Chapter 24
Sombra’s grinned wickedly as power surged into him. Rainbow threw up a hoof to block the sudden glare from the crystal. When it dimmed, she squinted, trying to see what had happened. The inky-black smoke trailing Sombra vanished as he stepped forward. He looked more ... solid, than before.
The spell had worked. Sombra was now flesh and blood again. He had regained the thousand years he had lost to the Realm of Darkness. And all it had taken was ten years from the lives of a hundred innocent foals.
Ten. Years.
Her friends’ sisters. Her goddaughter.
The dark miasma from the spell littered the ground. Whether it was part of the spell or a trick of the light or her own imagination, Rainbow Dash saw them and all the other lost foals of Ponyville and Equestria. Their shadowy silhouettes laying lifeless on the cavern floor. It wasn’t right! They should be home in bed, or ready to open gifts on Hearth Warming Morning! Anywhere but here!
Rainbow Dash saw red. An enraged bellow tore itself loose from her throat as she charged at Sombra, her wings beating so fast they were practically a blur. Had there been more space, she might have pulled off a Sonic Rainboom right then and there.
Sombra probably had cause to regret his sudden solidness when Rainbow’s hooves smashed into his face. He bounced down the steps and onto the hard floor as Dash fulfilled the promise she had made days ago: to sock Sombra right in his evil snoz.
“Get up!” Rainbow Dash growled as she hovered over him, hooves out stretched and ready to deck him again. “Get up, so I can Love and Tolerate the shit out of you.” She jabbed the air, readying ‘Love’ and ‘Tolerance’ respectively, fantasizing about them planting them in Sombra’s skull.
However, fantasies of revenge distracted Rainbow Dash from the fact that Sombra was a unicorn--and thus, had magic. With a snarl, he jutted his horn at her, beams of magical energy erupting forth. It was only thanks to her incredible speed and frankly awesome (her words) reaction time that she was able to avoid getting a faceful of magic.
“Oh no you don’t!” Dash growled as she divebombed him, her hindlegs outstretched. Her hooves drove into his side, knocking him back down again. A tremor ran up her legs as her hooves impacted against his metal armor, rendering them numb. She panted as she landed, trying to catch her breath.
Sombra was already back on his hooves and blasting away with his magic by the time Rainbow got back into the air. Instead of concentrated streams of energy, this time Sombra went for larger, more intangible clouds of magic. From them, he fashioned various constructs: lightning bolts, grasping claws, and slashing swords, all designed to tear Rainbow Dash apart.
Rainbow barely had time to let out a started “Whoa!” before she start to weave and wind her way through Sombra’s deadly obstacle course of weaponry. A corkscrew spin took her neatly between the closing fingers of a claw and then dived to narrowly avoid being struck by magical lightning.
There was a snarl as Sombra tried and failed to get this most annoying pegasus out of his mane. Though their brief meeting of the minds had mostly been one way—him departing information to her—he still got enough of an impression from her to know that she wasn’t about to give up or give him a moment’s peace.
His brief moment of irritation cost him, distracting him just as Rainbow cleared the last hurdle Sombra had put up, and proceeded to tackle him to the ground. With the speed and momentum she’d built up, the result was akin to striking Sombra with a runaway cart. His armor clattered and clanged as it hit the floor, Rainbow pressing the advantage by buffeting him with her wings and striking him repeatedly with her hooves; trying to inflict as much damage as possible.
Rainbow banged her hooves on Sombra’s armor, his neck and head until they started to throb in pain. She panted, exhausted from her brief battle rage. Her rage quickly returned when he threw her off him and got up, none the worse for wear. Minor cuts and bruises started to heal even as Dash watched. His armor straightened and smoothed out the dings and dents inflicted upon it.
“Oh come on!” Rainbow protested, furious. Nothing she did had any lasting impact. This was almost worse than being unable to land a blow on him at all. Frustration started eating at her as she angrily bucked the air with her hindlegs. She promptly regretted it as the motion drew her attention to the fact that she had reopened the wounds on her hindquarters from earlier. She cursed. On top of everything else, she had to battle an ancient evil with the fate of the world on the line with her rump bleeding. Gyah!
