heartstrings? Why, that's me! I don't remember writing a book. Twilight is a real nerdy creep to write ponies names down in her books without consent."

With another flip to the next page the story began with chapter one. The book was the last thing Lyra didn't search. If there's no hint or indication to what she wants, then all of her hope will land on her friend, Derpy.

Lyra read the story aloud, "chapter one, an everyday life. In a large open field, there was a medium sized house. And in that house, lived a boy, who disliked society, Samuel. The alarm clock rang right next to Samuel, interrupting his sweet and glorious dream."

"Hey Lyra!" Derpy crashed down the stairs barging into a pile of books. Her eyes spined and wobbled, just as they always been doing after crashing into a mailbox.

Lyra sighed and closed the book. "Did you by any chance find anything?"

Derpy moved her head up and down rapidly, showing off what she protected in her wings and hooves before the crash. "Is this what you're looking for?" she held up a bottle shaped object.

Lyra's heart nearly stopped beating, "wh-what! H-how in the? Where did you? WHAT!"

"I don't know what happened. My tall guardian angel fell down from the sky and showed me the way I guess," Derpy explained.

"Your guardian angel? Really?" Lyra said in a questionable and annoyed tone.

"I believe so. She was so tall and pretty," Derpy described.

"Okay, well, however you found it. You found it and that's all that matters."

---

Twilight eased to the right, carefully passing the army of civilians and soldiers. The princesses were only inches away. And her overly smart brain screamed at her silently, begging the unicorn to find safety. She ignored it and continued forward, listening to her heart. 'No, I'm not leaving you, Cadance.' One last line of soldiers blocked her way. The line was quite tight and there was only a small gap between two stallions. "Ex-excuse me." Twilight nervously said to the white stallion twice her height. The stallion's eyes positioned themselves to the unicorn mare. He didn't even move his head to get a good look at his newcomer.

"Yea?!" the stallion asked intensely. The second stallion in front jumped at the sudden change of volume from behind. His face was now filled with annoyance as he kept his focus to King Sombra.

"W-well," Twilight found no way to remove her eyes away from the stallion. Those fearsome red pupils, and his muscles with veins sticking out, made it difficult to even say a word. Twilight imagined her face being bashed into the insides of her tiny skull by a single hit from the stallion. 'Just play it cool. He is pretty big but as long as I stay on his good side, I'll be fine.' Twilight took in a few breaths of air to calm her stress. "May I please pass by. I need to talk to the princesses."

The white stallion once again responded intensely with his eyes becoming unfocused, "sure!" Taking one step back, the gap between the two stallions was now wide enough for Twilight to squeeze through.

"Thank you," Twilight ducked down and crawled past the line of ponies. The stallion may have looked intimidating but was a teddy bear towards others. Her stress left her as she approached Cadance and the other two alicorn princesses. "Cadance!"

"That voice," Cadance swiftly moved her head away from Sombra; now having her utter focus on Twilight. Celestia and Luna kept their eyes glued to the dark king. "What are you doing here?! This is a bad place and time for a unicorn like you!"

Twilight's excited voice transformed into a depressing one. "I believe I recall being told I am anything but a regular old unicorn. What happened to that hmm?"

Cadance didn't like where there was going. Having her best unicorn mare, Twilight, throw herself into a fight with a risk of her very own life.

"Look, I know he's dangerous. But I'm not about to lose one of the most important ponies in my life! Don't you remember? You're the greatest foul sitter in all the history of foul sitters. I can't just leave you here!" Twilight's voice saddened even further. "...There're only a few ponies in the world that makes my life worth living. And one of them..."

A pair of pink hooves circled her neck, pulling down on her mane gently. "I'm guessing there's nothing I can say to stop you."

"Argh! Enough of this chitter chat. Ethier make your move, or I will make mine!" Sombra threatened.

Celestia focused her horn to absorb the strong heat of the sun, "is this really how you want to go out, Sombra? A war against three alicorns instead of two this time?"

Sombra laughed evilly, and as more ponies stood bravely before him and his crystal army, his laugh grew more wicked. "Ha! Three of you alicorns together outmatch me. Even so, I have a few tricks hidden within me."

"And that would be?" Luna questioned, believing Sombra turned into an absolute fool in thinking that they would fall for anything he says.

"The help and teachings I have received, Princess Luna. My help is FAR much greater than yours," Sombra gestured to the Ponyville civilians suited with gold armor and spears. Very few were giving the shadow king brave looks. "After a thousand years have passed, I expected there to be more than this. What foolish rulers have their subjects live in paradise, not preparing for any sort of disaster?"

Twilight jumped in front of the alicorn trio, cutting them off. "And what kind of dark monarch turns his subjects into puppets?"

Sombra slightly lowered his face downwards. "Hmm? Who might you be young one?"

"I'm Twilight Sparkle, Celestia's pupil. If you want Cadance so bad, then you'll get through me, and my _______." Twilight's head ached. The word. What was the word?

"Is everything alright Twilight?" Cadance held out her hoof in worry.

"I- uh, I'm fine. I'm just- missing something." Twilight's headache worsened. Her head temperature increased to the point where it felt like a fever. "You, Luna, Celestia, Spike, me, and my... my... my ☞︎☼︎✋︎☜︎☠︎👎︎💧︎." Twilight fainted.

"Twilight!" Cadance rushed to the unicorn, trying to wake her in panic. A shine of light and a great darkness demolished one another in front of the alicorn's view. Celestia and Luna created a magical barrier just in the nick of time before Sombra's attack could reach them.

"Take good care of Twilight," Celestia ordered.

"Sombra is ours," Luna butted in. "This certainly reminds of the days when younger, doesn't it sister."

Celestia smiled a tad, "indeed it does."

Sombra's eyes turned green, and he shouted in rage. "My crystal slaves! Attack!"

"Yes King Sombra," they all said in unison.

Celestia gave out the signal and with that, the civilians and guards galloped into a fight. The battlefield rumbled with violence and warfare. A few civilians fled from the sight, but the majority stayed to preserve their freedom and independence.

Cadance struggled to focus on Twilight due to the lack of peace. And the air and snow became colder, faster, and thicker.

Even if Sombra's army feared nothing, they lacked any sort of fighting spirit within them. The citizens of Ponyville on the other hoof, went ham against their crystal opponents. The earth ponies bucked and slammed into the mindless slaves like bulls, creating clanking sounds. The pegasi dove in like non exploding missiles, carrying supplies and materials while also pulling up the enemies into the air and dropping them into the sweet and comforting snow. And the unicorns used magic to throw the spears and to cast spells and stuff.

Bulk Biceps even took in consideration to use those tiny wings of his to carry his big self to the top of a cliff. There, on the cliff laid a boulder twice the size as him. With a single heavy swing with his hoof, the boulder went flying towards King Sombra. The king's reflexes were fast, as he created a wall of crystals to block the incoming attack. Fortunately, the boulder successfully demolished the wall, and Sombra had no choice but to take his eyes off the princesses and use his magic to destroy it.

As he awfully expected the princess unleashed a powerful attack while caught off guard. "You two will pay for that!"

Luna smirked, "put it on our royal tab."

Sombra got back up and brushed off the pain and snow on this back. "You know, the way you two work together, gets me to thinking." Sombra closed his eyes and ears to have full focus. "What if two sisters were to fight each other?" Sombra reopened his eyes and ears, now putting his focus on Celestia. The three princesses especially Celestia checked the surroundings for any hidden attacks or surprises. Unlike normal ponies, alicorns could sense when trouble is about to arrive. "If you think the three of you can outmatch me, then let me change that."

"There is nothing to change King-" Luna was interrupted by a hot blast of sun magic to her left side. She covered the burnt spot and hissed at the burning pain. She turned to her sister. "What is this meaning of this, Celestia?!"

Celestia glared at her younger sister. "I will not allow you to subdue Equestria into an eternal night, Nightmare Moon."

"Wh-what?!" Luna shockingly said in disbelief. Did her own older sister really just attack her and call her Nightmare Moon? "What are talking about, Celestia, sister. It's me Luna, not Nightmare Moon."

"Do not lie to me. You are no longer my sister. Only a monster!"

Luna backed away. "What! No! I am not the enemy! Tis King Sombra we should focus on!"

Sombra grinned at the successful spell of dark magic. Once Celestia chased her younger sister away from the battlefield, Sombra could now put all of his attention on one alicorn instead of three. "Well, that was quite unexpected. The overwrite spell as that foolish demon likes to call it, works!"

Cadance teleported Twilight away and stood up to face the king of shadows. "What did you do to Celestia?"

"Isn't it obvious? I overwritten her mind. Now, a spell such as that cannot be abused. There are apparently consequences in overusing the spell from what he said. I guess that demon is trustworthy after all. What was his name again? Ah, yes, Nightmare."

"Nightmare?" Cadance recognized the name from one of Sam's supposedly made-up campfire stories. She thought of it as a scary joke to entertain the three fillies, like saying things about the end of Equestria and the entire world, or that he's a legendary hero meant to became Equestria's guardian, which of course felt far-fetched. He even said it to be real.

"What's wrong princess? Having thoughts about kneeling down before your king? You have no chance of victory now. Your dear princesses, Celestia and Luna, will soon destroy one another," Sombra tried to make her feel hopeless, to avoid a fight.

