A Shadow Among Light

by Theforrealdeal

Chapter 8

Umbra burst out the door of the bakery. He stopped in the middle of the street. Ponies all around him were staring, pointing their hooves and shouting. Some fled inside buildings. Others picked up rocks, bricks, fruit, anything they could get their hooves on to defend their town from the evil dictator intruding upon their home.

Umbra looked all around him. He was surrounded by angry ponies. His ears rang with the shrieks of the once peaceful town. His heart pounded in his chest. Adrenaline pumped through his veins. A single thought ran through his head.

Run.

A rock struck the side of his head. It blurred his thoughts and sent him stumbling to the ground. His head rang with the pain as he tried to regain his bearings.

More projectiles fell. Most of them hit the dirt around him but a few lucky shots scored their target. Umbra scrambled to his hooves. The crowd inched nearer to him.

He bolted down the street, various objects peppering him as he ran.

Behind him, a few brave stallions decided to make chase and were trailing him by just a few yards.

His bruised body moved, much to the rejection of his exhausted legs, through the streets with fear fueling his every step. Ponies jumped out of his way as he rushed through the busy town. The town in which he believed he could hide from his past and who he was. The town that now chased him through its streets in an attempt to eradicate him.

He spared a look behind him, more ponies were now after him. They were gaining on him. They would be upon him in a matter of seconds, Umbra knew he couldn't outrun them much longer. He needed to get away now. He needed somewhere to hide.

One place came to mind. The place that hardly any pony would dare go willingly.

The Everfree Forest.

Umbra rounded the corner of a building. He put every last bit of his strength into this disparate run. One final effort for his freedom.

Every step was full of power. He could feel the breath of the stallion behind him. His spirit grew as he neared the dark, musky atmosphere of the forest.

Umbra dug into the ground beneath his hooves.

The forest was just ahead.

He just needed one last push.

Just as his hooves hit the soft dirt, the stallion behind him lunged forward. Powerful hooves clamped around his side. The extra weight threatened to slow or even take him down altogether.

Umbra pressed as hard as he could, trying desperately to shake the pony off. Finally, Umbra felt the grip on his sides give. The pony slid off his back. One of his hooves scraped against Umbra's side, tearing open the old wound across his flank from the train jump.

The citizens of Ponyville ended their chase and turned back for the town.

Umbra limped his way deeper into the forest, a trail of blood following him as he went.

***

Pinkie followed her five friends into the library. Her eyes stayed fixed on the ground as she walked into the room. Even as she maneuvered around the various piles of books and the table in the center, her eyes never left the ground. She stood toward the back and leaned against a bookshelf. Her thoughts swarmed through her head like a colony of angry bees. Some of them spoke of denial, others spoke of the frightening reaction of the town. Most of them however simply asked why.

Is he really Sombra? Is he really not my friend?

The pink earth pony looked at her friends. If she hadn't known better, she'd have thought Discord had everyone under his spell. Twilight frantically ran up the stairs to grab Spike. Rarity cooed Fluttershy in an attempt to calm the shivering pegasus down. Applejack sat next to the center table and argued loudly with Rainbow Dash as she flew about the room. Their shouts bounced around the room and with the combination of Fluttershy's whimpering, it felt like the very roots of the tree shook with displeasure.

Twilight burst through the door at the top of the stairs. She ran down them, Spike followed groggily behind with scroll and quill in hand. The rest of the mares became silent except for Fluttershy who continued to cry on the floor.

"Spike, send a letter to the princess!" Twilight barked as she ran into the room.

"About what?" he asked in a yawn.

"I just told you!" she angrily yelled. "King Sombra has returned and is in Ponyville!"

The news shocked the sleepy dragon awake. "What?! It's only been a few days! How did that happen?"

"Yeah, didn't Cadence obliterate the guy?" Rainbow added.

"Ah saw it myself."

"The crystal ponies used the crystal heart to vanquish the brute didn't they?"

"I don't know!" Twilight stomped. The mares cringed at the sudden shout. Pinkie thought she could see a twitch in Twilight's eyes. "The fact is that Sombra has returned and is in Ponyville. What we really need to worry about, is how we are going to deal with him." The stressed unicorn looked at each of her friends. "Does anyone have any idea how to stop him?"

None of them said a word, they each looked around them, expecting the other to say say something first. For an extended moment they stood in thought until Rainbow Dash broke the silence with a groan.

"How are we supposed to know how to get rid of this guy if the crystal heart didn't even work?" she blurted out, aggravated.

