“No cape?”
“Sorry Rarity, but I am not a king, nor do I wish to come off as one to the crystal ponies,” Sombra replied.
Twilight, Rarity, and Sombra were en route to the Crystal Empire. They were already close enough that the sun had been blocked by the blizzard clouds that surrounded the city. As they drew closer, the former king grew more anxious, fearful of the infinite possibilities playing in his head. There was no way of telling how the crystal ponies would react to his presence, or if it would even be safe for him to wander the city.
“I’m glad you’ve given some thought to this visit, Sombra. I know you would have preferred a more simplistic challenge, but I think you’ll be able to handle this,” said Twilight.
“What? You mean I don’t get the book challenge? Why don’t I get a chance at that?” he flippantly asked.
Twilight shook her head, an indulgent smile on her face. “Nope. I’ve learned that lesson. This is far more practical, though I must apologize for bringing Rarity along. I know this is supposed to be a one on one sort of thing, but since we aren’t in Ponyville I had to bring somepony along, just in case.”
“No worries. Two lovely mares escorting me around the empire? What more could a stallion ask for?” he smoothly replied.
Sombra gave a flirtatious wink just as the loudspeaker blared on, breaking any sort of charm he was attempting. “We will be arriving in a few moments, please watch your step when exiting the track.”
He peered his head out the window, catching a glimpse of the Crystal Empire in the distance. His heart skipped a beat, realizing that he was truly returning to his home. As he pulled back in, he asked, “Will the, uh, current rulers be making an appearance?”
“You mean my brother and Cadance? No, sorry. We won’t be going near the castle while we’re there. They’ve already let it be known to the citizens of our arrival, and yours, of course,” Twilight answered.
“That’s probably for the best,” he muttered, a sigh leaving his lips. The dark unicorn looked out the window, envisioning what might happen after they reached the city. From the stories Twilight told of her experiences in the Crystal Empire, it was obvious the citizens no longer felt his evil presence. Will they still fear me like they use to? Would I even want that, he thought.
Rarity gave a concerned eye, curious as to how he felt. “Sombra, are you nervous?” she asked. “You look more anxious than Fluttershy when Nightmare Night is near.”
“Nightmare… Night?” he questioned, not understanding the metaphor.
Twilight and Rarity looked at each other, just as confused as he, though for very different reasons.
“Right. I guess you wouldn’t know about Nightmare Night or Nightmare Moon. You were gone for a long time, after all. I wonder if Discord and Tirek know about the holiday. I doubt Chrysalis celebrates it,” Twilight said, perplexed.
“Well, we’ll have to save the explanation for another time. It looks like we’re here."
The locomotive screeched to a halt as it arrived at the destination. Passengers made their way off the train as newcomers boarded the steam engine. Twilight, Rarity, and Sombra entered the empire, only to be berated by the stares and whispers of the citizens. Ponies recognized Sombra immediately, even without his cape and crown. The green and purple eyes, red horn, and dark black mane were staples of their former nightmares, something they’d never truly forget. He was the very soul that had cursed their city for so long.
“Uhm, Twilight. Perhaps this was a bad idea,” Sombra anxiously argued.
With a shake of her head, Twilight disagreed, stating, “No. If ponies stop and stare at you, then that’s just something you have to deal with. Don’t be afraid.”
He grumbled and groaned as they walked, ponies continually staring, some running and screaming at the very sight of him. An awkward silence fell between the three, angry faces stared at all of them, even though they were meant for just one.
“This is becoming dreadful. Is there anywhere we are specifically heading, Twilight?” Rarity asked.
“Oh, right. I was supposed to ask before we got off the train. Sombra, is there anywhere you would like to go besides the castle?” inquired Twilight.
“Me?” He halted in his tracks, a bit surprised they were asking him where to go. “Well, it’s been a long time so my memory is a bit fuzzy, but I believe there should be an orphanage over there,” he replied.
“An orphanage?” Twilight questioned. “Would you like to take us there?”
“Yes, of course,” he replied. “I wonder if Grand Matron Bell is still running it,” he mumbled as he led the two mares. Rarity and Twilight looked at each other, curious as to how he would know a matron.
Once they arrived at the orphanage Sombra knocked on the door, anxious to see who would answer. The door flung open. A hazel furred earth pony with tan mane stood in the doorway, a white bonnet wrapped around her head. She didn’t look much older than Sombra.
“Mother Cinnamon!?” Sombra excitedly exclaimed.
“Little Soos!?” the pony cried.
The two embraced in a hug. Rarity and Twilight stood in shock, they had surmised he had no friends left in the empire, the idea that anypony was still kind to him was surprising.
