From start to end; from rise to fall
The air Twilight Sparkle breathed was cold and thin. That should be expected. She was going deep beneath the Crystal Empire; down into the crystal dungeons. Everything about the dungeons was cold and dark; there was no way for the sun to reach this deep and the only light was provided by dimly glowing crystals. As she walked Twilight observed the walls and saw her shadow move, grow and shrink as it rode the walls. Twilight fought feelings of claustrophobia in the cramped tunnels, but what was truly horrible about this place was not how small it was, but how vast it was.
"This network of tunnels and cells must stretch beneath the entire Crystal Empire. This could fit more than half the population down here if you wanted it to... and maybe it has. Is Sombra responsible for all of this?" Twilight thought to herself with a shudder."I suppose thats just one of the things I'm here to find out about." Twilight shelved her her thoughts and returned her attention to following a crystal guard.
After a lengthy walk Twilight came upon one cell that was different than all the others. This one had a resident. In the darkness she could only just make out Sombra's form, but what she couldn't miss were those striking blood-red eyes. He sat as if he were seated on a throne, and he kept his eyes focused solely on Twilight.
Twilight took a long breath to calm her nerves and spoke, "Sombra, former tyrant of the Crystal Empire, I am Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Equestria, and I am here to speak with you."
If her words had any impact Sombra did not immediately show it. Instead he traced her form with his eyes as if he were trying to mentally dissect her.
Finally he opened his mouth and slowly spoke. "You? A princess? My how... pathetic."
As Sombra spoke Twilight felt another unintentional shiver run briefly down her spine. It occurred to her that she had never really heard him speak, and she wasn't quite prepared for what she heard. Sombra had a deep powerful, voice with a rasp that made each word sound deadly. His tone was lidden with scorn and his words echoed in the dark dungeons. Twilight couldn't let herself be shaken however, she had a task to complete.
"Yes I am the Princess of Friendship. I'll also have you know that I am the bearer of the element of magic, and was instrumental in your defeat. I’ll admit that before I wasn’t even sure you were capable of speech, but now I'd like it if you watched your tongue." Twilight finished giving her best show of confidence.
Sombra let his eyes narrow further on Twilight before he replied, "You, my petty pony, have no idea what it means to bear any of the titles you carry with such pride. You mock my speech? Do you think it easy to speak while untold amounts of rage flow through you? Anypony who has ever lost themself in anger knows that theres a difference between what one says in a fury, and what one says calm. Also if you wish to say you were instrumental in my defeat you should also consider that you failed to defeat me yourself. I know you fell into every trap that I placed, as you were not wise enough to see through a single one."
Twilight held back the majority of her irritation. "You don't know anything about me Sombra, and I'm not here to argue with you. I've been sent by my mentor Princess Celestia to question you about the history of the Crystal Empire before your sentence is carried out."
Sombra cocked his head and put on a slight scowl. "My sentence? Are you really so delicate that you can not even bring yourself to use proper terms? You are here to interrogate me prior to my execution. Say what is meant or don't bother me at all."
Twilight shifted uneasily. "Those may be the words that you would like to use Sombra but they aren't the ones I would. I will admit, execution is a foreign concept to me. Equestria has long since done away with capital punishments. On the other hoof the Crystal Empire has been removed for some time and has yet to embrace all modern views. Don't call this an interrogation either. You see, even Princess Celestia herself knows little about the Crystal Empire, and since you took it upon yourself to cut the crystal ponies off from their memories you've become a valuable source of information. The crystal ponies have a right to know their history, and in addition to that even you are an enigma. I'm simply here to see what I can learn from and about you."
Sombra's ears perked up. "Did you say "learn" about me? You want to see what a monster can teach you?" A sadistic smile slowly spread across Sombra's face.
Twilight stopped herself from instinctively backing away from Sombra. "If it means that you will tell me the Crystal Empire's history, then yes. I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't curious how you became what you are as well. What with you being so..."
"Evil?" Sombra offered with a mocking smile.
Twilight gave an annoyed look and a nod of her head.
Sombra laughed. "Very well then Sparkle, I will indulge your request. My past and the history of this empire are irrevocably bound in any event. Perhaps you really will learn something from me."
