Sombra eventually started reevaluating his worries about being captured. Thanks to the changing levels of light in the room, Sombra had a fair grasp of day and night. It had been fourteen days since Sombra had awakened in his jar, at least by his count. Though Sombra had no clue how long he had been in the jar while unconscious.
Sombra was fairly convinced that wherever he was, no one knew he was there.
While that meant that it was possible no one wanted to try and dissect Sombra to steal his secrets or powers, it also meant there was literally nothing to do. Early on Sombra realized that plotting revenge would be folly if he had no grasp on exactly what the capabilities of his foes' numbers, powers, or resources.
Unfortunately this meant that Sombra was alone with his thoughts. More often then not Sombra's mind attempted to drift toward the past, always in vain.
Sombra still couldn't remember very much at all from before taking over the Crystal Empire. Sombra wrote it off as a side-effect of the loss of his body and the subsequent explosion. Most creatures couldn't have survived something like that.
Sombra was just about to drift off to sleep out of sheer boredom, but a sound reverberated through the jar he was contained in. The sound of a door opening, followed by hoofsteps. Sombra snapped to attention, hoping to get a glimpse of something other than the terribly dull room he was trapped in.
Though the sounds were muffled by his glass prison, Sombra could just barely make out the heft of the hoof steps, despite not actually possessing ears. A stallion or anypony wearing armor would have made more noise, so it was most likely a mare.
Sombra waited patiently, barely even blinking to be sure he wouldn't miss whoever was in the room.
Sombra's first suspicion was confirmed a moment later when a somewhat familiar purple mare came into view. It was the mare that had been the ringleader of the ones that blew Sombra to bits.
Sombra's rage instantly got the better of him, made furious at being captive to one of his attempted executioners.
What was even worse was that she didn't even seem to notice him. She was seemingly occupied with something on the shelf of the wall opposite him. Sombra was a king, and he would not tolerate such disrespect. Sombra had to do something, or at least try to.
Sombra's emotional state caused his plasma-like form to boil and expand, pushing upon the confines of his glass container. He was still unable to break out, but something unexpected happened. His internal dialog had suddenly became external. Some of Sombra's inky form had ripped open, forming a many fanged mouth much like his old one.
"Turn around wench! I may be powerless but I demand you at least notice my presence!" Sombra shouted loudly enough that his jar shook.
The mare in front of him jumped at least five feet in the air at the unexpected verbal onslaught.
She turned as soon as she hit the floor, a scowl replacing her look of surprise. Her horn was lit and wings flared at her sides, instinctively trying to make herself seem more threatening as she prepared a magical attack.
Though now it was Sombra's turn to be surprised.
The last time Sombra had seen this mare she had definitely not possessed wings. As soon as the mare caught sight of Sombra she lowered her wings and put out her horn, considerably less alarmed. She was now far more curious than she was cautious, as a blob of darkness with an angry voice had just yelled at her from a specimen jar.
Before Sombra could speak again his captor lit her horn once more and hit him with some sort of spell. Sombra's whole world went black, and his thoughts instantly became muddled. Sombra tried speaking as he fell unconscious, but his words were garbled and incoherent.
An indeterminate period of time later
Sombra awoke once more, shaking what little of a body he had in an attempt to rid himself of the strange groggy feeling he was experiencing. Sombra looked around again, finding himself in a different, much larger container. The bottom and top both seemed to be lined with complex arcane runes that pulsed with magenta colored energy.
It was clear Sombra wouldn't have been able to get out even if he were in a position to do so.
To make matters even worse, the new room Sombra found himself in was full of people relatively familiar to him. None of them looked pleased to see him in the least, though that was to be expected. Sombra had tried to kill almost everyone in the room at least once before, though the fact that he had failed didn't seem to improve their moods any.
Celestia and Luna who had turned him into a shade and sealed him away were there, standing next to the purple alicorn that had discovered the crystal heart Sombra had hidden away. The other ponies Sombra vaguely remembered as the rubes that were sent to protect the empire from him upon his first return.
The gaudy pink alicorn with tri-colored hair, and a well-built white unicorn that hadn't demonstrated any valuable magical ability besides shield bubbles. All of them were glaring at him, making him feel even less hopeful of getting free anytime soon.