“It’s so good to see yo-“ He was cut off by a face full of hoof. The mare had slammed him straight to the ground with one swift hit.
“That’s for the thousand years we lost!” she screamed, tears in her eyes.
He staggered back to his hooves as he rubbed his cheek, wincing in pain. “Well, I definitely deserved that. It’s still good to see you, at least,” he mumbled past the stinging.
“You’re lucky I don’t hit you again, you deserve another,” she replied, “but I had heard of your return.”
“Were you expecting me to show up?” he questioned.
The matron shook her head. “No, but you may as well come in for a visit since you’re here.”
“Thank you,” he said, stepping into the home.
She then noticed the two mares that had been standing behind him. She, like Twilight and Rarity, was surprised to find he had any friends. “Oh goodness. Soos, are these your, uhm, friends?”
“Oh, yes, sorry. Let me introduce you. This is Princess Twilight Sparkle, and the Element of Generosity, Rarity,” he graciously presented them.
“Princess? Oh my!” she exclaimed, bowing to the two mares. “Please come in! It’s not much but I hope it will suffice.”
The three travelers were motioned to sit at a table, foals could be heard through muffled voices in another room. The matron mare quickly set out cups filled with tea for the guests, eventually taking her own seat at the table and introducing herself. “It’s a pleasure to meet you two, my name is Fresh Cinnamon, but you all can just call me Cinnamon.”
“The pleasure is ours,” Twilight replied, taking a sip of the tea.
“Mother Cinnamon, I know we’ve just arrived, but I don’t suppose Grand Matron Bell is available?” The dark unicorn fidgeted in his seat, curious about the owner of the orphanage.
“Actually, it’s Grand Matron Cinnamon now,” she replied, staring at the reflection in her cup.
Sombra’s face soured, realizing what that meant. He gritted his teeth as if to hold back anger or tears. Twilight and Rarity looked on, still in the dark, confused by his expression. “Who was Grand Matron Bell?” asked Twilight.
With a deep exhalation, Cinnamon replied, “She was the previous Grand Matron, she passed away rather recently. Thanks to Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor, we had a lovely funeral. I wish you could have been there Soos.”
“I don’t mean to be rude with all these questions, but how did Sombra know her, or you for that matter?” Twilight inquired.
He held his mouth shut, his entire body shook. It was clear that he refused to speak. Cinnamon replied for him. “When Sombra lived here long ago, Bell was the matron. She deeply loved the children that passed through those doors. She loved you too, Soos.”
“Loved me? She treated me the worst! Out of all the other foals, I was the one forced to do the most chores, study the hardest, and she even yelled at me the worst!” he lashed out.
“She did those things because she didn’t want you to end up evil!” she yelled back.
“That really worked out well, didn’t it!?” He slammed his hooves down on the table, shaking all of the cups and the kettle. An awkward silence fell as he slumped back into his chair.
Rarity stared Sombra, her eyes wide and sad. “I do hope you don’t mind me prying, but, what happened to your parents?”
“They abandoned me. They saw a dark curse inside my heart and tossed me away like a piece of garbage. I was left in the care of an orphanage outside the empire, Bell’s orphanage,” he explained.
“That’s awful, I’m so sorry,” Rarity replied, placing her hoof on his. She stared, deeply concerned, to which he turned a blind eye, too humiliated to react.
Twilight’s head filled with questions. “If you ended up outside the empire, how did you know to come here? None of the historical documents said anything about you living here previous to your reign.”
“That’s because the previous rulers of the Crystal Empire hid it, they hid everything relating to Soos,” Cinnamon answered.
“Why?” Twilight and Rarity asked in unison.
Sombra stood up from the table suddenly, startling the three mares. “Because the previous king and queen were my parents,” he angrily replied. He then charged towards the door and exited the home with a torrent of fury.
“Oh dear. I’ll make sure he doesn’t get into trouble,” Rarity said as she stood up, giving chase to the stallion.
As the door slammed shut, Twilight looked at Cinnamon, a billion questions still rushing through her mind. She could tell the grand matron was just as upset as Sombra, though perhaps for different reasons. “Why do you call him Soos?” she asked, hoping to start with something small.
Cinnamon stared blankly into the tea’s reflection, sulking worse than the cloudy weather around the empire. “Sombra came with Grand Matron Bell after the frozen tundra destroyed their town. The only safe haven was the Crystal Empire, protected by the heart. When she opened the orphanage, all the orphans of the empire were brought to her, myself included. A few months later, the king and queen arrived to speak to Bell. That’s when they saw Sombra. They told Bell that he was cursed, that it was better to throw him out in the snow. They wanted nothing to do with him.”
