When Darkness Falls

by MisterEdd

Secrets and Plots

Canterlot. My, how you've changed.

Sombra could remember when the city was a collection of thatched houses and wooden buildings, surrounded on all sides by an ivory, turreted wall and home to massive stone towers. Now it was a crowded cluster of stone and glass structures and signs made of blinding, migraine-inducing lights.

A thousand years certainly takes its toll.

He quickly spotted the castle, content with the knowledge that some things never changed and raced towards it. Detecting a magical barrier, he stopped and scanned it, finding it to be a security system specifically designed to keep out changelings. He found this extremely interesting and wondered what became of them, as he hadn't seen any of the insectoid race since joining up with them against the Royal Sisters in his last stand.

Passing through the barrier, the umbrum searched the castle, being careful to avoid the watchful eyes of the Royal Guards on duty, either through blending in with the darkness or morphing into a shadow cast by a guard or a nearby object. Finally, he arrived at a smaller tower and slipped in through a small crack beneath the windowsill. Returning to his pony form, Sombra's heart stopped as he gazed at the sleeping alicorn, taking in the seemingly-peaceful face of the one he'd once loved and thought loved him in return. Princess Celestia was just as beautiful as ever, her fur the color of freshly-fallen snow and her rainbow-colored mane flowing in the nonexistent breeze. He remembered the first time he'd laid eyes on her and how breathtakingly lovely she was, how he was so certain that she was the one he'd spend his life with.

Of course, he was a child then and everypony has to grow up eventually. Shaking his head, Sombra reminded himself why he was there and slowly made his way to her inch by inch until he was looming over the sleeping princess. His right hoof changed into a pair of shears and he very meticulously cut a few snippets of her mane in random places, being careful not to take too much or make the cuts obvious. Collecting the hairs, he turned to leave when he took one last look at his former paramour, both love and hatred battling deep within his chest. It didn't matter that Celestia had once been his. He could never forgive her for his imprisonment or worse, for the innocent life that she took.

The cave was spacious and deep-set in the Everfree Forest, ensuring that Sombra had the peace and quiet to carry out his task. He took another bite of the sizzling meat, savoring the smoky flavor of the bear flesh and silently thanking the cave's former resident for his sacrifice. Truth be told, resurrection, even with a magical conduit, was an exhausting experience and he needed all the nourishment he could get. Finishing his meal, he licked his hooves and checked on the brew he'd prepared in the makeshift stone cauldron. A memory potion was a fairly easy concoction to make, if one had the right materials. Some were right in the forest while the others he'd stolen from an apothecary shop in Canterlot, now apparently referred to as a "pharmacy."

Now for the final ingredient.

He slipped the hairs from Celestia's mane into the brew, changing it into a milk-white substance. Viewing the princess' memories would not only fill him in on what had occurred during his imprisonment but also let him know of Celestia's weaknesses and hidden strengths. This brought a wicked grin to the umbrum's face as he pictured delving through his foe's deepest, darkest memories. Reaching into the stone ground, Sombra conjured up a goblet and filled it to the brim with the bubbling concoction before ingesting the whole thing. The potion was thick and chalky, the sour aftertaste burning his throat but he'd had worse; being a practitioner of dark magic meant drinking elixirs and herbs that most others would find indigestible.

At first, there was nothing. Then his mind was bombarded with memories, echoes of voices flooding his head like water from a broken dam, threatening to drown him in all of the events of the thousand-year-old alicorn's life. He clung tightly and fought against the current, witnessing Celestia's filly years, her first day of school and being at Queen Concordia's bedside to welcome Luna into the world. More memories bubbled to the surface: Star Swirl's lessons, being introduced to a young Discord and slowly befriending him, raising the sun and thereby earning her cutie mark as well as the respect of the pathetic Equestrian ponies. What really got his blood boiling was her first meeting with Prince Tourmaline, the heir to the throne of the Crystal Empire and her future fiance.

No, no! He's dead. It doesn't matter anymore.

What felt to be an eternity passed, an endless torrent of dull recollections of meaningless exchanges when something caught his eye, something that set his teeth on edge and a fire burning in his chest. Yes, he remembered how Celestia told him the news, how he begged and pleaded that it not be true, how the information almost broke him.

Wait a minute...

Sombra clenched his teeth nearly hard enough to crack them.

This...this cannot be!

The memory played out before him, each second that passed by further adding fuel to the fire of his hatred for Celestia.

