//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1: Imprisoned 
// Story: A Tyrant To A King 
// by ShuTodoroki 
//------------------------------//

The Frozen North. That was the first thing King Sombra came to, the wind that almost froze his ears solid deafening to no end. Initially he had no idea what had led him back here to the painfully familiar sight of snow as far as the eye could see, until he remembered what had happened, letting out a snarl as he involuntarily shivered.

Them.

Those six multicolored ponies were like thorns in his side that he couldn't get rid of. All of his victories were cut short because of their damned friendship. If it wasn't for them, well…he would have succeeded in ruling all of Equestria from Canterlot! One moment he was sitting on his rightful throne, the next he was banished back into shadow.

Part of his body still appeared as black smoke as he tried to regenerate, yet was obviously failing in his weakened state. He could barely stand up, no less even try to walk as he silently cursed those who thwarted him twice now. He had destroyed the Tree of Harmony, yet they could still tear him apart?

It couldn't be; it didn't make sense. However, it obviously had to, if he found himself back here. That fossilized ram was right, as much as I hate to admit it. But I refuse… He wasn't going to join forces with those he saw as below him, especially with a filly of all ponies.

He was King Sombra of the Crystal Empire, and he didn't need help! Well, when he was fully regenerated and healed from shadow and at his best, that was true. Not when his red cape was his only protection from the sheer cold, and he could barely walk. Speaking of which, he had fallen into the snow after taking a few steps, making him snarl in frustration from how weak he felt.

No. I'm not just going to keel over and submit like this! With a low growl he forced himself back onto his hooves, knowing that the Crystal Empire must be nearby if he was in the Frozen North. He was going to reclaim what was rightfully his, even if the odds were against him.

Call him insane or delirious from hypothermia, but even if he was moving at a snail's pace in his newly regenerated form, he wasn't going to give up. His tenacity was what earned him the Crystal Empire a thousand years ago, and this was going to be no different. Those six ponies wanted a war? He was going to give them one.

Well, he was going to give them one once he was back at full health, not when it felt like icicles were forming in his nostrils from the freezing cold. He tried to summon some dark crystals to provide himself with some shelter as he stumbled forward, only to find himself unable to.

He cursed his adversaries one more time, knowing he was in his weakened state because of them. A small voice at the back of head told him to maybe try retaking the Crystal Empire when he was in a healthier state, but he quickly shut it down, his pride as strong as ever even if he didn't look very much like a king.

Even when Celestia had lowered the sun after a few hours of mindlessly stumbling in the frozen wasteland that was the Frozen North, his resolve was not broken. Being defeated twice was humiliating, yes, but he would just keep on trying. After all, if Grogar hadn't come to rescue him knowing very well where he was, he supposed he was by himself anyway.

Not that he minded; he didn't need to team up with a queen of vermin, a pathetic centaur, and a filly. They had their own weaknesses that had led to their downfall; as far as he was concerned, Twilight and her friends had just had an unfair advantage by taking him off guard.

With his dark mane flowing despite the harsh conditions, he held his head high, his eyes narrowed as he pushed through when he could see a hazy light in the distance which he assumed was the Crystal Empire, appearing through the blizzard that surrounded it. He was going to retake his throne, and if they tried to stop him again, he'd-

"HALT!"

A blinding light alerted him to the fact that he was not alone in the Frozen North, as he was quickly surrounded by royal guards with their headlamps pointed directly at him. He snarled as he tried to ready a blast of dark magic, only to remember that he was still powerless in his newly regenerated form.

Feeling pathetic without his magic, he didn't say a word as he tried to turn back into shadow in order to retreat, but it was too little, too late. The royal guards seemed to know what he was planning, and one of them punched him in the head hard enough to knock him out, that searing pain the last thing he felt before his world turned dark once again.





"I don't think it's a good idea to keep Sombra incarcerated here, Shining." Princess Cadance mused with a troubled expression, as she stood with her husband, Flurry Heart's room right behind them since they weren't going to take any chances this time as she slept.

Shining Armor nodded his head in agreement, nervously looking down since they were keeping Sombra below the throne room at the moment in a makeshift cage, while they tried to figure out what to do. "Having him in the Crystal Empire, even imprisoned, will cause a panic amongst the people. It might also threaten the hope and love we have here, and Sombra will end up succeeding even if he's weakened!"

"I'm also worried about the safety of Flurry Heart. Sombra got a hold of her so easily not too long ago, and although we have him in a cell that blocks his magic, it'd be better if he wasn't kept in the same empire he wants to take over." Cadance mused with a furrowed brow, until she got an idea.

