I felt my subconscious taken over. Something had gotten into my head that I couldn’t control. But just what was it? Those brownies did something to me. Tree Hugger what did you put in here? Was I dreaming? What was going on?!
I felt myself suddenly tossed into the Frozen North. A series of snowstorms blew all around the mounds and mounds of white crystals. Endless as far as the eye could see. Okay. This had to be a dream of some sort. So I chose to walk. That would lead me to something, right?
Well, it did, thankfully. I eventually came across an orphanage with a similar crystalline structure and color scheme of the Empire itself. Everything seemed to be normal inside of it. Foals getting along and playing. Except one…
A gray unicorn sat alone in a corner. Nopony would approach him unless it was to make fun of him or say mean things behind his back. Just what was happening? Was he abnormal in some way? Did the others feel the need to poke fun at him due to where he came from? I had to know more.
I ran around to the back of the orphanage and the dark, snowy night would be replaced with a bright, chilly day. The gray unicorn colt would attempt to make friends, only to be shot down by the other foals.
“...Sombra play?”
“Go away, weirdo.”
“Who even talks like that?”
He was naturally depressed over his rejection. With no one to care for him or to build any bonds with, it’d become harder for him to go on. That is, until a purple unicorn filly would offer her hoof to him. She didn’t care that he spoke differently or that he had a strange name. She just wanted to be his friend.
“What’s your name?”
“S-Sombra…”
“I’m Hope. Wanna be friends?”
“Hope...doesn’t hate Sombra?”
“No, silly! I like you just the way you are.”
I saw that colt smile. But there was something off about it. It wasn’t a genuine smile. It was a broken one that hid away his true feelings. As if he was trying to forcefully reject a part of who he was.
With nowhere left to go, I started to run. This dream was getting too strange for my tastes, and I wanted to hightail it out of here. Luna, if this was your idea of a joke, please cease. But no. I didn’t sense her aura at all…
The snow crunched and crackled beneath my hooves with each step. Until I forced myself to stop. I happened upon another scene with the unicorn colt. He had found a red crystal not unlike the one I had found and touched a while ago. Could this be…
“I am your true mother, Sombra...embrace your destiny.”
No way. Was this how the fearsome and deplorable King Sombra was created? Why was no one allowed to know about this? I had to find out more...but where could I go? I couldn’t move, I couldn’t wake up.
I took a step back and fell off the side of a mountain. I screamed, but could barely hear myself over the sounds of demonic winds. Then I suddenly felt my flank hit the floor. I wasn’t outside anymore. I was in some kind of...library. Bookshelves aplenty, but they looked untouched for centuries.
I was given no direction. I had to find out what the truth was for myself. So I pressed on. I spent what felt like hours looking through the books to try and find something worthwhile. Then I came across something of note.
‘Dangers of the Dark Arts’
I picked up the book and skimmed through it. It contained details of why Dark Magic was considered evil and frowned upon in this world.
‘The spells were often so dangerous that they would cause problems for everyone around them. From something as small as creating a poison to something as large as generating a black hole, Dark Magic has been considered taboo since the early days of Equestria.’
Interesting. Sombra was a practitioner of Dark Magic. Is this why he was shunned constantly with no hope of returning to the world? I needed more information. This wasn’t enough. I kept the book with me, and started to search once more.
This place was rather interesting to be in, as each book contained anecdotes of the history of the Empire. And yet they were all hidden away. Was this possibly a hidden storeroom of old books that had been sealed away from the public? If so...why? I rubbed my head. This was getting cumbersome.
After awhile, I came upon another book.
‘Shadow Creatures and Their Damnation.’
Oh? This could be relevant to just where his powers came from? I flipped through it until I got to the chapter on Umbrums…
‘Umbrums are a species of creature bred to seek and destroy. With no alternate objectives or desires, they only want the suffering of others, primarily the Empire with an army of them hidden beneath it. As such, no Umbrums should be trusted, lest they cause destruction of the world.’
That’s when it hit me. Sombra was an Umbrum. That’s been his objective the entire time, so raise his army, and wreak havoc upon the Empire. But why? Whatever happened to the filly he met so long ago? My head was spinning, and I needed to lie down.
Next to me was a simple, torn page. I tiled my head and picked it up.
‘...transmogrification spell to transform ponies into half-bats requires lots of focus and painful cellular modification. It is advised to execute anyone who tries this.’
I quietly recoiled and let go of the page, but that’s when I finally heard his voice.
“I simply wanted to be accepted...”
“Holy sh--!” I jumped up, ready to fight something, but all I found was a gray unicorn stallion with a red scarf around his neck. Was this who Sombra would’ve been if he had a normal life. “Are you? But I thought you were killed.”
