Disclaimer: All MLP:FiM characters belong to Hasbro and DHX Media. I do not own any of them except my OC. Also, the original song of "Confrontation" belongs to the Princess Trixie Sparkle series and Magpiepony.
Previously…
"Oh good. We're all here."
"So, everypony got an urgent summons to the castle with no explanation?"
"I just love a good mysterious summons."
"Hey, why are we running?"
"Because something could be terribly wrong."
"Don't you think you're bein' a little paranoid?"
"Perhaps. But you never know. So you rather be safe than sorry."
"Good point. We know better than to make ourselves worry."
"Plus, I like it when you run so fast, the walls get all blurry."
"Race ya!"
"Girls. Thank you so much for coming."
"What's wrong? What can we do?"
"Nothing's wrong. Everything's perfect."
"Did y'all call us down here just to tell us that?"
"With all due respect Your Majesties, you might want to save your urgent summons for matters that are a bit more well, urgent."
"Welp, see ya. Time to go take care of other stuff."
"Not so fast."
"There's a bit more to it."
"I'm listening."
"Equestria is currently enjoying it's longest period of harmony in recent years."
"And it's all thanks to you, Twilight. And your friends of course."
"Thank you."
"Because of your efforts, there's been less and less for us to do."
"So, after much consideration, my sister and I have decided it is time for us to RETIRE!"
"Breaking news! The Royal Princesses retiring! I have so many questions!"
"Who will run Equestria? Will it be someone tall, dark, and handsome or will it be the Lord of Chaos?"
"Yeah, I don't think so. Considering your history, Equestria would turn into a disaster if you were in power, so sorry."
"Oh fine. Go with the obvious choice. Oh, this will be interesting."
"You're retiring?!"
"Princesses can retire?"
"Any ruler can retire at any time they want. Says so in Equestria's constitution."
He's right. I'm looking forward to a little R&R. Maybe a trip to Silver Shoals."
"And you want me and Zach to take your place?"
"With the help of your friends of course."
"We can't think of anypony more worthy. You faced task after task."
"Challenge after challenge."
"Countless adversities yeah, yeah, yeah. We get it."
"And you've always prevailed."
"Thank you, but that doesn't mean that I'm… that we're ready to do what you do."
"I do have one question though. How do I fit into all of this?"
"Since you are very close to Twilight, I figured it would be best if you were to rule by her side."
"I know this is a lot to take in, but-"
"Nope. Makes perfect sense."
"Does this mean we get all your powers?"
"I don't think so. It doesn't quite work like that."
"You can't be ready to step into their horseshoes just like that!"
"Well, if the Princesses think it's time to retire, then we're not a bad choice."
"That's a fair point, which should be taken into consideration when we have a round table discussion-"
"Well, I'm in. Darlings will all need a complete wardrobe update."
"As long as we all have each other, I'm sure we can do it."
"Yay! Protectors of Equestria on three: One… Two…"
"If you're all on board, I guess I am too."
"It'll be a bit of an adjustment, but I imagine the transfer of power will be a lengthy process which will be-"
"Actually, we just need a few days to put together a little ceremony."
"A few DAYS?! "Shouldn't there be some sort of training program?"
"Everything you've gone through over the years has been a training program."
"Okay, but there's got to be a guide or a rulebook!"
"Yes. I have it right here. "How to Rule Equestria" by nopony mcpretendsmith."
"The Friendship Journal you wrote yourselves is a better guide than anything we could provide."
"We have the utmost confidence in you."
"Oh, I'm absolutely certain she does."
"I'm not confident about this AT ALL!"
"Well, that's what I thought."
"Now's the part where you all tell little Sparkle here that everything is going to be fine but she won't believe you."
"It's just, I know I said yes, but then they said "in a few days," and there's still so much to figure out and it's all happening so fast!"
"Classic Twilighting."
"Twilighting? You-you made me a verb?"
It's not a bad thing. We just know you have a uh… process."
"It's okay. You go ahead and Twilight, and we'll be here for you."
"You're all acting so calm about this. What if something big happens and the princesses aren't there to help?"
"Umm, if you think about it, they literally almost never help."
"And we still always win!"
"See? We've almost always done things without the Princesses' help!"
"And it worked. I mean, if you think about it, there hasn't been a single villain we couldn't defeat."
"Help! She's spiraling! We're at the "My Plan needs a plan stage of a total Twilight meltdown!"
"Oh. Got it!"
"Did I write down "Eliminate redundant less" on my School of Friendship to do list or my personal to do list?"
"Twilight!"
"Starlight! Oh good you're here! I need to talk to you. Just let me find it so I can cross it off."
"Wow, you are Twilighting hard."
"Well, EXCUSE ME, this is the first time time I've ever been asked to run a whole Kingdom!"
"Twilight calm down. It's not that big of a deal."
"Not that big of a deal? NOT THAT BIG OF A DEAL?! PRINCESS CELESTIA JUST ASKED ME TO RUN AN ENTIRE KINGDOM JUST RANDOMLY OUT OF THE BLUE AND YOU SAY IT'S NOT THAT BIG OF A DEAL?!"
"Yep. And nothing will make me change my mind."
"Feel better now? Did you get all your anger out?"
"So what did you want to talk to me about?"
"Ah. Here it is. Starlight, you have blossomed into one of the strongest, smartest, most caring, ponies I know and I can't think of anypony better to leave in charge of my castle and the School of Friendship. So what do you think?"
"What? You want me to take care of the castle and run the School?! What if I don't do the right things?!"
"Starlight, get ahold of yourself. You've risen to every challenge you ever faced."
"HA! And so do you. You just said everything you needed to hear."
