//------------------------------// // The Bad Guys // Story: The Return of King Sombra // by Dragon-Master-31 //------------------------------// It had been a few days since Sombra was set free. Since his release, Sombra and Chrysalis walked endlessly through the deep forest, stopping only a few times to rest. Chrysalis had insisted that flying would be a lot faster than walking, but Sombra didn’t want to hear it. Sombra had made it very clear that he would prefer that no pony saw him until he was ready to begin his plan, which he still shared no information about. Sombra stated that he could very easily use his magic to warp them to their destination, but he would instead rather give his legs a chance to move again. This annoyed Chrysalis quite a lot, but she knew better than to go against Sombra. “How much longer do you insist on making us walk through this forest?” Chrysalis asked as she kicked a stone in her path. “(Evil Chuckle) Patience, Chrysalis.” Sombra said as he kept walking. “We are nearly there, just a bit further now.” “I still don't understand why you insist on laying low. So, what if somepony sees you? What's the big deal? If somepony sees you, we take them out.” Chrysalis said as she hoped Sombra would just give in already. “And what if that pony escapes?” Sombra suggested. “I intend to keep my presence from Equestria a secret until my plan is ready.” “Ah yes, a plan that you refuse to tell me ANYTHING about!” Chrysalis shouted. “Patience Chrysalis, patience.” Sombra replied as they kept on walking. Chrysalis just rolled her eyes as they continued their long walk. It would be about two more days until finally Sombra stopped and held his hoof up, signaling for Chrysalis to stop as well. Seeing this, Chrysalis stopped and stared with curiosity. “Why have we stopped? Are we finally at our destination perhaps?” Chrysalis asked. “(Evil Chuckle) This time, yes we are.” Sombra said as he looked back at Chrysalis with a serious look. “Now, stand back.” Sombra said as he stood on his back hooves and then slammed his front hooves on the ground. When Sombra's front hooves hit the floor, the ground began to shake. Anticipating another earthquake to happen, Chrysalis hovered in the air so she wouldn't get hurt. Then, from the spot where Sombra hit the ground, crystals began to come out of the ground and then they started to make their way over to a decently open part of the forest a few feet away. When the crystals made it to the spot, they began to form a rather large circle in the ground and then the crystals started to rise up out of the ground. Then, a ton of crystals started to rise up and form into the shape of a jagged and creepy looking miniature castle, not much taller than the surrounding trees. When the castle was finished Sombra looked back at Chrysalis and stepped to the side. “After you, Queen Chrysalis.” Sombra said as he motioned for Chrysalis. For a moment, Chrysalis was impressed at how Sombra was able to do this, but then a rather annoying thought came to her head. “That's pretty impressive but tell me WHY COULDN'T YOU HAVE DONE THIS BACK WHERE I FREED YOU?!” Chrysalis screamed as she was very mad at the time she might have wasted walking through the forest. “We were too close to civilization. No pony will think of venturing this far into the forest. Just get inside the castle already.” Sombra said, starting to get annoyed with Chrysalis's attitude. “Ugh! Fine!” Chrysalis said as she quickly walked past Sombra and into his castle, with Sombra following soon after. The inside of the castle was nothing special really. As a matter of fact, there was barely anything inside the castle. Just a very large table with seats in the center of the castle. Behind the table, there was a large platform with two stairs that led to a throne, no doubt for Sombra to sit on. There were a few open doorways that led to some other rooms, a few of which led down into the ground. There were a few crystals that hung low from the ceiling or along the walls that glowed, providing suitable light throughout the castle. “I know it’s not much but once I'm ready, I will make massive improvements to my castle. Besides, this is only my temporary castle. My permanent castle will be in the Crystal Empire, of course.” Sombra said. “Hmph, whatever.” Chrysalis scoffed as she walked over to one of the chairs and sat down. “So, now that we're here will you please tell me about your 'great' plan?” Chrysalis asked. “Not yet, we are lacking two certain creatures.” Sombra said. “And who might they be?” Chrysalis asked. “Wait here, I will get them.” Sombra said as his eyes glowed green and then he disappeared in a cloud of shadow. Chrysalis said nothing as she just smacked her head on the table in front of her, then