Roiling thunderheads crackled with sparks of deep blue lightning, shooting fleeting glimpses of near-daylight across Ponyville’s black skies, nigh moonless through the thick cloud cover. Ominous shadows coiled and writhed about the castle of friendship, its sharp spires appearing gothic in the mired gloom.

Bang!
Bang!
Bang-CRASH!

The deep amethyst doors to the castle finally battered open with a shuddering creak, the six mares with flashing cutie marks on their flanks breaking through whatever barrier had been holding them closed, stumbling into the foyer.

“Ugh, why’d we have to do this instead of flying through the windows again, Twi?”

“Rainbow, we have to go in all at once if we’re going to face this. After the last few times major villains have busted us up, I’m not willing to risk us getting separated.”

“Dash, y’all know full well not all us folks c’n fly, right?” Applejack said with a smirk. “Seems t’me ya just wanted first crack at whoever this rustler is.”

“Hah, you know it AJ! Dude’s probably getting all up in my chair too, I gotta give him a… heh,” She glances for a moment at Twilight, sitting with her head cocked and an eyebrow raised over an unimpressed expression. “...an extra good talking to… yeah. That.” Twilight held the expression for a moment before snickering and walking deeper into the castle, her friends close behind.

The winding staircases of the intricate, labyrinthian castle came to a close before the door of the council chamber, where the cutie map was calling them. Twilight rested her hoof on the door a moment and lit her horn, frowning in concentration. After a quiet moment, Pinkie chimed.

“Ooh! Ooh! Are you turning the door into cheese? Are you making the map go all spinny? Are you-” She stopped as Rarity put her hoof to the excitable mare’s mouth, an exasperated grin on her face.

“She’s probably seeing if the room is safe, dear. Let her work.”

Twilight’s horn sparked, and she stumbled back from the door.

“Dark magic! Lots of it, deeply concentrated!” she cried. “Get behind me, and get ready!”

With a flourish and a war cry, the door to the Council chamber burst inwards, Twilight’s horn flaring with violet light.

Laying across the armrests of twilight’s throne was a stallion. A full head larger than the mares before him, he had a dark onyx coat and a mane that swirled with distended shadows, more ethereal than physical. His red, jewel-like eyes were a matching shade with his curled horn, glowing like an iron poker pulled from forge-fire. His lips were curled in a sneer, exposing bone white, sharpened teeth. The dark steel armor on his forelegs matched that of his horned, jagged diadem, with a cloak of deep sanguine red lined with spotted, snowy fur gracing his back.

Twilight planted herself in a battle stance, as did her friends, and ripped loose a fierce shout of rage. “King Sombra!” she bellowed.

The sneer widened into a toothy grin as the dark stallion spoke. “Indeed, princess. Tis I, though I'd wager a fair bit more lucid than the sorry state you last found me in; namely, dead.” The grin on his face split into deep, throaty laughter as he stood to his full, imperious height.

“How the heck are you alive, you slimebag,” Rainbow dash barked at him, “you got like, torn to shreds when the crystal heart turned on!”

“The ‘how’ of my visit, I think you’ll find, is not nearly so pressing at the moment as the ‘Why’.”

“Why, then?” Fluttershy meekly whispered from the back, determined to not show the fear she so deeply felt.

“Simple, really. I’ve, to put it bluntly,” He took a step forward, “no desire to die again. If it can be helped. I’m not here on some half-baked plot of invasion, nor am I here to siphon away ancient power or whatever you have come to expect from threats of my caliber, as ludicrous as the idea may seem.”

“And why should we believe you? Last time we saw ya, y’damn near killed people we love!” Applejack challenged.

“Again, rather simple. I, to put it in as clear of terms as I can, am not a bloody idiot. Last time I tried this, I had the power of an empire at my beck and call. I still ended up dead. Tell me, your… highness, is it now?” as he tilted his head, his expression twisted, as if staring at something very far away, “Have you ever died?” Twilight slowly shook her head, her glaring eyes never leaving the creature before her.

