Wendigo May Cry

Chapters

Prologue - Defeat?
Chapter One - The Return Of The King
Chapter Two - Enter The Organization
Chapter Three - Search And Destroy
Chapter Four - Chasing Ghosts

Prologue - Defeat?

Wendigo May Cry

By Ebony Stallion

Prologue: Defeat?

Pain…sheer, agonizing pain…that was all that he could feel.

The light that shone upon his eyes became too much for him to handle, as his body of darkness began to crack in many places, light leaking from him.

Needless to say, King Sombra, the once-tyrannical ruler of the Crystal Empire, did not expect this day to go out this way at all. The thought itself never crossed his mind.

He was the great stallion of darkness, whose powers possibly matched that of the twin alicorn sisters, the ones that had overthrown him a thousand years before, stripping him of his empire and leaving nothing left of him but a shadow, encased in the ice of the Arctic North.

The defeat itself had once came as a surprise to the evil stallion back then…not to mention frustrating. However, it was never in his nature to go down without a fight…or in his case, without having the last laugh. So, before his imprisonment, he, by tapping into his innate dark magic, had cast a dreadful curse upon the empire, a curse that literally wiped the empire, and it’s habitants, the Crystal Ponies, the ones he had once groveling at his hooves and at his mercy, off the face of Equestria, only to return when the evil ruler had to reclaim his throne.

Never in his lifetime did he thought that a meddlesome lavender unicorn by the name of Twilight Sparkle and her little ‘lizard’ would intervene and rally up the Crystal Ponies so that they could use the accursed Crystal Heart that he had attempted to hide to destroy him.

It was a horrifying realization to him…he was going to die…not turn into a measly shadow as he did before…die, as in condemned to the very bowels of Tartarus, where his suffering would know no ends.

It was unfair…it was completely unfair! He had waited but a millennium to become king once more and rule with an iron hoof, not to be defeated by something as pitiful as a heart…and especially not by trivial matters such as love and hope!

This was supposed to be his destiny, the moment of greatness that he knew that he was destined for ever since he was but a young colt. Now he was going to lose it all again…thanks to that accursed light.

Damn them Royal Pony Sisters for meddling in his affairs and imprisoning him in that forsaken ice.

Damn the Crystal Ponies for trying to rebel against their true master.

Damn that unicorn and her dragon for getting in his way of reclaiming glory…

And most of all, damn that light…damn it all to Tartarus for taking everything away from him…once and for all.

With that last curse etched in his mind, Sombra’s body shattered into pieces, leaving no trace of him or his dark influences. Cheers uproar within the skies as they celebrated the end of the tyrannical ruler that had made life miserable for so, so long…

King Sombra was dead…and to the dead king’s eyes…everything went black.

A surge of blue-tinted light blinded his eyes, as he felt the voltage of a thousand lightning course through his body, making him spasm left and right, trying so hard to block out the pain that dug into his skin, as the sound of cackling electricity rang through his ears.

But oddly enough, the surge left as soon as it had come. As soon as it did though, all feelings of his body disappeared as he fell to the cold, hard ground, his heart beating erratically. The pain and the sound of electricity still lingered about him…

Only to be joined by sounds of people talking in front of him…the voices however, seemed muffled, as if they were wearing something over them…then again, he did have a ringing in his ears. That could possibly be impairing his ability to hear.
Either way, he tried to catch the voices that sounded like they were in his head, managing to hear not one…but two distinctive tones. One of them sounded old and grizzled, like them old, feeble geezers he had the displeasure of seeing in his days…while the other one was panting, as if he (they both sounded male) had just ran a marathon…or possibly conjured magic…he did not know.

From the panting voice, he had managed to decipher: “Sweet Celestia…Ganon, I shall admit…I had my doubts before…but never in my life…or in any life for that had matter…did I thought that…that this could be possible…”

This? What was he talking about?

The old, scratchy sound of the other voice gave a laugh, “That is the power of dark magic, child…there is no bound to what it could accomplish. Seeing this stallion here before you is proof of what I had been saying before…”

Proof? Proof of what? And did he say…dark magic?

The young man’s voice replied, “Indeed it is, old friend…but what do we do now?”

“Let him rest. Like you should. It expends a lot of energy to conjure up a revival spell of such magnitude.” The old man’s voice stated.

Revival spell? When in Celestia were there a revival spell?

“Of course. I will be in my study…bring him to me once he comes to…” The younger voice ordered, as sounds of hooves clopping against what seemed to be a stone floor echoed through his ears, soon accompanied by the opening and closing of a heavy door. Then, more hooves clopping sounds ensued, except they came in a slower and quieter rhythm, getting louder as they seemed to get closer to him.

Soon, the warm breath, expelled by whoever was over him, blew against his fur, as the old man’s voice whispered to him, seeming unaware that he could hear him…

“After so long…you, dear child, will be exactly what we need…you shall be our…salvation…”

He stirred, as his eyes began to open, revealing his dark red irises, trying so hard to catch a glimpse of who was addressing him…however, his vision began to fail him as soon as he gain it, his head growing limp…

“Rest now, dark one…the trip back from the dead is not an easy one…but since you made it…all I have to say is this…” The old voice paused.

“Welcome back…King Sombra…”

With that, King Sombra fell unconscious once more.

Author's Note

A/N: Well, guys, there you have it. First off, I want to say this: No, this is not a fic where bad guys revived Sombra so he could take over the world. You will see in due time what this story is really about...and all I ask is that I hope you enjoy this. So...

COMMENT, FAVE, FOLLOW, AND ENJOY!

Chapter One - The Return Of The King

Chapter One: The Return of the King

Celestia’s sun was just rising slowly into the sky as light poured into an infirmary through the blinded windows. The infirmary itself was not a big one, and not so busy, as there were only one occupant in one of the beds.

The occupant in question was Sombra, as he laid in his bed limply, his chest barely rising to a point one might thought he was dead, had it not been for the heart monitor that was hooked up to him, emanating short beeps in alignment with his heart-beat. The stallion looked like he had been through hell, his ebony-colored hair all messed up and his face seemed to be stuck in a perpetual scowl, letting out grunts of pain.

Watching him tossing and turning in his slumber was a stallion, keeping his green-irises eyes on the dark horse. The stallion in question was a rather aged one (apparent by the wrinkles under his eyes), his body about the size of Sombra, bearing a coat of an ash-gray color. His mane was silvery white, as well as the goatee he don on his chin. He appeared to be a unicorn, with his horn being a lighter silver than the rest of his body, and he wore a tattered dark red robe, covering his entire body with the exception of his legs.

The unicorn was lying on a chair that was conveniently placed next to Sombra’s bed. Music suddenly started to play, as on the other side of Sombra’s bed, was a crystal, which started to project a moving image, a video if you will. The video itself seemed sketchy, as static was visible throughout the screen, but it did not hide what it was showing.

In the video was a horse, except the way that it was dressed was rather odd: its entire body was completely dressed in black garments, barely visible by the light shown from behind him, as if it didn’t want anyone to see what he looked like. Its goal of hiding itself became more apparent as the horse was wearing a very creepy mask. It was completely white, contrasting against the rest of its outfit, with a horn sticking up at the top (thus making the being a unicorn as well), but instead of where the eye holes should be, there were two long vertical scars cutting through the entirety of the mask.

Along the top and the bottom of the video, were title bars, as it was being shown on a news cast, with the top red bar saying ‘LIVE’ in bold white letters, and on the bottom, in bold yellow, spelled ‘STALLION WANTED FOR TREASON’. In the bottom right corner, a logo depicting Celestia and Luna in a golden circle, and at the bottom of the logo, was the name, ‘EQUINES News Network’.

“The demons’ have been increasing their powers for over a millennia. They are on the verge of controlling pony-kind.” The being began, it’s voice deeply distorted and unnatural for a normal pony, as the horse closed in on the screen, “Equestria, we have been kept sleeping in deep slumber for too long. We must wake up!”

The video was soon replaced by another video, showing another unicorn, standing in front of a blue screen and at a desk. The unicorn was a middle-aged man, with a pale red coat and a chubby build. He wore a grey suit with a white shirt and a black tie, and short round glasses. His black hair was slicked over in an attempt to cover the bald spot he had, but it was not a very good job.

“The masked lunatic you saw there claims to be representing an organization called ‘Wendigo May Cry’” The unicorn stated, reading from the notes in his hooves, and mockingly emphasizing the name ‘Wendigo May Cry’, “This group had claimed responsibility for several serious attacks in recent weeks.”

“He is undoubtedly a traitor…and a terrorist.” The unicorn explained, the seriousness lined in his tone, as he then laid back,

“And I am not one for killing ponies and all…but there is one way to take care of these kind of ponies…to take the law into our hooves and shoot the son of a bitch.” The news reporter stated, slamming his hooves into the desk…but the unicorn merely calmed down, as he regain his composure, and giving a wry smile, “This is Honest Truth, just doin’ Celestia’s work.”

Instantly, the crystal shut off, “Can you believe all that crap?”

The old stallion watching Sombra looked up and saw a small-horned unicorn, his coat brown and his mane gray, with a scruffy beard on his snout, dressed in usual doctor attire. A smile cracked on the aged horse’s face, “Ah, Dr. Wiley. What brings you here?”

“Oh, just checking up on our ‘undead’ friend. The boss wanted to see if he had woken up yet.” Dr. Wiley smiled in return, although he faded as he saw the unconscious unicorn, “And apparently he hadn’t.”

“Just give it time, Winchester.” The old unicorn explained, “It took a lot out of both our leader and him to bring him back from…you know.”

“Of course. Still though…” The doctor nodded, as he approached the king, “It is unbelievable that you and he managed to pull off the unthinkable…if the Royal Pony Sisters were to find out-“

“They won’t.” The elder interrupted, “Not if we played our cards right.”

“Right…” Winchester frowned, “I still don’t see how the ‘Evil King of the Crystal Empire’ play into all of what we’re doing…can we even trust him?”

“Your concern is well-noted, doctor,” The old unicorn nodded, “But me and the leader would not have brought him back if we did not have a plan.”

“Well, I hope this is a good plan…because if it fails…we will be knee-deep in dragon sh-“

“GAH! “

In an instant flash, Sombra bolted awake screaming, his red eyes wide with shock and body covered in sweat, panting as if he saw a ghost.

“What the flying f-“ Winchester gasped before he was suddenly grasped by an unknown force and thrown against the wall, pinned to it as if an invisible monster was holding him up.

The old unicorn gaped in shock as he looked at Sombra, his red horn glowing a faint red, his eyes expressing anger…and fear?

Then, to the old stallion’s surprise, Sombra spoke, or rather yelled, his eyes darting left and right, “What’s going on?! Where am I?! Who are you ponies?!”

“Ga-Gan, help!” Wiley choked up, as he felt the grip on his neck tightened.

Immediately, the aged unicorn turned to Sombra and said quickly, “Please, calm yourself!”

“Silence, peasant! I am King Sombra! You shall address me as such!” The dark unicorn snarled, glaring at the old unicorn.

Normally for a unicorn as fearsome as Sombra, the pony that was addressing him would had cowered in fear…but, to his surprise, the old stallion did not even flinch at his anger.

The old horse just frowned, “Well, King Sombra, I have trouble discerning you a king…especially without your crown.”

Sombra growled, “What nonsense are you spouting about?! My crown is-“ He reached to feel his crown…only to realize that it was not there. Sombra’s eyes widen as he tried to feel around for it with his hooves…then, to his shock, he realized that his hooves were bare…in fact, he had none of his armor on him as well…simply, he was stark naked.

The dark unicorn then roared at the old unicorn, “What is this?! What had you done with my crown and my regalia?! Answer me, you fool!” He spouted the last part in the old stallion’s face, getting a bit of spit on him.

However, the old unicorn held firm as he wiped the spit off his face, and he calmly stated in a stern tone, “I will answer all of your questions…but first…could you kindly place Doctor Winchester Wiley down?”

Sombra’s anger abated for a bit, as he was a bit surprised…how could a feeble old geezer like him not be shivering in fright of him? Surely he would had suffered a heart attack by now. If he wasn't feeling as light-headed as he was right now, he would had had him against the wall with that ‘doctor’…but if he was going to get any answers as to what was going on…he had to comply with the old man’s demands…for now.

Much to the old stallion’s relief, Sombra calmed down and his horn stopped glowing, dropping Dr. Wiley unceremoniously to the ground. The doctor himself was now quivering under the dark unicorn’s glare, quite close to wetting himself in fear.

“Dr. Wiley…could you please inform our leader that our…guest…had awakened?” The old stallion requested.

The brown-coated unicorn didn't had to be told twice, as he high-tailed it out of the infirmary, trying to not look at the piercing red eyes of the unicorn glaring at him. As soon as Wiley was gone, Sombra instantly glared at the old horse.

“Okay, I let the sniveling whelp go…now, answer my questions…and I might not string your carcass out to dry…” Sombra threatened, his glare seething and intimidating.

However, the old unicorn did not break under his gaze…in fact, he simply chuckled, “Really, Sombra? You think threats like that scare me? I had heard threats much worse than that…”

Sombra blinked in shock. The old geezer was mocking him?! Why that arrogant piece of-

The dark unicorn suddenly gripped his head, as he felt pain surged through it. It felt like he was being trampled by a herd of buffalos right now…

“Whoa…take it easy, child…you are still recovering…” The old horse tried to sooth, as he moved his hoof to comfort him…only for it to be swatted away.

“Don’t patronize me!” Sombra growled, trying to maintain his intimidating stature, betrayed by the pain coursing through his head. “Answer my questions like I asked…or I swear…”

“Okay, okay…” The unicorn sighed, a bit put off by his rudeness, “…Exactly which question would you like answered first?”

Sombra grunted, trying to keep his very short temper in check, “First off…what is your name, old man?”

“Thought you would never ask.” The old stallion smiled, much to Sombra’s confusion, as he cleared his throat, “I am Ganondorf Redgrave…but ponies here calls me Ganon.”

“Hmph, what a freakish name…” Sombra grumbled.

“Says the unicorn whose name is Sombra…honestly, I’m surprised that ponies don’t call you Sombrero.” Ganon rebutted.

“Who asked-“ Sombra was about to scream…before realizing something, “Wait…how is it that you know my name?”

“Well, Som-“

“King Sombra.” Sombra corrected.

Ganondorf frowned before continuing, “Well, King Sombra…your reputation precedes you. Who else could forget the evil king who had risen to rule the Crystal Empire…only to be defeated by the Royal Pony Sisters, only to come about a thousand years later…and get his flank beaten again. Rather odd story it is…”

Sombra growled, “Well, if that damn lizard-“ Another thought occurred to him, “Wait…how could you had known about it? I was only defeated yesterday!”

Ganon looked at him oddly, “Yesterday? S-I mean, King Sombra, do you remember what happened to you?”

“How could I forget?! One moment I was standing atop my spire, ready to put my slaves back in their place, the next, there’s that alicorn whore Cadence shined that bright light on me…and like that, I wake up to find myself here!” Sombra snarled, the memory of his defeat etched deeply in his mind.

The old unicorn remained silent for a moment…before looking at Sombra with serious eyes, “Sombra. All that happened a year ago.”

The evil king glanced at him suspiciously, “What do you mean, peasant?!”

“Exactly as I said. You, King Sombra, was defeated by the joint effort of Princess Cadence and the Crystal Ponies a year ago at the Crystal Empire.” Ganondorf explained.

“What?! That can’t be! I remember every detail so clearly!” Sombra snapped, “All those fools were there…I was moments from taking back what was mine…and then…the Heart…that wretched heart…and everything went white! Then…then…” He trailed off, as his mind was drawing blanks, “I wake up to find myself…here.” The unicorn glared at Ganon, “What is the meaning of this? How is it that I ended up here?!”

Ganondorf said nothing, his frown deepened.

“Answer me, damn you!” Sombra roared.

The old unicorn sighed, “Well, King Sombra…I don’t know how to put this mildly…but a year ago…when you were hit by that light of the Crystal Heart…you were destroyed.”

