Chapters It was cold. Not that he wasn't used to that after one thousand years being trapped under ice. The sentient horn had been biding it's time. Our rather, the soul inside it was. It had been only a few months, yet it felt like an eternity more than his previous imprisonment. Every moment he built up his power. Every moment, he planned. When he was strong enough to restore his body, he would make that pretty pink princess pay. He would take back his empire. And once he made sure nopony would ever find the crystal heart again, he would take equestria. Then he would make the dragon pay. The lavender unicorn too. In fact he would make all who had crossed him pay. Their lives would be living nightmares. Literally. If only he had a body. He could have taken his smoke form long ago of course, but then it would take longer to regenerate his form. But finally, he felt something other than hate and cold. He felt a spark. He was ready.
The soul focused. Every ounce of magic and energy was being used. Clouds of black smoke seeped from the horn as it bubbled purple and green. The acrid smoke started to take form as the horn levitated to the vague silhouette of a head. The first stage was done, now for the second. The shape became more precise, more solid, allowing the horn to melt into the head and become one with the head. Then, it gained his coloring, his blood red eyes and slit pupils only shone with rage and anticipation. He was 'alive' again. His strong, regal, build and ever moving jet-black mane were a sure sign of that. Now for his armor. Coils of smoke wrapped around him and not long after, drifted away. Revealing a new crown, a helmet, plated armor on his neck and legs, and a regal red cape. The unicorn took a deep breath. Purple smoke drifted out of the corners of his closed eyes. It was time. He opened his eyes, only to immediately glower at nothing in particular. His sclera was bright green and lightly glowed the same color. The king of fear let out a deep laugh which turned into a smile that showed off his razor sharp teeth.
Sombra took a step forward, his cape shifting in the almost endless blizzard. He laughed, "The king is back."
And with those four words, he shifted into a cloud of smoke and dove into the ground.
Sombra knew even at full power he stood no chance against the crystal heart's power, and he was still weakened from the regeneration. But then again, his magic was fueled by anger and other negative emotions, and he had a lot of those at the moment. Besides, he wanted revenge, and he wanted it now. The great black cloud of smog moved swiftly across the tundra, until it reached an oasis of colors in the never-ending white. Sombra looked over his Kingdom with disgust. All his slaves, his workers, his subjects. All so happy. He wanted it to end. With a roar he charged back down into the ground and rose back up, no longer a cloud of smoke, near the middle of his empire.
The crystal heart's magic was sapping his strength and threatening to destroy him again. But he didn't give in. At this point every crystal pony was watching him with fear as small, thin, glowing blue cracks appeared on his body, and he acted like it was nothing. He roared at the spectators and they screamed. It was satisfying for him to know that after all this time they still feared him. And their fear made him stronger. All his subjects screamed and scattered. Most yelled 'Sombra' or 'help.'
"Let her come," Sombra chuckled, "I can't wait to kill her."
Inside the crystal palace the pregnant pink alicorn awoke with a start to the sound of screaming. Then she heard something that caught her attention even more. Sombra. She jumped up from her bed just as Shining Armor burst into the room.
"I guess you heard... We have a big problem..." He trotted over to Cadence.
"How is he here? We destroyed him! I have to protect the crystal ponies!"
"No. You have to protect yourself, and our child."
"But--"
He put a hoof over her mouth, "No, I have guards ready to attack. If we don't succeed, get the crystal ponies out of here, but he should be weakened from the crystal heart's power." Shining Armor nuzzled his wife and quickly joined the guards and gave the order for them to attack.
Sombra's horn bubbled purple and green, he summoned a barrier of black, purple tinted crystal in front of a group of ponies trying to flee. He approached the cowering group and laughed.
"You know," He began in his deep, growl-like voice , "I shouldn't of had to go through this much trouble to get my kingdom back, I should of had it in the first place, from the beginning. And once I kill your princess it will be. I hope you stick around for that." Before any of the ponies could react he shot a beam of magic at them, encasing them in crystal.
Sombra turned around just in time to dodge a purple magic beam and glowered at the source. The princess's husband, charging and shooting at him, leading a large group of guards. Not the princess but oh well. This would be just as fun. He dodged shot after shot from Shining Armor's horn but as the soldiers grew near he went on the offensive.
A few of them split away from the group and he took the opportunity to teleport the two front runners in front of him. He stabbed one in the chest with his horn and the other one he used a heat spell to melt his armor then threw him through the air, screaming in agony, towards the others who felt the burning heat even before the forceful, deadly contact. Sombra stomped the ground and summoned pointed crystals under the approaching soldiers. Some were impaled, others were flung by the force, landing in unnatural positions with sickening cracks, and the rest were lucky enough to have only been knocked out. He nodded in satisfaction but realized there was one pony he didn't see.