got up and decided to look around the castle. Meanwhile.... Deep in the depths of Tartarus, there were the sounds of many monsters and animals trying to find any source of entertainment inside their cages. In one of these particular cages, Lord Tirek was making tally marks on the floor of his cage when he heard the voice of Cozy Glow from the cage next to his. “Psst, Tirek.” Cozy Glow said, causing Tirek to groan. “It is Lord Tirek and what is it now?” Tirek asked, wanting this conversation to end as quickly as possible. “I just want to make sure you can see my ‘Best Friends’ rock sculpture from over there.” Cozy Glow said smiling her sweet innocent smile while pointing to her decent sculpture of the both of them. “Ugh! Yes, I can see it just fine.” Tirek replied as he wanted to desperately to smack himself in the head. “Sweet! It's really good, isn't it?” Cozy Glow asked. “Sure, it's great, now will you just leave me alone already?” Tirek asked. “But who else am I supposed to talk to?” Cozy Glow asked, putting on a pouty face. “I don't know, why don't you use your sculpting talent to make yourself a friend to talk to instead of pestering me every five damn minutes!” Tirek said, turning fully to face her. “Aww, are you still mad that I failed?” Cozy Glow asked innocently. “Yes, I'm still mad that you failed! Though I should have expected that to happen, I mean look at you.” Tirek said. “Hey! What's that supposed to mean! And what do you mean look at me? Look at you! You look like you're about to die of starvation!” Cozy Glow shot back. “I am about to die of starvation!” Tirek shouted. “Yeah, I can tell, I can see your ribs from here.” Cozy Glow said with a snort. “Oh, you shut up! I can't stand being next to you anymore! All I want to do right now is get some peace and-!” Tirek yelled as he was cut off when a large shadow seemingly engulfed him and then warped him away. “Huh? Tirek? Hey! Where'd you go!? Hey, you can't leave me here all alone! Tirek! Tirek! Where are-!?” Cozy Glow cried as she too was warped away by shadows. As soon as both of the villains disappeared, Sombra appeared in between their cages. “(Evil Chuckle) Quite a horrible place to keep those two. Still though, I will keep my eyes on this place. It could be good for storing prisoners.” Sombra said before he heard a loud roar. Sombra looked ahead and saw the giant three-headed beast, Cerberus roaring loudly at him. “(Evil Chuckle) Ahh... company.” Sombra said as he puffed out his chest with pride. “Come at me, beast!” Sombra challenged. Cerberus roared loudly again and then charged at Sombra, ready to maul him and tear him up. But before Cerberus could make it to Sombra, Sombra's eyes glowed their green light and then suddenly three large crystals shot up out of the ground from underneath Cerberus. Cerberus stopped dead in his tracks as the three crystals completely impaled him through the stomach. Cerberus panted as blood started pouring from its wounds. “(Evil Laugh) You tried, but you failed. Now do me a favor beast, die slowly.” Sombra said as he let out a long laugh. “I have a meeting to attend to.” Sombra said as he disappeared in a cloud of shadow. Meanwhile.... Chrysalis had already explored the entire castle, which didn't take long as the castle wasn't very big to begin with. Chrysalis was walking out of the room that she decided would be hers when she heard a sound come from one of the flights of stairs on the opposite side of the castle. Chrysalis turned and saw the familiar sight of Lord Tirek and a not so familiar baby Pegasus. “Quiet!” Tirek yelled at the same time as Cozy Glow. “You!?” Cozy Glow yelled at the same time as Tirek. Now being aware of their surroundings, Tirek and Cozy Glow looked around with wonder until a voice interrupted them. “Lord Tirek?” Chrysalis asked out loud, trying to make sure she was in fact seeing what she was seeing. “A changeling?” Tirek asked as he was taken aback by the sight of Chrysalis, before looking down to Cozy Glow, noting that Chrysalis had referred to him as Lord Tirek. “See, she gets it.” Tirek said while Cozy Glow just rolled her eyes. “Chrysalis! Queen of the Changelings, or at least I will be when I'm restored to my rightful place!” Chrysalis yelled as she flew over to them and landed hard, making it clear she was a threat. “Why have you come here!? Have you come to fight me!?” Chrysalis yelled as her horn lit up with magic, ready to attack. “Wahh!” Cozy Glow cried as she flapped her wings and then hid behind Tirek's leg. “Oh no, we didn't come here to fight you. We don't even know how we got here. (Gasp) We're you the one who freed us from Tartarus?” Cozy Glow asked with an excited face. “Tartarus? I had no idea he was so powerful enough that he could actually enter