//------------------------------//
// A Surprisingly Civil Imprisonment 
// Story: The Best Laid Plans of Shrews and Stallions 
// by Maltrazz 
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King Sombra’s ever present grin widened, as he looked out from his new castle. Arrayed before him was the entirety of his army; a legion of Umbrum nearly 1,000 strong. He had quickly learned over the week that despite having all the same powers as him, many of the Umbrum were not his equal in raw power or arcane knowledge, most of the force still trapped as shadows, not yet having gained the control necessary to take on solid forms. On top of that, some of the Umbrum were children and others were their caretakers, meaning they would be staying behind at the castle.

However, his grin was directed towards the hundred or so in the front, clad in the armor taken from the castle’s depths, and fully in control of their forms, ready to lead the charge to battle, ready to fight for the King that had freed them.

“My fellow Umbrum!” He cried out to the assembled host. “Today, we march on Canterlot, home of the Two Sisters, and capital of Equestria. We have given the Princesses of this land ample time to reach their decision, and now we shall have the satisfaction of showing them to be the cowards that they are… or else, we shall have our revenge as we rain terror upon their land for the centuries of suffering we have endured!”

This drew cheers from the Umbrum, most of whom had at least regained the ability to speak, even if they still lacked solid forms. Shifting into shadow form, which prompted those that had corporeal forms to follow suit, Sombra declared, “To Canterlot!”

Like a tidal wave of shadow, the Umbrum force burst forth from the forest, rushing across the land towards their goal.





“Twilight, are ya sure ya want ta go through with this?” Applejack asked as the six friends walked down a hall in Canterlot Castle.

“Yes, I’m sure we can find a way to get through this that doesn’t involve you at the mercy of King Sombra, of all ponies.” Rarity added.

"If we had more time, perhaps, but it's too late now," Twilight replied, with a shake of her head. "Besides, this is only a temporary measure until Princess Celestia can find some way of protecting Equestria from the Umbrum." Seeing her friends worried expressions remain, she added, "Don't worry, I can take care of myself. Worst case scenario, I can teleport myself away from them and escape back to Canterlot or Ponyville."

Spike opened his mouth to point out that Sombra's Dark Magic had stopped her teleportation before but a glance from the young princess made him keep his silence. Spike swallowed nervously as he came to understand what she was doing. Twilight was just as nervous as her friends, knowing full well what she was getting herself into, but simply did not want to worry anypony more than necessary.

They entered the throne room to find the other princesses and Shining Armor waiting for them. Celestia was the first to speak, saying what all assembled were thinking. "It's not too late to change your mind, Twilight. No one will think less of you for choosing to fight Sombra instead."

"If it was just me, perhaps, but I won't plunge all of Equestria into war just for my sake," Twilight replied with a shake of her head. "Besides, I'm confident that you'll figure out some way to stop him, given more time, and that I won't be his prisoner for long."

"But what if he doesn't just take you prisoner?" Shining Armor asked in a worried tone. Of everypony, he had tried the hardest to dissuade his sister from her decision. "This is King Sombra we're talking about! Please, Twilight-"

The stallion's protest was cut short as he and everypony else were distracted by a sudden darkening of the room. The sunlight that had been streaming in through the windows had been blocked by something too dark and too swiftly moving to be a cloud. The group rushed to the windows and looked to the sky.

On the ground below and in the sky above, Canterlot was in a flurry of activity. In the streets below, ponies rushed in a panic, barricading themselves in their homes or taking refuge in nearby shops. What caused such terror flew overhead. In the skies above the city, shadowy forms circled, so numerous that they blotted out the sun. Only their glowing eyes made the individual beings distinguishable from each other in the swirling mass of living darkness.

Moments later, a young guard burst into the throne room. "Your majesties!" The guard cried out in a panic. "Shadow ponies! I mean, the Umbrum- That is to say, King Sombra-!"

"We can see them quite clearly from here," Princess Luna replied dryly, cutting off the guard's hysterics.

"No, I mean at Canterlot's main gate! ...er, your majesty," The guard replied, obviously unprepared for a real threat to the city. "King Sombra is demanding to speak with you and Princess Celestia."

Glancing at Twilight, Cadance said, "He must not yet know that we're here."

"Hmm, perhaps we can use that to our advantage," Celestia said, gaining a thoughtful expression.





