The Return of the Shadows

by Crystal Night

Chapter Two: A New Shadow

They remained silent for a few seconds in the room. Princess Cadence couldn't believe. She looked at Shining Armor, his face showed anger and frustration.

"How it's possible?"- he growled standing up hitting with one hoof on the ground.

Cadence never saw his husband react like that before. Shining Armor came down from his throne. He looked though the crystal window, he could see a huge dark cloud, but for some reason he was far away from the empire. Shining decided to grab his helmet and his armour.

"Where are you going?"- Cadence asked gently.

"Just wait here for me, alright?"- Shining Armor.

A small group of crystal guard ponies followed him. The white colt approach one of the guards.

"Don't let her leave the castle, do you understand? It's too dangerous!"- while whispering to the guard. The guard nodded.

They left the castle.
Some of the crystal ponies were scared. The group passed through the city. The city was deserted, not one single sound was heard besides the heavy hoofsteps from the guards armour.
Cadence looked outside, she also saw the dark cloud. She levitated a paper and feather.

"Dear Princess Celestia..."

Meanwhile in the other side, Sombra waited, impatiently. He could see a big group of crystal guards, in the past they served him, of course, under a dark magical spell. They didn't seem to be afraid of him. After all, there wasn't any reason for that.
Sombra came in peace.
Suddenly, the group divided leaving a gap in the middle. Prince Shining Armor arrived along with the rest of the guards.

"Finally!"- said Sombra, trying not to sound rude. "How long haven't we seen each other?"- he continued.

"Almost twenty years!"- he answered. "What do you want Sombra?"

"I have a small request, I wish to talk with Princess Celestia."

Shining Armor couldn't believe what he just said, he, King Sombra, the King of Shadows, wanted to talk with Princess Celestia.
Also King Sombra never called her Princess Celestia, he always treated her just by Celestia.
He looked at Sombra, he seemed rather calm, still his request was very suspicious. Maybe he wanted to get a chance to destroy Canterlot or even worse, Princess Celestia herself.
He finally spoke, continuing to be aggressive in his tone.

"Why?"- he asked.
Sombra remained calm and collective in his thoughts.

"The reason why is simply, because I want to change. I'm willing to help."
That answer was a surprise to everypony. Did they heard right? King Sombra wanted to...change. The guards were confused with that statement, even Shining Armor.
He didn't know what to say. Sombra waited for an answer.

"Is that true?"- a voice said behind the guards.
They turned. It was Princess Cadence.

"I'm sorry my Prince, but..."- the guard was quickly interrupted by the Princess.
Sombra stared at Cadence.

"It's good to see you, Princess Cadence."- he replied while he bowed.

"It's not his fault, but I wanted to see this, tell me Sombra, why are you willing help?"- she asked, also remaining calm.
Sombra closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I did things that I'm not proud of, enslaved the crystal ponies and caused a war against Princess Celestia and Princess Luna."- he paused to catch his breath. "My hunger for power blinded me, and because of that I created a huge amount of chaos, and because of this I payed a huge price, twice, but I realized how life is important and I want to enjoy every moment, I also lost a pony who was very dear to me."

There was a moment of silence, they could only hear the sound of the wind.

Shining wasn't still convinced.
"Prove it!"- he demanded.

The dark colt turned his head towards Shining Armour.
"Alright!"

All of a sudden, King Sombra's armour fell on the white snow, his cape flew off.
He grabbed the crown with one his hooves, and then he threw it on the snow, close to them.

"You want proof? Here!"- he pointed towards the fallen crown covered with snow.

One of the guards approached Princess Cadence while holding a letter, probably from Princess Celestia, she hoped so.
She opened the letter. In fact, the letter was from Celestia.

"Who is it?"- Shining Armor asked.

"It is from Princess Celestia, I wrote her a letter explaining what was going on."
He figured she probably wrote after he left the castle, informing her. She always asked her when she had some doubts or issues.

"And it looks like I need to write a new letter."- she stated.

Shining couldn't believe it. Cadence gave him a signal to follow her.

"Can you hold for a while? We need to talk."- Cadence said to Sombra.

"But of course, take the time you need Princess!"- he bowed.

Cadence was waiting for Shining Armor under the tree. He came forward.

"What's the problem?"- he asked looking into her eyes.

"This is a great opportunity, you know?"

"Have you thought he might be lying to us about his intentions?"- he paused. "Maybe it's only to get your trust, and then to trick us. King Sombra is a cold pony, he would help no one besides himself."

Princess Cadence glanced at Sombra, again he remained calm and quiet, just waiting. He seemed very different since last time.

"And I believe what's he's saying is true. I can sense a minor change on his personality."- she stared back again to her husband. "Don't you?"

The truth was Sombra appeared to act and sound very different.
Shining Armor only had to two choices, the fate of Equestria or believe in his wife's words.
He finally made a decision.

"Alright, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, because it's you." Shining didn't like the idea but what chance he had.
Cadence gave him a hug.

"I knew you would do the right thing."- said Cadence.

"Yeah, I hope so..."- he thought.

They glanced at Sombra.

"We believe in your intentions, and soon you will speak with Princess Celestia."- Cadence.

Sombra smiled.
"Thank you very much!"- he bowed again.

The blizzard came back again, starting to grow stronger and stronger. Sombra felt even more cold than before.
Cadence saw the dark colt shivering. Her horn glowed, a gap was opened on the shield.

