Descent into Darkness

[James Knight]

Coruscant had been next to useless for the Dark King of the Crystal Empire. Hours ago he had exited the gate. The more he thought about what he had done in Coruscant which amounted to nearly getting himself ran over,  the more he had to admit he wasn't pleased to say the least. His power was lacking, but how was he supposed to make it stronger? Most of his more potent spells had been ripped from him by Omni. The douchebag had been probably amusing himself with laughing at the pain of Sombra. The battle against the Bandits in the Endless Dunes hadn't been pleasant and that was the least of his problems. Admittedly the date with Dead Pool had been problematic, but he'd crushed that problem. Still he knew he had a long way to go before he could call himself powerful. 

"My power must be truly worthless, if something like a futuristic city was able to immobilize me. As I am now, I stand no chance of victory and couldn't survive. My life depends on me getting stronger, but how am I supposed to go about it?"  

The Dark King tried to use his dark magic to make a mirror, but to no avail. He still was learning how to use his power on small scales. Building his castle had been easy. But for him? This was something that was a mite bit harder than he had initially anticipated. Just how was he going to get strong enough to pose a threat to anyone he came across? Well he was going to try to regain the spells he had. Sure he had useful ones now, but ultimately? They weren't going to be enough to serve his purposes, and that made the dark overlord angry.

[James Knight]

What made a warrior? What made a King? What made a Mage? What made a being of immense power? Those questions buzzed through the mind of the dark lord of the crystal empire like a nest of hornets. As he thought about the answers, he began to realize that loyalty to one's ideals could indeed make one superior to what they ordinarily were capable of. Yet, what were his ideals? Right now, Sombra knew that he wanted revenge on Omni, because of the hard reset that had been forced upon him. His current goals were to ensure his own survival by whatever means were required to do so. Yet his own power wasn't enough in that regard. What he needed was something that could level the playing field, an equalizer. Perhaps if he were somehow able to boost his magic?

[James Knight]

"What do I need in order to surpass my limits? I've already come up with a great number of new spells. I've even created a Bipedal servant of my own, even if I can only use him temporarily for some reason. My skills with dark magic are rather limited, so I suppose I will have to attempt to create more powerful magical techniques for myself. After all, I refuse to be at the mercy of those bandits, or any like them in the Endless Dunes or to nearly fall prey to the Ogres, like I did once before. As it is, I am hopelessly weak. " 

Sombra paused. 

"But perhaps there may be other versions of me who could make use of what I know differently. Omni brought me here, and I brought Twilight and her friends here, so perhaps I could do something similar but different. Giving other versions of me their own power is to court disaster itself because I could likely fail. If I were to confine them to my own mind...brilliant! I'll not give them bodies, but make what I'm about to do a part of me. Ooh, if I were to use myself as a template. Let's see here. Heroes are typically more creative and innovative than villains, so I'll have to create a heroic personality, and an even darker one within myself as well. Shouldn't be too hard, with dark magic." 

Red runic circles formed underneath his hooves, as Sombra began to channel power into his horn. 

"Yes, rather than using magic on such a monumental scale simply creating new personalities shouldn't be that hard. After all, anything can be done with Omnilium, so surely it would be possible with magic, right?" 

[James Knight]

Crackling energy coalsced along the horn of the Dark King who had once ruled the Crystal Empire. For regular Unicorns, such energy crackling and spiraling around the horn was the sign of a magic surge.  However unlike them, Sombra had his power under control. It was doing exactly what he wanted it to, just spiraling there and waiting for him to give it a direction to perform. Magic after all required "Power" and "Focus"  as well as "Drive" and a "Intent"  for the spell. His power was that of dark magic. His focus was that he was no longer going to allow himself to be as weak as he had been in the past. If mere bandits could bring him down then he had been pathetic to say the least, in the Endless Dunes. His Drive was his desire to achieve vengeance on Omni for stripping him of his powers he had trained his flank off for, and his intent? To become sstronger than h ever had been before. Such a goal was also tied into self-preservation. 

