Chapters A thousands years ago...
Once it landed, the figure then took the form of a unicorn mare with green eyes with red pupils, a black mane, a red horn, and a grey coat with a black crystal with thorns surrounding it as a cutie mark wearing a dark purple cloak with the hood up. In her mouth was a black basket with a bundle inside.
Lady Ira snuck away into a darkened alleyway as she levitated out a map of the Crystal Empire and put her hood down to look at the nearby crystalized building. That must've been it...Chestnut Falls' Orphanage. It was perfect, with her son living here, the Crystal Ponies would have no idea that they had an Umbrum living among them, one who would rise up and take over the Crystal Empire for the Umbrum to rule as their first step to dominate Equestria.
She stared at the bundle that was in the basket which contained her son, a light grey unicorn colt. Ira had named him Sombra after his mane color. Like most young Umbrum, he had arrived into the world as a shadow before taking the form his mother now saw before her. The only unusual thing about him was that he was born with green eyes and a normal horn which was unlike the green eyes with red pupils and red curved horns that Umbrum were usually born with. This made him rare among his species.
Her father, King Rabia, had ordered her to send young Sombra to the Crystal Empire, knowing that the few Umbrum who are born with a "normal" pony appearance who learn dark magic receive the normal Umbrum appearance. Agreeing with her father, Ira decided to leave her son in the home of the Umbrum's sworn enemies.
Ever since the Crystal Empire was founded a very long time ago, the Umbrum had been at war with the Crystal Ponies several years after the founding of Equestria. Working with the Windigos, they attempted to destroy the Twinkle-Eyed Ponies, the ancestors of the Empire's citizens, but thanks to the leaders, Corazon Diamante and her daughter, Canzone D'amore, they were banished from Equestria by the power of the Crystal Heart which was created by Corazon and Canzone using the love of their followers before Corazon sealed herself inside the Heart.
Ira slowly approached the entrance to Chestnut Falls' Orphanage. She knew for a fact that everything was going according to plan. Making her way to the front door, she heard a slight yawn from her basket and saw her son slowly opening his eyes. He gently hit his small hoof against his mother's snout, making her smirk.
"Good boy..." Ira smiled mischievously at him. "Now, go to sleep. Nopony must know that I'm here."
She levitated the colt's hoof and placed it back into the bundle before placing the basket onto the orphanage's doorstep. The grey unicorn mare then attached a note that read 'Sombra' on it to the bundle. Sombra reopened his eyes and stared up at his mother who was adjusting the note before he went back to sleep.
Ira smirked again and kissed her son on the forehead while whispering, "Make mother proud..."
Knowing that he had a bright future as the conqueror of the Crystal Empire and later Equestria, the female Umbrum tapped her hoof against the door loudly before going into her shadow form and slipping away into the alley near the orphanage. Soon, the door opened and a light brown Crystal Pony mare stepped outside.
"Hello?" Chestnut Falls called out while checking for the pony who could possibly be knocking at this hour.
Must be some trouble making foals trying to get a laugh... She thought in slight irritation.
Suddenly, the mare looked and saw a basket in front of her. She then found herself face to face with a unicorn colt with green eyes, a black mane, and a grey coat who was wrapped in a bundle.
"Oh, you poor thing...who would abandon somepony like you?" Chestnut Falls asked the colt. "Where are your parents? Do you have a name?"
She noticed the note attached to the bundle and read aloud, "'Sombra'. So, that's your name? Well, I'm going to take care of you until somepony adopts you. You're in good hooves now...Sombra."
With that, Chestnut Falls brought the colt inside of the orphanage.
Nine years later...
One day, outside in the playground the orphanage had, Sombra was approaching three foals who were playing together.
"Hello, may I play with you?" He greeted.
The three foals ignored him as one with a pink coat whispered, "Why do they even keep him around? He's not even a Crystal Pony, just a normal old unicorn."
"He doesn't even have a cutie mark, so why should we even bother with him?" A light blue foal asked while rolling his eyes.
"To answer your question, Sombra: no, we won't play with you." The pink foal told Sombra.
"Yeah, other ponies will think we're weird like you." The blue foal scoffed as he walked off with his friends.
Sombra let out a sad sigh and just stared at the ground before he heard a voice reassure him, "Don't worry about them. They said the same thing about me when I first arrived."
He was then approached by a unicorn filly with dark blue eyes, a light blue mane, and a purple coat. Sombra was shocked that this filly had approached him since nopony had ever done this to him before.