“I was. And yet, my spirit lingers…” he said with a shaky breath of air, “No matter what happens, my spirit can’t fully pass on. I am not like the rest of you. There is no afterlife for me…”
I rubbed my head once more. Was my dream being hijacked by some crazy dark magic or something? How was he here? I had so many questions. “I see…”
The unicorn looked up at the darkness that was the ceiling of the underground storage room. “In case you are wondering, this came about due to the fact that you touched the Umbral Shard. It contained a bit of my spirit that was lost, and as a result, you could say that my ghost came to find you,” he explained in a solemn, defeated manner. “Not nearly enough to bring me back to life, so don’t worry.”
“Okay...so tell me, what was I just experiencing moments ago?”
“My...foalhood, if you will. Things were so peaceful between Radiant Hope and I…” That must’ve been the filly I saw. Okay. Good start. “But a part of me still wanted to embrace who I was. I was not normal. I was an Umbrum. Created by the other shadows as a means to an end to restore our lost family.”
That’s another thing I had never considered. Just why were there so many Umbral Shadow Ponies buried and restrained beneath the Empire? There had to be more to it than simple enslavement. “...and why was your family lost to begin with?”
He sighed, “The...Shadows were banished long ago for being associated with Dark Magic. With nowhere else to turn to, they were sealed beneath the Empire by Princess Amore--the former ruler of the Empire. So in order to come back, I had to enslave the Crystal Ponies…” his eyes watered somewhat. Was it possible that he regretted his actions? “I was so arrogant to think that death could mean so little. And now...she is gone.”
“Who’s gone?”
“...”
His heartbroken face said it all. Radiant Hope was no longer of this earth. It was a touchy subject, but I needed to find out more. “But…how...”
His eyes flared with a bit of dark magic. “Killed in the battle that ensued when I first rose to power. The one that I caused. I should’ve told her to stay away, but she...she told me to stay true to myself. And that’s exactly what I did until the end...”
I nearly passed out. Could that be why she never showed up again and why the King never mentioned her in his final confrontation with the good guys?
“Enraged by my own foolishness, I blamed the rest of the world for her death, and sought...revenge. Which is why I have been so hellbent on taking back the Empire. I felt that if I could...we would be reunited once more.”
Fascinating. This stallion was...was he even truly evil? Or misguided by delusion? “Is that why you refused to ally yourself with the other three Horsemen of the Apocalypse?” It was the street name given to Cozy Glow, Tirek, and Chrysalis as a group. With Sombra being the fourth.
“Indeed. They could not comprehend the internal struggle that I faced. I wanted everypony to witness me for who I truly was instead of hiding away from it. But that...was my greatest mistake. In my pursuit of being true to myself, I caused suffering for countless others, and lost Hope…” he rose and started to walk away. “Don’t feel sympathy for me. I am aware of the deplorable nature of my actions.”
I wouldn’t stand for that. Or well, I did. But I had to follow him. We both slowly stepped away from the underground book room and stepped into a pitch black abyss of nothingness. Except if we looked up, we could see stars above our heads. “If you truly knew what you were doing, I’m sure you would’ve stopped yourself.”
“That...is the lie I told myself all the time. ‘If only I knew,’ as a way to justify my disgusting actions. But now...I will suffer eternally.”
“How so?”
He pointed in the distance and we could both see an amalgamation of shadows with deadly green eyes that was trapped beneath a layer of darkness, unable to move or think for itself. Forever in a vegetative state. “This is a mere representation of what has become of my soul. King Sombra has been destroyed, but the soul lives on. As does my own. We are two parts of the same shattered stallion. Yet we cannot pass on. I will never be able to see Hope in the afterlife…”
I nearly started to sob. The story was too much for a regular pony like me to handle. But I did my best to offer my words. “I see...and what did you learn from your experience?”
“...That the children of this world are the most dangerous of all when they have no one to guide them.” He turned to look at me, “I know why you are here, Pale. I respected Cozy Glow’s resolve, but the child had no one to set her on the right path. And now, her life is over before it could truly begin. Just as mine was. Only...my situation was worse, because I was created to destroy others.” Sombra lied down on the dark, empty ground and hid his face with his hooves. “So while I feel sympathy for her, it will not be so simple to make a case for her.”
“Why do you think that?”
“She was dangerous beyond what you can comprehend. A skillful influencer not unlike myself as a King. But at such a young age...it was scary to behold. Beyond that, the damage she caused with the extreme measures of removal of all magic was far greater than anything King Sombra had accomplished.” There was a hint of disdain in his voice. As if there was no hope for what I had intended to do.
“Really now?” I asked.
