The black crystal expanded, rising like a blooming flower before retracting. Sombra repeated the process over and over again until he was certain that he could get it right without any effort. Once he was free, he would need to do much more extensive testing but for now, it seemed as though he was getting the hang of his restored magic. Like a muscle or limb, it needed constant exercise or atrophied from disuse. He was getting stronger and soon, he'd have his freedom.
He thought back to the other night when Twilight was over and he divulged his biggest secret and the worst atrocity of his life. Sombra was so certain that she'd resent for destroying the life of an innocent mare that he kept it to himself for a year, just out of fear of how she'd react. To his own astonishment, Twilight didn't leave in disgust and insisted that she still loved him. She truly was one-of-a-kind and he thanked whatever gods or forces in control of things that she was in his life. How long that would last was something that scared Sombra to his core.
Was his mission of vengeance really so much more important than the love of his life?
Sombra rubbed at his temples. There was no way Celestia would ever let him go, his very existence serving as a threat to her rule. Even if-and it was a huge "if"-he were to somehow abandon his plans, he was still a notorious criminal and guilty of heinous acts both legally and morally wrong. A life with Twilight involving marriage, foals and dinner parties with her friends were nothing more than pipe dreams. He could never live in peace; nopony would ever allow it.
He heard voices outside the dungeon's main entrance and hurriedly levitated the cot back into place and leapt into his seat in front of his desk, hastily scribbling something down on scrap paper. The door opened and Sombra didn't have to look up to know that it was the anathema that took the form of Princess Celestia, the white alicorn striding into the room, her demeanor as chipper as usual. There was no doubt going to be some more pleading in a desperate attempt to get him to take her back. That mare just didn't comprehend the meaning of the word "No."
"Good afternoon, Sombra."
"It was until you showed up."
Celestia wasn't fazed by his dour remark. "Must you always be so rude?" She chided him.
Slamming his quill down, Sombra placed his hooves together. "What do you want, Celestia?"
There was something...off about her. The way her smile seemed painted on or the twitching of her ears. But it was her eyes that were the most startling, how they unblinkingly stared at him.
"You are a selfish, bad-tempered braggart."
A soft glow appeared around the cell door, a rattling chink sound echoed as it slowly swung open.
Sombra backed away from his desk. "What are you doing?"
Celestia didn't answer, silently entering the cell and approaching him with flaring nostrils.
"I could've thrown you into Tartarus or sealed you back beneath the Frozen North but no, I gave you a nice cell and access to reading materials. I fed you, saved you from those guards and allowed visitation rights. Never once have you thanked me!"
She loomed over him, her tone and gaze invidious. Sombra was actually getting nervous.
"Celestia, you're being unreasonable-..."
"'Unreasonable'?! I do so much for you and all I asked for was a chance to win your heart again but even that was too difficult!" She was crying now. "I wanted you to love me, like when we first got married and were happy. Instead you replaced me!"
Despite his reservations, Sombra wasn't going to back down. He glared up at Celestia, bared his fangs and shouted, "You're such a hypocrite! You locked me up for a thousand years, had dozens of husbands and hundreds of children yet when I move on, it's wrong? Or maybe you're just angry because you know that deep down, no matter how many good deeds you perform or how much your subjects adore you, there's a hole that'll never be filled and you'll keep scrambling to find things to fill it. Face it, princess, you're just an empty little filly playing dress up."
WHACK!
Celestia's gold-slippered hoof flew out and smacked Sombra across the face.
He maintained eye contact as he wiped the blood from his lip. The Princess of the Day's attempt to be intimidating instead came off as childish and ignominious, the last act of a mare without any notion what to do next and hardly the behavior of the co-ruler of Equestria. That being said, the blow still hurt something fierce. Sombra spat a red glob onto the floor.
"Are you finished?"
Celestia's golden aura surrounded Sombra and hoisted him off of his hooves, dragging him until the two met eye-to-eye, their muzzles inches away. She was breathing hard now, staring daggers at the hapless stallion, her face full of anger but mixed with something else.
