The Arbitrator

by Bluegrass Brooke

Rating: teen
Tags: King Sombra, Fluttershy, Princess Celestia, Twilight Sparkle, Discord, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark
Length: 2893

Can Sombra be reformed? Fluttershy is called to Canterlot to assess just that. Will she find a way to convince Sombra to accept help before it's too late?

After capturing Sombra, there is little consensus on what to do next. They turn to Equestria's resident villain reformation expert, Fluttershy to be an arbitrator. To reform or not? If only the decision were that simple . . .

Inspired by wonderdania's comic on deviantart. Used as cover art with permission. Thanks for getting me hooked on this ship! I love it. :yay:

Pre-reading by Darkwolfthelycan and my good buddy, Miranda Laufeyson.

Published 2015-09-06 03:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2015-09-06 03:00:01 UTC

Take My Hoof

Fluttershy had long since altered her idea of a “normal” day. Ever since Twilight’s arrival in Ponyville and her elevation to Element of Kindness, her days had been nothing but inconsistent. Standing in the icy dungeon below the castle, she longed for just one visit to Canterlot that did not involve some dire state of affairs or public event. Judging from how deep in the dungeons they were, this had to be the former.

Her eyes flashed to her silent companion. Rather than her usual, chipper demeanor, Twilight had become stiff—almost abrasive. After being woken up at four in the morning and whisked here by carriage, Fluttershy expected at least a part explanation. However, from the moment she arrived, both the guards and Twilight had been incredibly secretive.

The only facts she knew for certain were that an “incident” had occurred which required her “special attention.” Oh, I hope Discord’s not in trouble! Though a good friend of theirs, the draconequus had been known to confuse right from wrong. Thankfully, he had promised never to betray them again; and Fluttershy wholeheartedly believed him. “Er, Twilight?” She coughed as the stale, mouldering air clung to the roof of her mouth. “Where-where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

‘You’ll see.’ That had been her only response and the only answer the guards gave her on the trip here. She would see what? What was so dangerous they had to keep it locked up this far underground? As Twilight’s steps slowed, the pounding in her heart intensified. Finally, they stopped upon reaching another bend. Then Fluttershy heard a noise that made her blood run cold. A low, primal growl, one animals reserved for the times when no words could express their anger. To her mixed horror and surprise, Twilight walked around the curve and out of sight.

Fluttershy cantered over, ready to sooth whichever creature met her on the other side. However, the moment her eyes caught the culprit, she slid to a dead stop. Discord? Sure enough, their friend stood in front of a heavy oak door, except it was not—could not be him. Discord never ceased to be cheerful, funny, and clever. Well, okay, he did have a temper, but he didn’t lose it . . . not like this in any case.

All trace of mirth in his eyes had vanished, replaced by a cold, almost feral glint. He stood not on two legs, but on four, swishing his tail with all the fury of a cornered bobcat. His talon continually scratched at the damp stones, sending an earsplitting screech echoing down the hall. Snarling Discord rounded on Twilight. “You took long enough.”

“Sorry,” she squeaked, sliding over to the left of him and speaking to the shadows. “Fluttershy’s here.”

Fluttershy nearly jumped when Celestia’s voice cut through the still air. “Excellent. Thank you, Twilight.” With that, the alicorn entered the dim torchlight, white coat glistening like thousands of diamonds. Unlike Discord, she retained her calm and collected bearing. A soft smile creased the corners of her mouth. “Fluttershy. I appreciate you coming on such short notice."

“Of-of course.” Try as she may to focus on the princess, her eyes kept drifting to the draconequus guarding the door. “What-what’s going on? What’s wrong?”

“Celestia is playing the good queen again,” Discord snarled through clenched teeth.

“Silence, Discord.”

“I will not!” The sheer venom of Discord’s voice made her flinch. “You should have let me slay him when I brought him to you. Why do you tarry?”

