Conflicting Futures

by Maltrazz

Chapter 2: The Throne of Chains

Silence reigned in the castle, broken only by the hoofsteps of patrolling guards. In a room adjacent to the royal bedroom lay a crib with a young alicorn foal asleep within.

Suddenly, a light breeze began to circulate through the room as a soft light appeared hovering in midair. As the wind and light grew, the foal stirred awake and began watching the phenomenon with wondering eyes.

As the disturbance reached its peak, a sharp cracking sound echoed throughout the room. In an instant, the light vanished and the wind died down, leaving in its wake a cloaked pony holding something small before it with magic.

The loud noise made the foal immediately begin crying. Hurrying over to the crib, the cloaked figure reached out one hoof and began stroking the child’s head. In a soothing voice, they said, “Sorry about that, cousin. I needed an anchor for the spell, and knew you would not let me down. I just hope I can fix all this before-”

“Who’s there!?” Shining Armor shouted as he burst into his daughter’s room.

Jerking in surprise, the cloaked pony dashed towards the window, leaping through into the night. Forgotten in their haste, the object they had been carrying fell to the ground, striking the stone floor with a metallic sound.

“Guards!” Shining Armor shouted, as he rushed over to the window. Seeing no sign of the strange figure, he turned to see his wife already checking on their daughter. As the first guards appeared at the door, he bellowed, “We have an intruder! Don’t let them escape! Also, keep an eye out for others, we don’t know if they were alone or if Flurry Heart was even their intended target.”

“Yes sir!” The guards replied, before leave to follow his command and spread the word.

Turning to his wife, Shining Armor asked, “Cadance, is she alright?”

“She’s fine, just a little scared, I think,” Cadance replied, as she comforted her daughter.

Looking around, Shining Armor noticed the object the intruder dropped. “What’s this?” He wondered as he picked it up. Holding it up to the light pouring in from the hall, he saw that it was a locket in the shape of a heart with a black, six-pointed star on the front. Seeing a hinge on the side, Shining Armor opened it up… and gasped at what he saw.

---

“Good morning, Fluttershy!” Twilight greeted her friend. "Did you finish reading the journal last night?"

"Well... not exactly," Fluttershy admitted. "I was kind of tired after everything that had happened, and the thought of reading about what he had done in the dark... alone... right before I went to sleep..."

"Don't worry, there's no rush," Twilight reassured her. "Besides, King Sombra probably hasn't even woken up yet, so how about we go check on him, and then come back up to read it together?"

"That sounds like a wonderful idea," the nervous pegasus agreed in relief, as they began to descend to the dungeons.

As they approached Sombra's cell, one of the two guards outside the door hailed them. "Good morning, Princess Twilight, Miss Fluttershy."

"Any changes?" Twilight asked.

"None that we've seen, but nopony has entered the cell since you left last night," that guard replied.

"Good, that means we can go back upstairs, right?" Fluttershy asked hopefully.

Shaking her head, Twilight said, "We should at least go inside and double check."

The pair slipped inside, and the guards closed the door behind them. As their eyes adjusted to the gloom of the cell, the made out the silhouette on the fallen tyrant sprawled against the back wall... just in time to see his glowing eyes snap open. Fluttershy let out an 'Eep!' of surprise and ducked behind her friend, while Twilight tensed in preparation for whatever he might attempt.

Rather than trying to attack or escape, however, Sombra grinned, the light from the hall reflecting off his fangs as he spoke, "I was beginning to think you two had given up before you even began." His eyes flicked to Twilight's horn and wings as he continued with a sneer, "Although, I surprised a princess would deign to interrogate me herself."

"I didn't come here to interrogate you," Twilight said.

"I see..." Sombra narrowed his eyes at her for a moment, his lips pursed, as if he was considering something. "If you aren't here to interrogate me and I'm still alive, then the Two Sisters must not be aware of my survival." His grin widened as he continued, "It would seem the princesses of Equestria are not as united as I thought. Let me guess, you want to overthrow them and rule Equestria yourself, but you need my power to do it, is that it?"

"What!? No!" Twilight immediately protested.

"Princess Celestia was the one who sent us down here," Fluttershy Spoke up, only to duck back behind her friend when Sombra's red eyes locked on her.

"Hmm, so it is merely to be a public execution, then. I had not thought them to be to Celestia's taste. Probably her sister's idea," the stallion said with a more somber expression. The chains that bound him to the wall rattled as he shifted to a more comfortable position. "However, I have no desire to indulge their whims. Just finish me now, or else leave me be."

Twilight frowned in uncertainty. 'This certainly hasn't gone the way I thought it would,' she thought. She was mildly surprised when Fluttershy spoke up, before Twilight could come up with a reply.

“Wh-what are you talking about?” The pegasus asked asked, peeking around her friend.

"Servants should speak only when spoken to," The fallen king said with a sneer, "and not interrupt the conversations of royalty."

