From Darkness To Light

Chapters

Changing Heart & Lessons Learned
Fight & Fever
Facade & Memory
Friendship & Freedom
Crown & Comfort
Posession & Incursion
Meetings & Memorial
Marefriend & Darkfall
Fate & Finale
Interlude
Rulings & Returns
Adjustment & Accepting
Arrival & Adaptation
Darkness & Decisions

Changing Heart & Lessons Learned

Sombra slept through the medical treatment, only waking up later on, in the evening. In the hospital again.

His whole body ached. His leg still hurt, but didn’t feel as bad as earlier. He struggled to his feet, pain lashing through him as stiff, aching muscles objected to the change from lying down.

As he sat up, he felt something in one shoe stab into his hoof. Kicking it off he rattled loose a shard. He remembered now, the thing had broken apart, this shard must’ve gotten into his shoe when they hit the ground. Now he got the feeling someone else needed to see it. Wearily he got to his hooves, putting his shoe back on, weakly levitating the shard in front of him as he walked the halls, wondering where to find the purple Princess pony.

He heard the high pitched giggling of the one he dubbed "the cotton candy" pony, and headed in that direction. They were in the palace library, sat around a table at the far end. Off to the side, a large fire crackled merrily away. While the empire possessed a big library housed in a separate building, the palace library contained more sensitive documents, kept under magical lock and key, as well as regular books.

The ponies were surrounded by books, well, the purple one was. The Rainbow pony was reading a comic book, and the pink one was giggling over a recipe book for party cakes.

He halted, feeling utterly displaced amongst the warmth and happiness of this scene. He felt odd without the cloak wrapped around him, but the thing had been torn to shreds then used as a blanket.

Conversation tailed off as they spotted him. He looked tired, his sides speckled by bandages, all the cuts sustained from the cliff-plummet. When he took a further step forward, Twilight Sparkle seen him wince just a little. Then she seen he was using his limited magic to float something. A small, rough cut something that seemed to catch the light…and absorb it just as fast!

"Whatcha got there..?" Applejack found her voice. Sombra didn’t speak, just levitated the crystal over to Twilight Sparkle, setting it on the book in front of her.

"What’s this thing?" she asked, staring in fascination at it.

"From that things core," he said "this is what they are at heart."

"Whoa!" Twilight Sparkle sat bolt upright "this is from the thing that attacked Rainbow Dash and Rarity? Incredible, with this to study..." she was enraptured by the possibilities.

Sombra showed no reaction, merely turning to walk away. As he did, the other ponies spotted the aforementioned cutie mark Rarity had described.

"Hay!" Rainbow Dash’s shout stopped him in his tracks "what happened out there, what did you DO?"

"Ah, yes!" Twilight Sparkle stopped gawking at the crystal shard to look over at Sombra "we need to know what happened?"

"Did you not hear the whole tale already?" he said haughtily, looking at Rarity and Rainbow Dash.

"Yes, I heard THIER sides," Twilight Sparkle came round the table until she was standing in front of Sombra.

“I impaled it with a tree branch,” he said bluntly “it cracked the core. It tried to reform itself, so I made sure it was destroyed.”

"What was that thing?" Twilight Sparkle asked him.

"Pure fear and hate," he said at last "It doesn’t possess a heart you can reason with.”

"Oh dear." Applejack said at last "ya sure?"

"Certain," Sombra growled, his frown deepening "when I grabbed the core it showed me glimpses of itself. I got a faint sense of what it is."

“And that is…” Rainbow Dash asked in an almost unaffected drawl, yet not sure she really wanted to know. Sombra’s crimson eyes caught the firelight as he turned back to face them. The orange flames reflected off his jet black mane, that flowed like silk as he moved.

“That THING is powerful dark magic, it even gives ME a sick feeling. All I got from it was fury and hunger. Beyond that, nothing. You think I was a ngihtmare? More fool you.”

“Oh.” Rainbow Dash said.

“Why is it HERE?” Twilight Sparkle asked. Sombra shook his head, gaze distant as if trying to figure it out.

“I don’t know,” he said at last, sounding annoyed at the fact “wait-”

That dream he’d had came back to him now. He’d all but forgotten about it, after he’d snapped at Celestia then stalked out of the medical bay.

“Wha’s the matter?” Applejack asked, seeing a look of confusion, then for a split second, unease, flicker across his face.

“That first dream…“This world will fall like all the OTHERS.”” he quoted, stressing this last word “that thing is a parasite, going from place to place!” he shook his head, curiosity sparking behind red eyes. Twilight seen this, and hoped he would be a bit more accomodating. She reached up a hoof towards him to get his attention, and spotted on a subtle level, a nervous, angry flinch, the way he angled himself away from her. He didnt like anypony getting close it seemed. Not for the first time, Twilight began to wodner if there was far more to Sombra than first assumed?

"It wants something. That is all it gave away." Sombra said coldly, turning away from them again, back to sounding unconcerned, expression blank once more.

“Oh dear…” Twilight Sparkle shook her head “we are not its first port of call then..”

“If this things a pro at raiding worlds, the why is it not overrunning the place by now?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Pinkie Pie frowned, then blew a raspberry. She hadn’t a clue.

“Perhaps this is the first world with such a heavy magical population?” Twilight Sparkle postulated.

“It must sense something here can harm it..” Sombra muttered.

“Yeah. YOU.” Rainbow pointed out.

Sombra thought about this for a moment, “it’s testing the waters, seeing how this world will attack it.” With his back to the six ponies, he foud it easier to quash his hatred of these pastel-colored prison guards he'd ben saddled with. He could almost believe he wasnt a captive of this choker and this age.

Twilight Sparkle looked at the crystal shard he’d reclaimed "I’m glad you were able to save a piece of it. Maybe we can learn about it..."

"Why didn’t it attack YOU?" Applejack asked out of curiosity

Sombra snorted, uttering a callous-sounding laugh that made them shiver slightly, as he turned to go, "darkness doesn’t care for darkness, it seeks only light to destroy.." then he swept out of the library.

"What’s THAT menna mean?!" Rainbow Dash blurted in the silence.

"He’s referring to his own darkness..." Celestia materialized from behind a bookshelf "he believes it ignored him because he is just like it."

“And that’s NOT the case?" Rainbow Dash asked. Celestia thought a moment;

"Not entirely. This is not the same Sombra I knew back then. I believe he is changing. Little by little."

“Really?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"I think so.." the Sun Princess nodded "that shard of the crystal heart is opening his world, and maybe even his heart. He may be resistant to it, but if there’s even the slightest part of him that seeks warmth and light, I believe it has the potential to grow.."

"Me too.." Twilight Sparkle said at last.

"He DID save me, and carry me back…" Rainbow Dash admitted.

"He fought that thing when he could have saved his own skin and ran.." Rarity said.

"He likes my cakes!" Pinkie Pie pointed out.

"And the little filly.." Fluttershy smiled at the memory.

“Is that from the creature?” Celestia indicated the shard of black crystal. Twilight Sparkle gave a nod;

“Its very strange, I can see what Sombra meant, this feels like nothing belonging to our world...” she turned it over, seeing again how it seemed to suck in the light and warmth, radiating a cold, unsettling feeling in return.

Rarity half listened to them, half planned something…

Over the next day, with Sombra confined to bed by the doctor, who was concerned that the unicorn had a death wish, Rarity started work on ANOTHER cloak. She’d finished Luna’s in record time, with Fluttershy’s help. Now they were putting the finishing touches on something new;

It was a deep red fabric, around its edges was a black velvet trim, with gold thread stitching it on. The collar was a soft grey, much like his armor. It was lighter then the previous cloak, but still nice and warm, lined with a soft material.

"It's beautiful.." Fluttershy sighed as they sat back to look at it..

"Yes! Much lighter than that old thing! Red suits his coat and mane coloring very well, but this style is much more modern then the fur trimming!" Rarity nodded, pleased with her work.

"Shall we go give it to him..?" Fluttershy asked. Rarity took a deep breath and nodded. Together they headed for Sombra’s room, and met Twilight Sparkle mid-way.

"Anything on that crystal?" Rarity asked.

"Nothing yet, but based on what Sombra’s told us, were not dealing with something that can be reasoned with. As if its just raw hunger." Twilight Sparkle shuddered. Then she noticed the package Rarity carried "what’s in that?"

“A new cloak I made..." Rarity said "the fall shredded that old thing he wore, so I replaced it with something better!"

Twilight Sparkle smiled. Rarity’s generous spirit picked the best times to show up, and here it was again. Sombra had helped save Rainbow Dash and Rarity herself, so she’d made him a new cloak.

The trio headed to Sombra’s room. Twilight Sparkle knocked on the door.

"Come in," the blunt voice replied. They nudged the door open and filed in.

Sombra was sat at the window, resting his front hooves on the sill. He appeared to be watching the tear in the sky.

"It's angry.." he said almost prophetically "it knows this world will fight back."

"Then we'll match it!" Twilight Sparkle understood what he meant "we won’t let this thing do any more damage..."

Sombra looked over his shoulder at them. On seeing three of them standing there, he figured Celestia had summoned him for some ridiculous task again. With a wobble he got to his feet.

"What has she sent you here to ask?" he said heavily, his expression blank as before.

---He's keeping so much suppressed...-- Twilight mused. --I wonder why he did what he did?--

"Nothing!" Rarity said brightly, setting the package down she unravelled the ribbon holding it and the cloak floated into the air. Before Sombra could question what she was doing, Rarity had looped it over his back and deftly tied the golden clasp. It fell elegantly to the floor, the subtle pattern catching the light.

"What....?" Sombra blinked, admiring the warmth of the fabric. It fell in a clean, flowing cut, stopping just past his shoes.

"The thing you were wearing was so last century.." Rarity beamed "plus that dive off the cliff somewhat ruined it!"

Sombra was stunned. This was a gift? Not a forced offering, like he’d made his subjects do in the past, but a present.

He took a few steps, feeling the fabric swish easily out of his way as he walked.

"It's perfect!" Rarity cried in delight at her handiwork "I got the measurements just right!"

"Yes.." Sombra seemed utterly bewildered by the gesture.

"It's to say thank you.." Fluttershy decided to help him out.

"What...for?" he asked uncertainly. His expression was a mix of wary and confused.

"For helping Dashie and I," Rarity bobbed her head "from that filthy..THING. Plus I insisted on appropriating your old one…"

Sombra was floored, what was he meant to say to that?

It felt like the hardest thing he’d ever had to do, speak those words he’d considered beneath him. His mind flashed back to that little filly, how she’d thanked him for the simplest thing, helping her. This was the same thing. The link between emotion and action at last formed, He heard himself speak;

"Hmh...thank you." he said abruptly, the words foreign and unfamiliar.

Rarity was taken aback, but pleased. She’d expected him to be as standoffish as he’d been since arrival. Twilight Sparkle felt certain there was hope for Sombra after all. This was a teeny tiny step, but he’d had presence of mind to make it.

"We’ll let you rest.." Fluttershy stammered, and they scooted out of the room, leaving a bewildered Sombra to admire the newly made garment.

He wasn’t sure what to think. Rarity had made this for HIM. Why should she care? But the shy pony had said it was a thank you. By throwing the tree branch (and himself) at that monster, he’d saved the two ponies and as a result earned Rarity’s gift.

--It’s this choker Celestia has put on my neck...its little more than a portable jail sentence…-- he felt a surge of anger and snarled, raising a hoof to tear the cloak off him. Then he hesitated. Why didn’t he want to do it? Why did he care?

His head was buzzing again, he was tired. He dragged himself to the bed and lay down to have a nap.

When he woke up, he discovered someone had had left a small box just inside the door. Trotting over he read the note:

"This was in the lining of your cloak, it fell out when I was disposing of it." - Flash Sentry.

Ah, that’s right, the black crystal wasn’t the only one he’d found. Upon crash landing into the clearing, he discovered the black cores detonation had blasted open a nearby rock. Inside, it was full of a gorgeous blue stone, with flecks of shimmering gold throughout it. A chunk of it was loose, so he’d kicked it free and stuffed it into a tear in his cloaks lining. He’d forgotten about it until now.

He stared at the crystal, it WAS a beauty.. He could feel a faint power shimmering from it.

His mind flashed back to the past, when he’d obsessively gathered every crystal in the kingdom in the hopes of finding those with magical properties. But he didn’t recall this one.

For a moment the temptation to keep it, use it somehow to escape flashed into his mind. But it halted. He stared out the window again, at the sky tear. More and more he was being drawn to it, fascinated by it. Like somehow he was fated to see this to the end, beyond that he didn’t like to think. No doubt he’d be locked away in the darkness again.

The unicorn who’d given him the cloak, popped into his mind. Shed had a collection of stones in that room she’d been working in. They’d dragged him on that expedition because she needed jewels. But the creatures attack had cut that short.

Giving her the gem would repay her for the cloak, he wouldn’t feel like he somehow owed these crazy ponies anything. As if he didn’t have enough on his mind…

He continued absently justifying what he was about to do as he headed out of the room, searching for Rarity.

Inside the palace there were enough guards posted so he didn’t need to have one follow him, for which he was very glad. The last thing he fancied was an audience.

He located the room at last. The door was open, so he slipped in. Rarity had her back to him, humming away as she worked at a sewing machine. The sound masked his hoof steps, so he decided to just drop it off and leave. He floated the crystal over to the table next to the door, then snuck out.

Rarity stopped when she caught a glimmer out of the corner of her eye. She did a double take when she seen a crystal on the table. A crystal she never thought shed see in her life. It was worth a fortune. Scooping the gem up with her magic, she sped out the door, spotting a familiar cloak swish round the corner. Putting on a burst of speed, she caught sight of him;

"Wait!" she cried. Sombra skidded to a halt, but didn’t turn round.

"Ahem.." she coughed, a bit unnerved by his silence "where did you find this? It’s so beautiful."

"In the forest where I fell," he said bluntly "inside a rock."

"In all my years designing dresses, I’ve never come across this stone, only seen it in books!" she looked at the crystal "it’s exceptionally rare..."

"Hmph, that matters not to me now, I have no purpose for it. At least your expedition wasn’t a total waste of time with this.." he shrugged dismissively and carried on down the hall.

"Well, that was very generous, thank you!" Rarity said in a rush "I will make excellent use of it!"

Sombra didn’t answer, didn’t seem to react, just vanished out of sight, back off to his room.

Rarity looked again at the crystal. It was so pretty, and it was a large chunk too! Done right, this could cover a few outfits, offset with other jewels too of course…

Her mind abuzz with potential ideas, she trotted back towards her room. Then she heard a thump and a snarl of pain. Worried, she ran back down the hall and turned a corner. Sombra had collapsed, and from the way he was shivering, the pain was bad. She watched as he tried to get up, only to crumple to the floor again. She caught a flash of blue light from around his neck. Princess Celestia’s choker, the one she’d made to suppress his powers.

Unsure what else to do, Rarity threw back her head and shouted at the top of her voice;

"HAYYY! SOMEPONY GET HERE QUICK!!"

This had the effect of three palace guards coming running towards her. She was sat beside a by now unconscious Sombra, trying to wake him. They took the scene in and called for the stretcher.

Rarity followed them to the med bay. She’d put the crystal in the seamstress bag she wore on her back, to hold all her needles and tape. The doctor asked her what had happened; Rarity told her tale whilst the doctor unlatched Sombra’s cloak and set it aside so he could check if any of the cuts and lacerations had re-opened since he’d bandaged them before.

"I have no IDEA darling. One minute he’s just fine, albeit as obtuse and moody as ever, then suddenly I hear a cry of total AGONY," she took a breath, and carried on "I raced over there, and he’d collapsed. That thing around his neck was causing it I think..."

The doctor frowned as he checked Sombra's heart rate. "That’s odd, this is twice now this has happened."

“Twice?" Rarity asked. The doctor nodded.

"His previous injuries, I assumed they’d caused the erratic heartbeat. But this time, if as you say, he was merely walking around, that shouldn’t cause the same symptom. Let alone pain like you described. It would be enough to make him black out however..."

"Is he alright?" Rarity found herself asking "he doesn’t look well!"

The doctor shrugged "I can only examine him when he’s unconscious, he wont let anypony near him when he’s awake, and I’m not letting him hurt my staff! He‘s violent and unpredictable!"

"Right, he’s not a pony person..." Rarity said quietly.

She left to go find Princess- well, any of them! They were all working from the empire in light of this current crisis.

By luck she encountered Princess Luna, raiding the kitchen for her version of a midnight snack...a midday snack!

"Greetings Rarity.." the Princess of the night floated a platter of cake "would you care for some?"

And so they sat down to share some tea and cake, one of Rarity’s favorite things.

"You look troubled," Luna said as they tucked in "what bothers thou?"

"Well, something rather odd just happened. I mean, it was unexpected…"

“Tell us, maybe we can assist thee!" Luna said.

"Well, I was working on my latest dress, when I see somepony drop off a crystal on the table by the door. I ran after them, and it was Sombra!"

Luna raised an eyebrow "he dropped a crystal off to you? Were thou expecting it to be delivered?"

“Goodness no, and it was an exquisite gem, one I’ve only ever dreamed of finding.." she floated it out of her pouch to show Luna.

"My my, that IS beautiful!" Luna remarked.

"Isn’t it just? Anyhoof, I asked him where he’d found it. he said it was in the part of the forest he landed in after he fell off that cliff. He said he had no use for it, and that this way my expedition wasn’t a total loss...."

"Hmm...so he intended it as a gift perhaps?" Luna asked "unusual, especially from someone who’s obsession was collecting powerful crystals a thousand years ago!"

"Really?" Rarity asked "I see.."

"Then what?" Luna asked.

"I thanked him for giving it to me, he didn’t answer, just walked away. Then I hear him crying out in pain. It sounded bad, so I ran over." she frowned "he’d collapsed, something was wrong..."

Luan frowned "Sister did say his state of health appears to be fluctuating ever since he got here. Let us go speak with her!"

Finishing off their cake, they trotted away in search of Celestia.

Celestia was sitting in the room of the palace reserved for her to work in, reading a scroll. She rolled it back up when she seen Rarity and Luna approaching.

"Is everything alright?" she asked.

"We bear an unusual tale sister, well, Rarity doth.." Luna indicated the unicorn.

Celestia nodded for her to begin. Rarity began describing the whole cloak thing, ending in the fact the grumpy unicorn had actually THANKED her.

Celestia rose one elegant eyebrow.

"That was my reaction," Rarity said "he actually seemed to like it, getting a present I mean.."

"What else?" Celestia asked, seeing the flicker of concern on Rarity’s face.

"Well, he came by my sewing room, and left a beautiful crystal for me.." here she held it up again "even though it’s a really rare one, he gave it to me! I chased after him, managed to catch up long enough to say thank you, then the next thing I know, he’s passed out from the pain, and that thing you put around his neck was glowing…”

Celestia thought it through "I believe its a reaction to your element, my dear.."

“Me?" Rarity said "I don’t understand, Princess.."

"I have become more and more convinced this is down to that shard of the crystal heart. It’s changing, or rather, HELPING change him," Celestia nodded "First up was when he went to the crystal market with Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy. She is the element of kindness...and I believe he showed it by allowing that filly to get so close THEN aiding her. Second, the forest. Rainbow Dash’s element of loyalty, triggered when he rescued and returned her to the palace when he could have abandoned you both. And now Generosity. Your element my dear. By giving you that gem he showed a less selfish side to himself."

"Wow.." Rarity said at last. "I guess I shouldn’t be surprised he knew the crystal was special, I mean, his cutie mark IS crystals!"

"Indeed. Kindness, loyalty and generosity. Each incident has expressed one of the elements of you six," Celestia smiled "While I cannot fathom why it causes such pain, I believe the shard is changing his heart and mind with every incident, forcing him to see the reality his madness denied before. Learning such a valuable lesson for somepony like Sombra isn’t an easy process, nor a painless one..."

"What should we do..?" Rarity asked.

"Keep trying," Celestia said "I have the feeling Sombra is a big part of what we need to fight that thing..."

Once back in his room, Sombra felt the tensions ease off his chest. He hated being in any state of vulnerability, yet he kept blacking out and waking up in the doctors care. So he made every conscious effort to flee soon as their backs were turned.

He burrowed under the covers, having discarded his cloak and armor, and fell asleep instantly.

But it was not to be a peaceful sleep. The nightmares were back. Just fuzzy memories, but they were memories he never wanted to see again. Memories of a time when he’d been weak, pathetic, always subject to other pony’s cruelty.

--Enough!!-- he thought desperately, and the next second he jolted awake, his stomach churning. He soon found himself being painfully sick, a heavy fit of shivering wracking his body. What was wrong with him? Why was his past returning NOW?

At last he crawled back to bed and blacked out.

When he woke the next morning, it was to a guard knocking on the door bearing a breakfast tray. He set it down and left, the door shutting behind him. Sombra eyed the tray, but in the end the lavishly buttered toast was all he managed. Even that made him feel a bit off, but luckily stayed down.

A note on the tray told Sombra was told he was to rest, the Princess, (Twilight Sparkle, he assumed), would not be sending for him today. He got up, putting on the cloak Rarity had made for him.

His head still felt a jumble, so he went outside for a walk around the gardens. He noticed (or rather stumbled across) a school tour group being led around the grounds. They halted when they seen him stride past, the kids eyes wide. He was a big and scary pony. Behind them, the teacher stared. Even with the Princesses in control of him, she was a little frightened of him.

Sombra was walking past some massive shrubs when he heard a giggle. He paused, hearing it again.

“Boop?“

He knew that sound..

Curious, he wriggled into the centre of the hedge, surprised to find it was hollow. Inside it was the giggling filly from the market.

"Boop! You found me!" she cried, apparently as a greeting.

"Greetings little one." he managed at last.

"You’re the pony mommy talked about. She said you were scawwy...are you?" she asked this so bluntly, with such honesty that he faltered.

"Your mother is right." he said after a pause.

"I don’t fink so.." the little filly shook her head.

"And why, pray tell, is that?" he asked. She giggled.

"You talk funny! Like a king fwom my stowwybooks.."

The irony made him wince, but she carried on regardless;

"You just looked lonely, so I figured I’d say hi!"

"Or Boop…" he muttered.

She giggled, rolling around in the leaves "I do that to evewyone I meet! Its how I say hi!"

Sombra didn’t have anything to say to that.

“I’m Bwight Spark!" she declared at last, sitting up and shaking leaves out of her mane. "Whas yours?"

“Your mother didn’t tell you?" he said almost jokingly, but it sounded bitter.

"She did, but I fink its nice to have somepony tell me.."

Shaking his head at the impossible-ness of this child, he at last said "Since you need to know so badly, it's Sombra."

“Sombwa.." she mimicked "she said you used to be a ruler like Pwincess Cadie.."

"In the distant past. You’d serve yourself better not asking about that." he told her.

"Really..?" she pouted "I know she said you were a meanie back then, but the Pwincesses bwought you back, so you cant be all bad?"

“You’re very insightful for a little one," he pointed out.

"Mommy says I have little sparks of ideas, like my name..." she peered at her flank "still no cutie mark though...say!" she looked cheerful again "you got a cutie mark? Can I see?"

Baffled by this hyperactive filly and, frankly amused, he levitated the cloak to show the cutie mark Rarity had been marvelling at.

"OOH!" she bounced up and down "its pwetty! I like the cwystals!"

It was the darndest thing. This cluelessly adorable filly didn’t seem scared of him, of his past, of who he WAS. She was no fool however, but she wasn’t scared. She was a unicorn, she had to be able to sense something of his magic. Its darkness, the wrongness of it…

"Are you lonely?" she asked suddenly, reverting back to the reason she’d first approached him at the market.

"I have been alone my whole life," he said darkly.

"What about your pawents?"

He paused, he hadn’t thought about his family in years. Right form when he was a foal, he’d displayed a strange magic that his parents had been fearful of. DARK magic. This fear had made them resent him. He’d been angry, and that anger had stewed inside him until the day he’d run away from home.

He’d gone on the run, disguising himself with his magic, which had grown steadily stronger the longer he travelled. At last, he’d come across the crystal kingdom. They’d been mourning the passing away of it’s previous ruler. Her husband, the new king, had interrogated the angry young Sombra and offered him a place at the palace.

But his bitterness hadn’t abated. The palace staff shied away from him, afraid of what they’d started calling "the dark pony". In the end he'd snapped, and darkness had overflowed his heart. He’d taken over, rapidly enslaving the ponies of the crystal empire, and stealing the crystal heart for himself, keeping it in the tower of the palace. Every day he’d fought to unlock its secrets, forcing the ponies to mine for crystals that he thought could unlock its secrets. But none had.

Bright Spark seen the sadness that clouded his eyes, seen the way he suddenly seemed to tense up, and bounded up to poke his nose.

"Boop!" she cried, looking hopefully for a smile, or something! “you alwight?”

It took immense effort, but at last he managed the smallest of nods.

"Yay!" she said, pleased with her handiwork.

"Bright spark!" they both jumped as they heard a voice, far away in the distance.

“Uh oh...teacher’s looking for me..." Bright Spark looked guilty "I was menna be at the picnic, I fowgot!"

"Wed better go then, I think I know where she’s holding it.."

She obediently followed him out of the hollow hedgerow, and they began to trek towards where Sombra guessed they’d host a picnic.

Sure enough, they were setting up camp on the massive front lawn.

Sombra stooped, and bobbed his head at the gathering "there you go little one. I must leave now."

“Why?" she asked.

"You want your whole class to run off screaming?" he asked. She giggled.

"You’re not that scawwy!"

"Perhaps not to you little one, but then, you seem entirely fearless..."

"Fanks!" she giggled. They were standing right beside an open window, out of which drifted some lovely smells.

"Ooh, that smells so good.." Bright Spark bounded up and down trying to see what was inside. Being significantly taller, Sombra wandered over.

"It’s that cotton candy pony, she’s making MORE cakes...." unable to help himself he said, loud enough for Pinkie Pie to hear "who’s going to eat THAT much cake?"

She bounced over to the window. "Hihi grumpy!"

“Stop calling me that!" he growled.

"Well you ARE a grumpy boots!" she laughed.

He was already lost, and she’d only spoken two sentences to him.

"Hihi!" Pinkie Pie could hear a second voice, and, looking out the window, she spied Bright Spark bouncing about the ex-rulers hooves.

"Whatcha making?" she asked.

"Cakes, lots of cakes!" Pinkie Pie declared "you want some?"

"Ooh!" Bright Spark's eyes widened, then she looked over at her class "but my fwiends..."

"Oh, I got plenty!" Pinkie Pie grabbed a basket, and at a speed that made Sombra’s head whirl, filled it to the utter brim with cakes, more then enough to feed a whole class.

This she handed out to Sombra, who gave her a funny look.

"Why are you giving that to ME?" he objected. Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes.

"Silly, because she’s too tiny to carry it, she’d probably fit IN the basket!"

Sombra looked at little Bright Spark, who was eyeing the basket with utter rapture.

"Point taken.." he said begrudgingly "you’re just doing this to make me look foolish aren’t you?"

"Nah! If I was going to do that I’d tie an apron on you-" here Pinkie Pie heard the oven timer ding and squeed "they’re done!"

Suddenly eager to escape Pinkie Pies clutches before she really DID try tying him up in an apron, Sombra grabbed the basket with his magic and hauled it away, with Bright Spark trotting alongside.

"Woww...so many cakes! That was super nice!" she beamed at Sombra.

The teacher called Bright Spark’s name, and sighed in relief when she got an answer. She turned, seeing her trotting across the grass...then she seen who was with her.

The class all gawped. But fearless Bright Spark didn’t falter, she just bounded up to the teacher, babbling;

"Guess what, the pink pony in the palace kitchen gave us all these cakes!"

Sombra stopped a few feet away and set the basket down. He straightened up, aware of the uneasy glances boring into him.

"I couldn’t cawwy them, I’m too small!" spark bounced around the basket, "Sombwa carried 'em!"

More silence.

"Ah W-well.." the teacher struggled to find the words "That’s very nice Bright Spark, but you shouldn’t just wander off..."

"Okayy.." Bright Spark did her best to look contrite, but Sombra had to suppress the urge to laugh. That little filly was quite the actress!

He inadvertently caught the teacher's eye when she was pulling a face that said she had come to the same conclusion as Sombra.

"She lives up to her name;" he said suddenly "you have a very bright student."

Then he uttered a farewell, and turned to go.

"Bye bye!" Bright Spark waved a hoof as he vanished, then turned to her gobsmacked teacher "see? He’s not that scawwy miss!"

The teacher didn’t know how to respond, she eventually shared out all the cake is the basket amongst her children, while Bright Spark talked about the pink pony who’d given them to her!

Sombra reflected on the weird morning as he walked back across the palace grounds. That little filly was bold and brazen, but she didn’t seem scared of him. So many had reacted to him with fear in the past he’d become accustomed to it. Even though it had stirred up such bitterness, he’d never tried to change his fate. Now it seemed he had a die hard fan in that little filly. Who, despite knowing his past from her mother, didn’t care!

These last few days, he’d been dragged, kicking and snarling, into a different world. One filled with light and life.

He settled down under a shady tree and drifted off into a light sleep.

He was woken by that familiar voice. Sitting, he pricked his ears up.

"Go on, say it again...."

"Pwease..."

"Ha!"

Pwease? Wait, he knew that voice. Bright Spark?

He got up and trotted over towards the voice. He didn’t spot the class teacher, also on the lookout for the missing filly again..

"Leave me awone!" Bright Spark sniffled. The two fillies, one with a lemon yellow coat, pink hair, and a dragonfly cutie mark. The other grey with yello, and a glittering green bow cutie symbol.

"You're so lame, no wonder you’re still a blank flank, why don’t you learn to talk properly! Who knows, maybe your cutie mark is a dictionary!"

Bright Spark burst into tears and dodged past them, running round the corner. They ran after her, but a second later they bumped into something solid and shiny.

Blinking, they realised they were looking at their reflections, in a set of armored shoes. They backed up, gazes following the way up to the shoes owner.

It was the dark pony from the market, and the cake incident. Sombra.

Bright Spark was sitting up on his back. He’d lifted her up and out of the way when he’d strode in.

"Sombwa!" she cried in delight!

"I told you before, little one, you have nothing to fear from them!"

The two fillies stared in wide eyed shock. Bright Spark REALLY was friendly with that scary pony!

He glared at them now "You belittle a filly that has the courage to walk up to a monster of darkness and show no fear?" he drew himself up to his full height and glared down at them "she has nothing to be ashamed of! "

Bright spark looked at him in awe.

The two fillies looked scared.

"How she speaks is irrelevant!" he declared "the honesty of her words is enough to put her above anypony that tries to demean her!"

The two fillies just gaped.

"He’s right girls.." a female voice spoke up. All whirled, seeing the teacher standing there. she looked cross.

"I have warned you two before about bullying, now I see you at it again.."

The two fillies bowed their heads, looking a little ashamed.

Sombra groaned internally. He hadn’t meant for an extended audience!

"You two go on ahead to the front of the castle!" she told the two bullies "I’ll be having a talk with your parents later! That is NOT how we treat somepony at Crystal School!"

The two slunk away, casting sulky glares at Spark’s protector.

Once they were gone the teacher looked at Spark, sitting atop Sombra’s back, giggling as she batted at his flowing mane.

"What are you doing?" Sombra asked dryly.

"Your mane is so much awesome!" she giggled. Sombra just shook his head slightly.

"Are you alright Bright Spark?" the teacher asked.

"I’m fine, miss Petalbwoom!" spark said "do we have to go too?"

"I’m afraid so my dear. Let’s go.." she hesitated, took a deep breath and looked at Sombra "I would like to speak to you a moment.."

“If you wish," he said bluntly, his voice emotionless again.

Spark trotted on ahead whilst Petalbloom gathered enough courage to say "I heard what you said...in her defence. She’s a very sweet filly, but she gets picked on because of her speech defect."

"Hmph.." Sombra stared ahead as they walked "I told her before, now and at the market, and I will say it again. A little thing that can walk up to somepony like that, without fear, should be commended. Few display her courage."

"I hope she will take that on board. I think you’ve done more for her then ever I could. Thank you."

"She does not fear an atrocity of darkness, I cannot fathom why she fears those little ones." he said coldly. "if that is all, I must go."

"Aww..." Bright Spark bounded over on hearing this. They weren’t far from the palaces main entrance. "I don’t wanna go! Can't you come wiv us?"

“Not unless you want an armed platoon of royal guards following." Sombra raised one eyebrow at the guard hovering nearby.

"Oh, hay! There y‘all are!"

They all jumped as an orange pony spotted them an walked over, it was Applejack!

"Pinkie Pie was asking if the kids enjoyed the cakes?"

“We loved 'em!" Bright Spark beamed at Applejack.

Seeing this trusting, happy little filly made Sombra’s mind wander. All those years ago, he’d been reviled and beaten for what he was, for who he was. He could see that same fear of mistreatment in this fillies eyes. Buried under all the darkness and anger, a small part of him insisted history not repeat itself...

A stabbing pain interrupted his thoughts, and he felt the world spin on its axis, the ground seeming to lurch. He closed his eyes, fighting it back,

"Oh my- are you OK?" it was the teachers voice.

"Sombwa?!" Bright Spark ran back over, peering up at him.

"Its nothing.." he snarled through clenched teeth.

Applejack frowned when she seen the choker around his neck flare brightly for a split second, then he collapsed to the ground.

--This is what Rarity said happened...-- Applejack frowned.

"Hey, can y'all hear me? What’s the matter?" She crouched beside Sombra.

"I...I don’t know..." Sombra tried to raise himself but the jewel glimmered again, forcing him back to the grass.

"Oh man, what do I do?" Applejack looked about for somepony, anypony to help.

"What’s happening, is he sick?" Petalbloom asked.

"There is no need for concern.." Celestia appeared from nowhere. Sparks eyes widened, she was pretty, her colourful hair like a flowing river.

Celestia smiled at the teacher, speaking softly "he has a minor ailment, causes fits and dizziness...the doctor will be along shortly.."

"We have to go, the class is waiting," the teacher said to Spark.

"But Sombwa is.."

“Do not fret child..." Celestia looked over at her "it will pass soon, he just needs some rest..."

"Bye bye Sombwa..." Bright Spark sniffled at last "get weww soon!" then she was reluctantly towed away by the teacher.

"Relax, Sombra.." Celestia’s voice was lilting, like music. She bowed her head, so he horn met his. The magic flowed from her to him, making the biting pain a little less awful.

"What’s goin’ on?" Applejack asked "what’s with that doo-hickey?" meaning the choker.

"What is this thing..." Sombra growled, closing his eyes as a feeling of sickness washed over him, but at least the pain faded to a dull ache.

"It is but a limiter, not a tool to cause harm."

"That aint what IT thinks.." Applejack added.

Celestia smiled faintly, then leaned in closer to Sombra, so only he could hear her...

"You know your heart is changing...don’t you? That’s why it hurts..."

"Why did you bring me here...." Sombra asked, wanting a real answer "because you need darkness to fight that thing?"

"WE brought you here, because of that, but it appears the crystal heart of this empire has other plans."

"What difference does it make?" he muttered.

"You’ll understand in time." she stepped back. he shakily wobbled to his feet, but looked on the verge of passing out again.

She called two of the guards to bring him to the palace doctor. As they left, Applejack looked up at the Princess.

"What’s really goin' on here Princess? That looked like it hurt real bad.."

"So far he has had three other fits similar to this one. Each time its in direct response to the elements of harmony."

"So this was in response to somethin‘?" Applejack asked.

"Yes..." Celestia smiled "I was observing him from the castle, I seen him defending that little filly. Perhaps it was nosy of me, but I used my magic to hear their talk."

"And what’d they say?"

"He said she should be proud for having the courage to face up to a monster. A very honest way of saying it..."

"Honest...honesty! Whoa nelly, you sayin’ that was cause of me? Mah element and all..." Applejack looked startled.

"Do not be worried Applejack, I think this is for the best. Each time has been when HE himself has demonstrated those qualities.."

“Ya mean.."

"Kindness; at the market when he first let that child get close without retaliating; Loyalty, when he didn’t abandon Rarity and Rainbow Dash in the forest, and Generosity when he broke a barrier to thank Rarity for that gift by giving her that gem. And now, admitting he is or perhaps WAS, a monster..."

"Wow.." Applejack looked out across the grounds "so then he really IS tryin'?"

"It seems so. Even I am surprised, back then I thought him full of nothing but hatred. He had so much deep seated anger at the world..."

"Did ya ever find out why?" Applejack asked.

Celestia shook her head "little is known about his past. I have been unable to find out anything about him in the years since his imprisonment."

"Mebbe.." Applejack shrugged "mebbe he got picked on only to a WAY worse degree?"

"I’ll have to keep a watch on how this unfolds, it seems that little filly plays an important role in his reformation."

“You think it’s possible?" Applejack asked.

"I think so...perhaps that was the hearts design all along...to teach him how to rule.." then she pottered away. Applejack stood awhile longer, pondering it all, then was startled by Pinkie Pie sneaking up on her, investigating where the apples she'd asked her fetch had gotten to!

Curled up in his bedroom, Sombra couldn’t help but think about Celestia’s words. These were feelings and emotions he’d never allowed himself. Hope, kindness.

He’d been given another chance, brought back to life from the darkness. His fury at being stripped of his power and forced to endure all this malarkey about friendship and honesty, was fading a little. Part of him still recoiled against it, it was pointless. If you trusted somepony they’d turn on you! That was a lesson he’d learnt early. Ponies feared his darkness, feared and hated HIM.

But now...he’d met one innocent soul who didn’t care what he’d done, she was just curious about HIM. Wasn’t scared, wasn’t fearful, just curious.

--Little spark to light the darkness...-- he thought absently, before falling asleep.

The dream he had that afternoon was the most awful yet. In it he could see from the POV of one of those things...watching the townspeople from the tear in the sky. He felt the disgusting animosity within it. It had no room for persuasion, it would take what it wanted. Much like he...

But something inside even HIM objected to this thing. What had these ponies done to deserve...this. What had they done to deserve HIM?

It was like seeing into a mirror for Sombra. In this thing he seen the same fear inducing cruelty he’d inflicted all those years ago. But this thing did not care.

A part of him snapped, and in his dream he rebelled against the things darkness as it swirled around him, lashing out....

In the final moments of their contact, he seen the things plans. Seen the ponies below, glowing from within, their innocence. It wanted to feast on them, but the attack on it had damaged its strength. That thing he‘d fought was a scout, created from this things power. By destroying it when he’d done his cliff top dive, he’d caused the nameless thing great pain and fury. It had attacked rainbow because she glowed brighter than most, so too had Rarity.

He awoke sharply with a gasp.

He staggered drunkenly about, struggling to regain his balance. But at last he steadied out, and raced out of his room, coming face to face with the guard.

"Where’s Celestia?!" he blurted.

"She’s in her temporary office room.." the guard said "I’m under orders to-"

“Forget your orders!" Sombra bellowed, his anger rising "she will want to hear this!"

Clearly, he wasn’t going to dissuade him, so the guard reluctantly escorted him down there. As they walked, he couldn’t help notice the sheer tension radiating from the unicorn. Whatever he was so wound up about really had him on edge!

Celestia was surprised to see Sombra at the door, along with the guard.

"Its all right, you can go.." she told the guard. He looked a little unwilling, but in the end he obeyed the Princess and left.

"Something’s bothering you, if you came charging down here so fast!" she remarked. Sombra stayed just inside the door as it clicked shut.

Celestia paused mid way to the desk that’d been set up for her. Sombra looked a little...was it possible for him to appear "freaked out"? Something in his eyes indicated this wasn’t just him coming to rail at her about bringing him back to save an empire that had defeated him.

"You’ve seen something..." she guessed at last. A minute twitch from him indicated she was right.

"It takes magic, energy...the very core of what is inside..." he muttered, eyes half closed in memory "you shine like stars to that thing."

"Then it attacked Rainbow Dash..."

"She was closest, the first it had seen. It would’ve gone for the other one too, had it had time.."

"Were it not for you tackling it off a cliff." Celestia finished "there must be a bigger entity at work..."

"Perhaps so.." Sombra muttered.

They were interrupted by a frantic pounding on the door.

Sombra stood back as it came flying open, and Flash Sentry came barrelling in.

"Princess...Celestia...there’s a squadron of the guards, they were attacked by something-"

Celestia shared a look with Sombra.

"That thing wasn’t alone..." he muttered.

"Follow me," Celestia said, hurrying after Flash.

Luna was sleeping, and Cadance was out, so that left her to deal with this.

They arrived in the same medical room Sombra had woken up in oh-so-many times. Three Pegasi and two Unicorn guards. Two of the former and one of the latter were on beds, all passed out.

The Doctor did a double take when he seen Sombra following Celestia. Why was HE here?

"What happened?" Celestia asked the closet guard. The freaked out Pegasus flapped his wings and looked up at her;

"This THING...a..a.." he tried to conjure up the words he needed…

"Wobbly black mass?" Sombra volunteered.

"Yes a...how did you...?"

Celestia looked at Sombra.

"It's the same thing," he said bluntly.

"The same as that which attacked Princess Twilight Sparkles friend," Celestia explained "she fainted much the same..."

"What happened to the creature?" the Doctor asked.

"I-it got away...." the guard said. This made Sombra twitch, although nopony noticed.

"We tried to fight it, but it just absorbed the magic attacks, and anything we threw just passed right through." the unicorn shook his head "In the end, after we pretty much used up every scrap of magic we had, it darted away and we lost it!"

"Were you aiming for the core?" Sombra muttered.

"Core…?" the dazed guard shook his head "there WAS no core, it was solid black!"

Sombra frowned. Celestia looked at him.

"The one you fought, it had a core at its centre. Twilight Sparkle showed me the piece you brought back."

"This thing had no core ma'am..." the guard said.

"Where did it go?" Sombra said. Something was gnawing at his subconscious, a nagging headache-y feeling...

"Uh...w-well...we don’t know...."

"Then you need to find it!" Sombra suddenly raised his voice "It’d taken what it could from YOU, now its likely after somepony else!"

"You think that’s its purpose?" Celestia asked. Sombra began pacing back and forth, the elegant red cloak swirling about his body.

"I already told you. It sees you all as walking, flapping magical batteries!"

"Then why didn’t it attack us too?" the remaining conscious guards asked.

"You said you fought it? My guess is it’s still working out what this world has. It’s first attempt to feed went south after its first scout was attacked and destroyed. Now its trying again, and it doesn’t want to be caught out twice!"

They all stared in shock.

"How can you..?" the Pegasus stammered. Sombra whirled on him, the light catching his red eyes and making them gleam like gems.

"That thing is darkness, and I know things about dark magic you’d pass out after hearing!" he snapped.

"That I don’t doubt.." the Doctor muttered.

"Then maybe you can track it down.." Celestia said. "You destroyed one already.."

"Destroyed?" the unicorn asked "how?"

"Easy," Sombra said "Shatter that core. The sharper the object the better."

The remaining conscious ponies (plus doctor) stood in silence as Celestia pulled Sombra aside to talk to him. Whatever she said, he shook his head. She frowned, then said something else. He scowled, but whatever shed asked, he relented, looking as dour as possible in the process.

"I will send Flash Sentry with you," she said as she turned back to the guards.

"Ma'am, we want to go too..." they looked determined. Celestia understood their need to find the thing that’d attacked their fellow guards, but warned them to be careful.

And so, it was the two guards, Sombra and Flash Sentry that left the palace. The sky outside was shifting towards dusk. The streets were quiet, most shops closed by now. A soft breeze ruffled Sombra’s mane, and he sighed. He was tired, but he got the feeling his headache wouldn’t die until that creature did!

"How’re we supposed to find it in a whole town?" Flash Sentry asked.

Sombra ignored them, walking slowly down the street, listening for even the slightest sound.

It came like a shrill whistle. It was only as he started running in that direction that he realised it was a scream.

"Hay!" the unicorn guard spotted Sombra suddenly tense up, his ears pricking up. Then he took off with incredible speed.

"After him!" the Pegasus guard creid. Flahs Sentry stared in bewilderment as they all chased after Sombra. He could certainly run, they were just able to keep up with him!

Then they too started hearing the chaos on the wind. Sounds of screaming, panicking.

At last they reached the area where the screams began.

Just as Sombra rounded the corner, he seen a small foal being lifted out of a window by the dark mass, which was clinging to the side of the crystal home like a weird goopy jelly. Inside the residence, the child’s mother was screaming, crying for her child.

Sombra looked about, searching for something, anything-

"Mommy!" the foal screamed. The thing holding him felt all kinds of scary, and cold!

Thwack.

A rock bounced off the side of the house, drawing the things attention. It snarled, as its slitted yellow eyes focused on Sombra and the royal guards.

"So..you came back for me?!" it cackled.

"Leave the kid alone!" Flash Sentry yelled.

"As you wish.." it laughed, and tossed the child to one side like a toy. The foal screamed. Flash Sentry took off, soaring in to catch the child before he hit the ground.

"Its OK!" he assured the shivering kid.

The thing flowed down from the house and assembled itself in the houses front garden. The yellow eyes fixated on Sombra.

"You...." it said angrily "are a problem. Eradicate.."

“Hmph!" Sombra snorted "stow your yapping you pathetic little mould pile!"

"How dare you!!" it screeched, flinging itself at Sombra. He ducked and dodged round, grabbing part of it’s jelly-like body in his fangs, biting as hard as he could and swinging the thing round. It flew through the air, smashing into a street light and hitting the pavement with a splat.

"Eugh.." Sombra coughed. That thing made him feel sick!

A bolt of magic flew into the blobby shape and made it reel. It twisted its body to stare at the unicorn guard.

Sombra looked around, he needed something SHARP.

There, a few houses down, some gardening implements had been left out. he ran over, glancing over them...aha!

He levitated the pitchfork and heard a scream.

The thing had its coils around the unicorn guards neck and was trying to drain him....

Kicking off, Sombra put as much speed and power behind the shot as he levelled the pitchfork implement at where he could see the things heart.

There was a sound like a thunder crack as it struck home. And got STUCK.

With the four pointed spear sticking out of its side, the creature dropped the guard and rounded on sombra.

"I will tear you apart!" it shot into the air, forming into a dozen arrows. A small portion of darkness remained, swirling around the core, with the tines of the fork still partly lodged in it.

The arrows burst outwards in a random formation, before homing in on Sombra. He smirked. Just a little closer...

He ducked low, keeping his eyes fixed on the arrows, letting instinct and memory guide his body as he raced forward.

Flash Sentry gawped as Sombra ducked left and right, ducking under, and on one occasion, jumping OVER the arrows trajectory. He was surprisingly agile for a big guy!

Sombra didn’t waste the opportunity. He jumped, grasping the pitchfork handle in his teeth, using sheer brute force and his body weight to give the implement a hefty twist-

KABOOM!

It sent a fissure through and through the core, shattering it as its predecessor had. The following shockwave caught Sombra by surprise, he was still holding the pitchfork!

For a moment, ground and sky got tangled up, and he hit the ground hard enough to temporarily black out.

A few seconds of darkness...far away voices...

He groaned, getting to his feet. He checked himself, no broken bones, great. He’d had enough of those!

His eyes widened when he seen the core exploding had torn up a chunk of the crystal paving.

"Whoops.." Flash spoke from beside him.

"Huh.." Sombra muttered.

His head ached afresh, but this time just from a bump to the head.

"Let's go." he said sharply.

Flash Sentry looked around at the ponies gathered in their doorways, whispering and casting glances at himself, the guards, and of course, Sombra.

After reassuring the ponyfolk, the tired group returned to the castle. Celestia was standing by the door, waiting to hear if they’d found it..

"It's gone!" Flash Sentry said with a salute.

"Good..." she sighed in relief "were you able to see the core?"

Flash Sentry shook his head.

"We just seen it get stabbed with a pitchfork, then explode!" the Pegasus guard blurted "all I seen was a black blob, no core, no nothing!"

"Hm.." Celestia looked at Sombra, who stood behind the guards "seems you alone can see their weak spots."

"Guess that’s why it said he was a problem..." Flash Sentry added "I got the impression it wants him gone."

"Hm, perhaps it knows your not like everypony else. I will deliver this news to Twilight Sparkle. All of you go see the doctor, you look like you need the rest!"

"Pah, I’m fine.." Sombra muttered.

"Then what about that bump on your noggin?" Flash Sentry asked. The angry unicorn rounded on him;

"Will both of you shut up!" Sombra snapped, then realised the problem "dangit!!"

"You’re concussed," Flash Sentry said, waving a hoof in front of Sombra’s face "you hit the ground pretty hard..."

"You’re both going to get a flank kicking if you don’t leave me alone!" Sombra snapped. he stomped off, muttering;

"Ish no different from being drunk!"

"What’d he say?" Flash Sentry couldn’t help a laugh.

"I’ll deal with him," Celestia chuckled "you all go get some treatment, you can give me the details tomorrow!"

"Yes ma’am!" they chorused.

Celestia went in search of the concussed Sombra.

She found him pretty fast, he was wobbling his way down the hall. He grumbled as she indicated a nearby couch, but didn’t seem to have the energy to go any further.

Getting the feeling trying to make him se the doctor would be a waste of time, she did a little spell to alleviate the bump on his head. He still looked worn out.

"Did you sense anything further?" she asked. He closed his eyes, drifting in and out of consciousness;

"Only a little..."

"Sombra.." Celestia looked concernedly at him; "my sister is the dream walker. If she can walk amongst your dreams, she can perhaps see something. I ask that-"

His eyes glinted briefly as he opened them to stare at her, then he angled his head away and answered;

"Ugh, stop pretending. I have no choice in the matter!" he retorted "just do what needs to be done to kill this thing and end this!"

She regarded him a moment, then nodded "Tonight then," as he turned to leave she added "I suggest you return to your bed, you have endured a great deal."

"Hmph, no more then I deserve no doubt.." he said harshly, then sleep overwhelmed him and he passed out.

Author's Note

Finally, my stomach is better....@__@ BUT, my scanner is broken. T_T I cant scan my drawings....it sucks.

Chapter 2 kindly edited by Dream Seeker! ^^

Fight & Fever

And so, that night, when he fell asleep (back in his own bed), he was greeted by the Princess of the night.

The world filled in around them. They were standing in the town square. The ponies walked past and through them, they glowed with a strange light.

"This is how it sees them?" Luna asked. Sombra nodded. His dreams alternate between these almost prophetic glimpses, and nightmares of a far worse caliber.

Then he seen something in the crowd ahead. It was Bright Spark. She glowed like a small sun. And approaching her was a black, roughly pony shaped mass.

"Spark!" he blurted, racing over. She passed right through him however, not seeing him. But the dark thing did.

"So, you’ve changed your dreamscape. You are the one who interfered with my plans...it’s pointless, you cannot stop me!"

"Try me!" Sombra snarled. But the thing laughed, and around them the ponies suddenly turned towards Sombra, pure anger on their faces; "you are nothing to them, what makes you think you can save them?"

The wall of animosity pressed in closer. Sombra turned this way and that, trying to clear a way out, but they pushed him back. Then something clamped around his neck, dragging him to the dirt. A shadowy hoof slammed down on his neck to pin him there.

"Your a monster, same as I...why do you fight me...?" it sneered, putting more pressure on sombra’s neck. He gasped and bucked, trying to free himself, but the thing merely slammed a hoof into his lower back, keeping him down.

Even from this crushing position, he seen Bright Spark. Seen how bright she shone, recalled her innocence.

"Because.." he growled in his throat, gathering up as much strength as he could. With a loud roar, he threw the thing off him "they are innocents in this! I may be a monster, but it takes a monster to fight one! I will rip you to shreds.." he advanced on the black pony shaped thing;

The thing snarled, backing away from Sombra. Then it vanished in a thunder crack of light, and Sombra awoke in his bed, his throat aching, a phantom pressure on his neck.

"My sister was right.." Luna’s voice spoke from beside his bed "you are the key to stopping it."

"Use a monster to stop a monster...as I said.." he coughed. She summoned a glass of ice water and set it by his bed.

"Thou misjudge thyself, you are not the monster you once were." she said thoughtfully before vanishing to report to her sister.

Alone in his room, Sombra wondered if she was right, was he more than just a monster from the past?

Celestia was concerned by what her sister said. How Sombra had fought with the version of that thing in his dreams.

“I believe that thing is invading his dreams as much as I was,” Luna added “it mentioned the dreamscape had changed, possibly it has attempted to attack his mind before..”

"I see. This is turning out to be far more complex than I had guessed."

"Indeed.." Luna looked out at the stars "what is to be his fate once this is over, my sister?"

"I have not decided yet..."

Prince Shining Armor, Twilight Sparkle’s big bro (BBBFF) and Cadance’s husband, was looking forward to seeing his sister and wife again. Celestia had sent a letter saying they were gathered at the Crystal Empire for a while. He seen the tear in the sky and felt a shudder run up his spine. It looked dang creepy...

He trotted into the castle courtyard. Cadance was there to meet him, looking as pretty as ever. After a happy reunion she told him to go the library where his sister awaited with her friends, she’d be along shortly, they had much to discuss.

“There is something…unusual we need to discuss…” she said mysteriously.

Shining Armor hummed to himself as he opened the library doors. And got the biggest possible shock of his life.

The ponies were all sat around the table, but that wasn’t the baffling part. What baffled him was the stallion pacing back and forth by the window.

Sombra. The mad lunatic that tried to destroy them all the last time they met?

"YOU?!" Shining Armor couldn’t stop himself from blurting, firing an impromptu bolt of magic right at him. Sombra ducked, flattening his body to the carpet, letting the bolt shoot out the window.

"Big brother!" Twilight Sparkle bounced between her brother and Sombra "wait a second!"

"Twily...what is going ON?! WHY is that loon here?!"

"You’ve seen that thing out there right?" Twilight Sparkle said "well Princess Celestia thinks he’s the key to solving it!"

"Hmph,....a monster to destroy a monster, how adroit."

"We’ve already reached THAT conclusion," Sombra muttered under his breath "what’re you trying to prove hotshot?"

“Shut up!" Shining Armor yelled.

"Both of you, shush!" Twilight Sparkle snapped. Silence reigned.

"He doesn’t have any of his power," Twilight Sparkle said softly to her brother "see that choker around his neck? It suppresses his abilities, he can’t do any harm."

“I don’t care, he’s a dangerous madpony!" Shining Armor hissed back.

"I’m sitting right here you know.." Sombra commented. Shining Armor ignored him.

"He'll cause nothing but trouble!" Shining Armor said to his sister;

"Big brother!" Twilight Sparkle sighed "its a long story...but will you listen please?"

"If this is all the information you required Princess, I’m retiring to my room, I feel sick.." Sombra got up and swanned past Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor. At the door, one of the guards followed him back to his room.

"What is Celestia thinking?" Shining Armor blurted.

“It wasn’t just Celestia," Cadance’s voice came from the doorway "I decided on it too, for my kingdom."

"Cady?" Shining Armor asked.

"Let us all explain.." Cadance gestured at the room.

"Alright, for you two girls.." Shining Armor couldn’t help smile when Cadance kissed his cheek.

Rarity gave a moony sigh "so romantic..!"

Rainbow Dash pulled a face.

"And he rescued you?" Shining Armor said in disbelief to Rarity. She and Rainbow nodded.

"He kicked that things ass...well, it didn’t have an ass, but you get the idea.." Rainbow finished sheepishly.

"He could’ve done a runner and left us."

"Pfft...you said that choker is suppressing his powers."

“His POWER yes," Cadance said "it’s not a restraint for anything else! Had he chosen to desert them, he could’ve."

"Plus there’s tha elements..." Applejack pointed out.

"Ah yes, another unusual occurrence we hadn’t expected," cadance nodded.

"What’s that?"

"Every time he’s been around the elements of harmony, or us anyway,” Twilight began “he’s had these...fits. It seems to cause this awful pain, then he blacks out. We thought it was something to do with the choker, as every time it seemed to glow. But Celestia said its not related to the device."

"Then what?" Shining Armour asked.

"Its our elements!" Applejack looked at him "each instance has been a reaction to both his surroundings and one of the elements of harmony."

"Yeah!" Pinkie said.

"You cant be serious.." Shining said

"We are...ah didn’t believe it much, until I seen it fer myself.." Applejack said.

"U-uhm...the filly at the market.." Fluttershy said softly.

"Right!" Twilight Sparkle told the whole story, how the little filly had bounded right up to Sombra and poked him on the nose, declaring "boop!"

"This cant end well.." Shining Armor winced.

"On the contrary," Twilight Sparkle smiled "he just stood stock still, didn’t snap at her, try to kick her or anything like that. If anything....he seemed curious as to why she wasn’t scared. He even hid her from some kids that were chasing her."

"Then in the woods, he attacked the shadow creature, fell off a cliff in an effort to break its core before it could regain its power!" Rarity said "and he helped me get Rainbow back to the palace!"

"I fainted," Rainbow added with a sigh.

"Then what…?" Shining Armor asked, curious despite himself.

"I made a new cloak to replace that hideous thing of his, since it got torn to shreds by the crash landing." Rarity looked proud "AND he even gave me this stunning crystal he found in the woods to thank me!"

"Pfft!" Shining Armor spat out his tea, looking startled "say what?"

"I don’t think he’s as bad as we thought big brother..." Twilight Sparkle said.

"PLUS," Applejack added "accordin’ to Celestia, he even said he was surprised that filly could treat a monster so nicely, more or less..."she paused "that’s when he had tha fit.."

"So the elements, well, you guys, it’s changing him?"

“We can only change what already exists.," Cadance smiled faintly "we believe that the shard of the crystal heart that vanished during the summoning is contained within his own heart. It’s hardly opening the floodgates, but its letting in enough light."

"Plus he likes my cake! No pony that likes cake is that bad!" Pinkie Pie giggled.

"Sure, Pinkie.." Shining Armor shook his head "I just find it a little hard to take in. You DO recall what he was like last time?"

"Yes, and this is different.." Twilight Sparkle said "Nopony really knows what caused him to go insane the way he did, maybe there’s a reason to it."

Shining Armor sighed, Cadance patted his head

"Give it a chance.." she said softly "I cannot explain why, but all of us Princesses feel he is linked to this madness. We need his help."

"He’s shown us a lot about them..." Twilight Sparkle shuddered "it isn’t pretty..."

"I shall say not!" Luna appeared by Cadance, startling everypony.

"Sorry," she said with a small yawn "I forgot I had not shown you the information obtained from walking Sombra’s dreams, or should I say, nightmares."

"Ooh!" Twilight Sparkle perked up.

Luna closed her eyes, making a rectangular window appear. In it she replayed Sombra’s dream. It showed how the ponies innocence glowed like a flame to the creature. Its anger at Sombra trying to fight it.

They all winced when they seen the thing pinning the unicorn down. And jaws dropped somewhat when he bucked the thing off him, then railed at it, telling it he may be a monster, but that he was what was needed to kill it!

"Whoa." Shining Armor stared. Sombra had accepted he was monster it seemed, and according to the girls, he’d shown elements of decency. Well, harmony. Could this really be possible?

"I don’t know Twily...I don’t like the idea.."

“Please big brother.." she said "I know it seems crazy, but I really think he’s different..."

"We reformed Discord, and he’s a good friend to us now....why not Sombra?" Fluttershy said.

"Alright, I’ll trust you girls." Shining Armor sighed "I still have to see it before I believe it though,"

--Close enough,-- Luna thought. It was up to Sombra now.

The next day, at Twilight Sparkle’s insistence, Sombra found himself tagging along with a group of Royal Guards as they did a patrol through town, checking everything was OK, and keeping an eye out for more monsters. People seemed to relax when they seen the scary unicorn with the Royal Guard alongside, it made them feel a bit safer.

Shining Armor bluntly asked questions about the darkness, to which Sombra gave equally short answers. The rest of the guards noticed the animosity between them and didn’t interfere...

They reached the centre of town, when a loud rumble split the sky and they all jumped a little.

"A storm?" Shining Armor asked.

"You WISH this was a storm.." Sombra growled. His eyes were locked on the sky tear "you may want to get your precious citizens out of the way, this is going to get nasty."

"How do you....whoa.." Shining Armor stared as a dark bolt flew from the sky tear, aiming right for them.

"SCATTER!" annoyed at their gawking, Sombra bellowed as loud as he could "NOW!!"

The level of his voice was enough to startle the more flighty one’s, who darted away from the open-air market stalls they’d set up, mostly selling jewelry and such stuff.

Shining Armor raced over to help an elderly pony move out of the way faster, and the bolt aimed for him.

Shining Armor looked up as he heard his guards shouting, and seen a black, horrible blur barreling towards him. He tensed, expected a heavy blow, but mid-flight the thing suddenly seemed to vanish.

A millisecond of silence then-

CRASH.

It was Sombra. The unicorn had charged the creature and knocked it off course, sending them both flying into a nearby stall.

Ponies screamed and truly began scattering now.

Sombra got to his feet, stepping back a bit as the dust cleared.

Shining Armor stared in surprise, seeing Sombra facing off against a shimmering blob of darkness. As eh watched, it shifted into a vague pony shape.

"Hmph...bring it," Sombra snarled.

"Pathetic fools.." it warbled "I’ll devour you all!"

Then they launched into an all out brawl, the dark pony clone against a one time king of darkness.

The shadow pony darted back, firing spikes of fluid darkness at the enraged Sombra. But despite being fairly big as stallions went, he was surprisingly agile, hunkering down and darting forward to sink his fangs into the shadow pony. It gave a pitched scream of fury, a sharp hoof strike catching Sombra in the ribs, causing him to snarl in pain, but his grip didn’t falter.

It did, however, when the thing whirled, and with a sudden speed, slammed him bodily into a crystal pillar. He collapsed it the base of it, coughing heavily.

The shadow pony turned towards him, an evil grin splitting its face. "Interesting..." it babbled "yet you aren’t at your best. This is hardly a fair fight!"

Then it got zapped by a massive bolt of attack power.

Shining Armor glared at the shadow thing. This creature thought it could attack his kingdom, forget it!

The thing began to charge towards him and the other guards, who aimed bolts of magic at it. Caught once off guard, it wasn’t going to fail twice. It zipped left and right, avoiding them with impunity.

Well, kind of..

With an almost feral roar, the dazed Sombra suddenly reappeared, pouncing onto its back the way a cat pounces on a mouse. This maneuver smashed it’s shadowy face into the pavement.

"Fire!" he yelled.

Shining Armor hesitated a second. Much as he hated the guy, if they fired now, they’d hit both;

"For Equestria’s sake-" Sombra struggled to keep it from getting free, sinking his fangs into its ear in an effort to distract it "FIRE!" he snarled, his voice muffled.

To their credit they did their best not to hit him, and the creature he was pinning got the full assault of their power. But, like electricity in a water puddle, it travelled, delivering a hefty shock to the pony pinning it down. The world went black for a moment, and he couldn’t breathe...

The shadow pony clone took that opportunity and threw him off it, aiming so he hit another pillar.

Coughing and spluttering, Sombra forced himself to his feet. He could see the thing advancing on Shining Armor and company. He looked around him, this thing was craftier then before, he had to fool it!

He closed his eyes, drawing upon every last bit of levitation magic he had in him..

All around, the spikes and joints of wood and crystal from the broken stalls began to lift up, swarming around where Sombra stood. Ready, he raised his voice and taunted the thing;

"Hey shadow-foal, why don’t you pick on something your own size?!"

Enraged it turned in midair, deflecting another bolt flung at it. It seen Sombra standing there, the shards hovering around him, and charged gleefully..

Sombra leveled every shard of wood, metal and crystal. These he flung like a barrage attack. But one shard on the right side of his defense wobbled, and dipped..

The shadow pony leered and shot towards the weakness with astonishing speed.

"Uh oh.." Shining Armor spotted the drop in sombra’s defense, was sure the plan was going to fail.

Shame he had the wrong plan in mind.

Once he’d judged the distance to be enough, Sombra surged forward suddenly, diving for the weak point. Grasping the big shard of crystal in his teeth, he kicked off from the ground, throwing himself at the creature. It tried to stop, realizing it’d been tricked. But too late. The crystal struck its core, eliciting a massive shockwave. Then it exploded, kicking up a massive cloud of dust and debris from the assault. But it exploded not into chunks , this time, in the aftermath of the shockwave, it split into many, many dozens of shards. The biggest of which embedded in sombra’s leg, the side of his left foreleg, where the armored shoes did not protect.

He didn’t feel it however, as the sudden impact of hitting the ground knocked the air from his lungs again, and a flash of pain from the earlier kicked rib flared up, not helping.

Silence rang for a moment, along with everypony’s ears. Shaking his head Shining Armor stared at the spot where the thing had gone head to head with Sombra. Who had won?

The ponies edged in closer, staring worriedly.

Then the dust began to settle, and they seen a silhouette of a pony struggling to its feet, with some difficulty. Then it cleared, and they realized it was Sombra, looking more then a bit disheveled, but the victor.

Ponies sighed in relief, some even cheered. Sombra being the lesser of two evils as it were.

"Comb the wreckage!" Shining Armor declared "we need to find out as much as we can from this thing!"

As he spoke, Sombra ambled by him, standing away from the wreckage, absently tugging at his cloak, trying to straighten it out.

He didn’t move for the whole time Shining Armor and the others were going around checking everypony was OK. Some folks had cuts and scratches, but otherwise fine. Nopony was seriously hurt.

One mare had been watching Sombra since he’d retreated from the messy battlefield. She snuck as close as she could, and noticed he seemed to be shivering a little. She was willing to bet he wasn’t feeling too well.

Being a skilled chemist, she knew about herbs and cures. And she recognized a sick pony when she seen one. So she grabbed a bundle from her shop, and quickly mixed up a personal family recipe for the ailing or injured. She tied it up into a little package, then, with a deep breath, approached Sombra.

Sombra looked up as he heard a cough. He had been sitting there, mercifully left alone. His body ached, and his head hurt. Now he was looking at a mare, with a kindly expression, standing in front of him.

"Here, take this.." she set it at his feet "it’s a home remedy, it'll help you feel better. You look like you could use it. Just mix a spoonful of the mixture into hot water, you'll soon feel better..." then she left.

Sombra stared at the little parcel, but eventually managed to levitate it and tuck it into his cloak pocket.

"They’ll handle repairs.." Shining Armour’s voice spoke from beside him "we need to report this to the Princesses."

"Hmh?" was all Sombra mentioned. He seemed a bit lethargic, Shining Armor noted, but put that down to the fight he’d just endured. They made their way back to the palace, waylaid by people pausing Shining Armor to ask what was going on, what were those things etc?

Sombra barely heard any of this, just focused on getting inside.

But he only felt worse the longer time went on. Once inside they were joined by Luna, who walked with them to the throne room, where her big sister, Cadance and Twilight Sparkle were discussing matters.

"Twily!" Shining Armor called.

"BBBFF!" she cried, bounding over and hugging him "you OK, we heard that racket, somepony said there was an attack...?"

Shining Armor nodded "one of those creatures you mentioned. That thing was tough!" he shook his head "even our magic wasn’t as effective as we hoped. In the end it wound up being brawl between the shadow thing and that guy!" meaning Sombra.

"That explains the state of him.." Twilight Sparkle remarked. Sombra had stopped some feet away, and on the surface appeared to be staring out a window.

"Was anypony hurt?" Celestia asked. Shining Armor shook his head;

"Not badly anyway. We got small cuts and bruises, but nothing big. We got lucky.."

"And of the creature?" Luna asked.

"Gone.." Shining Armor shook his head "we didn’t find a trace of it, not even a crystal.."

“Really? The first one exploded..." Twilight Sparkle said.

"We combed the debris, nada," Shining Armor shrugged "whatever way he attacked it, it wiped it out of existence."

"Impressive," Celestia raised an eyebrow.

"Also, it spoke.." Shining Armor pulled a face "it said something about-?"

"Its going to devour you all..." Sombra finished.

"Anything else..?" Luna asked. Sombra tried to take a step forward, but the leg with the shard in it was hurting so badly he couldn’t even put weight on it, and lurched sideways as his balance took a nose dive. He steadied himself, trying to desperately stem the tidal wave of dizziness...

"What’s going on?" Shining Armor frowned.

"Something’s not right.." Luna frowned.

Ever helpful, Flash Sentry stepped forward to try and help, but Sombra stumbled back out of reach. Whatever was wrong with him, he couldn’t let it spread, he knew that much.

"Just leave it.." he snapped hoarsely, but truthfully his strength was fading. He closed his eyes, feeling just so tired.

"Sombra.." he opened his eyes, it was Luna "this way.."

Too dizzy to comprehend, he let himself be led over to a comfy pile of cushions, where his strength gave way and he collapsed.

"Take it easy..." Luna’s voice was oddly soothing, and he fell asleep a second later.

Luna watched the sleep spell do its work, then bellowed for somepony to fetch the doctor!

"What is it?" Celestia asked.

"I do not know...but I sense its something bad.."

"Is it an injury?" Shining Armor asked, a little lost "he DID get thrown about like a rag doll a few times.."

"No, this is something more insidious..." Luna said.

The doctor came in no time, followed by his aide, and Fluttershy.

"Oh my!" Fluttershy exclaimed.

"What’s going on Princess?" the doctor looked at Celestia "how many times are we gonna treat this guy for strange fits caused by the charm of yours?"

“This is not due to the choker or its spell.." Celestia aid calmly "the circumstances do not match. We fear this is something worse.."

"As you wish Princess..." the doctor nodded "i trust you know what you’re doing with this guy!"

"Oh we do," Luna said bluntly "now, please."

Once he was sure Sombra was heavily asleep and wouldn’t lash out, the doctor approached, doing a cursory check for injuries first. On the surface it appeared no more than a few bruises here and there.

Then he noticed a small pool of blood trickle to the floor when he was checking the unicorns forelegs for broken bones.

"Eep!" Fluttershy squeaked.

The doctor frowned, unlatching and removing the armored shoe on that hoof.

Behind him Luna, Celestia, and everypony else watching gave a startled gasp.

There was a wound on Sombra’s leg. The skin around the entry wound was black, and an almost crystalline black substance was spreading from the wound, winding around his leg like a black vine. As they stared, it seemed to shiver, then branched out again. Even asleep under some heavy magic, Sombra flinched in pain. It’d been hard to spot thanks to his dark coat, and had no doubt been spreading rapidly.

"I’ve never seen anything like this.." Twilight Sparkle whispered.

"It's spreading.." Fluttershy whispered.

Shining Armor crept closer to get a look, then he spotted something.

"Its embedded in his leg!" he cried "there’s a shard of black crystal.."

“Crystal..." Twilight Sparkle thought back to the sample Sombra had given her "that’s what’s poisoning him!"

"Remove it," Celestia ordered.

"He needs to go to medical.." the doctor objected.

But even as they stood there, the crystal shimmered again-

"Just do it here!" Luna barked.

"And fast!" Cadance looked pale. Shining Armor scooted up next to her, offering a hug for solace. Twilight Sparkle smiled at how happy her big brother was with Cadance.

The doctor nodded, fetching the supplies needed to remove it there and then. He was more grateful then ever that Luna had knocked Sombra out so deeply, because this was going to hurt big time!

But eventually he managed to pull the shard of crystal from the pony’s leg. His aide instantly set about cleaning and stitching the wound, while the doctor put the shard into a glass dish.

Twilight Sparkles eyes widened when she seen the shard that’d stuck into Sombra’s leg. It was a sizeable chunk, enough to cause serious pain.

Fluttershy put a hoof against Sombra’s forehead, wincing at how high his temperature was. So she carefully applied a cold compress to his head, noting he seemed to relax a little, even in his sleep.

"We'll need to keep him here for quarantine, sorry Princesses."

“It matters not. I’m sure we can manage without the throne room for a day or so," Cadance shrugged "we have other rooms.."

"He will need regular doses of medicine, I’ll get some anti-infection mixtures made. Somepony will need to stay with him, in case it gets any worse..." the doctor added as he left to get the herbs.

As the hours went by, Sombra showed no signs of getting any better. He stirred briefly every few hours but soon sank back into exhausted slumber.

As it was getting dark, Luna said shed keep an eye on Sombra.

The doctor mixed the medicine and advised she get him to drink it soon as he regained consciousness.

Sombra fought to open his eyes. He was in a darkened room, his head hurting too much to understand it.

Pain, his whole body HURT. A shiver wracked his body and he groaned softly, unable to even get to his feet.

"Here," a familiar voice spoke, and he seen a cup full of a dark mixture floating in front of him. He recognized Luna’s magic "drink this."

Too weak to argue, he managed to hold the cup with his hooves, his magic scrambled by the sickness.

"What’s....going on..?" he croaked. Luna took the empty cup and set it aside.

"You fell ill after a shard of that insidious black crystal became lodged in thy leg. You shouldn’t try to move, you are very sick."

Sombra closed his eyes, another shiver running through him. A second later and he felt an extra warmth, and opened his eyes to see Luna placing an extra blanket atop him.

"It will pass, the doctor has removed the crystal from thy leg!"

Sombra hadn’t the strength to answer, and fell asleep again, wincing as he shifted how he lay, curling up on his side, so tired..

Luna felt sorry for him. Yet it was strange, without the armor, and the crown keeping his ears pinned back, he looked a lot less threatening. It was a strange sight, seeing him so vulnerable...

The doctor had hoped that by confining "patient zero" aka Sombra, that whatever it was wouldn’t spread. But he was wrong. Unknown to anypony, all it took was one host in a vicinity, and everypony could get infected. This was no ordinary sickness. By the next morning, both the aide and Fluttershy were down with fevers, and little specks of the dark crystal had popped up on their coats, like a rash. The symptoms appeared to be sudden dizziness, followed by severely weakened strength, and high fever.

Even Luna noticed, on the second night of keeping an eye on Sombra, that she was feeling a little dizzy. Being an Alicorn, her strength was pretty high, so she wasn’t succumbing as fast!

Sombra appeared to be faring a teensy bit better. He was sleeping near constantly, but had been able to take fluids, even though food was out of the question.

On the third night, the epidemic had caught fire. Ponies that worked in the palace had gone home to their families and spread it even further. Even those treating the sick were falling prey.

"What will we do..?" Cadance said sadly, watching over a sick Shining Armor.

Their only hope lay with three particular ponies..

The fourth day, Sombra awoke, and his head felt clearer then before. The room was empty, nopony was about. Getting to his feet he stumbled around, wandering down the hall until he chanced upon a small room. It held a little room with apparatus for making tea, coffee and whatnot.

As he moved, he felt something bump into his leg. He’d woken up wrapped in his cloak and three blankets. He recalled the parcel of herbs the mare had given him. She’d said it was for sick ponies, so what was the harm. The stuff Luna had been persuading him to drink didn’t feel like it was having ANY effect, he still felt awful.

He dozed off briefly while the water heated, then woke up as the little bell dinged. Awkwardly he managed to mix the stuff like the mare had said. It smelled lovely. Taking a deep breath he swallowed the whole thing in one. Then staggered about coughing heavily. Once that was over, he wobbled back to the throne room, burrowing under the blankets. It was then he noticed the scroll left by his bed.

"Sombra.." it read "all of the empire is falling prey to this sickness, even my sister and I. If you are well enough to stand, and strong enough to walk, I beseech you to look for a cure. We urgently need your help in this matter - Luna"

"What am I meant to do? Why does she think...i care.." he grumbled. Closing his eyes he drifted asleep.

The substance the mare had given him contained powerful properties that were good for cleansing the blood. It was this that meant when Sombra next awoke, his fever was all but burnt out, and he felt a little stronger.

He got to his feet, just as a knock came at throne room door.

"Somepony there?" he called. The door opened, and the blue haired pony stuck his head round.

"Oh, thank Celestia, your awake!" he looked glad to see Sombra.

"Who’re you..?"

“My name's Flash Sentry, Royal Guard! We tracked one of those shadow things together, remember?."

"Right, yes. Wait, Why aren’t YOU sick..?" Sombra asked, gesturing to the scroll Luna had left for him.

"I don’t know..." Flash shook his head "I think I must be lucky...but there’s so may sick ponies, i don’t know what to do! You’ve been out of it until now, I've been trying to rouse you all day!"

Luna’s words echoed in Sombra’s head.

"I don’t know.." he muttered. "the medicine doesn’t seem to help, but yet..." he looked over at the parcel of herbs he’d been given "perhaps..?"

“Huh?" Flash asked.

He sighed "I don’t know why i give a hay, but I have an idea...I need you to give some of this tea to the Princesses. It worked on me, so maybe..."

Flash looked doubtfully at him.

"I’m not trying to poison anypony you pointy haired loon!" Sombra barked "just listen to me!"

"Ok!" Flash yelped, “I get it!”

He waited while Sombra mixed the tea once more, then took the cups to the Princesses rooms, starting with Cadance and Shining Armor's bedroom.

Cadance listened to his story, and when he told her Sombra had actually asked they trust him, she took the tea. Once she’d made sure Shining Armor had drunk some, she finished the rest off.

Then she fell asleep once more.

Celestia and Luna were next up, with the dozy Luna barely staying awake long enough to drink before passing back out.

Then Twilight Sparkle, who asked after her brother, and sighed in relief when she was told he was doing OK.

What was left, Flash gave to the Doctor and his aides.

"That’s all of it.." Sombra frowned.

"Where did you get it?" Flash Sentry asked.

"A mare, she came up and gave it to me after the fight with that thing. We need to find her!"

"Well, what was her name, what did she look like?"

Sombra described her as best he could recall.

"Oh, i know! That’s Healing Breeze, she’s the best chemist in town!"

“Then we need to find her." Sombra said bluntly "lets go, now."

He was still shaky, but managed to pull his cloak back on. Somepony had removed his armor while he slept, and his leg was still too inflamed to wear it, so he left it behind, only tying his cloak around himself.

They ran outside. The streets were silent.

"Where did everypony go?" Flash asked.

"They must be under quarantine, or they’re ALL sick.." Sombra muttered "lets go."

Healing Breeze had drunk some of her own special tea the moment she’d started feeling a bit ill, so she had barely any symptoms at all. When she heard urgent knocking from the shop floor she trekked down to answer it.

She was surprised to see a palace guard and Sombra standing there.

"Oh!" she said "what’s going on?"

"That tea!" Sombra blurted "what’s in it?"

"Oh, that stuff I gave you?" she asked, "that’s a family recipe, its for helping ease aches and pains.."

“Well it’s doing a lot more then that!" Sombra pointed out "it cured the fever, put a stop to the infections gallop. We need more of it!"

"Oh my, of course...i didn’t think it would be so effective. It’s just a simple pick me up for when you’re feeling under the weather, not for treating major sickness!"

"Well it’s working ma'am!" Flash Sentry said.

"Come in boys, I’ll see what I have.." she ushered them inside.

They soon discovered they had a problem. There was not nearly enough to cover everypony.

"We need to gather more herbs," healing breeze looked at the two ponies, noting how Sombra still seemed a little sick. "i hate to ask you both-"

“We’ll get it done!" Flash blurted "what do we need?"

She laid out a list of herbs, explaining where each one was found and what it did.

She found some saddlebags, which she gave to the two ponies.

"Hurry!" Flash bounded off. Sombra shook his head slightly.

"Amusing young fella," healing remarked.

"He’s got it bad for that Princess, that’s why he’s got a bee up his butt.." Sombra snorted.

"Which one dear?" she asked.

"The purple one...Twilight Sparkle.." he recalled at last. She just chuckled, then they left the house too, to start herb hunting.

It started to rain as Sombra pelted along the empty streets, heading for the woods at the very edge of town. He seen a few ponies glancing out of windows, but they soon ducked and hid when they seen him. Ignoring this, he forced himself to concentrate on the task at hoof, find the herbs!

Two hours later, soaked and bedraggled, he was at the door of the chemists shop. She opened it, telling him flash had just got back too.

The next hour or so was a blur of mixing herbs, boiling water, and bottling.

Mid-way through, Healing made some hot soup for all of them. Sombra mumbled about being fine, but she pretty much insisted he drink it. He was too tired to fight her, and was surprised by the fact it stayed down.

The plan was to leave a bottle on every doorstep with a note from healing breeze saying what it did.

"Will they believe me?" she asked. Sombra gave a snort "well they won’t believe ME!" he said "you’re the only one they’ll listen to.."

"Exactly.." Flash said.

"Well if you’re sure boys..." she sighed, before starting to copy the notes.

"This could take awhile..." Flash Sentry groaned "wed all better write them.."

Sombra yawned softly, and Healing Breeze cast a sympathetic glance.

"Get some rest.." she suggested. But Sombra shook his head "if I fall asleep now, i don’t know when I’ll wake up," he muttered "let’s just get this done. After that...I don’t care..."

"You’re still technically working off the same illness, take it easy.." flash added. Sombra just shrugged, and carried on stacking the bottles into the saddlebags.

20 minutes later, and all three had saddlebags filled to the brim with glass bottles. Tied around each one was a note explaining how to take.

"I hope this works..." flash fretted.

Back at the castle, it was already helping. Cadance awoke feeling a fair bit better, at least able to think clearly. Shining Armor was showing improvement too. Strong enough to get up, he went in search of his sister.

The rain didn’t let up as they ran. Sombra had realized his wet cloak would only slow him down, so he’d left it at Breeze's house. Running along the crystal streets, bare-hoofed and minus his cloak, he felt oddly free. He raced from doorway to doorway, pausing only to levitate a bottle onto each doorstep, then press the bell or whatever, then he bolted onward.

But one door opened just as he was setting the bottle down. He stepped back, tensed to get outta there. He didn’t have the strength to fight anypony right now..

"Sombwa!" he did a double take at that voice.

Little Bright Spark stood on the doorstep, peering worriedly at him.

"Can you help me? Mommy’s weally sick..."

"That’s what this is.." he indicated the bottle "you need to have her drink some of that, yourself too. Are you sick?"

"A wittle bit.." she sniffled "my head is achy..."

"Just give me a moment.." he darted off, dropping of the last three bottles, then returning to where Bright Spark waited.

"Get inside little one, you’ll get sicker..." he ushered her in, following after.

She led him down the hall to the kitchen, where he managed to boil the medicine and pour it into a cup. With Bright Spark at his heels, he carried it up the stairs to where Spark said her mommy was.

When they entered the bedroom, Spark carried the cup to her mommy, while Sombra stood in the doorway, looking at the rain pouring down outside.

"Dwink up mommy....its medicine fwom Bweeze, she says it’ll help you feel better..."

While she babbled away, Sombra thought back to how he’d gotten infected. What if...what if other ponies had shards embedded in them too? The whole scale of the problem hit him a second later.

The core had seemed to almost completely explode. What if it had in fact blown apart into dozens of little shards. They had to be removed or the sickness would come back, and get worse!

"Little one!" he said urgently "I must go, can you take care of your mother a little longer? I’ll try to return, but there’s something I have to do.."

"Okaayy..." she said, pottering over to him.

Half asleep, Bright Spark’s mother Shining Sea could blurily see her little daughter talking to a soaking wet pony who was waiting outside the room. Too tired to call out, she just managed to catch sight of a cutie mark of three red crystals...then she passed out.

Where had she seen or heard that before..? Red crystals..?

Sombra made sure bright spark drank a little of the tea herself, a much smaller dose as she was a filly.

"You’ll come back, wight?" she asked.

"I’ll try," he aid at last "but there’s still so many left...and check your mother, see if she has any splinters!"

He tore back through the streets towards the chemist. Breeze listened to what he was saying and paled.

"We need a doctor....or anypony trained in first aid at least!"

"I gave some to the palace doctors and Fluttershy..." Flash spoke up.

"Then all we can do is wait until they awaken..." Sombra sighed "and hope its soon!"

"I’ll come with you boys to the palace...we can use their kitchen..." Healing said at last "I’m sure the Princess wont mind.."

And that was how the soaked trio came to end up at the palace.

Sombra found the doctors’ aide, curled up in the sickbay. He woke him up, perhaps a tad rudely, and pointed at a cup of the herb drink.

"More of this stuff?.." the aide sneezed.

"It’s a stronger dose," Sombra said bluntly "but we don’t have much choice. Everypony needs to be checked to see if they have splinters too, otherwise they’ll keep getting sick! Can you handle some patients if we bring them here?"

"I think so.." the aide stammered. Sombra shoved a bottle of the drink at him "make your boss drink this too, and fast!".

Out in the empty streets, Sombra ran back to Bright Spark’s house. Shed done as he’d asked, and checked her mommy for a splinter. Sure enough, a tiny shard had gotten into her hoof. Before he’d left the palace, the Doctor had shown him how to remove a basic splinter. Any more serious cases, where it was really embedded, he told Sombra to bring them to him.

Luckily, Shining Sea’s was only a minor puncture, at an easy angle. With a pair of tweezers, and a massive effort, he used his levitation to carefully tweak it free. Bright Spark bounced forward with a pad soaked in antiseptic, which she gently dabbed on the tiny wound.

"Spark, sweetie.." Shining Sea smiled as she seen her daughter "you’re a good girl.."

"You’ll be OK mommy, we got wid of the spwinter, and you’ve had some medicine...you just need looots of sleep!"

Shining Sea smiled, and again noticed somepony hovering by the door.

She didn’t recognise him, what with his mane plastered to his muzzle and neck by the rain. Add to that the fact he wasn’t wearing his signature armor or cloak, and she hadn’t a clue who he was.

"Who...who’s that honey..?" she asked. The pony at the door startled slightly, turning to look over at her. She seen ruby red eyes, that unusual horn...

"Wait...it’s you...isn’t it?” she asked. Sombra cursed under his breath.

"Mommyyy!" bright spark rolled her eyes "i told you, he snot scawwy! He bwought the medicine!"

"How come YOU aren’t sick?" Shining Sea asked, a bit angrily. Why had he escaped?

"I’ve already BEEN sick," he said calmly "I had a large chunk of this blasted crystal buried in my leg, it came on a lot faster." he shifted how he was standing so she could see a neatly bandaged wound.

"Of course..." she said at last, the hazy memories of the market coming back "you were fighting that thing...i saw you..."

She’d watched the fight tin the town centre, seen how the shadow pony had gone for Sombra, how they’d bean beating the living daylights out of each other!

"See mommy..he’s not a bad pony..?" bright spark pleaded.

"I have to go, little one.." Sombra sighed.

"But..but.." she looked up at him "why?"

"I have to see to the rest...everypony has to be checked, otherwise this sickness will spread!"

"Lemme help!" she objected. he smiled faintly, patting her head with one hoof "your mother needs you, little one. You must stay and tend to her!"

Bright Spark nodded, then reached up and tapped his nose.

"Boop.." she said sadly. He turned and reluctantly returned to the seemingly endless quest.

Sadly not all ponies were as kind as spark had been. A lot of them shouted abuse, leaning out of windows rather then answer the door to him. Only when he unravelled the scroll showing the royal doctors seal did they listen to him. Many had little splinters much like Shining Sea. Sombra instructed them the way the doctor had told him. Remove the splinter, disinfect, cover with band aid, drink medicine. Rinse and repeat.

By the 20th house he’d been to, he was starting to feel the effects of all the running and the rain. He couldn’t stop shivering.

He looked like a drowned rat, but he didn’t care. He just wanted this over with.

One or two he came across had larger splinters, and he had to tell their families to bring them to the palace...

Those that weren’t so sick were encouraged to go check on their neighbors and so on.

By the time he got to the last street, something was bugging him. Aside from the hostile reactions he was getting, he had a headache. Had he not been so exhausted he might have recognized it for the premonition it was.

"We don’t need YOUR help, monster!" oh boy, that was getting old fast. He gave a snarl of fury and lobbed the scroll so it landed at the shouters hooves.

"Its from your kingdoms precious doctor, go take it up with HIM!" he raged, feeling sick and tired. This storm wasn’t helping.

The one yelling at him wasn’t done. He marched up to Sombra, even though the other stallion was bigger and going by looks alone, stronger.

Those red eyes bored into him, something lurking in their depths. But he didn’t back down, just stared.

"What the hay is wrong with you?!" the stallion, frightened by his wife and child’s sickness, was taking it out on Sombra "why the hay should we trust YOU?!"

“What other choice have you-?!" Sombra fumed. Then his attention was caught by a flicker amongst the rain behind the pony.

"Move!" he bellowed suddenly, shoving the pony aside and stepping forward.

"How dare you-" the angry pony grabbed Sombra’s tail in his teeth and yanked back, trying to make him pay attention.

Sombra jolted, whirling round to glare at the stallion.

"Honey!" he heard the pony’s wife shout out, and realized in his anger, he’d forgotten the thing he’d seen in the rain.

It pounced for him and the earth pony. So he did what he had to, gripping the pony’s coat between his teeth and throwing him aside, then facing the thing charging towards him.

The angry stallion got to his hooves, ready to berate Sombra for even daring to touch him-

His jaw dropped. Sombra was literally locking horns with a creature made of black shadows. They seemed evenly matched, then Sombra gave a furious roar and shunted it away from him with all his weight. It bounced a few meters away, and got up, its yellow eyes burning;

"How did you defeat my plague?!" it hissed "what are you, creature?"

"A monster, a thing of darkness. Perhaps you and I possess more in common than I thought, but there's a point where I stop-.." Sombra snarled.

"Oh really?" it mocked.

"Yeah.." Sombra smirked, suddenly grabbing a spade from where it’d been left outside in someponys garden, he leveled it at the creature and took a hefty swing;

"-Stop giving a hay!"

The creature was knocked flying by the blow, but go back up, twitching, its image distorting; But Sombra noted this one was far more solid then the previous ones! Clearly it had learned something from the previous battles...

"I‘ll teach you to mess with me, you fool!" it screeched, its equine shape dissolving into a vengeful blob of darkness. Barbs shot out and wrapped around the surprised and tired Sombra, lashing around his legs, his neck..

Those latter ones tightened, making black sparks dance on the edge of his vision as he fought.

"All it took was one little sick pony, and your whole empire would be mine," it hissed, "what can you hope to achieve.." it laughed, tightening its grip. Sombra was on the urge of blackout.

"Get OFF me!" he raged, and did as he had done in his dreams, and the previous times. He sank his fangs into the thing, even though the action made him retch. It flung him back, knocking him flat on his back. Before he could shift to his feet, it re-assumed pony shape and pinned him there. It was a sickening pressure, and all Sombra wanted was to get it OFF him!

"Didn’t you learn anything from our last "talk"?!" it sneered "these precious little ponies don’t WANT your help.."

"Doesn’t. Matter.." Sombra coughed "I’m all there is, like it or not..."

"Why don’t I do them a favor and just end you now?" it said manically "there’s no-one to miss you..."

Sombra thought about bright spark. He wanted to make sure she was OK, she and her mother..

"You’re....wrong.." he whispered "there IS somepony....even though I don’t deserve her kindness, she persists...SO YOU CAN GO-"

The rest of his words were drowned out by a rumble of thunder. The noise rattled his head, and the shadow pony took the opportunity to swing one hoof in a dizzying punch...

Out of the corner of his eye, Sombra spied the saddlebag he’d been wearing, it had fallen off in the struggle. From them had clattered a pair of surgical scissors, for trimming bandages with.

--I’ve got one shot...-- he thought, and tried to think clearly, turning his attention back to the shadow creature eh began inching the scissors towards him.

"Why do you want this world so badly.." he spat out.

"The innocence and purity of this world is just too enticing, There’s enough power here to sustain me for many a year...but don’t be sad, even a worthless thing like you still has SOME power to give me...you’ll still have a purpose..."

"Buck off!" Sombra snarled, He’d lifted the blades until they were directly behind the things back, now he pulled them towards him with as much force as he could. It threw it’s head back, laughing at its supposed victory, then-

THWACK.

Its eyes widened, then it screamed as its core began to crack apart. Sombra threw it off him, and pounced on IT instead, cracking the core into the road, where it finally broke. The usual shock wave followed, and he was pile driven into the pavement again, the wind knocked from his lungs.

Silence reigned alongside the ringing in his ears.

He didn’t hear the confused and scared whispers from the ponies that’d watched the bizarre fight.

"What ARE those things..?" was the first sentence he heard clearly enough.

"Mommyy...is the scary thing gone?"

“Looks like it.."

Sombra got unsteadily to his feet. The houses occupants exchanged murmurs of shock when they got a look at him.

There was a painful looking bruise along his jaw, bleeding cuts around his neck where that thing had tried to strangle him, and he barely looked like he could stand! As if on cue, Sombra wobbled on his hooves, having to pause a moment longer to get his bearings. The rain had flattened his mane so it hung over his eyes, and he was shivering.

"Oh my.." somepony said softly

Sombra ignored them all, somehow re-attaching the saddlebags. He steadied himself, letting the cold rain numb his injuries;

"Go to the palace..." he said softly "if you think you’re infected." he turned and started walking away, hoping that was the ONLY one of those things...if there were more, he was up a creek without a saddle.

Left behind, the stunned neighborhood exchanged looks. He’d just saved them...hadn’t he?

"Hang on a second!" Sombra sighed as a voice called out to him. It was the same pony that’d yanked his tail.

"The scroll has the details," he said dully "i cant force you to believe me, but that chemist made the cure. Trust HER."

He didn’t hang around for any more questions, just took off at as fast a trot as he could. He galloped through the empty streets, before realizing he couldn’t possibly check the whole empire on hoof. He needed something else..

He recalled the funny twinges he’d been having every time one of those things had shown up, the headaches. Deciding the empty street was as good a place as any he sat down, closed his eyes and tried to focus his mind.

He dug through all the pains and injuries he’d acquired, setting each particular pain aside once he’d figured out what part of him it belonged to. There. At the back of his mind, a memory of that strange throbbing pain. But it felt hollow, a shadow. A distant memory...

The whole time, while he’d been sitting there, the choker had started glowing, giving off a faint luminescence. Ponies that looked out their windows at that point would’ve seen a glimmering blue light amidst the rain, highlighting a hazy figure. Then it was gone.

Sombra got up, he couldn’t, to the best of his limited ability, say there were anymore. But once the guards were well enough, they needed to start patrol.

He staggered back to the palace. So the whole illness had been a trick, to try and lay waste to the whole empire, that thing had been on it’s way to begin harvesting them when it’d run into him...

Somepony tried to approach him, ask if he was OK, but he ignored them, snarling at them until they left him alone. He just wanted some peace.

"Sombra." a voice spoke from behind him in the empty hall and he jumped, looking over his shoulder to see;

Luna.

"Princess," he said at last, not turning to face her...

"Its seems we owe thee our gratitude for bringing us that medicine," she said. She looked better already, and he surmised it was a bonus of Alicorn magic.

"It was dumb luck I even remembered it.." he muttered "it was just a package of herbs that chemist gave me, go thank her!"

She frowned, wondering what he was hiding. She teleported round to face him, and when she took in the state of him, her eyes widened.

"What in my sisters name happened?!"

"Another of those things," he snapped "turns out the sickness was just a handy way to keep you all docile so it could drain your power.”

Luna gaped "wha?"

Sombra closed his eyes, recollecting the fight "it took a lot of it’s power to do it, that’s why it waited until it was sure everypony would be sick, but-"

“But it didn’t bank on YOU." Luna finished.

Sombra shrugged "serves it right," he muttered thickly, the room hazing at the edges.

"Whoa!" Luna darted forward, attempting to support him. She was shocked by how badly shaken he was, his body a myriad of scrapes and bruises by the looks of it...

He tried to make her leave him alone, but was too weakened to really put up a fight. She dragged him down the hall and into the hospital room. They halted in the doorway.

The room was pretty busy, lots of ponies were sitting or lying about, either asleep or being treated by the doctors.

Fluttershy looked up from where she was comforting a young filly, she was feeling much better now after repeated doses of that tea. She seen the poor, battered Sombra and let out a gasp.

"Lemme go.." Sombra muttered, but his words were slurring together.

"What in blazes-?!" the doctor stepped up beside Fluttershy "what on earth is going on out there?!"

"You don’t want to know.." Sombra said dizzily "Seriously..."

"Oh my...." Fluttershy seen the blood all over his coat, seen how he was shivering, barely able to stand "what happened?"

"One of those things..." Sombra muttered "it was coming here...to harvest everypony...."

Gasps and whispers ran around the medical bay.

"The whole...plague.." Sombra was fighting to get the words straight "was to put you...at its mercy.."

He turned to address Luna "you need to send out some guards soon as they’re well, i couldn’t sense if...that thing was alone-" he finally collapsed, his energy drained. Luna caught him best she could, frowning at how COLD he was!

"Eek!" Fluttershy looked around "we need somewhere to place him..."

"This is bad, were way over capacity.." the doctor muttered.

A young colt gave a cough and shuffled off the bed he’d been occupying;

"I’m good to stand, he looks kind of deadish..."

“Thank you!" Fluttershy said gently as she, with Luna and the doctors help, got Sombra to the bed, lying the injured unicorn on his side; Blood soaked into the bed sheet, a few ponies gasped at the sight of his injuries.

“What the hay was he fighting?" the colt asked.

"A creature of shadow and cruelty," Luna said somberly.

"And he won? I’d hate to see the other guy," the colt joked.

"I’m pretty sure the "other guy" was blasted to smithereens," Luna replied.

Once they’d patched him up best as they could, Luna summoned a blanket with her magic, and Fluttershy helped her tuck it around the sleeping Sombra..

"He's very cold.." Fluttershy worried.

"He’s also got a temperature higher then a giraffe on a trampoline!" the Doctor said. Some of the kids nearby giggled at this comparison "he cant keep fighting like this Princess..."

"I understand," Luna said "but he alone can target their weak spots according to my sister..."

She looked down at the sleeping Sombra "we need him..."

Author's Note

Thanks again to my wonderful editor Dream-Seeker!

Sorry this took so long....lots of..stuff happened. Most of it pretty disheartening. But i have broadband now, so...something good!

Facade & Memory

Some hours later, Sombra was awoken by the sound of somepony calling his name.

"Over there!" somepony pointed towards where Sombra was lying.

Sombra struggled to focus as he seen the Guard approach.

"We've done a sweep Sir, there have been no further reported attacks!" the Guard said. Sombra sighed softly.

"Good," he said shortly "It was just a lone attacker then."

"And I have a message from Princess Twilight Sparkle," the Guard added.

"Oh?" Sombra sighed. "What does she say?"

"Thank You," the guard said simply. Then he walked away. Sombra blinked. OK then.

He could feel a dozen gazes burning into him, and he just wanted some peace and quiet.

So he pulled the blanket over his head and drifted asleep, too weakened and tired to care about anything.

He was awoken later on by voices not far from his bed.

"Well, it's been a long day, but I think we've finally treated the last of the serious cases..." That was the doctors voice.

"I’m glad to hear it," Celestia’s voice "but what of Sombra?"

"His fever is running dangerously high," the doctor said. "He did himself no favors by running about in the rain for so long, never mind fighting one of those things."

"I had wished to speak with him, but in these conditions, I will postpone it."

Cadance called a meeting out in the town square.

"Citizens of the crystal empire, I am glad to say everypony is on their way to feeling all better!"

Cheers greeted this announcement;

"We narrow avoided a very serious crisis, and those that saved us deserve our thanks..."

She gestured to Flash Sentry who stood off to one side "One of our best Royal Guards, who helped gather herbs and carry medicines to ponies homes!"

An overwhelming cheer greeted this, and Flash blushed a little.

"And Healing Breeze, who so kindly assembled the tea that made us well again!"

The chemist gave a cheery wave, and another huge wave of applause swept through the crowd.

"But there is one other," Cadance said "I know many of you have had reservations about Sombra’s return here. But without his help, we would not be here now. I have pieced together the whole story of the events while I was sick;“

“When the core inside that dark creature exploded during that fight all those days ago in the market, it split into many little shards, which got under ponies coats and infected them with the sickness. As its opponent, the first to be infected was Sombra. His was a severe case, a shard the size of a small jewel was buried in his leg.”

Lots of ponies winced.

“By the time he got over the worst of it, most of the kingdom was infected. It was thanks to Healing Healing Breeze’s special tea he was well enough to get the others. These three managed to put a stop to a very nasty plague. A plague designed to keep us all weak and helpless so that thing from the sky tear could harvest the magic and energy within us all. A plan that ended after Sombra tore it to pieces.”

She shook her head “from what I have been told, that THING did not expect to encounter any resistance. We were lucky he was willing to help us, and not just abandon the empire.”

Shocked murmurs ran round the crowd, and one pony spoke up;

"So where is he?"

"He's still very sick..." Cadance explained "Running round in the rain only hours after taking the medicine, its left him in a bad state."

Surprised whispers ran round the crowd, Sombra had....helped them? The rumors were true...

"Thank you all for coming!" Cadance smiled sweetly "And I ask you all be vigilant, and be careful!"

The people cheered their Princess as she stepped down from the podium and, with Flash Sentry trotting alongside, went back to the palace.

The crystal ponies were surprised, but they knew their Princess wouldn’t lie to them. So it seemed the villain had been a sort of hero this time round...

Having finally been allowed to return to his own room, Sombra got the peace and quiet he wanted for a further night and day. He got his appetite back a little and wobbled downstairs in search of food. And bumped into Twilight Sparkle and friends.

"Oh, Sombra!" Twilight Sparkle said brightly, looking all better "Luna told us you were the one who saved us by finding that medicine!"

"Yeah well, she lies." He grumped dismissively, unable to accept their thanks, it felt too awkward. He had no idea about the conference, and was convinced they’d all just thank Healing Breeze and Flash Sentry and leave him alone.

"I most certainly do not!" Luna’s voice bellowed from behind him, making him jump a mile. Making everypony jump.

"Geez.." he grumbled "Dial it down there!"

"Then stop lying!" Luna shot back "You helped cure an empire, what part of that bothers thou exactly?"

"That chemist is the one your looking for," he said bluntly. "Not me. Your little blue haired friend and I were just pack mules for that medicine..." he turned and walked away.

"Blue hair...ohh....Flash Sentry!" Twilight Sparkle caught on "I remember, he came to see me.."

Luna frowned "what sort of idiot doesn’t take pride in saving so many ponies? If he and the others hadn’t done all that work, wed be flank deep in severe cases of sickness by now! Or DEAD!"

"I don’t think he wants ta get his hopes up." Applejack said honestly.

"Come again?" Rainbow Dash asked her.

Applejack sighed "he aint exactly used ta ponies thankin’ him for nothin', I don’t think he wants to believe any of it happened. If it didn’t happen, he cant be blamed OR thanked for it...leastways, that how it seems to me.."

"What kinda way of thinking is THAT?!..." Rainbow Dash remarked. "I mean, he did good!"

"He should be happy...." Fluttershy squeaked "many of the ponies we treated said they wouldn’t have known if he hadn’t been knocking at their doors yelling instructions at them. I’m not sure they could believe it either..."

"Give him time..." twilight said. "I’m sure he'll come around."

Then somepony put a hoof over her eyes and she squealed in delight. She knew who it was;

"Twily!"

She hugged her big brother tightly.

"Feeling better big brother?" she asked.

"Yup, back in action!" he smiled as she hugged him again "most everypony’s been given the cure now. Celestia’s recommended to Cadance we give Healing Breeze a job as the official royal chemist!"

"She deserves it.." Fluttershy smiled.

"And apparently she’s not the only pony we need to thank, aside from Flash Sentry..." Shining Armor raised an eyebrow "I thought Cadance was pulling my leg, but it seems he really DID help us out."

“Yeah! But try telling HIM that!" Pinkie Pie said "he was just here.."

"Oh, where’d he go?" Shining Armor wondered.

"Off in a right strop," Rainbow Dash remarked "trying to thank him gets him in a bad mood it seems."

"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight Sparkle said, then looked at her brother. "He’s just not used to it, keeps trying to shift the attention away from what happened."

"Probably thinks your pulling his leg," Shining Armor mused.

"That’s what ah thought too.." Applejack pointed out.

"Ooh, I almost forgot!" Pinkie Pie waved a hoof in the air "I’m helping the school with a bake sale on Friday! Who wants to come?"

There was a whole chorus of yeses!

Eventually, Celestia did request to speak to Sombra, who reluctantly made his way down to the throne room, which had been tidied up since his stay there.

"Ah, at last.." Celestia looked up as Sombra stopped a short distance away. "I assume you’re much better?"

He sighed softly. "The symptoms are all gone, if that’s what you mean. So are the stitches."

"Good," Celestia said "and it seems we owe you for your assistance-"

“I already TOLD your sister regarding that!" he snapped "I’m not the one who-"

"Oh but you ARE!" she said with such force he actually stopped short.

She fixed a stern glare on him "Had you just sat around on your rear after recovering, we would all be seriously ill right now. But the facts of the matter are thusly: one) you found out what that tea could do, and two) you made the conscious decision to replicate it, with Flash Sentry and Healing Breeze’s help. Had you not drawn attention to it, nopony would’ve even noticed, not until it was too late."

Sombra stayed silent, not wanting to admit to it.

"You may not comprehend it, but you saved a lot of lives that way. What could’ve been a serious epidemic has been brought under control. There’s also the matter of this letter..." she floated it over to him;

He unfolded it and began to read;

"Dear Princesses of the royal castle;

I want to thank you for sending that medicine to me and my daughter. Without it, I would’ve been very sick, and unable to care for her. It also seems I owe Sombra a great deal of thanks. My daughter is very fond of him, and he made sure he got the medicine she needed too. Please, thank him for me, and give him this little note, from my daughter,

Signed

Shining Sea."

A mini, sealed envelope floated over, hovering in front of him until he took it.

"Now do you understand..." Celestia asked. Sombra didn’t answer, he looked a little....lost all of a sudden.

"The crystal ponies aren’t fools, they trust Cadance. And when she told them you were responsible for their recovery-"

“She did what?!" Sombra sputtered, almost dropping the envelope, catching it just in time.

"-She told them the truth." Celestia eyeballed him "that is not the only letter.."

"I don’t want to hear any more..." Sombra groaned "if that’s everything, I think I’m going back to bed..."

Celestia sighed softly, but let him go.

"You weren’t kidding sister.." she said once he’d gone, "he really is reluctant to accept anypony’s kindness..."

Upstairs in his bedroom, Sombra opened Bright Sparks letter.

"Dear Sombra," (her writing was adorably wobbly)

"Thanks for helping mommy get better. She’s OK now, and were making cakes for the festival on Friday. Please come see us,

Bright Spark."

He couldn’t help smile a little. Sparks honesty made him feel less like the monster he knew himself to be…or did he?

A further day in bed and he felt a little better. Sadly, his nightmares had increased lately, and he was waking up and being sick every time. The doctor seemed surprised when he came to check on Sombra, and the unicorn barely made a sound the entire check-up. He seemed listless and tired, even going so far as to doze off (sitting UP) mid way. A little concerned, the doctor went to see the Princesses in the throne room.

Luna was curled up asleep, but Celestia and Cadance were awake and alert.

"What is the matter"? Cadance asked.

"I’m concerned about that- Sombra. He’s not looking any better since he got infected by that crystal. I went to check on him today, and he was so out of it I don’t think he even noticed I was there! He fell asleep sitting up all of a sudden."

Cadance frowned "being shut up in that room isn’t helping him any, he needs to get some fresh air, I will see what I can do."

“Thank you Princess." the doctor bowed his head then left.

"Where is Twilight Sparkle?" Cadance wondered...

Twilight Sparkle was happy to do as her sister-in-law asked, and persuade Sombra to go for a walk around the kingdom with her. But first Celestia wished to speak with him.

Shed been rummaging around in the old royal armory, and found something she figured she could trust Sombra with. It was a wrought-iron spear, very old but strong. It had a handle that hinged so it could be folded down and strapped to a pony’s side. This plus its carry pouch she presented to Sombra when he ambled in to see her the next morning.

"Where did you find this?" he asked, examining the ornate weapon. "this is from a long time ago..."

"It was in the depths of the palace, seems somepony has been keeping up the maintenance on even the OLD weapons. Its in perfect order."

He stared at it, it DID seem familiar, like he’d seen one of a similar style somewhere in his past....

"Before you ask," Celestia said "I have informed the guards you’ll be carrying this, that way they wont be surprised."

“Why are you giving me this?" he asked.

"So far you’ve managed to fight using whatever’s in hoofs reach. this should save you having to hunt for something to fight with."

Sombra nodded, and managed to lift the cloak and cinch the weapons carry pouch around his middle. Once the cloak was set back down, it perfectly hid the weapon.

"A perfect fit!" Celestia declared in amusement.

"So it seems..." Sombra murmured.

There was a knock at the door, and Twilight Sparkle stuck her head in;

"Oh, there you are Twilight Sparkle~" Celestia smiled happily at her student.

Twilight Sparkle stopped to chat a moment, then she left, and Sombra followed after her, pausing only to utter a gruff thanks in regards to the weapon. Celestia smiled, it seemed she’d misjudged Sombra, he wasn’t all bad..

Twilight Sparkle noticed what Cadance had mentioned; Sombra seemed a bit slow to respond. He followed after her as she wandered into the centre of town. Ponies stopped to talk to her, and she cheerily replied. It all sounded like white noise to Sombra, his head aching something chronic. Last nights nightmare had been worse, it’d felt like there was an extra dimension to the darkness in his dreams, but he was too tired to puzzle it out. He was aware of the weight of the weapon strapped to his side. The special spear Celestia had found. It was a sturdy weapon, hopefully strong enough to shatter one of those spheres head on.

He stared out across the square, and felt his head ache so heavily he almost blacked out. Twilight Sparkle seen him sway slightly on his feet and ran over.

"Are you alright?" she asked, concerned "you don’t look well-"

“Its nothing, Princess." he said shortly.

Every time Sombra looked around, somepony was staring at him, or whispering to their friends whilst staring. Hadn’t they gotten over his being there by now?! He didn’t have time for this. Had he looked closer he would’ve seen they were curious looks, not hostile.

He was hovering outside a flower shop while Twilight Sparkle went in to order some centerpieces for Pinkie Pies latest dinner/party idea, when he heard a sudden cry. Blinking, he seen a pony standing over her friend, who’d suddenly collapsed according to her wailing. Sombra frowned, his head was aching, just like-

"Oh-" he swore subtly, getting the feeling he knew what had made her faint. He seen something move, a swift blur, only there for a second. He took off, running across the street, looking about. Nothing. Was he seeing things? Fatigue messing with his mind? Sparks danced around his vision as he moved a little too abruptly and almost lost his balance again. Surprisingly, somepony steadied him and waited until he got his hooves flat back on the ground.

"You don’t look well," a stallions voice remarked. "everything ok?"

“Wha..." Somrba fought to marshal his thoughts. "nothings...wrong..." but his head ached again and he groaned, a surge of frustration making him snarl softly.

"Got a headache?" The same stallion wondered.

"A massive one," Sombra sighed "where’s that purple Princess pony, I’m going back to the palace..."

The stallion wondered what he meant, purple Princess- oh, Twilight Sparkle!

"She’s right there," he pointed at where Twilight Sparkle was still deep in conversation with the owners of the flower shop.

"Ow, thanks..." Sombra winced again. He was partway across the road when something slammed into his side with no warning, sending him crashing to the pavement. His vision fuzzed, and he temporarily blacked out, unable to get up. The milling crowd came to a halt, wondering what was going on. Then another pony randomly fainted, crumpling to the pavement. Hearing screams, Twilight Sparkle ran back outside. She seen the collapsing ponies, and Sombra picking himself off the ground.

Barely had he gotten up then something darted out and slammed into him again, sending them both crashing into the pavement.

"Get, OFF!" Sombra’s fury provided the adrenaline he needed, and he threw the creature off him as he got to his feet. His head felt clearer, and he knew soon as he focused his eyes on the thing in front of him, what it was..

A shadow creature. Still mimicking a pony shape, it leered at him. He took a step forward.

"Uh-uh.." it grinned, its mouth a row of sharp teeth. "Don’t want to hurt any of these little creatures, do you? They'll really want you dead if you do that..."

Sombra faltered, his mind whirling, then he shook his head "don’t talk as if you know anything!" he spat out. He looked over at Twilight Sparkle suddenly, an idea forming;

"Create a bubble shield, now!"

She knew in a flash what he needed. She focused her magic and a transparent white bubble shield popped up around the shadow pony AND Sombra.

It began to expand, making the crowd of ponies back up, creating a big open space.

"There, room to wipe the floor with you, and your all outta batteries!" Sombra grinned.

"You-!" It snarled "What could they possibly gain by letting you live?!"

"You know WHAT," Sombra retorted "the same thing YOU fear, I can destroy you!"

"Hah!" it took in how tired he looked "what can you hope to achieve, you’re barely able to stand. Didn’t you learn your lesson with the plague?"

"Haven’t you noticed, I don’t tend to pay attention to that kind of thing..." Sombra laughed. He thought the bubble was soundproof, but sadly, it wasn’t. So everypony watching on the outside could hear them.

"You’ve sealed your own end, foolish pony. If I’m trapped here, then so are you. No gardening tools to fight with this time. Didn’t think this through did you?"

Sombra laughed loudly, and in one swift movement unlatched his cloak and threw it aside so it wouldn’t get tangled in the spear. He unfolded the weapon, the hinged shaft locking into place as he leveled the weapon in front of him.

"Wrong," he said, seeing the surprise on the shadow pony’s face.

"Graah!" it let out an animal roar and lunged at Sombra. The unicorn swung the spear round to meet it, the sharp point sweeping through its neck. having solidified its form to fight, this meant he pretty much decapitated it. It hastily swept back and reformed, only to get another swipe with the spear.

It struck out at him, but he used the spears shaft to block the bolts of dark matter it shot at him. The weapon was a perfect suit for him. heavy duty, but strong. Easy to swing around, it’d been perfectly balance by its creator.

The ponies standing at the outskirts of the fight gasped and winced as the two powerhouses went against one another. Flashes of teeth and fangs, the light glinting off the ornate spear as Sombra used it with an astonishing ease.

SLAM. the shadow pony got around Sombra’s spear and slammed him against the shield. It flickered, but Twilight Sparkle focused her magic and it reformed. Bearing in mind she couldn’t hold it forever, Sombra knew he had to end this.

He took advantage of the fact the thing was pinning him by the neck, off the ground, and swept one metal clad hoof up into it’s midsection. He felt his hoof connect with the things core, and it hastily dropped him. He landed awkwardly, his leg twisted underneath him..

"Just give up!" It screeched as he got to his feet "they don’t need YOU, just give in and die already!"

To one mare pressing her nose anxiously against the shield, she thought she seen a flicker of exhaustion, and defeat, cross Sombra’s face. He'd helped save them from these things, and by trapping himself in the shield with this creature, he was making sure he alone took the brunt of the attacks. Did he think they wanted him to die? She shook her head in response to her own question.

So she decided to speak up;

"Don’t listen to it!" she yelled, "IT’S the REAL monster here!"

“Yeah!” another yelled.

“Daddy said he saved us from YOU!” a little foal cried.

More ponies nodded, and waved their hoofs at the thing. Sombra blinked, a little surprised. They were cheering....for HIM?!

"Kick its flank!" somepony else yelled.

The mare who'd started it gave one more salvo. "You're not like that thing, not anymore!!" several inaudible cries followed this, all their anger directed at the shadow thing. Which looked momentarily confused.

Sombra looked from them to the monster, and smirked.

"You heard them..." he said shortly. "Time to buck off!"

"You wretched little-" it lunged for him again, Sombra retrieved the spear, keeping it at his side as he charged again. Distracting it by aiming the spears tip for its head, Sombra ducked under and, using the sharp tip of his horn, head butted the creatures gut. It hit the core, cracking it. It sent the shadow pony soaring into the air, then slamming into the ground. Sombra lifted the spear once more, aiming it at the core amidst the swirling mass...

"Can you really destroy me..?" it laughed. "An abomination like you?"

Its voice had changed, to one Sombra knew too well. His fathers. He felt a wave of sickness pulse through him again. The creature got to it’s feet. Its shape rippled, then to everypony’s shock, it transformed into a white pony with pale blue mane and tail. She had a crystal snowflake on her flank.

"You.." Sombra said, so softly nopony heard him..

"Stop this fighting Sombra..." the shape shifter mare said. Sombra just stared, he hadn’t seen her face in an eternity. He’d made a promise once, he hadn’t been able to keep it...

"Don’t you remember me..?" it was close enough now he could see the mock-sadness in her blue eyes "you promised-"

Sombra had aimed the spear at her, shaking his head.

"Her, not YOU." he hissed. Then, before the thing could regret using that appearance, Sombra drove the spear into its body. The image of the innocent pale mare flickered and died, showing its original shape, before the core exploded and it was erased from existence.

Sombra stared into space, at the spot where the shadow thing had stood. That form...how had it known..?

He thought back to his nightmares. It had to have linked to his mind somehow, during the sickness, while his magic was weak, his defenses downed.

He hurriedly de-assembled the spear, popping it into the pouch. Twilight Sparkle, still gawping at the spectacle she and everypony else had seen, dropped the shield. Sombra shakily replaced his cloak, hiding the weapon from view.

He felt sick, but his head no longer hurt.

Seeing the thing was gone, some ponies cheered, casting admittedly admiring glances at the oblivious Sombra.

Twilight Sparkle trotted over, noticing he seemed even more pale and shaken now then when they’d started out.

"So much for a walk helping," she said apologetically.

"Until that thing-" he indicated the sky tear "is gone, this will keep happening-" he suddenly felt the world spin, and hunched over, fighting to breathe a moment.

“Sombra..” He heard Twilight's voice, felt a hoof gently tapping his foreleg, but he couldn’t answer.

After a few seconds of battling to stay awake, the dizzy spell receded, and he opened his eyes. He got a shock when he seen not only Twilight Sparkle peering at him in concern, but a bunch of other ponies.

"…?" crud, how to get out of THIS situation. Why were they all staring at him like that?

"Any better?" Twilight Sparkle asked. He did feel a bit less likely to pass out or throw up. He nodded mutely.

"You both look like you need a rest.." they glanced at the pony standing by Twilight Sparkle "my cafe is just across the street, you’re welcome to take a rest there!"

Sombra’s instincts said to refuse and clear out ASAP, but by the time his brain told him to say something, Twilight Sparkle had already accepted. Figuring it was more trouble then it was worth to kick up a fuss, he reluctantly followed her.

The cafe was quiet, and cool, away from the heat of the sunlight. Sombra almost felt like he could doze off sitting there...

Twilight Sparkle noticed the owner seemed to want to say something to Sombra, but the unicorns sullen silence made him nervous. On her way to the little mares room she whispered "just come right out with it, he wont bite your head off..."

Trusting her, the pony approached Sombra.

"You probably don’t remember it, but, you helped save my wife..."

Sombra opened his eyes, vaguely recognizing the pony now he got a good look at him.

"Anyway,” finding the silence unnerving the stallion babbled a bit. "You came to the house, told us to look for splinters. I know my family and I didn’t take kindly to you being there, W-well, id like to say I’m sorry if we didn’t listen at first. You were right, she WAS infected." he looked sacred. "She’s pregnant, but the doctors say the sickness hasn’t harmed her baby..."

"That’s good," Sombra said bluntly.

"My point is; we owe you for what you did. You could’ve left after we shouted at you, not stood out in the rain trying to argue." he gave a bob of his head. "Thank you."

Sombra fidgeted, unused to being thanked.

"Yes. Right.." he managed at last "it’s good to hear they all recovered."

The cafe owner noted how unused he seemed to ponies thanking him. Twilight Sparkle returned form the bathroom, and asked for some drinks..

A cup of some type of herbal tea, and Sombra felt a little better. Although Twilight Sparkle ordered some food, he found himself unable to eat much.

More ponies wandered into the cafe. Seeing Sombra in conversation with Twilight Sparkle they felt brave enough to approach.

Twilight Sparkle had to suppress a smile as another two ponies blurted out a thanks to the surprised Sombra, for helping them with the crystal plague. He’d seen so many faces he couldn’t recall them all. But one he did recognize-

"You stopped that thing from attacking me," the stallion said. Sombra recognized him as the one who pulled his tail and yelled at him. "if it you hadn’t come along...that thing would’ve destroyed us all."

"It’s gone now," Sombra said softly "there is nothing further to be concerned about."

"And that’s thanks to you," the stallion said bluntly. "My wife and I are extremely grateful." then he left.

Sombra stared at the second cup of tea, watching the steam rising from the cup.

"They don’t seem so frightened anymore.." he said dryly.

"You saved a great many ponies, you, Healing Breeze, and Flash. They are grateful to you all," Twilight Sparkle said "and rightly so. We ALL owe you-"

"I’m the only one that can fight them," Sombra said bluntly "they’re just happy to have something to fight back with."

“They have somePONY," Twilight Sparkle said "not a THING."

Sombra just drank his tea, not replying.

After that, they left, and Twilight Sparkle continued on her trip. Sombra looked a little better for the rest he’d had. A faint breeze was kicking up, and its coolness made him feel a little more alert.

"Where are we GOING?!" he asked at last. Twilight Sparkle beamed, pulling a letter from her bag. "Cadance wrote this for the teacher at the preschool, we're delivering it."

"Oh," Sombra said softly.

Soon enough they reached the Crystal School. It was a big school, spacious and open. Twilight Sparkle remarked how big it was compared to Ponyville schoolhouse, which had a down home country feel, with its cosy little classrooms.

They asked a passing student where miss Petalbloom was. Sombra thought he knew that name somehow.

The somewhat nervous student directed them down the hall. The kids were running around the indoor gym hall, doing some sort of obstacle course.

"Miss Petalbloom?" Twilight Sparkle asked. the mare turned round, and seen the two ponies standing by the door.

"Princess! Sombra!" she trotted over "how can I help?"

“I have a letter from Princess Cadance," Twilight Sparkle handed it over. Petalbloom read it over, and smiled in delight;

"Tell her highness thank you so much, this is excellent!" she beamed. She glanced at Sombra "Are you feeling better? Princess Cadance said you were very ill for awhile..."

Sombra shifted on his hooves “Its fine now,” he said shortly.

“That’s a relief,” she smiled “I heard the tale of your fighting that THING. We’re all grateful you were able to stop it.”

“It was going to kill everypony” Sombra said softly “I wasn’t going to let it.”

"Well we're glad you’re here," the teacher said solemnly "Thank you.”

"SOMBWA!" Bright Spark, bouncing on a trampoline, spotted her friend mid bounce, and flung herself in his general direction. Twilight Sparkle chuckled as she bounded over and skidded to a halt in front of him.

"Ah, little one...." Sombra smiled softly. "IS your mother back on her hooves?"

“Yep!" Bright Spark nodded "she got better weal fast after you helped remove the spwinter!"

The rest of the class had noticed, after hearing Bright Spark bellow his name, that they had an odd visitor. They wandered over, watching Bright Spark admiring her reflection in his shoes, pulling faces and overall being goofy.

They were surprised to see Sombra laugh, and shake his head slightly.

Sombra seen one tiny foal gawking up at him, and when he caught the foals gaze, the startled kid blurted out;

"Good grief you’re TALL."

Twilight Sparkle giggled. It was true Sombra was a little taller then the average pony, but to the kids he must seem like a giant!

"Ooh, did you get my letter?" Spark beamed.

"Yes I did little one, and thank you." he said softly.

"Does that mean you'll come see us?" she asked hopefully. Sombra hesitated but seeing the puppy dog face she was pulling, coughed and finally relented.

"YAY!" she said.

"Ok, class!" Petalbloom smiled "back to your lesson!"

"Bye bye!" Spark waved at Sombra before bounding away.

"What that little filly runs on is beyond me.." Sombra murmured as he and Twilight Sparkle left the building. By now, the first student they’d met had told his class who he’d seen in the hall, so a lot of little ponies were peering out of classroom doors as the unicorn and Alicorn walked by.

"She’s full of beans alright..." Twilight Sparkle giggled "somehow she puts me in mind of Pinkie Pie.."

"Ah, cotton candy, right..."

Twilight Sparkle wanted to ask who the mare was that the shadow creature had imitated, but got the feeling Sombra didn’t want to talk about it. But the way he’d reacted to seeing her...

They shared the latest attack with Celestia and Cadance. When they heard the thing was now shape shifting they were concerned. But Sombra refused to explain WHO it’d turned into, only muttering about it being a mare. Twilight Sparkle glanced at him, noticing how walled up he was acting again.

At last he returned to bed, and it was an easier sleep then before. But he still felt the reverberations of seeing her face again. For a short moment, he’d felt like that little colt again...how she’d cried when he left…

Twilight Sparkle, her brother and Cadance remained in the library the rest of that evening, catching up on the latest regarding the sky tear.

They’d been talking so long they hadn’t realized it was evening time. And everypony was starving.

"Food time!" Pinkie Pie declared "lets go!" So they all headed down to the kitchen;

Several minutes earlier, Sombra had snuck down for a drink.

Drawn by the faint hoof steps, the palace cook had left her living quarters and drifted down the hall to see who it was.

Sombra got a fright when the light snapped on, temporarily blinding him;

"Dangit!" he cursed.

"Oh!" the cook took a moment to recognize who ti was "sorry 'bout that.." she was a plump, cheerful pony with a big heart. Whilst she found Sombra intimidating like most everypony else, she didn’t see the harm in giving the guy benefit of the doubt for the time being.

"Why didn’t ya turn the lights on? Cant cook in the dark!"

"I am darkness, trust me, I’m used to it." Sombra said bluntly. ÒAnd I have no intention of "cooking" anything, so you needn’t be concerned."

She couldn’t reply to that. Sombra sighed, walking past her to get out of the massive kitchen. As he did so, his (unfed) stomach chose that moment to let out the loudest growl it’d ever done. He froze mid-step, one hoof in mid-air as the cook burst out laughing.

"Well that’s not what your stomachs saying!" she chuckled, walking over to the stove "my foods not that bad, stay and give it a try!"

Sombra hesitated, he knew he’d probably be sick the next morning, and this put him off food, his stomach was so unsteady…

But he was about to accept her offer anyway, when he heard voices approaching. He recognized Twilight Sparkles voice, then that of her big brother and her friends.

"I must go," he said bluntly. He was in no mood to face them right now.

Left behind, the cook frowned. Something odd had just gone on.

Then she was interrupted by the two Princesses and their group apologizing for not sending for dinner earlier. She promised to whip them up something delicious in no time!

"You are so awesome!" Pinkie Pie told the cook. She chuckled, loving the pink ponies enthusiasm.

"Aw man, ah am so stuffed..." Applejack groaned "worth it!"

"Uh huh.." Shining Armor seconded. Cadance had to chuckle at her husbands appetite, he literally ate like a horse!

“Good to see you’re all eating well," the cook said kindly "maybe you could get that reclusive guy to eat.."

"Huh? who? OH, you mean grumpy pants!" Pinkie Pie giggled.

The cook chuckled at the nickname. "He does seem very abrupt, doesn’t he? I ran into him just before you guys came down!"

“Really?" Twilight Sparkle asked "Where’d he go?"

"I offered to make him some food. His stomach was giving off a blatant “I haven’t eaten since forever“ vibe! I’ve noticed he’s barely eating anything lately. But he suddenly got cold hooves and booked it out of here literally seconds before you..."

Cadance frowned "Its true he doesn’t leave that room unless he has to...but I didn’t realize he wasn’t eating.."

"But why’d he leg it?" Shining Armor asked.

"Well, if you get the chance, try and get him to come down here if he wants something. What else am I employed for if not to cook at all hours?" the cook chuckled.

"Word!" Shining Armor said, then burped.

"Big brother!" Twilight Sparkle scolded, but she couldn’t help laughing at his face.

"I get used to it..." Cadance laughed.

"Yeah, when he was little, him and his friends tried to form an acapella belching group!" Twilight Sparkle revealed.

"Twily!" Shining Armor tossed a balled up napkin at her, which she caught and threw back. This just made them all crease up laughing.

Mid way back to his room, Sombra seen the library and figured he’d grab something new to read. But once he was inside, the warmth of the massive fireplace drew him over, then his stomach gurgled again and he passed out.

They were walking past the library to get to the stairs leading to their respective rooms, when Twilight Sparkle noticed the open door and remembered she’d left her notes on the crystal Sombra had given her in there. They bumbled in, Pinkie Pie pausing to grab the cookery book shed been reading, then noticed somepony asleep by the fire.

"Aw, grumpy pants is taking a nap!" she giggled.

Sure enough, they noticed the dozing Sombra, his cloak wrapped around him.

Shining Armor cocked his head, taking in the suspiciously "collapse-y" angle he’d fallen asleep in. "I don’t think he’s napping, looks more like he passed out."

"OH," Pinkie Pie frowned, then bounded over and shook Sombra’s shoulder "wakey wakey, eggs and bakey!"

She jumped back a second later as the startled Sombra bolted to his feet, struggling to regain his balance for a few seconds.

"Wha..?" he grumbled, shaking his head.

"Ya feeling OK?" Applejack asked.

"Fine," Sombra said blankly "its noth-"

However, his stomach wasn’t letting him of so easily. It grumbled again, louder then the first time, if that was possible. He smacked a hoof into his forehead.

"Wow, the cook wasn’t joking...you are hungry!" Pinkie Pie said.

"You need ta eat somethin', that sickness did a number on ya, and the food here’s darn good.." Applejack thought back to dessert "hmm...I want some pie.."

"Its settled! Lets go get more pie, and you need dinner!" Pinkie Pie grinned at Sombra with her usual energy.

"There isn’t any need," he said bluntly. But the dizziness was getting worse. Since the sickness, he’d had little appetite, he looked exhausted and pale, the fighting fury behind those ruby eyes, dulled. As if on cue, it happened again, his vision fuzzed and he banged right into the edge of the open door, stumbling back a foot.

"Suuuree.." Shining Armor said "your just fine!"

Sombra snarled irritably at him.

"You GOTTA eat! Its important!" Pinkie Pie tried again, bounding up beside him. This made Sombra twitch and he whirled on her, annoyance on his face as he snapped;

"Where’s the point in eating, you ball of candy fluff, when these nightmares of the darkness have me throwing up all the time!" Then he seemed to realize he’d let slip too much and clammed up, backing up a step.

Silence reigned.

"Oh" Pinkie Pie looked sympathetically at him. "Still...maybe soup? My auntie always made me soup when I got sick, it never fails!"

Sombra hesitated. He WAS hungry for something that’d stay down, but he knew his dreams;

"NO," he said and strode out of there as fast as he could.

"Aw, party pooper!" Pinkie Pie sulked.

"I think we need to talk to Princess Luna," Twilight Sparkle said.

A poof of magic and a second later;

"You called?" Luna asked.

"Yes, can you see if you can somehow suppress whatever nightmares Sombra’s having?" Cadance frowned "he’s no good to us if he’s sick, he’s already sustained serious injuries, we cant afford to have him get any worse..."

Luna nodded "that would be the best course of action. Hath he said what they detail?"

"He just mentioned something about darkness" Shining Armor said. Luna nodded;

"Then we can assume they’re about the sky tear."

"Can I come with you?" Twilight Sparkle asked "it’ll save you having to report it all back to us later.."

"That makes sense.."

And so, once they were sure Sombra was asleep, they stood in a circle in the library. Luna closed her eyes. There was a flare of light, a feeling of dizziness, then they were-

-All cramped into a little attic room inside a cottage.

"This doesn’t look like the empire," Rainbow Dash said to fill the silence.

"Cobwebs!" Rarity shuddered "please say the spiders have left!"

The door was suddenly flung open and a small blur was flung inside. It landed amongst a heap of blankets, and the door was slammed unceremoniously behind it. There was the sound of a padlock clicking shut just as the tiny creature untangled itself and flung itself at the door.

"Lemme out!" he wailed desperately.

"Shut your trap!" an angry male voice snarled "or you'll get another smack!"

The tiny pony sat on his haunches as the hoof steps receded, tears welling up. Creeping closer the audience seen one of the tiny foals eyes was swollen shut by a painful bruise. He was a small little thing, dark grey coat, jet black mane and tail, and when they got a look at the un-bruised eye, RED eyes. A unicorn horn could just be seen under the mop of mane.

"Could this be...?" Twilight Sparkle asked.

"Aww!” Pinkie Pie squealed loudly "he’s so cute!" she bounded over to peer at the tiny foal "poor little guy.."

"This must be his home..." Luna said. Rarity looked at the desolate attic, a cold and unfriendly place "well it’s hardly suited for a child!" she declared "its dank and awful!"

"Why is he being locked in here?" Twilight Sparkle wondered. As she spoke the pint sized Sombra got up at last, swiping a hoof over his damp eyes, then sniffling.

He cast about him for something, then seemed to spot it. He stared intently at something on a shelf above where they were all crowded. He closed the un-bruised eye and, with obvious effort, a dark purple aura began to swirl around his horn.

"His magic.." Luna said at last, shock lining her voice "Its already....dark?"

Above them, a small ball atop the shelf wobbled, and teetered over the edge, bouncing across the floor to land at Sombra’s hooves. This seemed to cheer the tiny unicorn, who batted absently at it with one hoof.

"How is that possible?" Twilight Sparkle asked "I’ve never read of anypony being able to use dark magic this young..."

"Maybe he was BORN with it!" Pinkie Pie blurted "he’s only a baby, he cant have mastered it already!"

"You’ve got a point there..." Luna nodded "even for a fully trained Alicorn, dark magic is a risky business..."

Tiny Sombra had ceased playing with the ball, and was now burrowing around under the blankets. After some moments he pulled out a battered book.

Twilight Sparkle snuck over to look. The little foal was looking at a sketch on the most recent page of the book, which seemed to be a diary of some sort. It showed a sketch of a mare with a tiny foal lying by her side atop a bed. The tiny little thing was curled up in the crook of it smothers foreleg, and she looked at it with an expression of motherly adoration.

"Sun Feather and baby Sombra" was written underneath it.

"That’s his mother...?" Cadance mused, looking over Twilight Sparkles shoulder. "She must’ve loved him very much, why would she, or his father for that matter, suddenly start hurting him?"

"Because of his magic.." Twilight Sparkle said softly. Little Sombra suddenly seemed to grow angry, and flung the book across the room. It hit the wall and landed on the floor with a thud.

"Quiet you brat!!" a voice roared from below. Little Sombra jumped and tensed fearfully. But after no hoof steps came thundering up the stairs, he relaxed.

"Well his fathers a real jerk," Rainbow Dash said at last. Little Sombra sighed and burrowed under the pile of blankets that seemed to serve as a hiding place.

The scene blurred, and refocused in the middle of a meeting in a storeroom.

Sombra’s parents were there, and six older ponies, three unicorns, one earth and two pegasi.

"We must drive the evil from this child," the oldest said, "then our village will be prosperous once more!"

The group of ponies led by Luna crept forward, and seen Sombra was there. Collared and tied to a stake that’d been buried into the hard packed earth floor. He was squirming and trying to get the collar off him, but he couldn’t escape. He was gnawing on the rope even now. He was sporting a fresh set of bruises, which were added to when the father stepped forward and cuffed him across the head, stunning him.

“Quit being a brat!” The midnight black earth pony snarled.

The unicorns took up places around Sombra, in a triangle formation. A strange chanting started. Sombra flipped about, trying to get free more vigorously then ever. But it was no use. Then a sharp bolt of magic hit him, and he let out a desperate cry.

"What’re they DOING?!" Twilight Sparkle yelped.

"Trying to change his magic, so far as I can tell..." Luna said.

The glow faded and Sombra collapsed to the floor, panting and whimpering.

Those around him stared in silence as the shivering child got to his hooves, looking thoroughly freaked out.

"Try your magic now, brat." the father, a massive midnight black stallion with dark grey hair and cold blue eyes commanded. His mother, a dark red mare with red and orange hair winced, just for a second, then the mask fell back down, and she looked as uncaring as her husband.

Sombra tried, and nothing happened.

"Success!" one of the elders cheered. But they were too cocky. They turned their backs on Sombra to talk to his parents and didn’t realise little Sombra was still trying to work his magic. At last something DID happen. There was a flash, a bang, and a sizzling sound. The next second, a stack of (luckily) empty wooden shelves burst into purple flames.

"What-" the elders looked at Sombra, who looked as confused as they felt.

"Put it out!" another yelled but it was spreading fast. It latched onto the rope restraining sombre and it fell to ashes. Little Sombra took the opportunity to bolt past the gaping crowd and out into the night.

"Everypony OUT NOW!" the lead elder shouted, and the scene faded..

Now they were standing in the middle of a snowy field.

They heard a cry of pain, coming from the small farmhouse nestled amidst the snow. They raced over, crowding around an open window.

Inside, a slightly older Sombra was curled up on the floor, trying to shield his head. his father loomed above him, one hoof raised to strike. Through the open window they heard his words;

"What have I told you, you miserable little freak? You don’t use that power of yours where anypony might see it! We should’ve kept you locked in your room!"

"Stop.." the little unicorn gasped.

"You’re an abomination. NO pony on your mothers side OR mine has magic like that, you’re a freak! Our neighbors are suspicious of us because of YOU, they say you’re cursed, that you’re bad luck to this village. Elder Light Leaf is being too soft on you!"

More blows rained down on the poor unicorn, who curled up as best he could to shield his face.

"You are no son of mine!" the father roared, and reared up to deliver another blow;

"Just leave me alone!" the victim finally snapped. A dark aura swelled around him, then expanded outwards, knocking his father backwards into the wall, shattering the glass in the windows along with anything that wasn’t tied down. The door was flung off its hinges into the snow, along with the bricks the hinges were attached to.

Silence rang for a good many seconds. Then, at last, the unicorn uncurled himself from the floor, looking at the chaos with tear-filled eyes.

He got to his hooves and stumbled out into the snow, shivering from the cold. He got a few paces away from the stunned group of watchers, when a female voice called out;

"Sombra? Oh my goodness...what happened?!" a pale white mare ran up. She looked about his age, with blue hair. Twilight Sparkle stared, she was the mare from the market fight!

The young Sombra didn’t respond, just stood there shivering.

"This all must’ve been long before his transformation," Cadance murmured "his age is far from what it is now, he’s only a colt..."

"He hasn’t his cutie mark yet..." Shining Armor noted "wait, what IS his cutie mark, does he even have one?"

“Its a trio of red crystals.." Twilight Sparkle filled him in.

Back to the scene and the mare took a look at the wreckage and her eyes widened.

"It was my fault...I couldn’t control it..." he turned and started to stumble away.

"Where are you going?" she cried;

"I don’t know..." he whispered "but I cant stay here....I’ll end up hurting somebody I care about next time...what if its you.."

"This shouldn’t be happening...your magic’s just a little different. I’ll try talking to my father again, make him see sense about you.."

Sombra stopped, turning to face her. He gently nudged her damp cheek with his own "No, he'll come down to hard on you, I wont have it." he sighed "Maybe my fathers right, maybe I am evil...this is dark magic...its all in those books you gave me..."

"You cant believe everything you read. Dark magic it...its like a myth, nopony knows anything about it. I’m sure there’s somepony.?"

But the young Sombra shook his head. "Once they see its dark magic I’ll be hunted again. I’m sorry..."

She looked across the snowy field "Why are YOU the one suffering for this?!" she suddenly screamed at the sky "it isn’t YOUR fault! You cant blame a foal for being born with different magic!"

Sombra didn’t answer, just stared at the wrecked wall of his house. His father wouldn’t stay unconscious for much longer, he had to go. He turned to leave, and felt a sudden warmth as she hugged him.

"If this is what you need..." she let him go, then took her scarf off and wrapped it around his neck, and put a kiss on his cheek "promise you wont give up, OK? There'll be somepony out there that'll see you for who you really are...my friend..."

"Im sorry..." he said softly "for everything...."

"NO, the ones who should be sorry are the decrepit elders that run this village!" she shook her head "my father wants me to take over from him someday...until now I hated the idea. But maybe I can change this place, make people see sense!"

"If anyone can do it, it’ll be you..." Sombra managed a weak smile "goodbye..."

He took off running across the snow. The mare watched him go, tears in her eyes, the she turned and headed towards home.

Rainbow Dash was standing with her jaw hanging open, twitching.

"This is jerktown!" she bellowed. Then the scene changed.

The scenes shifted again, through various quick flashbacks of him accidentally using his magic. Ponies reactions, the shouting, the fear, the harsh treatment. At last the memory came to the crystal kingdom, where a beaten, hungry Sombra stumbled into the middle of a wake being held in the empire’s centre.

Now they were in a plush room they recognized as being the hospital room now. A battered, shivering Sombra had just woken up in the warm, comfy room and looked thoroughly lost.

"Ah, awake at last.." a male voice broke the silence. Sombra tensed up, preparing to bolt..

"Its quite alright, you’re safe now. You were in quite the rough state my boy, what on earth happened?" It was the newly crowned King.

Sombra didn’t answer, just turned his head away.

"You’re not in trouble lad, you’ve done nothing wrong. Can I at least get your name..?"

Sombra regarded him for a few sullen moments, before relaxing a tiny iota.

"Sombra." he said at last.

"My, that’s an unusual name." the King chuckled "you look awfully young to be traveling alone...are you far from home?"

"I don’t have a home," Sombra said stiffly "I...had to leave.."

"Why on earth would THAT be?" the King asked, genuinely curious.

Sombra sighed, got up and padded over to the window. He looked out across the sparkling city "I suppose it doesn’t make any difference.." he murmured, then turned to face the King. Closing his eyes he summoned as much magic as he had. The dark aura swirled around his horn, and the bed he’d been lying on lifted up a few inches, before returning to the floor with a thud.

"Wha..." the King stared "that‘s dark magic. How on earth did you learn THAT, it is forbidden-"

“I didn’t learn it!" Sombra yelled, panic rising "I was BORN with it!!"

"Born.."? the King asked.

Sombra began to shake, weakness exacerbated by the magic display "yes, born! Since I was little, my magic has always been this way. That’s what got me into this mess in the first place! You have to believe me, I’m not a monster!!" He was on the verge of either crying or collapsing again, and the King could see the raw fear and pain in his eyes.

"I see...so you were running FROM something, not TO somewhere.." the King studied the young unicorns fearful expression.

Sombra began to pace, looking for a way out, he was trapped!

The King thought the poor kid looked famished so he made to move towards the door, to tell the guard to fetch some food. Sombra mistook this for a potential arrest and panicked, trying to scramble out onto the balcony underneath the window. the King ran over and wrapped his hooves around his middle, hauling him back.

"Lemme go!" Sombra flailed.

"Its alright, you’re not in trouble!" the King flapped his wings and pulled him away from the window and plonked him on his rear, looking down at him.

"I knew that window thing wasn’t a first.." Rainbow Dash said "he has a dangerous taste in escape plans!"

Sombra glowered defiantly up at the King. To his surprise, the Pegasus chuckled.

"You haven’t had much of a fair chance in life have you? How would you like to stay here? I could use an extra assistant..."

"Are you serious..." Sombra said at last, looking hopeful yet still guarded. "You don’t even know me!"

"I’m serious. You’re clearly a bright young thing, you just need a steady goal. And if you really were as bad as you seem to think yourself to be, I’d be out cold and you’d be long gone, am I right? Why waste time if you truly didn’t care about harming somepony?"

Sombra admitted he had him there "but, my magic....I’m..."

"I will have Scrollwork look into dark magic occurrences, see what I can find out. Somepony somewhere must know!"

Sombra still didn’t look like he trusted him, "why would you help me?"

"I believe everypony deserves a chance," the King said, which made Fluttershy smile, she thought so too!

"Even a freak...?" Sombra said darkly.

"You shouldn’t talk that way. I can tell you have a good heart under all that sulking," the King chuckled softly "give it a chance? You’re free to go if you want to."

Sombra stared at him a few moments, before reluctantly nodding.

"Good!" the King held out a hoof to the colt "welcome to the crystal empire, Sombra.."

The next shard of memory was a slightly happier one. It showed Sombra studying a book on the various gems of the crystal empire. Then a little later, the King showing him various crystals, asking him to identify them. Sombra not only did that, but he was able to sense the magical properties of each one, even ones that weren’t in the books!

"Excellent!" the King congratulated him "you have quiet the talent!"

"I guess I do..." Sombra looked down at the crystal.

"Most ponies would have to hone their skills for years before knowing all that..."

Sombra couldn’t help feel a little surge of pride.

The viewing audience all watched as there was a little shimmer of light, and the red crystals cutie mark appeared.

"Well would you look at that!" the ruler chuckled "this is cause for a celebration.."

"What does it mean?" Sombra wondered "I can identify crystals...seems a little simplistic.."

"You’ll figure it out in time..." the King chuckled "Now let us see what we can get from the kitchens..."

But it wasn’t to the perfect home Sombra had dreamed of. Pony after pony recoiled or turned away when they seen the taint of his magic. The King didn’t care, he did his best to teach Sombra how to become an advisor. But his right hand stallion didn’t trust Sombra, and told the King the colt was unstable.

"Nonsense, Scrollwork," the King waved a hoof. The group of dream-watchers were stood a short way away from the partially open doors, where Sombra was eavesdropping on a conference between Scrollwork and the King!

"That magic is evil...you let that loose on your subjects, there’s no telling what he'll do!"

At the door, Sombra stepped back, his expression blank.

"He’s a little volatile, but he’s got a good mind. That he uses dark magic isn’t from teaching himself. I believe him when eh said he was born this way.."

"You cant be serious sire, we all know books on dark magic exist in the forbidden section of even the library in THIS castle...dark magic needs a dark heart!"

"No heart is entirely black. But his biggest enemy will be fear and suspicion,. he must learn to fight them before he can truly govern the kingdom!"

"Please heed my warning sire, he WILL put us all in danger.."

"They’re just the same.." Sombra muttered, eyes filled with bitterness. "everypony is afraid of me. What I am." a sudden burst of fury raged through him, and he glared at the door.

He stamped a hoof on the crystal floor. An aura of darkness swirled up around him. He grinned "in fact, they should ALL disappear!"

By now the advisor and the King heard his ranting, and ran to the doors.

"Sombra? Child, what’re you doing?" the King stared in shock at the blazing aura.

"You’re all just liars, you need to learn a lesson..."

“See your highness.." Scrollwork sneered "unstable and a threat!"

"SHUT UP!" Sombra closed his eyes. A ball of swirling dark magic appeared in the air above him. It drew itself in, then exploded. Everypony it touched disappeared.

"Just go, far away from me!" Sombra screamed.

At last the halls rang empty. Sombra stood alone in the empty castle, sides heaving, most of his magic spent it seemed.

"They’re no different.." he hiccupped, "they’re just the same." he ran into the now empty throne room, glaring at the kings throne.

"You were a liar too old man.." he said, anger entering his voice "you never intended to let me help you...you were scared of me too..."

On impulse he fired a bolt of dark energy from his horn, shattering the crystal throne to bits.

A bundle of scrolls fell to the floor. He leaned down to read one that rolled open. It was one of Scrollwork’s, recommending he, Sombra, be refused a spot on the council, stating he was violent and unstable. He read this out loud, his voice cracking a she reached the end all the fury seemed to vacate him, and he slumped to the floor.

"I give up.." he lay down amidst the wreckage and buried his head on his forelegs "I’m tired of fighting..."

For a few moments, there was no sound save the muffled, heart wrenching cries from the angry, upset unicorn.

