Fallen Shadow

Somewhere in the arctic wasteland, a strange red crystal was situated. It was full of dark magic, it could be felt even by those who can't use magic at all. Every creature avoided the red crystal for as long as the crystal itself remember.

A lone pony, gray stallion, walked through the arctic to the crystal. The stallion wore steel armor, a crown and a red cape. His eyes were red and slit pupil, purple smoke was in the corners of his eyes. The stallion bore a curved red horn.

Sombra, the King of Monsters. He made his way to the crystal and stopped near it.

"Mother..."

The stallion bowed in respect.

"You summoned me. I managed to become whole again, and I am ready to do whatever it takes to get the Heart destroyed," he said.

"You will not," the crystal spoke. Its voice was cold. "You failed me, Sombra. Twice. And now, thanks to your journal, the crystal princess and another alicorn are coming here!"

The powerful voice forced Sombra to take a step back. He looked terrified.

"You are worthless! It was a simple task, yet you failed! You shouldn't have let Radiant Hope escape!

"I was disappointed when you failed the first time, yet I let you live and complete the task. I gave you a second chance. And you failed again!"

Sombra looked at the crystal with fear of what it'll do to him. It gave him life, it can take it.

"I will fix everything, mother!" he said, his voice shaking with fear. "I will! I need some time and everything will be done!"

"No, you won't. You wasted your opportunity" the crystal stopped. "But wait..."

Sombra was forced to look back. He saw two alicorns, pink and lavender, making their way to him. He growled, she recognized the first one. The one who used the crystal heart to shatter him.

"But maybe, maybe I will forgive you if you do something for me," the crystal suggested.

"Yes, mother."

"You must kill them both. Then I will forgive you."

"As you wish, mother."

Sombra turned around and faced two alicorns, which stopped in their tracks. They saw him too.

Sombra grinned and his eyes became solid green.

"Surrender, Sombra!" Cadence shouted. "You have nowhere to run!"

Sombra snarled and shot a beam of magic at Cadance. She barely dodged, then shot her own beam. Sombra summoned a black crystal which raised from the ground and blocked the beam, absorbing it. Then the crystal melted.

"Sombra! It's not too late to change your ways!" Twilight shouted. "I know what happened to you!"

"YOU KNOW NOTHING!" Sombra roared and charged a powerful beam of dark magic, aiming at Twilight. She managed to block the beam using a shield spell. Sombra snarled and glared at her.

Suddenly, a block of ice hit Sombra in his side, sending him flying. He hit the snowy ground and groaned in pain. He stood up, shaking, and his muzzle met a beam of blue energy. Sombra cried in pain and collapsed. He tried to stand up but found himself too weak.

"You have proven that you are worthless, Sombra. Now, you will never fail me again. Now, you will be cursed. No longer you are a king."

Sombra's armor shattered, his cape faded. He wanted to say aomething, anything, but couldn't.

"No longer you are the powerful."

His horn's color changed back into normal one, his eyes changed into normal green, his mane and tail stopped waving. Sombra's mouth opened in silent scream.

"You are the weak!"

For Sombra, everything went black.

Twilight and Cadance looked at Sombra. His body, stripped of his armor, was vaporized. Only a scorched black ice remained where he was.

"What happened?" Twilight asked worriedly, then looked at Cadance. "Cadance?"

"It wasn't me... Did you feel it?"

"Dark magic..." Twilight looked at the red crystal, then at the place where Sombra had been. "The crystal... It vaporized him!"

"Yes, I did," the crystal replied. "He is unworthy. He failed."

"No one deserves such a fate!" Twilight yelled. "I know you were the one who made him a monster!"

"He is umbrum, he is supposed to be like that!" the crystal said angrily. "And he's not individual anyway, he is a part of umbrum army. He would NEVER join you!"

"You are monster!" Twilight shouted and shot a beam of magic which shattered the crystal into tiny pieces. Soon after, the pieces faded into black smoke and disappeared.

Nopony has ever heard of this crystal ever again.

"Have... Have you just destroyed it? The crystal?" Cadance asked, looking at the place where the crystal was. It was but a pool of water which was quickly freezing.

"Seems so..." Twilight answered. Then she looked back at the scorched ice, sadness in her eyes. "Maybe if we found out who Sombra was earlier, everything would be better. It hurts me to know that there is a pony who is not happy."

"He didn't want to change, Twilight. And crystal ponies would never forgive him even if he did." Cadance replied with a frown. "He is who he is. Umbrum. Not a pony but a shadow which look like one. He is hurt by love and joy. He can't be like us."

"Maybe you're right," Twilight frowned and sighed sadly. "Let's go home... It's cold."

Sombra woke up in an unfamiliar place. He was lying in the dark forest. He stood up and looked at himself.

"No... no, no, no!" he tried to cry. Only weak wheezing could escape his mouth.

Sombra looked more a skeleton than a pony. His tail changed, now long and skeletal.

There was a pond near Sombra. He galloped to it and looked at his reflection. His head looked like a skull, his mouth's corners became closer to his ears. But the worst thing was his eyes. They were white and had gray stains.

Sombra inhaled and cried:

"NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

His cry faded turned into monstrous howl, and timberwolves echoed him.