Young Sombra's Former Transgressions

Chapters

Part One: The Adorable Tyrant
Part Two: His Temporary Home
Part Three: Secret Weakness
Part Four: The Failed Escape
Part Five: Rock Candy Ice Cream
Part Six: Week's end
Part Seven: Making New Friends
Part Eight: Extended Playtime

Part One: The Adorable Tyrant

Deep in the arctic north, where snow roared furiously and winter wolves hunted, a small, innocent colt awakened to his new life on Equestria. His young head rose with his horn still cracked and broken, but slowly filling in the gap where it created him from mere shadows. With his regal, blood-red robes slowly shifting in the frosty breeze upon his small back, King Sombra straightened, looking around.

He giggled, noticed how funny his vocal points sounded, and coughed, trying to cope with what he was hearing and feeling. At first, he thought it must’ve been a side effect from the regeneration spell he'd casted upon himself, but the real byproduct was his entire form all together. His eyes blinked away the frozen water in his vision, and with so much whiteness blocking his path, he fell to the ground. He felt around his barrel and detected a definite difference than what was originally supposed to be a fully grown stallion’s physical appearance. King Sombra no longer held the title of ruler, but instead, was now a harmlessly adorable colt.

“What... is this?! I am... a youngling! HOW?!” His squeaking voice sounded more like a dog’s chew toy. His hooves shook in front of his pearly eyes, the childish tyrant began to form small tears. King Sombra's lips quivered as freezing winds whipped his smooth cheeks, and out of nowhere, the being began to throw the worst tantrum, and any parent had there been one with him at the time would refuse to tolerate such behavior.

“WHY ME?! IT’S NOT FAIR! THIS IS THE WORST I COULD HAVE EVER HOPED FOR!” His wails stretched far, tears slowly cascading down his whining face, freezing almost immediately on impact as they hit the ground.

Despite the loud torrents of gusting winds sweeping the area, Celestia could plainly hear the once evil ruler of the Crystal Empire. She’d been informed by one of her royal guards that some crystal ponies had spotted a remnant of King Sombra after the blast flew right over their shining heads. His horn was the only thing left of him that survived the magical explosion, and went whistling through the air above them. Considering it was the source of his demonic energy, precautions had to obviously be made.

Princess Celestia searched high and low for him, hoping to destroy the spiked threat, but once she heard his quirky voice bouncing from the mountains, she stopped in place. The mare listened for a bit, heat emitting from her body while a circular ring of melting snow rounded her being, giving the grass underneath a chance to feel the soft air again.

“I know that was a filly... or... maybe a colt...?” Her highness speculated on it, almost coming to a conclusion that it was her imagination, but once she heard it again, her ears perked up. Again, she heard it, and now was sure of where it was coming from. Her glorious wings extended open a bit while she trotted through the storm faster and faster, and in little time at all, she would reach the source of the cries.

Through the rustling forcefulness of winter, she fought, pressing her horn forward while fighting through the haze. Soon, she heard herself approaching the exact location of the childish wails. As she reached the young colt, her heart beating powerfully, King Sombra looked through the beads of ice only to see the one thing he’d hoped to never face again. “YOU! Why are you here?!”

"K-King... Sombra? Is that you?" the princess asked with an attitude.

King Sombra asked commandingly, though he hardly seemed like a danger to the princess, "Tell me what you've done to me! NOW!"

If anything, she almost found him cute, if only for a second or two. She chuckled a bit at his scowling expression, tried not to lose control of her intentions and prepared to blast the little guy. “Just because you think it’s funny to change form, and attempt to throw me off won’t save you from your ultimate judgment.”

With the flaring of her horn nearly against his frowning muzzle, King Sombra reacted with his own magic. "Suffer before my dark glory!"

The flaming bolt of purple and red electricity surged forward, but landed in the mounds of snow in front of him in a rather anticlimactic fashion. That single, petite strike zapped him of all the energy he had, and it showed. Panting, and coming to a sweat from the buildup, he sighed, “This... c-can’t be the limits of my... p-powers. Curse this body! What have you done?!”

Celestia picked up the fidgeting toddler with her magic, and tossed him into the snow rather harshly. As he made an uncomfortable sounding landing, the mare wasn’t sure if that was the best course of action to take. He lifted himself up, turned around and stared deep into her eyes. Not only did he have the power of a child, but to her amazement, the mindset to go with it as well. Once again, his ruthless cries were released from his being. "T-t-that's... NOT... FAIR!!!"

Pouting like a foal, King Sombra sat completely harmless in the snow, his tattered cape slightly ripped. This display of childish behavior proved to Princess Celestia that he really and truly had become a small, vulnerable child at heart, mind and body; nothing more, nothing less.

She strutted casually to him, lowered herself down to be at eye level with the sobbing colt, and said, “Is it true? Are you... as innocent as you appear?"

She felt along his temple, along his hair, and could only wonder what had truly happened to him. "You probably d-did this, didn't you?! It's not FAIR!"

His assertiveness hadn't changed, that was for sure, but to Princess Celestia, he was right. This wasn't fair, not to Equestria at least, and certainly not to the Crystal Empire, but what was she to do? There were so many options running through her head right now. To end him, to leave him in the snow, but to do that might not stop his return. Nothing might do that, and this was becoming clear to her. The only option in her mind that she had with this colt was to befriend him. After all, that option these days was beginning to work more and more anyways.

"I'm... sorry, King Sombra, for hurting you.”

His pouting slowly ceased, and his eyes opened to look at her smiling face. Warmth poured from her body, relaxing him, and helping the colt regain energy. King Sombra scowled down, wiped his eyes free from water and reluctantly asked, “Was I really... that bad? I’m s-sorry... if I was...”

The princess chuckled at this. Never before, had she ever considered hearing such a pony like King Sombra, even as a kid, say those words. While she wrapped a hoof around him and yanked the colt closer, King Sombra was overtaken with a calming glow, allowing him to feel replenished and healthy again. She offered to let King Sombra ride on her back, securing him with her silky smooth wings.

On their way back, Celestia still thought hard about her decision, and there still remained enough time to change her mind, especially with the Crystal Empire just a few miles off her path. "Shining Armor might be more willing to use the banishing spell instead, and I could teach him how to cast it fairly easily..."

Most of the way, King Sombra slept peacefully. As for Celestia, her mind tried its best to wrap itself around what was happening. Apparently, something went wrong when King Sombra was trying to regenerate his body. The only outcome she could come up with was that there wasn’t enough energy, or shadowy materials to form his full body.

"Which unfortunately means, possibly, he could still become very dangerous towards the land."

"Mmh, what?" he asked, his mane rubbing against her back.

"Nothing, just go back to sleep..."