"No, this isn't defeat. Look far beside you. Your slaves are at a loss," Cadance pointed to the last set of crystal slaves being tackled down by the Ponyville civilians. The civilians were left bruised and cut, but they resisted the pain and galloped to aid Cadance. "Now how will you deal against me, and an army."

Sombra's face filled with frustration. "Didn't I say I have a few tricks? A few and not one?"

Cadance ignored his words and glared at the king, waiting for reinforcements to arrive.

"You asked for it, princess," Sombra casted a spell to allow his mind to travel to a dark world, a place where the flow of time didn't exist. "Nightmare. I am in need of your assistance."

A triplite of three eyes greeted him in the pitch-black dimension. "What is it you need? I was in the middle of a battle."

"The overwrite spell isn't enough to achieve my victory. I need more power," Sombra begged.

"More power you say?" Nightmare took a minute to think things through. His fight against Discord and the queen of changelings hasn't been going smoothly. Every changeling he attempted to kill would be left alive due to their protective mother. And he couldn't even lay a scratch on Discord without being rushed by a wave of baked pies. "Guess I have no better option but to lend you, my power. Ethier way I will lose. I am better off accepting defeat than wasting effort."

"That is fair," Sombra stated. The darkness surrounding the king began fading. A pulse of obscure energy ran through Sombra's veins as his mind returned to the real world.

"Do not fail, or you'll share the same fate as every other being in this world, once the seal to my true power breaks," Nightmare finished. Returning to the real world as well.

Sombra's body had a few minor changes after absorbing the power Nightmare collected. First, his flowing dark mane and tail increased in size, the color of the very tip of his horn shifted from red to purple, and his skin cracked opened leaking out droplets of pure darkness. "Ah yes! The power!"

The civilians and soldiers heavily pushed the brakes on their hooves, each skidding across the snow to a halt. They shivered to the cold winter, and to the outburst of dark power. Sombra, now filled with power and rage, created a spirally crystal the height of a cliff to stand upon. He took in a huge breath and ROARED at the crowd. The sound waves entered the minds of the ponies, destroying the eardrums. Cadance fought off the sound with her magic. Unfortunately, she was the only pony able to resist the sound. Every pony else failed to fight it off and became Sombra's new and improved slaves.

"What have you done?!"

"What had to be done. I told you this time I would play dirty. Equestria belongs to me!" Sombra deliberately shouted.

"No, this can't be happening," Cadance hopelessly said. Darkness filled her with despair and sadness. Was this really a defeat? "No! This is only a nightmare!" Cadance slapped her own face repeatedly, believing she would black out and awaken in her bedroom.

"Oh, dear princess, I can assure you this is no nightmare. This is a living nightmare!" Sombra took control of the enslaved citizens. "All of you, take her down! I will deal with the other two princes- WHAT!?" Sombra glared at what appeared to be two alicorns and one pegasus gliding down peacefully from the sky. Celestia's rage disappeared, with her present memories back. The overwrite spell was now broken. This sudden change of events had Sombra enraged, "how!? That spell was supposed to last at least twelve hours!"

"That's because I broke it," the grey pegasus informed, holding up a small magical amulet with a happy smile that wasn't a smirk. Sombra desired to wipe that goofy, stupid, joy off her face in any perturbing way possible. The two sisters gave him a bigger glare back, covering Derpy. "That's not all you grumpy sad king. Look behind you," Derpy pointed to Lyra while still remaining overly joyful.

Lyra took a deep breath. Closing her eyes, she drank the Coke substance. Only a quarter of its fluids remained bubbling still after she finished chugging. "Grant me my wish."

Her horn released a massive explosion of yellow driving away Sombra and his control over the citizens. Cadance accidentally got caught up in the blast and she squinted from the burning pain inflicted on her side. Sombra and Cadance were launched like a rocket away from Ponyville.

In the sky Sombra left a hole along with a dark trail past the fluffy clouds. Lyra's attack was merely a split second of a part of his body touching a stove. Within a few seconds Sombra found the empire right below diagonally.

"Ah, I see," Sombra chuckled at the alicorn princess in the air next to him. "Sending me back to whence I came? So, you can use the crystal heart against me? That is your plan? Ha! What a foolish idea to send only you to accomplish such a witty task!" Sombra returned to a shadowy form, flying down to the kingdom he claimed.

"Oh no you don't!" Cadance rejected, using her wings to follow him down below the cold winter.

The king's luck wasn't exactly on his side. He was given power for sure, but not enough to eliminate his weaknesses. Despite Cadance's injuries her flight speed surpassed Sombra's. She flied by the king, giving him a disrespectful smirk and a wink. Sombra nearly lost himself, diving down even faster.

---

The entrance to the secret passageway closed before the killer skeleton could reach their tails. Killer Sans growled, stabbing the floor until walking away to find another secret passage. They were safe, for now. With the entrance closed, no sunlight could light the way down. "Crap, I hate the dark so much. Anything can jump at you without a man's notice," Sam explicitly explained. "Do you know a light source spell for your horn so we can avoid falling off the stairs and busting our heads open."

"Why yes, I certainly do," Rarity lifted her head up into the air and filled her horn with a simple charge of magic. Her horn shined like a nightlight. The most beautiful light Sam had ever seen. "There you are."

"Dang, you're pretty- I- I mean... your light is pretty," Sam corrected himself. "Let's just get out of here before Killer Sans finds a way in here."

Sam took one step at a time down, as Rarity followed along, asking questions. "So, Sam, tell me about yourself."

"Huh?" Sam turned to face the beautiful mare, "myself?"

"Yes." Rarity remained in the same happy expression. "I would like to know more about the... pony who saved my life."

Sam chuckled. "I'm a human for the last time, not a pony. I'm just a weird dude living his life and being hated by the world. I like to play video games, watch YouTube, workout, goggle the answers on school assignments, and sleep. Don't ask me what I'm doing here because I'll explain everything once I gather your other five friends."

Rarity slowed down a bit. "My five friends? I don't remember having any friends."

Sam followed her exact speed. "Ah ha! So, you do have amnesia. That ain't good. But I'm sure I can find a way to recover your memories and stuff. Twilight's true fail-safe spell must've done a huge number on you. Twilight herself might even be suffering from memory loss too."

Rarity gave Sam a confused look. Sam immediately understood her ignorance and accepted that what he said was pointless. A few minutes passed before they made it down. Rarity's legs were shaking from a sore sensation. He noticed and took in some consideration to use a few pain-relieving creams in the traveling bag. He opened the cap, squeezing the cream out like toothpaste.

Gently, he rubbed the cream on Rarity's hooves, letting the icy hot cream soak and moisturize into Rarity's muscles.

"Well, looky here. We made it to the very bottom. Time sure does fly by when you have a nice conversation," Sam found the wooden door and pulled Rarity away from it. "Don't open or even touch that door. It's cursed."

Rarity's face fell into question. "Cursed? How do you know if it's cursed when you haven't tried to open it?" Her questioning became even more resentful. "I also must ask how you knew about this safety passageway. And why are you helping me? Are you using me? Is it my magic you are in need to find what you're looking for?"

Sam didn't like where this was going but needed to reveal the truth. "Alright look the truth is, I am in need of you. But I also care for you. I'm not going to eat you or anything like that after I find the space element thingy. And I can't answer the question about how I know this place and how I know your name yet, Rarity."

"Why yet?"

Sam breathed in and out heavily. "Because it's too tiresome to explain the whole situation six times to the six of you individually. I will explain everything once I unite you, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Twilight."

With those words, Rarity slightly frowned as she followed Sam's orders. He is the only being who can protect and guide her through this crystal maze. If it wasn't for him, she would've been sliced to death by a killing machine skeleton. Or even worse, stuck within a crystal for who knows how long.

Sam pointed to the top of the door frame. "You see that little crystal on the tippy top of that cursed door? I need you strike it with your good magic, similar to what the skeleton, Killer Sans I believe, did to the throne which led us here."

Rarity's heart pumped magic into her horn, supercharging it with fashion. She ignored the beating sensation, focusing on the door. She could feel the spell guiding her heart to where she needed to be. She questioned herself and her identity, she had no knowledge of advanced spells. Levitating objects and maybe a slight amount of teleportation was the best she could accomplish when it came to magic.

It was if some pony taught her this sort of spell a long time ago. A forgotten pony that she could reconcile with. "thgiliwT."

Sam caught the strange word in his ear. "What did you say?"

The unicorn blasted the crystal causing the door to open and uncurse itself. Rarity disregarded Sam as she galloped out of the room and into the other.

"Hey, wait up!" Sam followed after her with a jogging speed. The door behind him closed and disappeared in a flash after entering the next room of staircases leading up.

Rarity pedaled her hooves onto each step, faster than before. Her heart didn't say a word. It just gave her a destination she felt she needed to reach. A pain of guilt flooded her head, like she was running away from some pony important. That pain of guilt, however, wasn't enough to stop her from following her heart's content.

"Holy crap she's fast. Better catch up."

*2 sets of stairs later*

"It's going to be a long climb..."

*5 sets of stairs later*

His thighs were breaking down a sweat and an itch like mad.

*3 sets of stairs later*

"Whew, Lord! Does this mare know when to stop to catch a breath!? Jesus!"

*7 sets of stairs later*

Sam took the last step and fell nearly unconscious. "No... more... stairs..."

At the top a blue, crystallized, artificial heart, floated above a pedestal. Rarity gazed in awe at the crystal heart's beauty and perfection. Even ignoring every thought forming inside her mind.