And the strangest presence in the room was Discord, who Sombra couldn't actually recall how he knew. Though Discord was certainly in good spirits, acting as if he had been waiting for Sombra to show up for some time now.
Sensing that his situation couldn't get any worse, Sombra decided to get his inevitable punishment over with.
"So is anypony going to say something, or maybe just continue staring at me? I have literally all the time in the world to float about in this tube, but I imagine you all have places to be." Sombra shouted in an annoyed tone after having his fill of being gawked at.
Without hesitation, the assembled ponies all looked to Celestia, deciding the senior official of the group should field this one. Even Luna looked at Celestia expectantly, forcing the regal mare to take charge. Celestia begrudgingly got up from her seat and trotted over to the enchanted containment unit her old foe was sealed in, standing only a couple feet away.
"You are Sombra, yes?" Celestia asked in a calm tone, perfected through the ages.
"Yes, I am KING Sombra." Sombra replied gruffly, trying to emphasize the use of his title.
Celestia frowned and reconvened with the other members of royalty for a moment. Sombra couldn't make out what they were saying in their huddle, but each of them looked back over to him at least once. After a few minutes of secretive conversation the group split again. This time Luna stepped forward instead of Celestia.
"How are you still alive? The crystal ponies refracted magic made you explode into a great number of pieces. There were quite a few witnesses." Luna asked with no small amount of disdain in her voice.
Sombra huffed, already tiring of dealing with those he thought belonged below him.
"I am immortal. I would have thought that was obvious by now." Sombra replied with generous serving of attitude.
The group watching Sombra were each at least a little disturbed by the somewhat obvious revelation, especially Celestia and Luna who knew just how exclusive the list of genuine immortals was.
Celestia had a deadly serious look on her face, leaning down to look directly into the mad tyrant's eyes.
"How exactly did you become immortal? It's not something a unicorn can achieve on his own, not even with dark magic as powerful as yours." Celestia asked, though her tone was more demanding than asking.
"Actually, I know the answer to that~!" Discord chimed in.
A chorus of unsurprised groans met Sombra's ears.
Though Sombra paid their reactions no heed. He was far more conscious of the new throbbing pain that was wracking his mind.
Discord's claim seemed to have chipped away at whatever was blocking out Sombra's memories. While some fragments had suddenly come flooding back it was difficult for Sombra to sort them out.
Images of things that seemed familiar, like flashes of a strange white room and glowing runes. A grating voice that commanded things of Sombra, and an almost overwhelming compulsion to listen. Then the sensation of cold and an all-consuming fear that rippled through Sombra's consciousness, and eventually an image of Discord reaching into Sombra's chest.
Though Sombra didn't actually have a chest he felt a sort of phantom-pain in his nonexistent abdomen.
Everypony, including Discord actually looked genuinely concerned at Sombra's suddenly deteriorating condition. The mass of energy that currently housed Sombra's consciousness had shrunk, and instead of a steady pulsating-flow the mass of energy seemed to flow like fire for a time before tapering off to a dull pulse.
Once Sombra regained his composure he reopened his tired eyes and looked back at Discord.
"Discord... I summoned you. You took my soul and granted me immortality. I... I think I remember that." Sombra shuddered.
Discord quickly cast a glance back at his numerous acquaintances and saw their obvious scowls aimed at both Sombra and himself. While his mood momentarily soured Discord's smile soon returned by the time he refocused his gaze on Sombra.
"Well, it wasn't as cut and dry as that. Things were a bit tense when we last met, and I wasn't sure you'd get over the... trauma so well. I hear you went and became a king though! If you hadn't enslaved an entire populace I could have told people I met you before you were famous, but whatever." Discord prattled, as if Sombra was an old friend.
Luna stepped forward and picked Discord up in her aura, slamming his face into the glass of Sombra's tube. She wanted this settled as soon as possible if Discord's loyalty was once again in question. Luna was meant to be asleep during the day, and her tired state did nothing to improve her tolerance for the draconequus.
"Discord, why would you give this psychopath immortality?" Luna practically growled.
"Well I didn't just give it to him, you know? Sombra bought his immortality. He summoned me, and wouldn't let me leave until we came to an agreement. I took his soul, and flipped a few switches inside, and now Sombra can't die." Discord explained, as if it were obvious.