She's so pretty... He thought in amazement.
"If you want, I can be your friend. We can be weird together." The filly suggested.
"I would like that. It gets awfully lonely for me." Sombra nodded.
"Good! My name is Radiant Hope!" The filly grinned.
"I'm Sombra." He told her. "So, why are you here? Where are your parents?"
"My parents? Well, my mother died when I was born, so my father left me here several months later. What about yours?" Radiant Hope explained.
"I...don't know. Miss Chestnut Falls wouldn't even tell me. She just said that I was left on the orphanage's doorstep." Sombra shrugged.
"I remembered my father taking me to something called the Crystal Faire before he left me here. I don't remember it though." Radiant Hope told him.
"Crystal Faire?" Sombra asked. "I think I remember that it was mentioned in the books as some celebration that helps power the Crystal Heart which protects the Empire from harm."
"You can come with me once we save up enough bits!" Radiant Hope grinned.
"Sure." Sombra nodded.
Soon enough, the two became the closest of friends as they learned and played together. The two foals who bullied them would still whisper that they're weird and freaks, but they didn't care. Sombra and Radiant Hope managed to even collect as many bits as they could in order to save up for the Crystal Faire.
One day, the young filly woke up her friend as they walked down the hall to the entrance of the orphanage together.
"I've never seen the Crystal Heart in person before. I've only seen it in pictures in the books." Sombra said to his friend. "Can we see it?"
"Of course we can! Race you there!" Radiant Hope smiled before running out of the orphanage with Sombra in tow.
Soon, the two foals arrived near the front of the palace where the Crystal Heart was in all it's glory.
"Isn't it amazing?" The purple filly asked with a grin.
"Yes, let's take a closer look." Sombra answered with a nod.
Little did they know was when they got closer, they had briefly gotten a glimpse into their futures. Radiant Hope saw that she was the Royal Healer for the Crystal Princess. As for Sombra, he saw a shadowy monster with green eyes with red pupils and a curved red horn.
"OW!" Sombra screamed as he felt a sharp pain in his head and collapsed onto the ground.
"Sombra!" Radiant Hope gasped, running towards him.
She then used some of the magic she learned, healing him. Suddenly, there was a brief flash of light and she looked at her flank and saw her cutie mark: a gold caduceus.
"Is there something wrong here?" A motherly voice asked from behind Sombra.
With a groan, Sombra woke up and saw a unicorn mare with amber eyes, a dark pink-blue mane, and a light pink coat with a snowflake in between some lace as a cutie mark wearing blue royal regalia.
"Princess Amore!" Sombra gasped in surprise.
"You know, they say that the Crystal Heart can show your future." She said to the two foals.
"Wow! I hope it comes true then! I saw myself as the Royal Healer!" Radiant Hope exclaimed happily.
"It may come true, but we control our futures." Amore nodded before turning to Sombra. "So, what did you see, Sombra?"
"It was scary, Princess. I saw some monster made out of shadows that looked like me..." Sombra explained with a worried expression.
"Fascinating...you know, it may not happen since you control your destiny." Amore told the colt.
"Princess, I wish I didn't see it." Sombra said in fear.
"I understand, Sombra. Not knowing what lies ahead can be frightening, but you have to make the best of your time now." Amore reassured him. "You and Radiant Hope better run home now."
The two foals nodded and walked back to the orphanage.
Prince Sombra of the Crystal Empire
Several months later...
The grey colt woke up and yawned, asking, "Miss Chestnut Falls? What's wrong?"
"I have great news, Sombra! The princess has decided to adopt you!" Chestnut Falls answered with a grin.
"What?! You're joking, right?" Sombra gasped in shock.
"No, not at all! She told me that she had met you and Hope near the Crystal Heart a few months ago and took a liking to you." Chestnut Falls explained while leading the unicorn colt out of his room.
Despite the excitement that he now had a family, Sombra felt concerned since he was leaving Radiant Hope on her own at the orphanage. At least she would have Chestnut Falls to keep her company...
His thoughts were broken when he heard Radiant Hope calling his name and running towards him. He excused himself from Chestnut Falls and approached his friend.
"Where are you going?" She asked him.
"Oh, um, Hope...I've been adopted by the princess now. She's outside to take me to the castle." Sombra answered nervously.
Radiant Hope was silent for a while as she sighed sadly, "Congratulations, Sombra. I'm going to miss you. It's a shame we can't go to the Crystal Faire together..."
