King Sombra's Greatest Weakness

by Bucking Nonsense

Sombra's Iron Hoof

"So, um, is that why you wear those boots?"

Sombra snorted in irritation as he inspected his spare boots: Whoever had fetched them had put some sort of strange block inside. While he was uncertain of what it was, it was rectangular, had little nubs on top, and looked like it would hurt like nothing he had ever imagined if he were to step upon it. The nail was bad enough, he didn't need this little brick on top of it.

Looking up at the pegasus who had just asked the question, he felt his expression soften: While she was no more than fifteen or sixteen, she was certainly well on her way to becoming a true beauty. When she matured, Sombra suspected that she'd leave jaws dropping everywhere she went. Sombra, being nearly double her age, was not above admitting that, were he just a few years younger, or she was a few years older, he would definitely have made a play for her. Instead, he'd have to look her up in a few years. He liked his mares a little more mature...

Clearing his throat, he admitted, "Yes. My home town was hit by an outbreak of hoof-rot when I was young. Many were afflicted so badly that their hooves could no longer carry their weight without breaking to pieces, while others shrugged it off with little to no problem. I was borderline: My hooves can bear my weight, but they're very soft, and very sensitive. Without proper support and cushioning, walking on anything asides from soft ground or plush carpet hurts like you'd not believe, and they chip easily. And if I step on something sharp..." Gesturing with his bandaged hoof, he said, "Well, you saw what happened."

He disliked admitting that he had a weakness, a flaw of any kind, but he supposed the cat was out of the bag: There was no use in hiding it now. Slapping on his boots, having confirmed that there were no other surprises in store, he said, "I'll be back in a few minutes. Nature calls." With no further ado, he walked off, still irritated at this entire absurd situation.
--------------------------------

Twilight Sparkle was more than a little bit embarrassed by all of this. All of her hard work, hoping to pass the test that Princess Celestia had set out for her, and what had defeated Sombra? A nail! It was completely ridiculous...

"Um, Twilight..." Fluttershy began, quietly.

Turning toward her friend with a smile on her face, her anger smothered for now, Twilight asked, "Yes, Fluttershy?"

The pegasus asked, "What do you know about hoof-rot?"

Ah, now that was an obscure topic. After a moment's thought to bring what information she had on it together, the unicorn said, "Well, it was originally an earth pony malady, but it ran rampant in the time after the unification of ponykind. Hygiene was poor back then, and the germ that causes it would enter through untreated sores and the like. While it wasn't truly fatal most of the time, it was a really unpleasant illness, and in colts and fillies, it could leave them crippled if left untreated, since it can permanently damage their hooves at critical stages in their growth." Shaking her head sadly, she continued, "It tended to pop up in mixed race communities, where it would hit unicorn and pegasus populations pretty hard, since they lacked any resistance to it, unlike earth ponies. When the first vaccinations were created about eight hundred years ago, that was one of the big ones that doctors chose to target immediately. It's believed to be almost completely wiped out." After a moment, she asked, "Why do you ask?"

"Well, um," Fluttershy seemed a little embarrassed saying this, but pressed on, saying, "Sombra said that he had it when it was younger, and it made it where his hooves hurt if he walks on them without those boots on. I was just wondering if there was anything that could be done about that."

That was just like Fluttershy: She couldn't stand the thought of anyone hurting, good or bad, pony or not. And that actually gave Twilight an idea: Sombra was defeated, more or less, and he seemed willing to turn himself in rather than continue the fight, although why he'd stopped was still a mystery to her. Maybe it was simple gratitude to Fluttershy for having helped him? However, Twilight couldn't guarantee that Sombra would remain 'docile' forever. But what if he were given reason to remain grateful? While Twilight couldn't take the credit for defeating Sombra and saving the city, maybe bringing in a powerful wizard willing to work for the good of Equestria would be enough for her to pass Celestia's test...

"Well," Twilight began, a small smile forming on her face, "there might be a few things that could be done for him. Let's go talk to Rarity: I'm almost certain that she knows a hoof specialist..."
---------------------------------------

After one thousand years, letting it all out like that was a sublime pleasure. For a few seconds afterwards, the world was almost a wonderful and magical place... and then Sombra got off of the seat of the outhouse, got back on his hooves, and the world sucked once again. His boots, wonderful as they were, only helped to reduce the pain and discomfort of walking on them. It basically turned the process from agonizing torture to bearable levels. It let him walk without screaming, and that, he had learned, was the best anypony could hope for. He was lucky to still have his hooves, given how far the hoof-rot had progressed before it had finally passed. Right... lucky.

It is amazing what you can get used to when you don't have a choice...

Walking back towards the courtyard, his boots clanging with each step, and the unicorn himself grumbling angrily, Sombra noticed a trio of overly muscled crystal ponies standing in his path. Undeterred (He had no small amount of muscle himself, and he still had his magic on top of that), he walk on until it was clear that they were not going to move. Snorting angrily, he commanded, "Out of my way."

The three oafish buffoons laughed in his face, then the apparent leader said, "Oh, I don't think so. See, it seems you're not the king anymore, so that means we don't have to do what you say."

While technically correct, Sombra was not in the mood for this. These three, though, were obviously spoiling for a fight (And admittedly, it was hard to blame them), and Sombra was more than happy to oblige them. Still... he'd sworn an oath to be good, so he couldn't just reduce these three into a smoking crater littered with bright red meat chunks... no matter how satisfying that might have been. He supposed he would just have to settle with giving them a good spanking and letting them off with a warning afterwards.

The leader advanced, to the point that his face and Sombra's were almost touching, then asked, "So, what are you going to do about it, tenderhoof?" The other two began circling around, clearly intent upon attacking him from all sides.