"Maybe the elements will be different?" Applejack offered.

"How do we know that's gonna work?" Rainbow rebutted.

"Well ah don't see you comin up with any ideas Rainbow!"

"Is there any way we could bring the crystal heart here?" Spike added.

"Whole lot of good that did," Rainbow stated flatly earning herself a glare from Applejack.

"She's got a point Spike," Twilight told him. "The crystal heart obviously didn't work."

Rarity stepped in. "Isn't it worth a try though?"

"I don't think the crystal ponies would be very happy if we removed it from their castle."

"Um, do we-" Fluttershy tried to add, her voice almost a whisper.

"We would also have to get all the crystal ponies here to power it," Twilight continued.

"I-I think-"

"Even if we could get everything here, it would take a really long time. Time that we just don't have right now!"

"Do we even know where he is right now?" Fluttershy said above her friend.

The arguing ponies became silent as the realization hit them. Fluttershy shrank back to the ground in embarrassment. "Oh, I'm sorry..."

She had a good point. None of them knew where the resurrected dictator had gone. They saw how the town chased the fiend but lost sight of him as he fled through the streets. Instead of giving chase, the six decided to regroup at the library. Here they stood, trying to decide how they would finish the returned king once and for all.

"Well, has anyone seen him since we got back from the Crystal Empire?" Twilight asked her friends.

"He crashed in the barn yesterday during the storm," Applejack confessed with regret.

Rainbow gawked. "You just let Sombra stay there?"

"Ah didn't know who it was, it was too dark to see anythin!" Applejack replied in defense. "What happened to that nice sunny day we were supposed to have, Mrs. Weathermare?"

"Hey, it's not my fault the weather factory had a malfunction!"

"Girls! Now is not the time for this!" Twilight interrupted. "Have you seen him Rarity?"

The fashionista brought a hoof to her chin and hummed in thought for a moment before speaking. "No, I haven't. But I did hear Sweetie saying something about making a new friend yesterday with the other fillies."

"Th-they introduced him to me yesterday," Fluttershy said as she stood up, a bit calmer than before. "I didn't recognize him. I was too...shy."

"Maybe they have an idea then?" Spike deduced.

Pinkie listened to her friends as they tried to form a plan to capture this pony. The pony who she had become friends with. She remembered how he had comforted her, when no one else had, when she really needed it. When she thought of Sombra, she pictured a burly, evil monster that wants nothing other than to bring grief to all around him, not a skinny, unkempt stallion nearly as timid as Fluttershy.

Every time she saw him, he never did anything to make her think he would ever hurt someone, let alone an entire empire. She thought the same about Queen Chrysalis when she was disguised as princess Cadence.

Could Sombra be lying about being the Umbra she knew?

Even if he was Sombra, Pinkie knew there was something different about him. Sombra or not, she needed to find him. She needed to find out if she had lost a friend. The heartache grew more painful at the thought.

She needed to know.

"What about you, Pinkie?"

Twilight's question shook Pinkie from her thoughts. "Huh? Wha-?"

"Ya have been awfully quiet lately, sugarcube," Applejack asked with a concerned look.

"Is everything alright dear?" Rarity added.

Pinkie looked at each of her friends, all of which returned the look. "I-I'm fine. I just uh...think I left an oven on back at Sugarcube Corner!" she finished with a sheepish grin.

Her friends stared at her, speechless. Pinkie continued to smile, hoping they would buy it. Finally Twilight broke the silence as she said with an eyebrow arched, "Well you might want to go check on that. You can go ahead, we'll wait for you to get back."

Pinkie bounced to her hooves masking her real worries. "Thanks er...sorry! I'll be back in a jiffy!"

The pink pony trotted out of the library. As soon as the door closed behind her, Pinkie let out a sigh of relief. She took a deep breath then set out into the town.

She had a job to do.

***

Pinkie stood at the edge of the Everfree forest. She remembered when she first met him. He had said something about coming into town through the forest. There was a chance he could be hiding there. She had talked to several ponies that had chased him out of Ponyville. One of them was nice enough to even show her where they had lost him.

Now she stood there alone, a firefly lantern hanging from her mouth. The Everfree didn't look any less intimidating under the light of the moon than the light of day. The shadows were deeper, larger even. They formed figures, played with one's mind. The forest felt alive. Alive, and wild. It had a power and soul of its own. It was unnerving to be in its presence.

