The Shadow King Returns

"Alright first things first I need to see if there's any residual magic around, that might point me in the right direction." Shining prepared to cast a variant of his shield spell. The light built up around his horn and released in a wave. Shining stood there and waited for the magic echo to return to him with all of the information he needed. As the wave returned and relayed its information Shining hoof pumped in victory. There was a faint sign of magic in the direction of an icy mountain range about a mile or two off in the distance. "Ha, Twiley isn't the only one in the family who can make new spells."

Shining said this with a smirk that quickly vanished and was replaced with a frown. Seriously what is up with me today? I just keep talking to myself like I'm expecting a response. Maybe I should visit a therapist or something that could help but it could make things worst too. On second thought nope, just gonna keep ignoring and complaining about it until there's a real problem. Shining turned away from his internal dilemma and started to walk toward the mountain range.

So to summarize my plan here is, go find the remains a once tyrannical leader of the Empire, revive him, and ask him to help me run said Empire. All of this over a ton of paperwork? Couldn't I just you know buck up and do it? Couldn't I just throw some paperwork at my wife and tell her that's her half? So I apparently don't have the spine to do either of those but I'll revive a villain on a whim. The fuck is wrong with me.

What is it that makes this seem like a good idea? Yes he may have experience with running the Empire but he was a tyrant that enslaved his subjects. Then to top it off he cursed the place before he was sealed to make it disappear for a thousand years. How in the name of Celestia could I have thought this was a good idea on a whim. I was the captain of the guard for crying out loud and this is where my head is. So far up my ass that I can see my stomach. I would probably be much better off turning back.

But the Crystal Heart is a great source of love and was able to purge Sombra from the Empire, and during his rule he locked away the Crystal Heart so it couldn't be used against him. So he is obviously afraid of the Heart, but why? I don't think a weapon of mass love has the capability to kill somepony. Then what did it do to Sombra? Now that I think of it when I got the magic signal back I didn't sense any of the malevolence that he had before. So the possibility exists that he may not hold the dark magic that he once did.

Though this is all speculation and not based off of any actual facts, except for that lack of dark magic thing, but there could be many reasons for that. "Well with that all laid out on the table I'll still try it, if he does turn out to be good then a right hoof wouldn't hurt." Shining stopped short of the mountain range and used his magic detection spell again. This time it returned much more quickly since the intended target was much closer. "Alright it doesn't seem to be too high up and if I could find a safe place to start the climb I'll be in business." He started to circle around the mountain range looking for a path that would lead him in the general direction of his target.

This didn't go on for more than fifteen minutes as a feasibly climbable portion of the mountain revealed itself. As Shining started to climb he noticed the snow here was easily over a foot deep. The walk to the mountain left his hooves feeling a little numb, this sealed the deal and left him unable to feel his hooves as he climbed.

All of this for some paperwork, damn, going back looked pretty good from the bottom but now that I'm here I just need to keep going. When he was about to send out another wave of magic to readjust his bearings a red glimmer in the snow caught his eye. Shining slowly approached it and recognized that it was Sombra's horn. He actually found it, Shining was almost giddy that his trek had paid off. He picked it up with his magic and confirmed that there was no dark magic coming from the horn. Shining took this as a good sign and placed it in his saddlebags.

The trip down the mountain took considerably less time since Shining had the chance to scope out his path on the way up. This just left the walk back to the Empire, then the sneaking back into the castle. I think I could put this in one of the secret chambers in the castle for safe keeping, since Cadence and I are the only two who know of their whereabouts. But I didn't really give any thought as to how I'm going to revive Sombra. Shining had to stop mid stride to face hoof at this discovery. There could be some books in the library about this sort of thing though, and I am adept at spell casting so there is still a shot.

Shining then heard an almost silent laugh inside of his head. "Great, lovely even, now I hear a voice... I may have fucked up." The voice came back this time but with something to say. "No no, my voice is not your own in a different form, it is entirely mine." This gave Shining a good idea as to who it was. "So if your not a voice in my head then I'm guessing you're Sombra."

