Corruption isn't always easy...

by Caffeine Junkie


-Chapter 1-

At last, after thousands of years, I was finally able to recreate myself. Even though I still had not enough power to take on a physical form, I felt great. The only thing I regretted was that all of those who were responsible for my downfall at the crystal empire had passed away long time ago. Oh, how I would have loved to exact vengeance on them. Still being nothing more than a dark spectre I wanted to see what happened to my dear empire.

How odd, soon I had to realise that the place still looked the same way as on the day I had lost it …even after all those aeons. My gaze flickered into the direction of a small outpost. It had been created next to the cursed boundary that denied me entrance to my beloved empire. Quickly I realised that there had to be some of Celestia’s minions who would guard that place, I got closer and slightly hovered above two guards. Needing all the information I could get I started listening to their talk.

“See, I told ya…Sombra was cunning.”

Oh, after all those years they had never forgotten. It seemed my reign of terror was still fresh in their memories. Well it was obvious that the scars I had left on history were still not healed…

“That may be, however I’m still not sure If it was such a bright idea to call your domestic pig Sombra. I mean yeah, Sombra turned out to be the greatest dud in history but naming a pet after him…it seems a little inappropriate if you ask me.” the other guard stated.

How dare those low peasants make fun of me, I will show them what it means to mess with a king. Well on a second thought, maybe I should rather find a suited host to feed on. I could carry out my revenge in a powerful host as well as in my soon renewed physical body. It wasn’t like there was anypony alive that could rival me in power besides those stupid allicorn sisters…

“Hey, ya know what day it is?” one of the guards suddenly asked.

“What day?” the other inquired.

“The first anniversary of Sombra’s death. They kicked his flank for good that time…”

Well...even a king sometimes has problems with time measurement. However that played just into my hooves. Those two buffoons would break down under the sheer power of my mind anyways so I concluded to go after someponies far more powerful…the elements of harmony.

Why wouldn’t I go for the couple in my empire you may ask? Well, I was pretty sure that the barrier was still too strong for me to destroy it, especially now in my non corporal form.

It was time to put my new plan into motion. I would simply feed on the darkness of one of the elements and either destroy them by controlling their friend or siphoning enough power from all of their bodies to recreate my body. What a terrific plan indeed, I thought before I moved in the direction of Ponyville.

After several hours of travel I was finally there, ready to exact my revenge on one of the ponies responsible for my demise, Twilight Sparkle. If she hadn’t messed with me everything would have gone according to my plan. However her I wouldn’t corrupt, no my plan was far more sinister, I would corrupt every pony dear to that annoyance.

There were a few things that had to be known if one wants to corrupt ponies. First and foremost there had to be enough darkness in their soul to even enter. As soon as one enters he would become directly connected to the mind of his victim. The only thing one still needs to have is patience. A mind has to be corrupted slowly or it won’t stay that way for long. After I reminded myself of those basics I looked for my first victim.

When I saw the pink pony, I immediately knew it would have to be her. Trying to corrupt her would be one of the easiest tasks I figured when I saw how she behaved. It didn’t take me long to find out that her mind was a strange place. It was a pink room with a lot of colourful dots drawn on the walls and confetti lying on the floor. However that wasn’t the thing that made me feel uneasy.

What really made me wonder was why the room of her mind was just half as big as a regular one. Normally such a thing couldn’t be.

“Hey, don’t be a meanie, mr. green eyes. My mind is just as big as yours.” an annoying voice answered.

How strange, I still didn’t make any contact so…was she talking to herself? Probably.
In fact there should have been no way for her to t be able to hear me.

“Why do you have a sore throat? But you are just a voice in my head. However does that mean that a mind can catch a cold? I mean you seem to have one and…” she went on, bugging me with her nonsense.

“Don’t be so grumpy mr. green eyes! You know what we should do to cheer you up? We should throw a party! I never had one in my mind before! We will have balloons and cake and confetti and cupcakes and my friend gummy. Oh wait, silly me. I can’t bring gummy into my mind. It wouldn’t be the real one and the real one would think I cheated on him with the gummy I just made up for the party in my mind and…”

“SILENCE YOU FOOL! NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOU OR YOUR STUPID PARTIES !” I yelled, no longer able to keep up with this nonsense.

Her mind suddenly started to collapse. Finally, peace and quiet. Oh and the way her mind turned out to be looked far more to my liking. The whole room turned into a very dark and cold place. Did she have schizophrenia? Well, I guess corrupting a part of her will do for now.

“Tell, me little filly…do you fear the dark?” I said cryptic. Oh that would work, I just knew it.

“Why would I? Would you be my friend if I did?” she asked sounding a little strange.

“Of course…” I replied, knowing that I could corrupt her even faster if she trusted me.