Pinkie shined her light at the ground. Drops of crimson formed a trail from where she stood. She cringed thinking about the pain he must be in. Pushing the thought aside, Pinkie gathered her wits and entered the dark forest.

***

The dark grey unicorn stumbled into the broken down wagon. He could barely stand up. The door burst open as he tumbled through it. He collapsed on the floor without even making it all the way through the door.

His side burned with the sting of dirt in his wound. He breathed heavily from exhaustion. The long sprint did a number on his already weary legs. He lay on his side, the pain of his prolonged hunger flooding over him. It flowed through his body like the venom of a snake, throbbing and burning as it pulsed in his veins. His physical torment only weakened the state of his mind.

As soon as his mask was lifted, the weight wasn't lifted with it; the weight only came crashing down on him. He knew how out of place he was in Ponyville. He knew he was different. He always worried how the town would react when the mask came off, when his real face was revealed. When it actually happened, it left him beaten, bruised, and defeated.

He had felt lonely before. Being away from the few ponies he called friends made him feel that way. Now though, he didn't have any friends. Every pony that knew of his existence hated him. They wanted him gone.

Now, he was truly alone.

In his agony, he head a voice, the voice of his father. "You don't have to suffer, Umbra."

"Just give in."

A single tear ran down his cheek. It dropped to the ground. His eyes opened to a dagger next to his head. The jagged blade with the white ivory handle. Umbra could see his face reflected in the broad side of the blade. His real face, a miserable and scared silhouette of a stallion, stared back at him.

The blade's pearl white handle spoke to him. It offered a way out, a way he hadn't thought of before. It promised a quick end to his pain and an escape from Sombra.

He had a decision.

He could simply wait to be captured by the town and be destroyed like Sombra was.

He could submit to the destiny of his father, continue his empire, live in malice and loneliness.

Or he could accept the seduction of the blade.

He stared into the weary red eyes reflecting in the glow of the blade.

All his pain could be taken away.

"Give in, my son."

Tear after tear fell to the floor.

***

The wind blew lightly through the dense forest, strong enough to make the treetops sway but not enough to make the pink earth pony shiver. The moonlight danced across the ground as it pierced the shifting canopy above. The Everfree was eerily silent. It was as if something was amiss, as if it knew of the situation a hand.

Pinkie wasn't concerned about the darkness around her or the deafening silence of the forest. Her focus was set on followed the trail of blood that weaved around trees in a seemingly random manner. The drops of crimson illuminated under the glare of the lantern she carried in her mouth. She moved quickly through the trees but at the same time kept her hooves quiet.

The foliage opened up into a clearing. Broken wood was scattered all about the ground. In the middle of the wreckage sat a shabby carriage with an open door. The sight of it brought a sickening feeling to Pinkie's gut. A trace of blood had been smeared across the door and ran downwards toward the ground, pointing to two grey hooves and a dark black tail in the entrance.

She set lantern on the ground and approached the carriage. Her mind flooded with worry. The body inside seemed barely alive. If it wasn’t for the slow rise and fall of its stomach, she would have thought he was dead. Something next to his head reflected the light of the moon.

She stopped just outside the door, eyeing the bleeding gash in his side. In a quiet and gentle voice she called out to him.

"Umbra?"

His heart sank in sorrow as he heard his name in the familiar voice. The broken unicorn hardly moved at her presence.

"How...how did you find me?" he asked with an exhausted voice.

Pinkie couldn't help but feel sorry for the stallion. She took a step closer, he flinched at her sudden action.

"Why did you come here?"

"I don't think you're really Sombra," she said sincerely.

Umbra's ear perked up. "I'm not!" he asserted, looking up at her from his prone position.

"I believe you," Pinkie stepped close enough to see his face. "That's why I think you should come back to Ponyville.” Another step closer.

“We can help you."

"You saw how everypony acted when they found out who I was," Umbra said, shivering at the thought. "I can't go back!"

"I saw how everypony acted around Sombra. They treated Umbra just fine."

"How would they treat Umbra if they knew he was the son of Sombra?"

Pinkie's mouth hung open. She had thought there was some connection between him and Sombra. She never thought he would actually be Sombra's son.

"I can't change who my father is. How can I go on when everypony hates me for who I am?"

Umbra's eyes strayed back to the shining object next to his head. Pinkie truly felt sorry for him. He was placed in a terrible position without a choice of his own. She understood why he tried to hide who he was. He had a good reason to. She would probably have done the same in his position.