Twilight felt the burden in her heart as she listened to the story, nodding as Cinnamon continued.
“Sombra and I were close friends since the day I came to the orphanage, and when we overheard them speak, we learned who his parents were. I lost it. I screamed and yelled at them, but all Sombra could do was run off into the snowy wasteland. I chased after him and got lost. I don’t remember much, but Bell told me he brought me back to the orphanage, carrying me on his back, even at that young of an age. I was barely breathing. If he hadn’t carried me all that way, I would have died. Once I finally woke up, I was told that the first thing out of my mouth was ‘soos’. It’s just a dumb nickname that I’ve used for him ever since.”
“The history books never told of who ruled right before Sombra took over. I guess it makes sense that he would destroy any mention of them after becoming king,” Twilight surmised.
The grand matron stood up, taking Rarity’s and Sombra’s teacups to the sink. “Soos is misunderstood, not many ponies know that. Bell did, and she tried her best to teach him wrong from right, to grow into a great stallion. She never did tell me what eventually corrupted him, it’s something she took to the grave I’m afraid.”
“And… what happened to his parents?” Twilight nervously asked, afraid of the answer.
Cinnamon dropped the teacups, shattering them in the sink. She stood bipedal, staring down at the broken ceramics that mixed with leftover tea. “Would you mind if I asked a few questions before I answer that? I don’t mean to be rude to a princess, but, I have to know…” she whimpered.
“Of course…” encouraged Twilight, biting her lip anxiously.
Meanwhile, Rarity had caught up to Sombra, finding him pouting on a covered bench. The white unicorn sat next to the dark, silence remained between the two as she waited for him to speak first. Ponies stared as they passed, shocked and confused. Rarity chose to ignore them, simply staring at her hooves, the sky, or the crystallized homes. She refused to be the one to initiate a conversation.
“They were right,” Sombra finally spoke.
“Who, darling?” she asked, attempting to coax him into talking.
“My parents. I was cursed the day I was born, pure evil, with no absolvent."
Rarity let out a small chuckle, causing Sombra to wince in shame. She grasped his cheek, turning his head to match her gaze and warm smile. “A foal cannot be born evil. They have no control of what they do or how they act, they’re just babies after all. If that were true, Flurry Heart would have been considered malicious for destroying the Crystal Heart. That baby doesn’t have a shred of evil in her body, and I believe nor did you.”
His face stiffened, surprised be her words of wisdom. The frozen stare shifted into a heartfelt smile as she smiled back, only to be interrupted by a rock pelting him in the neck. He pressed his hoof against the wound, turning to see who the attacker was.
“Get out of my town!” the colt yelled, another rock lifted in his magical grasp. “Monster!”
Sombra looked away, anger boiling inside of him, but deep down he felt the foal was right in his judgement. The dark unicorn got up from his seat and began to walk away from Rarity and the colt. Another rock came hurdling towards him but was caught by Rarity’s magic.
“You little brat, how dare you be so cruel!” she yelled as she lifted the colt up into the air, bringing him over to Sombra. “Now apologize!” she demanded.
“Apologize? He should be the one who’s sorry for what he did! Freak!” the colt hollered and shouted.
Rarity then turned him upside down, holding him by his back legs. “And he will, one day. But for now, you owe him an apology. If you think he’s bad, just wait till you get a taste of what I’ll do if you don’t apologize right now,” she spoke harshly, to Sombra’s surprise.
The colt gulped, intimidated by the fierce passion that lit up in Rarity’s eyes like burning coals. “I-I’m sorry alright! I’m sorry! Now let me go!”
She dropped the colt who then quickly scurried away, leaving the stunned Sombra to question what had just happened. Rarity began walking back towards the orphanage before turning around and eyeing the dark unicorn. “How did you become evil?”
With a wince, he trotted up next to her, still feeling the pain from the rock and Cinnamon’s hoof. “Well,” he said, “I grew up knowing I was evil, being belittled by my peers at the orphanage, a matron who pushed me till I’d throw up, and one day it all clicked together. Kind of like getting a cutie mark.” He gave a grim smile to his harsh analogy.
“I see. I’m sorry for the burden that you’ve had to bear all this time, but I do have one more thing to burden you with if you’ll allow it."
“Oh? What?”
Smiling like she just finished a yearlong work order, she replied, “I want you to smile more often. The more you smile, the happier you’ll be, and the happier everyone around you will be.”
“I think I can do that, as long as you keep the angry foals at bay."
Rarity then leaned in, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. “Deal. A handsome stallion like you should always be smiling.”