“For your own safety...cease while you still have the opportunity to do so,” he pleaded, “In your efforts to do something different, you could very well end up like myself. Ruining everything for everyone around you and not realizing until it’s too late.”
I looked down at the darkness. Was it possible for me to end up like Sombra? Someone so rooted in their ideals that they caused destruction for everyone around them? “Do you think so?”
“Look at me!” He held his hooves up with a defeated cry, “I am a disgrace! In my vain efforts to stay true to what I thought was right, I caused a war, froze an entire civilization and its populace...and caused the death of the one I loved.” He put his hooves on my shoulders with an even more defeated frown, “For your own sake, and those you love. Do not pursue your ideals into a pit of despair.”
“And yet...I think it is possible that she could be properly fixed. It will take a lot of work, but I am prepared for it.”
“Young one...don’t take your life for granted. If she is set free and tricks you all into believing that she has truly changed, she could very well stab you in the back and through the heart. Your life would be forfeit, her life would be forfeit, and and your ideals would be forfeit. Foals would be under heavier scrutiny and suspicion would always be placed upon them.” He let me go and gave me a more cautious look, “Are you prepared to take these risks?”
Was I? I didn’t know for sure. I couldn’t respond, at least, not right away. The implications of causing lasting damage not just to myself, but to Cozy as well as impact the lives of foals everywhere. I didn’t want that. Everything I had built up in my life was in service of those who needed help the most. Ever since that fateful day I cracked my first successful case. But I wouldn’t falter either. It was a rough mountain to climb, and I was willing to do so. Even if it meant risking it all.
I looked straight at the former King’s face.
I didn’t know what to make of it. This was a shattered individual who wanted to stay true to himself, but as a result, he only hurt the people he cared about until he was driven by rage until it consumed him. I felt awful for the stallion. “I…”
“Listen,” he sat up, “it’s too late for me. That much is certain. My spirit will forever be in limbo due to my physical and shadow forms being eradicated. Even now...my curse still lingers. But for you, you have the chance to live a full life of happiness with the individuals that you love. Don’t throw it away for the sake of your ideals.”
He had a point. I didn’t want to go so far into what I thought I wanted to where I bypassed what was truly right. However, a curse? Wait a second, I needed more information. “...What is this curse you speak of?”
His horn shone, and displayed another memory to me. It was of a teenage Sombra studying at a school of magic. “Before I rose to power, I...was interested in the Dark Arts. As an Umbrum, it was my nature to be attached to such things.” In that memory, I witnessed the young unicorn continuously lambasted and ridiculed by his peers and his teachers for daring to study such things.
“Dark Magic is evil!”
“You’ll never amount to anything!”
“Touch the book again, and you’ll be sent to the headmaster’s office so fast your horn will fall off.”
“When I returned to the safety of home, the Umbral Shard would continue to speak to me. It kept saying horrid things such as ‘Do not listen to them’ and ‘show them your real power.’ I felt...determined to prove them wrong. That the Dark Arts can be used for the good of everypony. So...I ran experiments with vampire bats.”
My jaw hit the nonexistent floor. “What in Luna’s name would you do that?!”
He looked away with regret in his eyes, “My aim was to prove that if a pony had the abilities of bats, we could all improve our strength, speed, vision, and dexterity with no issues. I suffered constant pain and agony and watched as other foals endured unspeakable horrors and sicknesses that the orphanage couldn’t afford to handle. So...I used the serum on adult pony volunteers under the guise of it being a prescription to cure any illness. The idea was that...maybe, just maybe, transmogrification could help us break free of the shackles we were born with.”
The memory flickered, and it would show the young stallion pleading with many sick townsponies of a small village not too far from the Empire. They had agreed, and were already lining up for treatment.
I looked down. That was extremely questionable despite having good intentions. “I see…”
“In the end, they became batponies. Feared, and hated by everyone else who had no idea who they were, they were run out of their village with pitchforks and torches. They retreated to Hollow Shades...never to be heard from again.”
The experiments looked painful, though some of the ponies were grateful to not be in a sickly condition anymore. Even still, they were seen as freaks when they tried to go back home, and were indeed, scared off into Hollow Shades.
Holy horseapples. King Sombra was responsible for the creation of the batpony race? Imagine that! But now wasn’t the time for excitement. “Crazy...these days, the batponies aren’t under nearly as much scrutiny. I know. One of my friends is one.”
He shook his head, “This was a very long time ago, young one. During the reign of Princess Amore. The Empire’s first ruler. Back then, individuals were much more...phobic, so to speak.”
“I get it...and you deem the remaining batponies as part of your curse...because you created them?”
