Sombra was lying down. I just lay there, gathering strength to at least sit up instead of lying down. He hadn't been in his physical form in a very long time. It was only during the siege of the Crystal Empire that the magic of the Crystal Heart returned his body for a moment and then destroyed him again.
His memories of a millennium under the frozen north were still on the surface. The way he waited for the moment when he would return, fueled by his own anger, so as not to go crazy, gave him the strength to wait as long as necessary.

After his release, his thoughts were focused only on the return of the Crystal Empire to his rule. All he wanted at that moment was to rule the Empire again. But after the failed siege, when that little dragon brought the Crystal Heart, that princess took it away and used it to erase it from this world. But he didn't die. Or rather, he wasn't completely dead. His body and mind were trapped in his remaining horn. He couldn't do anything about it. Sombra could only feel a faint chill. Until at one point even he disappeared. However, there was a strangely familiar feeling of familiar magic that he couldn't remember.

But now he understood and remembered who radiated such magic. So warm and cold at the same time. I'm both callous and soft. The kind of two-way magic that could anger and calm anyone. Sombra remembered everything before his exile. He remembered those he had betrayed. The ones he killed. And those who helped and hindered him.

Sombra slowly shook his heavy head and stared at his... A savior? The exterminator? Or both. Sombra's emerald eyes stared straight into Erzit's crimson eyes, waiting for his next action. “How are you feeling?” Erzit asked, tilting his head to the right. His snow-white mane tilted in the same direction, slightly covering his right eye.

Sombra was silent for a moment, considering his answer. His eyes slowly darted around. He wasn't trying to find something definite. He wanted to understand why his former master had decided to bring him back to this world. And what was that strange feeling in his chest? Sombra felt rather strange. He felt weak, but at the same time relieved and empty inside himself. As if something was missing. Sombra's eyes quickly darted to Erzit, radiating neither disgust nor anger. They radiated bewilderment and question. “What have you done to me?” Sombra whispered softly.

Straightening his head, Erzit pushed a white strand of hair behind his right ear. Sighing, Erzit blinked at Sombra a few times before saying something. “I want to help you.” Erzit replied calmly, lighting his horn. Snow-white magic enveloped Sombra's body, lifting him up to help him sit up.

Sombra sat down casually and planted his front hooves on the floor to keep his balance. His new body was still weak and uncontrollable. It takes time to fully regain control of the body. Trying to straighten up, Sombra almost lost his balance, but Erzith's magic prevented him from falling. Sombra hunched his shoulders a little and raised his head and stared at Erzit again. “I'll repeat the question.” Sombra said, wincing at the weakness in his joints. Lowering his head down a bit, he hissed angrily. “What did you do to me?!” Sombra bared his teeth and looked up at Erzit. There was anger and fear in his eyes at what his former teacher could do to him.

Slowly exhaling, Erzit shook his head. “I brought you back to this world.” Erzit simply replied. Sombra's ears twitched as he glared at the former teacher again. “Why. Why did you do that.” Sombra said, trying to stand up but failing. He just winced, feeling the pain in his joints again.

"Without straining."

"Why would I listen to you?" Baring his fangs again, Sombra replied sarcastically, assuming that hunched position again.

Rolling his eyes, Erzit stamped his right hoof. “Stop acting like that. It looks ridiculous.” Erzit said with a grimace.

"How else should I behave? I am, so to speak, your prisoner." Sombra replied with a frown.

"What makes you think you're my prisoner?" Erzit asked, extending his right hoof to Sombra.

"Isn't that right?" Sombra replied, looking incredulously at Erzit's outstretched hoof. “It wouldn't make sense for you to bring me back without any purpose.” Sombra snapped, pressing his ears to his head. He tried to stand up again, but again without success.

Erzit was silent for a full minute, lowering his head thoughtfully. “You're right. I brought you back for a reason.” Looking up at Sombra, he took a step closer to him. Sombra, a little scared, tried to crawl back, but his new body was still unruly. Or was it some kind of magic that made it impossible to move? However, Sombra wouldn't have been able to do anything in his current state anyway. “What do you want from me?” Sombra grumbled, looking at Erzit.

"You have to improve." Saying that, Erzit placed his right hoof on Sombra's shoulder. Sombra involuntarily trembled from such an action. “Wh-what do you mean?” Sombra asked, not understanding.

"You heard me right." Erzit said with a grin, removing his hoof from Sombra's shoulder and taking a step back.