Sombra wretched himself free and emerged back in the cave, gasping in lungful's of breath as he momentarily wobbled on his limbs, clinging to a naturally-formed column for support. Viewing somepony's memories, particularly one as old as Celestia, was taxing, both physically and mentally. Once he'd regained his footing, he revisited what he'd learned, the memory causing his heart to pound wildly, his mind wracked with shock, disgust, betrayal, and most of all, rage. One of the worst tragedies of his life, the very driving force behind his rebellion and last stand...was an outright lie! Words could not express how cheated Sombra felt at that moment.

"She...she tricked me? She told me that she-...."

His front right hoof met with the cave wall, filling the air with a loud boom as the wall began to crack and collapse beneath the might of his blow.

Persephone….

Sombra began to pace the cave, the fire illuminating the burning anger in his scarlet eyes. He was in Celestia's room, right next to the princess' sleeping form!

I should've wrung Celestia's pretty little neck when I had the chance! Curse her! Curse her to Tartarus!

He paused, his rational mind beating out his feral one.

"No," Sombra decided, his fury subsiding for the moment. "Death is too good for her. I want Celestia to suffer, just as I did. Only then, when she is begging for me to end her misery, can I be content in taking her life."

He closed his eyes and concentrated, hoping that his secret room hadn't been discovered during his exile and opened them when a large chest appeared in a flash of crimson energy. He scanned the chest, finding that the magical security locks he'd placed on it had not been broken and silently undid them, his hooves caressing the lid and knocking off the thick layer of dust.

The lid swung open with a creak, revealing a trove of hidden scrolls and tomes filled with the secrets of maleficium. Sombra dug through them and carefully placed each object aside until he came to what he was looking for. It was a black and maroon-colored wool blanket, covered in intricate gold knots and diamond formations, only made by the finest weavers of the day. He tenderly brought the blanket to his face and inhaled it, sorrowfully filled with the knowledge that it'd never be used. A hot tear raced down his cheek.

"My Persephone. My little girl."

~*~

Princess Celestia awoke with a jolt, her breath ragged and uneven as she pulled the blankets around herself, finding some sense of security in the fact that she was once again in her room. "It was just a nightmare. Nothing more," she tried to tell herself, an exercise in futility in and of itself. She threw the covers over and walked out onto her balcony, taking in the blue-black sky and twinkling stars and smiling briefly at her sister's work. The smile vanished and she recalled the dream, or rather, the memory, something that plagued her for centuries but was reoccurring lately for reasons the Princess of Day couldn't fathom. Was it that her guilt had finally reached its breaking point? Could she continue living in a seemingly-peaceful existence knowing what she'd done and was continuing to do, even after all these years?

"Thank you, Captain. That'll be all."

The pegasus stallion nodded and gestured to the two earth ponies accompanying him, the three bowing before leaving Celestia alone with her thoughts. The royal kitchen was as silent as the grave, much to her relief as she needed somewhere quiet to ruminate on her current predicament and besides, it was easier to think on a full stomach. She spread some peanut butter on a few sticks of celery, purposefully forgoing raisins as she hated them, and munched on her treat, the creamy, crunchy meal soothing her somewhat. Whenever she was scared or stressed, Queen Concordia would make the treat, dubbed "ants on vacation" and the two would sit and eat them, just enjoying each other's company. Celestia gazed at the empty seat beside her and sighed. No matter how much time had passed, she still missed her and wished for more than anything just to hug her one last time.

"Thinking of mother, aren't you?" Celestia looked up. She hadn't heard Luna come in but then again, her sister was quiet when she wanted to be. "I know, I miss her too."

Luna took the empty seat and patted Celestia's back. They were both there at Concordia's death and it something they agreed that they wished to forget.

"What's troubling thee?"

Celestia sighed. "I was having that nightmare again, of the meeting with Sombra before the rebellion."

"I see. I remember that meeting well. Are you feeling guilty?"

"A little," Celestia admitted. "Every day it becomes harder and harder to keep the secret. I know it's the same for you."

Luna nodded gravely. "Indeed, sister. But nopony can ever know the truth. It's too...devastating."

More than a thousand years ago...

The Royal Sisters stood stoically by the old ruins, flanked by a collection of Royal Guards made up of the three equine races, each one fully prepared to lay down their lives for their princesses and homeland. And though it appeared that Celestia was calm and collected on the outside, she was in fact a ball of anxiety and fear on the interior. She had not seen Sombra in a year and a half, having not parted on the best of terms and heard of his brutal takeover of the Crystal Empire, conquering the kingdom that he'd once sworn to protect and subjugating its population. According to the royal intelligence network, along with reports from concerned civilians, Sombra had formed an alliance with the bat-ponies and changelings, having offered both races asylum in the city and apparently given the crystal ponies to them as a steady food source.