“Destroyed? Me? What are you saying?!” The dark unicorn asked, as for once, he felt his stomach tightened.

The old unicorn took a deep breath…and looked at Sombra square in the eyes, “You were dead, Sombra.”

Silence echoed throughout the walls of the infirmary, as Sombra looked at Ganon in shock, his mouth gaped.

“I…” Sombra tried to collect his thoughts, but was rendered speechless, “I...I was…what?”

“Dead.” Ganon repeated, “Deceased. Six feet under. Having a fiddling contest with the devil. However you want to interpret it”

Anger returned to Sombra’s face, “That is impossible! If I was dead as you claimed, then why am I breathing the same air as you right now?!”

“I said you were dead. It was because of us that you are returned to live among the living.” The old unicorn answered.

“How can that be?” Sombra sneered, “Not even Celestia herself have the power to bring back the dead, let alone some pony who ‘obviously’ have no idea whom he is dealing with!”

“Oh, he does know, Sombra.” Ganon replied coyly, not bothering to address Sombra properly, “In fact, it was he who brought you here from the dead himself.”

Sombra’s glare turn to disbelief, “Really? Could you be so kind as to telling me why?”

“I think that question is best answered by the big stallion himself.” Ganondorf replied, “If you are feeling well enough, I can take you to meet him right now.”

“Well, if it’s all the same to you…Ganon…” Sombra scowled, saying the old unicorn’s name like an insult, “I rather be directed towards the exit. I have somewhere else to be…” The dark unicorn slowly raised himself from his cot, as he set his hooves on the cold hard floor. However, as soon as Sombra was standing, he felt a bout of light-headedness struck him again, sending him to his knees.

“I wouldn’t recommend going outside.” Ganon advised, “You had just been brought back to life last night, and you need to take time to recover. It was a surprise that you were even able to pull off a telekinesis spell so soon after revival…usually, it takes normal ponies weeks to do so.”

“I am no normal pony…” Sombra seethed, as he tried to get back to his hooves, “And I’m damn sure I don’t need recovery. I have a kingdom to take back and a few fools to smite!” However, his body seem to betray his determination, as he fell to his knees again.

“Uh, what part of ‘just been brought back to life’ seemed to have slipped your mind?” Ganon said in an annoyed tone, “Your magic and your body are in no state to smite anybody, let alone take back any kingdoms. Now if you just come with me…”

“I will do no such things!” Sombra roared, “I am King Sombra, the rightful ruler of the Crystal Empire and I will not take requests of some old coot-GAH!” The dark unicorn fell once more, trying to shake off the light-headedness.

“Stop being stubborn, Sombra.” Ganondorf sighed, as he helped Sombra up to his hooves (much to his displeasure), “You are coming with me to meet the boss and that is that.”

Sombra gave an indignant glare, “Why makes you think you have any authority over me, a king?!”

“Three things actually.” Ganon said with a roll of his green eyes, “One: You are not technically a king without your crown.” Sombra was about to refute, but the old stallion cut him off, “Two: In your state…I could over power you.”

“What?! That is preposterous! I can easily break your neck with my magic!“ The dark horse fumed, his horn glowing…only for the horn to start sputtering, as if it was short-circuiting, and the glow faded. Sombra gave a glance at his horn and looked at Ganon, trying to mask his embarrassment.

“Just as I thought.” Ganon sighed, as Sombra gave an indignant growl, “Lastly...three: my leader did bring you back to life…would it hurt you to meet and actually thank the stallion responsible for your resurrection?”

The stallion was moments away from giving the old unicorn another tongue lashing…but as much as he hated to admit it, this old geezer was right. He was not at his strongest…and a part of him…not sure which part to be exact, wanted to meet this ‘boss’ and figure out his next plan of action.

Besides, it will allow him to bide his time to strike this annoyingly calm unicorn down when he least expect it.

Sombra let out a groan, “Fine. I will go with you.” Ganon gave a small smirk, “But just because I have no idea where the Tartarus I am, not because I am not feeling my best.” The dark stallion added, keeping up the facade of intimidation.

“Whatever it is you must tell yourself…King Sombra.” Ganondorf chortled as he walked out the infirmary’s door, leaving Sombra fuming as the evil ex-king followed him.

“Okay, Ganon…I have no bucking idea who you think you are…but one thing is certain…” Sombra distastefully thought to himself.

“I do not like him.”

Author's Note

Well, I hoped you enjoyed the second installment of Wendigo May Cry. If you recognize the elements used in some parts of this chapter, good for you, I did mention that this is based off DmC: Devil May Cry. I am glad that everyone enjoyed the first chapter and I hope that everyone had enjoyed this one.

If you have a comment, please post it. Just no flames or I will dowse and delete.

If any of you guys are interested in pre-reading, drop me a pm.

I hope I did a good job of portraying Sombra. I wanted to maintain his villain attitude and I hope I maintain it in this chapter.

Also, keep your eyes on Ganon and Dr. Wiley...they will play a role.

Chapter Two - Enter The Organization

Chapter Two: Enter The Organization

Sombra followed Ganon as they left the infirmary, determined to find out why he was brought here, only to be blinded by sunlight, as it is shown upon the corridor that the two had just entered.

“Grr, stupid bucking sunshine.” Sombra growled inwardly.

He then heard Ganon chuckle, and looked to see him looking over his shoulder back at him, “Come on, Sombra, it is just Celestia greeting us with her beautiful morning sun.”

The dark unicorn scowled, “Well forgive me if I don’t share your ‘exaggerated’ opinion of that wretched alicorn.”

“Oh, I don’t have a high opinion of Celestia.” Ganon nodded, as he continued walking forward, “She’s stubborn as a mule and too naïve for her own good. However, she does her job as ruler of the sun well.”

“You hate her?” Sombra asked, not buying it, as he continued following him, “I can’t see why…she didn’t send six measly fillies and a lizard out to destroy you.”

“It’s personal.” Ganondorf replied, his answer not sating Sombra’s mistrust, “However, you should know that what it is that me, our boss, and what you’ll be doing…Celestia doesn’t know about it.”

“What?!” The dark unicorn blurted, “What are you trying to attempt, a coup d’état?”

“No.” Ganon stated, “But our activities aren’t exactly things that the princesses would approve of.”

“And what are these activities, per se?” Sombra questioned, his glare not fading.

“Well, Sombra…I guess I should tell you.” Ganon nodded, as he cleared his throat, “I, the doctor you nearly choked, and your reviver are a part of an organization…”

“Organization? You mean like a cult?” The evil king asked, quite familiar with the term, as he did have a following at one point before he was imprisoned a thousand years ago. He had no idea if they were any survivors today.

“No. We aren’t some groupie to a bucking nutcase, like that freaky feller Discord.” Ganondorf mused, as Sombra wondered who this ‘Discord’ was, “We are an organization dedicated to combatting forces far malevolent than anything Equestria had ever seen.”

“Which is what?”

“Oh, you know, the usual.” Ganon explained, “Chimeras, hydras, manticores, sea serpents…”

“Why would there be an organization that slay such meager creatures?” Sombra questioned, “Don’t the ‘princesses’ take care of them?”

“The princesses? Oh no, Celestia or Luna could not be bothered to dirty their hooves. That is where we come in. When the monsters rears their ugly heads, we come swooping in and take care of them.”

“Then why does Celestia disapprove?” The dark-haired stallion questioned.

“Well…” Ganon trailed off, “It is a long story, but I believe you will find your answers through this door.”

As a key example of excellent timing, the two arrived in front of large, imposing doors. Ganon gave a knowing glance at Sombra, who was still glaring in suspicion as well as confusion as the old unicorn stated.

“Allow me to welcome you to our organization…”

Ganon’s horn began to glow a dull red, as the doors parted ways for the two stallions, as Sombra’s eyes widen in surprise.

“Wendigo May Cry.”

Sombra was put off from what he was seeing. It was a giant room with a very high ceiling…or what’s left of it, as the roof itself was in disrepair, but despite it’s derelict appearance, there were all sorts of odd gizmos placed around the room, and to his surprise, there were all sorts of ponies operating them. The room itself was dim, with the only light being that of the sun, but all of the workers didn’t seem to mind.

“Well, Sombra?” Ganon inquired.

The evil king shook off his surprise, “Well…when you said organization…I pictured this…a little bigger.”

“That’s the whole idea.” The old unicorn chuckled as he walked into the room, “Ponies like Celestia would never think to look for a place as small as this.”

“Just exactly where are we?” Sombra asked as he followed him.

“Normally, I would say classified…” Ganon began, but immediately sensed Sombra’s anger, “But since you are already here…we are in the ruins of Paradiso, posted deep, I repeat, deep parts of Everfree Forest.”

“Paradiso? Everfree Forest?” Sombra repeated, not remembering such places.

“Don’t ask. We just placed our operations here, no questions asked.” Ganon stated.

“I see…” Sombra nodded, “Just to follow up, where is this place in respect to the Crystal Empire?”

“Too far for you to walk. I will say that much.” Ganon answered without facing him.

“Hmph.” The dark unicorn huffed, as he looked at the working ponies, who didn’t seem to pay any of them mind. Most of the ponies were wearing white coats, like doctors seem to wear nowadays. He couldn’t see any of their marks (he refused to use the term ‘cutie marks’ as he found it quite childish and, dare he say it, female-oriented) on their flanks. “So…what is it that you peasants doing?”

“First off, don’t say ‘peasant’.” Ganon gruffly stated, “You are not king anymore and it makes ponies want to send their hooves up your tailhole. Secondly…well…Sombra, how familiar are you with demonology?”

“Demonology?” Sombra repeated, swallowing the urge to snarl at Ganon for admonishing him like some ‘impudent child’, “I can’t say that I heard of it.”

“I can understand. It’s something considered too grim for the eyes of normal ponies. Demonology is the study of demons. Surely, you know what demons are, right?”

“Of course. They are beings from the depths of Tartarus, who feasts on the souls of the norm and torment those whose souls had been damned to their homeland.” Sombra replied.

“Ah, so you do know.” The old unicorn mused, “That is less we have to explain.”

“But you are aware that demons are nothing more than tales, meant to scare children…right?” Sombra asked, not understanding why such a topic is being discussed right now.

“That is where you’re wrong, Sombra.” Ganon stated, “Demons are real…and everything that was said about them is true.”

“What? What are you talking about?” The dark unicorn demanded.

“Exactly as I said.” Ganon explained, as they reached the other end of the room. He gave a mere nod to a Earth pony who was standing near the door, as the old unicorn pushed the doors open with magic, as the two horned stallions made their way into yet another corridor, “There are demons amongst us, Sombra. They are enslaving ponykind. Equestria is blissfully unaware, ignorant, and helpless. Wendigo May Cry was founded so we can fight back.”

“Wait, you’re telling me that there is such things as demons…and that they are amongst the populace…” Sombra listed back, before scoffing, “Forgive me if I having trouble believing all this nonsense.”

“It doesn’t matter whether you believe or not, I’m afraid.” Ganon somberly noted, “They are among the living. Unfortunately, they are masters of disguises and experts in pseudology.”

“Pseudo-what now?”

“The study of lying. Demons are like chameleons. They can blend into the masses superbly and with such finesse that ponies had concluded that they don’t exist. In fact, we are the only ones who are aware of their presences. You can say we are a small hoof full of freedom fighters…the last, if not the only, line of defense that stands between them and all of Equestria.”

“Defense? A meager bunch of those weaklings against such powerful beings such as demons? You have no chance against them.” Sombra sneered.

“Oh-ho, Sombra, not all wars are fought with swords and spears. What we lack in horse power, we make up in knowledge. We leave nothing to chance. We collected vast amount of data on the demons and their cohorts.”

“Such as?”

“World leaders, bankers, and famous singers…we pinpoint their weak points and strike them where it counts.” Ganon answered.

“I see…” Sombra nodded, his perpetual glare softening a bit.

Ganondorf took note of his change of expression, “I know it’s a lot to take in…but it is best that you know the basics of what we are doing.”

“You know what I think?” Sombra said, as his glare returned to it’s seething ferocity, “I think you peasants are mad.”

“You think that now, Sombra…but once you meet our leader…your eyes will be opened.” Ganon said solemnly, as the two stopped in front of another set of doors. “His study is through this door.”

“Good. The sooner I get this talk over with, the sooner I get out of this wretched place.” Sombra grumbled.

“Just one bit of advice, Sombra.” Ganon began, “Our leader is calm and collected to put simply, but do not think for a moment that you can treat him with disrespect. He brought you back from the dead…and he can easily send you back. And in your state, you will not stand a chance.”

“Duly noted.” Sombra muttered, “If I wasn’t suffering from this god damned headache, I would reduce you and ‘this leader’ to paste right now.”

“Excellent.” Ganon replied swiftly, as his horn glowed once more and the doors parted, “Go on ahead.”

Sombra let out a sigh as he walked through the doorway. The room he entered was quite different from the infirmary and the room with the weirdly-dressed ponies, in fact, it kind of reminded him of an estate he used to own back before he rose to the rank of king. Despite the old, run-down nature of the place, the room itself looked like it had been furbished, with fine wood-carving and everything. Light peered in through the windows, but like the previous room, it was still dim.

The furniture were that of what you would normally find in a study, as there were bookshelves along the walls, a nicely-designed desk with a lounge chair, the desk covered with papers, quills, and books. A rectangular red mat was laid along the middle of the room. To the right end of the room, there stood a pedestal, atop it a head of a mannequin, and attached to the face of a mannequin was a bizarre looking mask, even for the standards of Nightmare Night, being a pale white with two long black slashes through where the eyes are.

However, Sombra’s focus was towards the middle of the room in front of the desk, as another pony stood before him, the shadows of the room blanketing and concealing the details of the being’s body. The dark unicorn could not see what the pony looked like, but he did know that the shadowed figure’s left front hoof was firmly placed on a long, thin object.

Sombra walked into the study, keeping his eyes on the shadowed being, on the chance that the being might pull something rather underhand. Behind him, he could sense Ganon’s presence, tailing him, as if he was making sure that he didn’t do anything underhand.

The dark unicorn soon stopped once he was a few steps away from him, while Ganon continued a step or two ahead of him, placing him to the side of Sombra and the unknown figure and between them.

It was then that Sombra heard the shadowed being’s voice.

“Amazing…” The shadow’s voice began, the deep tone of his voice revealing his gender as male, “Sombra…it really is you.”

The dark unicorn looked at the speaker peculiarly, as he gave a scoff, “Yeah, it is I…King Sombra. And may I ask who are you?”

The mysterious stallion went silent for a moment, and then he continued, “You don’t remember me?”

“No…should I?” Sombra asked, his patience immediately wearing thin.

There was another pause, “I see. How much of your foalhood do you remember?”

“What?” The dark unicorn stepped back in shock, caught off guard by such a question, especially one concerning his childhood, “What is it to you?!” He barked defensively.

“Sombra…” Ganon admonished.

“Just answer the question.” The shadow ordered.

Sombra growled, before calming down, “Not much…I suffered from an awful fever back when I was seven. Everything before that became a complete blank. Why you ask?”

Suddenly, Sombra heard a chuckle, as the shadow replied, “Hah! That’s what they told you? They told me I had taken a nasty blow to the head. The resulting concussion resulted in total amnesia. The age of occurrence: seven.”

The dark unicorn looked at him, waiting for him to say more…but when he didn’t, Sombra simply step forward, “And your point being?”

The shadowed being then stepped towards Sombra, the light of the room finally revealing the being’s feature. The stallion was a unicorn, his coat being of the same dark-grey color as his (much to his surprise), his horn was a royal blue color, the color fading back to dark-grey as it reached the base, much like his red horn did. His mane was silver and well-combed. He was wearing a buttoned up black coat with a long coat tail and a short collar, covering his entire body like Ganon’s garbs. In a way, he looked similar to him, despite the obvious differences, except his snout is more square-shape, like the usual many pony. (Think of Shining Armor’s snout)

“A fever, Sombra? A fever is an affliction common to ponies. You are not a pony, Sombra.” The blue-horned unicorn stated, as he closed in on Sombra’s face, “All war is fought with deception and you had been deceived. Your past had been erased for a reason, Sombra, and without it, you have no idea what you are…”

“Hold on a moment.” Sombra interrupted, donning a suspicious glare, “Who are you exactly?”

