It was a further two days before Sombra was well enough to leave the medical room. The Doctor recommended he rest up and eat well, he needed to replace the energy he'd lost.

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When he wandered into the Library, as they were often found there lately, the other royals were overjoyed to see him back on his hooves. After a delighted round of catching up, they asked him to follow them.

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Celestia nodded to a heavily shielded case, in which floated the beacon heart. Sombra blinked.

"Was destroyed?" Twilight Sparkle chuckled, "it was found on the edge of the empire, still shining. Seems that explosion we witnessed was it discharging the collected power inside it!"

"How?" Sombra asked, stepping closer. As if sensing its creator, it pulsed softly behind the shield.

"I don’t know how you did it Sombra," Celestia smiled as she looked at him, "but you’ve created a magical artefact..."

Sombra looked stunned. "I literally have no idea how..." he said at last, eyebrows raised and shaking his head in genuine surprise.

"It's exact function is unknown yet, we figured you’d want to study it..." Cadance smiled at his reaction “we were just the same, we all thought we'd seen it break on impact!”.

Sombra stared at it. He recalled the crystal heart pony he'd seen during the mini crisis over his running out of power, recollected her saying SHE was a symbol of the empires love, and HE its strength.

--Did she somehow influence this?-- he wondered. But he nodded, still surprised.

"That’s not all..." Luna retrieved a box from the table nearest the beacon heart "It seems news escaped somehow that the little heart pin had been lost, and this arrived this morning." she floated the box over to Sombra, who opened it curiously.

Inside it was a second pin, beautifully carved from a glimmering blue jewel even more stunning than the one it replaced. It seemed to combine light and dark shades as it caught the light.

"This is.." Sombra blinked, reflexively checking the crystal as his cutie mark talent gifted him, "midnight sea crystal? It's extremely hard to find. It's capable of retaining a magical charge of quite some strength..."

"I just see a shiny thing.” Shining Armor dead-panned, nodding calmly. Cadance rolled her eyes and Sombra chuckled at his friends expression.

"To our Prince" was all it said. The "our" was written in thicker pen, as emphasis.

"And THIS was returned as well!" Celestia proffered the silken scarf that formed a part of Sombra's outfit. Last seen wrapped around Sombra's marefriend, Shining Sea. Celestia draped it back around its owners neck, and Twilight Sparkle pinned it closed with the replacement brooch.

Sombra looked at it in the reflective surface of the nearby window. It caught the light and the colors inside shifted subtly.

"It is...” he said softly, and once more Twilight Sparkle detected a myriad of meanings behind those two simple words.

"It's not alone!" Cadance nodded over at a bunch of boxes that'd been neatly stacked to one side.

"You thinks THAT'S a lot, wait until you see the letters!" Shining Armor poked Sombra's side.

"Sweet merciful...the whole lot of you!" Sombra managed at last, making the Princesses giggle collectively.

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"When the plague happened, we held an informal gathering to tell everypony what happened, and to acknowledge those that played their part."

"No," Cadance chuckled "Lightshield took care of that. What I want you to do is JOIN me in giving the announcement."

"The previous times your actions have resulted in either saving this kingdom, or any time it’s simply been about YOU, they hoped you’d appear. You've been either perilously ill or otherwise occupied. So I postponed it until you recovered, in hopes you’d join me!~" she smiled kindly, then added, “They’d love to see you, and there's a lot to go over..."

To her relief, Sombra agreed to it. She felt it would be another opportunity for him to get adjusted to public speaking and appearance. That was why she'd waited.

The coronation was going to be a massive occasion, all the more so because of the place he occupied in the ponies hearts, who'd become drawn to his story of redemption against what seemed like impossible odds. From once loathing him for his past crimes, they now held him in esteem, for his unremitting efforts in defending them no matter what. Even with everything weighted against him, he'd refused to give up.

The plague had been the turning point of this; when he'd stuck around in the pouring rain, even as his own health deteriorated, refusing to leave until they understood the instructions for saving their loved ones. Some ponies had written letters saying they’d shouted abuse, sworn at him, one had even marched right up to him AND pulled his tail out of spite, but that stubborn stallion hadn’t been driven off. Eventually they’d realized what he'd been trying to do, and expressed their gratitude.

But even with all he'd learnt, Sombra needed all the adjustment time he could get. The day was drawing nearer and nearer...

If Sombra sensed her efforts, he didn’t say anything. No doubt he knew, and realized, he needed the opportunity.

And so it was they stood together just inside the palaces main door. Outside the doors, a stage had been set, along with the main ponies they wanted to thank. Twilight Sparkle and her friends, Lightshield and his CO, and the CMC plus Bright Spark, who'd played just a vital part in keeping their fellow foals and fillies calm!

"That’s up for debate..." he said humorously. Massive crowds still made his brain try to do a runner, but he reasoned after that ball, this wasn’t so bad. He was just so used to keeping to himself since returning, he still had the old habits. Being suddenly proclaimed a Prince and shoved into the public spotlight had been a bit of a shock. By nature he was a private pony, keeping his cards very close to his chest. Although that had started to change more and more...

"Things have changed so rapidly, it's fine that you feel a little out of place. Things will catch up eventually when this crisis is over...”

Dressed in the full armor, there was no denying he represented the strength of the Empires fight against their invaders. Cadance was wearing one of her prettiest dresses, hair done in a new style by her hairdresser, with input from Rarity.

The guards opened the door, and the sounds of the crowd washed over them as they strode towards the temporary platform...

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The waiting crowd gossiped and wondered. There was a rumour the light that'd kept the monsters from overwhelming them had come from Sombra. That he'd created a replica heart to power it. That he’d collapsed from overexerting himself magically and physically! And, most popular of all, that the Prince had a marefriend! Who the lucky pony was, everypony was wondering about!

But their gossiping was put aside, and their relief beyond measure when they seen Prince Sombra alongside Princess Cadance as the two stepped up to the mics. The CO of the guard stood to one side, as he had a few things of his own to tell the crowd!

Bright Spark caught Sombra's eye as he walked on, and waved a hoof at him. He rewarded her with a big smile. He could see Shining Sea by the edge of the stage, her mane done up in a jewelled clip that had it falling in waves like her namesake. She caught his eye and he felt a familiar flush of contentment as her eyes settled on him, a sweet smile on her face.

"Good morning everypony!" Cadance beamed brightly. Sombra followed suit by bidding them all a good day! The assembled ponies cheered the Prince and Princess with great gusto! They were relieved to see Sombra on his hooves. And even more pleased to see him address them, as he'd always been absent due to circumstances.

Sombra seen the crowds big smiles, seen how many waved up at him as he stood on the stage. He couldn’t help but smile to see how happy they were! He copied what Cadance did and waved to them, a gentle smile on his face.

A little startled, Sombra hastened to assure them he was fine. He was aware of Cadance smiling, as if she expected this much attention was waiting for him. She noticed, well hidden as it was by his darker coat color, that he flushed just a little at the attention.

Sea seen this too, and felt a little tug at her heart as she seen just how much it made Sombra happy to be so accepted. The cute way his ears twitched made her want to suddenly snuggle them-

Once the crowd had been reassured their precious Sombra was indeed fully recovered, Cadance began to explain what’d happened, how the darkness had been a massive dome created by those things! It’d been an effort to capture and drain as many ponies as possible. Sadly, many HAD been drained before the evacuation threw a spanner in the machinations of the shadow creatures! But compared to how bad things could have gotten, the outcome was spoken of as a victory nonetheless!

"What was that light?" One pony asked. Cadance nodded at Sombra, indicating this was his area of expertise, thus he should tell it;

He conjured up a memory he could show the crowd, showing how he'd created the light, explaining as he did. The crowd gaped as they seen a replay of the heart pin evolving into a full blown heart, then it beaming out that bright purple light that'd lit up the streets.

"Then the whole time you were powering it alone?" One mare asked, jaw practically on the floor.

Sombra nodded. “The plan was based off an unnatural darkness falling prey to an unnatural light. And what is dark magic if not a light born of the dark?”

Twilight Sparkle nodded her approval, she liked how he'd explained it! He didn’t skirt the issue of dark magic, yet managed to romanticize it a little.

The CO caught Cadance's eye, indicating he wished to say a few words. She nodded.

"That wasn’t all," he said in his loud, clear tones as he stepped up beside the Princess, once the cheering for Sombra's speech died down.

"Our efforts to locate so many of you and co ordinate such a big evacuation would've been impossible were it not for his highness' spells. Because of the map spell, we were able to get back and forth to the palace, the barracks and your homes with little need to stop and analyze who we had to hoof!”

“I for one wish to thank you sire, as do all my men! Your tactical spells saved not just the citizens lives, but many of ours too!"

The crowd were amazed, So the light and the guards had been Sombra's doing? They stamped their hooves and cheered in delight as Sombra returned the gesture!

When asked how he'd come up with the plan, Sombra paused a moment to think how to explain it;

Then he utilized the colorful method he'd used to tell his story to the little foal, Steel Wire. Using pointy shaped ponies. Creating a big enough display for them all to see.

A set of guards appeared, along with Sombra, the CO and a map. He replicated the spell, showing the diamonds above the guard ponies heads and hovering over the map, demonstrating how they'd tracked the guards over the empire in this way! And how the magic linked back to HIM.

"So far, most of these attacks have been manageable simply by utilizing brute force or massive magical spells. But this one felt different. They'd changed tactics again. To try and take on so many myself would be a disaster. It became apparent I could do a better job providing the guards with what THEY needed to get you all to the palace, than trying to solve the whole problem by myself!"

The CO nodded in agreement. Instead of going for the heroism of being the one to defeat the problem, Sombra had taken a more tactical point of view, putting his power to good use. He once more addressed Sombra as the Prince finished his speech;

"After speaking with the ponies you helped lead, it is my honor to present this to you. For without your help, none of us would know how to defend our empire against that darkness!"

LightShield stepped up beside his CO, passing a box to his commanding officer. The stern looking unicorn opened the box, revealing a carved metal pin.

It was shaped like a crystal, with a stylized sword and shield overlapping in front of it. Sombra recalled seeing one on Shining Armor's uniform those times they’d worked together at the training grounds, and on the CO himself also.

"This is a badge of honor worn by the very best, who have proven their conviction and dedication to protecting this empire. You have proven with every encounter you face that you are committed to safeguarding this empire, no matter what the risk. It is with the highest gratitude from all my guards and myself, that I present this award to you, your highness!"

Sombra was genuinely surprised, but extremely honored. And so he bowed his head to the CO, and the other pony pinned the emblem to Sombra's scarf.

"That wasn’t all!" The CO had been given the details of the Mane 6's input, and indicated them all to step up beside Sombra. Pinkie Pie grinned up at him, bouncing in excitement.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends got a great deal of you to the palace in no time at all, they handled the attack from the outset while his highness came to find us at the barracks!"

Everypony cheered, and the six ponies all looked very pleased, Pinkie Pie was beaming widely, even a blushing Fluttershy managed a bob of her head to the crowd.

“Aw yeah!” Rainbow whooped to the crowd, giving them her most eager grin! Pinkie Pie pulled a mini party canon from her hair and blasted confetti in celebration!

"And not just that!" Cadance beckoned the CMC and Spark forward as the older ponies sat back down. "You four helped keep numerous frightened foals and fillies occupied during a very scary incident! We all thank you for your hard work!" as a special treat for the kids, she presented them with a bag of crystal candy each, a popular sugar confection made specially to order!

“I predict hyper!” Rainbow whispered to the other two siblings, who both looked slightly worried.

The CMC and Bright Spark all shared wide grins as they sat down, hugging the bags to their chests.

Those in the crowd that’d had a part in creating the replacement heart after learning the one Sombra normally wore was gone smiled to themselves, it looked wonderful on him!

Soon as Sombra stepped off the stage, he was tackle-hugged by Bright Spark! He spent awhile talking with her and Sea, who once again made him smile just by asking how he was feeling?

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The rest of that morning Sombra spent reading letter after letter, of the massive stack that'd arrived while he slept. He curled up on a pile of comfy cushions in the throne room. Cadance was sat nearby, attending to various matters.

Everypony that came to speak with her cast curious and admiring glances over at the Prince reclining in the corner. Seeing them looking over at Sombra, Cadance encouraged them to go speak with him, he wouldn't mind in the least!

The ponies were happy to do so, and Sombra found himself speaking to various important ponies throughout the morning.

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One thing that bothered him was the amount of damage reports Cadance was getting from the locals. As the most recent one bowed and left the room, Sombra set the most recent letter down and walked over to her. Seeing she looked weary, he asked the guard to fetch some of that famous tea he was so fond of himself!

Cadance smiled appreciatively. "Its been a busy morning, there’s a lot to go over..." she looked at the stack of scrolls and letters. Then seen a hoof in the edge of her vision. It was Sombra, holding said hoof out as if to request she pass him some of them.

"Then let me," he confirmed her thoughts, "I know the council is going easy on me on account of this manic warfare, but for now all is peaceful, so I may as well get a bit of practice."

“I’m sitting around reading personal letters, it hardly seems fair." he responded, but he was smiling faintly. So she nodded and together they divided the pile of paperwork. They went through cups of tea, occasionally pausing to show one another a particular thing.

He fanned a series of letters in a semi circle around him "so many buildings have been damaged by those things, and my fighting them, in turn. I feel like there must be something I can do, since I’m partly responsible!"

Cadance shook her head, "it cannot be helped, those things are the ones at fault, not you Sombra. That they explode upon defeat cannot be changed on your part."

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What he proposed sounded silly, but given his talent for it, she found herself agreeing. Many shops needed new supplies sent to them, and the businesses supplying them were maxed out, they couldn’t keep up.

Sombra was proposing he give them a hoof transporting the materials. She'd heard from Shining Armor how Sombra had towed an entire festivals worth of wood in barely any time at all!

She had to applaud Sombra's unusual tactics, but admitted it was a helpful idea!

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So Sombra trotted out of the palace, heading for the first of the two main businesses that were supplying the timber and glass.

One he was familiar with, it was the same place he'd picked up the wood for the festival from.

The shop owner did a double take when Sombra strode in, and asked how he could help him?

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The owner was startled, but pleased. With the help of a strong stallion like Sombra, the amount of work would be eased significantly.
He was a bit reluctant to make the royal pony do so much heavy work, but Sombra insisted his shift in status hadn’t made him any less capable!

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The same assistant who'd been dumbfounded by Sombra's strength the first time he'd seen him was assigned to go with him, to tell him where to go. Again, he was startled by how easily Sombra pulled the hefty loads, without seeming too bothered. The business owners all did double takes, surprised by Sombra showing up with the heavily laden cart, and looking entirely unfazed.

Wishing to thank Sombra for taking the time to personally tend to their requests for aid, many offered food and drinks to Sombra and his assistant. On hearing the crown Prince was out and about helping fix up the shops, many ponies were drawn to the various shops to get a look!

It was easy work for Sombra, who wasn’t taxed by the heavy lifting, to the curiosity of everypony.

The only unfortunate thing that happened was Sombra accidentally catching the edge of his saddlebag as he was disentangling himself from the cart, but he shrugged it off.

He didn’t notice one of the shop owners that’d formed part of the latest crowd tilting her head and smiling...

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The next morning he got another package. Opening it, he seen a newly made saddlebag, this one done in black with gold edging, and of course the flaps bore his cutie mark. He was once again struck by how the citizens of the Empire seemed to notice these things. How they made these gifts for him to replace things he'd lost...

He read the attached letter, and smiled, instantly writing a letter to the creator. He'd deliver it personally tomorrow, he decided...

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Later that night there was another attack by the shadow creatures, and this time, alongside magic energy being stolen, it got an idea from the information...

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The next day, Sombra showed up at the glaziers shops this time. They were equally startled, but they couldn't deny that the help would really speed things up!

Sombra again noticed they seemed concerned about making a Prince do so much heavy labour. But Sombra cheerfully pointed out what the lumber owner had first said to him:

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Sombra had just finished the last delivery, for the second of the two major glazier suppliers, and was looking to tow the now empty cart back to the shop, when a carefully orchestrated plan slipped into motion.

The shadow had carefully picked a somewhat secluded side street, not on the main shopping street, but rather branching off it. It had some niche shops, very much the high end designer stuff. There’d barely been time for them to scream than it’d silenced them with a blanket spell, possessing them completely the same way it'd done all those instances before. Bar one, that was...

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"Hay...help! Please help!" a terrified cry reached Sombra's ears, and he came to a halt as a mare ran down the alley towards him!

He blinked, spotting the distressed look on the mare's face. She looked fearful and frantic, tears gathering in her green eyes.

"What’s the matter...?" he asked, slipping lose from the cart and trotting over to her.

On cue the creature gave a pulse of its power, causing Sombra to curse as his head ached.

He offered her a kindly smile, "don’t worry.." he said softly "it’ll be over soon, you’ll be OK!"

He raced down the street she'd come tearing out of, his head aching the closer he got. He was aware of her following him, unable to abandon her fellow ponies.

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"I must congratulate you, you know...” it laughed, drifting over, "you cut us off from getting as much as we wanted with that little light show. It'll be a shame to destroy you when this comes to a peak!"

"Speak for yourself...” Sombra spat. “your plans will go down in flames, I WILL see to it."

"Such brave words, little Prince. But tell me, have you the power to deal with your own citizens?"

"What?" Sombra looked around him, seeing how suddenly they were all standing around him, staring dully.

He cursed, just as the first unicorn suddenly fired a bolt of magic at him. He danced back, cloak flaring around him as he moved on instinct. He threw up a shield as several more magical missiles shot towards him. He stood there, head buzzing. So many....

The creature drifted back, cackling "this is so entertaining! Will you protect yourself and try to claim your not going to hurt them by refusing to fight back, or will you strike back to save them? which will you choose little Prince?"

It laughed and Sombra felt his heart kick up a notch, what was he supposed to do?! He was on the verge of conjuring up an attack, he couldn’t hide behind a shield forever...

Then he spotted his reflection in a window, seen the new heart pin. He touched a hoof to it, closing his eyes.

"Oh drop the goody goody act, you twisted freak!" It snapped. "you only have two choices, so choose! Your precious citizens trust in you, or your own safety?"

"Seems to me you're getting desperate, what is that you create, if not a spell to save your own worthless hide?"

"Its not to save mine..." Sombra chuckled, opening his eyes. It frowned, not getting it, what was this demented stallion babbling about?

Sombra seen the many unicorns charge up the next attack, and took a deep breath. Striking once they fired would take them by surprise, but...

The creatures jaw dropped when Sombra waited until the attacks were tearing towards him, took a deep breath, and dropped the shield.

He released the spell, a purple light pulsing out from his body in a wave. But where it exploited THIER vulnerabilities, it also required HIS.

At the same time the spell enveloped the surrounding ponies, their attacks hit HIM. He was sent crashing to the ground, his saddlebags skidding several feet away. From them spilled a number of scrolls detailing his work for the various companies, and a sealed thank you letter.

But he hadn’t time to attend to that, the next part of the plan was up next! He closed his eyes, drawing the extracted possession spells towards him, as he'd done before...

The creatures grin widened, as it seen Sombra struggle to his hooves only to stagger the next second, hunched over in pain.

"Yes, it’s a lot, isn't it?" it appeared in front of him hovering in the air, eyes glinting. It grabbed the stallion's jaw in one distorted hoof, forcing Sombra to look at him, "I figured you’d try something like this, so I added a little extra to it this time."

It looked at the pin on Sombra's chest and laughed, "soon you wont have a heart of crystal, but of STONE!”

It let him go and flew back, grinning. Sombra looked down at his hooves, and noted with a sickening lurch, that he was turning to a grayish stone. It was spreading up his hooves with each passing moment.

"Interesting lore this world has, you've heard of a Cockatrice, hm? Turns its prey to stone? Well, it took awhile to work this one out, but its only going to be needed this once..."

Stuck in place, Sombra glared at it, all the while fighting to stop the spread of the thing. But his magic wasn’t making it recede, only slowing it.

The creature threw its head back and laughed in perverse glee, seeing Sombra in agony!

"W-whats happening...?” the first of the ponies stirred, and when she seen what was going on, she cried out.

“Yes little fool.." the creature cackled, "your safety comes courtesy of your precious Princes life. Soon he’ll be little more than a statue!"

”Now, hows about a bite to eat!” The creature grinned and began to advance on her.

Sombra had been staring at the shadow creature this whole time, and knew he had this one shot.

Knowing it’d endanger him even further, he stopped channelling his magic into stopping the spell freezing his limbs, and fired a concentrated bolt of magic at his attacker.

“DUCK!” He yelled, and the mare curled up on he ground, squeaking in fright.

It struck the creature head on. But Sombra seen its expression, a mix of anger and triumph, before it exploded.

Sombra gave a cry of pain, feeling the spell encroach further up his legs, and he struggled to once more slow its spread..

"Y-your highness-! Oh sweet Celestia..." The mare wobbled back onto her hooves, and she gasped when she seen the rapid spread of the stone.

"Keep back, I don't want this spreading if its possible..." he said, sounding calm, but she could hear the strain in his voice.

"We have to do something-!" she panicked. Sombra tried to move, but agonizing pain backlashed through his body as he failed to even lift one hoof.

More and more ponies woke up, and upon seeing the dilemma, began to panic. Same as the other possession cases, they’d been able to see what’d been going on, but couldn’t stop themselves. Once they realized what the THINGhad done to the Prince, they panicked full force. Some ran to fetch a guard, or somepony that could help.

Sombra was starting to panic, but fought to suppress it, to not worry them further. He tried to force more magic into the spell, and it almost receded, then his concentration snapped and it began to creep further up, heading towards the jewelled band around his foreleg.

But he got a surprise when the stone spell reached the band. The jewel shone, and it moved back, as if the gems light hurt it. he stared in surprise, feeling a familiar presence in his head.

--When last we met, I stashed a little extra in this jewel, should you need it. It isn’t enough to hold this type of spell back for long, but it’ll buy you time. I wish I could have given you more, but this I did not foresee...--

--Nopony could have, but I’ll try to find a way out, I don’t want to abandon them, not now!--- Sombra knew that for a fact.

--Don’t be afraid, just open up to them. They care about you, we both know that. They will not see you suffer alone...--

"Yes, but it wont last for long..." Sombra swallowed down the gut churning panic and tried to think clearly.

"I don’t have enough magic, the spell can only do so much, and I’m running low..."

--They love you, remember, and through them, to me... to YOU. Don’t be afraid...— the Heart pony's voice said gently.

He looked down at the gem, worry clawing at his chest, but knew what he had to do.

He met the eyes of the same mare who’d woken first, recognizing her now as the one that’d led him here.

"You could see I wasn’t myself, couldn’t you?" she whispered, tears welling up, "that's why you said I'd be OK soon, you knew..."

He nodded. She wiped the tears away and, seeing in his eyes he wanted something, she turned to the others and motioned them to be silent. Then she turned back to the struggling Sombra, "whatever you need, your majesty, just tell us!"

He looked at them, worry and guilt clawing at his chest, but the jewel in the band pulsed faintly, encouraging him.

He shut his eyes, feeling guilty to ask this of them, swearing he'd repay them somehow if he could get out of this...

"I think there’s a way t-to stop this," he spoke haltingly, pain choking his voice as he forced himself to talk, even as the spell began to wane and he felt fresh prickles of cold start to seep into his bones, "but it requires more magical power than I can spare. I drained a good deal of it, and the rest, I cannot reach, this spell is trapping it away. It's not enough now-"

A further ragged bolt struck though to the bone, and he cut off, a ragged gasp indicating it was getting worse...

"Please forgive me for asking this, but I need your magic-" a glow, bright enough even behind closed eyes made him open them-

"You need magic, is that all sire?" one of the closer ones asked, with a smile, “Tell us how to do this!”

"Will you be able to adapt it?" one young pony asked, "will regular magic work with dark magic? Your magic's really special, an' mines just normal...”

The kid’s view of Sombra's magic made the suffering pony feel better, and he gave the kid a smile that cheered the colt’s spirits.

“Yes, I can,” Sombra nodded “S-so far, Alicorn magic has twice been used to help. The Princesses gifted me some of their magic after the stadium incident."

"You expended a lot of magic then too. Just what kind of spells are those things using?!" The kids mother asked.

"Immense ones, all the possession spells it had you trapped under, it took more than expected to destroy them all. In hindsight, I should have detected there was a caveat to the spell this time, but I didn’t think.."

“Nothing to worry about sire!" A stallion caught the Prince's gaze and nodded, "if that’s what it takes you get you back, ten its OUR duty to protect you the way you’ve been protecting US!"

"OK, everypony!" The first mare rallied them around her, "that jewel is somehow keeping it back, divert it to that, right?" she smiled at Sombra, who nodded, dumbfounded.