After the last hoof step, Rarity tapped the heart with gentle care. It blasted a heap of blue light onto her face, blinding her temporarily. As Rarity removed her hoof away, hoping to stop the light from shining, the heart abruptly created an explosion of light across the crystal empire.

❄︎☟︎☜︎ ❄︎✋︎💣︎☜︎ ☟︎✌︎💧︎ 👍︎⚐︎💣︎☜︎.

******

The snow poured like a rainstorm, covering the majority of the school grounds. "Okay class," the teacher said, grabbing the attention of her small students. "Time to go back inside. Recess is over, and I don't want any pony complaining about a cancelled snowball fight."

The students frowned as they all formed a line to leave the playground. The teacher opened the door to class and told them to sit in their assigned seats. Each seat and table were labeled with a sticker, representing a pony's cutie mark with the exception of one. And the pony who sat on the blank desk was none other than the only blank blank in the class, Rarity.

The poor young filly silently sat down staring off into the distance by the window. To her surprise, the snow covered the very last tips of grass and it had only been about five minutes since the snow started to pour. It felt quite unnatural to her, but the rest class including the teacher genuinely went along with it.

The students talked and talked while the teacher searched her cabinets for any activities. Rarity remained silent, bored out of her mind.

"Attention class!" the teacher said aloud. "I will need to take care of some important business. A substitute teacher will take my place till tomorrow. Please be good," she opened the middle drawer and grabbed the list of instructions, gently laying them on her desk. She packed her bags and barged out of the door in a gallop.

Rarity crossed and flattened down her hooves, using them as a sort of pillow to sleep as she lowered her head onto them to take a nap. Outside of the hallway, unnoticed by Rarity, and unseen by the rest of the class, was a repeated pattern of a tripping horse and the sound of lockers being banged to their doom.

The class became silent as they stared at the door. A slight force pushed the door open slightly allowing the substitute teacher to squeeze through. He appeared drunk in his current state. As if he was about to fall down from dizziness. He sat down in front of the class uncomfortably, moaning in mental pain. The suit and tie he wore made him feel itchy and hot. But without it, his wings would be exposed.

"Dang, that sure was ridiculous. Not used to walking on all fours again," he said, coughing to clear his throat. "Anyways, my name is Mr. Samuel, but I prefer Mr. Sam."

A student raised their hoof, "um, could you please write your name on the board. I'm terrible at names."

Sam shook his pony head. "No can-do, and if you wanna know why, it's cuz I've been through a lot and I'm too lazy and tired. Ask some pony else to do it or do it yourself, I don't care. Just let me do my job without asking me to do unwanted favors please."

A few of them rolled their eyes at the immediate disrespectful attitude. Sam didn't give much into it. He leaned back in the chair in a strange sitting position, putting his back hooves on the teacher's desk lazily. The instructions in front were picked up by an aura mixed with black and white. It wasn't too complicated to understand, so there was no need to shrug it off and throw it away like absolute garbage.

"Ight, les get dis over with," the replacement teacher incorrectly spoke.

Two students whispered, "this guy sounds stupid."

"I know right," the other student whispered back.

Even if they kept their volume low, they didn't know about Sam's legendary hearing. Sam's eavesdropping skills were at another level. As long as his ADHD didn't get in the way, his ears could pick up the sound of a water drop from a mile away. He avoided any interaction with those two, passing out coloring sheets for every pony, even the two brats in the back next to Rarity.

"So, from what I'm reading, yall got a mini project due today. You guys can color and stuff while I go get the supplies and stuff."

Right after he left, chaos broke out. Ponies stampeded in every direction, throwing crayons, markers, erasers, and even paper airplanes made from coloring sheets. The two brats in the back crumbled a few little pieces of paper into paper balls. Then inserted the paper balls into straws. "Wake up blank blank head. It's time for us to have fun!" one of them said, aiming the straw at the poor young filly. It was horseplay, literally... but many times worse!

Rarity lifted her head after a few spitballs landed into her well-designed mane, "leave me alone," Rarity cried.

They laughed, "never!"

"Guys! Guys!" a filly in front of the class door alerted his fellow classmates. "He's coming back! In position every pony! No time to tidy up!"

They froze, hearing the sound of hoof steps once again. Dropping the school supplies carelessly, they returned to their assigned seats. Rarity felt solace as he entered the class. Seeing the clutter around, he smirked. "Well, looky here. I only been out for a few minutes and already you guys have been misbehaving. How do teachers even survive this five days a week?" The tip of his horn sparked a tad. Supplies and boxes flew back into the original tidy position with just a spark of his magic. "Now about that mini project. Found the supplies, now I just need to find some participating students to go outside on the stage to work and present. If you don't want to that's fine. You'll just get a zero for this assignment."

Rarity raised her hoof up in the air.

Sam faced her strangely. Not that his face looked strange, what made him strange to Rarity was his name, his laziness, and his coat and mane color. "Yea? Watcha need?"

Rarity nearly lost her words from the stare he gave. Something was off about this pony. He appeared normal, until peering into his eyes. The way he sat down, the way he clumsily moves, the way he talks gives her a strange vibe. "Mr. Sam, how do you expect us to finish a mini project out in that cold wintery mess of torture?" Rarity gestured outside.

Her classmates for once respected her by mumbling in agreement. As for the two bullies beside her, they could care less.

"Don't worry about that. I can solve that problem once we get out there. I promise you won't be an ice sculpture at the end of the day. Put your trust in me and you'll be good."

The students reached into their cubbies at the back left hand corner of the classroom, suiting themselves up for the cold as Sam patiently waited near an exit. One pony, on the other hoof, put Sam in full trust. Rarity.

Sam could see the authenticity in the young mare. "Glad to see that you trust me. What's your name sweetheart?"

"Rarity, sir," her heartbeats' volume increased, with her eardrums tingling. And the strangeness surrounding the stallion grew. Behind her, were faces, staring at her in a funny way. Some laughed, some did nothing, and some critically judged and teased.

"Ms. Fancy Pants? More like Ms. Snowy Pants!" one of them offensively joked, making the others point hooves and laugh. "What's the deal snowmare? Can't wear a coat or jacket like us, otherwise you will melt?"

Rarity looked down, with the top of her face covered in darkness. As sad and embarrassing as it was, she didn't have the urge to cry, or the urge to get mad.

"Enough," Sam's horn ignited a blue aura, shutting some nasty mouths closed with a magical blue potency. "Your real teacher may not be here, but I'M here. And I'm not doing this for the bits," Sam bucked open two sets of doors, releasing the wintery cold.

Walking out of the school, he guided them out with his hoof. Rarity turned out to be the first to follow along. Her heart made Sam seem like a guide to her destiny. But why? The others followed, shivering and crying. A few of them didn't like the idea of risking frostbite. Of course, as they tried to turn back, there was no turning back, since Sam forcefully shut the front entrance tight with his unique blue magic.

Now they knew something had to be up. They were in the middle of a snowstorm with only jackets to keep them warm. The temperature even, turned out to be in the negatives, according to a thermometer hanging next to a tree with its leaves covered in ice and snow.

Nearing the wooden stage, Sam ripped and torn his suit into shreds by spreading his wings. Leaving his whole body vulnerable to the winter. "The cold never bothered me. But now..." Sam faced the blizzard from above. The students froze in place, not because of the cold, but because of the alicorn standing before them.

With a grin on his face, he leapt into the snow clouds. At this point he needed to rid of this winter. Even he started to shiver near the source of the snow. With enough space and generosity, his willpower grew. "Time to take snowplowing seriously," Sam's eyes flaming blue, his horn formed a bluish black hole.

The snowstorm swirled like a hurricane, unable to resist the force of Sam's space magic. The students gazed up, at the satisfying weather vacuum. It was like a whirlpool in the sky, with Sam's black hole as its eye. He held onto his magic until the storm finally came to a clear. A bright light was now visible to Sam, and his class. A clear sky came into view as Sam instantly gave his creation of a space vacuum its own treatment by sucking it back into his horn.

His audience radiated with joy, confusion, thankfulness, and jealousy. Snow still remained on the earth's surface, but Sam didn't bother, knowing that it's thickness would reduce to nothing due to a flaming sphere above them.

"That was awesome!" a student began.

"Are you really an alicorn prince!?" a different student asked, pulling out a magnifying glass from their pocket.

"..." no answer came from Sam. Giving his students a silent treatment right after his epic moment bemused them. Most of the attention he received turned out to be positive apart from the two bullies filled with jealousy. "Welp, now that that's taken care of, I'm going to set up everything needed."

*5 minutes later*

"Phew, alright every pony, get on up here! For each and every one of you there should be a working table, a sewing machine, and a box with the materials you'll need. This project is going to test you on your ability to sew fabric. The directions are flat on your worktable. Follow those directions and you should get yourself an ez hundy. And you won't have the same design or thing to sew, just so that you don't copy each other's work and stuff."

Sam flew on the stage as the class took the wooden stairs. The young pegasi fillies avoided following Sam since they were too young to fly. Rarity was the first to start working. She found the assigned project to be quite simple, with no complex designing. Even finding herself done after several minutes of work.

A shadow came into Rarity's view. Looking up as if a tree blocked the sunlight, Sam stood in front, showing off a smile of success. "Heh, that was quick. No wonder that's your future talent."

Something different filled inside Rarity, "my future talent?"