"Ha ha ha. Nice try. But running a school and running a country are very two different things."
"Not really if you think about it logically."
"Now if you don't mind, I have 7,432 more things to take care of before I become the new ruler of Equestria!"
"TWILIGHT! KING SOMBRA IS BACK AND IS TAKING OVER THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE!"
"WHAT?! How are you sure?!"
"Get our friends and meet in the throne room."
"Thanks for coming so quickly!"
"Sure thing. This looks like it says "Cadence sent an emergency message: Sombra's back and he's taking over the Crystal Empire."
"That's exactly what it says!"
"But-but how is that possible? I thought the Crystal Heart dispelled him into the ether!"
"It did, but someone revived him. However, that doesn't matter right now."
"He's back and it's up to us to save the Empire and my family!"
"Shouldn't somepony tell Celestia and Luna?"
"No. If we're going to run Equestria, we'll need to handle things like this on our own."
"Could this mean you finally have the confidence to ascend to the throne like the Princesses believe you can?"
"Maybe. Unless you'd consider taking care of Sombra for us?"
"Oh, no no no. You are absolutely right! You need to learn how to handle these things on your own! Ta ta!"
"Handling things on our own is all well and good, but last time, we defeated Sombra with the Crystal Heart."
"How are we gonna stop him?"
"We can use the Elements of Harmony! With those, we can defeat anypony! Even Sombra!"
"Ah no no no no no. You didn't need the Elements last time you defeated Sombra."
"That was a different circumstance. The Crystal Heart was just hidden in the castle and needed to be retrieved. Also, it was part of a test that Celestia gave to Twilight."
"My family is in danger. I'm not taking any chances!"
"She's got a point."
"Ugh. Fine!"
"Starlight? Can you stay here and take care of the school?"
"I've got you covered."
"It's cute that you think that will do anything."
"It might not, but they will!"
"How can I be surprised when I'm waiting to show all of you your greatest fear?"
"You should all surrender! Nothing can defeat your own fears!"
"We didn't need to defeat them. We just needed to face them long enough to distract you!"
"It's cute that you think that will do anything."
"You may have won the battle, but I SHALL WIN THE WAR!"
"We totally just wiped the castle with that guy!"
"As magical battles go, that was a cake walk."
"We handled this pretty well on our own."
"Does this mean?"
"I still don't feel like I'm 100 percent ready, but will I ever?"
"Knowing you, nope."
"I have you guys. And we have the Elements. And together, we've never failed. We'll be okay."
"Once again, Equestria is safe."
"What should we do to celebrate?"
"I vote for a cake walk."
"What's goin' on?"
"I don't know."
Sombra continued to laugh and I just got more and more angry. Rainbow asked in horror "What just happened?!" I'm wondering that myself. Fluttershy asked "The Tree of Harmony can't really be gone, can it?" I guess so. Twilight said "It can't be." It doesn't look that way. Sombra replied "But it is! You thought you defeated me. But you'd led me right to the source of your power. Now that it's destroyed, NOTHING CAN STOP ME!" I looked at my scepter and saw that a quarter of it turned gray. I snarled at him and said "NOT IF I HAVE ANYTHING TO DO ABOUT IT!" I teleported up in the air and blasted Sombra as hard as I could with whatever magic I had left. It included some dark magic as well. That's all I had left. Sombra fired off his own, and both balls of magic were at a stalemate and refused to move. Eventually, I was able to get the edge a little bit and push Sombra back a little bit. Then, it turned into a magical blasting kind of fight. Sombra blasted magic at me, but I went into my shadow form and it went right through me. I returned to my lion form and blasted Sombra with magic and he did the same thing I did. That was the only problem though.
When either of us blast magic at each other, we can just transform into our shadow forms and easily dodge the attack. Since 25 percent of my magic is gone, that makes me a lot more vulnerable to dangerous creatures and villains have an opportunity to get the upper hand. After a bit, I took to actual fighting. Both of us drew out spears and fought one another with it. It was pretty fair game for quite a bit until I finally managed to get the upper hand and just barely defeat him. However, Sombra wasn't done quite yet. He charged up his dark magic from his horn and blasted the ground causing dark crystals to be formed around us. I saw the gang except for Twilight come charging towards Sombra but they got trapped along with me as well. Twilight saw this and tried blasting us out of there, but it didn't do anything. Sombra said "Ha! You're no match for me!" Oh really? I went into my shadow form and disappeared out of the crystals. Sombra growled and then just smirked. "Not giving up are we? How ironic." Both of us went into our shadow forms and used shadows to fight one another. Once again, it was evenly matched. I don't know what I'm going to do.
I defeated him once more and he simply growled. He looked at my friends and just laughed. "I will finally rule the Crystal Empire." I don't think so. "Wait. With you out of the way, I will rule ALL OF EQUESTRIA!" NO! Twilight said "NO!" but Sombra didn't care. He said "Oh yes. And I think I know exactly where I'll start." And where would that be? Applejack said "Don't you dare say it!" Once again, Sombra didn't care and continued on anyways. He said "Your sweet little home town." Why does he say that like Lord Business from the Lego Movie? How weird. I know Hasbro did a Lego Movie reference because Lord Business said the exact same thing to Emmitt when he went over to Bricksburg to attack it for "Taco Tuesday." Rarity said "You leave Ponyville alone!" Sombra was amused and said "Or what? Without your Elements, it would be so easy to control you. And even so, what would the "Prince of Defense" or "King of all Beasts" be able to anyways?" I snarled in annoyance and said "SILENCE!" Sombra looked at me and said "You can ignore my warnings all you wish, but it won't change your fate."
