King Sombra is resurrected from the dark magic of a gem found by Rarity. Twilight takes it upon herself, as the Princess of Friendship, to attempt to help him. However, Celestia has warned Twilight that his heart is "black as night" - can he even be saved? Should they even bother? And what of the gem that resurrected him?

When trouble once again comes to Ponyville is seems as though Sombra's time is up. Twilight must decide if he is to be imprisoned or allowed to roam free and it seems Rarity will be the ultimate deciding factor.

SEQUEL: The Umbra Queen

[Picture from Grumbeerkopp on Deviantart]

Celestia had a niece once, not an adopted niece like Cadance, an actual biological niece, the daughter of Princess Luna. Sadly when Luna became Nightmare Moon her daughter took her mothers side and led the their forces against Celestia.

Princess Twilight was killed during that battle, or so history tells us...

Featured on the 11/10/2015! Thanks so much!

After failing to stop Nightmare Moon in the ancient castle of the pony sisters, Twilight Sparkle is left with a scar that will permanently change the rest of her natural born life. As Twilight recovers from her ordeal, she finds that she is left with a difficult choice. Either live her life as a lie or sacrifice her innocence to protect the ones she loves. The path before her is set and she must now walk it alone. The sands of time continues ever onward, with everyone already trapped in its muddy depths. The sun will rise and the sun will fall. Waiting for its call, Death awaits for all.

Tags, rating, and characters can change.

Art created by:
http://cuteskitty.deviantart.com (top)
http://ventious.deviantart.com (bottom)

I just put the two together

After being introduced to Dark Magic, Twilight has used it to her advantage multiple times(using it for Zecora's potion, finding the Crystal heart). Twilight starts to experiment with it, causing her to grow obsessed. She's noticed that its beginning to change her. She must stop herself from succumbing to the darkness before her friends loose her forever.

Twilight Sparkle, just like every other pony, thought King Sombra was over and dealt with, but she couldn't be more wrong. He returns, and plans to make Twilight his queen so he can take over Tartarus, and then, Equestria. As Twilight and her friends struggle to find a way to save Equestria and Twilight herself, buried secrets surface and hidden pasts are revealed.
Can Twilight be saved in time, or will her sanity break?

Sequel to my fic “Sombra’s Crucible, Twilight’s Corruption.” Reading it may be helpful (and appreciated!). Do note, however, that the styles and themes are quite different.

After being brainwashed into serving King Sombra, Twilight Sparkle was able to break free with the help of her friends and family. She then dueled Sombra himself in a world of nightmares to buy her friends time to activate the Crystal Heart. Though her gambit succeeded, Sombra cursed her by implanting a fragment of himself in her mind.

Now she has the voice of the Black King himself in her head, able to listen to her innermost thoughts and pierce all her mental defenses. But something seems different about this voice in her mind... as time grows on, his mind becomes more entangled with Twilight’s, and he starts to feel everything she feels… including some feelings he may have never felt as the Black King…

Special thanks to the wonderful Wolframclaws on deviantART for drawing this cover image for me.

Things didn't go, as planned, in the Crystal Empire. Sombra was defeated, but he used a clone to try and take the Crystal Heart. Now, he has Twilight Sparkle captive, and trying to force her to become his student. Celestia, stricken with grief, sends every pony she has to search for her valued student, who was like her daughter... Not knowing, another has come to help. A being that has been around far longer than any other. One that was old when Celestia was but a foal, and has sensed the trouble within Equestria. Knowing he could not physically help, the being decided to assist Twilight in learning a power that many consider dangerous... But it is, truly, the only way to defeat Sombra.

So many close calls, so many potential hesitations, so many things that Twilight and Spike could have done differently, and they'd have failed. It doesn't matter what they did wrong or didn't do right, only that a split-second is all the difference Sombra needed. Now, Twilight is completely at Sombra's mercy, subject to whatever mind games he has planned for her...

Recent viewing of The Crystal Empire is helpful but hopefully not necessary. Special thanks to Mickeymonster for drawing the image that inspired this story.