Dark Cloud

by D5ky

Oaths

Twilight groaned, as she faded back into consciousness. The shack was abandoned, the stallion nowhere in sight. She sat up, not wanting to remain slumped over the table. Then she noticed the change, and she gasped.

Her sensory input had increased drastically. She breathed in through her nose, feeling as though she had never taken a proper breath before. Everything was so much more crisp, so much more... real. She could smell the scent of rain, even from inside the hut. She got off of the chair, and as her hooves made contact with the ground, she could feel her new raw physical power pulsating through her.

"This is amazing," she muttered. Next, she moved to her magical sensory range. She could already see all of Ponyville, despite the fact that she was still deep within the Everfree.

"Impossible," she said, in astonishment. She thought back to her dark magic research, eager to try one of the more complicated dark spells. One that quickly came to mind was the dark flight spell. To her surprise, she didn’t have much trouble visualizing the pages in her head, as she recalled the theory behind the spell. She concentrated magic into her horn.

Immediately, almost effortlessly, the spell pushed through. She felt the strange sensation of her body transfiguring, becoming much lighter. Black wisps of smoke began to billow from her, as her atomic structure altered, and she transformed into a dark cloud, just as she had seen Sombra do several times. She leapt into the air, continuing up beyond the thick canopy of trees into the grey sky.

So this is what flying felt like. As she changed direction at top speed, she felt an exhilarating rush of adrenaline pump through her, one that couldn’t be brought on by anything else. Never before had she experienced anything like this. She couldn’t help but laugh maniacally. Never before had she felt so free, so powerful, so in-control. So good. Why didn’t everypony do this?

She calmed down a bit eventually, knowing she had to return to Ponyville. She flew incredibly fast towards the town. As she reached the outlying buildings of the town’s limits, she realized she would cause panic if she flew in as a dark cloud. She touched down, solidifying into her normal self again. Still not wanting to be seen, she used the most advanced form of shadow magic to conceal herself from view, both physically and mentally. No unicorn would be able to sense her.

Fluttershy, she thought. I need to find Fluttershy.

She moved to the town square, but couldn’t find her pink-maned friend anywhere. She wanted to fly up for a better view, but she couldn’t stay invisible if she did. She looked over at town hall, and it’s large spire atop the roof caught her attention.

That’ll work, she thought with a smile.

She galloped for the bottom railing, and grabbed it with one of her front hooves. Using her newfound physical strength, she flipped sideways, pushing with her front hooves. She launched upwards, and gripped the railing of the second floor with her back hooves. She did a full sit up, and used the momentum to fly upwards once again, soaring up to the rooftop. She landed on all fours, using the momentum to gallop up the roof as hard as she could. Then, she climbed the spire.

"...Awesome," Twilight breathed, exhilarated at how easy that had been.

She scanned as much of the city as she could see, trying to lay eyes on Fluttershy, with no success. She ended up becoming visible again for a few moments so she could just scan the city magically. The moment she had pinpointed Fluttershy's location, she faded away once more, and jumped off of the roof. She fell through the air in a rush of wind. As her hooves hit the ground, she launched herself forward into a roll, avoiding any harm from the 30-foot descent.

This is insane, she thought as she ran, amazed by not only her new abilities, but also how naturally she was using them. It was as though she had been able to do it for years.

Soon, she reached the alleyway where Fluttershy was conversing with a pair of unicorn soldiers.

"--lack of communication with Canterlot concerns me," Twilight heard her say. "Come straight to me the moment either of you receives a reply. Dismissed!"

They saluted her, and ran off. Fluttershy spread her wings, preparing to take off.

"Fluttershy!" Twilight called out, fading back into visibility. Fluttershy looked around, surprised.

"Twilight?" she said, perplexed. "I thought you were stationed in Canterlot. What are you doing here?"

"Celestia... reassigned me," Twilight muttered, as a knot formed in her throat. "But I can tell you, you don't need to keep waiting on word from Canterlot."

"What do you-- you mean... you mean it's gone?" Fluttershy asked, her eyes wide. Twilight looked at the ground, which Fluttershy took as a 'yes.'

