From the Shadows

It was nearly one o'clock by the time the squadron of guards, along with their shackled liability, and Twilight reached the library. The others had gone off to their own homes for the night, to undoubtedly stay up all night worrying.

The guards formed a semicircle around Sombra, extending their spears to shepherd him towards the library's entrance, which he grudgingly passed through.

Once inside, the guards again surrounded the prisoner, and Sombra let them know how much he disapproved of their lack of hospitality with glaring eyes, a hue of green and purple near their edges.

"Good, Spike's asleep," the purple princess sighed to her brother from outside the circle, "I don't want to scare him. I'll have to tell him about our guest properly tomorrow morning."

"I think that's a good idea."

Twilight turned her attention to her newest, most imposing guest.

"Reform him," she thought, recalling what she had learned from the incident with Discord, "Show him hospitality."

"So, umm, Sombra," she said hesitantly, unsure of how to address him.

He looked to her with less of a glare than before when she finished, and she supposed that calling him 'Sombra' would suffice.

"If you want, there's a guest room over here," she said pointing to a door on the first level of the home.

Sombra shuffled his way over to the door, the magically constructed shackles jingling with each movement he made.

"Oh," began Twilight, "Shining, can we take his cuffs off?"

The stallion looked shocked, and he leaned in close to his sister, whispering, "Twilight, he's dangerous. Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. We can't show him why love is better than hate by hating him."

Her brother reluctantly dissolved the restraints, allowing Sombra to move about freely again. Rather than continuing to the guest room, he attended to a much higher priority; inspecting his new foster home, first with his eyes, but then more actively. Sombra began going around the room, taking everything in, from the occupants to the book shelves, and Twilight watched him intently.

There was something about the way he moved. He didn't strut or prance; he didn't quite walk like a normal pony; he stalked.

He moved like a predator. With swift, agile turns of his body and high stepping paces that fell against the floor in silence, he seemed to dance around the room, weaving in and out of the moonlight's rays, let in by frosty windows, with dark, clouded crystals penetrating through cracks in the floorboards to mark his steps.

After he finished his inspection, Sombra reported to the guest room door, the guards on edge as he prowled past them. He let himself inside, and stood, his ever-present scowl adorned on his brow, taking in the modest commodities of his new chambers; a bed, a nightstand, and a dresser were the room's only furniture.

Twilight stepped up to his side, and her brother watched her protectively from behind as she spoke to the dethroned.

"I know it's not much," she said to receive a disapproving snort, "But you can stay here. Go ahead and make yourself at home."

Before she finished, a crimson glow emitted from Sombra's horn, and she felt the ground begin to shake. Suddenly, an assembly of black crystals shot up from beneath the floor, shattering the boards and tearing through the bed to break the silence of the night with a thunderous crash. The nightstand was knocked away, and the bed was ripped apart, the only pieces of it remaining being bits of sheets or mattress clinging around the dagger-like points of the limpid stones as they rose to touch the ceiling. More broad tipped crystals sprouted in between the first, creating a dark, stony platform where the bed once was.

Sombra entered his new room, more crystals rising out of the floor to reach for the ceiling as he neared his newly created bed. The stallion hopped onto the crystalline bed, sprawling out to his full extent over its girth as he emitted a contented sigh.

Shining Armor began to approach the king angrily, but Twilight stopped him.

"Shining, don't."

"He's destroying your home!" the stallion said raising his voice, "I'm not going to just sit here and watch."

"I told him to make himself at home. In hindsight, maybe that wasn't such a good idea, but it's necessary to get him to cooperate with us, which means we need to be gracious hosts."

Shining Armor looked down at his sister; he loved her and he trusted her, but he was used to leading. It was hard, but he decided to let his sister take charge; after all, she knew more about this sort of thing than he. His resume didn't exactly point him out as one to consult about the magic of friendship.

"I'm just worried," he said as he wrapped a forelimb around his sister, "All I want is for you to be safe."