So far he had come up with a lot of new magical spells. Retaliatory Shield, Umbral Hammer, and several others besides. But all of them paled in comparison to the magic he was going to need if he was going to lash out at Omni. To do so he was going to have to do more than he wanted. What he needed to do in order to strike back was become a deity. Yet he lacked the power to ascend himself into an Alicorn yet. Sure he could probably conjure wings with magic, but he'd never tried it since he got here. He had his vehicle, after all and that should suffice for now. 

"What am I missing?" 

[James Knight]

There were many forms of magic that could be exploited should some pony be determined enough, and by darkness Sombra was determined he was going to master each one. Normal unicorns were capable of a low level form of harmonic magic that they used for day to day activities, and that was something that he'd explore later on as an option. Chaos magic was something that thrived on spontaneity, and insanity. Since he was neither spontaneous, nor insane that magic couldn't be of use to him presently. Dark Magic thrived on the negative emotions of the caster and the pain they were in. Now there was something he had plenty of both that he could use as an add-in to his powerful magic. 

Fear was an aspect that could be used to power his darkness that he wielded. Hatred and anger could also be used. Greed was another potential aspect of the dark power that he had commanded more strongly before he arrived here. Plenty of rage was possessed by Sombra and directed at Omni for dragging him here against his will. Sure he was getting stronger than he had been in the past, but he knew something. What he needed was his Shadow Form back, even if he was unlikely to be able to get it anew.

[James Knight]

Greed was a power that could be tapped only if he wanted it all to be his. In the past greed had played a key role in the conquest of the Crystal Empire but here in the Omniverse he could create whatever he wanted. While Greed had been part of his power and a key part of it, it was no longer something he could see himself relying on in any useful capacity. Lust didn't even need to be considered as his sex drive was nil right now because of the fact there were no ponies that were suitable. Of course there were also other reasons that he wasn't going to try for any ponies of his own in such a place. One of the key reasons was Omni. Any abilities his kin were likely to have if he found a suitable companion were going to be ripped away, and he hadn't the desire for even his worst enemy to experience this. So what did that leave him with? 

Hatred. The more he could honestly confess that he hated some pony, and show such the more powerful it was capable of making him. And right now? He had plenty of hatred for Omni because of what Omni had done. It wasn't just the Shadow Form that Omni had taken from him but nearly all of his arsenal of dark magic spells. What he had now was a paltry few in comparison to what he'd need before he'd be willing to do what needed to be done against the individual known as Omni. 

"Looks like my options are rather limited. Greed can't be a power supply for me. Lust is out of the question. Chaos Magic can't even be considered as an option, as I don't know how to cast any spells with it. Harmonic Magic on any meaningful level will require artifacts that I've never had access to and don't know how to create...." 

Sombra sighed. 

"What to do, what to do?" 

[James Knight]

Harmony was a power that drew from the bonds of Friendship and required the Elements of Harmony to work. Since he didn't and hadn't ever possessed the elements, learning how to use such magic was pointless because it couldn't help him. Sure his arsenal may not be as useful or as potent as he originally had planned, but that was going to change.  Just as he had ruled the Crystal Empire, so too could he eventually set out to broaden his power so that he could conquer one of the Verses. Coruscant's Technology was dizzying and for that reason attempting to conquer such a world didn't appeal to him. Having a migraine every time he looked outside? No thank you. Yet where could his home be? The Frozen Fields? No. The blizzards there were hazardous to his health. Plus it had monster problems he wanted absolutely nothing to do with, until he could up his own power. The Vasty Deep was a good temporary place, but he didn't see himself making a permanent home there. After all there was a lot he didn't know about the place. Yet from the Dataverse he had learned of the existence of a group of heroes there that while inactive could be a problem, the Avengers. This meant he couldn't return to the Vasty Deep until his strength had increased incredibly. After all he was currently at pitiful levels of power and barely was scraping the bottom of the barrel of what he had been capable of. Such weakness wasn't tolerable and was something the King of the Crystal Empire planned to correct. Yet how could he do so? The answer smacked him in the face like a steel beam. Getting stronger was the key to surviving in this place.  But if you couldn't do it alone, you had to seek out help. 

