Tyrant No More.
Chapter 1. Sombras Rebirth
Blood flowed from my nose as I groggily walked away from the mass of horses that had followed me from the beginning of my journey. Each breath labored from bruises lining my torso. The roar of the crowd only seemed to get louder the further we went. A rotten fruit struck my side, unfortunately hitting a rather tender spot responsible for for one of my constant pains forcing me into taking a sudden breath causing me to stop limping to prevent from crying out. The tug on the chain connected to my collar making me step hard on my already injured foreleg earning a cry of pain. Buckling from the sudden shock I was given a moments rest only to once again have the chain tugged on, only harder. Finally bringing myself to my good hooves I resumed walking along the street lined with angry horses. Why they were angry with me I did not know.
While my current situation was the strangest by far, the moment I realized that I was not in my own body was a very close second. Having been confined to a small cell for many days hadn’t done much good for me in terms of figuring out how to walk nor had not being fed properly done much for my endurance.
How I made it this far was a mystery to me.
After being paraded around this city for what seemed like hours I was exhausted beyond measure. Despite the pain I was in, the fatigue was at the forefront of my mind, slightly helping dull the aches that racked this body.
Finally after all that had happened today we had made it to the end of the road, both literally and figuratively. Beneath the shadow of a grand palace that shined as bright as the Sun itself sat a large pillar of crystal, a seemingly favorite material of my captors.
My guard decided it would be a good time to yank on my chain one last time causing me to stumble on to my left side before attaching it to the pillar. Once it was secure he shot me one of the many hate filled glares I had received this day. Righting myself once again I looked at the crystal pillar now responsible for holding me till they decided what they were going to do with me. Finally having more than a moments pause in my trek from the cell I had found myself in when I had first awoken in this place. I felt that resting against it would be a welcome change. Even with this small pleasure I could not make myself completely comfortable, the filth that clung to my lower body constantly tugged at my fur. Along with the occasional rotten food that pelted the area around me the roar crowd had morphed into something akin to white noise, that was until a singular voice boomed, silencing them all. Had I been in better shape I may have been able to pay attention to what they were saying. I was however able to figure out that they were giving a speech, with what little detective skill I was able to muster I concluded that it was about me to some degree.
Taking a haggard breath that rattled with rough dampness. Bracing myself for the inevitable cough that hurt less than I expected it to I spit out some blood, the heavy taste of iron now flooding my mouth. Now each breath hurting that much more. A thought permeated the haze of all that was going on,
So this is how I die? In a world of psychotic horse things, chained to some rock… Well, if I am to die I will do so defiantly.
That last thought brought a small smile to my lips. With my resolve now restored I could feel the last of my adrenaline flow through this bodies veins empowering me with what little energy I had left. Managing to open my eyes enough to view the world around me was difficult to say the least but I managed. Seeing the myriad of color that was everything around me was nothing new to me. Having seen it everyday for some time from my crystal cell made sure of that. What was new though were the four horses sitting upon a raised platform two of which wore deep frowns and otherwise impassive looks. The third seemed nervous, very nervous. Constantly looking back and forth from me to the large white one. The fourth though held what was to be the most hate filled look I had seen all day. A look I had become very familiar with. With her visiting me once a day to simply stare at me through the crystal bars. I had learned from one of the guards calling out to her that she was Princess Cadenza. Upon seeing her only made my smile larger, she only responded by deepening her scowl. If this is the end for me then I would give her nothing.
A fifth horse I hadn’t seen before was calling out to the crowd. Its words seem to fill them all with more hate, hate they directed at me. Shortly after the last big cheer from the horses, the white horse giving the speech stepped down leaving the spot vacant. That was until the pink one, Princess Cadenza, stepped forward. I wanted to hear what she had to say so I focused hard to try and bring my hearing from muffled to somewhat audible. My ears twitched in an attempt to hear her better.
“Sombra, you are here today for your crimes against the Crystal Empire and its citizens. Since the Crystal Heart did not destroy you as we had thought, that shall be rectified with the Elements of Harmony.” At the last word of her sentence one of the horses from the platform made its way down to a small group of five others. These ones were different than the others though for they didn’t shine like them. In fact they looked normal or at least as normal as something around here could get. My musings were cut short though as the pink one spoke up once again. “Before your punishment is carried out do you have any last words?”
That actually caught me off guard. I was simply expecting whatever it was they were going to do to me to just happen. Thinking as fast as I could after being put on the spot like this I finally spoke up, “Y-yeah I do actually”. My throat while somewhat hydrated from the blood was quickly drying up but sudden short cough rectified that. Cadenza didn’t seem to happy that I had something to say but she brought this upon herself. Finally speaking up, “This has been the absolute worst vacation ever. I think I’ve experienced better customer service from calling EA! The food left a lot to be desired I mean haven’t you ever heard of salt! Furthermore, I think I piss better water than what you gave me! Now if we could hurry this up I’ve got important things to do today, schedules to keep and all that.” My little speech left my throat stinging with pain. I wasn’t able to help myself but chuckle as best I could when I saw there looks of confusion.