"No," Celestia grimaced and slammed her mouth against his. Sombra's eyes bulged open, having not expected this maneuver. She moaned loudly, forcing air down his throat. It tasted like strawberry and vanilla frosting. Unfortunately, the magic field kept him in place so he couldn't even push her away. Every part of his body began crying out, begging him to do something.
It mercifully ended, Celestia separating with a loud smack. "M-more," she breathed and began nibbling on his neck.
"Stop, stop this right now!"
She didn't hear him, too busy licking at his collar bone.
"I said, STOP!"
Black energy flared from his horn, bursting forth as a large sphere that sent Celestia slamming into the bars. Furniture flew and smashed into the walls, papers littered the floor like leaves and the framed photographs shattered on impact. Sombra gulped in air, inspecting the damage of his magical attack. Chunks were missing out of the stone walls and the cell's bars are bent slightly. Recovering from the hit, Celestia gawked up at Sombra, who quickly realized that his secret was out.
"You...you have..."
Without missing a beat, Sombra closed his eyes and focused, an image taking root in his mind. The air rippled around him, his body warping and fading in and out of existence. He was soon engulfed in a wave of darkness and was gone, barely missing a golden bolt that pierced the wall behind him.
~*~
There was not a single Canterlot street corner that lacked a royal guard. Pegasi surveyed the city from overhead while unicorns and earth ponies interviewed every passerby, enquiring if they'd seen a red-eyed stallion with a curved horn. The ponies in gold were told to report if they found anything but not to engage, as the perpetrator was considered extremely dangerous. To avoid a general panic, Princess Celestia informed the newspapers that due to the incidences with Queen Chrysalis and Discord, she issued a new training regiment for the military. Currently a drill was underway, a simulation of an escaped prisoner that every available enlisted solider was participating in.
Royal guards covered every square inch of the castle by the time Twilight and her friends arrived, a golden-armored pony stationed every few feet around the palace. They'd received an urgent summons to promptly meet the princesses though Princess Celestia was bereft of any real details and this was always a worrisome sign. The six mares, and one dragon, were escorted to a large chamber that had seen little use in recent times, if the covered equipment and dust bunnies were of any indication. A round a large circular table, Celestia, Luna, Cadence, Shining Armor and Flash Sentry were gathered, pointing at a map as different sheets of paper were spread out across the table's surface. The discussion ended once the septet came into view, Princess Celestia being the first to greet them.
"Twilight, Spike, ladies. I'm so glad to see all of you."
"Princess, what's going on?" Twilight noticed her brother kept a foreleg around Princess Cadence's shoulders. Flash was clenching his jaw in angry while the diarchs stared at the group with apprehension, their wings fluttering nervously at their sides.
"I'm afraid Sombra has escaped."
"WHAT?!" The group screamed at once.
"B-but how? When?"
Princess Luna answered, "A few hours ago. Our entire military has been hard at work trying to track him down. As for the how..." She turned towards her sister.
"Sombra's magic has returned," Princess Celestia intoned gravely.
"Seriously?!" Rainbow Dash was livid. "I told you guys he was bad news! I told you!"
"That's enough, Dashie! Can't ya see Twilight's upset?"
Applejack rubbed Twilight's back reassuringly but she couldn't feel it. So many questions were brewing her head, her mind racing faster than a Wonderbolt flier as she tried to piece together this startling news. It just...didn't add up.
"How? I thought the Elements of Harmony took them away."
"They did," Princess Luna nodded. "But it seems as though it was only temporary, more akin to sealing them away. Perhaps he's had them for a long time."
"I don't think Sombra would lie to us like that," Fluttershy said softly. "He's changing, I've seen it."
"What are you saying, Flutters?" Rainbow smacked a hoof to her forehead. "He's King Sombra! Of course he would!"
Twilight shook her head. "That doesn't make sense. If he had his magic back, then why didn't he try to escape months, or even weeks ago? It had to have been a recent development."
"Twilight's right," Princess Cadence agreed. "Magic is like a muscle: you have to exercise it otherwise it gets weak. If Sombra had regained his magic sooner, he would've had time to get it back to full strength and escape when he had the chance."
Shining Armor hugged Princess Cadence. "Let's say you're both right. Why now? Why not wait until he had complete control of it again? We all know how he likes to plan things out in advance."
