(Canterlot City, Early Morning, Downtown CCPD Precinct.)
The people of Canterlot awakened to breaking news plastered all over the papers and online. The already panicked people had their fears justified once more as they read the headline in the Canterlot Times and watched the news report on Channel 2, on the Canterlot Morning Report.
”Innocent Bloodbath! Arcanists take another life!”
“Late last night, a female body was discovered in the Griffonstone Houses with a fatal stab wound in the back. Savior, our armored protector who was on site clearing out the cult from a dilapidated building, expressed his regrets for not being able to save the woman’s life.”
The newscast was on in the office of the Downtown precinct, many of the officers of the force couldn’t look away from the video surveillance footage of Savior fighting his way through the broken down church.
”I did all that I could, but the woman was already dying, she was dead the moment the knife went into her back, as it punctured her heart. I did dispose of said group of cultists, and the majority of them are now in the custody of the CCPF’s new Anti-Magic Squad (AMS). I offer my condolences to the family of the deceased woman, and I swear I will find and stop these Arcanist monsters.”
On the news, the anchorman spoke, “That was Savior, the Protector of our city. Can we still rely on him or will this new Anti Magic Squad be enough to stop the Arcanist Menace? Tune in at 12 PM for the interview with the head of the downtown CCPF Precinct, Shining Armor. This is Quick Scoop, signing off. Up next, the weather, followed by a look at the-
Shining Armor spoke, his eyes hardened into a flinty glare. “Shut it off Sunset Shimmer, we don’t to see anything else.”
Sunset obliged and toggled the tv off with the remote, and the various officers returned to their duties.
The pony turned human turned around to look at Shining, noticing the sour expression on his face.
Like Sunset Shimmer, Shining Armor had changed in the six months since the fall of Canterlot Tower. Considering he was directly involved with the assault on Eclipsio’s orbital fortress and even provided assistance with the Black Sun investigation, it was inevitable that even he came out changed by the ordeal.
Shining Armor’s pristine blue and white hair had turned a pale gray shade, presumably because of the immense stress he was under in the aftermath of the battle and the cleanup of the destruction. His eyes grew sharper, more intense, almost like it was projecting scrutiny on whatever he looked at.
Several officers in the precinct joked that Shining’s glare could cause a hardened criminal to soil themselves. Sunset initially dismissed this as a joke, until Shining was interrogating the suspect and caused said suspect to shake in terror by just Shining staring at him.
Attitude wise, Shining had grown colder, more ruthless. he was still on the side of the law and fairly reasonable, but Sunset noticed that something had changed in the man. He no longer seemed to care about non magical crime and seemed feverishly devoted to bringing these Arcanist Cult members in. Be it in cuffs, or in a body bag.
Shining had only recently been assigned to head of the downtown precinct from his senior officer role in the school district. He had a feeling that Commissioner Slate wanted him at the forefront of the effort to take on the Arcanists, as his involvement with the individuals known as Burning Star, Shadow Armor, and Eclipsio Alicornus (the name Shining Armor gave him during the investigation) made him an expert in all things related to this new threat.
Not only that, but his seemingly personal connection to Savior (via Sunset Shimmer, though that wasn’t mentioned in his report) made him the perfect liaison between the CCPF and the vigilante that protected the city.
Shining wasn’t all too fond of the newfound popularity his position gave him, especially the media pressuring him for interviews on what actually happened between him and this “Burning Star” character.
This is the reason why he hired Sunset to be his personal assistant, she would be the one to take questions for later, when Shining wasn’t buried in paperwork or hiding from the media.
Contrary to Sunset Shimmer, who seemed to be a natural at news interviews, Shining didn’t like the media. He felt as if they exaggerated the negative and never reported on what actual positive impact that Savior and the newly upgraded Police Force had on Canterlot.
General non magical crime such as physical assault and murder had dropped since six months ago, considering criminals were now wary of attacking people that could have magic that could obliterate them in a shower of gore.