“It was...my greatest failure. Even now, they live in Hollow Shades. Isolated because they don’t feel as if they truly belong among the rest of society…”
I remembered the details regarding the artifact that the griffon gave to my friend Neon. “...I have a hunch that some of them still idolize you as their king, and desire your return.”
“What?” His pupils shrank, and he started to shiver. “No...that simply won’t do. I am unfit to be called King…you can’t let them try anything as crazy as bringing me back. Please. I don’t want to cause anymore harm.”
“Understood…” Hold on. That brought up another detail that didn’t occur to me until just now. “Wait a second...just how did you come into power?”
“Once I hit the cusp of becoming a stallion...I forced my way into the throne through sheer power and intimidation. I turned Princess Amore into a crystal statue whose remains are still scattered across Equestria to this very day,” he explained with his voice slowly cracking apart from sadness, “I...forced the Crystal Ponies to follow me as their true ruler with an iron hoof. This was long before Nightmare Moon was even a thing, Mr. Vestige. So please do listen well.”
I nodded, my ears poised to have his full attention. “Ready.”
“Just before the Princess of the Sun and Moon could cast me away, I inflicted one last move of desperation. I struck the Empire with a spell that caused it to disappear for one thousand years.” He gave a broken, empty sort of chuckle. A self-deprecating one. “Heh...I was never the type to give up on anything. Even down to my last breath, I was a spiteful little ingrate. Only after that spell was lifted could the Crystal Ponies break free and Cadance and Shining Armor could rule over their rightful land...which is where we are now.”
“Yikes...but wait...why were there no records of the creation of the bat race in any of the history books?”
“Think with your head, child.” He tapped his horn, “Do you really think anypony wants to know their race came into existence due to the arrogance of a tyrant?” He sighed, “...if that happened, batponies would never be accepted for who they are, and would forever be unfairly judged for being one of my accidental creations. Why do you think Luna only has two of them as guards?” He stood up, and started to trot in a random direction. “Just as well, the reasons for my actions...the bullying, the lack of proper guidance...none of it is detailed in the history books. It’s easier for the average pony to remove certain bits of history for the sake of making it easier to digest. So I cannot blame them.”
I got up and followed. “Wait, hold on...why are you telling me all of this?”
“Isn’t it obvious? You desire to know the truth, so I explained it. What you do with this information going forward, is entirely of your own volition.” Another empty sort of laugh, “Hah. But I suppose the opinion of a several-thousand year old tyrant is meaningless in the present day.”
I put my hoof around him, “You’re not meaningless. At least, not to me. Now that I know the truth behind the way the Empire was run and how you came into power...I have a better understanding of what I should do next. Regarding both this and Cozy.”
“I envy your discipline. Just remember what I said about what she is capable of, and that you shouldn’t pursue your ideals into a pit of darkness.” The unicorn flashed the smallest of smiles before he pushed my hoof away. “And no matter what you do...I have one final request for you.”
“Yes?”
“When you wake up, look beneath the bed on the floor of the cell you are held in. There will be a box filled with bits. Take that box to the orphanage. That will be my final act as Sombra before I return to The Void. Not a King. Just Sombra.” He looked up to the heavens, tears welled up in his eyes, “...this is for you, Hope.”
I nodded. I knew just what it was like to feel indebted to a facility that took care of folks who couldn’t care for themselves. “...Understood. I’ll take care of it.”
“Thank you…”
The next time I blinked, he disappeared from sight, and existence. In fact, it was like he was never there to begin with. I couldn’t even sense his aura anymore. Was it all really a dream? Did Sombra’s ghost get inside my head?
I woke up the next morning with a surprised thud on the floor. I remembered what he said about the boards, so I decided to move the bed over and true indeed, there was a hidden panel that I could flip open.
And as he said, a small chest filled with what I can only assume to be ancient bits that were worth thousands of normal bits for each one. I slipped it into my vest, which somehow magically stayed in place and put both the panel and bed back into their proper spots. “Holy shit he was real…”
Good thing too. Because just as I finished up, I heard someone enter the room. It was Cadance, and she was lacking her usual crown and elegant horseshoes. Instead, she wore a simple sweater for a casual look. “Pale...listen, we deeply apologize for doing this to you. We’ve recently found evidence that proves your innocence. The Crystal Guards took forever to uncover it.”
“Oh?”
She nodded, “That’s right, now get out of there. First things first. I’m going to treat you to a proper meal to make up for holding you captive. Second--”
“Wait, wait...you don’t have to do that.”
“But I want to, sir. If...you’ll let me,” she pleaded with a regretful smile.
Horseapples. I couldn’t dare refuse a soft expression like that. “...Very well.”
“Okay then. Secondly, Shining Armor wants to speak to you. And lastly, we could use your help…”
“With what?”
“Something to do with...griffons.”