Two sunrises had passed since the battle between the dark king, Sombra, and the Princess of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle. It was on the third day, when the sun was beginning to peek over Canterlot, the light filtering through, shining it’s beautiful light everywhere except into Sombra’s dungeon below the two Celestial sister’s castle. It was murky, dark, deplorable as it had not been used in hundreds of years but Sombra didn’t care. It was his environment. However, the grey stallion was bored out of his mind. It wasn’t fun waiting for his fate, he had already planned running up to that sun mule and strangle her personally if she even hinted at banishment; Sombra had enough of that.
Clicking his fangs together, playing with them with his tongue as he got up then walked toward the end of the cell where there stood two Royal Guards, assigned there by Princess Celestia to stay watch over the former tyrant to make sure he didn’t do anything...suspicious. For the last two mundane days, neither the guards nor Sombra spoke to each other, but he finally had enough reason to—just to entertain him for awhile and hopefully get the...desired results.
Sombra placed his head between the reinforced bars, glancing over the guards while smacking his lips before voicing out his insidious intents aloud towards them.
“Softhorns...” Both guards twitched, looking back with only their eyes, but underneath they were mellowing with anger. It was one of worst insults to Unicorns; they tried their best to not display any anger toward the malicious stallion behind them. Sombra however sneered, knowing which button to push; no matter how disciplined the soldiers were, they’re still the same pathetic, groveling ponies underneath. Sombra decided to enunciate it, “Really? No reply? I guess beneath that guard garb, you both are scallions. Did your ex lovers laugh at your inadequate equipment? Is that why you joined the guards? Out of hope you would compensate for your minuscule...” One of guards growled, a great sign that he got fed up, marching up to the cell then bucked the cell making a loud clang with a commanding boom from him while making his best eye contact.
“You will shut up! I don’t want to hear a single thing out of you for the duration of my shift! Or else...” The guard growled.
Sombra just chuckled, unfazed by the so-called intimidating soldiers, bored already with the stereotypical response from them.
“You’re no fun,” Sombra borely said as he took a quick glance at same walls that he resided in for the last two days.
He was very bored with life, having lived just over a thousand years and being a witness to many events when he was the ruler of Crystal Kingdom and during his banishment. Despite his horn being fitted with an anti-magic ring that was used only on Unicorn prisoners, his pitch black mane and tail, darker than night itself, still weaved itself in the air as his dark magic still conducted throughout him. Resigning himself to some thinking, his mind echoing with his battle with that purple mule; he was so close yet so far from his goal. After a little while, it was interrupted by noises just beyond his cell of some door opening then slamming. Through his half-opened red eyes, noticing new shifters were leaving while saluting to their superiors who just went through night-watch. Sombra’s degraded laugh echoed throughout the cell—new guards to play with! The tyrant turned prisoner hauled himself off of the bed, immediately noticing that his laughter made one of guard shake slightly out of fear.
Sombra lent forward and rested his head on the same spot, revealing his curved horn, complete with anti-magic ring, a dark gray coat, and his piercing red eyes that bore into the new guards.
“Guards! I’m hungry, get me some food.” No response. Sombra then dragged it out with fake routine.
“I’m hungry...” he said in a voice laced with longing hunger as he licked his fangs then his lips as one of the new guards looked back out of terror. “You know, both of you look so tasty. Especially you, with those legs, I can imagine it already... cutting you up then putting that over some spit roast, coated in some glaze with a pinch of salt. Some shoulder meat would be good as well; those are usually already tender, I think the grill would be best for that part.” As Sombra continued on, the guard that he was directing his monologue about cooking and eating meat, specifically his meat, began to dry heave as other guard took a step back, suddenly afraid of guarding this monster.
Sombra stepped back to let his words fester within the guards' minds, flashing his malicious smile as the guards fought the urge to purge their lunch on the floor, or each other, where ever they preferred, really. “Oh yes, I remember my first meat like it was yesterday. It was this crystal stallion, he struggled until the very end. That was boring enough, but dressing my kill was fun; first, I had to hang him by his hind legs and skin hi—” The guards picked up their hooves and held it over their mouth, quickly making their way out of the cell room and just outside, Sombra could hear some liquid hitting the floor with a retching sound.
The tyrant king released a booming laughter soon reduced to snickering, but loud enough to drown out a third set of hooves approaching and their owner's voice.
“Guards, are you okay? What happened?” One guard clenched his stomach, another was holding his head, nearly in fetal position.
“ No...no... Princess Celestia didn’t tell me how monstrous he was! ”The guard attempted to explain to Princess Sparkle what just happened within that room. He...he, ugh their faces quickly turned green, retching out their breakfast into the ground. Twilight grimaced at the sight of them vomiting; she then knelt down, ignoring the stench of bile, looking at them calmly. Twilight had to know what exactly he had done to reduce the guards to whimpering, puking piles of former ponies.