Even though Celestia now understood the situation, she still wouldn't go running to the Crystal Empire. Hopefully, he’d be able to learn right from wrong, learn to understand friendship, and maybe even become a new pony.

“Who knows... and who better,” she said while crossing over to the lush, green environment of the Ponyville outskirts, “to look after you for the time being than my faithful student, Twilight? After all, I think I can manage to make some room for an occasional visitor over at Canterlot. If all goes well, Kin-... Eh heh... Sombra will be living with me. Under my surveillance, he just might be able to become a good soul, and not a tyrant he once was.”

Part Two: His Temporary Home

“Spike, get me the toadstool from the pantry!”

“Yes, Twilight!”

“Don’t forget to cleaver the liver well!” Twilight heard a knock on the door. “I’ve got it," she yelled. "Keep chopping, Spike!” She came around the corner from the kitchen and to the door. Opening it, she saw Celestia standing right there in the entryway. Twilight bowed instantly before her. “Princess Celestia!”

“Calm down, Twilight. I’ve got somepony here with me who you may remember…” Her highness walked in, sniffed a bit, and asked, “Is that… paprika?”

Twilight giggled. “Just… a small experiment upstairs, nothing to worry about.”

Celestia nodded her head. “Baking enchanted sweets?”

“It’s to calm Pinkie Pie down for once!” Twilight took a step back, walking away from Celestia who resumed entering the premise. “She’s been party crazy lately. More so than usual! I don’t know why, but every once in a while, she gets like this. She warned me, told me her grey strand of hair meant she only one thing! She could possibly run everyone out of town, and now it’s coming true.” Twilight turned around. “I mean, I can only take so much childish behavior, games, chaos… What’s that on your back?”

Celestia gulped and turned around. Sitting, curled up in his cape and using it for a blanket, the former king named Sombra laid on her back fast asleep. Twilight stepped closer with a critical eye, looking the colt up and down while saying, “It can’t be.”

“It is,” Celestia assured. “It would seem, he’s been reduced to nothing more but a young, innocent colt. I found him north of the Crystal Empire.”

Twilight blinked, then glanced up at Celestia. “No.”

Celestia smiled kindly. “Yes.”

Twilight shook her head while backing away. “No…”

Celestia nodded with a snicker and closed eyes. “Yes…”

Twilight finally bumped into one of her book shelves. “Princess Celestia, I’m not going to adopt this… child who just so happens to be the SHADOW DEMON KING! He’s way too dangerous even as a kid, not to mention everything he put me, and Spike, and all the others through! How do you expect this to work out?”

“Twilight,” Celestia said, raising her hoof to stop her student’s excitement. “He said he’s sorry.”

For a moment, Twilight stood still long enough to look over at him. She couldn’t really sense his chilling powers anymore, not like before when he was fully grown. She had to admit, something about him in this state made her feel safer, if only a little bit. “If he really said that… then, maybe I could take him in. How long will you need me to look after him?”

Celestia brought her hoof up to her chin to think, and said, “Well, I'd need to get a room ready for him, so in the mean time you should just take field research notes on him for a good while… About a week.”

Twilight grunted. “You’re seriously going to drop him off here for a week and dump him on me without any warning?”

Celestia sighed. “I'm sorry, Twilight. It’s a sudden situation we’re in. You need to keep in mind, though, that you’d probably not only be helping myself, but all of Equestria as well.”

Twilight looked down at the floorboards, defeated. “I better get some new cool spell book out of this...”

Celestia giggled lightly and sat down. Her muzzle came close to the angrily sleeping colt’s chest, waking him. As he yawned with tightly closed eyes, his tongue slithering out, and then back in, he rose like a cat. Mumbling something about a bad dream, he looked around slowly, his eyes squinting more and more after each little thing came into view. “What the…”

Twilight squealed at his soft voice. “Oh, that’s so adorable!”

“huh?” Sombra looked up at Twilight, blinking still, and then shook his head. “Y-you! I remember you! Hiss!”

Twilight was taken back by the rude spitting, and motherly said, “No, you don’t hiss at anypony you remember hating.”

Celestia stood. “I think you two will get along just fine.”

Sombra gasped, this action being somewhat cute to Twilight. “If she’s here, then that dragon’s here as well! No, you can’t leave me here with these imbeciles. They’re responsible for me being like this in the first place!” He stood and started adjusting his spot like he wasn’t going anywhere, and finished, “Take me to the Crystal Empire. I have ponies to enslave!”

Celestia and Twilight looked at one another holding in chortles. Celestia magically placed Sombra on the floor, him fidgeting to break free, and headed for the door still chuckling. “Message me if things get out of control. I’ll be expecting those papers upon my return in a week. Oh, and Twilight…”

She watched as her student turned around after getting Sombra off of the lamp post to listen. “Yes, your highness?”

“Thank you for doing this.”

The unicorn looked down with a smile. “Oh, no problem. I'll just be here, taking care of..." She gulped. "Taking care of King Sombra.”

“One more thing.” Twilight looked back up tentatively. “No using enchanted foods to ‘calm him down’. I need to see his behavior without that sort of problem.”

Twilight chuckled, “You don’t need to worry! I’ve got everything under control.”

The princess bowed her head in respect. Bringing it back up, though, she sang, “Sombra’s in the kitchen with Spike,” and walked out the door while Twilight turned around suddenly with an annoyed expression on her face.

Inside the kitchen, Spike resumed chopping carrots, tossing them into a cauldron. He grabbed some raven claws professionally, broke them in half over a giant bowl, and then dumped them in. The broth he tended on in Twilight's absence bubbled and boiled. He placed both his fists on his sides, accomplished with his part, and then turned around to witnessed some unorthodox intruder picking up a portion of grains that could be found within a nearby basket. “You…” Spike said, raising his free claw and pointing. Then, Twilight came in. All three looked left and right at one another in silence.

Twilight spoke up first. “He’s gonna be living here for a while. He’s harmless, Spike…”

The dragon simply lowered himself down from the ladder he was on, still pointing, and asked, “Is he s-still evil? Huh?”

Sombra answered that himself by trying to bite Spike’s finger. Luckily, he missed, but still gave the poor creature a good scare. “I’m King Sombra, and you two will take me to my palace this instant!”

Twilight looked at Spike, her eyebrow raised, and asked, “Wanna help me put this little terror to bed?”

Spike lowered his hand, backing away. "Do I have to?"

Twilight looked away in grief. "Celestia's order's... So If I've gotta do it, you've gotta help!"

Spike groaned for a moment. "Unbelievable..." However, seeing as how it was an instance involving somepony like the princess, he knew he had no way out of it. “If it’s a command from Princess Celestia herself, then yeah, I guess I’ve got no choice.”

