King Sombra gazed down at his crystal ponies with pride, he had finally done it, he thought to himself, he had finally built an empire in which he could rule over and dominate, and not just for years as most rulers like queens and kings, but centuries instead, for he had discovered the secret to immortal life.
But the price he had to pay for it… it was a heavy one, and he did not like to think of it or remember it, for it only weakened him, and he would not be a weak leader like all the others before him, he would be strong, he had to be strong, and not just for this empire or the pony citizens, but for Equestria too.
For it too had weak leaders and rulers, all of them were pathetic and naïve.
They thought that ‘friendship’ would solve all their problems, but it wouldn’t, only power would, and you and to gain that power any way possible, whether by spreading hope and love and kindness and generosity, or by sending a message of fear and cruelty and selfishness and hate to the pony citizens.
The citizens after all did have to learn to fear and respect their leaders so that there would never ever be a revolt or rebellion of any kind, and it worked out quite well too, every pony was under his will, his power, his command, his word could and would determine if a pony would live or died, and he loved the power that he held, and he would do anything to make sure that he kept it.
He would do anything, or at least the king would, but maybe perhaps not him.
For you see, King Sombra had not always had a ‘heart black as night’, he was once just a regular normal ordinary unicorn, no more different or special than the rest, no odder or more unusual, except that he was, and in more ways than just his cutie mark or one. He once had dreams and fears and hopes and ideas just like every pony else, and like all the others he wanted to pursue them and his passions, but unlike every pony else, when failure came, he took it… well… differently. And when it came to the studies of magic, he also took it… well… differently of course. But despite all that he had now as King, there was much that he lost, and the one thing that he never ever really had was a friend.
Perhaps maybe if he just one that might have changed things, but then again, maybe perhaps not, because some people, I mean ponies, they will become or change into something worse no matter what we or others try to do to help out.
And so it was the case with him, but what was his real story that he hid?
Where did he come from, how did he become this way, who was he really?
If you want to find out the answers then keep reading, if not, well then, that’s you own loss, isn’t it? Anyhow our story begins long ago in the Kingdom itself.
Every day it was the same thing for Sombra, work on mining the crystals, then go and do his studies on magic back home or in the library, and it was boring and dull, he wished that the routine could change a bit every so often once a while, but it never did. But on the bright side at least he could do his work all alone, ponies had learned after a while that them asking to help him was a bad idea and instead they learned to stay far away from him with fear and respect.
And that’s just the way that he always wanted it to be like, forever. If ponies knew who he was then he wouldn’t have to talk with them for they were far too boring and beneath him, and that was quite well with him. A nd so it was that he kept mining for crystals for the king.
It was very boring work but when he wasn’t required to do it he studied dark magic to improve his skills and talents even though it was both forbidden and restricted, and getting into that section of the library was very hard, but after an encounter with her where he intimidated her with fear he got through then.
And the latest spell that he found could help him find gems faster, and if he did that then perhaps maybe he could finally get the chance to rise in both power and position and even maybe meet the king, and then his plan could really truly start. And once it did he would be unstoppable, after all, he knew the real true reason as to why the king wanted them, it wasn’t so that they could always have something for the crystal heart or to trade and sell, no, those were only very small tiny little parts of the gem’s true potential, for they could store magic, dark, light, one of love it didn’t matter what king it was.
Eventually he struck gold in a metaphorical sense as he came across a vein of crystals and then he shouted out, “WE GOT A VEIN OVER HERE!”
And suddenly every pony came over and started to mine over there.
“Wow, that was lucky,” a pony said to him, female oddly enough.
“No, not luck, I’m just really good at finding it with magic.”
“Well then, maybe you should become the head supervisor of the mines, and then maybe you could even report to the king directly, who knows?”
“That sounds simply splendid,” he said smiling very deviously.
And with that said the mare smiled very softly and then went away.
And he watched as the ponies around him started to play into his plan.
Soon enough Sombra did more than just be a supervisor however, soon he also became head of the whole entire mining district, and he was very glad since that only meant one thing, he could now get much closer to the king now.
And so he just waited for the perfect time to take action.
And very soon enough there even came a time where the king requested him.
And he smiled when he heard that, after all, it was a direct message.
And if he could get close enough to the king then he could kill him.
But that wouldn’t be the real true problem, that would come when some pony else took control, but he easily could kill them, and he could hide very easily enough. No, the real problem would be gaining enough power to rule forever as an immortal, and having so much power that no pony would ever dare to question him would also be a slight problem as well too but in time he would soon find out how to solve it, or at least he hoped that he could do so.
But he did, eventually, with some help.
What kind of help exactly? Well it was with the voices of course.
They helped him, they guided him, they told him who he really truly was.
They told him the truth, and they were real, after all, they were of the darkness and shadows, and he knew that because of his blood that he could talk with them. But of course the first time that he heard them it was quite a shock.
He first heard them in the library when he was researching, and their first words were this: Hello Sombra.
And after that they continued to talk on as he looked around the room to make sure that he wasn’t crazy, and after he did they went on to explain who he really truly was and what to do now.
