Poetic Justice

by KingSombraTheTyrantRuler

Payback

King Sombra's P. O.V:

Good. It seems like that annoying lavender mare listened to what I said yesterday and didn't wake me so early that I'd be able to see the bucking sun rise.

I stretched and got out of my bed. To see Sparkler...asleep?!

"Sparkler?" I tapped her. "Sparkler?"

"Hmm," she moaned.

"Sparkler!" I said.

"Go...way..." she said, her speech slurred. "Sleep...ore."

I was about to smack her so she woke, but got an idea and decided to let the mare get more sleep.

For now, I'll just freshen up.

Twilight Sparkle's P.O.V:

I woke up to see that the sun had already risen. I jumped out of bed. How could I have slept in?!

...Must've been because I stayed up late last night. But still! Other ponies sleep in, never me!

That thing never happens to me! Never once in a thousand years! ...But it happened to me.

I rubbed my eyes and once my vision cleared, I saw Sombra standing in front of me, smirking.

"Sombra? Why are you just ...standing there?" I asked.

"Sparkler. You've woken up very late," he said as if he were talking to a foal. "Think of how much time you've wasted by sleeping in!"

"Why didn't you wake me up?" I asked, ears bent downwards.

"Ah, Sparkler," he sighed. "Who said I didn't wake you up? I did wake you up! Honest! But you kept on sleeping! I even said I'd burn all your books, but you didn't even do so much as move!"

My eyes widen. "You didn't burn any books, did you?"

"Of course I didn't," he says. I give a sigh of relief. "I would never burn a book... Unless said book was offensive."

I ask, "So... What are you going to teach me today?"

He puts a confused look on his face. "Teach you?"

"Yes," I say as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "Aren't you going to teach me some dark magic?"

He chuckles. "Sparkler, don't tell me that I forgot to tell you that I'm going to test you today."

"You're joking." It's not a question, but a statement. "You have to be."

"Sparkler, I swear that I'm not joking. You have a test today. On every single thing that I've taught you," he tells me.

"But isn't it too early to be giving me a test?" I ask. "Shouldn't you wait like...three months or something to test me?"

"Sparkler, that's not how things work. It's been three weeks," he shakes his head.

"What? It's only been three days!" I exclaim.

"No. Three weeks," he says.

"Three days!"

"Three weeks!"

"Three days!"

"Three weeks!"

"Three days!"

"Look Sparkler," he says. "I've got a headache from your screeching and no longer wish to continue this foalish banter. It's been three weeks. Check your calendar if you don't believe me."

Raising an eyebrow, I check the calendar to find that he's right. Three weeks have passed since I woke up to find Sombra above me. "B-but how?" I stutter. "How have three weeks passed? It's... Impossible!"

"You might've slept through the last three weeks," he shrugs. "You might've been with your imaginary coltfriend. But whatever you did during those three weeks doesn't matter. What matters is that you have a test today."

"Can't you give me any time to revise?" I plead.

"Sorry," he says making my jaw drop to the floor. Sombra says 'sorry'?! "but you had more than enough time. You overslept when you could have been practicing."

"Aww..." I sigh. I look up to Sombra and give him my best adorkable eyes. "Ple~ase?"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"No."

"Pretty pretty pretty please?"

"No."

I sigh. "So... When does the test start?"

"Right now."

King Sombra's P.O.V:

I smile as I watch Sparkler write the answers to all the questions on the paper.

It took some time, but I managed to make something akin to a question paper.

Like the ones that are used in schools.

I'm a really good actor. I managed to get Sparkler to think that I really was giving her a test today without laughing once.

Though, the whole time I was thinking, 'You're so gullible, Sparkler.'

It's true. I quietly laugh as Sparkler chews on her hoof, reading her answer.

Then she flips to the next page and is about to start writing when I say, "Time for the practicals, Sparkler!"

She jumps and says, "But I haven't even finished writing all the answers!"

I resist the urge to laugh. "Ah, Sparkler," I shake my head. "You should've written faster. There's no point crying now. Unless of course you wish to have no time left to finish the practicals. Haven't you heard of the saying 'Time and tide wait for none'?"

She mumbles something, and I say, "I want you to conjure statues of the pony you hate most." She conjures a few statues of Chrysalis, and I shatter them with my hind hoof.

"Why did you destroy them?" Sparkler asks, confused.

"You tell me why I destroyed them." When she fails to give an answer, I say, "It's because you didn't use dark magic to conjure the statues."

"Oh."

"Try again, and don't forget to use dark magic this time."

She lets her hatred for Chrysalis create the aura of dark magic around her, and conjures statues of the bug.

