The Return of King Sombra

by Dragon-Master-31

United As One

“Wh-Who is that?” Cozy Glow asked as she looked up at the creature that stood before them.

“It’s him… it’s Grogar…” Tirek said, shocking the other villains.

“What? Impossible!” Chrysalis said as she looked up at Grogar.

“Grogar…” was all Sombra could say; even he was shocked by Grogar’s sudden arrival.

Indeed, standing before the four villains was none other than Grogar himself, however there was something off about his appearance. Just as the legends depicted him, Grogar was tall, with an odd blue colored coat and a light greyish mane and tail; his large horns were a dark shade of blue. Around his torso, Grogar was wearing a strange red harness with bells around it. That is where things started to look different. Grogar’s eyes were a dark reddish color and there was a strange dark aura seeping out from his entire body. Also, he looked like he was more of a spirit than an actual living creature. Grogar continued to breathe heavily until he looked up into the skies of Equestria, reveling in the fact that he was finally free from his cursed bewitching bell.

“(Growl) (Dark Chuckle) I’m back… I’m free… I’M FREE!!” Grogar roared as he laughed, while all the other villains could do was stare in complete shock.

“Grogar? But that’s impossible! I saw his skeleton when I was in the cave.” Cozy Glow said.

“You what!?” Tirek asked, unsure if he had heard the filly correctly.

“It’s true! When I went in the cave, the bell was on this weird pedestal thing, and Grogar’s skeleton was in front of it.” Cozy Glow said.

Being alerted to the presence of the others, Grogar slowly looked down at the four villains and narrowed his eyes at them.

“Who among you was the one who set me free?” Grogar asked.

“How are you even alive!? I saw your body!” Cozy Glow shouted.

“That stupid Gusty the Great put a curse on my bell that would drain me of all my power if I tried to take it back.” Grogar replied before he let out a single huff. “Who are all of you?”

“Greetings, Grogar. I am King Sombra.” Sombra said as he stepped forward, introducing himself before gesturing to the others. “This is Lord Tirek, Queen Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow. I was the one who ordered these three to find your bell and take it.”

“(Huff) I’ve never heard of any of you.” Grogar said before narrowing his eyes on Sombra. “What could you possible want with my bell?”

“(Chuckle) Simple, I plan to take over all of Equestria with the help of these three. However, in order for us to conquer this land, we need the power that rests within your ancient bell.” Sombra explained.

“(Scoffs) And you think I’m just going to let you take my power from my bell?” Grogar asked. “Do you even know who I am!?”

“(Chuckle) Oh, I know who you are, Grogar. I just don’t care.” Sombra said with a grin.

When Sombra said this, there was a long silence. Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy Glow were surprised how Sombra could say such a thing to this ancient and powerful creature. Grogar was none too happy about this as he just glared at Sombra, while Sombra just stared back at him with a confident grin on his face.

“You dare to mock me!?” Grogar yelled.

“Whether you are willing to share your power with us or not, I don’t care, but I am willing to make a deal with you.” Sombra said, completely ignoring Grogar’s statement.

“I don’t make deals with anyone!” Grogar yelled as his horns started to glow.

Then, in an instant, a beam of dark magic shot out from Grogar’s horns and hit Sombra right in the chest, sending him crashing into a nearby tree.

“King Sombra!” Cozy Glow cried as she watched Sombra get blasted by Grogar’s attack.

“Since you three were the ones who set me free, I will offer you a chance to live.” Grogar said, turning his attention to the terrible trio. “Kill King Sombra and serve me. If you do, you will all be spared when I conquer all of Equestria and beyond.”

“NO! We’ll never serve you, Grogar!” Cozy Glow screamed.

“You’d rather serve him and die than serve me and have a chance to live!? Sombra is nothing compared to me!” Grogar shouted.

“We don’t want to serve anyone! Not you, not Sombra, not any creature!” Chrysalis shouted back.

“Fine!” Grogar yelled as he used his magic to levitate his bell off the ground and placed it back on his harness.

With Grogar’s bell back in his possession, Grogar used some of the bell’s power to restore his body. Once his body had been mostly restored, Grogar used his magic to lift the terrible trio up into the air, preventing them from using any of their powers or from escaping.

“If you will not serve me! Then you will die!” Grogar yelled as he charged up another attack.

Just as Grogar was about to blast the terrible trio with his magic, Sombra suddenly came out from Grogar’s shadow in his shadow form, snatching the bell and flying away from him. Sombra then rushed over to the terrible trio and used his power to free them from Grogar’s magic.

“Take the bell and get out of here!” Sombra said as he handed the trio the bell. “I’ll keep Grogar busy.”

“King Sombra, no! Grogar is too powerful! We’re not leaving you!” Cozy Glow said.

“Yes, you are! Now go!” Sombra yelled.

“But-(Gasp) LOOK OUT!” Cozy Glow shouted as Grogar blasted another attack at them.

Sombra turned around and saw the deadly blast coming straight towards them. There was no time to properly dodge or even block the oncoming attack. Sombra knew there was only one thing to do. Just before they were all hit by Grogar’s attack, Sombra used his magic to throw the terrible trio to the side, saving them while he took the full hit from the attack, being sent flying into a huge rock.

When the terrible trio had been thrown clear from Grogar’s attack, they landed on the ground hard. Cozy Glow, who had been given the bell, hit the ground so hard that she actually got knocked out, sending the bell flying into the air. Luckily, Tirek managed to catch the bell before it hit the floor. With Sombra once again being seemingly dealt with, Grogar looked over to the terrible trio, glaring as he saw that they were now in possession of his bell.

“Give me back my BELL!!!” Grogar roared as he charged towards the terrible trio.

Just before Grogar reached the terrible trio, Sombra suddenly leapt out of Grogar’s shadow once again, blasting him in the chest with his magic. The surprise attack caused Grogar to stumble back and lose his balance a bit as he fell over.

“You want the bell? You’re going to have to get through me!” Sombra yelled as he turned his attention back to the other villains. “Go! Get out of here now!”

With that, Tirek and Chrysalis immediately scurried to get as far away from Grogar as possible. The duo almost left Cozy Glow behind but Tirek quickly scooped up the unconscious filly and carried her with him as he and Chrysalis ran away as quickly as they could.

“NO!!” Grogar yelled as he watched the terrible trio flee with his bell. “(Growl) You will regret getting in my way!”

“(Chuckle) I regret nothing. Equestria will be mine and you will not stop me!” Sombra yelled.

“Oh, we’ll see about that!” Grogar yelled as he fired a beam of magic at Sombra.

Sombra laughed as he quickly dove into the shadows, avoiding Grogar’s attack before jumping out from behind him and blasting him in the back. This angered Grogar as he used his power to raise a large stone from the ground, attempting to impale Sombra. The stone barely missed Sombra as he used his power to raise a bunch of small crystals from the ground. Taking aim, Sombra then sent all of the sharp crystals towards Grogar. These crystal shards didn’t do anything to oppose Grogar as he just used his magic to stop them midair, causing all of the crystals to fall to the floor and break.

“(Chuckle) Show off.” Sombra said as he looked at the many crystals which lay on the floor.

“Give up, King Sombra. You are no match for me! I am more powerful than you’ll ever be!” Grogar yelled.

“(Chuckle) Give up? Oh, I don’t think so!” Sombra yelled.

Sombra then morphed into his shadow form and tackled Grogar, biting down on his shoulder. Grogar roared in pain as he managed to shake Sombra off of him. Grogar used his magic to slam Sombra onto the ground multiple times. As he was getting slammed, Sombra waited for just the right moment and once Grogar slammed him onto the ground again, Sombra took his chance and dove into the shadows, escaping Grogar’s magic. Grogar looked around furiously for Sombra until a large crystal rose up out of the ground, launching Grogar into the air. While in midair, Sombra teleported above Grogar and fired a beam of magic at him, sending Grogar crashing to the ground. With Grogar down, Sombra quickly teleported to the ground in front of him. Then, with an evil grin, Sombra’s eyes glowed green.

“Now, Grogar, face your fears!” Sombra yelled.

As Sombra tried to trap Grogar in his worst fears, Grogar’s horns suddenly glowed a bright yellowish color, initiating some sort of spell which made Grogar’s eyes suddenly begin to glow that same bright yellow color. Whatever spell that Grogar had just used worked as it was able to cancel out Sombra’s power.

“What!?” Sombra said, shocked at how his power had done nothing to Grogar.