Then, abruptly, dark magic suddenly sparked along his horn. He sat up a little, looking freaked out

"W-what’s happening?" he panicked.

A pool of darkness opened up under his feet. He tried to get to his hooves, but dark coils lashed out and tied themselves around his legs and midsection, pulling him to the floor again. He panicked, thrashing desperately about trying to get free. But the darkness wouldn’t be stopped. Soon the dark ties had all but cocooned him. He tried to use his magic, but nothing happened.

The darkness wrapped around him completely. He reared in fright, but it flowed too thickly, surrounding him in seconds.

All watching shared winces as they heard a cry of pure fear and pain from the dark pony-shaped mass. For a moment it retained his original, lithe shape, then it seemed to grow, shifting and moving.

The darkness flowed down in one swift move. The pony that now stood there resembled the Sombra they all knew. Taller, more grown up, with the flowing mane and curved horn.

But the darkness wasn’t done yet. After waiting a moment, it split into different bits, all of them flowing over the pony’s body, forming the armor and cloak he wore.

Sombra opened his eyes, now a far darker red then they started, taking in his new appearance and letting out a laugh of mad enjoyment.

"Lets see them destroy me now.." he cackled "they want a reason to fear me, then let them have it!" his voice was different, more like how it was now, under-layered by darkness.

The darkness swirled in and they all snapped back to consciousness...

For a moment they all just stood there. Digesting everything they’d seen.

Twilight Sparkle had tears in her eyes. "It just...took over him, completely!"

"That was.." Shining Armor shook his head "no wonder he went crazy. He was only young, and that darkness accelerated his age!"

"It granted his wish to be strong enough nopony could hurt him again.." Twilight Sparkle said softly.

"He must have been heartbroken when he thought the one pony that believed in him was gonna turn on him, but what was that darkness?" Applejack asked Luna.

Luna thought about it "Starswirl the Bearded did once say not everypony’s magic comes from the light. Dark magic was forbidden for a reason, its extremely powerful, and dangerous in the wrong hooves. It can be almost impossible to control. All of us subconsciously keep a barrier around our magic, stopping it from running rampant and destroying us, only letting it out when we need it. When his faith in the world shattered, it meant the barrier around his own magic faltered, and that was enough to allow the darkness to take over!"

She paused a moment "Much like how my jealousy got the better of me the night I became Nightmare Moon, so too did his despair overwhelm him..."

"He was born that way, it wasn’t his fault..." Pinkie Pie bawled sympathetically "but everypony was so mean!!"

"His own FATHER?!" Rarity shuddered "that’s just..heartless!"

"Perhaps if he HAD met the right pony that would have trained him, he may have grown to cope with it. So far as I know, he is the only pony to have been BORN with dark magic." Luna replied.

"No wonder he turned to cruelty to lead the empire, its what he was taught. Hurting ponies got him what he wanted..." Cadance shook her head "this could’ve been avoided had somepony just shown a bit of kindness..."

"He’s been seeing this every night?" Twilight Sparkle asked.

"Possibly..." Luna said. "The night I walked the dream about the sky tear, his mind was focuses on that incident, so I did not see these images..."

"Is there something we can do?" Rainbow Dash asked "I kinda feel bad for 'im...I mean, his childhood SUCKED!"

"Give him a chance..." Twilight Sparkle brushed a tear away with one hoof, and looked at her brother.

"Ok Twily...I’ll trust what you think. Maybe he DOES want a second chance at his life. Can’t say I’d blame him after all THAT happened!"

"I’m surprised he wasn’t alerted to our presence.." Luna mused "then again, such a nightmare would be all consuming, he probably wasn’t aware.."

"I wonder if the royal libraries special collection has any info we can use..." Cadance looked at Twilight Sparkle "There must be some information we can find out.."

Twilight nodded “He needs our help before he self-destructs completely!”

“When that shard of the crystal heart took up home in his own, it must’ve unearthed those memories,” Luna wondered “I’m guessing he’d suppressed them since the change.”

“That was…s-so horrible..” Fluttershy, like Pinkie Pie, was very saddened by what she’d seen “Nopony deserved that! No wonder he cant trust anypony, he‘s never had reason to!”

“Then lets find a way to show him the world isn’t so cruel anymore!” Twilight said, determination in her eyes.

“Yeah!” Rainbow whooped. The others all nodded, and the began discussing a way to help Sombra..

Author's Note

Sorry this took so long, been getting used to my new job! But ive also had a big problem to deal with (see blog u__u).

Ive done some doodles and whatnot for this fic, if you wanna take a peek just click the deviantart button on my main profile box. I hope you'll like them~ ^^

As always, kindly edited by DreamSeeker!

Friendship & Freedom

The next morning, Fluttershy came to find him. Weary from another nightmare the last night, he’d woken up gagging in revulsion the reminders of his own past, his mistakes. He’d been wrong, he knew that now. Seeing his own harshness, seeing his actions from a new direction, made him sick. No wonder they’d been afraid of him.

But it was strange, he hadn’t felt as lost and alone as those dreams normally made him feel. Reliving his childhood, seeing the fear in so many ponies eyes...

Fluttershy knocked at the door, no answer. Then she heard the sound of somepony being violently sick. Creeping into the room she hovered in front of the bathroom door. All she could hear was faint coughing.

"Uhm...Mr. Sombra?" she squeaked.

"What...what’re you doing in here?" his voice was croaky, strained.

"You didn’t sound well," she said.

"Its nothing...just...nothing." she heard the tap running, more pained coughing, then scooted back as the door opened and Sombra staggered out. He looked exhausted. The fire and spirit she'd noticed in him upon his arrival had dulled.

"What is it this time.." he said bluntly.

"O-oh well...y-you'll see.." Fluttershy managed a weak smile and motioned him to follow her. He sighed softly but did so without complaint. She nudged open the door to the library. Delicious food smells hit him soon as he entered. He was aware of Fluttershy shutting the door behind him and whirled on her. She stood resolute, looking from him to the table.

It was chock-a-block with various food dishes, and of course Pinkie Pies cakes!

"W-what..?" Sombra was too sleepy to form a coherent sentence.

"You’re going to get really sick if you don’t eat," Twilight Sparkle said "we seen your nightmares, we know-"

"What?!" he backed up a step, all the sleepiness wiped away now, then snarled "LUNA?!"

"Yes, but it was at MY request!" Cadance stood up and walked over to him "When you told Pinkie Pie nightmares about darkness were making you sick, we assumed you spoke of that thing out there. As much as you may despise it, you are the only clue to this crisis we have. Those fits, the lack of food, lack of sleep, the black crystal sickness! Its taking a terrible toll on your body!"

Sombra just glared at the door, where Fluttershy stood guard.

"Twilight Sparkle and I did some research, we know what happened. You were a once in a millennia phenomenon, a pony born with the gift to use dark magic," Cadance continued "I did some checking. None have been able to manipulate it at the level you have. I don’t know what caused it, save for an old prophecy."

"Prophesysing.." Rainbow Dash pulled a face at the word "what exactly?"

Cadance smiled at her before turning back to Sombra;

"A star of black fire shall sweep across the sky,

Heralding the birth of a new power.

Power in darkness, to balance the light,

One soul shall stand apart, but not alone,

But fear and distrust breed,

and darkness must step forward to march alongside light,

for the world cannot exist without both.

Although given freedom to fly, it will not run away,

Once hope has been returned to a powerful heart."

There was silence.

"Ooh....spooky!" Pinkie Pie noted.

"Basically, prophesysing a darkness that could live amongst the light. Its exact meaning could be more certain, but it has remained hidden for a long time.." Cadance added.

"You should really read less fiction," Sombra sneered "those old philosophers were talking a load of bunk!"

"You’re a unicorn, you have magic...and you say that? Seriously?" Rainbow Dash pointed out, earning a glower.

"She’s got a point," Shining Armor said "our whole world is magic..."

"What is the point of all this?!" Sombra snarled, the darkness sin his voice rising a pitch, Twilight Sparkle noted.

"You are the only one that can understand those things," Cadance said "we NEED your help. I will not see this kingdom overran by those things. I don’t care if I have to order the palace doctor to sedate you and use a drip feed, you are NOT driving yourself into the ground."

"You cant keep going like this!" Fluttershy said, looking at him "The doctor says your health is bordering on dangerously poor. Constant fighting, not eating, not sleeping...we seen the whole nightmare! The darkness, it forced the transformation because of how hurt you were! You’ve been getting sicker ever since those dreams started..." to everypony’s surprise she’d teared up.. "you didn’t DO anything wrong, nopony understood dark magic back then!"

Pinkie Pie instantly darted over and dabbed at her face with a colourful napkin.

Sombra was staring at her, in total surprise. Why was she crying over what’d happened to HIM?!

"See?" Pinkie Pie bounced up, right in Sombra’s face, making him actually back up a step. "Get it? See? Understand?!" She carried on until he backed into a sofa and was forced to sit down with a bump, gathering his hind legs underneath him. Even then she was still in his face. literally.

"Whoa Pinkie Pie.." Twilight Sparkle remarked.

"You were only a young colt, you weren’t gonna know any better! your parents were jerks, you lived in a crappy village full of superstitious meanies! That Kings assistant was a royal ASS! I seen it, that King was trying to get him to shut up about it, he was all "give the kid a chance", and that jerk assistant was all "I’m an idiot, I wont listen!" but it was too late! That lying Scrollwork was fibbing about you!" she paused, drawing a breath for what the room anticipated would be the motherload of all rants;

"So you lost your marbles, now you got a chance to get 'em right back in order don’t you see? You can control dark magic, that’s pretty cool right? Nopony has ever had that gift before! OK, you probably need to reel it in a bit with the crankiness, but you can get that under control! Were trying to help you, stop you destroying yourself and carking it-" here she did a mime, falling on her back with her legs in the air a la corpse. Then she was back up, nose-to-nose with Sombra once more.

"Yeah so maybe you hate us for kicking your butt that time, but in fairness...YOU WERE INSANE. Loco in the coco! Your not so insane NOW, crazy people don’t fight off monsters and carry a fainted pony back to the palace! They don’t find rare gems and give 'em to somepony as a thanks, they don’t allow small, kooky kids to introduce themselves via poke!" here she poked him in the chest for effect "they don’t run around in the rain delivering medicine! And crazy people don’t admit their crazy...just like a monster wouldn’t admit they are one. Applejack said you already pointed that out by yourself for Equestria’s sake!"

Sombra just blinked, literally stunned into silence.

"Maybe you cant hear us? Lets get this thing off-" here she snagged the crown-like artifact he wore on his head, which pinned his ears back along with his mane. She whipped it off, tossing it with perfect aim onto a nearby lamp stand and even went so far as to tweak his ears, so they actually stood up the normal pony way.

"Better! NOW can you hear us?!" she was out of breath by this point, sides heaving.

"...." Sombra just blinked, he’d never faced a tirade like THAT in his lifetime. Was she saying...

"We need you to help us.." Twilight Sparkle said at last "And we want to help you."

“That’s what we do!" Pinkie Pie beamed " you didn’t get the chance to make friends in that craptastic village, but this is what friends are!" she gestured at her friends, beaming "they make each other laugh,"

"And give ya an honest answer!" Applejack added.

"And do anything to cheer you up!" Rarity said.

"AND stick by you, always!" Rainbow Dash hovered above the table.

"A-and give everypony a chance, everypony needs kindness..." Fluttershy whispered.

"And use their talents to help their friends." Twilight Sparkle said at last.

"Get it now?" Pinkie Pie bounded up to sit next to him on the couch, waving a hoof at her friends "nopony needs to be alone! Friends are there to show you it isn’t all bad!"

Sombra still didn’t speak, but one ear did twitch.

Pinkie Pie giggled "Do that again!" she squeed.

His stomach answered for him, by growling loudly. And if Pinkie Pie hadn’t swiftly shot out a hoof to steady him, he’d likely have slid off the couch.

"Grr!" Pinkie Pie said, mimicking his stomach, before zooming to the table and back over with a bowl of delicious smelling soup.

"Auntie pies recipe for sick fillies and colts!" she beamed "seriously, she practically made a brand outta it!"

"So why didn’t she?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Granny pie had a short attention span...she kind of forgot.." Pinkie Pie giggled, turning to face her friends "but luckily I found the recipe and she started making it again when I was a little filly!"

"I wanna try it!" Rainbow Dash spooned some into a bowl and took a swig.

"What do you think?" Pinkie Pie asked

"What’s in this and how can I replace my blood with it?" Rainbow Dash asked, which made everypony laugh out loud.

Behind Pinkie Pie, while this was carrying on, Sombra eyed the soup, then floated the bowl over, doing as Rainbow Dash had done and taking a big gulp. The Rainbow Dash one wasn’t kidding, it WAS nice. The warmth from the food felt like it was spreading through his whole body, easing the aching muscles, making him feel...better.

Pinkie Pie spun round, in time to see Sombra setting the empty bowl down, then hiccup.

"Whoa..." she said, eyeing the empty bowl "that’s got to be a record!"

"That a challenge?" Rainbow Dash sniggered to Sombra, then belched. Earning a few cross looks.

"THAT a challenge?" Applejack asked.

"NO!" the rest of the room cried, although Pinkie Pie was giggling when she yelled.

He could see the warmth and happiness sin the way they acted. The way Twilight Sparkle beamed at her beloved big brother. The way Applejack and Rainbow Dash shared cheeky grins, and Pinkie Pie clapped her hooves happily. They were so trusting, so happy, and it hadn’t hurt THEM.

Shining Armor glanced over at him, noting the way Sombra was studying their interactions, as if he hadn’t seen this before. Having seen the guys past through that nightmare, he wasn’t surprised that much by his cold, abrupt nature.

In a nutshell, Sombra was trying to shield himself from being betrayed the way he had when he was a young colt. He’d had it beaten into him, literally, that he was a freak, an abomination. So he’d lashed out, wanting to hurt the rest of the world the way he’d been hurt. That darkness had brought him to a stallions age, jacked up his power level and almost completely warped his mind. He’d gone power crazy.

Aside from that mare from his flashbacks, he’d never had a real friend, single or plural. All it took was one.

So he got up from the table and padded over to where a seemingly stunned Sombra still sat atop the couch, staring into space.

“Take it from me," he said "they wont stop until you accept what they’re saying, and my sister and her friends know more about love, light and life then anypony else. You lucked out there."

"I don’t understand." Sombra said flatly. He looked abruptly lost, like a tiny foal dumped into a pond at its deepest end.

He seemed calm on the surface at first glance, but the way his seemingly fixed gaze shook just a little, he was fighting warring sets of emotions. The deep-set, default feeling of disbelief and dislike, fighting an almost childlike desire to trust. A feeling he’d tried to discard 1000 years ago.

It seemed like he was in shock. Shining Armor figured they probably had this one opportunity to make the guy see sense, then Sombra’s inbuilt defenses would wall up his emotions again, and he’d shut himself away for good.

So he now did something he never thought he’d do after fighting Sombra before, extending a hoof to the stallion.

"You don’t have to understand it all right away, you got YEARS to catch up on, take it easy. What’ve you got to lose?"

"His mind?" Rainbow Dash joked, earning a glower from Twilight Sparkle.

"What the hay.." Shining Armor suggested.

Time seemed to slow for Sombra. This was something he’d never seen in his entire life. Seeing those nightmares about his past he’d wished he’d been able to stop himself. All he’d wanted was...understanding? a friend? a chance?

Hope?

And now, these crazy, colorful, kooky ponies were offering him all of this and more. Was it possible...?

He thought about his filly friend from back then. How shed begged him, after all those attacks by his father, not to give up. How she’d cried when she seen the state he was in sometimes, much like Fluttershy had.

Was it time he stopped living in the past?

Hoping he wasn’t making a big mistake...he raised one hoof...

Twilight Sparkle nearly cried with delight when she seen Sombra at last accept her brothers outstretched hoof.

"There ya go!" Applejack whooped.

"The worlds a lot different from when you were young," Cadance said "more is known now about dark magic, but nopony has a talent like yours. Undoubtedly there is much YOU could teach US."

"The darkness taught itself..." Sombra said dully "I have no memory of learning ANYTHING."

"Really?" Cadance asked. The stallion shook his head slowly.

"Maybe your memories fried," Rainbow Dash suggested "you WERE locked away for a long time.."

"1000 years.." Sombra muttered.

"Exactly, I'd be surprised if I could remember my own NAME after THAT length of time!" Pinkie Pie said.

"Can you remember anything about your home?" Rarity asked.

"...it...it was called Snowvale..." Sombra’s gaze went distant again. "Most of the year round it was snow, the whole place had some weird weather problem. The village elders were sure it was a curse.."

"It was probably just a weather anomaly," Twilight Sparkle offered. "You must’ve been pretty secluded.."

"We were," Sombra was surprised by the details he now remembered. "The nearest other settlement was a long way away. We had to be pretty self sufficient."

"Sounds harsh," Applejack surmised "and I know what yer saying"

"The storms began getting worse, the year I was born," lots of things were flooding back now "Everypony in the village was already on edge. Needless to say, when they found out a pony was born with dark magic they took it as a sign they’d invoked an even worse power. They tried all sorts of spells to try and correct my magic-"

"Yeah, we saw!" Twilight Sparkle looked aghast "that was horrible!"

"Try telling THEM that, the old goats." Sombra muttered "they tried every loony trick in the book. Some of them hurt. They tried locking me in LOTS of places. When I was younger I tried every trick in the book to get out. But eventually, I stopped trying. I wasn’t strong enough to escape both my imprisonment AND them."

"Who was that mare? The white one?" Rarity asked "she seemed worried about you.."

Sombra tried to think, and at last a name came back;

"Her name was Crystal Flake. She had a snowflake for a cutie mark. She was the daughter of the town elder. She would try and bargain with her father. It was thanks to her I didn’t spend my WHOLE life imprisoned. She reasoned if I wasn’t allowed to learn how to use my magic, there would be no reason to lock me up. But behind her fathers back she did her best, sneaking me a spell book or two. She’d get me to help with odd jobs at the manor house she and her father lived in. It was really just an excuse so she could make sure I wasn’t passing out from starvation at home. That mare cooked like nopony’s business, even thought there wasn’t a great a variety of food it always tasted nice."

"She sounds lovely.." Pinkie Pie said dolefully "could she not convince her father to just...leave you be?"

Sombra laughed abruptly "like you said cotton candy, they were superstitious to a fault. The slightest anomaly and they all fell apart. It had them on edge enough that I wasn’t locked up. In the end, my father had me confined to my room, except when he needed something done."

"What about ya mother? Surely she wasn’t all bad?" Applejack asked. Sombra shook his head.

"She was as in deep as the rest of the village. Eventually she chose to pretend I didn’t exist, live in a fantasy world. Perhaps she blamed herself for raising a freak of nature, who knows. She barely spoke to me. I think she paid attention long enough to name me, and that was it."

"Its ironic, in a way," Cadance said at last "as the old prophecy was written in an ancient language...and the word the palace language specialist translated as meaning "darkness", IS "Sombra."“

"Huh.." Sombra blinked "maybe she knew something was off from the start..."

"Or she just named you for your coat or mane.." Rainbow Dash pointed out.

"Well that’s all in the past now," Twilight Sparkle said "we’ve learnt a lot since you were sealed away..."

"I still cant remember how I learnt any of the spells I used back then. As you seen, most of my magic was summoned from desperation or threat.."

"It must be instinctive then," Twilight Sparkle added "your magic is trained through instinct and guesswork, as opposed to teachings."

A faint nod. He still hadn’t budged from the couch, perhaps still digesting everything he’d been told.

Fluttershy caught his eyes and smiled kindly, motioning towards the table.

"There’s lots of food.." she said softly.

"Yeah, c'mon!" Pinkie Pie tugged at his cloak "we cant eat all this ourselves!"

"There’s 8 of you.." Sombra spoke at last...

"9s better!" Pinkie Pie said, looking hopefully at him.

Sombra hesitated, unsure. He still couldn’t fully let go just yet, but Pinkie Pies words were still ringing in his ears, so he found himself being towed to the table by the pink pony.

"Oookk..we have muffins, cakes, scones...toast, jam, fruit..." Pinkie Pie babbled a list.

"Or if your tummy still hurts, just have more soup!" she added, seeing his hesitation at the massive spread of food.

"Toast!" Twilight Sparkle waved a hoof at the plate "mom used to make us toast when we were sick, remember brother?"

"Oh yeah," Shining Armor chuckled "and a little fizzy juice to settle our stomachs."

"Perfect!" Pinkie Pie grabbed a glass and poured some fizzy (not alcoholic) cider into it, setting this in front of the virtually mute Sombra.

He didn’t say much for a long while. He ate a little, but it was more then he’d been able to keep down recently.

"Nice isn’t it?" Fluttershy held up her soup bowl.

"Yes," he said softly "food tastes much nicer then anything I recall. There was nothing like those cakes..."

"They’re a Pinkie Pie specialty!" Pinkie Pie giggled "I LOVE cake!"

"You never had a sugar crash when you were young! Aw, you’re missing out!" Rainbow Dash laughed "hyped up on sugar, nopony could catch me!"

"I can just imagine the teeny little you on sugar, you’d have climbed the walls of that room!" Pinkie Pie giggled.

The full ramifications of that sentence came crashing down a second later. Wait. They’d seen his nightmares. Including the bit where he was a little foal...OH PONYFEATHERS.

"Talk about growth spurts!" Pinkie Pie giggled "you were teeny!"

"Speaking of which," Shining Armor butted in, noting how red Sombra had gone, and the fact he seemed to be twitching. To save Pinkie Pie from putting her hoof in it, he asked something that’d been on his mind;

"I couldn’t help notice nearly everypony in that village of yours is incredibly tall. By the time you got HERE, you were already taller then most ponies.."

"Our village was a Shyre settlement," Sombra said as the facts about his lineage came sneaking back.

"A whatta-what?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Shyre horses?" Twilight Sparkle asked "I thought they were a myth!"

"No, we were real..." Sombra shrugged "as much as I wish my father was imaginary.."

"That’s amazing.." Twilight Sparkle’s eyes were wide. "There’s so little known about them! I don’t know how I didn’t think of that…"

"Well, we know they have very long leggies!" Pinkie Pie pointed out.

"They’re strong.." Rainbow Dash noted.

"Probably good farmers I’d warrant," Applejack pondered "betcha they could pull a field plough solo!"

"More than likely.." Sombra shrugged.

"We definitely know they fight like nopony's business!" Shining Armor chuckled.

Sombra managed a faint smile...

There was a knock at the door then. Flash Sentry stuck his head in and grinned at them.

"Princess Celestia wishes to see you all," he said. "You too.." meaning Sombra.

And so a dazed and confused Sombra went along to Celestia’s latest debriefing, where they covered what they’d discovered so far.

She noticed Sombra seemed, well, spacey was putting it mildly.

"-feeling alright?" he finally broke form the haze and stared blankly at Celestia.

"...say what?" he said after a moments pause.

"You alright?" Applejack asked. He’d been acting spaced out since they’d confronted him. She had a feeling it was a lot for him take in.

"I will admit the whole business of that thing shape shifting is bothering me.." Celestia said "At some point it must’ve been able to latch onto your nightmares Sombra."

"Perhaps during the aftermath of the plague...or during it for all I know. I don’t remember a whole lot before the fever broke," he admitted "its just a blur."

"It clearly hoped it could use your past to make you back off attacking it."

“Big mistake." Sombra said curtly "All the people from my nightmares, they’ve been gone a long time, there’s no way they’d be here now."

“But it doesn’t know that," Cadance shook her head "it was hoping to use it as an emotional battering ram."

"It’ll have to do worse than that." Sombra said coldly "I’ve seen far worse than it can mimic."

Those that’d seen his dreams silently agreed.

"We must be on the lookout regardless.." Celestia said "if anypony sees anything, we can hope they will report it to the royal guard!"

"I’ll tell 'em all to keep an eye out," Shining Armor said.

The next two days passed with seemingly no attacks at all. Not public ones anyway. But more and more ponies were turning up either at the doctors, or at Healing Breezes shop, complaining of feeling tired. She didn’t put two and two together until Sombra came by on a chance visit.

It’d been a busy morning; Twilight Sparkle had been trying to think up a way to help the guards see that weak spot, that so far only Sombra could point out.

"He’s one Unicorn on his own," she said to the others as they sat around the library "he cant fight a whole bunch of the if that thing decides to send out multiple scouts. I need to make SOMETHING..."

Pinkie Pie picked up a magnifying glass and peered through it. Twilight Sparkle blinked, seeing the magnified eye

"That’s it!" she cheered.

"What is?" Rainbow Dash asked, confused.

"If I can enchant an ordinary pair of goggles or glasses with a spell to see them. Sombra’s able to see it because of his type of magic, because its obviously on a similar wavelength to this thing!"

“So you infuse the goggles with dark magic and boom!" Rainbow Dash caught on.

"Whoo yeah, that might just work!" Applejack grinned "but, where are ya gonna get it from? Aint nopony with dark magic save fer..."

"...Sombra." Twilight Sparkle finished.

"But he cant use his magic, its all locked down right?" Rarity pointed out "that choker?"

"Exactly. I need to talk to Celestia and the others, but first I need some goggles..."

Arduous studying and one pair of goggles later, and Twilight Sparkle approached the Princesses.

"So you need a shred of dark magic for the spell?" Celestia frowned "I think it may be possible. It WOULD involve temporarily loosening the choker on his neck. Not completely, but enough for the power to be extracted."

"I don’t think he’s going to lash out," Twilight Sparkle said.

"Even so, the rush of magic may be enough to make him do something crazy, even with that." She looked at her sister and Cadance "two of us can monitor the spell, whilst the other extracts the magic."

"That sounds perfect," Twilight Sparkle sighed, then asked "wait, will this be painful?"

“A little, perhaps." Luna said "but nothing too bad."

"OK," Twilight Sparkle sighed "I’ll go ask him..."

Sombra was outside in the palace gardens, sitting under a tree, his nose in a book.

"Whatcha reading?" Twilight Sparkle asked. He floated the book up so she could read the cover;

"A History of Crystal Magic...wouldn’t think you’d need that. You could probably write it yourself.." Twilight Sparkle raised an eyebrow.

"I know, I just wanted to see if it’d jog any more memories..." he shrugged, shutting the book. Seeing her apologetic face he sighed "what is it?"

"I uh, have a teensy favor to ask you.." Twilight Sparkle began.

Sombra listened to her whole theory.

"Actually," he said after a pause "that may just work." he got up, grabbing the book as he started indoors.

"Then, you’ll do it?" Twilight Sparkle asked, racing after him;

"Why not? It’d be a lot easier if everypony else could see the core. It's pointless for the guard to fight them when they can't hit at its heart."

They decided to perform the spell in the throne room. All four Princesses in attendance. Twilight Sparkle sat ready with the goggles. The other three stood around Sombra, in the same way they’d performed the first spell in.

Sombra stared at the pattern on the floor, as the glowing lines of a spell fell into place around him. There was a loud CLICK, and he felt the collar loosen. A small flood of power loomed in the back of his awareness. His power, so much of it, yet this was a mere fraction, the spell contrived to keep the rest at bay... He felt it reach up to draw him in, he could fight off these Princesses, run free...

--NO.-- he shook his head. He’d made that mistake in the past, letting his darkness overtake his mind. NOT again.

Celestia watched in surprise, and admittedly admiration, as she seen him tense up, uttering a faint growl.

"Can you cope?" she asked.

"Just do it, and fast!" he said sharply. She nodded, stepping into the circle while Luna and Cadance held the spell. She pressed her horn to his, and for a moment there was a faint glow. Then she stepped back, at the same time Sombra uttered a cry of pain. Floating in front of Celestia was a dark purple crystal.

"A shard of dark magic..." Cadance whispered "it's strong.."

Celestia handed the shard to Twilight Sparkle, then turned back to Sombra. Closing her eyes she finished the spell, and he felt the sensation of the power vanish as the collar clicked shut around his neck once more.

The spell came to an end, the glow fading, and the three sustaining it sighed in relief. Sombra looked a bit pale.

Twilight Sparkle, during all this, had been completing her own spell. The crystal formed into two lenses, which bonded themselves to the goggles. Now she held up the finished product.

"Now we need to test it...." she said "perhaps my brother can use them.."

“That sounds like a good idea," Cadance nodded "ill go get him."

Twilight Sparkle wandered over to where Sombra sat, looking a little tired;

"Thanks," she said honestly "I hope this will help you end this..."

Sombra just nodded "my head hurts..." he muttered.

Shining Armor arrived, and Twilight Sparkle explained the plan.

"Sure, ill give 'em a go!" Shining Armor beamed at his sister "that’s great work Twilight!"

Sombra scratched at the choker with one hoof "dang thing.." he muttered.

"I suggest you go see Breeze," Celestia said "she will no doubt have something that will ease your headache."

Somrba nodded, getting to his feet with a sigh.

"Why don’t you come on the patrol with me? We pass right by Healing Breeze’s place," Shining Armor said.

Surprised he ASKED him, Sombra eventually agreed.

The other two guards were a little surprised when Shining Armor showed up with Sombra in tow. Even more surprised when the two began having a civil conversation. The last they’d seen them, at the market fight, they’d been outright hostile.

"D'you think it KNOWS who you are, or rather.." Shining Armor thought how to put it, but Sombra spared him the niceties.

"You mean WHAT I am? I don’t know. It knows I’m similar to it, that I’m different to the rest of this world. And going by its reaction, it’s not happy."

"Well of course not, its had its arse handed to it! Well, a ball doesn’t really have an arse does it?" Shining Armor sniggered "either way..."

"Its going to try anything and everything to get what it wants," Sombra said "I know that much. It wants to get me out of the way then let loose its power on this world."

"Not gonna happen," Shining Armor said firmly "I am not letting my kingdom fall prey to a power-hungry-GACK." Realizing who he was talking to.

But Sombra just gave a short, sharp laugh, the sound like a deep rumble, coming from him. "Why deny the reality of it?"

They reached Healing Breeze’s shop just as another pony was stepping in the door. She did a double take on seeing the guards plus Sombra.

"How much trouble are YOU in?" she said jokily to Sombra, looking at the guards.

"Good afternoon!" Healing Breeze came out from the shops storeroom. She greeted the mare who’d come in first, then spotted Sombra and his little guard group.

"Prince Shining Armor!" she beamed "good to see you, all of you!” She spared an extra smile for the quiet Sombra "How're things?"

"Need something for headaches ms Breeze!" Shining Armor said "and Cadance wants so more of that sleep-easy blend, she says its working wonders!"

"Of course!" once she’d served the young mare, she went to the storeroom again. The mare cast a last glance at Sombra as she left. Scary at first, she now thought when you got a good look, he was pretty handsome, in a bad boy sort of way..

"Dude," Shining Armor nudged him "I think she fancies you-"

Sombra twitched, and told Shining Armor not to be idiotic.

"Had so many ponies coming to see me complaining of feeling drained," Healing Breeze remarked "I think there’s a bug going round.."

Sombra’s ears twitched. Something was gnawing at the back of his mind.

On cue, the door opened and a very exhausted looking pony wobbled in. She’d woken up that morning feeling so awful.

Sombra stared at her. Something seemed odd about her. He could almost see it. Letting his gaze go out of focus, he seen-

"I knew it!" he said abruptly, startling everypony in the shop.

"Knew what?" a guard asked at last.

"There’s a faint aura...I can barely see it but I can sense it..." Sombra looked at the tired mare "one of those things has come into contact with you, drained you."

"W-what? You mean like that thing that everypony is saying tried to eat us when we were sick?" she stared at Sombra with wide eyes "how can you be sure..?"

"I can’t explain it," he said at last "but I’ve fought those things enough to know how they work..."

"Don’t worry ma'am," Shining Armor assured her "We have a plan to help us kick those things up their non-solid backsides."

"Don’t leave windows open at night," Sombra said randomly "I doubt those things will stop at breaking and entering, but trust me, keep them shut."

She looked up at him, then nodded "Everypony says you know what you’re doing, and I believe them. Thank you.." then she was gone.

"I’ll tell anypony else I see today," Breeze said, nudging a couple of packages across the counter. Sombra tucked them into his saddlebag and they left.

Sombra was deep in thought as they walked along. After several minutes, when he noticed the taller stallion hadn’t said a word, Shining Armor nudged him in the side.

"You OK in there?" he joked.

"Why didn’t anypony see anything?" Sombra muttered "if one of those things was hanging around, you’d spot it. That means its disguised itself again."

“As the blue haired mare?" Shining Armor asked. Sombra shrugged;

"Perhaps, but somehow I sense not. A lot of ponies seen her revealed as a fake during that fight. It will have spread by now that that form was an illusion."

“Could it..." Shining Armor wondered how to phrase it "have used another form from your memory?"

"That’s what concerns me," Sombra muttered "Those memories are from over a thousand years ago, nopony’d recognize or even remotely know them. They’d just assume they were another normal pony..."

"We need to speak to anypony that’s been ill recently..." Shining Armor nodded "lets go ask breeze.."

So they turned back.

Breeze was concerned to hear about this latest shift, and told Shining Armor and Sombra the most recent ponies that’d come to see her...

Shining Armor said he’d have all the patrols ask around at these addresses, telling Sombra to get some rest. Although he looked better after finally eating a decent breakfast, he still needed rest.

By the days end, the guards had a lot of info for their captain. With her friends off at other activities, Twilight Sparkle had joined the other three Princesses. She greeted her brother with the customary hug before settling down to listen to what he and his guards had discovered.

"So far, what we’ve been able to find out is the same pony has apparently been spotted hanging around not far from the homes of everypony who’s been feeling unwell. Either they or their family seen what they described as a very tall stallion. Very unusual. One of them, as luck has it, is an artist, she drew us this sketch."

Shining Armor unfurled a canvas scroll, displaying a watercolor ketch and paint of a tall stallion. Midnight black coat with dark grey mane and tail. Completing the picture were cold grey eyes. A white star like a comet was displayed across his flank.

"I recognize him!" Twilight Sparkle blurted. Shining Armor nodded.

"Its from his memories, this is the same stallion from those flashbacks."

"Whose memories?" one of the guards asked.

Cadance sent one of the guards to fetch Sombra.

"This is...his father..." Twilight Sparkle shook her head "we seen him in Sombra’s nightmares, he’s an absolute brute!"

"That’s- whoa." One of the guards remarked "now you mention it, I can se the resemblance, they have the same build.."

"Yeah...like a tank!" somepony else muttered.

The doors opened and the guard returned with Sombra trailing behind.

"What’s going on Princess-WHOA." He cut off as Shining Armor turned to face him, the scroll swinging round to face him.

"Oh-" here he used an obsolete, ancient curse word that made Celestia raise an eyebrow.

"Let me guess..." he sighed "THAT’S what’s being attacking those ponies, draining them.."

"Seems so. It hasn’t reckoned on the fact that ponies that tall are something of an oddity and WILL stand out!" Cadance remarked.

The guards seen an expression of disgust flicker over Sombra’s face.

"Who next..?" he muttered darkly "it has a lot to choose from. It has a lifetime of memories to butcher."

Celestia was silent a moment "if you can," she suggested at last, "draw sketches of as many of them as possible. If we can identify them now, we can stop it from using them..."

"Right.." Sombra nodded.

He went to the library and started drawing everypony from his weird and warped past. His mother, the elders....King Cloudspark, Scrollwork...

"Ooh, cool!" he jumped a mile when he heard Pinkie Pies high pitched voice.

"Geez, cotton candy.." he said lightly.

"Sorry!" she beamed "those are cool...."

"These are the most prominent from my memories. Then again, you know that don’t you? You seen it.."

Pinkie Pie nodded sagely "Yup." she said softly "they were sad memories.." she pouted, as if upset that his life had been so bad and she couldn’t make it better.

"Its nothing to be concerned about..." he said quietly "the past cannot be changed. But the future, THAT, I can do something about!"

"That’s the spirit!" Pinkie Pie whooped, poking him lightly "its dinnertime, you coming?"

He blinked, about to say no, he didn’t feel well...

When he realized he hadn’t felt sick all day. He actually WANTED to eat. So it was to his own surprise and Pinkie Pie’s delight that he nodded, set the quill down and followed her out of the library.

The cook was surprised, but pleased to see the reclusive Sombra FINALLY show up at the dining table.

"You should’ve just said you had a stomach bug that was making you sick!" she chided, as she set the dishes down "you have to give your body energy to fight something like that!"

Sombra cast a baffled look at the others. Cadance had a "you’re welcome" smile on her face, and he realized shed concocted the cover story to make things less awkward.

"Its...better now.." he said at last.

"Tuck in everypony!" Applejack grinned.

Sombra was surprised by how much he was able to eat. He listened to the others talking about this and that, funny tales…

"-daftest thing EVER!" Rainbow Dash had just finished telling a story, and everypony was giggling.

"What’s the silliest thing you’ve ever done?" the blue Pegasus waved a hoof at the table "who can beat face-slamming a signpost?"

Sombra paused before speaking up "getting, pardon the phrase, ROYALLY DRUNK, and being so bladdered you set off one of your own traps and almost get stuck in it."

"PFFT!" Shining Armor nearly choked on his tea "what the hay were you doing, drinking that much?!"

"Who knows? I don’t really recall. But I got the story from one of my guards the next morning. Apparently, when he finally found me, I was arguing with a potted plant about the furnishings-" his words were drowned out by loud laughter.

Sombra fought with a suppressed laugh, "I started ranting about how to achieve immortality with the use of burnt toast and a spell to implode space and time."

By now everypony was laughing their hindquarters off. Even Cadance couldn’t keep a straight face.

"Honestly, I was so drunk my MAGIC was drunk.." Sombra finished.

"You win!" Rainbow Dash declared "that is THE silliest THING I’ve ever heard!"

That night Sombra was awoken not by his usual nightmares, but by a painful throbbing in his head. He staggered down the hall, looking for Shining Armor, Celestia, anypony!

"Whoa!" the guard jumped on seeing a mussy-haired Sombra charging through the palace "what’re you DOING?!"

"Looking for somepony in charge...Twilight Sparkles brother, Celestia- One of those THINGS is nearby!" Sombra snarled.

“Things, wait, you mean?"

"Yes!" Sombra said shortly "a shadow creature!"

Before the guard could get even halfway down the hall, there was the sounds of screaming and something smashing at the front entrance. Sombra tore off, racing down stairs at the same time Shining Armor went racing out of his room. They reached the main entrance together, staring at what, or rather WHO stood there.

Sombra’s father. He was a forceful looking pony, black coat with white around his hooves.

"So...you don’t give up?" it said in a perfect mimicry of his voice. Sombra snarled.

"Drop the charade you charlatan!" he growled.

"What’s the matter? Not happy to see me, SON?" it stressed this last part with a mocking laugh. Sombra’s fury rose.

"Easy..” Shining Armor murmured, seeing how angry the unicorn was.

"Then again, cant say I blame you. Imagine having your pride and joy turn out to be an abomination, a freak!" the clone laughed "he despised you for all the trouble you brought!"

Shining Armor had slipped the goggles on while this thing was showboating. To his surprise, he could see a dimly glowing ball underneath the swirling darkness.

--It works!!-- he thought triumphantly. More guards were pouring in, some aiming spears. Sombra unlatched the one he carried and snapped it into its full size.

"How cute, but YOURE the only one I came to destroy!" it threw itself at Sombra, who dug his heels in and met the charge head on. They struggled a moment before the shadow thing darted back, glaring at Sombra.

"You pathetic little freak!" it spat, mimicking the past again..

"I’LL be the judge of THAT." Sombra spat "you have nothing to say to me that will make me give a hay!"

"How can you not be afraid?!" it hissed "this was the one that hurt you the most!"

"Because that time is long gone!” Sombra snarled "Buried in the snow. It’s been a long time. Your a thousand years too late to make me care!"

It stared, realizing now why Sombra had attacked it’s version of the pale mare.

Taking advantage of it being distracted, Shining Armor told all the unicorns to fire where he did. The end result was the creature getting a massive shock to its core. It roared in fury, spinning to stare at Shining Armor in shock.

"How can you-" it turned to look back at Sombra, who was smirking "YOU."

"Me," Sombra said tauntingly "guess you don’t just have one problem in your way anymore!"

"Then I guess I’ll rip you all to bits, starting with you!" the thing fixated on Sombra, who swung the spear around to point right at it.

"Bring it on." he snarled.

He swung the weapon round and launched for the thing wearing his fathers form.

Pure fury, and the memory of that breakfast with the ponies gave him a surge of hope. He didn’t have to keep fighting his past anymore...

"You-" he swung the spear at its head, and when it ducked, swiftly swung the weapon up and slammed it downwards through the fake fathers body like a butterfly to a corkboard. Having solidified to fight them, this meant it found itself pinned.

"NOW!" he yelled at the guards and Shining Armor.

Before it could express its surprise, the shadow blob was blasted with every last bit of magic the ponies possessed. It screamed in fury as its core exploded. Sombra jumped back as the shockwave pulsed out from the destroyed core.

Silence rang in the hall, then was shattered by sighs of relief.

Sombra glanced at the goggles shining wore "did they?" he asked.

"Like a dream!" Shining Armor nodded "if we can make more of these..."

Sombra nodded. “Exactly..”

Having checked nopony was injured, everypony returned to their post. Shining Armor and Sombra returned to bed. But the guards were extra vigilant, just in case…

The next morning the Princesses got the whole story.

"So that’s what that racket was.." Twilight Sparkle shivered "glad you guys stopped it!"

"These goggles of yours are perfect, Twily," Shining Armor added "think you can make more?"

"Well, I can but its Sombra's magic that makes it work, we'll need a lot more then just a chunk next time!" Twilight Sparkle explained.

To their relief Sombra agreed to go through the odd process again that evening.

But before they could get started, Sombra was told he had a visitor. She was waiting in the throne room with Princess Cadance.

"Sombwa!" the happy little filly raced over and beamed brightly at him.

"Little one," he said softly, a trace of warmth in his voice "what brings you here?"

"I was hoping you could help me wiv my homework.." she said sheepishly "we gotta do a weport on the cwystal empires histowy, and i figured you’d know plenty of fings!"

Sombra felt a smidgen of unease. What he knew about the kingdom? Well, his own personal history would probably give the kid nightmares, so-

"The empire itself has changed, it was a much harsher place back then," he said lightly.

"That’s perfect!" she smiled.

"We just have a little job to do," Twilight Sparkle told Bright Spark "Then he’s all yours~"

Bright Spark looked delighted. Sombra couldn’t help a small smile.

So Bright Spark sat to one side with the guards as the Princesses formed that same circle again with Sombra at its centre.

"What are they doing?" Bright Spark asked.

"We need a shard of his magic.." Twilight Sparkle explained "and in order to get it, that choker has to be removed. But Sombra has a very powerful, very different magic, so we have to be careful."

“He wont hurt anypony!" Bright Spark piped up in his defence. Twilight Sparkle smiled;

"We know kiddo, but we still have to be careful.."

Sparks eyes widened in surprise as she watched the powerful spell being laid down to safeguard everypony when the choker was off. She seen and heard it click open, seen Sombra shiver slightly.

But as Celestia stepped forward to gather the needed magic, every window in the throne room shattered at the same time. The other two Alicorn’s supporting the spell faltered, the lines wavering. It was enough. The shadow ponies, several in total, attacked at once, forcing Luna and Cadance to retreat.

Then a larger shadow pony soared in through the window, landing in front of Sombra, who was fighting to keep his magic in check. It grinned, and a shield of faintly greyed out magic swished up around the two of them. It was mimicking Twilight Sparkles magic from the market fight.

"Now we finally have a chance to talk, you and I.." it drawled.

"What’s happening?" Twilight Sparkle cried, as she dove aside to avoid a bolt of black magic fired at her. She and the others threw up shields of their own, Bright Spark huddled beside Twilight Sparkle.

"I’m just here to talk to your little weapon," the shadow pony grinned.

"Buck...Off!" Sombra managed to snarl.

"Now now, don’t be so hasty. We’ve had our disagreements, but I think you'll find your place is not here..."

"What’s he saying?" Luna murmured.

"Don’t you see it, "Sombra"?" the thing called him by name, "they collar you, use you as a weapon, how is this fair? You’re forced to fight over and over, and for what? A populace that will turn on you once you serve no purpose? Simply seal you away in that darkness with those dreams.."

Sombra felt a twinge at his defenses. He tried not to think about what would happen once this was over.

"Sombwa!" Bright Spark cried.

"You have such raw power, yet you’re always feared, mistreated for it," the thing paced back and forth in front of Sombra, "how is this any different? They want you to save them, yet they keep you under lock and key!"

"Shut up!" Sombra growled.

Sombra looked at the Princesses, all trying to fight off the other shadow clones. It was true Celestia had brought him back to save the empire from this thing, but hadn’t she said something about the crystal heart? That it had other plans?

He thought about the breakfast, the one where the ponies had revealed they’d seen his past, and wanted to give him a chance to have a REAL life. Real FRIENDS. He recalled Shining Armor’s outstretched hoof, even though the stallion had hated him for a long time!

"NO.." he growled.

"Ah, so willful.." it grinned, seeing the loosened collar. With the spell partly unwound so Celestia could extract the magic, it seen a weakness "you’ll feel better once I get rid of THIS!"

"NO!" Sombra blurted, too late, as he felt shadowy, slick shadow hooves on his neck.

There was a discordant snapping sound.

The Princesses all looked over at the sound. They seen the collar, its lock spell fully opened now, roll across the floor, coming to a stop by Twilight Sparkle.

"Oh no.." Celestia said, worry written all over her face.

The shadow thing laughed, stepping back. Sombra appeared to have passed out, hunched over on the floor, his mane obscuring his eyes.

"On your feet, my nemesis of darkness-"

Then Sombra looked up, and grinned. But there was nothing good about the gesture.

The dark pony laughed, but the sound cut off a second later as it was flung back by a powerful burst of magic. It’s shield shattered as it slammed into it, then hit the ground and quickly righted itself. It looked up to see Sombra striding towards it. His mane flowed like ripples on waters surface. His eyes glowed that unnatural green. A dark purple aura was swirling up around his legs and horn.

"How many do you think have tried to manipulate me for their own ends my whole LIFE?!" Sombra snarled, red eyes glowing.

"How can you deny ME?" the dark clone pony fumed "They treat you like a dog, I would let you have all you’ve ever wanted! I’ve seen it in your mind, who you are!"

"Times change. You’ve seen my PAST. Not my future. And I-" Sombra’s fury grew. Dark purple crystals burst up from the floor, surrounding the shadow clone, their razor sharp spikes inching towards its core.

"I AM NOT YOURS TO TOY WITH!!" The furious unicorn roared. The shards pierced the centre of the things mass shattering the core and eradicating it.

"Nice try.." its consciousness had simply shifted to another of the clones the Princesses were battling. "But you cant stop me, there’s too many of us!"

As it spoke, more swarmed in the windows.

Sombra gave a furious roar, and blasted the one that’d spoke with a shot of dark magic.

"Keep trying!" it mocked, popping up behind him.

--So many....why am I...fighting..?-- in the face of his full power unleashed, Sombra’s mind began to falter.

Then he seen Twilight Sparkle’s shield go down, as she was forced to dive aside again. In the chaos, Bright Spark was torn free from her hold. He seen the tiny filly tumble end over end into the middle of the room. And one of the pony clones dove for her, teeth filling its mouth-

"NO!" his voice cut through the shrill, cackling laughter, the terrified cry of the little filly branding itself in his mind..

Sharp fangs bit into the would-be attackers throat and threw it back. Bright Spark blinked, her scream tailing off. Sombra was standing over her, using his body to shield her.

"Sombwa!" she said, tears of relief filling her eyes.

"Don’t you DARE harm her.." Sombra’s voice was feral, a snarl of fury from deep inside.

As many as possible launched at him. He swiped them aside, buffering them back with a mix of shields and attack magic. But some got through. Their teeth bit into his legs, his neck, trying to get at little Bright Spark. But Sombra refused to let them get near her.

He wrapped her in a small bubble of magic, and resorted to using his other asset, brute strength. Powerful blows from his hoofs cracked core after core. With sheer numbers came a weakness sin the cores. But even with this knowledge, there was too many. The real one had to be nearby. These were ALL fakes, the real one wasn’t in this room.

--No time to search. Destroy them all!-- his mind crowed, feeling the euphoric rush of his magic, back where it belonged, at his beck and call.

"Sombwa.." Bright Spark didn’t like how Sombra seemed to hell-bent on fighting, even when he was bleeding. Wasn’t he in pain? What if he-

He glanced at her and deep in those red eyes she seen a flicker of the Sombra she knew. An almost apologetic look...

"I’m sorry you had to see this."

She blinked, seeing him closing his eyes and lifting his head. His horn began to glow, the dark purple magic dizzying to behold. Above his head a small dark ball began to grow. With it came a strange pressure, like an immense wave about to break.

"Oh no..." Luna recognised it, so did Twilight Sparkle and Cadance. It was the spell from his memories, the one he’d used to banish everypony from the palace!

"Sombra!!" Celestia cried "please stop!!"

But it was too late. There was a sudden stillness, then the ball exploded, a bright sphere of power that swept over the room, and beyond. It swept like a force of nature through the whole castle. Where it touched, the shadow ponies turned to crystal, becoming harmless statues. It swept on, encompassing the entire castle. Atop the castles roof, the one Sombra had sensed tried to flee, but it too was changed into a crystal blob.

Outside, everypony looked up at the sonic boom that accompanied Sombra’s spell. They seen a bright purple aura flare out from the castle, enveloping it and the surrounding areas. It was a beautiful, yet frightening sight. So much dark magic...

Then it faded, the air going still once more.

"What was that?!" one mare panicked.

"That dark unicorn....Sombra!" someone said.

"What’s he done?"

"Oh will you calm down!" They all looked round as a mare spoke crossly "there’s probably more to this than just assuming he’s up to no good!"

"Exactly!" another mare "he’s been....saving us...."

The Princesses had closed their eyes when the spell had swept towards them, expecting to be vanished away or worse. But all they felt was a strong tingling feeling, then they blacked out briefly. Bright Spark had stared in awe as the spell whooshed past her.

Her little bubble barrier had protected her. Now it’s job was done, it popped with a little PING sound.

Shaking her head to clear it, she seen Sombra standing there, the aura around him much dimmer now.

"Sombwa!" she spied something gleaming, and bounded over to it. It was the choker.

She bounced to a halt in front of him, the choker in her mouth.

"Pwease..." she pleaded. Sombra looked down at her. She could see he was fighting to draw breath, the aura flaring and dimming as he fought to control it.

"Ungh..." Celestia opened her eyes, lifting her head.

"Sister...?" Luna asked, blinking away stars.

"Wha...Sombra..." Twilight Sparkle groaned. Next to her, Cadance stirred.

They all looked over, and seen Bright Spark holding the choker. Sombra, his aura flaring powerful and bright, looking down at her.

"Pwease.." spark whispered "I want my fwiend back....boop?"

That one little word reached his heart. He blinked, the green glow fading from his eyes.

"Little one..." he uttered.

Unaware the Princesses were awake and watching him, he lifted the choker, staring at the spell embedded in it. Closing his eyes he completed the broken spell by instinct, returning the choker to how it’d felt before. All that remained...

He stared at it a moment. He’d relished the feel of his magic, having it back again. His spell had worked. the room was a gallery of crystal ponies, no longer a danger.

But he could not live in this time and still have his power. He was certain, wasn’t he? He was still a dangerous force. To keep what Twilight Sparkle and the others had offered him. He had to be kept away from his own power. It was simmering even now, no doubt wanting to break free and run rampant, overtake his mind and body...didn’t it?

"Sombwa?" Bright Spark looked worried "what’s wrong?"

So much uncertainty meant his self-judgement was clouded heavily. He couldn’t see how even now, he was keeping his magic on a leash..

"My magic is a threat everypony, if I don’t do this..." but the reluctance in his voice was clear. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes, and allowed himself one last glance inward, seeing the dark purple shimmer of his aura. Funny, it almost looked beautiful like this...

Forcing himself to quell the sense of disappointment and loss, and before he could regret it, he latched the collar back around his neck. The next second, the weight of its magic hit him like a hammer blow. A sense of shock radiated through him, as the connection to his power was sealed away. He felt a sense of loss, like he was being torn in two deep inside his heart.

Bright Spark seen the flash of panic in his eyes as he started to raise a hoof towards his neck, then shook his head vigorously, stamping the hoof back onto the floor.

The spell locked into place with a final surge of power, and he gasped in pain, feeling like he’d had part of his very core taken away. He’d woken up with a funny pain that first day. This was it now, magnified greatly. Back then, his body had been mourning the loss of his power, but being unconscious while this had been done, it’d made it easier, he hadn’t been able to identify the cause.

Bright Spark watched tearfully, seeing how much he was hurting.

He stood unsteadily on his feet, visibly shaken. Then the chokers gem glowed, and a fresh wave of pain made him collapse to the floor.

“Sombwa!" Bright Spark wailed, racing over to crouch by his hooves. She rubbed her cheek against his, hoping this would bring him round.

He opened his eyes at the contact;

"Little one..." he said softly "I’m sorry.."

“For what? You pwotected me!" she sniffled "you defeated the eviw ponies!"

"That was that power, that the ponies of the past feared so," he said softly "do you understand now?"

"I don’t CARE!" she blurted "Sombwa is Sombwa, magic is magic!"

"You’re a good filly..." he said, his voice laced with pain and tiredness "don’t let anypony take that from you."

The Princesses were standing together in stunned silence. They’d seen Sombra willingly lock his own powers down. They’d seen how much the process had hurt him.

"That is why I did not wish him to be awake when I first placed it on him," Celestia said "to feel his magic vanishing, its a painful process. I did not think such a situation would arise.."

Now Bright Spark was trying to get him to give her a smile, but he seemed too worn out to even lift his head.

"Sombra.." the little filly looked up as Celestia came over to sit in front of him.

"What..?" he said dully, staring at a point beyond her.

"You stopped them from hurting everypony. We misjudged your intentions with that spell. You saved us."

"...." he didn’t answer, just stared blankly into space. She frowned, he was really out of it this time!

He got to his feet with a monumental effort, still not speaking a word.

"Sombra..." Celestia sounded concerned. But he just stared straight ahead, not hearing her. Then he walked calmly past her, heading for the door.

"Sombra!” Luna teleported in front of him, almost eye to eye "snap out of it, listen to us!"

But he just stared at her, or through her. She got the feeling he was seeing something else. Then he simply walked past her, ignoring the guards that piled into the room.

"Sir." one of them tried to stop him, but Luna barked at him to let him go.

"He needs some space..." she said quietly.

"What happened here?" Flash Sentry asked, seeing them all looking a bit lost, and in Bright Spark’s case, in tears.

"A sacrifice, that’s what happened." Luna said shortly.

"Huh?" Flash looked confused "what was that purple blast?"

"Sombra’s magic." Celestia said "he eradicated the threat in one swift move. The darkness is gone, for now..."

"The choker glowed..." Twilight Sparkle said once the guards had left, with orders to remove and destroy the crystal statues.

"Yes, the element of magic, your element Twilight Sparkle." Celestia sighed "he was able to use his magic to help rather than hurt, it’s true purpose. But deep down, he still fears a reoccurrence of his past, losing his mind to it, so he cannot see the good in what he has done!"

"He had his magic, he could’ve run free, yet he chose to put the limiter back on." Cadance shook her head slightly "It wasn’t an easy decision, but I’m guessing he wants to stay in this time with everypony, he gave up his power again so he could.."

"That’s why he’s sad?" Bright Spark said "I thought his magic was so much awesome, it was pwetty, and stwong!"

"Its also a sore point for him," Twilight Sparkle said gently "he was made to fear his own power by ponies in his past. Nopony knew what dark magic really was back then."

"So why cant he use it? Why that neckwace?" Bright Spark asked.

"Its to make sure his magic cannot cause any undue damage.." Luna said gently "its hard to control, and if he were to lose control again, we’d be in trouble..."

"Oh...so it’s no his fault?" Bright Spark asked.

"Not entirely, no." Luna said "he should not fear himself. as the prophecy Cadance found explains, a pony born with dark magic is able to live in the light. He just cannot see that."

"He has overcome a great deal.." Celestia said "but the hardest hurdle is his own barriers. We cannot force that, he must do it alone.."

Sombra wandered through the palace halls. Hearing only a faint ringing in his ears. He felt hollow, empty. NO emotion, nothing...

"Oh, hay, there you are!" Shining Armor looked up as he spotted Sombra walk past "what just happened...did you..?" He trailed off as Sombra appeared to not even hear him, just plodded on.

"That’s odd..." somepony remarked.

"I think something’s wrong.." Shining Armor frowned, and hurried after Sombra.

By the time he and Flash, who’d been trailing him since leaving the throne room, caught up to the taller stallion, he was outside in the gardens. Just standing there, staring into space.

"I tried to ask him was he alright, but he wouldn’t answer sir!" The guard by the door cast Shining Armor and Flash Sentry a concerned look "I’m not even convinced he can hear me.."

"Whatever happened, its to do with the purple ka-blam spell..." Shining Armor said "I’m going to guess HE did it..."

Flash had wandered up to Sombra by this point, and now tentatively reached out a hoof to tap his foreleg.

Sombra jumped, backing a few steps away from flash before apparently realizing he knew this pony.

"What..?" he asked, but he seemed dazed.

"You OK? You’re acting funny. And not ha-ha funny..." Flash said carefully.

"I don’t know..." Sombra said flatly "what’s going on?"

"Uhh...we were hoping YOU could tell US that!" Flash piped up.

"You need to see the doc," Shining Armor said carefully "you’re bleeding..."

Sombra blinked, looking at a cut on his left foreleg, which was trickling blood onto the grassy lawn.

"C'mon..." Shining Armor said lightly, realizing the stallion was probably in shock, it would explain why he was so unresponsive. "You can just sleep...that’s what you need..."

This seemed to get through the thick haze that had taken over Sombra. He allowed himself to be ushered back inside, to the doctor. Who took one look at how exhausted and spaced he was, and ordered some tea be made, the first step to helping treat shock.

Sombra sat through the check-up without a sound, without a word. The doctor was a little concerned, but he knew better then to push Sombra.

Luckily, there was enough magic in the crystals he’d summoned to fight the clone ponies with for Twilight Sparkle to make extra goggles. So she wouldn’t have to put Sombra through that again.

"Hey sugarcube!" Applejacks voice startled Twilight Sparkle and she jumped.

"Applejack...hay..." she sighed "sorry, I was miles away."

"Ya gonna eat dinner?" Applejack nodded at the food on the table

"Oops!" she said sheepishly with a grin "silly me, of course!"

"So what actually happened?" Rainbow Dash asked "suddenly all these things pop up, then the next thing we know, they’re turning to crystal!"

Twilight Sparkle let out a small sigh.

"Big mess Rainbow Dash.." she said. "Those things attacked just as we were about to extract a second batch of Sombra’s magic. One of them, the one with the sky tears consciousness in it, broke the spell on the choker!"

“WHAT?!" Rarity yelped.

"Seriously. It attacked just as Celestia had unlocked it. It got it off Sombra, tried to manipulate him. Make him turn on US."

“What happened?" Fluttershy gasped.

Twilight Sparkle blinked "it was something else...." she said at last "he turned on IT."

“Seriously, wow..." Rainbow Dash tried to imagine it "that’s..."

"He said he was sick of being used, and that he was not IT’S to toy with!" Twilight Sparkle shook her head "then he just laid into it!"

They were silent for a moment.

"Wow," Rainbow Dash said "that’s pretty cool. 20% cooler then I had him pegged!"

"I’m sure he’d be happy to hear that Rainbow Dash, but where is he?" Applejack asked.

"He’s, in his room.." Twilight Sparkle said "that’s the other part of what happened.”

They fell silent while Twilight Sparkle told the story of him using that massive spell, then putting the choker back on. About how painful it must’ve been to feel his magic being torn away again. How her brother had told her Sombra went into shock and was currently sleeping off a sedative.

“That’s why she put it on him when he was out cold.." she said at last "I got the feeling it really hurt him..."

"And he’s feeling ill because of it?" Rarity asked.

"No," Twilight Sparkle shook her head "I think he’s missing having his magic, and its making him miserable.."

"Aww ponyfeathers...." Applejack sighed "that sucks!"

"Getting it back then losing it again, that’s tough," Rainbow Dash sighed.

"He put it back on because he wanted to stay with us..." Fluttershy piped up. Twilight Sparkle nodded.

Celestia had a lot on her mind. She called a Princess summit the next morning, and put forward her thoughts;

"What that creature said, its been on my mind..." she began.

"What part?" Cadance asked.

"The part where it pointed out an unfortunate truth I’m certain Sombra was keenly aware of. That we ARE using him to fight our war for us, how are we any better than it? We rendered him powerless, and asked him to fight for us. I had expected his tactics and brute strength would be enough to ensure victory, but he cannot keep using that resource, it’s weakening him.."

They all thought a moment.

"We assumed he would be violent, uncontrollable," Luna said "but he has become a far different pony now..."

“He used the full force of his power to protect that little filly, and locked it away so he could keep living here." Twilight Sparkle nodded.

"What do you propose, sister?" Luna asked.

"I think we need to give him part of who he is back. Although I don’t think he can manage it all flooding back at once, after all this time without it, it could cause shock. But he has proven he CAN use it to do something good.." Celestia said.

It was a unanimous vote. Sombra deserved this much for all he’d done.

Celestia said she’d handle it, since Cadance and Twilight Sparkle were busy, and Luna slept in the daytime!

Sombra was surprised when she asked him to meet her in the throne room.

"Its easiest here, more room.." she remarked, reading a scroll as he walked in.

"What is..?" He trailed off when he seen that familiar spell circle "ah, you need to reset it, don’t you?"

“In a manner of speaking~" she smiled cryptically, but the subtlety was lost on Sombra, who just looked confused. But, with a barely audible sigh, he sat himself down in the circles centre.

"This may hurt a bit.." Celestia said "it’ll be brief.."

Sombra nodded, closing his eyes.

He tensed automatically as he felt the collar loosen, felt the power unfurl and stretch, relishing its freedom again. The sensation of it made his chest ache. He realized how much he missed it. With his eyes closed he was able to see the magic’s unusual aura. Like a glittering purple galaxy. He was aware of Celestia’s magic in the background, a pretty golden shade. Then, he felt the familiar tug of the collar.

The glittering aura began to fade...

Then it stopped, at about half its "size" as it were. He felt a pulse of panic and confusion, what was going on?

There was a click and he felt the room spin briefly as the spell settled down.

He opened his eyes, seeing the spell lines fading into the carpet.

"Something’s off, I think you left it too loose," he said quietly, not wanting to get his hopes up.

Celestia chuckled, making him glance up at her. She was smiling.

"I assure you there’s been no mistake or error Sombra," she said calmly "it is exactly what you think. I changed the spell. I didn’t want it to overload you, so I kept it back a bit. But the spell will retreat a little each day, allow your magic to return to full capacity-"

"Why?!" Sombra blurted, he looked confused. "You seen that chaos with the shadow things. I barely kept control of it THEN, after I lost my temper!"

"And yet none of us were harmed. You eradicated only the shadow ponies. Little miss Bright Spark was unharmed, she can see more then we can.."

Sombra thought about her getting upset when he told her his magic was bad. She grumpily responded magic was still magic.

"You see?" Celestia could see the emotions flickering through his eyes "she knows you wont harm anypony, she was very vocal in pointing that out after you wandered off..."

"I don’t remember much after the spell locked in again..." Sombra shook his head "I could see you al, but I couldn’t hear what you were saying."

"That spell was not designed to be used like that, not while you were conscious. It sent you into shock as far as I can tell.."

Sombra shuddered, it’d felt awful. The sensation of his magic being torn away again. Yet he could feel it now, less overwhelming, but THERE nonetheless.

"Take some time to get used to it..." Celestia said gently "get some rest..."

Sombra was still fighting to understand, but on autopilot he heard himself, saying something about thank you, he needed a walk...

Then, when he next snapped back to reality, he was standing outside.

"How did I get here?" he muttered.

"Sleepwalking?" the bored guard at the door suggested.

"That'll do..." Sombra shrugged. he started to walk out towards the street outside, then realized nopony was trailing after him.

The guard responded to his confused look with a shrug "Princess Celestia’s orders, she said to leave you be..."

“Right..." Sombra looked a little wary, but eventually he seemed to accept it and carried on outside.

He wondered where Twilight Sparkle and co had gotten to? It felt odd not to have somepony following him, be it a guard or a little pony Princess.

"Sombra!" He snapped out of his daze as he heard a female voice calling to him. He stopped, seeing Shining Sea across the street. he strode over to her, and as he reached her, a tiny blur whooshed out from the shop-

"SOMBWA!" Bright Spark gave him another of her glomp-hugs "you feewing OK?"

"I’m fine little one.." he said gently "but what of YOU?"

"I’m fine!" she beamed "yesterday was scawwy, but you got wid of ther eviw ponies!"

"Yes, they’re gone. The statues were broken down."

"I couldn’t believe it when she told me what happened!" Shining Sea said "that so many would attack the Princesses like that! Still, they had your help, so they were in safe hooves."

"I told mommy about how your magic was supposed to be so scawwy, but I didn’t fink so!" Bright Spark bounded up and down happily.

"You’re a clever little spark aren’t you..?" he chuckled softly "your mother is very lucky to have you!”

Shining Sea nodded proudly, nuzzling the top of her daughter head, making her giggle.

There was a loud booming sound, and Sombra instinctively moved to shield the two. He looked up at the sky tear, and did not know what was going on.

"What is THAT?!" Somepony cried, seeing what looked like an inky tornado flowing into their world.

"I’m not familiar with the type of thing I’m seeing.." Sombra said at last. But he FELT it "it’s this things version of magic..."

"Eep" Bright Spark squeaked.

“Everypony, get out of here, RUN!" Sombra yelled. Some did, recognizing that he knew what he was talking about when it came to these things!

The swirling mass seemed to see the surge of movement and suddenly swept down, sweeping along the street like a ink tsunami.

Bright Spark screamed and clung to her mommy. Sombra closed his eyes.

--Come on magic!-- he thought --if you’re here, WORK!!--

There was a whoosh, and the trio vanished, appearing atop the shop roof.

"How in Equestria?" Shining Sea blinked. Sparks eyes widened.

"Your magic!" she said happily "the pwincesses let you keep it?"

"Part of it..." he said.

But down below he had more to deal with. The other ponies had been covered by the inky wave, up to their hooves in it. They struggled and fought to get free, as a dark shape shot out from the tear.

"Its trying another harvest!" Sombra’s fury rose "I have to stop it, can you two manage up here?"

"We’ll be fine!" Shining Sea said bravely "don’t worry about us, go get that thing!"

"Be carefuww!" Bright Spark called. He gave her a nod, then leapt off the roof, a crystal spike shooting up from the ground for him to perch on.

The creature seen him and launched right for him.

"Why wont you just die?!" It fumed. Sombra waited until it got close, then closer...

"What’s he doing?!" one mare yelped "he’s gonna get hit!"

But soon as it came with striking distance, Sombra vanished in a puff of purple-black smoke. And reappeared on another crystal platform a few meters away. With the creature’s back to him he was able to fire a burst of magic at its core. It hit it dead on, stunning it.

"Or he could do that..." the same mare said in surprise "I thought he didn’t have his magic?"

“Well obviously the Princesses did something!" somepony else added.

"How?!" the shadow creature snapped.

"Fight fire with fire. You have your little dirty tricks, and as it happens, so do I!" Sombra laughed. He closed his eyes, summoning the full limit of what Celestia’s spell had allowed him. When he opened his eyes, their trademark glow was back, the unearthly light making his deep red eyes stand out.

"Mess with something your own size!" Sombra declared.

It raged and drove at him again. But he simply vanished as soon as it got close, reappearing on another crystal slab that struck up from the black inky goo.

"Psyche" Sombra smirked.

"Enough tricks little pony!" it sneered. Flying upwards, it fried a bolt of black lightning at him. A semi-transparent shield flared up, deflecting the bolt away before it could hurt somepony. Sombra leapt from the crystal he was on, vanishing and reappearing on a rooftop further down. The thing kept attacking, focusing so intently on him it didn’t hear something move behind it.

"Sucker," Sombra snickered. It whirled round, seeing...a second one. Oh crap. An illusion. While it was staring at the one behind it, the version it’d been firing upon, actually still the real one, came to a stop on the next summoned crystal platform. He closed his eyes. In the air in front of him, a massive bow made of dark energy took shape, and without hesitating he freed the spear Celestia had given him from its pouch, slotting it in and pulling back-

Too late it realised it’d been tricked. It turned just in time to be speared through by the projectile. The creature exploded, the spear embedding itself into the side of a wall.

Sombra sighed in relief. That’d was close. He hadn’t been sure if he’d be able to do that spell, but it’d worked!

The ponies cheered, and would’ve clapped had they been able to move their hooves.

"How do we get out of this..?!" the pony speaking was gnawing at the black goop.

"Don’t," Sombra advised her "it tastes disgusting."

"Blecch! Good point..." she conceded.

Sombra stared at the inky goop. He had an idea. That spell again.

"Everypony stay still..." he said, raising his voice to be heard "I think I can get rid of it, just hold still..."

He closed his eyes, remembering that same spell he’d used to turn the shadows to crystal. It just needed a little tweak, but the basic element was still the same.

The ponies seen the glowing ball appear in the air above where he stood, felt their ears pop as the air pressure shifted.

"Ooh!" Bright Spark pointed a hoof at the ball "lookit mommy, this is so much awesome!"

There was a pop, the air displaced for a moment, then the ball exploded outwards, a rushing purple magic sweeping over the area in a wide circumference. Where it swept past, the black goop vanished in a flash of heatless, painless flame. Purple flame. Soon it was gone, only a little at the edges where the spell couldn’t reach was left.

The purple light faded, and Sombra opened his eyes. When he seen it’d worked, he gave a sigh of relief.

The ponies cheered properly, stamping their hooves in delight as they found themselves free. Sombra jumped down from the crystal platform, and another little spell got rid of those.

Just one thing left;

A puff of black smoke and Shining Sea and Bright Spark appeared in front of him.

"Wow.." Shining Sea blinked.

"Awsome!" Bright Spark beamed at Sombra. Sombra patted her on the head with a soft smile.

"Your magic, it’s amazing..." Shining Sea said at last "I’ve never heard or seen such a thing. And dark magic too..."

Sombra nodded, closing his eyes, quelling the fiery aura. When he opened his eyes, they’d returned to normal.

He then became aware of the ponies surrounding them. He wondered if that little display had scared them.

"Is everypony alright?!"

It was a patrol, running down the street towards them " what happened?"

Shining Sea spoke up.

"That thing attacked us again, but Its all taken care of."

"Sombwa’s magic did it!" Bright Spark bounce dup and down to get the lead guards attention.

"Your magic? Ah yes, the Princesses orders.." the guard nodded.

"Don’t look freaked out," Sombra sighed "its only...partial..."

"It was enough to wipe the floor wiv that fing!" Bright Spark, still bouncing, pointed out to the guard.

"That’s all I need to hear," the guard said. ÒSeems like you already dealt with the situation. I’ll report it back to the Captain."

Sombra was a little surprised when they didn’t question him. He’d expected a freak out. Unless...had Celestia already told Shining Armor to tell his guards she’d be giving him his magic back?

--Celestia is not somepony you underestimate-- he thought wisely.

They checked to make sure nopony was hurt, and carried on their way. Seeing her still bounding about,. Sombra caught Bright Spark up with his magic, floating her in front of him.

"I’m convinced you’re part spring little one, you’re very bouncy."

She giggled, reaching out and tapping his nose.

"Boop!" she cried happily.

Sombra chuckled, tapping her little nose very very gently with one hoof.

"Boop yourself!" he retorted.

Shining Sea smiled at the cute little scene. The ponies watching were stunned by the difference in Sombra. He looked different when he smiled. They’d never seen him so...contented. And his magic! They’d been a little scared when they’d seen him using it at first, but he’d dispatched that thing and freed them. No more, no less.

Sombra’s stomach growled, reminding him he’d skipped lunch. As if in response, little Bright Spark’s made a tinier gurgle.

"Tummy talking!" she giggled. "lunchy lunch mommy?"

“Of course dear," Shining Sea chuckled as Sombra set Bright Spark back on her hooves. She looked at Sombra "would you like to join us?"

"Pwease?" Bright Spark caught onto the idea and gave him a pleading look.

"If its...not a problem," Sombra coughed. ÒThat’d be excellent."

Bright Spark hugged him again.

"YAY!" She looked very happy.

By now the other ponies were clustered nearby. As Sombra turned to go, one of them called out to him. He stopped, looking over at them;

"Is somepony hurt?" he asked, thinking the spell had missed one.

"No, we just wanted to thank you!" the pony at the head of the gathering said.

Again Sombra wore a look of bewilderment for a second, then realized.

"I see..." he said at last “there’s…no need.”

"There’s plenty need. You don’t seem to see how much you help the ponies here..“

Sombra made a funny sound, and looked slightly awkward.

The pony continued “its YOUR magic that helped us, so why not thank YOU?"

Hoof steps to one side heralded one of the ponies bringing back Sombra’s spear.

"Yours I believe," the stallion held it out. Sombra folded it back up, tucking it away again.

"The Princess was right to do what she did," the same pony said "used the right way, your magic is far more powerful than that thing!"

"I’ve never seen dark magic handled so well," one pony spoke up "how on Equestria did you learn to use it like that?"

Curious murmurs and nods of agreement rippled through the group, their curious gazes fixed on him.

Sombra fidgeted, then figured he may as well be honest. Trying to make up a lie here and now wouldn’t wash, they’d seen the ease he’d used it with. Telling them he’d been trained in it probably wouldn’t pass.

"I was born with it," he shrugged at last.

Jaws dropped.

"Seriously?!" one mare yelped "all my years as a historian I’ve never heard of that happening? Why was there no record of this?"

Sombra shrugged "because when you’re born in a backwater village who’s elders practically wet themselves at the slightest anomaly, you generally don’t keep a record of it.."

"If I might ask," the same mare walked closer "where WERE you from?"

"A village called Snowvale, probably long gone by now...." Under his breath "if I’m lucky.."

"Snowvale...that name, I’ve heard it before..."

"It wasn’t anything special.." Sombra shrugged "unless you count being incredibly small minded and petty an achievement!"

"I must see what I can find out.." the mare murmured, lost in thought as she wandered off.

"Where’s Snowvale?" somepony else asked.

Sombra frowned "I cant remember much of that time anymore..." he said "but I think I was traveling for weeks before I reached here...it was always freezing there, hence the name. Beyond that, I cant tell you anything more..."

"Sounds very remote..." somepony said.

"In more ways than one," Sombra said oddly, then shook his head when he caught them looking confused "never mind."

"At any rate, thank you." the first pony that’d called to him spoke up again "we’re glad you’re here now.." then they dispersed.

Sombra felt a funny twinge, but not a bad or painful one. This felt...nice...

Author's Note

Part 5, enjoy! =D

As always, kindly edited by Dream Seeker!

Crown & Comfort

Bright Spark chattered away happily, asking again was he definitely going to come to the festival on Friday? Sombra reassured her he wouldn’t miss it for anything, which made her smile widely.

When she and her mother parted ways from him, he returned to the castle, feeling better. He hadn’t felt this comfortable in an eternity. His magic swirled and shone deep inside, its presence comforting, a long missed companion.

The rest of that day he spent in his room, finishing the sketches of as many faces from his past as he could. These he then delivered to Celestia. When he showed up at her office, she indicated the tea set on her desk and asked him to talk awhile.

“I have been getting ever more letters, Sombra.” she said.

“I cant seem to destroy those things without causing collateral damage! They EXPLODE for the love of, well, YOU.” he grumbled. She just smiled and shook her head.

“That’s not what they’re about…”

“Then what..?”

“Dear princesses,” Celestia was reading from a letter now,

“We got our first glimpse of how Sombra’s REAL power works yesterday when one of those things attacked..”

Sombra didn’t speak, just watched her warily.

“-and I never thought id see the day when dark magic could do so much good. Its hard to believe his power was once feared when you see it the way we all did. Perhaps we judged the book by its cover. The old Sombra was a crazed lunatic, bent on controlling the Empire. The pony you brought back to help us is a far cry from the nightmare of the past. The only thing those two have in common is how they LOOK. Beyond that, they are a different as chalk and cheese..”

“Not if you’re eating with your eyes closed,” Sombra muttered, recalling something Cloudspark had said. Celestia made an amused laughing sound, but continued regardless:

“We tried to thank him for saving us, but I got the impression it was hard for him to accept. We owe him a second chance for all he’s done, especially regarding that plague. Please let him know. Maybe you can persuade him to come see us.

Signed, QuillPetal.”

Sombra was silent.

“You understand now? They sincerely want to thank you. You’ve pretty much single hoofedly protected them, this whole time. With Twilight Sparkle’s goggles you won’t have to bear the whole burden alone. You can rest, relax a bit more. Give them a chance to see you…”

Sombra sighed reluctantly.

“Give it a try, what have you to lose?” she asked, triggering Sombra’s memory. Shining’s words that breakfast, that he had a lot to catch up on..

Celestia was looking at the drawings he’d given to her.

"You have an artistic talent," she remarked "these are good. I will ensure Shining Armor gets them."

Sombra nodded, not speaking a word. Celestia studied the image he'd drawn of King Cloudspark. It’d been drawn with a careful reverence and kindness. Despite how he’d apparently lashed out in those memories Luna had seen, it was obvious he treasured the good memories of this pony.

"How have you been sleeping?" she asked as he turned to leave.

"Huh? Oh...better...." he said at last "I don’t see those images anymore. It’s just blank.."

"That must be better.."

He gave a nod "and yet I still feel tired.."

"A lot has changed, this exhaustion is as much mental and physical. The guards can respond to any further emergencies this day, you should get some rest."

But his mind still dwelled on how everypony had reacted to seeing his past in those nightmares. How sad and honest they’d been that weird morning. After all he’d done, did he have the right to get used to such kindness?

His head still buzzing, he curled up under the covers and fell fast asleep.

Darkness. Good. Wait, not good. Why was he standing alone in it..?

"Sombra." a voice spoke from behind him and he whirled round, tensed to fight-

"Oh....Princess..." he sighed, seeing Luna "I thought you were another of those things..."

"No, they do not appear to haunt your dreams as of late. I have been researching your past, your memories. I have something you need to see. It wasn’t easy uncovering this, your past is convoluted and distant, but this memory shone brightly."

Not sure what she meant, he walked to stand beside her. She stamped one hoof on the invisible floor and a blur of colours whooshed past them, making Sombra dizzy.

"Whoa geez..." he grumbled.

Luna nudged him a second later. They were in a small, cosy looking cottage. A familiar figure was hunched over a wooden desk, writing franticly.

"It can't be..." Sombra stepped forward. But it WAS. His old mentor and substitute father figure, Cloudspark.

"This is what happened after your spell was unleashed. The ponies in the palace were scattered across the wider area. Sanity alone knows how you pulled that one off," she remarked.

At the desk, Cloudspark finished the letter and folded it up, putting it in a small, ornately carved box.

"I hope someday this will reach you.." he muttered, before picking it up and heading outside.

Cloudspark walked off into the night. They walked after him in silence, until eventually the scene shifted and refocused. Cloudspark stood in front of a big tree. In the distance the Crystal Empires lights lit the night.

"What’s he doing...?!" Sombra said quietly.

"Watch." Luna said softly.

Cloudspark wrapped the box in a spell summoned from a special scroll, one that seemed to use up a lot of his energy, but meant he could safely bury it in the ground.

"What happened child..?" he sighed "How did you come to lose such hope in yourself. Am I to blame..?"

Sombra couldn’t bear to hear this, he knew what Cloudspark spoke of.

"I hope someday you'll find this. Maybe She will lead you. The dream walker, the Princess of the stars..."

--Of course, even back then Luna’s power was well known as a legend..-- Sombra recalled hearing the tale as a child.

"Don’t give up.." Cloudspark was still talking to the spot where he’d buried the box "i know the real you is still there. Not this facade you’ve become. I seen you from a distance. I had hoped to see you grow up, but not this way. That thing isn’t you."

Sombra felt about to be sick, this was physically hurting to watch. What he’d put this pony through. He stepped ahead of Luna, watching his substitute father. Seen the sadness in his eyes.

"I’ll always care about you. Like any real parent, I love my child, no matter what they might do. I’ll always forgive you. Don’t lose that part of you...please Sombra, even if it takes forever, fight it. I-"

"Don’t-" Sombra croaked, his voice barely audible. Pleading with the King not to say the words that would shatter his increasingly fragile grip on his heart.

"I love you, kiddo."

Each word was like a punch to the gut.

"Stop it!" he gasped at last, and Luna was surprised to hear the raw pain in his voice "just..stop! I’m begging you!"

The dream faded with Cloudspark bidding a farewell to the distant Empire and heading back..

He awoke with a shaky gasp. He sat himself up, feeling the reverberations from the dream ricocheting around his head. His heart ached, seeing the King again. He made a frantic, desperate attempt to breathe properly, but it felt like something had a vice like grip on his chest.

"I can take you to where that tree still stands. What he buried awaits you now.." Luna spoke from beside the bed.

"No. No more.." Sombra coughed, forcing the words out "I shattered his heart and took over his home. Why wouldn’t he give up?!"

"Because he believed deep down what you’ve been showing us all this time," Luna said "that you have a good heart. But it was broken, in turn, by a world too full of fear to comprehend your gift."

"Gift? This powers nothing but a curse!" Sombra spat out angrily.

"You used it to save all of us, but most of all you saved an innocent child. You wouldn’t have done those things if you truly didn’t care. Now, come.." she opened a portal and looked over at him.

For a moment she was sure he would refuse, order her to leave him alone, shout and curse. He looked on the verge of doing it, then he abruptly seemed to loose the will to argue, and nodded mutely, getting up and following her.

They emerged in the pitch darkness in the surrounding forest. Luna made her horn glow a soft brilliant blue, throwing the area into shadow and sharp relief.

"Here..." she said, pawing the earth with her hoof.

Together they shifted clump after clump of earth, until eventually a shimmering silver shape emerged.

"The shield, its reacting.." Luna murmured "this is it.."

Sombra freed the box and set it down.

"How do I open it?! I don’t recognize this magic.." he said, sounding flustered.

"Relax.." she told him, "focus.."

He closed his eyes, focusing on the box. For a moment it seemed nothing was happening. Then he seen an intricate lock, but one he recognized. It was the same one as on the door of the castle back then.

He fed a tendril of magic into the lock, seeing the gears turns and click, then with a POP, the shield vanished.

"Well done..." Luna’s voice brought him back to the present. "now lets return..."

They were swept up in a portal and deposited back in Sombra’s room.

"I will leave you to yourself, whatever is in there is something he wanted for you to have...." then she was gone.

Sombra felt dizzy as he looked at the box for a long time before lifting the lid.

Inside was something that made his guilt grow even stronger...

Before she’d passed away, the queen, had given her crown as a memento to her husband. He’d had it reworked into a leg band that he wore around his left foreleg, above the knee. The glittering purple jewel in it shaped like a star. This was the same object that looked back at him from inside the box, protected all that time by powerful magic.

"Why would you leave this for me?" he asked. Underneath it was a letter...

"My precious child,

I don’t know if you will ever read this, but I hope you will. The world must have finally overwhelmed you, despite how much I tried to shield you from it. I want to tell you now what I seen in you;

I seen a courageous, strong hearted pony, who had a so much hope and kindness to offer. A pony who was smart and understanding. You may scoff, but I feel like I got to see the real you on so many occasions. That first birthday you had at the Empire. You acted like you didn’t care, but I seen how happy you were. You don’t have to hide yourself away. Your magic may be dark, but I do not believe your heart truly is. The world had been cruel, I seen that in your eyes that first day we met. But I also seen an indomitable strength, a refusal to accept you could ever be denied.

I could see the influence of your father in you. You may have wondered where I kept vanishing off to in the months before the occurrence. I went to track down your family."

Here Sombra had to stop, his vision swam, and he was hit by the sheer enormity of what that meant.

"And I can understand where your fear stemmed from. Your father was cold and uncaring, and your mother may as well have never had a child for all the compassion she showed. So I told your parents I was taking care of you from then on. They didn’t respond kindly. I knew then they weren’t deserving of such a unique and gifted unicorn. So I decided that day, I’d officially claim you as my own. You deserved so much more then they could give. But I fear they may have done too much damage already, if what ahs come to pass is any indicator.

But please, if by some miracle this does find its way to you; know this:

You are MY son, you always will be. No matter what you do, I will always care for you. No matter how much you hate me, I still love you. You could never make me ashamed of you. I believe there is so much goodness in your heart, you just need the right ponies to set it free. By Celestia, I hope you find them. This ornament was a gift from my wife to me. Now, it is for you, as a reminder of all we achieved together. I was proud to see you achieve your cutie mark.

Cloudspark"

Sombra couldn’t take anymore. All the sadness, the grief, the anger. He could no longer contain it. He closed his eyes, the tidal wave too much to cope with.

The kings words echoed in his mind.

--I still love you. You are MY son.---

His vision blurred as he looked at the ornamental leg band, sitting there so innocently. What it symbolised.

A thousand year old barrier around his heart finally shattered, and he let everything he’d been carrying, go...

A single drop fell to the fancy bedspread. A second later, another fell onto the jewel set in the leg band.

--Stop it you fool!!-- the old part of his mind snapped. But yet again the ponies kind words flashed through his mind. The only mistake he’d made was turning on the King. Being born with dark magic, being different, those weren’t crimes. Had he just believed in the good the King could see in him, things may have been different.

But hindsight is a wonderful thing. Getting the proof that such a hope is not a waste of the part of you that is poured into it, isn’t easy. He’d learnt that so often. He’d kept giving up little parts of himself over and over. In the end, it’d felt like it wasn’t worth the heartache.

--Not anymore…-- he thought heavily --being who you are is not a crime. Everypony gets scared by what they cant explain or what doesn’t fit their expectations. Doesn’t mean its BAD. It just means you have to fight a little more to make yourself known.---

But overriding a lifelong lesson beaten into him by his parents wasn’t easy. Children were born to love their parents, even to the degree where it hurt.

He caught sight of the letter, and felt a small flicker of hope;

For he realized now, that Cloudspark HAD been his father. He’d said as much in the letters. No matter how angry Sombra had gotten at himself, no matter how much self-disgust he’d inflicted, the King had never given up telling him he was wrong. He WASN’T a bad pony. That he had just as much right to enjoy his life as anypony else.

Twilight Sparkle and her friends had seen his memories, his past. Fluttershy had started to cry because she had seen the pain he refused to acknowledge.

He lay curled up on the bed, the only sounds in the room his own muffled cries of grief and loss, but also of relief. This had been a long time coming, and for the first time in forever, he had accepted he wasn’t alone…

Luna, concerned by how unstable he’d seemed by the time the flashback ended, had hovered around, a short distance from the rooms doors. Now she listened with a familiar sympathy to the sound of a much needed outburst.

She’d felt the same way after finally seeing her sister again. All the regret, all the apologies, it felt inadequate. So she could understand Sombra’s regret. She’d turned on her sister out of jealousy, him on the King out of fear and anger.

Now it was time for that grief to finally be excised. The sounds were heavily muffled but there was no disguising pure heartbreak. She decided he needed somepony to help him...

She teleported out, seeking one very special individual.

She appeared in a dream world comprised of candy coloured bubbles. A giggling filly was bouncing from one to the next, like a little orange haired blur.

"Hewwo!" she spotted Luna "Pwincess Woona!"

Luna smiled at the child’s pronunciation, and flew alongside her.

"I need your help little one...well, Sombra does.."

“Whassa matter?!" Bright Spark skidded to a halt in mid air, floating there. Admiring this child’s grasp of crazy physics in dreams, Luna explained;

"Right now he’s more lost then ever, and he needs something good to remind him why things aren’t all bad. That, my child, is you. I must bring you to the palace, do you wish me to speak with your mother?"

"It’s OK, I don’t wanna disturb her. She needs her sleepy sleeps. But we gotta be weally quiet!"

"No worry there. Now, lets waken.."

Bright Spark woke up in her bed, with Luna by her side.

They shared a look, then Luna teleported them both out. She deposited them outside Sombra’s room. Carefully and soundlessly, she nudged the door open so Bright Spark could slip in.

As the door slid shut behind her without a whisper, Bright Spark spied Sombra curled up on the bed.

She was concerned by the hiccupy, sad sounds she heard.

"Sombwa..." she spoke up as she trotted over.

"Wha-" he looked down, seeing her standing by the bed "w-what’re you doing here little one?" he lifted her up with his magic, setting her on the bed in front of him.

"Pwincess Woona said you were sad..." she said. She rubbed her cheek against his, making her little face damp.

"Why sad?" she asked, poking his nose with one hoof "boop?"

"I-its nothing little one.."

“Mommy cwied a lot when daddy was gone. Have you lost somefing?"

He shook his head, managing a faint smile;

"No, i found something in fact.."

“Somefing that makes you sad....is it a bad fing?"

"No, just something I wish I had known long ago. That he could forgive me after all those things I did. I don’t understand..."

"Sombwa..?" Bright Spark spied the letter and pounced on it, wondering was this making him sad? She struggled to read the kings writing, but she understood the last bits.

"Did he never say these fings to you?" she asked.

"He did, but I was too much of a fool to listen. I was so convinced he’d turn on me that it made me crazy. To prevent him from hurting me, I banished him from my life. I was an idiot...."

"He adowpted you?"

“In a way, yes..."

"Then he woved you vewwy much!" she decided "my mommy says a twue parents love is uncon...dizzy-"

“Unconditional?" Sombra guessed. She nodded.

"Yeah! The one fing a child can rely on is that their mommy and daddy will always wove them! This guy said so, so he was your real daddy! Not those meanies he visited...."

"He was. And I caused him so much strife, how could he keep forgiving me?"

“Because that’s what pawents do!" Bright Spark insisted "mommy said so! If he says he fowgives you, then I fink he did! He sounded happy he got to adopt you!"

Sombra closed his eyes, a fresh wave threatening to bury him "I don’t know.." he whispered.

"Don’t be sad, pwease..." Bright Spark begged "I cwied after daddy passed away, but mommy said to always believe he was watching over me. To make him as pwoud as I would if he was still here. You should do that too!"

"What right do I have? I didn’t just hurt HIM, I caused a lot of ponies pain by doing what I did...."

"But the ponies like you!" Bright Spark boop!ed his nose once more "I’ll teww you what mommy said to her fwiend, but you gotta keep it secwet!"

He could only nod. She smiled.

"Mommy’s fwiend said wasn’t she worried about letting her filly hang around such a big scawwy pony, and you know what mommy said? "He snot scawwy! He’s saved my daughter’s life over and again, saved all our lives. The past is in the past. I believe he’s learned from his mistakes. No monster would care fow a child as if it were their own the way he has. My Bright Spark adores him, and he’s made her shine bwighter then I’ve ever seen her! For that, I will consider him not only a fwiend to my family, but a fwiend to the Empire."

Sombra looked at her, seeing the honesty in her eyes.

"Mommy likes you, she says you’re a good pony under all the gruffness. Her fwiend said she’d never thought about it that way. That maybe its time they all gave you a second chance after you saved them fwom the plague. They wanna talk to you, but mommys fwiend says nopony ever sees you outside the palace! When they do, you shy away if they try to fank you.."

"I don’t know that I deserve their gratitude, in light of what I did in the past, little one.." Sombra began, but Bright Spark shook her head.

"Mommy said the past is in the past. Your pwotetcing the Empire, and the ponies. You’re not a meanie anymore....pwease believe them.."

She sat there, peering hopefully at his face.

"Little one.." Sombra said at last "...thank you.."

"Your my fwiend, and that’s what fwiends do!" she said.

He smiled faintly "so I’ve been told.." he said softly.

"So don’t be sad. I fink he loved you, AND he wasn’t angwy with you. You cant make yourself sad, he wouldn’t want you to be sad. I fink he wants you to be happy!”

She was surprised when Sombra hugged her gently a second later.

"Thank you...my little Bright Spark.." he chuckled, as he let her go. He tapped her nose gently.

She beamed, and then gave him a stern look;

"So don’t cwy or be angwy at yourself. He said he fowgives you, so be happy, ‘kay?"

A nod. She could see some of the sadness was gone from his eyes as he looked at her.

"Little child?" Luna’s voice spoke form the other side of the door "we must get you back to your mothers..."

“Alwight!" spark said. She boop!ed Sombra’s nose once more in farewell, then she was bounding out the door, waving one last time before she vanished.

When Luna returned, Sombra still looked a bit flushed, but calmer.

"How did you know to bring her?" Somrba said lightly.

"She always seems to make you cheer up whenever she’s about, so I figured she’d be the perfect choice to make you think clearly."

Sombra gave a funny laugh, looking at the box with the ornament in it. Luna peered in.

"Wow...mind if I see?"

He shook his head, and she lifted it up, examining it from all angles.

"Such craftsmanship, its stunning.." she mused.

"It was the Queens, then his...." Sombra tailed off.

"And he left it for you." she finished.

"Its a royal decoration. I have no use for it. Perhaps its fitting it should go to the empires REAL rulers." Sombra said bluntly. Luna frowned at him.

"What?" he said crossly, "don’t give me THAT look!"

"You’re an idiot..." Luna sighed.

"I’m also exhausted." Sombra sighed, losing all energy to argue.

"THAT, I can help with.." Luna said,. Before Sombra could question what she meant, she’d cast a little sleep spell, and he was fast asleep in seconds.

--I just hope that wasn’t too much, but he needed to know...--

When Sombra woke up the next morning, he wondered why his head ached. He heard something clatter to the floor as he stretched, and looked down. An ornate box had fallen to the floor, and rolling away across the floor was a shiny golden thing. He chased after it, scooping it up, then realizing what it was.

The memories came back. Luna taking him to that flashback. Finding the box. King Cloudspark’s letter. His chest ached again and he hurriedly set the leg-band down, watching how the stone set in it caught the light and glowed. He recognized it now, it was the same as the stone he’d first spotted in the antique shop. That first day out of the castle with Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy. A purple star jewel.

--It was the queens favorite..-- he remembered Cloudspark talking about it now. He sighed sadly. There were traces of magic lingering on the band. No doubt leftover from the spell that’d protected it, buried under the earth in that box for over a thousand years.

He picked up the box, frowning at how the material inside had gotten torn when it fell. Perhaps miss Rarity could help him.

And so, having missed breakfast by this point, he trekked down to the room Rarity had commandeered as her sewing room.

She was in there with Applejack, who was reading out a letter from Applebloom. She tailed off as Sombra wandered in. He hadn’t bothered to wear his usual getup, aka the crown and shoes. As a result, his mane was loose, his ears poking up out of it. It gave him a much less stern appearance overall. As always, he was wearing the cloak Rarity had made him.

"Hay!" she greeted him, "we missed ya at breakfast!"

“I uh...overslept.." Sombra said softly.

"Sure ya actually SLEPT, sugarcube?" Applejack said sympathetically "apparently passing out don’t count as sleep!"

"I had bad dreams..." Sombra fibbed. Both ponies frowned this time.

"How bad?" Applejack asked "Its not.."

“No, that nightmare has stopped. This was a one off. It wasn’t that creature, I’m certain of it."

Deciding to get his mind off it, Rarity bobbed her head at the box floating next to him "what’s that?"

"This? It’s a long story. Ask Luna. She found it. "

He set it down and opened it. Rarity’s jaw dropped when she seen the beautifully crafted band inside.

"Whoa...." Applejack stared in amazement "that’s a stunner!"

"What is it? Its simply amazing.." Rarity lifted it up, turning it this way and that.

"It belonged to the King..." Sombra was glad he’d taken out the letter beforehand. the last thing he fancied was everypony reading it.

He shook his head to clear the thoughts from the previous night, that still lingered even now. Cloudspark’s kind words, his refusal to stop hoping...

"Anyway, the box got somewhat damaged. I was hoping you could repair the lining material?”

Rarity peered at the box, and nodded.

"I have something that matches this just nicely! Leave it with me!"

Sombra gave a small sigh of relief.

"Thank you," he gave a small yawn "I need to find food.." he drifted off.

"Am I the only one thinking he’s acting a trifle weird this morning?" Applejack said in the ensuring silence.

Rarity frowned "yes, he IS a bit spacey. He’s not STILL shook up from Pinkie Pie’s in-his-face intervention is he?"

“Nah, I don’t think so," Applejack shook her head "he seemed fine at dinner, remember?"

“True.." Rarity frowned at the box, and its fancy occupant "maybe its this?"

"He did say it used ta be the kings. Maybe he’s more upset about what went on then he’s sayin'?"

"I fear you may be right. He has a lot to deal with...oh!"

Rarity had taken the leg-band out and set it aside, and had started to lift up the lining material when she noticed something.

"What is it?" Applejack asked curiously.

"There appears to be something sewn into the lining here...hold on a second.."

With a professional care and concentration, Rarity unpicked the stitches, and extracted a square of tightly compressed folded paper.

"What the hay's that?"

"Beats me Applejack dear. But lets find out..." she carefully unfolded the pages, using magic to flatten the sheets of paper. They were old but very well preserved. The writing on them was clear as day.

The two ponies peered over, each reading one of the two sheets that comprised the discovery.

"Sweet toffee apples!" Applejack blurted.

"My heavens.." Rarity responded.

Applejack held hers up "this says this King fella officially adopted Sombra, it’s got his parents signatures and everything!"

"THIS one says he’s decreed Sombra as his heir!" Rarity pointed at her page.

Applejack let out a low whistle.

"This is a doozy," she said, shaking her head "what do we do?"

"We must take this to the princesses!" Rarity decided.

Celestia was as startled as they were to see the papers.

"Sorry fer pointin’ out the obvious, but don’t this mean he's..." Applejack began…

"-The empires heir. yes." Celestia set the papers down "I wonder if Sombra knows anything about this?"

"I doubt it, Princess, we found those things sewn into the box!" Rarity pointed out.

"They could be copies, he may know or recall the original..." she walked to the door, asking the guard to bring Sombra to the office.

He arrived a few minutes later.

"This isn’t gonna be pretty.." Applejack said ominously.

"I must admit I’m concerned how he’s going to react," Rarity whispered back.

Sombra looked surprised to see Applejack and Rarity there.

"What’s....?" he asked, dread gnawing at his stomach.

"Rarity told me of your discovery, the box my sister helped you find." Celestia began.

"That?" Sombra sighed in relief, she just wanted to know about the band right "Its a relic. When the Queen died, she gave her crown to her husband, and he had it made into THAT so he’d always have it to remember her by, that’s all it is."

"That’s not what I wished to ask you about," Celestia looked apologetic, and this only made him more nervous.

"What’s..?" he asked, voice trailing off.

She held up the sheets of old paper "were you aware King Cloudspark had gone to great lengths to track down your parents?"

"What?!" Sombra looked shocked "why in the name of SANITY would he do THAT?!"

"Because adoption laws require the parents signatures if they’re still living, that’s why." Celestia said. Sombra didn’t say a word. he looked too shocked to.

"Did you know about any of it?" she asked. A mute shake of the head.

"He never...all I remember is him leaving for a couple of weeks to go on some goodwill mission. That’s what he said to ME at any rate. There WAS a letter in the box with that thing, but it didnt mention anything specific. Why..?"

"He obviously wanted to make sure you never had to go back to them. It seems he wished you to have a proper family, and home, at the Empire."

Sombra was starting to feel a bit queasy, but he quashed the feeling, hearing Celestia continue.

"This was signed and dated before the events of the past began. He must have intended it as a surprise, perhaps as a birthday present."

Sombra remained silent, but Applejack seen one ear twitch, much like it had during Pinkie's rant. It seemed to be a telling sign when he was in over his head.

"And there’s one more," Celestia picked up the second sheet, turning it to face Sombra "this is a document stating he’s officially declared you as his heir. It's been signed by a palace notary-"

"Wha-haa..." Sombra gave a funny laugh, shaking his head "very funny. Is this part of Luna’s little night-time vision jaunt?"

"It is no joke," Celestia frowned at the fact he seemed to be laughing. "I have created and signed many a declaration in my reign, Sombra, and I recognise a binding document. This is very real."

Sombra gave another funny snigger "well whatever it is, you don’t need to be concerned with it, do you? Its a thousand years old, its obsolete."

"Its is essentially a last declaration of the official ruler of the Empire. You can’t get much more serious than this." Celestia frowned "I cant understand why you’re finding this so amusing.."

"Because this is all just a joke, right?" Sombra gave a dismissive shrug "this empire HAS a prince and Princess. Why on Equestria would you do anything about THAT?" he jabbed a hoof at the document.

"Because at the time the Empire vanished, the King was still its rightful ruler. He created this document and had it sealed away so it would survive. He meant for this to be a reality."

The very idea made Sombra’s stomach churn uneasily.

Celestia could see he was shaken by the news. When he’d walked into the room, she’d gotten the impression he was already struggling to deal with what Luna had shown him. Her sister had shown up in the small hours, worried she’d hurt more then helped Sombra by showing him that memory.

He winced suddenly, one hoof pressed to his stomach. The unease was causing a backlash.

“Sombra?” Celestia stepped forward, concerned by how pale he’d turned.

The pain flexed again, and he felt about to be sick.

“I’ll go get the doctor-” Applejack began, but the door swung shut, the handle surrounded by a purple aura.

“There’s no need..” Sombra spoke through gritted teeth, as he fought to get it under control.

“Ya know, Applebloom once made herself sick with worry once over somethin’. She was cryin’ from a tummy pain an’ all. it’s the same with you aint it?”

“Have you been up all night worrying about that ornament in the box?” Rarity asked.

“I think I slept at some point. Luna and her knockout spells had something to do with it…” he seemed to be breathing a little easier.

“I think Applejack is right,” Celestia said “you’re making yourself feel sick because you’re forcing yourself to carry this. I do not believe the King meant it as a punishment, to make you feel guilty. That he went this far for you only makes this all the more vital. For your own sake, I intend to show this to Cadance and Shining Armor, and ask them to consider it.”

“What?! No, Princess, PLEASE!” Sombra said loudly “no good will come of this! I’m telling you NOW!”

“That’s where we differ. I think its just what you need to realize where your PLACE is.”

Sombra faltered, seeing the determination in her eyes.

“Its time to let it go, Sombra..” Celestia said, stepping up to him, her kind and gentle pink eyes meeting uncertain red ones.

Then she was out the door, leaving a stunned and confused Sombra behind.

Applejack was about to say something when Sombra hiccuped uneasily, and bolted out of there.

“Oh dear..” Rarity winced.

“He scared the ponies will riot or somethin’ if they hear about this?” Applejack wondered.

“It would seem that way, Applejack dear. What can we do?”

“Lets find him, then find Twi.” Applejack decided.

But despite checking the bathrooms on that floor they couldn’t locate him, so decided to get to Twilight Sparkle next!

When Rarity said she and Applejack had shocking news to tell, everypony else was curious. What could it be?

When Rarity finished explaining that it turned out Sombra was the kings heir, you could’ve heard a moth fart in the silence.

"Whaa....whaa...whoa!!" Pinkie Pie blurted at last.

"Did I hear that right?" Rainbow Dash asked "how-?"

“Luna traced an old memory belonging to the King. He’d buried the papers and whatnot in a box. He was hopin’ Sombra would someday snap outta his crazy and try and resume the life the King had meant for him." Applejack explained.

"Wow..." Twilight Sparkle was touched by the kings kindness "bet he’s pretty pleased, right?"

Seeing Rarity and applejacks "you’re kidding right?" expressions she winced "so, NOT happy?"

"He flipped out something chronic!" Rarity sighed "first he couldn’t stop laughing because he thought Celestia was pulling his leg about it, then he panicked!"

“He sure seemed pretty wigged out when she said she was takin’ the papers to yer brother and miss Cadance!" Applejack shook her head.

"I cant figure why he’s scared of everypony finding out?" Twilight Sparkle scrunched her nose as she tried to puzzle it out.

"I think he believes it'll cause nothin’ but chaos like before…” Applejack summed it up.

“Maybe he’s weirded out by how the Empire will react?" Rainbow Dash shrugged "I don’t think they’d be THAT adverse to it, but lets face it. It’s taken us THIS long to make him see he was putting himself through unnecessary stress!"

"How do you think your brother will react?" Fluttershy asked Twilight Sparkle.

"I don’t know.." she said "but I get the feeling, if he thinks it'll help, he'll do it."

While Sombra was trying to relax, Celestia found Cadance and shining armour. She told them what’d happened, and showed them the papers.

"So this means he’s the kingdoms heir, officially?" Shining Armor asked.

"Yes," Celestia nodded "its genuine as far as I can tell. But I will have the palace notary examine it."

"What has he said in response to this?" Cadance asked.

Celestia described the shock on his face when he’d found out. He’d had no idea. How he’d started feeling sick when she mentioned showing it to them.

“Why is he so afraid of this?” Cadance murmured.

“He last seen the King in that memory, when he honestly believed he was going to betray him. Now he suddenly finds out the guy was taking him away from his abusive life. He’s berating himself for getting it wrong..” Shining Armor said.

“He wasn’t to know…” Cadance shook her head “after everything we saw in those memories, for him to trust another pony that seemed to be keeping secrets was more then he could cope with. It was just a sad mistake. He misread the kings actions, assumed he was abandoning him…”

“Its up to YOU what you do,” Celestia said at last “but he already pointed out this Empire has the both of you. I do not think he believes he can accept it.”

“He’s put his life on the line for everypony here…” Cadance said as she looked at her husband “Even after that thing took the choker off, he still fought for US, for this place. Maybe this will give him what he needs. A sense of HOME, of safety.”

Shining Armor nodded in agreement “Exactly. He’s carried so much guilt and fear around since he was a foal. Even thought its no longer his domain, he’s still battled to save it, like Cadie said. I think he deserves a second chance at the life Cloudspark was planning for him. He’s changed enough to deserve it now, even if he wont let himself believe it!”

“Lets go talk to him..” Cadance smiled gently. Celestia watched them leave the room, smiling at how proud she was of the two of them.

They found Sombra in the library. A cup of tea sat to one side, the steam curling lazily up into the air.

“Sombra..” Shining Armor tapped the table with his hoof. Sombra jolted, apparently miles away.

“What? Sorry…I…wasn’t paying attention.”

“There’s something we need to talk to you about-” Cadance began, but Sombra shook his head, staring at the surface of the liquid in the cup as he spoke, making it float into the air in little blobs, forming them into patterns...

“I know what you’re going to say. And I wont have anything to do with it. Things have changed. The Empire is in safe hooves. That doesn’t need to be any different. DISPOSE of those documents. Please…”

“No.” Cadance said simply. Sombra blinked, the liquid splashing back into the cup.

“W-what?” he stammered, genuinely surprised.

“We’re not going to ignore it.” Shining Armor said “but let me ask you THIS: What would you say our JOB is?”

“Are you being daft?” Sombra asked “this is your Empire. You protect it, you make sure those ponies are safe and happy. What else is there?”

“That is what you have been doing these last weeks,” Cadance said “your efforts have kept the Empire in one piece. You saved the lives of countless ponies when you worked to get that tea to us all. You could have ignored it, run away, let us all be consumed. But you DIDN’T.”

Sombra didn’t know how to rebuke THAT.

“And you made one shy, bullied little filly feel like she’d found the best friend in the world.” Shining Armor added “from what Twily and the others have said, you stopped that kid from falling into the same sadness you did.”

Cadance stepped forward as Sombra returned to staring out the window "Cloudspark loved you enough to go to these lengths to make sure YOU someday heard his wish! He did everything he could to make sure Princes Luna would find it."

"Have YOU forgotten the lengths you went to, to save your kingdom from me last time? And you want to put it in danger again?"

"Will you stop talkin’ like that?" Applejacks voice cut in. Sombra froze. The six ponies came in behind the prince and Princess.

"What’re you talking about?" Sombra asked Applejack.

"That King could see it, he pretty much said it the first time you met "ya got a good heart under all that sulking! Whaddya know, he was right! So why d'ya keep talkin’ like yer incapable of causing nothing but trouble? The filly, the plague, that malarkey with those shadow ponies attacking Twi and company. None of THEM turned out bad! And lookee here who was at the centre of all of them? YOU."

"You’re not some unfeeling monster you know.." Rarity came over "You care more about everypony then you show. Let me ask you: Why did you help little Bright Spark back in the market that first time?"

Sombra was surprised by the question. "I didn’t think.." he muttered at last "I just seen her. She was scared, all that cheerfulness dropped right off her face when she heard them looking for her. I’d seen that look a million times in a broken mirror in that attic. Seeing it on her face, at her age was.."

“Was like seeing what happened to you all over again, right?" Rarity said sympathetically. A nod was her answer.

"One of the letters was from miss Petalbloom, here.." Twilight Sparkle closed her eyes, summoning the letter from the throne room where Cadance had shown it to her.

"Dear princesses,

I’m a teacher at crystal pre school. One of my students, Bright Spark, ahs become very attached to Sombra. I know he rarely ventures out of the palace, so I’m sending this to you so that hopefully he'll understand. Until he came here, I was starting to fear poor little Bright Spark would stop coming to school. She would miss as many days as she could, despite her mothers pleas. She was often crying. She’s such a sweet child, it broke my heart to see her upset all because of her speech impediment. Then I seen her befriending Sombra at that class picnic. I was stunned at first, that she’d managed to walk up to such a fierce, seemingly emotionless pony. But he said something that caught my attention: "You have a very bright student, she lives up to her name."

He’d seen it clear as day, as I had. I don’t think he even noticed the way she spoke. Later that same afternoon, i came across him not only protecting her from the bullies, but giving them a stern dressing down about how the way Bright Spark talked has no bearing on the kind of pony she is! I don’t know anything about how or where he grew up, but I got the impression he grew up in a bad time. I realize I misjudged him. The history books all recount him as being crazy and barbaric, but that description does NOT match the pony I’ve seen charging around the Empire beating the stuffing out of those shadow things. When she told the tale of his safeguarding her during the attack on the princesses, the whole CLASS was riveted.”

"Gah, she told the-" facehoof moment for Sombra.

Suppressing a smile, Twilight Sparkle continued;

"They were ALL asking Bright Spark about him. And you know what she said "dark magic is just a more purpley type of magic. I don’t think its scary. Sombra's isn’t, it was awesome!". That child has a talent for being able to see the things some of us cant.

I hope he will understand, and that I am grateful for how much he’s brought Bright Spark out of her shell.

Signed,

Miss Petalbloom."

"Aww.." Rarity beamed "that’s lovely~"

"That filly adores you," Fluttershy smiled "She’s seen your magic at its worst, and she couldn’t be less frightened."

Shining Armor plonked the ornate leg band on the table in front of Sombra "this doesn’t belong with anypony else. Its YOURS."

Sombra looked at the letter, sensing how happy Petalbloom was over sparks increased confidence. But Applejack seen the jarring look in his eyes when he glanced at the ornament. A look of guilt and unease. The subtle way he inclined his head away from it, staring at the letter again instead.

"The only one who aint seeing what ya can do is YOU sugarcube...." Applejack said at last "ya cant spend the rest of your time beatin’ yerself up. You’ve carried around enough guilt to last a lifetime. Let it go."

Sombra looked at the band, so many memories of seeing the King wearing it, its history filled his head. Then he noticed an odd marking had appeared on the jewels main facet.

"What’s that..?" he muttered. He focused his magic on it, trying to work out what-

There was a bright flash, and everypony had to shut their eyes for a moment. When they reopened them, their jaws dropped.

A ghostly illusion of the King was standing on the table. He spoke looking off into the distance, but the emotion in his eyes and voice was clear.

"Heh, knew you’d get there eventually. That’s right, i locked this message into the jewel with dark magic. I studied what little information was available, and found a trustworthy unicorn to help me make this in order to ensure you alone would understand how this spell worked to unlock it."

Sombra blinked, and got to his feet to examine the illusion closer.

"I understand your fear of your power. Dark magic is powerful stuff. But I know you have a great gift in being born with it. You can control it far better then you think, you just have to trust yourself a little more."

"Whoa.." Twilight Sparkle was staring in amazement, along with everypony else.

"If I know you, you’re probably trying to ignore everything I’m saying." he chuckled "I know you’re reluctant to trust anypony, even me, deep down. But I’m not giving up on you. I’m sorry about how Scrollwork acted those last days. He was angry that I had gone to all lengths to adopt you. I personally think he fancied the job himself. I did not trust him with the declaration of succession. So I kept it hidden in my wife’s jewelry box. I knew he’d find all manner of ways to take it for himself. That business about the council job was just a ruse to distract him while I sorted out the REAL place I had for you; as part of my family."

Sombra was starting to feel sick again, it was all too much crazy...

"I realise I should have informed you about what was going on, but i naively wanted it to be a surprise for your birthday next month! I underestimated the damage those monstrous parents of yours had already done to you. I should have seen how frightened you were of being betrayed, and been more straight with you. I’m sorry Sombra, this wasn’t how I meant things to happen. If you’re seeing this, then you found the box I left for you. That band was a part of my life I shall always treasure, as are you. So it’s only right the two be reunited. Stop tearing yourself apart because of what your parents guilted you into feeling. I always knew you’d find a way out of that madness you trapped yourself in that day. I don’t know if we’ll ever meet again, but I can tell you now that the story of somepony who’s fought this much does not end so suddenly. Please, enjoy your life wherever you choose to spend it. And for pity’s sake stop sulking child!"

Sombra made a funny, almost amused sound.

The image vanished in another flash of light, and the room was left to squint and blink the dazzle dots from their eyes.

"Whoo....trippy!" Pinkie Pie cooed, watching the floaty lights in the corners of her eyes "almost got one!"

Applejack shook her head at Pinkie Pie.

Sombra didn’t seem aware they were in the room anymore. He stared intently at the leg band, looking so innocent sitting there atop the table. His heart in his throat he tapped it with one hoof, hoping to replay the message. Instead, it flashed briefly, then turned into a glowing bar of light, which shot out, darted this way and that around Sombra, then just as abruptly, wrapped itself around his left foreleg. In the place the King had worn it.

"Whoa!" Sombra shot back, trying to dislodge it, but to no success. Once it’d settled, the glow faded.

"Ooh!" Pinkie Pie cheered, peering at it "I think it likes you!"

"What’s with this THING?!" Sombra blurted "what the hay did he DO to it?"

"Is it stuck?" Rainbow Dash asked. Sombra calmed down, and after a second, discovered a latch had now appeared on the back of the ornament. He unclipped it, setting it back on the table.

"I can’t tell how the hay he got that spell on there..."

"It was probably a single use spell," Twilight Sparkle said "designed to adjust the thing the once, then go away."

"Great, what will it do for an encore?" Sombra asked weakly "explode?!"

"I doubt it," Twilight Sparkle chuckled "he was just making sure it got to the right pony."

Sombra groaned softly, his stomach was churning again. Oh boy, this wasn’t good.

"Your tummy sounds upset.." Pinkie Pie was beside him, one ear pressed to his side.

"That.." he said in an oddly steady voice "would be because I’m about to throw up. Pardon me."

And with that, he vanished so quickly Pinkie Pie fell over onto the carpet.

"Oof!" She squeaked.

"I think we really messed his head up..." Rainbow Dash said at last.

"Its not an easy thing to overcome," Shining Armor said at last "Ill go talk to him.." he picked up the leg band and left the room.

He spotted Sombra as he staggered out of the nearest bathroom.

"You OK?" he asked. Sombra nodded weakly.

"He wouldn’t give up," he said, his voice croaky and strained "in the vision Luna showed me, he wouldn’t stop saying all those things!!"

“What things?" Shining Armor asked, walking closer. Sombra paced about the corridor, stopping to look out the window.

"That he didn’t blame me for any of it, that he was sorry. What the hay was HE apologizing for? He never...did anything.." he trailed off.

"He regretted not telling you sooner that he was adopting you. He didn’t blame you because you hadn’t done anything wrong. You’d just had as much as you could take and finally snapped. Yes, what followed, that whole "lost your marbles" phase, WAS a mistake. But if you ask the ponies now, I think they’d say its been repaid."

Sombra shook his head, but Shining Armor wouldn’t let it go.

"Like Applejack said, you’ve saved them so many times. You saved my sister and my wife, when those things attacked. For that alone I’M very grateful to you. You helped cure that plague, saved that little filly, the list is getting bigger and bigger!"

"I cannot expect an Empire I nearly destroyed to ever accept this whole business," he said, a funny laugh lining his voice "what’s that phrase, "insult to injury"?"

"If you wont trust your own judgement, then why not trust OURS?" Shining Armor suggested "We’re your friends, remember? You’re stuck with us man! Like I said at the intervention convention at breakfast, you’ve got YEARS to catch up on. You DID skip most your childhood and move ahead to an adult. You’ve got a few things to learn. And I have to point out you seem largely oblivious to how the ponies out there REALLY feel."

"Doubt it," Sombra said shortly.

"No, trust me, you’re missing big chunk of the whole story. Celestia showed Cadance an i all the letters that arrived after the plague and more recently. They all ask one basic thing: Why wont you leave the palace and come see them? The only times they see you, you’re charging around like a rabbit on roller-skates, beating the daylights out of the shadow creatures. Even then you seem to vanish before they can thank you properly!"

Sombra didn’t say anything, just shifted awkwardly on his hooves.

Shining Armor decided to try one last tactic "you know most the letters also mention they don’t even recognize you anymore! Have you fully taken it in? They don’t think you’re the same. They’re curious about who you REALLY are, now your not acting all crazy."

"Why..?" Sombra murmured "how can anypony be so trusting?"

"Because that’s who they are. YOU didn’t have the same luck growing up, all your family and townsfolk taught you was being born different meant you didn’t deserve to be treated humanely. They’re wrong. THAT whole business was WRONG. It scarred you badly enough that this all happened. Does that REALLY seem right to you? That ANYPONY should end up feeling that way?"

"Well...no-"

“Exactly!" Shining Armor said calmly "You got to STOP listening to what they literally BEAT into you. That mare, Crystal Flake, and the King, were the only ones who did anything right by you. But to your mind, THEY were the odd ones out. Those barbaric parents and elders pretty much trained you to despise your own power, your own LIFE. Living up to the little they thought of you must’ve been easier then fighting, right?"

"Begging and pleading got me nowhere..." Sombra muttered "I eventually figured I had to have done something wrong, that at some basic level I was WRONG. But Nopony would tell me how to fix it."

"That’s where the mistake happened. You assumed YOU'D done something wrong back then. But it wasn’t you, it was THEM. You got to stop assuming the ponies here don’t trust you. I can tell you now they won’t react how YOU’RE thinking!"

Sombra gave an amused snort of laughter, yet the sound was tinged with equal levels of sadness and relief.

“Listen to your friends, give it a chance. You’re not alone anymore remember?” Shining Armor said, seeing he may have just swayed Sombra’s opinion. He could see from the taller pony’s expression that he was torn between fear and a desire to follow his fathers wish.

“You’re being swamped by a whole lot of suppressed memories and emotions. Nopony can think easily with all THAT happening. But don’t forget, WE seen your memories too, and Cadance and I think you don’t just deserve this chance, you NEED it. We would be very pleased if you’d join us, help this Empire work.”

”If you really believe this…” Sombra seemed to find it hard to select the right words “then…I guess I’ll take the risk..”

“Good.” Shining Armor said bluntly.

“But let me say THIS:” Sombra added “this is YOUR home now, not mine. I have no plans to interfere with what you’ve created.”

“Eh, we can work on that later…” Shining Armor said causally “you’ve dealt with enough today. Oh, one other thing-" in a flash, he made the leg band appear back around Sombra’s foreleg, where it fitted like a glove. "there!"

"I suppose we’d better inform the others.." Sombra sighed.

Shining Armor suddenly grinned, looking suspect as heck.

Sombra twitched.

"They’re behind me aren’t they?"

A nod.

"They’ve been there the whole dang time."

Another nod, a muffled laugh.

"Cotton candy’s plotting something?"

Nod nod.

"And just to totally round this up, Celestia’s there as well."

"Wow, he’s good!" Pinkie Pie couldn’t keep quiet any longer.

"Are we SURE this thing doesn’t explode?!" Sombra said, actually trying to gnaw at the leg band, then giving up as Celestia appeared to one side.

"Please refrain form blowing up if you can, Sombra.." she chuckled "it wont do for you to explode before this news is announced to the kingdom!"

"Announced to the-I forgot about that," Sombra said in a funny tone "how did I forget THAT?!"

"Because your brains a bit scrambled?" Rainbow Dash offered.

"What she said." Sombra finished.

He wobbled on his feet suddenly, and Celestia and Shining Armor both moved quickly to help him stand.

"Are you feeling sick again?" Shining Armor asked.

"No...just...really tired..." Sombra groaned "I need to go to bed...."

He slept most of that evening, then again at night-time. But he woke a few hours past midnight. Unable to sleep he took himself up to the very top of the palace tower.

He snuck as quietly as he could out onto the tower. He’d once kept the crystal heart here, with booby traps surrounding it.

He realized a few seconds later he wasn’t the only one there.

"Oh, Sombra!" It was Luna, sat at one of the windows, watching the stars.

"Princess.." he said quietly "I didn’t intend to disturb you. I’ll leave you be-"

"Sit.." she said absently, tapping the floor next to her.

With a shrug he wandered over and sat down, looking out at the sky. She did a slight double take when she realized he’d discarded his usual armor. It suited him.

"Sister told me of your decision," Luna smiled faintly, indicating the band around Sombra’s leg. he looked down at it.

"I just hope.." he didn’t know how to finish that sentence.

"You will be fine," Luna said calmly "they have come to realize there is much more to you then just an entry in a history book."

Glancing at him she seen the shadows of worry that’d been hiding in his heart since shed shown him that vision.

"It was not my intention to cause you so much heartache," Luna said after a pause "I heard how much pain it caused you.."

"You heard me..?" he asked dully, too tired to feel embarrassed. She nodded, looking sympathetic;

Sombra just looked at the night sky "what have I agreed to...?" he murmured.

"Your fathers wish." Luna said without hesitation. "You are not alone in how you feel. After I was given a second chance by the elements of harmony, restored to my normal self, I too felt the way YOU do. I was ashamed of how I’d turned on my sister out of jealousy, how i threatened my subjects with eternal night. I seen how they were afraid of me at first..."

She told him the story of the nightmare night celebration. How Twilight Sparkle had showed her people loved her for being the fearsome Princess of the legend. How she just had to relax and accept ponies liked to be scared sometimes, that deep down they cared as much for her as for her sister. Nightmare night WAS her night. Everypony stayed up late, so they got to see her!

"I was scared, sad, and angry at myself for how i acted. But I realized i couldn’t just sit around waiting for them to come to me, I had to go to THEM. Go outside, speak with the ponies here. You might be surprised what you learn."

"I see what you mean.." Sombra sighed.

"And most importantly, don’t be so harsh on yourself," Luna added’ "You’ve made up for your actions in the past, I believe it. Many ponies would have lost their lives to that creature had you not fought it time and again, not to mention stopping that plague. Did Cadance show you the letter from little sparks teacher?"

Sombra nodded.

"That little child has become so happy and kind, all thanks to you. She adores you. Even though she’s seen everything you’ve done and can do, she couldn’t give a fig."

"She reminds me so much of Crystal Flake," Sombra said at last "she always spoke kindly to me, even when everypony else in that village despised me. She was the only one I cared about..."

"And now you have little Bright Spark," Luna smiled at her memory of meeting the little filly "she’s certainly very gifted. And she cares very deeply for her precious "Sombwa"."

Sombra smiled "she even makes darkness sound cute," he said proudly. Then something else seemed to occur to him, because he startled chuckling a second later.

"What is it?" Luna asked, poking his side "what’s so funny?"

"Heh...Woona!" he chuckled, recalling how Bright Spark had pronounced her name.

"Enough of that!" she said mock-angrily.

But he couldn’t stop laughing.

"Stifle thyself "Sombwa"" she chided.

"You first "Pwincess Woona!"" he shot back.

They attempted to have a stare-down for a few seconds, then Luna sniggered and they both started laughing. Proper belly laughs from nowhere. After the sadness of the vision, and Sombra’s subsequent discovery of his adoption, having a laugh felt good.

Then a funny blue glow lit the tower.

"What in-?!" Sombra realized it was the choker and tensed up, expecting a wave of pain like the other times. But all he felt was mildly dizzy. Luna used one wing to help prop him up until it cleared.

"What happened?" he mumbled.

"It seems thou has demonstrated another of the elements abilities.." Luna said, recalling the other incident "no doubt miss pie is somewhere about, raiding the fridge..."

"Cotton candy’s element?"

“Laughter," she said with a small smile "you finally laughed properly, for yourself and somepony else..”

"But the pain from before..." Sombra shook his head "I don’t understand.."

“Before, you were actively resisting the elements influence on your heart. Now, it seems you have come to accept them. So why would it hurt you so?"

"This is all totally crazy.." Sombra shook his head and sighed, but he looked better. Like the load had been lifted somewhat.

But the next second he gasped sharply as a lancing pain dove through his head. He hunched over, the headache excruciating in intensity.

"What’s wrong?" Luna asked, all merriment vanishing "Sombra?!"

"Agh....there’s something nearby...o-one of those creatures..." he snarled angrily and got to his feet "the perception of them, it’s hurting worse now. I have to find that thing!"

"NO..." Luna said, getting up "WE have to find it! I have been unable to do much to assist everypony so far. Now, it is time for me to do my bit!"

Sombra looked over at her, then nodded. "Then let us go!"

Luna teleported them out onto the empty streets of the Empire.

"Which way..?" she frowned.

"Give me a moment.." Sombra shut his eyes, honing in on the source-

"Follow me!" he called, taking off down the main street. Luna followed after him.

The mare screamed as she tried to keep the window shut on the blobby black mass outside. But it was strong, she couldn’t hold on-

At the back of the room her twin fillies huddled together, wide eyes fixed on their mother.

Just as she was about to give up, her strength drained, the thing was pulled sharply back from the window, uttering an angry scream.

She looked through the glass and seen-

Sombra. And Princess Luna! The Alicorn and unicorn stood in the glow of the streetlamp, both their magic auras flaring brightly. The creature was picking itself up from the ground several meters away where they’d thrown it.

"What do we do?" Luna asked, her gaze fixed on the creature.

"Stun it!" Sombra said, pulling free the ever present spear "i need to crack the core!"

Luna nodded. She’d seen the dreams and memories of Sombra’s work in fighting these things. He could see the core, so she would leave THAT part to him.

"Over here, whelp!" She bellowed, her Equestrian voice making the creature hiss in discomfort.

It shot towards her, and she summoned a big ball of glowing blue power. It ducked aside as she feinted throwing it dead on. Then realized its mistake as she crouched down too, and fired.

The blast sent it rocketing up into the sky, then smashing into the ground.

It geared up to launch itself at her, but something was stopping it from moving-

Twisting round, it seen a familiar spear was pinning its tail to the ground.

While it added up what was going on, Sombra reappeared beside Luna.

"Fire where I do," he told her. She nodded.

It swung round to hiss at them, and tried to reform its body to get free. but it was too late-

Dual bolts of magic, one after the other, struck its core. The explosion ripped up part of the pavement, but the thing was gone!

"Huzzah!" Luna declared "we win!"

"Indeed," Sombra smiled faintly "nicely done, Princess."

Luna looked pleased at finally being able to help defend the Empire a little more. The ponies awoken by the attack were all cheering and clapping their hooves. The mare and her children came out from their house to thank the two ponies directly.

"Its was our pleasure!" Luna declared. Sombra just smiled. They returned to the castle, and reported the attack to one of the night guard. Sombra was starting to feel sleepy, so he decided to return to bed.

But not before thanking Luna for what she’d said. He had some thinking to do..

The next morning, he woke early, with a thought running through his head. Luna had seemed pleased to be able to help, but she could get hurt if she didn’t have a way to see the core.

So he went to Twilight Sparkle and asked her for a pair of the goggles, saying he had a theory to test. She was more then happy to give him a pair. She was just relieved to see he didn’t seem to be in the funny shocked state he’d been in the last day.

Back in his room, Sombra spent a while working on a seemingly, yet oddly complicated spell. At last, he tried out the finished result on the goggles.

The puff of smoke the spell had generated cleared, and he sighed in relief. It’d worked.

In front of him the goggles bore a new design. Dark blue with a silver trim, he’d changed the colour to match Luna’s. He changed the shape a little too, so they’d fit properly.

He teleported up to the tower and left them there, in a little box. This done, he decided to get round to doing what she’d advised the previous night. Go out. He left a note with Flash Sentry, should anypony wonder where he’d vanished off too, then left.

The market was setting up as he set off. He wasn’t wearing his old armor that day either. Somehow, he got the feeling he’d never wear it again. It no longer felt necessary!

Lots of ponies trotting back and forth carrying various things, chattering animatedly. It was busier then he’d seen before-

Out of curiosity, he asked a passing stallion and his mare friend, was something special happening?

They told him it was special festival held every year, in which everypony took a day off to celebrate their empires good fortune.

"There’s festivals and parties all over town, the whole Empire likes to get involved!" the mare smiled.

Something occurred to Sombra, "Does...that include the pre school?"

“Yes, they have a special Foals and Fillies day, why do you ask?"

“Because I’m running late! I promised a certain somepony I’d go see her. Thank you for your assistance!" with a farewell he took off at a gallop, heading for the school. He’d almost forgotten-!

"Bright Spark?" a voice echoed in the hall. The little filly looked round from where she and her mommy were helping decorate the stall. There was a small crowd of them there, basically everypony running a stall and their kids!

She seen her class teacher, miss Petalbloom, and somepony else beside her.

"You have a visitor!" Petalbloom beamed.

"SOMBWA!" She all but bellowed, zooming off at such speed she looked like a little blur.

"Hello, little one!" Sombra chuckled, crouching down so he could greet her properly. She affectionately rubbed her cheek against his, like she’d done before.

"You came, I knew you would!" she beamed.

"I promised, didn’t I?" he smiled gently.

The other kids and parents shared murmurs of curiosity as Sombra walked over to Spark's stall. Shining Sea greeted him happily, seeing how happy little Bright Spark was to have her friend with her.

Sombra didn’t realize that, back at the palace, Cadance was looking for him.

She was about to give the speech revealing Sombra’s inheritance, but the stallion was nowhere to be found!

"Any luck?" Shining Armor asked, Cadance shook her head. "I cant find him anywhere!"

"Are you looking for Sombra your highnesses?" Flash asked. "He’s not here."

"He’s not? Where’d he go?" Shining Armor asked. Flash consulted the note Sombra had left "he said he was "going out on somepony’s advice, he’ll be back later".

"Wow, like that’s not cryptic or anything.." Shining Armor shook his head. Cadance smiled.

"Sounds like he’s finally warming up a little."

"Should I go look for him?" Flash asked. Cadance shook her head.

"Lets leave him to his own tasks, we can carry on as planned!"

So while Sombra was helping Bright Spark, and being bombarded with questions by curious children, the ponies in the main square were awaiting their princesses announcement.

"Citizens of the Crystal Empire!" Cadance smiled lovingly. "We have some very unusual news to present to you!"

With a flourish, she made giant copies of the two documents that’d been painstakingly verified the night before by the palace historian and notary.

"We have been discovering more and more about the Empire from Sombra’s past, and of Sombra himself. He came here as a young colt, and was given a home by a Pegasus called King Cloudspark. He recognized that a pony born with dark magic was something to be explored, not feared, and sought to correct the damage the nightmare that was Sombra’s childhood had caused.“

She paused a moment, recalling the memories she and the others had traversed, “but sadly, it was too late to correct a short lifetimes worth of fear and abuse. Magic left untrained for so long cannot be easily controlled, and can have devastating consequences if unleashed."

The crowd shared curious and sympathetic murmurs. Was this why Sombra had turned so crazy?

Cadance continued, "King Cloudspark hoped that this was just a temporary phase, that the pony he had adopted would come back. From these documents we have deduced that he had intended for this to be a surprise on Sombra’s birthday. That he finally had a proper home, he didn’t have to keep running from his old life.”

“In the hopes of making sure they were found again even if it was long after he himself had gone, he put a special spell on it, to draw the object and its memory to Princess Luna’s attention. When she traversed Sombra’s dreams to better understand the shadow creatures attacks, the connection was set in motion. It has led to this: the discovery of these official papers, detailing that King Cloudspark adopted Sombra not only as his child, but as his HIER."

You could’ve heard that proverbial moth fart again.

"WHOA." Somepony said, and from that, excited babble broke out. Did this mean Sombra was the kingdoms official ruler? Was he now PRINCE Sombra?

Once they’d calmed them down, Shining Armor and Cadance resumed their announcement.

"He was, understandably pretty shocked by it," Shining Armor spoke "initially he was adamant we disregard the documents, dispose of them."

"Why?" Somepony piped up.

"He did not feel there was any need for him to become involved. He said, “This is YOUR world now, not mine."“

More confused murmurs. Sombra had refused to acknowledge the documents? Instead insisting he not become involved. They were surprised. Sombra was acting SO different from the monster they remembered from the past. He’d been shifting little by little towards being a stalwart friend of the Empire ever since his arrival.

"So, how he was before, did his magic do that?" somepony asked. Cadance and Shining Armor exchanged looks, deciding the populace needed to know a little of Sombra’s story;

"There is an ancient prophecy," Cadance began "that outlines the arrival of a pony born with a new power on the night a comet fell. A dark magic that could exist alongside light. It mentioned that despite ebbing given freedom, that pony would not flee. I believe this indicates the return of Sombra’s magic, but that he hasn’t changed his efforts in fighting those creatures."

Shining Armor spoke next, "A thousand years ago, ponies were incredibly superstitious. A child born with dark magic was pretty much the worst thing to ever happen in their view. By the time he came here, he'd already learnt some very bad lessons about how to treat somepony. An honest mistake led to him believing Cloudspark was going to turn on him too, and that’s when he lost control. the darkness was let loose, and it pretty much drove him insane, which was when you would have seen him..."

"With his arrival back here, his magic was locked down. Without it to influence him from the get go, we believe this enabled his shattered mind to heal. To help him see the mistakes he’d made, and to see the world how it really is." Cadance said. "We misjudged him too. That day, the attack on the palace, we seen him summon that spell and assumed he was acting like his old self. But we were wrong. he turned those creatures to crystal and saved our lives. He was willing to fix the chokers seal and lose his magic again, rather then risk hurting anypony. It was this that made the decision for us. Its not fully resorted yet, but his magic HAS been returned to him."

"So I have seen!" The historian pony who’d reacted to hearing Sombra’s explanation about his power that day spoke up now, "in all my years of research I’ve never seen dark magic handled with such fluidity, such instinctive ease! When he said he was born with it, I was surprised!"

"So far as we know, he is the ONLY such occurrence," Cadance nodded "a once in a lifetime occurrence. he has far more control over it then anypony Equestria has ever seen!"

"So, he’s refusing the crown then?" The historian asked.

Shining Armor chuckled and shook his head "At first, he was insistent it would be an insult to the Empire if we even considered it. But, after lengthy discussion, and Princess Twilight Sparkle showing him the letters you have been sending, we persuaded him to listen to us. This was his adoptive father. The desire to do something right by the former King who’d taken him in won out over his own fears. As of yesterday, he has trusted us in accepting his title. That his first concern was making sure this Empire did not come to harm shows an admirable change in character. He HAS however, still insisted that WE stay in charge. one thing at a time..."

Sounds of admiration and curiosity ran through the crowd.

"Does this mean he'll actually leave the palace once in awhile?" One colt asked.

"I think so," Cadance chuckled. "We actually couldn’t find him to be present now, as he’d left the palace to go see somepony!"

The crowd couldn’t help a laugh at the irony-

There was a whip crack sound, and a blaze of purple flame off to one side-

And to their surprise, Sombra appeared in a flash of flame!

Things had been going well at the school. Almost everything was ready, and Sombra had been given a tour of Bright Spark’s classroom.

They were all helping clear away the mess caused by the preparations, when there was a massive ka-boom sound. Sombra tensed instinctively, throwing a shield up just in front of the nearby wall.

It was just as well he did, as the thing that came barreling through would’ve hit some of the teachers. As it was, it rebounded of the shield, giving them all time to run away.

But on reaching the auditorium doors, another creature was there, licking its chops and cackling. The children’s screams rang out as they ran back to the canter of the room.

Getting an idea, Sombra hurriedly rounded them and the staff, parents and carers up. The creatures dove for the small gathering, but smashed face first into the semi transparent shield Sombra generated.

The kids cried out in fright at the sight of the shadow creatures gnashing teeth. Sombra glared out at them. he couldn’t just sit here, he had to fetch help-

The kids, and Bright Spark of course, made concerned noises when Sombra abruptly dove out of the shield, the magical barrier reforming after him.

"Sombra?!" Shining Sea called.

"I’m going to fetch the guard!” Sombra said "don’t worry, you’ll be safe in there!"

All the creatures snarled and hissed, and one dove with astonishing speed as Sombra stepped out from the shield. It attacked as he was looking at Shining Sea, and he found himself tackled to the floor, its snapping jaws inches from his face.

"Get...off!" he snarled. He closed his eyes, but most of his magic was being focused on maintaining that extra strength shield. the rest was still held back by the choker.

--Please...just a little more..!!-- he pleaded, desperately wanting the spell to just-

He felt a strange tingling sensation round his neck. Opening his eyes he seen the creature was staring at the choker around Sombra’s neck in bewilderment. It was GLOWING. The light grew to an almost blinding intensity, then-SNAP. He heard that familiar sound from before...

The group within the shield stared as Sombra’s entire body was wrapped in the blue glow, then it pulsed outwards in a shock wave. This threw the creature off him, and did something else besides. The air filled with small sparks of blue light. The shadow creatures looked like they were wading in treacle as they fought to move. This was his only chance, he had to go fetch help!

He closed his eyes, trying to think. Then he recalled Shining Armor re-attaching the ornate band to his leg. There would be traces of magic still there. He channelled the power of his magic into finding Shining Armor.

With a flash of fire, the teleport spell kicked in. It was more ambitious then anything he’d tried in many a year, he just hoped it worked!

He hard the air crackle as he was displaced, then arrived somewhere else.

Shining Armor and Cadance, not to mention everypony else, stared in surprise as Sombra appeared on the stage. He opened his eyes and found the prince and princes staring in total surprise at him. Then he realized the mess he must resemble. The crowd started chattering as they seen the look on his face.

"Sombra?" Shining Armor looked at him "what happened?"

"There’s a whole crowd of those things attacking the school!" Sombra blurted "you need to send more of the guard, NOW!"

"Right!" Shining Armor yelled at the guards standing behind the stage, ordering them to gather a squad and move their butts.

"I’ve got a shield protecting the ponies there but-" he flinched suddenly "hurry, PLEASE!"

Then he was gone again.

While Shining Armor and his squad raced off towards the school, Cadance returned to the mic.

"Don’t worry everypony, they will not let those things harm anypony!"

She hoped Shining Armor made it in time.

With him being further away, Sombra could feel the drain on the shield all the more keenly. He reappeared in the school hall, seeing the creatures gnashing and kicking at the shield.

"You want a fight you wretched cowards!" he bellowed. They turned back to face him, seeming surprised to see him return.

"So he came back?" One jeered to the occupants of the shield, " how fortunate for you!" but their mocking laughs indicated they didn’t believe it.

"Shut your traps!" Sombra snarled.

"Here to play hero and have them actually care about you?" One jeered.

"No. I’m here to get rid of YOU and keep THEM safe. There’s a difference!" Sombra spat back.

He closed his eyes, feeling the surge of his magic. He opened his eyes, the green glow highlighting the garnet red of his eyes.

He stamped a hoof into the floor, a line of razor sharp crystal spikes bursting up from the wooden surface in a direct line. They ripped through a rank of the creatures, spearing the cores of some, impaling others. He freed the old spear from its carry pouch, whirling it round and stabbing it into the closest one. By the time the core exploded, he was already moving towards the next one.

In no time he was positioned in front of the barrier.

Another blast of magic and a circular ring of spikes burst up from the floor, surrounding the shield. Those trying to attack it were swiftly caught. They bit and scratched as Sombra maneuvered the spear with an uncanny speed, slicing, stabbing and jabbing. One managed to carve a painful cut down Sombra’s cheek as the unicorn slung the spear into its core.

A scream from behind him told Sombra they were climbing over the spikes. One was pressing its hideous face up against the shield, leering at the scared kiddies.

"Buck off!" Sombra snarled, charging it at sending in smacking into the crystal spikes. The kids cheered, both because he’d got rid of the thing, and because they’d heard a swear!

More and more were swarming in. Sombra erected a fresh set of crystal spikes, but those inside the shield could see he was tiring a little.

"His magic’s amazing.." one teacher whispered.

"Told you so!" Bright Spark said "but I don’t fink he has enough to keep fighting..."

"She’s right, this shield must be draining a large portion of it..." Shining Sea watched another creature slam into Sombra from the side, driving him to the floor. Sombra kicked it off him with one powerful blow, but he was slower in getting to his feet. Then he seen something through the broken part of one of the crystals.

"Still want to play the hero little pony?" the one at the front jeered as it slithered over the top of the highest spike.

"I’m not here to play the hero..." Sombra said, "however..."

There was a whole volley of magical fire streaking towards the shadow ponies.

"I think THEY are!" Sombra grinned.

The unicorn guards' magic hit core after core, thanks to their new magical goggles allowing them to see the creatures' vulnerable cores.

Shining Armor appeared beside Sombra.

"Here comes the cavalry!" he grinned. Sombra heaved a sigh of relief.

"Excellent timing your highness..."

"How do we stop so many..?" Shining Armor asked.

"Give me a moment. I need to find the manipulator behind all these. Its the same as before..."

Sombra closed his eyes. He didn’t have enough power to re-enact that same spell form before. but he had something similar.

His whole body glowed again, this time a soft purple aura. It grew very bright, then pulsed out from his body in a swift wave.

"He mimicked the spell.." Shining Sea noted from inside the shield. "Incredible!"

The wave passed through the whole room, seeking, searching-

Sombra’s eyes snapped open, and a grin flickered over his face. He vanished in a flare of flame, re-appearing balanced on the metal girders criss-crossing the ceiling, usually used to hanging stage props and banners from. To everypony’s surprise he took a dive off the metal beam, zooming towards the floor.

Mid-way he twisted round to slow his fall. A crystal spire erupted from the floor, and he landed on it with ease. One of the creatures had been flying towards the shield from a height, but now its trajectory put it squarely in Sombra’s path. He pivoted on the crystal, kicking out with his back hooves in a display of precision and strength that would’ve made Applejack cheer. his aim was spot-on. the core cracked as his hooves struck it, and the creature was flung backwards. When it exploded, it was a safe distance away from Sombra, who watched in relief as the other shadow clones self destructed without their source of power there.

A quick spell from Shining Armor blasted the dust and debris away, and they seen all the things were gone!

Everypony cheered, and a second later the shield dropped and the kids parents and teachers were free.

Sombra jumped down from the crystal spike, making it vanish along with the others as he walked over.

"SOMBWA!" Bright Spark shot over and glomp-hugged him with her usual level of adoration!

"You alright everypony?" Sombra asked, patting Bright Spark’s head.

"We're fine!" Petalbloom assured him.

"That those things would target children.." Sombra looked furious.

"Tell me about it," Shining Armor agreed "pathetic and cowardly!"

"I’m just glad everypony is safe.." Sombra sighed.

"But the festival.." one kid sniffled, only now seeing the damage the battle had wrought.

Bright Spark sniffled sadly as she seen the mess. Sombra’s heart twisted. He hated to see her cry..

"Everything’s destroyed, we'll never get this fixed in time.." one teacher said. On hearing this many of the kids burst into tears.

"No." Sombra’s voice cut into their sadness. He walked over, Bright Spark at his side "it doesn’t have to be! I’m sure we can do something!"

"But we need to rebuild the stalls, and the shop is halfway across town! It’ll take forever to lug all the loads back and forth!" one teacher pointed out.

Sombra thought about it.

"Lets face it, brute strength is a speciality of mine. You leave that part to ME."

“We’ll get started cleaning!" Shining Armor backed him up. He turned to the guards "Can you guys go fetch my sister and her friends?"

“Yessir!" two of them nodded and raced away. The other Shining Armor told to follow him and grab a broom!

Sombra got the address of the lumber yard, and raced away. Shining Armor told him not to worry about cost, just tell them the palace would handle it!

The owner of the lumber yard was startled out of his doze by the sound of thundering hoof steps. He and his assistant ran out in time to see Sombra skid to a halt in the yard.

"What’s-?" he began, but Sombra spoke up.

"The school was attacked by those creatures. The auditoriums been trashed. I need to get a duplicate of the order they placed with you before! Its urgent..."

"Wait..what…?" the owner shook his head "what’re you doin' charging in here and talking crazy! Who’s under attack now?"

"The school. Those creatures attacked it. Destroyed the kids hard work. They’re very upset, as you can understand. Were going to rebuild it all. It’s Prince Shining Armor's orders!" Sombra told him.

"His highness, of course..!" The pony said, not realizing this scary unicorn was here on royal business. "I’ll do what I can!"

"But I don’t know how you’re going to get it all over there, its a massive load." the assistant piped up.

"You let me worry about that," Sombra said bluntly. He spotted a transport cart off to one side "in fact, that’ll do perfectly!"

Sombra followed the manager, and with his instruction, was able to help gather and tie the wooden planks together into bundles and load them onto the cart. The Pegasus pony was gobsmacked by how much Sombra could carry. Even MORE surprised when Sombra insisted they hitch the cart to HIM.

"This is crazy. Sure you're built like a linebacker sonny, but even you.." he trailed off as Sombra stepped forward, showing little strain as he pulled the cart behind him.

"Buck me.." the assistant whispered, then got told off for his language.

"Thank you," Sombra said, the relief evident in his words. "Your efforts will help save those kids day!"

The manager gave a pleased chuckle. He hadn’t seen much of Sombra since his arrival there, just the odd glimpse of him here and there, usually escorted by the Princess Twilight Sparkle and friends, or shadowed by the guards. He’d heard rumors Sombra never left the palace unless he had to, so to have him come barreling into his shop like that had been quite a surprise. He only now noticed it, but there was a cut on Sombra’s cheek, the blood masked partially by his flowy mane. On an afterthought, he grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and gave this to Sombra, saying he’d probably need it by the time he got halfway there!

Then Sombra was off, feeling every muscle in his body being put to the test as he picked up speed, racing through the streets hauling the massive load behind him. The few ponies that were wandering the residential area seen a Sombra-themed BLUR whoosh past, in accompaniment to a massive cart piled high with wooden planks!

"What is that stallion up to?" One mare asked.

"Shenanigans?" her husband suggested "woodwork project?"

By the time Sombra was on the home stretch, almost at the school, Twilight Sparkle and co had arrived. Pinkie Pie was bearing a huge tray of cakes strapped to her back.

