Sombra didn’t know how long he stayed there, half-sitting and half-lying on the ground, slamming his hooves and his horn against the door which, now that the Crystal Heart had been restored, resolutely refused to budge. He could not keep himself from sobbing. He did not try. He was probably crying loud enough to be heard out on the Crystal Dais, however many stories up that was. He did not care.
“Hope! Hope! Hope!” he kept crying. He knew it was useless. Princess Amore had designed the Prison of Shadows to be impregnable. He was certain Hope could not hear him.
He felt a hoof on his shoulder. Sombra looked out and, through tear-filled eyes, saw Twilight Sparkle standing there.
“Get your hoof off of me, little princess!” he said, leaping up. “This is all your fault! You’re the one who caused all this! You had to start your little uprising and upset everything!”
Sombra knew this was a lie as he said it. He had been the cause of all of this. He had unleashed the Umbrum on the Crystal Empire and he had been the one to stop him. As much as he didn’t like Twilight, she would be well within her rights to tell him what-for.
She didn’t, though. She just stared at him. At first he tensed up. He expected another fight. Maybe she had come to finish him off now that Hope was gone and he was vulnerable.
But no. That look in her eyes wasn’t one of hostility or hatred. It was... pity? Did she pity him?
Sombra was in no mood to be pitied. He tried to stand up straight and project the proud, menacing air of the King Sombra of old. But he just tripped over his cloak and fell to the ground.
As Sombra tried to right himself, he saw a pair of long white legs standing before him. He knew which pony they belonged to.
“Sombra,” came Celestia’s voice, somehow both tender and stern at once. “We’ve all had a trying day. Further fighting will do nopony any good.”
Sombra looked her in the eyes. She looked back at him, her gaze firm and unmoved. But in her eyes too, he could detect the faintest hint of that same emotion he had seen in Twilight. Pity.
“Shut up, Celestia!” Sombra snapped. “I don’t need one of those lectures you and your students love so much. I need to save my best friend!”
“We know,” Twilight said quietly. “We want to help.”
Sombra could have laughed if he had been in the mood. “You? Help me? We are sworn enemies, little princess! Excuse me if I find your offer a little questionable.”
“Sombra, calm down,” Celestia ordered. “You’re only making things more difficult. This is hard for all of us. You’ve caused so much trouble for Equestria since your return, and we’re still trying to figure out how to fix things.”
“Fix things, Celestia? I’ll tell you what we need to fix! Hope is trapped in the Prison of Shadows. We need to get her out!”
“Calm down,” Celestia repeated. “We don’t know what happened to Hope.”
“She could be dead,” Princess Luna, standing behind Celestia, said matter-of-factly. Sombra had not noticed her before.
“Not now, Luna,” Celestia said.
“I was just stating the obvious possibility,” came Luna’s reply. “For even if Hope survived whatever it was that we just bore witness to, do you really believe, sister, that the Umbrum will show her mercy?”
“I said, that’s enough!” Celestia snapped back. But Sombra had to admit, as much as he hated it, Luna’s point was a good one. He did not understand what had happened to Hope. And he did not want her trapped anywhere with his kind.
“We can’t leave her there!” Sombra shouted. “We can’t!”
“We all agree on that, Sombra,” Celestia said. “But it’s not so easy to come up with a solution. None of us really know anything about your people.”
This, too, was true. Sombra reflected that, even being an Umbrum himself, he knew very little about them. And a thousand years of banishment by Celestia and Luna had hardly allowed him time for research.
Twilight now babbled on for a little bit. Sombra didn’t really bother paying attention to what she was saying. Something about how she had been reading through Princess Amore’s records while awaiting her execution. Whatever she was saying, it ended with the words, “designed to be totally full-proof.”
“The Prison isn’t full-proof, though,” came another voice. Sombra did not really recognize it. But when he looked over, he saw that it belonged to the last princess and the Crystal Empire’s current ruler, Cadance. She was standing off to the side from the others, looking absently through Sombra’s journal. Under other circumstances, he would have hated this casual invasion of his privacy. Now, however, he just didn’t care. But she looked unhappy, Sombra thought. Not like the others, not pitying, but genuinely sad.
“There is a weak point,” Cadance continued as she looked up, her eyes meeting Sombra’s. “In the frozen wastes just beyond the empire, there is a large red crystal. The barrier with the Prison isn’t as strong there. The Umbrum can’t escape, but a normal pony can come and go as they please. It is how Hope found them and how we entered and left the prison before.”