"Unless something went wrong and he was forced to take action," Rarity speculated.
"So what could've triggered it?" Spike wondered aloud.
Princess Celestia hung her head low. "I...I struck Sombra. And I forced a kiss on him."
Twilight was stunned. "You...you what?!"
Princess Celestia faced her former pupil with regret in her eyes. "I'm so sorry. We were talking and he said something that upset me and I just flew off the handle. I-I lost control. I didn't mean to."
Flash Sentry crossed his forelegs. "I still say he was faking it the whole time."
A loud sigh escaped from Princess Celestia. "I don't think so. Luna and I scanned the room and found traces of dark magic that were only a few weeks old. I think he was waiting until his strength returned when he attacked me, acting solely on instincts of self-preservation."
"It matters not. Now he's out there," Princess Luna pointed out. "We need to find him."
"So how do we do that?" Rainbow asked.
"I think we should set up more guards at the Crystal Empire's border," Shining Armor suggested. "It'd be the first place he'd go back to, being his former seat of power and all."
Flash pointed on a spot on the map. "No, I think here's still here somewhere in Canterlot. We all know he's fallen for Twilight so he'd be going to find her. We should dispatch a team to guard her and wait until he arrives."
"That won't work," Twilight interjected. "Sombra's on the run and he's certainly not stupid. He's aware that we know of his old home so he won't be at the Crystal Empire and Ponyville is out. He wants to regain his strength and won't risk capture. Not even for me."
"You seem to a lot about how he thinks." Flash rubbed his chin.
"What are you implying?" Twilight probed through gritted teeth. "I hope you're not suggesting that I helped him."
"Well, you are hopelessly infatuated with him," the pegasus countered. "We have to explore every option."
"Oh don't give me that! You're just blinded by your jealously!"
"And you're blinded by your affections for that creature!"
"Don't call him that!"
They got into a shouting match, Flash jabbing his hoof in Twilight's face while Twilight was shoving him with her magic. Applejack squeezed herself in the middle to try to calm Twilight down while Shining was working to restrain Flash. Spike was nearly squished trying to pacify a very irate Twilight, who looked as though she was going to put her ex-coltfriend through the wall. Rainbow Dash was ready to knock Flash's lights out while Rarity was soothing a very distraught Fluttershy.
"Everypony please!" Pinkie Pie yelled. "You guys can't fight here. This is the War Room!"
"ENOUGH!"
The Royal Canterlot Voice shook the room. Everypony turned to a very flustered Princess Cadence.
"Stop...arguing. This is bad enough without you pointing hooves and fighting!" They all took turns looking guilty. "Now then, let's calm down and figure this out. Where could he have gone?"
~*~
Dark magic oozed from every tree, bush and stone in the Everfree Forest. Sombra wasn't surprised that the area had maintained a reputation for being haunted after so many years. The forest had once been the sight of the nightmare city of Tambelon, the home of Grogar the Cruel, first Emperor of Equestria. The necromancer was rumored to have conducted foul experiments so horrifying that his own race banished him. Tambelon had radiated so much dark magic that it forever tainted the nearby ecosystem and tales of the forest's horrors survived to this day.
Followed the map's instructions, Sombra journeyed deeper into the forest, not rattled by campfire tales or ghost stories. During his escape, he "convinced" Celestia's assistant Raven Inkwell to show him where his armor was being kept and managed to purloin it before fleeing the capitol. Infused with protective charms, they could take more damage and survive hits that could crush the stallion, making them ideal protection for traversing the Everfree. He found an unusual plant or animal along the way but nothing warranting concern. Two manticores were swiftly dealt with and a short detour around a patch of poison joke took him longer than he would've liked but it was no problem. One brush with a bramble of thorny, clawed vines later and Sombra knew that he was on the right track.
He closed his eyes and felt through the background magic, tuning everything out until he pinpointed what he was searching for. Opening his eyes, Sombra came across a small clearing where a large boulder that had no earthly business being there was plugging up a hole in the ground. Lifting it aside, he flashed a beam of light from his horn, discovering a winding ramp. Traversing the ramp, he soon found himself staring at a crystal-clear pond. Finally, the legendary Mirror Pool.