They were shocked when they seen the mess, but relieved to hear nopony had been hurt.

"What can we do?" Twilight Sparkle said earnestly.

"Well, we’ve cleared up the worst of the debris," Shining Armor told his sister "but there’s still more mess. But, Sombra should be here soon wi-" they looked up at the sound of thundering hoof beats. A second later Sombra skidded into view, slowing to a stop.

"With an absolute butt load of wooden planks! Great timing!" Shining Armor called to Sombra. The stallion gave an exhausted smile as he unhitched himself from the cart. He retrieved the cold bottle of water the owner had thoughtfully given him and emptied it in seconds flat!

"Whoa. You pulled all THAT, by yourself!" Applejack asked. He nodded.

"Hoooee, that’s impressive, nice work!" the earth pony nodded her approval.

"Lets get started!" Rainbow Dash zoomed over, and she and Fluttershy took the first set of planks, hauling them to the centre of the hall. Once he’d gotten his breath back Sombra joined them!

The kids clustered round him like magnets to a fridge, led by chief magnet Bright Spark!

He was rewarded with another happy hug, and couldn’t help but smile.

Between himself, the guards and everypony else, they soon had the floor swept clean, and were starting on rebuilding the stalls. Sombra studied the diagram for setting up the stall. Then he levitated all the pieces, arranging them into the stall shape, the holding it there whilst somepony else drove the nails in. Seeing this method, Twilight Sparkle mimicked it, her brother too! Rarity plunged into the decorating, sorting out what materials she had that could be used on the stalls! When shed heard what’d happened, she'd taken as much supplies as she could from her stock, for the festival had to look fabulous!

Pinkie Pie was in charge of the balloons, naturally!

Sombra worked as fast as he could, zooming from one pony that needed help, to the next and the next. In this fashion, the stalls took shape in no time, and soon they were all fully built and arranged in the same layout as before.

"Half an hour until its supposed to start!" Petalbloom fretted.

"Don’t worry ma'am" Shining Armor gave her a grin "we’ll get there!"

Sombra was now back at Shining Sea and bright sparks stall, helping them with the decorating. Well, he and Bright Spark were. Shining Sea watched as her little daughter picked out what she wanted, and Sombra helped her attach it! Soon it was a colorful display in pretty silks and ribbons!

"Yayy!" Bright Spark cheered.

"Almost time!"

With just a few minutes before the festival was set to start, they were done. Shining Sea pointed out it was lucky they’d been focusing on setting the stalls up and decorating, and nopony had actually set any of their goods out on them! Everything was being stored in a nearby class room, or the kitchen if it was food!

Sombra wandered outside through the hole in the wall, feeling the fresh breeze on his coat. He was sweltering, having not removed his cloak the whole time (he honestly hadn’t noticed it!). So now he took it off, folding it neatly and setting it on a spare table near the jagged hole. That would be fixed later...

"You OK?" he turned at the sound of Shining Armors voice.

"Fine, fine.." he replied. Shining Armor stared at him a second "you got blood on you there..."

“What? Oh, horsefeathers.." Sombra grumbled "where did I see that bathroom...?" he trotted back inside, past the happy, relieved ponies and into the quiet halls of the school. There, the bathroom!

While he was occupied trying to clean himself up, Cadance had arrived to see how Shining Armor was getting on. The kids were amazed to see yet another Princess, and gathered round to greet her.

Shining Armor told her about the fight, and their efforts to rebuild.

"You all did a great job!" Cadance beamed. Shining Armor smiled at her.

"Sombra did most of the heavy lifting! Can you believe he towed the ENTIRE cart here on his own?!"

"Impressive.." Cadance remarked "clearly Shyre horses are built for work..."

"Whassa Shyre horse?" a little foal asked. So Cadance explained about Sombra’s breed, that that was why he was so much taller then the average pony, plus the heavier build.

"Come to the sickbay, and I’ll patch that up for you.." the school nurse offered to Sombra when she seen the cut. And so Sombra followed her down the corridor…

"Are you planning to stay for the festival itself?" the nurse asked. Sombra smiled softly "I promised the little one I would," he said eloquently "I would not wish to disappoint her."

"Ah yes," the nurse smiled "she talks about you near constantly. I’ve never seen her so animated. She used to be such a withdrawn little filly, then she suddenly began to grow in confidence..."

"She should have nothing to fear," Sombra agreed "in truth, I do not see how anypony can find anything wrong with how she speaks. She sounds just like anypony else to me."

"I’m glad to hear that.." the nurse said "her mother was very concerned for the longest time. After her father passed away..."

"Yes, little Bright Spark told me of him. I have no doubt he’d be proud of her if he could see her now."

Once he’d thanked the nurse for stitching the cut, he returned to the now busy festival. Lots of ponies had arrived during his absence, many from the meeting Cadance had been hosting. Sombra noticed them glancing at the gold and jeweled band around his foreleg. With the cloak off it was far more noticeable now.

"Sounds like you had quite the event!" he turned at Cadance’s voice, and nodded.

"It was so sudden," he recalled "I’m just relieved everypony is OK. I apologize if I interrupted you earlier."

Cadance dismissed the apology, saying he’d probably saved a lot of injury by coming to find Shining Armor.

"I’ve let everypony know about.." she indicated the leg band "that’s why they’re staring at you if your wondering. They’re glad to hear you’re going to help us..."

Sombra could only nod. He’d forgotten about that whole matter, in light of the mornings events. But he DID see what Cadance meant. The ponies were angling to get a look at the ornate band, a few asked about the stone set in it. Once Shining Sea heard the news, she told Bright Spark, who was amazed.

"Sombwa!" she bounded over. "Mommy said that you deciwded to do what that NICE daddy of yours said!"

"I owe him that much at the very least..” Sombra said softly, but there was an edge of sadness to his voice, the crowd noticed.

"Uh," there was the sound of somepony clearing their throat behind him. "Your highness, isn’t it?"

Sombra flinched slightly, geez it felt awkward hearing that!

"There’s no need to call me that.." he said lightly, laughing a little "is everything OK?"

"I just wanted to thank you for helping get this festival going again. If wed been on our own we'd have given up, but thanks to you and everypony else, the kids have their special day back!"

"Its been no problem.." Sombra looked down at Bright Spark, who beamed happily "my pleasure.."

She hugged him tightly, and several ponies went "d'awww" to themselves.

"Ooh...shinyy..." Bright Spark peered at the band. "Its so much awesome!"

Sombra couldn’t help chuckle at this catchphrase of hers.

"OK everypony!" Pinkie Pie bounded up onto the stage "lets get this party started!"

Music filled the hall, and the kids danced and played while the older ponies went from stall to stall.

Sombra sat with Bright Spark and Shining Sea at their bakery stall. Bright Spark kept sneaking him cake when (she thought) her mother wasn’t watching.

Partway through, the kids took to the stage set up at the far end. They were performing a little play. Spark was playing the part of a butterfly, and had an adorable set of little wings on. When the play finished, and she seen her mother and Sombra applauding, she felt very happy!

Sombra could see what Petalbloom and the nurse referred to. Spark seemed to glow, her big smile erasing the once lingering sadness that’d been on her face when Sombra had first met her. She bounded over to him now, and he leant down to tap her nose and declare "boop!".

He noticed however, that his mane got in the way. Without the crown pinning it back, not only did his ears stand up properly now, but his loose, flowy mane kept getting in his face! He batted at it in annoyance as he walked through the hall back to sparks stall. One of the stall owners noticed this and called out to him, grabbing something and flying over.

"Can I help with something..?" Sombra asked, wondering was there a problem.

"Just hold still a second..." the mare hovered close behind him, gathered the loose, ever shifting mane in her hooves, and deftly arranging git into a neat, low, side ponytail, held with a jewelled clasp from her supply. It was a red garnet jewel, carved like a triangle. It sort of matched his cutie mark she decided.

"What’s…?" Sombra seen the jewel now keeping his mane back.

"Consider it a thank you gift, your highness," the mare smiled, She’d been surprised to learn about Sombra’s unusual inheritance. But she, like so many others, felt he deserved the chance, for helping save the Empire!

Sombra winced ever so slightly "there’s no need to call me that..." he repeated.

"Nonsense! From what the Princess said, that kings decree means your royalty now! You’ve shown as much dedication to saving this Empire as the prince and Princess themselves."

"I just hope I can someday make up from the problems I caused.." Sombra replied softly.

"I think you already have your highness.." the mare said kindly.

Sombra didn’t know what else to say, so he just stuck to thanking her for the present.

Cadance couldn’t help overhearing Sombra insisting people didn’t need to refer to him as "his highness". She seen the awkward expression he pulled, his repeated attempts to downplay the matter.

But she also seen him smiling so much more then before.

“Its incredible!” she overheard some ponies talking at one of the stalls, “I cant believe he was ADOPTED by the King!”

“And he never knew…” Another shook her head “I wonder what really caused that madness.”

“That wasn’t madness, it was total INSANITY. Look at him NOW-” she nodded her head towards here Sombra was sitting, with the kids clustering curiously around. He closed his eyes, there was a ka-poof sound, and a little crystal sculpture of a pony appeared on the table in front of him.

The kids giggled and clapped. One waved a hoof at him, trying to get his attention. He leant down to hear what the foal said, then nodded. Another ka-poof sound, and this time a crystal butterfly appeared! The foal who’d asked him to make it nudged it towards spark, and he and two fillies said something to her that made her beam.

”-there is NO way this is the same stallion. He’s much….gentler then I ever expected. I wonder if he‘ll ever talk about it?”

“Sombra’s past was traumatic,” Cadance decided to stop their speculating before they actually went over and ASKED Sombra what’d happened “He didn’t have the luxury of supporting parents like your kids do. He had to fend for himself. Its taken him a long time to accept anypony’s friendship, and to finally let go. Perhaps best not to ask about what happened.”

“Of course Princess!” The lead mare said quickly “ we’re just so surprised to see how different he is now!”

“I think everypony is,” Cadance smiled “but without his efforts, we’d be more than a little stuck..”

When Sombra collapsed into bed that night, eh felt happier then he’d ever been. But he couldn’t let himself forget. Those things were adapting as fast as he was. He couldn’t let his guard down now!

--I’ll make sure I earn what you’ve given me…father..-- he smiled as he drifted asleep, the long forgotten memory of Cloudspark throwing him his first birthday party filling his dreams. But he knew this battle was far from over...

Author's Note

Sorry this took so long! I was buried under a shedload of stuff these last couple weeks, and having a minor breakdown, so this got sidelined. :applecry: But here we go, enjoy! Ill hopefully do some more fanarts soon too!

Edited as wodnerfully as ever by Dream Seeker!

Posession & Incursion

The next morning Sombra woke up with, initially, no recollection of the previous day’s events.

Then it all came stampeding back into his brain, and he woke up pretty snappy.

The festival. The kids. Rebuilding everything. Cadance telling the whole empire about-

This memory actually made him bury his head under the pillow. Right, right. The official decree left behind by the King, his foster father. He’d had it hidden away so only Luna would be able to uncover it. Along with the decree was the now famous leg band. Once worn by the King, and reworked from the Queens crown, it’d been left to Sombra by Cloudspark.

Sombra had tried, literally, to escape the issue. But to his total shock, Cadance and Shining Armor, far from rebuking it as he’d hoped, had approached him with the request he ACCEPT it. Even Twilight Sparkle and her friends had stepped in, reasoning he deserved the chance. That and he had to stop beating himself up, which was courtesy of Applejack.

The next day, after a suggestion from Princess Luna that he stop hiding away in the castle and go out, he’d wound up remembering a promise and hightailing it to the preschool, where little Bright Spark was running a cake stall with her mother. After an attack had decimated the families efforts, Sombra, together with Prince Shining Armor, three guards and a certain six ponies, had helped rebuild it. While all this madness had been going on, the rest of the empire was slowly finding out he was technically (also, legally according to Celestia), the Crystal Empire’s crown Prince.

He winced in remembrance as he recalled hearing somepony referring to him as "your highness". He’d spent a large portion of the festival either apologizing for being slow to react when he let his mind wander and someone spoke to him using that title, or insisting they didn’t have to.

Although he did smile at the memory of somehow ending up babysitting a group of foals and fillies. Spark had been so excitable, bounding around with seemingly endless energy. He’d been reluctant to see the day end, he had to admit.

With a groan, he realized he’d have to face up to this eventually. It just felt...weird. All that lunacy, a forced takeover, proclaiming himself the King of darkness, or crystals, or whatever hare-brained title he’d given himself. And the whole time this little surprise had been waiting for him!

That one stuck in his mind...Why he’d used the title KING. It was rarely seen in Equestria, and even Cloudspark had been on the verge of dropping it, insisting it sounded too formal. So why...?

His father. Perhaps, in some twisted way, he’d been trying to tell himself something. Trying to cling onto one last vestige of goodness, even as he went slowly insane. He gave a shiver as he thought about that time. The memories were hazy, locked away. Every time he tried, he got a sharp pain in his chest, and a feeling of abject panic. Was it that he didn’t want to see himself that way?

At last, his stomach put an end to his worried musings, by grumbling loudly, in protest of his sitting on his backside instead of seeking breakfast. Feeling decidedly woolly headed he pulled his cloak on and ambled down the hall.

"Morning, your highness!" One guard greeted the dozy stallion. At first he thought Sombra had simply either not heard him or ignored him, until, several feet down the hall, the taller pony actually stopped, went: "huh?"

Then he seemed to realize something, because he facehoofed, muttered an apology, insisted he didn’t need to worry about calling him that, then continued his way down the hall.

It was a little bit funny, the guard couldn’t help decide. The length of time between his using the formal greeting and Prince Sombra’s brain apparently realizing it was aimed at HIM was just long enough to be amusing.

"Morning!" Twilight Sparkle greeted him as he walked in. He managed a sleepy greeting, and heard his stomach growl again.

"Mhh!" Pinkie Pie, mouth full of cake, waved at him and jabbed a hoof at the empty chair to her left.

He half listened to them chattering away about some place called Ponyville. When he asked what it was, Pinkie Pie waved a hoof in the air like a school filly.

"Ooh, ooh! It’s this totally awesome place where we all live! It’s got a bakery, library, a farm, a boutique and lots of nice ponies!"

"I see," Sombra blinked "I actually assumed you all lived HERE!"

"Nopey nope!" Pinkie Pie giggled.

"Although we do LOVE to visit!" Rarity piped up "I for one ADORE their fashion!"

"Two words: crystal. berries." Applejack grinned.

"But Ponyville is the best home we could have," Twilight Sparkle smiled, and they all nodded.

"Pee for Ponyville!" Pinkie Pie whooped, cheerleader style, as she chugged the last of her orange juice.

"You will be if you keep THAT up!" Sombra remarked.

Rainbow Dash let out a loud snort of laughter. Pinkie Pie started hiccuping loudly, between giggles.

Cadance and Shining Armor walked in at that moment, and this was the scene before them.

Twilight Sparkle and all her friends, giggling like loons, with Pinkie Pie hiccuping loudly, and almost toppling out of her chair every other second. Even the normally composed Rarity was keeping a hoof over her mouth, her shoulders shaking. But the biggest giveaway as to the culprit was Sombra. Being he was the only one not laughing his backside off. Also because of the level of attention he was suddenly paying to his breakfast.

"Morning-!" he said in a bizarrely restrained tone.

"P!" Pinkie Pie whooped. And he let slip a small snigger.

"Okaayyy...." Shining Armor and Cadance sat at the table, regarding the giggly, merry bunch around them, "what did you do?"

Rainbow Dash finally managed to recover enough to retell the random piece of toilet humor!

When at last everyone calmed down, Sombra even relaxed and had a little chuckle at Pinkie Pies reaction. She did eventually stop hiccuping, but decided she’d had enough OJ!

"Now, onto less goofy matters," Shining Armor chuckled "Celestia showed me those drawings you did, I think we need to show them to everypony, let them know."

“But how? Just sticking posters around will be hard enough..." Cadance frowned "not everypony will see them.."

"I got it!" Shining Armor grinned "the stadium! We can gather everypony there, and you can explain the shape shifting!" This last part however, was aimed at SOMBRA.

"Me?" Sombra paused "why?"

"They’re YOUR memories, you can explain it better then we can. You understand that darkness, know how it works. They'll trust the information coming from YOU." Shining Armor insisted.

Sombra looked uncertain, but in the end agreed to the plan. "I’ll get started on it ASAP," Shining Armor said at last.

Sometime before Sombra’s revival, Twilight Sparkle and her brother had stumbled upon the existence of a creature called a Crystal Bard. A shy, retiring creature, it’d been captured once by Sombra, and treated like a pet, albeit a pet that could read to him. One day it discovered one of the many secret passages beneath the castle and escaped. Despite setting numerous traps, Sombra never caught it again. The memory was long gone, he couldn’t remember it.

So it was a difficult matter to say who was more shocked when they met again.

The creature would oftentimes read a pile of books then go into a little hibernate-style slumber to dream. While Sombra’s arrival back in the Crystal Empire and all the mad shenanigans that ensured carried on, it’d been obliviously, deeply asleep. Now it awoke, stretched, and gathered up the books it had borrowed, ready to return them. It opened the secret door into the library, and potted out, focusing so intently on not dropping the books it didn’t hear hoof steps approaching, and bumped right into somepony.

"Oh no...mwhrr.." it said softly "I’m sorry-"

"Owch.." that voice. It looked up, eyes widening as it took in the stallion he'd knocked onto his hindquarters.

"Books? That you Princes Twilight Sparkle?" Sombra muttered.

"WAHHHH!!" the creature let out a terrified wail, catching Sombra’s attention.

"Whoa..." he got to his hoofs, cocking his head at the quavering creature staring at him in abject terror, "Who're you?"

"P-please let me go your highness..." it begged, hoping to distract Sombra by flattery then make his escape. He’d been told by Twilight Sparkle Sombra was long gone, and her brother the Prince had backed it up! So why was he here again?!

"I keep telling everypony they don’t need to call me that.." Sombra muttered to himself, then shook his head, frowning as he stepped closer "what’re YOU??"

The Bard shivered, confused. Why did the king not recognize him? He caught him after all. It was then he noticed a few differences in this version of Sombra. For one, he no longer wore the Armor of before. His ears poked up through the ever flowing mane, and the cloak he wore was a more modern affair. He also had a band around his leg with a stunning gem that caught the light and reflected it.

It stowed its tears, mesmerized by the light patterns inside the jewel.

Sombra realized what it was staring at, and slowly unlatched it, setting it on the floor and nudging it towards the crystal creature, "beautiful, isn’t it?"

Seeing the creature was still watching him in abject fright, he backed away, until a safe distance was between him and this odd creature. It scuffled forwards, picking up the jeweled band, its eyes lighting up as it watched the jewel.

"It’s a Purple Star Jewel, very rare now.." Sombra spoke very softly. The creature looked like a child that’d been given a new toy as it tilted it this way and that. Hopeful, Sombra took a step towards it, reaching a hoof towards it "If I might just ask you.."

But the movement startled the Bard, who ran off and vanished into a gap in the wall that hadn’t been there before. Soon it’d slammed the door behind itself. Sombra sighed, putting the band back around his leg. Who was that, and why was it so upset?

He was halfway out of the library when it hit him; he must’ve hurt or terrorized that timid looking thing.

A small swell of nausea reared its head, recalling the disgust he’d felt from his nightmares.

He was lucky to bump into Prince Shining Armor as he and three of his guards, Flash Sentry among them, rounded the corner ahead of him.

"Hey bud!" Shining Armor offered a friendly grin "you alright?"

The guards all bowed their heads in acknowledgement of the new Prince, and Sombra winced awkwardly, resisting the urge to tell them not to. He knew it was just protocol, but he still felt at odds with it.

"There’s something very ODD in the library.." Sombra began.

"Define odd?" Shining Armor replied.

And so Sombra described the critter he’d bumped into.

"Oh, I didn’t know he was awake again!" Shining Armor smiled "That’s a Crystal Bard. Must go say hi. Anyhow, as to why he’s a little...jittery.."

"You don’t need to explain, it’s as I feared," the guards noted the deadened tone of Sombra’s voice as he gave a resigned sigh "perhaps it will believe it of YOU if you inform it things are not how it believes."

“Did you try to talk to it?" Shining Armor asked.

"Tried...failed. It only stopped crying when it seen the jewel in THIS;" Sombra indicated the leg band "but when I tried to approach, it got scared and ran away. Entirely understandable..."

Shining Armor was a little worried about that familiar haunted expression now hovering behind Sombra’s eyes.

"Anyhoof, Cadance wishes to speak to you," Shining Armor told him at last. Sombra nodded, bid them farewell, then left.

To his surprise, Cadance had a task she wanted him to carry out. She mentioned she thought he needed to get this whole "you’re a Prince now and you need to get used to it" thing over with ASAP.

"It’s a lot to take in, I understand. Shining Armor took a while to get used to it when we first came here." she levitated a stack of letters over to him "but you need to let the citizens see more of you. Which is why THIS should make it less awkward. These are all responses to funding requests. This way you’ll at least have an excuse if somepony asks, right?" She caught the uneasy expression on his face and smiled knowingly.

"Am I that transparent?" he sighed, yet putting the stack of letters into the saddlebags draped across his back.

"I know you’re reluctant to trust yourself, or your own intentions," Cadance said seriously "as Applejack said, you need to stop doing that to yourself. Relax, just talk to them. Everypony out there is more curious than they could possibly be afraid.."

Figuring she had a point, but still feeling his stomach sink at what he viewed as impending embarrassment, Sombra nodded. She went over a few other things, and gave him some notes Shining Armor had said he may find useful. Sombra nodded, and tucked the notes into his bag, before turning to go.

Cadance watched him leave, and she could almost see the jumble of thoughts racing around his mind. He was still fighting an internal conflict. He seemed apprehensive about this second chance, even if it was his father’s wish!

Sombra walked down the street, taking the long way round to give himself time to think....

His mind whirled, trying to recollect that creature in the library. But nothing came back. He still felt a strange emptiness when he tried to think back to his reign of madness in the Empire. None of the memeories were clear, all he had was hazy recollections and sensations.

A gleam of light caught his eye, and he stopped to peer at a shop window, recognizing it as the same antique store he’d followed Fluttershy and Princess Twilight Sparkle into that first day out. He wondered vaguely if they still had the same jeweled carving he’d seen, made of the same stone as the one that the leg band bore.

"You alright there your highness?" the voice startled him and he let out a startled noise, turning to stare at the shop owner in surprise.

"I-its nothing.." he blurted "Sorry to trouble you-" he started to trot away, but the owner held out a hoof to stop him.

"Please don’t feel you have to be uncomfortable. I’m sorry if I startled you. I recall the first time I seen you I reacted badly. But then, none of us expected you to be so unlike the history books. Come in..."

Surprised, but at the same time vastly relieved, Sombra followed him into the shop. A quick rifle through the list of letters revealed this wasn’t one of the places one belonged to.

"I had hoped you’d come by, I received an import of new antiques, and one bears a stone I am unfamiliar with. Ponies say your cutie mark talent revolves around crystals, so maybe you can identify this one."

"I will certainly endeavor to," Sombra replied "there was also something I wished to ask after?"

"Oh yes? What is it?"

So Sombra asked him about the stone he’d identified that first day.

"I knew it felt familiar but it was not until Princess Luna reconnected the memory of my father to this artifact that I remembered how I knew that stone," Sombra looked at the band around his leg as he spoke. The shop owner pulled out a small magnifying monocle, and peered closely at the set of the band and the stone.

"It’s a splendid cut, rarely have I seen such craftwork. Truly fit for the King, or a Prince as it would seem." he smiled genially, a little poke at Sombra’s new title.

He was surprised when Sombra looked a little guilty "I...everypony doesn’t have to call me that," he said hurriedly. "After all-"

"After all NOTHING. Prince Shining Armor said at that announcement you outright refused it at first. I don’t know why you don’t think you deserve it, but the ponies here think you do. So get used to it your highness. The latest rumour is when the formal coronation will be! Anyways, let me see about that stone a moment.."

-Coronation? Oh Ponyfeathers...i hadnt even thought about THAT!-- Sombra groaned to himself. HIs whole plan to try and make this fly udner the proverbial radar was rapidly unravelling it seemed!

The owner vanished into the back room and returned with the carving, setting it on the counter in front of Sombra "literally just about to dust it. Shame there aren’t more like it, its beautiful, and like you said, catches the light nicely.."

Sombra had been given a run down on monetary matters, and how to file expenses, should he need any. He opened his saddlebag to dig out the notes he’d been given on the palace's protocols, but the shop owner chuckled and shook his head.

"It’s clearly a valuable part of the happier times," seeing Sombra’s startled expression he continued "it’s obvious from the way you talk about it, that jewel holds a special meaning to you. So consider it a gift, for everything you’ve done for us so far."

Sombra took a few seconds to get his voice back, “I…thank you…”

The shop owner couldn’t help but notice how uncertain Sombra seemed when faced with any act of kindness. It almost seemed to scare him a little, as if he suspected whoever was being so nice was just WAITING for the right moment to turn on him.

But Sombra seemed to relax when he showed him the unidentified stone. The taller stallion closed his eyes, and there was a brief flash of magic between him and the stone. When he opened his eyes they held a curious look. He explained the stone was very old, quite highly prized for its texture and color. This and other details he knew both from his studies as a colt, and his natural instinct.

"Astonishing. Anypony'd think ya got a whole textbook in that head of yours.."

"I don’t know how the information got there, it just...WAS, always." Sombra shrugged "even the advisors at the time, they hadn’t a clue how I was doing it. They thought it was a trait of dark magic, and they went coocoo..."

"Ancient time, they thought EVERYTHING was bad news if they hadn’t already discovered it." the shop owner rolled his eyes "The Princess elaborated a little on that, told us how the ponies of that era reacted as if you a walking omen of their doom."

"That pretty much sums it up," Sombra laughed softly.

The door opened, the little bell jingling merrily.

"Hi honey, were back-oh! Sorry, didn’t realize we had a visitor!"

Sombra turned slightly, to see a blue-haired mare and a little filly standing inside the door. The filly stared in blatant wide-eyed curiosity. But it wasn’t an unkind stare, if anything she looked like she was overflowing with questions.

"Your highness, this is my wife and child, Waveflicker and Sunbeam."

Sombra gave an eloquent bow. “Good morning~”

"We know what this is now!" the husband smiled to his wife, holding up the rare stone "seems it’s quite a sought after gem for jewelry makers!"

"Wonderful, there should be no problem finding a buyer..." his wife smiled proudly.

"Uhm...Hi!" Sunbream blurted.

"Good morning little Sunbeam," Sombra smiled. She looked pleased he'd answered her, and decided to chance asking a question:

"Uhm...c-can i see the purple jewel? Spark said its really awesome.."

Sombra nodded, and actually took the band off to let her examine it up close.

"Oooh....its so cool!" she cooed, giggling at the fractal patterns the light made dance about her face. Curisoity more than satisfied, she gave the band back, along with a big smile and a thank you!

Not long after Sombra bid them farewell, thanking them, once again, for the ornament.

Meanwhile, in town, Shining Sea was just after picking up Bright Spark from a morning extra-curricular activity session at the school. Her daughter was now bounding along, chattering away about what they’d done, promising to show her mother the pictures she'd drawn!

Then somepony called out to her mother, and they crossed the street to a small cosy cafe. Shining Sea began to talk to her friends, and Bright Spark soon got bored with adult topics. So her mother gave her some bits and sent her inside the cafe to get some cookies!

"What’re you researching?" Shining Sea nodded at one of the mares, called QuillPetal, aka the historian for the Crystal Empire.

"I did some research on Prince Sombra’s hometown," she held up some old papers "I was right, it WAS known for something! The origin of the comet called the Black Star! It was said to have crashed at the edge of the tiny settlement."

"Didn’t the Princess mention a prophecy-?" another mare asked. QuillPetal nodded.

"She did! I researched it, and it literally did foresee a pony being born with dark magic!"

"His power is certainly striking.." Shining Sea remarked, thinking about the shield he’d put up to guard them all, and that spell he’d used to trace the leader of the attacking swarm waves!

"It was just bad timing he was born in such a dark age..." QuillPetal sighed "as we’ve seen now, what he can do far outstrips anything in history books! To see him use it, you wouldn’t think dark magic is all that dangerous, yet it is known to be banned across Equestria. Most ponies that have tried it, simply burnt out. Research indicates it drains a lot of a normal unicorns power!""

"There’s still a lot we don’t know about him.." Shining Sea said.

"Well you must know SOMETHING!" one of the mares commented.

"What do you mean?" Shining Sea asked innocently, although she could already feel herself flushing slightly.

"You’ve probably spoken to him more than anypony else bar the castles occupants!"

“Actually, Spark has known him for longer," Shining Sea smiled faintly "I didn’t speak to him until the plague incident, when he took care of spark and myself."

“Speak of the pony-“ one mare bobbed her head in the direction opposite her.

They all glanced over in the direction she was pointing. Sombra was wandering along the pavement, seemingly consulting a length of parchment.

Spark trotted out of the shop, the cookies in a bag in her satchel. She spotted her favourite pony giving the list a searing glare, and shot over to the edge of the pavement, bounding up and down like a bouncy ball.

"Sombwa! Sombwa!" she hollered excitedly. He blinked, ears twitching as he heard her voice. Spotting her, he stowed the list in his saddlebag and started towards her. Once he was close enough, she pelted the rest of the way over and glomp-hugged him with her usual energy!

"Hello little one!" he chuckled, crouching slightly to speak to her. She beamed up at him, poking his nose and announcing, as ever; "BOOP!"

He chuckled softly, scooping her up and sitting her on his back.

"I believe I have something of yours~" Sombra said to Shining Sea as he reached them. "small, bouncy and giggly, familiar?"

Spark giggled from her place atop his back. Sombra clocked the other mares staring in obvious curiosity and inclined his head, greeting them politely. He was a bit confused by two of them turning slightly red.

The waitress came out, did a double take on spotting the new royal, and gave a flustered bob of her head before asking did the group want anything?

"You going to stay and join us?" QuillPetal asked Shining Sea.

Shining Sea looked tempted, but then she remembered she had her daughter....

Spotting her flustered glance, Sombra stepped in.

"I could take her awhile?" he said softly "Truth be told I have a bunch of errands to do, no clue where I’m going, and I could use her assistance."

"Would you like that sweetie?" Shining Sea asked her daughter, who nodded so fast it was a wonder her head didn’t pop off! She was also, to the other mare’s amusement, chewing absently on a stray, ever-shifting piece of Sombra’s mane.

"I don’t think that’s going to taste like food anytime soon." Sombra said in amusement, without even having to turn his head.

"Aww," she giggled, releasing it.

Sombra smiled softly, before agreeing to drop little Spark off at the house later. Then, with an appropriately well-mannered goodbye, he trotted off down the street.

"That daughter of yours is entirely fearless!" QuillPetal chuckled as Shining Sea sat down with them.

"I know! At first I was a little worried when she first came home and said she met a shadowy, tall pony. I’d heard the decree by this point, so I recognized who she was talking about! But when she said he struck her as being lonely, I wondered if she was seeing more then I was? I nearly fainted when she said she’d introduced herself in the usual way, which involves walking up to ponies, tapping their nose and going "boop!" I was SURE he’d have snapped at her, you know how he was before? But he didn’t. She told me he just stared curiously at her; I think he was surprised she was so friendly! Then he helped her hide from those same bullies, even scared them away so they wouldn’t find her!"

The others listened in silent curiosity as she continued.

"Then, on the day of the class picnic, she comes home talking about pink ponies in the palace kitchen, and this time she called him by name! Said something about him telling those mean fillies off, that she was as bright as her name! She looked so happy, it was the most she’d smiled in quite some time! The next day even the class teacher told me she was stunned by how different Spark seemed after running into Sombra.." she paused for thought "I guess, in a way, they were both pretty secluded, different to everypony around them. He probably understood her instinctively!"

"I’m glad to see her smiling. I know you were so worried about her.." one of the other mares said to Shining Sea, who nodded in agreement.

"I never thought the key to making Spark shine so much would lie with a pony like him. But somehow he’s done it! When she told me about the attack on the palace I felt lightheaded! When she told me Sombra had put himself in the creatures way to protect her, I knew there was no way he’d ever hurt her...or anypony for that matter. If he would care for a child the way he did, I knew I owed him a chance...."

"I’m just surprised by how intelligent he is. Seems bizarre in a way, after how he behaved before, That his normal self is so...well-spoken…”

"All I know is it still bothers him...” Shining Sea remarked, recalling her daughter saying one morning she was worried how sad Sombra was, "He still can’t bring himself to accept anypony's kindness, not fully...”

"At least he’s leaving the palace." QuillPetal said at last "all the rumors were that he was afraid he’d get hurt, that he thinks we'll attack him..-"

"That’s not it, not quite.." Shining Sea shook her head "he’s been getting battered within an inch of his life since day one, so it's not physical pain he’s afraid of. From what I learnt from Spark, and Princess Cadance at the festival, he’s never had good reason to trust other ponies because of how he was treated in the past. Imagine being feared right from foalhood just for having a different power..."

"It’s like that old saying, "once bitten, twice shy"" another mare commented "any hoof held out to him before was obviously just used to hurt him soon after. Enough of that awful business and now he’s wary of anypony getting too close. Well, besides small adorable fillies..."

They all smiled at how cute the interaction between Sombra and Bright Spark had been!

"Spark always felt lonely and sad, because of her impediment," Shining Sea spoke lovingly of her daughter. "Despite my attempts, I couldn’t convince her to believe in herself. To a small child, belief is half family, the other half the rest of the world. And without faith in both halves, she grew despondent. I get the feeling he seen something familiar in her when she met him, that’s why he started watching out for her. Petalbloom told me his exact words were:

"How she speaks is irrelevant! The honesty of her words is enough to put her above anypony that tries to demean her!"."

"How eloquent~" was one response.

"She came home so full of smiles that day, despite the story of the bullies taunting her. And that Sombra told the teacher, in front of the whole class, that he considered her as bright as her name, well, it made her day!"

"I hope we can convince him to open up a bit more," QuillPetal mused sadly "he’s clearly got far more to him since that madness faded away..."

"Praise from others is pointless if you can’t believe it yourself..." Shining Sea murmured.

While they were discussing his enigmatic nature, Sombra was feeling a lot more relaxed now, with his favorite little friend tagging along. She burrowed into his saddlebag, poking her head out the top, giggling. He had to laugh, watching her antics.

They soon came to the first shop, where upon Bright Spark suddenly declared she had an idea, and vanished from sight into the saddlebag. Getting the gist of it, Sombra nudged the door to the textile shop open.

"Morning- oh! Y-your highness!" The mare did a double take. She’d never personally spoken or even come face to face with Sombra before. Like many others, she’d seen him only in glimpses, between fights or simply legging it about the Empire!

"Princess Cadance requested I deliver this- hold on.." he turned slightly to peer at his bag "got it in there?"

She blinked; wondering why he was addressing his saddlebag, was he OK?

Then the bag flap popped open, and a beaming filly, envelope in her mouth, stuck her head out!

"Thank you, little one~" Sombra chuckled, magically taking the letter and floating it over to the shopkeeper.

She had to smile at this endearing display. Most ponies knew by now that a small filly had been the first to break through Sombra's barriers!

Sombra and Bright Spark continued on in this manner, with Spark playing mail filly, popping out to proffer the necessary letter!

One shop they went into seemed a little neglected. Sombra glanced at the letter, it was addressed to a Mr Shortcrust and his wife, Fruitybarks. Although there was an open sign on the door, he noticed there didn’t seem to be anypony inside!

He cleared his throat, his rumbly tones echoing around the store "Is anypony here?"

"Hewwo?" Spark called.

"Just a moment young ‘uns..." a careworn voice reached their ears alongside the sound of halting hoof steps. At last, a pony hobbled into the shop. He had a broken leg, and the crutches made it hard for him to move easily. He did a double take when he seen the Prince and his friend.

"Hay there, Prince Sombra, isn’t it? And who’s yer friend?"

"This is Bright Spark. We’re here to deliver a message from Princess Cadance."

Spark handed the letter to the pony; he opened it, smiled, and set it down.

Sombra noticed something off about the smile.

"Is...Everything alright?" he hazarded.

"Nothing to worry yourself over yer highness.." the shop owner tried to brush the notion away, but Sombra wasn’t to be deterred.

"Princess Cadance is adamant I learn the state of the modern day Empire, and surely the businesses within it are paramount? If there is something at fault-?" Sombra began.

The pony chuckled softly "It’s refreshing to hear a dialect like yours," he remarked "and I guess there’s no fooling you, huh?"

He sighed and sat down with a wince "truth is, my wife’s a bit ill at the moment, and I fell off my ladder last week, broke my leg. I was planning to decorate the store, but I just don't have the means to, not with this cast on my hoof. And baking so many cakes by myself is just impossible!"

Sombra frowned. Spark peered up at him, wondering what he was thinking about?

"I think I have a solution...one moment..." Sombra pulled a writing pad and quill from his bag, and set about writing a quick letter, Spark sitting up on the coutner, watching curiously as he did.

"I can think of two ponies in an instant that can be of benefit to you..." he sealed the letter, and with a quick spell, sent it off in search of its target. This was a fun spell, as he had to guide it himself. But he knew by now the "feel" as it were, of Twilight Sparkle’s magic, so he sent it to her, reasoning her friends were never far away.

He was right as it happened...

"Right!" Rarity declared as they exited the fabric shop "that’s everything I need to make your new ball gowns everypony!"

"Yay!" Pinkie Pie squeed. "Will it be made of candy again?"

"We shall see~" Rarity said mysteriously, but she couldn’t hide an excited smile.

Out of nowhere, a scroll poofed into existence, falling to balance precariously on Twilight Sparkle's nose just as she turned to glance in that direction.

"Ooh! Mail!" Pinkie Pie clapped her hooves.

"Who’s it from?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"It’s from Sombra.." Twilight Sparkle said curiously. Then she unrolled it, and began to read;

"Princess Twilight Sparkle,

I have a request to make of you and your friends, particularly of Miss Rarity and Miss Pinkie (Cotton Candy) Pie. As per Princess Cadance’s request earlier this day, I have been all over the Crystal Empire to deliver these notices. One such shop however, is in dire need of-GACK.

This word was scrawled next to a large blot. With what looked like a teeny hoof smudge next to it.

My apologies- Spark, that feather is NOT a toy, heh..- a silly filly can’t resist the fluffy feather on the quill. She is prominently declaring it’s awesomeness as I write...Back to the matter at hoof, the shop in question needs assistance from the aforementioned duo, as it is not only in need of help redecorating- miss Rarity’s raison detre, but some help baking- miss Cotton Candy’s calling in life as far as I can tell! Please let me know if you can swing by the shop, the owner would truly appreciate the help.

Down the bottom was another hoof smudge, and wobbly letters spelling out "hello Princess Twilight Sparkle and friends!"

"Aww..." Fluttershy giggled "that filly is adorable!"

"Ooh, can we go?" Pinkie Pie was all grins.

"A shop in need of a makeover? Why, I would be absolutely horrified if I did not cheer it up!" Rarity decided.

So the merry bunch set off for the shop, Sombra having written the address on the back on the parchment!

Bright Spark was entertaining the shop owner with stories of her and her mother’s cookie-baking exploits when the doorbell rang, and a familiar voice declared:

"Here comes the cake cavalry!"

"Ah, excellent.." Sombra sighed in relief they’d been able to drop by, though he hadn’t expected them so soon!

"We were just out shopping when we got your letter!" Rarity beamed. They introduced themselves to the shop owner, and began discussing how they could redo the store!

Sombra wanted to stay, but he still had more letters to drop off, so he reluctantly said farewell, Bright Spark hopping back into the cosy saddlebag once more.

"If that don’t beat all.." Shortcrust shook his head "a case of his bark was far worse than his bite, eh?"

"He looks fierce, but he’s not such a grumpy pants anymore!" Pinkie Pie nodded proudly.

By the time he was done, Sombra had met most of the Crystal Empire’s shop owners. He’d also secured another job for Rarity if she wanted it, designing new uniforms for a cafe!

He dropped Bright Spark off at home, and before he left she gave him a folded picture from her bag, telling him to open it later, along with one of the three cookies she’d bought earlier that day!

Wandering home after saying goodbye to Bright Spark and Shining Sea, Sombra made short work of the cookie, and then unfolded the piece of paper.

She'd drawn an adorably colorful picture of her, her mother..and him.

"My Family." Had been written in decisive letters across the bottom. Sombra stopped mid-step, feeling a sense of happiness from the picture he barely dared believe. He thought he’d adopted her, but now it seemed the other way around. She'd taken HIM in!

He tucked it safely away in his saddlebag, a genuine smile on his face as he walked back to the castle!

Cadance was pleased to see him looking so relaxed, when he came to inform her he’d finished the task. He spoke briefly of the shop with the owner in need of help, how Twilight Sparkle and company were helping to liven it up! And of course, his impromptu assistant for the day!

--He’s slowly adjusting..-- she surmised after he'd left --I’m gad to see he’s opening up more..--

Sombra left the small carved statue he'd been given, and a note simply saying he didn’t expect the creature to forgive him, but that he hoped it would accept the small statue as a peaceful offering?

These he put on the closest table to where he’d seen the reclusive Bard vanish that first meeting!

He didn’t think it would want to forgive him, but he felt an irrepressible urge to at least TRY say he was sorry.

In its dark, twisted realm, the creature fumed. That blasted unicorn kept wrecking its plans. And putting a stop to said unicorn was proving impossible. Every traumatic memory it shoved in his face, the unicorn fought back. He had to be hurting, yet he didn’t back down! But that pony had a seemingly limtiless supply of secrets hidden away in his head, it was sure of it!

Suddenly, it grinned, a NEW plan forming. One that would be unexpected, not as showy as its prior attacks.. it would show that pony why it was to be feared by this pathetic world! But first it needed a certain poison substance...and a willing dissenter!

Slowly, bit by bit, it was learning how this worlds magic worked. Its careful study of the unicorn magic from those it had drained had helped it stitch together a spell, one that would serve its purpose nicely.

It slunk between the trees, honing in on a certain brightly colored yet rare flower. It looked harmless, but mixed the right way, it was used as a sedative/nerve numbing agent. To the creature, it radiated danger. That was how it seen things. It needed no book to know this plant was what it sought. Like drew to like. This was what it required. It grabbed a bundle of the plant, cackling softly..

That evening, Shining Armor asked if Sombra would come to the training grounds the next morning, to help teach the guards how to fight those creatures. Sombra nodded, and spent awhile that night formulating a lesson plan of sorts...

In the end he hit upon an idea, and started compiling the spell...

Shining Armor noticed Sombra seemed a bit sleepy when he came to find him, but Sombra assured him it was worth it, that he was fine.

Wondering what he had planned, Shining walked them down to the barracks where the training was held. Rows of crystal guard ponies waited, and murmurs of curiosity abounded when they seen Sombra accompanying Shining Armor. Despite being literally hostile to each other at the start, it seemed to two Princes had established a genuine friendship.

Shining cleared his throat before stepping up to the mic so they could all hear him clearly.

"Alright everypony! By now you're all no doubt used to the goggles my sister created. But we have another goal, fighting those things efficiently to minimize injury to ourselves and the ponies of the Empire. So naturally there was only one pony I could ask on that front. That’s why I’ve asked him to come here today, so we can train all of you to better defeat those slimy creatures!"

They all cheered in acknowledgement, and Shining motioned Sombra to come stand beside him.

"These things are learning as fast as we are," Sombra’s low, rumbling tones silenced the merriment, and everypony listened intently. "They’ve gone from lone attacks to controlled swarm parties. And they’re getting evermore vicious with their attacks. Those present at the festival will have seen for themselves how easily they would attack children..."

Those who knew of the attack nodded, looking angry at the very prospect of innocents being targeted.

"They’re fast, fairly agile, but their cores are weaker than the one controlling them. So far I have not noticed any visible manner of telling them apart, aside from what Princess Twilight Sparkle has identified as an instinctive knowledge on my part, a rough spell that has been able to lead me to the controller. But locating it takes a moment or two, during which time the others under its control will attack en masse. I cannot so far find a way of transcribing the spell I use, so for the time being, we must do what we can with what we know. The cores will shatter with a corresponding amount of force. This is where we'll begin..."

More nods of assent and spirited cheering. Shining nodded in thanks, and then told everypony to get moving and do laps of the assault course to test their agility.

Sombra sat and watched the groups running the course with Shining Armor. He noticed some seemed to have a natural talent for speed and agility, they’d probably take to the fighting quickest of all.

"They’re exceedingly well trained," he remarked to Shining Armor "your work is exemplary."

Shining Armor couldn’t help looking pleased, and a little proud of himself. This job was a big part of his life; as it had been in Canterlot.

Once everypony had finished that little warm up, it was time to move on the next stage, which Shining Armor left to Sombra.

"It took some doing, but I have been able to create a construct for you all to use, one moment.."

They exchanged looks, what did he mean "construct"?

Sombra closed his eyes, letting his magic kick into high gear. Just in front of him a spell circle formed, and then a purple-black smoke appeared, swirling around before settling into the shape of one of the creatures. A glowing purple core could be seen without the goggles as the creature hovered above the grass, its yellow eyes staring, unblinking.

"Whoa.." one guard said nervously.

"Relax...” Sombra opened his eyes "it is but a fake, built using magic, not whatever those things are made from. It seemed to me the best way to learn is by facing one of them, and this seemed a far less dangerous method than some.”

"But is it...I mean, can it think...?" one stallion asked uneasily. Sombra shook his head.

"I discovered it cannot even maneuver itself properly unless I control it myself. Watch.”

He apparently turned his attention away from it somehow, for the thing just stood there. Then it stuck its tongue out and blew a raspberry.

The guards laughed. Sombra barely refrained from laughing himself. He’d been up late not just creating this thing, but amusing himself with how it seemed to react when he let go of its reins.

The guards had even more cause for amusement as it lost balance the next second, mid-raspberry, and fell flat upon its face, muffling the sound. They were in stitches as it proceeded to attempt to move itself around on its face, making that hilarious sound all the while. It scooted back and forth in this manner, accompanied by loud laughter.

"Ok...ok..." Flash Sentry was clutching his sides "we get it!"

"Why does this feel so familiar...?" one guard snorted.

"I don’t know..."

"OK," Shining was having to use Sombra to prop him up, he was laughing so hard "you’ve made your point buddy; please get your pet loony under control before I pass out!"

"Of course...” Sombra returned his attention to the thing.

The guards were split into groups, and each had to show how they’d deal with the creature. From the vast knowledge he’d accrued of the shadow creatures fighting habits, Sombra was able to emulate them quite accurately. He used little force, to give them a chance to see how the creatures moved up close.

He explained how it was necessary to use quite a lot of force when kicking the cores, and of course to be careful when destroying them, as they exploded and could cause injury. So it was best advised not to stand too close at the time of detonation.

"-and before you point out the fact I’ve been doing that myself, I request you remember how THAT ended. As I believe the popular phrase is, I’m "built like a tank", and therefore capable of taking an insane amount of punishment. I don’t advise anypony else entirely follow my lead in that aspect, we need to minimize the risk of you getting hurt. Which is why I’d recommend a back-kick. The edge of the armored shoes you wear will help in this aspect, providing a bit extra force."

Some of the guards fidgeted guiltily, they’d been using the tank reference since the start. It was kind of accurate though. Sombra was in no way a pushover. Nopony could deny he was a formidable opponent, and they were gladder then ever he was on their side.

After an intense and slightly exhausting training session, Shining let everypony go, telling them to get plenty of rest.

"Nice work," he said to Sombra as they left too, walking back towards the palace "you see? They’re glad you’re on OUR side, plus who better could they ask for then the pony who’s been knocking those shadow things about since day one?"

"I see your point. I’m just relieved my method worked, the construct seemed to aid their focus immensely."

"It does help to be able to directly "see" the enemy as it were, gives them a lot more motivation. Nice trick. Plus, I’m pretty sure you got bonus points for that hilarious display!"

Sombra couldn’t stifle a laugh "I spent a copious amount of time amusing myself watching it last night!" he shook his head "it’s a shame I cannot create multiple clones, but controlling one is the limit I’m afraid."

"Good enough!" Shining assured him.

Sombra decided to stay out wandering a little longer, and that he’d see Shining back at the palace. Waving a cheery goodbye, Shining set off back to his home. Sombra smiled faintly as he wandered a quiet street by himself. The guards seemed to be far more accepting of him now. Whereas at the start they’d ignored him unless they had to, keeping a strict eye on him so he didn’t harm anypony, they now readily accepted his help in fighting the kingdoms invaders.

Up ahead he could faintly hear the sound of the market, and wondered if Healing Breeze had her stall open that day? He wanted some more of that tea she made. This in mind he set off towards the sound.

A guard named Light Shield hummed softly as he trotted into his room at the barracks. Unbidden, the door shut behind him and he whirled. When he seen the shadowy pony that blocked the door, his magic flared up, ready to start a fight!

Then he heard its voice, like it was in his head. Its cold yellow eyes seemed to bore into his, he couldn’t move!

"You distrust that corrupted unicorn, don’t you?" the creature whispered sibilantly as it walked around him in a circle "that abomination, SOMBRA."

"W-what? No, I mean.."

"You’re not convinced somepony like should be even considered royalty, am I right?"

"No, I mean...he’s not all bad..." but it was getting harder to fight it.

"Face it, now you guards can fight without him, why keep him around?"

"I..." the exhausted pony felt his mind crack, it was so much easier just to agree, wasn't it? It was true he was uncertain whether Sombra was truly changed, but the guy deserved a chance right?

"No!" the shadow pony was face to face with him. It's eyes flashed again, and the poor guard felt his willpower slip away like water down a drain as the spell took over.

"He needs to go..mm?" the thing postulated, smirking when the guard nodded.

"You have access to the palace? Well, all you have to do is put this in his food or drink at the next opportunity, and everypony’s worries will be over. Tonight would be best..."

The guard nodded dumbly. Get Sombra to drink this special...tea wasn’t it? Why, Sombra had a special variety of tea he was always drinking, it was kept in the palace kitchen.

"Good pony.." the shadow creature sneered.

The Bard crept out later on, relieved to find the library empty once more. He'd spoken to Shining Armor earlier, the Prince had explained why Sombra was back, and told him the stallion was vastly different to before. It’d given the Bard a lot to ponder over.

Mid-musing, it spotted a shining statue on the table nearest its bolt-hole entrance. Curious, he picked it up, grabbing the note underneath it.

He read it over, and stared at it a moment. Was it possible this WASN’T the same Sombra? He HAD seemed vastly different to the one it recalled.

It scooted back to its hidey hole with the pretty statue and the letter. The statue was made of the same stone in that pretty leg band. Shining Armor had said Sombra was (although there’d been no official coronation), the technical heir of the Crystal Empire. And that, with his mind back in order, he was actually still getting used to his new role!

The Bard had felt a stab of sympathy when Shining Armor had genuinely said he felt sorry for Sombra after seeing what his own family had done to him. How the outright lunatic the Bard had encountered had been the end result of a spell of gargantuan scale that’d accelerated his age and shifted his appearance.

Light Shield switched shifts with another guard so he could do the evening shift inside the palace. His singular goal raced around his mind, how to get that traitor to their species to drink the substance?

By dumb luck he ran right into Sombra as the dark magic unicorn was heading towards the kitchen. Feigning a level of subservience, he asked if the stallion needed anything?

"Just after some tea.." Sombra muffled a yawn, dark red eyes sleepily focusing on the pony talking to him.

"I can make that for you, your highness." the guard said cheerfully. He seen Sombra wince at the title.

"Just...Sombra, please." he sighed.

"Yes sir," the guard said, which Sombra figured was a good a compromise as any.

The guard said he’d bring the drink to his room. Feeling awkward, but seeing how eager this pony seemed, Sombra hadn’t the heart to refuse him. He was too tired to object. He just wanted some tea then he was going to pass out.

Light Shield made the tea, stirring in the extra ingredient the creature had given him. The tea didn’t smell any different; there was little chance the unicorn would notice.

Sombra was sat at the table in his rooms when the guard knocked. Telling him to enter, Sombra glowered at the heavy book open in front of him and groaned.

"Here you go, sir." the guard smiled sympathetically "hopefully I got it right.."

Sombra floated the cup off the tray, emptying half of it in one go. With a relieved sigh, he nodded.

"Perfect," he smiled "thank you...”

He got up, wandering over to the window to shut it, "Have there been any further reports from the citizens of the Empire?"

"No further attacks at this point in time, sir." the guard said. Sombra nodded seriously, returning to the desk.

He was about to tell the guard he could go when the pony suddenly lunged for him. He seen a glint of metal, then a searing pain across his muzzle. He snarled in pain, pushing his attacker away on instinct.

"Have you lost your mind-" then he realized, in a way, the pony HAD. He could see a strange yellow glow in its eyes.

"Oh ponyfeathers..." he muttered. He had to stop this possessed loon. But as he made to strike back, he felt a wave of dizziness crash over him, and the room pitched awkwardly.

"W-what’s...?" he forced the words out.

"Time to die, traitor," the cold, almost mechanical voice made Sombra’s insides freeze. That didn’t sound normal...

The guard leapt for him a second time, Sombra just barely dodged aside at the last moment, and franticly called upon his magic...

The guard tried to swing round to get at Sombra again, but suddenly found himself tied to the floor by bonds of purple magic.

He gave an inarticulate screech of fury, snarling as he tried to pull free. Sombra had to really focus, his breathing rapid and shallow. He couldn’t hold this for long. He could see the darkness now he looked properly at this pony. Seen the dark outline that surrounded him. Whatever had been controlling him was really coming to the fore now. And maybe that would work to his benefit.

The possessed pony started to cease struggling as a purple aura wrapped round it. It drew the darkness into itself, despite the host pony’s protests. Then, with a last jolt, it let the guard go and returned to the spells caster.

"Only one way for this to go.." Sombra muttered "fight fire with fire..."

He closed his eyes, and returned the spell, darkness mixed in, to his own body.

The guard collapsed to the floor, out cold. Shivering with relief and dizziness, Sombra turned to go fetch somepony, but never got that far.

In front of him stood one of the shadow creatures, he hadn’t sensed its approach, that tea...

"Time to be rid of you, but we have something special planned..." with a leer it fired a hefty bolt of black electricity at its drugged prey.

Sombra hadn’t the strength to block it, and slowly felt the word fade around him before blacking out.

When he awoke he was lying on something cold. Lifting his head he heard the rattle of chains. Looking down some of the haze was cleared by shock when he seen his forelegs were bound in chains, and so were his hind legs.

"Couldn’t risk you getting away, not after this has been going so well...." the creature stood a few meters away, smirking.

"Buck...you..." Sombra forced out. It smirked coldly, then marched over to the prone pony and delivered a hefty punch with one shadowy hoof. Sombra saw stars spangle over his vision as his head connected with the floor, and he gave an involuntary gasp of pain.

"Done well haven’t you? Fooled them into trusting you, giving you this precious little trinket, letting you believe you’re not that different from them..."

"Say...what you will.." Sombra spat out, causing it to halt at the tone of his voice "I’ll take whatever they have to say about ME, but I will not listen to YOU."

"You really think there’s a place for darkness amongst the light?" it sneered "you’re an aberration to their existence for pity’s sake!"

The words of the prophecy Cadance and Twilight Sparkle had uncovered flashed into his mind, and he surprised the creature by laughing.

"Darkness that can walk alongside light," he chuckled "they predicted this long before YOU showed your ugly mug! Don’t pretend you know this world or ME!"

This time it was a sharp kick to the ribs, knocking the wind from his lungs. He snarled in pain.

"It won’t matter anyway; they’ll never find you in time..."

The guard lifted his head, feeling woozy. What was going on? Where was he? He opened his eyes, and seen-

A dagger. His memories came tearing back. The shadow thing, the possession, his attempt to poison Sombra. Then, the attack...

Then the door was flung open, and Celestia, accompanied by a royal guard came charging in. Dropping by to talk to Sombra, Celestia had been concerned by the lack of response. The door was locked, so he was in there, but she sensed something was off, WRONG, even. She'd fetched a guard, and they’d been hammering at the door for some minutes, only now busting it open.

When they learnt what’d happened, they were very worried.

THWACK. Sombra felt the pain reverberate through his whole body as he hit the far wall of the cave, before crashing to the floor. He tried to get up, but the drug was making every movement a battle, he couldn’t take much more. His magic was unreachable in this state.

"Hah, not so smart now, are we?" the shadow pony laughed as it began to walk over to him.

But as it raised a hoof to slam it down on Sombra’s neck, something whooshed over and gave it a bodily shove, knocking it back with surprise.

Sombra weakly raised his head, blurrily identifying his rescuer..

The Bard was an expert on all the paths and hidden passages beneath the castle. He was on one of his forays when he heard voices, and a sharp cry of pain. Concerned, he scurried towards the sounds, poking his head out from behind a rocky outcropping where the entrance to the tunnel was hidden. His eyes widened when he seen what was going on. A horrible shadowy thing was looming over Sombra, poised to strike. Sombra didn’t look like he could defend himself, struggling to even move. So when he seen it about to hit Sombra once more, he ran over, pushing the thing away with as much force a sit could.

It recovered its balance, and took in what’d interrupted it.

"What are YOU?" it laughed.

"Mhrr...A friend.."

"How pathetic," the thing addressed Sombra. "You convinced a walking ornament to help you-"

“Shut your mouth!" Sombra spat, anger blazing in tired eyes "how DARE you talk such garbage..."

"Step aside little fool, or should I destroy you too?" the shadow pony laughed.

"You’re not...mhrr...having him..."

"Fine, have it your way, protect this degenerate, see how far it gets you!" The shadow pony summoned more of its power, aiming to blast the crystal thing.

"NO-!" Sombra felt a jolt of adrenaline pierce the fog of pain. He couldn’t allow this placid little thing to be destroyed on his account!

In slow motion he saw a bolt of darkness heading for the Bard. He seen it shut its eyes, unprepared to budge from defending HIM.

The bard waited for the thing to strike at him, but it refused to let it kill Sombra! He’d decided the poor unicorn deserved a second chance...

But the expected blow never hit home. Not HIM anyway. He heard a scuffle of hooves, a rattle of chains, and then he was shoved unceremoniously out of the way, skidding across the polished cavern floor. There was a sharp shout of pain, then the sound of something hitting the floor.

"Mhrrr...Sombra?" the Bard scrambled up, its crystalline hands pressed in tearful sympathy to its face when it seen Sombra had taken the attack full on. He’d been thrown several feet across the cave floor. He lay in a crumpled heap, barely awake. The shadow creature scowled.

"Enough of your false pretenses!" it spat, unable to fathom how Sombra could be born of darkness yet exist in this light, happy world, it was impossible, wasn’t it?!

"Somrba..mhrr.." the Bard whimpered, huddling over on the floor, watching the shadow creature advance.

As he lay there, stunned and barely conscious, Sombra fancied he heard the voices of his friends. One by one they seemed to shimmer into being around him, and he remembered each one, recalling what Celestia had told him of the Elements:

Cotton candy, Pinkie Pie. Giggly, bubbly, crazy. Laughter.

Applejack, bold and forthright. Honesty.

Rarity, gracious and polite. Generosity.

Twilight Sparkle, smart and level headed. Magic.

Rainbow Dash, fierce and dependable. Loyalty.

Fluttershy, gentle and patient. Kindness.

The Elements of his friends, of Harmony.

He felt a strange sense of warmth, the pain fading just a little....

During all this, Twilight Sparkle and company had been alerted to the situation. She’d literally just opened the suitcase holding the box of the Elements of Harmony, when the lid flew open of its own accord! The elements launched out of it, each swiftly attaching to its owner. Then they glowed, and a bolt of rainbow magic shot out of the room and into the hall.

"Quick!" Twilight Sparkle blurted "after it!"

"What in tarnation’s happenin'?" Applejack asked "did YOU do that Twi?"

"No!" Twilight Sparkle shook her head as they all ran, Celestia included, after the errant magic "it just...went off!"

It led them on a merry chase from floor to floor, then into a room where it vanished into a wall. Seconds later Twilight Sparkle had opened it, and the chase continued. Down a set of carved stone steps, underground...

It started to stride towards the drugged unicorn, grinning coldly.

Then it was suddenly blindsided by a bolt of colorful magic. Knocked on its ear, it seen the bolt wrap around its victim in a mini whirlwind, the light obscuring Sombra’s form completely.

The Bard watched, wide eyed. What was happening?

The shadow pony got to its feet just as the light faded. Sombra stood, looking stronger now. But his appearance was different.

The cloak he wore now had an aristocratic high collar, and a silken scarf looped around it on the outside, pinned at the front by a gem shaped like a crystal heart. The clip that’d held his mane back had changed too. It had transformed into a crown not unlike the one he’d worn before, only this time in gold. It was comprised of a stylized diamond pattern, and curved around behind his ears, allowing them to stand free. His shoes bore the same style.

The look in his eyes was clearer now, he looked bright and alert.

"How-?!" it sputtered. Sombra didn’t deign to respond, merely unleashed a furious attack. This time the attacker was the one in chains, and that was where its existence ended, as Sombra shattered its core with one blow.

"Mhrr...Sombra?" he turned to see the Bard looking at him, wide-eyed.

"I’m sorry..." Sombra said softly "I didn’t mean to hurt you. Before OR now.," he walked over to it, and held out a hopeful hoof "I cannot expect you to forgive me, but-"

"Mhrr....already forgiven!" the Bard declared, accepting the raised hoof, deciding the Sombra that’d protected him wasn’t like the bad one from before.

Sombra felt a sense of great relief, and hope...just as he set his hoof back down on the floor, he heard voices echoing from up ahead. On instinct he moved to shield the bard, body tensed...

Twilight Sparkle and the others came haring down the steps, racing towards where they’d seen the bolt of magic flee. They skidded to halt when they clocked the two figures ahead of them!

The Crystal Bard, peering out from behind Sombra, who was looking ready for a fight. Shards of a detonated core littered the floor to one side. They also noticed the change in outfit.

"What we miss?" Rainbow Dash asked. Sombra realized it was them and relaxed, dropping the battle stance! The Bard seen the group and toddled out from behind Sombra, waving at them.

"Aww...hey there fella!" Applejack beamed, trotting over.

Sombra shivered slightly. Although the magic of the elements had undone the drug's influence, he still had all the aches and pains from his battle.

"Now THAT is a design I just ADORE, darling!" he turned as Rarity spoke. She darted around him, examining the new cloak, and squeeing in delight at the shoes.

"It did come from your elements it seems," Sombra said "perhaps it knows your designs?"

Rarity looked pleased at the compliment, and sincerely hoped it was true!

"Ooh, funky!" Pinkie Pie whooped.

"Somehow this style could only suit you!" Rarity declared. At Sombra’s baffled look, she explained. "You have JUST the right bearing to pull off such an aristocratic look, the style, plus posture, it’s a perfect match!"

"Straight from the horses mouth!" Applejack joked to Sombra, and everypony else groaned.

"Sorry y'all!" Applejack said with a chuckle.

Sombra managed a faint laugh, but even this seemed to make him feel weary. He was ushered back to his rooms, where a concerned doctor waited. Luckily, he wasn’t hurt, just exhausted. Once everypony left, Sombra curled up under the covers and passed out.

He awoke sometime later, to feel a hoof pressing against his forehead. He jolted, temporarily disorientated by a rush of muddled up memories.

He made a frantic gasping sound, trying to raise his head-

"P-please calm down sir!" he recognized that voice. It was Heartrate, the doctor’s aide. Sombra looked at him fuzzily.

"Sorry..." he croaked at last "I didn’t know where I was...everything’s a little messed up.."

"You’ve been asleep for almost a day, take it easy," Heartrate regarded him cautiously "how do you feel?"

"Sick, my head aches...but otherwise fine..." Sombra let his head fall back onto the pillow "but..tell me, is that guard alright? I didn’t get his name.."

"The guard? Oh, you mean Light Shield! Yes, he was fine. Pretty freaked out really."

"Understandable.." Sombra murmured sleepily.

"He’s feeling pretty bad about attacking you, last I heard he was planning to quit-WHOA!" for as he spoke those words, Sombra suddenly sat bolt upright.

"S-sir?" Heartrate stared in concern "you should lie still-"

"What was that last thing you said?" Sombra blurted, wide awake now "he was WHAT?!"

"P-planning to quit- hey, you shouldn’t be up!" for now Sombra was staggering off the bed, grabbing his cloak and draping it over his back, his magic shakily doing up the clasp. The aide babbled ineffectively as Sombra put on the armoured shoes.

"I’m going to have a talk with that idiotic stallion!" Sombra muttered.

"Is there ANY point in trying to stop you?" Heartrate asked at last. Feeling sorry for him Sombra settled on a compromise;

"Let me go deal with this matter, and I'll be right back here! I promise."

Satisfied by Sombra’s honest, blunt tone, Heartrate sighed but nodded, and watched the taller stallion bolt out of the room.

He trotted anxiously through the castle, hoping it wasn’t too late to find the pony.

In the end, somepony directed him to the guards barracks. The new armor and crown crafted by the elements caught the light, and shone. He had to admit it felt better to be wearing something on his hooves again, but he hadn’t wanted to wear his old armor any more. It’d felt...wrong.

The two guards at the entrance door were in the middle of a conversation and didn’t see Sombra at first. But when they heard somepony clear their throat they snapped to attention. They seemed a little surprised to see the unicorn, but quickly recovered their nerve.

"Is everything alright sir?" one asked.

"I need to find one of the guards, Light Shield." Sombra looked slightly concerned "it’s imperative I speak to him!"

Drawn by the voices at the door, one of the bases Commanding Officers came over. When he heard who Sombra was looking for, he said he’d take it from here!

"Truthfully, if you’re here for the reason I hope, your highness, then you may be just in time!"

“Time for what?" Sombra asked as they crossed the big open training ground. There was some sort of speed-training course going on.

The commanding pony stopped to briefly bellow orders, telling them to continue until he got back. Sombra felt their curious gazes on his back as he strode after the other pony.

"As I was saying, you may be just in time to stop that idiot from leaving," the pony sighed.

"Why is he leaving? What happened was out of his control!" Sombra frowned as they approached the doors to the sleeping area.

"He was pretty shaken up. You must understand how it seemed to him. Its clear you’re still adjusting to your new job, but to a royal guard, attacking those were trained to protect is unthinkable. He’s adamant he has to go, but maybe he'll listen to YOU!"

"I’m certainly not leaving until he does!" Sombra said bluntly.

Light Shield was at his bed in the barracks, surrounded by his friends, who were also trying to make him change his mind, or at least feel better.

"Guardpony Light Shield!" he jolted as he heard his COs voice "There’s somepony here to see you!"

Light Shield noticed his friends all fell silent, but paid no heed.

"I’m sorry sir," Light Shield didn’t look round "but they'll have to leave it for now.."

"This is somepony I am NOT giving you the option of ignoring soldier!" the CO barked.

Light Shield sighed, backed away from the bed, and seen why his friends looked so startled. The pony accompanying his CO was none other than Prince Sombra!!

"Oh ponyfeathers.." he squeaked. The Prince must’ve come to give him a right chewing out over attacking him. He tried not to look as scared as he honestly felt. This was why he’d tried to quit, in the hopes of escaping before the furious Prince came looking for him!

He forced himself to stand still and look up at the taller unicorn as he strode over. The other guards noticed Sombra still looked very pale, flushed slightly from the mere effort of racing round the palace halls and beyond.

"What is this NONSENSE I was told about you leaving your job?"

"I could not continue after what I-"

“Listen," Sombra said sharply "don’t stand there and give ME a lecture on making mistakes. In case you haven’t read a history book- I’m pretty sure a lunacy-fuelled hostile takeover far defeats one count of possession. You screwed up once-"

“You don’t understand your highness!" Light Shield shuddered as he recalled "how it feels to have your mind enslaved by.." he trailed off as Sombra cocked his head to one side, his gaze unwavering.

"Finished?" Sombra said "let me tell you something: I was no older then Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends when my OWN power got loose and drove me insane. It took over, changed EVERYTHING. More than just my mind was lost that day. Seeing it NOW, you think it doesn’t make me sick to my stomach? And I can’t even remember most of it! It’s just hazy images and echoes, but it’s enough."

Light Shield and his group were all stunned silent. Everypony was. Was he saying he’d gone from a child to an adult at the point of the takeover? It was the only way the history books made sense.

"Whatever you felt during that whole ordeal, I can sadly say I’ve been there, endured that. I KNOW what it can do to you. So listen NOW; do NOT let this small mistake stop you in your tracks. I made that mistake, and look what happened." he shook his head, the distant look fading from his gaze.

He jabbed a hoof at Light Shield, "I cannot fix what I did, but I sure as HAY can stop you from recreating my mistakes. If needs be I will hound Shining Armor until he changes your mind. OR I will persuade Cotton Candy to follow you around with a flugelhorn, playing THE most obnoxious tune I can teach her, until you listen to reason!"

Light Shields jaw was on the floor. He was shocked silly. So were his friends.

"Well?!" Sombra demanded almost imperiously "do you understand what I’m telling you?"

A mute nod.

"And?" the unicorn stared sternly at him. "What say you now?"

Light Shield opened and shut his mouth, unable to speak.

"Do it," one of his friends backed Sombra statement "it won’t be the same if you leave! You wanted to be a guard as long as I’ve known you! Remember when you first joined?"

"Yeah! And when Shining Armor said you had the best record for the agility course the first day he took over!"

Light Shield looked from them to Sombra. The Prince was standing there calmly, watching him with an expectant air. It struck not just him but a lot of them just how much he’d changed since reappearing in the Empire. Even the way he carried himself was different. The change in the armor he wore made him look ever more at home in the Empire.

"Do I need to inform Shining Armor you intend to stay, or-?" Sombra looked at Light Shield.

"No, your highness," Light Shield heaved a sigh of relief he hadn’t known he’d been holding "I will inform him myself."

"Excellent." Sombra’s expression softened slightly, he looked relieved to hear it. He turned to go.

"B-but...sire..." he paused mid step and turned to look at Light Shield again.

"I-I don’t understand something....well, THINGS."

"What would those be?" Sombra asked.

"How did that thing get into my head? And how in Equestria did you get it OUT again?!"

"The first one, and I think you will know this when you hear it, was because of your ambivalence towards ME. That creature is a master at manipulating, twisting. Since the start its been hounding me at every turn, trying to make me believe what isn’t true, hoping what happened in the past could be used to get me out of its way. Since that has so far failed, it has turned to using others. Undoubtedly it was random, there was no doubt a plethora of targets it could’ve gone for, you just happened to be the closest, I'll warrant."

Everypony was caught up now, more of them scooting closer to overhear the taciturn Prince’s speech. They heard a lot in his voice, the sharply chosen words. Sadness, regret, even a smidgen of hope.

"After that it was just a matter of crowding out every other thought but those that served its purpose. As for how I extracted it, i cannot explain the spell. It seems my magic cannot be controlled simply by studying spells, it is largely instinctive. Perhaps that is a fault of never being trained in it. It was simply a spell to bring that darkness to my own. It had taunted enough times our magic’s bear similarity that I hazarded a guess it could work in my favor. That’s all it was."

"All?" somepony said in disbelief "that sounds like advanced magic to me!"

"You weren’t trained?" one of Light Shields friends looked at Sombra, eyebrows raised "ever?"

Sombra shook his head "That is the theory behind why I lost control. A thousand years ago, dark magic was viewed as the end of all that was decent and right with the world. I was kept away from other ponies and spell books whenever possible. They were terrified of what’d happen if I were to ever master it!"

"Wow, that sucks." somepony at the back remarked.

"That’s how things were back then. Logic and common sense did not prevail then. Superstition and wild theory’s ruled their minds," he smiled, but it was dampened a wistful sort of sadness.

Light Shield was looking depressed again, so Sombra walked closer again, lowering his voice so only the guard and two standing near to him heard.

"Whatever it is you’re still clinging onto, it won’t do you a bit of good. Your objections to my being here are understandable. That thing just used that as a jumping point. It could’ve happened to anypony who shared your feelings. So drop it. Clear?"

A relieved nod.

"Good." Sombra turned and was part way to the door when Light Shield realised he wanted to say something else to the stallion. He didn’t feel half as nervous of Sombra as he’d first been. It was with this in mind that he held out a hoof.

"Thank you, your highness," he said with a surge of relief and gratitude "I will not desert those I swore to protect!"

Relieved to see his efforts had sunk in, Sombra was glad to accept the hoof shake.

Once Light Shield had set his hoofs back on the ground, he straightened his posture and snapped off a formal salute. The concerned CO could only grin to himself at how quickly Sombra had been able to make the recruit see sense.

Impressed by what they’d heard, and impressed by Sombra’s blunt honesty and admission of the past, the others copied the gesture. They had a new-found respect for the unicorn. The sound of hoofs stepping back onto the hard floor echoed around the barracks.

"And for the record sire," Light Shield said quietly to Sombra "I don’t think there would’ve been all that many for it to have chosen from. Not anymore."

"Looks like I got here just in time!"

The two turned to see Shining Armor standing there. He gave Sombra a grin.

"Hey buddy, been looking everywhere for you! The doctor’s having a fit, and his aides having a panic. Seems they’re a little concerned you’re pushing yourself too hard again."

"Ah, I had forgotten I promised the aide id return right away. I should get back.."

"I just got the letter you left!” Shining Armor looked at Light Shield "I came here to try and persuade you otherwise, but it looks like somepony already has."

Light Shield felt himself flush, feeling silly now for how he’d acted. He glanced at Sombra as he spoke "Yes sir. I wasn’t thinking clearly...I panicked."

"It’s over now, no sense in worrying about it." Shining Armor told him.

He stayed briefly to chat with the CO, and then he left, along with Sombra.

That night, at dinner, Shining Armor recanted the tale of Sombra apparently averting the loss of a good guard pony.

"That’s a relief, tha poor fellah must’ve been scared silly!" Applejack said "But it weren’t his fault, that thing just...used him!"

"It took of advantage of his distrust," Sombra said softly "it’s getting desperate, trying anything and everything."

"To be rid of YOU," Shining Armor pointed out. "It worried me how far it’s going. But you are, literally, the backbone of this empires resistance to its takeover. It’s obsessed with defeating you, hoping everypony else will crumble."

"This empire could stand well enough without me," Sombra said bluntly "it underestimates what you are all capable of-ow!"

For Applejack, who was sat next to him, suddenly reached up and flicked his ear with one hoof.

"Knock it off sugarcube. Yer not going nowhere, so don’t go saying that stuff. We'd be galloping up crap canyon without a saddle if you weren’t saving our collective rears." she shook her head "we gotta train ya outta this self-depreciation thing ya got goin'. If anypony ever perfects time travel, I’m gonna go back and smack yer parents round the head so hard they'll be waking up a week later!"

This caused a wave of laughter across the table, particularly Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash! Sombra flushed slightly, Twilight Sparkle noticed.

But, and she seen the same knowing look on Cadance’s face when she glanced over, he didn’t look so uneasy about accepting what everypony said to him. He hadn’t been used to kindness and compliments when he arrived, and even now, she noticed he still automatically shied away from letting anypony thank him, although he was slowly getting better!

A night later and Sombra found himself unable to sleep. So he took himself up to the tower again, where, as before, Luna was watching the stars.

"Sombra," she smiled gently "can thou not sleep?"

"Sadly no. Something feels unsettled...I wish I could explain more than that."

"No need, this strange phenomenon is beyond any of us..." she looked out at the rippling tear in the sky "what is its plan, one wonders?"

"All I know for sure is it wants this world, its own must be failing." Sombra trailed off. He glanced at the Princess, noticing she seemed to have something on her mind. She also had the goggles he’d made especially for her hanging loosely round her neck. She noticed, and tapped them with one hoof.

"We keep watch over the night, lest those foul creatures attack whilst everypony sleeps." Her smile faded somewhat, and Sombra sensed something bugging her.

"Something the matter?" he asked.

"We wish to ask your counsel, in regards to dark magic..."

Sombra blinked, surprised, but he knew she wasn’t fooling about, the serious look on her face said it all.

"I will try to explain it as best I can. What exactly do you wish to know?"

"How do you control it?" seeing his perplexed frown as he made to object she shook her head at him "thou has remarkable skill in reigning your power in, we have seen it for ourselves. You claim you fear it taking over, yet from what we seen, it is at YOUR beck and call! Perhaps, in the past, thou made mistakes, but at the present, you are the only one in the empire capable to fighting those things AND drive them back!"

"Guess I can’t argue with that..." Sombra smiled a little "but honestly? I don’t understand how I control it now. As I said to Princess Twilight Sparkle, my magic doesn’t function through spells and study, it just seems to BE. The spells I want just seem to weave themselves from my head. I wish I could provide a more lucid explanation, but that’s the best I can do.”

"As you may already know, my sister and I, we know a little of dark magic. So does Twilight Sparkle. But we only possess slivers of knowledge compared to the volume thou possesses. Long have we had time to meditate on our mistakes in the past. We had studied dark magic, shortly before our...transformation.."

“You think that’s what helped you change?" Sombra asked, getting the point quickly.

She nodded, looking worried "it has lingered in our mind on many a night. Even more so since you returned here. We had thought it prudent to wait and see how you responded to your return, before going after answers."

"To see if I was still crazy.." Sombra smiled very faintly "no need for concern. I would be wary of me too, were I in your place."

"Do not mistake past doubts for what they are now!" she said sharply, seeing the familiar resignation briefly flash over his features. He jolted slightly, and she smiled sympathetically "lest you forget, we both made similar mistakes in our pasts. And you have shown everypony you are more than just a piece of the past. Cease misjudging thyself Sombra, this empire is lucky you are here."

This silenced any retort Sombra may have had, and after a moment, he just nodded.

"Good," Luna said firmly "now, how do you think you keep your magic in check?"

"I’m not sure," Sombra said hesitantly "I guess there’s always the thought in the back of my mind, that I can’t have another incident like the past. Also, so many ponies keep saying this power isn’t a curse, that I...started to believe them I guess..."

"It is as any other pony would regulate their power. You have allowed yourself to become more relaxed around it, and instead of stress and fear keeping it supressed, you allow your natural instincts to watch over it."

“You’ve answered your own query there then," Sombra said curiously "surely all you need to do is keep calm if you should try to use dark magic-"

"It is not so easy. You are gifted in dark magic, but for the rest of us, it is an arduous, dangerous path to learn even the basics. It has been so long since we last thought about the nightmare moon incident; we did not think we could have used dark magic to change ourselves. But, we spoke with our sister, and she told us the truth of that night. When we lost our temper and lashed out at her, books about dark magic littered our private chambers. We know not why, but perhaps we thought we could make ourselves stronger with dark magic."

"I see why it has been forbidden all this time," Sombra said softly, looking at the stars "in the wrong hooves, it can cause corruption and madness. Even being born with it did not spare me from its influence. I do not know what it is like to possess any other kind of magic. I wonder just how I can possibly help you, Princess..."

"I wish to try a spell or two; I ask that you merely keep an eye on the proceedings. Even if you don’t know the spell, you know how it should FEEL when it is correct. Even Celestia has recommended you be the first port of call. You know more then you think. Perhaps this will encourage you to cease regarding your magic with distaste."

"No fooling you is there Princess..." he sighed softly "even knowing this power is a core part of me doesn’t stop me from looking at it and wondering how I would be if I had normal unicorn magic."

"You would not be YOU." Luna said bluntly "You would not be the crown Prince of the empire, the pony that has given so much to protect defenceless citizens and us."

Luna asked him to help her use a simple dark magic spell. He nodded, closing his eyes, and when he opened then, their familiar glow was mirrored in Princess Luna’s. He also seen the same trepidation he had felt on first regaining his magic in this modern day.

"You have to be firm-hoofed with it," somehow the words just came to him "you let your guard slip, that’s when the darkness will run rampant. Like a crack in a window, it will rapidly spread until it shatters. It’s STILL your magic, so make sure you tell it that."

Luna nodded, her expression becoming more resolute.

"What spell had you wished to try?" Sombra asked once he was sure she was comfortable with the power.

"Just a basic teleport spell. We have studied one that reminds us of how YOU teleport, it seems to have a bigger range then a normal one."

This was true, and Sombra related how he’d transported himself from the school to the podium where Cadance and Shining Armor had been holding their meeting.

"And whilst you maintained a shield?" Luna was impressed "thou underestimate thyself, thy talent is admirable."

"I had not thought about like that..." Sombra shrugged "in a way I’m still learning, myself. Not just from my past mistakes but from the sheer amount of power there seems to be within me.."

He got up and disappeared, reappearing atop a floating crystal platform a short distance from the tower. He turned to face Luna, who stood by the window.

"Just try to transport yourself over to me," he said, feeling a small shred on confidence grow. Maybe he COULD use his magic to help another learn to use dark powers.

Luna nodded.

"Control oneself.." she said firmly, before closing her eyes. In her mind she willed the spell to work, to transport her to beside Prince Sombra. From this distance she was aware of his power, in her mind it was like a purple flame, and she threw the spells anchor towards that glow.

With a flash of black-blue flame she vanished, and appeared face to face with him on the platform. Hesitantly opening one eye she seen his amused expression, and realized it’d worked.

"Huzzah!" she declared loudly.

"Indeed," he said with a nod "now for a little further..."

Then he vanished, but this time he wasn’t within visible distance.

"Sombra?" Luna frowned "what joke is this?"

When she got no answer she made a cross huffing sound, then realized this was part of the favor shed requested of him. He WAS trying to teach her.

"Very well, we will find you, post haste!" she declared, and shut her eyes once more. Doing as shed done before, seeking out the purple flare of his power- there!

There was a rush of magic and she felt herself disappear, and reappear elsewhere. The sounds of birds chirping answered her as she opened her eyes. Sombra was sat on the other side of the clearing, and nodded as he got to his feet.

"This is intriguing," Luna murmured "there is no mental spell set to follow, yet we found our way!"

"Perhaps that is the key to dark magic. It is controlled by the users mind, not spells like normal magic. I had never thought of it that way..." Sombra mused.

He put Luna through a few more tests, hopping from place to place around the empire, winding up back in the tower.

He noticed Luna wince when she reappeared, and insisted she stop there.

"We can handle ourselves!" Luna said crossly, but Sombra shook his head.

"It is not that I doubt your magical ability Princess Luna, rather that I fear over exposure may harm you." she said softly "trust me in this; you must become accustomed to the darkness if you wish to embrace its power once more."

Luna realized he was very serious, and nodded. When she opened her eyes they’d returned to normal. She smiled, seeing his magical aura still shining.

"Somehow that look seems suited to you," she said, meaning the ethereal green glow, and the faint purple aura "it is as that prophecy says, you were born to wield this kind of power."

"Doesn’t always mean I’m ready to," he said almost sadly, then shrugged lightly "I would recommend we stop until another night."

Although a bit saddened she hadn’t progressed much, Luna understood what he was saying. Sombra understood dark magic the way everypony used normal magic. The tricky part lay in translating his natural gifted instincts into a way to understand the power.

The next night he returned, and continued to show her little by little how he created the spells he used to summon those spikes of purple crystal. When Luna focused, and succeeded in making a bunch of spikes surround her, she looked so buoyed by this success he had to congratulate her.

"We will learn even more!" Luna declared "Perhaps one day we may be able to wield it as you do!"

Although pleased by the fact she was learning so fast and dealing well with the slow pace of the lessons, Sombra still felt a twinge of unease.

The third night he was starting to feel the strain of playing Prince and protector by day, and teacher by night.

"Art thou alright?" Luna asked curiously as he yawned softly.

"I’m fine," he said softly "no need for concern, Princess..."

She studied him a moment, before letting it go. But just as he was about to launch into a demonstration of how to use those crystal spike spells strategically, he suddenly huddled over in pain.

"Is it one of those things?!" Luna blurted, recognizing the sudden onslaught of pain from the last time they’d fought one together!

Sombra nodded.

"Then let us defeat it, post haste!" she declared. Once the pain had faded, Sombra teleported the both of them to where he could sense the dark, creeping power.

"I...I think if eel it..." Luna said as they appeared a short distance away from what resembled a warzone. Those things were racing about, causing damage and trying to drag ponies from their homes. On realizing they had two very angry pursuers, the creatures turned on them instead.

But what at first seemed disorganized soon revealed itself to be a long-planned TRAP. They centered on Sombra, diving and whirling around him like a multi-pronged tornado. Luna, distracted trying to herd the citizens away from the fight, heard him cry out in pain and spun round, seeing him snarling and fighting to get free from what resembled a small tear in the very AIR.

"SOMBRA!" She bellowed, aiming a bolt of magic at the closest one that had its fangs sunk into his foreleg. She tried to help him tear free from the insipid darkness trying to drag him in. Shaking its head to clear it from Luna’s attack spell, the angry shadow pony charged her. Sombra tried to push her aside but her hold on him was too strong, and the creature barreled into both of them, knocking them into the mini tear, which wavered and snapped shut, the tenuous link severed by those that’d created it.

The ponies Luna had been helping exchanged frightened murmurs, and somepony ran to fetch the guards...

"What? Gone?" Shining Armor stared at the guard who’d woken him and Cadance at the crazily late hour of the night.

"Y-yes sir...witness reports say the Prince and Princess were trying to fight a whole bunch of those things. They tried to drag Prince Sombra into the rip in the air, and Princess Luna almost managed to stop them. But then they attacked the both of them and they couldn’t get away in time, and were dragged into it."

Celestia was of course worried sick when she heard what’d happened. That both her sister and Sombra were confirmed missing, abducted by those things-!

Luna winced as she slowly floated back to consciousness.

"Ow, my head.." she groaned.

"Take it easy.." she jolted awake at a familiar rumbling tone. Looking up she seen Sombra sat nearby, looking tired but alert.

"What hath happened...where are we?" she asked "last we recall is trying to help you.."

"Those things pulled us into their world.." Sombra looked gravely serious "I’m sorry Princess Luna, I should not have put you in such danger by dragging you into this-"

"Stifle thy prattling!" Luna objected "we volunteered ourselves to help defend this kingdom! If you can do it, why should we not do so?"

"Because apparently I’m built like a line-backer, and spoiling for a fight. Ask the palace doctor, he’ll tell you I’m sufficiently bull-headed to take as much of a clobbering as I give. I would not wish even a fraction of the battering I have endured on you, Princess. Those things are very dangerous!"

"And what propose you? That we sit by idly and watch you carry that burden alone? As I believe Twilight Sparkle and her friends showed you, you aren’t alone, there are we ways we can help thee. We will not risk you burning out because you are trying to shield us...”

Sombra faltered, unable to think how too dissuade her any further. She stared levelly at him.

"Thy courage is admirable, and your will to protect us all even more so. But we are all part of this, and we for one will not shirk our duty."

Sombra gave a worried sigh "then just be careful, don’t put yourself in the path of a fight...leave that part to me...”

She nodded, accepting he would always try to shoulder the entire burden alone, all she and the others could do was watch over him and try to keep him from going under.

Now she took in where they were hidden. The ruin of a strange looking building, all cold and seemingly made of stone and metal. Outside the air was humid and smoggy, giving it an air of perpetual darkness.

A small, brilliant purple flame blazed in mid-air not far from them. It gave off a surprising amount of warmth for something so little.

"Where are we...how can we get back?" was her next question. Sombra shook his head, uncertain.

"The tear is far from here. Wherever we are, it’s a fair distance from the exit. And I get the feeling that tear is heavily guarded. There are...I hesitate to call them spells, they do not have that quality. But SOMETHING is guarding that place. It would be one heck of a fight to get through there, one I’m not sure we would both survive..."

She noticed he winced as he got his hooves, and realised a wound on his leg was still bleeding.

She demanded he let her see, and he spent a good half minute trying to evade her, until at last she got him to hold out the injured right foreleg.

It had a nasty bite wound, which appeared, to her concern, to be infected. A familiar dark crystalline rash was appearing around the wound.

"The plague..." she said softly. He nodded.

"It seems different this time, even though I have already fought it once before.."

She reached out a hoof to inspect the wound closer, but Sombra shook his head sharply and moved away.

"I cannot risk this spreading. I do not know is it as rapid as it was the first time, but you best not come into contact if possible."

Luna nodded, "We must get back to our world. And fetch thou some of that miraculous tea you used to save the empire..."

He nodded, but she noticed how pale he looked, and how much the leg seemed to hurt.

"We must make our move now." she said, determined to get them out of there. She plopped the goggles over her eyes "we cannot linger on this plane..."

"No arguments there..." he said softly.

"Its strange..." she said a moment later "even though you are right there, I cannot easily sense your magic like before.."

"I have suspected many a time that my wavelength and the pattern of these things power bears some similarity. Perhaps here I merely fade into the background."

"No," Luna shook her head "your magic still burns brightly, but it’s as if something is muffling it..."

"Stay close.." Sombra said as he limped towards a crater in the side of the rotting building "you would not wish to be lost here.”

They stepped out of the cover of the building, the fire that’d been keeping them warm now snuffed out. Luna was instantly hit by a wave of numbing cold and shivered.

Before she could voice her disapproval of the temperature, warmth draped itself over her back. She blinked realizing it was Sombra’s fancy cloak. She blinked at it, and then looked at him.

"What about you? You’ll put thyself at risk of the cold...”

"The cold doesn’t bother ME," Sombra smiled faintly, "the memory is fuzzy, but I recall a name one of my closest guards gave me after finding out where I’d come from. He referred to me as "Sombra of the frozen north". Appropriate really. I came from a place always steeped in snow and ice, remember?"

"Of course, the place from thy nightmares..." Luna realized he had a point.

"So I’m used to the cold, but you however, are not. Let’s keep moving, you’ll warm up if you move.."

Luna nodded, and then an idea popped into her head. She undid the length of fabric that was pinned by the brooch around the collar of the outfit, tying this around Sombra’s injured leg, in an effort to stem the bleeding. It still seemed to hurt him to walk, and his steps were offset by the awkward gait.

"Dost thou have a plan?" Luna asked.

"Regrettably no, I could not sense much from this world, I just know the point of the tear is the closest wall we can tear through, how to do that? I guess I’ll have to work something out."

"You mean WE will. And I do not mean the royal "we" either!" Luna said pointedly, striding ahead of him to make a point.

Behind her Sombra gave a small sigh, but conceded he could not fight this battle alone, he just hoped she didn’t get hurt!

They trudged along in silence, both on edge, expecting something to lurch out at them from the shadows.

"This place is so strange...these buildings look like nothing back home. What is this creature’s true form..?"

"Who knows..." Sombra mused "but this place feels....fundamentally wrong somehow."

"It’s dying," Luna realized "that’s why it wants Equestria, isn’t it?"

Sombra nodded "that is my own guess also. The sheer level of magic there makes it prime real estate for that thing..."

Ahead of them a massive building loomed, it looked to be built of old weathered stone, although bricks showed through in patches. As far as they could see, with every other building blasted to rubble, it was the best way forward.

A large archway led inside. The two ponies trod cautiously, Luna swore Sombra would be asking what that thudding sound was, as her heart was hammering away so loudly. Inside the building was even stranger. The high ceiling stretched up high above their heads. The windows were so clogged with dust and cobwebs the light they let in was thin at best, and the further they went in the less they could see. Luna focused her magic, and a second later a sharp blue glow lit the expansive room. And she let out an involuntary gasp, and Sombra swore softly.

They WEREN’T alone. Around them strange creatures stood. To the two ponies they resembled a stretched pony, if that pony had stood up on its hind legs. Creeping closer they seen instead of hooves, their forelegs ended in funny spindly things, as if the creature had stuck a spider on the end of a long leg. The hind legs bent at an odd angle. Its neck was all wrong, short and skinny. Its head was the final indicator what they were looking at wasn’t a pony. It was rounded, with a tiny nose, and eye sockets like saucers. An ugly grimace took place of a mouth, and from these orifices ran smears of a blackish sludge. Its skin was like plastic, and Sombra likened it to one of Rarity’s dress dummies, it had that same look. At its joints, cracks and fissures had formed, and a crystalline coating prevented them from moving very well at all. Sombra cast a fleeting glance at his injured leg. The pain had dulled a bit, but the same crystal rash was spreading further from the wound than ever...

"Sweet big sister!" Luna whispered. A scraping sound followed her words...

Sombra turned his head slightly, and felt his insides freeze up. More had come out of the shadows, they were inching towards the pair. He noticed the taller ones heads were angled differently, that meant they were staring at-

"Princess!" he whispered sharply "it’s your magic, I think they can pick up on it, extinguish your light!"

"But how will we see?" she shot back.

"Let me try MINE," seeing her baffled look" please, I need you to trust me."

She nodded, switching her light off. A seconds worth of darkness before Sombra lit a small purple flame in the air above their heads, its slightly more muted light adding an extra layer of creepiness to the scene. Luna saw to her horror one of the spindly spider-hooves was on the verge of touching her mane. She shuddered and side stepped away from it. But she noticed the creatures gazes were now staring blankly up at the ceiling again.

"They crave the light," Sombra said softly "no matter how insubstantial.."

"Then our magic will draw them to us. I mean, mine. Thy fire appears uninteresting to these foul beings."

"For once, being born in darkness has its advantages," Sombra started to creep forward, edging between the creatures, then paused and added, "never thought I’d hear myself say THAT!"

Luna shook her head at him. "When will thou learn darkness isn’t always bad?"

"Father said the same thing..." was the reply. They managed to wriggle their way out from between the closed ranks of the strange creatures.

"Where is this place?" Luna observed all the strange things around them. Up above them, attached to the crumbling walls, were what looked like black glass windows but where they were smashed, and no sky could be seen.

"The last victim of this parasite," Sombra said grimly "I know this thing goes from place to place, eating everything good from the world before ripping the sky apart to find a new world..."

"We cannot let this happen," Luna said angrily.

"Whatever it takes to rid the empire of these things." Sombra said.

"My". Luna said.

"Pardon?" he asked absently, nudging at a battered wooden door, trying to avoid the shattered glass.

"Thy phrasing is wrong, it was to be "to rid MY Empire", are we not right?" she said.

A slight pause, then a faint, almost unreadable smile, before he turned back to what he was doing.

"We will see to it thou overcomes this awkwardness, one way or another, Sombra!" she said.

Sombra smart-alec remark was abandoned as he finally succeeded in getting the door open. They stumbled out into a strange room. They were stood upon a platform of stone, with pillars dotted about. Ahead of them the platform cut off. Peering over its edge they seen it wasn’t in fact a bottomless chasm, but only a few feet down to more stone, with what were different, but still recognizable as railway lines.

"Perhaps there are similarities after all.." Sombra muttered.

They stood a moment, wondering which way was the way out. Then Sombra noticed the flame was flickering, jabbing towards the left side. He nudged Luna and they headed off down that way, the small shimmering flame their only guide.

Just as Luna was starting to feel distinctly claustrophobic, they emerged into a platform much like the last one, only this time it was on the opposite side. The place seemed deserted, but as they hopped up onto the platform, they heard a funny, clattering sound.

"What the buck...” Sombra said hoarsely as he seen what was staggering towards them. More of those things from before, only these ones weren’t as decayed as the others. The strange black sludge dripped from their ghoulish faces, and the cracks in their joints. But they could walk easily, albeit with a funny, lurching gait.

"What do we do?" Luna said, glaring at them.

"No choice, we’ll have to fight....that is-" He did a double take when he seen the familiar green glow around Luna’s eyes.

"I may not know much but I can help a little!" She said defiantly.

Sombra nodded, and charged forward as the first of the creatures reached out for him. He charged his full weight into it, sending it skidding back into several of its friends, knocking them over like skeletal bowling pins. He cursed in pain as he was forced to put weight on the injured leg. But when he felt strange spider-limbs grab his ear and dig in, the stab of pain overrode the other one. He snarled in fury, tearing free and kicking his attacker back. This one didn’t fall. Instead it merely staggered, its black sockets regarding him eerily. It raised the limb with the drops of blood on it and grinned evilly.

--That one, it’s the leader!!-- Sombra recognized this tactic. So when the creature tried to slink back into the crowd of its buddies, Sombra refused to let it out of his sight. Even when he felt other ones bump into him, their scrabbling spider limbs trying to grab his mane, he ignored them all.

Luna, meanwhile, was doing what she’d seen Sombra do, kick like a mule! She may have had a smaller build then he, but she put her all into it. Her hard-as-diamond shoes cracked the creatures limbs, disabling them, leaving them only able to crawl along on their funny looking forelegs. It was as she was whirling to duck another’s attack she noticed the weapons pouch still latched around Sombra’s middle. She briefly used her normal magic to pull the spear free from its holding, and started using it with gusto, swinging the heavy weapon with as much strength as she had. The sharp tip broke their brittle bodies, more dark goo spilling out of them. Some clattered to the floor when too much drained from them.

She was preparing to dispatch the next when it suddenly shuddered, and crashed to the cold stone floor, where it lay, jerking spasmodically. She turned, seeing Sombra standing above the shattered remains of another one.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Remember that day, when that thing took the collar off? Well there was ONE sole controller manipulating those others. It seems it’s an inherited tactic. These older things follow the same pattern."

They made good their escape, racing through the abandoned station and back outside into the eternal half-light. Luna was once again grateful for the cloak he’d given her, as the air was bitingly cold.

"Are YOU Alright?" Sombra asked. Luna nodded. But as they walked, she noticed him stumbling more, and it wasn’t because the ground was uneven.

"Sombra...?" She said in a worried tone "is it getting worse?"

Without speaking, he just nodded. She moved round to his other side, and felt a twinge of concern.

The infection was spreading, and much like the creatures that’d attacked them, it was making it hard to bend the leg. The swathe of fabric she’d tied over the wound was soaked through from what she could tell.

"We can’t stop.." Sombra said before she could suggest it "we have to keep going!"

Ahead of them the way seemed clear, visible gaps between the rubble piles giving them somewhere to head. But of course, nothing is that easy. They’d barely made it a few streets when the sound of rubble shifting split the eerie silence.

"Run!" Sombra barked. Luna didn’t argue. She pelted ahead; the spear held under her wing. Focusing the dark magic was hard, but she didn’t have a choice. Those things were drawn to her magic like moths to a flame! Bad enough so many were tracking them as it was! Sombra kept up with her as best he could, although the pain in his leg from every hoofstep made him start to feel sick and dizzy.

--I don’t think I can do this for much longer...we have to hurry!!-

But as they darted across an intersecting set of streets, what seemed like a whole legion burst out from the dirtied rubble. Luna skidded to a halt, readying the spear again. Behind her she heard Sombra growl an obscenity under his breath, and sensed the familiar presence of his magic.

Sombra was just barely managing to hold them off, when one of the craftier, less mangled ones tackled him from the side; its spindly limbs clawing at his injured leg. The flash of pain was so intense it didn’t just make his guard drop, it shattered it and his spell. The attack he’d been about to unleash short circuited as he was slammed into the cold ground. He tried to buck the thing off him, but these creatures strange body shape meant they were able to grab his legs and pin him to the icy ground. Looking up through pain blurred vision, he seen another above him, wielding a rusty pipe.

Luna seen this, and her anger spiked.

"Release him whelp!" she bellowed, her voice making the creatures disorientated. She closed her eyes, summoning up her magic, entwining it with the dark power she was able to use.

"BEGONE!" She shouted, opening her eyes and glaring at the creatures.

To her surprise, her words literally hurt those things. She seen the literal letters, carved from jagged purple-blue crystal, fly into the attackers, shattering their fragile bodies.

"Cease!" she yelled next, this round cleaving the body of the one wielding the pipe in two. The metal pole rolled to the ground, and the ones pinning Sombra released him in favour of her.

"Thou. Shalt. Not. WIN!" with each word she felt her power grow. It was strangely exhilarating.

Soon they were all gone, and she stood triumphant.

Then, she recalled why she'd been fighting. Funny, for a second there she'd almost forgotten...

"Sombra!" she ran over to him. He had a funny look on his face, underneath the mask of pain that is. "Can thou stand?"

"I-I think so...” he stammered. He staggered to his feet, but the first few steps caused him to snarl in pain. But he forced himself on, although he was limping badly now.

She tried again to make him let her take a look at the wound, but he shook his head, insisting he wouldn’t see this infect her too!

Their trek led them to the crest of what looked from a distance like a hill, but turned out to be a cliff. This truly WAS a dark endless chasm. They stood at its edge, seeing no other way to bridge the gap between them and the floating, shimmering tear in the sky.

"We'll need to build it ourselves..." Sombra said softly.

Luna looked behind them, seeing what from this distance looked like a swarm of insects, but that she knew was more of those things.

"We destroyed so many of their kin, they hunt us." she said bluntly "the dark magic hides us somewhat, but eventually.."

“I know…” Sombra sighed. He closed his eyes a moment "I think I can make the spell, but it means asking you to fight any of those things that get too close..."

"Do not worry thyself," Luna responded, advancing back down the hill "We will not let them pass!"

Worry and fear gnawed at Sombra’s chest as he turned his attention back to the yawning chasm between them and escape.

He shut his eyes, using his innate instinct to form the spell in his mind, the way he’d always done.

In front of him, a purple crystal pathway began to form, inching its way slowly towards the rip in the sky. This seemed to agitate the creatures, as more of them seemed to appear.

Luna discovered her newest talent when she was almost surrounded. She flared her wings in an attempt to push them back, and was rewarded with several heavy thudding sounds. Blinking, she seen her wingtips were now surround by a weightless blue crystal. She tucked the wings in, and flapped them out again. The shards flew through the air.

She launched herself into the sky, spinning round in the air, sending a wide radius of spikes flying. Touching ground again she sliced another in half with the spear.

She looked over at Sombra, and knew time was running out. He was pale, and even from this distance it was obvious the pain was starting to win. He was laboring to breathe, his distant gaze fixated on the rapidly growing bridge. So she urged her power on, feeling it enveloping her normal Alicorn magic, transforming it into dark.

Then the creatures abruptly stopped, their gazes flicking towards the right. She looked over, and seen a flowing black cloud heading towards them. Two distant yellow pinpricks that looked like eyes. Familiar eyes.

She realized with a sinking feeling that this was what they’d been battling. The over-mind, the consciousness behind all those attacker scouts back in the empire.

"Sombra?!" she said urgently.

"I..I know-!" he gasped, a shudder wracking his body, threatening to make him collapse.

Meanwhile, another wave of those things was marching inexorably towards Luna. He heard her yelling, heard the damage her words did. The sound of thier brittle bodies cracking apart.

He turned from his task a moment, and seen something that sent a chill to his core. The grin on her face, that familiar look in her eyes. She was breathign heavily, eyes dilated to small dots.

--No, I have to stop her!!-- he panicked. The bridge was so close now, but he had no choice. Cutting the spell off he turned and ran for Luna, mentally begging her to forgive what he was about to do.

She felt a spell hit her, and before she could form another thought, she blacked out, heavily stunned.

Sombra grabbed her as she fell, nudging her so she lay across his back. Aware of the creatures teeth flashing in the half light as they bit and snapped at him, he turned tail and ran, heading for the almost finished bridge. The approaching cloud, sensing the familiar presence of its long-time foe, screamed with such fury his ear drums ached and his vision blurred. But he forced himself onwards, hoof steps kicking up flares of purple light as he ran along the crystal bridge he’d made, eyes focused on the wavering tear.

He sensed the creature changing course, it was swooping up behind him now. He couldn’t look back. He had to get him and Princess Luna safe, he would not see Celestia lose her sister!

This purpose drove him onwards, his heart racing in time to his hooves. The unfinished end of the bridge loomed, he had one shot at this-

As he approached the end, he put on as much speed a she could, gathered his hind legs under him. Felt something scrape the back of his hind leg..

And jumped.

Across the void. Silence and blood ringing in his ears. He closed his eyes and felt his hooves make contact with the tear. It was enough.

Much like how they’d been pulled in, it took the slightest contact.

They appeared back in the empire, high up in the sky! He experienced a disturbing sense of inertia as they hovered there a split second, then gravity wreaked its revenge and they began to fall. He twisted round in mid-air, clumsily managing to grab hold of Luna with his uninjured leg, his gaze darting over the rapidly encroaching scenery.

There! The palace garden-!

He closed his eyes, dredging up a panic induced teleport, praying it would work. By some stroke of luck, it did. They landed in the flowerbeds, the soft, fragrant plants cushioning their fall by sheer numbers alone. He let go of Luna soon as they landed, and finally came to stop several feet from her. Dazed and winded, he fought to his feet, fighting his way over to her where she lay at the flower beds edge. He seen her eyelids flutter, her chest rise and fall. She was OK.

With relief came the end of adrenaline, and the pain from his leg was like a punch to the gut. He cursed in pain, trying to keep himself steady as he limped a few paces towards the castle.

Then the doors flew open and some blurred shapes were running towards him..

Flash Sentry had been on his way back to his post after a trip to the little colts room, when he seen the flash of a teleport spell out in the gardens. Without pause he gathered Light Shield and another guard and the trio ran outside. What they saw made them simultaneously gasp in shock and sigh in relief.

The bright moonlight lit the scene of an unconscious Luna, and a barely conscious Sombra trying to shield her by the looks of it.

"Your highness?!" Flash Sentry ran towards him, but got a shock when he bumped his nose against a shield that sprang up the next second.

"Sire?" Light Shield blurted. Flash Sentry blinked, seeing it was Sombra who was trying to keep them at bay.

"D-don’t come any closer..." the taller stallion rasped, shaking his head. They were about to ask why when he shifted how he stood with a visible flinch of pain, and they seen it.

It was the black crystal plague all over again. Only this was far more severe an infection. The painful crystal had covered most of his right leg, and appeared to be spreading over his chest.

"This cannot be allowed to spread..." Sombra shook his head. He began limping away from Luna "I do not think this has spread to the Princess. Take care of HER, NOW. I-agh-!"

The next step he took was a step too far. Soon as his right foreleg touched the ground, it sent a bolt of pain so severe he crumpled to the grass. The shield sputtered and died as his reserves of magic ran dry.

He heard hoof steps run by, and sighed in relief. Good, they were tending to the Princess...

"Hey, c'mon big guy!" he sluggishly opened his eyes, seeing Flash Sentry standing by him.

He shook his head, tried to summon the shield again, but he was utterly drained.

"Get away!" he snarled.

Flash Sentry shook his head "Spearhead's gone to get the others. But we will not leave you to suffer alone like this sire."

Soon more guards came running, Shining Armor among them. He took in the fact that Luna seemed unhurt aside from being out cold, and turned his attention to Sombra. It looked bad, the unicorn was trying to keep everypony away from him, even forcing himself to his feet again to try and back away. But the injured leg offset his balance, and he was soon dragged back down by the crippling pain.

The Doctor and his Aide weren’t far behind the guard. He quickly gave orders for Luna to be brought to the medical bay. But Sombra needed to be isolated.

Shining Armor thought about how much agony the unicorn had to be in, and recommended they appropriate one of the ground floor studies. They had big open fireplaces, and the poor stallion wouldn’t have to walk far. Shining Armor stayed as close as he could, and they somehow got Sombra to the study. One of the guards had thoughtfully dragged every one of the big fluffy couch cushions over to the fire, and added more blankets! Ignoring Sombra’s feeble attempts to push them away, Shining Armor and the Doctor at last got him to lie down. Sombra gazed sleepily into the flames, shivering a little even so.

All the Doctor could do was clean and stitch the original wound. Shining Armor was sent to fetch more of the same tea, but a stronger dose this time!

Meanwhile, as the tea was administered to the shocked and shaken Sombra, Celestia had been woken with the news Sombra and her sister were back!

She cried in relief as she seen her sister, fast asleep in the medical bay. She sat with her awhile, as the doctor explained the night Princess was under a sleep spell, but was otherwise unhurt and seemingly uninfected, although soon as she stirred she was going to be given a dose of the tea.

Celestia nuzzled her sister’s cheek and brushed a relieved kiss over her forehead, and then she asked after Sombra.

She was told he was in a bad way, but even so she felt a stab of sympathy when she seen the extent of the infection.

"This appears to have been a different method of delivery," the Doctor told her "he says he was bitten by one of them, so tis likely only infectious via blood contact." Celestia nodded, and the Doc took a post at the back of the room as the Princess sat down not far from Sombra. He blinked, slowly registering her presence. Seeing her seemed to snap his mind back to focus, for the look in his eyes cleared and he managed to sit himself up..

"Princess!" he coughed "is Luna-?"

“She will be fine; she’s sleeping like a baby..." Celestia looked so relieved it made his guilt grow ever stronger "thank you for getting her back, for getting you BOTH back-"

"I’m sorry!" Sombra blurted. Celestia blinked, wondering why he was apologizing. The feverish stallion shook his head, and she seen a look of guilt and unhappiness on his face. "I had to stun her, stop her from...going too deep.."

“What do you mean?" she asked, concerned.

He rattle doff the tale. How normal magic had only spurred those things on, how he’d told her not to use it. She’d been able to pull off a couple of surprisingly adept spells. How she started to seem a little too eager to fight. How, at that moment he’d turned and seen a familiar grin on her face;

"I was worried she was going to lose control.." he closed his eyes as his vision began blurring again, but not from the pain "I’m sorry Princess, there was no other way, that thing was right upon us. I never should have shown her to use it. This whole thing was my fault."

He knew she was going to be furious, but he was too tired to do much more then try to apologize before she got mad. "Please let her know...I’m sorry..."

He was surprised when he felt a hoof lift his head a second later. He blinked, waiting for things to focus.

Celestia didn’t look mad, she still just looked relieved.

"She’s is FINE Sombra. And it was I who suggested she seek your advice on dark magic. After all, we know only a small amount of it ourselves compared to you, and it has long bothered her she knew so little about it. I would not have placed her in anypony else’s tutelage."

He looked surprised, yet so hopeful..

"I have you to thank for getting her back to me. Luna is strong, she will not repeat her mistake. In any case, she has all of us at her side, as do you. We will not lose either of you, in my name I promise that!"

A silent nod.

Celestia smiled kindly "fair to warn you though, sister will be in a bit of a temper when she wakes up. She is not used to somepony getting the drop on her like that, so be prepared for a stern telling off!"

Sombra managed a weak, shaken smile of relief "Princess.."

“You don’t need to apologize," she said firmly "I am grateful to you, and I know sister will be too. We're all relieved to see you back home now. So rest easy, you’ve done your part...."

Sombra could only nod, and she waited until he’d drifted asleep before leaving. The Doctor promised to keep a close eye on him…

Author's Note

Sweet merciful Celestia! :trollestia:

Sorry this took so long, lots of awkward stuff happened. :fluttercry: Most notably a total breakdown, family matters, and other stuff id dearly like to forget. All that and a crisis of confidence over my work in this fandom. :ajsleepy:

For a clue as to how Sombras new armor looks see this: http://yamanakaangel.deviantart.com/art/My-Little-Pony-Battle-Stallion-512926692

Thanks as always to my editor, Dream Seeker, who had this one finished and returned in little over a DAY!

Meetings & Memorial

This had to be a dream. She'd fallen asleep after a long day at work.

That was the excuse Shining Sea tried to tell herself. But no, this was REAL. Possibly the sweetest, most handsome stallion she'd ever grown to know had just kissed HER.

Like any mare, she'd daydreamed of such an occasion, but never had she thought it would be in such a glamorous setting! Part of her tried to say this was just a dream, but the thudding of her heart, the shimmer of his unique power at the edges of her senses, and most telling of all, the feel of his lips on hers...

This was no dream...it was a kiss of such warmth and tentative curiosity...

A wonderful shiver ran from nose to tail, and she made a note that this was the. Best. Night. Ever!

At last the moment had to come to an end, and they broke apart. For a moment, she seen him with the barriers dropped, just how much was hidden behind that protective shell.

They blinked at each other, before she felt herself blush. She was literally speechless.

"I-", Sombra felt a surge of embarrassment. How could he have just DONE something so rash?! She was sure to get mad. Why would she be interested in HIM? Had he gone too far, reading too much into what was probably something else?

All these fears and guilts ran through his head, and tripped his automatic "flee the scene" habit, born from his disrupted social learning.

"I have to go-" he blurted, hoping to excuse himself before she got angry "I'm sorry if I-mmh!"

He was cut off, as with a no-nonsense look on her face, Shining Sea reached up and snagged a hoof under his collar, pulling him back around to face her. Their muzzles touched, and his heart kicked off again, pounding so loudly he couldn't hear a thing. He tensed, expecting a good solid slap or the like. So he made a startled noise when she returned the kiss. A kiss soft as the silk of the cloak he wore.

--Sweet merciful Celestia,-- he thought, --don't let this be a dream…--

He blushed bright red as she let him go. Eyes widened, blinking soundlessly. This wasn't how he'd expected things to go. Heck, when it came down to it, he hadn't expected his own actions. If Cotton Candy had somehow eaten so much sugar she'd ripped a hole in common sense AND reality, gone skittering off to the future and returned to tell him he'd end the most astounding party with a heart-stopping kiss, with a mare who refused to see anything of the darkness he perceived to surround him-

Well he'd have probably told that hyperactive reality-shredding pony she was off her proverbial rocker. And the literal one too. And one in a dimension that doesn't exist-

-Where was he going with this? He realized he hadn't said a word in the ensuing silence, but she didn't look upset, more amused at his behavior.

"What made you think I'd push you away?" she chided kindly.

"I didn't-" he cut off, tried again "I don't-"

"I'll say it again, don't talk about yourself that way," Shining Sea said softly, reaching up and gently brushing her hoof over his cheek "I know you don't believe me, but there's a reason those ladies were so eager for a dance. You've become so kind." she blushed.

He still seemed speechless, so she added, in a soft whisper "you think your appearance pushes anypony away? You're wrong. Quite the opposite in fact..."

"B-but.." Sombra stammered, --come on brain, just work with me here!-- he pleaded with it.

"No buts." she said decisively.

"Ah- But-, I-" he blustered, his brain refusing point blank to say anything intelligent. This was a new and startling thing. He'd never had time to think about love, survival had always come first...

Shining Sea felt another tug of affection for the reserved, reclusive stallion as she watched him. The purple of his uniform made his dark red eyes seem to have even more subtle shades to them, and, with his mane tamed by the spell, it framed the exquisite curve of his jaw, his ears twitching subtly...

“-sheer audacity of-”

She cut off his half-formed sentences with a firm, but gentle kiss. He caught a scent of vanilla from her mane, a scent that would forever be branded into his mind as belonging to this special mare. He knew there was a risk anypony could wander down this hall and spot them, but that thought was quickly dismissed as the desire to return her kiss became undeniable.

Without the uncertainty of how she felt, this kiss was even sweeter, and the world around them seemed to blur, sounds phasing out to be replaced by the thunder of his own pulse...

She didn't say anything further when they finally broke out of their little moment, just angled her head to brush her cheek against his, the warmth of the contact making him feel so relieved.

They would've carried on like this, if not for:

"Mommy?" they heard Bright Spark calling for her mother, and they reluctantly stepped apart as she came bounding round the corner. If she noticed her mother and Sombra both looked a little flushed and slightly closer then she'd ever seen them, she didn't say a word.

"Mommy, Sombwa! Whachuu doing?"

"Just having a little chat honey..." Shining Sea nuzzled the top of her daughters head, making her giggle "you ready to go? Shall we go say goodbye to the Princesses?"

Bright Spark nodded, but first to say goodbye to Sombra! She raced over and hugged him tightly. She whispered a secret, which made him raise an eyebrow in amusement, but nod.

They disappeared off down the corridor, Shining Sea casting one last lingering glance at him before she vanished from sight.

He uttered a shaken sigh --cant believe I...let alone that she..--

Then he recalled the secret Bright Spark had whispered, and turned towards the other corridor...

Rarity had gone into silent squee overload and swooned in glee behind the pot plant when Shining Sea had grabbed Sombra by the collar to stop him bolting and kissed him back!

She rolled back and forth on the plush carpeting – to hay with creases - squeeing as silently as she could. Oh, it was just SO romantic! The moody, enigmatic Sombra finally choosing a special somepony!

Then something blotted out the light and she stopped mid-roll, blinking.

It was Sombra, looming over her, wearing a resigned but bewildered expression.

"What exactly are you DOING, miss Rarity?" he asked.

"Eeh hee...its quite a story, darling!" she said lamely, getting to her feet.

"If it has you rolling around on the carpet giggling like miss Cotton Candy after sixteen cupcakes, I will admit I am curious." he said, deadpan.

She stared at him, but he didn't falter.

"OK, I was accidentally spying on you! I couldn't help it, it was just so sweet and- you already knew I was here didn't you?" she tailed off, seeing the amusement on his face

"Yes, I did fancy I heard something, but I was admittedly distracted," he said at last. "However, miss Bright Spark said something that gave it away...."

"She did?"

"Yes, her exact words were, "There's a pony having a giggle-fit behind that pot plant, I think she had too much fizzy!""

Rarity face-hoofed. Busted by a curiously astute filly!

"So you saw everything...?" Sombra sighed at last.

Rarity blinked up at him, seeing the way he stared almost defensively off to one side, not meeting her eyes, as if preparing to defend himself against some form of mockery. She noted this was an almost childlike aspect of his personality, this sullen taciturnity. Then again, he HAD skipped childhood and been forced to grow up amidst his own madness...

Her expression was kind as she carried on, "I didn't MEAN to intrude, I'd just left the bathroom when I heard you talking. I didn't want to interrupt, and then things happened! But listen to me, darling, I wouldn't DREAM of making fun of somepony for something so wonderful!"

Sombra blinked at her, looking slightly less embarrassed, but still wary.

Seeing him still looking undecided, her eyes sparkled in amusement as she had an idea!

"I swear!" She said, and demonstrated a playground oath she and the others had been taught by Pinkie Pie "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" Ending with her left hoof being placed over the corresponding eye.

He laughed, the tension draining from him at last. For her to go that far, he knew she was being as generous as her element, and as honest as her...no, THIER friend Applejack!

"Well, perhaps you can explain it to me." he sighed at last as she set her hoof back down.

"Explain what darling? She's clearly in love with you! What's to explain! You've got things started now!"

"And that's the problem!" Sombra blurted, sighing. "Things of this nature, they weren't exactly on my priority list. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do about this now!"

"Ah, that, I think I can help with!" Rarity had read enough romance books to know the general idea. "First up is a first date! technically this whole dance counts, since it's when the first kiss occurred-" she broke off to clap her hooves happily, "but now is the first PROPER date, with just the two of you!"

"Two questions; What does that entail, and why were you rolling on the floor again?"

"Ahem, that.." Rarity flushed a little "I have a soft spot for romance, darling! And that was possibly the sweetest thing I've seen, ever! You finally realized what she trying to tell you, AND she returned your affections, it's just like a storybook! You need to find out what she likes! For example, fancy dinners, picnics, things like that! Then plan something around that!"

This was way more complicated then Sombra had guessed, he needed to think...

"We would say that was a success, wouldst thou agree?" Luna asked as the royal group plus twilights friends, made their way out of the now empty ballroom.

Sombra couldn't answer, save an exhausted yawn and a flushed nod. Celestia chuckled at the sight of him.

"Let's all get some sleep," she said happily "its been a wonderful evening..."

Shining Sea woke up the morning after the party with an initially undetermined sense of happiness bustling around her brain. On auto pilot she ambled downstairs to start cooking little Spark's breakfast. Then she recalled exactly why she was grinning all over her face (as seen in the surface of the saucepan).

Sombra had KISSED her. Oh sweet CELESTIA, it'd been the most adorable thing...

He'd mistaken her stunned surprise and silent celebration for shock and dislike, and had tried to excuse himself and flee. But, determined not to let him get the wrong idea, and already concerned he did not consider himself deserving of such affections, she'd put a stop to his exit strategy and simply kissed him in return. Her heart had been hammering away so fast she was sure she would collapse.

She could feel herself flushing again. She recalled how close he'd been to her, the soft curve of his ears, the deep red of his eyes. The gentle feel of his coat when she nudged his cheek with hers. And of course, the heart-pounding warmth of that first kiss.

"Mommy?" she jumped when she heard her daughters voice.

"Hey sweetie!" she smiled as Bright Spark ambled in and took her place at the table. She tucked eagerly into the soft fluffy waffles her mother spooned onto her plate. Once her mother had made her customary coffee and joined her, they began to chatter.

"Did you enjoy the party sweetie?" Shining Sea smiled as her daughter drizzled syrup onto the waffle and took big bite out of it. she nodded rapidly, swallowing the food.

"It was so much awesome!" she cheered, and rattled off a list of things she'd done, from playing hide and seek around the ballroom with pinkie, to getting a dance lesson Applejack-style (rodeo style line dancing!), meeting Princess Cadance and Shining Armor, and finishing with her chat with Princess Celestia after her floor-skiing trick!

"Yes I seen the Princess fixing your dress!" Shining Sea chuckled. "Try not do too much of that OK?"

"Okayy..." Bright Spark giggled, finishing the last scrap of waffle and beaming happily at her mother!

She wondered how to broach the subject with her daughter. Bright Spark adored Sombra, she knew that, but how would she feel about Sombra and her mommy being close?

That morning at breakfast, Sombra was given the latest statistics on attacks. They were ramping up, this much was obvious, but the guards were getting swifter too, at destroying them! The only thing missing was a way for THEM to sense what Sombra could, aka the core controller! Sombra promsied he'd try to think of a way, but dark magic was a tricky business, as it didn't seem to be confined to written spells!

He was also delivered a fancy letter in a stiff gilded envelope.

"What is it?" He queried, turning it over and frowning in puzzlement at it. Rarity spotted a logo on the front.

"The Crystal Theatre Company!" She gasped "open it, open it!"

Baffled, Sombra raised an eyebrow but opened the letter anyway. He unfolded the letter, and watched as two shiny gold and silver slips fluttered out.

"OOH!" Rarity grabbed them before they fluttered away and set them on the table "are these what I think they are?!"

"What's that then?" Sombra asked.

"Pineapples?!" Pinkie Pie suggested.

"They're tickets to this Saturdays performance...these are like gold dust!"

"Golden pineapples?" Pinkie was still stuck on the oddly nicknamed "Party fruit", so called because of its absurdly amusing shape!

"Seems that's what they're made of..." Sombra said absently "why on Equestria would they send those to me?"

"One of your five a day?"

"Pinkie!" Rarity sighed in exasperation. pinkie just giggled happily...

Seeing Sombra' genuinely baffled face, Rarity decided to clarify "It would be an honor for them if you decided to attend, darling! have you ever seen anything like a stage play before?"

"No." Sombra said, raising an eyebrow. "Are they interesting?"

"The story to this one is just exquisite!" Rarity beamed. "It's a wonderful love story!"

"Not sure how that's relevant to me..." Sombra said absently, tucking the tickets and letter into the envelope before stashing it in a pocket on the inside of his cloak as he got up from the table.

"Really now?" Rarity said conspiratorially, giving him a sly wink.

"Whatever on Equestria you could possibly be talking about, I cannot fathom, now excuse me-" and he was gone.

"That whole sentence didn't make a lick a sense." AJ pointed out after. Pinkie stuck a mustache to her face so she could look serious and twirl it.

"Beats me..." Rarity shrugged, having promised herself she'd keep it a secret unless Sombra mentioned it!

Going by AJ's expression, she wasn't buying it, but Rarity merely kept a calm exterior whilst giggling gleefully on the inside!

Twilight raised an eyebrow, wondering if her theory was correct. Was Sombra taking another big step in his new life?

Sombra left the palace, the theatre tickets in his cloak pocket. Would Shining Sea WANT to see something like this? It was a big deal apparently, according to miss Rarity! At least it was something to go on, certainly more then he'd come up with so far!

The memory of the kiss was racing around his head, making his heart pound; to clear his head, Sombra decided to take a walk through the market.

He smiled to himself as he recalled seeing Bright Spark go sledding across the dance floor, whooping and hollering in total glee. Mid-dance, he and Princess Luna had barely been able to stop laughing they'd found it so funny!

The market was in full swing when he reached it, and he spotted Healing breeze and made his way over.

"Your highness!" she beamed. "How're you faring?"

"Very well," Sombra said with a smile. "Might I trouble you for some more of that special blend you sent over?"

"Of course!" she beamed, preparing what was fast becoming Sombra's new favorite tea!

"I noticed that guard finally made a bid for the Princess' attention!" she chuckled, referring to Flash and Twilight.

"Yes, but only after I threatened to kick him up the backside if he didn't finally DO something..." Sombra said in amusement.

"I've seen worse incentives," Healing Breeze laughed. "these young folk are far more bold then my generation was! But, it was wonderful to see you looking so at home at that party, you're all anypony has been talking about!"

"Really...?" Sombra asked, still confused as to why. Rarity had said it too, that he was the "hottest item on the agenda!".

She leant in a bit closer "In fact, there's a fairly large crowd right behind you waiting to say hello, if you turn around..."

Sombra blinked, putting the tea in his saddlebag and cautiously turning round as she instructed.

Sweet merciful Celestia, she wasn't kidding. A small crowd had gathered soon as he entered the market, but due to his default state of obliviousness, he honestly hadn't noticed!

Healing Breeze noticed the way his ears went "poink" and stood up, a clear sign when he was startled it seemed, as this same reaction had occurred on his entering the ballroom!

--Don't just stand there you idiot..-- he told himself, staring at the sudden crowd with wide red eyes. They were looking up at him with bright, kind smiles...

Kicking his brain into gear he did the first thing he thought of, which was to incline his head in a formal greeting and bid them good morning!

--Smooth, genius..-- he told himself sarcastically.

But the crowd didn't seem to notice the Princes social awkwardness, they were just pleased to see him wandering about outside the palace! They were charmed by his old fashioned mannerisms, the reassuring rumbling tone of his voice suiting the old fashioned speech.

"The ball was just wonderful your highness!" One mare beamed. "Best party I've ever been to!"

"How were you not terrified by that attack?"

"Did you REALLY learn that dance in just one afternoon??"

Sombra laughed softly and tried to answer them all "Miss Cotton Candy will be overjoyed to hear that, it was all her hard work! As for the attack, I've had more death threats from those creatures then I can count! To be honest I've stopped noticing them by now."

Admiring murmurs ran through the crowd at how unaffected he'd been when held at knife point, in a potentially dangerous scenario!

"And as for the traditional performance, yes, it didn't take long to memorize. Really not all that different from studying battle tactic and theory, it all comes down to movement and the transfer of energy..."

"An impressive shift from one tradition to another, your highness!" An older stallion looked at Sombra with a fresh respect. "You have a very sharp mind if I may say so!"

Sombra was surprised but pleased by this compliment, and gratefully thanked him!

"Oh, your highness!" A mare with a set of red framed glasses perched on her nose finally managed to get through the crowds to catch the Princes attention, "Everypony's been asking who designed that outfit you wore at the ball? It was just divine!"

Her pencil hovered over her writing pad as she hoped for a response!

"That was miss Rarity's handiwork, she's been designing everything that followed after my old cloak got destroyed. Although all six of the elements bearers had a hoof in this..." he glanced down at the cloak he currently wore.

"It has a wonderful balance between regalia and function!" the unicorn studied the set-up of Sombra's day to day armor "I just LOVE the pin!"

"It certainly has a great significance to me.." was Sombra's reply. But what he meant went beyond what the crowd assumed. They didn't know that in order to bring him back, the crystal heart had given up a fraction of itself to awaken him! This shard resided somewhere, somehow inside his physical body. With his magic restored, he found he could sense it more and more now. It brought with it a strange longing...

The crowd noticed he was staring into space, in the direction of the spot where the heart normally stood.

"Where IS the heart?" One curious filly asked.

"Ah, what?" Sombra shook his head, looking down at the sky-blue pegasus filly, her navy hair cut in a spiky fashion.

"The heart?" she asked, smiling kindly, seeing he obviously missed it too, in some manner "That's what you were looking at, wasn't it? Where the heart normally is. Is it OK?"

Sombra had been told, once they'd ascertained he was no longer a danger, how the heart was now under heavy magical security deep below the castle. He had yet to see it, however.

"It is fine," He said at last "Princess Cadance is taking good care of it..."

"Is she worried those evil things will try and steal it if she puts it back?" the filly asked.

"Well, it was just ONE thing they were all concerned about initially," Sombra said jokingly, referring to himself back at the start "but yes, there's the constant fear those things may try to use it for themselves..."

"Eh, you'd just kick 'em up the butt if they tried, right?" she blew her fringe out of her eyes, their green depths full of a level headed kindness. "Ya know, how you do?"

Sombra smiled warmly, "exactly." he said softly.

"Rockin'..." she declared, nodding sagely.

He was starting to relax when he felt the ground rumble, and heard screams in the distance. The filly's eyes met his, her expression asked what was on all the crowds minds, was it those things? Sombra nodded in confirmation, and told them to keep away from the site until it'd been dealt with!

Teleporting over to the disturbance, he appeared in time to see a smoking crater in the street.

"Is everypony alright?" he asked.

Nods and cries of confirmation met his ears and he relaxed a bit.

"How quaint...just as daddy intended you to act.."

Sombra froze when he recognized that voice. Out of the smoke climbed a figure familiar from history books. A pale yellow pegasus, he had white mane and tail with dark grey streaks in, like a cloud. The main was tied in a loose plait of sorts, with crystal in complimenting shades threaded in and out of it, which the crowd recognized as an ancient Crystal Empire style, like what Cadance had done for the Equestria Games inspector!

Sombra felt his stomach belly flop, anger and loss churning in his gut.

"I should have realized this all along, this was the one you treasured most, huh..." it gave its appearance a sneering appraisal "your species really hasn't evolved much has it? Almost pathetic but for the energy you possess..."

Sombra remained mute, although the closer members of the crowd sensed something was about to happen. Exactly WHAT, however, they didn't know!

"What's the matter, not so eager to attack all of a sudden? Still think you can preserve these worthless feelings? Its almost sad really this one, adopting a stray mongrel out of pity!"

Still no response from Sombra. He was too busy quashing feelings of vengeful hate at the imposter, and the emotional shock of seeing such a solid representation of his father.

"You haven't a clue have you? The only one of your kind, and you insist on spending your life being a lapdog? I've tried to give you a chance to be more then this, guarding these weaklings-" here something sparked behind Sombra's eyes, and he tensed subtly, but the creature ignored him "-but in the end even HE gave up on you didn't he-"

"Shut. Up." Sombra's voice was quiet, but carried within it such fury and cold hate that the creature actually stopped. It took in the still blank expression on Sombra's face.

"Guess it's time to do what this fool could never do for you, beat some sense into you-" It shot up into the sky and without warning fired massive chunks of sharp black crystal at Sombra. The crowd scattered as the missiles homed in on Sombra, but he just stared dead ahead at it. His heart was pounding, how dare this worthless piece of garbage wear his fathers form...-

WHOMPF. His anger sought an outlet and found it, in the form of his flame-mode from the stadium. The missiles were shot out of the sky by multiple bolts of purple magic, which blasted them in mid air...

"What?!" the creature sputtered. But it didn't relent, just changed summoned another round, bigger chunks, their deadly sharp edges glinting in the light! They were screaming towards Sombra in a deadly sweep. Sombra caught sight of the thing smirking at him, wearing his fathers guise, and he lost it. This was the stallion who given him a home, love, and a place in the Crystal Empire.

He'd given Sombra forgiveness for the worst of what he'd done. Like buck he was going to let this thing away with dragging this pony through the dirt. His view narrowed to only the fake father, and some sort of autopilot kicked in, channelling his magic into enhancing his teleport.

Jaws dropped collectively as Sombra seemed to go into some sort of overdrive. He appeared to phase right THROUGH the incoming projectiles, his gaze unwavering from the one he sought. Every obstacle he touched vanished as well, sent plummeting into the forest out of harms way!

"W-what....curse you-" it began, but Sombra wasn't done. Using the final rock as a launchpad and slamming into the imposter and knocking them both to the ground, Sombra glared down at the shadow creature masquerading as his father, utilizing his larger body type and weight to pin its limbs.

"You.." Sombra's voice had a level of anger the crowd had NEVER heard before, "are nothing. a wretched parasite, draining anything that's good from the world as if you have a right to even EXIST!"

He glared at the thing, and a flash of light seemed to rush over his eyes! With this flash of magic, the creature underneath him was suddenly changed back into its goopy black shadowy form. The flame maned unicorn glared down at it.

"How?!" It sputtered, feeling as if a heavy weight was bearing down on it, it couldn't move!

"You have NO right to wear his form!" Sombra was unleashing a lot of pent-up of fury and rage. He raised one hoof, sparks of dark magic crackling along it "you could search a hundred worlds and never find a better pony than him! The mere fact he was willing to GIVE a "mongrel" a chance is what puts him far above anything you've ever devoured! You can parade my whole family in front of me, past OR present, it wont make a bucking difference! You see, the right memories have been restored, the worthwhile ones! Princess Luna seen to it, they ALL did! Your little plan was a failure, and now you're out of ammo! I have EVERYTHING, I know it all. The past, the invasion, the mistakes, good and bad!"

He felt about to be sick his head hurt so badly, but he wasn't done;

"HE wasn't the one who gave up, I was! He should be here, not me! I cant change that, but YOU I will hunt down and wipe off the face of this world, I don't CARE what it takes from me!"

The thing was starting to panic just a little. It was immobile, and it could sense the way Sombra's power was growing!

"There is NOTHING you could say to me now that would make a single bit of difference! I've known what its like to almost DIE because of what I am, you think a few insults and fakery is going to change my path? You may have seen a few memories, but you DON'T. KNOW. ME!!"

With this final word he slammed the raised hoof down into its core. With a shriek, it exploded, but the heavy cloak and armor deflected the worst of it, bar one shard that cut across his left foreleg which he didn't even register.

It faded away, leaving the street cracked and strewn with cracked core shards. Sombra just stood stock still, looking like he was in shock. Those that crept closest first could see he was shaking a little, just subtly. Then he closed his eyes and reverted back to his normal appearance, mane returning to its flowing black. He seemed unaware they were there any more, and with a sudden flurry of movement, started to take off towards a gap in the rapidly reforming crowd, but a filly's voice called out;

"Hay! Wait!"

Sombra battled a moment over whether to stop or just keep running like he so badly wished to, but after a split seconds delay, he dug his hooves in and came to a halt, the cloak swishing around him. It took a second further to tamp down the feelings of abject dismay and embarrassment, but the closer ponies still seen the haunted look in the Prince's eyes as he turned to greet the filly, the way his ears had drooped a little, indicating he wasn't happy...

"You dropped this!" The filly proffered up the fancy envelope Sombra had received that morning, with the theatre tickets inside. It'd fallen out during his mad dash to kick that things flank! He recognized her as the same one who'd been asking about the crystal heart.

"Oh....thank you..." Sombra managed to respond on autopilot, tucking them away again.

The younger pony tilted her head to one side, noting how upset Sombra was. She'd watched Sombra the whole fight, seen how he refused to see somepony he loved demeaned and mocked. The things he'd said too, about how his adoptive fathers decision to re-home him despite his issues made him worth so much more to him, really got to her. Family was those who loved you for who you were, even if they weren't related. That was cool, and she had a new respect for the battle stallion after hearing this.

But Sombra seemed to be freaked out, the way he glanced at the crowds from under his loose flowing mane, looking unhappy, made the kid wonder. Was he embarrassed because he'd lost his temper?

"You OK?" she asked.

Sombra stared for a few seconds, then managed a nod, and finally speaking "I..my apologies for that, I shouldn't-"

"What're you talking about?!" she asked "that was AWESOME!"

"Huh?" Sombra blinked. The rest of the crowd watched this kid chattering to the Prince. Kids, they noticed, seemed able to get past Sombra's wary defenses and get to know the pony better!

"You don't let anypony talk smack about your friends and family man! Nopony here can say they wouldn't do that! So you got mad, so what? We all go a bit loco sometimes.."

"I think my temper alarms them still.." Sombra sighed softly. But the girl shook her head.

"It's cool man," she grinned up at Sombra "Take a look, they're all worried about ya!"

Sombra at last looked up and seen all the kindly looks being directed his way.

"Are you alright your highness?"

"Please don’t feel bad, that must have been horrible-"

"Is there anything we can do?"

He had to fight not to turn bright red from embarrassment at being caught acting so odd. But yet, they didn't seem bothered. Maybe the kid was right?

All these thoughts buzzed around his head and he felt suddenly light-headed, the sunlight seemed glaringly bright and he had to close his eyes to block it out.

"-sire? are you OK?" a new voice. Sombra opened his eyes with a wince, seeing a familiar face. It was the cafe owner from the day he and Twilight Sparkle had gone out, so as to force him to get some fresh air. It'd been shortly after the black crystal plague, and Sombra had been thanked by several ponies who'd worked up the courage to talk to the reclusive and distant stallion!

"Come and have some tea, you can rest awhile..." the owner offered. Sombra nodded, following after him.

"Thanks, what's your name-?" he asked the punk-rock filly.

"I'm Cymbal Clash!" she gave a grin and a mock salute "keep it cool, your highness!"

He nodded his appreciation as she walked off into the crowd, singing a tune he recognized as Pinkies song from the ball, the one about HIM.

Mid-way to the cafe, a mare stopped him and the owner, stating she was a nurse and asking Sombra if she could see the wound on his leg. He looked down, only now realizing there WAS a bleeding cut across his right foreleg from the fight. He gave her an accommodating nod. The cafe owner told her they had a med kit inside, and she followed after the two stallions.

Once the Prince was sat down, the owner fetched the mare the medkit, and she set about gently cleaning and bandaging the cut.

"You're very pale, your highness!" she said in concern "make sure you rest here awhile, and please don't upset yourself over this. Everypony knows you've had a rough time of things up until now, nopony will judge you for getting upset, I promise you that!"

"I..." Sombra sighed guiltily "I should have known better then to lose my temper like that, I am aware it still unnerves some..."

But to his surprise she just chuckled and smiled kindly.

"Oh my, no, your highness!" she shook her head, looking kindly up at him "To you it might have seemed like just mindlessly losing your temper, but what I, and undoubtedly the others seen was a passionate defense of somepony you treasured dearly. And that comment you made about "he should be here, not me". Please don't think that way. What little any of us truly know about the King, why, we see those same traits in YOU!"

Sombra blinked, astonishment showing in his eyes. His ears perked up a little, but tentatively, such words meaning so much to him. She carried on.

"The books all describe him as kind, strong and a very smart ruler. You may not be his biological child, but you've managed to defy all our past assumptions and show the kings spirit HAS come back to us, just with his SON this time!"

The ears twitched, but didn't seem so droopy now. The hopeful acceptance in his eyes even now,while not as prominent as previous occasions, was still almost heartbreakingly sad, she could see what the rumors had said, that the poor Prince was still fighting to accept himself how they seen him! But he was making little steps, and bit by bit was developing a persona away from the taint of the past. It cant have been easy for him to put his heart on the line after everything he'd endured, but the fact he remembered ALL of his past and STILL managed to fight the sadness to defend them all really made her admire him.

"It will take time, but you'll feel completely at home here soon your highness, both in the castle, and yourself!"

A wordless nod.

She beamed, packed up the remains of the medkit, and gave it back to the shop owner.

As she was leaving, Sombra managed to speak up "Thank you, you've given me a lot to think about.."

"Any time, your highness!" She gave a little bow, then trotted outside into the sunlight.

Thinking he was alone still, Sombra murmured "am I truly that easy for others to read?"

"You do show a lot in your expression sire," the owner said, making Sombra jump a little "Maybe its a subconscious thing, since you don't find it easy to talk, your mind seeks another way to express itself?"

"You're probably right, its been a novel idea for a long time...." he trailed off, and his face went red "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be babbling like an incompetent foal-"

"Nonsense!" The stallion shook his head as he set a cup of freshly brewed tea in front of the Prince "its just a part of normal life, like that mare said, you'll be used to it in no time!"

"I hope so..." Sombra looked up at the other pony at last, relief and gratitude in his expression as he took a sip of his tea. Recalling this pony from before, he asked "How is your wife? She was expecting a child last we met, I believe?"

The owner nodded, and smiled widely. "She's due next month, your highness!"

"Well, I hope everything goes smoothly. May this new journey be a wonderful one!" Sombra smiled.

"Thank you your highness, she'll be thrilled to hear that!"

Sombra had been staring at the menu while he'd been sitting there, and now asked for, of all the random things, an ice cream sundae!

It turned out to be one of the tastiest things he'd tried in ages. He was happily making his way through it when the bell jingled and he heard;

"Prince Sombra!"

He looked up, seeing Shining Sea stood there.

"I thought it was you.." she chuckled "how are you?"

"Good, thank you..." Sombra smiled warmly, happy to see her. The memory of that first kiss flashed into his head and he felt himself flush a little. The same memory must've occurred to her too, as she blushed more openly. Sombra invited her to join him, and asked the store owner for more tea, and after a quick question, an extra sundae.

"I love these!" Shining Sea smiled as she tucked in. "What pony can resist ice cream?"

Sombra smiled fondly at a memory "I do recall trying lots of sweets when I was here first, but memory cannot tell you how they taste!"

Shining Sea chuckled, reaching over to brush a hoof across his nose.

"Sprinkles.." she said in amusement. Sombra laughed, noted they'd gotten onto his cloak as well, and hurriedly brushed them off.

"Its impossible to eat ice cream without making a mess," Shining Sea told him. "Just ask Bright Spark!"

Sombra listened to her talking about Spark's progress at school, how shed brought home a new friend, named Lavender. How happy she was to see her daughter doing so well at school!

Sombra recalled Rarity's suggestion about a date, and figured now would be a good time to try...

"M-miss Shining Sea..." he began. "Wait, I mean-" was it Mrs?

"You don’t need to call me anything.." she giggled lightly "Just my regular name will do, your highness!"

"And YOU really don't need to call me that!" he smiled gently "you and Bright Spark know me too well. Just Sombra is fine."

She blushed at being given such a privilege, Sombra really was becoming so kind...

"I was hoping, that is..." he suddenly found his brain had abandoned him, leaving him struggling to think of an intelligent way to phrase this. "Would you happen to have some time free this Saturday?"

Her eyes widened a little, was he-?

"That is...if not-" he began, but she reached over the table and tapped his nose, stopping him before he got into a loop.

"Yes," she said simply, with a cute smile.

Sombra flushed a little before he could stop himself. He pulled the tickets from his pocket and set them in front of her. Her eyes went wide;

"This is.."

"Miss Rarity tells me this particular show is astounding, I was hoping you'd join me..."

"I'd LOVE to!" Her eyes sparkled "I've always wanted to go this theatre, but the shows sell out so fast!"

Sombra looked so pleased she couldn't help blush. Whether he realized it or not, he showed a LOT of expression through both his body language and those deep red eyes.

He asked about her thoughts on the party, and she said she'd loved it! Bright Spark had been so happy to get to attend such a fancy party, even if she did get a little hyper!

Sombra laughed again at the floor-skiing act, and Shining Sea smiled to see the way his eye sparkled when he laughed. But she noticed he still looked a little pale, and asked was he alright? So he told her the whole incident that'd just happened.

"I'm supposed to be here to protect and serve, not act like a loose canon..." he sighed. "Eveyrpony's saying they aren't surprised by it, but still, I feel foolish."

"Don't be silly..." she shook her head. "Nopony dwells on your old self any more. Why would they need to? They know they can trust you! You have to cast all these doubts aside, they're not necessary any more, I promise that."

Another soft smile, and she seen some of the darkness of worry fade from his eyes.

Ice cream finished, they set off out of the shop.

Sombra accompanied her to the school to pick up Bright Spark. The other parents gathered around did double takes when they seen Shining Sea arrived with the Prince in tow!

"SOMBWA!!" Bright Spark spotted him soon as she exited the door, and tore over, flinging herself at her precious friend in a gleeful glomp. Then she exuberantly hugged her mother.

Bright Spark babbled about that days activities, how she and Lavender had played jump rope with some other kids, and she was getting good at it now!

"Excuse me your highness..." Sombra looked round, seeing Petalbloom there "Would you mind awfully if I borrowed you for a moment?"

"Of course not," Sombra agreed, before turning to Bright Spark and Shining Sea.

"I'll see you soon little one~" He said fondly, mimicing what Shining Sea did and playfully nuzzling her head. She giggled and hugged him once more, and Shining Sea looked up at Sombra, a question on her lips...

"Saturday, 7?" he asked, speaking softly so only she could hear it. She nodded, smiling again before nudging her giggly daughter.

"This way.." Petalbloom gestured to the front door of the school...

In the staffroom, she showed him two things;

One: Spark's workbook, which showed just how much she'd grown, also showed how much a part of her life he'd become, and Two: a folder full of pictures the kids in the school had done of and for him. Sombra was touched by their imagination, and the cutely drawn images made him feel ever more cheered. These he tucked into his saddlebag.

"I just wanted to thank you for looking after the kids at the festival," Petalbloom said. "You know, it's their favorite playground game now? Pretending to fight those shadows as bravely as you have!"

This made Sombra chuckle at the mental image.

"So thank you, again your highness. The kids were scared when this all started, but they see you protecting them, and they smile again!"

"I'm just glad they're faring alright. To young ones like them, this must all be quite a shock."

Petalbloom nodded "but the young adapt the fastest it seems.."

Sombra nodded, Bright Spark was proof of this. She'd seen everything from dark shadow attacks to the full force of Sombra's magic before anypony else, and she hadn't batted an eyelid. The only times she'd been saddened was when he himself had been hurt or depressed.

She walked him out of the staff room, and they were a few meters down the hall when a classroom door not far ahead flew open, and a young unicorn colt shot out, shouting:

"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!! WHAT DO YOU KNOW?!"

Sombra and Petalbloom stepped sharply aside as the kid charged blindly past, not even registering the Prince as he ran into the recently vacated staffroom, slamming the door and locking it.

"Hay!" a harried looking mare came racing out of the classroom after him, looking worried. Spotting the bewildered Sombra and Petalbloom, she ran to them.

"Who was that?" Sombra asked.

"I'm so sorry your highness.." she blurted "he's been very upset lately..."

Sombra frowned, wondering if he could help...

The young colt, named Steel Wire, stamped in circles around the staffroom, kicking anything that he was strong enough to topple or tall enough to reach! He was a pale grey, with black mane, with a pair of white stripes in it and his tail.

"I hate them all!!" He cried hoarsely.

"Surely that can't be true.." a rumbling voice spoke up, startling the kid. He whipped round, prepared to yell at whoever it was to leave him alone, when he seen who it was, and his fury was briefly disrupted by shock.

"P-Prince Sombra?!" he gulped, staring at him.

"That's the one..." Sombra settled down on the floor, legs tucked under him, his rich red cloak fanning out around him.

"Why're you here? How did you even get IN?" he realized how silly this sounded straight after he said it, he WAS a unicorn after all!

"A small spell that lets me turn into a shadow.." Sombra chuckled at his surprised face.

"THEY sent you, didn't they?"

"Actually, I personally requested to be given the chance to speak with you. On condition they do not immediately intervene."