“Hey! What do you two think you're doing?!” Sombra asked this in a harsh tone while being dragged upstairs. It would take up to an hour to get him to lie down comfily, and then another thirty minutes for Twilight to find her old book for fillies, the one that always helped her sleep at night when she was little. Finally, it would take five more minutes just for Twilight to read the story, and for Sombra to stop fidgeting with Spike. He'd eventually close his eyes and go to bed, Spike still aggressively hugging him.

Morning would come, but this evening, Twilight had some books to read, most of them being from the Crystal Empire. Each and every selection contained some sort of information on the former King Sombra, be it lore or fact. Twilight hoped she would find something useful that night within the countless pages of the crystal pony history, just like Princess Celestia.

At that very same time, her highness was doing the exact same thing as her devoted student. Studying the research compiled for this whole incident along with how it all developed over time might just prove useful to the princess and her pupil, and perhaps even young Sombra as well.

Part Three: Secret Weakness

Sombra's eyes opened sleepily as that infernal light started touching his face. Swishing the blanket off and looking around, the colt found he was still in this quirky treehouse, in Twilight's bed. Where was she? “She didn’t sleep in the same bed as me, did she?" Sombra asked, slowly becoming angered. "She better not have!”

He hopped down, and stood, looking around. "Okay... The door!"

He started up in a gallop, but was still highly unbalanced in his new body, and consequently tripped several times before getting slightly more used to things. Trying to use his dark powers wasn’t working, either. It’d seemed he was trapped within the room, for he was much too small to even reach the doorknob. He jumped, and leaped, but just couldn’t twist it. If he could just get close enough, maybe his aura would reach… Or, Twilight could come in right when he’s launching himself at the door again.

Catching him with a small flinch, he wrestled away from her and headed down the stairs. “Sombra,” Twilight said after being pushed aside.

“Stupid room! Ohhh, stairs! I love stairs…”

Twilight closed the door and made sure he was alright. By the time she got back down and into the lobby, he was on the kitchen table getting ready to jump at the fridge. “No!” Twilight cried. “Stop jumping!”

He looked at her, his purple eye-shadow disappearing. He got of the table, looking down with his typical scowl. “Err, I’m hungry,” he said.

“Yeah, Twilight!” Behind Sombra, Spike came in from the lobby. “I’m hungry too.” He looked at the colt with a smile. “Sup?”

Sombra returned the gesture with a hiss. “You and Sparkle are plotting against me! I’m leaving this house, and… and…”

Twilight brought forth the cookie jar that was momentarily hidden behind a cabinet drawer. Its inside glass texture was absolutely chock full of yummy, multi-flavored cookies. Some looked hard, and some seemed more gooey soft. It loomed close to him, Spike giggling at his tongue dropping out low, and then wafted the jar all the way up to the fridge. “Outta sight, outta mind… For now,” Twilight said, smiling.

From the other direction, two plates floated over surrounded by her aura. Decorating the plates, hot, steaming pancakes drizzled in syrup caught young Sombra's easily distracted attention. The smallest member of the household got two while Spike got three. Twilight having already eaten her breakfast only watched, curious as to how this young Sombra would react. Of course, Twilight had predicted the thousand year old colt not to know what this new food could possibly be. He started lifting the top layer, experimenting with it using his hooves. “What… is it?”

Twilight giggled. “It’s pancakes! You never had them before?”

“Most unusual… These are not what I saw earlier! Bring me the… uh…”

Spike offered, “The sweets?”

“Yes,” Sombra said with an evil smirk. “Bring me the sweets!” He chanted, ”Bring me the sweets!”

Twilight face-hoofed. “Spike, stop encouraging him.” She looked at Sombra. “Enough of that,” she said sternly. "Eat the pancakes first, and then you get what’s called a cookie.”

Sombra blinked, a confused look on his face. “What’s a cookie? I want those round things in that see through glass thing, up on that big box.”

Twilight shook her head, hiding a snicker. “That’s what cookie means. The sweet looking circles are cookies!” She smiled sheepishly, and Sombra rolled his eyes.

“Whatever,” he said. ”I just want them. Now.”

“Pancakes first.”

Spike spoke up finally. “It seems we have an impasse. The only way Sombra can enjoy dessert, or cookies is if he eats all his pancakes.”

Sombra looked down at the still steaming plate, the brown syrup sliding ever so slowly around the rim, and went to finally pick up his fork. It didn’t work, though. It slipped right through his aura. “What the?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. He tried it again, but it just kept falling back through and onto the table. Again and again he tried, but got nowhere. He looked at his breakfast, then at Twilight, and then at Spike chowing down on his, and sighed.

His horn slowly came down to the edge of the cake. With a tiny spark, he began magically cutting his food, catching the others’ attention. Once a perfect piece was sliced, he tried simply picking it up and tossing it in his mouth. Unfortunately, all he got was a mouth full of magic, something that actually doesn’t taste very good. Sombra spat it out, choking dramatically, and dropped from the table. Twilight and Spike simply watched like it was some sort of comedy show.

Once he got back up, Twilight and Spike stopped laughing, if only to give a small chortle or two while staring at his annoyed face. “Heh, you know Sombra,” Spike said. “You’re an okay guy.”

Sombra jumped off and away from the table with Spike following. As the dragon made a friendly move to wrap his arm around sombra’s shoulder, the colt snapped back, snarling, “Don’t touch me, lizard.”

“Whoa, hey, I’m just trying to make a new friend, you know?” Spike offered his claw. For some reason, Sombra looked at it funny, and appearing to Twilight that he was still trying to figure out the meaning of 'friend'. “... Don’t you know what friendship is, Sombra?”

He shook his head, glaring at Spike. Twilight brought forth a book and laid down on the couch, her hoof scratching the back of her neck. Spike decided it best to back off, and Sombra finally got a cookie after finishing his meal with Twilight’s help, of course. Every once in a while throughout the first day’s morning, Twilight would catch him trying to escape the house. She simply watched as dismay would again and again overtake Sombra upon him finding barriers everywhere. On the door, the windows, and even the chimney.

Until lunch time, Spike didn’t give Sombra much attention. The colt seemed preoccupied with staring at those cookies for a good, long while. Around eleven, Spike came around the corner only to walk right into Sombra's backside. He was bucked off, something Sombra probably should't have done. Spike hadn’t realized how Sombra had a plate of metallic armor overlaying his smoky coat before then, which Spike now realized was in fact remarkably well hidden by the cape. “Youch! Uhh, Twilight? You might wanna take a look at this.

"Take a look as what?" Twilight demanded before coming.

"Oh, just King Sombra's steel vest!”

After putting her book away, Twilight responded quickly by coming around the corner from the upstairs bedroom. “His what?”

Spike checked again. “Dude, how do you even walk in that thing?”

Sombra snatched his cape back, saying, “It’s light, and warm. Don’t touch it!”