The single new spell he had learned from his old mentor, Starswirl, the spell "Dark Magic Blast" was not enough on it's own. His scythe and it's powers were not useful enough either. Sure his skill with his new abilities was increasing. But it... was it going to be enough? Sombra sincerely had doubted that it was going to be. His fight against the President of O-Harmony long ago had proven that. His power was negligible at best hre and that simply couldn't be allowed to do any longer. Yet what new spells could he master? Perhaps if he were to create one to defend himself but also punish an enemy for attacking him? Some sort of... Retaliatory Shield. Yes, that was the perfect choice of magic. 

"I've still got a lot more spells to figure out. I may need a new form as well, so I can make every limb a weapon." 

[James Knight]

Did he really need to demean himself by adopting a body similar to the humanoids who had tried to eat or sell him? On the one hoof to not do so meant he'd need a new power for himself that he lacked. Yet his action in doing so was going to be a blow to his ego. Was it really the wisest course to give up being a pony to adopt a biped form? The more he considered his options, the more the dark king realized it wasn't a good idea. Other forms of power existed. For example, his skills at magic were improving. Dark Magic could provide every advantage having access to hands could and then some. Still if he was going to focus more on his magic than on an alternate form what he needed was a new spell. Sure he had a spell to terrify others, Nightmare Force. There was also one that could retaliate when attacked, his shield spell. Furthermore he also had a crystalline spike shot and a few unique other spells but it simply wasn't enough. 

"What am I missing? I can do Telekinesis, I can do a lot of other stuff... but magic wise I know I need something but what?" 

[Celestia]

Celestia reflected on the nature of the Nexus, or at least what she knew of the place, as she passed through it.  It had a certain beauty about it, although as it lacked much of anything there was little by which it could conventionally be called beautiful.  It only had one real feature, which today – were days even a relevant concept here? - was an ivory spire towering over everything else in the distance.  She didn't so much consider the gates parts of the Nexus so much as other planes bleeding into it.  The rest of the Nexus was essentially a featureless white void.  For most, it seemed to be just a place to pass through, if the travellers moving in and out were any indication, but Celestia found a certain purity in it.  It was sterile, but pure.

Celestia was herself moving between gates.  Much as it was a curious place, there was precious little to be learned there, at least for one so detached and inexperienced in the ways of the Omniverse.  Having left the Vasty Deep gate some time ago, she made for another.  Her eventual goal was to see each of the connected worlds, to  'get the lay of the land', such as it was.  But she'd had no real idea where to start, and so had picked one and just began walking.

Celestia hadn't been expecting anything of note to occur while she was transitioning between realms.  If only she could be so lucky.  It would appear she was not alone in the Nexus today.  Granted, gievn how many passed through it that was common, however it was far more rare for her to see someone of a species so close to her own.  It wasn't that long ago that she'd been warning her previous companions about the dark king Sombra, and now the unicorn himself was standing just a short ways ahead of her. “Speak of the demon and he appears,” she muttered under her breath.

The unlikeliness of the coincidence didn't alter the fact that Celestia was being confronted by it.  She could grumble or entreat all she liked, the universe wouldn't suddenly become more reasonable in that regard.  (Omni didn't seem like he would be interested in making that change.)  Sombra hadn't nocied Celestia's presence, which gave her time to consider her options.  In an open and ungoverned place like the Nexus, there weren't many.  She could try to flee, and hope to outpace the king and outmaneuver his attacks, though she didn't have much in the way of cover to do so.  She could stand and fight, but she was drastically weakened from what she once was, meaning she'd have to hope that somehow Sombra had been weakened even further.  Her preference would naturally be to talk her way out, but Sombra and negotiations were almost mutually exclusive concepts.  While not completely untenable, the situation was far from ideal.

As she stood considering her course of action however, Celestia began to notice something odd.  Sombra didn't actually seem to be doing anything at the moment.  He was just...milling around the Nexus.  As Celestia watched, she could just make out the words of what appeared to be the king talking to himself, although at this distance she couldn't make out the words.  It was a curious enough sight to make her pause.  She knew Sombra to be a very ambitious pony, never one to wait when he could act.  So what was he doing just standing here?  It was enough to make Celestia forget about her need to get away, if only momentarily, and watch the dark king ramble.

