Umbrum ad Infinitum

by Pixel_Spark

Confrontation

A cutie mark. An honest to goodness CUTIE MARK.

It was comprised of three shards of crystal, one faintly angled like a horn, the other two closer to wings. They were encircled towards the base by a stylized silver crown.

"Alright!" raucous cheering followed this reveal. Sombra stopped trying to chase his own tail, or cutie mark and stared out at the crowd.

"How is this even possible?" he asked.

"Well, seems you've - "

"No, I know how all of YOU get cutie marks," Sombra intercepted. "what I mean is: how the heck did I get one? Umbrum have never HAD cutie marks!"

Puzzled silence followed. Then one of the ponies piped up.

"Hay, Girder said you're the subject of some kinda prophecy right? What if it's part of your power? You were able to make your ponies immune to the Crystal Heart, right? Rumors say it transferred the gift to you and you in turn shared with the others."

Sombra pondered that.

"Indeed, that's what happened. You could be onto something there. I was able to assimilate the immunity to the Crystal Heart. And all that time ago I was able to change my appearance. Maybe you are correct. It could be that the Infinitum position has far more to it than anypony knows so far. This prophecy hasn't been seen in a long time, believed to be a myth until now."

"Tabula Rasa," one voice said. Sombra blinked.

“What's that?" he asked.

"It's an old term, from the Zebra homeland." The pony speaking gave a respectful bow. "I studied there a year or so ago, learnt so much. What they call a ‘Tabula Rasa’ in their myths is a creature that's almost entirely blank at birth, but it becomes what it desires, slowly molding itself based on what it learns and discovers. This sounds like what you have been doing!"

"Astonishing, I’ve never heard anything like that before..." Sombra's eyes brightened in curiosity. He stared again at the mark, in clear bewilderment "it's odd, I have not thought about cutie marks since - well, since the day I found out I’d never get one!"

"Maybe the wish never faded," a mare said, smiling at Sombra. "but now, with your new position, it could finally come true. Seems to me the Infinitum is like a master document. Like the ones that have spells on them so if you change the main one, they ALL change!"

Sombra nodded, feeling a funny sense of contentment as he looked at the mark on his flank.

"I would say it's pretty clear what it means," the doctor caught Sombra's eye. "by any chance Sire, did you decide to stop beating yourself up?"

Sombra's face said it all, as the stallion went red and stared at the doctor for a good few seconds, before coughing and eventually nodding. Many ponies chuckled at this. Seeing Sombra displaying such emotion was wonderful, compared to his former silence and anger. Many a mare thought he looked even cuter when he blushed!

Sombra just barely stifled a yawn, feeling suddenly sleepy. "Sorry," he mumbled, hearing a few chuckles.

"We'll let you rest, Sire." The other ponies began to disperse, pausing only to congratulate the King on gaining his cutie mark before drifting away.

Sombra curled up on his bed once more, writing a sleepy letter to Discord and another to be given to the Umbrum and then he dozed off.

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Discord was watching the dishes clean themselves while he lounged on the couch when a burst of flame above his head heralded the arrival of a scroll, forwarded to him by Celestia.

"Hmn, what’s next Sombra?" Discord mused. "hope you haven’t broken anything else!"

He'd been concerned to hear about Sombra's tussle with the Timberwolf, but Sombra was as tough as they came, and he knew the stallion would recover quickly.

He took a sip from a cup of tea as he read, then did a double take -

"He got a what - ? My my, he's full of surprises!"

He conjured a quill and some paper and set about writing a reply.

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He sent it the next morning, figuring Sombra would be up bright and early.

He was right. Sombra sat at the long tables in the canteen, eating breakfast along with the others.Those closest looked up as there was a puff of magic and a scroll appeared in thin air in front of him.

"Hmmm?" Sombra prodded the envelope, undoing the seal with his magic. "from Celestia?"

When the letter opened, it let out a customary HONK! which had the effect of startling several ponies and making Sombra scoot back so quickly he fell backwards off the bench with a loud yelp. With a POMF!, the undamaged wing puffed up, trying adorably to guard its bearer. The ponies peered down at him, seeing his startled expression, the King's eyebrows raised as he processed what’d just happened.

"DISCORD." Sombra huffed, face turning red. Hearing the muffled sniggers around the dining hall, he was confronted by his own desire to laugh. He lasted all of two seconds before he met the gaze of the nearest amused pony, and burst out laughing, clutching his sides and just laughing his ass off at the situation.

Pretty soon everypony else was joining in...

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This was the scene that confronted Girder when he walked in. The ponies all crowding around one table, laughing and wiping their eyes. One happy laugh rose above them all. He pushed his way through, spying Sombra, still floor-bound, clutching his sides laughing.

"Are you OK, your Majesty?" he asked, bemused.

"I...ahh..." Sombra slowed down, managing to get a few breaths in "I'm quite alright...pfft..."

He sat himself up, snickering anew. At long last he pulled the letter towards him. The final line read.

"Nice one, silly Sombra.
Be seeing you soon!"

Sombra smiled, hoping he'd indeed see his friend soon, as well as the others. He missed them.

There was a second letter via the regular post, thankfully honk-free, from Princess Cadance. It asked if she and her husband might pay a visit shortly. They were on their way to another city and wished to drop in for a few hours as the development spot wasn't far out of the way of the tour. She apologised for the short notice, and asked he would respond ASAP?

Girders eyebrows threatened to raise right off his face when Sombra informed him, but said it wouldn’t be a problem to set up a tour for the date, even having one of the houses fully painted to show them!

Sombra sent a letter back confirming it would be fine.

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Pinkie Pie pre-empted Discord's arrival with her Pinkie sense, doing a roly-poly down the hallway of Twilight Sparkle's castle before finishing off with a headstand.

"I've GOT to hear the occasion behind that!" Rainbow remarked. Pinkie Pie righted herself and grinned.

"Something special!" she crowed.

"Indeed!" a familiar voice spoke from behind the other five. They whirled, seeing Discord leaning out of a portal in thin air, waving a scroll.

"Ooh!" Pinkie Pie shot up to him. "What is? Tell us!"

Discord grinned, clearing his throat before declaring, "It appears Sombra has managed to once again enhance the Umbrum race by adding the ability to get a CUTIE MARK to his repertoire."

Silence reigned.

"Whoa nelly! Seriously?!" Applejack's eyebrows were in danger of vanishing under her fringe so surprised was she!

"YAYYY!" Pinkie Pie whooped.

"Wow..." Twilight Sparkle was wondering how he'd done it. "What is it?"

"He neglected to tell me, I think he was too surprised he'd pulled it off! Seems the silly pony’d wanted a cutie mark ever since he was your sister’s ages!" he replied, nodding to Rarity and Applejack.

"Aw, that’s wonderful!" Rarity beamed.

"PARTY!" Pinkie Pie was in full fidget mode. "we gotta have a cute-cinera! Now!"

"Slow DOWN Pinkie Pie!" Rainbow Dash shook her head.

"Won’t it take hours to travel there? A-and the trains aren’t due to go out there for another week..I think..." Fluttershy asked.

"Well..." they all looked at Discord as he failed to suppress a grin. "we could travel chaos express, gets us all there in no time! All I have to do is lock onto Sombra's magic and boom, I can make a tunnel!"

"Well.." Twilight Sparkle wondered if it was a good idea.

"Pleeeeease Twilight!" Pinkie Pie pouted. "It'd be just awful if I couldn’t throw a cutie mark party since he's the first Umbrum to GET one!"

"OK, OK!" Twilight Sparkle relented in light of Pinkie Pie's mopey expression.

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Pinkie Pie roped her friends into helping her put together a party package. While she was doing that, Discord went to visit the Umbrums, as Sombra had asked he check in on them.

While the adults all cheered and danced about Sombra's new cutie mark, asking could Discord tell them about it when he got back, little Firefly was overjoyed. She wanted to go talk to the six ponies and ask if they would give a message to Fini!

But temptation got the better of the little scamp when she seen the unattended baskets and boxes. She wriggled into one and pulled the basket’s cover over her head. She heard voices approach, then felt a tingle of magic at the edge of her senses as Discord opened the portal.

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Discord led them down the tunnel while all manner of odd things floated by. Rubber ducks, books, a MOOSE made of balloons.

Pinkie Pie was in love with the décor, and made a note to add making balloon mooses to her repertoire.

Mooses...meese? She wondered what the plural for moose should be?

As she was on the verge of asking, Discord opened another portal. "Here we are!" he said smugly. They’d appeared on the outskirts of the area, not far from where the train tracks ended.

Pinkie's tail twitched and she sped off like a rabbit on sugar, giggling all the while.

"I like her way of working," Discord decided.

"It’s Pinkie Pie. She's realities hiccup, I’m convinced..." Twilight Sparkle giggled all the same.

"Let's go find Sombra!" Applejack crowed, and they set off, laughing and talking as they kept an eye out for their friend.

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Naturally, Pinkie Pie found him first.

He was walking around alongside Girder, who was dividing the supervision work between them. They’d finally found a task Sombra could do that didn’t involve manual labor, until his wing healed.

"SOMBRAAA!" A high pitched noise that vaguely resembled his name made Sombra's ears prick up, and he turned, mouth open to ask what the heck was THAT-?

When a blur of pink tackled him and knocked him on his back in the snow. When he opened his eyes, he saw a pair of wide blue eyes and crazy pink mane.

"Miss Pinkie Pie," he greeted her calmly.

"Hi hi!" She grinned, bounding back so he could sit up. "I found him!" she hollered back the way she came.

"Who in Equestria are YOU, Missy?" Girder asked. "and where did you come from?"

"I’m Pinkie Pie, and I came from over there!" She jabbed a hoof in the aforementioned direction "That's where the portal is!"

"Portal?" Girder asked.

Sombra blinked. "Wait, portal? Does that mean- ooph!"

He cut off as he was suddenly grabbed in a big bear hug from a Draconequus who was careful not to jostle Sombra's wing, having taken note of his previous letter.

His head spun as Discord set him down.

"Good...to see you Discord..." he coughed, laughing. Discord grinned, scratching behind Sombra's ear quickly, before stepping back so the others could approach.

"Princess!" Girder's jaw dropped as he spotted the purple Alicorn.

"Good day!" She beamed. "I do apologise for the sudden visit! We got the news about the cutie mark and we came to throw a party!"

"Party?" Sombra asked.

"Yep yep!" Pinkie Pie nodded. "You gotta have a cute-cinera party, silly!"

"A cutsie-whatta?" Sombra looked lost.

"A cute-cinera is a party to celebrate getting a cutie mark, silly Sombra!" Discord explained "Speaking of which, show us already!"

Sombra stared blankly at them a second, before realising what they were getting at. He took off his cloak so the ponies could see the new cutie mark.

"It's awesome!" Pinkie Pie whooped.

"Wow," Twilight Sparkle studied the Alicorn/crown motif. "It's amazing!"

"Nice work!" Discord nodded as he studied first the mark then its owners flushed-but-proud expression.

"It's wonderful news, darling!" Rarity smiled at Sombra. "your ponies are over the moon!"

Sombra smiled, he hoped they’d be able to discover their talents at their own pace as they made their own paths.

"I dropped in to see them," Discord said to Sombra. "they’re missing you, and hope your wing gets better!"

"Huh? What happened?" Rainbow Dash peered at Sombra's sides, spotting the bandaged wing. "good Celestia, what did you DO?"

