Chapter 3: The Creature
As Princess Cadance said those very words, Sombra froze in horror. What he thought was his perfect day had now turned into his worst nightmare. He had to wake up, he thought; he can't stay any longer in this nightmare. Sombra closed his eyes, pleading and begging that this was nothing but a dream. It had to be a dream. He slowly opened his eyes, to reveal him back in the princesses' castle. It wasn't a dream.
"No, no. You can't do this to me!" Sombra roared; he then glared at Harmony in sheer rage.
He forcibly smashed his front hooves to the ground, which caused large, pitch black crystals to form around Harmony Spark. The princesses tried to intervene, but Harmony stops them in their tracks. She then looks up at the tall, ominous crystals and began to hug each one. Sombra was deeply amused by this;
"Hahaha! Oh please, is that the BEST way you can think of? Giving my invincible crystals a pathetic act of love?" Sombra jeered, before his laughter died away as he gazed in shock.
Harmony's hugging had somehow turned the crystals colours from black to a bright, glowing purple. She then used her magic to then levitate the crystals, aimed at Sombra and threw them towards the stallion. Sombra knew he had to move, but he was too busy just staring at this strange act of magic, He then closed his eyes to meet his death, but opens them, finding out that the crystals were stuck in the ground. Sombra then looked up at a stern-looking Harmony and growled softly.
"Second warning." Harmony replied to the stallion, as she blasted the purple crystals to dust. "Now, I believe you owe Cadance a certain crown, armour and robes?" She added.
He wouldn't dare to give over his kingly possessions, but Sombra knew that Harmony would be always ready with her perplexing magic if he refuses. He had no choice. Sombra then reluctantly handed over his robes, crown and armour. His red, green eyes with purple smoke turned into red-snake like eyes. Harmony pulled a small smile at her stallion friend, as she was hoping to ensure no hard feelings, but Sombra remained livid.
"Now, just like Cadance said, you must follow what Harmony Spark tells you. She will explain what it means to be a good friend. And to make sure none of this mess happens again, you are hereby prohibited to use any dark magic from now on. You can now only use normal magic for the rest of your life." commanded Princess Luna, to a now horrified Sombra.
She then placed a magical spell on Sombra's curved horn, as it created a helical ribbon of blue magical light around it. Sombra looked up to his magically-secured horn; he quickly retaliated as he used more dark magic to break the spell, but to no success.
"Thank you, sister. Twilight, I want you to accompany Harmony with Sombra back to Ponyville. You do have a spare room available in your house, Harmony?" asked Princess Celestia.
"Sure. (gasps) It'll be just like a sleepover! Instead of one night, you'll be staying for weeks and weeks, until you get a job! I gotta pinch myself, because I must be dreaming!" Harmony energetically answered and hugged Sombra tightly.
"How I wish it was." Sombra bemoaned.
"Harmony will report your status to me, Sombra. And if you're fully reformed, Luna will break the spell. However you are still banned from using any dark magic again, after you're reformed. You may now be accused." Celestia added.
Harmony, Sombra and Twilight both walked out of the hallway. Sombra pulled a menacing glare at the princesses, before closing the door. As they walked out of the castle into the streets of Canterlot, Sombra marvelled at the newly improved Canterlot. He had never been to Canterlot for over 1000 years. The more he saw, his anger quickly turned into wonderment. There he stood mesmerized; he looked upon the countless shops and the town viewed by all of Equestria as Celestia's radiant sun glowed its rays onto the spacious gardens behind him.
"It's…It's beautiful." Sombra muttered to himself. The sheer beauty of Canterlot's environment had somehow got to him. If he ruled the Crystal Empire, it wouldn't look anything like this. So prosperous, so bright. He can't help but smile. "Canterlot is better than I remember. I haven't been here for a long time. To be honest, I think that it was really nice of you to bring me back to life, Harmony. You're really nice and very strong-willed. And Twilight, I wanted to say congratulations on your coronation. You truly deserve it." said Sombra gently.
"Huh?" said Twilight and Harmony in unison. Since when did Sombra act pleasant all the sudden? That's not like him at all. As she stared in confusion, Harmony then noticed the change in Sombra's eyes. Curiosity began to grow inside her.
Before Sombra can reply, his eyes shone a dark green. Inside his mind, he felt something coming. It looked like a creature of some kind. Sombra cried in throbbing agony as the creature in his mind tried to overcome him. He couldn't tell what, but he wanted it gone. His eyes glowed from normal to green whilst the creature inside him gnawed at his conscience. The creature took full control of Sombra's body. He told him to do something. The ponies of Canterlot witnessed the event and galloped away as the crazed Sombra glared at them with pure fury.
Twilight held back an anxious Harmony, as Sombra prepared himself. He then stopped in the middle of the street, with only two alicorn mares watching in helplessness. With his teeth ground sharp, Sombra then pierced his teeth into his own limb. Harmony cried in distress, as blood dripped across Sombra's limbs. Tears dripped down the stallion's face. How he wanted it to stop, but he couldn't. He wanted to fight it, but he couldn't. He was powerless against the creature. Sombra then tore out his blood-stained fangs out of the wounded leg and then collapsed to the floor.
"Sombra! What's happened to you? Are you okay? Please wake up. Please." She tearily asked as she ran to Sombra's side. To Harmony's joy, Sombra then slowly opened his eyes. But her delight was short-lived. His eyes weren't back to normal.
"GET OFF ME, MORTAL!" He yelled in a more twisted, demented tone. He then lunged at the two mares, about to blast them with some dark magic. But Luna's spell kicks in and stops the unicorn in his destruction. The blue magic around Sombra's created a magic barrier which stopped the black magic from being formed. The barrier then caused Sombra to fall on the ground, as he trembled from his bleeding wound that smeared the streets.
End of Chapter 3