[James Knight]

First his problem had merely been bandits in the Endless Dunes. After that it had multiplied to include O-Harmony, and Dead Pool. But now? One of his least favorite ponies was here. The Matriarch of the Sun and a worthy opponent, Sombra knew not to underestimate Celestia. Like him she had probably had a lot of her powers permanently erased. What he wouldn't give for his Shadow Form so he could avoid her. Of course he didn't have access to it right now. This was yet another reason Sombra planned to disembowel Omni, and choke him with his entrails. An evil overlord had to set an example of someone they disliked, after all. 

Slowly he trotted towards her. 

"I bet you're curious as to why I was just standing there? I've been trying to figure out what my arsenal lacks.  I've got a few spells, but can't even use my smoke form... and that is annoying to say the least..." said Sombra.   "You probably couldn't even raise the sun. Since we are both stuck presently here, I will offer you a non-aggression deal. But in return should your student arrive, a Twilight Sparkle you will assign her to do one task, murder Omni. It is something I have not figured out how to do yet. For the act of taking away the bulk of my power, he should die. But no, that why I'm going to murder him." 

[Celestia]

Sombra turned around, and Celestia instantly regretted that she'd stopped to observe what he was doing.  He noticed her in short order, and began to approach.  Celestia expected the worst, and readied to defend herself.  She didn't know what to expect, so her plan was a simple one: attack with everything she had, which should at least knock him off balance.  As she didn't know what Sombra's capabilities were, she hoped that would buy her enough time to either escape or plan her next attack.  She readied to cast her opening salvo.

Much to Celestia's surprise however, Sombra had other intentions.  When he was sufficiently close to her, rather than attack or threaten as she was expecting, he spoke.  He explained that his odd behaviour was an attempt to determine what he lacked.  Celestia held back a snarky comment, for the moment preferring to listen.  Sombra continued, proposing a non-aggression pact between the two of them, on the condition that should Celestia encounter her former student again, she was to instruct Twilight to kill Omni.

Celestia pursed her lips as she considered how to respond.  “A non-aggression pack would be agreeable, but I cannot agree to those terms.  That is quite a task you've set for yourself.  I wonder how you expect to survive it?  Have you put any thought into that?”  She paused for a moment, but began speaking before Sombra fully had a chance to respond.  “I can only assume your presence here means you've become as reliant on this 'omnilium' substance as I seem to have.  Have you even considered the possibility that should you succeed, on killing Omni then you, along with everyone else here,” she swept her hoof in a wide arc, pointing at several of the gates in turn, “may simply wink out of existence?”  It was possible he had, and being wrong in this case could provide her with valuable information.

There was no doubt in her mind however that even if he had discovered such a means that he would not have been sharing it, or taking measures to ensure that any denizens of the Onmiverse other than himself might survive his actions.  Celestia continued.  “While I believe a non-aggression pact would benefit both of us, I will not condemn my former student to such a fate by embroiling her in that destructive venture.”  She stood, watching Sombra carefully, studying him to see what his next move or statement would be.

[James Knight]

So Celestia believed that if he were to murder Omni everyone including himself would wink out of existence? This was worth researching magically, but not yet. Sombra knew he'd need more spells under his belt. When he remembered that she had refused to send Twilight up against Omni, he sighed. If the Crystal Heart or Elements of Harmony were here he had been counting on those being able to smite Omni as they had beaten him  with their immense powers. Well the bearers of the Elements had used the Crystal Heart and managed to humiliate and defeat him anyway. It was why Sombra was know considering a non-aggression pact with Celestia. 

"Assuming Omni brought here, the laws of magic if they are the same from back home would mean that if I kill him or someone else does, any magic he used is undone. Thus we'd be sent back. Though it's just my theory." 


Pausing, Sombra thought of things. What would it take to arrange a non-aggression treaty with Celestia? Her meddling in his plans was about the absolute last thing he needed. Given what he had planned for the Endless Dunes, namely total extinction of the Bandit Population there because some of them had tried to eat him, well he didn't want her meddling. A sigh was done by him as Sombra materialized maps that he had gotten from another individual in the Omniverse earlier near Celestia. Well copies of the Maps of the Terrain anyway. The maps also had lists of the cities, and settlements in each place that Sombra knew about. This includes Coruscant, Camelot and the Endless Dunes as well as the Vasty Deep. 


