Shade rubbed his temples.
"My head is pounding. It's like I can feel Sombra fighting with himself in my head."
Luna put a hoof around her brother.
"I'm sorry you have to go through this. You've been amazing so far."
He smiled and nodded.
"Up until now, Sombra has had good control of his darker half. Now though..."
He cringed as his head throbbed again.
"I can see bits and pieces..."
A tear rolled down his cheek.
"I thought I knew what to expect after reading those damned books, but this-"
He winced again.
"I don't know how long I can do this."
Luna pulled him into a hug.
"Please hold on. We'll make it through together."
Shade looked over at Celestia. She nodded encouragingly.
"You've faced a lot in your time Shade. Don't let a memory be what takes you down."
Shade smiled and nodded.
"Alright. Then we'd better get started."
He fired up his horn and the crystal shimmered...
----------------------------------------------------
Sombra paced back and forth in front of his throne. The main hall was beginning to look different. He'd been cultivating his black crystals everywhere. The more he created, the more power he could contain. And what's more, the black crystals seemed to feed off the magic of the other Crystal ponies to a certain degree. He was gathering power faster than before! But it wasn't enough. He couldn't risk it. He would keep going.
"Page!!"
A page came running into the room.
"Y-Yes your Highness?"
"These black crystals must be combatted. We must bring in all the crystals we have on hoof."
"All of them? But how will we-"
Sombra glared down at the page.
"ALL OF THEM! EVERY LAST CRYSTAL IN THE EMPIRE!!"
Sombra's voice echoed through the hall and the page cowered to the floor.
"Y-Y-Y-Yes your Highness!"
The pony ran out of sight and Sombra turned away.
"I will use every last crystal in the land if it means success."
He shot a bolt of magic to the top of his throne. The magic redirected to the floor and a divot began to form. A set of stairs began taking shape, stretching down into an abyss.
Sombra quickly walked down the stairs, the top closing up to avoid trespassers. He descended for several minutes, the darkness growing thicker. When he finally reached the bottom, there was only a single door. He pushed it open and walked into his private study. There were several tables with instruments, vials, and other assorted scientific equipment. The only table free of this clutter was the one with the journal on it.
Sombra opened the stolen journal and began taking notes in his own as he read through the pages. If he couldn't access the ethereal plane without killing himself, than he would figure out another way. And he was already getting close to his first breakthrough! The magic just needed a little more tweaking.
The king turned to his instruments and began mixing potions together. Magic alone wasn't going to be enough. It would take multiple steps. He poured his latest concoction into a bowl and set it aside as he wrote.
"Mixture 17 appears stable. This, along with the first official variation on the ascension spells, could prove promising. Testing will begin tonight."
It was coming together at last. It had taken him the better part of a year, but at last some progress was being made!
----------------------------------------------------
Sombra sat on his throne, deep in thought. While he was happy with his progress, he hadn't considered one thing; the actual testing. Using himself as the subject was no longer a possibility. There were far too many variables to risk his own life. So he needed something else...
"Your Majesty!"
Sombra was yanked back to the present as a guard entered the room. Sombra glared at the pony.
"What is it?"
"We've discovered a thief."
Sombra sat forward.
"A thief? In my Empire?"
The guard nodded and turned to the door.
"Bring them in!"
The doors opened, revealing two more guards and a pony between them. They entered the room and approached Sombra. The first guard continued.
"This mare was discovered hoarding crystals."
Sombra looked down at the mare.
"Did you not know that I ordered every crystal be turned over to me?"
The mare didn't meet his gaze. She was shaking, obviously afraid. Sombra fought the urge to smile and descended from his throne.
"I am trying to protect all of you. Have you not noticed the state of emergency we're in? The black crystals have appeared everywhere. And we have to salvage what few crystals we have left for the good of the Empire."
The mare had stopped shaking, but still wouldn't meet his gaze. Sombra was standing directly in front of her now, looking down.
"And now I'm told you were keeping crystals for yourself? Have you no love for your Empire?"
"It's not our Empire anymore."
Sombra hid his shock well. He hadn't expected the mare to talk.
"Oh? Tell me, were we conquered while I wasn't looking?"
The mare slowly raised her eyes, meeting his for the first time.
"Our Empire fell the moment you took the crown."
Sombra's face twisted into a snarl.
"I have done nothing but strive to protect the Empire."
The mare seemed to be gain confidence as she spoke.
"Yet these crystals keep growing. You say you'll take care of them, but all you've done is take every other crystal. The Crystal ponies have nothing to use for trade! There are ponies starving! And your name is dragged through the streets because everypony knows that you don't care what happens to any of us!"
Sombra stared at her for several seconds before turning to one of the guards.
"Is this true? Ponies blame me for their suffering?"
The guard shook his head.
"Of course not!"
Sombra shook his head and sighed.
"I hate liars."
He turned to the other guard.
"Would you care to tell me?"
This guard was beginning to sweat.
