The Shadow of A Tyrant

One month later, at night...
Sombra arrived in the library at midnight, knowing that the librarian had gone home for the night, which meant that the keys for the Forbidden Section. He had been meeting with Radiant Hope in secret after the wedding and thankfully neither of their families were unaware of their meetings, especially their plans to elope in the future.

He levitated the keys to the Forbidden Section from a secured drawer in the desk and approached the barred gate to the restricted part of the library. Sombra used the keys to unlock the gate and entered. The Forbidden Section was completely dark, only lit by candlelight and filled with shelves upon shelves of ancient books.

Amazing! I wonder why mother and the librarian didn't want me to come here... Sombra thought in amusement.

An obsidian pedestal in the back of the room caught his eye as he walked up to it, staring at the black book with a curious expression. The book was titled 'A Guide to Dark Magic: The Uses and Properties'. Tempted, Sombra levitated the book from the pedestal and sat down, reading though it. Despite not understanding the ancient text, he seemed to have learned more from them than the books that he was permitted to read by Amore.

As he read, he found a page on Onyx Quartz, an incredibly rare and forbidden crystal which was considered illegal for trading due to rumors that it was used for evil potions and dark rituals as well as powered and grown by hatred and disharmony. Interested, Sombra wondered why his siblings or mother hadn't mentioned this before.

This was certainly more fascinating than the other books on magic...it seems that there was more to everything aside from everything he knew.

The one thing that ended up changing his life forever was a page on how to make ponies worship you as a ruler. Sombra kept reading and reading on the page, believing that maybe with this spell, ponies would respect him more than Garnet. Following the instructions, he casted the spell.

Suddenly, he felt...strange as he concentrated on the spell. A fire burnt in his eyes, making him feel more and more powerful. Sombra channeled even more dark magic, letting out a scream as his eyes turned green along with his pupils becoming red and purple smoke came out of his eyes. With that, he passed out.

Several hours later, he awoke and went up to a nearby mirror to see his reflection: his horn had become curved and red while his cutie mark was now dark grey. He was in shock and before he could say anything, he heard a chuckle beside him, making the unicorn jump.

"Excellent work, Sombra. I had no idea you would finally have your true form already..." The voice, which belonged to a mare, said with a hint of pride.

"Who are you? How did you know my name?" Sombra asked in shock.

"Oh, come now, don't you recognize your own mother?" Lady Ira answered with a smirk as she took on the form of a normal pony.

"You're my mother?!" Sombra gasped in shock. "Why did you abandon me?!"

"Did you ever wondered why you never fit in with those silly Crystal Ponies? That's because you're an Umbrum, a pony made from shadows who are the enemies of the Crystal Ponies. I abandoned you to have you take over the Crystal Empire and later Equestria when you were old enough. Since you were born as a normal appearing pony, you had to achieve your Umbrum form by learning dark magic which you did now." Ira explained.

"I remembered that when I was a colt, when I first met Princess Amore, I received a headache from the Crystal Heart. Is that part of being an Umbrum too?!" Sombra demanded.

"Yes, it weakens the Umbrum. That is why I sealed it away in a hidden area of the castle." Ira nodded.

"If this is my destiny, what do I do now?" Sombra asked.

"Find Princess Amore, Prince Garnet, Emerald Gleam, and Princess Aquamarine. Kill them. Let nothing stand in your way." Ira smiled evilly. "Make mama proud..."

Sombra smirked and summoned a cloak before putting it on as Ira disappeared. Outside, Amore paced around where the Crystal Heart once stood, distressed that it had gone missing.

A shadowy figure in a cloak caught the corner of her eye as she asked, "Sombra? What are you doing here at this hour?"

"I could ask the same about you...mother." Sombra snarled.

"You seem angry. I can help you." Amore suggested.

"I don't need your help! You've kept so many secrets from me! You adore Garnet and Aquamarine, especially Garnet, more than anyone else!" Sombra snapped at his adoptive mother. "You knew I was an Umbrum, didn't you?!"

"Yes, I did. I could see right through your disguise! You didn't have to become like one of those monsters, but you did just like your mother and grandfather!" Amore retorted.

"ENOUGH!" King Sombra screamed as he casted a spell on his adoptive mother, turning her into a statue of Onyx Quartz.

Hearing the commotion, Garnet, Emerald Gleam, and Aquamarine stepped outside and saw what remained of the princess.

"MOTHER!" Aquamarine gasped as she flew towards her mother.

"Aqua! Look out!" Garnet cried out before Sombra fired a spell at the blue Pegasus, turning her into a statue.

He and Emerald tried to run and help, only to become statues too.

Why didn't she tell me? Sombra thought in anger.

With a flash of his horn, the statues of his adoptive family shattering into tiny pieces of Onyx Quartz. He turned and saw Radiant Hope staring in shock.

"Sombra, what have you done!?" She exclaimed in fear.

"It's alright, Hope. They can't hurt us anymore. This Empire is now ours and soon Equestria will too." Sombra mockingly reassured her.

"Sombra, what are you talking about?" Radiant Hope asked.

"Hope, they have mocked me for so long." Sombra interrupted her. "We can rule this kingdom side by side. We can elope at last!"

"You're not acting like yourself, Sombra! I can help you!" She sobbed.

"I don't need your help! I don't need anypony's help!" Sombra yelled.

"Sombra..." Radiant Hope said with tears in her eyes before running off crying. "You're a monster!"

"Is that a proper way to speak to your KING?!" Sombra shouted.

With that, he used the shadows to make his own regalia and a red cape which was the perfect attire for a king. It was just like his mother wanted, she would be proud...