"Picked a fight with an oversized territorial Timberwolf!" Sombra said after a pause. Rainbow Dash face-hoofed.

"Ya did what, sugarcube?" Applejack couldn’t believe her ears.

"Kicked its ass, pardon my language," Girder put in "saved a load of my ponies in the process."

"My goodness..." Fluttershy's eyes were wide.

"It's alright," Sombra assured her. "it appears to be healing well. The doctor is convinced the Infinitum form has express healing, as he mentioned this morning it’s progressed very rapidly."

"Yay!" the yellow pegasus looked relieved.

"PARTY TIME!" Pinkie Pie whooped. Discord snapped his fingers and the cart with all the party supplies appeared beside them.

Sombra cast a sidelong glance at Girder, as if to say "Uhh....?"

"I see no reason why not, Your Majesty. Getting a cutie mark is worth celebrating for sure!"

He told everypony to go on a break, and they all cheered. Bearing in mind they’d been headed to a big construction site, Pinkie Pie had bought a LOT of ingredients as well as some pre-made cakes from sugarcube corner!

"Uh, not to alarm you miss, but does your food usually MOVE?" Girder pointed a hoof at where one of the basket covers was twitching. Sombra lifted the basket with his magic, bringing it over to him and the others and lifting the cover.

A blur shot up, wrapping itself around his muzzle with its chubby little legs, big wide eyes almost crossed as they focused on his.

"FINI!" the blur declared.

Jaws dropped, Sombra's would have if not for the small child clinging to his face.

"Fwirefwy?" he mumbled incoherently. She giggled, then allowed herself to be peeled off his face and snuggled into the crook of his left foreleg, as she carefully held her.

"What in Celestia's mane are you doing here?" a startled Sombra asked.

"I wanted to see you, Fini!" she pouted.

"That's very nice little one, but does Excel know you're here?"

She looked guilty, then grinned sheepishly.

"Oh - " Sombra groaned "she's going to kill me."

"Whoops..." Applejack said "I didn’t realise we’d brought an extra guest!"

"She must have snuck into the basket while we were opening the portal!" Discord shook his head "easily remedied!"

He wrote out a quick letter, opened a portal and threw it in. "That'll get to them!"

While they waited, Girder and the other workers got their first glimpse at an Umbrum pony aside from Sombra.

"Aww, she’s adorable!" one mare cooed.

"Tiny little thing ain’t she?" one stallion smiled. "reminds me of my daughter."

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Excel nearly fainted in relief when she got the letter. She wrote back, asking Discord to please bring the errant little pony back with him on his return, which Discord said was easy!

"Well, your ‘Excel’ isn’t mad. She knows firefly will be safe with her ‘Fini’." Discord told Sombra, who flushed, but looked relieved.

Firefly made sure to sneak a picture of Sombra's new cutie mark to take back with her, as well as a load of pictures of the half-built houses and the ponies working on them!

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Pinkie Pie took over the kitchen and began baking cakes at an exponential rate. Twilight Sparkle and Discord helped with their magic, and Rarity set about decorating the somewhat plain room with flowers (fake ones that'd last the time), tablecloths and even a picture or two.

"Really, Rarity?" Applejack asked. Although she had to admit it was tasteful, not too overblown.

"Well, seemed like it needed cheering up!" Rarity beamed, before bounding off to fetch the cute-cinera decorations, a chuckling AJ not far behind.

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They all congregated in the dining hall, making it pretty crowded. Thankfully the kitchen was in a separate building next door or Pinkie Pie wouldn’t have had much space to whoosh around in!

"OK everypony!" Pinkie Pie bounded out with the last of the trays, setting it down on the last bit of free table space "let the Cutie mark-y party begin!"

A massive cheer rang out and Pinkie Pie beamed up at Sombra, who returned her smile. He'd never had a party like this before...

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Sombra found himself caught up between the six girls and keeping an eye on little Firefly. He hadn’t had much time to talk to Discord so far, which bothered him a little.

Thankfully he got his chance later on, midway through the crazy celebration. He volunteered to go next door to the kitchen to fetch the next tray of cakes. As he set the last oven tray down and looked around for the other trays to stack them on, one appeared hovering to his right side.

"Ah, thanks." He caught on who was holding it and smiled.

"She certainly knows how to throw a big party, that little pink ball of energy..." Discord burped modestly, making Sombra raise an eyebrow. "It's appreciation for the chef!" the Draconequus objected.

Sombra laughed, setting the tray down and starting on stacking the cakes. He set the last one down and went to get the second tray. Discord saw him wince as he set the final cake on the second tray.

"It's nothing," Sombra shook his head. "The wing's just hurting is all. If I’m lucky, it'll heal fast and I’ll be able to get back to work..."

"You seemed surprised about the cutie mark in your letter." Discord got straight to the point.

Sombra stared at the cakes a moment more, then finally looked up at him. He LOOKED genuinely baffled.

"I WAS. I hadn’t thought about cutie marks since I was a child! I'd long since accepted that since Umbrum had never had them, that I'D never have one. It seems this "Infinitum" position comes with the oddest ability to alter not just my form, but everypony's. Explains the whole immunity occurrence."

"So what changed your mind about cutie marks?" Discord asked, watching Sombra's expression.

The stallion frowned, staring down at the tiled kitchen floor, looking genuinely perplexed.

"Well, I’m not sure. It wasn’t even on my mind."

Discord floated upside down so he could see eye-to-eye with Sombra as he continued to peer at the floor, mind whirring away.

"So what was?" he asked. Sombra's ears dipped slightly, and he went slightly red.

"I let my concerns over my whole job get to me. I told the doctor about the wing incident as he was re-bandaging the broken one." he gestured to the still healing appendage.

"And?" Discord prodded, namely Sombra's nose, making the pony go cross-eyed for a moment.

"And it turned out the rest of the sleeping quarters occupants had finished dinner and come back in. They heard the whole story."

"Awkward, hmmm?" Discord guessed. He was starting to get dizzy from hovering upside down, but dismissed it for now. It was almost pleasant in a way...

"That’s it in a nutshell," Sombra blinked up at him at last. "Your face is going red. Are you OK?"

"Yes yes, just most of my blood relocating is all....hup!" Discord flipped himself the right way up, and nearly face-planted. Sombra's magic stopped an altercation between him and floor and set him upright.

"Aaand thank you kindly - " The Draconequus carried on " - now, how did a bunch of eavesdroppers lead to you getting a cutie mark? Were you letting your worry about how they view you get out of hand again?"

Sombra went red, right on cue. Glowering too.

"Gotcha," Discord grinned, tweaking the pony’s ears. "according to your mother I can read you like a book...a very silly one with.."

"...pictures and curse words?" Sombra finished, laughing softly.

"That’s the one!" Discord snickered.

"Yes.." Sombra sighed. "that’s exactly the case. Girder had spoken to me just that day about my trying to insist everypony NOT address me as royalty. It seemed that the Empire ponies most of all were concerned they’d be seen as disrespectful if they called me by name. I hadn’t realized it would bother them. I assumed having to refer to me with the same name they once feared would unsettle them."

"You mean ‘King Sombra’?" Discord said, seeing a subtle twitch flit across Sombra's body.

"Y-yes..." Sombra coughed, once again amazed at how blunt Discord could be. He envied him a little for that ease of speech.

"I'm still not sure how you and your fretting brought about a cutie mark?" Discord frowned. Sombra laughed very faintly.

"It - they caught me at my most vulnerable, something I always swore I'd avoid, lest it end up hurting me. But all they wanted to do was reassure me. They asked if they could have a moment to put forward some personal questions, and I let them." He sounded surprised yet proud by the fact he'd done it. It had been pretty overwhelming.

Discord didn't interrupt, just waited for Sombra to carry on.

"They asked for the tale behind the takeover, so I told it to them. All of it. They were startled to realise they’d probably run across me in my child form, but I’d been unrecognizable when I returned. When I finished explaining it all, many of them were...crying."

"Why?"

"I thought I’d scared them by telling such a depressing, bleak story. But before I could even get the words out fully, one stepped up and spoke for all of them, telling me to stop right there. They weren't crying from anger, or from fright of the tale. They were crying for events they’d never understood before. The reason WHY I became so vengeful and took over their home!"

His voice hitched, unheard by his own ears. "I didn’t understand, but they pretty much ordered me to stop carrying the guilt I’ve had for so long. I was afraid to, insisted I had to keep hold of it lest I make the same mistake, but they refused to accept that, stating they trusted it wouldn’t happen, they trusted me!" He smiled, still amazed by how different the reality had been from his own paranoid fears.

"Is this like that imaginary lynch mob you were on high alert for, when all the ponies wanted to do was talk to you?" Discord remembered something Sombra had brought up at the stadium.

Sombra nodded. He'd felt pretty silly when he'd finally realized.

"Hmmm?" Discord saw a slightly melancholy look in Sombra's eyes and tapped his nose to get his attention.

"Sorry." Sombra shook his head.

"Its nothing to worry about. Getting something that’s spent so much time on your mind, off of it, is always a little distracting. It's like giving up the habit of a lifetime. You’re going to feel lost for a bit. We’ve all been there. When I thought I’d lost Flutters for good after the Tirek incident, I was in much the same state. Imagine me moping about and getting weepy. There, now we're both guilty, feel any less silly yet?"

Sombra laughed, the gloom fading from his expression at the funny way Discord phrased it.

"So trust me, I know ALL about that bit! But I also know you’ll be the better for it once the storm passes!" Discord nodded.

"It was after that that the cutie mark came along," Sombra at last connected all these disjointed recollections. "When I realized everything you, my mother and even one of the guard had pointed out. I knew what I was doing, had done since becoming the Infinitum. I was just so caught up in making a good impression and not putting a hoof out of place, that I didn't realize they'd already made up their minds to trust me a second time. I was just running in circles and running myself into the ground in the process. Even Girder had seen right through my façade and insisted I relax and let the ponies address me as they wanted to."

"See? You’re doing grand." Discord scratched under the pony’s chin this time, making Sombra's expression shift to one of slightly blissed-out relaxation, before the pony gave him a reproachful look.

"Sorry, you ponies have funny little pressure points. I can’t help it!" Discord snickered. Sombra laughed, his expression brightening now that all that was off his chest.

"Bet you feel better now, hmmm?" Discord continued.

Sombra nodded, looking less embarrassed at dropping his guard with every time he managed to do it.

"Once you leave it behind, it won’t have the power to hurt you the same way. You should be able to focus on building relationships with the ponies around you. But by all accounts you've done well so far! Girder alone has enormous respect for you, seems he values a hard-working ethic, said it'll stand you in good stead once you officially take your throne. The doctor is amazed by what you've told him about your kind so far. He and Twilight Sparkle are thick as thieves out there! So I’d say alongside a cutie mark, you’ve another reason to be happy!"

Sombra looked at the cutie mark. "I guess the meaning of this is pretty clear, huh?"

"Crystal," Discord punned, grinning when Sombra rolled his eyes "Sorry. But yes, its very obvious. Like 'Tia and the others, you have the gifts of all three races, and the ability to understand each one as their monarch. If you ever needed further evidence being the Umbrum King is your destiny, it’s now tattooed on your side!"

Just then, the door to the kitchen was nudged open and Twilight Sparkle stuck her head in.

"There you two are!" she said in relief. "Pinkie Pie was convinced you’d gotten stuck in a time loop or a black hole, so I said I’d come find you."

