~Poetic Justice~
~Chapter-1: A King's Diary~
Twilight Sparkle's P.O.V:
I was in the Crystal Castle as Cadance had sent a letter asking me to come, for something important. We did our chant, and then Cadance started, "I want to thank you again for coming, Twilight. Celestia tried to teach me how to do it, but I can't make it work."
"Are you kidding?" I asked. "We're sisters, remember? When you call, I come running."
My horn glowed as I used dark magic to open the passage to Sombra's room. I said, "I don't like to use it, it hurts my head, but this is important."
Finally, my efforts unlocked the passage. Cadance looked at it and asked, "You went down this by yourself?"
"Yeah," I replied. "It's spooky, huh? Are you ready?" As we walked down the stairs, I asked, "So, do you think he's coming back?"
"Sombra?" asked Cadance. I nodded and she said, "No, I think he's gone for good. But we should be prepared. They thought they had beaten him before too. Do you hear that?"
"Probably just an echo," I told her.
She continued, "It's more that we have all of this information missing from our records. The crystal ponies' memories came back, but there are a lot of books and records that Sombra destroyed."
"And you think he might have kept something?" I asked. "Do bad guys keep journals?"
"Well he sure liked himself," Cadance replied. "I would be surprised if he didn't record something."
"Here we go!" I exclaimed as I opened the door.
"I knew it!" Cadance said in a knowing tone. "I knew he had to have a room just like this! Just look at it!"
"I am," I told her. "I so need an office like this. Well, except for the busts of myself."
"Here it is," said Cadance as she walked to the desk. "Here's his diary. It could tell us everything." Opening Sombra's diary she said, "Okay you evil pony, let's see what you had to say."
She then started reading, "Sombra. It was the only word I could remember when they found me."
"When they found him?" I asked. "Who?"
Cadance shrugged and continued reading.
The crystal guard said I was alone, out in the wastes just north of the empire.
They asked where my family was, but I couldn't tell them. No matter what they asked, the only thing I could say to them was this one word, Sombra.
So, they made it my name. And that is how I, the king of all monsters named myself. Not having any family to return a lost colt to, the crystal guard brought me to Chestnut Falls orphanage.
I was years behind my classmates, they all knew about things I had never even heard of. Saying their words felt like chewing peanut brittle. Like my mouth wasn't supposed to say them.
But I was a quick learner. And Miss Chestnut Falls would always help me when I couldn't understand the homework. Sadly, the same could not be said for others.
In my foalhood, there was only one other pony who was kind to me. Her name was Radiant Hope, and she was the most amazing pony I've ever met.
She was a bit weird, but I enjoyed it. She had the greatest imagination. Soon, Hope and I were the best of friends.
I sat next to her in every class. We had our own language that we wrote notes in. A secret little code, that was all our own.
The other ponies still laughed at us, but we didn't care. The others wouldn't let us play their games, so we made up our own games, where only we knew the rules.
And that year, every jewel we got, we put them in our dragon bank.
Hope's favorite memory was the time that her parents had taken her to what she called the most magical celebration in all of Equestria.
Hope then said that we could go to see the crystal heart, and we went. Little did I know that I was meeting my greatest enemy, and that I was about to have one of the most important moments of my life.
When I looked into the heart's reflection, I saw that my destiny was to become a monster. When Princess Amore asked me what I had seen, I told her that I had seen my reflection.
I was wracked by guilt all the way home. I believed that I had just lied to the princess.
I didn't realize how close to the truth I had come. But all that worry and self doubt were long forgotten four days later, because it was finally my time.
Hope ran in to wake me up, and had scared me out of bed. I laid there as she left, thinking of all the things we would do, and then a slow terror crept upon me.
I could not move my hooves. The doctor had no idea what was wrong with me. He couldn't find a piece of mane out of place.
And it only got worse through the day. Not only could I not see the crystal faire, I felt as weak as I had ever felt in my whole life.
Eventually Radiant Hope told Ms. Chestnut Falls that she would stay with me, and Ms. Chestnut went off to go and see the crystal heart.
