//------------------------------// // Ex-King Sombra's Enigma // Story: His Black Heart’s Inquiry // by -Brutus //------------------------------// Under the beautiful, dark night of Canterlot the new Alicorn paced around her room on the very top of the tower. She was somber over the unbelievable catalyst that brought so much pain for Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and even Sombra. The night-sky seemed so lifeless tonight; the moon dimmed and the stars above barely glimmered which reflected the Regent of the Moon's depressing frame of mind. Regent of the Sun, Princess Celestia, hadn't made an appearance in two days since the court where Sombra had nearly thrown her out of harmony; for an instant she lost her grip on the lessons of Friendship that her faithful student had given her over the years. Twilight sighed, the depressing state that both Celestia and Luna were in affected her as well. Situation where her faithful student, now-equal Princess had taken over because she thought that Sombra does had a chance but she couldn't tell him that, not now nor ever. The new Princess, however, knew that she had the other two Princess' support in whatever action that she engaged in in regards of Sombra. Twilight rubbed her head, rolled out of the bed with a grunt, then trotted over to her window slowly. Her lavender eyes set on the tower that was directly across; it was where the dark gray stallion was residing. Twilight set her fore-hooves on the bottom of the window, leaning out a little bit when she caught a glimpse of a silhouette sitting at the edge of tower. The lavender Alicorn sighed, resigned herself into getting some sleep. She had to figure out a plan to reform the aggressive stallion through the magic of friendship and hopefully turn him into a decent stallion. There was also another thing that danced on Twilight's mind, which was the type of magic that she used in the battle against him. She had never seen such crystals in any of her lessons or books, nor the techniques in which they were used, yet Sombra seemed to control them with ease. Twilight's lip stuck out as she thought of her trips o the crystal kingdom, and something came to her: there were no unicorns. Only earth crystal ponies. Did they had the same ability? That idea was thrown out if Sombra was able to rule with ironhoof. Twilight's questions proved vain as only more formed the more she thought about it. What was the history of Crystal Kingdom? Her knowledge about it was supplied by that small crystal when Princess Celestia began the test of hers, and the other part was from her finding the Crystal Heart, supplying it to Spike to save the Kingdom once and for all. Twilight wanted to tear her mane out as question after question swam into her mind; she would have to ask Sombra to quell her ravenously questioning brain, but she was sure he would be tight-lipped about it all. She snapped, trotting up to the window, she spotted the dark silhouette and prepared to leap from the window to visit the source of her answers. One hoof propped against the window to propel herself into the air, she prepared for flight, but stopped when a dark voice attracted her attention. It was too low to hear, but Twilight was able to make out a few words. -stal Empire stirs and with it... Twilight strained her ears to listen to the rest of her song as well as the source. They told her it came from the other tower. The lavender Alicorn jumped out the building as quietly as possible and glided over to where Sombra resided. As she approached the opposing tower, the sound became louder, more defined while still keeping its melancholy tone, but what perplexed her the most was the origin of the lyrics: Sombra. My old friend, together again. Hahahaha! Twilight flew into the back of the tower from a window that quickly led to spiral staircase; the demented laughter seemed to echo throughout the tower causing Twilight to shiver in genuine fear. Now my dark purpose will be fulfilled and the Crystal Empire will be... MIIIIIIIINE! Twilight crept up the stairs silently, swallowing hard as she neared the singing stallion. She feared how he would react if he ever caught her. This song seemed so deranged, perfect for the former king of Crystal Kingdom who had enslaved, maimed, or killed hundreds upon hundreds of citizens during his rule. In the dark of the night I was tossing and turning and the nightmare I had Was as bad as can be! The purple Alicorn pressed her ears against the door, it was now very crisp and clear; it was still so unbelievable to her that originator and wielder of dark magic would be singing a song! It was given that most anypony she knew was bursting to sing a number every so often—especially a certain pink party pony who seemed unable to go a day without such a burst—but him? It scared me out of my lights A shadow, trapped in the ice! Twilight's studious mind died down as she listened to this macabre song, flicking her ear against the door, felt that the song was just winding up. When I opened my eyes and the nightmare was ME! I was once the most terrible king in the empire! When those two overthrew me, they made a mistake! My curse made all of them pay. But one ray of hope got away! Crystal Ponies beware... King Sombra's awaaaaaaake! The tower seemed to vibrate as Sombra held out the last word. His horn sparkled to life in a mixture of green and purple while his eyes took on the all too familiar glow with matching colors.Twilight tensed up, ready to take action from behind the door if it were to get out of control. In the dark of the night, evil will find them! In the dark of the night, just before dawn! Revenge will be sweet when the curse is complete! In the dark of the night, They'll be g o n e! I can feel that my powers are slowly returning! Cast