"Brace yourself.." she said gently. He nodded, focusing on the jewel, steadying his breathing...

Even so, when the combined magic of what was easily over a dozen unicorns hit his system at once, he nearly lost grip on the spell. But he closed his eyes, directing it through sensation, as he always did with his magic.

The heart's voice had faded, no doubt she'd exhausted herself trying to reach him, but he knew what he had to do!

He gathered the magic the unicorns were giving him, and, in his mind he seen it as a multicolored cloud of sparkling magic, and the spell currently immobilizing him as a grey crystal. He took the donated magic and merged it with his own, making glowing arrows of magic. These, he fired straight at the very heart of the spell, praying it’d be enough!

Back in the real world, the anxious citizens seen the jewel in the band glow, then the light spread out to envelop the stranded Prince. They shielded their eyes as the light became blinding and there was a sound of something crackling, then to their joy...stumbling hoof steps!

They opened their eyes, seeing Sombra taking the hesitant steps forward, looking shaken and relieved.

They cheered collectively, their relief and happiness reflected in Sombra's expression. They gathered around him, delighted to see him safe.

"Thank you.." Sombra managed to speak at last, “I don’t know how to repay you all…”

One of the ponies stepped up to him with his saddlebag, setting it atop his back once more.

"Compared to the lives YOU'VE saved, and what you’ve done for US, its the least we could do! We love you, sire, we won't see you vanish!" she said firmly.

Sombra couldn’t speak, just nodded. That they felt such affection for him was a dream, realized.

The same mare smiled up at him, nodding at the bag, "did I get the fit right, your highness?"

"That was you-!" Sombra opened the bag, fishing out the letter and presenting it to her "-here...”

"I saw your old one tear, and I figured you deserved something special, so I made it custom. It’s got a double thick lining so it shouldn’t tear as easily. The work you do is very arduous..."

The guard the other ponies had raced to fetch reached them at last, bowing to the Prince and asking was he alright?

“I’m fine, the harm has been undone,” Sombra looked at the gathered citizens, “all thanks to their generosity. They saved me.”

The guards nodded, issuing their own heartfelt gratitude to the crowd for taking care of Prince Sombra.

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But as he trotted back, a sudden thought hit him. What the heart had said about his PHYSICAL form when she'd been refuelling his power with her own.

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He left a message for her, and sure enough when he fell asleep, he awoke in darkness. She stood there, smiling softly.

Sombra gave a small, nervous sigh, then spoke "I need to go back to that memory, a thousand years ago."

“The night I changed, yes," Sombra nodded, expression troubled, "I have something I need to see..."

"Don’t worry, I’m not doing to hurt myself. I need to see the spell that changed my appearance, I have a theory."

When Sombra opened his eyes after the whirlwind transportation, he felt his stomach lurch a little as he seen the surroundings. The throne room... and his father.

Even though it was just a memory, it still hurt to see him, but he also felt a sense of happiness...

Though a small part of him begged him to turn away, not to view what was coming next, he stayed where he was, resolutely taking in the scene unfolding.

By the time the spell had been unleashed, and he'd seen his father vanish, and his childhood self warped into his current form, he realized he was so tense it actually HURT. He felt his limbs unfreeze after an arduous effort, and he stumbled forward, somehow regaining his balance.

"It is admirable thou did not try to shy away from this, instead staring it down. But thou must not hurt thyself that way. Thou hath faced thy past-"

Sombra looked up at her. She could see from the hesitant and confused look on his face, he both knew what she meant, yet yearned to deny it.

"Trust us, we know what it is like to punish oneself. To wallow in that dark pity...but, thou must let it come to an end. We cannot punish ourselves forever, such a thing would be an insult to what we both have learnt!"

A shaky nod, he closed his eyes, and beneath her wing she felt a shiver run through him as he gazed at the now empty room again.

"We know..." Luna smiled, as she stepped back to give him space to unleash whatever spell he was plotting.

He smiled gratefully, then turned to face the expanse of the room in front of him.

He shut his eyes, magic crackling around his hooves. Luna watched in surprise and amazement as hazy images of what they’d just witnessed appeared in the air. Soon they began to multiply, showing every moment frozen in time, dissected and leaking tendrils of magic that began to gather in a ball in the centre of the room.

"Careful, Sombra.." Luna murmured, watching the sheer volume of images increase.

Sombra swiftly began to filter through them, searching for the thread he needed. But just as he separated it out, the mass of threads convulsed, and began to merge.

“Stop!" Luna cried. But it was too late. It took the form of a pony and lunged for Sombra. It pinned him to the ground, a hoof reached out to touch his heart, and Luna seen, as time seemed to slow to a crawl, more than she expected...

Sombra and the creature locked eyes. Sombra's expression was fearful at first, then it shifted to... welcoming. For its part the memory shape looked angry, then surprised.

"It’s time for me to understand you... I’m sorry its been so long..." Sombra said softly. The memory pony's face contorted in something mimicking grief and need. She realized Sombra had been ignoring the one that’d been hurt the most by the incident, his own self-belief. That he'd made himself into what he considered, at that age, to be a monster.

The memory shape bowed its head, then lunged downward and threw its forelegs around Sombra in an embrace, and there was a massive flash of light. She heard Sombra cry out-

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Then she woke, back up in the tower at the very top of the palace. Standing on the ceiling.

"What in sisters name-?!" She cried, flapping her wings to right herself, before flying out the door and down the steps, seeking Sombra..

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Sombra woke up with an intense pain in his chest, mixed feelings battling with each other....

Then the end result of the spell hit him, and he hunched over on the bed, so much racing through his head, with so many old emotions attached....

He shut his eyes, biting his lip so hard he felt blood trickle from the wound...

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Luna kicked the door open, and spotted the shadow trying to steady Sombra as he wrestled with the memory of the spell that’d changed his life so drastically.

It looked over at her, faintly glowing red eyes seeming to plead with her. This was further cemented when it stuck out one hoof towards her, its expression begging...

--It knows he's still frightened...— Luna realized --Even though he's welcomed the memory home, he is still afraid...—

She trotted forward, sitting opposite Sombra on bed. The shadowy thing looped its hoof around hers.

Tangled amidst the threads of the spell, seeking an answer to its construction, Sombra seen a glowing light. It cleared away the false paths, allowing him to see the thread the linked back to the moment he sought. The moment that spell was born. A spell made of distrust, anger. Created by magic that was governed by emotion and instinct, it spelled danger. He'd summoned that darkness himself, subconsciously seeking a way to rid himself of his weaker, past self. He'd created it to take away the fear he'd felt, erasing his heart.

This thing was the final piece. Confronting the version of him that'd been lost, and one that'd been reborn.

As Sombra finally accepted these were two sides to the same pony, the spell unfolded like a blooming flower in his mind, its simplicity and complexity juxtaposing one another. It was a ferocious spell, a stunningly complex creation...

It was this complexity that’d been draining his power, the HEART’S power. Why she’d had to refuel him, why she'd had to assist in the spell to revive him in the first place. He'd created the spell as a mere novice to dark magic, and it had consumed a lot of magic. Thus it required a great deal to summon him once more. And it was going to keep needing power.

Luna opened her eyes and seen the shadowy pony of memory smiling gratefully, then it faded, returning to its creator’s heart. Sombra gave a sharp gasp, as he snapped free from the spell. He was breathing rapidly as if he'd been running, when in reality he'd been doing the opposite for a change.

"Sombra...” Luna patted his shoulder, seeing his muddled gaze focusing on her with obvious effort...

"'Scuse me-!" he said in a rapid gasp, before zooming off the bed so fast Luna swore she tried to poke an after-image. While she stared, cross eyed at the illusion, she heard a door slamming- and a tap running?

No doubt he'd intended the noise to cover up the fact he was undoubtedly being violently sick, but she'd had a hunch the spell would have some form of recoil.

She vanished quickly, appearing in the kitchen and grabbing a whole bunch of things before reappearing back in the room..

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When Sombra was finally able to get to his feet, certain he could stand, he staggered to the sink.

Filling a glass and draining it before finally shutting off the tap, he looked at himself in the mirror. And stared.

--Its me Master...the beacon heart...-- Sombra jaw dropped. The thing he'd created was TALKING?!

--When you finally faced up to that fault in your past, Master, your conviction and determination fed some of that strength to ME, enabling me to...become more...--

--Indeed. I can sense another, the heart who watches over you. She is happy you have made this step. To show compassion to yourself.--

"Then, can you transfer some of my power to her...?" Sombra asked "I know she depleted herself to help ME, and she said love is what keeps her going."

With a flash the heart appeared before him, its swirling purple color mesmerizing. Sombra smiled, reached up a hoof to touch it, and shut his eyes. He gave to it the memory of seeing Sea at the gathering, how her smile made him feel. And how he'd felt on finally welcoming his past self...

A rush of pale purple light ran along his body, down the hoof touching the heart, and into it. It shone for a moment, before fading away.

--She calls me "friend",-- the beacon hearts voice was...happy. Sombra realized now it was taking on a male inflection, as before it'd been impossible to tell, like two voices overlapping.

--She says this love is powerful, as it is a very honest kind...for sometimes to love oneself can be the hardest yet most rewarding.—

"Sombra?" It was Luna’s voice, outside the door "if thou hath finished talking to thyself, we hath made some tea that should settle thy stomach...!”

Sombra jumped, feeling himself going slightly red in embarrassment. He opened the door, coming face to face with an amused Luna.

"Should've left the tap running, shouldn’t I?" he joked. She gave him a look, then chuckled, walking over to the table in the corner of the room. He followed after her, sitting down and picking up the cup of tea she nudged towards him.

"To whom did you converse? We could not entirely understand what thou spoke of...”

Sombra explained the whole story, how his beacon heart had developed beyond just an artefact of crystal, it’d become intelligent like the crystal heart.

"Impressive. It is growing according to how you’ve grown. This empire hath two guardians at its core it seems!"

"I knew it would not respond kindly. That darkness was born of MY resentment after all. But I will admit I was surprised at how it appeared to me..." he looked up at her, "it asked for help, didn’t it?"

She nodded, "thou were alone last time you fought with those feelings, clearly that part of thou did not wish to see it happen again."

“I’m sorry you have to keep getting roped into this...” Sombra stared at the surface on the table.

The next second a blue-diamond shod hoof jabbed his nose, making him go cross eyed.

"You and we have trod a similar path, only the reasons why we did it diverge. We both turned on ponies closest to us, through fear and jealously, anger and sadness. Trust us when we say we know how it feels to be lost in that bed of thorns."

"To have somepony to converse with on this matter has brought us great relief. For although our sister hath forgiven us our crimes, still it rested on our chest. To not only finally be able to talk freely, learning the magic that played a part in our change hath been a burden lifted!"

"For a long time it hath bothered us that we lost control in such a way. Sister suggested we talk to YOU, once you'd accustomed thyself to everything-"

"We hath decided thou don’t need to call us that any longer. To you, we are Luna, understand?"

Sombra thought back, and recalled Celestia saying he didn’t need to keep doing that.

"Well," Sombra sighed softly, a worried frown creeping onto his face, "it has been at the back of my mind since the crystal heart had to give me what power she had left because I was disappearing. She said I was draining my magic so often, so fast it was eating into the supply she'd given to help reawaken me.”

"This had to have been happening for a while now, considering just how much power I’ve been using recently... all those big spells took a LOT to create. What I’m getting at, I suppose, is this; just HOW much power was required to sustain me, if I was able to drain so much and only recently suffer the ill effects? Was it to do with those high-level spells i was using? I don’t think she had enough power to fully replenish it, more like keep it going awhile longer...”

"It made sense. After all, it was possibly the single biggest spell I’d ever made. And I was right. Looking at it now, tonight, I can see just how complex it is."

"Wrought from nothing more than blind anger and grief, I combined an age spell, advancing many years, and not only that, but altered how I should have appeared. Any normal age spell would’ve simply shifted me into an adult version of the younger me, but I pushed it even further, into THIS." He gestured to himself, then continued, "something that big-"

"Perhaps tamper with its power consumption so it would require less? Once we defeat this menace, what if I drain myself again? I cannot keep draining the Crystal Heart...”

"But the heart gains its power through love, it would have to only ask your citizens to help you and they would not hesitate. It could gain enough from their feelings about you to keep you here for a long time!”

"She? Ah yes. We recall Cadance did tell us you met a ponification of the heart. We are impressed, such a thing hath never occurred before!"

"I know, but it bothers me, that I would have to keep taking from them to sustain myself. It feels selfish."

"There is no place for guilt here, Sombra. If you were to hide it from them, it would break their hearts to see you fade away..."

She pointed the hoof over at the replacement crystal heart pin, “they gave you that to show you how much your place in their hearts has grown. Do not forget it!”

Noticing he looked sleepy, she suggested he go back to bed, the nights events had to have exhausted him.

As the door clicked shut behind her, Sombra curled up under the blankets, and fell asleep instantly.

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He woke up with his head aching a little, and recalled last night. He'd finally had the chance to examine the spell that’d turned him into who he was now. An advanced spell, wrought from sheer power, unleashed and out of control. He hadn’t known that his magic was controlled from his mental process and instinct.

Back then he'd barely known anything, that spell had been the biggest use of his power, aside from that infamous spell banishing the ponies from the palace.

He put his cloak on, pinning the scarf closed with the new heart pin. It was a nice day out, and he decided to leave the armor. He'd streamlined a spell that let him summon it from here, although it'd taken some work to craft. The armor was tough, but also heavy. In the heat, it made him feel better to go without it, where possible.

He met Celestia on the way down to breakfast. They stopped to have a quick chat, with Sombra briefly outlining what he'd learnt the night before.

"Interesting, you crafted something so immense at such a young age.” Celestia mused. Sombra sighed.

"Luna...” he sighed. Celestia's face was somehow maintaining a straight look, although the corner of her mouth was twitching.

"Sorry, Celestia...” the hoof retreated, and a small chuckled escaped the Princess' mouth.

"She did stop by this morning to remind me of that!” Celestia smiled. Sombra chuckled, shaking his head.

"As I said, I barely knew what I was doing back then," Sombra sighed, the smile fading "I hadn’t grasped my magic’s complexity. That spell was the end product of a childish fit of temper, little else.”

Celestia shook her head "Luna showed me what you'd endured Sombra, that was no fit of mere brattish temper. It was the reaction of somepony that was unjustly terrified of the world, at an age when such a thing should never have happened. The kindness you’d been shown was just too late to change your mind..."

"You don’t need to worry yourself about it. It’s just the past now..." Celestia said firmly. Sombra nodded, dismissing the matter after a few seconds of worried frowning.

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Once there he was greeted by his friends. When Sombra addressed Cadance as "Princess", she teleported to beside his chair, and jabbed him on the nose, to Shining Armor's amusement.

"Luna.." Sombra sighed for the second time that morning. As Cadance reappeared in her seat, both the remaining royals Sombra had yet to address raised a hoof each.

"Hay, If it's any consolation, were gonna train Twily to stop doing it next!" Shining Armor chuckled.

"Eh?!" Twilight Sparkle did a double take, with her friends laughing fit to bust.

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The air was full of the sounds of a busy Empire. Ponies called out from stalls, and shops were setting out their displays. Many stopped to bow their heads and call out greetings. Sombra waved to each, responding to their questions.

He spotted some scaffolding up ahead, and recognized it as one of the places he'd delivered supplies to just a short while ago.

As he approached, he seen two ponies trying to juggle a massive beam of wood that was going in as a supporting beam. Crystal would be brought in and used to form the buildings repaired exterior. One of the ponies stumbled, and the plank dropped from both their hooves.

They dove after it, getting a surprise when it stopped in mid fall, only a few feet down. Following the magical aura, they seen a certain pony standing there.

"Here?" Sombra asked, floating the beam over to where he'd assumed they were placing it. They nodded, and he set it down with ease.

"Thanks a bunch, your highness!" The first stallion sighed in relief, "we'd have gotten a right telling off if that’d been damaged."

"Nothing to worry about," Sombra chuckled "just take it easy, I wouldn’t want to have anypony getting hurt." They nodded, and waved farewell as he trotted away, heading on to the next stop on the route.

As he was wandering along, he studied the ponies as they went about their business. How despite the dark tear in the sky hanging over them, they still managed to stay so cheerful...

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The morning was peaceful, he spent most of his time conversing with the citizens, who offered him various food treats from their stalls, looking pleased when he enjoyed them. He dropped in on the Historical Society to see Quillpetal, and get an update on how she was progressing with all the stuff he'd found belonging to Cloudspark.

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It was afternoon when he left, pleased to see his father's story being retold with this new info.

"Your highness!" he blinked, seeing a guard trotting alongside him as he made his way.

"Nothings happened so far sire, things have been quiet since the blackout attack, save for the attack on yourself." referring to Sombra nearly ending up a stone statue.

"That's to be expected, those things have made wiping me off the face of Equestria their main goal since I first ticked 'em off!" Sombra sighed.

"No fear, this empire will not see that happen sire." the guard said determinedly. Sombra smiled and thanked him for his efforts. The young guard was pleased, for he admired Sombra a great deal. He was strong, tough, and wouldn’t back down from a fight. Everything he hoped in time HE'D be able to be.

They were approaching the train station when there was a bright flash. Sombra froze, staring at the magical pulse as it flared across the sky.

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The flash had been one of the shadowy creature deploying a makeshift spell, simply to blind anypony nearby. It dove onto the train, racing along the carriages until it reached the front.

There, instead of possessing the driver, it instead used its twisted magic to start the engine up, at maximum speed. The driver, it simply knocked out, locking him in the storage cupboard. The pony wouldn’t be able to undo its spell even if it knew how! The train began to pull away, just as Sombra and the guard bolted onto the platform.

Sombra didn't hesitate, just shifted into his shadowy form and dove for the train, managing to land on the rear carriage step. The baffled young guard could only stand and stare as the train took off at a speed trains didn’t normally go, its wheels moved by a bizarre magical force. He turned and ran back towards where he'd last seen his captain, this was not good!

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Sombra meanwhile, was climbing up the top of the train, the strong winds buffering the train. The further they got from the empire, the colder things got. The empire was, much like his old home, subject to a strange weather anomaly. Not long after leaving its radius, the snow began. 90% of the population was hostile winds out here.

Sombra ignored the cold, after all, he'd come from a place colder than this, it didn't bother him!

The creature, satisfied this vehicle was on its way to freedom and fresh targets, slithered towards the passenger carts. It knew from targets it'd drained that trains were rarely run, only in the case of rare important passengers or trade runs. So this little situation was a rare treat, one it so far hadn't been able to assail. Mostly due to the interference of the goggle-wearing guards. But by taking advantage of Sombra not being on site, plus unleashing that blast, it'd stunned them enough to throw them into disarray, scattering their normally efficient formation.

The first carriage it reached, it ripped the door off its hinges, making the already frightened passengers scream in terror and back away, bunching up at the far end of he carriage. It crept forward, a predatory smirk on its face. Then there came a cracking sound. It stopped, hissing softly. The carriage occupants looked even more scared, what was happening NOW?!

Then the skylight between them and the advancing shadow came crashing down in glittering shards, followed by a second black shadow.

They were about to scream again, when the second one glanced at them, and they seen red eyes, framed by a green glow.

"Sombra..." one mare almost cried in relief when she recognized him. He was universally known by everypony in the empire as their beloved protector, the one that’d led the charge from the start.

"Gonna start a fight in HERE little Prince? Tut tut, you'll hurt your precious ponies if you do that..."

It lunged for him. Sombra threw up a shield, behind him, so when the shadow creature struck him, the pony's weren't hurt. He however-

WHAM. He felt his ribs complain at the pressure of the hit as it slammed into him.

Dismissing the pain, he squirmed free, bounding forward as it dove for him again. Sombra changed into his normal form, catching it by surprise and giving it a hoof to the face. It was slung back into the seat with a crash, tearing it free from the carpeting. It got to its feet, a huge ball of black lightning swirling in front of it. On reflex, Sombra powered a second shield to stop it-

The shot bounded off that shield, then ricochet off the one protecting the ponies, and back at the attacker. It ducked, diving forward as it sown blast tore a massive gaping hole in the train. Cold air rushed in along with flakes of snow. The racket of the train rattling along was almost deafening.

"Give it up, little pony!" It cackled, "you can't fight me in here, not without risking your little citizens!”

He closed his eyes, and removed the leg band. The creature, driven by a seething desire to destroy this meddling fool, threw more bolts of lightning that he struggled to deflect as he worked to write a spell into the gem. The creature continued to batter at the barrier, even as he finished.

Firing up his own magic, blasting it back, and taking advantage of the few seconds where it struggled not to lose its grip thanks to the winds, Sombra threw the band through the shield to the same staff unicorn. Yelling that it would unleash the spells he'd written, all he had to do was use his magic to fuel it!

The startled pony caught the priceless band, mind reeling. Why was his highness saying these things?!

Sombra looked past the shadow creature, seeing they were currently racing over a bridge spanning a massive lake whose water, despite the freezing temperatures, never entirely froze over...

He caught the shadow off guard just as it regained its balance, by kicking off from the ground and charging into it, wrapping a shield bubble around them both!

Screams filed the carriage as the occupants seen Sombra dive out of the hole in the side of the train. The shield protecting them dropped, and a few brave souls stepped up close to the edge, but they couldn't see a thing in the snow.

Remembering Sombra's instructions, the staff pony raced into the main control room, and released his boss from the locked cupboard. From there, it was a simple matter of unleashing the spell within the band.

It pulsed, a flash of dark magic racing the length of the train. There was a jolt, and they noticed they were starting to slow....
The train driver shook his head to clear it, and spotted the staff pony holding the band.

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"We have to find him!" was the first outcry from the passengers. They began to speak as one, a loud babble of noise. the conductor managed to silence them all, saying they needed to get the train in reverse and get back to the empire. They hadn’t a hope of locating the pony on their own!

"He won’t” one pony piped up. When asked how he knew, he explained he'd had the privilege of speaking to Princess Twilight Sparkle at the ball, and she'd spoken about how Sombra had come from a settlement far in the frozen wastes, and was accustomed to the chill!

"He's tough, he'll be able to survive!" The pony sounded confident. All the same, they weren’t about to hesitate in sending out a search and rescue team!

After some repairs, they covered up the hole in the carriage and put the train in reverse, shooting back to the empire as fast as they could!

They found Sombra's saddlebag discarded on the floor of the train, and resolved to deliver it back to the palace...

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Despite being used to the cold, it STILL knocked the wind from Sombra's lungs when they hit the water. Even with the shield, the fierce chill was still palpable...

The shadow creature panicked as Sombra fired a bolt of magic at it, shifting into his tiny shadow form, so the bolt would have less chance of hitting HIM.

The explosion popped the bubble, and alongside feeling a chunk of the core cut his cheek as it whizzed by, the icy water surrounded Sombra in a second. He pushed his magic, turning back into his normal form. Another thing about Shyre horses, they were powerful swimmers. As a punishment, his own father had thrown him in the lake near their settlement, laughing at the poor shivering Sombra as he franticly padded to the shore. Sombra felt a surge of disgust towards his biological father, he'd been a monster too...

But at last he succeeded in dragging himself to the shore, his cloak clinging to his body, the wet fabric seeming to weigh a tonne

He'd just staggered into the shelter of a nearby forest when he heard a scream. It sounded like a child!

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Little Frostflake and her twin brother, along with his friend, were chasing each other through the snow, lobbing snowballs at each other. Her brother Freezeframe threw one at her that missed and hit a tree. She giggled, blowing a raspberry at him, as she darted into a nearby clearing.

There, she came nose to nose with a terrifying looking THING. It resembled a wolf, but it was a mix of black and fiery orange. Its breath steamed into the air, the inside of its mouth a row of sharp teeth and glowing orange fire. She screamed in terror. Her brother and their friend skidded to a halt as they seen what was stalking towards her.

"Sis!" her brother held out a hoof, she dove for him and he pulled her out of its claws reach.

They skirted round it, attempting to escape back out the other side. It snarled in fury, lunging for them once more. They huddled together, eyes wide..

Then there was a second growl and a big blur of a pony lunged out from the trees, catching the thing mid leap and knocking them both to the ground. They fought, snarling and biting. All the kids could see of their rescuer was he wore a red cloak, his fur a blur of grey and black it looked like...

Frostflake stopped as they hit the tree line, and got a good look at their rescuer.

"NO way..." she whispered, seeing who it was. Then she raced after her twin brother.

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Sombra winced as the sheer heat of the creatures body left burn marks on the soles of his back hooves, as he was forced to resort to kicking the thing away at one point. The cold snow numbed them, but this thing was hard to land a hit on!