Suddenly her mind became far more vivid. She forced me to become corporal in her mind. However…why was I tied to a desk? In front of me stood the pink pony with a big grin and a mad look in her eyes. Her mane was hanging down and she played with a big knife in her forehoof. Wait…she wouldn’t try to torture me…would she?

“”Now that we are friends I just have to make sure you will never leave me. All my friends left me…but you won’t right? You are different…” she said unable to contain the madness in her voice.

“However just to make sure you always stay with me …I have to take some precautions to ensure our happiness.
Oh, don’t you look so frightened. I will just detach your limbs so that you will never be able to leave me.
It is for the best of us…you know? she said with a creepy yet gleeful expression.

I had to get out of there immediately because even though she wouldn’t be able to hurt me directly, she could damage my mind. Mental attacks worked both ways, however up to that day I never encountered anyone capable of attacking my psyche like that. I tried to loosen the bindings but it was no use and when my eyes wandered around the room I just saw more and more of that mare’s craziness. The walls were painted in a unique crimson I would recognise anywhere and there were piles of muffins that looked like…well I rather not explain that in detail.

Just when she was getting awfully close with that knife I had an idea.

“You know what? I really would like to have that party you mentioned before…” I tried.

Suddenly her mind changed again back to being filled with happiness. When that happened I simply left that crazy excuse for a pony. How could some ponies seriously think about me as a monster when things like THAT were allowed to roam free?

Well that pony was kind of a disappointment. Maybe I should try the timid, yellow one. It only took me a few minutes floating over Ponyville to finally spot my poor victim. However she looked a little different than I remembered. Did she always have a beard and antlers? Well, maybe it had become a fashion trend to modify your body when I was sealed away.

The mind I entered was vast…and far more chaotic then I expected. Still, this time I probably had an easy job.
Those things tend to go easier if the victim isn’t a sociopath after all.

After inspecting the seemingly endless void my jaw dropped. The floor was chequered in black and white, purple clouds floated above me, lusters which were fixed on the floor but hanging upwards and other strange things happened around me.
In the midst of all the chaos there was a big black throne with a strange creature sitting on it.

“Tell my child, do you fear the dark?” I asked into the room.
“Fearing things, would make no sense in my position.” the strange creature answered.

So the yellow pony thought about herself as a chaotic being in her mind.
I could work with that I guess. It seemed odd but why wouldn’t I take my chances.

“Do you desire power, child?” I asked the creature.

“No, to be honest I rather desire a shower right now…excuse me…” the voice said.

Suddenly the throne changed into a bathing tub. The owner of the mind was…really taking a shower. While he was showering all of the clouds released some chocolate rain as well…covering me in a sticky and sweet liquid...great just what I needed, more humiliation. Then I heard the creature sing a song named “winter wrap up”. When I finally thought things couldn’t get any weirder Princess Celestia and Luna both appeared next to the bathing tub and started to whisper how good the thing in the shower must look like.

Was that stupid pegasus messing with me on purpose? I couldn’t do anything but let out all of my frustration.
A king wasn’t something a peasant should make fun of.

“I command you to pay attention!” I yelled in her mind.

“You…command me? Oh…now I get it...you are here to amuse me right?”

“I am an 1388 year old force of pure evil who corrupted minds when you weren’t even born and you dare to get on my nerves?
I should make your fears come alive.”

“Oh please anything...anything but that…” the creature said obviously not scared but amused.

“You had your chance…behold!” I said, knowing that fear would break her will soon.

“Welcome to the 69 summoning concerning the far better and far more boring place Equestria had become under my rule. I promise I will continue to reign this boring land for eternity, so that bureaucracy and boredom will spread even more. Thank you, my dear subjects.” a far more mature Twilight Sparkle said while standing at a podium in the midst of the fake Canterlot I just created.

Well…that was her greatest fear? Wasn’t that pony supposed to be one of her friends?
Why would a normal pony fear boredom…shouldn’t there be other things to fear for her?

“Well…you really did it. That was probably the first time for millennia that my mind had become a boring place.
However that just lets the chaotic juices in my mind overflow. Welcome to the new advanced capital of chaos…” the creature said crazy laughing before it snapped two fingers and changed the scenery.

Looking around I knew that I had to flee now, while my sanity was still intact.
Everything I saw there started to corrode my mind, pushing me further and further to a place with no return…

I simply gave up on my host and left the yellow ponies body. When I looked back at her I knew that my mind had taken a little blow. She was now looking the same way she did in her mind. Sitting in a deckchair she waved at me telling me that I should visit her again and the next time there would be some popcorn. Oh great, it seems as if my plan didn’t work at all but why?

