Possession in the Crystal Empire

by Askre

Chapter 17. Now where did my little slave get off to?

Author's Note:

Proofread by Hail King Sombra

This chapter starts part 3 of the story. We go a little bit back in time to where we last left Sombra, Private and Barricade back in chapter 11, but we will quickly catch up since it's only a roughly day difference anyway.

There are minor references to The Journals of the Two Sisters and the comics in this chapter, but I would look at them more as a nod to those materials. I tend to use only what the show itself provides as canon to my writing, but give the occasional nods or even cameos to anything from the written/comic materials.

Chapter 17

Barricade grumbled and grunted as he trudged through the snowy woodland. They had been walking for hours now and seemed no closer to the mountain. It was still a fair bit away and despite Sombra’s intention of reaching it the next day, it didn’t appear they would.

The Dark Unicorn also seemed to be slowing down. Much earlier, shortly after they had first left the road and headed into the woods, the king had started to produce what looked at first like dark gray smoke out of Private’s horn. As it rose it began heading east the way they had come from. Barricade realized then that it wasn’t smoke, they were clouds. Storm clouds.

“I’m attempting to rectify your idiotic stunt and hopefully delaying any pursuit behind us,” was the only thing Sombra had said when Barricade had asked.

This, however, seemed to have drained the spirit. He walked slower now and there was hard focus in the eyes as if the Dark King was struggling to concentrate. Barricade wondered also if he had overexerted Private’s body by now. Even magically enhanced, his twin brother could only take so much.

Barricade also knew Private generally did not drink alcohol and Sombra had drunk an entire tankard of a really strong drink, then eaten food his brother was just not built to eat. The spirit might be in control of the body, but he was still limited by what this particular one could do and take.

“Maybe we should camp soon,” he finally suggested. The sun was starting to set.

“As much as I hate to admit it, your suggestion has merit,” Sombra growled, stopped and glanced back. Barricade raised an eyebrow, sweat was pouring down the possessed pony’s forehead. Now the other Unicorn was positive that the spirit was struggling to maintain control.

Must have overdone himself, or he overestimated how much Private’s body could handle, Barricade thought.

They made camp using the supplies Sombra had stolen from the inn, making two different sleeping spots and a small campfire. Barricade ate some of the food they brought, but the Dark King ignored it. He immediately laid down and paid no more attention to his host’s brother.

A few questions popped into Barricade’s head, but he decided to save them for later. The Dark King had laid fully down and was drifting to sleep by all appearances, or maybe it was actually Private who was falling asleep and the spirit just couldn’t control it.

With a sigh the Unicorn lay down as well, glancing at the magical force field around them. Sombra had erected it shortly after making camp, stating it was to ensure nobody spotted their fire. Barricade had a feeling it also ensured he didn’t try to sneak off or something like that.

Barricade eyed the sleeping form of his possessed brother’s body. He could almost swear the black streaks in the mane and tail had faded a bit and the horn actually looked straighter. The Unicorn narrowed his eyes a little, wondering what was happening inside his twin’s head right now.

“Well, let’s hope we get out of this one intact, bro,” he muttered. Using his magic, Barricade grabbed an extra blanket from the saddlebag and draped it over his brother. “Goodnight.”

---

Curse this weakling body, Sombra thought as he was forced to partially relinquish his control so it would go to sleep. The Dark King was far from happy. It had taken more power than he had anticipated to bolster up Private’s strength and stamina, even with the added power boost he had acquired from draining the Crystal Ponies and the other inn patrons. On top of that, the storm he conjured up and sent east, to both cover his tracks and delay any pursuers, had really drained him.

I never realized how easily your power drains when you are just a spirit. I need my own body, the Dark Unicorn snorted and glanced around the brown empty space.

Now where did my little slave get off to? Sombra raised his eyebrow when seeing no sign of his host. The Dark King was aware that Private had receded deep into his own mind after realizing that the spirit had killed the Crystal Ponies, but had ignored it since it suited him just fine.

