//------------------------------// // Purgatory is a Better Alterative... // Story: Sombra the Wandering Hero of Justice // by midashguy //------------------------------// The last thing Sombra saw before his death was the blinding light that stripped him of the very fiber of his being. Being shattered like glass and yet ripped apart. He tried to scream, call out and beg for it to stop, but it was a futile struggle and all he could do is rear back in withering pain. He felt this for what seemed like an eternity. Yet suddenly as the suffering began, it ended. There was a moment of void and Sombra felt absolutely nothing, and his existence before that moment felt vague and blurry, like a half remembered dream. Then he was abruptly dragged though what felt like a sea of glass shards. He collapsed on the floor, physically and mentally exhausted. Wait...floor? Refusing to open his eyes, he felt about with one hoof. Tapping the ground, he could determine that the floor was made up of marble or something similar. Gingerly, he opened one eye and was met with glaring light. "Get up." A strong feminine voice commanded. Sombra attempted to comply, but gravity proved greater and he hit the floor yet again with a thud. "Such a powerful king shriveled up to this." The voice seemed...disappointed. "W-ho are..." Sombra eeked out. "You know who I am all to well. If not for me you might still be ruler of something." She spat. "Celestia." Sombra moaned. "There was a time when I had hoped you could be something great. A legend, a hero. Those hopes were dashed log ago." Celestia maliciously growled. "I sought to ensure your dark reign not only ended, but faded from history. You wanted to leave a legacy, you wanted to be remembered. I did everything in my power to shatter any chance of you achieving your goal." "Wasn't...my fault..." Sombra whispered. "You think I could believe that? I saved you from utter destruction, not out of the goodness of my heart. Not this time. I brought you here so you could face your crimes." Celestia explained. "Death is not enough for what you've done. I'm sending you out, out into Equestria." Sombra remained silent, unsure of how to process this information. "Your wondering why? In spite of it all I'm hoping that given another chance, you might just be able to do more harm then good. I am doubtful though. I don't think I have much of a choice though." The Lord of Dark Magic could only wonder who might still be rooting for him. "Know that I will be watching. Hurt any of my little ponies and death would be a welcome alterative." Celestia said, narrowing her eyes. Sombra could only nod, still collapsed on the floor. Celestia's horn lit with gleaming magic, and Sombra felt himself pulled...no yanked across space. He was stretched and crushed and stretched yet again in an instant. When it finally stopped he felt the Sun on his back for the first time in a thousand years. And he smelled lilacs. Cautiously he opened one eye. A lush meadow greeted him cheerfully. He decided to lay back and enjoy the moment. As he layed back he brushed up against something on his side. Turning towards it he discovered something. A gift. A small book and... a black and gold trimmed sombrero. Oh how the Princess of the Sun loved her little jokes, even after all this time. Still the book interested him an he tried levitating the book to him with his horn. Nothing. He reached up to the top of his head and panicked when he found no horn on his head. Agh! I've been turned into a filthy Earth Pony! How...Revolting!. He reviled. That means Celestia is still weary of mean. Heh. He gingerly picked up the book with his hooves and inspected the cover. Reforming for Dummies, by Discord....Oh you must be joking. Sombra thought, face-hoofing. With nothing better to do, Sombra put the sombrero on his head and stuffed the book under it. surveying the area, he noticed a dirt path leading away from him. Well at least she didn't leave me in the middle of absolute nowhere... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Great and Powerful Trixie was doing what came naturally to her, wandering. Her slow pace allowed her to think quite a bit. After that whole Alicorn Amulet fiasco a while back, she wasn't sure what to do next. So she simply traveled, occasionally performing shows to supplement income. It didn't feel the same, however. The thrill of being on stage had lost its luster. The roar of the crowd had become a dull echo. It felt empty, and Trixie felt hollow inside because of it. There was a time where she lived for the show. Not now, not anymore. "Perhaps Trixie will do something new! Go on an adventure to save the world like Twilight Sparkle! Maybe then Trixie will feel better." She thought out loud. Yea right. Her logical side argued. You were better off the villain. At least ponies cared about you then. Everyone has forgotten you. "Not true!" Trixie defended. "Twilight Sparkle remembers us!" You want make a difference in the world? "Yes! That is exactly what we want, yes?" She asked. I could care less... Rather abruptly, a stallion with a coat as black as coal fell from a tree branch right in front of her. This startled her quite a bit, and she reared back. Though the fall looked rather painful, the stallion gave no indication he felt it, nor did he call out in pain. Rather comically, a sombrero gently drifted down from the tree and landed rather gently on top of his head. "Ow." He grunted, more to the hat then the unicorn in front of him. "Trixie is rather confused." She stated, taking a few steps back. "And I need to get to the nearest town." Apparently the stallion was not in a cheerful mood. "Trixie is headed there. You will follow Trixie yes?" She offered. Abort! Abort! Bad idea! Her logical side wailed. She smiled and ignored it. "I suppose I don't have much of a choice." He grunted. "Alright then!" Trixie said, and began walking again. "Will you tell Trixie your name?" 'Oh, that could be a problem.' Sombra thought. On the outside, he remained calm. "My name? Sombrero." He said nonchalantly. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When is a rock not a rock? When it's a golem. Bits of stone held together with dark power. Golems are not kind creatures. They are what happens when nature is tainted with dark magic. When all the dark magic in the Crystal Kingdom was blasted away, it ended up pooling in areas that it could survive in. Dark magic corrupts all it touches. It drives the smartest mad, the kindest cruel and the most generous to hoard. Simply put, it destroys all that it touches. That dark magic had crept its way to a rather curious little rock farm...