"Whoopsies!" Discord hooted, then he and Sombra grabbed a tray of the cakes each and followed Twilight out the door.

"Pardon the delay, we were discussing the meaning behind the new cutie mark!" Discord said smoothly.

Twilight Sparkle nodded, smiling up at the pony bearing it. "Feel like you’re ready?"

“A lot more than the last time," Sombra answered. "A bit at a time I feel."

Twilight Sparkle understood. She'd taken a while to get used to being a princess. It was all so new when it finally sunk in, and she’d been scared stiff a few times of goofing it up!

"Oh!" Sombra looked up at Discord. "I forgot to ask...did you REALLY put a whoopee cushion on Celestia's throne?"

"Certainly did!" Discord snickered. "seeing a prissy Princess poot, albeit accidentally via cushion, was well worth the ire afterwards!"

Twilight Sparkle shook her head in despair.

"Luna laughed her backside off!” Discord sniggered. "from the look on Celestia's face, she couldn’t decide whether to strangle me or tell her sister to stop laughing! Lucky for me, Luna's giggles were closer to her..."

Sombra had to chuckle, it WAS funny. He'd enjoyed Discord's pranks when he'd been feeling low back in the earlier days.

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"There you are!!" Pinkie Pie bounced over as the trio entered the canteen. "What were you guys DOING in there?"

"Nothing!" Discord declared, pretending to look suspicious. Including wearing a fake moustache and glasses with comedy nose attached.

"Sorry about the delay," Sombra said to the pink pony, shaking his head at Discord's antics. "we ended up having a lengthy discussion and forgot about the time."

"Ah, a good old chin-wag of a natter? Gotcha!" Pinkie Pie grinned, then zoomed off again.

"Does she stop?" Sombra asked Twilight Sparkle.

"Not that I’ve seen." Twilight Sparkle giggled "she’s permanently on maximum energy mode."

"Well, let’s get eating!" Discord nudged Sombra in the direction of the table "cake ahoy!"

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Firefly started yawning, being tuckered out by the party’s end. She stayed awake long enough to hug her Fini once more, then curled up in one of the baskets, whereupon Rarity wrapped her up in the blanket that'd been covering it.

"Wed better get back." Applejack said reluctantly, as the party wound down.

Although sad to see them go, Sombra knew there was work to do before day’s end.

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"Its been wonderful to see you all," Sombra smiled as they all stood outside, with Discord preparing to open the portal. "and thank you for the party, I haven’t experienced anything like that since my early years."

"Well I’m always having parties, just give me a reason and I'll give you a party!" Pinkie Pie vowed.

The others all promised to visit again, and they looked forward to hearing about the kingdom's progress as it came together!

One by one they hopped into the portal, Twilight Sparkle carrying a basket containing a fast asleep Firefly.

Before he dove in after them, Discord gave Sombra one last lung-crushing bear hug, patted him on the head and shot off cackling gleefully. Sombra laughed as the portal closed.

"He's totally loopy!" he sniggered. But the Draconequus DID make him laugh more than anything else. He was comprised of 90% nonsense, it seemed.

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That night Sombra fell asleep in an instant, wishing his wing would heal already so he'd be back to work soon.

In the dark of the sleeping area, a small spark darted over the bandaged wing, followed by several more that sank into the bandages. Sombra shifted in his sleep, but didn't stir.

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He woke up the next morning feeling better, surprised to discover it didn’t feel as sore and achy as yesterday. Deciding another round of painkillers was unnecessary, he set off outside so he could help Girder with the supervisory duties.

He was sent to keep an eye on the team building the latest set of houses. He'd been on a little tour of the first completed ones, and couldn’t express enough delight at how wonderful they were. He'd trotted through the high ceilinged rooms, seeing the faithfully recreated style Lady Umbra had described to him, along with the images Excel had sent over.

Girder had been extremely pleased, delighted to see the King was satisfied with the work.

Sombra glanced over at the finished homes once more, feeling a nudge of pride at his heart. Soon his ponies would fill these houses, decorate them, their laughter filling the halls and rooms. He could hardly wait.

"We're finished, your Highness!" a pony’s voice caught his ear and he turned, seeing three of them peering at him.

"Ah, sorry. I was miles away, just admiring the work you've all been doing!" Sombra gestured to the houses. The ponies beamed, relieved he hadn’t been spacing out because of his title any more.

"You should be just as proud yourself, Sire," another pointed out. "you helped us lay the foundations for many of them!"

"Yeah, and the brickwork!" another added.

Sombra remembered that day, when he'd realized how hard it was to clean grout and bits of cement off yourself! The lessons on how to do it though had been the most entertaining part, with Girder saying he'd have a career in construction if he ever got bored of being a King!

It was a windy day, and Sombra wore Rainbow Dash's goggles atop his head, keeping his mane free. He remembered the pony attached to the gift and wondered how she was doing.

"Right," he said, shifting his attention to the clipboard in front of him. As he scanned over it, the wing wrapped in supports began to itch. He made an annoyed grunting sound, gnawing lightly at it with his sharp teeth, uttering a muffled, annoyed growl as he did so.

"It’s nothing," he smiled, straightening up when he seen several curious looks being sent his way "seems the feathery whatsits don't like being cooped up, even more so than last time! The itching is driving me batty!"

He handed out the group’s next assignments, requesting them to take a break before doing any more work. As they filed away, chattering, he looked around for something he could do. Ah, there! He spotted some pipes he could move closer to the place they were needed, and focused his magic...

The pipes made it over to the spot before he suddenly felt his magic sputter and cut off. He gave a cry, the pipes clanging to the ground as the world pitched alarmingly. He braced his legs, breath catching in his throat.

"Sire! Are you alright?" a concerned junior foreman came running over, two of his own team in pursuit.

"I..." Sombra felt dizzy, but it was gradually wearing off.

"I'll fetch the doctor!" Another said, making to run off, but Sombra shook his head.

"It's alright, I'm sure it is nothing to bother him over. My magic just seems depleted today. I’m unsure why. I'm OK now, truly."

"You still should go see the Doc," the junior foreman said worriedly. “just in case, your Majesty.”

Sombra shook his head, but the foreman was concerned the King would fall ill. Like Girder, he considered it his responsibility as a junior foreman to look after the royal pony. Sombra was an excellent worker, but it’d been noted he sometimes OVERWORKED himself.

At last Sombra agreed to pop in and see the doctor.

"Alright. If the team returns, could you let them know I’m taking a quick break? I don’t want to alarm them," Sombra asked. The junior foreman nodded, then the King turned and trotted away.

"He’s pushing himself pretty hard on this whole thing. I know he's tough as nails, but he needs to care for himself more." the junior foreman mused. The other two nodded.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The doctor looked up as Sombra trotted into the clinic.

"Your Highness!" The medic gave a bow. "Is everything alright?"

“Yes and no." Sombra gave a dry laugh. "I had a bit of a glitch with my magic. It cut off suddenly, and the next thing I know I’m feeling dizzy."

"Oh my," the doctor frowned. "well, I'll give you a check-up, see if anything is wrong physically. Sit yourself down there," he indicated a nearby chair, and the Alicorn happily took the weight off his hooves for a bit.

The doctor noted Sombra's heartbeat was a bit erratic, but that was likely due to the dizzy fit. He sounded fine otherwise, showed no signs of raised temperature of sickness.

"Well you're fit as a fiddle your majesty - "

"But the shape of a cello!" Sombra put in, making the doctor do a double-take and snort with laughter.

" - and I cannot see anything wrong, least of all your weight." The doctor shook his head "The workers sense of humour is clearly a big influence on your Majesty. That's the first time I’ve heard you make such a ludicrous joke!"

"Sorry, I regret that I could not stop myself," Sombra chuckled apologetically.

"While you're here, I’ll check that wing of yours."

“Please do," Sombra said in relief. "it has been itching all morning!"

"Does that explain the teeth marks in the bandages?" the doctor asked. Sombra grinned sheepishly.

"Normally such discomfort is a sure sign of healing." the doctor added, as he carefully unwound the bandages.

He very gently ran his hooves over the wing, but noted no wincing or sounds of pain from the King.

"Is it hurting at all, your Majesty?" he asked. Sombra shook his head.

"One moment..." The doctor trotted away and returned with an unusual machine. It resembled two panes of black glass held apart by brackets. Woven into the glass were spell markings. He put on a set of goggles, and motioned Sombra to lower the specially tinted ones Rainbow had given him.

The device was powered by a small crystal that unicorn magic routinely recharged. The doctor pressed a button on it, and it emitted a flash of very bright light.

He freed Sombra's wing from the box's hold, and held up the box, studying the picture temporarily burnt into it showing the bone structure inside the wing.

"What it is?" Sombra asked. The doc set it down, turning to his baffled patient with a raised eyebrow.

"You’re not going to believe it, your Highness, but it’s HEALED. Fully."

"Seriously?" Sombra stared at the partly uncurled wing.

"Extend it out to full size, your Highness." The Doctor said. Sombra did as instructed, feeling only minor cramp pains, as the wings stretched for the first time in days.

He gave it a light flap, but there was no pain.

"How..?" he asked.

"I think we’ve solved the mystery of where your magic went!" The Doctor studied Sombra in amazement. "Somehow you diverted it to repairing your wing. That’s the only explanation that makes sense."

“Well, after the fun of yesterday’s party, I did sincerely wish it would get better so I could resume helping with the construction work," Sombra said in bewilderment. "Is this the ability of the Infinitum form? It’s more than a coincidence now. First my wings healed in days after that spell backfired, now this!"

"It seems you have a control over your magic many unicorns would envy!" The doctor looked around for his notebook and began writing this all down. After several seconds studious scribbling, he realised Sombra was out of his chair and peering at the notebook. He realized he hadn’t gotten round to actually ASKING the King about a certain idea he had.

He shut the book and hid it behind his back before realizing: a) rude and b) pointless. The King had already seen it.

But Sombra just smiled gently.

"Whatever it is, I will not berate you for it. You mentioned before your desire to study the Umbrum physiology and capabilities. If you recall, I said I didn’t mind at all and I don’t bite. The fangs are just for show."

The Doctor flushed, it was true his Highness had told him that. So he decided to finally ask the King the favor he'd been sitting on for days!

"Well, I have a request, your Majesty. I would like to write a paper for the medical journals. Studying an entirely new species is an honour for someone in my profession..."

"Is that what's bothering you?" Sombra blinked. "I see no problem with that whatsoever. I'd be honoured to help you. Even I lack total knowledge about my kind, so anything new that can be learned would be beneficial to myself and my ponies."

"Your highness - ! Thank you!" The doctor gave a grateful bow, sighing in relief.

He showed the book to Sombra now, and the royal pony saw how he'd drawn rough diagrams of the Alicorn's wingspan, guessing at the measurements. Sombra suggested he get accurate numbers since he was here now, and patiently sat there while the doctor measured his wings, making notes all the while.

"Fascinating wingspan. It's very broad. I'd liken it to Princess Celestia's!" He looked happily absorbed in his work and Sombra was reluctant to break his concentration, asking if he was fit to go back to work.

"Everything checks out just fine, your Highness. You’re good to go. Just take care is all I can suggest."

Sombra nodded, before trotting happily out the door.

"Astounding," the Doctor shook his head.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Girder turned from talking to Sombra's group, as he heard the stallion’s voice.