"Well...uh...I suppose...Your Majesty doesn't have the most...flattering opinion amongst the ponies..."
The King nodded.
"Better. PAGE!!"
Everypony flinched at Sombra's voice. The page came into the room timidly.
"Yes your Highness?"
Sombra looked back down at the mare in front of him as he spoke.
"It appears that ponies blame me for the state of the Empire. Such talk will only lead to more problems. We certainly don't need any more of those while we deal with the current crisis. From this day forth, any talk against the Crown will be punishable."
The page scribbled the last words on a roll of parchment, his body trembling.
"Punishable with...what?"
Sombra smiled.
"Oh, leave it like that. Let their imaginations consider the possibilities."
The mare glared at Sombra, a spark of rebellion in her eyes.
"You're no King. You're a tyrant."
Sombra leaned in close and whispered to her.
"I'm so much more than what any of you ponies say I am."
An idea flashed through his mind, making him smile.
"And as the first to break my new law, you'll witness firsthoof what the punishment is."
He stood back up and looked to the guards.
"Take her to the dungeon. The first cell. I don't want to have to walk that entire length just to see this pony."
He made a mental note that he would need to move Amore out of the dungeon. With this new law, it was bound to start filling up.
The guards led the mare away and Sombra returned to his throne. A tyrant? He was trying to save the Empire. To save Amore! And tonight, he had a test subject who would help him achieve that goal.
----------------------------------------------------
Sombra descended the stairs toward his lab. He had the mare floating behind him, unconscious. He felt something in him say this was wrong, but he knew he had no other course. If he didn't gain immortality and power, he wouldn't be able to bring his mother back or stand with Luna. It had to be done.
He opened the door to his lab and entered, depositing the mare on a table in the middle of the room. She began to come to as he strapped her limbs down.
"Wha...where...am I?"
Sombra smiled.
"Congratulations. You're going to be my assistant this evening."
The mare tried to sit up, but discovered her predicament. Her eyes grew as she began to notice her surroundings.
"What is this place? What are you doing?!"
She struggled against the straps as Sombra summoned several items.
"You're the first pony to tell me the truth in a long time. I didn't really care what my subjects thought of me, but I had never had confirmation that they hated me. For that, I thank you."
He looked down at her.
"It's always best to know what others think of you."
"Then why did you make that law?"
A smile grew on his face.
"How else am I going to have ponies to assist me in my research?"
He watched as fear began to appear in her eyes.
"Research?"
He nodded.
"I have a lot to do in this world. But I need all the time I can get. So it stands to reason...that I can't die."
He flipped the pages of the books in front of him, finding the spells he needed.
"So you are about to help me find out if what I want can be obtained."
"You're...you're insane."
"Determined, passionate, focused...but never insane."
He began to lace the spells together, taking aim at the mare.
"You can't do this! Ponies will wonder where I am!"
Sombra nodded.
"And they'll find out."
The mare began to shake as his magic settled over her.
"One."
Her mouth was forced open.
"By."
He poured a potion down her throat.
"One."
She coughed and gagged on the concoction. But the sensation was quickly replaced as Sombra increased the magic's potency. She began to squirm, as if she had an unreachable itch.
"What are you-"
Her back suddenly arched and she gasped in pain. Sombra continued to increase the magic as he felt it connect with the potion he'd forced into her. And that's when the screaming started.
Sombra watched as the mare fought against her bonds, her body writhing in agony. Her screams filled the room, but Sombra knew nopony would ever hear them. The mare's body started to bubble, like water when it boils. She kept shaking and screaming as the magic took effect. Sombra watched as her body seemed to break down and turn black. His eyes widened.
"That's not right..."
The mare screamed louder as the last of her color disappeared and her body began to convulse. The screams began to take on a higher pitch. The mare's features melted away. For the briefest second, Sombra thought he saw bits of her skeleton, but that too dissolved into the black mass that had formed in front of him. The screaming turned into something like a hiss. Sombra felt the magic hit its peak and broke contact.
The mass slid out of the table's straps like water. It fell to the floor, still hissing. Sombra stared at the creature, noticing how it flinched regularly. Was it having a fit?
"Light! Light!"
Sombra looked around at the candles and realized that the light was harming his creation. He quickly extinguished the ones closest to the creature. The hissing died down and the mass stopped flinching. Sombra stared in awe as the mass began to take shape. It looked like a pony, but its body was in a constant flux. Tendrils of black substance trailed off in the air behind it. Fangs protruded from its mouth. And when it opened its eyes, he found they were grey and lifeless.
"Damn."
He picked up a quill and began writing in his own journal.
"First test is a failure. Mixture 17 and First Variation yield an imperfect result. Subject has mutated into something...monstrous."
The creature slowly stood up.
"Kill."
Sombra looked up, curiosity in his eyes.
"What was that?"
"Kill...me."
Sombra arched his brow.
"Subject still bears some consciousness."
The creature bore its fangs.
"Kill!"