Sombra closed his eyes to think. Will both his red eyes shut and his razor teeth put away Sombra almost looked like a normal stallion. In this moment he didn't seem like he had to be the terror of the Crystal Empire; he could be anypony else that could be helped and have a future. Twilight reflected on this for the few moments that she had before Sombra's eyes reopened, and then she once again felt like she was looking into a pool of pure hatred.
Sombra took a long breath and spoke, "As you should know already the Crystal Empire far predates the rule of Celestia, and the first government was a monarchy with the Crystal Queen at its undisputed ruler. The obvious question should then be how the Crystal Queen managed to amass enough power and influence to construct one of the greatest empires ever known. You see, crystal ponies originally travelled in tribes of earth pony, pegasus and unicorn, much like the founders of Equestria. Crystal Ponies have a stagnant nature however, and they build upwards and downwards with many stairs. Since they rarely built outwards and rarely choose to leave where they've put down roots, meetings of different tribes were rare. This practice was in conflict with the desires of those great classical monsters: the windingos. Sometime long ago they found the different tribes, and when they did they attacked, destroyed, and forced the northward migration of the crystal ponies, ultimately bringing them together so that they could feed off the hate of the ensuing conflict."
Twilight’s eyes grew wide. "That mirrors what happened in equestrian history. That is so fascinating! A shared history between the equestrians and crystal ponies is a historic marvel!" Twilight spoke while her mind raced with the implications.
Sombra scoffed. "Similar history; not mirrored. The windingos quite literally froze the Crystal Ponies into a corner, and then came war. The tribes slaughtered each other for months on end. When the unicorns gained an upper hoof, the pegasus and earth crystal ponies formed an alliance to eradicate them once and for all. The understanding was that when the unicorns were gone the remaining sides could butcher each other freely, and when only one side was left standing the windingos would likely leave so that the remaining tribe may have all that was left. There was a change of plans however. Disgusting poetic legends have destroyed the true history of how it happened, but one thing is certain: the Crystal Queen came into possession of the Crystal Heart. The unicorns recovered from sure annihilation, and the Crystal Queen was able to go forth and end the war with her unimaginable power, all while she also kept the windingos at bay." Sombra finished and paused briefly.
Twilight felt her face slip as she contemplated some of the more gruesome realities Sombra's story implied. The equestrians had come close to war, but the crystal ponies had went all out, almost to the point of genocide. Sombra readjusted his posture and looked at Twilight. "Are you really so shocked by these bloody realities? Do you have anything you wish to say?" Sombra asked
Twilight swallowed and shook her head. "No, please keep going."
Sombra gave another scoff and continued. "After wiping away the leaders of the opposing tribes the Crystal Queen had a choice before her, although the answer was really quite obvious. She could wipe out the crystal pegasi and earth ponies, but that simply wouldn't do. It would be hard to build an empire with no slaves. The Crystal Queen declared herself the sole ruler of the newfound Crystal Empire, and declared the few remaining crystal unicorns the nobility of the new empire. Soon after the crystal pegasi were taken into the empire as the main military force of the empire because of their performance in the war and because crystal ponies have no use of weather control due to their diet. Then the plentiful crystal earth ponies were given the mundane work: farming, construction, librarian..."
Twilight gave Sombra a dirty look. While there was no way he could have intended that insult she still felt as if it were intentional.
Sombra paid Twilight no mind. "The empire grew steadily for many years, both in size and power. These dungeons were probably built near this time. Despite this success, the Crystal Queen recognized that there was still a looming threat: the windingos were not destroyed, merely held at bay. The power of the Crystal Heart seemed to weaken with each day, and the Crystal Queen recognized the necessity of its power. At this point the Crystal Queen enacted several changes. To improve the spirit of the empire she decreed that the earth pony and pegasi would no longer bear the title of slave, though they would retain all of their roles. A flag of many hues was designed and an anthem written to try to manipulate the crystal ponies into providing energy for the Crystal Heart. Most importantly the Crystal Queen established the tradition of the Crystal Faire. All the propaganda and nationalism worked when combined with that distraction of blood-sport and materialism and the Crystal Heart was set to be powered long after the Crystal Queens death."
Twilight shook her head trying to clear it. "No thats not right. The books in the library said that the Crystal Faire was a time to celebrate the love and unity of the empire."