"Same here." Sombra nodded, hugging her. "Don't worry, maybe you'll get adopted one day. Do you think we'll see each other again?"
"I hope I'll get adopted, but we will definitely see each other again." Radiant Hope smiled.
"Sombra, come on! You don't want to keep your new mother waiting!" Chestnut Falls called out.
"I have to go..." Sombra sighed before leaving his friend.
He followed Chestnut Falls outside where Amore was waiting for him alongside her Royal Guards. Sombra stopped in front of the princess as his caretaker from all this time bowed to her. Before stepping into the carriage with his new mother, the colt gave Chestnut Falls a farewell hug.
Sombra stepped into the carriage as the guards pulled it towards the palace. Once they arrived, Amore stepped out as the guards bowed to her while he followed her.
"Welcome to your new home, Sombra." She told him as she led him into the castle.
The colt was in awe, stepping into the place he was to now call home: the palace was completely made out of crystal like the rest of the Empire's buildings. As he explored, Amore smiled and turned to one of her guards, ordering him to bring her two biological foals down to the throne room, so they could meet their new brother.
Soon, accompanied by the guard the princess had sent, two foals slightly older than Sombra came down the stairs. The first was a unicorn colt with amber eyes, a red mane, and a dark orange coat with a ruby as a cutie mark wearing silver regalia. The second was a Pegasus filly with dark blue eyes, a blue mane, and a cyan coat with an ocean wave as a cutie mark wearing the same regalia as her brother.
"Garnet, Aquamarine, this is your new brother: Sombra. I adopted him earlier today." Amore explained to her foals.
"Welcome to our family, Sombra. I hope you enjoy living here." Princess Aquamarine smiled slightly.
"Yes, welcome." Prince Garnet added with a nod. "I'll take it upon myself to teach you magic. How is that?"
"I like that." Sombra grinned at his adoptive brother.
As the days past, he spent time with his new siblings and mother as they taught him how to be a proper prince and how to use magic for basic ways such as levitation and other spells.
One day, Garnet was teaching Sombra how to summon crystals from the ground. To demonstrate this, the orange unicorn summoned a crystal spire of sapphires and explained to his brother about how crystals are important to the Empire since it's what they specialize in for trade with the rest of the kingdom.
"Now, try to summon some crystals, Sombra." Garnet commanded him.
Sombra nodded and concentrated as his horn glowed. He could feel the ground crack slightly and kept concentrating until he looked up, seeing a large red quartz popping out of the ground and being unaware of the flash of light from his flank.
"I did it!" He cheered before looking at his flank to see his cutie mark: a three pointed red quartz. "My cutie mark! I got my cutie mark!"
"That's Ruby Quartz...it's the rarest crystal there is..." Garnet gasped before hugging his brother. "I'm so proud of you, Sombra!"
Sombra smiled and kept hugging him before walking inside with his brother, hoping that their good relationship would last forever. Unfortunately, it wasn't that so.
As the years went by, Sombra grew apart from his siblings as Garnet was being groomed in order to take the throne as heir while Aquamarine became an ambassador to help establish trade routes with the other kingdoms. He just spent his time in the library, studying magic while his siblings got more attention (Garnet getting the most) and he felt jealous of them, but hid it well.
Sombra ended up shutting himself away from his mother and siblings as he got deeper and deeper into his studies, being told by the librarian to stay away from the Forbidden Section which was closed off to everypony who uses the library. As this went on, Aquamarine decided to travel Equestria as more and more trade relationships were built while Garnet met and fell in love with a Crystal Pony mare named Emerald Gleam who decided to live with them in the castle after Garnet proposed to her.
Emerald Gleam was a Crystal earth pony mare with silver eyes, a light green mane, and a dark green coat with an emerald heart as a cutie mark. Sombra thought she was friendly, but he could care less since she was the fiancé to his "more spectacular" brother.
One year after Garnet's engagement to Emerald
Also, it didn't help at all that tonight was when Garnet and Emerald Gleam were to get married at the front of the palace near the Crystal Heart. Sombra winced in disgust at the thought of that. It was always Garnet or Aquamarine who got the attention (mainly Garnet since he was the heir) while he stayed in the library studying all he could about magic and not going into the Forbidden Section which frustrated him to no end.
With a groan, he walked over to the jousting arena to go sharpen the spears. Before he could start, he saw a familiar unicorn mare levitating some gauze around one of the jouster's hooves: it was Radiant Hope who was tending to the jouster.
