//------------------------------//
// Chapter 12- A Shady Meeting 
// Story: The Thestral With The Golden Halo 
// by DougtheLoremaster 
//------------------------------//

Sombra blinked, feeling himself forced to his knees as the time spell was removed. Glancing up he found himself staring into two very sinister eyes of glowing crimson. That sickly sweet voice, it was her again. "Wakey, wakey."
His gravely voice showed his frustration. "What do you want you she-demon?"
Laughing, Starshine grinned. Her smile was filled with fangs and suddenly Sombra felt a chill. "What I want, little colt, is to have a simple talk with you."
Turning his head to look at Chrysalis, still frozen in time, he asked softly. "What of her?"
Starshine took a step closer and gently pat Sombra on the head as if he were a house pet, while using her feathery alicorn wings to gingerly caress the neck of the frozen Changling. "You behave, she gets to continue as if nothing happened."
Narrowing his eyes, Sombra growled. "And if I refuse?"
Flaring her wings wide, and lowering her head until she made eye contact once more, Starshine answered. The illusion faded, showing her silver fur and her scaly wings. Her voice was silky and gentle as though a mother were lecturing a child. Her words, however, made Sombra feel utterly helpless. "There are things far worse than Tartarus, though I don't think it will come to that."
As he looked on in stunned silence, Starshine's horn began to glow and the illusion of her alicorn form slowly crept across her, hiding her true self. The wings became feathery and her fur returned to that lavender hue again. She smiled at him with sparkling amethyst eyes. Once more she stood, a regal alicorn. Her voice was warm and soothing. " Now then, follow me and let's have a nice chat."

***

"What are you planning, Princess?"
Sombra sat at the red, stone table glaring angrily at Starshine. Sitting across from him and nonchalantly sipping some tea, Starshine slowly set down the cup and stared at him, her amethyst eyes twinkling brightly. Placing her hooves under her chin, her eyes flashed to their natural crimson. "You tell me, Sombra. What do you think I am planning for two beings who could never see the Otherside."
Sombra's eyes went wide with surprise. "What do you mean 'two beings'?"
Sombra's mind raced.  Surely she can't be saying Chrysalis is...  The Princess of Redemption spoke in a tone of mixed teasing and pity. "It would seem dear Chrysi has quite the secret she has kept from you as well, Sombra. She too decided to make a..."
She looked thoughtful for a moment and then spoke with certain emphasis. "Shall we say...ill conceived agreement, just as you, yourself..."
Pointing a hoof at him, she concluded in a soft tone, "Did."
Sombra was taken aback. His eyes narrowed in disbelief.  She can't be serious! Chrysalis would never do such a thing.  His gravely voice had a waver to it, as though he dreaded hearing the response. "Do you mean to tell me-"
Interrupting him with a smirk, Starshine nodded. "She like you, Sombra, has no soul to redeem."
Sombra shook his head as if refusing to believe it. "If that was true, she would have left this place long ago! Manipulating me will get you nowhere you witch."
"Such hurtful words from such an emotionless shadow. It wounds me you think so little of my power, that i would not do my research. Like you, she sold her soul to Hazel. Unlike you however, rather than wish for powers from the underworld, she desired to never feel the emotion of love ever again. Now then Sombra, choose your next words more carefully, or I will remove your tongue. Understood?"
Sombra's frame began to tremble. Fear? No, not fear but then, what is this feeling?  "Oh my, it looks like the helpless little shadow colt is intrigued by the idea of being punished by a big bad princess. How fascinating."
As Starshine slowly sauntered around the shaking shadowmancer, Sombra roared in anger. "That's not it at all you b-UGH!"
Quick as a flash, Starshine's horn had lit up and the alicorn illusion had fallen away. Sombra found himself unable to shut his mouth as a pair of garden shears appeared. The thestral flared her wings as her eyes glowed with the fire of Tartarus itself. "Listen here. You were warned once before. Now, I pride myself on my understanding and gentle nature, so I shall give you one last reminder."
Sombra's eyes went wide as Starshine caused the pair of shears to embed itself in between his thighs on the stone chair. "You WILL show me proper respect. Am I understood, little colt?"
His tongue popped back into his mouth as he nervously gulped, shaking. His gravely voice was clearly in a tone of fear. "Understood P-Princess!"
Starshine smiled warmly and her alicorn form appeared once more. "I am glad you can be civil. Now then perhaps we can have our talk now."
As Sombra opened his mouth to speak, he found his head turned, forcing him to lock eyes with the princess as she grinned with the iciest smile he had ever seen. "That is unless you wish another demonstration of who's in charge, shadow colt."
 Completely outmatched, overpowered and helpless before her.  His gravely voice was steady once more as he accepted the situation. "Alright Princess, what did you wish to talk to me about. I'm listening."
"What would you do, if given the opportunity to begin again?"
Sombra looked across at Starshine as the alicorn folded her feathery wings and sat down upon the stone chair opposite of him. "What do you mean, Princess?"
"What if you could have it all reversed? To begin again, to completely have all the blemishes, you have incurred upon the pages of history..."
Gesturing at him with her hoof, with an extremely serious look on her face, Starshine concluded. "Erased from everypony's mind? Removed and forgotten from the annals of time itself. Forgiven by Faust as well as set free by Hazel. A fresh start. Tell me, what would you do if given that chance?"
Sombra scoffed. "And let me guess, your majesty, you are going to be the one giving this golden opportunity?"
Starshine laughed and her horn began to glow, though this time something new occurred. Her left side showed an alicorn; regal majestic and the warmth of kindness. Her right side was that of a thestral; dominating, commanding and maliciously seductive. In front of her out of nowhere appeared two scrolls. Her voice was motherly with love yet filled with spite and loathing. "That's right."
Using her horn, she slowly turned to extended scrolls around, so that Sombra could see what was written. His eyes went wide in disbelief and his cold demeanor suddenly vanished, replaced by shaky fear. There on the top lines of both scrolls Sombra read the names written in a dark crimsom out loud."King S-Sombra. Qu-Queen Chrysalis."
Starshine laughed in excitement though it carried with it a foreboding tone as well. Sombra slowly and shakenly glanced at the creature before him. "W-what are you?"
Her reply terrified him. The voice was warm as a hug, but venomous as a snakebite. "I am your final judge, the last jury you will ever know, I am your savior or I am your executioner. King Sombra, I am either your last hope or your final nightmare. The choice, however, is yours."
Sombra glanced at the scrolls once more. The cursed contract he had signed written in his own blood, and beside that was Chrysalis's. Looking up he saw a sparkle in her amethyst eye and a flash of red within her crimson one. This was no game, the look in her eyes made it clear. She isn't messing around. "What would you ask of me?"