In the Princess's Grip

Home Sweet Home

The sight of him caused an uproar. His subjects reacted as if a ghost had returned, their voices rising in shock and disbelief. It had been so long since King Sombra last walked the streets of the Crystal Empire that it felt almost unreal to him. The radiance of the city—its shimmering towers and crystal-clear skies—had become a distant memory. Now, being back here, it all felt strangely foreign.

“My lord! Where have you been?” cried one of the servants, his voice trembling as tears welled up in his eyes.

Sombra hesitated, unsure of how to respond. “I... well—” He struggled to grasp the situation. What had happened while he was gone? The events that led him here felt too real to have been a dream, yet Twilight was nowhere in sight. Was it time to move on?

Another servant, his expression heavy with concern, added, “Everything fell apart without you here, my lord...”

“Enough,” Sombra interrupted, the exhaustion creeping into his voice. He rose to his hooves, feeling the weight of the past week bearing down on him. “I need to rest. Leave me.” His tone was firm, though his mind remained troubled, especially by thoughts of Twilight. What could have possibly happened in a week? he wondered.

The servants exchanged nervous glances, as if holding back something important. One of them finally stepped forward, his voice filled with hesitancy.

“My lord... We were so relieved by your return that we informed the two princesses…”

Sombra froze. His eyes widened as anger surged through him. “WHAT DID YOU DO?” he bellowed, his frustration boiling over. He had intended to remain under the radar, but now that plan was shattered. The princesses would be on his tail.

“Yes, the princesses requested your presence,” the servant stammered, cowering under Sombra's gaze. “Immediately.”

Grinding his teeth, Sombra muttered under his breath, “Ugh, they're gonna kill me…”

Sombra traveled in his smoke form, the shadows cloaking him as he sped toward the palace of the two alicorns. His mind raced, nerves tighter than he cared to admit. He had much to explain, and he knew the questions would come fast and hard. But deep down, there was a flicker of excitement—a strange, uninvited feeling. Was he eager to see them? He had once shared a complicated relationship with the princesses, a connection he might dare to call... friendship.

Well, how could they not be friends? They’ve known each other for like, over 1000 years! Time really flies, huh?

When he arrived, the sisters stood by the grand balcony, as if they had anticipated his arrival. Sombra descended, his smoky form coalescing into his physical body before them.

“Celestia? Luna?” His voice carried a mix of surprise and caution as he recognized the two alicorns, their majestic forms bathed in the dim light of the palace. For a moment, he thought there might be a warm welcome.

Without warning, Celestia swiftly approached and cornered him against a nearby wall, her presence imposing and dominant. “I’ve had to deal with far too many problems in your absence,” Celestia snapped, her tone as sharp as her gaze. “Did you think you could just return out of nowhere, and everything would fix itself?”

Luna, hovering gracefully beside her sister, smiled mischievously, her eyes twinkling with curiosity. “It’s been so long, Sombra! Where have you been hiding? You’ve become quite the mystery.”

Sombra faltered, thrown off by Celestia's intensity. “I... I didn’t—”

“There’s no time for explanations right now,” Celestia cut him off, her tone leaving no room for argument. “I’ve had enough trouble because of you.”

Sombra’s brow furrowed, the weight of Celestia’s words sinking in. “I had no idea—”

“Of course you didn’t,” Celestia said, her voice softening slightly but still firm. “You’ve been absent.”

She leaned in closer, her voice lowering to a near whisper. “Do you have any idea what happened in your absence?” she pushed him harder against the wall, almost pinning him. “You caused me too much trouble.”

Sombra swallowed hard, realizing just how unpredictable the situation had become. He knew the consequences of upsetting Celestia—and he didn’t want to find himself in Tartarus, surrounded by those who had lost their sanity.

“What... what could’ve possibly happened in a week?” he asked, his voice shaky but trying to remain composed. He knew better than to provoke Celestia when she was like this.

Celestia huffed in irritation and stepped back, giving him some space, though her displeasure was evident. Luna remained silent, watching her sister with practiced patience.

“A lot happened. More than I care to recount,” Celestia said, turning away with a flick of her tail. “We have much to discuss.”

Luna shot Sombra a glance, her eyes full of sympathy. She whispered, “You’re in trouble...”

Sombra sighed in relief as he slid down the wall, finally allowed to breathe. Coming home was always overwhelming, but this? This was something else. His complicated history with Celestia had never fully resolved—her relentless personality, her need for control. It made things... difficult.

“Oh, Sparkle…” he said, nostalgic for the scoldings he used to get from Twilight. Well, anyone would miss Twilight’s scoldings after facing Celestia’s strict lecture. No, could that even be called a lecture? That was violence.

“Those damn—” Celestia murmured, as she gathered a pile of papers and threw them onto the round table in front of King Sombra.