Of course, Sunset informed Shining that was a rare event to happen, as causing a powerful magical burst required a certain level of training. With magic just starting to become commonplace, even Canterlot High started teaching students about simple self defense spells such as barriers and using blinding light to incapacitate their attacker.
Sunset (along with both the Pony version of Twilight and even Shadow Armor) had been kind enough to lend the school some books on basic Equestrian magic, and despite some difficulties and several accidental eruptions of magic, most people began learning some form of magical self defense.
There were of course some who were natural prodigies. Turns out, Terran Magic (the term coined by Pony Twilight) was very similar to Equestrian magic in its capabilities, but the main difference was that Equestrian magic drew upon the users own ability and magical aptitude, while Terran magic drew upon the environment and the energy of the world around you.
Even Shining found himself trying to learn some form of magical defense, albeit after his younger sister badgered him into learning it to protect himself. Twilight may have been rather poor at communicating with strangers, but with people she already knew and was comfortable around, she would talk your ear off.
He eventually settled on barrier casting and some lightning magic. Simple, but effective abilities that could protect himself and Allies and restrain his enemies by projecting of magical electricity to stun and render criminals (and occasionally stalking reporters) unconscious.
However as he was learning the basics of magic, he did tell Sunset that he was beginning to manifest powers he hadn’t learned from the books she lent him, specifically what he learned was called “shadow projection”. An ability that let him extend his own shadow as a physical object, which seemed to be an omen of bad things to come.
Sunset inquired into it by asking the pony version of Twilight. Her response was mixed, to say the least.
”Shadow Projection? It’s not an unheard of form of magic, but it certainly is rare. In regards to if there was anything wrong with it, not entirely. With practice you could turn your body into a living shadow, transform it into a physical object, or even manifest duplicates of yourself. It’s nothing too extreme or directly dangerous to you or others. The only negative thing I can really think of relating to it is that your eyes will suffer from some light sensitivity issues at first. But a good pair of enchanted sunglasses should fix that. I’ll send a pair over, just give me some measurements and I’ll get right on it.”
Shining recieved the enchanted sunglasses the morning after Sunset wrote to Twilight, As soon as he put them on, he never took them off. As normal light was starting to bother him as a result of his “condition” now.
Before he went any further, he asked if there was anyone famous on Equestria that had used Shadow Projection before.
Her response was ominous, ”A famous user of that type of magic? The only one I can think of off the top of my head was King Sombra. He was an evil monarch that had the ability to turn himself into a living shadow and control other ponies minds. But my friends and I destroyed him several years ago when he tried to take over Equestria, Shining Armor. As tenacious as he was, we were first hand witnesses to his destruction. I doubt he could have survived what we did to him, but if your really concerned about it, I can send over my notes on him if you think these powers you acquired are related to him. Personally I think your nerves are getting the better of you, human BBBFF, just relax and try to take these things one day at a time.”
Shining tried to relax after that, but ultimately his assumption regarding this “Sombra” was correct.
King Sombra was alive, and he had unintentionally brought him back six months ago!
(Flashback to Six Months ago. Twilights House, Bathroom)
Shining Armor opened the door to his home and walked inside... his steps uneasy and hyperventilating as his body ached.
Then he doubled over in pain as a surge of power wracked his entire body.
“Graagh! What is this... pain?! What is happening... to me?!” He yelled as he staggered to the bathroom.
He went in and locked the door, ripping off his coat and grabbing at his chest, realizing what he stuck in his pocket. He pulled it out and his eyes went wide...
The crimson artifact he took from Shadow Station was glowing bright red and emitting bolts of black lightning that rippled across Shining’s entire body.
Shining screamed in agony as he slammed his hand against the tile wall, putting a large hole in it.
He then collapsed to the floor, not moving...
No sound was heard as the body of Shining Armor lay on the bathroom floor...
Then, a breath of air filled his lungs, it was short and raspy.
Shining’s body stood up and he looked in the mirror, his eyes had turned a bright red and the whites had turned a sickly green. Purple flames slowly poured out of his eyes as he looked at both his hands.