Pinkie remembered when she first met him. It wasn't much different from the current situation, only this time, Umbra was the one in need of help. She remembered how he had helped her with a simple expression.

"Umbra?" she said to him. "A good friend told me not too long ago that your mistakes don't really make who you are."

The unicorn's heart softened as he listened to Pinkie repeat what he said to her when they first met. His eyes became watery.

"Only you can decide who you are, not your mistakes."

Umbra lifted his head and looked at his friend, tears running down his face.

***

"What does the letter say, Spike?" Twilight asked the baby dragon as he skimmed through the newly received letter.

After a moment of mumbling the letter to himself, Spike announced to the group, "The princesses are on their way!"

A few relieved sighs sounded off in the library as the news reached them.

"Perhaps they'll know how to deal with Sombra," Applejack suggested.

"Well, it doesn't really matter if we don't have Pinkie here!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "What the hay could be taking her so long?"

Moments after she finished her statement, the door slowly swung open. Everyone in the room turned at the sound. Pinkie stood in the doorway looking at each of her friends, a small grin on her face.

"Pinkie! Goodness, what kept you so long?" Rarity asked.

Without a word, she took a step through the door and stood off to the side. The entire room gasped. Fluttershy squealed and took cover behind Applejack, Spike latched onto Twilight's leg. All their eyes locked on the dictator that was ducking his head through the door.

The ponies shook away their shock and became defensive. Rainbow Dash landed hard in front of the dark unicorn, causing him to take an uneasy step back. With eyes that burned with rage, Rainbow was ready to put him in the ground if she had to for her friends. Though Umbra stood much taller than her, the pegasus held her ground with a fire burning in her eyes, ready to pounce.

"If you so much as blink, you'll be wishing you were sleeping in a manticore's den!" she yelled defiantly.

Pinkie jumped in front of the heated pegasus, waving her hooves in the air. "Stop! He's not Sombra!"

A wave of confusion washed over the room. Rainbow passed a glance at Pinkie, still holding her defensive stance.

"What are you talking about Pinkie?" Rainbow glared at her.

"Give him a chance to talk. He's not going to hurt anyone." Pinkie pleaded with her friend. Her sincere tone made the pegasus relax into submission. She backed away from Umbra but held the same glare at him, the glare that urged him to make a move. Go ahead, try it. I dare you.

Pinkie offered a warm smile to Umbra, gesturing for him to make his way into the room. Hesitant, Umbra stepped forward. He looked at each of the six pairs of eyes looking right back at him, watching his every move. He noticed how a few of them winced at the various gashes across his body. Their expressions showed more curiosity than fear, it comforted him a little. The stallion took a deep breath and opened his mouth to speak.

"I-"

"Who are you?"

"Where did ya come from?"

"Why are you here?"

“You sure you’re not Sombra?”

“Was Sombra really that tall?”

Before he could make out a word, Umbra was bombarded with a plethora of questions. Although the tension in the room had dropped significantly, their voices still had a harsh bite in everything they said.

Pinkie stepped in and silenced her friends. Umbra nodded to her in thanks. He told them his story.

***

A thousand years ago, Sombra decided it was time to teach his son how to rule. Up until then, Sombra kept his only son a secret. Umbra was sheltered from the Empire, hidden in the castle. He never went outside, he never even went near a window as Sombra had removed or blocked any that would be around him. Ever since he was born, Umbra stayed in his secluded area of the castle. He was not allowed to leave or go to other towers. Everything he knew came from what his father told him. Questioning it came with consequences. He knew his father was a king, but of what, he never knew, he wasn't allowed to ask.

He was in his isolated room when it happened, laying on his bed reading one of the few books Sombra approved of. A small candle on a dresser next to the bed provided dim but adequate reading light. The door creaked open and Umbra’s father stepped in, disturbing the peace and quiet of the room. Umbra looked up from the pages he was reading and stared at the newcomer.

"Umbra, son. We need to talk," Sombra said as he made a gesture, beckoning him towards the door. His voice was low and quiet, no trace of emotion in his words. He was wearing the same outfit he always had. Silver armor around his neck along with silver shoes. A black helmet covered part of his head, blending perfectly with his mane, blurring where hair and head met. A thick red cape draped over his back with white fabric lining the edges.

Without much thought, Umbra complied with his father's demands. He stood up from his bed and walked over to where his father stood at the door. Sombra turned without saying anything, and stepped out into the hall. Umbra followed closely behind his father as they walked through the castle. To any other pony, the two might as well have been twins.