Of course! The crystal! Sombra remembered the crystal well. It was where he had first spoken with his “mother,” Rabia, where she had informed him of his destiny. No wonder they had been able to make contact. If what Cadance was saying was true, a normal pony could come and go. Hope could escape. Or he, Sombra, could go in. After all, he was a normal pony now.
He was a normal pony, wasn’t he?
After Cadance’s comments, the princesses had turned to talking amongst themselves, discussing the viability and dangers of mounting a rescue operation. Sombra had no time for any of that. Without a word, he galloped past all of them.
“Sombra, wait!” one of them had called. He was not sure whether it had been Celestia or Twilight. It didn’t really matter.
“Let him go,” Cadance had responded.
Sombra ran through the streets of the Crystal Empire. He was aware of the various Crystal Ponies, watching him with fear and whispering to their fellows. He saw a few guards move to block his path, only for their courage to fail them as he rushed forth, showing no inclination to halt. He felt the heavy armor weighing him down, and the large red cloak nearly tripping him up as it got caught under his legs. So he threw it all off piecemeal as he ran. Ponies dodged our of the way as armor flew past them, and then ran to pick them up as souvenirs. Sombra did not care. None of it mattered. None of them mattered. The only pony who ever mattered was Hope.
And then, he was outside the city and among the snow-drifts beyond. At long last, there was the crystal, rising out of the waste and snow, glowing red with evil energy. Even though Sombra was galloping at full speed, the sight of it brought him to an immediate halt. As he looked upon it, towering before him, he felt a chill. It wasn’t from the frosty air or the sweeping winds.
Slowly, steadying himself, Sombra approached.
“Wait, you can’t go in there!” came a sharp cry from above. Sombra looked over his shoulder to see Princess Cadance land a few feet away.
“Come to stop me, Princess?” Sombra asked, his words dripping with contempt.
This did not get the rise out of Cadance he expected. Instead, she approached and put her hoof on his shoulder.
“You can’t go in there, Sombra,” she said softly. “Not alone.”
Sombra batted her hoof away. “So what, you’re going to come with me?”
Cadence nodded.
Sombra studied Cadance’s face. She didn’t look like she was lying or making fun of him. She looked sincere. This was strange.
“Why would you help me?” Sombra said. “I nearly destroyed your precious crystal ponies and everything you love.”
“I’m not helping you. I’m helping Hope.”
“But why?”
“I didn’t get to know Hope all that well and we were obviously on different sides, but I felt like we were starting to become friends.”
Sombra guffawed. “Excuse me if I have trouble believing claims of friendship from Princess Amore’s heir.”
“I know Princess Amore hurt you,” Cadance replied patiently, “but I’m not her, Sombra. I’m my own mare and I can make my own choices. And you need me. We don’t understand what Hope did to you but, if you can pass through the gateway, you’re not Umbrum anymore. If you’re a normal pony against all of them, you’ll need all of the help you can get.”
Sombra was growing tired of his enemies making good points. But Hope’s life was on the line, so he had to agree. He nodded. He wanted to say something tough and cool like, “Just don’t get in my way,” but who was he kidding? If anything, he’d be the one getting in Cadance’s way now.
And, secretly, he was glad not to have to do this alone.
So, Sombra approached the crystal.
“Hope,” he called out. “Hope, can you hear me?”
There was no response.
Sombra tried again. Still nothing.
“Stay behind me,” Cadance said as she approached the crystal.
“I can take care of myself,” Sombra said, despite not knowing if he could actually take care of himself.
Cadance shook her head, obviously not having time for any he-pony theatrics. “It’s not that, Sombra. My love-magic is the only power that can hurt them in their prison. We don’t even know what powers you still have. That is why I have to go first.”
Sombra bit his lip. He felt like he should apologize here, but he was not yet ready to begin apologizing. It was too soon in his redemption arc. He just nodded.
In a moment, Cadance was gone, having stepped through the crystal. Readying himself and summoning all of his courage, Sombra followed her.
The thing that he first noticed was the smell. The horrid, rancid smell. Sombra felt himself almost gagging. He took a moment to recover. How did Hope live here for a thousand years?
And then, as his eyes adjusted, the Prison of Shadows opened up before him. Sombra realized that they were standing at the top of a long staircase. From this high vantage point, he could see a vast cavern network below, leading ultimately to a rock-wall that looked suspiciously like one of the cell-blocks in a modern-day prison (or so Sombra had heard). Above him, massive stalactites of rock and granite loomed like the proverbial sword, only to be met by similarly vicious-looking stalagmites rising up from the ground and covering the length of a city block. Here and there were black, inky pools, like miniature swamps and bogs. Strange lights, appearing from out of the void, allowed Sombra to see all of this, though not to see it well. Otherwise, it was dark. Completely dark. But while philosophers and that sort have long said that darkness is but the absence of light, this was no absence. This darkness was a presence, visible and palpable. Sombra could feel it. He recognized it. It was the darkness that had until recently been inside him.