Tartarus.” Chrysalis said with wide eyes. “Who's he?” Cozy Glow asked before suddenly there was a loud laughter coming from where the throne was placed. The trio looked up towards the throne and saw a large cloud of shadow moving around the throne before finally settling. As the cloud of shadow lifted, they all watched as King Sombra came into view, standing mighty and looking down upon them. “King Sombra?” Tirek asked as he looked up to the king. “Sombra? But how-?” Cozy Glow asked before she was cut off by Sombra. “Yes, it is I, King Sombra at your service.” Sombra said as he laughed. “So, you're the one who freed us from Tartarus?” Tirek asked, looking at Sombra suspiciously. “Indeed, I was.” Sombra replied. “But wait a minute, I thought you were killed.” Cozy Glow said. “I suppose I was, but that doesn't matter right now. What does matter is that all of you are here now.” Sombra said with a chuckle. “And why is that?” Tirek asked. “Simple really, you are all required for my plan to work.” Sombra replied. “Plan? What plan?” Cozy Glow asked. “Yes, what plan?” Chrysalis asked, giving Sombra an annoyed look. “I appreciate your patience Chrysalis, now it shall be rewarded. For you see, the reason I needed all of you here now, is that we all have a common desire. A common wish. We all want to seek our revenge against Twilight Sparkle and the rest of her pathetic friends.” Sombra said as he kept his eyes on the trio before him. “We have all been defeated by those ponies and I think it's time we did something about.... something's wrong.” Sombra said as he heard the sound of voices near the outside of the castle. Sombra then quickly disappeared in a cloud of shadows as he went to investigate. As his cloud of shadow moved through the air, he spotted a group of about six unicorns walking together seemingly on some sort of adventure or something. Sombra thought of just taking them out but then he realized this could be useful, so he went back to the castle. “So... what's it like to be a queen with no kingdom?” Cozy Glow asked, but before Chrysalis could respond, Sombra appeared next to Cozy Glow. “It is Cozy Glow, correct?” Sombra asked. “Wahh! Uh, I mean, yes, that's me.” Cozy Glow said nervously. “Tell me, do you perhaps know how to lure ponies into a trap?” Sombra asked. “As a matter of fact, I do!” Cozy Glow said with a smile. “(Evil Chuckle) Good, then I have a job for you, come with me.” Sombra said. “So, are you sure this is the right way?” a unicorn asked. “We've been in this forest almost all day.” The unicorn said as he dragged his hooves. “Yes, I know this is the right way now will you please just-.” another unicorn said before he was cut off. “Hey, shh! Listen.... do you hear that?” A female unicorn asked. As the unicorns listened carefully, they heard what sounded like a filly crying. “Somepony's in trouble! Come on let's go!” the unicorn said as the group ran to where they heard the noise coming from. After a few moments, the group of unicorns made it to a clearing. One of them heard the sound of crying coming from one of the bushes so he walked over to the bush and used his magic to push the leaves to the side. “Oh my gosh! Look!” he called to the others who came rushing over. The unicorns all gasped when they saw Cozy Glow, crying in the bushes looking terrified and sad. “It's a filly.” a unicorn said. “Poor thing, she's all alone out here.” another one said. “Hey there, what are you doing out here by yourself?” a unicorn asked as he held his hoof out. “(Sniff, sniff) I.... was walking with my mommy.... and now I can't find her. Please help me find my mommy.” Cozy Glow cried as she hugged the unicorn’s leg. “Don't worry little filly, we'll help you find your mommy.” a unicorn said. “Oh, thank you! Thank you!” Cozy Glow cheered. “I think I know where she is but I'm too scared to look by myself.” “You don't have to be afraid anymore, we'll go with you.” another unicorn said. “Thank you all so much! I'm so glad that I met some really friendly ponies. Follow me, it's this way!” Cozy Glow said as she flew up and led the way. After a bit of walking, Cozy Glow led the ponies to the castle. When they arrived, the unicorns were so surprised by the sight that they didn't see Cozy Glow smirk. “I think my mommy's in there, but I'm too scared to go in there alone.” Cozy Glow said, making sure to keep her act up. “Not to worry, we'll go look for her. You stay right here; we'll be back out before you know it.” a unicorn said as they made their way inside the castle. “(Giggle) Oh, I don't think so.” Cozy Glow said before she sprung the trap. “Now, Tirek!” Cozy Glow shouted. Before the ponies could do anything, Tirek jumped out of nowhere and landed right in front of them. Seeing Tirek, the ponies turned