//------------------------------//
// Five-Sombra 
// Story: Nightmare 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
//------------------------------//

	"Hmm...latte...how delicious," Jackson said, sipping from a latte he had his mind slave, Thomas, purchase before coming up to his room, "This will prepare me for my meeting with my employer today."

The call had come in an hour after he had destroyed part of the jewelry store and had made off with their rare black ebony opals, which were now displayed on his frame above the fireplace. He had been told that his boss, the one who was running the entire organization that Jackson was a small part of, would be coming by to propose a new job offer. Jackson had eagerly invited his boss over to his apartment, eager to show him that he had ascended to a higher being that could take whatever he wanted.

No one but the blank minded Thomas knew that Jackson had been transformed into the Tyrant King Sombra, but that was going to change. With his corrupting powers he was going to control his boss' mind and take over the empire he had established in Washington, giving the former ruler something to rule at last. Then he was going to slowly expand out of the area he was already in and make an empire that would rival the one he had lost in Equestria.

The news on Discord remained the same, he was still in Las Vegas playing poker and drinking wine while he waited for his enemies to get closer. According to Thomas, who reported whatever he heard while he was out and about on Sombra's orders, had heard something about Nightmare Moon appearing in Arizona. Two pieces were already on the board; the Spirit of Chaos and the Nightmare herself. Sombra smiled with the knowledge that neither of them knew that he had already arrived and was just biding his time until he was ready to show himself.

There was a knock on his front door, causing him to look back and smile at Thomas.

"Thomas," Sombra said, waving a hoof as he turned back around, "be a dear and invite our guests into my homely abode."

Standing on the other side of the door were three men, two of them dressed up to look like secret agents in their black suits, while the third dressed in a white suit that almost made him look like a mob boss. The two men wore shades, making it difficult for an opponent to read their eyes and detect what their movements truly were. The third smoked a cigar, something that must have been imported from Cuba, as he stared as the man before him.

"Who in the blazes are you supposed to be?" the man asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked over Thomas in disapproval.

"I am just a servant of King Sombra," Thomas replied, moving to welcome them into the room, "Please, come right on inside. The King is expecting you."

The three men entered the room, allowing Thomas to close the door as they neared the couch that Sombra was already sitting on. The white suited man nodded to his guards and continued to the seat in front of the couch alone, his eyes noticing the three gemstones above the fireplace. When he saw the pure black flaming haired stallion sitting on the couch he thought he was being played by his employee, but the misty eyes unnerved him.

"So good of you to come," Sombra said, giving the man a slight scare, or what looked like one anyway, "Have a seat and tell me about the new job offer you have for me."

"Hmm...so where is Jackson?" the man asked, looking around for a hidden camera that would tell him if this was just a set up to get him to confess to crimes he had committed, "I take it he decided not to show up and left his life size doll of a pony behind to talk for him?"

"I am not a 'life sized doll', as you call me," Sombra snapped, his eyes flicking over to the man as a wall of darkness appeared behind him, "I am King Sombra of the Crystal Empire. I am afraid that in order for me to arrive in this world your underling Jackson had to be the vessel of my reincarnation, but it will be worth it in the end. Surely you have heard of me and how ruthless I can be when ponies don't listen to what I'm saying? Now sit DOWN."

The man sat in the chair, his eyes never leaving the stallion as he thought about what he had just learned. Surely this was just a giant prank constructed by Jackson in his free time, which was a good time because he had a new job for him anyway. But there was something nagging in his mind that was telling him that none of this was even possible for Jackson to accomplish. Sure the man had a lot of time on his hands, but he couldn't have constructed something of this magnitude in the week he had been given off.

"This is all just a waste of my time," the man said, standing up and staring at Sombra, "I can tell that you have gotten so bored that you have forgotten all about stealing and the organization I recruited you into not too long ago. I wish you a good day and a...good life?"

The darkness swirled around the man and forced him back into the chair, wrapping his arms and legs against the wooded legs of the chairs. Before his guards even knew what was happening they were pinned to the wall by the same darkness that was keeping their boss down. Thomas didn't move or even make a sound, as if by moving that would make the darkness pin him to a wall while his king spoke to the man. The stallion just sat on the couch, sipping from the cup of Starbucks latte while he waited for the darkness to do its job.

"You said you had a new job for me to do," Sombra said, looking at the man while he spoke, "and, seeing how I share the memories and abilities of Jackson, I would like to hear it. Maybe it can provide a pastime for me while I gather my forces here in this 'Seattle', as you people call it."

"I wanted Jackson to steal a huge diamond known as the Crystal Heart," the man answered, "It was found off the western coast of Washington a few days ago and one of my competitors has taken an interest in the gemstone. The gentlemen responsible for the discovery, one Rayger Fell, has posted that the stone is worth over 33.5 million dollars. Fell has transported the gemstone to somewhere in this area, to one of his numerous warehouses scattered across the entire city. I wanted the gemstone stolen from Fell and brought to me so I could sell the stone to a buyer who is willing to pay whatever amount I desire for the priceless gem."

"Describe the stone for me," Sombra commanded, his voice faltering as he dared to hope the stone wasn't the one that had defeated him.

"I can do better than describe the stone if you release my hands." the man said, his hands being loosened so he could toss a picture onto the table in front of Sombra, "The stone is said to have the purest light blue color that anyone has ever seen in their entire lives. The workers that found the stone said that their tools were either chipped or broken when they tried to work on the gem itself. They said that there was some magical element to the stone that allowed it to keep its natural shape and break anything that came at it. You okay...um...Sombra?"

Sombra stared at the picture, recognizing the stone from just the photo. The stone in the picture was none other than the real Crystal Heart from the Crystal Empire, which meant that if it was in this world then so were the Princess Cadence and her husband. He needed to steal the heart and keep it somewhere where the troublesome ponies wouldn't be able to find it this time around.

"Sombra? You still there?"

Sombra looked up at the man and the darkness surged into the man's eyes, the intent to turn him and his lackeys into members of his new slave army. With the man under his control the vast network he commanded was now Sombra's to command as he saw fit for the moment. With this vast amount of slaves he could mind enslave all of them and start building his empire at last, but he needed something to amplify his powers to recreate the real empire.

He needed the Crystal Heart and the magic that was stored inside the crystal structure. And maybe he could enslave Princess Cadence and Shining Armor if they showed themselves.