“What happened in there, Sky Shield and Sky Ward?” Twilight asked with utmost gentle, yet inquisitive demeanor.
“Well, my Princess, we were taking over the morning shift so the previous guards would had some rest.” Sky Shield looked on to Princess Sparkle, only to had her nod which compelled him to continue, “We settled down to our first experience of guarding the prisoner, but soon after he came up to us and requested for food. At first we didn’t say anything because we weren’t sure of actual procedures of getting prisoner some food, but he started saying vile things!” Sky Ward picked up where Sky Shield left off when he started to dry heave. “You see, he was talking about... eating meat, specifically ponies, I still shudder when I see him licking his fangs like that!” Twilight took a step back in shock, looking inside the dark, wet hallway where she could have sworn that red eyes were looking at her somewhere.
She had to now deal with a former tyrant just beyond this door, sighing, massaging her head with her free hoof. “I still cannot answer that question, for Celestia’s sake!” Twilight shook her head, standing up on all four hooves, holding her head up strongly like an Alicorn with pride. Her lavender horn flicked on, swinging the door open, and she marched directly to Sombra's cell. “What a nerve to talk freely about...that! I have to get those guards to receive some counseling!” Twilight muttered angrily to herself.
Finally reaching the cell, Sombra just sat there on his haunches, being deathly bored waiting for something to happen, he got his wish when Twilight asked him aloud “What is this meaning of me hearing that you cannib—” Sombra sighed, quickly answered back with a menacing but uninterested voice.
”I do have standards.” Sombra didn’t elaborate any further, instead just flashed his most innocent smile, showing his fangs with all of their glory. “Besides, I was bored.” Sombra finished the statement lamely. Twilight heaved a big sigh, at least her opinion toward the stallion didn't worsen. Twilight turned around and was ready to speak, but Sombra beat her to it as he forged ahead with his words. “Although, I do indulge myself into meat once in while; deer is certainly the best.”
Twilight quickly made a mental note to not ever let Fluttershy meet this stallion at all if possible; poor thing would had heart attack if she knew a pony— especially somepony like Sombra—was eating meat. Even the stare wouldn't work on a stallion completely devoid of any sense of morals or decency, and it made Twilight Sparkle wonder what had brought him to become "a unicorn whose heart was black as night," as Celestia put it.
“You “princess” cur! What brings you down here? Have you made good on my inquiry?” Twilight snapped herself out of her thought as she watched Sombra working himself to get off his haunches, displaying that he was hopeful that not banishment but death draws near. The mood always grew ominous whenever she interacted with the sadistic stallion, though admittedly intenser than any previous encounter, and Twilight didn't truly have an answer yet. Even after discussing it with Celestia for the past two days did little to quell the storm brewing inside her. Twilight could remember Celestia being surprised when she told the whole tale of her encounter with the grey stallion. For the first time that Twilight could recall, her mentor was completely stumped, having a deep hatred towards the pony and equally great love for any living creature in Equestria. Twilight wanted to discuss it further with her, but she had to go and deal with very upset Crystal Kingdom representatives.
They were demanding that Sombra be handed over to their kingdom so they could enact their own justice against him for what he had done. They wanted this chapter to be over with because within the city, even if the name “Sombra” was spoken the crystal ponies would tremble. They would shakily and automatically call out “My King Sombra, what is thy bidding?” Only to realize a moment after, that they were free. The damage had already been done to the poor souls of the Crystal Kingdom, damage that could never be forgotten by the ones involved, so they argued for his body to be displayed in the down to show their citizens that he could no longer hurt them.
Celestia had to wearily send them off, promising that they will come with some terms about the prisoners that her castle held. Twilight looked inside the cell, making contact with Sombra’s demented eyes with uncertainty... Refocusing on the cause to her dissent into his quarters, coughing into her hoof to avoid answering his question, Twilight slowly gained courage to retaliate at the stallion.
Flapping her wings for intimidation, or to up her confidence even further, Twilight stared at Sombra, locking both into a battle of will, both staring each other down until Twilight broke it to inform Sombra.
“Princess Celestia demanded me to take you to her for reasons unknown. Please follow me,” Twilight murmured sorely, wanting to glance away when she realized that hate emanating from Sombra was palpable; she felt like at any given moment he would break out of his anti-magic horn then choke the immortal life out of her on a mere mention of that name. Twilight did her best to stand her ground when a guttural growl broke out, unlike anything she had ever heard—as he moved closer, the lavender Alicorn quickly added.