What happened to you? You were such an honorable and good-hearted stallion. How could you become so cruel?

"Your Majesties!"

A burst of green flames erupted a few feet away, revealing a dark gray unicorn, decked out in shimmering armor as a red cape flowed behind him. His eyes opened, revealing scarlet orbs filled with intense rage. Even after everything that happened, his appearance still caused Celestia's heart to race. Though she shouldn't be thinking it, she felt he was still handsome. Sombra slowly marched towards them, his head held high and a purposeful stride in his step.

The Royal Guards leapt forward, their spears aimed at the newcomer, who stared indifferently at them.

"Tell your soldiers to stand down or I'll make them stand down."

"Royal Guards, stand down!" Celestia ordered, neither she nor Luna taking their eyes off of the umbrum as the guards reluctantly lowered their weapons. "What do you want Sombra?"

Sombra glared at Celestia. "You know what I want. I want you and your sister to relinquish your positions as rulers of Equestria, recognize my reign as the Crystal Emperor and leave this land. Forever."

"Thou has lost all reason if thee think that we shalt agree to that, Sombra!" Luna spat.

Ignoring her, Sombra addressed Celestia: "There's also the matter of our daughter. Yes, I know about her."

Celestia figured that he would but it still froze her to the core to hear it come out of his mouth.

Steady there, Celestia. You can do this. You must.

"You can't have her," she began, her voice coming out raw as she felt her eyes tearing up. "I...I already got rid of her."

Sombra went rigid, his gaze bewildered. "What...what are you saying?"

Luna stared at Celestia and gave her an encouraging nod. Celestia took a deep breath and continued, sniffling as the tears flowed freely. "I couldn't let you have her and I couldn't keep her. What would the commoners think if they discovered that I had a child with the Shadow King?"

Even though she'd rehearsed those words before coming there, it still pained her nonetheless to speak them.

"She's gone, Sombra. I had to...get rid of her."

"No..." Sombra stared at the ground for a solid minute and then, to everypony's surprise, he sank to his hocks, his expression destitute, lifeless even. "No...no, you...no..."

Without warning, he threw his head back and a deafening sound erupted from his mouth, a wail that seemed to encapsulate all of the misery and heartbreak in the world. It was the sound of ultimate despair, something that Celestia herself experienced when her mother died. Despite his cruelty and malice, Celestia's heart broke at the sight of him crying for his lost child.

After an indeterminable amount of time had passed, during which Sombra hung his head silently, the Shadow King raised his head and shot Celestia a glare so full of hatred that it felt as though a part of her died on that very spot.

"You..." His voice came out deep and ragged. "There will come a day when you're watching your precious Equestria burn, when you're standing among the ashes, wondering, 'How could I let this happen?' On that very day, then and only then, you will know....what it is to suffer."

Without another word, he vanished in a flash of green flames.

"What have I done?" Celestia whimpered.

Author's Note:

Yes, I know this is a dark chapter but this is pretty much the only one like it. Even though Luna's manner of speaking seems out of place, they're all actually talking like that. I just wrote Luna like that just so she seems in character.

If this had musical numbers, I see Sombra having his own when discovering Celestia's betrayal. I can envision it being similar to "Hell to Your Doorstep" from The Count of Monte Cristo musical:

Comments

[Viper Pit]

Damn

[Wallens Sparkle]

Ok to be honest,my enthusiastic for this fanfic went a little bit down when I felt that it won't be twibra story,but for really this chapter really got my full interest!!,Well done written✨📝.And for what I just read I will assume that the daughter will be either twilight or cadence🤔either ways this will be interesting

[Coco Candy]

What Viper Pit said

[Unit_ZER0]

This song feels appropriate:

[MisterEdd]

10561882
Good pick!

[Deathclaw2014]

But why lie though?

[Vampire king Jonathan]

Don't forget WoW and magic the gathering and many mythos looks like you don't do your research that often trust me I do a lot of research

[MisterEdd]

11626542
Actually, "phylactery" is another word for "Tefillah," a type of object used in various Jewish faiths and rituals, which was then repurposed for fantasy books, roleplaying games and video games. Besides, it doesn't matter if it's 100% like WoW or D&D because this is my interpretation.

[Yubella]

9757191
That actually made it go up for me. But down when I read he banged sunbutt. Not hating on your ship but everywhere I look its either Twilight or Celestia getting paired with the characters I like while I'm trying to read anything else. It's like trying to find a doomfist centric fanfic or a my hero fanfic that doesn't revolve around deku or Hawke or side winds the ship or character I'm actually looking for.