Though Spike thought it would've been fun to hang out with Sombra, there was also the sense of Sombra being slightly too childish, and even bratty for him. Twilight came down stairs and inspected as well. Finding he had a rather sharp set of perfectly fitted armor, she thought it best to remove it. After all, what was the point of a kid like him wearing such harmful attire? Though he was reluctant at first, Twilight finally won by bribing him with his only known weakness... A cookie.

Part Four: The Failed Escape

“You mean you’ve never even heard of friendship?” Spike asked while Twilight removed the armor underneath his forearms. The funny thing about Sombra wasn’t his soft coat, or even his compliance. It was what wasn’t there, his cutie mark. To Twilight's surprise, he had a blank flank, as smooth as any colt his age. Here Twilight was thinking it’d be a crystal, or shadows, or anything, really. Something, but instead, there was nothing.

“It’s never crossed my path before.”

Twilight shook her head. “Starswirl the Bearded, Discord, and now you, too? All the bad guys, and even some of the good ones from the past never even had a friend! No wonder you’re all evil!” She looked again. "Yeah, Sombra...? I don't see a cutie mark, by the way."

He looked up at her with a puzzled face, then looked back at his rear. He even went so far as to blink at it, and then touch it, only to jump back with a worried expression on his face. He started chasing his flank around in one place, then stopped. “Why can’t I remember what my cutie mark is?!”

Spike became more animated while Twilight grabbed a book. “You… remember having a cutie mark, but not what it looked like?”

Sombra shook his head with closed, squinted eyes. “It doesn’t even come to mind… I know I had one, but when I got it, or what it looked like…” He opened his eyes. “I don’t even remember my childhood.”

Spike looked over at Twilight who just so happened to be conjuring up yet another book. “Article three… Last time fabled and recorded, when somepony became a colt like you did, he experienced the same thing. His name was Relapse Again. He was a unicorn, and died after aging all the way through an entire life cycle again, but couldn’t remember anything before his rebirth, so to say.”

Sombra looked up. “Listen, purple one! I know my age. I’m thousands of years old! I remember being in control, but if you don’t help me remember all that and get my powers back, when I finally do regain my magic, you, your dragon, and everypony you know will be locked up in chains forced to dig up crystals for me for the rest of your days!”

Twilight was positive had he been just a bit older, that would’ve been intimidating, but coming from a colt the size he was only made her blush and giggle that much more. After composing herself from a fit of chortles, she walked up to Spike, and asked, “Tell me, think you can teach him what friendship is all about?”

Spike glanced at the tyrannical imp of a pony, and smiled. “He’s cool… I like him, but he doesn’t eat actual crystals, does he?”

Twilight looked at Sombra. He was looking at the front door suspiciously. “Say, Sombra?”

She walked calmly over to him, sat down in front, and asked, “Tell me, what was your motives behind your obsession with crystals in the first place?”

Sombra looked at her funny. “Huh?”

Twilight thought for a moment, and soon enough decided it best to use smaller words. “What did you use crystals for?”

Sombra lowered his head darkly with a mean scowl, but lightened up with a shrug. “I don’t remember…”

Twilight simply looked at him, the purple of his eyes disappearing yet again. “Why do you like them so much?”

He looked down, and said, “I don’t think I do anymore…”

Twilight huffed, and ventured to ask, “Why don’t you like them anymore?”

He sat there in front of her, just sitting, and looking at her hooves. He finally looked up sharply, and said, “Because they got be destroyed twice.” He let out a tear. To think, all it took for a once hardened ruler of an empire to cry were mere memories. “First time around, I got turned into a giant shadow, and was banished into ice for a thousand years! Then, I was blown up!”

Twilight watched as he became more and more emotional. “Sombra…”

“And, I don’t wanna get hurt again, Twilight!” Spike still observed the young colt’s behavior, a bit skeptical, but feeling sorry for the little guy all the same. After his last words were spoken, he stood back up. Still sobbing, Sombra walked into the kitchen while yelling, “I want a cookie!”

Twilight came close to Spike with an eyebrow raised. “Just like you when you’d cry.”

Spike looked up at her, annoyed at that remark. “That was when I was, like, three Twilight.”

To settle young Sombra's mood, Twilight gave him what he wanted, but warned that crying all the time doesn’t earn him another. He stuck his tongue out at that, but didn’t cry again for the rest of the day. The next time Twilight saw him aside from him being in the corner of her eyes while she read, he was at the front door again, staring at it. Spike saw him, too, from the couch, and hopped down after settling his book down on the table. “Hey?”

Sombra looked over at him. “Don’t bug me, lizard! I’m trying to formulate a plan…” He reached up, stretching for the handle, but just couldn’t reach it. Spike watched behind, rubbing his chin. Then, he had an idea. If Spike was going to befriend this little monster, he’d need to show Somba which side he was on.

Sombra could just barely touch the knob. A few inches more, and he’d be free. Suddenly, up he went. Weightlessness, the feeling of being carried rushed over him, but he didn’t very well care at that point in time where it came from. He could reach the doorknob, and that’s all that mattered to him. He looked down while grasping the circular object to see Spike below him, holding his rather heavy body up. “Why… help me?” Sombra asked.

“Because,” Spike said. “That’s what friends are for!”

The door opened, and Sombra fell out the house and onto the soft, lush grass outside. Unfortunately for Sombra, Twilight had the whole treehouse barricaded off from the rest of the world with a force field shield. “This was a set up, wasn’t it? To make me look like an idiot!”

Spike shook his head, worried he’d still have a few issues with Sombra even after deliberately trying to help him. “No, I didn’t even know Twilight had thought that far ahead! I just wanted to…”

“What?!” Sombra demanded, his horn starting to glow a sickly red.

“B-be your friend…” Spike held onto his tail, Sombra still pointing his aura threateningly in his direction. The unicorn considered stopping this mean act, but was too late. He's gone too far. Spike ran off, back into the house, narrowly avoiding Twilight while he entered. She came up to Sombra who sat down, a hoof raised in Spike’s direction, beckoning him to come back.

“Well,” Twilight huffed. “I see you’re getting along just fine…” She grabbed the loose skin on Sombra’s back neck and carried him in. Setting the colt on the couch, she sighed, “And here I was thinking it’d help you two bond, to let Spike assist in your escape.”

“He… was just trying to help?” Sombra asked, his voice breaking on the last word.

Twilight shook her head, and explained, “No, he wasn’t trying to help you get out… He was trying to become your friend, and you shunned him, pushed him away! That’s… just not right, Sombra.”

The colt looked up the stairs where Spike must’ve ran off to, and thought aloud, “Maybe I am being too mean…”

It seemed that every time he started to show some good within himself, Sombra’s eyes would cease this constant flow of dark matter. Why this was, Twilight still couldn’t be sure of. Something was definitely changing within him, but to Twilight's displeasure, what that was would simply have to remain a mystery until the right time came.

