Sombra's Heart

by IpreferpI

Dusk 'Till Dawn

Black. Everything was black. Black drapes, black dresses, black suits, and worst of all, a black sky. Even the thoughts in my head were, at best, dark.

I walked along the funeral train, at the head of it as was my place. Though I was still technically prince until my coronation, the people in the streets bowed their heads and muttered “My lord” as I passed. For my part, all I could do was hang my head. These people depended on me to protect them, to pick up a duty I had never asked for. Indeed, I was to somehow hold back the forces of chaos itself!

The train snaked along the streets. All around us, I could hear the wailings and lamentations of people in the crowd. All of them loved my father, but only as their king and protector. None of them could know the sorrow in my heart! Where was the love, where was even a shred of fairness in any of this? It was all I could do not to openly cry out in anguish right here, right now. But as the de facto leader, and the heir apparent to the throne, I had no choice but to keep a stiff upper lip.

Finally, after what seemed an eternity, I heard the trumpets signal the que to stop, right at the gates of the palace. I knew what was expected, and the stairs I used to enjoy running up and down now stretched beyond any reasonable distance. Still, I walked up them, alone but for Captain Bloodmane, dressed as he was in his ceremonial armor.

Each step I walked up reminded me of a fond memory. The day I cast my first spell, accidentally sending my fathers roast across the room. The day I finally landed a blow on the old veteran with a practice sword, and being given a sharp rap across the shoulders for gloating. The girl I had once dated, not out of love but because my father thought her to be a good match for me. Needless to say, I had broken it off the instant I could, and my father and I had had a good shouting match, a good fight, and then a good laugh at him telling me he had done the EXACT same thing with his father as well.

The last step up to the balcony was the worst. I could not count how many times he had been up here to address his subjects, informing them of some new decree, or that an old one was being lifted. The day he told them that discord had once again failed to even put a dent in our defenses. The day he had announced the passing of the queen. And now, it was my turn to address the empire.

I stepped up to the balcony. Two hundred feet below, my fathers casket was draped in black satin, and open for all to see. I stood up there, my eyes moist, as I gazed out across the entirety of the empire, gathered for the one solemn occasion. Gathering my courage, I opened my mouth, and began to speak.

“My friends... my people... my subjects.... Today, I come before you with the gravest of tidings. My father, King Umbra Nightshade the Third, passed away quietly in his sleep from illness. Though this is a time of mourning, it is a time to remember what he would have wanted.

As you all know, the Crystal Heart is what protects us. The love in this empire is taken by it, and used to keep those who know nothing of this love out. This has included all enemies in the past, and our current foe, Discord. A master of chaos has no understanding of this bond, of this love of ours. Because he cannot understand it, he cannot defeat it.

Although we will miss him, and none more than I, I urge you all to carry on with his wishes: Stay strong, and carry on. Return to your daily duties, make the Empire strong and prosperous. Though he is not with us in body any longer, he will always be with us in spirit.

I am to be crowned your new King, and I shall do everything in my power to ensure the longevity of the Crystal Empire, and ensure that no matter what, we shall endure. I stand before you, and I make you this promise: No matter what else shall happen, we will STILL be here, even in a thousand years! Let us move forward, and keep one step ahead of those who would do us harm!”

I stepped back, out of sight, and wiped a single tear from my eye. Captain Bloodmane led me away, and the people paid their final respects to the departed King. I chose to retire to my chambers for the night, and to be left alone until dawn.

Sinking into sleep was not difficult for me. Even when worried or upset, I found solace in the darkness just between wakefulness and sleep, that period of dreaming where the future can be glimpsed, or a treasured memory relived. This night, however, I was given something I was not sure of, but would haunt me from now on.

I was sitting on my perch at the top of the Crystal Palace, and my father was next to me. Down below us, all around, the subjects of his rule... my rule, I somehow knew now, they played and worked and laughed and cried. They all lived their lives, and did so happily, content in the knowledge that their great leader protected them.

“Sombra, my son. My greatest gift to the empire, you are. What is it I told you to do?” he asked, turning to me.

I looked up at him, a mere colt again. “You told me to protect them father, no matter what else. No matter the cost, I must protect them.”

“Yes, my son. Protect them all. Someday, Discord will come, and he will do his best to overthrow us, and the last orderly realm in the world will be lost to chaos. Do not let that happen...” he said, and the world around me faded.

“FATHER!” I called, sitting bolt upright.

I knew what I had to do. First, I had to become king. Then, I had to become even more...

In order to save the ponies, I would have to change everything they believed in.

Love and Loyalty have been proven to be ineffective against chaos, time and again. It could only serve us for so long.

There was only one force that could oppose primal, unstoppable chaos.

Order.

A new order.

My order.

Somewhere, for a moment, I thought I heard a deep laugh. Just a figment of my fading dream, I figure. Today is a big day.

It is not every day you become king, after all.

Author's Note:

If it feels a bit rushed, that is because I wanted to put everything down before my peabrain forgot it. After a few positive reviews, I have decided to indeed do an entire story about this.

This story is not about king sombra. It is not about discord. It is not even about MLP at all.

This story is about how a good man with a good heart and a good dream can become terribly evil.