"Your Highn - " he cut off as he spotted Sombra had BOTH wings raised.

"Its fixed!" Sombra looked immensely pleased. "The Doctor realised why I got dizzy. Why my magic was so depleted. Seems it diverted to finishing fixing my wing overnight!"

Jaws dropped collectively.

"Well, your Highness, that’s fantastic news!" Girder said at last. "does this mean I’m free to hijack you for good old manual labor?"

"All the doctor said was to take care, works is a go!" Sombra grinned. It was a relief to finally be free of the bandage’s restraints.

"Well for today, continue as instructed, tomorrow we'll have you back on one of the crews!" Girder wrote some notes on his clipboard.

Sombra nodded, resuming command of the group he was overseeing. They noticed his spirits seemed lifted with the return of his wings to full function.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That night, once dinner had been scarfed, Sombra sat in his little sectioned-off sleeping area going through the wing therapy exercises once more, easing out the stiffness in his wing joints.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He was up before the bell rang in the morning, sneaking past the rows of snoozing ponies and outside.

He set the goggles atop his head, staring up at the cloudy grey sky as he spread his wings. His cloak billowed around him as he took off, feeling the air beneath his wings once more. He felt an intense relief, realising his days of hiding the things were likely over. He liked being able to fly. It let him feel free...

He saw the skeletons of the houses below and couldn’t resist giving himself a test. He didn’t hear the wake up bell clanging as he zoomed down...

His focus narrowed as he shot between the support beams and foundation struts. He tucked his wings in then snapped them out again in rapid movements, weaving between the gap. He even pulled off a barrel roll.

Clearing the last frame he shot back up, wings fanning out and holding him there a moment, before he angled towards the ground, never slowing down. Heart pounding in exhilaration, he landed on the ground, executing a precise turn and stopping so he was facing the pathway towards the canteen.

Applause suddenly shattered the silence of the morning and he jumped a mile, wings going POMF! Wide-eyed, he took in the small crowd that was lining the street.

--Ah, I clearly underestimated how much time I had.-- he coughed awkwardly, realizing he'd just been caught showing off. But he grinned nonetheless and did a silly bow to the crowd, which made them laugh!

"Impressive display, your Majesty!" Girder had to chuckle at Sombra's reaction. He was easing off the formal attitude, actually developing a sense of humour it would seem.

"I thought it prudent to check that the wings were functioning. I guess I got carried away." Sombra coughed, lowering them to his sides.

"Nothing to worry about, your Highness!" Girder nodded at the fluffy grey wings. "ready to get stuck in to work?"

A smile and a nod from the fully recovered King.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Girder gave him his orders, and Sombra happily trotted away to join the work crew he'd been placed with. He was careful to take care now, not wanting to get hurt again.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was another day of fun involving cement, hard work and the learning of several new rude jokes courtesy of his co-workers. The boots Applejack had made him came in doubly handy as he stepped carefully around the busy build spot.

As he leant down to check the latest section of wall, his mane fell into his face again, the goggles not enough to keep it back. Glancing about, he spotted a section of torn tarp, snagged it and used it as a makeshift hair tie, pinning his ever-shifting ebony black mane back in a ponytail.

He made for an interesting sight. Wearing work boots with his fancy mane tied back, he resembled any other hard-working pony, but the considerable wingspan and polite manner of speaking gave away his royal status, although as the doctor had mentioned, the workers were influencing the curious King, teaching him an entire litany of euphemisms, slang and odd phrases.

The cramped muscles and long, deep sleep returned as soon as the work did, and Sombra soon settled back into his routine, pushing himself to do more work than ever before with each passing day. It made him smile every time he looked over at the first finished houses, which he'd described in his letters to his friends and the Umbrum.

--Soon, this will be their - no OUR home.-- he turned back to his task, humming softly.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning there was a new letter waiting for him, and his eyebrows raised as he read the contents. Excel was coming to see him before the royal visit? Her letter detailed she'd be coming in on the supply train much as he had done, and she'd be bringing his crown with her!

He was distracted from the letter as he heard the bell clanging to signal breakfast and raced outside, the chill of the morning air waking him up sharpish.

He mentioned to Girder about the latest letter, and the head foreman said they’d have time to discuss it after the shift was over, which suited Sombra fine.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sombra hadn’t been back to the cave since that awful day, since the fight with the mutated Timberwolf. He didn’t expect to either, but fate had a funny way of messing things about for the King.

While Sombra was up to his flank in cement, steel beams and various other heavy duty tasks, one lone worker was finishing up a check on the latest cave tunnel. So far, so good.

He'd sent the rest of his team home, resolving to just make a few more notes, then he'd go himself. But as he was preparing to leave, he heard something. A faint humming. Pricking his ears, he crept closer, ducking under the tape strung across the tunnel, fixated on the noise.

What the supervisor pony found was a shard of pinkish crystal shining very faintly. He didn’t feel the cave rumble softly around him as he reached out to it. As soon as he touched it, a pulse of power spread out, making the walls shake.

Snapping out of his daze, the worker turned to run, but was instead knocked back as he bumped into a chunk of rock, disturbed by the pulse. More followed, and he back-pedalled frantically, getting away from the cave in as fast as possible. One struck his left hind leg, pinning him there.

As the dust settled, his vision swam and he collapsed, too dizzy to cry out.

Thus he heard nothing when his team checked the caves later on, bellowing his name even as he lay trapped in both rock and sleep.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After a period of time lost in a haze of darkness and shadows in his sleep, he came to, only to realize what had happened. His heart sank as he realized he was trapped. He tried to shout, but got the feeling it was useless. How much time had passed?

His eye was once again drawn to the crystal and he picked it up, cradling it fearfully. He tried yelling again, having found a fissure in the cave wall. But would anypony hear him?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sombra trotted back towards the canteen, satisfied he'd finished enough tasks for the day when he saw a bunch of workers huddling together, exchanging urgent glances and anxious whispers.

"We gotta go check.."

"He can’t still be out there. Maybe this is like one of those slapstick plays where we just keep missing seeing him?!"

"It's going to get dark soon, and the snows really picking up, what if he - "

"Is everything alright?" Sombra chanced asking. They looked round, and upon seeing the concerned King, they knew this was a good pony to ask for help from.

"Your highness we - we can’t find our supervisor. His name’s Alan Key. He was supposed to be right behind us, but he hasn't come back."

Sombra frowned "Where was he last seen?"

"He was in the caves. the pony winced as he said it, recalling how Sombra had reacted after being near the cave last time. True enough, the King went a few shades paler, looking unsettled for a moment, before he shook his head slightly, gaze sharpening as he tried to think what could’ve happened.

"Let's find Girder," he said at last. "there can’t be many places he could go."

"We checked the cave, he's not in there. The place is silent as the grave."

Sombra frowned. "I can think of no good reason why he'd wander outside of the borders. From the brief time I spent lost out there after the fight, it's naught but a big, empty expanse."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Girder was very concerned to hear one of his men had gone missing. He split them all up into search teams and the workforce spread out to look for him.

Sombra took to the skies, using his magic to generate a brilliant red light around his horn to guide the others as he flew through the snow. But no matter how many times he combed the area bordering the site, there was no sign of the missing pony. Concern gnawed at his gut. Where could he BE?

"Its getting late." Girder looked up at Sombra as he touched down, hearing the concern in the King's voice.

"Alright, we’ve got snow coming in, so we'll need everypony together. We'll do a search spreading out from the borders in a circle." Girder looked through supplies. "only problem we have is we haven't got many of those flares left."

Sombra frowned, then had an idea. "Of course! Beacons!"

He took in the baffled expressions and closed his eyes. The ground at his feet bubbled, then a dusky grey crystal formed. The crystal ponies tilted their heads curiously, recognizing these crystals. Sombra wasn't done however, as the crystal turned from grey to red, emitting a faint light.

As Girder opened his mouth to ask what this had to do with the search and rescue, Sombra finished the spell. The crystal shot out a big beam of glaring red light that extended far up into the sky.

"I can set up more of these. They'll stay on for as long as I fuel them." Sombra explained.

There was silence, then one of the junior foreman asked. "how many could you create, your Majesty?"

"Quite a few," Sombra smiled. "My magic has more than fully recovered itself."

They poured over a map, the other ponies watching as Sombra listened to what Girder was saying, then nodded.

Sombra unfolded his wings, stretching them out before taking off into the sky. He flew up enough until he could see the big layout to the still growing empire. He closed his eyes, magic surrounding him in a swirling ball, then it dispersed in dozens of bright flares. They hit the outskirts and shot directly outwards, placing every set distance in straight lines off into the distance. The first one he'd created flashed, and a line of light ran from it in every direction to connect to the others.

"Well, that solves THAT then," Somepony remarked as Sombra flapped his wings and descended back down to earth.

"How will they stay on?" Somepony asked.

I've linked them all to this main one," Sombra explained. "And that in turn is feeding from my magic."

Girder analyzed all this and spoke. "In that case, I ask you remain here, Sire. If those beacons go out in this weather and you're out there with us..."

Sombra nodded. "We'll all be stuck. Very well, I will remain here."

"Thank you, your Highness. I hope we will find him fast."

Sombra had one more idea. He created a set of scrolls which had spells linking to them so a message written on one appeared on the others. These were given to the heads of the different teams. The master scroll remained with him, so he would receive all updates and be able to respond if needed.

Sombra sat down on the snowy pavement, watching everypony else be swallowed up by the snow as they left the outer edges of the fledgling empire.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He paced back and forth, somewhat regretting his agreeing to stay with the crystals. Although the beacons undeniably helped protect those out there, he felt so USELESS just pacing about or sitting on his backside.

He'd worn a set of deep tracks into the snow, when a line on the master scroll he held said "Heard a voice."

"Any luck?" he sent back. Had they...?

Another painful wait elapsed then, "Afraid not ‘Sire, we've found no sign of him."

Sombra looked up at the sky. Soon the sun would set and then they'd be in trouble.

He growled worriedly, pacing again. Something was gnawing at his mind. They'd heard a voice? But no sign of a body?

He re-read what the messages said, tracing the communiqué back to an area not far from that cave the Timberwolf had resided in, but that didn't help him any.

"How come they did not find any sign of him?" he mused. They had heard the sound.

His ears pricked as he thought he heard something himself, only to realise it was just the wind howling round the buildings. His mind was playing tricks on him. He sighed, shoulders slumping in disappointment. Then it hit him.

What if....?

They'd heard a voice, but not found the missing stallion. What if he was trapped somewhere with a gap to allow sound through? Like the crevasse in the cave where Scorpan had held him. He shuddered uneasily, but pushed it aside.

He ran off, mind going a dozen miles an hour. He reached the part of the growing town that led towards the cave.

What if they’d heard a voice that seemed to come from outside, and the pony was trapped inside?

"Did anypony check the caves?" he sent the message and waited.

"Yes ‘Sire, we went there first. When he didn't come back, we went and checked. It's empty."

He hesitated, wondering if he was imagining things himself. He prepared to write a message back saying he was sure the caves needed a second check and could somepony return? Ideally from the ARSE (Attack and Recon Search Effort) teams. But a sharp gust of wind tore the paper from his magic's hold, and near tore the breath from his lungs, such was its strength. Sombra coughed, getting his breath back, but the scroll was a goner.

"Oh, buck me," he said softly.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He trotted onwards, seeing the cave up ahead. His chest tightened, fear gripping his heart like a vice.