“(Dark Chuckle) You really think I’d succumb to your power so easily? I am GROGAR, EQUESTRIA’S EMPEROR AND THE FATHER OF MONSTERS!” Grogar roared as he summoned a dark orb in front of him.

Grogar’s horns then started to transfer a bunch of magic and energy to this floating orb, making it bigger and stronger with power. Grogar then sent the orb flying towards Sombra. Sombra fired a beam of his magic at the orb, attempting to destroy it before it reached him. However, Sombra’s power was not even close to being able to cancel out Grogar’s attack; he wasn’t even able to slow the orb down. Without any time to counter or dodge, Sombra was hit by the orb, causing his whole body to be encased with a black and yellow glowing essence. Whatever this was had temporarily drained Sombra of his stamina, causing him to fall to the floor.

With a grin, Grogar lifted Sombra up into the air with his magic and slammed him right back down to the ground. Sombra had hit the floor so hard, that the impact actually caused him to bounce back into the air. With Sombra back in the air, Grogar used his powerful legs to launch himself into the air until he was hovering above Sombra. Grogar then flipped in midair, smacking Sombra back down to the ground with his hoof. Grogar then teleported in front of Sombra, before ramming into him and slamming Sombra into a nearby tree. Sombra had hit the tree so hard that he actually went through it and crashed into another tree.

Grogar then charged towards Sombra, ready to trample him. Sombra saw the oncoming threat and at the last second, sank into the shadows. Grogar let out a frustrated roar as Sombra once again managed to avoid his attack.

“(Snarl) Coward! All you’re good at is hiding! Come on out and fight me!” Grogar roared as he looked around for Sombra. “You started this fight, and I’ll finish it!”

“(Evil Laugh) You sure do love to talk, don’t you Grogar?”

Grogar quickly turned around to where he had heard the voice, however, Sombra was nowhere to be seen. Sombra continued to taunt Grogar, his voice seemingly coming from all over the place.

“You may have taken over Equestria and appointed yourself as emperor once, but that was years ago…”

“Trust me, when I’m done with you, I’ll hunt down those three servants of yours and I’ll get my bell back!” Grogar yelled, still trying to pinpoint Sombra’s location. “And when I do, I’ll take over Equestria again!”

“(Evil Chuckle) You really think it will be that easy?”

“Of course, I do…” Grogar said as he secretly used his magic to figure out where Sombra was hiding. “And you’re not stopping me!”

Grogar then transferred a lot of power to his legs as he stomped onto the ground behind him. The sheer force of his hoof caused the ground to break and Sombra was shot out of the shadows. Never before had somepony managed to figure out how to deal with Sombra’s shadow methods. As soon as Sombra was exposed, Grogar blasted two beams of magic from his horns at Sombra, sending him flying into the trees. Grogar then tried to blast Sombra with another one of his powerful orbs, but before he could, a bunch of small crystals shot out of the ground and started flying at Grogar, stabbing him. Grogar roared in pain as he used a magical energy burst to shoot all of the crystals out of his body.

Sombra then jumped out of the shadows and blasted Grogar right in the face with his magic. However, Grogar just shook it off and rammed Sombra with his large horns. As Sombra fell back on the floor, Grogar attempted to pounce on him. In response, Sombra quickly raised up a large crystal from the ground, knocking Grogar back again. Sombra then raised up another crystal and smashed against the side of Grogar’s face. Sombra tried this attack again, but Grogar used another burst of magic to send Sombra flying back. Grogar then used the crystal Sombra was going to use, and threw it at Sombra, hitting him in the chest.

With Sombra hit twice, Grogar started to charge towards Sombra, once again trying to ram him into another rock or tree. Sombra stomped his hoof on the ground, raising up a bunch of large crystals to stop Grogar. However, Grogar was so strong that he just smashed through every crystal that Sombra summoned. Sombra tried to escape into the shadows, but Grogar caught him in a telekinetic grip and rammed into him, sending Sombra flying back again. Grogar then fired another orb at Sombra, but Sombra summoned a pair of shadow hands from the ground, holding Grogar down and causing him to miss his target. With Grogar temporarily pinned down, Sombra rushed over to him.

Before he got too close, Sombra stopped himself and decided to just play it safe. Using his magic, Sombra raised up another shadow hand and used it to choke Grogar. Just as Grogar’s throat was about to be crushed, Grogar used his magic to raise up a large stone from underneath Sombra, knocking him back and cancelling out his power. While Sombra was in the air, he teleported right in front of Grogar, using his magic to form a sword out of crystals. Sombra swung his crystal sword at Grogar, trying to cut his neck or anywhere on his face, but Grogar dodged every swipe before headbutting Sombra, causing him to drop his sword. Sombra and Grogar glared at each other before they charged towards each other to continue their fight.

Meanwhile…

While Sombra was having his intense fight with Grogar, Tirek and Chrysalis were running as fast as they could away from the battle, with Chrysalis flying alongside Tirek, who was carrying the unconscious Cozy Glow with him as well as Grogar’s bell. Cozy Glow began to stir in her state of unconsciousness as she slowly began to wake up. The last thing she remembered was Sombra saving them and taking the full blast from Grogar’s attack.

“King Sombra… Huh? HUH!? What’s going on!?” Cozy Glow asked as she woke up to being held by Tirek who was running with Chrysalis.

“Oh good, you’re alive! I was worried that I was carrying a dead body around. It’d take weeks for me to clean the scent off.” Tirek said as he continued running.

“Seriously! What’s going on!?” Cozy Glow asked again as she tried to wriggle free from Tirek’s grip.

“We’re escaping before Grogar tracks us down and takes us out! That’s what’s going on!” Chrysalis responded.

“WHAT!? But what about King Sombra!?” Cozy Glow cried.

“Sombra is taking care of Grogar!” Tirek replied.

“And we’re just going to leave him!? Grogar’s gonna kill him!” Cozy Glow cried.

“Good! Then we don’t need to worry about him killing us! We’ll have plenty of time to flee before Grogar finds us!” Chrysalis said.

“No! We have to go back! We have to help King Sombra!” Cozy Glow protested as she continued to struggle.

“And get killed by Sombra or Grogar!? Forget it! We’re not going back there!” Tirek said.

“(Grunt) You idiots!” Cozy Glow screamed as she bit down on Tirek’s finger, causing him to yell in pain, letting go of Cozy Glow.

Once Tirek had let her go, Cozy Glow quickly flew up and smacked Tirek in the face, causing him to drop the bell. Cozy Glow then snatched up the bell and flew back a bit. Tirek and Chrysalis immediately stopped running and turned around to face the filly who was now in possession of Grogar’s bell. Cozy Glow’s eyes were filled with rage and betrayal. The two villains knew that they were in serious danger right now because if Cozy Glow used the bell on them, there was nothing they could do. Tirek figured it was best to try and keep Cozy Glow calm and try to reason with her, just in case she somehow figured out how to use the bell. Chrysalis on the other hoof, was not in the mood to reason with anypony.

“Now, Cozy, listen here and just give us the be-.”

“NO! You listen! Both of you!” Cozy Glow screamed, cutting Tirek off. “King Sombra just saved us! And you’re just going to abandon him!?”

“Saved us!? Don’t be so naïve, child!” Chrysalis said, letting out a huff. “Sombra didn’t save us! All he did was protect Grogar’s bell from being destroyed!”

“If King Sombra only cared about the bell, then why did he move us out of the way and take the hit from Grogar’s attack?” Cozy Glow asked.

“Well obviously because… because… because…” Chrysalis said, going silent as she realized that she didn’t have an answer.

“Don’t you see? King Sombra did save us! He was telling the truth; he does believe in us, and he does need us! He was never going to betray us!” Cozy Glow said before she scowled at the two villains. “The only reason Sombra attacked us was because you two were being stupid and lashed out against him for no reason!”

After hearing this, Tirek and Chrysalis looked at each other. They didn’t want to admit it, but deep down they both knew that Cozy Glow was right. If Sombra really didn’t care about them, he would’ve just saved himself and fled with the bell, leaving them behind to deal with Grogar. Instead, Sombra gave them a chance to escape while he fought an ancient tyrant who was much stronger than he was.

“King Sombra made a deal with us, and we all signed that contract together! That contract promised us so much and you two are just gonna throw it all away!? UGH! You know what!? You two can just leave! I don’t even care anymore! Do what you want, but I’m going back to help King Sombra!” Cozy Glow said as she turned around to leave.