Sombra could feel his host, it was impossible not to, seeing where he was, but there was no clear sign of him. The former tyrant knew Private was not in any of his memories, Sombra had tight watch over them to learn as much as he could of the modern world, since he had been robbed of the opportunity to do so gradually while lying in wait.

Hm, there are the memories I can’t actually access. It’s like they are locked away. Who locked them? Private does not have the mental capacity to do so, least of all to keep me out, he thought but was certain that if he couldn’t access them, neither could Private.

Then it hit the king, the one thing he really paid no attention to in the Unicorn’s mind. The realm of imagination, his fantasies. Sure many fantasies were conjured up with memories, but they weren’t really memories and Sombra had very little interest in what Private fantasized or dreamt about.

The Dark Unicorn concentrated and suddenly found himself in what appeared to be a palace of some sort. The architecture looked familiar, like something he had seen in his travels before he took over the Crystal Empire. It looked ancient and made of white carved stone. Looking forward, Sombra saw that he was standing just in front of a large archway that led to a balcony.

On the balcony was a pony in decorative armor. The helmet had blue plumes and was also encircled with what looked like a crown. From the center of the forehead produced a steel horn. What could be seen underneath the silver and gold armor was a dark gray coat and the hoof guards almost concealed dark brown hooves. The pony’s tail was blonde.

Sombra didn’t say anything as he was still taking this sight in. The pony hadn’t noticed him, continued to stare forward and began raising one front leg. It was then that the Dark Pony noticed the large crowd of similarly armored ponies outside the palace, overlooked from the balcony. Their armor was just less decorative and looked more practical for battle.

Those are Spartacorns. Sombra was mildly surprised to see this. The Spartacorns were long before his time, though he had passed through their ancient lands and seen the ruins. Seemed Private was familiar with them as well. Then the pony started speaking, confirming who it was as the king recognized the voice.

“Spartacorns! We have won a great victory today. Let it never be said that just because we have no horns and have no wings that we can’t achieve greatness!” Private Iceland shouted before the large crowd that started to cheer with a thunderous stomp of their hooves on the ground.

“We have won the battle and we will win the war, let the forces of the Unicorns and the Pegasi forever fear the name Spartacornia! For this IS SPARTACORNIA!” Private seemed to be living himself quite well into his role, he actually spoke clearly and with confidence. He certainly pleased the crowd as they began chanting the name of the nation.

Sombra couldn’t hold it in anymore. He started to laugh and did so loudly. This froze the pony on the balcony and the chanting of the crowd became silent. It was like everything had been put on pause, except Private who slowly looked back and cringed when confirming who was laughing.

“I don’t… I can’t even…” Sombra was having a bit of trouble to regain his composure. For him this had been one of the most hilarious sight he’s ever seen.

“W-what are you doing here? I… I thought you were busy at that inn slaughtering everypony!” Private cried and looked frantically around as if he was worried anyone else could see this, even if technically speaking it were only him and Sombra there.

“Oh we have long since left the inn.” The Dark Unicorn finally managed to cease laughing and stepped out to the balcony, he regarded the frozen crowd below them with a smirk. It seemed Private had figured out how to stop everything if he wasn’t actively participating in it.

“A Unicorn masquerading as a Spartacorn? You do know Spartacorns were Earth Ponies and hated Unicorns,” Sombra said as he glanced at Private who still hadn’t dared to move from his spot.

“Um… that’s actually a misconception. They just hated certain Unicorn and Pegasi nations. As long as you were not from any of them and respected their customs, they were fine with you,” Private whispered, finding the marble floor of the balcony very fascinating right now.

“I see, well I must admit I’ve never studied them, only knew of them.” The Dark King shrugged. He started to examine the armor Private was wearing. “Is this supposed to be… wait, are you actually playing the role of Horsenidas, the Spartacorn King?”

“Maybe.” Private’s voice was so low that it was barely audible.

