Chapter Eleven
Everything started with explosions.
The balcony was on the ground by the time the dust cleared. Sombra was surrounded, Celestia and Luna on either side of me as we faced him. The militia had their countless spears and blades pointed towards the center point of the ring, directed at Sombra with his magic flaring like black flames. His mind was gone, his eyes pits of green and violet haze, his mane tossing as he reared and kicked his legs, his magic taking complete and total control.
"He's lost it," Celestia observed, her brows knit and her stance strong. The sunlight glinted off of her armor like the rays of the sun. "There's no rescuing his soul from the dark magic that lay in his heart…"
"But we can save Despara, sister." She looked up to Celestia. "Shall I see to it?"
"Yes." Luna took off into the castle, through the hole of the balcony. Celestia's gaze never left Sombra's writhing form in the middle of our ring. "How should we go about this, Captain Cheshire?" Her voice was calm with an underlying tone of concern and a hint of anger, against Sombra or the entire ordeal I was unsure.
I watched Sombra writhe and felt a sort of pity for the unicorn stallion. I believe he could have been good at some point, granted he hadn't found dark magic. He did care for Despara, otherwise he would have disposed of her as soon as he attained the throne. The only thing stopping the mindless idiot from doing so now was my militia. But as soon as that pity came, that pity was gone; on his head was the death of Princess Sunlight Delight, Queen Amour, and the brainwashing of Princess Despara, regardless of the dark magic poisoning his mind.
It was hard to predict his movements. He was aware of his demise, aware of the armored soldiers around him, aware that I would be the one to deal that finishing blow, the one that would seal his fate. But yet, at the same time, he was unaware as the poisonous dark magic clouded his mind, his judgment, and his eyes… for good.
"Attack from the rear," I decided, watching Sombra's form quiver and tremble, his mouth gape open. "That is our best plan as of right now." Celestia looked down at me, but I did not meet her gaze. "I will need half of our men to fall back and occupy the guards." Celestia nodded to our ring and half fell back, their forms disappearing into the surrounding shadows. "And then the remaining half of our militia will keep the crystal ponies in their home… I don't want casualties." The rest of the militia fell away, leaving Celestia and I face-to-face with the King of Shadows, Sombra.
"Crysssssstalssss…" Sombra hissed, his mouth stretching into a forced grin as bloody tears streaked down his cheeks. "Where are my crysssstal ssslavesss?" He was gone.
"Sombra! I order you to surrender!" Celestia barked, her wings outstretched like great white sails. Her glare was fierce and her stance strong.
Sombra cackled and reared his head back. "Surrender? Nay…" He sneered, his voice deep, breathy, calculating. "Surrender is for cowardsss…" His form shifted, darkened, grew. "You cannot control… the King!" He roared, his voice bellowing out and reverberating about the empire and into the sky. The ground trembled with his might as the darkness spread through the ground and crystals blacker than night shot forth from the ground.
I hopped left, right, shot forward, stepped back. Every time I moved, a crystal took my place where I once stood, jutting forth like spears and nearly clipping my armor several times. Sombra's wrath never faltered; he trapped Celestia inside a crystal tomb, and his attention was fully on me now.
"You…" He breathed, his face coming close to mine, the shadows warping and bubbling in the air around us, blocking out what little light there was from the blood red sky. "You… traitor…" He rose up higher into the sky. "To think… to believe you would join my causssse…" The ground shook as crystals began to erupt from the surface. "You… will… suffer!"
"No!" I jumped back, but too slow. A crystal clipped against my chest and knocked me into the ground, the breath knocked from my lungs. I lay there, gasping, struggling as more crystals erupted. Now I was the one trapped to meet my demise.
"Sombra!" A familiar voice cried out, high above us. A streak of blue zoomed from the castle and there was Luna, weapon raised, wings fanned, teal magic flaring and fresh unlike my depleted supply. She ploughed straight into the mist, disappearing within Sombra's shadowy depths. He cackled as the light within him gleamed, then began to fail.
"Foolish… You're all foolsss!" He gloated as the last of the light inside him died. Luna was spat out onto the ground in a heap of armor. She groaned and glared at him. "Not Celestia nor Luna were powerful enough to match my might! What makes you think, Chesssshire, that you would do better?"
"You're the fool, Sombra…" Luna's soft voice diverted his attention from me, long enough for me to get back on my hooves. "You will fall…"
I did not see what happened next; I only heard her shriek and then silence.
It was over. Our plan had failed. Not Celestia nor Luna could match Sombra's dark power. I had no chance if neither of the Princesses did… And as I finally began to accept fate, succumb to its dark embrace…
"You shall not hurt him!" Despara.
She darted from the castle, and at first, I thought her target was me. Her expression was enraged, her flight pattern straight and sure. She came, fast, faster, scarlet magic streaking from her horn in ribbons behind her. Faster and faster…
She ploughed straight into Sombra in the same fashion Luna had, red illuminating inside his misty form. Sombra cackled. "Despara, dearest… I guess you don't have much use to me anymore after all…" His form melted away and he was once again in his stallion form, looking down at Despara.
She was back, her eyes sharp, her ears flat against her skull. Her royal garb was abandoned somewhere and she had her wings flared out. Storm clouds raged in the sky, lightning crackling along the sickly black puffs in the sky. Thunder rolled over the land, reverberating in the earth, shattering the crystals. "You've only done harm to this kingdom!" She raged, her voice booming much like the storm she had called forth. "You took a thriving empire and destroyed it! Where is the Sombra I knew!? The one I fell for!?"
"As dead as the Queen in her grave…" He sneered. Black magic rolled across the earth, but quickly dissipated in the rain that began to fall. "He died as soon as he picked up that forbidden book, deep within the library's locked recesses…" He cackled again, coming close to her face. "There is no saving him…"
"Then I have no choice…" She hissed in his face. Lightning struck down into Sombra and she darted towards me. She bucked the crystals pinning me where I was. "Get up. Get the princesses out of here."
"But-"
"Do it!" She took off as Sombra rose into the sky again.
That was the last I saw of Despara. I gathered the princesses, but had no time to rescue any of the crystal ponies. Upon leaving the Crystal Empire's boundaries, its shield protecting it from the outside weather forces shuddered, and fell. There was a resounding shriek of horror and despair as the shadowy black mass in the center of the empire rose and expanded, then shattered. A light as blue as the sky that had shone previously was joined with one as red as blood, circling each other and meshing, rocketing into the crevice of a glacier. No doubt, this was Despara's departing gift.
Sealing away Sombra, hopefully for forever.
