//------------------------------//
// Regrets 
// Story: The Return of the King 
// by MisterEdd 
//------------------------------//

Spike and Rainbow Dash soon left and this meant snuggle time for Twilight and Sombra. Rainbow had spent much of her visit thinking that Sombra was using reverse psychology to keep her around, which he wasn't, and ultimately gave up, telling Sombra that he "wasn't that awful" and dashed away. Everything with Spike had gone much better. He unwound enough to sit near the cell, albeit keeping a distance of four feet, as the three munched on cookies and chatted about nothing in particular. It warmed Twilight's heart immensely to see them talking and Sombra even laughed at some of Spike's jokes. 

Pretty soon, the young drake was tuckered out and was escorted up to a spare bedroom by Flash Sentry, who was surprisingly cool around them. Sure, he was still sparing Sombra suspicious glances, but lacked any real signs of aggression. Perhaps it was a sign that he was reconsidering his feelings about their romance? Filing it for future consideration, Twilight instead focused on the feel of fur-on-fur contact as she laid next to her coltfriend. She had some imaginings about the two of them but decided that it was better to wait for that kind of thing.  

There was one thing that was gnawing at her though.

"Sombra?" 

The stallion stopped stroking her mane. "Yes, Twilight?"

Rolling around to face him, Twilight bit her lip. "What...what happened to your sister?" 

Sombra pushed himself off the bed and turned away from her. "Not now, please."

"Then when?" Twilight rose and placed a hoof on his shoulder. "Please Sombra. Don't you trust me?"

"It's not about trust." Sombra sounded tired, pained even.

"Then what is it?" She walked around in front of him to find his gaze downcast and his ears flattened. He looked frightened. "Sombra, what's wrong? Why can't you tell me?" 

"Because..." Sombra muttered something in umbrumese and licked his lips. "I can't tell you because...you won't be able to stand the sight of me anymore."  

Twilight blinked. "What? Is it really that terrible?"

"Yes, it is," Sombra answered somewhat defensively. "If you knew the truth about what I did, you'd never forgive me. And you wouldn't love me anymore." 

The barrier was gone and for the first time, Twilight could see the real stallion that he'd tried so hard to conceal. He never looked more lonely, miserable and vulnerable than he did now. And she loved him for that. Nopony else would ever see this side of him for fear of appearing weak and yet he was sharing it with her. She cupped his cheek, rubbing at the thick but soft fur. 

"I know you think that you're beyond forgiveness but nothing could ever make me stop loving you." 

He stared at her, red eyes that were usually full of fire and confidence, but were now tear-filled and emoting hopefulness.  "Really?" 

"Yes," Twilight confirmed resolutely.

He chuckled softly. "I always though it took a fool to ever love somepony like me."

"Then I'm the biggest fool in all of Equestria." 

Sombra sighed and directed Twilight back towards the bed while he remained standing.

"You want to know about Garnet? Then I will tell you..." 



~*~
 

"I had just mind-controlled Sunstone, the former general of the Crystal Empire's army and one of my "father's" closest confidantes and friends along with two random guards. I had instructed my newfound allies to await my signal before attacking. I knew the empire inside and out and I knew we had only one shot at seizing control. To that end, I instructed Sunstone to call a meeting with his replacement General Azurite and his highest-ranking officers. After that, the kingdom would be mine."

General Azurite was a pale blue crystal pony barely out of his thirties, having been chosen to succeed Sunstone due to his impeccable service record and held in high regard by his troops. Sunstone had just brought him a message saying that he suspected a plot against the crown and needed Azurite and the highest-ranking officers to attend a meeting. Azurite, having long held respect for the ex-soldier and war hero, was quick to agree. The royal family had apparently fled to their hidden bunker and now it was up to them to quash this plot. It was what he was appointed for.

They met in a private tavern that catered to active duty soldiers and veterans only, the perfect place for a clandestine meeting. When Azurite and the others arrived, the place was empty and he was gladder for it. It meant less eyes and ears to watch out for. Sunstone was there, along with the tavern's owner Old Sard and two guards he recognized as Pyrite and Zircon. All four of them looked spooked but he chalked it up to the severity of the situation.   

"It's great to see you, Sunstone!" He clasped the old stallion's hoof and gave him a hug. 

"Azurite, I wish we were meeting under better circumstances," Sunstone murmured sadly. 

"Too true, old friend. Anyway, I brought everypony. All of the Crystal Empire's top officers and military advisors." 

"Excellent work."