“This is your fantasy? Hold on, Private, are you actually fantasizing about being in power? You actually have fantasies about being in charge and ruling over other ponies?” Sombra could feel laughter build up in his throat again, when no response came from his host, the king let out another burst, this time he had to support himself on the stone railing of the balcony.

While the king was well on his way to killing himself from laughter, Private just stood there wanting the balcony floor to swallow him up. The Unicorn was turning bright red in embarrassment under his fur.

His fascination with Spartacornia and the Spartacorns was well known in his family and anyone who knew him. Private had always admired this ancient Earth Pony nation who had somehow defied all conventions and not relied on Pegasi for weather or Unicorns for their magic. They had preferred the harsher, wilder landscapes where the weather was uncontrolled.

“It’s not like I actually want it, it’s just a harmless fantasy,” Private muttered and took of his helmet. His regular horn reappeared the moment he did. The Unicorn then noticed the silence and slowly glanced at the king. Sombra had regained his composure again and smirked down at him.

“If it is such a harmless fantasy, then why conceal it?” he asked and grinned wider when Private fell even more silent than usual. “Why are you so uncomfortable being caught fantasizing about ruling a powerful nation?”

“Or is there more to this fantasy than just power?” The Dark King wondered and began circling his host. “The Spartacorns were from the mountainous Hippeios region, weren’t they?”

“Yes,” Private muttered though strictly speaking he had just thought the answer.

“You wouldn’t, due to your dual nature be fascinated with the old concept of Hippeios Love would you?” Sombra stopped right in front of him. How much the smaller Unicorn flinched told the Dark King everything.

“Let’s see now, you’re clearly playing Horsenidas, a strong, aggressive Earth Pony. I take it he is your favorite historical figure?” the king wondered and rubbed his muzzle thoughtfully.

“Uh no… it’s actually Commander Hurricane,” Private corrected him and hung his head even lower.

“A strong, aggressive Pegasus.” The Dark King nodded. Sombra couldn’t say he was very surprised to hear that. He reached with his hoof under Private’s chin and had the Unicorn raise his head to face him. “Almost makes me wonder if there is a strong, aggressive Unicorn somewhere in this fantasy land of yours.”

Private gulped but didn’t say anything and somehow managed not to think either. Sombra was now staring at him critically as if he was considering something. Then a devilish smirk crossed the king’s muzzle and he dropped his hoof down.

“Tell me, if we were to head into the bedchambers of this fantasy palace of yours, are we going to be finding the blue Pegasus mare waiting for you there? Or maybe a certain Pegasus co-founder of Equestria?” Sombra asked and almost cackled when seeing the nervous, shifting expression Private suddenly had. “Don’t tell me we would find them both?”

Private sighed as once more the Dark King was roaring in laughter. He dropped the helmet and started to undress from the armor, no point in wearing it now, he certainly wasn’t going to play out his fantasy with Sombra now actively paying attention to him. The armor rematerialized on him.

“Don’t take it off, I admit it looks rather good on you.” Sombra had stopped laughing and had clearly wrestled control over this part of Private’s mind as well. He leaned closer to his host, grinning ear to ear. “So, Private, any Unicorns in your fantasy?”

“I… I was always a little bit fascinated with… the stories my parents told me about the lost son of Queen Rabia… if that counts… I was never as much into Dark Pony history like them.” Private took a step back and prepared for another mocking laughter tirade. He raised his brow when seeing the dumbfounded expression coming over King Sombra.

The fantasy disappeared, the armor vanished and the two of them were back in the brown space. The Dark King was still staring at Private who was starting to wonder what the heck was going on. Then finally the former tyrant started to laugh but this time he was really laughing. He actually dropped down to the ground, beating his hooves against it as the mad chortles came out of his mouth.

“Uh… did I drive him insane or something? More insane?” Private found this much creepier and took another step back away from the writhing mass that was the laughing king.

“Why are you laughing like that?” the Unicorn asked uneasily.