"As you have no desire to risk your student, I completely understand. She couldn't handle doing that... no offense to her. When I first arrived here a few weeks or so ago I was powerless, Celestia. Save for a spell that could cause Nightmares and didn't do much in the way of physical damage I was almost completely helpless. I've come a long way since then in both power and knowledge. You will need these maps, an advantage I didn't have when I first arrived. I've marked certain areas in some verses, such as the Endless Dunes with red. The red means "hazard" because I doubt you could handle the bandits there in the Endless Dunes." 

Sombra paused again mid lecture. 

"Now onto our non-aggression pact... what should the terms be? But first..." 

Sombra materialized a black crystal key near Celestia out of Omnilium. "This will allow you to stay at one of the rooms in my base should you have nowhere else to go, Celestia. A kindness I am only extending to you if merely so when your student and her friends TRULY arrive rather than being summoned as secondaries by me, they will decide not to vaporize me with gaudy jewelry." 

[Celestia]

Sombra seemed to take Celestia's words into consideration, but he didn't abandon his own, flawed way of looking at the situation.  He was assuming that magic here was directly comparable to magic as it functioned on Equus, he said as much himself, despite even his own previous acknowledgements of several things that had changed in himself since his arrival.  “How do you explain such radical changes to our magic then?  Magic used to be a sort of fluid energy, with a few predetermined shapes but able to be moulded.  Now I find myself limited to a few very rigid structures, and although I can expand upon them I cannot break the moulds, only modify them or make new ones.  And all that is before considering our newfound dependence on omnilium.”  While by no means eager to get into an argument, particularly with Sombra of all people, this was one case where failing to set the record straight could be quite dangerous.  The attempt must be made.

What Sombra did next caught her completely by surprise.  He passed Celestia a set of maps, which even included additional cautions about dangers he had found.  The maps unhelpfully lacked any description of what the dangers actually were, but it was still far more than Celestia would ever have expected.  She accepted the maps only after much hesitation.

She didn't get a chance to reply before the suspicious generosity continued, with Sombra conjuring a key granting access to a fortress of his.  Celestia would have to investigate that later.  Presumably it could be found on the maps as well, but for the moment her attention was focused on other things.  Sombra would only give her the key on the condition that she in turn prevent Twilight and her friends from attacking him should they ever be truly summoned in rather than merely copied.

While Celestia didn't want to give Sombra complete free reign, not attacking someone who wasn't attacking you in turn she found to be a generally successful strategy.  Doubly so in a place such as the Omniverse, where there could be any number of unknown dangers.  “I can only hope she doesn't suffer the same fate we have.  But I can assure you, if Twilight and her friends arrive here they will have far more pressing matters than going out of their way to attack anyone, and I will remind them of this.”  Just to be sure her meaning was completely clear, a moment later she added, “So yes, that seems like a reasonable condition.”

Celestia regarded Sombra for a momentm still unclear why he was giving her these things so freely.  “I must confess,” she said after a moment, “I don't quite understand.  The truce is sensible, and the maps I suppose are easy enough to create.  But why grant me access to a personal sanctuary?”  It was unlike him.  And while she was half expected a lie of some sort, the type of lie given may yet reveal clues.

[James Knight]

There were many reasons he was granting her access to his personal sanctuary. One of these was that he didn't want her to have to deal with bandits like he had in the Endless Dunes. A mental note was made by him that he was going to go back, and roast the rest of them alive. But that was something that was going to have to wait until another day. What he needed to do now was figure out what he was going to tell Celestia. He couldn't exactly tell her of the murders he had done of O-Harmony, or the Bandits in the Endless Dunes. But he was curious as to how she managed to ascend from whatever race she had been originally. Duplicating such might be possible with the power of Omnilium. On the other hand, it might not. Truly, Sombra didn't know which was the right answer. 