my spell and my terror from every shade! As the pieces fall into place I'll see them crawl into place! Welcome back, my Crystalline Equine slaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaves! In the dark of the night, terror will strike them Terror's the least I can do! Twilight watched as tiara with red gem clad in it began to materialize itself out of black light around Sombra's head, whilst at the same time the beautiful red cape fleshed out by it's own as Sombra coutiuned with the next lines of his song. The ex-tyrant threw up his head, his voice deep and dark; he trotted forward once as the metal boots and metal plate began to appear after the cape was completed. In the dark of the night, evil will brew. Soon, they will feel that their nightmares are real! In the dark of the night They'll be through! In the dark of the night, evil will find them. In the dark of the night, terror comes true. My dears, here's a sign It's the end of the line! In the dark of the night In the dark of the night Come, my shadows, rise for your master!!! Twilight froze as a bead of sweat parted her coat and traveled the length of her cheek. Shadows of the various objected danced in the inconsistent, dim candle light and crept toward the oblivious singer. There was something in this moment that pulled Twilight’s mind in regards of Sombra; this song was malicious, yet she couldn't help but feel that there was something hidden behind the song. Let your evil shine In the dark of the night, In the dark of the night Find them now, yes, fly faster! In the dark of the night In the dark of the night In the dark of the night They'll be miiiiiiiine! Twilight tensed, anxious to confront the former tyrant, she readied her horn for a powerful spell, but hesitated from his next verse. The shadow he had been commanding violently tore away, leaving a sharp gust of wind in its wake. But now, I only desire... ...death It quickly died down to silence.Twilight didn't dare move for fear of making a noise and invoking the dark stallion's wrath. Swallowing her last breath, she craned her neck to look into the cell that held the dark vocalist. Once she finally saw him, she was perplexed; his evil demeanor seemed absent from his form. With the most graceful motion possible, she picked up her left hoof up and placed it with an inaudible sound to better balance herself—she was more of a spy than a curious intruder at this point. What she saw soon after ignited the scholar's soul, banished the fear that she felt earlier when Sombra sung, her eyes gleamed in excitement, wonder and fear. Sombra finally turned around and she saw his piercing red eyes for the first time without his maniacal leer, and she saw him look about his new cell checking for any intruders before activating his magic. It produced a cracking sound as the black magic aura surrounded the air. Twilight silently gasped as strange, shadow crystals grew out of the ground with a shudder and clatter.They were transparent, which fascinated the scholar to the point of further investigation as she inched over to get a better view of the caster. The crystal tyrant shoved his forehoof into it, quickly withdrawing two items, both of which he encased in his dark aura. First was a large blue crystal; it seemed to react automatically when Sombra's magic grasped it and he set it away on nearby desk where it automatically floated in place. The second sent chills down her spine. Sombra took out a black crystal with a seemingly infinitely deep center which made the alicorn uneasy. Sombra kept hold of this one, his eyes turning to give it his full attention. It held something within that was deemed essential to the stallion, but after a thousand years of erosion from the very object he possessed, he was unable to pinpoint its necessity. The gray stallion took a deep breath, his voice carrying out in dark and commanding tone. He called out to the black crystal with gratification. Sombra, Rex Crystal Regnum. Eius Niger Cor quæres vos de. Ipse eris conteret anima vestra. Rursum ita non potest diligere. The dark crystal clicked quietly, then it announced in monotone voice, “Greetings, it has been nine hundred sixty-four years since the last activation. On the record: Six hundred, seventy-one magic experiments and applications in regards of your magic. Three hundred, twenty-nine jour—” Sombra hummed, his red horn cracking with power deactivating the crystal. “It does still work... Don't know if I should be surprised or glad.” Twilight's eyes widened in interest; he was using magic unknown to any other being in Equestria, the crystals were captivating. Twilight quickly jumped into a brief flashback where she witnessed some of Sombra's unique magic that incorporated crystals, his smoke form that surrounded her in the library and the whole Crystal Kingdom with no strain on his part. As well the crystals that drew upon the negative emotion as it directly fed power into Sombra. ...and that knowledge is held within that black crystal. She composed herself—she couldn't just prance up to Sombra and demand the crystal, yet as the Element of Magic and now Princess of Friendship she felt it necessary to learn everything she could of the dark tyrant and the magic he possessed. Even Celestia knew very little of it, being able to conjure little more than a small piece to overrun her mirages when explain the Crystal Kingdom to Twilight. “This is pointless!” Twilight perked her ears, switching her eyes to look through the hole. Sombra reached out to the floating obsidian crystal, gripped it in both of his hooves and looked at it intently. Sombra seemed like he was in deep thought, but about what Twilight could only guess. The scholar princess had been spying in Sombra for the better part of the past hour, yet she couldn’t