//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5 - The Makings of a Leader 
// Story: Heir to Darkness 
// by Vivid Syntax 
//------------------------------//


Present


The fire in Brimstone's eyes died, and he looked down at the floor.

Sombra made a little circle with his hoof. "I heard about the whole thing, of course. Equestria isn't that hard to spy on."

Brimstone remained still.

Sombra flicked a hoof, and the guards surrounding Brimstone turned unnaturally slowly and marched out the chamber door. They closed it with a loud boom.

Sombra stood and stretched out his back. "You should have used your power at nationals, too. It would have been an easy victory."

Brimstone finally looked up. "I am not a monster."

Sombra scoffed. "Please. 'Monster' is just what the mice call the eagles. They cannot even comprehend the role they play in the greater scope of things. But no, you are not a monster, and it is a crying shame. Perhaps your team would not have come dead last at nationals if you had not abandoned them."

Brimstone grit his teeth and took an aggressive stance. "I would not risk hurting somepony else."

Sombra's hackles raised. "Exactly! And because you are so weak, your team suffered. You see how this works?" The tip of Sombra's curved horn flared to life, and for a moment, the room was filled with a deep red glow that subsided in a heartbeat. "The peasants need a strong leader to guide them, or they fail. When we abdicate our place, they suffer. Everypony suffers."

Brimstone snorted and took a step forward. "They suffer when you–"

An ghostly, nearly-invisible blade slashed against the ground in front of him, slicing into the red carpet. Brimstone startled and looked quickly at Sombra, who was smiling. "You approach only when I deem you worthy, son."

With a defiant stomp of his hoof, Brimstone shouted, "I decide when I am worthy!"

Sombra's head rolled back. "Ha! A fine jest. You could not manage a trinket shop full of useless knickknacks, much less a kingdom."