A purple beam hit his side charring the flesh and making him roar in both pain and anger. Both the stallions charged, locked in hoof to hoof combat. Shining Armor landed many hits that bruised and bled, but then again, so did his opponent, and as he raised his head to dodge a swipe from his curved horn, Sombra lunged forward and locked his jaws around the prince's neck. Though just as he was about to bite down fatally, a blue-ish laser shot his back and went through his chest. He turned, releasing his grip on Shining Armor as glowing cracks spread though his body. There, behind him, was the princess of love herself. He jumped towards her and exploded into light in midair and Cadence quickly grabbed his horn with her magic to prevent it from being blown far away and allowing him to reform again. Cadence ran over to her husband, the horn still in her grasp. His wounds were nothing serious and he stood up, almost with ease.
Cadence supported Shining and levitated the horn infront of them, "We should probably see what Celestia wants to do with him, after we fix the empire and tend to your wounds, of course."
Shining armor nodded and walked to where the hospital was while Cadence began restoring the empire.
Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle,
I'd like to request that you and your friends come to Canterlot as soon as possible. When you arrive, please enter the castle alone. It is very important.
Sincerely,
Princess Celestia
Twilight read the letter over and over again in her head by memory as she trotted towards Canterlot castle with her friends. Rainbow Dash flew beside her.
"So, what do you think Celestia needs us for?"
"I don't know," She stopped at the palace's front doors, "but she wanted me to go in alone. Can you girls stay out here for a bit?"
The rest of the Mane 6 nodded and Twilight walked inside to the throne room. Cadence, Luna and Celestia were waiting for her there, each said hello, with Cadence greeting her with their usual ritual.
"So why did you need me here? Is there a threat to Equestria?" Twilight looked between the three alicorns.
"Sort of. You see a few days ago, Sombra attacked the crystal empire." Celestia paused to let the information sink in.
Twilight's eyes went wide, "But we destroyed him! How? Besides shouldn't the Crystal Heart of protected the empire and destroyed him again?"
Cadence shook her head, "He somehow resisted it's power."
Luna nodded, "Yes. He is a very powerful unicorn, and seems to be getting stronger."
"Which is why I called you here." She paused and Cadence levitated something towards Twilight.
Her eyes widened as she realized what the object was, "Is that..?"
"He could be an asset to us, Twilight. You see, we are going to reform Sombra."
"That's crazy! He'll destroy everything!"
"He will have no power, Twilight."
"But..."
"My dear student, we must do this. Are you with us?"
Twilight sighed, "I suppose..."
"Good, first we must use our magic to bring back his form. Ready?"
The princesses' horns all glowed as they simultaneously preformed the spell. Shadow spilled from the horn, eventually going from the vague silhouette of a body, to a precise shape, to a fully furred, detailed, stallion. The grey king dropped to the ground, not even processing what was happening yet.
"It is done..." Celestia said in a hushed tone.
Twilight swallowed, "And soon, back to Ponyville with him..."
Author's Note
And so it begins. Well hope you enjoyed, more to come ^^
Sombra felt a spark and his body reformed.
"How?" He thought, "I didn't try to reform and I shouldn't have been able to anyway, I'm still too weak..."
He collapsed on the floor and looked up. He was surrounded by the four princesses. Wait, four? The purple unicorn became a princess while he was away he supposed.
The princess of the sun spoke, "Sombra, we have decided to reform you and let you be free if you use your power for good instead of evil. What do you say?"
A deep laughter filled the room. It continued as Sombra hit his hoof on the floor while the four alicorns exchanged confused glances. But as his laughter died it was his turn to look confused.
"Were you not joking?" He questioned the white princess.
"I am completely serious, Sombra."
"Well, your mistake for reviving me." he snarled and shot a a blood red beam of magic at Celestia, effectively ripping a single feather off her wing.
He jumped up, "What the buck? That was supposed to make your wing explode! Not pluck a feather!" Then he realized the lack of a certain weight on his body as he got up and looked himself over, "AND WHERE IN TARTAROUS IS MY ARMOR?" He jumped back, covering his blank flank with his tail.
"You won't need it in Ponyville." Twilight answered.
"But then everypony will see my flaaaaaaaank!" He looked and sounded exactly like a colt whose mother wouldn't let him have another cookie.
Luna leaned towards Twilight and whispered, "We will let you take it from here..."
Twilight sighed, annoyed, "Let's just get this over with..."
Twilight stepped outside, all her friends greeting her with a group hug.
"So, what did she need us for?" Rainbow Dash pulled back.
Twilight sighed, "Well you see, we've been tasked with reforming Som--" She was interrupted by loud, heavy hoof steps.
A dark shape walked towards the group of mares, sticking out among the white marble stairs. He walked with confidence, never faltering. Despite not having his armor, or red cape, there was an air or regality around the stallion, the way he walked displayed his confidence, and he had the build of a true king which demanded respect, with a muscular form and strength to rival Bulk Biceps' own, though more sleek. His mane and tail, once ever moving, now lay still. Clumps and strands of fur fallen over his face.