Sombra sat in surprise, still not understanding what Erzit wanted from him. Will he improve? What a stupid thing to do. King Sombra, the embodiment of evil. The Lord of the Cold North. Should the tyrant of the Crystal Empire improve? How does he imagine it?

When Sombra first started his evil path, he still had a chance to turn back and fix the little he had done. But now. It's not possible now. Or is it possible? How much time has passed from the moment of his fall to the moment of his return? Does Sombra have a chance to correct his mistakes?

Sombra's thoughts were interrupted by Erzit's cough, which he let out to get Sombra's attention. “Sombra. You have a chance to correct your mistakes. Don't miss this chance.” Erzit said, extending his hoof again.

Sombra ignored Erzit's gesture, grinning. “Do you think my so-called mistakes can be fixed? Or do you think I regret what I did?”

Erzit lowered his hoof, shaking his head. “Maybe you haven't realized it yet. But over time, you will remember and understand the mistakes you have made.” Erzit insisted.

Sombra wanted to object angrily, but stopped himself, realizing that it was better to hold it for another time. “And what do you suggest?” Sombra asked, raising his right eyebrow.

“You need to rest and gain strength first.” Erzit extended his hoof to Sombra for the last time. In response, Sombra sighed and accepted it. Erzit helped Sombra up. Staggering a little, Sombra was able to regain his balance and stand more than calmly.

"Good. Now let's go. I've prepared a room for you." Erzith said, using his magic to support Sombra so that he wouldn't fall.

In response, Sombra just glared at Erzit. Reflecting on his situation. “What's this damn pony up to? Does he want to fix me? Does he think I'm just admitting that everything I've done is a mistake? Let him choke on it all. I am Sombra. I did what I thought was right. And I won't let him try to fix what's not broken. Because when I get strong enough to get out of here, he'll regret bringing me back.” Sombra pondered as he walked swaying through the corridors.

***

"This place hasn't changed a bit." Sombra grumbled, looking around.

Erzit turned around. “This is true. The castle has looked like this since its foundation. And I don't want to change it.”

"But why is it so empty? There aren't even any guards." Sombra said suspiciously. Trying to find out at least some information.

"The castle residents are preparing for the holiday."

"What holiday?" Sombra was surprised. Back when he was a student of Erzit, the castle residents had never celebrated anything. And Sombra did not remember that at that time any of the inhabitants of the castle or Erzit himself talked about any kind of holiday. Sometimes there were small parties, but they didn't have big celebrations. At least Sombra didn't understand any of that.

"Tomorrow marks one hundred years since I got a new student. And the student herself turns one hundred years old. So they decided to celebrate this day." Erzit said with an undisguised smile.

"Since when do you celebrate the centenary of any student? Wasn't it something common before?"

"All right. But after the fall of the Crystal Empire, I… I sank into a little depression. I haven't had any students for a thousand years." After these words, Erzit frowned and lowered his head a little.

Sombra grinned and shook his head. “I didn't think you were such a weakling.” After these words, Sombra giggled a few more times and staggered a little. “Are you really that shaken by what happened to...” Sombra didn't have time to finish his sentence when a slightly dim white magic grabbed and squeezed his throat. They both stopped. Sombra couldn't see Erzit's face, but he suspected he was angry.

Turning his head towards Sombra. There was a frown on Erzit's face. There was no anger in her. But what he was doing suggested otherwise. “Don't mention it in front of me.” A little rude, Erzit grumbled, turning his head forward and continuing to walk. The magic around Sombra dissipated. Even the magic that had been helping him walk had dissipated. Staggering and trembling from the strain, Sombra winced, but managed to keep his balance so as not to fall.

"You need to understand when your words can hurt and when they can help. This will be your new lesson." Somewhere in the distance of the corridor, Erzit stopped and shouted, waiting for Sombra to hobble up to him.

"Understood. I got it!" Sombra grumbled loudly, trying to reach Erzith. The carpet beneath the Sombra bent and stretched as the weakened stallion tried to walk on it. Or rather, crawl.

Walking slowly towards Erzit, the fallen king cursed his old teacher for making him humiliate himself like that. Finally, when he reached Erzit, he stopped and sat down, breathing heavily from such a hard walk. Erzith's magic covered Sombra again, helping him get up and walk on. “Be patient for a bit. We're almost there.” Calm down, said Erzit, continuing to walk down the corridor.