“What is this?” Sombra asked, visibly confused.

“Read,” Celestia commanded, her tone leaving no room for argument. “This is what’s been happening while you were busy neglecting your duties.”

Sombra, still confused, levitated the papers with his magic. As his eyes scanned the report, his expression shifted to one of disbelief. He couldn’t comprehend what he was seeing.

“But... how—” he started, only for Celestia to cut him off again.

“Magic inhibitors,” she growled, “have been distributed illegally. Our guards are doing what they can, but the situation has spiraled out of control. And why?” Her hoof slammed against the table. “Because you weren’t here to do your part!”

Sombra flinched. According to the report, the illegal use of magic inhibitors had increased significantly over the past week, resulting in several attacks on ponies. The criminals used the inhibitors to incapacitate their victims and rob them, or even worse. Yes, his sweet home. He already missed this, though, no, that wasn’t true.

But Celestia wasn’t finished. “And that’s not all. A new drug—one that alters a pony’s magic—is circulating. We don’t know where it came from or what it does, but it’s causing a mess.”

Sombra’s mind raced as he tried to process the consequences of his absence. How had things escalated so quickly?.

“I... I didn’t realize things had become so complicated.”

He was beginning to remember all the problematic things about his world: violent ponies, magic-blocking drugs, covert attacks from terrorist groups threatening Celestia’s dictatorship. In fact, he was surprised that despite everything, harmony wasn’t severely affected. All thanks to the tireless efforts of both sisters to maintain balance, no matter how difficult it was. After all, if the empire is filled with hope and love, those emotions will reflect throughout Equestria. But if hatred and fear take over the Crystal Empire, black crystals will sprout from the ground. Something that still not happened yet.

However, it pained him that no one had taken the time to ask where he had been the past week. Did they not care? Sombra noticed that Luna was visibly restless, as if she wanted to ask him something. Celestia noticed too and, with an exasperated sigh, rolled her eyes.

“Fine, Luna, ask him whatever you’ve been dying to ask,” Celestia said, rolling her eyes.

Luna’s face brightened. “Sombra, where did you go? I’m so curious!” she exclaimed, her hooves slamming on the table, scattering papers everywhere.

“Luna!” Celestia scolded, her irritation growing.

Sombra allowed himself a small smile. The sisters’ banter had always amused him, though he was wise enough to keep from laughing out loud in Celestia’s presence. But what was he supposed to say? That he’d spent the past week in another dimension, with the brightest and most courageous alicorn he had ever met? That he couldn’t stop thinking about her?

No, he couldn’t share that. Not yet.

He looked down, his thoughts drifting back to Twilight, the memory of their last moments together still fresh. No matter how much he tried, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something had been left unresolved.

Clearing his throat, Sombra began to explain. He stuck to the basics—an alternate dimension, a different version of Equestria, a princess of friendship. He couldn’t bring himself to tell them everything.

“A world like that... it sounds wonderful!” Luna’s voice was filled with awe.

Celestia shot him a skeptical look. “Luna, don’t get carried away. Sombra, if you’re lying...”

Sombra raised an eyebrow. “Why would I lie about this?”

Celestia huffed in annoyance. “I’ll forgive you this time for going on ‘vacation’ for a week, but leaving in the middle of the night… your servants panicked and came to tell me that ‘King Sombra has disappeared,’ blah, blah. and I had to clean up your mess. The paperwork alone was a nightmare.”

Luna turned her gaze towards her sister.

“Why didn’t you let your student handle this? You always do the same thing,” her sister asked.

Celestia gave her a piercing look. Only her sister could ask her such questions.

“That incompetent? Definitely not. She disappoints me more every day. That Twilight, besides, she’s been acting strangely lately,” Celestia replied with disdain.

Sombra flinched at hearing that name, his ears perked up. Yes, of course, it wasn’t his Twilight. His Twilight? I mean, the Twilight from the other dimension. Now that he thought about it, why were they so different? "Twilight was… never mind, Sombra. You need to move on" he thought.

He began to reconsider his harsh judgments of the Twilight from his dimension; maybe she wasn’t as bad as he had thought. It wasn’t fair to judge her solely based on a few disconcerting glances.

“By the way,” Sombra said, “how’s Twilight Sparkle doing?”

Celestia's eyes locked onto him with a steely intensity.

“Why do you care? Better get going and don’t forget to submit a report on your ‘vacation.’ Just hearing you gives me a headache,” Celestia said, gesturing for Sombra to leave.

Sombra rose from his seat, fully aware that Celestia's orders were final and needed to be heeded without question. He left the room swiftly, hoping that diving back into his kingly duties would help him move on from the past week's events, or at least provide some distraction.

to be continued