“Nothing will happen, I promise you; Princess Celestia and Princess Luna just want you to answer about what had transpired a few days ago!” Twilight unlocked his cell and motioned for the stallion to leave, a motion he took advantage of and carried himself regally out of the cell, walking out with pride as if he actually owned the castle. Twilight followed him, but he paused, turning his head as he spoke in his menacing voice.
”Lead the way, my little pony.” Princess Twilight said nothing; she still hadn’t figured exactly how to deal with this situation with Sombra.
A memory flashed back into Twilight's mind, I beseech you to find a way, she mouthed the words, unintelligible to the stallion who spoke them, to stop my flow of time, so I can truly become dust for the last time. Princess Twilight frowned as she trotted through the dark hallway that led from the cell to another hallway, which would in turn lead to the stairways that will direct them into the main floor of the Canterlot Castle, home of Princesses Celestia, Luna, and herself.
As Twilight and Sombra made it to the end of the corridor, Sombra gave a dark grin, bending his head at two guards who were still there trying to control their stomach, ignoring the scent of the bile being matted on their fur and floor. The gray stallion displayed his fangs to the soldier and eagerly licked his lips to push the extent of his mental torture. The guard fell to the ground and curled into a ball of fearful fur.
Twilight stopped after a few steps, not hearing a second set of hooves behind her anymore she quickly trotted back to where she came from and reprimanded Sombra by picking him up with her magic, levitating him away from the guard before setting him down, then began her pathetic attempt at vituperating Sombra.
“That is quite enough! If you don’t behave, maybe I won’t consider helping you!” Twilight huffed, “Now shut up and follow me Sombra!”
The grey stallion relished in the moment; she had been the first pony in so long to stand up to him personally, so he agreed with a stoical nod. The dark tyrant began to march through another corridor with the Princess of Friendship, leaving two pathetic shell of the guards behind shaking with fear. Sombra began to feel tense as he marched through the castle that was the source of light, friendship, and love. Sombra wanted nothing more than to level it down to its foundation with the princesses crushed underneath, as if they can be killed in such a gruesome way.
A smile broke Sombra's lips as the thought of a crumbling castle, civilians fleeing in terror though not always escaping, danced in his mind. It sent a welcoming shiver rippling down his figure. However, they had yet to hurt him, so destroying the capital seemed like a waste, almost boring if he thought about it for too long. Following Twilight out of the entrance to the dungeons, Sombra looked onto the fear-stricken animals suddenly frozen, looking in awe at the predator crossing their path. They quickly scattered everywhere, some had taken watch on him from the air, squawking, chattering their information about the predator that was following the Princess through the stone path, into the massive doors that led into massive chambers of Princess Celestia and Luna’s throne room.
Sombra snorted at vile sight that he had not witnessed in thousand years. Princess Celestia was sitting there, radiating in all of sun’s glory with her sister, Luna, who sat next to her there upon a black and purple throne. Sombra stopped just beyond the entrance of the makeshift courtroom. There was sheer silence that immediately loomed over the room; the normally obstreperous nobles and politicians had been purged into unusual reticence. Twilight trotted onward to take her rightful place on the third, and smallest throne on the other side of Celestia; a throne decorated with her cutiemark. Luna and Twilight kept their composure, recognizing the battle of will prevalent between the Princess of the Sun and the tyrant of the Crystal Kingdom; originator and wielder of the dark magic.
The tension between both rulers weighed heavily in the tone of the room. Celestia took it upon herself to speak first, to greet Sombra to her court, but as she began to open her mouth, Sombra stood and interrupted her, glaring into her amethyst eyes.
“You don’t get to say anything, you sun cur!” The courtroom at short notice got noisy; an insult that was directed at Princess Celestia was rare. Sombra roared with enough ferocity to make an average pony in the room shake in fear as he pouring out all of his hatred toward the white Alicorn. “You and your sister came to me one day with your own twisted version of judgement because my kingdom and I didn’t get along with your Harmony! You don’t know true suffering, mule!”
Sombra advanced to the poised sisters, malice dripping from his body, and was greeted with an array of spears aimed directly at him by the royal guard. He paid them no mind and continued his bout of berating the sisters. Princess Celestia tried hard to control herself. ”It amazes me how your precious little ponies don’t recognize you as a true tyrant; you control the sun. What happened to those all of those Unicorns who worked together to control the sun? Princess Celestia squinted her eyes at this, holding her breath as she watched Sombra.
Squinting his eyes, growling as he continued. ”But enough of the ponies who have been dead for two millennia; let's talk about you, you spineless, manipulative coward! You're these pony's "precious ruler," HA! You, the one who sent army after army after me, all to fall by my hoof, all turned to mounds of flesh and blood by your orders! Grow a spine you worthless cur! You're unfit to rule, unfit to call yourself a princess, and unfit to even take a pony's life—not then and not even now!”