"Any survivors?" Fluttershy asked, her voice dull and flat, not wanting to express her true horror at the news.

"...Four," Twilight said. "Spike, Discord, Ventus, and Pinkie Pie."

"Discord got out?" Fluttershy said, breathing a sigh of relief. "That's good... and the others, too..."

"Celestia's dead," Twilight informed her, as a new knot formed in her throat, which she pushed down. "We're the only city left in the entire land."

"Then we'd better get ready," Fluttershy said. "Sombra's army will be here anytime soon."

"You don't need to get anyone ready," Twilight said, flatly. "I can take on Sombra by myself."

Silence.

"No, you can't," Fluttershy said. "Last time you tried that, he electrocuted you."

"I wasn't as strong then as I am now," Twilight informed her. "I can kill him."

"But going out alone is pointless," Fluttershy pressed, trying to recall Twilight to her senses. "If you take the army as well, we can finish him much--"

"NO!" Twilight bellowed, losing control as a rush of air blew through the alley, causing Fluttershy to skid backward an inch or two. Twilight's teeth were bared in a snarl.

"No one else is dying to Sombra! I'm much stronger than him! I'm taking him down by myself!"

A terrified Fluttershy showed no sign of fear on the outside. If there was one thing the war had taught her, it was how to withhold emotions, and wear a perfect mask. Fluttershy just stared in surprise, as Twilight's eyes flashed menacingly. Fluttershy could've sworn that something had happened to them.

"Twilight? What's wrong with your eyes?"

Twilight blinked, taken aback by the random question.

"Uhh, nothing?" she shrugged. Then she mentally shook herself.

"Look, Fluttershy, there're only about 400 ponies left in Equestria," Twilight said. "I don't want to lose any more of them. I'm strong enough. Let me do this."

Fluttershy wanted to argue, but she slowly nodded as she realized it was hopeless.

"All right. I won't get the soldiers ready."

"But you might want to get them inside," Twilight said, her horn glowing slightly. "Sombra's on his way."

Fluttershy looked scared, but she nodded, running past Twilight out of the alleyway.

As she watched Sombra from so far away, Twilight thought back to everypony she had lost. Shining Armor. Applejack. Rainbow Dash. Rarity. Her parents. All three princesses. She clenched her hoof in mixed anger and sorrow, as the air around her grew darker.

I swear in Celestia's name, that I'll protect all of you. I'll avenge all of you. No matter the cost.

(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)

Sombra flew through the air, over the mountain range that Canterlot was built in, still griping over the demon.

Deal with it, he told himself firmly. Just get to this final city. Give them the offer. Then you'll be free at last...

But as he drew closer to the town of Ponyville, he began to feel something. It was so faint that it was barely noticeable, and might as well have not been there at all. But it was dark aura.

Dark aura almost as nasty as the demon's had been.

But then, next moment, it was gone again.

Sombra shook himself mentally. You’re imagining things, he told himself. Been awake too long.

Something about that aura felt ominous, though. He attempted to ignore it as he flew onward.

Keep it together, he told himself again. You've got to make this offer...

(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)(=)

Ponyville wasn't a big town, but that didn't stop it from being a lively town. Normally, you'd walk past several ponies running their errands, waving hello to them as they go. Normally, you could go to any one of the nearby shops and keep yourself occupied, enjoying yourself. Normally, life was happy in this town.

But not now.

Now, as Twilight walked through the deserted streets, she felt as though she was walking through a ghost town. There was no sign of the vendor owners, nor of anypony else who would usually hang around. The ghostly silence was broken only by the slight breeze. It was unnerving, especially with her new and improved hearing. The silence was so absolute that it pressed in on her eardrums.

Things can never be the same, she thought to herself. Even when I beat Sombra, this is all that's left... a ghost town.

The silence was soon broken, as she heard the rustle of wings. She turned towards the source of the sound, noticing that Fluttershy was still 30 yards away. Fluttershy quickly swept in, landing right beside Twilight.

"The soldiers have been informed," she reported. "I instructed them to take refuge with the citizens. Sombra will be yours and yours alone. I'll watch from here, but I won't intervene, unless..."