"Now destroy them," I command, and she lashes out, as if she were merely waiting for my command to destroy the statues.

She must really hate that bug. I could use this to my advantage...

I smile as she gives out a war cry and when the mare's done, the former statues are now nothing but dust.

I chuckle at the thought of what she'd do if she came face to face with the real Chrysalis.

It would be total chaos.

"So, what did I get?" Sparkler asks for the thousand time this evening. "Is it a good mark?"

I shove her away from my face. "Tartarus be damned, Sparkler," I groan. "Give me some time to check it!"

"..." She says nothing and sits down. "Sorry, I just got really excited."

I write a few more things with the quill and red ink before hooving it to the irritating mare.

I put the quill down and watch her reaction. She's frozen with shock.

"H-how?" she asks with bewilderment. "How could I have gotten a bucking five out of twenty?!"

"Sparkler," I put a hoof on her shoulder. "You didn't answer all the questions correctly, and they were ten marks. The practicals were ten marks, and you got a mark cut for not using dark magic at first."

"That doesn't make sense!" she says, throwing the paper on the floor. "I should've gotten nine marks if that was the case!"

"Ah, I must have forgotten to tell you." A smirk finds its way onto my face. "You bothered me so much while I was checking your paper that I had to cut four more marks, leaving you with five out of twenty."

She doesn't move. Or say anything. When she stays like that for more than a few minutes, I get worried.

I don't know why, but I just am. I wave a hoof in front of her face. "Sparkler? Sparkler?"

She remains idle. "Sparkler!" I yell into her ear. "Twilight Sparkle, I, King Sombra, command you to move your adorkable butt this instant!"

She doesn't blink. I think I may have gone too far with this.

"Alright," I sigh. "I was just having a joke with you. This all was a joke. You weren't supposed to have a test today. I was supposed to teach you how to make illusions with dark magic. I did this as payback for yesterday. I swear, I just got the idea of taking revenge for yesterday, and the- well this was too funny to pass up!"

She still didn't do so much as blink. "For the love of Tartarus," I growl, frustrated. "Do something!"

I get an idea and say, "If you don't move, I'll burn your books. All of them."

She finally blinks. "You wouldn't dare!"

"Mind telling me what happened to you earlier?" I ask.

"What happened?"

"You were frozen for half an hour," I tell her.

"Oh. I was going through something called 'Erreur de traitement des chocs système' which translates to-"

I cut her off. "I know Prench, and I know that it translates to System Shock Processing Error."

She glares at me. "It isn't nice to cut somepony off when they're talking, Sombra."

"Désolé, Sparkler, mais tout le monde ne peut pas être parfait comme toi," I say in fluent Prench.

"You could at least try," she hisses.

"Not once in a thousand years will I try to be perfect as you." Before she can hiss something else, I quickly say, "So, what were you going on about before I so rudely interrupted you?"

She glares at me before taking on her lecturing face. "Before you so rudely interrupted me, I was saying that I was going through something called 'Erreur de traitement des chocs système' which translates to-"

I cut her off again. "No need to say what it translates to."

She gives me her killer glare eyes. "Rude!"

I give her killer glare eyes in return. "As I said before, 'Tous les poneys ne peuvent pas être aussi parfaits que toi. Nous avons tous nos défauts'."

She sighs and says, "I'm going to start giving you an explanation one more time, and if you cut through me one more time, let's just say you'll regret it."

"I promise not to cut through you," I say.

Her eyes glow with the aura of dark magic as she begins her lecture. "As I was saying before you cut through me two times, I was going through something called 'Erreur de traitement des chocs système' which translates to System Shock Processing Error. When a pony is very shocked, their mind is unable to process the shock properly, which causes them to become stiff and unresponding. Some ponies are lucky enough to only be stuck like that for ten minutes to an hour or so, but unlucky ones can be stuck like that for many years. It's kind of like a coma. It depends on how severe the shock is."

She pauses to take in some air before continuing. "If it's something like well... A prized flowed vase or a house being destroyed, the pony might suffer from Erreur de traitement des chocs système for an hour or less, depends on how much the thing meant to them. But... If it's something like the loss of a loved one, or the betrayal of a loved one, or if said pony found their coltfriend/marefriend or husband/wife cheating on them, they could be stuck like that for years."

"I see," was all I said. "So, Sparkler, did you hear what I told you before?"

"The part where you said that you weren't going to test me today and that it was a joke?" she asks.

"...Yeah," I nod.

"Did you mean it or were you just joking?"