The unicorn stopped, noticing the mistrust in Sombra’s eyes, as he stepped back, “Very well. I am Quicksilver, the leader and founder of Wendigo May Cry.” Quicksilver turned around and walked towards his desk, “I have established this organization to help fend off dangerous creatures and help to find a way to fight the demons.”

“You mean aside from violence?” Sombra asked, his glare still lingering.

“Weapons and brute strength can win battles, but not a war of this magnitude.” Quicksilver said, turning around to face Sombra, “We use force, yes, but we also use intelligence, politics, and propaganda.” He listed off, meeting Sombra face to face again.

“Really? If these so-called demons exists…you really think you stand a chance?” The dark unicorn glared.

“Stand a chance?” Quicksilver repeated, “Sombra…I had brought you back for a reason! I had heard of what you can do. Your knowledge of dark magic is unprecedented! Together, you and I, I believe we can defeat them!”

“So…you brought me back to life?” Sombra questioned, hoping to answer one of his looming questions.

“Yes, but I can’t take all the credits.” Quicksilver admitted, as he faced Ganon, “Ganondorf and I spent months trying to find a revival spell that could bring your soul and body back to this world. Even more months trying to perfect it. It was no easy task, but seeing you here before me right now…it was all worth the effort…”

“What kind of revival spell? I don’t recall such a spell existing.” Sombra inquired.

“Spells of such power is considered forbidden. The spell we used is considered necromancy, a kind of magic dubbed too powerful by Celestia herself to be used by anypony. Sombra, we risked our necks just so we could have this conversation right now…so you can help us…”

“So let me get this straight.” Sombra began, looking around the study, “You revived me, and you expect me to help you fight these…demons? Help save this world?”

“Well, what else were you planning to do with your second chance at life?” Quicksilver asked.

Sombra just scoffed, “Look, I don’t know what it is that you expect of me…and I guess I do owe you a bit of gratitude for my revival…but I am better off on my own. No offense intended.”

“Sombra.” Ganon spoke up, stepping forth, his expression suddenly grim, “I don’t think you understand what is at stake here-“

Ganon was silenced as Quicksilver raised his left hoof.

“Hmm, I see that your lust for power still lingers within you. I figured getting destroyed would had beaten that out of your system…I guess I was wrong.” Quicksilver stated.

“Look, first off, I did not ask you to bring me back.” Sombra snarled, stomping his hoof, “And the only reason I lost is because them damned Crystal fools and those fillies got in my way! Sorry to disappoint you, Quicksilver, but my destiny is to rule the Crystal Empire and Equestria…not to take part in your pitiful war games.”

Quicksilver’s expression remained neutral, much to Sombra’s surprise.

“God, what is with these horses and not cowering in my presence? Am I losing my edge or something?” Sombra thought to himself.

“Sombra, if you want to leave, just say it and turn your back on me. I will not stop you.” Quicksilver solemnly explained, “But in doing so, you would be making a grave mistake…not just for yourself, but for all of Equestria.”

“For Equestria?” Sombra repeated.

“Yes! If the demons succeed, Equestria and everything in it would cease to exist!” Quicksilver explained.

Sombra just scoffed, “What makes you think I give a damn?!” His glare deepened, “In fact, what makes you think I would listen to you?! I am King Sombra, rightful ruler of the Crystal Empire! You are nothing but a noble-rebelling nobody who has nothing better to do with his life and and some crazy old geezer! I had been biting my tongue and resisting the urge to kill you both right now, but if you don’t show me the way out of here…prime condition or not…you will be sorry.”

Ganon stifled a gasp at Sombra’s threat as he looked at Quicksilver. Quicksilver’s expression remained unchanged, but a bit of disappointment lingered on his face. With a sigh, he said, “Very well.”

He then tapped his cane (which look a lot less like a cane…and more like a sheath with a sword in it, but Sombra could care less). Suddenly, sounds of scraping stones echoed throughout the study, as Sombra looked behind and to the left, only to find a passageway that wasn’t there before.

“That corridor will take you out to Everfree Forest. I would teleport you out of here, but I am still recovering from last night. I hope you can find your way out?”

“Peh, I am a king. I was born with a sense of direction. I bid you both farewell and good tidings on…” Sombra trailed off, as he started to head to the passageway, not sure how to put it, “Whatever you are doing…”

“Sombra.”

The dark unicorn stopped, as he let out a frustrated growl, “What?”

Quicksilver approached him a little, but kept his distance, “I brought you back because I felt that you had a bigger purpose in life, much greater than anything a king could offer. Why try to achieve something you failed at twice only to fail once more…when you can become something far more than a king? Why throw your life in jeopardy for something so fruitless again? Do you think it will be worth it?”

Sombra was moments from screaming at the pony for keeping him here…but as he heard his words, all the anger he felt…just turned to bitterness, “Look, I don’t know what you were trying to pull…but I know my purpose…and it is to rule the Crystal Empire. Besides, I don’t think I would be cut out for demon hunting...” The dark unicorn then continued, but not before muttering to himself, his head low, “…I’m no hero…”

As soon as Sombra’s dark-grey form disappeared into the corridor, Quicksilver let out a heavy sigh.

“It is worse than I imagined…”

“Just give him time, my dear boy.” Ganon said, “He was just brought back to life, and to him, his defeat had just happened the night before last night. I will admit, though…he is an arrogant piece of shit.”

“Well, ‘that arrogant piece of shit’ is our only chance if we ever hope to defeat ‘him’.” Quicksilver explained, his expression growing grim at the word ‘him’.

Ganon took a deep breath as he looked at the corridor Sombra disappeared into, “He reminds me of you…you know, when I first met you. And while I am not one to leave things to chance, if destiny agrees with us, he should come right back to us.”

“For Equestria’s sake, I hope so…” Quicksilver nodded, as his face grew serious, “He just has to wake up…”

Meanwhile, elsewhere

The cold blustery winds blew through the air of the snowy plains, as ponies walked within a crystal-like city, strolling and going about their businesses as usual.

In the middle of the city, there was a huge crystal spire, that stood high and proud above all the buildings in the city, and almost as tall as the castle of which houses the nobles that ruled the city. Although the crystal spire does not look like anything special, there was a small red glow coming from one of the higher windows of the spire, the brightness of the glow flickering like a dying light bulb.

Inside the room of that window was what seemed to be a well-decorated office, well-furbished with the best furniture, and framed pictures hanged along the walls. However, there was one thing that stood out in the office…namely, a large rectangular framed mirror…but it was not an ordinary mirror. Instead of the part where the reflecting mirror should be, there was a rather ominous image of a swirling red vortex, with a yellowish-white circle in the middle.

Even more so, on the other side of the room, there were a plethora of crystal images, showing parts of the city in each one, surveying everything.

The room was not unoccupied, as leaning against a desk, looking out the windows, was a rather big stallion. The stallion in question was a unicorn, his pelt was a color of ebony, and his hooves and tail was of a pale white color. He lacked a mane, and his horn seemed to look jagged, like a lightning bolt, and thin enough that it could be mistaken for an oddly-shaped knife. He wore a white-collared shirt under a gray jacket. However, his most-notable features is his cutie-mark, which was consisted of three red dots, placed in a triangular pattern, and his eyes were a pair of silver…however, one of them seemed to lack a pupil.

The unicorn was deep in a conversation with someone on the phone perched on his desk, as he held the receiver to his ear with his left hoof.

“Yes. By closing of trading on Friday.” The stallion began, as he listened to the replier, “No, you can’t have more time. You know the terms, you know the consequences.” He listened to the phone again…and he let out a chuckle, “No this is not a veiled threat.” His face immediately darkened, “This is a direct one. Should you failed to comply, the collapse of the Empire’s economy will be on your head.”

Watching the unicorn negotiate from one of the couches in the office, lounging upon it, was a female unicorn, about middle-aged, as shown from the small wrinkles on her face. Her body was of a pale pink color and her figure was lithe, and her mane was white with red highlights. Her cutie mark was of a black heart with a red outline and criss-cross stitches across the center. Her face seemed to be interested on the conversation the male was having.

“I will see to it that you are stripped of power, shamed, and hated…is that clear enough for you?” The bald unicorn explained, his expression growing darker with each word. He waited for the caller’s answer…and as soon as he heard it, his face lightened up and he gave a smile, “Well, Friday it is then... you and your wife have a good night, Prince Shining Armor.”

With that, the unicorn placed the phone back on the receiver, and looked at the female with a cocky grin, as the female gave her own smile, approaching the unicorn.

“Did you get it, my darling?” The female unicorn asked.

“Over a trillion.” The male replied, earning an intrigued ‘oh’ from the female, “Soon I will own everything worth owning. I will control all of Equestria through debt.” The bald unicorn’s grin became wider, “I will have absolute power.”

The mare gave an lustful smile as she placed a hoof on the stallion’s chest, “Equestria is at last your bitch. As am I.” The bald unicorn gave a superior smirk, “Nothing left, you just grab it by the mane, bend it over and…”

Suddenly, the stallion turned towards the window, his smirk turning into a concerned scowl.

“What’s the matter? What? What’s the matter?” The female unicorn asked, perturbed by her companion’s sudden change of mood.

The black unicorn walked towards the window, and let out a sigh, “A loose end.”

“A loose end? What?” The mare questioned, joining the stallion’s side.

“The son of the traitor Shadow…Sombra.” The stallion growled.

“Sombra? But…but he’s dead!” The mare replied in shock, “How can you sense him?”

“I do not know.” The stallion admitted, “But I can feel him in my bones…he’s out there…someone brought him back…”

“I would not worry about it, dear.” The mare circled around him, trying to attract his attention, “If he is out there, the Hunter will find him…it found Shadow and his whore…and when it does…” The female trailed off, waiting for the male to finish.

The unicorn’s concern melted away into an evil grin, “I will slice him open with my own horn, and feast on his still…beating…heart.”

With that, he finished with an evil laugh, which was soon drowned out by the unforgiving northern winds…

Author's Note

What do you think? I consider this to be one of the few twists I added to the original storyline of DmC. The references here are plentiful...see if you can name them. I hoped you all enjoy it, feel free to comment, and if any of you guys are interested in making a cover art for the fic, that would be greatly appreciated.

Chapter Three - Search And Destroy

Chapter Three: Search And Destroy

The Everfree Forest. An ominous forest, home to many foul creatures and the holder of many secrets. These dense woods had claimed many unfortunate souls in the past, mainly due to the incompetency and/or unpreparedness of the travelers who step foot in the forest. Needless to say, you would be a god-damn jackass of a moron if you went in there without an idea of what you are doing…

Unfortunately, Sombra happened to be one of those ‘god-damn jackass of a moron’.

The dark unicorn was making his way through the dense woods, having found his way out of the passage about an hour ago, and trying to find his way out of the place. However, as he did so, he was lost in his thoughts…or rather muttering about the absurdity of what Quicksilver just told him.

“The nerves of those fools.” Sombra scoffed, “Asking me to do a fool’s errand.” He then mocked in a whimpering tone, “Oh Sombra, we brought you from the dead so you can chase the bogeyman away.” He then spat, “Please that is the stupidest thing I had ever heard.”

Then he mocked once more, “Oh, Sombra, don’t leave. If you do, Equestria will be destroyed.” He chuckled, “Pff, I am more capable of destroying Equestria than any of them ‘demons’. And even more, they think I am incapable of find my way out of this forest. Please don’t me laugh!” Despite that saying, he let out a loud laugh…unfortunately, his laugh echoed, as the sounds traveled all throughout the twisted trees of the forest.

The unicorn felt a pang of uncertainty as he heard his laugh, as he looked around. Due to a life of being far up north, he had never been inside of a forest, and as he surveyed his surroundings, he did not like it. Even with the bit of sunlight peeping in through the foliage, the place was still dark, even more so for his liking, not to mention it was…dare he say it, creepy, especially given the fact that there seemed to be no living beings in the vicinity.

Sombra however shook the uncertainty, trying to maintain his snarky pride, “I am King Sombra…I was born with a sense of di-rec-tion.” He emphasized the last word, as he continued onwards…however, though, he then asked himself, “Now…where am I exactly?”

Suddenly, he heard a buzzing, as a small bug, whose body was a size of a tennis ball, flew upwards in front of him. Unfortunately, the bug immediately got caught in a sticky web. A web that was inhabited by an even bigger spider. Sombra only looked up at the bug, and to his surprise, heard the bug pleading.

“HELP ME! HELP ME!” The bug pleaded in a high-pitched voice as the spider opened his maw.

What ensued was a tearing of bug flesh, as bits of it fell on Sombra’s snout, prompting the unicorn to shake it off in disgust. His disgust was soon replaced with disturbance, as he heard the bug’s voice one last time.

“Too late…”

“Okay…that was…unsettling.” Sombra admitted, as he continued onwards. However, as he did so, he began to hear other noises, from growls to snarls, caws and sqwuacks, and the most unsettling of all…a whistling of a slug and the constant utter of ‘beware…’. It was starting to get on the dark stallion’s nerve as he continued his trek.

“Damn it, Sombra, keep it together. It is just your mind playing tricks on you.” Sombra rehearsed to himself, “Just focus on the task at hoof and you will be golden. Just remember the steps you need to take to achieve your lost glory.” Sombra took a deep breath.

“Step One: Find a way out of this forest.” Sombra listed, as he ducked under a low branch.

“Step Two: Gather your bearings and make your north to the Crystal Empire, all the while gathering your strength.” The dark stallion continued, as he stepped in a puddle.

“Step Three: Once you arrived at the Empire and regained your entire strength, unleash your entire repertoire of dark magic upon the place when they least suspect it, and annihilate anyone who stands in your way.” He continued, giving a smug grin as he pushed through a bush.

“Step Four and this is my favorite part…reclaim your rightful place as king, lead your army to take over all of Equestria, kill Celestia, Luna, that filly and her pet dragon, enslave the entire pony race, keep a few concubines on the side, and profit! Oh yes, Sombra, that’s it. You will be all powerful, and you, Sombra, will rule over-“

Deep in his day-dreaming, Sombra did not notice his hoof being caught on a root sticking out, and as a result, he tripped over it and fell…into what seemed to be a foggy lake. Sombra quickly burst out of the water, catching his breath as he looked at what he landed in, only to see his reflection.

The dark unicorn gave a snarl as he brought his hoof down on his watery double and stomped his way out of the water.

“Step Four Point One: Level this Celestia-fucking forest and kill everything within it.” Sombra seethed in his mind, as he shook to get all the water out of his pelt. As soon as he was nearly dry, he looked out onto the lake, a layer of thin fog spread along the surface. Sombra gave a scowl as he saw no sign of a way out.

“Dammit, how big is this forest?! I had been here for who-knows how long and I see no sign of it ending. I swear to that white alicorn whore, if that bastard Quicksilver sent me out here to die, I am going to kill him!” The gray stallion threatened as he paced back and forth, “What I am going to do? Walking around will not get me anywhere if I don’t know where I am going. If only I knew where it was that I was…”

Suddenly, an idea popped up in Sombra’s mind, as he looked behind him to find a thin dead tree. “That’s it! One thing that I had learned in reading is that when you are lost, look for a high point…all I need to do is teleport myself up…” The unicorn’s horn began to glow red as he attempt to warp…only for his horn to flicker off, “Damn. I must not be at full strength still. Stupid organization can’t even revive me right. I guess the only way to get up there is…” Sombra let out a sigh, as he approached the tree, and shuddered, “The old fashioned way.”

The dark horse looked up to the lowest branch, which was a bit above his head, and with a deep breath, Sombra jumped onto the first branch, barely hanging onto it as his back legs dangled.

