King Sombra Returns

by Lotus Moon

Temptation

Darkness. That was the best way to describe what was everywhere. Twilight lit up her horn and pointed it in every direction. The only other sound aside from her heavy breathing was the echoing sound of her hooves as she turned around in place.

"Hello? Anypony?"

Her voice echoed in the vast darkness.

"Applejack? Pinkie Pie? Rainbow Dash? Fluttershy? Rarity? Are you there? Can you hear me?!" She started running in the direction she thought would be forward and called for her friends over and over. "Girls?! Where are you?!"

"They're not here" A voice said in the darkness, causing Twilight to stop in her tracks. "They were a distraction. No one else is here but you...and me."

"Show yourself!" Twilight demanded and without hesitation, Sombra emerged from the darkness.

"Hello little Princess. Did you miss me?" He chuckled darkly.

"Sombra...how can you possibly be here? Y-You were defeated!"

"Oh, my sweet naive little filly. Like I said. You brought me here" He placed his hoof under her chin. "From the Crystal Empire."

Twilight yanked her chin away and backed up a few steps. "That's a lie! I couldn't have!"

"But you did. When you tripped my little trap while retrieving the Crystal Heart, I was quite intrigued by your magic. You tried everything you could to get out. Even while looking for the Heart, you used a little dark magic to uncover my secret staircase. You are quite powerful, evident by the fact that you're now a Princess" He chuckled in his throat. "You waste you potential by bringing light and harmony to this world. Why not bring it to its knees? Bring chaos...darkness...despair. With me as your teacher, I can help you unlock more magic."

Listening to him, Twilight glanced down. She knew what she was hearing was wrong, but something in her heart latched onto his words. The thought of corrupting the world was not a thought that even passed her mind on even the most boring day. So why now was it coming to mind? Twilight quickly shook those thoughts out of her mind and glared at him. "Your words won't effect me. You're evil and darkness incarnate. I will never become your student."

"But you thought of it. For a moment, your heart began to waver and think of how things would be" Sombra paced around her. "The world shrouded in darkness, ponies under your rule, your friends...defeated, your precious Princesses...powerless against you."

"No! Never! You are the powerless one!" Twilight's horn powered up and she shed light on the empty space. But it barely helped. The light was almost quickly swallowed up and Sombra's laugh bellowed.

"Such determination for a futile effort. You intrigue me more and more." The shadows around them started to grab at Twilight. And despite her efforts to fight them off, she became entangled. Struggling and writhing with all her might, she stopped when Sombra's hoof slipped under her chin again. He looked down at her with mock kindness and pity. "Why not just give in? It'll feel so good. Come on. After getting one small taste of darkness, you can't say that you're not interested to know more of what it's like. Having such power at your disposal...standing above all...as Equestria's sole Queen."

"E-Equestria's...sole Queen?" Twilight stared up into his eyes. Having only recently become a Princess, she often wondered how powerful she could really be. After all, she once had all the magic of three Alicorn plus her own. Sure the circumstances for it was dire, but having all that power coursing through her was invigorating! She might've been clumsy at it when lowering the moon and raising the sun, and her flying was much much more faster. Faster than even Rainbow Dash. She was even an equal match for Tirek. If that battle had continued, it would've been a definite never ending stalemate until one of them possibly dropped from exhaustion or just surrender like she had to save her friends. "No, that'll throw all of Equestrian life out of balance! Nopony should ever have that much power."

"You did once."

"Yes. Once! And the circumstances at the time required it!" Twilight pulled her chin away. "You won't corrupt me Sombra. I am Twilight Sparkle. The Princess of Friendship and bearer of the Element of Magic! I'm stronger than you think."

"We shall see, little princess, we shall see." Sombra stared down at her with a smug grin on his lips.

***

In Canterlot, Princess Celestia was in her chambers looking through scrolls when the letter Spike wrote appeared before her. She opened and read before dropping the scroll. "Luna! Luna, come quick!!"

Luna ran in, hearing her sister's distress. "Sister, what is the matter? Tell us what causes you such distress."

"A letter just arrived from Ponyville. King Sombra has returned...and he's kidnapped Twilight."

"How could that be? He was destroyed when Spike returned the Crystal Heart to Cadance."

"I don't know, sister, but somehow he's back. And I can't imagine what she's going through now."

Luna approached her sister and placed her hoof on Celestia's shoulder. "She is your protege, you know Twilight better than anypony. She won't fall to temptation."

Celestia smiled converned. "I hope so, Luna." She stood up and walked out of her room, Luna following behind. "Guards, prepare a carriage immediately. We are going to Ponyville." She announced and the guards did as they were told.