He got up, passing Twilight by. “Where do you think you’re going?”

Sombra stopped momentarily to say, “I may not know what friendship’s all about, but I know how to say sorry.”

He walked away, up the stairs. Naturally, Twilight followed and crept up to the door to listen in. She could just barely see Spike sitting on his basket bed, and King Sombra sitting before him, his head lowered ever so slightly.

“Liza- I mean… Spike…” Sombra looked up. “I’m sorry for bullying you back there… And, although I detest the word, I’m willing to give this friendship of yours a try.”

Twilight heard Spike sniffle, and then ask, “You really mean that?” With a nod of Sombra’s head, Spike almost jumped on him, hugging his new friend tightly. "That's great!”

Twilight couldn’t help but to grin widely at how precious those two were behaving. By dinner that evening, Spike and Sombra would be at the table ready to eat like normal children, and even though Sombra resumed fighting his bedtime, he gave Twilight less trouble once finding out he’d be sleeping side by side with Spike. His bed was just a bit bigger than the basket was, and comfy all the same. To Sombra, his dreams were always going by too quickly.

Part Five: Rock Candy Ice Cream

When Spike awoke the following day, he was a little startled to see the small bed next to him completely unoccupied and unmade. “Sombra?” Spike asked, rising and stretching his scales a little.

He noticed Twilight was still in bed, and it was fairly early, too. So, where was Sombra? With fear of what that trouble maker could be up to growing, Spike quickly left the room, still rubbing his eyes. The lobby seemed fine, and so did the kitchen. Everything appeared perfectly normal except for the peculiar disappearance of young Sombra, and the front door left cracked open.

"Has the front door been like that all night?" Spike asked. He investigated, opening the door all the way, and blinked at the colt sitting before the purple shield that kept him from the one thing he’d secretly do anything for, even if it meant giving up an empire. That was the ice cream stand just across the way. The gentlecolt that stood passing out cones for all the other little fillies and colts kept looking back at Sombra, wishing he could go right through that barrier himself, like thin paper through a crease and give him a double scoop just because.

Spike walked up casually, put his fisted claws on his hips and said, “Well, that’s a shame.”

Sombra pressed his muzzle up against the glass-like aura, saying, “Twenty four flavors…”

Spike rubbed his chin. “You’ve had ice cream before?”

For a moment, he just kept looking anxiously through the glass, drool sliding down his chin. Then, he backed away while looking down curiously. “I… don’t remember,” he said, almost looking as if he was in a daze.

“You can’t remember if you've ever had ice cream?” Spike asked. “But, you must’ve at one point, right?”

Sombra sat down, looking about angrily. “I just can’t remember…”

Spike folded his arms and looked outside. Sombra might’ve had ice cream before, which could also mean several other possibilities. Of course, the frozen treat wasn’t unheard of in the Crystal Empire. In fact, it was a celebrated delight, so it’s all too possible King Sombra indulged a bit despite being a maniacal warlord who would strike anyone as ice cream hating scum. Instead, here he was, his tiny stomach growling and him wanting nothing but the delicious substance. Spike could even see it in his glistening, red eyes.

It was the way they stared over at the vendor menacingly, plotting, thinking… planning to escape. Spike could see the entire scheme unfold just by observing his new friend. First, the ice cream, and then, the treehouse. Finally, he would conquer all of Equestria and the Crystal Empire. Well, okay, it didn’t go exactly like that, but Spike had seen that face before. It was the very same face he'd seen when falling right for Sombra, chasing after the crystal heart. That lust filled gaze told the dragon Sombra wanted that ice cream badly, and that he had to have it.

To Spike, being Sombra’s newest and only real friend excluding Twilight meant it was his duty to try and help.

Taking a chance, Spike placed his claw on Sombra’s shoulder. “Hey, follow my lead.”

“Why should I trust you?” Sombra asked, shrugging Spike’s claw off of him.

With a roll of the eyes, Spike said, “Because I’m your friend.”

The last word made Sombra’s ears perk up briefly, and then he looked up to the stand again. That word had been part of his life ever since he had arrived here in Ponyville, and it mystified the young colt to no end. This was possibly because he'd never really had a friend before, so this experience being so new to him brought about different feelings within. Most of those emotions would be rather unfamiliar, but one was becoming more and more recognizable with every passing instance.

So, he agreed to follow Spike’s lead shortly after threatening, “Try anything funny, lizard, and I’ll turn YOU into ice cream!”

Spike wasn’t the least bit intimidated. He knew exactly how to get Twilight’s favor in anything, especially things like treats being sold just outside their front door. It merely required a bit of pleading, something Sombra wasn’t expecting to see coming from his new friend. The door opened, and there was Twilight still sleeping, her back facing them while the sunlight started to grace her cheeks.

Spike leaned in, whispering, “Just stay over there. This should be a walk in the park, but if I need you, I’ll call you over. If I do, just follow my lead."

“Okay… If you say so,” Sombra said, a puzzled look in his eyes. For the most part, it looked as though Spike was simply going to go right up and take the money out from under Twilight’s nose, or from wherever the funds were kept. Instead, he shook her gently, and backed his palm away after the first shift from her shoulder.

“Twilight…? We’ve got some ice cream outside, and I was wondering-”

“No.”

Sombra scowled. That lizard told him this would be easy, and he lied. Spike snickered, and said, “Aww, c’mon! It’s just across the street, and Sombra wants some, too.”

Twilight lifted herself up, rubbing her eyes. “Wait, who? Sombra? Wanting ice cream?”

“Yeah,” Spike said excitedly. “He seems to remember it, if only a little. Maybe having some will jog his memory!”

Twilight stood with a grunt. “Ugh, alright! Here, you each get two bits. That should be plenty.”

Sombra tried to grab the floating coins that were given to him by Twilight aura, but he attempted this by using his own magic. Needless to say, they fell to the floor quickly after slipping right through his dark powers. Staring down at them, he made a, “Harumph!” and picked it up with his hooves.

“Come on,” Spike said running down the stairs. Sombra was about to turn and head out, too, but did something even Spike forgot about. He looked at Twilight without a single hint of dark, purple streaks in his eyes, and said, “Thank you!”

After that, he left. Twilight didn’t think much of it while letting down the shield and watching them carefully, but that was manners Sombra had just used. She and Spike hadn’t even gone over those yet. Not thoroughly, that is. Yet, he just expressed gratitude to her. Looking down at him and Spike who busily got their yummy looking ice cream cones, each getting the same flavor, chocolate with rock candy chunks crushed within every single bite, she wondered just how good a child he really was before coming into power.