They all jumped at the sound of a strangely familiar voice. A shadow slid across the floor and formed into a stallion dressed in a crown and armor, his eyes glowing green and twin streams of purple mist emanating from the sides. He strode forward and Azurite paused, identifying the newcomer but unable to believe it. He looked like...

"Prince Tourmaline?"

The stallion stopped. "The name is Sombra. King Sombra." 

Azurite drew his sword an inch from the scabbard. "King of what exactly?"

"The Crystal Empire, of course." He raised a hoof and a strange-looking helmet appeared. 

"What's that for?" One of the officers asked.

"Here...let me show you!" The helmet flew across the room and onto the stallion's head. After a brief struggle, he calmed down, the eye holes filling with an eerie green light. Similar helmets materialized and shot off, attaching themselves to more and more of those present. They scrambled for the door and windows, only discover that a magical barrier prevented them from leaving. 

King Sombra was laughing now, taking pleasure in the confusion. Soon, Azurite was alone, everypony that he'd brought now wore a gray and black helmet and stood perfectly still. He drew his sword and rushed over to Sunstone, grabbing ahold of his scarf. His eyes were faraway, same with Pyrite and Zircon.  

"Sunstone, what's the matter with you?"

"He can't hear you. None of them can," King Sombra explained. "Mind control. They belong to me now." 

Azurite pointed his sword at the stallion. "Well I don't. I'll die before I betray my king." 

"I'll hold you to that." The glowing of King Sombra's eyes intensified. Suddenly, Azurite felt very sleepy, the sword dropping from his hoof and clanging on the floor. He was aware of the dark stallion approaching him but it didn't bother him. "Now be a good little soldier and listen to my orders..." 

With the general and top officers of the Crystal Empire's army under my control, the kingdom was defenseless. General Azurite ordered all remaining troops to the city's center while Sunstone shot a flare from the top of the tavern. Within minutes, a horde of changelings, thestrals, diamond dogs and cyclopes were storming the kingdom. Meanwhile, I took advantage of the pandemonium to slip inside the castle. It didn't take long to find my "family," having followed protocol and met in the throne room.

The doors to the throne room exploded open and the guards were quickly dispatched by a living shadow. The royal family watched in horror as the shadow entered the room, a group of crystal ponies behind him as he became a unicorn. He smiled as they realized who the invader was.  

"Sombra..." King Carnelian gasped. "You've returned."

"I have, Father." He turned to find Queen Aquamarine tightly holding a very grown up Princess Garnet. He found his voice cracking as he addressed them. "Mother...Gar."  

"Seeing my sister again hurt more than I thought it would. She'd grown up so much in my absence that I barely recognized the young mare standing before me."

"Toury?" Garnet went still in her mother's embrace. "Is that really you?"

King Sombra nodded. "It's me. I missed you so much."  

Queen Aquamarine tried to place herself between Garnet and King Sombra, almost as if to shield her from him. "Why? Why are you doing this?" 

King Sombra's face hardened. "You know why. I'm an umbrum, the last umbrum." He jerked his chin up at Garnet. "Does she know? Or did you keep the truth from her as you did me?" 

"Tourmaline..."

King Sombra jerked his head towards King Carnelian. "'Sombra'...my birth mother named me 'Sombra.'"

"Alright, Sombra...there's no need for this." 

"H-he's right!" Queen Aquamarine nervously added. "Please, just consider what it is you're doing."

"I have. My entire race was slaughtered and I want a wergild, compensation for their deaths." 

King Carnelian approached, his hooves held up in a placating gesture. "Whatever it is, take it. Just leave us alone." 

"I want the Crystal Empire."

Garnet slipped from her mother's grasp and knelt before King Sombra, her hooves grasping at his forelegs. "Sombra, please, this isn't who you are. I know what they did to you but don't do this!" 

He brushed some loose hair behind one ear and stared into her teary eyes. "Garnet...I'm so sorry but I can't. I've already come so far and there's no turning back. I have to do this." 

Stepping around the despondent mare, King Sombra found the king and queen huddled together, clutching at one another as he neared them. "I now know the truth. The thing you both feared the most...is me." 

"That's not true," Queen Aquamarine wept. "You were our son. We loved you." 

"Really? Then why is your voice trembling?" Sombra turned towards her husband. "And why can't you look me in the eye?"

King Carnelian stared fearfully at Sombra. "You...are a monster."

The umbrum's breathing became harsh, his face portraying heartbreak.  "I know," he susurrated, a tear gliding down one cheek. He squinted hard and reopened his eyes, his expression now radiating fury. "But I'm the monster you created."