Twilight leaned into the embrace, not pulling away until Shining had already released her; she had a tear in her eye, and let it dry up without the chance to fall.

The mare stifled a yawn.

"You should probably get some sleep," advised her brother, "You'll need to be rested if you're going to be spending time with him."

Twilight shot a smile at her brother before following his advice, though reluctantly, and she fluttered tiredly upstairs to her own bedroom, softly shutting the door behind her.

Shining confirmed she was away for the night, and then turned to his stallions.

"We'll take turns keeping an eye on Sombra. One hour shifts; I'll go first. The rest of you try and get some sleep, but stay aware."

And with that, Shining Armor entered the newly rearranged guest room.

****************

Shining sat on the floor, watching the dark lord curled up on his limpid bunk in what looked to be deep slumber. It was silent; nopony moved, and he was the only one in the house that was awake. He stole a look at the grandfather clock outside in the main room; 2:15 AM.

Shining hadn't slept in what seemed like weeks. They had seized Sombra just over twenty-three hours ago and before then, he had been awake for at least two days. Over three days without sleep.

The quiet and the darkness enticed him, and sleep tried to seduce his eyelids shut, but he remained resolute. He had to make sure Sombra remained dormant; the safety of his sister, and of Equestria depended on it.

Eventually, there was nothing he could to ward off his instinct to drift off but to stand and begin pacing, which he did until his relief came through the doorway; Jax, the stallion who'd upset Sombra with an eager thrust of a spear.

He nodded to the stallion, a white Pegasus with an orange mane and amber eyes, a shield on his flank. Before he left, Shining Armor looked back one last time to Sombra.

His tired eyes were playing tricks on him; he could have sworn the stallion had been watching them with a single open eye. Shining dismissed the notion, and retreated to the main room of the library to finally get some rest.

****************

The night crept onwards, and Jax, the guard that had replaced Shining Armor now battled the urge to sleep. However, he had his own way of enduring.

The stallion, sitting on his haunches, removed his helmet and reached inside his breastplate, retrieving a picture. It was of his family.

He looked into the joyful eyes of a mare, immortalized in the photograph as she stood at his side. He relished in the smiles of two foals, a white filly and a brown colt, who resembled his mother in every way, and he felt a warm smile spreading across his face.

But, he felt something else, something strange and foreign; he felt something watching him.

His amber eyes shot up to where Sombra was lying, still with his eyes closed. He checked the other corners of the moonlit room, but he was alone.

Jax found himself looking back into the picture, a resemblance of joy rising from within, but the heat of happiness came with a different kind of heat as the picture suddenly combusted. He panicked and dropped the photo as it turned to ash in seconds.

He gasped as he looked up; Sombra, awake with horn aglow and glowing eyes illuminating the darkness, was watching him. The lord stared at him, and slowly, a devious, white smile spread across his face.

Jax stared back with what remained of his waning courage; the king didn't move, only lying on his bed menacingly with an upright chest, his posture reminiscent of a lion standing watch over its pride.

The guard's heart leapt when he heard a sudden noise, and his head snapped to outside the room to the source; the grandfather clock. It had struck the hour.

He glanced quickly back to Sombra, but the king was gone; simply vanished.

Jax panicked as he rose to his feet, his head twisting back and forth as he tried to find him. The grandfather clock spoke again, its resounding *bong* ringing in his ears.

He looked all around, frantically trying to locate the king, but it was as if he had become the darkness; he was simply gone, and the clock reported the time with a third and final *bong*.

Seconds passed in silence, the stallion's heartbeat being the loudest noise in the house.

Then, suddenly, a deep, accented voice came through the darkness.

"You should learn to respect your superiors."

The guard whipped around to face the king, his radiant eyes giving away his position in the shadows. He couldn't make out the body of the king, but in the darkness, his glistening white fangs came forth, shining brightly.

He began to back away from the entity with amber eyes wide. His hooves clicked against the floorboards as a guttural growl quietly floated through the night atmosphere.