"I meant every part of it. Today when I woke up, I was surprised to find you still asleep since you normally get up before the sun rises. Or something like that. I was going to smack you awake when I got an idea of how I could get payback for yesterday. Because I really hated the fact that you turned me into a female bird. So... I got this great idea of pretending that three weeks had passed and that I was going to give you a test today. I may have taken it too far, I apologize for that. But it was all in honest fun, I swear!"

Her jaw is touching the ground by the time I am finished. "You...apologized?" she asked in shock.

"Yes."

She shakes her head. "That was unexpected. So... Did three weeks really pass?"

I quietly say, "...Yes. Three weeks did pass. You know how you drank coffee that night?" She nods. "I...put something in it to make you have an extended sleep."

She raises an eyebrow. "What about Spike? Wouldn't he have suspected something? And what about Starlight? Wouldn't she have come here if I was sleeping for three weeks? And wouldn't my friends have suspected something? And how in Equestria were you able to make a potion that would make me sleep longer?"

I answer her questions. "Your friends, that dragon, and that Starlight, whoever she may be haven't suspected a thing" she opens her mouth but I hold a hoof up "because I made a note saying that you were inventing a new spell and must not be disturbed for three weeks so that you can make the spell properly."

The aura of dark magic around her eyes, which hasn't faded, grows brighter as she says, "So I'll have to make a new spell."

It sounds like more of a statement than a question. "Do you know how to?" I ask.

She says, "...I haven't got a clue."

"Well then," I smirk. "you're in luck. I know how to make spells."

"Really?" She has a look of disbelief on her face.

"In your eyes," I start "I may be nothing more than a colt who enslaved an Empire just because he could, but I learnt how to make spells, believe it or not. Remember that last part in my journal? 'I've developed a new spell, just for her. How bitter will her victory taste when she has no home left'?"

She nods and I say, "The spell that I was referring to was the one that used the power of the Elements to give the Empire the same fate as I. As soon as Hope betrayed me, I had made it, knowing that the Two Sisters would arrive with the Elements."

"I see," she says.

"So, tell me what spell you want to make and I'll make it," I say.

She thinks for a while and then says, "How about a spell that'll help a grounded pegasus fly, and a unicorn use magic?"

"...Okay." I get a piece of parchment, and a quill. Then concentrating hard, I begin writing...

Ուղղիր ամեն ինչ, որ սխալ է, վերացրեք բոլոր խնդիրները: Թող հավելվածները աշխատեն այնպես, ինչպես պետք է: Ներսի հմայքը հանի՛ց:

"What did you write?" Sparkler asks. She frowned, pointing to the parchment on which I had written the spell in Ancient Crystal Runes. "I can't read this."

I told her, "For your information, I used Ancient Crystal Runes to write the spell. It translates into: Fix all that is wrong; remove all problems. Let the appendages work as they should. Bring the inner magic out."

She quickly writes down what I said and asks, "Are you sure this will work?'

"Positive," I say.

"Then I guess that we'll be going to show off my- well your new spell."

"Indeed," I say. Then I get an idea. "Sparkler, have you ever heard of a 'telepathic link'?"

She shakes her head. "No, I haven't. What is it?"

"A telepathic link is a means of communication between two ponies. If they use the link to communicate, nopony else will be able to know. It was used in the war between Equestria and the Changelings so that spies were unable to pick up any valuable information," I tell her. "Telepathic links are very useful, and have many advantages, however, they have one disadvantage. The ponies who are using the link cannot be too far from each other, or the link will be rendered useless."

Sparkler asks, "Will you be able to read my thoughts if I agree to this link?"

I say, "No. You won't be able to read my thoughts, nor will I be able to read yours."

"...Okay. Do you know how to cast the spell?"

I nod. "Yes, I do. No books have the written spell. I will be able to cast the spell, but I need you to give me some magic."

"How do I know that you won't use the magic I gave you to take over Equestria?"

"It would take a lot more magic to be able to do that, Sparkler. All you need to give me is a few drops of magic."

"How can I trust you?"

"I swear on my life that I will only use the magic that you'll give me for what I needed it for. If I try to take over Equestria, or mind control you, you have the permission to execute me."

"...Fine. But if you try anything funny, you are dead."

She makes her horn touch mine as it glows, and I feel as if I am complete. I smile and then say, "I'll cast the spell now, but it'll hurt when I do so."

I then cast the spell to create a telepathic link, and Sparkler shouts in pain. I grip my head with my hooves, as I too am experiencing this pain. It lasts for a good ten minutes, before fading away.

I try to use the link. Sparkler?

She jumps. Sparkler? Can you hear me?

After looking around for a few minutes, realization hits her and she replies telepathically. Sombra? I can hear you.