"You want to know why I am being kind to you Celestia? We are perhaps the only two of our kind stuck in this Faust forsaken place. It is a matter of racial pride. We are both ponies, even if you have transcended and become an Alicorn." 

Sombra then remembered what she had said about magic. 

"Haven't been able to use my Shadow Form. It must have been something Omni did to us, but what could it have been? I've been trying all manner of things to get that form back, but so far have proven completely unsuccessful." 

Summoning up his crystal ball, Sombra said to Celestia. "Some of the dangers you will encounter are Dwarves, Ogres, Bandits and a few other unpleasant things in the various verses. We should say in touch, if merely to ensure none of us violate the truce. Tell me, what do you think of my one time student Revan? Taught him a few spells after he saved my bacon in the Frozen North. It's a good thing you didn't go there, the blizzards are literally killer there, and that's not counting the local problems of fauna." 

Closing his eyes for a moment, Sombra said to Celestia.  "There is another reason I am sharing my base with you. Have you heard of the saying keep your friends close, but your enemies closer?" King Sombra said. "While I normally wouldn't use such a statement, given the circumstances we both find ourselves in we can ill afford to be enemies right now, Celestia. There are more important matters, like finding a way to regain the power we both lost, and perhaps finding a way home if one exists. Anyway Celestia, what spells do you remember? We'll need to inventory our combined arsenal because if you get endangered, I refuse to let you die just yet. After all, how am I to study an Alicorn enough to become one through my own efforts if the subjects that are Alicorns are all dead?" 

[Revan Noctis]

<From Survival was>

Revan had spent many a time in what he had presumed was a semi physical state without being able to be seen or heard from anybody. Having almost given up hope of ever being seen or heard from again his presence began to attract attention from the two ponies. Both seemed to be incredibly surprised as his body began to become fully visible and both stared at him for a few moments as he attempted to speak. His throat was a bit dry and his voice began a bit garbled but only a few attempts and he was again able to speak somewhat normally.

"I guess I'm back." He felt a bit awkward having appeared in front of them but he was glad his two friends were speaking to one another.

"So I did what I had to do and now I am back to having nowhere to go or be." Revan did not want to say that he had died but at least he was pretty sure Darkshire had been saved with his sacrifice.

He had not seen Sombra in some time and it was good to see the dark pony again, he had no real idea how the ponies greeted each other which only added to that awkward feeling he had but he continued to do his best to ignore it. He had not meant to disturb their conversation but here he was ready to join in on whatever adventure came next. He was eager to ask them both how they had been since he had left but there was plenty of time to discuss things later. He put his hands by his side as he waited to see how they would react to his return.


The Nexus was always bright white and sometimes he could swear it was close to burning his eyes but he was partially thankful when it allowed him from a distance to see a strange form coming towards them. Looking out he saw a large speedy red and white creature in full sprint towards them. As it made its way closer he could see the creatures many features including a white skulled face full of rows of sharp teeth and deep black eyes, running on all fours, the front legs were large claws while the back were hooves much like the ponies standing on either side of him.

He did not recognise the creature from the Pale Moors but he had to consider it a possibility that Illidan's army had escaped and found him again. He had not died just to be killed again by some other strange creature. Taking a step closer in the direction the creature was coming he allowed himself a moment to prepare for what was probably going to be another tough fight. He hoped both Sombra and Celestia had not forgotten how to defend themselves since they last fought side by side.

"Well I hate to change the topic but it seems we may have a problem." Revan drew his sword gripping it with both hands and raising it above his head ready to defend himself and his four legged companions.

[Celestia]

Sombra's explanation for why he was suddenly being so friendly with Celestia boiled down to a sort of speciesism.  Celestia resisted the urge to stare incredulously.  The very fact that Sombra was trusting her, when she would currently have very few reservations attacking him should he prove dangerous, seemed proof that such an attitude is folly.  Granted he wasn't really wrong either, as long as he was willing to play nice Celestia would avoid provoking him, but he was arriving at the right answer for the wrong reason.

Sombra described a few of the dangerous creatures he had faced, then mentioned Revan as his student.  “He's...” Celestia began, though it took her a moment to think of just what to say.  They had only met once, just what did she know about Revan?  “He's motivated,” she said eventually, “and he looks out for his allies.  I don't yet know him well enough to judge, but the first impression was largely positive.”