"You would be correct in that assumption Prince Shining Armor."

"How do you know my name?"

"I'm in your head remember, there is some very base information here."

"Well get out! That's my base information!"

"I cannot help it and besides you are the one who decided to take me for a ride." There was a brief pause before Shining heard a light chuckling coming from Sombra.

"What the tartarus is so funny?" Sombra took a moment to compose himself before answering. "Oh my apologies I was just taking mirth in my previous statement."

Shining thought back to what the former king had said, he couldn't help it and I'm the one who decided to take him for a ride? What did he, oh, OH. Apparently Sombra had heard Shining's internal dialogue, found it funny, and started to laugh again but harder. "Great so not only are you a dark magic wielding tyrant but you're also a pervert." That stopped the laughter quickly which unsettled Shining.

A heavy sight then left Sombra, "that infernal magic no longer has control over me, the blast from the Crystal Heart had purged it along with most of my body." Shining just stayed silent, intent on soaking all of the details from him. "I was not always the King of Shadows that you were previously acquainted with, that was a transformation that took place after I had cast a spell from a world forgotten. It turned out to be more power than I had the ability to control so it controlled me instead."

Shining took a moment to gather his thoughts before voicing a concern. "Why did you need power then? What was it that caused you to do something so short sighted, even knowing full well the likely outcome?"

"The reason, Prince Shining Armor, was that my home was falling apart at the hooves of its former Queen. She saw it fit to simply correct only the largest mistakes present in her Empire. She ignored many small things that eventually built up into problems too plentiful to solve. She locked the castle so the government could 'sort out the mess,' not that anypony believed that absurdity. The Queen was afraid of her subjects and their increasing level of hostility so she hid from them.

I was only a young stallion at the time, usually spending most of my time at the library studying to eventually take a role in fixing the mistakes of the Queen. This had been my goal before these problems had risen. When they did come I was worried for my home yet had no power to do anything about it. My magic was mediocre at best and my public speaking skills were also lacking. If I could not use my power or the power of others there was only one more option, to gain power. There were books I had read that told of ways to command such a thing, spells that were said to grant magic beyond belief.

So I rushed to find the book that had told of this and proceeded to set up the ritual as quickly as possible. But, I did not expect what this ritual would do to me. Once completed it was as if I was looking from my eyes as a spectator, not the one in control. Then the voice started to talk, it sounded like me but it was not. It had said, 'so you wish to stop the chaos infecting your treasured Empire? Then I will ensure that true order is restored, King Sombra.'

He went on to break into the castle and banish the Queen with some sort of ether that I'm still not sure what lied beyond its veil. Then the rest is history, apparently his version of 'true order' was mass enslavement." While Shining had been listening he had drawn a conclusion that made him don a small smile. Sombra seemed to sense this, "so you find amusement in the fall of your empire?"

"No not at all, your story is similar to Princess Luna's is all." This gave Sombra pause, comparing him to one of the Sisters? The thought seemed ludicrous, yet this is the very same stallion that had came for him in the first place. "So I must ask Prince Shining Armor why is it that you retrieved me?"

"Oh, I need some help with running the empire and you were the only one with previous experience. Plus, Cadence won't let me hire any help and she herself doesn't do all that much."

"So your logical conclusion was to retrieve and revive a past tyrant of your Empire?"

"Yeah, well sort of, I figured that I should screen you for any dark magic or hostilities. And you seem to be clear of both so I'm going to march on with my plan." The dopey smile that Shining wore was almost emanating pride in a job well done. Sombra was silent with shock because of the prince. If he had a head his jaw would be on the ground. Is this really the only pony doing anything productive in the Empire? That thought would have sent chills down his spine, if he had one.

"Prince Shining Armor, if you would be willing to forgive my past transgressions I would be more than happy to help you with the Empire. Provided that your wife will not try to kill me on sight."

"Don't worry once you're revived we can take care of that and drop the title, just Shining is fine."