“What!? Are you crazy!? Grogar will kill you.” Tirek said, shocked that this little filly was really going back to challenge that monster.

“I don’t care. I’m not leaving Sombra.” Cozy Glow said before she turned back to look at him. “And don’t act like you care at all because I know you don’t. None of you do.”

“You’d really be willing to risk death by helping Sombra rather than have a chance to survive?” Chrysalis asked, causing Cozy Glow to stop.

“King Sombra believes in me, and I won’t let him down. Goodbye Tirek and goodbye Chrysalis.” Cozy Glow said as she began to fly away.

Once again, Tirek and Chrysalis just looked at each other as they watched the filly go. They took in everything that Cozy Glow had just told them, and it all started to make more sense.

“(Sigh) She’s right…” Chrysalis said, catching Tirek off guard.

“Huh?” Tirek asked, looking over to Chrysalis.

“She’s right.” Chrysalis said again. “If King Sombra didn’t care for us or have any need for us, he would have just killed us the moment we brought the bell to him. But he didn’t.”

“And Sombra really did seem like he wanted to work with us and rule Equestria together.” Tirek said as he thought back to when they had all signed the contract. “Everything in his contract was fair and would give us all equal power.”

“We’ve all tried to take over Equestria ourselves and none of us were successful.” Chrysalis added. “Even Sombra has failed once, but this time, he has a plan. A plan that… might actually work…”

“Chrysalis… are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Tirek asked, looking into the changeling’s eyes.

“I think I am… Tirek…” Chrysalis said as she stared back into Tirek’s eyes.

The two villains knew what they had to do. After giving each other a confirming nod, Tirek and Chrysalis quickly set off to catch up with Cozy Glow.

While Tirek and Chrysalis had been having their little revelation, Cozy Glow had stopped flying and was trying to figure out how to use the bell. She knew that Tirek and Chrysalis were right; there was no way that Cozy Glow would even stand a chance against Grogar. So Cozy Glow figured that if she could figure out how to transfer some of the power in the bell to her, she would be able to help Sombra. The only problem was, Cozy Glow didn’t know how to get the bell to work.

As Cozy Glow was still figuring out how to get the bell to work, she heard the sounds of hooves approaching and the sound of changeling wings flapping getting closer. When she heard the familiar voice of Tirek call out to her, Cozy Glow groaned.

“Cozy Glow! Wait!” Tirek called as he and Chrysalis approached the filly.

“(Groan) What do you want!?” Cozy Glow asked as she turned around and made sure that the two villains could see the bell. “Get away from me or I’ll use this bell on you!”

“(Chuckle) Come on Cozy Glow, we both that you don’t know how to use that bell.” Tirek said with an amused smirk on his face.

“Oh yeah!? Well, you don’t know that!” Cozy Glow snapped.

“Child, just stop with the act already. Honestly, it’s quite pathetic.” Chrysalis said as she shook her head slightly.

“(Grunt) Just leave me alone! And don’t try to stop me either or I’ll beat you both over the head with this instead!” Cozy Glow threatened as she swung the bell around.

“We’re not trying to stop you, child.” Chrysalis said, putting on a gentler tone.

“Wait… what?” Cozy Glow asked, unsure if she heard the changeling queen correctly.

“We’re coming with you.” Chrysalis said.

“You’re… coming with me?” Cozy Glow asked, still unsure if she was hearing things right. “But why?”

“You were right, Cozy Glow. We all would have been dead by now if Sombra hadn’t saved us.” Tirek said.

“And if Sombra didn’t need us, he wouldn’t have wasted his time with the likes of us.” Chrysalis added. “All of us have failed to take over Equestria, and I’ve even failed twice. Despite this, Sombra still chose the three of us to work with him.”

“How do I know you two aren’t just trying to trick me so you can take this bell for yourselves?” Cozy Glow asked suspiciously.

“Does it look like we’re lying right now?” Chrysalis asked. “Under normal circumstances, none of us would ever admit to being wrong.”

“That’s right and while we still may not like Sombra, we have respect for him. He’s come up with a plan to take over Equestria that not even I could have come up with.” Tirek said.

“If Sombra needs us to ensure that his plan will work, then we will follow him.” Chrysalis said as she looked up at her crown before looking back at Cozy Glow. “Sombra is giving us an opportunity to take back what is rightfully ours, and we’d be fools not to take him up on his offer.”

“So, you mean…?”

“Yes, we’re going to help King Sombra and make sure that his plan is a success. We will all rule Equestria together.” Chrysalis replied with a firm nod.

“From now on, we will work together and use teamwork to our advantage. But before we can do that, we have to save King Sombra from getting his flank kicked by that old ram.” Tirek said, looking back in the direction where Sombra was fighting Grogar, before turning back to face the others. “But as we all know, none of us are strong enough to take on Grogar. However, if we used the power in his bell, we might just stand a chance.”

“And even if we can’t overpower him, we don’t have to.” Chrysalis said with a grin, showing off her sharp teeth and fangs. “All we have to do is wait for my secret weapon to do its work.”

“Your secret weapon?” Cozy Glow asked, tilting her head.

“I’ll explain everything on the way, but first, we need to figure out how to use this bell.” Chrysalis said, looking at the bell.

“I think I might have an idea on how to use this thing.” Tirek said as he walked over to Cozy Glow. “Can I see the bell?”

Cozy Glow looked up at Tirek suspiciously. She was happy to hear that her partners were willing to follow Sombra in his plan to take over Equestria, but she didn’t know if she was completely ready to trust them. However, Cozy Glow knew that the more time they wasted, the more Sombra would suffer in his battle against Grogar. So, Cozy Glow swallowed her pride and handed Tirek the bell.

“Thank you.” Tirek said as he took the bell from Cozy Glow. “Now, despite how legendary this little bell has been made out to be, at the end of the day it’s still just a magic artifact, is it not?”

Chrysalis and Cozy Glow nodded, wondering where Tirek was going with this.

“Luckily for all of us, I happen to know a spell that can transfer magic from powerful artifacts. It’s really easy once you get the hang of it. Anyone can do it if they know how spells work.” Tirek said as he then held out his hands. “Take my hands.”

Hearing this, Chrysalis and Cozy Glow just looked up at Tirek like he was insane. Chrysalis was rather disgusted by this, and Cozy Glow was just skeptical and concerned about Tirek’s mental state. Seeing the confusion on their faces, Tirek rolled his eyes.

“(Sigh) So we can all be part of the spell.” Tirek elaborated before smirking a bit. “Unless you prefer, I take all the magic myself?”

“Our agreement is final; what we do, we do together.” Chrysalis said as she and Cozy Glow took ahold of Tirek’s hands. “Once we defeat Twilight Sparkle and the rest of those pathetic ponies, we will all rule Equestria together.”

“Let’s do this!” Cozy Glow said as she nodded to Tirek.

With that, Tirek used the spell on Grogar’s bell, which actually worked. Tirek sent some of his own magic into the bell, which caused the bell to start glowing. The bell began to slowly levitate into the air until it stopped at Tirek’s eyelevel. Then, the bell rotated so that the bottom part was facing the terrible trio. Suddenly, a black and yellow portal of magic opened up before shooting a beam of magic at the three villains, transferring power to them.

Once the bell had done its job, it slowly lowered itself back to the ground. Then, in a bright flash of light, the terrible trio began to change. The animals that were close by watched in horror as Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow became stronger physically and magically. The terrible trio laughed together as they knew it was time to see what they could do with their new powers.

Meanwhile…

“You can never beat me!” Grogar yelled as he threw Sombra into a large rock with his magic.

Sombra yelled in pain as he smashed into the large rock. Sombra had put up as much of a fight as he could, but he was nowhere near strong enough to defeat Grogar. Eventually, Sombra had just started sticking to dodging and evading all of the attacks.

“You’re just a pony! Of which, I have killed hundreds!” Grogar yelled as he pulled Sombra back towards him with his telekinesis.

As Grogar kept Sombra suspended in the air with his magic, he sent a powerful shock wave from his horns at Sombra, electrocuting him with an electric spell. Grogar relished the pain he was inflicting on Sombra as all he could do was yell in agony. After electrocuting Sombra for a good solid minute, Grogar finally stopped his spell. Steam was rising from Sombra’s body due to the painful shock therapy he just endured.