Well, he would have settled for just a spanking, but after having insulted him, now he'd need to make an example of them. A cold smile crossed Sombra's face as a wonderfully wicked idea came to mind. And it wasn't even evil. Well, not compared to most of the things he could do...
----------------------------------------

"I'm happy to help, darling," Rarity said with a smile. "As somepony with soft hooves, I cannot help but sympathize with his condition. I'll be happy to introduce Sombra to a good hoof specialist when we get to Canterlot."

"Thank you," Fluttershy said, smiling. "I'm sure it will mean a lot to... wait, do you hear singing?"

Without warning or announcement, three large and well-muscled ponies, each wearing frilly pink dresses, abruptly burst into the courtyard, singing in falsetto voices. They began dancing about the square, putting on an elaborate performance, to the confusion and amusement of the ponies assembled.

Sombra returned a moment afterwards, a satisfied smile on his face. Twilight, irritated, stormed over to the tyrant, and asked, her voice nearly a shout, "What did you do to them!?!"

Nonplussed, the stallion said, "They insulted me, so I decided to teach them a lesson. It is just a temporary compulsion spell. It will wear off in three minutes." Chuckling, he added, "But the memories shall last a lifetime."

More than half of the crowd was now laughing at the show, including Princess Cadance. Fluttershy herself could not help but to giggle at the display, and even Twilight, having learned it would only be temporary, couldn't help but crack a smile.

After a moment, Twilight said, "That was not a nice thing to do to them." The fact that she was having trouble keeping from laughing took most of the sting out of that comment...

Chuckling, Sombra said, "I swore, in the Faust's name, that I would be good. I never promised to be nice."

Author's Note:

Thrush, a horse malady, caused by bacterial infection, that rots the hoof and can lame a horse.

Hoof Rot or Foot Rot: An illness that infects other hooved animals. Targets the junction between hoof and leg, and is quite nasty.

I went with the name Hoof Rot because it's quite appropriate, given what it does.

Comments

[Bucking Nonsense]

NEW CHAPTER UP!!!

I REGRET NOTHING!!!

[GIGA-XISBASS]

XD That was clever at the end. Spell lasts 3 minutes but memories forever. Classic.

[OneUppington]

I like it here in Equestria,
Everything's clear in Equestria...

[The Letter J]

When the first vaccinations were created about eight hundred years ago, that was one of the big ones that doctors chose to target immediately. It's believed to be almost completely wiped out.

Uh oh. Is the Crystal Empire going to bring back diseases that haven't been seen in Equestria for hundreds of years? That's an interesting idea.

[Firemind]

Some meanie put a Lego in them? How rude! I wonder if all that pain contributed to Sombra's fall. Hoof rot? Sounds positively nasty ... glad somepony made a vaccine for it. That said, I'm no expert, but aren't most conditions that rot surface tissue caused by fungi? If so, it would be more logical to combat it with a cure in the form of a topical ointment instead of a vaccine. And if it's potentially back, who knows what else might be. It might be wise if they establish a medical quarantine in the city for a few weeks to contain and treat any downtime diseases. Hopefully, Twilight can persuade the Princesses into bringing a few hoof specialists as part of whatever medical expedition gets sent. Sombra making those plotholes do that song-and-dance number was hilarious!

[Moongaze14]

I enjoy the shipping between him and Fluttershy...even if it's one-sided on his part. BTW, it was nice to see how he dealt with the thugs.

[Bucking Nonsense]

5019442
Well, Hoof Rot (Also known as foot rot) is an actual disease that hoofed animals get. Admittedly, it doesn't normally infect horses (Or actually damage the hooves themselves. It targets the juncture where hoof and leg meet). Horses do have an illness, called Thrush, which does cause the hooves to rot and if left untreated can cripple a horse. I went with hoof rot because it sounded more unpleasant. Both illnesses are caused by bacteria, and both are known to spread like wildfire throughout the herd if not properly treated.

[Firemind]

5019722 Ah, I see. Makes sense. It seems like what you used in the story is something of a mix of both, as well as some aspects that are extrapolated and/or fictionalized. Like I said, not an expert ... On reflection, I have heard of hoof rot before, years ago (grew up in an area that had a lot of dairy cows, but I was not a farmer, and I tried to avoid the farm kids, who were by and large a bunch of bullies), but never knew anything about it, past that it was something to watch out for, but I'd never heard of Thrush before. Learn something new every day, I guess ...

[pahnazd]

Oh I wish I could see those dancing and singing guards

[twilight the scribe]

I see this for what it is! The Prequel to King Sombra Becomes a Squirrel! AMIRITE?

[Toric]

At least he gave them a classic, and not some infernal nonsense like Pinafore...

[Bucking Nonsense]

5020928
Well, admittedly, Modern Major General is a classic, but it is used far too often.

[Firemind]

5021667 Eh, if it's good enough for Mass Effect ...

Though it'd have been really funny if Sombra had put them up to "I'm a little teapot".

[Toric]

5021667
Gotta love Sondheim. Good catch on the reference, though. Most people don't even know about that section of the song.

[Bucking Nonsense]

5022003
5021783

Funny story, I had given serious consideration to having them sing 'Three Little Maids From School', but that seemed more like the kind of thing you'd inflict on repeat offenders.

[Firemind]

5022924 LOL, agreed. That would be for hardened repeat offenders.

[Europa]

Yeah, go ahead and poke the guy who can turn into a city-sized cloud of choking despair and summon razor-sharp spires of hatred from the ground underneath you. Great idea.

[UrielSei]

After one thousand years, letting it all out like that was sublime pleasure. For a few seconds afterward, the world was a wonderful and magical place...and the Sombra got off the seat of the outhouse.

[Robot Sparky]

... I... I have no idea how to respond to this so random emotes will have to do

[DiscountDiscord]

5956990