From the Shadows

Sombra sat on his throne, looking down at one of his many recently conscripted officers from the town below as the stallion tried to explain himself.

"My liege, we simply need more time. Your army is not ready to invade the Crystal Empire yet."

Sombra sighed, and began twirling the axe he'd dueled Celestia with, which doubled as his scepter, in the air, his posture slouched as he rested his chin on his hoof, braced against the black armrest of his throne.

"Captain," the king began, his voice cold and sophisticated, "You were the one in charge training Celestia's guard, were you not? That is what saved you; that is the only reason I kept you alive when your peers were...taken care of."

The stallion below him grew visibly afraid; Sombra could taste his anxiety.

"And now you are telling me, that you are unfit for the only job I have given you?"

The stallion, clad in obsidian, crystalline armor, pleaded upwards with Equestria's newest ruler.

"My king, it takes time to train even professional soldiers to invade a country, and you've given me nothing but bakers and tailors. They are more afraid than they are convicted; they are not ready to go to war yet."

Sombra rose from his throne, and began a descent down to the stallion, carrying his axe over his shoulder. The stallion grew blatantly terrified, then extremely surprised when Sombra passed him, saying nothing more than, "Come with me."

Sombra began a stroll through the halls of Canterlot palace, the once sparkling interior of the castle changed to a gothic, black design of crystals growing over the walls, and covering up tapestries and art that once characterized the palace. The windows were obscured by the ebony minerals, and light was rare, only a few beams able to push through the exterior in singular beams of weak sunlight.

"Be honest with me captain," Sombra said, "the only thing that will bring punishment to you now is telling me something I want to hear, rather than the truth."

Another wave of fear hit Sombra like a wave, and he tried his best to suppress the pleasure.

"To what extent would you go to reclaim your home?"

Sombra turned crimson eyes to meet the bloodshot gaze of his company.

"If you saw it being torn apart from within by false leaders and corrupt politicians, would you oust them? If you had everything taken from you, would you fight to get it back?"

"Yes, your honor."

"You would fight?"

"Of course, sir."

"Would you give up the principles that had reared you since foalhood?"

"Yes, my king."

"Would you kill?"

"If I had to, sir."

"Your own comrades?"

The stallion went silent, and Sombra loosened the intensity in his gaze as he continued down the hall.

"I'm sure you would," Sombra said as his echoing footsteps continued down the hall, "I have no doubt that you would fight for your home. I have, and I will continue to do so."

"I also have no doubt that, if a change in leadership was called for, and none of your peers were deemed fit for rule, you would rise up. I know you would; all would, if only they put aside their false conceptions, construed upon them by the world, and refused to be ruled by others."

The pair continued their progression down the hall, the only sound, other than Sombra's baritone, being the sound of their hooves clicking against the floor.

"I have no doubt that, as you sought to save your homeland from itself, you would try to cling to your morality; you would try to remain good, until you realized that, though it is constantly presented as such, the world is not separated into two categories of good and evil."

"I know that you would fight to remain good, until you realized that, to your own horror, you weren't. You would become confused, but, you would rediscover your purpose once you embraced that the world is so much more evil than good. You would embrace your own evil, and harness it, use it as a source of power and strength, an inspiration to you and those that shared your purpose, and together, under your leadership, you would succeed. You would oust the evil that had plagued your country for so long, and replace it with your own darkness."

"But, I am also sure that, once you attained your rule, you would vow to keep your country from falling into another pit of corruption and decay, and you would see that the only way to do so, would be through absolute power. You would recognize that checks and balances do not work, and only promote inaction. You would seize the reigns of the country you tried so hard to save, and you would indeed save it, without tolerating interference from your peers."

"You would take action; you would begin to bring your country out of the pit it had fallen into, and, without interference from morals, a new era of prosperity would befall your home, because of your sacrifice. But, I also have no doubt that, because of the strength and success you brought about, your new followers, the citizens you ruled, would grow to expect that same prosperity instead of appreciating it. And, when, for a short time, everything is not as perfect as you had made it when you seized control, those citizens would rebel."