"Well, tell them I don't CARE! No offense your Prince-y-ness...Whateverer..." he was being distracted by Sombra's unwavering expression, a mix of sympathy and unruffled calm. He really didn't seem bothered a small child was attempting to insult him!

"I'm not going to drag you out there," Sombra said when the kid finally fell silent.

"Wow, that's comforting, not like I can STOP you if I wanted to! You're way stronger than I am!"

"If it is any consolation, I wasn't much taller then you are at your age."

"Gimme a break, your HUGE!"

"Shyre horses ARE larger then most, but we actually start off pretty small..." Sombra chuckled "this sort of strength doesn't come into it until much later..."

--Such as when I advanced to this "adult" stage-- he thought. It concerned him sometimes how little he knew about his own kind, but thanks to isolation since birth more or less, coupled with a sudden acceleration from his "teenage" years to an adult via his magic, things were a tad jumbled up!

"Besides, you think I'M big, you should've seen my father. The biological one that is.."

The kid was still giving him a disbelieving look, so he carried on; "I'm just curious as to why you're so angry."

"Why do YOU care!?"

"Because believe it or not, a thousand and more years ago, I was in this same situation myself," Sombra said bluntly. "So angry at the world that I refused to trust anypony in it. Let me tell you this; get off that path. No matter what it takes, let it go. By the by, what is your name?"

"Steel Wire." The kid grumbled, but did pause a moment to think. He knew the basic story of Sombra, as told by that sweet-natured little filly that had befriended him at the start. She'd said Sombra was sometimes surprised when treated kindly because his mommy and daddy hadn't been very nice to him...

"C'mon..." Sombra shrugged "I promise I will tell nothing of what you say to your teachers or anypony that asks."

"Oh yeah?" the kid tried to think up a suitable demand for sincerity. "You swear?"

Sombra gave a wry smile, and recited "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" Ending as miss Rarity had done it, with a hoof pressed over his eye "will that do?"

Steel Wire raised an eyebrow, but seemed impressed Sombra knew the oath.

"OK...I believe you.." Steel Wire admitted at last. He sat down, and sighed.

"Everypony laughs at me, they treat me like I'm a freak..."

"Why...?"

"Because I just moved here a short while before that thing up there appeared and YOU showed up. I don't like sports, I cant win any races, and I'm only good at making models..."

"Why were you angry at your teacher?"

"She's the same! Always assuming I'M the bad one! Those kids are just as rotten as can be, yet I'm the one who gets told I'M a bad influence!"

"Ponies like that are masters at hiding it, making everypony else see them as the wronged party. You cant let that beat you."

"Easy for YOU to say! You live in the palace, you're a PRINCE for Celestia's sake, nopony picks on YOU!"

"Maybe not NOW," Sombra actually sounded amused "But, you forget, I was also a cruel-hearted tyrant before. I had to learn a lot of painful lessons when I returned here, and I abhorred the process at first. In fact I think, back at the start, the only reason I didn't get my flank handed to me is the fact I'm built like a tank!"

Steel Wire snorted in mild amusement at this reference. "Well, you ARE. I can't picture anything knocking YOU on your ear!"

"Things can and have," Sombra said bluntly, and Steel Wire looked curious. "But here's the key; getting back UP. Everypony gets knocked down, but you only fail when you stop getting back up!"

A disbelieving eyebrow was raised at this.

Sombra decided to tell him a story. He closed his eyes, and a floating white square appeared in front of him. On this his set little pointy-shaped ponies. A small grey one with red eyes and a fluffy black mane, along with a larger black-coated stallion and a mare with flame-colors in her palette.

The kid stared, mesmerized by this puppet show of sorts.

"There was a little foal, he was born in a remote village. His magic was considered defective, bad. His parents hated him for it, said he was a bad omen." The mother pony turned her back, eyes closed, and the father loomed over the child, who cowered. The scene switched, showing an older version of the pony running through the snow.

"One day the foal ran away, desperate to escape. He found his way here, to the Crystal Empire, and a kindly king." Here the scene changed to show a huddled over grey foal and a richly dressed pegasus with a crown, pale yellow body and white and grey mane.

"The King felt sorry for the foal, and gave him a home." The pegasus hugged the small child, wrapping his wings around him to comfort him.

The scene changed to show staff ponies glaring at the slightly older colt, who looked sad. "But other ponies did not see him the same way, and he grew angry, jealously of their lives overwhelming him and turning kindness to hate."

It changed to the same colt facing the King and another pony. With a flare of purple magic the colt made the two disappear.

"He banished everypony in the palace, thinking if they couldn't be near him, they couldn't betray him. But the decision to shut off his heart to the kindness of other ponies had a bad effect..."

Steel Wire was riveted, watching this play unfold. He felt a sympathy for the colt. Ponies treated HIM the same, saying he was trouble because he'd had a bad time at his last school in Canterlot...

Sombra faltered a moment, recalling his memories, but he carried on regardless "he'd never been taught to use his magic properly, and when he lost faith in everything, darkness crowded his mind. Tired of being bullied, he made himself tough enough that nopony could harm him ever again!"

The kids jaw dropped as the grey stallion changed into what was undeniably the same pony telling the story.

"But this was a mistake. With this change came madness, and the Princesses were sent to stop him."

Here it showed Celestia and Luna flying through the sky towards the Crystal Empire, then the scene faded. Then suddenly the Sombra-puppet was back, this time facing three Alicorn Princesses.

"They gave him another chance, needing his magic to figure out the invaders. He decided he would keep them at hoofs length, not wanting to trust them, until one small filly..."

Here a Bright Spark puppet appeared, poking Sombra's nose and dancing merrily around him.

"She made him wonder if the world was really so bad. But the life of sadness made it too hard to accept this alone, and he still shunned the idea of kindness or trust."

A set of six colorful ponies appeared behind Sombra as the Princesses and Bright Spark disappeared. But a barrier popped up, blocking them from reaching him.

"But in the end, it was this same group of fillies who got through..."

The pink pony bounded forward and shattered the barrier with her hoof. She bounded round to face the Sombra puppet, and tweaked his ears so they popped free of his crown.

"They persuaded him to listen.."

The pink pony turned Sombra round to face the others, who hopped through the broken barrier to gather in front of him.

"The first to go even further and offer to be the first real friend he'd ever had was a pony who had every cause to hate him."

Shining Armor popped into view, trotted over and stuck a pointy hoof out to Sombra, who initially withdrew, then cautiously met the hoof with his own. Instantly the six fillies gamboled around him, seemingly cheering.

"And with that one choice, more followed..." Princess Cadance appeared beside Shining Armor. Princess Luna fluttered down to join them, and Princess Celestia walked over to join her. All of them gave Sombra big beaming smiles.

"It took just one pony to believe he wasn't a monster, much as the King tried to teach him. But this time, he chose to believe it..."

The whole set up faded away as Sombra shut down the spell.

He looked at the kid, who was staring at him in awe. "Do you see now? I know how you feel. But you cant push everypony away, the loneliness is unbearable. Nopony deserves to be alone, so please don't think you have to be..." he uncurled one foreleg and held out a hoof to the foal. "Trust me..?"

Steel Wire nodded, dumbstruck, placing his tiny hoof in Sombra's.

"There you go!" Sombra smiled gently. "See? It's not so bad. You just have to go from here, take your time."

Steel Wire nodded, then burst into tears. He was so surprised to find an ally in this adult, and so relieved, that he couldn't help himself. Sombra pulled a handkerchief from his saddlebag and dried the tears.

"It's OK, let it go.." he murmured softly. Steel Wire nodded, sniffling as he clutched the hankie.

"Do you have some of these models of yours here?" Sombra asked randomly.

Steel Wire nodded.

"May I see them?"

The foal nodded again. Then he looked at the still locked door "b-but.."

“I'll make sure nopony yells at you.." Sombra said gently "I asked them to trust my judgement and actions, I'm sure they wont shout at you."

He guided him to the door, opening it and stepping through. The two teachers lingering outside sat up and opened their mouths. Steel Wire flinched, eyes downcast, and huddled closer to Sombra's body. Sombra gave him a reassuring look before calmly saying;

"If you will please wait for us a moment or two, I have asked young master Steel Wire here to show me something."

Baffled, but recalling Sombra's request, they nodded, hanging back as Steel Wire showed Sombra down the hall to his classroom. He opened a cupboard door, and with a deep breath, held up his class project.

"Wow." was the first word he heard from the Prince. He blinked, surprised, having half expected him to ask what it even was!

What he'd made was a wire-frame replica of the crystal palace. It was made with incredible detail, a labour of love.

"That is astonishing, you got the detail so intricate...." Sombra was genuinely impressed "I cannot even get my cloak on some mornings without fumbling the catch!"

Steel Wire sniggered, finding the mental image funny, and he noticed Sombra smile at him.

"You should be VERY proud of yourself, this is amazing workmanship." Sombra stated firmly.

"You really think so?" the kid asked.

"I do. Now tell me, are you not proud of your art?"

"I...I guess I AM," the kid said at last. "I have to really concentrate to make these!"

"You have made many before?"

"Yeah, I got more at home!" his eyes brightened, and Sombra smiled triumphantly.

"There it is." he said.

"There what is?" the foal asked.

"That spark. Your pride in your work, no doubt it has been neglected a while, no?"

"I guess so, I started to hate working on it...but I guess I didn't want to give up..."

"That.s the key..." Sombra smiled again. "Always keep that feeling close. Nopony can make you feel inferior without your consent. So if you tell yourself only YOU have the right to decide what your talent is worth, then you'll find yourself getting stronger."

Steel Wire looked up at the Prince, then back at his sculpture. He nodded, feeling hope for the first time in what felt like ages. He loved his hobby, and even his parents had said they thought they were interesting, but parents were supposed to say that, right? Maybe he'd been wrong....

As he reached these realizations, he felt a funny tingling sensation on his flank. He blinked, setting the sculpture down to peer round:

"Well, this is cause for celebration!" Sombra said, as they both took in the cutie mark that'd appeared, of two intertwining strands of wire.

"M-my cutie mark....how..?" Steel Wire gaped up at Sombra "how did you do that?"

"I didn't do anything!" Sombra chuckled "YOU accepted your talent for yourself, no matter what the hardship. Congratulations!"

Steel Wire sat and peered at the cutie mark, fresh tears in his eyes, but this time because he was so thrilled to see his cutie mark.

"Thank you!" He blurted suddenly, looking up at the Prince "I guess maybe I did call them mean names back. I'll try not to any more..."

"That's a great start." Sombra said "take it one day at a time. You'll soon find you've had friends around you this whole time. Just as I did..."

"That'd be...cool..." Steel Wire nodded.

"May we come in...?" both looked up at the two teachers in the doorway. The foals teacher walked over to him, noting his cutie mark. Her eyes sparkled and she clapped her hooves.

"Your cutie mark! How wonderful!"

Steel Wire nodded, suddenly shy again, "Y-yeah..."

"Are you feeling better?" the teacher asked. Steel Wire nodded.

"I'm sorry miss.." he said softly.

She smiled gently; "its alright...just please come talk to me if you're upset, that's what I'm here for, OK? And I'll be having words with those bullies too, their conduct has gone on too long, I'm determined to see an end to it! I never meant for you to feel singled out, will you accept my apollogy?"

Recalling everything Sombra had just taught him, Steel Wire let his anger fly away and nodded up at her, feeling glad when she looked happy! Forgiving somepony could be hard when you'd gotten real mad at them, but it was worth it...

Steel Wire walked alongside Sombra as they headed for the exit. He honestly though Sombra was the coolest pony ever at this point. He'd been through bad times too and he'd become a Prince, and shown everypony he could do amazing stuff!

--I wanna be like that, like a Prince...-- Steel Wire thought. Then they stepped outside, where he spotted his parents striding up to the gates, and hid behind Sombra's cloak on a scared impulse.

But they'd spotted him.

"Steel Wire!" His father said crossly "we've been worried sick-"

Now they both clocked who was shielding their son "-Prince Sombra?!"

Last pony they'd expected to see at the school.

"Good afternoon," Sombra said politely "I apologize for delaying your son, I had wished to-"

"You don't have to do this!" Steel Wire cut him off, stepping out from behind the Princes flowing cloak "I was kept behind because I was being bullied by some guys and I got into a fight." he blushed at the memory of losing his temper, "The Prince was just visiting miss Petalbloom..."

Before his parents could get cross again, he carried on "I'm sorry mom, dad. I should've said something, but I didn't think you'd believe me!"

"Oh honey-" his mother sighed in relief he was telling her this "Of course we would! We know you wouldn't lie to us about something that makes you that upset! We moved here to give you a fresh start, and as much time as you need to make it happen! We're not going to get mad because its not always smooth sailing! Of course you can talk to us. We might take awhile to understand you, but we will get there. We love you..."

Steel Wire sniffled, rubbing at his eyes, terror melting into relief once more.

"There is a silver lining to this cloud..." Sombra spoke up, catching Steel Wire's eye. "Care to show them?"

"Show us what?" the father asked, wondering what the Prince had to do with this? But this was forgotten when both parents spotted the cutie mark on their sons flank.

His mother gave a gasp of joy and ran forward, scooping him up and hugging him happily.

"I'm so happy!" she said, setting the blushing foal down. "We have to celebrate, right dear?"

"Of course!" His father said proudly, ruffling his sons hair. "How about we go to that nice restaurant we went to for your birthday last year?"

"Yeah!" Steel Wire said, eyes wide, grinning.

Sombra smiled at the happy reunion. Now that Steel Wire had finally told his parents what was going on, he was sure the kid would be making friends and growing more confident in no time! He turned to go, but the father snapped out of his daze to call out-

"Please wait a moment your highness!"

Sombra stopped, turning back to them.

Steel Wire came up and gave a little salute with one hoof. "Thanks man, for, y'know.."

"It's my honor.." Sombra assured him "just don't forget what I told you, OK?"

Steel Wire nodded, and his parents stepped up either side of him.

Sombra bid them farewell before setting off back to the place.

The next day....

During the dream where he'd been force fed all his memories by that shadow creature, he'd seen a flashback of a sealed cavern full of his father's things. So now he enlisted the help of the Crystal Bard to find it, since the critter knew the palaces hidden passageways inside and out!

It gleefully hugged him when he found it, and he smiled again at how glad he was he'd made an effort to befriend it instead of just avoiding the issue.

"Mhhrr...what're you doing?" it asked.

"I need your help!" Sombra told it "You know this place top to bottom? Well, I have a cave I need to locate, but I'm still processing many of my memories of this place, some things are a little fuzzy..."

Noting the sadness in his voice, the Crystal Bard patted his foreleg kindly, and merely nodded!

Sombra described what he could recall of the cave, including the fact it'd been sealed with his magic. The Crystal Bard ran this through his head, and nodded, he knew the one! They trekked off through the opening in the library wall, descending deep underground. Sombra felt a strange sense of loneliness and nostalgia, having hidden down here in the past, avoiding Scrollwork shouting or just wanting some peace.

--I really messed him about...-- he thought back, smiling faintly. He hadn't told anypony about his dyas in the palace. Although thinking about it now, misses Dash and Cotton Candy would love hearing about the pranks he'd played on the grumpy aide!

There was so much to think about, so many memories. Of his father, of the palace. So many actions he wished he could have undone. At least that he could’ve apologised to his father. But what good was that now?

His thoughts were halted by the Crystal Bard declaring "here!"

Sombra looked up, and focused on a solid wall of shimmering purple. His stomach shifted. The magic was laced with so much fury. This had to have been right after his madness, when it was still relishing its dangerous freedom.

The Crystal Bard looked worried as Sombra actually took a step back, paling slightly.

"Mhrrr...what's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing...I..." Sombra took a deep breath and swallowed down the nausea "I can sense my emotions from the day this was created. Sweet merciful Celestia. I was so angry..."

"Mhhrr...this was...at the start of the...mhrr..." it stopped, unsure how to say it.

"The insanity? Don't worry, I'm not attempting to justify my lunacy. It was what it was..." Sombra said heavily.

He shook himself slightly, and turned his attention back to the door. Focusing on it, he could see how he'd locked the spell into place. It only took moments to unravel it, but it left him feeling a bit queasy.

The Crystal Bard clutched the edge of Sombra's cloak as the pair walked into open cavern. it was full of boxes, things under dust sheets and several treasure chests.

"I cant fathom how much stuff is IN here. If I sent even HALF of this to miss Quillpetal, she'd probably pass out from joy.." Sombra mused. Who knew, he'd probably need to have some of it recorded for history's sake!

They split up to delve into some of the boxes. Some contained jewels, or bits.

"Probably just had everything in his private rooms stashed here..." Sombra sighed at last.

"Mhrr....even then, you still cared...." the Crystal Bard said.

"What do you mean..?" Sombra asked.

"You kept the precious things even though you...mwwrr...were angry. You wrapped them up and put that spell there to keep them safe....you still had hope...."

Sombra blinked, the bards words hitting home. "hope..?" he asked.

The Crystal Bard nodded, picking up a book and toddling over to Sombra, holding it up to him.

"Mhrr...yes, hope. For yourself..."

The book was his father's diary, wrapped in semitransparent silken fabric. An additional spell had it locked, a spell of Sombra's making.

"Had you not cared, would you have...mhrr...done this?" the Crystal Bard said. Something in Sombra's brain clicked, and a sudden realization occurred to him.

He'd been told this three times now;

His father the King had said it when Sombra had first met him; "If you truly didn't care, I'd be out cold and you'd be long gone."

And Princess Luna: "You wouldn't have done those things if you truly didn't care!"

And now the little Crystal Bard.

So that fragment of him HAD been present all this time, trying its level best to make itself known, even in these small ways. Rarity had once said, during the whole "trying to make Sombra accept the crown" episode; "You're not some unfeeling monster you know! You care more than you realize!"

He thanked the Crystal Bard warmly, and the creature hugged him tightly, making a contented little noise. It was glad to see Sombra cheered up again!

But now they needed to figure out how to get this stuff up above ground. They left back through the passageways in search of some assistants.

With the help of several guards, most of the boxes made their way up. Sombra opened a portal between the entrance of the cave and a mostly empty storeroom. The guards all stared in bug-eyed shock as Sombra walked by them, carrying one box balanced on his back, and another in front of him via his magic.

It didn't take long to bring the majority of the boxes up from the cave. One that Sombra recognized as being particularly important (it was a fancy chest adorned with is father's cutie mark), he had placed in his room. He'd go through it later...

He thanked the guards for going out of their way to help him, which they all insisted was an honor! And once again the Crystal Bard seen a genuine spark behind Sombra's eyes as he smiled. He seemed happier in moments like these...

After that, Sombra retired to his room to sort through the contents of the chest, and also his father's diary. Leaving the diary aside he opened the chest. It had a collection of small boxes, which were further pieces of the Queens jewelry collection, and a painting of her that Sombra set aside to be given to the historical society!

There were paintings of the palace and its gardens from back then, and Sombra recalled all the spots he'd used as hiding places during his most tempestuous moments. His father had always found him, and more often then not would just squeeze in beside him, giggling to himself at how long it would take before somepony came looking for him! His father's irreverent behavior had baffled young Sombra at first, but he'd started to get used to it.

There were also a couple of books on the empires old political policies, he made a note to give those to the current staff in charge of that.

He sat up on the bed and with a nervous sigh, pulled the diary out from its protective wrap and opened it...

For the next two hours he didn't move an inch, so absorbed was he in the story contained within...

When he finally closed the book and set it down, his heart felt heavier, but not necessarily in a bad way.

So many things he remembered about his father, and many new thoughts that'd made him laugh, and miss the pegasus even more.

But one thing stuck in his head. Going by the diary, he knew it was his father's birthday in three days. His father deserved a proper tribute on this day, for all he'd done for Sombra.

But what had happened to him? Sombra knew from the memory Luna had found that he'd ended up in a remote village some distance from the Crystal Empire. But did it still exist, and could he get there?

Suddenly anxious to find out, he grabbed his saddlebag, put the diary on the desk and left his room.

He trotted out of the palace and headed for the big public library. Twilight had told him it had a big comprehensive collection of maps of the surrounding area. He hadn't bothered putting on his usual armored crown and shoes, sometimes it was nice not to wear it, especially since it was a warm day!

So he just wore his cloak, his mane flowing loosely behind him as he trekked to the massive crystal library. On his way there he was greeted by several ponies, and he paused to offer a quick greeting to them all before continuing on, cutting through the market...

"Your highness!" He paused as he heard a voice, then a wonderful smell drifted over. There was a stall selling sugared donuts, something he HADN'T tried yet! So when they asked did he want some, he couldn't refuse!

He'd been a little awkward when offered anything at first, wary of such generosity, and honestly confused as to how to respond. Now he knew they offered these gifts from the heart, and were happy just to see him accept them!

Thanking them for the sugary treats, which made the stall owners smile in delight, he carried onwards...

He hadn't realised today was a baking-themed market, with stalls selling everything from savory snacks to sugar-laden goodies! By the time he got through the market, he'd stopped no less than 16 times, being offered numerous cakes and snacks! Those he took a fancy to, he ordered sizeable deliveries to be sent to the palace! Now he fully understood the palaces monetary procedures, he was able to wave aside the stall owners offers of no charge, thanking them all sincerely, but insisting he wanted to help his Empire's economy!

He didn't spot it, but the crowds sure did, and shared happy smiles. He finally used the correct wording. MY, instead of THE.

Up above in the palace, Luna woke up, and sneezed as the co-incidence assembled itself in her mind. She'd told Sombra off for not using the right term before, now it seemed he'd finally gotten the hint! She smiled, then flopped back onto the pillow with a yawn, falling straight back to sleep.

The library was quiet, but so peaceful. There wasn't anypony at the main desk, so Sombra tapped the bell with his hoof. Above the desk a big stained glass window let in colorful ribbons of light, giving the entrance a colorful tint.

"How can I help-oh! Hello your highness!" The librarian spotted the daydreaming stallion and quickly recovered her senses "what can I do for you?"

Sombra snapped out of his trance and smiled gently at her "sorry to disturb you ma'am, I was hoping you could point me in the direction of the maps?"

"Of course your highness, which particular area?"

"Anything on the outlying areas of the Crystal Empire, from as far back as possible...."

"Of course, we have many that have been recreated from the old maps left behind from before..." she coughed, not wanting to say it.

"It's quite alright..." Sombra said, without a trace of upset in his voice. Glancing up at him she seen a relaxed, kindly expression meet hers. She felt herself flush a little, he had a mesmerizing quality about him, the air of mystery that surrounded him only making the ponies more curious...

"Here we are.." she directed him to the maps "if you need anything further, just let me know..."

He thanked her and started sorting through the maps, rolling them out on the massive table off to the side. Eventually he located the most recent map, and going on his memories and everything he'd studied from the books about the area, he came to the realization the village was gone.

As far as he could tell the area had become impossible to live in after its water source dried up, and anypony living there had moved on.

Sombra found no mention of his father, until he came across a brief mention saying "a mysterious pony led the expedition to find a new home. Nopony knew where he came from, but he became the villages protector.."

--You helped anypony that needed you, didn't you father?-- he thought fondly --I hope you had a good life...--

Putting the maps away he thanked the librarian and left. Drifting home he wondered what he could do now?! He didn't even know what'd happened to his father.

But midway back to the palace, he felt a sudden agonizing pain in his head. He stopped in the street, feeling multiple sensations stabbing into his mind. There were two attackers, at the same time, he had to-

He teleported towards the closest attacker, seeing no guards nearby he could send to the other! He would have to make this swift!

The one Sombra was tracking had chosen to attack a flower shop of all places. It had smashed in through the window and was penning the shop owner and three terrified customers against the counter, grinning from ear to ear.

It sensed movement behind it and spat a gob of black ooze, trapping the huddled group like flies in a web, before turning to face;

"Ahh, little Prince..." it drawled, smirking as Sombra merely glowered at it "what's wrong, no smart remarks this time?"

"No, I'm a bit busy..." a voice spoke, but it came from BEHIND the creature. It turned, coming face to face with the REAL Sombra. A significant blast of magic sent it careening out the already broken glass window, smashing into the paving. Sombra stepped out after it, having freed the quartet from their gooey prison.

The dazed attacker gathered its scattered wits and dissolved its pony shape and morphed into a snake shape, like a singular-core edition of the one Sombra had defeated at the stadium.

--Nice try...-- Sombra smirked, and vanished, appearing above the street balancing on a floating crystal platform. The one HE was looking for was....

He closed his eyes, the glow of his magic surrounding his entire body before pulsing out-

Desperate to distract him, the controller sent the clone after him, its wide mass threatening to smother the pony, until:

FWOMPF. Sombra felt a rush of adrenaline and excitement as he reached into his memory and replicated the flame-maned mode he'd transformed into at the stadium once more. Mane and tail became a blazing purple flame, and his normally ruby red eyes were a stunning golden color. He swung round, his tail flaring brighter and catching the creature as it blazed towards him and unceremoniously setting it afire!

It recoiled, screaming in horror. Sombra summoned the scythe and chopped its core in half, teleporting to the ground to avoid the ensuing explosion.

"Show yourself, coward!" he bellowed.

"Oh, aren't you a boor?" a mocking voice taunted from above, and Sombra teleported away just milliseconds before the main controller smashed into the pavement. He reappeared a few meters away, unblinking.

"You're not the only one with a few tricks!" it giggled gleefully, and turned into its flowing gooey state, gliding across the gap between them as fast as lightning, wrapping around Sombra's forelegs and effectively holding him in place as it threatened to smother him, thus extinguishing the ponies flame!

Sombra swore, panicking slightly. But seeing it turn into a liquid shadow brought to mind how he'd gotten into the mass cores of the snakes body to destroy it. By changing INTO a shadow himself.

Shadow...plus fire....

The gawking, terror-struck crowd seen Sombra suddenly seem to vanish under the thick smothering goop, and for a brief moment they panicked that their protector had finally been overwhelmed, but it wasn't so.

The creature however was aware of none of this as it was attempting to take over the pony's body, intending to use this powerhouse stallion to really wreck the place. Then it noticed a small spark of light re-ignite deep inside the pony's body, and realized it could suddenly see right through a previously solid body!

Too late it realized its mistake, as Sombra's flame took his secondary shadow mode like a duck to water, and with an explosive fwompf, it felt itself being thrown back. The majority of its body separated from its core, and burned away as it hit the ground several feet away, only a small portion of its mass still surrounding it.

It couldn't even scream in fury as the blazing purple pony-shaped flame dove for the core, bringing its hooves down-

WHABOOOM.

The debris passed right through flame-Sombra's body, the heat from the blast barely bothering him!

The remains of its gooey shell dissolved away now the core controller was gone. Sombra shifted gears, returning to his flame-mane and tail only version, golden eyes glancing over at the ponies he'd freed from the flower shop.

"I apologize for any damage," he said, his voice a low rumble "ill have somepony from the palace contact you. But I have to go, there's still another..."

And with that he vanished, leaving a stunned, gaping audience behind.

"That was....amazing.." the shop owner blurted "how does his magic work? I've never seen anything like him!"

The guards the second attacker had zeroed in on were doing their best to keep the thing contained, but after it'd revealed the two helpers it'd had hidden up its arse (not literally), they realized they were in trouble.

They were currently ensnared in a shadowy tornado with no way out, even for a pegasus, and things weren't looking good.

They tried to target the cores, but the things were whipping by so fast they couldn't even focus on ONE of them, let alone three!

With a flash of fire, a frankly startling sight appeared before them. Not all the guards had seen Sombra's flame mode, so this was a novel experience!

"S-sire...?" one stammered, seeing this enhanced version of an already formidable pony.

"Stay calm, I have a plan." Sombra said bluntly "shield yourselves!"

"But what about you-"

"Do not worry about me, my own fire wont hurt me." Sombra assured him.

The guard didn't hesitate, nodding and summoning a shield around him and his two friends. Through the haze of the shield they seen Sombra close his eyes, leap forward and-

WHOMPF. The tornado become a blazing whirlwind of purple fire, from inside which issued thee explosions in rapid succession. The flames blazed outwards, but the three in the shield still felt the heat wash over them as it faded into the still air.

"Whoa.." the shield dropped, and they gaped.

"Where'd Prince Sombra go?" one asked at last. But he didn't have to wait long for an answer. Sombra reappeared, the flames of his mane and tail burning brightly. He closed his golden eyes, and with a swift flash of light, he reverted back to his normal appearance. When he reopened his eyes, they were back to their crimson shade.

The three guards stared at him, slack jawed.

"You three alright?" Sombra asked, not a single hair on his coat singed, nor his cloak.

"How do you DO that without setting fire to yourself?" one guard blurted at last.

"Beats me, I just...created it." Sombra shrugged "Just don't stick me next to the curtains and I'm sure it'll be fine.."

This prompted amused sniggering, then they returned to their patrol and Sombra left for the palace.

The fight had briefly distracted him, but as he went inside, he was reminded of that afternoons failure.

The others noticed his silence at dinner, asking was he alright? Sombra told them he was fine, just tired was all.

But his spacey lack of attention continued into the next day even after a nights sleep. Shining Armor noticed a strange sadness in Sombra's expressions at breakfast, just for a brief second when the stallion clearly didn't think anypony was looking. He didn't get the feeling it was Sombra still berating himself, from what the guards had told him he'd been doing a lot better lately! So what was it that was bothering him?

Breakfast over, and unable to concentrate, Sombra walked out of the palace on auto-pilot, his mind still whirling about his father...

Meanwhile, unaware Sombra had snuck out of the palace, Twilight Sparkle and company went looking for him. They walked up to his room, well, the rest did, pinkie as usual bounded ahead, and it was this that led to the discovery. Pinkie tripped on the rug by the door, rolled into a ball, and barreled into the door, which Sombra hadn't shut properly in his distracted state.

She hit the desk, knocking the diary off and onto her face. That was how her five friends plus Twilight's brother found her, prying the book off her face.

"Huh, he ain't here...whoops." Applejack noted.

"Now where do we look?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"He has an odd habit of sneaking off, he does know he doesn't have to right?" Rarity asked.

"Something is really on his mind, he looked sad earlier.." Fluttershy said sorrowfully.

"It's because it's his dad's birthday!" Pinkie piped up.

"Ahh, that makes sense- wait-a-second..." Rainbow Dash trailed off "how did you-??"

"This!" Pinkie held up the book "it fell on my face, and I seen an entry saying it was his fathers birthday. It's the day after tomorrow...."

"Of course..." Twilight Sparkle said softly, after thinking for a moment "he has all his memories back, he must be looking for a way to remember him!"

"Maybe we can find out what happened?" Shining Armor suggested.

But they soon found out the same thing Sombra had learnt, that his fathers home after the takeover had moved on long ago.

"Awww..." Applejack sighed "we got nothin'!"

"Bummer..." Pinkie flopped across the library table.

"There must be something we can do," Rarity said, tapping the table with one hoof.

They fell silent, trying to think up an idea. Then pinkie got bored and pulled some pony-shaped action figures out of her bag and started staging a play with them!

"That's it!" Rarity declared.

"What's it...?" Rainbow Dash looked dubiously from Pinkie and her toys to Rarity.

"Why don't we make a statue?" Rarity asked "I'm sure if we all pull together, we can get one made by the date!"

"Hey yeah.." Shining looked to his sister "we can come up with the spell to carve crystal, all we gotta do is get some delivered!"

"I'll get right on it!" Twilight declared.

"We'll go get tha materials sorted!" Applejack shared a hoofbump with Rainbow Dash.

"Pinkie, Fluttershy and I can design it, but we need a picture of the king." Rarity said.

"We have that drawing Sombra did for the stadium announcement?" Shining offered "It's very detailed!"

"Perfect!" The plan back on the rails, Rarity was in full stride "shall we begin?"

A collective cheer and they set off to their respective parts!

By the days end they had formulated a plan to make a tribute, but they wanted it to be a surprise present. So Shining Armor planned to ask Sombra to give him a helping hoof with a training session at the barracks! He had been meaning to ask Sombra for an extra round of practice regarding the creatures, and this was the perfect time!

Later that day the crystal stone block was delivered in secrecy to the palace, and hidden away in a storeroom.

That evening at dinner, Shining Armor asked if Sombra would mind helping him with a batch of new recruits who were learning to use the goggles. Sombra nodded, saying it'd be no problem. With the increase in attacks lately, they needed every pony available to learn to fight them, so Sombra wasnt battling by himself!

Shining Armor asked again was he truly OK, and Sombra just smiled and repeated that he was fine.

But the training day wasn't as smooth as they'd hoped.

The new recruits looked mind boggled when the by now legendary flank-kicking stallion, Prince Sombra, show up alongside their Captain to personally direct the training session. The sunlight glanced off of the golden armored shoes and crown, the deep red cloak.

"Consider yourselves lucky gentlemen!" The CO barked as they lined up to await Sombra's instruction. "We got the best of the best here today, so look lively!"

"Yessir!" They all barked. Shining indicated for Sombra to begin...

He went through the same tactics he'd shown the first group, ending in him creating the construct of the creature to fight.

There was a wave of surprised noises when the created clone appeared. It floated there, blinking.

"Relax," Sombra assured them. "It's a construct, a fake. See? The core is visible..."

"Psst...buddy.." Shining Armor hissed out of the corner of his mouth. Sombra blinked, looking over at him. Shining Armor very VERY subtly made a raspberry noise. Sombra had to employ all his ability to suppress his expression, although one of the guards did spot his ears twitch once. Shining Armor made a show of asking Sombra to, "Take a look at this a moment?"

While Sombra was peering at a sheet of paper with a doodle of a fuzzy pink thing with a goofy look on its lovable face, this meant his attention was off the creature.

The new guards had to stifle a laugh as the creature proceeded to stick its tongue out and blow a raspberry at them. But when it face-planted and started scuttling about the grass on its face, thbbbttt-ing merrily away as it did, they really creased up!

"Your highness, it's-" The CO looked over at Shining Armor and seen they were both looking very intently in different directions. Shining Armor was noticeably sniggering, and Sombra was staying bizarrely still, as if afraid moving would let the giggles loose.

The CO sighed, realizing this was Sombra's idea of a joke. Admittedly it was amusing, and the recruits were silently creasing themselves laughing...

The fun came to an end when the creature farted over to its creator and started trying to chew on his cloak. Sombra reset his control over it and set it back on its feet!

"Interesting display your highness..." the CO said to Sombra and Shining Armor once the trainees were off doing some practice with the construct and some spears, similar in style to the one Sombra STILL carried, only more modern.

Sombra and Shining Armor shared glances, and Shining let out an involuntary snigger, which set them both off on raucous laughing fits.

The CO rolled his eyes. Wasn't Sombra normally the serious one? The two Princes did seem to be thick as thieves at times like this, sharing a joint amusement and dedication to their respective roles! Still, he had to applaud Sombra for taking some of the tension out of the invasion prep.

Then there was a booming sound in the sky. Sombra whipped round, seeing something that looked like twin black comets shooting for where the soldiers were. On instinct he teleported to the forefront of the group and fired up the biggest shield he could create, some distance ahead of them. The twin objects rebounded off it, hitting the grass some distance away, digging up a massive furrow on their way.

Sombra took a few steps forward, his body tensed. The guards gathered behind and to the sides, waiting to see how their empires protector intended to handle it.

Those that'd seen the posters at the stadium recognized the two that the shadow creatures were masquerading as when the smoke cleared.

One was a big black stallion, identified as Sombra's father. The other was a dark red mare with flame-colored mane and tail. An earth pony and a unicorn, both as tall and long legged as Sombra himself. Shyre horses.

Sombra's PARENTS.

Those gathered could see the resemblance. He had his fathers build, but the wave of his mothers mane, and her deep red eyes had been passed onto him also.

"Oh, did we interrupt you?" his mother said smoothly, contempt in her eyes as she regarded Sombra.

"When are you doing to learn-" Sombra snarled. "You're a thousand years too late to make me give a hay!"

"Oh this isn't for your benefit, you little freak...." the father laughed.

"Yes, can't we give your "friends" a little insight into you?"

--Oh buck...-- Shining Armor began to creep closer to where Sombra stood. But one of them looked right at him, and he felt like he'd just had the worst brain freeze ever. Then his thoughts seemed to slip away like ice melting in the heat...who was this strange looking unicorn, why was he here? What was his name?

That was it...SOMBRA. The shadow freak.

--NO, he's a good pony...he saved my wife...sister...-- he tried to fight it, but the spell rapidly overwhelmed his mind.

Sombra kept his anger at bay, determined not to lose his temper twice, like he had in the town centre.

The mother looked at Sombra with a look of pure distaste. "Do you know how it must have felt for her? The only child she had, and it turned out to be a freak! That whole village ended up paying the price because of YOU."

Sombra didn't answer, and his father spoke next;

"They can fight well enough without you...why bother with you?"

Sombra shook his head. "Enough of your crap," he snapped, turning to glance at the guards-

And was met with a wall of animosity. All of them staring with such unbridled hatred at HIM. A jolt of shock ran through him, as he recalled that first nightmare he'd had thanks to these shadow creatures. Being trapped amidst a crowd of the townsfolk, nothing but disdain in their eyes, then they'd-

Taking advantage of the loop Sombra's mind had gotten stuck in, the two controllers ordered those under the control of their spell to get Sombra!

"Wretched traitor.." one of them spoke. Sombra, starting to get angry now, whirled round, a rebuke already poised on the tip of his tongue, but he never got that far. A blinding pain shot through his head as one of the spears sliced across his face, leaving a cut just above his right eye. He snarled, part anger and part surprise, and stumbled on his feet.

Before he could retreat, they pounced, and he was suddenly pinned to the grass by several pairs of hooves. He tried to throw them off him, and very nearly succeeded, but eventually the pressure on his back and spine meant he couldn't get up. That and the unicorns using their magic to tie his legs meant it soon became impossible to move.

The wind was knocked from his lungs as he was finally forced to his knees facing the fake parents, the sharp points of weapons pressing into his neck and sides.

But worse was to follow was Shining Armor, expression as blank as the rest, stepped between Sombra and the shadow creatures, and aimed a spear at his neck. It's sharp point pressed against Sombra's throat.

--Oh, BUCK.-- Sombra swore, this was bad. He could free himself, but with so many sharp weapons aimed at him, he'd risk hurting himself AND them! He tried to calm his rising anger, telling himself to use his head!

"Oh how easily they're swayed..." the thing cackled. Sombra stayed still, silently fuming, trying to think of a way out. A book he'd borrowed from the palace library was an anthology by a "Prancer Carbon Doyle", about a detective called Sherclop Pones! The fictional detective had said something smart about how once you'd discounted everything else, whatever was left HAD to be the truth, however strange it seemed!

--Nothing is out of the running, they're using something complex, why else would they be so boastful after all that's occured?--

The spell they used to possess Lightshield and Sweetheart somehow had a broader range now. But there had to be a limit to it, otherwise they'd have done this long before...it must have taken considerable effort to get this far, what was it's weakness??

Seeing the guards clustering around him, an idea formed.

When they'd attacked, they'd gone for the guards when they were all in one group. So it had a short range. Many clustering around one that was serving as a transmitter-

That was it. They were using Shining Armor. Having recognized his link to Sombra as a treasured friend, they'd somehow twisted this to their own ends.

--I'm putting them in danger by my association?-- he thought, his head aching as he tried desperately to work out a plan in the face of such cold anger.

"They'll ditch you soon as you have no use," the fake father smirked at the captive Sombra "You're just a novelty to them, an amusing distraction. A mascot for a short lived war. And that's the scenario if YOU somehow win. But, I'm still prepared to give you a new lease of life. One where you wont be treated as a freak, reviled for who you were, what you became! Look at you; a twisted parody of these creatures!"

Sombra shut his eyes, thinking of Shining Sea. That kiss, how she'd said those words:

"You think how you look chases ponies away? Far from it!"

She'd been upset, seeing him thinking himself sub-par because of how he appeared. She'd refused to let him escape after that first kiss, where he'd mistaken surprise for anger, and had kissed him in return, so much kindness in that one gesture. The way her soft lips had snared his...

Then there was the way madam Sweetheart had blushed as she'd thanked him for dancing with her. That smile hadn't been one of mockery! And Lightshield had said that he had fitted in just fine at the ball!

The smiles on the crowds faces when they'd heard his coronation date had finally been settled upon. How Luna had given him a nudge and a wink as if to say "see? You got it right this time around!"

"-you see?" the thing was still warbling on. "You're wasting your time defending these pathetic creatures-"

"THATS ENOUGH!!" Sombra's voice was like a razor sharp knife through marshmallow, cutting into the drone of their malicious lies. Beneath the normal undertone of rumbling darkness normally present in his voice, he'd added a minute spell, one that he prayed would slip their attention.

In front of him shining twitched, a flicker in his eyes. Sombra felt his heart thud in relief, and then, much like the spell he'd used to destroy the giant snake, it ran like chain lightning. The flash of recognition in Shining eyes was reflected in the guards, one by one, their salvation delivered via the very fact they all now stared at the Captain, awaiting orders to dispose of Sombra!

One by one, the guards began to realize something was wrong. Why couldn't they move? Why were they holding the empires most valued asset in this fight at spear-point? They were forcefully pinning the larger stallion, the whole scene looked like a potential execution. Sombra a prisoner at their hooves, with their captain, the Princes FRIEND, forced to be the one holding the proverbial axe, but he wasn't fighting them to get free, why??

Those standing to Sombra's side seen a seemingly limitless determination in Sombra's eyes, and something else...

"Just. SHUT. UP." Sombra said. He'd noticed the twitch in Shining Armor, but instead turned his focus onto the two masterminding this madness. There was a look of disgust and pity in his eyes as he spoke, battling with a bravery Shining would later describe to Cadance as being beyond admirable given the circumstances;

"I wouldn't expect you to have the brain cells to comprehend it, but that's what power is FOR! For the defense of those that cannot fight. Those that don't possess the strength that I or any of these ponies have! It's our duty, our responsibility, to guard them. Light cannot exist without dark to help it stand out, and strength cannot exist if it doesn't have something to be strong for!"

Shining Armor felt his limbs come back to life again, found he could move. And the first thing he did was minutely inch his weapon away from where it had been resting against Sombra's neck. The taller stallion shot him a quick glance, a plan being spelled out through one split-second look...

He continued, wincing as blood from the cut got into his right eye, “I had NO right to ask their forgiveness, not even CLOSE. Not after what I did. For the simple fact they have offered it to me at ALL, I will take whatever steps necessary to destroy you. If they no longer need me after that? Then that is THIER decision. I have been offered more in these shorts weeks than I ever had when all I cared about was power! Even if I'm not needed to rule, and I become merely a figurehead, I care not. This Empire will be protected regardless!!”

His heart hammering in his chest, he shot another swift look at Shining Armor.

--NOW-- Sombra's eyes flashed with that same light that'd raced across them in the street fight, when he'd robbed that thing of his fathers form. With that one look Shining Armor felt himself able to fully move again. He followed what he'd read in Sombra's expression, the minuscule movement of his head...

He flattened himself to the floor, hearing Sombra snarl in pain as he jolted forward, the spears slicing thin cuts into his flank, the injuries lessened by the thick fabric of the cloak. The fact his front and rear legs were still bound by the spells made balance a tricky matter, but he managed to leap over Shining Armor's prone form and stand at the front of the group, crouched lower to maintain his skewed centre of gravity. He closed his eyes and, free of an imminent swiss-cheese makeover, woke his magic!

Not a second too late, Sombra's shield flared up, deflecting the twin blasts aimed at them by the furious creatures.

The flash of purple light was the final key to snapping the guards from their trance. They stared in shock at Sombra facing off against the two attackers. Shining Armor got to his feet, yelling at them to get into formation!

The two creatures stopped firing at Sombra, seeing the guards assembling behind the shield, surrounding the Prince once more, but this time with the anger in their eyes directed at THEM instead!

"You want to die because of this creature?" The father said. "Have it your way!"

From the sky descended a double squad of lesser creatures, under the control of the main two. Clearly this was plan B in motion!

Sombra looked round at Shining Armor, seeing the other awaiting an order from him.

They ALL were. One hurriedly stepped forward, undoing the bonds around Sombra's legs, enabling him to stand properly instead of crouching.

Figuring he was past the point of hesitating over his abilities, Sombra found himself barking orders for the guards to use their magic or weapons to fend off the lesser clones, while he and Shining Armor dealt with wingus and dingus.

Sombra made what to the others seemed like an obscure movement with one hoof, but one Shining Armor recognized instantly. He grinned, nodded, and they turned as one to face the swarm, the shield dropping!

They took off from the ground and raced towards the two stunned antagonizers. Sombra teleported from one side to the other, lightning fast flashes of movement, which Shining Armor mimicked a second after. Catching his eye, Sombra gave a minuscule nod, and with that, the both of them vanished.

"What?" The two controllers seen a flash behind them and spun round, expecting the two stallions to appear there. Wrong.

They dropped in from above, pounding their opponents into the ground before leaping off and firing blasts of magic at them. The two creatures were knocked flying in opposite directions, stunned and disorientated. Sombra wasted no time in summoning his scythe and slamming it down into his attacker, feeling a momentary jab when he seen the creature's look of fear in his mother's guise. Then he reminded himself she was long gone, and he'd moved on.

Uttering a silent goodbye, he sprang away as she was wiped from existence.

Shining Armor meanwhile, had succeeded in heavily stunning the thing, slamming it into the ground repeatedly, cracking the core, and seemingly draining its magic. It's false form blinked out of existence, and a dulled core fell to the grass.

He was on the verge of shooting at it with the help of his goggles to destroy it for good, when he heard a scream. He seen one of the things trying to abduct one of the guards and fly off with him. Furious, he aimed the charge he'd built up at the thing as it shot by, striking it in the head and making it drop the poor guard. He ran over and helped the pony to his feet.

But the core wasn't down and out. Shards of black ooze flowed out from the broken core and surrounded it. It only had a little strength left, so it had just one chance-

Sombra felt a pain lance through his head and whipped round, spotting the orb cracking and sparking. And Shining Armor helping a stricken guard to his hooves not far away.

"Shining Armor!" He bellowed, launching himself towards the other Prince, vision narrowing down to getting to his friend. He reached them and fired off a makeshift teleport to get them out of the way, and shot a spell at the core to blast it into the air.

But the timing was just a moment off-kilter, so when it detonated, one shard slashed across his head, cutting across the previous cut from the spear, creating an x-shaped wound. Only the armored crown he wore stopped it from cutting any deeper into his head. The hit blind-sided him, sending him off balance and crashing into the grass. Heavy pain filled his head, and the world spun, before it faded to black...

With their chief controllers destroyed, the rest exploded into clouds of crumbled core, leaving a haze of dust across the battlefield.

"Sombra!!" Shining Armor yelled, as he was suddenly teleported, recognizing the purple gleam on that magic. The smoke cleared with a quick spell, and he spotted the larger pony crumpled on the grass...

"Oh bucking hay..." he said sharply as he ran over, crouching beside Sombra. There was a large amount of blood seeping into the grass from a nasty looking wound on Sombra's head. The guard he'd been helping didn't hesitate, and quickly used his magic to tear off the fabric from the underside of his armor, and Shining Armor quickly pressed this against the wound. The CO spotted the problem and barked at one of the guards to run and fetch the base doctor NOW!

The worried guards clustered nearby, as the dust cleared from the air and they spotted the injured stallion. His cloak was torn in several places, and blood was trickling slowly from a cross-cut over his right eye...

A quick check revealed Sombra was still breathing, and his pulse was steady.

"C'mon man.." Shining muttered to the unconscious Sombra. "Wake up..."

"What the BUCK happened there?" one guard whispered to another "why did we-"

"Try to attack a pony to whom we our lives?" The shaken CO barked, seeking an outlet "I'd like an explanation myself! We'd best hope, for the love of Celestia, that his highness does not think we supported this abhorrent act in any way-"

He was cut off as there was a spate of coughing, and a familiar voice muttering;

"Heh...I don't, if it's any reassurance."

They all whipped round to where Sombra had finally regained consciousness, and was sitting up with an obvious wince.

"Whoa, take it slowly bud.." Shining panicked.

"I-I'm alright..I-I've had worse.." Sombra said, his voice strained. Shining took the second swatch of fabric from the same guard, and used his magic to keep it pressed against the bleeding cut...

The CO was having a well-hidden fit of panic, and desperately tried to apologize for what'd happened, babbling as he stepped towards the Prince;

"Your highness, please-"

"You all know how that spell unleashed in the stadium worked, do you not?"

They took a second to absorb the question, then they nodded. Sombra had explained it to Shining Armor, about the chain lightning effect, who'd then passed this tactic onto the guards, who regarded the complexity of the spell as a thing of marvel!

"What just occurred worked much the same way, from one point, they used the targets magic to boost the strength of the spell, thus linking it onto the rest of you."

"So that's why that thing was looking at me funny?" Shining recalled it now. Sombra nodded. "It seems personal connections are at the most risk..."

Hearing Sombra's worried tone, and sensing the threat of the taller stallion blaming himself, Shining shook his head and made a noise like;

"Thbbbtt..." a raspberry, basically. This had the effect of Sombra giving him a baffled frown.

"That's about the same level of sense blaming yourself for somehow causing this makes," Shining shrugged "They've tried animosity, personal emotions, now a collective assault. And they all FAILED. Epically. Aint nothing getting through here!" he rapped his head with one hoof, his cheerful grin making Sombra laugh just a little.

"Hah, you laughed!" Shining snickered. "Now you're off the hook, agreed?" He held up a hoof.

Sombra recognized this. As a gesture of friendship, not long after that first breakfast where they'd banded together to help him realize he was not alone, Rainbow Dash had taught the old-fashioned Sombra the new gesture of hoof-bumps!

"By what logic does your mind work again?" Sombra couldn't suppress his amusement, even as his gold-clad hoof met the other pony's.

"Logic?" was the reply.

During all this, Sombra's loopy little construct had been scooting merrily about the far end of the field, startled by the ensuing fight! Without Sombra's direct concentration to guide it, it'd been on a sort of woolly-headed autopilot! Now that things had calmed down, it returned to its creator, popping up between where Sombra was sat and Shining Armor stood just a foot or two away from him. It popped up, stared blankly at them, then blew a raspberry and fell on its face again.

"What he said." Sombra remarked dryly, pointing a hoof at the creature, who made another muffled thbbbbt!

It was a spark in a powder keg. The worry and guilt they'd been feeling over attacking Sombra was soothed temporarily by a widespread fit of laughter at the comedic constructs actions.

This was the scene the base doctor arrived to, the construct darting about on its face making muffled fart sounds, and everypony acting like a foal again!

"OK, how many of you hit your heads?" he asked in exasperation;

"Just him!" Shining Armor nodded at Sombra between sniggers.

Sombra laughed a little, although the action made him wince. The doctor peered at the wound, and began mopping up the blood, which had thankfully slowed to a minimal amount.

Luckily the wound wasn't serious, a bit of a bleeder, but really nothing bad. At most it'd stunned Sombra, and after bandaging the wound, he was advised to go home and rest!

Sadly he had to de-summon the construct, to the guards disappointment! But he encouraged them to keep doing their training, and if he was given a report saying even ONE of them was having a fit of the guilts about what'd happened, he come back down and personally convince them otherwise. By which the CO translated to mean "a kick up the butt". But, given this threat was delivered with an amused, entirely forgiving look in Sombra's eyes, the guards knew he wasn't blaming them for anything.

As he and Shining Armor turned to leave, the CO asked them to wait a moment;

"I admire your strength your highness, all of us here do," the CO began, and the soldiers all nodded "I don't think I could have found the strength to think of a way out when faced with something like this. Your actions prevented anypony from being captured, or worse. You put your own safety at risk for all of us! Traditionally our job is to guard those in royal status, but in one scenario alone, your abilities have have outstripped us all. I intend to make sure we can become strong enough to guard your life, it would be our honor!”

With these words spoken, he and the other guards all saluted Sombra, much as Lightshield and friends had, that occasion in the barracks.

Sombra was literally stunned into silence by a mix of relief and happiness. As with the reaction of the citizens to his impending coronation, he could see the genuine expressions on their faces. Looks of admiration, of belief and trust. All aimed at, and for, him.

This effect was doubled when he seen a movement at his side and realized Shining Armor, as the Captain of the guard, had joined them! He gave Sombra a friendly grin, one that said he was pretty dang pleased for his friend!

Again he seen how Sombra's ears seemed to shift from slightly drooped to standing up as far as pony ears could. Meaning he was surprised, but not unpleasantly so...

These subtle emotions were picked up on by the closer members of the guard, and they were relieved to see Sombra was happy with what their CO had said! To the effect that he replied by way of a formal bow, no words necessary..

"Just one question sires," the CO asked of Sombra and Shining Armor. "How did you two manage to pull that double attack off without even needing instruction?"

Sombra raised an eyebrow at Shining Armor, indicating he should tell them;

Shining Armor cheerily explained how he'd been showing Sombra some of his old "Oubliette and Ogres" manuals from back when he was in high school, and the gesture Sombra had made was a reference of a teleport spell from a LARP!

"Psst...you think he plays?" One of the guards asked another, even more in awe of Sombra now...

But as they headed back to the palace, Shining Armor noticed Sombra seemed worried.

"What's eating you? Or is your head just aching?"

"It's..." Sombra sighed "I was thinking.."

"Hay! You know better than that!" Shining Armor interjected.

Sombra made an amused sniggering sound as he realized the joke, and gave Shining Armor a mock-angry glare. Then he managed a weak smile and continued; "I know, but I was thinking about what I'm going to do once this is over. I literally don't know anything aside from picking fights and generally causing chaos. I haven't got a CLUE what I'm going to do when this ends, whenever that may be..."

"That's all?" Sombra blinked at Shining Armor as he let out a surprised chuckle "the political council has about a dozen reasons alone why you can't say you have nothing to do! We've never had a pony with a tactical mind like yours before! The amount you could teach the royal guard as a whole is staggering! Not just here, but Canterlot too! Heck, beyond if necessary..."

Sombra blinked, thinking about the world outside the Crystal Empire...

"We're not gonna keep you confined to the Crystal Empire, goofy," Shining clapped his friend on the back and grinned. "There's a huge ass world out there, and it's not one you've seen before! Its all brand new, buddy, think about it"

"I have often wondered what's beyond here..." Sombra murmured softly "I never saw anything outside of my village and here, the journey was so remote, I didn't pass more than a hoof-full of trading posts!"

"You'll LOVE Canterlot, it's where Cadance and I used to live, its pretty awesome! And naturally you gotta go see Ponyville with my sister and her friends. Pee for Ponyville remember?"

Sombra let out an amused laugh, feeling his mood lift as he recalled that signature phrase.

"You see? There's a hoof-full of reasons why you can't go getting depressed about having nothing to do! And if you're worried your abilities start and end with kicking things up the butt, don't be. You're already proving to be good at handling a crisis!"

"You mean.." Sombra jabbed a hoof up at the tear. "That?"

"Well yes. But not JUST that. At the party, remember? You not only talked that poor mare out of leaving and beating herself up, but put aside your plans to dance with that lady friend of yours to make that mare feel better!"

Sombra nodded, then something about Shining's phrasing made his ear twitch. What had he just said?

"AND, when Cadance and the rest of us were worrying about the party coming to a grinding halt, you'd already dispatched Pinkie Pie to get things going again. Whether you notice it or not, you have a knack for sorting out what the situation is most in dire need of! Heck, look at what you did back there for instance!"

"I see...wait, what was the last bit on the previous sentence again?!" Sombra's ear was twitching again. Shining chuckled "Sorry. I AM married to the Princess of love! You can be as subtle as you like, she'll STILL see it like its painted across a billboard-" Cue Sombra face-hoofing.

"Been there, done that, bud," Shining chuckled as he recalled how he'd first gotten together with Cadance. It'd involved attempted sabotage at a polo match, his Oubliettes and Ogres friends, foal-sitting, and a fluglehorn recital.

It had cumulated with him and his friends staging an elaborate prank on Cadance's date for the dance, Buck. She didn't like him, but had ended up going to the dance with him anyway. She hadn't stayed with him for long, admitting she didn't like him and finding Shining Armor instead! It'd been smooth sailing from there...

"So take it from me, you don't wanna let somepony like that slip away!"

Sombra nodded, still slightly red-faced, but feeling marginally less silly.

"Never thought I'd see the day I had the freedom to even consider such a thing.." Sombra amused. "Survival was all that ever mattered before, by any means necessary."

"You'll grow out of that in time, things are different now. With all of us to give you a hoof, you can relax and actually ENJOY your life!"

"So much has changed..." Sombra said "I try to think about it all and I feel dizzy. I was determined to hate everypony when I woke up here again, didn't see the point in being awake at all, let alone being billed as a solution to something like this!" he gave a funny laugh "but looking back, it took one word to make me start thinking..."

"What was that?" Shining asked. Although he had a feeling...

"Boop". Sombra said proudly, and shining recalled the tale of sparks first meeting with Sombra.

"Best phrase ever..." Shining grinned as they walked into the castles main entrance.

Sombra's stomach growled then, and he yawned "Hmmh...perhaps I'd best eat."

"Hay, you gotta keep awake, so no dozing off!" Shining reminded him.

He walked him to the palace doctor, who repeated the base doctor's instructions that Sombra wasn't to go dozing off before tonight.

They encountered Celestia as they were leaving. She spotted Sombra's latest battle scar and offered to use her magic to speed up the healing ten-fold. Sombra gratefully agreed, and she nudged him back towards her office so she could make tea and discuss a few things with him at the same time!

With Sombra occupied, Shining Armor snuck off to see how their surprise for Sombra was going.

"Wow..." he whistled. They'd managed to start carving the shape out nicely. He joined them awhile, and he and Twilight Sparkle soon had the thing carved into the shape of Sombra's adoptive father.

Rarity began adding a few subtle highlights such as a jewel made to resemble the one in the leg band, which had originally belonged to the King. So the statue now wore a replica of the one Sombra had.

"Perfect!" Rarity heaved a sigh of relief. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy beat their wings to clear away any dust from the shaping spell, and they sat back to admire their work.

"It's beautiful..." Fluttershy said.

"Woohoo!" Pinkie Pie clapped her hooves "it looks super awesome, do you think he'll like it?"

"I'm sure he will..." Shining Armor replied. In the meantime he went off to find his wife, he had another idea...

The next morning Sombra awoke with a heavy heart. It was his father's birthday today, and he felt lost...

Then there came a knock on the door. He opened, and seen Pinkie Pie there.

"Cotton Candy?" he asked. She bounced up and down, her eyes seeming both sad and sparkling at the same time. She asked him to follow her, they had something to show him!

Figuring "they" to mean Twilight Sparkle and the others, Sombra dutifully followed her all the way out to the garden. The others were clustered around something that was hidden under a sheet. It was big, ending a foot or so above Sombra's head.

"What's going on..?" he asked, yet getting a funny sensation in his chest.

"We found out it was yer father's birthday sugarcube," Applejack said. "We didn't mean ta pry, Pinkie sorta head butted the door to yer room and ran headlong into yer desk.."

"The book landed on my face!" Pinkie jabbed a hoof at her muzzle like he might miss it. "And I saw the page about your dad!"

"I...I see..." Sombra wasn't sure what else to say "it's nothing to worry about-"

"Darling, its got you looking as down as Pinkie at the sight of an empty pantry!" Rarity declared, and Pinkie Pie pulled a sad face to illustrate this, "and we couldn't see you carry on like that! So we decided to make something to commemorate the occasion!"

"We borrowed that drawing you did for the announcement," Twilight added. "We hope you'll like it.."

The two pegasi flew up and pulled the sheet away. With it nearly falling on top of Fluttershy. While Rainbow Dash and everypony else freed her, Sombra took in the statue they'd collectively made.

Seeing this shimmering crystal representation of the first pony to offer him a real family made his heart ache, but it was beautiful. They'd caught that same irrepressible, amused smile of the drawing, and the shoes and crown had been highlighted in silver leaf to match the drawing, with dark turquoise in the eyes.

"Whatcha think hon?" Applejack recovered from Operation: Untangle Fluttershy first and came to stand beside him.

"It's perfect.." Sombra said. Just two words, but the level of happiness and gratitude in his voice spoke volumes.

"Yay!" Pinkie beamed.

"We know he meant the world to you.." Fluttershy said softly "So we wanted you to have something you could come see any time you want..."

Sombra couldn't think of a word to say, well, save for two:

"Thank you."

That was all he could manage, his voice and brain refused to co-operate, too many thoughts were racing through his head. But the genuine gratitude in those simple words reached them all.

"We're gonna go make cupcakes.." Twilight said.

"Yeah! You gotta celebrate a special day with cakes, right?" Rainbow Dash peered up at Sombra, seeing the melancholy expression on his face. She knew he had to be pretty swamped right now, and figured he needed some space;

"Race you to the kitchen!" She grinned "loser does the dishes!"

"OH HEAVENS NO!" Rarity shot off. "Cake batter?!"

Within a few seconds Sombra was alone in the area of the garden they'd chosen to show off the statue;

He settled himself down in front of the statue, looking up at his father.

"You were right, you know.." he said softly "I DID find those ponies you wrote about in your letter. there's so many of them. Six are the elements of harmony, others are royalty, one's a filly, and the other, well....I think I'm in love with her."

He shook his head "I wish you weren’t gone father, I....I miss you. I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you before. You were right the whole time. I....I'm NOT a monster after all, I was just so frightened..."

His vision blurred and he closed his eyes "I wish I could see you one last time, tell you this. I...I love you, father..."

He bowed his head, closing his eyes and remembering the last happy memory with his father before the paranoia had started.

They'd been in a meeting, with Scrollwork prattling on. Cloudspark was scribbling something in his journal, when he paused, and angled the book to show Sombra.

"Plural for moose? Meese? Moosen?" these two choices were underlined and a question mark between the two.

Sombra barely suppressed a snort. He tried to ignore his father, knowing the king was doing this solely to make HIM laugh most likely. But when his fathers wing poked him in the side, and the ruler raised an eyebrow at him, he sighed and subtly pointed his hoof at "Moosen".

"Of course! MOOSEN!" Cloudspark declared in a booming voice. Sombra let out a loud guffaw, unable to stop himself.

Scrollwork had a face as long as a wet weekend, and he directed a venomous glare at Sombra.

Burt the king and his young protege were giggling helplessly. The rest of the council had alternated between bewilderment and amusement, used to their kings eccentric ways!

Sombra laughed, but the sound was choked by tears.

"You'd love the Crystal Empire if you seen it now, father.." he managed to speak at last "The ponies, father...they..." a hiccup, another weak laugh. "They didn't have to even acknowledge I was here again, I didn't matter to them.

That day the crystal plague infected the whole Crystal Empire, I realized something. If I could care about the welfare of a small filly, what was an entire Empire? Guarding one life is the same as guarding them ALL. I decided I'd tear that thing out of the sky and maybe someday plead with them for a home here. But I didn't even have to ask..."

He blinked and looked up at the statues benign smile "Shining Armor, he had so many reasons to despise me, yet he offered to be my friend. And with him came six colorful ponies. They seen the whole story of my past, and one, she cried when I could not. Another got angry on my behalf when I was still too shocked to process it. She said so much in a short time. The others were concerned that I still could not forgive myself. The Prince and Princess stood in your place and offered me a second chance at helping rule the Crystal Empire."

"They waited....waited for me to stop running away and finally face what I'd been to afraid to confront; the feelings of the ponies here. They sent letters to the palace when I refused to leave it, wondering if I'd come see them when I was ready. But I still couldn't bring myself to believe what they wrote. I was afraid it would be a trick, and I couldn't so easily get my hopes up again. So the Princesses threw a big party, like the ones you used to love. They stood beside me so I didn't have to face it alone."

For a moment he couldn't even speak, his voice was growing hoarse, his vision blurry again;

"The citizens, they'd been asking for a coronation date. I did not think it meant that much beyond pomp and circumstance, but when Cadance read the announcement out at the party, they were smiling up at me. I realized what miss Applejack had been saying, that I'd been running from the issue, and that I needed to face it. And seeing it for myself like that finally convinced me. That if they could forgive and entrust their Empire to me a second time, what was stopping ME? Things will never fully move on, it'll always be there, unless I..."

He shook his head, uttering a shaky sigh....

"I guess...What I'm trying to say is...I'm home, father. I'm HOME."

He gave up trying to hold any of it back, and for the second time since finding the leg band, a long-closed floodgate broke, and he realized this wasn't just a coronation he was looking forward to, it was a homecoming!

For several minutes, the only sound was his muffled cries, as he sat, head bowed, in front of the statue of his father. He fought to draw breath, but he couldn't stop it, he'd had enough suppressing everything, it made him feel so weighted down...he felt such a sense of relief at letting this burden go, he couldn't stop himself.

At last the gut wrenching flood came to an end, and he as able to breath once more. He raised a hoof to rub at his eyes. But he was pre-empted by a feathery white wing popping up and brushing the stray droplets away. He made a startled, hiccuping sound, and felt another wing tap his right ear. He blinked, looking quickly from side to side. The other wing was dark blue.

Celestia and Luna. The wings overlapped around his back, chasing away the lonely chill.

Luna gave a sleepy yawn and smiled kindly at him.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Celestia said, nodding at the statue "Twilight Sparkle told me she and the others were working on something, but I never imagined this..."

Sombra just nodded, unable to speak. He thought he'd feel stupid, them catching him having a breakdown like this. But instead he felt happier just knowing they were there.

Luna levitated an object she'd been keeping tucked under her wing. It was a flag, with the emblem of the Crystal Empire sewn onto it in gold and silver threads. She set this at the foot of the statue.

"Sister and I decided to make it together, using our magic to make the thread!"

"This way, it will never fade," Celestia added "We're all happy to see your fathers memory honored this way..."

"It's perfect, he would have loved to see this..." Sombra said softly. "in fact, he probably would've stuck a mustache on it.."

Luna let out a snort of laughter, and even Celestia had to chuckle.

"He had quite a sense of humor it would seem." she smiled, and Sombra raised an eyebrow;

"This is the same guy who declared the plural for moose should be moosen!"

"Moosen..." Luna pondered. "We rather like it! MOOSEN!"

"Many much moosen.." Celestia joked, making Sombra laugh again.

"Feeling better?" Celestia asked. Sombra nodded.

"Shall we go seeketh out the pink candy pony and cakes?" Luna asked.

Another nod, then he asked;

"Out of curiosity, is there a platoon of ponies standing behind us with a picnic basket because I've been sitting out here so long Cotton Candy got bored and decided to bring the cake out here?"

Celestia turned her head a little, and did a double-take.

"Sweet merciful ME, you're good at this..." she blurted.

"Actually, I think I can HEAR Cotton Candy fidgeting so fast she's disrupting sound waves..."

"You've GOT to teach me how to do that..." Rainbow Dash said at last. "That's so cool!"

The three ponies stood and turned, the Princesses folding their wings back down to their sides.

"Cake time?" Sombra guessed, eyebrow raised.

"Cake time!" Pinkie cheered!

Behind the six Sombra noticed Shining Armor and Cadance, who was floating a scroll in front of her. She unravelled it as she sat down, showing it to Sombra. It was a suggestion Cloudspark's birthday be considered a holiday. She and Shining Armor were happy to pass it, all they needed was his signature. Sombra didn't hesitate, it was a perfect idea!

Together the group sang a traditional birthday song, with Sombra, unable to resist, teaching them the slightly ruder version his father sang. Fluttershy went bright red but couldn't suppress a giggle, and Rainbow Dash fell over, she was laughing so hard.

Pinkie started passing out the cakes, each one iced in a theme reflecting the pony it was going to. Luna's for instance, was a rich chocolate cake with blue and gold edible sparkles like the night sky. Luna took time to admire it before taking a big bite. The look of utter bliss on her face made Celestia chuckle and tuck into her own, white icing with red yellow and gold pearls.

Pinkie Pie had made one for Sombra with edible crystals formed like his cutie mark. Her friends had various candy themed shapes like apples, diamonds, a butterfly, clouds and rainbows, and a marzipan book atop Twilight Sparkle's. Her own had a giant marshmallow shaped like a balloon on it, which she stuffed whole into her mouth.

Applejack hiccuped drinking the fizzy cider and had a minor coughing fit, finished off with a belch when Pinkie slapped her on the back.

"Sorry y'all.." she coughed.

"Don't SUPPOSE that's a challenge?" Rainbow Dash joked, and Sombra laughed, recalling last time they'd done that.

"NO!" Her friends all cried, although half of them couldn't keep straight faces. Luna was even heard to go, "Drat, we can do quite a royal burp.."

Sombra had to laugh, he couldn't help himself!

By the time they made their way back inside, they were all stuffed full of cake and other pastries.

Rarity asked Sombra to come with her, she had something to show him. He was surprised when she showed him a tux she'd made, in a very deep red fabric, with black lapels, with his cutie symbol stitched onto the left side.

"If you're going to the theatre, a tux is a must!" Rarity beamed. Sombra blinked, wondering where she'd found time to make this?

"I always have time for a spot of fashion!" Rarity beamed at his surprised face "Now you don't have to worry about it!"

"Thank you, miss Rarity.." Sombra smiled gently "Its true I had not even considered there would be a dress code, I've never attended such a thing. Wait, how did you-?" he just realized she'd somehow known his plan!

Rarity giggled "I had a feeling, darling! After all, the theatre is a wonderful place for a date! I'm guessing she appreciated the gesture?"

"She was very happy, yes. It seems she has often wanted to go, but tickets cost too much."

"Excellent!" Rarity looked pleased "I also took the liberty of ordering some flowers, white roses are a popular color for her mane shading!"

"You really do have a knack for this.." Sombra mused. Rarity sighed dreamily;

"I cannot HELP but appreciate a good romance! One so fantastic as this, it would be a crime if I did not offer to help!"

"I am eternally grateful you have," Sombra said genuinely "alone, I would have no solutions such as these."

"You'll be FINE..." Rarity assured him.

"Oh-!" Sombra recalled the necklace he'd found in his fathers belongings, and told Rarity he'd be right back. He teleported to his room and back, returning with the jewelry.

"Wow, this is beautiful!" Rarity grabbed a magnifying glass and peered at the jewels "my my, these are very high quality gems, I haven't seen ones like them in a long time! Its very well made."

"It was in father's belongings, it used to be the queens." Sombra fidgeted awkwardly, wandering absently over to the window as he spoke. "Perhaps it is presumptuous of me, but I had wished to give it to her as a present..."

Knowing "her" to mean Shining Sea, Rarity was touched by Sombra's intentions. They were kind, in a genuinely hopeful, innocent sort of manner. She reflected on what she and the others knew about Sombra's past. He'd never exactly had the time to fall in love before, this had to be a startling change in events...

"She'll love it..." she said reassuringly, and seen an honest look of relief flash over Sombra's face.

"I'll clean it up nicely and check the setting!" Rarity promised. "it will be ready in time for your date!"

He'd just gotten back downstairs when he was told he had visitors. Soon as he walked into the spacious, open tea room, he was greeted by "SOMBWA!"

"Hay there little one!" He said happily, sitting her up on his back before turning his attention to the other visitor;

"Hay.." he said softly as Shining Sea walked over to him. Her eyes sparkled as she greeted him. She noticed he looked a little flushed, and asked was he OK?

"I'm fine, truly..." he said softly. "Today is, in fact, a special day..."

"Why it's speciaw?" Bright Spark asked. Sombra could feel her batting at his mane and smiled softly as he responded;

"It's my fathers birthday. Princess Twilight and the others, they made a memorial for him. It's the perfect way to make sure I never forget him."

"That was wonderful of them.." Shining Sea said "you have some very kind friends!"

"I know." Sombra said, and he really did!

Bright Spark asked if they could see the statue? Sombra smiled and said of course they could!

He led them out to the garden where the statue stood.

"Wow, it's amazing.." sea looked up at it. "Although, where did that fake mustache come from-" she sounded confused. Then she was surprised by Sombra starting to laugh!

"Cotton Candy...she must've heard me..." he laughed.

"Heard you what?" Shining Sea asked. Sombra explained how he'd mentioned to Luna and Celestia that if his father could see the statue now, he'd probably be his usual goofy self and stick a mustache on it!

Bright Spark was giggling fit to bust, she loved the joke!

Shining Sea couldn't help but laugh once she heard this, Sombra's father had been quite a joker, hadn't he?

Bright Spark went off to chase some butterflies, leaving the grown-ups to talk. Sombra told some more stories about his father's sense of humor!

"He..." Sombra tried to stop laughing long enough to talk. "He used to say his mind was like a steel trap, rusty and banned across most of Equestria!"

Shining Sea was laughing so hard she'd had to not only sit down, but was getting a stitch. She wobbled over and fell against Sombra, who was still chuckling himself. She felt herself go red and attempted to not-so-elegantly apologize, but he didn't seem annoyed.

In fact, the next second she felt his foreleg curve around her, and she let herself cosy up to him, barely able to believe her luck! She rested her head on his chest, hearing the soft thud of his heartbeat.

Sombra was just as nervous but happy as she was. Again, his actions had come from an instinct that said this was the proper thing to do...but he was still worried he might scare her off...

Now she was so close, her slim form fitting so comfortably next to him, the vanilla scent of her mane making his heart race...

She felt him nuzzle absently at her mane, and lifted her head, smiling curiously at him.

"That scent, it suits you." he said bluntly. She flushed, it was her favorite perfume!

"Bright Spark bought a bottle for my birthday last year," she smiled. "Saved up all the pocket money I'd been giving her to get it for me..."

"She's a good kid, I'm so relieved to see how much she's cheered since the first time I met her..."

She brushed her nose against his. "That's all thanks to you..." she said honestly, treasuring the soft feel of his coat, and the CLOSENESS of him.

"Ever since you defended her from those bullies she's grown and grown..."

Sombra thought back to that first real encounter, where he'd learnt her name, and shed first spoken HIS.

"She was so fearless, to march right up to me and go "boop!" he said, watching how the light caught her dark blue eyes. "I thought that if she could approach one with a reputation like mine and show no fear, she should have to fear nopony, let alone those bullies!"

"Petalbloom told me what you said in her defense, I was surprised when she told me how readily Bright Spark told her you were just as lonely as anypony else, not scary!"

"I am indebted to her for her constant faith in me," Sombra responded "she was the first to see something other than a tyrannical despot, and offer to be its friend!"

"I was amazed by how much she changed, and she always talked about YOU. I realized I'd misjudged you-" she looked apologetic, but Sombra shook his head.

"Back then, at the start, I didn't even know I could accomplish so much. I'm not surprised everypony else took a while to adjust!"

"Well now they have, and they can't imagine anything else," she assured him, seeing him flush happily. "Everypony's been talking about the coronation coming up."

"I know, and I hope yourself and Bright Spark will attend as honored guests?"

Shining Sea was surprised, but didn't hesitate to say they'd love that!

They could hear Bright Spark giggling off in the garden, the birds singing their trilling melodies. But they were distracted by one another...

Shining Sea gave a deliriously happy sigh as Sombra kissed her, her stomach a mass of nerves, but she couldn't have been happier. His kiss was so warm, so intense...

Cadance was walking down one of the palaces long hallways, half paying attention to the thoughts in her head, and half to the birdsong drifting in the window. She paused at the next window in time to see the aforementioned magical kiss come to an end. She blinked, as for a split second, she seen a phenomenon she hadn't witnessed in years. Above the pair, a small, bright red spark appeared, and rapidly etched out the shape of a heart in quick movements, before fading away.

--A true link...-- she mused --they're from different times, yet their hearts are destined for one another...--- she'd had a feeling from the start, when shed seen the dance at the ball, but now she knew for sure.

Down below she seen them both jump slightly as Shining Sea's daughter reappeared suddenly, startling the couple. She seen Bright Spark cock her head, taking in the way her mommy was snuggled up to Sombra, the way he held her.

Deciding to help the little filly out, Cadance made a bubble shaped like a heart appear soundlessly above the duo, having it hover there a second before popping out of existence. Spark's eyes filled with realization, and she pretty much dive bombed them, flinging her tiny forelegs around the both of them as far as she could.

"Are you OK with this sweetie?" Shining Sea asked once Bright Spark sat back on the grass, peering up at the adults. A rapid nod, and a big grin was the response! She may have only been small, but she could see how Sombra was taking the space in her mommy's heart left behind by her daddy!

"Mommy is best mommy-" she held up one hoof "and Sombra is best fweind-" the other hoof now. She brought them together with a little tap sound, and looked up at the two "best and best bewong togever!"

That was just about the sweetest thing Sombra had ever heard. Shining Sea's eyes filled with happy tears, and she held out a foreleg for a hug. Bright Spark nestled into her mommys hold, beaming happily at up her.

"My little Bright Spark..." she murmured, snuggling her daughters cheek, before looking up at Sombra "I'm so lucky to have you both in my life..."

Sombra walked them back to the Palace door. Bright Spark bounded outside ahead of them, and Shining Sea paused a moment to look up at Sombra and say goodbye.

"Saturday?" She said with a sweet smile. A nod, then he was caught up in a surprise kiss. They reluctantly parted, and she left, Bright Spark trotting alongside her.

The next morning Applejack announced they were getting some visitors!

"Who?" Sombra asked curiously.

"Three lil fillies, known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders of course!" Applejack grinned.

Sombra listened as he was given the low-down on this trio of fillies. Two were blood relations to miss Applejack and miss Rarity, the other was a bond-sister to miss Rainbow Dash!

"When are they arriving?" Twilight asked.

"Tomorrow..." Applejack said. "In tha mornin'!"

Sombra raised an eyebrow. Three small fillies from Ponyville? He was curious to meet them, but also wondered how they'd react to HIM?

"So were gonna meet this, what's he called, Sombra?" Scootaloo, a filly with orange coat and purple mane, asked the filly sat next to her. Applebloom rechecked her letter, her red hair tied back by a big bow, the sunlight catching her butter-yellow coat

"Yep, sis talks about him quite a lot, there's this here photo too!"

They took another look at the photo from the ball, with Sombra and the others around him, all dressed to the nines. They looked so happy.

"He seems kinda fierce," Scootaloo said. "Is his magic really like all shadowy and stuff?"

"I dunno.." Sweetie Bell, her white coat groomed to a shine, shrugged, her duo-tone curls bouncing as she did "I mean, Rarity says he's nice, maybe he just goofed up back then?"

The three fillies fidgeted eagerly as the train pulled into the Crystal Empire station. They hoped their sisters would be there! It'd been ages since they'd seen them last. The letters had given them a timeline of what'd gone on, from Sombra's arrival to recent. How theyd been presented with an ex-tyrant, and had ended up with a friend!

"Whoa..." Scootaloo gawked up at one of the guards standing on the platform "whats with the goggles?"

"They're to help us destroy the craetures that attack from there, little miss," the guard gestured at the sky tear "Unlike Prince Sombra, we cannot naturally see this weakness of thiers!"

"This guy sounds pretty tough..." Scootaloo raised an eyebrow.

"We're indebted to him for his help, so please don't judge him by the past," The guard smiled kindly "he's a good pony."

"Right ya are!" Applejacks voice rang out, and the guard turned, seeing six ponies standing behind the small group.

"Hi!" Pinkie grinned at the guard, recognising Lightshield from the party!

"Afternoon Miss!" He replied, smiling as the three fillies he'd been talking to shot over to three of the ponies. Applebloom all but tackled Applejack, and they collapsed in a giggly heap on the platform!

Rarity and Sweetie Belle shared a delighted hug, and Scootaloo bounded over to bump hooves with Rainbow Dash!

"We sure missed y'all!" Applejack said as she got to her feet.

"Who's ready for a tour of the empire?" Pinkie cheered. The trio whooped, happily trotting after thier friends and family, heading into the Emprie where thier Sister's letters were rooted....

Author's Note

Sweet Celestia on a pogo stick! :trollestia: I am SO sorry this took so long! A mix of things, including food poisoning, :pinkiesick: stress, overtime at work, family :pinkiegasp: *wheeze*, and a nasty chest infection, meant things got seriously backlogged! It didnt help i went through several drafts of this, most of which felt unfinished or out of place! An attempt to shorten later chapters somewhat, ended up feeling all kinds of wrong, as it meant missing out details i felt were important!

So yeah, all THAT happened!

Edited by my swifty-speedy editor, Dream Seeker!

Marefriend & Darkfall

"Where we headed?" Applebloom asked her sister.

"Well, we're headin' to the training grounds to meet up with Sombra, then were all goin' fer lunch! The food here's darn tasty, wait until ya try it!"

"Uhh...what's this guy like?" Scootaloo asked, "he looks pretty fierce!"

"Aw, he's very kind really," Rarity said brightly. "he's a very good friend to all of us~"

"Dang straight!" Rainbow Dash nodded assuredly "I mean, sure he was a right grump when he first got here, and still a little loopy-"

"-but he just wasn't used to pony's kindness," Fluttershy piped up, smiling shyly "we found out he didn't have nice families like we do..."

"Wha' happened?" Applebloom asked.

"Put simply, he was bullied a LOT," Pinkie Pie looked cross as she recalled how Sombra had been treated. "His own family were meanies, and the palace staff were meanies too at times! Only the King ever gave him a chance!"

"Is that why he..uh...went a bit coocoo?" Scootaloo said tactfully.

"Sadly it did factor into it, yes," Twilight Sparkle carried on. "he was hurt a LOT in the run up to this takeover, he just couldn't take any more. By that point, he believed he WAS a monster, and it seemed to him that he had no choice but to become the thing everypony feared! Nopony would see him any other way, save for the King. But it was too late to undo so many bad lessons..."

"Aww..." Sweetie Belle sniffled, imagining the school bullies doing that to her and her friends, and the thought just made her tear up in sympathy. The other two looked pretty downhearted too.

"It weren't all his fault he went all loopy!" Applejack said firmly. "after everythin' he endured, and tha little kindness he'd been shown, he just couldn't take any more, and gave up."

"That's when his magic got all up in his head and took over," Rainbow Dash finished. "he hadn't been taught diddly squat about controlling it, so when he lost hope, he let his barriers drop, and this big smooshy bundle of magic got loose and took over!"

"That's awful..." Scootaloo said.

"Yeah! I mean, it's unfair those two uppity little ponies push US around 'cause we're blank flanks, but we got each other!" The other two nodded at Applebloom's words. "that guy was alone...?"

"For most of his life, yes." Twilight Sparkle said softly. "He truly didn't understand what it was like to have a real friend until my big brother offered to teach him alongside all of us!"

"Now they're thick as thieves or so Princess Cadance tells us!" Applejack chuckled. "seems a shared appreciation of doofy jokes is what ties 'em!"

"Thbbbbt!" Pinkie Pie blew a raspberry, then giggled. "ooh, we GOTTA get him to show you that!"

"Show us what? Fart jokes?" Applebloom asked.

"No silly, ooh...you'll have to wait and see!" Pinkie Pie giggled. After the first incident of the thhbbbt-ing construct, Shining Armor had insisted Sombra show Cadance and the others the trick. They'd all giggled like loons watching it fart around the dining hall!

They reached the training barracks at last, and the guard bowed to Princess Twilight Sparkle before showing them to where Sombra was in the middle on conducting a display of fighting techniques.

The three CMCs clocked what was going on, and their jaws dropped.

Firstly, Sombra was as tough and powerful as the photos had hinted, but what surprised them was his speed. He flickered like a reflection in a rain puddle as he teleported here and there, focused on fighting a loosely pony shaped black thing. It charged him, shifting its shape to a snakes, attempting to wrap around him in a strangle hold. It got within a hairs breadth, and Sombra vanished, appearing behind it and grabbing it via his magic and throwing it halfway across the field. It got up again, screeched, and formed its hoof into sharp black claws. There was a clang as Sombra summoned the hefty scythe and swung it to block the hit. He ducked low, swung around and used a powerful back kick to launch it into the air. As it plummeted back down he swung the scythe, a crescent shaped bolt of purple magic slicing the thing in half, at which point it exploded.

The soldiers gathered at the edges hollered and cheered, stamping their hooves in approval and awe.

"Whuhhh...." Scootaloo was speechless.

"How's he doin' that?!" Applebloom screeched at last. "I've never seen anypony kick like that!!"

"Yeah, he'd be a real natural at applebuckin'..." Applejack chuckled.

"How'd he learn to do that?" Sweetie Belle asked the guard who'd shown them in.

"His highness appears to possess what many us would give anything for, a natural born talent for fighting! He's a Shyre horse, little miss, and what little we know of 'em shows they were built to throw down with things twice their size!"

"Are all Shyre horses that big?" was Sweetie's next question.

"So far as we know, yes. Sadly they're said to be extinct. His highness is the only known pure-bred Shyre horse in this day and age. But he's not all brute force!"

"I should say not!" The CO (Commanding Officer of the base) strode over to the group "Greetings young ladies, Princess~!" he bowed his head to Twilight Sparkle who greeted him with a smile!

He continued "It's an understatement to say we are indebted to Prince Sombra. Fighting alone we would have been galloping up diarrhea drive without a saddle!" Cue snickering from everypony with a young age tag or love of toilet humor.

"He possesses a great mind for battle tactics, and it is thanks to his teaching the troops that we have lowered the casualties since the start of this blasted war on these creatures! This, combined with the goggles created by her highness Princess Twilight Sparkle here," the CO tapped the goggles around his neck, "has been instrumental in protecting this empire!"

"Why d'ya gotta wear those?" Applebloom asked.

"His highness dark magic means he can discern their brand of "magic" far differently then we can. Normally the cores of those creatures are invisible to the naked eye, but Prince Sombra can see them clear as day, which makes it far easier to dispose of the creatures! But sadly none of us have that talent, so Princess Twilight Sparkle created these goggles using Sombra's magic and her own to help us"

"Cool!" Scootaloo said.

The CO nodded. "We consider it an honor that he has taken the time to help streamline the forces! He has fought a large part of this fight by himself, and it is my duty to ensure the troops can fight smart enough to stand along side his highness!"

"Sounds kinda scary..." Scootaloo said.

"His highness? Oh Celestia's name, no," the CO said, misinterpreting her response and shaking his head, "He might look fierce, but the only ones that incur such wrath are those that threaten the citizens of the empire!"

"Trust me kiddo," Rainbow Dash said to Scootaloo. "he's become a good friend of all of us, just give him a chance okay?"

All three nodded.

But they still felt a slight twinge of nerves as they seen the intimidating armored pony approach them. The sun shone off the golden armor, and the cloak swished as he walked. Dark red eyes framed by the unusual green and purple, and an ever flowing black mane made for quite a sight. As he approached, Sombra seen the trio staring at him in stunned silence and decided to tone it down a little. Without breaking stride, he teleported the armor back to the palace, so he just wore his cloak. He closed his eyes a moment, the dark magic aura gone when he opened them again.

"What's up sugarcube? That looked pretty flashy!" Applejack greeted him. He smiled softly.

"The soldiers, they requested a demonstration. It seemed beneficial to their morale, so I agreed to "show off", as it were." Sombra smiled softly. He looked down at the CMC. "who might these little misses be?"

"This is mah sister Applebloom!" Applejack said proudly.

Applebloom gawked up at Sombra, and said the first thing that popped into her head. "Good gravy yer ENORMOUS!"

Applejack face-hoofed. "Classy, sis..."

"Sorry..." Applebloom giggled up at Sombra "I weren't expecting to see a pony bigger than mah brother!"

"Well she takes after you in many respects, she's very honest!" Sombra chuckled.

"This is Scootaloo!" Rainbow Dash was next, grinning proudly.

"Hi mister Prince Sombra!" Scootaloo waved up at him, a big grin on her face, "That. Was. Kickass!"

"Thank you little miss..." Sombra chuckled.

"And this is Sweetie Belle!" Rarity said happily.

"HI!" Sweetie Belle waved. "your magic's pretty cool..."

"Thank you, I'm only just starting to truly realize it myself..." Sombra said with a gentle smile. "Anyhoof, its a pleasure to meet you three, your sisters have talked about you often!"

"Ooh, ooh!" Pinkie Pie jumped up and down to get Sombra's attention. "do the thing!"

"What thing, Cotton Candy?"

"Thhbbbttt!" Pinkie Pie said hopefully. Sombra nodded, understanding. With a poof of magic, another clone construct appeared. The kids jumped back, but Sombra assured them it was harmless.

"What's it gonna do?" Applebloom asked.

"Heehee...just wait!" Rainbow Dash snickered.

Sombra made a show of deliberately taking his attention off the thing, and sure enough...

It faceplanted, and began scooting back and forth on it's face, thbbbting all the way!

The kids cracked up giggling right away as they watched it, Scootaloo was clutching her sides she was laughing so hard.

When it honed in on their laughter, Sweetie Belle gave it a tiny jolt of her magic. It had an odd effect. The things body reacted like a mane to static. It puffed up. So NOW it resembled a black puffed up blob with wide yellow eyes, farting around on its face, only looking up when it wanted to change direction!

Sombra couldn't help but laugh when he seen it react this way!

"That's....so....cool!" Scootaloo squeaked between giggle-filled breaths.

Eventually Sombra reigned the farty little construct in, and dismissed it. The kids seen it vanish and sighed sadly, but their sides WERE aching from all the laughing!

Seeing the three giggling kids, Sombra couldn't help but smile. The CO chuckled, that little joke was proving endlessly amusing to the guards in training, and now to little fillies!

Pinkie Pie blew raspberries for a good few minutes straight, until Rarity begged her to please stop! They took a long way through the Empire, to show the kids some of the sights, then it was on to the market.

As she walked along, Sweetie Belle seen the band around Sombra's leg, as his cloak swished aside with each step.

"Ooh...what's THAT stone?" she asked her sister.

"It's exceptionally rare Sweetie Belle," Rarity told her. "a purple star jewel, there aren't many left so far as anypony knows!"

"Wow, it's so pretty. What's the band for?" was Sweetie Belle's next question.

"That band once belonged to the empires former King, Sombra's adoptive father. He had it hidden away on the chance Sombra would return, in the right frame of mind that is..."

"So, if he came back and things were OK?"

"He could pick up the life his father wanted him to have," Rarity looked sympathetic as she glanced at Sombra. "it's a painful story for him to tell Sweetie Belle, he's only recently begun to accept he had another choice besides tyranny and evil..."

"Is he happy now?" Scootaloo, listening to the two ahead of her, peered up at her sister. Rainbow Dash nodded.

"He's doing much better, kiddo. When he first came back he was determined to hate us all, convinced we'd treat him the same way those in his past did. That once he'd figured out how to defeat those things, the Princesses would lock him up again! So he tried his darnedest not to get attached to anypony or anything..."

"But...y'all changed his mind, right?" from Applebloom to Applejack this time.

"We sure did kiddo, but it wasn't overnight. Even after we showed him he was safe around us, that we seen something good in him and weren't gonna let go, he still hung back for awhile. Heck, he only began leaving the palace under his own steam shortly after his magic was restored and he found out about his inheritance!"

"Was he scared or somethin'?" Applebloom asked. Studying the tall stately unicorn in his fancy cloak as he walked ahead of them, talking eagerly with Twilight Sparkle about magical theory, she found it hard to believe he could ever be frightened.

"In a way, yes.." Fluttershy piped up, bestowing a gentle smile on the young earth pony "but not of being injured or that kind of thing. What worried him was getting his hopes up about the ponies of the empire ever accepting him after the incidents in the past, and for those hopes to shatter..."

"But they love him really!" Pinkie Pie bounded up between the trio of siblings , her voice as happy as her smile "they wrote soooo many letters to say so, although it took awhile before he read them!"

At last they reached a restaurant, and trooped inside.

"Good morning-OH! Welcome your highnesses!" The waiter by the door bowed elegantly to the two royal ponies, who bowed their heads in return.

"This way!” The pony directed them to the biggest table they had. Once they were all sat down he brought the menus over.

Pinkie Pie's eyes darted directly to the desserts menu. Sombra shook his head;

"There are other food groups, cotton candy..." he chuckled.

"I know, but caaaakkkeee..." she grinned, but eventually turned the page back to the main dishes.

"Why does he call ya cotton candy?" Applebloom asked Pinkie Pie, looking from her to Sombra.

Pinkie Pie giggled and nodded for Sombra to spill the beans.

"I just said the first thing that came to mind when I seen her," Sombra laughed "and since she never corrected me..." he shrugged.

Pinkie Pie giggled again "my tail DOES look like candy!"

"Luckily we left tha room before he gave us ALL silly names!" Applejack grinned at Sombra, who chuckled at the memory.

The CMC were filled in on the situation about the sky tear, and other things that’d happened.

After the delicious lunch they left, heading back to the palace.

Twilight Sparkle and Sombra had to pause every now and then, to respond to the ponies calling out greetings to the Prince and Princess.

As they reached the main doors of the palace, Sombra spotted two familiar figures talking to a guard just outside it.

The guard spotted the Prince, and nodded his head towards him, and the two visitors turned. The next second a hyperactive blur whooshed over and glomped Sombra.

"SOMBWA!" Bright Spark cried happily. He chuckled, crouching to let her poke his nose and go "boop!".

"Bright Spark, honey..." Shining Sea sighed, but had to smile at how much her daughter loved to see her Sombra!

"Hay..." he sat Bright Spark up on his back and strode forward to meet her halfway. The CMC blinked, seeing this hyperactive little filly greet Sombra with such joy! Then they noticed the way the mare smiled up at Sombra.

"Who's the filly? And the other lady...?" Scootaloo asked.

Twilight Sparkle smiled "The little one is Bright Spark, she's been a big fan of his since she first met him. That's her mother, Shining Sea...."

"Are they-?" Applebloom began, tilting her head to one side. This reminded her of the disaster of the love potion they'd made for Cherilee some time back. It been a disaster, with her and Big Macintosh becoming obsessed with one another.

"Yup, seems like it..." Applejack chuckled "after seein' them two dancing at the ball, we kinda had a hunch."

Rarity gave a delighted squee. So cute!

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. Sea said something to Sombra, who listened, then nodded happily. The little filly cheered and hugged his mane, making Sombra and her mother laugh a little.

"Thank you...." Sea said to Sombra.

"Of course, its never a problem..." Sombra said kindly. "I will see you Saturday..?"

"I can't wait..." she said honestly then blushed, she really meant it! She trotted away, pausing to greet the Princess and her friends, before heading home.

"We got an extra guest fer the night?" Applejack guessed.

"Yes, her mother has a meeting to attend to this evening, and Spark's usual babysitter is ill. So I suggested she stay here tonight."

"Hewwo!" Bright Spark waved down at the CMC.

"Hay.." the surprised trio waved back, before their respective sisters introduced them once more. Then the entire group trekked inside.

The CMC were given a tour of the palace, including their bedrooms and the gardens.

"Who's this guy, and what's with the mustache?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"That..." Sombra said, smiling at the statue "is of King Cloudspark, my adopted father. As for the mustache, well, he had a weird sense of humor..."

Bright Spark giggled.

Sweetie Belle looked from the replica band on the statue to the one Sombra wore.

"Wow, so he left you his entire empire as a present? That's quite a present!" Sweetie Belle looked up at him, noting he looked somewhat sad, or so she thought...

"I know, it's not one I'm fully used to yet..." Sombra murmured. He got worried every time he thought about someday handling the affairs of the empire. The political council had spoken to him numerous times, repeating their wish for him to join Shining Armor and Cadance in running the empire, but that they understood Sombra's duty lay with fighting the sky tear's menace.

Bright spark, still sat atop his back, tugged at his mane to get his attention. He set her down when she asked. She beckoned him to lean closer, then jabbed his nose, declaring "BOOP!".

Sombra blinked, his melancholy broken by her random behavior.

The CMC giggled at Sombra's bewildered expression, then Sombra himself laughed, and nuzzled sparks mane. She giggled happily, throwing her little forelegs around his neck and hugging him tightly.

"Thanks little one..." he stood up, the cloudy sadness banished from his eyes. As they stood there, a fading ray of sunlight broke through the clouds and highlighted the statue, seeming to make it glow from within.

"Pretty..." the CMC said as one.

"It's wovely..." Bright Spark agreed.

Sombra led them back inside, where the kids went to get settled into their room, which Bright Spark was sharing with them. Her happy, bouncy personality endeared her to the CMC pretty quickly.

"Hay...how'd you meet mister Sombra?" Scootaloo asked curiously.

"I was expworing the market when these meanies from my school started chasing me. They said they were pwaying, but they don't pway nice. So I ran. I thought I lost them, and that's when I saw Sombwa. I'd seen his picture in the histowy books, but he didn't seem bad. He just wooked wonely..."

She thought back to that day and giggled, "so I jumped on some bowxes to get his attention since he's so tall, and then I went "boop!"" she lightly booped Applebloom's nose as a demonstration.

"What’d he say to that?" Sweetie Belle asked curiously.

"He didn't say anyfing, he looked so surpwised!" Bright Spark giggled "I twied to see if I could make him smile, and he kinda did, then I heard those buwwies looking fow me again.."

"What happened?" the trio of older fillies were absorbed in Spark's little tale. They were surprised by how brave she seemed for one so little.

"I hid under the cloak he was weawing, I asked him not to move, pwease!" she gave a nod "and he scawed the meanies away fow me!"

"Aww, that was nice!" Sweetie Belle piped up.

"He wooked kinda sad. He was all awone. Everypony was ignoring him, mommy said back then, that they all hated him. But, the Pwincesses wouldn't have bwought him back if they didn't fink he was going to be OK, wight? They're wovely ponies. So I figured they must've seen somefing good in him. I always felt wonely back then, the ponies ignowed me becauwse of my talking funny. So I fought I'd show him I was awone too, then he wouldn't feew so bad..."

She was surprised the next second when she was collectively hugged by the trio of older fillies.

"That's how we met!" Applebloom said when they let her go. "I was feeling sad because of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon pickin' on me fer being the only one at her Cute-Cin–era without a cutie mark! Just when I thought I was going to be humiliated for the rest of mah school days, Sweetie Belle and Scoots told those two brats to bug off, and showed me they were blank flanks too. That's when we formed tha CMC!"

"CMC?"

"Cutie Mark Crusaders!" The trio cheered, posing heroically for the young filly. She giggled and clapped her hooves in glee.

"That is so much awesome!!" she cheered.

"We wanna find our cutie marks, so we're trying everything we can to get them!" Scootaloo explained.

"I wish there was a CMC at my schwool. I wanna get my mark too." Bright Spark sighed and peered at her blank flank "I wonder what it'll be?"

"Why don't you start one yourself?" Applebloom suggested. She seen Bright Spark's eyes light up.

"You fink I can?" she asked, her eyes brightening.

"Yeah!" Scootaloo nodded. She shared a look with other two, who nodded. "In fact, we name you the president of the Crystal Empire CMC!"

This time it was Bright Spark's turn to hug them!

They showed her their CMC capes, and Sweetie Belle made a mental note to ask Rarity to make Bright Spark a littler version of it!

"Hay, does Mr Sombra have a cutie mark?" Applebloom asked.

Bright Spark nodded, and described it to them.

"So why does he keep it hidden, wearin' that cape? I mean, IS he always wearing it?" Applebloom pondered.

"Pwetty much," Bright Spark nodded "its made speciaw, he told me. It keeps those big bad monsters from scwatching him! He has to fight those fings all the time..." she told them the story of Sombra protecting her and the other families at the festival!

"That's when we found out fwom Pwicness Cadie that he was the cwown pwince of the empire!" Bright Spark finished.

"Wow, dude can kick flank!" Scootaloo raised her eyebrows, impressed. Rainbow Dash hadn't been kidding, Sombra really was tough! 20% tougher then anypony she'd met apparently!

"Why did he look sad earlier...?" Sweetie Belle asked "before you boop!ed him?"

"He misses his daddy, they had a big argument, then everyfing changed, and fings went cwazy. His birth pawents were mean, they didn't like him because he was born wiv differewent magic. So he wan away, and the nice King here adowpted him. But Sombwa didn’t understand what a twue pawents love was. He though the King was going to get wid of him, and he panicked..."

"And that's when he took over." Applebloom finished.

Bright Spark nodded, and looked up at the CMC. "Pwease don't be angwy at him, it wasn't all his fault..." she looked despondent, "he didn't have fwiends like you..."

"He seems a decent sort. And if mah sister says he's solid, then that's good enough for me!" Applebloom assured her.

"Yeah! Rainbow Dash says he's cool, then it's settled." Scootaloo added.

"Rarity says he's got a good heart, I believe her!" Sweetie Belle said and she put a hoof around Spark's shoulders, smiling at her "he seems fierce, but kind!"

"And hay, he made that hilarious farty thing!" Scootaloo cracked up afresh at the memory.

"Thhbbbttt!" Bright Spark blew a raspberry and giggled. "Yeah, Sombwa showed me! It funny!"

All four tried to form an acapella raspberry group, but kept getting interrupted by their own gigglefits.

"Do ah even wanna KNOW what y'all are doin'?" they looked round to see Applejack in the doorway "dinners waitin'!"

"Whoo!" Applebloom raced after her sister, the others right behind.

In the dining hall, Bright Spark raced over to Sombra and tugged at his cloak. She whispered something to him, and he nodded.

"See?" Bright Spark said as Sombra removed the cloak and draped it over the chair "Cutie Mark! Its pwetty!"

"Ooh.." the trio took in the diamonds, whose color matched Sombra's eyes.

"What's it mean?" Applebloom asked.

"Crystal magic," Sombra said "I can discern what a stone is, or what it can do, just as soon as I see it."

"It's true!" Twilight Sparkle said "it's like he has a whole library of knowledge about stones in there!"

"Wow. Neat-o." Scootaloo nodded.

"How old were you when you got it?" Sweetie Belle asked, trying to puzzle it out from the story so far about Sombra.

"I was around your sisters age," Sombra replied. "it wasn't until I came HERE that I was given any formal education at all, so didn't know I could understand crystals and their powers the way I do."

He smiled sadly "I was the only one in that entire village without a cutie mark back then...."

That one line hit a chord with the CMC, who decided Sombra definitely OK with them, he knew how they felt!

The CMC were thrilled to meet Cadance and Shining Armor, and even Celestia and Luna dropped by to greet them. It was the most amazing dinner ever!

As they left the dining hall, Sombra split off from them, saying he was going to his office.

"Hay, don't you go working too late, ya hear me sugarcube?" Applejack said, although not unkindly.

Sombra nodded and smiled gently before vanishing down the hall. But not before saying good night to the CMC plus Bright Spark, who hugged him tightly!

"Sweep soon!" she said, before bounding away after the CMC. Sweetie Belle hung back to ask a favour of Rarity, who listened, then nodded happily.

The four young ponies got into bed and talked for ages, even after lights out. Some hours later, unable to resist, they went sneaking downstairs for a close-enough-to-midnight snack!

They crept into the kitchen, giggling softly, Sweetie Belle using her horn to light the way, Bright Spark yawning a little.

They located the likely place to find cookies, and were just in the process of getting up there, with Scootaloo buzzing her wings fast as she could, when the light snapped on and the quartet collapsed into a squealing heap!

The craned their necks to see who'd busted them.

To their surprise it was Sombra. He looked a little bleary-eyed, but vaguely amused.

They grinned sheepishly, and awaited a telling off. But what he did next surprised them.

Without a word, he levitated a plate from a nearby cupboard, then opened the very cupboard they'd been aiming for, and in a few swift movements, loaded it up high with various cookies and biscuits. He set this plate down in front of the group and offered an amicable smile.

"Just don't tell your sisters OK? Or your mother..." he said to Bright Spark.

She giggled, nodding rapidly. Applebloom balanced the plate on her back and they trotted past Sombra, grinning conspiratorially at him.

He chuckled to himself as he poured a cup of tea, hearing their muffled whispers off down the hall.

Then there was the sound of a window shattering, a scream, and a sharp pain dug into his head.

"Oh sweet Celestia, no..." he raced out of the room, tearing through the hallway towards the sounds. He skidded round the corner in time to see a blobby black mass abducting the four kids.

"The buck you are!" He roared, racing for them.

"SOMBWAA!" Bright Spark cried. He saw their desperate eyes, locked on him, begging him to save them. Then they were blotted out by another shadow creature popping up between him and the girls.

"Uh-uh little Prince. I need to borrow your little brat and her friends!" It sneered, launching for him.

He snarled in fury and shifted into his shadow form, hurling himself at his opponent, all fangs and fury!

Two guards raced round the corner a moment later, in time to see what looked like two bolts of black lightning go at each other. One curved round, rebounding off a wall and zipping through a shadow cast by the bright full moon. Then it reappeared behind the first bolt and struck it HARD. They shielded themselves as there was a loud kaboom!

The unicorn guard cleared the smoke away and the duo seen the second black shape, now shaped like a pony, scaling the windowsill.

"It's ME!" Sombra thought to blurt, before they got confused and opened fire.

"Y-your highness?!" the guards stared in surprise.

The shadow nodded, and they both now noticed the familiar red eyes, and if you looked closely you could see shreds of purple magic flowing in and out of his shadowy form.

"A shadow creature has kidnapped the three visitors and Bright Spark! Alert Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends, I will get the kids back, I promise you!" and with that he was gone.

The guards shared baffled glances, but knew the Prince wasn't goofing around. So they turned and ran for the Princess' room.

Once they woke Twilight Sparkle, she gathered the girls up and the guards told them what Sombra had said.

"WHAT?!" Rarity screeched, then swooned. The guard nearest caught her and helped her sit up.

"Oh sweet toffee apples-!" Applejack looked distraught "if those cretins harm one hair on mah sisters coat, why I'll....AGH!" She stamped a hoof, looking frantic "ah have ta go after her!"

"Applejack!" Twilight Sparkle shot between Applejack and the door "think about it, you don't know where they've been taken! If anypony can find them, it'll be Sombra! You just have to have faith in him!"

"Ah DO Twi, I know there's none better to be searchin' for her, I'm just so worried!" she sat down with a bump, shaking her head.

"He'll find them.." Rainbow Dash assured a stunned Rarity.

"It took Sweetie Belle. This is THE. WORST. THING!" Rarity wailed.

"Lets get some tea, all we can do is wait..." Fluttershy said at last.

Sombra leapt from shadow to shadow, racing out of the window. He couldn't see where it might have taken them...

He shut his eyes, thinking. He didn't know what Sweetie's magic was like, and Spark's was too weak. Then it hit him. The pain from the premonition. There'd been two! He replayed his memory, for each one had a signature in its own way.

So he focused on the first pain, which hit a dead end, it'd been destroyed. So now he locked in on the second one, and it was like a replay. The same pain struck him, and he gasped, hunched over.

A shivering bundle of shadows, he fought to marshal his powers, channelling his magic into tracing the pain to the one that'd generated it. It was a by product of their "magic" being used in this world. As he was the only one with fluent enough knowledge in it, only he sensed it with any real accuracy. Luna had been able to detect something at a closer range, but she was still learning...

He put everything he could into tracing the fading path of this creature. Ahead of him, once he opened his eyes, was a thin trail of crackling purple sparks. He took off running, slipping from shadow to shadow, heading into the forest...

But as he honed in, he realized he needed to be subtle. Shutting the spell off, he relied on his natural instincts, picking out distinct voices amidst the trees...

So intent was he, he didn't hear familiar hooves behind him.

The kids hollered and shouted, kicking and hitting the shadow that'd snatched them, but it made no difference. It flew into a small clearing, whose only illumination was a shaft of moonlight filtering through gnarled branches way above their heads. They knew running was pointless, more of those things hid in the trees, their glistening yellow eyes staring at the kids.

"No use screaming.." the biggest one, their captor, cackled "your precious little Prince won't find you! You don't have the magic for him to find!"

"Its twue," Bright Spark looked at Sweetie Belle "I dun have much magic."

"And I don't know enough to start a fight!" Sweetie Belle quailed.

"You're not going anywhere." The main shadow creature declared.

"Whatta ya want anyway, you big jerk?!" Scootaloo bellowed.

"What do I want? I want what you know of the world outside here. So few in this secluded little buffet know of the world outside, but you're outsiders like those bigger ones."

"He means our sisters..." Applebloom swallowed nervously.

"Exactly, but that bothersome Prince makes it not worth the effort to try and catch them! I was coming for ANY of your kind as a meal as it happened, when what do I sense but three fresh sources!"

"Sombwa will find us!" Bright Spark cried, and the thing turned on her, laughing.

"Did you ever think you'd be better off without that brute around-?"

"Shut up!" Bright Spark screeched with such volume it startled the creature.

"Yeah! You're the problem here, you moldy jelly pile!" Scootaloo snapped.

"Mouthy aren’t we? You're as bad as that pathetic Prince-"

“Well I take that as a compliment!" Scootaloo responded.

"No matter, he's not here to save you, and I'm free to take the knowledge I want!" it closed its eyes, starting to summon a spell circle around the four fillies.

Applebloom glanced around, panicking desperately, then she noticed something odd about one of the shadow creatures watching them.

Was its eyes crossed?

It hit her just what that was, at the same time the cross eyed one stuck it's tongue out at her.

Then it lunged out of the shadows, barreling into the lead creature, disrupting the spell. They slammed into a tree, and the real one wrestled with the fake, pushing it back at last.

"What-?" It looked at the goofy clone, wondering what was wrong with this one "how-?!". The culprits identity hit it a moment later, SOMBRA.

It glared up at the sky, and screeched something the girls couldn't make out. All the shadows took to the sky.

Sweetie Belle recalled what'd happened last time she'd met the construct, and shot a spark at the cross eyed creature. It puffed up, it's fur bristling with sparks. It bompf'd into the main creature again, smacking it into the base of a tree.

The four kids craned their heads up to see a shadow block out the moon above them, a shadow with a familiar mane and shape, and it was diving right for them! But the legion of clones were screaming towards it.

Abruptly, the incoming shadow slowed to halt in mid-fall, and shone a brilliant purple-

BLAM. Magical tracer fire burst out from the glowing pony's form. Like a multitude of purple fireworks they honed in on the encroaching swarm. Explosions rocked the sky, filling it with smoke.

"Begone wretch!" the leader at last succeeded in kicking the fuzzy clone off it. It landed on it's back, staring gormlessly up at the sky and kicking its legs about.

"Now for you-" it hissed, advancing on the kids. Then it noticed they were grinning.

"In three, two..." Scootaloo recited.

"Huh?" it looked up, and seen something hurtling towards it at maximum speed, blasting the thick smog of smoke away, red eyes blazing in its shadowy body. The kids blinked in surprise as they found themselves suddenly teleported out of the way, into a darker section of the forest, and wrapped in warm wings.

"Brace thyselves children.."

"Pwincess Woona!" Bright Spark cried happily. Luna nodded, as a massive kaboom rocked the ground, then faded to silence.

"Whoa..." Sweetie Belle stared "w-what was that?!"

"Those vile creatures explode upon destruction," Luna informed them as she let them loose from her wings shield, and they headed for where the fight had ended, "it can cause quite a mess!"

"Explode? But what about mister Sombra?" Applebloom went pale.

"He is well versed in fighting them, he will have protected himself!" Luna assured them. They wandered into the clearing, and Bright Spark cheered her friends name.

Sombra stood, staring up at the sky. The moonlight highlighted the flowing mane, and glinted off the crystal heart pin on his cloak.

When he heard Spark's voice he turned to face them, a relieved smile lighting up his face. Bright Spark bounded over and hugged him in delight. Followed by three new hugs.

"Thanks mister Sombra!" the CMC said wholeheartedly. Sombra assured them it was no trouble, he was glad to see them safe and sound.

"And thank YOU Princess..." he said, as Luna walked over.

"We are just glad we caught you in time, alone you would've taken a battering!" she said in an almost scolding voice.

She noticed Sombra looked sleepy, and frowned.

"Hmm, thy magic is depleted, no doubt down to that display of homing spells! Pulling off that many at once, we do wonder if thou knoweth the meaning of common sense!"

"Common what?" Sombra said, deadpan.

"Har de har." Luna said, and they proceeded to glower at each other, before Sombra sniggered, and they cracked up laughing.

"Adults...I don't get 'em." Applebloom said with a shrug.

"Heehee....Sombwa and Pwincess Woona are so much awesome!" Bright Spark giggled.

"You said it!" Scootaloo agreed.

"Lets us get you back little ones!" Luna announced. The kids nodded happily, they'd had enough spooky forest for one night!

"Uh..what about that?" Sweetie Belle tugged Sombra's cloak, pointing at the puffed up thhbbbbt-ing clone.

"Whoops!" He laughed, dispersing the spell "forgot about that! Nice work by the way little miss Sweetie Belle." referring to her zapping the clone.

She looked pleased, as she'd just done it on instinct, hoping it would distract the bad creature!

The two adults sorted out that Bright Spark and Scootaloo would sit atop Luna's back, while Sweetie Belle and Applebloom would sit on Sombra's.

"Wanna race?" Applebloom hollered up to Scootaloo. Sombra and Luna exchanged glances, then Luna flew down to stand beside Sombra.

"Yes, let us race to the palace on hoof!" she declared. Sombra blinked, about to object, but the grins on the kids faces made him relent.

"It is ON, Princess!" he grinned.

Once they'd made sure their charges were secured via the use of magic spells that summoned shimmering ribbons for the kids to grip onto, looped around the older pony's necks, they stood side by side, ready.

"LETS WACE!" Bright Spark hooted. And the two took off.

"WOOOHOOOOO!" Scootaloo declared as they raced through the tress, heading for the edge of the empire.

"Whee!" Bright Spark cheered.

They reached the edge of the empire in no time. Luna and Sombra were literally neck and neck, Luna's smaller size made her a good runner, but Sombra, once he had momentum, was startlingly agile for a bigger stallion!

They were so caught up in trying to outmatch one another they almost didn't see the palace approaching. It was only when Sweetie Belle spotted her sister and whooped her name that Sombra realized, followed shortly by Luna. They both skidded to a halt as the kid's sisters and friends came racing over.

"Shall we calleth it a tie?" Luna asked, sounding a little breathless.

"Fine by me.." Sombra laughed.

By the time the kids were reclaimed, and on their way back, the group was sat outside, with Applejack pacing, Rainbow Dash fluttering agitatedly by, and Rarity alternating between fainting on a big cushion a guard had brought her, and swearing vengeance on the shadow creatures.

"Look!" Pinkie Pie cheered, spotting two shapes pelting along the straight road up to the palace.

"Yeehaw!" Applejack whooped on spying her sister perched atop Sombra's back.

As she, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash ran over to meet them, Twilight Sparkle cocked her head to one side...

"Are they having a race?" she asked.

"I think so.." Fluttershy giggled.

But they didnt hesitate, and ran over to where the two adults had stopped, catching their breath while the kids were hugged and fussed over by the respective siblings. Or Sombra in Bright Spark's case. She hugged him tightly, rubbing her cheek against his as he cradled her in one foreleg. Then she boop!ed his nose and he set her down.

"Oh man.." Applejack looked close to tears, but hugged her sister again instead of crying, "thank tha both of yer highnesses!"

"Yes indeed!" Rarity wiped away her tears and smiled at the two ponies.

"You two are AWESOME. Cant thank you enough for getting my Scoots back safe and sound!" Rainbow Dash hoofbumped both royals, Luna looking mystified but pleased at the gesture.

"Lets get inside!" Twilight Sparkle said happily "you guys must be hungry!"

They made up some warm milk and cookies for the kids, and tea and more cookies for the others.

Sufficiently stuffed, the kids were taken to bed. Sombra talked with Luna little longer, thanking her for her assistance, then he too went to bed. He was so...tired...

The next morning he awoke bright and early. With a still drowsy yawn, he slung his cloak on and drifted into the hall. He felt funny, there was an unnamed longing sitting on his chest, but he didn't know how to ease it.

"Morning!" he greeted the guards stationed at the end of the hall. They opened their mouths to return the gesture but did double takes for some reason and just stood there with their mouths hanging open.

"What? Why're you looking at me like that?" Sombra asked in bewilderment.

"At the risk of this sounding like a REALLY bad pun, I can see right through you sire." one guard said at last.

"You're right, that IS a bad pun. I'm not even plotting anything yet. Takes coffee for that!" Sombra joked, yet starting to feel concerned at the same time.

The pegasus guard looked around, then spotted a wall mounted mirror just ahead. "Take a look for yourself, sire!"

The two of them followed behind a bemused Sombra as he walked over. And got a SHOCK.

They weren't kidding. He could see right through himself, where he wasn't covered by the cloak. The flow of his mane seemed to have slowed a great deal as well.

"W-what...?" he stammered, fear overtaking humor now, as he took a step back.

"Were you practicing a new spell of some sort, your highness?" one guard asked. Sombra shook his head.

"I did no such thing." he said, stunned.

"I'll fetch the Doctor, you get back to your room sire! Stay with him!" he ordered the pegasus guard. The guard nodded and shepherded the Prince back towards his room.

Once inside, Sombra removed the cloak and tossed it aside. He started pacing the room agitatedly.

The guard helpfully set the cloak back atop the specialized dressmakers dummy Rarity had given Sombra to set the cloak and armor on each night! When he turned back to the Prince he noticed something. At Sombra's core, where pony anatomy said a pony's heart was, there shone a faint blue glow.

"Your highness, look-" he tapped at his own chest to indicate to the stallion. Sombra stopped, looked at himself in the mirror and stared. That glow...

Worry in his heart, he looked over at the pin badge attached to his cloak. The crystal heart?

"Sombra.." he spun round as he heard Cadance's voice. She was standing beside the startled Doctor just inside the doorway.

"Princess!" he blurted. "what's-?!"

"It is as you seem to suspect, the Heart is- well, I hesitate to say malfunctioning, but something's wrong."

Sombra looked worried sick, he glanced at the replica pin again, and Cadance had an idea. Seeing the look of longing in the unicorn's expression, she had a feeling she knew what he needed.

"Come with me.." she said "it's time you and the Crystal Heart met once more..."

Sombra looked nervous, and she couldn't blame him. His last experience with the heart had been when it'd erased him from existence. Prior to that, he'd just held it hostage, never able to figure it out!

They trekked down far below the palace, following secret passages that were heavily guarded at different sections.

Sombra remained silent, and Cadance felt a pang of concern, was he really that concerned the heart might erase him again?

"There's no reason why it would do that." she said at last. Sombra jolted, looked about to ask what was she talking about, when he seen the kind look on her face. He sighed softly, and nodded.

"So try not to worry." she finished, as they walked a long rocky hall towards a softly lit cave ahead. Sombra could see light reflecting off the armor of two guards standing in front of the door. Then he heard a soft scuffle behind them. Cadance did too, and they both tensed up, until Sombra recognized the sound the approaching creature made.

"Its alright!" He assured Cadance, and called out "have you been trying to catch up to us?"

"Mhhrrr....yes...I was curious..."

Cadance relaxed, it was the Crystal Bard. It toddled up to them, hands clasped, eyes bright as it looked at them.

"Hello..mhrr....Prince and Princess!" it said cheerily. Then it clocked Sombra was semi transparent. "oh...mhrr...what's happened?"

"Hello Bard~" Cadance said warmly "Sombra's power has run a little low..."

"That light..." the bard peered at the soft blue glow emanating from Sombra's body.

"There's a shard of the crystal heart in there," Sombra said lightly "we're guessing it needs a recharge from the main heart."

The bard nodded in understanding, and was happy to follow after them when Cadance asked it. They approached the guards, who bowed to the royals and their guest. After some intricate magic locks were opened by both them and Cadance, the ornate door fitted into the rock face swung open...

The trio wandered in, the door shutting behind them. Sombra felt the longing to see the heart get worse, but his panic over this unknown situation made his unease grow as well. So it was that he faltered and hung back as Cadance strode over to the case where the heart was. She noticed his hoofsteps had halted, and looked back. The Bard was looking up at Sombra too, patting the unicorn's side with one paw, trying to get his attention.

"Mhrr...Sombra?" it succeeded at last, and Sombra blinked down at him.

"Sorry about that..." he said quietly "I just have some odd history with that thing..."

"Come closer, it wont hurt you, I'm certain of it..." Cadance said. She sensed the heart needed Sombra now it was freed from its guarding wards and fully able to sense its missing piece inside Sombra's body.

Despite his nerves, Sombra took a deep breath and approached the heart. His own began pounding uncomfortably fast as he approached, and he felt strangely dizzy, like he was going to unravel entirely. Cadance stepped back as he reached a hoof up to touch the heart.

She wasn,t sure WHAT she'd been expecting to happen, for the heart to channel some of its latent power into Sombra and leave it at that maybe? She certainly hadn't been expecting them both to VANISH!

"Mhhhrrr?!" the Bard clapped its little paws to its mouth, muffling a frightened wail.

Then it ran over to a frankly stunned Cadance, and patted her lustrous mane gently. She shook herself free of her surprise and looked down at the freaked out Bard.

"Where's Sombra?" he asked.

"I don't know..." Cadance admitted, "but wherever he's gone, the heart is with him. I'm sure it will look after him, and vice versa..."

The Bard still looked worried, but seemed to accept this. Cadance sent the guards to bring some tea and cake down to them. In the meantime, the Bard seemed happy admiring her mane, the tricolor hair was so soft....

Sombra had closed his eyes when he'd touched the heart, and that bright light had flashed out. Now he finally opened them, and seen he was standing in darkness.

He glanced around, uneasy.

Then a soft blue glow lit the space a small distance away. As it drifted closer it started to change shape. By the time it was a few meters way it was fully formed. With a final flash it solidified, taking the form of a solid crystal blue unicorn.

She opened her eyes, smiling softly. But as she stepped closer, she noticed Sombra backed away.

--Stop it!-- Sombra snapped at himself, this was illogical. Cadance had said it was unlikely the heart wanted to hurt him. But his recently returned memories left him with a deep seated unease of the heart, and his last memory of it was being erased from history by its power. Recalling it made him feel sick and strangely disconnected, like he was losing grip...

So he backed away as she stepped closer, until he felt his hind legs bump into an invisible wall. He cursed softly, closing his eyes and trying to a) take a deep breath, and b) formulate the words needed to ask her to tell him what was going on.

"Please..." he couldn't say anything more, he didn't know how to say it. What did it want with him? Had it CHOSEN to disable its power, causing him to fade? DID the empire no longer need him? All these scenarios raced through his mind and he trailed off, voice abandoning him.

He heard no response, just the echoes of her steps as she approached. He tensed up, not understanding what the heart wanted from him??

The blue crystal unicorn titled her head, sensing Sombra's unease through their link. She couldn't blame him for being a little unsettled. So much had happened in such a short time, he'd done remarkably well in fighting through it all.

Her intent was to transfer the energy she still had within her to restabilize him. He possessed a tremendous amount of power of his own, but there was something about him that she'd noticed from the start.

There was a spell tied deep within him, it was a part of his body. She could not discern exactly what it was, Sombra's form was surprisingly complex. She'd known from the start the Princesses' power would be drained badly if they had to do this alone. So she'd broken off the shard, filled with a fraction of her power.

But now it was running out. Sombra was giving so much of his power so frequently, it'd started draining the power she'd supplied to keep his form intact. So she needed to refuel it.

First however, she needed to reassure and comfort the panicked stallion in front of her now. Via the shard inside, she'd been able to sense loosely how he was feeling. The magical wards surrounding the heart had blocked her from sustaining a constant or detailed link. But she detected how he'd gone from being angry and resentful, to guarded but hopeful, to finally willing to give kindness and friendship a chance. Then, more recently, she'd sensed something new, a tenuous wish to fall in love. Clearly the one he'd chosen had returned his affections, as this fragile hope had grown steadier.

She'd been surprised by how much he'd changed. But even back then in the past, when he'd been a cruel hearted tyrant, she'd sensed something deep within. A small spark, doing its best to remain alight despite the darkness of Sombra's insanity. So when Princess Cadance had implored the empires citizens to use their light and love to enable her to get rid of Sombra, she'd done just that, but she'd also kept a snapshot of this strange, haunted soul. So much about him had been left unexplained, she felt compelled to save him in some way. But this was not a task she alone could do. To unravel Sombra, more then just the power of love was needed. So she'd kept the memory of him alive, in the hopes he could one day be understood.

But at a deeper level, he still feared her and the Heart. After all, she'd essentially destroyed him in his view. Now it seemed he feared a reprisal, the loss of everything he'd earned.

"It's ALRIGHT." she stressed, her voice light and tinkling like the crystal she was made of, "I have taken this form so that I might better speak with you. Please do not fret...Sombra..."

She was stood in front of him now, watching as he cautiously opened his eyes, their deep red depths still full of an old mistrust, but also a cautious hope. She got the feeling it would've been a very different story if she'd confronted him face to face back at the start. He undoubtedly would've yelled and cursed, or tried to wreak some form of vengeance.

"See? I'm not going to harm you," she said calmly, "but we must do something about this..." she raised a hoof and gently tapped it on his chest, where the glow from the shard emanated.

"Why...?" he asked, his voice a gentle rumble.

"You have used so much power and energy to fight, your form has started to borrow from the shard in order to sustain you. It just needs refueling."

"I see.." Sombra said hesitantly. "then you're not..."

"-here to take you away? No." she smiled gently, and he got the feeling she knew why he'd been so skittish moments ago. He glanced away, that childish reluctance showing again, the same way it had when he'd been talking to miss Rarity about how to go about a romance with Shining Sea.

She raised her hoof and nudged his nose so he was facing her again. "You cannot linger here forever, we must restore the power you need."

"But how? You've been locked away in here." Sombra realized something, "wait, if you use up YOUR power, you'll-"

"I will become dormant, nothing more. As long as there is love, I will reawaken. But it will not be so easy to recover YOU if you fade away now. So we must use what we can." she said firmly.

Sombra still looked uneasy "All the good intentions in the world will not spare me if the public find out your power is gone because of me. I don't want them losing their heart in an effort to save mine."

He made to walk past her, perhaps thinking he could leave that way, but he stopped at her next sentence.

"Well then, I'd simply renew myself using the love they feel for YOU." she said smartly. He stopped, tail swishing.

"It is a very powerful sensation. Even buried deep behind these wards I feel it. They rejoice to see you, to see you HAPPY. I am the symbol of this empires LOVE, you have become the symbol of its STRENGTH."

"Brute force?" Sombra wondered.

"No. Strength of character. Courage. A will to fight even until you can barely stand, to save them." She spoke of course, of the plague. How he'd done his best to save the ponies even though they'd shouted at him. How he'd exhausted everythng he had to give for thier sakes. She moved so she stood in front of him again, her crystalline eyes peering into his dark red ones.

"Your heart is as valuable to them now as I am. To see it so content gives them reason to smile, because they know you're there. For them."

He didn't say anything, but he looked less worried.

"Now, let's get you back to those you love. Shut your eyes..."

--Those I love...?-- he wondered, as he did as she told him. His mind flickered over those he loved. His father, his lone friend back in that village. His friends, supporters, and the one he fell in love with....

He felt the crystal heart-pony's horn touch his the next second, and a bright blooming power filled his mind. His head pounded as the world seemed to pitch and tilt, and he struggled to keep his balance. Then it eased off, and he felt stronger...

She stepped away, and he opened his eyes cautiously. Peering down at himself he seen he was solid once more. And felt such a surge of relief.

"There we go.." he looked up at the heart-pony. She was smiling, and shone with a new and unusual glow. A pale purple..

"Whu-?" he began, and she beamed.

"Love is love, darkness or light." she smiled warmly.

He recalled her phrasing, "Those you love."

"I wished to show to you that just because you possess dark magic, your feelings are the same as any other pony. Love is what fuels my power, love from those that choose this as their home!"

She gestured to herself. "so now I have regained some of my energy from your emotions. So you needn't worry about me draining all my power, you've given some of it back in turn."

Sombra blinked, looking relieved and calmer then earlier.

"Now, let us return you to your friends..." she closed her eyes, starting to glow.

"Thank you." Sombra said softly. She just smiled knowingly. then the light become blinding, and Sombra had to close his eyes.

When he opened them he was back in the cave, with Cadance and the Bard shielding their eyes against the bright light of the heart and the pony's return.

When they seen him, their faces both brightened. The Bard raced over and hugged him gleefully.

"Sombra!" it cried "we were...mhhrr...worried!"

"I'm sorry if I startled you," Sombra said gently. "in truth I did not expect it to do that..."

"You seem back to your usual self, that's a relief," Cadance smiled. "I was worried you were going to fade away!"

"It seems I used up the power the shard granted me, she needed to refuel it."

"She?" asked Cadance. Sombra explained the heart had appeared as a female unicorn.

"Wow, I've never heard of that before..." Cadance looked impressed.

The trio trekked back up to the place above. The guards who'd alerted Cadance to Sombra's vanishing act looked relieved beyond measure to see the stallion back to his usual self.

By this time they'd missed breakfast, and ran into the others as they made their way to the kitchen.

"Hay you two!" Shining Armor smiled. "why so late?"

"We needed to go see the Heart," Cadance kissed Shining Armor on the cheek. "there was a bit of a hiccup."

"Less of a hiccup, more like one of miss Applejack or Dash's whopping big belches.." Sombra remarked, making the two mentioned start sniggering.

"What happened, you OK?" Shining Armor asked Sombra.

"Fine now," he said in relief. "slightly see through this morning however..."

"Eeehhh?!" Twilight Sparkle stared "you were disappearing?!"

"Strangely, yes..."

"How?" Applebloom piped up.

"Used too much power I dare say...things have been pretty hectic..." Sombra smiled "It's fine now."

All heaved a sigh of relief.

"Oh! Can I borrow you darling?" Rarity asked Sombra, who was in the middle of making Bright Spark giggle by nuzzling her mane.

"Of course.." he smiled. Looking down at the little filly he noticed she was wearing a new cape that matched the CMCs.

"What's this?" he asked.

"Imma start a Cutie Mark Cwusaders here!" Bright Spark looked eager. "they're gonna show me how!"

Sombra looked up at the CMC trio from Ponyville, and gave them a grateful smile.

"Well, don't forget its back to your mothers this afternoon!"

"Aww..." the original CMC sighed.

"She doesn't live far, come with us and I can show you were she lives..." Sombra offered, and they cheered up again!

Rarity got Sombra to try on the tux, and was delighted to see it fitted just fine! She'd also made some jet black shoes to compliment the lapels.

"Classy, yet bold.." she decided, stepping back to view it on him.

"Its perfect!" Sombra said, thanking her again.

"That's not all!" She trilled, holding up the cleaned necklace. The gems sparkled, it looked wonderful.

Once he'd taken the outfit off, she wrapped it up for safety and he took it up to his room for the next night. While he and Shining Sea had been sitting out in the garden, they'd told Bright Spark about the impending date. She'd gone into squee mode, dancing about the pair. Sea and Sombra had exchanged relieved and happy looks. Bright Spark seemed very happy that her mommy was dating again it seemed...

Later that afternoon Sombra, Bright Spark and the CMC set off to deliver Bright Spark home. The four girls trotted alongside Sombra, heads together, eagerly discussing plans for the crystal empire CMC! Sombra smiled to see how happy Bright Spark was!

Shining Sea's face lit up when she opened the door and spotted her daughter there wearing her new cape! She invited them all in for tea, and got the run-down of the midnight snack raid, followed by the abduction!

She once again felt extremely grateful Sombra had been there, and thanked him profusely. He assured her it was no worry, he wouldn't let those things hurt anypony!

"He whooped its butt!" Scootaloo added "that thing didn't see it coming! He was like WHOOSH-" She mimed the shadow diving from the sky "and POW!"

"And Pwincess Woona swooped in to wescue us from the fing befowe it went boomy" Bright Spark giggled "she's so much awesome!"

"Why would it go after kids?" Sea asked.

"It said it wanted what we knew of the world outside the empire!" Sweetie Belle piped up.

"I fink it gwabbed me by mistake, I don't know anyfing about the rest of Equestwia. well, except what they show us in school..." Bright Spark blinked.

At last the CMC and Sombra had to go. Sombra shot a smile at Shining Sea as he left, and she returned it.

"Yer marefriend's nice.." Applebloom remarked.

"Yes she- wait, what?" Sombra did a double take. Applebloom grinned.

"Bright Spark." she offered as explanation. Sombra sighed, but couldn't help a small smile.

He dropped the kids off back at the palace where they were going to join Rainbow Dash in going to a Wonderbolts show. Wanting to look up something about the show he and Shining Sea were going to see, he headed to the library.

And happened to spot the tail end of an oddly noisy crowd heading into the building. Puzzled, he snuck in silently after them.

"Why keep the books around?"

"They're an insult, after everything-!"

"They should change them..."

The bewildered librarian looked from one to the next. What was she supposed to do? Their complaints were leveled against a history book, at a certain point in it. About-

"What in Equestria is this about?" a confused voice speared the babble and they all turned, and the librarian spoke the end of her last sentence aloud.

"-Prince Sombra??"

"Is something wrong?" Sombra strode over to the crowd.

He spotted the history book lying open on the table by the crowd and floated it up, seeing the page it was open to and realizing-

"Don't you think it should change, sire?" the leader of the strange protest group looked from Sombra to the librarian, surely the Prince would understand? She bobbed her head at the book, "why should you be reminded of this every-"

"Stop!" Sombra said abruptly. They all fell silent at the urgency of his tone. He lowered the book, looking over the top of it at the crowd. The pony who'd been pushing the idea he didn't deserve to be constantly reminded of it was surprised, along with everyone else, to see a concerned look on his face.

"I understand what you're trying to do. I truly do. But...." he shook his head, gaze going slightly distant as he recalled his own learning experiences, "sorrow will only grow the more you try to forget. That's one thing I learnt, myself."

They listened intently as he continued "I thought I'd be happier with my past all jumbled up and hidden away. But it was always lurking there, I was always afraid of the day I'd have to confront it. So I refused to face it. Then an attack on the palace by those creatures resulted in not only my magic being temporarily removed from me altogether, but also every last memory being unlocked..." he closed his eyes, sighing softly at how terrifying it'd felt, "Old and new merged together, every new memory I'd made since coming here was under threat of being erased by the past."

The crowd of ponies gave a multitude of shocked gasps and cries. What he was describing sounded painful. His magic had been torn from him by force? Then they noticed he was smiling softly as he opened his eyes.

"But thanks to Princess Luna and several others, I was fortunate in that I did not have to face it alone. They untangled the new memories from the old ones. They did not hide them away, but they did show me every reason why I shouldn't try to forget. As awful as it was, without my past I wouldn't have seen how different I could be NOW. The nights after that, they were all I seen, those flashbacks. But yet it didn't seem so bad. At a deeper level it was a relief to finally see them again. Yes, it hurts to see painful reminders of past mistakes, but the more you try to deny it, the more it will hurt. You shouldn't get rid of your past, its a part of who you are. It might seem frightening, but I'm certain you can manage it together."

He set the book down in front of the lead mare, who looked up at him, flushing as he smiled gently at her.

"What you're trying to do is very kind, and prior to that night, I doubt I would've tried to stop you. I wished so badly at that time to NEVER see my own past, hiding behind the fact that waking up here had somehow buried it. Trying to ignore the fact the mistakes made back then influenced decisions made NOW. But I reiterate; the story of this empire should not be altered. It WILL get better, that thing up there will be taken down. Please, trust me?"

She nodded, taking the book and looking down at it, tears welling up. She brushed them away and nodded again, firmly. "If you can face it your majesty, then so can WE."

She looked at the crowd. "he's right. Hiding the bad times wont make them go away. We've grown stronger from finally facing the past again..." she looked back at Sombra. "I'm sorry sire. We hadn't considered how you'd feel about it. Nopony knew you'd already dug up those memories, we thought it would ease your heart to never have to see them written in history again. But if you've been able to brave that maelstrom, when it's you it hurts the most, then we can do the same."

"Thank you.." Sombra said softly, his voice genuinely warm "its important we remember the past, but don't focus on it too much. The future is what needs your attention right now, what I need you all to stand for."

There was a moments silence, then the whole crowd erupted in cheering.

They clustered around him, apologizing and thanking him. He assured them they had nothing to be sorry for, their intentions were good. That he could not ignore the kindness in the actions, and indeed acknowledged it. But he wanted the books to remain unaltered.

Sombra also told them new artifacts from his fathers reign had been recovered, that were awaiting shipment to the historical society. Hopefully this would expand on the past a little more. Including HIS past.

"It seems I had the wherewithal to hide away many of my fathers things. Once my memories had settled in, I was able to locate them. Miss Rarity is helping to clean up some of the jewels and ornaments before we send them over. So who knows, there may be a need for a whole new chapter!"

The crowd stamped their hooves eagerly.

"I hope so your highness!" One stallion said in a booming voice that matched his stature, as he looked up at the bigger pony. "perhaps you will allow us to see the past you shared with the former King?"

"In time, I don't see why not." Sombra managed at last. Some wounds were still a little raw, but he was coping.

The librarian thanked him once the crowd had left, their concern over the history books calmed.

"It was kind of them. They wanted to erase the bad rule of the past so I wouldn't feel so bad. But I've come to accept it now, and I don't want it to go away." Sombra shook his head.

He then asked about the original reason he'd come to the library. She led him to the correct shelf, asking was he attending the performance on Saturday? He nodded, and she smiled.

"Its one of the most popular shows so far, this is its fourth run!" she beamed "I'm sure you'll love it your highness!"

For her part, Shining Sea was trying to pick out a pretty dress, but she had no clue what the dress style was for a theatre performance, let alone one she would be attending at a Prince's side!!

She was fretting away in the dress shop, with the store assistant casting her a bewildered look every now and then. Then the bell over the door jingled and a voice Sea recognized from the party caught her ear.

"I need some more of that simply stunning silk, if you please!"

She stuck her head round a rack of posh dresses. It was the purple maned unicorn, Rarity.

Figuring she couldn't embarrass herself any further she took a deep breath and trotted over.

"Miss Rarity, isn't it?" she hazarded.

"Hm? Oh!" Rarity recognized Sea right away. "hello darling! Are you doing a bit of shopping?"

"I'm trying to, but I simply don't know what to wear to a theatre event!" Sea groaned in despair "I really hate to impose, but i need your help-"

"Oh, its not a problem!" Rarity realized Sea needed help picking a dress, "I am more than happy to lend a hoof! Lets go take a look shall we?"

The two mares headed back over to the racks of dresses, with Rarity assessing Shining Sea's blue coat and mane. In the end she went for a gold silk dress with lemon yellow gems sewn around the collar and hem, with a layer of white silk underneath the train. To go with this she picked out pearly white shoes and necklace, along with a hairpin shaped like a white rose.

"Perfect!" she cried when Shining Sea modeled the whole outfit, "he's going to ADORE it!"

Shining Sea blushed at the fact this was all for her date. With SOMBRA no less.

"I still cant believe he.." she trailed off, flushing.

"That dance at the ball? That was simply adorable!" she leant in to share a secret with the other mare, "I saw him looking all antsy soon as the music started. He was looking about this way and that, ignoring all the ladies practically throwing themselves at him! When he spotted you, my dear his eyes lit up! I'd say its VERY believable!"

Sea nodded her head, looking so happy it made Rarity beam.

After purchasing the dress, Rarity invited Sea to join her for cake and tea at a nearby cafe!

"If I might ask," Rarity said curiously "you don't have to spill the beans, but when did you first realize he was more then he appeared in the past?"

"That would be at the festival," Sea smiled at the memory "I'd forgotten Bright Spark had asked him to come see her, I don't think even she was expecting him to show up to HELP with the preparations. She assumed he'd show up at the opening. I think a lot of the other families and staff were startled when he appeared to help set up!"

Rarity giggled. "It's ironic, according to Princess Cadance. Everypony had been sending letters asking when he would come see them, leave the palace? Then, on the day she's announcing his inheritance, he's nowhere to be found because he LEFT!"

Sea smiled at this fact, Sombra really was full of surprises, "Bright Spark was so pleased to see him. While she was on a deep box dive into the decorations, I took the opportunity to say thank you for helping us with the plague, and I was sorry I'd snapped at him at the time. After that, well, we got to talking. I asked was he alright, did he want to go get some coffee-" she blushed at the memory of the blundering method of finding a way to spend more time around him "-but then those things attacked!"

"It certainly made quite a mess!" Rarity shuddered as she recalled the aftermath when she and the others had shown up.

"We were all on the verge of giving up, but he refused to let it go. I'd been over it in my head a dozen times, and I'd decided he more than deserved a second chance after everything he'd done. I thanked him for saving the kids festival, and then I seen him TRULY smile for the first time. a real smile," she blushed. "sweet merciful Celestia he looked so handsome when he smiled that way. I'm pretty sure I just stared at him for a good few seconds."

Rarity giggled. "We've all been there darling! Swept off our hooves by a smile..." she sighed dreamily.

"But he stayed at the stall the whole time, until Bright Spark's play! She was so happy to see us both watching her performance! She adores Sombra, has done since the start. He helped her see how amazing she was, that a little difference in speech didn't take away from who she was. I cant thank him enough for helping her believe in others again..." she wiped at her eyes with a soft smile. Rarity nodded.

"I think she did the same for him darling," she told Sea. "He told us she was the first to acknowledge him as something other than a monster."

They chattered a while longer, before Sea thanked Rarity again and they parted ways.

The date was tomorrow night, and Shining Sea had never been so nervous in her life!

To be fair, neither had Sombra! A date was a foreign, unknown thing in his life. He spent copious amounts of time fidgeting in his room, until Rarity popped in to tell him the carriage was ready! She took a quick photo of him in the outfit she'd designed, to add to her scrapbook, then walked down with him to the door, pausing only to mention she'd had the flowers placed in the carriage. He thanked her once more, reiterating how thoroughly stuck he'd be without her input!

"Someday I'll find a way to thank you, I promise." he chuckled softly.

"That's what friends are for, darling!" Rarity shook her head and smiled "you just have fun!"

The trip over to pick up the amazing mare who'd become so special to him, Sombra wondered was there a protocol or etiquette to follow? Besides bringing the flowers to the door with him according to miss Rarity.

Rarity had insisted he just act natural, which didn't help much, not to his mind...

"Here we are your majesty!" The pony steering the carriage called down to the Prince. With a sigh Sombra hopped out, feeling odd without the cover of his heavy duty armor and cloak.

In no time at all he'd reached the door of the pleasant little house, and tapped the door with one hoof!

Bright Spark was at her friends house for the night, and Shining Sea was pacing up and down the front hall carpet, almost wearing a groove in it when she heard the knocking on the door. She let out a squeak, then hurriedly composed herself and took a deep breath before opening the door, reminding herself to be subtle.

Oh sweet Celestia, he looked jaw droppingly gorgeous. Goodbye composure, hello red in the face.

She made a noise like a squeak and a wheeze, and he smiled softly, before offering the beautiful white roses he was carrying to her.

"Oh they're wonderful!" She exclaimed, breathing in the scent. "I've always loved roses, and the white ones seemed extra special to me..."

"They're just like you." he said softly.

She blushed at the compliment, and took his out held hoof with hers. They walked to the carriage, her heart hammering away. This was really happening!

As the carriage pulled away and headed for the theatre across town, Sombra picked up the box containing the necklace. He took a deep breath to clear his mind, and hoping he wouldn't make a prize fool of himself with this plan; turned to face Sea.

"I -" damn it brain.

"What is it?" she asked. Her eyes settled on the ornate box the necklace was in, curiosity in her eyes. He sighed at how dimwitted he'd just sounded, and figured he couldn't sound any stupider, so he opened the box.

Her eyes widened when she seen the necklace "It's stunning..." she whispered.

"Yes, I wanted to give this to you. I found it with some of fathers things, it belonged to the Queen."

"A Queen, I couldn't possibly-" but she was stopped by Sombra closing the space between them and nervously kissing her gently. He nuzzled her nose, and she felt like turning to jelly.

"Let me explain," he said softly. "the three stars on the necklace reminded me of two things. Firstly, the stars in your Cutie Mark, and secondly, the three who made the biggest impact on who I am," A little gleam of magic reflected off each star on the necklace as he spoke. "My father. Bright Spark. And YOU."

She felt her eyes tear up at the honesty behind the gesture. That she'd made such an impact on him, she hadn't thought...

"You three are the stars I can follow to find my way back," he smiled gently at her. "that's why I wanted you to have this."

She couldn't say a word, just nod. He set the necklace around her neck, then conjured a reflective pane of magic so she could see it for herself.

"It's so pretty..." she whispered. She felt fresh tears well up as she looked at the stallion who'd given it to her. He looked so happy to see her wearing it.

She brushed the magical mirror away and kissed him.

"Thank you..." she whispered as she let him go, reaching up to tuck a loose strand of his mane back behind his ear.

Just as they were about to kiss again, the carriage suddenly jolted and they were thrown off the seats. Shining Sea felt her face go bright red as she realized she'd landed cozied up to Sombra's chest. He blinked at her, flushing a little himself.

"At least my brain can't top that..." he remarked, and she giggled.

"My apologies sire, some lunatic driver tried to cut us up-oops!" The driver stuck his head in through the roof compartment and paused when he saw them.

"Hay, you're the one who put on the brakes!" Sombra shot back, wiping the grin off the stallions face. Then he felt a delayed pang of pain in his head and cursed.

"Sombra?" Sea peered worriedly at him, reaching a hoof to touch his cheek gently "what's the matter?"

"Oww, it's one of those things. Blasted creatures disguised itself, that's why the delay." He helped her up and bounded out of the carriage, glancing this way and that. The pain was fading, the thing was on the move!

"Hop back in sire, we'll track it!" the driver bellowed for the pony's pulling the carriage to put it in maximum gear!

Sombra made sure sea was safe then transformed into his shadow form to join them atop the carriage. They took off, tracking the other carriage. Sombra bellowed directions and they put everything into it, racing after them.

At last Sombra spotted it, racing towards the central business district. He spied the shadows reflected by the street lamps now they'd emerged from the residential area. They offered sharp black shadows due to their intensity, which made his power much easier;

"Keep her safe!" He ordered them.

"With everything we got, sire!" the driver promised.

"Sombra?" Sea poked her head out the window as they raced along the street. Sombra clung to the carriage as his shadow self so he could lean down and nuzzle her nose ever so gently.

"I wont take long, I promise you..." he whispered. She nodded, then watched him dive off into a passing shadow. The carriage came to a slow, and she sighed worriedly.

"He knows what he's doing miss!" One of the pony's pulling the carriage said kindly.

"I know..." she smiled gently.

"Hay... Help!" a voice reached their ears and they turned to look...

The carriage had been hijacked, the attacking shadow had knocked the driver off his pedestal, luckily not injuring him as the thing had only been starting off. Under threat of being hurt, the runners pulling it were forced to take off at speed.

That was when they'd nearly collided with another carriage being pulled by armored stallions. One runner had noticed the royal insignia of the empire emblazoned on the carriage's front as they raced by, and hoped they'd alert a guard or somepony! Turning his attention back to the road in the present moment he seen a shadow slipping in and out of those already cast by the street lamps.

At the highest arc of its dive it turned its head towards him, and he seen red eyes. A pony with that color and magic...he knew only one that matched that description. He quickly turned his attention back to the road ahead, hoping he was right!

"Now..." the shadow creature leered down at the occupants of the carriage. One was a crystal pony, the other two were a couple from out of town. It had failed in getting those three kids, so this pair would do. It hungered for info from outside the kingdom...