Shining then spoke... his voice unnatural, like someone was speaking through him. It was deep and ominous, a voice that could strike fear into anyone or anything that heard it...
“The king has returned... long live... the king...”
Shining Armor shook his head, his eyes widened in disbelief as his pupil in his left eye had turned red and the white of his eye was a sickly green. Dark smoke poured out of it and his teeth had grown into sharpened fangs.
“What the hell are you!? What did you do to me?!” He shouted into the mirror, as he watched the left eyebrow on his face raise.
The voice responded in Shinings own voice, but with a deep echo. I should be asking that, you ignorant fool. How do you not know my name?”.
Suddenly, Shining felt a twinge of pain as something emerged from his back, it was a mass of black that looked like a very dark storm cloud.
Except Shining knew storm clouds didn’t ripple with glowing red and green lights and they didn’t form into a somewhat shape of a face. Glowing green Eyes emerged from the cloud, along with a set of sharpened teeth.
Said cloud-face began to speak to him, it’s voice chilling the human to the bone. ”I am the Shadow King, Sombra. I am the rightful ruler of the Crystal Empire of the Frozen North, before some fools called Shining Armor and Cadenza managed to get annoyingly lucky and dissipate me in my weakened state.”
Sombra’s shadowy cloud began to drift around Shining, still tethered to his body. ”I appear to be in a bathing chamber of some kind. As for you, who and what in the name of Tartarus are you?” the cloud asked, thrusting it’s gaseous form forwards and causing Shining to stumble back into the bathtub.
The further frightened human spoke, “My name is Shining Armor. And what Is the Crystal Empire? All I can think of relating to that is the school Crystal Prep. Were you some sort of founder there or something?”
Sombra’s cloud looked down at Shining’s feet and arms. Upon spotting no hooves he growled out, ”No you fool. The Crystal EMPIRE. My rightful place of power in Equestria! Are you an even bigger fool than I thought that you don’t even know of the kingdom you stole from me?!”
Shining looked confused, “Stole from you? What on earth are you talking about?”
Sombra paused at Shining’s expression, ”What did you say? What on Earth? Wait, Where are we exactly and what am I doing in your body? What exactly are you?”
Shining’s confusion grew, “You’re in Canterlot City. On the planet Earth. As for what I am, I’m a human being.”
King Sombra’s wispy eyes widened, ”Earth? The name of my world is Equis. Are you saying that I am currently in the body of some sort of strange hairless primate?!”
Shining frowned, “Hairless primate? Really? That’s a little insulting.”
Sombra scoffed, ”It is an appropriate description of what you resemble, worm. How did some creature like you acquire the shard of my horn?”
“I take offense to that, first off.” Shining said while scowling at the spectral set of eyes, “Secondly to answer your question, I found your horn on board a fortress floating in the sky above my planet. The door had locked me in, and when I grabbed this horn it emitted a burst of energy that fried the locks and wrenched open the door.”
King Sombra raised one of his non existent eyebrows, ”Did you now? Well As much as I hate to say it, I guess some thanks are in order for freeing me from that prison, albeit unintentionally. But that still doesn’t answer my question about who you are, exactly…” the shadow hissed, eyes glowing brighter.
Shining out his hand to his own face and groaned, “Oh boy this is gonna take a while to explain.”
He turned his head to the ceiling where Sombra’s cloud was floating, “My name is Shining Armor by the way.”
At the mention of his name, King Sombra paused, before saying in an utterly confused tone.
”Im sorry, WHAT?!”
(Shining Armor’s Room, about 1 hour later.)
After a long and mentally painful conversation with the Shadow King, punctuated by him laughing at random intervals, before realizing Shining wasn’t kidding and that humor quickly turned to venom-filled ire.
Sombra paced, or rather floated back in forth above Shining’s dresser, deep in thought. ”So let me get this straight, This is a planet called Earth. When I was obliterated by Twilight and her miserable friends on Equestria, the sheer power of the blast rocketed my horn across space and time, landing on this world. I was picked up by a extremely powerful Alicorn turned human named Prince Eclipsio and his lackey, a resurrected human warrior called Black Sun. My horn was imprisoned aboard some sort of high altitude sky station. That is until six months ago, where another Alicorn named Burning Star fought and killed Eclipsio and Black Sun in battle. Do I have that right so far?”