She let the sentence hang there, and Twilight knew what she meant.

"Don't worry," Twilight reassured her. "Sombra won't be a match for me now."

Fluttershy walked with Twilight to the edge of town.

"Good luck," Fluttershy said. "I'll be watching."

"Thank you, Fluttershy," Twilight said. "Thanks for everything."

Twilight walked over, and embraced her. Fluttershy returned the hug, as a tear built up in her eye.

"I won't disappoint you," Twilight said, as they broke apart.

Fluttershy spread her wings, and took off into the air with a powerful whoosh. She flew high into the air, and out of sight.

Yeah, Twilight thought to herself, thinking back to how weak of a flyer Fluttershy used to be. How timid she was. How terrified of her fears she was. Things definitely won't ever be the same...

Turning from her dark thoughts, she focused again on Sombra. He was drawing close now, and she knew she would be able to see him visually in a few moments. Then, the black cloud emerged from behind a mountain top, still several miles away. It moved down, flying level with the ground now.

Well, it's now or never, Twilight thought.

She breathed in, expanding her magical power, channeling it. She felt as though her energy was expanding, stretching sideways. She then cast a spell.

A gale of wind blew, suddenly and powerfully, sweeping across the entire field with incredible force. It hit Sombra head-on, blowing him backwards through the air. Quickly, Twilight transfigured into black smoke and tore towards him.

Sombra continued flying back, unable to fight the blast of wind. He may have been smoke, but that didn't stop him from smashing into the mountainside with full force. The blow knocked the wind out of him, as he returned to normal and slid to the ground. He looked up, hazily, in time to see the black cloud bearing down on him. It stopped a few feet away, and began to solidify. He recognized the pony, but didn't know how it was possible. The Element of Magic hadn't been able to use this advanced of dark magic beforehand.

"You received dark blood... didn't you?" he wheezed.

Twilight didn't respond, but began charging a spell.

"Wait," Sombra exclaimed, panicked. "I'm not here to fight!"

"Likely story," Twilight snarled. "Your mind games won't work on me now."

"It's no mind game," Sombra said, looking legitimately terrified. He could sense how strong she had become. "I didn't want all of this! I didn't want to attack all of Equestria - just the Crystal Empire! I was forced into it!"

Twilight looked into his terrified face. It was odd, but she didn't think this was a mind game after all.

"Spill it," she said, coldly. "What could force an evil unicorn like yourself into anything?"

"The demon," he said, still cowering away from her. "The demon forced me into it!"

"Explain," Twilight said, unrelentingly. Though, her curiosity was sparked. They had assumed that the demon was helping Sombra. What if, this whole time, Sombra had been helping the demon?

"I wanted to take back the Crystal Empire," Sombra admitted, "but I was in no shape to do it. The Crystal Heart tore me apart. I was as good as dead, weak and alone, with no body. But, as I'm sure you now know, it's almost impossible to die once you have taken in dark blood. So I was forced to sit there, plotting revenge against those who had killed me.

"Then... it came."

"The demon?" Twilight pressed.

"...Yes," Sombra said. Then, he looked into her eyes.

"You don't have to take my word for it," he said. "You have dark blood now. Read my mind."

"What?" Twilight exclaimed.

"Look into my eyes, and see the truth that lies before you," Sombra said.

Not helpful, Twilight thought. But she looked at him anyway.

And immediately, it happened. Almost as though a holo-projector had turned on, she was inside Sombra's memory.

It was a blizzard. She could hardly see, no matter what direction she looked. They were obviously beyond the Crystal Empire's boundaries. The only thing Twilight could make out in the combined darkness of the night and blinding blizzard was a small red object, lying about five feet to her right.

Without warning, a large dark cloud descended on the horn, surrounding it. Immediately, Sombra's body began to reform, as the pieces came together after appearing from nowhere. Soon, a full-bodied King Sombra stood there, being blown around in the wind, as the black cloud backed off and hung in the air, seemingly unaffected by the blizzard.

"What in the hell?" Sombra said, seemingly not able to believe his eyes as he turned about, taking in his rebuilt body. Then, he looked back at the dark cloud.