Ever since the invasion, travel had been seriously limited, anypony wanting to enter had to be given special permission. That was how the CMC had made it in, at Princess Twilight Sparkle's request. This couple were friends of an important member of the political council!

"Let us go!" the mare cried, clinging to her husband, who was glaring daggers at the creature, along with the council mare!

"You heard the lady!" a voice barked. The creature twisted round, peering behind it. A familiar shape was poking half half out of a shadow cast by its own form!

"You!" It leapt foolishly and tried to pin its own shadow, but Sombra was already gone. He flipped form one shadow to the next, until the carriage passed under an archway, with a dark enough gap for Sombra to drop down and launch himself like a shadowy torpedo at the shadow pony, who'd disguised itself as a middle aged pony, green with yellow mane. He was short for a Shyre horse, and hadn't looked all that out of place. At least for long enough to hijack the carriage. Soon as it'd caught the carraige, it'd given up on the facade, so it was stuck halfway between a colourful pony and a black blobby mass!

Now it got a hefty punch to the face, knocking them both off the top of the carriage and into the road. Sombra fled into a nearby shadow, rebounding out of one cast on up the wall of a building by lights set into the ground. He slammed his full weight into the thing as it tried to stand, knocking it senseless.

Taking the opportunity while it was stunned, he grabbed it by the scruff of the neck and kicked up off the ground, shooting into the sky. There he unleashed a single shot version of the homing attack he'd done to rescue the CMC and Bright Spark.

Those gathered below as the carriage came to a halt seen a bright explosion light up the sky. They cheered, seeing the thing vanquished. The carriages inhabitants stumbled out into the street, staring at the fading smoke, but also at the figure that landed on the roadside ahead.

A tall pony made of shadows as well, but this one had intelligent deep red eyes, it looked different.

"Eeek..." the wife screeched, holding her husbands hoof tightly. "there's another one!"

The council mare grinned in relief, as she trotted a few paces forward to greet the shadow pony.

"Thank you your highness, it was most fortunate you were here!"

The shadow nodded, then closed its eyes. With a rush of pale purple light he shifted back to his usual self, complete with fancy outfit.

"I had a passing sensation one of things was nearby, it took a moment to realize it had to have been the carriage that nearly hit mine..."

The council mare nodded. "That was terrifying, it just ran right out in front of us then boom- shadow creature!

"The facades..." Sombra sighed softly, and she nodded.

The prince shook his head sadly, "Even with the warnings, they're still able to use them to momentarily distract ponies, and that seems to be ample time to cause chaos."

"Regrettably, your highness, it's true." the mare nodded.

"Sombra!" he turned from the mare as he heard a familiar voice. The royal carriage pulled up and Shining Sea darted out of it, her glitzy dress catching the light and sparkling alongside the stunning necklace.

"Sea!" He gave a relieved cry as she ran over, "are you alright?"

"I'm fine, and we picked up somepony else too..."

She indicated the other pony stumbling out of the carriage. On seeing the pony's he'd been driving, and the mercifully undamaged carriage, he ran over to them.

"It would seem all is well, perhaps we should make our way to the theatre?" he asked, smiling softly.

The wife meanwhile, compared to her husband, was still freaking out. When she seen Sombra appear in his normal form, she actually had a dizzy fit. She'd read stories in external newspapers, saying this creature was back, but that he rarely appeared except when those attackers were about.

Due to the implementation of screening mail to make sure shards of that thing weren't being sent out to friends or researchers, along with the restrictions on visitors, little information was making its way to the outlying areas, and what did was mostly speculation and unconfirmed rumor. Even the empires main newspapers, having little info on Sombra, had been unable to do much beyond speculate and do pieces on public opinion. This had started to change after that plague, and Sombra's magic returning. But it hadnt been until Cadance's reveal of the edited version of Sombra's painful past, that anypony truly knew anything about him!

So, needless to say, with this barren knowledge, she was pretty startled! She'd assumed she wouldn't run across the beastly pony, since it seemed he so rarely left the palace. Yet to now see him and his unnatural magic right in front of her, it was a startling sight!

"You OK honey?" her husband asked. She shuddered, nodding.

"I'm just...surprised, to see that monster in the flesh." she said dizzily.

Sombra regrettably, heard this, and for a moment felt a familiar old pang of unease. Then he shoved it aside, These WERE folks from outside the empire, he couldn't expect them to know what'd gone on.

He suggested Sea and himself head to their carriage. She gave a twitch he misinterpreted as a nod, and thus he was at the carriage, hoof raised to step on when he heard Sea's voice. From further away from him than he expected!

"How dare you call him that?!"

He blinked, looking over his shoulder to where she was standing in front of the couple from the other carriage.

"What-?" The wife stammered, shocked out of her fear and into indignation. "well I never-"

"That's obvious enough!" Sea shot back, shutting her up. "You never even gave him a chance, just took one look at him and went straight to "monster"!"

Sombra winced, he didn't want her to get in trouble. But to his surprise, the ponies milling about the area were all sharing Sea's sentiments, nodding and murmuring to themselves.

"Surely you know who he is-!" The female blustered, starting to lose her cool a little now. Why were all these ponies so calm about that creature stalking the streets. He was just there to fight those shadow things wasn't he?

Even the council mare was looking a little worried, she hadn't had much time between meeting her old friends and showing them around the empire to really talk of Sombra.

"Yes, I DO. We all do. We thought that way at first, but we didn't know why the past happened the way it did. With or without his past however, he's as much a part of this Empire's heart as the Crystal one!"

Cheer and calls followed this speech. Shining Sea wasn't done, as she thought back to everything Sombra had done;

"Firstly, he saved my daughter. Not just from the monsters, but from her own sadness. She felt trapped, alone, because of how other ponies treated her. Because of him she smiles!!" her vision blurred and she held the tears back as she faced this mare.

"Secondly, he's pretty much kept this empire in one piece by himself. Back before Princess Twilight Sparkle made those goggles everypony on the guard wears, he was fighting this war alone!! Every day he was being battered and bruised within an inch of his life. Yet he never complained, just kept getting back up. We'd have surely all perished in that plague, had he and two others not gotten a cure to the whole EMPIRE by themselves!!"

The crowd were closing in now, adding their own cries to the mix.

"Yeah! He saved my wife!"

"And my little brother!!" one filly cried, gesturing to her sibling, who nodded eagerly.

"He helped our son get his cutie mark!"

"Even I shouted at him back then..." Sea carried on. "when all he was trying to do was help me. But my daughter, she seen it long before we did. She told me over and over he wasn't a bad pony, and she was right! I don't know all of what happened to him back then, and I don't need to know, and you know why?"

"Eeep.." The wife squeaked

"-because he's already proven he's not the same as he was back then. We don't need any proof from the past, we have what he's done in the present!"

More cheering.

"But...but!!" the mare, her name RoseThorn, was taken aback by this mares defense of Sombra.

The crowd was still babbling amongst itself, shooting upset glares at her.

During all this Sombra had remained frozen, almost forgotten by the passionate crowd. As he seen them moving closer to issue their own complaints to the mare, he knew he had to step in.

He teleported over, placing himself between the crowd and the mare. Shining Sea blinked up at him.

"Sombra..?" she asked. He smiled kindly, gently nuzzling her vanilla scented mane with a smile, murmuring softly;

"Its quite alright, my guiding star. Please don't upset yourself..."

She nodded, brushing the tears away.

"Everypony!" Sombra straightened up, raising his voice a little. They fell silent, looking up at him. He took a step forward, smiling kindly, repeating what he'd said at the library;

"I appreciate what you're trying to do, but please, don't be upset..."

"But-" the little filly and her brother peered up at him "it's not fair!!"

"All of you have lived this conflict day to day," Sombra said kindly, the crowd hanging on his every word, the silence letting his softened tone to carry across the air. "thus you know me better then anypony. But these folks don't know your whole story. There are so many sides to the story of this fight, one for each of you. Let them learn it at thier own speed..."

"Okayyy.." the two kids nodded. Sombra smiled at them.

"Thank you..." he said happily, looking at the rest of the crowd. "your concern means a lot to me, but there's no need to worry yourselves. What happened in my past matters not, compared to the future i want to protect. Please, enjoy your evening..."

The crowd nodded happily and smiled contentedly up at the Prince. They began to disperse, the matter dismissed at their princes behest.

"And THAT," The council mare said to her astonished friends. "is why as soon as this conflicts over, I intend to petition him to join the political council. A mind that sharp shouldn't be stuck doing combat duty!"

"Gawuh?" the wife was stunned silly. She'd never expected such a passionate defense.

"Everything they said is true," the council mare added, looking at Sombra. "he's become so much more then just a former tyrant!"

"What's that band?" her husband asked. So the council mare explained about Sombra's inheritance, how he'd eventually been persuaded to take it.

They watched now, as Sombra bid farewell to the last of the ponies that'd come over to greet him, or ask how he was doing.

RoseThorn was still staring at the floor, puzzling over what'd just happened. Was Sombra....really not that bad?

"Are you three alright?" Sombra asked. The council mare, Inkwell, beamed happily up at him.

"We're fine, your highness!"

"That's good to hear." Sombra smiled kindly. This close, RoseThorn realized his deep garnet eyes were filled with a certain kindness, and the way he smiled honestly at them, she realized maybe-

-She'd been wrong? Not something a high born pony like her was accustomed to admitting.

"Uh- excuse me?" The husband asked Sombra, who stopped mid exit to look over at him "Is it true your really a Shyre horse?"

"He's a bit of a historian in his spare time." Inkwell filled in for a stunned RoseThorn.

"Name's Bookmark, your uh, majesty.." he coughed, feeling even more embarrassed that both he and his wife had to have seemed ungrateful for their rescue.

"Yes, I am a Shyre breed. There was a remote settlement of them a long way from here, even further into the frozen wastelands. Despite what the history books say, I'm not from here."

"Fascinating!" Bookmark nodded. "I've read what little information there is about the Shyre, during my work on a book about rare breeds, but there's little information out there!"

"Sadly, its true. Princess Twilight Sparkle mentioned as such. The Shyre were superstitious and reclusive by their nature. They didn't like outside influences on their lives, hence why they were rarely seen, to their detriment."

"Fascinating!" Bookmark looked thrilled, and RoseThorn seen how happy her husband was. She'd jabbed at him about his "pointless" writing, her family had money enough to support them, he didn't have to waste his time grubbing around dusty old libraries and bookshops!

But now, seeing how easily he was able to speak to Sombra, and the light in his eyes, she retreated into herself, lost in thought.

"Your highness?" the driver of the royal carriage called over to Sombra.

"What is it?" Sombra asked.

"Sire, were going to be late if we don't leave now!"

"Ah!" Sombra gave an apologetic bow to the trio "I'm very sorry, I must go. But-" he looked at Bookmark, "if you come to the palace, either Princess Twilight Sparkle or I can fill you in a bit more on the Shyre. I've been telling her everything I can recall as of late, she's as curious as you!"

A gleeful Bookmark thanked him profusely, and was treated to a smile, before Sombra and Sea left in their carriage.

"I do believe we're late too!" The council mare nudged her two friends. "we don't want to be late either, we'll miss the start!"

Once Sombra and Shining Sea walked in, the theatre owner spotted them, and raced over.

"Hello your highness, ma'am!" She bowed to the couple, "It's a pleasure to see you here!"

Sombra thanked her for the tickets, saying he'd never seen a show like this, and was greatly looking forward to it!

She showed them up a flight of stairs, to where the special viewing box reserved for royalty was located.

"If you need anything your highness," she indicated a bell rope by the seats "just ring!" With a bow, she exited.

"Whoa..." Shining seas jaw dropped again as she admired the fancy box and seats. "this is..."

"Opulent?" Sombra guessed.

"That's the one!" she nodded. Then she bounced up onto one of the plush seats, "ooh, its so soft!"

Sombra chuckled, he could see where Sparks uplifting personality came from. He sat beside her, noting indeed the seats were as plush and soft as they looked!

They settled in, watching the orchestra set up, and Sombra mentioned what he'd been able to find out about the story. It was a fairly recent one, but had become massively popular as a theatre show!

Once the play began, Shining Sea was hooked, it was a sweet story.

In a far flung part of Equestria, there was a palace built of opalescent stone. A strict unicorn King, his Pegasus wife and their lovely pegasus daughter lived there in peace. But the Princess grew bored of being in the castle, and so one day she snuck away whilst her parents threw a party. Outside the palace she met a kindly earth pony stallion trying to catch his cat who'd escaped onto the palace grounds. For the first time in forever, she felt free, and the two of them sat amongst the flower gardens talking about their families. She asked where he lived, and he told her he owned the town's bakery.

All too soon her parents realized she was missing and she had to run back inside. A week went by, during which the Princess sought a way to contact her new friend. In the end, after remembering he owned the bakery, she sent a request for a whole medley of cakes and pastries, and when the basket arrived, she shared the cakes with her parents and her servants. She then sent the basket back with a note tucked into it. They wrote to each other in this way, with the Princess realizing she wanted to see him again. The next party at the palace she escaped again and the two love-birds spent a short precious time together before they were forced to part again and say farewell once more.

This continued every event the palace held, but soon her father became suspicious as to where the Princess disappeared to every party. So he had one of the servants follow her, and when she reported back the Princess was meeting up with a young unknown from the village, the King wasn't happy.

His daughter had to marry only the best, he decided, and the Queen agreed, although she hoped her daughter would find somepony she truly loved before that happened. So it was that she managed to persuade the King to at least meet this stallion their daughter loved so much.

The servants distracted the Princess, fussing over her dress and mane, saying she had to dress her best, while her beloved showed up at the castle far earlier then expected. The King had invited him earlier then what he told his wife and child, and he had NO intention of hearing him out. Instead he had him knocked out and transported as far away from the kingdom as he could. The baker's shop was turned upside down, making it look like a bungled robbery.

Sombra studied Shining Sea's sweetly expressive face as the tale unfolded. How she glowered at the character of the King, and smiled happily at the romance.

Then came time for an intermission.

"Do you think she'll ever see him again?" Shining Sea pondered, looking up at her date.

Sombra smiled "Celestia save anypony that gets in the way I'd warrant..." he said softly.

She beamed happily "That's what I think!" she agreed, her happy smile making his heart race just a little. She looked stunning in that dress, she looked even more amazing than she had at the ball.

They wandered into the spacious bar and souvenir room. Sombra said he would fetch them some drinks and food, and Shining Sea told him she was going to take a look at the souvenirs, hoping to find something for Bright Spark!

She was mulling over the cute stuffed plushes of the main cast when she heard a female voice clearing its throat beside her. She turned, and on seeing the SAME posh mare that'd called her dear Sombra a monster, she frowned, opening her mouth to request this lady leave her alone, when the mare spoke-

"Please, just wait a moment!" she said, and she actually LOOKED apologetic, which was the lone reason Shining Sea held her tongue and waited for her to carry on.

"What he said...that pony...Sombra..." she still seemed nervous speaking his name, "what he said to those ponies in the crowd. He was right." She felt humiliated having to say it, but after what her friend the council mare had said about Sombra, just how much of a hero he was to the empire, and how happy her husband had been to talk to this rare race remnant, she'd reluctantly come to the realization she'd been making one too many assumptions in her life. That her husbands book was pointless, that working ponies were beneath her notice because she had money, that Sombra was a monster because she'd read a few articles about his return and jumped to conclusions.

"I DON'T know about this conflict. How you've all coped with that thing up there."

"We wouldn't be here, I don't think, if the Princesses hadn't brought Sombra back," Shining Sea said at last. "we were all afraid at seeing him again. But Princess Cadance theorized that, waking up back here WITHOUT his magic, it allowed him to think more clearly, without his magic raging out of control. In the beginning, they suppressed his magic, fearing no doubt he would wreak some form of vengeance if he had it. So he was fighting using nothing but brute strength and his hooves."

RoseThorn's eyes were on stalks as she thought about it. "Just how strong is he?" she squeaked. But Shining Sea smiled.

"Strong enough to tear those things apart, but also strong enough to protect a helpless child." was her answer.

"You mentioned your daughter earlier-?"

Shining Sea nodded. "My little girl, Bright Spark. She has a minor speech problem. Before Sombra came back, she was so unhappy, teased by her peers. I feared my little girl would be consumed by this sadness. But then she comes home one day, actually smiling, saying she met a pony who seemed lonely too. When I realized it was Sombra she was talking about, I was baffled, why did she think he was lonely? All any of us seen was anger in his eyes, at least it seemed that way. Like he hated being here, hated US.

But then she comes home after a school trip to the place, full of smiles, saying she met him again! Not only that, but he told her his name when she asked. Some fillies in her class bullied her, made her cry, and she tried to run away from them. She ran right into Sombra, who took a stand and told those bullies Bright Spark's words were what was important, not how she pronounced them! That she need not fear bullies like them if she could approach somepony like him and show no fear!"

"Wow.." RoseThorn gaped.

Shining Sea chuckled "I was gob-smacked when I heard the story not only from her, but from the teacher. She spoke to Sombra, and he repeated those words. That Bright Spark should not have to be afraid, shed already faced a far worse threat than bullies in HIM. And the plague spread by those shadow creatures? He was the one who discovered that a certain type of tea was the cure, and along with just two others, saved all of us. Without him, I'd have been in no position to look after my child. After that, I realized I'd been to hasty in judging him."

"Is that how you came to..." RoseThorn tried to think how to ask it. Shining Sea smiled, looking down at the display of plush toys as she spoke.

"Fall in love with him? Yes. The first time we got to talk properly was at the kids festival at the school. He helped save it after an attack almost destroyed everypony's hard work. While Bright Spark was playing with her friends I finally got to thank him properly. And we ended up talking for quite some time. I realized the anger wed seen before, on his arrival here was just an act. Behind it, he was just the same as any of us. He'd been frightened, confused, and from what Princess Cadance said, didn't have much reason to trust others."

She sighed at the sad reminder of how he'd looked at himself with such distaste that night at the ball "I hated seeing him like that, when he didn't deserve it any more. I don't know what happened to him to bring him to that point in his life, where he felt becoming a monster was his only option, and I don't need to know. Not any more. He's smiling now. He's happy. I just want things to stay that way for him."

RoseThorn was touched by Sea's concern and obvious love for Sombra.

"He's lucky," she said, making Sea look over at her once more.

"I'm the lucky one..." Sea blushed. "I never thought I'd get any closer then being just the mother of his biggest fan. But the way he smiled when I spoke to him, how much he really began to care about this empire, even before he found out about his inheritance... I couldn't forget about him. So when he asked me for that special traditional dance, I was so happy. I just want him to have the life he deserves..."

"I'm sorry for being so crude," RoseThorn sighed, "perhaps I have been too hasty..."

She was surprised when Sea reached a hoof up to pat her shoulder, and she was smiling.

"Its OK, he isn't mad, I'm certain of it. His friends have shown him he's not the monster he thought himself to be, or that the empire once thought he was."

"Thank you..." RoseThorn felt on the verge of crying in relief. It felt odd, to be thinking so much about others, she'd always been very closed off, spoilt perhaps, by her lavish life. "I wish that I could tell him myself, but I wouldn't blame him if he did not wish to speak with me."

"He won't do that," Sea smiled. "He'll be back soon, then you can talk to him yourself. What's your name?"

"RoseThorn," the mare smiled. Shining Sea shook her hoof and introduced herself as well.

But they were interrupted before they could continue their chat.

"What're two lovely ladies like yourselves doing all alone?" a fancily dressed stallion had crept up on them. He was one of those self assured types, all mouth and no brain, Shining Sea thought privately. The two mares shared looks, and were about to tell him what was on their minds when a familiar voice spoke up from behind the stallion.

"Whatever they chose, I dare say. I suggest you consider that."

"Hay, who do you think you-" the pony turned, coming face to face with the stallion who was staring at him with thinly disguised amusement "-gabuhh?"

"My, what an odd name." Sombra swanned past him, offering a smile to both ladies before his gaze singled in on Sea. "find anything?"

"Oh, yes!" She nodded her head at the plush toys "Bright Spark would love the Princess one!"

Sombra chuckled "I bet..." he said softly.

He turned to look at the startled stallion, who was standing there in shock. "Can I help you somehow?"

"No no no, sorry, I didn't know ah- never mind, sorry your highness!" then he was gone in a blur. Sombra raised an eyebrow.

"That was possibly the weirdest reaction I've had in a while." he chuckled.

Shining Sea giggled. "Well, I think he was hoping we were on our own..."

"He'd have a problem on his hooves then," Sombra murmured as he gently nudged her nose with his. "because I'm not intending on giving you up for any reason."

THAT was the cutest thing Sea had ever heard from him, and, coupled with the direct sincerity and kindness in his eyes, made her love him even more.

RoseThorn studied them, seen how Sombra said something to the other mare that made her eyes sparkle. The fierce yet gentle way he cared for her was clear.

"Oh!" Shining Sea gave him a hopeful look, before nodding at the other mare with her "This is RoseThorn, from earlier..."

Rose seen a flash of recognition cross Sombra's face. Although he looked concerned a moment, the look was pushed aside and replaced by curiosity.

He bowed his head in greeting, "A pleasure to meet you, miss. You seemed in shock when I saw your after the attack, are you feeling better?" Sombra asked her.

She nodded rapidly, unable to speak. What was she supposed to say?

Shining Sea got distracted by the pony who manned the souvenir stand finally coming back from his trip to the storeroom, and asked him to pop one of the Princess plushes in a gift bag for Bright Spark! While she was doing that, RoseThorn gathered up the courage to move a few steps closer to Sombra to get his attention.

"Are you OK?" Sombra asked, seeing her nervous face "was that stallion bothering you?"

"No no...." she shook head, then blurted "I-I wanted to apologize!"

Sombra looked about to ask why, so she pre-empted him "I should'’t have said what I did! Sea was telling me about the you SHE knows, that everypony in the empire knows! I was so surprised to see you up close after only reading newspaper articles. From everything she's said about you, they don't do the matter justice. After seeing how much all those ponies had to say in your defense, I realized I'd made a mistake. That you stepped in to defend me after the things I said about you, it gave me a lot to think about."

Sombra smiled honestly "There is no cause to fret miss RoseThorn. If its any consolation, that is the same way I felt after realizing not everypony was out to hurt me like before. It can be hard to shake an impression sometimes. So honestly, give it no further thought."

She nodded, looking visibly relieved "I've spent so much time looking down on other ponies, even my husband. When I seen how happy he was to talk to you about the Shyre for his book, I realized just how much his work means to him. Because of my family's money, I assumed he wouldn't need or want to work..."

"Everypony needs a goal!" Sea joined them again, holding the bag with her gift for Bright Spark inside it, "what about you?"

RoseThorn thought "I don't know. I've been so listless. Even the parties are starting to bore me, I wish I could throw one that would liven things up sometimes!"

"An admirable pursuit." Sombra said, making her think. It WAS, wasn't it?

"Why don't you come to the place with your husband on his appointment, there is a certain friend of Princess Twilight Sparkle that can give you all the advice on a party you could want! She planned the latest ball here at the palace!"

"I heard about it from Inkwell," RoseThorn sighed dreamily. "it sounded just exquisite! And this pony is the planner?"

"She's the party pony of legend." Sombra chuckled.

"Here you are my dear-oh, you highness!" her husband spotted her, and RoseThorn greeted him with a nuzzle on the cheek.

"Ah, Mr Bookmark, good evening." Sombra nodded to him.

"I just wanted to thank you again, for saving us both, we didn't get to say so earlier-"

Sombra shook his head and smiled kindly "there's no need, I'm just relieved that thing was stopped before anypony got hurt. Those thing's tactics have become ever more deviant..."

"What do they want?" RoseThorn shivered.

"This world. They want the energy and magic everypony here possesses, then they want this world for their own."

"My goodness!" Bookmark blustered. "and you've been fighting them this whole time?"

"Not alone," Sombra smiled. "with the help of many others, I have been able to face them and do the utmost I can to guard this empire!"

Sea smiled proudly at his words, how comfortably he'd adapted to accepting others help, in so many ways.

Then they heard the announcer declaring it was time to begin the second part of the play!

"I ordered what I thought necessary, and the staff insisted they bring it up to the box. So everything awaits us up there!" Sombra told Sea as they bid farewell to their new friends.

"Wow, they really go all out..." Shining Sea giggled.

Sombra smiled "I did suggest I do it myself, and dear Celestia, they looked affronted at the suggestion."

She giggled and nudged him gently as they climbed the stairs to the box. "For you, their Crown Prince, its an honor, you know..?"

Sombra flushed at the reminder. "I'm flattered they would do that, but there's no need to fuss because of my sudden title..."

Shining Sea shook her head. "They really do care for you Sombra. So they want to make things easier for you, because you deserve it."

He responded by contentedly nuzzling her mane, which made her smile.

They settled down to watch the rest of the play, Shining Sea ensconced in Sombra's hold, feeling so content.

The Princess waited for her beloved to show up, and cried, heartbroken, when he never arrived. Meanwhile, the young stallion was determined to find his way back to his love, to tell her he loved her. He made his way across the land, form one town to the next. Numerous places tried to make him stay, even a particularly bewitching mare using her magic to make him fall in love with her, failed. The thought of his precious Princess was all that kept him going. Every trial he defeated rewarded him with friends willing to help him cross the wide swathe of land between, and the gratitude of the towns he helped save.

After 3 months, with the upset Princess on the verge of being persuaded to meet a Prince from a neighboring kingdom, another party was thrown at the Pearl Palace. Into this party strode a stallion the King had never seen before. He was dressed in the finest silks, and carried an air of worldly intelligence. The King was intrigued by this mysterious pony, and invited him to meet his wife and daughter. The Princess felt a strange sense of familiarity from this pony, even more so when he asked to dance with her.

The crowd oohed and ahhed as the pair danced a pretty waltz. At the end of the dance, the stranger bowed to the Princess, and removed the fancy hat he wore, throwing aside the fancy cloak and cravat as well, revealing himself to be her lost love!

The Princess of course was delighted, and vowed she wouldn't lose him again. The King was at first furious, then he seen how much joy it bought his daughter. She told her father she loved this pony, and didn't want anypony else.

"I fought my way back here because I love the Princess," the stallion told the King and Queen. "you could separate us time and again, I'll always fight to be by her side."

In the end, the King realized his wife was right, their daughter deserved to be happy, as the Queen was when she met the King.

At last he realized this pony, who had fought his way halfway across the kingdom to reach the Princess, was worthy of his daughters hoof, and agreed to let them marry. The wedding was a stunning affair, and the married couple were given an entire wing of the castle. The fellow ponies that had helped the baker get back to the Princess became the new royal guards, their loyalty an inspiration to future generations.

Shining Sea was crying in delight at the heart-warming ending. The next second her tears were brushed away by a silk handkerchief. Sombra smiled at her and she smiled back. Not a word was spoken, just a sweet little kiss shared as the lights came up, and the cast lined up on stage to take a bow!

Once the applause had finally died down, their hooves aching from clapping, the duo made their way downstairs. they were met by the owner again, who asked what they thought? She looked hopeful, fervently praying the Prince and his pretty companion had enjoyed it!

To her delight the couple had nothing but praise for the show, and this made the owner's night! She hadn't been sure a play would be Prince Sombra's type of thing, but she'd hoped he would attend regardless. So to see him show up and not only that but enjoy the performance was a big honor for her theatre!

"That was wonderful!" Shining Sea eyes were bright as they drove off in the carriage to drop her home "such a sweet story, that he refused to give up on his love!"

"Any mare or stallion would count themselves the luckiest in Equestria to have a love like that." Sombra smiled at her happiness, the way her eyes shone like the jewels in the necklace she wore!

She looked up at him, nuzzling his nose and stating boldly "Then consider yourself!". This made his heart pound faster than ever, seeing the sincerity in her eyes.

"I'm serious..." she murmured, and was rewarded with a kiss that made her nerves feel like they were full of jolts of electricity.

"And for that, I do not think there could be somepony luckier than I am." Sombra said honestly. To find a mare like this one...how could he not think himself lucky? She'd refused to let him see himself as unworthy, back on that wonderful occasion, their first kiss. This whole thing was new territory for him, but he knew what he felt. He wanted to keep her by his side, make her happy, see her smile. He'd work out everything else from there...

He dropped her off back at her house.

"Thank you, for everything..." Shining Sea felt nervous again, the words sounded so inadequate for everything he'd done.

She touched the necklace with her hoof, "Especially for this..."

"It looks beautiful on you, my shining star." he said honestly, making her blush again. That he considered her so special, that she'd been able to make him so happy, it was more then she'd imagined. To be the one he'd chosen, made her so dizzy with delight...

One last, lingering kiss before she reluctantly turned to go inside. this had been the most amazing night ever.

As she was getting ready for bed, she looked again at the stunning antique necklace Sombra had given her. Remembering the explanation behind it, how he'd smiled when he seen her wearing it, she sighed happily. This was more then she'd ever imagined. After her husband's death back when Bright Spark was a filly, she'd convinced herself she'd never feel that way again. She'd been coerced on dates by her friends, but none of those stallions had made her feel that old happiness.

But speaking to Sombra properly that day at the festival, she'd seen something behind those wary red eyes, that'd made her heart jump. And when he'd finally smiled, it lit up his face, bringing an added dimension to his handsome yet lonely face. With every new facet she'd uncovered, the more she'd found herself drawn to him. When he'd babysat Bright Spark that day, when the girls had been teasing her about how she must surely know more then they did, she'd found herself blushing. Was she starting to like him...?

It'd become even more obvious when she'd been so elated to be chosen as his partner for the dance. She'd seen how many mares had been flirting with him all evening, and had tried not to get her hopes up they'd have much time to talk at all. But then he'd appeared out of the crowd, asking her to dance with him....

It was at the end of that dance shed at last realized she was REALLY starting to fall for him. Then Bright Spark had said, in the way a little filly does, that her mother liked seeing him. They'd both looked at each other in the same second. In that one glance she'd seen the same look of nervousness she felt, but also a heart achingly brief look of hope in those deep red eyes...

The chaos with the possessed mare had shaken things up, but with the help of the bouncy maned pink pony, the party had carried on. She'd seen Sombra looking to her, the music of the second dance starting up. She'd been about to accept, then she'd seen the still crying Sweetheart surrounded by her friends, and had hinted to Sombra to give the dance to HER.

As much as she'd wanted to dance so close to him again, she knew Sweetheart from the school board, and knew a chance to dance with Sombra would erase the blame she held against herself for the attack, even thought it wasn't her fault. Sombra would not stand by and see her berate herself, she just knew it...

He'd met her gaze, and nodded. Without a word he'd changed course and headed over to the unhappy pony.

Sure enough, by the time the dance ended, Sweetheart was smiling again, her spirit restored.

Sea had asked Sombra if she could talk privately a moment out in the hall, and he'd readily agreed. There, she'd told him how she knew Sweetheart, how grateful she was that he'd cheered her up like that. Then he'd surprised her by seemingly being unable to figure out how the creature had manipulated Sweetheart. How that guard had attacked him because the possessing creature had focused on its animosity to Sombra, but he hadn't sensed the same feelings from Sweetheart?

She told him it was because Sweetheart, like many mares at the dance, had a crush on him. He'd turned slightly red, spluttering about how he didn't think that was the case, surely it was just a matter of the allure of the title, why would they think that-?

He'd trailed off, regarding his own reflection was a sullen acceptance, as if he knew what it would forever bring him. Her heart had ached, hating to see such self-disgust in a pony who'd grown so much from a dark past. She'd told him not to think about himself that way, she wouldn't hear of it!

He turned to look at her, and he was so close, the way the light caught his eyes... She'd looked back, hoping he could see the sincerity in her face, she meant every word.

That was when he'd seemingly come to a decision, and had surprised her with a kiss.

Her heart had been pounding so loudly she was sure she'd go deaf. This was more then she'd ever dared dream. To be his friend, maybe, but more? She'd never considered he would see her like that, although she would not deny she'd hoped for it.

She'd been speechless from a mix of surprise and happiness, which the bewildered Sombra had mistaken for shock. He'd apologized, and would've fled if she hadn't reacted. She'd grabbed his collar in a fit of fearlessness it'd felt like, and had cut off his protests and apologies by gathering her courage to kiss him in return.

It'd felt doubly amazing second time around, even more real somehow. This wasn't a dream, this was true...

He'd been stunned into silence it seemed, apparently surprised he hadn't been reprimanded as he was seemingly expecting. She told not to think about himself that way a second time, and a few more gentle kisses had happened, Sombra's confidence taking more tentative steps with every one that'd occurred.

Sadly, it hadn't been long after these smooches that they'd heard Bright Spark calling for her mommy. They'd both blushed, the look they exchanged saying they didn’t know how to broach the subject with little Bright Spark just yet. Not when they’d only just settled their own feelings for each other...

But the problem had been settled a short while later. She'd dropped by with Bright Spark to see Sombra, her daughter was missing her royal friend. She wasn't the only one...

She and Bright Spark had been shown out to the gardens by Sombra, who showed them the statue of his father his friends in the castle had made as a memorial for the past King. Bright Spark had gone to play in the gardens, while she and Sombra talked. He'd told her funny tales of his foster father, King Cloudspark. In the midst of their laughter, they'd ended up close once more, with Sombra's foreleg curved around her, allowing her to rest against his him. She'd heard the beat of his heart as her head rested against his chest. Watching the way the light reflected in those deep red eyes, the way his ever shifting black mane ebbed and flowed, the softness of his coat.

A kiss that would've made her knees go wobbly if she hadn't been sitting down had followed, and they'd shared a contented smile...

Then Bright Spark, in one of her more stealthy moments, suddenly popped back into view and gawked at them. They'd both silently panicked, this was awkward...

But Bright Spark had just grinned and tackled them both, looking extremely happy. When she'd asked her daughter was she OK with it, Bright Spark had nodded, and pretty much said she felt her mommy and her precious Sombra belonged together. Sea had hugged her daughter, and told both her and Sombra how lucky she was to have the both of them.

When they got home, Bright Spark had let slip she'd seen a floating heart bubble when shed seen the two of them cozied up together. Sea was confused, wondering where that'd come from? It hadn't been Sombra, she hadn't sensed his magic flaring up.

It was a mystery...

Sombra leant back against the inside of the private carriage and allowed himself to blush just a little. That had gone far better than expected, even if an attack had interrupted the ride to the theatre. Sea had loved the necklace. How pretty it'd looked draped around her slender neck, its jewels as beautiful as her crystalline coat. How she'd smiled when he told her he wasn't going to give her up for anypony. It may have sounded cliche to some, but he'd meant it. He had grown up in an age where such declarations weren't unusual, where love was something you fought to protect. At least, that's what his father had believed in anyway. Back then Sombra had been too hurt, too distrustful to absorb these lessons, but here and now, with his memories returned, he was determined to follow his fathers lessons.

On the way back to seas home, they'd started discussing the story of the play. He'd commented any pony that found a love like the couple in the play would be the luckiest in Equestria, surely. She'd smiled so happily, then told him very firmly that he should consider himself one of them. He'd been struck by the honesty behind her words, the kindness in her eyes that backed it up. He'd kissed her then, unable to find the words right that second.

It felt strange to be saying such things, but they felt right, an instinct he'd only recently begun to explore. But he knew without a doubt that the world had grown even brighter since that first kiss at the ball. He wasn't alone, not in any sense. He had the memories of his adopted father, the elements of harmony, Prince and Princesses, and now he had a mare with a heart of gold. Who was adamant he was just the same as any other pony. His appearance and startling magic meant nothing new to her. She just seen HIM, as he was. The idea of this had frightened him at first. Despite his exhaustion after the party, he'd lain awake a while, mulling the evening over.

He'd been on edge leading up to the ball, insistent this was a bad idea. So many pony's, so many bigwig names and groups all in one place. He'd be a sitting duck..

He could swear his heart had stopped when he'd walked in alongside Celestia and the others. He'd felt her wing ever so subtly tap his side, reminding him he wasn't alone. But he needn't have worried it seemed. The whooping and hollering that'd accompanied his arrival, after a seconds silent gawping at this pony they'd rarely gotten to see, had been near deafening.

He'd stood stock still, the loud hammering of his relieved heart drowning out the noise at first, but Luna later told him they'd been calling his name. This matched up with the hooves waving at him, bright, glimmering eyes staring at HIM. NO traces of the anger he'd seen those early days, just an honest happiness. There'd been no shortage of ponies wanting to talk to him. From shop owners to local residents, to those he'd helped build stalls for at the kids festival.

One had been the principal of the school, she'd heartily thanked him once more, and even asked would he open a future festival for the school? Surprised, he'd agreed, and she'd smiled so delightedly.

The ponies had so much they wanted to say. Curiosity and praise, gratitude and delight. He'd been a little baffled by how many fancily dressed mares always seemed to be there to greet him or ask a quick question every time he turned around.

At one point he'd seen miss Applejack showing Bright Spark how to line dance, and it'd honestly made him smile so much. To see his little supporter coming out of her shell so much with every new occasion he seen her! He'd turned back to continue on his path, and spotted a couple of mares studying him, both slightly red. He realized now, they...

...He still couldn't fathom it. But Shining Sea had pointed out many of the ladies there seen what she had. A kind, handsome pony. One they were interested in. He believed her, but still couldn't quite wrap his mind around it. It hadn't seemed important through most of his life. Survival and madness had made up a large portion of it!

All he'd understood was he felt safe around Shining Sea. She was so easy to talk to, he could see where Bright Spark had gotten her kind-hearted bubbly personality from. Sea was honest, no matter how fancy she dressed, she still spoke to him in that same down to earth way, with an honesty that eased his nerves.

He was brought out of his reverie by the driver announcing they were at the palace. He hopped out, the carriage driving off to be parked in the specialized area for the palace's transport.

He greeted the guards at the door, who responded in kind with swift salutes, and he walked inside. And met an instance where he couldn't resist channelling his fathers smart-ass spirit.

Standing partway down the hall was a white unicorn with blonde mane and tail, wearing a white silk tux. He was complaining and acting, to Sombra's mind anyway, like a spoilt brat.

"I simply DON'T understand why auntie keeps him around! Its madness! A big terrifying brute like THAT, lives HERE?!"

Of all the co-incidental occasions to walk in on, Sombra had arrived home just as this pony had begun complaining about the fact the carriage that picked him up last time had been out, at the request of Sombra.

Standing in front of the ranting unicorn was a very stressed out servant. He glanced past this pony and seen Sombra. He was about to open his mouth and suggest the visitor stay his mouth, but Sombra shook his head, and winkled slyly at him.

The servant fell silent, and returned his expression to a careful neutral. Luckily the snooty visitor hadn't even noticed, so far in the air was his nose, metaphorically speaking. Sombra crept up and softly as he could until he was RIGHT behind this pony, then leant in and said calmly:

"Boo."

The result was hilarious. Sombra literally jumped back as the pony let out a startled shriek and a wail, blundering round to see who'd scared him-

"YOU!!!" the unicorn babbled, eyes wide as saucers. "you, you-?!"

"Yes, me. Glad to see were getting that far already." Sombra said with that same air of utter calm.

"How...how dare you-?!" the pony raged.

"Well, you seemed so intent on labelling me a scary monster I thought I'd indulge your assumptions," Sombra wasn't even fazed. He'd faced far worse then a snooty little brat after all! In fact, this guy kind of reminded him of a far more whiny Scrollwork. He had to suppress a laugh as the "moosen" memory popped into his head. Oh, that'd been priceless...

"Do you know who I am?!" the pony blurted.

"Should I?" Sombra asked.

"More so than anypony should acknowledge the likes of YOU!" the pony spat. The servant paled, what was this loon playing at?

"I am Prince Blueblood!" The pony stamped his hoof and glare arrogantly at Sombra. "how can you not know who I am?"

"Try he fact I only just got my OWN memories back recently and you'll have to realize I've had some pressing issues to deal with." Sombra responded.

"You-"

"Blueblood!" a voice called out. Blueblood turned and shot Sombra a smug smirk before calling out "Auntie!"

It was Celestia. She greeted Blueblood with a smile and a hug, then walked over to where Sombra stood.

"How was the theatre performance?" she asked Sombra.

"It was fascinating! Father spoke of stage plays, but I'd never seen one before. The detail and effort they put into it was astounding!"

Celestia nodded eagerly "I went to see one last year, it was beautiful, I'm hoping Luna and I will have time to go see the one you attended before it wraps up!"

Blueblood was gawking wordlessly at the two, baffled by how easily Celestia was chatting to that brutish stallion. Deep down he was scared of Sombra, the stallion was taller and stockier then he was, and he knew he'd lose if he picked a fight. He'd hoped his Auntie would take his side, but instead she was talking to Sombra as if he was a friend!

"Auntie!" he said petulantly.

"What's the matter Blueblood?" she asked, frowning in confusion. Blueblood, lost for words again, looked between Celestia and Sombra, hoping his expression conveyed it. Celestia seemed to catch on, because she asked Sombra to wait a moment, and steered Blueblood away to one side.

"Why is he here Auntie?" Blueblood protested "you told me he was a monster!"

"And I was WRONG," Celestia said sternly, surprising him, "what happened back than was the result of a very painful upbringing. You've been fortunate, you've never had to want for anything, have you my dear?"

Blueblood faltered. It was true his auntie Celestia had paid for and gifted him with much of what he wanted.

"Well, no Auntie.." he said. Celestia smiled softly, but there was also a sadness in her eyes. Blueblood followed her gaze to where Sombra was now talking to the servant Blueblood had been berating on his rather late arrival. The servant was smiling, unafraid of the big pony.

"Its not my place to tell his story, if you wished to know, you'd have to ask him. But I will say this; after my sister and I learnt everything he'd been through, the pain he'd endured right from his youth, we were able to understand how things ended up as they did."

"Where did he come from?" Blueblood asked at last. "he's not native to here is he?"

"No, he came from a Shyre horse settlement, even further into the wastes."

"What's a Shyre horse?" Blueblood asked, he had never heard of such a thing.

"You'll have to ask him yourself, he knows more about them then I do..." Celestia said firmly "I can see you don't like him being here, but the past has been forgotten now, and forgiven. Not just by us at the palace, but the citizens of the empire as well. They care about him, want him to stay. And no doubt your wondering about his title?"

"I thought he'd been disposed-"

"In that instance, yes. But see that band around his leg?" Celestia gestured at the ornate jeweled band around Sombra's leg. "that belonged to the empires former King, Cloudspark. He adopted Sombra in the hopes he could fix the damage an abusive upbringing had caused. When the incidents of the past occurred, he hid that band away, stating that if Sombra ever came to his senses and returned to the child he'd adopted, he still had a place here."

"CHILD?!" Blueblood gave her a funny look, some of his boisterous snarky self returning. "he's at least an adult!"

"Again, its a painful story. One he has had to face time and again since coming here. Ask him if you must, but respect the fact he may not want to retell that tale once more!"

"What's that thing up there after?"

"It wants our whole world, starting with the empire. Were it not for Sombra's hard work, we would not be here now, I feel it. That is why we restored him here in this time. And he has proved very valuable, able to see more than any of us can, including the weakness of the tear's inhabitants."

Blueblood nodded, and Celestia brought him back over to where Sombra was talking to the servant. He gave Celestia a smile as she approached.

"My apologies for the intrusion when you two were talking," Celestia beamed "I had wished to impart a few facts about that thing up there first, and how you fit into all this."

"Those things have magic?" Blueblood blurted the first thing on his mind. Celestia nodded to Sombra, who spoke.

"Its not the same as the magic you posses, it is in fact closer in substance to dark magic."

"Like..." Blueblood said, some trace of distaste in his voice.

"Like mine, YES."

This shut Blueblood up.

Sombra bid them goodnight and set off for the room he was staying in.

Blueblood said nothing, confused.

The next morning he met somepony he recognized. Rarity. She'd hung around with him at the galloping gala, but had realized he was an arrogant pompous brat, and had been happy to be rid of him!

She was as friendly as she felt she had to be, but still felt the urge to kick him up the backside. Blueblood was confused, how did she not like him? Hadn't he paid attention to her that last time, despite the fact she'd gotten him splattered in cake!

His mood worsened when she entered the dining room ahead of him, and spotted Sombra. She ran over with a cry of, "The theatre, darling, how was it?"

--Ugh, why do they all like him so much?!-- he fumed. He kept his aunt's words in mind and didn't say anything rude to Sombra. He didn't say a word at ALL to him, even when the stallion attempted to speak with him, he pulled off what he thought was a flawless "sorry, I wasn't paying attention" move. Naturally everypony seen through it. Rainbow Dash shot a foul look at him that he managed to miss.

Pinkie Pie was lining up a water balloon in a slingshot, and would've fired had Applejack not advised her against it, no matter how tempting it was!

Reluctantly, Twilight Sparkle and the others decided they may as well show Blueblood around the empire, seeing as he was Celestia's nephew and all.

Blueblood was so busy walking with his nose in the air and ignoring Sombra, he didn't notice he was heading right for a massive puddle, created by a shop owner hosing down the outside of his shop. Sombra seen him about to slip on it and swiftly lifted him off the floor with his magic. Blueblood opened his eyes, seen what was happening and freaked out. Seeing Sombra was the one holding him, he freaked out even more;

"Put me down you-" he kicked and flailed, making it hard for Sombra to keep a hold of him.

"Stop...squirming.." the taller stallion muttered.

Blueblood carried on complaining as Sombra set him down on the opposite side of the puddle, and strode off whining;

"I don't want THAT type of magic touching me! Ugh, dark magic is just horrendous, no WONDER you-"

"Should have just dropped him." Sombra muttered, deadpan. Applejack sniggered and nodded in agreement.

"What did I EVER see in him?" Rarity shuddered.

"Beats me!" Pinkie Pie patted her back comfortingly. "but who cares, you ditched him anyway!"

"He's mean..." Fluttershy said softly as she trotted alongside Sombra. "he shouldn't have said those things about you-"

But Sombra just chuckled. "It's fine, miss Fluttershy. After everything I've seen, a whiny little kid with an attitude problem barely registers!"

They caught up to Blueblood, who hadn't even noticed them glowering at him after the assistance.

They strode into the market, and to Blueblood's delight, there was a series of happy cries, and the sound of hoof steps.

--They cant resist my good looks!-- he smirked, opening his eyes, only to realize they weren't crowding around HIM, the majority were crowding around SOMBRA. They were asking questions, and smiling with glee when he smiled and answered them. Twilight Sparkle too, had her fair share of happy greetings.

"Ooh, who're you?" a little kid asked, bringing focus back to Blueblood before had had a massive tantrum. The crowd, curious about a new face, turned to him NOW, but he was still fuming over Sombra being the centre of attention.

Sombra made a note to ask Celestia how she dealt with Blueblood's behavior half the time, as they trekked all over the Empire, showing the snooty Prince the sights. His interest was briefly sparked by Rarity showing him the empire's best shops. But shopping for new tuxes could only distract him for so long, and by the time they finished the tour and stopped for lunch at the fanciest restaurant in the Empire, he was back to whining.

Throughout lunch, he mostly talked about himself, and bits about Canterlot. Not even hearing about a royal party made Pinkie Pie perk up, she still looked like she wanted to brain him between the eyes with a water balloon (three of which were stuffed into her saddlebag, to Rainbow Dash's amusement).

They got back to the palace, where one of the royal guard approached Sombra with the latest statics. Blueblood was further irritated by the way the guard saluted Sombra like he was somepony special.

--How are they not seeing through him??-- he raged --no way he's any better then he used to be, he's even fooled Auntie..--

He spent the rest of the afternoon with his beloved aunt, spirits buoyed by her asking him how things had been going for him in her absence! She didn't bring up Sombra, which was a relief, he didn't like to think about him...

Dinnertime and he once again chose to ignore Sombra as much as he could, whilst flirting with Rarity, who didn't react at all.

He was appalled to nearly be run over in the hall by three dirt coated fillies wearing capes. They grinned at him, hollering greetings as they vanished out of sight.

The next day he declared he was going for a drive and stalked out of the dining hall. Pinkie Pie let out a theatrical sigh of relief, to which Applejack added "nailed it on the head there hon".

The same servant Blueblood had yelled at the last time said he needed to take a guard with him, it was Prince Sombra's orders-

"Hmph! I don't need HIS advice, that smug know it all!" Blueblood dismissed the timid servants attempts to summon a guard and stalked away, commandeering a carriage as he did. He wanted to go into town in style, as was befitting his station!

Not long after, Sombra came down the main stairwell, and the fretting servant raced over, telling him what'd happened. Sombra groaned, face hoofing in despair.

"Princess Celestia warned me he was a stubborn little fool, but I underestimated her phrasing. Didn't you tell him about the attacks on outsiders?"

"I tried sire-" the servant babble, "but he simply refused to listen, even when I said you'd given instruction to the royal guard-"

"There's the issue," Sombra sighed. "he's taken offense my even being here, his nose is all out of joint. He wont listen to any advice *I* can give."

He sighed "well, I'm going out on patrol."

"By yourself, sire?"

"Do not worry, I'll be fine..." Sombra smiled. The servant nodded. Sombra told him not to worry about Blueblood, then strode outside.

The shadow slipped from one shadow to the next, unable to detect Sombra, it was on the lookout for something to drain. Imagine its delight when it sensed yet ANOTHER outside magic. It slid closer, eyes fixed on the carriage as it rumbled slowly by. Closer now it could hear the occupant griping about the crowded streets.

The driver turned to call into the carriage that he was trying his best, and the creature struck. it barreled down, knocking the guard flying and grabbing the reins with its teeth. The ponies pulling the carriage tried to free themselves, but after making that mistake the previous night, it used some of its core power to enact the same spell it'd used at the ball. The ponies eyes went dull, and they took off, dragging the carriage haphazardly through the crowds, who scattered, screaming.

Guards flew up from various hidden places in the crowds and buildings, but as had often been the case, the main leader's helpers revealed their positions too, heading them off before they could catch up to the carriage, which quickly vanished down a side street.

Blueblood, needless to say, was not happy about this. He stuck his head out the window, demanding the driver cease this madness. His words died in his throat when he was greeted by the terrifying visage of one of those creatures He screamed for his Auntie, but she couldn't help him.

Luckily though, the best pony for the task wasn't far away.

As a rule, Sombra generally stuck to the central area, there was no shortage of targets there after all, and a panicked crowd could provide easy feeding opportunities to those things. The guards had nicknamed these attacks the "dive and drain" assaults.

He heard screaming, felt a familiar pang in his head as the attacker dropped whatever facade it'd been shielding itself behind. He raced into the street, and seen the guards battling the creatures. He teleported over, all set to kick their asses-

"Sire!" one guard said, seeing the creatures hissing angrily at Sombra, "you have go after that carriage, that's what it was after!"

Sombra nodded, and fired off what was essentially a smokescreen, blinding the attacking creatures, before he raced away, settling into a familiar routine. Discard everything else he was sensing, find the main signal...

A grin curved along his mouth as he picked up on its scent. The two creatures the guards were fighting tried to head after him, but the royal guard weren't letting them away so easily!

Blueblood screamed in sheer fright as the horrific creature ripped the carriage door clean off. He briefly surprised it by having the wherewithal to throw the blanket from the seat at its head, temporarily blinding it. He pushed it out of the way, and tried to make a run for it. But the fiend had parked the carriage in such a way that he was trapped in an alleyway. He backed up against the wall, glancing at the ponies pulling the carriage.

"What're you standing there for?!" He panicked. "help me!!"

"They can't help you now, you have information I want little fool..." the shadow laughed at Blueblood's pathetic threats.

"Ewww, you smell foul!! Don't come near me, I just washed!" Blueblood shrank back as far as he could. The creatures mocking laugh rang in his ears as it advanced.

"He's got a point you know...Your methods DO stink something rotten.." a voice butted in.

Caught off guard after show boating yet again, the creature turned to locate the voices owner. Both he and Blueblood stared, one in anger the other in mild shock, at a shadow that was clinging to the wall several meters above them. It was shaped like a pony, but its shape shifted and flowed subtly. Red eyes glinting in amusement fixed on the pair.

"You!" the creature hissed. It shut its eyes, and halfway down the alley a drain cover shot up with a loud clang, and more of its ilk shot out, eyes fixed on Sombra.

"Bring it!" the shadow Sombra laughed. He leapt for the two, feinting as if to go for the left one-

They grinned, the left charging head on, the right shooting round so Sombra was caught between their trajectories. Sombra smiled softly. He allowed the first one to grab him, wincing as its teeth dug into his neck. He cried out, but although the pain was real, his fear was not. he felt the other one grab his right foreleg and twist it backwards-

Good. he had them both.

He closed his eyes, suddenly glowing a brilliant purple-

The main one, attempting to drain Blueblood, was stopped by the twin screams of its two fellows creatures. It hissed furiously, its teeth inches from Blueblood's face, scanning for the impudent shadow Prince- and seeing only the smoke in the air from the destruction of its fellows.

Blueblood yelped as he was suddenly whisked away by the red eyed shadow, and dumped several metres away. The shadow landed in front, between him and the shadowy creature. Were they fighting over who got to eat him? What was going on?!

"So you slipped my guard, did you...?" it hissed.

"Easy," the red eyed shadow laughed. "now let's deal with you!"

With a flash he changed to his normal form. Blueblood's jaw dropped as he regarded the Sombra stood in front of him now. When he'd first seen him, the stallion had been dressed to the nines in a fancy tux, mane done in some posh style. He'd looked intimidating, but not too fierce. Now, he was wearing a heavy duty cloak, and golden armored shoes and crown.

Simply put, he looked like somepony you didn't want to mess with.

Sombra looked at Blueblood. "You hurt?" he asked. Blueblood shook his head

"Good," Sombra said. With a pop, a bubble of magic wrapped around the shocked Blueblood, "stay there, i'll stop them!"

"What do you mean THEM-eek!"

Blueblood now saw the possessed guards were honing in on Sombra, the unicorns charging their magic.

Sombra scowled, this narrow alleyway as a tough place to fight, he couldn't maneuver as much.

The creature laughed, seeing his decision. It transformed into a black cloud and dove for Sombra, same time as the two out of four possessed ponies that were unicorns fired their magic. Sombra's eyes snapped open, and he grinned. He summoned the deadly looking scythe, but didn't use it in the way they expected. He swung it in time to deflect the spells aimed at him, then let the scythe fall and dove for the controller.

It hit Sombra, its speed driving HIM back into the ground, but he didn't care. Its hoof stamped down on his mane, as its sharp teeth tore at his ear. He felt the searing agony and nearly lost focus. Then he recalled what he was here to do. He closed his eyes, feeling its teeth pressing into his neck...

FWOMPF. He changed his mane and tail to fire. It was getting easier with every time he used it, to summon his flame..

The hoof pinning his mane caught fire, and the flames spread rapidly. The creature screamed in fury, thrashing about trying to put out the flames. Sombra shifted one hind leg under its body, right under its core. With a savage kick he sent it flying back, right into the wall. Luck was with him as the impact, coupled with the force behind the kick shattered the core. It exploded, leaving a sizable hole in the wall. Sombra shut his eyes a moment, that'd been close. Such a cramped place did not make fighting easier for a pony of his stature.

Blueblood watched all this in shock, seeing the scythe stab into the paving. the weapon looked deadly, its edge glowing purple. Deterred, the possessed ponies had turned on his shield now, hammering away at it with their magic and hooves.

Then they all froze, surrounded by a faint dark purple aura. Then they just...collapsed.

"W-what...what's happening?!" Blueblood wailed. He looked past them to-

Sombra. the bigger pony was on his hooves once more, the bright glow of his dark magic highlighting sharp red eyes. Blueblood seen a shadow lift away from each possessed pony.

"What is that?" he stammered out.

"The spell used to possess them. They didn't mean any of their actions." Sombra gathered the spells together in one lump. It looked like a toxic black smoke.

"What're you going to do?" Blueblood squeaked. It popped into his head that Sombra had him trapped in this shield and he had a nasty spell in his control. What if he wanted revenge for Blueblood snubbing him the other night?!

But Sombra didn't see any of this reflected on Blueblood's face. Instead he focused on doing what he always did with these spells.

Blueblood yelped in fright as Sombra absorbed the entire spell. Was he crazy?! What if it turned him into something?

But although the same aura briefly appeared around Sombra's body, it soon dissolved and vanished. Sombra's expression was one of intense concentration, what was he doing?!

Then the bigger pony suddenly seemed to lose consciousness, and crumpled to the ground. The shield he'd been powering around Blueblood disappeared with a ping.

"Hay!" Blueblood panicked, what was he supposed to do?! "You have to wake up, what if more come back--?! Wake up-"

He was shaking Sombra by this point, and was relieved when Sombra stirred, coughed heavily, and sat up. He sat there a moment, not speaking, head bowed slightly, just breathing deeply.

"What did you DO?! are you crazy?!" Blueblood, unsettled by Sombra's silence, babbled on. "That thing-" he stopped as he seen blood droplets pattering to the ground.

Following them up he seen the bleeding cut on Sombra's left ear. The crimson fluid was soaking into his coat, it looked painful.

"Uuggh..." one of the guards pulling the carriage sat up, and Sombra walked over to him.

"You OK?" he asked.

"What happened, sire-?"

"No need for concern, it was just a possession attempt, you'll feel fine in a few minutes."

"Thank you sire," the guard said gratefully. "we're all lucky YOU came along-"

"UGH, I HAVE HAD IT!" Blueblood yelled. Both ponies jumped slightly, looking over at him.

Blueblood was in full meltdown mode, he didn't care he was making a fool of himself;

"Why is every pony in this blasted place so obsessed with YOU!" He jabbed a hoof at Sombra "I've read history books, I know who YOU are! You terrorized this place, and Auntie finally got rid of you. Now she wakes you back up because your foul magic can help figure out those creepy things a little bit? Well I'M not buying this act of yours! Leopards don't change their spots!!"

"You-" the guard took a step forward, furious that Blueblood was insulting Sombra in this manner. But he was surprised when Sombra raised a hoof to stop him from advancing on the younger Prince.

"Sire?!" He asked, frankly baffled.

"Let me, things won't change if he doesn't hear it from me directly."

He drew himself up to his full height, and strode over to Blueblood. Who, now that the guard wasn't looking about to jump to HIS defense, was feeling a little scared.

"Listen to me, and listen well," Sombra's sharp red eyes bored into him "I'm through entertaining your childishness. You think, after everything I've fought for to this day since my awakening, everything I've LEARNT, that a simple dislike of me is going to call a halt to my plans, then you are as foolish as you appear selfish!"

"How d-"

"NO." Sombra cut him off. "not a word out of you. It's time you faced up this. You ask how dare I? Simple, because out of the two of us, it seems only I have learnt a dose of humility!"

Blueblood squeaked, all bluster gone now. Sombra wasn't backing down, wasn't being swayed by his attempts at throwing his weight around.

"I was the same as you are, stubborn, determined to look down on everypony on returning here. It was humiliating back then, with my head stuck in the past, to come back here with little of my former power, or even my title. I thought of everypony as just pawns, and cared not for their attempts to help me. Until a little FILLY gave me a chance. She figured even a monster deserved a friend. She was a spark that would eventually start a fire, with the help of Princess Twilight Sparkle and the others. I frankly didn't care at that time if I ran myself into the ground, if I was killing myself with all the fighting I was doing, with little sleep, nightmares making me sicken with every night.

But THEY cared. They stepped in when I was on the verge of giving up altogether. They're the reason things changed. The Reason I changed. If all of them could see something good, if Shining Armor could forget the events of the takeover last time, and still offer to be a friend to me, that who was I to fight them? The one not seeing it was ME. After a lifetime of believing I WAS a monster, the kindness of the ponies here felt alien, strange. For the longest time possible I couldn't believe them, was convinced they'd turn on me once they lost interest. But gradually they got through to me, made me realize what I was missing, and what I had to do to get it!"

Blueblood was silenced, so was the guard. Few of them had heard Sombra speak so much about his adjustment to his new life, so to hear how much he'd had to fight through, how he'd honestly tried to destroy himself so set was he in thinking he was just a throwaway savior to them, it was captivating.

Blueblood was surprised to actually see a look of sadness and pain in Sombra's eyes as the pony seemed to gaze past him, into the murky past.

"Yes, I made a major mistake, many of them in fact. I hid behind the fact my memories were damaged when I woke up here, I couldn't recall what I'd done to this place. After the nightmares of my own upbringing came back to hound me every night, I didn't think I could cope seeing I all again. That if the memories came back, id lose everything that'd changed, I'd slip back into what I once was. But you know what?" Determination lit his eyes once more and he returned his fierce glare on Blueblood.

Blueblood gaped soundlessly up at him, unable to say a word.

"I was wrong. Part of the pain hounding me was my own guilt over never facing up to what I'd done. The pain only gets worse the more you try to repress it. I didn't think I could face it alone, but I didn't HAVE TO. Princesses Luna and Twilight Sparkle, and all the others, they helped piece the good memories back together, but still leaving the old ones there for me to see. But they weren't taking over my mind the way I feared. I could see them as if they were merely a play being directed on a distant stage.

It's thanks to those memories I was able to find some of my fathers possessions, and realize that if he, and everypony in the Empire could trust the duty of being their Crown Prince to me;" indicating the leg band "than refusing to trust them was insulting to everything they'd done. I owe it to all of them, to match up to what they see and believe of me. Do you understand now, why I wont let your hatred of me make a difference? You can choose to despise me if you so wish, but I'm telling you here and now I won't let it stand between me and doing my JOB. I still have a lot to learn, but I'm going to do everything i can."

Blueblood tried to speak, but was drowned out by multiple voices cheering. He gawked past Sombra to where the rest of the guards pulling the carriage had woken up and were stamping their hooves and yelling in support of everything they'd just heard. Sombra blinked, he hadn't expected all of them to wake up so fast. Whoops. But their responses still made him smile, along with a sense of relief they'd understood.

"Lets get out of here..." Sombra said to them. They nodded happily up at him, and Blueblood seen how genuinely pleased they were to see him, to serve him.

He didn't say a word as they ushered him back into the carriage. He noted absently that Sombra opted to walk alongside them, and he studied the Prince from the carriage window. The way he walked, the way he spoke, he truly WAS a Prince. When he'd asked his auntie Celestia as a foal what it was like to be royalty, she'd said something he'd forgotten about as he'd grown older, grown more pampered and spoilt; "A royal's job is to inspire others to stand by them, not force them to get in line behind them."

They drove back to the palace, where Celestia was told what'd happened. She came haring down, and on spotting Sombra talking to one of the staff she fixed her eyes on Blueblood, who looked on the verge of tears.

"Let's have some tea, we can talk about it." she said soothingly. He sniffled, nodded silently, and she told him she was just going to speak to Sombra briefly, and she'd be right there.

"Ah, Princess..." He turned to look at her as she walked over.

"I've been meaning to bring this up for a while," she chuckled. "you don't have to keep referring to us all as Princess, or Prince in Shining Armor's case. Dear Twilight has been the same. You're both a part of the royal family too and-!" she stopped.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that? Am I semi transparent again?" Sombra took a glance at himself just to check.

"NO, its not that.." Celestia reached a hoof up and nudged his mane aside. The cut on his ear had been bleeding into his coat under the metal of the crown, partly hidden by his flowing mane.

"You're bleeding," she informed him, focusing her magic to do as she'd done before, and speed the healing up.

"Oh, right... I'd forgotten about that," he winced briefly as she healed it. "one of those things bit me.."

"Get to the doctor, well, you know the drill better then most." she said ruefully. He nodded, he needed a dose of that tea to help prevent any further sickness.

Once she was sure he was OK, and he'd given her all the relavent information, she left for the tea room and a still silent Blueblood.

"Tell me about it..." she said kindly to him. And got a shock when he burst out crying all of a sudden.

He blurted out the whole story of the attack, and Sombra's subsequent rescue of him.

"Then he... He said a lot of things auntie, you were right about him..."

"Yes, he did say he took a pop at you," Celestia remarked "he wished me to convey his apologies if he scared you, but he felt it was important you learn the other side of the story."

Blueblood nodded, sniffled. "He's...really their Prince isn't he aunty?"

She smiled, and nodded. "They care about him, and rejoiced when he finally agreed to a formal coronation. For the longest time I feared he would never accept anypony's kindness or friendship. Given what he'd been put through, it was understandably hard for him to accept that he could have such things..."

Blueblood looked up at her, seeing how honestly she spoke about Sombra, he was curious;

"Did somepony really hurt him when he was little?"

She nodded sadly "Again, it is up to him to decide who knows that story. Frankly, I think it's best you don't bring it up, he considers all of us here and now to be his family, and he's happy."

"I was rude to him..." Blueblood mumbled into his tea, "they all really trust him..."

"Try to get along with him," Celestia said softly "I know you're unnerved by him, but a lot has happened since this fight began, you have a lot to catch up on..."

On his way back to his rooms for some sleep, Blueblood ran into Sombra again. He'd removed the armor but kept the cloak. Only now did Blueblood notice the mini crystal heart pin.

"Feeling better?" Sombra asked casually. Blueblood nodded, but as Sombra walked past him, he decided to take his aunts advice and not be ungrateful.

He cleared his throat, coughed, then, in the most posh manner possible, he blurted a thank you and shot off.

Left behind in the hall, Sombra chuckled to himself. That'd been amusing.

Sombra fell fast asleep that night, revisiting memories of the evening with Sea. When he woke up the next morning, he wondered how he was supposed to top that? Making a mental note to ask Rarity he strode down the hall towards the dining room.

Seemingly out of nowhere, a pain so severe it nearly made him black out, hit him like a hammer.

Hearing a strangled gasp of pain, the two nearest guards ran over to the Prince.

"Your highness, what is it?" one asked.

"It's... something very wrong..." Sombra gasped out, barely able to think. As the guards tried to puzzle out what he meant, he abruptly collapsed to the carpet. At the same time the sun suddenly vanished and the world went pitch black...

"What happened?"

"We don't know miss, he just...collapsed!" Sombra heard voices talking beside him. Uttering a pained groan, he weakly raised his eyes, waiting until the room stopped spinning before trying to talk.

"What's..?" he asked.

"Oh, sugarcube!" Applejack peered at him. "you OK? These fellas are saying ya just outta nowhere passed out."

"Y-yes I... My head..." Sombra winced. "It hurt so suddenly, it was too much..."

He noticed that the lights weren't on, and it was dark outside, a strange, thick darkness. He was surrounded by the whole six elements, CMC, and Shining and Cadance.

"What's going on?" he said hurriedly, getting to his hooves with a further wince "why is the sky dark?"

"I don't know..." Twilight Sparkle said "we just heard the guards panicking over you collapsing, then everything went dark. There was some kind of pulse too, most of the lights don't work, that's why we're using candles!"

Sombra's heart sank as he looked out the window.

"It's them..." he said, heart twisting. He could feel something else... sensations of fear, panic, pain. "those things are draining them under the cover of darkness!"

"WHAT?!" Rarity screeched.

"But we cant get out there, that darkness, it ain't natural..." Applejack said.

"We tried!" Rainbow Dash added. "you cant fly in that!"

Rarity looked out the window too, then spotted a spider web inches from her nose.

"Web!" she screeched, backpedalling. "not in MY mane!"

While they'd been talking, Sombra had been staring worriedly out the window. When Applejack and Rarity's words sank in, a spark seemed to ignite behind his eyes, and he muttered. "that's it-!"

He turned round so fast he nearly tripped over Pinkie Pie, who'd been sneaking up on him. With a yelp, he quickly teleported himself ahead of her, back on his feet. Pinkie Pie didn't even seem startled, merely spinning like a corkscrew so she faced him once more.

"What's up!" she declared.

"What you were saying miss Applejack!" he blurted. "its an unnatural darkness...so what about an unnatural LIGHT?"

"You've lost me sugarcube." Applejack said after a beat.

"Trust me-" Sombra took off before he was even done talking, the rest of his sentence lost somewhat to distance as he ran down the hall "-I'm doing!"

"Is he always like that?" Applebloom asked her sister.

"He can get pretty caught up with whatever is going through his mind..." Applejack replied. But after shared glances, the whole group took off after Sombra.

Sombra ran all the way up to the tower at the top of the palace, where Luna kept watch over the night with her goggles. She was up there, looking cross and sleepy at the same time, trying in vain to make her moon appear. Celestia was with her, and they alternated between trying their respective celestial duties, but neither sun nor moon came up!

"Princesses-!" Sombra blurted as he skidded onto the tower floor.

"Sombra?" Luna blinked, then spotted the look on his face, "hast thou a plan?"

Sombra nodded. Both Princesses scooted back to give him a clear line of sight if he needed it.

Sombra closed his eyes. Rapid like pen strokes, spell lines wrote themselves into the ground around him. He undid the crystal heart pin from his cloak, floating it in front of him. He stared at the minute gem a moment before closing his eyes and finishing the spell. Purple lightning crackled around the outer edges of the circle.

Pinkie Pie disappeared and reappeared wearing a hard hat in matching baby pink. About two seconds after, everypony, Princesses included, was somehow wearing them.

"Ooh.." Luna rapped herself on the head to hear the thunk of the helmet against her hoof and chuckled softly.

There was a thunderclap that made the CMC collectively jump and duck behind their sisters tails. But they soon lost that fear when they seen what it'd been about.

"Oooh..." Sweetie Belle trotted out from behind Rarity to look up at what Sombra had made.

The replica pin had grown almost to the size of the real one. But this one was a rich purple, with a faint lighter shade swirling like smoke inside of it. As she was about to ask what it was FOR? It grew brighter. With a sharp flash, lines of light shot out, flowing to the floor and outwards, skimming down the sides of the palace. Once they hit the ground they multiplied, tracing the pattern of the Empire's streets, lighting them up as the lines ran down the centre of every road and street, even into the alleys and dead ends.

"Whoa...." Pinkie Pie was sticking her head out over the edge of the tower, "that's so pretty!"

"Its looks like a..." Rarity began, and Sombra finally opened his eyes and smiled as he turned to face them all.

"-a spider web, yes. What miss Applejack said, plus your disgust at the spider web gave me the idea.." he chuckled.

"What?" Rarity said when everypony shot her amused looks "I abhor getting webs in my mane!"

"Rarity...!" Sweetie Belle giggled up at her sister, who jokingly tapped her on the nose.

"Amazing..." Celestia studied Sombra's handiwork. "these spells are so intricate..."

"They don't feel like it...not in the sense you feel." Sombra said after a thought.

"Constructs like this are fairly advanced magic," Cadance looked at the replica heart. "yet you make it seem easy.."

"This spell is... was pretty heavy duty," Sombra looked a little tired although he seemed to be recovering swiftly. "That's why I used the pin, it was easier to transmorph that object then create a raw one."

"I have NO clue what you just said, Sombra buddy," Rainbow Dash flew over. "but it's awesome nonetheless!"

"It also seems I speared a handful of those things through as I went," Sombra clocked what his spell was telling him. "They're backing off temporarily, they're not sure what's going on."

"Then we gotta use that to our advantage!" Shining declared.

"We need to evacuate as many ponies as we can!" Twilight Sparkle added. Sombra nodded.

"We can probably fit quite a lot within the palace walls. If we can shield it, it'll provide a safe haven.."

"Leave that to me!" Cadance piped up. Sombra looked at her, recalling the last time she'd experienced that, and looked about to shake his head, but she held up a hoof.

"It's FINE. Plus, I wont be alone..." she looped a hoof over Shining Armor's back, drawing him close to her. Their horns met, and a little heart bubble popped up, before drifting away and popping.

Sombra nodded, looking back at the crystal heart "They'll go for this thing soon as they spot it-"

"We will guard it!" Luna declared, puffing her wings up, snapping her goggles on over her face. Sombra nodded. Celestia said she'd fetch a pair from the guards and join her sister.

"We'll need to get every guard available out there ASAP, wait a sec-" Sombra frowned "if you're staying HERE Shining Armor, who's going to-" he looked over at his friend in time to see the, "who d'ya think, goofy", expression on his friends face.

"Oh," pause. "right."

"Just haul ass over there, trust me, they won't blink," Shining Armor told him. "you'll be able to sort out a plan from there!"

"What about US?" Twilight Sparkle asked. "if we get goggles we can help too!"

"Yeah!" Applejack grinned. "these fellas want a kickin', they'll get one!"

Pinkie Pie was already loading the party canon and gave Sombra a grin.

After a moments pause, Sombra paired them up. Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie, magic and party canon. Rarity and Fluttershy, magic and flight. For Fluttershy he emphasized she work on coaxing the more scared ponies out, as her kindness would be most reassuring. This bolstered the shy pegasus' confidence, and she gave a determined nod!

Lastly, Rainbow Dash and Applejack, speed and strength.

"Aww yeah!" the duo hoof bumped.

"Grab some goggles from the stash miss Twilight Sparkle made, but for Celestia's sake be CAREFUL," Sombra emphasized. "I know I don't need to explain how these creatures attack-"

"Don't let 'em bite, got it!" Rainbow Dash nodded.

"Be alert..." Fluttershy said softly.

"The world needs more lerts!" Pinkie Pie added.

"Aim for the core!" Twilight Sparkle finished. "we learnt from the best, don't worry about us!"

"I know you'll be fine." Sombra said.

"What about US?" the CMC cried as one as Sombra made to bolt for the stairs. He paused, then an idea popped into his head. "there will be countless children coming in," he said to them. "can you three organize ways to keep them calm and occupied? Games, toys, anything you can get hold of!"

"You got it!" The trio saluted. Celestia smiled warmly, seeing this scene. Sombra had an odd knack for little ones it seemed, they took to him quite rapidly once they got to know him. He didn't talk down to them, instead treating them as equally capable to a degree. She wondered if this stemmed from his transformation into an adult happening from such a young age?

They split off to follow their respective parts of the plan.

"Seriously.." shining chuckled as he and Cadance went to sit on the balcony so she could summon the spell with his backup "its gonna be a tough fight as to who wants his attentions more once this over, the political council or the guard!"

"There's no denying he has a quick mind, undoubtedly he will choose a path he prefers..." Cadance snuggled up to her husband as the spell began.

Sombra seen the shield pop up around the palace, and felt a pang of relief, that was the first part of the plan up and running. He raced out into the empire, six goggled-up ponies following in his wake. They diverted into their teams, yelling they'd see each other later! Alone again, Sombra prayed they'd keep themselves safe, then made a bee line for the barracks.

He could feel numerous signatures coming from nearby homes, panic and fear as they tried to keep out the demonic creatures wanting in! But he couldn't stop to help them all, not alone. So even though it went against his immediate instincts, he pushed on towards the barracks.

The Commanding Officer was in the process of marshaling the ranks of soldiers inside the rapidly crowded training hall, when the doors behind him were knocked open, preceded seconds before by thundering hoof steps.

The CO yelled for them to brace themselves, but when he spotted who it was that skidded to a halt inside the doorway, he told them to belay that order.

"Your highness!" he said in relief as Sombra trotted over. "what's going on?!"

"I cant explain it fully, but they blotted out the sun and moon, I suspect this is but a dome over the empire. Similar to the method Cadance used to protect the empire from ME! But this darkness isn't natural..."

"What's that light outside?" one soldier asked.

"That was of my doing," Sombra said. "I created a beacon to power it, located within the palace tower. I figured it would take a different type of light to break through it. It doesn’t flare as bright as natural unicorn magic, but its the strongest I could create."

"It lets us see well enough to fight, sire," the CO declared. "you've given us more then enough!"

Sombra opened his mouth to explain Shining Armor had sent him, could he ask them to follow HIM in lieu of their captain, but the CO seemed to have already pre-empted Sombra's query, because he snapped off a salute to the taller pony.

"What're your orders your highness?" he asked.

Dismissing the unnecessary question after the CO already answered it, Sombra glanced around, asking for a map of the Empire if they had one to hoof?

They brought the one they used to show the patrols, and a table to lie it out on. Sombra studied it intently, before asking how many were present. Some lived short term in the barracks, others had homes nearby. The CO gave him a run down of the numbers they had to hoof. Sombra nodded, then closed his eyes. Familiar purple magic swirled around his horn as he quickly complied another spell. Dozens on dozens of little crystals formed above the heads of every guard pony including the CO and himself.

"Ooh.." one said, tapping it with his nose. It glowed softly. Once each pony had made contact with their crystal as per Sombra's instructions, they all zipped over to hover above the map. Sombra studied the map, then began distributing the crystals on routes that would make the evacuation most efficient.

With one final spell, tiny cutie marks appeared like holograms above the crystal, so each guard could see where he or she had to go.

"Sweet merciful Celestia on a pogo stick..." one guard said out loud. "how did you-?"

"It makes sense, this way we at least can track all of you, so we know who's were." Sombra looked a little pale the CO thought. They worked together to see the soldiers understood where they were to go. Sombra suggested the CO stay here with a small group to instruct any new ponies that came there, and aid any wounded that came back.

"Once again I reiterate be CAREFUL. Don't take unnecessary risks, and don't let them bite you! From what I gathered during the kidnap of Princess Luna and I into their realm, their bite is infected with that plague, albeit a blood-transfer only method of spreading. If you DO get bit, get back here right away!"

Sombra was about to set off on his own when he heard a voice call his name. He stopped, seeing Lightshield and two of his friends standing there.

"Sire, let us join you, please!"

Sombra blinked, then nodded in assent. So the quartet raced out of the building.

"Where to, sire? You didn't specify your own path!"

"It will likely be wherever I can track those things to. I figured I'd keep a general ear out, back up your fellow guards team work. It's the most efficient way."

He felt a guilty twinge as he spoke next. "But there is one destination I must see to, it is... important to me."

"Roger that, sire!" they didn't ask twice, merely fell into formation beside and behind him as he raced through the streets.

They ripped several of those things apart en route, as the creatures diverted their attention to attack their familiar foe. Strangest thing, Sombra noted, was that he couldn't detect the central controller, it felt strangely muffled. This bothered him, but he didn't have time to consider it right then.

At last the street in question came into view, and he was met with a sight outside a certain house that made his heart stop.

Shining Sea. She was out on the street, unconscious. Beside her was a broken broom pole. She must've tried to fight them for Spark's sake, but where was Bright Spark?!

Leaning over her was one of the creatures, reaching out a hoof to begin draining her.

--Get your filthy paws off her!!-- Sombra raged silently, pushing his power to transform into his shadowy self. He charged dead ahead, giving the creature only a momentary glimpse of this bundle of shadowy fury before he hit it, sending them both crashing into the road. He bellowed for the soldiers to secure the house, there was a small child inside it!

He spared the creature not an ounce of mercy, not hesitating to pummel it into the ground, then kicking it up into the sky. The scythe made a brief appearance to slices its core apart. Barely had the explosion finished than he was crouching by Shining Sea, reaching a worried hoof out to her.

"Please.." he croaked, worry clawing at his chest. There was a small bump on her head, so the thing had knocked her out?

Before he could worry any further, she stirred, her deep blue eyes opening. She lifted her head, focusing on the pony looking down at her with such concern.

"Sombra!" She gasped, tears of delight filling her eyes as she sat herself up. She wobbled, but was quickly caught in his forelegs and held gently against his chest. She listened to the familiar thud of his heart, and held onto him.

"That thing, it said it made coming here a priority..." she said, recalling the attack now. "Bright Spark-?"

"The guards have gone to get her!" Sombra assured her.

She looked back at the house, nodding in relief as she heard a distant voice calling. "you found mommy?"

"They attacked because of me..." he whispered. She realized he was about to blame himself, and sat herself up so she could look him in the eyes.

"Stop," she said firmly. "they're attacking everypony, NOT falling for you wouldn't have kept them away, OK?"

He didn't know what to say.

She cut him off from formulating a rebuttal by looping a hoof around his neck and pulling him close for a brief, but loving kiss.

"OK?" she said softly as she let him go. He nodded. Seeing she was shivering, he undid the scarf from his uniform, tied loosely since the pin was back at the palace. He wrapped this around her, whispering a grateful thank you to her.

"My shining star.." he murmured. She blushed, smiling up at him.

"Mommy!" both turned as they seen Bright Spark in the doorway with the trio of guards.

"Bright Spark, sweetie!" she cried, running over to her and hugging her tightly. She thanked the guards for finding her, and let her daughter go so she could run and glomp Sombra.

Sombra set the tiny filly atop his back as they all grouped together, Sombra explaining they had to get to the palace, they were trying to keep as many ponies as possible out of the grasp of those things by hiding them behind the shield!

Sea nodded, and she and Bright Spark joined the group. They raced towards where Sombra could detect another set of creatures, this one was attacking a guard patrol along with their rescued ponies.

Once the things had been destroyed, Sombra told sea and Bright Spark to go with them to the palace as they were heading back there anyway!

"Aww....bye bye Sombwa!" Bright Spark boop!ed his nose before reluctantly joining the group. Sea, also reluctant to bid farewell to Sombra, settled for a brief surprise kiss before telling him to keep himself in one piece. He nodded wordlessly, worry settling in his chest as she vanished out of sight, Bright Spark on her back this time.

"She'll be fine sire," Lightshield assured him. He and the other guards had located Bright Spark in time to see Shining Sea release Sombra from the impromptu kiss. SO this mare was the prince's special somepony then?

Sombra resumed his work, with his group of guards fighting alongside him!

Back at the palace, things were getting chaotic. As Sombra had predicted, the creatures tried to attack and destroy the strange light source. Celestia and Luna dealt then a hefty blow and then some, causing many of their shadowy kind to be destroyed!

Celestia was impressed to see how Luna could switch between dark and light magic to produce some powerful attacks, even firing those wing crystals through the shield to hit them in one shot.

Cadance and Shining Armor were holding their shield as firm as they could. Between the two of them, it was a force to be reckoned with!

The elements ponies popped in and out, delivering ponies every time. Twilight Sparkle even managed to teleport several from a distance!

The servants did their best to find room for all these ponies, and the CMC took care of the kids as they'd promised!

"Cutie Mark Crusader entertainers!" they declared. When Bright Spark showed up, they took her under their wing. Several little ponies asked to join the newly formed Crystal Empire CMC during this time!

Back at the barracks, the CO was monitoring the myriad of little crystals, when a thought occurred to him.

What was this costing Prince Sombra to maintain? He hoped the royal pony was alright...he could see the crystal displaying the Prince's cutie mark darting along a side street, three others surrounding him.

Sombra was keeping his rapidly worsening fatigue a secret from the others, not wanting to worry them. As the CO was predicting, maintaining the tactical advantage was tiring him out, not to mention the beacon light up in the tower... But if these two tools meant the guards could protect the ponies then he seen it as his duty to back up the attack, rather than lead it!

"Right, lets go!" Lightshield declared to the other two. They nodded. Then suddenly the light under their hoofs flickered and faded a little. They whipped round, seeing Sombra had slumped to the crystal paving, looking dizzy.

"Sire? What's wrong..." Lightshield looked up at the light flowing from the palace tower, then back at the Prince. "oh no... Sire, can you hear me?"

"I-I'm alright.." Sombra took a few deep breaths and opened his eyes. Getting to his feet he concentrated once more and the light flared brightly once more.

"We have to get you back to the palace, right now!" Lightshield declared.

"But-"

"Sire, you're the one making it possible for us to even SEE, let alone evacuate the ponies, you need to rest..."

At last, Sombra nodded. They had a point and he knew it.

When they walked in Sombra insisted he would be OK, they needed to continue the evacuation. Lightshield dispatched the other but insisted Sombra should have somepony by HIS side!

Sombra accepted this, wobbling into the palace on legs that felt like they were made of rubber. He stopped by the rooms holding the ponies, who were pleased to see the Prince. He gave them as much reassurance as he could before moving on.

"Somrba!" He stopped mid-exit, turning as Shining Sea came racing over to him.

"Hay..." he said softly, relieved to see her safe.

"Are you alright?" She reached up a hoof to brush his cheek, concerned by how chilly he felt.

"I'll be fine my star..." he smiled, even though the action seemed to take a lot of energy. He nuzzled against the hoof pressed to his cheek ever so subtly, making her smile.

He was so tired, and so focused on Sea he hadn't noticed they were standing in the entrance to a fairly crowded room, containing half the school board! Some of whom knew Sea well, including Sweetheart. All of whom had eyebrows raised so high it was almost comical.

"NO. WAY." one whispered dramatically.

"Are those two-?" Sweetheart gave a delighted squeal.

"Either that or she's the bravest flirt and we never knew it..." another suggested.

Sea heard this, and felt herself go red as she set her hoof back down. Sombra blinked at her, asking was she OK?

"I think my friends are going to grill me senseless soon as you leave. Don't suppose you could stay?" she joked. He chuckled softly.

"I hate to part from you my star, but there is a spell I must attend to..." he knew he'd collapse if he didn't lie down soon, and he didn't need a whole room panicking left right and center because he was collapsing!

"But," his eyes sparkled mischievously, "why don't we give them something to really talk about?"

He nudged her nose with his, and she got the hint. An irrepressible smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, shortly before Sombra kissed her. Oh, that never ceased to make her stomach turn to butterflies.

He let her go, murmuring so only she'd hear;

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine..."

She nodded, watching him sweep out of the room. Dang, that stallion was just so-!

She was interrupted from her search for the perfect description by a voice saying, "Yeeah...lets give it five more seconds then I'm drawing on her face!"

"Hay!" she snapped, glowering at a giggling friend.

"Just checking you were still with us. Looked to us like your brain was too busy staring at a certain stallion's even-covered-by-that-cloak, fabulous rea-"

"No, that's just YOU." Sea shot back to the same pony who'd seen Sombra at the ball and declared he was "not just handsome but gorgeous!".

"I believe you have some explaining to do..." Sweetheart teased, nudging her friend "c'mon, you're not escaping, he just KISSED you! Details!!"

Sea sighed, mentally apologizing to Sombra if this news wound up halfway across the empire by daylights end! Then again, he'd deliberately kissed her to shut the gossiping mares up, so she got the feeling it wouldn't bother him as such.

Back to Sombra, and the staff at the palace insisted on his taking one of the private offices to reside in, he needed peace and quiet!

Sombra rested his head on his hoofs, closing his eyes briefly. He checked the twin spells drawing power from his magic. The beacon light was the most vital...

But as time passed, Sombra grew increasingly weak with the two spells taking their toll.

"Sire, you simply cannot keep this up!" a worried unicorn fretted as she brought the Prince another cup of coffee.

Twilight Sparkle, returned from the latest round of evacs, stuck her head in. They'd started at the closest houses, spiraling outwards with each round, the catchment net widening every time.

"Sombra..." she trotted over to the pony curled up on the couch. "what's wrong?"

"His magic's dwindling!" The unicorn turned to Twilight Sparkle. "he cant keep maintaining both spells. The light outside AND the spell coordinating the guards!"

"But the guards..." Sombra objected once more.

Twilight Sparkle set a hoof on his, and looked kindly at him. "They know what to do by now, you have to trust them Sombra. Drop the second spell."

There was a great reluctance in his eyes, but at last he closed them. A brief flash of magic and he collapsed back onto the plush seating once more. Twilight Sparkle noted with worry the flow of his mane was stopping too. Similar to how he'd exhausted his immense magic supply that time at the stadium, using all those tricks to outfox the monster he'd been fighting, then using the spell to detonate the massive thing!

She and the unicorn exchanged glances, worried for Sombra's state.

"We have to find a way to get rid of this darkness dome!" Twilight Sparkle stared into the fire, wishing she knew what to do.

"I..." Sombra opened his eyes again, gazing over at the two of them "I cannot sense sense the main controller... I don't know why.."

"That's weird. So far there's always been one, or a bunch smooged together like that shadow snake! Something like that would be detectable, surely!" Twilights brain was in full speed mode!

"I don't know Princess!" The unicorn said anxiously. "all I know is we have so many ponies to take care of, and his highness is running out of power. We're simply spread too thin!"

"I understand, the palace isn't designed to hold so many ponies... they're everywhere, good thing the kids are being entertained by the CMC!"

These words were slowly filtering through Sombra's hazy state. The words, "Stretched too thin..." echoed round and round inside his head. A faint spark was lit, and he mustered together a single theory...

"That's it...!" he declared weakly, pushing himself to his hooves and stumbling off the couch.

"Your highness!" The staff unicorn panicked, glancing pleadingly at him. "you should lie down!"

"What did you mean?" Twilight Sparkle asked Sombra.

"You said... stretched too thin?" Sombra asked the staff member. She nodded, confused.

"That thing out there, it's got to be multiples compounded together, stretched out to cover the empire."

"That's why you couldn't sense it, its power's not located in central cores, it's just one flat mass!" Twilight Sparkle caught on rapidly. Sombra nodded.

"We destroyed a load of those things," Twilight Sparkle continued. "but now they're starting to attack the palace. Cadance and my BBBFF are getting tired..."

"I think I know how we can break that thing," Sombra said softly. He headed for the door. "but we need to gather both your brother and his wife, as well as Luna, Celestia, and yourself at the tower!"

"I'm on it!" Twilight Sparkle said, and raced away to fetch her brother and Cadance.

With the fretting unicorn and Lightshield by his side Sombra managed to get up to the tower. The light faltered again, even as he climbed. He gave a muted cry of pain as his head ached. The two ponies asked could he manage and he nodded, steeling himself to make it the rest of the way.

Up there, Luna and Celestia were worried when they seen the state he was in. The only thing keeping him on his hooves seemed to be sheer force of will!

"Sombra-?" Luna made him sit down by the beacon heart. "what's happening?"

"I... I think... I know how to get rid of that thing!" Sombra declared once his head cleared.

"How...?" Celestia nudged a plate of cookies the staff had brought up over to him, motioning him to at least eat a few. Several doses of sugar cookie and he carried on, pointing a hoof at the beacon heart.

"I need your magic to charge it once more, but this time to fire it at the sky..."

"What hath thou been drinking?" Luna asked. "How will that work?"

"Princess Twilight Sparkle says its like a dome, I think she's right. We shatter it, we get the light back. That thing is the one controlling all the attacking grunts. We destroy it, we destroy them all-" he cut off as he felt the room pitch and sway. Celestia hurriedly sat next to him, steadying him with one wing around him.

"Take it easy..." she told him.

The door was flung open and Twilight Sparkle, alongside her brother and Cadance ran in. Cadance gave a worried gasp when she seen how tired Sombra was.

"I think I can understand the past a little better now..." he said softly when she came over to him.

"The past is irrelevant. The only thing we both learnt was how to protect an empire we love, alright?" Cadance said sternly. A weak smile and a nod.

"Don't worry buddy, we're here now, what do we need to do?" Shining Armor asked. Sombra outlined the plan again.

"If were gonna fire it, we need a bow!" Cadance closed her eyes. Twilight Sparkle joined her horn to Cadance's, and they pooled their magic to summon a blue crystal bow with purple highlights.

"A bowstring made of starlight!" Luna declared, drawing the bowstring with her magic.

"An arrow must have a strong body, with feathers to guide it!" Celestia finished the arrow.

Shining Armor created a stand for it to rest upon for maximum accuracy.

Lastly everypony bar Sombra fed their magic into the beacon heart. It began to glow, just as Sombra's light lines began to dull.

"AIM!" Luna bellowed, seeing Sombra about to cave in.

Celestia floated the beacon heart over to the arrow where she combined the two. All four Alicorns pulled back on the bow as Shining Armor sat beside Sombra.

"You can let the spell go now, we're ready." he said to the weary pony. Sombra nodded, a shudder wracking his body as the link to the guiding lines of light snapped, and everything went black.

Screams called out from the castle and around....

"FIRE!" Luna cried.

The Alicorn quartet let the bow string go. Sombra watched as the bright shining arrow, charged with all their different magical auras, shot into the sky. They all watched it blaze a comet trail of light as it shot upwards at a dazzling speed. They held their breaths, praying this would work.

CRACK. There was a sound like glass breaking, only a great deal louder, it was almost deafening. But what followed took their breath away.

The power-filled heart exploded on impact, not only shattering the dome, but spreading a magical fire of white and purple that flashed over the sky, burning up the rest of the dome even as it fell apart.

Blinding light flowed in, highlighting the creatures swarming angrily over the empire, looking for the food they'd been denied by the evacuation. Between the guards and the rescue teams, they'd been beaten back, and hadn't devoured as much as they'd hoped. But the assault wasn't a total loss... they'd gotten enough for what they wanted. The power flowed through them and into the one sending them on the other side of that tear. Seeing it once more, Luna thought about the horrific creatures she and Sombra had encountered.

--We will not let this befall our world!-- she declared to herself.

There was a cry from Cadance and Shining Armor as Sombra passed out properly this time, utterly drained of magic. Had the heart not re-solidified his physical body prior to now, he would've vanished entirely by now!

"Sombra-!" Luna crouched beside him. She looked at her sister, mouth open-

"We will ensure he gets as much as we can spare dear sister, but first we need to get him to the doctor..."

Together, they teleported themselves along with Sombra back to the medical bay. There they spared what they could, although they were pretty tired themselves. What they could give seemed to at least restore some color to his pale form, mane shifting and flowing again.

Cheering was ringing out through the palace as everypony celebrated the light returning. Sort of. Celestia and Luna soon realized that, in their confused efforts early on to raise the sun or moon, both were stuck up in the sky, giving it a weirdly familiar appearance.

"Whoops," Luna declared. "Our bad!"

Celestia chuckled at her sisters phrasing, then watched over her as Luna lowered the moon.

"Excuse me, Princesses..." both looked round as a familiar mare approached, a little filly with her.

"Miss Shining Sea, right?" Celestia asked. Sea nodded.

"And little Bright Spark!" Luna beamed as the little filly waved a hoof at the Princesses.

"Is Sombra... Is he alright?" Shining Sea asked.

"He's tired, currently asleep in the medical bay. He will be fine." Celestia assured her. Shining Sea looked relieved, and Bright Spark asked if they could go see him.

Luna nodded and offered to escort them there.

When they got there, Cadance and Shining Armor were just leaving. Shining Sea seen Cadance nudge her husbands horn with hers, creating a little heart bubble that made them both smile.

--Heart....bubble..?-- Shining Sea wondered. Could it have been..?

The royal couple stopped to talk to Princess Luna while Shining Sea and Bright Spark went into the medical bay to see Sombra.

He was awake. Very drowsy, but awake. The doctor was giving him some tea with added ingredients for a boost.

"Sombwa!" Bright Spark waved a hoof at the bed.

"Hay..." he set the cup down, reaching a hoof down to scoop her up and set her on the bed next to him. She instantly snuggled up to him, beaming. Shining Sea sat close by, studying the exhausted stallion.

"How are you?" she asked softly, reaching a hoof up to tuck part of his mane behind his ear.

"Better... I'm so relieved to see you..." he murmured. The bump to her head had been fixed up, a bandage covering it now. He raised his head to gently kiss the spot just below it. This made her blush a little, but she couldn't help feeling happy.

She nudged his cheek with hers, sighing contentedly.

The warmth somehow eased some of Sombra's aches and pains, and he happily nuzzled against her cheek. The lovely scent of her mane...

Seeing both of their muzzles within reach, Bright Spark stuck her tongue out in concentration, and managed to keep her balance long enough to boop! them both, then she toppled back onto the bed, making both grown ups laugh in delight!

They stayed a little longer, but Sombra was growing drowsier by the minute, and Shining Sea soon told her daughter they needed to go.

"Aww!" Bright Spark sighed, boop!ing Sombra's nose once before before hopping down off the bed and trotting over to where she could hear Cadance and Shining Armor talking.

"Sleep well.." Shining Sea whispered, nuzzling Sombra's nose gently.

"I will, my shining star.." he said softly, before kissing her gently.

She was reluctant for it to end, she didn't want to be apart from him right now, but she had to get home, and he needed sleep!

She left at last, glancing back as she exited, she seen he was already fast asleep.

Out in the hall, Shining Armor had left to go check on the guards, and Bright Spark was happily chattering away to Cadance.

Cadance summoned another heart bubble that Bright Spark could play with, and the giggly filly chased it up and down the hall.

"You have a question, don't you?" Cadance smiled knowingly to sea.

Shining Sea went red.

"Well, uh....that heart, Princess..."

"I wasn't intending to intrude," Cadance explained how she'd seen the rare phenomenon of the heart-spark as she'd looked out the window. Then Bright Spark had come barreling onto the scene, and had looked a little perplexed.

"I thought it would make it easier for her to understand. Little ones associate hearts with love after all.."

Shining Sea flushed again. "It did just that, Princess. She's happy about the situation..."

"About Sombra and you?" Cadance finished. Another nod.

"I can see it in his eyes how much happier he's been these last few days, ever since the ball," Cadance confided. "you were the first one he looked for when the dance began, he looked so happy when you accepted!"

Sea couldn't help a smile "I cannot stop going over how lucky I am, that he..."

"Sombra ignored all those mares flirting with him because it wasn't what he wanted. He wanted someone he could TRUST. Least-ways, that's how it felt to me. He wanted a pony he could trust to give him time to make his own move."

--That he certainly did...-- Shining Sea thought about the first shy kiss and blushed all over again. But the delighted smile, and happy look in her eyes confirmed what Cadance felt; that Sea was in love with Sombra.

"I know you already are, but look after him, please..." Cadance asked. "he deserves to be happy, don't let him think otherwise..."

"I'll make sure of it, Princess." Shining Sea vowed.

Bright Spark at last caught the bubble and popped it, and returned to her mother and Cadance. After saying goodbye to the Princess, she and her mother left for home...

Author's Note

FNAFRGLE. Excuse that. Im sorry this took so long. I had written little over 3/4 of this when a nasty thudnerstorm meant the computer was away for some time while its motherboard was replaced. THAT and a bout of insomnia and other madness involving some upsetting family issues :fluttercry: and everything got sidelined while i struggled to cope with it all. But things are much clearer now, the computers fixed up, and im finally drawing again...its been awhile... :twilightsmile:

Thank you all for waiting so kindly, love y'all! :rainbowkiss:

Edited as always by the awesome Dream Seeker! (Who recently featured sea and spark in his story! Yay~!)

Fate & Finale

"Hey bud, what's up?" Shining Armor greeted him with a nonchalant wave.

"I had meant to speak you about this yesterday, but I was admittedly sidetracked.”

"Yeah, I noticed~" Shining Armor said with a cheeky grin, poking fun at how Sombra had spent most of the time with his marefriend.

"Don't YOU start.” Sombra dead-panned. Cadance giggled at their faces.

“At any rate..." ignoring his sniggering friend, Sombra pulled the paperwork he'd done from his bag, and sat down to sort through it so he could present it to them.

Unseen by him, Cadance and Shining Armor shared looks, then Cadance teleported them both the short distance so they were now sat either side of him, reading the papers.

"Ack!" Sombra jolted "what’s-?”

"You forget? Were all on the same level here bud, you don’t have to be formal," Shining Armor nudged him, “so if you insist on still sitting down here, we'll just come sit with you!"

"Now, what did you wish to show us?" Cadance ended the matter with a disarming smile.

"The settlement I ended up in during my absence. It’s not in a good state supplies wise. A raid by bandit ponies some time back has set their stores back considerably, not to mention the damage.”

"Yes, you spoke of it in depth yesterday," Cadance nodded, looking worried, "sounds like you stopped him just in time!"

"I was lucky Luna showed up to help. I meant to ask her, how DID she find me?"

"She woke us all up hollering about a dream calling out to her from a far away place. Somepony in that village must have dreamt about you, and it alerted her, since your disappearance was on everypony's minds, especially all of ours." Cadance explained.

"Ah, I understand now..."

He showed them all the details, including his offer to help them in some way, even if it was just supplies to start with.

"I realize it was presumptuous of me, to assume-" he began but was cut off by-

"Done!” Cadance sat back with a smile.

"Huh? Done what?" Sombra asked. These two were being extra crafty today for whatever reason!

"And me!" Shining Armor had the final page of the report, and had just squiggled a signature. He now held the paper and the quill out to Sombra, “we've signed it for approval, now you.”

Once the muted, confused Sombra had added a swirly fancy signature to it, Cadance shuffled the papers into order and floated them to the finished stack by her chair.

"We'll go over it at the next meeting, but what you said was right, they CAN come to us for help. It must be hard living out there.”

"You were on your own, and in that instance, what you offered to do for them was more than generous, they really need the help by the sounds of it. I understand their concerns that they worry they may not have much to offer, but we'll find a way to strike a balance between help and handout." Shining Armor finished.

Cadance nodded, continuing from her husband "Don’t be afraid to do what you think the situation needs, its a part of your job. We both make independent decisions, but at the end of the day we keep each other informed. Once this invasion madness is over, we hope you'll begin."

"Yeah, the political council is champing at the bit to get you to work. Heck, I’ve even had a request from the CO of the base asking if you'll do future training even once this is over." Shining grinned, poking Sombra lightly.

As Sombra turned to go, looking relieved and pleased the settlement would get the help it needed, the door opened and he almost bumped into three of the councils members.

One of them he recognized at the mare from the theatre night attack!

"Your highness!" she beamed happily, "what a pleasure! How are you?"

"I'm fine." Sombra said kindly.

"I don't suppose you're here to join us today, your highness?" she asked hopefully. Sombra shook his head apologetically.

"I regret I have to go now, I have an important appointment to keep. But I promise I will give whatever time you require of me once that infestation out there has been dealt with."

"We look forward to it sire!" She beamed. The two behind her echoed her sentiments, bowing their heads to the Prince.

"Tell your marefriend I said hi!" Shining Armor hollered as Sombra made to go.

"Shut up!" Sombra shot back, barely suppressing his amusement. Shining Armor's response was a fit of laughter!

After picking up the big basket of baked goods Pinkie Pie had made for him, Sombra set off to Sea’s house...

Once Bright Spark was dropped off at school, and she got back home, Sea sat down to read a book to pass the time until her picnic with Sombra.

So when there was a knock at the door, she thought it was him, until she realized it was far too early.

She opened the door, seeing her pegasus friend Motormouth, the one who'd called Sombra gorgeous to his face at the ball, and apparently had been admiring his rear. The mare was without fear it seemed.

"Hey, I was coming back from a visit to somepony, thought I’d see how things be going!"

Shining Sea laughed and invited her in. They had some tea, and the latest batch of cookies Sea had made.

"So hows things with your handsome stallion?" she teased, making Sea blush.

"Very well as it happens,” she said with an irrepressible smile, "I saw him yesterday-"

"Ooh! Do tell me!" Motormouth grinned. Her cutie mark was of a set of novelty chatter teeth, with a sparkle around them, to indicate her chatter lit up her friends days!

Sea explained Sombra's vanishing, and his subsequent return. She and Bright Spark had spent the afternoon at the palace, talking to the Princesses and the others and having tea!

"Wow, sounds scary what happened out there. Glad he's back in one piece!" Motormouth nodded.

"So am I. When I saw him, I was so relieved,” Sea let out a big sigh "the thought he was lost out there..."

Motormouth patted her hoof reassuringly "He's too tough to let anything stand between him and what he wants to protect. And lets face it missy, after what you told us of him rescuing you the night of the blackout, you're the top spot alongside the Empire!"

Sea blushed, floating her cup up to take a sip.

"I never expected I’d find another pony, let alone somepony like Sombra. I didn't get to thank him properly until the festival. He looked startled when I did, so I asked why on impulse. I think he was surprised I’d caught him out, I’m guessing most ponies didn’t ask, or maybe didn’t notice."

"What'd he say?" Motormouth asked.

"He didn’t say anything for a long time, then he looked down at the table top and simply said, "I don’t know”. I got the feeling he honestly couldn’t explain himself, he looked confused. There was the impression he'd been struggling with that since the plague. I heard lots of rumours he didn’t seem to know how to respond when a couple of them thanked him that day he was out walking with Princess Twilight Sparkle. The most he could manage was a couple of words, like he wasn’t used to it."

"Wow, poor guy." Motormouth said sympathetically.

"It was his expression that caught me," Shining Sea's gaze wandered into memory, "he normally looks so fierce and serious, but at that moment I just seen somepony who was isolated, and lonely. Just like Bright Spark had been saying."

She smiled a second later, though "But he did smile later on, when I was talking to him about Bright Spark. And he looked so different when he smiled, the difference in his eyes..."

"Is that when you decided you fancied him?" Motormouth grinned.

Sea reddened again "W-well, yes. Thinking back, I found I couldn't forget that smile, or that loneliness he seemed to exude. I knew from Bright Spark that he hid himself away because he still believed the ponies wouldn’t care about him, that he didn’t deserve that kind of comfort.”

"Why was he so scared?" Motormouth asked, "when I saw him at the ball, he looked alright.”

"I don’t know the whole story, just that he had a painful upbringing, something happened that caused him to fear those trying to be kind..." she shook her head, "Princess Twilight Sparkle told me how she and the others around her eventually sat him down and told him they wouldn’t see him suffer alone the way he was. It took time, but he eventually started getting used to it."

While they were chattering, Sombra had left the palace on hoof, and ended up arriving slightly early. Figuring Sea wouldn’t mind, he knocked at the door.

Back in the kitchen, Sea heard the knock, glanced at the clock and squeaked in dismay! She'd lost track of time, that had to be him!!

Motormouth did a double take as Sea suddenly shot off, looking flustered. Who was at the door-ah...

She grinned widely. So he'd come by to see her had he?

"Are you alright?" was Sombra's first question on seeing her flushed face.

"I'm fine! Just...doorbell startled me that’s all!" she beamed, seeing him smile making her heart race.

Motormouth at last got bored and stuck her head into the hall. On seeing it WAS Prince Sombra, carrying what looked like a large basket balanced atop his back, she giggled gleefully. Then, straightening her expression she trotted up, tickling her friend to make her laugh!

"I'll see ya later Sea!" she grinned up at Sombra as he stood there, "afternoon your highness!"

"Good afternoon, miss…?"

"Motormouth, your highness!" she grinned then trotted off down the garden path doing a very silly walk "good day!"

"I can explain..." Sea shook her head as Sombra turned back to her, “she donated her brain to science before she was done using i-“ she suddenly looked past him, her expression a mix of embarrassed and about-ready-to-explode-laughing.

Sombra quickly turned his head, and caught the barmy pony pretending to make out with an imaginary partner. She opened her eyes, seen both her friend and a baffled Prince staring at her, and grinned widely.

"I regret nothing!!" she cried, then ran away down the road.

"She's just like Cotton Candy," Sombra said "frankly I’m worried."

But when he looked back at her, they both creased up laughing.

"Let’s go.." Sea giggled.

They left for the crystal lake, a popular spot with some beautiful trees nearby, creating a relaxing, peacefully shaded area.

Sombra led them towards a clearing where the only sound was birdsong.

He greeted the guards they passed, who nodded respectfully to him, and greeted Sombra's marefriend politely.

"Here we are..." he said softly, as they stepped into the clearing. A blanket was duly spread over the ground and they settled down.

"This is beautiful.” Sea smiled as Sombra set the big basket down in front of them.

From it he removed fancy silverware, crystal glasses in matching shades, and a LOT of cakes and sandwiches.

"Miss Rarity and Miss Cotton Candy had a hoof in getting this ready." he explained, and she nudged his cheek with her nose, chuckling.

"Your friends are very kind.” she smiled. He nodded, setting the cakes out on the plates.

"These are great!" Sea beamed, as she finished off the final cake, licking her lips. The next second she was kissed by the amused Sombra.

"Indeed," he said languidly, a smile making him look even more handsome.

His mane fell over one ear, and she reached up a hoof to tuck it back.

"How does your mane do that? How do the Princesses?" she asked curiously, watching how it shifted and flowed.

"There's a theory its to do with a large amount of magic being generated by our bodies, which displays in this manner..."

"It’s like a flowing shadow.” she decided. Sombra chuckled.

"Ironically, that’s close to what my name translates to. Sombra means "darkness" in the ancient language.”

"Wow...” Sea had never heard this before.

"So I was named after darkness from day one." he smiled sadly.

"Don’t frown mister...” she said sternly, shushing him with a hoof raised to his mouth. "Shadows are made by light. The world is beautiful with both those things, OK?"

The sweetness of these words made Sombra fall even more in love with her.

"You’re my light." he said softly, making her blush before closing the distance and kissing her.

He couldn’t resist nuzzling her mane, the lovely vanilla scent reminding him of that kiss out in the palace garden.

Once they’d polished off the food, they took a walk down towards the lake, talking about everything and anything. Then Sea tripped over a tree root and with a yelp of fright, started to tumble down the hill. Sombra teleported ahead, but appeared too close! So although he managed to catch her, he lost his balance and they BOTH landed in a heap at the bottom.

Sea blinked and blew a leaf off her fringe.

"You OK?" Sombra asked. They’d landed in a pile of leaves, which had softened their landing. One of Sombra's forelegs was curved over her, holding her gently. The sunlight shone down behind him, highlight his smoky grey coat, the flow of his mane mesmerizing...

She didn’t say a word, just kissed him.

He made a contented sound, and this close she felt he rumble of his voice through his body. Sweet Celestia how could one stallion be so cute?! They pulled apart, and the way he smiled once more made her wonder how he could’ve thought himself undeserving of love...

"My star...” he murmured.

"My shadow...” she responded, making his heart race as she hugged him.

Unable to resist she snuggled his ear. She was surprised to feel a distant rumble of laughter from Sombra, and the next second he playfully nudged her cheek with his nose...

So she did it again, making him laugh and growl playfully at her, nudging her muzzle with his.

"So, ears are your weakness?" she teased, nuzzling his nose. He kissed her fiercely, then spoke;

"So you found me out, mm?" he kissed her forehead, and pondered, "can I trust you will keep such a vital secret away from the enemy?"

She cracked up laughing, poking him in the chest and hearing him laugh once more. The sound was like a gentle thunder rumbling around a big open sky. It was another part of him that she felt beyond honored to see.

Another kiss prevented any more goofing about. A kiss that became wonderfully, deeply passionate and when they eventually parted, they were both a little out of breath.

He spotted a big leaf in her mane, and plucked it free.

"We're covered in them...” she chuckled, pulling a couple of them from his mane. The way they caught in his flowy mane made her wonder if it was going to eat them?

She giggled at this, and Sombra asked what was so funny?

When she told him he started to laugh, saying regrettably his mane wasn’t known for eating things. He angled his head to both kiss her and cause his mane to brush her cheek, making a mock snarling noise. she batted at it, pretending to swoon in terror. They were both laughing till their sides ached after that...

A loud scream startled them both, and Somrba instinctively pulled her closer, body tensing up, turning his head this way and that to see if the sound came from nearby.

"The lake..." Sea whispered, and Sombra nodded. Getting to his hoofs, he helped her up and they ran towards the sound.

A class of kids had been taken down to the lake by their teacher, Miss Line Rule. She'd been checking on her students that were paddling in the lake, when something hit the water, sending a big wave cascading down over her and the kids.

When it receded, the water swirled up, wrapped around a shadow creature. It leered down at her and the kids, cackling.

It reared back and struck at them-

WHAM. Its face smashed into a purple shield, and it recoiled with a screech of fury.

"This way!" Line Rule heard a female voice. Spinning round, see seen Shining Sea, waving her to move. Standing next to her, powering the shield-

"Prince Sombra!" Line Rule cried. She ushered the kids to run over to the pony. One particular colt spotted Sombra and grinned widely, he thought Sombra was the coolest!

Sombra gently nudged seas cheek with his nose.

"Can you manage a shield?"

"I think so.” she faltered, then nodded “Yes, I can!”

"Let me transfer the spell...”

Like he'd done with Luna, he touched his horn to hers, giving her the layout of the spell. Her eyes widened, "wow...is that how your magic works? Its like a layered spell, so many lines..."

"Yes, its a little archaic I’m afraid."

"It’s beautiful,” she said firmly "go, stop that thing! But be careful!"

He left his saddlebag with her as well, to keep its contents safe!

He nodded once more and nuzzled her nose, before finally dropping his control of the spell to hers, and running over the grass towards the lake. The thing tried striking at the shield, but realized Sombra's replacement was handling it, and instead turned its attention on the big pony.

"No place for that fire of yours here!!" it cackled, "your move little Prince!"

It reared up into the air, firing precise darts of water at Sombra. He teleported back, narrowly avoiding one hitting him in the face. It did however clip his collar, and he seen it tear the fabric just a little.

Undeterred, he darted forward, pulling the scythe from this air and using it to deflect the next bolts thrown at him. they splashed off it, hissing as they hit the magic infused metal!

Sombra created the usual crystal platform to jump on, but the thing slung a wave of water at it, making it slippery, causing his swing to only clip its watery form. It grinned, then swung its tail up out of the water, hitting him in the chest and sending him slamming into the base of a big tree several meters away from the waters edge.

Sombra’s head spun, and he fought not to black out. He heard distant cries, and raised his head, seeing it was throwing everything it had against the shield. The scythe lay nearby, but he knew the weapon would be of no use this time.

Sparks danced at the edges of his vision as he got up.

Sparks. That was IT! Like how he'd taken down the fire wolf at the lake!

Ignoring the cry of pressure from his chest as he fought to breathe properly after that hit, he ran forward, a plan forming in his mind.

He shut his eyes, imagining not fire this time, but lightning. Sparks danced around his horn, seeming to drift up into the sky.

Above the lake the sky started to darken.

The creature turned, seeing Sombra surrounded by sparks of purple electricity...

"Oho, what’s this? Another new trick little Prince?" it laughed rearing up to tower over the pony, who opened his eyes but remained mute...

"Soon as you touch me, you’ll hurt yourself too! I know you’re a sucker for a beating, but even for you this is suicidal!"

Sombra just smirked, which annoyed it ever more...

"Time to end this stand-off, you want to die little Prince? Then allow me to oblige you!!"It gathered itself up to maximum height, gathering the water of the lake and starting to shape it into one massive wave...

As it lunged towards him, Sombra reared up, but instead of running towards his target, he slammed his hoofs down onto the ground.

The sky above, almost blackened by clouds now, split open and a massive bolt of glaring purple lightning slammed down, catching the things core as it lunged for Sombra. It screamed in fury and agony, then it exploded with a kaboom!

The water that’d been forming into a giant tsunami, free of the creatures magic, slammed back down into the lake basin in a massive rush. The force was enough to send a much smaller but still impressive cascade of water in all directions. Those behind seas shield were OK, but Sombra...

Well he got soaked hoof to tail. Lucky thing he'd shut the spell off soon as he'd fired, otherwise he'd have gotten a nasty shock...

--At least the waters warm this time...— he thought to himself —-It’s not so bad.—

"Sombra!" Sea dropped the shield and ran over to her bedraggled special somepony, "you OK?"

"Fine, fine!" he laughed, removing the cloak and laying it out on the grass “I’ll dry."

She chuckled and nudged his nose with hers.

"Your highness!" the teacher approached, her class in attendance, "thank you!"

"It’s fine, I’m just glad it didn’t hurt any of you.”

Some of the kids had to giggle at how odd Sombra's mane looked bogged down by water. With his cloak removed, the rarely seen cutie mark was displayed, which had some of the curious kids wondering what it meant? Crystals?

Sombra settled down by the cloak, curling his tail round him. Line Rule thought she seen him wince, but a second later and it was gone.

"The water is safe now," he assured the class of kids, “you’re free to go back to what you were doing!"

"Are you gonna stay with us, Prince Sombra?" a little filly asked. The class nodded and murmured, hoping the reclusive Prince would stay awhile.

One particular little colt, the same one who'd taken particular note of Sombra's rescuing them, managed to sneak around the gaggle of bigger kids to try get a closer look at his hero-

"Hey watch it!" a bigger colt nudged him with his flank, making him trip and fall.

Sombra glanced over at the yelp, and used his magic to lift the kid back to his feet. Then he noticed who it was and smiled;

"Master Steel Wire, good to see you again!"

Steel Wire cheered up when Sombra not only remembered who he was, but addressed him in such a grown up manner! So he did as they’d been taught in school, and made a respectful bow to the powerful Prince, greeting him in the proper manner.

Line Rule commended him for his attention to protocol, and the kid was rewarded with another kind smile from the Prince.

"How goes your art studies?" Sombra asked. Steel Wire could hear his occasional tormentors muttering to themselves. They hadn’t believed him when he'd told his class about Sombra helping him get his cutie mark.

"I finished the palace! I got a A+!" He couldn't help sounding proud. The bullies snickered, and he felt a bit of the old anger creeping back.

Sombra spotted this, and although his expression didn’t change, the bullies couldn’t help feel a sharp inflection in his voice was aimed at THEM when he spoke;

"I would expect nothing less. My father was a fan of artwork of all kinds. Such a structure would’ve captivated his attention, he always did like when an artist puts their whole heart into their work. Truly something to he proud of, no matter what naysayers may arise..." these words were the ones aimed at the bullies.

Sombra spared them a brief glance, where he seen they didn't look so cocky any more.

Buoyed by Sombra's encouragement, Steel Wire opened his saddlebag and took out a box "I finished this one today, I was gonna use it at show and tell this afternoon when we get back, but I want you to have it!"

He held up a littler wire-work model of Sombra himself. The detail had been amazingly done, right down to a tiny metal band around one leg. Even the fancy cloak Sombra wore was wrought from wires. It was amazing.

"Woww.." Shining Sea's eyes widened "that's-"

"Absolutely astounding!" Sombra finished. Steel Wire heaved a sigh of utter relief, he liked it!

"It took me all week to finish it," Steel Wire grinned "but I think it turned out pretty awesome!"

"Indeed, SO much awesome to be precise!" Sombra exchanged a smile with Sea, who recognized the catchphrase.

"Bright Spark...” she chuckled.

Sombra smiled at the happy Steel Wire, thanking him for his gift, and admired the detail of the statue for a little more before tucking it safely into his saddlebags, which he noticed Sea was carrying. She set them down beside him.

"Are you sure you’re not cold?" she asked. He shook his head "no my dear Sea, the sunlight is plenty warm. I’ll dry in no time, really."

"OK." she smiled, nudging his damp mane.

She seen the kids were hesitating to go back to the water, and an impulse hit her.

"You gotta do it like this!" she cheered, taking a running dive into the water.

Sombra blinked as she poked her head up above the water, beaming widely at him.

She created a water ball and waved it in the air.

"Water fight?" she suggested.

The kids all giggled, rushing in to join her. Sombra and the teacher exchanged looks, but as the kids threw themselves into the newly started fight, they had to laugh. The teacher went to get her camera from where shed stashed the saddlebags, and Sombra zoned out.

That was, until a water ball splashed him directly in the face. He spluttered, mane soaked ever more, and shook his head, looking for the culprit.

Sea's guilty grin gave her away instantly. That and several kids were pointing hoofs at her, giggling their little rears off. Sombra stared at her, then arched one eyebrow.

The kids shared looks, wondering what the stern, strict royals response would be?

"Oh it is ON my star!" he laughed, the serious expression gone in an instant. Whipping up a water ball he lobbed it at her.She batted it out of the air, but still got splashed!

So when the teacher came back, Sombra appeared to have ditched his plan to dry off and was merrily goofing off with the kids and the mare she guessed was his marefriend!

The two adults appeared to have formed the kids into teams, with each of them heading a team. To be fair, Sombra and Sea spent just as much time helping the kids as they did trying to take pot shots at each other!

"OK kids, time to get out! We need time to dry you all off!" the teacher called, setting her camera down. She'd taken a great many pictures, and made a mental note to send some to Sombra!

Sombra met Sea's eyes again and they started to laugh. He hadn’t let his guard down THAT much since forever!

His cloak was drying nicely, so they settled down next to it to soak up the sun and watch the kids singing a song with their teacher. This prompted another of his fathers rude versions of popular songs to pop into Sombra's head, and he had a hard time not laughing. When Shining Sea asked him, he told her the rude version of that song, and she just collapsed giggling, leaning against his side.

"Your father had a strange mind didn’t he?" she wiped her eyes once she'd calmed down.

"That's an understatement!" Sombra sniggered, "he was something else entirely..."

At last they had to go, and bid the class goodbye. Sombra once more thanked Steel Wire for the sculpture, and the kid looked very pleased!

His antagonists didn’t look so proud of themselves, even attempting to plaster sheepish grins on their faces as Sombra looked over at them. Something about Sombra said "do not be an idiot". But they did secretly think the stallion was pretty cool...

Sombra walked Sea back to her house, where she ensnared him in one last farewell kiss before turning to go inside.

"Today was wonderful." she smiled back at him, pausing at the doorway "it was wonderful to see you so happy..."

And once more Sombra reminded himself how lucky he was to have such a sweet mare.

“I’m happy just having YOU." he responded honestly, which made her blush.

He walked back to the palace, where he ran into Twilight Sparkle and Rarity returning from the shops.

"Hay Sombra!" Twilight Sparkle beamed "where have you been?"

"The lake...” Sombra laughed, as she did a double take on getting a closer look at him.

"Did you take a dunk in it too darling?" Rarity asked.

“Actually, Sea and I encountered one of those creatures attempting to attack a school class. Once it was dealt with, we ended up helping settle the score in a water fight!"

"Oh heavens!" Rarity shuddered at the idea.

"Sounds like you had fun!" Twilight Sparkle said, Sombra nodded.

He headed inside, setting his cloak atop the dressmakers dummy to fully dry, and looked at his messed about mane in the mirror. He hadn’t let loose like that since he was a kid, messing about with his father!

His mind drifted back over the afternoons events, and an idea struck.

What IF he could transcribe the spell used to track the core controllers? He'd need somepony else’s help, but could it be possible?

He gave his mane a quick drying via his magic, and headed out to find Celestia or one of the other Princesses.

By luck he ran into the sun Princess just a few minutes later as she was coming out of her office.

She listened to what he was saying, and said she could help him.

They decided to use the ballroom, as it was massive enough to give them plenty of space.

Sombra explained how it seemed his spells showed themselves in others minds as a written formula of sorts.

"This could be difficult, and its dark magic-"

"It will be fine Sombra. I may not be as advanced as my sister, but I will be able to cope." Celestia assured him.

All the same, when Sombra began running the spell, and she seen the complex nature of it, she was surprised.

The magic swirling between the two of them began to increase, and she heard Sombra grunt in pain. But she didn’t break the spell, knowing he would be able to manage.

Sombra's head ached, but he at last extracted the last part of the spell, wrapping it up before transferring the spell to Celestia.

At their feet, situated between the two of them, was a thick sheet of parchment. Once Sombra finished compiling the spell, Celestia used all her strength to keep the fluctuating ball of magic intact, then stepped back and aimed her horn at the parchment. There was a loud thunderclap, and a blinding light. When it faded, and they could see, they seen a complex spell burnt into the paper. It was still smoking a little as Celestia lifted the paper.

"It worked." Sombra sighed in relief.

"I will get this to the guard," Celestia said, "hopefully it will be of help to them."

"That's what I’m hoping for," Sombra said softly, "if they can find the cores, it'll help lower any casualties!"

"I hope this will be over soon." Celestia said softly, and Sombra could only nod, wanting the same thing himself.

The next day there were several attacks, but only small amounts of energy were stolen. When given these reports Sombra was puzzled. It was almost as if they were just doing it for fun, not seriously trying to steal the energy and magic they sought.

This unsettled him, he couldn't shake a bad feeling. The next day was the same, only small "smash and steal" attacks, with the creatures often vacating once the guard showed up. ONE batch however, stayed to launch an attack, and Sombra's newly written spell was tested out.

"It worked wonders sire!" The patrol leader saluted the Prince gratefully "I don’t know how you made such a thing, but its worked!"

"That’s a relief. I have long been seeking a way to entrust that spell to all of you. It wasn't until a special somepony told me how she seen it, that it occurred to try using magic to magic transfer contact to create it!"

"Your capabilities are astonishing sire," The guard said, amazed by the explanation "we all hope we can get to your level someday.”

"I have no doubt you will.” Sombra said. As the guard trotted happily away, Sombra wandered back towards his office, and ran into Cadance and Shining Armor round the next corner.

"Hay bud, what ya up to?" Shining Armor asked.

"Nothing of note," Sombra said, "more reading I dare say."

"Care to join us at the council meeting?" Cadance asked.

"Of course, I’d be happy to.” Sombra assured her. He figured he needed the practice.

"We’re going to discuss that village you aided during your escapade!" Cadance seen Sombra smile and knew this was a good time to start him off with dealing with the politics of the empire.

The council ponies looked up as the door to the office chamber opened.

"Ah, your highnesses, oh-!" the stallion that greeted them was caught off guard at the third participant.

"I hope my being here will not inconvenience you?" Sombra asked, wondering if this was a bad time maybe?

"Heavens no sire!" another, older gentlecolt insisted, "we're delighted you’re here, there is much we wish to discuss, but your duties always have you out and about."

"The attacks are slowing...” Sombra puzzled over it once more, "in all honesty I’m concerned. I feel we should be on alert, far from this meaning their slacking off, rather I believe they are planning something big."

"Another blackout?" A familiar face spoke up, Inkwell.

"Anything is possible, their tactics are variant and strange.” Sombra described the one he'd had to defeat using lightning, "they adapt fast.”

"Maybe so, but what we've seen shows yourself matching them wit for wit!" the older pony said firmly "those little slime shadows want a fight, I have no doubt you will give it to them!"

The others assembled nodded and echoed the sentiment. The reports the guard and indeed Sombra himself had been writing made for fascinating reading. Sombra's talent for battle tactics was so far unmatched!

Sombra sat beside Cadance and Shining Armor, paying close attention to what they discussed.

When it came to the village Sombra had offered aid to, the other two royals stayed silent, allowing the council to grill Sombra alone on the matter. He answered their questions with a calm logic, stating both the merits to the kingdom if they helped, and his own personal observations.

Sombra also showed them the badge that was attached to his scarf to one side of the heart pin, explaining they carved them in the village.

"Perhaps they could make some more to sell? Those would be very popular!" one council mare pointed out. Sombra decided he would write to them to suggest it, along with details of what the empire could send them. Recalling all the kids he'd seen, Sombra requested they add some toys and things along those lines for the little ones.

Eventually they came to an agreement on what they would dispatch to the little village. Things for the kids, some books and toys, and things like seeds and vegetables and berries. Things that wouldn’t perish in the cold were vital. Sombra finished writing the letter and handed it over to the council, who assured him it would be mailed along with the delivery.

"One thing that concerns us is the effect this whole sorry affair of the shadows is having on the businesses around here!" was the next topic.

“I’m afraid my actions may in part be responsible for that," Sombra sighed "the damage caused by those things whenever I have to fight them is mounting. I have tried to control the detonations, but with a choice between potentially hurting bystanders or causing structural damage, I regret the buildings are taking the strain."

"There is nothing you can do sire," Inkwell said "from what the reports tell us, those things detonate with no time to think. In keeping civilian casualties to a minimum, you have more then done your job! It's a sad fact that there is nothing that can really be done until those things are gone."

Sombra pondered "what about a festival of sorts? Like the ones I ran into before, with those baked goods and the like?"

"Like advertising you mean?"

“Something like that! Maybe they could have leaflets printed detailing what they offer, see if we can encourage ponies to notice what’s around them. Particularly smaller, out of the way shops, I’m sure they'd benefit most." Sombra suggested.

"Sounds good to me!" Shining Armor said, again impressed by Sombra's matter of fact way of finding what was needed and pointing it out in the most blunt manner available!

"I know!" the youngest of the council members piped up, "why don’t we mix it into the crystal faire this year?"

Nopony noticed Sombra tense up, setting his quill down silently. His mind wandering back...

"The date isn’t far off, are we sure its such a good idea?" the older gentlecolt sighed.

“It's the biggest event of the year!” Another pointed out.

Another nodded, blurting "true, but we cant risk that heart falling into the wrong hooves!"

"Sorry." Sombra said absently, on autopilot. They all looked at him with funny expressions. Realising his mistake, he flushed slightly.

"Not YOU goofy." Shining Armor snorted in amusement. To the rest of the council he joked, "don’t worry, we've almost got him stopped, just the occasional slip up!"

"Very funny." Sombra shot back, deadpan as ever. Shining Armor just laughed, which made Sombra relax and chuckle as well.

"Old memories die hard. My apologies." he said lightly.

"Don’t fret over it sire," Inkwell smiled kindly, "it doesn’t dwell on anypony's mind any more."

"Thank you." Sombra spoke softly, but there was a relief to his tone.

"I say hooves, but those things aren’t technically ponies," the elder pony backtracked, hoping the Prince wasn’t offended by the accidental implication.

"The shadow creatures?"

"A name of sorts."

"Honestly," Sombra remarked, "if I was to name them based on my general reaction, they'd be called FBS."

"FBS?" Cadance asked.

"Pardon my language miss Cadance," Sombra prefaced "its short for "For Bucks Sake!""

The entire room had to laugh at the mental image of Sombra addressing the creatures as an obscenity!

"But I think incorporating it into the faire this year would be wonderful!" Cadance said.

"Yeah, why not? There’ll be so many ponies milling about, its bound to perk things up!" Shining Armor agreed.

They looked at Sombra, who seemed to be contemplating something, but snapped out of it to give them a confirmation.

"That's settled, well start drawing up plans asap!" One mare declared.

"Do you remember much of the crystal faire? Anything good?" Cadance asked as they left. Sombra shook his head, but managed a faint smile saying he'd be fine with it.

"If you're worried at all, you can talk to us, remember?" Cadance reassured him. He nodded, the tensions easing off his expression, and smiled.

"Things are better now, you’ll love the crystal faire!" Shining Armor added.

But his worries over the faire combined with something else. He'd pushed aside the fright he'd felt at being chained and treated like a monster. Told himself he was alright. But in reality, it HAD shook him up.

His dream that night consisted of running through the snow, behind him a faceless crowd of ponies shouted and jeered. He tripped as something lashed around his leg. He pulled himself into a sitting position, seeing the crowd racing towards him. He closed his eyes, as blackness swept in-

When he opened them again, he was back in that same warehouse where the elders had first tried changing his magic. Why was he here?

He tried to get up, only to realize he was tied down quite thoroughly, ropes stopping him from moving.

The ponies that stepped into the lone light over his head weren’t crystal ponies. They were carbon copies of the pictures he'd seen in a book. A book about major settlements in Equestria, places Twilight Sparkle said he should visit after his coronation.

They looked at him with undisguised hatred.

"Stray too far outside the illusions in your head, and you’ll be surprised." one cackled. The others began to laugh, crowding in closer.

"How can we trust a former tyrant?"

"Soon as they see you they’re gonna panic! You’re famous across Equestria for what you DID!"

"No, not again. Stop it!" He shut his eyes, screaming at himself to stop this. The crystal ponies had had more to fear him than any other, yet they'd welcome him into their hearts-

Yes, the way he'd been confronted in that snowy wasteland had hit him hard. He'd gotten so comfortable with the kindness of the crystal ponies. Bar a few visitors like the CMC and so on, he hadn't had contact with many outsiders!

What if they reacted like Blueblood had? Looking at him as inferior because of the chains of the past he still carried with him. As he thought this, the ropes shifted into chains, the cold metals touch sinking right through his bones. He tried to stand, only to fall back down, the chains too short to permit him to stand. He looked desperately at the blank eyed visions crowding around him, expressions cold.

--Don’t forget...-- a small voice piped up in his head --you aren’t alone. The Princesses are all behind you, they’ve proven as such time and again!--

"I know, but I cant rely on them!" he panicked "sooner or later I...I’m going to have a coronation, I have to be able to confront this!"

But the crowd of ponies closed in, and his heart was pounding so fast..

There was a flash of light, and two figures appeared between him and the encroaching ponies.

One was the blue Crystal Heart pony.

The other was...

The Beacon Heart. It too had taken on a pony form too, this time of a male pegasus, like Sombra's father.

"Don’t fret!" The crystal heart pony smiled.

"Its natural to be afraid, your whole world is set to expand once the coronation is over." the beacon heart added. Together they broke the chains of panic that’d been tangling him up, and helped him to his hooves. They smiled warmly up at him.

"Trust in the ponies you’ve met. From them, to those in their homelands, your story will spread..."

"The visitors." Sombra realized. Those that went back home brought with them the story of the Empire as it currently was.

"Indeed," The beacon heart pony nodded "already those outside are learning about what you’ve accomplished!"

Sombra woke up, cold prickles of sweat running over his coat. Even as he felt his heart slow its frenetic speed...

His head pounding, he shuddered at the thought of going back to sleep. Instead he drifted down to his office, and wandered in, leaving the door partly open in his daze.

He sat down, and pulled some pictures and written notes from the desk. They were from Twilight Sparkle, who'd given him photos from her coronation, along with a description of what it felt and looked like. She'd even dug up info from Luna and Celestia, and Cadance had supplied her own account too!

They all had to face massive crowds, give a speech about how they’d arrived at this point in their life.

--How would mine go? "Fillies and Gentlecolts, I made a mistake of such colossal proportions its practically a CRIME. Well, guess what? I’m back in control again!?!"-- he flopped across the desk with a groan.

He began filling out some paperwork to pass the time, and soon he dozed off at his desk.

Since the incident where Sombra had swooped in and saved his rear, Blueblood hadn't been able to say much to the pony. Sombra seemed to bear such confidence, he felt like the bigger pony was simply unstoppable. Given how much the ponies seemed to care for him, he wondered if Sombra ever got scared?

--Unlikely!-- he snorted --what could scare THAT guy?--

He walked past an open office door, and spotted a flash of familiar mane. Sticking his head round, he seen it WAS indeed SOMBRA.

He seemed to have fallen asleep at his desk. Trotting over curiously, Blueblood seen a stack of signed papers. Scattered around Sombra were photos of the coronation of Princess Twilight Sparkle, along with what seemed to be written accounts of the previous royals coronations. A sheet of paper, with a bunch of loose notes, most of which had been scribbled out was tucked under the sleeping Sombra's hooves. The stallions head was resting atop his forelegs, mane draped over a stack of books to his right. In his sleep however, he was frowning, looking worried. As Blueblood studied him, the bigger pony flinched slightly in his sleep, muttering something in a language Blueblood couldn’t understand.

He raised a hoof and cautiously poked Sombra's shoulder. He leapt back as Sombra bolted upright, knocking the stack of photos and papers off in a flurry of movement.

The unicorn shook his head, continuing to talk in that odd language.

"English much?" Blueblood grumbled, trying to hide the fact Sombra had scared him by waking up so suddenly. OK, so HE’D poked him, but still, was everything this guy did over the top?!

"What?" Sombra blinked, staring fuzzily at Blueblood. He had bags under his eyes that indicated he hadn’t been sleeping well. He stared at Blueblood a few seconds more, then shook his head, "weird, I haven’t dreamt of the old language in a long time. Surprised I can still speak it."

"What does-" here Blueblood repeated the word Sombra had used on waking "-mean exactly?". This caused the bigger pony to look startled and he hastily responded.

"THAT, is a word you should never use in polite society. Think "Buck" is rude? It has nothing on THAT word!"

"You know a bunch of ancient obscenities?" Blueblood queried.

"I know an entire language. But yes, the curse words were always my favorite. I was a kid when I started getting lessons, looking up the profanities was the first thing I did. What else?"

Blueblood thought about it, "makes sense...” he muttered at last. Afterall, he'd do the same, he admitted to himself.

Sombra noticed all the papers and photos he'd knocked aside, and hastily began gathering them up, “anything I can help you with?"

Realizing Sombra was probably wondering what Blueblood was doing in his office, the royal shrugged, "you were muttering to yourself, I thought you were having some weird dream."

"I was..." Sombra again looked down at the papers "I was trying to sort out this coronation speech business, but for some reason I kept writing it in the ancient language and couldn’t explain it to anypony. Weirdest dream ever to disrupt my sleep."

--That's right...— Blueblood recalled —Aunty mentioned the Empire's been calling for him to be formally crowned and become a fully fledged ruler...--

"Just tell them what made you change. That’s what this whole things about, isn’t it?"

“Yes, you’re right...” Sombra sighed, getting up from the chair, "I will return to this later, in the meantime, I’m starving."

So Blueblood followed him down to breakfast, where Twilight Sparkle had a special letter for Sombra.

"It’s from Spike!" she beamed "he sent Celestia some letters this morning!"

Sombra asked how, and she explained Spike's magical abilities.

Sombra noticed the letter marked with his name, with, "urgent, top secret" written on it in neat lettering.

He decided to read it later, while Twilight Sparkle read out the letter Spike had written HER. Rarity mentioned she missed her Spikey-Wikey, and Sombra deduced she was quite fond of the dragon.

Twilight Sparkle mentioned he could give the return letter to Spike if he wrote one, to Celestia, who'd send it to the dragon!

"He's been sending scrolls every now and then, mostly updates for Fluttershy on her animals. I've been telling him everything that’s been happening and he's curious about you, but hasn’t had the nerve to write a letter until now."

Back in his room Sombra opened the letter;

"Hi, your highness," it began,

"I don’t know if you remember me, I’m Spike the dragon, Twilight Sparkle's number one assistant!

Who? Stop it Owliscious! It's SPIKE. Sorry, that owl is always asking who I am!"

Sombra chuckled, and carried on reading;

"Twilight Sparkle's been saying so much about you, she said things were really bad for you when you were barely her age! That what happened wasn’t all your fault. She also sent many photos. You look different when you're happy, like a normal pony, instead of a scary one- sorry! That sounded kinda rude. What I meant was, you looked really content. Twilight says you're much better with her and the girls now. I seen the photos from the ball, did Rarity design that outfit? Isn’t she just amazing?

Anyway, I didn't know what to put in here, so Twilight Sparkle said to write some questions I'd like to ask you:

1) How come you’re super tall? I remember you looked pretty intimidating when I seen you, but in the photo's you're almost as tall as the Princesses of the sun and moon! Are you related to a giraffe?

2) What sorta food do you like? Mines GEMS. Crystals are darn tasty too! Have you tried eating one?

3) Do you like books? Twilight Sparkle says you used to sneak lots of them out of the library! I like the Daring Do and Power Ponies books! I can show them to you, if you come visit Ponyville I mean!

4) Twilight Sparkle said your coronation is soon. Can I come? I'd like to say hello properly, Twilight Sparkle's said so much has changed, it sounds like things are pretty good for you now!

5) Is that armor heavy? It looks tough in the photos! It looks cooler than the other thing you were wearing. The gold looks pretty kick-ass, and that Crystal Heart pin looks tasty..

Sorry, gems are my biggest weakness! I won’t try to eat the Heart I promise!
Signed Spike."

Sombra smiled, before pulling up a sheet of parchment, and grabbing his quill;

"Greetings young master Spike, Assistant to Princess Twilight Sparkle.

Yes, I DO remember you. My memories have all returned now. I commend you for your bravery in getting that heart away from me, even if at the time I may have tried to terrify you!

Twilight Sparkle is right about the past, it did a lot of damage to me. I didn’t have friends like Twilight and the others. I was alone, and jealous of other ponies for their easy lives.

Fear not, I understand what you mean. I am aware I appear intimidating, although now nopony seems to see it. They smile. For reasons unexplained, little ones seem entirely unafraid of me, they just want to see the jewel in the band, or to play with my tail!

Yes, miss Rarity is a very talented pony, I have her to thank for the outfits I have needed for various events I have attended!

To answer your questions:

1) I'm a Shyre pony. Not a giraffe, sadly. I must add that that line did make me laugh somewhat, perhaps it is the mental image? Sadly the Shyre are all but gone now, I have found no evidence of existing clans. But we're all tall, and, to borrow a phrase the royal guard have been using "built like a tank!".

2) Cake. Ever since waking up here, I appear to be addicted to the stuff. Blame miss "Pinkie "Cotton Candy" Pie! Aside from cake, I’ll eat just about anything, the food you have in this day and age is far above and beyond what I had when I was younger. There's so many interesting things to try! And no, I haven’t tried eating a gem, I hazard a guess they'd give me terrible indigestion!

3) She's right, I did bury myself in books when I was still adjusting to being here again. I was reluctant to leave the confines of my room, or even the palace for a long time. I didn’t wish to get attached to anything or anypony, in case I just ended up losing it again. That was foolish of me. I understand it better now. I don’t know what a Power Pony is, although I am familiar with Daring Do! Miss Dash insisted I read the books. Seems she is a massive fan of Miss Do!

4) It would be an honor if you would attend. I'd like to thank you in person for your part in saving the Empire back then! Twilight Sparkle speaks highly of you, and any friend of hers would be a pleasure to meet.

5) Not that I’ve noticed, no. I'm used to wearing armor, as you're probably aware, given my former getup. The current one was made by the elements of harmony, along with the rest of the outfit! It IS a bit tricky in the heat, but it's very handy when kicking shadows up the backside!
signed,

Sombra."

Once done, he did as Twilight Sparkle had said, and brought the letter to Celestia. He hoped he would get to meet the little dragon eventually....

Blueblood was STILL struggling to get on Rarity’s good side, she always seemed to snub him, and it was getting on his nerves. So after getting a blank reception that afternoon when he tried to ask if she wanted to take a drive with him, he decided to go off on his own.

On reaching the hall, he was again reminded he should take a guard with him, due to the incident of last time. Blueblood felt like screaming, but he didn’t want another incident like that last occasion. If Sombra hadn’t followed after him...

"Everything OK?" a voice broke his grumbling and both he and the staff pony turned to look at the top of the staircase. Sure enough, it was Sombra. Seeing him in that official looking armor, Blueblood again wondered how Sombra had managed to turn his life around the way he had? He still seemed to have that terrifying ferocity, yet everypony fussed over him so kindly.

"If it’s not much of a problem, I can act as your guard, I have to do a patrol route today, and a large percentage of the guards are at training with Shining Armor."

Blueblood was slightly lost for words. He knew Sombra of all ponies would NOT settle for any funny business, no slipping HIS leash! With a muted groan, he reluctantly agreed. It explained why they didn’t seem to be as many guards around today..

"How much do they gotta train anyway?" he grumbled to Sombra as they stepped outside.

As the carriage was pulled towards the centre of town, Sombra kept an easy stride beside it, keeping his attention on both Blueblood's ramblings and his surroundings!

"The tactics of those creatures are adjusting as fast as we are. Any new information I have been able to gather is passed onto the commanding officers and Shining Armor. When possible, I direct the training myself, but its not always possible to do so."

"How come you’re so good at predicting what those things are gonna pull anyway?" was the next jab.

"Truthfully? I don’t know for certain. Perhaps it is in some part because they originally targeted me in excess. They realized early on I posed the biggest threat, even before I got my magic back. They underestimate the guards here, and it has proven their downfall."

"Do you ALWAYS talk like you swallowed a dictionary?!"

Sombra sighed, “Well excuse me for being taught some form of decent mannerisms. Feel free to blame my father, he had a thing about USING his brain you understand."

That shut Blueblood up. He'd seen the statue out in the garden, been informed by his Aunty it was Sombra's foster father. He recognized the band around the statues leg as the same one Sombra wore.

At last they arrived in the main shopping area. Sombra stuck close by Blueblood as they headed towards the shops.

Ponies waved and greeted the pair, although Blueblood still couldn’t shake the feeling their attention was mostly on Sombra.

"Oh! Your highness!" Both princes stopped and blinked. The reporter darted over to Sombra;

"Just to waylay you a moment. I work for the Crystal Fan News, we cover the fashion in the empire. I wanted to ask if you have any particular tailor in mind for the coronation?"

Sombra looked surprised at the random question, then pulled his thoughts together to answer.

"None other than the pony who has already created many wonderful articles of clothing, Miss Rarity." Sombra told her. When he'd asked Rarity to do it, shed let out a delighted squee and hugged him!

"Oh yes, the same who designed your outfit for the ball! That was simply stunning, all the tailors in town are trying to match her style!"

"She possesses a wonderful talent, I could have nopony finer," Sombra told her. She nodded, writing all this down. She nodded next at the new heart pin "Rumour has it the original was destroyed during the blackout, is it true?"

Sombra hated to lie to her, but if the creatures found out the Empire had a second guardian heart, it could makes things tricky.

"Sadly yes, the spell to use it as a beacon changed it beyond usability. But a mysterious donor sent this to the palace," Sombra indicated the replacement one, "somehow somepony knew it was gone."

She listened to his story and nodded "Thank you sire!"

"Not a problem," Sombra smiled, "now if you’ll excuse me I have to go find Blueblood. I believe he thinks he's given me the slip."

The journalists jaw dropped as Sombra turned into a shadow of himself, and dove into the sharp shadows thrown by a nearby stall.

"Wow.” she remarked.

Blueblood meanwhile, was patting himself on the back for ditching the stuffy older pony, as he trotted into a jewellery shop. While the shop owner was in the back looking for something for the arrogant Prince, Blueblood was admiring his reflection in the counter.

"Free at last, that boring stick in the mud’s too busy buttering up the press!"

"It doesn’t hurt to be nice, you know,” Sombra's voice spoke from behind him. Blueblood yelped, spun round, nothing there.

"W-what?" he squeaked. Then somepony tapped his shoulder. He turned instantly, and seen a small colt, made of shadows, but with amused red eyes sat there on the glass counter.

"Wasn’t hard to track you..." Sombra chuckled "you were an eternity in this same store that day we all showed you around. I figured you'd head here!"

"You are such a... smartass!" Blueblood snapped.

"Why thank you," the tiny Sombra shadow laughed softly, "again, I thank my father for that!"

The little shadow looked at the jewels in the case beneath him "hm, these remind me of the ones Miss Rarity used on the ball outfit."

"Why does she like YOU so much?!" Blueblood sniped.

"Is that what this is about?" Sombra asked "you think I'm stopping her from noticing you somehow? Ridiculous."

Blueblood went red in embarrassment, and made several sputtering sounds, "well she's always talking to YOU, but when I try to talk to her, she sticks her nose in the air!"

"She did talk about an incident regarding cake," Sombra shot him a look, "monster I may have been, but even I know using a lady to shield yourself is a mean spirited gesture. From what I’ve learnt about her, Miss Rarity works very hard on her dresses, and to have one ruined all because you didn’t want to get DIRTY. Well, it’s fairly clear why her nose is out of joint!"

More angry glowering.

"Glare at me all you like, I refer you back to our little conversation of before."

This cut Blueblood short. Sombra had said he'd cared little for those around him at first, but had gradually warmed to them, treating them as equals instead of being beneath his notice. Something he'd said Blueblood lacked!

"You could try talking about HER, perchance? You want to make it up to her, maybe become her friend first. Just a suggestion..."

“Did you make friends with that marefriend of YOURS first?" Blueblood rolled his eyes, but looking a little curious all the same;

"She befriended ME first, as it happens. I found it easy to converse with her, at a time when talking to anypony was a seemingly impossible task..." he recalled how he'd been awkward at responding, confused by the ponies thanking him. Sea had seen through his silence and asked him what bothered him. And he'd answered with, "I don’t know..." He truly hadn’t known how to explain it.

"She didn’t push it, just talked about this and that, leaving me to respond if I wanted to. That’s how I learnt what a good pony she was, how much she adored her daughter. She has a good heart. So too does miss Rarity, you just have to make her feel like YOU'RE worth getting to know. Keep the attention always on YOU, she'll just feel abandoned, slighted."

Blueblood didn’t say a word, he realized Sombra maybe had a point. Aunty Celestia had said he needed to interact with others more, and not just bossing them about! If Sombra had managed to find a pretty marefriend when he'd been a former tyrant, why couldn’t HE?

