AN: Here it is, folks! The face off with King Sombra and the chapter I'm most proud of! Where has the real Sombra been this whole time? Who is that pony in the cloak? What's going to happen to everypony?! Read on to find out.

Ch 14: End Result

King Sombra

The dark unicorn stallion grins when the last of his intended victims appears at his hideout in the office of Ponyville's mayor. He looks at the band around his left hook. "This has been so useful. Nearly unlimited magic to create as many clones as I wish. I think I'll keep it."

"The Copier's Band doesn't belong to you!" shouts Twilight.

Sombra chuckles at the purple alicorn magically tethered to the floor along with the rest of the prisoners. "Let me guess. It belongs in a museum."

"Duh!" shouts Rainbow Dash.

Rolling his eyes, the dark stallion preps a spell to broadcast the proceedings to every corner of Equestria.

Rarity sighs. "I chose to go out looking unkempt. Seems I shall enter the afterlife looking back on that."

Fluttershy just whimpers.

"Citizens of Equestria!" Sombra suddenly bellows, signaling that all are watching. "This is King Sombra, your new ruler, speaking! For my first act in power, I will have your former rulers and their most devoted followers executed for your viewing pleasure!"

"HELLO, EQUESTRIA!" Pinkie shouts with a big grin. "We're coming to you live from the mayor's office in Ponyville!"

"Really?" Applejack asks the party pony.

Sombra smirks at his prisoners. "Now then, which of you should I start with?"

Starlight lets out a groan. "Of course, you would milk this for all its worth." She then rolls her eyes.

The dark stallion is just about to choose her first for speaking to him like that when he sees his remaining two prisoners looking at each other lovingly.

"I love you, Cady," Shining Armor says to his wife.

"I love you, Shiny," Cadance says back.

Shining leans closer and whispers into her ear. "I hope Ember and Thorax can keep Flurry safe."

Cadance nuzzles her husband. "And that they don't let her see this."

The other mares in the room see this affection and wish they could see their own loves one more time.

Sombra feels annoyed by the display of affection. "How revolting. You two go first."

Suddenly, the door to the mayor's office gets blown from its hinges. Flash, Soarin, Cheese Sandwich, Discord, Caramel, Capper, and Sunburst all rush in at once. While the orange unicorn stallion fires a magic blast at Sombra, the others charge the dark unicorn stallion.

One of the many Sombra clones in the room puts up a barrier, making those trying to tackle the original get bounced back.

Sunburst runs out of magic, so he stumbles over to Starlight and lays right beside her. "I'm so sorry I failed you again, Starlight."

Starlight nuzzles him. "In my eyes, you succeeded by trying, Sunburst."

Caramel drags himself over to Applejack. "It's like I said, AJ. I belong at your side."

Applejack places a front leg around the stallion. "Like I always wanted."

Fluttershy sighs at Discord. "I'd tell you to save yourself, but I think you'd just ignore it."

The draconequus wraps himself around the yellow pegasus mare. "And you'd be right, My Love. If I have to die, then I'm satisfied you are the last thing I see."

Cheese hugs Pinkie. "You know, they say life is just a party."

Pinkie hugs Cheese back. "Yep. And parties weren't meant to last."

Soarin walks over to Rainbow Dash and places his broken wing over her, not caring one bit about the pain. "It was an adventure flying with you, Dash."

The blue pegasus mare gives a sad smile. "Yeah. Had the best time, Soarin."

Seeing no angles for stopping this execution, Capper sighs and drapes himself over Rarity. "Thanks for saving my soul, Rares."

The white unicorn mare buries her face into the Abyssinian's neck, completely relishing in the vibrations of his quiet purring. "Thank you for giving me a second chance, Dearest Capper."

Twilight looks sadly up at Flash, the only one who's kept attacking Sombra's barrier in the hopes of breaking through. "Flash. No solution is going to present itself."

The Royal Guard stops at hearing Twilight quote that regulation in such a negative way. It allows for the truth to finally set in. 'Sorry, Dad. I gave it my all, but it just wasn't enough.' He descends to lie beside his princess and drape a wing over her as she does the same thing for him. "Twilight, being a Royal Guard for you has been the best part of my life. Hope to do the same in the next life."

Shining Armor and Cadance can't help but give little smiles at all these examples of love in the face of doom.