I said "Save your breath." Sombra just smirked and said "If by some chance you were to defeat me, you would soon fall to your own darkness and turn against everyone. Besides, because the Tree of Harmony is destroyed, you are no longer as powerful as you once was." Sombra used his dark magic to have shadows surround my friends and I pushed them back with my own. "But there's no point in dwelling about that. My conquering of Ponyville is already your greatest fear. Ha ha. HA HA HA!" Sombra went back to his shadow form and took off. Ugh! I'll get him for that. I wonder how he knew about the doubts I had like that. Oh well. It's probably nothing anyways. Fluttershy asked "What do we do?" We get out of here and go fight Sombra so we can save Equestria and rid of him once and for all? Yeah, sounds about right. Twilight said "I don't know. The Tree grew the Elements. It kept the Everfree Forest under control." That's not the only thing. "And now it's gone! Sombra will take over Equestria and it's all my fault!" No it's not. None of us really knew it was going to happen. Well, I did, but I didn't know it would happen this soon.
"I knew I wasn't ready to take the Princesses' place, but I never thought I would mess up this badly!" The gang came over to Twilight for comfort and they looked at Pinkie. Pinkie was confused and asked "What are you looking at me for?" I have no idea. Rainbow said "This is usually when you say something funny to lift our spirits." I don't think anything about this is funny whatsoever. If you do, one, screw you, and two, you haven't been paying attention enough. Pinkie said "Sorry. Nothing about this is funny to me." That's good that you think that way. Because I would be furious if anyone thought this would be funny. Rarity started crying and said "I'm sorry. I'm trying to be strong, but I can't bear to think about poor Sweetie Belle under the spell of that monster!" Yeah, I know that feels. Pinkie said "Or those sweet little cake twins." Right. Them too. Rainbow said "Or Spike or Starlight." Most definitely. Fluttershy said "Or Angel or anypony forced to do that monster's bidding." Twilight came to me and whispered "Zach? Did you think you could get us out?" I said "I can try, but you might wanna stand back." Twilight nodded and moved back. I concentrated really hard and blasted dark magic at the black crystals to get them to retract and disappear. Once it was gone, the magic flow stopped and I looked at my friends.
They were amazed by it. Twilight asked me "How were you able to do that?" I said "Well, the key was because those crystals were summoned with dark magic, the only way to get rid of them is to use dark magic. So, I picked up a spell that Celestia taught me a bit ago and retracted the crystals away. But now's not the time to talk about that. We need to get out of here." The gang looked at Twilight and she said "I don't have a plan, but we can't let Sombra make slaves of everypony we love!" I agree. I said "Well then, let's get going." We rushed out of the cave and ran back to Ponyville. Boy does this look horrid. The girls gasped and my eyes went wide. Sombra wasn't kidding when he said that he'll take over Equestria. Applejack noticed Apple Bloom walking by and she said "Apple Bloom! It's me. Look at me, sugarcube." I don't think that's going to work. "Twilight, you gotta free her please!" I'm not sure if that will do anything. Twilight got in front of Apple Bloom and tried to free her from the spell, but Sombra's magic instantly recognized it and blocked it with ease. Because of that, it threw her back and she landed on the ground. She said "I can't. Without the Elements, my magic isn't powerful enough to stop Sombra's." Then they all looked at me and I sighed.
I tried charging up my magic to get rid of the spell, but that wouldn't work either. It charged up, but it didn't really blast anywhere. I said "I can't do it either. Because part of my scepter has turned gray, most of my overpowered alicorn magic went with it as well. I'm afraid that because of that, it severely weakens me and gives villains a chance to get the upper hand over me." I looked nervous and that didn't reassure anyone whatsoever. Suddenly, Spike and Starlight went by and Twilight saw them. She said "Spike? Spike, where are you going?" To Canterlot probably. "Starlight?" Starlight said in a zombie-like voice "We must lay siege to Canterlot." Oh dear me. Twilight said "No! Snap out of it you two! You're stronger than his magic." I said "Twilight, that's not going to work. This kind of spell is so powerful that only forces like the Elements would be able to counter it. Every other kind of magic wouldn't even be a challenge to this kind of spell." Rarity said "Sweetie Belle please stop! I can't get her to stop! I can't-" before Twilight said "None of us can. We can't reach them." At this point, it's pretty much true. Suddenly, Pinkie screamed and we rushed over to where she was.
We saw Pinkie trying to stop the Cake family, but it didn't work as planned. She then cried and said "He made them a black licorice fruit cake that says "Congratulations to our favorite supreme emperor King Sombra!" in green frosting! It's the ugliest cake I've EVER SEEN!" Yeah, that does look pretty disgusting if you ask me. Pinkie cried some more and everypony started to get worried. Rainbow said "Twilight. This is really bad. Like really bad." I know that. Fluttershy said "I've never been so sad my whole life." Eh, it will get worse for you. Twilight paced back and forth and said "I don't know what to do! I don't know how to free them and I don't know how to STOP SOMBRA! Everypony was so sure I'd do such a great job! Well, this is exactly what I was afraid of! Can anything else possibly go wrong?" Oh dear. You've cursed yourself now. I said "I would advise against that. But now you have basically cursed yourself." Twilight looked at me confused and Pinkie said "Well, with the Tree of Harmony gone, the Everfree Forest could grow out of control and threaten the TOWN!" See? That's why you never say that because stuff like that will happen. Never a best practice.