If he already knew how not to be greedy, and how to say thanks every once in a while, what other civilized aspects could he know of, and why hadn’t he ever act upon them as a tyrannical ruler?

When they returned to the house and sat on the front steps, Sombra kept having trouble with his cone. Such small hooves such as his wasn’t made for holding something so big, not at that age. He predictably tried to use magic, Spike watching him and enjoying the rather amusing display. However, Spike did not like seeing Sombra’s special delight fall to the ground, ruined. The slush literally began to melt into the dirt instantly, bringing Sombra to mumble, “N-not again…”

Spike’s eyebrows rose at the two words. “Again? What do you mean, Sombra?”

He looked up suddenly, blankly, but with wide eyes. One could tell, he was trying to remember something, maybe even of varying importance. Unfortunately, his slouching frame, and moaning of sadness told Spike he not only lost the remembrance, but still mourned over his ice cream’s tragic fall. Spike somewhat chuckled at that. He hadn’t pestered Twilight first thing in the morning for himself after all. Spike did this so that Sombra could enjoy something they both might've liked, together, and Spike wasn’t about to let that be for nothing.

“Here,” Spike said with a smile, offering the colt his own, slightly sticky cone. “I haven’t licked it much, and besides, dragons have way cleaner tongues than ponies do.”

Sombra simply looked at it, the brown frost reflecting from his eyes. “You… really mean that? I can just... have it?”

“Well, okay, one more quick taste. Only because it’s so good, though." His long, slithery tongue brushed the edge that he’d already been eating, and then held it forward for Sombra, but the colt was more focused on something else.

“Whoa… That’s cool!”

“Oh,” Spike said, a bit flattered. “It’s nothing, I can get one anytime.”

“No,” Sombra said, dazzled not at the ice cream, but at what Spike had done to taste it. “Your tongue! Has it always been like that?”

“Oh, this?” Spike asked. His mouth opened up, and his lengthy taster drooped way down, all the way to the ground. Then, it hastily returned with a wet, popping sound. “You’ve never seen a dragon’s tongue before?”

Sombra munched down on the summit, swallowed some hard candy, and confessed timidly, “I’ve never even seen a dragon before. Well, except for you. I mean, I’ve got a long, snake tongue as well, but yours is just… Wow!”

“Huh… Being the ruler of the Crystal Empire, you’d think you would’ve seen it all by now.”

Sombra stopped licking. “Ruler of what?”

For a minute, Spike had to pause before realizing his friend had just lost the very thing that might keep him in this dictator's mind set, and that was his memory of being just that, a dictator. “Err, nothing,” Spike fibbed. The last thing they needed was Sombra remembering those tragic events that are, after all, better left forgotten anyway.

Once Sombra finished the ice cream cone Spike had shared with him, they returned to the room up stairs, inside the house. One thing Sombra remembered, though, was his odd fascination with stairs. Spike could barely get his mind off the things. When they finally entered the second floor room, Spike dragging Sombra by his tail, Twilight looked over with a content smile. “Thank you for not running off while I had the shield down.”

Sombra looked at her, confused. “Why would I want to do that?” he asked. “I like it here.”

Twilight couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Only a few days ago, young Sombra was ready and willing to run away, far away, and never be bothered by them again. Now, after almost a week's time, he wouldn’t leave the establishment for the world. It was funny to her and Spike, how only a few experiences taken away by fate, and newer, kinder ones replaced changed Sombra’s outlook of things entirely. Still, Twilight wasn’t completely convinced yet. Something still lingered around Sombra. It was a presence of evil, and darkness. The very kind she felt when he was so near the crystal heart.

Part Six: Week's end

Within the walls of Canterlot, Princess Celestia and her sister Luna stood within the room that was to be occupied by their soon-to-be guest, young Sombra. The door closed behind them, and for a moment, Celestia looked around hopefully. "Seems appropriate enough for him." She trotted forward, and more into the middle of the room. "Dim, red wall paper, a low bed, toys to play with..."

"We are... nervous about this."

Celestia walked around while she looked in Luna's direction. "Luna, I know you're unsure about this whole thing, but you should've seen him... and, please, don't talk like that. We've been through this dozens of times..."

Luna looked away, and didn't want to speak, but did anyways. "I know. It's just, King Sombra was a tyrant. Now, you expect everypony to be friends with him?"

Celestia stayed collected about this. "He's not king anymore, you know, and what's more important, Twilight's said he's seems to have started forgetting his time as ruler of the Crystal Empire. That's one thing I wanted to talk to you about while we're finishing up in here. I know it's a day early, but we've already got his room organized and accommodated for."

At that, Luna looked up. "You think it a good idea to just have him move in sooner than originally planned?"

Nodding, the sister commented, "Twilight doesn't know it, but the sooner we can get him nearer to you, the sooner you might be able to enter his dreams."

Luna seemed serious. "I just don't understand why I couldn't reach him the last few nights... It was as if one second he was standing right there, but then the next he's not even dreaming anymore. Hopefully having him within closer proximity will allow me the capability of connecting with him, so that we might investigate his memories."

Celestia placed a hoof on the open chest at the end of Sombra's bed. "His rise is a mystery, and nopony catalogued who he was before coming into the possession of such legendary power. He might not even truly be from the Crystal Empire."

Sighing, Luna agreed, "We shall have to see about it tomorrow night. Is there anything else that we need to address in here before we mail Twilight that letter?"

The two looked around. The bed, a relaxing blue color, was well made and welcoming. It was sure to be quite the change from the drab thing he'd been using back at Twilight's. Grey carpeting, a desk opposite the bed, and a regular wooden dresser next to that. He had his bathroom door to the far corner, and even a closet. Nothing was looked over.

"No, I think he'll enjoy it."

With the flick of a switch found on the wall, the fan and lightbulb overhead that the two had preferred to use mostly while working was turned of, and both sisters left quietly, Princess Celestia being the one to close the door behind them. Meanwhile, back at Ponyville, Twilight enjoyed a quiet morning all to herself. Young Sombra and Spike had spent most of last night playing hide and seek, a new game Sombra had never heard of before.

She glanced at one of her empty book shelves found at the base of the floorboards, and smiled while remembering how cute Sombra looked after discovering this hiding spot. Then, his shadow along the wall caught the corners her eyes. "Ugh," he groaned.

Sombra lingered on the stairs, still tired from last night's excitement. "Good morning young Sombra," Twilight cheerfully greeted upon him coming to the last step. "Hope you're ready for breakfast... You okay?"

She looked at him more attentively. He didn't seem at all awake, his eyes closed, and stumbling towards her. He soon stopped and sat down, looked at her with this dazed expression, and asked, "When are you going to let me go?"

Twilight blinked, and brought her clipboard over to take notes. "But, Sombra, I thought you liked it here."