“Does it look familiar?” Cadance asked.
Sombra shook his head. “I don’t remember anything before they found me in the frozen wastes. This place is as alien to me as it is to you.”
“Well, it’s for the best,” Cadance said, as her horn began to glow. “This isn’t a place I like remembering.”
“Don’t make it too bright,” Sombra said. “I don’t think I want to see more of this than I have to.”
Cadance dimmed her horn so that there was just enough light for them to see their way. “That’s smart. We don’t want to be found out. Not yet.”
“Not ever, hopefully.”
“I don’t think we’ll have that luck. Remember, the Umbrum have a strange connection to everything in here. This place may be their prison, but it’s also their kingdom. They can read anypony who enters here like Twilight reads books. We’ll be in constant danger and we have to be very careful.”
As the two made their way down the long staircase, which wound in a circular fashion around a long, narrow piece of rock that formed a kind of pillar between the cave ceiling and the floor, Sombra felt the weight of Cadance’s words. He found himself, though he would never admit it, growing afraid. He had ruled these people, true, but had never been able to shake the feeling that he was only their emperor because they allowed him to be. And now, without his own powers, he wondered how he would match up against even a single one of them.
Sombra watched Cadance as she walked carefully down the stairs just before him. She looked ahead grimly, but there was no hint of fear. She seemed confident. Maybe, like him, she was just hiding how she really felt. From Sombra’s experience, princesses were past-masters at hiding things.
The way down was long. Too long, and made longer by anticipation of what would be found down below.
“I don’t know why I thought stairs like this were a good idea to put in the palace,” Sombra said. He did not have any real reason for saying it, but the mixture of monotony and fear was growing too potent and he wanted to break it up.
“Yes, we all wondered about that, too,” Cadance said, in a manner suggesting that she was only half paying attention.
“I never actually had to walk up them,” Sombra said. “I could always just turn into a black fog whenever I needed to get somewhere.”
“And the other Umbrum can all fly.”
“That... that is true. I don’t know why we even build stairs to begin with.”
“Must be some weird trait all you shadow ponies share. Some evolutionary throwback from before you all became pure evil energy vampires.”
Ouch. It wasn’t like she was wrong, but Sombra didn’t like it anyway. “Well, at least we don’t pretend to be something we’re not, not like Princess Amore.”
It was a stupid thing to say and, if Hope’s experience showed anything, demonstrably untrue. But Sombra was not very adept at banter. Having once been able to end any argument by turning his interlocutor to stone, he had had no need for it, and so had fallen out of practice.
Cadance stopped and turned on her hooves. For a moment, Sombra thought she had seen or heard something. But no, she was turning to face him.
“Look, Sombra,” she said, “I’m trying to give you a second chance. It’s not easy. In the short time since I became the ruler of the Crystal Empire, you’ve threatened me, my subjects, and my family twice. And normally the thing I can’t forgive is when you threaten my family. But I’m trying. I’m trying to trust you. But I need you to trust me, too. Do you trust me?”
Sombra was taken aback by her candor. “I....”
“We need to trust each other. The only way Hope and I got out of here the first time was because we were able to trust each other on the fly. If you and I don’t have trust, we won’t make it out alive.”
Sombra did not answer.
Cadance sighed and continued. “Look, I know you blame Princess Amore for a lot. And I get that you see her when you look at me. But like I said, I’m not her. I never met her and I don’t want to be her. So can you please get past it? Can you please just try to trust me?”
“Yes, fine. I trust you,” Sombra said. It was bad. He had been given a second chance, and already Sombra was back to lying.
But this uncomfortable conversation had served its primary goal of making the minutes seem less like hours. Before he knew it, Sombra was at the bottom of the steps, waiting for Cadance as she peaked around the stone pillar. She came back and shook her head.
Sombra was about to ask what they should do now — it was hard having to rely on another pony so much — but then he heard buzzing. The distinct buzzing, sounding like a whole hive of bees, that was characteristic of the Umbrum. Cadance pulled Sombra against the rock-face and turned off her light. Only the creature’s white eyes, ghostly orbs in the gloom, let them know where it was headed and when it had passed.