However, Twilight was quick to come to the pegasus' defense. "Hey, Fluttershy's my friend, not a servant! If you're willing to talk to me, then you can talk to her the same way!"

Sombra was silent for a moment. Slowly, oh so slowly, he rose to a sitting position, his shackles clinking and clattering the entire time. It was only once he had risen to his full height that Twilight realized just how tall he was, easily matching Princess Celestia in height. He seemed to tower over them as he asked mockingly, "And what if I choose not to, princess?" The title seemed to drip disdain as it left his lips.

Twilight could see Fluttershy quivering in the corner of her vision and, as she looked into his sinisterly glowing eyes, the young princess could not help her gaze flicking to the chains that kept the former tyrant physically bound and the ring on his horn that kept his magic in check, reassuring herself that there was no way he could harm either of them. And yet, despite the reassurance, a trickle of fear remained.

'He's the prisoner here,' Twilight thought, 'so why does it feel like he's the one in charge? Like he's looking down on us from upon a throne?'

And then, like a spell was broken, the moment was shattered by a hungry growl echoing through the cell.

With as much dignity as he could muster, Sombra laid down once more, muffling the sound coming from his stomach. "As I said, just finish me off now, or else leave me be."

Twilight hesitated for a moment, when she felt a tug on her tail. Looking behind her, she saw Fluttershy gesture to the door. With a last look towards the imprisoned stallion, she followed the pegasus out of the cell.

Once they were out, Fluttershy turned towards one of the guards and asked, "Has anypony brought him any food since he was brought here?"

The guards exchanged a surprised glance. "Not that I know of," one said.

"Wasn't he trapped in ice for a thousand years?" The other asked rhetorically. "Does a monster like that even need to eat?"

Twilight blinked in surprise as Fluttershy stomped away, a look of indignation on her face. As Twilight followed her up the stairs towards the castle proper, Fluttershy said, "I can't believe nopony thought to feed him."

"I agree, although I can't say I feel much sympathy for him after the way he treated you," Twilight said.

"Don't be too hard on him. Wouldn't you be a bit grouchy if you hadn't had anything to eat for a thousand years?" The kindhearted pegasus replied.

"I suppose I hadn't thought about it that way," Twilight said, before adding mentally, 'Although I doubt a meal will change his attitude that much. Still, I guess this is why Princess Celestia picked you.'

---

As the sun rose over Ponyville, a strange flash occurred near a cottage on the edge of the Everfree Forest. The light quickly faded, leaving behind a trio of young ponies laying in a heap. The youngest, a filly with a dark grey coat, light blue eyes with slit pupils, and a curved horn, hopped off the top and looked around. "Where are we?" She asked.

The eldest was the next to get to his hooves. He was a stallion with large webbed wings, like one might see on a dragon or bat. His coat was the same dark grey as the filly, with a single lock of pink hair in his otherwise dark mane. While he shared her slit pupils, his eyes were a bright red. "No idea, sis. Magic ain't really my thing."

"Well, if you two had minded your own business, you could have stayed home," the last pony said, as he slowly stood as well. Having ended up on the bottom of the pile, he was slightly more sore than the others. Although a stallion like the eldest, he had a curved horn like the filly, rather than wings. His coat was a light grey, making his dark red eyes stand out, his own slit pupils flicking around as he got his bearings.

Spotting the nearby cottage, the younger stallion picked up a scroll that had fallen nearby and gave a fanged grin. "Fortunately, it seems the spell worked just like Aunt Starlight said it would. Now, I just need to find and fix the anomaly before-"

"Hey, is that Ponyville?" The older stallion spoke up. "C'mon, Penny! Let's go say 'hi' to Auntie Pinkie Pie while we're here."

"I better get a cookie," the filly replied, "or I'll be mad."

"Wait! You two have no idea what's going on!" The younger stallion shouted as he chased after them, thinking, 'Why did they have to interrupt and get caught in my spell? Neither of them knows anything about time travel!'

Author's Note:

Well, this got updated sooner than expected. You can blame some awesome art for that. Check Evehly's DA account if you want to see it!

Who is the strange pony that appeared in the Crystal Empire? What about the trio in Ponyville? Find out in future chapters of Conflicting Futures!

(As if you don't already know. )

Comments

[Moongaze14]

Nice to see another chapter of this story. Seems like the kids just came to the past from their respective futures.. Thanks for the chapter as I liked the interaction between Sombra, Shy, and Twilight.