"Princess Luna should be notified at once, since she will be awake at this time of night." She told her husband, before she opened the door to Flurry Heart's room to look for an empty scroll with a quill.

"You think that they'll imprison him in Canterlot after what he pulled there as well? Though I guess Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are probably more equipped to handle a threat than we are." Shining said in a hushed tone, trying to not wake their baby.

Cadance nodded as she used dim light from her horn to find what she was looking for in a drawer. "Exactly. Besides, they have dungeons down there, which are much more secure than the makeshift cage we have right now. It's also closer to Twilight and her friends, who can fully banish him back into the darkness if need be."

Eventually the Princess of Love found the elusive scroll she needed along with a quill, and quickly wrote down what had happened before sending it off with her horn. Granted, Luna might be in the dream realm so it would take a while for her to reply, but as long as they could get King Sombra out of the Crystal Empire before sunrise, there wouldn't be the feared panic amongst their people.

There was a knock at the door right after that, Shining heading over to answer it as he opened the door. A royal guard was there, bowing in respect before he spoke. "I hope I am not disturbing anything; I wanted to let the both of you know that Sombra is still unconscious, probably weakened from being in the Frozen North for so long. The cage is secure, and we've got four royal guards surrounding it to ensure it stays that way."

Shining nodded in acknowledgement, glad to hear the news. "Thank you, Sentinel Wings. You do remember to keep Sombra's return a secret from the public, right? They've gone through enough, especially since this is the third time now, albeit he's much weaker."

The royal guard nodded briskly, intending to stick to every word of Shining's command. "Of course, sir. The entire royal guard remembers what you said, and we don't plan to make this public information. After all, Sombra currently does not pose a threat to the Empire, so no one has to know."

"Right. You may head back to your post, soldier." Shining dismissed, turning back to his wife once the door was closed again.

"You said 'if need be.' Do you think Princess Celestia will keep him imprisoned, rather than not take any chances and banish him once again? He doesn't seem like the reformable type to me, especially since we've experienced his wrath first hoof!" He shuddered at the memory, not wanting to experience that feeling of helplessness ever again.

Cadance shrugged, not able to speak for what Princess Celestia would decide, especially since the decision to reform Discord was something that she could have never anticipated. "While I agree completely, Shining, only she can answer that. He's more powerful than Tirek and Cozy Glow, so she'll definitely keep him in close proximity rather than all the way in Tartarus. But besides that, I have no idea."

That didn't ease Shining's concerns any further as he glanced at the still sleeping Flurry Heart, before looking back at Cadance. "Well for the sake of Equestria, between banishing him and trying to reform him, I hope she picks the former."





The first thing that hit King Sombra was the pain. The searing, throbbing pain that dominated his head. He most definitely had a concussion of some sort on top of hypothermia, frostbite, and his general weakness from being newly regenerated, but that wasn't his most pressing concern at the moment.

Whoever had dared to punch him in the head was going to be executed first when he took over the Crystal Empire; he was going to make sure of that. His anger was short lived however, as he started to observe his surroundings, his eyes groggily opening. Revenge would have to wait; getting out of his confines was the more important thing to address.

It seemed like he was somewhere underground in a cage, and the crystals he could see in the dim lighting initially made him think he was being kept somewhere underneath the castle of the Crystal Empire, a foolish move given that he could easily turn the hope and love of the Empire into the exact opposite, which was the way that he had risen to power in the first place.

However, he doubted that Princess Cadance and Shining Armor were that stupid. They had been able to run his empire for quite a long time without him, and he had a feeling that they weren't going to put that in jeopardy by keeping him in such close proximity, not when he knew how to turn his domain against them so easily.

So then where was he? He supposed that was the million bit question as he sat on the cold floor of his cell. Not able to find the energy to get up, he tried to send a pulse of dark magic, summoning up all of his resolve that he could, only to find that it immediately died when it hit the bars of his confinement.

So they were smart enough to block my magic, even when I can't do anything. He thought with a snarl, his armor clanking noisily against the metal floor as he shifted a bit, not able to find a way out from what he could see. What he noticed was that although there were crystal walls, the floor looked like rock, something that wasn't characteristic of his empire.

It seemed like he was being kept in a cave, but where in Equestria were there caves if he wasn't in the Crystal Empire? That was when the figurative light bulb went off, as his eyes narrowed. Most likely, he was sent to Princess Celestia, and that only meant one thing.

He was in Canterlot.