He spotted a half-rotten tree leaning at an angle and decided to go for broke. With a surge of power he tore it free from its crumbling roots, swinging it around as the creature charged him. He struck it in the chest, slamming it into into a bigger, far more solid tree. It left impact scorch marks where it hit, as it slammed into the ground. It looked like it was going to lunge for Sombra and tear the stallions throat out, then it stopped, blinked once and turned tail and ran.

Sombra shut his eyes, dropping the tree he'd been using as a bludgeoning weapon. He'd dealt the thing SOME damage, he'd seen cracks in its carapace of sorts, as it fell.

But what on Equestria WAS that? Why had it stopped? He dimly sensed something, but the cold, plus all the fighting he'd done that day, left him in a seriously depleted state. The chill from his icy swim was starting to hit him now.

He heard hoof steps rapidly approaching, quite a few of them. He opened his eyes as they entered the clearing, but got a shock as a rope lashed around his left foreleg!

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When the trio of kids came pelting in hollering about a monster, the parents listened fast! They'd been spotting a strange creature in the woods a lot lately, and several ponies had woken up with bumps to the head and mild burns, drained of energy or magic!

But the story got more outlandish as the kids added a SECOND being had appeared. This one had attacked the fire wolf.

"I know who it was! I seen him in those newspapers mommy brought home!" the little filly cried. Everypony turned to look at her. She coughed, suddenly feeling like she was wrong in saying it; "I-it was Sombra..."

"No way, h-he cant be! I thought those Princesses were supposed to have, I don't know, controlled him somehow!" one mare panicked.

"Calm down!" the twins mother tried to recall what the papers said "It's true, the Princesses woke him up, but there's also the plague incident-"

"We have no time for theories!" The mayor, Goldfire, stepped in. He was a pale yellow unicorn with a fiery orange and white mane "we have to catch and contain him before he causes any trouble! He's probably on the run from the Empire guard, the monster!"

Although most of his men readily agreed with this, a few residents, including the same mother, weren’t so sure. The papers hadn’t mentioned Sombra attempting to escape. They’d mentioned him helping save the Empire from a deadly sickness, that he was actually able to defend them against whatever those things were that came from the sky tear!

But the mayor and his mini mob were already ahead of them, carrying ropes normally used for restraining bigger wildlife in the area.

"Wait!!" the trio of kids pelted after the mob, their frantic mothers in tow. Sombra had SAVED them, shouldn’t the mayor be nice to him?

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They approached in time to see something, in shades of flame, crash into a tree. It got up, tensed to lash out at the injured stallion standing opposite it, then for some reason it turned and fled.

"It IS him..." the mayor shook his head. It was quite a shock, seeing such a powerful, feared pony in the flesh. As they filed in behind him, the others seen Sombra drop the tree he'd apparently used as an impact weapon, his magic sputtering and cutting off. The bigger pony appeared injured and drained, head bowed, sides heaving from the exertion...

"Now!" the mayor hissed, and they ran towards him- they had to catch him while he was injured, otherwise he'd beat them for sure!

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Sombra yelped in surprise, losing his balance and stumbling backwards. The rope went tense, stopping him in his tracks. another spun out from his right side, but when he sidestepped it, another rope caught around his RIGHT foreleg. Pretty soon another was tangled around his hind legs.

Reminded of the time the guards had been possessed and his caught him in magical chains, Sombra shifted his centre of gravity and reared back, pulling the ropes binding his forelegs free from their holders. Slamming his hooves back onto solid ground, he closed his eyes, trying to think of a way out.

"Nowhere to go, monster!" a male voice addressed him. Sombra opened his eyes, picking out the one speaking to him. He was surrounded by this point, angry stallions brandishing more varieties of rope.

"Yes, our peaceful home is being invaded by monsters. One's run away, now we have the second one cornered."

"The collars not on 'im mayor.." one of the mob whispered, "the newspapers I read said he had some kinda collar Celestia used to get rid of his magic..."

"So you escaped the Crystal Empire did you, hm?" the mayor spoke loudly to Sombra, anger in his voice, "no doubt the guard are searching for you as we speak!"

"Well aren’t you the astute one?" Sombra shot back, "and once they get here, you're in for a shock!"

"Why should that be? Why, they'll no doubt give us a reward for stopping your corruption before it starts again! Be grateful we intend to hand you over alive!"

This concerned Sombra somewhat. They definitely didn’t know about what’d been going on, and he knew he stood no chance of convincing them he'd really been trying to change his life. But he knew the penalty for attacking a member of the royalty would be big, so he tried to stop them once more;

"For your own sake, get out of my way. You have no idea the trouble it’ll bring if you try anything funny!"

"You think the Princesses will protect you? I'm sure by now what little use you could have for their plan has been spent, what good can you possibly be?"

"Try the only one that can understand those things up there!" Sombra meant the sky tear, "even you can't have missed that thing in the distance!"

The mother and kids caught up at last, and the kids seen the mayor trying to restrain Sombra with the help of his men.

"WAIIIIT!" the little filly all but screeched. The mayor looked at her, frowning;

"He's a monster in his own league little one," the mayor said coldly, "doubtless he only attacked that thing so it wouldn’t get in HIS way!"

--Idiots...— Sombra groaned. Out of the corner of his eye, he seen one pony pulling back an arrow in a bow, attached to said arrow was a syringe. Sombra seen it cutting the air as it sped towards him, and with a last forced concentration of his magic, succeeded in teleporting a few feet out and away from the ropes. In a stroke of irony, the needle hit the pony that'd been standing parallel behind where Sombra had stood. It knocked him out in a second. Which left an open gap for Sombra to aim for...!

Instinct had him fleeing for the lake, needing to get back to the railway lines. But barely had he been running for a few seconds then something snapped around his left hind leg, pulling him to the snowy ground with a thud. Unseen by him, the heart pins clasp was damaged, and, still caught in his scarf, came loose. Dazed, he twisted round, seeing another rope around his leg. This one felt far more coarse, and tightened every time he tried to struggle free. He'd just grabbed the rope with his teeth when another shot out from the trees, this time looping itself around his NECK with the aid of unicorn magic.

"Those ropes are used for catching big game and larger creatures. How fitting they were useful in stopping the biggest monster in this forest..." the mayor chuckled at Sombra's furious expression, and tugged at the rope, tightening its grip around the stallions neck, forcing him to get to his hooves to avoid being potentially strangled.

"Let the consequences be yours to deal with then." Sombra said. Something about the way he said it made some of the ponies wonder if they weren’t missing a clue here. Sombra wasn’t actively trying to attack anypony. His efforts so far had been him trying to free himself and get away from them, since talking didn't work!

But they mayor was the one who protected them, he wouldn’t be that rash would he?

The little kids looked about to cry when they seen the settlements mayor capture Sombra with that nasty rope. They had grown up in this forest, they knew how to spot one of those things a mile off, but Sombra hadn’t stood a chance!

Freezeframe could see the one around Sombra's leg was already causing it to bleed.

But the mayor wouldn’t listen to them. More ropes meant Sombra would end up cut and bleeding if he tried to get free NOW.

One of the men nodded, and raced away. During this time the kids had appealed to their mother, who stepped up to the mayor.

"Sir, none of the newspapers mentioned him being violent or uncontrollable. I don’t think we have the situation understood!"

"No need to worry madam," the mayor practically ignored her, "once we quash his magic and get him in restraints, we'll be able to think up a plan to get him back to the Crystal Empire!"

"Because you and your goon platoon started it! You tried to tie him up!" she objected.

"I'm not giving that monster a chance to hurt any of the ponies in my settlement! We have to take every precaution.” Goldfire glared at Sombra, who was standing stock still, the ropes tied around his legs and neck. One of which was still staked to the ground by the tree.

She opened her mouth to protest once more, but then the pony that'd left came running back with the artefact the mayor asked for.

Even with his magic on the fritz thanks to the cold and injury, Sombra sensed its magic was far newer then it looked. Something didn’t add up about this whole thing.

On instinct, he tried to pull away as the mayor approached him, bearing the black metal collar.

"No point struggling," Goldfire spat, and tugged the rope he still held in his magic, the one looped around Sombra's neck. Doing so made the bigger pony snarl in pain. "All you'll do is hurt yourself."

"You think this is the worst I’ve dealt with!" Sombra shot back “I’m afraid you lose to a near death experience or THREE!"

With a second pull of the rope and a sudden lunge, the mayor managed to lock the collar around Sombra's neck. He smirked knowingly, stepping back as Sombra collapsed to the forest floor, hunched up in pain.

The collar flared a bright orange, then died down, leaving the one ensnared by its restraint magic coughing and gasping in pain. The rope staked to the ground was cut, passing Sombra's restraint into the hooves of those holding the ropes.

From there things got worse, as Sombra was forced, under threat of further injury from those ropes, to walk alongside the mob. At one point, he caught the eye of the mare who was looking after the kids, and she gave him an apologetic glance.

“I’m sorry." she mouthed sincerely. He was able to spare her a brief, yet forgiving smile, before one of the stallions pulled on one of the ropes and he was forced to pay attention to where he was walking again.

--Fighting is getting me nowhere...-- he thought desperately, --what did father teach me?--

Keep calm and let their fury run its course. Present the evidence as best you can, and be sincere.

--Ill try, father. But this isn’t looking good. My only hope is the royal guard ARE looking for me...—

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So he held his temper in check as he was taken to a basement room. All the resolve in the world! however, didn’t stop him from instinctively objecting when he seen the chains bolted to the floor.

"You know.." the mayor chucked ironically, "we had intended to catch that fire wolf and hold it, back when it first began attacking us. But when we realized these chains weren’t going to stand up to molten heat, well, they became abandoned."

"You think you'll be rewarded for this?" Sombra asked bluntly as he was forced to stand still while they attached the for manacles to his legs. There was too much risk invested in starting a fight NOW, he had no choice but to remain calm.

Finally the ropes were removed, and Sombra winced as the bleeding rope burns they'd left behind stung.

"You wont find it so easy breaking these ties." The mayor declared. “So you may as well answer my questions."

Sombra gave an amused snort, but kept his expression calm. This seemed to unnerve the mayor, who was expecting Sombra's temper to flare again.

"How did you escape the empire? And how did you break that collar the Princesses made?"

"I didn’t escape, I was on-board a train that'd been hijacked, The creature attacking it had locked the trains controls with its magical abilities. The only way to stop the train before it went off the rails, was to get that thing off it. Regrettably, I had little time to plan, so diving out of a hole in the train and landing in that lake ended up being the sequence of events."

"The choker?" when he next spoke, he sounded amused, "Celestia removed it herself, seems it was no longer required. Feel free to question her judgement when the guards get here!"

"You really expect us to believe that? And how dare you speak so informally of the Princess!"

"She told me to!" Sombra snorted in amusement, "well, more to the point it was LUNA'S idea. She insisted on ditching the formalities, and kept jabbing me on the nose every time I addressed her with the title! You don’t argue with Luna, she's very determined."

The gathered group were astonished by Sombra's ease of tone. He honestly didn’t seem to be making this up! The amused expression he pulled when he mentioned Luna for instance, it sounded like he was friends with the Princesses.

"You must really think I’m stupid-!" The mayor refused to believe he'd been wrong, not about THIS monster!

"As a matter of fact, at this point in time I DO." Sombra said curtly. The mayor lost it, and swung round suddenly, a heavy punch to Sombra's jaw knocking the chained pony to the floor.

A faint snarl built up in Sombra's throat, and the mayor hurriedly backed off before Sombra tried biting him or something.

"As I said before, let the consequences be YOURS to deal with when this is over." Sombra warned once more before they left him alone, in the near total darkness. They'd removed his cloak, and while it did anger him, Sombra was more concerned by the loss of the second heart pin.

His head ached as he lay in the dimly lit cellar of sorts. Only a nearby candle, lit with a safe magical flame, gave him any light to see by.

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A young pegasus pony around Twilight’s age had been watching the mob march into town with their captive, and he could hardly believe his eyes. He'd read every newspaper they’d been able to get, and honestly had respect for Sombra. The papers said he'd helped protect the empire when a plague hit. He was tough, but so far had fought off the creatures, was he truly so evil?

He noticed the mayor come striding out, carrying something, and realized it was Sombra's cloak. A richly decorated fabric, highlighted in gold.

The mayor was becoming more and more obsessed with that monster in the woods, now he had captured Sombra, what was he playing at?

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Little did Sombra know that the heart pin was safe. The mother of the twins, Snowcone, had picked it up, stashing it secretly in her saddlebag. Now, at home later that evening, she took it out and set it on the table so she could fix it. It was a beautiful gem, cut perfectly to resemble the heart of the crystal empire. Next to it she set the scarf, with its military pin attached.

"Whassat mommy?" The twins clambered up beside her as she attached the replacement pin mechanism.

Studying it, Snowcone had the oddest urge to touch the shimmering crystal. When she did, an image sprang to life, showing the heart was tucked into a box, being held out to Sombra. He looked surprised, but happy.

He described the exact type of crystal it was, and an out of sight voice made a funny comment that had Sombra laughing.

Luna's voice, her speech pattern easily recognized, saying she didn’t know who'd delivered it, all that was left was a note.

Sombra turned the note over, and the trio transfixed by the memory distinctly seen it read, "to OUR Prince".

Then Celestia appeared to one side, draping the scarf back around his neck, before the pin was floated over and used to pin it shut.

From this angle they could see the Princesses, all smiling, genuinely smiling at Sombra. Shining Armor too. The POV shifted as Sombra turned, showing his reflection in a window. The way he studied the new heart, the look of genuine happiness on his face. It didn’t paint the portrait of a tyrant.

“It is.” he said gently. In the memory, he looked different, so happy and gentle.

"Seems that way, didn’t he say it could hold a magic charge? Some gems, really rare ones, can do that!" their mother explained.

"He was really happy, and the Princesses were there too...” Frostflake pointed out.

"I knew it, he's NOT a threat. I have to get this to the mayor soon as the sun rises!"

"They’re just scared honey. I admit he startled me at first, but if he was as bad as the mayor seems to think, he would've tried to hurt us sooner. He didn’t even lay a hoof on you, did he?"

They shook their heads, repeating that he'd tackled the monster to the ground to let them escape.

She tucked the children up in bed, where their dreams turned to the events of the day. Dreams that caught the attention of a certain Princess...

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The same kid, named Hailstorm for the weather he was born in, had a dilemma. After spying on the mayor after he'd left his interrogation of Sombra, he now found himself unable to sleep. It didn’t seem fair what’d happened to Sombra. So he snuck out, flying out of his window using all the stealth skills he had, heading for the town hall cellar where Sombra was being kept. He just wanted to catch a glimpse of him...

But as he clambered in through a loose window, he was forced to hide behind a pot plant as he heard voices. After a pause, he realized they were muffled, and curiosity won out, sending him towards the sound.

"As If you have the right to refuse. Think of it this way, monster, you're finally going to HELP for once."

"And monsters can just change their traits? Don't make me laugh. Now, I need that magic of yours..."

"Keep away from it! You don’t know what your dealing with! Dark magic is dangerous!" the sound of chains clanking muffled Sombra's words as he yelled at the mayor.

"Maybe in YOUR hooves it is, but you see, you twisted atrocity, I’m actually going to put it to good use!" the mayor laughed coldly.

There were sounds of a scuffle, a snarl of anger, then a cry of pain. The young colt, named Hailstorm, flinched as he heard it. That was Sombra's voice...

This went on for what felt like an eternity, before finally the sounds of pain faded to silence.

He heard hoof steps approaching, and quickly dove under a desk. From this restricted vantage point, he seen the mayor stride by, something draped around his neck that was glowing orange.

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Once the mayor had left, Hailstorm crept down the stairs. The door was locked, but like any small child growing up in a small village, he knew all the ways to sneak into a building. There was a large old vent leading into the basement. So the pegasus flew up, loosening the cover, and squeezing inside.

He pushed the rusted cover at the other end, and hovered in the dimly lit room. Setting down on the floor, he spotted Sombra. The big pony was unconscious, tied down by the chains. The collar had been placed back on him, although sparks ran along it every now and again, like it was malfunctioning.

He let out a gasp as Sombra bolted awake, eyes focusing on him as the big pony lurched to his hooves, the chains rattling.

"Its OK, I’m a friend!" the kid said, grinning sheepishly "I wanted to see if you were OK?"

"I'm...my head..." Sombra shook his head, wincing as he did, "what...did he do to me, what was that thing?"

"I heard him saying he wanted your magic.." Hailstorm piped up. This seemed to snap Sombra out of his fugue.

"Oh no, oh no no-" he shook his head, "we have to get that stone away from him, he's getting himself into real trouble!"

"What do you mean?" a baffled Hailstorm asked. Sombra sat back down and looked at the kid before explaining;

"That fire wolf, as you kids call it? That thing was created by HIM, your Mayor. Celestia knows where he found that stone, but its a powerful catalyst for magic, I can sense it!"

A faint, sad smile from Sombra as he indicated his cutie mark "that’s what this stands for. I can detect what power stones hold."

"He created that thing, aided by that stone. It's corrupting his mind, we have to get it away from him and destroy it!"

"Why, what’re you gonna do?" the kid scuttled back all the same as Sombra got to his hooves once more, renewed determination in his eyes. His jaw dropped as the big pony began to step back, until the chains bound to his forelegs were stretched taut. But he didn’t stop there. He put as much strength behind the move as possible, and finally reared up on his hind legs. There was a snapping sound as he slammed his hooves back onto the floor.

The same technique finished with a powerful back kick tore the chains free from their bases on the floor. The manacles with bits of chain attached rattled as Sombra took a shaky step forward. He looked over at the kid, who was gawking openly at him.

"That was the COOLEST thing EVER!!" the colt blurted, eyes gleaming, "you are so kick ass!"

"I, ah...thank you..?" Sombra hazarded this was a compliment, further cemented by the kids gleeful grin.

WHAM. The door went sailing clean off its hinges, hitting the floor and skidding several feet.

"Well met young Hailstorm," Sombra smiled "you have the makings of a royal guard in you, if you ever want a career!"

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Out in the snowy central square, the mayor, who'd told Sombra his name was Goldfire, stood on the edge of the frozen fountain. He'd run the bell reserved for emergencies, to summon the whole town. This couldn’t wait, not when he'd finally succeeded.

The confused ponies gathered round, some carrying very sleepy children. Snowcone and her twins were there, the former carrying the heart pin in her bag. She tried to get the mayor's attention to show him, but as usual, he was too caught up in himself!

“For too long we've lived in fear of that bandit attack happening again, but now we don’t have to be afraid any more!"

The crowd exchanged murmurs, that incident had been BAD. A lot of buildings had sustained serious damage, and several months worth of food had been stolen. Luckily nopony had been hurt, save those few that'd tried to fight back. The bandits had taken what they wanted then left, leaving the distressed town to pick itself up. They’d been uneasy ever since, wondering how they could hope to defend themselves...

But their hope soon turned to terror as the fire wolf loped into the clearing, its eyes fixed on the mayor.

"At last I have the final piece to make this thing fully obey me! All it took was a little bit of additional magic..."

"Yes, and it seemed only fair he be punished for his interference! Of all the fools to stumble on that thing, it had be the only one that would be able to take it on!"

"You were going to let that thing attack my kids?!" Snowcone lost it, as the realisation struck home, and her fury rose "you heartless beast!"

"It knows not to harm any of you, save for a little magic here and there. I have shown it who you all are. But Sombra, it recognized he was a threat and went for him. Proves this thing’s worth as a guard dog!"

"Yeah,” his sister chimed in, "Sombra hit that thing first! It woulda gobbled us up if he hadn’t hit that thing!"

"Doesn’t that alarm you? He'll attack anything that gets in his way! Now, no more wasting time!"

He raised the amulet he'd been working on this whole time. From the day he'd found it, buried in a deep cave, he'd been entranced by it. Then to come across that dying timber-wolf...

The amulets magic had gone to his head, and he'd performed the sort of spell he'd only ever dreamt of, turning the creature into the fiery abomination that watched the crowd with blazing yellow eyes.

At the start, it'd tried to kill him, and he realized creating it was one thing, controlling it was another. So he'd started compiling a spell within the amulet, one to tie that creatures will to him.

Until now it'd been enough to ensure the thing didn’t try to take chunks out of him, or the occupants of the settlement. But it hadn’t guaranteed its obedience.

When he'd detected this "Sombra" was actually getting the upper hand against his creature, he'd used the spell to make it retreat, as he and his men approached. He'd been furious, to have his work almost destroyed by a pony who packed enough power to flatline all his carefully laid plans...

Hence his conviction in containing Sombra. He had something the mayor could USE. Dark magic.

The stuff was legendary, power beyond anything he'd dreamed of. And here was a pony who possessed a big well of it. So he'd taken advantage of Sombra's injured body, manipulating that pain so as to open the collar. But only long enough to tear some of that magic free using a crudely built spell, then he'd snapped the collar back on the stunned Sombra. Giving only a moment to see if it was secure enough.

It’d been hard work doing this by himself, but he'd succeeded, he had all the power he needed to finish the spell!

Flickers of dark magic surrounded the amulet as he activated the final spell. The beast raised its head and roared, the sound deafening. A stream of magic flowed from the amulet to it. The townspeople backed away, unnerved by this. At last the creature lowered its head. Its body now glowed with green and purple fire, not red. Its eyes were glowing green now, too.

"Now my beast, do what your master tells you and protect this town!" the mayor threw his head back and laughed. But it heeded nothing of his words. It was staring at the crowd, something sparking behind its eyes. It licked its lips, eyeing the stone. It wanted more of that intoxicating magic.

Without warning, it lunged. They all scattered, pulling one another out of the way. The wolf snarled, angry at being deprived its prey. It began to circle the crowd, like a sheepdog rounding up its flock.

"What?" the mayor scowled, "no, you brainless beast! You're supposed to protect us, not this-!"

The wolf turned on HIM now, taking a running leap towards where the mayor stood. The crowd shrieked and hid their eyes, expecting a slaughter scene-

But there was a furious roar from out of nowhere, and for the second time in one day, the fire wolf was tackled to the snowy ground, clouds of steam hissing up from where the super heat of its flames boiled the snow.

The crowd edged away as the steam cleared, revealing the monster had been thrown back several meters, and standing between them and it was-

"Took a minute or two, but this is by no means the worst prison I’ve been caged in." Sombra laughed softly, "and this is NOT the worst I’ve faced."

The mayor made a snap decision. He fired off a blinding spell, like a magical explosion of painfully bright light. Thus he slipped those that were closing in on him to capture him! His own men now seen their leader had lost it, and wanted to stop him!

--I will not be defeated by a former tyrant!!-- he fumed, and raced away into the woods, there was still something he could do-!

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The ponies shouted and gasped in shock as Sombra went head to head with the beast. They were treated to the same technique Hailstorm had viewed when Sombra managed to duck down and kick the thing with his hind legs, with such force one of its forelegs actually shattered off, and the thing was pitched back into the snow.

But Sombra was sporting a fresh cut along his side, courtesy of its claws. Blood dripped to the snow as he fought to get his breath back.

The thing got back up with a disturbing lurching gait, but was surprised when its face smashed into a pale blue shield. Sombra turned and seen Snowcone stood there, powering it.

More of the villagers realized she would need assistance and joined in, sharing the burden as the creature paced outside, refusing to lose scent of its prey. As they watched its leg began to regrow, while its eyes blazed in anger.

"Everypony, look at this!" she cried, placing it in the snow and pressing her hoof to it, willing it to please replay that memory...

To her relief it did, and the whole crowd was treated to the replay of the Princesses smiling at Sombra, of Celestia returning his scarf to him, and last but not least, the way Sombra looked at the heart in his reflection with obvious happiness. The note saying "OUR Prince", written with obvious care and kindness. They seen the gold band around Sombra's leg, which he wasn't wearing now...what did it mean?

They realized they’d been wrong, that the mayor had tricked them into turning against the one pony that could’ve saved them.

Sombra watched the memory with a fond smile, something the closer members of the crowd spotted.

"Do you see now?" Snowcone turned to the crowd, "he was never a danger to us, Goldfire lied to us! He just wanted to stop Sombra from destroying that freakish beast of his..." she turned to Sombra, eyes full of an apologetic sadness.

“I’m sorry how we treated you." she said sadly, and her twins nodded, offering smiles alongside that Sombra returned.

"What occurred was not your fault," Sombra shook his head, "everything has changed so much, to begin to explain it all would take time we do not have."

He looked at Snowcone, raising a hoof to the collar around his neck "I need somepony to remove this, or at least damage it enough that I can overload it.”

The townsponies shared glances, then without hesitation they universally agreed they had to do it!