“(Dark Chuckle) You actually thought that you’d be able to defeat me? (Dark Chuckle) Not in this or any lifetime!” Grogar yelled as he headbutted Sombra, causing him to fly back into another large rock.

Sombra slammed into the rock hard, once again yelling in pain as he slowly slid to the floor. The impact was so great that it actually knocked Sombra’s crown off of his head. Sombra’s crown clanked as it hit the ground while Sombra struggled to get back up. Grogar just laughed as he slowly yet menacingly walked towards Sombra.

“(Dark Chuckle) I wish I could say you put up a good fight King Sombra, but I can’t.” Grogar said as he looked down at the wounded Sombra. “Once I’m done with you, no pony will believe you even existed.”

Sombra didn’t say anything as he just looked up at Grogar, who was preparing to finish him off with another attack.

“Goodbye, King Sombra!” Grogar yelled as he was about to blast Sombra.

Then, just before he could unleash his attack, Grogar felt a pair of sharp fangs pierce his left shoulder. Grogar roared in pain as he felt the fangs sink into his flesh. Sombra couldn’t see what had just attacked Grogar, but whatever it was, Grogar used his magic to throw it off of him.

“Hey Grogar!” A voice called as Grogar turned around to see who had called out to him.

It was then that Grogar was able to see Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow, only this time there were some very noticeable differences about them now.

Tirek looked mostly the same, but when Grogar took a closer look, he could see that Tirek was now bigger and his whole body was much more muscular than before. His horns were also longer and much sharper. Chrysalis also looked similar to how she always did, but her body had now become much more armored. Chrysalis now had a bright greenish armoring on her hooves and torso. Her wings had grown much larger, and they looked more wicked than ever. Her crown also grew bigger and slightly changed in its design. Chrysalis’s horn also grew slightly larger, and the tip of her horn was also bright green, as well as her eyes. Cozy Glow had ditched her winter attire, replacing it with a small sand colored chest plate and was now sporting a large horn on the top of her head and her wings had grown a bit bigger; Cozy Glow had been turned into an alicorn.

“Looking for this?” Cozy Glow asked as she held the bell up with her magic, revealing that she had used her new powers to make a necklace for the bell.

“What!? You used my bell!? But how!?” Grogar shouted as he saw the terrible trio in their new forms.

“(Laughs) Oh please! You’re not the only one who knows how to use powerful artifacts, Grogar.” Tirek said as he flexed his muscles at Grogar.

“I thought you said that you wouldn’t serve any creature! Why have you come back to save this tyrant!? Do you really want to be his slaves!?” Grogar shouted, pointing over to an exhausted Sombra.

“(Chuckle) This is not about serving any creature; this is about us ruling Equestria together.” Chrysalis said with a grin.

“Together? You can’t be serious! You really believe that he will willingly rule over Equestria with you three!?” Grogar asked.

“We weren’t so sure about it at first either, but now we’re looking at the big picture here. With Sombra’s plan, Equestria will be ours.” Tirek said.

“Yeah! And no pony hurts King Sombra! It’s because of him that we’re all going to rule Equestria one day!” Cozy Glow added with a flap of her wings.

While the terrible trio continued to taunt and bicker with Grogar, Sombra finally managed to look over to see the three villains in their new forms. This surprised Sombra as he didn’t think they would actually come back for him. Hearing the things that they were saying was almost unbelievable. After all, it wasn’t that long ago when Tirek and Chrysalis made it very clear that they didn’t trust him. Now, they were… defending him? What had changed?

“You are an obstacle that stands in our way, Grogar. The way we see it, the only way we can achieve our goals of ruling Equestria, is to get rid of you.” Chrysalis said, narrowing her eyes at Grogar.

“(Growl) You weak miscreants dare to threaten me!?” Grogar asked, letting out another huff.

“I don’t know, what does it sound like we’re doing?” Tirek asked with a mocking grin. “Are you alright in the head, Grogar? Maybe you’ve gotten stupider since you were last relevant to Equestria.”

“(Snarl) When I get my bell back, I’ll drain all of you of your power! I’ll reduce all of you to dust and bones!” Grogar shouted, stomping his hoof down.

“Aww is someone feeling a little angry?” Cozy Glow asked, putting on an overly sympathetic look on her face. “You want your bell back? Come and get it.”

“With pleasure!” Grogar yelled as he let out another mighty roar before making a beeline for Cozy Glow, who was holding his bell.

As Grogar charged towards the terrible trio, Tirek and Chrysalis nodded to each other and jumped out of the way just as Grogar was about to ram into Cozy Glow. The filly smirked as she teleported above him and tossed Grogar’s bell over to Tirek, who caught it and placed it around his neck as Grogar crashed into a tree. The crash barely fazed Grogar as he turned around to blast Cozy Glow with his magic, only for Chrysalis to suddenly jump onto his back, wrapping her hooves around Grogar’s neck. While Chrysalis was hanging onto Grogar, Tirek began to charge up a powerful attack. Tirek then fired his beam of magic, however before the attack could land its mark, Grogar’s horns glowed. Tirek’s attack was then absorbed by the horns and then shot back at him, hitting him right in the face and knocking him out.

With Tirek taken care of, Grogar proceeded to buck Chrysalis off of him, causing Chrysalis to hiss in pain as she landed hard on her back. Grogar turned around so he could crush Chrysalis with his hoof, but he was interrupted when Cozy Glow teleported on top of his head and started hitting him. As Cozy Glow was distracting Grogar, Chrysalis managed to get back up and lunged at him, only to be kicked in the face hard by Grogar’s back hoof. Grogar then grabbed ahold of Cozy Glow with his magic and levitated her in front of his face.

“You will pay for not only stealing my bell, but also for using it against me!” Grogar yelled as he started to squeeze Cozy Glow with his magic.

“(Grunt) I’m not… scared of you! You old… goat!” Cozy Glow said as she felt her entire body getting slowly crushed by Grogar’s magic.

“(Dark Chuckle) A pity that you will die so young.” Grogar said as he prepared to use a fire spell to burn Cozy Glow alive. “Any last words, filly?”

“Y-Yeah… just one… snake.” Cozy Glow said with a smirk.

“What?” Grogar asked before Chrysalis, who had morphed into a giant snake, suddenly slithered up and wrapped herself around Grogar’s neck.

In response to the sudden strangulation, Grogar ended up tossing Cozy Glow to the side before using his magic to throw Chrysalis off of him and onto the ground, forcing her out of her snake form. Grogar was about to burn Chrysalis with a fire spell when Tirek suddenly rejoined the fight, landing a solid punch to Grogar’s face. Grogar stumbled back from the punch before Tirek grabbed ahold of his horns and slammed him to the floor. With Grogar down, Chrysalis morphed into a giant spider and jumped on his face, using the tiny claws in her spider legs to keep herself secure. Despite her efforts, Grogar managed to shake Chrysalis off of his face, flinging her away. This was only a temporary relief however as Cozy Glow suddenly teleported in front of Grogar and started to blast magic beams at his face.

After getting blasted a few times by Cozy Glow’s magic, Grogar attempted to overpower her by using his own magic. His attempts were stopped when Tirek suddenly charged forward and bucked Grogar in the side with his two front hooves, causing Grogar to roll on the floor from the impact until he slammed into a large rock. Chrysalis then morphed into a cheetah and dashed towards Grogar, leaping into the air, and landing on his back. Grogar yelled in pain as he felt Chrysalis claw and bite at him. Cozy Glow flew in the air and started to circle around Grogar, firing beams of magic at him while Chrysalis continued her assault. Tirek was charging up another attack and blasted it at Grogar. Seeing the blast coming towards him, Grogar used a powerful burst of magic, blasting Chrysalis off of him and even causing Cozy Glow to get pushed back a bit in the air. Then just like before, Grogar absorbed Tirek’s attack and fired it right back at him. This time however, Cozy Glow teleported in front of Tirek and used her magic to create a large magic bubble around her and Tirek, shielding them from the attack.

Grogar was shocked that this little filly was actually able to use her alicorn magic so well, especially since she only just got her new powers quite recently. Grogar immediately shook this shock away however as he stomped his hoof on the ground, causing a large boulder to come out before hurling the boulder at the despicable duo. Cozy Glow flew towards the boulder and teleported past it before it hit her. Tirek used his incredible strength to punch the boulder with his fist so hard that the boulder broke into pieces. Cozy Glow was once again in the air and firing multiple beams of magic at him. While Cozy Glow was continuing her air assault on Grogar, Tirek ran towards them so he could help. Grogar stomped his hoof on the ground once again, this time causing large stone pillars to rise out of the ground, trapping Tirek in a rocky cage.

