//------------------------------// // Trapped // Story: The Prince of Shadows // by Antydeth //------------------------------// King...Sombra...That was my name...right? I couldn't really be sure. I couldn't even be sure of my identity, of the vague flashes of distant memories I occasionally got, nor if my existence was real. Caught in a nebulous and hollow hell of my own, without knowing why I was here. It was infuriating...irritating...confusing...terrifying! I was terrified...of nothing. I was starting to remember some things. I knew that I was once an ambitious stallion - such key features of my supposed character could not be erased so easily. I also knew I had an ever-lingering desire to...CONQUER EXISTENCE ITSELF! ...Ehem... Considering that, and the swirl of negativism etched deep into my consciousness, I knew I was most likely the type to look down on love and compassion. Honestly, I could see why. Kindness, generosity, honesty, laughter, loyalty, friendship...these things just seemed silly to me, even if in my current state, I did not fully understand them. To me, these were trivial things, not to be prioritized. Heh...Ponykind never took too kindly to 'loveless fiends' as far as I could recall. Is that how I got here? Mayhaps this was a punishment for a serious 'crime' I have committed? So, I was damned to reside in this solitary hell...Heh...What a loveless punishment. It's driving me crazy. Or maybe I am crazy already and I have simply become aware of it. I was only certain that that once...if I escape this formless pit, the first thing I would do is...look at a mirror. What? I needed to know if my apperance had changed somehow. Of course, the second would be to inflict suffering and unspeakable horror on those who did this to me. Them or...their descendants...It really depended on how much time I had actually been here. The more I thought about it, the more I started to get a sense of...familiarity. As if though I had actually been here before. In fact, I probably had. There was some wisdom residing deep in my sub-consciousness...a wisdom one could find only in ancient kings or princesses. If that was the case, I wouldn't have put it past myself to have come back numerous times, only to be defeated again and again. These wondering thoughts always seemed to fill me with...anger...and...I think I may have started...remembering. Actually remembering my past. Good. This was good. I will most likely come back soon. If I had managed to escape this hollow hell once, then why wouldn't I be able to again? In the meantime, my visceral anger and contempt will keep me sane. I am only worried that once I do return...my enemies will make sure I wouldn't be able to escape ever again...and though I hate to admit it, the thought frightened me.