"Yep. You're probably thinking, what the heck is this all-powerful space alicorn doing helping a little unicorn filly like you. Well, to answer your question, it's because your valuable to me."

Rarity shot a raised eyebrow, "me? Valuable?"

Sam closed his eyes and once again bended space with his horn's blue magic. "If you deny that you're valuable, then I will give you something valuable."

A rock three times the size of her, floated above them. Sam carelessly released it, allowing it to fall belligerently, causing the wooden floor below to bust open into a hole. A vibration ran across the stage creating a great disturbance among the peace.

"Go ahead," Sam gestured towards the cracked boulder. "See what's inside, malady."

Today was supposed to be a normal day for herself until he... no... Sam, showed up. His name bounced inside her brain like a ball, but never came out to reveal itself. Her heart tensed the closer she got. Its crack expanded more and more almost as if some pony was inside the rock, then, with the sound of a nut cracking, it split in half. The class wavered to forwardly design. It was distracting to notice what little time Rarity spent to finish her own project. And to notice shining colors of gleaming light out of the insides of the boulder.

"All yours," Sam stepped out of the way, giving a young lady some room.

Rarity's pupils sized up to an egg, her mouth wide open with drool. "All of these gems, for me?"

Sam nodded.

"My goodness. No pony had ever shown me this much generosity in forever. I must apologize, but I have forgotten your name mister. I know it's a shame, but..."

A soft hoof landed gently behind her mane. "Don't worry about it, and don't think about it. Generosity is a good thing. I saw you all alone with no one to talk to, so I decided to come in and help."

"But why would you help me?" Rarity turned around swiftly, making the alicorn stranger drop his hoof. Sam met a suspicious face glaring at his own face, "what's in it for you?"

"..." Silence fell onto the stage. 'The heck? She starts off like the loneliest child ever, then gets all excited similar to Pinkie Pie, and now she sounds like Cozy Glow. Eh, whateves, I got play it cool or I'll be forced to redo this entire scenario AGAIN!'

"Is there something you have to tell me?" Rarity said restively.

Sam obnoxiously struggled to find a good answer. If he were to tell her the school and students were only hallucinations, then all progress would be lost. There had to be some way to help her, just... Sam quickly glanced at his cutie mark, just like he remembered when he first came into this world spiritually before being pulled in physically, a yin yang symbol rested on his very horse form flank.

His knowledge of the yin n' yang turned out to be limited, only thing he knew was how it represented the world functioning in an endless fight between good and evil. If no good existed, then evil would have no bad to inflict. And without evil, there is no good. After a few nervous breaths, Sam answered the young mare firmly. "It's... kind of my job. Not as a sub teacher, but what I do as a hobby you know. That's what my cutie mark is all about. It's my job to keep the balance between good and evil. If something is too perfect and boring, then I'll come in and spice things up a bit. Does that make any sense to ya?"

Rarity pushed him even further, "what does that have to do with me?"

"You for example were suffering from hopelessness and loneliness. I sensed an imbalance on darkness, so I decided to shine a little light into your heart, to keep a special pony like you going. THAT is TRUE generosity."

Rarity's suspicion dropped, along with her heart rate building up. "Sam, is the name. Correct?"

"Yea, that's my name all right," Sam assured.

"What do you suppose I do know, sir?" Rarity asked benignly, giving Sam full comfort towards her and his mission.

"You could design the class a few costumes using those gems I gave you," Sam grabbed the instruction sheet. "Oh, right, I forgot to read the last set of instructions given to me by your teacher. In a few minutes ponies will gather near the stage to experience a joyful set of beauty to the eyes. Guess that was the whole point of this mini project. You guys will be showing off your designs," he went back to Rarity. "So, would ya mind adding the finishing touches?"

Rarity pressed down slightly on her chest, "it'll be my pleasure, Mr. Samuel!"

*A moment of sewing later*

After the last set of sewing, Rarity let out a breath of relief. "There we are. Tell me that this does not fit your taste," Rarity held up the gem outfits in front of the class. They found themselves appealed and attracted to Rarity's work. Each student couldn't help to gaze upon her outfits' former beauty and glory. Even the two little fillies that disliked her, gave her attention and respect. Sam was the only one able to break his gaze away. As he did, his eyes shot over to the adult ponies nearing the stage.

"Sorry to interrupt this gazing party, but we got an audience with hungry eyes coming."

Within a couple minutes, the expected audience should arrive, meaning they had little time to play dress up. Sam, for the last time, used his space magic to properly suit up each student with an individual costume. Rarity even had the chance to add any finishing touches before time ran out.

Sam set them to their positions on the wooden stage, "looks like were all set." A small amount of sunlight peaked past the slit of the curtains. Small soft chattering of grown stallions and mares echoed from the outside. "Every pony ready?"

They each responded with a different way of saying yes. Sam raised and tightened his left hoof as if he was giving a thumbs up. Hoping for the best, he pulled back the curtains revealing the audience from the class's perspective, and the dressed-up students from the audience's perspective. Sam and Rarity hid behind the left part of the curtain to watch everything take place without being seen.

Ahs and oohs came from the audience. Their eyes were hooked to the gems more than to the outfits themselves. Simple dancing and shaking came along as the wooden stage made creaking noises from the bouncing of hooves.

With the success in hoof, Sam looked down upon Rarity with a pair of glimmering eyes. "I have to say your work is SPECTACULAR!"

Rarity's expression reflected his. Not a single word was made by the fashionista unicorn, because of the excessive positivity flowing through her. A flash of blue light came from her behind, as her head started to ache for the last time. Turning to her flank, a sense of GIDDYNESS struck her hard. "Mr. Samuel, look! My cutie mark is so gorgeous!"

Turning back to Sam, who was already staring at her cutie mark with an obsessed look. "I did it..." the world shifted. The audience faded, the students faded, the stage faded, everything faded away. A mysterious void of darkness appeared, engulfing the world like a black hole until it eventually engulfed the remaining two beings close together. "☼︎☜︎❄︎🕆︎☼︎☠︎!"

Rarity panicked for her life, only to be sucked into the void.

******

Friends, fashion, Sweetie Belle, generosity, Sam, space. "I remember everything..." Rarity said, half asleep.

She found no way to move her muscles or bones. Breathing and hearing were the things her body was capable of doing for now. A semi far away voice started speaking. "Come on you stupid little-" the sound of something shattering apart came into her ears, following a loud thump hitting the ground, which gave Rarity a shacking feeling down her spine, fully awakening her from her paralyzed state.

"Geez, never knew the Crystal Heart would be secured like this." A strange warmth from the heart nearly made Sam clumsily drop it, until he resisted its thermal energy. It was like carrying a hardened forty-pound potato that just came out of the microwave. Thankfully, Sam could withstand its weight, and managed to walk normally with a little pressure. "Time to wake up Ms. Fancy pants, we got ourselves a Crystal Heart to put back in place."

"Wh- wha- Sam?" Rarity wears a regretful and tense face.

"What do you remember?" Sam asked to start off an important conversation.

Rarity remained conscious on the floor, uncomfortably keeping great fashionable power within her, similar to holding in urine. "I- my- my friends. You and Discord. Why? How?"

Sam created a tightened fist and pulled in his arm to show off his successful feelings. " Yes! It worked! To be fairly honest, following that sketchy man's instructions didn't seem like the best idea to restore your memories. I honestly believed he was playing tricks on me or something."

Rarity once again bemused by Sam on so many levels, demanded the truth. She was steamed at her ignorance; it was time to know what in Celestia's name was going on. Even if it meant doing things the lady's way. "Tell me everything. I know when a gentleman like you hides something. And for proof, you cannot notice how we both shared one another's traits and thoughts. You were never into cleanliness or manners, nor was I ever this afraid of some monster out to kill me."

Sam gently laid away the Crystal Heat to avoid stressing his muscles, "monster?"

"I believe you are aware of who this monster is, correct? After you entered my mind to remind me of my destiny, I saw glimpses of your past after we sunk into that nasty black void. You had a loving family, Sam. It's sad to see a horrible monster like that pull you into your very own dream, just to destroy it."

On the inside Sam was impressed and maybe even a little nervous, but as always, he'd never express his feelings on the outside. "So that explains why I have a craving for luxury, " he smacked his lips and gave his nose full control of his breathing. "Alright, you wanna know the truth, here it is. This whole end of Equestria and me situation starts off with Nightmare being all cocky and crazy in Luna's dream realm."

*After explanation*

"And that's how we got here. You don't have to worry about Discord. He's holding off Nightmare and is on my side I think..."

"You think? You're not sure?!" Rarity said with concern.

"Well, "Mom," he's a creature of chaos just like the castle from SOTN. And chaos is unpredictable madness. I'm pretty sure once Nightmare is finished, he's gonna want something in return."

Rarity found his non caring attitude to be quite upsetting. But what could a mare do to a lazy boy like him. "By the way, how did you manage to find some way into my head? Didn't you tell me your race only had imagination as their magic and nothing more?"

Another moment of quietness fell between the two. Sam bent down to give the crystal heart a quick look before wandering around in a small circle, seeing if he had the capability of finding him. "When I saw you asleep next to the heart, I attempted to wake up a fancy looking mare. That attempt failed, causing me to put blame upon the crystal heart. Thankfully, right in the nick of time some pony appeared beside me."

"And who was that some pony?"