“Come on, Sombra. Mind over matter.” Sombra rehearsed, as he struggled to pull himself onto the branch. He gave a pant as he looked back up, only to see many more ‘stepping’ branches that stood between him and the top.

“Bloody hell.” Sombra groaned as he began his climb up the tree. Fortunately, the next couple of branches were closer to each other and allowed Sombra to quickly scale up the old tree, albeit awkwardly, making Sombra somewhat grateful that there was no one around to see him like this.

As Sombra laid his right front hoof on his twelfth branch, he looked skyward again and the top seem a lot closer, much to his relief.

“Good. Halfway there.” Sombra said to himself with glee as he continued climbing, “Sooner I get to the top, the sooner I can get out of this place before something else-”

“Hey, mister.”

“GAH!” Sombra gasped, losing grip on a branch, causing him to backslide a couple branches before he wrapped his hooves around the tree.

“Hello.”

Sombra quickly glared at the direction of the voice, only to be surprised by the origin. Looking at him, lounging on a branch next to him, was another pony…although this one was different. The pony was a female, obvious from her feminine green eyes, but her body (not to mention her voice) was strange.

It was lithe and quite attractive for a pony her age, but what disturbed him was the fact that she looked like an alicorn, a breed he grew to hate, yet there were a couple of differences. One, her wings were not like that of a pegasi, but of ones he saw on the bug that got eaten by the spider, and two, her legs had a bunch of holes in them, like swiss cheese. A light green armor was wrapped around her abdomen, and her horn was jagged looking. She had a long dark blue mane (holes in it like her legs) and two distinctive canines sticking out of the upper part of her maw.

The black-colored pony looked at the unicorn with amusement in her eyes as Sombra gave a growl.

“How dare you scare me like that!” Sombra snarled, nearly panting from the scare, “I nearly fell to my death just now!”

“My apologies, kind sir.” The pony said with a purr, “I didn’t think a male such as you was scared such as easily.”

“I was not scared!” Sombra defended, “You…you just caught me by surprise, is all.”

“Uh-huh.” The black pony smirked, “What’s your name, handsome?”

“Handsome?” Sombra repeated in confusion, as he looked upwards and then back at the black alicorn-like pony, “I’m afraid that is none of your concern. Now if you excuse me…” Sombra began to climb once more, focused on climbing upward, “I’m busy.”

The female let out a huff as she rest her snout on one of her holey hooves, “Hmm, you’re not from around here, are ya?”

“Well, no, uh…” Sombra was not sure how to answer, but he was certain that telling her the truth about him is one way of getting himself killed by Celestia herself pretty quickly, “I was simply taking a stroll, and well, I was hoping to get a good view of the lake…”

“By climbing a tree?” The alicorn-esque pony asked.

“Yes. How else?” Sombra spat back as he continued upwards, leaving the pony below him. However, he was surprised as he saw the same pony, hanging upside down from her back hooves, nearly prompting the unicorn to do a double take of the branch below him.

“Hey, are you lost?” The female questioned, with a smug smirk on her face.

Sombra’s temper was reaching it’s breaking point once again, as Sombra tried to remain calm, “No, I am not lost, but I am very busy. So, could you kindly take your business elsewhere?”

“Are you sure? Because the only reason a pony would climb a rather brittle tree in the middle of a forsaken forest is either they are part monkey, or they are lost.” The black pony stated.

“Look, lady. I am trying to be patient here, but I have no time to argue!” Sombra seethed, “Now go away!” With that, he continued higher up the tree, but the black pony only flipped herself upside-up as she watched the unicorn.

“I wouldn’t grab that branch if I was you.” The female stated.

“Oh please, it’s a stupid branch.” Sombra growled, “What can it do?” He grabbed the said branch and suddenly, the branch snapped, “GAH!” Sombra gasped as he fell down the tree again, hitting a couple of branches on the way down., before barely catching another one with his front legs, before glaring darkly up at the female.

“This tree’s branches are as fragile as twigs, you silly colt.” The female smarmed, as she noticed Sombra’s horn, “Hey, why is your horn so freakishly shaped?”

“Uh, I don’t know, why are you so freakishly infuriating?!” Sombra spat back, trying to get back up.

“Hey, it is not my fault you are so fun to play with.” The insect-winged pony chuckled.

Sombra only snarled, “You know what, lady? Fuck y-GAH!” The branch he was hanging onto snapped, sending him to the ground in an unceremonious ‘thud’ “God…damn…it.”

He heard hooves land on the ground as the black pony only gave another chortle, “So this is the infamous ‘King Sombra’ the organization been telling me about. I must say, I didn’t picture you to be so…klutzy.”

The dark unicorn’s winced shut eyes darted open as he quickly got onto his hooves (ignoring the pain in his body as he did so) and glared at the female with mistrust, “How do you know my name?! What do you know of ‘Wendigo May Cry’?!”

“Simple, silly.” The female grinned darkly, “You were all that good ol’ ‘Quickie’ would talk about. Don’t see why, though, especially since you can’t find your way out of a forest.”

“Quickie? You mean…” Sombra’s face turned to sheer annoyance as he groaned, “Oh dear god, Quicksilver sent you, didn’t he?”

“What? Can’t an attractive female such as I talk to you because I want to?” The black pony asked innocently, although her tone said otherwise.

“Attractive?” Sombra repeated as he looked at the female. He found it hard to believe that somepony could find something so…abnormal…could be considered attractive…although, he would admit, with such a slender frame and quite a sexy look about her, she does make a…what the hell is he thinking? “Look, I do not know what Quicksilver is trying to pull, but I will not be allured into some worthless cause with sexual favors of a female!”

“You know, I do have a name.” The black pony growled, giving a pout, “Honestly, didn’t they teach you manners back where you are from?”

“Don’t you dare patronize me, you freak!” Sombra snarled, his voice getting loud, “I may not have my crown but I am a king and I deserve to be treated as such!”

“Whoa, watch it, pal!” The black pony defended, obviously offended, “You don’t see me calling you a freak because of your messed up horn!”

“Don’t you dare insult my horn! If I wasn’t feeling my best, I would kill you right NOW!” Sombra roared in the black pony’s face, his horn slightly flickering to emphasize his point.

The black pony flinched back a few steps as she hissed, “Would you keep it down?! Are you trying to attract attention of every creature here?”

“I don’t care!” Sombra roared, losing his temper in one fell swoop, “I am already having a bad day, and I don’t really feel like ‘keeping it down’ just for the sake of some stupid animals!”

“You don’t understand, Sombra-”

“It’s KING Sombra to you!” The dark unicorn corrected, “Honestly, I am sick of not getting my respect where it is due!”

“The only respect you will be getting is for the dead again if you don’t shut up.” The azure-haired pony growled as her eyes shifted left and right, “Your loud ranting will lead ‘him’ right towards you!”

“What are you talking about?!” Sombra growled, noticing her shifty eyes, “Lead who towards me?”

The black pony looked at Sombra, her playful eyes turning to grim ones, much like Ganon and Quicksilver’s, “The hunter behemoth.”

“The what?”

His question was soon answered as a low rumbling sound echoed throughout the forest. The black pony’s breath hitched as she looked out towards the lake, “Oh no…he’s here.”

Sombra, not liking the tone of her voice, looked out onto the lake, and to his surprise, he saw something rising out of the foggy lake…and to be honest, he wished he hadn’t.

It was a beast unlike anything he had seen before. It’s body was like a giant wolf, except it’s body was grotesquely bulky and veiny, and scars marking all over the beast’s skin and underbelly. It’s pale-colored fur stood out from the surrounding, and a armor-like carapace on his back, and piercings on his long flappy ears. What make the beast intimidating though was it’s giant claws, gnarly fangs, and a long and very blade-like appendage sticking out of it’s forehead.

The beast’s beady white eyes glared upon the two equines as it took note of the unicorn with the red horn, and with a toothy grin that would induce nightmares, it spoke in a masculine, yet very demented voice.

“SOoooOOOoooMBRA…”

“What in the name of Faust…” Sombra whispered in shock.

“The behemoth...” The black pony muttered.

Sombra gave a huff as he glared deeply, “Worthless scum.”

The giant beast let out a roar as he began to approach the two ponies.

“It’s too late…he already found you. We need to get out of here!” The black pony ordered the unicorn as she ran off into the distance.

“What…but…what is going on?!” Sombra yelled after the black pony, as he then glared back at the behemoth, now approaching the shore, prompting the unicorn to curse, “Shit. This day just keep on getting better and better…” He then noticed the behemoth pull something from his waist… “Bad day to be resurrected…”

The giant behemoth aimed the device, which is revealed to be a giant claw-like tool, and with a simple pull of a trigger, the claw part of the weapon flew right at the horse. The dark unicorn was barely fast enough to quickly jump to the side as the claw buzzed past him and tightly grasped the tree he had tried to climb.

“Whoa! Watch where you aim your filthy fucking claw!” Sombra roared back at the behemoth, not willing to be intimidated.

Unfortunately, the beast ignored the horse’s harsh words as with a tug of his claw-gun wielding arm, the tree he had unintentionally grabbed was immediately uprooted and sent hurtling towards the behemoth, sending dirt and rock flying everywhere as Sombra ducked under the flying tree.

As soon as he was safe, the dark horse looked at the behemoth as the beast reeled in the dead tree and with a simple lunge, severed the dead piece of wood in two, his face obviously dissatisfied with his catch.

“Hmph. Missed.” Sombra taunted.

The beast only growled in contempt as he slipped back into the lake, disappearing from view.

“That’s right, run like the insignificant spawn you are!” The horse boasted.

“Sombra!”

The dark stallion quickly looked behind past where the dead tree once stood as he saw the black pony again.

“Sombra! This way! We have to go!” The female bellowed, as she ran off into the distance.

“What?! Why?! He’s-” Sombra tried to reason, when suddenly, the ground behind him was smashed into flying rubble as Sombra looked back and saw the behemoth had fired his claw-gun once more, and again, with a pull of the beast’s arm, the ground began to cave behind the dark horse.

“Oh, son of a…” Sombra growled as he quickly galloped away from the collapsing ground, which was now turning into a small fissure.

Unfortunately, the said fissure was proving to be a rather quick one, as the ground in front of him began to collapse as well, prompting Sombra to quickly leap over the newfound voids. However, the fissures that were building had soon surrounded Sombra and it would be a matter of moments before the ground beneath him collapse entirely.

Sombra’s heart began to beat faster as the adrenaline began to kick in. Quickly, he looked ahead for a way to get out of the fissures that would soon trap him, as he soon found another dead tree, getting dragged down into the earth. Seeing his way out, the stallion quickly leapt atop the side of the tree and quickly ran up it as it got sucked into the ground, before doing a bigger leap from the top of it.

The dark unicorn panted, trying to catch his breath, before he heard the frustrated roar of the behemoth in the distance. He looked back and caught the glimpse of the beast, hanging off the side of one of the bigger trees in the forest, quite surprised that the piece of wood can support his weight.

“Crud, that woman was right when she called him a hunter…if only I can use my magic…” Sombra groaned inwardly, as he looked up at his horn, “Come on. I know you can still work. Please, give me something, anything to throw at him!”

The stallion winced his eyes shut as his horn began to glow red once more, flickering like a dying light bulb…however, unlike the last couple of times, the flickering had stopped as his horn’s glow became vibrant, and soon, two small blackish portals materializes, and Sombra’s eyes darted open, as he let out a roar. At the sound of the roar, a flurry of black crystal-like shards shot out of the two portals, flying directly at the behemoth’s face.

Unfortunately, these very sharp shards merely bounced off the behemoth’s face, as the beast gave a mocking grin, before leaping off the tree and into the depths of the forest, leaving the dark unicorn shocked and outraged by what he had done.

“Crystal shards?! Of all the magic I had in my repertoire, all I can muster up are crystal shards?!” Sombra snarled, as he turned away to continue running, “Why can’t I catch a break today?!”

Farther and farther away from the lake Sombra ran, desperately trying to find a way out of this hellish forest and away from that beast, while dealing with the looming threat that the beast could jump out at him at any moment. He would not admit that he was afraid, no way in Tartarus he would ever do that, but the suspense building up and the adrenaline still coursing through his system was putting his mind through a living hell.

The horse’s red eyes kept veering left and right as Sombra kept on running, keeping a vigilant look out for where the beast would strike next. But alas, it was like he trapped in a gigantic labyrinth, stuck in the treacherous game of cat and mouse, the cat being the behemoth. If only he could find someone to-

“Sombra!”

Sombra quickly snarled and rear up his haunches, surprising none other than the black female pony from earlier.

“Whoa! Take it easy, it’s me!” The female tried to sooth, failing miserably as the unicorn glared profusely.

“Just who the hell are you?! Why the fuck is that ‘thing’ after me?!” Sombra roared, both out of shock and anger of the situation he was in.

The black pony sighed, as she ran a hoof through her mane, “My name is Chrysalis. Don’t worry, like you had said earlier, I am from ‘Wendigo May Cry’. I am here to help you.”

“Well, forgive me if I do not feel the least relieved!” Sombra growled.

“Look, I do not have time to explain why the hunter is after you. All I know is that you cannot let him catch you!” Chrysalis explained.

“Geez, thanks for stating the obvious!” Sombra snarled, panting from all the galloping he was doing, “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kill you right now!”

Chrysalis went silent for a moment, before answering, “I can’t…Sombra…I am only trying to help you.”

Sombra let out a huff as he looked away from her, as he continued walking ahead, “I don’t need any commoner’s help.”

“Look, the hunter won’t stop till he catches you. I can lead you to safety!” Chrysalis steps in front of him.

“Please, I am a master of dark magic! I may have not faced a behemoth before, but once I get warmed up, I will smite anything that stands in my way.” Sombra assured, although a part of him felt uncertain of the fact.

“Take it from someone who was as cocky as you once.” Chrysalis closed in, her eyes becoming more serious, “The behemoth is nothing like you had faced back at the Empire.” Sombra was about to rebut, but the black pony only ordered, “Follow me. Now!”

The black pony ran off into the distance as the dark unicorn let out a heavy sigh…but knowing that she was possibly her only hope of not getting killed by the hunter, who is he to look a gift horse in the mouth?

Sombra took off and galloped with all his might to catch up with Chrysalis, who gave a minor look to see if he was following her, only to be relieved. However, Sombra asked, “So, where exactly are we going?!”

“There should be an emergency gate hatch hidden not far from here!” Chrysalis shouted back, not bothering to look back, “We should be in the clear by then, just as long as nothing else happens!”

Unfortunately, as a perfect example of a jinx, Sombra and Chrysalis felt the ground shake under them as from behind them, bashing every tree aside was the behemoth on all four legs.

“You just had to say it, didn’t you?!” Sombra groaned, as he looked back.

The behemoth, seeing his target in front of him, quickly rose on his back legs as he then grabbed a dead tree right next to him, and using his heavily-scarred but well-built muscles, he easily uprooted the tree with both arms.

“Oh crud!” Chrysalis growled as the two continued running.

The beast glanced at the two equines as confirmation and with a heave, the dead tree was now barreling through the forest, descending in altitude, directly at the two ponies.

Sombra and Chrysalis both gasped as they quickly split apart from each other, just as the tree made an explosive contact with the ground…

Meanwhile

A crystal screen was shown as an bird’s eyes view of the entire Everfree Forest was being shown, trees within the giant forest being knocked down by the tree that was thrown earlier by the behemoth. However, the said behemoth seemed to appear as a blurry shadow as it clearly disappeared into the forest. Suddenly, the voice of a certain newspony spoke as the image played.

“Breaking news, we go to our pegasi reporter Bird Eyes. I am not believing what I am seeing.” Honest Truth stated, quite shocked with the scene.

“So you mean that I am not hallucinating?!” The reporter spoke, keeping a camera on the scene.

Back to the ground…

Sombra was low to the ground as dirt rain all over him, watching as the thrown tree skidded along the ground, knocking trees and kicking up dirt.

