//------------------------------// // First Dawn: Services Rendered // Story: Long live the king // by Msande //------------------------------// "So things went down from there, huh," Applejack said as she looked at Celestia who nodded. "And for the longest period of time, I believed that his little exploit in the Crystal Empire was just his final gambit," she admitted. "I believed him as a war stallion and a prince who wished his lands returned to him." "Well that explains a thing or two," Sombra grunted, rolling out of bed and to his feet. "But I very much believe you mistook my actions." "How so?" Celestia asked skeptically. "If anything happens to you and you sister, do have anyone trained in taking over the kingdom?" he asked. "Princess Cadance," she replied without a second thought. "Well, on the off chance you did kill me, she would be ruling the Crystal Empire. Does she have any ruling experience? Heck, does Luna know the day to day events?" Sombra asked. Celestia bit her lip. "I knew this would happen. You put an immortal in charge and she never stops to consider the idea that something may happen to her. Or Faust forbid you want to take some time off! I put regulations in line so you wouldn't have to worry," he continued. "Not to mention, you have no security forces anywhere." "We have enough issues with my foreign policies. An army of any size would only cause more issues," Celestia argued. "Yes, because timberwolves and hydra are just so reasonable. I had planned out laws that would allow you to have a police force, a judicial system. I bet you still deal with nearly every issue personally, don't you?" he accused. She grimaced. "The royal guard...." "Answers to you, a few stones, and a group trained to follow you around. Do you even send them out on patrols? And the Wonderbolts are our best sky performance and yet, they get sent in against a dragon? Celestia, I love what you did with the place, but you let the Changling population get so big, it attacked you. And the only thing that saved you was a last second power of love from Cadance. It should not have been allowed to happen." "What is that supposed to mean?" she declared, her temper flaring up. "We preen them off. Things have been getting out of control with magical issues. Not to mention how out of control the Everfree Forest has gotten," Sombra said. "Oh, like you would be able to do better," she said. Everypony began to cower as she looked down at him. "You have not had a single bit of opposition in the political world, have you? Did anyone even think to add more troops or hunt down the changelings? You still have a queen, those take near five hundred years to mature properly. And if she had won, do you have any backup plans, anypony fit to take over that does not live in Canterlot?" Celestia slammed her hoof down. "I have had everything under control for over a thousand years. You may seem to think you have all the answers," she said, looming over him. "I am here, Cadance has been corrupted and you have lost your castle. You have no army and our only hope is ridding the world of Cadance or that your magic stones may have some unforeseen side effect. You seem to have been running on blind luck, and luck runs out," he returned. "What is your solution now?" "Send in the Elements. Purifying Cadance should be more then enough to bring everything back down to normal," Celestia said. "And you think it will be as simple as that. There is only one way in that will not be guarded. I set it up so no Crystal pony could come in or out without me being able to get rid of them," he said with a smug smile. "You want in, you're going to need me," he replied evenly. "I very much doubt that," Celestia countered. "If she is using the Crystal heart, not even I could get in. What makes you think you or the elements could? That barrier is going to be fueled by hate. So unless your magic skills have been allowed to grow, you're not getting in," Sombra held firm. "I have been learning." "Not nearly enough. Your skill is not powerful enough if a Queen is capable of downing you with a single magical, blast," he reiterated, looking her dead in the eye. "Hit me with your best shot. Silence me properly. Prove to me you have been growing," he challenged. Celestia's horn began to glow and everyone - including Pinkie - was now shivering in concern and worry. The blast went off, hitting Sombra square in the horn before vanishing. Sombra had simply absorbed it. "You used to be a force of good, a being who - with your sister - was able to take down forces much greater then yourself. This is sad," he replied in an even voice. With no buildup she sent off another blast. This time, Sombra retaliated. The magic sizzled while the two forces pushed against one another. Twilight watched in awe at the show of pure magical force. She had lost all fear while the pair had been moving. But then she noticed something: Celestia was sweating. Sombra was pushing her to her limits. She glanced over and saw that Sombra was, in fact, losing his cool but he was still restrained. The energy began to fall