The Return of the King

by MisterEdd

An Unexpected Visitor

Whack!

Blow after blow struck Sombra's body, his ribs cracking underneath the pressure of the royal guards' strikes. Strangely enough, the guards were twice their normal size and possessed blood-red coats and manes. They cackled while their mouths stretched open impossibly wide to show off rows of shark-like teeth, all of them glistening with gobs of thick saliva. Please...just let me die... Sombra inwardly whimpered. They paused and peered down at him with literal burning coals for eyes.

"You don't get to speak, you slime ball!" Thunderhead roared, blisters and popping boils dominating his crooked face. "You don't get to speak, you slime ball!"

Swift Spear kicked Sombra in the back, pinning him to the floor. "Shouldn't we hurry this along-along-along? Our shifts are going to end soon-soon-soon...!" He grunted with an eerie echo, his voice sounding like somepony rubbing together pieces of broken glass. The rancid stench of diced peppers and cheese practically suffocated Sombra and he found himself face-to-face with Golden Shield.

"You're not going to mention a word of this to anypony. If anypony asks, you had a nightmare and tumbled out of bed. I said, 'Are we clear?'"

Sombra tried to speak but nothing came out. Suddenly, all three guards started to spasm, their bones breaking and sections of skin sliding off their bodies in sludges of meat. Northern Imperial armor decorated their shimmering bodies, spears and swords dripping with blood appeared in their hooves. The crystal ponies towered over Sombra, who realized that he was now a colt! He turned to flee, only to be confronted with piles of umbrum corpses, all of them stacked up haphazardly in the snow.

"Sombra..." A single, dark-furred mare stood in the fog, her red eyes tearing up as she beheld Sombra.

Mother! Sombra yelled, only for it to come out as, "Móðir!"

"Sombra, barnið mitt …"

The crystal ponies took notice of the mare and shoved their weapons deep into her chest and torso. Sombra could only watch in horror as her abruptly massive body fell backwards and landed on top of him, crushing him beneath its bloody weight and trapping him in a world of perpetual darkness.

~*~

"MOTHER, NOOOO!"

Sombra's eyes sprang open, his chest painfully drawing in lung-fulls of air. He blinked and lifted his head up from his pillow, which was drenched in a thin layer of sweat. He was back in his temporary room in Canterlot Castle. No royal guards, no crystal ponies, no-

He took a deep breath and banished the images of his nightmare. He'd already lived through the Dravite Hill Massacre once. Twice was enough in his book. Laying his head back down, Sombra sighed and stared up at the ceiling, mentally counting the individual paint chips. There was no way in Tartarus he was going back to sleep so he might as well find a way to keep himself occupied until morning.

One...two...three...four....fi-

The door swung open, revealing an earth pony royal guard and the Princess of the Day herself who, judging by her moderately disheveled mane and ruffled coat, had just woken up herself.

"Thank you, Bastion, that'll be all," Princess Celestia said gently to the guard, who bowed and shut the door behind her. Very lightly, she slowly made her way across the room and stopped a couple of feet away. Sombra's heart seemed to slow down and speed up at the same time, a wellspring of emotions bursting forward inside of him. "A guard hurried into my bedchambers to awaken me. Apparently, he heard somepony screaming and it came from this room."

"It was nothing," Sombra lied, already annoyed by her presence. "It was probably the wind."

Princess Celestia lifted a brow. "The wind yelled out, 'Mother, no!'?"

"Why are you here, Celestia?" Sombra snapped. "So what if there was screaming? Since when do you give a care about me anyway? I'm the enemy, remember? The evil king that must be vanquished so that there can be peace throughout the land and the benevolent princess can be adored by her brain-washed masses."

What made Sombra's blood boil was Princess Celestia's reaction. He'd expected anger or disgust, perhaps a prepared speech on how wicked he is. Instead, she stared at him pitifully, like a disappointed mother.

"I do care, Sombra. That's why I'm here, why you're resting in a bed instead of bleeding in the dungeon."

It seemed as though she wanted to say more but elected to leave it at that.

Whatever. It's no skin off my muzzle.

"What was your mother's name?"

The question was so random that Sombra was momentarily rendered speechless.

"Persephone," he finally said, unaware of the slight crack in his voice. "Her name was Persephone."

Nodding understandably, Princess Celestia moved closer and Sombra instinctively tensed up. Her hoof came to rest on his own and despite his disgust, he made no attempt to move it away. Pink eyes full of tenderness met his own and he forgot why he was even angry in the first place. He remembered a different life, one ages ago when he was a prince and fell in love with a young princess. They chased one another through the Canterlot royal gardens and laid atop the rooftop of the Crystal Castle's observatory tower. And the way they danced at the Grand Galloping Gala! It was as though only the two of them existed and the music was playing for them and them alone.

"I lost my mother too. I understand."

At that moment, it was like a romance story. The long-lost lovers are reunited and in spite of their past feud with one another, they find it in their hearts to forgive each other and lock lips in a passionate and long-overdo kiss. Of course, this wasn't a romance story. Sombra wretched his hoof away, the anger returning to his heart. All of the happy memories of youthful love were replaced with ones of lies, betrayal, murder and battlefield bloodshed.

"So what? Is that supposed to mean that you understand what I've been through? That you know what it is to truly suffer? No Celestia. You will never understand. You haven't seen the horrors of the world. I have."

Stunned and hurt, Princess Celestia stayed frozen to her spot for a solid minute or two before she finally backed away. Sombra refused to watch her go and heard the door open and slam shut. He smiled and turned his head to face the window.

Serves her right for being an insufferable know-it-all. "Oh, I'm the Princess of Equestria and that means I know everything!" Presumptuous cow.

And yet, for some inexplicable reason, Sombra was touched by her concern. It'd been centuries since he'd felt like anypony gave a second thought about him, what with his status as an umbrum and dark sorcerer. Yet what puzzled him the most was that it was Celestia of all ponies. Why? Why would she care whether or not he was jostled by a bad dream? He was her mortal enemy, the antithesis of everything she stood for.

"It just doesn't add up," Sombra whispered aloud.

Ugh, it's going to be a loooong night.

Comments

[Crystal Night]

Nooooo, the chapter is over!! It was good tho!

[MisterEdd]

9601048
Yeah? I'm glad that you think so!

[Reilord]

Really love how you develop King Sombra over the chapters. Too bad the main series didn't elaborate further in his origins. It will be unlikely but I really hope he comes back for an episode or two in the final season.

Looking forward for your stories! You are quite a good writer. I can't wait to find out more about the motivations behind the Massacre.

[MisterEdd]

9601508
Thank you very much!

[Wallens Sparkle]

9601508
Mlp really wasted King Sombra character\:

[Moonlight_shadow78]

Yea...

In season 9 they brought him back JUST TO KILL HIM OFF AGAIN!

[Sephocolys]

9760331
Please don't remind me of that.