The Umbra King

by Car Cloth

The Princess of Friendship

“As you know, Princess Twilight Sparkle, there are parallel worlds to our own. In one such parallel world I saw a version of King Sombra who ruled over Equestria with kindness and benevolence. He was loved by all he met, and I was no exception.”

“You, Princess Celestia?” Twilight asked.

“The parallel me,” Celestia corrected. “We were deeply in love.”

The sun was up and shining through the stained glass windows of Twilight’s new castle. In the time it took Celestia to fly from Canterlot, Spike had enough time to gather the rest of Twilight’s council: Rainbow Dash, Apple Jack, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie.

“I can’t imagine lovin’ Sombra,” Apple Jack said with a hint of disgust. “I haven’t seen an eviler stallion in all my years.”

“That was a parallel Sombra,” Fluttershy softly chimed in. “Our Sombra is different. He’s dangerous.”

Rainbow Dash kicked up her back hooves and rested them on the giant round table between them all. She leaned back in her chair and laughed. “Sombra? He’s yesterday’s news. We’re way more powerful now. Plus, Twilight’s an alicorn! Him and his shadows don’t stand a chance.”

“King Sombra is actually the least of your problems at the moment,” Celestia spoke in an ominous tone.

Twilight was taken aback. “What could be worse than the return of King Sombra?”

“When you summoned me I flew over the Everfree Forest. The forest was peaceful and I did not think much of it, but then I remembered something from long ago… there are worms that live beneath the soil of the Everfree. Terrifying worms that feed on dark magic. When I first discovered them they were tiny, and harmlessly suckled at the roots of the twisted trees within the forest. Now I fear they have grown to monstrous sizes…”

Rainbow Dash sat up in her seat, suddenly excited. “Now this is what I’m talkin’ about! What kind of evil worms are they?”

“They are known as Ruin Worms and the more I think about their existence the more I’m certain they are almost fully grown. Do you remember the plunderseeds that Discord planted to harm the Tree of Harmony?”

“How could we forget,” Apple Jack said with a single sarcastic laugh.

“The worms must have been feeding off their dark magic, delaying their growth.” Celestia turned to Twilight. “Have you noticed that the evil of the Everfree has waned?”

Twilight nodded. “We’ve been venturing into the Everfree more and more lately to visit the castle of the two sis- er, I mean your old castle… I suppose it has been quieter lately…”

“The Ruin Worms are consuming more and more of the forest now… they are draining its power and adding it to their own. I’m afraid it’s only a matter of time before they leave and seek dark magic elsewhere.”

Pinkie Pie jumped into the table and held out a hoof. “Wait a minute! These worms eat dark magic? Perfect! Let them break free! The less dark magic the better!”

“They grow strong off dark magic,” Celestia said with a sigh, “But they will consume anything. When they leave the Everfree Forest I fear they may turn and destroy all of Ponyville in their wake.”

“How big we talkin’ here?” Apple Jack asked. “Cuz their ain’t no animal I can’t herd.”

“By the time the evil of the Everfree is consumed… each will be as large as Twilight’s castle.”

“Oh… that’s a might bigger than I reckon I can handle…”

“How do we stop these Ruin Worms?” Twilight asked her old mentor.

“The dark magic of the forest will need to be sealed and the worms lured away from Ponyville.”

“But the bringing in of winter takes place tomorrow and King Sombra’s power grows by the minute…” Twilight stared at the table intently. “Perhaps I should lock him away in Tartarus…”

“You are the Princess of Friendship,” Celetina said with a slight bow of her head. “If you feel he is irredeemable and beyond your help, I will not question your judgment.”

“We befriended Discord,” Fluttershy again whispered into the conversation.

Rainbow Dash began flying around the table. “That took forever! You heard Celestia! We have to stop those worms now! We don’t have time to putz around with that wannabe-shadow-lord!”

“That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try,” Twilight commented with a resigned sigh. She wanted to dedicate her full attention to Sombra and the mysterious gem but who was going to seal away the evil of the forest then? She knew she had to be the one to do it.

“You’ll need more than just friendship this time around, Princess,” a disembodied voice rang throughout the throne room.

“Discord?” Twilight asked. “How long have you been here?”

“Long enough,” he said, appearing over the table, hovering in place as though he were resting on an invisible couch. He gave a quick wave to Fluttershy who returned his gesture.

“What do you mean?”

“What do you mean, what do I mean? I meant exactly what I said: you’ll need more than friendship to help ol’ shadow horse, back there. And you might want to be quick about it. Your spell on him won’t last forever and I’m sure the Ruin Worms won’t even need the Everfree if he’s there to munch on.”

“You think… the worms could become powerful off Sombra’s magic?” Twilight hadn’t even put those two facts together. What if Sombra actually helped the worms grow? What would they do then?

Everyone in the large throne room became still. Each of them contemplated the situation. This was a lot to take in… Sombra had to be dealt with quickly, the city needed pegasi like Raindbow Dash and Fluttershy in order to bring in the winter and Twilight needed to deal with the Everfree Forest before the Ruin Worms could be set free.

“Princess Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia addressed her, breaking the silence. “Do you think Sombra can be helped?”

“I do…” she reluctantly stated. “As least, I hope he can… but…”

“I have an idea,” Rarity interjected. Throughout the entire meeting she had be quiet but now she looked determined. “I know it was partially my fault Sombra has returned, so I’ll take charge of researching the gem, and his past. Maybe I can help him while the rest of you help Ponyville.”

“What about the animal dens? Don’t you usually furnish them for the winter, Rarity?” Fluttershy had always been overly concerned with the animals. They had fur, they didn’t really need blankets, but under her insistence Rarity had provided blankets for them every year.

“You or Pinkie Pie can surely handle it,” Rarity said.

“It’s settled then,” Celestia decreed. “We should all act quickly if everything is to be done.”

“Once winter is here, Apple Jack and I will help with the forest and Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy will help Rarity.” Rainbow Dash zipped around the room, barely able to contain her energy. “It’ll be perfect!”

“Well, someone should be with Rarity while she’s with Sombra,” Spike suddenly spoke up from his tiny throne. “And I did defeat King Sombra once already… I should stay with Rarity.”

“You defeated him with the help of the Crystal Heart but... all right, Spike. Contact me if anything goes wrong, okay?” Twilight gave him a very concerned stare. Spike nodded in agreement.

Comments

[kniznik]

Me thinks Rainbow Dashes overconfidence shall be her undoing when facing a unicorn who has enough power to fight off two alicorns.
Nice idea with extra doom timer.

[Gdenofa]

Very interesting. You have my interest