"Hold still lad..." an older pony approached, studying the artefact, "this thing’s old, but I think I can create a stress point, after that you’ll have to find a way yourself..."

Snowcone and the other ponies watched as the older pony did his best to create a big enough split in the metal to start a magical power leak. More sparks crackled along the collar, causing Sombra to wince. But he COULD sense something...

"That's the best I can do lad, any further an' I’ll end up hurting you!" he sighed apologetically.

"That's fine, I can try now." Sombra could see the shield wearing thin, the creature had the scent of his blood and wasn’t letting go.

"He stole a portion of my magic to finish his spell, he doesn’t know what he's dealing with, dark magic is unpredictable! That thing wants MORE, and I’m a walking concentration of it!"

"Then, how do YOU cope with it?" the same stallion asked "I mean, you obviously manage to use it just fine!"

"Until recently, I DIDNT,” Sombra said, "dark magic is incredibly hard to train, even being born with it gave me no deeper knowledge! Now, you may want to stand back."

"Did he just say-?" one pony began, but was cut off as the ponies all moved back. Sombra took a deep breath, hoping to Celestia this would work, and closed his eyes.

He thought back to the day he'd snapped the chokers hold on him, in a desperate move to help save the kids from the dark creatures.

--Shatter, you accursed restraint!!-- he thought desperately. He could hear that monsters roar, getting closer, then there was a scream.

--NOW!-- he thought, using the little magic he could contact behind the faulty wards, to shatter the artifact imprisoning his magic. This one lacked the finesse and power of Celestia's, so it inevitably shattered under the onslaught.

Just as the shield faltered, and the ponies cried out and began to flee, there was an explosion of purple light, and an enraged roar...

They stopped and turned, seeing the wolf creature being held aloft by shimmering purple magic. But what was more amazing was Sombra himself.

He'd slipped effortlessly into his flame mode, the flames stunning. The sheer ferocity of his magical aura surprised the unicorns there, yet for all its terrifying connotations, somehow the dark magic had a beauty to it nopony had seen before.

"What in blazes!?" the old pony who'd helped break the collar stared, "ain’t never seen anything like this? What ARE you, lad?"

Sombra smiled at them before turning back to the creature he was holding in the air "Born of darkness, but with a duty to the light. That thing is made of dark fire now, and the only way to preserve my own life against it is to fight fire WITH fire."

"So how do you hope to beat it?" Snowcone asked. Another kindly smile from the dark unicorn, as Sombra walked towards the creature.

"Easy, this power is of MY creation. It’s second nature for me. This is what I am. I'll find a way. Now, all of you get back!"

"Amazing..." Snowcone whispered. Her twins nodded, entranced by the flames. They did as he said, watching him preparing to confront the beast.

The creature writhed and snarled, then managed to fire a blast at Sombra, who was forced to drop it and dodge to one side. The flag had been dropped, the race for eradication or survival begun...

"Catch!" a familiar voice caught Sombra's ears. He turned, spying Hailstorm flying towards him at speed. The kid threw the object he was holding, and Sombra caught it with a flash of his magic. The little pegasus landed besides the other townsfolk, and they seen what he'd given to Sombra.

In the town hall exhibit room on the top floor of the building, there had been an antique battleaxe. This heavy duty weapon was said to be a possession of the towns original founder.

"Excellent." Sombra smiled. Even with his magic back in his control, he could feel the damage the last 24 hours had done to him, he had to make this fast. Either his magic or his body would give out first, and he'd be in trouble.

This beast was primal, yet cunning. It recognized this foe was a danger, even if they used similar power.

Some of the townsfolk covered their eyes, too scared to look, but those that did stared in shock at Sombra and the fire wolf going head to head, a battle of sheer strength and force of will. A blast of magic at close range sent the thing reeling, whereupon Sombra slammed the battleaxe right into its neck.

It screamed, molten purple lava hitting the snow. But as Sombra began to hope he'd dealt it a destructive blow, it shuddered, and he seen a glow deep inside. With a burst of flame, it closed the wound, forcing the blade free from its neck. Sombra dove aside, grabbing the blade as he did. It raked a fiery claw at his head, but the appendage passed right through his flame mane, sending it stumbling off balance.

An idea occurred to him, and he felt a fresh surge of adrenaline. He reverted back to his normal mode, the plan he had didn’t require fire any more. Rather, water.

"Hay!" He yelled, getting its attention once more before it could zone in on the townsfolk again.

"You want my magic? Then come at me, you weakling!" he exhibited the maximum magical aura he could, the lure of obtaining it acting like bait to the fire wolf. Seeing this prime source of what it wished for, it roared and pelted towards him. Still holding the battleaxe, Sombra turned and raced away into the woods. This time he was careful to avoid any traps, he couldn't afford a slip up NOW.

Back in the village, Hailstorm didn't hesitate in running after his hero. His father followed after, unsure whether to punish his son later for sneaking out of bed or hug the boy for helping Sombra!

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With a relieved gasp Sombra broke through the tree line, seeing the shore just ahead. He raced into the water, freezing it to solid crystal beneath his hooves. He ran out across the frozen crystallized water, then spun and faced the thing as it came pounding through the trees.

It spotted its prey standing out on the solid crystal and raced towards him. Sombra lowered the weapon, meeting its attack claw to axe. They struggled, Sombra digging his hooves in and gritting his teeth against this things strength. He twisted, throwing his body to the side, hooves skidding on the shiny crystal, aided by the slippery snowfall. So much for his own crystal providing an advantage!

The fiery chimera snarled in anger, its claws skittering on the slick surface, having as poor a grip as Sombra's bare hoofs.

Realizing it was impossible to weaken it further in this way, and pinning everything on this last plan working, Sombra darted and raced over the icy surface, he had to lead it to just the right spot-

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Hailstorm and his father broke through the trees in time to see the thing charging towards Sombra, who for some reason had thrown the battleaxe aside and was watching the thing race towards him, a set expression on his face.

As it got within ideal range, Sombra reared up on his hind legs, and with as much force as he could, slammed his hooves down on the crystal. Sparks shot out from the impact, slicing through the ice.

The fire wolf seen the crystal ice crack and splinter, numbingly cold water spraying up around it, as the sparks curved round behind. Too late it realized its error, as the crystal beneath it fractured under its weight, sending it into down into the cold. But it would not die so easily...

Sombra had turned to run away as the creature was dunked into the icy water, but the opponent was not without a final ounce of strength.

It scrabbled uselessly at the ice, then stretched its claws out and dug them into Sombra's inky black tail. The water pulled it under, and its grip on Sombra's tail pulled the pony off balance, his body hitting the crystal with a thud.

Sombra gasped in pain as the impact reopened the cut on his side, knocking the wind from his lungs as well. He tried to kick free, but it was no use. His hooves couldn't grip onto the crystal he'd summoned any better then the creature, and he had only enough time to hold his breath as icy water closed in over his head.

In the end Hailstorm took it into his own hooves and started flying over the ice. His father, an earth pony, raced after him as fast as the dangerous surface would allow.

But just as he and his son approached, the dark magic pony broke the surface, trying to pull himself from the water. The chains he still had attached to his legs didn’t help, but they’d gone unnoticed in all the life or death fighting. But now they added extra difficulty in getting out.

Just as he was about to lose grip and wind up in the water again, a hoof grabbed one of his and a voice said, "gotcha..."

Sombra coughed, the cold making it hard to breath. The fact he'd grown up in a climate identical to this was probably the main reason he survived at all. But even he could still perish in the cold, he knew that.

Hailstorm had an idea, and flew off, coming back with the biggest tree branch he could find, along with a trap rope. He tied this around the branch, which he told Sombra to hold onto. The trap ropes were designed with one part that didn't have the abrasive texture, so the ponies could tie it off where it was to be set without hurting themselves.

He and his father held onto this and put their strength into it. A hard working earth pony and a gutsy young pegasus together gave Sombra enough leverage that he was at last able to clamber out of the water. He sat down with a shaken sigh, coughing as he did.

"Good merciful Luna, you're freezing..." the father took a look at Sombra's condition, "we have to get you back to the village, remove those chains-"

"No...” Sombra shook his head, "we have to stop that madpony! I need to ask you something-!"

"I'm all ears!" Hailstorm stood as tall as he could, looking up at the large stallion;

"Is there a vantage point around here, somewhere that fruit loop mayor could get a good look at the land?"

"Yes!” Hailstorm nodded right away, "there's a lookout point, a cliff that gives a pretty awesome view of the area, you can kinda see the lake, but the big trees hide it, sorta. Why?"

"If I’m right, he may still have a backup plan, and my best guess is some sort of ward. By this point, logics flown the coop, he's obsessed with protecting the town even if it means destroying everything else!"

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The townsfolk had been gathering supplies to go after the mayor when Sombra came running back, accompanied by hailstorm and his father.

"What happened?" Snowcone asked, seeing the state he was in. One of the ponies took stock of Sombra's shivering and raced away to fetch something.

"I’m going after that madpony, I have to get him away from the stone!" Sombra explained.

"It’s dark magic," Sombra explained, coughing again, "that makes it MY responsibility. I cannot ask any of you to take it on, your peaceful magic would be corrupted, and I wont let that happen."

"At least have this back!" The pony that'd run off came back now, carrying Sombra's cloak. He wrapped it around the bigger pony. It was still warm from where it'd been laid to dry by a fireplace. Sombra felt some of his will return as the warmth thawed his frozen body.

Snowcone returned the scarf and the repaired heart pin. While Sombra had been gone, she'd recalled what the memory had told them, that this jewel could retain magic. So she'd asked the other unicorns to pour some of their magic into it.

Sombra could sense it, sense the generosity and power inside the gem. They wanted to save their town, and that wish was reflected in their magic.

Seeing him in the regal outfit, the ponies recalled one more thing they'd learnt from the memory.

This was PRINCE Sombra they were addressing. The Princesses addressed him as one of their own, meaning the leg band they’d seen had to be an artefact like a crown. That label had said "OUR Prince", meaning the Crystal Empire. Seeing what he'd done for them, even after he'd been imprisoned and essentially put through agony made them all the more grateful he was there.

Whatever he'd done at the empire, be it plague saviour or shadow warrior, he'd cast off the tyrannical past of the "King", and become an equal to the Princesses.

It was with this in mind they all bowed to him now. Sombra blinked in surprise, how had they known-?

"We worked it out from that memory," Snowcone explained, "we hope you'll tell us the story behind it once this is over..."

"I promise!” Sombra smiled, before turning and running into the woods in the direction Hailstorm and his father had indicated. He ran up a trail, hope fuelling the fire that gave him a second boost.

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The mayor was indeed trying to summon a barrier to surround the town. In his madness he was designing it to attack anypony that crossed its borders, from inside OR out. He'd lost sight of what had driven him to protect his citizens; concern for their safety!

The mayor turned from his position hovering above the trees. He'd crafted a pair of wings from the dark magic, and now resembled a twisted Alicorn of sorts.

"Let’s put that to the test shall we?" the mayor laughed, raising the amulet above his head. It shone with a purple-orange power, then fired dozens of bolts at Sombra, who put his head down and ran for all he was worth to avoid them.

Blam. One struck the snow in front of him and he barely kept his balance. He fired off a few blasts of his own, but the rapid fire meant he became a target soon as he stood still for more then a second or two. Twin bolts struck him and sent him crashing into the snow. Getting up he seen the mayor floating in front of him, the stone glowing afresh. He backed up, and felt a stab of fear when his hind legs nearly slipped into an abyss. He realized he'd been herded towards the cliffs edge and couldn't escape...

--No, there’s always a way. Those ponies back there, I cant leave them in this lunatics hold!--

It hit him then, the irony of the situation. Here he was, trying to stop a potential tyrant, much as the royal sisters had confronted HIM. How would he deal with this guy?

"Lights out!" The mayor threw his head back and laughed a manic cackle of triumph as a further bolt of magic hit Sombra, pitching him over the edge of the cliff!

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Sombra shut his eyes as he fell, praying for a miracle, he couldn’t die here, he wouldn’t have it-!

A blue glow lit the darkness of the plunge, and he felt a funny pain on his back...

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At last, he'd rid himself of that pest, Sombra. The former King had fallen to a greater power-

Just as he was preparing to complete his plan, the victory over Sombra fuelling his mania, something shot up from the depths below the cliff, a shadow silhouetted against the moon. He stared. Sombra was alive...

Two blue crystal wings had given the pony flight, saving him from a crushing death on the rocks below. With the cloak billowing out behind him, he looked like something from a myth or legend.

Not wasting any further time, Sombra dredged up every last bit of magic he had and fired the bolt, his purple magic entwined with sparks of blue, towards the mayor.

The mayor tried to shield himself, but Sombra's magic burnt the shield away. There was a burning pain around his neck, then a shattering sound....

His false wings disintegrated and he fell to earth, landing in the snow. Looking down at his neck he realized the amulet was gone, lying in smoking shards in the snow around him.

The last thing he seen before he passed out was the image of the pseudo Alicorn Sombra hovering in the air above him, striking red eyes highlighted by a green glow.

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Unable to keep from worrying about Sombra, the townsfolk set off as a group, leaving a few behind in the town to guard it. They ran up the slope, in time to see a bright purple glow light the sky. They broke through the tree sin time to see the mayor freed from the amulets control, fainting to the snow. Then their gaze was drawn to Sombra up in the air.

"Sweet Celestia, how is he doing that?" one pony asked. Sombra shut his eyes with a sigh of relief as they mayor was finally defeated, and with a slightly clumsy flap of the wings, drifted towards the ground. Soon as he touched down, the wings crackled and the spell shattered, pitching him onto the snow.

"Its done,” he managed to say, "b-but I need your help to get him back to the town..."

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While this was going on, the remainder of the citizens were gathered around the fountain, trying to think what to do.

They were interrupted by a shadow whooshing by overhead. They panicked, looking up, expecting to see a monster...

But instead they seen a chariot being pulled by purple armored bat ponies. Sat in said chariot was a cloaked figure. It jumped down, alighting on the snow and throwing the hood back.

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Sombra felt a crazy surge of relief as he entered the town alongside the ponies that had come to help him. Three of them had brought ordinary rope to tie the mayor up in case he still seemed crazy and tried to attack them if he woke!

He thought he was hallucinating when he seen a familiar starry mane, but soon as he spoke her name, she turned. Spotting him, she gave a big huff of relief, trotting through the snow to reach him.

"At last we found thee!" she declared, then noticed just how battered he looked, "sweet big sister, what happened?!"

"Funny story.." Sombra began, then abruptly collapsed as his energy ran out and he succumbed to the cold. Luna propped him up, worried by how bruised he was.

"We require your help, good ponies!" she stated to the townsfolk. A mare with twins stepped up, and directed what events followed.

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Luna summoned a stretcher, and her guards carried it inside to the massive fireplace in the town halls biggest room. The fireplace was stocked and lit in a flash, and soon a blazing fire was warming the expansive room. Blankets and cushions from everypony that could spare them were laid on the floor as a bed and wrapped around the unconscious pony. Luna performed a handy spell used to dry wet coats and manes after swimming, which at least meant Sombra wasn't soaking wet AND cold.

But he developed a nasty fever as the night wore on, and seemed in a pretty bad way.

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Luna stayed up with him, along with a few of the more hardy townsfolk, coercing the feverish pony to take the medicine they made for him.

Several hours in, heading towards morning, a fresh cold compress was gently placed on Sombra's forehead. The stallion flinched, uttering a muted groan. His mane was plastered to his face and neck, breathing raspy, as his body temperature rose to try and combat the sickness.

“Hoo boy, this is a flash fever if I ever seen one…” The mare currently aiding Luna muttered in concern.

“Like a flash fire your majesty, flares up quick, spreads rapid, but soon burns out,” she sighed worriedly, “also does a lot of damage so to speak.”

“Sombra is tough, we have seen him weather far worse nights than this during the plague!” Luna informed her.

A pony stuck his head round the door “Mayor’s awake, and keeps insisting Sombra's the threat, he's really lost it this time!”

“We need to discuss that with thee!” Luna said, leaving Sombra in the kind mare’s care as she stalked out of the room.

The mare watched her go then turned back to Sombra, re-tucking the blankets around him as he shivered.

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When the fever finally broke, it was early the next afternoon. Luna had just come in from outside, where she'd been helping the townsfolk!

"Thou had a vicious fever, you were tossing and turning all night. But it seems the medicine has worked, you look free of its hold."

"Y-yes, I feel a bit better.." Sombra still felt drained, and struggled to sit up. The blankets slithered off him, revealing the numerous bandages wrapped around his body. The cuts on his side and flank caused by the wolf, and the manacle marks on his legs once the things had at last been removed, both patched up.

"We were told the entire story by the ponies here," Luna explained, "they told us of thy imprisonment and subsequent rescue of their town. They wish to thank thee once thou art well..."

"I'm glad they’re alright..." Sombra sighed in relief, "that mayor was out of his mind. It was like seeing my mistakes replayed on a smaller scale."

"Fret not, you stopped him before he could endanger anypony. He hath been locked up by the stand-in mayor. But he IS under official arrest by the forces of the Empire! He will be brought before a court in due time, charged with grievous harm against a member of royalty."

"I see...” Sombra said, and sighed regretfully. He had hoped to avoid such a thing.

“It is a serious crime, and the townsfolk were startled once we told them this fact. But the truth remains that he tried to kill thee! There was naught thou could have done!”

"I hope thou will not mind, but we took the liberty of telling the townsfolk a story!"

"I told them about YOU. What you’ve become, who you are, and everything you’ve done for the empire. They wished to know every detail, seems you’ve made quite an impression on them. We also learnt their story about the raid that stole many of their resources."

Luna told him to stay by the fire, she'd bring the ponies to HIM. She trotted out and soon returned with the assortment of townsfolk. The town hall was just big enough to hold them all, so the room was pretty crowded once they'd all sat down. Firstly, Sombra asked if everypony was alright, what was the damage report?

Luckily not too bad, some damage to the buildings, and the fountain had taken a bit of a battering with the wolfs molten powers melting Swiss cheese holes in it!

"We’re beyond grateful your majesty," The newly appointed mayor, a young pony named Twinbolt stood up to address the Prince, "we owe our towns continued existence to you, and many repairs to the gracious Princess Luna!"

Luna beamed. She'd helped patch up the worst of the damage during the night while she waited for Sombra to recover! There was something to be said for working alongside the ponies she helped rule over in Equestria. She'd learnt a lot in those few hours, squirrelling the knowledge away for future pondering.

"We want you to have this sire," Twinbolt gestured two ponies to step forward, "as a symbol of what you did for us, protecting us and saving our town!"

Sombra recognized the two carrying a box between them. It was Hailstorm and his father. The pegasus grinned widely at Sombra. They set the box down and Hailstorm lifted the lid with a flourish.

Inside was the formidable battleaxe Sombra had used during the fight. They'd cleaned up it, even freshly sharpened the blades. It shone like new, and radiated a strength that suited the pony it was being presented to.

"It stands both as a reminder of the strength of character this town was built on, and the bravery you showed in fighting despite what you were put through. We hope you will forgive the mistakes we made, we judged you unfairly by the past, when the future was what we should have focused on. Princess Luna told us you are a beloved symbol of courage in the empire. We can see just what she means. So we hope you will accept this small token of our gratitude your highness."

Sombra was surprised, but genuinely charmed by the gesture. This was an artefact of their past, now they wanted him to keep it.

He lifted it from the box, noting it now had a red ribbon wound around the handle, tied at the bottom with a stunningly patterned feather.

"It is said finding a feather from one is a sign of good fortune, and we wish nothing less for the one who saved us!” Hailstorm's father nodded to Sombra.

Luna could see just how happy this gift made Sombra. He set it back in its box, and thanked them with true sincerity.

They all applauded, smiling happily. The twins waved to him and he returned the gesture, chuckling at their eager faces.

Luna had an idea. Gathering all the children at the front of the room, she turned to Sombra.

"What being-?" Sombra began, but caught on when Luna blew a fairly dignified raspberry at him.

With a chuckle, he explained the purpose behind the construct to the townsponies, then summoned a (slightly smaller) version of it. When it crossed its eyes, thhhbbbttt-ed, and did its face plant routine, the kids couldn't keep from laughing!

Hailstorm was rolling on the floor giggling, it was the funniest thing he'd seen in ages!

Once everypony had had a good laugh at the ridiculous critter, Sombra dismissed it.

"On a serious note," he said, "I cannot help but think about the fact that you are alone this far out. It worries me, given my own homeland was further out then here, and I believe we suffered as a result of our remote location. It is dangerous to travel right now, as we cannot always spare enough guards to monitor the trains all the time. But once this is over, I would like for you and any representatives to come to the empire, to see how we might help your situation. Nopony should be truly alone."

"Y-you'd do that your highness? That's..." Twinbolt's jaw was hanging open. This was something they hadn’t expected.

"Even if it is far from the empire, I consider it my responsibility to look after this place, especially in light of how you have helped me. If you need anything urgently, write a list and I will take it back with me, and when possible, we will send out a delivery."

"If possible, we will spare some of our guards to assist!" Luna added, "to ensure it reaches you!"

"We cannot thank you both ENOUGH, your highnesses!" Twinbolt was floored by the generosity of the royal ponies.

They threw a party later that day, with whatever they could get together at short notice!

The royalty were treated to the local delicacies, including some boiled sweets made using vegetables that were incredibly tasty! Sombra asked could he have some to take back to the empire, he knew a certain pint sized filly that would LOVE them!

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"That was a kind gesture." Luna remarked later on, to Sombra. He smiled, looking at the box containing the ornate axe.

"I always wondered if things would have been better if my clan wasn't so secretive. Seclusion like this is a lonely existence, they should at least have the option to come to the empire and feel welcome within its boundaries. And if they get attacked, that somepony can aid them. Perhaps it is presumptuous of me, I will have to discuss this with Shining Armor and Cadance, but it seemed right."

"That is true royal guidance," Luna smiled, "we predict thou will have NO trouble ruling alongside them when the time comes!"

Sombra flushed slightly, but was indescribably happy to hear this. It’d been a hard slog, gaining faith in his own abilities, but Shining Armor had said he had a knack for knowing what the situation needed. And Luna had seconded the point, so he was able to think about it without so much fretting inside.

They stayed an extra night, Luna voicing the opinion that Sombra needed more rest before travelling. She'd visited her sister's dreams quickly, to tell her of all that'd happened, and to say she'd be back soon with Sombra.

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The townsfolk were sad to see Sombra go, thanking him again for saving them. They gave him and Luna hoof-carved brooches of the same bird the feather on the axe had come from, which the recipients proudly pinned to their respective garments!

The new mayor gave Sombra the list of urgent supplies the Prince had asked him to write down. Sombra promised he'd ask Cadance and Shining Armor for as much as they could give!

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They clambered into the chariot, and with a final wave goodbye, the bat-ponies flew away, taking them back to the empire. As they passed over the lake Sombra shivered in memory of the remains of the creature lying broken and powerless at its bottom.

"Everypony has been frantic, worrying about about thee!" Luna told him "A certain little filly ditched her lessons to come to the palace on hoof, to see if we'd found you yet! Twilight Sparkle went to the school to explain what'd happened, and the little miss was collected by her mother!"

"Oh Bright Spark..." Sombra sighed, "the poor little one, I will have to see her soon as I can. I hope her mother is alright.."

"Miss Sea has been much distressed, hoping thou art OK. She wants you back safe and sound in her life..."

She also informed him there’d been a couple more attacks, but the guards had fought admirably, and few had been harmed! Sombra was relieved to hear it, looked like the training was serving them well!

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At last the Empire came into view, and Sombra sat forward in his seat, the relief at seeing his precious home overwhelming. The heart pin glimmered as if reading his emotions. Luna smiled again, no doubt about it. Sombra was more than ready to be a Prince.

They flew down the streets leading up to the palace, and Sombra could see a crowd of ponies waiting.

It looked like a lot of the Empire's citizens had turned up, ponies thronged every street, some up on the rooftops, waving flags bearing the Empire's symbol on it!

Soon as the chariot came to a halt and the two hopped out, they were greeted by their friends, and in Sombra's case, a very much loved one!

"Luna!" Celestia held out a hoof, and Luna dove into her sister's embrace, hugging her happily.

Shining Sea thought she'd be able to keep her cool, retain composure when she seen Sombra again. But when he dismounted from the chariot, and his gaze settled on her, the smile that lit that handsome face was irresistible. Before she could stop herself, she was running over, flinging her forelegs around his neck and just hugging him tightly.

The familiar warmth of his coat, the sound of his heart. That rumbling voice uttering her name softly as he wrapped one foreleg around her so she wouldn’t fall over.