figure it out for the life of her. Suddenly the tyrant's eyes became inflamed with emotion, his teeth clenched hard, his fangs dug into his lower lips, and to complete his horrid performance he rose to his hindlegs with the crystal balanced above his head and released a fear-striking roar into the empty room. “This is pointless!” the gray stallion vociferated to himself in rage and threw the crystal toward to the floor. To Twilight is was all in slow motion as she shouted a quiet,“No!” because she was about to watch years of knowledge and information about Sombra be shattered into pieces but her unintended outburst had the effect that Twilight desired when the stallion paused. The black crystal was just inches away from being shattered into fragments. Sombra turned to where the sound came from, scanning the door with heavy scrutiny with his red eyes; forgetting entirely about the black crystal as he dropped it into ground, his usual terrifying voice rang out. “Who’s there? A worthless pony with death wish?” Twilight held her hoof over her mouth, trying to stay quiet as she watched Sombra falling to all fours and trotting to the door with a mixture of pride and derision toward the intruder. Twilight had to think quickly, she didn’t want to get into another fight to the death with the wielder of dark magic just because he was more pissed now than usual. The lavender alicorn refocused to the task at hoof. She couldn't run or fly away, those would make too much noise, so she fell to her most reliable variable in any incident: magic. Her horn sparked to life as the aura seeped out and covered her figure as she paced away from the door. Slowly she receded while her horn and aura went to work completing the meticulous magic needed to bend light away from her form, rendering he invisible, but not transparent or silent. The spell just finished when the door swung open, rattling on its hinges against the brick and mortar wall. The purple princess held her mouth shut with a free hoof, not daring to breathe as the dark tyrant looked into the hallway, horn lit up like a light show. Sombra stepped further into the hallway and stuck his forehoof out to test the air Twilight began to sweat bullets, he was so close that the Alicorn could practically feel his breathing. His malevolent demeanor began to shine as he called out once more “Spineless coward, come out and face me!” When the only response he got was the wind blowing through the small window above Twilight, Sombra deactivated his magic in confidence that no pony was there watching him. Sombra shook his head and growled something along the lines of, “I need a walk.” Twilight watched the unicorn descend the stairs—the glow of his horn gradually dying down—until the clip clop of his hooves on stone died away. Letting out a great sigh of relief, her horn deactivating, quickly reappeared in a soundless poof. The friendship lessons within her told her to take this chance and leave, leaving little trust between Princess Twilight and King Sombra had intact, but the great scholar within her ignited a raging fire that burnt away her new layer of princesshood. It screamed to walk into the room and learn everything she could, hopefully with enough time before Sombra arrived to leave appropriately. Twilight was torn between her two warring sides: scholar or friend? Scholar won, but with nagging undertone of the possible, often negative, consequences. Swallowing hard as she entered the room, Twilight inspected everything in the room; nothing seemed out of the ordinary save for the two crystals the dark king produced moments ago. She trotted to the black crystal feeling the breath catch in her throat. She picked it up and fed her magic to the crystal, but the crystal did not respond. She thought back to the chants Sombra chanted in Old Equestrian Language. That hadn't been used for eight hundred years since the modern rendition became more practical, and the only other fluent in its pronunciations that Twilight could think of was the Regent of the Moon, Princess Luna. Twilight strained herself to mimic his words to the crystal, mouthing it over to get the feel for the words before finally speaking and praying to Celestia she had it right. “Sombra, Rex Crystal Regnum. Eius Niger Cor quæres vos de. Ipse eris conteret anima vestra. Rursum ita non potest diligere.” It shuttered to life once more spoke with the same monotonous voice, though the information had changed. “Greetings, it has been seventeen minutes, forty-five seconds since the last activation. On the record: Six hundred, seventy-one magic experiments and applications in regards of your magic. Three hundred, twenty-nine journal entries.” The wielder of Element of Magic wanted to squeal out loud while clapping her hooves together in mixtures of delight and nerdiness because she was one step closer to learning more about Sombra; his past or his magic, it didn’t matter to her right now. Smacking her lips in anticipation, Twilight cleared her throat to speak once more when it dawned on her that she didn't know how to use it properly. The crystal floated neutrally in the air in front of her, awaiting further commands while Twilight's scholar mind went to work. Two sides tugged at her mind: should she access the crystal's memory bank to learn more about the stallion or, the more important choice to Twilight's scholastic mind, the magic and knowledge hidden withing, or should she use it to delve into the for king's mind for any and all possible lessons to teach him about Friendship. However, as of the current moment, they weren't friends. “The magic experiment please, first one?” “Command acknowledged, processing...” It floated away from Twilight and a beam shot out onto the floor, quickly widening as a hologram came to life. The first thing