A shadow of what I once was.

by FaelaArts

And now, I was lower than an earth pony.

Twilight laid Sombra gently on a couch in the living room, just outside the bright pink shield protecting the city. Closing the door, she closed her eyes and concentrated, and shot a bolt of fire at the unlit fireplace nearby. The room began to instantly warm up. Breathing out, she turned to the others, and entered the bubble.

“Cadance, brother! I missed you.” Embracing them, Twilight felt a little of her unease fade. As they all sat down, they quickly began to fill in the blanks. Applejack turned away from the group to keep two eyes on Sombra.

“My ponies have been strong under this sudden snow, as they know as long as they believe in the Crystal Heart, and show their love for their home, the shadows can’t hurt us. We’re going to cast the spell to send love across Equestria early, first thing in the morning. If this doesn’t halt the snow, then nothing will.” Cadance glanced to Sombra, and narrowed her eyes. Was it safe to be talking so close to the enemy?

“I’m glad to hear that. I was worried what I would find upon arrival. How long until dawn?” Twilight glanced out the window, only seeing snow.

“I asked Celestia if she could raise it an hour earlier than normal so we can get it out of the way as soon as possible. That is only an hour from now.” Cadance stood up and shook herself, leaning down to give Twilight one last hug.

“I must leave to prepare now, keep all eyes on Sombra. I don’t know if the spell will affect him outside of the bubble as he is.” All turned once more to Sombra, narrowing their eyes.

“Even if he does not shatter once more, you cannot bring him into the Crystal Empire. You will have to take him somewhere else.” Cadance flared her wings, and bit her lip. Twilight nodded, and watched her exit the door and head into the city. Turning her gaze to Sombra, Twilight bit her lip as well.

“Spike, could you send a letter to Celestia and ask her what the best course of action is?” Twilight relaxed as the solution escaped her mouth before she had even thought of it, and turned to Spike. Pulling out a parchment, he quickly wrote it down with practiced fingers, before sending it off with a green burst of flame. A reply was almost instant.

’Dear Twilight. This is indeed strange circumstances. The first course of action is to see if the pulse of love across Equestria affects him in any adverse way. We then need to confirm he is otherwise unable to cast magic. If those prove to be true, we need to transport him to a castle dungeon, where he can live the rest of his life behind bars for his crimes.’

Twilight breathed out, and looked toward her friends, more specifically Fluttershy. Discord had deserved a second chance, so why not Sombra? They really had no way of knowing if he would even survive the pulse from the Crystal Empire. Sighing, she turned to Fluttershy.

“Fluttershy, if I asked you to try and reform Sombra, would you do it?” Twilight would never do it if Fluttershy didn’t feel she could. Shrinking under Twilight’s gaze, Fluttershy looked down as she considered it, and finally opened her mouth to speak.

“I suppose I could give it a try, if that’s okay with you.” Fluttershy looked away, and Twilight hovered the letter over to them so they could give it a read. After all had finished, she tossed it into the fire and made a motion with her hoof.

“It is up to you Fluttershy. But if you can reform Discord, maybe you can reform Sombra as well.” Twilight waited as all her friends considered it.

“I-I can try but th-there’s not enough room in my cottage. Discord is coming to visit tomorrow and-and I don’t want to inconvenience him.” Fluttershy lowered herself to the ground, and looked to Twilight, glancing to Sombra as she did so. Twilight nodded, and smiled warmly.

“That’s fine, there’s plenty of room in my castle. We also do have some rooms that lock from the outside, so that would be perfect if we need to confine him.” Twilight watched Fluttershy nod, and slowly her mouth opened once more.

“I-I can give it a try Twilight.” Fluttershy was met with a warm hug from all sides as Twilight and everypony else brought her into a hug. After a moment, Fluttershy smiled, closing her eyes to enjoy it. Releasing Fluttershy, Twilight turned to Spike.

“Now we just need permission from Celestia.” Twilight giggled as Spike stood tall and saluted, once more writing down quickly and sending it. This one took slightly longer to arrive, but Twilight opened it and began to read soon after.

’Dear Twilight. If you are sure you can ‘reform’ Sombra, he could be of some use to us. A lot of old magic was lost during the time the Crystal Empire vanished and reappeared. While we have no interest in the dark magic, he likely knows some old spells that even we have forgotten with time. He will still have to answer for his crimes, but we might reduce the sentence if he shows penance for his actions. You have our permission to proceed.’

“Alright, looks like we’ve got a plan girls.” Twilight stood and stepped out of the pink bubble’s edge, followed closely by the others. As they stood over Sombra, a large pulse of magic sounded, and they turned toward the window to realise the sun had risen. Within a moment, the wave of magic passed through them, not turning them to Crystal Ponies to Rarity’s dismay. Outside, the snow was gone in an instant, and green was everywhere.

On the bed, Sombra’s eye slowly opened.

“Gyahh!” Everyone leapt back, and then paused as Sombra made no move against them. After a few moments, he sat up and touched the device over his horn. Looking to his surroundings, he noticed the lush green through the window. Twilight leaned down and charged a spell, catching Sombra’s attention, and he turned toward her.

“Don’t make any sudden moves Sombra or I will vaporise you where you sit!” Twilight was serious. While she might not be able to leave him to die a slow death, nothing prevented her from stopping an evil before it began. Somba once more looked around, and nodded once. Twilight slowly relaxed, keeping the spell on her horn as she continued.

“You are coming with us. Any attempt to resist will result in a spell directly into your heart.” Twilight concentrated for a moment, and the spell vanished from her horn. While not visible, the spell was still active and on standby, ready to be called at a moment’s notice. Sombra looked to his hoof, where the steel shoe covered it from view, and lowered it, turning to Twilight.

“I am in no position to argue.”

Comments

[Care taker]

Even when he's cut off from his magic, sombra still a badass.

[Spooky Moon]

Twilight would NEVER EVER kill or even think about killing somepony

[The1templar]

6173241 agreed.

[josue]

6173241 could be an alternate version of Twilight there are multiple universes where Twilight could be a killer or or a villain trying to conquer everything and succeeding

[MorinoHisashi]

I know he’s gonna start up some monkey business of his own before he’s learned to behave I can just tell based off other Sombra fics on here he’s gonna press his luck a bit 😂😂