"Hello, ladies." A smooth rumbling voice dripped from his mouth as he finally reached them.
All their jaws dropped to the ground.
"Is-- is that..." Applejack started.
"Sombra." Twilight finished for her as the rest of the elements got in defensive positions, except for Fluttershy who slinked behind RD.
Sombra tsked, "Not a very warm welcome for the king."
"He has no magic besides a simple levitation spell, as long as we stay on guard we'll be fine."
"So where'll he be sleepin'?" Applejack circled the king curiously now that she knew he was harmless.
"At the castle."
"Well ah' could use some help at the farm, apple buckin' season is right around the corner. So how 'bout we see if he's willin' to work hard?"
Sombra growled, "Farm? Like a peasant? No."
"You're on our terf now, Sombra. You're going to have to abide by our rules and live like a normal pony." Twilight stated bluntly.
"Besides, who knew the tyrannical dictator of the Crystal empire would be a blank flank?" Applejack teased.
Sombra grumbled and blocked his markless haunch with his tail, "Let's just go..."
As they approached the station Twilight went over the list of things expected from Sombra, "You are expected to become a fully functioning member of modern equestrian society," she paused, "and of course, make some friends!"
She turned to him only to find he had run up to another pony.
"Hello!" He said in a faked enthusiastic voice, with a large smile on his face, "I'm Happy Rainbow Kawaii-kun the second! What's your name?" He batted his eyes which suddenly had long eyelashes while the pony slowly backed away then trotted in the other direction.
He then brushed past Twilight, back to normal, "There I tried." He boarded the train and Twilight followed to join him and her friends, "Can I go back to being ninety percent dead now?"
Sombra was the first to run off the 'metal monster' as he called it, and preceded to puke in the first bush he saw.
"WERE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME!?" he shouted at the mares exiting the train.
Pinkie Pie popped out of the small bush and stuck her face in Sombra's. "Of course not! We're trying to help you now, silly!" She ruffled his mane and seemingly teleported back to her friend's sides.
"Okay then, lead the way, Princess Twilight Sparkle." The way he said, no, spit, her title out of his mouth was mocking and full of malice.
Twilight turned to her friends, "I'll take it from here, it's been a long day. Come, Sombra." She turned and walked towards her castle.
They were about half way to the castle when Sombra passed by the flower shop and saw Rose closing it up for the day. He smirked and broke away from Twilight's lead then walked over to the mare.
"Hello there." He said in a smooth, deep, almost gentlecolt-like, voice and lightly bumped into the flower pony.
She turned to him, "Oh, uh, hi! I'm Rose! What can I do for you?" She was a little uneasy.
"So, Rose is it? A beautiful name indeed. Roses were always my favorite flower. And I think I know what you can do for me." He purred as he stepped closer to the mare who shrank back with every step the intimidating stallion took towards her.
Before Rose could react further, however, a purple aura wrapped around Sombra and in a literal flash he was far from the flowers, face to face with an angry alicorn.
"WHAT THE HECK, SOMBRA!?" Twilight yelled.
"What? I was just having fun." He answered nonchalantly.
"That is not what should be fun! That is harassment!"
Sombra looked away out of annoyance, "Okay, mom."
She rolled her eyes, "Come on, and no more distractions."
As they grew closer to the structure Sombra could see it was a magnificent structure of crystal. They reached the doors and went inside. He followed twilight to a furnished room and stepped inside. He was impressed with the architecture, which was saying something considering he had been born, raised, and had ruled the Crystal Empire.
"This is where you will be sleeping, and I suggest getting some rest, you have a long day ahead of you at Sweet Apple Acres." As she walked out she turned back to him, "Don't even think about running either. There will be a spell on the room which will prevent you from leaving and will alert me if you try." With that, she cast said spell and left, shutting the door behind her.
Sombra didn't need to be told twice. He was still nauseous from the train ride and tired from reforming. Sombra sauntered over to the bed and immediately fell asleep as soon as he lied down.
Author's Note
Sweet Celestia, Sombra is going to get so many restraining orders
The former King of Shadows woke on his own that morning and reluctantly dragged himself out of the warmth of his bed. His hoof steps echoed through the cavernous halls of the castle as he led himself to the room where Twilight sat at a rather small circular table. She explained to him that he was going all over town today, and that he did. However, after causing many incidents, most notably lighting the bakery on fire and 'accidentally' striking somepony's home with lightning (not to mention the discovery of the fact that sewing needles plus levitation equals a weapon), he convinced Twilight to let him go back to the chore he loathed the least. Helping Applejack with the farm.
