The Good King Returning Alive

by Misty Shadow

Forgotten Redemption

Some time had passed since the umbrum’s plan to take over the Crystal Empire, and Equestria in subsequence, had been foiled. Equestria was now in the most peaceful state it had been in for many moons, and the rulers of it, Princesses Celestia and Luna, were now planning on retiring, leaving Princess Twilight Sparkle in charge. But Twilight and her friends were not the only ones with a story to tell. Our story follows the newly reformed King Sombra, who, once an umbrum himself, was transformed into a normal unicorn following his heroic action against the umbrum.

Problem is, Sombra’s tale of redemption has been lost to legend...a wicked force has twisted the truth, doing evil while wearing the now good king’s face...

Equestria’s official record states that King Sombra recently returned as a tyrannical avenger, attempting a takeover of the Empire and then all of Equestria before he was defeated. But how could he? He was dispelled into the ether by the Crystal Heart when he first returned, and that is where the memories most Equestrians have of King Sombra end before this most recent takeover was attempted. Few remember what really happened, that after the umbrum were thwarted, the evil King Sombra, having returned again, was not destroyed, but saved. Since then, he has been gathering the shattered and scattered pieces of the Empire’s original ruler, Princess Amore, in hopes of restoring her with his friend, Radiant Hope. And now that their quest is complete, the good king is returning to the Empire alive…

...but now, a new quest for them has begun…a battle against confusion, a war against the darkness that has come from Sombra’s newfound light...

“Would you come with us?”

It did not take long for the now reformed Sombra and Radiant Hope to be greeted by Crystal guards upon their return and escorted to the castle. The two attempted to remain optimistic as they were led to the throne room of the Empire’s current ruler, Princess Cadance, but upon entering, that optimism was gradually diminished by a stern glare from the regent, staring them down with an unsettling frown.

“You may take your leave.” she told the guards, leaving the two friends alone with the kingdom’s clearly wary leader. Sombra, feeling her distrust could not be too strong if she was willing to be alone with them, decided to speak up.

“Your Majesty,” said Sombra, “I bring you good news-”

“Say no more.” Cadance interjected. “First, I want both of you to tell me your name and purpose. Starting with you.”

She said this while pointing a hoof at the pinkish-purple mare with pale blue hair, carrying a brown parcel on her back.

“My name is Radiant Hope.” Hope answered. “I was Sombra’s aide on his quest to recover the remains of Princess Amore, the former ruler of this kingdom.”

“...So you mean to tell me this stallion is…” she said while giving Sombra an unconvinced look.

“Yes, I am Sombra.” he introduced himself. “My purpose is as Hope stated. I’m surprised you don’t recognize me, even granted my new appearance. After all, it was you who helped the other princesses transform me from an umbrum into this likeness.”

“He knows of the umbrum?” Cadance asked herself in thought, perplexed as she looked upon the gray, black-haired unicorn who now had a normal horn and a green jewel in his headpiece.

“Though I would love to give both of you the benefit of the doubt,” she told them, “what you speak of, there is no record. What we do have on record, however, is documentation of this kingdom’s other former ruler, King Sombra, invading this land and taking my castle for himself before being banished by the Elements of Harmony.”

“WHAT?!” Sombra yelled in shock. “That’s-”

“THAT’S A LIE!” Hope cried. “That record is FORGED! Sombra has been with me the entire time! I know he has!”

“Though I appreciate the yelling and baseless accusations,” retorted Cadance sarcastically, “my royal recorders do not waste ink and paper on fiction, discounting my 4 o’clock stories. I’ll also have you know that every one of my subjects can corroborate the official story. If you continue with this deception, it will be all too easy to reserve a spot for both of you in the dungeon.”

“Gah, this can’t be happening!” Sombra exclaimed in his mind, franting. “I’ve CHANGED, CAN’T SHE SEE?!”

“I don’t care what she says!” Hope stood firm in thought. “If she’s telling the truth, that Sombra must have been an imposter! The real Sombra was with me gathering...wait a minute, that’s it!”

“Hold on a second!” she declared as she took the parcel from her back in hoof. “If we’re phony balognas, then how do you explain THESE?!”

Hope opened the parcel and held out a red stone. Cadance just stared at her bemusedly, unmoved.

“And painted rocks are going to change my mind because-”

Cadance was interrupted, her expression changed, however, once she felt a strong and familiar light coming from her. She looked at her cutie mark and noticed that it was glowing.

“No way…” she said, now donning a look of astonishment. “Are those really…”

“Yeah.” Hope confirmed. “They’re the shattered remains of Princess Amore. Sombra turned her into crystal a thousand years ago and broke her apart. But now that we’ve found all her pieces, she can come back to life again.”

“But that would mean…” Cadance said solemnly, almost wishing now that they were lying, as she turned to Sombra.