Shining nodded and said, “Yeah pretty much. I did actually help Burning Star during the pursuit of Black Sun and even played a role in stopping Eclipsio, I’d like to mention.
Sombra’s smoke cloud stared at Shining, making a disbelieving frown. “I find that completely ridiculous, Shining.”
The young man jumped up and said to the cloud, “Well it did happen! You can look through my memories to prove it!”
Sombra’s cloud rolled its eyes, ”No, I’ve seen your memories of the ordeal. I just find it ridiculous as to how you not only survived an encounter with two of the most powerful magic users I have ever seen, and not only managed to contribute significant support, but you actually helped in completely destroying an Alicorn with powers that far surpassed my own. You, a normal, non magical human being managed to help kill one of the most powerful and dangerous creatures in the universe.”
Shining Armor crossed his legs and smirked, “Yeah, I guess I did help do that. What do you think?”
King Sombra went silent for a moment, before letting out an honest laugh, ”Grah-haha-haha! well it seems I made my assessment of you being a complete invalid like your equestrian counterpart too early. You clearly have much more potential and cunning that he ever could dream of having. I must say, I’m impressed, and that is rare praise from me. Perhaps you won’t be such a terrible host after all.”
Shining Armor beamed, before he raised an eyebrow, “Hey King Sombra? Mind if I ask you something?”
Sombra’s cloud shifted downwards, making the gesture of a nod.
“How come your so… amicable towards me? Last I checked, you were the Tyrant Shadow King, so why the more friendly attitude?” Shining asked, genuinely confused.
King Sombra’s shadowy cloud let out a puff of smoke, indicating a sigh. ”Well, when I look at you I still see a simple fool who is out of his depth. Although that could change with time… No, that will change with time.”
Shining Armor felt a chill run though his body as Sombra’s smoky visage rushed into his face.
“What do you mean by that, exactly? Sombra?”Shining asked Nervously, receiving no response.
(Present Day, Canterlot City Police Precinct)
After six months of training (in secret) to harness the Shadow Projection abilities King Sombra’s spirit had granted him, Shining had gotten much stronger than he let people believe.
Beneath the facade of a rather inexperienced magic user was a powerful spirit of one of the most evil and dangerous unicorns in Equestrian History.
When Shining Armor asked for more info on King Sombra, he got his reply from Twilight after the kings spirit had revealed itself to him.
Shining immediately wanted to let Twilight know about Sombra’s apparent resurrection, but he refrained when Sunset explained that the portal form Equestrian Alpha to Earth Alpha via the Crystal Empire mirror was broken on her end due to an attack of rouge changelings that sought to invade Earth, and the Princess was still unable to send living beings through it, only non living objects.
This was the reason why Twilight had not come to deal with this so called “Prince Eclipsio” herself, as Princess Twilight was more than capable of handling him no matter how strong he said he was.
Sunset did ask as to why Shining asked about King Sombra, he said that he wanted to learn more about this “Shadow Projection” he supposedly was a master of.
From a purely pragmatic perspective, As evil as King Sombra was, you couldn’t deny that he was a master of his craft. Shining did promise that if he felt even the slightest bit unsafe or felt corruption rising in him, while reading these notes, he’d immediately tell Pony Twilight or at least Sunset.
Said pony turned human entered Shining’s office and placed another stack of paperwork on his desk, earning a groan from Shining, who was still working on his laptop.
“Here’s the daily reports from our patrol officers on any magical activity, Captain Armor. Those arcane monitors Savior gave us are coming in handy in finding these creeps.” She said, a small smile on her face.
She slunk into one of the office chairs in the room, saying in an exhausted tone, “I hope we finally get the rest of them soon, then we can focus on finding who created these cults and hunt them next. Anything I can do for you to lighten this stack of papers?”
