I deserve no forgiveness. If I could take it back, well... I would never have met her. Somepony who could forgive me. I think. Look, it confuses me so stop asking!

I hate him and what he did to the Crystal Ponies is something I will never forgive. So why is it that I care when ponies scorn him? When they hurt him, why does it make me cry? When I see him, why does my heart skip?

Is it just me or has Twilight gone crazy? Dude's a jerk.

Can we please change the subject?

Author's Note: Other is flagged due to the character flag limit. Expect Cadance, Shining Armor, Luna, and Discord at least!

Searching for any records King Sombra may have left behind, Twilight learned of the shadowy king's tragic past. However, she also discovered his horn, in which his mind and remaining power were contained. Determined to learn how to use his Dark Magic for Good, Twilight brought Sombra back to Ponyville with her. After all, what could he possibly do as a horn? ...Or will he stay that way?

Edited by Darth Vendar and Myrkur
Inspired by Issue #1 of FIENDship is Magic
Gore tag just to be safe.

Edit 06/15/23: Now in the top 2K stories on the site, by rating! Thank you all!

Sombra,waking and again finding himself inside the ice cold prison finds he has not been locked up alone...

A tale of friendship, love, madness, heartbreak and of course, the darkness inside us all that waits for just the right moment to consume us.

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.

Former King of the Crystal Empire Sombra wakes up in a cell with the given decision between reformation or a lifetime in prison. He accepts with some caution and after some details are sorted out, he is moved to the castle of Princess Twilight Sparkle under reformation.
With all the craziness about the arrival of an evil slave king going through the humble town of Ponyville, Sombra is left wondering what he got himself into.
Can two ponies who hate each other with all their guts become friends and prove that old habits can be changed? It depends on how you define 'hate'...

UPDATE: Under... construction perhaps? It has been years but... maybe I'll update this. After I rewrite every chapter, of course.

...have a tendency to go awry in the most unexpected of ways.

When the Crystal Heart's power destroyed King Sombra, all of the Empire rejoiced. Little did they know, they had played right into the ancient tyrant's hooves.

Having over a millennium to plan, Sombra knew that if a pony managed to get past his traps before he could reconquer the Empire, their was little chance of him surviving. So, he let himself be 'killed', in order to get closer to his true goal undetected; the Umbrum trapped beneath the Empire.

Hiding as just his horn, Sombra laid low in the very heart of the Crystal Palace, biding his time, until the entrance to the underground section was opened by the new Crystal Princess and another princess with a purple coat and familiar magic. Recognizing that magic as that of the pony that foiled his most recent efforts, and knowing of only one princess-to-be with a coat that color, Sombra swears to make Radiant Hope pay for moving against him once again.

Using his magic to reach the deepest depths beneath the Empire, Sombra reached the sealed Umbrum undetected, and reformed his body. Having devised a way to free them during his own imprisonment, Sombra began so, fulfilling his goal even without controlling the Empire. Bursting free in a wave of shadow that left no doubt of their return, Sombra gives Cadence a message for Celestia before following his own subjects into the night:

“Give this message to the Two Sisters. Deliver unto me the princess that yet again hindered my efforts to free my people to me within a week, that I might exact my revenge against that traitorous Radiant Hope, or I shall show all of Equestria why the Umbrum were so feared!”

However, when a week passed, and Sombra found out that the princess in question was not Hope, but rather a new princess named Twilight Sparkle, he finds his plans for revenge derailed. Bound by his word, when she offers to go with him to prevent a war, he finds himself with a 'prisoner' against whom he holds little ire.

And as time passes, Sombra begins to see that he and his 'guest' have more in common than he initially thought.

AU as of Chapter 34 of the 'Friendship is Magic' comics.

It has been a few months since Twilight and her friends went to help save the Crystal Empire, and Twilight had to use dark magic to find the Heart. And ever since she got back, Twilight's been acting strange spending most of her time muttering to herself, hearing voices, and locking herself up in her now 'off limits' lab basement.

P.S. seeing how many corrupted twilight fics there are, I'm sorry if anything I write is from your stories.
P.P.S. Cover art credit goes to Sorelstrasz from deviantart

Darkness is a living thing. It consumes the strong and destroys the weak, not knowing the meaning of mercy. It corrupts and devours until there is no light left within one's heart.

What happens when the young mare who wields the Element of Magic succumbs to the Darkness?

"Learning to trust your instincts is a valuable lesson to learn."

Mere months after the events of "A Canterlot Wedding," the memories of cold shoulders and dismissals remain fresh in Twilight Sparkle's mind, which causes her to question her ability to face the next task that Princess Celestia bestows upon her.

Alone, she must find a way to protect an entire empire. She's afraid and unprepared, but when a mysterious stallion lends a hoof to her success, she soon discovers a friendship that threatens to blossom into something much greater.

(6/9/2016): Made it to the "Featured" page again! You're so awesome, guys!

(( "Of Magic and Masquerades" is the first story in the Crucibles of Harmony series. It is an alternate take on "The Crystal Empire," with some alternate events from Season 3 and minor Twilight/Sombra shipping. ))

Given the successful befriending of Discord, Princess Celestia deems that no longer will villains be defeated but instead reformed. While most have the chance to submit willingly or continue to fight, King Sombra is given little option. Brought back from the dead and stripped of all his powers and strength, it's all become a game of futility. Now Sombra only wishes he could have stayed dead all along.

Edited by spigo.