His wings fluffed up, trying to wrap themselves around him. Guided by his subconscious, they desperately sought to comfort him, stop him going any further in.

"If he's in there," Sombra whispered "I can’t just run!"

The wings re-tightened their grip around him, making it hard to breath through the feathers as they acted on his internal fears, trying to block his sight so he couldn’t move further.

--An innocent life is at stake. Even if I COULD fly out and find them, what if they're too far away now?--

Without the scroll and its spell, he was cut off. He couldn’t wait.

"Stop that!" He ordered the wings, some strength returning to his voice. They shivered, before finally obeying his order to fold back down. Once they did he felt like he was able to breathe a little easier. He took a step towards the cave, unable to stop himself from looking up as the entrance loomed over him. His pulse pounded so loudly in his ears he was afraid he'd gone deaf.

Every bit of him screamed objections as he tried to lift a single hoof. His ears flattened back against his head. He was feeling faintly sick.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Had enough?" Scorpan's voice seared Sombra's ears as he lay curled up on the cold, damp ground. His chest was bruised from the latest attack. He'd once more refused to willingly give his magic to Scorpan, so the gargoyle had taken to aiming for his ribcage this time.

"Nobody’s going to save you, you know that!" Scorpan laughed at the captive pony. "The princesses would sooner see you dead and that empire you tried to overtake will not tolerate your existence. Face it, your only choice is to surrender to ME. Give me your magic, and I can make this pain end!"

For one brief moment Sombra wondered if maybe, just maybe, he could bid this misery goodbye. But deep at heart, he knew Scorpan's actions were much like his own. He was prepared to do anything to get what he wanted. Promises and threats went hoof-in-hoof with each other.

A long forgotten spark of decency had been born amidst the torture, and each attack only stoked the tiny spark into becoming a flame. It grew a little as Sombra regarded the insane jailer in front of him.

"You..." He rasped "can go buck yourself!"

Scorpan's fractured smile gave way to a snarl of hate, and his clawed hands locked around the pony’s neck once more. Sombra struggled, but Scorpan dragged things one step further by lifting the pony off the ground just enough so that his hind legs (hind LEG, if you ignored the badly broken one), just touched the ground enough to support his weight. If he struggled, he'd injure himself even more.

Sombra pawed frantically at the arms holding him, Scorpan's laughter echoing in his ears as he struggled to breathe.

Just as he was about to black out, Scorpan dropped him. He laughed as he watched Sombra curl up as best as the chains would allow him. The pony's pained coughing muffled somewhat, as his breathed in enough to make the room stop spinning.

"I look forward to making those princesses pay for what they did to my brother.." he laughed, grabbing the chain linked to Sombra's neck collar, and tugging it so the pony had no choice but to meet his eyes. "You’re a practice dummy for what I’ll do to THEM. You’re a pony, thus you deserve to suffer. Umbrum means nothing to me, save for freedom for my brother!"

Sombra stayed silent, meeting Scorpan's gaze defiantly, even as his tormentor raised the all-too-familiar amulet, and the sensation of magic being stripped from his body began once again..

When the gut wrenching pain faded to bearable levels, he was allowed to crumple to the floor.

"You’re a monster," Scorpan laughed. "There's nopony out there to save you. The sooner you give up this fragile hope, the better you’ll feel." he laughed mockingly as his footsteps faded away down the corridor…

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--NO!-- Sombra yelled at himself, shaking his head -- that's all past now. Scorpan is gone. The scars are gone, at least on the outside. I'm not alone. --

He took deep breaths as he set the first hoof inside the cave’s entrance. He refused to listen to his panic, just taking one step after another until he was inside, the pitch darkness flowing around him.

He lit his horn up as bright as he could, the bright purple light throwing the walls into sharp detail, shadows flickering over the uneven walls and ground as he trekked onwards.

At last he reached that cave room where he'd bolted from originally. His light flickered over the piles of pickaxes, and his head pounded. He forced another deep breath and closed his eyes, listening for something, anything!

"HELLO?" He tried yelling next, his naturally deep voice creating a massive echo. "ANYPONY HERE?"

He waited, holding his breath, hopes sinking. His mind screamed at him to vacate; the rock seemed to press in on him. His coat was starting to dampen with an uneasy sweat, and a cold draft of air made him shiver.

There. It was faint, but he heard a dry, hoarse voice just off the edge of his senses.

But he could hear which way it was coming from and that was more than he'd had before! He set off down the tunnel, focusing on finding this pony, battling the sense of the cave pressing in on him, of memories regarding Scorpan. Heavy footsteps pounding down halls much like these, flickering candlelight his only comfort in the stretches between interrogations.

"Hay?" he called. He heard it again, closer now.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The trapped stallion, Alan Key, lifted his head as he heard a faint voice echoing round the caves. He pressed as close as he could to a gap in the collapsed rubble, shouting as loud as his strained throat would allow. He waited, straining to hear anything. Then the voice called again, closer this time. Relieved, he shouted back, and heard hoofsteps approaching.

"Oh thank Celestia!" he nearly cried as he heard the pony come to a halt on the other side of the collapse. "you have to get me out!"

"Don't worry, I will find a way to do so," the voice said calmly, although with a slight hitch in it, as if the owner was nervous.

Alan Key blinked, he was sure he recognised that voice. "Are you - ?"

"This is Sombra, yes.." the voice confirmed.

"How did you find me, your Highness?" Alan Key was from Princess Twilight's home of Ponyville, and had volunteered for the job after hearing the tale. He'd been a bit wary of Sombra when he realised the pony had joined the workforce, but he'd soon begun to respect him for the hard work he was putting in.

As the days had passed, he realised Sombra was really trying to put his past behind him, and build a new home for his race. When he wasn’t working, the King was often up to his eyeballs in books and drawings about his species former home, copying images for sculptors and builders to work from, ironing out any confusion, suggesting alternate ideas when some proved too difficult.

So Key had figured he'd let bygones be bygones, and had taken an opportunity to thank Sombra one day, after the pony stayed late to help him finish the task at hoof. Sombra had smiled happily, seeming pleased he'd been able to help. He still LOOKED fierce, but there was a kinder, more friendly edge to it now.

Bar that, he hadn’t spoken to him much. Sombra's strength and work drive were in high demand and the pony was often busy racing from one spot to the next.

"It is a long story, but I realized the voice the others heard outside in the process of their search could have come from in here, through cracks in the outer wall, since they were unable to locate your position - "

"Well I’m mighty glad you did, your Highness..." Alan Key sighed. "but how are you going to move the rubble? Without support, the ceiling could collapse even further."

Sombra sat down and frowned, puzzling it over.

"Support..." he muttered, then an idea struck him. What if if he used the Umbrum magic to create that crystal he'd used to build the throne during the parade? It was strong, and he could brace the walls as he removed the rocks. He informed Alan of this, who had to admit he was impressed.

"Sounds legit, your majesty, I - "

Alan Key looked up as the crack in the ceiling he'd been eyeing since waking up inched ever further inwards. "Please hurry!"

"Stay calm, I will be as fast as I can." Sombra assured him. He lifted the first hunk of rock, magic at the ready. He began fusing the top of the cave to the uppermost rubble, moving from the top to the sides. From there he centred on creating a hole in the rubble big enough to fit a pony through.

He could hear the trapped pony starting to panic, hear him pacing about.

"Your highness, the ceiling - "

I know." Sombra closed his eyes, increasing the radius of the support crystal. Alan Key relaxed a little as he seen the spell catch up with the crack in the ceiling.

"That’s great," he said shakily, trying to keep calm. "it's slowed for now."

"Alright." Sombra's voice was a little louder now, as more rubble shifted. "Pardon me for being intrusive, but where are you from? Your accent reminds me of somepony."

“I'm from Ponyville, your Highness." Key got the feeling Sombra was trying to distract him so he wouldn't panic and was grateful for the ruse.

"Ah, Ponyville! Princess Twilight Sparkle's home. She has told me much about it. I hope at some point in the future I may get to visit it..."

"Its a lovely place. I think you'd like it there!"

“If I do not startle the residents?" Sombra chuckled absently.

"Nah, the newspapers plus the Princess' meetings in town hall have made the whole story pretty clear. Plus I heard the whole story from yourself that evening in the sleeping quarters."

"Ah yes," Sombra smiled faintly to himself. "it felt somewhat liberating to finally speak of such matters."

Alan thought he sounded sad, yet relieved, and was reminded of how Sombra had been tormenting himself as punishment all this time.

"We appreciate your honesty, your Highness. The mark of a good pony, I believe, when you can trust others with the worst of yourself."

This made Sombra think, then smile a little. "That’s good to know," he said gratefully.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next bit of rock he shifted revealed a small hole. Alan Key ran over, putting his face up to it, the fresher air from the cave a welcome relief. The glow from Sombra's magic lit the dark around him, letting him see at last.

"Just a little more." Sombra promised. Alan Key nodded, moving back as Sombra dislodged a few more rocks, propping the exit up with slender pillars of crystal. At last Alan estimated it was big enough for him to fit through.

"Stop there, your Highness," he instructed "that'll be enough."

Sombra nodded, feeding one hoof through to help pull the pony up. Once he had enough grip, a shaken, scratched and exhausted stallion at last escaped his prison. Sombra helped him sit, asking if he was hurt.

"A few knocks and bruises, my left hind leg hurts..."

Sombra peered at it in the diffuse purple light. "I don't know any first aid," he apologized. "but we'll get you right to the doctor's."

He saw Alan Key was shivering and removed his cloak, wrapping it around him.

"Can you walk?" he asked Alan Key next. The pony did TRY, but shock and an injured leg meant he couldn't hobble very far.

"Ah-! I'm sorry your highness..."

“No reason to worry. We're getting out of here right this second. Climb up."

As Sombra spoke, he sat down, wings lowered. Alan Key realised the stallion was indicating he'd carry him. He was too shaken and hurt to object, or even ask if his weight would be a bother to the bigger pony. So he did as instructed, setting himself atop the King’s back. The big fluffy wings folded up at an angle that they overlapped each other in a loose x shape, both keeping him warm and stopping him from falling.

Sombra got to his hooves and started walking down the cave tunnel, the purple light showing the way back.

Snug and warm, Alan Key drowsily admired the massive wings. They were very soft. Compared to how cold that cave had been, this was bliss. He noticed though, that Sombra's ears were flattened down, shivering a little. His coat was damp and cold to the touch, as he found out when he experimentally poked the back of the stallion’s neck. This made Sombra stop and peer round at him, perplexed.

"Are you OK, your Highness?" Alan asked.

"Y-yes, of course, I’m fine." Sombra lied, but there was no denying he wanted out of this cave ASAP. The whole time he'd been working on freeing the pony, his heart had been pounding painfully rapidly, as every sound seemed amplified and the chill of the cold cave crept into his bones, like it had before.

"Wait." A titbit of information returned to Alan Key’s memory. "your Majesty, wasn’t a cave - ?"

"I am not fond of them, no." Sombra swallowed the unease, turning to face forward again. "a worse prison I could not imagine."

Those shaky words cemented Alan Key’s assumptions. Sombra was scared of the cave because of the way he'd been held prisoner, wasn’t he?

"We'll get out of here, and this will be over..." Sombra forced out, speaking for both of them in a way.

As he was about to say something to Sombra, Key’s ears pricked up. He heard something and whispered Sombra to stop.

"What is it?" Sombra asked.