"Eh... he wasn't exactly a pony. More like a monster similar to Slenderman, except with an actual face. He gave me a great insight on the issue at hand, telling me what to do to fix your memory loss step by step. All I needed to really do was get up in your head and get you back on track from your messed up past. If I ever were to screw up, then I would have to reset the memory and start all over again. That's why you saw me all tired when I busted into the class like a sweaty substitute. There was one time where I sucked up the school with a black hole out of frustration and anger, but we don't have to talk about that. What matters is that I succeeded, your back to normal, your aware of the end of Equestria, and have full trust in me."

Rarity finally had the chance to free her ears from an intense focus. Now, it was her turn to speak. "I give you my thanks, but who is this man you speak of? I must also give him my thanks as well."

Sam scratched his head, "uh, he kind of vanished... Like, he gave me a hello and all that, but when he finished, he just voided out of existence without a nice goodbye," Sam puffed out a large amount of air out of his nose as if he were laughing. "What a sketchy weirdo, scaring people like that. At least he was generous enough to help me. Though, next time I see him again, my trust won't be at its best."

"Why not?" Rarity asked.

Sam shot her a look, "why not?" he commanded his hand and forearm to land on Rarity's shoulder. "Because you should never put your full trust in strangers. You ponies may live in peace, but the world I live in ain't pretty. In my world, showing generosity and kindness to other strangers could screw you over, depending on what person you give it to. People who take advantage of your kindness are what I like to call users. And then you have manipulators and backstabbers, who will fulfill your wants, then ask for something in return that you're uncomfortable doing. THAT'S, something I NEED to avoid."

"I see..." her face was filled with worry. "Do you... What about me? Do you trust me? Can I even trust you?" a little amount of irritation came to Sam in the ears after being fed her last question."I remember my friends, and our fight against you and Discord. You... you... killed, Shining Armor, Princess Cadance's future husband. "

His face hardened as he stood still, fighting a tremendous battle inside his head. After all he went through, to revive the memories of the past, it all backfired. Accepting that his intelligence was great but also limited, turns out to be one of the very few things he hated most. "Rarity... you know, I hate it when my work turns against me..."

Strong emotions in the unicorn mare sparked like a sparkler. A line had been crossed, "excuse me?" her face and voice now in a madness of horror. "I'm nothing but your very own work? I'm a thing to you?" her horn viciously sparked.

"What? No, I didn't mean it like tha- OOF!" Sam flung through the air as a result of Rarity's raging blast of fashionable power. He landed in a protective gooey green pool to prevent his death. Rarity fell out of the castle with him. A sharp pain came as his hand made contact with the burnt spot of his chest, the middle to be specific. "Ow, what the," he stared down, noticing sharp diamonds impaling the same spot that was smoking. It was only getting worse with his hand putting pressure, along with it getting impaled as well. The diamonds and a small amount of his white shirt was stripped off by his sudden pull. Blood leaked out of the skin as he ignored the pain, throwing the now bloodied crystals to the floor.

His ears popped off with the sound of another magical attack. Sam barely made the dodge but was close enough to observe the blast's insides. 'Are those crystals? Dang, that mystery man wasn't lying one bit. That mare has improved in terms of power after her memory recovery. Getting hit by the blast means I'll be burnt and shredded at the same time. I need to be more careful! And by looks of things, there's no reasoning this out yet, not with that hate inside of her.'

Sam's vision zoomed towards the crystal heart. 'I can't leave without it. I'll be screwed if Sombra makes his way back over here. Guess I have no choice but to use my special move. That heart won't move itself; I must remember the great moments of capturing the bean bag from physical education.'

Rarity fired another attack; this time Sam was ready, shouting, "Nonsense Run!" Sam ducked down then weirdly used his hands and feet to carry himself across the floor like a spider. His movement was a bit funky to be expected. However, Rarity backed off, creeped out by the new set of moves. Reaching the crystal heart, he gripped it firmly standing tall once again. The next part of the move is to run like a madman similar to what he did on a daily basis to flee school, only this time side hopping is added to the mix.

'Holy molly, this technique actually works! Now to find a way out,' he slid down the outside of the castle darted to the next closet turn, side hopping randomly to avoid any debris the crazy fashionista threw.

"Hey, you, human!" a stallion yelled from the inside of a house, peering past the crack of his door, showing only his muzzle. "In here, quick!"

Sam didn't take much consideration to question the stallion. Knowing the voice, he sprinted towards the house pulling its door wide open then slamming it shut. Books on the shelves tumbled down with one landing face down on the horn of none other than the nerdy unicorn himself, Sunburst.

Sunburst signaled Sam to move out of the way. Readying his horn, he casted a spell on his own doorstep; assuming the spell's purpose was to secure the door, Sam still remained on his guard. Turns out Sunburst casted much of his sweat and effort since he puffed and wheezed afterwards.

"You know the spells but ya can't cast the spells well huh," Sam rudely pointed out the unicorn's weakness.

Sunburst paid no attention to Sam, only giving attention towards the door cutting them away from a crazed lady. Without a moment too soon the door forcefully opened, having Sam position himself in a fighting stance, glaring at an angry mare. Sunburst stared at her with a mixture of fear and hope. Rarity gave the insides of Sunburst's home a puzzled look instead of giving it to the only two beings in front of her view.

"Please work. Pleeeeeaaassseee!" Sunburst begged with a sweaty shaking hoof.

Sam prepared to serve a little knuckle sandwich to the lady mare as she took two hoof steps forward, one remaining outside, then the other reaching inside. Her whole body vanished in an instant after the third hoof step. The two caught a great surprising feeling, Sam being surprised out of his mind, and Sunburst being surprised by his magnificent work of magic.

"Yes! It worked!" Sunburst bursted into an uncontrollable moment of jumping up and down.

Sam now found himself puzzled at Sunburst's magic at work. Sunburst eventually lost his balance once he took an exciting jump in a trickier stance with the two of his back hooves. "Whoa!" Sunburst wobbled and lost balance, cracking a sensitive spine in the process. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as gravity pulled him towards his impending pain.

Sam extended his arms, lunging near one of his favorite ponies, safely letting the nerdy unicorn fall on a less dense surface. "You aren't as heavy as I thought you'd be. Sixty pounds is your weight or something?"

Sunburst frowned slightly, a little offended by the human's sarcastic joke. "I am considered average weight, thank you very much, human."

"Human? You know what I am?" Sam released Sunburst from his grasp. "I've been called 'creature' and 'beast', never once called a human before."

"That's because I'm one of the only few who have studied your kind," Sunburst said, patting away the dust from his cloak of stars. "You're special, you know that, right?"

"Special?" Sam shook his head with a forced smile, "saying someone is special, is another way to say they are better than everyone or everypony else. Yes, I am much different than most of mankind, but that doesn't make me better than them. Anyways, back to the situation at hand- I- I mean hoof! What in the actual HECK happened to her!"

Sunburst pushed back his glasses for a sense of comfort, "well you see I simply to which I mean I hardly casted a spell to switch the entrance to my home with the exit of another door here, in the Empire."

"So, you're saying she's alone in the middle of the empire, with Killer Sans on her fancy tail and possibly Sombra himself?"

Sunburst raised an eyebrow, "Sombra isn't much of a possibly but who would be Killer Sands?"

Sam's legs itched for movement, "ah fudge! Got to get the crystal heart back in its place before Rarity gets sliced by a Michael Myers wannabe!"

"Wait!" Sunburst yelled, failing to stop the human.

---

Rarity sat down on a cold solid floor, filled with a sense of regret. She shot a flare of magic into the air then laid down having her whole back temperature mixed with the floor's temperature. "*sigh* I guess I may have overreacted a bit. But I still can't believe he thinks of me as a 'thing'! I am not a thing!" Rarity made another cold sigh and whispered to herself. "What is a lady like me supposed to do now?"

She counted to three and got up, searching for the way out of the empire. A dress store came across, utterly keeping her mind away from her troubling thoughts. Rarity peered past the glass with her face stuck to its texture. "My, these fabric beauties will fit me perfectly! I must show this to Sam! He will lov-... oh... right. Just where is that miraculously tall gentleman?"

"behind you," a known vicious voice muttered.

A soundwave with a gust of wind rushed by the mare's ears as she turned to the voice. Her pupils shrink, with her mouth ready to scream at the same killing skeleton standing in front of her and the crystal dress shop.

"where's your tall human hero little pony? that flare of yours gave you away."

"..."

"you can't even say. too scared of your upcoming death I believe," Killer Sans held out an open left hand to charge the blaster beside him. Rarity once again said no word, sliding her back hooves slightly backwards. "my guess is that the crystal heart had been found, correct? if you do not give me its location, we'll both die. i'll kill you for being useless, then my boss, Nightmare will kill me for being useless. so, talk little pony, TALK!"

To Killer's surprise Rarity responded bravely. "I am afraid it is in my hero's possession at the moment. And no, I will not give you any hints to his location, never! If you want a fight, then it's a fight you're going to get you meatless monster!"

Killer Sans had an agreement with her last couple words, "heh, you are right. i am technically a monster with no flesh, but you... don't know anything about me! now die."

Closing his skeletal hand, the blaster fired a large blast of goop. Rarity took precaution and covered herself with a magical diamond shield of her own. The blast of goop splatted in many directions, none splatting on Rarity.

Killer Sans didn't hesitate to strike with a slashing blow of his killer knife, destroying the diamond shield in an instant. Being inches away Rarity's horn shined like the sun, enough to melt away Killer's vision. As the killer tried to recover his eyesight Rarity shot a blast of magic. Shards of diamonds stuck withing the insides of his torso.