Once upon a time, Erzit could easily control his emotions. Anger, sadness, and joy can all be controlled by understanding how. “Obviously, after what I've done. He had lost control of himself.” Sombra chuckled to himself

Continuing his grueling trek, Sombra tried to strain his horn to summon a magical lightning bolt and hit Erzith with it. But it didn't work out. There wasn't even a small spark. “Damn it.” Sombra accidentally swore out loud.

Catching Sombra's attempts to use magic and his obscene remark, Erzit turned slightly to look at the scowling stallion. “You won't be able to use magic in this state. And besides, I've placed a seal so that you can't use any magic.”

"What for? Aren't the humiliations you've already done enough for you?" Sombra growled, wagging his tail and snorting.

"Not at all. I know that even without magic, you are very dangerous. And with a few seals, you don't pose much of a threat. At least for the castle residents." Erzita said calmly until he turned back to face Sombra. “However, if you behave yourself, I will remove some restrictions.” In response, Sombra just snorted again, continuing to walk.

"Don't worry, my old friend. After being cleansed of dark magic, you need time to realize everything."

"Sure." Sombra grumbled, lowering his ears.

After a few more minutes, they finally reached the room where Sombra would live. The door to the room was ordinary, wooden, without frills. However, Sombra wasn't interested in that. A small stream of dark blue shadow darted from the corner at the front of the hallway to another corner, where there was a large blue pot of flowers. Sombra immediately noticed this shadow and braced himself for what might happen. Suddenly, the small shadow by the pot disappeared. “BOOOO.” Sombra almost jumped to the ceiling from the suddenness.

A shadow guard without a helmet appeared behind Sombra. "What the hell was that!?" Sombra shouted, turning to the one who was trying to scare him.

A grinning shadow guard without a Helmet stood in front of Sombra. It was a dark blue earth pony. A stallion with a bright blue mane and tail. Which also had a few purple strands. His pupils were a yellow banana color.

"Wrench, what are you doing here?" Erzit asked calmly, turning to face him.

The stallion giggled and pointed a hoof at Sombra. “When Shands told me that Sombra was back at the castle, I thought it would be interesting to meet an old friend.”

Raising his right eyebrow, Erzit stared at Wrench. “And if it's true?”

"Okay. I got bored helping to prepare for the holiday. And I was looking for Shands. When he found it, he was telling Emily that Sombra was in the castle." Wrench was silent for a moment, looking away from Erzit.

"And then what?" asked Erzit urgently.

"I went to look for him. And when I found it, I couldn't help but act it out. Just like in the good old days." Wrench finished with a chuckle.

"You call me a villain. But they're no better." Sombra said with a grimace.

"Come on. It's fun. Just like before."

"You know perfectly well that I hated these pranks."

"I think you liked them."

"No."

"And I say yes." Wrench poked Sombra in the chest.

"And I say no." Sombra growled, kicking Wrench's hooves away from him.

Rolling his eyes, Erzit wrapped Sombra in magic and pulled him away from Wrench so that he wouldn't start a fight. “Calm down, both of you.”

"Good." Sombra grumbled.

Exhaling, Erzit walked over to Wrench. “Since you've decided to step in, you'll be his guard from now on. Until the end of tomorrow.”

"As the master commands." Wrench replied seriously, without laughing.

"But no kidding. Do you understand?"

"Yes." Wrench replied quickly.

Wrench, though, was a funny man and a lover of jokes. But he was always serious when it came to giving orders and completing a specific task. If it was necessary for him to keep a close eye on Sombra, then Wrench would carry out this order, even if he had to choke on his new joke.

"Good. And now…" Erzit turned around and opened the door, using his magic to allow Sombra to enter his new room.

He muttered something softly. Sombra entered his new room, where he will live. The room was in the same style as most of the living rooms, including Erzit's private quarters. It was the same mix of white marble and black stone with red crystal lamps. There was a round red carpet in the center of the room. There was a large bed against the front wall, with a storage chest at the foot of it. There was a chest of drawers to the right of the bed and a closet a little further along the wall. To the left of the bed was a large panoramic window, from which the enchanted castle grounds were hidden from prying eyes. To the left of the door was a wooden crystal table, on which stood a candle stand and several new candles. On the opposite side was a large bookshelf with many modern books. There was a shelf next to it with several old books, mostly about Equestria history. A purple crystal chandelier with red crystal lights hung in the center of the ceiling.