Sombra set his quill down and looked the creature over. He reached out with his magic, doing his best to discover the results. The mare had become some sort of mutation thanks to the combination he'd used, but on the inside...
His eyes widened and a smile grew on his face.
"If my work was correct, then I don't think you'll be dying anytime soon. The outward result is definitely undesirable, but...I may have cracked the secret to immortality without alicorn magic."
"KILL!!"
The creature leaped at Sombra. He easily dodged and shot another spell at the mutant. It collapsed on the floor, unconscious.
"You're the first step on the road to my greater purpose."
He turned back to his journal and continued writing.
----------------------------------------------------
Shade severed the connection and sat back in his chair. The tears trailed down his cheeks, dripping off his jaw.
"Shade?"
He turned to Celestia, concern in her eyes. He shook his head and felt the tears increase.
"I can feel it...I can feel his...excitement. He actually believed destroying these ponies was accomplishing something!"
He folded his hooves around himself in a hug, beginning to tremble.
"But the pain...he felt so much pain too...it was like he'd lost all control!"
He began to choke on his words as his body tried to hold back his sobbing.
"All..I feel...is...pain! I can't...I can't..."
Shade didn't even know what hit him as Luna's spell connected with his head. The stallion was unconscious before he hit the floor. Celestia looked at her sister in shock.
"Luna!"
Luna met her sister's gaze, tears clouding her eyes.
"That was not Sombra."
"He twisted his own goals to the degree that he was willing to torture ponies. It wasn't something possessing him. It wasn't a curse or a hex. That was him!"
Luna shook her head.
"Shade said there was pain! Somewhere within him he felt pain for what he was doing!"
"How can you defend him?! He was a monster!!"
"SO WAS I ONCE!!!"
Celestia was left speechless as Luna stood there, fully transformed into Nightmare Moon.
"Did you not hear the whispers in the kingdom? The terrors that ponies faced when they slept? Or do you choose to believe that "little Luna" isn't capable of such atrocities?"
Celestia shook her head.
"I never...that's not the point! Sombra chose-"
"He didn't choose anything! We drove him to this! You with your disapproval and me with breaking his heart. All he wanted was the life he'd lost. The mother he'd lost! He was alone and desperate. Do you have any idea what that does to a pony?!"
Celestia stood up, glaring at the Nightmare.
"OF COURSE I DO!"
Heat began to radiate off of Celestia.
"I had to fight my own sister! And when I realized we would only kill each other, I had to do the last thing I ever wanted to do! I was alone and desperate! Maybe not in the same way you or Sombra felt, but I know that pain."
Celestia took a deep breath and sat back down. She immediately jumped back up as her rear hit something misshapen on the chair. She turned to discover that the chair was...melted. She looked back toward Luna, noticing now how the table was deformed in a similar manner on her end. Her temper had gotten the better of her for the first time in a long while.
"I...I'm sorry."
Luna, who had reverted to her normal form, sighed.
"Me too."
Luna summoned a new chair for her sister and they both sat in silence for a minute before Luna spoke up.
"I know he did some horrible things. But I also know he hated doing them on some level. That's how I felt about myself back then. And...how I still do."
Celestia couldn't meet her sister's gaze.
"I didn't speak to anypony for three days after I banished you. I hated myself so much..."
"You did what you had to."
"I'm guessing you thought that too?"
Luna nodded.
"I'm guessing Sombra thought the same."
"I did."
The princesses both jumped. Shade was sitting up, though he still looked to be unconscious. But Sombra's voice came out of his mouth all the same.
"I know I said I wouldn't come back, but Shade is in a lucid state right now thanks to you. You made the right call. He was reliving every one of those sessions."
Celestia leaned forward.
"How...how many were there?"
Shade's lip quivered and a tear escaped from one of his eyelids as Sombra responded.
"One hundred and eighty nine."
Luna began to cry softly.
"Those poor souls."
"Deep down, I knew it was wrong. But on the surface, I just wanted to fix everything."
"Bullshit."
Luna looked at her sister in shock. Celestia was glaring at Shade's unconscious body.
"You act like everything you did was for Amore and Luna. Deep down, you know that isn't the whole truth."
Sombra didn't respond for several seconds. It seemed that Celestia had hit a nerve.
"You're.....right."
Now Celestia seemed shocked.
"R-...Really?"
"I...I wanted to believe my actions were selfless. And I convinced myself pretty well. But...it wasn't the truth. I was angry because your power and longevity were obtainable. And I wanted them for myself. I was angry that you denied me a life with Luna when, in my mind, it was fully possible. I still wanted to bring my mother back, but that desire became secondary after a while..."
Luna wiped her tears as Celestia nodded.
"And that's when we entered the picture again. Crystal ponies got away from the Empire and told us about everything happening there."
Luna chimed in.
"I didn't want to believe it. But when I saw the Empire for myself-"
Sombra interrupted.
"I'm sorry to cut you off, but Shade is starting to come back. I'll do my best to help him stay calm, but he'll need both of you on this."
Celestia sighed.
"The war is about to begin again..."