Twilight, my Faithful Student, my friend, if there is anypony that can create a world of Harmony, true Harmony, it is you.

More than a thousand years ago, my sister and I sought to create a perfect world, a world ruled by Harmony. A world free of evil. We were powerful and believed ourselves above the laws that governed this world. But this world is governed by the laws of Magic, and Magic, it seems, demands balance.

Where there is Light, there is Darkness.
Where there is Order, there is Chaos.
For there to be Love, there must be Hate.
For every Dream, there is a Nightmare.
Each begets the other.

And like boiling water over a fire, each can extinguish the other.

I should not have been surprised when the day came that the evil I had to fight was my own sister. It was the world restoring the balance we so foalishly ignored.

Perhaps, it is for this balance that I now stay my hoof. I have chosen to have you,Twilight Sparkle, act in my stead as the evils I thought vanquished, inevitably return to Equestria. It is in hopes that you may learn this balance, that you may learn from my mistakes. It is not something I alone can teach you, when I myself still understand so little. It is why I must now rely on the help of an old nemesis.

He intends to take you away, my protégé, and make you his own. You must not succumb to his influence. Yet if you are to learn the balance that is at the essences of all things, it will be through him. For the future of Equestria and for the sake of Friendship, you must prevail.

I hope that some day you can forgive me.

Twilight Sparkle has failed at getting the Crystal Heart in time, letting the former king, who enslaved the entire kingdom over a thousand years before, return to take over the Empire.

Now, with the Crystal Heart permanently gone, Twilight is now bound to King Sombra for all eternity...

Because of this, it even left the only pony who can save her, her loved ones, and the empire, powerless against him.

Inspired by THIS image!!!!

Cover art by SapsDrow

Now with Dramatic Reading by ME!!!

Deep under the resplendent city of Canterlot lies a web of vaults, containing many secrets hidden from the common folk. One of such undercrofts shelters an extraordinary artifact – the crimson horn of King Sombra, the uneasy spirit of the corrupted unicorn still within it.

After months of careful consideration, Princess Celestia ventures down into the delves underneath to confront the fallen king, determined to aid him and bring him serenity at long last.

In a feat of jealous rage, King Sombra kidnapped Princess Skyla from her crystal cradle, and took her to a faraway land. She was supposed to be his twisted legacy, his way to reclaim the Crystal Empire, a mere tool to exact his vengeance on the Crystal Princess. She was never meant to become his daughter.

For over a thousand years the crystal ponies have been frozen in time by the curse of shadows, how lucky they are. While the crystal ponies are in deep slumber, King Sombra’s thoughts are restless.

Inspiration

When the sky over the Crystal Empire is split open by a dark tear, Celestia, Cadance, Luna and Twilight must figure out a way to stop it. But in order to defeat darkness, sometimes you NEED darkness. And that leaves only one option; Sombra.

With his powers under lock down, and a growing connection to the strange darkness, can Sombra learn what it really takes to earn an empires respect, or will he abandon them to the darkness from another world?

UPDATED: Chapter one re-formatted, extra bits added, general tidying.

Edited by Dream Seeker!
Further helped into readableness by Hail King Sombra!

His defeat during the siege of the Crystal Empire did not kill Sombra. He was already dying. Now alone in a frozen wasteland, his final moments approach.

Now with audio reading (for older version) by Coombs & Kuroba.

The last thoughts of a cruel and wicked dictator, and the reason behind his sins towards a peaceful kingdom.

Short story. Written for...um...whatever contest is going around that my story can be entered in.

Artwork by DragonWolfRooke over on DeviantArt. Nice fellow. Whoever he is. XD

Sombra appears in the common society of Canterlot. Needless to say, not very many people know who he is, and not very many guards do, either. In a sense, he's hiding in plain sight. Still the stallion who tried to take over a kingdom and cause nothing but purest suffering for the residents.

And he runs into Fluttershy...

After capturing Sombra, there is little consensus on what to do next. They turn to Equestria's resident villain reformation expert, Fluttershy to be an arbitrator. To reform or not? If only the decision were that simple . . .

Inspired by wonderdania's comic on deviantart. Used as cover art with permission. Thanks for getting me hooked on this ship! I love it.

Pre-reading by Darkwolfthelycan and my good buddy, Miranda Laufeyson.