Shining Armor grunted in irritation, Clearly not paying attention at the moment.
Sunset spoke again, “You really should use your words, I don’t speak grumbles.”
The captain of the Police Precinct lifted his head from his laptop and said, “No. I don’t have anything else for you to do, take an early day, Sunset. I have to read some more of these notes Princess Twilight sent over.”
“You worried King Sombra might exist here and your trying to find him or something?” Sunset replied, a orange eyebrow raised.
The reply she got was a terse, “Yes. Now please go.”
Sunset gave the captain a worried look, but ultimately got up from the office chair and left.
“Alright Shining, just don’t forget to sleep. I’ve had to tell Twilight this several times because she wouldn’t go to sleep when she was engrossed in her reading, I hope I don’t have to tell you more than once.” She said in jest.
The response she got from Shining was again, terse and short, but this time it was accompanied by a steely eyed glance that made Sunset’s blood run cold
“I heard you, Sunset. Now leave.”
Sunset did as Shining asked and walked out of the room In a hurry, trying to ignore the chill she got when looking back at Shining.
”Wonder what’s eating him? The news probably got to him more than he is letting on, so he is trying to appear strong for the rest of us.” Sunset thought, before exiting the building, hopping into her car and driving off.
The rest of the officers slowly started making their afternoon patrols and picking up the papers Shining had laid out in regards to Anti Magic Defenses, and his office was soon empty, leaving Shining Armor alone.
The captain took a quick look around to see if anyone was watching, before closing all the blinds in his office windows and locking the door.
Most of the officers that were coming back from their morning patrols knew that Shining always did this around mid morning, and that he wasn’t to be disturbed. Apparently whatever magic… arcane… stuff their captain was trying to learn via the books he kept in his desk was very light and sound sensitive.
The first (and last) person that walked in on him doing… whatever he was doing was a paper runner that brought him the newspaper last week.
The officers heard the door slam shut and lock, and a ear-piercing scream filled the office. Several of the police at their desk immediately ran to the door and wrenched it open, thinking something horrible must have happened.
What they found was a young man lying on the floor and Shining sitting at his desk with the most serene face they have ever seen.
When his men questioned him on what happened, the captain responded with a simple, “He isn’t well, get him help.”
The paper runner on the floor was pale faced, shivering. His eyes were wide and bloodshot and whenever he felt someone look at him, he turned his head to not look at any of them directly.
The boy was taken to the hospital for a psychological evaluation, muttering “don’t look at me! Don’t look!” for the entire ride.
Later that day he was diagnosed with Arcane Poisoning, apparently he had been trying to use magic to boost his stamina so he could run his routes faster and he had effectively gone into the magical version of an overdose.
From that point forwards, the officers began to suspect something was amiss and avoided the captain during the mid morning and afternoon hours, as they were afraid whatever happened that day could have happened to them.
They reported Shining to the commissioner for a quick psychological evaluation himself. He came out fine, all things considered. He was displaying normal behavior with the exception of a feeling of heavy stress and anxiety that was common of people in his position.
The doctors prescribed him some anti anxiety medication and told him to relax and rely on his fellow coworkers more, or hire a personal secretary to take some of the work off.
The response Shining gave was a quick, “Sure thing, Doctor. I already have someone in mind.”
After that, Sunset Shimmer was hired by Shining Armor to be his personal secretary and assistant going forward.
She secretly would also serve as his liaison to Savior so he would stay in the loop regarding any more deep magic problems that his new Anti Magic officers couldn’t handle, that way he could prepare for any other cultists that would mysteriously end up bound, gagged, and unconscious on the precincts doorstep or on the roof of the building where Savior caught them.
The first few times he started doing that and the precinct wasn’t ready, Shining wasn’t exactly thrilled to have the possibility of a magical explosion happening on the roof of his building.
All those things aside, his fellow officers did notice that Shining had changed greatly since six months ago, When the two beings now known as Eclipsio and Burning Star clashed in their city and shattered most of downtown Canterlot and one of the highways.
The police had all changed and grew a little more wary and dour, but Shining was the most noticeable.