"My star.." he murmured, as she at last stepped back and looked up at him. Once more, the temptation to snuggle his ears popped into her head, and she shoved it aside.

"I was so worried! When the Princess came to our house and said you'd gone missing out there-"

"I'm sorry if I scared you," Sombra brushed her nose with his reassuringly, murmuring softly, "I would never wish you to feel that way. I missed you..."

She blushed, heart aching with happiness and relief. Sombra thought her coat looked extra sparkly, her mane was like her name, a sparkling blue that caught the light, made him feel so calm like the wide open ocean...

Lost for further words, Sea just gave in to temptation and gave her handsome Prince a kiss. Sombra wasted no time in responding eagerly...

The crowds around them cheered this whole heartedly, it was the sweetest thing! The mystery of Sombra's marefriend was solved, and while many a mare felt a little prod of jealousy, seeing Sombra so happy with his chosen mare was just adorable!

Rarity squeed in delight, alongside Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle. Pinkie Pie looked on the verge of blubbering, she thought this was so super duper cute!

"Aww, well ain’t that lovely.." Applejack remarked. Rainbow Dash pulled her customary face of "bleh", but she did agree with Applejack!

"Sombwa! Sombwa!" Bright Spark got bored waiting for the grown ups to finish being snuggly, and dive bombed her favourite friend. Sombra nuzzled the top of her head and set her atop his back as always.

When he caught Rarity's eye she gave him a massive smile, and he couldn’t help but return it.

Sombra turned to address the crowd, telling them he was glad to be back home where he belonged. These words had more cheers filling the air, as they celebrated to hear him declare so firmly that he considered the Empire his home!

Two stepped forward, the train conductor, and the staff pony Sombra had given the band to. They trotted over, both bowing respectfully before thanking him for his help!

Many more came forward, including the passengers he'd saved. They presented him with gifts and tokens of both their thanks and their delight at having him back!

By the time they reluctantly bid the crowds farewell, Sombra had a lot of cakes and sweets in his possession.

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Once they stepped inside the palace grounds, Sombra was greeted by two more ponies, Cadance and Shining Armor!

"Hay buddy! good to have you back!" Shining Armor grinned at his friend, after a triumphant hoofbump!

Cadance nodded, smiling brightly "we were so relieved to gets Luna’s message that she'd found you! Its a miracle!"

They gave him his precious leg band back, and informed him his saddlebags were up in his room.

They all gathered in the dining hall, where Sombra shared the cakes and sweets he'd been given between the kids AND adults, which made them grin in delight!

"I apologize if she's hyper later." Sombra said, on catching Sea's eye. But Sea just chuckled and said she was used to it!

Cadance smiled at how happy Sea was, as she sat next to Sombra. The poor mare had burst into worried tears when she and Shining Armor had driven over in their carriage to tell her what’d happened. Now she had her precious somepony back, Sea looked ecstatic.

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When Shining Sea and her daughter eventually had to go home, Sombra walked to the main door with them. On impulse, he asked if he could take her on a picnic the next day while Bright Spark was at school. At about midday?

Bright Spark looked put out she couldn’t join them, but Sea explained this was a grown up thing. Bright Spark, in a manner reminiscent of Rarity, grinned and made a little squee sound. Then, upping the ante on the already bewildered couple, made smoochy sounds.

"Knock it off missy!" Sea mock-scolded, turning her head to nudge her daughter playfully, who giggled loudly. Sombra fought to suppress a snort of laughter. He managed this until Sea and Bright Spark were gone, then he burst out laughing.

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He made his way to the library where Twilight Sparkle and company were snuggled up by the fire, reading and talking.

Pinkie Pie listened to what he needed, and readily agreed to make them early the next morning!

"What do you need that many cakes for? Trying to see how many it takes before you get hyper?" Rainbow Dash sniggered.

"I don’t think there could be enough cake to do that, not when I seem to metabolize like a furnace!" Sombra responded.

He stayed with them awhile longer, telling them more about what he'd witnessed on his trip. Twilight Sparkle was fascinated by the creature the power crazed mayor had summoned.

Sombra remembered a little late, that he was supposed to speak to Cadance and Shining Armor about the proposed help for the settlement.

"You can talk to them in the morning," Twilight Sparkle suggested "get some sleep for now..."

Sombra, who was still a little tired form the time he'd been away, nodded and bid them goodnight before retiring to his bedroom.

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The next morning, having stayed up late transcribing the events of his adventure into a report, Sombra went to the throne room to see Cadance and Shining Armor, before the latter left for guard training duty.

"I had meant to speak you about this yesterday, but I was admittedly sidetracked.”

"Yeah, I noticed~" Shining Armor said with a cheeky grin, poking fun at how Sombra had spent most of the time with his marefriend.

“At any rate..." ignoring his sniggering friend, Sombra pulled the paperwork he'd done from his bag, and sat down to sort through it so he could present it to them.

Unseen by him, Cadance and Shining Armor shared looks, then Cadance teleported them both the short distance so they were now sat either side of him, reading the papers.

"You forget? Were all on the same level here bud, you don’t have to be formal," Shining Armor nudged him, “so if you insist on still sitting down here, we'll just come sit with you!"

"Now, what did you wish to show us?" Cadance ended the matter with a disarming smile.

"The settlement I ended up in during my absence. It’s not in a good state supplies wise. A raid by bandit ponies some time back has set their stores back considerably, not to mention the damage.”

"Yes, you spoke of it in depth yesterday," Cadance nodded, looking worried, "sounds like you stopped him just in time!"

"I was lucky Luna showed up to help. I meant to ask her, how DID she find me?"

"She woke us all up hollering about a dream calling out to her from a far away place. Somepony in that village must have dreamt about you, and it alerted her, since your disappearance was on everypony's minds, especially all of ours." Cadance explained.

He showed them all the details, including his offer to help them in some way, even if it was just supplies to start with.

"Huh? Done what?" Sombra asked. These two were being extra crafty today for whatever reason!

"And me!" Shining Armor had the final page of the report, and had just squiggled a signature. He now held the paper and the quill out to Sombra, “we've signed it for approval, now you.”

Once the muted, confused Sombra had added a swirly fancy signature to it, Cadance shuffled the papers into order and floated them to the finished stack by her chair.

"We'll go over it at the next meeting, but what you said was right, they CAN come to us for help. It must be hard living out there.”

"You were on your own, and in that instance, what you offered to do for them was more than generous, they really need the help by the sounds of it. I understand their concerns that they worry they may not have much to offer, but we'll find a way to strike a balance between help and handout." Shining Armor finished.

Cadance nodded, continuing from her husband "Don’t be afraid to do what you think the situation needs, its a part of your job. We both make independent decisions, but at the end of the day we keep each other informed. Once this invasion madness is over, we hope you'll begin."

"Yeah, the political council is champing at the bit to get you to work. Heck, I’ve even had a request from the CO of the base asking if you'll do future training even once this is over." Shining grinned, poking Sombra lightly.

As Sombra turned to go, looking relieved and pleased the settlement would get the help it needed, the door opened and he almost bumped into three of the councils members.

"I don't suppose you're here to join us today, your highness?" she asked hopefully. Sombra shook his head apologetically.

"I regret I have to go now, I have an important appointment to keep. But I promise I will give whatever time you require of me once that infestation out there has been dealt with."

"We look forward to it sire!" She beamed. The two behind her echoed her sentiments, bowing their heads to the Prince.

"Shut up!" Sombra shot back, barely suppressing his amusement. Shining Armor's response was a fit of laughter!

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After picking up the big basket of baked goods Pinkie Pie had made for him, Sombra set off to Sea’s house...

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Once Bright Spark was dropped off at school, and she got back home, Sea sat down to read a book to pass the time until her picnic with Sombra.

So when there was a knock at the door, she thought it was him, until she realized it was far too early.

She opened the door, seeing her pegasus friend Motormouth, the one who'd called Sombra gorgeous to his face at the ball, and apparently had been admiring his rear. The mare was without fear it seemed.

"Hey, I was coming back from a visit to somepony, thought I’d see how things be going!"

Shining Sea laughed and invited her in. They had some tea, and the latest batch of cookies Sea had made.

"Very well as it happens,” she said with an irrepressible smile, "I saw him yesterday-"

"Ooh! Do tell me!" Motormouth grinned. Her cutie mark was of a set of novelty chatter teeth, with a sparkle around them, to indicate her chatter lit up her friends days!

Sea explained Sombra's vanishing, and his subsequent return. She and Bright Spark had spent the afternoon at the palace, talking to the Princesses and the others and having tea!

"Wow, sounds scary what happened out there. Glad he's back in one piece!" Motormouth nodded.

"So am I. When I saw him, I was so relieved,” Sea let out a big sigh "the thought he was lost out there..."

Motormouth patted her hoof reassuringly "He's too tough to let anything stand between him and what he wants to protect. And lets face it missy, after what you told us of him rescuing you the night of the blackout, you're the top spot alongside the Empire!"

"I never expected I’d find another pony, let alone somepony like Sombra. I didn't get to thank him properly until the festival. He looked startled when I did, so I asked why on impulse. I think he was surprised I’d caught him out, I’m guessing most ponies didn’t ask, or maybe didn’t notice."

"He didn’t say anything for a long time, then he looked down at the table top and simply said, "I don’t know”. I got the feeling he honestly couldn’t explain himself, he looked confused. There was the impression he'd been struggling with that since the plague. I heard lots of rumours he didn’t seem to know how to respond when a couple of them thanked him that day he was out walking with Princess Twilight Sparkle. The most he could manage was a couple of words, like he wasn’t used to it."

"It was his expression that caught me," Shining Sea's gaze wandered into memory, "he normally looks so fierce and serious, but at that moment I just seen somepony who was isolated, and lonely. Just like Bright Spark had been saying."

She smiled a second later, though "But he did smile later on, when I was talking to him about Bright Spark. And he looked so different when he smiled, the difference in his eyes..."

Sea reddened again "W-well, yes. Thinking back, I found I couldn't forget that smile, or that loneliness he seemed to exude. I knew from Bright Spark that he hid himself away because he still believed the ponies wouldn’t care about him, that he didn’t deserve that kind of comfort.”

"Why was he so scared?" Motormouth asked, "when I saw him at the ball, he looked alright.”

"I don’t know the whole story, just that he had a painful upbringing, something happened that caused him to fear those trying to be kind..." she shook her head, "Princess Twilight Sparkle told me how she and the others around her eventually sat him down and told him they wouldn’t see him suffer alone the way he was. It took time, but he eventually started getting used to it."

While they were chattering, Sombra had left the palace on hoof, and ended up arriving slightly early. Figuring Sea wouldn’t mind, he knocked at the door.

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Back in the kitchen, Sea heard the knock, glanced at the clock and squeaked in dismay! She'd lost track of time, that had to be him!!

Motormouth did a double take as Sea suddenly shot off, looking flustered. Who was at the door-ah...

"I'm fine! Just...doorbell startled me that’s all!" she beamed, seeing him smile making her heart race.

Motormouth at last got bored and stuck her head into the hall. On seeing it WAS Prince Sombra, carrying what looked like a large basket balanced atop his back, she giggled gleefully. Then, straightening her expression she trotted up, tickling her friend to make her laugh!

"I'll see ya later Sea!" she grinned up at Sombra as he stood there, "afternoon your highness!"

"Motormouth, your highness!" she grinned then trotted off down the garden path doing a very silly walk "good day!"

"I can explain..." Sea shook her head as Sombra turned back to her, “she donated her brain to science before she was done using i-“ she suddenly looked past him, her expression a mix of embarrassed and about-ready-to-explode-laughing.

Sombra quickly turned his head, and caught the barmy pony pretending to make out with an imaginary partner. She opened her eyes, seen both her friend and a baffled Prince staring at her, and grinned widely.

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They left for the crystal lake, a popular spot with some beautiful trees nearby, creating a relaxing, peacefully shaded area.

He greeted the guards they passed, who nodded respectfully to him, and greeted Sombra's marefriend politely.

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"Here we are..." he said softly, as they stepped into the clearing. A blanket was duly spread over the ground and they settled down.

"This is beautiful.” Sea smiled as Sombra set the big basket down in front of them.

From it he removed fancy silverware, crystal glasses in matching shades, and a LOT of cakes and sandwiches.

"Miss Rarity and Miss Cotton Candy had a hoof in getting this ready." he explained, and she nudged his cheek with her nose, chuckling.

"Your friends are very kind.” she smiled. He nodded, setting the cakes out on the plates.

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"These are great!" Sea beamed, as she finished off the final cake, licking her lips. The next second she was kissed by the amused Sombra.

"How does your mane do that? How do the Princesses?" she asked curiously, watching how it shifted and flowed.

"There's a theory its to do with a large amount of magic being generated by our bodies, which displays in this manner..."

"Ironically, that’s close to what my name translates to. Sombra means "darkness" in the ancient language.”

"Don’t frown mister...” she said sternly, shushing him with a hoof raised to his mouth. "Shadows are made by light. The world is beautiful with both those things, OK?"

"You’re my light." he said softly, making her blush before closing the distance and kissing her.

He couldn’t resist nuzzling her mane, the lovely vanilla scent reminding him of that kiss out in the palace garden.

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Once they’d polished off the food, they took a walk down towards the lake, talking about everything and anything. Then Sea tripped over a tree root and with a yelp of fright, started to tumble down the hill. Sombra teleported ahead, but appeared too close! So although he managed to catch her, he lost his balance and they BOTH landed in a heap at the bottom.

"You OK?" Sombra asked. They’d landed in a pile of leaves, which had softened their landing. One of Sombra's forelegs was curved over her, holding her gently. The sunlight shone down behind him, highlight his smoky grey coat, the flow of his mane mesmerizing...

He made a contented sound, and this close she felt he rumble of his voice through his body. Sweet Celestia how could one stallion be so cute?! They pulled apart, and the way he smiled once more made her wonder how he could’ve thought himself undeserving of love...

Unable to resist she snuggled his ear. She was surprised to feel a distant rumble of laughter from Sombra, and the next second he playfully nudged her cheek with his nose...

So she did it again, making him laugh and growl playfully at her, nudging her muzzle with his.

"So, ears are your weakness?" she teased, nuzzling his nose. He kissed her fiercely, then spoke;

"So you found me out, mm?" he kissed her forehead, and pondered, "can I trust you will keep such a vital secret away from the enemy?"

She cracked up laughing, poking him in the chest and hearing him laugh once more. The sound was like a gentle thunder rumbling around a big open sky. It was another part of him that she felt beyond honored to see.

Another kiss prevented any more goofing about. A kiss that became wonderfully, deeply passionate and when they eventually parted, they were both a little out of breath.

"We're covered in them...” she chuckled, pulling a couple of them from his mane. The way they caught in his flowy mane made her wonder if it was going to eat them?

When she told him he started to laugh, saying regrettably his mane wasn’t known for eating things. He angled his head to both kiss her and cause his mane to brush her cheek, making a mock snarling noise. she batted at it, pretending to swoon in terror. They were both laughing till their sides ached after that...

A loud scream startled them both, and Somrba instinctively pulled her closer, body tensing up, turning his head this way and that to see if the sound came from nearby.

"The lake..." Sea whispered, and Sombra nodded. Getting to his hoofs, he helped her up and they ran towards the sound.

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A class of kids had been taken down to the lake by their teacher, Miss Line Rule. She'd been checking on her students that were paddling in the lake, when something hit the water, sending a big wave cascading down over her and the kids.

When it receded, the water swirled up, wrapped around a shadow creature. It leered down at her and the kids, cackling.

WHAM. Its face smashed into a purple shield, and it recoiled with a screech of fury.

"This way!" Line Rule heard a female voice. Spinning round, see seen Shining Sea, waving her to move. Standing next to her, powering the shield-

"Prince Sombra!" Line Rule cried. She ushered the kids to run over to the pony. One particular colt spotted Sombra and grinned widely, he thought Sombra was the coolest!

Like he'd done with Luna, he touched his horn to hers, giving her the layout of the spell. Her eyes widened, "wow...is that how your magic works? Its like a layered spell, so many lines..."

He nodded once more and nuzzled her nose, before finally dropping his control of the spell to hers, and running over the grass towards the lake. The thing tried striking at the shield, but realized Sombra's replacement was handling it, and instead turned its attention on the big pony.

It reared up into the air, firing precise darts of water at Sombra. He teleported back, narrowly avoiding one hitting him in the face. It did however clip his collar, and he seen it tear the fabric just a little.

Undeterred, he darted forward, pulling the scythe from this air and using it to deflect the next bolts thrown at him. they splashed off it, hissing as they hit the magic infused metal!

Sombra created the usual crystal platform to jump on, but the thing slung a wave of water at it, making it slippery, causing his swing to only clip its watery form. It grinned, then swung its tail up out of the water, hitting him in the chest and sending him slamming into the base of a big tree several meters away from the waters edge.

Sombra’s head spun, and he fought not to black out. He heard distant cries, and raised his head, seeing it was throwing everything it had against the shield. The scythe lay nearby, but he knew the weapon would be of no use this time.

Ignoring the cry of pressure from his chest as he fought to breathe properly after that hit, he ran forward, a plan forming in his mind.

He shut his eyes, imagining not fire this time, but lightning. Sparks danced around his horn, seeming to drift up into the sky.

The creature turned, seeing Sombra surrounded by sparks of purple electricity...

"Oho, what’s this? Another new trick little Prince?" it laughed rearing up to tower over the pony, who opened his eyes but remained mute...

"Soon as you touch me, you’ll hurt yourself too! I know you’re a sucker for a beating, but even for you this is suicidal!"

"Time to end this stand-off, you want to die little Prince? Then allow me to oblige you!!"It gathered itself up to maximum height, gathering the water of the lake and starting to shape it into one massive wave...

As it lunged towards him, Sombra reared up, but instead of running towards his target, he slammed his hoofs down onto the ground.

The sky above, almost blackened by clouds now, split open and a massive bolt of glaring purple lightning slammed down, catching the things core as it lunged for Sombra. It screamed in fury and agony, then it exploded with a kaboom!

The water that’d been forming into a giant tsunami, free of the creatures magic, slammed back down into the lake basin in a massive rush. The force was enough to send a much smaller but still impressive cascade of water in all directions. Those behind seas shield were OK, but Sombra...

Well he got soaked hoof to tail. Lucky thing he'd shut the spell off soon as he'd fired, otherwise he'd have gotten a nasty shock...

--At least the waters warm this time...— he thought to himself —-It’s not so bad.—

"Sombra!" Sea dropped the shield and ran over to her bedraggled special somepony, "you OK?"

"Fine, fine!" he laughed, removing the cloak and laying it out on the grass “I’ll dry."

Some of the kids had to giggle at how odd Sombra's mane looked bogged down by water. With his cloak removed, the rarely seen cutie mark was displayed, which had some of the curious kids wondering what it meant? Crystals?

Sombra settled down by the cloak, curling his tail round him. Line Rule thought she seen him wince, but a second later and it was gone.

"The water is safe now," he assured the class of kids, “you’re free to go back to what you were doing!"

"Are you gonna stay with us, Prince Sombra?" a little filly asked. The class nodded and murmured, hoping the reclusive Prince would stay awhile.

One particular little colt, the same one who'd taken particular note of Sombra's rescuing them, managed to sneak around the gaggle of bigger kids to try get a closer look at his hero-

"Hey watch it!" a bigger colt nudged him with his flank, making him trip and fall.

Sombra glanced over at the yelp, and used his magic to lift the kid back to his feet. Then he noticed who it was and smiled;

Steel Wire cheered up when Sombra not only remembered who he was, but addressed him in such a grown up manner! So he did as they’d been taught in school, and made a respectful bow to the powerful Prince, greeting him in the proper manner.

Line Rule commended him for his attention to protocol, and the kid was rewarded with another kind smile from the Prince.

"How goes your art studies?" Sombra asked. Steel Wire could hear his occasional tormentors muttering to themselves. They hadn’t believed him when he'd told his class about Sombra helping him get his cutie mark.

"I finished the palace! I got a A+!" He couldn't help sounding proud. The bullies snickered, and he felt a bit of the old anger creeping back.

Sombra spotted this, and although his expression didn’t change, the bullies couldn’t help feel a sharp inflection in his voice was aimed at THEM when he spoke;

"I would expect nothing less. My father was a fan of artwork of all kinds. Such a structure would’ve captivated his attention, he always did like when an artist puts their whole heart into their work. Truly something to he proud of, no matter what naysayers may arise..." these words were the ones aimed at the bullies.

Sombra spared them a brief glance, where he seen they didn't look so cocky any more.

Buoyed by Sombra's encouragement, Steel Wire opened his saddlebag and took out a box "I finished this one today, I was gonna use it at show and tell this afternoon when we get back, but I want you to have it!"

He held up a littler wire-work model of Sombra himself. The detail had been amazingly done, right down to a tiny metal band around one leg. Even the fancy cloak Sombra wore was wrought from wires. It was amazing.

"Absolutely astounding!" Sombra finished. Steel Wire heaved a sigh of utter relief, he liked it!

"It took me all week to finish it," Steel Wire grinned "but I think it turned out pretty awesome!"

"Indeed, SO much awesome to be precise!" Sombra exchanged a smile with Sea, who recognized the catchphrase.

Sombra smiled at the happy Steel Wire, thanking him for his gift, and admired the detail of the statue for a little more before tucking it safely into his saddlebags, which he noticed Sea was carrying. She set them down beside him.

"Are you sure you’re not cold?" she asked. He shook his head "no my dear Sea, the sunlight is plenty warm. I’ll dry in no time, really."

She seen the kids were hesitating to go back to the water, and an impulse hit her.

The kids all giggled, rushing in to join her. Sombra and the teacher exchanged looks, but as the kids threw themselves into the newly started fight, they had to laugh. The teacher went to get her camera from where shed stashed the saddlebags, and Sombra zoned out.

That was, until a water ball splashed him directly in the face. He spluttered, mane soaked ever more, and shook his head, looking for the culprit.

Sea's guilty grin gave her away instantly. That and several kids were pointing hoofs at her, giggling their little rears off. Sombra stared at her, then arched one eyebrow.

The kids shared looks, wondering what the stern, strict royals response would be?

"Oh it is ON my star!" he laughed, the serious expression gone in an instant. Whipping up a water ball he lobbed it at her.She batted it out of the air, but still got splashed!

So when the teacher came back, Sombra appeared to have ditched his plan to dry off and was merrily goofing off with the kids and the mare she guessed was his marefriend!

The two adults appeared to have formed the kids into teams, with each of them heading a team. To be fair, Sombra and Sea spent just as much time helping the kids as they did trying to take pot shots at each other!

"OK kids, time to get out! We need time to dry you all off!" the teacher called, setting her camera down. She'd taken a great many pictures, and made a mental note to send some to Sombra!

Sombra met Sea's eyes again and they started to laugh. He hadn’t let his guard down THAT much since forever!

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His cloak was drying nicely, so they settled down next to it to soak up the sun and watch the kids singing a song with their teacher. This prompted another of his fathers rude versions of popular songs to pop into Sombra's head, and he had a hard time not laughing. When Shining Sea asked him, he told her the rude version of that song, and she just collapsed giggling, leaning against his side.

"Your father had a strange mind didn’t he?" she wiped her eyes once she'd calmed down.

"That's an understatement!" Sombra sniggered, "he was something else entirely..."

At last they had to go, and bid the class goodbye. Sombra once more thanked Steel Wire for the sculpture, and the kid looked very pleased!

His antagonists didn’t look so proud of themselves, even attempting to plaster sheepish grins on their faces as Sombra looked over at them. Something about Sombra said "do not be an idiot". But they did secretly think the stallion was pretty cool...

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Sombra walked Sea back to her house, where she ensnared him in one last farewell kiss before turning to go inside.

"Today was wonderful." she smiled back at him, pausing at the doorway "it was wonderful to see you so happy..."

And once more Sombra reminded himself how lucky he was to have such a sweet mare.

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He walked back to the palace, where he ran into Twilight Sparkle and Rarity returning from the shops.

"The lake...” Sombra laughed, as she did a double take on getting a closer look at him.

“Actually, Sea and I encountered one of those creatures attempting to attack a school class. Once it was dealt with, we ended up helping settle the score in a water fight!"

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He headed inside, setting his cloak atop the dressmakers dummy to fully dry, and looked at his messed about mane in the mirror. He hadn’t let loose like that since he was a kid, messing about with his father!

What IF he could transcribe the spell used to track the core controllers? He'd need somepony else’s help, but could it be possible?

He gave his mane a quick drying via his magic, and headed out to find Celestia or one of the other Princesses.

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By luck he ran into the sun Princess just a few minutes later as she was coming out of her office.

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They decided to use the ballroom, as it was massive enough to give them plenty of space.