Sombra gave a cackling, mocking laugh. "Here is the first thing you should burn in your mind Twilight Sparkle: History is written only by the winners."
When he stopped his insulting laugh Sombra again began to speak. "As I mentioned the Crystal Queen eventually died. She was an ironic kind of ruler that spent so much time looking after the empire that she neglected to think of what would happen once she was finally buried. Actually she spent her twilight years relentlessly trying to find a way to become immortal, and failed. After the death the Crystal Queen the empire full of much crying, and many bloody coup attempts. Unicorn nobles amassed armies of pegasi and pitted them against each other in the bloodiest power grab in Crystal Empire history. The conflict was so intense that when the dust had settled and some irrelevant unicorn took his seat on the throne, the crystal pegasus population had dwindled to near extinction. Despite this they held onto their military duties and became something of a legend."
Twilight let her mind race once again. "I used to wonder what would happen if Equestria didn't have a one that we could count on to always be our ruler. What chaos it must be to have constantly changing rulers."
Sombra gave a sick smile. "Indeed, isn't it always better to have an absolute ruler to save a kingdom from its own ambition and ignorance?”
Twilight narrowed her eyes. "Not when that ruler is a heartless tyrant."
Sombras smile grew wider. "I may stand to disagree. Regardless, Crystal Empire history after this time is hardly more than a mess unworthy of mention. While the Crystal Queen at least had enough sense to maintain crystal pony history through the nobles, the slew of rulers that followed lacked this wisdom. All of them were less than her, and many of them far less. Some rulers tried to write their predecessors out of history itself. Some wrote in rulers that never existed to validate a claim to the throne. There were marriages, assassinations, power deals and all else you could expect during this time. For how long you might ask. It could be decades, or centuries, or thousands of years. Who knows. There's nothing I've heard or read that I truly believe about this time." Sombra finished with a dismissive tone.
This made Twilight feel very downhearted. One of the things she was most curious about was the age of the empire, and with so much of its history impossible to know that could never happen. She didn't even know if she could trust the books in the Crystal Library anymore, and a library of lies just seemed to strike something at her core.
Twilight sighed. "I guess that about covers the classical history of the empire. That still leaves an important bit of history. Your story Sombra."
Sombra expression seemed to drop as if he had just been put into an uncomfortable situation. Several moments passed before he finally spoke
"I shall tell my story. However first I shall ask you: did you ever find it odd that I am a Crystal Empire resident that lacks all the tell tale signs of a crystal pony?"
Twilight shook her head slightly. "Cadence told me that love is the special magic that makes a crystal pony's coats shine so brightly. You don't have any love in you, so I'm not surprised you look how you do."
Sombras face turned to a menacing scowl. "If I did have some of your so-called love magic, then what would you expect me to look like? Would you think that my dark coat would ever glow like the others? Would I be shiny and pink? If you think I'm not different, you're wrong. You should know that under the right circumstances, most anypony can have a crystal coat... but I never will."
Twilight pondered this briefly. "Okay, I'll bite. What makes you so different?"
Sombra relaxed slightly but kept an unsettled look on his face. "As I said the Crystal Empire was founded long ago. I've also told you I am unaware when it was founded in relation to your history. Although I do know that while the empire existed, the abomination known as Discord was present and powerful in Equestria. Many tried to escape from his reign by crossing the frozen wastelands to reach the Crystal Empire. Few survived. The number that did became the only equestrians in the Empire." Sombra paused and looked to the floor as if reflecting on something.
With an almost pained expression Sombra continued. "My father was a unicorn noble with familial relations to the crown. He had power, status and what he wanted, he could get. The Equestrians were... exotic to him. He wanted one, and it didn't take him long for him to claim my mother as his own. She became his, he used her, and with time... I arrived. Understand this though, they say that the first time a crystal pony’s coat shines is when it first feels the love from its parents after it is born. I had no such experience."
Twilight's eyes widened. "You're a hybrid. Part Equestrian, part crystal pony. Thats extraordinary!"
Sombra took on a look of pure rage "Do not mock me with your misunderstandings! I was and am a dirty blooded freak! A misfit who can't even call himself a pony. Do you wish to know something? A crystal pony is judged by their elegance and radiance. The perfect crystal pony is slim and beautiful with a gleaming coat and mane. What then I ask you, is the value of an ashen colored, overgrown half-blood!?"