That means I casted the spell correctly. You can take your magic back now.

I don't know why I said that. The words came out before I could stop them.

Sparkler surprises me with her reply. No, you can keep it.

Are you being serious?!

I am.

Aren't you worried I'll abuse your trust?

You gave me permission to execute you if you abused my trust.

So you're 100% serious? You're not joking?

No Sombra, I'm not joking. You can keep my magic as long as you don't abuse my trust.

...Okay.

Though, I'd feel better if we had something that would stop you from abusing my trust. You know, something like a vow?

There's something called an Unbreakable Vow. If I recall correctly, Star Swirl invented it. It was used in the war so that the soldiers would be unable to betray the pony they were serving under.

Let's cast it then.

I'm assuming you don't know how the Unbreakable Vow works.

And you'd be correct. I've heard of it, I've read about it, but I don't know how to do it. Perhaps you do?

Fortunately, I do. I'm surprised though. You're supposed to be the student of Princess Celestia and there's some spells you don't know about.

Hey, I only learnt what the Princess taught me.

Whatever you say Sparkler, whatever you say. Anyways, to make the Unbreakable Vow, we'll need parchment, a sword, quills, and magic.

A sword? Why do we need that?

We need the sword to get the blood.

Blood?! Are you sure?

Yes Sparkler, I am.

...Okay. I'll trust you with this.

Do you have any swords?

I'm not sure.

If you don't have a sword, then you could just get a sharp knife.

...Okay.

I'll stay here while you look for the knife.

I'll need to turn you into your budgie form just in case somepony comes in.

...Okay.

I'm less than happy about that. Sparkler's horn glows, and before I can do so much as blink, I'm a budgie again.

Sparkler walks out and closes the door behind her.

I decide to fly across the room for fun.

Twilight Sparkle's P.O.V:

I go to the kitchen and start looking for a sharp knife, and cast an invisibility spell over myself so that if Spike comes in, he won't be able to see me getting the knife. I don't want him to know a thing about this 'Unbreakable Vow'.

I smile at how I had ordered the knives, from most sharp to least, and take the sharpest one, after which I teleport to my room and remove the invisibility spell. Sombra's flying around my room, and lands as soon as I say, "Sombra, I've got a sharp knife."

Then turn me back into myself, and we can start.

I turn Sombra back, and after getting the other objects, ask, "So, what do we have to do?"

"Get the parchment," he says.

I place it on the table and he asks for the knife. I give it to him, and I flinch as Sombra takes the knife and cuts his hoof, not showing any sign of pain.

He begins writing, using his blood as ink. I squint at the Ancient Crystal Runes he wrote.

Ես՝ Սոմբրան, երդվում եմ իմ կյանքով, որ չեմ չարաշահի այն վստահությունը, որ դրել է Իմ մեջ Twilight Sparkle-ը: Եթե ես չարաշահեմ նրա վստահությունը, ապա մահն ինձ վրա կլինի:

And then he says, "Now we both must sign this with our magic."

He signs it, and I do the same. He rolls the parchment up, and says, "Now it's done."

"Could you tell me what's written on it?" I ask.

He translates, "I, Sombra, swear by my life that I will not abuse the trust that Twilight Sparkle has placed in me. If I abuse her trust, then death will be upon me."

"So you can't break it?"

"I can," he says causing alarm bells to go off inside my head "but if I do, then I'll be dead on the spot."

"You won't break it, will you?"

"Do you really think that I want to die, Sparkler?" he asks. I shrug and he says, "For your information, I do not want to die. I want to live forever."

"Oh." The alarm bells stop ringing. "So... What should we do now?"

He shrugs. "We could rest, read books, or I could teach you how to make spells."

"If you're not too tired," I say. "I'd like to learn how to make spells."

"Alright then."

"One thing. Are you going to teach me how to make spells using those Ancient Crystal Runes?"

"No," he says. "Given how Ancient Crystal Runes are well, ancient, and how you didn't know about them despite being Sunbutt's student, I'll try to teach you how to make spells using Equestrian symbols. I think that would be much better, as nopony would suspect you."

I nod until something hits me. "What. Did. You. Call. Princess. Celestia?!" I spit out as my eyes narrow in anger.

King Sombra's P.O.V:

Sparkler is fuming, and the aura around her eyes is becoming stronger. I casually say, "I called her Sunbutt." Sparkler glares at me. "What? She does have a picture of the sun on her butt."

"Don't. You. Dare. Call. Her. That. Again." Sparkler's voice is distorted, sounding as if there's a demon saying that.

"Why?" I ask. "What will you do if I keep calling your beloved Celestia Princess Sunbutt?"