“I will tarry as long as necessary, friend,” Celestia stated with a decided finality. Then, turning back to her, “On my request, Discord has been searching and,” she bit her tongue, glancing at the door, “has found . . .”

Did she dare ask? “Found who?”

“Sombra.”

Fluttershy gasped as Twilight cringed. “You can’t—I thought he was . . .” dead.

“No . . . merely weakened. I knew your magic did not . . . could not accomplish that. Not at its current stage.”

Twilight stepped forward, legs shaking until Fluttershy thought she might fall to the stones. “But, we defeated him! You said you trusted us completely.”

Celestia shook her head sadly. “To eliminate the threat. However the-the ‘shell’ is another matter entirely.”

Shell? Oh . . . What happened after they defeated Sombra never crossed her mind. But, it made sense that he would not have simply ceased to exist. After all, he had to have been a pony at some point, didn’t he? Fluttershy gulped, glancing between Celestia and Discord’s stone cold expression.

Before she could press, Celestia continued, “He would have been extremely weakened in any case. I never held the expectation nor desire for you to ‘finish the job.’”

“So you let him go free?” Twilight stamped a hoof. “Why didn’t you sent us after him? It’s our duty to—”

“It is not your ‘duty’ to deal with such matters, Twilight. You and your friends have already done more than enough. Besides,” Celestia gave Discord a weak smile which he failed to reciprocate, “Discord requested another ‘mission’ and I thought the search would be of interest to him.”

Discord growled so loudly the guards actually jumped back a few steps. “Of interest? Of interest!? If it is anypony’s duty to deal with such matters, it is I!”

The words hung in the chamber like a miasma. Though the others looked away sheepishly, Fluttershy stepped cautiously towards him. “What do you mean?”

Discord let out a string of hisses and growls before speaking in a pained whisper. “You know of my crimes, Fluttershy. I cannot . . . I can never erase them.”

“You’re not like that anymore, Discord.”

“I know, Fluttershy, I know. However,” he lowered his head, “It is my duty to stop such a fate from befalling Equestria again. If any being can begin to understand Sombra’s reasoning and find him it is I.”

“But . . . why?”

He raised an eyebrow, “Why what?”

“Why did you want to . . . slay him,” she squeaked.

Discord sighed heavily, patting her on the forelock. “Fluttershy, Sombra is not . . . he is neither Luna nor myself. He is more dangerous than you could ever imagine.”

What’s his problem? Of all their friends, Discord would be the one to give Sombra another chance. “You haven’t even given him a chance, Discord!”

“A chance? A chance!? There is no retribution for him.” Discord snarled, “That heretic’s corruption has entered his very soul! He drinks corrupted, stagnated magic like wine, harnessing it to warp whatever he touches into an abomination. You have seen what he did to the Empire and its citizens.”

“You . . . you don’t know that, Discord.”

“Don’t I?” His tail struck the door so hard the hinges rattled. For the first time, Fluttershy noted the bloody bandages wrapped around Discord’s tail. “He cares nothing for ‘reformation’ Fluttershy. He takes no quarter and so I shall give him none,” he spat.

“Enough, Discord,” Celestia snapped, stepping forward. “Despite Discord’s . . . opinion, we,” she jerked her head to Twilight, “agree that you would be the better judge of Sombra’s potential for change.”

Discord looked mutinous until Twilight put a hoof on his shoulder. “Give her a chance, Discord,” she breathed.

“Very-very well. However, if she does not find him ‘redeemable,’” Discord licked his lips, teeth glistening in the torchlight, “I will personally finish what I started.”

Celestia actually cringed, but said nothing as she placed a small key around Fluttershy’s neck.

“But . . .” Fluttershy’s eyes fell to the door. “Why me?”

Twilight sighed, “We have our individual opinions, but they don’t line up.”

“An understatement, ”Discord huffed.

“So you need an-an arbitrator?”

Celestia gave her a weak smile. “Exactly, and I believe you have more than proven yourself in that capacity, Fluttershy.”