Sombra explained how it seemed his spells showed themselves in others minds as a written formula of sorts.

"It will be fine Sombra. I may not be as advanced as my sister, but I will be able to cope." Celestia assured him.

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All the same, when Sombra began running the spell, and she seen the complex nature of it, she was surprised.

The magic swirling between the two of them began to increase, and she heard Sombra grunt in pain. But she didn’t break the spell, knowing he would be able to manage.

Sombra's head ached, but he at last extracted the last part of the spell, wrapping it up before transferring the spell to Celestia.

At their feet, situated between the two of them, was a thick sheet of parchment. Once Sombra finished compiling the spell, Celestia used all her strength to keep the fluctuating ball of magic intact, then stepped back and aimed her horn at the parchment. There was a loud thunderclap, and a blinding light. When it faded, and they could see, they seen a complex spell burnt into the paper. It was still smoking a little as Celestia lifted the paper.

"I will get this to the guard," Celestia said, "hopefully it will be of help to them."

"That's what I’m hoping for," Sombra said softly, "if they can find the cores, it'll help lower any casualties!"

"I hope this will be over soon." Celestia said softly, and Sombra could only nod, wanting the same thing himself.

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The next day there were several attacks, but only small amounts of energy were stolen. When given these reports Sombra was puzzled. It was almost as if they were just doing it for fun, not seriously trying to steal the energy and magic they sought.

This unsettled him, he couldn't shake a bad feeling. The next day was the same, only small "smash and steal" attacks, with the creatures often vacating once the guard showed up. ONE batch however, stayed to launch an attack, and Sombra's newly written spell was tested out.

"It worked wonders sire!" The patrol leader saluted the Prince gratefully "I don’t know how you made such a thing, but its worked!"

"That’s a relief. I have long been seeking a way to entrust that spell to all of you. It wasn't until a special somepony told me how she seen it, that it occurred to try using magic to magic transfer contact to create it!"

"Your capabilities are astonishing sire," The guard said, amazed by the explanation "we all hope we can get to your level someday.”

"I have no doubt you will.” Sombra said. As the guard trotted happily away, Sombra wandered back towards his office, and ran into Cadance and Shining Armor round the next corner.

"Of course, I’d be happy to.” Sombra assured her. He figured he needed the practice.

"We’re going to discuss that village you aided during your escapade!" Cadance seen Sombra smile and knew this was a good time to start him off with dealing with the politics of the empire.

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"Ah, your highnesses, oh-!" the stallion that greeted them was caught off guard at the third participant.

"I hope my being here will not inconvenience you?" Sombra asked, wondering if this was a bad time maybe?

"Heavens no sire!" another, older gentlecolt insisted, "we're delighted you’re here, there is much we wish to discuss, but your duties always have you out and about."

"The attacks are slowing...” Sombra puzzled over it once more, "in all honesty I’m concerned. I feel we should be on alert, far from this meaning their slacking off, rather I believe they are planning something big."

"Anything is possible, their tactics are variant and strange.” Sombra described the one he'd had to defeat using lightning, "they adapt fast.”

"Maybe so, but what we've seen shows yourself matching them wit for wit!" the older pony said firmly "those little slime shadows want a fight, I have no doubt you will give it to them!"

The others assembled nodded and echoed the sentiment. The reports the guard and indeed Sombra himself had been writing made for fascinating reading. Sombra's talent for battle tactics was so far unmatched!

Sombra sat beside Cadance and Shining Armor, paying close attention to what they discussed.

When it came to the village Sombra had offered aid to, the other two royals stayed silent, allowing the council to grill Sombra alone on the matter. He answered their questions with a calm logic, stating both the merits to the kingdom if they helped, and his own personal observations.

Sombra also showed them the badge that was attached to his scarf to one side of the heart pin, explaining they carved them in the village.

"Perhaps they could make some more to sell? Those would be very popular!" one council mare pointed out. Sombra decided he would write to them to suggest it, along with details of what the empire could send them. Recalling all the kids he'd seen, Sombra requested they add some toys and things along those lines for the little ones.

Eventually they came to an agreement on what they would dispatch to the little village. Things for the kids, some books and toys, and things like seeds and vegetables and berries. Things that wouldn’t perish in the cold were vital. Sombra finished writing the letter and handed it over to the council, who assured him it would be mailed along with the delivery.

"One thing that concerns us is the effect this whole sorry affair of the shadows is having on the businesses around here!" was the next topic.

“I’m afraid my actions may in part be responsible for that," Sombra sighed "the damage caused by those things whenever I have to fight them is mounting. I have tried to control the detonations, but with a choice between potentially hurting bystanders or causing structural damage, I regret the buildings are taking the strain."

"There is nothing you can do sire," Inkwell said "from what the reports tell us, those things detonate with no time to think. In keeping civilian casualties to a minimum, you have more then done your job! It's a sad fact that there is nothing that can really be done until those things are gone."

Sombra pondered "what about a festival of sorts? Like the ones I ran into before, with those baked goods and the like?"

“Something like that! Maybe they could have leaflets printed detailing what they offer, see if we can encourage ponies to notice what’s around them. Particularly smaller, out of the way shops, I’m sure they'd benefit most." Sombra suggested.

"Sounds good to me!" Shining Armor said, again impressed by Sombra's matter of fact way of finding what was needed and pointing it out in the most blunt manner available!

"I know!" the youngest of the council members piped up, "why don’t we mix it into the crystal faire this year?"

Nopony noticed Sombra tense up, setting his quill down silently. His mind wandering back...

"The date isn’t far off, are we sure its such a good idea?" the older gentlecolt sighed.

Another nodded, blurting "true, but we cant risk that heart falling into the wrong hooves!"

"Sorry." Sombra said absently, on autopilot. They all looked at him with funny expressions. Realising his mistake, he flushed slightly.

"Not YOU goofy." Shining Armor snorted in amusement. To the rest of the council he joked, "don’t worry, we've almost got him stopped, just the occasional slip up!"

"Very funny." Sombra shot back, deadpan as ever. Shining Armor just laughed, which made Sombra relax and chuckle as well.

"Don’t fret over it sire," Inkwell smiled kindly, "it doesn’t dwell on anypony's mind any more."

"I say hooves, but those things aren’t technically ponies," the elder pony backtracked, hoping the Prince wasn’t offended by the accidental implication.

"Honestly," Sombra remarked, "if I was to name them based on my general reaction, they'd be called FBS."

"Pardon my language miss Cadance," Sombra prefaced "its short for "For Bucks Sake!""

The entire room had to laugh at the mental image of Sombra addressing the creatures as an obscenity!

"But I think incorporating it into the faire this year would be wonderful!" Cadance said.

"Yeah, why not? There’ll be so many ponies milling about, its bound to perk things up!" Shining Armor agreed.

They looked at Sombra, who seemed to be contemplating something, but snapped out of it to give them a confirmation.

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"Do you remember much of the crystal faire? Anything good?" Cadance asked as they left. Sombra shook his head, but managed a faint smile saying he'd be fine with it.

"If you're worried at all, you can talk to us, remember?" Cadance reassured him. He nodded, the tensions easing off his expression, and smiled.

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But his worries over the faire combined with something else. He'd pushed aside the fright he'd felt at being chained and treated like a monster. Told himself he was alright. But in reality, it HAD shook him up.

His dream that night consisted of running through the snow, behind him a faceless crowd of ponies shouted and jeered. He tripped as something lashed around his leg. He pulled himself into a sitting position, seeing the crowd racing towards him. He closed his eyes, as blackness swept in-

When he opened them again, he was back in that same warehouse where the elders had first tried changing his magic. Why was he here?

He tried to get up, only to realize he was tied down quite thoroughly, ropes stopping him from moving.

The ponies that stepped into the lone light over his head weren’t crystal ponies. They were carbon copies of the pictures he'd seen in a book. A book about major settlements in Equestria, places Twilight Sparkle said he should visit after his coronation.

"Stray too far outside the illusions in your head, and you’ll be surprised." one cackled. The others began to laugh, crowding in closer.

"Soon as they see you they’re gonna panic! You’re famous across Equestria for what you DID!"

"No, not again. Stop it!" He shut his eyes, screaming at himself to stop this. The crystal ponies had had more to fear him than any other, yet they'd welcome him into their hearts-

Yes, the way he'd been confronted in that snowy wasteland had hit him hard. He'd gotten so comfortable with the kindness of the crystal ponies. Bar a few visitors like the CMC and so on, he hadn't had contact with many outsiders!

What if they reacted like Blueblood had? Looking at him as inferior because of the chains of the past he still carried with him. As he thought this, the ropes shifted into chains, the cold metals touch sinking right through his bones. He tried to stand, only to fall back down, the chains too short to permit him to stand. He looked desperately at the blank eyed visions crowding around him, expressions cold.

--Don’t forget...-- a small voice piped up in his head --you aren’t alone. The Princesses are all behind you, they’ve proven as such time and again!--

"I know, but I cant rely on them!" he panicked "sooner or later I...I’m going to have a coronation, I have to be able to confront this!"

There was a flash of light, and two figures appeared between him and the encroaching ponies.

The Beacon Heart. It too had taken on a pony form too, this time of a male pegasus, like Sombra's father.

"Its natural to be afraid, your whole world is set to expand once the coronation is over." the beacon heart added. Together they broke the chains of panic that’d been tangling him up, and helped him to his hooves. They smiled warmly up at him.

"Trust in the ponies you’ve met. From them, to those in their homelands, your story will spread..."

"The visitors." Sombra realized. Those that went back home brought with them the story of the Empire as it currently was.

"Indeed," The beacon heart pony nodded "already those outside are learning about what you’ve accomplished!"

Sombra woke up, cold prickles of sweat running over his coat. Even as he felt his heart slow its frenetic speed...

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His head pounding, he shuddered at the thought of going back to sleep. Instead he drifted down to his office, and wandered in, leaving the door partly open in his daze.

He sat down, and pulled some pictures and written notes from the desk. They were from Twilight Sparkle, who'd given him photos from her coronation, along with a description of what it felt and looked like. She'd even dug up info from Luna and Celestia, and Cadance had supplied her own account too!

They all had to face massive crowds, give a speech about how they’d arrived at this point in their life.

--How would mine go? "Fillies and Gentlecolts, I made a mistake of such colossal proportions its practically a CRIME. Well, guess what? I’m back in control again!?!"-- he flopped across the desk with a groan.

He began filling out some paperwork to pass the time, and soon he dozed off at his desk.

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Since the incident where Sombra had swooped in and saved his rear, Blueblood hadn't been able to say much to the pony. Sombra seemed to bear such confidence, he felt like the bigger pony was simply unstoppable. Given how much the ponies seemed to care for him, he wondered if Sombra ever got scared?

He walked past an open office door, and spotted a flash of familiar mane. Sticking his head round, he seen it WAS indeed SOMBRA.

He seemed to have fallen asleep at his desk. Trotting over curiously, Blueblood seen a stack of signed papers. Scattered around Sombra were photos of the coronation of Princess Twilight Sparkle, along with what seemed to be written accounts of the previous royals coronations. A sheet of paper, with a bunch of loose notes, most of which had been scribbled out was tucked under the sleeping Sombra's hooves. The stallions head was resting atop his forelegs, mane draped over a stack of books to his right. In his sleep however, he was frowning, looking worried. As Blueblood studied him, the bigger pony flinched slightly in his sleep, muttering something in a language Blueblood couldn’t understand.

He raised a hoof and cautiously poked Sombra's shoulder. He leapt back as Sombra bolted upright, knocking the stack of photos and papers off in a flurry of movement.

"English much?" Blueblood grumbled, trying to hide the fact Sombra had scared him by waking up so suddenly. OK, so HE’D poked him, but still, was everything this guy did over the top?!

"What?" Sombra blinked, staring fuzzily at Blueblood. He had bags under his eyes that indicated he hadn’t been sleeping well. He stared at Blueblood a few seconds more, then shook his head, "weird, I haven’t dreamt of the old language in a long time. Surprised I can still speak it."

"What does-" here Blueblood repeated the word Sombra had used on waking "-mean exactly?". This caused the bigger pony to look startled and he hastily responded.

"THAT, is a word you should never use in polite society. Think "Buck" is rude? It has nothing on THAT word!"

"I know an entire language. But yes, the curse words were always my favorite. I was a kid when I started getting lessons, looking up the profanities was the first thing I did. What else?"

Blueblood thought about it, "makes sense...” he muttered at last. Afterall, he'd do the same, he admitted to himself.

Sombra noticed all the papers and photos he'd knocked aside, and hastily began gathering them up, “anything I can help you with?"

Realizing Sombra was probably wondering what Blueblood was doing in his office, the royal shrugged, "you were muttering to yourself, I thought you were having some weird dream."

"I was..." Sombra again looked down at the papers "I was trying to sort out this coronation speech business, but for some reason I kept writing it in the ancient language and couldn’t explain it to anypony. Weirdest dream ever to disrupt my sleep."

--That's right...— Blueblood recalled —Aunty mentioned the Empire's been calling for him to be formally crowned and become a fully fledged ruler...--

"Just tell them what made you change. That’s what this whole things about, isn’t it?"

“Yes, you’re right...” Sombra sighed, getting up from the chair, "I will return to this later, in the meantime, I’m starving."

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So Blueblood followed him down to breakfast, where Twilight Sparkle had a special letter for Sombra.

Sombra noticed the letter marked with his name, with, "urgent, top secret" written on it in neat lettering.

He decided to read it later, while Twilight Sparkle read out the letter Spike had written HER. Rarity mentioned she missed her Spikey-Wikey, and Sombra deduced she was quite fond of the dragon.

Twilight Sparkle mentioned he could give the return letter to Spike if he wrote one, to Celestia, who'd send it to the dragon!

"He's been sending scrolls every now and then, mostly updates for Fluttershy on her animals. I've been telling him everything that’s been happening and he's curious about you, but hasn’t had the nerve to write a letter until now."

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"Hi, your highness," it began,

"I don’t know if you remember me, I’m Spike the dragon, Twilight Sparkle's number one assistant!

Who? Stop it Owliscious! It's SPIKE. Sorry, that owl is always asking who I am!"

"Twilight Sparkle's been saying so much about you, she said things were really bad for you when you were barely her age! That what happened wasn’t all your fault. She also sent many photos. You look different when you're happy, like a normal pony, instead of a scary one- sorry! That sounded kinda rude. What I meant was, you looked really content. Twilight says you're much better with her and the girls now. I seen the photos from the ball, did Rarity design that outfit? Isn’t she just amazing?

Anyway, I didn't know what to put in here, so Twilight Sparkle said to write some questions I'd like to ask you:

1) How come you’re super tall? I remember you looked pretty intimidating when I seen you, but in the photo's you're almost as tall as the Princesses of the sun and moon! Are you related to a giraffe?

2) What sorta food do you like? Mines GEMS. Crystals are darn tasty too! Have you tried eating one?

3) Do you like books? Twilight Sparkle says you used to sneak lots of them out of the library! I like the Daring Do and Power Ponies books! I can show them to you, if you come visit Ponyville I mean!

4) Twilight Sparkle said your coronation is soon. Can I come? I'd like to say hello properly, Twilight Sparkle's said so much has changed, it sounds like things are pretty good for you now!

5) Is that armor heavy? It looks tough in the photos! It looks cooler than the other thing you were wearing. The gold looks pretty kick-ass, and that Crystal Heart pin looks tasty..

Sorry, gems are my biggest weakness! I won’t try to eat the Heart I promise!
Signed Spike."

"Greetings young master Spike, Assistant to Princess Twilight Sparkle.

Yes, I DO remember you. My memories have all returned now. I commend you for your bravery in getting that heart away from me, even if at the time I may have tried to terrify you!

Twilight Sparkle is right about the past, it did a lot of damage to me. I didn’t have friends like Twilight and the others. I was alone, and jealous of other ponies for their easy lives.

Fear not, I understand what you mean. I am aware I appear intimidating, although now nopony seems to see it. They smile. For reasons unexplained, little ones seem entirely unafraid of me, they just want to see the jewel in the band, or to play with my tail!

Yes, miss Rarity is a very talented pony, I have her to thank for the outfits I have needed for various events I have attended!

To answer your questions:

1) I'm a Shyre pony. Not a giraffe, sadly. I must add that that line did make me laugh somewhat, perhaps it is the mental image? Sadly the Shyre are all but gone now, I have found no evidence of existing clans. But we're all tall, and, to borrow a phrase the royal guard have been using "built like a tank!".

2) Cake. Ever since waking up here, I appear to be addicted to the stuff. Blame miss "Pinkie "Cotton Candy" Pie! Aside from cake, I’ll eat just about anything, the food you have in this day and age is far above and beyond what I had when I was younger. There's so many interesting things to try! And no, I haven’t tried eating a gem, I hazard a guess they'd give me terrible indigestion!

3) She's right, I did bury myself in books when I was still adjusting to being here again. I was reluctant to leave the confines of my room, or even the palace for a long time. I didn’t wish to get attached to anything or anypony, in case I just ended up losing it again. That was foolish of me. I understand it better now. I don’t know what a Power Pony is, although I am familiar with Daring Do! Miss Dash insisted I read the books. Seems she is a massive fan of Miss Do!

4) It would be an honor if you would attend. I'd like to thank you in person for your part in saving the Empire back then! Twilight Sparkle speaks highly of you, and any friend of hers would be a pleasure to meet.

5) Not that I’ve noticed, no. I'm used to wearing armor, as you're probably aware, given my former getup. The current one was made by the elements of harmony, along with the rest of the outfit! It IS a bit tricky in the heat, but it's very handy when kicking shadows up the backside!
signed,

Sombra."

Once done, he did as Twilight Sparkle had said, and brought the letter to Celestia. He hoped he would get to meet the little dragon eventually....

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Blueblood was STILL struggling to get on Rarity’s good side, she always seemed to snub him, and it was getting on his nerves. So after getting a blank reception that afternoon when he tried to ask if she wanted to take a drive with him, he decided to go off on his own.

On reaching the hall, he was again reminded he should take a guard with him, due to the incident of last time. Blueblood felt like screaming, but he didn’t want another incident like that last occasion. If Sombra hadn’t followed after him...

"Everything OK?" a voice broke his grumbling and both he and the staff pony turned to look at the top of the staircase. Sure enough, it was Sombra. Seeing him in that official looking armor, Blueblood again wondered how Sombra had managed to turn his life around the way he had? He still seemed to have that terrifying ferocity, yet everypony fussed over him so kindly.

"If it’s not much of a problem, I can act as your guard, I have to do a patrol route today, and a large percentage of the guards are at training with Shining Armor."

Blueblood was slightly lost for words. He knew Sombra of all ponies would NOT settle for any funny business, no slipping HIS leash! With a muted groan, he reluctantly agreed. It explained why they didn’t seem to be as many guards around today..

"How much do they gotta train anyway?" he grumbled to Sombra as they stepped outside.

As the carriage was pulled towards the centre of town, Sombra kept an easy stride beside it, keeping his attention on both Blueblood's ramblings and his surroundings!

"The tactics of those creatures are adjusting as fast as we are. Any new information I have been able to gather is passed onto the commanding officers and Shining Armor. When possible, I direct the training myself, but its not always possible to do so."

"How come you’re so good at predicting what those things are gonna pull anyway?" was the next jab.

"Truthfully? I don’t know for certain. Perhaps it is in some part because they originally targeted me in excess. They realized early on I posed the biggest threat, even before I got my magic back. They underestimate the guards here, and it has proven their downfall."

Sombra sighed, “Well excuse me for being taught some form of decent mannerisms. Feel free to blame my father, he had a thing about USING his brain you understand."

That shut Blueblood up. He'd seen the statue out in the garden, been informed by his Aunty it was Sombra's foster father. He recognized the band around the statues leg as the same one Sombra wore.

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At last they arrived in the main shopping area. Sombra stuck close by Blueblood as they headed towards the shops.

Ponies waved and greeted the pair, although Blueblood still couldn’t shake the feeling their attention was mostly on Sombra.

"Oh! Your highness!" Both princes stopped and blinked. The reporter darted over to Sombra;

"Just to waylay you a moment. I work for the Crystal Fan News, we cover the fashion in the empire. I wanted to ask if you have any particular tailor in mind for the coronation?"

Sombra looked surprised at the random question, then pulled his thoughts together to answer.

"None other than the pony who has already created many wonderful articles of clothing, Miss Rarity." Sombra told her. When he'd asked Rarity to do it, shed let out a delighted squee and hugged him!

"Oh yes, the same who designed your outfit for the ball! That was simply stunning, all the tailors in town are trying to match her style!"

"She possesses a wonderful talent, I could have nopony finer," Sombra told her. She nodded, writing all this down. She nodded next at the new heart pin "Rumour has it the original was destroyed during the blackout, is it true?"

Sombra hated to lie to her, but if the creatures found out the Empire had a second guardian heart, it could makes things tricky.

"Sadly yes, the spell to use it as a beacon changed it beyond usability. But a mysterious donor sent this to the palace," Sombra indicated the replacement one, "somehow somepony knew it was gone."

"Not a problem," Sombra smiled, "now if you’ll excuse me I have to go find Blueblood. I believe he thinks he's given me the slip."

The journalists jaw dropped as Sombra turned into a shadow of himself, and dove into the sharp shadows thrown by a nearby stall.

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Blueblood meanwhile, was patting himself on the back for ditching the stuffy older pony, as he trotted into a jewellery shop. While the shop owner was in the back looking for something for the arrogant Prince, Blueblood was admiring his reflection in the counter.

"Free at last, that boring stick in the mud’s too busy buttering up the press!"

"It doesn’t hurt to be nice, you know,” Sombra's voice spoke from behind him. Blueblood yelped, spun round, nothing there.

"W-what?" he squeaked. Then somepony tapped his shoulder. He turned instantly, and seen a small colt, made of shadows, but with amused red eyes sat there on the glass counter.

"Wasn’t hard to track you..." Sombra chuckled "you were an eternity in this same store that day we all showed you around. I figured you'd head here!"

"Why thank you," the tiny Sombra shadow laughed softly, "again, I thank my father for that!"

The little shadow looked at the jewels in the case beneath him "hm, these remind me of the ones Miss Rarity used on the ball outfit."

"Is that what this is about?" Sombra asked "you think I'm stopping her from noticing you somehow? Ridiculous."

Blueblood went red in embarrassment, and made several sputtering sounds, "well she's always talking to YOU, but when I try to talk to her, she sticks her nose in the air!"

"She did talk about an incident regarding cake," Sombra shot him a look, "monster I may have been, but even I know using a lady to shield yourself is a mean spirited gesture. From what I’ve learnt about her, Miss Rarity works very hard on her dresses, and to have one ruined all because you didn’t want to get DIRTY. Well, it’s fairly clear why her nose is out of joint!"

"Glare at me all you like, I refer you back to our little conversation of before."

This cut Blueblood short. Sombra had said he'd cared little for those around him at first, but had gradually warmed to them, treating them as equals instead of being beneath his notice. Something he'd said Blueblood lacked!

"You could try talking about HER, perchance? You want to make it up to her, maybe become her friend first. Just a suggestion..."

“Did you make friends with that marefriend of YOURS first?" Blueblood rolled his eyes, but looking a little curious all the same;

"She befriended ME first, as it happens. I found it easy to converse with her, at a time when talking to anypony was a seemingly impossible task..." he recalled how he'd been awkward at responding, confused by the ponies thanking him. Sea had seen through his silence and asked him what bothered him. And he'd answered with, "I don’t know..." He truly hadn’t known how to explain it.

"She didn’t push it, just talked about this and that, leaving me to respond if I wanted to. That’s how I learnt what a good pony she was, how much she adored her daughter. She has a good heart. So too does miss Rarity, you just have to make her feel like YOU'RE worth getting to know. Keep the attention always on YOU, she'll just feel abandoned, slighted."

Blueblood didn’t say a word, he realized Sombra maybe had a point. Aunty Celestia had said he needed to interact with others more, and not just bossing them about! If Sombra had managed to find a pretty marefriend when he'd been a former tyrant, why couldn’t HE?

The shop owner came back, and did a double take when he spotted a shadowy black foal atop the counter.

"What in-?" he began. Sombra realized he'd been lecturing Blueblood in his smaller form, and leapt down from the counter, a flash of purple flame changing him back into his full form.

"My apologies, being that size makes it easier to slip through crowds.” Sombra chuckled.

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As they left, Blueblood carrying a bag of whatever it was he'd chosen, he spotted the military pin the CO had awarded Sombra after the shadow dome incident. "What's that?" he asked.

"It was given to me by the Commanding Officer of the barracks, after helping him marshal the guards during the blackout. After the coronation, I will need to find a way to split my time between the political council and the guard, so as not to let either side down...”