"You may come inside, I know it's cold outside."- she said with a grin.

Sombra was surprised with the offer, but he accepted. The dark stallion felt a bit naked, after all he always used his royal clothes.
This was definitely new to him. They decided it was time to return to the castle. Sombra's belly growled, this time actually asking for food.
His cheeks turned red, that was embarrassing even for him. Sombra was surrounded by at least eight guards. The remaining returned to their guarding places.
The crystal ponies could see them through the window. Sombra looked at them, but they closed the windows. He couldn't blame them, only himself. He kept his head low, in a sign of shame. Cadence glanced at Sombra.

Soon, they reached the castle. The guards kept a secure distance from Sombra.
The castle was different during the time he ruled the empire.
The group wandered through many hallways, until they arrived at the dinner room.

"Sit down, please."- Cadence said gently towards Sombra.

Sombra pulled the chair out and sat down.

"What do you want to eat?"- Shining Armor finally spoke.

Sombra thought.
"Pancakes covered with honey, please."

Shining signaled the butler, he immediately went for the kitchen.

"Can you please write to Princess Celestia about the meeting?"- she asked Shining.

"Of course!"- he turned around, and exited the dinner room.

Cadence also pulled a chair out, sitting right in front of Sombra.
"Tell me, back there, you said you lost a very dear pony to you, right?"

"Yes, it's true."- he said, sadly.

Cadence continued.
"Can I know her name?"

Sombra took a deep breath.
"Her named was Cynthia, she was a white mare with a pink mane."- those words brought a few tears.

She could see in his eyes he used to love somepony before.
"What happen to her?"

Sombra stared at Cadence with his green eyes, but this time the purple smoke was smaller then usual.
"She...she...she died, from a terrible disease."- he paused. "I tried to use magic to help her, but I failed to save her."

That statement shocked Cadence.
"Poor Sombra."- she thought to herself.

The butler arrived with the pancakes, putting them on the table, in front of the stallion.
Sombra started eating, again that brought him joy.
"Cynthia, she used to make this for breakfast."

Shining Armor was back.
"It's done, Princess Celestia agreed with the meeting!"

"Great!"- said Sombra.

Night fell, it was time to rest. The dark stallion entered his room. It was normal guest room, at least he had a window.
He closed the doors, outside there were four guards, just in case. He saw a mirror.
In front of the mirror he saw himself, but this time without armour or his crown. A complete stranger.
Finally he got in bed, falling asleep.

Sombra, found himself wandering through the castle hallways. It seemed very quiet and almost abandoned.
He felt a cold shiver going through his dark mane. He looked around, but nothing.

The castle seemed strange, he didn't know why. All of a sudden, he heard laughs, evil laughs.
The laughs grow stronger and stronger. Sombra looked behind him. What he saw made him lose his calm.
Dark cloud was behind him, and worst was he had the same face has Sombra. The dark stallion started walking backwards. The white colour of the crystals soon turned dark and purple shades. Sombra ran from the cloud.

The cloud growled with a huge anger. Dark crystals tried to block Sombra's way. He reached a familiar room, the throne. Using his magic, he closed the door and sealed with crystals. Suddenly, something was knocking on the door, trying to bring it down. Sombra looked for a place to hide, but nothing in the room could help him. Finally, the crystal door was destroyed. The dark cloud entered the room, staring at Sombra.

Sombra was afraid, he cringed. The cloud was getting closer, it seems almost the shadow was going to eat him.
Without notice, a light appeared behind Sombra.
Sombra was blinded by the light. When he oppened his eyes, he didn't saw the shadow.

"He's gone, for now!"- a rather familiar voice said.

Sombra got up, and glanced behind.
"Princess Luna?"- said Sombra, very surprised.

The Princess of the Night looked at Sombra.
"The King of Shadows, having nightmares with himself?"- she asked.

"Please, don't call me King Sombra, just Sombra, ok?"

Princess Luna was impressed with Sombra's attitude. She knew about the tomorrow meeting, after all she was going to be there too.
"Alright, my sister trusts in you about becoming a better pony, is that true?"

"It's true, I'm not lying."- he stated.

"Tomorrow, we'll see about that, now have a good night sleep!"

Sombra woke up from his sleep, he was sweating due to the nightmare.
The sun was rising. A new day has come, specially for Sombra. The stallion got out of his bed.
He stands in front of the mirror.

"Today, is the day!"- taking a deep breath, then he exited the bedroom.
Sombra had good hopes for his future.

Author's Note:

In this chapter i tried focus a bit on Sombra's past, along with his nightmare.
The former himself doesn't like to "new" Sombra.
Now, you know whats King Sombra plan, just simply wants to be a normal pony and enjoy his life.
Thanks for reading chapter two

Comments

[LuckyPen296]

Nice concept. Keep writing, I want to see where this is going.

[Crystal Night]

5650976 Thanks!

[CasperSantiq]

Too rushed. Too much dialog and a little more time a description between seneces would improve this. I advise a rewright.

[Bronixus]

Am I the only one who thought of this while reading the chapter?

Metallic - King Nothing

[Crystal Night]

5986114 I didn't even knew about this music xD

[Maayu Morinozuka]

I still really like this! Though when Sombra was telling Cadence about Cynthia he said she had a pink mane but I thought she had a blue mane in the last chapter. Doesn't really matter just something I noticed.

[Princeling]

6235558 No, that was a description of Luna.