Feeling excited, Sombra ran over to her as the jouster thanked her and left. She turned and gasped in surprise before running up to him and giving her old friend a hug.
"Sombra! You've grown a lot since we last saw each other!" Radiant Hope exclaimed.
"So have you. You look...beautiful." He commented.
"Thank you!" She grinned while blushing slightly. "I also got adopted by one of the best doctors in the Crystal Empire several days after you left the orphanage. Now, I'm a doctor."
"That's great!" Sombra said with a large smile on his face.
"I know! So, I've heard your older brother, Prince Garnet, is getting married tonight. The whole kingdom's invited!" Radiant Hope nodded.
"Yes, it's fantastic..." Sombra grumbled under his breath sarcastically.
"Anyways, we'll talk during the reception tonight. I have work to do." Radiant Hope told him.
"Alright." The grey unicorn nodded before going his own way to continue adjusting things.
Later that night...
Sombra stood from the shadows and watched the celebration. The reception was in the center of the fairgrounds where the ponies ate food that was prepared by the castle's chefs, socialized, and danced as the royal orchestra played. No one paid any attention to the grey unicorn and instead focused on the happily married couple.
He couldn't take it anymore. He was forever stuck in Garnet's shadow and no one seemed to acknowledge his existence or appreciate his dedication to studying.
I should leave the Empire, no one seems to be accepting of me even when I'm no longer an orphan! Sombra thought in a rage.
He immediately ran out of the fairgrounds and towards the outskirts of the Empire, arriving at the unforgiving cold of the Frozen North. This was his chance...he could abandon his royal title and start over somewhere else like possibly Canterlot.
Sombra was about to step out when a familiar voice called out to him, "Sombra!"
He turned and saw Radiant Hope with a saddened expression as she realized that he was trying to leave the Empire.
"Don't go..." She whispered to him.
"Why not, Hope? Can't you see that they don't care about me?" Sombra asked her.
"That's not true! I do..." Radiant Hope answered as she approached him. "Because I love you..."
Sombra's eyes widened at those words as he stammered, "You...love me?"
"Yes. A day hasn't gone by whenever I thought about you." Radiant Hope nodded.
With that, she kissed him passionately before the two decided to return to the Empire. Maybe Sombra didn't have to leave after all as long as he had Radiant Hope with him...
One month later, at night...
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...
Months have passed ever since Sombra took over the Empire. He had enslaved the Crystal Ponies and made them fear him greatly. Those who attempted to rebel were executed by the king himself and the Empire fell into ruin and chaos as the enslaved ponies were forced into nonstop labor and mining.
Meanwhile, Radiant Hope arrived at the Castle of the Two Sisters, home of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, Equestria's rulers.
"You must help me! The Crystal Empire is in danger! My lover has turned evil and has become the tyrannical ruler! Stop him please!" Radiant Hope begged.
"Don't worry, Hope. My sister and I will take care of the situation." Celestia reassured her.
"Come, sister! We must get the Elements of Harmony!" Luna commanded as she dashed off.
"Hope, you are welcome to stay in the castle if you wish." Celestia told her.
"Thank you for your kindness, princess, but I don't wish to stay." Radiant Hope sighed while putting up the hood of her cloak and leaving the castle.
The two sisters then flew away.
Later, in the Crystal Empire...
Sombra overlooked his kingdom and laughed manically as his slaves dragged mine carts filled with crystals.
"My crystal slaves...fit for a king! Nopony can stop me now!" He cackled.
"You're wrong, Sombra!" Celestia yelled as she and Luna flew over to Sombra.
"Yes, let the Crystal Ponies go free!" Luna added.
"No, princesses! I need more Crystals...crystals..." Sombra muttered to himself.
The princesses glared at him as the Elements glowed, their eyes turned pure white as Sombra stared in shock.
"No..." Sombra gasped.
Rainbows shot out of the Elements, surrounding the tyrant king as he turned into his shadow form.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" He screamed, being sealed into the ice of the Frozen North.
Once that was done, the Empire started to slowly fade away alongside the now freed residents of the Crystal Empire.
"Sister, what is this?" Luna asked in surprise.
"Sombra must have casted a curse on the Empire to make it disappear! Unfortunately, as much as I want to help them, we must get out of here!" Celestia answered.
The two flew off as fast as they could as the Crystal Empire and it's civilians disappeared, lost to history for a thousand years...