The ash grey pony made his way towards the huge orchard and looked for the bright orange country mare who stuck out among the trees. He found her, looking exhausted and ragged as she bucked the same tree at least ten times to get the apples to fall. And the fruit wasn't the only thing about to drop. With each kick the mare shook more and more until she collapsed. But she didn't hit the ground. Applejack looked up only to see the dark looming form of Sombra staring down at her, assessing the situation. There were dark bags under her eyes and she was obviously suppressing a yawn.
"Hey there Sombra. Ah' wasn't expectin--"
He cut her off, "What the fuck are you doing?!" Sombra all but yelled, "Did you even sleep!?"
Applejack thought for a moment, "Ah' took a few naps... But Apple Bloom and Big Mac were off on a delivery when I got back so I figured ah' could still work some more but ah' lost track'a time and didn't go to sleep..."
The stallion grumbled something under his breath as a red aura lifted the earth pony into the air and gently dropped her onto the back of the caster, still keeping her hat in the air.
"I'm taking you to bed Apple Pony." He saw her blush at his choice of words, despite knowing what he meant, and for good measure he added, "Have fun riding the pony." With a suggestive wink and lick of his lips.
She blushed even harder and tried (but failed) to get off of him and suppress the deepening red on her face. After all, he wanted that reaction. It wasn't as if he meant anything with his flirty advances, he had harassed most other mares (including the mane six.) He galloped towards the barn where he set her down on a few torn blankets. She immediately tried to get up but was held in place by the pony sitting next to her.
"Sleep, now. I will stand guard." He stated, emotionless. Though, she could've sworn she saw something flicker across his face. Concern maybe? But the thought was quickly brushed aside when he spoke again, "After all, if you're injured who's gonna let me take apples."
He tried to play it off, like he didn't care. But though he would never admit it, when the orange mare curled up with a chuckle and fell into a deep sleep, he felt something long forgotten in his mind. He felt comfort, he felt happiness.
He felt warmth.
Author's Note
Short chapter but it's got some fluff, and if you haven't already figured out what the main ship is going to be than you should know now :)
Chapter 4: The Earth Pony With a Horn
Applejack opened her eyes, rays of golden light heating her face and making her pupils shrink. She yawned and tried to get up but, with a grunt, realized there was something weighing her down. Now that she thought about it, she felt unusually warm, and there was something pressing into--
Wait a minute.
She looked behind her only to see none other then Sombra cuddled into her back, his snout buried in her mane and his warm breath on her neck. His foreleg and hind leg were draped over the mare, pulling her body close to his, and a slight, low rumble that was akin to a purr sounded from his throat. Her face flushed red, but there was a part of her mind stopping her from getting up. After all, she still had some time before Celestia raised the sun. Though, as soon as she closed her eyes a familiar voice yell her name.
Twilight.
She bolted upright and stood on all four hooves, waking the pony beside her who, to her surprise, blushed when he realized the position that they had been in. Applejack ran to her friend, Sombra following close behind. Twilight looked frantic but upon seeing Applejack her features softened. She trotted over to her friend.
"Thank Celestia you're okay! Sombra didn't come back last night and I fell asleep while waiting and he wasn't there when I woke up andIwasworriedhehurtyouand--" Applejack shushed her but before she could say anything, Sombra interrupted.
"So what? You think just because I didn't show up one night I hurt someone?" He snarled, "I have been doing well. I don't have my magic, I don't have my armor, I don't have my kingdom! I don't even have my pride!"
"Sombra, what about the sewing needles, the fire, the breadsticks."
"He had it coming and they were the perfect weapon! You know what sparkle ass, if you hate me having my last bit of magic left then cut my horn off and call me an earth pony. 'Cause I basically already am." He spat the last bit out like poison and ran towards the castle, his face contorted in rage.
He heard Applejack call to him but ignored her. He was angry and it didn't matter what anypony said to him. He was Sombra. He wasn't going to be forgiven and he didn't want to be.
He strolled through the darkness of the everfree, destroying anything that was foolish enough to attack him. He traveled until he came across a strange hut where he saw a zebra brewing potions. Sombra approached her.
"I have been expecting you, it is nice to see a face that's new."
Did she just rhyme? It was so easy NOT to rhyme and she rhymed. Of course. He rolled his eyes.
"What the fuck do you want, witch?" Sombra answered sharply.
She chuckled, "Why do you ask that to me? When you are the one who cannot see."
"You know what. No. I'm going back. I'm not doing this, zebra. Being in that town with those ponies is better then being here. Okay? Nope." Sombra walked away then broke into a sprint while repeatedly muttering 'nope nope nope' under his breath.
"If I do say so myself, a job well-done, for I have gotten him to run." She chuckled.
It was already midday by the time he reached the orchard. He was still angry of course. But despite how much he wanted to rip their throats out he could do that once he had his magic back, once they trusted him enough. He could wait. After all, he had forever.
"But for now," he thought as he saw Applejack selling apples to a mare, "I'll just enjoy the simpler things."
