Shadow of Reform

Resurrection

Bottom of the stairs

Twilight and Cadence had reached the bottom of the nearly endless flight of spiral stairs leading down into the dark crystal chambers. They soon arrived at a door leading to what could be either another set of stairs or the some hideous and deadly trap.

But the two alicorns braced themselves as they cautiously opened the door. But what they found was surprising, for on the other side was a room filled with books and artifacts, as well as a few busts of the Shadow Lord himself.

It was a study.

King Sombra’s private study.

“Wow… this is actually pretty nice” said Twilight as she stepped through the threshold and began examining the room.

“Yeah for an evil and self-absorbed tyrant” responded Cadence while looking at the various busts of King Sombra littered around the study.

Twilight kept looking around for a bit longer before her eyes landed on a desk n the far wall, and on its surface sat a book. But what caught her attention was it’s overall simplicity compared to the rest of the books scattered around.

Twilight approached and examined the cover, no title or anything. Her curiosity increased as she raised a cautious hoof towards the book, treating it as if it were some kind of bomb. Twilight touched the seam and slowly lifted the cover and found some writing on the first page. It read: ‘For King Sombra’s Eyes Only!’ After reading that Twilight realized what the book was. It was King Sombra’s personal journal.

“Hey look Cadence I think we have something” said Twilight as she called the pink alicorn over. “It’s King Sombra’s journal.”

“Finally, maybe we’ll get some answers” said Cadence.

Twilight was all too eager to just crack open the book and start reading the entries of one of the most dangerous, yet mysterious, ponies in the history of Equestria. But with some reluctance form Cadence they opened the tome and read.

They read every single detail of his life from when he was found as just a foal, to his hopes of attending the Crystal Faire with his friend Radiant Hope, to the day before his battle with the Two Sisters.

“Is that it? Is there nothing else?” asked Cadence.

“No I guess not. That must have been the last thing he wrote before he was banished” said Twilight.

“Well if there's nothing else, I want to get out of here. This place gives me the creeps” said Cadence. And with that the two alicorns made their way out of the study and up the stairs. The continued climbing for a few minutes before Twilight spoke up, “I feel bad for him. He never got to see the Crystal faire… and that's all he really wanted” she said solemnly.

“Yeah… that and to enslave everypony in the Crystal Empire. I wouldn’t feel to bad about it Twilight, I’d say he got what he deserved” commented Cadence.

The two princesses continued walking of the stairs before their ears perked at the sound of a strange clicking, “There's that sound again” said Cadence. “I'm sure it's probably nothing” said Twilight assuredly.

But unbeknownst to the to ignorant princesses, the sound was something.

For deep down at the bottom of the crystalline stairs lay a dark corner of shadow, and out of the darkness rolled out an object.

It was long, sharp, and curved with its color being that of a sinister bloody crimson.

It was a horn. But not just any horn.

It was Sombra’s horn.

And out of the very same shadow emerged a mysterious figure. They wore a grayish brown cloak, with a hood that hid their face. It stepped out of the shadows and approached the severed appendage on the floor. And with an aura of deep arctic blue magic wrapped around the horn and and placed it into an outstretched purple heliotrope hoof.

