Sombra Enters
“I’m now made of cloud and shadow…”
This is what Cloud Shroud said to himself as the shock of learning his true nature sent him back to the dark realm of his soul where the Windigos first introduced themselves to him. This time, however, the sensation was different, as if he had entered a different part of the realm of his spirit. Once again, the only light he could see in front of him was a flame...only this time, the flame was purple…
“Ha ha ha ha ha…”
A familiar laugh came from an all too familiar shadow with green eyes that finally manifested itself into…
“King Sombra.” Cloud Shroud said in astonishment. “I can’t believe this…”
“Why are you so surprised that it’s been me all this time?” Sombra playfully retorted. “There were clues everywhere. Not only was I your favorite villain, but you used to love following clues that led you to the conclusion that I had...never actually died.”
“Was I right?” Cloud asked nervously.
“More or less.” Sombra answered. “In the context of the human world, I most certainly can not die, for I am a concept. In the context of the world of Equestria, I am in fact deceased...by their definition.”
“What do you mean?” Cloud asked curiously. “What is...their definition?”
“I was banished by the light, therefore, I am gone for good.” Sombra explained to him in a tone that made him sound hurt. “I’m sure you understand why this is a fate worse than death.”
“Indeed I do.” Cloud replied, feeling a familiar sense of empathy. “No one wants to be “dead”. We’re either alive, having to live life, or dead, having to move on. You’re going through an identity crisis.”
“Exactly.” Sombra said bluntly. “I have no life or afterlife to call my own. The emptiness I feel right now, having nowhere to belong to, it’s a fate worse than being a ghost. Even ghosts can linger freely, but I am confined to servitude. Perhaps this is a divine punishment meant to teach me how my subjects felt when they were enslaved…”
“Servitude?” Cloud questioned. “Who do you have to serve?”
“Princess Luna.” Sombra answered, leaving Cloud stunned. “She ordered me to watch over you as soon as she and Celestia learned what the Windigos were planning.”
“What?!” Cloud exclaimed in disbelief. “The rulers of Equestria have known about me being a human called there by monsters who have threatened their land this whole time?! And they probed you into this instead of Twilight Sparkle and her friends?! What’s going on?!”
“Equestria is not ready to handle the truth about the Windigos being more than just monsters.” Sombra elucidated the matter. “I was chosen for the task because I am the only one capable of talking to you like this without any fear of the Windigos overhearing. This is more than just a different part of your soul...you’re also inside of my soul.”
“What the...how does that work?!” Cloud yelled in bemusement.
“Isn’t it obvious from the fact that you’re made of shadow now too?” Sombra replied with a devilish smirk. “We are now one being.”
Cloud was shocked. He remembered what the Windigos said about how his new body would be constructed from the fabric of his spirit, and something dawned on him…
“Your new body is constructed by your will.” Sombra continued to explain. “It was your love for wanting to be free from your troubles like a cloud in the sky and your love for darkness that created this magical change. That love is part of the fire that drew the Windigos to you...and while they knew what would happen once you accepted their offer, it was ultimately you who chose to undergo this most marvelous of fusions.”
“You mean most weird!” Cloud retorted in frustration. “Why is this all happening to me? Why was I chosen by them? Why me when it literally could have been anyone else?”
“The reason all of this is happening to you is not something so hackneyed as you being the chosen one…” Sombra replied solemnly. “...as I’ve already told you, you willed this. Nothing happens purely by chance or purely because it’s been ordained by a higher power. The reason it seems like nothing ever changes in your world is because your world has largely forgotten its magic...the magic of willpower.”
“That’s ludicrous.” Cloud dismissed such a notion. “We can’t change anything in this world. It doesn’t matter where you go, all you see is darkness. That’s why you just have to focus on yourself, knowing that all you have is your fire...wait…”
The truth finally hit Cloud once he looked around and realized why the realm of his soul was the way it was...it wasn’t just like this for no reason...he had subconsciously created this space through the power of his will.
“You’re seeing the truth…” Sombra said with a sly smirk. “You are not a product of your environment. Your environment is a product of you. Even if Luna hadn’t sent me, I would’ve come to you anyways...because you love me.”
“I...I’m...choosing this…?” Cloud fearfully muttered, having difficulty processing the truth. “But how? They all made me feel...like I could never change anything…”
Cloud started having flashbacks to the darkest hours of dealing with abuse from his family and people he thought were his friends, and unable to bear the mental pressure, he sunk to the floor and started clutching himself. Sombra, still smirking, moved closer to him.