Sombra's usual grin was in place as he stared up at the top of Canterlot's walls. He knew he could have simply glided over the walls as a shadow but he would keep his word. If the princesses did not meet his demands, however, then they would see just how useless these walls would be against his kind. Glancing at the weaker Umbrum in the sky, his grin widened as he thought, 'Then again, they've likely already realized as much. The weaker Umbrum may not be as much use in combat but by blocking the sunlight, they keep the light from weakening the stronger warriors and myself. Not to mention the damage they will do to the morale of the Sisters' soldiers.'

The dark stallion was drawn from his thoughts by a pair of familiar figures swooping down to the parapets above. Amplifying his voice with magic, he called out, "Princesses! You were given my demands and ample time to fulfill them! Now, what is your response?"

Although it had been over 1,000 years, Sombra recognized Celestia's voice as soon as she began her reply. "You issued demands but gave no opportunity to negotiate! If you wish us to even consider what you ask, then at least have the decency to speak with us before you do anything that would bring harm to both our subjects."

"Oh? And I suppose you expect me to walk alone and defenseless into the heart of your stronghold?" The Umbrum king shot back. "You outnumbered me 1,000 years ago and I shall not make the same mistake a second time."

"Your display in the sky has already made abundantly clear how 'alone' you would be and we know full well how little the word 'defenseless' applies to one of your ilk!" Luna declared, her hatred for Sombra clear in her tone.

Grinning, Sombra replied, "Very well, I shall listen to your cowardly begging, but do not expect me to bend on my words. I shall also have two of my own accompany me, to ensure there is no treachery attempted."

"Very well," Celestia replied, before ordering, "Guards, open the gate."

One of the armored Umbrum stepped up beside Sombra. "Your majesty, please allow me to accompany you." Baleiro requested, his voice much firmer and more steady than it had been a week ago.

"No," Sombra replied, as the gates to Canterlot slowly swung open. "You shall remain here in charge of our forces. I have no doubt that the Sisters have some trick planned, so be ready to act. Adornar, Azedo-doce, you both shall accompany me." Two armored mares stepped forward.

The first one said happily, "Thank you so much! It's such an honor," suddenly her tone shifted to extremely irritated, "to walk right into a trap."

"A trap is only effective if you don't know it's coming," the other Umbrum said bluntly.

"Indeed," Sombra said as he strode forward. "I may not be able to handle both of the Two Sisters and their army by myself but I should be able to hold my own until reinforcements arrive. If they do have a trap set, you two are ordered to retreat immediately and inform Baleiro to begin the attack. Understood?"

"Si, Rei Sombra," The pair responded in unison.

As the gate closed behind them, they saw the main boulevard leading to he castle lined with guards that were eyeing them warily. Sombra fixed a grin on his face, knowing it would unnerve any soldiers that saw him. Standing at the gates to the castle itself were Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.

"Thank you for taking the time to speak with us," Celestia said diplomatically.

"It was the least I could do," Sombra replied, "considering all you stand to lose."

This drew a glare from Luna but a glance from her sister convinced her to remain silent. "Follow us, we shall speak in the throne room," Celestia said, before suiting word to action and leading the way.

The walk through the castle passed in silence. When they entered, Sombra saw the princess of the Crystal Empire waiting in front of the throne. Raising an eyebrow, Sombra asked, "Was this your plan? Did you think having a third Princess here would make a difference against my army?"

"On the contrary," Celestia replied, moving with her sister to stand beside Cadance, "it is simply that we princesses rule together and the choice you forced upon us was not an easy decision to face."

"'Rule together', is it?" Sombra asked, before turning away. "If that is your decision, then-"

"My sister-in-law will be here shortly," Cadance said, interrupting him. "We simply want to make sure there is no misunderstanding before she arrives."

'Sister-in-law?' Sombra thought. 'Hope was an orphan... Does this princess have a brother that she married? No matter, he would no doubt deserve a traitor like her.' Turning back to face them, he stated, "My demand was very simple; turn her over to me, or my army attacks."

"Then, just to be clear," Celestia said firmly, "if we hand over the princess that retrieved the Crystal Heart and foiled your plans then you and your army will retreat, and take no further action against Equestria."

Sombra frowned. Something about her phrasing struck him as odd but he couldn't placing it. So, he addressed the obvious loophole. "As long as no efforts are made to remove her from my custody then yes, that is accurate."

"Then, I suppose it's time to find out if you're a stallion of your word," a new voice declared, as the doors opened behind him.