During Sombra's "birthday party," Pinkie Pie had mentioned it in passing and curious, turned to Twilight for answers. Twilight elaborated that there was a magic pond deep in the Everfree Forest that could clone whomever peered into it. It'd stuck in the back of Sombra's mind for months and when his magic returned, he decided to read up on it. While he was more than capable of making duplicates of himself, this way was less magically taxing, allowing him to focus his energy on other endeavors. He cleared his throat and chanted:
"And into his own reflection he stared,
Yearning for one whose reflection he shared,
And solemnly sweared not to be scared
At the prospect of being doubly squared."
It wasn't the exact rhyme but would have to do. The pond's surface rippled and Sombra stood back at his reflection reached out through the water and pulled itself onto the cave's floor. The new stallion resembled Sombra perfectly, even bearing his wing-scars on his back. Sombra trotted around his doppelganger, closely inspecting him and once satisfied, grinned at him. The new Sombra stared at him puzzlingly.
"Who are you?"
"King Sombra and technically, you are me as well."
The duplicate scrutinized one of his forelegs. "I...feel as though I know that. Why am I here?"
Sombra's eyes glowed ominously. "You're going to help me take care of something..."
~*~
Golden Shield trudged up the stairs to his crappy little Canterlot apartment, unlocked the door and slammed it, not caring if he being too loud or upsetting the neighbors. Tossing his coat and briefcase aside, he cracked open a cider and slumped into his torn armchair, staring out the window at the street below. He was once a royal guard, somepony that mattered, somepony that ponies aspired to be like. So what if he and his friends were beating up a prisoner? King Sombra had it coming and the princess was mad that she didn't think of it first.
The unicorn sighed and took a swig. Dishonorably discharged. All that work, all that time and effort gone down the crapper. Now his folks or his sister won't even speak to him, calling him a disgrace to the uniform. If anything, he was doing a public service and would've permanently crippled that monster if Princess Celestia hadn't stuck her muzzle into it.
Slowly, the light faded until it was pitch black. A soft glow from Golden Shield's horn fixed that, although he was confused why there wasn't any sunlight. Or a window for that matter. In fact, was it just him or did the room get bigger. No matter how far he walked, he encountered nothing but empty darkness. If he was being honest with himself, it was downright spooky.
"Golden Shield...it's been too long..."
"Who is that? Show yourself!"
Two green orbs shined brightly in the dark. Golden Shield could make out a face but just barely.
"Who...what are you?"
A deep chuckle rumbled in the void. "You don't remember me? You were eager to get acquainted with me when you and your friends ambushed me in my cell at Canterlot."
Golden Shield's body stiffened. "King Sombra?"
Another chuckle. "Exactly. I have a gift for you." A burlap sack was tossed at Golden's hooves. It was lumpy and stained a rusty-red color. "Open it."
Slowly, Golden opened it up and was ready to hurl. "Th-thunderhead? Swift Spear? Jasper?"
"If it's any consolation, their demises were quick."
"This isn't real!" Golden Shield could feel urine pooling around his hooves.
The eyes grew, burning in the dark as they approached him.
"Do you know the difference between me and a nightmare?"
A pair of fanged jaws snapped at Golden, driving the cowering unicorn into curling himself up.
"A nightmare eventually ends..."
Golden Shield shrieked as the jaws swallowed him whole, screaming until his throat was raw.
~*~
Amidst the commotion, a dark brown pegasus royal guard came swooping in, huffing and clearly out of breath.
"Yes, Sergeant?" Princess Celestia inquired, causing everypony to quiet down and turn to the newcomer.
The pegasus, a middle-aged mare, saluted, "Your Majesty, the prisoner's been located."
"What? Where?"
"In an appartment building in Lower Manehattan, Your Majesty."
Princess Celestia nodded and addressed Shining Armor. "Captain, dispatch a platoon of your best spellcasters and urge them to use extreme force. Sombra is no ordinary opponent."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Princess?" Celestia found Twilight peering up at her worriedly. "Is this really necessary?"
Princess Celestia swallowed but remained detached from her personal emotions. She placed a sympathetic wing over Twilight's back, the latter shying away slightly. "I'm sorry Twilight, but Sombra is a threat to national security. He cannot be allowed to just wander freely. You know this better than anypony."