"ENOUGH!" shouts an enraged Sombra. "I can't stomach it! If there's anything I think to be a bigger lie than friendship, it's love! You all think I'm wrong?! I'll prove to you what an absolute farce love is by destroying the lot of you in one fell swoop!" He charges up a powerful magic blast.

The pairs all cling tightly to each other as they face what looks to be their final moments.

Sombra fires.

A sudden barrier blocks the blast as if it was nothing.

"Didn't see that coming!" shouts Pinkie.

"Me neither!" shouts Cheese.

"How?!" shouts Sombra. "The unicorns and alicorns shouldn't have any magic in them!"

A robed pony appears in front of the barrier with a ring suspended in the air.

"The Chameleon Ring!" Twilight shouts while staring at the ring. "It allows the wearer to become invisible and hide their magical signature!"

"I thought that was just a myth," says Sunburst.

The hooded pony tosses the ring aside (Twilight and Sunburst gasp at such disregard).

"I think the main point's that our lives were saved by the fortune teller," says Starlight.

"Thought there was something more to her," says Capper.

"So, the ring has kept you hidden this whole time," Sombra says to the hooded pony. "You have been lying in wait for this moment for whatever reason." He begins charging a magic blast for the pony. "Big mistake, Descendant."

"Really?" asks the hooded mare. "You think I'm a descendant, Sombra?"

The stallion's spell falters and fizzles out at the sound of her voice. "It can't be."

The mare finally lowers her hood. This reveals a purple coat, a unicorn horn, a bright blue mane, and blue eyes. "It's been some time."

Sombra just stares at her. "Hope."

"Hope as in Radiant Hope?!" asks Flash.

"She's alive?!" shouts Shining Armor.

"Could somepony tell us who the hay this Hope is?!" asks Applejack.

"We're kind of in the dark here," says Caramel.

"Radiant Hope was a pupil of Celestia and Luna over a thousand years ago," says Twilight. "At least, that's what the general public could have known. A book that I found on the origins of King Sombra identified her as the only friend he ever had."

"A bad excuse for a friend," Sombra says with venom. "She left me to go study with those pompous princesses."

"Sounds disturbingly familiar," Starlight mumbles to herself.

"That's not fair," Hope says to Sombra. "You encouraged me to go."

"Quick question," says Rainbow Dash. "How are you alive?"

"You don't look a thousand years old or whatever," says Soarin.

"I am curious as well," says Sombra. "You certainly never became an alicorn."

"When you sent the Crystal Empire into the future, I found a place where I could be able to do the same. Realizing that confronting you as is would be pointless, I brought multiple magical items with me. Using the Seer's Charm, I pinpointed when exactly I needed to send myself, one week ago by today's standards. The Seer's Charm also told me everything I had to do in order to reach this moment."

"Have you been using the Seer's Charm for your own purposes and your fortune telling for the public?" asks Twilight.

"It only has so many uses before it crumbles," says Sunburst.

"Only one more left," Hope says before turning back to Sombra. "I found your horn left in the area near your previous battle, gave fortunes which would help get all concerned here to this moment, interfered with letters between the royals, and gave Discord a potion to depower him."

"So, we were right!" shouts Flash.

"You did set this up," says Shining Armor.

"You took Discord's powers for all this?" Fluttershy asks Hope.

"It's obvious why," says the draconequus. "I could have ended all this with a mere snap."

"Wait a moment," says Rarity. "Radiant Hope, how did you give fortunes to all of us when most of us were here in Ponyville and Twilight was in Canterlot?"

Rainbow Dash raises a hoof. "Cloudsdale for me."

"Ditto," says Soarin.

Hope points at Sombra. "The Copier's Band that he's wearing on his leg now. It was able to copy Seer's Charm I was wearing with fewer uses."

"Just what was the point of reviving me and reaching this point?" Sombra asks Hope.

The mare smiles. "To ask you to stop what you're doing."

The dark stallion groans. "This again?"

"You know you don't really want this."

"Yes, I do!"

"That's just the darkness talking!"

Twilight gasps. "So, the story was true! He did come into contact with that dark crystal all those years ago! Sombra is possessed!"

"I am not possessed!" shouts the dark stallion. "I am all-powerful! No more being pushed around or belittled because I happen to be an adult blank flank!"