Sombra was a little surprised that he was given such a nice room.

"You're going to live here now." Erzit said with a smile.

"Yeah." Sombra replied in amazement.

"Don't be such a grouch."

Sombra immediately regained his composure and made a grumpy face again. “Thank you for such a nice room.” Sombra replied.

Ignoring the grumpy reply from Sombra, Erzith walked into the room. “You didn't want a room in this castle before.”

"I still don't want to. But I have no choice."

"There is always a choice. However, you're still trying to be someone you shouldn't be, and that's why you don't understand it." Erzit said, rolling his eyes.

"I am who I have always been." Sombra snorted, wagging his tail angrily.

"Yeah. Whatever you say." Erzit replied sarcastically. After walking around the room a bit, Erzit nodded towards the bed. “You need to rest. And I'm sure that after you return, you'll be able to sleep for at least a week to regain your strength.”

"Sure." Sombra replied with a roll of his eyes.

Shaking his head, Erzit left the room, closing the door behind him. “Keep an eye on him. Even without magic, he's quite dangerous. His intelligence and knowledge make him very dangerous.”

"I know that, Master." Wrench replied calmly.

"Well. Good luck then." Erzit said, walking straight down the corridor.

In response, Wrench only nodded, pricking up his ears, listening to what was happening behind the door in Sombra's room.

***

When the door to Sombra's new room closed, he sat down in the center of the room on a round carpet. starting by thinking about escape options.

Can I break a window? No. In my condition, I won't be able to get out of it, and the use of magic is limited. Moreover, I am sure that the windows in the castle of Erzit will be enchanted to be stronger than stone. Try to trick one of his servants? No. They are too devoted to him and they know perfectly well who I am and what I have done. Maybe runes? Yes. It might have worked if the floor hadn't been enchanted as well as the windows. I need a lot of power or magic to make a small cut, and in my condition that's impossible. Maybe smash a wooden chest of drawers and carve runes there? No. The sound will attract Wrench. And besides, I believe Erzit has set up defenses against such sudden escape actions. Damn. There doesn't seem to be a choice. I'll have to go to bed to gain strength and then come up with a plan. A millennium of being trapped under ice has taught me to wait.

Cursing at his weakness, Sombra walked slowly to his bed. Reaching out a hoof and grabbing onto the purple blanket, he threw it away. Sombra climbed onto the bed with purple sheets and white pillows and reached for the covers again. After taking cover, his eyelids instantly became heavier by several kilograms. Closing his eyes, Sleep was not long in coming, and Sombra plunged into the world of dreams.

After recovering my body and walking around the castle like this, it takes a lot of time to regain my strength.…

***

It was already late in the evening. After the meeting with Erzit ended, Celestia asked Twilight and Spike to stay at the castle for a day. So that in the morning they could all discuss together again what happened today. However, Princess Celestia was in no hurry to go to bed. She was sitting at her desk in her room, thinking.
Who is Erzit? Is it true that he is the first Alicorn? What are shadow ponies really like?

Celestia had indeed heard the old legends about the unknown Alicorn who occasionally appeared in public. She also listened to legends and old horror stories about Umbrums or shadow ponies. Previously, all this seemed to her to be just myths. Although there were those who claimed to have personally met with shadow ponies. However, no one believed them, considering them to be madmen. But now?
Now it was clear to her that these were not fairy tales. The legends in the books were true. Or at least, many of them. Although Celestia pretended to accept the so-called friendship with Erzit, she didn't really trust him. Who knows what this pony is hiding and what he's up to. However, Luna and Twilight did not share her views and fully trusted the one they were seeing for the first time. Luna has always been very trusting, which is why she became a Nightmare Moon. Twilight is the princess of friendship, and it's obvious that she quickly trusted him when he offered friendship.

While her sister and a loyal former student are trying to make friends with Erzit. She will try to find the truth about him and what he really wants. Since Erzit had mentioned that Sombra was his student, she would try to find information about Sombra's past from the old archives of the returned Crystal Empire. She would send a letter to Cadence in the morning, asking her to send her all the information she had about Sombra from the archives.

She will also need old legends about shadow ponies.”I will find the truth.” Celestia whispered to herself.

Blowing out the candle, she finally went to bed.…

Author's Note

I hope you enjoyed the new chapter. :)

Don't forget to leave your feedback so that I understand that you like this story and I need to continue it. Thank you in advance.