The shop owner came back, and did a double take when he spotted a shadowy black foal atop the counter.

"What in-?" he began. Sombra realized he'd been lecturing Blueblood in his smaller form, and leapt down from the counter, a flash of purple flame changing him back into his full form.

The shop owner looked relieved, "oh, your highness! You startled me...”

"My apologies, being that size makes it easier to slip through crowds.” Sombra chuckled.

As they left, Blueblood carrying a bag of whatever it was he'd chosen, he spotted the military pin the CO had awarded Sombra after the shadow dome incident. "What's that?" he asked.

"It was given to me by the Commanding Officer of the barracks, after helping him marshal the guards during the blackout. After the coronation, I will need to find a way to split my time between the political council and the guard, so as not to let either side down...”

"You WANT to do politics?" Blueblood shuddered, "it's SO dull!"

"Maybe at times it is, but my father always managed to make it seem fun somehow. It will give me a greater method of reaching the ponies here. And in the areas out in the wastes."

That was another story Celestia had filled Blueblood in on. Sombra had been captured by a rogue mayor, imprisoned and used as a power source for a monster. Despite this, he'd not only forgiven them, but offered to help them!

"Weren’t you angry though? They tried to kill you, essentially!"

Sombra shook his head "I know better than anyone how fear and misguided desires can warp even the best of ponies. The mayors obsession with gaining total control was similar to mine. Even though I didn’t want to attack him, I had to stop him before he put those ponies lives in danger. They were lied to, tricked. Those that tried to aid me were ignored and made to seem crazy. It suited his plan that I be regarded as the necessary evil, to distract from what he was doing."

"Sounds like a barbarian!" Blueblood sniffed haughtily.

"I believe he was a good hearted pony once. But sometimes, kid," Sombra shook his head, that same heavy sadness edging his words as he spoke, "desperation can drive you to all sorts. Even to madness..."

A silent nod from Blueblood.

"I was fortunate enough to be given a second chance, forgiven. I hope he will too.”

They encountered Rarity as they walked back in, she was carrying a bundle of different fabrics from a storage closet to her sewing room.
The string binding them broke, and they rolled out across the floor. She gave a cry of dismay, chasing after one as it rolled under a chair in the hall. Sombra nudged Blueblood, motioning him to help her perhaps?

Sure he would get a telling off by the purple maned mare, Blueblood grabbed two of the bolts of fabric, so when Rarity straightened up, she was startled to be confronted by a gruff Blueblood offering to carry them for her.

A little suspicious, she accepted, leading the way to her sewing room. Sombra, Blueblood noticed, had vanished as silently as the shadows he favoured.

As he put the fabric bolts down, he spotted Rarity's latest dress. Something about the colors reminded him of something...

"It’s going to be for Sombra's Coronation. I cant start work on his outfit yet, I’m still awaiting a shipment of new fabric!" she explained.

"It’s...really pretty." Blueblood said, unsure if this was what she wanted to hear. She blinked at him, then managed a soft smile. He flushed a little. She WAS a very pretty unicorn...

"It’s missing something,." Rarity looked at the collar, then turned to a drawer next to her "I can’t find the right accent!"

While she rummaged, Blueblood was hit by what he later joked was a fit of madness, but knew deep down was probably the first bit of generosity he'd really shown to a pony, that he hadn’t been ordered to do.

From the bag he carried, he lifted a box that contained two cuff-links, shaped like purple crescents, accented with gold. He held them either side of the collar. They looked pretty attached to it. Rarity turned back and seen them. Her eyes went wide, and she gasped in delight.

"Oh that’s just darling! Where did you find those?"

"That fancy jeweller’s shop,” Blueblood watched how her face lit up when she smiled. Was this what Sombra had meant? Make her feel special?

"They were one of a kind.” he added, which had been part of the reason he'd bought them.

"Oh." Rarity's face fell, disappointment filling her eyes, "oh well, I’m sure I can find something equally as nice. Still, purple jewels, I’ll make a note!"

She lifted a pencil from her desk, preparing to write it on a sheet of paper, when the box was set atop the sheet.

"You can have them.” Blueblood said, trying not to sound too fussed, but inwardly hoping that smile would come back.

Her eyes widened again, and a beautiful smile graced her face again.

"You’re giving them to me? They’re just divine!" she gifted him with the most happy smile he'd ever seen, "Thank you darling!"

"A dress like that should look the best," Blueblood tried to act casual, but he was about as see through as a window, "it'd be silly not to!"

Rarity chuckled, but she had to admit, this was pretty decent of the snobby Prince. Maybe he was turning over a new leaf...?

Blueblood excused himself, unsure what else to say, but he did hear Rarity say she'd see him at dinner, and found himself looking forward to it.

Sombra went outside for a walk after dinner, his mind still whirling, trying to figure out his coronation speech.

A loud scream caught his attention, and he raced round to the front of the palace, seeing a shadow creature hoisting three guards up by the necks.

"Drop 'em!" he bellowed. The creature turned its creepy gaze on him, still holding onto the guards, who were on the verge of passing out.

On seeing Sombra's magic flare up, it held them in front of it like a shield...

"Little Prince, just who I was searching for!" It giggled gleefully "I had thought to keep draining these worthless energy sources until one of the others fetched you, but you had to ruin my fun again!"

"Let them go!" Sombra snarled angrily. It laughed, raised them up higher, the coils of shadow tightening.

"Catch!" it giggled, throwing them like toys to one side. Sombra instantly used his magic to catch them before they hit the crystal paving and broke their bones.

He realized too late the mistake he'd made, turning his back on his opponent when those same coils of shadow snapped around his legs, literally turning him upside down, trussed up like a turkey. It then lifted Sombra up so the pony’s furious red eyes were level with its yellow ones.

The guards regained their breath, looking up to see the Prince being held in this undignified manner. The creature brought its face close to Sombra's, and said very softly;

"Times up little pony, it’ll all be over soon!"

More guards, tracking the screams, darted round the corner.

Sombra closed his eyes, "not this time!" he hissed, but the creature quickly realized it was giving Sombra an easy target and swiftly dropped him. Sombra hit the ground, using momentum to shift onto his feet.

"Fire!" the head guard yelled.

The thing looked at Sombra, sending him one last leery grin before ALLOWING itself to be blown up.

"You alright, sire?" the head guard approached Sombra, who looked somewhat unsettled.

"Yes...I’m fine...” Sombra shook his head to clear it, looking down at the concerned guard, "I need to talk to Shining Armor..."

Shining Armor was as concerned as Sombra when the taller stallion revealed what it'd said to him.

"You think they’re gonna launch an all out assault soon?"

"Worryingly, yes.." Sombra paced the room, unease and fear gnawing at his stomach, "I just hope we're ready..."

"We've done what we can. YOU'VE done everything you can. You've given us the spell to locate the cores, you’ve taught them more than I ever could,” Shining Armor told his anxious friend, "if there's chance to be had, you’ve given us the best! Not just that, but you’ve given them a hero. They want to be as good at defending this Empire as you’ve proven to be. That badge stands for a lot, remember?" indicating the badge the CO had presented to Sombra.

Sombra stopped pacing, looking over at Shining Armor.

"Thank you." he said sincerely.

"In fact, the CO and I have a proposition he wished me to talk to you about-" Shining Armor rummaged in his desk, lifting out a fancy envelope. From this he lifted a gold pin identical to one that he wore on his own uniform.

"This is an offer we’ve been discussing for some time, and were going to approach you about after the coronation. But given the evidence, I’d say now is a good time as later. We think you’ve more than earned this, and as a result, we'd like to offer a joint captaincy alongside myself,” he held the box out to Sombra, "what do you say? Wanna join our ranks?"

Sombra was stunned. But after a heartbeats silence, he knew his decision, and nodded. He felt at home amongst the military...

"Awesome!" Shining Armor grinned, using his magic to set the emblem on the high collar of Sombra's uniform, where it could be seen.

After that followed a salute, which the still astonished Sombra returned.

They journeyed over to the barracks to inform the CO both of Sombra's acceptance and of the warning the creature had given.

"Worry not sire, this is what we've been training for, what YOU'VE been training us all for! We wont let you down." The CO stated to Sombra, and the assembled guards nodded.

"I don’t know when it intends to strike," Sombra said sadly, "but I have the feeling it will be soon, we need to be alert..."

"We needs more lerts!” Shining Armor added, causing Sombra to groan.

"Cotton Candy.." he growled, but laughing all the same.

"Sorry, it made me laugh when she said it!" Shining Armor snickered.

"We will not let this empire fall to a crazy shadow-" the CO realized a second later that sounded potentially offensive and stopped dead. He then tried to backtrack, but Sombra just let out a loud snort of laughter.

"I wouldn’t concern yourself," he said, "it's somewhat difficult to address that thing up there without it sounding like a description of old ME."

Shining Armor smiled to see how Sombra no longer seemed as fazed by his past as he'd been before.

When it came time for the Princes to return to the palace after discussing tactics at length, the CO bid his good friend Shining Armor goodbye, and turned to Sombra;

"We're glad to have you with us soldier,” he nodded to the pin Shining Armor had attached to Sombra's collar, "welcome to the guard, Captain Sombra!"

Sombra smiled, and saluted as the situation required. Then he and Shining Armor returned to the palace.

They were met by the others at dinner, where Sombra told the of the shadows warning

"They want a pounding, they’ll get it!" Rainbow punched the air, with a loud "yah!"

"Simmer down sally.." Applejack reminded her, pulling her friends tail to set her back in her seat, "ain’t nopony gonna let those things win!"

"Too right!" Rarity agreed "those hideous creatures won't get this Empire!"

"You gotta kick the ass of the biggest one of them, right?" Blueblood, for the first time ever, actually addressed Sombra. So far he'd mostly remained silent, tuning him out.

"Yes," Sombra seemed surprised as the rest, but managed to hide it "When Luna and I ended up in that realm, we caught a glimpse of, and it just felt WRONG. That thing wants an entire world to feed itself, and it intends to take it."

"You've kicked most of it asses already, so what's one more?" Blueblood shrugged.

"Indeed." Sombra managed an amused smile, but he couldn’t hide his concern...

Sombra went to bed that night and actually slept properly, despite spending some time tossing and turning in worry.

He went down to the kitchen early to get some breakfast, and bumped into-

"Gah!" it was Shining Armor, floating a massive stack of pancakes ahead of him.

"Where do you intend to put all that?" Sombra asked.

"Down my stomach of course!" Shining Armor eyed the pancakes and grinned "I dare anyone to out-pancake me?"

Sombra cocked an eyebrow.

"Oh really?" he said. Shining Armor recognized that tone.

So when Cadance and Twilight Sparkle came down later, they found the two stallions slumped at the table, with plates piled high around them.

"What ARE you boys doing?" Cadance asked.

"Eating contest!" Shining Armor declared, then waved a hoof at Sombra, "he won!"

"Wow, you actually out-ate my husband?" Cadance asked, "impressive."

"You're both nuts." Twilight Sparkle shook her head.

Shining Armor just burped modestly. Sombra raised an eyebrow;

"For the love of all Equestria, DON'T start a belching contest!" Twilight Sparkle pre-empted.

"Aw." Shining Armor said and sniggered.

"Men!" Cadance shook her head.

"Oh, good morning your highnesses!" the cook greeted them with a big smile "what would you like? I've got anything and everything! Although those two have been eating everything in sight so far!"

"Sorreh.." Shining Armor apologized.

"Nonsense, good to see a healthy appetite..."

"Yeah, for shenanigans!" Cadance giggled.

Another snigger from Shining Armor.

Even Sombra had to chuckle. It WAS pretty funny.

Pretty soon all the ponies joined them. When she heard about the eating contest, Rainbow Dash had to applaud Sombra for winning. Shining Armor was famous for having a big appetite!!

"Who wants cake?" Pinkie Pie asked. The whole room laughed when Sombra and Shining Armor shared looks of despair.

Sombra noticed there were less guards then usual hanging around the palace. But he knew from last nights meeting at the barracks that they were engaged in extra training.

Shining Armor said he was heading over there right away, would Sombra join him? Sombra was happy to agree.

The duo left the room, and about three seconds later the rest heard a massive belch, followed by loud laughter.

"That a challenge?!" Rainbow Dash and Applejack hollered.

"NO it was NOT!" came back Sombra's voice, back up by Shining Armor's laughter, thus revealing the larger stallion as the culprit.

"It's the pancakes dude, I’m telling you..." they heard Shining Armor say between sniggers, and Sombra telling him to shut up!

Cadance shook her head "those two are eerily alike. I’m not sure who’s influencing who by this point!"

Rarity shook her head "I guess even somepony as refined as Sombra has his moments."

"It was somewhat impressive." Blueblood reluctantly added.

"Eeeyup!" Applejack chuckled.

"He sure got me beat." Rainbow Dash nodded sagely.

Then the whole palace seemed to shake like it'd been hit by an earthquake.

"What the heck was that?!" Out in the hall, all merriment gone, Shining Armor bolted for the nearest window, "oh no!"

Sombra stood beside Shining Armor, shock freezing his heart for a moment. The tear in the sky had torn wide open like an overstuffed pillowcase. Darkness was spewing out like ink in water.

With a deep shudder, Sombra knew this was the final stand. Everything had led up to this, all the attacks, the darkness, the adaptation. The laughter, the love, the lessons learned. He'd made his cold heart thaw to survive and live to see this. He'd learnt what was worth protecting, and worth living for.

"We have to go!" he told Shining Armor, who nodded. They met the others as they came streaming out of the dining hall.

"What do we do?!" Fluttershy quailed, "it s-so scary looking..."

"I'll get the elements!" Twilight Sparkle ran off down the hall without hesitation.

"Same as before, evac to the palace?" Shining Armor looked at Sombra, who nodded.

"What’s happening?!" Celestia and a somewhat sleepy Luna appeared. She noted the pin on Sombra's collar, and remarked "thy prestige has doubled!" to him.

"We need to shield the palace, get as many citizens here as possible. Also, put a stop that thing!" Shining blurted.

Celestia nodded, looking at Sombra, "what do you suggest?” They all turned to the newly appointed Co-Captain.

Sombra ran each ponies strengths through his head, and turned first to Princess Luna;

"Can you fight?" he asked her. She nodded.

"We hath armor, we hath our lessons from thee! We can fight our corner!" she responded.

Sombra nodded "Good. You and Celestia have powerful magic, you'll need to guard the palace and the Crystal Hearts."

"We will see to it!" Celestia declared. With a flash of magic, she bound her flowy hair back in a long plait, and took off her crown so it wouldn't be a distraction. Luna mimicked her, and they shared nods.

"Got orders for US?" Rainbow Dash flapped up to Sombra's eye level, "c'mon buddy, give us something to clobber!"

"I don't want to clobber anything." Fluttershy whispered.

"I need you all to protect the citizens that will head here, tackle those things if it comes to it! Whatever happens, we can’t have them reach the palace. We all know what happens when the heart is taken away..."

"Now there's TWO!" Cadance added.

"Can you shield the palace again?" Sombra asked her. She nodded.

"Not alone you’re not!" Shining Armor told her. He looked to Sombra "I don’t need to tell you how to do your new job, so get going!"

Sombra nodded, pushing the fear he felt aside, there was no time for that now.

Twilight Sparkle returned with the elements, giving each one to its bearer. As she did, a small gleam of light ran over each jewel, and a final one across the jewel in Sombra's band.

"Whoa.." Twilight Sparkle wondered what it meant. But they didn’t have time to decipher it, they had a kingdom to save!

They grabbed some spare armor from the supplies, even thought they weren’t accustomed to wearing it, Sombra insisted it'd protect them from explosions!

As he was racing down the hall, his armored-up army of friends in his wake, they ran into the CMC.

“What's happenin'?!” Applebloom cried.

“It's time ta kick flank and chew gum, and ah aint got gum!” Applejack told her.

“Eep.” Sweetie Belle got the gist of it.

“What do we do?” Scootaloo asked her sister.

“Stay here, and be CAREFUL!” Rainbow Dash insisted.

Sombra spotted Blueblood running around like a headless chicken. Running over, he told the unicorn he needed him to keep an eye on those kids.

“Kids?! I don't know anything about kids?!” Blueblood wailed. Sombra decided to scare him into showing a backbone, and towered over the younger royal, glaring down at him.

“I'm leaving those three in YOUR care, and by your Aunty's grace, I will kick your ass from here to Canterlot if anything happens to them! You understand me!?”

Blueblood gulped nervously, and nodded once.

“Good.” Sombra said bluntly, then called to the CMC;

“Little misses, stay with this pony here! Keep him out of trouble!”

Blueblood blinked, then looked down at the sceptical gazes of three little fillies.

“'Sup?” Scootaloo grinned.

As they raced outside, they seen dozens of those things were flooding from the sky, along with something far larger that was edging its way from the tear.

"What's THAT?!" Pinkie Pie yelled.

"Its the core.." Sombra felt a sick shudder run through him, "the thing that's been attacking us this whole time, through those fakes. It’s decided to show itself."

Some of the clones were racing towards them. Sombra closed his eyes, drawing together everything he'd experienced and learnt during the amazing journey that he'd travelled.

With a fwoosh, his mane and tail transformed into that living flame from the stadium. The gold tint of his eyes was highlighted by the soft green glow as he opened them. Without hesitation he threw himself at the attacking horde. The scythe reappeared at a moments thought, and he swung it in a precise arc, cleaving three of them in half with one blow. Without speaking a word he set off towards the stadium where the training was being held.

"Sombra!" he stopped as he heard Twilight’s voice, she and the other five looked at him as they prepared to go to battle, "come back to us, OK?"

He nodded wordlessly, before racing into the streets.

The guards had heard the boom of the sky tearing, seen the darkness spilling out. Then a small swarm of those things had descended on them.

"There's too many sir!" one cadet gasped, as he shunted another shadow creature back.

"Sweet Celestia help us!" LightShield kicked yet another one away from him.

Bolts of magic shot down from the sky, slicing into the shadows, crippling them long enough for the guards to crush the cores with magic and spears.

The arena cleared, they looked up to where the bolts had appeared. Sombra flew down, the crystal wings vanishing as he touched the ground.

"That's new." LightShield remarked.

"Learnt it recently," Sombra said with a chuckle "sadly, it's only short term."

"What's going on?" another asked Sombra.

"Endgame," Sombra said starkly, "it’s now or never. We have to destroy this thing."

They all stared in shock. Sombra took a deep breath, "I know this isn't going to be easy, this thing is as intent on taking our world as we are defending it. I need you all to cast aside your fear, and defend your home! You've all shown remarkable bravery in facing this threat, and will need every thing I've taught you in order to defeat them. But We WILL stop them. This is our home, our LIVES. I will not see it be overrun!"

The soldiers all cheered.

"We're right behind you Captain!” LightShield nodded to Sombra, "we're at your service!"

Sombra felt a wave of hope and relief race through him, seeing the strength of his Empires forces.

Then he turned and took off, the others following without a pause. He ran as fast as he could, letting instinct and his gift guide him. The shadow ponies swarmed at him, but sweeps of the fire-edged scythe shattered them to pieces as they neared the centre of town.

He dispatched groups down different streets, to cover various areas. LightShield and three others sticking by the Prince's side.

Soon as the attack began, everypony began to panic. Dozens of those things descended upon them, catching their prey and stealing magic and energy, leaving the ponies weak and disorientated.

Twilight Sparkle and co soon discovered that wasn’t all they were doing. Down one street they were met by an eerie scene. The ponies just stared up at the sky, expressions dead. When Rainbow Dash tried to shake one of them out of it, the pony shoved her away with a sudden burst of strength. Then they began to turn towards the six, all grinning widely.

"Oh no.." Twilight Sparkle whispered, "this is the possession Sombra spoke of!"

"Whatta we do?" Applejack shoved one pony away from her with as gentle a shove as she could "we cant hurt 'em!"

"Ohhh.." Fluttershy shook her head sadly, "we can't stay, we have to get out!"

"Fluttershy's right, we don't know how to stop this spell!"

"I think I do!” Twilight Sparkle pulled a scroll Celestia had given her from her bag "Celestia said this was a copy of the spell Sombra made!" She read the spell, screwed her eyes shut, focused..

Whoosh. She glowed a bright purple-pink, and a pulse radiated out from her. With her prior experience with dark magic defeating Sombra the first time, she found it easier than expected!

Up in the sky, a single black shadow pulsed, and turned towards them.

"Alright!" Rainbow Dash was off, swinging a spear shed pilfered from a statue in the entrance hall. She jabbed it forward like a sword, and caught the thing in the stomach, hitting the core. The explosion sent her spinning backwards, over and over like a mutli-hued ball, until she corrected her flight, mane sticking up in the air.

"That. was. INTENSE." she wheezed. The ponies below snapped free, sharing terrified glances.

"Follow me ladies and germs!" Pinkie Pie hollered "lets race to the palace, put your all into it!"

The six guided the ponies back as far as the palace, but no sooner had they ventured back out, then they realized the problem was far worse than they thought. The things were everywhere, and their effect was spreading!

In one street alone, they were soon surrounded by dead-eyed ponies. Twilight Sparkle unleashed the spell again, but she was feeling the strain. Rainbow Dash took the aerial assault route, honing in in the ones Twilight Sparkle's spell lit up. Pinkie Pie responded with her cannon, using its bright glitter and lights to stun the possessed ponies before they could hurt any of her friends.

Fluttershy, on seeing a crying filly huddled in a doorway, took off and landed in front of the child. Then she gave the encroaching ponies her famous stare. The fierce glare captivated them.

"Don't. Hurt. A. Baby!" Fluttershy shouted as loud as her delicate voice box would allow!

"I’m guessing they’re not that interested in the kids..." Applejack remarked, seeing the small child clinging to Fluttershy.

"They don’t have power, they probably don't register as being worth the effort!" Rarity theorized, "they want the biggest gems in THIS shop!"

Twilight Sparkle fired off the spell, and Applejack met the thing head on as it swooped down towards them, delivering a bucking back kick that sent it faceplanting into a wall, destroying it. Freed, the child’s mother came to her senses and scooped up her child, sobbing in relief and gratitude to Fluttershy.

More and more ponies began zeroing in on them, and Twilight Sparkle was out of breath, her head pounding as she tried to unleash the spell over and over. One of the shadow things hit Rainbow, knocking her to the floor. Pinkie Pie helped her up, brushing her down.

"There's too many..." Rainbow Dash winced as she swore she could feel a bruise forming along her side under her armor.

Every direction they turned, more of them were approaching. Only the kids seemed immune.

"Hay!" they turned, seeing a familiar face, Flash Sentry, darting over to them.

"We have to get to Sombra!" Twilight Sparkle cried. She'd flown up a few meters, looking up at something going on far ahead of them, "I think he's in trouble-!"

"We cant keep fightin', there's just too many of those things.." Applejack puffed.

“But the kids!" Fluttershy whimpered.

"Leave the kids to me!" Flash Sentry saluted Twilight Sparkle "go, your highness, the big guy needs your help!"

"Thank you Flash Sentry.." Twilight Sparkle smiled, and in the heat of the moment, bestowed a kiss on his cheek.

"Take care!" she said gently, she raced away.

"OK kids!" Flash Sentry flew up in the air, "if you can hear me, were going to the palace! We'll free your families, I promise!"

Inside houses and doorways, children heard the guard's shout, heard him fighting the possessed pegasi that flew up to oppose him. Even a shadow creature tried, but Flash Sentry mimicked Sombra, and kicked the thing into the roof of a building, leaving a small crater behind.

Soon Flash had a small army of little ones under his care, and he vowed he'd keep his promise to the Princess!

But as he approached the palace, he soon seen it was impossible to reach. So many shadows were attacking it en masse, the guards were being forced to retreat behind the shield. Flash Sentry spotted a Sports shop nearby, and had an idea. He herded the kids inside, and grabbed some javelins...

The kids seen their lone guard friend throwing and retrieving the sharp implements to keep them safe. One looked at a crate of basketballs, and had an idea..

Flash Sentry was about to get rugby tackled by a shadow creature when a series of sports balls whizzed past, hitting the thing in the face and knocking it head over heels.

Looking behind him he seen some of the little ones holding a net stretched taught, and the pegasi were slingshot-ing netballs, basketballs, cricket balls- in short; everything they could reach!

"We got your back!" one little colt told Flash Sentry, who nodded, and geared himself up to keep kicking flank!

Above the centre of town a massive winged shape only loosely resembling a shadow pony hovered, laughing gleefully as its subjects drained every pony they touched. It felt the raw power, collected both past and present coursing through it!

Then there was a flash of an all too familiar purple magic. The nearest clones screamed and crumbled to dust, their cores obliterated. As they fell, the bigger creature seen the platoon of guards, with a flame-maned pony at their head.

"So you’ve come to try and stop me have you?" it laughed, "you’ve exhausted every trick in your little book by now, why don’t you just give up!"

"Protect them." Sombra said curtly. Light Shield nodded, and he and the others all dispersed, as Sombra raised one hoof. He slammed it down, and the ground shook as a massive crystal jutted out slantways, from the ground. Sombra raced up its surface, setting another spell as he did;

He closed his eyes, feeling his magic, such a central part of who he was, flooding every part of his body...

With a loud crinkling sound, the pseudo-wings erupted from his back once more, beating the air as he gathered the appendages close, then kicked up and off from the crystals peak, rocketing up into the sky. The shadow stared, how had this thing grown WINGS?!

"I'm not afraid to do what I have to, to defend them!" Sombra said coldly, his mane flickering with an otherworldly light, the flames ever shifting.

"Very well, I will break every bone in that frail body of yours and display it for this weak world to see!"

It spat a glob of an acidic dark substance at Sombra. He deflected it with the scythe, seeing how it burned a hole in the roof it landed on. The second time it struck, a shield shot up to absorb it, while Sombra himself vanished and reappeared on a floating crystal platform behind the creature. But this one didn’t HAVE a core...it was solid-

"What’s the matter little foal?" it laughed, whipping its tail round, spikes forming on it as it did. These caught Sombra across the side, tearing the fabric of his cloak, and scoring deep gashes along his side.

He used the wings to bank and correct his fall, easing back into flight. He felt instinct take over, and he beat the semi transparent wings, picking up speed again, even as cold air rushed across the wounds in his side.

He took in the thing ahead of him. It was BIG, and SLOW.

--I may be big, but compared to you, I still have some agility..-- he felt a fresh urge of determination. Whatever it took, he'd free his kingdom!

He darted in close, swathes of darkness snatching at him, trying to ensnare him and drain his magic. In response, he fired an arrow of sharp crystal, which lodged inside its gelatinous body. It roared in anger, swiping at him again. He took a deep breath, swinging close again to fire another volley.

With a series of sickening thuds, the missiles hit home.

"Give it up!" the thing laughed at these pathetic attacks, "you can't hope to destroy me! All this time you've just been fighting mere minions! What can one pathetic freak do against ME!!"

"More than you can ever imagine!" Sombra wheeled back up to the maximum height he could attain. As it churned and swirled to follow him, he gathered a big bolt of power, shutting off his flame mode. He folded the wings down, dropping suddenly as it fired javelins of black magic at him. He couldn’t hold the charge any more. Pulling up, he snapped the crystal wings open, pulling himself into a bone jarring halt in mid-air as he fired. He directed the power at the massive creature-

It laughed, raising one big section of its body to bat the magic missile aside...

But the arrows Sombra had fired into its body shone, and the big blast split apart, evading its attempts to shield. The magic honed in on the arrows, which acted like lightning rods.

It screamed, lashing out in blind fury as the blasts struck home, tearing chunks out of its sludgy body, burning it away....

But one of the spikes of darkness tore through the left crystal wing, and Sombra was sent plummeting to the ground in a dangerous spiral.

He hit with a solid thud, the wings breaking away, feeling something in his left hind leg crack. But he forced himself to his hooves.

This thing was gaining power from those it drained, if he eradicated those, then-

Another bolt of darkness was shooting towards him, he struggled to summon a spell-

A purple shield sprang up, deflecting the bolt. Sombra twisted round.

"Princess!" he gasped in relief.

"There's too many," Twilight Sparkle shook her head sadly, "everypony we tried to get to, those things possessed them. We have to eradicate that big one if we're to get them to safety!"

"Like Chrysalis at the wedding!" Rainbow Dash added.

"Can you create a big enough shield?” Sombra asked Twilight Sparkle, "I just need a little time-"

"Leave it to me!" she said.

"And I!" Rarity stood beside Twilight Sparkle, "it's you and me darling!"

"Ah'll kick the flank of anything getting even near close!" Applejack vowed. Rainbow punched the air, setting her sights on their attackers.

"Party cannon!" Pinkie Pie pulled the device from what seemed to thin air to Sombra "only this time it's not confetti!"

She let the cannon off, and crystal shards fired from it, hitting the creatures, cutting through their shadow bodies.

"She raided the WHOLE shopping district!" Rarity winced.

"I-I'll help Pinkie Pie reload!" Fluttershy gathered her courage. She was, by now, loaded down with bag after bag of crystal, alongside Pinkie Pie herself.

"Lets do it!" Sombra said.

They nodded, this was the final stand, they had to win here, they couldn't retreat.

"No surrender!" Rainbow Dash cried.

"No retreat!" Sombra finished the slogan.

"No giving up.." Fluttershy whispered.

The others shot away, and Twilight Sparkle and Rarity pooled their power to create a purple and white shield that wrapped around them, Sombra, and the crystal spike Sombra had summoned at the start. Sombra raced up to the top of the spike, seeing the main square laid out below him. He closed his eyes, visualizing the whole Empire, all its occupants.

--This is my home...my kingdom. Thanks to everypony in that palace, in this place, I have been able to make up for my mistakes. For them, I will give everything I HAVE. That's a promise!--

He unclipped the jewelled band from his leg, floating it in front of him as he poured his power into it. It began to glow, that same beautiful light surrounding it, and Sombra himself. Layer after layer, the spell he created from his heart wrapped itself around the artefact, a light so blinding the shadows attacking the shield hissed in pain. The heart pin shone, adding its little bit of stored magic...

An invisible updraft seemed to surround Sombra, his mane billowing up into the sky, the cloak fanning out like wings. The leg band shone, slivers of soft purple racing over Sombra's body, boosting what he was putting into the spell!

The core being spotted Sombra attempting to hide behind the shield whilst he created the spell, and it seethed. It dove into the sky, drawing power from the scouts that'd been draining the Empires citizens. This it fashioned into a crude spear shape, and slung it with all its might at the shield.

It hit the shield, and Rarity’s connection was broken from the shock of the thing.

"Rarity!" Twilight Sparkle cried, struggling to maintain the shield. Another blow followed, and she cried out in panic as she felt the shield waver. A third nearly shattered it, as she was driven to the dirt beside Rarity, the air knocked from her lungs by the impact.

"Twilight! Rarity!" Pinkie Pie screamed, punching one creature in the face, and trying to run towards her besties, but another one hit the ground between her and Twilight Sparkle. She back-peddled.

"Duck!" she heard Fluttershy cry. Flattening herself down, she heard a blast from the canon sear over her head, hitting the creature.

"Nopony hurts my friends!" Fluttershy cried, tears rolling down her cheeks, such was her fervor.

"Hiyaaah!" Applejack kicked another, sending it tumbling into another three, like bowling pins! The armor was serving her well, the creatures claws skittering off it as she bucked like she'd never done before!

Rainbow Dash was putting that spear to one last good use. Swinging it over her head, before slinging it into two creatures at once, blowing them both up. The weapon destroyed now, she turned to a different tactic.

She flew up high like a rainbow blur, streamlining her body, screaming her defiance into the wind, before shooting back down. The world blurred into a tunnel, her heart racing, just a little more...

The Sonic Rainboom split the sky with a thunderous boom. The multi hued light seared the eyes of the attacking minions. The guards within the crowd of minion creatures used this opportunity to launch volleys of spells, beating more of them back with each step...

The big creature hissed in fury, seeing its minions being wiped out by these worthless ponies, clinging to their world with such determination...

Twilight Sparkle struggled to keep the shield up while Rarity got to her hooves, shaking.

But just as she and Twilight Sparkle reconnected their magic’s the big creature, purple flames still eroding its body as it tried to rip the arrows from its body, flung a massive jolt of magic at the two mares.

Twilight Sparkle and Rarity cried out in unison as the bolt hit their shield, shocking them both. The shield finally faltered and broke. Rarity collapsed, and Twilight Sparkle shielded her with one wing...

Dazed and on the verge of blacking out, she looked up in time to see what followed...

Once the shield fell, the creature dove down, following the slipstream of its attack. One tendril of darkness warped into a twisted blade, and it was this that it drove into Sombra's chest.

The stallion gave a gasp of shock, eyes snapping open, seeing a dark blade pressing into him. Crimson splashed the crystal beneath his hooves.

"NO!" Twilight Sparkle's scream ripped from her throat as she watched. The sword limb had pierced the miniature crystal heart pin holding the silken scarf looped around the outside of Sombra's cloak. The two halves of it fell, hitting the ground with a heart-wrenching sound that seemed to echo above the sounds of battle. The scarf fluttered like a dying butterfly, the material catching the light...

Rarity regained consciousness, and looking up she seen Twilight Sparkle, tears glittering on her face, shaking uncontrollably. She followed her friends gaze, and felt her heart plummet.

But it was the heart that saved him, at least a little. When the dark blade struck off it, it was angled to the side just enough to avoid piercing anything vital...

For a moment Sombra felt the threads of the spell waver, threatening to disperse-

--NO!!-- he thought desperately, and held onto it with everything he had.

The core creature grinned, its teeth a dark crimson.

"Let go, little foal," it laughed, "you cant destroy ME and save yourself!"

As it spoke, its dark poison flooded Sombra body, and he felt like he was on fire from the inside out. It laughed as Sombra cried out in agony, the pony’s screams like music.

Sombra knew this thing was right. The wound it had inflicted was serious. He could save himself, but he'd have to release the spell, doom these ponies to their fate.

"I’m...not....letting you win...." he grunted, pushing through the pain "even if I die!! They gave me a life, no matter how short it may turn out to be.."

"Pathetic!" it spat "you could live and have everything you’ve ever wanted-" a dark tendril gripped his jaw, forcing him to meet its cruel, cold eyes.

Sombra's laughter cut it off "don't you understand? I HAVE everything I want. Friends, a family. In the end, I was able to follow my fathers path, and for that, I will always be grateful to everypony here. They showed me what the world is really like if you just trust it. Yes there is darkness, but it CAN exist alongside the light! I'm proof of that. The Princesses, my little Bright Spark, everypony here. They are part of MY home, MY empire, and I WILL protect them!!"

The creature was confused when it seen two crystalline tears splash down the fading pony's face, hitting the crystal it stood upon.

"Sometimes, to keep something safe, you have to say goodbye."

Sombra knew what the spell needed. He couldn't hesitate this time, this would require everything he had.

Even that which kept him together...

Back then, when he'd advanced his own age via that massive outburst of magic, he'd used up a lot of power. Power that was still ingrained within him.

His entire body was enveloped in a faint purple glow, and he seemed to become semi transparent, as this layer of power went into the band, and the creature suddenly snarled, now sensing its mistake in taunting Sombra..

"Sombra-!!" Twilight Sparkle cried, seeing in a flash what he was about to do. Between him and the shadow creature, looped around the twisted shadow blade piercing its owners chest, was the band. Its jewel still glowed with a stunning light.

Sombra closed his eyes, with the final piece of his magic added, the spell was complete. Silently praying this would save his world, he unleashed the spell.

A corona of light exploded from around him, dispersing the shadow blade and taking part of the core creatures limb with it. It tore back, screaming in fury as the light spread outwards. Every shadow clone it touched withered to dust in the face of overwhelming light. The multitude of colors within reflected the elements of the six ponies, making their elements necklaces glow with a soft light.

From darkness came the light.

From their place above the palace, fighting back the waves assaulting the place, Celestia and Luna seen the burst of light, felt it wash over them. They stared as the attackers were erased by the blast.

All up the outside of the shield, the things had crawled like bugs. Eating away at the shield Cadance and Shining Armor fought to keep powered up. All gone, erased like dust in the wind.

"What is this power?" Luna whispered, the green aura around her eyes fading to normal.

"I’ve never felt anything like it. Darkness and light!" Celestia whispered, as she realsied "-this was Sombra's prophecy!"

The core creatures body began to warp and fluctuate, and it gave a guttural scream. Fear and fury mixed together, as it desperately sought even ONE of its clone soldiers, but not one remained.

"HOW-?!" It roared, its voice barely understandable. It stared at Sombra, still standing somehow, head raised proudly. Even as blood dripped to the crystal beneath him, his gaze didn’t falter. Even as he seemed to fade at the edges..he stared right at it, no fear in his eyes.

"Your dream WILL die, I’ll see your end before I pass!" Sombra spat out.

He closed his eyes once more.

--There is one more thing...what Celestia said, how the heart of the empire gave a piece of itself to bring me here, and there is one other--

He reached out, desperately crying out for the two crystal hearts to join him now-

--Please!-- he begged, even as a cold spasm of fear gripped his heart, and fresh tears pricked his eyes.

Below the palace, in its maximum security spell-lock, the heart glimmered, then the spells surrounding it shattered, and it vanished in a blaze of blue light.

The Beacon heart vanished from its protective case, leaving the thing in tatters. The two bolts of light, one blue, one purple, tore across the sky

Still defending the palace with their shield, Cadance and Shining Armor seen the twin spears of light race away from the palace.

"Sombra..." Cadance whispered. Shining Armor looked at her.

"What is it?" he asked. But she had tears in her eyes, and could only sit rigid as they rolled down her cheeks. The heart was become whole once more, which could only mean one thing.

Above, they seen Luna suddenly tear away from the palace, ignoring Celestia's cry to stay!

It felt like he was going to collapse, when he felt two presences, one either side of him. Raising his head he seen a blue crystal unicorn, and a purple pegasus.

"Beacon Heart.." he croaked.

"It is I, Master Sombra..." the heart smiled. He looked like King Cloudspark, which touched Sombra's heart. His father’s memory lived on.

"I need you, both of you-" he was aware of them supporting him, their power mixing with HIS.

“We have you.” Crystal Heart said.

“You have us.” Beacon Heart added.

"What have you done?!" the shadow creature managed to divert enough strength to swing another shadow limb in an effort to tear this pony's body apart-

The trio atop the crystal closed their eyes, and a tricolour rainbow whirled up around them, blue, purple and red, then leapt at breakneck speed-

It hit the big creature with so much force it catapulted the thing up into the sky. It then split, winding around the big blobby being from head to toe, pinning its spiked wings to its body as it writhed.

"NOW!" Tears in her eyes, Twilight Sparkle found her voice, whereupon she urged the elements to help her rid the world of this thing! They grouped together, helping one another to stand.

"He was kind to a child..." Fluttershy whispered her first true memory of Sombra.

"He didn’t abandon us in the forest..." Rainbow said with a hiccup.

"He gave me a beautiful gem to make me feel better.." Rarity cried.

"He faced up ta what he used ta be!" Applejack added.

"He laughed and smiled with us all..." Pinkie Pie blubbered, blue eyes full of more tears.

"He became a true gifted dark magic user..." Twilight Sparkle finished, "he wasn't afraid!"

Each of their elements shone as they spoke, mixing with the light from Sombra's spell. A rainbow light shone up around them, forming into a ribbon of power that soared into the sky, filling it with a beautiful light, then it wrapped around the darkness, closing in as its ferocity burnt away the things body.

It gave a final scream, and the combined lights compacted its body, crushing it into oblivion with an explosion that rivalled the biggest thunderclap!!

But the task wasn’t done. The rainbow power split into six separate threads, with the multi-hued light from Sombra's spell forming six gleaming needles through which the colorful threads tied. These zoomed back and forth across the tear, stitching up the hole between worlds, forever severing the connection..

With one final synchronized pull, the six threads sealed the realm. The portal edges met and sealed with the mesmerizing rainbow light.

There was an almost sonic boom, and a wave of displaced air tore the clouds from the sky, letting brilliant golden sunshine flare though.

Sombra seen this with fading eyes. He watched the thing vanish, seen the tear mended once and for all.

"Thank Celestia..." he whispered, then his limbs went numb. The crystal beneath him vanished, his power gone. The Beacon Heart pegasus caught him and lowered him to the ground, joined by the Crystal Heart unicorn.

"Sombra!" once the spells light faded, The six ponies raced over. But, where Sombra had fallen there lay a young colt, only a little older than they. The cloak and armor had vanished along with his prior form. He was being supported by two literally crystal ponies.

He resembled the younger him from his past, even reverted to a normal unicorn once more. But before they could hope he'd somehow found a way out of the death sentence the stab wound had inflicted, they noticed something else. He was fading away, already his hooves were turning see through...

"How?" Twilight Sparkle fought to explain it. But she was cut off by-

"SOMBRA!!" It was Luna, diving from the sky, down towards him. She landed with none of her usual grace, skidding on her armored behind as she came to a stumbling halt in front of him, her eyes wide with fear and worry;

"What did thou DO?!" She shouted. Then answered her own question as she took in his appearance, "that spell- thou worked out how to undo it, DIDN'T THOU?!"

"I...had to..." Sombra looked up at her, deep red eyes filled with a strange resignation behind the pain. He reached up one semi-see-through hoof to poke her on the nose "heh, it's funny, you're bigger than me now Woona..."

"Enough from thee!" Luna shouted, touching her horn to his.

Her panic was making her unable to switch off her royal Canterlot voice, so her booming words could be heard across the area. Ponies began to realize something was wrong, and soon the bad news spread. Sombra was dying...

Luna shut her eyes, and when they opened again, they glowed once more with the flare of dark magic.

Without hesitation she gathered as much of her Alicorn magic as she could, changed it into darkness, and transferred it to the ailing Prince.

The ponies gathered around had a moment of hope as his body seemed to solidify again, gaining a measure of its former self. But soon as Luna broke the connection, Twilight Sparkle seen his very OUTLINE start to fade incrementally...

"Ugh..." Luna tried to summon more, her chest aching, but the method of transforming so much magic at once was hard, she was still only learning...

"Princess...." Sombra shivered, managing to stand "Luna....stop-!"

She looked at the twin Heart Ponies, who shook their heads.

With an anguished cry she cut the spell off, and stamped a hoof on the ground so hard a crack appeared in her blue crystal shoe.

She wasn’t the only one in agony…

The crowds were seeking comfort in one another. Pony's that’d been at loggerheads before the final fight opening their wings and hooves to their antagonists, quarrels forgotten. Strangers joined hoofs, seen their tears echoed in their fellow pony’s eyes. The guard, when they realised what'd happened, removed their helmets out of respect.

"What-?! What did he do..?!" Applejack babbled, looking at Twilight Sparkle. The purple Alicorn was staring in shock, tears balancing precariously on her lashes, "why does he look like a colt again Twi?!"

But Twilight didn’t know...she could only shake her head.

"In order to change himself back then, he created a powerful spell, one that has endured a lifetime, but it had become so deeply ingrained in him he couldn't survive without it. It had the power he needed, but he...he's..." Luna spoke up between hiccups, the anguish tearing at her chest.

Twilight Sparkle shook her head, the first tears falling. Spotting her through the crowd, Flash Sentry fought his way to her, kids following in his wake, ditching his helmet as he reached her. He reached out to her and she folded gratefully into his wing as it wrapped around her. Her cries rang out in earnest, the fact she knew not a single thing that could save Sombra was tearing her heart in two.

Luna’s magic had repaired the gaping wound in Sombra's body however, slowing his fade, but unable to stop it altogether.

"No.." Fluttershy began to cry softly.

"SOMBWA!!" a familiar voice tore through them. And the six turned to see a tiny blur, her mother not far behind, racing over.

Shining Sea came to a halt, shaking her head in disbelief as she seen the injured Sombra. She'd seen that flash of light, and felt a terrible fear in her heart. Now her worst nightmare was happening in front of her eyes...

"Pwease..." Bright Spark huddled up to him, and he scooped her up gently, holding her close. She rubbed her cheek against his, tears spilling down her round cheeks “Sombwa..."

"It's...OK kiddo..your all safe now..."

"Uuuaawwaaahhhh!!" Bright Spark didn't even try to stop her tears, she just shook her head. Her pained, plaintive cries broke the watching ponies hearts, and Luna threw dignity aside to bow her head and cry.

"Not now....not after everything..."

Sombra tried to comfort Spark, but the tiny unicorns heart-broken bawling would not be stopped.

"He saved us...they all did..."

Shining Sea couldn't stem the tidal wave of crushing sadness as she watched Bright Spark cling to Sombra's mane, crying her eyes out. Her whole body shaking from the tears she held back, she made her way to Sombra. The six elements seen her coat go dull, the crystal sheen fading as her sadness became too great.

"I wuv you Sombwa..." Bright Spark hiccuped. She looked up, seeing her mommy standing there, looking so bereft. Mommy loved Sombra too. Selflessly, she kissed Sombra's cheek then reached her chubby little forelegs out to Princess Luna. Distracted from her grief, Luna gathered the filly in her forelegs, staring dully at the scene in front of her.

"I...I'm sorry..." Sombra whispered, even as he swayed on his hooves. The crystal ponies released him into Sea's embrace. Her mane brushed against his cheek and he stirred.

"That perfume..." he whispered, smiling softly.

"Please- I don't want you to go!" she choked up, biting her lip.

He rested his head against hers, trying to commit everything about her to his dying memory.

"I love you..." he whispered softly. Her heart thudded in her chest, hearing those words from him...

"Sombra...."

Twilight Sparkle and the others had all crowded as close to their fallen friend as they could, and seeing them there Sombra tried to gather enough strength to thank them once again for giving him the chance he'd always thought he'd been denied.

"Everypony.." he managed to cough, but Applejack shook her head, tears filling her wide green eyes.

"Now don't you start tryin' to get shot of us so soon sugarcube, ya hear me? We'll find a way..."

"We have a coronation party to plan.." Pinkie Pie sobbed, mane flat once more "you gotta tell me what kind of cake you like!"

"C'mon man, you cant bail on us, you’re 20% way too cool for that old trick!!" Rainbow tried to sound stern, but her voice wobbled at the end, bottom lip trembling...

"Please....hang on.." Fluttershy said tearfully "we need you…!"

"This Empire needs you!" Twilight Sparkle said.

“WE need you!” Luna stammered out.

“Sombwy-!” Spark managed, before she began crying into Luna’s starry mane once more.

"She's right, c'mon big guy..." Flash Sentry said shakily...

"And I have to design your new coronation robes, there's so much still to do darling.." Rarity said bravely.

During this, Celestia, Cadance and Shining Armor had finally reached them. Cadance still couldn’t stem her tears. The Crystal Heart unicorn looked over at her, sensing her misery.

"Thank you..all of you..." Sombra was starting to feel sleepy, his limbs like lead. He slumped back against Shining Sea, who begged him to please hang on!

"We gotta do somethin'!” Applejack cried at last, "this ain’t how it’s menna be!"

"What can we do?!" Celestia cried, looking around her, as if an answer would materialize in front of her desperate eyes.

"He gave too much power..." Luna said, shaking her head, "We cannot replenish his magic!"

"Replenish...!" Cadance's eyes widened, hope sparking in her heart "that's it!"

She broke away from the others, running to the two Hearts, "both of you represent something that's important to this empire-!"

"Yes," The Unicorn replied "I am the Crystal Heart, emblem of love."

"And I, the Beacon Heart, am the emblem of strength." the other replied.

"You saved this empire once before, Crystal Heart," Cadance pleaded, "you used the love magic you had stored and gained from everypony in the Empire to refuel Sombra's form before, can't you do it again!"

“It would require more then just a passing donation this time…” Crystal Heart began.

Twilight Sparkle caught on, and turned to address the crowd, pleading through her tears "please everypony, can you use your love, your compassion-!"

“Yer strength and guts!" Applejack added;

"To pretty please save our Sombra!" Pinkie Pie wailed.

"SOS!" Rainbow screamed, her voice straining as she searched the crowd with blurred vision. And it was more than a distress call, it was a prayer.

“Please!” Fluttershy called as loudly as she had ever done!

Rarity picked up the two shattered halves of the Crystal Heart pin, and held them together over her head, unable to speak. She lit it from within using her magic...

The word spread like wildfire, each pony turning to their neighbour and passing it on. The streets were crammed with ponies, all wanting to see their saviour live!

The ground under their hooves began to glow as they bowed their heads, joining as one in the endeavour. But it wasn’t just blue light this time, it was multicoloured, Sombra's light...

"We need one of your number to help us rebuild." the Beacon Heart looked at the Princesses.

"I will!" Celestia cried, wiping her eyes and stepping forward, wings raised.

The light began to pulse, feeding into the area where the two crystal ponies stood, surrounding Sombra. Cadance stepped back, Shining Sea, and Luna (still carrying Bright Spark) following suit. The light closed in around Celestia, the two Crystal Heart ponies and Sombra. He looked from one to the other, then up at Celestia...

Celestia closed her eyes, her horn glowing with the full might of her power as the light formed a vertical tunnel around the four of them. Soon it grew so bright they could not see any of the ponies within it.

"I love you..." Sea whispered, fresh tears falling. Cadance did a double take as the tears froze mid fall, then turned into beams of light that shot into the light show surrounding Sombra.

Within the light, Sombra looked up as Celestia stepped up to him. Bravely, even with what little strength he had rapidly fading, he got to his hooves, standing tall. She bowed her head, so their horns touched. Two beams of light shot through the wall of light, joining in with Celestia's magic as golden sparks began to whirl around Sombra's body.

"Look inside yourself, choose who you want to BE Sombra. You've grown so much, your old shell isn't needed any more. You've become an entirely new pony..."

"Thank you, Princess..." Sombra whispered. He knew what he wanted. Life, love, happiness. As whatever and whomever the ponies out there seen him as. He would be content with that. His real self was inside, after all...

Then it began.

Time stopped for Sombra. Stopped, rewound, raced ahead. Gathering every memory together...

He gasped as he felt his body shifting and changing. Celestia stepped back, maintaining the spell even as the golden light enveloped Sombra entirely. The love of the empires ponies flowed through the crystal conduits, and into her.

She felt tears fall down her cheeks as she took in how strong that love was, and one shone above all the rest...

The prophecy echoed in her mind, and she smiled. There was one thing SHE could give...

The crowd backed up as the ground shook, and the light finally dispersed, the remainder shooting up into the cloudless sky, where it sent streamers of white and golden light streaming across the sky...

The glow faded, and they seen Sombra, reborn!

He retained that same coat of smoky grey, body tall and powerfully built. Triple-crystal cutie mark branded on his flank. His mane was still dark as night, but now fell in soft waves reminiscent of its former ever-flowing manner. His horn was like a regular unicorn's, tapering to a sharp point, although it still retained that unusual colouration, albeit a little more muted. He opened his eyes, and those closest seen they were still that breathtaking crimson.

But it wasn't over yet. With a powerful FWAFF, wide broad wings accorded to his build, snapped out to full size.

Pinkie Pie gasped at length, accidentally inhaling a passing bee. She didn't seem to notice however, so surprised was she.

"Whoa." Applejack said. “Buck me backwards!”

Rainbow Dash twitched, mouth hanging open.

“Well that’s just inappropriate Applejack dear and- whaaaaatttt?!” Rarity clocked the change to Sombra.

“Oh. My. Yay!” Fluttershy cried hoarsely.

"Yes! Yes!" Twilight Sparkle broke the bounds of shock first, bouncing in delighted circles around her friends and Flash Sentry, chanting "Yes! Yes! YEESSS!"

She bumped into Pinkie Pie on her forth circuit, bumping her on the back. Pinkie Pie burped up the bee, which flew away, probably traumatized.

Sombra blinked, vision adjusting as the light faded. He took a few shaky steps forward, looking for all the world like a newborn colt. In a way, he WAS. He seen something feathery and grey in the corner of his vision and turned his head towards it. It was a WING.

He yelped, back-pedalling and landing on his rear. He stared at the wing, cautiously bringing it closer and gnawing on the edge of the appendage...

"Yes they ARE yours!" Celestia chuckled, stepping forward.

"P-Princess.." Sombra stammered, then got a poke on the nose.

"Celestia-" he choked out, still in shock "I-I don't understand..."

"You have done something exceptional this day," the Alicorn smiled at him, "You were ready to give up your own LIFE to ensure the existence of all of OURS. Even if it meant saying goodbye, you didn't waver. That kind of dedication and bravery comes from understanding what life is truly worth. Something you have displayed admirably, Sombra.

Not only that, but your integrity in admitting your mistakes and doing what it took to set them right, despite how difficult such a journey must have been, has led to your gaining a whole new life, filled with friends and a royal family!” She nodded to the Prince and Princesses stood to one side. Luna looked extremely happy.

“And you created a magical light that has never been witnessed in Equestria before. All of these things have gifted you those wings.”

She bowed now, and the other royals did the same. Twilight was reminded how they'd done this for her that night she'd transformed! The crowd around them caught on after a moments gawking, and soon followed. Sombra looked this way and that, ears trembling in shock as it all sunk in. He could barely believe it...

Bright Spark partly listened to all this in total shock. She was busy taking in how awesome her friend looked, now he had wings! Sombra's eye caught hers, and she couldn't wait any more. She bounded free from Luna's hold, barrelling past Celestia and flinging herself into Sombra's hold.

"SOMBWA!" She cried again, this time tears of joy! Sombra still couldn’t speak, just hugged her and looked wordlessly up at Celestia. He was surprised to see tears in her eyes, in a lot of ponies eyes.

"We're so proud of you Sombra..." Celestia told him. She seen a shift in movement, and realized it was Shining Sea. Her coat was still dulled, despite the relief and heart-warming joy in her eyes. She didn’t seem to have noticed her coat, she only had eyes for her Prince...

Sombra set Bright Spark down, whereupon she trotted over to Celestia;

"Sombwa and mommy gonna hug a while!" She said sagely "can I has hug?"

Celestia, needless to say, couldn’t refuse the pint sized filly, and happily scooped her up. Bright Spark hugged the Princess, whispering so only she could hear, "fanks fow giving him wings Pwincess..."

"He earned them my dear child.." Celestia whispered back, "he more than earned them!"

While they whispered, Shining Sea approached Sombra on trembling legs, barely able to believe it was HIM. He was alive, whole. She hadn’t lost the stallion she'd fallen for so strongly. Even though he'd changed a little, all she seen was the loving, gentle stallion who'd made her life bright once more.

"My star.." he broke the silence, and all the affection her voice could hold was heard as she spoke just two words;

"My shadow."

Then she raced the rest of the short distance between them and threw her arms around his neck, tears spilling down her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry if I frightened you," he whispered, "I know things look different-"

"It doesn't matter what you look like!" She blurted, shaking her head. She reached a hoof up to gently stroke his cheek, feeling the warmth of him beneath her hoof "I can still see that wonderful spirit in your eyes, the kindness in your smile. And I know your heart is one of gold, that’s all I need!"

She shook her head again as she tried to get the words straight;

"You'll always be YOU, no matter how you look. That's what made me fall in love with you Sombra. The love and kindness inside of you..."

She sat up properly, looking into Sombra's deep red eyes; her own shone with tears as she firmly stated:

"I love you too Sombra!”

These words hearkened back to his speech to her not minutes before.

The crowd went bananas as Sombra wrapped a foreleg around her and pulled her into a deep kiss. A shine ran from her mane to her tail, replenishing her coats shimmer, but even more stunning then ever.

Rarity gave up all pretence and started bawling unashamedly. Flash Sentry used his wings to brush away Princess Twilight Sparkle's tears. She turned to him and kissed him then, a short, sweet little kiss.

Even Rainbow Dash was making those choked up noises one makes when on the verge of crying. She gnawed her hoof, but a smattering of tears still fell.

Applejack quickly wiped her eyes, but more tears soon plopped down her freckled cheeks and she gave up holding back, this was too joyous an occasion.

Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were crying on each others shoulders, Pinkie Pie pulling hankies from her mane a second later.

Finally the couple ended the sweetest kiss in history, both a little flushed after that...

"Your coat.." he whispered, seeing it shining more then ever.

"There’s a legend that the crystal ponies gain a special coat when they're truly in love..." she whispered.

"You look more wonderful then ever, my star...."

She looked up at him, and they shared one more brief kiss before she stepped back, nodding at the others;

"I believe your friends are waiting..." she said, smiling.

Pinkie Pie took that as a signal, and pretty much charged Sombra. She tackled him, knocking him onto his back, her forelegs thrown around him in the biggest hug she could muster. Given she was still armoured up, as were the others, this knocked the wind out of him a little. The others joined in as Sombra managed to sit up, surrounded by the warmth of his friends.

"Oh boy oh boy!" Rainbow squeed "another flying friend! This is so cool! Were gonna have so much fun teaching you to use these!"

"They’re so fluffy!" Pinkie Pie screeched, hugging one of the wings.

"My dear, you're the first male Alicorn I’ve ever seen! Why, I didn’t think it was possible! Boy am I learning.." Rarity felt pursued by a sense of deja vu.

"They’re so pretty..." Fluttershy added, "it looks wonderful on you..."

"ALICORN PARTY ROUND TWO!!" Pinkie Pie declared!

There was a LOT Sombra wanted to say, but for now he just rejoiced in being alive...

Author's Note

Sweet merciful Celestia on a pogo stick!

This took so long to write, as there was so much i wanted to encompass with it! But don't let the chapter name fool you, this isnt the end! ^^ Sombra still has much to do!

There were two songs i listened to on repeat when i wrote this:

For the fight, this song was the best: Sonata Arctica - Peacemaker.
YT Link: https://youtu.be/HtLJTP-GD_s

And the transformation was set to this: Kadenza - Timeless.
YT Link: https://youtu.be/ZXeYlDQq47A

This chapter in particular is dedicated to my butt-kicking edit, Dream Seeker. Go give his stories a check-out, they're pretty dang awesome! ^__^

See you next chapter!

Interlude

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Rulings & Returns

Author's Note

Many thanks to DreamSeeker for editing this for me! His story "Im a Lich and i know it!", can be found HERE.Its been a long time in the making but I'm super happy to present this new chapter, complete with cameos from many a supporter! Enjoy~

Rulings & Returns

But all too soon, other matters were brought to his attention. Matters that would test his lauded ability to find the perfect solution in any situation…

"Your majesty!" One of the political council caught him as he was coming back from a flying lesson at the stadium with Rainbow Dash, "perfect timing, I was just looking for you! Might we waylay you a time?"

"Of course." Sombra smiled. He was a little tired, but the wings were feeling more and more natural with each day. He still had issues with the darn things disliking being tucked under his bed-covers. He would wake with the wings having thrown the covers off in an apparent fit of annoyance while he slept.

"We are aware that your coronation is fast approaching-" the pony speaking to the Prince paused as a look of "OOPS" flashed over Sombra's face and continued, "you forgot, sire?"

"Ah, well..." Sombra coughed, "I did, yes. I'm afraid I've been preoccupied with learning to fly. Fly properly that is. Celestia would like me to be able to fly with her and the other Princesses on the coronation day and I want to be stable enough at flight not to crash into the others mid-air!"

"I'm sure you will be fine, sire." the council pony chuckled. He led Sombra to the room where they convened to discuss matters. Sombra had attended a meeting about the small settlement he'd been briefly held prisoner in, inside this same room not long ago. The rest of the council greeted him respectfully and he bowed his head politely in return.

A servant pony asked would he like some tea and Sombra happily accepted, he was quite thirsty from flight practice!

They discussed a few smaller matters first, but Sombra could see the nervous glances between the ponies and flat out asked once the final minor matter was set aside, what the big issue was.

"Just, come out with it!" he said at last.

"Well, the hiccup we've reached sire, is a matter of a certain law." the head council-pony winced as he hesitantly began discussing what he worried would be the most tricky matter to date.

"Law?" Sombra asked, racking his brains and coming up with nothing, "which one are we talking about?"

"The law of entitlement. The law that ordains your position as the de facto Crown Prince. Simply put, it pulls the matter of Princess Cadance and Shining Armor's reign into dispute."

"What?" Sombra looked horrified "what do you mean "dispute"? They are the rulers here, are they not?" he looked from one pony to the next, concern rising. But they all looked fidgety and couldn't quite meet his eyes.

"Well," One of the female council ponies finally offered a comforting smile, yet she looked as uneasy as Sombra felt, "they took over the Empire under the law of emergency rule. With no uh "fit" ruler at the time..." She trailed off and Sombra shrugged.

"You needn't sidestep it," he said calmly "It was what it was."

She looked relieved. "Sorry your highness, it's just that I wish to cause no offense-"

Sombra let out a loud chuffing noise and rolled his eyes "Can I honestly just DEMAND everypony stop pussyfooting around what happened?! I am still perfectly aware that I went stark raving barmy. Mentioning it to me is NOT going to make me go crazy!"

One council pony bit back a laugh and Sombra continued without missing a beat;

"And for those that heard that rumor I was talking to a shrub in the palace garden, the little ones were hiding in there. I was trying to tell them lunch was ready!"

All the council-ponies fought and lost the battle to not laugh, sadly.

"Understand?" Sombra snickered, "honestly, just come out and refer to it as my "barmy period" for want of a better term. No, wait- What was it miss Dash said she described me as? I know! "Suffering a severe case of the galloping crazy". That'll do it, no?"

Once the laughter faded, the same mare continued on, a smile tugging the corner of her mouth;

"Well, when the "Galloping Crazy" happened, Cadance and Shining Armor were instated by Celestia as the Empire's rulers, given Princess Cadance was of royal standing, as was her husband."

"So, where is the problem?" Sombra asked. A servant set a cup of his favorite tea in front of him and he smiled warmly at her. The soothing aroma of the tea made him relax instinctively, as it always had done ever since he'd first drunk it during the crystal sickness. He took a sip, noting how his magic felt different since becoming an Alicorn, like it had been enhanced...

"Well, these documents," here the same mare held up the documents Cloudspark had written, declaring Sombra's right to rule as his adopted son, "as they were signed by the King, they take precedence. Simply put, your highness, the empire is YOURS by law-"

"Pffft-!"

Sombra made a sputtering noise as this news sunk in. He set the cup down, coughing, one hoof pressed to his mouth.

"W-what?" He shook his head, his voice hoarse as he really hoped he'd misheard her.

"The law of entitlement clearly states that proof of reign trumps the emergency measures. Once the coronation is finished, ALL control is officially yours."

"No way-" Sombra shook his head "I already told Shining Armor that I would not interfere with what they have done here, this is still their world-"

"I'm afraid it's not that simple sire." Another, older stallion said gently "It's the same law that your father followed. He named you as his successor and the law states that the Crystal Empire will be in your name once your official coronation is complete."

"Do Cadance and Shining Armor know about this?" Sombra said softly.

"Not yet sire, we only finished compiling this shortly before I encountered you. We wished to get your opinion on the matter first."

Sombra felt a mite sick. He didn't want to turf Cadance and Shining Armor off their thrones, they were his FRIENDS.

"I wont do that to them, I just won't." he said firmly. He took a sip of the tea, but it tasted acidic in the back of his throat. The idea of upsetting the fine work the Prince and Princess had done shook him to the core. He set the teacup aside, staring at the council ponies who'd dropped the bombshell on him.

They looked sympathetically back at the stunned royal...

"I understand this is hard for you, your majesty, we're searching for a solution right now. But the law currently says that as its legal heir, you have authority of override to the Kingdom. Once you're crowned, they will have to step down. We're searching the new books that you recovered from the caverns below the castle to see if there's an answer."

"If you'd prefer sire, we can discuss this another time? Perhaps tomorrow, with Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor in attendance." A kindly mare tiled her head to catch his eye. He nodded, then spoke;

"If it is all the same, I will inform them myself." Sombra said shortly "I would rather not keep them in the dark until tomorrow. We can discuss how to change this then."

"If that is your wish sire, then by all means." The pony speaking bowed his head in acknowledgement.

Sombra nodded, then asked if might take his leave, he needed to find his friends. The council nodded and watched as a decidedly stunned Sombra drifted out of the room.

"This is hard on his highness, the three of them are close, particularly himself and Shining Armor. We will send out a message right away to let them know about tomorrows meeting," the pony speaking began writing a letter.

Another nodded, adding;

"I feel terrible for his highness. He has struggled enough with being shoved into the spotlight by the uncovering of his inheritance. But as much as he objects, it is his right under the Empire's laws to govern the kingdom, alone."

"His claim is backed by his fathers paperwork," a stallion stared at the same paperwork, now scattered over the table, "simply put, there is not a single clause out of place. His father made sure it was all ready and waiting if his adopted child ever came back to his senses."

"And there is not a pony alive in this Empire that would deny he has more then proven what happened back then to be a mistake!" spoke another councilpony and the rest nodded eagerly.

Inkwell shook her head, very worried. She'd gotten to know the fledgling Prince when he'd saved her and her guests from an attack en-route to the theatre! She knew he still harbored some reservations about ruling and wondered just how this shocking news would affect him.

"I hope we can work this out, his highness does not wish to dethrone his friends," one mare sighed, "and neither do we. There must some some way we can have the three of them. A triumvirate of sorts."

"Sadly the law is clear, Prince Sombra's ascension to the throne will place him in direct rule. I understand this whole business has been tough on him what with all the fighting, but now things have returned to normal, we cannot put this off for much longer. A ruling must be reached before the coronation."

Sombra ran through the halls, searching everywhere for Cadance and Shining Armor.

He was informed that Cadance was in the throne room and Shining Armor was at the barracks, so he made the choice to inform her first.

"Sombra, are you alright?" Cadance asked before he'd even said one word, "you look like you seen a ghost!"

"A ghost would be easier to deal with, miss Cadance," Sombra shook his head.

She patted the spot where Shining Armor normally sat, beside her on the throne.

"Tell me." she said kindly.

Sombra sat down and with a heavy heart, he described what he'd just been told by the council.

Cadance's mouth fell open, concern rippling through her. On the one hoof there was the instinctive fear of losing her Empire, followed by the realization that Sombra looked equally as scared.

"I'm sorry," Sombra shook his head, "I did not think a few pieces of paper would cause such trouble!"

"Sombra-" Cadance could see why he looked upset and worried that he blamed himself.

"I told Shining Armor that I would not interfere with what you two have created," Sombra sounded like he was pleading with her "Look at how prosperous and happy this Empire is under the rule of the both of you. Even from my first day back here again, I seen how much better it was than the darkness of before! I was loathe to admit it back at the point when you first met me, but I seen how wonderful a job you'd done since my defeat."

He stared at the carpet under his hooves, falling silent as his throat locked up.

Cadance rested a hoof on his back, making him look at her.

"Nopony's holding you responsible for this Sombra," she stated firmly, "you weren't to know, none of us were. Things are still a little backed up around here with regards to politics."

"Had I not hidden so many of fathers books, mayhap you would not suffer this trouble NOW," Sombra responded, looking sick with worry and guilt, "I wouldn't blame you for being upset. Disrupting the wonders you two have done would be an insult to you and this Empire-"

"Sombra." Cadance could see how bad this was. He'd been on edge ever since the council had first begun asking when he would take the crown and join them. But now he looked on the verge of a breakdown from panic, it showed in the droop of his ears...

"If the coronation means kicking you two out of the place you've worked so hard to maintain, then I'd sooner cancel the occasion!" Sombra blurted desperately.

"You can't be serious? Why on Equestria would you do a thing like that?" Shining Armor had gotten the message Sombra was urgently searching for him and had walked in just in time to hear that line. He trotted over, reading from their expressions that something was very wrong, "What's the matter, buddy?"

"If the coronation goes ahead, it will mean taking this Empire away from the two of YOU. There is some obscure law, pre-dating even my fathers reign, that is stirring up trouble!"

Cadance repeated to Shining Armor what Sombra had told her.

"Oh. Blimey." Shining felt a pang of anxiety. Like Cadance, his first instinct was panic, he didn't want to say goodbye to the Empire either! But he also knew this wasn't Sombra's fault, so why was his friend looking so miserable?

"You've done nothing to feel guilty about," he told the worried dark Alicorn, "So stop looking so worried. If there's a loophole, the council will find it!"

"The way they phrased our chances, it would have to be a loophole BLACKHOLE! But I pray they do find a way," Sombra shook his head stubbornly as he talked "because, as I have stated to you before, I will not disturb what you two have built!"

"And if I recall, I said we'd work on that," Shining countered his friends objection "I got a note from one of the guards just before I walked in to hear you drop that bombshell. It says there's a council meeting tomorrow at lunchtime. I gather this is what they wish to discuss?"

Sombra nodded, looking pretty down in the dumps.

"Please don't feel you're to blame, Sombra." Cadance tried to put Sombra's mind at ease, "there are many laws surrounding the governing of this kingdom. We won't let you deny your coronation because you're worried about upsetting us. We will find a way to stay together."

"I never dreamt such a law existed," Sombra said dully, "I did not know all the newer laws before I went infamously crazy."

"In fairness, there has been little time lately to to delve into the political side of things with that war always raging. Explains why they've only recently brought it to light," Shining said at last, "kicking things up the arse has pretty much been the prerogative."

"I think they were preparing for the coronation when they stumbled across that law. No doubt they wished to make sure there were no inaccuracies, but still..." Sombra trailed off.

The trio fell silent, with Cadance looking worriedly at Sombra, who was staring at the floor in front of him. His ears were drooped all the way down, that not a good sign.

"I will NOT take either of your places." Sombra murmured, closing his eyes and shaking his head slowly but firmly. Cadance patted his back reassuringly, but she could see he was taking it rather hard. He'd been worried about taking part with the both of them to support him ever since he'd first accepted his inheritance. But he'd come out of his shell so much when he'd joined them to discuss aid for that settlement not long ago. She'd seen how sharp his mind was and it was clear he had a talent for politics as well as combat.

A not-so-subtle ffrttt sound cut into the solemn musing. Cadance and Sombra both looked over at Shining, who was sitting on his rear, one hoof stuck under the opposite armpit.

"What?" he said, nonchalantly "just doing, you know, musical armpit farts. Tricky since we have hooves, but with the right skill-!" he made another attempt, grinning cheesily.

Something stirred in Sombra, a memory. This was familiar territory in his memories of his foster father and he smiled faintly, despite his sadness.

"Really Shining," Cadance sighed, then startled her husband by out-hoof-parping him "This is how you do it."

Shining and Sombra both stared in surprise and Shining gave his smug wife a mock-glower.

"You are both mad!" Sombra said with an entirely straight face, then he proceeded to beat them both for volume, "THAT is how you win it!"

A moments silence filled the room, then all three burst out laughing.

"Seriously, what are we? Three?" Cadance couldn't stop laughing.

Shining Armor met Sombra's eyes and started laughing anew, "maybe..?"

His sides aching, Sombra managed to talk, but barely "I blame my father, for he always said, "act your hoof-shoe size, not your age!""

"You're over a thousand years old! Technically, you should know better!" Shining Armor reminded Sombra with a snigger.

"Maybe so, but in my defense I was either asleep or crazy!" Sombra laughed, "then add in who my father was and you can see where I learned such behaviour!"

"Rats," Shining Armor shook his head, "I'm all out of rebuttals!"

Then he snorted again "hehe, 'butt'."

Cadance shook her head, her sides hurting from the much needed laughter gained from watching her husband and friend bicker good naturally.

"I'm curious as to where YOU learnt it, Cadance darling?" Shining snuggled his wife's cheek as the laughter died down. Cadance beamed;

"Easy, honey! I learnt it from your sister!"

"Twilight?" Sombra sputtered, eyebrows raised. The mental image of a tiny filly Twilight Sparkle aping her big brother cracked him up afresh.

"She was a funny kid." Shining Armor chuckled.

"When I used to foal-sit, she always claimed you taught it to her." Cadance looked at Shining Armor.

"Guilty." Shining nodded.

"I am not going to let her escape hearing about this!" Sombra sniggered.

"At least wait until dinners over, I want time to run away first!" Shining snorted, which made Sombra face-hoof, shoulders shaking in silent laughter.

For a few peaceful minutes, all that was heard was their laughter echoing around the throne rooms vaulted ceiling.

"Oh sweet Celestia, my sides." Sombra finally calmed himself down.

"She probably knows it too!" Shining laughed at the idea.

"Or Luna?" Sombra laughed, "I know I did speak of my fathers goofy humour to them both."

"But seriously buddy," Shining smiled at Sombra, who still looked a little worried but there was a gleam of hope in his eyes now "we'll find something, so please don't cancel the coronation, everypony is eager to see you finally officially join the ranks! Even more since since the day you saved them from the sky tear."

"I know," Sombra said softly, "I just don't know what to think. I don't know enough to oppose the laws, I think I need to study my fathers books."

He thanked them for making him laugh and when he left, Shining Armor was attempting to arm-parp the anthem to the Empire, to Cadance's simultaneous dismay and amusement.

The six girls were shocked and concerned when this heavy news broke over dinner.

"Oh dear," Twilight Sparkle looked worried. "this is bad."

"Can't they, ya know, make an exception? I mean, you guys are all royalty. It's not like say, a junior Wonderbolt trying to pull rank." Rainbow Dash queried and her shoulders slumped in disappointment when Sombra shook his head.

"It is an old law. One set in all but literal stone I regret to say." Sombra sighed uneasily. He was paying little attention to his dinner and choosing to stare worriedly into space instead, racking his brains for an idea.

"So?" Rainbow cocked her head, frowning.

"So, regrettably, they cannot just be overridden on a whim! Otherwise any ruler could rapidly get out of control." Cadance explained. Sombra nodded.

"Cadance is right," Twilight sighed, "I know from my studies that it can take MONTHS to even get these things started. We don't have that kind of time before the coronation."

Sombra opened his mouth;

"For the last time, we are not cancelling it!" Shining Armor stated. Sombra made an exasperated snorting noise.

"Well, let us postpone it at the very least! I UNDERSTAND its a big public occasion, but surely they will not be too disheartened if we put it on hold a while? Maybe be truthful with them?"

"Maybe." Cadance could see her own concern mirrored in Shining's face. Sombra was already willing to give up what he'd worked for, what he'd earnt, for their sakes. Undoubtedly because of what was beyond question the still lingering guilt and ghosts from his past. He'd won the sky tear war, but he was still reluctant to do anything that might bring trouble. He still viewed it as THIER kingdom, his own position merely that of a figurehead.

How could they convince him otherwise?

Parchment, one of the senior council members, was no closer to an answer than the royals were as he got home that night.

After dinner was over and his son was in bed upstairs, he told his wife about what was going on, stating his concerns over Sombra's refusal to accept it.

"I understand his reluctance," his wife said, looking sad, "he must think we'd think the worst of him."

"All he's done and he still carries that absurd notion? Honey, he's so intelligent, yet he remains so hesitant even after staring death in the face!"

"Think about it;" his wife said kindly, "growing up, from what we've learned, he was taught to blame himself for being different. As a child, that can be devastating to their confidence. Even though this is out of his control, he still feels because it's HIS inheritance that he's the one to blame. The Prince and Princess have been wonderful friends to him, the thought of hurting them is abhorrent."

"I didn't think about that," Parchment sighed, nodding as he thought it over, "but the fact remains that with the coronation so close, we're running out of time!"

The two didn't realize that their son was eavesdropping outside the kitchen door. He'd come downstairs to get a drink, but had paused en route to the kitchen upon hearing his parents talking. Curious about why daddy sounded so worried, he'd crept up to the door and heard the whole thing.

As he understood it, the law would either allow Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor, or it would allow Prince Sombra. But Sombra was refusing to take the throne away form his fellow royals.

So if something was not done soon, they'd have NO ruler!

He scurried back to bed, drink forgotten.

After dinner, Sombra spent the rest of the day in his room, buried in stacks of books. But it was for nothing, the law was clear as crystal; his right to the throne was indisputable. He wondered if Cadance and Shining could counter it somehow, citing the circumstances? But that other law already covered that.

Sombra let his head slump to the desk, feeling worse than ever. By all technicalities, he was the legal heir and that trumped emergency measures.

"There has to be something, father." he whispered bleakly. "I am not giving up. I know this is what you wanted for me, but my friends, they're important too."

He came across an old set of loose notes from his days in his father's tutelage, one scribbled line mentioning a new law about sub-leveling the reign of power, in cases of larger Empires. But by that point, his eyes were burning and he fell asleep at his desk.

At some point near dawn, he woke up and staggered to his bed, passing out again moments after pulling the covers over his head.

He slept badly that night, tossing and turning as he tried to think of something, ANYTHING that meant he wouldn't have to essentially back-stab his friends. In his mind, they had adopted him and he considered their reign to be of higher status, they took good care of the Empire.

When he finally showed up at the meeting, the council noticed he seemed more than a bit exhausted.

"You ah, got something on your muzzle there, bud." Shining Armor gestured to Sombra's face. Sombra blinked, spotting a blueish smudge on his face when he glanced at the nearest window. He coughed and quickly scrubbed it away with his magic.

"Ink," he smiled wanly "I fell asleep on my notebook."

"Drooled on it too?" Shining asked with a grin.

"Obviously." Sombra gave a brief laugh.

They sat down and any good humor Sombra had held onto soon got mired in the pit of concern growing once more in his stomach as he spotted the familiar paperwork.

The council discussed a few preliminary matters that soared right over his head before the main bulk of the meeting. The battle of the inheritance as Sombra called it.

"I don't doubt that his highness here," the pony speaking indicated Sombra, "has informed you both about the issue we've encountered?"

"Yes, he has," Shining cast a concerned glance at Sombra, who had gone silent again. He looked a bit sick, the other Prince thought. Why was he holding himself responsible for this? He wasn't to know!

"We have been over it and over it," Parchment shook his head, "but we can find nothing in the current laws that allows for any leeway. Those documents constitute a binding right, one that we cannot argue with, save for the case of the pony in question being unfit for duty. Which is categorically NOT the case in this situation."

"Yeah, no amount of pretending to be crazy will fool us." Shining Armor gently nudged his friend, making Sombra smile weakly at him.

"Drat, I'm so good at it too!" Sombra sighed dramatically, forcing himself to act cheerful.

"We understand," Cadance said, smiling at the two and their weird in-jokes, "Shining and I were aware that we were emergency stand-ins in lieu of a recognized heir."

"Celestia told us things were in dire need and that she needed us to help!" Shining Armor nodded.

Sombra's stomach shifted and he hiccuped, getting an odd glance or three from some of the council ponies. He felt himself flush slightly and resumed staring intently back down at the notebook open in front of him, but his own writing blurred into a mishmash of squiggles and he sighed softly.

"And that's what those files say, right?" Shining asked, "even Celestia said she recognized it as a binding document."

"Exactly, your highness and if we were to unjustly refuse to go with its ruling- well, it's an act of treason to go against the crown. Archaic, but still an important safeguard for illegitimate attempts to tear the current rule asunder."

Another hiccup for Sombra, this time more successfully muted. Nopony noticed, for all eyes were on Cadance and Shining Armor as they learnt all the details.

"Of course, the laws for the emergency measure have some complicated caveats to them as well. You two have been ruling for over a year, which gives grounds for permanence."

"That is the solution then, surely!" Sombra finally spoke up, voice filled with hope, "surely all they have to do apply for this law-"

The older pony raised a hoof, stopping Sombra in his tracks.

"It is not that simple, your majesty. The rules state the "law of inheritance" is absolute, except in very rare cases. What we have here is a literal case of two laws conflicting one another."

"Don't suppose we could just write a new one?" Sombra said bleakly.

"Wish that we could your majesty, but even I can tell that you know that's not possible." Parchment looked at the anxious stallion.

"Yes, father's classes did gloss over how the Empire was run." Sombra sighed.

"You mean you stayed awake through one?" Shining Armor chuckled, "according to Blueblood, your father would doodle on your face every time you fell asleep!"

Some of the council had to look at the table to refrain from laughing at the mental image.

"That he did." Sombra forced a smile.

"What about about Sombra's power over legislation?" Cadance pondered, "could he not amend the laws himself?"

"Sadly no. If the laws were that easy to change it could allow for such total iron-hoofed control-"

"-that you end up with a lunatic." Sombra said. They blinked at him with looks of surprise, so he added "lets face it, it's what I tried to do!"

"Once the coronation is over, the law of inheritance will kick into effect and we could be in serious trouble if the laws aren't followed-" One pony began, only for another to cut him off;

"We're aware the current plan is to put the coronation on hold and we feel we must advise against this, your highness." A councilpony said to Sombra, "the public are looking forward to the event with such joy, they will not sit idly by and watch you refuse the throne! The loss in morale would be simply-" he carried on, hoping his rousing speech would make the Prince buck up.

Sombra's nerves couldn't take any more and he felt a sensation he hadn't felt since his earlier days when he had tormented himself with flashbacks of his past. Those days when he'd first tried to deny Cadance and Shining Armor's efforts to persuade him to rule. In short, he was undoubtedly about to be sick.

He swallowed it down, ears flattening down as his stomach ached so badly, but it was no good.

Everypony in the room uttered sounds of concern when Sombra unexpectedly went pale and shut his eyes.

"What's the matter, bud?" Shining Armor asked, very troubled by how tired Sombra suddenly looked.

"It is nothing," Sombra shook his head as he sat up, "just an upset stomach is all."

"Perhaps we should adjourn for today if you feel unwell, your highness? Goodness me, you're as white as a sheet, do you want us to call a doctor?" One worried mare queried, looking kindly at the shaken Prince.

"No, that wont be necessary. I just need some fresh air. I need a walk, if you will kindly excuse me," Sombra got up, bowing apologetically, "I won't be long."

"Of course, your highness." the head of the council nodded. Sombra excused himself once more, then trotted hurriedly out of the room. Soon as the door shut behind, him he ran full speed for the bathroom.

"It's the same thing." Shining Armor looked at Cadance, who nodded.

"Same as what?"

Seeing the councils baffled looks, Cadance explained how the shock of finding out he was the Crystal Empire's Crown Prince had shaken Sombra so badly, he'd been sick repeatedly while he battled with the decision.

"When I first persuaded him to accept it, he said he would not interfere with what we have done," Shining Armor sighed, "I knew he still labored under a damaging guilt complex and I figured it'd take time, so I didn't push it. He honestly seemed pretty happy about it whenever I brought it up lately. Its obvious from the look on his face whenever he speaks about the Empire that he loves it the way we do."

"He's worried about US," Cadance elaborated, "a small part of him undoubtedly expects us to be angry that his right to the throne may mean we have to stand down. I wont deny the thought saddens us both, but in the event of a worst case scenario, this empire has a wonderful ruler in Sombra. He's just too caught up in his guilt over this news to even consider it!"

"We nearly lost him during that awful battle," the head of the council stated, "his willingness to sacrifice his own life for all of us is what makes everypony in this Empire care so deeply for him. It is why we simply MUST persuade him to accept his crown! The citizens long to see him watch over them alongside the two of you."

"That's where the problem is," Inkwell put in, "his highness simply refuses to disturb what the Prince and Princess have done! We do not wish to lose you both, this kingdom has grown magnificently since you came here."

Cadance nodded in agreement, resting her chin on one hoof with a sigh...

Shining Armor once again diffused the tension with a loud snigger. He was reading the book Sombra had left behind.

"What is it?" Cadance asked.

"His notes that he mentioned earlier." Shining giggled merrily.

"What does it say?" Parchment asked.

"Blueberries...aren't blue?" Shining Armor guffawed, "oh wait, this is brilliant- Wood pigeons, surely not flammable?"

"He must've been running on fumes if THAT'S what he was thinking about?" Cadance chuckled, despite her concern.

"He's starting to remind me more and more of the father he spoke so often about," Inkwell chuckled, "he had a very odd sense of humor!"

"Other than that, most of what he's written here is what you've already covered. There's a line about sub-divide- but it cuts off there. I'm guessing that's where he fell asleep on his book.." Shining Armor indicated a smudge of blue ink.

Outside, Sombra decided to go for a fly, to see if that would help clear his head. It was nearly lunchtime, so many a tempting food smell wafted past him on the breeze as he flew. But his stomach still hurt after the dash to the bathroom, so he ignored them for now.

The sun warmed his back as he flew lazily over the Empire, seeing it glittering below him. It looked so beautiful, his heart ached with a yearning to be at its heart, to watch over it.

Familiar locales passed by below as he banked and descended, he recognized the school little Bright Spark attended. He landed some distance away and decided to walk back to the palace, so as to stretch his legs this time.

By the time he reached the school on his walk, the kids were out playing in the grounds. A gilded wall ran around the grassy section at the side and Sombra, being tall enough to easily see over, seen a familiar flash of mane just a second before she seen HIM.

"SOMBWA!" Spark bellowed, hurtling over, her friends in tow. She jumped up, waving her hooves at him. He chuckled, lifting her with his magic so she could "Boop" his nose before setting her down.

"Hey little Spark." He said fondly.

"Whatchuu doing, Sombwa?" she asked.

"Just out for a walk, I needed to clear my head."

"Why? Is somefing bad taking up all the space?" She asked.

"Yes, thin air." Sombra joked with a deadpan face and this made all the kids giggle loudly. But he still looked sad, so Spark again asked was he alright?

"To answer your question; yes, something is holding my brain hostage," Sombra sighed sadly, "It's about the coronation."

"Why is your coronation making you sad?" this baffled all the young ponies.

"It is a long story and I do not wish to trouble you." Sombra forced a smile. But the kids weren't buying it, he soon realized, as he saw their skeptical faces.

"Uhmm..." One little kid named Blank Slate thought he could guess why Sombra was sad. He recalled what he'd overheard his parents discussing.

"Is it about a law of, uhm, entriflement?"

"Entitlement," Sombra corrected, with a faint smile at the thought of trifle and nodded, "yes, that's correct. Wait, how did you-?"

"I overhead daddy talking about it, he says the law is kind of complicated."

"It isn't advised to eavesdrop, little fellow. But you are correct, there is a big muddle going on," Sombra said at last.

"Muddle?" Spark asked. The little foal nodded and turned to her;

"Daddy said Prince Sombra is the legal ruler and it means the Prince and Princess NOW may not stay."

Worried noises and cries of dismay swept the crowd of children and Sombra panicked, hating to upset them.

"No, no!" he assured them, shaking his head, "that wont happen, I promise! I have told them I will not let that come to pass. Cadance and Shining Armor will always be here with you!"

Blank Slate nodded, seeing Sombra looking unhappy, he felt he could guess why. "Daddy said that too. He says this Empire deserves all three of you, but the laws are fighting."

"Conflict of interest." Sombra knew that from the books he'd been reading.

"Don't be sad," a little filly realized Sombra was worried he'd get the blamed for it, "you three are friends and you don't want to be without your friends, right?"

"Exactly," Sombra nodded to her, smiling a little, "Cadance and Shining Armor are magnificent rulers. if anything, it is I that should be asking them to assist. I'm still new to this!"

"It's like having to choose who to invite to a party," one kid summed up and they all nodded. They understood it was horrid to have to leave a friend out. Sombra was being asked to ditch his best friends, and he didn't want to do it!

"Fret not," Sombra repeated, "Your Prince and Princess are going nowhere."

"But where will you go? This is your home too, your daddy was the King right?" another kid asked.

"Yes, he was," Sombra nodded, "I called him King Dingus once, he was NOT impressed. Until he started calling me Deputy Doofus that is."

More giggling from the children.

"Hay, how come we don't have Kings and Queens any more?" a filly piped up, frowning. Sombra thought about it.

"It's not clear," he said at last, "Celestia and I discussed that one evening as it happens. It depends on the region, that's the best guess I have. Griffon's once had Kings and Queens, the Gargoyle and Centaur kingdoms have them, even my father was known as a King when he ruled. It was a tradition in the Empire for a long time as far as I know.

Celestia said she and Luna were crowned at a young age and found the title of "Queen" to be too much. They wished to be more approachable and requested they be called Princesses instead. And it has been that way ever since, with many empires following their example over the course of their reign. Even father thought it might be easier on the populace if he changed his rank to that of a Prince, to level with the royal sisters."

One little pony had an idea as he listened to Sombra talk and ran inside, looking for a book.

"So it's just a name then?" Another tiny pony asked.

Sombra thought about it, "I would warrant as much," he smiled "that is a very clever way to say it. A lot can be inferred from a name!"

"Thanks your highness!" the little pony beamed.

"Mister Prince Sombra?" the little colt bounded over and buzzed his wings to hover high enough to hold up a book, "maybe this will make you feel better?"

"What is it?" Sombra held the book in his magic. The colt perched on the wall beside him and pointed at the first page.

"See? There was once a magical kingdom in a lush forest, ruled by a King and Queen. The Queen had three daughters, exactly thee years apart each. This was a surprise, for nopony had ever had THREE before." As he spoke, he pointed out the pretty picture to Sombra, showing three dainty ponies.

"All ponies only ever had one child, it had been that way for centuries, through a strange spell cast over the kingdom. The King had passed away in a war when the youngest was scarcely grown. Thus, when the Queen passed away, the three argued over who should run the kingdom, as the law said only one could be crowned. The country needed only one Queen. The other two would be forced to leave to found their own kingdoms if they wished to rule."

"The sisters were sad, they did not like to fight. But the citizens grew cross, arguing for them to choose amongst themselves. But they couldn't come to an agreement. None of them wanted to say goodbye, but they all wanted to stay in the kingdom."

Sombra nodded, absorbed in the tale.

"Anyway, One day the eldest was sitting by the lake in the palace gardens, crying."

"Oh, why must two of us leave?" she asked the water "are we not ALL part of this kingdom?"

As she cried, she seen an elegant white bird glide by with her two children, who were soft grey.

"Someday those babies will become big swans, yet they will be as loved in their lake as their parents are now."

The gardener heard her tears and offered her his hanky.

"Pray tell, what are those birds?" She asked.

"They are called Crested Odettes." the gardener said "they have been part of this garden for many centuries, always returning here after the winter has passed and always with new children. The little ones grow and take charge, but they never eave their elders behind. They a true family bird, did you know the Griffons call them "the birds of reign" due to their long stay in these parts? The little 'uns are called "Princettes"."

"Princess?" The young royal misheard him as she looked at the birds. The mother Swan looked like a Queen, she decided. So the babies...

"I know what I can do!" She leapt to her feet and smiled once more, "you have saved me from losing what I love!" she bestowed a kiss upon the gardener, vowing to repay him, and ran inside.

The next day she and her sisters addressed the citizens. They had come to a decision. The eldest would be queen. But her sisters would be PRINCESSES. She told the story of the birds, stating that the Queen was like a mother bird. When her babies were be considered full grown, or they would take her place. So if she were to step down, or, Celestia forbid, pass away, the next eldest would take her place. By that time, she would be learned in how to take care of the kingdom."

The final page came around at last, "the citizens cheered, for they loved all three girls, and were overjoyed that they would not bid them farewell. And so the eldest ruled, and when she thought it was time, she handed the mantle to the next youngest, and retired to spend her days with her husband, the gardener who had saved her heart all those years ago."

He shut the book. Every pony, Sombra included, was in deep thought.

"So...why don't you become the KING and Cadance and Shining Armor can be the little Odettes! That way, you wont have to ask them to leave!"

Sombra was dumbfounded. It all made sense now.

"The title is just a technicality," he murmured, eyes brightening, "the article about sub-dividing-!"

"Now there's MATH involved?" one colt groaned, "no wonder you're confused!"

Sombra chuckled, but he suddenly looked much happier.

"On the contrary, I think you kids may have just saved my ass-oops!"

He clapped a hoof over his mouth as the kids giggled.

"Forget I said that, you did not hear me, alright!" Sombra warned. "No amount of royal status will save me from your parents if they found out I taught you that word!"

The kids all giggled, but unanimously agreed it'd be their secret!

"As absurd as this is, would your teacher mind if I borrowed this book?" Sombra asked, indicating the storybook. "Is she here?"

"She's inside, but we'll tell her!" the kids promised and Sombra vowed he'd return it asap!

Bright Spark clamored for one last hug, which she naturally got, then Sombra spread his wings and took off again, suddenly eager to return to the palace!

Mid-way there his stomach grumbled and he swooped down to make a pit stop at his favorite bakery!

As he flew leisurely back to the palace, flickers of memory came back. His fathers voice, stern but amused, as he was tapping a hoof on a whiteboard...

During this time, the others had had a brief break for tea and cakes.

"Now, in absence of his highness, we can discuss some previous standing matters with you, Prince and Princess..."

"Of course!" Cadance smiled, but inwardly she wondered where Sombra had gotten to?

"It's not like him to run off from something like this. Where do you suppose he went? It's been almost an hour!" Shining mused to his wife.

"I don't know, but I trust he knows what he's doing." Cadance replied reassuringly.

"Now, we have received a response form the town Prince Sombra sent aid to, the letter arrived by second post and-"

"I'VE GOT IT!!" Sombra suddenly came barreling back into the room. The doors bounced off the walls from the force, nearly trapping Sombra's tail between them and escaping such fate by merely a hair.

"Got what?!" Shining Armor yelped, pulling one of Cadance's wings up to duck behind.

"A very impressive Canterlot voice?" Parchment queried, raising an eyebrow, "Did Princess Luna teach you that?"

"Pardon? Oh- no, not directly." Sombra realized he'd been a bit over eager, set the box from the bakery down on the table and the book atop THAT. He was grinning ear to ear as he spoke;

"During my flight to ease my stomach, I passed by the school and stopped off to talk with the little ones awhile. One thing led to another, and one of the kids mentioned his father talking about the law of inheritance. I didn't catch his name..."

"Blank Slate." Parchment face-hoofed and shook his head "that boy, he's far too inquisitive for his own good."

"Far from it, it is his curiosity that may have given me a solution!" Sombra lifted the book in the air. He pointed a hoof at it, still grinning widely.

"A children's book, sire?" Another pony queried. The rest of the council were exchanging concerned glances. This was either the most obscure solution ever, or his highness was in denial.

"You didn't crash into a tree again did you?" Shining Armor asked hesitantly, "only the bump you got after that happened last time? Huge. You tried flying BACKWARDS!"

"Far from it!" Sombra held up the book, and launched into an explanation of what the kids had taught him. About the Odettes and the Queen. One by one, the ponies jaws dropped as Sombra successfully outlined an idea that made SENSE. With a kids story book.

"And," Sombra looked around, spying the childhood journal Shining Armor had been laughing at earlier, "some of father's lessons mentioned about sub-dividing the hierarchy. I remembered more of it on my way back here! It seems the Crystal Empire had some old laws before his time, about only one set of rulers such as a King and Queen. If they had kids, that child would not be considered a royal until the crown was passed to them. They would have no title. He campaigned to have it revoked, from what I can tell, shortly before his wife passed away. That was when I met him..."

"Hence how he was able to get that document legalized without fuss," Parchment stared, "but how come we were unable to find this law?"

"I wondered about that, as I remember him being very confident when he spoke of it in his lesson. Had he and the Queen had a child, he or she would've been a Prince or Princess! BUT, I left some of fathers books with the historical society, including some books on political minutes and plans for a new law book that never got published. I'd warrant if it exists, it's in one of those books!"

"Sire..." The head of the council stared, then bowed his head in respect "you may have just solved our dilemma. If we can just find those proposals-"

"I'm heading back out, I need to get to the historical society as fast as I can!" Sombra declared, turning to leave.

"We'll go with you!" The head of the council stated, "we can conclude our meeting there!"

"Excellent!" another said and they all began packing up.

"What's that box for?" Cadance at last asked what the box Sombra had dumped on the table was.

"Oh!" Sombra opened it, letting delicious fresh baked smells drift out "I got peckish on the way back. Does anypony fancy a cake?"

Quillpetal got a shock when an entire royal delegation, plus a box of cakes, showed up on the historical society's front step.

"We need to see some of the books I brought to you." Sombra said sheepishly "my apologies for the interruption, brash as it is!"

"We can bribe you in cake?" Shining Armor joked, gesturing to the box on Sombra's back.

Quillpetal laughed, "I take payment in baked goods, no fear there!"

She invited them in and helped them find the books she'd been cataloguing.

She even offered to help once they explained the situation, so they took a pile each and began reading.

One hour later….

"I found it!" Cadance cheered, bouncing excitedly up in her seat, holding the book aloft. She had a smudge of cream on one cheek, which she hurriedly wiped off.

They all crowded round her and the head council-pony read out a long paragraph of legalese.

"Meaning?" Shining Armor asked, hoping he had understood it right.

"MEANING," the pony stressed, "if we follow the former hierarchy set by Prince Sombra's father, there is no reason for any of your highnesses to fret!"

Cadance wiped a hoof over her forehead then laughed as both her husband and Sombra uttered huge sighs of relief and slithered into heaps on their chairs.

"Hoofbump!" Shining wheezed and Sombra wordlessly completed the gesture.

"There's also a sub clause about pineapples being a national fruit-?" Quillpetal snorted, eyes crinkling in delight.

Sombra face-hoofed at this.

"Seriously, father?!" he groaned.

"This one says it's legal to wear pants on your head," Shining Armor grinned at the male Alicorn, "can we keep this?"

As they left, Cadance pulled Shining Armor aside and held a quick conversation with him. He nodded his agreement and they said nothing else on the subject the whole way back.

They regrouped in the meeting room, where the servants set fresh cups of tea or coffee in front of each pony. Sombra breathed in the scent of the tea he'd been drinking since the crystal plague and felt a bit better.

"There's just one last bit," the older pony of the council flicked through the papers, "we now need to confirm who will be shifting rank-"

"That's obvious," Sombra said, mistaking it for a question instead of a statement. He closed his eyes, feeling relief as the words he'd held in check since the kids at the pre-school had helped him figure it out now spilled easily from him "Cadance and Shining Armor are going to be Ki-"

"Nope". Two voices spoke at once and poor, already overloaded Sombra almost choked on his tea yet again. His eyes snapped open and he was greeted by two amused faces, plus the councils bemused yet almost patient ones.

"W-why're you all looking at me like that?" he queried, feeling his new wings fidget against his sides, wanting to unfold and be free, but he sat on the impulse.

"In one ear and out the other, huh buddy?" Shining chuckled, using his magic to tweak Sombra's ears. In return Sombra jabbed him on the nose with with a cookie magically lifted from the plate. Shining Armor scarfed it out of the air and gave a low burp. Cadance rolled her eyes, but took over her husbands attempt.

"What Shining is trying to say-" she said as Shining Armor brushed crumbs off his muzzle "is that you're forgetting something crucial."

"You mean the paperwork? I know it's binding-" Sombra began, but his friends shook their heads.

"Not just that, but our opinion. Remember all that time ago, when I finally got you to wear that band?" Shining Armor asked.

Sombra glanced down at the thing now, lifting his foreleg to watch the sunlight gleam off it. After everything he'd gone through, he was surprised it hadn't broken. It was tougher than it seemed, perhaps as he himself was?

He was pulled from his reverie by his friends hoof resting on his right shoulder. Shining Armor was smiling and when he spoke, it was quietly enough that only Sombra would hear it.

"I said you could trust your friends if you don't feel you can trust your own opinion. So trust us, now. Cadance and I are overjoyed we can stay not just with you, but with the Empire."

Cadance moved closer too, giving a firm nod.

"I know what's making you dig your heels in," Shining Armor read it in his friend's face "you're afraid you'll be putting us out, that we'll think you've got an ego problem or something, aren't you?"

The way he said it so bluntly actually made Sombra laugh softly. But he did nod in acknowledgement.

Shining Armor grinned back and Sombra felt some of the weight ease off his chest.

"We KNOW you, don't forget. We've seen you grow from the start, you're not like that shadow of the past any more. You're the pony you were meant to be all along. Heh, I can't believe I opened fire on you that first occasion!"

Sombra chuckled, "you have good aim. Had I not ducked, I undoubtedly would have started a full on brawl!"

"Probably would have won it too, you're bigger then me!" Shining Armor mock-huffed. The council, unable to hear anything above a murmur, studied the way Sombra and Shining Armor laughed at what was probably a happy memory. The tension seemed to ease out of Sombra's posture, the wings settling down.

"So relax, please," Cadance said gently, "we know you worry about the past, even now. But as Shining said, you're not the same as you were back then. I don't just mean the physical changes, but inside too. You know what you're doing, we've both seen how you can just pull a solution from a disorganised situation. The party, the training grounds, the darkness dome, the list goes on. Don't let your past scare you, its over and done now. The citizens of the Empire adore you, your coronation is all they can talk about. They'll understand. If it helps, we'll hold another public announcement, it'll let you rest easy."

"So will you accept it?" Shining Armor asked, "we'll still be the Prince and Princess, we're not going anywhere. But without you, this plan wont work. So, what do you say?" he raised the hoof. A familiar gesture...

Sombra felt his gut shift worriedly, but he realized Shining Armor was right and this wasn't the past any more. If doing this meant he wouldn't deprive his friends of their hard work, if it meant he got to stay beside them, it was worth any fears he might have over being called a certain title again. So he nodded and bumped his hoof against his friends'.

"OK!" Shining Armor sat back down and gestured to the council "lets get this moving! The citizens are already about to explode form excitement over waiting for this guys coronation. We delay it any longer....we'll have a...lot of exploding ponies?" he looked concerned at the mental image.

Sombra looked down at the band, remembering how he'd been startled by the spells his father had put on it and had asked if it would explode for an encore? Celestia had asked that he refrain from exploding if he could. He recalled her amused smile.

Cadance met his eyes and smiled, she was thinking the same thing.

"No exploding before the announcement!" she teased and Sombra laughed..

"-and the law states we can still have a Prince and Princess, as long as we have a KING!" Shining Armor grinned at the girls, "it's genius!"

Cue a seconds silence as this sunk in. The trio had sat through dinner grinning ear to ear, refusing to tell a word until they were done eating.

"YES!" Twilight Sparkle literally bounced over the table with a single bound and hugged Sombra, then let him go and hugged her brother and sister in law "yes! yes!"

"Yeehaww!" Applejack whooped, "that there's great news!"

"Oh I'm so relieved!" Fluttershy looked about to faint.

"Marvellous, darlings!" Rarity clapped her hooves in joy, "however did you come up with that idea?"

Sombra told them about the book, and how-

"It's all technicalities, just names. But it was a rule we could take advantage of, so the law of inheritance wouldn't force a decision none of us were happy with!" Sombra looked at Shining and Cadance "I'm sorry about how this must have made you feel."

"The same as it did you," Cadance assured him, "we were shocked, but we didn't want to see you refuse your coronation and be denied what you'd earned. Were indebted to you for figuring it out so we can help you run this kingdom."

Sombra was floored by this;

"B-but," he stammered "you've been here for so long and done so well, I'm-"

"We're not going to leave you to work it out on your own," Cadance beamed, "but your place IS at the very heart of this Empire. It's where you deserve to be and I don't think you'll be as bad as you think you are."

"Yeah, I mean, the council were anxious to get you working before the war was even over, remember?" Shining Armor added.

"So, we have King, a Prince and a Princess?" Rainbow said, "that is awesome!"

"It is just a name, nothing else will change." Sombra smiled.

"We're the baby birds!" Cadance chuckled, recalling the story, "I love that book, I wonder if I can get a copy just to remind me of the day politics was settled by a children's storybook and a box of pastries."

Shining Armor hoof-bumped his buddy once more and Sombra smiled, happy that they were safe and sound alongside him.

"We need to tell the Empire, so we're holding an event like last time, at the stadium!" Shining finished.

"Can we have a party after? A BIG big street party?" Pinkie Pie asked.

All three royals involved looked at each other.

"Why not?" Sombra shrugged and the others nodded eagerly.

"You must be so relieved tha problems sorted, huh sugarcube?" Applejack said to Sombra as Pinkie Pie began jotting down what she'd need.

"Well, of course! I feel kind of weird, having to change my title back to...ah...THAT, however," he flushed.

"Nonsense," Shining Armor said "this is your home, your kingdom. I know you think you're a little behind after being gone so long, but trust me, you've done great so far."

"Wonderfully put, darling!" Rarity beamed at the nervous Sombra, "a rose by any other name and all that, no?"

"True." Sombra sighed.

"And baby birds," Fluttershy giggled "that's so adorable!"

Pinkie Pie tried to make some out of mashed potato, but it wasn't as good as clay!

Watching her, Sombra had an idea. Focusing his magic, he created three little crystal swans, a white one with blue wings and a sticky-up quiff to mimic a horn, a second in subtle shades of pink and purple and finally a Grey one with black wings.

"Aww, so adorable!" Rarity giggled.

"Hay, can we be part of the family too?" Pinkie Pie asked. So Sombra gifted each girl with a little swan of her own, marked with their colors. Once he'd done that, he had a further idea-! Thus the trio related in one way or another to the CMC also had a pint-sized swan-baby to go with them.

When the cook walked in with the dessert dishes, pushing the tray ahead of her, she spotted the unusual centerpiece made of crystal swans.

"Well that's just adorable!" She smiled.

"Sombra made 'em!" Pinkie Pie grinned.

"They're adorable, your majesty!" The cook said as she set the desserts down on the table.

"But not edible!" Pinkie shoved the mashed potato-swans into her mouth and grinned, cheeks puffed out.

Two days later Shining Armor along with Cadance and Sombra, held an emergency announcement at the stadium. There, Shining explained the problem they'd encountered with the law of inheritance.

"We came here when the Empire was in a lost state. Princess Celestia used a law of emergency that enabled us to stand in stead of a recognized ruler. Thus, we came to your wonderful home and got to know you all.."

The crowd looked touched at this and cheered their support.

"But, just a few days ago, the political council came across an unexpected problem. Our right to rule was an emergency measure, whereas Sombra's was a legitimate claim." Shining continued "This brought up the "law of inheritance". This law would require us to step down on the event of Sombra's coronation. He did not wish to see this happen, and put the coronation on hold so the council could find a solution."

Dismayed cries raced around the stadium and Sombra winced guiltily in remembrance. The crowd panicked, would Sombra never be crowned? Would Cadance and Shining Armor be able to stay? Who would guide them?

"But!" Shining cried, stilling their panic, "once again, Sombra turned out to be the answer we needed. He found a law that changed everything. Go on buddy, tell them!"

Sombra closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as Shining Armor turned the mic towards him; he seen the encouraging smiles on the faces of his friends and felt a little less uneasy as he spoke;

"My father, the former King, had put into practice a new law. Prior to him and his wife, any royalty bearing a child could not recognize said child as a Prince or Princess. Their only right to rule was in the case of their parents passing. But father changed it, wanting that any child of a King or Queen could be recognized. Not only that, but after the loss of his wife, he asked it be extended to include legal adoption. For those that could not bear children, this offered hope."

He faltered a moment, the sheer weight of his fathers gift pressing on his heart and it showed in his expression and voice as he spoke.

"That is how he was able to name me as his heir, despite the fact I was not his by blood. All he needed was my parents signatures, and the law was secured. I journeyed out of the palace in an effort to clear my head after finding out the law of inheritance may well force me to toss my friends off their throne. I am pretty sure Cadance has had enough of that by now!"

The crowd laughed, realizing he was referring to the "toss the princess" incident from Sombra's defeat last time!

Shining Armor nudged Cadance, miming throwing something with a whoosh and she giggled softly in remembrance.

"I passed by the school and one clever little pony showed me a book." Sombra looked to Cadance, who magnified the books cover. Many in the crowd recognized it, having either grown up with it or read it to their kids!

Sombra launched the "pointy pony" spell, retelling the story from the book, word for word.

"One of the children asked why the Empire couldn't have the "odettes". This brought back memories of my father's lessons in political law." he paused a moment, blushing and adding "The ones that I did not fall asleep in, anyhow."

Cue giggling from the crowd and Shining Armor snickering loudly.

Ignoring his friend in case he started laughing himself, Sombra carried on, "It required a bit of research and I sincerely hoped my guess was right, that the final part of the solution lay in my father's laws."

Now Cadance showed the law-book Sombra had retrieved from the historical society, the law written large on the page.

Sombra tried to explain the final piece of the puzzle, but that last remaining bit of nerves he still had caused him to clam up, he didn't know how to propose it without sounding foolish. The crowd pondered what he was hesitant over...

Seeing his nerves showing again, Shining Armor stepped up beside his friend.

"Don't worry folks, he just doesn't want to take all the credit is all! Despite the fact he's the one who figured it out, with the help of some clever foals and fillies!"

He smiled up at the crowd, who were watching the nervous Sombra with curiosity and kindness.

"This is great news, as it means we will ALL be here to watch over this Empire," Cadance stood on Sombra's other side.

"King Cloudspark's law stated that as long as the empire has a ruling KING or QUEEN, it can have a Prince or Princess. In this case, this means Cadance and I will stay on as your Princess and Prince, our titles will remain the same."

The crowd fidgeted eagerly in their seats, they knew where this was going now! They also thought they understood why Sombra was so nervous. Sure enough, Shining said what they were all hoping;

"-meaning Sombra will be our King!"

Sombra had tensed up subtly, expecting a backlash. Once again, he was caught off guard by the downright DEAFENING wave of cheering and whooping that followed. His ears went "poink" and the closer crowd members sighed at how adorable he was. Sombra seen several mares casting him looks that made him blush a little.

"Thanks to this change in name, not only do Cadance and I get to stay with you, but the event you've all been waiting for is back on track, right buddy?"

Sombra snapped back to reality, his heart still pounding and nodded.

"Use words, goofy." Shining Armor nudged his friend in the side.

"I know this must seem startling," Sombra blurted as Shining Armor angled the mic towards him, "I am aware it still carries the pain of past actions. But as much as it terrified me to hear it again, I knew between that or losing two ponies that helped me accept the will my father left behind, I would rather endure any lingering anger anypony may have, then say goodbye to those that have helped me so much."

More cheering, the ponies waving their hooves to catch his eye. Cadance and Shining both beamed proudly at him.

Sombra looked back up, seen the crowds eyes filled with that same kindness as they had when he'd first been unveiled to them as royalty once more all that time ago.

A pegasus flew over with a microphone, to a reporter who was anxiously waving her hoof in the air. Sombra initially thought she needed the bathroom she was hopping up and down so much!

"I'm from the Crystal Herald, your highness. First, I think I speak for us all when I say you needn't feel uncomfortable becoming our King-" loud cheering met this declaration, and she waited a beat before carrying on "You've shown yourself to be so much like your father, you may as well be his blood relation. You've shown so many ponies just what can be accomplished despite the darkness of the past and proven one pony can turn his entire life around and save an Empire. We know you loved your father and we see what he undoubtedly did in YOU. A pony that is perfectly trained to rule. You belong with us sire, with the Prince and Princess beside you."

Sombra didn't know what to say, his heart was lodged in his throat with relief.

The mare smiled once more, tearing up as she seen the raw relief in Sombra's eyes "so we welcome you, your majesty, our King!"

More deafening cheering followed, those able to fly taking to the air to get as close as they could to see their soon-to-be-King.

"Thank you." Was all Sombra could manage. He had to close his eyes, he felt about to pass out it was so overwhelming.

"Now," Shining Armor patted his friends shoulder, "didn't I tell you it'd be OK?"

"I know, I was just afraid that title would, with all the past history, upset ponies." Sombra felt himself flush.

"It's alright," Shining Armor nudged his side, "we all get nervous bud. Now, do you want to make the final announcement?"

Sombra smiled and nodded.

"Thank you, everypony!" he called out, the mic amplifying his voice, and the ponies all fell silent.

"To celebrate this discovery, a certain pink pony that set up the ball, has by now set up the ultimate street party. We invite you all to come celebrate with us in an hour!"

The royals bowed and left, as the crowd cheered and began filing out of the stadium, gossiping eagerly.

The six girls were waiting by the palace entrance, Pinkie Pie grinning and bouncing up and down.

"How'd it go? Tell meee!" she cried eagerly.

"It went perfectly." Shining Armor said, not mentioning Sombra's nervous hitch, to the Alicorn's gratitude.

"See Sugarcube?" Applejack smiled at Sombra, "it aint the title, it's what ya do with it! They love ya to bits, whether you're a Prince OR a King!"

"They're just happy to have you watching over them." Fluttershy said softly.

Sombra nodded, feeling like a heavy load had been lifted. He didn't have to lose his friends, that was the best bit of all.

The ponies arrived pretty quickly and many crowded around Sombra, all wanting to express their happiness at his impending coronation as their King and to thank him for facing what had scared him, to save his friends and fellow rulers.

"It's just a name," Sombra smiled, "I am still inexperienced at this and I'm more grateful than ever that Cadance and Shining Armor gave me this chance and will continue to help me. I have a long way to go yet."

"You'll be just fine, sire," a stallion smiled kindly at the nervous Sombra, "we know you will be comfortable in no time!"

"We can't wait for the coronation!" another declared, "Who have you hired to design your outfit?"

"None other then miss Rarity," Sombra indicated the purple-maned unicorn, "I could have nopony better!"

He heard Bright Spark before he seen her, a happy "eeeeee~" being carried on the wind and he turned in time to scoop her up and hug her gently with one foreleg. Shining Sea caught up to her speedy little offspring, being greeted by a kiss from the Alicorn. Nearby ponies clapped and cooed and Spark grinned knowingly at them, clinging happily to her precious Sombra.

Sea smiled lovingly at Sombra, nuzzling against his cheek.

"That was very brave," she said gently, "it can't have been easy saying all that. Were you scared?"

"Not as scared as I was when I thought my coronation spelled out doom for my friends!" Sombra confided, "I don't know what I would've done if we hadn't found fathers lawbooks."

"You'd find a way!" Spark told him, trying to plait his mane again from her seat atop his back, "You have the best ideas! Mr Shiny said so~"

Sombra smiled at this nickname for Shining Armor. But Spark was right, he DID have an odd talent for seeing the best path.

Spark went to play with the kids gathering at the party, who Pinkie Pie promptly took under her metaphorical wing. Shining Sea stayed by Sombra's side, listening to him talk about his father's obscure laws. The one about wearing pants on your head made her utter a loud snort, muffled politely by her hoof.

"Seriously, my father was a breadbasket," Sombra shook his head, laughing heartily. "You know he used to joke an idea had to sound good both drunk AND sober before it could be proposed. I'll warrant that idea didn't last long with the council back then!"

"I cant think why-ever not!" Sea joked in a mock-outraged voice, making Sombra laugh even more.

The crystal ponies clamored for his attention throughout the party, so many wanting to congratulate him on solving the riddle and to express their excitement at his upcoming coronation!

One pony even gave him some lovely flowers and he tucked the two most pretty ones behind the ears of his marefriend and her daughter.

"Pretty~" Spark cooed, "smells wovely!"

"Everypony is dying to know what you'll wear," Rarity smiled at Sombra as the party wound down, "I'm positively biting my lip not to reveal what I've made so far!"

Sombra smiled, he'd told Rarity to surprise him with the initial design and he was just as curious as the crowds were.

"Will I see a preview soon?" he teased and she beamed.

"Not long now!" she said happily.

The next day dawned bright and warm. Sombra dressed in his comfy new armor, before settling on going for a flight! His confidence in his flying abilities was growing now and he felt safe enough to venture out for longer and longer trips.

As he soared over the main shopping street, he spotted a familiar face trotting out of a vegetable shop. He flew down, setting easily upon the ground in front of her. Shining Sea looked up from her shopping list with a blink.

"Sombra!" Sea felt her heart lift at the sight of him and she trotted over, nuzzling his nuzzle with her own "how are you?"

"Very well," Sombra smiled "I am pleased to say Miss Dash has certified I am a good flyer!"

"You do seem to be getting used to them quite quickly," Sea agreed, "they're so beautiful!"

Ponies angled their heads as they trotted by, smiling as they seen Prince Sombra with his marefriend, they made such an adorable couple!

Sombra trotted alongside Sea as she headed towards the open air market. Stall owners greeted the couple joyfully, happy to see Sombra visiting their business!

"I cannot WAIT for the coronation your highness!" Healing Breeze beamed at Sombra, as he bought some of a new brand of tea she'd made "everypony here is counting down the days!"

Sombra smiled, but Sea noticed he looked a little nervous. She hoped he was alright. Shed seen him at the announcement, noticed how he'd clammed up, still a little shy at being called "King" once more.

Sombra helped her carry the shopping home, having added to it by buying her and Spark numerous luxury cakes and sweets..

She invited him in for some tea and cake and Sombra was more than happy to spend some time alone with the mare who'd shown him what it was like to fall in love! The way Sea smiled as she trotted about the kitchen, the way her beautiful mane caught the light and shimmered, she was so beautiful.

She caught his eyes as she set the cups down and gifted him a warm smile.

"Oh!" She smiled and indicated the cakes she'd just set down, "Spark helped me make these!"

Sombra chuckled as he seen a lumpen pony shape atop one that was unmistakably him, complete with wings and a little crown.

"They are adorable~" he beamed. Bright Spark had made cakes featuring herself, her mother and the Prince and Princesses.

"Is something on your mind?" Sea asked, seeing how he stared at the icing effigy of himself.

"Just nervous about this coronation is all." Sombra sighed softly.

She kissed his cheek gently, the familiar scent of her mane helping him relax.

"Don't worry, you'll do fine," she smiled, "the Empire loves you so much Sombra. I Love you. You'll be alright."

Sombra felt at ease just being around her, her sweet assurances making him feel infinitely better. Again, he was reminded how lucky he was not just to be alive and well once more, but to have this loving mare by his side. He looked down at the gilded tea cup in front of him, seeing how the light caught the gold paint on the rim. A gold...ring...

An idea occurred to him and he felt himself flush as it took form in his mind.

"Sombra?" Sea asked, seeing him suddenly get a sparkle in his eyes. He smiled happily, making her brain turn to mush at just how cute he was, then he kissed her and coherent thought was tossed aside.

He wrapped her in his wings and she snuggled against him. The peaceful sounds of birds chirping drifting in through the open window were the only sounds, aside from her heart beating loudly in her ears. She loved getting to stay so close to him, hearing his heartbeat under his soft coat.

"Thank you my dear Se.," He murmured as he reluctantly had to let her go. She had to go pick up Bright Spark from school and Sombra needed to return to the palace. She nuzzled his nose as they headed out the door, making his heart race again.

Sombra. flew up and away, seeing her vanish below him.

His heart hammered at the plan he was concocting in his mind, would she say yes?

He was so distracted he didn't realize he was flying in the wrong direction until he noticed the Empire was now made of trees.

"Whoops," he muttered, banking slightly to swing around and head back the way he supposed to be coming. That was when an unknown something shot up from the forest below, jabbing into his cutie mark. A dulled sensation began to spread and he lost control, plummeting down into the trees.

Some distance away, a cloud-pushing pegasus seen a pony crash into the woods. He darted away to alert the guard, something had seemed very odd about it...

In the forest below, a knocked out Alicorn lay sprawled on the ground. He groaned weakly, hearing steps near his head, trailing away again as whatever surrounded him walked in a slow circle, examining him..

"Is it possible? The signature is..." it mumbled in a rattly voice as it approached his head once more. Sombra felt a paw press against his horn.

The one examining him got a shock when a jolt of what looked like dark electricity crackled along the drugged creatures horn. It stepped swiftly back as the one it thought it'd knocked out, now launched to its hooves.

It was a big creature, male, his shape a little like Its own. He had a horn on its head and two big wings, wore fancy armor, gilded shoes on his feet and his dark red eyes regarded It angrily.

"Who..." the winged creature demanded, "do you think you are!!"

It didn't answer.

Sombra tried to fly, but his wings wings cramped up from whatever the attack had done and he remained grounded. He glared at the thing that'd attacked him, realizing it wasn't an Equestrian. It had four legs and a thin, lithe body. It was black, with grey markings over said body and it had a helmet comprised of a skull that hid its features, so only its eyes were visible.

"It will not wear off so easily," the creature said. "forgive the attack, but I have tracked the disturbance to this place, to you. I must find out if you know of the one I seek."

"What are you talking about?" Sombra mumbled as he fought to get his magic to work.

"I am known as "Death" in your language, I am a guardian of the afterlife. A species known as Fursoan. I sensed a massive outburst of energy, sensed the fading of a powerful life form. Yet, it is not dead, but it is not the same. It is YOU. What are you?"

"What?" Sombra stared, then realized with a sinking stomach what'd happened.

"Is there another like you? A brother perhaps?" was Death's next question. Sombra shook his head.

"No, I am an only child. Listen to me..."

"I must find the soul in limbo, and devour-"

"ENOUGH!" Sombra yelled, fluffing his wings up and yelling as loudly as he could.

Death fell silent. It was not often he was told so clearly to be silent. This creature had guts.

"I know what you "sensed"." Sombra closed his eyes, making a semi transparent image appear in front of him. It showed the tear in the sky, like an open wound.

"A thing from another world tore that gap in the sky and attempted to take over the Crystal Empire. Not that long ago, it was finally defeated by myself and several others. But in order to stop it, I gave up every last bit of power I had and I could not save myself from a fatal stab wound. I thought I was going to die, leave everything I'd gained behind. But thanks to two invaluable artefacts that protect that empire and the power of its citizens, I was given a second chance. They restored my body."

He trailed off, his voice hitching slightly. Just thinking about how fortunate he was to be alive now brought a tsunami of emotions swirling up.

Death paused, hearing this creature's tale with surprise. His kind had brought him back from the brink of death?

"Such power." he mused.

"It took an entire Empire to do it," Sombra told him, "that must have been what you sensed. I don't care what task you have been sent here on, I will NOT fall now. I have an Empire to care for, a family I wish to have. I have fought too hard to protect them all to have you take it from me now!"

Death stared in shock. Even with his poison in its veins, this being struggled and refused to give in. Was his theory wrong?

"It seems your near death was a pivotal event. It generated a signature I felt halfway across this world. Your body changed, you say?"

"Yes, I was totally reborn," Sombra said, "I possess a variety of magic that is rare in this world, but very strong when pushed to its limit."

He staggered then, slumping down as his energy left him. Death shot over, catching the strange creature in his forelegs. Resting him against his chest, he closed his eyes, the markings on his body glowing as he analysed this beings soul. He sensed immense strengt and a powerful heart. The beings body was warm, wings soft and feathery.

"Yes, it IS different. What I sought is merely a fading echo." Death mused.

"Please," Sombra gritted his teeth, managing to sit up so he could look this creature in the eyes, "don't do this."

Death studied him a moment longer, unblinking. Then he nodded. Planting a paw on this creatures chest, his claws clacking on the golden armor, he drew out the poison he'd injected into him.

"Your strength will return momentarily." He said, getting up and walking a few feet away. Sombra watched him warily, even as he regained strength in his lower body and was able to flap his wings. Death studied this creature now, these beings weren't familiar to it. It had seen them on its travels, sure, but had left them a wide berth for they were not what it sought.

"What is your species?" he asked the winged being.

"We are known as Equestrians," Sombra explained "Our race is comprised of ponies. Earth, Pegasi and Unicorn. And-"

"HALT!!" guards burst into the clearing, spears pointed at them both. One unicorn was poised to fire-

Death snarled, his markings glowing again, hackles raising.

"STOP!" Sombra cried, flinging up a shield around himself and Death. The guards backed off, staring in shock at their lead monarch.

"Sire?" one asked.

"Lower your weapons!" Sombra barked.

Death stared at Sombra in shock and his ears twitched.

"You defend me, even after I attacked you?" He studied how this pony's magic swirled around his horn, a deep purple shade.

"I choose to believe it was a misunderstanding. This place has known enough war lately, as have I. I have no wish to see another fight rage out of control where it needn't."

"Wise words. perhaps your brush with death has granted you knowledge and clarity beyond most." Death studied Sombra curiously, his tail curving up a little as he did. Sombra stayed calm, hoping this creature would believe him.

"Sire..?" the guard asked again.

"There's no reason to be alarmed! Please." Sombra hoped Death would remain calm if he lowered the shield.

"Sire?" Death mused, looking curiously at the guard, then at Sombra, "who are you? You have wings and horn, yet these other "Equestrians" only possess one of these features. On my travels I seen some who did not have either. Why are YOU different?"

"I'm," Sombra coughed, feeling a bit dizzy still, "I am an Alicorn. We are a combination of the three types. An earth pony's strength, a pegasi's wings and a unicorn's magic."

"His highness is our Soon-to-be King. In a short while, his coronation will take place, and we will have him at our helm!" One of the guards pointed this out to the creature, hoping it would get the hint not to harm Sombra!

"A King, mm?" Death cocked his head at the guards, then smiled, his teeth glittering, "you have chosen a wise ruler, he has reasoning beyond many I have met."

He looked at the King and seen how, despite his obvious tiredness he still stood proud but there was a kindness in his eyes.

"I will not cause your empire harm. What I sought has turned out to be merely a mistake, a misinterpretation. Your guards can relax, my liege."

Sombra wasn't familiar with what those last two words meant, but he got a feeling they referred to royalty or status and he nodded.

"Thank you." Sombra said gently.

"You showed mercy to a creature of darkness. Such things surprise me. Many who see such a visage run away, what makes you different?" Death asked, as Sombra dropped his shield.

"I was a tyrant once, a monster of cruelty and darkness both. Destroyed once already, but awoken once more to try solve a mystery never encountered in Equestria before. I learnt where my mistakes would lead if I did not do things different second time around. Sometimes, all anypony wants or needs is somepony who will give them a chance."

Death studied him curiously, seeing how complex this being was. No wonder his near death had caused such ripples.

"Yours is a powerful soul, King," he said at last, the markings on his body glowing softly in curiosity, "would that I could learn more about you."

"Who says you cannot?" Sombra pondered aloud, "It is a rare day that I meet a creature from a race not yet known to us. There is no need that we be enemies, perhaps we could be friends?"

"You would desire death as a friend?"

"I made peace with a near death of my own only a short time ago," Sombra smiled, "as you said, maybe it has taught me something."

"Will your ponies not run in fear, King?" Death asked.

"They will be surprised at first, I wont lie, but they are very kind. If there is no reason for them to be afraid, they will become curious and wish to get to know you. I know a young Princess who would consider it an honor to meet a new species and learn about you. She is very intelligent."

"She sounds like a scholar of much renown," Death mused, "I am curious. But fret not King, I will not harm the souls of your ponies, nor their homes. My task is over, only my life's goal remains."

"What might that be?" Sombra asked.

"I seek one known as Vitia. She alone may be able to grant me new life, if I were to be granted but a fraction of her soul's power."

"I see," Sombra wondered about this beings culture. "I regret I have not heard of one by that name."

"What is your name, King?" Death asked.

"Sombra." the Alicorn smiled. Death cocked his head to one side.

"Interesting, a name of the ancient language. "Darkness". Seems fitting, as your magic seems born of such a thing."

Sombra nodded. "Dark magic is rare in the sense that it can rarely be controlled. I was born with it, but even then it took a long time before I became who I am now."

Deaths curiosity sky-rocketed. This race had so much he did not know. Even in his eternal quest for Vitia, knowledge was something he eagerly sought, wanting to know ever more about the world around him. It had been a long time since he'd seen such a wealth of new things as this race.

He bowed his head to this Alicorn now, "I will follow you and your orders, King Sombra."

This was the first time Sombra had heard anypony call him this and it felt a little strange, but not as strange as he had expected. As they walked, the guard following closely and shooting suspicious looks at this new creature, Sombra asked what food Death liked.

"I like fish, they have a lovely taste to them. But mostly any food will suffice, be it meat or vegetable."

Sombra nodded, wondering where he'd get fish? Somepony was bound to know.

At the edge of the forest a carriage awaited. They clambered in and Sombra pulled the curtains down a little so Death didn't have to feel exposed.

Death stared curiously at the passing scenery, then his gaze drifted to the King once more. He was a proud, elegant figure, just looking at him. But he radiated such complexity, in his magic and soul, that Death wanted to investigate him...

They arrived at the palace in short order and Sombra escorted him into the massive crystal structure. More guards did double takes, but Sombra calmly told them of Death's species, saying he encountered him on a flight. The guards took in the amount of twigs stuck in Sombra's mane and figured by "flight" Sombra meant "crash". But they decided not to mention it.

"Hey bud, hey other bud. Walk through a hedge backwards?" Shining Armor greeted them absently, eyes glued to a scroll as Sombra walked into the throne room.

"Walk? No. Hedge? No." Sombra began.

"Fell up a tree?" Shining Armor snickered.

"Close enough." Sombra snorted and Death uttered a dry chuckle.

Not recognizing the voice, Shining took a good look at who Sombra had brought with him and dropped the scroll. "whoa whoa whoa...who are YOU? You're not a pony are you?!"

He readied his magic, in case this thing was a threat-!

"He is not a danger, Shining." Sombra stood between them, smiling reassuringly, "it's a long story, but please trust me."

Shining Armor took in Sombra's expression and nodded, calming his magic.

"This is Prince Shining Armor," Sombra said to Death "he's my best friend."

Death relaxed, sensing the truth in Sombra's words.

"This is, well his name translates to "Death", he is a guardian of the afterlife as it were." Sombra explained and Shining Armor's eyebrows rose.

"Death? Whoa, that's intense." calmer now but still wary, Shining Armor studied this unusual creature. He'd met some yaks once, on a trip with Blueblood, but this creature was even more fascinating, its body shape was a mix of a pony's lithe build but with other animals mixed in.

Sensing Shining Armor's unease and distrust, Death spoke again, "I vowed to your King here I would do no harm and would abide by his rule. I stand by my promise, which extends to all ruling bodies of this country, Prince Armor."

Death bowed as he finished speaking, hoping this one would be as accepting as the King.

Shining Armor looked to Sombra, seen him nod.

He let out a tense breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, "Don't worry, I believe you and I trust Sombra's judgement. How did you come to meet him, Death?"

Death told the story as servants brought tea and cake. He seemed intrigued by the cake, its sugary taste making his eyes light up, tail curling lightly.

"I see, so you thought the explosion of power was was an indicator of this being you seek?" Shining asked.

"I had wondered, yes. But it seems it was a rebirth, not a death, that I sensed. Such a sensation has never occurred before, I was immensely curious. Your King's bravery impresses me. Even after I stunned him, he still defended me from the guards that so fiercely protect his life. He offered me...friendship."

Shining Armor smiled proudly, knowing this would intrigue a certain Princess of friendship, aka his sister.

"I have not had much experience of this phenomenon, but I have long wondered about it. As much as I seek Vitia, I seek knowledge too and to be offered the chance by the King to make friends, it was unexpected. There aren't many that would be so bold."

"Yeah, getting in dangers face and giving it a hard time is kind of his party trick," Shining Armor grinned at his friend, "he's fought shadow creatures, fallen out of the sky, dived off a bridge into a freezing lake- the list goes on."

"Not THAT long!" Sombra objected, but he was trying not to laugh regardless.

Death watched their childish joking and smiled faintly. He could sense the bond, the strength of their souls.

From there, Sombra brought him to meet a lot of other ponies and to alert the guard who he was. Again, Death informed these guardians of his intentions to honor his promise to the King and do no harm.

When the six girls plus the other princesses met Death at dinner, reactions varied. Rarity initially shrieked when he popped up behind her and Pinkie Pie grinned gleefully before offering a hoof to shake. Applejack honestly said he was the most unique thing she'd ever seen and Rainbow thought the markings on Death's body looked pretty badass. Fluttershy was fascinated, if a little nervous and true to form Twilight Sparkle was like a filly in a candy shop. She had so many questions for Death!

"Ah, you are the young scholar your King spoke of, he said you love to learn!"

"That's an understatement!" Rainbow giggled, "Twilight's all ABOUT studying!"

"An admirable thing." Death decided, which earned him bonus points with the purple Alicorn.

Cadance looked at Shining Armor, asking "where did Sombra meet this being?"

"It's a funny story-" Shining Armor explained it to her and she raised her eyebrows as she took it all in.

"Shot shim out of the sky? Funny way to go about investigating anything!"

"It was a bit presumptuous of me," Death spoke up, "I had assumed approaching a being with power like that would not be easy. It was chance that I arrived at your Empire and he was flying overhead. He was unguarded, so I took a chance. I was wrong, it turned out, for he was neither a danger nor the being I sought. His own protectors found him eventually, but he would not let them harm me, insisting more fighting was pointless."

"He did recently win a war," Shining Armor mused "makes sense."

"That he offered to be a friend surprised me, but I cannot deny it's nice to be around those I have never met before. I have travelled far and your land is beautiful."

He found Twilight Sparkle to be a kindred soul and they settled into deep conversation culminating in Twilight offering to show him to the library after dinner.

Sombra offered Death a cosy room to call his own and Death spent his first night in the empire rather enjoying the luxury of his residence. This land was vast, he'd learnt from the Princess named Twilight Sparkle, extending far beyond this Empire alone and far across a huge map.

He'd inadvertently startled several ponies cleaning around the palace on his first day in the palace, but each time he'd sat perfectly still and repeated his promise. When they realized he was there by Sombra's request, they relaxed and some of the less flighty ones introduced themselves. The guard ponies still studied him closely, but Death knew that was normal.

He was served fresh fish the next morning, which made his tail perk up immensely. They were delicious~

--This land and its inhabitants are fascinating. There is much I could learn, that could help me find Vitia.-- he hoped he could stay a few more weeks and asked Sombra after breakfast.

The King told him he could stay as long as he wished, no need to hurry!

A train pulled in at the station as the ponies at the palace finished their breakfasts and an earth pony trotted off. She was tall, with a sturdy yet feminine build. Her twin-shaded purple mane fell in soft waves around a kind face.

She seen a few ponies glance at her blank flank but didn't care a jot. To still have her future be undetermined was an adventure. She could be so many things yet, she relished in the freedom.

So she ignored the curious stares and walked over to where her wagon and the supplies she was delivering to the palace were being pushed onto the platform from the cargo car. The two grown stallions were panting after getting it onto the platform. Alongside it was another mode of transport, her caravan. It was a compact but cosy little home and she'd travelled all over Equestria in it, doing odd jobs and basically just freely exploring the land. Her days in the sun had leant her coat a beautiful sheen and she had confident green eyes that shone with an inner contentment.

"Here you go, miss?"

"Wysteria," she finished and bobbed her head, "thanks boys, I'll manage from here."

Her plan was to deliver the cart and come back for her trailer after her job was done. It'd been a nice break to travel on the train, usually she towed her own way!

The two staffers shared looks, not quiet believing one mare could succeed any better then the two of them! This was her favorite moment, as she stepped up to the cart.

As expected, thier jaws slammed into the floor as she strapped herself into the cart and calmly strode off, towing the hefty load with barely a sweat. She'd been born strong, able to heft weights even a bulked up stallion would be left panting over.

"Remind you of anypony?" she heard another pony remark as she trekked by.

"Yeah, didn't his highness...?" the voice was swallowed up by noise and she didn't catch the rest. But she was intrigued, she'd read the papers of course, seen the images of an Alicorn with a stunning red horn. The dark magic pony, Sombra. The supplies she was delivering were supposedly for his coronation, it was the biggest event in the social calendar from what her fellow passengers had been discussing. Anypony who was somepony was coming, hoping to meet the new monarch.

Wysteria had to admit he sounded interesting. A significantly humbler pony than he'd once been, he was outright adored by the Empire now. The crystal ponies she'd met on her trip over on the train had been full of praise about the new Alicorn.

Wysteria seen eyebrows raise as she strode through the streets, pulling the big cart with no fuss. She smiled brightly, wanting to chuckle at how she'd pulled the rug from under their hooves. They assumed such a quiet pony wouldn't be so strong.

She looked around the Crystal Empire as she took her time walking. It was a gorgeous city, so shimmery and classy. She made a mental note to buy lots of souvenirs to add to her collection.

Seeing the time on a passing watch shops display, she figured she'd better pick up the pace and broke into a run! She was so caught up in making up for lost time that she didn't see the stone in the road, but she FELT the sudden jarring sensation as the suspension on the cart took the brunt force from the impact. The wheel cracked and the cart began to lurch, threatening to bring her over with it!

"Nonono!" she wailed, hooves scrabbling for purchase on the smooth pavement. Crystal ground shot towards her and she shut her eyes in blind panic, awaiting a concussion. But a public-pavement-face-plant was not in her future, as luck would have it. The reassuring tingle of magic surrounded her, which made her open her eyes in time to see she was wrapped in a purple magic, her and the cart both. The straps undid themselves, freeing her from the hefty cargo's weight. The big cart steadied itself but remained in place by the magic's owner.

"Thank you, I thought I was a goner!" she heaved a sigh of relief.

"No need to worry, miss." the voice was well educated, with a formal speech pattern. She turned to face it and her eyes widened.

Horn. Check.

Wings. Check.

Garnet red eyes and a faint green glow? Yup.

This was a pony whose picture she had been staring at in a newspaper not long ago on the train. The soon-to-be-King, Sombra.

"Y-your majesty!" Wysteria realized she was staring and hastily bowed deeply, "I'm sorry-"

"It's fine," Sombra motioned her to rise and nodded at the cart, "I can fix this, if that's alright?"

Wysteria nodded, realizing he was still supporting the cart's entire weight with just his magic, which was no small feat. The build-up of magic around his horn increased and she seen the broken bits of cart reattach themselves, fixing the wheel back together.

"Where were you headed? Miss..?" Sombra asked as he set the fixed cart back on solid ground.

"Wysteria! I was headed to the palace, your majesty." she explained, showing him the delivery note.

"Ah! I can accompany you there, it is time for me to return. We can keep an eye on your wagon and I will have the place staff give it a check over once there, to give you some peace of mind!"

She nodded, amazed. The morning had taken a drastic, but not unwelcome turn. She hadn't expected to meet this guy so soon or even at all!

He offered to haul the cart, but she shook her head, insisting she didn't mind the weight.

"They seem so surprised," she mused as they walked towards the palace, "has a mare never hauled so much before?"

"Not a MARE, no," Sombra said with a smile.

Wysteria recalled what she'd heard,

"Did you pull off something like this too?"

He nodded, telling the story of the kids festival. Wysteria's eyebrows rose, it sounded fairly crazy and intense. All that fighting and working…!

"-And I said to the shop owner, I'm built like a line backer, may as well use it!" Sombra finished.

Wysteria laughed, he was pretty easy going for a royal, now she thought about it. Despite his old fashioned mannerisms, he seemed to have developed a more down to earth personality then the history books.

But was he Prince or King Sombra? She didn't know and didn't want to offend the stallion by guessing, only to get it wrong and get into trouble! So she asked which title she was to refer to him with.

Sombra scratched behind one ear and chuckled, "technically, until the coronation, I'm still the crown Prince. But the citizens are so eager to see the coronation, they've begun referring to me as "King" already! So whichever suits you, miss."

"Thank you, your Majesty!" she said in relief. That was that sorted, whichever one she used would be acceptable it seemed, thanks to the crysal ponies' enthusiasm.

"Where are you planning to stay?" Sombra asked.

Wysteria shrugged causally, unconcerned, "Oh I have a trailer, it's back at the station. I just need to find somewhere to park up. I'm not sure where in such a big city will allow me to do so, though." no lie, that bit was always the trickiest part about big cities.

Sombra thought about it and had an idea.

"Why don't you set up in the palace gardens? It is spacious and I doubt Cadance and Shining Armor will mind. There's no shortage of bathrooms and whatnot, plus we have a crazy cupcake baking mare who wont mind adding an extra in for breakfast. Would that suit you?"

She stared for a few seconds, caught off guard by the offer. Then she nodded rapidly. Staying in the palace gardens, who would refuse a chance like THAT? The palace was amazing, the closer she got the more she seen the detail in it, to date she'd only ever seen it in photographs.

"Whoa," she commented, "that is one big castle!"

"It has secret passages and tunnels out the wazoo." Sombra remarked.

Hearing a KING use the word "wazoo", made Wysteria snort with laughter before she could stop herself. She tried to hold the giggles in, but the King gave her a sly, amused wink and she had to let the giggles out. Sombra was laughing too, red eyes sparkling in amusement.

"I apologize, I blame Blueblood for teaching me such things!" The Alicorn said innocently, "and Shining Armor."

It was surreal, hearing him calling them by their names instead of their titles.

They reached the main door and the guards greeted the Alicorn with the utmost respect, then asked to see Wysteria's delivery note.

"I-it's for a unicorn named Rarity." Wysteria stammered as the stern guards scrutinized the page. She knew her job was legit, but guards like this always made her nervous the few times she met them.

"Ah, miss Rarity!" Sombra beamed as the guards nodded, satisfied the order was legitimate, "follow me, I'll introduce you to her!"

While the guards started offloading the boxes and carrying them in, Wysteria followed Sombra through the crystal palace, drinking in the details with wide eyes. Such plush furnishings, she'd never seen anything like it.

She learned Rarity was a kind white unicorn with royal purple curled mane. She beamed at Wysteria and offered to make her tea, she looked pooped after that trek!

"What's all this for?" Sombra asked, eyeing up all the boxes from Wysteria's delivery as the guard brought in the last one.

"Well, as you're aware darling, I'm making a special uniform for an Alicorn King," she beamed as Sombra chuckled "and dresses for my friends, the Princesses and Princes! I ran out of jewels so fast I had to order more post haste and these ones are special!"

"I hope you will let me see this uniform soon," Sombra teased, "I am curious to see what you have designed!"

"It's almost finished, just a little more!" Rarity said and he nodded. Wysteria drank the refreshing tea, listening intently. Sombra called some of the guards and asked them to fetch Wysteria's trailer and set it up in the garden. She felt bad for not doing it herself, but Sombra insisted she stay and rest up.

From what she'd told him during their walk, she'd been on her hooves for a long time prior to the train ride. Sombra said the coronation was coming up soon, she was more than welcome to attend if she wished! Wysteria decided she'd take an extended vacation in the empire if it meant getting to see a coronation, nopony would turn down the chance to see THAT!

The gardens were a delight and after such a fancy dinner with so many new ponies to talk with, Wysteria fell asleep in no time! She made a note to find her camera tomorrow, she wanted as many pictures as it had rolls of film!

The next day The girls left for their trip to Ponyville. They told Sombra they'd be bringing back all their various family, so he could meet them before his coronation. Rarity brought her work with her so she could finish Sombra's outfit!

"It'll be all done when we get back, darling!" she assured him.

Sombra waved them goodbye from the platform, then returned to the palace. It seemed very quiet without Pinkie Pie's hyperactive singing or the sound of a party canon going off!

"They'll be back in a week..." he assured himself.

"Cadance?" Sombra managed to catch up to her after lunch the next day, "can I speak with you a moment?"

"Of course!" Cadance set off down the hall and Sombra fell into step beside her "what's on your mind?"

"Well," Sombra cleared his throat, suddenly feeling a tad self-conscious, "it's ah, I wanted to know a place I could locate an engagement ring-"

"Eeee!" He stopped dead as she let out a loud, delighted squee.

Cadance hugged him tightly, then did a little dance down the hall before returning to him.

"That's wonderful!" she said, smiling ear to ear. Sombra blushed bright red, but she could see how happy he was.

"If it's a ring you need, I know the most perfect shop here in the Empire!" Cadance towed him to the library and showed him on a directory of retail stores she kept handy, "They'll design it to suit your partner's colors, so you may need a photo of Shining Sea with you. But I'm sure you have that~" She winked good naturally at him. Sombra flushed again, he couldn't help feel a flutter of nerves when he thought about his plan!

"Will she accept it?" he pondered, staring at the map.

"I think the world will turn inside out the day that lovely mare ever turns YOU down," Cadance assured him, "In case you forgot, your reunion was seen by most of the Empire!"

"I cannot argue with you there, Cadance," Sombra chuckled, feeling a bit better, "as of many things these last few months, I have never encountered a situation like this. My information is woefully lacking."

"Don't fret, Sombra," Cadance smiled, "you'll know what to do when the time comes. Don't forget, you have a talent for picking the best ideas!"

This made Sombra feel better and he nodded. With the information to hoof, he thanked Cadance for her help. She promised she'd keep it a secret, so as not to ruin the surprise when he announced it!

When he was gone, she squee'd again and danced around the library, which was how Celestia found her five minutes later. Cadance grinned sheepishly, wishing she could tell the other Princess, but she'd made a promise!

Later that afternoon….

Out in the gardens, the air rippled and a shimmering rip in the air opened up. It shrank and grew, as if hesitating over whether or not to follow through with its plan. Then it abruptly widened, spitting out a young mare clutching a staff, before snapping shut.

"Whuu..." the young pony sat up, dizzily taking in her surroundings. She was in... the Crystal Empire?! She looked at the staff, as if asking "why?". And she was in the place gardens to boot! She couldn't get caught here, this was the last place she could be found!

She dove for cover in a bush as she heard hoof-steps approaching. Peering out from between the leaves she seen two armored guards pulling a wagon full of supplies over to a cosy looking trailer. They stopped and hung around a moment chatting as they set it outside the door, then returned to the palace. She waited until they were long gone and heaved a sigh of relief.

She studied her reflection in her staffs jewel. Good, her glamour spell was holding. She wasn't a regular pony, hadn't been for quite some time now. Her name was Winter Aurora. A tragic turn of events on her birthday had led to her being run over in the street as she'd returned home. As she lay dying, blood rising in the back of her throat, the staff she'd found in her adventures in the woods had begun to glow..

It had brought her back, but as a feared creature of myth. A Lich. Her own mother had told her to run, or she'd take action against her. Her young heart broken, Winter had fled from everything she'd known. She had run from place to place, ostracized and shouted out every time.

But she'd eventually found herself in the company of a kindred spirit. Sombra. A dark magic unicorn and former tyrant, he'd become her friend and her tutor. Last she remembered was...was...she wasn't sure. But she needed to find Sombra!

She got a little further towards the castle boundary, before stumbling upon a statue of a pegasus. She had never heard of him before, not even from Sombra's knowledge of the Crystal Empire. Who was this "Cloudspark"? And why did he have a false mustache stuck on his face?

Hearing more voices approaching, she hid behind the statue again, clutching her staff tightly. The clank of armor told her it was MORE guards. Alas, her hooves were starting to sweat and she watched in slow motion, horror rising, as the staff slipped from her precarious grasp and fell into the bush behind the statue with a tell tale rustle.

She took a chance, lunging forward, grabbing the staff and trying to run. But the bush was thicker than it looked and she found herself STUCK. All too soon she was pulled free and faced with the angry guards.

The unicorn guard held her in place and the other removed the staff from her grasp.

She was brought before a familiar Alicorn, one she knew as Princess Cadance.

"Who are you?" Cadance asked, as Winter stood there, silently panicking. How come she didn't know her, after all that'd happened? Had she travelled in time? Maybe there was a chance she could get out...

She bowed her head, praying her glamour spell was well hidden enough for Cadance not to notice.

"I-I'm Winter Aurora." she whispered, her throat dry.

"It's alright Winter, you're not in trouble, I just want to know what you were doing in the gardens? And what this is?" Cadance peered at the staff the guard passed her, "I have never sensed magic like this."

She frowned a moment, then beckoned a guard over and quietly asked him to fetch Sombra. If it was weird magic, he'd be the one to know.

"How old are you?" Cadance asked the petrified Winter as the guard left. Winter stammered out her age, silently pleading to be let go.

She was given some iced water, which didn't help her throat feel any less like sandpaper. She answered Cadance's questions, saying she was from a tiny town far away. Yet she almost felt like the prim pink pretty Princess could see right through her!