Celestia had been managing, with a great deal of effort, to restrain herself against the barrage of insults flying from the stallion, until he hit a nerve too personal to ignore, ”You truly did great job with your beloved sister.” The sun princess rose to her hooves, a powerful aura emitting from her horn as she tried hard to keep it inside. Sombra merely sneered at the weak display of anger and turned to the younger alicorn, whose eternal blue mane wafted lazily in the air, a sky's worth of stars twinkling within. His eyes softened noticeably, but his words kept their sharp edge and shook as he entered another bout of insults.
”Even though I hate Luna equally because she took part with my banishment back then—ousting me out of my rightful throne, I do understand exactly what she felt. One. Thousand. Years. Can you imagine what it feels like, you mule? You have no sense of time, no sense of that endless river corroding your soul into the black abyss. To feel every second burning into minutes, hours, months, years, and in time I had become nothing, just cloud of rage. Just me, my mind, and the eternal suffering.” Princess Luna broke her gaze with the harsh stallion, shutting her eyes as her time on the moon flooded back to her. She had forgiven her sister for it, but it was still equivalent to Tartarus for her.
Sombra began to pant, his rage seeping out, ending his dark rant.
”Tick...tick...tic- Sombra suddenly reared up, screaming, a thick, dark aura emanating from his horn—and similar green aura from his eyes tipped with purple—as his figure acted as a conduit of black magic. The grey stallion roared from the anti-magic ring activated to suppress his magical activity, but to no avail. The stone shattered under Sombra's intense pressure and all three alicorns leaped from their seat, anxious and ready—no Unicorn in history had ever broken an anti-magic ring.
The voice laced with great vehemence of resentment and pure hate began to come from everywhere.
”I would love nothing but place my hoof into your neck and crush your throat, twist your body until your guts spill, then string them all over the castle, but that would be me from long ago. Now, I would enjoy the moment when I expose you as the pathetic leader ruling with fear behind a thin veil of love. To. Your. Beloved. Subjects. At least I'm not afraid to act, you mule!”
Sombra then withdrew to his normal self, calm despite the rage, although his eyes did still carry malice with them.
A seismic rumble shook the room as Celestia acted to grab the re-solidified pony once he regained his shape, her eyes void of any pupils or irises, only fury and magic. She shouted in the age-old Royal Canterlot voice driven from the need to reassert her power if for nothing than to ensure her country's (along with her sister, personal student, and members of the committee) safety. Sombra opened his mouth to retaliate, but a sudden shock rendered him speechless.
“That is quite enough! It seems that you are unable understand harmony and unable to be redeemed so thus upon by my decree! I, Princess Celestia, as Sun Regent and Princess of Equestria, declare your punishment will be ban-”
“No!” Princess Twilight proclaimed loudly and ran to her beloved teacher, hoof extended to stop the royal decree before Celestia could say or do anything too detrimental. Her knowledge of friendship and its many lessons compelled her to offer an alternate decree, one that she alone could make.
“As Princess of Friendship, I will take responsibility for Sombra! I wish you to place him under my care.” Twilight hugged Celestia tightly, whispering so nopony could pick up on the words. “I hate to see you like this, Celestia.” At those words, the white alicorn dropped Sombra onto the ground, feeling the warm but strong embrace of her old student. The lavender Alicorn then softly added as Celestia returned the hug, “As Princess of Friendship, I had to believe that Sombra does have a chance. I don’t know what my decis-”
“My faithful student.” The white Alicorn stopped her from saying anything further, using Twilight’s old title. Celestia’s breaths came short and shaky. “I thank you. I nearly lost my grip on myself and the lessons of Friendship that you taught me over last few years. I, naturally, will support you fully along with my sister in any decision you make in this.” Princess Celestia gave her famous motherly smile to her former student, now her equal, friend and sister.
Breaking the embrace, the Sun Princess backed away to give Twilight the floor as she announced her strong yet trepidatious rule in regards to Sombra.
“The former King of the Crystal Kingdom is now under the care of me, Princess Twilight, the regent of Friendship. That is all.”
Then silence occupied the courtroom as Twilight then watched Princess Celestia depart, her beautiful multi-colored eternal mane flowing, being flanked by Princess Luna who paused to take a look at Sombra sitting on the small stairs that led to the thrones, but was unable to make note of the broken pony’s face since he was facing away.
Sombra was looking down at his grey hooves, lost in thought as he scanned the room of stunned ponies, maws agape at both the shards of an anti-magic ring and the cause of its obliteration. No pony was able to tell what thoughts occupied his mind, not even the alicorn left to collect her bounty could see what was plastered across the ex-tyrant's face.
A psychotic grin.
[Done and junk] - MrMinimii