She mentally made a note to keep an eye on how much blood she lost. She was at a disadvantage here to begin with. Stupid magic. How was she supposed to beat him if he just heal himself? Why couldn’t he have any degree of class and challenge her to a race or something? Plothead.
But Rainbow Dash wasn’t about to give up.
When you strip away all the bragging and ego, the self-doubts and fears, and awesomeness and coolness, at bottom, what Rainbow Dash was—what she really was—was a somepony who hated to see ponies getting hurt. Who would do anything and everything in her power to set things right because ponies getting hurt, in pain and feeling sad was just wrong.
With a fierce scowl, Rainbow hurled herself back down like a thunder bolt. “Hi—yaa!” Her hooves impacted Sombra with such force that he practically flew across the room, slamming into the far wall.
Sombra snarled and got back up. He had had enough. This rainbow-maned pest was just a fly. Better to ignore than to waste the time and effort to squash it. Godhood awaited him.
He closed his eyes and radiated a bright flash from his horn, which was refracted by the various crystals that made up the entire room. The ensuing glare was blinding. Spots exploded in Rainbow’s eyes. She yelped in pain and covered her face, hoping to dull the pain.
Sombra took advantage of her distraction to magically pin her, her hooves and wings spread apart and affixed to the wall by telekinetic bonds of magic. “Let go of me!” Rainbow demanded as she struggled, still half-blinded by the flash.
The dark king marched over to examine his challenger more closely. “Your skills are formidable.” Sombra mused, more to himself than to Rainbow. “I might have seen you as a prospective mate … were my impending ascension and immortality rendering the need for an heir--and thus, a wife--moot.”
“Yeah, well, seeing what happened to the last two mares you’ve dated, I think I’d pass anyway.” Dash shot back as she struggled against his magical grip, her vision still blurry.
Instead of staying to get his butt kicked by her witty-banter, Sombra turned and marched away from Rainbow. He had been delayed for long enough.
His horn flashed, summoning the last thing his spell needed for it to succeed: the windigos. Their ghostly forms hovered through the wall, whinnying and shrieking their otherworldly howls.
Sombra’s face split into a wide grin as he tilted his head back and laughed victoriously. Finally, the moment of destiny! He stood up on his hindlegs, gesturing beseechingly to the windigos, and bellowed an incantation to the skies.
To the ancient shades of shadows, give me the power I beg of you!
To the mercy of my soul. (Iris tenebras apparere!)
The other worldly voices of the windigos moaning out in a chilling chorus. The spell filling the very air with terror.
To the point of my death. (Iris tenebras apparere!)
Hear the call from my condemned voice.
Branded by wrath. (Iris tenebras apparere!)
Animate my form. (Iris tenebras apparere!)
Bound by my will. (Iris tenebras apparere!)
Breathe into me new strength.
At this time of Victory! (Iris tenebras apparere!)
In this moment of Glory! (Iris tenebras apparere!)
To the ancient shades of shadows, give me the power I beg of you!
Iris tenebras apparere!
Iris tenebras apparere!
Iris tenebras apparere!
With the third repetition, the windigos whickered and circled around him faster and faster. Having lived for so long in the frozen wastes of the north, Sombra had grown very acquainted with those spirits and what they were capable of. Another pony might’ve theorized that so much contact with those spirits of fear and hatred had a lasting impact on Sombra. Regardless, Sombra had come to realize that if windigos were capable of feeding on emotions, as well as encouraging them, in order to acquire sustenance, they might be capable of transferring other forms of energy as well.
That made them the perfect conduits for this spell. The crystals throughout his empire were draining the life forces of the foals he’d acquired, diverting them all to the main crystal in his throne room. And then with the windigos as the conduit, they would give him and his spell the energy needed. Then Sombra would ascend himself from a unicorn king to an all-powerful alicorn god! Already he could feel the energy surge through him.