Rarity said "Darling, that's oddly specific." I said "Look for yourself." Pinkie dragged Rarity's face over to the forest and realized Pinkie was right. Everypony else saw it and was horrified. Twilight said "Even if we figure out a way to defeat Sombra and bring everypony back to Ponyville, if we don't stop the forest, there might not be a Ponyville to come back to." She does have a point. Rainbow looked for some tools and found something. She cleared her throat and they grabbed their tools. I might not have all of my magic, but I'm still a lion and I can easily bite off plundervines with my teeth, so it's not an issue. Fluttershy said "For our friends." Applejack and Rarity said "For our families." Pinkie and Rainbow said "For our home." Twilight said "For Equestria!" Those plundervines were ready to attack and so was I. All of them yelled "FOR EQUESTRIA!" and I got right to work. I attacked with fangs and stuff and the plundervines kept replacing themselves. One came right for me, but I bit it right off so I could fly up and avoid them. I used my black shadows to wrap around the plundervines, and I blasted them away with dark magic. Turns out they don't like that. However, they just kept growing back so dang quickly. Applejack said "We've been at this for hours." We have? It only feels like five minutes. "But it's just growin' back too fast.." Tell me about it.
Twilight said in desperation "We have to keep trying!" I flew right for the plundervines, but it hit me hard and I landed on the ground pretty hard. Ouch. That hurt. It pushed back the rest of the gang back as well and just when it looked like we were going to get swallowed up by Plundervines, Celestia and Luna came just in time and blasted them away. Applejack said "I know we're supposed to be able to handle this on our own, but I've never been happier to see two ponies in my whole life!" Fair point. Suddenly, Starswirl appeared and said "Nopony is meant to handle this on their own!" I can see why. Twilight said "Starswirl! The Tree of Harmony, it's-" before Starswirl said "I know. I alerted the Princesses' as soon as I could. I felt it when it happened. Like part of my essence ceased to be." I said 'Well, it definitely does feel that way Starswirl. Even the magic that came from the Tree has disappeared and left me a lot more vulnerable to attack." Starswirl gasped and said "This is worse than I thought! That is truly saddening, my dear friend." I said "Yeah, hopefully, I can get that magic back, or else, I'm going to have serious problems down the road." Starswirl said "I hope so too." Twilight said "I'm sorry." For what? It wasn't your fault.
Starswirl said "Don't be. I have more than enough magic in me to keep the Everfree Forest under control." That's good to hear. Twilight asked "You can do that?" Of course he can. He's Starswirl for Celestia's sake. He can do anything at this point. Starswirl said "The Pillars and I planted the Tree of Harmony. Who do you think kept the forest under control before it did?" Probably Starswirl and the rest of the Pillars. "It will take time. But with the Princesses' help, I can keep it at bay!" He levitated himself in the air like how Starlight did in the Season 5 finale and used his magic to blast away the vines only leaving canyons and trenches behind. Everypony was amazed and Celestia, Luna, and Starswirl continued to blast away the vines. Twilight said "Sombra's back and he's taking control of all of our friends." Luna went wide eyed and said "We've left Canterlot defenseless." Yeah, the guards there only flap their wings to keep the enemy at bay. They all do that "MINE MINE MINE" thing from Finding Nemo. It's pretty hilarious if you ask me. Celestia said "Twilight, you must go." Well gee, Celestia. Thanks for pointing out the obvious. You think we wouldn't do that? How ridiculous.
"Defend Equestria!" Yes ma'am! "And we shall contain the forest." Good luck. Twilight came back over and Pinkie said "At least we're now back to just one problem." Fair point. But even that won't be as easy as you may think. Twilight teleported us to Canterlot and OH MY CELESTIA DOES THIS LOOK TERRIFYING! "Aw. Everypony's all evilly." I think that's the point Pinkie. Fluttershy said "Sombra's going to force us to fight our way through our friends?" It appears so, but let's not try and hurt them too badly. Rainbow said "Not if I can help it!" She flew up into the sky, but the Wonderbolts were able to get in front her and block the entrance. Sombra thought of everything. Then, unicorns started blasting their magic at Rainbow and she flew back down obviously not wanting to get hit by that magic. "Okay. I guess we need a different plan." Seems like it. "Twilight?" Oh dear. Here we go again. Twilight said "I don't know. I'm not prepared to fight against the citizens of Equestria! I guess that's one more thing I'm not ready to do." Yeah, that would suck. Applejack said "Well, we better figure something out quick, because NONE OF THEM seem to have a problem with it." Well, yeah because they have been hypnotized and forced under King Sombra's will.
The bridge went down and the ponies came running through like a stampede. I went into my shadow form and let them pass through me because I wouldn't get affected by them. Rarity screamed and then said after dodging some more ponies "Oh sorry about this Fancy Pants." Turned out he had a net ready to go and was going to capture anyone that got caught in the net. Rarity summoned a blindfold and wrapped it around Fancy Pants' eyes so he couldn't see and Rarity put them all in the net and Pinkie and Applejack put the ends on a rock to prevent them from breaking loose. Applejack said "We promise we'll let y'all out as soon as we can." That's definitely guaranteed. Rainbow and Fluttershy flew around with the Crystal Guards chasing them and when they flew up, the guards crashed into each other and fell to the ground. Twilight saw that and put them into the bushes. Fluttershy said "I don't know how long we can hold them off." Not forever. Applejack said "And holdin' them off isn't what we need anywho. We need to get inside!" Exactly. Rarity said "But we can't just leave them here! All possessed and Sombraified!" Sure we can. They'll be free from his spell soon enough. Pinkie asked "What do we do Twilight?" Teleport inside? Yeah, that sounds about right.