The guard turned to run, and Sombra lounged with a voracious snarl.

****************

The silence in the library had given way to snoring as an ensemble of stallions found collective rest in the darkness. Possibly snoring the loudest in the group was Shining Armor, finally having found tranquility on the cold hardwood of the hollow oak.

However, though his slumber was only interrupted briefly by the changing of the watch, it was ended by what followed the new sentry's entrance to the guest room.

A loud gasp emitted from the darkness, and Shining's ears lazily picked up as the stallion darted back into the main room.

"Get up! Something's wrong with Jax!"

Shining sprang to his feet, forgetting his sleep deprived mind, as did the rest of the stallions, as they dashed into Sombra's chambers.

Jax was on the floor, writhing around as his chest heaved up and down. Shining Armor pushed through the group and threw himself onto the ground at the stallion's side.

Jax's amber eyes were red and bloodshot, not a hint of white existing anywhere around his irises. They rolled in and out of their sockets, and from the stallion's mouth oozed frothing saliva. He trembled and shook violently on the floor in some kind of seizure, quiet whimpers and tiny little screams coming from his gaping mouth as tears and sweat wet his hide in his fit of agony.

Shining took the struggling guard in his hooves, supporting his head like an infant, and tried to save him.

"Jax, come on. Jax, listen to me."

The stallion was unresponsive as Shining checked his pulse; it was dangerously high, and the flexing cardio muscles could be seen as they pulsated under his skin.

"Get him some morphine if we have it. If not, try and find some sleeping pills; we have to lower his heart rate."

Shining turned a gentle voice away from the stallions gathered around him to continue care for Jax.

"Come on Jax, listen to me. Pull through, now you can do it. Just stay with me. Don't leave," he turned to the others, "Morphine!"

They only stood, watching their comrade in horror.

"Morphine Dammit!"

Finally, a pair of stallions darted outside, returning with a small syringe. Shining pierced Jax's flank with the needle, and after a few moments, Jax stopped thrashing. His eyes came into focus again, and Shining kept a monitor on his pulse with a hoof pressed against the side of his damp neck.

"Jax, are you..."

"AAH!"

The stallion was frantic, and his head whipped back and forth as his breathing came in short, rapid exchanges of atmosphere.

"Jax it's okay. You're safe."

"AAAAH! NO! LET THEM GO!"

"Jax, listen to me! You're fine! You're here, with me!"

The Pegasus looked up into Shining Armor's eyes; he was terrified, and he was struggling keeping eye contact with Shining as his eyes darted back and forth, keeping watch for something that, to him, was about to attack.

"Is he gone?! Where are they?! I need to see them!"

"Jax what are you talking about?"

The stallion's bloodshot eyes darted around the room as he shivered, though the room was plenty warm, and his whimpering and sobbing came back in full strength.

"Jax," began Shining, shaking him a bit to reacquire his attention, "What happened?"

Jax's eye glossed over as he stammered away.

"He had them...Synthia, the foals...he made me...the noose, it...the knife...he used...they were screaming...I couldn't get to them...it was real, I know it was! I have to find my family!"

"Who did this?" asked Shining, horrified at what he was hearing.

Jax started to speak, but he gasped in violently and tried to draw away as he saw something behind Shining.

"Him!" he shrieked and pointed, the white unicorn barely able to hold him as Jax kicked and thrashed in panic.

Shining cocked his head to see a shadow from one of the stallions against the wall.

"No, him!" yelled Jax, pointing at another shadow and trying to escape in desperation.

The terrified pony began sobbing, concealing his eyes as Shining gripped him tight, glaring suspiciously around the room until he found the only possible culprit for the deed. Sombra was watching the scene unfurl from a resting position on his bed, his neck erect and his streaming eyes and pearly fangs glowing brighter than the dim moonlight.

"Get him stable," said the unicorn, passing him to the others before rising to his feet, rage building within, "All of you get Jax to the hospital. I'll deal with him."