He looked away, his eyes leaking purple aura. "I'm... not a morning pony." Even his tone brought back haunting memories of what little Twilight saw of King Sombra in his darkest form.

"Well," Twilight pressed. "Why do you wanna leave?"

"Because," he started quickly, but then fell silent for a second before speaking again, as if he'd forgotten. "Hmm... You know, I'm not oblivious as to what's happening."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean..." He cleared his soft, childish voice. "I know I did something really bad. I know... It's hard to make out, but I think I planned to come back, but something went wrong..."

Twilight finished for him, "And now you're a colt." She looked at him, focusing in on his eyes, hoping the aura that streamed from his eyes would end. "You have a chance to start over, and be somepony good. You shouldn't worry about the past, because that's not who you are anymore. Right?"

His face changed from anger to remorse. "It's not who I want to be... He scares me."

Twilight ventured, "Who?"

He looked up to Twilight, and said, "The dark king."

She nodded while smiling proud. At that time, Spike had woken up and was headed down the stairs. Twilight had heard him coming, so without further delay she began making breakfast for everypony including herself. She was so busy with doing this that she hadn't even seen the letter in clenched by his claw as she passed him by. Spike had to come into the kitchen and wave her down while at the same time trying to keep Sombra from distracting him.

"Oh, sorry Spike. From the princess?"

"Yeah," Spike replied.

She opened it quickly, read it, and then looked down at Sombra. "That's certainly earlier than expected."

"What is?" the young colt asked.

Twilight looked up at the ceiling in throughout for a second, but then stated, "You're not living here forever. You knew that, right?" She asked this with a hoof, as if she were offering him something.

He blinked. "I... guess?"

"Right, well, Princess Celestia and Luna are ready for you."

Spike seemed more surprised than anyone. "Really? Already?"

With a nod, the unicorn assured the two, "Says so right here. They'll be arriving around four o'clock today by carriage."

Sombra glanced away, more at Spike than anything else. "Great... Just when I was getting to like it hear."

Spike comforted his new friend with one arm, giving him a brotherly tug. "Hey, doesn't mean we won't see each other again, and we still have a few hours before her highness shows up. Why don't you and I play for a bit before you have to leave?"

Sombra grinned at the dragon. "Sure. Tell me about this game you called 'tag'."

Just before Twilight had turned back around to continue what she was doing, it clicked in her mind that the inside of the house wouldn't be the best place to allow them a game of tag. She could easily see in her mind either Spike or Sombra tagging one of her valuable, ceramic decorations. Needless to say, she had stopped them just in time, and told them to go play their game outside.

The sun was up enough, and in just a little bit, they'd come back in for hay bacon and flower omelets. Next time they'd leave to continue their playtime, however, three outside ponies would want in on the fun. Just as King Sombra had been tagged by Spike around the corner, he noticed a red maned filly with two others standing beyond the force field.

Curiously, Sombra ventured to ask, "Spike? Who're they? And what do they want?"

Part Seven: Making New Friends

Spike had stopped running, and was looking over at who had approached the transparent wall. "Oh," the dragon said with a humorous laugh. "It's just Apple Bloom and her friends." He looked away from Sombra to call over, "Hey guys!"

While Sombra's friend came up to the three to talk some, he stayed behind, untrusting towards anypony but the princess, Spike, and Twilight.

Apple Bloom greeted first. "Heya Spike! Saw you plain' with some new lookin' kid."

Then Scootaloo asked, "Twilight doesn't need this magical... uh... What is this thing anyways?"

"It's a force field," Sweetie Belle said, smirking. "Twilight's told me about them before. It's like a magical wall. I wonder why she has this put up."

"Well," Spike said but with an unsure tone. "It's because of... Sombra?" He looked back at the pony in the distance, waving him to come on over. He didn't budge. "Come on over and meet these three. They're the Cutie Mark Crusaders."

As Sombra slowly began crawling closer and closer, and only because Spike had asked him to, Sweetie Belle asked aloud, "Sombra? I swear I've heard Rarity say that name before."

Then Apple Bloom, too, stated with a hoof touching her chin, "Say, you're right. Applejack mentioned that name once before... King Sombra?"

The colt stopped in his tracks, a bit too close for his personal liking now. "Err... Spike..."

He looked worried, but not as worried as he'd be once Scootaloo also claimed, "Rainbow's definitely talked about him with the others. She said you used to be a... a..."

"Tyrant?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Yeah," Sweetie Belle commented while nodding. "Rarity's said the same thing. That he's a..." She looked at young Sombra, her smile disappearing.

"What's a tyrant?" Scootaloo asked.

"It's a very mean ruler who does more bad than good." Sweetie Belle looked back at Sombra, and said, "But you don't seem like a tyrant. Are you?"

Sombra began biting his bottom lip in worry, their words hurting, and he wasn't even sure why. That's when Spike interrupted. "Hey, that's not who he is anymore!" Sombra looked at him with upset eyes, listening closely. "He's just... Sombra now. Look, I'll go ask Twilight to-"

"Ask me to what, Spike?" Twilight questioned, coming out from inside the establishment.

Spike and Sombra turned around, the dragon taking it upon himself to say with enthusiasm, "Apple Bloom and the others wanna come on in and meet Sombra, and I was thinking we could play some tag together."

Twilight thought for a second. "Gee, Spike. I don't know..."

He sold her with, "Princess Celestia would probably be pretty impressed with seeing Sombra making some friends."

She nodded while looking up at the sky, keeping an eye out for her highness's carriage. "Hmm... Well, when you put it like that..."

"Yes!" Spike eagerly commanded, "So? Raise the force field!"

But Twilight wasn't about to be so hasty. She looked at Sombra sternly. "First... do you promise not to try and run off? Because once they're inside the front of the library, I'm dropping it again whether you're inside the force field or not."

Spike knew Twilight was just trying to scare the little guy, and didn't interfere. Before answering, Sombra looked to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and then Spike. "Err... Yeah, like I said... I like it here."

Twilight raised her chin, but kept looking down at him. "That's not what you said this morning..."

He merely looked away, unsure as to how he wanted to respond to that. "I know, but..." He looked at Sweetie Belle. "I really wanna meet these ponies."

Twilight breathed, her horn glowing slightly. "Alright..."

Just like that, the powerful barrier lifted itself momentarily, just enough for the Cutie Mark Crusaders to cross the shadowy, purple threshold. Sombra didn't even look out that way, and instead kept his eyes fixed on the three. "Sweet," Spike cheered. "Thanks!"

"Sure thing," Twilight said before returning to what she was doing before checking up on things.

Spike turned to everypony present, and offered, "Okay, introductions. Scootaloo, Apple bloom, Sweetie Belle?" All three smiled his way. "This is Sombra."

