Death is the end. Once you die that’s it. There’s nothing. Driven by the desire to confront the mare who killed him, Sombra makes his return known at the doorstep of the Ponyville library. As the battle between Sombra and Twilight intensifies, a second motivation behind Sombra’s attack comes to light. This ulterior motive threatens not just Ponyville, but Equestria as a whole. They say death is the end of life, but for some, it’s only the beginning.
Cover art provided by: Valkyrie-girl
Art used with permission
Chapters (3)
FINALLY!! We've all known the Alicorn Amulet was tied to King Sombra, and we know that his regenerating horn survived the death of his body. I've always wanted to see the dark king at his full potential, and now I can. >:)
Why is his utter lack of concern for life so... Cool? He's a mastermind, terrifying, absolutly loaded with terrible power. The amulet on a regular unicorn like Trixie boosted her power to just under Alicorn levels, where as Sombra was already there. With a new plan, and united with his dark artifact, this will be the greatest battle since Tirek arose from the pit of Tartarus.
I'm curious to see if you will involve the rest of the Mane 6. They aren't Alicorns, but Twilight simply doesn't do that well without them. Or Spike. Has her baby brother survived the tree's destruction? And
What of the Spirit of Chaos himself? Discord cares deeply for Fluttershy, but at this point in S4 he considered Twilight his warden who happens to be really fun to annoy. Would he step in to save his best friend's friend?
Does Sombra know of Discord's release? Will he care? I don't think Sombra had Tirek's level of power, but he makes up for it with a mind as sharp as Batman's.
Can't wait for the next chapter!
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Thank you for reading!
When I saw the alicorn amulet it just screamed Sombra to me. So I had to connect the two together. Plus, who doesn't want to see the Shadow King at full power?
I definitely wanted to portray Sombra as someone who knows what he's doing. Your comparison between Sombra and Trixie is accurate. Trixie never had the skills necessary to use the amulet to it's full potential, but Sombra does. While I haven't actually watched the finale of season 4 yet, I certainly hope this battle lives up to your expectations!
You just might see the rest of the Mane Six make an appearance in the future. As for spike, I'm sure he's fine. As far as I know, only the door was destroyed, and probably some of the interior, now that I think about it. I will say that Discord doesn't make an appearance in this fic. He's probably off somewhere creating mischief.
Sombra is unaware of Discord's release. He probably wouldn't care even if he did know.
Thanks for commenting!
Beautiful.
~Crystalline Electrostatic~
5341461
Thank you!
This is fan-flipping-tactic.
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I'm glad you enjoyed it!
I really loved the development in this chapter. We know the Alicorn Amulet amplifies magic at a cost, but we never really thought about why. It's simply one of those "dark artifacts", like the book that Spike ate. Adding in deeper and more complex magic to the Equestrian world allows it to function like one of the Horuxes used by Lord Voldemort. However, by keeping his soul intact and in one piece, even separated from his body, King Sombra was able to stay sane, and himself, however twisted he was.
Best of all, I love Sombra's reasons for this attack. His reason ring truer than any other I've ever heard. Equestria is vulnerable. The power of an entire country rests solely with four mares. They alone posses more power than everypony in Equestria combined. (Canon, watch Twilight's Kingdom parts 1 & 2) But they are not infallible.
Celestia has always been seen as perfect, but her mistakes leave deep scars on the ponies of Equestria. Sunset Shimmer attacked an alternate world when Celestia couldn't sooth her young student's ambition. Luna was ignored, forgotten, and eventually banished, all her own fault. King Sombra brought the Crystal Empire, and hundreds of innocent ponies with him into the banishment. And she fell to the Changeling Queen, who would've conquered all Equestria without the interference of Princess Cadence. (I'll leave you to find out the best, seriously, watch the S4 finale)
It's over? We can't see Sombra stand trail for murder? Him passing on his ancient knowledge and the dire warnings they should've heeded. His soul drawn out of the Amulet, and passed safely on to whatever comes next?
5341669 I'm glad you like Sombra's reasoning for the attack. Actually, when I first started writing this fic, Sombra's only motivation was revenge. However, all that changed when I wrote the dialogue between him and Celestia. He finally had a bigger goal, and something that I think fits his character.
It's true, Celestia is always seen as perfect, infallible. While I wanted to portray Celestia as she is, I also wanted to show that she doesn't always make the right choices. When she does choose wrong, it can have catastrophic repercussions in Equestria. It is impossible to be perfect and always know what to do all the time, and this is something that I wanted to show.
I'll be having a marathon of season 4 soon. I hear great things about the finale. So I am excited to find out. Besides, I need the knowledge to write. My information only goes up to the end of season 3.
Is it over? We shall see. I have a feeling this isn't the last we've seen of Sombra. While I can't confirm anything, perhaps he'll make another return in the future. Perhaps all his warnings should've been heeded, but we shall see.
Thank you for reading!
Great story! I think this is probably one of the more sophisticated things I've read on this site. You do a good job with making Sombra's intentions and ideals perfectly clear. Also, it seems so fitting that the positions that Sombra and Celestia take about the necesity of war are both very reasonable in their own ways. Is it better to be safe than sorry and prepare for all-out war, or is it better to so everything in your power to prevent it, even at the expense of your own protection? That's the big question, and it's a really tough one to take a position on that.
Also, I'm curious as to whether or not you're going to continue this story. The ending here just seems rushed, and it doesn't suit the story at all. It's also pretty unclear whether Sombra dies or not, but that might just be me.
Really good short story, though.