"So, you're going to kill all of them over that?!" Hope asks while gesturing to those inside the barrier. "They had nothing to do with it! None of them were alive back then!"

"They are a threat to the kingdom I deserve to have! You can't protect them forever! How are you keeping that barrier up anyway?! You clearly aren't using your horn!"

Hope reaches into a pocket and pulls out a white gem.

Discord groans. "The Heart's Protector. I thought this was familiar."

Flash recognizes that name. "Twilight told me the story on this one. A pony used that gem against you right before your first takeover. It can leave a barrier up forever and protect the user from all external forces. That included your chaos magic."

Twilight smiles at Flash before turning to Discord. "You only won because you pretended like you were going to attack somepony the user cared about and they dropped the barrier so that they could protect them. You really played on that pony's emotions."

Fluttershy places a comforting hoof on the guilt-ridden Discord's shoulder. "I thought that gem was sent to the other side of the world."

"I found it before I came to this time," says Hope.

"Forever?!" Sombra shouts after his mind finally processes what the gem can do. "I have a barrier blocking me that can stay up forever?!"

"That's right. You'll never get through."

The dark stallion glares at his former friend. "Why?! Why are you doing this?! Why must you ruin everything for me?!"

"I'm trying to help you because I care!"

"Liar! You refused me when I offered to make you my queen!"

Those who didn't hear the story on the train have their jaws dropped by this information.

Cadance finally decides to tap into her ability to sense love.

"I don't want to be a tyrant's queen. I want to be the wife of the Sombra I grew up with."

That makes the dark stallion pause.

"The Sombra who played along as I pretended to see fairies when we were just two orphan foals. The Sombra who's blood red eyes used to be such a beautiful emerald green. The Sombra I healed when illness almost killed him, who held me so tightly and with such warmth."

Cadance smiles. 'Talking about how Sombra used to be, Radiant Hope is overflowing with love.'

"STOP!" Sombra bellows at the top of his lungs. He can't hide that Hope's words had an effect on him, especially since he's visibly shaking. "You're living in a fantasy! Wake up! The Sombra that you knew was a pathetic weakling who allowed the world to treat him like garbage! That Sombra is dead! This Sombra has power! I am glorious! I will have my kingdom! That is my destiny!" The dark stallion points at Hope. "I command you to drop the barrier or face your doom!"

It's clear to all witnessing this that whatever's possessing Sombra is pushing back hard.

Hope decides she needs to do something drastic. She casts a spell on the Heart's Protector gem. Whatever the spell is, it takes a lot out of the mare. She allows the gem fall to the ground, then uses a hoof to smash it.

Those in the barrier gasp (especially Twilight and Sunburst). They're expecting the barrier to disappear, but it stays in place.

"What was that?" asks Sombra.

Since Hope is woozy right now, Discord (the only one who didn't gasp) answers. "She just performed a transfer spell."

"Meaning?"

Hope finally looks at Sombra again. "If the Heart's Protector gem still had its magic after I smashed it, that barrier behind me would be gone."

"You took its magic into yourself."

"I can choose to keep the barrier in place or get rid of it. You know me, Sombra. I will not bring it down. At the same time, that spell took away all of my own magic. I can't even lift up a piece of paper, let alone defend myself."

"Defend yourself?" Sombra looks…fearful.

"The only way to go through with your plans now is to kill me first."

There's no question just how much Sombra hates the idea. "Are you insane?! Why would you do that?!"

"If you're really going to go down the path of a true monster, then I don't want to have to see the end result!"

"Just stop! Get rid of the barrier! Please!"

That last word let all watching know that Sombra was no longer trying to command Hope. He was begging her.

"No!" Hope shouts with unflinching determination. "If the throne is really so important to you, you'll have to get rid of me to have it! Here I am, completely defenseless! Fire away!"

Sombra just stares at Hope in horror for a moment. Then…he begins to gag and choke for no apparent reason. The dark stallion places a hoof on his head as if he has a headache while the gagging changes into grunts of pain.

"Sombra?" Hope asks feeling worried.

The stallion's grunts transition into groaning, then into moaning. He then violently throws his head back. "AAAAAHHHHH!" While Sombra's screaming, dark magic is shooting out of his body. The dark magic hits stationary clones, blasts holes in the walls, and bounces off of the barrier.