And he quickly agreed to their plans about him rising to power as the king, and once he had killed the king, his advisor, and any pony else loyal to him, well then he could finally be strong and powerful, very much so indeed.
But now that he would finally get a meeting with the king he was one step closer, one step closer to victory and the end, one step closer to glory and power and strength, he was so very close and near to the end now.
It wasn’t too far off and away, but of course there was one last obstacle that he would have to overcome, and he didn’t like it, but he knew that he would eventually have to do it, and that’s why he tried to save her death for last.
But that’s a story for later, for now let us go to the king’s talk instead.
Chapter Three: Dinner Talk and Death of the Crystal King
Sombra was waiting in his chair very anxiously as the king rattled on with his useless idle chat about trade and the market economy and whatever else that there was. Sombra put on a fake smile, but in reality he really didn’t care that much for politics or idle chat and talk, in fact the only thing he recalled earlier was that this was a very large, very wide, very vast, very impressive, very grand, and very regal castle.
That was all, oh, and the brief conversation that they had about how glad the king was to finally meet him as he shook hooves nervously with him.
But Sombra smiled deviously and replied, “No, I’m very glad to meet you.”
And with that said the king had taken him to the dining room. It was a fine room for a few gusts and the hallway for dining was just as large and impressive as the castle, but the room, it was small and simple instead.
“How can you have a room this small for eating?” Sombra said when he first saw it. “It’s for nobles or royalty or just guests in general when I want to have a very small tiny little talk with them, does that make since?” he said.
“Very much so,” and with that said the King continued to talk on then.
Eventually the food and drinks did come, and when they did Sombra made very sure that no pony noticed him when he slipped the poison in the king’s glass.
And then right before they began to eat Sombra decided to do a very old classic cliché move, “A toast for the king,” he said raising his glass high, “May you ever live long and may your reign be very glorious and very prosperous indeed.”
And with that said the king sipped his cup and then started to choke.
“That would be the poison working in your blood and veins,” Sombra said very calmly as the king gasped for breath as his face turned gray.
“It’s very fast acting and you’ll be dead in a moment, but this poison also has the very odd and strange effect of turning you into dust, and I put it in your cup, and please don’t think of this as personal, because it is not.”
And with that said the king leaned over his chair and then died.
He shouted that the king had been poisoned, and the guards all came rushing in and soon enough they were all dead due to a killing spell that Sombra learned, any who didn’t die had no loyalty to the king.
But soon enough the whole entire court was dead and he knew that he couldn’t hold off the kingdom forever, and that is why he now needed to change, and to do that he would have to go there and then kill her to become very strong.
Sombra stood over the cold frozen lake with his best friend and also the ‘mother’ who had raised him, he stood waiting for their deaths to come.
“I am sure that you are very curious as to why I brought you here today,” he said, “But that question will be answered in a moment, for I shall ascend to my proper place and position and have great power, but I cannot be weak if I am to do that, and that is why I must do this so that I can be strong enough, and then once I am nothing will stop me, and even though I know you won’t see my long and glorious reign, I know that you will be very proud of me.”
And with that said he used his magic to cut a hole in the ice.
“Sombra? What are you doing?” his best friend Diamond Sparkle said.
“I am doing what I have to so that I may be strong and do what I want.”
And with that said he jumped in the very cold icy water.
“SOMBRA! NO!” Diamond said rushing over to the hole, but it was too late, he was sinking far too fast, but as they watched they saw a strange dark glow of black and green and purple, and then suddenly Sombra burst out of the water using his magic to levitate. But something about him was now different, his horn, it was curved now instead of straight, and was red black instead of gray.
“Sombra? What happened to you?” Diamond said in shock and surprise.
“I became stronger,” he said in a very noticeably darker and much deeper voice, “And now you will have to die, and I’m sorry, but I must do this for the good of the kingdom, but don’t feel too bad, your deaths will be very glorious indeed.”
And with that said he went over and used magic to kill his friend and ‘mother’.
And then he smiled after he killed them, for now he was strong, and his mind was also overtaken by the darkness and shadows and their madness too.
And then he went to the castle and quickly found the crystal heart, and took it thus making an absence of light and love where he could fill it with fear and hate and chaos, even if it brought pain, sorrow, and despair to others.
For in the end it would make them strong, and he would only rule a strong empire and nation, and not a weak kingdom like others instead.
And so it was that he became king and put on the battle armor of one and made the crystal ponies his slaves for they did not want to live and work under him, but they had to if they were to be strong, and one day, just maybe they might thank him for making them strong, and with that thought in mind he smiled, for now he had finally done, now he was the Crystal King.
Now he was finally king of the shadows and darkness.
Now he was finally strong and no longer weak anymore.
And now nothing would ever stop him or his plans, quests, or goals.
Not even the echoes and shadows of the past.
Not even the princesses of Equestria themselves.
He truly really was immortal and unstoppable now.
And he would keep it that way forever.
And nothing would ever change that small simple tiny little fact.