[Maltrazz]

7555313 Thanks! Glad you liked it!

[Maltrazz]

7556782 Be grateful for what you get. It's not like I'm getting paid to do this.

[Penguin Lagann]

7558914
You get paid by doing YouTube.

[Maltrazz]

7559340 Not exactly a viable option for an author.

[Penguin Lagann]

7559345
Alright, I deleted the comment.

[Maltrazz]

7559888 Thanks for the gesture.

[Iamsorry]

Nooooooo!
That paradoxes that will happen will be of epic porprostions

[Maltrazz]

7580429 Aye, but that's the fun, now isn't it?

[Iamsorry]

7580971
Spoken like a true aruthor.
And spirit of chaos hehe

[Follower of Chaos]

Okay what the hell, i'm actually confused now. The pony who showed up in Flurry Heart's room seemed to be another kid of Twilight's and Sombra's seeing as they called Flurry Heart cousin but the other three seem to be the kids of Fluttershy and Sombra? I get that they're probably from two different futures but what happens in one shouldn't affect the other right or are they for some reason starting to merge and the kids have gone back in time to fix it?

Also I hope that locket didn't have a picture of future Twilight and Sombra's family or the repercussions could be disastrous you fool. I need another chapter of this just so I can understand what the hell is going on, bravo to you sir.

[Maltrazz]

7675764 Actually, the 'mysterious' pony at the beginning is the same one as from the end of the first chapter. What happens in one future won't effect the other, but if some being were able to change the past/present, then it would effect both.

As for the locket, if you don't want to wait Tartarus knows how long for the reveal, you can see the image I commissioned for it here:
http://maltrazz.deviantart.com/art/Shadow-Caster-Cousins-633728429

[michalsalamon]

Very good story. The topic of the three children is a little strange and unnecessary. The behavior of the king Sombry is awesome behaves like a tyrant / monster and is little funny. I invade that there will be no romance. They both are still about teenagers and Sombra is an adult, and sat one thousand years in the ice can be aged Princess Celestia and Luna if is younger than Celestia. it would be strange if he fell in love in someone who is still a child.

But this is really great story. I'll be waiting for the next chapter forward. I'd love to see the end of this story

[Maltrazz]

7841795 Well, the children and the ship are the whole point of the story. Sombra is most commonly shipped with either Twilight or Fluttershy, so this story works on those futures being different branches of the multiverse and the children coming back in time to 'fix' events in their timeline's favor.

That said, the creators of the show have stated that the main 6 are in their late twenties, so if anything, Sombra was actually younger than them when he was sealed away. Depending on how the imprisonment affected his body and mind, he could actually be considered younger than either of them.

[michalsalamon]

I'm sorry I did not know about it. But I do not understand your course of thinking. When King Sombra fought with princesses it was already an adult bad villain (looked like Shining Armor only black and larger) and imprisonment in the ice did not stop time for him. If he had a sister or a wife is one of them can be his great granddaughter and he was their ancestor. After getting out of the was the oldest (Beside princesses and demons) being in the world. He was an old man in the strongest time when the body is strongest and capable of anything. Wati that any of them was older than him. He can remember how Celestia and Luna began to wield the kingdom but do not know because I do not want to do more episodes with his participation and that the Great character

[Maltrazz]

7842417 Well, if Sombra was in complete isolation he might go mad, but a lack of new experiences would leave him relatively mentally immature. Combine that with my works being heavily based on the comics, which imply that he was barely an adult when he turned evil, and pairing him with somepony as mature as Celestia, for example, would make less sense than somepony younger.

As for descendants, Sombra has none. His sister was locked away with the rest of his race and the only pony to even come close to being in a romantic relationship with him abandoned him when he discover his heritage and Dark Magic. She was actually the one to bring the Two Sisters to the Crystal Empire to deal with him.

In regards to Twilight's age...
http://pandramodo.deviantart.com/art/Starlight-s-Birthday-634114484

[michalsalamon]

OK. This can have a greater sense have not read the comics so I do not know exactly what sister and what life you wrote. But I did not get angry or whining only give suggestions and questions in the comments are not in order to show hatred. But in the films science ficion mivie I watched as being who be 100 years in imprisonment maddened but after the by 5000 years be tired of the madness and began to teach, practice, planning revenge. And even if it was completely frozen to mind could be aware of not but he still is very old has according to you he have the years 1018-1020, however, very much.

But the stories you write great for those who like theories Sombra and one of the Mane 6.

[Maltrazz]

7842511 No worries, I am always happy to explain my reasonings and motivations. And thanks again for the support.

[Flame Heart]

7842522
*pokes story with stick* is it dead?

[Maltrazz]

8582985
Hopefully not, but I can't say for certain when it will continue, either.

[Coco Candy]

more?
media1.giphy.com/media/AT1HMg0bvSs2Q/source.gif
or is this story dead? Shame, I was starting to really liked it

[sinka03]

This story has everything it takes to generate a headache and a lot of laughs, time travel and multiverses, all possibly mixed with a helping of misunderstandings and chaos.
I really hope in the future to be able to read more of this story.

[Nitro19]

Good read so far, can't wait for more. Story has been hanging on the edge of a cliff for 7 years.