back to Celestia, inching closer to her horn. Sombra cut it off and she was suddenly hoisted into the air with a levitation spell. "I demand you put me down this instant!" she shouted, pumping her legs. "Oh demand, my young student. You may have lapped up everything I taught you, but you have yet to learn everything I know. You are very lucky that few ponies remembered their combat skills or else you would have been dealing with a lot of rebellions after my defeat. And I was half-crazed when we last met. I may be your student in the magic of friendship, but I am still the foremost authority on magic," he declared, dropping her unceremoniously to the floor. "Come talk to me when you are ready to move out," he said, looking at Twilight. "I do believe you have a brother to save." And with that he walked out of the tent. "Little does she know, I had no right to the throne. And nopony would follow me even if I did take her out," he thought sourly, a frown pulling at the corners of his mouth. "Sombra," Luna called and the two looked at each other. "Harassing my sister, I take it?" "Let's just say, forcing her to realize that she is in fact not nearly as all powerful as the ponies of this time would like to believe. I recall you used to be her opposition. No one should go with out a critic, especially a ruler. And if my ability to get under her skin is anything to go by, she has not had one in some time." "There was never much of a need." "Need or not, we all must be privy to both sides. I had hoped you would know that better then anypony," he replied. "I did and all it got me a thousand years on the moon. Your teachings have flaws, ones that caused my sister and I a lot of grief." "Nothing is perfect, but I am sorry. A thousand years is a very long time to be with out a sibling." "You wouldn't happen to have any explanation for that would you?" Luna asked as she eyed him suspiciously. "I may have a very, very weak theory. But I would rather not say until I have some proof of it. You may want play peacekeeper. I don't think Celestia is very happy with me pointing out her flaws in front of her student. I have already taken pains to steal Twilight from her." He moved around her and he walked away when she called back at him. "Do not hurt Twilight. She looks up to Celestia more than anypony," Luna warned. "You wound me. My interest is only to pass on my own magical knowledge. If she was male, my emotions would be the same. There is only one mare in all of history who has ever moved my heart. Besides, Twilight is much too young for me," he replied, sauntering off into the forest of tents. "Stallions," Luna said with a huff, walking into their ow tent. As soon as she entered, she felt Celestia's nose press against hers. "Hello, sister," she greeted. "Where is that arrogant prick?" she asked. Luna glanced back over her shoulder. "He vanished into the tents," Luna admitted. "Humiliating me like that," Celestia growled. "The nerve of that stallion. Twilight, go find him and make sure he is getting ready to go. I would rather not let this problem stew anymore than it has," Celestia ordered and Twilight scampered off to find him. "I have never seen her so worked up before. Not even discord ever ruffled her feathers this much," Rarity whispered. Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement. "Of all the no good rotten things. She is not even a fraction of the skill from when she took me down. This is insulting," Sombra snarled, glaring as he blasted a rock. His eyes flashed red again but it vanished just as quickly. He paced back and forth ,grumbling and growling through sharp teeth while a stream of smoke billowed from his mouth. "That was not very wise," Twilight said. Sombra froze and glared at her. She felt her ears fall back from the malice in his eyes. For a second, she was worried he was relapsing. "Something bothering you?" Twilight asked, knowing full well it was a stupid question. But the fact was, if she didn't ask, he would most likely keep grumbling. "Yes, she learned nothing. All of that time I spent teaching, all of my time and energy wasted. She was stronger; once, she was more than my match so many hundreds of years ago. And for me, more or less a normal unicorn. I'll admit, there is some play in my power. But that's not the point! She shouldn't be having too many issues. This, it's got no structure, no defenses, no support. She is so content and confident in her power that the idea of setting up some kind of government to take over rattles here. If she dies, the whole place of Equestria will collapse in on itself." "I have faith that things will go on. You make it sound like the rest of the world relies on her. Ponyville is self sustaining; in fact, Canterlot is the only city she actively works in. Even if something did happen," Twilight started to say. "Your faith in the world is touching, but forgive me for not sharing in your optimism," Sombra said with a frown. "Maybe I don't want it to be true," he admitted. "What do you mean?" she asked, sitting down and looking at him. "I was born to be a warrior, to act