Sombra made his way toward the mare, remaining out of sight by weaving between trees (though maybe he did take a small pit stop to 'speak' to the buyer as she left.) His tail thrashed as he almost became one with the shadows cast by the tree line. Every muscle in his body tensed and he could have sworn time slowed down. Finally, he pounced! Right as she turned around. A high pitched yelp was heard and, suddenly, because of the unfortunate movement, they wound up in a very awkward and, to Applejack's dismay and Sombra's delight, provocative position. After the initial shock passed, Sombra's signature smug ass grin, that AJ had a love/hate relationship with, spread across his face.
"Don't." It was a simple command from her. A code word for 'I swear to Celestia, if you make one wrong move I will hurt you.'
Well, it's a good thing he understood code.
Sombra reluctantly scrambled to his hooves as AJ did the same, though, with a lot more grace. Sombra felt a forceful hoof tap his chest.
"Where the hay have you been?!" She growled at him.
"Forest. Why?" There it was again. That shit-eating grin. "You care 'bout me or something?" He batted his eyes dramatically.
"Naw' ah just need my free workforce." Applejack let out a relaxed chuckle, "Time to get ta' work."
Sombra let out a hearty laugh and followed the mare as she traveled into the orchard.
They bucked trees until it was pitch black and they had a few cart fulls of apples. Sombra settled down at the base of a thick tree trunk and let out a yawn.
"Don't ya have to go back to Twilight's?"
"Nnnyah..." He groaned, "Screw Sparkle butt and whatever she thinks." Sombra then gestured with his hoof for her to lay beside him.
With a roll of her eyes she did, but not too close, just close enough to barely touch him. He let out a satisfied grunt and soon fell into a deep sleep. AJ just sat there for a while until she decided 'a few minutes couldn't hurt' and snuggled into the dark, sleeping form beside her. As she drifted off to sleep the last thing she thought was 'if anyone sees, i'll say there was a chill in the air.'
Author's Note
Remind me to never write dialogue for Zecora ever again, those were the most frustrating hours of my life.
There was a warm weight draped over Applejack's body and, once again, she found herself unable to rise. But this time as her heavy eyelids forced themselves open, she didn't see a sleeping Sombra, but a very awake one. The monarch was staring at her, ruby eyes wide, and mouth slightly agape.
But then the Sombra she knew and ~~loved~~ was extremely annoyed by, returned from the war. A single wink was all it took for AJ to force herself up with Sombra following.
"We cuuuuuuddled." He sang in a childish voice.
"Sombra, you are being a big pile of manure."
"But I'm manure you cuuuuddled."
When Applejack looked at him his face was the very definition of 'smug asshole.' She scoffed and walked away, a dusting of pink hidden under her orange fur.
"Let's buck these trees, c'mon."
"We could do something a lot more interesting." Sombra wiggled his eyebrows, then pressed his snout against hers, his forked tongue snaking out of his mouth and grazing her chin.
Applejack glared at him defiantly, trying to maintain a cool exterior. She was fighting back a blush.
'He does this to every mare he can get his hooves on. It doesn't mean anything.' She repeated that in her head hoping it would help, but against her better judgement she analyzed his face, and in the back of her head a voice countered her current thoughts.
'How come it feels different then. There's worry in his eyes.'
She promptly turned away but as she risked a glance back she saw the king's ears pull back a slight amount.
AJ sighed, "C'mon princess,"
He growled in annoyance at the nickname, "I could have killed you when you slept."
"But you didn't." The grin was evident in her voice.
Big Mac and Applebloom had come back from their trip, much to Applejack's excitement.
And as she hugged her siblings, smiling so widely, he decided that he enjoyed her smile, that he enjoyed looking at her.
It's not creepy.
Unfortunately, he soon learned that making flirty advances her while they were by her brother was not an efficient way to get on his good side. There was a heavy silence as they ate and Big Mac's eyes bore holes into his head. Even for a reserved, kind stallion like him, an evil tyrant trying to flirt with his sister was a sure way to rile him up.
But despite the threat of the large red pony he still wanted to ki--
No.
He was a king, the king of fear , he would not fall in love with a peasant.
At least he would try not to.
The night was silent, only the sound of crickets and wood being pounded traveled through the cool air. It wasn't that Sombra had to keep bucking the trees this late, he just couldn't sleep. Though to be fair, being stuck in ice for 1,000 years didn't exactly make him eager to sit still. He was also stuck battling himself. He hated these ponies, he wanted to hurt them all, wanted to take back his powers, wanted to take back his kingdom. Yet, at the same time he found himself growing more attached to the orange mare then he wanted to be. Much more attached.
"What are you doin' up this late, Princess?" A familiar, pleasing voice pierced the silence of the night, and the solitude of his thoughts.
That was another thing Sombra liked about her. She wasn't afraid to tease him. Unlike her friends, there was no harm done by it, he trusted her and knew she wasn't insulting him. He had to admit, it was nice.