“Okay, this whole tree uprooting scheme of his is getting real old right now!” Sombra snarled.

“You can complain about the behemoth’s method of capture when he is not chasing you!” Chrysalis snapped, as she was on the other side of the big divot the tree made when it collided with the ground. She quickly rose to her feet, and gestured to her right, “Come on! We have to keep moving!”

“No! I am not going to be the mouse of that beast’s deluded game of cat and mouse!” Sombra growled, as he then stomped forward in the direction of the thrown tree, “Come on! If you want me, come and get it!”

“Sombra! Are you crazy?!” The black pony snapped, “Quicksilver is counting on you being alive! If you are dead then-”

“Then Equestria is doomed? Please, I rather die to this behemoth then die being a coward! If this behemoth is truly as powerful as you claim, why doesn’t he prove it?!” Sombra shouted out to the woods.

The woods went silent for a second, as Sombra waited for the behemoth to make his appearance…but only the sounds of the woodland creatures echoed throughout the foggy air. The dark unicorn only smiled smugly at the black pony, whose eyes and head was shifting left and right on watch out for the beast.

“Hmph. Cowardly beast don’t know how to face me like a stalli-” Sombra’s ears picked up on something, and the unicorn quickly stepped back as out of nowhere, a giant twirling blade, about the length of Sombra, spun right past him, cleaving through even more trees than lumberjacks do on a normal day.

Sombra glared back at the direction of which the hurled blade originated, as the behemoth made his way towards the dark equine once more…but oddly enough, his horn was missing.

However, that did not matter, as the unicorn roared, “There you are! You want a piece of me?! Then take this!” His horn glowed red once more as the two familiar dark portals materialized and fired more crystal shards at the behemoth, but like it did before, no effect was made on the beast, bouncing off his face as it did before. However, it seemed to piss off the beast if anything.

“You realize that won’t work, right?!” Chrysalis shouted, as she ran to Sombra’s side.

“Why not?” Sombra rebutted.

“He’s magicproof!” The mare snapped.

“Magicproof?! How in Tartarus does a brute like that make himself magicproof?!” Sombra stated in shock, ‘In fact, how does anypony make themselves magicproof?!”

“Demon charms.” Chrysalis stated, “Very powerful stuff. Right now with you being at your weakest, fighting him is probably not a wise choice!”

Sombra gave a huff as he glared at the behemoth…only to see that the beast had vanished once more. “Damn it, he’s gone!”

“Forget about him! We need to get to the emergency hatch right now!” Chrysalis stated as she began to run in the opposite direction.

“Forget about him? But doesn’t Wendigo May Cry deal with beasts like that?!” Sombra asked as he turned to follow Chrysalis, still confused with the organization’s actual purpose.

“We’ll deal with him later! Come on!” The black pony explained briefly.

The two equines once again ran through the forest, weaving between trees and ducking under branches in hopes of eluding the beast. Sombra could not comprehend how anyone could find their way through such a place such as this, let alone his companion, who claims to be a member of the same organization that he had just turned down an hour or so earlier.

In fact, as he thought about it, what was this pony? At first glance, one would think that she was an alicorn, a breed he had grown to distaste…but he had never seen an alicorn looked as odd as her. It was like she was caught in some merging magic with a giant insect, and someone had poked holes into her hooves. It was a troubling thought, a thought that he should probably follow up once he got out of this mess. Correction. If he ever got out of this mess.

It was not long however before the two of them arrived in a very large clearing, void of any trees…with the exception of one tree stump, conspicuously placed at the opposite end of where Chrysalis and Sombra were.

“Oh…good. There’s the hatch.” Chrysalis panted, slowing down to a trot, as she pointed towards the stump, “We’re almost home free!”

“For your sake…” Sombra huffed, “And for my hooves’ sake…” He thought, “I hope you are right.”

Chrysalis and Sombra homed in on the broken stump, as the horn of Chrysalis glowed a light green. When it did, the stump suddenly flipped open, as if it was a trapdoor, revealing a stone passage.

The black pony smirked, “Excellent! Now let’s get out of-“

A loud ripping sound was made as suddenly, another tree crashed down in front of the two horses, effectively burying the hidden passageway in tree and dirt rubble.

“Oh come on!” Sombra snarled in exasperation.

“Dammit!” Chrysalis growled, “That was our only hope of getting out of here!”

“Well, what do we do now?!” The dark unicorn demanded.

His desperate question was answered by a loud roar, as Sombra and Chrysalis about-face to see the behemoth once more, lunging out into the middle of the open field, his horn mysteriously back in place, giving a wicked grin as he closed in on his target.

“SOOOoooOOOMBRA!” The behemoth bellowed.

“Looks like you have no choice. You will have to fight him after all!” Chrysalis stated fearfully.

“Me? What about you?!” Sombra snapped.

“My magic won’t do much against him! And as much as I hate to admit it, I am more of a lover, not much of a fighter.” Chrysalis shrugged.

Sombra only snorted in anger, “Typical female! In case you hadn’t noticed, my magic was no good against him either!”

“Let’s change that, shall we?!” Chrysalis smarmed, as she stepped forward. Before Sombra could ask what she was doing, her horn glowed once more and suddenly, a giant black orb formed at the tip, and with a simple flick of her head, the orb was flung at the beast, hitting him straight in the face. Immediately, his face got ablaze, the behemoth shaking his head in pain as he tried to put out the flame.

“Aha! It worked!” Chrysalis smirked, although she winced a bit, clutching her forehead, “His demon charms are rendered powerless. You can fight him now!”

“And you couldn’t had done that before…because?” Sombra asked, his eyes twitching.

“It’s a resistance-breaking charm, and a strong one at that. So strong in fact that it renders the user incapable of performing magic for a while. Kind of a ‘in case of emergency’ kind of magic if you think about it.” The black pony explained, her head aching.

“Well, at least the odds will be more in my favor.” Sombra muttered, as he took battle stance.

“Yes, but do be careful, Sombra. Behemoths are brutal in battle.” Chrysalis warned, as she quickly hid behind the tree that blocked the hatch.

The behemoth manages to put out the fire on his face, leaving the beast heavily scarred in the face, and even more pissed than ever, as he let out a vicious roar.

Sombra scraped his hoof along the ground, getting into a charging position, and gave a cocky smirk, “Guess what? So am I.”

The behemoth and Sombra, as if in sync, let out a battle cry as the dark unicorn charged at the beast, his horn glowing a brighter red, as portals of darkness appeared aside him once more. The behemoth reached and grabbed his horn as he ran, much to Sombra’s confusion, when suddenly, the behemoth pulled it straight off his head, revealing a giant cleaver-like sword.

“What in the name of-“ Sombra gasped, but did not have the chance to finish, as the behemoth then swung the heavy blade in a wide arc with ease, prompting Sombra to quickly duck and darted between the beast’s lower legs.

The hunter quickly about-face as he swung his giant cleaver again, only to meet nothing but air once again as Sombra quickly rolled out of the way.

In retaliation, Sombra gave a growl as his horn glowed bright red once more (having lost concentration at the initial surprise of the behemoth’s horn-made-sword), and black crystal shards fired at the behemoth’s face. But this time, without the ‘demon charm’ to protect his body, the shards dug into the beast’s already-burned face, causing the beast to growl in pain as he gripped his face.

“Oh, you feel it now, don’t you?!” Sombra chuckled darkly.

The behemoth didn’t take kindly to the taunt, as he lunged at the horse, attempting to stab the equine, but Sombra was too quick for him, as he quickly side-stepped the attack, following up with even more crystal shards. The beast only grew madder and madder as he attempts to slice Sombra in two with his lumbering sword, but the dark unicorn managed to duck, side-step, and even flip over each of his swings and jabs.

Watching from the sidelines, Chrysalis only gaped at the skills Sombra was showcasing.

“Celestia…for a guy who was just brought back from the dead, he is handling himself like a true fighter.” Chrysalis mused, “…Ganon wasn’t kidding when he said that he would be of use to us.”

Sombra gave a smug grin as he dodged another stab by the behemoth, as he rushed up to the behemoth’s face, and reared up his right front hoof, a bit of darkness raveling around it and…

SMACK!

Swung it right into the behemoth’s badly scratched face, sending the behemoth flying back a few steps, as the beast dug his claws into the ground to catch itself, his right claw hanging tight onto his sword. The weariness in the beast was apparent, as the giant monster’s breathing was becoming slow and erratic.

“Is that the best you got?! Honestly, I was running from you?! You are pathetic!” Sombra taunted.

Chrysalis’s impressed face turn to a bit of disappointment, “He’s a bit on the cocky side, not to mention an asshole…he’s just lucky that he’s quite a looker.” She stifled a chuckle to herself.

The behemoth glared at Sombra with the utmost hate. He was not going to let his master down, especially to a pony who was supposedly just brought back from the dead! Damn that wretched freak and that charm that broke his immunity! However, if he was going to get his mark, he will have to resort to a dastardly old trick of his…

Sombra gave a grin as he approached the behemoth, ready to unleash another two salvos of crystalline bullets, “Ready to give up, you foul beast? Or will the powerful King Sombra have to put you down?!”

Much to Sombra’s surprise, the beast gave a smile...even more surprising, something black and liquid-like began to leak through the jagged teeth of the beast. Before the dark unicorn could react, the behemoth opened his maw and out of it came a black-like fog, cloaking the entire clearing in darkness.

Chrysalis’s blood froze as the clearing and Sombra disappeared in the cloak of darkness, “What the-SOMBRA?!“

The dark unicorn stood still as he looked around, unable to see anything except for himself. He had never seen this kind of magic before, let alone magic performed by a non-equine being. Sombra gave a dark glare as he tried to pinpoint where the behemoth was, but given how the beast managed to sneak attack him and Chrysalis three times now and manages to appear out of nowhere instantly, he would probably fail in doing so. This beast was all about ‘guerilla warfare’, striking the foe when they least expect it and running when they do expect it.

“Where are you?! Show yourself!” Sombra demanded.

A loud growling sound was the only response Sombra got. Then suddenly, glowing a fiery orange, the same spinning blade that nearly cleaved him earlier (and was probably the sword of the behemoth’s, no doubt) flew at him in a vertical manner. Sombra let out a yelp as he quickly veered to the left and charging up his horn once more, he fired more crystal shards at where the sword come from…however, they hit nothing.

Then, Sombra looked to his right to see the same blade spinning at him, now horizontally. The dark unicorn fired more crystal shards at the blade, hoping to stop the blade, but the spinning buzzsaw of a sword reflected each of the miniscule crystals, and Sombra quickly side-stepped it once more…however, he barely made it, as the tip of the sword grazed the unicorn’s left side, leaving a bad cut.

“Grr, damn it!” Sombra growled, gingerly placing his front right hoof on his injured side, wincing as he felt warm blood stain the hoof. Despite the adrenaline that was surging through him, his entire body began hurting, making moving a rather hard task.

A demonic laugh echoed throughout the fog, much to Sombra’s dismay, as he heard the telltale sound of the spinning sword coming right at him once again, the steel blade flying at him in a vertical manner once more.

Sombra growled as the sword flew at him faster than before, giving him no time to dodge at all (even if he could, his body would refuse to obey his command). The dark unicorn only watched in horror as the sword approached it’s target, mere seconds from hitting its mark. Sombra’s horn glowed once again, the horse’s teeth clenched in frustration.

“No…I can’t lose…not again…not again…” Sombra panted, his mind as tired as his body, and in anger, his mind roared, “NOT AGAIN!”

Suddenly, at the tip of Sombra’s horn, a small shadow crystal appeared above it…but just as the sword was about to make contact, the crystal instantly shifted into a long and jagged black javelin and collided with the spinning blade.

The dark unicorn immediately felt a bit of weight shifted towards him as Sombra found himself wielding (via the magic of his horn) the spear in a parry, holding off the still spinning sword, sparks flying everywhere as the sword tries to break through the spear, but to no avail.

Feeling in control once more, Sombra gritted his teeth as he threw his horn forward, and in unison, the javelin, effectively flinging the flying sword back at whence it had come.

Due to the winds the spinning of the blade generated, the fog that surrounded the battlefield cleared away, revealing none other than the surprised and agonized face of the behemoth, as his own powerful weapon buzzed right into him without warning. A bit of blood splattered around the beast as the blade bounced off the strong muscular frame of the beast, but leaving in it’s wake, a shredded chest.

The behemoth let out a giant roar of pain and agony as he fell to his knees, clutching his wounds with his left front claw, and then collapsing altogether against the ground, making no more sounds except that of heavy breathing, as blood seeped onto the ground, staining the grass.

Chrysalis’s mouth was left gaping as soon as the rest of the fog cleared up, the sight of one of the deadliest creatures she had ever heard about reduced to a bloody heap, all because of a singular pony…if she should even call him such. She looked at Sombra, the dark unicorn letting out heavy pants as he tried to catch his breath. “Just what kind of being are you, King Sombra? You are not a monster as they described…yet you are not a pony…a true enigma if I say so myself.” Chrysalis mused to herself.

After managing to regulate the exercise that his heart was being put through, Sombra gave a glance at the defeated beast before him, secretly relishing in the pain he had inflicted upon the beast that had dared tried to ‘hunt him down’, and with the dark crystalline javelin still within his magical grasp, he approached the behemoth, an evil grin growing on his face…

The behemoth could not comprehend the surge of pain he was feeling. Never in his lifetime had any being that he had hunted had bested him in battle, let alone a measly pony that ‘his master’ wanted dead…then again, he was told that this ‘pony’ that he was to hunt was unique and wasn’t to be taken lightly; the way he fought and how he had managed to survive his ultimate technique he usually reserved for the greatest of marks was proof of that.

A few clops of hooves caused his ears to perk as the beast’s eyes open, only to turn into a fierce glare as his ‘mark’ had a hoof rested on his bloodied horn-blade and a dark spear, encased in a red aura, pointed at him, as Sombra looked down at him with eyes that he knew meant one thing…death.

Sombra gave a cocky smirk as he sneered, “Game…over…”

The hunter let out a pained growl. Deep down, despite how high and mighty he had become, he knew that this day would come…but if there was one thing that a demon like him abided by…it was to never give their foe the satisfaction of victory.

“The son of Shadow…” The behemoth murmured.

“The son of who?” Sombra asked, his cocky grin turning to that of confusion.

The beast smirked, having wiped the smirk off his face, “You had been found…you…are dead…” An even wider grin appeared on the behemoth’s snout, “Just like your whore mother…”

All sense of victory that Sombra felt immediately faded away as he heard the mention of the word ‘mother’…and to take its place, a sense of sheer bitterness and anger had arisen.

“Whore mother?” Sombra asked, giving a sadistic grin, “I don’t know who my mother, but if you are calling me a son of a bitch…” The dark unicorn raised his crystalline javelin, his eyes now turning to complete fury, “YOU WOULDN’T BE THE FIRST!”

His spear went down like a ton of bricks, and a sickening sound of a life ending sent crows perched in the trees flying off into the distance.

Sombra glared upon the now-dead body of the behemoth, as a part of the javelin embedded itself into the beast’s skull, and gave a spit as the remains of his spear dissipated into nothing. The dark stallion let out a huff of anger as he turned away from the corpse, and began to walk away…but as he did so, his cold glare turned into that of sadness, as he gave a glance at a spot he hadn’t looked at in a long time.

The dark unicorn had long ago decreed to himself that a cutie mark (the term itself summoned bile into his mouth) was pointless. It shouldn’t be the mark that decided the destiny, but rather the pony himself. Because of this thought, he had always concealed the mark he had on his flank under his red cloak he wore as king, and to this day, no one had ever known what his mark truly was (although there was rumors that he had a mark of stairs…honestly, because he happened to have a lot of them in his old palace and everyone thinks he has a stairs fetish, the nerves of some ponies…).

