Sombra: A Tragedy

Wake up, Sombra.

Sombra opened his eyes. There was a pair of red eyes starring back at him. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dark before he recognized the dark outline of the shadow fox. The sun had already set. It was time for them to continue on. Sombra felt a bit of a pain in his back while standing up.

"Remind me never to sleep on the ground again."

That shouldn't be necessary. If you are fast enough, we could make it to the Everfree Forest by sunrise. Then we'll be able to travel through the day as well. The forest is dark enough to allow us to walk freely at all times.

Sombra groaned. "So, basically, I won't be getting any rest between now and when we get to the castle."

You won't need it. Then the fox ran in the direction away from the mountain.

"What?" Sombra stammered. "Wait for me!"

Sombra ran after the fox. He was able to catch up to the fox before it sped up again. The whole night was like this. The fox would dart ahead, slow down a bit for Sombra, then dart ahead again as soon as Sombra caught up. Many times Sombra would want to stop and rest but the fox would keep going no matter how much he begged.

Keeping up with the fox would have been easy except for the terrain made it impossible. In the forest at the bottom of the mountain, the fox would swerve between trees making it hard for Sombra to see where they were going. They left the forest rather quickly finding a large area full of tall grass and large hills which had no path running through it. Sombra found it very difficult to continuously run up and down what seemed like every hill. The hills and grass eventually transitioned into a rocky plane with random boulders scattered all over. This was especially hard on Sombra's tired hooves which needed a rest. Lucky for Sombra, it wasn't long before they came to the edge of a dark forest. A faint light was beginning to illuminate the land as the sun began to rise.

The fox stopped at the very edge. Sombra stopped as well and wanted very much to collapse onto the ground. He looked over to see the fox starting to fade.

"Are we finally here?" Sombra asked between gasps of breath.

The fox slowly walked into the forest. As soon as it fully crossed the border between the rocks and the forest, its entire figure went from slowly fading to fully visible. The fox turned back to face Sombra.

Yes. This is the Everfree Forest

"Are you sure we can't rest here for a bit?"

I already told, you won't need to rest.

"Ugh. Well you'll just have to deal with me-" Sombra took one step into the forest and felt a surge of energy flow through him. Suddenly he wasn't tired anymore and his hooves weren't aching. "What was that!?"

That was the forest. It knows you are welcome here and is giving you strength to keep going.

"That was incredible! How did it do that?"

The Everfree Forest has many mysteries. Enough questions. We must get to the castle as soon as possible.

"Well, then. Let's get going!"

The fox quickly darted ahead, but this time Sombra was able to keep up. With the amount of strength the forest had given him, he felt like he could run forever. It was the most amazing feeling. He felt as if he could win a race against Cloudfire. Too bad Cloudfire wasn't here to see Sombra's speed.

Then, in what seemed like no time at all, they came upon a beautiful sight. Before them were the remains of an ancient castle. It was almost completely intact from what Sombra could tell. There were some holes in the walls where a missing stone might have been. The structure was also covered in all kinds of overgrowth. But there was something else about it that Sombra couldn't quite figure out. The place seemed so dark, darker than the rest of the forest. It made Sombra have a sick feeling.

What you're feeling is the weight of all the years of hatred that have tainted this place.

"How did you know that I was feeling anything?" Sombra asked.

It will soon pass. Now we must journey through this castle to the location of the Elements of Harmony.

"Can you answer my question first? How did you know I was feeling anything?"

Now is not the time for questions. The fox quickly ran inside the castle.

"Hey! Wait up!"

Sombra ran after the fox. By the time he made it into the castle, the fox had disappeared. "Where'd you go? I can't follow you if you disappear!"

There was no reply. Then there was a soft hissing noise. It continued to grow until it sounded like whispering. It sounded like it was coming from everywhere. It continued to get louder and louder causing Sombra's ears to ring. Then, suddenly it stopped. Sombra felt a sort of pull on him. He started to walk. Not knowing where he was going, he allowed himself to be guided through hallways, up and down some stairs, and into a giant room. Once in the room, the pull stopped. Across from him was a sort of shrine with six orbs placed on it each with a different symbol.

"The Elements." Sombra said to himself.

This was it. All Sombra had to do was take the Elements and bring them to Discord. Then he could be rid of his oath to Discord.

Sombra started to make his way towards the Elements when the fox suddenly appeared in front of him and blocked his path.

Wait.

Before Sombra could say anything, pairs of red eyes started to appear all around him. The room grew darker as many dark forms began to take shape. Sombra looked around wildly feeling very scared. All around him were the forms of bears, wolves, deer, squirrels, birds, and all sorts of other creatures. The darkness was so intense that Sombra couldn't help it but to fall to the ground and curl up hoping that this pain would go away.

Then everything was still and the pain was gone. Sombra stood back up and saw that the creatures were still there.

Sombra had to force himself to speak. "What's going on?"

We did not bring you here to take the Elements of Harmony. You are here so that we may present you with a choice. Sombra, you are no ordinary pony. You bear the Element of Loyalty which puts you above many others. But there is more that you do not yet know of. For you are descended from royalty. You are destined to do great things.

"Descended from royalty? You may not know this, but most unicorns have some royalty in their bloodlines." Sombra said with an annoyed tone.

You misunderstand. We do not speak of any of  the royal bloodlines which come from the unicorn tribe nor any in all of Equestria. We speak of a near extinct line of which you are the sole survivor.

Sombra's ears perked up. "Are you talking about my family? Do you know where they are?"

There was no reply. Then Sombra realized the meaning of 'sole survivor'.

It is a shame that you had to find out this way, but now is not the time to mourn.

"What happened to them, to my family?"

All in good time.

"But-"

We have little time to spare.

"Fine."

You are descended from a line of kings which come from a place outside of Equestria known as the Crystal Empire. It is there you will find a power far greater than anything Discord could give you.

Sombra became confused. Who were these creatures? "Are you not servants to Discord?"

We were never his servants. As much as we allowed him to think so, it was us who were the true masters. Now listen carefully. You can either take the Elements and give them to Discord to do as he pleases or we could take you to the Crystal Empire to fulfill your destiny and become king.

"Um.. let me think about that." The choice was obvious, but would it be worth it. Somewhere an entire empire was without a king and he alone could fill that spot. But what of Luna and his other friends. Could him becoming a king possibly ruin those friendships? Would Celestia take this move as some sort of threat? There was only one way to find out.

"You will take me to the Crystal Empire."

Perfect.

All the creatures suddenly vanished. The room became brighter and Sombra was alone. Not knowing what to do he found a place to lay down and rest.