As if on cue, he gave a smug grin, flaring his nostrils. “You are too generous with your compliments, Rarity. But… thank you. Let’s head back, shall we?”
The two returned to the orphanage, the atmosphere had dramatically changed between both parties. Rarity and Sombra sat down at the table, which appeared to be far calmer than when they had left. Twilight and Cinnamon were both smiling at Sombra, tears had left dried water stains on their cheeks.
“I guess you two talked about me?” he jested.
Rarity’s eyes began to water, to which she quickly fanned her face, trying to prevent her makeup from running. “I hope you two aren’t going to cry. If you do, you’ll make me cry, and I didn’t bring any extra mascara!”
“Actually, I think it’s about time we head off,” Twilight replied, surprising both Rarity and Sombra. “Thank you for tea, Cinnamon.”
The four ponies rose from their seats, heading towards the door. Twilight and Rarity hugged the head matron before they exited, waiting for Sombra to give his goodbye. As he approached to leave, Cinnamon asked, “Could I talk to you privately for just a second before you go?” Sombra looked to his two friends, to which Twilight gave a nod, closing the door with her magic. He looked back to his old friend, an eyebrow raised, curious as to what she would want to talk about. “Soos, Twilight told me about your reformation,” she said.
“Oh,” he stammered, unsurprised by the revelation, but embarrassed nonetheless.
“I… I just want you to know, I always believed in you, a-and I… I really hope y-you visit again soon,” she stuttered, tears drifting down her cheeks.
A pink blush formed around his muzzle, his stomach tensed up. “I-I will.”
“She also told me about the, uhh, bet. This may sound silly, but, if you don’t win Twilight, don’t give up. I know there’s a lucky mare out there that’d make a wonderful wife for you,” she advised him, a slight red hue stretched across her cheeks.
He smiled a true heartfelt smile, something he hadn’t felt since he was a colt. “Thank you, Cinny.” He then bowed to her before taking his leave, joining up with his two companions who waited patiently outside.
Cinnamon waved goodbye to the three as they walked away, a few tears running down the sides of her happy smile. Twilight and Sombra looked back, waving as they continued on. “Should we head back to Ponyville, Sombra? I’m sure it’s been a roller-coaster of emotion for you, and all of us,” Twilight inquired.
He shook his head in disagreement. “Actually, there’s one thing I’d like to do before we leave. Would you mind if we visited the Crystal Heart?”
Rarity and Twilight looked at each other, grimacing from the idea. “Um, darling, why would you want to visit that?”
“The heart’s location is where I last saw my parents, and it’s about time I pay my respects,” he replied in a brutish tone, the inclination in his voice told them there was no way they could sway him.
An exaggerated sigh came in unison from the two mares. “Alright,” Twilight affirmed. The three ponies made their way to the castle, and to the Crystal Heart. Most of the crystal ponies had vanished from the street, trying to avoid coming in contact with Sombra, or perhaps hearing about what had happened with the colt. Regardless, Sombra was on a mission. Twilight and Rarity stood on both sides of him as they arrived in the center of the Crystal Empire.
The Crystal Heart glowed a magnificent white light, untainted by the darkness that had once claimed the city. Guard ponies watched from the corners, waiting to see if the dark unicorn would make an attempt to destroy the thing they held most dear. Twilight hoped to avoid a confrontation, but she was willing to allow Sombra his request.
“Alright, we’re here. Now, what?” Twilight hoped the answer would not be the heart’s immediate destruction.
To everyone’s surprise, Sombra knelt down, bowing before the heart itself. Twilight and Rarity looked at each other, then to the Crystal Heart which appeared to be glowing brighter than ever.
He then spoke up. “I’m so sorry.”
With a beaming light, the heart shook, sending a shockwave throughout the empire. Everypony in the city radiated with the crystal light, their coats transformed into a glistening transparency. Their hair transformed and the city bounced with the beautiful glow. Once the light finished blinding the two mares, they looked up at the heart which had remained intact and shined like the sun itself. They then looked to Sombra who, to their surprise, was just as glinted as everypony else.
“S-Sombra? What happened?” Twilight asked.
He stood peaceful staring at the heart. “I apologized.”
“Apologized to the heart?”
Sombra turned to face the two mares, his hair had been combed and brushed back, no longer the unruly, rebellious mane it had been. They stared at his face, intimidated and awestruck by his true royal appearance. Though they wouldn’t know it, the two mares shared the same thought. He’s so handsome.
His masculine voice replied, “No.”
“Then, who did you apologize to?” Rarity questioned.
“I apologized to my parents.”