"the hell?! where did this power of yours come from?! you were never this strong before, I know it!"

Rarity smirked, "with a little help from others you can gain many things of course. Giving away something good generously could help you receive something good in return." The door to the dress shop behind her opened and out came a congregation of dresses flying towards Killer Sans.

A steel knife had little to no affect. Killer panicked when he witnessed a dress tying one of his hands tightly, stopping him from using any magic attacks. The same happened with his legs and even the eyes themselves. Still, this fight was far from over. Killer's other hand remained untouched, with a bitter feeling of over rest.

Hearing a sound of magic being charged, he created a bone wall in front to repel her attack. Next, he carefully slashed away the magical dresses to unblind and unbind himself. And then, clean sharpened bones formed unnaturally above, adding more shadows to the floor, only steady ones instead of moving ones.

Killer's face showed a taste of victory, while Rarity became unsure of her victory. He studiously pointed out one finger to send a signal to his attacks. Rarity teleported out before she was pinned away. She had lost control of the clothing as most were devastatingly shredded by bone.

"hehehe, is little pony scared?" Killer Sans said. The cold air gushed swiftly by them, causing Rarity's coat and tail to flow about, and the same for Killer's jacket. Rarity sensed a presence nearing them, as she glanced to her left and right. Killer proceeded forward with zero cation. About halfway he slipped and fell hard, his backbone now in shambles. A cold wet feeling entered his bottom rear end. Slowly curling back up his sleeves became wet upon contact with a puddle of water.

"I prefer to be called little lady thank you very much. And I'm not scared, I am merely avoiding an act of stupidity. An act you most likely commit several times."

Killer Sans viciously stared her down, no longer keeping a straight smile, "you little bi-"

"Female pony?" Sam cuts him off.

"uh, yea- wait who the fu-" Killer groaned in pain at the damage he received from behind.

"Quit cussing, you're not in Underverse, you're in My Little Pony which is a kids cartoon. At least try to be child friendly!" Sam demanded, pretending to look at a fourth wall. A crack formed beneath Sam's feet giving him anxiety. Sam leapt away before a rising bone zone busted out of the cracks. He thought wrong when it was just one, as more cracks followed his every move.

Out of fear, Sam ran to Rarity's side for help. She didn't show any signs of hostility as he approached, so maybe she would spare his life. The mare dug her horn in the hard floor like a drill, infusing the surface with her magic. "There, those underground bones won't be of any issue." Rarity plummeted on her left hoof, becoming woozy.

"You alright?" Sam asked.

"Yes, just a little... tired is all. I'm sorry for acting up, I just... for some reason felt hate boil inside me. And then it just vanished in an instant, never to be seen again."

"Bullcrap. I never said you were a thing. What I meant by 'work' is the amount of effort and time I put in to help you. I know this is a dream, but I can actually die here. And I'm over here interacting with you, and that feels real to me."

Rarity's expression started off cold and a little regretful, but it warmed up into an understandable state. "What happened to the heart you held within your hands. You appear to be empty handed at the moment. Did it mean anything to you?"

Sam froze and melted into a crazed firework. "Darn! I left it at Sunburst's! That goes to show of how irresponsible I can be!"

"Sunburst?"

"Just some smart unico- UH! RARITY! DO SOMETHING!" Sam jabbed his finger in Killer's direction. Rarity switched back to a defensive stance, creating another diamond barrier, this one being the size of a building. The shield was strong for sure, but would it be enough to protect them from five goop blasters? Yes, five.

Taking a couple breaths, the skeleton roared as he released the power of the blasters. Rarity groaned at the energy her shield had to withstand, the human next to her could tell she was losing her composure by the second.

"give it up little lady! you can't go on! your tall hero can't save you. he is nothing but a coward!"

"............." Sam gripped Rarity's tummy and back, tugging her away to safety as her shield gave away. "Coward. That's what I am to him? A coward?" Sam squatted down to cross his arms as a protection for his belly. Killer's skull blasters launched violently with teeth as sharp as knives. Each bit into Sam's arms, knocking him far.

"Samuel!" Rarity shouted promptly. Her tail was needled down by a sharp bone before she could make a move. "Let me go!" Rarity attempted to remove the bone without damaging her tail but managed to pull it up a quarter of the way through before Killer Sans, in the speed of sound, raised his knife to topple her head.

A white dot took the place of a small portion of his empty black right eye. Red light of blood lust covered and enraged his killer knife with hate and killing intent. "this is the end for you, no one, not even your 'hero' can save you now. die!"

*Slash*

"wh- wha- what!?" Killer muttered. Looking to his side, Sam, was between him and his prey. A warm hand of steel flesh locked Killer's arm in place.

Sam squeezed like an elephant. "I won't allow you to hurt a friend of mine," he said firmly. Never in Sam's life did he ever think he would fight back. His life was based on ignoring all who hurt him. No matter what people say, he would refuse to take it personally. But this was a cold-blooded killer about to slice the head off a unicorn he loves.

Sam, with all of his might, pulled the killer down to his knees and punched his skull. Killer's face bled as he rubbed it off to see his hand covered in blackish blood. Killer's hand started shaking uncontrollably. He looked straight at the human, now scared. Sam stood up straight with great posture, fists tightened, and eyes fierce as a lion. With the calm wind blowing, Sam imagined some kind of wild west music in his head, as if he were a cowboy about to face off against an elite gunner.

Killer threw his knife, and it flied like an arrow shot from a bow, only for Sam to luckily catch it by the handle. Sharp bones came flying then dying as Sam sliced each one in half.

'alright little hero, if your reflexes outmatch simple bones, then let's try tricky bones instead.' Killer's right eye turned blue, being the focal point of a blue attack.

Blue bones, non-sharpened, were created to attack Sam. Remembering Undertale's game mechanics Sam halted his charge to wait for the blue attacks to pass through like gas. Meanwhile Killer worked on another attack to back up his blue.

A bone larger than any other bashed out underground destroying Sam's shoulder, throwing him face flat on a building. A blue bone zone shot out trapping the human.

"don't move human, *puff* you can take the last moments of breathing before I quickly end your life. it is what my boss wants after all, whew," Killer Sans stated with sweat forming on his skull.

Sam noticed the skeleton's condition spot on, "you're tired, aren't you?"

"yea, so what? once you're gone Nightmare will reward me."

"Reward? Are you sure he said there was a reward or are you just assuming?"

"i- shut it! he's my boss, he wouldn't boss me around for nothing! he created me!"

"For the sole purpose of destroying everything including yourself? You had a brother and lived in a peaceful kingdom of monsters. Yet, you chose the dark side, instead of being the happy comedian you once were," Sam accused. "If you're siding with my enemy, then there's a high chance you'll get backstabbed," he stopped, thinking he was being ignored.

Killer Sans trembled for a moment. "YOU... DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME!"

A blue force of magic formed on Sam's neck. The skeleton was strangling the boy nonstop. Sam even had the urge to move around and accept the stinging pain from Killer's blue attack trap.

Triplets of small pebbles were thrown to Killer's thick skull, making him turn his eyes away from Sam. Sam followed Killer's face and smiled a tad. His vision was blurry from the non-consumption of oxygen moment. He could make out only an orange pony next to Rarity with something light blue under his hoof. Sam failed to cheer them on as Killer still had his blue magic chocking Sam's neck.

Rarity took a glance at Sunburst's spell book and followed its advice. "I better make this count!"

With all of her power channeled within her horn, she fired a spiraling blast of blue energy with a sharp diamond to its end. No unicorn or even alicorn had ever created a magical attack this beautiful.

Her attack hit Killer Sans in the soul, like an arrow hitting its target. His soul cracked as he fainted from the impact the attack had on his soul and body. And, without his consciousness, the blue bones keeping Sam at bay disappeared without a trace.

Sam got up and ran to the two unicorns wildly. As he got close Rarity fell down, eyes closed, and mouth wide open. He turned to Sunburst hoping for some medical support.

"Wow, that fancy mare actually did it, with your help of course, Sunburst."

"Thanks," Sunburst said in a joyful tone. "How do you know my name?"

"I... heard a lot about you. My name's Sam by the way, so you can stop calling me human."

"Eh, well, uh, good to see you Sam," Sunburst politely replied.

"Why'd you follow me here anyway?" Sam asked.

"Well, first of all you carelessly left the crystal heart in my hooves as you left my house in a rush, and second of all, I need you alive for an extra-terrestrial experiment."

"Me? An experiment?" Sam backed away, afraid of his personal space bubble being invaded. He glanced at Rarity and then shot his focus to her, ignoring a creepy Sunburst entirely. Her body was evaporating into a blue mist of steam as her essence was sucked and absorbed like a vacuum with the crystal heart as its storage bag. Sam found it traumatizing, thinking some sort of genocidal incident is about to turn him into a mist of steam. Sunburst gave him a nice laugh.

"Don't worry she will be fine. She's going through one of the rarest experiences in all of Equestria! Vestigial Transition!"

"Vestigeal what? Can you be a little more specific?" Sam muttered under his breath.

Sunburst rolled his eyes with a slight sigh added. "Am I the only pony who knows anything?"

"I believe so," Sam eyed him closely.