I wanted to be strong for Hope, but I felt like I was being torn apart.
It wasn't until late that night, after the festivities that I was finally able to get some sleep. Hope didn't fall asleep until after I did.
And the next day, I felt as if it had never happened. Hope and I immediately began planning for the next year's crystal faire.
But a year later, there we were again. And the year after that. Every year we grew, my desire to see the crystal faire grew, and my pain grew, until...
It felt like nothing I had ever known. Like I was leaving the weak Sombra behind.
It was a transformation. It was a moment of becoming what you are supposed to be. A moment of pure destiny. It just wasn't mine.
For a moment, I was actually happy for her. When we were alone there, sharing her special moment.
I knew that it meant something, but I couldn't figure it out until I saw how everypony else reacted.
Then I realized that the ability to heal any ailment was very powerful magic, and everypony knows what happened when a unicorn developed really powerful magic.
The moment I saw the letter, I knew what it was. It had the seals of the two sisters on it.
They wanted Hope to go and become their student. That meant they thought that she had the potential to become a princess.
She would leave me behind, and if my whole body didn't disappear without her here...
What she had seen in the reflection of the crystal heart was real. It had never seemed real before. Now I knew it was. And I knew. I knew...
And in my eagerness to run from it, I had run to it. And just like that, it was like somepony had turned a switch on in my brain.
Suddenly I knew why all of those terrible things had happened to me. I knew what I had to do. And I knew how to use the magic of my ponies.
The image in the crystal heart had been clear, but I had never understood it until just then.
I had always taken it to mean that the darkness would overtake me. But the darkness was me. The true me that had been hidden for so long.
Destruction was my talent, and darkness was my cutie mark. I knew that if I was going to make my move, it had to be then.
The crystal heart knew my secret, and I was certain that Princess Amore did too.
Even then, months after the crystal faire, the crystal heart still had so much power over me.
It was either me or the heart. Finally, I knew that I would never have to suffer through another crystal faire again.
If my fate had not been sealed, it was now. Suddenly I saw Princess Amore coming, startling me.
But even in my darkest moment, I felt my fear melting away. I had always been so afraid of everypony in my life. I turned Amore to crystal, and smirked.
I had just defeated a princess, and now I knew that there was something stronger than love, fear. Fear was the strongest power of all, and I would take the fear they had put in me and repay each of them with it.
I couldn't bring myself to destroy her, but I spread the pieces of her statue all through out the world. Maybe somepony will restore her one day, but I'll be too strong for her by then.
Hope arrived, shocked at what I had done, and said that the others were right. That I was a monster. She then ran, and I did nothing to stop her.
When I recount it, I will say that was my one mistake. I still loved Radiant Hope, and I let her leave.
The foolish mare, still thinking that she could save me, told our tragic tale to the two sisters. They decided to to what they did best, vanquish monsters.
I enslaved the crystal ponies to raise my umbrum army, but now time runs short. I know that I am no match for them, but they will not save these crystal ponies.
I will make them pay with a thousand years of suffering. And Radiant Hope, she'll suffer the worst. She betrayed me to save this home of hers.
I've developed a new spell, just for her. How bitter will her victory taste when she has no home left?"
Cadance finished reading, and conjured a glass of water to drink. "And then there's nothing else," I commented, looking at the diary.
Once she was done, Cadance said, "That must have been the last thing that he wrote before Celestia and Luna banished him."
"Should we take it with us?" I asked. "Should his diary be in the library?"
"I don't feel right moving it," she replied. "In fact, this whole place gives me the heebie jeebies. I need some air."
"Me too," I said.
We left the room, and started walking up the stairs. "I feel bad for him," I admitted. "He never got to see the crystal faire and it was all he ever wanted."
"That and to crush the crystal ponies under his hoof," retorted Cadance. "I wouldn't feel too sorry for him, Twilight. There's that sound again!"
"Probably just the old creepy castle setting," I said. "The castle of the two sisters makes all kinds of noises."
"You're right," replied Cadance. "I guess that diary just has me creeped out. I feel like he's here, watching us."
"Don't worry," I told her.