“Do you see now why you can’t do anything without my help?” Sombra deviously told him, holding out a hoof. “Without me to guide you, you are but a lost soul with no purpose. And without purpose, you can accomplish nothing worthwhile. The Windigos will surely exploit such a vulnerability and use you to harm Equestria for their selfish plans. However, if you listen to me, not only will you save Equestria, you will make it even greater than it was before. You can create a new land that understands others like you and me...like us.”
After hearing that, Cloud began to calm down. Though he was suspicious of Sombra’s sinister countenance, nothing he had said sounded wrong to him. Sombra was indeed still “evil” by Equestria’s definition, but for the rulers of Equestria to suddenly trust him, something about their definition definitely had to be off, like he had always believed. And he had also always believed that Equestria’s definition of “deceased” was off too…
“I do trust you more than the Windigos…” Cloud finally spoke up, telling Sombra how he honestly felt. “...so I hope you will return that trust by being more upfront in how you divulge information to me regarding your plan.”
“Splendid.” Sombra cheerfully replied, closing his eyes and smiling a giddy grin. “I will certainly reward your trust by telling you straight up that the plan is to gradually reveal the truth of what’s really going on to the residents of Equestria. And we’ll start by telling them the truth of what really happened when they “defeated” me…”
Sombra used his magic to make a folder of files appear. Levitating it with his horn, he handed it to Cloud, who opened it. Reading the details of the files, the look on his face became unnerved.
“This...how…?!” he exclaimed in shock.
“Yes.” Sombra replied bluntly. “We need to tell them the truth of how it was all a lie. An even greater lie than Twilight believes...”
Darkness surrounded the two as the scene shifted to Sugarcube Corner, the focus beginning on Twilight’s eye and zooming out to show her and all of her friends staring up at the TV, stunned.
“I should’ve known…” an astonished Twilight told herself in her mind, recalling how disappointed she was the day she learned her defeat of Sombra was a setup. “Sombra was never truly gone...and he’s back for revenge…”
But little did Twilight know, this was not something for something so simple as vengeance. Sombra had a much different plan for her and her friends in mind than they ever could have imagined. A plan that would soon unfold as the shadow king’s second coming, they would behold on national television.
"This time..." he thought to himself deviously. "I have no intention of conquering this land through blunt force. This time, I will gain power without making a single attack on the land of Equestria. After all, I never promised not to use a different kind of magic for manipulating ponies...the magic of charisma...heh heh heh..."
From Cloud Shroud, a ball of light appeared that exploded, causing the eyes of all the ponies there and every pony watching the live broadcast to briefly glow as they felt a bizarre, yet soothing sensation come over them...
A sensation that told them to be still and listen to the words of one with power...
It was then that Sombra's shadow form appeared from Cloud and manifested himself into the form of a pony before he began to walk on the clouds.
“A-AAAAHHHH!” the news reporter cried in terror, as his entire news crew was mortified.
“Fear not.” Sombra said eloquently, holding out a hoof. “For I come in peace. I only request...an interview.”
Now, the news crew was less afraid and more puzzled in the presence of the shadow king.
“D-do…” the reporter interviewing Cloud before stammered. “Do you want me to interview you?”
“Sure, Mr. Fax First.” Sombra answered by finally stating the reporter’s name. “You may ask me anything you please.”
“What in Celestia’s name am I seeing?!” Rainbow bellowed in thought, less phased by Sombra's charisma from her stubborn personality. “Sombra was inside of Cloud Shroud the whole time...and now he’s being nice?! Why?!”
“...” Cloud looked down somberly, only being able to imagine Rainbow’s disbelief. He knew that shock would only increase throughout the course of Sombra’s interview, as she and her friends would soon have to confront a most unpleasant reality…
“My first question is…” the still bewildered Fax First began his interview with the dark regent. “...how did you return and why?”
“Ah-ah-ah, that’s two questions!” Sombra cheekily teased him. “But because I like you a lot, I’ll answer them both at the same time. I was able to find my way out of the darkness I was banished to thanks to the power of love, and I returned for the power of love!”
“................................” everyone was silent...and flabbergasted.
“What. a. fruitcake.” an unamused Rainbow Dash remarked in her mind.
“Even I have no clue why he went from being so serious to so corny!” a disbelieving Cloud exclaimed in his mind. “Then again, he went through a similar change before…”
“.....Is this part of a joke?” Fax asked, more bemused than ever. “Can you...delve into specifics?”
“Love isn’t the kind of thing you can just explain off the top of your head!” Sombra answered, still being flamboyant. “And I can’t tell you every little detail, since I made a pretty big promise to a special somepony. What I can tell you though is that I was, by every sense of your interpretation of the word, dead. And my friend Cloud used his magic to bring me back to life!”
Everyone was even more speechless and flabbergasted than before.