Sombra asked, in something of a roundabout way, what spells Celestia could use.  In truth, Celestia remembered quite a few, but magic here did not behave as magic did back in Equestria.  For most of her spells, Celestia knew the technique, but could not summon the effect.  She wasn't sure how much she wanted to tell Sombra though, give too much ground, and he might take advantage of the weakness. All the same, he was being friendly at the moment, so she didn't need to conceal too much.  “I can conjure weaponized heat, in a few forms, and a barrier of flame.  It's far less than I'd like, but it's been enough so far.”

What Celestia would have said next died in her throat when Revan suddenly popped into being beside her and Sombra.  She openly stared at him for a moment, having not expected him to appear at all, let alone so suddenly and without warning.  “Speak of the demon and he appears,” she muttered the old phrase under her breath before greeting him properly, with a smile and a small wave.  “Revan, though unexpected, it is good to see you well.”  And as both Sombra and Revan had mentioned each other, now she would get to see how the two of them interacted.

Catching up would have to wait for later.  A dark shape came galloping towards them across the Nexus, apparently unconcerned that such terrain offered no concealment whatsoever.  As it approached, the shape resolved itself into something monstrous, with a hunched gait, oversized forelimbs and too many teeth.  There was a feral look in the creature's eyes, and it charged toward them in a single-minded way.  It was not behaving the way a sane creature would.  Celestia leapt into the air, around the same time Revan was giving his warning.  She took a moment to aim, and then fired a warning shot from her horn right in front of the creature, in the faint hope that showing how dangerous she would make the creature come to its senses and back off.  She wasn't expected that however, and lined up to fire another ray, and this one would not miss.

[James Knight]

Good, Celestia had retained some of her power. While she was not at the levels that Sombra would like, she was going to have to suffice. But perhaps they could both help to get her stronger, that is both himself and Revan. Of course any such line of thought was broken when his apprentice appeared on the scene in the midst of a battle. As he noticed the creature Sombra knew two things that were going to happen. One he was about to summon his Scythe, and two he was going to have to wipe blood off it later. All diplomacy was thrown out the window when Celestia shot a warning shot at the strange creature. Not that Sombra blamed her, that was what he was going to do. Irritated that attempts to discuss things with Celestia had been interrupted because of some THING that had tried to meddle, Sombra decided it was undeserving of feeling the mercy of his pure magical prowess, and should instead suffer a fate that was worse than the normal death he'd dish out on his enemies. Much like the president of O-Harmony, the creature was going to die via his scythe. The mere thought of the president brought a scowl to Sombra's face and made his blood boil over with anger within him. Such an affront to morality could not be allowed to live. 

"What trouble have you gotten yourself into this time, my protege?" asked Sombra, glaring. The Frozen North had been enough trouble and that was why Sombra had been busy. Try as he might he couldn't learn any more effective spells for himself.  "Not one of your friends, I assume?" asked Sombra noticing the creature again and quickly summoning his Scythe. The Scythe's handle was made out of a dark gray metal whereas it had a black and red crystal blade that made it look llike it was made out of dark magic. This was Sombra's intention, to make his moves and abilities as terrifying as he possibly could make them to discourage would be attackers from even trying. Celestia's statement of Revan was spot on, he was certainly loyal to his allies and that meant a lot. Teaching him any dark magic had been more difficult than Sombra had hoped, but had been worth it probably.  "So my student, care to show Celestia what you learned from me?" 

[Revan Noctis]

And so here they were all together as a group. Revan gave a soft smile in return to Celestia and gave a wave back in return to her own before returning his hand back to his blade.
Celestia then opened fire with her magic a warning shot presumedly but this creature was not stopping. Next Sombra withdrew his own scythe the weapon was as impressive as ever and a good thing it was as the creature was about to be upon them.

"It is good to see you too Celestia." He replied to the alicorn pony.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you Sombra." Revan had been through hell lately but he was much better now.

"Perhaps." Replied Revan with a grin, in truth it had been his adventures with Celestia that had finally unlocked his belief in his own magical potential.