Luna sighed and let go of Discord who fell to the floor with a loud splat. Discord had become some sort of goo that slithered a few feet away from Luna and reformed itself into Discord once more. Cadence frowned at Discord's disgusting antics, but kept silent, even when Discord slithered up to her.
"I do realize that this looks bad, but this was well over a millennium before I was reformed. But I'm embarrassed to say I'm not allowed to simply give Sombra's soul back, or take away his deathlessness. It was part of the pact.
"If he wants his soul back he has to buy it back for something I find of equal or greater value. Not my idea of course, but my back was against the wall. That's also just about all I'm allowed to tell you." Discord added, feeling the assembled ponies glares reaching new levels of intensity.
The group reconvened again, now keeping Discord at arm's length. Discord walked off in a huff and leaned on Sombra's tube, waiting for a verdict. Sombra was keeping quiet, trying to hear what they were saying while trying to figure out exactly why Discord had sided with the alicorns.
After a good five minutes of debate, everyone turned there attention back to Discord and Sombra. Celestia stepped forward, first addressing the issue of Discord's questionable deeds.
"Discord, we will not hold the actions of the past against you in the present, as you haven't slipped up at all during the fifteen years since the Tirek fiasco. We do however wish to hear your input on what should be done about Sombra, as he is in a way your responsibility." Celestia decreed.
Discord's happiness sprung forth, a few small fireworks launching from unknown places around the room.
"Oh thank you everypony, I'm touched that you believe in me." Discord crooned.
"You can show us your appreciation by telling us what we should do about Sombra, Discord." Shining Armor huffed.
Discord rolled his eyes and bent over to look Sombra's new form over. He was still a black mass of magic with eyes and a mouth, making it impossible for him to do very much of anything. Discord shuddered as he remembered his stone imprisonment, not wishing the same fate on anyone.
Before anypony could react Discord snapped his fingers and Sombra disappeared from the tube. Discord snapped his fingers again and Sombra's floating form reappeared in front of everypony.
Discord reached behind his back and pulled out what appeared to be an egg-beater.
Discord plunged the egg-beater into Sombra's inconsistent form and began turning the crank at an astonishing rate. Sombra's form was quickly whipped into what could only be described as a large mass of evil-meringue several times larger than he had been seconds before.
Discord then reached into his ear and pulled out a hair-dryer. The cord hung from Discords ear and the insane spirit turned it on full-blast, hardening the outer layer of Sombra's now unrecognizable form.
Once the absurd cocoon of sorts was completed Discord grabbed hold of it and cracked it over his knee. Out slid a fully formed Sombra, completely clothed and armored. He was covered in a thin layer of what looked like uncooked egg, but Discord was quick to scoop him up with a tremendous towel.
Once Discord was satisfied that Sombra was clean he let go of one end of the towel and Sombra tumbled out, looking dizzy and just a little green.
Once he regained his composure Sombra stood tall and triumphant, his unnaturally sharp teeth turned up into an evil grin. He began laughing maniacally, as he was once again free to walk the world. He felt utterly unstoppable, right up until he started choking.
"Mwah ha ha, mwah ha ha- urk. *cough* *cough* Hold on, I seem to have forgotten how to breathe. *cough* " The tyrant choked. It took him a moment to get back into the habit of respiration, but he seemed fine afterward. Though somewhat winded.
The ponies in the room were in shock, thinking Discord had just crossed them again. Everyone was worrying it would be just like the Tirek incident years ago, Sombra joined with Discord to overthrow the princesses. Twilight however knew better than to suspect him by now and instead took notice that something was off with Sombra's new body.
"Discord, did you turn Sombra into an earth pony?" Twilight asked hopefully, wanting to believe Discord had a plan.
"Indeed I did! Teacher's pet just earned herself yet another gold star~!" Discord sang.
Discord pulled a sheet of stickers from behind his back. He quickly and carefully peeled a golden colored star sticker from it and placed it on Twilight's cheek. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief, though the situation was still far from over.
Sombra blinked a few times as his brain processed what had been said and raised his hoof to his head.
To his dismay his horn was nowhere to be found.
Not even a nub to indicate if it had been broken off. Sombra lifted his armored foreleg and looked at his reflection in it, finding his eyes were a normal white with blood red irises too. No purple smoke coming from luminescent green eyes. It seemed the only real abnormality to be found was his sharp teeth.