The shy colt bowed his head, and greeted mainly to Sweetie Belle, "Hello..."

She cheekily smiled, and waved. "Heh... Hi, Sombra."

"Sooo..." Spike put his fisted claw on his sides. "We were just playing tag..."

Scootaloo forwardly asked at that point, "Who's it?"

Spike replied with, "Well, I used to be."

He then poked Sombra on the shoulder. "Huh?"

"Now, Sombra's it. Tag!" In a hurry, Spike and everypony else bursted off, breaking away from one another, and the girls galloping away from Sombra especially. The girls shrieked a little bit as they ran, but the poor, clueless colt just stood there for a moment more, really not yet realizing what was going on. After all, he was a bit unprepared for this. Once it all began to click, though, his sights closed in onto Sweetie mainly because she seemed the slowest, the easiest to catch, and in his opinion the prettiest of the bunch.

Twilight watched from inside for a bit before going to the up stairs balcony to rest up before her mentor's arrival. The four in front would play for about a little over an hour more, and then Sombra would stop once again. Something had finally caught his eye. That something came gliding down in the far off strip of town, and it was headed directly towards where they played their games. It was undoubtedly Princess Celestia coming for the young colt, which could only mean his time with Spike and his new friends had come to an end.

Part Eight: Extended Playtime

The princess in all her glory came trotting away from her carriage, her two pegasi escorts seemingly exhausted just from the trip made thus far. She came up to the purple, glass-like sphere, her image distorted greatly. The three fillies behind Spike bowed, and so did he before grabbing Sombra by the shoulder, who still stood.

"Dude, bow," he whispered. "It's the princess..."

Sombra shrugged the claw off his body crudely, and looked up at her magnificence without a trace of childishness in his eyes. "I may not be a king anymore, but that doesn't make me below royalty." He looked at Spike, his voice maturing, and losing just a hint of its high pitch. "It would be belittling of Celestia to allow me to do such a thing in public."

All four stared at him, but that mass of attention would soon be redirected to Princess Celestia. She bowed before young Sombra graciously, beyond the shielding, and then rose to ask, "Is it alright if I enter?"

Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and even Spike stood there in the dirt with their mouths agape. Under any circumstance, Spike had particularly never seen, nor thought it accurately polite for a princess to bow, let alone ask permission to enter the home of another. That was that thing, though. This was technically Sombra's home.

"Uh..." Sombra looked up at the vacant window above head before saying, "You'd have to ask Twilight about that."

At that time, the student had left the building, and was approaching Sombra, calling over to her mentor, "Yes, I'm here! Come in, please! By all means, your highness..."

Celestia smiled, but didn't move. It became quiet for a brief second or two before she said, "You may take the force field down, Twilight."

"Err..." The unicorn's muzzle scrunched in concern. "You're sure that's a good idea? I mean, I still don't trust Sombra when it comes to escaping."

Her highness merely laughed lightly, and said, "He won't run away, I assure you. Not when I'm so close by." She looked down at the young being to ask, "Will you, Sombra?"

He crossed his arms, and answered with a simple, "No..."

Twilight could only look from him to her mentor, and soon released the library from her magical captivity. Directly following that, Sombra sighed. "I guess it's time for me to go, then, huh?"

The question he'd just let leave his lips lingered for a minute, because the atmosphere they'd been in was still air. Nothing moved within except the living being that inhabited the space, but with the shield gone, winds blew on every pony quite noticeably. Sombra could even feel himself forming a chilly sweat. Celestia stood looking down at him, smiling ever onward. "Why, that won't do."

"Huh?"

The colt looked at Celestia, more animated, more confused, but happy. Celestia simply looked at the new friends he'd made that day, and said, "You're still it."

Even Spike smiled at that, and as for Sombra, he hadn't yet allowed it to sink in. He questioned with a cocked eyebrow, "Err... what?"

"The game of tag that you were playing with everypony. You're still it."

Twilight commented, "In other words, Sombra, you can have a few more minutes with your friends before you have to leave and go to Canterlot."

He gasped, his eyes lighting up with excitement. "You mean it?"

All Celestia did was nod, and they were off, the girls and the dragon running away at full speed from the colt who turned and charged in their direction. While they played in the sun for a bit longer, the teacher and her student went inside and up the stairs to watch them all, and talk in privacy. "So," Princess Celestia said as she walked in, and then up to the window. "He's been well, then?"

"Yes," Twilight said with hesitation. "The thing is, he's... a normal, growing colt who's yet to find his cutie mark. That's what it seems to be..." She stayed like that for a bit, her head lowered. She still looked Celestia in the eyes, her mouth opening to talk, but not a sound coming out. "He still..." She gulped. "Well, he makes remarks about wanting to escape, and then forgets why... His eyes go all purple whenever he's thinking or acting upon dark thoughts. It's..." She held her head with a hoof while Celestia kept watching the five kids down there go in circles.

"I know."

"It's confusing. I guess... I'd like to know. Do you know what's happening to Sombra?"

Celestia's head bowed, and she as well opened her mouth. No words came, though. She first inhaled, and then exhaled through her nose, and then said, "It's from a viewpoint that Sombra didn't have enough dark energy at the time to reform his entire body. Consequently, he's lost most of his memories along with lots of his stallion physique, and he is losing his memories from before little by little. While new ones are made, old experiences are erased, or replaced. That's why he's coming to Canterlot, so that Luna can investigate his hidden memories while he sleeps."

Twilight nodded. "So that you can try and find out what kind of pony he was before becoming the king of the Crystal Empire."

Her highness nodded with worry. "Dangerous... I hadn't thought this up myself, by the way. Luna suggested the notion, and I'm sure you would agree with what she says, that this is a good thing to do. Right?"

Twilight looked down, her eyes weary. "I... don't know. I like the new Sombra. Did you know," she began while looking back at Celestia deeply. "He knows how to say please and thank you?"

Her eyebrows raised. "Really? How... interesting. Which might mean, he really wasn't born into the role of a leader." She sighed while glancing away. "We'll... know later on, I suppose." She focused in on the front lawn again, and this time noticed Sombra walking with Sweetie Belle. For the most part, they seemed alone, and Sombra even appeared happy. "Looks as if he's making it hard on me to take him away from all that."

Twilight looked, too, but she smiled wider. "That... is too sweet."

"No need in holding the departure off any longer, I suppose." To that, Twilight nodded in cooperation, and Celestia resumed, "He'll be back soon enough. I just hope he's not too much trouble at the castle."

Before following Celestia out of the room and down the stairs again, Twilight said, "I couldn't really see that happening. Considering how surprisingly well behaved he's been for Spike and I, he shouldn't be a problem." Just before exiting all the way, however, Twilight knocked on the wooden door frame three times, just to be sure to undo any jinxes she might've caused by saying this.