I’m shaken awake as a guard wakes me. He looks at me as I wake, “We’ve arrived. If you succeed, than the Crystal Fair should happen tomorrow. Celestia will see you then. We’ll ride low next to the shield for you to jump out.”
I shake my head, “No, ride high above the shield. If this comes to blows, then I don’t want my exit to be blow up because they wasted time gaining altitude.”
The guard tilts his head, “You expect to just be able to jump out of a chariot flying a few hundred feet off the ground? You know what, I’m not going to question it. You think you can do that, go ahead. Ten seconds.”
I wait for ten seconds at the door to the chariot. I sprout wings of bone from my sides, and jump out. I go spinning towards the ground like a bullet, building spikes of bone on each of my hooves. I twist, and land on the pathway in the city. Momentum tries to carry me, but the spikes of bone make me stick the landing in the path. I smile, and deconstruct the wings of bone.
As I land, a shadow collects itself near me. The street fills with a dark fog, and a deep voice radiates from it, speaking with a slight Spanish accent, “Such mastery of magic for one so young. One of the Forbidden Arts as well... Necromancy. The last time I saw the art, and the last time the world saw the art, was with Vogrim. Such a beautiful and long forgotten art. You must be truely blessed to wield such magic.” The shadows coalesce into a singular form, and a pony steps out of them. His eyes green and red, burning with a purple fire. His mane flowing with the shadows he emerged from. His horn is jagged and sharp, and his coat looks like a coat of armor. He wears a red cape, marking off his royalty. He smiles, sharp fangs obvious, “Tell me, where did you learn the art, young one?”
I breathe in deeply as I open and show him my eyes, “Do not think you can call me young. I am over three millennia old, and you pale in comparison to all I have seen.” I smile after that, “However, I will admit, you are the most badass looking thing I’ve met in these last two ages! Gods, it’s like every part of you is a weapon that bleeds darkness. And that Spanish accent? Oh it just sweetens the deal. Are you a trombone player? You sound like a trombone player.”
His eyes widen in a bit of surprise, before he recovers, “I cannot claim to play the trombone, no. I must say, you are certainly the first being I’ve met who’s reacted like that. They usually just run away and scream, or shout at how their going to kill me. So, thank you, I put a lot of effort into looking like this. You would not believe how hard it is to comb shadows every morning.” He looks on back to the palace, “You know, with that show of power and being nice, I feel like being nice back. Want to come in for tea? I have a fresh pot brewing.”
I nod, “Sure!”
We both start to walk to the huge black palace in the distance. Well, he floats there, I walk like a normal person. As we walk he asks an important question, “So, what were you sent here to do? I know that some agent of Celestia’s would come, and I’m assuming you’re it.”
I look on over at him as we walk into the palace, “She asked me to stop the evil king. So I am going to talk with you, and if things go wrong, I will have to fight with you.” I sigh, “I don’t even especially want to be out here to begin with, and I definitely don’t want to fight you. So, if we do, I just want to say it’s nothing personal. I just want to live a normal life, and apparently that comes with the caveat of stopping the evil king.”
We arrive in the dining room, where tea cups are laid out on a table. We both take a seat, and he takes a sip, “You wanna talk? Then talk.”
I nod, and take a grateful sip of tea, “Okay, let’s start this off with a simple question. Why are you evil?”
He sighs, “I didn’t choose to become this, first and foremost. I was just a unicorn who wanted to help my ponies. When chaos broke out in the lands of Equestria, and Discord infected the south, I gathered a group of ponies and we moved to the north. Out in the frozen waste, we found a city. This city had some sort of shield around it that kept it warm, and allowed crops to grow within. We prospered, until Discord decided to ruin it all for us. He infected the Crystal Heart with his chaos, and left us to rot. Sixty percent of all crops died, and we needed to sacrifice crystals to the Heart to keep the shield going. I had to feed my ponies and keep them warm. I pushed them harder and harder, and reaserched dark magic to try and cure the Heart. The magic eventually took over me, then the Princesses came after they dealt with Discord. They had me slain, and thus freed my mind. But, I am still plagued with dark temptations and wishes to take back my Empire. These urges are too strong to resist.”
I set the tea cup down with a rattle, and stand up, “Let me tell you something right now, Sombra. That is some bullshit right there.”
He raises up as well, almost breaking his cup as he jolts up, “You have no idea of what I’m putting up with!”
I force his eyes to look into mine, and I instinctively add bones to my legs to make myself taller. I tower over him, “Do not presume you can tell me what I do not know! I am Ravens Breath, last Necromancer! I have seen years pass like seconds! The Beast claws at my thoughts and my mind everyday! Do not presume you have gone through worse than I have, whelp! I have tortured and been tortured bad enough to make you weep! Even in my death, the Beast whispers into my head! You are a fool if you think you’re going through worse!”
My burst forces him down into his seat as he cowers from me. He eventually gathers courage enough to ask, “Then what do you think I should do?”
I send the legs of bone away, and fall back into my chair, “Well, that’s very simple. Expunge the magic from your system, purify yourself.”
He takes a second, “But, what about the dangers?”
I smile, “I think you forgot you are talking to a Necromancer. If you end up dying, I can revive you.”
He sighs, and stands up, “Fine, if you think it will work.” He breathes deeply, “Name’s Sombra, by the way.”
Sombra starts to float, and darkness starts to surround him. His eyes turn white, his mouth opens, and darkness flows from him. It takes around five minutes, and the flow only gets stronger, and stronger, and stronger. Then it stops, and Sombra sends out a shockwave of dark energy away from him, the entire Empire turns blue, and pure when the shockwave passes it. I stand straight as the shockwave passes over me, and I can feel the mana in the air turn back to pure.
I scramble up, and see Sombra. The only difference is his eyes that have changes from red to blue, and he stands there studying himself with new eyes. He lookes at me, “I feel good.”
I smile, “I think this is the start of something beautiful.”