Over the course of the past six months, His fairly sunny and hopeful demeanor was slowly worn away, replaced with stone-cold determination and devotion to finding and bringing these cultists to justice.
The officers respected and looked up to him for that, and their worries about him slowly went away.
(Shining Armor’s Office)
The office was all quiet, until a sound not unlike a gusting wind swept through the office and Shining Armor emerged from the shadow of the file cabinet. There were now two Shining armors in the room!
… before one of them shifted and disappeared with a swooshing sound. It was a shadow duplicate!
This was an extremely useful power Sombra’s shadow form had granted him, the ability to leave behind false constructs of himself. They were limited to a certain distance (about 1-2 miles at max) and only could do tasks that Shining gave to them mentally. They were limited in verbal response, and tended to dissipate when exposed to sunlight for too long.
With all the shutters closed and the door locked, no one saw him shift in and pop his body double like a balloon, Shining sat back in his chair, placing his hand on his shirt and pulling up a piece of twine that hung around his neck.
“That was too close… you really need to get some patience, there.” Shining said to the air, feeling the thing he was tugging on vibrating.
A soft red glow filled the room as the shard of King Sombra’s horn was pulled out from underneath Shining’s shirt, it pulsed and sparked as if it had a life of its own.
Which was true, as the horn suddenly vibrated as Sombra’s spectral head emerged from the shard, a displeased look on his face.
”I have been patient, boy. The Equestrian Unicorn posing as human is right, you have been reading over these pointless reports for several hours. It would do the both of us good if you were to focus now on continuing to practice harnessing the powers of my Shadow. While that was still impressive for only six months of practice, you need to improve. At least until you can find more pieces of my horn…”
Shining Armor looked annoyed, “What do you expect I do? This is my job, King Sombra. It’s not my fault that I was moved from patrol to an administration position, Commissioner Slate did that so he would have a loyal ear in the downtown area. I swear he keeps getting more and more paranoid every month due to the Arcanist attacks on a steady rise. Plus, I’m tired of doing the paperwork, having a shadow double do it for me is easier.”
Sombra scoffed, ”while I agree with your stance on paperwork, I disagree on your opinion on these so called Cultists. These cretins could barely fight off even the youngest unicorn from my world. How did this cult’s faith in both Eclipsio and your former ally Burning Star survive this long, considering human propensity to kill each other over stupid reasons?””
The captain turned to a tack board he set up, multiple lines connecting various articles to pictures and newspaper clips.
Most if not all of which were related to the Arcanists, Eclipsio, and reports on Magic in general. Important info was marked with a red pushpin, while supporting info was marked by blue pins.
They all converged on a single photo, a photo taken by Shining’s body camera when he was witness to Eclipsio’s shattering demise.
The picture showed Eclipsio’s armored demon body fly into pieces, all appearing to dissipate into nothing, with the exception of one object.
A Black and Silver medallion like object that looked similar to Twilight’s own Magic Battery.
Six months ago on the day the tower fell, Later that evening, Twily had picked up the magic battery in a telekinetic field and brought it to the precinct. Although with no safe way to contain it, Shining’s only real option was to take it home with Twi and have her work her magic on it to analyze it. Maybe give him and the police some clues as to what the hell exactly was Prince Eclipsio.
Burning Star had told them that he was a demon-like entity from his home dimension, but that wasn’t enough information for Shining.
King Sombra had assisted in his own way with the investigation and analysis (in secret of course) by explaining to Shining Armor what exactly was a Demon in Equestrian history and identifying the source of Eclipsio’s magic.
Before King Sombra had taught him anything, he first taught him that while magic could be channeled from yourself or the environment around you, it works and is more effective if you have some sort of singular focus to channel it through.
On Equestria, Ponies focused their own natural magic through themselves. Unicorns primarily used their horns, Pegasi used their wings, and Earth Ponies channeled their natural affinity for the land through their legs.
With Alicorns it was different, though. Because of how powerful an Alicorn was and because they possessed the traits of all pony races, their entire body was a focal point for magical abilities. This amplified their own physical and magical strength to an immense degree.
