Araneae, future king of the Northern Swarm, looked across the massive subterranean cavern that housed said swarm. He remembered the words his mother had told him, marked him with, as a foal.
**Do not trust them, my son.* The voice said, calling to him. We depend on their sorrow for us. Our distant relations to Chrysalis's group to the south are just that: Relations. We are nothing like them.*
The Northern Swarm was a group of two thousand Changelings, far different than the ones to the south. The crimson tops of their carapaces were reflected in the dull red that lit the massive underground room as they flittered across it.
Once he grew old and strong enough, his mother had told him, he would inherit all that he could see.
**I know it may be too much to ask of you, as you are yet young.* His tough, yet gentle mother had told him, before she had disappeared in the vast, frozen wastes above their home. One day, I will grow old and die. You must lead our Changelings to a better day.*
In the four years since she had vanished, he had grown older and stronger. He was still young, but he knew where his destiny lay: To one day lift the veil of starvation from his people. To secure them a home where they could feed, and not worry about the deaths that would happen, as the hunger that the Swarm always felt claimed them.
He had a long path ahead of him...
Twenty-six years later...
King Araneae, leader of the Northern Swarm, looked across his small realm with what happiness he could muster. He had grown used to hate, to feeling anger at the Crystal Ponies. He could not even summon that today. Unlike his more successful counterpart to the south, his swarm was harder to manage, more volatile.
He could curse nature, or whomever had chosen to create his species. They could only survive on the hate, sorrows, and sadness of others. And here, far from any other kingdom, the 'others' happened to be the Crystal Ponies.
Each year, more of his swarm died. Since his foalhood, the numbers had dwindled from almost two thousand to little over eight hundred. There was nothing he could do to turn the tide. His small forays into the 'Crystal Empire', as the ponies called it, had proven disastrous. They had attained little emotional energy, and had lost half of their force of four hundred to what amounted to a slaughter.
His thoughts were disrupted by a Changeling clearing its throat behind him. Araneae turned around to see a bowing Changeling before him, looking down at the ground, and clad in the dark amber armor in the style of a messenger.
"Rise, bringer of news." Araneae said in a stern voice, giving the signal for the Changeling to rise.
"Yes, my King." The messenger said softly. "The leaders of the Swarm Council have devised a strategy. They wish for your attendance."
"Thank you for your news." Araneae replied in a warm voice, lifting up the sullen mood of the Changeling with his praise. "You bring honor to your section. Dismissed."
The Changeling bowed again before flittering off, mixing with the few Changelings who were flying in the central cavern of the subterranean caves that housed the Northern Swarm. Araneae chuckled to himself. Every week the Swarm Council would devise a plan, and each attempt they had tried had failed. But they had never asked for his presence. Above all, Araneae hoped that it was good news.
He did not believe he could bear any more of the bad variety.
"Are you sure that this plan will work?" Araneae asked the assembled advisors of the Swarm Council.
"We are never sure, my King." The oldest of the group, at two hundred years old, stated. "We have been wandering in the dark, hungry, for seventy years. I remember when the Crystal Ponies hated and, best of all, feared us. Now they only show their hate, and kill our Swarm with impunity. In another thirty years, we shall all be dead."
"I agree, but I have never wanted to take this course." Araneae stated. "Striking into the center of the Crystal Empire, and even killing their King and Queen! How will we take over? What is to guarantee that we are not slaughtered at their gates?"
"It is simple, my King." Another Council member said. "The Crystal Empire, and in turn the Crystal Ponies, depend on the Crystal Heart at the center of their kingdom. If we can corrupt it, we can stop any resistance."
Araneae snorted. "I am sure that Chrysalis would have a great time with the Crystal Heart. Oh, she could feed for years off of it." The king paused, weighing his options. A strike would be incredibly risky: They might lose half of their numbers before a dubious victory was even reached, and that was all depending on if it would work.
Sighing, Araneae looked at the Council and made his decision.
"We leave in three days."
One week later...
Araneae looked out over the scattered group of Changelings, spread out over a small part of the frozen wastes. They had set out, the entire swarm, hardly four days ago. Already, one quarter of their number had succumbed to either their gnawing hunger or the frigid cold.
Only their devotion to him, and to the plan they had made, had kept them going this far. Nevertheless, to see his Swarm, many of whom he had known since his foalhood, die off was heartbreaking to him. They had died in front of him, expressing their love of him until their last moments as they fell to the elements and to their starvation.
Even the best prepared Changelings of the Swarm seemed to fall like grass before a frost. Araneae hated the Crystal Ponies, hated them for putting him in this situation. He hated them even more for taking his friends, many of whom he had known for years. The haggard survivors of the last great hold of the Northern Swarm could be spotted lying in the field, resting before they completed their journey.