Nevertheless, Sombra looked at his tattooed flank. The cutie mark that was branded onto his flank was a rather peculiar one, as it was like a black sun, with three evenly-spaced spiked prongs pointing upwards, and another three pointing downwards. In-between the two pairs of prongs, outlined by the black circle, was a red eye, making the mark in itself ominous.

Sombra had never once understood what this cutie mark meant. All other ponies had marks that clearly signify their natural talents and purposes, yet he of all ponies had no idea whatsoever what his talent was…and at that point and time, he had decided to not lose any sleep over it. But now…as he looked at the mark now…he felt something flickered into his mind.

His mark…the black sun with the red eye…then suddenly, he remembered an image…a young gray-coated unicorn colt with an odd red horn…cuddling with a much older unicorn, female, black mane, coat of the lightest silver and eyes of ruby red…and wrapped around the child…were wings? Sombra couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

“My mother…I barely remember her…who was she?” Sombra thought to himself.

The dark unicorn however just snapped out of his thoughts. The hunter behemoth had kept him so distracted that he forgot what he was doing in the first place: trying to find a way out of the woods. Much to his relief, with all the damage the behemoth done trying to kill him, a part of the woods was nothing more than broken and leveled stumps, making his trek a lot easier.

However, before he could get much farther, he heard a familiar voice called out to him.

“Sombra!”

Sombra let out a sigh, completely forgetting about the black insect-like pony, as Chrysalis ran up to his side.

“Sombra, are you all right?” Chrysalis asked with concern in her voice.

“I’ll live.” Sombra muttered, not bothering to look at her.

“Are you sure? You got a nasty cut on your side that says otherwise.” Chrysalis pointed out, noticing the still-bleeding scratch on the stallion’s side.

“Look, I don’t care what Quicksilver wants from me. I’m still not going to play his little war game.” Sombra growled.

“Oh come on, Sombra!” Chrysalis pouted, “Aren’t you the least bit interested as in why the hunter wanted you dead? And let’s not forget that I helped you back there!”

“I did not ask for your help.” Sombra coldly rebutted as he looked at the black pony.

Chrysalis only stared at the dark unicorn, looking at him fiercely. Her voice, oddly calm, stated, “Sombra. Please come with me. Not just for Equestria’s sake, and not for ours…but for the sake of you not getting your flank killed after all the efforts we put into bringing you back…please.”

Nearly every fiber of Sombra’s mindset wanted to say no to her and leave her there, a smaller amount wanted to kill her for interfering and annoying him (and with a part of his magic back, he could do so)…but despite all the hostility within his mind…there was something in him, and he did not know how dominant that ‘thing’ was, that wanted to follow her.

The image of that young colt and her mother…his mark…what the behemoth had said to him before he died. Somehow, he felt that the only way he was going to get answers for all the questions that had resurfaced after so long was to return to ‘Wendigo May Cry’ with this mare…and maybe Quicksilver might hold some answers.

The dark unicorn took a deep breath as he glanced at Chrysalis with a half-glaring, half-indifferent expression, and nodded, “Fine. I will go with you.”

Instantly, Chrysalis’s face light up, “Excellent.” The female walked past him, heading back into the woods, “Just follow me. Another entrance to the hideout shouldn’t be far from here.”

Sombra merely rolled his eyes as he did so. Deep in his mind, he hoped that he knew what it was that he was getting himself into…

Meanwhile…

A crystal screen had risen up once more, showing the chubby figure of Honest Truth sitting at his desk, as he gave the news.

“We are just receiving reports of a possible terrorist attack that had taken place deep within the Everfree Forest not far from Ponyville. The Royal Guard and police departments of the surrounding area are asking the public to remain vigilant, as further terror attacks could take place anywhere, any time, and when you least expect it.”

Watching the news anchor read on a particularly big monitor amongst all the smaller ones was the black unicorn with the jagged horn, sitting at his desk, with his female companion leaning against it, both watching it with intrigue.

“We have your scent, son of Shadow. Now it’s just a matter of time…” The unicorn stated as an evil grin spread across his face.

Author's Note

Well, welcome to the first long chapter of the story as well as the first action-packed one. For those familiar with DmC: Devil May Cry, you should recognize most of the references. I hope you enjoy reading this.

Chapter Four - Chasing Ghosts

Chapter Four: Chasing Ghosts

Sounds of the Quicksilver's study's doors opening caught the attention of the blue-horned unicorn and his old companion, Ganon, as the two quickly glanced at the entrance, only to be surprised (and secretly relieved) as Sombra made his way into the study, followed by Chrysalis, with a smirk spread on her face.

"Sombra." Quicksilver gasped, "Didn't expect to see you back so soon."

"Well, that would make two of us." Sombra replied, giving an emotionless expression, "You can thank 'her' for that." He gave a glance at Chrysalis.

"Ah. I see that you had met Chrysalis." Ganon smirked, stepping forward, as he glanced at the black pony, "Exemplary work in bringing Sombra back here."

"Ah, it was nothing. I tell you, this guy has an attitude problem like none other…but god, you should had seen how he fought…" Chrysalis chuckled, much to Sombra's annoyance.

"Fought? What are you talking about?" Quicksilver asked.

"A hunter behemoth attacked us." Sombra stated simply, "Beast damn near took my life."

"A behemoth?!" Ganon and Quicksilver gasped in unison, as the older stallion asked, "Celestia, are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Just a scratch, see?" The dark unicorn shrugged as he showed off the now coagulating wound.

"Hmm, impressive…you only had been brought back to life for not even a day and you had managed to best a highly-powered demon with only a scratch." Quicksilver mused.

"Impressive, maybe…but a wound like that shouldn't be left unattended lest it gets infected." Chrysalis interjected, "Maybe I should go fetch Dr. Wiley-"

"That won't be necessary, Chrysalis." Quicksilver raised his hoof as he faced Sombra, "Sombra can easily take of it himself."

"Me?" Sombra questioned, pointing a hoof at himself, "Look, I am a king, and I am a master of dark magic, but I am not a doctor. It's not like I can make my wounds heal by myself." Sombra growled.

"That is where I beg to differ, Sombra. All you need is to concentrate, and focus your energy into your horn." Quicksilver explained.

"Why?"

"Just humor me for a moment." Quicksilver stated firmly.

Sombra let out a sigh as he closed his eyes. His horn began to glow red once more as the light flashed throughout the entire room.

"…Is something supposed to be happening right now?" Chrysalis asked, shielding her eyes.

"Just give it a moment." Quicksilver answered, not bothering to look at her.

The dark unicorn did not take note of Quicksilver's words as his face winced even harder in focusing power into his horn, to the point that the red glow of his horn began to turn blackish-green, and his cutie mark's red eye began to glow a red light of it's own…before the glow disappeared and Sombra's eyes snapped open in shock, panting slightly.

"Sombra, how do you feel now?" Quicksilver asked.

"I feel the same." Sombra stated, before glaring, "What was the point of that? I feel like I just wasted my energy for nothing."

"I wouldn't say that, boy." Ganon said with a smile, "Look at your wound."

Sombra did as such, checking to see if the magic did anything to the wound…only to see his side…completely unscathed. The unicorn practically did a double take to disprove that he was hallucinating, but the wound was gone, as if it was never there to begin with.

"What the…how…this…"

"My god, Quicksilver, you made him speechless." Ganon chortled, "Never though I see the 'King' so flustered by a Shadow Regeneration spell."

"Shadow Regeneration?" Sombra repeated, as he looked at his side once more, "That can't be right…I do not know any regeneration spells…and I happen to be an expert of dark magic! How is it that I never heard of this spell?"

"Simple. Because it is a spell that cannot be taught. It is innate power found within the blood of a select few. Blood not of any ponies. That is why we need you, Sombra…you hold power beyond belief…" Quicksilver explained.

"Again with this nonsense?" Sombra rolled his eyes, "Look, I did not come back here because I had a change of heart. Honestly, I still think you ponies are insane."

"Then why are you back?" Quicksilver asked with a raised brow, "If not to help us, and apparently not because you were nearly killed by a behemoth…then what?"

An answer did not come at first, as Sombra glanced at him grimly, but his grimace softened as he glanced away, letting out a sigh, "It's…it's personal."

"Personal? About an hour ago, you stormed out of here, wanting no part of the organization that you had never heard of before. How personal can your reasons possibly be?" Quicksilver questioned, his raised brow rising higher.

"…The behemoth said something…something that troubled me deeply."

"Sombra. The monster was a demon. Anything that comes from the mouth of a demon is usually disturbing." Quicksilver noted as he walked towards his desk.

"The behemoth mentioned my mother."

Quicksilver froze mid-stride, as he glanced back at Sombra, his expression showing surprise, much like Ganon, whose own expression matched his.

"Your mother?" Quicksilver repeated, as he suddenly closed in on him, "What about her?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." Sombra admitted, "All the beast said was something about 'the son of Shadow' and my 'whore mother'…"

"Did he now?" Quicksilver asked, his expression turning to intrigue.

Sombra noticed his change of expression, "Look…I don't know why he knew about my mother…to be honest, I don't remember her. I don't even know her name, let alone this 'Shadow'…the reason I am here is because I think you might know something about them…"

"What would possess you to think that?"

"Because you said that my past has been erased." Sombra growled, getting tired of the pony's secretive attitude, "I still think what you people are doing is asinine and insane, but right now…" Sombra's expression turned somber, and he looked at Quicksilver with emotionless eyes, "I just have no idea what is going on or why I am getting this feeling…"

"Sombra…" Chrysalis sighed.

"What about your plans on going to the Crystal Empire?" Ganondorf remarked, "Because if we tell you what we know about you…we just wouldn't want to strong-hoof you into doing something you don't want."

Sombra glanced at the old unicorn, "I realized that. That is why I am saying this: I want you to tell me everything you know about me. If in some sort of miracle that I have a change of heart, I will help you…but if not…and given that 'Quickie' here has 'recovered', I want you to take me within walking distance of the Crystal Empire and never bother me again." He looks at Quicksilver and extended his hoof, "Does that sound like a fair deal?"

Quicksilver gazed at the dark unicorn's hoof and then at Sombra, his face not shifting one bit, before giving a small smirk, "Very well, you twisted my hoof." He simply grasped Sombra's hoof, "However, I would much prefer that you refrain from using the term 'Quickie'." He let go as he stepped back a bit.

"So…are you going to tell me now?" Sombra questioned.

"Unfortunately, Sombra, your past is something that cannot be explained merely by words…" Quicksilver explained, "If you are ready to face your past…you must be willing to give us a chance to show you…"

"Show me what exactly?"

Quicksilver gave a serious stare, "Who you really are." He gave sideways glances at Chrysalis and Ganon, "Chrysalis, Ganon…ready yourself."

"Wait, what's going on? Ready for what?" Sombra asked.

No pony answered, as suddenly, Quicksilver's horn began to glow a light blue color, shedding a great amount of light, blinding Sombra's eyes as a weird tingling feeling spread throughout his entire body…

Bits of snowflakes were carried along the blustery winds as the mountainside of the northern mountains were blanketed in pure white snow.

With temperatures as low as the depths of Tartarus being this wide, expansive field of white, there was no pony to be seen for miles, not even an meager shack or hut for anypony to call home…however, there was one place of interest found in this unforgiving terrain…

Built into the side of the great peaks was what seemed to be a mansion, surrounded by looming walls, put together by a great amount of gray stone bricks, and built remarkably to withstand the tests of time. However, it had somewhat failed in completing such a daunting task, as the place itself had fallen into major disrepair, with shattered windows and parts of the mansion's roof caved in, as well as the snow and ice spreading it's dead-like within the stone walls themselves.

The snow-covered courtyard in front of the building seemed like the only place where the extension of the hoof-made creation hadn't reached, the only place within the abandoned mansion that nature reigned over horse.

This reign would had continued forevermore had not a flash of blue light zapped out of nowhere, leaving four horn-donning horses in it's place. Sombra immediately felt the sheer chill of the wintery landscape biting into his pelt, but given how he was raised throughout his childhood and teenage years in such conditions, the dark unicorn merely gave a shiver.

However, one of his companions did not share his resistance to the cold.

"Oh, C-Celestia damn it! Not-not this place again…" Chrysalis groaned as her insect-like body began to shiver, "Why are we b-back here?"

"Sombra wished to know his past, and I intend to show it to him." Quicksilver explained as he continued forward, as a fedora materialized on his head, covering his horn, "Sorry if the cold is of inconvenience to you."

"Grr…oh sh-shut up…" Chrysalis growled, wrapping her hooves around her body to warm up, before a cloak suddenly materialized on her. Quickly looking at Ganon, she gave a small smirk, "T-thanks, Ganon."

"Think nothing of it, dear child. Changelings such as yourselves are not meant for this kind of weather."

Sombra looked at Ganon oddly then at Chrysalis, "Changeling? What do you mean, Changeling?"

"What? Y-you never seen a changeling before?" Chrysalis asked, her gaze turning to shock.

"No." Sombra admitted, before thinking, "I think I might had read something before…to be honest, I thought you were a result of an accident when Faust was making the alicorns."

"Alicorns?" Chrysalis repeated, before giving a somber chuckle, "Huh…if only I was that lucky."

"Well, Sombra, this young lady here is a prime example of a female Changeling." Ganon said, prompting a blush from Chrysalis, "Changelings are very unique breeds. A mix of pony and insect genetic make-up. But what makes them truly unique is that they have the ability to take the form of any pony they desire."

"They can shape-shift?" Sombra repeated, quite amazed, "Is that even possible?"

"Indeed, it is possible."

The loud-royal like voice prompted Sombra to quickly look towards Chrysalis…only to be shocked when he saw white. He looked up at the owner of the white hide and his blood froze as his eyes met that of Princess Celestia herself.

The dark unicorn quickly jumped away, falling to the ground and backing away as he glared at the alicorn, "What the flying-"

A loud laugh bellowed, as Sombra looked back at Ganon with a shocked glance, seeing the old unicorn letting out bouts of child-like chortles.

"Oh my…oh my, you got him good, Chrysalis."

"Chrysalis?!" Sombra repeated, as he looked back at Celestia, only to see the alabaster alicorn laughing with her, except her voice had changed back to her distorted, dual-pony sounding voice.

"Oh, Sombra, you should had seen the looks on your face!" Psuedo-Celestia chuckled, "Your face was like 'HOLY SHIT!' and you scampered away like a scared foal!" Suddenly, Celestia's body went up in green flames, as the white coat and colorful mane changed back to black and blue respectively, and Chrysalis stood in the alicorn's place.

Sombra only snarled, "That was not funny! And I was not scared!" He then muttered under his breath, "You only surprised me…"

"Don't be so obtuse, Sombra." Ganon smirked, "Chrysalis's magic and shape-shifting ability had been beneficiary to our operations since the day she joined us. Needless to say, she had come a long way since her days as queen."

"Queen?" Sombra repeated, as he got to his feet and looked at Chrysalis, whose happy expression quickly faded away to a somber one, "What do you mean-"

"People! This way!" Quicksilver cut off, as he called back to the three, pointing the sheathed sword-shaped cane towards the entrance of the mansion, "You don't want to spend long in this cold."

Sombra however wanted to know more, "Ganon, what do you mean by when Chrysalis was-"

"It's not my place to say." Ganon stated, his expression as somber as Chrysalis, as he walked past him, "I already stepped out of bound mentioning it. Chrysalis is the one that should tell you, when she is ready."

The dark unicorn quickly turned to Chrysalis for answers, but the changeling has already walked past him, as she and Ganon went on to join Quicksilver. Giving a defeated sigh, he went to join the three as they made their way inside the mansion.

Sombra took in the sight of the entrance hallway that led into the heart of the mansion as he and his companions walked into the corridor. He could easily tell that the place had seen better days, certainly not fitting of a noble that would had lived here. Obviously, a question loomed in Sombra's mind as he glanced at Quicksilver.

"What is this place?" Sombra questioned, as he gave a disgusted glance, "Looks like a dump."

"Believe it or not, Sombra…this 'dump' was your home." Quicksilver answered.