Hope struggles to dodge all the blasts coming at her.

The magical tethers keeping the prisoners down disappear, allowing them to stand up.

Twilight, realizing Sombra's magic has gone wild, makes a split-second decision based on intuition. She uses what little magic that she's regained to latch onto the spell broadcasting them to all of Equestria and keeps it going.

The dark magic coming from Sombra is so powerful, a giant hole gets blasted in the ceiling of the mayor's office and the Copier's Band is destroyed. All the Sombra clones disappear. The dark stallion finally stops screaming and kneels, heaving from the stress of whatever happened to him. "Princess Twilight. You…and your friends…must destroy me."

"What?!" shout all the former prisoners.

"No!" Hope shouts as she takes a step forward.

"Don't come near me!" Sombra shouts at his old friend. "Princess Twilight. Whatever the power…you used last time…do it again…now. I don't know…how long I can…stop myself."

"Sombra," Twilight says while seeing her foe in a very new light.

"Please. You have to." Sombra lifts his head, revealing something that makes the decision so much harder for all involved. He's crying and his left eye is emerald green. "Don't make me have to live with killing Hope."

Twilight has never been more conflicted in her life. She wants to stop Sombra from killing them and taking over Equestria, but seeing the effort that he's putting in to protect Hope from his own darkness makes her also want to spare him. The looks her friends, their loves, and Flash are giving her are not helping. They're telling the purple alicorn that they'll accept whatever choice she makes, but that they believe Sombra needs to be put down. Twilight's made more uncertain by Hope's silent plea to spare Sombra so that all the unicorn mare's efforts weren't in vain.

"Twilight," come Shining Armor and Cadance's voices.

Looking to her brother and her sister in law, Twilight sees the couple clasping their hooves and giving her the most intense stares. They tell her Sombra's holding his darkness back through love and that love is the answer to this problem. The purple alicorn nods at the royal pair before turning to Sombra. "We're not going to destroy you. We're going to save you." She holds out a hoof to Flash. "Will you help me?"

The Royal Guard smiles at his princess. "Always." He takes her hoof in his.

Getting what they're expected to do, the others copy them.

"Citizens of Equestria!" Twilight calls out to all those she knows are watching. "All those who believe in love, send that feeling here! Romantic, platonic, familial, any kind! We ask that all of you give as much as you can to save this lost soul from his darkness!"

As one, the couples in the mayor's office focus on their feelings of love and send them out to the struggling Sombra.

More love energy comes in through the hole in the ceiling and hits the dark stallion.

Hope, instead of smiling at the intended result, gasps at the actual result. "Wait! No! Stop it! He's disintegrating!"

"Because he refuses to believe he can be saved!" shouts Cadance.

"You're the key!" Twilight shouts to the unicorn. "Go to him!"

Nodding, Hope turns and runs over to latch on to what's left of her beloved friend. "Don't give up, Sombra!"

The dark stallion opens his eyes, one still red and the other still green. "Please, Hope. Let me go."

"Never!"

"This is for the best. I'm an evil monster. The Crystal Heart showed me that."

In a fit of rage, Hope tears off her robe, revealing her wingless unicorn body underneath it. "The Crystal Heart showed me becoming an alicorn princess! I gave that up to save you!"

Sombra stops disintegrating as he stares at Hope.

"Fate only matters if you put in the effort to make it happen! All my effort went to getting back the Sombra I've always loved!"

The dark stallion's body is rebuilding itself and his red eye is changing colors.

"Please, Sombra. Take one moment to forget about what you saw in the Crystal Heart and answer this question. What do you choose?"

"I…I choose…" Sombra's body becomes fully formed and his eye turns green. "…you."

The two lean forward and kiss. A blinding golden light emanates from the pair. In time, it disappears, revealing the pair is still kissing as the clouds shift to allow the sun to shine on them.

As they part, the change in Sombra's outward appearance becomes obvious. Both eyes are emerald green, his formerly red horn is now the same dark gray as his coat, his fangs are regular teeth now, and his wild mane is styled and slicked in a way that makes him look like a gentlecolt. Simply put, by pony standards, Sombra is very handsome.

Hope is just about to kiss him again for that reason when he places a hoof in front of her in a protective manner.