Shining stormed up to Sombra, who only smiled as he drew nearer, and snorted in his face. The king closed his morbid eyes when a breath of hot air hit his snout, and his grin departed as he glared up at Shining after a moment's passing.

"What did you do to him?" Shining snarled.

The king drew in a deep breath as he closed his eyes, a small smile spreading on his lips.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you!"

The dark equine rose from his position on the bed, standing to his full height on the crystalline piece of furniture, looking down on the stallion with something in between contempt and amusement.

"What did you do to him Sombra?"

No response, only a silent gaze from the king.

"Answer me!"

A growl emitted from the king's throat as his horn began to glimmer in a crimson aura.

"Remember your place," Sombra hissed.

Shining reared back, rising to challenge the king.

"I am remembering my place; shall I remind you of yours?" he scoffed, "You are nothing but a prisoner! I am a prince!"

"One who must remind another he is royalty is unfit to rule," Sombra growled, baring his teeth.

"You listen to me, you coward," started Shining as he looked into the glaring eyes of Sombra, "If you ever hurt anypony while I'm around again, I'll..."

"You'll what?"

Shining held his capacity for anger, but Sombra only watched him, his face amused and his stance prepared.

"What will you do to stop me, Shining?"

The stallion recoiled a bit; Sombra's tone was not the same. It held something colder now.

"There is nothing you can do. Because for all your power, for all your training, for all your noble ways and your crusades for truth and justice, your power cannot stand to mine, little prince."

Shining did his best to avoid backing down, the ice in Sombra's mocking voice burrowing into his heart.

"What you think gives you strength makes you weaker. Your morals create boundaries on what you can do, your cause makes you predictable, and your love gives you something to lose; it gives me something for me to take."

Shining Armor looked away briefly, realizing that what Sombra was saying was, though he dared not admit it, somewhat true.

"You are weak, and no matter of bravery or will can change that. You couldn't even keep that blathering fool of a comrade of yours safe from me, let alone the Crystal Empire. If not for your wife and your sister's intervention all those years ago, you would be the one in captivity while I took the throne, a throne which I earned, and you were handed."

"Don't you say another word about my wife, or my sister!" yelled Shining, finding strength again as his anger rose.

"Why not Shining? What are you afraid of; that they'll surpass you in might. Tell me, what kind of stallion is out performed by his wife, or by his baby sister," Sombra said mockingly to receive another snort in return.

"Or," he began again as Shining Armor raised a hoof threateningly, "Are you afraid of what I may do to them?"

The prince lost some of his drive as the words rolled off of Sombra's tongue; the king saw it, and pressed onward, seeking to strike at the nerve until it snapped.

"What kind of prince leaves his kingdom unattended for such a time to go chasing shadows, hmm?" he crooned, beginning to pace in a semicircle around the unicorn, "What kind of husband leaves his wife vulnerable to danger to seek the glory of hunting the greatest threat to the kingdoms? Tell me prince, what kind of commander assumes that his enemy isn't smart enough to attack while he's gone, and goes prancing off into the sunset to win a mediocre battle or two far from home, thinking that his wife and his subjects will be perfectly fine in his absence?"

"What kind of a brother finds the foe he has hunted, the foe that poses a constant threat to all in the kingdoms, and brings it into the home of his sister? What kind of a leader gives others the responsibility of keeping pure evil contained, while he rests his tired eyes? And above all, what kind of a stallion are you, Shining, to think that you can stand with me and look to me as an equal? I will tell you what kind of a stallion does such things; a fool. You are a fool, Shining Armor, for thinking you can keep your sister, your wife, and your kingdom safe from me."

"Everything I do is to protect them Sombra! I love them more than a fiend like you could ever comprehend!"