“You… you are so amusingly dumb.” Finally, Sombra stopped and looked at his host. The king’s grin was almost breaking his muzzle apart. “You don’t have any clue of who the lost son of Queen Rabia is, do you?”

“Only vaguely, it’s mostly just legend by now. My parents are researching a possible identification, but they haven’t revealed anything yet. I think they want to surprise me, since they knew I was interested in the legend.” Private couldn’t do much but shrug.

“Well, I can certainly confirm that he was strong and aggressive, you certainly have a thing for your stallions being strong and aggressive.” Sombra rose back to his feet, his face still shone nothing but amusement. When the only reaction he got from his host was a raised eyebrow the Dark King shook his head. “You honestly have no idea.”

“Well he is called the ‘lost son’ after all,” the smaller Unicorn pointed out.

“Bet that was Ira’s idea, my younger sister always was a bit overdramatic,” the Dark King muttered and rolled his eyes.

Private would have stopped breathing when hearing this, but since this was happening in his mind all he did was freeze and his eyes opened wide. The way Sombra spoke of the last Queen of the Dark Ponies and what he called her looked and felt too sincere to be some sort of a trick.

“No… no it can’t be,” the Unicorn whispered, shocked and now even more scared beyond belief.

“Shall I reintroduce myself? Oh very well. Greetings, I’m King Sombra, the eldest son of Queen Rabia of the Dark Pony Empire, elder brother of Queen Ira, the last Queen of the Dark Pony Empire. Oh and apparently according to my sister, the lost son of Queen Rabia since I decided to head out on my own as being a stallion I could not hold any position of power in Dark Pony society.” Sombra put a hoof on his chest and did a flourishing mock bow. He started to snicker when hearing the panicked scream coming now from Private Iceland.

---

Private woke up still screaming but was quickly silenced with a snowball being thrown right into his mouth, sending him back down to the blanket he had laid on.

“Oh shut up, I don’t care if you eviscerate me for this or whatever sick psycho things you do, but keep it down,” came an annoyed grunt from Barricade.

Sputtering Private rose back up and was surprised to find he was in fact awake and in control of his body. He looked around the campsite and saw where his brother was curled up, trying to go back to sleep.

“B-barricade?” Private whispered and started to move closer but found himself compelled to sit down again.

“Going somewhere? I wasn’t quite finished,” Sombra spoke in his head, reminding the pony that he was still in fact possessed.

“Finished doing what?” Private asked, fearing the worst. He cringed when finding himself being compelled to lie back down.

“Talking with you of course, come now, back to sleep,” the king commanded and forced Private’s body to go back to sleep.

---

Private glanced down at the golden armor he was now wearing again, on his head rested the Spartacornian crown helmet and his regular horn replaced with the steel one. The Unicorn was sitting in a dining parlor of the Spartacornian palace whose balcony he had made a speech on in his fantasy. Near him sat King Sombra, wearing once again his steel crown, armor, hoof guards and red cape.

“I had to use images from your fantasy, which I must admit is much richer than I gave you credit for. You have no memories of my palace except the laboratory and right now I need to conserve my powers a bit so it’s limited what I can conjure up,” the Dark King explained casually.

“It is rather annoying how limited I am as a spirit, one would think it offered boundless opportunities, I mean I can possess ponies, control their minds to a greater extent than my usual mind control and I can even use my old spells through them. But I drain faster, I’m limited by the physical attributes of the body I possess, it even takes great effort just to control it and use magic at the same time.” The Dark Unicorn shook his head in dismay. Private decided it was best just to politely nod.

“Is that why you want to regenerate your own body instead of just taking over mine completely?” the smaller Unicorn then asked uneasily.

“Exactly, thought it might sound more practical to just grab yours, it isn’t. I would still be limited by what this body can do. Besides, I can’t take over your body completely and push you out, I have already told you that. Strange as it may sound, a skilled Unicorn in the flesh can be more powerful than a mere spirit. Spirits can be powerhouses, but they are usually very emotional and unstable because of that. Even now I feel drives to act more on my emotions than rational thought,” Sombra sighed, sporting a mildly annoyed look.