"What is this?" he asked aloud, seemingly asking himself, as he didn't know what the cloud was.

Your lucky day, a deep, distorted voice replied.

Sombra jumped, scrambling back and launching a bolt of lightning at the cloud. With absolutely no effect.

That won't be necessary, the voice said, perfectly audible over the howling wind of the blizzard.

"What are you?!" Sombra yelled. "Why did you heal me?!"

I am something far more powerful than you are, the voice said. At this point, Sombra had finally connected the voice to the dark cloud. You brought me here, Sombra Sötétvarázsló.

"What do you mean?!"

I am something of a... live wishing well. I can grant anything something that it wants, in exchange for a couple of things. I understand you want something, Sombra.

He did want something. The Crystal Empire in his possession again. But for that, he needed an army...

"On what terms?!" he called over the wind. "What do we need to pay?!"

Just a couple of things, the dark cloud replied lazily. For me to grant your wish, you have to grant a request of mine. And when you finally die, totally and completely, something a little different will happen. It's nothing to worry about.

He didn't like the sound of it at all. "It sounds like I'm selling you my soul!"

Your soul will remain intact, the voice replied. But I wouldn't worry about that. I'd be thinking about how long you've been lying here, pained and alone, and who brought you back. I'd be thinking about how the ponies of the Crystal Empire blew you to shreds.

It was almost as though the dark cloud could read his thoughts.

"...All right," Sombra said, gritting his teeth. "I'll do it!"

Very good, the dark cloud said. Name your wish.

"I want an army to destroy the Crystal Empire and all within it," he said.

Done, the dark cloud said, triumph in it's voice. Now, for my request.

"Name it!"

Once you're done destroying the Empire, I want you to take your army, hunt down the Elements of Harmony, and destroy them, even if it means the destruction of all of Equestria.

Silence.

"And why would I do that?!" Sombra yelled, angered. "Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are there! They'll destroy me!"

Because you've already accepted the offer, the dark cloud said, still with that triumphant note in it's voice. And now you're under oath to destroy the Elements, or die trying. Because if you don't, you'll spend the rest of eternity in the worst corners of existence, suffering pain as you've never known before.

With an almighty jerk, Twilight came back to reality, with a much more defeated-looking Sombra still on the ground before her.

"You don't make deals with demons," Twilight said, coldly.

"For the record, I tried to avoid this war," Sombra said, pleadingly. "I sent Celestia that note asking to surrender you six to me! But she wouldn't listen! And now Equestria is gone!"

"Why tell me all of this?" Twilight asked. "You know you're dead anyway."

"Because I'm offering to make a new oath, right here, right now," Sombra said. "The demon broke contract and fled, so I am no longer bound by his terms, and I don't have an army any longer. I will return to the Crystal Empire, and you'll never hear from me again. I won't destroy this last city. But in exchange, you must never come looking for me."

Twilight thought about it. It was a good deal, and she knew it. She had read his mind. She knew he was sincere.

But then her thoughts returned to her three dead best friends, and all of the others. All of Equestria, save 400, had fallen because of his mistake.

"I have a counter-oath for you," Twilight said, her anger boiling again. "You never have to worry about us finding you. But in exchange, I get to kill you. Deal?"

At least I tried, Sombra thought to himself. It's all or nothing now.

The king began to cast a spell, but Twilight was way ahead of him. She countered the spell easily, jumping sideways. She launched a beam of white light at him, which was so packed with power that it felt like an electric current moving through the air. Sombra's eyes widened, as he barely managed to dodge the beam. It made his hair stand on end as it passed, colliding with the ground behind him with a powerful, low-frequency boom. He flipped over one hoof sideways, as he began launching blasts of pure dark energy at Twilight. She countered each of them easily. Then, summoning up a partial amount of energy, she cast another spell at the king.

A solid wall of green flame, wider than the length of Equestria's biggest trains and train cars combined, launched towards Sombra. He had no way of dodging or countering it this time. He took the full force of the flames, screaming as third-degree burns covered his body and he was thrown backwards. He hit the ground hard, but immediately flipped backwards and upright again, despite the pain it put him in.