An arbitrator? Me? Fluttershy could not help but feel overwhelmed. However, she would not back down, not this time. Jerking a nod, she strode forward with as much confidence as she could muster.

Discord lowered his head, warm sweet breath tickling her forelock. “If you should have need of me . . .”

Fluttershy kissed him on the forehead. “Then I’ll know who to call.”

Reluctantly Discord stepped aside—the hall was too low for him to stand.

Twilight shot her one last encouraging look before turning to join Celestia and Discord. “Good luck.”

“Thanks.” I just might need it . . .

Ironic. Well and truly ironic. That he of all ponies should be bound in chains and thrown into a dark dungeon to rot. The punishment had been one he reserved for traitors to the Empire. Now the same judgement had befallen him. However, he would not cower and beg as his sniveling subjects had. He had his pride, though that was of little consequence now.

As much as he loathed to admit it, he had lost, lost to mere children and their attack dog. Sombra winced, lifting a hoof to rub his forehead. The chains stopped him halfway, digging deeper into his flesh. Damn. He blinked, trying to clear the blood from his eyes. Their young ‘princess’ had insisted on bandaging the wound, as if he were a stray cat that needed tending to. However, the bandages could not recover what he had lost nor conceal the pain. All because of their “reformed” friend.

Discord. To think he had lived to see the day that beast bow to authority . . . At first, Sombra imagined he would strike a deal with him. The truth soon came to light of course and, before he had time to resist, Discord had wrenched his horn off as if it were nothing more than another adornment. A Spirit of Chaos surely had a more humane method of neutralizing his magic than that. And yet, he chose the most permanent, shameful way of doing so to set an example. ‘“Tame” or no, that wolf had more than a few teeth left.

Sombra’s blood ran cold as Discord’s enraged voice drifted in from behind the door. For an instant, he imagined the beast would come in and finish him off; however, Twilight had insisted on acquiring an arbitrator before any decisions were reached. Foolish as it may be, he trusted the alicorn would keep her word. However, he would not be so naïve to imagine this “Fluttershy” as any less of a fool than her precious friend.

After a long silence, the door swung open, bathing the chamber in flickering torchlight. He squinted, slowly adjusting to the halo of light around the newcomer. His heart stopped upon seeing the petite pegasus before him. This is their arbitrator? She is but a child! And a fearful one at that . . . He raised an eyebrow, waiting for the inevitable speech.

The mare pawed at the molding, cracked stones as if trying to draw some courage from them. He smirked, showing his wickedly pointed teeth. That set her quivering like a cornered rabbit. Pathetic creature . . .

It’s going to be alright, Fluttershy, get it together. He can’t hurt you . . . Taking a long, deep breath, she stepped a little closer towards the chained pony. No robe, no crown or adornments, just a young stallion regarding her with mild interest, hardly an intimidating sight. And yet, a part of her half-expected his evil magic to reach out and envelop her. After a long, tense moment, she realized why.

“Oh my!” There where his horn should have been were bandages. Judging from the circular pooling of blood, his horn had been removed. Her heart pounded like mad in her chest. ‘I will personally finish what I started.’ Discord did this? Fluttershy found herself torn between disgust at Discord and worry for the pony before her. The result was a painful grimace and a questioning stare from Sombra.

Oh, no. He thinks I’m mad at him. Fluttershy put on her best smile, standing as tall as her diminutive frame would allow. “My name is—”

“Fluttershy,” he drawled in an unfamiliar, silvery voice.

“Yesss, how did you—how did you know?”

“Your . . . friend,” he spat the word with distaste, “informed me of your coming.”

Fluttershy could only stare blankly back at him. Despite having fought Sombra before, they had never actually spoken. What should she say?

He rolled his eyes, jerking his head to the door. “Will you be handing me over to Discord? I imagine he would relish tearing out my—”

“No!” The volume in her voice surprised even herself. Oh my! “Sorry, I didn’t mean to . . . just Discord is being a bit,” stubborn. “He’s just cranky. I’m sure if we spoke to him, we could—”

“A bit ‘cranky?’” Sombra scoffed, pinning his ears. “And I suppose that justifies digging my horn out, does it?”