This is the reason King Sombra gave to Shining when he was describing the reason why he lost the War for the Crystal Empire and ended up having to seal it away with him.
Sombra was a better tactician, far more skilled fighter, and quite possibly one of the most powerful Unicorn sorcerers second only to Starswirl the Bearded himself… But he was still a Unicorn.
King Sombra lost due to a lack of raw power and the fact that Celestia and Luna had attacked him together.
Facing only one of the sisters would have been preferable, as he had Been able to defeat Celestia or Luna when on their own during past battles.
But the two of them together was simply too much for the King, even with all the measures he took to limit their power, they still triumphed and Sombra had to rely on his failsafe of sealing the empire along with him.
“Twilight had spoken to me earlier Sombra, she said she finished her analysis of Eclipsio’s magic battery.” Shining said to the smoke cloud of the Shadow King. “It appears to be of similar construction to her own magic battery that she used during the friendship games when she… well… was transformed.”
King Sombra grimaced, ”Transformed? What do you mean, Boy? You are saying the Equestrian magic she had collected transformed her into something else, that would only occur if she had collected the magic of an Alicorn level pony, which you told me wasn’t on this planet during the time of this educational competition.”
“What exactly happened, why didn’t you tell me this earlier?” Sombra nearly shouted, a little upset over not knowing about something that strong being in someone his host knew.
Shining looked worried, “I was afraid that you’d immediately ditch me and try to possess her. You struck me initially as the type of individual that would gladly throw his Allies under the bus for more power.”
King Sombra looked annoyed, ”You think that of me? You’d be correct, and I considered it initially. Unfortunately I discovered while I was educating you on my shadow powers that due to the nature of my spirit still being weak at the moment, I can’t do it. If I was stronger, yes I would leave you in a heartbeat. However, your extended contact with my horn shard has left a permanent mark on it, I couldn’t separate from you now without endangering both your and my existence.”
”Take solace in the fact that you are still useful to me, boy. You may be weak, but even pawns can become Queens if they survive for enough time. I still intend to retake my kingdom and rule what is rightfully mine, even if I have to drag you into it, but you will have the luxury of being first hand witness and my vassal for that day. At least until I get my full horn back.”
“So you’d actually leave if you could?” Shining said, feeling disappointed in himself.
King Sombra was nothing if not pragmatic and honest with him, ”Yes. I would, but with everything i have learned about this world and it’s people from you, I highly doubt there is no one else that comes even close to the amount of strength I would need to find the shards of my horn, not to mention no one knows any magic that I can perform. If I even try to transform into a shadow, a normal human would just be reduced to nothing.”
Suddenly, King Sombra’s tone softened, voice showing what could be considered sympathy, or at least pity. ”however… you have already come in contact with my horn and seem willing and determined to learn my craft. Plus, you seem to share the same natural aptitude for magic your sister does. That is enough reason for me to stick around, at least until a stronger person comes along.”
Shining nodded and then closed his eyes, “Alright that’s fair, but we should start practicing now, right? Maybe I can use your Shadow Form to get to the Griffonstone houses, do my investigation?”
He felt his body shift and fade, when he opened his eyes, Sombra’s signature green eye glow consumed his vision.
”Yes, I believe we shall, boy. Time to harness your inner darkness, and become like shadow!” King Sombra roared as his voice began to mix with Shinings own, as the two vanished into the darkness of the office.
The office was silent, then a shadowy projection of Shining’s body emerged from the floor, a fanged grin showing.
the shadow of Shining armor spoke, ”Oh this is going to be fun.”
With a crack of what sounded like a thunderbolt, Shining’s shadow dissipated as he vanished from the office, flying out into the city towards the Griffonstone Houses, leaving behind a duplicate of himself in his place.
The duplicate then opened all the blinds and unlocked the door, before sitting at his desk and finishing Shining’s paperwork.
The officers returned to their normal duties instead of eavesdropping on their captain, No one the wiser that Shining had left the building to investigate the scene himself…