"I'm just bucking these trees, what about you?" He questioned.
"Couldn't sleep."
Sombra pulled the toned mare to the ground in a vicious sneak attack.
"Try again," he murmured into her ear.
AJ rolled her eyes 'He's just a flirt.'
And until Celestia rose the sun, and draped it's golden light across the land of Equestria, they rested.
Sombra sat on his haunches, dreading the fact that he was going to be social with the ponies responsible for his suffering. Ick. Applejack had insisted that he come though and he still wasn't exactly allowed alone so he had to deal with the situation. As the duo sat down in the Cutie Map room along with the other five ponies and one young drake, Twilight welcomed everypony happily. Sombra essentially zoned out until he felt a gentle nudge in his shoulder and his name being called.
"What?" He grumbled.
"Well," Twilight spoke up, "We've decided you need to learn how to interact with ponies other then AppleJack, so you will be spending time with the five of us since AJ assured us she would be fine for the rest of applebucking season."
"So I'm not going to see Apple Pony for a while?" His ears flattened against his head as he growled, "And I'm going to have to be with you? "
"Unfortunately." Rainbow muttered, "You better not screw anything up."
"You still don't trust him a little bit!? He was with me for almost a month and I'm fine!"
"So what, are you taking his side now?"
"I'm just sayin' we should give him a little more trust, like what Fluttershy did with Discord."
"At least Discord didn't enslave and torture an entire empire for generations."
AJ merely sighed and let out an annoyed 'fine,' knowing she lost the argument.
And with that, the group split up, AJ and Sombra looking at each other wistfully, knowing it was for the last time in a while
Author's Note
Alright. I'm going to be completely honest.
Chapter 6: Sparkle Butt
Sombra trudged down the dirt roads of Ponyville towards the large, crystal structure which stood as a beacon for the town, being towed by the princess of friendship herself. Though he had spent some time as a guest at the castle he had never really examined it before so he took the opportunity while walking though the winding halls to fully appreciate the architecture.
"So, this is your first time seeing the entire castle. What do you think so far? You must know a lot about crystal buildings considering where you lived." Twilight asked, trying to be cheery.
"It is a nice place I suppose," The king looked around, unimpressed, "Needs more stairs though."
"No." The purple princess deadpanned, her upbeat mood dropped.
He shrugged, "Your loss."
Twilight stopped at a pair of large doors and pushed them open. Inside was one of the largest collections of books that Sombra has ever seen, well, second largest, his library was much more grand.
Thinking of his kingdom made the king almost shake with anger. Damn these ponies who took everything from him and tore him away from the one bucking pony he at least was comfortable with. Damn Celestia for bringing him back to life. Damn himself for being so weak and becoming another one of the Princess's pawns.
He took a deep breath. He just needed to win their trust enough to get his magic back, then he'd show them true power.
"So what are we doing here?" He asked the young alicorn.
"Well, I'd like to learn about you and your history, there's not much about you in any history books, not even those in the crystal empire."
Sombra rolled his eyes, "What do you want to know?" He asked, barely believing he was going to entertain this.
"Everything." Twilight replied, a quill and blank scroll hovering in front of her.
Sombra let out an annoyed groan, "Let's Get this over with. It started over 10,000 years ago..."
The unicorn blacksmith looked fondly upon upon the tiny newborn foal and his wife who was still breathing heavily.
Nuzzling his mate he spoke, "You did it Ruby."
Panting, the light grey mare nuzzled him back, "Yea, it hurt a lot but I did it." She chuckled, "Look at our beautiful boy, Smolder."
The tiny unicorn gave a whine and a cry, the white blanket which he was wrapped in shifting as he opened his eyes to look at his proud parents.
Then, of course, started crying, as all newborn foals do. He was almost a spitting image of his father besides for the red eyes which were from his mother.
"Shh" Ruby comforted her new foal and looked at her husband with joy, knowing this was going to be an amazing experience.
"Sombra. We should name him Sombra." Smolder suggested, "Like the beautiful shadows of the night that he resembles."
Ruby nodded, smiling softly, "Sombra... I like it.
"All I ever wanted to do was be a royal guard. I loved my kingdom, my home, so much. Every moment of my life was devoted to training and learning everything I could and when I finally became a guard it was only a few years before I became a captain. It was everything I ever dreamed of."
"So what happened?" Twilight inquired.
"There was a famine. Invaders tried to attack while we were weak, all the wild beasts of the North descended upon us and in the third attack, my father was killed by an ice wraith. But the queen did nothing. She allowed the monsters to attack again and again, only doing the bare minimum to drive them away, never ordering us to kill the beasts, to truly defend our kingdom. Eventually I got sick of it and when I saw my mother being attacked by a frost wolf I broke. I ordered my soldiers to kill as many beasts as they could get their hooves on. But it was in vain for me, we may have pushed them back but my mother succumbed to her injuries soon after, and I was brought to trial for disobeying the queen's orders."