The dark unicorn's eyes widen in shock as he looked back at the place, "Home?" Surely, he of all ponies would had remembered living in such a place…yet, his mind was drawing blanks. "I'm afraid that I don't recall."

Quicksilver smirked, "You will. However, this is as far as me, Ganon, and Chrysalis can go. You will have to go alone."

"What? Are you sure that's a good idea?" Sombra challenged, "I mean, I was almost hunted down by a demon this morning."

"Trust me. Demons cannot lay hoof or claw in this place…not anymore at least." Quicksilver reassured.

"Sorry if I am not the trusting type." Sombra rolled his eyes as he glanced towards the end of the derelict hallway.

"It will be fine, Sombra." The blue-horned unicorn smiled, as he pointed forth with his cane (which, as he now looked at it, is a sword in a sheath…but details are not important right now), "Go ahead. This house contains secrets. I had found mine. Now…it's your turn."

"Okay." Sombra sighed, "Wish me luck…"

"I should mention this, Sombra." Ganon added in, "Even though this path is free of demons, what you will find in there might make things rough for you. If it gets too rough for you, don't be afraid to come back here."

Sombra gave a mere chuckle, "Don't worry." He cast a cocky glance at Chrysalis, "I like it rough." Chrysalis stifled a gasp as she blushed a little, Sombra smirking as the horse continued onwards into the next room, not looking back at all.

As soon as Sombra was out of hearing range, Chrysalis gave a concerned glance at Quicksilver and Ganon, "Are you sure this is going to work? Although he wants to find out…I still sense that he doesn't care."

"He's raw. Darkness still clouds his heart…much like when I first found you…Queen Chrysalis." Quicksilver stated, his expression still as stone.

Chrysalis winced at the memory of which he brought up, looking at the ground as she let out a heavy sigh.

Ganon, standing behind the two, let out a deep breath as well, the cold making his breath visible, "Yes…" He looked at Quicksilver, "When I first found you…"

Sombra stepped through the threshold into what appeared to be the foyer of the mansion. Much like the hallway and the appearance of the mansion first-glance, the place was a total wreck, as smashed and over-turned furniture littered the ground, torn tapestries scattered everywhere, and bits of snow covered the floor, courtesy of the gaping holes within the ceiling of the foyer itself. To add the finishing touch, there was a broken chandelier right smack dab in the middle of it.

The dark unicorn gave an once-over of the room, and nodded, "So…this was my home. Well…show me your secrets."

The eerie howl of wind echoed through the cracks and holes of the abandoned mansion, and Sombra's ears perked at the sound of rusty hinges squeaking in the background. The dark unicorn took a few steps forward, stepping around the chandelier, and as soon as Sombra approached the steps, his horn began to glow.

"Huh? That's odd…" Sombra stated, looking up at his horn with confusion, "Why did it-" He was cut off when his head suddenly turned towards the upper left, his horn glowing bright red. "Wha…what is going on with you?" He whispered to his horn, as he glanced at what he was forced to look at…and he noticed a door that was half off it's hinges, swaying in the winds.

Sombra look up at his horn and whispered, "You want me to go that way?"

His horn glowed brighter, like a pulse, pretty much answering his question.

"Well…you never failed me before." Sombra shrugged as he climbed the first set of stairs, and as he turned left to climb the next set, he bitterly remarked, "For the third time at least."

The dark unicorn only walked where his horn pointed him, as he pushed open the broken door and made his way through another desolate hallway.

"Celestia…if there had to be an award for the most unsettling of settings, this mansion would certainly be a shoe-in." Sombra shuddered as he looked at the holes in the walls, possibly caused by pretty big termites.

Eventually, Sombra made his way into what seemed to be another room of the mansion. Like all the other rooms, there were the usual broken windows and furniture and faded wallpaper, but there were also tattered curtains lining the windows of the place. There was only one thing in this room that didn't seem broken, and it was a painting.

The dark unicorn's eyes gazed upon the room, when suddenly, like earlier this morning, images began to flicker through his mind, so much that it caused Sombra to stagger a bit…but as soon as he recovered, he looked upon the room once more, and if like a wave of magic swept over it, the room seemed to restore itself, the faded wallpaper regaining it's vibrant color, the curtains were no longer tattered, and bookcases, filled to the brim with books, stood tall around the room. There were also four couches and two tables, and a plethora of elegant chairs placed expertly between each bookcases.

"I…I remember this place…I don't know how…but I do." Sombra whispered as he walked further into the room, as the elegant room soon faded back to it's devastated state, a hollow shell of what the room once was.

Catching the dark unicorn's attention as he made his way into the room was none other than the painting. It appeared to be an image of a stallion, his silver coat a smidge darker than his, wearing what seemed to be military regalia. His hooves were rested on a hilt of an expertly well-crafted sword, made of silver and possibly crystal by the look of it. Propped against the table in the image next to the horse was a silver shield…bearing a mark that looked similar to his cutie mark, except no color in the eye part of the sun. Sombra gazed up at the face of the stallion, only to be met with confusion.

Although the painting itself seemed to be in excellent shape, the spot of where the stallion's face should be was torn off, leaving a gaping white hole where it should had been. All that was left that Sombra could make out was that the stallion appeared to be a unicorn, the tip of it barely sticking out of the ripped hole.

"Who in Celestia's name are you?" Sombra asked no one in particular, as he glanced down to the bottom portion of the portrait, where a golden plaque was placed. On it, a name was inscribed…

'Shadow Moriarty'

Sombra glanced closer, squinting to see if he saw right, "Shadow?"

Immediately, the demonic voice of the behemoth echoed in his head, reminding him of what he had said, "Son of Shadow…"

The dark unicorn looked up at the portrait, his gaze turning to shock, "This…this is my father?"

His horn gave a glowing pulse once more, as Sombra's eyes averted down to below the plaque, a giant golden sun emblem, similar to the cutie mark he bore, and in the supposed eye of the emblem, it began to glow a dull red, much to his confusion.

"What are you trying to show me?" Sombra said aloud. Looking at the eye of the emblem, he looked at his front right hoof, and following on a hunch, he inched the hoof towards the circle.

As soon as his hoof was within millimeters of the indentation, he felt a strong force pulled his hoof into the 'eye, as pain began to surge through his caught leg. Sombra tried to pull away, but whatever force was at play, it didn't want to let go. The dark unicorn only eyed his caught hoof, as suddenly, a black-wispy tendril began to inch it's way up his leg. Sombra's eyes tracked the black vine-like substance as it made it's way towards his neck, around his snout, and eventually, it made contact with his horn.

In that moment, his horn began to glow both red and a ghastly green and violet color and the white of his eyes flickered green as his vision went white…

A voice echoed in his head,

"Remember Sombra…there will be a time that I and your mother cannot protect you…when that day come…may the argent crystalline blade of the Thestral guide your wayward hoof…"

Sombra let out a gasp as he managed to wrench his hoof free, as he took a couple of steps back, his head feeling like it had been run over by a train…soon followed by a herd of buffalo bandits, as he held it low to the ground…then he heard something stab the ground in front of him.

The stallion looked up and gaped as the sword he saw in the painting…was now thrust in the ground in front of him. Sombra quickly glanced at the sword, and then at the painting, not believing the striking similarities between the picture and the blade itself.

The sword's blade was about a hoof wide in width, and about six to seven hooves long in length. The blade's width however increases as it reaches the tip of the sword. The hilt was that of an ornate head of a horse, the blade coming out of it's maw, and two diamonds serving as the horse's eyes, but at the top of the horse's head, it was a giant red orb, gleaming brightly along with the pristine silver body of the blade. Sombra glanced at the edge of the sword, and saw ancient runes etched into the sword.

Although runes were never one of his strong points…he oddly could read the symbols as if it was plain English…it said, 'Thestral'

"Thestral, huh?" Sombra mused, as with his magic, the sword lifted from the ground and was levitated towards him for closer inspection. Purely for jest, with a single thought and a swing of his horn, he flourished it around, the swishing of the silver crystal blade ringing in his ear. "Not bad. Still…I wonder…what was that voice?" He looked back at the painting, and shook his head in defeat, no use in trying to find out now.

Sombra glanced back at the newly-obtained sword. His horn surged, and the sword dissipated into nothingness. Before Sombra could get a reaction as to where the blade had gone, he felt something cold appeared on his back, and the dark unicorn look to see the Thestral, firmly attached to his backside as if by magic.

Then suddenly…he heard…children laughing? Sombra glanced towards the doorway to the right of where he originally came in. What was that? Was there someone in this place aside from him? Sombra tried to dismiss that theory. That was preposterous. He was the only one in here…even then, what would foals be doing in this ominous place? It was probably all in his head…

The laughter echoed once more, more profound than ever. Nope, no way in Tartarus that was in his head.

"Who's there?!" Sombra called out, hoping for an answer, but the laughter continued. Determined to find out, Sombra followed the noise through the new doorway. The dark unicorn's horn glowed red once more as he walked through the hallway, and was soon coming face to face with another room.

However, as soon as Sombra made his way through the next threshold, his eyes widen in shock.

He was back within the main foyer of the mansion, on the ground floor.

"What? But…how? I…there was no…" Sombra stammered, trying to make heads and tails of this. His eyes surveyed the entire room. It was exactly as Sombra saw it when he first entered the room. The broken chandelier, the hole in the ceiling, everything was the same. The only difference he could think of was now him, holding probably a fifteen-pound piece of sharp silver on his back. Sombra only grimaced, "This…this is becoming strange."

The sounds of children laughing filled the air once more, causing Sombra's eyes to quickly dart around, trying to pinpoint the origin of such innocent-sounding laughter. However, his horn seemed to had caught on quicker than he did, as it glowed and, without his say so, turned the unicorn's head towards the upper right half of the room.

Sombra winced at the force of his horn pulling on him, but when he opened his eyes again…he had to blink them again to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

Up on the second floor, running along the side paths of the foyer, there appeared to be two young unicorns, both colts by the look of it, both shrouded in a cloak of eerie gold, so much that Sombra couldn't make out their coat colors. However, he could see that their barely-developed horns (both of which seemed to have a blade-like curve to them) were glowing and along with them, two wooden toy swords. The two colts were deep in the throes of play-fighting, as their wooden weapons clapped against each other.

The dark unicorn had no idea what he was seeing. Ghosts? Illusions? A hallucination? The more time he seems to spend in here, the stranger things become…as he looked at the two colts, he could not help but focus on the one on the left…he looked…familiar…but he doesn't know why.

His contemplation was interrupted when he heard them laugh again, namely, the colt he was focused on.

"Hahahaha, wooo!" The young colt cheered in a chipper tone as he swung his sword.

Then the other colt spoke, his voice a bit deeper than the one, but nonetheless cheerful, "This way, Sombra!" The dark unicorn nearly froze.

The young colt gave a nod, "Ok!" He then let out a playful roar, "Raaaaa! Hahaha, can't catch me!" With that, the colt on the left ran through the nearby door…literally. He just phased through it, and soon following him, the other colt did as well.

Sombra felt his mind go blank, as he asked himself, "Sombra? Did I hear that right?"

Without another thought, the dark unicorn made his way back up the stairs and to the door of which the two colts had disappeared through. Not willing to check to see if the door was locked, he blast the door off its hinges with his hooves, and made his way into the new hallway.

Through it, he instantly saw the two colts running down the hallway.

"Wait! Stop!" Sombra called out to the gold-covered colts, but his voice seemed to drop on deaf ears, as he continued following the foals.

However, he soon came into another room. Sombra stopped as soon as he did, staring at his new surroundings, forgetting about the colts for the moment. It looked like he had ran into a bedroom, although like the rest of the place, it was in pretty bad condition, with the same hole in the roof producing snow, and shattered windows letting bit of light into the room.

Sombra glanced to his right and saw a small bed, next to what was left of an old dresser and a cabinet...then to his surprise, he saw the two colts laughing still, as one of them crawled underneath the bed, soon followed by the other.

Looking at the two children playing, his sight began to flicker, as images appeared in it's place. However, one image soon became clear to him…the young colt that he was focused on…then it hit him.

"…That was me!" Sombra stated, as if he just solved a hard problem, approaching the bed, "I remember this!" He came to the foot of the bed…and then noticed something on the floor. Lowering his head to the floor, he saw a wooden shield. Picking it up with his hoof, he immediately saw the insignia on it…the same black sun as his mark.

As his red eyes stared at the insignia…another image flickered through his mind…

"How much of your foalhood do you remember?"

It was in the middle of what seemed to be an endless ocean. Broken rubble and pieces of buildings were suspended in mid-air all around in a big circle.

Four chains, made of crystals as black as night, extended from four spires, erected in a diamond-like pattern.

Their reach extends about a mile long, as they all meet up at one point…or one pony.

A singular pony was limply hanging, the chains coiled tightly around his four hooves, spreading them wide. From below him, four more chains were sprouted from a lonely piece of land, connecting to a collar that was bound on his neck.

At first glance, it seemed that the pony was dead, proven more so by the scars on his body and the stillness that the body itself assumed.

However, without explanation, one of the chains that lead up to his collar suddenly snapped, the shattered links falling to the ground.

The pony, somehow sensing the change in his entrapping chains, merely look up, his filthy wet black mess of a mane covering his eyes. The eyes then began to glow…an oddly red and green color…

"Sombra…" A feminine voice called out…

"If you are ready to face your past…you must be willing to give us a chance to show you…"

"How is it that you know my name?"

Sombra took a few steps back, dropping the wooden shield. He shook his head to clear that perturbing image from his mind…

"What the…what the hell was that about? Who was that?" Sombra thought, that hung horse image stuck in his mind.

He wasn't given much time to think about it, as his horn forced him to look towards another door, much to Sombra's annoyance as he glanced up at his horn.

"You know, I can find my own path. I do not need to be dragged around like some rag doll." Sombra growled, as he started heading into the next hallway, "I wonder what else this place has in store for me…"

So Sombra made his way through another set of hallways, in the process, he began noticing that all of the hallways had begun to look alike.

"Faust…I would enjoy killing the idiot that designed this place. How is it that this place is so big on the inside then it is on the outside?" The dark unicorn fumed, as he soon came to a fork in the hallway, "Because this is getting…"

He stop mid-sentence, as suddenly, running in front of him, a fully grown mare appeared. This female had the same golden glow as the two children did…but what shocked Sombra, aside from her sudden appearance, was the fact that she was an alicorn. There was no denying those long wings folded into her back and the clear horn jutted out of her forehead.

"SHADOW!" The mare screamed, causing Sombra to step back in surprise, "They're here! THEY'RE HERE!" Fear was obviously found in the alicorn's eyes, "They've found us!" Then she suddenly ran off down the hallway.

"What...what happened here?" Sombra asked, "And who are they?"

However, the mare's voice echoed through the hallway, "We got to get out now! Hurry! Come on, quickly!"

Without a second thought, Sombra followed the path that the mare taken, and soon, he found himself…back in the main foyer once more, except coming from the original entrance of which he took in the first place.

"Okay, I am starting to see a pattern here." The dark unicorn growled, as he looked around…before he heard the mare's voice again, prompting Sombra to look up to the top left of the foyer, as he saw the alicorn ran through the upper hallway.

"No no no…how did they find us?" The mare fearfully whispered as she phased through one of the side door.

"That voice…" Sombra noted, as he took the stairs back up again (maybe those fools were onto something when they thought he liked stairs) and walked towards the door the mare had disappeared through, "I know that voice…"

With a simple buck of his front hooves, he smashed his way through the door. Walking past the newly-made splinters of the doors, he made his way into the next room…and to his bemusement, he found himself in a room similar to the one where he acquired the Thestral. Same rectangular shaped room, same tattered curtains, same shattered windows…same everything. Also, like the first room, this room contained a painting.