Sombra began to writhe as his body strained against his armor, reshaping itself until his armor could no longer contain it. It broke apart and fell to the side as he grew taller and his muscles took on more earth pony dimensions. He screamed as his horn spiralled upwards, becoming longer and even more pointed than before. Skeletal wings exploded out of his back, soon becoming augmented with flesh and blood.
Rainbow gagged and looked away, fighting the urge to vomit. She almost wished her vision was still blurry. The magic Sombra had used to bind her to the wall faded away and she dropped to the floor. She swore and rubbed her wings, massaging the feeling back into them. By the time she looked back to Sombra, it was over.
Sombra stood, testing the feel of his new body. He was as large and as muscular as Big Macintosh, with massive hooves and bulging muscles. Sombra’s horn was larger and more prominent than ever, while retaining its odd curved shape. His wings were large and bat-like, similar to those of the negasi, the so-called gargoyle ponies. But while they were leathery, the wings were made up of scaled feathers, combining the wings of negasi with those of pegasi.
“What, no seapony parts?” Rainbow tossed out sarcastically, trying to settle the feeling of nervousness in the pit of her stomach. How the hay was she supposed to beat him now? Fortunately, she had a distraction from such uncool, defeatist thoughts when she noticed that his armor was gone--revealing something Sombra had taken great pains to keep hidden. “Hey, King Barren Butt! That’s a nice blank flank ya got there!”
It was true. Sombra lacked a cutie mark of any sort, his body covered a solid dark-gray coat. Apparently, her shot had struck home as Sombra glared at her balefully. “I have just achieved my destiny … and soon, it will be completed once I topple Celestia and Luna from the throne!”
“Yeah, yeah.” Rainbow Dash waved him off as she climbed back to her hooves. “You know, you had me going for a while with the whole ‘dark, scary tyrant’ routine. Thing is though? You’re really just pathetic: you’re just a foal having a temper tantrum because you still don’t know what your special talent is.” A determined smirk crossed her face. “And now I know you’re going to lose, know why? Because if you were any good at taking over the world, you’d have gotten a cutie mark for it already.”
Sombra snarled as he tried to blast her with his alicorn-empowered magic. It was only thanks to her infuriating speed that Rainbow had managed to stay one hoof ahead. “You fool. You think I have done all this for the sake of a cutie mark? I have not conquered death and the mysteries of the universe to be psychoanalyzed by a whelping brat!”
“Dunno, you sure come across as psycho to me!” Rainbow quipped as she narrowly avoided another blast. “Sheesh, somehow with all your build-up, I expected you to better than Nightmare Moon.”
Sombra seethed. His lack of a cutie mark truly did not disturb him. However he would not simply be written off as some emotionally stunted foal lashing out over a lack of some mark on his haunch. “You are a fool. You think so … small. A no mark could ever hope to show what I embody: the eternal pursuit of power! Limitless power! I will never stop growing stronger, never stop until all of existence bows down before me!”
“Eeeeego!” Rainbow called out in a sing-song taunt.
“Enough!” Sombra’s horn glowed red and a second later, a similar aura wrapped itself around Rainbow Dash. He jerked his head to the side, sending Rainbow smacking into the wall with a loud smack.
The impact knocked the wind out of her and left her crumpled in a heap. Dash groaned as she fought to get back up. She rubbed the back of her neck and blinked her eyes back into focus … just in time to see Sombra bearing down at her in a full-on charge. Uh-oh.
Rainbow spun away mere seconds before Sombra’s enormous hoof collided with the spot her head had just been. Sombra’s hoof left a large dent, surrounded by fractures and cracks in what had been a solid crystal wall. Sombra was flexing his new-found (and enhanced) earth pony muscles. Gotta keep moving. After a short running head start, Rainbow was back in the air. She looked down just in time to see Sombra spread his bat-like appendages and take off after her.
Dash allowed herself to feel a moment of confidence. She might not be able to do all the freaky magic Sombra was tossing around and his super-earth pony strength meant that one wrong hit and she was pulp, but in the air she was untouchable. Sombra was way too big and bulky to be able to keep up with her. But that moment of self-assurance cost her: Sombra soared up to her much faster than he had any business being.