"Captain Sombra," Queen Rose Quartz spoke in an authoritative voice, "Do you admit to me giving explicit orders not to kill the monsters?"
"Yes." Sombra replied stoically.
"Captain Sombra, do you admit to ordering your troop to slaughter as many of the beasts as possible?"
"Yes, I did what was best for the empire. Unlike you have been doing, my queen. You've allowed these savages to maraud our kingdom and massacre our ponies for too long."
The queen glared at him, "Need I remind you, that you are not the one in charge of this empire, peace and patience would have yielded results had you not--"
"Not what?" He growled, "Had I not prevented a bloodbath and the possible extinction of the crystal ponies?"
His horn bubbled green and purple as he was reminded of the powerful dark magic he had studied and learned. Anger and power flowed through him as he took menacing steps forward, tossing the queen's guards aside. His sclera glowed green, leaking purple smoke and his pupils turned to blood red slits. Fangs started protruding from his snarl as he tossed all who tried to attack him aside.
"Your ignorance killed my family," He shot a beam of dark magic at the queen's horn, turning it into a bloody painful stump, "Your weakness killed thousands," Sombra shot another blast at her leg, burning a gash into her leg as she screamed, "You crossed me, you've crossed my kingdom, and you've betrayed everyone!"
He put his horn to her chest "It's time for you to pay, this empire deserves a true leader, it's time for you to die."
With that he plunged his horn into the former queen's heart.
"And I will be that leader."
"You know what happened from there." He finished.
"I didn't know why... that's not a reason to... I guess you aren't just pure evil like everyone thought..."
Sombra sighed then glared at the lavender alicorn, "I'm not doing this again, with any of your friends. I don't care if you kill me again. I don't care about you or any of your little buddies and I will not be forced to care. I still have some damn dignity and I will maintain it. In a Few day I'm going back to the farm whether any of you like it or not, until then I will rest."
"You're in no position to be making demands or giving orders, Sombra." Twilight replied.
"Kill me and tell Celestia you failed then. I know you won't."
Twilight clenched her teeth, summoning magic into her horn and aiming it at the former monarch. It wasn't long before the glow disappeared and she glared intensely at him. "I'll tell the girls."
"I knew it," He smirked, "Just don't tell Apple Pony though, I want it to be a surprise."
He turned away from her, "Goodnight Sparkle Butt."
Author's Note
damn so sorry i havent updated, been dealing with a lot of shit, just so you know though the plot starts to thicken soon ;3
Chapter 2: Better Than Pancakes
Sombra awoke to being violently shaken. His first instinct was to lash out which he immediately regretted when the hoof he tried to hit his assailant out with suddenly stopped, causing his elbow to bend a strange way. Sombra yelped at the slight pain, more from surprise though. He opened his eyes and Twilight's aura released his hoof.
"Sorry! It was a bit of a reflex..." She let out a nervous chuckle, "Well, uh, Spike made pancakes and coffee so follow me."
Sombra did as he was told, "Just one question." He broke into a trot to keep up with the mare, "What the hell are pancakes and coffee?"
Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy took their respective seats in the map area. Twilight and Spike were already there with Sombra right beside them.
"Well, it's time to formally introduce ourselves to our new... Ally..." She had trouble getting the word out.
"And he's gunna' help me out at the farm."
Sombra glared at her, "I don't like you, mare."
Twilight sighed, "Her name is Applejack. And that's Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity." She gestured to each of her friends as she said their names.
"I don't care about their names!" he hissed.
Pinkie Pie tasked, "No 'welcome to the good side' parties for meanies!"
"Good, I hate you all," he spat, "and I don't plan on being your definition of good, you miserable mares!"
Twilight rubbed her temples. It was so much better when he was still lethargic, the ex-king was much less of an asshole that way.
"Now you don't have to be so rude, Sombra." Rarity scowled at him.
"I don't care, and that is King Sombra to you, wench! The only thing good that's come out of this have been pancakes!"
"Hey, watch your mouth when talking to our friends or you'll be sorry!" RD defended her.
"You dare have the audacity to challenge me!? I will rip you to shreds and let maggots feast on your corpse!" The grey pony yelled.
"N- now, now every pony. Let's all be nice to each other..." Fluttershy basically whispered, barely able to be heard.
Sombra glared daggers at her and was about to give the shy mare an explicit description of what he would do to all of them but she cracked under his icey gaze. A whimper was heard and Twilight kept his muzzle shut with her magic. She growled and faced him.
"You are not in the Empire. You are here, on our turf, with us as your equals, not your subjects. If you keep going like this, your horn will be smashed and you will cease to exist. And I will know if you try to run. Got it?"
Sombra merely nodded his head weakly as his snout was released. Applejack walked up to him as the rest of the elements left, RD and Pinkie comforting Fluttershy.