“I thought not. Let me tell you how death feels, my little pony. Every drop of your blood begins to boil, every single thread of fur on your coat destroyed as if cloaked in an eternal flame, ripping you apart at the seams. It is AGONY!” he roared. He took a step back and jerkily shook his head to compose himself, his face settling once more into a mask of confidence.

“I come now under a banner of trade. Should you deign to take my offer, I would live, and you would learn. Reject it, try to destroy me as you have before… I cannot promise I will die as easily, this time.” He growled these words as he sank back into the throne behind him, looking expectantly at the group assembled.

“And what, pray tell, could you possibly offer us?” Rarity sneered.

The edge of Sombra’s lips curled up.

“Chrysalis,” he said simply, inviting the collective jaws of the elements to drop in, ironically, perfect harmony.

“Ah, there we are. Now, to business. I reveal the location and hiding place of the no-longer-quite-so-venerable Queen Chrysalis, and in return I am allowed to leave Equestria with my life, unaccosted by official law. I have no intentions of conquest, nor of revenge. Our battle," he sighed, "was one I fairly lost.”

The air hung heavy and still in the room, Twilight grinding her teeth back and forth before grabbing her friends and pulling them into a whispering huddle.

"We can't just let that horrid monster go," Rarity intoned. "Not after that just awful mess he left in the crystal empire!"

"If… if we don't have to fight, that would be good, I think," murmured Fluttershy, almost unheard against the rolling thunder outside.

"That big meanie hurt people, and stopped a lot of parties! He says he'll be less mean now, but how can we hold him to it?" Said Pinkie Pie, unusually thoughtful.

Twilight flicked her eyes back and forth between her friends, before a realization took hold of Pinkie's words.

"That's it! Girls, we make him Pinkie Promise!" Twilight beamed at the hushed proclamation, while Dash's brow rose in skepticism.

"Twi. Buddy. Pal. That really doesn't seem as binding as like, throwing his sorry plot into Tartarus."

Applejack, who had been mostly silent throughout the discussion, perked up at this. "Ah dunno, Rainbow. Jes' because you ain't broke a promise don't mean you ain't heard the stories of what Pinkie does to folks who do. Ah think it might have some merit."

The whispering died down after a moment, before Twilight turned around to face the dark tyrant, her earlier scowl now lost in favor of a sardonic grin. "Alright Sombra. We've made our choice."

"Oh? How will this meeting end, then?"

"Simple. We'll agree to your terms, so long as you undertake the most powerful binding oath of truth we have. Do that, and we've got a deal!"

"Fine then, what must be done. Blood sacrifice? A deathly hex?"

"Nope!" Chimed Pinkie. "You just cross my heart," she mimed, "Hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!"

The shadow-king appeared nonplussed, simply raising an eyebrow at the display. "You're… quite serious? This is your strongest binding oath?"

"Ohhh yeah buddy," Rainbow spat. "Because if you break this one, Pinkie comes after you personally. Trust me, she's gonna know if you break it."

The King chuckled for a moment before raising his voice. "Fine then. I do solemnly swear to leave your lands and provide the location of the mad changeling queen, and furthermore to not harm those who do not harm me. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

A whispering call of "forever…" echoed sourcelessly about the chamber, sending shivers down the spines of all who were not deeply pink in coloration.

"Our accord is struck. Allow me to uphold my end, then." Sombra laid a steel-shod hoof over the cutie map before stopping it upon the Tangled Mires, to the south.

"About a mile in, there lies a cavern obscured by coiling vines. Deep within that cavern, you shall find your changeling, and moreso her accursed master. Now, I shall take my leave of you lot. Fare well."

The king's form dissipated into thick, acrid smoke, which hovered and churned before rushing out the window in a blustering gale, leaving the element bearers stunned and alone in the quickly calming room.

"Wait!" Twilight cried. "I forgot to ask him how he returned! Or who that master is supposed to be! Dangit!"

She jumped towards the window, leaning out as far as she dared to before shouting to the whirling winds. "DANG IT SOMBRA! THE HECK DO YOU MEAN 'MASTER'?!"

There was no response to her cry, but for the howling of the scheduled gales over Ponyville.

Author's Note

2/2/23 Edited for clarity!