"What's the matter?" a voice she'd know in her dreams spoke from behind her. She whirled round, heart leaping.

"Sombra-?" she asked, then faltered. The pony standing behind her was Sombra, but not HER Sombra.

This version looked almost the same, he had the grey coat, red eyes and that familiar glow of magic. But his horn was straight instead of curved, his mane wasn't shifting and flowing, instead falling in a natural wave and biggest of all, he was an ALICORN.

"Who are you?" Sombra asked. His gaze burned through her, and she panicked.

Sombra stared closely at her, sensing something was off. He unleashed a short spell, picking up on the glamour woven around her. He figured she was hiding her identity, a potential thief perhaps?

Winter sensed the spell and desperately tried to stop him, crying out-

"Stop, please!"

But it was too late and what Sombra saw caught him off guard. She appeared for all intents and purposes to be DEAD. Her skin had flaked off in parts, showing bone beneath. But her wide, sacred eyes remained, the light in them not dulled.

"What in blazes is that?!" the first guard swung his spear around "monster-"

Two others followed suit, weapons aimed to dice this undead threat, believing it to be dark magic.

Winter choked back a terrified sob and huddled over into a ball as the first weapon whisked by over her head, her body shaking in anticipation of a spear pinning her like a butterfly to a cork-board-

She barely had time to think before she had to roll out of the way of another spear!

In the melee, her eyes locked with Sombra's and one guard, hovering uncertainly nearby, seen a flash of light run across the Alicorn's eyes.

To Sombra, time slowed down, a multitude of images searing past him. But he sensed a similar situation that he'd grown up in, that of an innocent soul persecuted for what was beyond beyond its control. This was what made him lunge forward, even as he heard the hesitant guard shout his name.

The attacking guards, hearing their Crown Prince's name being cried in such a panic, faltered and were thus barged aside as Sombra threw himself past them, his wings alone knocking them on their asses.

"Stop!" Sombra cried as he shifted his body into a stance to protect the young miss. Unable to stop the motion, the remaining guard's spear cut across just above where the leg band was on his left leg. Blood trickled down into the jewel set in the band. Sombra snarled in pain, but did his best to remain shielding the girl.

"S-sire!" the guard stumbled back, looking both horrified and confused. Cadance watched this unfold in rapid succession, her heart in her mouth. What was that child, and how did she know Sombra?!

Winter opened her eyes, seeing the Alicorn Sombra was standing over her, wings raised. He was a powerful force, intimidating and relentless.

"Sombra?!" Cadance asked. He turned his head to glance at her briefly, his facial expression saying so much in just a glimpse. She'd seen that look in his eyes before, this was tied to his innate ability. Whatever he was doing, he knew it was the necessary course of action. Shining Armor had mentioned this several times, citing multiple occasions Sombra had known what the best course of action was, even if it endangered himself. He couldn't stop himself from enacting whatever plans were formed, not to his knowledge.

"Stand down!" she barked to the guards, who, thinking their Prince was possessed or something, were hefting their weapons again. Although they were reluctant, why would his highness do something like that...?

Winter watched as blood trickled down to the floor from Sombra's cut. Why was he defending her? He'd disassembled her spell, he'd noticed she wasn't normal. Why had he changed his tune now?

--He's not like MY Sombra...-- she thought suddenly, tears welling up again.

"Your highness, what are you doing?" the lead guard stammered, "you must get away from that creature!"

"She is no danger." Sombra said curtly.

"How can you be so sure, sire?!" the guard was confused, "she's a child with power beyond her control-"

"-Yes. She has immense power and she's facing extinction for being discovered. She's scared but none of you can see it, mayhap don't even care."

"How do you know that...?" the hesitant guard asked. Sombra stared unfalteringly at the gaggle of guards.

"You think I cant see my own history being recreated," he snarled, "power beyond what a child should know. Pushed to breaking point by ignorance in the world around her."

The guards paused, recalling Sombra's tale. He'd faced such misery as a child, being beaten and reviled for having dark magic. Mistreated and feared, it had left him damaged enough to lose all trust in the world and to turn his immense power on it in turn, exacting revenge. That was what'd caused him tor transform from a young colt to the adult version that'd taken the empire.

Their gazes turned to the child huddling beneath the Alicorn. She was trembling, staring at them in total fear. But there was something else too, anger. That she was being hated again...

The lead guard made his decision and set his weapon down, choosing to trust the Crown Prince.

The other guards did the same, one even flashed Winter a curious glance.

--How did he do that?-- she wondered.

"Maybe all we need here, is a chance." Sombra mused.

He peered down at the filly he was standing over "what are you, little miss? What is your name?"

"I'm Winter, Winter Aurora," she hiccuped "I, I'm..."

He lowered his head further so she could whisper it.

"I'm a Lich." she croaked, awaiting his outburst. He'd be disgusted, wouldn't he?

Sombra was confused. A Lich was a story, wasn't it? But there was no denying there was something odd about this young mare.

"We trust you know what you're doing, your majesty..." the lead guard said, meeting Sombra's gaze once more as the pony straightened up. "What should we do?"

Cadance got up and walked around to stand by Sombra, "we will handle this. there will be no more conflict today."

"Please," Sombra said, "I ask you to stay outside until we call for you."

Sensing this was something big, the guards nodded, bowing to their rulers before leaving.

As the door clicked shut, Sombra let out a relieved huff.

"That was risky, you could've gotten seriously hurt!" Cadance used her magic to bandage the cut, he would still need to see a doctor, however.

He thanked her, smiling gently as he stepped away from Winter and offered a hoof out to her.

She peered up at him, looking a mix of scared an dapologetic as she let herself be helped up.

"It's OK, I promise I will not hurt you," Sombra assured her, "what were you doing here?"

"I don't know, I woke up in the garden. Last I seen, I was somewhere far from here. I don't think this is my world at all."

"How can you be sure?" Sombra asked.

"Because Sombra is my friend in that world. You're not him. He's a unicorn, y-you're an Alicorn, like," she looked at Cadance, "Like the Princesses."

"I see." Sombra murmured.

"What's this staff?" Cadance approached, seeing the girl flinch.

"I-it's...I don't know! It's what made me into this!" she gestured to herself "it was an accident."

Sombra asked her to tell him the story and she nodded, haltingly starting from the start of her tale. She left out all the fights and several other details, but she talked about her Sombra and the place she now called home. Also about how she'd "died".

"There's never been any known record of a Lich being sighted in this world. Not since the old histories." Cadance puzzled this over.

"Yet in mine, they are known and feared, as might any other foe. Most ponies run in fear, or gather mobs to chase me. They're afraid. All I want is to feel safe, feel at HOME. But so few want a lich as a friend. My life until I met Sombra was a life always on the run. Only a few ever offered me kindness, including him. There was a mother and child also, who travelled along with me. She was fearless, that child, just bounded up to me and went boop!"

Sombra's eyes widened and Winter seen him look over at Cadance.

"W-what's-?" Winter trailed off.

"It can't be!" Cadance murmured.

Sombra cleared his throat and summoned an image of his beloved Sea and Spark.

"That's them, how-?" she looked up at Sombra, seen how he looked at Sea and Spark with a loving gaze.

"Are you married?" she asked bluntly. Sombra flushed and Cadance chuckled.

"No, not yet- I mean- Uhh...I love them both dearly." Sombra ignored Cadance's grin and spoke to Winter.

"He's going ring shopping soon~" Cadance teased jokingly.

"Hush." Sombra said mock-angrily, a smile tugging at his lips.

"I see..." Winter blushed, wondering if her worlds Sea might go on a date with Sombra? He deserved somepony, after all he'd been through...

"What's the last thing you remember about your home? what happened?" Cadance dropped the jokey grin and asked seriously. She didn't think this young mare was a threat. Seeing her Lich form had shocked Cadance at first, but as Sombra had clearly picked up on, she was as scared of them as they were of her. It sounded like she'd been thrown into this undead life through no fault of her own and she just wanted love, like any pony might.

"There was a fight, it was cold, I'm not sure. But I have to get back, they need me!" she cried.

"Maybe the place where you came in, there might still be magic lingering?" Cadance suggested.

Sombra nodded and restored the glamour spell, before asking Winter to follow. Cadance came too, carrying the staff.

Sombra asked her what the necklace was as they walked outside.

"Its a phylactery, it's what helps me reconstitute my body if it gets destroyed."

"Astonishing," Cadance stared, "I had no idea such things existed."

"Maybe not in our world, but in hers." Sombra suggested, and Cadance nodded.

Winter studied this Sombra as they walked. In many ways he reminded her a little of HER friend. Bar the whole Alicorn thing.

Sombra explained how he had come to be an Alicorn, about the sky tear war. Cadance interjected with funny anecdotes and facts that made the young mare giggle. By the tale's end, Winters eyes were on stalks, it sounded so bizarre! Not that she could fault him, by comparison her own story was more tangled than a ball of string at the mercy of a cat with a caffeine problem! But it was HERS, and she treasured that dearly…

Soon they were facing the same statue she'd come into contact with;

She watched as Sombra walked around it, horn glowing with magic, sometimes glowing brightly, other times dimming to a barely visible shimmer. Cadance watched Winter fidget, hopping from hoof to hoof. It reminded her of when Shining couldn't wait when they were on a date in their school years and he'd be fidgeting much the same as they stood in line for the play or a restaurant.

"Anything?" Winter asked at last, gnawing her lip as Sombra came back to stand in front of her.

Sombra nodded and she gave a gasp of relief.

"It is very faint, but I can still trace it. It feels like this was cast by a strong, possibly arcane magic. Dark magic certainly has a great compatibility with such a thing."

"You talk like Twilight." Winter blinked. Sombra flushed, he did tend to use old fashioned speech patterns.

"It's cool." the filly added, catching his eye and he smiled back.

Sombra ushered them back and began writing the spell needed in his head. Symbols etched themselves into the darkness behind his closed eyes, more and more of them as it grew in complexity. Winter blinked nervously as the alternate Sombra spread his wings out, magic holding him suspended above the ground. Sparks crackled across the ground and she stuck closer to Cadance.

"I-is this normal?" she asked and Cadance nodded reassuringly.

"Don't worry, he knows what he's doing. He's a mix of dark magic and an Alicorn's capabilities now."

With a loud bang, Sombra fired the spell at where he could just barely see a shimmering trace of a portal. A gust of wind blasted out from the space he'd aimed at, but in front of their eyes the trio seen a portal ripple into being, wavering at first before becoming more solid. Sombra touched down and beckoned Winter to stand before it.

"Reach out and touch it, if my spell is correct, it'll read that necklace of yours and pinpoint the other me."

Winter did as instructed, making an "eeh!" noise as she felt a faint shock run through her. But she did see the portal start to become more defined and she could see a snowstorm forming.

But she couldn't see any sign of-

"There!" she pointed through the storm and Sombra felt a strange shiver run through him. The light behind the pony cast him as a silhouette, but Sombra recognised his old self anywhere.

"You must go, if we meet, the world will probably turn into spaghetti or something." Sombra joked, but he spoke very seriously. Winter nodded and thanked him and the Princess for their help.

"Thank you both for being kind. All it took was one chance and you made it all much easier. I wish those in my world, my WAR, could see it that way."

"I'm sure you'll find a way, have faith in yourself," Sombra said softly, hoping she'd be alright. She smiled almost sadly, then dove through the portal. As it began to shrink, Sombra seen her running full pelt towards the shadow of his other version and the silhouette of his other self put a foreleg around the filly, body language showing how relieved he was.

For a moment Sombra saw a gleam of green, felt a shiver race up his spine as this other version of him looked right at him. Then the portal shut and Winter was gone, back home.

"She seemed sad." Cadance remarked as they walked back inside. Sombra nodded.

"Sounded like she was fighting a war of her own. Still, I hope the other me can help her."

"I'm sure he will, he sounded like a better pony in her world too." Cadance agreed.

"It is a relief to know I'm not all bad, in somepony else's universe," Sombra coughed, feeling his face flush. But Cadance understood what he meant, and patted his shoulder in agreement.

A day later and Sombra stood outside the ring store for close to 5 minutes, looking from the photo he held in front of him, then up at the store sign. And again…

"He's either very lost, confused, sleepwalking or-"

"Or just plain nervous, you goof." The shop owner corrected her son, rolling her eyes as she walked over to the door. Her son watched in amusement as she stepped outside and the Alicorn jumped a mile in the air, wings flapping in alarm. Once he settled down, he showed her a picture and she nodded, ushering him inside.

"My son's great at color matching, I just set the stones and bands. Have a look dear!" She held out the photo of Shining Sea to her son.

Sombra seen the kids eyes brighten in recognition as he seen Sea's photo. "Hay, I remember seeing her. You two were making out after Princess Celestia put you back together-"

Sombra wanted to face-hoof. The kid was right, but very blunt...

"EXCUSE him, your highness!" the shop owner gave her son a "please shush" glower, "I think he forgets who he's talking to sometimes!"

The kid grinned, "sorry man, hard to forget something like that, mom wouldn't stop going on about how romantic it was-"

His mother grabbed him in a joking headlock, ruffling his mane.

"Alright you, that's enough. We need an engagement ring, pronto! Can you put that brain to good use picking out a stone to match her?"

"Yeah, no problem!" the kid hopped down from the chair and trotted into the back room. Sombra spoke with the shop owner while they waited;

"She's beautiful, hon. My son wasn't joking, I really did think it was the sweetest thing seeing you two together. She's very lucky."

"I think I'm the lucky one. She didn't laugh her hindquarters off at how awkward I acted, for starters."

They had a little chuckle as Sombra briefly talked about his awkward attempts at being subtly romantic. Or not.

"Here we go!" the son returned with a gorgeous brilliant white gem. It looked like a fusion of pearl and diamond.

"That's beautiful." Sombra said appreciatively as he seen the light reflect in it.

"I'm thinking a white gold band?" the shop owner suggested, holding a demonstration model up for the King to see. For the next hour they discussed the rings settings, engraving and various other things. Once it'd been confirmed and paid for, Sombra was told he could pick it up in a week!

The mare watched him leave, seeing how happy he looked.

"That's one lucky mare." she mused.

While Sombra was learning to fly, drafting proposals to his marefriend, meeting new faces and time-skipping visitors, a pony was headed his way, with trouble in her wake!

But he had a more immediate concern that he was aware of, for Cadance and Shining were nipping off for a quick trade summit. Much had been delayed while they dealt with the sky tear war and they were needed elsewhere.

"Relax buddy, it'll only be for two days!" Shining assured him, "You'll manage fine until then, I know it!"

"Alright," Sombra smiled "good luck!"

He waved goodbye from the train station once more, then walked back to the palace soon as the train was gone. He was in charge, on his own. He swallowed nervously at the idea. But it was just for two days, right?

--Oh sweet merciful sanity, don't let me do anything dumb!-- he thought with a wry smile as he drifted along.

Nopony gave the mare a second glance as she ran off the train and headed directly for the palace. To them she seemed like just an ordinary pony running late!

As she ran, the mare's mind buzzed with what she'd learnt on the train…

She'd woken with next to no memory and had remained where she was for a couple of hours before she had most of her memories back. Back enough to realize the trouble not just she, but her family was in! She'd cast a last lingering glance at a statue of a stallion that'd been in the room with her and placing a kiss on its muzzle, before running as fast as she could out into dark woods, memory filling in the way forward.

Everything looked vastly different, but she was still able to get on a cargo train headed for the Crystal Empire. Ponies she'd talked to had informed her all the Princesses were stationed there currently, due to some big war that'd been going on.

She'd been too anxious to take this all in, but she had a destination and that was all she needed!

Once she'd gotten onto the train she started to relax. All she could do now was wait as the train drew closer and closer to the Empire...

After drifting asleep and being jolted aware by a bump in the rails, she saw an outdated and abandoned newspaper stuffed down the back of the seat she was lying on. Pulling it free she'd stared in surprise…it couldn't be?

Once she read the article, her heart sank. This pony was in massive danger!

She ran to the palace by now, almost in tears. The day was growing dark, the moon rising into the sky. The guards intercepted her, demanding to know who she was.

"Please!" she cried, "I have to see Celestia, she's my-"

"Is that...Aura Blossom?!" Drawn by the noise, a fridge-raiding Luna stepped into view at the top of the stairs, plate of cake in hoof. She always liked to sneak some cake after lowering the moon, it was habit. The cake, followed shortly by its plate, was flung behind her as she ran down the steps. A staff pony would later see a cake smooged to the wall, stuck fast by its icing and the plate on the floor nearby.

For now, Luna was only interested in the distressed mare. She ran over, enveloping her in a hug that nearly squeezed the air out of her lungs.

"Aura," she choked out, "are we dreaming? How did you get here?"

"Oh Luna, I'm so glad to see you-!" Aura Blossom looked ready to cry from relief. She was a pale buttery yellow, with pink mane and tail. Towards the ends it darkened into a rose-reddish color. Her cutie mark was a cherry blossom, a symbol of serenity and peace…

Luna studied the tired, frightened mare and dismissed the guards, ushering the mare upstairs with her.

"We will go straight to sister!" she vowed, "we are so happy to see you, but we must ask how-?"

"I'll explain everything to you both, dearest Luna." Aura promised. Luna nuzzled her in a sisterly way, then pushed open the door leading to the throne room. She'd just come from there and knew her sister was still in residence there, along with Sombra.

"AURA?!" Celestia seen who was with her sister and pelted over there in a second, doing the same as Luna and nearly making poor Aura Blossom pass out from sheer hug strength!

"Aura Blossom, oh my heart- how?" Celestia asked through shaken tears as she regarded the mare.

"I woke up- the enchantment, it ended early! Something, I felt it like a shock-wave, it's unravelling things. But listen- there's a pony, the one in the newspapers, oh what was his name, Sombra-?"

"You mean him?" Luna said causally, indicating the other pony in the room.

Hearing his name, Sombra stood up atop the throne he'd been sitting on. Aura Blossom seen he was a powerful looking unico- her thought train derailed as he raised his wings and stretched them, before settling them down as he looked over at them.

"Can I help you...miss Aura-?" he asked, having not caught her full name. She stared at him wordlessly as he stepped down from the throne.

"An Alicorn?! Oh no, this is far worse than I thought!" she paled.

"I- excuse me?" Sombra asked, confused.

"Lets get some tea, Sombra," Celestia said, shooting him a pleading look, "I'm sure we can get to the bottom of this!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you." Aura spoke directly to Sombra once they all had cups of tea in front of them, "but the fact you're an Alicorn, it means were in even more danger than I first thought!"

"In danger from what?" Sombra asked. He was a mix of confused and slightly upset at this strange reaction to his being an Alicorn. Why did it bother her so?

"The paper said- you're a dark magic user aren't you?" she asked. Sombra nodded.

"Born with it, by chance," he said heavily, "even turning into an Alicorn has not altered my magical composition, merely enhanced it exponentially."

"Sombra," Celestia took a deep breath, "there's something we haven't told you."

Sombra looked from her, to Luna, then to Aura. He put this together with that brief conversation he'd heard as he'd been locating his bedroom the day he had become an Alicorn. The name sprang to his lips before he could stop himself.

"It's about this "Valance", isn't it?"

"How did thou-?" Luna asked and Sombra sighed.

"I fell asleep on a bench in the hall. When I woke up I got a bit turned around trying to find my way back to my bedroom. I heard your voices, and headed towards them. I had thought to ask you for directions, Celestia, but then I heard what you were discussing and I just left you to it. It did not seem a conversation I should have heard."

"He is our brother." Celestia said and Sombra nodded, absorbing this.

"Please, let us explain." Aura Blossom said to Sombra, who nodded.

"Valance held dominion over earth, he helped understand how best to make this land of ours flourish," Aura sighed softly, "But one day, dark cult forces kidnapped me from our home and hid me away where they knew he could not find me."

"At the time, all the evidence pointed to her being dead," Luna looked heartsick, "we were all heartbroken, but Valance had lost the love of his life and he became inconsolable."

Celestia nodded, "we could not reason with him, not even beg him to partake of dinner with us. He remained in his room, morning his dear Aura."

Aura teared up in memory and Sombra felt a genuine sadness for her, as lost as he felt right now.

"But they weren't done with my husband. They made me watch via portal spell as they unleashed a dark magic creature, known as a nightmare entity."

Sombra shivered faintly, "I recall legends of such things from my father. They are a veritable horror story."

Aura Blossom nodded, glad he understood. She continued;

"I watched as my husband turned into a thing of nightmares, corrupted by his loss. He was almost able to reach out to his sisters, I seen him approaching his door, knocking aside the piled up plates and books of memories. But as his hoof touched the door, the window was thrown open and that thing was unleashed. Those BAST-" she cut off and let out a howl of rage that ended with a sob. Luna and Celestia hugged and comforted her while Sombra sat there, frozen. He didn't know what to do, he felt out of place here, only involved because she seemed distressed at his Alicorn status.

Aura Blossom composed herself and carried on;

"I could do nothing to save him, or even warn him. I watched as it brought out the anger he felt at my "passing". It changed him, that darkness, from a normal pony to a monster."

Sombra felt a strange sensation, an acidic burn in his throat, a sense of shame. What she was describing was what he'd unwittingly done to himself and she held so much anger in her voice for the darkness. His discomfort went unnoticed by both of the Princesses however, as their focus was on the recently reappearing Aura.

Luna took up the story after that, still not noticing the rigid posture of Sombra's body, like he wasn't sure he should be there and had no clue what to do about it!

"We were getting reports, every week or so, that ponies were turning up in hospital, some beaten close to death. Those willing to talk said they'd been attacked by a monster-pony, one made of shadows and molten rock and iron. They called him "nightmare"."

For months we hunted down every lead, but it seemed we were getting absolutely nowhere. There was no sign of a pony matching that description. During all this, Valance seemed almost back to himself. He didn't speak much, but at least he was leaving his room. Even if he often refused dinner to sit in his room with his memories. We should have seen it, but we were distracted dealing with the royal guard and police."

The moon Princess heaved a sigh, so Celestia stepped in.

"But soon, we could ignore the facts no longer. When we joined the dots, they led us right to Valance. The nights he spent hid away tallied with the nights of the attacks. The missing books from the library and the stolen files from the police, it was all his work. But we never thought to question our brother, we thought his grief was torture enough.

When we confronted him, he did not try to hide it. In front of our eyes he became a maelstrom of fury and hatred. He called himself Valance Eras no longer, instead his name was Nightmare Justice."

--Nightmare?-- Sombra blinked, eyes flicking to Luna. She didn't see it, too lost in thought. Sombra wondered if the events were linked. Had Luna's sense of loss planted the seed that'd later been fed by her jealousy?

"He unleashed his anger upon US and we had no choice but to fight back. But we could not hurt him and certainly would not take him out completely. In the end, after the room lay in smoldering ruin, we had used all our magic plus that of the elements of harmony and we had sealed him in stone."

"While they fought my beloved, I was trying to find them," Aura spoke up next "The ones that had captured me had grown too lacks-a-daisy around me, thinking I was stricken dumb by grief, that I'd become a mere husk. In a way, I had, I was so angry with them. And I missed my husband so much.

But when I seen him forced to fight his sisters, his own FAMILY, I lost it. All that anger deep inside came together like a storm. My cage and my magical suppressor were torn apart by my fury and all I could think of was how I longed to punish them. I remember fighting their leader, tearing his spells apart and unleashing a lot of magic. With the suppressor gone, I had full access to my power and I was out for vengeance."

Sombra flashed back to the suppressor he'd worn himself, back at the start of the sky war. His neck itched and he scratched idly at it a moment, setting his hoof down as Aura continued.

"I got away, leaving them stunned and trapped in their own headquarters. I ran straight for home, encountering a guard patrol on the way. They listened to my story and dispatched more soldiers to round up the ponies I'd escaped from, then drove me the rest of the way in their carriage. I was so sacred, yet I hoped if I could just get there in time I could save him."

She shook her head sadly, "When I got there, Valance was gone, shut away in stone, I was too late. Celestia and Luna were shocked to see I was alive, so I told them what had happened, that I'd been a prisoner all this time by that beastly cult."

"Then what?" Sombra asked.

"While I was captured, I started getting sick. At first I thought I was just ill, then it became clear that I was pregnant. I kept this secret from my captors, but I told Tia and Luna. I asked I be given only the time it took to birth my daughter, then I wanted to be sealed in stone with him."

"But...your child?" Sombra was confused.

"Yes, I asked Celestia and Luna to do me one last favour. I asked they pool their magic to send her into the future, so I might meet with her again when she was grown up and there was a chance she could meet her father too. I hoped there would be a cure, a way to save him so she would not grow up without us for her WHOLE life."

"So where is she now?" Sombra asked, but Celestia shook her head and he fell silent. Why couldn't they trust him? He felt another wedge form between him and what he was starting to consider the "real" royalty. The doubt that'd started growing before spread its roots deeper into his heart now.

"I don't understand what this has to do with me?" he asked at last and Aura regarded him sadly.

"You're a dark magic expert, aren't you? That kind of magic, it'll act like a lure to my husband. You have power and he'll want it once he gets free. Add in that you're also an Alicorn and he may see you as a threat to him. We need to do something."

"How come you woke up early?" Sombra asked.

"The bonds on my prison were not as powerful as my husbands, there was no need for them to be. I was not planning on escaping my bonds," Aura Blossom looked at Celestia and Luna as she spoke and they nodded "I don't know what woke me, but it was powerful."

Sombra's mind flashed back to what Death had said and his stomach plummeted as the situation became clear.

"I think I know." he whispered. He explained the sky wars ending, the sheer level of power his magic plus the elements had generated had been beyond anything seen before. Add in what had been given to save and transform him...

"I see, it sounds like that was what woke me. And there's a chance my husband may still break out. That's why I came here." Aura Blossom sighed.

"We should go to the place where your husband is kept-" Sombra began and Celestia nodded, intercepting him.

"We will, but it's late, we will have to travel in the morning. It's unlikely he's broken free, we'd have sensed it by now." she assured Sombra. He sighed again, nodding.

Aura Blossom said she needed to speak with Celestia and Luna and Sombra took the hint, getting up and wishing her goodnight before walking out of the room.

Celestia bit her lip anxiously.

"Just a moment," she said to Aura Blossom and Luna.

"Sombra!"

The stallion stopped partway down the hall as Celestia called his name. He turned to face her, a mix of feelings swirling deep inside as she approached.

"I'm sorry, she wasn't expecting to see another Alicorn. Valance has been the only male until now and seeing you is a little hard for her, your mane even kind of resembles his the way it is now."

"Is that why you made me this?" Sombra couldn't suppress it any more "I noticed it caught Luna off guard when she saw me again for the first time, so I knew you had not discussed it with her. Even the way YOU looked at me, it seemed as if you were miles away, on and off all day!"

Celestia didn't answer, she didn't know what to say, Sombra had every right to be upset right now. True, it had been a snap decision to make Sombra an Alicorn and yes it was true she'd briefly daydreamed about her brother when she'd seen him with the wings. For a moment she'd remembered what it'd felt like for them all to be together-

But that had not been what had spurred her to do it-!

She snapped out of her memory haze as Sombra stepped back. His expression was hurt, almost upset.

"Sombra, wait- I didn't!" she began but Sombra was turning to leave. He looked at her over his shoulder, expression blank.

"I am beyond grateful you saved me, Princess. But I am not sure I should have these." he gestured to the wings, then took off at a rapid trot down the hall.

"I'm sorry Sombra." Celestia whispered. She was torn between how much she missed her brother and how she'd inadvertently hurt Sombra.

Sombra sat in his room, chest burning. He caught his reflection in the mirror as he finally lifted his head. What had Celestia said, that his mane resembled Valance's? She'd given most of her power to help with rebuilding his physical form, so what if this mane-style came from her memories?

He felt abruptly uncomfortable, jumping from his bed and walking over to the mirror. He closed his eyes, reaching deep into his supply of magic. He wanted to change something…

A tingle ran along his scalp and made him wince at first, then a pressure started to build in his head. He let out a sudden loud sneeze and sat down with a bump. He rubbed at his eyes as the stinging faded and looked at his reflection.

"That's not quite it, but close enough." he shrugged. Previously, his mane had been a flowing black, like shadow but NOW it was still jet black, it still ebbed and flowed, but he'd enhanced it somewhat. Subtle patterns like dark stars seemed to flicker in and out of sight, the subtle flicker of light making his mane shimmer like a black crystal.

THAT felt more like him. Feeling marginally better he crawled into bed, falling asleep right away to his relief.

A dark shadow sped through the night, honing in on a source of power that it knew would feed its appetite. Magical wards surrounded the castle, but it used the magic it had stolen on its way here to simply pry a hole open in them and slip inside.

It followed the magical trail through the hallways, its flame and smoke body giving the walls a faint orange tint. Then it slipped under a door and beheld what it had come for. No, what HE had come for.

Nightmare Justice, the phantom of vengeance.

A pony was asleep in the bed by the window, dark mane flowing like black starlight. A strangely colored horn caught Justice's attention, what manner of oddity was this unicorn?

The intruder hovered a moment before he formed a physical body in the centre of the room. A big, imposing presence, he wore armor fashioned from silver steel. Tail like spikes of cooled lava, mane like smoke and flame. Bat-like wings and a sharp horn. He was a terrifying sight.

He strode over to the bed, until he was looming over the pony. Sombra grunted in his sleep, rolling onto his side. The blanket shifted down, revealing a wing pressed to his side. Nightmare Justice snarled, anger fuelling his heart. Who was this imposter, this false Alicorn? There couldn't be another!

He didn't care, he would eliminate him and take that delectable magic-

Nightmare Justice reached a hoof towards Sombra's neck, when the stallion sneezed in his sleep and the wing he'd been gawking at snapped out, punching Justice right on the muzzle. This knocked him back into the dressing table with a crash, his momentum knocking several ornaments and a photo frame to the floor with a smashing of glass.

Sombra bolted up in bed, staring at his wing in confusion.

"What, who-?" Sombra blurted sleepily.

Then he heard a growl that snapped him out of his daze.

He turned his head slowly and ice trickled down his spine and his blood went cold as he took in just who or what was getting to their feet across the room, glaring balefully at him with eyes of fire.

"J..Justice?" he whispered, recalling Aura Blossom's explanation.

"Whelp," Nightmare Justice snarled, raising his wings and baring his teeth, "you will not live beyond this night!"

Sombra barely had time to propel himself off of the bed as Nightmare Justice fired on him. Molten fire set the bed ablaze, melting it in seconds and the resulting shock-wave slammed Sombra into the wall. He landed upside down, tail draping into his upended field of view. He hurriedly scrambled to his feet, meeting the next blast with a shield just in time to protect himself. Nightmare Justice seethed, gnashing at Sombra's defenses. He seen the tell-tale glow of dark magic in this pony's eyes, the green and red highlighting the false Alicorn's frightened expression and he roared;

"Give that magic to me, whelp!"

"You'll have to catch me first!" Sombra hissed. The flames were spreading and he barely had time to blast out a spell to quash the flames then he was forced to make a break for the window and out into the night. He could hear Justice close behind him and gasped in pain as a bolt of fire grazed his right flank. But he forced himself to keep flying through the pain and terror, he had to get far enough away-!

The guards threw the door open in time to see a scary looking something chasing the future King out the window. They were left with an empty, wrecked room. Surrounded by smoldering wreckage and broken glass, smoke lazily escaping out the same window.

Without prompting, they ran off to wake Celestia and Luna.

By luck, Luna was at her post in the topmost tower and seen something go whizzing by down below, tearing the wards with abandon and setting EVERY alarm ringing. She yelped, shaking her head to quell the alarm bells making her go cross-eyed.

"Sombra?!" she cried, catching a glimpse of black and grey in the corner of her vision. And he was being chased by-

"Oh, my brother!" she gasped. The door was slammed open and she whirled in time to see her sister and Aura Blossom there.

"Was that-?" Celestia wheezed.

Luna nodded, pointing to the distance, "they went that way, sister!"

"We have to catch them-!" Aura Blossom gasped, "Valance is- he'll kill that pony!"

Celestia let Aura Blossom clamber onto her back, and the two sisters plus their in-law took off from the tower. Aura Blossom clung to Celestia's neck, eyes raking the horizon for any sign of he possessed husband.

"There!" Luna, with her better night-time vision, spotted them first. She could see two shapes thrashing about, one at the others mercy. They hit the snow and Aura Blossom's stomach sank.

For a horrifying moment she thought the dark magic pony was dead, he appeared stunned and wasn't moving. Justice's teeth were sunk into one of Sombra's wings, like he was trying to rip them off. Then the other pony struggled, trying to wriggle free, but Valance was pressing down on his chest, putting pressure on his ribcage.

"Valance!" Aura Blossom shouted at last and he actually halted.

"Stop it, let him go!" she cried.

"My dearest." he said, his voice a distorted crackle of its former self. Taking advantage of him being distracted, Celestia fired off a teleport spell. Justice snarled as he seen his prey disappear, reappearing cradled in Celestia's forelegs.

"You would so willingly replace me with an imposter?" he roared, "that false creature, he needs to die-!"

"Stop!" Aura Blossom took a few steps forward, but Nightmare Justice no longer heeded her. He geared up a blast of magic to eradicate the one Celestia was guarding and fired it with a growl of anger, but it smacked off a shield soon as it came within range.

"What?"Nightmare Justice snarled. Celestia stared at the shield, then heard Sombra cough. Peering down, she seen he was awake and powering the shield, his hazy red eyes were locked on Justice.

"Sombra!" Luna sat in front of her sister, peering franticly at the half-beaten Alicorn, "what happened?"

"I...I couldn't fire on him," Sombra forced out "I needed time to study his...magic..."

He explained how he'd lured Justice out here and tried to reason with him. But nothing he'd said had gotten through.

"He can't hear me, or maybe he wont," The dark pony winced as he sat himself up, "he's bent on ripping me apart, he thinks-" he trailed off coughing.

"Thinks what?" Aura Blossom asked and Sombra pushed himself to talk.

"He thinks I am here to replace him. That somehow I am related in one way or another to you both," he looked at Luna and Celestia.

"We have to stop him." Aura Blossom sniffled. Sombra closed his eyes, trying to recollect the plans that'd saved him before.

At last he opened his eyes, looking at the figure of Justice who hovered in the air beyond their shield. It was as if he knew they couldn't run, but couldn't hide behind Sombra's shield forever either! He waited…

An idea hit him, Sombra's eyes brightened and he looked at the two sisters.

"You two need to distract him so I can put together a spell to extract his dark side. But it will only stand a real chance of working if we can get him pinned down. Otherwise he could adapt and overcome it!"

He looked at Luna, "you need to use everything I have taught you, can you do that?"

"We can!" Luna knew what he meant and she nodded, eyes filled with determination.

"What does he mean?" Aura Blossom asked.

Luna smiled softly at her.

"Sombra has taught us how to use dark magic, safely. I am fortunate to have a very gifted teacher, so we will combat our brother's darkness with our own."

"You taught her THAT-" Aura Blossom looked horrified at Sombra, then shook her head, nodding to Luna, "alright, I trust you both know what you're doing."

Celestia nodded and she and Luna went to stand at the fore, right up against the shield.

Sombra got to his feet, wincing as he stood tall and flexed his wings, preparing to fight. This close, Aura Blossom could see where some feathers had been torn out and blood seeped out from the wounds. She watched his dark magic flare up again and darted forward on impulse, stepping in front of him and placing a hoof on his chest.

He stopped, blinking down at her.

"Please," she said shakily as she met his eyes, mesmerized by the glow of the dark magic. It was always so dangerous, wasn't it? How did this pony live with it now without falling apart or being corrupted like Valance? She envied him that...

"Try not to hurt him. He doesn't-" she stopped, heart aching.

"I know," Sombra said gently, "I know what its like to let power go to your head, especially when fuelled by rage. I was in this situation as a colt, I can understand. I will do what I can."

Aura Blossom nodded, sensing something in his words that spoke of a bad point in his past. Hadn't Celestia mentioned he was a former tyrant?

She stepped down now, letting the new male Alicorn prepare to fight her husband.

"Leave the fighting to us." Celestia whispered to Sombra and he nodded. Luna closed her eyes and when she reopened them, they shone with the flare of her own dark magic.

Nightmare Justice seen this and halted. Sister Luna, too?

"So, he has corrupted you too, has he? I will tear you to bloody pieces for your crimes!" He snarled at Sombra.

Sombra didn't say anything, he knew Valance would not truly hear him anyway.

"No!" Luna stood tall, "we battled our darkness and got it on our side. The one who carries corruption is you, dear brother. And we aim to fix that!"

With that she and Celestia launched forward, firing an onslaught of magic at their brother. Not designed to hurt, just stun and also distract his attention.

Aura Blossom had a hoof in her mouth and was gnawing it as she anxiously watched her husband fight his own sisters. Next to her, Sombra was frantically compiling a spell, centering it around the band she'd seen around his leg.

"Are you going to put that on him?" she asked. He nodded.

"This band, it has strength beyond mere metal. There is magic on it that has safeguarded it for an eternity. It belonged to my foster father."

The last link of the spell fell into place as he spoke.

"What will it do?" Aura Blossom asked.

Sombra looked at her, expression worried but determined.

"It will draw the darkness to it like a magnet, channel it into that stone. Once it is contained, I will be able to absorb it."

"Absorb-?" Aura Blossom paled. Sombra smiled.

"I have had dark magic since my birth, I can handle it." Sombra looked at Valance, or Nightmare Justice as he was currently known. He flapped his wings, wincing as the bites re-opened, but he could still fly and that was the vital part.

Celestia and Luna were going all out, dizzying blasts of magic making it hard for Nightmare Justice to zero in on either of them. Luna especially was proving adept with her powers, firing shards of that crystal she generated around her wings, forcing Nightmare Justice to duck or evade at which point Celestia would go in for a stun blast. Sombra judged his moment and teleported. He appeared behind Justice, the band held tightly in one hoof. He could collar him with it, he thought quickly and the band was already widening as the thought crossed his mind. So long as he secured it around one limb or the other-

He was was so close, the band was actually brushing Nightmare Justice's coat when he realized the ruse and turned, firing the blast he'd saved for Luna at Sombra now. Close range, it punched the stallion out of the air, throwing him to the snow below. Valance dove, landing crouched over Sombra, a hoof slamming down on his windpipe.

"You're finished!" he spat, knocking the band out of Sombra's hooves.

Sombra felt a stab of fear, he couldn't fail here...no way-

Adrenaline surged and he felt something click deep inside. Heat rushed through his body, melting the snow under him. With a powerful kick, he threw Justice off him with surprising force. There was a familiar flare of light..

Nightmare Justice staggered back, snarling as the light blinded him for a moment. What did this fool think he was doing?!

The light cleared and he seen Sombra had changed.

His mane, once starry and flowing, now resembled silver flames tinged with purple. His eyes were a reddish gold and the snow around him had melted to slush.

"What-?" Nightmare Justice stared, he could sense a whole new level of power from this pony. Sombra roared and leapt for HIM now, knocking Nightmare Justice back. Their eyes locked and the possessed Alicorn realized this imposter was now a very dangerous opponent. He risked having his plan ruined if he fell now, so he fired off a wide-range smog spell, blurring their vision in stinging grey clouds as he fled.

"Hay!" Sombra snarled. He closed his eyes, searching for Justice's power the way he once had for the creatures from the sky tear. Latching onto a faint trace he took off, pushing his aching body as far as he dared. Snowy wasteland shot by beneath him, cold air ripping at his mane and chilling his lungs, each breath a fight against the raging winds.

Rapidly, Sombra seen the shadow of his opponent loom out of the snow ahead of him. He put on one final burst of speed, shifting magical gears-

Nightmare Justice turned, sensing power creeping up on him. He seen the flame-maned pony lunge for him, laughed and fired a blast of magic right at Sombra's heart-

But it did no damage whatsoever, the glamour Sombra had woven wavered and revealed an inky, shadowy form beneath.

"How-?" Nightmare Justice barked, "what are you-?!"

The shadow merely laughed, fangs bared as it lunged towards him. Its shadowy body quickly grew big enough to surround Justice like strands of seaweed. He tried to pull free, fly away, but one tendril latched around his chest. Cold leached into his bones, making him sluggish.

He heard a crackling sound and looked down, seeing grey crystal forming where the shadow tendrils touched. Crystal grew at a rapid pace, weighting him down. He pumped his wings, trying desperately to remain aloft but to no avail.

The ground below rumbled and more crystal sprouted from under him, rapidly forming and reaching into the sky. Soon it connected with the shackles Sombra had placed on him. Justice roared futilely as he was suddenly the one in chains. Sombra flew back, turning back into his regular self, starry black mane like an ever shifting star-field.

"Imposter!" Nightmare Justice strained at his bonds and grinned as they began to crack "you can't win, just give it-"

Suddenly Sombra was nose to nose with him and he felt something cold clamp around his neck. He swung out, pulling one foreleg free and punching Sombra hard with it. The pony was knocked out of the air and barely corrected himself before he hit the ground. He hovered somewhat shakily, one hoof rubbing at his cheek.

"What is this?" Nightmare Justice screamed in fury as he tried to tear the collar off him. But his hooves met only slick cold metal with some sort of gem at the front. It radiated power, this wasn't some mere trinket-

Sombra floated in front of him now, breathing heavily but with a grim set to his expression.

"I am sorry, this will hurt." he said softly, the words bandied about by the strong winds outside the Empire's shield.

He flew up a little higher, wings outspread, one fore-hoof pressed to his heart. The other reached out, pointing towards the necklace around Nightmare Justice's neck.

"Stop right there-!" Justice panicked, the sensation of panic making him grasp at straws.

Sombra connected his magic to the spell in the band. It could go either way, he could either transfer or take away. In this case, he was taking it ALL.

"No, you can't do this-!!" Justice's voice warbled, sounding briefly like his old self. He seen the pony's brow furrow just a little and desperately tried to use this to bargain with Sombra.

"Please, you're killing me-" he begged as his weaker self, hoping it'd sway this imposters heart.

Sombra heard his voice, but forced himself to keep going.

"You think my sisters will forgive what you're doing? Aura Blossom will see you imprisoned for trying to kill a TRUE member of royalty-"

This was like a verbal slap to the already unsure Sombra. But he could deal with this later, if he lost control now it was ALL over.

"Darkness will plead and bargain with any chip it has," he spoke aloud, upping the ante of the extraction spell. Justice howled in fury as his plan failed, and Sombra continued talking; "I should know, I am darkness. You cannot hope to best me."

Nightmare Justice could only scream obscenities at his victor as he felt his dark power being stripped away, the collar burning like cold fire. Strands of dark magic appeared in the air around Sombra, absorbing into his body. The magic gathering around his horn was almost blinding. When Sombra opened his eyes, Justice seen they shone entirely green now. This was maximum output, his real strength and ability.

For Valance, the real owner of the physical form, it was like seeing snatches of a scene in between blackouts. He could feel something holding him in place, could feel cold icy air tearing at his body. His vision focused in and out and he seen what seemed to him to be a fever dream. A pony, wings outstretched, surrounded by glowing purple magic. Glowing eyes and- his mind clocked out, unable to comprehend what he was seeing as this strange apparition took the last of the darkness that'd been hurting his heart. He gasped in relief, feeling free at last. Then he passed out, his last thought for his wife.

Sombra seen him black out as the last bit of darkness made its home in HIS body now. He could no longer hold himself aloft and crumpled to the snowy ground below. Snow soaked his coat as he lay there, sparks of black lightning running across his coat. But finally it abated, neutralized at last. In fighting fire with fire, he'd starved both himself and the extracted darkness of any fuel. So Justice's corruption was gone, but so was Sombra's magical energy.

He could feel himself starting to fall asleep, but forced himself to his feet. As he approached the crystal prison holding Valance, it began to crack, as it's source of power had run dry. Sombra kicked off from the ground, catching Valance's falling body as the crystal bonds vanished. The leg band gleamed from around the other pony's neck but Sombra was too tired to undo the spell to remove it…

He sat up in the snow, using his aching wings to shield them both, propping the other Alicorn's body against his chest.

This was how the three mares found them. Aura Blossom let out a shriek when she seen the shattered crystal scattered in the snow, then a choked sob as Sombra folded his wing back to show the pony he was guarding from the cold. She raced over, taking in her husbands face, free of Nightmare Justice's corruption. He was breathing shallowly but he was alive.

"He's drained," Sombra spoke falteringly, "I had to extract all his magic to take out the darkness at his core."

Aura Blossom nodded, too lost in her husbands return to normal to really hear or see Sombra. Celestia and Luna approached and when they seen Valance was free, albeit very drained, they huddled together to let their tears of relief fall together.

"We must get back," Luna spoke at last, "It is freezing out here!"

Sombra nodded. Being the strongest of them, he volunteered to carry Valance on his back. It was hard going with his injuries, but the cold helped in that it numbed his body at least.

Somehow they made it back to the palace, where Valance was taken off his hooves and brought to medical. Sombra followed after as they laid him on the bed and the doctor started checking him over. He watched Aura Blossom, Celestia and Luna as they gathered around Valance beside, looking so relieved. Watching the scene, Sombra was struck by how….familial it was.

He had questions, but realized it was not the time to air them. He slipped out, unheeded. Everypony was so focused on the patient that his silent, thoughtful presence had become lost in the noise.

He wandered the halls, only now feeling all the aches and bruises from his fight start flaring up. He came to a halt in the hallway a few corridors away from medical, cursing under his breath.

"You OK sire-oh sweet Celestia-!"

The guard seen the mess Sombra was in and swore.

"It's not as bad as it looks." Sombra lied.

"You should go to medical-"

"The doctor is busy, we have a very in-need patient there at the moment."

"W-well..." the guard had a lot of questions, what on earth had happened?

Sombra had a thought, "is the first aider at the guards' room still on shift?"

"Yes, our night doctor is still up, let's go see him." The guard left his post to escort the shaken Sombra.

"What on earth happened, sire?" he asked. Sombra shook his head.

"I am sorry, it is top secret," he lied. He wasn't sure how the royal sisters wanted to handle this, so he was best off keeping quiet for their sakes.

"I see, sire..." the guard accepted this reluctantly. What secret did the sisters have that would end up with an injured Sombra?

The guards first aid officer did a double take when he seen Sombra, but didn't ask any questions. He had Sombra sit down on the nearest couch and began cleaning up the various injuries. He bandaged the bitten wing after cleaning out the small wounds, none of Sombra's ribs were broken thankfully, just bruised. Last but not least he put an ice pack on the bruise on Sombra's face from where Nightmare Justice had punched him.

When he was all patched up and cleared to go, Sombra thanked the guard for his help, then wandered away to find somewhere to rest.

"What in Celestia's mane happened to him?" the first aider asked. The guard who'd brought him there shook his head.

"He wouldn't say," was all he could offer.

"He has BITE MARKS on his wings, guardpony," the first aider said, "call me weird, but that seems very strange to me. That's a kind of fight that got up close and personal. Add in he wont tell who left such mark- something odd is going on."

"Even if it is, its not our place to question him. It's crazy, but I think his majesty knows the best course of action. We just have to trust him, and the Princesses."

"Yeah, I know." the first aider sighed.

They fell silent, wondering why Sombra was hiding the source of his injuries.

Sombra went back to his room, only to realize and recall what'd happened soon as he walked in the door. It was a charred mess for the most part, the remaining flames had been doused by the guards, but even so most of the room was a blackened mess. His new armor had survived though, it had been in the corner furthest from the flames and only stank of smoke.

His heart ached and abruptly he felt like collapsing. Instead he pulled some spare blankets from a cupboard and took himself up to the tower where Luna kept watch. She wasn't there of course, so he curled up under the blankets he'd brought and at last let himself rest. The world blurred as he fell asleep, able to relax at last.

Luna leant against her sister and Aura Blossom snuggled up to Luna's other side as they watched the doctor care for Valance. The fact this was an Alicorn he'd never seen before WAS a shock to the doctor, but he knew better than to ask. He would be told in time, he'd learnt that much.

There was a cough from the doorway and Celestia lifted her head, seeing the first aid guard standing there. She untangled herself from her sister and Aura Blossom and walked over.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

"I thought I should inform you I just patched up Crown Prince Sombra," the guard said softly, "I don't know what happened and he wouldn't say. But I thought you should know."

Celestia felt a stab of guilt. They'd all been so caught up in Valance's return they'd forgotten about the injuries Sombra had sustained. He always stayed so silent, so stoic, it seemed in this case he did not wish to cause a fuss. He'd no doubt gone to the first aid guard to avoid disrupting all them gathering around Valance.

"Sombra..." she said worriedly, then asked "do you know where he is?"

The guard shook his head apologetically.

"I'll find him," Celestia promised, "you can relax, I will handle it from here."

"Yes ma'am." the guard nodded and returned to his post.

After another hour of vigil, the doctor told the Princesses and Aura Blossom they couldn't keep themselves awake much longer. They should rest. Aura Blossom was given a room right next door and Celestia and Luna retired to their respective places. Luna went up to the tower to resume the few hours left of her shift. She got a surprise when she found the sleeping Sombra there ahead of her.

Why was he here? She didn't know, but sat beside him, thinking over everything he'd done that night. He'd saved her brother. Tears welled up and she wished she could hug him in gratitude, but the pony was utterly exhausted and deeply asleep. So she tucked a pillow under his head and stared up at the starry skies.

Then she clocked what was different about Sombra.

Before, his mane had been solid black, unmoving after his change to an Alicorn. Now it was flowing freely once more, his tail too. It also had a starry effect. She wondered when had it changed...

Adjustment & Accepting

Valance drifted awake the next morning, aware of a warm bed under him and blankets surrounding him. He blinked, sitting up drowsily. Where was he-?

His memories returned in sharp, urgent flashes that made his head pound. He'd come here in his possessed form- seeking vengeance and power.

He looked down at himself, but there was no denying that he was back to normal. Red coat, leaf green mane and subtle autumnal shades in his wings. His cutie mark was also back to its former self, its shape showing his earthy connections, with a leaf at its centre.

“How is this even possible?” he whispered softly as he checked himself over. The last thing that he recalled was-

The curtain was flung back, interrupting his recollections and he tensed up, expecting to see Nightmare Justice on the other side of the fabric somehow, but instead he seen;

“-Aura Blossom?!” he stared in utter shock as his mind registered the presence of his wife, whom he had thought long gone. He'd spent so long mourning her, yet here she was…

“You're real?” he croaked “I'm not just dreaming?”

She looked at him, finally awake and lucid, and all but threw herself into his embrace. The warm weight of her body near knocked the wind out of Valance, but it proved that this was no illusion. He'd dreamt about her night after night...

For several minutes they didn’t say a single word, just revelled in the fact they were together at long last. Through all the pain and loss, by some unknown miracle, they’d been reunited.

“My sweet Blossom. Oh, how I have missed you.” he whispered in her ear as he finally got his voice back.

“My dear Valance-” she sniffled “I can't believe we're finally together again after so long, I had almost given up hope. But you don't need to be sad, for you’re safe now-”

“But the darkness?” he pulled back to search her expression for the bad news he feared deep down. That this was just temporary, that that monster was still inside him, merely biding its time. But she just shook her head firmly.

“It's gone my love, eradicated.” she said, teary-eyed, as she seen his face “it cannot come back!”

Valance absorbed this bombshell, his head whirling. Was he truly free-? He felt a dampness on his cheeks and heard the splash of something hitting the bedcovers. Raising a hoof to his face, he realised he was crying. Aura was right, he realised, when he searched inside himself, he couldn't sense Nightmare's despair and fury hammering at his soul. He was HIM again!

“How did you do it?” he asked in a whisper as he got his head together.

“I didn’t, at least not alone anyway.” She beamed happily through her own tears “Celestia, Luna and there was another too! His name is Sombra, I think..”

“Sombra?” Valance blinked, wracking his brain, but the name didn’t ring any bells “I'm afraid to say I’ve never heard that name before.”

Even as he spoke however, his neck tingled sharply as if triggered by the very mention of that name. He rubbed a hoof at the spot of the strange sensation, starting slightly upon feeling something cold locked around his neck. It felt like a collar.

“W-what is this thing?” he blurted as he panicked silently, was this how they were suppressing his dark self? Didn’t they realise it wouldn’t hold such fury-?

Before he could have a full-scale meltdown, Aura Blossom clasped his hooves in hers and made soft, soothing noises.

“It's OK, that’s what took the darkness away, love. It had to make contact with you in order to work and I'm sure we can remove it, I don’t think it's active any more. He said it was how he saved you, after fighting your nightmare side to near total victory all by himself.”

“He? Wait a moment, is this STILL the same guy-” Valance stopped as another memory crept to the forefront of his mind with the more he learned. In this memory he seen flashes of an almost demonic-looking shadow, wings spread wide, glowing green eyes and purple light flowing around him.

He shivered, murmuring “just what was that creature?!”

“What was what?” Aura Blossom asked, frowning gently. She listened patiently as Valance explained the vision in all its hazy glory. She tallied it with what she'd seen and nodded.

“I see, that must have been at the time when he had finally caught up to you. We almost lost you in the snow, for Justice was making you flee far from us when he realised we could potentially defeat him. But that pony, he caught up to you and took away the darkness.”

After more silent musing, Valance figured that what Aura meant was that another had now taken on his darkness in his stead. But what had happened to his rescuer if that was the case?!

He asked this of Aura Blossom, who shook her head with a wry smile.

“Nopony has seen him since we brought you back. He wandered off into the castle to give your sisters and I some space and nopony's been able to locate him since. It is likely he is asleep somewhere, Celestia told me he is very secretive.”

“Are Celestia and Luna alright? I didn't hurt them, did I?” Valance asked, heart floating anew as Aura Blossom smiled once more.

“They’re fine, my love. You gave us quite the run-around out there, but it's all over now, I promise. Celestia is asleep, but I think Luna is still up.”

Valance nodded and got slowly to his hooves with her help, for while he was feeling much less wobbly then he'd expected to be, his limbs weren't up to speed. He could also sense that he now had more magic reserves than the facts of the situation said he should. Aura anticipated him worrying and answered the questioning look sent her way.

“Your sisters gave you their magic so you wouldn’t feel so worn out when you woke up.” Aura said “as too did I, so you should feel more or less back to normal very soon. But even so, you do need to take it easy, just walk slowly for now. We have lots of time to catch up.”

Valance nodded, draping a wing over her back as they walked around the spacious medical room. As the minutes ticked by, he steadily felt more confident in his body. The more he stretched the long-dormant muscles, the more grounded his body grew, becoming steadier on his hooves until he felt sure he could walk unaided.

The doctor came in just as they were wrapping up and was pleased to see the patient looking bright-eyed and alert after his condition the previous night. He did some standard tests to check his reflexes, vision and closed by repeating Aura's advice about taking it easy.

With all that out of the way, Valance anxiously asked the doctor if he and Aura might leave to go see his sisters?

Recalling just how anxious the Princesses had been over their brother's recovery last night, the doctor nodded quickly. Aura Blossom promised she'd look after Valance and he bowed as they left, before sitting down at his desk to fill in the patients records. What a night it had been! Strange new arrivals and secrets abound. Then, there was the matter of the report on Sombra's injuries, courtesy of the night guard. He felt a jab of guilt that he hadn’t noticed the future King's disappearance, his task was to assist the royals after all…

Had Sombra known it'd be best if he left the family to reunite alone? He was extraordinarily perceptive...

The duo headed upstairs to the tower right away. Aura Blossom knocked on the door, then nudged it open and was immediately greeted by a fidgety blue-eyed Alicorn, her flowy blue mane filling the doorway like it was a portal to the stars.

“Luna!” Valance cried and Luna squealed in relief, hooves reaching out to grab him. She pulled him through the doorway, hugging and squeezing him tightly.

“Luna...lungs..!” Valance protested at last and Aura Blossom giggled in amusement as her sister-in-law finally let him go. The Moon Princess' eyes were filled with a delighted sparkle, cheeks flushed with happiness.

“We have missed you so so so SO much!” Luna declared, tears welling up now.

“I've missed you too, my sweet sister- Ah, don’t cry Luna!” Valance hugged her as he spotted the tears spilling over “I’m sorry you had to worry. I'll make it up to you-”

“Thou art here and thou art safe. That is all we needeth to know!” Luna said firmly, hugging him again and planting a loving kiss on his cheek “we have you back and that's all that matters. That counts for both of you, dear sister-in-law!”

As she spoke, she used her magic to pull Aura into the hug as well. They stayed in a happy cuddle-huddle a minute, each having so much they wanted to say and ask, their voices overlapping in excitement. At last, Luna let them go and moved back so they could close the door behind them.

“What happened to me?” valance asked. Although he had so many other questions, but this was the top one. “The last I recall is a big pony and purple magic- Oh-sweet-merciful-you-he's-real.” he bleated this last bit in a rush, eyes widening as he spotted something he honestly still believed was a hallucination.

“Hm?” Luna blinked, following his panicked gaze. Valance was staring over at Sombra, who was curled up in a ball at the far side of the rooftop tower room. At some point, the blankets had slipped off his wings, most likely from all the tossing and turning he'd been doing. She had had to set a spell around the windows of the tower just to ensure he did not outright roll off of it!

Valance's eyes moved from the sizeable pair of flying appendages, up to that unusual horn and finally along to his mane. No doubt about it, this was the same pony from his vision. Here in the morning light, he seemed a far cry from the blaze of light and magic that’d bested Valance's evil nature.

“He's an Alicorn?” he asked nopony in particular, wondering if there had there been many since his disappearance? Now that he thought about it, it made sense as to how this pony had been flying yet surrounded by magic at the same time.

Without realising it, he was creeping closer and closer as he ran all these thoughts through his mind. Before he could stop himself or really think about it, he was reaching out a hoof to actually touch this apparition. He was warm, solid, REAL.

As soon as his hoof brushed Sombra's back, the pony was jolted awake from his thin veil of slumber and Valance back-pedalled with a yelp when Sombra's wings snapped out, flapping agitatedly a moment. The abrupt movement flung the blanket up into the air, whereupon it landed with a soft fwumpf, over poor Valance's head.

“No, I don’t think wearing pants on our heads is a suitable excuse for a national holiday, Shining Armor!” the dazed Alicorn blurted as he squinted at an imaginary piece of paper.

Luna stuffed a hoof in her mouth, but it was too late to muffle it and her amused sniggering caught Sombra's ears. He looked over, seeing both her and Aura biting their lips, trying not to laugh and failing spectacularly.

Sombra glowered dozily as they giggled at him, lowering the wings back down.

“Very funny, Luna.” he grumbled to the moon mare, who poked her tongue out at him smugly. Then what he took to be a blanket ghost suddenly moved right next to him.

Wait- blanket ghost?!

Sombra’s whole body went tense, ears twitching as the blanket ghost finally shrugged its cover off and he realised who it really was.

Valance wrestled the blanket off himself and came face to face with the mystery Alicorn from his visions. He was a sturdily built pony, with a smoky grey coat and flowing black mane contrasting with sharp red eyes. He didn't realise he was staring until the pony moved his ears, disrupting Valance's slack-jawed gawking.

Sombra's gaze settled on this new face a moment, then moved to Valance's neck. Valance wondered if this pony was a bit strange, until he realised Sombra was looking at the collar he still wore.

“This is yours, isn’t it?” Valance asked, finding his voice at last “you were the one I seen in my visions.”

“This is Sombra.” Luna stepped up beside her brother “and yes, he is the one who erased your nightmare half, with the aid of that jewel.”

Sombra closed his eyes, swirling purple magic flowing around his horn. Valance watched the band unlock and float over to the stallion. Sombra opened his eyes, the green glow and purple tint highlighting his eyes. He lifted his left foreleg and the band shone brightly as it wrapped around it.

When the glow faded, the band was back to what was undoubtedly its normal everyday appearance, snugly fitted to the pony’s leg as if nothing had happened, as if it'd never been gone.

“Y-your- you have dark magic?” Valance stated the obvious in slack-jawed disbelief.

“I was born with it, it is all I have ever been.” Sombra explained calmly. Valance backed up on instinct, this guy was pure dark through and through, surely that was impossible!

Sombra felt another jab at witnessing this response, seeing that flash of mild horror he recognised from his youth and he was now reminded of Justice's words. “TRUE royalty.”

“It is alright brother,” Luna assured him, her gaze moving to her sibling and thus missing the momentary flicker of Sombra's expression “Sombra's situation is unique, but safe.”

“But, dark magic-? How in Equestria can you be so used to it?!” Valance was baffled, it had simply never been heard of before, dark magic had been banned for a reason!

Seeing Valance's confusion, Sombra explained how he'd drawn the darkness out of Valance and absorbed it himself, how his magic was easily able to assimilate it and thus use it freely.

“Absorbed, are you crazy? Do you know what that thing was?!” Valance blurted without thinking. Was this pony at risk of becoming a nightmare too, would he turn crazy?

“Relax,” Luna said “he is not capable of becoming what you are imagining. Unlike a normal unicorn, he cannot suffer the burnout that was the side effect of dark magic use. The darkness once within thee has been assimilated, rendered useless. Thou art free.”

Sombra closed his eyes and gearing his magic up so it shone brightly around his horn. He was relieved it had regained a little of its strength after that fight. Valance's jaw dropped even more as he beheld this display of arcane power.

He studied the pony’s eyes as he fumbled for words, seeing the tell-tale glow of dark magic yet also seeing just how completely at-ease Sombra seemed. He had no idea a pony like this existed, or that dark magic could co-exist within a pony's body at ALL.

“Then, that darkness truly IS gone from my heart?” he asked Sombra directly now, seeing as this guy seemed to be telling the truth. The pony nodded wisely, even offering a faintly reassuring smile.

“You need not fear it, I removed every last trace of that enchantment. You are free to resume your life now.” Sombra told him.

This truth finally sunk in for Valance and he realised he owed this pony a great debt indeed. He hastily bowed in respect to the one who'd rescued him, tears in his eyes and Aura followed suit.

“Thank you, for saving my life and reuniting me with my dear Aura and my family. I will forever be grateful to you, sir.” Valance said solemnly. They straightened up and Aura smiled genuinely at Sombra as she wiped away fresh tears of relief.

“Thank you Sombra, for giving me my husband back. I don’t know how you defeated such a darkness, but I am indebted to you for what you have done for me.”

“For us too!” Luna glomp-hugged Sombra “you brought our brother back, we are VERY happy!”

Sombra returned her hug, patting her mane “you are more than welcome, Luna. It is good to see your family whole once more.”

She let him go, nodding and wiping her eyes with a happy squeak of joy as she clapped her hooves together like a giddy filly.

Valance was glad to see Luna being so affectionate, for she'd always been the more reserved one of the two and Celestia the far more outgoing one. He always joked he was floating somewhere in the middle of their orbits.

“We have a favour to ask of you.” Aura looked across at Luna as she spoke, then at Sombra. They’d discussed this as they'd been sat around Valance's bedside last night, after Sombra had kindly wandered off to give them space (and startle the living heck out of the night-shift guard medic).

“It's about our daughter.” she continued nervously and Sombra blinked at the shift in tone. Was he finally going to be let in on their big secret?

“Who?” he hedged asking, half expecting another shake of the head like last time.

Aura hesitated, now was the perfect chance to end this wait, yet she found herself unable to say it, even though she missed her so much.

“You know her well, she is married to your best friend.” Luna gave him a clue when she spotted Aura's case of the fidgets, taking the burden for her in-law.

The bit finally dropped and Sombra just stared for several long moments, processing it. Surely, it couldn’t be?

“It's...it's Cadance?!” Sombra was stunned silly as he tried to disprove it somehow in his head, ears flopping down in total shock, for it seemed so out of left-field. But now that he stared at the two in front of him and really studied them, he could definitely see the resemblance. The mix of manes and styles blending together in his minds eye to form the gentle Princess of love that he'd gotten to know.

“She'll be back tomorrow-” he began with a smile, but Valance shook his head urgently, cutting him off. Sombra fell silent, stomach tightening unpleasantly as he foresaw yet more secrecy.

“You can't tell her about what we have discussed, we beg this of you. To find out so suddenly- we aren't ready to tell her yet. We'd like her to adjust to knowing that Celestia and Luna even HAVE a brother first!”

“I see.” Sombra couldn’t help but think this was a bit unfair on Cadance, but he agreed to keep silent nonetheless. Even as the voice of reason in his head screamed that this was a bad idea.

“We are deeply sorry to put this on you,” Luna said softly “but we need your help, Sombra.”

Sombra's heart twisted at her words, his premonition had come true. They needed him when he could help them, when he could carry their troubles on his broad back. Was that all there was to his becoming an Alicorn?!

But even as this fact pierced a tired and aching heart, he made himself agree anyway, suppressing his true feelings deep down and merely nodding dully.

He felt abruptly tired once again as he added all this together and Valance was alarmed by the other male Alicorn swaying subtly, as if he was about to collapse.

“Sombra?” Luna asked, setting a hoof on his shoulder.

“I'm fine,” Sombra said at last. It came out a bit strained and blunt, so he corrected himself “it's nothing. I'm just hungry, last night used a lot of my magic. If you'll kindly excuse me.”

He respectfully made his exit, trotting hurriedly away down the stairs. As he passed Valance, the other stallion seen the bandages on Sombra’s wings. Coupling that with the bruise on the pony’s face, he assumed the fight to remove the darkness had been a tough one indeed.

Sombra stumbled downstairs, his mind a total muddle. He felt tired, conflicted and confused, for what real role did he even HAVE in the empire?

“Your majesty! Sir-”

Sombra realised somepony was trying to talk to him and stumbled to a halt, staring blankly.

“Yes?” he said dazedly. The guard frowned up at him, was the stallion feeling alright?

“You're needed in the throne room, sire. It's time for your duties to begin.”

“Oh-” Sombra groaned, rubbing a hoof over his face. In the chaos of last night, he had forgotten all about the fact he was babysitting the empire for the week “Of course, I will head there right away.”

“Are you alright, sire? You look a little peaky, can I get you anything?”

“Yes, coffee. The strongest the kitchen can make, with cinnamon. Thank you.” Sombra said to the guard, smiling gratefully as he spoke. The guard nodded eagerly and trotted away to fulfil this request.

Sombra did his best not to let it show just how tired he was as he walked the halls, nodding politely to the staff he met on the way. Before entering the throne room, he stopped and summoned a low-level glamour to hide his injuries from last nights fight and set it to be permanent until he disabled it. Best not to cause any alarm, after all, there'd been quite enough of that going on recently.

He duly smiled and did his part, studying everything as carefully as he could, even in his exhausted state. Ponies brought many different issues for him to solve, strange disputes they needed his help with. Their smiles and reverent bowing made him feel conflicted when compared against his argument with Celestia. Had he been wrong to snap at her? She’d looked wounded, but the way she'd fallen silent when he'd asked what her long lost brother had to do with HIS alicornication, it'd cut through him.

She actually appeared at lunchtime, asking to speak privately with him. Sombra set down coffee cup number three and looked wearily over at her.

“Sombra, are you feeling alright?” Celestia asked “the guards told me you were hurt quite prolifically-?” she took in his seemingly flawless appearance with a puzzled frown.

“It is a glamour,” Sombra explained “I didn’t want the citizens to worry, so I hid it via the spell. I have a few bandages here and there, but it looks far worse than it is in reality.”

Celestia nodded, she could see the logic in the decision. The citizens were still coming down from the sky-tear war after all, although panic and unease were lowering day by day.

“Did my sister mention about Cadance's situation?” she asked anxiously, unable to make small talk right then. She needed to ask him something very urgently…

Of course that was why she was here, Sombra sighed softly to himself. She looked tired too, however, there was no doubt this was difficult for her, this was family she was dealing with. He found he couldn’t quite begrudge her fixation and told his own jealousy and fear to butt out for awhile. If he was given the chance to get his foster father back, he knew he'd be as intensely driven as she.

“Yes, she did and your brother too. I understand these things take time, it's just a bit of a shock, that is all. Not even the books I read could have plotted such a twist.”

Celestia smiled faintly “I understand. I made sure Cadance grew up with a foster family that would give her all the love and time she needed and then, when it was time and she had proven her mettle, I gave her a unicorn's magic.”

“Ah yes, she was a pegasus at the start, I do recall her mentioning it at dinner one night when we discussed our upbringings. Aura doubtless has a great many pegasi within her linage and Valance being an Alicorn would make Cadance a natural at magic once she had it, it makes sense.” Sombra nodded. Focusing on something off of the main topic made it easier to cope with the chaos in his head.

“Thank you, Sombra.” Celestia said in relief as she turned to go “I’m sorry, also, this is a lot to ask of you.”

“It is nothing to worry about.” Sombra forced himself to smile as he insisted “I can manage.”

Celestia nodded absently, drifting out of the throne room. Sombra sighed deeply as the door clicked shut behind her, it felt as if the whole conversation could have gone on with the Princess talking to a stuffed toy of him next to a recording device and the result would’ve been the same.

A staff pony came in a few minutes later, asking was he hungry? Sombra shook his head, only asking for yet more coffee.

Cadance and Shining Armor arrived back at home early the next morning. They were met at the door by Luna, who solemnly asked them to come with her.

They exchanged worried looks, it was rare to see Luna still up this late (for her anyway), but they followed the moon Princess regardless.

Luna led them to the throne room, where Celestia was standing before the throne and two ponies, one wearing a cloak, stood beside her. On the throne sat Sombra, wearing an equally serious expression.

“Sombra-?” Cadance asked, why in Equestria did he look so weary? “What's happened?”

“Cadance-” Celestia spoke, moving forward to hug her and Shining Armor tightly “I have some news.”

“What is it?” Cadance asked, seeing excitement in Celestia's eyes.

“A long time ago, before Nightmare Moon, I suffered another loss. Luna and I both did, we never told anypony, but there are THREE of us.”

“You mean-?” Shining Armor initially looked at Aura, expecting her- but no, she was a unicorn.

“We have a brother.” Luna said and Valance duly removed the cloak.

The returning royal's jaws dropped as they took in a second male Alicorn. Their gazes flicked from him, briefly to Sombra, who hadn’t spoken a word, then back again.

“My name is Valance Eras. Please let me explain.” Valance stepped forward, his eyes settling on Cadance. She'd grown up so much he felt about to cry. Aura was the same, trying so hard to refrain from hugging her daughter. All she could do for now was introduce herself once Cadance had bowed and given her name.

Behind them, sat atop the throne, Sombra glanced away from the gathering ahead of him. Conflicting feelings warred for his attention…

Shining Armor seen him looking unsettled and wondered what was wrong? But he was soon drawn back to those in front of him as Valance held a hoof out to him. He shook it firmly, telling himself to focus.

“This is my husband, Shining Armor.” Cadance was saying. Shining bowed respectfully and learnt the Alicorn's wife’s name was Aura Blossom. She smiled at him, she had a very motherly air about her.

Cadance and Shining Armor sat enthralled as Valance retold the events of the past and those from last night. Cadance looked over at Sombra when she heard the part where he'd helped return Valance to normal with the help of his leg-band. He offered her a reassuring smile and nod before she turned her attention back to Celestia and Luna’s brother. That made him her uncle by way of Celestia adopting her the way she had, was that right?

The tale finally wrapped up and the Prince and Princess were silent, sharing astonished expressions as they absorbed it all.

“I know it's a lot to take in, things have escalated since the burst of power from the wars end.” Celestia stepped back in “it hurried up the clock, as it were.”

“My sisters did not know how to use the elements of harmony the way the new bearers do,” Valance explained, having gotten a low-down on the 6 ponies looking after them now “so all they could do was seal me away and hope for a better future.”

“Same as we were.” Luna added. Valance had been surprised to find out his dear Luna had suffered a breakdown of faith too, notably faith in her own self worth. They’d shared many a story and hug while Sombra was holding court with the citizens of the empire.

“I asked to be sealed alongside my husband so that I could find a way to help in future, if such a chance ever became available.” Aura finished the story off at last.

“Whoa..” Shining Armor whistled “that’s- that's big news! Very pleased to meet you Mr. Valance and you too, Mrs Aura.”

“You're a Prince and Princess too?” Cadance asked and Celestia nodded alongside her brother. Cadance grinned gleefully and clapped her hooves together in joy, she had more family, how wonderful!

There was a sudden knock to interrupt their pondering, the doors opened and a guard cautiously stuck his head round. The way the ponies were stood meant he didn’t spot Valance's wings and assumed nothing was amiss.

“Sorry to interrupt. Your majesty-” he directed this at Sombra “you have visitors at the door. A Miss Shining Sea and her daughter Bright Spark.”

“I will be right there.” Sombra stood up from the throne, wincing as he felt his back ache. He could still feel the impact bruises from the fight, but he kept the glamour spell up, not wanting to complicate things. He'd heal, after all, as he always did.

He took his leave, pausing to give Cadance a hug, share a hoof-bump with Shining Armor and assure them BOTH good-naturedly that he hadn't destroyed the Empire in their absence!

Then he was gone, heading for the front door.

Sea was glad to see Sombra wasn’t busy and hugged him gently. Even so, she felt him wince and asked was he feeling alright?

“I am fine my star, I just slept badly on my back,” Sombra comforted her “my wings were being a pain.”

“Boop!” Spark was held up by her mother so she could boop her friend as tradition dictated.

Sombra chuckled, feeling some of his burden ease just by seeing them. He nuzzled at Sea's mane, loving the familiar smell of vanilla from her favourite perfume.

“Shall we go have lunch?” he asked suddenly. He had a break for an hour or so and he badly wanted to get out from the castle and the secrets now filling its walls to bursting. It felt like the place was suffocating him somehow, secrets gathering in the corners.

“Yay!” Spark cheered and Sombra asked a guard to deliver a message to the others to notify them, then he left with his marefriend and her daughter, the two ponies he needed more than anything right now. The biggest part of his world…

They went to Spark's “total favouwite” restaurant, which made the little filly super happy. Over the course of the meal she talked about school to her precious Sombra, telling him how fun it was and how she was learning a new game! Sombra was happy to just see them both and talk of school, friends and Sea's day helping out at the bakery near their house. He thought of the ring he'd ordered and felt his heart speed up. He hoped she would say yes..

Shining Sea seen him looking at her, seen how content he looked and blushed giddily. He had such a gentle air about him, yet she couldn’t help the feeling something was wrong, he seemed bogged down by an unknown weight.

Later, as they walked the streets with Bright Spark bounding ahead out of earshot, Sea asked Sombra if he was feeling alright? Really, truly alright.

“I am fine, my star. There was an attack on the palace last night, that is all.” Sombra said as much as his various promises allowed him, but it didn't feel like enough. He hated having to lie to her, seeing the worry in her face...

“Oh my-! By who, and why?” she asked, her eyes on stalks. Sombra snapped his attention back to the matter at hoof and negotiated the maze of promises to give her an explanation.

“Some pony lost under a rogue spell's influence. We think he tampered with magic he simply could not understand and it thus muddled his mind. He is fine now and there wasn’t that much damage to the palace. Gave us all a right run around however, for it was an unusually elusive spell to pin down, even for me.”

“Goodness me! No wonder you’re tired, that sounds frankly exhausting!” Sea studied his expression worriedly “will you be alright?”

“I will be fine,” he smiled genuinely “just getting to see you and Spark today has made me feel much better.” He moved to kiss her gently as they walked sedately along. Her heart thudded and she nuzzled his cheek after the kiss ended.

“I'm glad I can make you feel better, my shadow,” she said softly “you don’t have to be alone, you have Spark and I.”

“And I will never stop being grateful for that,” Sombra assured her happily. “Thank you both.”

“Mommy! Sombwa!” Spark bounded back, seeing them snuggling “can we go to the park?”

“Hmm, I dunno, should we?” Sea winked at her daughter, then nudged Sombra lightly. “What do you think?”

“Pwease?” Spark grinned, wanting to giggle so badly.

“Hmmm...of course!” Sombra declared grandly and Spark cheered, bounding around them in a circle, beaming, before setting off towards the park.

Spark met some of her school friends as soon as she got there, following them over to the swings while Sea and Sombra sat with the other parents.

Most of them did double-takes when they seen his majesty and Sombra thought quickly, raising a hoof and insisting they didn’t need to worry about all the bowing and fussing. As far as he was concerned, he was on break!

“It's so good to see them free to play without having to worry about that thing up there, isn’t it?” One father said once introductions had been made for those that hadn’t formally met the Alicorn and they all nodded unanimously.

“I don’t know HOW you fought them as long as you did, your highness!” A mother shuddered.

“Brute force mostly,” Sombra said with a faint smile “later, obscenely fiddly magic spells.”

This gave Shining Sea the mental image of Sombra's spells containing numerous swear words and she smiled at the thought.

Sombra answered more questions as the kids ran about and played, questions about how he was faring with flying and how his magic had changed since becoming an Alicorn and so on.

Next the talk moved onto how their kids were faring in school and Sombra again seen Shining Sea over the moon with how her daughter was doing in her studies now, after all her worrying before. Spark had finally found her groove and was snuggling into it, happy as she could be!

As much as he hated to go, Sombra eventually had to excuse himself and return to the palace, as it was time for court to resume. Sea walked back with him as far as her house, where she and Spark bid him goodbye.

“Hey, buddy-” Shining Armor grabbed hold of him as he was about to enter the throne room “what happened? Celestia said you cleared her brother of dark magic? Seriously, I mean-?”

He observed Sombra blink vacantly for a few seconds before answering, but put that down to the Alicorn Shyre pony being as shocked as he was.

Sombra nodded at last “It was a corrupt thing known as a nightmare entity. A sentient spell, they’re a frankly horrific thing that should never have been created. How the cult that caused all this even got a hold of it, I simply dread to think.”

“I had no idea there was already another guy with the whole Alicorn thing going, let alone a natural born like Celestia and Luna.” Shining Armor managed a confused shrug and Sombra smiled faintly as he spoke.

“Neither did I, but it is comforting to know there have been other stallions before me. Celestia and Luna have their brother back and I'm happy for them.”

“Yeah, he seems like a stand up guy. Bit lost, given the time lag, but hay I told him you'd been through the same thing alongside Luna and he seemed to feel better knowing that he's not alone.”

Sombra agreed, he recalled his own confusion on being greeted by such a drastically altered world. He’d felt like he could never belong in it, but how things had changed..

Shining let his friend go shortly after this, wondering if he was unwell, for pony had seemed very quiet. But the dark magic Alicorn was probably just tired from the crazy fighting Celestia had described them all participating in…

Sombra stretched his wings as he was finally left alone in the throne room once more.

The glamour spell dropped too and he let his wings stand upright for a few moments, feeling them ache and cramp. As he was folding them back down, he seen something big and grey go drifting slowly by. Snagging it in his magic’s hold, he brought it towards him and felt cold.

It was a feather, a big one. He blinked slowly, then raised first one wing than the other, putting two and together and getting the answer; It was one of HIS.

“Oh no..” his throat went dry. Why was such a big and important looking feather loose? Had he dislodged it somehow?

Figuring it was more damage from the fight, he put it aside, both the issue and the feather. The latter he stuffed behind the throne, unsure what else to do with it. Losing a feather wasn't that odd, right?

Still, his whole wing seemed to itch for the rest of the day, missing it’s departed feather.

That night, as she and her husband snuggled down to bed and drifted asleep, Cadance had a very strange vision. It was fuzzy and vague but she seen a face hovering above hers, a face with familiar mane and eyes- then it was gone, brushed away like grains of sand in the wind.

“No, wait-!” she cried, but it was already fading to naught. She woke up yelling sharply, disturbing Shining Armor into the bargain.

“What’s wrong, honey?” Shining Armor asked blearily, seeing her expression of total confusion.

“I don’t know, I just had a vision..” she whispered, staring wide-eyed at him in the dimness.

“Of what?”

“That’s just it..” Cadance shook her head “I’m not sure. But the colours...they’re to do with Celestia's brother and his wife, I can feel it. I'd swear it was her.”

“You’re probably just getting over the news,” Shining suggested “I’m pretty blind-sided by it myself, never mind how Celestia kept it secret. A lot of ponies seen Nightmare Moon that night, she nearly destroyed the castle, so she couldn’t exactly keep it a secret. But with her brother, only she and Luna seen it...wow, my brain is melting. Poor Celestia and Luna!”

Cadance chuckled and kissed her husband's cheek “you’re right honey, thank you.”

“Any time, my dear Cadie~” Shining smiled as she curled up next to him once more, looking appeased. She soon fell asleep, followed by her husband, curled up in his hold.

“She's ever so beautiful, isn’t she dear?” Aura said to Valance that same night. He nodded, feeling his heart ache as he flashed back to meeting Cadance. Seeing her wide pink eyes and her elegant wings, hearing her voice, like a lilting melody.

“But we can't tell her about us yet, she has a lot on her plate already.” he said heavily.

Aura nodded sadly, she didn’t want to upset her long-missed daughter's life either. She'd been so proud to see how kind and wise Cadance had grown to be and her husband was a lovely stallion too. That made him her son-in-law…

“Her husband is this “Sombra” pony’s best friend. What if he figures out about Cadance being our child? Sombra is...he's- unusual.” Valance frowned, for how else did you explain a being like Sombra? He was an anomaly.

“I don’t think that he will say anything,” Aura said “I know it's a bit of shock to you and I, dark magic was banned under penalty back in our time. But from what everypony has said, he was born with it and it's connected to an old prophecy from many ages ago. I believe we can trust him.”

“You’re right, he gave me my life back, I should not be so distrustful merely because he is different. Thank you my dear.” he kissed Aura's forehead, making her smile.

They cuddled up together in bed, rejoicing in being alive once more and together. The world was open to them now and they had a lot to catch up on. Equestria had changed so much, they were both pretty swept away by it all.

Cadance and Shining Armor took over the royal duties again, giving Sombra a welcome respite from it. From what they could see, he'd done an excellent job as the guards and staff were full of glowing praise. Their only concern had been the copious amounts of coffee that Prince Sombra kept asking for.

“Probably just from nerves.” Shining Armor thought out loud “I know I went on a caffeine binge the first few nights we were here!”

“Yes, and you were almost scaling the walls by the weeks end!” Cadance laughed “I stuck you on decaf for a month!”

“Don’t remind me, bleh!” Shining Armor made a face and gave an exaggerated shudder.

Valance and Aura came by the throne room when things were quieter and were rather surprised to see Cadance and Shining Armor there, but without the dark Alicorn stallion.

“Where- we were looking for Sombra, wasn't he here yesterday?” Aura asked, glancing about as If he was just hiding himself out of her sight.

“Oh, yes, he's taking a break. He was standing in while we were away, for we thought it best he get some practise before the coronation.”

“Coro- wait, he's royalty?” Valance went white. He'd been addressing him so informally the whole time! Aura looked as startled as he was, as he shot a sideways glance at her.

Cadance explained that the Crystal Empire's crazy political policies meant that Sombra was the Empire's official ruler and they’d simply been stand-ins.

“Goodness, there’s quite a history to him isn’t there?” Valance asked.

Cadance nodded “Yes, indeed.”

“I see, do you know where he is by chance?” Valance queried. Cadance said she wasn’t sure and to try asking the royal guard, they’d be the most likely to have seen him.

Sure enough, the couple were eventually told that Sombra had last been seen heading out into the gardens. They followed the directions out there and as they rounded another corner, they seen the pony's familiar form.

“Excuse us, Sombra?” Aura piped up and Sombra spun to face them, looking startled for a moment, before relaxing as he recognised them.

“Good morning,” he smiled “is everything OK?”

“Yes, we are quite well,” Valance assured him “just getting used to all the new things we have missed. Have you seen these “cupcakes” in the breakfast room?”

“I know what you mean,” Sombra smiled “I was astonished by the food, myself. Ice cream- quite a delight.”

Valance nodded in agreement. The food in this time was much more flavourful then what he recalled from his younger days.

Aura looked at the statue as the boys talked and spotted the same band around its leg as Sombra wore now “who's that?” she asked curiously.

“That is my father, King Cloudspark.” Sombra smiled warmly, looking back up at the statue.

Valance looked from the statue to Sombra, doing a double take, he wasn’t seeing the resemblance.

Seeing his befuddlement, Sombra elaborated “Foster father, that is.”

“I see, so he raised you?”

“In a manner of speaking. I was a colt when I was given a home by him. My real home? Calling it abusive is an understatement.”

Aura winced, seeing the expression on Sombra's face. He didn't seem comfortable discussing it.

“Have you seen Cadance yet?” Sombra asked, to change the subject. The two nodded, exchanging sad-yet-happy looks. Sombra frowned, his doubts from before rising up again.

“It's beautiful to see what a lovely Princess she's become! Celestia said she has an amazing talent for love, it's such a delight!” Aura beamed and Valance nodded in agreement.

“Don't you think she should-” Sombra began.

“Not yet!” Valance cut him off sharply and Sombra blinked, silenced by the speed of his retort. Valance tried again “no, your uh, your majesty...”

He'd almost forgotten about what Cadance had said, that this guy was soon to be crowned the Empire's newest ruler. That by law, he was its King. Why had he not mentioned this to them previously? It seemed an odd thing to hide, the fact that you were a monarch.

Sombra smiled weakly, but just nodded. “If you’re sure that’s the best idea-”

“Yes!” Aura said rapidly.

A little TOO rapidly, Sombra thought personally. He had the feeling, deep down, that this was a very bad idea. His brain was telling him this was NOT the best way to do it. They couldn’t keep hiding it from Cadance like this, the longer that the Princess went without knowing the truth, the harder it'd be when she eventually DID know.

But he didn’t say anything, just nodded to them. His thoughts on the matter had seemingly been shot down by the Princesses, he did not see the point in pushing the matter right now.

The revived couple bid him goodbye for now and continued their tour of the garden. As they left his line of sight, Sombra felt his right wing itch subtly. Glancing around, he seen nopony nearby and dropped the glamour. The bandages had been changed, it'd soon be healed properly. The doctor had said to go easy on his wings until the bites healed, as they had gone pretty deep in places, he was lucky there was no infection.

Sombra watched in dismay as another feather just popped loose with a tiny dart of pain, drifting to land off to the side. He quickly stuffed it behind a potted plant, again making sure nopony had seen. What was going on? Why was he shedding like this and major feathers too?

--It's probably nothing..-- he told himself --just the fight stressing you out. That’s all.--

Convinced once more, he calmed himself and reinstated the glamour again. It was easier not to worry everypony by using it, things were going to be a little shaken up already as it was, what with everypony needing to get used to meeting Celestia and Luna's secret relative.

When he strode inside, he was pleased to see a delivery had come for him from the ring shop. His heart rose for the first time that day as he brought it up to his room, examining the personalised ring. It was stunning and it suited Shining Sea perfectly!

He felt a cramp in his stomach, how was he going to ask her? He began pacing his room, trying to think up the best was to phrase it.

Other then just “Marry me?” that was.

It at least distracted him from the other worry on his mind, as he tried to puzzle out whether a proposal should be in public or in the privacy of ones home?

“I wish miss Rarity was back.” he groaned at last. Romance was the unicorn's speciality after-all, she'd helped with the first date and his outfit for it. She'd be back in about a week, according to the latest letters from Twilight, so he'd just have to wait until then. Unless, that was, he could think up something by himself?

That night, Cadance had a new dream. She was a bodiless form within a white void, surrounded by floating lights, like magic? It felt like a kind of magic, but she didn’t seem to have much awareness or freedom to move.

“I’m sorry...”

The voice was sad, and Cadance couldn't see a body to go with it. It echoed in the fathomless space around her, coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

“I pray we'll meet again.”

“You will.” the second voice that joined in felt familiar to her, but just who was it?

She felt a sense of love from the voices around her, then they faded as the whiteness enveloped her completely.

She woke up with a gasp and a jolt as sunlight streamed in the window, blinding her tired eyes . What had she just seen? WHERE had she just seen....?

She spoke with Shining as they walked down to breakfast.

“Why am I dreaming this now? I don’t understand, but it started ever since Valance and Aura came. Shining, you don’t think..?”

“What is it honey?” Shining Armor asked. Cadance gnawed at her hoof as she tried to word what was going on in her head.

“I think I have some kind of connection to them. Maybe they know how I came to be found in that forest when I was a baby?”

“I..Cadance, this is a big thing to assume. I mean, they were gone for over a thousand years, how could they possibly know you?”

“I know it sounds crazy Shining, but I can feel it!” Cadance begged “I need you to trust me on this!”

“Alright, honey.” Shining Armor kissed her cheek “Let’s...let’s ask Sombra! He met the guy, helped Celestia and Luna fix his magic into the bargain. If there’s anything, he’s bound to know it, right?”

“Okay..let’s go.” Cadance breathed a sigh of relief.

They tried asking Sombra that very afternoon, but the stallion only shook his head sadly when they brought it up.

“I’m afraid I don’t know.” he lied, recalling his promise to Valance and Aura “they didn’t discuss much with me. I think Valance needs time to get used to who and what I am, not to mention waking up after over a thousand and some years.”

Cadance nodded, disappointed in the dead end but willing to let it go.

But Shining Armor seen the way Sombra couldn’t quite meet their eyes and thought back to how quiet Sombra had been when he and Cadie had returned home and met Valance the first time. Was something wrong with him? Was his nose out of joint because of the second male Alicorn?

Cadance fancied she seen Sombra's outline seem to almost shiver and waver for a split second as he bid them goodbye and headed off for his office, but when she blinked it was gone. Maybe she was letting the dreams get to her too much?

That evening at dinner, as Luna persuaded Valance to tell stories of their childhood, Aura noticed Sombra seemed very quiet. Not unresponsive, he told a few lively stories of his upbringing by King Cloudspark, including the whoopee cushion thing, but he seemed strained somehow.

Another night meant yet another dream. This time, Cadance could here three voices, indistinct but there, as if travelling through glass. There was a flash of something flowy...a shadow? Then she woke up.

She told this to Shining, how the feeling she was connected to those two was more and more certain now.

Even at breakfast, she felt like Aura was somehow familiar to her, Valance too. Who were they, really? They’d been gone for a long time, they couldn’t possibly know her, that’s what Shining said. Was he right or was there more to this?

“That shadow..” she was still thinking about it as they left, watching Valance and Aura vanish out sight over her shoulder.

“What about the shadow?” Shining asked, trying to remember the details of the latest dream.

“It felt familiar.”

“Well, the only shadow we know personally, is Sombra...” Shining trailed off, surely not-?

“What is it?” Cadance asked.

“Sombra. He's been acting kinda distant since Valance arrived. I thought it was just the fight, but I wonder if your dream means something?”

“You think he knows?” Cadance was grasping at straws now “we have to ask-!”

“Alright, we'll ask him again. Maybe he has his reasons for not telling us if something's wrong.”

Sombra's heart sank when Cadance and Shining Armor caught up to him in the hallway as he was heading to his office, their eyes full of questions.

He listened with sinking dread as Cadance described what to him sounded like all the warning signs that she was getting closer to the truth.

“I’m sure I know them somehow, these dreams just feel so real, it’s like they’re memories!” Cadance explained almost excitedly.

Sombra's stomach lurched even more. She was recalling sensations from her fillyhood, snatches of the spell that had sent her forward in time to the present era. But he'd promised..

His stomach ached and he winced slightly, shaking his head and repeating what he'd said last time.

“Sombra, please.” Cadance sounded sad now “if you know something-”

“I don’t, I really-” Sombra shook his head “I’m sorry Cadance, I don’t know what to tell you.”

Cadance nodded, head bowed sadly. Shining Armor heard her sniffle quietly and unexpectedly, his frustration and helplessness combined to become anger. His wife was tired, lost, more than a bit scared and his friend was just standing there! He gave Sombra a sharp look.

“Listen buddy, this isn’t fair. If you know what’s going on, Cadance has a right to know!”

Sombra shook his head, looking pained.“I don’t- I can't help you-”

“Can't, or you won't?” Shining snapped back, glaring now.

“Shining Armor-? No, that's not-” Sombra looked upset, but couldn’t say a word more. On the one hoof his promise, but on the other, the ones affected by it most- He shut his eyes, hating himself for this. Shining Armor’s eyes darkened and he stepped back as he seen Sombra's reaction.

“Fine, be that way.” he said and Sombra winced, opening his eyes again. He looked upset, but Shining couldn’t bring himself to feel bad for what he’d said, he was just too angry. How could Sombra do this to him and Cadance after all they'd done together?

He motioned Cadance to go ahead of him down the hall and hesitated only long enough to say quietly to Sombra “I wouldn’t bother coming to the O&O game tonight if I were you.”

A part of him knew it was selfish, but another less rational part of him thought that if he made his friend feel guilty, he’d confess whatever it took to make Cadance feel better.

But he got not further response from the pony. He glanced back one last time as he rounded the hall and seen something drift lightly behind Sombra, was it a plant leaf? But the pony was just stood there, looking unhappy.

--I can’t believe he'd do this, after everything we've done for him.-- the unicorn Prince thought dourly.

“I thought he was my friend.” Shining muttered and Cadance said nothing.

Alone in the hall, Sombra turned to go and seen yet another feather lying behind him. He swallowed uneasily, this was going beyond a coincidence or two by now. Hearing hoof-steps approaching, he hurriedly jammed the feather into a vase and took off down the hall at a trot.

The maid did a double take as she wandered by the crystal vase, that was an odd looking leaf-? Curiosity bit and she pulled it out, revealing that it was in fact a feather.

“How odd.” she mused as she turned it over in her hooves, it was a soft grey and very pretty. She tucked it into her apron as a keepsake and continued with her work.

Sombra was absent at dinner that night, sending a message to say he felt unwell.

“Is he alright?” Valance asked and Shining could only shrug, saying he hadn’t seen Sombra all day. Cadance hated to see them fight, but she too felt a stab of disappointment in a pony they’d both trusted.

Shining Armor did poorly at the O&O game that evening, his simmering fury at Sombra meaning he couldn’t focus for long and made some rookie mistakes, which puzzled his friends a little. They were already a pony short, as Shining had told them Sombra was ill and wasn’t coming to that nights game.

“Is he OK?” One of them had asked, and Shining had forced a smile, saying it was just a stomach bug...

After a sleepless night, Sombra finally decided enough was enough. He skipped breakfast, hanging around waiting for Valance and Aura once he was sure Shining Armor and Cadance were gone.

“We need to talk.” he said bluntly. They exchanged puzzled glances, what did he mean by that? He looked serious and honestly rather tired, his body language tense and on edge.

Sombra led them to a room where they could chat privately. His whole demeanour was different, he seemed more commanding now, more in charge. As the door shut behind the three of them, he turned to regard them.

“I understand it is hard seeing Cadance again, but I am telling you this has to STOP. She knows.” he gave them a stern look.

“How?” Aura gasped, turning pale.

“It is partial at best, but what she talked of seeing in her dreams corroborates with what you have told ME. Right now, she’s only aware that there exists a link between you and her, as she’s been having visions centering on you these last few nights. I think it's the bond you share as a family that's triggering it. Something that powerful, you cant just pretend it's not there. It's hurting her, not knowing.”

“But.” Valance began and Sombra cut HIM off this time.

“No more buts.” he said firmly “you have to tell her. Now. Or tomorrow at least. She deserves to know and you cant keep denying yourselves your own daughter. I understand you feel bad for having to be absent from her life, but you still have the rest of it to spend with her NOW. Don’t let it slip away.”

“I..” Valance almost got angry, how dare Sombra assume- but then the fight just left him as he realised the other stallion was right.

“You’re right, we want her to know. But how do we tell her?”

“Let me help with that.” Sombra said. “If it's one thing I have learned in my time here now, it is that you can count on your friends. I am aware we do not know each other that well, but I want to ask that you trust me.”

Aura studied him for a long moment, then she nodded.

“Alright.” she whispered and her husband agreed with the idea.

Sombra outlined his plan to the couple and though they were unspeakably nervous, they knew it had to be done.

As they left, Sombra felt an all too recognisable itch in his wing and his heart sank. The feathers had been popping loose from both wings, seemingly at random and increasingly often.

Sure enough, when he was alone, he dropped the glamour and stared at the feather as the slightest twitch of his wing made it float freely to his bedroom floor. Well, his replacement bedroom. With his original room burnt to a crisp, he'd been granted a temporary room until the staff could furnish a new one so it looked like the one he'd lost in the attack.

He drifted through the day, wincing at the cold shoulder from his best friend as he seen him at dinner. Celestia and Luna were too distracted by Valance to see it and Aura could not help watching Cadance as much as possible.

--Tomorrow.-- she thought to herself.

Valance noted the bags under Sombra's eyes as he joined them in the room he'd chosen for their reunion.

“Are you feeling alright?” he asked.

“It is nothing, I am just worried about Cadance and Shining Armor. I will be fine.”

The last task was to use a memory spell on Aura Blossom to capture one glimpse of a certain point in time, then he left to put his plan in motion.

Shining Armor was caught off guard when Sombra appeared and asked that they follow him. He stared coldly at him, not sure what to think...

“What are you playing at?” Shining said at last, as they silently trekked the halls.

“Shiny!” Cadance frowned, why was he still being so rude? She was a little upset that Sombra wasn’t telling them something, but she'd told herself he had his reasons, right?

“What? I don’t like being lied to!” Shining Armor snapped.

“I am sorry you feel that I betrayed you,” Sombra said sharply “I state sincerely that it was never my intention. I thought I was doing what was best, for I was ASKED to keep silent, but I realised it was making the situation worse, so now I am fixing it.”

Shining Armor fell silent as they stopped outside a door. Sombra surrounded them in a shield bubble, but it was an unusual one. He motioned them to follow him.

“What are you DOING?!” Shining Armor hissed as they walked through the door. Was Sombra losing his marbles, had leaving him in charge been too much for him?

But all arguments fled his body when he seen just who was in the room.

Valance and Aura sat together, with the former petting the latter’s mane soothingly. But that wasn’t what silenced his angry rant, it was what hovered above them that drew his and Cadance’s attention.

It was a snapshot of a baby filly and she was unmistakably the same mare he was now married to. The same tricolour mane, she was only missing the horn. A tiny set of adorable pink wings framed her little body, purple tinging the tips...

“T-that's me,” Cadance stammered. “how-?”

“What do you feel is the answer?” Sombra said softly. Cadance stared at it, at first puzzled by Sombra's cryptic phrasing, then it hit her. The answer was obvious! Her eyes went wide as behind her, Shining once more snapped at Sombra;

“Stop being so vague!!” the unicorn groaned, almost at the end of his tether.

“No, Shiny!” Cadance turned to him, tears in her eyes “I’ve figured it out, by myself. They’re my PARENTS.”

She looked at Sombra, who nodded sagely.

“Whoa...but how?” Shining Armor looked from his wife to Sombra “what’re you two on about? There is a thousand year gap, if not more! You of all ponies know how long that is!” he gave Sombra a funny look.

“They can explain, give them a chance.” Sombra nodded to Valance and Aura.

“Alright.” Shining said, feeling like he was losing his marbles “I’m going to trust you haven’t lost your mind here, and that I haven’t fallen into the wrong universe. Let's talk.”

Sombra smiled and motioned them to stand ahead of him. He stepped out of the shield first, meeting Valance and Aura's eyes.

“Are you ready?” he asked and they nodded, holding hooves, their hearts pounding. What would she think of them? Did she miss them? Would she want to know them?

Sombra stepped aside so he was out of the way. Once he had given them enough space, he closed his eyes and the shield around his two friends peeled away like a curtain.

The light shining in from the windows highlighted Cadance's tricolour mane, her wide innocent eyes and the elegant slope of her muzzle, so much like her mother's.

Cadance took a tiny first step forward as her eyes landed on the two ponies. Shining hung back as Cadance took small, light steps across the sunlit floor.

Aura moved first, stumbling as she closed the distance between herself and her daughter. One hoof trembled as it lifted from the floor, reaching out to Cadance. It hesitated a moment, then gently brushed the pink Alicorn's cheek. Aura's face crumpled into an expression of joy and heartbreaking love as she stood before her child.

Cadance felt tears well up as she felt the loving touch of the pony who was her long-sought-after mother. Her heart was aching so hard that she couldn’t speak, just take in her mothers eyes, mane..everything about her.

Aura could wait no longer and stepped forward in one swift step, wrapping a foreleg around her daughter, holding her close. She felt Cadance's shaking hoof do the same, heard her sob softly. She stroked her daughters mane, whispering her name over and over…

Cadance heard more steps and opened her eyes. Standing behind Aura- no, mother -was Valance. Father…

She held up her other hoof to him now.

His tears fell without restraint and he joined his wife on Cadance's other side, hugging her too. The trio of horns tapped against each other and Shining seen sparks flare brightly for a moment, a blend of colours and magic that belonged together. He felt like blubbering himself, it was so beautiful. Cadance had her family back, after all this time.

The trio sat down, too shaken to stand, but still remaining in the tight embrace. Valance wrapped his other foreleg around his wife, holding his two special girls like he could never let them go again.

While they reunited, Sombra felt about to collapse from relief. It had worked, they'd made the first step, a hug. Hugs were good!

--Time for me to leave.-- he thought. As he made to go, he spotted Shining Armor hovering at the fringes of the meeting, looking a mix of nervous and about to cry from happiness.

--He'll be OK. This is his moment too, he is Cadance's husband after-all…--

Sombra closed his eyes and smiled, before turning and heading soundlessly for the door. Mid step he dropped the glamour and turned to shadow. In the gap between dropping said disguise and going full apparition, a feather came loose, unnoticed. It floated across the floor, landing behind Aura, who didn’t spot it. She was still processing the fact she was holding her daughter again, her precious Cadance.

“That’s why I named you that,” she whispered “Mi Amore Cadenza”, because you truly are my beloved Cadance.”

“Mother...” Cadance hiccuped “I..I don’t know what to say. I’ve wanted to know you both for so long. There’s so much to tell you!”

“And we want to hear every word my sweetheart,” Valance wiped his eyes, then heard a sniff from behind his daughter. He peered round her and chuckled as he spotted Shining Armor hovering nearby, looking very happy for his wife.

Aura seen him too and with a smile, she held out a hoof to him.

Shining Armor walked over, thinking she wanted to shake his hoof. Instead, as soon as she had a grasp on his hoof he found himself pulled into the hug. Shining put a foreleg around his wife, the other around his new mother in law. Cadance giggled as he joined the huddle of faces.

“Shining Armor, meet mom and dad!” she said happily, eyes shining with tears of joy.

“Very nice to meet you both!” Shining Armor stammered “just want to say I absolutely adore your daughter here, I can support her totally and everything-”

“Oh we know that!” Aura winked “Celestia talked about you a LOT. And stop worrying, we can tell you’re a good pony!”

Shining looked about to faint in relief and Cadance chuckled softly, kissing his cheek.

“Don’t be so nervous, Shiny.” she joked.

“Sorry, this is the most unusual way to meet the in-laws if you catch my drift!” Shining joked, still very nervous. Valance caught his eye and gave him a reassuring smile.

“Well, we have plenty of time to get to know each other. Your friend has already prepared to take over for the rest of this week to give us time together uninterrupted!” he announced.

“My frie-Sombra?” Shining Armor blinked. He poked his head out of the cuddle-huddle and glanced about “wasn’t he like, right here?”

The other three popped their heads up and scanned the room as he had. But Sombra was indeed gone.

“When did he leave?” Cadance frowned, she honestly couldn’t recall hearing a thing.

“He is spooky good at that.” Shining shook his head “the guy just knows.”

“Knows what?” Valance asked and Shining shook his head in total confusion.

“He just knows. Stuff! Things! I honestly cant explain how he does it, he just has a knack for doing what’s needed, even if it's weird. Or lands him in medical.”

“He was the one who told us to stop hiding, to tell you. That it was unfair on you to keep it secret,” Valance said to Cadance “this whole time, right from the start, I think he knew that what we were doing wasn’t right. I had the feeling it's been bothering him since we swore him to secrecy.”

This filled in the gaps in what Sombra had said earlier and explained the stallion's weird behaviour. As the picture came into focus in his head, Shining Armor suddenly looked extremely worried, his shoulders going tense.

“What’s the matter?” Cadance asked, although she had a recollection herself and when Shining met her eyes they both shared the same guilty look.

“What’s wrong, dears?” Aura asked, glancing from one to the other.

Shining Armor sighed as he looked over at Aura “what you just said, it all makes sense now. He said he couldn’t tell us when we spoke to him and it pained him to keep silent, now that I think back. We kept asking and he had to keep refusing us. As we were coming here, he said he wanted to make up for all this.”

The Unicorn shook his head, eyes full of regret “I yelled at him, treated my own friend like dirt. I accused him of lying and told him to just leave us alone if he wasn’t going to help us. I didn’t think about how it was hurting him, I was too angry that he knew something and wasn’t telling his friends. But now I realise he was doing it for you two.”

“Yes, we begged him not to say a word,” Valance sighed “and we were wrong. We didn’t just hurt you, we hurt ourselves. He was right all along, but no doubt felt unable to speak up at the start.”

“That’s our Sombra.” Cadance said heavily, the jaunty tone falling flat with the weight of her worry.

“If he still wants us as friends that is, or me anyway.” Shining said “I’m the one who said all those things to him.”

“I didn’t exactly stick up for him either, I think we both need to apologise.” Cadance said to him and Shining nodded.

“Then let’s go find him!” Valance said lightly “we can thank him for his help and you guys can make amends, for I'm sure he wont be mad, he's a good pony. I admit he startled me at first, but like you said, he knows.”

They all chuckled at this.

“We should have that on the coronation banners!” Shining laughed.

“Yes!” Cadance giggled “King Sombra- trust us, he KNOWS!”

They all shared a laugh, wondering if the idea would make Sombra chuckle? He'd always laughed when Shining brought up this famed ability of his.

As they all stood up, Aura spotted the grey feather behind her. Puzzled, she picked it up.

“Did somepony lose a quill?” she asked.

“No, I haven’t-” Cadance looked at it and did a double take “wait, I think that’s Sombra's!”

“Hay yeah-” Shining squinted at it “I’d say you’re right.”

“What’s it doing in here? I could swear this floor was spotless earlier! Peculiar.” Valance shrugged, lost for an explanation.

“He could have lost it as he left?” Cadance guessed “it must have drifted over here and he probably didn’t notice!”

“We can ask if he's alright, let's find him first!” Aura suggested.

“I just hope he's not too mad.” Shining said softly as they walked around, looking for the elusive Sombra.

“I'm sure it'll be OK, honey.” Cadance offered, but Shining just sighed again.

“He's never had proper friends before, he was alone most of his life. And I did the same thing his own family did, I turned on him. It's got to have hurt him more than your average pony.”

“What happened to him?” Aura asked.

“It's a long story,” Cadance said “but the gist of it is that he was beaten and mentally abused by his own family for being born with dark magic. The first era he lived in, he was mostly treated like a criminal, with the exception of his foster father.”

Aura nodded “the statue outside, he spoke about him.”

Shining nodded “yeah, he was about the only decent influence that poor pony had. But it was too little too late, Sombra ended up despising the world at large and one day he lost all faith in it and that's what led to him taking over back then. He literally lost his mind to grief!”

“Goodness me, that sounds awful-” Valance began, then they finally spotted a guard up ahead. They asked him where the dark Alicorn was and the guard said he'd seen him heading for the throne room.

As they rounded the next corner, they bumped into Celestia.

“Oh!” she squeaked, then relaxed “goodness me, you scared me!”

Looking at the group, she took in how close Cadance was to her parents and opened her mouth to ask- eyes darting from one to the other, was it-?

“Yes, we finally told her. Or rather, Sombra helped us to do it.” Aura explained.

Celestia teared up in delight and gave them a big smile, then the second half of that sentence sunk in.

“Ah, Sombra!” Celestia winced a little, joy warring with panic “I need to find him, urgently in fact.”

“Us too. What’s wrong?” Shining asked her.

Celestia sighed heavily, staring at the carpet a moment before looking up “I want to convey my apologies.”

“Why, what’d YOU do?” Shining asked, confused by how many of them seemed to owe Sombra their regret.

“When my brother and Aura came back, I put a lot of pressure on Sombra to keep this to himself and to follow my orders. I think I made him feel like he had no choice and no say in any of this.”

She sighed sadly “but it’s not only that, as I think the way I pushed him made him think he didn’t deserve to be an Alicorn. I didn’t realise it until not long ago, for I was too blinded by my own affairs, but I believe he thinks he's just a replacement for you, Valance.”

Celestia looked at her brother, who considered this theory and nodded, it made sense. Through all of this, Sombra was the only one who was an outsider, the only one not related in some way. Yet he'd been asked to carry the biggest burden of all.

“Why is he mad at you?” Celestia finally processed what Shining Armor had said just minutes earlier. So Shining told her the story about how he'd shouted at Sombra and made him feel like the worst friend ever, when the whole time he'd been trying to help everypony without care for himself.

“We all need to talk to him it seems, so let's go together.” Celestia said softly. They all nodded and crept up to the throne room door. They couldn’t hear anything, and they wondered if he was even in there.

A hush fell over them as Celestia nudged the door open a fraction with her muzzle. They poked their heads in, one atop the other in a stack that would've looked pretty silly, had Sombra seen them.

But he WAS in there, albeit very distracted. He stood in front of the throne, sorting through some papers that’d been left atop it.

Cadance was about to suggest they enter, when Sombra gave a funny sort of shiver, looked round at his right wing and frowned.

They watched in concern as a shimmer of magic ran over Sombra's body and he lifted his wings. With the glamour gone, they seen the extent of the damage that the stress had wrought. Several feathers were lost, a couple big primaries and a hoofful of smaller ones. His wings seemed strangely bare, with the assortment of feathers missing, like a bird starving in winter.

As they took this damage in, Sombra flapped the right wing and another tiny feather drifted into the air, looping lazily in the air to finally land atop the paperwork stacked to one side. Sombra closed his eyes, gingerly folding his wings down.

“Why is this happening?” Cadance whispered in horror. Celestia's voice was laden with worry as she spoke;

“I think….I think he's rejecting them.” She whispered.

“Rejecting them?” Shining whispered back to her “how is that even possible?”

“Sombra is- I’ve noticed, after re-reading the doctors notes, that he tends to show signs of distress physically, far more than he does emotionally. That’s why he seemed to look so exhausted during the sky tear war. I also think the loss of weight when he was suffering those nightmares is likely linked to this habit too.”

She took a deep breath “All this stress, coupled with his feelings about his wings, it's causing his body to physically reject them. Feather loss is usually a sign of stress, but this fast- it's the best I can guess.”

“We have to tell him, now.” Cadance said and everypony nodded in unison.

“How on Equestria did this go unseen?” Valance asked and Aura nodded at the oblivious King standing before the throne.

“That was a glamour spell, a very advanced one. He's been disguising it, no doubt to limit concern-”

“That shimmer-!” Cadance realised the connection now. Seeing the confused looks aimed at her, she elaborated “when he walked away from Shining and I, I thought I seen his outline shimmer just slightly. I thought I was going crazy from lack of sleep, but it was his spell malfunctioning, wasn’t it?”

“Seems likely.” Shining sighed, looking in at Sombra “I’m so sorry, buddy.”

Celestia pushed the door open and they began walking towards the throne. Sombra still didn’t react to their presence. He'd gone still as stone in fact, a strange tension pervading his body and they soon seen why.

Images were flickering over the carved crystal of the throne, memories from the fight against Nightmare Justice. They couldn’t hear any sound, but Celestia read the phantoms lips and felt her heart sink even further-

“TRUE royalty?” she whispered and Cadance and Shining looked even more worried.

But as Celestia raised a hoof and opened her mouth to call out, there was a flash of light and Luna appeared, dropping out of the air to land on the throne on all four hooves, wings raised to block Sombra's view.

“STOP!” she cried, her gaze fixed on Sombra. He gave a startled yelp, almost falling over as he stumbled back from the throne. Luna smacked the images on the throne with her back left hoof, making them vanish with a tap of her shoe, then she turned to meet Sombra's eyes.

“We finally worked out why your dreams were so addled, you were using sedatives to try stop them, weren’t you?” she asked.

“I needed some sleep-” Sombra, initially looking about to give in, suddenly felt a surge of anger for the mess he'd become trapped in and raised his voice “and sanity knows I wasn’t getting any these days!! Can you really blame me, Luna?”

Luna was concerned to see the stallion looked on the verge of tears. He had to be so tired...looking closer at him, he was shaking even as he stood there so defiantly.

“No, we do not.” Luna said at last, as she thought about what had been going on “and we are sorry we were a part of the problem, Sombra.”

As Sombra opened his mouth to protest, Celestia spoke up “and so are we.”

Sombra went pale, swinging round to stare at them all.

“W-what?” he stammered, exhaustion and lack of sleep making him struggle to think. Why were they all here? A brief flash of memory brought him back to when that first intervention had occurred and he'd been given the gift of a true friend...

Celestia began walking over towards him, “it's exactly as you think, I want to apologise for everything. I got so lost in my celebrations and plans with my brother that I didn’t see what I was doing to YOU. I never intended to make you feel like you were just a replacement for him. I want to tell you the truth now, about why I so suddenly changed you into an Alicorn.”

Sombra stayed tense, but didn’t make any move towards stopping her. Celestia looked about to cry but still she smiled softly;

“You remember that prophecy about you that Cadance and the girls dug up? One particular line of it?”

Cadance piped up, guessing the line her long-time guardian needed “although given freedom to fly, it will not run away.”

“Exactly,” Celestia said “Even though that line was, up until then, believed to refer to your refusal to abandon us all, for what you’d done in that final battle alone I knew you deserved it. It was that line of the prophecy that popped into my head when I was tasked with supplying enough magic to rebuild your physical form. I thought that I could finally give you a gift to rival what you’d given to all of us.”

Sombra wouldn’t meet her gaze and she thought for a moment that he didn’t believe her. She couldn’t blame him, the circumstances had piled up on him, with all evidence pointing to his status being a mistake in the grand scheme of things.

“I don’t blame you for being angry at me, Sombra. I was so concerned with getting things right this time after the miracle of getting both my brother and my sister-in-law back, that I just didn’t think. I was afraid it'd all crumble around me, so I focused on it and it alone. I didn’t see that if I had just trusted you from the start, you probably would have solved the problem with your own ability.”

“He did,” Valance spoke up “we ran and hid from the truth, but he gave us no choice other than to see what we were denying. Denying both ourselves and our child. Thanks to him, we have our daughter back...”

Luna looked at Cadance, who was tearing up in happiness. She was vastly relieved hear this news.

“There is none finer you could ask to solve such a tangled web than Sombra. We have seen it time and time again. Even when it hurts, he does it anyway.”

Sombra's tired, conflicted glance moved from Celestia, to her brother, then her sister.

“Please don’t reject who you are, Sombra.” Celestia moved towards him and he backed up, still hesitant, until he bumped into Luna, who had stepped down from the throne. She surprised him by hugging him, sniffling.

“You gave us our brother, we really are grateful. We didn’t mean thou to have bad dreams because of us!”

“Luna..” Sombra was shocked by how upset she was “don’t cry!”

Luna let him go and wiped at her eyes “we cannot help it, it saddens us that we didn’t see you felt like we once did. Alone, slighted..”

“You don’t have to deny it,” Celestia said and Sombra turned to look at her “we know we've put you through a lot. You came through for us without a single complaint and we will always be grateful, all of us. You brought our family back together. I’m so sorry Sombra, I hope you can forgive me for my mistakes. Not just me..” She gestured to the other four waiting their turn.

Cadance ran up and hugged the beleaguered King too.

“I'm so sorry Sombra, I should have told you it wasn’t your fault. I didn’t know you were being asked to keep the truth hidden, but I should've known you better, you’ve always done what’s right for us.”

“Me too,” Shining Armor said and Cadance stepped back to let her husband approach the friend he'd argued with.

“Listen bud, I’m sorry. REALLY sorry. I acted like a total bum, making you feel like the bad guy here, when you were only trying to do what was best and what you'd been asked to do. I didn’t think just how awful what I said was, that I turned my back on you when in reality you needed the support more than anything.

It sucked, not having you at the game, the whole group felt your absence. I hope you can forgive me, I don’t wanna lose one of the coolest friends I’ve ever made. Can you forgive me for being a total ass?”

“And..?” Sombra spoke, voice emotionless. Shining faltered a moment, wondering what he'd missed. Then he seen the amused half-smile on Sombra's face.

“And for having my head lodged up an Ogres stinky butt.” he said solemnly. This was a popular phrase the group used when they were acting stupid and a bit pushy in the competitive matches.

“The stinkiest.” Sombra said sagely, then ruined the illusion by snorting loudly in amusement.

Shining was trying hard to to laugh, was he-?

Sombra looked at him, smiling properly now “Official apology accepted, you can relax, before you sprain something.”

Shining realised Sombra was referring to how tense he was and heaved a big sigh of relief, flopping to the carpet in an exaggerated fashion.

“Men.” Cadance giggled.

“Hay!” All three males objected.

“We resemble that remark!” Shining Armor objected and Sombra burst out laughing.

“Resent.” he said.

“I thought you weren’t mad?” Shining looked panicked again.

“No,” Sombra corrected “the word you meant,-”

“OH.” Shining face-hoofed. “Crap!”

Cadance giggled “I love you Shiny, but you are THE goofiest stallion in the world!”

“Yes!” Shining Armor cheered, grinning at his wife as he got up.

Sombra smiled, they were so happy together. Cadance looked so happy to have the secret be out in the open now, Sombra seen her glancing frequently at her parents, as if to reconfirm her joy had not disappeared like a mirage.

“Thank you,”Sombra blinked and turned his head back to see Aura was stood in front of him now, breaking him out of his trance.

“Without your help, we'd still be hiding in our sadness. We didn’t have the courage to do what you did, my daughter and son-in-law are very lucky to have a friend like you. And so are we, if you’ll have us?”

Valance joined her and stuck out a hoof to the Alicorn, which Sombra happily shook.

--It's truly impressive what he's done, he has courage beyond the average pony.-- Valance thought to himself, stepping back once more as Celestia hugged Sombra, her flowy mane almost smothering the stallion.

“Gbblhhh!!” the pony flailed.

“Sorry!” Celestia chuckled, letting him go.

Sombra smiled back, and looked at the faces gathered around him. His best friends and fellow crystal rulers. Celestia and her complete sibling line-up plus sister-in-law. It was quite a big family..

“Not just our family bud,” Shining Armor read his expression “just because its not blood bound doesn’t make it count any less. We'll always be the family you deserved when you were a kid! I think your father would approve of us, don’t you?”

Sombra took in their happy, grateful and kind faces.

“Oh yes,” he laughed freely “he'd LOVE you.”

Happy cheers met this statement, and Luna gave him her now legendary vice-hug, making him squeak.

As she released him, beaming ear to ear, Celestia nodded at Sombra's sparsely feathered wings.

“I can fix them for you, if you'd like. It’ll sting while the feathers grow back but it means you’ll be able to fly again. You shouldn’t have to wait, this wasn’t your fault.”

Sombra felt this chest ache as he was reminded why he'd lost so many feathers to begin with, but he pushed it aside. That was done now...

So he nodded and closed his eyes as Celestia's horn tapped against his. Her magic flooded his senses and was very swiftly followed by light stabbing pains in his wings.

“Ah-!” He flinched slightly as it increased and he could feel the feathers breaking through, but he was determined to hold on. So he clenched his jaw and battled through the pains as they moved from one wing to the next.

Shining Armor sighed in relief as he observed the new feathers grow and develop in seconds, padding the Alicorn's sizeable wingspan.

When the pain faded, Sombra felt light headed and a little bit dazed, but at least his wings didn't hurt any more.

“Give them a test.” Luna advised, so Sombra unfolded them, giving them a gentle flap to test the new feathers.

“Feel back to normal?” Celestia asked and he nodded, which made her smile in genuine relief. She sighed gently as Sombra folded them back down and set a hoof upon his shoulder, speaking softly so only he'd hear.

“Again, I am so sorry that you felt those wings didn’t belong with you. Reality could not be further from the truth, for you have done so many things to warrant such advancement, most notably the fact that you were willing to give everything for the ponies in your empire. Your hard work and diligence more than proves your place as royalty. You're home and we're your royal family.”

Sombra felt the last shreds of resentment fade and he let out a sigh of relief. He'd felt so out of place these last few days.

“You’ll be OK, Sombra.” Celestia said, seeing he still looked apprehensive.

“Indeed!” Luna stuck her face right through her sisters mane to Celestia's alarm and grinned widely at Sombra. He chuckled and booped her nose.

She withdrew from the massive flowing mane as the sun Princess stepped back.

With that heavy weight now off his back, Sombra's stomach gurgled loudly, drawing everypony's attention.

“Sorry.” he coughed “I missed breakfast.”

“Then let’s go eat!” Cadance said brightly, motioning him to join the group. Sombra clambered down from the throne and walked sedately alongside them, blinking as Shining Armor nervously asked if he still wanted to play O&O with him?

“Of course I do.” Sombra assured him “in fact, I have finished that new “boss” you requested me to make. I modelled its powers on my old self, figured it would be amusing to fight the story from the past.”

“Nice!” Shining grinned, that sounded like it'd be exciting! He caught Sombra’s eye, seen he looked genuinely happier now.

The others at the O&O gathering that night were glad to see Sombra back in action. To make sure the matter stayed finished with, Sombra went along with the cover story about him being sick, saying it was just a 24hour bug, he was right as rain!

To Sombra's delight, the new boss he had designed went over extremely well, his knowledge had really come in handy for whipping up a creature of fear and darkness.

“It would seem my former tyrant days have come in handy, never thought I would utter such a phrase.” Sombra chuckled as the game wrapped up for the night and they were discussing the new boss monster.

“That was so cool, the wicked dark magic and-” the pony speaking grinned sheepishly as he remembered Sombra was a dark magic user “sorry man, I didn’t mean to make it sound evil.”

Sombra dismissed the concern with a grin and a shrug.

“It is not the magic, it is the user. That is what I have learned at any rate.”

Shining Armor was relieved to see Sombra so much more at peace with himself in the past. He'd been slowly adjusting to speaking openly about it since about halfway through the war.

Valance and Aura had a lunch date with their daughter and in-law the next day, to start catching up on her life!

Cadance told them about her youth, and her transition to an Alicorn. Shining spoke of his sister, who'd be back soon!

“She's a Princess too, that’s wonderful!” Aura clapped her hooves.

“Cadie used to foal sit for her when she was tiny!” Shining Armor smiled “she was so thrilled when I told her I was marrying her favourite foal-sitter!”

They naturally told the tale of the wedding being hijacked and the ensuing takeover attempt by Queen Chrysalis and the changelings.

“She sounds ghastly!” Valance shuddered.

“That’s one way of putting it!” Shining Armor made a face.

“In the end, love was her undoing.” Cadance explained and her mother smiled proudly, squeezing her daughter's hoof.

They heard the tale about meeting Sombra first time and their eyes widened in surprise.

“We didn’t know how to fix what was wrong back then, that all he wanted was a chance or a friend. We assumed he was too far gone and simply obliterated him. But we were wrong, we later found out that he'd been mistreated by a world that didn’t understand his true talent. He felt he had to become a monster, that it was all he had left since the world couldn’t seem to accept him.”

“He seems so confident now,” Valance said “what was he like when you first, you know, brought him back?”

“Foul-tempered.” Shining Armor chuckled “seriously. He wouldn’t even leave his room and complained when the girls tried to befriend him. Then he met a little filly at the market and I kid you not, she clambered up onto some boxes and tapped him on the nose, stating “Boop!”.”

Cadance smiled “Twilight said he didn’t seem to know what to make of it, a fearless filly approaching a former tyrant like that. But she seen how lonely he was underneath all the ice-cold attitude and was determined to see him smile. After that, it was a gradual process of coaxing him into trusting us. When we realised he was struggling to cope with the strain of that war, we staged an intervention and told him he didn’t have to be alone.”

Shining nodded, recalling that morning “I didn’t understand how he kept refuting the good he'd done, then I wondered was it because he needed somepony to help convince him.”

He described holding out a hoof to Sombra. How the pony had hesitated, looking so unsure, but then he'd reached out.

“He was really that lonely? That’s awful.” Aura said sadly as Cadance nodded.

“He didn’t understand what friendship truly was. He was accustomed to running and hiding in fear of mistreatment and walling himself away emotionally so nopony could hurt him. He'd been bitten once too often to believe us at first, but bit by bit he gradually came out of his armoured shell. The more he relaxed around us, the more he began to talk to the crystal ponies too.”

“And now look at him!” Shining finished “he's happy, the crystal ponies adore him and he's finally found his footing as a ruler!”

Valance nodded, carefully thinking all this through. Sombra had managed to regain everything he so very nearly could’ve lost forever. How did he do it?

That night, he sat out on the balcony, his guilt eating away at him. Every night had been like this. During the day he could suppress these feelings, but alone with his thoughts at night he couldn’t silence them. His mind stewed over and over, all the things he'd done as Nightmare Justice.

Valance could recall trying to kill Sombra, how he'd viewed him as an impostor in his family. He had a feeling it was his words as Justice that had sparked Sombra's doubts about his Alicorn status. He'd seen those images playing across the polished throne, caught a glimpse of his old self. It had really shaken Sombra it seemed, adding to the load he was already dealing with.

He was so tired, he needed to get away. Away from those nightmares and visions, just escape everything…

He snuck out of the palace, giving Luna the slip by hiding in the shadows as he made his way away from the palace. He travelled the empty streets, listening to the ambient night-time sounds around him.

Valance felt an itch in his legs as he walked and abruptly took off running as if by going as fast as he could, he could leave it all behind.

He reached a hill at last, sides heaving. He hadn’t run that far since his younger years.

He sat down, closing his eyes. Images raced through his mind of his Nightmare form, the evil he'd done and the hurt he'd caused to his own sisters.

“I know what you are going through.”

The voice came from behind him and Valance shrieked loudly, bumbling round to see-

Sombra?

The Alicorn was standing there, looking calmly over at him. How on Equestria had he caught up to him so fast?

“Your majesty?” he asked.

Sombra gave a shrug “you don’t need to keep calling me that. Drop the formalities.”

This made Valance blink, then he recalled how during the apologies, his sisters and daughter had all called this pony by name.

“Uh..” he cleared his throat “What did you mean by “I know”?”

Sombra smiled at this, walking over and sitting himself on Valance's left. He looked at the empire in the distance with a fondness that words could not express.

“I was in your position too. Spent most of my life believing a monster was the only future I would ever have. Even when I was adopted by King Cloudspark, it was too late, I could not trust the world. One day my bitterness spilled over and I unleashed the darkness in me. My magic was so overpowering and fuelled by such rage that it changed me from a child into my adult form.

As he spoke, he formed hologram memories with his magic, showing Valance his story. The other Alicorn stared as he seen the tyrant Sombra enslaving the crystal ponies, turning on the world with a child’s fury.

“I hurt ponies too and I was not happy to be awoken again by Celestia in the here and now, not at first anyway. I railed against both her and the suppressor I had to wear. I could not stand being deprived of the power I once had, it felt so demeaning. But as time passed, I made the acquaintance of a small fearless filly who seen through my mask and realised I was alone. But even with her, I was reluctant to trust. I kept to myself and refused the girls’ efforts to make me see what I could do and what they could offer.”

“Then what happened?” Valance's eyes were glued to the memories playing on in front of them.

“Eventually, I was becoming dangerously sick from exhaustion, because I wouldn’t accept help. During the crystal plague they were transplanted into the memories of my past via Luna's magic and they seen the abuse, the injuries, all of it. They realised what had turned me into a tyrant and how it could’ve been avoided. Do you know what they did after that? They sat me down and said they weren’t going to sit by and watch me suffer. I asked why and they said because that’s not what friends did. I didn’t understand it, why would they want to be friends with a monster?”

He sighed, recalling those days, the strange new feeling of acquiring friends.

“Most unexpected was Shining Armor. He realised I had never truly had a good friend before, so he offered to teach me. He showed me how to play this board game with him and his friends and how to adjust to the questions they’d ask me. I had never enjoyed myself so much before and the fact they didn’t instantly run away on seeing me was a change from what I had gotten used to in the past. They were more curious then startled, I think, but they accepted me and together with Shining Armor I learned to play their game.”

Valance nodded, seeing how happy Sombra was in those memories. The change was so drastic, from a surly beast to the refined pony sat beside him now.

“Even when I couldn’t cope with my own inheritance, Shining Armor persuaded me to trust him and say yes to taking the crown my foster father had left and I have been trying ever since.”

He trailed off with a wry chuckle. Valance looked at him, speaking up as the memories faded.

“I’m aware my words as Nightmare Justice didn’t help in that regard. I threatened you, tried to kill you, made it seem you were inferior. I can only apologise for that side of me-”

“Don’t worry about it. Like I said, I have been there too, I know what the guilt does. Don’t keep tormenting yourself, for it will do no good.” Sombra said gently.

“How do you do it?” Valance blurted, feeling tears well up suddenly.

“Do what?” Sombra asked softly.

“This, all of it. Get over what you did, forgive the crimes you committed?!”

Sombra sighed softly “it was not an easy route, I had to accept both my blame and my innocence.”

“How do you mean?”

“I blamed everything on me, assumed I was the sole fault, the mistake. But while I did lose control and give in to rage, the torment I endured that pushed me there was not mine to bear. Had I found somepony back then who could’ve helped me see the potential the way the girls have now, things might have been different. But the world just was not ready to leave superstitions comfort blanket behind them, so it turned on me. In turn, I turned on the one pony that had treated me kindly and a letter Luna recovered hinted that he knew I had been in too much misery to accept the chance back then. So he simply wrote a wish that I someday returned in a happier frame of mind.”

His vision blurred at the nostalgia of it “I was so relieved to be given a new physical form after the fight, when I thought I was going to die I realised just how much id gained and did not wish to lose. But I couldn’t stand to see the Empire fall to those shadows so I prepared to bid them farewell. To be alive again after that, it brought no end of happiness. So I know how you’re making yourself feel, but I also know how it can be stopped.”

Valance was silent, dare he hope for the same success?

“Yes, you did do some awful things, this you must accept. You attacked those criminals to within an inch of their lives, but forget not, your grief was what let that dark entity in. It capitalised on your desire for vengeance much like my power focused on my bitterness and wish to punish the world. You were not responsible for that entity taking you over, those cultists deserve that blame.”

“Then I- what is my blame?”

“That is up to you. You were being manipulated by that thing, as it no doubt let you believe it was your idea. I sensed a lot from the power that I absorbed from you that night. That thing was pure malice and it wormed into your heart through the door your grief left open.”

“Then my blame is the thoughts and desires to hurt those that attacked others. To make sure none lost their loved ones the way I had with Aura. And by extension my body which hurt them..”

He felt better for simply admitting it, and carried on before he stopped.

“I terrorised my home, worried my sisters and even fought against them when they tried to help me. I hope they can forgive me-”

“They already have, that’s what family does.” Sombra smiled “even though we have our faults, our families forgive us. That is what my foster father did for me, a lesson I will always treasure. So don’t worry, they accept you with all the mistakes included. They’re just happy you’re back with them, that is the fact that matters most and that you should focus on. It is tough, I know, but you can make it.”

“You have remarkable faith.” Valance commented. Sombra looked at him, a soft smile flickering over his face.

“Now I do, but even then it still falters from time to time. As you well seen when you all confronted me about my wings.” As he spoke, he spread them wide and looking at the newly regenerated feathers more kindly now.

“But, with everypony's help, that doubt passed. Your sisters will do this for you too, just go to them.”

Valance nodded, he felt a little better.

“Do not think you should suffer alone. I made that mistake and learnt better this time around. When I was given my first taste of friendship, it was...startling. I'd never been treated as an equal to anyone, so at first I was wary. But now, I could not imagine my life without them.”

“I look forward to meeting them. Cadance has spoken of her husband's sister and her friends, they sound exemplary.”

Sombra nodded, smiling “they got me to emerge out of my shell and that was not an easy task.”

Valance took a deep breath and let it out. He felt a bit better…

“Let us return to the palace. You must rest.” Sombra said kindly. Valance nodded, joining the other Alicorn as they flew back to the palace. Sombra let them back into the palace without alerting the guards. He bid Valance goodnight and returned to his temporary bedroom.

Sombra curled up in bed with a soft sigh, he was feeling back to his usual self for the most part. But he was still a little nervous about one particular thing he'd almost forgotten about amidst the chaos.

Proposing to his marefriend.

The next morning, feeling restless and driven by a need to leave the unpleasantness of the previous few days behind and do something to snap himself out of his funk, he flew out of his window. It was just getting towards dawn, had he glanced up at the tower he'd have seen Celestia up there, raising the sun.

But his mind was locked on course and he felt his stomach fluttering nervously as he winged his way towards Shining Sea's house. He touched down outside the front door, then just stood there.

What if she wasn’t up? What if she didn’t want to see him?

Pushing these doubts aside, he knocked very gently on the door. He fidgeted slightly as he waited and after a few seconds he’d just convinced himself to leave, when the door opened. Sea, floating a spatula covered in pancake batter stood in the doorway, blinking wide blue eyes at him.

“Sombra?” she asked.

“Oh, uh- good morning.” Sombra coughed. Sea tilted her head, seeing he looked unusually anxious.

“Come in.” She smiled, seeing relief on his face as she spoke. He followed her inside, where she was just putting pancakes on some plates.

“Can I talk with you a moment?” Sombra asked softly. Sea took in his soft smile, those lovely red eyes and nodded. He kissed her gently and she blushed, heart pounding in her chest. He looked oh-so-gorgeous in the light filtering in through the kitchen windows. She noticed his mane had changed, now she stared at it.

“How did you-?” she reached up to brush his new mane. It felt just like it had when it was a flowing black shadow, soft but substantial.

“It's a long story..” Sombra chuckled “but the short version is that I missed that part of the old me.”

She opened the back door, walking to the bottom of the garden. Spark would be able to see them from her window and it was a nice private area, leafy trees forming a canopy above them.

“What's on your mind?” Sea asked Sombra.

“Am I that obvious?” Sombra chuckled and Sea smiled then nuzzled his nose.

“Just a little,” she teased, winking at him to make him feel better. He smiled and nuzzled her mane. In the pocket of his saddlebag he could feel the weight of what the ring represented.

“My Sea, my star.” he drew back “ever since I woke up here, you and spark have been the brightest lights in my life. You seen past my attempts to shut the world out and you wouldn’t let me. That was when I first realised how much I wanted to stay by your side.”

Sea was touched by the open way Sombra talked. He had fought with his own emotions a lot since his return, so to hear him being so honest made her heart ache in the nicest way.

“Spark is like a daughter to me, she has made me feel like I am part of your family from day one. That is why-”

He opened his saddlebag, floating the box up and holding it out to Sea, opening its lid “I have a question to ask. Will you make my life even more magical by becoming my wife?”

Sea's eyes went wide, heart puttering wildly about her chest. Was he really-? She was, much like that first kiss at the ball, speechless at the love evident in the gesture.

“I know that I must seem awfully forward, that my efforts at courtship are faltering and a little dated but- I love you, my Sea-”

“Sombra.” she said softly, regaining her voice as tears of joy filled her eyes. But his nerves made him ramble on, unheeding. He was focused on the ring, his reflection clear in its polished surface.

“After nearly losing everything, I realised just how important you are-”

“Yes.”

“I-whuh?” Sombra stopped rambling as Sea spoke up with one very clear word. Her hoof gently tilted his muzzle up so he was looking at her.

“Yes, Sombra.” Sea emphasised “of course I’ll marry you!”

Sombra looked so happy he could pop, as she spoke those words and he took the ring from its box. It hung on a gold chain, which he draped around her neck. Sealed beneath the top layer of the box was a matching ring for the future groom.

Sea lifted it from the box with her magic and set it around his neck, then kissed him. She nuzzled up t his chest, feeling his wings wrap around her.

Their kiss came to an end and she nuzzled his cheek, crying from joy.

“Sea?” Sombra looked worried when he seen her tears.

“Don’t worry, I’m not sad,” she smiled happily “I’m celebrating. I have a wonderful stallion who healed the space in my heart. Before you, I felt disconnected from the world, I was living for my daughter, as I promised my husband. But I wasn’t living for myself as much. Then I met you and I started to feel like there was more out there for me.”

“My Sea.” Sombra said softly “I would do whatever it takes to make you feel complete.”

“You already have.” She said tenderly “and I love you for it. Love you so much, Sombra.”

They shared another kiss, the birds filling the air with their singing, a soft breeze ruffling the leaves above them. They parted, lips tingling, their faces flushed with delight.

“When I seen you at the dance, I never dreamed I’d get to be so close to you.” she admitted “i thought I would forever be just the mother of your biggest fan. When you asked me to dance, I couldn’t stop admiring you.”

“Hopefully that means you missed my atrocious dancing then?” Sombra joked. Sea giggled, tapping his chest with one hoof.

“Your dancing? I was worried about mine!”

Their laughter mingled amongst the sounds of nature as they thought back to that night.

“Remember little Spark fair flying across the floor?”

“Oh goodness!” Sea shook her head “I have never laughed so hard then when I seen it. That child is utterly fearless at times and it has come to the fore ever since you and she became friends.”

She looked up at Sombra as another thought occurred to her “she already thinks of you as a surrogate father. She will be delighted when she finds out you’ll soon be her legal one!”

As if drawn by the mere mention of her name, a voice called to them from the doorway.

“Mommy? Sombwa?”

They parted, seeing the little filly standing in the kitchen doorway. The sunlight made her yellow-gold coat shimmer in the sun, she was like a solidified ray of sunshine. Sea held a hoof out to her and Spark bounded across the grass to throw herself at her mother and best friend ever!

“Sombwa, you came to have bwewkfast?” she asked.

“Oh yes, he will be joining us!” Sea winked at Sombra, who nodded with a chuckle.

“First though, little Spark, your mother and I have something to tell you.”

Spark sat back, looking up at the two adults with wide eyes.

“What is?” she asked excitedly.

Sea and Sombra looked at each other, the Alicorn nodding to the unicorn, deferring the right to her.

“Spark, Sombra and I...we're getting married.”

Spark's jaw fell open, eyes going wide as dinner plates.

“That means hell be your-”

“-Daddy!” Spark shrieked in glee, throwing herself at Sombra in the biggest hug she could muster. Sombra chuckled happily, nuzzling the top of her head.

“Daddy, daddy daddy~!” Spark burbled into Sombra's chest as she hugged him as long as she could.

--Cutest. Thing, EVER.-- Sea squee'd silently.

“Daddy?” Spark asked breathlessly as she looked up at Sombra. The stallion scooped her up in one foreleg, so she could “boop” his nose.

“Yes, my little spark. I'll be a part of your family and I could not think of a greater gift in my whole life.”

Spark burst into happy tears, clinging happily to Sombra as she giggled and sobbed. Next, she hugged her mother.

“I'm gwad you found a speciaw somepony, mommy. Sombwa is best, he'll love you and love you!”

“I know,” Sea said, looking at her future husband and Spark's future father “I’m the luckiest mare in the world.”

As they ate their breakfast, Spark had another question for Sombra.

“Sombwa, can I tell my friends in show and tell today?”

Sea and Sombra exchanged glances. The papers and everypony else would find out fast enough anyway, why not give the honour to Spark?

They nodded as one and Spark clapped her hooves in glee.

She fetched her camera, taking a picture of her mother and Sombra, their engagement rings clearly in shot and did a happy dance around the kitchen.

“Do you want a lift to school?” Sombra smiled, indicating his wings. Spark's eyes went wide again and she nodded rapidly.

Sombra spoke to Sea for a few minutes, asking if, once he came back, she would come with him to the palace? He wished to announce it to his friends in private first, before the news spread like wildfire from the school.

Sea watched him take off from the front lawn, soaring into the sky with her daughter's delighted laughter fading into the still morning.

“HI!” a voice piped up from beside her and Sea shrieked, back-pedalling and nearly falling over. She stared, wheezing in fright….and it was Motormouth.

“Geez..” Sea put a hoof to her chest, sighing heavily.

“Sorry, you were just standing there, staring at the sky, I couldn’t resist.”

“Well, now you're done giving me a heart attack, what’s up?” Sea chuckled.

“I just wanted to drop off that book I borrowed. I'm on my way to work...” Motormouth handed her a book she'd borrowed a couple of weeks ago “Sooo...why were you standing there staring anyway?”

While Sombra acted as a chauffeur, Valance was gathering his sisters, wife and daughter together.

“I have something that I wish to ask of you all.” he said.

“Thou looketh more at peace. Dost thou feel better?” Luna asked curiously, studying her brother. Valance hugged the lunar mare and nodded.

“I have found a way to make peace with my past, whilst also giving myself a goal for the future.”

“That’s wonderful dad!” Cadance said, and Valances heart cramped in happiness as she called him that. He had such a wonderful daughter…

“So, what's your idea?” Celestia asked, taking a sip of tea.

“Bear with me, this may sound crazy at first.” Valance began, taking a deep breath before launching into it.

His family were duly surprised, but to his immense relief they agreed as one to fully support him. His plan had great honesty and it was clear that he believed this the best way he could atone for the weight he carried.

“We will help thee, all the way.” Luna vowed and the others nodded.

Valance asked that they begin asap, for he’d need to rest awhile before the next phase.

The kids in the school courtyard broke off from their games as a shadow swooped low over them. Looking up, they seen Sombra come in to land, extending his right wing down to the ground as his hooves set down. Bright Spark slalomed down with a delighted squeal, landing on her feet with a grin and a bow. Several fillies nearby applauded the landing and Sombra folded his wing up, chuckling at the scene.

“See you later, little Spark.” he smiled warmly.

“Bye bye Sombwa!” she waved gleefully as he spread his wings and took off with a gust of air, waving to the kids below as he swooped away.

Petalbloom couldn’t help but notice that through all the other students’ show and tell presentations, Spark was grinning ear to ear and fidgeting ceaselessly in her seat. Slightly bemused, she called on the young filly to come to the front of the class before she near exploded with anticipation.

“What are you showing us today?” Petalbloom asked.

“I got a photo I wanna show evewypony. It’s weally super cool!” Spark beamed. The teacher tapped the magical projector, motioning her to place the photo on the plate.

“Tell us, Bright Spark!” she said eagerly, as the fillies enthusiasm infected her quickly.

Spark drew in a deep breath as she bounded up, slapping the photo correct way up, on the projector.

“I’m getting a new daddy!”

The class put this together with the contents of the photo as the image flashed up on the wall. Petalbloom would later class what followed as “the sound of many a jaw dropping.”

The photo showed Sombra and Shining Sea, both smiling proudly with matching engagement rings on chains around their necks.

“Sombwa came for bweakfast this mowning," Spark said to the stunned classroom “we had bweakfast and they told me they were getting mawwied and that Sombwa will be my dad!”

The class burst into cheers of joy, Spark’s friends racing from their desks to congratulate their buddy on her news.

“That is so awesome!” A colt stared at the photo, then at the delighted Spark “his highness is so cool!”

“Wait….does that mean you’ll be a Princess?” one filly asked, a little jealously, she admitted to herself.

“I dunno….” Spark scratched her cheek “I’ll ask Sombwa!”

The others at the palace wondered where Sombra was, as it wasn’t like him to miss breakfast, not with his appetite anyway.

They found out pretty swiftly when the stallion strode leisurely in the dining room door and he wasn’t alone! He’d brought Shining Sea with him.

“Oh!” Cadance did a double take and looked around for the cook “we have an extra guest-”

“It’s OK, we already ate.” Sombra assured her and Shining Sea nodded.

Rarity noticed the secretive way they were acting and her ears perked up.

“Wanna join us anyway?” Rainbow Dash asked, waving a hoof at the empty seats.

Sombra smiled “Of course miss Dash, but first we have some news for you all.”

Rarity was leaning forward in her seat, was he-?

“We're getting married.” Sombra said in a rush, squeezing Sea's hoof to assuage his jangling nerves.

“In 3, 2...1...” Rainbow put her hooves over her ears.

“EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!” Rarity let out the loudest, most delighted squeal anyone had ever heard.

“Right on cue.” Rainbow snickered.

“Yes!" Twilight bounced out of her seat, bounding around the couple chanting “yes! Yes!”. Much like she had when Sombra had been made an Alicorn.

“That. Is. Awesome!” Rainbow swooped over, Pinkie and the others in hot pursuit. More hugs and congratulations followed, with Shining Armor giving his friend a hoofbump and giving a blushing Sea a warm welcoming smile. Cadance outright hugged her, saying how delighted she was!

“Have you told tha little one?” Applejack wiped her eyes and looked across at Sombra.

“Indeed we did. By now she will have told her whole class and I predict it will be front page news by tomorrow morning!” Sea giggled “nothing spreads news like an excitable network of kids.”

“Oh this is just wonderful, darlings!” Rarity clapped her hooves “I have so much to ask, I don't know where to start!”

“Well, I can solve one dilemma, miss Rarity. Would you design the outfits-”

Rarity almost tackle hugged him she was so delighted, nodding as she let him go. It’d be an honour to design for a wedding, just like with Cadance’s…

Sea caught the fashionistas eye and winked, her smile saying she couldn’t wait either!

The newly engaged couple sat themselves down at the table, finding they could indeed cram a few extra waffles in!

As they left the hall, Sombra asked Cadance where Valance and Aura were?

“They’re resting, Valance has a headache and Aura is sitting with him and reading some history books. They’re catching up much like you did.”

Sombra said he hoped Valance would feel better soon...

Sea spent the rest of that day at the palace, talking with her fiancé and discussing living arrangements with him, Cadance and Shining Armor.

“It’s entirely up to you, you don’t have to move to the palace...” Sombra began, but Sea smiled.

“It’s so beautiful here, I know Spark would love to have all this space to play in! We'll miss our old home, but this is a new start for all of us and nothing would make me happier than to live with you.”

Sombra looked relieved, and nuzzled her mane. Over his shoulder, Sea spotted Shining Armor pretending to make out with himself while his wife face hoofed in despair.

She couldn’t help it, she giggled into the soft fur of Sombra’s shoulder.

“Whats-?” Sombra blinked at her, then at Shining Armor and Cadance. Shining was looking as innocent as he could, and failing epically. Cadance was red faced from trying to hold the giggles in.

“Please don’t explode miss Cadance,” Sombra joked “we cant have you exploding before we announce this to the empire!”

Cadance erupted into merry giggles, spurred on by Sombra’s parody of both her and Celestia’s words.

Author's Note

This took a fair while, ive had a lot going on the last few months...loss of sleep, frequent headaches and fatigue to start with. I was also at EQLA, meeting my fellow Sombra fans, which was so much fun! Well worth the ass-numbingly long 11 hour flight...

Arrival & Adaptation

Celestia had been woken by the worst nightmare she'd seen in many a year. Her dreams, and Luna’s, had been centred on an encroaching darkness, headed for the Crystal Empire. A tear in the sky, spewing darkness, it brought with it a feeling of dread. So they set off for the Empire the morning after, to warn Cadance.

While the dreams were still being pored over by the concerned Princesses, late into the night, there was an ear-splitting bang. They ran to the windows of the crystal palace, their hearts sinking when they seen the thing from their dreams. A tear in the sky, a sickly wound made of pitch black, it obliterated a swathe of the starry night sky...