Tomorrow they would arrive outside the seat to the Crystal Empire: The Crystal City. Already, he could see the warmness that the city held around it, blocking the snow and cold of the permanent winter from the happy lives inside. He despised them for being able to live contently while his species starved and died.
After tomorrow, Araneae knew, there would be two outcomes. Either he would be dead and the Swarm scattered, or they would no longer hunger for the rest of their days.
He would make sure it was the latter.
One day later, outside the Crystal City...
In the earliest days of the Crystal Empire, a story was told around the cities and towns: That of the Shadow King. This legendary figure sprung from the nightmares of an entire race. It was a being composed of hate, who fed off of the sadness of those around him. By the legend, he was defeated in the end by the King and Queen of the Crystal Empire at the time, who united all the Crystal Ponies around them against the Shadow King.
This being was known by many names. The Dark King, the Shadow King, and, more commonly, The Sombra.
Araneae knew of this legend, as did all of the Northern Swarm. The original basis had been based on his father, who had perished in the early days of the Swarm, leaving his mother to lead the Changelings.
And it was his job to bring the legend back to life.
He concentrated on the image his mother had shown him: A grey unicorn, with a mane as dark as the shadows itself, and displaying a burning hatred to rival the Nightmare itself. Black flames and shadows rose over him as his appearance changed. His eyes turned a sickle green and red, while his very body radiated shadows. He smiled at the turn of events.
For years, the Northern Swarm had lived in the nightmares of the Crystal Ponies. When they had been driven into their underground homes, forced into occasional raids, the fear had vanished. Now the ponies would learn to fear again.
From now on, he was, and would be, The Sombra.
Two hours later...
Araneae watched with glee as his Changelings dispatched the final guards to the throne room. Beyond the massive pair of doors, the future of his race awaited.
The arrival of the six hundred remaining Changelings of the Northern Swarm was absolutely rejuvenating to him. The terror and panic that was felt by the entire city was soaked up, as Changelings regained the strength to fight. They blew right past the guards, and broke into the tower in the center of the city.
With a crash, the doors to the throne room broke open. In the center stood the Crystal Heart: A blue, heart-shaped crystal that shone with a bright light. In front of it stood two Crystal Ponies. One was clad in what Araneae assumed was a royal cloak, while the other was obviously a mare. The King and Queen.
"Sombra." The king spat. "It is only fitting that the legend of hate should return."
Araneae gritted his teeth as he stared at the Crystal Pony. "How fitting that the murderer of my father should die by my hoof."
With that, the disguised Changeling King poured out his dark magic. The King and Queen of the Crystal Empire were consumed by nightmares beyond their imagination before they simply withered away, turned to husks by their own fears as the dark magic did its work.
Araneae walked forward, past the two bodies, before he stood in front of the heart. With a smile, he sent out his magic. As it touched the blue crystal, black ones began to grow out of the ground. As the heart grew corrupted, a massive influx of magic built up, until it released just moments later.
A wave of black magic spread from the tower. Everywhere it went, black crystals sprung up. Guards stopped mid-fight and crumpled to the ground, nightmare after nightmare filling their vision. Some of the Crystal ponies tried to run as the black wave washed over them, turning their former happiness into fear, and spreading onward.
With a triumphant shout, Araneae stood on the balcony of the tower, proclaiming his rule to all of his new subjects. He smiled with happiness. After years of starvation, his kind could rest. They had found a home.
Two years later...
Araneae stood on the balcony of the tower as he watched the two Alicorns race towards him. He had assumed that they would never find out, but it is hard to hide from the Sun and the Moon. With a flash, he felt them fire their Elements at him, trying their best to defeat him.
Years of labor by the Crystal Ponies had left him in power, and kept his Swarm fed. And now, the most powerful beings on Equis were here to push him away.
He knew that the Elements often worked for a thousand years. When it was over, he vowed he would return. He linked the city itself to him, so his fate would be tied to it. If he was going to be taken down, he would take the rest of the city with him.
The beam of pure light lanced at him, and he felt a small pain, quickly turning into darkness. An all-consuming void, all around him.
Now all he had to do was wait.
And wait...
And wait...
And wait...
One thousand years later...
King Araneae stood outside of the city, outside of the purple barrier that blocked him from what he needed, what he deserved. After a thousand years in the void, he had returned, along with his Changelings and the city.
An entire Millennia to think had given him pause. Maybe what he had been doing was wrong, but he needed to do it. His entire species lived off of the emotions of sorrow, emotions that were contained inside of the city. If he was to be condemned as evil for ensuring the survival of his Northern Swarm, so be it.
He could see no other way out.
As his Changelings turned into a cloud of dark magic, furthering his strength, he gave a final thought to his mother. The one who had given him the name Araneae. The one who had led his through his early years. The one who had said that he would lead his people out of their hunger and starvation, and into a better world.
With a leap, he soared into the sky, letting loose a primal roar.
King Sombra had returned.