The fracture, I think it's spreading. Your Highness, RUN!"

Sombra took off, the wings keeping his passenger in place. they shot past the various signs as Sombra picked up speed. They pelted out into the main cavern as the collapse hit the ground behind them, and only then did they stop and look back. It mercifully came to a halt there, leaving the silence ringing around them.

"I think we're clear." Alan Key felt his head spin with relief as they stood there.

Sombra nodded, but as he turned to carry on, his hoof disturbed a stack of equipment, causing several loud clangs to ricochet around the cave. This sound was matched in volume by his own panicked cry as he stumbled backwards. His heart pounded and he struggled to steady his breathing.

Lying atop his back, Alan Key could feel the panic hitting the King's body, making the wings shiver. He felt every well-toned muscle in the stallion's body go tense, almost painfully so. It hit him how scared Sombra had to be, yet he'd come in here to rescue him.

"I'm OK," Sombra said shakily as his passenger asked after him. "I-it's nothing. Let's go!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He all but bolted for the outside where at last the cold air and rapidly darkening sky met them.

"Its getting dark!" Alan Key panicked.

"No worries..." Sombra fixed on the beacons. "We'll get there!"

Eager to leave the cave behind, he took off running. Alan Key clung on as tightly as he could. Tucked under one foreleg was the crystal. He hadn't been able to leave it behind.

Sombra raced through the snow, eyes fixed on the beacons he'd sent up. Soon the outskirts were in sight. Sombra headed for the centre of town, where he could see Girder and many others.

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Girder turned as he heard a familiar voice. He seen Sombra pelting towards him, before coming to a skidding halt.

"Your Highness - " he cut off as he realized who Sombra was carrying. "Oh thank Celestia - "

Alan Key's friends gathered around, looking relieved to the point of tears to see him alive.

"Bring him to the canteen right away! Somepony go set the fire!" Girder ordered. Sombra ran for the canteen, the others in tow.

The doctor met them there carrying blankets and any equipment he needed.

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He helped the patient stumble down from Sombra's back and sat him down by the fire, keeping the King's cloak wrapped around him. Sombra stood, wings folding to his side, stepping back to allow the rescued pony’s friends gather around.

His ears were ringing, and he felt a bit dizzy. He slipped out amidst the fuss, feeling rather strange.

He drifted between the half-constructed buildings, head still in a fog.

Flashbacks of the two caves, the one from the nightmare past and the one he'd just ventured into melded together, and he imagined he felt the spectre of Scorpan looming over him -

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He longed for warmth. the cold of the stone floor hurt his battered body. His cloak was torn and bloodied, sticking painfully to the cuts on his flank and sides, remnants of angry, lashing claws.

He longed deep down, for a warm, kind touch. Even just a gentle hoof. But..wouldn’t it hurt?

Letting somepony close enough to touch meant they were close enough to hurt, so even though a part of him hungered for warmth and comfort, the terrified, injured part of him declared it too dangerous. Even if he did somehow get out of this, if a miracle could be spared for a freakish monster like him, where could he go? If he was discovered, he'd be brought before the empire and likely killed. He'd be trading one prison for another even if he escaped Scorpan's grasp.

Alone in the cloying, humid cave, he let out a frightened sob. He didn’t want to die, but what hope did his future hold? He'd never be found in this place, where only once a bird had visited him. Once Scorpan's brother was back, he'd no doubt be destroyed.

That was when he'd heard footsteps, and knew what was going to happen once more.

Scorpan mocked and laughed as his prisoner seen the hope of a release from his pain ripped away from him along with his power.

“I’m not done with you yet..." Scorpan had jeered as the torture at last came to an end, and he watched Sombra fight with the pain from his repeatedly broken leg. Then he'd left his captive to suffer once more.

That was the day the ponies and Discord had come for him.

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His stomach lurched painfully, and he took off at speed, darting past blurs that could've been ponies, or could’ve been pieces of construction equipment. The speed he was running at, anything was possible.

Reaching one of the outer borders that led onto the snow-drenched land beyond, he spotted a familiar variety of massive shrubbery and once more made a dive that would’ve made a hoof-ball player proud.

It hurt to be so violently sick, and his throat burned painfully, but there was nothing he could do to control it. As it had been the first time, he just waited until the tremors subsided and he could struggle free of the clinging shrub.

Barely three feet away and his legs went dead, plopping him onto the snow on his stomach. He shivered at the cold, but needed a moment to take a deep breath or three...

He closed his eyes, hearing his pulse pounding noisily in his ears. In an effort to chase away the memories, he allowed happier memories to flood his mind. Memories of Discord playing pranks on the guards in an effort to make Sombra laugh, make him stop moping. Messages that honked when he opened them. Flower Power doing her belch-powered rendition of the Crystal Empire's anthem. The first time a hug became bearable...

He felt his chest loosen up, and a faint laugh filled the cold empty air around him.

He'd just sat himself up, using a quick spell to brush the cold snow from his coat when he heard a voice calling out...

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Girder sighed in relief as the doctor confirmed Key would be alright. He was bruised, had a badly cut and sprained hoof and would need plenty of rest, but he'd be fine in time.

His friends were just as relieved to know their work buddy would be on the mend soon.

"Hay?" Girder spoke up, the trio of friends pausing to look over at him. "Has anypony seen his Highness?"

They all exchanged guilty looks. They'd been so focused on their friend, they'd forgotten about the stallion.

The doctor frowned. "Where is he likely to have gone?"

"I don't know," Girder turned to leave. "but I’m going to go search for him!"

Just as he got to the door, two ponies, a mare and a stallion, came running in.

"Oh thank Celestia, there you are!" The mare said on spotting Girder. "something weird just happened!"

The stallion nodded, continuing. "We were just securing the last of the diggers, when we hear what sounded like a stampede, and the next second, a big blur shot by us!"

"It was his Highness!" The mare looked concerned. "he looked pretty shook up, his ears were all the way down. Ponies doesn’t look like that unless they’re scared..."

She didn’t add in that even in the split second she'd seen him rounding the corner, there'd been tears in the pony's eyes. Something had happened that'd hit him HARD, enough to send him fleeing for the hills.

Girder was puzzled, struggling to work out what’d happened.

"What direction?" he asked at last.

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With the directions of Sombra's last known location (approximately), he ran off in search of him. He made a quick stop off in the sleeping quarters, in case Sombra had returned there. Sadly, no such luck, so he grabbed the blanket the King wrapped himself in at night.

"What’s going on boss? Why're you stealing that?" one of the junior foremen, asked with a snicker.

"I'm not stealing it, you butt-brain. Its owner has gone walkabouts since returning with the missing pony."

"His Highness is missing?" the pony asked. Heads turned at these words and Girder sighed.

"I didn’t say MISSING. He's just nowhere I know of! Chances are he probably went on a perimeter check, but it’s freezing out there and I need to get the details of the rescued pony for my report!"

As Girder left, the room broke out in murmurs, ponies wondering what had shaken Sombra up enough that he'd done a bunk. Whatever it was, it had to have been pretty bad...

Whispers about PTSD and trauma side effects ran around the room. Sombra's case was rumoured to have been a pretty bad one...

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Girder ran as fast as he could, a lantern held in his mouth. He glanced around, peering between the skeletons of the latest buildings. Then, as he was hesitantly scouting the edges, he caught a flash of flowing ebony mane.

--Thank goodness...-- he thought with a sigh, as he ran over.

Sombra was sitting staring into the distance, looking wiped out and pale. But as he got closer Girder noticed he didn't seem upset or in shock. Just lost in thought...

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"Your Majesty!!" Sombra jumped as he heard Girder’s yell. Turning, he saw the pony set the lantern down and trot over. With a flick of his head, the other stallion looped Sombra's blanket over the pony's back.

"Ah, thank you," Sombra said sluggishly, using his magic to tie it like a cloak. He studied the embroidered sun and moons on it, remembering the day Celestia gave it to him...

"Your Highness, what in Equestria are you doing out here? It’s freezing!" Girder asked.

"I apologize for any alarm, I...I needed some fresh air," Sombra smiled weakly. "I wanted a bit of breathing space and all the buildings felt too closed in."

Girder nodded, realizing it'd been a brief panic attack, hence why his Highness had fled out here. He'd calmed down by the looks of it, looking only slightly pale.

"Come back with me your highness. I’ll make you some coffee and we can talk," he offered.

Sombra nodded gratefully, getting to his hooves and trotting behind Girder as they headed back into the town, grateful the foreman had brought him the blanket. The cold was sinking in now he'd calmed down after the unfortunate dash to the bushes.

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"What were you doing out there, your Majesty?" Girder asked as he set cups of coffee down in front of himself and the royal stallion.

"Competing in the long-distance vomit Olympics," Sombra tried to joke, but the discomfort was obvious. Girder frowned as he worked this one out.

"You weren’t feeling well? Have you a stomach bug?"

"No, nothing like that, it-" Sombra shook his head, then sighed. "I was running AWAY, fool that I am."

"Running from WHAT, Sire?"

"My nightmares," Sombra sighed. "I dare say you're wondering where I found the missing pony?"

Girder wondered when his Highness was going to stop giving him the run around and make sense, but he humoured the seemingly dazed King. "I am, but I’m also curious as to why you stopped responding to the parchment spell?"

"Ah, yes. The scroll was torn out of my grasp by a strong wind when I ventured to the perimeter."

"Where were you?" Girder queried. Something gnawed at his mind, a faint idea that he KNEW now what'd caused the frenetic race for the bush of many uses.

Sombra swallowed uneasily, then confirmed Girders fears with three words; "At the cave..."

Silence followed.

"You found him in there?" Girder was stunned, recalling how Sombra had been in a bad state after going into that cave last time.

Sombra nodded.

"Why didn’t you fetch any of us, your Majesty?" He was genuinely concerned as he studied the tired pony.

"I...I don’t know how to explain it, but I felt if I turned my back and left, that pony would perish. It was getting dark, I didn’t think there was time. So I went in after him."

Girder nodded, understanding now.

"I have another question Sire, how did you think to check that cave?"

"In amongst the other statements on the scroll, one mentioned he'd heard a voice, very faint but there nonetheless. But when they scoured the area, there was no sign of anypony. I asked where it was..."

"...and the response was near the cave, right?" Girder filled in. Sombra nodded.

"I recalled how a fracture in the cave wall had led to my own rescue, and I concluded that that was how the voice had been heard and why they didn't find a body. I tried to contact you, but that was when the wind tore the scroll from my hooves. I panicked. I felt if I turned my back there and then, i'd be condemning him to perish. Somepony came to find ME when I was trapped in that nightmare. I’ve done enough to be ashamed of in my life, I didn’t want to add abandoning somepony because of my own fear to that list."

Sombra stared down at his hooves as he spoke, noticing a bunch of small cuts and scratches from the rough stones on the cave floor, left when he'd raced haphazardly over them in an effort to escape. "It seemed the tunnel had collapsed behind him, trapping him. Using Umbrum crystal to support the walls, I was able to get him out. We were just making our way out when he told me to run. The ceiling was giving way behind us. We barely made it out!"

"Sweet Celestia," Girder was a shade paler. "that was too close."

"Indeed," Sombra heaved a sigh and looked back up at Girder. "but that’s the whole story. After that I ran back here and you know the rest."

Girder nodded, setting down the pencil he was holding in his mouth as he finished his shorthand notes.