The figure examined the horn with arctic blue eyes as it a sinister smile crossed it’s shadowy face. And with a feminine voice it lowly-commented to itself, “Long live the king.”

~~~

Deep in the Everfree Forest, at the precipice overlooking Ghastly Gorge lay a settlement long forgotten by history. It’s origins remain shrouded in mystery as no one has dared to ask not where it was, but as to what happened to it.

This place, was named Hollow Shades.

A once thriving and prosperous village, Hollow Shades was home to many a pony. However an unknown tragedy occurred within the village. And in its aftermath no pony nor life had ever remained or returned to the desolate ghost town ever since.

Until now.

Deep below the settlement, lay and ancient structure. One built on the foundations of the suffering and sacrifice of all that is evil.

The Well of Shade.

In the center of the ancient cistern was a large rounded patch of earth. And out of the shadows emerged a shrouded figure. A pony wearing a grayish brown clock and carrying a set of saddlebags.

Using their magic they levitated a sick to draw a circle with a line down its middle and an ‘M’ in the dirt. Discarding the stick, the pony levitates an object out of their saddlebags, King Sombra’s horn.

The pony places the curved appendage at the center of the circle before conjuring and constructing a small light blue dagger out of their magic.

The pony holds out their foreleg and proceeds to push the dagger into themselves, breaking the skin and causing blood to pour out of their wound as they drag the dagger half way up their foreleg.

When the cloaked pony was satisfied they whipped their bloody foreleg out in a sideways arc, causing blood to rain down on the dirt circle and the horn.

The droplets of blood soon began to move and slither towards the markings in the dirt. Where they pooled together to form an intricate set of circles, lines, and unknown letters. The magic circle began to glow a pale blue color as the magic began to activate.

The curved red horn was levitated into the air before a cyclone of shadow swirled out from the center of the circle.

The tornado of shadow broke into a massive plume of darkness that consumed the whole cistern as its power continued to grow.

Through the wispy darkness emerged a set of glowing lime-green eyes with purple flames billowing out with the curved red horn atop it’s head.

The shadows begin to shrink and coalesce into a smaller being. The creature was of forelegs and was larger than the cloaked pony, who only watched with a satisfied and malicious smile.

The shadowy creature took a more equine form as the last of the shadows flowed into its body before it closed it’s eyes and lowered it’s head.

Before throwing its head back and rearing on its hind legs as it released a powerful burst of wind, shredding away the lingering shadows before dropping back onto it’s four legs as it panted heavily.

The creature was a tall, muscular unicorn stallion except there were some differences compared to others: His coat was a dark grey and his mane and tail were pitch black and flowing like shadows, he had a pair of sharp fangs protruding from his mouth and his eyes were a deep bloody scarlet, and atop his head sat the infamous crimson curved horn.

He was the Slave King, the Tyrant of the Crystal Empire, the King of Monsters.

He was King Sombra.

“What?...” he said as he lifted his head and began to take in his surroundings. “I am… alive?” he questioned before noticing the cloaked pony before him.

The pony stepped up to the evil tyrant before lowering its head in a respectful bow and saying in a feminine voice, “My lord”.

Sombra raised an eyebrow at the strange pony before baring his fangs and demanding “What is this? Who are you?!”

“A mere follower of your work your majesty,” she said “I have returned you to the world of the living so that you may take your rightful place as ruler of Equestria.”

Sombra was silent but his gaze remained fixed to the cloaked unicorn mare, he slowly raised his left hood and examined it before saying, “So it is true… I have returned to this world”. Sombra lowered his hoof before looking back at the strange yet familiar mare, “It takes an extremely powerful sorcerer to able to resurrect a soul. But why me?”

“It is as I said my Lord, so you could take your rightful place as Equestria’s true ruler” she responded. But Sombra remained wary of this pony, he felt there was something going on but what irritated him most was this mysterious pony’s identity.

“You didn’t answer me before, who are you?!” demanded the Umbrum.

The cloaked mare’s mouth shifted to a knowing smile as she raised her hooves to her hood, “Somepony for whom your existence brought enlightenment to their otherwise naive eyes”.

She threw back her hood to reveal herself completely and in response Sombra’s crimson eyes went wide with surprise. She was a young and beautiful looking crystal unicorn mare, her coat was a shining grayish heliotrope while her mane pale, light arctic blue. But it was her eyes that struck the most shock into the dark stallion, they were a brilliant arctic blue color and were filled with both hope and kindness.

They were eyes that Sombra had seen long ago. Eyes that had betrayed his trust and friendship. Eyes that he never hoped to see again.

“Radiant Hope…” whispered Sombra, his voice filled rage and anger for the one pony he hated above all others.

The dark stallion’s eyes glowed green and a purple smoke began to flow out from the corners as his horn began to fizz and bubble with Dark Magic. With a roar Sombra’s head flew downwards and fired a beam of Dark Magic at the crystal unicorn.

Radiant Hope remained seated on her haunches as she closed her eyes, before quickly swinging them open as they glowed green and and flowed with a similar purple smoke. She furrowed her brows and smiled as she dipped her horn forward and took the brunt of the attack.

The beam struck the tip of her horn before she began to drain it’s power. When the attack was over Hope’s horn fizzed and bubbled with Dark Magic before she reared back on her hooves and whipped her head forward. Sending her own beam of dark Magic back at the stallion.

Sombra attempted to avoid it but the attack had hit his mark. Sombra opened his eyes and found his whole lower body from his neck down had been completely encased in black crystal. He attempted to summon his magic but found it strangely lacking. Peering up at his horn his eyes went wide and shock as he saw it encased in the same black crystals. He recognized it as the spell he had used block the magic of that unicorn he encountered outside the Crystal Empire.

Sombra began to grunt and snarl as he struggled to get out of the crystal shell before he looked in front of him and saw Radiant Hope casually walking up to him, “RELEASE ME!”

“Not until you calm down” she said as she stood face to face with the dark stallion, “Let me remind you that you only just came back from the world of the living. So your magic has yet to return to its full strength, so in the meantime I suggest you cool off and listen to what I have to say.”

Sombra glared at the mare before him. Last time he had seen her she had run away from him and called him a monster, she was terrified of him. But the mare before him had no shred of that fear anywhere in her eyes, and her power had grown too. Sombra weighed his options but begrudgingly found himself agreeing with what she said, his magic power at the moment was pathetic, so he wasn’t going to be winning fights anytime soon.

With a final angry glare he finally spoke, “What do you want?”

Radiant Hope pulled back and with a satisfied smile said, “I have already told you. I want to help you reclaim your throne, and make you equestria’s one true King.”