As the sun rose over the southern deserts of Equestria, a faint sparkle could be seen in the skies. Onlookers may see it as a treat from Princess Luna, greeting the morning in her own way. The reality was far, far worse.
The shine in the skies was no star; it was a horn, the last remnant of King Sombra, once ruler of the Crystal Empire. Nearly destroyed by the Crystal Heart's magic, this seemingly insignificant portion of his shattered body now contained his entire being.
Landing on the hard ground with barely a sound, the grotesque horn wobbled, then rolled into a nearby cave. Drawing upon the shadows, a new body began to form.
Sombra rose on shaky hooves, trying to adjust to his new body. He stretched, letting out a deep growl.
Damn them, he thought. Damn those miserable crystal ponies, that wretched alicorn, and that pathetic dragon! Unable to handle his fury, he fired multiple magic blasts into the cavern's walls, the noise echoing through the area. A different sound answered.
He froze, and slowly turned to the inner depths. Concentrating, he thought he could hear a... clicking noise? Yes, that was it, loud and repetitive, like... like beetles. Very large, numerous...
"No..." he mumbled. At the sound of his voice, several sickly green eyes opened, staring at him from the darkness. Sombra crouched low, ready to fight.
All at once, the changeling hoard attacked. They piled onto him, a hurricane of fangs and misshapen horns. Sombra growled in frustration, unable to escape from the mass.
"Enough of this!" He loosed a wave of magic, scattering the changelings. Tendrils of shadow shot from his mane, pinning them to the walls before burning them from within. The tendrils receded, making him shudder. "By the Heart, I hate that."
Turning, Sombra began to walk to the back of the cavern, intent on finding the Queen, and if possible, destroy her. It should be easy, especially if those grubs were her only protection.
"Unbelievable!" Chrysalis roared. She pointed to the outside of the cave. "Find out what's happening out there!" The trio of generals, now the last survivors, scrambled to serve their queen. The once fearsome ruler sighed. Unfortunately, the drones were killed too quickly to gain any information on their assailant, and in her weakened state, it was all she could do to maintain contact with those three.
Two generals rushed back to Chrysalis, standing between her and the yet unseen threat.
Wait..., she wondered. Where's-
Her thoughts were interrupted by a sick squelching noise, followed by wicked laughter. The general landed before them, his armor riddled with cracks and holes. He desperately reached for his queen, before his head was gripped by a dark aura and crushed like a grape. A single, large unicorn stallion entered, casually stepping over the corpse.
Chrysalis glared at the pony before her, trying to figure out how a single pony could demolish a swarm that size. Yes, it had dwindled since their defeat, but any one pony would've been devoured. She saw his deformed horn, his murderous gaze, and shuddered. This was a monster standing before her, and considering who the giant bug was...
Likewise, Sombra stared at the insect. Why was this single drone guarded by so many grubs? Changelings weren't known to babysit their young... were they? Shaking his head to clear those thoughts, he took notice of her crown. His eyes widened, and a smile grew. He chuckled in an odd mix of disbelief and amusement. "Is this sad little drone trying to play Queen?" he wondered aloud. "No matter. Stay here and starve, demon." With that, he turned and walked to the entrance.
"Drone!?" Outraged, Chrysalis moved to follow him, intent on avenging her swarm and injured pride. "After him! No one makes a fool of me!" Reluctantly, the two generals stood beside their queen, and began to march.
"My queen," the one to her left, Siren, began. "With all due respect, what do you hope to do? Between our pitiful numbers, his powers, and..." she trailed off, unwilling to mention her queen's weakness. Chrysalis smirked, and took to the air, the soldiers following.
"Simple," she said, scanning the ground for her target. "We follow him until he collapses, and crush his throat." After a moment, she saw him dashing through the desert, barely visible against the dark landscape. "Yes... he'll fall soon enough."
"My queen," the one to her right began. As a relatively new general, he had yet to pick a name for himself. "I believe we're coming close to the town of Appleloosa. What do you suggest?" The residents Appleloosa had become a sort of 'emergency rations' for the swarm, with a group of changelings masquerading as escorts. Alas, there was very little love to be found, due to the rather strict laws. Regardless, they knew the area well.
"Perfect," she replied, taking the form of an orange pegasus mare. The two followed suit, and they sped toward the small town...
...Before plummeting into the hot, hard ground. Shaking themselves off, they trudged on, all perfectly willing to ignore the embarrassing display. In due time, their comrades would be avenged, and that damned unicorn would find his head on a pike!
Cadance tossed and turned in bed. After the defeat of the king, the entire empire had restarted the festival with new energy, empowered by the Crystal Heart. Normally, she would have taken pat in the festivities, but she had passed out the second she had relaxed. Her husband, ever the gentlecolt, had carried her off to bed before escorting Twilight and her friends to the train station.
Of course, it wasn't that easy. Disenchanting the royal bedchambers had taken some time, especially with only one unicorn working on it. A truly staggering amount of traps where found, from petrification on the soaps to crystal frag-mines in the wardrobe. Maybe they missed one, but a discomfort spell on a bed seemed a bit childish, right? Realizing that these thoughts were doing nothing to help her sleep, she let out a long groan of frustration.
"Cadance?" Shining stepped into the room, carrying a number of prizes and trinkets. "You alright? Still can't sleep?" Putting them into the closet, he climbed into bed. After a moment he began to squirm. "Ah, I can see why. What's wrong with this thing?" His horn glowed, bathing the room in a magenta light. "Hmm..." The light vanished.
"Please tell me we didn't miss anything."
"It's nothing big," he chuckled. "Just something under the mattress." Gripping the object in his magic, he yanked it out from under the bed. Their jaws dropped.
"A book!?" Cadance shouted, focusing her pent up rage on the black tome. Grabbing it in her hooves, she turned to a random page. "What kind of- oh. Oh my." Staring intently at the page, she began to giggle. Shining recognized that sound. It meant that his wife had discovered something that could devastate a pony's life if it ever saw the light of day.
"Uh..." he stammered, curiosity and fear dueling it out in his head. Before he could continue, the book was shoved in his face. His eyes widened, and he began to read.
January 18, 698
This is ridiculous! Thirteen years old, and still no cutie mark! My 'peers' mock me for it, calling me a child. My mother isn't helping matters, trying to convince me that my special talent may not be magic-based. What else could it be? I'm the only unicorn in the empire! I've tried everything, from illusions to combat, but nothing works! I'm about at my limit...
Signed,
Sombra
They both burst out laughing. Cadance was the first to recover. Wiping a tear from her eye, she asked, "What was that? His diary?" The very idea brought forth another bout of laughter. Calming down, Shining laid down ready to get to sleep. He looked up to see his wife reading, eyes darting back and forth.
"I thought you were tired," he questioned. A quiet murmur was the reply. "Whatever," he sighed. "Just don't complain in the morning alright?"