"C'mon pardner, you're comin' with me."
He followed Applejack for a few minutes until they arrived at a farm, larger then he had ever seen in his long lifespan.
"You take care of this whole farm by yourself?"
"Naw. I have mah family to help. Though Granny is too old so it's usually just me, Apple Bloom, and Big Mac." She said like is was no big deal. "We usually miss some apples during apple buck season but now that we have you we might have a surplus."
Sombra had to admit, he was impressed. A very small group of ponies, successfully tending to a huge farm, it was amazing.
"So I just have to gather apples?" He asked as they walked into the sea of trees. Applejack nodded and pointed to a basket under a tree. But before she could explain how, his horn glowed with a red aura, the same color of the aura now surrounding the apples in the tree. However, something blocked the flow of magic and he looked up to see an orange hoof on the tip of his curved horn. He glared, annoyed, at the country mare.
"If yer gonna work on this here farm, you're gonna have ta work like an earth pony."
Sombra rolled his eyes, "And how exactly do I do that?"
"Ya gotta buck the trees. But ya gotta do is right if yer gonna avoid sprainin' a hoof or worse. You've got a lean, muscular body so once you learn how to buck the trees you'll probably be real good at this. Shall we begin?"
"Oh, you think I'm muscular?" He smirked and pushed his face towards hers which had an unamused look painted on it, "Do you like muscular stallions?" he wiggled his eyebrows and was met with a forceful hoof pushing him back.
She rolled her eyes, "Let's buck these trees."
The king groaned, "IT'S BEEN 1,000 YEAAAAARS!"
It had been almost an hour and Sombra had yet to get even one buck close to correct. Finally, it seemed as if he was getting the form right. He executed the kick and a crack was heard. Every single apple fell from the tree... along with the rest of the plant. The ash-grey pony roared in frustration and felt a hoof on his shoulder. He shrugged it off.
"What the hell do you want?" He questioned.
He turned his head to see a beaming Applejack staring up at him. It was the first time her saw her smile... It was nice he supposed. Sombra realized what he just thought and shook his head to push it away.
"That was perfect, just a little softer next time." She complimented him and tossed him an apple.
Sombra sniffed the fruit curiously and looked at the country mare.
"What? Never had an apple before, Mr. King?" She asked jokingly.
"No. Just Crystal Empire produce. Crystal corn. Crystals, of course. Maybe the occasional rabbit. But there were no apples."
"Well try it then. I can guarantee you'll love it." She smirked confidently.
Sombra hesitantly took a bite out of the shiny red fruit. His eyes shot wide open and he devoured the rest of the fruit's white flesh. Sombra immediately dove for more, eating with a joyous look on his face.
"These are better than pancakes!"
Applejack walked him back to the castle as Luna raised the Moon. Sombra walked next to her and shattered the delicate silence.
"I still hate you and your friends, Apple pony. No amount of decadent modern delicacies will change that."
"We'll see about that. Bet there ain't no way we're ever gonna trust you. Got it?"
Sombra merely entered the castle, leaving the mare who had already begun walking back to her farm. Twilight greeted him.
"How was your day Sombra?"
"I hate everything."
"Um... Okay? Would you like some ice cream?"
"Is that a trap?"
"No. Here just try it." The purple mare place a bowl and a spoon in front of him. In the bowl were two spheres of something cold and white.
Sombra ate only a spoonful at first, but soon took both the scoops and essentially inhaled them.
"Almost as good as an apple." He purred.
Unfortunately he ate the frozen confection too fast and was unaware of the dire consequences.
The king let out a roar of pain and clutched his head, "IT WAS A TRAP! YOU LIEEEEEED!"
Twilight rolled her eyes it's called brain freeze. It happens when you eat ice cream too fast, just let it go away." She walked away.
Eventually, Sombra got over the malicious attack and retreated to his room. It had been another long day.
Author's Note
Hey, thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed!
Chapter 6.5: Five Days Later
Applejack walked peacefully through the orchard, admiring the tranquility and silence. All of a sudden she felt a heavy impact and fell over, a black figure standing over her.
"Sombra!" She exclaimed happily then blushed and looked away.
"You miss me or somethin'?" He gave an honest smile.
"Nah..."
Sombra chuckled, "It's okay, I missed you too actually..."
She looked up hopefully, "Really?"
Sombra nodded, helping her up and nuzzling her.
Applejack blushed harder, "What do you want?"
"You." He licked her cheek, "You're the only one I like, and the king doesn't like just anyone."
"What brought this up?"
"I've have a lot of time to think these past five days."
"I can't, I'm sorry..."
Sombra pulled his ears back, "It's fine, Just wanted to let you know."
Applejack smiled, "Let's go buck some trees."
Sombra smiled again and nodded.
Now she just had to sort her feelings out.
Author's Note
just a short mini chapter thing before things get real :3
