Sunlight

Chapter 1 - The Return

Sunburst panted and wheezed a little as he dashed up one of the wide roads leading to the Crystal Castle. That was made all the more difficult by the crowd of ponies desperately trying to flee in the other direction. Shouldering his way past a pair of panicking crystal ponies, he glanced up at the castle. It stood, framed against the bright blue sky, sparkling as it caught the mid-afternoon sun. The appearance was deceiving though, which grew clearer as he neared its base. As the crowd thinned, he was greeted by a line of guardsponies. They formed a line at the edge of the wide plaza that stood under and around the castle. The lieutenant on the scene waved him over, and Sunburst came to a stop beside him, trying to catch his breath.

“S… Sombra?” He asked between pants. “C… Castle?”

“Yes, sir.” said the lieutenant, glancing up at the castle. “Their Highnesses have engaged him. We’d be with them, but we have orders to keep the citizens clear.”

“Good… idea…” Sunburst said, massaging his chest. Shining Armor was right, he needed to work on his endurance. “Do you know where…?”

“Last I saw, sir, there was a running battle through the Eastside Hallway, moving away from the Throne Room.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant.” said Sunburst. “I should - that is - excuse me!”

The lieutenant stepped aside, and Sunburst resumed his headlong rush for the castle. He half ran, half pulled himself up the long stairway to the doors, took another quick breather, and pushed his way inside. Following the distant, echoing sounds of fighting, he dashed through the entryway and up the short, wide stairway that led up to the tall doors of the Great Hall. As he did, he felt very glad they’d taken the dark dreams Luna had been reporting seriously. Otherwise, Twilight and her friends might not have been able to reach them in time, and they’d have been facing this on their own.

With a great effort, Sunburst shoved open one of the heavy doors into the Great Hall, then with a yelp he dove to the floor as a painfully bright beam of violet energy hummed overhead. The door splintered behind him, and he covered his face with his hooves as fragments of door and frame rained down around him. Yep. Good thing they were here.

“Sorry Sunburst!” he heard Twilight Sparkle shout. The acrid smell of burnt wood and crystalline stone made him cough as pulled himself to his hooves and looked up. His eyes widened as he tried to take in everything that was happening.

The normally pristine Great Hall had been transformed into a chaotic storm. Lights flashed, stone cracked and wood splinters flew through the air, clattering and chittering across the floor. A pall of shadow seemed to twist the room around itself. A resounding boom sounded as a red light flared out from the center of the room, dust raining from the high rafters. On his left, Sunburst saw a gleam of violet as a magic barrier sprung up, briefly revealing Twilight, and what might have been Fluttershy, before the dust and shadows obscured them again.

Then Starlight was at his side, appearing suddenly with a flash of brilliant blue light. She was breathing heavily, sweat beaded on her forehead.

“Heeey, Sunny!” she said, grinning weakly. “Come to join the party?”

She grabbed him and pulled him behind a large chunk of fallen ceiling as a stray beam burned through the air.

“I’m glad you’re here, but stay low, ‘kay?” She held him firmly in place for a moment, making sure he’d heard her, then let go of his shoulders and disappeared in another flash.

Sunburst charged his horn, though he wasn’t sure exactly what he would do yet. He peeked around the blasted stone, trying to get an idea of how the fight was going. There was another flash and crackle of red, followed by a much brighter burst of mingled violet and blue. Something heavy crashed to the floor, then a blast of wind filled the hall, and the dust began to clear.

Rainbow Dash hovered in the air, wings beating hard as she dispersed the remaining dust clouds. Scattered on all sides, Twilight, Starlight, Princess Cadence, and Shining Armor stood, clearly winded, with horns aglow and ready. Twilight’s other friends, similarly scattered, had taken cover behind debris like Sunburst.

There, in the center of it all, stood a tall and dark and frightening figure. His coat was coal grey, his mane flowing like a shadow around his head and neck. A steel gorget and greaves shone faintly on his strong neck and sturdy legs. A short cloak, deep red and ermine-trimmed, hung about his shoulders and over his back. On his head sat a gleaming silver crown. His piercing eyes were, if possible, even redder than his cloak. His fierce snarl revealed a pair of sharp white fangs. His curved red horn was surrounded by an aura of strange, black and violet magic. Green sparks occasionally jumped along it. The unnatural shadows still clung to him, hanging around his hooves with quiet menace.

“Ah, finally. Some basic tactics.” Sombra’s voice was deep and rich, slightly gravelly. It would have been even more intimidating than it already was, if he hadn’t been breathing even heavier than Sunburst was. His red eyes locked onto Twilight’s, shining faintly. “Took you… long enough. Aren’t you supposed to be the smart one, Princess Twilight?”