"Maybe at times it is, but my father always managed to make it seem fun somehow. It will give me a greater method of reaching the ponies here. And in the areas out in the wastes."

That was another story Celestia had filled Blueblood in on. Sombra had been captured by a rogue mayor, imprisoned and used as a power source for a monster. Despite this, he'd not only forgiven them, but offered to help them!

Sombra shook his head "I know better than anyone how fear and misguided desires can warp even the best of ponies. The mayors obsession with gaining total control was similar to mine. Even though I didn’t want to attack him, I had to stop him before he put those ponies lives in danger. They were lied to, tricked. Those that tried to aid me were ignored and made to seem crazy. It suited his plan that I be regarded as the necessary evil, to distract from what he was doing."

"I believe he was a good hearted pony once. But sometimes, kid," Sombra shook his head, that same heavy sadness edging his words as he spoke, "desperation can drive you to all sorts. Even to madness..."

"I was fortunate enough to be given a second chance, forgiven. I hope he will too.”

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They encountered Rarity as they walked back in, she was carrying a bundle of different fabrics from a storage closet to her sewing room.
The string binding them broke, and they rolled out across the floor. She gave a cry of dismay, chasing after one as it rolled under a chair in the hall. Sombra nudged Blueblood, motioning him to help her perhaps?

Sure he would get a telling off by the purple maned mare, Blueblood grabbed two of the bolts of fabric, so when Rarity straightened up, she was startled to be confronted by a gruff Blueblood offering to carry them for her.

A little suspicious, she accepted, leading the way to her sewing room. Sombra, Blueblood noticed, had vanished as silently as the shadows he favoured.

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As he put the fabric bolts down, he spotted Rarity's latest dress. Something about the colors reminded him of something...

"It’s going to be for Sombra's Coronation. I cant start work on his outfit yet, I’m still awaiting a shipment of new fabric!" she explained.

"It’s...really pretty." Blueblood said, unsure if this was what she wanted to hear. She blinked at him, then managed a soft smile. He flushed a little. She WAS a very pretty unicorn...

"It’s missing something,." Rarity looked at the collar, then turned to a drawer next to her "I can’t find the right accent!"

While she rummaged, Blueblood was hit by what he later joked was a fit of madness, but knew deep down was probably the first bit of generosity he'd really shown to a pony, that he hadn’t been ordered to do.

From the bag he carried, he lifted a box that contained two cuff-links, shaped like purple crescents, accented with gold. He held them either side of the collar. They looked pretty attached to it. Rarity turned back and seen them. Her eyes went wide, and she gasped in delight.

"That fancy jeweller’s shop,” Blueblood watched how her face lit up when she smiled. Was this what Sombra had meant? Make her feel special?

"They were one of a kind.” he added, which had been part of the reason he'd bought them.

"Oh." Rarity's face fell, disappointment filling her eyes, "oh well, I’m sure I can find something equally as nice. Still, purple jewels, I’ll make a note!"

She lifted a pencil from her desk, preparing to write it on a sheet of paper, when the box was set atop the sheet.

"You can have them.” Blueblood said, trying not to sound too fussed, but inwardly hoping that smile would come back.

"You’re giving them to me? They’re just divine!" she gifted him with the most happy smile he'd ever seen, "Thank you darling!"

"A dress like that should look the best," Blueblood tried to act casual, but he was about as see through as a window, "it'd be silly not to!"

Rarity chuckled, but she had to admit, this was pretty decent of the snobby Prince. Maybe he was turning over a new leaf...?

Blueblood excused himself, unsure what else to say, but he did hear Rarity say she'd see him at dinner, and found himself looking forward to it.

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Sombra went outside for a walk after dinner, his mind still whirling, trying to figure out his coronation speech.

A loud scream caught his attention, and he raced round to the front of the palace, seeing a shadow creature hoisting three guards up by the necks.

"Drop 'em!" he bellowed. The creature turned its creepy gaze on him, still holding onto the guards, who were on the verge of passing out.

"Little Prince, just who I was searching for!" It giggled gleefully "I had thought to keep draining these worthless energy sources until one of the others fetched you, but you had to ruin my fun again!"

"Let them go!" Sombra snarled angrily. It laughed, raised them up higher, the coils of shadow tightening.

"Catch!" it giggled, throwing them like toys to one side. Sombra instantly used his magic to catch them before they hit the crystal paving and broke their bones.

He realized too late the mistake he'd made, turning his back on his opponent when those same coils of shadow snapped around his legs, literally turning him upside down, trussed up like a turkey. It then lifted Sombra up so the pony’s furious red eyes were level with its yellow ones.

The guards regained their breath, looking up to see the Prince being held in this undignified manner. The creature brought its face close to Sombra's, and said very softly;

Sombra closed his eyes, "not this time!" he hissed, but the creature quickly realized it was giving Sombra an easy target and swiftly dropped him. Sombra hit the ground, using momentum to shift onto his feet.

The thing looked at Sombra, sending him one last leery grin before ALLOWING itself to be blown up.

"You alright, sire?" the head guard approached Sombra, who looked somewhat unsettled.

"Yes...I’m fine...” Sombra shook his head to clear it, looking down at the concerned guard, "I need to talk to Shining Armor..."

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Shining Armor was as concerned as Sombra when the taller stallion revealed what it'd said to him.

"Worryingly, yes.." Sombra paced the room, unease and fear gnawing at his stomach, "I just hope we're ready..."

"We've done what we can. YOU'VE done everything you can. You've given us the spell to locate the cores, you’ve taught them more than I ever could,” Shining Armor told his anxious friend, "if there's chance to be had, you’ve given us the best! Not just that, but you’ve given them a hero. They want to be as good at defending this Empire as you’ve proven to be. That badge stands for a lot, remember?" indicating the badge the CO had presented to Sombra.

"In fact, the CO and I have a proposition he wished me to talk to you about-" Shining Armor rummaged in his desk, lifting out a fancy envelope. From this he lifted a gold pin identical to one that he wore on his own uniform.

"This is an offer we’ve been discussing for some time, and were going to approach you about after the coronation. But given the evidence, I’d say now is a good time as later. We think you’ve more than earned this, and as a result, we'd like to offer a joint captaincy alongside myself,” he held the box out to Sombra, "what do you say? Wanna join our ranks?"

Sombra was stunned. But after a heartbeats silence, he knew his decision, and nodded. He felt at home amongst the military...

"Awesome!" Shining Armor grinned, using his magic to set the emblem on the high collar of Sombra's uniform, where it could be seen.

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They journeyed over to the barracks to inform the CO both of Sombra's acceptance and of the warning the creature had given.

"Worry not sire, this is what we've been training for, what YOU'VE been training us all for! We wont let you down." The CO stated to Sombra, and the assembled guards nodded.

"I don’t know when it intends to strike," Sombra said sadly, "but I have the feeling it will be soon, we need to be alert..."

"We will not let this empire fall to a crazy shadow-" the CO realized a second later that sounded potentially offensive and stopped dead. He then tried to backtrack, but Sombra just let out a loud snort of laughter.

"I wouldn’t concern yourself," he said, "it's somewhat difficult to address that thing up there without it sounding like a description of old ME."

Shining Armor smiled to see how Sombra no longer seemed as fazed by his past as he'd been before.

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When it came time for the Princes to return to the palace after discussing tactics at length, the CO bid his good friend Shining Armor goodbye, and turned to Sombra;

"We're glad to have you with us soldier,” he nodded to the pin Shining Armor had attached to Sombra's collar, "welcome to the guard, Captain Sombra!"

Sombra smiled, and saluted as the situation required. Then he and Shining Armor returned to the palace.

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They were met by the others at dinner, where Sombra told the of the shadows warning

"They want a pounding, they’ll get it!" Rainbow punched the air, with a loud "yah!"

"Simmer down sally.." Applejack reminded her, pulling her friends tail to set her back in her seat, "ain’t nopony gonna let those things win!"

"You gotta kick the ass of the biggest one of them, right?" Blueblood, for the first time ever, actually addressed Sombra. So far he'd mostly remained silent, tuning him out.

"Yes," Sombra seemed surprised as the rest, but managed to hide it "When Luna and I ended up in that realm, we caught a glimpse of, and it just felt WRONG. That thing wants an entire world to feed itself, and it intends to take it."

"You've kicked most of it asses already, so what's one more?" Blueblood shrugged.

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Sombra went to bed that night and actually slept properly, despite spending some time tossing and turning in worry.

"Down my stomach of course!" Shining Armor eyed the pancakes and grinned "I dare anyone to out-pancake me?"

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So when Cadance and Twilight Sparkle came down later, they found the two stallions slumped at the table, with plates piled high around them.

"Eating contest!" Shining Armor declared, then waved a hoof at Sombra, "he won!"

"For the love of all Equestria, DON'T start a belching contest!" Twilight Sparkle pre-empted.

"Oh, good morning your highnesses!" the cook greeted them with a big smile "what would you like? I've got anything and everything! Although those two have been eating everything in sight so far!"

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Pretty soon all the ponies joined them. When she heard about the eating contest, Rainbow Dash had to applaud Sombra for winning. Shining Armor was famous for having a big appetite!!

"Who wants cake?" Pinkie Pie asked. The whole room laughed when Sombra and Shining Armor shared looks of despair.

Sombra noticed there were less guards then usual hanging around the palace. But he knew from last nights meeting at the barracks that they were engaged in extra training.

Shining Armor said he was heading over there right away, would Sombra join him? Sombra was happy to agree.

The duo left the room, and about three seconds later the rest heard a massive belch, followed by loud laughter.

"NO it was NOT!" came back Sombra's voice, back up by Shining Armor's laughter, thus revealing the larger stallion as the culprit.

"It's the pancakes dude, I’m telling you..." they heard Shining Armor say between sniggers, and Sombra telling him to shut up!

Cadance shook her head "those two are eerily alike. I’m not sure who’s influencing who by this point!"

Rarity shook her head "I guess even somepony as refined as Sombra has his moments."

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"What the heck was that?!" Out in the hall, all merriment gone, Shining Armor bolted for the nearest window, "oh no!"

Sombra stood beside Shining Armor, shock freezing his heart for a moment. The tear in the sky had torn wide open like an overstuffed pillowcase. Darkness was spewing out like ink in water.

With a deep shudder, Sombra knew this was the final stand. Everything had led up to this, all the attacks, the darkness, the adaptation. The laughter, the love, the lessons learned. He'd made his cold heart thaw to survive and live to see this. He'd learnt what was worth protecting, and worth living for.

"We have to go!" he told Shining Armor, who nodded. They met the others as they came streaming out of the dining hall.

"I'll get the elements!" Twilight Sparkle ran off down the hall without hesitation.

"Same as before, evac to the palace?" Shining Armor looked at Sombra, who nodded.

"What’s happening?!" Celestia and a somewhat sleepy Luna appeared. She noted the pin on Sombra's collar, and remarked "thy prestige has doubled!" to him.

"We need to shield the palace, get as many citizens here as possible. Also, put a stop that thing!" Shining blurted.

Celestia nodded, looking at Sombra, "what do you suggest?” They all turned to the newly appointed Co-Captain.

Sombra ran each ponies strengths through his head, and turned first to Princess Luna;

"We hath armor, we hath our lessons from thee! We can fight our corner!" she responded.

Sombra nodded "Good. You and Celestia have powerful magic, you'll need to guard the palace and the Crystal Hearts."

"We will see to it!" Celestia declared. With a flash of magic, she bound her flowy hair back in a long plait, and took off her crown so it wouldn't be a distraction. Luna mimicked her, and they shared nods.

"Got orders for US?" Rainbow Dash flapped up to Sombra's eye level, "c'mon buddy, give us something to clobber!"

"I need you all to protect the citizens that will head here, tackle those things if it comes to it! Whatever happens, we can’t have them reach the palace. We all know what happens when the heart is taken away..."

"Not alone you’re not!" Shining Armor told her. He looked to Sombra "I don’t need to tell you how to do your new job, so get going!"

Twilight Sparkle returned with the elements, giving each one to its bearer. As she did, a small gleam of light ran over each jewel, and a final one across the jewel in Sombra's band.

"Whoa.." Twilight Sparkle wondered what it meant. But they didn’t have time to decipher it, they had a kingdom to save!

They grabbed some spare armor from the supplies, even thought they weren’t accustomed to wearing it, Sombra insisted it'd protect them from explosions!

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As he was racing down the hall, his armored-up army of friends in his wake, they ran into the CMC.

“It's time ta kick flank and chew gum, and ah aint got gum!” Applejack told her.

Sombra spotted Blueblood running around like a headless chicken. Running over, he told the unicorn he needed him to keep an eye on those kids.

“Kids?! I don't know anything about kids?!” Blueblood wailed. Sombra decided to scare him into showing a backbone, and towered over the younger royal, glaring down at him.

“I'm leaving those three in YOUR care, and by your Aunty's grace, I will kick your ass from here to Canterlot if anything happens to them! You understand me!?”

Blueblood blinked, then looked down at the sceptical gazes of three little fillies.

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As they raced outside, they seen dozens of those things were flooding from the sky, along with something far larger that was edging its way from the tear.

"Its the core.." Sombra felt a sick shudder run through him, "the thing that's been attacking us this whole time, through those fakes. It’s decided to show itself."

Some of the clones were racing towards them. Sombra closed his eyes, drawing together everything he'd experienced and learnt during the amazing journey that he'd travelled.

With a fwoosh, his mane and tail transformed into that living flame from the stadium. The gold tint of his eyes was highlighted by the soft green glow as he opened them. Without hesitation he threw himself at the attacking horde. The scythe reappeared at a moments thought, and he swung it in a precise arc, cleaving three of them in half with one blow. Without speaking a word he set off towards the stadium where the training was being held.

"Sombra!" he stopped as he heard Twilight’s voice, she and the other five looked at him as they prepared to go to battle, "come back to us, OK?"

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The guards had heard the boom of the sky tearing, seen the darkness spilling out. Then a small swarm of those things had descended on them.

"There's too many sir!" one cadet gasped, as he shunted another shadow creature back.

Bolts of magic shot down from the sky, slicing into the shadows, crippling them long enough for the guards to crush the cores with magic and spears.

The arena cleared, they looked up to where the bolts had appeared. Sombra flew down, the crystal wings vanishing as he touched the ground.

"Endgame," Sombra said starkly, "it’s now or never. We have to destroy this thing."

They all stared in shock. Sombra took a deep breath, "I know this isn't going to be easy, this thing is as intent on taking our world as we are defending it. I need you all to cast aside your fear, and defend your home! You've all shown remarkable bravery in facing this threat, and will need every thing I've taught you in order to defeat them. But We WILL stop them. This is our home, our LIVES. I will not see it be overrun!"

"We're right behind you Captain!” LightShield nodded to Sombra, "we're at your service!"

Sombra felt a wave of hope and relief race through him, seeing the strength of his Empires forces.

Then he turned and took off, the others following without a pause. He ran as fast as he could, letting instinct and his gift guide him. The shadow ponies swarmed at him, but sweeps of the fire-edged scythe shattered them to pieces as they neared the centre of town.

He dispatched groups down different streets, to cover various areas. LightShield and three others sticking by the Prince's side.

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Soon as the attack began, everypony began to panic. Dozens of those things descended upon them, catching their prey and stealing magic and energy, leaving the ponies weak and disorientated.

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Twilight Sparkle and co soon discovered that wasn’t all they were doing. Down one street they were met by an eerie scene. The ponies just stared up at the sky, expressions dead. When Rainbow Dash tried to shake one of them out of it, the pony shoved her away with a sudden burst of strength. Then they began to turn towards the six, all grinning widely.

"Whatta we do?" Applejack shoved one pony away from her with as gentle a shove as she could "we cant hurt 'em!"

"I think I do!” Twilight Sparkle pulled a scroll Celestia had given her from her bag "Celestia said this was a copy of the spell Sombra made!" She read the spell, screwed her eyes shut, focused..

Whoosh. She glowed a bright purple-pink, and a pulse radiated out from her. With her prior experience with dark magic defeating Sombra the first time, she found it easier than expected!

"Alright!" Rainbow Dash was off, swinging a spear shed pilfered from a statue in the entrance hall. She jabbed it forward like a sword, and caught the thing in the stomach, hitting the core. The explosion sent her spinning backwards, over and over like a mutli-hued ball, until she corrected her flight, mane sticking up in the air.

"That. was. INTENSE." she wheezed. The ponies below snapped free, sharing terrified glances.

"Follow me ladies and germs!" Pinkie Pie hollered "lets race to the palace, put your all into it!"

The six guided the ponies back as far as the palace, but no sooner had they ventured back out, then they realized the problem was far worse than they thought. The things were everywhere, and their effect was spreading!

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In one street alone, they were soon surrounded by dead-eyed ponies. Twilight Sparkle unleashed the spell again, but she was feeling the strain. Rainbow Dash took the aerial assault route, honing in in the ones Twilight Sparkle's spell lit up. Pinkie Pie responded with her cannon, using its bright glitter and lights to stun the possessed ponies before they could hurt any of her friends.

Fluttershy, on seeing a crying filly huddled in a doorway, took off and landed in front of the child. Then she gave the encroaching ponies her famous stare. The fierce glare captivated them.

"Don't. Hurt. A. Baby!" Fluttershy shouted as loud as her delicate voice box would allow!

"I’m guessing they’re not that interested in the kids..." Applejack remarked, seeing the small child clinging to Fluttershy.

"They don’t have power, they probably don't register as being worth the effort!" Rarity theorized, "they want the biggest gems in THIS shop!"

Twilight Sparkle fired off the spell, and Applejack met the thing head on as it swooped down towards them, delivering a bucking back kick that sent it faceplanting into a wall, destroying it. Freed, the child’s mother came to her senses and scooped up her child, sobbing in relief and gratitude to Fluttershy.

More and more ponies began zeroing in on them, and Twilight Sparkle was out of breath, her head pounding as she tried to unleash the spell over and over. One of the shadow things hit Rainbow, knocking her to the floor. Pinkie Pie helped her up, brushing her down.

"There's too many..." Rainbow Dash winced as she swore she could feel a bruise forming along her side under her armor.

Every direction they turned, more of them were approaching. Only the kids seemed immune.

"We have to get to Sombra!" Twilight Sparkle cried. She'd flown up a few meters, looking up at something going on far ahead of them, "I think he's in trouble-!"

"We cant keep fightin', there's just too many of those things.." Applejack puffed.

"Leave the kids to me!" Flash Sentry saluted Twilight Sparkle "go, your highness, the big guy needs your help!"

"Thank you Flash Sentry.." Twilight Sparkle smiled, and in the heat of the moment, bestowed a kiss on his cheek.

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"OK kids!" Flash Sentry flew up in the air, "if you can hear me, were going to the palace! We'll free your families, I promise!"

Inside houses and doorways, children heard the guard's shout, heard him fighting the possessed pegasi that flew up to oppose him. Even a shadow creature tried, but Flash Sentry mimicked Sombra, and kicked the thing into the roof of a building, leaving a small crater behind.

Soon Flash had a small army of little ones under his care, and he vowed he'd keep his promise to the Princess!

But as he approached the palace, he soon seen it was impossible to reach. So many shadows were attacking it en masse, the guards were being forced to retreat behind the shield. Flash Sentry spotted a Sports shop nearby, and had an idea. He herded the kids inside, and grabbed some javelins...

The kids seen their lone guard friend throwing and retrieving the sharp implements to keep them safe. One looked at a crate of basketballs, and had an idea..

Flash Sentry was about to get rugby tackled by a shadow creature when a series of sports balls whizzed past, hitting the thing in the face and knocking it head over heels.

Looking behind him he seen some of the little ones holding a net stretched taught, and the pegasi were slingshot-ing netballs, basketballs, cricket balls- in short; everything they could reach!

"We got your back!" one little colt told Flash Sentry, who nodded, and geared himself up to keep kicking flank!

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Above the centre of town a massive winged shape only loosely resembling a shadow pony hovered, laughing gleefully as its subjects drained every pony they touched. It felt the raw power, collected both past and present coursing through it!

Then there was a flash of an all too familiar purple magic. The nearest clones screamed and crumbled to dust, their cores obliterated. As they fell, the bigger creature seen the platoon of guards, with a flame-maned pony at their head.

"So you’ve come to try and stop me have you?" it laughed, "you’ve exhausted every trick in your little book by now, why don’t you just give up!"

"Protect them." Sombra said curtly. Light Shield nodded, and he and the others all dispersed, as Sombra raised one hoof. He slammed it down, and the ground shook as a massive crystal jutted out slantways, from the ground. Sombra raced up its surface, setting another spell as he did;

He closed his eyes, feeling his magic, such a central part of who he was, flooding every part of his body...

With a loud crinkling sound, the pseudo-wings erupted from his back once more, beating the air as he gathered the appendages close, then kicked up and off from the crystals peak, rocketing up into the sky. The shadow stared, how had this thing grown WINGS?!

"I'm not afraid to do what I have to, to defend them!" Sombra said coldly, his mane flickering with an otherworldly light, the flames ever shifting.

"Very well, I will break every bone in that frail body of yours and display it for this weak world to see!"

It spat a glob of an acidic dark substance at Sombra. He deflected it with the scythe, seeing how it burned a hole in the roof it landed on. The second time it struck, a shield shot up to absorb it, while Sombra himself vanished and reappeared on a floating crystal platform behind the creature. But this one didn’t HAVE a core...it was solid-

"What’s the matter little foal?" it laughed, whipping its tail round, spikes forming on it as it did. These caught Sombra across the side, tearing the fabric of his cloak, and scoring deep gashes along his side.

He used the wings to bank and correct his fall, easing back into flight. He felt instinct take over, and he beat the semi transparent wings, picking up speed again, even as cold air rushed across the wounds in his side.

--I may be big, but compared to you, I still have some agility..-- he felt a fresh urge of determination. Whatever it took, he'd free his kingdom!

He darted in close, swathes of darkness snatching at him, trying to ensnare him and drain his magic. In response, he fired an arrow of sharp crystal, which lodged inside its gelatinous body. It roared in anger, swiping at him again. He took a deep breath, swinging close again to fire another volley.

"Give it up!" the thing laughed at these pathetic attacks, "you can't hope to destroy me! All this time you've just been fighting mere minions! What can one pathetic freak do against ME!!"

"More than you can ever imagine!" Sombra wheeled back up to the maximum height he could attain. As it churned and swirled to follow him, he gathered a big bolt of power, shutting off his flame mode. He folded the wings down, dropping suddenly as it fired javelins of black magic at him. He couldn’t hold the charge any more. Pulling up, he snapped the crystal wings open, pulling himself into a bone jarring halt in mid-air as he fired. He directed the power at the massive creature-

It laughed, raising one big section of its body to bat the magic missile aside...

But the arrows Sombra had fired into its body shone, and the big blast split apart, evading its attempts to shield. The magic honed in on the arrows, which acted like lightning rods.

It screamed, lashing out in blind fury as the blasts struck home, tearing chunks out of its sludgy body, burning it away....

But one of the spikes of darkness tore through the left crystal wing, and Sombra was sent plummeting to the ground in a dangerous spiral.

He hit with a solid thud, the wings breaking away, feeling something in his left hind leg crack. But he forced himself to his hooves.

This thing was gaining power from those it drained, if he eradicated those, then-

Another bolt of darkness was shooting towards him, he struggled to summon a spell-

"There's too many," Twilight Sparkle shook her head sadly, "everypony we tried to get to, those things possessed them. We have to eradicate that big one if we're to get them to safety!"

"Can you create a big enough shield?” Sombra asked Twilight Sparkle, "I just need a little time-"

"Ah'll kick the flank of anything getting even near close!" Applejack vowed. Rainbow punched the air, setting her sights on their attackers.

"Party cannon!" Pinkie Pie pulled the device from what seemed to thin air to Sombra "only this time it's not confetti!"

She let the cannon off, and crystal shards fired from it, hitting the creatures, cutting through their shadow bodies.

"I-I'll help Pinkie Pie reload!" Fluttershy gathered her courage. She was, by now, loaded down with bag after bag of crystal, alongside Pinkie Pie herself.

They nodded, this was the final stand, they had to win here, they couldn't retreat.

The others shot away, and Twilight Sparkle and Rarity pooled their power to create a purple and white shield that wrapped around them, Sombra, and the crystal spike Sombra had summoned at the start. Sombra raced up to the top of the spike, seeing the main square laid out below him. He closed his eyes, visualizing the whole Empire, all its occupants.