The sudden shift in demeanor surprised Twilight. "I... didn't think about that."
Sombra shook his head in anger and continued speaking with a look of pure scorn. "I do not know much about my mother. The strain of her life was too much for her, and she fell ill not long after my birth. From what I gathered after her demise, I only know her well enough to know she never loved me."
Sombra sighed and let some of his anger subside. "When I was born the empire was in a state of decay. Generations of pathetic rulers had nearly brought the empire to collapse. My upbringing itself was rather unremarkable. I was a burden and a freak my father wanted no part of. I was, in theory, a member of the nobility, and so the commoners despised me. I was a monster in the eyes of the unicorn nobles, and so they rejected me. All this meant I grew up surrounded by hatred, and I fostered my own as well. Most all of my life I've spent alone, after all how should one make friends when completely surrounded by enemies? Because of all this I spent much time away from the others in a place that was much like my sanctuary: the Crystal Library. It was here I met my idol. When it happened I knew that there was one I could admire, one I could strive to be like and one that I could chase after: the Crystal Queen. The unicorn heritage that I had so despised became what would lift me up as I studied everything to do with magic relentlessly. During this time I used what few connections I had as nobility and made several deals of my own to come into possession of the most valuable artifact the Crystal Empire ever had."
Twilights jaw dropped. "The Crystal Heart?"
Sombra gave a sneer. "No you petty unicorn. I managed to get the journal of the Crystal Queen. All her knowledge of magic, of the Crystal Heart, of politics, of the nature of ponies, windigos, Tartarus, life and death itself! All her knowledge became mine. The journal even had details of her studies late in her life. Apparently she had observed that while it seemed possible to starve a windingo, you could not kill one. From this she reasoned that proper study of windingos held the secret to immortality. The old soul had an empire to run however, and her studies never came to pass. So I picked up where she left off."
"How could you ever plan to study the windingos? They can't just be put under a microscope." Twilight asked with an accusing tone in her words.
Sombra smiled. "You're actually quite right, but I didn't plan to capture or fool one. I didn't need to. You see, the concept of a windingo is really quite simple: in essence it is a spirit being that feeds off hatred and fear. As a spirit being it had very close connections to magic. Why then couldn't a unicorn incorporate this into their own magic I asked? So with that, I studied, and I learned, and I experimented, and I grew stronger, and stronger, and stronger. With time I gained the ability to change from my physical form to dark spirit, and it was then that I knew my power was absolute, and that the empire was mine. So I took it. I removed the king from his throne… and then I removed his head from his body and crushed everything else that got in my way. I tried not to execute too many, after all you can't have an empire without slaves."
Twilight interrupted and spoke accusingly, "What gave you the right to decide that you should rule the empire?"
Sombra took on an unamused look and spoke, "What gives any ruler the right to rule? Their birth? I had noble blood. Their capability? I studied the most successful ruler my entire life. Their power? I had more than any of the whelps could ever dream. The empire was rotting, falling apart from the inside and it had endless generations of brain dead unicorns to blame. I would become the singular ruler, and I would rule the empire forever."
"Forever?" Twilight asked with a hint of shock in her voice
"Yes, forever. With enough hatred and enough fear I knew that I could do the impossible: I could make death itself my slave. I would do what the Crystal Queen knew needed to be done: I would be the everlasting absolute ruler and make the world my own."
"Thats insane! There's no way those nobles you talked about would ever let that happen."
Sombra gave a wide sadistic smile as his pupils shrunk to pinpricks. "Of course they wouldn't. That made them obstacles, and so I took great joy in removing those obstacles."
Twilight gave an appalled look. "You... you killed them?"
Sombra slammed his hoofs on the cell door, "OF COURSE I KILLED THAT PUTRID BLOODY FILTH, THEY ALL DESERVED TO DIE!"
Sombra returned to his seated position and gave another menacing smile "My father, his friends, his enemies, all of them. They were a poison; a mess of weak and pathetic nuisances that were far better off dead. Why should I care if the weak couldn't keep themselves alive? They only have themselves to blame. They all failed to understand that the power to cause pain is the only power that matters. When you can’t kill, you’re simply at the mercy those who can."
