A Hero Emerges?
"Cobalt, you are too nice for your own good..."
Looking at himself in the mirror, Cobalt knew that was the pure and simple truth. Orphaned from the day he was found on the front doorstep, the blue earth pony had been stuck in the same orphanage for all five years of his life thus far. While Miss Penny Whistle, the lady who ran the place, was great, and she treated everypony well, Cobalt wished that he could find parents of his own. The thing was, well...
Every time that prospective parents came by, Cobalt went out of his way to show the potential mother and father the best qualities of each of the other children. He couldn't help it: All of the other colts and fillies here were great. Some were really athletic, others were artistic, and some were really smart. He couldn't help but boast about how great all of his friends were... so they ended up getting adopted, while he was left behind. While his friends wrote to him regularly, it wasn't the same as having them around. And as of today, as a result of being such a nice colt, Cobalt was now the last orphan here, and he'd overheard Miss Penny Whistle making plans to shut the orphanage down for good... and where, exactly, would that leave Cobalt?
Sometimes, it really stinks, being a good pony.
With a sigh, he turned away from the mirror, and began getting ready for bed.
----------------------------
In a way, his timing could not have been better, for a moment later, a pair of red eyes appeared in the looking glass. Had he seen those staring back at him, the colt would have freaked out, big time...
Sombra considered the colt, from his vantage point in the mirror, and cursed his luck once more. His defeat a few short moons ago had been a painful setback, but he had taken steps to restore his body, provided such an event should occur. He'd planned for the process to take a thousand years, long enough for the world to forget about him. However...
...Something was impeding his revival, and siphoning away his dark power.
His horn, the source of his power, was hidden someplace where he could not locate it. He could feel that missing piece, and feel his power slipping slowly away from it, but could only get a vague sense for its direction. Nowhere near enough to zero in on its location. Were he able to find that missing piece, he could enter into the missing body part and take back control, so that it could return to restoring his body like it should. However, with its location blocked, he was utterly helpless... and if his horn were drained too much, it would be disastrous on a vast multitude of levels.
He needed a set of hooves to perform a series of tasks that would allow the tyrant to locate his horn, but given the circumstances, the number of individuals he could trust with this mission was almost vanishingly small. There was nopony in the Crystal Empire who would be willing to give him the time of day, for obvious reasons. The average pony on the street would be of little help, as well: This task would require a specific set of skills to accomplish. The royalty, the ones best suited for this mission, would not be willing to work with Sombra, and if they found the horn, they'd likely toss it into an active volcano. Just the thought of that made the tyrant shudder: Like most evil overlords, he had a pathological fear of parts of himself being thrown into molten magma. There were few things that could permanently destroy someone like him, but that was one way to do it...
Still, Sombra needed somepony innocent, gullible... a do-gooder would be best: Sombra had tried to solve this riddle for weeks, and had gotten nowhere. If his plan failed to produce results, then a different perspective, like that of this innocent young colt, would be needed more than anything. This Cobalt Blue... he had the sight, the heart, and the spark. All he would need is guidance, and a goal.
...Of course, he didn't need to hear the whole story right now.
But that was fine: Sombra was great at telling the truth without actually telling the truth. All it took was a bit of showponyship...
----------------------------
At midnight, Cobalt Blue was awakened by a thunderous noise. Springing up out of bed with a start, he looked, wide eyed, as a pillar of white light appeared at the foot of his bed. Awestruck, he saw a glowing white sphere, not much larger than his own head, emerge from the column as the light began to fade. A pair of bright red eyes appeared, a crescent of a mouth cracking open beneath. Whatever it was, it appeared to be grinning. The column winked out completely, and the creature studied Cobalt with interest.
WIth a voice filled with gravitas, the orb spoke. "GREETINGS AND SALUTATIONS, YOUNG HERO! I HAVE COME FROM DISTANT LANDS TO BESTOW UPON YOU A QUEST OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE!!! HEAR MY WORDS, AND KNOW THEM TO BE TRUE!!!"
His eyes wide, and his jaw hanging open, Cobalt simply nodded, waiting for the... whatever it was to continue.
"A TERRIBLE CALAMITY WILL BEFALL THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE IN SEVEN DAYS TIME!!! YOU, THE CHOSEN HERO, MUST JOURNEY THERE STRAIGHTAWAY TO PREVENT THE CITY'S DESTRUCTION!!!" Seeing the Cobalt had raised his hoof, the entity asked, "What?"
"Ummm," Cobalt felt a little embarrassed, but after a few seconds of hesitation, he finally admitted, "I'm not a hero. I'm just an orphan. I think you've got the wrong pony."
Giving the colt an another appraising look, the entity said, in a slightly more subdued tone, "No, I am almost certain you're the hero I needed to find. Let's see... blue on blue, a heart of gold, five years of age with no mark... Yes, you're definitely the one destined to save the Crystal Empire."
Having difficulty believing it, Cobalt asked, "Really? Because I'm not even old enough to ride a train on my own yet."
With a snort, the entity said, "That is hardly a problem. There is no minimum age for being a hero, nor is there a height requirement." The entity's expression became stern as it continued, "But that is neither here nor there. Fate has chosen you to be the savior that the Crystal Empire needs in its darkest hour!"
Clearly confused, the colt asked, "Well, what can I do? I'm just a kid!"
Looking at Cobalt with a smile, the entity stated, "Your father was a stallion, same as anypony else. Your mother was a mare, same as anypony else. From origins as humble as your own, some of the greatest heroes that have ever lived were born. One does not need a tragic past, or special powers, or a noble bloodline to become a hero: You need only to believe in yourself. I believe, from the bottom of my heart, that you will become the greatest hero that the world has ever known."