The creatures heavy bounding steps could be felt as the creature preparing to leap upon them, Revan was not going to Gove the creature a chance as he moved in to defend his friends and inflict the first necessary blow. Revan gripped his sword with his left hand and bringing up his right summoned a ball of fire just as he had done before in the Pale Moors. The creature had clearly not been expecting them to provide such resistance as it stood shocked for a few moments staring at them with surprise. The large creature opened its jaws revealing the rows of teeth that were normally hidden as it roared in fury at their challenge.

"Celestia you go left, Sombra you go right, let's not give this monstrosity a chance." 

He tucked the fear he felt deep inside of him as he ran forward heading straight for the creatures head as he went in for a quick end to the fight. The creature whatever it was was not as stupid however as he had first presumed as it brought up its left front claw large enough to grip Revan in its grasp if he gave it the chance, the creature used its left claws to block his sword but he was able to quickly draw back and bring his sword up for another strike but as he struck down the creature managed to grab his blade with its powerful jaws. Revan looked into its dark black eyes, this monster wanted them dead that was for certain.

[Celestia]

Revan's command came as a bit of a surprise. Particularly in light of the knowledge that he was Sombra's student, Celestia wondered if the will to give orders was a sign of a desire for control. All the same, the ability to react and take charge in a sudden situation was an admirable trait. And Revan's willingness to charge the creature was brave, and clearly a sign of noble intent. Even if it was foolish. They didn't know anything about this creature, and charging forward blind was never a wise plan.

Much as Celestia would have liked to say as much, it would have to wait for later. Revan was already engaged, and shouting anything now would just be distracting. She made a point to speak with him about it in future, but for now there was a more immediate problem to solve.

Celestia wouldn't need to change much to follow Revan's plan, given that she'd already had similar intentions. Really it just meant adapting them to what the group would be doing. From the air, Celestia noted Sombra preparing his scythe and then flew in an arc over and around the creature, waiting until she'd put it between herself and Revan to attack. That would minimize the chance of friendly fire, though to be sure she aimed for the rear of the creature. Watching it's movements for a moment, she lined up her shot, and when it caught Revan's sword she found her opportunity. There was a brief instant where her horn glowed, before a ray searing heat shot out toward the creature. Her hope was to distract it as much as to wound it, and give Revan some breathing room.

[James Knight]

There were many reasons that Sombra was following the strategy that Revan had set out. Revan had been around the Omniverse and had more experience by means of traveling than Sombra did. Regrettably Sombra had not been brave enough to go to the Pale Moors or other similar locations, but that was a self explanatory reason. If the world of Coruscant could cripple him by merely looking at it, he didn't want to put himself at risk by doing something like that again in the near future. Whoever was sending these vile monsters into the Omniverse needed to be eviscerated, decapitated, pulled apart by a team of Earth Ponies or fed to a Dragon. Really Sombra had a lot of creative deaths he had planned for whoever had summoned the creatures in the first place, because they were interfering with his plans. Conquering the Omniverse was not goign to be easy, but he didn't need some upstarts interfering either. Such interference couldn't be tolerated and that was the irritating thing. 

Summoning creatures or familiars typically took a lot of magic, and that was why Sombra had not done so. Even his attempt to make a soldier out of darkness had been a complete and total miserable failure. 

"Agreed, my protege. We cannot allow this creature to survive, as it will likely draw more like it." 

Sombra may be many things, but merciful was not one of them. When he found the person who summoned or created these abominations, he planned to unleash untold horrors upon them. Torture was not out of the question for the individuals who had made his plans of conquest even more difficult than they already were. Nightmare Force was charged up and used once Sombra had performed Scythe Raid on the creature in order to hopefully damage it. Following up Nightmare Force,  Sombra powered up another one of his spells, a Crystal Spike Shot aimed at the head of the creature. There was no sense wasting time, and so once the spell had been prepared he let the creature have it. 

Sombra then said. 

"Once we have this creature dealt with, we need to discover the source of the problem and nip it in the bud. It would not do to have the Omniverse overrun by these creatures, or things worse than them. After all, I am sure it would interrupt ALL our plans."