"I have no doubt that you would try to reason with them, that you would tell them that you would fix everything, but they would only want more. They would feel entitled because of your success, and they would betray you as soon as anything less than perfection arose. So, you would do what you had to; you would let your evil out once again."

Sombra's voice did not rise, but the passion in his voice and his breathing increased sevenfold.

"You would be forced to remind them of their position, below you, and that your authority was not to be questioned, because without unity, the strength you tried so hard to establish would rot. You would let them know that, despite their beliefs, the good of the country was more important than the good of an individual. You would be forced to remind them of this, and you would do it through cruelty to make the message hit home, not to be forgotten. They would rise to protest and rebel against your rule, because of a short period of anything less than utter perfection, and you would suppress them. You would use fear, something that is easy to use and too potent to be overlooked, to control them. You would give them the tasks that are horrible beyond comprehension; mining, sweat shops, warfighters...Both as a punishment and as a reminder, that the country is more important than they are, and that they must contribute to the country's prosperity through any means necessary, if not by their own will, then by yours."

"But, I have no doubt that some of those infernal, rebellious, infectious ponies that you were forced to punish would emigrate, and bring with them false accusations of tyranny and cruelty, when in fact, they themselves were to blame. They would spread false accusations against you, until another country's liberal, blind leader, who still believes in the separation of good and evil, takes it upon herself to 'save' your country's citizens from your... 'cruelty.'"

"I have no doubt that, without the support of your citizens, due to their misunderstanding, entitled, unappreciative souls, you would not be able to stand to the looming beast of this other country's might; before the rebellions, you would have been able to stand to them, but, because of the actions you were forced to take, your country's strength, the strength you sacrificed so much to gain, is no more. So, being the leader of your country, and, as you would have always done, you decide to do what is best for your country, and you propose negotiations, so as to clear up the misunderstanding conjured up and passed on by the cowards you once called fellow citizens."

"I have no doubt that you would welcome the foreign ambassadors, as well as their leaders eventually, and you would be hospitable and regal like the leader you were supposed to be. But, before you could explain what happened, and that you were doing what you had to do, those leaders, which you showed nothing but respect, would turn on you, and cast you out of the home you devoted your life to uphold. They would make you out to be a villain, and tell all those they came across that they ousted a tyrant, and saved the citizens you 'oppressed'. They would lie, for the sake of continuing the illusion that good always prevails over evil."

The stallion, still at Sombra's side, whispered to himself, "History is written by the victors."

Sombra nodded, and stopped in the hallway.

"You would stir for millennia, cursed with immortality, until, you decided to do something about it. I have no doubt that you would use the few assets you had left; your mind, and fear. You would manipulate those that manipulated you, so that you could come home. You would punish those that wronged you. You would kill those that defeated you. And you would reclaim what was yours."

Sombra turned to his left, and left the hallway for a massive dining hall, the table set with myriad assortments of food. He sat down heavily, and his company stood at his side. Sombra grabbed a loaf of bread, and began buttering it in a telekinetic glow.

"I have no doubt you would do this," he said, his eyes looking more sad than angry, "Do you know why?"

The stallion remained quiet.

"Because I did, and, contrary to popular belief, I am more like 'normal' ponies than those of this world want to accept."

The king set down his food, and sighed heavily.

"I was good once."

He waited a moment in silence, before continuing.

"Now do you understand why we must reclaim my home as soon as possible?"

The stallion nodded.

"Good."

Sombra took a bite.

"Now go. The Crystal Empire is weak. I need those here to be strong. Be strong for me, Captain. Do not try to stab me in the back. I would prefer not to have to punish you."

There was another long silence while Sombra chewed.

"Go."

And the stallion trotted off to do as Sombra would.