“WWWWWHHHHHAAAAATTTTT?!” Rainbow blurted out, unable to take it anymore. “DUDE, WHAT IS WITH YOU?! DID YOUR BRAIN NOT FULLY RECOVER FROM BEING DISINTEGRATED OR SOMETHING?!”
Sombra snickered ominously and Cloud put his hoof on his face, already knowing the reason...
“Rainbow...your brain is the one in need of a recovery…” Cloud thought derisively.
“So can I take that as a confession that you and your friends killed me?” Sombra asked in a menacing tone.
Rainbow’s face showed a blank expression once she realized the error of her ways as Fax First’s countenance became an unsettling look of glee.
“Oh, I get it now…” they both thought simultaneously.
“We are going to be so deep in dung…” Rainbow thought worriedly.
“We are going to be so deep in moolah!” Fax exclaimed greedily in thought. “Nya ha ha ha ha!”
Fax, immediately realizing the best new attitude to wear for this unprecedented event, moved to feigning sympathy for Sombra.
“This is unconceivable!” he declared dramatically, putting on his act. “Dear Celestia, we must know how you fared against this most unimaginable of circumstances! Why, just the very suggestion of the Elements, the most trusted and prestigious protectors of our land, robbing even a disreputable assailant of their life is enough to make one shudder!”
“I can even show proof of how I’m not as bad as you’ve been told.” Sombra proclaimed confidently. “But that’s best saved for another segment. Right now, let’s focus on the more pressing issue...you would naturally assume that the Elements were left with no choice but to dispatch me in justifiable self-defense, correct?”
“Of course.” Fax answered with a smug grin, already predicting Sombra’s next line of dialogue.
“You would assume wrong.” Sombra asserted with a most sinister look in his eyes. “In neither of my assaults on the Crystal Empire or Ponyville did I make any attempt at taking any pony’s life. In fact, it was the Elements who attacked me first with the intent to kill. All I did from then on was defend myself with my dark magic.”
Twilight and her friends gasped in horror.
“That’s bologna!” Rainbow Dash immediately objected, sweating. “He’s totally framing us out of context!”
“But…” Twilight thought guiltily. “There’s no clear contradiction in what he just said. I just...always viewed what we were doing as dispelling a shadow, not depriving a stallion of his life...even King Sombra doesn’t deserve to die…”
“Where’s your proof that we killed you?!” Rainbow yelled indignantly. “Show us proof! You’re the bad guy here! The burden of proof is on you!”
“Since you’re begging just like a peasant…” Sombra snidely retorted. “Why don’t you look at the ground below where you should be groveling? I’m walking on the clouds without a spell. Don’t you find that abnormal? Or should I say, paranormal?”
“That doesn’t prove you’re a ghost!” Rainbow rebutted. “You’re a shadow pony who just came from a cloud pony! That’s even more unbelievable than any ghost story I’ve ever heard, who’s to say this isn’t some new kind of trick?”
“You should know no one likes arbitrary skepticism.” Sombra continued to mock her. “But very well. Would you like me to present indisputable proof?”
“Lay it on me, tough guy!” Rainbow made a bold comeback as she pulled out her chest and put her front hooves to it confidently.
“She’s a true musclehead…” Cloud mused to himself in his mind. “I can’t imagine anything inside of her head besides muscles after this...”
“I aim to please.” an unmoved Sombra said joyfully as he made one of the files in the folder he had shown Cloud appear with his magic. He levitated it so that everyone could clearly see an official document from Equestria’s library of royal records. Proof of it not being a forgery was displayed by an official stamp from the justice minister. It was a profile of him that had the following word listed by his name and photograph...DECEASED.
“...” Rainbow couldn’t believe it. Neither could any of her friends watching at Sugarcube Corner.
“...No…” Rainbow said meekly, feeling both humiliated and guilty.
“I never thought I would see this day.” Twilight remarked in disbelief, feeling a sense of disillusionment and remorse that all of her friends shared. “Did Celestia and Luna mean to warn me of this when we last talked?”
Twilight began reliving a memory of a haunting discussion she had with her former mentor and former mentor’s sibling after her coronation…
“Phew!” she had exclaimed in relief to Celestia that night in the royal palace. “What a wild ride of a day! Good thing I have such great friends to pick me up when I fall down, and such a great teacher who taught me everything I needed to know!”
“...” Celestia had attempted to force a smile and a cheerful acknowledgement of her former student’s laud, but ultimately could not. Instead, she looked forlorn, bothering Twilight.
“What’s the matter?” Twilight asked in concern. “You seemed so lively only moments ago.”
“I am more than happy for you, Twilight.” Celestia responded sincerely. “I couldn’t have asked for a better student. It’s just that in retrospect, I don’t feel I’ve done my full service to you as a teacher.”