"Ahh, but do you?" the king serenaded, "It seems to me, the things you do, you do for your own glory. You married a princess after no courtship, conveniently becoming a prince in the process. You endanger your sister's life by bringing me here, a task you never had to do; I wasn't coming into the kingdoms on my own any time soon, until you ever-so-kindly brought me within your borders yourself, a most gracious favor if I may add. Did you really seek to capture me for the purposes you suggest, or did you do it for more credit to your name, a name dwarfed by the title of your sister."

"It was Celestia's idea to capture you."

"But you did not prevent her from doing so, knowing that you would be the head of the party that was to rob me of my exile, and win the glory of besting King Sombra?"

Shining Armor was dumbfounded. Why was he even considering what the vile tyrant was saying. And why were Sombra's words ringing with truths? Facts and details about what he had done permeated the dark lord's argument; facts and details that only proved what he was saying. But how could what Sombra was saying be true? Shining did what he did to protect those he loved, to keep Equestria and the Crystal Empire safe; right?

Sombra prowled around Shining, circling him like a vulture as he witnessed his words infecting the stallion's demeanor.

"You do not love them; your motives are for yourself. You are greedy, selfish, envious of your peers, and you only seek fame for yourself. Your wife Cadence is alone, waiting night after night for a stallion who never comes home. Your sister is in constant peril because of your excursions, all done for your own gain, and you fool yourself into thinking you leave them in agony to protect them. Face it prince, you do not do anything for love; it is as foreign to you as it is to me. You serve only yourself, but this time, what you seek is beyond you. You cannot conquer me, no more than you can protect your family from me; those you love will suffer because of your insolence, and I will enjoy watching their hearts give out under the weight of despair once I break you. They will curse the day you tried to stand to me, because they will suffer for your actions."

The king stopped in front of the unicorn, looking into his eyes; he was afraid. He was questioning everything he thought to be true; perfect.

Slowly, eerily, moving like a shadow, Sombra leaned into the stallion's ear, and whispered, "So much for love."

"Enough!"

Shining Armor snapped, rearing back and plunging forward with all his might in a fit of rage, but his horn passed harmlessly through Sombra's body. The hole refilled itself in a wispy, cloudlike manner, and Shining looked at the healing wound in horror.

His fear doubled when Sombra looked up at him, his eyes burning with a new, stronger fire, and smiled, whispering, "My turn."

Sombra lounged forward with a snarl as Shining stepped back, and his curved horn struck the prince's chest harmlessly, but Shining's eyes rolled into the back of his skull as the dark magic did its work.

All of Shining Armor's pent up rage, fear, doubt, envy, every emotion that he had kept suppressed to preserve harmony, congregated into a singularity on the tip of Sombra's horn, reaching its maximum density as Shining turned pale.

The power of Sombra exploded outwards, throwing the muscular stallion clear to the other side of the room with ease. The unicorn crashed through a crystalline column, slamming into the wall beyond it with the rest of his unwillingly acquired inertia.

Dazed, Shining looked up from the floor to see Sombra, his horn radiating a faint, blood-red glow to contrast the green and purple essence of his glaring, malevolent eyes. His fangs bared in a malicious smile as he gained ground on the still recovering prince, and upon reaching him, Sombra stood over the unicorn condescendingly.

The dethroned's tone changed to one of almost charismatic gentleness, though his low, rumbling voice made it hard to feel comfortable as he spoke.

"I must say, you are an eloquent vessel of evil, though you shield it with infernal illusions of good. Your rage is exemplary; your envy is great. Even your fear, however bountiful it is, is suppressed by your somewhat admirable will. They are all...wonderful."

"Oh, how I have missed this. I wish we could continue this session, your highness, but I am afraid that only one of us can be the better. And your fears and flaws will be most nutritious."

Slowly, Sombra leaned down, and whispered into Shining's ear.

"Think on your sins."

Methodically, Sombra touched the chipped, worn tip of his horn to Shining's forehead, a devious smile spreading on his chin. The ivory of his horn clinked against skull, and again, the dark magic did its work as Shining's perception of reality swirled into a new realm of shadows; a realm inescapable to all; a realm that Sombra controlled, the realm of fear.