Sombra approached the painting as he did with the first one…and was awestrucked. While the painting of his 'father' had the face of the unicorn torn off, this painting had remained unscathed. It was an image of the mare that led him here. She was a beautiful mare, her coat as silver as his, her wings long and wide, her mane smooth, and running down the back of her neck and a bit of it hanging between her eyes…and her eyes…were like his…the most beautiful orbs of rubies that he had ever seen. In her hooves, she had a blue rose…a flower that is beside beautiful, a great rarity.

Recognizing the similarities between her and the mare in his vision…his eyes squint to see if he wasn't seeing things… "Is that…Mother?" His question seem to had answered itself, as he noticed a necklace on the mare's neck…it was that of a black sun…

The black sun…his mark…the image of him…as a young unicorn colt, cuddling up to the mare from the picture. He could see the warm smile on her face, looking at her child with the utmost love, wrapping her long pegasus-like wings around him. Then he heard a voice…

"I love you, Sombra."

Sombra's eyes nearly became misty as he saw the picture. He glanced downward and like with his father's portrait, he saw the plaque, whose inscription was as such:

'Zelda Moriarty'

"Zelda…beautiful name." Sombra admitted, when suddenly, his horn glowed once again. Remembering a past instance, Sombra stared further down, and saw the same sun emblem as he did before, except the light that was being emitted was blue in color.

Looking at his hoof knowingly, Sombra held his hoof towards the 'eye'…and like before, except without much force behind it, he felt his hoof attached to the eye once again. There was no pain or tendrils like last time, but his horn glowed bright red and he felt his eyes flicker green once more as everything went white…

Again, he heard a voice…although there was something…rather motherly about it this time around.

"Be safe, my child…it is a cold world out there…allow me to gift you with warmth, even when I can no longer shelter you with my wings…"

Sooner than it was caught, his hoof was released, allowing Sombra to step back as he glanced at the painting. Sombra only let out a heavy sigh…when he felt something fell on the back of his neck. Quickly grasping it with his magic, Sombra pulled the object in front of him to see what it was…only to frown in melancholy.

In front of him dangled a scarf, blood red in color, woven perfectly and without stitches.

Deep in his mind, Sombra knew he had seen this piece of clothing before, but he felt his mind drawing blanks once more.

"Hmm…warmth…how thoughtful." Sombra whispered to himself, as he wrapped the red piece of cloth around his neck, tying the tails of the scarf into a knot. Running his hoof along the smooth threads, Sombra gave a quiet huff…then suddenly, he heard something.

The stallion looked towards a nearby doorway, and feeling the need to investigate, he walked into the next hallway, which began to slant downwards…when he heard a harsh voice bellowed through the air.

"You! Get after her!"

Sombra stopped, not recognizing the voice at all…but it sounded like orders he had once given to his soldiers when he was taking over the Empire…as well as the soldiers that he 'bended' to his will when they were apprehending rebels…but who are they-

His thoughts, for the umpteenth time during his trek here in the mansion, were interrupted when he saw the golden illusion of his mother running past him. By instinct, Sombra glanced behind him to see what the mare was running from…but there was nothing, no illusions of Faust-knows-what. The dark unicorn only stared back at where her mother had fled, when he heard another order,

"Down there! Cover the doors! MOVE!"

Despite not seeming to be in any danger, Sombra began moving at a quicker pace through the hallway the direction his mother had went, not liking the tone of the voices (ah, cruel irony…how he hated it). Then he heard the voice of his mother…

"UH! Get away from me! GET. AWAY. FROM ME!" The alicorn's voice bellowed throughout the hall, dripping with panic, anger, and desperation.

"What happened here?" Sombra whispered, "Who is responsible for all of this?"

He looked up at his horn, "Any idea?" No answer. "Thought so. My mother was an alicorn…and my father was a unicorn…and I have no idea what's so special about him or the sword on my back…this is so confusing."

He looked ahead and saw the mare phase through another set of doors, and his horn glowed as soon she did. He came up to the door and did what he did with the last two sets of doors he came across…he smashed it with his hooves.

"You know. I am starting to get sick of knocking down these doors. My hooves are getting splinters." The dark unicorn huffed, "Damn my lack of patience for checking doors."

He walked into the room behind the door, and gave an amused huff. He had found himself in a library. As expected, the place was a total wreck, with broken shelves and tattered rugs. There were books, of course, although barely enough for a library of such size he was in, and although he is not an expert on books, he could sense that they were ruined and aged beyond recognition.

"And what would a mansion filled with these odd illusions be without a ruined library?" Sombra chuckled to himself, "I wonder if I will find a secret passage by pulling a book." He let out another laugh, before something caught his attention.

In the middle of the library, next to a ruined pedestal, he saw a shattered vase, but among the remains of the broken porcelain, he saw a flower. Normally, he wouldn't give it much thought…but the flower itself wasn't wilted, which perturbed the stallion. Everything he had seen up to this point had either been torn, smashed, and shattered beyond recognition (the two paintings exempted), yet this one flower is still alive, in the middle of a mansion that possibly hadn't been visited in years.

Sombra approached the plant, and became even more confused. The 'flower' in particular was a rose…a blue rose. He had read a lot of books on botany, and he had heard of roses being of an azure color, but they were always chalked up to be nothing more than legends. Now, seeing one in a place such as this…this had to be more than a coincidence. Then he thought back to the portrait of his mother. She had a blue rose in between her hooves…could it be that she had tended to this flower?

"A blue rose…what significance did you have to this place?" Sombra whispered as he picked the azure-petal flower for closer inspection.

Then…an image flashed through his mind once more.

"Sombra…it really is you."

The endless ocean…the imprisoned, hanging between four spires, bound by chains…the suspended pieces of concrete surrounding the prisoner…

The prisoner still laid motionless, hung by the chains that keep him there. His ribs poked through his pale gray body, showing obvious signs of starvation and thirst. Yet, somehow, he showed evidence of life.

His collar was still attached to him, three of the four chains still holding strong, even though they had lost one of their own.

However, this did not remain, as suddenly, one of the links shattered, without any reason as to why, sending it's remain hurtling towards the land below him to join it's fallen bretheren.

The stallion, once again, took note of the destroyed chain, and in a sense of déjà vu, he glanced up and his eyes, still hidden by his caked mane, glowed a fierce red and green once more…and it went white yet again.

"What…who are you? Why are you chained?" Sombra had managed to get out.

"Sombra…" There was that voice again…

"Crystals…"

Sombra recoiled, taking a few steps back. He then looked back to his hoof, only to see that the blue rose had vanished. He frowned in confusion, did he imagine that rare piece of plant? Or was it another trick that this mansion was playing on him?

He came here to find out about his past…only to have more questions asked of him. Why was his mother, Zelda, an alicorn? Who was his father, Shadow? And why do demons like the behemoth hate him? Who was that boy that his younger self was playing with? What of the sword and the scarf that was bestowed upon him mysteriously? And what had happened to his parents to begin with, let alone this place that was his 'home'?

"Damn it. I was supposed to find out who I am…" Sombra growled, as he then yelled out to the air, "Well?! I was promised answers from you! I told you to show me your secrets! I am King Sombra, and I demand…" His anger began to falter, "No…beg...of you to tell me. Why are you showing me these images? I just WANT ANSWERS!"

He pounded the floor with his hoof, causing a small crystal spire to form around it, letting out an angry roar. His roar echoed throughout the entire mansion, and only silence was given in reply to his outburst.

Sombra let out a heavy sigh, as he yanked his hoof from the black crystal as it shattered to nothingness. What was he doing? Getting angry and yelling at a house for not spelling things out for him. Had he really stoop this low and became that pathetic?

His horn gave a faint glow, as it turned Sombra's head towards yet another hallway.

Stifling a groan, the dark unicorn walked towards the threshold, not knowing how much of this fool's errand he is willing to take. Maybe this path will take him back to the entrance, and he can give that unicorn a piece of his mind before forcing him to take him to the Empire…and he can go on to achieve his rightful dest-

CRACK!

Sombra glanced downwards, and saw what seemed to be a photo frame.

"…Great." The dark stallion mumbled.

Delicately, he removed his hoof off of the picture and using his magic, he levitated the photo up to his face, wondering what it could be of…only to be dumbfounded…

The picture itself was in black and white, but color could not make a difference as to what it was of. He instantly recognized his mother, donning her necklace, her smile hauntingly bringing warmth to his heart, and next to her, the face concealed by the crack of the glass, the unicorn that could be none other than his father, wearing nothing this time.

However, they were not alone. Sitting in front of the two lying adults were two young colts, exactly like the ones he had seen earlier. The one that sat in front of his father was a unicorn with well-groomed white (or is it silver?) hair with a dark-colored…blade-like horn. Next to him, lying in his mother's hooves, was…

In that moment, Sombra's entire mind and body froze, as he saw none other than the young child-like figure of himself, giving a smile that not even he remember giving. And soon enough, his past, everything that was said to be lost to that fever he suffered from, had begun to piece itself back together.

Sombra only said to himself, trembling lightly, "I remember…"

The image of his mother and him as a child cuddling together flashed through his mind.

"I remember my mother…her name was Zelda Moriarty."

Then his cutie mark came to mind.

"Her necklace…it matches the mark on my flank…it was a mark that signified the excellence I shown in magic…just like her."

Another image revealed itself. It was his foalhood self, wearing that same red scarf, lunging mid-air with the wooden sword in his magical grasp, right at the other colt, with a blue-colored horn and a black sun cutie mark like his, except with a blue eye instead of red, play-fighting in what was a snowy meadow…

"I had a brother too."

He must had won, as it showed the younger him, lending a hoof to the colt, lying on the ground defeated, a smile not leaving his face.

"We were a family…"

His family stood together atop a hill watching the sunset, his brother's hoof wrapped with his father, whose other hoof was wrapped with his mate, whose own hoof was wrapped with his own. The sunset however began to turn into a stormy, twirling cloud of lightning.

"I never realized…never known that my family was in constant danger."

Soon, the cloud turn into a face of a hideous beast, the face contorted in that of unprecedented rage.

"The demons…they found us."

Suddenly, he saw the doors that grant access to his home here, in this ancient mansion, burst open, revealing a tall unicorn, bald and with a knife-like jagged horn…

"When they broke in…I saw him."

Sombra's face contorted into a dark glare, the image of that unicorn etched deep into his mind, not forgetting those demented eyes of his…

His mind became flickering like crazy, but it would not stop him from remembering what that black unicorn had done…

The black unicorn had his mother laid out on a table, held against her will, as the monster of a unicorn dug his teeth into the alicorn's chest and…with one tug of his jaw, Sombra saw him…ripping out her mother's beating heart, blood gushing everywhere…all in front of him.

Obviously, despite his small stature, the younger him had tried to stop him…but he was being held captive as well, by a demon…a stallion without eyes and a demented grin stuck on it's face.

"She…she sacrificed herself so that we could escape."

The young Sombra stood there, in the midst of all the carnage that the demons had caused, trying to hold the cold limp body of the now-heartless alicorn. His eyes…they became filled with hatred and anger, his ruby eyes burning bright.

"I will NEVER forget what he did to her."

Suddenly, the image flashed to outside the ruined mansion's gate, where he stood by his father, holding his hoof.

"My father…Shadow Moriarty took my brother and I away. Separated us. Hid us safely away in places they would never look…wipe our memories and replaced them with new ones…all so he could protect us."

Sombra stood there in the library, as the photo frame dropped to the ground, breaking off a corner of the frame, his eyes becoming misty as the dark stallion shuddered heavily.

"That is why I could never remember…not until now…" He stated firmly to himself, before wincing his eyes to keep in the tears.

Not bothering to look at the picture frame again, Sombra stepped out into the hallway…when he heard the wind howling once more, feeling cold air brush against him, prompting the unicorn to shield his eyes.

"Grr…god damn wind." Sombra cursed.

"Sombra?"

Instantly recognizing the gruff voice of a certain old unicorn, Sombra lowered his hoof and silently gasped in surprise as he found himself back in the entrance hallway where he had begun. In front of him was none other than Quicksilver, Ganon, and Chrysalis, their eyes trained on him with concern.

"Are you feeling alright, Sombra?" Chrysalis asked, "You looked like you saw a ghost."

"Three actually…" Sombra replied as he approached the trio.

"So…did you find what you were looking for?" Ganondorf asked.

Sombra gave a faint nod, "Yes…you might say that."

Quicksilver glanced at Sombra peculiarly, "And what exactly may that be?"

The dark unicorn looked at his fellow unicorn with the blue horn. It took him a moment to gather his thoughts (which is probably a heaping mess right about now), and taking a deep breath, he looked at Quicksilver like he would had looked at someone he hadn't seen in a long time.

"You are my brother." Sombra noted, the term 'brother' somehow foreign to him.

Chrysalis's eyes widen as she quickly looked at her leader…then at Sombra…then back to her leader, her jaw gaping, "Brother?"

"Twin brother to be exact." Quicksilver explained, his grim glance turning to that of hidden joy, placing his hoof on Sombra's shoulder, "I had been wanting to meet you for a long…long….long time."

"I don't understand…how can you two be brothers?" Chrysalis asked, "I mean…I don't seem to see the resemblance."

Quicksilver gave a smirk at the changeling, "It's quite uncanny, really…but it is true. Observe."

The blue-horned unicorn flick back his left front hoof, pulling up one of his coat's tails. Sombra stifled a surprised gasp as he saw the same black sun on his flank, with a blue eye right in the middle.

"You and I had earned our cutie marks at the same time. We both had shown unmatched potential in the power of magic, powers that unicorns at our age could not achieve without years of practice." Quicksilver declared, "I believe our mother knew this moment come…that we would be together again."

"Indeed." Ganon added, "It is concreted by the fact that your father had left a charm on this place…the illusions, the spacial paradox of the mansion…he had enchanted this place in hopes that you two would come back here."

"…What did happen to our father?" Sombra asked.

Quicksilver's expression returned to grim, "I don't know. All I can feel in my heart and soul is that he is gone…never to return."

A pang of pain struck Sombra's heart chords as he heard those words. Sombra turned his back against the three, as he felt something leaving his right eye, trailing down his right cheek. He reached to feel the cheek with his hoof, and felt a bit of wetness. Did he…did he just shed a tear?

"Well, we showed you your past…do you what you will with it." Quicksilver stated, keeping up the appearance of doing business.

The dark unicorn, being brought back to his senses, quickly wipe the tear away as he placed his hoof back on the ground. Sombra turned around to face the three ponies once more, surprising Ganon and Chrysalis as they saw anger in his eyes. Not the kind of anger that Sombra had been giving off last night and this morning…but an more furious and more calm of anger that make him…intimidating.

"I want to know more." Sombra declared, "Where we come from, what happen to our lives…" His eyes burn brighter, "Furthermore, I want to know the bastard responsible for all this."

"Sombra…" Ganon whispered.

"Does this mean you will join us?" Quicksilver questioned, "Because once you get in, there is no backing out. As a member of 'Wendigo May Cry', your loyalties lies with us and to the ponies of Equestria. You must stick to our goals till the bitter end…do I make myself clear?" He extends his hoof to emphasize his question.

It did not take Sombra even a moment to know his answer. Right now…his destiny to rule the Crystal Empire…it didn't seem to matter. All he could feel was one thing…revenge…not one against the alicorns, the filly and her dragon…but the one who had ruined his life from the start. The sick grin on the black unicorn's face…it angered him to no end, knowing that he was still alive. In the name of his mother…an alicorn…he would make him pay.

Sombra mashed his hoof with Quicksilver, looking his brother dead in the eye, giving a simple nod.

"Whatever it takes."

Quicksilver returned with a smug grin.

"Then let us be off….we have work to do."

Author's Note

Okay, another long chapter did and done. You can thank the fact that Mission 2 of DmC: Devil May Cry is very long itself for that.

I would like to thank RadBunny and YouTube's NastasiaSolitude for inspiring the red scarf that Sombra now wears on his neck.

You should really check out RadBunny's story The Tale Of One Shadow as well as NastasiaSolitude's video of the same name that inspire his fic here. Trust me, if you are a Sombra fan, you will like it.

I hope you liked this chapter and that you will leave a review and tell your friends.