A black, bubbling aura surrounded his horn. Swinging his head forward, King Sombra howled as a bolt of energy struck the two crystal alicorns, freezing them in place as a network of black crystals crawled up their bodies. He was aware of Garnet screaming but tuned it out, focusing on the task at hoof. Once they were enshrouded in the material, King Sombra cut off the beam's power supply, his horn softly powering down. He took baby steps towards them.  

They tightly clutched one another, their faces forever trapped in mid-scream. 

"I always loved you," King Sombra whispered. "Maybe in time I could've forgiven you." He re-activated his horn and took aim. "But I can't have you in my way." 

"Sombra, noooooooo!"     

The black and purple bolt tore through the petrified remains of King Carnelian and Queen Aquamarine, disseminating them across the throne room, whole chunks toppling onto the floor and shattering into tiny fragments. King Sombra turned away from his handiwork to find Garnet weeping, her hooves cradling a shard. He knelt down beside her.

"Garnet-..."

"Get away from me!" The unicorn fled towards the doors, only to have her only exit blocked by an army of mind-controlled slaves. Her eyes widened as King Sombra strode towards her. "Stay away!"

King Sombra paused, reaching out for her and wearing a look of despondency. "Garnet...it's still me. I could never hurt you. I love you. I'm still your brother."  

Garnet was crying tears of anger now. She shook her head, eyes sorrowful but defiant. "No, you're not. My brother's dead. I don't know who you are." 

For a moment, King Sombra appeared to have gone comatose, his face becoming blank. He then awoke and coldly proclaimed, "So be it." 

Garnet fired a reddish-pink beam at him but the umbrum was faster, batting it aside with a magic lash and then firing it at the princess, knocking the wind out of her. Marching towards the unconscious mare, King Sombra created a black crystal sword and held it above his head, ready to strike down the last obstacle on his road to the throne. 

"Did you do it?" Twilight asked breathlessly.

The sword shook in the air, its wielder full of indecision. 

"No, I couldn't."

King Sombra lowered the sword, allowing it to deconstruct itself, the pieces clattering to the floor.

"When I looked down on her, all I saw was the filly that I'd held mere moments after her birth." 

"You!" King Sombra barked to a drone. "Collect the pieces of the ex-rulers and pile them up in the city square. I want everypony to know what happens when you defy me." 

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Searching through the sea of drones, he discovered the one not wearing a helmet and removed the mind control spell, Sunstone's eyes refocusing at his environment. "Where...how did? Oh. Oh no..."

King Sombra knelt before Garnet, gently brushing her mane. 

"What have you done?!" Sunstone roared only to be grabbed by two helmeted drones. 

"What was necessary," King Sombra replied. "First the Crystal Empire, then Canterlot." 

Sunstone struggled but couldn't get loose. "Why did you remove the spell? Why didn't you kill me?"

The new monarch rose, the unconscious mare cradled in his aura. "So you can spend the rest of your days serving me, fully aware of the fact that you aided in the deaths of your precious king and queen. Take him to the dungeons."

"My new allies now had free reign over the city but none disputed my rightful claim over it. The fittest crystal ponies were put to work mining for raw minerals to forge weapons and armor while the elderly became house servants. I kept Garnet mystically sedated and hidden away, knowing full-well what Queen Chelicerae or Lavan would do to her if discovered. As battle plans were drawn up, I racked my brain coming up ways of handling my sister. I couldn't execute her and keeping her locked up would raise far too many questions, plus there was the possibility of escape." 

"So what did you do?" 

"While exploring the castle's lower levels, I happened upon a magic mirror created by Star Swirl the Bearded, one that has a twin in Canterlot. The mirror acts as a doorway between this world and many others. Searching through the options, I happened upon one that was perfect. Not only was it relatively peaceful but also had no magic and was inhabited by strange, bipedal beings." 

"The human world...that's why you were so spooked the first time I brought it up!" 

"Indeed. I had to make sure that Garnet was alive but unable to return to claim the throne."

King Sombra glanced down at Garnet's immobile form, his hoof gently stroking her rose-red mane with the ivory streak. He taught Garnet her first spell, was there when she took her first steps. He didn't want to do this but he had to. As long as she was alive and in Equestria, the crystal ponies would rally around her. She was the only family he had left.  

Which was why it was all the more difficult for him when he lowered his horn to Garnet's and invoked a memory spell. A red mist curled around her horn, enveloping her head and rotating around her skull before seeping through her skin. When it was done, Sombra released a shuddering breath, his chest aching so badly it was as though his heart was literally breaking. He was taking away all she ever was and ever would be. He kissed her brow below her horn. 