“Right, right, um so why are we sitting here in Horsenidas’s dining room, dressed up?” Private wondered and glanced around. There was food and drink, but the Unicorn knew it was all imaginary so saw little point in touching it.

“You are telling me this isn’t what you have always dreamed of? Being able to sit down and have a casual talk with a historical figure you admire?” the king asked in turn and grinned when his host flinched.

Private hated to admit how right Sombra was. He admired King Horsenidas for his strength, bravery and how he had managed to lead the Spartacorns against overwhelming odds. He practically worshipped Commander Hurricane for his role in founding Equestria. Sure the Pegasus had a spotted record in his past but once he overcame his prejudices, all records seemed to point towards a fairly affable yet rough and tough pony who had been ready to defend the newly founded kingdom at every turn.

Then there was the lost son of Queen Rabia, a subject that had fascinated him to no end. So far, what little Private knew was just the legends his parents had told him and the Unicorn had waited eagerly for their further research into the subject to be complete. Knowing that the pony currently possessing him was said lost son, had dampened that enthusiasm a bit though.

“I would have preferred it happening outside my body,” he muttered and looked down at the table.

“I know what you mean, I wish I could actually drink this wine and actually be drinking it,” Sombra grunted and picked up the silver goblet in front of him. “Even when eating at that inn through you it didn’t feel right. Another reason I am very eager to have my own body again.”

“You killed those ponies…” Private whispered as he remembered what he had seen at the inn.

“I killed slaves, Private. Worthless worms who were deluded enough to think they were free. In a way you are my slave as well, I’ve practically owned you since our first meeting,” the King snorted with contempt, his eyes narrowed on his host who was grumbling a little at being called a slave.

“Though perhaps I should be more generous and call you a servant. You have ancestry with Dark Ponies after all even if you are a mixed breed,” he then added and was mildly disappointed that Private showed no surprise to that revelation, just glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. “Oh, you knew that? I was hoping it would be a shocking revelation to you.”

“You have access to my memories, surely you’ve seen where my parents explained to Barricade and I about our ancestry,” Private rolled his eyes.

“I am not particularly interested in your entire life history, I access the parts that are important, not trivial bits,” Sombra said and shook his head. He didn’t notice the other unicorn raising his eyebrow a little, finding that tidbit actually interesting.

“How can you call the Crystal Ponies just worthless worms and slaves?” Private decided to bring the topic back to what had been bothering him the most. The callous attitude Sombra was showing towards his former subjects.

“Because the Crystal Ponies are one of the most pathetic creatures I’ve ever put my eyes on. I removed ONE object from them and their very wills crumpled to dust,” the king growled. “They relied on one object to protect them, and they are so idiotic, naive and trusting that they put it on display where anypony could just go, grab and steal it.”

“I will give the Equestrians that. They at least ensured that they had rulers that when push came to shove, would step up and protect them or at the very least rescue them. Discord reigned for a long time in Equestria, nearly as long as I ruled the Crystal Empire, but the Princesses at least didn’t just buckle under his chaotic rule. They went out and found what was needed to defeat him,” he continued his tirade. Private could do little but just listen silently.

“I have far more respect for the Equestrians than I have for the Crystal Ponies. The Elements of Harmony aren’t just physical objects; they represent an ideal that chooses their bearers. You can steal the physical objects away, but the bearers are still the element and if they believe in themselves, they are no more powerless with or without their element. The Crystal Heart? Remove it, the Crystal Ponies can’t do anything. They panicked so much when it was first stolen away by a dragon they ran crying to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna to help them get it back. They had to get outside help to get it back. They always need outside help.” Sombra spat out the last few words.

Private wished he could argue back, but found himself unable to really come up with the right words. For a brief moment he wished he actually was Barricade who probably could have shot holes into Sombra’s argument. It seemed the king was aware of this as well.