Twilight said "I don't know, but we can't stay here." I teleported us out of there and into the castle. Whew. That was a close one. "I'm sorry we couldn't help our friends." There wasn't really that much to do. "But I didn't know what else to do." Not really anything. Applejack said "At least we're inside." Yeah, that's a good thing. Pinkie said "Yeah. All we have to do now is defeat King Sombra!" You make it sound so easy, yet it's so difficult at the same time. Twilight said "I… we…" before something dripped on her and she looked up to see what it was. Of course. It was Discord floating down while eating a pickle like you would with a beef sausage. Yeah, you eat it with a fork. He said "Oh my. No Elements? No Princesses? Seems like you're in a bit of a pickle." Not really. "Or are you in more of a jam?" I said "First of all, Sombra decided it would be a good idea to destroy the Tree and second of all, YOUR plundervines are attacking Ponyville because of which drew Celestia and Luna's attention. So that's why you see us like this." Discord said "Huh. How strange. I thought those things disappeared ages ago. Oh well. Guess they're still around." He continued to chew on his pickle and I rolled my eyes. Twilight asked "Discord? What are you doing here?" Who knows?
Discord said "Well, I was going to hang to celebrate yours and Zachary's coronation, but apparently, it's a bit premature." How so? He rolled up the poster and stuck it in his ear. How Discord can do that amazes me. Good job Hasbro for that one. Twilight said "I'm so glad to see you!" We are? "We could really use some all-powerful Lord of Chaos help right now!" That would be nice, but I don't think that will solve the issue. Discord was intrigued and said "Oh, I couldn't possibly." You can, but will you? Probably not. We all followed him and we came to the door that led to the throne room. The guards got in defense mode and Pinkie said "Oh poodles!" How does she know about that kind of dog? Hmm. I have no idea and I don't care right now. The gang stepped forward hesitantly and the guards came charging towards us. Twilight begged Discord by saying "Discord, please!" I'm not sure he'll do that. Discord got annoyed and said "Oh fine. Just to be clear, I was really rooting for you to do this on your own and parlay that confidence boost into being the best protectors of Equestria you can be." Yeah, yeah, yeah. Can you just get on with it and stop talking? I don't need to hear your rants about how you feel about us doing stuff "on our own."
Rainbow got annoyed and said "A little less talking, and a little more HELPING!" Discord rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers. Two guards got stuck in a web, one fell through a trapdoor, and another got covered in ice cream. Hmm. How intriguing. Fluttershy said "Oh thank you Discord." Yeah. I actually do appreciate it. Twilight said "I don't know what we'd do without you." The gang continued walking and I noticed a look of doubt on Discord's face. That's rare. Discord brushed it off and continued walking. We bust open the door and Sombra was putting dark crystals everywhere for scenery and I rolled my eyes. Rainbow said "Okay King Sombra. Time to give up the crown!" I don't think he's going to give up that easily. Sombra just laughed and said "Here to fight the good fight with nothing but your wits? Admirable, but foolish!" You're the foolish one. Sombra blasted his magic at us, but Discord came up and blasted away the magic easily. Sombra became angry and fired off some more, but Discord did the same thing over and over again. I'm telling you. In the show, I believe the most powerful creature in Equestria is Discord. Even if the other villains tried to defeat him, it would be impossible because he could change the scenery easily and get rid of any horns and whatnot if they tried to use magic against him. Seriously, watch the Season 2 premiere. You'll know what I mean.
Discord said "Well, I guess it's on me to be the MVP today." Not really, but okay. "I was betting on you and I do hate being wrong." Every villain hates being wrong and even though you are no longer one, you still hate being wrong. "Although if you think about it, I am your friend, so maybe you win because friendship wins." I can see what you mean by that. "Although Fluttershy should get most of the credit." I think you might be a bit biased, but whatever. "She's my favorite." Oh dear. Please don't say that. You would be giving Sombra ideas. Speaking of which, Sombra saw this as an opportunity and blasted magic towards Fluttershy, but what happened next shocked me. Discord threw himself in front of Fluttershy and took the hit for her. I didn't think the Lord of Chaos cares that much. Anywho, Discord got lifted into the air and landed on the ground behind us. Fluttershy started getting emotional and said "DISCORD!" The rest of them rushed to him and I gave Sombra my death glare. Okay, Discord can be annoying sometimes, but that was taking it WAY TOO FAR!
Sombra simply laughed and said "Not even the Lord of Chaos can stand against me!" That's what you think. "I am truly the most powerful creature in Equestria!" I snarled and said "I don't think so!" I charged right at him and he smirked. "The "King of All Beasts" trying to fight me now? Please. You aren't as anymore powerful than the Lord of Chaos sitting on the floor right there." I said "Oh really? I think otherwise. You are nothing more to me than some fool who is trying to seek power through fear and violence." Sombra said "I disagree with that. I'm not the one who always left you in despair and ignored you when the truth was being presented. We share a common goal." I said "Spare me your devilish lies, you arrogant fool." Sombra said "I only want peace and prosperity for Equestria." I said "With you as it's ruler?" Sombra said "No, Zachary. With you as it's ruler." I said "What?" Sombra stepped down from the throne and the music began to play inside the throne room. I am so confused right now.
"The time has come to take your side.
The choice has come to yours alone.
In Twilight's shadow you can hide
With all her lies the truth you've never known
Or come with me EMBRACE THE DARK"
I spread out my eagle wings and my eyes turned green with purple mist coming out of it.
"Unleash your predator half
And by dawn's light we'll set it right
We'll make it so, and let our sorrows go
Come with me prince
I need you prince
It's been such a long time since I have found this close to…"
"Do you really think I could ever join your side?
Do you really take me for a fool?
All that your plan offers me is fear inside their eyes
That is NOT the way I wish to rule."