"I. Will. Make. You. Wish. You. Never. Was. Born."

"You really need to chill, Sparkler," I say. "Don't you know that Moonbutt is the one who came up with the name Sunbutt?"

The magical flames around her eyes die. "What?" she questions. This time, her voice is her own.

"It's true," I tell her. "Do you really not know about that? After I took over my Empire, when the Two Sisters came, they first tried to talk me out of it, and Luna called Celestia 'Sunbutt', and they started fighting. They only stopped when they heard me laughing, and then banished me and the Empire."

"Oh."

I change the topic. "So, do you want to learn how to make spells?"

She nods. "Yes."

"Get some parchment and quills. And ink," I tell her. She levitates the items to the table.

"Now what?"

"You've got Star Swirl books, right?" She nods. "Then get them. I think you'll have one about how to make spells."

Sparkler teleports to her library and comes back with a pile of books in her hooves. Using the magic she lent me, I levitate them to the table and search for the one that I needed.

I find it and move the other books, holding them in my magical aura and then putting them on the floor. Sparkler's eyes twitch.

Then I open the book in front of me and start reading it. I know a lot of things, but once I returned, I never made an effort to learn these modern Equestrian runes.

I start reading it, and once I'm done, I give them book to Sparkler and say, "Now you need to read this."

She starts reading.

It takes a while, but now she's got some idea of how to make spells. In modern Equestria, they don't make spells with runes. Turns out the last time runes were used was a thousand years ago. Now they make spells with ponish letters.

Once Sparkler puts the book down, I say, "So, do you have an idea of how to make spells now?"

"Yes," she says.

"Then try making one."

Twilight Sparkle's P.O.V:

Sombra tells me to make a spell and even though an hour has passed, I haven't written a single letter.

He walks up to me, looks at my paper, and gasps. He's shocked, and nearly screams, "You haven't written anything?!"

I say with an embarrassed air, "Yes. I haven't written anything."

"Why haven't you?"

"I... I don't know what spell to make! There's so many to choose from! I can make a spell that will allow anypony- pegasus or earth- to teleport. Or... I could make a spell that would make things lighter. Like something very heavy becomes so light you don't even know it was there! Or a spell that would enlarge the insides of any saddlebag or luggage so that you could put as many things you want in there! Or even-"

"Alright Sparkler, I get your point," Sombra interrupts me. "No need to go on until Equestria ends."

"So," I say, trying to keep calm despite the fact that I was interrupted. "What spell do you think I should make?"

"I think you should try the one that makes bags lighter. And the one that enlarges the insides of any bag. Those remind me of the spells in Hairy Trotter," he says.

"You read Hairy Trotter?! I mean, it was around in your time?!"

"Yeah Sparkler. Hard to believe as it is, Hairy Trotter was around when I was a foal." He chuckles. "After all, who do you think inspired me to do what I did? Of course it was Voldemort."

"..." I can't think of any possible reply.

"Anyways, since you were unable to make a single spell, I think we should read some books now."

"If that's what you want."

We had been reading books, then talking about it, and now Sombra was in the middle of conjuring Celestia-knows-how-many-damned-crystals in my library.

Of course Sombra was in his budgie form. I didn't want to risk anypony seeing him.

Seems like even in his budgie form, Sombra can still use magic. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

Don't you think that's enough crystals?

No. I need more crystals.

But Sombra, my library is going to be ruined! I don't even know if there's a spell to remove all these crystals!

Sparkler, two things. First is: Stop being a spoilsport and let me have fun! I haven't been able to use magic for such a long time! And second: Your library is not ruined. I can remove these crystals after I've made enough.

Ugh, fine. Just make sure that you do remove the crystals after.

King Sombra's P.O.V:

I've just finished making my crystals, and am about to walk- I mean fly away when Sparkler telepathically tells me: Sombra! You promised!

I forgot. But don't worry, I pretended to forget to see if you actually thought that I forgot. Hah. As if I, the Great and Powerful Sombra would forget anything. Crystal removing spell coming right up!

I cast the spell and then something hits me. Um... Sparkler?

Yes?

I've just realized something. Your castle is made out of crystal, is it not?

It is. Why?

I just cast a bucking crystal removing spell! And your entire bucking castle is made out of bucking crystal!

Holy Celestia! Does that mean...

Tartarus, yes! Your castle is going to disappear in a few seconds. And the spell explodes it!

Sweet Luna! We'd better get out of here!

We make our great escape as the castle explodes in what will be known as the greatest and biggest explosion in recorded history.

And of course, we and everypony in Ponyville are unconscious because of this.