“Come on,” Cadance whispered.
“Do you think he’ll take us to Hope?”
“Do you have a better idea?”
Sombra did not. Cadance’s horn lit up just enough for them to see their way and the misty tail of the Umbrum ahead of them. She silently signaled for Sombra to be quiet, He rolled his eyes. The former King of Monsters did not need to be told such a simple thing as being quiet. He was not a fool, after all.
Sombra stepped forward and, smacking his hoof against a large rock, fell onto his face.
The Umbrum spun around, almost looking like a little tornado as it did so. Cadance, her reflexes lightning-quick, spread her winds and, grabbing hold of Sombra, rose high into the air. The Umbrum heard the flutter of wings and darted around the area to investigate. Cadance had to fly fast and far to avoid his gaze. This meant recklessly zigging and zagging through the field of stalactites hanging from the roof of the cavern. One wrong move could easily have killed either of them. But, whether from luck or from Cadance’s skill at flying (Sombra had heard that she was a pegasus by birth), they avoided all of them. When they had gotten far enough away and past the worst of the stalactites, Cadance ceased her forward motion and just hovered above the Prison of Shadows, with Sombra in her forelegs.
“What was that, you idiot?” she asked.
“I’m still getting used to regular pony movement,” Sombra answered. “I’ve only had this body for a few hours.”
“Long enough for a big meal, from the feel of it.”
That hurt, but Cadance was clearly feeling the strain of holding him. Sombra could feel himself slowly slipping from her grip. This position was not sustainable.
That is when he saw it. Beyond the cliff-face that made up the actual prison, he could make out a light. A bright light. The kind of light he had quickly come not to expect from this place.
“Look, down there,” he said. He tried to point, but knew it was too dark for Cadance to see his hoof. It did not matter. He was certain she could see the light.
“Do you think that could be where Hope is?” he asked.
“We didn’t go in that direction when I was here before,” Cadance answered, “but I don’t know where else to look. It’s not like we can just tail an Umbrum again. Not after you-know-what.”
“I know, I know,” Sombra said, annoyed. “I said I was sorry.”
“You actually didn’t, though.”
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry.” There. Sombra had finally worked up the nerve to apologize. Sure, it was for something rather trivial. But he figured that all former villains must start somewhere.
Both he and Cadance knew that she couldn’t hold him much longer. So, without another word between them, they began their descent in that direction. As they got closer, a new landscape took shape. There was a strange river twisting through these parts. The water - if that indeed is what it was - was black as pitch and thick as oil and the whole shape of the river resembled nothing so much as a infinitely-twisting serpent. Along one of its bends were a number of jagged crags, the kind which would be a great danger to ships were there any ships to sail these waters. But among the crags was a small area of smooth sands, possibly the only level piece of terrain in the vicinity. It was from here that Sombra had seen the great light. As the light came more clearly into view, he saw that it was in fact a very large bonfire. The flame was much larger than it had any right to be given how it had been kindled from the brittle branches of the dead trees which here and there dotted this Lethean landscape. The color of the flame was an eerie shade of green.
As Cadance and Sombra got closer, they heard the buzzing. The dreadful buzzing, reaching a fever pitch. It was enough to make Sombra want to cover his ears. He had never heard so much buzzing even when the Umbrum had taken over the Crystal Empire. But then, maybe they had never been so concentrated in one locale before. For just about every Umbrum in the Prison of Shadows must have been here. Indeed, as Cadence alighted on one of the higher crags above this area, the Umbrum they had been tailing came up and joined his fellows.
Sombra took a moment to find his footing on the rough surface of the crag. He then joined Cadance, who was just close enough to the edge to get a clear view of the proceedings below, but far enough to avoid being easily seen. She held her hoof to her mouth, once again signaling for him to be quiet. Sombra still felt that he did not need the advice, but had been sufficiently humbled by the last time to take too much offense.
“What’s going on?” he asked as quietly as he could..
“I thought you were these people’s ruler,” she responded. “You should know better than me.”
“My reign was unfortunately not long enough to acquaint myself with traditional Umbric rituals,” Sombra responded. “But you have more experience observing my people in their natural habitat.”
Cadence made no retort. In the light of the fire Sombra could see her clearly, and her face was ashen. She was looking down. He did not need to ask what she was looking at; he could follow her eyes. He looked down at the assembly of Umbrum. There, directly in front of the fire, was Rabia, holding court like the monarch she had always told Sombra that he was. And beside her, chained up by a metal collar around her neck, was Radiant Hope.
What kind of danger was Hope in?
Read on.