Fluttershy gulped, shaking her head. Nothing justifies that. “No . . . no it doesn’t. But,” she had to be firm, “he wouldn’t have done it if you just went with him in the first place.”

“If I ‘went along with him?’ I would rather die than bow to his commands!”

“But—”

“I am the rightful ruler of the Crystal Empire! Who is he to demand my cooperation?”

Fluttershy felt a shock of anger coursing through her. “The rightful ruler? The rightful ruler!? What part of torturing your subjects and enslaving them for centuries make you a ‘right’ ruler? There was no justice in your twisted kingdom!”

Rather than anger or even shock, Sombra merely smirked. “Perhaps, or perhaps not. I did not ‘torture’ them for amusement in any case.” His blood red eyes flickered to the key for a brief instant. “So you think I will change that quickly?”

“I—no . . .” Fluttershy’s face heated up as he continued to stare at her. “I wanted to give you the chance at least.”

“The chance for what?” he spat. “To become another of your dear princesses’ lap dogs? To embrace ‘harmony’ and ‘friendship’ as if it were the tonic for all ills?” He raised his leg a few inches, emphasizing how tightly the cuffs had been bound. “You have left me with nothing. No magic, no kingdom, and no purpose. And you want me to serve you? Tis no freedom you offer me, but another prison.”

Another prison? Fluttershy quivered, remembering Discord’s reaction upon their attempts at reforming him. Though he had come around, it had been difficult and even impossible for him to adapt to their life. However, he had tried and slowly come around. Was it so impossible for Sombra to do the same?

She closed her eyes, praying for an answer, any answer. Then it came to her. No matter how superior he acted, he was just another pony. A scared, confused, and lonely pony that needed a friend . . . someone, anyone to believe in what he could become.

Fluttershy stepped cautiously towards him, sinking to the slimy stones. “You’re right you know,” she breathed.

Sombra’s eyes grew wide, though he did not speak.

Methodically she took the key in her mouth and started to unlock the first cuff. “But,” she said as it fell open. “It’s a good kind of prison.”

He raised an eyebrow.

Her hoof ran across the swollen skin where the cuff had cut into him. “The kind of prison with sunshine and animals to talk to . . .”

“I do not care to communicate with your pets,” he snarled, but flinched when she brushed a strand of forelock from his eyes.

“How do you know if you’ve never tried?”

“I have—I tried!”

“When?”

“Times,” he murmured.

Fluttershy giggled at the flush starting across his muzzle. “And do you remember those times?”

“I have no need to!”

Fluttershy shook her head, picking up the key again. “Are you sure?”

“I—of course I am.”

“Mmmhmm.” She started on the next cuff, working just as slowly as before. “If you can’t remember them, how are you going to remember if you need them, hmmm?”

Sombra grew silent, though she could feel him tense as she worked through the last two cuffs. Once he was free, she sat up straight, looking fixedly into his eyes. “Give me one month. One month to prove to you that you need those memories and . . . find your purpose again.”

He barked a cold laugh. “I am nothing without my magic. Even if I did embrace these ‘memories’ or yours, how do you expect me to live without it?”

“I manage.” Fluttershy got slowly to her hooves. “Sooo . . .” She held out a hoof. “What’s it going to be? My place or the dungeon?”

Sombra glanced around at the chamber, lowering his ears. Then, reluctantly took the hoof. “Fine.”

Fluttershy helped him up, then started back towards the door, Sombra keeping step. Another villain to reform, and this time it wouldn’t be a one day deal. Still, she could not help but be excited for the possibilities. There would always be possibilities . . .

Author's Note

Thought I'd write something different for a change. I recently got hooked on Sombrashy shipping and wanted to write a quick one shot with them. Not much too it than that really.