"Thank you, your Highness. That’s all I’ll be needing. I'll talk to Key once he's recovered. It doesn’t seem like he's sustained any severe injuries, nothing that won't heal rapidly."

"That is good to hear," Sombra smiled faintly at last. "I know first-hoof how frightening it is to feel...trapped."

Girder set a hoof on the pony's shoulder, giving the weary stallion a firm nod.

"You went above and beyond the bar, your Majesty, even with an experience that traumatic weighing you down. You can relax, take it easy."

Sombra accepted this with a nod and Girder set his hoof back down on the floor.

"Is your stomach faring any better now?" he asked the King.

Sombra nodded. "Yes, it will be alright shortly. It was nothing serious, just a flashback."

"To before?" Girder hesitated to ask. Sombra nodded.

"It sounds crazy, but I swore I could hear HIS laughter again, it felt like something was creeping up on me. I guess I panicked and fled. It seemed like the logical course of action at the time!"

"His? you mean - "

“Scorpan." Sombra said shortly, feeling sick at the mention. "even though I know he's in Tartarus, I sealed him in crystal myself, was given the news of his imprisonment when I woke from stasis. I KNOW he's gone, but alas my memories will not let him die."

"Trauma like yours, that’s not uncommon your Majesty." Girder tried to make him feel better. "the doctor has told me a lot about PTSD. Anything that can help, just let me know, We’re all concerned you're pushing your too hard. Nopony's gonna get mad if you take a day off. I'm recommending you take tomorrow off, give yourself time to recuperate."

Sombra hesitated, then saw the genuine concern on Girder’s face.

"Don’t worry about work, your Highness. You’ve done a stellar job already, you're not falling behind on anything. My concern is for my workers healthcare. And when you signed on, royalty or no, you became part of my workforce. That means I’m responsible for your welfare. Can't say I’ve ever had a King join my ranks before, but it makes no difference. It's my job."

Sombra nodded and accepted Girder’s suggestion.

"Now," the pony said when he and the King had polished off the coffee. "are you hurt at all?"

"No, I’m fine. Just a few scratches here and there. They'll heal, probably faster if I - "

He closed his eyes, shifting easily to the Umbrum version. Girder shook his head in awe, it was a sight to behold. The crystal had an unusual transparency to it, the outer edges almost transparent, darkening to colour and solidity the further in one looked. The wings were more colourful in this form, with subtle shades on the larger feathers. A faint light seemed to illuminate the unicorn's horn from the inside. When he opened his eyes, there were far more subtle shades to them.

"No matter how many times I see you do that," Girder chuckled. "it still catches me off guard. This is the native form of your species, isn't it?"

Sombra nodded, looking at his hooves, noting they were not scratched. He'd just need to stay in this form awhile.

"Yes, we start off colourless. As our abilities develop and we become more sure of what we are, WHO we are, they deepen."

"Yours seems darker than before, almost the same shade as the other appearance."

Sombra took a look at himself. "Yes, I have noticed it darkening steadily with every recent encounter. Even Celestia mentioned to me she thought it looked different to when she'd seen me prior."

"Guess that acts the same way as a cutie mark. Although you have the best of both now it seems," Girder nodded at the pony’s cutie mark. "I was surprised when the story reached me, yet at the same time, not."

“How so?" Sombra asked curiously.

Girder grinned. "you’ve defeated an enemy to Equestria, proven history wrong, saved an entire species and advanced it all by your own hard work. Getting a cutie mark seems like child's play to a pony that can do that!"

Sombra felt a flush of pride. He was happy to see the good he was capable of doing, with magic that'd caused such misery before. It still worried at him sometimes, but the occurrences were getting fewer and fewer. He glanced round at the cutie mark, recalling how the other ponies had cheered when they’d seen it. He couldn’t help a small smile.

"See?" Girder chuckled. "I think you’ll be able to pull off running a kingdom easily once we get it up and running. Oh!" he turned back, rummaging for something in a drawer, then held out several forms to Sombra.

"These, your Majesty, are requests I was asked to draw up. They’re officially asking your permission to remain in the kingdom upon its completion. It seems they'd like to stay with you."

Sombra's eyebrows raised in genuine surprise as he took the sheets of paper, recognizing several names from the teams he'd worked on.

"Its entirely up to you, your Highness. It's YOUR home."

"Have you got a pen?" Sombra asked without a delay.

Girder watched as he cycled through the paperwork, signing the forms with an elegant, old fashioned signature.

"Ah, this is the pony that taught me that inappropriate poem!" the Umbrum King chuckled as he signed the last form.

Girder rolled his eyes, why did it not surprise him that his men were already adopting Sombra as a worker by teaching him slang, jokes and other nonsense? Admittedly it WAS funny hearing such uncouth statements coming from a King. It made the other ponies laugh and perhaps made him easier to approach.

"Thank you, your Highness. They’ll be happy to know you’ve accepted their request. Now, I suggest you get an early night. It's been a long day for you."

Sombra nodded, and followed after Girder as he left.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They stopped outside by the main beacon so Sombra could disconnect the spell. All personnel had been accounted for, so nopony else was out there in the wastes.

"I should speak with the doctor briefly if I were you, Sire. Let him know you’re alright."

Sombra nodded, and they headed for the medical building. As they walked, Sombra brought up the contents of the letter he'd received.

"So, who is the pony travelling out on the supply train?"

"Excel. She is one of the first of my Umbrum's that I met when - " Sombra stopped suddenly as they approached the medical building. Something wasn’t right.

Sombra felt a shiver hit him, and motioned Girder to hang back.

"What is it, your Majesty?" The earth pony asked, frowning.

"Something's not right..." Sombra marshalled his magic to get a clearer picture as he stepped towards the door -

When it was suddenly flung open and SOMETHING tackled him, knocking him back several feet into the snow and pinning him in place. He opened his eyes, head spinning and got a shock.

It was the rescued pony, Alan Key, that was pinning him. But he didn't look the same. The pony was encased within what seemed to be a full body-shaped pink crystal. It was encasing him at its centre, the thick crystal making him big enough to pin a pony of Sombra's stature in place.

"How - ?" Sombra snarled, then recognized the thing.

"That's right..." it sneered, the mouth on the crystal coating cracking open to reveal serrated teeth, its voice that of its hosts, with a creepy rattle to it.

"You destroyed my last body. Now it's time to get revenge!"

"Hay! Get away from his Majesty!" Girder made to charge the crystal-thing, but it moved quickly, lifting one foreleg off Sombra's chest and transforming the end of its hoof into a deadly sharp spike which he aimed at Sombra's throat. Girder screeched to a halt, horrified.

"Not one more step, or your precious, ‘King’ gets it." the thing laughed. Sombra struggled to stay calm, but the way this THING was crouching over him, the close proximity was setting old alarm bells ringing. He'd been able to adapt to contact when the intent behind it was kind. But this felt the opposite, the intent was to hold him prisoner. Something he still feared at a base level.

"Hmmm?" It turned its glance back to the seemingly emotionless pony pinned under it. "What’s this? You don’t like anypony to hold you?" It said this in a mocking voice, able to read the emotions of these pathetic equine creatures easily.

"What’re you going to do?" it mocked as Sombra snarled angrily at it. It felt the pony's body shift, sensed him trying to move and pressed the blade just a touch harder against his neck. Girder stared in horror as he seen a minor crack form in Sombra's Umbrum crystal body.

Sombra stilled his movement, realizing this was a bad situation. It would take a lot more force to injure the Umbrum form, but he couldn’t take that risk.

His captor grinned, thinking it had him at its mercy.

"Now hold still. This body is too weak, I want YOURS. This won't hurt much!" It cackled evilly, eyes locked with Sombra's. That was what let it notice the glow emanating from Sombra's core only when it was too late.

"What - ?!" It yelled, then there was a bang and a flash as it was thrown back. It shook its head, its vision finally clearing.

Sombra's blast had thrown it several feet back, and the Alicorn stood, wings raised defiantly.

"What are you?" Sombra snarled.

"I could ask you that. You're not like the other ponies are you? But me? You can call me Wraith."

--Wraith?-- Sombra wondered if that signified anything. His best guess was this thing didn’t have a permanent body, instead relying on stealing others.

"I see you’ve come to an understanding about me," Wraith laughed. "you guess right, Crystal King. To live, another must surrender. But I need power. A weak body will not do."

By now quite a crowd had formed, shocked ponies watching what was going on.

"Let him go!" Sombra snapped.

"You presume to make demands of me, your ‘Majesty’?" it spoke the title with disdain.

"I destroyed you once before, I will do it again." Sombra declared.

"Oh really? You don’t seem to have grasped the situation. To destroy me you'd have to get your hooves on the crystal hiding within this pony's body. Are you prepared to KILL him?"

This ground Sombra's plan to a halt, fear sinking into his bones. Kill? No, there had to be a better way!

The ponies watching all cried out in horror, eyes flicking from the creature to Sombra, who looked as horrified at the idea as they were.

"Maybe, if you're powerful enough, you'll find an easier method to remove it. There was a spell once that succeeded in saving the host. Who knows, maybe you're enough of a mutation to achieve such a thing?"

It hunched over, and with a shudder wings sprouted from its back. It grinned evilly "Come and catch me!" Then it kicked off in a flurry of snow. Sombra took off after it without hesitation, although his mind was still spinning as to how he was supposed to destroy that crystal and save Key.

Sombra didn’t have much time to plan, as the aerial assault began. The Wraith was going all out to take him down. Blasts of pink magic seared past his ears, muzzle and wings, trying to clip his wings, but Sombra wasn’t going to be beaten by this insane thing. He just needed to buy some time. He teleported rapidly through the air, dodging the blasts and using shields to deflect them back. He fired stun blasts of magic, succeeding in hitting thing in the right foreleg. It broke away a chunk of the crystal surrounding Key and Sombra saw an opening.

"Get back!" It snarled as Sombra suddenly shot up close, aiming his attacks at the crystal coating. Shards of it sliced downwards, impacting the snow below. By keeping up close, teleporting all around it, Sombra wasn’t giving it much room to attack with its magic.

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The ponies below were pushed back by Girder and the doctor, yet couldn’t refrain from staring up at at the night sky. The blasts of magic from the two combatants illuminated snapshots of the battle. They glimpsed from a distance that Sombra appeared to be hacking away it its defenses as the Wraiths attacks were becoming more frenzied.

"Please get Key back..." one mare whispered, knowing her tiny plea couldn’t be heard by the stallion trying his best to do just that, but she hoped nonetheless...

Up in the air Sombra winced as a blast seared by his ear, causing a crack to form in the crystal. The pain caught him off guard and he was shunted back by a blast of magic a second later. He regained his flight, the two of them hovering at an impasse.

--If only I could get at that crystal..I..-- an idea formed in Sombra's head. It was a risky one that required him to put a lot of faith not just in himself, but in those below.

He had no other option. The crystal was regrowing around the thing’s body. Even if he succeeded in removing it all, he still had to get the crystal from Key’s body.

He set his mind to what was certainly the most insane thing he'd ever concocted. He flew close to Wraith, as if to resume his attack on its crystal armor.

"Give it up!" it mocked. "You’ll have to kill him to be rid of me! Go on, your Highness, get blood on your hooves!" it laughed coldly. Sombra hesitated, his refusal written all over his face. Wraith spotted his opening and geared up everything he had in a second, seen the shock on the pony’s face as he realized his mistake -

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Those below screamed in horror as there was an explosion of pinkish-white magic, reflected by the Umbrum's crystalline body as it hit him in the chest. The blast knocked Sombra from the sky, wings reflecting the fading magic of the devastating attack as he fell to earth.