Sombra relentlessly bore down after her, like a dragon hunting a falcon. Injured and unable to make her normal top speeds, Rainbow Dash had to strain herself to swerve and avoid him. His massive bat-wings beat silently as her gave pursuit, the silence only unnerving Dash more.
She hazarded a look behind her and promptly regretted it. The cruel sneer was on Sombra’s face: exulting in his new found powers and clearly fantasizing about how to best utilize them on her. Rainbow determined not to give him the opportunity, but Sombra decided to cheat and use magic. Dash let out a pain filled scream as her right wing was magically yanked back, effectively dislocating it. Her flight faltered, giving Sombra enough time to hit her full on.
Once again, Rainbow was bodychecked into the wall by a mountain of pony muscle. Apparently Sombra was taking that whole punch to the face thing a touch personally. Sombra backed away and held Rainbow in place with his magic. Then his horn lit up as he prepared a deadly barrage to end this.
“Grah! Let me go!” Rainbow Dash struggled futilely.
Sombra wasn’t taking any chances. He was going to end this, and her, right now. Besides, he mused to himself. This is an excellent way to test my upper limit. His horn became brighter and brighter.
Rainbow closed her eyes and looked away. There was a blinding flash and then ...
Nothing.
Literally, nothing. Dash hazarded a quick peek and saw Sombra frowning as he looked upwards at his horn, which was smoking slightly and its magic aura was sputtering in and out.
“You know, I think they have pills for that.” Dash couldn’t help tossing out with a grin.
With an enraged snarl, Sombra magically tossed Rainbow Dash aside, her life suddenly irrelevant. This was wrong! The ritual had worked, he was an alicorn! Yet his abilities felt … muted. He felt the strength of the earth pony and the natural flying abilities of the pegasi. His magic was stronger than ever – but it still wasn’t as powerful as he’d expected. Sombra from the extensive time he had spent with Luna and, to a lesser extent, Celestia, just how powerful they were. His new abilities certainly put him ahead of any other equine in the world … but still fell far short of those of the Royal Sisters.
What was wrong?
Sombra brought a hoof up to check his horn for any damage when it brushed against something that made a soft metallic clink.
His eyes widened as he swore softly. The Alicorn Amulet!
Its power had greatly enhanced his abilities when he was a mere unicorn, as well as helping to sustain him when his body was destroyed. But the source of magic he used for the Ascension ritual was completely different than that of the Alicorn Amulet. Magic didn’t like it when you tried to mix two different power sources. Boon though the Alicorn Amulet was to him when he was a unicorn, now it was inhibiting his alicorn abilities, choking off the energy that the ritual should be directing his way.
Regaining his corporeal form had weakened the connection he had established with the Crystal Empire, but he could still feel the presence of the foals he’d taken through his network of crystals. The ritual should have completely drained them. Grumbling at the inconvenience, he removed the amulet and tossed it aside. He wouldn’t need it anymore. Now, all he needed to do was reconnect his magic to the central crystal, hanging down from the ceiling. He would draw power from the main crystal, which would in turn draw power from all the black crystals scattered about the empire, and drain the life force of the foals.
Just as he was about to do so, he got an unpleasant reminder of his unfinished business. “Hey. You dropped something.” Sombra snapped his head around to see that accursed pegasus holding his Alicorn Amulet in her hooves. In a single fluid motion she fastened it around her neck, snapping it closed with a click. It hung awkwardly around her neck, fighting for space with her Element of Harmony. But regardless, its effects were already becoming apparent.
Rainbow Dash tensed as she felt power racing through her. All her injuries, all her aches and pains were washed away by a sudden onrush by the power of pure awesomeness coursing through her. Her wings snapped into place. She had so much energy she idly felt like bursting through the walls of the palace and flying around the world once or twice to bleed some off. And she could have done it too. She knew.