Cozy Glow stopped attacking as she tried to break Tirek out of his temporary imprisonment, however Grogar grabbed her with his magic and slammed her down to the ground. The impact probably would have killed Cozy Glow; thankfully at the last second, she used her magic bubble to break her lethal fall. Meanwhile, Tirek was about to use his magic to break out of his cage, but before he could, Grogar fired a wave of electricity at him. As Grogar was shocking Tirek, Chrysalis quickly crawled underneath Grogar and blasted her magic at his stomach. Grogar roared in pain and tried to crush Chrysalis under him, however Chrysalis saw this coming and teleported above him, blasting her magic at his back.

Chrysalis continued to fire her magic at Grogar’s back while Cozy Glow got up and fired her magic at Grogar’s side. Tirek had already recovered from his electrocution and had broken out of his imprisonment. While the other two villains were flying around Grogar to keep him distracted and unable to hit them, Tirek charged up his attack and this time, his attack actually hit Grogar. The blast caused Grogar to fly back as he landed on the floor, chipping a tooth. After recovering from the attack, Grogar huffed as he looked up at the terrible trio.

“(Evil Laugh) You really are all talk, Grogar.” Chrysalis said as she looked down at the injured ram. “With our new powers which came from your bell, you never stood a chance against us.”

“Face it, you old goat, you’re history. It was three against one fight; you weren’t defeating us anytime soon. Tirek, waste him.” Cozy Glow said with a smirk.

“(Evil Chuckle) Of course, Cozy.” Tirek said as he prepared to drain Grogar of his magic and life force.

“(Growl) NO! I will not be defeated by the likes of you three! NEVER!” Grogar roared as he unleashed a powerful burst of magic from his body, blasting the terrible trio away from him.

As the three villains were blasted away by Grogar’s attack, Grogar used his telekinesis to grab ahold of Cozy Glow and yanked her back towards him. Grogar then threw Cozy Glow high into the air, causing her to spin and flip uncontrollably, which made it impossible for her to regain control. Since Cozy Glow wouldn’t be an issue for a while, Grogar focused his attention on the other two villains. In an attempt to distract him, Tirek fired a beam of magic at Grogar so Chrysalis could fly up and help Cozy Glow. This plan didn’t work however as Grogar just blocked Tirek’s attack with a magic barrier and used his telekinesis to slam Chrysalis right back down to the ground.

Tirek used his magic to lift up two large boulders from the ground and threw them both at Grogar As expected, Grogar easily destroyed the boulders with his magic, but that was planned as Chrysalis flew right in front of Grogar and smacked him twice before firing magic at his face. Grogar let out a roar as he tried to swipe at Chrysalis with his large horns, but Chrysalis quickly morphed into a mouse. Due to her small size, Grogar missed, and Chrysalis scurried underneath him before morphing into an Ursa Minor, allowing her to throw Grogar off balance. Grogar tried to kick Chrysalis with his back hoof, but Chrysalis morphed into a hawk and quickly flew out of range. Chrysalis then began to swoop down and strike Grogar multiple times.

While Chrysalis was distracting Grogar, Tirek charged up another powerful magic blast. Grogar saw this out of the corner of his eye and grinned as he quickly came up with a plan. As Chrysalis continued to attack him, Tirek fired his magic blast at Grogar, which was exactly what Grogar wanted. Grogar then grabbed Chrysalis with his telekinesis, forcing her out of her hawk form and causing Tirek’s attack to hit her instead, sending her flying into a tree and falling to the ground in pain.

Tirek then charged at Grogar and punched him in the face and chest over and over, trying to knock him out. Grogar eventually managed to regain his composure as he fought back against Tirek, using a spell that made him more durable to Tirek’s punches. After taking a few more hits, Grogar headbutted Tirek, stunning him and giving Grogar a chance to bash him and blast him with small but painful spark spells. After a good short brawl, Grogar hit Tirek on the head with his hoof and pinned him down with his other leg pressed against Tirek’s neck. Grogar then used his shock wave to electrocute Tirek again.

With Tirek once again electrocuted, Grogar lifted Tirek in the air with his telekinesis. Grogar then took back the necklace with his bell and threw Tirek over next to Chrysalis, who was still on the floor in pain. Grogar chuckled as he placed his bell back on his harness. Just then, a beam of magic flew past Grogar’s face. Looking up, Grogar could see that Cozy Glow had finally managed to regain control and was now flying straight towards him, shooting multiple magic beams at him. Grogar only smirked as he blasted Cozy Glow with an electric spell, causing her to crash down, landing next to Tirek and Chrysalis.

Grogar then summoned the large black orb again and transferred magic to it, making the orb bigger and stronger with power. The terrible trio, despite being in pain, knew that they had to do something, or they’d be destroyed. Grogar then blasted the dark orb at the terrible trio. The three villains then all fired their beams of magic at the orb in an attempt to cancel out the attack and save themselves. However, despite all three of the villains using their power at once, it still wasn’t enough to overpower Grogar’s attack as the orb hit the terrible trio and temporarily drained them of their stamina and power.

“(Laughs) You really thought that you three could overpower me? Do you not know who I am!? I am Grogar! I ruled Equestria for years! My reign was legendary! I will rule Equestria! ME!” Grogar yelled with a stomp of his hoof.

“(Cough) (Cough) Would you just shut up already?” Tirek asked as he struggled to get back up. “And I thought Sombra talked too much.”

“Spare us your pitiful monologue, Grogar. If you’re going to kill us, just kill us.” Chrysalis said with a glare.

“(Grunt) Yeah, do it! We’re not scared of you or death!” Cozy Glow shouted as she tried to use her magic but failed.

“You wish to die? So be it!” Grogar yelled as he prepared to use his most powerful fire spell to burn the terrible trio to death.

As Grogar’s fire spell was almost ready to be unleashed, Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow looked at each other and then looked back at Grogar, as if they were expecting something to happen. Then, something did happen, but it wasn’t at all what the terrible trio were expecting. Just before Grogar could blast them with his fire spell, Sombra shot out of the shadows below Grogar, uppercutting him in a similar way to the attack that Twilight used during her fight with Professor Screw. After uppercutting Grogar, Sombra snatched the bell off of his harness and landed in front of the terrible trio, looking back at them for a couple seconds before turning back to face Grogar.

“Ha! You all still think that you’ll be able to defeat me!? Pathetic!” Grogar said with a huff.

“(Evil Chuckle) I suppose we’ll have to find out.” Sombra said as his eyes glowed.

Two large crystal spikes suddenly shot up from the ground, nearly impaling Grogar from below, but Grogar managed to jump back just in time.

“Use this to get your energy back!” Sombra said as he tossed the bell to the terrible trio. “Then get out of here!”

Before the terrible trio could protest, Sombra morphed into his shadow form and started to tackle Grogar, biting him all over. Using his telekinesis, Grogar threw Sombra off of him and forced him out of his shadow form. As Sombra landed on the floor, dropping the bell, Grogar pinned him down with one leg and prepared to crush him with the other leg.

“DIE!” Grogar yelled as he swung his hoof down at Sombra’s face.

Just before Sombra’s face was smashed in by Grogar’s hoof, Tirek jumped in and caught Grogar’s hoof, stopping him from killing Sombra.

“What are you doing!? I said to go!” Sombra shouted as he saw Tirek holding back Grogar’s hoof.

“And leave you to die? No way. How would we take over Equestria without you?” Tirek asked with a grin as he shoved Grogar off of Sombra. “You want to take over Equestria, Grogar? Well, you’ll have to get rid of me first.”

“And me.” Chrysalis said as she flew up beside Sombra and helped him back up.

“And me too!” Cozy Glow said as she flew above Sombra and placed his crown back on his head.

Sombra was still confused by the actions of the terrible trio, but he knew that this was not the time to think about that. Seeing that the three villains, especially Tirek and Chrysalis were really intending to aid him in the fight, Sombra grinned at Grogar as he began to chuckle.

“(Evil Chuckle) This is your last chance, Grogar. Either back down and make a deal with me or die.” Sombra said.

“(Dark Chuckle) I’d rather have some annoying incompetent fool take my place.” Grogar replied with a grin.