"Why can't you see all the pain that she's brought us?
This is a way we can finally be free."
"All I can see is the fury that blinds you keep your revenge plans AWAY FROM ME!"
"It's not about me this too involves you
She let you rot in despair for five years!
Don't you believe she should pay for all your tears?"
"THIS IS NOT A GAME, SOMBRA!
I know how this will end!
VENGEANCE cannot bring your heart to peace."
"I DECIDE WHAT VENGEANCE BRINGS! IT MEANS MINE COMES TO AN END!
With or without you, I shall not CEASE!"
Sombra pulled out a sword and aimed it right at Twilight. I don't think so. I pulled out one as well and threw it up against Sombra's.
"Nopony's perfect and Twilight is no different
You best let go of things long past."
"It's too late for sorries and TWILIGHT must SUFFER!
I'll be set free when revengeance pays."
"I felt ruin with the darkness inside me
I paid the price trapped inside God's judgement
Forsaken my ways, I redeemed myself AT LAST!"
"You CANNOT hide from the TRUTH NOW!"
"NO!"
"You will give into YOUR DARK SIDE!"
"NO!"
"And I will give you ALL YOU DESIRE
If you can reject her no longer will we have to HIDE!"
"Can't you see it's over now?
Time to forgive."
"Not for me. It's TOO LATE!"
"Don't let hate take over you."
"Hate's what fuels me! IT FEELS GREAT!"
"Please Sombra. Leave me be."
"Dearest Zachary, you're like me!"
"NO! I refuse!"
"It's your fate, come join me!"
"NO NEVER!"
"YES FOREVER!"
"I won't Sombra. Take all your evil deeds and ROT IN TARTARUS!"
"So be it then Zachary."
He disappeared for a second and I snarled at him. I could tell everypony was shocked, but I care less right now. There's no way I'm letting that weakling King harm the one mare who cares about me most and accepts me for who I am. I ain't about to lose that. Sombra reappeared on the throne and I flew up in the air ready to charge at him. Dust collected up and I couldn't tell where Sombra was. I said to myself "Is that it?" Suddenly, a giant large crystal came up right at me with Sombra having a spear held up and looking at me with a grin. "Well, hello there! That was freaky." I charged at him and attacked him with my spear. He fell a bit, but he was simply enjoying it. He threw me down and when he went towards the floor, I striked away every bit of crystal and threw him back. He gave a glare at me, but that didn't phase me at all. I flew up again and charged at him with my spear. He slammed his axe on the ground, and black shadows surrounded me and pushed me up against the wall turning into dark crystals and engulfing me. Everypony gasped in horror, but I wasn't done quite yet. I instantly broke free and threw him back. Unfortunately, some more dust collected up and I could only see myself. Dang it. I hate when that happens.
The problem is that Sombra can easily hide and plan his next attack instantly when you aren't expecting it. I yelled "SHOW YOURSELF, COWARD!" Sombra simply just laughed and I turned around and stuck my spear through his chestplate and into part of his skin. Sombra was surprised and gave a look of horror but then, his eyes went green again and had purple mist coming from it. "It's over Sombra! DIE!" I did only have one problem though. My spear was stuck in his skin and it was difficult to get out. Sombra just laughed some more and said "SO… MUCH… HATRED!" I was able to get it out and he marched right towards me. "You speak of cowardice. Have you forgotten who's domain you are in?" I used my spear again and hit him in the face with it. I said "I COULD CARE LESS ABOUT THAT! YOU WILL FAIL AND SHALL DIE!" Sombra didn't care and said "It seems even the gourds lack purity in their hearts." HA! Yeah right. Sombra clashed his spear against mine and both of us kept pushing our spears back and forth. "I can taste YOUR WRATH! And it is delicious!" Sombra pushed my spear down, but my eyes turned white and I said "SILENCE, YOU FOOL!" I blasted him with my magic and he simply disappeared into a shadow. More dust collected up and I couldn't see. Next thing I know, Sombra pointed his spear up to my throat and cast the fear spell on me. My spear dropped and I backed away.
I was brought to another place and I yelled "Show yourself!" I looked around and saw Twilight. "Twilight. Thank goodness." She turned around and her eyes were white. Suddenly, all of Equestria was behind her and they marched towards me. "No. Twilight please. Twi, it doesn't need to be like this." She looked right at me and then backed up ready to get me executed. I yelled to no one and I heard a scream. I knew that was Twilight. So, I picked up my scepter and blasted magic to her horn that would allow her to summon a sword and throw it into Sombra's back. She did just that and Sombra grew angry. The other swords came flying down to the ground behind her and Sombra just absorbed the sword into shadow. I heard her say "HOW DARE YOU HARM THE ONE CREATURE I CARE ABOUT MOST! YOU THINK YOU CAN TRULY DEFEAT US?! I DON'T THINK SO! WITH THESE GIRLS BY MY SIDE, I'M NOT AFRAID OF WHAT YOU CAN DO OR HOW MUCH POWER YOU HAVE!" Sombra just smirked and said "You should be." He blasted dark magic at Twilight, but she blasted her magic and deflected it. She said "You may knock us down, but we're gonna get back up again." Sombra blasted some more magic at her, but once again, it was deflected. "And again." He did the same thing again, but he got the same result. He only grew more angry.