His horn glowed silver, and something thin, shaped like his horn, flew from him at her. It looked to Twilight as though it was razor-sharp. She burst into smoke, quickly dashing sideways to avoid it. She flew straight for him, but he conjured a dark shield to block it. A dark shield that didn't last too long, as Twilight next bombarded him with a violet beam of dark energy which was much more powerful than his dark energy blasts had been.

"I expected it to be harder than this," Twilight taunted the King, as his dark shield shattered under weight of her spell. "But this is easier than my magic kindergarten final was."

She descended, and kicked him with the force of ten rampaging rhinos. He flew away through the air, coughing up blood as he hit the ground and skidded to a painful halt. Burned, bruised, and broken, he knew he was done. Twilight descended to the ground a few feet away, returning to her regular form a moment later and walking slowly towards him.

There's no way that's her in there, Sombra thought. One mare doesn't get that strong so fast, dark blood or no. She has to have help.

As Twilight drew closer, he took her by surprise, and casted a dark spell of revealing. He used it to peer right into her soul.

"Holy--" he began to exclaim, but he couldn't finish. Twilight, without knowing how she had done it, had used her magic to literally manipulate the dark blood inside the King. She forced him to the ground, and locked out his horn. He struggled, and looked up at her.

"You can't say anything about my deal being evil, you hypocritical bitch," he choked, fighting to even speak. "You've done something far darker, far more evil than anything I've EVER done."

Twilight, not knowing where it came from, exploded with fury that wasn't hers.

"SHUT UP!" she bellowed. "Shut the HELL up, you evil bastard!"

Sombra watched, as her eyes turned from lavender to blood-red.

"Do it," Sombra said, glaring at her. "I'd rather be dead than stay here with what you've done."

Twilight wasn't going to make it an easy death. She focused on the dark blood, and forced it all inward. With a sickening crunching and a scream of pain from the King, Sombra's bones all snapped into several pieces, one by one. It was the most painful form of death that Twilight had available to her at that moment. Eventually, his heart stopped, and his horn fell off of his head.

Twilight wasn't finished. Obviously, destroying his body wasn't enough.

She levitated his horn from the earth, and held it in her hoof. She clenched it, and she drained the dark aura containing him from it. Then, she launched it upwards.

Little did she know that Sombra's soul launched up with it. He continued floating up, until he saw something.

"What on--" he said, in awe. There were two objects ahead, with what looked like a dirt path he could walk on beneath them. The right path looked a lot like the archway that was present at the entrance to the Crystal Empire. The left, he got a nasty feeling from. It was almost identical to the dark corridors the demon had used. He had no control over where he was going, and was surprised when he came to a sudden halt.

"Hello, Sombra Sötétvarázsló."

Even though it wasn't distorted or deep anymore, he knew that voice anywhere. He looked to the path on the left again.

A grey pegasus stallion floated there, with short black hair and emerald green eyes.

"You?! I thought you said you would be dead for breaking contract!"

"I thought I would be," the stallion shrugged. "Turns out, the big boss is perfectly happy with the way things turned out. In fact, I've been promoted."

"Why are you here?" Sombra muttered. The stallion gave a rather nasty smile.

"Remember how I said something slightly different would happen when you died?"

Sombra couldn't do anything about it. The grey stallion grabbed him, and dragged him down the dark path, as Equestria disappeared from beneath them.

Sombra's horn shot past the moment after the dark corridor vanished. Twilight continued to watch as the horn exited the atmosphere, and turned to dust. When she was sure it was gone, she cast a disintegration spell on Sombra's body. It dissolved into nothingness.

She would have been exhilarated with her victory, but the moment Sombra's body finished melting into oblivion, she felt a horrible feeling in her stomach. She keeled over, retching. She would've been perfectly happy to throw up, but her stomach didn't seem to want to empty itself.

"What... the hell?" She moaned, as she lay on the ground.

Current Equestria Population:

396

Author's Note:

I wrote about 1000 words two weeks ago, and then the other 3000 today during school. :/

I actually think I'm going to release another original chapter in-between Stories and Confrontations.
Later.

Comments

[Cool_Story_Reader]

These cliffhangers
Great job though, please update