The Wraith landed a second later, looming over Sombra's unconscious body. The Alicorn's injured form lay with its back to the encroaching crowd, so they couldn’t see what damage had been done.

Those trying to charge towards Sombra soon ran up against a shield generated by Wraith.

It laughed, baring its teeth as it stood over Sombra's body. A quick press of its hoof to Sombra's neck confirmed he was alive. The blast hadn’t stopped his heart, merely paralyzed him. He had to act fast, before the pony awoke.

With the hoof resting on Sombra, it closed its eyes, transferring its consciousness -

The panicked crowds saw the crystal coating around Key vanish, leaving the pony swaying on his hooves over the King's body.

The dizzy, drained Key had a few moments to take in the seemingly dead body in front of him before he blacked out..

Silence reigned, as they all stared in horror...

Then Sombra stirred. He got up somewhat unsteadily, as if not used to his own body. That was when they realised he WASN'T.

Sombra's normal eye colour was a deep garnet red, now they had a dark pink hue, and seemed to glow unnaturally.

The Wraith laughed deeply, enjoying the sound of its words coming from this pony’s mouth as it spoke.

"Finally, something far more FITTING, pardon the pun. Shame he was too cowardly to save your little friend. Such a messed up way of thinking. He could’ve been rid of me had he just had the bravery to destroy one pony.."

"That is bravery of no sort!" Girder spat. "that is cowardice. You’re the coward here, unable to fight without hiding behind somepony else!"

Wraith-Sombra snarled angrily at this insult. Then he grinned, the expression unnerving.

"Want to know how I was able to do this?" he laughed "these pathetic emotions you call "kindness" and “sympathy". In the end they were his downfall. You see," he examined one foreleg, seemingly unhurried. "this one? I thought he'd be impossible to overwhelm. His physical and magical ability is far beyond any pony I’ve ever seen. Most of your kind are easy, too frail to resist. This one gave me quite the run around up there. But you see, with your precious King, the damage is all inside."

Wraith-Sombra laughed, smirking spitefully as it recalled what was inside this pony’s head. "So much suppressed. Bet you didn’t even know he couldn’t stand being touched. That he would lash out at anypony that tried to help him back then. But I must admire his strength. Even after being tortured to the brink of madness or death, he refused to cave in. But something like that leaves such DEEP, delicious scars..." it cackled, licking its lips.

"Shut up!" Many ponies yelled at once, furious at seeing the stallion’s deepest, most painful memories being defiled this way, but Wraith-Sombra just laughed.

"Even now he's afraid, afraid it’ll all just fade away, and he'll lose it all. Well, now he can watch as I take his precious former home, this ‘Crystal Empire’ -GAH-"

He cut off mid-boast, crying out in pain as something impacted his right foreleg. Looking down he saw a scar, deep and painful, encircling his leg. It was carved deep into the crystal of the Umbrum's body. He staggered as more appeared around the other legs, and one around his neck.

"W-what's going on? How is this happening? He has no control..." Wraith-Sombra gasped, realising seconds later he was wrong. It could feel Sombra there, sense the pony's consciousness tearing away at the chains he'd locked it in, reaching out for shards of memory.

The pain was horrific, almost making Wraith feel sick. But Sombra's consciousness wasn’t done yet. An intense pain speared the right hind leg, and he couldn’t keep his weight on it any more. Wraith staggered unsteadily, not noticing he'd dropped his shield as he fought with the backlash from the pony he fought to posses.

"As I expected," Girder said loudly. "you cannot hope to control one such as him. He has more capability even WITH his trauma, then you could ever hope to best!"

He hoped the real Sombra could hear his words and fight back just enough to get free.

"Im..possible..." Wraith-Sombra snarled, but it was afraid. It'd never encountered resistance like this. How had Sombra regained control?

It tried to spread the Alicorn's wings and escape, but a rope lashed around Its midsection, pulling the flight appendages close to his body. He turned, snarling as a pegasus holding a unicorn in the air flew away, landing on the ground.

"You’re not getting away!" another pony, one of the ones Sombra had made good friends with and often ate dinner with, stepped up to get Wraith-Sombra's attention.

Wraith tried to dredge up Sombra's magic, but the pony's consciousness was getting more powerful. Nothing he threw at it was keeping it back.

It turned on this pony, figuring it'd use Sombra's physical strength if his magic was out of reach. He reared up, crystal hooves glinting -

Then somepony slammed into his side, knocking him over and slamming him to the ground, stunning him.

Girder shook his head as he jumped back from the possessed King.

"Like BUCK you're hurting anypony of my crew!" he snapped coldly.

This was the opening Sombra's consciousness needed, and he took it.

A faint glow started to shine deep within the Umbrum pony’s body.

"No...no!" Wraith shut his host's eyes, trying to force the power to recede. But he realized he'd made a mistake in possessing this pony.

Sadly this knowledge came too late, as the glow lit up the pony’s entire body, and Wraith felt a wave of pressure bearing down on it.

The ponies shielded their eyes as there was a flash and a WHUMPF sound. When they opened them, they cheered.

Sombra, back to normal, stood there looking shaken and bruised and very angry.

A few metres away, a faint pinkish shape lay in the snow. It got up, and true to its name, it was a wisp, a ghost. Barely pony-shaped, it only just seemed able to stand.

"How?" it hissed.

"Easy..." Sombra said, his voice cold. "you made the mistake of opening that box of memories. When you went delving into the capture and torture, you handed me the keys to your own destruction. Those are powerful memories - bad, dangerous ones. But they're mine. The feelings you triggered were what broke the chains. I knew you couldn’t resist from the moment you boasted after knocking me down."

Wraith realised it was stuck. Where was the crystal -

"Looking for this?" Sombra levitated a familiar, albeit far more cracked crystal.

"Give that to me - !!" Wraith sounded almost feral as it threw itself at Sombra. Sombra stumbled, enabling the wraith to snatch the crystal out of the air. It stumbled to a halt gazing hungrily at the crystal, laughing in triumph.

It looked at Sombra and noticed the pony was smirking.

"What-?" something was wrong, alarm bells began to ring. It felt the crystal stick to its hooves. At it looked down in horror, it seen its body was being absorbed into the crystal.

"Let it be your prison, since you want it back so badly." Sombra said bluntly.

Everypony around watched as the creature was absorbed into the crystal, kicking and swearing the whole way. At last, it was gone.

"Can you destroy it, your Majesty?" Girder finally found his voice. Sombra nodded.

"In this form it is possible, all of that thing is sealed away. It will not torment anypony ever again."

He floated the crystal into the air, and closed his eyes. Magic gathered around his horn, and he opened them, aiming the intense blast at the crystal. It didn’t shatter, it vaporised. A smattering of ash was borne away on the wind.

The ponies cheered, and clustered around Sombra, who was rubbing at his neck without seeming to realize it.

The ponies in the crowd understood, or at least guessed, what those marks were. They were clearly scars from restraints, back when that Scorpan creature had tortured the captive Sombra. The way he'd refused to stand on that hind leg made them guess it'd been fractured or something close to that. They felt massive sympathy for the pony, thinking how bad it must have been. No wonder he'd been afraid afterwards...

Whatever pain he'd summoned was gone now, as Sombra stood easily on all four hooves, but he seemed to have forgotten about the scars.

"Sweet Celestia..." a groaning voice spoke from several feet away. Poor Alan Key was finally awake. Many of the crowd, his friends first and foremost, gathered around, concerned. Sombra was glad to see him awake, his plan having worked.

He stepped forward as Key's friends helped him sit up. The pony seemed fine, albeit a bit dazed.

"Wha' happ - " Key flashed back to his last conscious memory, of seeing what he'd thought was a dead -

"King Sombra - ?" he panicked, turning white as a sheet "did I - ?"

"Don't worry." A reassuring, rumbling voice spoke up, carrying above the babbling crowd. Key scrambled to his hooves, relief coursing through him as he seen Sombra alive.

"Your highness!" He blurted, immediately issuing a deeply grateful bow. "I'm sorry - !"

"There’s no cause for concern. What happened was out of your control. A creature calling itself Wraith was the opponent here." Sombra sought to put him at ease.

"What happened to it, your Highness?" Key asked, feeling dizzy.

"That thing is gone. Destroyed." Sombra smiled gently. "you're safe now, so you can relax."

Key nodded, light-headed with relief and gratitude. He noticed the scars on Sombra's legs and neck and when he met the King's eyes he seen a glimpse of self-consciousness there. These were the scars gathered during his imprisonment. Key noticed many ponies looking with sympathetic yet curious looks at the marks. Sombra closed his eyes, and with a faint brush of magic, the scars faded, and he felt back to normal. He also removed the rope that’d bound his wings to prevent escape.

"It is over," he said, and for a moment key wasn’t sure if the King was speaking about his past, or the events that’d just passed.

"I’m just glad you’re both safe," Girder popped up beside Key and Sombra. "that was unnerving to watch. That thing possessing you both."

Key and Sombra both shuddered.

"Most unpleasant!" Sombra muttered.

"Agreed." Key shook himself slightly.

"Still, that was an impressive tackle." Sombra smiled softly at Girder.

"I used to be a hoof-ball player in my school days!" Girder said with a shrug and a laugh. "guess old habits die hard!"

"I must admit I’m rather intrigued by this game," Sombra mused. "I must study it."

"Study?" one pony shook his head. "Pfft! We can do better then that, your Majesty! Bunch of us here can teach you if you'd like. We're always having games in the evenings."

Sombra's tired gaze brightened at the suggestion and he readily accepted.

The Doctor checked him and Alan Key over before letting the exhausted ponies get to bed.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As they headed towards bed, Key once more stopped to thank Sombra.

"I don’t know what you did, your Majesty, or what you put yourself through to save me, but I know I owe you my life. I intend to apply to Girder to stay here once the kingdom is built, if you’ll allow me, Sire."

Sombra smiled, setting a hoof on Key's shoulder. Looking up at the taller pony, Key seen him smiling gently. "Consider it done. I'd be honoured to have you here, master Key. Rest well." Sombra told him as he set his hoof back down.

"You too, your Majesty," Key felt a fresh respect for Sombra as he trotted over to his bed, where his friends awaited.

Sombra smiled, and wandered over to his bed. He curled up atop the mattress, falling asleep inside of a minute.

All the fuss meant Sombra had forgotten all about the contents of that letter...and who'd be arriving tomorrow!

Author's Note:

Long time coming, i apologise for the wait! I hit a block, then started work...

Many thanks to Hail-King-Sombra for editing this chapter! She is made of awesome~

Comments

[Skye Mist]

This story is made of awesome. Nuf said.

[Pixel_Spark]

7338077 thank you muchly!

[Toxic Spill]

Just one quick thing: the word you're looking for here is cuteceañera, rather than cute-cinera. Otherwise, it's good to see this updated.

[Pixel_Spark]

7345875 Ah, thank you! I was baffled as to how to spell it, I didn't have a clue! ^^ I'll correct it next time I can sit down at my big PC (as opposed to trying to wrangle the iPad into doing it).

[Coco Candy]

I very much agree with Skye Mist.

[Rojack79]

I love reading this story. It fills me with hope and happiness to see Sombra's redemption and ascension.