Sunburst saw an argument about to come into play between the two of them, but he broke out of it thanks to the skeleton standing before them. Sam and Sunburst in shock observed Killer Sans; remaining still like statues. Somehow a shattering soul wasn't adequate for Killer's death."Found you," Killers Sans said in a voice Sam remembered. "Now how did you end up here? More importantly, what is here?" the skeleton shrugged once the two in front gave him no answer. "My skeleton puppet is quite a disappointment. Heh, if you want something done right, you just have to do it yourself."

Purple eyes similar to Nightmare's formed into Killer's blank eyes.

"Im-Impossible! M-My spell sh-should've done the trick! No creature or monster could ever survive my spell!"

Sam glared at the killing machine skeleton fiercely once again, giving Killer a reason to smirk. "Face to face again, huh? It's been a while, Nightmare."

"Your friends have given me quite a hard time dear boy. But even so this is where you fall, where I win, where I become STRONG!" Nightmare commanded Killer to raise his hand in the air like he was being pulled by a couple invisible strings. Mysteriously, a blaster ten times the size of Killer rose from above.

Sam was questioning the new appearance of the blaster while Sunburst was questioning almost about everything in this situation. How did the skeleton survive? Why is his voice different? Why is Sam calling the skeleton Nightmare? The purple eyes!

"Calm down Sunburst I got this all under control," Sam's words gave Sunburst a little comfort. Though, one hundred percent unsure feelings of the boy's actions.

"A-are you s-sure, maybe we should fall back," Sunburst suggested, now more nervous after noticing Sam's glare of defiance. As soon as Nightmare unleashes whatever resides in the blaster, Sunburst would find his name fitting for the rest of life. Remembering how he bursts like a sun when being threatened for life.

"I'm no coward sunny! Still a boy, but a boy about to become a man!" Sam strictly marched forward fists tightened, ready to punch anything or anyone.

"Any last words, boy?" Killer/Nightmare was oozing with confidence.

Sam kept a blank face while marching closer, "..."

"Too scared to say anything, just like your made-up orange unicorn from behind, huh? Heh, watch and feel Samuel, as I tear you apart!" the cocky demon signaled the blaster fire out hundreds if not thousands of bloody knives, each diving down to Sam.

"Here are my last words you demonic freak!" he took a fighting position from an anime character and copied it to use his special move. "Special move: Consecutive Reflective Karma Punches!"

In perfect unison Sam blocked each knife with fists of swirling white light. He felt confident, powerful, skilled, and overjoyed of his actions. For once in his life, Sam was facing a problem on his own. No one forcefully got in his way. Sam had full control of his actions.

Sunburst gazed at the knife light show, "such power." Sam's speed accelerated to the speed of light making him blend with his whitened fists of light. To Sunburst he thought of it as light becoming a solid thing. To Nightmare, he saw it as an opportunity to test Sam's will and power.

"The boy certainly has outdone himself," Nightmare said in a way to appease thy self.

Having the temptation to test Sam, Killer/Nightmare charged his knife with raw dark power.

Sunburst flipped page after page until finding a page needed. "Sam, I have an idea!" The unicorn trotted near the scene carrying his book in an aura. Good or bad at magic he KNEW magic. Casting a spell the blaster fell into a deep sleep, stopping the endless rain of knives.

Sam turned back, pleased at the unicorn. Sunburst responded with a confident smile and raised up head.

"LOOK OUT!" Sam shouted vigilantly.

Sunburst peeked out of his eyelids then shot them open. The unicorn gasped frightfully to the skeleton about to slice his head off. He flinched his head to the side preparing for a pain so painful.

The knife had hit something alright, but it wasn't Sunburst. Sam managed to move in front and block the attack off, whilst absorbing the knife's power. The pain Sam suffered through was enough to make it feel as his left arm was sliced off many times in a row. "This is where karma comes into play Nightmare buddy," Sam's aura of fists went from a white light to a black darkness. A tightened fist of darkness slammed into the skeletal rib cage of Killer/Nightmare causing him to fly away as he vomited blood in midair.

Nightmare released the last few words he could say before losing control of Killer Sans permanently. "Someone has been improving themselves, haven't they? Heh, you can grow stronger and stronger as much as you please. No matter what, your death and the destruction of this world is inevitable."

The skeleton's corpse melted into a dark latex puddle that disappeared after Nightmare's control lifted.

*Killer Sans eliminated; 1000 pp earned.*

Sam nearly lost control of balance as a result from the new experience. Gruesomely tired, he slowly walked straight to the castle. Sounds of trotting came from behind, figuring Sunburst would follow him. "I did it Sunburst. Mind if I carry the heart for you? Looks a lot heavy if you ask me."

"Oh, of course," Sunburst released the heart from a magical grasp, allowing the heart to fall into a physical grasp. Sam remained with the same steady pace.

"The space element is residing in here, I know it. Once it's placed in its place, the space element will be revealed. Granting me the power to control space."

Sunburst, not wanting to question any topic about space, asked Sam a much fairer question. "I hope this isn't much to ask for, but who or what was that skeleton monster?"

"...I'd rather not go into much detail. All I can say is he's an insulting creation of my enemy. You can say he started off funny and nice until corruption, evil deals with a demon, and the wrong choices lead him to the destructive path he took. Guessing, Nightmare is planning on creating more of those fleshless freaks. Seeing how I or as matter of fact WE, struggled with one. Nightmare's bound to create some kind of skeleton trio to hunt our flanks down."

Sunburst refrains from asking any more questions. Human beings were mythical, intelligent creatures that should be left in peace. For Sunburst, getting to understand the human's motives and goals would be hard. It wasn't like a relationship between the two had a chance of forming in the next hour.

"By the way, were you living in Sire's Hollow before moving here to make a living?" He was only curious because Sunburst never made an appearance till season 6. At present-day, it is a season 3 premier at the moment.

"I... don't want to talk about it," Sunburst explicitly stated.

"Hm, we all got personal secrets to hide, I guess," Sam hurtfully accepted.

"Sam! You must hurry darling!"

"Wha- Rarity!? You're still alive!?" Sam communicated through the heart. The sudden interaction created a spike of relief for Sam. "Now I know I won't be letting out any tears when I think about you."

"Place the crystal heart where it belongs! Sombra's coming back as you both speak!"

"I know he is; you and I triggered a trap, while before a little fight between us took place. But Sombra isn't my only concern. What happens to you, Rarity. I mean your presence is inside the heart; will you be alright?"

"I will be fine, Samuel. Just do as I say, please!"

"King Sombra!?" Sunburst panicked. "I thought he wasn't coming back!"

"You thought? He left the crystal heart here, of course he'd be coming back to check up on it."

Sunburst motioned his eyes left and right showing his embarrassed smile. "Ye-yea I knew that!"

Sam resisted the urge to give an eye roll. "Come on, we gotta book."

******

Cadance turned out to have the eyes of a hawk, being capable of spotting Sunburst and Sam for afar. This was her chance to get help. She flied down similar to a jet, fighting away the air resistance. She told herself as she did to ignore Sombra's presence no matter what.

Sam noticed her approach by ear and waved as a friendly welcoming sign. "Look who's back; the Princess of Love, who I love."

"Th-the Pri-Princess of Love?" Sunburst blushed in an anxious way.

Cadance landed roughly, panting to her last breath. "Sam! Thank Celestia you're here!"

Sam nodded. "I could say the same for you. We got the crystal heart in our hands or hooves, now we just gotta wait for the perfect moment. Was Sombra on your tail? I need to know becau- oh, welp never mind I see the stallion himself up there," he gestured up above to a fog of shadow surrounding a top part of the castle. "Must be searching for the heart." He then took focus on Cadance, walking up close, bending down to his knees, and holding the heart up respectfully. "Cadance, will you do the honors?"

"I...Id love to," Cadance responded back respectfully. The princess of love levitated the heart onto the pedestal. It spun in circles like a fan, creating a wave of magical energy, decorating Cadance and Sunburst in a glittery crystalized form. Sombra screamed in agony from above the trio.

"I don't know if that was enough so be on your guard. Also be on guard for- uh."

Cadance raised an eyebrow to Sam, "be on our guard for uh?"

"No, look!" Sam pointed to the heart. Its power and glow diminished, and its structure nearly about to fall apart. He could hear Rarity's cries for help. The cries became screams of agony, which gave Sam's ears an agonizing pain. By instinct, he took a fist and smashed the heart like an alarm clock ten times the annoyance and torture.

The two ponies covered their faces as a blue mist of steam bushed out from a heart's destruction. From the remains of the heart now existed a blue gem stone.

Sam wore a smile of pride as he used a finger and thumb to securely lock the space element in one of the gauntlet's front holes. The stone infused its power into Sam's body, making him let out a manly scream. Sunburst swore he heard a chorus of godlike praises and gentle yells in the back of his head. "About time. I feel something so incredible in the air," he breathed in oxygen in enjoyment. "Can't believe this, I searched high and low for a single piece of the key, and it was in the heart this whole time. But I have it! THE POWER OF SPACE EVERYPONY!"

*Space Stone acquired.*

*5 more stones remain.*

Cadance planned on saying something but waited for Sam to cool off a bit. "Um, what is so special about that gemstone?"

Sam's gaze stuck to the generous space element. "It's one of six I am destined to find. The next one I'm looking for is contained in another world. Which is perfect since the entrance to that world is literally under my nose. But first, there's somepony we need to take care of."