"I love you, baby sister. Always." 

It was time.

The magic mirror's reflective surface was replaced by a swirling vortex, one he soon entered with Garnet across his back. He felt his body shift and morph, his insides on his outside, his form rigid and unbreakable but also fluid and elastic. There was a bright flash of light and Sombra discovered that he was in the woods somewhere, just past sunset. He was situated on what were now his hands and knees. Gently, he took Garnet off of his back and placed her on the ground beside him, a bipedal, magenta-colored female in her place. He stood, wobbling a little on his legs, which ended in feet covered by steel sabatons. 

He carried Garnet in his arms, being mindful of the gauntlets that covered his hands. He soon entered a clearing and came across a wooden hut near a small stream, an axe buried in a nearby tree stump. Sombra had spent time watching the hut's inhabitants, a "man," his wife and son, finding them to be good humans. He saw movement inside the hut but it was just the man settling into bed. He set Garnet down in front of the door and unfurled the note he'd comprise to ensure that it was written well enough, being something of a perfectionist when it came to this sort of thing. 

Her name is Garnet. Due to reasons I cannot specify, I am unable to take care of her and thus entrust her well-being unto you. She will be unable to remember who she is or where she comes from so please be patient with her. If ever should she ask about where she comes from, tell her only that she's from far away and has a brother that loves her very much but is unable to ever visit or see her again. Treat Garnet as if she were your own flesh and blood and you will see her for the treasure that she is. May your days be long and full of merriment. 

Rolling it back up, Sombra wiped his eyes on his sleeve and pinned the letter to a brooch affixed to the front of Garnet's forest green dress. He took one last, long look at her, the knowledge that they'd never see each other again threatening to make him forgo his plan. No, no distractions. Despite his reservations, he still had work to do. Steeling his heart, he banged on the door and fled faster than he'd ever ran, never stopping until he reached the still-open portal. 

Dashing through the portal, Sombra found himself back in the castle and restored to his pony form. The vortex slowly dissipated, leaving overly a large mirror with a distraught stallion staring pitifully back at him. Now came the part that Sombra would dread the most, something that would forever cement the path that he'd chosen to take. Charging his horn, he fired a ray at the mirror, blasting a sizable hole in it and littering the floor in glass shards. Exhausted by the deed, Sombra fell to the floor and wept, a thousand little stallions crying bitterly beside him for what he'd lost forever. 


~*~


"...After that, the nightmares came. And they've been following me ever since." 

Twilight sniffled, her coat moist with freshly-fallen tears. She'd never heard a more heartbreaking story before now, one that made her horrified, angry and melancholic all at the same time. His tale finished, Sombra hovered over Twilight wordlessly, unspeakable pain etched into his face. He'd bared his soul to her and in a weird way, the ugliness he showed her was kind of beautiful. It was the last piece of the puzzle and despite not wishing anypony to know, he still shared it with her and her alone. 

"You can leave now. I won't stop you."

Sombra's voice brought Twilight back to reality. "W-why would I leave?"

"Because my story disgusted you," Sombra peered at her inquisitively. "Aren't you horrified by what I've done?"

Twilight rose from the cot and walked right up to him. "You clearly weren't listening to the same story I was. The part with your adoptive parents...that was awful, just horrible. But when it came to your sister...do you really feel that makes you unforgivable? You spared her life. You loved her." 

"Did I? I killed her parents, took away the only home she'd ever known, robbed her of her memories and trapped her on a strange world she can never escape from. For all I know, the people I left Garnet with probably sold her into slavery or worse. If not, then she went through life thinking that she was abandoned and having no clue who she is or where she comes from. That's a fate worse than death." 

Twilight winced at this. "You did what you thought was right because you couldn't bring yourself to hurt her. That doesn't make you a monster, it makes you a pony. It proves that despite all the atrocities that you've committed, that deep down, you can still feel compassion and love."

Tears of disbelief trickled down Sombra's face. "How? How can you stay by me after learning this?"

Twilight felt herself tearing up again and laughed, resting her head on his chest. "Haven't you been listening? It's because I love you, you idiot."   

Slowly, he snaked his forelegs around her and kissed the top of her head. "I love you too, Twilight Sparkle, you incredible, unbelievable, stubborn mare you." 

They laid down onto the cot, pressed up against one another for warmth, secure in their love for one another. Sleep soon visited them but for Sombra, it came a little later. Even though he'd divulged his biggest secret to his marefriend, he was still keeping her in the dark. No matter how hard she pulled, he wouldn't be joining her in the light any time soon. There was still a mission he had yet to complete.