Twilight tried to speak but in lieu of a response, she simply nodded and stared down at the floor.
~*~
The apartment building in question, an old brick structure that'd seen better days, was once a grand hotel that catered to the city's elite and saw the greatest parties in all of Equestria. However, after changing hooves and falling prey to bad business practices, it fell into disrepair and was converted into a cheap housing facility. Graffiti dominated the exterior, the walls featuring stuff like, "Jets territory" or "Piebald loved Smoky Cream" . Some of the windows were boarded up and trash surrounded the perimeter.
Above the building, six pegasi combed the sky to monitor all entrances and exits while twelve strong unicorns carefully head inside. The platoon fanned out, the beams of their flashlights searching the building as their horns steadily glowed with magic. As it turned out, the interior was even worse. The walls were covered in scratches and spider web-esque cracks, the paint peeling off and piling up on the faded wooden floors like dandruff. A musky, unpleasant odor filtered through the air, smelling like paint thinner and rotten wood.
Ignoring the stench, they silently traversed a stairwell reeking of cheap liquor and approached Room Number 412, their collective breaths held in anticipation. The leader, a grayish-green mare with purplish-blue locks, nodded and a soldier sorcerously burst the door down, the apartment quickly being flood by the guards. It was a shabby dump to be putting it bluntly, a spartan dwelling place dominated by dirty magazines, crumpled up take-out bags and empty beer bottles. Its owner was quickly located in the bedroom, curled up in the fetal position and whimpering to himself like a beaten dog. Nearby, they found a sack of fish heads.
"Golden Shield? It's Lieutenant Misty Sunrise," the leader said softly, rubbing the stallion's shoulder.
Golden Shield raised his eyes up, lower lip trembling. He seized Lieutenant Sunrise by the upper forelegs. "It...it was the demon...the Green-Eyed Demon!"
"Shield Wall, Mad Minute, get him out of here."
Two large grunts hoisted the gibbering stallion up and carried him out, ignoring his frantic mumbling about living shadows and heads in bags. A thorough search of the apartment turned up nothing so Lieutenant Sunrise lead her troop back into the hallway, ready to make a report to the princess. Unbeknownst to the unicorns, something small and dark darted around their flashlights, blending perfectly in with the darkness. Above them, a semi-solid black mass seeped down from the ceiling, silently landing on the floor and congealing into a pony-shaped form. And then, he struck.
A tendril grabbed a soldier and hurled him out a window as several black missiles struck four others, knocking the wind out of them. Dodging oncoming fire, Sombra spun around, clocking a unicorn in the face with an elongated kick and creating a magical arc that bounced their blasts back at them. He slithered across the floor and up the wall, crawling across the ceiling like a lizard, his eyes alight with malice. Flipping back onto the floor, a beam hurled towards his head only for his face to split down the middle, the beam sailing harmlessly by. He launched himself at the unfortunate spellcaster with a snarl, slamming her backwards with his semi-shadow form body.
Adopting a solid form, Sombra erected a rectangular barrier just as blasts of yellow, blue and purple were about to strike him. The blasts ricocheted off, hitting two of the soldiers as another was held in place by black crystal restraints around his hooves. That just left their Lieutenant. Misty Sunrise was shoving Golden Shield into a janitor's closet and spun to face her foe, momentarily distracted by the defeat of her whole squadron. Her horn burned with blue-green light.
"For the princesses!" She charged towards Sombra, bobbing and weaving as she released a barrage of magical streaks at him. The beams didn't stop him, either passing through his body or redirected with a few swipes of his magic. A tidal wave of black crystals forced the lieutenant to swerve, opening her up for a blast that struck her horn, covering it in stinging crystal shards and sending her careening into a door. Her magic fizzling, Lieutenant Sunrise could only lay in pain as Sombra's shadow fell over her, purple mist seeping out of his burning scarlet eyes.
Seizing her in a telekinetic hold, Sombra roughly yanked Misty up so that he could look her in the eyes.
"You fought bravely, soldier. For that, I'm giving you a message to deliver to your princess. Tell Celestia there will be a reckoning coming soon..."