---

At the top of the castle Sombra flew in, returning to his physical form. Shock unlike no other hit him square in the head as he glared at the unthinkable. "Impossible!" Sombra exclaimed fearfully. He originally locked the crystal heart away in this exact spot with a trap to alert if any thief had decided to steal such an ancient artifact. And still, it fell into some pony else's hooves.

A wave of thermal blue magic expanded from below, eating away Sombra's power. The king screamed from the top of his lungs. His body found itself weak against the magical components of whatever this magic could be. His doubts were full on Cadance, knowing an alicorn like her had no capability of such magic power.

Back in his shadow form, the king flew downwards to the suspecting source of to what he guessed would be the crystal heart now in its place. Cadance came into view, her coat and flank healing back to health. Cadance, without eyeballing, started speaking to the king that she knew was to her left. "Stop this madness already! You're a pony just like us; do you want to be seen as a monster?"

Sombra stomped a hoof, "silence! Hoof the crystal heart to me or I will force you to hoof over your life!"

Cadance shook her head. "Well, you leave me no choice. Come out you two."

An ominous blue light within the shadow's glowed behind the princess, "I don't think you're going to get anything out of this except a nice space beating," some pony interrupted from behind. The shadows were engulfed by an orange light spell casted by a unicorn stallion looking wizard. He wore a pair of circular glasses that from one's perspective, would believe there to be no glass. Also, a cloak decorated with stars covered more than half of the stallion's body.

Sombra clearly wasn't stressed or impressed, not by the unicorn at least. Sombra's concerns were constructed by Cadance, but mostly constructed on the creature who took the same shape and form as Nightmare's killing pet with the exception of flesh and hair. From the king's eyes the two appeared to be friends, having a close relationship to princess Cadance.

"Okay King Sombra, time to give up that crown!" Sam said, nearly copying a line from Rainbow Dash, only replacing 'the' with 'that'.

"Wrong. It is time to give up your freedom to me," Sombra corrected. "Any pony or creature must fall under my control. If the three of you oppose me still, I will personally lick away your lives with the very tip of my tongue."

Sam was itching for a cold fight, he wanted to find some way to stop Sombra's controlling attitude, but first, Sam needs to know Sombra's motive. "Look, can you at least tell us why you want Equestria under your control so bad? You are aware that Equestria is about to meet its end in several weeks, right?"

A ball of gas was shining bright, with no snow clouds to block its light. Cadance lightly trotted far over the king's right, as did Sunburst. Sombra, unimpressed, removed a smile. "The crystal heart has over done itself," Sombra began explaining, giving no heed to the two ponies abroad from his view. "My eternal blizzard no more, my enhanced strength no more, my slaves no more, a weak princess, no more."

Based on what he said, the crystal heart placed Sombra into a losing position. He licked around the fangs disturbingly, tasting a sort of fear within Sam. Cadance dug her dense hooves down lividly, creating four shallow holes.

"You may look fearless, but I see you are hiding something," Sombra trotted closer. "Let's see if you can handle your inner demons," his eyes transitioned to a darker green.

Sam was unable to move about, he just couldn't find the will to move away. He could feel Sombra's magic attacking him, only not physically.

'You worthless piece of trash, get a job!'

"..."

'You suck! You're so weak you can't even lift a metal ladder!'

"Lies..."

'Too chicken to clean the rug! I'm not raising a son who's a coward here!'

"I'm not scared, I just don't feel like doing work that's not mine. SO SHUT UP!"

'Nobody's going to like you.'

"Nobody likes me, huh? Well, I guess there's no point in caring about anybody then. I'M GOING TO DRAG YOU ALL TO THE INFERNO WITH ME!"

"Snap out of it, Sam!" Sunburst called seemingly far.

"SNAP OUT OF WHAT?! I'll SNAP YO-" he paused. "Sunburst?" he gazed upon a small light of cyan in the surrounding darkness he was mentally fighting. He followed the light to the end of the tunnel, reaching his escape back to reality. His breathed in heavily, believing he ran a 4-mile lap without rest. It was all in his head. "Th-Thank you, Sunburst."

The unicorn chuckled. "I only deserve partial credit. Save all thanks to her," Sunburst pointed in the direction of a fight between a weakened dark unicorn and a strengthened alicorn princess. "She's the one who broke you free from Sombra's spell."

Popping a few knuckles, Sam furnished the element stone of space with an absurd amount of willpower. "Cadance saved my cold butt. I can thank her by saving her hot butt."

Sam analyzed the furious battle between two future rulers of the empire. It was either win or lose. Win, to win over control of the empire. Lose, to lose the empire forever. Even with the heart's power boost, Sombra's powers were outmatching Cadance's. Just as always, the good finds him or herself falling into a pit of darkness and hopelessness. Only then to be given a rope of hope to climb to the light.

"That rope of hope will be me," Sam quickly controlled the fabrics of gravity to stop the alicorn from falling to her doom. Sombra followed down in shadow form then fired a blast to which Sam easily blocked with a forcefield in front. Removing the forcefield, Sam lost his balance as he used his hand to comfort the clumsy fall.

Sombra returned to a physical state, glaring at the trio. "Why can't you see this fighting is meaningless!"

"Likewise, Sombra," Cadance spoke back. "This fighting IS meaningless! If you would give up your evil ways, I can promise you happiness and love, no more pain and sorrow."

Sam tried to stand up as she talked. "She's right you know. Taking over Equestria sounds fun, but it's not going to make you feel better in the future. The more you take the less you have. And if you side with darkness, you will go down into darkness."

"Really? How so?" Sombra for once wore a straight face. Creating a belief in the trio against him.

"Take my nemesis for an example, Nightmare. I know you and him have some correspondence. That demon's goal is to cover this land in darkness, in other words wipe the very existence of all living matter. You, Sombra, are a part of that living matter. If Nightmare gets the way, there won't be any pony around to enslave. You, Sombra, yes, you. You are a slave yourself to my enemy. You are being used for his own amusement and his advantage. If you rebel against him, we can save this world together!"

Sombra looked down regretfully. "I fear it is too late for such change," he eyed two ponies. "My actions are unforgivable; no pony will ever forget!" Sombra returned to a shadowy form angrily. "I am a MONSTER!"

Sam didn't hesitate to stop the king by using a magical space force. Unbelievably, Sam still had the energy to use the stone. Though, he was sweating like a sick tired dog. Killer Sans along with Nightmare's possession, had diminished Sam's will to fight any longer. "Dang it! He's strong as heck! Hey Sunburst!"

"Yes?!" he said concerned.

"You know the spells! Isn't there a reforming spell or something in that giant book of yours?"

Sunburst felt a nuke explode in mind internally. "Why yes! Yes, I do! Um... let's see here. Um..." Sunburst rapidly turned each page like his life depended on it.

Sam groaned, starring at the stone consuming away his life force in exchange for its power. "Be quick! I'm going to pass out if this continues!"

"Why can't I move?! What is this sorcery?!" Sombra demanded.

Sam gave a tiresome shrug, "dunno. Maybe it's Zero Point Energy." He thought of Syndrome's ZPE ability, which gave him the idea of a name like that. Holding Sombra captive was an absolute pain. Sam tries to seek a more comforting way to hold Sombra away. Maybe if he focused on the sounds of pages flipping back and forth it would ease the pain.

"Found it!" Sunburst announced. "Darkness Forgiveness is the spell. It changes a pony's perspective of their past and changes the minds of other ponies to a more forgiving behavior."

Cadance blinked in surprise. She trotted closer near Sunburst getting a view of the words. "What? A loving compassionate feeling is required?"

Sunburst nodded. "The spell demands more than raw magic power. First, you must show empathy to some pony in need. Then, once the spell has fully reached its peak you must feel the same pain your opponent feels. Be warned; the pain could lead the user into the opponent's hoof steps if mentally weak."

Cadance reads one more set of lines before Sam called or rather screamed for help. Cadance sighed at what needed to be done. Both Sam and Sombra were in need of her help. She was the princess of love after all.

The princess placed her hoof on Sam's aching shoulder, casting the spell to reveal great memories. "You've done your part, let me take of the rest." Sam's heart sparked, which gave the spell a spark of energy. A smile formed on Sam's face as the space element's glow went out, as did he.

Sombra was now free, as he roared at the princess. Horn bubbling deep dark, he made an effort to go for his strongest attack. When the attack impacted Cadance, she barely managed to fight it off. Then, after enough time of enduring she unleashed the spell, her horn cracking and breaking apart.

The spell hit Sombra straight through his chest plate and into the heart. The king silently fell unconscious. Cadance did the same. Everypony was out cold except for one nerdy unicorn.

"Guess I will just stand here until they wake up," Sunburst said to himself.

---

*Meanwhile, in another world*

"Okay Sunset, you got this. Just walk through the portal, ask for Celestia's forgiveness and help, then everything will be fine," Sunset Shimmer said to reassure herself.

Her lips nervously tensed up, as she placed a hand (hoof) on the mirror. Before taking a step forward, a hoof from the other side came through the portal, desperately gripping Sunset's arm. The pony in question seemed like it was in need of escape. Even if Sunset Shimmer wasn't necessarily the type to help others, especially because many called her mean, she decided to pull the pony out from whatever was keeping him or her from crossing the portal.

*BOOM*

A loud explosion erupted a sound to the surrounding area. Sunset Shimmer was dazed afterwards. She tried to snap herself back up but managed to slightly open her eye lids for a split second before things became dark.

Sam tilted his head, "huh. That was very much unexpected."

End of Part 2/4