Twilight and the others are approaching, the barrier having been brought down.

Sombra stares at them while he keeps Hope behind him. "Whatever punishments that you see fit to give, place them all on me."

The group comes to a stop in front of the pair.

"Hope just wanted to save me from myself. I'm the one who attacked." Sombra bows his head. "Please, take her punishment and give it to me along with my own."

"Sombra," Hope says in a tone clearly indicating she's not okay with that idea.

Twilight shakes her head with a smile. "That won't be necessary. What I'd like out of the two of you is to perform a task."

"What task?" Sombra and Hope ask as one.

"You are familiar with Princess Amore?"

The gray stallion sighs. "The former ruler of the Crystal Empire that I turned into a statue, shattered, then sent her pieces all across Equestria."

"Would she still be alive to this day in that state?"

"I would think so," says Hope.

"Then it's settled. As atonement and to cement Sombra's reformation, the two of you must collect all of her pieces and bring them to Canterlot once finished so she can be brought back."

"I like it," says Hope. "Sounds like a quest."

"Princess Amore certainly has waited long enough," says Sombra.

"Oh! I almost forgot." Hope brings out the Seer's Charm. "I won't need this anymore."

"That'll look great in a museum," Twilight says as she reaches for it.

Sombra swipes the Seer's Charm. "I'll read your fortune, Hope." He looks at her hoof.

"Wait!" shouts Twilight.

"It'll crumble to dust after its last use!" shouts Sunburst.

"You will become an alicorn princess," Sombra says while looking into Hope's eyes.

"What?!" the mare asks not believing what she just heard.

As advertised, the Seer's Charm turns to dust.

"Aww," Twilight and Sunburst say while feeling depressed by this turn of events. They're comforted by Flash and Starlight respectively.

"I gave up my right to be a princess a long time ago," Hope says as she shakes her head.

"That was then," says the gray stallion. "This is a new age, full of new chances."

The mare looks away, which is when she notices Soarin's broken wing along with a bunch of other bruises and cuts on the rest. "Oh no, you're all hurt! And I don't have enough magic to heal even one of you, let alone everycreature in Ponyville that got injured."

Twilight looks to the others. "I think we all know the drill."

A circle is made with clasped hooves, paws, and claws all the way around.

Twilight holds a hoof out for Hope, who looks a little apprehensive. "I get it. Celestia and Luna made you lose faith in princesses as a whole when they declared Sombra to be a lost cause. Nopony is perfect. Today has proven they were wrong. That doesn't mean they were failures as princesses. We all make decisions based on what we believe to be right or wrong. I saw Sombra protecting you from his own darkness, which told me that he was deserving and capable of being saved. Now, seeing you wish to heal all affected by the attack, I want to help you make that goal a reality. Will you accept my help?"

Hope slowly lets a smile appear on her face. "Yes." She takes Twilight's offered hoof into hers. The other is taken by Sombra.

The gray stallion sees that Flash Sentry, who's on Twilight's other side, is smirking at him. Hearing somepony clearing their throat, Sombra looks around to see Shining Armor also offering his hoof. 'He has the same look as his subordinate. Are they both trying to trick me?! No. Stop it, Sombra. Thoughts like that made you become evil in the first place. Have faith.' So, he takes Shining's hoof in his, completing the circle.

A will to heal is sent into Hope from all in the circle and the unicorn uses all of it to have a wave of healing magic spread throughout Ponyville.

Once done, Soarin checks out his wing. "Hey! It's fixed!"

"Cool," says Rainbow Dash. "We can have a race once we're all done here."

"Sure, but first thing's first." Soarin goes over to Dash and gives her a huge kiss, making her wings pop out. The stallion pulls away. "Sorry for doing that out of nowhere, but we got all interrupted earlier and—"

Dash stops all the dumb chatter by pulling his face close to hers. "Just shut up and give me more." She kisses Soarin hungrily, making his wings pop out this time.

Applejack tests out the leg still wrapped up, then she grins. "YEE HAW!" She kicks off the wrap and sets her leg down, revealing it's healed. "Look out, Ponyville! Applejack's raring to go!"

"Go, AJ!" Caramel cheers her on.

"Thank you, Mel." With that, the earth pony mare kisses the stallion.