With my moment finished the pink pain in the ass yelled, “Enough! Princess Twilight cleanse our world of his taint.” Said individual looked back at her and nodded before looking at the others, each giving her a quick nod as well. With their silent agreement they each positioned themselves around the purple one known as Twilight. What happened next was really interesting. Each one of the six horses that were my apparent executioners started to glow a bright white while being lifted into the air by some invisible force. Shortly after a rainbow fired out from the center of them. Several thoughts passed through my mind at that point,
Really? Death by rainbow? Not exactly how I pictured going out. Watching as the means to my end came closer every moment. Man these horses sure love being flashy.
One last cough followed by some blood sticking to my lips the rainbow began to swirl around me. It didn’t hurt as I thought it would, it actually felt quite pleasant. A strange warmth enveloped me like a blanket but with a far greater softness than any cloth I have known. The pain began to fade and a comfortable tiredness took hold of me. I could have sworn that I was being hugged, more specifically being hugged by a woman. I could feel my head rest against her breast as her arms wrapped around my head, then things started to get dark. One last look before my eyes closed I could see someone with me. Then all went black.
Author's Note
Well what did you think? Bad for a first try or ok?
Author's Note
I can't believe how well received the first chapter was.
I feel horrible for the fact I forgot to mention that Sir Hat helped me. If you don't know of him then please check him out.
This chapter though is without his help so I feel it may come off a bit different, if significantly enough I'll revise it.
Thank you and enjoy.
The Threat
Tyrant No More.
Chapter 2. The Threat
They had done it. Sombra was defeated once again. After they had used the Elements the Crystal ponies had gone silent. Twilight had figured they were just left speechless after seeing their once tyrant king stuck down for a second time. Upon rising from the exhaustion of using the Elements she faced where the sworn enemy of not just the Crystal Empire and Equestria but all of Equus as a whole had once been, or at least should no longer have been.
Lying down and breathing gently was Sombra. Not only was he still there but he looked better, his coat was clean from the filth and blood. Open wounds had closed living not but a scar. His mane and tail were no longer disheveled and greasy looking. In short he looked healthy and normal. Though one of the most shocking revelation aside from his survival was his horn. No longer the broken stump it used to be but a normal spiraled unicorn horn save for the fact that it still came to a sharper point than most if not all other unicorn horns.
To say she was shocked would be a massive understatement. Looking back at her friends they each held their own form of worry. Finally looking back at her fellow princesses she tried to gage their reactions. Her brother and Cadence were each wide eyed and mouth agape. The two celestial dierarchs were much harder to read. Princess Celestia had yet to move, face neutral but a small ear twitch every now and again gave away her agitation. Princess Luna had her brow knitted together in concentration. The exact reason unknown to Twilight though she could hazard a guess it had to do with Sombras continued presence.
Facing the Lord of Shadow once again Twilight could only stare and wonder as to what had just happened. A new thought making its way to the front of her mind,
Why had the Elements not worked? Surely he would have been banished or at least turned to stone. Instead they had healed him. Only wh-
Twilights train of thought was stopped as she felt a hoof on her back. Not looking back she heard the voice of her mentor,
“Come along Twilight. There is much that needs to be discussed” Princess Celestia said. Making her way to the immobile body of Sombra, she was quickly followed by Princess Luna. Finally looking back she could see her brother and sister in-law stepping off the platform and also making their way to the fallen king. One glance at her friends and they too fell into place alongside the Princesses after Celestia had lifted up Sombra with her magic and carried him to the Crystal Palace.
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Soft. That would be the word to describe what I was feeling right now. Soft with a slight floating sensation. A groan escaping my lips as I slowly came to. My senses started to return to me, the smell of antiseptics permeated the air so strongly I could almost taste it telling me I was most likely in a hospital. Speaking of taste I didn’t taste that morning breath you get after a nights sleep. Running my tongue over my teeth revealed that plaque hadn’t even formed. Along with the lack of certain morning oral issues I also didn’t have the overwhelming urge to pee. The absence of pain from my various injuries was gone along with the smell I had acquired from a lack of basic hygiene. All in all this was turning out to be the best morning ever.
A large yawn followed by some stretching alerted me to three things. One: I was still a horse due to feeling hooves and fur when my legs rubbed against each other. Two: The “tour” around town and the events following it may have actually happened. Three: I wasn’t alone in my room. A quick gasp from someone being what gave them away. Deciding to try and figure out what was going on, such as why I wasn’t in my cell, I called out to them.
