Son of Sombra

by BubblePuff

Part 20

A month had passed since Sombra’s return. While the civilians of the Crystal Empire had successfully been evacuated, all the royal guard had been taken over by Sombra’s darkness armor. The rest of Equestria stood ready, waiting to see what Sombra’s next move would be.

Cadance and Shining had fled to Canterlot. Cadence stood on the balcony of her room, looking out in the direction of the Crystal Empire. Shining walked up beside her.

“Cadance, you’ve been standing on this balcony for hours. Come inside and get some rest.”

Cadance continued to look out into the distance. “Am I a good mother Shining?”

“Of course you’re a good mother! Why would you ask such a question?”

Cadance turned to look at shining, a look of great sadness upon her face. “Then why did I fail with North Star?”

“Honey, you didn’t fail North Star. He was tricked by Sombra.”

“Was he though?” Cadance turned and slowly walked into the room. “We never really paid much attention to him once Flurry Heart was born. Then there was forcing him to wear that magic-suppression ring instead of trusting him and teaching how to handle his magic. And then publicly revealing that we weren’t his real parents.” Cadance began to cry.

Shining walked over and nuzzled her. “All parents make mistakes Cadance. We are no different than other couple in Equestria. And we learn from our mistakes.” Shining held Cadance close. “We’ll get our children back.”

“I hope you’re right.” Cadance looked over at the bed. On it were North Star’s plushie Mr. Smartypants, and his pet honeybadger Butch. She could tell by that sad expression on Butch’s face that he missed him.

There was a knock at the door. Shining opened it to find a guard saluting him. “Prince Shining, Princess Cadance, you both requested in the royal throne room for an emergency meeting.” The guard said.

Cadance and Shining entered the throne room. They could see Celestia, Luna, and Twilight as well as commander Spitfire from the wonderbolts all gathered around a large table. Upon it was a map of Equestria.

Celestia looked up at the royal couple. “Thank you both for coming.”

“What is this meeting about?” Cadance asked.

“We are planning an assault on the Crystal Empire.” Luna said. “We have to strike now before Sombra’s forces spread throughout Equestria.”

“But my children are still in there!” Cadance pleaded.

Twilight walked over and put a hoof on her shoulder. “Don’t worry. Our first priority will be to infiltrate the crystal palace and rescue Flurry Heart.”

“But, what about North Star?” Cadance asked as she looked Twilight in the eyes.

Twilight lowered her head. “He is still under the control of Sombra. Until we can defeat him and contain his power, we have no way of saving North Star.”

“Then let me come with you! Just let me talk to North Star, I know that he is still in there!”

Celestia shook her head. “I am sorry, but we cannot risk you being captured.”

Cadance ran over to Shining and buried her face in his chest. Her cries echoed throughout the throne room.

Shining wrapped his front legs around Cadance. “I’ll go.” He said with a look of determination.

Twilight gave Shining a look of concern. “Shining please-”

Shining cut her off. “I am still the captain of the royal guard. That means I’m in charge of the ground troops, just as Spitfire is in charge of the wonderbolts. I’m going to be needed on the front lines anyway, so it should be me who leads the rescue mission.”

Twilight wanted to argue, but she knew that Shining was right. He was needed to lead the ground forces. And if there was anypony that knew how to break into the crystal palace, it was him.

“Very well.” Spitfire said. “Here’s the battle plan. The wonderbolts and I will come in first, striking from the air. The first battalion on the ground will then attack from the east. The second battalion will then attack from the south. Prince Shining, you and a team of elite guards will then sneak in from the west.”

“Sounds good.” Shining said. “With most the darkness guards distracted, getting into the crystal palace and taking out the rest shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Then it is settled.” Said Celestia. “We will attack at dawn.”

As everypony headed out of the throne room, Cadance held Shining close. “Promise me you’ll bring our children back.” She whispered in his ear.

“I promise.” Shining then kissed Cadance on the cheek.

Inside the crystal palace, King Sombra sat upon his throne of dark crystals. In his right hoof he held a goblet of wine, which he took a sip from. To his left was a dark crystal cage that contained Flurry Heart. Sombra did not want to kill her. In fact, he rather enjoyed keeping her as a pet.

Flurry Heart’s tummy began to growl, and she cried out loud with hunger. Sombra calmly put down his goblet and stood up. He walked over to her cage and opened the door. Using his magic, Sombra lifted Flurry Heart into the air. Sombra then used magic to pick up a paddle.

“What did I tell you about crying!” Sombra then spanked Flurry Heart on her bottom repeatedly with the paddle. Flurry Heart stopped crying, but she still had a look of terror on her.

Sombra called for a darkness guard. One showed up immediately with a bottle of milk. Sombra jammed the bottle into Flurry Heart’s mouth then put her back in the cage. “That little thing annoys me as much as it amuses me.” Sombra said to himself.

Another darkness guard approached Sombra and saluted. “My king, the scouts have spotted Equestrian forces approaching from the east and the south.”

Sombra smiled as he sat back on his throne."Very good. Prepare the troops for battle." The guard saluted once more and trotted off. Sombra picked up his goblet and took another sip of wine. “Time for the fun to begin.”

The wonderbolts flew over the Crystal Empire. Spitfire landed next to Shining to give her report. “All is quiet sir. There doesn’t appear to be any activity in or around the Crystal Empire.”

Shining grew suspicious. “There is no way that Sombra would make it that easy.” He thought to himself. The Equestrian forces were already in position, awaiting his orders.

Shining knew that this might be his only chance to seize back the Crystal Empire. He told Spitfire to tell the battalions on the southern and eastern fronts to make their move. Spitfire saluted and flew off. Soon both forces began their march, while Shining and his team snuck into the city.

Everything was going according to plan, except that there was no resistance at all. Not one darkness guard could be spotted anywhere. “I have a bad feeling about this.” Shining muttered to himself.

Suddenly, thousands of darkness guards emerged from hidden holes in the ground. Giant dark crystals also emerged, trapping the Equestrian troops and preventing them from getting away. Resistance was futile, as the darkness easily consumed the Equestrian troops.

A massive storm cloud appeared over the Crystal Empire. It’s mighty winds blew away the wonderbolts. “RETREAT!” Shining called out to his squad, but they did not get far. His troops were taken by the darkness, and chains of dark crystal wrapped themselves around Shining’s legs, pinning him to the ground.

Sombra appeared before Shining, a look triumph on his face. He stood above the fallen captain of the Equestrian royal guard. “Greetings Shining, or should I say father?”

Author's Note:

That's right, this story is back. And things are about to get grim.

Comments

[LtMajorDude]

Finally! It's back!

Good to see ya, lad!

[Valiant Charge]

Welcome back!

Also, how cold can Sombra be? Spanking a child for no real reason? That is just low.

[batran]

New chapter yes!

*reads*

Noooooo why cliffhanger

[ensanary]

this is so cute! i cannot help but smile at some of the parts in the story, lovely work! <33