He, of course, is left a blushing and nervously laughing mess.

Discord unwraps his bandage from his goat leg. "The bear's claw marks are also gone."

Fluttershy flies up so she's face to face with the draconequus. "Thank you for helping with the animals…and saving me."

"My Love, helping you is a reward within itself." Discord then gets left in a complete daze as Fluttershy gives him his first kiss. He blinks. "Although, that is quite the incentive."

The yellow pegasus giggles.

Rarity sighs while running her hooves through her mane. "It would have been nice for that healing wave to include cosmetic healing."

Capper places a paw under her chin. "Still the prettiest mare in the room, Rares." He then gives her a most sensuous kiss.

The feeling of the feline's fangs makes Rarity's knees wobble from a new level of heat.

Starlight realizes Sunburst isn't beside her anymore. She finds him looking at the floor.

"Yes!" the orange unicorn stallion shouts as he holds up what he'd been looking for. "The Chameleon Ring! It's totally safe!"

Starlight giggles. "You're so cute when you're gushing over historical stuff."

Sunburst blushes. "Thank you?" He's then blindsided by a deep kiss. The stallion's front legs wrap around Starlight to deepen the kiss further. Unknown to him, the Chameleon Ring has rolled away and has fallen through a crack in the floorboards. However, right now, Sunburst just couldn't care less.

Twilight lightly laughs at all this before turning to Hope. "You brought so much happiness today…Princess Radiant Hope."

"What?" Hope asks before being stunned by the change in her body. She has grown wings. "I'm…an alicorn."

"This is proof that you really are meant to be a princess," Cadance says with a smile.

"Once the task is complete, you can start lessons on how to be a princess," says Twilight.

Worry is obvious on Hope's face.

"Hope," Sombra says while he hugs her. "Relax. Nothing will happen to me this time."

"How do you know?"

The stallion looks the alicorn in the face. "I know because, when you are truly established as a princess, I will serve you."

"What?"

"I told you that I choose you. That means I will be helping you in whatever way you need from now on. Princess Radiant Hope, I pledge myself to you."

Hope can barely keep her composure, Sombra's words affected her so much.

"Dude," Soarin says to Sombra. "Check your flank."

The gray stallion looks and can't believe his eyes. "A…cutie mark. But…it looks just like Hope's."

Flash steps forward. "Actually, it's her cutie mark surrounded by a shield."

Shining smirks again. "Flash and I figured something like this would happen."

"What does that mean?" asks Sombra.

Flash smirks too. "Your devotion to Hope coupled with your new cutie mark suggests that the next phase of your life will be spent as her Royal Guard."

"A Royal Guard? Me?"

Shining nods. "If you decide to go that route once the task is complete, be prepared for a crazy tough training regimen. Do you accept?"

Sombra takes a moment to look back at Hope before smiling at Shining Armor. "Without a doubt."

Twilight stands beside Flash. "You know, it's kind of a funny coincidence."

Her bodyguard turns to her. "What do you mean?"

"Once those two are done with the task and they get through all their preparations, each of the acting princesses will be romantically involved with a member of the Royal Guard."

"Heh, that is an odd coincidence."

The two just stare for a few moments before they're pushed together in a kiss. Their wings pop out.

Pinkie and Cheese, the masterminds behind pushing the two together, laugh and cheer from the success of their plan.

Shining face hooves. "I can't believe I just saw that."

Cadance giggles. "Don't worry, Shiny. With time, they'll calm down and learn how to be comfortable together."

"Hey!" Pinkie suddenly shouts. "Everything's goodtastic now!"

"I know what that means!" shouts Cheese.

A party cannon goes off. Confetti, balloons, and streamers fill the air.

"HEARTS AND HOOVES PARTY!" the party ponies scream together. Then, they wrap their front legs around each other and kiss.

Everycreature in the room laughs, including Hope and Sombra.

AN: To those who aren't fans of a lot of kissing...sorry, not sorry. Also, I can finally reveal my favorite MLP ship now, which is Sombra x Hope. They have a combination of my favorite romance tropes. Childhood (in this case foalhood) friend romances and villains redeemed through love. It's a shame the show couldn't incorporate this pair into the show and made Sombra a generic evil villain. Anyway, one more chapter before this is all over with. See you all next time!