in the best interest of the pony race. If Celestia is right, I am worthless. Everything I am and tried to do just causes more pain and problems. That's not an easy concept to let in. I would rather not think of it as true." he admitted, letting his head drop. "I am sure someone with your skills could be infinitely effective in helping the world, not just Equestria." Twilight said, resting a hoof on his shoulder. "Hmm," he grunted, looking up at the sky. He closed his eyes and thought back. "Are you sure of this? It seems like a needless law," an ambassador griped. "It's emergency power. It will allow a line of succession, something to make sure there is a leader if anything happens." Sombra said. "Just make sure it gets to the council. At this rate, she is going to be running everything on her own. And that is dangerous and draining." "She's been doing fine. In fact, without her," a brown stallion was saying before being cut off. "I know the facts; I don't need you telling me. I was at her side every day since Discord was taken care of. I don't need a reminder; I need to remind you that nothing lasts forever. There needs to be some kind of fail safe," he said, slamming his hoof on the table. The politician jumped at the sudden motion. The two were arguing over the idea of enacting a few laws. But the group was still trying to pick themselves back up and so, any type of lawmaking outside of Celestia was almost out of the question. "She has her younger sister and besides, your father and sister are in no shape to lead anyone. The only other pony with the credentials is you," he said, looking away from him. He looked out of the stone window and down into Luna's night. Sombra sighed; it always came back to that. Anyone who could became the third in line could be seen as a trouble maker at best or someone who craved power. No one wanted to be painted that, and Celestia and Luna were not putting out any laws that would put anypony in that position. "It does not need to be a monarchy. Put a vote or something, any kind of fail safe." Sombra said, waving his hoof. "But then the council would look bad. We have gone through too much. It's best to put these things off for now. Let it settle and see if Celestia needs one. It's been so long since an Alicorn graced us, who know how long she will live." Sombra choked down his words; he knew the details of Discord's defeat. He knew that if he ever got out that Celestia would be a target and if something were to happen to the Elements, they would be screwed and that was only one possibility. If the Elements existed, there could be a mirror version of them that would be just as destructive. "I understand, Sombra, I really do but it's better this way. I think it's time for the royal family to step down and let the world heal," he said. Sombra flinched at the colt's touch. "You understand nothing," he said in a hushed whisper. He watched the stallion go, spotting a shadow in the hall up to the tower but the figure vanished. Sombra suddenly realized Twilight was waving her hoof in front of his muzzle. "You okay?" she asked as she looked at him. "Sorry, just remembering," he admitted, standing to his full height. "So I have a question: what did Alicorns represent back then?" Twilight asked. "Nothing really, it was originally just pony legend, a union of the three major races. However, we did have one for a little while. My grandma said that we had one born from fully understanding loyalty, some Earth pony and she became very important. But History was a bit sketchy on the details. It was during that time that we crafted the seven aspects of a good life. Loyalty, laughter, kindness, generosity, honesty, love, and hope." "A lot of those sound like the Elements of Harmony." "Doesn't surprise me; the Tree of Harmony was a form of inspiration for many legends," Sombra replied. "But that is history and hardly worth worrying. I wonder," he said, pausing. "About?" she asked calmly, watching him. "The Elements were not the only magical artifacts of legend in my time. There was the mirror Elements, one of which I was been named after back in the day," he said, letting out a chuckle that held no real humor. "Really?" Twilight asked. "Yes, the Stallion of Fear. And with Cadance taking on as the Mare of Fear, you best hope we don't start running into older legends. The last thing we need is the likes of Grogar to come back," he said with a shudder. "Who?" Twilight asked but Sombra didn't reply instantly. "A very, very, old legend, one that would have showed up a long time ago if he still existed. But it does bring up some questions and maybe something to keep me occupied after we deal with your sister-in-law." "Ah, I was wondering if you had any recommendations for traveling," Twilight said. "We shouldn't dilly dally in this and get moving tomorrow morning at dawn." "Good idea. As for traveling, the crystal train would make good time but I wouldn't take it to far. I've got a feeling, we should be keeping to the shadows on your next trip north." And with that, Sombra vanished in a mass of darkness and smoke.