“(Evil Chuckle) Very well.” Sombra said as they all just stared at each for a few moments before Sombra said: “Kill him.”

With that, the four villains united as one to take on Grogar. Cozy Glow flew up in the air so she could attack Grogar from above while the others took him head on, since she was more at risk of being severely injured than the others due to her small size. Sombra dove into the shadows and jumped out from behind Grogar; when he had jumped out, Sombra raised about five crystal shards up from the ground and threw them at Grogar. Grogar roared in pain as he felt the shards stab him in the back. Tirek then ran up and punched Grogar twice in the face before kicking him hard in the chest, pushing him back a bit. Chrysalis then flew towards Grogar and smacked him in the face before blasting him with her magic, using the attack to push herself back a safe distance from Grogar.

Grogar then reared up on his back legs and brought his front hoofs down on the ground, causing the ground to shake. Three large stone pillars suddenly burst out from the ground, nearly impaling Sombra, Tirek, and Chrysalis, who managed to avoid the attack at the last second. Seeing that Grogar was solely focused on Sombra, Tirek, and Chrysalis, Cozy Glow teleported above Grogar and fired a beam of magic on the top of his head. Sombra was about to blast Grogar in the back, but Grogar kicked Sombra back with his back hoof. Tirek picked up one of the stone pillars and used it to whack Grogar around until Grogar eventually managed to push Tirek back with his magic. Chrysalis and Cozy Glow fired their beams of magic at Grogar, distracting him while Sombra got back up.

Sombra used his power to raise a bunch of small crystals from the ground, merging them together to create a large ball made out of crystals. Sombra then blasted the crystal ball at Grogar from behind, only for Grogar to turn around fast, catch the ball with his magic and then threw it at Chrysalis and Cozy Glow. Chrysalis managed to dodge the attack, but Cozy Glow’s leg got hit by the ball, causing her to spin and fall on the floor. Grogar then charged towards Tirek and rammed into him, knocking him down on the floor. Chrysalis then morphed into a lion and jumped on Grogar’s back, slashing and biting him. Grogar reared up on his back legs fast, causing Chrysalis to lose her grip and fall off. Sombra then teleported in front of Grogar and raised up a couple shadow hands, using them to grab onto Grogar’s horns before slamming him face first onto the floor.

As Grogar tried to stand back up, Tirek grabbed ahold of one of Grogar’s back legs, keeping it in a firm grip and even using his magic to inflict some serious pain so Grogar couldn’t get up. At the same time, Chrysalis morphed back into her lion form and jumped on top of Grogar, slashing and biting him again. Despite the pain in her leg, Cozy Glow flew up in the air and started to fire her magic down at Grogar, aiming primarily for his head and face. While the terrible trio were keeping Grogar down, Sombra chuckled as he formed two large spears out of crystals from the ground, intending to jab them through Grogar’s skull. Seeing this, Tirek got back up and planted his hooves on Grogar’s back legs, Chrysalis kept her lion claws nailed in Grogar’s back, and Cozy Glow hovered in the air just behind Sombra.

“(Evil Chuckle) It’s over, Grogar. You’ve lost.” Sombra said as he slowly lifted the crystal spears in the air.

“No.” Grogar said as he glared up at Sombra. “NEVER!”

Suddenly, Grogar used his power to emit a huge burst of energy from his body, blasting the four villains away from him. However, before they could get too far from him, Grogar caught all of the villains with his telekinesis and threw all of them towards a large log. Sombra hit the floor without sustaining any notable injuries aside from some scrapes and bruises. Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow on the other hoof, weren’t so lucky. When Chrysalis slammed into the log, she ended up breaking her two back legs. The impact from the blast as well as the force in which Tirek landed onto the ground caused him to break his left arm. Cozy Glow right wing broke as soon as she hit the floor.

With the terrible trio greatly wounded from the blast, Sombra lunged at Grogar, using his magic to raise a single crystal shard from the ground and throwing it at Grogar. Due to the speed, the shard flew right into Grogar’s left eye, causing him to roar in pain. Sombra attempted to throw another crystal shard into Grogar’s head, but Grogar stopped Sombra with his telekinesis before blasting two powerful beams of magic from his horns at Sombra, sending him flying back until he landed in front of the terrible trio. With the four villains defeated, Grogar chuckled as he slowly approached them.

“(Dark Chuckle) Like I said, pathetic. You four really thought that you could defeat me!? You were never going to win! Equestria will be mine!” Grogar yelled as he laughed.

As Grogar laughed and laughed about his victory over these four villains, he looked down and saw something that didn’t sit well with him. Despite being greatly injured with broken bones in their bodies, Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow were… grinning?

“Huh? What are you three smiling about!? Don’t you get it!? It’s over! You’ve lost!” Grogar yelled as he stomped his hoof.

Hearing this, Sombra turned to look at the terrible trio and saw that they were indeed smiling as they looked up at Grogar. This confused Sombra as he didn’t know what reason there was for them to seem so unconcerned with the fact that they were injured and had lost the fight.

“(Giggle) We were never trying to defeat you, Grogar.” Cozy Glow said with a grin.

“What?” Grogar asked, looking at the three villains with confusion and suspicion.

“You were right, Grogar. We were never going to overpower you, even with the four of us combined.” Tirek said as he looked over to Chrysalis.

“Which is why all we had to do was keep you busy until my secret weapon did its work.” Chrysalis said with a sly grin and a flick of her tongue. “And considering how long we have been fighting for, I believe the effects should kick in right about… now.”

Suddenly, Grogar felt a throbbing pain in his left shoulder. The pain was unlike anything he had ever felt in his entire life. The burning agony was quickly spreading throughout Grogar’s body like a wildfire. Then, Grogar felt a cold tingle in his spine, causing his entire body to shake uncontrollably. This was the last thing Grogar felt before he fell onto his side; Grogar’s entire body, aside from his face, was completely paralyzed.

“Gah! What!? What is this!? What happened to me!? Why can’t I move!?” Grogar yelled as he tried to get his body to move, before his eyes looked over to Chrysalis, who was laughing. “What did you do to me!?”

“(Evil Chuckle) Do you remember earlier when you were about to kill King Sombra and then you felt something bite into your left shoulder? That was me, and what is happening to you now is an effect of my secret weapon… venom.” Chrysalis said with another grin.

“What!? That’s impossible! Changelings don’t have venom!” Grogar roared as his body refused to listen to him.

“(Evil Chuckle) As a matter of fact, we do have venom. What do you think our fangs are for? They’re certainly not just for show.” Chrysalis replied as she bared her sharp fangs at Grogar.

“Chrysalis, do you… really have venom? Or is this a gift granted by Grogar’s Bewitching Bell?” Sombra asked as he looked at Chrysalis with shock.

“(Chuckle) I assure you, King Sombra, every changeling is capable of using venom; whether it be the drones, nursery changelings, guards, or the queen.” Chrysalis replied. “Changeling venom is very powerful as its effects can cause paralysis. We use this venom to subdue our targets if they are too much for us to handle. The effects of the venom can last for quite a few hours, depending on how much venom is injected into the target. Sure, the venom isn’t fatal by any means, but being paralyzed for hours can be a far worse fate to endure than death.”

“But why haven’t-!?”

“Why haven’t you heard of it? Well, Grogar, I didn’t call it my secret weapon for nothing. Changeling venom is meant to be kept hidden from others and is only to be used as a last resort. Now, I’m sure you’re wondering ‘Chrysalis, why not use it all the time?’, well I’ll tell you why.” Chrysalis said with a grin. “Despite how effective my venom is, it unfortunately comes with a few drawbacks. For one, the venom takes time to kick in depending on how big and powerful the target is. Also, the source of changeling venom comes from how much magic and energy we have stored in our bodies. Every time a changeling uses their venom, they are essentially draining themselves of their energy and strength. The overuse of venom can result in a changeling dying of starvation and shock due to sudden exhaustion, which is why the venom is only meant to be used as a last resort.”

“You… You mean…”

“(Chuckle) Yes, that’s right Grogar.” Chrysalis said with a slow nod and a wicked smile.

“You lost the fight before it even started.” Cozy Glow said with a smirk.

“Oh, and I forgot to mention, the venom also negates the target from using any magic whatsoever. Even some creature as powerful as you can’t use your magic while my venom is in your body.” Chrysalis added.