"And again. As long as we're together, we'll never stop trying to defeat you!" Sombra finally had enough and blasted dark magic at Twilight as hard as he could and Twilight did the same thing. She was struggling, but I was able to break free of the fear spell and help her out. Fluttershy said "For our friends." Applejack and Rarity said "For our families!" The rest of them said "For our home!" Twilight said "For Equestria!" We had a magical bubble around us and it pushed back Sombra's magic. He was scared for real this time. He said "No. This can't be possible! Your magic can't DEFEAT MINE!" I think otherwise. "I destroyed the source of YOUR POWER!" That doesn't mean our friendship will break. I said "Always known as the weakling king." Sombra snarled at me, but before he could reply, Twilight said "You can't destroy our friendship Sombra!" Pretty much. Rainbow said "And we keep telling bad guys…" Yep, but do they ever listen? Nope. Applejack said "But y'all just don't seem to remember." All of them said together "FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC!" There you go. The title of the show right there. Sombra tried blasting it, but it didn't work whatsoever. He yelled one last time "I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE!" Sure you will. And we'll stop you again. Plain and simple. The scepter blasted magic at him and the orb disintegrated him once more into the ether and restored everything back to normal. Bye bye King Sombra. Hope to never see you again.
Once that was over, I went up the throne for comedic effect and Twilight immediately came rushing over to me and hugging me to death. I figured as much. She said "You're okay!" Well, of course I am. "I was so worried! I have never been so scared in my life!" I can tell. I said "Yeah, well, it wasn't exactly easy. I'd say Sombra is more of a nuisance than an actual threat. The only thing that makes him a threat is how he can empathize with my emotions and twist them to fit his purposes. It makes me sick and disgusted when he does that." Twilight asked me "Zach? Do you hate me for not always listening to you for telling the truth?" I said "What? NO! Of course not. Sombra was just using that to try and get me to become his slave. Sure, it might be annoying, but it would never drive me to the point of revenge." Twilight said "Oh good. I was worried you might hate me for that." I said "I would never turn against you Twilight. Or any of our friends as well." Twilight hugged me some more and she whispered "Zach. Promise me that you'll never turn against me or our friends and will always be in my life." I said "I promise." After a few more seconds, Twilight flew down and helped the gang "comfort" Discord after he was "hurt" by Sombra. It definitely looked that way, but he's a trickster so, that changes everything.
In case you have paid attention in high school english class, you know that tricksters have a goal and will do anything in order to achieve that said goal even if it means getting hurt. It's ridiculous, but that's how their personality operates. So it is what it is. I heard the doors open and Celestia and Luna came inside the throne room. Yeah, sorry Celestia and Luna. I'm the new King now. You are no longer rulers of Equestria and you shall go ahead and leave before I throw you out. Sike. I'm kidding. I'm not actually doing that. Even though I may question their life choices sometimes, I still respect them. Fluttershy said "Oh, you want more juice?" Nope. I'm good. Discord said in a remorseful voice "Only if it's not too much trouble." Uh huh. Yeah, you're just playing with everyone's emotions here just so you can feel "serviced" or something. I'm not falling for the bait here. "And it's red. And it has one of those little umbrellas. And two cherries. No, actually make it three." That's oddly specific. "And maybe… some doughnuts." Hey, you better give me some too. Celestia said "I see you've made yourselves at home." Yeah, we did Celestia. Big deal. Move on please.
Twilight turned around and said with guilt "Celestia. Luna." Yes? "I know what you're going to say." You should have called for help sooner? No, that doesn't sound like them. "I should have called on you as soon as I know how dangerous it was. A good leader knows when to ask for help. And I didn't." It's okay. You were stressed. That's all. Completely understandable. "And because of me, the Tree of Harmony was destroyed!" Oh right. Yeah. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do now. The Tree is destroyed and a quarter of magic is gone for good. I don't know what I'm gonna do. "Equestria deserves someone much better than me as it's ruler." She looked at me and my eyes went wide. Oh no you're not. Don't you even think about putting all the responsibility on me. I don't even have all my magic to defend myself. I flew over to Twilight and comforted her. Celestia said "You're right." Gee. That helps Celestia. You should know better than to say something like that. Twilight was sad even more, but Celestia continued. "About one thing." Oh? Do go on. "A good leader knows when to ask for help, but a great leader has the courage to admit it when they've made a mistake." That is true. She speaks with wisdom there.
"And the strength to make it right. Today, you've proven to me beyond any doubt that both you and Zachary will be great leaders." Wow. Thanks for the praise Celestia. I mean it this time. No sarcasm. I swear. Twilight asked "Will be?" Why do you say it like that? Celestia said "Luna and I have decided it may have been unfair to thrust this upon you." I'm not sure about that. "Without giving you or Zachary the time you need to prepare." I guess that's a fair argument, but I was all ready to go to become ruler and be King of all Equestria. Twilight sighed in relief and said "Thank goodness! I really wasn't ready!" I was, but if you aren't ready yet Twilight, then I won't take over either. I'll gladly wait for you and when you finally are ready, I'll be right there with you. However, Discord became alarmed about this and jumped out of his seat. He said "Not ready?! So Twilight or Zachary is not taking over?" Nope. Sorry buddy. I ain't becoming King until Twilight is ready to be crowned ruler as well. That's just how it is. If you don't like that, too bad. "This is all for nothing?!" Not really. "I pretended to be very hurt and gave one of the most convincing speeches-" before Twilight and Fluttershy asked "Pretended?!"
Figures. He faked it. But he's a trickster, so it makes sense. They appear to be your friends but never assume they are your allies because they already have their own agendas and motives. Discord was annoyed and said "Of course! You don't think some "would be" King could actually hurt the Lord of Chaos do you?" Nope. In my opinion, I believe Discord was always the most powerful creature in Equestria because he can just change the scenery and easily remove anything out of existence. Most other villains would get frustrated and be rendered useless because their horns and wings would be taken away. But, since I'm here, I am the most powerful creature in Equestria and stole the crown from Discord. Or at least I did. Now that the Tree of Harmony is gone, I'm not as powerful as I once was. I hope I can find a solution sooner rather than later. "Anyway, as I was saying, I pretended to be very hurt and convinced you that you didn't need anything but yourself to be the incredible leaders I know you both can be and NOW IT'S NOT HAPPENING?!" Basically, buddy. Celestia said "It will. But when both of them are ready." Discord didn't like that answer and backed away. He said "How can neither of them be ready?!" Because, that's how it is.