“An apology is not enough.” the good Sombra passively admitted, bowing his head. “This is why we come to you, bearing the key to completing my penance. We’re here because we need your help. Please, even if you do not believe us, we can not restore Princess Amore without the magic of another crystal princess.”

“I...I…” Cadance stuttered, battling against her conflicted feelings. “I do want to believe you. But this is all just so...mind-boggling.”

“If you truly can’t trust us…” Radiant Hope said despondently as she looked down at the floor. “...then you can take her pieces and put us in the dungeon. It’s what we deserve, anyway.”

“No, no, no.” Cadance replied. “I can at least tell that you are a pure-hearted lot. Confused and conflicted as I am, I know for sure now this is not part of some illicit ploy. I will aid you in your cause to bring Princess Amore back.”

“Really?!” Hope and Sombra both exclaimed gleefully, their faces beaming.

“Yes…” Cadance answered, now complying, but not sharing their enthusiasm. “Unfortunately though, I can not restore her right here and now.”

“Why not?” they asked, puzzled.

“This is normally not something I should be divulging to outsiders…” Cadance replied. “But it seems I must tell you that in order for me to restore the princess, my magic must be at its most powerful. That is when the spirits of the Crystal Ponies are lifted...and right now...they are not.”

“What?!” they exclaimed, startled as Cadance turned her head away in shame. “What could’ve happened to make them lose hope?”

“It was King So-” Cadance paused before she gave her answer. “...I mean, that monster calling himself Sombra’s return that caused them to lose confidence in themselves. Twilight and her friends needed the Elements of Harmony to defeat him, and now, those Elements are gone, destroyed by him. The Crystal Heart couldn’t stop him from invading either and the reveal of Discord actually having everything under control the whole time was just the final nail in the coffin.”

“Discord?” Sombra asked in bewilderment. “I’ve not heard of that name in ages. He’s back? Is he good now? Still evil?”

“No one really knows what to think…” a weary Cadance replied bemusedly. “Regardless, I think it would help you, and a lot of us for that matter, to try and get some answers out of him. First, however, I would suggest making your way to Canterlot and seeking the help of my sister-in-law, Princess Twilight. I’ll write a letter to her explaining everything so that you aren’t met with treatment similar to what you received here...forgive me, please.”

“It’s no trouble.” Sombra comforted her warmly. “I’d be suspicious too if I was in your place. And after what I did last time, your unquestioning trust is the last thing I deserve.”

“Whoever this is,” thought a more confident Cadance, “there is no way he could be the Sombra I know. But he also claims that I had a part in reforming him...so why can I not remember...UGH!”

“Are you alright?” Hope asked as the crystal princess clutched her head in pain.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Cadance hurriedly answered. “Just a migraine from lack of sleep, don’t you hate those?”

“Uh huh, those are the worst…” Hope replied insincerely, growing suspicious of the presence of a dark force.

“No one likes sarcasm.” Cadance quoted her sister-in-law, looking right through Hope. “Do you trust me to help you, or not?”

“Of course I trust you.” Hope answered bluntly. “In fact, I want you to tell me everything that happened here at the Empire when the monster calling himself Sombra invaded. I want all the details from your account.”

And so, Cadance relayed the entire story to Hope and Sombra, as well as the location of the royal palace in Canterlot that now belonged to her sister-in-law. Even though the two smiled at Cadance, thanking her kindly when the time came for them to leave, it had been hard to hide the fact that they were flabbergasted by what they were told.

“Can you believe they actually thought that was you?” a disgruntled Hope complained.

“You’re telling me!” Sombra retorted, feeling insulted. “They actually think I laugh like that?!”

“And then you supposedly stalked Twilight and her friends right after you got banished? Who in their right mind would buy into this garbage?”

“All of Equestria, apparently. This phony me must pay. Even I didn’t brainwash my subjects this badly back when I was evil.”

“Well good luck with that, since that phony you is now gone...supposedly…”

“You don’t think…”

Both of them had paused to look back at the Empire, sensing that there was something even more wrong here than they initially thought…

“Ha ha ha ha ha…” a green-eyed shadow appearing behind a green-eyed Cadance cackled ominously. “All according to plan. They may think they’re on the right track, but little do they know, I’ve prepared another scapegoat…”

“Grrgh…” a familiar growl could be heard from the shadows as a hooded gray stallion stepped out from them...

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

Um... Look it's been awhile since I've read Siege of the Crystal Empire, but didn't everyone know that Sombra had been reformed?

[Misty Shadow]

10235657

Read the description, their memories have been doctored. That's the major conflict of the story at the moment.

[Another Nopony]

The answer is Reflections' formerly good Sombra, isn't it? It's either that or Discord made a whole new evil Sombra completely from scratch. Still doesn't explain the memory loss though.

[Undefiant]

This is some good shit.

[Sephocolys]

nice intro!