Umbra quickened his pace until he walked beside his father. He glanced at Sombra to his side. He wore a stern expression as if an internal conflict raged on in his head, his eyes fixed on the ground in front of him. Umbra thought he could see a faint green glow in Sombra's eyes. "Had that always been there?" Instead of asking, Umbra kept his mouth shut like he was supposed to.

Sombra led him to a tall wood door at the end of the hall. The door that was always locked. The door that Umbra was never allowed to go through.

His father looked at the ground, deep in thought in his search to find the right words to say. After an extended moment of silence, the king sighed and spoke up, "You, my son, are the heir to my rein, which I fear is coming close to an end," Sombra wore a grave expression, one of a pony that knew more than it should. "This is why I have brought you here today. It is time I teach you how to rule."

Umbra's ears perked up at those last words he heard. Excitement flowed through his body which he tried to hide but failed as a large childish grin grew on his face.

Umbra could only stand there and listen as his father spoke. He was glad enough to spend even this little time with his father. The times he got to speak with his father were too far and few between. Though those few times were brief, Umbra enjoyed them as much as he could. There was nopony else in his isolated section of the castle and nopony ever came through, only his father. It was nice to listen to a voice that wasn't his, even if he didn't get to talk back to it. Umbra looked down at his shorter father and listened intently, not knowing what to expect yet hoping whatever it was would last.

"Umbra, do you know what being king gives you?" Sombra asked, his voice deep and quiet. Without waiting for a reply, he answered himself, "It gives you great power. The power that comes from the subordinates under your rule. Power to do as you please, power to control your subjects.

"This power however, does not come automatically," Sombra continued, speaking a little louder. "It needs to be taken. Either by the choice of the subjects to give you this power-” His voice suddenly changed. Umbra thought he was a different pony altogether. “-or by force."

His voice grew louder and stronger as he continued speaking. "The best method of taking power from the subjects, the method I have used long since before you were born, is through fear and hatred."

Sombra's eyes began glowing a bright green, a small flame of purple flowed out of them. A sinister expression stretched across his face. Sombra unlocked the door with his magic and swung it open. The door opened up to a circular balcony that overlooked the empire. The two unicorns stepped through the doorway and stood next to the railing that surrounded the balcony.

Dark stormclouds hung overhead, yet no rain fell. The clouds looked like black ash that covered the sky, no ray of sunlight could penetrate the thick dark barrier. Beneath the clouds, the sky was a red-orange shade that looked as if wildfire raged around the horizon.

Umbra looked down at the base of the castle. What he saw would forever disturb him. The entire population of crystal ponies lay out before him.

Every last one of them in chains.

Every pony, stallions and mares, young and old, was in shackles. They all wore collars around their necks that chained them to each other. Shackles around their hooves prevented any attempt of escape.

Some were pulling carts stuffed with various crystals while others dug in the ground in search of more crystals. A large group of ponies were tied to an enormous solid crystal block the size of the average family house. All of them struggled and worked as hard as they could to pull the giant slab of rock. The crystals were dragged off to large factories along the edges of the empire. The tall smokestacks sent black clouds through the air, like miniature volcanoes erupting in the distance. Not even the sun was strong enough to break thriugh the black smoke that filled the clouds.

The crystal ponies worked in groups of twelve, all bonded together by iron chains. Each pony was performing some form of difficult labor along the side of the other eleven ponies he or she was chained to. Their labor was only half as bad as the condition of the ponies themselves.

While most of the ponies were unhealthily skinny, many looked as if they were walking skeletons. Every bone in their bodies were visible through their skin which was the only thing keeping their bodies from falling apart. Full rib cages were exposed. Their faces were sunken in, they looked like bare skulls with eyes still in them. Individual vertebrae of their spines were visible. Their legs were nothing more than twigs with hooves at the ends. Each step they took was shaky and slow. The chains around their necks looked as if they could break the atrophied ponies in half, yet they carried on.

One pony in particular caught his attention. It was a teal earth pony mare that was shackled with a large group of other ponies to one of the giant crystal blocks. She was one of the skinniest he'd seen. While the other ponies looked similar to walking skeletons, this mare was a walking skeleton. There was almost nothing around the bones of her legs to hold her body up, the fact that she continued to walk boggled him. Every movement was slow and shaky, her hooves hardly left the ground when they did move.

Her pace slowed and she fell behind the other ponies dragging the massive crystal. Suddenly, her forehoof caught a small stone in the ground. The mare fell forward and met the ground with a harrowing smack.