Sombra seemed to fade around the edges, and in an instant he had moved across the hall. He sent bursts of red at Cadence and Shining Armor, forcing them to dodge and then shield themselves. He followed it up with a wave of shadow at those on the opposite side of the hall. It crashed and broke on the wall Twilight and Starlight hastily threw up. The king leapt from a pile of debris to the top of an empty pedestal, glaring down at them all as he panted. Then he glanced to his side, and Sunburst just managed to realize what was about to happen before Sombra struck.

Sombra threw out a last, devastating burst of power, aimed at a column that stood right beside Fluttershy. It started to lean threateningly over the quaking yellow pegasus… then settled delicately back into place with an almost inaudible clink of stone on stone.

Sombra stared at it, triumph turning to outrage and confusion.

“What was that?!” he demanded, gesticulating furiously at it. “What’s -?!”

While Sombra was getting worked up about the column, he failed to notice the concentrated blast that Twilight had aimed at him until she shouted in effort. It struck him hard in the side and threw him halfway across the room. He landed hard, a pained gasp forced from him as he landed on the sharp debris.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!” Twilight yelped. “I-I thought you’d block that!”

“Don’t apologize to evil kings, Twilight!” shouted Rainbow Dash as she darted forwards.

Sombra, injured and dazed, struggled to his hooves. Cuts and scrapes covered what parts of him hadn’t been protected by armor and cloak, and he clutched his side, wheezing. Still defiant, he threw out several haphazard attacks as he was hemmed in on all sides. Sunburst, unable to remain idle any longer, came out from behind cover and hurried forwards. He ducked a bolt and threw back a few of his own. Even Rarity, who had pulled Fluttershy back out of the line of fire, sent a couple of rapid blasts flying his way. The king managed to block several attacks, then staggered back as a glancing blow from Starlight shattered his defenses. His eyes flicked between his attackers, then he drew himself up imperiously.

“I will not be defied!” Sombra growled, his voice slurred slightly. “I am King! This is my Empire, and I won’t…”

Sombra hunched over and coughed wetly. Sunburst was shocked to see a hint of crimson - had he really been that badly hurt?

“I won’t… be… denied!” He coughed out, wincing. “Not by anypony! And certainly not by little-!”

A resounding metallic clang echoed throughout the wide hallway. Sombra froze mid-sentence. Then the Prince of Darkness, the Tyrant King, Lord and Master of the Frozen North, Emperor of the Crystal City! - crumpled. He laid on the floor, unconscious.

“Got ‘im!” said Pinkie Pie. She stood over the fallen king with a triumphant grin, spinning a heavy frying pan. The battle-damaged hall was silent for a long moment.

“That… is not how I expected that to go, to be honest.” said Starlight, looking down at the unconscious stallion with a frown. “Didn’t this guy nearly cover the entire Empire in some kind of terror-darkness last time?”

“He did seem kinda… off.” said Applejack, gingerly poking at Sombra’s cloak.

Sunburst came a bit closer now, examining the dark king. Even unconscious and laid out in an undignified sprawl on the ground, there was a certain intimidating air to the king. His sharp fangs stuck out from under his lips, and his curved red-tainted horn shimmered in the light.

“And… more talkative?” said Rainbow Dash, landing with a clink of her hooves. “Didn’t he mostly loom around hissing ‘Crystalssssss…’ last time?”

Twilight examined the unconscious king, brows furrowed and wings raised slightly. A mix of distaste and curiosity played across her face. Sunburst could tell that her personal animosity towards the king, who’d tried to hurt her family, was at war with her pathological need to understand everything that happened to pass in front of her.

“Let’s get him somewhere secure.” she said finally, looking up at Cadence and Shining Armor for their approval. Cadence nodded, looking to her husband, who’d come to her side as soon as it was clear the danger had passed.

“We’ll have to prepare a magic-proof cell.” he said, glancing down at Sombra. “A really good one.”

“I can help with that,” said Starlight. Neither Cadence nor Shining Armor protested, so she joined the Prince as he left the hall.

“It is kind of weird.” said Twilight after a moment, eyes still fixed on Sombra. “He seemed a lot more lucid this time. More focused. Hmm…”

She paused, thinking. Then she turned to Sunburst, who immediately found himself standing straighter as she focused on him. She was rather intimidating when she was in this kind of mood, especially with the added height she had been slowly gaining these last few years.

“Sunburst, can you do a little digging? See what we actually know about…” she gestured vaguely at Sombra. “Him…”

Sunburst nodded, glasses sliding down his muzzle a little. He really needed to get those tightened. “I-I’ll see what I can find, but-”

“Thank you.” she said, her train of thought clearly already moving on. “Cadence -”

As Twilight and Cadence started a hushed conversation about how to address the situation without causing further panic in the city, and the others held their own conversations, Sunburst watched the unconscious king. What did they know about him, really…?