Sombra was now an earth pony for all intents and purposes, meaning he was essentially powerless.
"How dare you turn me into an earth pony! Give me back my magic this instant!" Sombra bellowed angrily.
Discord ran his talons through his beard for a moment, as if he was in deep thought. After taking a few puffs from his bubble pipe he seemed to come to a decision. After letting the pipe float off on it's own he leaned down and flicked Sombra on the nose.
"Nah, I figured you'd be easier to reform if you couldn't blow anypony up or enslave the locals. I didn't actually mean to give you clothes or fangs either, but whatever. Chaos." Discord said with a shrug as he snaked around Sombra.
Everypony seemed to have mixed feelings about the idea of reforming Sombra, except for Shining and Cadence. They seemed outright against it, but looked to Celestia and Luna to make the decision. Surprisingly enough Celestia and Luna shrugged, looking to Twilight for an answer.
"What does the Princess of Friendship have to say on the matter? Do you think Sombra can be changed, or does the powerful dark magic he uses hold too strong a sway on him?" Luna asked.
Twilight looked the former tyrant over, thinking about all Sombra had done. By comparison Discord had actually done far more, and Sombra had been destroyed once already.
"I suppose we should at least give him a chance, considering we gave Discord several. Even without his powers Sombra is still immortal and it'd be wrong to keep him locked up forever after being sealed up for a thousand years and then blown up and put into a comatose state for another fifteen." Twilight reasoned.
The other royals talked amongst themselves, discussing it further. Eventually they agreed to give Sombra a chance, albeit reluctantly. They turned to Discord expectantly, and in return the draconequus merely scoffed at them.
"Pfft. I'm not going to do it myself, it'd be Tirek all over again. I'm too easily enticed. Let someone trustworthy handle it. Someone who can use a firm hand when necessary would probably be best, considering Sombra's still quite ill-tempered." Discord reasoned.
To everyone's surprise Discord had made an excellent point. He couldn't be trusted to watch over Sombra, but they still needed someone to take charge of the situation. Sombra was mourning his situation, seeing little he could do as he was. Even trying to make a break for it would have proven futile.
If by some miracle he escaped, Sombra would still be without his magic and he had no idea where he was. Additionally, Discord was likely the only one who could give Sombra his horn back.
And I have no way of recovering my lost memories. Perhaps earning their trust isn't such a terrible idea. Sombra thought to himself.
Celestia, Luna, and the rest of the group whispered amongst themselves just softly enough so that Sombra couldn't hear. It was clear they were discussing Discord's plan, though Sombra had little interest in becoming good at present. As the discussion continued Sombra watched Twilight's expression change from eagerness to help to utter disappointment.
After a few minutes of debate Twilight nodded in agreement to whatever the plan was, though she didn't look pleased about it. She looked like Pinkie Pie had just spilled grape jelly on her first edition copy of advanced spell theory volume thirty-seven again.
Shining and Cadence both seemed worried, feeling bad that they absolutely couldn't bring Sombra back with them. After all, bringing Sombra back home with them would cause endless problems in the empire.
Twilight stepped forward, glaring at Sombra at a moderately low intensity.
"Sombra, since you're magic isn't usable now we give you the choice of being reformed like Discord with the possibility of having your horn returned to you in the future. Your only alternatives are spending eternity in Tartarus or being permanently encased in stone." Twilight explained seriously.
Sombra knew that for the time being he was beaten, and though it pained him greatly he was stallion enough to acknowledge it.
"I submit to your laws and whims, and will become reformed, as you put it."
Twilight looked back to the older alicorns who nodded for her to continue. She sighed unhappily and continued explaining the situation to the captive conqueror. Sombra noticed she seemed out of sorts, making Sombra believe she was still unhappy about his reappearance.
"Since I brought the sample of... well, you, back from the Crystal Empire fifteen years ago you are to be confined in Ponyville where I can oversee your progress from afar. You have been assigned a parole officer, and they will oversee your reformation personally." Twilight began.
Sombra found the terms fair enough, and even quite reasonable. It sounded as though Sombra was still going to have a reasonable amount of freedom, making Sombra think that Celestia and Luna had become soft since their fight.
"Very well. So who is this parole officer?" Sombra asked, expecting one of the alicorns or higher level officials to be tasked with him.
"He's my son." Twilight replied proudly.