Umbra winced at the sight of the feeble mare colliding with the ground. Any other pony would have been fine with the little tumble, but in her condition, a simple hoof shake looked like it could seriously injure the pony.

He watched the mare lift a hoof to stand herself up. It stopped, shook a little, then crashed back to the ground. The mare was too weak to move. She lay there on her side with her head against the ground. The half closed, blinking eyes and slow, heavy breathing were the only sign of life in the collapsed heap on the ground.

One of the stallions pulling the giant crystal noticed the mare on the ground. He rushed over to her limp form and kneeled beside her. The stallion nudged and spoke to the mare, urging her to stand. The mare didn't move. She could only look at the stallion through tear filled eyes.

Umbra could see their mouths moving, but could not tell what they said. Umbra's face lit up with concern. "Is that mare going to be okay, father?" Umbra asked, looking at Sombra next to him.

A wide grin that Umbra had never seen before spread across Sombra's face as his eyes narrowed. The purple fire flowing out of his green eyes became larger. "Oh don't worry Umbra. She will be-" Sombra's sinister grin grew "-taken care of." Sombra replied, he started to laugh.

Umbra saw the dark magical aura gather around his father's curved horn. He followed his eyes to see where Sombra was staring: right at the collapsed mare.

He watched as several black crystals quickly rose out of the ground around the mare. The stallion trying to get her to stand jumped back in surprise and took several steps away from the mare. The mare however, only closed her eyes and sighed, submitting to her weakness and accepting her fate.

Her entire body jerked as four thin black crystals shot out of the ground beneath her and penetrated her side. The crystals impaled deep in her body until they protruded out the other side. They stuck up in the air, crimson liquid dripped from their tips.

She did not scream. All she did was stare with wide open eyes directly at Umbra. Their eyes met, and would not move from each other. Umbra's own eyes filled with tears. He watched with his mouth hanging open as the life drained from the teal mare's eyes.

She began coughing, little drops of dark red came out of her mouth with every heave. Her breaths became quick and short, almost like fast hyperventilating. Her eyes never left his.

The mare gave a big cough and heaved up a large gob of the red lifeblood. The coughing stopped. The rise and fall of her chest with each breath ceased. Her body went limp. A smile grew on her face as she welcomed the release of her pain.

Warm tears flowed down Umbra's cheeks. His heart dropped right out of his chest and continued to fall through the bottomless pit of darkness. He felt his stomach twist itself into a tight knot.

The teal mare's lifeless eyes were still staring at him. They never moved from him and they never will. They didn't even close. They just stared at him. Blood still trickled out of her mouth.

Umbra felt his legs struggling to keep him standing. They shook with the sick feeling he had in his stomach, he felt like he would vomit. Tears ran down his face and dropped from his chin, splashing on the crystal floor at his hooves.

He had just witnessed the death of another pony. Not the death. Ponies don't just collapse from atrophy and get impaled by crystals that randomly grow out of the ground.

This was murder.

There was a reason the crystal ponies had been enslaved. There had to be somepony or something starving them, working them to the bone until they dropped dead.

But who?

Who could be so cruel?

So evil?

Who would be so malign as to disregard the value of life to the point where that life becomes as disposable as a dirty napkin?

Umbra's questions were answered in the form of a malicious laughter. Laughter that was coming from behind him.

Umbra turned around to see his father, the source of the evil laugh. Even through closed eyes, the purple flame that flowed out of them stretched out, curling upward several feet. Sombra seemed twice as big as Umbra, despite the fact that Umbra was taller than him. Umbra felt something that he had never felt before. Something that the sight of the teal mare's death and the discovery of his father being the perpetrator made him feel.

Fear.

With tears still draining from his eyes and a mouth gaped open, Umbra could only stare at his father before him. A helpless infant in the presence of a monster. The monster appeared to the child at first in the image of a watchful guardian, a tender caretaker, a loving father. That illusion soon vanished and the truth came crashing down upon the infant like the waves of a hurricane. Had the infant been smarter, made his own choices, he may have been able to prepare for the impact and survive. He might have even been able to see through the monster's illusion and prevent this. Nevertheless, the weight of truth fell upon his shoulders. He didn't know if he could bear it. The monster had him in his clutches. Could there be an escape if he was already caught in the trap?