Sombra grinned as he turned, recognizing the voice of the other princess... only for his expression to turn into one of confusion at the sight of the mare before him. The crown upon her head showed that she was another princess and a glance to her wings and horn confirmed that she was an alicorn like the others. Her coat was purple, as was her mane, a darker shade with brighter highlights. However, it was her eyes that caught his attention; beautiful and determined, yet bright and soft.

'The eyes of an innocent, of somepony who has never truly experienced loss,' Sombra thought and asked, "Who are you?"

"My name is Twilight Sparkle," she replied. "I'm the one who figured out how to get past your traps and found the Crystal Heart."

Silence reigned as Sombra stared at her for a moment, the truth of what had happened clicking into place in his mind. And then he started to laugh. It was a slow, building thing, the princesses, and even Sombra's Umbrum guards, tensed at the sound, growing worried that that Sombra's centuries of isolated imprisonment had left him unhinged.

As his laughter wound down, Sombra spoke again, "I understand now. There was no reason for you to attempt to trick me since I had already tricked myself. Of course, Hope wouldn't still be alive after all this time..."

"As you can see, King Sombra, the one you truly want is not here," Celestia said firmly. "There's no reason to threaten us with an army when there is nothing to gain from-"

"'Nothing to gain'!?" Sombra snarled as he rounded on the alicorn. "You sealed me in total isolation for 1,000 years. My kin were sealed away for millennia! Do you honestly expect us to simply walk away without any form of recompense!?"

"That's why I am here," Twilight said, drawing his attention back to her.

"Oh?" Sombra turned back to her, regaining some of his former calm. "And what do you mean by that?"

"I am the one who retrieved the Crystal Heart and foiled your plans," Twilight replied. "So, if I come with you, you would be honor bound not to attack Equestria."

Slowly, Sombra stepped toward her until he loomed over her, his eyes blazing with dark magic as his gaze bored into her own. "Indeed... and I am a stallion of my word..." he said slowly. "However, I admit that I am surprised you would come willingly. Or perhaps you simply fail to fully understand the position you would be putting yourself in." He began pacing around the young princess as he continued. "You would be completely at my mercy."

"I won't let you have your war," Twilight said firmly. "If that means I must sacrifice myself to protect my friends, then so be it."

"How noble of you," Sombra said as he came to a halt. Turning back to the room at large, he said, "Very well. My demand has been met to the letter, if not in spirit. We shall leave, but first..." The collected alicorns tensed as Sombra fired a burst of Dark Magic at Twilight. When the magic cleared, a crystal collar was fixed around her neck. "A reminder."

"That's hardly necessary," Twilight said sourly, as she pressed a hoof against the crystal.

"Oh, it's not for you," Sombra said cryptically. "Now, come. You've had a week to say your farewells and I'd like to be back to my castle by nightfall."

As Sombra's soldier flanked her, Twilight glanced back at her fellow princesses. Seeing their sorrowful expression, she tried to give them a reassuring smile. And then the doors closed behind her with what felt like utter finality. Despite his words, Sombra seemed to slow down as they left the castle. Twilight did not understand why until she heard the whispers.

"Is that Princess Twilight?"

"Why is she with those shadow ponies?"

"What's that thing on her neck?"

Glancing around, she saw citizen peeking out of windows and guards casting her worried looks. And then she heard one of them say something that made everything fall into place.

"Why isn't Celestia stopping this?"

Sombra seemed to sense her resulting glare and spoke to her, keeping his tone quiet enough that none of the onlookers could hear. "Politics can be just as effective as open war, but with less collateral damage. Thanks to your choice, the ponies of Equestria will remain unharmed, but rumors and doubts will spread and nopony here will ever trust their princesses the same way again."

"You're a fool if you think anypony will-" Twilight started to reply, before the collar constricted, cutting off her voice.

"Hold your peace until we have left Canterlot," Sombra said, "and I shall remove that. I'm not a barbarian, after all."

Exiting the gate, Sombra stopped and addressed his forces, while making sure his voice was loud enough to reach the ponies on the wall, as well. "Umbrum! The cowardly princesses of Equestria have decided their precious peace is more valuable than one of their own! We shall return to our castle with our prize in tow! Move out!"

With military precision, the Umbrum began to march, those that had been in the skies above Canterlot swiftly joining them. As Twilight glanced over her shoulder for a last look at the city, she could not help from feeling conflicted. Sombra had succeeded in humiliating the princesses, but at least she had kept anypony from getting physically hurt. Turning to face forward, she could not help but wonder what future lay in wait for her in King Sombra's castle.