to flee but then saw Cozy Glow and Chrysalis blocking the exit, laughing at them. Then the ponies heard the laughter of King Sombra and turned to see him at his throne. Sombra's eyes then glowed green as he used his power to crystalize the ponies' hooves to the ground, preventing them from going anywhere. Then Tirek used his power to drain the ponies of their magic, returning him to his normal form. Once the ponies had their magic drained, Chrysalis flew in front of them and used her magic to suck out all of their love. Once their love was drained, Sombra used his power to crystallize the ponies completely before they were suddenly pulled underground, never to be seen again. “Yes! We got them good!” Cozy Glow cheered as she smiled wickedly. “Yessss, so delicious.” Chrysalis said as she savored the taste of the love she had just drained. “Now this is more like it.” Tirek said as he flexed his muscles and gave them a kiss. “(Evil Chuckle) Well done, now where were we? Ah yes, I think it is time we did something about our failures to take over Equestria. Think about it, how was it that Twilight and her friends were able to defeat all of us every single time? Any ideas?” Sombra asked. “Because they all cheated!” Chrysalis shouted, stomping her hoof down. “No, it’s because they are annoyingly lucky.” Tirek said, rolling his eyes at the memory of his defeat. “Well, I'm just a kid so that explains why I was defeated.” Cozy Glow said with a smile. “(Chuckle) Interesting answers, but WRONG!” Sombra yelled, slamming his hoof on the ground. “How can you all be so blind!? It's so obvious! They were able to defeat us because they worked together!” “I suppose so.” Chrysalis said. “Ehh, sure.” Tirek said. “I think that makes sense.” Cozy Glow said. “Yes, now listen well. The four of us will all work together and with our powers united, we will take down everypony in Equestria and no pony will be able to stop us. We will all conquer this world, under my command.” Sombra said. There was a few moments of silence before Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy Glow all broke out in laughter. “What's so funny?” Sombra asked, not sensing any humor in anything he said. “Ha! Under your command!? You really think we're just gonna agree to that!?” Tirek asked as he held his stomach. “Yes! Why would we ever allow you to take command of us? What are we? Your slaves?” Chrysalis asked. “Chrysalis.” Sombra said as he glared at her. “Yeah! What they said! You're just a stupid villain! We'll never take orders from you!” Cozy Glow shouted as she stuck out her tongue at Sombra. “What?” Sombra asked as he started to breathe heavily with rage. “You might be a king, but you're not my king, King Sombra.” Tirek said mockingly. “You really thought we were just going to willingly bow to you of all ponies? Please! I'd rather bow to a street rat than bow to you, Sombra!” Chrysalis shouted, no longer having any fear of Sombra and his power. “Yeah! You're not the boss of any of us, and you never will be!” Cozy Glow yelled as the others started to laugh. “Farewell, Sombra! Have fun on your little crusade against Twilight Sparkle!” Chrysalis said as she turned to leave. “We'll take care of those ponies by ourselves! We don't need your fancy shadows or stupid rocks!” Tirek called as he also turned to leave. “Bye-bye you dumb old timer!” Cozy Glow said as she also turned to leave. If the three villains could have seen the look on Sombra’s face now, they all would have felt a massive chill run down their spines. Sombra’s whole body was shaking, his teeth were visible and grinding, his eyes were filled with rage. Now those three had really done it. “ENOUGH!!!” Sombra yelled as he jumped down with a loud thud. “I've had it up to here with this nonsense! I ask for your allegiance, but it seems you will not give it to me! If that's the case, then I will take it from all of you!” Sombra yelled as he marched towards them. “What is that supposed to mean, Sombra?” Chrysalis asked, turning back to face the angry king. “I challenge all three of you for your loyalty and your allegiance, AT ONCE!!” Sombra roared. “HA! You are a fool Sombra! To have given me back some of my power before deciding to face me in battle, my are you stupid!” Tirek laughed as he turned back around to face Sombra. “I fought hard for my title as queen, and I will not give up that title so easily!” Chrysalis yelled as she flew up in the air next to Tirek. “Yeah! Plus, there's no way you can defeat all three of us at once!” Cozy Glow shouted, flying in the air, and putting her hooves up as if she were in a boxing match. “(Evil Chuckle) We shall see.” Sombra replied as all four of them prepared for battle. “CHARGE!” Cozy Glow yelled as all three of them charged at Sombra.