//------------------------------//
// Part One: The Adorable Tyrant 
// Story: Young Sombra's Former Transgressions 
// by Art Inspired 
//------------------------------//

Deep in the arctic north, where snow roared furiously and winter wolves hunted, a small, innocent colt awakened to his new life on Equestria. His young head rose with his horn still cracked and broken, but slowly filling in the gap where it created him from mere shadows. With his regal, blood-red robes slowly shifting in the frosty breeze upon his small back, King Sombra straightened, looking around.

He giggled, noticed how funny his vocal points sounded, and coughed, trying to cope with what he was hearing and feeling. At first, he thought it must’ve been a side effect from the regeneration spell he'd casted upon himself, but the real byproduct was his entire form all together. His eyes blinked away the frozen water in his vision, and with so much whiteness blocking his path, he fell to the ground. He felt around his barrel and detected a definite difference than what was originally supposed to be a fully grown stallion’s physical appearance. King Sombra no longer held the title of ruler, but instead, was now a harmlessly adorable colt.
 
“What... is this?! I am... a youngling! HOW?!” His squeaking voice sounded more like a dog’s chew toy. His hooves shook in front of his pearly eyes, the childish tyrant began to form small tears. King Sombra's lips quivered as freezing winds whipped his smooth cheeks, and out of nowhere, the being began to throw the worst tantrum, and any parent had there been one with him at the time would refuse to tolerate such behavior.
 
“WHY ME?! IT’S NOT FAIR! THIS IS THE WORST I COULD HAVE EVER HOPED FOR!” His wails stretched far, tears slowly cascading down his whining face, freezing almost immediately on impact as they hit the ground.
 
Despite the loud torrents of gusting winds sweeping the area, Celestia could plainly hear the once evil ruler of the Crystal Empire. She’d been informed by one of her royal guards that some crystal ponies had spotted a remnant of King Sombra after the blast flew right over their shining heads. His horn was the only thing left of him that survived the magical explosion, and went whistling through the air above them. Considering it was the source of his demonic energy, precautions had to obviously be made. 

Princess Celestia searched high and low for him, hoping to destroy the spiked threat, but once she heard his quirky voice bouncing from the mountains, she stopped in place. The mare listened for a bit, heat emitting from her body while a circular ring of melting snow rounded her being, giving the grass underneath a chance to feel the soft air again.
 
“I know that was a filly... or... maybe a colt...?” Her highness speculated on it, almost coming to a conclusion that it was her imagination, but once she heard it again, her ears perked up. Again, she heard it, and now was sure of where it was coming from. Her glorious wings extended open a bit while she trotted through the storm faster and faster, and in little time at all, she would reach the source of the cries.
 
Through the rustling forcefulness of winter, she fought, pressing her horn forward while fighting through the haze. Soon, she heard herself approaching the exact location of the childish wails. As she reached the young colt, her heart beating powerfully, King Sombra looked through the beads of ice only to see the one thing he’d hoped to never face again. “YOU! Why are you here?!”

"K-King... Sombra? Is that you?" the princess asked with an attitude. 

King Sombra asked commandingly, though he hardly seemed like a danger to the princess, "Tell me what you've done to me! NOW!"

If anything, she almost found him cute, if only for a second or two. She chuckled a bit at his scowling expression, tried not to lose control of her intentions and prepared to blast the little guy. “Just because you think it’s funny to change form, and attempt to throw me off won’t save you from your ultimate judgment.” 

With the flaring of her horn nearly against his frowning muzzle, King Sombra reacted with his own magic. "Suffer before my dark glory!"

The flaming bolt of purple and red electricity surged forward, but landed in the mounds of snow in front of him in a rather anticlimactic fashion. That single, petite strike zapped him of all the energy he had, and it showed. Panting, and coming to a sweat from the buildup, he sighed, “This... c-can’t be the limits of my... p-powers. Curse this body! What have you done?!” 

Celestia picked up the fidgeting toddler with her magic, and tossed him into the snow rather harshly. As he made an uncomfortable sounding landing, the mare wasn’t sure if that was the best course of action to take. He lifted himself up, turned around and stared deep into her eyes. Not only did he have the power of a child, but to her amazement, the mindset to go with it as well. Once again, his ruthless cries were released from his being. "T-t-that's... NOT... FAIR!!!"

Pouting like a foal, King Sombra sat completely harmless in the snow, his tattered cape slightly ripped. This display of childish behavior proved to Princess Celestia that he really and truly had become a small, vulnerable child at heart, mind and body; nothing more, nothing less.
 
She strutted casually to him, lowered herself down to be at eye level with the sobbing colt, and said, “Is it true? Are you... as innocent as you appear?"

She felt along his temple, along his hair, and could only wonder what had truly happened to him. "You probably d-did this, didn't you?! It's not FAIR!"

His assertiveness hadn't changed, that was for sure, but to Princess Celestia, he was right. This wasn't fair, not to Equestria at least, and certainly not to the Crystal Empire, but what was she to do? There were so many options running through her head right now. To end him, to leave him in the snow, but to do that might not stop his return. Nothing might do that, and this was becoming clear to her. The only option in her mind that she had with this colt was to befriend him. After all, that option these days was beginning to work more and more anyways.

"I'm... sorry, King Sombra, for hurting you.”
 
His pouting slowly ceased, and his eyes opened to look at her smiling face. Warmth poured from her body, relaxing him, and helping the colt regain energy. King Sombra scowled down, wiped his eyes free from water and reluctantly asked, “Was I really... that bad? I’m s-sorry... if I was...”
 
The princess chuckled at this. Never before, had she ever considered hearing such a pony like King Sombra, even as a kid, say those words. While she wrapped a hoof around him and yanked the colt closer, King Sombra was overtaken with a calming glow, allowing him to feel replenished and healthy again. She offered to let King Sombra ride on her back, securing him with her silky smooth wings. 
 
On their way back, Celestia still thought hard about her decision, and there still remained enough time to change her mind, especially with the Crystal Empire just a few miles off her path. "Shining Armor might be more willing to use the banishing spell instead, and I could teach him how to cast it fairly easily..."

Most of the way, King Sombra slept peacefully. As for Celestia, her mind tried its best to wrap itself around what was happening. Apparently, something went wrong when King Sombra was trying to regenerate his body. The only outcome she could come up with was that there wasn’t enough energy, or shadowy materials to form his full body. 

"Which unfortunately means, possibly, he could still become very dangerous towards the land."

"Mmh, what?" he asked, his mane rubbing against her back.

"Nothing, just go back to sleep..." 

Even though Celestia now understood the situation, she still wouldn't go running to the Crystal Empire. Hopefully, he’d be able to learn right from wrong, learn to understand friendship, and maybe even become a new pony. 
 
“Who knows... and who better,” she said while crossing over to the lush, green environment of the Ponyville outskirts, “to look after you for the time being than my faithful student, Twilight? After all, I think I can manage to make some room for an occasional visitor over at Canterlot. If all goes well, Kin-... Eh heh... Sombra will be living with me. Under my surveillance, he just might be able to become a good soul, and not a tyrant he once was.”