Her pain faded as her injuries rapidly healed. Her partially dislocated wing, her bruised ribs, her cuts and scratches … all faded away. Rainbow grinned. She was back at the top of her game. Even better than that. “Hey, King Somber-flank! Guess who’s back? Aaaand idiot says ‘what-smack?’”
“What—" SMACK! Sombra's head whipped back when Dash slugged him in the jaw. Her speed was incredible, having accelerated from standing perfectly still to near super-sonic speed in the blink of an eye.
“Booyah!” Rainbow grinned as the speed and sudden impact sent Sombra hurtling head over hooves up into the air. With the barest of efforts on her part, she flew up meeting him in mid-air as he was in mid-tumble. She dove down like a griffin, her lower hooves outstretched and impacting Sombra in the back. Hard. His spine bent under the impact as Sombra bellowed in pain. Under the force of the blow, he was sent hurtling back down to the floor so hard that he formed a crater when he hit.
Rainbow Dash grinned as she examined her hoofwork. The power was hers now. She could stop Sombra, stop Sombra and Nightmare Moon put together. She could stop anypony, anything that would ever try to threaten her friends, keep them safe forever. And if anything even looked at them wrong, she had the power to stop them.
Permanently.
And nopony, not even the Princesses, would be able to stop her.
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Rainbow's got some attitude now, eh?
hehehehe this is getting really good.
Ooh, dear. Looks like Dashie's discovered power.
About time she got more bad@$$
This can only end in rainbows and sunshine.
Nice action based chapter.
At first, I was like 'F**k yeah!'
At the end, I'm like '...f**k.'
Would killing sombra with the power of the alicorn amulet be a turning point? Would Dash be forced to toss away the amulet to show she is NOT like King Sombra, and would never let the power turn her into monster. I see that being the climax. Can't wait for more.
Aw, boy... Dashie, you have no clue what you've just done, do you?
The Amulet better be like the One Ring from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings... at least it'd take a while to start whispering delusions of grandeur into her brain... which it's already doing.
Great!
No Dashie, no!!!!!!!!!! Don't let the amulet fool you!!!!
So, to recap: Cadance probably committed suicide, the spell is still going, the lives of the children are still in danger, and Rainbow Dash is going darkside.
...
Fun, fun, fun! [/sarcasm]
good thing she still has the element of loyalty on her, cadence or the others are prolly gonna save her
Time for Dinky to tell her what Luna said, ain't it?
3239643
Yeah...
When Rainbow Dash of all ponies is taunting you about your ego, you know you have a problem.
Look like that kick from Celestia STILL hurts after a thousand years.
Yes, Rainbow Dash, come to the darkside...
i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/4677066240/hC43B107F/
Have to admit it, I didn't expect the alicorn amulet to work in anything other than a magic user, it is an interesting idea.
3239776
Relax, pal, have you forgotten?
Rainbow Dash wears both her Element and The Amulet, Loyalty and Ambition. Since RD cannot maintain her conexion to both of them, at some point she must choose one over the other.
And all we know our Dashie is anything but a traitor.
AAAAAAAHHH THIS IS THE GREATEST
FANFICTION
EVVVVEEEERRRRRR!!!!!!!!!
Booyahh.....
Loving the story but this is the worst edited chapter of the fic. Please clean it up.
Got an extra them there.
Good chapter overall.
Ohhh what an exciting conclusion to the chapter! I'd love to see to this take a turn for the worst. Rainbow getting corrupted by the amulets power and then going and trying to take equestria for herself! Though I'm gonna go out on whim here and assume that this is going to end at least somewhat happily lol.
Yikes, I can't wait to see how this pans out!
Oh, snap.
Rainbow Dash going crazy with power from the Alicorn Amulet? For some reason, this seems like the perfect mood music for her when she's like that.
i feel this is relevent
Dash, you magnificent moron! I read your book.
but the element of loyalty will overpower it!!
8346993
As long as she's thinking of her friends, and not herself like Trixie and Sombra were, it might not do anything to the Alicorn Amulet.
And the Darkside beckons to Rainbow ....