----------------------------------
What a load of hippy-dippy baloney. Behind his illusion, the tyrant wanted to vomit. Sombra could not believe he'd managed to say all of that with a straight face. Honestly, he wanted to scrub his tongue with sandpaper after spouting garbage like that, even if it might have been mostly true in the colt's case. The unicorn just hoped that he wasn't laying it on too thick...
A tear ran down Cobalt Blue's cheek. Before Sombra could say a word, the colt was weeping uncontrollably, yet at the same time he wore a broad smile. This was beyond the tyrant's understanding: What had he said to cause this sort of a reaction?
The colt, after a few seconds, wiped away his tears, then said, "Thank you." His expression turning serious, Cobalt asked, "What do I need to do?"
Crafting a smile on his illusion that, strangely, the tyrant could not help but echo, Sombra said, "For tonight, go back to bed, and sleep well: We have much to do, and I expect you to be up and ready for action at the crack of dawn."
With a salute, Cobalt Blue immediately laid back down and was almost instantly snoring. Chuckling to himself, Sombra couldn't help but find himself liking the youngster. The tyrant was not surprised about that, though: Heroes, even the young ones, tended to have magnetic personalities. That, along with the other traits that this young colt possessed, made him the perfect pawn: Once given a quest, heroes were almost impossible to stop. Cobalt would do everything in his power to save the Crystal Empire from the impending disaster... and in the process, he would revive King Sombra to his former glory.
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New Story Up! I know you guys have been waiting for this one!
So we finally get to see it ... Sombra's return and redemption ... and young Cobalt is at the heart of it? No real surprise. Hmmm ... a sympathy for downtrodden children ... I do wonder if he himself clawed his way to power from a life of slavery and/or starvation.
LOL ... I blame Tolkien for the volcano obsession ... not every villain is Sauron.
4956426
Well, magma is a good way to destroy just about anything. Immersion in 700-900 degrees Celsius (1292-1662 Fahrenheit, and that's the lowest temperatures for magma. Some volcanoes burn even hotter) will melt most metals, nevermind flesh and blood. it is a perfectly rational fear/weakness to have. The only thing better would be launching him into the sun.
4956448
Well, if Celestia got involved, the sun would be a definite possibility.
This is going to end with Cobalt showing all of Sombra's good qualities to the princesses, like he did with the other orphans, to get him off the hook, isn't it?
4956448 The best way to destroy something is to 'throw it into the fires from whence it came!
4956448 Point ... I'd just expect a lot more Horcruxes, Artifacts of Doom, and other evil McGuffins to be given better protection against that, whether magical or simply the use of fantastical materials with a higher melting point. Although, even if they were, that would render them effectively out of reach for most creatures - I'd hate to have to fish something out of a volcano, even with effective protection. I was mostly joking about Tolkien making that passe anyway.
4956492
No, but a good guess
4956590
.
Well, all life begins with the sun
In truth, life exists between two great furnaces, the molten core of the earth and the fiery inferno of the sun. Either one will cook you to ash if you venture too close.
4956730 so I guess the One Ring wasn't really destroyed, as it was origionaly from the Big Bang, if you go back far enough. Guess it's really indestructible...
4956779
All gold is created in supernovas, I've heard, so maybe throwing it into the sun would work.
The next time you wear gold bling, remember: A sun had to die in order for you to wear that, so you'd best appreciate it.
4956793 I bet in the future humans make machines to create supernovas then harvest gold.
4956448 Or dropping a nuclear bomb. That tends to work.
I don’t know. I’m more partial to the phrase “hippy-dippy hooey” myself.
4956831
Well, I felt like quoting The Lego Movie today, so I went with that instead. I am a whimsical fellow, after all
4956859
Well, you are Bucking Nonsense. “Baloney” is practically your name.
Hm, yes, that will do perfectly.
Bucking Nonsense Balderdash Baloney von Humbug III.
4956872
MY TRUE NAME!!! NOOOOOOOOO!!!
*Head Explodes*
4956884
Unbelievable! He was stuffed full of confetti and cake frosting!
Why, we’ll never find out who was really behind all this!
4956903 Think about those contents and guess.
4956968
We’ll never find out!
I lick your stories and this one will br good to. I can't wait.
4957080 Isn't the screen hard to read if you keep licking it?
Ok, sooooo. Now that I'm considerably less dunck and considerably more hungover I gave this a reread. First I noticed that orphan this time. So thats a thing. You like writing about orphans I noticed. Which takes alot... Second, I've been waiting for you to make a sombra story. This won't disappoint. Thirdly, I'm a bit of a fan. I like everything you do. Um, so yeah....not in the creepy way though. I guess thats all for now.
So how does our little orphan become part of one of the wealthiest and eccentric families in the land? I am intrigued…
And yeah, Sombra's fear of being thrown in lava is funny.
Good start and cant wait to see Sombra understand that in the long run evil does not pay off.
When is next chapter of The King Is Dead, Long Live The Emperor! coming?
One of these days you'll need to give us a Chronology for your stories, BN.
So a new universe....a nonscence-verse......you know what? -I agree, it's a universe of nonsence.....it's propably the source of it's charm.....
Nice story. Surprising that a Sombra said something so corny that he wanted to puke.
I LOVE this story so far! I like how it`s really funny too. (even though it is a commedy anyways!)
As the adpted son of Penny Whistle I'd imagine