that came from the hologram, unfortunately, was a blood curdling scream that chilled its watcher to her core. “Help me! HELLLLLLLLLLLLLP! A-A-a-nypony? P-please? H-hello HELLO?” The room fell into silence, the only noise being frenzied breaths by the screamer. It broke when a door to one side opened and a familiar stallion walked into the room with his usual posture, cape, and crown levitating a piece of paper, paying no mind to the pony strapped to a crystalline table. The crystal stallion was struggling against his restraints with all of his might, but to no avail. Twilight slowly brought her hoof to her mouth to suppress whatever would bubble up from her throat as she continued. The cyan, crystal stallion suddenly reared up, roaring with all of his might, “RELEASE ME! WHAT DO YOU THINK WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF PON-” “Blah blah, act of revenge, slaves somehow rising up and ousting me out of my throne. I don’t think so, my beloved test subject.” Sombra interrupted, placing the paper down then turning around to give the trapped stallion his full attention as he continued speaking. “I mean, you must feel so lucky to be the first test subject for this spell I worked for four days straight on.” The crystal pony choked back a sob. Dread filled his voice when he spoke up. “Please, my King S-s-ombra. I p-plea you, I have a wife and children to go bac—” Sombra reared up and hit the stallion in the face shutting him up straight-away, finishing his sentence for him. “Back home, in their her loving hooves with little cute foals babbling on about how much they love their father.” The dark stallion smirked evilly, his voice low, barely a whisper against the stallion’s ear, “Something like that?” The stallion leaned in further to share another secret with the trapped pony, but the crystal was unable to capture it. However, when the dark king pulled away, leaving a broken pony with a single tear rolling down his cheek, Twilight could sense he was doomed to the tyrant's "tests." The young Sombra smirked sadistically, moving back and taking in the stallion’s pain when an idea popped into his head. “So, test subject. I’m offering you a one-time only deal,” King Sombra moved back, his horn cracking in dark red gradually becoming green and purple light show, watching the pathetic stallion trembling whilst giving him his full attention. “You live through this, you’ll see your deplorable family again. If you die, well, you die. I will say no good-bye when I put down notes on this beautiful piece of paper.” The stallion stopped struggling at that, a sliver of hope had been dangled above him, closing his eyes as he waited for his fate. Sombra fired a green beam into the stallions head and for a moment everything was silent in dreadful anticipation. Soon, though, the stallion released a terrifying screech and began thrashing violently against his restraints. “No, no. I wil-” He babbled uncomprehending sentences. The stallion began convulsing like he was having a mental breakdown or heart attack. Twilight was horrified to see Sombra's expression not be of disgusted surprise or malicious glee, rather it was one of contemplation and observation as he took down notes as the present-day Sombra re-entered the room. The thrashing died down to the small angry grunts of the tyrant complaining how he'd once again have to clean up the mess, though commending the crystal ponies on their will to live. “It was successful. First test too! I injected him with a dose of magic weaved with a spell capable of taking over one’s mind activity by means of severing his link between fiction and reality. I took note of his love of family, so I had him going up and murdering everypony of his family. “However, him being able to figure out between reality or fiction once he wakes up is unknown; further testing is needed,” Sombra muttered to himself, etching down the notes as the stallion just ahead of him began to awake up weakly after a long few minutes. Twilight noticed the crystal stallion’s eyes kept moving from object to object; it seemed like he was able to comprehend his aftermath of the ordeal, but he kept stuttering as his mind desperately attempted to catch up. “W-w-will y-ou hold up o-n you-r s-side of deal?” The tyrant gave a fatherly smile at the stallion and voiced his judgement upon the pathetic slave, “Of course, I did promise that you can see your family again.” The mood within the room became light and hopeful, but it quickly got stiff with the aura of pure evil as he finished his thought. “You can see your family from the execution table. After all, you didn’t specify that you wanted to go home and be with your family, and did you know that threatening your King is an serious crime with death being the punishment?” The grief-stricken stallion paused with his eyes widening, realization settling down within him. “Ohhh, I’m so sorry.” A truly broken stallion collapsed into the floor as Sombra freed him and turned around, picking up the crystal with his magic. The hologram then finally closed down with a whoosh sound, a monotone voice from the crystal soon picked up afterwards. “Recorded at year 039. A.D, evening of 23th day of the seventh month” Twilight stood there, unmoving; it was still so unbelievable of what she had seen but the sound of hoofsteps behind her snapped out of it. Twilight’s maw gapped, her lower lips shaking. The horrid experiments were one thing, but here she stood in the very presence of the executor, and he looked as calm as ever! Twilight tried to speak out, but the only thing that came out was a squeak. Sombra kept his stoic face, picking up the crystal then setting it down on a nearby table; there wasn’t any words being passed between them. Sombra turned to speak to the intruder, but she vanished.