If the other elements were just like the previous ones my plan would have been all in vain. Then a simple but shocking truth crossed my mind. Of course, why didn’t I figure it out earlier? Princess Celestia must have planted barriers around the minds of those ponies. So she knew that I would be back…well no surprise here. However I figured out Celestia’s secret plan. She just wanted to weaken me by letting me crush my own mind on those ponies…

That enlightenment made me change my plans on the spot. This time I would try to take control of a close friend of Twilight Sparkle, her pet dragon. That little made played a role in my defeat as well so it would make my revenge all the sweeter.
As soon as I crooked into his soul I finally felt at ease. The most normal mind I had seen that day, even if it was rather dark. That creature seemed to have no confidence in himself and he also thought that his friends didn’t even care about him. Oh, I never thought that it could be so easy…

I was even surprised by myself when it was only a matter of seconds until I had full control over his body and mind. Now Twilight Sparkle had to pay and there was nothing she could do to stop me. She obviously would never lift a hoof against her friends…
Oh this plan was perfect.

“Twilight Sparkle prepare to…” I started to say as soon as I found her but she suddenly interrupted me.

“Oh, Spike there you are. I was looking for you all the time.
Quick, you need to help me find a certain book…” she started to chatter.

“No Twilight Sparkle, prepare to be…” I started again.

“Oh Spike, don’t be silly. I already prepared myself for this day…”

“You silly pony…don’t you understand who I am? For I am not merely your friend, I am also…”

“The best assistant a pony could ever wish for, yes.
I’d also like to add that I am mildly impressed that you learned all those vocabs in such a short time.”

“No, that isn’t what I…”

“Sorry Spike, not now. I need to find that book. Come on and help me…please”

“I am not…”

Then to my displeasure my host started to burp and a message appeared.
The lavender allicorn, I couldn’t stand, took it immediately and her eyes widened in horror.

“Oh no, Spike! This is horrible. Princess Celestia needs me and the other elements at the Crystal Empire.
It seems as if Sombra just returned!”

“That was what I was trying to tell you…for I am…”

“Sorry, Spike. I need to get the others.” she yelled and run away.

I just sat down in disbelief. My host was probably the saddest existence that ever walked the face of Equestria. I took a deep breath and thought things through. After a while I decided to release my host from my dark influence…living a life like that was far worse than anything I could do to him anyways. At the same time I also decided to give up on my previous plan because my sanity already took enough blows for one day.

I figured it would be the best to take control over an insignificant being near my old kingdom. I would probably get a good chance at a more powerful host if I just waited long enough. Maybe if I could draw enough power out of my soon to be hosts I would even be able to recreate my physical form. That sounded like a good plan for my revenge, even though it would take me some more time than the original one…

I decided to fly back home to execute my plan but this time I took my time for I, Sombra, was nothing more than a tired king back on his way home.

When I finally reached my destination my eyes fell upon the little outpost.
Six ponies stood there and argued with a pig…oh that couldn’t be true…

“Sombra…we heard that you came back and even though your disguise may have fooled everypony around you, we won’t fall for your mind tricks” the lavender pony said.

It probably wasn’t the wisest decision but I wasn’t able to think rationally any longer.
They confused me, a king, with a lowly pig? I was just a whirling mass of darkness without true powers but I figured one glimps of me would be enough to scare the living hell out of them. A little display of power would probably be enough to make up for the day until now…

Just as I was to show myself to them, trying to turn from a nearly invisible shadow into a cloud of darkness, I realised that I moved right between them and the pig when those monsters suddenly yelled:

“You leave us no choice Sombra…TO THE MOOOOOON !”

As I was turned into a shooting star directed at the moon…I swore that I would get my revenge.
Wait…wasn’t that the sole reason for this mess. Thinking that through I decided to better wait until they are all dead and claim a land with less crazy inhabitants. To be honest, that plan was probably the best one I came up with today.

Meanwhile back at Equestria:

“I…I don’t get it. Sombra is far too powerful. We can’t even banish him properly.
I guess we can do nothing but yield to his power.” a devasted Twilight Sparkle said.

“Maybe we can reform him?” Fluttershy asked very quietly.

“Ehm…Princess Twilight Sparkle…I think I could train him to be a little nicer.
I never thought all of you would appear just to discipline my bad pet.” the guard said nervously.

“Wait…so you mean that you already started to change Sombra’s evil ways?” Twilight asked completely shocked.

“I…I think so my princess.” The guard replied hastily.”

“Well guard, I will inform Princess Celestia of your heroic deed.
Maybe you will even become Equestria’s next allicorn.” the lavender pony said gently before she took off with her friends.

“What da hay, I’ma callin my dog chrysalis now…” the other guard said disgruntled to his friend.

Back on the moon a certain darkness started to enjoy his newfound peace of mind. Finally everything was quiet and silent. Nothing could mess up his new found happiness he thought…when suddenly a strange voice appeared in his mind.

“Oh mr. green eyes, there you are.
Who would have thought that I had to look for you on the moon?
So where did I put that balloons just now…”

“NOOOOO”

THE END