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Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed my story. That's quite a compliment. It makes me happy to know that I was able to portray both Sombra and Celestia's points of view. Every side has its reasons, and I wanted to make sure I portrayed them both fairly.
It wasn't my intent to make the ending feel rushed. I thought it fit the story, but I will look into it in the future. Yes, I suppose the wording with Sombra does sound a little on the ambiguous side. He's definitely not dead, just down because of his injuries and over-use of his reliquary. Admittedly, the ending is supposed to be a little on the open side just in case I decide to write a sequel. Originally, the ending was much more definite, but didn't lend itself well to a sequel. However, then I started getting some ideas for the future. While I don't know when, or if, I'll write a second story, I just wanted to have the option available to me if I so choose.
Once again, thank you for reading and for taking the time to comment.
Huh. I have never seen the word reliquary used to refer to an artifact that preserves the soul of a being after a binding ritual. The actual definition is a container for holy relics.
Now, there is precedent for this kind of use in an object called a phylactery.
That nitpick aside, this was enjoyable to read despite the dusting of errors here and there. Have an editor go over this with a fine-toothed comb. There's at least one instance in the first chapter where you have form instead of from. They are so few and far between that that is the only one I can consciously recall, but they are there.
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Huh, so it's called a phylactery, and not a reliquary. I didn't know that. I could've sworn that I saw reliquary used in this manner. The more you know. I shall file this away for future reference. With this new knowledge in mind, I should make the proper correction.
Alas, mistakes slip by. However, I shall search for this mysterious form. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.
Thank you for reading!
5342128 To be fair, phylactery is primarily associated with lichdom and proper undeath rather than bringing back a complete and apparently living body. Blame it on me being a huge pre-4th-edition D&D nerd.
5342148 Well thank you for mentioning it. Admittedly, what I did with Sombra was inspired by lichs. I can't believe I failed to notice that, but I have made the changes in the third chapter. So now you should see phylactery instead of reliquary.
As a note. Do you know where you saw the mistake with form in the first chapter? I've searched through my document and can't seem to find where it is.
Ah, my bad. Here it is in chapter 2:
Again, great story. The fact that I couldn't even remember which chapter the error was in just proves how elusive they are.
5342546 Ah chapter 2, thank you. I'm glad that the errors are illusive. It means my grammar has gotten better.
I'm glad you enjoyed the story.
Note: the error is fixed now.
I like this idea of sombra being more of a chaotic neutral than a full villain. It looks like you left that ending open for a reason, though.
5397278 Maybe I did
I'm glad you liked the story. Thanks for reading!
Have you ever considered submitting this story to Equestria Daily? You can find out how to do so here.
5463584 Thank you for thinking my story is good enough for Equestria Daily. Truth be told, I haven't considered submitting to them. I'm not a big fan of the way they handle fanfictions. Admittedly, every so often, I muse about submitting a story to them again sometime, but nothing ever comes of it. However, since you brought it up, I might consider it. I'll have to think about it. Thank you for reading!
Just crazy, I wonder what happened to Sombra afterwards.
I'm not really sure if I like this story, looking how it consisted of only fighting, but I love this crazy-not-a-complete-villain Sombra.
5632926 Thank you for reading my story. Pure action fics aren't for everyone, and that's alright. Thanks for your honesty. I'm glad you liked my portray of Sombra. He was fun to write.
Thanks for commenting!
Really well written, very entertaining and very well thought out
5812201 Thank you very much. I'm glad you enjoyed it!
I liked it a lot, and would love a sequel. It would be interesting to see your version of Sombra interacting with Twilight in a non-hostile environment.
Thank you for reading. I'm glad you enjoyed it! Perhaps we shall see this version of Sombra again in the future.
Love it.
7534927
Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it!
I want more!! Fantastic work
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Thank you! I’m glad that you enjoyed it.
A quick thing, he seems to remove his cloak twice in the first chapter, I would suggest you replace it with ‘hood’ as she doesn’t see amulet after the first time.
Same chapter. How does he know about cameras, did they exist back then? Cause he kind of lived a long time ago.
I really enjoy this story, the battle scenes are very well described, and the characters are nicely captured. Although in my head canon, Celestia can’t really fight enemies with her full power because there would be a lot of damage to the surroundings
Truth be told, I feel like somebody should have grabbed Sombra and teleported to a safe location before fighting, but I guess they were kind of caught in the moment. 
I also really hope that, should you make a sequel, Twilight proves Sombra wrong.
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Huh, I'll have to take a peek at the chapter. To see if I can find the mistake in there.
Hmm, that is a fair point about the camera. When I wrote this years ago, I don't think the fact that Sombra wouldn't know what a camera was ever crossed my mind.
I am glad you enjoyed the story! Yeah, I'd say everyone was too caught up in the fight to think about teleportation. However, teleportation is a good solution to point out. Though perhaps with Sombra's enhanced magic with the amulet, it would've been harder to teleport him maybe? That and someone would've had to get close enough to him to actually teleport him. My memories are a little fuzzy since I haven't reread the story in years, but I think the pony who got closest to Sombra was Twilight when he was trying to... beat her to death I think? The necessary details of the story aren't coming to me at the moment.
I have on occasion mused about a sequel. It's been awhile since I've written something that wasn't drama, romance, or slice of life.
Thank you for commenting!
Like this story! Sombra is true. Too much harmony and they grow weaker while others stronger. They are stuck without changes while others invent. They are going to kill themselves
The battle is epic and this story is very interesting! I AM CRAVING FOR MORE! this isn't the end of the story, Is it?