Cadance came haring into the room moments later, her expression steeped in fear.

"We need a plan." she said at last, and the two sisters nodded.

Princess Twilight Sparkle was back in Ponyville, and the late hour made Celestia decide to fill her in face to face once she and her friends arrived. She swiftly dispatched a scroll, apologising for the urgent tone and late hour, knowing Spike would soon be shaking Twilight Sparkle awake with the news...

"So what is the plan? Dost thou have one sister?" Luna asked. Her mane, sparkling like a night sky, caught the starlight outside and shone.

Cadance yawned, sleepily "we need something to counteract it, but what?"

"The elements of harmony are not the answer this time, although I sense they are a part of the solution." Celestia wished she could more clearly articulate what she felt. The elements had been crucial in defending Equestria before, but this was one of those occasions.

"To match darkness," Cadance said softly "I sense we need one who can understand its dark heart."

They all fell silent. Only one pony matched THAT particularly tricky description; King Sombra. A madpony by the time they’d come to deal with him, Celestia and Luna both knew he wasn’t the first pony they’d ask. Not even the last, really.

"I’m not too gone on that guy either." Cadance shook her head, tricoloured hair falling into her eyes. She pushed it away with one hoof. Sombra had caused her and her friends, not to mention the citizens of the Crystal Empire, a LOT of distress.

"We cannot have him terrorizing the ponies, yet as thou say, he is the closest match." Luna frowned. Celestia, soft shades of pink, sea foam green and blue swirling through her mane, nodded dubiously.

"There must be something, an insurance policy-!" Cadance got up and paced the room, frowning in concentration.

"Together we can force a limiter, suppress his magic. It won't be easy, dark magic is difficult to quash." Celestia said at last.

"Well it is better then letting him loose with said magic." Luna said dryly.

The next morning, at an absurdly early hour, all three Alicorn’s grouped together in one of the palaces larger rooms, they needed space for this.

At Luna’s hooves sat a thin silver choker, with a glittering blue gem set in it. It was a special stone, to back up the powerful spells laid into the ornaments framework.

Joining them was the crystal heart, the symbol of the Crystal Empire. A magical object, it captured the love and joy of the ponies of the Empire. They needed the extra boost to ensure this worked; the heart had a great deal of magic in itself.

Even though Sombra had supposedly been destroyed, Cadance was sure a part of him was still inside the crystal heart. He had been the Empire's ruler at one point, after all.

Standing in a triangle, with a big space between them, the three Alicorn’s closed their eyes and their horns began to glow.

At Cadance’s hooves, the crystal heart began to shine too, a line of shimmering blue magic flowing from it to the growing mass of magic at the room's centre.

After a moment, it began to take on the shape of a familiar pony. Long, flowing mane and tail, black as night. Dark grey fur, red tipped horn, a silver crown keeping his mane away from his face. Silver armor on his legs, a flowing fur tipped cloak...

Everything seemed to be going to plan, then the heart did something unexpected. It shuddered at Cadance’s hooves, a small faceted shard breaking off and flying into the semi-transparent shape of the Empire's former King. This had the effect of sending things into a spin.

There was a massive flash of light, causing them all to step back. Sombra's form solidified, crashing to the ground with an audible thud. He lay there struggling to breathe, pawing at his chest as if in pain.

"Uh oh-" Cadance stepped back as Sombra staggered to his hooves, lurching uneasily about, dazed and confused.

He uttered a single name;

"Cloudspark..."

Celestia frowned, where had she heard that name before? But it was soon forgotten, as he let out a roar of sheer agony, then pelted towards the window-

"Stop!" Celestia cried, lunging for the unicorn. For a moment she managed to get her forelegs around his neck, tried to haul him back, but he snarled something she couldn’t understand and tore free. As the others ran up behind Celestia, he took a jump through the window.

But his disoriented state meant he failed on landing, one leg buckling underneath him and pitching him to the grass. He tried to get to his hooves, but passed out once more...

"Sister! Look who is here! Their timing is magnificent." Luna pointed a hoof at the small band of ponies now circling the fallen Sombra. The blue one poked him with a hoof, and the purple Alicorn ushered her back.

"Nice timing, Twilight!" Cadance was happy to see her sister-in-law.

"Pokey poke-"

"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight Sparkle said crossly. The rainbow haired Pegasus pony raised an eyebrow then shrugged.

"Uhm...I think he broke his leg." Fluttershy said timidly, peering at Sombra’s left foreleg, which now had an odd bend in it.

"Shame that’s all he broke." Applejack grumbled.

“What?" she said in reply to Fluttershy's look "the guy was a colossal jerk, remember?"

“Which brings me to the question; WHAT THE HAY IS HE DOING HERE?!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

Twilight Sparkle winced at the volume "I don’t know..."

"I believe I can explain.." they looked up as Princess Celestia approached, a quartet of royal guards bearing a stretcher close behind her.

They sedated and carried Sombra back inside, where Celestia had him put in a room where he couldn’t do any more death-dives out of windows.

"Oh, before we forget, best doing THIS while he’s unconscious.." Celestia nodded to Luna , who levitated the magic laden choker over to her.

"Ooh..." Twilight Sparkle could sense it’s strength "what’s THAT for?"

"Sombra’s magic is as powerful as it is dark, we cannot risk him having it." Luna explained as her sister walked over to where the snoozing Sombra lay. For a moment she appeared to study him, then in one swift movement she nudged his mane aside and clipped the choker around his neck. It glowed, and he winced, stirring slightly but not waking.

"We cannot have him running amok with that sort of power," Celestia finished seriously, as she came over "Even I do not know the depth of his strength."

"Whoa.." Twilight Sparkle said.

“Now, let us talk." Luna managed a faint smile.

"Run that by me again, I didn’t get all the crazy in there..." Rainbow Dash said after Celestia finished. The Princess smiled faintly.

"I know it seems absurd, but my sister and I both agree that we are facing an imminent darkness, and something deep inside tells us Sombra is our only answer."

"So, the solution is the Empire being enslaved...AGAIN. Not to rain on your parade Princess, but.." Rainbow Dash looked for the right words "Sombra’s a loon!"

"He was grotesquely mean!" Rarity said.

Twilight Sparkle looked at Celestia "is this the same as Discord?"

"You mean, reform him?" Fluttershy asked curiously.

"Yes girls, I believe it is. That’s why I called you here. I sensed you and your elements may be able to help him in some part.”

A guard came pounding in the door, looking flushed. He looked at Celestia "your "guest" is awake, and he’s going crazy.."

"Going?" Rainbow Dash asked sarcastically, but they followed nonetheless.

The room possessed a balcony that looked down into it from above. A set of heavy locked doors meant Sombra couldn’t escape that way either, and not just because of the spells the princesses had placed on the room.

When they peered over the balcony, they seen the guard wasn’t joking. Sombra had thoroughly trashed the room. Shards of broken furniture lay about, but that wasn’t what baffled them. It was HOW Sombra was making such a mess.

He was huddled over in the centre of the wreckage, eyes shut, his body shuddering under the cloak. Every so often he tried to stand, only to collapse. As they watched, his body glowed with a pale blue light, which expanded outwards, smashing the furniture shards even further into dust.

Celestia stared. Beside her, Applejack asked;

"Betting that AINT what y'all were expecting?"

"No.." Celestia shook her head "I thought we'd suppressed his powers, save for the basic levitation ability. Plus, that aura doesn’t match HIS."

Sombra reared to his feet, letting out a cry of such real anger and pain that Fluttershy teared up in sympathy.

"Something’s really hurting him.." she whispered "this isn’t right."

Celestia and Twilight Sparkle nodded, and together they launched another sleep spell, which at last made the aura fade. Sombra lay curled up in his cloak, only twitching occasionally.

"We need to talk. AGAIN." Luna’s voice drifted into the silence.

"So a shard of the heart shattered?" Twilight Sparkles eyes went wide "is it bad?"

"Not really, one of the facets just looks a little wonky," Cadance said "it’s functioning just fine, seems it's just surface damage."

"Whew," Rarity sighed "I’d hate such a lovely treasure to be damaged, it’s simply exquisite!"

"Agreed!" Luna added "but what of the missing shard? We hath searched high and low in that room, but there’s no sign of it."

Twilight Sparkle had been pondering that for a while, now she recalled the exact colour of the hearts magic.

"I think I know." she said, her mind a whirl.

"Then spill!" Rainbow Dash cried.

"You recall that blue aura Sombra was giving off, well, it's the same as the hearts."

"You think the shards in HIM?" Pinkie Pie blurted through a mouthful of cake.

"Possibly." Luna shook her head at Pinkie Pie’s table manners, then looked at her sister "it makes sense. It explains why he was bucking about in such pain when we summoned him. We thought it merely a side effect of the process..."

"But from what we seen, it’s something more." Celestia finished her sister’s theory.

"Why did the heart break off a part of itself? Was that part of the plan?" Twilight Sparkle asked.

Cadance shook her head; "No. The shard shattering and doing what it did was a surprise."

"But why is he totally bonkers...I mean...MORE bonkers-" Rainbow Dash frowned, thinking up more insults. "What the one I’m looking for? "Suffering a severe case of the galloping crazy"?"

"Uhm.." Fluttershy bobbed her head anxiously, she had a clue.

"Speak, Fluttershy dear." Celestia encouraged. Fluttershy stared at the table, and the empty cake plate in front of her.

"Uhm..I t-think...I think its because he’s in pain. H-he has a dark heart, right? So maybe...maybe the shard of the crystal heart is within his OWN heart. And he’s not used to it...so...it hurts..?" she finished with a squeak.

"That..." Luna said "is the smartest thing we have heard so far. You may be onto something Fluttershy..."

"It makes perfect sense.." Twilight Sparkle said, after a think "certainly explains why he came flying out a window!"

“What’s up with that? He think he was an Alicorn or something?" Rainbow Dash sniggered.

"No, I think its all there in Fluttershy’s theory, the shard of the heart is embedded inside HIS heart, and its causing him pain. If he is to be of any use to us, we must find a way to suppress it..." Celestia mused.

"Hay Cadance," Twilight Sparkle asked, "when is my BBBFF coming back from his trip?"

"He'll be back in a week!" Cadance beamed.

"Boy is he gonna FLIP when he sees Sombra." Rainbow Dash remarked.

Twilight Sparkle figured she’d deal with that when he got back.

"Where is the small pudgy dragon?" Luna asked.

"Spike? Oh he’s looking after Fluttershy’s animals," Twilight Sparkle beamed "well, he and Ditzy Doo, turns out she’s good with critters!"

Fluttershy beamed "they’ll be just great!"

When Sombra next awoke, the agony that’d been tormenting him had faded. Now a dull ache in his chest, he was at least able to wobble to his hooves. Looking down he seen, underneath the armoured shoes he wore, his left foreleg was bandaged thickly. It throbbed when he put weight on it.

He limped around the trashed room, anger and confusion smouldering in his chest. What’d happened? His last memory was...was...

He shook his head. All he knew was he’d been defeated. On the verge of controlling the empire for good, and a purple-pink Alicorn had stopped him.

"Awake at last." a voice met his ears. Looking up, he seen...

"Celestia!" he roared "what is the meaning of this?!"

"You have been restored to your life, but only so as to save this kingdom."

“What makes you think I’d do that?" the pain in his chest pulsed, and he bit back a snarl.

"Because that choker you're wearing will ensure it."

He trotted over to an un-shattered picture frame. In it’s reflection he seen, in addition to his usual get-up, a silver-banded choker was locked around his neck. At its centre was a shimmering blue gem.

"Its impossible to remove by yourself, its powerful Alicorn magic." Celestia continued. "And it WILL stop you if you try to hurt anypony!"

"Why awaken me at all?" Sombra raged.

Celestia closed her eyes. A shimmering square appeared in front of Sombra. It was the view from the same window he’d dived out of.

"Do you see it? In the sky..."

Sombra squinted, then stepped back. Celestia seen him tense up, a barely discernible shiver racing over his stocky frame.

Sombra stared at the image in shock. In the sky, a small dark tear wavered, but he sensed it was growing...

"It's seeking something," he whispered, his ruby red eyes widening a little "It's not from this world." He had no clue how he knew this, only that he knew he was RIGHT.

"Whereas all we can see is a darkness in the skies. Already this has proven to be the correct decision. Even YOU cannot deny the danger of what we seek." Celestia said at last, making the image vanish.

"And why would I bother helping you?" Sombra turned his back to her, mane swishing around his face.

Celestia sighed "the world has changed from what you knew, this is a chance to still have a part in your old kingdom. But you must understand what it really takes to protect and serve-”

"You can't defeat this, so you want ME to do your dirty work, is that it? Oh how the mighty have failed!" he gave a short harsh laugh. Celestia didn’t seem fazed.

"Were I to claim I was perfect, I would be lying to myself. NOPONY is invulnerable. But I know THIS. This chaos is tied to you."

"I regret to say I could not have masterminded such intrigue," Sombra laughed again "I've been very busy...being dead and GONE, or did you forget?!"

"The blame is not yours to bear, but the salvation may be. If this is what it takes to save this place, it is what we will do. You have a second chance to prove you are more than you appear to be."

His fury rose, but his head ached so severely he couldn’t think. He felt...disjointed, off. Like he was missing more than just his magical abilities. Everything seemed sharper and brighter, it almost HURT. “And I suppose YOU’RE going to preach at me until I do?" he snarled.

"No, I will leave that to a certain group of ponies who saved the empire from you before...I believe you remember them.."

Around her, Sombra seen six sort-of unknown fillies file in. He stared at them, AND kept right on staring.

"No." he said at last.

"No, you’re not co-operating, or no, you don’t know us?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"The second one, dye-job.." Sombra remarked.

"Lemme at him!" Rainbow Dash snapped, flapping her wings-

"Settle down Dashie!" Pinkie Pie said, "he’s just grumpy!"

“So would you be you talking piece of cotton candy!" Sombra roared. Pinkie Pie giggled loudly, swishing her tail.

"Ooh, do Applejack next!" she giggled. Applejack poked her with one hoof.

"Calm down you guys..." Twilight Sparkle said.

Sombra turned his back on them and walked over to the reflective surface of the picture frame. Again he stared at the choker, at the glowing blue jewel. He didn’t hear the balcony door slam as the group of ponies left. He was lost in a daydream…

The general reaction of the Empire'd citizens was one of panic, when the Princesses called an emergency meeting in the centre of the empire the following day, and delivered the news.

"Why HIM?!" one mare cried.

"Even WE do not know much about the darkest part of magic...." Celestia said "We have been able to glean nothing from studying this thing. I only had to show Sombra a glimpse of it for him to identify it as being sentient, and searching for something. There is no denying he has considerable knowledge that WE need in this crisis!"

More panicked murmurs.

"Fear not!" Cadance declared "We have been able to suppress all but the most basic levitation ability. He does not possess the dark magic he was noted for. We have taken every precaution to render him unable to hurt anypony."

The ponies looked mollified by this, they adored Cadance, and knew she cared for them in turn! She wouldn’t hurt them!

"We have been monitoring him since returning him to this world," Celestia continued "and he has so far not attempted to harm anypony in the castle. We will have a guard dispatched to monitor him at all times outside the palace. We ask you, despite your fear, not to go about your daily lives any differently than you usually would."

The crowd looked a little anxious still, but if he was under guard and had no magic, he couldn’t harm them, right?

"Thank you, all of you." Cadance gave her citizens a kind smile "You have all of our gratitude for staying strong!"

The rest of the morning, gossip raced like wildfire. But despite their fear of the ex-King, the ponies were scared of the creepy dark rip in the sky. And if Sombra was the only way to help them, they would tolerate the brutish unicorn as much as they could. After all, he was no friend to them, and they’d be relieved when both he and the tear were GONE.

And thus they consoled themselves with these seemingly unalterable facts. Sombra couldn’t be trusted. He'd only be here temporarily. They had the prince and four Alicorn princesses on their side!

But the eventual truth was to be far stranger than they had guessed....

Back in the palace The Princesses rejoined the other five ponies and went over the plan one more time.

"My main beef is this: IS King grumpy a danger?" Rainbow Dash asked at last.

"I have locked down his power, he can do basic levitation magic and that’s about it," Celestia said calmly "I do not believe he poses a threat. The crystal heart is under lock-down until we're certain he can be trusted."

"Ah don’t trust the guy neither," Applejack shrugged "but if y'all really think he’s our only hope, then..." She trailed off.

"We’ll give it our best!" Fluttershy said at last.

"So what now?" Twilight asked Celestia.

"For tonight I will simply allow him to sleep in a proper room. As of tomorrow, I ask that at least one of you accompany him anywhere he goes, I can also post a guard."

The discussion went on for awhile, then they all went down to the main hall for a break.

The next morning, Twilight Sparkle said she and Fluttershy would stick close to Sombra that day. Celestia had requests for the others she needed help with, and Rainbow Dash was attending a display by the Wonderbolts. It was their first show in the empire and she was psyched to go watch. Rarity was being asked to design a new cloak for Luna, and Pinkie Pie was preparing for a "random visit to the empire" party for that evening.

Pinkie Pie was up early and had already taken over the palace's kitchen before even its staff were awake, to Cadance's amusement. But after distributing her first batch of yummy cupcakes, the staff were happy to let her carry on. They were delicious!

The six friends had some for breakfast as well, and Fluttershy sidled up to Pinkie Pie as she was trotting back to the kitchen to ask a favour.

Twilight Sparkle raised an eyebrow as Fluttershy said she’d go get the ex-King, Sombra. Why was she carrying a basket?

Sombra knelt atop the massive bedspread. His room was high up in the tower. The window opened, but he hit a barrier every time he tried to stick his head too far out. He didn’t recall diving out a window and breaking his leg, but the palace doctor had told him to go easy on it. Even though Celestia’s magic had all but healed it, it still needed a day or two.

Then he’d bolted from the room.

Even with his power locked down, Sombra was an intimidating force. He towered above most ponies, his height nearly on a par with that of the Alicorn’s. Add to that piercing red eyes and long, flowing mane, and he made an impressive sight. The red-tipped, curved, unicorn horn wasn’t something you seen every day either.

--It’s been how many years since those little fillies destroyed me..?-- he tried to think further back, but got a pain in his chest every time. He was aware of his own past, that is, as aware as you could be going on just a few sensations and fuzzy images. But every time he tried to gather up the memories of his past, his chest ached again. What was this pain?

There was a timid knock at the door, so he snarled "enter!" in the most imperial tone he could manage, figuring it was the doctor, back again. But he got a surprise when a soft, shy voice piped up;

"Uhm...we-we’re going to be leaving the castle soon...Twilight Sparkle said to tell you..." she quailed a little as Sombra angled his head to glare at her, but carried on anyway "a-also I brought muffins.."

Sombra was floored by the normality of this weird moment. --Get this straight, brain-- he told himself --she’s offering you food?! Is she mad?--

When he didn’t say anything, Fluttershy crept into the room, setting the basket down "they’re very nice," she said tremulously. Another harsh glare form Sombra made her wince, but she didn’t run. She’ d promised Twilight she’d get him to come with them.

Reluctant (but hungry), Sombra focused his meagre magic and floated one of the cakes towards himself. He didn’t recall anything this fancy from his former life, but then, what he didn’t recall could fill an encyclopedia!

Before he could question the logic behind accepting gifts from his jailers, curiosity got the better of him, and he ate half of one in a single bite. Crumbs pattered onto the book lying open under his hooves, but he didn’t notice. This cake was..

"Mmf.." he said, sniffing at the remaining half before stuffing it into his mouth whole with his magic.

"D-do you like them..?" Fluttershy asked.

Sombra’s answer was to levitate the remaining two out of the basket. Within seconds they were gone. He levitated the book, shaking the crumbs out of it;

"They’re....interesting." he said shortly. Fluttershy beamed.

"I take it you’re here to make sure I don’t dive out the window again?" he sneered bitterly.

"W-well I hope not...that must have hurt.." she said sympathetically.

"Pah, I don’t care...." he shook his head "fine, lets get this farce over with." he clambered off the bed, wobbling a little on his injured hoof, and at last settled into a slight limp as he followed Fluttershy down the hall towards the stairs.

Twilight Sparkle took a deep breath and put on a serious face as she seen Fluttershy approach with Sombra. Even though he had no real power, she was wary of him. He regarded her for a moment, then spoke, taking in her wings;

"Princess." his tone was clipped, angry, but his expression was distant, as if he was doing his best to shut everything out.

"We’re taking a trip into the market; we need ingredients, plus it will give the townspeople time to get used to you being here again-"

"Pfft, prepare for a lot of screaming little Princess," Sombra laughed coldly "this is a fools errand!" Then he winced, as his head pounded again. Without realising, he’d raised one hoof to his neck, to attempt to claw the necklace off him.

"If that is what you believe, then fine. But most ponies would be happy to have a second chance at life!" Twilight Sparkle said before heading out the door.

Sombra paused, stung a little by her words. What good was a second chance when he was powerless? But he couldn’t deny something felt different this time. His head still felt fuzzy, and that sensation of missing a piece of his internal puzzle...

He glanced to his side, where that pink haired cake-bringer waited. She bobbed her head, indicating the door. Sighing, he trotted after the little Princess.

One of the royal guard followed at a safe distance. Even without power, Sombra wasn’t entirely without danger. His physical strength and temper were ferocious in their own right.

As predicted, a few ponies DID shout and panic. But Twilight Sparkle reassured them as best she could, stressing Sombra was there to help solve the weird sky-tear. A few ponies still ran away when they seen the unicorn striding along beside the two smaller ponies. some looked like they wanted to throw something or go for him, but they kept their distance.

Magic or no, Sombra had a solid build that simply said; "You'd suffer less head-butting a WALL."

"G-Good morning princess.." the shop owner stammered, as Twilight Sparkle wandered into the antique store.

"Morning!" she beamed "Do you have any new books in?"

"As it happens...yes.." he cast a nervous glance at Sombra, who was watching Fluttershy, who was going ga-ga over how adorable the statues of animals were. She just loved them!

--I can’t tell if she’s insane or just naturally like this..-- Sombra thought.

"Don’t worry.." Twilight Sparkle said in a whisper "he can’t hurt you.."

"I heard the news that monster was back, but I didn’t want to believe it. Is Princess Cadance sure she knows what she’s doing?"

"It’s her, Luna AND Celestia’s decision. Besides," she indicated the choker, with the brilliant blue stone embedded in its centre "that acts as a neutraliser. It'll stop him if he tries anything.."

“Just what do the Princesses hope to achieve with this?" he asked, trotting into the back room and levitating the books out to Twilight Sparkle, who poured over the titles, deciding what she wanted.

"You’ve seen that rip in the sky? Well, both Celestia and Luna believe Sombra holds the key to defeating it. We don’t know how yet, but I trust their decision."

“As do I, missy, but that don’t mean most of us aint scared of that...creature being back."

"Wow.." Fluttershy moved on to looking at a carved crystal. It was a deep purple, yet other colours seemed to swirl inside it. It’d been carved to resemble a bird. "What is that?"

Sombra sighed irritably "another pointless trink-hm?" he peered closely at it.

"Nopony knows what that is," the shop owner shrugged "very old, or so I’ve been told. Been a mystery since-"

“It's a "purple star" jewel." Sombra looked entirely nonplussed "stick that thing in direct sunlight and it'll glow. Little more then a distraction, no magical properties."

"How the hay-?!" the store owner gaped. "I've had EXPERTS study that thing and they're baffled!"

"Wow." even Twilight Sparkle looked startled. Sombra looked bored.

“They were virtually gone even in my time, they were used as luck charms. Pointless."

"Still, pretty!" Fluttershy said to the store owner.

Twilight Sparkle paid for the books she wanted and they left, leaving a flabbergasted shop owner behind.

"How did you know that?" Twilight looked up at Sombra. When she'd seen him eyeing the jewel in the store, she thought she'd seen a flicker behind those emotionless garnet eyes...

Sombra snorted "A thing like that? Child's play."

"Rarity would pop if she knew all that." Twilight Sparkle chuckled at the idea, and Fluttershy smiled.

--Ugh, just seal me back inside the darkness...-- Sombra snarled to himself --they’re lucky I can't just rip this whole place apart!!--

A small shock from what he was terming a "dog collar", made him reel in the feelings of abject rage that’d been rising.

For his part, Sombra ignored any eye contact, keeping his head high and focusing in the distance. He trailed along on auto pilot as Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy went from stall to stall. Ponies stopped to gawp at him, some shouting harsh things, others just staring.

It was while he was staring into space that he heard a giggle, and felt something tug at his cloak. Blinking he looked down, coming nose-to-nose with a little unicorn filly, balancing atop a stack of fruit crates. She was a pale yellow, with brighter sunshine yellow and orange blended mane, reminding him of a flame.

She beamed at him, reaching one hoof up to poke the tip of his nose.

"Boop!" she declared.

He didn’t know it then, but that one word started off a process he would never have expected.

He stared, frankly stunned by her audacity. She was the first one to acknowledge him, especially like that.

Seeing she’d made him go slightly cross-eyed, the little unicorn filly giggled gleefully, and bounded round to his side, burrowing under his cloak and poking her head out so its fur trimmed edge framed her face like a hood.

"This fing is so much awesome!" she giggled.

Sombra raised one eyebrow, tilting his head so he could see her. She looked boldly up at him, smiling again.

"Hm." was all he said.

Then her eyes went wide, and she ducked back under, essentially hiding under Sombra’s cloak.

"Don’t move pwease!" she squeaked. Sombra felt the urge to snap. What was she doing?!

Three more little fillies ran by, calling out;

"Oh Bright Spark, where are you?"

"Yeah, c’mon, we just wanna play.." they giggled. Something about their words set Sombra’s nerves on edge. Those were mocking laughs. He could feel the little one hiding under his cloak, a tiny presence huddled by his forelegs.

They stopped not far from Sombra, looking about.

"Lets try under here!" they locked in on the stall Sombra was standing by. He heard the filly utter a soft wail and felt her shiver again. She tugged at the band of his armoured grey shoe, silently pleading for him to hide her...

So when the kids crept a little too close, he shifted forward subtly, changing his posture so the filly would be impossible to spot beneath the sweeping cloak. When they began to cross his path, he turned a sharp glare on them, which was enough to make them take in who they were getting in the way of. Uttering terrified squeals they ran away, resuming their search for the little filly.

"They are gone," he remarked at last "you can stop hiding under there."

"You sure?" her voice drifted up.

"Of course I’m sure!" he said a little sharply "they ran like cowards, I do not think you have much to fear from them!"

"You haven’t met them..." she said, poking her head out at him "they’re as bad as a wittle pony can be!"

"You have no clue who you’re talking to, do you?" Sombra muttered.

She didn’t seem to hear him, too busy scanning the area to make sure it was clear. Then she trotted out from under Sombra’s cloak.

"Fanks!" she beamed "you’re the best hiding pwace ever!"

THAT was the oddest thing he’d ever been called.

"I’m gonna go now, befowe they come back.." she sighed, then waved a hoof up at him "bye bye mister!"

Then she was gone.

Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy had watched this entire encounter with eyebrows raised. How the little filly had poked Sombra’s nose, giggled, then suddenly dove under his cloak, aiming to hide herself from some ponies Fluttershy guessed were NOT friends of hers.

For a moment Twilight Sparkle had been sure Sombra was going to simply step aside, exposing her to her pursuers. But something had flickered in his eyes, a spark of...recognition? She wasn’t sure. Either way, he’d stayed put, letting her hide, and even scaring the kids away with one fierce glare.

Sombra hadn’t reacted hostilely to the filly, hadn’t flown into a rage and shouted once. Those that’d seen the little tableau play out, murmured amongst themselves. So far, Sombra hadn’t threatened or hurt them, could what the princess had told them be true? Could he be there, to help?

A defenceless little filly had gambolled right up to him, seemingly with the pretence of poking him on the muzzle. Given his past history, the ponies watching had tensed for action, to rescue her. But then they'd become entranced by the spectacle of the tiny filly playing about literally under hoof, and Sombra had just stood there, only tilting his head to follow her antics.

Once the little filly was gone, Sombra became aware of the stares and whispers, and felt a surge of disgust for getting so carried away. He felt that hateful darkness flood back in, any good mood sputtering out like a candle in a strong wind. His expression hardened, and he closed off his emotions again. His chest ached, that funny pain in his heart rearing its head again. Around his neck the choker sparkled briefly, as if in acknowledgement.

Twilight Sparkle seen the shift in his demeanour and sighed. It’d been going so well. but it seemed the barriers to changing Sombra’s dark heart were going to be very difficult.

He followed the two ponies back to the castle, just absorbing this happy, prosperous kingdom. They loved their ruler, the tricoloured one who’d introduced herself as Cadance. He had ruled his subjects with an iron hoof, forcing them to slave for crystals all day and night. It hadn’t gotten him what he’d wanted.

He’d become even more bitter, and his magic had warped darker and darker as hatred took over. The darkness inside had whispered, telling him how he deserved total devotion for his power. How these pathetic crystal ponies needed a firm hoof to guide them.

But now, here they were, under the care of a fluffy-haired Alicorn, and they seemed so carefree, the town prosperous. But since waking up back here again, he’d been feeling strange. This was HIS kingdom. Or had been...

But something about that little filly had made him hesitate in his silent fuming over his circumstances. Her wide eyed innocence, the way she’d gambolled straight up to him without hesitation. She either didn’t know who he was, or simply didn’t care!

All of a sudden his head swam, a sharp pain in his chest making him stop in his tracks, uttering a low snarl of pain. He tried to force himself onwards, but it was suddenly much more difficult...

He was putting so much effort into keeping upright he didn’t see the couple carrying a big box between them until they bumped into his side.

"Oof-EEK!" the mare spied who she’d bumped a box into, losing concentration and dropping the box. It came within inches of the ground, the crystal wineglasses in it rattling together, when it stopped, a dark purple aura surrounding it.

They looked up, watching in astonishment as Sombra just stared at the box.

Realising he was waiting for her to pick it back up, the mare hurriedly refocused her magic and Sombra let it go, before walking boredly away. At least it seemed like boredom.

"Uh...t-thanks?” the mare’s friend managed at last. He and his marefriend shared startled glances.

Sombra blinked, looking back at where he thought someone had just....thanked him? Why had he done it?! He’d just caught the object on reflex, the glint of the glasses reminding him of the crates of crystals he’d once filled his palace with.

For a moment, he felt fury at himself for lowering himself in that manner, how dare these ponies expect him to-

Then he just shoved past the gawping ponies and caught up with Twilight Sparkle, who hadn’t noticed him slow down.

"Ooh, look!" Fluttershy looked over at the front lawn of the palace, where a bouncing pink pony could be seen hopping about a table.

"Pinkie Pie is at work again!" Twilight Sparkle laughed.

Behind her Sombra felt the pain in his chest surge again, and he felt the world sway. He came to a halt, fighting to push the pain back, but it wasn’t fading.

"Twilight!!" the pink one bounded over, tail swishing "were nearly done with our "first day of the plan" party lunch!"

“Another party? What about this evening?" Twilight Sparkle laughed.

"Oh that’s ON, I just wanted to celebrate NOW!" Pinkie Pie beamed.

Behind them, Sombra lost the fight and was booted out of consciousness. He crumpled to the crystal walkway, prompting a yelp from Pinkie Pie, who pelted over, crouching beside Sombra and poking him carefully.

"What happened?" Twilight Sparkle wondered. He’d been fine the whole morning, why so suddenly-?

"I’ll go get help!" Fluttershy ran off, returning shortly with a pair of guards and the stretcher again.

The guards checked the unconscious unicorn over, but there was no external sign of injury, no reason why he’d suddenly collapsed. Best they could do was take him to the medical room, and have the doctor check him over.

"W-will he be OK?" Fluttershy asked, her natural kindness unable to stop her from worrying about Sombra.

"I’m sure he'll be fine, maybe it’s just a side effect of being brought back?" Twilight Sparkle guessed.

"Yay!" thus appeased, Pinkie Pie turned back to the others "lunch party!"

"How did it go?" Applejack asked as Twilight sat down. She’d been with Pinkie Pie, helping to bake all morning.

"Um..not that bad actually!" Twilight Sparkle found herself saying. Once they all had a plateful of food, she started recounting the tale of Sombra’s first day in public.

"Wait, he actually stood there while some kid goofed about with his cloak?!" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I could design him something far better." Rarity shuddered.

"Yeah, didn’t snap at her, didn’t fly into a rage, just WATCHED her." Twilight shrugged "I think he was surprised she was so fearless!"

"That’s one brave filly.." Applejack shook her head.

"Maybe this won't be so bad.." Fluttershy piped up.

"I don’t know, I still don’t trust him.." Rainbow Dash scowled "but, seeing as the princess locked his powers down, I guess I’ll give it a try."

"Thanks Rainbow Dash," Twilight Sparkle beamed at her friend "who knows, in time he may understand the magic of friendship."

“I think you’re getting a little TOO far ahead there Twi," Applejack said.

"Yay, more friends!" Pinkie Pie cheered.

"I’ll consider it a win if I can improve his dress sense.." Rarity muttered.

"What was up with him passing out?" Rainbow Dash asked "he that desperate to get away from us?"

"I don’t think so Rainbow Dash," Twilight Sparkle frowned "I don’t know what caused it. It’s a mystery..."

The dream was mostly darkness, but it carried a feeling he hadn’t felt in an eternity. Fear. Whatever lurked in that darkness was dormant for now, but soon...

--Time to feed!-- a voice cut like a knife through his mind, bringing with it a loathsome feeling, one he wanted nothing to do with.

"Back off" he snarled, whirling in the darkness. He felt the sensation of something pressing in on him, cutting off the air. He tried to run, and felt something coil around his neck-

Standing by the bed, Celestia frowned, seeing him shudder slightly, uttering a faint snarl.

"What’re you seeing Sombra..?" she muttered. Her dreams had only been faint suggestions, nothing she woke up able to remember. She touched her unicorn horn to Sombra’s, trying to link to the sensations in his dreams.

What she felt made her step back, worry gnawing at her chest. The kingdom was in very real danger if this was even HALF accurate..

Staring in the diffuse light, he seen an arrow of darkness , its pointed tip nose to nose with his. Then it shuddered, and glinting yellow eyes appeared;

"There is nothing you can do, you don’t know what you're fighting for!"

"What the hay are you?!" he roared, using his sharp fangs to bite at the coil. It retreated with a sharp hiss, eyes narrowing at him.

"This world will fall like all the others, little pony..." it taunted, then dove right at his heart-

He bolted awake with a sharp gasp.

His head pounded and he felt sick. He noticed he was lying on a bed in a white tiled room. Around him other beds, vacant and tidied, filled the room.

--A hospital??-- he thought. Never mind, time to get out of there.

He got down off the bed, turned to go-

And came face to face with an amused Celestia. He backed up, knocking into a cart of instruments, and nearly knocking it over but for Celestia righting it.

"Celestia!" he barked.

"That would be the case," she responded smoothly "Twilight Sparkle told me what happened,"

"What concern is it of yours anyway??"

"Because," she said "at one point, whilst you were sleeping, I sensed that same darkness from my dreams, in you. That thing, it was invading your dreams. Whether it can fully sense you, I don’t know."

Sombra worked this one out "you were standing there this whole time, staring?!" he looked moderately freaked out "don’t you have anything better to do, Princess?" this last word was a snarl.

"I was here for a reason," she chuckled then added, "you look a lot less terrifying asleep."

"Why you-" he snarled, but the necklace glowed, and he was driven into the floor.

"Whoops!" Celestia’s horn glowed and the pressure relented "too close a proximity will do that!"

"You call ME insane?!" he fumed, but didn’t add any curse words, much as he felt like it. He’d had enough encounters with the floor for that day!

"That choker sends out a signal when it's damaged or in danger. I felt a twinge from it, and came to examine it, but nothing is wrong."

"Hmph," he pushed past her, stalking out the door "maybe your magic’s not as brilliant as you claim!"

"Or perhaps something else caused that signal.." she murmured.

Up in his room Sombra staggered to the bed and collapsed. His head ached. An unknown, strange feeling was battering at his defences. Curiosity. That little filly hadn’t been scared of him, she had to have been told who he was by her parents. Yet she’d bounded up and poked his nose without fear.

He snarled in anger, unable to comprehend what the hay was going on. He despised these happy-go-lucky ponies, didn’t he? They were little more than servants to their ruler...and yet...he could see how prosperous this empire was, how happy it’s subjects.

"Is this what you meant, old man," he snarled "to be a true ruler..." but his memories of that time were too faded to recall the face attached to that memory, but he felt it was somepony important...

He lay in silence, until eventually he fell asleep. His dreams were more like nightmares once more. He seen his actions, but from the view of the crystal ponies. Dozens of POVs, it swung from one to the next. He was hit by feelings of resentment, terror, and hatred. An overwhelming torrent...

Make him STOP.

LEAVE.

DISSAPEAR.

FREAK.

MONSTER.

Tyrant.

--Is this who I am?!-- a deeply buried part of his core asked. He felt the taint of his magic, his darkness.

--No!! This is just Celestia’s attempt at getting you to go along with her crazy scheme!!-- the distrustful core of his being, born that fateful day so far in the past, objected angrily --nothing and nopony ever changes. They will betray, and take, and hurt- you KNOW better than this!!--

He shoved all these annoying thoughts away, wanting to just snap out of it-

THUD.

He tumbled out of the bed, stars spangling his vision. He bolted for the bathroom and was regrettably sick. A glass of water later and he sat down by the window, gazing out at the stars. He eventually dozed off, curled up underneath the night breeze..

Twilight Sparkle’s words echoed "most ponies would be happy for a second chance at life!".

Luna and Cadance both shared the same surprised face when Celestia described Twilight Sparkle’s account to them.

"Perhaps that shard that pierced his heart is letting in a little light." Luna mused.

"We can hope so," Cadance said "I didn’t think anypony’s heart could be complete darkness."

"But what of his collapse?" Luna asked "We did not think our charm on that limiter was that powerful."

“I don’t think it was that." Celestia shook her head "I examined it while he was unconscious, and the spell is unbroken, it was not caused by his efforts to remove it."

"Hmm..." Cadance thought "I wonder why then?"

"Time will tell," Celestia said "that’s all I can be sure of."

The next morning Twilight Sparkle was summoned to see her mentor;

"What are you doing this morning?" The sun Princess asked.

“Well, Rainbow Dash and Rarity are going out hunting for crystal gems, Rainbow Dash said she’d try helping with Sombra."

"Good work, Twilight," Celestia smiled, then sighed "any news on that rip in the sky?"

"No, I can't find out anything from the library, it's never been seen before."

Celestia nodded "very well, we will keep an eye on it."

Sombra was surprised when Fluttershy brought more muffins the next day.

"You don’t seem afraid of me." he said simply. She ducked her head, thought a moment, then looked at him;

"Well, everypony deserves a second chance, no matter who they are..!"

"You can have such faith in other ponies...it's interesting.." he said so very softly. She blinked.

"W-what was that?" she asked timidly. He shook his head, clamming up again.

"Everypony deserves kindness." she said at last.

He sighed, finished the last of the cakes and got to his feet.

"What has Celestia planned this time? Where am I being chaperoned today?" his tone was bitter as he glared out the window.

"U-uhm...Dashie and Rarity.."

Seeing his blank stare, she motioned him to follow her.

They trekked down to the sewing room, where they stood in the doorway. Rarity was levitating pins and fabric all around, and Rainbow Dash was sitting on the windowsill, babbling about a trick she’d seen the Wonderbolts do.

"Ahem.." Fluttershy coughed. They both looked over, stopping their activity when they seen the dark pony behind Fluttershy. Rarity’s concentration slipped and she dropped a fabric bolt, it whooshed down, threatening to hit her on the head.

"Eek!" she screeched, reactivating her magic’s hold just in time, setting it down on the table by the others.

"Ohh....goodness that was a near miss!" Rarity fluffed her mane.

"I don’t think it woulda done much damage Rarity." Rainbow Dash grumbled.

"Try lifting that thing, I guarantee you won't be giggling then, Rainbow Dash!" Rarity sniffed, disliking having her drama doubted. Rainbow Dash duly did try to heft the big bolt of fabric, and didn’t get that far.

"Ok,point taken!" she plonked it back down with a thud.

"Easy, Rainbow Dash!" Rarity scolded.

Sombra gave Fluttershy a look that said "really?"

"Sometimes friends fight...but nopony’s perfect.." she giggled.

"Ah whatever, let’s go!" Rainbow Dash marched past Sombra, virtually ignoring him "c'mon Rarity!"

Suppressing a furious snarl, Sombra followed. Once they got outside, he was met again with the crowds indifference, fear and curiosity. Rumours had spread about his return, the couple he’d (albeit unintentionally) helped had shared their surprising story by the morning.

Rainbow Dash marched along, head held high, tossing off quick answers when people asked about Sombra.

"It's the Princesses orders!" she told one colt, "this guys got the clues to that thing up there according to her highness, so we gotta work with it!"

Rarity studied Sombra as they travelled. She could picture a cloak that’d suit his colour just right...

They reached the outskirts of the Empire, where houses still stood, but were much farther apart and secluded. Out into the trees surrounding one edge of the empire.

"Now, according to this map Twilight Sparkle gave me.." Rarity levitated it in front of her face, "it's this way!" she pointed with one hoof.

"Tally ho!" Rainbow Dash said absently, kicking off into the air and scouting ahead. Rarity and Sombra followed, the latter not saying much to the former.

After a moment he felt like he was being gawped at, and sure enough, Rarity was staring at him, scribbling something on the notepad she’d pulled from her saddlebags.

"What are you DOING?!" he snapped.

"Notes." she said vaguely. Suppressing his fury, he tuned her out and kept walking.

Then a shadow passed over the sun, and a searing sound tore overhead. They both instinctively ducked.

"What was THAT?!" Rarity screeched. Sombra froze, dread seeping into his bones.

"Something bad.." he muttered. A growl emanated from his throat "it’s here to feed!"

"What’re you on about?" Rarity asked, But she was startled by the stark FEAR in Sombra’s deep red eyes.

Then they heard a scream from up ahead.

"Rainbow Dash! Hold on darling!" Rarity took off in that direction, and Sombra followed after.

They skidded into a clearing that ended at a cliff top. And stared.

A black, seething MASS had Rainbow Dash in its clutches. She was kicking and shouting, even biting it, trying to get free.

"Let her go you beast!" Rarity levitated a rock and lobbed it at the thing. It retaliated by shooting dark spears of its gelatinous body at her; she screamed and ran away, dodging aside so it hit a tree instead.

But the thing wasn’t daunted. It’d sensed another to feed from, and it wasn’t giving up. With those two nearby, it didn’t even notice Sombra.

He looked from Rainbow Dash, who was all but wrapped up by the thing; to the terrified Rarity, who was backing up against a tree, tears in her eyes as she lobbed everything in range at the grasping darkness.

It was the same sensation as in his dream; that deep-down unsettling feeling. Gut instinct said to destroy it.

The more he stared at the creature, the more he was sure he could see a solidity at its core. He raged internally about Celestia locking down his magic. How did she expect him to fight without any of his dark power?! The only thing he could do was levitate. Casting about, he found a sturdy, sharp-edged tree branch he could use as a spear.

With a deep throated roar, unleashing every bit of anger he’d felt these last few days since waking up in this world, he charged. The stick pierced the swirling darkness, hitting the floating core. It shook, a crack opening in it, and it emitted a force that made the cliff shake. The darkness split apart, releasing Rainbow Dash, and receding from Rarity.

It withdrew into the core, which then shuddered and emitted a shockwave. The force cracked the cliff edge, sending huge chunks scattering down. Including the part Sombra stood on. He tried to scramble back, but the ground dropped away beneath him. His metal clad hooves scrabbled for purchase on the crumbling cliff edge, the rest of his body hanging out over the drop.

The crystal core shuddered again, and he could see it reforming.

"No you don’t!" he snarled. Instinct took over again, and before he could question the sense of the idea, he’d pushed away from the cliff, grasping the core between his hooves. He clutched it to his chest as he fell down and down...

He thought he heard shouting above him, but couldn’t tell what it said. The ground was rushing up to meet him and - CRASH.

He landed amidst a copse of trees, bouncing from branch to branch to ground. At last he hit the forest floor, and the core bounced out of his grasp, ricocheting into a rock and this time truly shattering with a loud BOOM. A wisp of dark fire flared out from it, then it faded. He lay, panting for breath, just staring dazedly at the sun light shining through the trees above him. His injured foreleg throbbed agonisingly.

As much as he wanted to sleep, he knew he had to get up.

Out of the corner of his eye he seen something else sparkling..

Back at the cliff edge, Rarity was really panicking. Rainbow Dash had fainted once she hit the grass. She was out cold. And Sombra had fallen off the incline.

"Oh no...oh what do I do? This is THE. WORST. THING," she cried tearfully "please wake up Rainbow Dash!!"

But Rainbow Dash remained oblivious, dead to the world.

Rarity was debating running for help, when she heard rustling off to her left. She screamed, levitating a stone in case it was-

But she dropped it when she seen a battered, bleeding Sombra limping in her direction.

"It's you," she said, actually relieved, "I thought you were that thing!"

Sombra looked from her to Rainbow Dash.

"We have to get out of here." he said simply. "it's gone, but there’s no sane reason to stay here a moment longer."

"But Rainbow Dash is...I can't..." Rarity was on the verge of tears again.

“We can send somepony back-”

“ABANDON HER?! Oh goodness, no!” Rraity drew herself up to her full height. “I do NOT abandon my friends!!”

Sombra sighed, anger rising. He just wanted to get out of here, NOW, so that meant…

He hesitated a moment longer, before irritably blurting "Argh, FINE! Put her on my back, I will carry her."

“Wha...you will?" Rarity stammered.

"We have no other option." He said coldly.

He crouched down so Rarity could use her magic and her hooves to nudge Rainbow Dash onto his back. The dozing pony gave a shiver, and Rarity frowned.

She looked at the torn, fur lined cloak Sombra wore.

"Uh, mind if I...borrow that..?" she asked. Sombra gave her a funny look, but at that moment he didn’t care. His injuries hurt too much for him to give a dang if this pony wanted his cloak for some reason. Focusing his meagre magic he unlatched the metal clasp, and Rarity wrapped Rainbow Dash up in the soft fabric. She still didn’t budge an inch towards waking, however.

"Now let's get the hay out of here!" Rarity shuddered, "and fast!" Sombra sighed tiredly, but set off in the direction they’d come.

As they ran, she caught sight of his cutie mark. A trio of red crystal in a fan formation.

"Wow.." she said.

Sombra didn’t seem to notice, just stared ahead as they sped towards the crystal city.

They attracted quite some attention as they ran as fast as they could through the city. Every step made Sombra’s aching leg twinge painfully, but he kept running.

As they approached the palace doors, they seen Twilight Sparkle in conversation with Applejack. Both turned at Rarity’s cries.

"Oh my...Rainbow Dash!" Twilight Sparkle raced over "what happened?!"

“Oh, it was just beastly...there was this...THING in the forest..oh!" Rarity looked ready to faint.

"Let's get you inside..."

Applejack ran to fetch the doctor, while Rarity, Twilight Sparkle and Sombra got Rainbow Dash onto the nearest couch.

"What happened Rarity..?" Twilight Sparkle asked

Rarity shivered, where to start...

From the side, Sombra just watched them. He’d heard compassion and fear in Rarity’s voice when she’d cried for her friend. Again, that kindness…

He was startled a second later as the doctor, with Applejack and Pinkie Pie not far behind, ran in. He backed up quick, seeing them crowd around their friend. Fluttershy was only seconds behind them, carrying a basket of bottled water and bandages for the doctor.

Deciding he was best off leaving them to treat the fainted Rainbow haired pony, he moved silently away. His mind was racing. What WAS that thing he’d attacked? It’d felt...ugh...even to his heart, that thing was abhorrent. He stopped, realising the blue stone in the choker Celestia had bound to him was glowing. Then the pain speared his heart again and he crumpled to the shiny tiled floor.

Back in the room, Rainbow Dash stirred as the doctor wrapped her bruises in bandages infused with healing herbs. Twilight Sparkle opened a bottle of water and held it up for her to drink. Once she’d gulped the whole thing down, she hurriedly asked.

"Rarity-"

“Right here darling.." the shaken pony was wrapped in as blanket enjoying a cup of sweet tea.

"What WAS that thing?" Rainbow Dash bleated.

"I don’t know. But it was simply HORRID. Ugh, I couldn’t bare for it to even touch me.."

"Trust me, you wouldn’t want it to! It felt slimy." Rainbow Dash pulled a face as she sat up. Then she noticed the torn, shredded cloak she was wrapped in "hay, isn’t this-?"

“Yes.." Rarity said in a daze "it’s Sombra’s...."

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow.

"He carried you back here.." Rarity added "I wasn’t strong enough, and I didn’t want to leave you, so he told me to put you on his back."

The whole GROUP stared.

"I seen his cutie mark," Rarity added in a light tone "it’s quite pretty!"

"Ooh! What is it?" Pinkie Pie asked "something colourful?"

Rarity described it as she’d seen it, the red crystals.

"Where is he, just askin'?" Applejack blinked around her "coulda sworn I seen 'im!"

"I’ll go looky!" Pinkie Pie bounded out of the room.

"Well, I’m glad you’re alright Rainbow Dash," Twilight Sparkle hugged her friends "you too, Rarity. What did you see?"

They were about to launch into a joint tale when-

"Eeeeeeee! Girls!!" it was Pinkie Pie. They all shared looks and bolted outside into the corridor.

Pinkie Pie was a few meters away, at a point where multiple corridors intersected. She was crouching beside an unconscious Sombra. There was a speckling of blood by his side.

Twilight Sparkle gasped, and Fluttershy instantly ran back for the doctor.

"Whoa...he don’t look so good." Applejack paled.

Sombra had clearly taken quite a battering. His sides were covered with small cuts and lacerations.

The doctor came running back, with Fluttershy, three guards and a stretcher in tow. They got Sombra onto it, but he didn’t wake up, only gasping in pain as they moved him off the floor.

"To the sickbay, stat!" the doctor ordered the three guards with the stretcher.

"Did that thing attack him too?" Pinkie Pie asked Rarity. She looked wide eyed again.

"No, but he attacked IT," Rarity flashed back to the fight "he just charged right at it, did something to it. I didn’t see what! All I know is that thing suddenly disappears, and I see him fall off the edge of the incline!"

"Whoa...no wonder he’s so beat up..." Applejack said at last.

"We'll have to ask him what happened when he’s awake." Twilight Sparkle said soberly. In the meantime they went to report to Celestia.

She was shocked to hear about the thing in the woods, and surprised by Sombra’s actions.

"He...I think he saved us...?" Rainbow Dash said at last, obviously shocked. To her, this did NOT compute with what she thought she understood about Sombra.

"He got quite beaten up..." Fluttershy said.

"He will be alright," Celestia assured her "and it seems I may have been wrong, perhaps his heart isn’t all blackened by hatred."

"I think that shard is having an effect!" Rarity piped up.

"Perhaps it is.." Celestia smiled faintly "there is hope yet, for him.”

Author's Note

x__X Dyslexia + slightly useless word processing software = A PAIN. I hope to sanity i got all the typos this time!

My first fanfic for MLP. Enjoy!

1/4/15 - Re-worked parts and added line breaks.

Darkness & Decisions

The Crystal Bard was woken by the frantic ruckus the Prince and Princesses return had caused.

Curious, he slipped out into the halls, and bumped into Shining Armor. The Prince told him what’d happened, and the Bard felt a surge of pity for Sombra's condition. So he picked up a book he'd been reading and toddled along to the study where Sombra was being kept.

The doctor was surprised when the Bard stuck his head round the door, shyly asking if he could see Sombra.

"I don’t think its-" the Doc began, but Sombra spoke softly, having been awake for several minutes.

"Please...let him in..." he croaked. The Bard toddled in, setting down close by the Prince.

"Shining Armor told me...mhwrr....you were ill. Would it help if I...mwrr...read to you?"

Sombra got the feeling this little creatures voice might just help distract him from the pain. So he managed to gather a smile, and nodded.

The doctor made him drink another cup of the sweet-tasting tea as the Bard settled down by the fire and began to read.

Its voice was wonderful, soothing. Sombra felt his mind detach from the pains of his body, and he began to drift asleep after awhile, lulled asleep by the melodic voice.

The doctor was relieved to see this seemed a much lighter, happier state of sleep. He thanked the Bard, who happily curled up in a corner with one of the blankets. He seemed quite fond of Sombra....

He felt heavy-limbed, like the black crystal had wormed its way into his very BONES. And so it was just nearing sunset, a day after the return, when things got crazy. A day spent in and out of consciousness, feeling his magic slowly, painstakingly, replenish itself..

When Luna’s reign began, he dozed off...

He realised a split second after awaking in pitch darkness, that something was wrong.

"Princess Luna..?" he asked hesitantly, as this was how she'd appeared last time to bring him to that memory "have you found a new memory?"

“No.." a sibilant voice hissed "but I’ve found some OLD ones...!"

Sombra whirled, seeing a pair of leering yellow eyes staring at him.

"W-what's...?" he stammered.

"You’re not cured yet, little Prince. How shall I say this; my bite is far far worse than my bark if you catch my drift.."

Sombra began to feel sick. So the variant of the infection he'd received was a different strain to that used in the initial infection.

"Now its time for you to remember EVERYTHING. All those times I seen your dreams, you think I didn’t notice the skeletons in the closet? So much darkness, buried so deep..."

Sombra tried to force himself to wake up, but felt as if he was trapped, locked away.

"Nuh-uh..." the shadow sneered "you’re not getting away so easy...I’m not done with you..."

"Give it up!" Sombra snapped "I’ve seen your world, and I will NOT allow it to happen to this one!"

"Admirable, and I’ve come to accept you're so stubborn you’ll never listen to reason. Not while you have that kind of power anyway..."

“What’re you talking about?" Sombra said uneasily.

"Oh you’ll see...meanwhile, I'll leave you in the company of your deepest, darkest memories. Enjoy, little Prince.."

"Get back here!" Sombra raged, lunging for it, but it vanished.

"You see, I don’t JUST take their energy from them, sometimes I take knowledge too..." the disembodied voice laughed before fading. Sombra stood stock still in the silence, his heart thudding. What was it on about?

Then he was hit by a sudden deluge of pain, and he crumpled to his knees with a strangled sound.

"NO..!" he shook his head, eyes shut, trying to push it back. But the wave became a tsunami, and he could no more fight it then he could fight his father back when he was a foal! Like a demented slide-show the images tore through his head, seeming to blur yet be crystal clear at that same time.

Memories of what he'd done during his takeover. Enslaving the ponies, being a heartless beast, ruling his own staff with iron hoof. Having everything that reminded him of his "father", adoptive anyway, sealed away beneath the castle. Expressions of fear in the ponies eyes, as they hauled carts of crystals and gems, while he pored obsessively over the crystal heart. Determined to have its secrets for his own. The taint of insanity, growing and growing as time went by, until he no longer seemed himself!

---Stop it!! This is...I cant stand it..-- he felt like his brain was overloading. He'd known these memories were here, yet being unable to fully view them had led him to believe he could change who he was. But now he felt that hope fluctuating, bending under the onslaught.

Then came the final battle against Luna and Celestia. How they’d come for him, tried to reason with him. When that’d failed, they’d fought him instead. Sealing him away beneath the ice and darkness. But not before he'd unleashed a final spell, hiding the Empire for the next thousand years.

He struggled to breathe, his chest aching so badly it felt like his heart was going to stop. But there was one final scene to watch.

His defeat at the hooves of Twilight Sparkle and company. How he'd battled Shining Armor, tried to corrupt the empire once more. Seeing the crystal heart swooped away from him by Cadance. That bright blue light that’d enveloped him, and his memories ended there. To begin again when Celestia and the others summoned him NOW.

All those times that creature had been haunting his dreams, his nightmares, it’d seen glimpses of his memories. And with the pilfered knowledge it’d taken from its victims, it’d learnt about magic in this world, about spells. And it had woven a dark creation of it's very own. One designed to rip apart the defenses Sombra had erected, hiding his past, the worst memories.

It had seemed the unicorn had been on his own path to self destruction, revisiting those haunted memories at his own uncontrolled behest. Tormenting himself night after night. He'd started to fade, and the creature had hoped...

But then he'd changed, his fury and spirit re-lit, something had begun. He'd regained that dark magic, so similar to its own. Yet this creature, this "unicorn" was adapting, learning. His magic modifying with each attack, as he seemingly learnt more and more. Those other ponies were accepting this dark, twisted creature as one of their own, which spelled disaster for its invasion.

So it was with a perverse glee it’d finally seen the meddlesome pony drawn into ITS realm, along with that dark blue one. The bite had started to become infected the moment Sombra set foot in its world, as the poison within called out to the one that’d created it.

As Sombra had leapt for the exit, it'd sliced at his back leg, attaching a small shred of itself to the wound, infiltrating the host body. It made the invader feel sick with fury how this wretched creature had gained so much love from them, despite being an abomination.

Now it intended to make Sombra suffer, then take from him what it wanted.

Its grin widened as it heard Sombra's cries of pain back in the real world, as his mind was under assault from his own past, in his dreams!

But enough fun, it was time to launch phase two. His scouts were on their way. And with their early warning system effectively disabled, the castle was vulnerable.

Almost.

It hadn’t counted on the goggles Sombra had given Princess Luna. She was sat atop the tower, staring rigidly into the distance, anger stewing inside at how that thing had nearly gotten her and Sombra killed! She would see that it paid for that!

It was this intense focus that meant she actually spotted the dark shapes as they whooshed silently towards the palace. Her heart jolted, and she got up, fleeing back downstairs bellowing in her equestrian voice for everypony to "wake up NOW!"

A mere minute after and the onslaught began.

Celestia was woken by the sound of a window shattering. She bolted up from her bed, magic at the ready. So when one of those things came barreling through the door, it was blasted right back out of it by a torrent of golden magic!

Two guards came running to her soon as she stepped outside. One of them gave her a spare pair of goggles so she could see the cores.

Pelting down an expansive hallway, she nearly collided with Twilight and friends!

"Where are they all coming from?" Rarity gasped.

"I have no idea, where’s Sombra?" Celestia asked "an invasion of this magnitude and nothings exploded yet, it seems odd..." but for all the brevity, she was deeply concerned.

There was a split second silence, then Pinkie Pie suddenly blurted;

"Its after HIM!!" she cried, her whole body seeming to fidget, something the others recognized. It was the "Pinkie Sense" warning signs of a "right big doozy!".

"Find the doozy Pinkie Pie!" Rarity took charge, trying to steer Pinkie Pie in some semblance of a direction. In the end, this actually WORKED, and Pinkie Pie took off in a series of lurching jumps and bounds, heading towards the throne room...

During all this, Sombra had been under assault from the creatures mental bombardment...

It appeared in the dream world, where Sombra's shivering form lay curled up on the ground.

"Time to just...give in, isn't it?" it jeered.

Sombra's mind tried, at a base level, to object, but what Sombra had just been put through rendered it mute. So much fear, anger, and heartache all at once had left the stallion dazed and susceptible to influence. The pain inside echoed the creatures words.

"Come now, it can all end now. All you have to do is be shot of that power and you won't feel this pain any more.." it said in a mocking, kind voice. It stepped forward, titling the pony's chin so he couldn't avoid the creatures gaze. And smirked when it seen the last threads of resistance snapping, a dullness sweeping over Sombra's mind.

"You can rejoin your father...I’m sure he misses you.." it lied, knowing the pony that'd given Sombra that band was close to Sombra's heart. Which meant he could use him to break it!

It worked. All the fight seemed to abandon Sombra, and he just stared blankly up at the creature.

"Now, awaken...we have much to do.." it sneered, before vanishing.

Back in the physical world, Sombra opened his eyes. He got up from the bed, his movements mechanical, like a puppet.

He walked on auto pilot to the throne room. Everypony had been lured elsewhere by the tactical strikes of the lead creature's clones.

Soon as he entered the doors slammed behind him. He paid them no need, walking into the centre of the room and just...stopping there.

"Excellent..." the creature stepped out from behind an ornate crystal guard statue. These had been recovered from one of the many hidden chambers not long before Sombra's return. Their pretty colors deemed appropriate enough for the throne room. Decided to have been from before Sombra's occupation of the castle, which was then confirmed by Sombra, who'd pointed out he recognised them as belonging to his father, the four statues now stood two either side of the room.

Sombra didn't speak, he couldn't. Admiring its handiwork in the unicorns dulled expression, it cackled impatiently and gestured at the band around Sombra's leg.

"A most suitable container, it will suffice..."

Using its own warped imitation of equestrian magic, it unlatched the band, floating it in front of Sombra. The jewel caught the light and glinted, but Sombra didn't blink.

"Surrender your darkness, your power and you can finally rest..." it layered a false tone of kindness over its poisonous words.

Sombra at first looked like he was about to agree, then he suddenly stopped, giving a little shiver.

"N-no..I wont.." he said softly.

"Oh too bad!" It spat, all pretense of kindness vanishing "because I’m through ASKING!!"

So now it lashed out at Sombra, slamming him back into one of the statues, the sharp edges of its crystal spear slicing a neat cut across his left ear before he crumpled to the floor, pinning his already injured leg beneath him..

Before he could get up, a pain like a crushing landslide hit him, pinning him where he lay.

His tormentor stood there, grinning perversely at its triumph. As it forcefully extracted Sombra's magic, channelling it into the band. To absorb so much power at once would spell trouble, so it merely needed to store it all in this band, and it could make its escape and leave these pathetic creatures to try recover their precious defender!

At last it'd taken everything it could sense from Sombra. It noted with curiosity that the tri-crystal marking on the pony’s flank had faded and vanished. As too had the fiery crimson red in his eyes, dulling them to a faint reddish grey.

"So, this power is part of your core? Interesting...."

It held up the leg band, admiring the sheer volume of power within. Unable to resist, gloating at its plan to occupy the rest of the castle with its legions of decoys, it fed part of its own power into the band, to begin converting this mesmerizing power to its maximum destructive potential....

From his position in a crumpled heap at the statues base, Sombra watched this with a detached sense of emotion. His power, what was...HIM. Was gone. He felt empty, bereft, even the pain of his injuries paled before the mental horror of having his power ripped out of him!

"I may as well end you now! After all, who's going to have any use for you now you don't have your little party tricks-!"

"Y'all must be thicker than two short planks glued togetha with stupid glue if that's what yer thinkin'!"

It stopped mid -gloat as its spells on the door broke and the ponies streamed in, the angry orange and yellow one running her mouth!

"Yeah!" Pinkie Pie glowered "now give that BACK, Mr Thick, Thicketty Thick of Thicktown, Thickania!"

While they shot verbal barbs at the creature, Rainbow Dash looked over at Sombra. She felt a surge of panic when she seen the vanished cutie mark, as well as the dulled expression in his eyes. Even as she watched, he looked about to drift asleep, eyes closing-

"HAY!!" She drew in a deep breath and bellowed as loudly as she could, "PEE!"

What was this blue bobble on about? The shadow pony ignored her, figuring if she wanted to waste her time trying to get her monstrous friends attention by being potty-mouthed, she could go right ahead!

What it didn't see was a faint glimmer in Sombra's eyes. How he lifted his head, just a little, one ear perking up a fraction.

"Yeah!" Pinkie Pie copped on, somehow pulling a cheerleader outfit from thin air and chanting "Pee for Ponyville!"

"If this is the best you've got, no wonder you needed a degenerate monster to fight your battles!" The creature scoffed, still not realizing the effect all this madness was having on Sombra.

"The monster here is you alone!" Celestia declared, as she and Twilight Sparkle summoned their Alicorn magic "What we needed was a warrior, what we got was a friend!"

These words pierced the haze alongside Pinkie and Rainbow Dash's hollering, and the rainbow haired pegasus was relieved to see another spark behind those eyes.

Celestia and Twilight fired blasts at the creature, who waved the band tauntingly at them as it shot back swiftly.

"Uh-uh...you destroy this..."

Twilight Sparkle hesitated. She and Celestia knew if that band broke, the explosion of power that followed could do some serious damage!

"But I’m afraid you’ll have a hard time getting through to your "friend"," it sneered "See, I’ve left him in something of a mess, convinced his power going bye-bye will finally rid him of this burden! What you called your friend is lost under all his worst memories- deluded little fool, as if friends can help something like him!!"

Unable to refrain, it let out a mad laugh of triumph.

"In a way..." a soft, gravelly voice cut its speech short, and everypony's gaze swiveled to fix on Sombra. He'd raised his head a little, ears perked just enough to give them hope...

"You're right..." the sentence seemed to take an immense effort to force out.

"What?!" it spat, glaring absently at him as it strode over "has your mind entirely gone?!"

"Maybe..I am a fool....but you...YOU....returned those memories." his voice seemed to grow a little stronger, as he tried to get up "ALL of them."

With a sudden movement he lashed out, kicking the base of the statue behind him with as much strength as he could. With a whirr and a THUNK, the statue suddenly slammed the spear down. The force of Sombra's kick had destroyed the mechanism, which had been intended just to perform a simple salute. Now, with the safety broken, the spear came swinging down like a guillotine. Until now, he'd forgotten about these things...

"Wha-" was all it managed as it tried to get out of the way of the sudden attack. But its desire to gloat over Sombra was its own downfall. The blade slammed into its shoulder, driving it into the plush flooring. The band bounced out of it's grip, and it snarled in fury. Reverting to its blobby, amorphous shape, it tried to lunge for the band, but Sombra's friends weren’t about to let it have it!

"Yeeeehhaaww!" Applejack whooped, snagging the band with a rope lasso, then bounding up and catching it in her mouth.

"Catch!" she called, her voice muffled, spinning round and throwing the band with all her strength.

Sombra seen it arc through the air, and all those little sparks lit by Rainbow Dash and Pinkie combined to create enough fire to get his life back! A last ditch effort, and he bolted to his feet, lunging for the glimmering object. He was aware of shadowy claws raking at his leg, tearing the bandages covering the first wound, but when his hooves hit ground, the power-suffused band was held tightly in his mouth!

The shadow creature howled in fury but its angry cries were overridden by an almost deafening boom and a flash of light. Everypony was forced back a few steps, shielding their eyes.

"You...." Sombra's voice was laden with fury and anger. When the glare from the light explosion faded, the band was back around his leg, the purple jewel gleaming.

As if determined to take him down one way or another, with or without the stolen power, it lunged at him.

Furious beyond belief, Sombra pounced, pulling the crystal spear free form the statue and using it to impale his tormentor in one swing. The core shattered, with a deafening boom!

Everypony sighed in relief. Sombra closed his eyes. Now the threat to his life was gone..

Then he felt the situation hit him. His memories. Oh so many of them, of the worst times...and something else was there. He felt cold, like ice had invaded his veins as it sunk in...

"Aww yeah!" Rainbow Dash whooped, zooming over to where Sombra stood "way ta go-oof!"

Because what she hadn’t noticed was that the reason he was standing so still wasn't quiet contemplation, it was sheer agony. As she took off in his direction, sparks of black electricity crackled across the band, and he hunched over in pain. The floor shook, and smoky grey crystal shot up in what almost looked like a barrier around him. Which Rainbow Dash, luckily on a slow speed, bumped right into.

"Whoa.." she shook her head, "what's wrong?"

She frowned when she realized he wasn't answering her.

"Sombra...?" Celestia sensed something was off.

"Get back....miss Dash..." Sombra managed to force out.

"What? why?" Rainbow Dash asked worriedly "we know what your magic’s like, we're cool-"

"No, you don’t get it...." Sombra looked up at last "some of its....its power.....has already gotten in....I cant..."

He shook his head. He couldn’t focus, his head was overloaded!

"Uhm, darlings, I do hate to crash the reunion party, but we have company!!" Rarity cried, wide purple eyes fixed on an encroaching tide of shadows billowing down the hall towards them.

"Oh my...." Fluttershy squeaked.

"I thought that thing was the leader, how-?!" Twilight Sparkle asked, even as Applejack kicked the doors shut, and Celestia barricaded it with a spell!

"There’s....more than one..." Sombra forced out. Still hovering above the spikes, Rainbow Dash cocked her head at him.

"C'mon man!" Rainbow Dash waggled a hoof at him "stay cool! We got this! We'll find the guy!"

The door shuddered on its hinges, and Twilight Sparkle joined Celestia in trying to set up a spell to push them back!

Sombra closed his eyes, there was too much power racing through his head, he couldn’t think....

Then an idea battled through the haze. He felt a spark of hope...

Pinkie Pie scaled Rainbow Dash's tail to perch on the spikes, and Applejack scrambled up the rough edged spikes to peer worriedly at him.

Then he vanished in a flare of flame.

"Sombra?" Rarity asked.

"Where he go?" Pinkie Pie said with a frown.

Sombra reappeared on the tower, where he and Luna had held their myriad lessons and conversations. He closed his eyes, actually drawing the excess power into himself. Had anypony been there to see it, they would've seen the tall, imposing unicorn glow a blinding purple, then, with a rumble that shook the building, a pulse of light exploded out, flowing down the crystal castle, its colorful facets reflecting the purple light.

The whole building seemed to rumble, and everypony glanced around, at first fearful this was some new attack, when they recognized that color, a rich purple. Dark magic.

"Sombra.." Shining Armor sighed in relief. Beside him, Cadance watched the shadow creatures explode into harmless piles of dust and core fragments. The final controller had managed to get into the heart of the castle, on the verge of attacking the guards trying to protect Cadance and Shining Armor.

As the light faded, everypony sighed in relief, but it was tinged with worry. Those things were becoming ever more determined.

Back atop the tower Sombra was standing stock still, staring into space. He'd done it, he'd fought back. But he still felt hollow, like something was deeply wrong. Everything felt tangled up, so many threads he just couldn’t connect...

He'd known these memories were here. The worst ones. His time HERE, during the lunacy of his reign.

Images raced through his head, so solid and crystal clear. He stared out over the empire, recalling how it'd looked when he was here. At his feet, the ground seemed to drain of all color, and grey crystalline frost began forming. It rapidly spread, covering the door to the tower, climbing the pillars and racing outwards.

Luna, sensing something was off, had flown up towards the top of the palace. She'd watched the purple light encompass the massive crystal building, and sighed in relief. Once more, Sombra's intricately crafted spells had done the job!

Then she noticed he was just standing there, and she seen the grey crystal starting to form. She flew down, landing in front of him. She spotted with a frown that his cutie mark was gone. How had that happened? He clearly had his magic, so how-?

"Sombra!" she barked. He didn’t seem to see her, just stared. She was reminded of how he'd gone into shock that time he'd put the restraining spell back on that choker.

"They're back.." he said dully.

"Who is? Those creatures? But thy power just eradicated them, what is it you fear?"

"Not them.." he said, a heartbreaking sadness lacing his words "the memories...."

It took a second for Luna to realize what he meant.

"Of thy time before?" she asked.

"Its so clear....until now its been so blurred, as if they weren’t real. But now, its all come to the surface.." he gave a bitter laugh "the truth hurts, yet I should not be so surprised-"

ZAP. He jolted slightly as a bolt of magic zapped him lightly.

He broke out of his daze a little, blinking cluelessly at Luna.

"Cease that talk right this instant!" she bellowed, full volume "Did we not already cover this many times before with thee? It is true thou shouldn’t be surprised, for thou hadst already known of thy past, of thy previous actions. Seeing a few images should not sway thee so easily!"

Her voice dropped to normal levels "this is not the Sombra that taught us to do THIS!" She summoned her dark magic, looking directly at him "we feared ourself after what we did, much as you still do. But now gaze upon us, we wield only a fraction of the power thou has, but we do it with a clear sight!"

Sombra blinked at her as she walked over to him.

"Sister told us of how you brought us back safe and sound. While we were a little angry at first, we realized you were right, we should not have used so much dark magic so early. But we will not give up, if nought else, we are determined to become better!" she stared fiercely at him "without thy work, this would never have come to happen. We will not allow you to tarnish that!"

"But..."

"None of these "butts" you speak of!" Luna raised her voice again, even as she made the dark magic fade again "We do not wish to hear any more of them."

While she'd been speaking, the crystals spread had slowed, less of them forming over the pillars and ceiling. They were a dark grey, like the ones Twilight Sparkle said he'd summoned during his attempt to take the empire once more.

--His old spells have returned, but he does not need to necessarily fear them. What was once used for evil CAN be put to good use. He is living proof of this!--

She was about to voice this opinion when she seen Sombra sway on his hooves and dove forward just in time to stop him hitting the cold hard floor. She set him down carefully, wondering what to do..

Then the door to the tower flew open at last, spraying shards of black crystal frost everywhere. Her big sister charged in, followed by Twilight and friends.

"Luna.." Celestia was relieved to see her unharmed, but concerned by Sombra's condition.

"His memories, sister.." Luna looked concerned "we fear it has triggered a second fearful relapse.."

"Oh dear..." Fluttershy whispered "that shadow thing...."

"It uncovered the one thing it knew would hurt him." Applejack's tone was furious "All those times he was fightin' it, it must’ve been studying 'im.."

"Then it went for the most painful thing ever....IM GONNA KICK YOUR FLANK YOU HEAR ME!!" Rainbow hollered this last bit at the sky.

"Volume, Dashie!" Pinkie Pie winced.

"Sorry..." Rainbow Dash sighed despondently "but, it looked like it hurt bad, you seen that look in his eyes when we charged in!"

"If it weren't for you hopping about and calling out as you did, I fear the situation could have been worse," Celestia said "whatever the significance of this "pee for Ponyville", it got through. There will be a way to help, and we will find it!"

They got Sombra to his bed, where the doctor re bandaged the injury from before. Pinkie Pie forlornly tied a balloon shaped like a diamond crystal to the bedpost. Then she poked him on the nose, declaring "HONK."

Luna watched them all, thinking of a way to help, then at last it hit her. His dreams!

Once everypony was gone, she launched into action.

When she opened her eyes, it was to a surreal landscape. She was inside what looked like a massive crystal cavern, made of that same dark grey crystal. As she walked further she seen dark grey threads, almost like ribbons, coming from the circumference of the cave, all heading for once spot.

"Sombra!" she called. He was sat on the cold crystal ground, the ribbons were wrapped around his legs and chest. He looked up as she called out, and seemed surprised to see her.

"Princess...?" he asked.

"What is happening?" Luna asked, looking at the walls of the cave. She could see flickers of memories playing across the walls, now she looked closely. Memories of fighting her and Celestia were showing now, a blinding light sealing him away in the darkness. Then it repeated.

"Stop!" she commanded, but Sombra shook his head, wincing afresh as a different set started to play. This time his defeat at the hooves of Cadance and the crystal heart. As Luna stood there, another coil of insidious dark ribbon appeared from one of the facets of the cave, lashing around his leg. He made a desperate sound and tried to shake free, but this had the opposite effect.

Rather than freeing the ribbons, it seemed to tighten their grip, and there was an ominous cracking sound. Luna stared in bewilderment as a fissure began creeping up the wall.

"Cease they flailing!" she realized "thou art only trapping thyself deeper in this!"

Sombra quit moving, looking up at her. He was literally bound in place by these memories and visions.

"I cant stop them.." he said faintly.

"Thy old memories are starting to bleed into thy current ones. We must separate them!" Luna stated. She had an idea, but it meant leaving Sombra alone briefly.

"We will return!" she promised. He nodded dully, resting his head back on his forelegs as she vanished.

She instantly woke up Twilight and friends, and told them of her plan.

"But there is one more," she said cryptically, “we will be right back!"

She was gone several minutes, then she reappeared holding a certain little filly cradled in one hoof. Bright Spark gave a smile and waved at them.

"Course!" Applejack chuckled "who better?"

"Hewwo Pwincess Twiwight and fwiends!" Bright Spark looked up at Luna "where's Sombwa, Pwincess Woona?"

"He is trapped, in a very bad nightmare...." Luna said simply "his own memories are holding him hostage there, and each time he tries to free himself they drag him further in. It is up to us to get him out."

"Consider it done!" Rainbow Dash said in determination.

With a nod, Luna closed her eyes and transported them all into Sombra's nightmare world.

But things had worsened in the time she was gone. The floor was covered in sharp points of crystal, a sign Sombra's mental defenses were weakening. Bright Spark seen the dark ribbons and her eyes widened.

"Those are mean things.." she said softly. Sombra could be seen, curled up on the icy floor, the darkness and ribbons holding him prisoner.

"They are," Luna said quietly "the creatures from the darkness somehow took these memories from the deepest depths of his mind and forced them onto him. They now threaten to take the good memories his time here NOW hath created!"

"How do we get there?" Rainbow Dash asked "I mean, I know a bunch of us can FLY over, but what about everypony else?" she looked at her friends.

Bright Spark thought, then had an idea! She closed her eyes, concentrating her magic-

POP. A floating candy colored bubble appeared. She bounded onto it, bouncing up and down experimentally, like a space hopper.

"That filly’s a genius!" Pinkie Pie declared "this IS a dream world, so.."

She concentrated reaaallly hard. And with a loud POP, a big balloon appeared. She tied the end around her tail and slowly drifted up to float alongside Rainbow Dash and Bright Spark.

"Pinkie logic, who'd a thunk it?" Applejack shook her head. But she did her best, in the end summoning a floating apple.

"Eh...close enough..." she clambered on.

For Rarity, it was a floating footstool. When everypony looked at her, she shrugged "I guess my dreams have taste!" she declared as she sat down and floated alongside them.

Rainbow Dash and the other winged ponies helped to steer their friends as they drifted over to Sombra.

He looked up as they approached, and on seeing their mode of transport he seemed to break free of his sadness a little.

"Sombwa!" Bright Spark bounced over, setting her bubble down in front of him, and reaching up to tap his nose "boop!".

"Little one?" he asked, "everypony...?"

"We'll cut you loose!" Pinkie Pie declared as she drifted absently by "just give me a second..."

Fluttershy nudged her back on course, and Luna shook her head.

Rarity was looking at the crystal facets of the cave's walls and ceiling when Bright Spark poked Sombra on the nose. She seen, for a brief second, a memory flash up. A busy marketplace, from Sombra's view. Then he looked down and seen the same little filly that was here now. She giggled and poked him on the nose. Then it was gone.

“Do that again!" Rarity called to Bright Spark. Bright Spark looked nonplussed, and poked Sombra's nose again. He blinked, feeling the urge to laugh...

Rarity smiled as she seen a new ribbon appear, only this one was a pale golden shade. She grabbed it with her magic, and called Twilight Sparkle to help steer her footstool down to where Bright Spark was.

Bright Spark took the ribbon in her teeth, and pulled it over to Sombra.

"Lift your hoof, there!" she slipped the end of the shimmering ribbon under his hoof and watched as he set it back down, holding it in place.

Rainbow Dash seen a similar spark flicker in Sombra's eyes as he looked down at the filly and the memory ribbon.

"That’s it!" she declared "We gotta get the good ones out! Think, everypony!"

"Ooh!" Pinkie Pie had a brainwave, or possibly a brainfart, it was hard to tell sometimes. "Remember that breakfast? We all sat together, you finally joined us!"

She was speaking of the morning the intervention had occurred, where Sombra had been more or less told he was their friend, they were going to help him, so he'd better get used to it! He'd also finally started to get his appetite back!

"Woohoo!" Pinkie Pie cheered as a coil of ribbon seemed to magically appear from the wall where the memory was playing. She grabbed it and kicked off from the wall, whizzing by a little too fast and bouncing backside first off the other wall before Rainbow Dash got her under control and steered her in the right direction.

Again, Bright Spark tucked the memory ribbon under Sombra's hoof.

"When you first put on your new cloak!" Rarity remembered how surprised yet pleased he'd been "and you gave me that lovely gem?"

Sombra knew. The first real act of generosity he'd ever displayed. To thank her.

"That's it!" Rarity said in delight as she took the new ribbon and passed it to Twilight Sparkle, watching as it was added to the others.

"U-uhm...the festival...you brought all the wood to build the stalls?" Fluttershy hovered by Sombra, sparking another glimmer in his eyes, and a new ribbon uncurled from the ceiling, falling down so she could reach up and take it.

"See?" Bright Spark said, rubbing her cheek against Sombra's "There's lotsa nice memowies, you don’t need those bad ones, alwight?"

He still seemed to be having to fight to concentrate, but he was looking better!

"Pee for ponyville!" Applejack sniggered. This spawned another ribbon, which was added to the list. This one shone even more, since it was so recent.

"Making your first friend, my brother!" Twilight beamed. She'd been proud of both her brother for making the first offer of friendship, and Sombra for accepting it!

Luna thought, how could SHE help? The she had a flash of memory. She addressed Sombra.

"Recall our conversation, wherein you called us "Woona"?"

He actually smiled a little.

Luna was rewarded with another ribbon, which she brought to join the others. The six ponies were recalling more and more things they'd witnessed, the smiles, the laughs. Sombra's eventual acceptance of his inheritance! Soon there was a growing number of the good ribbons being brought back to their owner.

"See?" Luna said softly "thou has a myriad of memories that are worth fighting for, and you will make many more we are certain of it!"

"Yeah!" Bright Spark said "Pwicness Woona is wight, Sombwa!"

"And the letters from the empire!" Twilight Sparkle nodded "all asking after YOU, because they need you!"

All over the walls flowed copies of the letters he’d been sent. Asking after him, thanking him, and also praising him for what he'd done. Words he'd had trouble accepting. But there they were, and one phrase stood out in the split second flashes of memory:

"We're glad you're here."

This seemed to trigger something, for the next second golden lines of light speared through the dark ribbons, tearing them as they did. They joined up with the memory ribbons, forming so many more. The dark ribbons began to snap, their hold weakened as Sombra at last got to his feet. The golden ribbons blurred together to form one, which swirled up around his leg, replacing the old bandage with a new one of golden fabric, pinned in place with a small shard of red crystal.

All the lights lined up to from a path in Sombra's mind. A path that led back to his past, to the day when he'd gained his cutie mark. Crystals. How this ability had led him to finding out that jewel was valuable and giving it to Rarity. How he'd been given that statue of the bird made from the purple star jewel. That the Bard had thanked him for it, and accepted his apology. He'd made a new friend in that shy creature.

He closed his eyes, feeling a surge of childlike relief as the pressure in his head faded away, and he felt like he could breathe easier once more.

The others had scooted back when the light show had begun, watching in fascination all the memories flowing over the crystal caves walls. Memories of letters, of THEM, and of Bright Spark. But also, of his father, King Cloudspark.

"Look!" Twilight Sparkle cried, as there was a shimmer of light, and at last the missing cutie mark reappeared. With a final flash the walls changed, no longer grey, but a pale purple-white crystal.

The floor had returned to smooth crystal, so everypony ditched their floating seats and ran over to him.

Sombra shivered a little as he felt the sheer willpower it'd taken to accept all this take its toll. But that chill was overridden by warmth a moment later, as he sensed several bodies close by.

He opened his eyes, back to ther garnet red, seeing not just a gleeful Bright Spark crowded next to him, but everypony.

"Time to go.." Luna at last interrupted the happy scene, albeit reluctantly.

"Aww..." Pinkie Pie pouted. She poked Sombra's nose, re-declaring "Honk!".

"Sombra will require a deeper level of sleep in order to fully rest, and we cannot traverse that state...."

One by one they vanished, leaving only Luna. She approached Sombra, who still looked shaken, despite being freed.

"It will be all right." she assured him, then closed her eyes and set loose the spell to enable him to truly sleep...

She reappeared by the others, having taken Bright Spark home, standing in the library. To their surprise Celestia was there.

"Sister?" Luna asked.

"Is he all right?" Celestia asked. Luna nodded.

"Good. I was concerned, and I had a feeling you’d have a plan," Celestia smiled softly.

The ponies sat around the table to tell her what had happened.

"I don’t get it.." Rainbow Dash said at last.

"What's that?" Celestia asked.

"Why does he keep doing this to himself? Didn’t he trust us when we told him things were cool?" she looked a little bothered.

Celestia shook her head "it is not a matter of trust Rainbow Dash. At least, not with US. The one Sombra cannot trust is himself.."

“Yeah, we’ve been getting that vibe since day one!" Applejack piped up "and its mighty worryin' to see him like that."

"A great deal of his life was spent in fear and doubt, as you well know from wandering his nightmares. As our core values of hope and friendship go deep, so too do his of fear and disbelief.

He has become so accustomed to being mistreated, despised and blamed that it has become second nature to him to feel this way. Even with all of us around him, he still fears the events of his distant past. Until now, that spate of madness was the only respite he had from it, so he doesn't know where to turn. Kindness and friendship are strangers in a way. He was taught to fear and hate his power, what makes him who he is. He's been conditioned to believe he is the one solely at fault because of his magic. As a result, he subconsciously seeks to find something, anything to hold himself responsible for, to recreate those emotions, whether he realizes or not."

"You’re saying he actually tryin' ta hurt himself like this?" Applejack asked.

"I’m afraid so. As much progress as he has made, there is still far to go. Such hurdles are not conquered in one triumph." Celestia sighed softly "I think he is finding his new position painful to accept. Cadance told me of how he shies away from anypony addressing him using the new title."

"You don’t have to do that.." Luna quoted "yes, one of the guards did mentioned that to us. He said it was just for a second, but he could swear Sombra looked...scared."

"So what do we do?" Rarity asked.

"There is little we can do I’m afraid, except try to coax him away from it as best we can. We are up against a childhood of bad memories, with few good influences. And now, with his memories of his past reign here AND his subsequent sealing, I fear he may lose hope..."

Pinkie Pie sniffled, and to Celestia's surprise, her poofy pink mane made a funny thrrrrp noise and went inexplicably flat.

"But..." Pinkie moped "he doesn’t have to keep blaming himself..."

"I know...." Fluttershy patted her back kindly "its not fair..."

"There's gotta be a way, something!" Rainbow Dash decided "we have to make him see just how big an impact he's made on the ponies here! That little cutie Bright Spark has managed to do it, so we gotta do it too!"

"But how?" Twilight Sparkle asked.

"He keeps beating himself up, right? Blaming himself and thinking he's somehow only fit to take the blame? Well what if we showed him just how many ponies out there WANT to see him as the crown-princey-thing of the Empire? He hides away and doesn’t see them, so lets bring them to him!"

"How?" Luna asked. Celestia had an idea. She looked at Pinkie Pie as she casually said "well, I HAD planned for a formal ball at some point, and invite everypony possible, so they'll finally get to see him. We could push it forward, but we'd need an emergency party planner..."

Pinkie Pie's brain clocked this, her eyes widened and a sparkle returned to them.

"Ooh, can I? Pleeease Princess Celestia? Huh? Can I?"

"Of course, Twilight Sparkle tells me you are the best at parties!"

"Yayyy!" Pinkie whooped, and with a POOF, her mane fluffed back up to its full springy self "This'll be the best party EVER!"

"I can make a formal outfit.." Rarity mused "battle armor is NOT suited for a formal ball!”

"Cakes, lots of 'em!" Applejack decided.

And so they decided, in three days time, there’d be a formal ball to officially introduce the Crystal Empires crown Prince.

But first they had to tell Sombra himself...

The following day, when he came to breakfast, Shining Armor asked did he want to cancel the stadium announcement, in light of everything he'd been through?

"It cannot be delayed much more.." Sombra said softly.

"As long as you're sure…?" Shining Armor asked. Sombra merely nodded. and so it was set to go ahead.

Sombra looked withdrawn, uneasy. So far he hadn’t eaten much, to everypony's concern.

Pinkie Pie tried as long as she could to hold in her excitement, but eventually she couldn’t keep a lid on it any longer;

"Party!!"" she declared.

"Huh?" Sombra blinked at her "you want one or you’re throwing one?"

"We're ALL helping!" Pinkie Pie declared.

"I see," Sombra floated the teacup so he could take a sip, asking offhandedly "who is it for?"

Then he seen something move out of the corner of his eye and he nearly dropped the tea when he clocked Pinkie Pie was suddenly stood by his chair, staring expectantly at him.

"What? Oh no no no, there's no need for-"

Pinkie pouted, eyes big as saucers.

"It was Princess Celestia's idea," Twilight Sparkle explained "she’s a little worried the ponies here are starting to become disheartened, so she wants to throw a ball, most notably about YOU."

"Tell her it is unnecessary," Sombra sighed, trying to ignore Pinkie Pie. But when he opened his eyes again, she was now sat on the table in front of him, that sad expression growing by the second.

"Cotton Candy...." he started.

"C'mon.." Rainbow Dash shrugged "can you really say no to that face?"

Sombra didn't answer, he seemed to be trying to out-stare Pinkie Pie.

She started to sniffle and he groaned, facehoofing as he did.

"Fine." he growled crossly.

"YAYY!" Pinkie Pie whooped, all sadness gone as she bounded off the table "Fancy party! Fancy party!" she whooped.

Sombra slumped across the table "I honestly find the shadow creatures easier to outmatch.." he muttered.

"That’s our Pinkie!" Applejack said with a shrug and a grin.

Rarity hijacked Sombra for the morning in order to try out some new color schemes for a formal cloak, since it seemed he hated being without one.

He fidgeted absently as she rifled through her fabric swatches, holding up various colors and patterns.

"Is this really necessary?" he murmured.

"Yes, of course!" Rarity said, puzzled "you cant attend a formal ball wearing armor!"

"No, not that.." he said with a rueful smile "I mean, this whole business..."

"You worry too much," Rarity said "trust us, it'll be fine.."

Sombra hesitated a moment, then nodded silently. He couldn’t think of anything to say to that. After everything they done to help him, he knew he owed them this much at least.

After an hour or so, there came a knock at the door, and Shining Armor stuck his head round.

"You guys wanna come to lunch?" he had to chuckle at the sight of poor Sombra being made to stand perfectly still as Rarity worked away at the lilac-gold fabric he was draped in.

Rarity stepped back, cocked her head to one side, then nodded and smiled.

"I have it!” She removed the fabric and released poor Sombra from having to stand so still. She wrote a few things down and then followed the two stallions down to the dining hall.

Shining Armor went over a few things with Sombra about the announcement, but basically said he'd leave it to him!

The next morning, when Sombra seen the size of the stadium he felt his stomach plummet. He had to explain how a creature of shadow was manipulating his memories!

A big stage had been set up in the middle of the field. On temporary thrones sat the Princesses. Shining Armor and his guards lined the area in front of the raised stage, where a microphone stood. At said mic was a certain unicorn.

"I'll set the magnification spell, then its all yours," Cadance said to Sombra. he nodded, looking at the copies of the drawings he'd done.

The crowd settled down, and Cadance gave a brief about the upcoming ball, then explained why they’d all been called there. That they had vital information to share with everypony. And that Sombra, being the one who understood it best, was going to explain it.

Sombra took a deep breath as he heard the crowd settle down.

"Good afternoon, everypony." His voice was clipped but clear "Some of you may have heard about a fight in the market, where, with Princess Twilight Sparkle present, I engaged one of the scout creatures in a fight. In an effort to protect itself, it took on the form of a young mare:"

The first image appeared, magnified by Cadance's spell. The pale, blue haired mare.

"She is a memory, from over a thousand years ago."

Surprised murmurs whipped round the stadium.

"It would seem that, during the onset of the black crystal plague, that thing in control of those creatures was able to attack my memories, unearthing a large part of my past. From this it has a multitude of disguises, one of which has been spotted already-"

Now the image of his father was shown, and several ponies nodded and called out that they recognized it!

"I.." Sombra halted a moment, how best to assure them? "I have been over those memories many times. This is as comprehensive a list as i have been able to compile. These are the clearest memories that thing will have access to.." he nodded to Cadance, who soon had more magnified images floating in a neat row at a height where everypony could see them.

Whispers ran around the stadium. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were flitting about with microphones, so the public could ask questions. Rainbow Dash soared over to one mare now.

"Who was that scary black stallion? I seen him, only briefly, but I couldn’t help noticing a resemblance-" Rainbow Dash had moved the mic slightly out of range and was giving the mare a frown.

"Its all right miss Dash," Sombra said "if its that obvious, I should explain. That particular memory..." he sighed, heart sinking at the impending reaction; "was of my FATHER. I'll make no pretense, he was every bit as terrifying in reality as he appeared to YOU."

He winced as shocked gasps swept around, followed by murmurs of curiosity. Sombra felt his stomach churn and sighed softly. Those closest in the seats could see the shift in his body language, showing visible discomfort.

"Uhm.." Fluttershy had drifted over to a stallion who was waving his hoof in the air "How come he, and well, YOU, are so tall?!"

“I’m from a Shyre settlement," Sombra said, relieved the question was an easy one to answer, "Everypony was of that sort of build. That's the other point; most of these ponies are of a similar height, although some may be mistaken for regular ponies. That is why it was deemed vital you all see these images, we cannot leave anything to chance. I understand very little is known about them, but there’s not much I can really tell you. I was...kept in isolation most of my life there, what little I know is from guesswork."

More whispers, what did he mean, kept in isolation?

"Who was that pale white mare?" somepony asked at last, sparing Sombra from his nausea.

"She...was a friend." he said shortly, unsure how to explain whilst saying as little as possible, "She helped me escape the village."

"Why did you have to escape?"

Again the pony asking the question was given a fierce frown by Rainbow Dash.

Sombra could see the curiosity was racing like wildfire. These ponies were very curious about him it seemed, including his past.

"A thousand years ago, superstition was rife. Many ponies actions were dictated by these beliefs. The village was remote, governed by a set of elders who followed some very old rules. A pony found to have been born with a dark power scared them more than they could cope. I was certain that, if I stayed there, they’d have killed me eventually..”

Wide eyes and startled gasps raced around the stadium like a sonic wave.

“There was no other choice but to leave. So one night I was able to escape, and got the-" a squeak of feedback muffled the word "-out of there."

Some ponies chuckled at the cleverly timed interruption.

"Thank you cotton candy.." Sombra peered off to one side, where Pinkie had been fiddling with the controls for the mic system. She gave him a grin.

"I wont perceive you to be fools and lie that this isn’t a dangerous opponent. You are all aware of the attacks by now. These things have begun invading homes, as Princess Luna and I discovered. They are getting desperate, this much is obvious. Be wary of anypony coming to the door late at night, keep windows shut. So far as we can tell, it has only gained MY memories, it does not seem able to launch an assault on anypony else's."

He raised a hoof as ponies clamored to know how and why.

"The theory is, that as my magic is purely derived from darkness, its wavelength is similar to that thing. I have noticed some aspects of its "magic" do correspond to this worlds to some degree, more dark than light, naturally."

"Was it trying to do some kinda mind control thing?" a young colt asked.

"It seems to have TRIED. It tried to attack me in my dreams numerous times, but none of its efforts made a blind bit of difference. Some of you may have seen the goggles the guards are wearing-" he gestured to the guards and Shining Armor "It wasn't until the second attack that we learnt I was the only one able to see the core at the centre of these beings. It seems this similarity in wavelengths works both ways. It was able to attack my dreams, I can see through its disguise."

"Whoa.." somepony said, the sound carrying even without the mic.

"What're they made from?" Rainbow Dash shot over to pick up the question, no need for a frown this time.

"They were created by Princess Twilight Sparkle," Sombra said "she figured out that by combining the goggles with an extract of dark magic, she could devise a way for a normal magic user to fight back."

The crowd applauded, and Twilight blushed happily, waving up at them!

"That is all for now.." Sombra felt a sense of relief "any further questions?"

One mare waved from near the front, Fluttershy flapped over.

"Yes, are YOU all right?"

"Me?" Sombra looked baffled as to why she needed to ask.

"We've all become a little concerned with how much strain you've put yourself through.." the mare and her friends nodded "don't feel you'll be misjudged if you take the time to relax. You're not fighting them alone now, right?"

Sombra was about to respond when he felt a shiver run through him. He shifted, the gold band around his leg catching the light and sparkling.

He looked up at the clouds. They'd been gathering steadily, but looked like normal clouds. Why did he sense something was off-

The clouds burst as an inky rain came sheeting down, covering the ground and seats in seconds, gluing everypony to their chairs. Sombra swore, the sound undetected by the mic.

"Heeelp!" Pinkie Pie squeaked, where she was stuck to the mic control box.

Lightning flashed in the darkening sky. A deluge of those creatures formed out of the rain, the biggest one fixing its gaze on Sombra.

"Well well, little pony prince," it mocked "it seems you're as trapped as your precious charges."

Sombra tried to summon the magic needed to remove the goop, but the substance was all over him, including his horn. It felt like he couldn’t reach his magic-

He heard frantic screams from around him, as the creatures launched out in all directions, intent on draining the ponies-

--No, I wont have it!-- he raged. Shutting his eyes he looked inside, at his magic. Seeing how it swirled like a stunning purple galaxy. Flickers of light like small flames dove in and out of it.

--Fire, that's it! I need something stronger then that first spell...but this gunk is restricting my whole body...there’s no way-- a sudden idea clicked into place.

--Unless I BECOME the flame!-- a surge of hope and triumph lit the spark, and he felt a surge of power as things began to change.

The shadow creatures, their razor-like teeth bared in anticipation of a veritable feast, were distracted by a loud WHOMPF sound.

Glued to their thrones, the Princess took a break from trying to free themselves to stare in shock at Sombra-

The black inky goop was burned away in a wide radius around him. But that wasn’t all. Normally, his mane and tail were a deep black, flowing like a streamer in the wind. Now it was like liquid fire. Purple fire of an ever shift hue, highlighted by bright purple flames at its outer edge. Similar flames surrounded the metal shoes that formed part of his new outfit. When he opened his eyes, they were a stunning golden hue. The purple aura was still there, evidence of his dark magic.

"What the-?!" the bigger creature, having set its sights on tormenting Sombra personally, now stare din shock.

Sombra spoke, his voice magnified by his own magic:

"Get the BUCK out of this place." then he vanished in a flash of purple flame, reappearing behind the creature, this time on a floating hunk of purple crystal. It swung round, but Sombra had already summoned a new weapon. In contrast to the spear, this new one was shaped like a heavy duty scythe. The curving blade shone with a purple gleam, magic infused. He swung it in a wide arc, and the burst of purple light from it cleaved the creatures core in two before it had time to speak. As with the previous attacks, it simply transferred to a new body.

With a screech, it directed all the shadow creatures to attack Sombra. the crowd were literally transfixed in their seats, although some closed their eyes, not wanting to see Sombra get hurt.

But Sombra had never felt so in control of his magic before. He shut his eyes, the flames seemed to grow bright, then a ring of flame appeared around him, expanding outwards in a frightening rush, eliminating several of the things in one swoop.

He didn’t stop there. Summoning more platforms he leapt agilely from one to the next, swinging the scythe at shadow after shadow. Seeing the ease he was dispatching its minions with, the lead controller lost its tactics to rage, and from its place hidden out of sight, it dove at Sombra, teeth aimed for his throat.

"SOMBRA!" Luna shouted in her equestrian voice, the loud shout reaching his ears. He spun a split second before the creature reached him and leapt aside, swinging the scythe. It caught it with its teeth, and Sombra released the weapon at the height of its swing, sending the thing off balance. grasping the weapon in its shadowy hooves, it leered at Sombra.

"This will NEVER be your world," Sombra snarled.

"It is no more yours, little prince!" it mocked. Sombra thought about what that mare had said not long before the attack.

"That is not how THEY feel, and in the end, I’m here because of them, and FOR them. They cannot defend themselves against you, not without help. So you’ll have to forgive me if I trust your opinion less then I trust my own!"

It glared at him, throwing the scythe at his head, forcing him to shift attention in order to catch it. Then it did something unprecedented. Dozens upon dozens of its followers swarmed towards it, and for a moment it became just a twisted gelatinous mass, then it shifted into the form of a frankly GIANT shadowy snake!

Sombra stared in surprise, this was new...

it screamed something inarticulate and dove for him, with a speed its size didn’t remotely hint at. He dove out of the way, his hooves slipping slightly on the shadowy goop. But he righted himself easily, glaring as it reared up for another strike. He focused one what was INSIDE its body. Dozens of the cores, now clustered around the central one, like a shield.

But its exterior was as thick as it was gooey, and his attempt to slice into its lumbering body fell short as it snapped round, its tail lashing out, slamming him into the sludge coated grass at quite a speed.

He fought to get back on his feet, wincing as his still healing leg objected the to strain. The flames of his mane and tail kept the goo from ensnaring him, otherwise he would’ve been in major trouble.

Barely had he regained his balance then it was rearing up to strike again.

--I’ve got to stop it, but how..?!-- he swore under his breath as he dove aside again, darting across the slick black ground, pulse pounding in his ears. He felt the ground shake as it came slamming down into the spot he'd been occupying moments before. He raced as fast as he could, seeing his shadow flickering across the shiny surface of the goop.

"Shadows.." he muttered, a faint hope taking shape. But right now it was all he had. He skidded to a halt, turning to face the thing as it reared up, its slitted yellow eyes glaring at him. He closed his eyes, shutting off the power keeping his mane afire.

Stuck in place atop the temporary thrones, the Princesses seen Sombra revert back to his normal appearance, making the scythe vanish.

"What is he doing?" Twilight Sparkle gasped.

Sombra closed his eyes, seeing the memories of that day, when he’d attempted to retake the Empire in his lunatic state. How Twilight Sparkle and friends had kept him at bay. How the shadows had served as a mode of transport for him, sliding from one to the next.

He could FEEL the air displacing as it tore towards him, its laughter filling his head. He opened his eyes, and smirked.

The ponies who could see through the goop stared in astonishment as Sombra seemed to turn into a shadowy shape, reminiscent of the attempted takeover. The shadow snake opened its snapping jaws, and Sombra dove right for it.

Muffled screams and cries ricocheted around the stadium as for all intents and purposes Sombra had let himself be consumed by the thing!

The thing seemed stunned by how easily it’d achieved its victory. Then it suddenly twitched and reared, uttering a bone shaking screech. Those close enough to the front row could see flashes of movement within its gloopy body, just little glimpses of a separate entity racing through it.

Within the creatures body, Sombra felt like he was slowly becoming bogged down by his efforts, but up ahead he seen the collective of cores making up this things greater intelligence, and he felt a surge of adrenaline. He was so close now, he couldn’t give up!

As he made the last desperate dive towards it, he summoned up everything he could, the bright purple of the spell lighting the way. He fired the spell, waiting only to see it connect before taking measures to protect himself…

Once one core detonated, the chain lightning of the spell ricocheted onto the next until it hit the one at its heart.

Everypony's eyes were on stalks as the screeching, writhing giant suddenly detonated in a flare of purple flame, and a shock wave blasted over the stadium, like a heated blast of air. The creature was destroyed in a pyre of flame, which burnt away to reveal a crater dug into the once pristine grass of the stadium. Shocked cries and screams rebounded off the walls, where was Prince Sombra?

"Tell us we are seeing things!!" Luna kicked and fought even harder to get free, but to no avail "that boneheaded fool!"

Cadance was to stunned to speak. Shining Armor, stuck alongside his soldiers, had had a pretty good line of sight, and he hadn’t seen Sombra reappear. He felt a sickening pang of dread...

Then from around him came gasps of relief, as the ponies higher up caught sight of something as the smoke faded.

It was later described a little black ball of flame, or shadows.

Huddled in the centre of the massive crater it at first was mistaken for a remaining piece of the creature. But then it shifted, and two wide red eyes opened, blinking a few times as it checked its surroundings. It uncurled, revealing it had taken the form of a shadowy foal. Small enough to survive the explosion, it now stood unsteadily, looking worn out. Curiosity and relief abounded as Sombra scaled the crater in this form, stumbling onto the grass where, in a burst of purple flames, he reverted to his normal form and crumpled to the singed grass.

He lay there, so exhausted he could just sleep...then he heard the voices of the crowd and managed to lift his head just enough to see them doing their level best to get his attention.

Of course, he still had to free them. He forced himself to his feet, feeling about to be sick..

The crowds sounds of astonishment switched rapidly to concern as they seen Sombra try to summon his magic again, but the effort seemed to hurt him, and he pitched over to the grass again.

--Dangit!!-- he swore sluggishly --I cant...help..--

Luna put her royal voice to good use again, bellowing:

"Cease that! Thou hast expended too much power!" she scowled at the goop "if thou can stand and free us, we can use OUR dark magic to supplement yours. You cannot manage such a spell on thine own!"

Sombra looked over at her, common sense winning out. He nodded, getting to his feet once more and staggering over to her. The meagre power he had left was just enough to set her free. She shook her wings out, then took a few paces forward until they were face to face.

"We can change our power into that of darkness, and bequeath it unto you, understand?" she asked.

He nodded, knowing he had no other choice, and that Luna wouldn't let herself be overcome again.

Luna closed her eyes, feeling the darkness stirring inside But rather than fear it, she thought about what Sombra had been able to accomplish with it. She too could do that, she was going to make sure of it!

She touched her horn to Sombra's, and seen the spell unfold in her mind. It was astonishingly complex, layered like the tiers of a cake, different parts controlling different sections of the spell. Spell lines formed around the duo, a glowing ball of purple-blue power gathered in the air above them, it drew itself in, before exploding out with a victorious ka-BOOM.

The flames raced over the ground, sweeping up the aisles and seats, burning away the black gunk but leaving the ponies unharmed. They cheered and hugged as they were freed, whooping and cheering. At last, everypony was free, and Luna stepped back, allowing Sombra to shut off the spell.

As it faded away, so too did his strength, he collapsed once more, unconscious this time. Luna caught and set him down, feeling a little light-headed herself.

Sombra was brought back to the palace immediately, where it was diagnosed he had drained himself beyond common sense and would require rest. The Princesses all shared glances before unanimously agreeing to transfer some of their collective magics to Sombra. His natural dark magic would adapt it, use it to refuel.

And so, he woke up feeling a lot better then he expected. He detected his magic was not all of his own reserves, and realized what they’d done. Grateful, yet concerned they’d overdone it, he blearily left the hospital room (during the five minutes HeartRate went to the loo), and set off in search of them.

He heard their voices coming from the library, and nudged the door open...

"So its settled?" Cadance said "we should ask him to consider our proposal date for the coronation?"

"So long as it isn’t in the next DAY, I could give a hay when you do it.." a sleepily amused voice drifted in.

"Sombra!" Twilight Sparkle looked vastly relieved to see him up, and smiled a genuine smile of relief as he approached the same table he'd had that first friendly breakfast at.

"How do you feel?" Celestia asked "was your magic able to integrate with ours?"

"Much better as a result," Sombra said gratefully "I am indebted to you for the assistance."

“We did not use too much of our power, so do not be concerned." Luna said, reading his expression.

"Yup! We're good!” Twilight nodded.

"It's good to see you up, we were worried after that attack," Cadance said.

"It was not my intention to concern anybody, it was the only plan i could concoct at the time," Sombra said weakly "Never thought those memories might serve a useful purpose.."

"See?" Luna said "we told, did we not? It was not thy power that dictated your circumstance back then, but what you USED it to do. What caused fear then, saved countless ponies today."

Sombra had to smile, just a little, at that.

"As we were discussing, there has been an influx of letters since yesterday-" Celestia began, and Sombra did a double take;

"Yesterday?" he blurted "I was asleep that long?"

"Yes, your body required significant rest to recover from such feats," Celestia said with a faint smile "and during that time there has been quite the influx of mail.."

She gestured to a massive stack on the table "to show but a few.."

Sombra couldn't think of anything smart to say to that, but the way his eyebrows raised indicated definite surprise.

"They clamor for a coronation!" Cadance said with a soft smile "and we were hoping you would agree to it shortly.."

"Shortly..?" Sombra asked.

"Within the next say, month?" Twilight Sparkle suggested. Sombra blinked "I-isn’t that a little...short notice?" he asked.

"Not really..." Celestia smiled "We did not wait all that long before Twilight Sparkle's coronation!"

Twilight Sparkle nodded to confirm this.

"If that it is what you wish.." Sombra began, but Celestia shook her head, and spoke;

"Is it what YOU want, Sombra?" she asked.

He faltered a moment, mulling it over. Not a question he was prepared for...but his fathers image flashed through his head, and he felt his chest ache again. He wanted so badly to do what Cloudspark had wished, even if it terrified him a little. And so, even though he felt a massive surge of nerves, he felt himself nod.

"Perfect!" Cadance said brightly "it will serve as a perfect announcement at the ball on Saturday!"

"The wha-oh." Sombra recalled Pinkie Pie's enthusiasm "right.."

Twilight Sparkle chuckled "Speaking of which, Rarity says she needs to make a few adjustments when you’re feeling up to it, and the shoes she designed have been finished if you want to try them."

Sombra nodded mutely.

The rest of that morning he spent in his room, resting. His appetite was back, and with the Princesses giving him some of their magic he felt miles better.

Rarity dropped in to get him to try on his new outfit,. She'd made it out of a lilac fabric, with a gold trim, the collar was an aristocratic style, with a purple and gold silk ruffled handkerchief tucked into it. The clasp holding it shut was shaped like a stylized version of his cutie mark. A silken cloak patterned the same as the handkerchief completed the getup.

"Ooh, I love it!" Rarity squeed, as she seen him in it. The shoes were made of a bluish purple metal, the front piece mimicking the clasp on the cloak.

"It's impressive.." he said, amazed she'd made this so soon.

"Well, purple used to be reserved JUST for royalty a long time ago after all! Ooh, I’ll just move this stitch.." he held still while she bustled around him.

"You seem very withdrawn..." Rarity commented a minute later. Sombra jumped slightly.

"My apologies, I’m just not sure how to approach such a thing. An entire room full of ponies waiting for what...?"

"No particular thing, just to see YOU," Rarity said as she stitched another piece of the cloak, "When you think about it, until your little adventure criss crossing the shopping district, very few besides all of us here at the palace have gotten to see much of you..and despite your lingering doubts, the citizens here WANT to see you. You're the hottest thing on the agenda! You've probably saved more of them than you know, and not long after the fights have gone, so have YOU!"

Sombra had to admit she had a point.

"Hmm, how best to phrase this...ooh, one moment!"

Rarity raced off, and came back with Applejack.

"You tell him Applejack dear!" she trilled.

Applejack coughed, cleared her throat and said "We're throwin' this here shindig 'cause YOU need ta interact with the ponies whose behinds you've been savin'. And this way, you cant do a runner and escape the issue! Got it?"

A somewhat stunned Sombra nodded. Applejack grinned;

"Relax sugarcube, it wont be all bad! WE'LL be there, and parties tend to become pretty fun with all of us around, ask Princess Celestia about the grand galloping gala!" then she trotted happily off.

"See?" Rarity beamed "It wont be so bad!"

"Very well," Sombra chuckled faintly "I'll trust in your guidance on this..."

"Excellent!" Rarity beamed, removing the cloak and folding it neatly "there, it's ready for the ball!"

"What of yourselves?" Sombra asked curiously "Mistake it not for ingratitude, but I hope you haven’t neglected your own adornments for this occasion in favor of creating this for me? I recall from father that the outfits for such an event are an entirely new level of complexity in themselves!"

"Don’t fret over it darling! Fluttershy is helping with that!" Rarity assured him "She has an UNCANNY talent for sewing. Now that I have your outfit finished I can join her. We will have them finished in time to attend! We will shine like stars, I assure you!"

Sombra seemed to understand, as he nodded, inwardly glad all the fuss wasn’t being focused on HIM alone.

But there was more to come. Scarcely had he left the room, bidding farewell to Rarity as she headed off to help Fluttershy, then somepony called his name;

"Prince Sombra! there you are!"

Sombra blinked, staring in confusion at the pony that came trotting up. She had a purple coat with golden hair piled into a bun atop her head.

"Can I help you madam?" he asked at last.

"My names Foxtrot. I'm the dance instructor." she raised at eyebrow at the taller pony's blank expression "I can assume you know why I’m looking for you your highness?"

"Give it a moment madam," Sombra paused, then it seemed to sink in, as his expression changed to one of mildly horrified realization "Wait, dance instructor?!"

She chuckled, requesting he follow her to the ballroom. As they walked, she explained.

"It is a tradition here in the Empire, at royal functions, for a Prince or Princess to select a partner for a formal display dance. Its an old custom, but one the current Prince and Princess have upheld."

A faint flicker from his past memories confirmed this, but Sombra nonetheless made a note to blame Shining Armor for this later.

"-and of course, given it's YOUR debut attendance at a formal party like this, the Princess asked me to teach you the required dance, so that you might join them."

Well, at least he wouldn’t be on his own in embarrassing himself then.

"I can assure you it is a much loved tradition, not one ponies are prone to laughing at!" she said in amusement.

Sombra jumped slightly "Am I REALLY that obvious?!" he said in exasperation. First Cadance seeing through his reluctance to leave the castle without an excuse, now THIS.

Foxtrot chuckled "No, but you are extraordinarily emotive in your facial expressions, and your ears. It is subtle in many ways, but it says so much."

"Perhaps that is why i always had them pinned back?" Sombra said dryly, which made her smile as she recalled his previous armor.

"Your default expression does seem to be one of fierce concentration," Foxtrot joked "yet you show so much else in just a few minutes of expressions.."

Sombra decided he'd work that one out later.

It wasn’t as awful as he’d expected. Sure, it was humiliating having to learn to DANCE, but after what he’d been through the last few days, it barely measured on the radar.

Foxtrot had to admit he was surprisingly adept at it. She surmised his ability to fight with the level of agility he did lent him a surprising talent in this area. He also seemed a fairly quick study, able to mimic what she showed him very quickly.

"Does..everypony know this dance?" Sombra asked her at last, at the closing of their final practise dance together.

"Hm?" She'd been distracted by the deep red of his eyes. Closer, she realized there seemed to be multiple shades of the color, with an almost fractal pattern. Was this a trait of his Shyre lineage?

Recovering her wits, she nodded, as they stepped back and the music ended.

"Any time there is ever a ball, everypony, male and female learns this little routine. After all, its not everyday you get asked to dance by royalty! With Princesses Luna, Princess Twilight Sparkle and Princess Celestia in attendance, I suspect many stallions will want to brush up on it. For Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor, the first dance will be with one another, although after that they do ask somepony else for a second dance."

"I see..." Sombra realized he had a lot to mull over.

"If its any assurance your highness, you’re probably one of the fastest studies I’ve ever taught. All that fighting has taught you how to move without having to concentrate too heavily. Quite a useful trait."

She let him go once she was sure he’d be able to perform the whole thing without slipping up. She wondered off-hoof who he would ask at the actual dance? There was no denying he was handsome, a fact a lot of the mares in the empire had been discussing. But Sombra seemed largely oblivious to this as far as she could tell.

By the time Sombra got to the dining hall, everypony was already starting their food.

"Hey bud!" Shining Armor waved "how'd it go?"

"Don't ask.." Sombra grumbled as he sat down.

"Ask what?" Pinkie naturally did the opposite.

"About this awkward tradition of dancing at the ball." Sombra said as he took a bite of the food.

"Ahh, that!" Twilight Sparkle nodded "I had to learn it too, it's not that bad!"

"Easy for YOU to say!" Sombra muttered, shaking his head.

Foxtrot left the palace and headed straight for a posh resturant for a date with her friends. She knew what they'd want to know, and sure enough..

"What’s he LIKE?" One mare asked.

"And can he dance?" Another giggled. Foxtrot rolled her eyes slightly.

"He’s actually pretty quiet," she remarked, "I get the feeling he’s studying everything new and unfamiliar with a great curiosity. He’s still pretty guarded..."

"But can he-?"

"He learnt the whole THING," she said, "In next to no time. He'll have no trouble at the ball."

"I wanna know who the lucky dance partner will be?" One of her friends sighed.

"Nopony's gotten even remotely CLOSE, imagine what it’d be like to actually DANCE such a romantic dance..."

"He didn’t mention it," Foxtrot shrugged "I’m not sure he's given it much thought.."

At last the evening of the party arrived. Celestia had taught Rarity a very useful spell for temporarily taming a wild mane. It worked on hers, slowing its ever flowing movement for a day.

Useful for when she wished to have it in a different style.

This, Rarity used to calm Sombra's mane, so it could be shifted into a low ponytail, held in place with a circular gold band designed to look like the band around his leg.

Sombra fidgeted almost the whole time, which Rarity figured was caused by his nerves. The closer the party came, the more he couldn’t sit still. At last she walked down with him to the library, and told him to wait there, she was going to get the others so she could take a group photo. She asked a passing guard, Sombra's latest friend Lightshield, to hang around and keep an eye on him.

Not realizing this, Sombra was talking to himself as he spotted his reflection in the window.

"Not that I deny miss Rarity her excellence in dressmaking, but I look a prize fool in such a getup." he muttered.

"Well, at least you have standards, sire!" the guard couldn't help himself. Sombra jumped, whirling round to see Lightshield grinning from the doorway.

"Yes," Sombra dead-panned "for I hold myself to a certain standard of hilarity..."

More sniggering.

"Oh, I give up." Sombra grumbled. Lightshield chuckled.

"Don’t worry sire, you'll fit in just right with everypony else.."

"Sure.." Sombra sighed, looking back at the window, "Dress it up all you want, I still stick out a mile."

"I wouldn’t be so sure sire," he said lightly "I think you'll find you fit in better than you imagine.."

Sombra looked over at him, and managed a weak smile, thanking him for his counsel.

Then Lightshield heard something behind him, and darted into the room just in time to avoid being run over by an excitable Pinkie Pie. She bounded in, wearing a floaty dress made to resemble a layered cakes. Little jewels shaped like berries and stars ran along its hem. The others, in varying themes of dress bundled in after her, with Luna and Celestia bringing up the rear.

"Big brothers on his way-wow, Rarity!" Twilight Sparkle had just clocked Sombra's outfit. Rarity had kept it a surprise, unable to help from premiring her latest royal number in style!

Sombra turned towards them at the sound of their voices, blinking at the clamor of colors and fabric.

"NOW thou looketh the part!" Luna declared in approval.

"DEFINATLEY 20% cooler then ever!" Rainbow Dash nodded. Sombra felt himself flush slightly, but he knew that catchphrase of Rainbow Dash's was a sign of approval.

They gathered round for a photo, once Cadance and shining Armor arrived.

"See?" Lightshield grinned to Sombra "you fit right in!"

After a mass of photos, they headed off towards the party as a group. Rarity and the others fell in behind the royal group, as it was their entrance that was to be the most exciting!

All the ponies gathered in the massive ballroom ceased chattering as the double doors opened, a glorious fanfare announcing the royalty’s arrival, and the guard at the door announced the princes and princesses in a booming voice.

As soon as Sombra's name was mentioned, all eyes were on him. This was, after all, the first time he'd ever been seen in such a big gathering, aside from the stadium announcements, and those had been pretty informal.

Sombra felt his heart constrict at the momentary silence and hushed whispers, and quickly closed his eyes, mentally instructing himself not to bug out. He promised Rarity he-

The next second he opened his eyes sharply, as an almost DEAFENING cheer ricocheted around the expansive room. Celestia, who was standing just to his right, seen him jolt slightly, ears standing upright in apparent confusion.

Some of the closer members of the crowd seen his response, and found his reaction rather charming. He literally seemed to have trouble grasping how important he was to them!

He recovered in time to join them as they gave a collective bow of their heads. The light caught the gold highlights of his outfit, and the purple jewel in the band around his leg.

Then the rest of Twilight Sparkle's friends bounded in, joining the purple Alicorn as she and the others took a step into the ballroom.

Sombra felt frozen, he wasn’t sure he could move-

"SOMBWA!" a familiar voice broke through the self induced panic, and he looked down just in time to see a blur wearing a yellow dress whoosh up to him.

Bright Spark looked more adorable then ever, her mother had styled her mane so it fell in little corkscrew curls, with jeweled bows on either side. Her dress was a floaty, puffy style, in shades of yellow and gold.

"You look fantastic, little one.." Sombra smiled as she beamed up at him, then called behind her "I found him mommy!"

Shining Sea caught up to her daughter, smiling at Sombra. She was wearing a glittery blue dress decorated with pearls. She looked very pretty.

"The worst bits over," she joked.

He laughed "that obvious was it?"

"Only a little..." Shining Sea smiled "you actually looked pretty relaxed, if a little startled."

"I wasn’t expecting such a reaction," Sombra managed at last "I guess it never occurred to me that I..."

"Mattered so much to us?" Shining Sea tilted her head curiously. Sombra went slightly red, but he nodded at last!

"C'mon!” Bright Spark bounded up and down "there’s loads of ponies who wanna say hewwo to you Sombwa!"

Taking a deep breath, Sombra followed after the excitable blur that was his little friend, with Shining Sea walking alongside.

Quillpetal and the others Sombra had briefly met during his excursion to deliver the letters all did double takes as the new prince and two friends approached, little Bright Spark excitably chattering away.

There was one new mare with them, a pony with practically no fear it seemed, for as Sombra and shining sea came to a stop right in front of the group, she gave Sombra a glance over and nudged the mare next to her, declaring "You weren’t kidding. He’s not just handsome, he’s gorgeous!"

Cue Shining Sea quietly face hoofing, and Sombra just BARELY keeping his face from going beet red.

"Ignore miss socially tactless, your highness, she’s missing a filter between her brain and her mouth!" Quillpetal said with a giggle underlining her voice.

"Tell me, have you met Cotton Candy?" Sombra said at last "You two could be long lost sisters!"

More laughter, with even Shining Sea letting out a muffled squawk of laughter behind her hoof.

After THAT response, Sombra couldn’t really say it got stranger than that!

"We must declare," Luna said to her sister "he seems to be faring rather well!"

"Indeed..." Celestia was relieved to see Sombra didn’t appear to be too unsettled by the mass of ponies vying to talk to him.

"It's good to see him relaxing around so many ponies," Cadance walked over with Shining Armor by her side.

"Hopefully now he'll realize what we’ve been telling him all this time," Shining Armor said, not unkindly "that everypony is glad to see him accepting his new role…"

But it wasn’t to be an entirely peaceful evening. Sombra hadn’t realized, but when the guards had destroyed one of the attacking creatures the previous day, not ALL the cores had been destroyed. A passing mare had picked up what looked to her like a harmless shard of the core. Unlike the piece Sombra had retrieved for Princess Twilight Sparkle back at the beginning of all this madness, this piece was dangerous, for the creatures had evolved since then, storing a portion of their magic within them. The mare, a jeweler by the name of Sweetheart, had carved the jet black core into a heart-shaped jewel inlaid in a necklace.

Sombra was oblivious to all this, as he had a much bigger problem on his hooves.

For the moment, he was engaged in conversation with Flash Sentry, who was off duty and dressed to the nines. From what Sombra could tell, he was there to admire Princess Twilight from across the room, and not actually TALK to her. Confused by this, he walked over to the other stallion.

"She can't read your thoughts," Sombra said archly, raising one eyebrow "so you may have to go SAY something!"

"W-what?" Flash Sentry tried to look innocent but failed epically under Sombra's sarcastic glare.

Then Sombra heard the familiar strains of a certain song start up. The band was looping the songs intro, indicating the famed "traditional" dance was going to start. This display would serve as the opening of the evenings dancing, a performance by the Princes and Princesses to start things off!

"For the love of Celestia!" Sombra grumbled "you will have no finer opportunity than this!"

As Flash Sentry looked over at where Twilight Sparkle was in conversation with Rarity, when the purple Princess pony happened to glance over, see Flash, and send a quick, slightly blushing smile his way.

"Tell me you actually SAW that!" Sombra sighed.

"I don’t know what I’m supposed to do!" Flash blurted "I don’t want to make a fool of myself, your highness!"

"Argh, fine!" Sombra sighed "I am told embarrassment is easier to bear when a pony is not alone in doing so. That was my fathers mantra. Hence his repeated efforts to rope me and anypony nearby into his goofball moments!"

"What are you getting at, sire?" Flash asked.

"You will not be alone in "embarrassing" yourself!" Sombra said, feeling his stomach sink "as tradition demands, so too must I select a partner. Now MOVE. I will see you at the start of this madness!" Then he subtly shoved Flash Sentry in Twilight's direction before diving into the massive crowd.

There was only one pony he could think of that he could trust not to laugh too hard at this whole madness...

Shining Sea was pleased to see Sombra reappear beside her and Bright Spark. She therefore was exceedingly surprised when he asked for a dance!

Everypony else’s jaw hit the floor, when Sombra did an elegant bow and made his request of her.

Bright Spark nudged her mommy towards Sombra, and the stunned but flattered Shining Sea accepted his out held hoof...

Flash Sentry meanwhile, under threat of having a very cross Sombra on his tail, gathered the courage to trot up to Princess Twilight Sparkle.

"Flash!" Her eyes brightened as she seen him "hi!"

"H-hey, Princess...uh.." he coughed, and then, seeing Sombra out of the corner of his eye with a pretty blue mare stepping alongside him, blurted "May I have this dance?"

Twilight Sparkle's heart soared, and she nodded. She liked Flash Sentry. Sure, he was a little goofy at times, but his cheery nature and light hearted banter overcame that! He had helped her during the crystal plague, bringing her the tea and checking on her brother for her! So she nodded, and Flash could barely keep a relieved grin from his face as they followed Sombra to the centre of the floor.

When Cadance seen who Sombra's dance partner was, she smiled. She'd gotten the impression Shining Sea, from what she'd observed at the festival, cared for Sombra as much as little Bright Spark did.

Shining Armor seen his sister preparing to dance with Flash, and nodded his approval. Flash Sentry was a good guard. He could be a bit silly, sometimes liable to get carried away, but he had a good heart.

Celestia and Luna had both chosen somepony to dance with, and their chosen partners looked like they could hardly believe their luck!

Neither could Shining Sea. She knew about this dance, but she hadn’t connected this tradition with the fact Sombra was a Prince now until he asked her, and it all came rushing back!

Of all the prettily dressed ponies in the ballroom, he'd chosen her! She couldn’t believe it.

Then the music soared, and the dance began.

Foxtrot, standing on the edge of the crowd, nodded her approval as she watched the new Prince as he danced. He was able to focus on his partner, without seeming to worry about remembering the dance steps!

At the finale of the dance, the dancers finished quite close, with the mares hoof curved around her stallions neck, almost nose to nose.

Shining Sea couldn't help but admire the way the light caught Sombra's eyes as the dance came to a close. The way his mane, falling just over one ear, contrasted the smoky grey of his coat....

--OK...he’s cute.-- she admitted to herself at last --REALLY...cute...--

Then they stepped apart, finishing the move with a bow. The other royals finished in perfect sync with them she noticed.

Bright Spark had seen the entire dance, grinning so widely she couldn’t speak, just grinned ecstatically. Her mommy danced with her precious Sombra! How wonderful!

The crowd applauded and cheered as a new song began to play, and the royals and their partners dispersed off to one side.

"See? Not so terrifying..." Sombra said softly to Flash, who nodded, looking giddily happy.

"That was beautiful darlings!" Rarity declared.

"Sweetest thing I ever did see," Applejack nodded.

"Sombwa, mommy!" Bright Spark zoomed over and hugged her mother, then Sombra.

"Fanks for dancing wiv mommy.." she whispered in his ear as he crouched slightly so she could declare "boop!" and poke his nose as per usual, "She weally likes to see you, and she woves dancing!"

Being a small filly, she hadn’t entirely grasped volume level, so her mother picked up on this too, and felt herself blush a little. She shot a quick look at Sombra, in time for him to do the same in her direction. They shared what seemed to be a look of amusement, adorable embarrassment, and even a slight smile, all in a split second before breaking eye contact again, and refocusing their gazes on the beaming Bright Spark.

"Please tell me I wasn’t the only one who saw that!" Rarity whispered to Twilight. Twilight Sparkle nodded, she'd seen it too!

"Seen what?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking confused.

"That LOOK!" Rarity declared softly, her eyes gleaming "the LOOK, Rainbow dear!"

"I don’t get it..." Rainbow Dash groaned.

"There's an entirely possible chance they may LIKE one another is what she sayin'!" Applejack said bluntly. "get mah drift?"

"Oooohhh.." Pinkie Pie copped on at last, and grinned widely.

"That’s so sweet.." Fluttershy whispered.

"Bleurgh..." Rainbow Dash groaned "not mushy stuff, please!"

It was shortly after the adorable opening dance that Sombra met his next obstacle. Only this one would try to kill him!

He was walking past a group of fancily dressed stallions and mares from the staff of council at the palace, when one of them, in his haste to get the prince's attention, dropped the wineglass he was floating beside him. Sombra quickly activated his magic, catching it quickly and setting it upright on a nearby table.

"A masterful catch your highness," the stallion said gratefully "might we waylay you awhile?"

Sombra nodded, taking a drink from a passing waiter and taking a sip as the council began talking about the topics they hoped her might join Shining Armor and Cadance in working in the near future.

"Of course, we wont expect you to take on anything too heavy until the coronation!" Another stallion, an older gentleman, declared "but we would welcome your opinion at the next meeting if you're not busy chasing those foul beasts through street and alley!"

"With Princess Twilight Sparkle's goggles, I am no longer fighting this war on my own," Sombra replied "and if there is some manner by which I might assist, I...would be glad."

The group nodded and voiced their approval and relief. It was refreshing to hear somepony using the more formal grammar of the empire. It seemed Sombra's father had taught him well!

That innocuous little spell, catching a falling glass, had been enough to catch the attention of the limited consciousness still hiding within the core. Barely "alive" as it were, it was a basic intelligence, more feral then normal. But with the mare wearing it on her person as an adornment, it was all too easy for it to worm into her thoughts.

She swanned up to the table bearing the lavish spread of food, and stealthily snuck a small, sharp silver steak knife into the sleeve of her dress. She heard the music starting up, and under the darknesses control, she made her way confidently to Sombra.

“Excuse me,” she said, offering all the stallions a fleeting glance but letting her eyes linger on Sombra “Might a lady trouble a handsome Prince for a dance?”

The creature was manipulating her crush on the enigmatic unicorn, removing her nerves and putting words in her mouth!

Sombra was startled, but accepted her request nonetheless. But this dance was different to the one he’d had with Shining Sea. This mare wasn’t shy, it seemed. She smiled flirtatiously at him as they danced, stepping as close as she dared, during the bits where the dance moved them close.

Shining Sea watched them absently, feeling a little pang at how fearless that mare was. She'd been way too nervous to do much beyond admire the Prince and keep her mind on her hoofwork!

Then she seen a glint of something, and felt a stab of panic..

The flirty mare spun away, then danced back in close. She pretended to stumble, bumping right into Sombra, "steadying" herself with one hoof resting on his chest, while with a subtle flick of her other hoof, she brought the knife up;

But it was this invasion of personal space that alerted Sombra to her plan rather then distract him. He was finding her sudden advancements a little much, and when she tripped and all but bumbled into him, he reacted instinctively, using one foreleg to stop her falling over (that would’ve been embarrassing!). But when she pressed a hoof to his chest, as if seeking a heartbeat, he felt a little uncomfortable. Something was weird about this whole thing, besides his distinct lack of understanding of romantic policies.

He glanced down at the aforementioned hoof, in time to see the other one coming towards him, there was a flash of light, just for a second. Quickly, disregarding the possible social backlash, he moved back. This saved him from a near lethal cut. As it was, the edge of the knife just nicked his jawline as he darted back, and the mare snarled.

Shining Sea seen this and let out an involuntary cry. Everypony looked over, spotting the gleaming knife sticking out of the fancy sleeve of the mares outfit.

"Freeze!" two guards appeared at the edge of the dance area, eyes fixed on the mare. Sombra quickly raised a hoof towards them, ordering them to stop!

The next second he felt a cold blade press to his throat.

"Smart move, little prince.." the mare warbled, her voice half her own, half shadow.

"Let her go!" Sombra snarled furiously.

"Must you spoil my fun, you demented little freak?" She spat.

"Call me what you fancy, I care not!" Sombra snapped back "your bluster fools nopony! Your tactics are pathetic!”

She glared furiously at him.

"You've run out of ammunition for your puerile attacks! All my memories, all the nightmares, i have been through them ALL now. There is nothing left you can use to try to stop me destroying you!" he did something incredibly risky then...

"You think this innocent mare is a toy for you to use? You are gravely mistaken" He looked at her eyes, appealing to the pony within "this is HER body, HER mind, and she will NOT become a part of your plan-"

"Cease your babbling little prince!" the mare spat, but stopped a second later as Sombra actually took a step CLOSER, pressing the blade against his neck even more.

"Go ahead, try it. She will fight you. We will ALL fight you!" Sombra declared.

By now everypony was fixated on this struggle. A mare holding Prince Sombra at knife point, the blade pressed to the elegant curve of his neck.

"We must do something!" Luna hissed to her sister. Celestia was itching to show this shadow creature it was mistaken to target Sombra, but one wrong move and Sombra could get seriously hurt. Then they all seen him take that step, putting the knife closer to his neck.

"Oooh.." Rarity swooned dramatically, unable to watch! Pinkie caught her and pulled a cushion from thin air, setting it under Rarity so her dress and mane didn't get creased.

The shadow creature decided to just be rid of somebody, since he was being so obliging! But when it tried to move, it found the pony's limbs frozen. It felt an angry presence lash out within its consciousness. The host was fighting back!

Sombra seen her freeze, and smiled knowingly. Then, in a flash, he transformed into the tiny, foal sized shadow version of himself from the stadium incident. He leapt up, grabbing the necklace with his little fangs and tearing it free, bounding away from her. She swiped at him as he did so, dropping the knife, but his diminutive stature made him impossible to catch! Then she froze again as the host mind dug its heels in! She cried out, the jewel still trying to exert its influence, for even though Sombra had removed the jewel, it had wormed its way into her head.

Reverting to his normal form, Sombra grabbed the sharp knife from the floor, and used the tip to prise the shard of the core out. He crushed it underhoof, causing the mare to screech in agony. She managed to free herself from the paralysis, and leapt for him, only to be restrained by the magic of the two unicorn guards that'd been standing anxiously by.

She was strong however, her possessed fury making it hard for them to restrain her as she twisted and fought.

Sombra closed his eyes, and a purple aura wrapped around her, making her freeze. It lasted only a second, and when it dispersed, there was a darker tint to it. She gave a muffled groan and collapsed. Lightshield seen this, and recognized it as the same spell Sombra had used to save HIM!

Assimilating the magic into his own and essentially nullifying it, Sombra felt a brief wave of dizziness, but it soon faded.

"Sire?" one of the guards was speaking to him, holding a handkerchief up to Sombra's neck.

"What...oh..." Sombra stayed still as the blood was mopped up. luckily it was a very shallow cut, no real harm done.

"W-what....what happened..?" the mare had come to. She shook her head.

"Are you all right madam?" Sombra asked, sitting opposite her as she raised her head to look at him

When she seen the Prince she'd just tried to essentially assassinate, she burst into tears, bowing her head in respect;

"I’m so sorry y-your highness! I couldn't stop myself..i-i.."

“It is fine." Sombra's slightly stern voice slowed her tears, and she looked up at him.

“What is your name?” he asked.

“I'm Sweetheart, your highness...” she sniffled.

"Miss Sweetheart, I have seen this spell one time before, and I will tell you now what I told that pony. There is no grounds to blame yourself, those creatures manipulate and warp your mind to serve their own ends. Besides, did you not fight back?"

She blinked, realizing he was right. She had gotten mad, screamed for the thing to stay away from Sombra, she didn’t want to hurt him!

"See?" Sombra offered a kind smile to the mare "The matter is dismissed. Are you hurt?"

She shook her head, unable to believe it. He wasn’t angry....and she wasn’t in trouble!

One of the guards fetched her a glass of water, another, a chair. She was sat by the edge of the dance floor. Sombra stayed close by as the mares friends gathered around her, mopping her tears and consoling their scared friend.

He looked down at the golden necklace by his hoof. He floated it up, repairing the broken clasp, but the space where the jewel had been set...

He called for somepony to please fetch miss Rarity! Having recovered from swooning, she came over.

"Are you all right? That looked like a quite ghastly situation!"

"I am fine, it is but a scratch. However, I need your help." he showed her the missing gap where the black core-jewel had been "what color of gem would you suggest to replace this?"

Rarity studied the mare it belonged to. She had golden blonde mane and tail, and a pale pink coat.

"A ruby!" She declared, "That'd would look stunning, plus it's in the shape of a heart!"

Sombra nodded, asking if she had one she could give him? Rarity closed her eyes, summoning one from her workshop. Sombra used his magic to recreate the shape of the previous gem, and slotted the new ruby heart into the necklace.

Sweetheart was dabbing her eyes with a napkin when Sombra approached once more, with Rarity beside him.

"Y-your highness!" she teared up again "I-"

“There is no further need to apologize, I insist." Sombra said firmly, then floated the necklace over and set it back around her neck "this is your I believe. I regret I had to destroy the gem, but the stone you carved it from was from one of those things cores."

"I though it was harmless, and it was...mesmerizing..." she wavered, then seen the stunningly cut ruby that had replaced "Your highness, I-"

"It seemed a shame to let such a valuable piece remain empty," Sombra remarked "and miss Rarity said a ruby suited you best."

Rarity nodded, giving the mare a comforting smile "it suits your coat just wonderfully darling!"

Sweethearts friends all fawned over the necklace, admiring how much better it looked then the black gem! She managed to thank him, unable to believe all this!

Sombra could hear the muted sound of the music, feel the tension in the air. Lightshield seen him frown unhappily. Then something seemed to occur to him, as he blurted;

"Of course, Cotton Candy-!"

"You rang?" a voice spoke from literally right beside him, and those nearby seen Sombra actually jump, giving Pinkie a stern look.

"Don’t sneak up on me like that..." he sighed "Anyhoof...i have just one question?"

"What is?" asked Pinkie Pie, hopping up and down.

"Can you get this party back on track?"

While Pinkie Pie was setting her plan in motion, the Princesses and Shining Armor all clustered around Sombra, relieved to see he wasn’t hurt!

"You gave us quite a fright with that stunt!" Luna said "How did thou know she wouldn’t hurt thee?"

"I don’t know," Sombra said honestly "I just...did. I got the sensation she was really fighting behind the scenes there..."

"We're glad you’re not hurt, but please refrain from scaring us all like that!" Cadance replied.

Sombra nodded in apology "I’m sorry if I worried you, but I didn’t want to attack her. So I used that same spell as last time.."

"With Lightshield?" Shining Armor confirmed. Sombra nodded.

"Everypony's uneasy.." Cadance said sadly "the party may have to be-"

"Hold that thought Princess..." Sombra said. Looking up at him she seen he was smiling softly.

As she opened her mouth to ask what he meant, she heard a familiar voice from the stage that'd been set up for the band.

"Alright everypony!" It was Pinkie Pie. "That was super scary, but its okie-dokie-lokie now! And Sombra insisted we get this party back on track! You’re not gonna ignore him now, are ya?"

The gathered ponies shook their heads, and Pinkie Pie grinned widely.

"So lets get this party started, by ROYAL decree!" she threw a big ball into the air where it exploded, showering sparkly confetti everywhere. The assembled ponies cheered.

"Play something to dance to!" Pinkie Pie told the band "happy fun dancing!"

Figuring she meant a more upbeat tune, they swung into a jazzy, poppy melody, which Pinkie Pie began to sing along to, making the lyrics up as she went:

"Ohh whoa whoa,
Time to swing your mane, honey!
Ohh whoa whoa,
Time to feel the beat!

Ohh whoa whoa,
Let your worries go to-night!
Ohh whoa whoa,
Get up off your seat!”

She spun around before launching into a verse;

Don't frown, don't pout,
Don't let your tears flow!
Because tonight's a night where
We can all let our worries go!

We got a new reason, a new friend to celebrate!
To see him free now, a long time we have had to wait!

But from the past ashes,
a phoenix made of dark flame!
A new contender,
In a twisted shadows crazy game!

Light and shadow mix,
A changing heart marks the way,
A broken sky we must fix,
Our spirits will fight this day!

Ohh whoa whoa,
Time to let your guard drop!
Ohh whoa whoa,
Your heartbeat will never stop!

So dance, dance now!
Don’t worry about a thing!

So dance, dance now!
And let your heart SING!”

Massive applause rang out after this, and a slightly out of breath Pinkie Pie trotted over to the royal group.

"Wow pinkie!" Twilight Sparkle stared at her friend "Did you write that just for the party?"

“No, I made it up on the spot!" She beamed, before bounding away to the drinks table.

"That...is remarkable." Celestia said at last. Following the schedule, the second traditional royalty dance was due to begin, Sombra heard the music start up!

He looked about, hoping to find Shining Sea again, he felt comfortable around her.

He spotted her, and she caught his eye, then made a subtle nodding motion with her head, indicating-

He realized she was hinting towards Sweetheart, who was still sat on her chair surrounded by her friends. She looked cheered a little by her new necklace and Pinkie Pie's bouncy song, but he could see the embarrassment of the incident was hurting her still.

He knew what it was like, to lose control...to feel like an outcast. He shot Shining Sea a grateful nod, and walked over.

Celestia watched this exchange, realized what Sombra about to do, and smiled. He was learning fast it seemed...

Sweetheart shook her head when her friends tried to persuade her to come get a drink with them, watch the dance...

Then they heard somepony clearing their throat, and turned, sweetheart looking up from the napkin she was currently twisting into little shreds. Her heart both jumped and sank when she seen it was Sombra.

But the two words he spoke next she barely dared believe;

"May I?"

And an out held hoof.

She heard her friends gasps and murmurs of surprise and slight envy as she took the out held hoof in a stunned daze, and let herself be escorted to the dance floor.

She was nervous as all heck at first, but she soon relaxed as Sombra talked to her. This time her dancing was as perfected and polite as she had practiced it..

When the dance was over, she pretty much went bright red at being so close to Sombra. He'd been unexpectedly kind to her, after everything that’d happened she thought he rather keep away from her! But as they danced, he'd explained he knew there was no cause for her to feel responsible, he wouldn't hear of it!

She thanked him as she turned to go back to her friends.

Sombra sighed in relief, glad to see the attempted attack hadn’t cut the party short. He made a mental note to thank Cotton Candy later…

And the party went on, as exciting as ever! Pinkie Pie requested MORE lively music, and Candace and Shining Armor did a sort of tango-foxtrot thing, which garnered a lot of applause, and lots of other ponies came onto the floor to join them!

Bright Spark caused a minor giggle-fit across the crowd when she literally went zooming across the polished floor on her rear, using the satiny fabric of her dress as an impromptu sled of sorts and her magic to propel herself!

"Wheeeeeeeee!" she hooted as she whizzed past Sombra, who was honoring a request for a dance from Luna. Both stopped mid-step, looked at her, then at each other, and cracked up laughing. It reminded them of that big laugh they'd had on the rooftop, where Sombra had jokingly called her "Woona", a la Bright Spark style!

Nopony managed to escape being amused by this random interval of madness. When Bright Spark reached the end of the polished floor and bounced off it onto the carpet, she was scooped up out of harms way by a certain Alicorn.

"That was quite a display little miss Bright Spark," Celestia commented as she set Bright Spark down atop a cushion, and swiftly mended a small tear in the child’s dress.

"Fanks Pwincess!" Bright Spark giggled "I thought it would be funny, and make the posh ponies stop wooking so bored!"

Celestia couldn't help but chuckle at sparks description.

Bright Spark was beyond thrilled, she was getting to talk with the sun Princess! This was so much awesome!

Sombra noticed Twilight Sparkle and Flash seemed to be pairing up for more dances, and got the feeling they were getting along quite well.

Then Celestia appeared beside him, saying Cadance was about to make a special announcement, and he recalled the topic.

Cadance was smiling as she announced the date had finally been decided for a very special event....the official coronation of Prince Sombra!

If Sombra thought the sound level the crowd had made when he'd walked in at the start of the party was loud, it had NOTHING on the sound level this announcement produced! Everypony turned to where he stood, flanked by Celestia and Luna, who both looked pleased and more than a little proud. After all, he’d shown it was possible to, as Pinkie Pie's song described, rise from the ashes of the past once more!

"I’m glad to hear you’ve picked a date.." Shining Sea noticed Sombra looked a little flushed, but he nodded.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle and the others were right, its time I stopped putting this off. It was a little daunting, seeing just how big an occasion it turned out to be. I wasn't expecting it to be like this.."

"Your father left you a place at the forefront of an entire empire, i bet anypony would find that a little scary.." Shining Sea smiled "but you'll do fine. Bright Spark and I know it!"

Sombra smiled, a warm, kind smile that made her heart speed up. He really was very handsome, with those garnet red eyes and jet black hair...

Somepony bumped against Shining Sea in passing, and her efforts to sidestep the ponies following in the first ones wake put her even closer to Sombra. He blinked and tilted his head towards her, asking was she OK, and that these ponies needed to watch where they were going. She smiled and shook her head, telling him it was fine. As she turned her head to do so, their noses were within inches of one another...

Across the room, Rarity was holding her breath, mentally encouraging them to..to...

And just when it looked as if they were about to do something;

"Mommy!" Bright Spark bounded over, seeing her two favourite ponies, her mother and her beloved Sombra talking together!

Both adults scooted back from each other, turning their attention onto Bright Spark, and off each other.

Rarity let out a groan "so close..."

"Close to what?" Rainbow Dash asked, honestly not sure what Rarity was fussing about!

Rarity just sighed.

But there was a compromise in the works. She'd snuck off now the party was ending and the ponies were headed home, to check her hair hadn't gone flat from all the dancing. As she was exiting the bathroom, she heard Sombra's voice, and Shining Sea's. She edged her face around the corner, ears pricked in curiosity;

"-for asking her, I know her from the school board, she's a very sweet natured pony! She must've felt terrible!" Shining Sea looked worried.

"I told her what I told Lightshield. It was through no fault of her own that she was manipulated. Although I’m not sure if the circumstances are the same.."

“How do you mean?" Shining Sea asked.

"The guard was targeted because of his distrust of me. But I didn’t sense the same animosity from madam Sweetheart. So what was it targeting? Curiosity?"

Shining sea chuckled and shook her head "Affection, more like!" She said.

"Wha-?" Sombra stared at her like she was mad "w-what do you mean?"

"She has quite a crush on you, and she isn't the only one. Didn't you notice how they smiled and tried to get your attention for the dances?"

"I thought that's what these parties were always like. Some protocol or something linked to the royal status. I mean why would they-"

He glanced aside, seeing his reflection in the window. He knew he was different from everypony else. His magic was dark, and he knew he still looked a fierce, intimidating sight, no matter what fancy clothes he wore..

Seeing the way he was regarding his reflection, Shining Sea spoke up.

"Shush," she said gently "I don’t want to hear you speak about yourself that way. OK?"

He blinked, unable to think of anything to say. When he turned his head, they were close enough that their noses brushed..She looked beautiful, with her opalescent dress catching the light.

Rarity had to gnaw her hoof to refrain from squeeing in delight the next second as, on a crazy impulse, Sombra kissed Shining Sea...

Author's Note

Sorry i took so long! Between extra work shifts, brainfarts, and a bout or two of various colds, things got messy...
DOODLE: http://yamanakaangel.deviantart.com/art/My-Little-Pony-I-Stand-522784474
Enjoy!

Edited as wonderfully as ever by Dream Seeker!