Sombra's laughing stopped and he glared at Umbra who shrank away from his stare. "You see son? That is how you gain power!" Sombra's voice was loud and deep. He took a step towards Umbra. "Fear! Fear is what brings power! They can't make decisions for themselves if they're too afraid to do otherwise"

With each expression, Sombra advanced a step closer, pressing Umbra against the rail of the balcony. "Fear brings order! Fear makes ponies forget about others and worry about themselves! Fear will make ponies comply in order to save themselves. Fear drives ponies into doing your whim! Fear brings control!"

Umbra was backed into the corner of the balcony. He was crouched low, trying to get further away from his father who was now only a nose length away. Sombra lowered his head down to Umbra's level. His red eyes piercing through Umbra's very soul, a wicked smile painted across his face.

Umbra was cornered by his own father. He looked for an escape. There was none. He couldn't possibly get past Sombra who was much stronger both physically and magically. Even f he could get past him, he would just get caught by Sombra's dark magic.

Umbra was ready to give up.

There was no other option, like his father had said, other than to comply.

He was about to announce defeat when a brilliant white light spread across the sky behind his father.

The light nearly blinded him as well as all the crystal ponies on the ground, forcing them to cover and shut their eyes. The entire empire became deathly silent. When the light dimmed, only enough to let them squint their eyes open, everypony including Sombra looked at the source.

At the center of the light, Umbra could barely make out the silhouettes of two unicorns in the sky. These unicorns had wings. One of them was a bright white while the other a dark blue. Umbra broke away from his wonder and awe to notice that Sombra's attention had been removed from him.

His father was completely focused on the two winged unicorns or horned pegasi rather than him. Umbra heard his father whisper to himself, his voice barely audible even through the silence, "I am ready."

Umbra seized this opportunity by scrambling past his father and running through the open door. Sombra didn't even move.

***

"So I ran away. I was going to leave the empire altogether but the castle itself started to shake violently. Next thing I remember was waking up in a closet just a few days ago."

The ponies in the room listened quietly to his story. They all sat with their jaws open in disbelief. As if a switch had been flipped, their attitudes had changed completely. Everyone, including Pinkie, couldn't look at him the same. None of them knew what to say to this complete stranger that stood before them. None of them had any idea such atrocities could have ever happened.

None of them noticed when the library door opened and two alicorns stepped inside.

“I knew the guy was mean, but I had no idea he was that cruel,” Applejack said. The rest of the six nodded in their agreement.

"What I still don't understand is why I couldn't remember anything when I woke up." Umbra said to the group.

A voice behind him spoke up to answer his question, freezing him in place. "That was probably the effect of Sombra's curse."

"That voice..."

"How?"

Everyone in the room turned their heads to the new voice. Umbra saw how the six mares and the dragon bowed at the new arrivals. Umbra hesitantly looked behind him, praying that he wasn't in another nightmare.

As soon as he saw them, the memory of Sombra on the balcony filled his head. He recognized the strange blue mare from his dream. She gave a small nod to him as he looked at her. The other, which seemed like the polar opposite of the blue mare, he only recognized from his memory with Sombra.

The larger of the two spoke to him. “Do not be afraid, son of Sombra. I am Princess Celestia. And this, my sister, Princess Luna."

"She's a princess?"

They both nodded to him as their names were said. She spoke with voice that showed authority but at the same time was almost calming.

"We received a letter from Twilight about Sombra being in Ponyville so we came as quick as we could," Luna told him. "We are glad to see that it is not true."

"Um...thanks?" Umbra said with uneasiness plaguing his voice.

"I'd like to know, what is your name?" Celestia asked.

"My name is Umbra," he said with a bit of hesitation. He couldn't help but be intimidated by the presence of the royal ponies, the immense power they had. The fact that he was the very reason they were there didn't help.

Twilight stepped forward. "You never said why you left the Crystal Empire."

"The same reason I ran earlier. The crystal ponies saw me as Sombra. There was no way I would get by there."

"So you came to Ponyville to find a better life," Applejack added. Umbra nodded his answer to her. "Lotta help we showed ya," she said shamefully. The rest of them looked at the ground, unable to meet eyes with him.

"Umbra," Celestia began, her tone heavy with seriousness. "Do you understand why your father had to be stopped? Why we had no other choice other than to ultimately destroy him?"

The weight of her words hit him like sack of mixing cement. He hadn't really thought about it, he was actually talking with the ponies who had first banished then technically killed his father. While he was pretty sure they wouldn’t harm him, it was still humbling to be in their presence. He knew they could do the same to him if they had to.

