The Return of the King

by MisterEdd

Welcoming Committee

After Sombra's little reveal about the cause of the umbrum's near-extinction, nothing more was shared between the two. Twilight politely bid him farewell and promised to return, though he still couldn't fathom why she'd make such a promise. Then again, he didn't expect her to hold herself to her word so he paid it no mind. The cell door squeaked open and a shadow was cast over Sombra, who lowered his astrology book to stare confusingly up at this interruption. Three royal guards, one unicorn and two pegasi, glared darkly at him.

"Good evening, gentlecolts. A little late for my daily exercise."

The unicorn, a silver-gray stallion ironically named Golden Shield, nodded his head sharply at his winged compatriots, who each grabbed ahold of Sombra's forelegs. Despite his protests, Sombra found himself dragged out of his cot and tossed onto the limestone floor of his cell. He winced as he lifted his head, having scraped his cheek and temple.

"What in Tartarus are you-...?"

One of the pegasi, a burly-looking gray-brown thug, slugged Sombra on his unmarked cheek, sending him tumbling once more onto the dusty floor. "You don't get to speak, you slime ball!"

"Thunderhead! What did I tell you?!" Golden Shield admonished. "No marks on the face!"

It was somewhat amusing to see the much larger stallion hanging his head like a colt caught stealing from the cookie jar. "Sorry, Sir. I just got excited."

"Well try to keep your excitement in check! Nopony can know what we're doing here!"

The second pegasus, who was white maned with a light blue coat, chimed in, "Shouldn't we hurry this along? Our shifts are going to end soon and we don't want the guards relieving us to get any ideas!"

Golden Shield patted the pegasus on the back. "Good thinking, Swift Spear. We should get to work instead of wasting time arguing. We won't get many chances to do this."

Rising to his hooves, Sombra gritted his teeth and was ready to curse the trio out when Golden Shield's right hindleg shot out, delivering a hard blow to the umbrum's side. He was sent rolling into the wall behind him, the wind knocked out of his lungs from the collision. Stars filled Sombra's vision. It'd been a long time since he'd felt any real pain and swore at himself for his inability to use magic. Fear stabbed at his heart. The fear of helplessness.

The three guards quickly got to work, punching and kicking Sombra in the ribs, back and stomach, their strikes a random frenzy of pure hatred and disgust. Agony dominated Sombra's world, along with terror and humiliation. Is this what I've been reduced to? A scared little punching bag? Perhaps I should've stayed dead.

Mercifully, the torment ended and the three guards were left sweaty and panting for air. The one called Thunderhead slammed his forehoof into Sombra's sternum, sending blood dripping down the ex-king's lips and chin.

Please, just...let it end. Faust, let it end.

He wasn't a doctor but he knew that something had to have been broken.

Golden Shield then leaned downward, his breath reeking of diced peppers and cheese. "You're not going to mention a word of this to anypony. If anypony asks, you had a nightmare and tumbled out of bed. Are we clear?"

Sombra couldn't respond; the pain was too much for him to bear. A rear hoof then slammed into his left hock, eliciting a scream out of him. Iwillpersonallyobliterateyou,youblackguards,IsweartoFaust!

"I said, 'Are we clear?'"

Fight through the pain, fight through the pain!

"Yesssss….yes! Cr-crystal!"

Golden Shield nodded and walked away, a noticeable swagger in his step. Thunderhead then appeared in Sombra's line of sight and grinned maliciously. Something hard came into contact with Sombra's head and he then let the darkness take him, the banging of the cell door and the guards' laughter seemingly miles away.

Light pierced Sombra's eyes and he slowly blinked them open, a soft sustained grunt slipping through his lips. Once the fog in his vision dissipated, he realized that he was in a bedroom of some kind, an orange female unicorn wiping his brow with a wet rag.

"Oh good, you're awake!" The unicorn gasped, her scrubs and stethoscope serving as obvious signs of her profession. "Due to the severe pain of having three cracked ribs, four broken ribs, a fractured hock and a concussion, I wasn't sure how long you'd be out for!"