--This is my home...my kingdom. Thanks to everypony in that palace, in this place, I have been able to make up for my mistakes. For them, I will give everything I HAVE. That's a promise!--

He unclipped the jewelled band from his leg, floating it in front of him as he poured his power into it. It began to glow, that same beautiful light surrounding it, and Sombra himself. Layer after layer, the spell he created from his heart wrapped itself around the artefact, a light so blinding the shadows attacking the shield hissed in pain. The heart pin shone, adding its little bit of stored magic...

An invisible updraft seemed to surround Sombra, his mane billowing up into the sky, the cloak fanning out like wings. The leg band shone, slivers of soft purple racing over Sombra's body, boosting what he was putting into the spell!

The core being spotted Sombra attempting to hide behind the shield whilst he created the spell, and it seethed. It dove into the sky, drawing power from the scouts that'd been draining the Empires citizens. This it fashioned into a crude spear shape, and slung it with all its might at the shield.

It hit the shield, and Rarity’s connection was broken from the shock of the thing.

"Rarity!" Twilight Sparkle cried, struggling to maintain the shield. Another blow followed, and she cried out in panic as she felt the shield waver. A third nearly shattered it, as she was driven to the dirt beside Rarity, the air knocked from her lungs by the impact.

"Twilight! Rarity!" Pinkie Pie screamed, punching one creature in the face, and trying to run towards her besties, but another one hit the ground between her and Twilight Sparkle. She back-peddled.

"Duck!" she heard Fluttershy cry. Flattening herself down, she heard a blast from the canon sear over her head, hitting the creature.

"Nopony hurts my friends!" Fluttershy cried, tears rolling down her cheeks, such was her fervor.

"Hiyaaah!" Applejack kicked another, sending it tumbling into another three, like bowling pins! The armor was serving her well, the creatures claws skittering off it as she bucked like she'd never done before!

Rainbow Dash was putting that spear to one last good use. Swinging it over her head, before slinging it into two creatures at once, blowing them both up. The weapon destroyed now, she turned to a different tactic.

She flew up high like a rainbow blur, streamlining her body, screaming her defiance into the wind, before shooting back down. The world blurred into a tunnel, her heart racing, just a little more...

The Sonic Rainboom split the sky with a thunderous boom. The multi hued light seared the eyes of the attacking minions. The guards within the crowd of minion creatures used this opportunity to launch volleys of spells, beating more of them back with each step...

The big creature hissed in fury, seeing its minions being wiped out by these worthless ponies, clinging to their world with such determination...

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Twilight Sparkle struggled to keep the shield up while Rarity got to her hooves, shaking.

But just as she and Twilight Sparkle reconnected their magic’s the big creature, purple flames still eroding its body as it tried to rip the arrows from its body, flung a massive jolt of magic at the two mares.

Twilight Sparkle and Rarity cried out in unison as the bolt hit their shield, shocking them both. The shield finally faltered and broke. Rarity collapsed, and Twilight Sparkle shielded her with one wing...

Dazed and on the verge of blacking out, she looked up in time to see what followed...

Once the shield fell, the creature dove down, following the slipstream of its attack. One tendril of darkness warped into a twisted blade, and it was this that it drove into Sombra's chest.

The stallion gave a gasp of shock, eyes snapping open, seeing a dark blade pressing into him. Crimson splashed the crystal beneath his hooves.

"NO!" Twilight Sparkle's scream ripped from her throat as she watched. The sword limb had pierced the miniature crystal heart pin holding the silken scarf looped around the outside of Sombra's cloak. The two halves of it fell, hitting the ground with a heart-wrenching sound that seemed to echo above the sounds of battle. The scarf fluttered like a dying butterfly, the material catching the light...

Rarity regained consciousness, and looking up she seen Twilight Sparkle, tears glittering on her face, shaking uncontrollably. She followed her friends gaze, and felt her heart plummet.

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But it was the heart that saved him, at least a little. When the dark blade struck off it, it was angled to the side just enough to avoid piercing anything vital...

For a moment Sombra felt the threads of the spell waver, threatening to disperse-

As it spoke, its dark poison flooded Sombra body, and he felt like he was on fire from the inside out. It laughed as Sombra cried out in agony, the pony’s screams like music.

Sombra knew this thing was right. The wound it had inflicted was serious. He could save himself, but he'd have to release the spell, doom these ponies to their fate.

"I’m...not....letting you win...." he grunted, pushing through the pain "even if I die!! They gave me a life, no matter how short it may turn out to be.."

"Pathetic!" it spat "you could live and have everything you’ve ever wanted-" a dark tendril gripped his jaw, forcing him to meet its cruel, cold eyes.

Sombra's laughter cut it off "don't you understand? I HAVE everything I want. Friends, a family. In the end, I was able to follow my fathers path, and for that, I will always be grateful to everypony here. They showed me what the world is really like if you just trust it. Yes there is darkness, but it CAN exist alongside the light! I'm proof of that. The Princesses, my little Bright Spark, everypony here. They are part of MY home, MY empire, and I WILL protect them!!"

The creature was confused when it seen two crystalline tears splash down the fading pony's face, hitting the crystal it stood upon.

Sombra knew what the spell needed. He couldn't hesitate this time, this would require everything he had.

Back then, when he'd advanced his own age via that massive outburst of magic, he'd used up a lot of power. Power that was still ingrained within him.

His entire body was enveloped in a faint purple glow, and he seemed to become semi transparent, as this layer of power went into the band, and the creature suddenly snarled, now sensing its mistake in taunting Sombra..

"Sombra-!!" Twilight Sparkle cried, seeing in a flash what he was about to do. Between him and the shadow creature, looped around the twisted shadow blade piercing its owners chest, was the band. Its jewel still glowed with a stunning light.

Sombra closed his eyes, with the final piece of his magic added, the spell was complete. Silently praying this would save his world, he unleashed the spell.

A corona of light exploded from around him, dispersing the shadow blade and taking part of the core creatures limb with it. It tore back, screaming in fury as the light spread outwards. Every shadow clone it touched withered to dust in the face of overwhelming light. The multitude of colors within reflected the elements of the six ponies, making their elements necklaces glow with a soft light.

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From their place above the palace, fighting back the waves assaulting the place, Celestia and Luna seen the burst of light, felt it wash over them. They stared as the attackers were erased by the blast.

All up the outside of the shield, the things had crawled like bugs. Eating away at the shield Cadance and Shining Armor fought to keep powered up. All gone, erased like dust in the wind.

"What is this power?" Luna whispered, the green aura around her eyes fading to normal.

"I’ve never felt anything like it. Darkness and light!" Celestia whispered, as she realsied "-this was Sombra's prophecy!"

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The core creatures body began to warp and fluctuate, and it gave a guttural scream. Fear and fury mixed together, as it desperately sought even ONE of its clone soldiers, but not one remained.

"HOW-?!" It roared, its voice barely understandable. It stared at Sombra, still standing somehow, head raised proudly. Even as blood dripped to the crystal beneath him, his gaze didn’t falter. Even as he seemed to fade at the edges..he stared right at it, no fear in his eyes.

--There is one more thing...what Celestia said, how the heart of the empire gave a piece of itself to bring me here, and there is one other--

He reached out, desperately crying out for the two crystal hearts to join him now-

--Please!-- he begged, even as a cold spasm of fear gripped his heart, and fresh tears pricked his eyes.

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Below the palace, in its maximum security spell-lock, the heart glimmered, then the spells surrounding it shattered, and it vanished in a blaze of blue light.

The Beacon heart vanished from its protective case, leaving the thing in tatters. The two bolts of light, one blue, one purple, tore across the sky

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Still defending the palace with their shield, Cadance and Shining Armor seen the twin spears of light race away from the palace.

"What is it?" he asked. But she had tears in her eyes, and could only sit rigid as they rolled down her cheeks. The heart was become whole once more, which could only mean one thing.

Above, they seen Luna suddenly tear away from the palace, ignoring Celestia's cry to stay!

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It felt like he was going to collapse, when he felt two presences, one either side of him. Raising his head he seen a blue crystal unicorn, and a purple pegasus.

"It is I, Master Sombra..." the heart smiled. He looked like King Cloudspark, which touched Sombra's heart. His father’s memory lived on.

"I need you, both of you-" he was aware of them supporting him, their power mixing with HIS.

"What have you done?!" the shadow creature managed to divert enough strength to swing another shadow limb in an effort to tear this pony's body apart-

The trio atop the crystal closed their eyes, and a tricolour rainbow whirled up around them, blue, purple and red, then leapt at breakneck speed-

It hit the big creature with so much force it catapulted the thing up into the sky. It then split, winding around the big blobby being from head to toe, pinning its spiked wings to its body as it writhed.

"NOW!" Tears in her eyes, Twilight Sparkle found her voice, whereupon she urged the elements to help her rid the world of this thing! They grouped together, helping one another to stand.

"He was kind to a child..." Fluttershy whispered her first true memory of Sombra.

"He laughed and smiled with us all..." Pinkie Pie blubbered, blue eyes full of more tears.

"He became a true gifted dark magic user..." Twilight Sparkle finished, "he wasn't afraid!"

Each of their elements shone as they spoke, mixing with the light from Sombra's spell. A rainbow light shone up around them, forming into a ribbon of power that soared into the sky, filling it with a beautiful light, then it wrapped around the darkness, closing in as its ferocity burnt away the things body.

It gave a final scream, and the combined lights compacted its body, crushing it into oblivion with an explosion that rivalled the biggest thunderclap!!

But the task wasn’t done. The rainbow power split into six separate threads, with the multi-hued light from Sombra's spell forming six gleaming needles through which the colorful threads tied. These zoomed back and forth across the tear, stitching up the hole between worlds, forever severing the connection..

With one final synchronized pull, the six threads sealed the realm. The portal edges met and sealed with the mesmerizing rainbow light.

There was an almost sonic boom, and a wave of displaced air tore the clouds from the sky, letting brilliant golden sunshine flare though.

Sombra seen this with fading eyes. He watched the thing vanish, seen the tear mended once and for all.

"Thank Celestia..." he whispered, then his limbs went numb. The crystal beneath him vanished, his power gone. The Beacon Heart pegasus caught him and lowered him to the ground, joined by the Crystal Heart unicorn.

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"Sombra!" once the spells light faded, The six ponies raced over. But, where Sombra had fallen there lay a young colt, only a little older than they. The cloak and armor had vanished along with his prior form. He was being supported by two literally crystal ponies.

He resembled the younger him from his past, even reverted to a normal unicorn once more. But before they could hope he'd somehow found a way out of the death sentence the stab wound had inflicted, they noticed something else. He was fading away, already his hooves were turning see through...

"SOMBRA!!" It was Luna, diving from the sky, down towards him. She landed with none of her usual grace, skidding on her armored behind as she came to a stumbling halt in front of him, her eyes wide with fear and worry;

"What did thou DO?!" She shouted. Then answered her own question as she took in his appearance, "that spell- thou worked out how to undo it, DIDN'T THOU?!"

"I...had to..." Sombra looked up at her, deep red eyes filled with a strange resignation behind the pain. He reached up one semi-see-through hoof to poke her on the nose "heh, it's funny, you're bigger than me now Woona..."

Her panic was making her unable to switch off her royal Canterlot voice, so her booming words could be heard across the area. Ponies began to realize something was wrong, and soon the bad news spread. Sombra was dying...

Luna shut her eyes, and when they opened again, they glowed once more with the flare of dark magic.

Without hesitation she gathered as much of her Alicorn magic as she could, changed it into darkness, and transferred it to the ailing Prince.

The ponies gathered around had a moment of hope as his body seemed to solidify again, gaining a measure of its former self. But soon as Luna broke the connection, Twilight Sparkle seen his very OUTLINE start to fade incrementally...

"Ugh..." Luna tried to summon more, her chest aching, but the method of transforming so much magic at once was hard, she was still only learning...

With an anguished cry she cut the spell off, and stamped a hoof on the ground so hard a crack appeared in her blue crystal shoe.

The crowds were seeking comfort in one another. Pony's that’d been at loggerheads before the final fight opening their wings and hooves to their antagonists, quarrels forgotten. Strangers joined hoofs, seen their tears echoed in their fellow pony’s eyes. The guard, when they realised what'd happened, removed their helmets out of respect.

"What-?! What did he do..?!" Applejack babbled, looking at Twilight Sparkle. The purple Alicorn was staring in shock, tears balancing precariously on her lashes, "why does he look like a colt again Twi?!"

"In order to change himself back then, he created a powerful spell, one that has endured a lifetime, but it had become so deeply ingrained in him he couldn't survive without it. It had the power he needed, but he...he's..." Luna spoke up between hiccups, the anguish tearing at her chest.

Twilight Sparkle shook her head, the first tears falling. Spotting her through the crowd, Flash Sentry fought his way to her, kids following in his wake, ditching his helmet as he reached her. He reached out to her and she folded gratefully into his wing as it wrapped around her. Her cries rang out in earnest, the fact she knew not a single thing that could save Sombra was tearing her heart in two.

Luna’s magic had repaired the gaping wound in Sombra's body however, slowing his fade, but unable to stop it altogether.

"SOMBWA!!" a familiar voice tore through them. And the six turned to see a tiny blur, her mother not far behind, racing over.

Shining Sea came to a halt, shaking her head in disbelief as she seen the injured Sombra. She'd seen that flash of light, and felt a terrible fear in her heart. Now her worst nightmare was happening in front of her eyes...

"Pwease..." Bright Spark huddled up to him, and he scooped her up gently, holding her close. She rubbed her cheek against his, tears spilling down her round cheeks “Sombwa..."

"Uuuaawwaaahhhh!!" Bright Spark didn't even try to stop her tears, she just shook her head. Her pained, plaintive cries broke the watching ponies hearts, and Luna threw dignity aside to bow her head and cry.

Sombra tried to comfort Spark, but the tiny unicorns heart-broken bawling would not be stopped.

Shining Sea couldn't stem the tidal wave of crushing sadness as she watched Bright Spark cling to Sombra's mane, crying her eyes out. Her whole body shaking from the tears she held back, she made her way to Sombra. The six elements seen her coat go dull, the crystal sheen fading as her sadness became too great.

"I wuv you Sombwa..." Bright Spark hiccuped. She looked up, seeing her mommy standing there, looking so bereft. Mommy loved Sombra too. Selflessly, she kissed Sombra's cheek then reached her chubby little forelegs out to Princess Luna. Distracted from her grief, Luna gathered the filly in her forelegs, staring dully at the scene in front of her.

"I...I'm sorry..." Sombra whispered, even as he swayed on his hooves. The crystal ponies released him into Sea's embrace. Her mane brushed against his cheek and he stirred.

He rested his head against hers, trying to commit everything about her to his dying memory.

"I love you..." he whispered softly. Her heart thudded in her chest, hearing those words from him...

Twilight Sparkle and the others had all crowded as close to their fallen friend as they could, and seeing them there Sombra tried to gather enough strength to thank them once again for giving him the chance he'd always thought he'd been denied.

"Everypony.." he managed to cough, but Applejack shook her head, tears filling her wide green eyes.

"Now don't you start tryin' to get shot of us so soon sugarcube, ya hear me? We'll find a way..."

"We have a coronation party to plan.." Pinkie Pie sobbed, mane flat once more "you gotta tell me what kind of cake you like!"

"C'mon man, you cant bail on us, you’re 20% way too cool for that old trick!!" Rainbow tried to sound stern, but her voice wobbled at the end, bottom lip trembling...

“Sombwy-!” Spark managed, before she began crying into Luna’s starry mane once more.

"And I have to design your new coronation robes, there's so much still to do darling.." Rarity said bravely.

During this, Celestia, Cadance and Shining Armor had finally reached them. Cadance still couldn’t stem her tears. The Crystal Heart unicorn looked over at her, sensing her misery.

"Thank you..all of you..." Sombra was starting to feel sleepy, his limbs like lead. He slumped back against Shining Sea, who begged him to please hang on!

"We gotta do somethin'!” Applejack cried at last, "this ain’t how it’s menna be!"

"What can we do?!" Celestia cried, looking around her, as if an answer would materialize in front of her desperate eyes.

"He gave too much power..." Luna said, shaking her head, "We cannot replenish his magic!"

She broke away from the others, running to the two Hearts, "both of you represent something that's important to this empire-!"

"You saved this empire once before, Crystal Heart," Cadance pleaded, "you used the love magic you had stored and gained from everypony in the Empire to refuel Sombra's form before, can't you do it again!"

“It would require more then just a passing donation this time…” Crystal Heart began.

Twilight Sparkle caught on, and turned to address the crowd, pleading through her tears "please everypony, can you use your love, your compassion-!"

"SOS!" Rainbow screamed, her voice straining as she searched the crowd with blurred vision. And it was more than a distress call, it was a prayer.

Rarity picked up the two shattered halves of the Crystal Heart pin, and held them together over her head, unable to speak. She lit it from within using her magic...

The word spread like wildfire, each pony turning to their neighbour and passing it on. The streets were crammed with ponies, all wanting to see their saviour live!

The ground under their hooves began to glow as they bowed their heads, joining as one in the endeavour. But it wasn’t just blue light this time, it was multicoloured, Sombra's light...

"We need one of your number to help us rebuild." the Beacon Heart looked at the Princesses.

The light began to pulse, feeding into the area where the two crystal ponies stood, surrounding Sombra. Cadance stepped back, Shining Sea, and Luna (still carrying Bright Spark) following suit. The light closed in around Celestia, the two Crystal Heart ponies and Sombra. He looked from one to the other, then up at Celestia...

Celestia closed her eyes, her horn glowing with the full might of her power as the light formed a vertical tunnel around the four of them. Soon it grew so bright they could not see any of the ponies within it.

"I love you..." Sea whispered, fresh tears falling. Cadance did a double take as the tears froze mid fall, then turned into beams of light that shot into the light show surrounding Sombra.

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Within the light, Sombra looked up as Celestia stepped up to him. Bravely, even with what little strength he had rapidly fading, he got to his hooves, standing tall. She bowed her head, so their horns touched. Two beams of light shot through the wall of light, joining in with Celestia's magic as golden sparks began to whirl around Sombra's body.

"Look inside yourself, choose who you want to BE Sombra. You've grown so much, your old shell isn't needed any more. You've become an entirely new pony..."

"Thank you, Princess..." Sombra whispered. He knew what he wanted. Life, love, happiness. As whatever and whomever the ponies out there seen him as. He would be content with that. His real self was inside, after all...

Time stopped for Sombra. Stopped, rewound, raced ahead. Gathering every memory together...

He gasped as he felt his body shifting and changing. Celestia stepped back, maintaining the spell even as the golden light enveloped Sombra entirely. The love of the empires ponies flowed through the crystal conduits, and into her.

She felt tears fall down her cheeks as she took in how strong that love was, and one shone above all the rest...

The prophecy echoed in her mind, and she smiled. There was one thing SHE could give...

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The crowd backed up as the ground shook, and the light finally dispersed, the remainder shooting up into the cloudless sky, where it sent streamers of white and golden light streaming across the sky...

He retained that same coat of smoky grey, body tall and powerfully built. Triple-crystal cutie mark branded on his flank. His mane was still dark as night, but now fell in soft waves reminiscent of its former ever-flowing manner. His horn was like a regular unicorn's, tapering to a sharp point, although it still retained that unusual colouration, albeit a little more muted. He opened his eyes, and those closest seen they were still that breathtaking crimson.

But it wasn't over yet. With a powerful FWAFF, wide broad wings accorded to his build, snapped out to full size.

Pinkie Pie gasped at length, accidentally inhaling a passing bee. She didn't seem to notice however, so surprised was she.

“Well that’s just inappropriate Applejack dear and- whaaaaatttt?!” Rarity clocked the change to Sombra.

"Yes! Yes!" Twilight Sparkle broke the bounds of shock first, bouncing in delighted circles around her friends and Flash Sentry, chanting "Yes! Yes! YEESSS!"

She bumped into Pinkie Pie on her forth circuit, bumping her on the back. Pinkie Pie burped up the bee, which flew away, probably traumatized.

Sombra blinked, vision adjusting as the light faded. He took a few shaky steps forward, looking for all the world like a newborn colt. In a way, he WAS. He seen something feathery and grey in the corner of his vision and turned his head towards it. It was a WING.

He yelped, back-pedalling and landing on his rear. He stared at the wing, cautiously bringing it closer and gnawing on the edge of the appendage...

"You have done something exceptional this day," the Alicorn smiled at him, "You were ready to give up your own LIFE to ensure the existence of all of OURS. Even if it meant saying goodbye, you didn't waver. That kind of dedication and bravery comes from understanding what life is truly worth. Something you have displayed admirably, Sombra.

Not only that, but your integrity in admitting your mistakes and doing what it took to set them right, despite how difficult such a journey must have been, has led to your gaining a whole new life, filled with friends and a royal family!” She nodded to the Prince and Princesses stood to one side. Luna looked extremely happy.

“And you created a magical light that has never been witnessed in Equestria before. All of these things have gifted you those wings.”

She bowed now, and the other royals did the same. Twilight was reminded how they'd done this for her that night she'd transformed! The crowd around them caught on after a moments gawking, and soon followed. Sombra looked this way and that, ears trembling in shock as it all sunk in. He could barely believe it...

Bright Spark partly listened to all this in total shock. She was busy taking in how awesome her friend looked, now he had wings! Sombra's eye caught hers, and she couldn't wait any more. She bounded free from Luna's hold, barrelling past Celestia and flinging herself into Sombra's hold.

"SOMBWA!" She cried again, this time tears of joy! Sombra still couldn’t speak, just hugged her and looked wordlessly up at Celestia. He was surprised to see tears in her eyes, in a lot of ponies eyes.

"We're so proud of you Sombra..." Celestia told him. She seen a shift in movement, and realized it was Shining Sea. Her coat was still dulled, despite the relief and heart-warming joy in her eyes. She didn’t seem to have noticed her coat, she only had eyes for her Prince...

Celestia, needless to say, couldn’t refuse the pint sized filly, and happily scooped her up. Bright Spark hugged the Princess, whispering so only she could hear, "fanks fow giving him wings Pwincess..."

"He earned them my dear child.." Celestia whispered back, "he more than earned them!"

While they whispered, Shining Sea approached Sombra on trembling legs, barely able to believe it was HIM. He was alive, whole. She hadn’t lost the stallion she'd fallen for so strongly. Even though he'd changed a little, all she seen was the loving, gentle stallion who'd made her life bright once more.

"My star.." he broke the silence, and all the affection her voice could hold was heard as she spoke just two words;

Then she raced the rest of the short distance between them and threw her arms around his neck, tears spilling down her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry if I frightened you," he whispered, "I know things look different-"

"It doesn't matter what you look like!" She blurted, shaking her head. She reached a hoof up to gently stroke his cheek, feeling the warmth of him beneath her hoof "I can still see that wonderful spirit in your eyes, the kindness in your smile. And I know your heart is one of gold, that’s all I need!"

"You'll always be YOU, no matter how you look. That's what made me fall in love with you Sombra. The love and kindness inside of you..."

She sat up properly, looking into Sombra's deep red eyes; her own shone with tears as she firmly stated:

The crowd went bananas as Sombra wrapped a foreleg around her and pulled her into a deep kiss. A shine ran from her mane to her tail, replenishing her coats shimmer, but even more stunning then ever.

Rarity gave up all pretence and started bawling unashamedly. Flash Sentry used his wings to brush away Princess Twilight Sparkle's tears. She turned to him and kissed him then, a short, sweet little kiss.

Even Rainbow Dash was making those choked up noises one makes when on the verge of crying. She gnawed her hoof, but a smattering of tears still fell.

Applejack quickly wiped her eyes, but more tears soon plopped down her freckled cheeks and she gave up holding back, this was too joyous an occasion.

Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were crying on each others shoulders, Pinkie Pie pulling hankies from her mane a second later.

Finally the couple ended the sweetest kiss in history, both a little flushed after that...

"There’s a legend that the crystal ponies gain a special coat when they're truly in love..." she whispered.

She looked up at him, and they shared one more brief kiss before she stepped back, nodding at the others;

Pinkie Pie took that as a signal, and pretty much charged Sombra. She tackled him, knocking him onto his back, her forelegs thrown around him in the biggest hug she could muster. Given she was still armoured up, as were the others, this knocked the wind out of him a little. The others joined in as Sombra managed to sit up, surrounded by the warmth of his friends.

"Oh boy oh boy!" Rainbow squeed "another flying friend! This is so cool! Were gonna have so much fun teaching you to use these!"

"My dear, you're the first male Alicorn I’ve ever seen! Why, I didn’t think it was possible! Boy am I learning.." Rarity felt pursued by a sense of deja vu.

There was a LOT Sombra wanted to say, but for now he just rejoiced in being alive...

From Darkness To Light

by Pixel_Spark

Fate & Finale