“I know by your silence that you do not agree with me, you really wish you could come with a counter argument to my view. Not so easy to make inspiring speeches when talking with someone real, even if it is just a spirit,” the Dark King chuckled mockingly.

King Sombra rose from his seat and walked over to Private who still hung his head and grumbled to the table. The Dark Pony used a hoof once again reach under his host’s chin and lift the head and move it so their eyes met.

“I was wrong to be so frustrated by your continuous silence. It has actually been a small blessing; I was rather worried when first possessing you that I would be barraged by constant propaganda about friendship and harmony. I can live with being called a vile monster and all that, but at least you aren’t trying something ludicrous like getting me to see the light and the errors of my ways,” the king said smirking. He let go of Private’s face only to snake his leg around the Unicorn, grinning even wider when seeing how uncomfortable the pony was.

“You have in fact been most entertaining and very useful, I really should reward you with something.” Sombra leaned closer in until his muzzle was right next to Private’s ear.

“In fact, once I have my body back, maybe I should reward you by having one of your fantasies come true,” he whispered into it, causing Private’s entire body to pale up.

---

Private screamed so loud that Barricade jumped nearly his height from his makeshift blanket bed. The Unicorn sat up and glared over to his possessed brother, but all anger at being so abruptly woken again disappeared when seeing his twin curled up and rocking back and forth.

“Private?” Barricade noted that his brother’s mane had returned to normal and so had his horn. The fitter pony wondered if this meant he was back in control of the body.

“Hey bro, you alright?” He walked over to his twin who still didn’t respond, just kept rocking on his blanket.

“You in there. What did you do to him?” Barricade called into his brother’s ear, not really knowing any other way to ask the spirit. To his surprise, black smoke began pouring out of his twin, it congregated above the possessed body and formed the head of King Sombra.

“I merely promised to reward him once I have my own body back.” Somehow the king could make a movement using the smoke and shadow that simulated a careless shrug.

Barricade didn’t look too impressed by the show, he glanced at his brother who paid no attention to this, though he had stopped rocking. Now the other twin just lay on the blanket in a curled up fetal position.

“Enough with the special effects.” Barricade returned his attention to the spirit who was smirking mockingly. “This is the second time a scream has woken me up and now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure it was Private who screamed the first time and not you as I first thought. What the hell are you doing to him?”

“I have not caused him any physical pain, Barricade,” King Sombra said, a smoky tendril went down and began gently caressing Private’s mane. “He’s just finally found out that a pony he was fascinated with happens to be me and I promised that I might indulge into his rich fantasy life once I have my body back as a reward for his service.”

There was something off to Barricade about how Sombra was caressing Private’s mane and the tone he spoke in. The Unicorn’s eyes narrowed as he realized that the two screams hadn’t been screams of pain, they had been startled, fearful, panicked.

“Oh no, don’t you even dare think about it. You are not going to do anything with him, once we are rid of you, you are going to leave both of us alone!” Barricade snapped and glared almost murderously at the spirit.

Yet again Sombra was laughing, but this time it was dark, ominous and maniacal. The spirit’s eyes started glowing greener than ever and while still laughing, locked his eyes with Barricade who froze as he found himself unable to look away.

“Oh you naive fool. You honestly think that you have any say in how things are processing and how things will be once I return to flesh?” King Sombra’s muzzle had a twisted grin now.

“You are merely a tool, Barricade, a rather useless tool I must admit. Your brother has been of a far more of use to me than you. However, I might still be able to use you and now that I have you under my power and I need to boost my energy.” The king’s head floated closer to the petrified pony, never breaking the eye contact.

“What is it, you fear, Barricade?” Sombra laughed cruelly as he dug right into Barricade’s deepest and darkest fears with very little resistance.

End Chapter 17

Comments

[Ice Star]

Sassy, smug, identity-revealing Sombra is a most excellent Sombra.

[Askre]

9622768

I swear I had too much fun writing him like that.