"Wh...where am...I?"

"In the castle," a familiar voice boomed from the doorway, interrupting the doctor. Surprisingly, it was Princess Luna that had chosen to grace the room with her presence. "That'll be all, Doctor First Aid."

"Y-yes, Your Majesty!" Doctor First Aid bowed and scurried out of the room, magically slamming the door behind her. Sombra groaned and took a deep breath.

"Her bedside manner leaves a lot to be desired."

Princess Luna peered at him unamusingly. "Indeed. Would you care to tell me how all of this happened?" She asked, gesturing to all of Sombra, her face blank but her eyes conveying what appeared to be...worry? Concern?

"I was having a nightmare, woke up and fell out of bed," Sombra replied without missing a beat.

Princess Luna lifted a skeptical eyebrow. "Did you now? It must've been terrible."

"You have no idea." Something then crossed Sombra's mind. "Why? Why would you help me?"

"Because even though thou art a prisoner, thou art still a pony and in our custody," came her curt reply. "It would've been barbaric to have left thou on the floor."

"You mean, 'merciful'?" Princess Luna appeared confused so Sombra elaborated. "Here I am, wasting away in a Tartarus-forsaken dungeon, no magic, being watched by my worst enemies, presumably until I die, which is still centuries away. You should've left me there on the floor."

"Mayhaps," Princess Luna admitted, though her softening features made it clear that she wasn't being serious. "Then again, there would've been a time when I would've said the same exact thing. I assume that you learned about Nightmare Moon?"

"Yes."

"Then you should know that I committed horrible acts, acts that will haunt me from here to eternity. Perhaps..." She looked towards the window, staring at the starry veil of night. "...I see myself when I look at you. I see a lost soul, one that needs to be guided. Somepony that, like myself, needs to be brought back into the light."

"Spare me your 'there's-still-good-in-you' crap!" Sombra spat, wincing as he sat up. "There's no good left! Your whole wretched race made certain of that! And there will come a day when I escape here, regain my power and take you and Celestia out! I am now, and forever, your enemy!"

The Princess of the Night observed Sombra for a few minutes, as if piecing together a rather difficult puzzle. "Then why are you still here?"

Sombra's anger gave way to perplexity. "What do you mean? I'm your prisoner, that's why!"

"Let me rephrase that," Princess Luna stated calmly. "If you are truly and wholly lacking in goodness, then why are you still here? The Elements of Harmony took away your magic yet left you unharmed. You weren't banished to another realm nor turned to stone. If you truly were as wicked as you state to be, then why have you avoided a worst fate?"

"Because..." Sombra's brow crinkled in puzzlement. That was a good question. Why was he still here?

"I remember a time when you were like a brother to me," Princess Luna said softly. "When you were kind and gentle. When you were Prince Tourmaline."

"That name," Sombra growled, "Has no meaning to me. 'Prince Tourmaline' was a lie, a façade for the crystal ponies to traipse around. He wasn't real. This," he affirmed, gesturing to his chest with both hooves, "Is the real me."

Princess Luna shrugged, "If you insist" and promptly made her way to the door.

A chill ran down Sombra's spine. Twilight had said something similar the first time she'd visited him in his confinement.

It doesn't matter! They're all looking for something that isn't there!

"But consider this," Princess Luna added, snapping Sombra away from his thoughts. "A truly wicked stallion would not have hesitated to kill his enemies when he had the chance." She then closed and locked the door behind her.

Comments

[Viper Pit]

Luna has a point

[MisterEdd]

9616894
Maybe it'll pay off somehow?

[Moonlight_shadow78]

I swear if I could I would destroy those royal jerks. Are they gonna be brought to justice in this story?

[Wallens Sparkle]

The guards are really #$%#!^^
Luna is always amazing when it comes to advises and a small relief chats :3

[MisterEdd]

9757238
You'll seeeeeeee