Twilight almost shook under his psychotic gaze. "Y-You're mad. What could you have to gain by killing so many innocent ponies!"
Sombra laughed, "Innocent? Perhaps they were, but the real world doesn't care about innocent or fair. It only matters if you're strong enough to take what you want, or weak enough to have everything taken from you. Besides that if you gave any thought to it you'd see the obvious reasons why they had to die. For example, how was I defeated and put in this cage?"
"You were defeated by the Crystal Heart that I helped retrieve." Twilight said, some bit of pride peeking through her anxious words.
"Yes. Now I ask you, if I were to go back and tear off your horn at birth, would you have been able to get to it?" Sombra inquired.
Twilight thought on this. The only way she was able to get to the real palace and open the door to the crystal heart was with her magic. Without it she might never have been able to get anywhere close to the Crystal Heart.
"You killed the noble crystal unicorns so that they couldn't use their magic to get to the Crystal Heart? Thats just... sick." Twilight said deeply disturbed.
Sombra gave another sharp toothed grin. "By killing them I was able to end other claims to the throne, end their grabs at power, end their influence in the empire, and end any chance of somepony using the Crystal Heart against me. Most importantly though, I got to have the pleasure of eradicating that disease from the Crystal Empire. From then on I spread fear and hatred and I savored every second of it."
Twilight shot a hostile glance to Sombra. "Enjoyed it until Celestia and Luna took you down."
Sombra's expression changed to a disapproving glare. "Those alicorns had the power of the sun, the moon, and of ancient relics that even they couldn't understand. Yet even with all that they could not get a decisive victory. I cheated defeat and death and preserved myself and my empire. I came back to take what was mine and I was not defeated by them, by you, or by the pink alicorn. I lost only to another relic. However, even if I cannot achieve my goal of ruling forever, I still I have my legacy which shall change everything forever." Sombra gave a satisfied grin.
"Your legacy? Your legacy will be undone. All you left behind was an empire that is far better off without you. One that will grow and move past you like you didn't exist. You don't get a legacy Sombra. You lost." Twilight declared.
Sombra gave a chuckle and an amused smile. "You're right. The empire isn't going to be my legacy, rather, you are."
Twilight raised a suspicious eyebrow. "What in equestria are you talking about Sombra?"
Sombra continued, "Its the whole reason I did this little interview. So that you could learn from me. So that I could always be in the back of your head, influencing your every decision. You claim to be a princess? Then to succeed you must understand what kind of king I was."
"Sombra, you're speaking nonsense. The only thing I learned from you is that you were a mad king who will die a sad death. Once you're gone I can forget you ever existed." Twilight stated.
"You wish you could forget me, but the problem with that is this: if you forget me, you're liable to become me." Sombra said with a mocking grin.
"Now I know you've lost your mind. I could never be you Sombra." Twilight replied adamantly.
"Yes, there it is. That is exactly the reason you could be. Think about it, what really separates me from you? What made the difference between us?" Sombra asked.
Twilight gave it a moments thought. "I had my family, Celestia and all my friends."
"I thought as much. You see, there is no force deep in you that prevents you from doing wrong. You had all your outside influences that can only amount to so much, but at some point you have to consider what could be. Imagine if you didn't go and get friends, and instead studied like I did and got lost in it. Would you have become what you are now? Would you be the Princess of Friendship had everything not fallen into your lap? Do you understand yet? Very little separates one that is good, and one that is evil, and you were simply put on the easy road to being good from the start. I say that it won't always be that way for you. So if you wish to, then forget me and perhaps someday you will unknowingly find yourself walking down a path not unlike my own. Or remember me, and let me become something that influences you your whole life. My legacy lives on regardless." Sombra said with a neutral expression.
Silence hovered while Twilight thought. "I don't understand what you're trying to say Sombra, and I still think you're wrong, but there's one thing I know: I won't ever let myself be anything like you. I'll remember you and if I ever think I'm losing myself I'll stop it. I promise you that."
Sombra closed his eyes and took a breath. "That will do. Through that, I'll live forever."
Twilight shook her head. "You'll live a few more hours at best. Good bye Sombra."
Twilight turned and walked away.