If Twilight is not ready to take over Equestria yet, what makes you think I would? I ain't gonna rule up there by myself. I need a companion with me up there. Sure, Celestia did it for 1,000 years, but she was never happy about it. So, if Twilight believes she's not ready to take the throne yet, then neither am I. I want to ascend to the throne and become King, but Twilight's feelings come before my own, so sorry Discord. You're just gonna have to wait a little while longer. "What a waste of a perfectly wonderful speech!" That's what you think because you didn't get your way and you're just complaining like a toddler. How foolish. He walked over to the window and lifted up one of the stained glass windows. "Ugh. Honestly, I don't know why I even bother." Because you care, that's why. He went out the other side and closed the window. Rarity got pressed and said "So he could have ended the whole Sombra thing whenever he WANTED!" Pretty much. Fluttershy said "But he didn't because he cares." He has a really weird way of showing it though. I said "That's a trickster for ya." Applejack asked "A what now?" Oh boy here we go. I spread out my eagle wings and stood in front of the throne.
I said "Trickster. A trickster is a kind of character that cheats or deceives others. They appear to be your friends, but never assume they are your ally. The reason why is because they have their own agendas and motives. Tricksters always have a goal and they will do whatever it takes to achieve that goal. Even if that means putting themselves in harm's way." Rarity asked "So what you're saying is that Discord sacrificed himself as part of a plan?" I said "Exactly. I don't know what that goal or plan might be, but that's what he did. It's just how the trickster personality operates. Trust me. I've studied it quite a bit in high school english, so I'm well aware of how it works." Rainbow said "Well, that definitely does sound contradicting." Yeah, I can see why. Applejack said "He definitely has a weird way of bein' supportive." That I can agree with. Pinkie said "Super odd dude." Pretty much. Discord appeared on the stained glass window and said "I heard that." I'm sure you did, but I could care less. He disappeared again and everypony laughed. Luna then said "Also, truth be told, Celestia and I had fun today." You did? "Fighting side by side with Starswirl for our home." I guess that does sound cool when you think about it. "It's been years since we've gotten to do what you girls do and of course you too Zachary." Thanks Luna. She didn't forget me.
"You all make it look so easy." Pretty much. But the emotional part sure ain't. I sighed and said "I'm not sure what I'm going to do about my scepter though." Luna asked "What do you mean?" I said "Well, unfortunately, when the Tree was destroyed by Sombra, a quarter of my magic disappeared with it as well. So now, 25 percent of my scepter looks dull and gray." Celestia asked "The Tree of Harmony is part of your scepter's magic?" I said "Of course. That magic is always what made me so powerful and made it difficult for villains to even try and defeat me. But now, it leaves me a lot more vulnerable to attack and villains have an opportunity now to get the upper hand on me. After suffering that fear spell from Sombra, it definitely revealed to me of what could happen in the future." Rainbow asked "What even was that fear anyways?" Suddenly, the scenery changed and it seemed like everypony wanted to come attack me and have me executed. I closed my eyes and opened them back up. The scenery returned to normal and I said "You don't want to know. It was pretty terrifying."
Everypony was giving me encouragement and saying everything will be fine, but I know for a fact that is not 100 percent true. I do believe them, but reality has different ideas on what it wants to do with me. Once all that stuff was over, we went back to Ponyville and I looked outside on the balcony. When the Sun went down, I sighed. I looked over to my right and saw an evil version of myself standing right there. What? That's strange. I went into my shadow form and looked up. Huh. My horn is curved now. How strange. Oh well. I went back to my lion form and looked in the other direction. Suddenly, Twilight came out and said "Whatcha doing out here?" I looked at Twilight, but then I saw her change into what Sombra made me see with his fear spell and Twilight marching forward ready to attack me. I had a look of fear in my eyes. "Zach?" That snapped me out of it and she returned to normal looking at me with concern. "Are you okay? You seem worried." I said "Oh sorry. I spaced out a little bit. I'm fine." Twilight said "Okay then. But if you want to talk about anything, I'm right here." I said "I will Twilight. Now come. Let us go inside." Twilight went in and I turned back around for one more second. The evil version of myself gave me a grin and then disappeared. I turned around and followed Twilight inside. How weird.
AN: Plot twist! Dung dung duh. I think that's how the Law and Order music goes. Correct me if I'm wrong. Anyways, I know this second part might be a bit lengthy, but there were some good parts in here. I tried to put in as much action as I can, so hopefully, it was enjoyable. Also, you can start to see the seeds of darkness begin to grow and expand into a tree. This chapter basically shows what is to come later on in the season. It will get interesting that's for sure. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!
Next Chapter: The Tree of Harmony tribute! The student six all get a dream from the Spirit of Harmony saying that it must be saved before it disappears for good. The students come to the school and Zachary explains why this is important. While the students try and figure out a way to bring the Tree back, Zachary is absolutely worried to death about what could go wrong. Twilight tries to tell him to relax, but Zachary doesn't listen, claiming that he fears that Equestria will fall if his power isn't returned to him. Will Twilight be able to get Zachary to calm down, or will his anxieties be too much for Twilight to handle?
Until then, my fellow readers