Umbra nodded at her question.

"Well, that's a relief," Spike interjected. "Wouldn't want a whole 'you killed my father, prepare to die' thing going on." The ponies in the room glanced at him. "What? I'm just saying..."

Celestia put her hoof on his shoulder. He flinched at the touch but quickly calmed himself. "It was for the best, I’m glad you understand. We still don’t completely understand the curse he put on the empire and the effects it had on the crystal ponies." Umbra blinked in surprise. "If there is anything you know, anything at all, please tell us so we can help.”

Umbra looked at his hooves in thought. He didn't know the crystal ponies had been cursed as well. He wondered if they had nightmares like he did.

“Actually, the night I left the empire, he appeared to me in a dream and he-” Umbra struggled with his speech as the memories of his nightmares returned to him. “-he cursed my dreams so they would be filled with fear. Ever since, I’ve been having terrible nightmares every time I fall asleep.”

“That’s interesting,” Twilight said, looking at the princesses. “Why would he do that?”

“Well from what he told me, as long as his memory remains in this world, he is never completely...gone. Because of that, he wanted me to rebuild his empire under his name.” He looked at each of the ponies in the room, the turmoil visibly written on his face as the memories of the enslaved crystal ponies replayed in his mind. “I just...I just couldn’t.”

The six mares and the two princesses looked at the shaking unicorn. Before they had looked at him with a combination of fear and anger but now, all they saw was a disturbed young stallion who had been psychologically tortured for far too long. Now they only looked at him with sympathy and pity.

“I think I might know someone that can help you with that,” Luna said with a wink. Umbra didn’t quite pick up on the hint.

“Well as long as there aren’t any more emergencies, it is time Luna and I returned to Canterlot,” Celestia said to the group. “It is almost time to raise the sun.” Luna nodded in agreement.

The princesses said their goodbyes and walked out of the library. The door gently closed shut behind them, leaving Umbra alone with the six mares that not too long ago were planning to capture him, it kind of felt like they did.

After a long moment's pause, Twilight spoke up. "We're all terribly sorry, Umbra. Is there anything we could do for you?"

His stomach grumbled loudly.

"Could I maybe get something to eat?"

Comments

[Morningdude]

Yes princess bride for the win!

[High Overseer]

Two chapters? Nice! I don't see why you were hesitant.

[Pelakka_wurm]

yay no one will try to kill him or will they DUN DUN DUN
HEY LOOK A DEMENTED EVIL BUTTERFLY

[JazzyWaffles]

Umbra limped his way deeper into the forest, a trail of blood following him as he went.

Ah. Of course. The magical land of Equestria, home of beating ponies until they bleed. My favorite fantasy land.

I'm normally fine with blood and stuff in pony fics but that seemed excessive.

"Yeah, didn't Cadence obliterate the guy?" Rainbow added.

Gee Rainbow, it's almost like Sombra can't possibly be in Ponyville.

Why is Rainbow the smart one here?

Even if he was Sombra, Pinkie knew there was something different about him. Sombra or not, she needed to find him. She needed to find out if she had lost a friend. The heartache grew more painful at the thought.

*Applause*

Thank goodness, a pony who acts like a pony.

"Give in, my son."

Sombra: the guy who completely destroys any tension an attempted suicide scene could possibly have.

After a moment of mumbling the letter to himself, Spike announced to the group, "The princesses are on their way!"

Celestia... please never write another letter. Your letters are too vague.

“Was Sombra really that tall?”

This one is Rarity. Rarity has the eye for detail.

A thousand years ago, Sombra decided it was time to teach his son how to rule. Up until then, Sombra kept his only son a secret. Umbra was sheltered from the Empire, hidden in the castle. He never went outside, he never even went near a window as Sombra had removed or blocked any that would be around him. Ever since he was born, Umbra stayed in his secluded area of the castle. He was not allowed to leave or go to other towers. Everything he knew came from what his father told him. Questioning it came with consequences. He knew his father was a king, but of what, he never knew, he wasn't allowed to ask.

Explains why the Crystal Ponies didn't know he existed.

This was murder.

If he was COMPLETELY ISOLATED and ONLY read things his evil dad approved of... how does he know what murder is? How does he have objections to his father's methods, or feel empathy for these ponies? How is he not completely brainwashed?

“I think I might know someone that can help you with that,” Luna said with a wink. Umbra didn’t quite pick up on the hint.

Is... She not going to mention the dream monster? Is that plotline just dropped?