“It’s over now, Grogar. There’s nothing you can do to stop us! Sure, we could just leave you here to freeze to death, but I think for our sake, it would be better if we just took care of you now.” Tirek said as he held up Grogar’s bell and tossed it over to Sombra. “However, we think it’s best if he takes care of you.”

As Sombra caught the bell with his magic, he looked at it for a few seconds and then looked back at the terrible trio. Sombra was still upset about Tirek and Chrysalis’s rebellion earlier, but at the same time, he was still confused by this sudden change in attitude in the two villains. After giving it some thought, Sombra decided that he would deal with this once Grogar was out of the way.

“(Chuckle) Thank you, Tirek.” Sombra said as he nodded at the minotaur before walking over to Grogar. “You know, Grogar, I must say that you fought very well, and your powers are incredible. But… your time is up.”

“You are ancient history and I guarantee you that barely anyone in all of Equestria even knows your name.” Tirek said with a laugh. “It’s time we got rid of the old and made room for the new. (Chuckle) But don’t worry, we’ll take good care of Equestria.”

“While your power and abilities were more than impressive, you failed to understand that brute force and power alone is not going to allow you to accomplish anything.” Chrysalis said as she narrowed her eyes. “It is teamwork and intelligence that will allow us to achieve our goals and take Equestria for ourselves.”

“The four of us may have failed to take over Equestria by ourselves, but together, we’ll do more than you ever did!” Cozy Glow added with a sinister grin and a wave. “Bye-bye, Grogar.”

“No…”

“(Evil Chuckle) What was that you said to me earlier, Grogar?” Sombra asked as he glared into Grogar’s eyes. “Once I’m done with you, no pony will believe you even existed.”

Before Grogar could say anything else, Sombra used the power of the bell to drain Grogar of all of his strength, power, energy, and even his life force. Grogar roared as he felt everything get drained from his body. The rush of pure pain was even worse than the burning pain from Chrysalis’s venom. Grogar knew that it was over; it was only a matter of time before his soul was absorbed into his own bell and he’d be trapped again.

“No! NO! NOOOOOOOOO!!!” Grogar roared as his soul was finally absorbed into the bell, leaving only his skeleton behind once again; Grogar was gone.

With Grogar finally defeated, Sombra chuckled as he held the bell up with his magic, relishing in how much power he had with this bell. Sombra then remembered his current situation and turned to face the terrible trio. Sombra decided that now it was time to see what was going on here. As the evil tyrant turned to look at them, the terrible trio immediately bowed down to Sombra, even Chrysalis, who struggled to stand on her broken legs.

“Cozy Glow, come here.” Sombra ordered, nodding to the spot next to him.

Hearing that only she was called up worried Cozy Glow as she knew that Sombra was still understandably furious with Tirek and Chrysalis for their actions before Grogar showed up. She wanted to say something in their defense, but Cozy Glow decided it would be better if she just did what she was told. So, Cozy Glow got up and stood next to Sombra.

Sombra let out a small grunt of approval before slowly looking back at Tirek and Chrysalis. Nothing need to be said for everypony to sense the anger that Sombra was feeling towards the two villains.

“Tirek. Chrysalis.” Sombra began, getting their attention. “Explain yourselves and make it quick. Otherwise, I’ll make sure you suffer a fate worse than what Grogar just experienced.”

Tirek and Chrysalis just looked at each other for a few moments before they nodded. All they could do now was hope that Sombra would listen to them and just maybe give them another chance. Tirek cleared his throat as he went first.

“Look Sombra, I know we may have stepped over the line back there-.”

“Oh, you did more than step over the line, Tirek. You two refused to obey my orders and even dared to accuse me of trying to betray you.” Sombra said, his eyes locked onto Tirek and Chrysalis’s eyes.

“We know and that is why we came back to help you. Assuming that you would betray us even after all you’ve done for us was stupid. We went against you because we thought you were just using us; that you would betray us the moment we gave you Grogar’s bell. But Cozy Glow told us that if you really didn’t need us, you would have just saved yourself and let us be killed by Grogar.” Chrysalis said as she looked over at Cozy Glow.

“But you didn’t.” Tirek interjected, turning Sombra’s attention towards him. “You saved us and even took on Grogar, despite knowing that he was much more powerful than you. Not only that, but your plan to take over Equestria is actually brilliant. I’m sure that if we all play our cards right, everything will go as planned.”

“So, what are you two saying exactly?” Sombra asked, raising an eyebrow at the two villains.

“(Sigh) Sombra, we know that Chrysalis and I haven’t been the most loyal or respectful to you since we all met, but if you give us another chance, we promise to never go against you again.” Tirek said, placing his hand over his heart.

“We will follow your orders and make sure we stay in line. Never again will we be disloyal to you.” Chrysalis added as she lowered her head. “Forgive us and we swear, we will not rest until we have taken over Equestria.”

After hearing Tirek and Chrysalis’s apology and plea for mercy, Sombra just stared at them, not saying a single word. The silence was unbearable, and the tension was thick as only the sounds of the wind blowing and the leaves rustling in the breeze could be heard. Sombra’s eyes pierced into the souls of Tirek and Chrysalis like a knife cutting through butter.

After a few more seconds of dreadful silence passed, Cozy Glow looked up at Sombra’s face and horrified at what she saw. She could see that Sombra wasn’t pleased with Tirek and Chrysalis’s apology. Before, Cozy Glow wouldn’t have cared if Sombra just decided to kill these two villains, but now things were different. Cozy Glow felt that it wouldn’t be fair for them to be killed now when they really did want to follow Sombra. Making up her mind, Cozy Glow decided to stand up for the two villains.

“King Sombra, please don’t punish them.” Cozy Glow said as she tugged on Sombra’s cape to get his attention.

“Huh? What?” Sombra asked as he looked down at the filly with confusion before going back to being serious. “Cozy Glow, they betrayed me; they disobeyed me. I do not tolerate disloyalty whatsoever. Tirek and Chrysalis will be punished for their actions.”

“No!” Cozy Glow cried as she ran up in front of Tirek and Chrysalis, rearing up on her hind legs and spreading out her front legs as if she were trying to shield the villains from Sombra. “Don’t hurt them!”

“Cozy Glow, what do you think you’re doing?” Sombra asked as he narrowed his eyes down at the filly.

“King Sombra, please don’t hurt them!” Cozy Glow said again as she lowered herself back on all four hooves. “I know Tirek and Chrysalis disobeyed you and went against you, and I know that you don’t believe that they want to listen to you, but they really mean it this time!”

“Cozy Glow don’t stick your neck out for us like this! Chrysalis and I expected this to happen, just let it go!” Tirek said, not wanting Cozy Glow to suffer whatever Sombra had in store for them.

“Child! This is not worth it! Back down!” Chrysalis shouted, as she too didn’t want Cozy Glow to be punished for their mistakes.

“Cozy Glow, are you going against me too?” Sombra asked.

“King Sombra, I’ve been more loyal to you than anypony else has ever been! You believed in me like no pony else ever has! I would never lie to you or want to go against you! I swear they’re telling the truth! Please give them a chance! Please-!”

“Enough! Cozy Glow, if you insist on defying me, then you can join your fellow traitors. NOW!” Sombra roared.

“Yes, King Sombra.” Cozy Glow said as she walked over, standing next to Tirek and Chrysalis.

“You three have really disappointed me. Especially you, Cozy Glow. I had thought that I had at least one among you who would always be loyal and follow my orders. But I was wrong.” Sombra said as he picked up the bell with his magic. “Do me a favor all of you, stay still.”

Suddenly, shadow hands rose up from the ground and grabbed onto the terrible tiro, pinning them in place. It was then that Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow realized what Sombra was going to do to them. He was going to use Grogar’s bell to seal them away for all eternity. And since no pony would be able to take the bell from Sombra, the terrible trio knew that this was the end for them. As Sombra held up the bell and pointed it at them, Tirek felt something press up against his side. Looking down, Tirek saw that Cozy Glow was leaning against him, looking terrified. Chrysalis also took note of this and looked at Tirek, they too were both afraid of what was about to happen.

“(Evil Chuckle) Your newly gained powers will serve me well when I take them for my own. Farewell, my friends.” Sombra said with an evil grin.

As Grogar’s bell began to glow with its magical essence, the terrible trio looked at each other. A million thoughts were rushing through their heads as Sombra prepared to use the spell that he had used on Grogar only minutes ago. Tirek only regretted the fact that he would never get to get back at his father for always looking down on him. Chrysalis was ashamed that she never would get to take her revenge on Starlight Glimmer for ruining everything she had worked so hard to get in her life. Cozy Glow was afraid of death and upset that she never got to prove her worthiness to Sombra and that she would never get to rule with him or even teach her father a lesson for how he had treated her.

