Twilight was in dire straits. King Sombra had returned, conquering the Crystal Empire. She had no idea where her BBBFF or sister-in-law were, or her friends. And now, the King of Shadows had cornered her. Desperately, she drew forth that dark power from the back of her mind, and felt the burning purple smoke leak from her tear glands. In an instant, Sombra was blocked off by a ring of black crystals.

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. A brief respite.

All too brief, the universe seemed to think, as black smoke oozed around the ring of black crystals, coalescing before Twilight Sparkle into the Crystal King Sombra. The crystals grew up towards the ceiling, shadowy smoke spreading under Twilight's hooves, rooting her to the spot.

"Oh, you think darkness is your ally, but you merely adopted the dark," the dark king snarled. "I was born in it, molded by it. I didn’t see the light until I was already a stallion. By then, it was nothing to me but blinding! The shadows betray you, because they belong to me!"