“How long have I been out?” A simple question really. Short and sweet. No inflection that might have come off as sarcastic or condescending. I wanted answers not enemies, though such a thing may prove impossible considering my earlier experience. Not hearing a response I opened my eyes to see if they were even still in the same room as me. Upon seeing the recipient of my question simply staring at me wide eyed and quite stricken with fear I felt that pressing on would be worth it, “Hello?” I called out to the… I think female horse. My need for answers being slightly satied as she finally responded.
“R-r-roughly t-twenty four hours.” The... mare! Yes, mares are female horses.The mare stuttered out with a feminine voice thus helping solidify that she indeed is female. Seeing as I had her somewhat talkative I pressed my advantage to find out what I could.
“Ah well then, why aren’t I in my cell?” I may not have wanted to go back but it had been my home for the last week maybe week and a half. So it felt important to ask.
“I-I’m not sure. The Princesses brought you here yesterday and you’ve been here ever since.” Finding more confidence than she had previously I was somewhat informed of my situation. Seeing that she was calming down a little bit I felt I could ask one of the more important questions of the moment.
“Well what happens to me now?” Once again such a simple question. But it carried so much weight. She was quick to respond though.
“I’m not sure but I am to inform the Princesses and Prince now that you’ve awoken.” With that she walked out of the room with a soft clip clop of her hooves. Once the door was shut I closed my eyes so that I could really focus on what little I had found out.
So I was still in Psychotic Horse thingy land™. My execution didn’t seem to go as planned though that being a good or bad thing has yet to make itself clear. I wasn’t entirely sure I could survive another week of that. To make matters slightly more complicated I had more royalty than just Princess Pain in the Ass interested in me. Thinking back on it she was sitting with several other horses like her, at least in the horn and wings department. They may be the other Princesses the mare was talking about. As to who the Prince was though… not a clue. Any further thoughts on the matter were put to a stop when the door opened.
Opening my eyes revealed one Pink Pain in the Ass and four other horses that I remember from yesterday. Potential royals I figure, what with all the gold and jewels they had adorned. WIth them fully inside the room the blue ones horn lit up encasing the door in the same glow and gently closing it followed by an audible click letting me know we were locked in here. For several moments we just sat there, well they sat there I was still lying on my side looking at them. In that time I was able to examine the four new horses is greater detail than yesterday. The first two were simply white with the smaller of the two having a blue mane with light blue streaks. The flowing multi colored mane on the largest was a nice touch though. As for the blue one, well she was all blue even down to her mane and tail, with small sparkles added in which gave it a nice effect like the night sky. The smallest by far was the purple one. Having the same idea as the blue one but with a much more noticeable shade difference in her mane and coat. They, excluding the purple one, were larger than the other horses thats for sure but I was aswell so I’m not sure yet how I measure up to them. The thing that intrigued me the most though was that they were all hole. As in they weren’t transparent.
Casting aside my blanket and sitting up onto my rear they watched me with great attention like I might disappear should they blink. All this staring was quickly getting us no where, fortunately that was rectified by Cadenza, “Why are you here?” She asked. The others looked at her and then back to me waiting for my answer.
Seeing as I was still alive and better then ever I felt It would be fun to keep everything I could from her. My hate for her was burning as strong as ever.
“Well I suspect it was one of you that brought me here after I passed out if what the nurse said is anything to go by.” That got just the response I was hoping for from her.
Teeth bared and a frustrated growl she quickly tried to intimidate me, “Do not play smart with me.” Had we just met I might have found her to be quite intimidating but after everything she put me through it came across more as humorous than anything else.
Snorting a little, “Shall I dumb it down for you then?” I quipped at her. Her scowl deepened significantly. If she ground her teeth any harder I felt she would break them which was fine with me. Before she could respond to my rhetorical question the white one wrapped a wing around her causing her to pause and ultimately stay quite. Hateful expression ever present though. This time the white one started.
“It would be wise the answer her question.” Now she came across much more intimidating than the Pink one. Thankfully, I couldn’t care less.
“And why’s that?” I responded. letting a small but noticeable smile tug at the corners of my mouth. Like before the current speaker was interrupted by another. This time by the blue one,
“Because welp, shall you not cooperate you shall be punished greatly.” Now this one I liked. She just seethed anger towards me. It was strange feeling though, I felt nothing but joy at their hate for me. Their frustration towards me was enjoyable to me. Such thoughts were put on hold as I responded to her threat,
“Oh you will will you? After how I’ve been treated I’d like to see you try.” Finishing my sentence with a much more visible smile. The blue one only looked back at the other four before the white one nodded. Then all five of their horns lit up followed by the blue one quickly making her way over to me and placing it against my head. Once again everything went dark.