With the bell finally ready to do its job, the terrible trio looked at each other one last time before they closed their eyes and waited for death to take them away. Sombra then fired a large beam of magic from the bell at the terrible trio, engulfing them in a cloud of magic. Sombra laughed as he let the power of Grogar’s Bewitching Bell do its work. When the spell was finished, Sombra chuckled as he spoke.

“(Chuckle) That is much better, don’t you think?”

As the cloud of magic disappeared, there stood Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow, who were completely unharmed and still very much alive. Only now, all of their wounds had been fully healed and they had undergone a few changes. Similar to Chrysalis, Tirek also had been given armored plating on his body, mainly on his arms, legs, and chest. Something also felt different to Tirek about himself, but he didn’t know what it was. However, that wasn’t the biggest change Tirek had undergone as he was now sporting a pair of large powerful wings like a dragon on his back. Chrysalis had grown sharp claws on all four of her hooves and her tail had become longer and changed to look like a scorpion’s tail with a deadly stinger. Chrysalis could also feel that something else had changed about her. As for Cozy Glow, she didn’t go through any physical changes but much like the others, she could definitely feel that something was different about her.

“Wh-What? What is this?” Chrysalis asked as she examined the changes she had just undergone.

“Am I dreaming, or do I really have wings?” Tirek asked as he looked back at the large and wicked-looking wings on his back.

“W-We’re not… d-dead?” Cozy Glow asked as she looked around in confusion.

While the terrible trio were standing there, completely baffled by the fact that they weren’t dead, the sound of Sombra’s chuckles snapped them out of their confused state as they turned to look at him.

“(Evil Chuckle) (Evil Laugh) Did you all really think I was just going to kill you? (Evil Laugh) I would never do that. You three are too important to me to just get rid of.” Sombra said.

“So… you mean… you’re giving us another chance?” Chrysalis asked.

“Yes; One. Last. Chance. And if any of you even think about betraying me or defying me again, you will wish that Grogar killed me. Do I make myself clear?” Sombra asked, giving the terrible trio a cold and icy stare.

“Yes, King Sombra.” The terrible trio replied.

“(Evil Chuckle) Good. Now that we’ve settled our differences, I’m sure you’ve all noticed some changes about yourselves.” Sombra said as the terrible trio responded with nods. “Tirek, using Grogar’s bell, I have given you the ability to fly and I have also increased your knowledge of magic. You now have more spells at your disposal.”

“(Chuckle) Oh yeah, that’s what I’m talking about! I’ve never felt so powerful in all my life! This is even better than the time I nearly gained all of the magic in Equestria!” Tirek said as he flexed his muscles and admired his strong wings.

“Chrysalis, your new claws are sharp enough to dig into solid rock and your new tail is packed with very lethal venom.” Sombra said.

“Yes, I noticed. These will do nicely. I cannot wait to inflict as much pain as possible onto Starlight Glimmer and the rest of those pathetic ponies! Their suffering will be so satisfying.” Chrysalis said as she admired her new sharp claws and scorpion tail.

“Oh, and speaking of venom, no longer does the use of venom drain you of your energy or strength. You can now use your venom freely with no consequences.” Sombra added.

“(Wicked Chuckle) Yes… this will certainly come in handy… I’m more deadly than ever!” Chrysalis said as she laughed with glee.

“As for you, Cozy Glow.” Sombra said, looking over at the filly. “While you may not have undergone any physical changes like Tirek and Chrysalis did, I have increased your durability and stamina. I have also increased your knowledge of magic, much like I did for Tirek.”

“(Evil Giggle) Alright! Thank you so much, King Sombra! Now no pony will ever underestimate me just because I’m little!” Cozy Glow said as she clasped her hooves together.

“(Chuckle) I am pleased that you are all satisfied with your new powers and abilities.” Sombra said with a nod of approval.

“We are more than satisfied with our new powers, but there is something we need to ask you.” Chrysalis said.

“I’m listening.” Sombra replied.

“Before Grogar showed up and tried to destroy us, you said that you needed us. That without us, your plan would never work. Why are we so important to your plan?” Chrysalis asked.

Sombra didn’t give an answer to Chrysalis’s question immediately. Instead, he just looked at her for a few seconds and then let out a low chuckle.

“(Chuckle) Well, I suppose it’s time I told you all that important thing you’ve all been waiting so patiently to hear.” Sombra said as he took another pause before speaking again. “You three are my greatest assets. I have more faith in the three of you than anypony else who is working for me.”

“Even more than Professor What’s-His-Face?” Tirek asked curiously.

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not, but Professor Screw is old. Yes, he might be very good with spells and has proven his usefulness on multiple occasions, but he is an old pony who doesn’t have a lot of time left in him. I imagine that in a few years, he will die of old age.” Sombra said, giving the terrible trio another grin. “You three on the other hoof, are still young, strong, and full of potential.”

“What about the Rogue?” Chrysalis asked.

“You remember my plan, don’t you? Once the Rogue fulfill their purpose, I don’t care what happens to them. I have no intention of allowing them to rule Equestria with us.” Sombra said as he frowned. “I mean, none of the members of the Rogue would even stand a chance against us. Not even the Doctor.”

“Good riddance, I never liked any of them.” Chrysalis said.

“With my power, I can easily just march over to the Crystal Empire and take it over in an instant. However, I cannot take over Equestria alone. That is why I brought you all into my plan.” Sombra said. “Because I know, that together, we will be unstoppable. With our powers combined, no pony would stand a chance against us. I believe in you because you proved to me that you can work together, and you can overcome even the deadliest of obstacles. That is why I rewarded you with new powers and abilities.”

“(Chuckle) You know what Sombra, I think I’m going to enjoy working with you.” Tirek said as he turned to the other villains. “It’s about time those stupid ponies got what was coming to them!”

“Yes, and with King Sombra in charge of the operation, no pony will be able to stop us!” Chrysalis added as she grinned wickedly. “Not Twilight Sparkle and her pathetic friends, not the royal sisters, not even that stupid love princess will be able to stop us from taking over!”

“With our new powers and abilities and with King Sombra as our leader, Equestria will be ours in no time! And then, we can all rule it together!” Cozy Glow said as she did a flip in the air.

“Until then, all hail King Sombra!” Tirek said as he kneeled down, bowing to Sombra.

“All hail King Sombra!” Chrysalis and Cozy Glow said as they too bowed before Sombra.

“(Evil Laugh) Oh, it’s good to have you three back on my side. Soon, Equestria will be ours!” Sombra said as all the villains laughed and laughed.

Author's Note:

WOW! What a chapter! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Now all four of our primary villains are on the same page and will stick together until the end! With their new powers, Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow are now ready to take part in the next step of Sombra's big plan! Now for some explaining lol

So, I took a week break, but then I had to take another week off because I had my wisdom teeth removed, so I spent the second week recovering. This chapter was probably the one that so far, went through the most changes, a lot of things were cut out, and was by far the most difficult chapter for me to write. What made this chapter so difficult was definitely the conversations between Sombra and the terrible trio after the battle with Grogar, and the fight scenes with Grogar fighting the terrible trio and when Sombra joined in the fight; writing fight scenes were multiple characters are fighting one character is challenging for me. As I mentioned earlier, a lot of things were cut and changed about this chapter. I initially wasn't going to have the terrible trio gain their new forms until after the fight with Grogar, but that got changed. In my early drafts, Sombra and the terrible trio didn't separate and they fought Grogar together at the start. I also planned to have a villains sing a song at the end, but I'm not very good at writing songs sadly. The scene where Sombra interrogates Tirek and Chrysalis was going to be much darker, but I decided to tone it down. If you all have any questions, feel free to ask me!

Thank you all for continuing to support me and my story, it really means a lot to me! Next chapter will still focus on the villains, and then the next chapter, we will check up on Twilight and the others! Goodbye for now everypony and happy Easter!

Comments

[Phetiamwantip]

“(Evil Laugh) Oh, it’s good to have you three back on my side. Soon, Equestria will be ours!” Sombra said as all the villains laughed and laughed.

That can't be good. (Bitting my nails in fear)

[LordOfHunger]

This whole chapter was epic as all hell. Roaring to go for the next chapter!!