“Why?” Twilight asked, growing disheartened. “You’re amazing! Where could you have gone wrong?”
“I didn’t teach you everything you needed to know.” Celestia answered solemnly. “I’m not taking what you said literally, as I know full well that none are capable of omniscience. What I mean is that I don’t feel I’ve adequately prepared you for handling a darkness far greater than what you know…”
“...?!” Luna, who had been gazing at the stars outside a window, overheard and was taken aback. “Sister…”
“What darkness could be greater than those three with Grogar’s magic?!” a perturbed and perplexed Twilight exclaimed. “And even though my friends and I didn’t truly defeat Sombra, we surely could now!”
“About Sombra…” Celestia prepared to reply uncomfortably, guiltily shutting her eyes, biting her lip, and turning her head…
“That’s ENOUGH, SISTER!” Luna abruptly bellowed. “You know full well what I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR!”
“Luna...stop blaming yourself…” Celestia replied in consolation. “You know what I made you guilty of...and what I made Twilight guilty of in turn…”
At this point, the evocative nature of the memory was too much, and Twilight snapped back to reality, ready to cry.
“So that’s what she meant…” Twilight thought despondently. “That’s what she was so distraught over...she must have found out what I had done to Sombra...and could no longer conceal her guilt over the fact...that her favorite student...turned out to be a MURDERER!”
“WHAT HAVE I DONE?!” Twilight, despairing, cried in regret.
The Windigos, who were watching the Elements as invisible apparitions, were fed by their self-contempt, particularly Twilight’s.
“Wow, we should start asking Sombra and that Fax First guy for pointers.” Aero remarked. “Especially Fax. If such a thing as evil actually exists, he fits the bill even better.”
“A meal’s a meal, I guess…” Aera chimed in. “But I wonder if even these bleeding heart scum, including the stupid, silver spoon-spoiled princess, deserve this.”
“You two are too fast to forget.” Aeros criticized his colleagues. “It is only because of the soft, privileged times these ponies live in that they are able to feel sentiment for an enemy. Were they put under the hardship from the dark times we endured, their hearts would become like stone, and they would treat us the same way the ones who abandoned us to Belohzhero did…”
Aeros was a tough character, but his frustration came from a place of sincerity. He was one who stood by his word, thus why he and his comrades had not abandoned Cloud’s human body…
Back in the human world, Ken was still lying out on the ground on that cold night. Time had stood still since his soul had been transported to Equestria, but his body was still in need of warmth that the Windigos were providing. However, Sombra had been true to his word too. The fire being enhanced by the Windigos was also part of Ken’s will, and that will attracted a certain creature seeking warmth…
...a lizard…
“Heh heh heh.” Sombra chuckled to himself in thought, knowing what was going on. “Just you wait, you freak…”
“So Sombra,” interjected Fax, “would you say that you hold a grudge against Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends?”
“Honestly, I can’t say that I do.” Sombra replied, exuding an aura of tranquility that shocked everyone watching, and even provoked Twilight to lift her head. “As incredible as that sounds, I feel that it’s love from my new friend...that abated the strong grudge I should bear against them.”
“I guess you understand better than they do now that friendship is magic, ha ha ha!” Fax jeered the Elements before a haughty guffaw.
“Hey, I think I found the silver lining to all this!” Rainbow exclaimed in thought. “Now that Sombra’s not actually that bad, I can hate this blowhard more without feeling immature!”
“So how exactly would you describe your relationship with Cloud?” Faux asked curiously. “I mean, since you’re both technically living together with you being inside of him...could it be…?”
“That’s not it!” Sombra giddily denied. “It’s not like that, I just live inside of his soul, like a roommate! We’re soulmates!”
The extremely gawkish nature of this joke was not enough to stop Equestrians everywhere from bursting out in laughter. Lyra even had to do the Heimlich maneuver on Bon-Bon after she started choking on a banana. Rainbow Dash, however, was just staring at the scene in bemusement while Cloud blushed in embarrassment.
“Did...did my will do this too?” he pondered to himself. “Is Sombra trying to show me how much my love for him has changed him? Is he trying to show me how I can...change the world around me...by just being myself?”
“Trust me, Cloud…” Sombra said forebodingly in thought. “We’ve only just begun...soulmate.”
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well... i ship it i guess?
10420589
You do you. 
This legit made me laugh.
10421208
i mean... one of them has already been inside the other.
10421226
It's part of the joke, but again, interpret it however you want.
Hum, weird chapter, not that I am against Sombra being there, but I find the idea of him being sent to 'Help' Shroud by Celestia dubious at best. Still it could be interesting to see where this goes with sombra making a further mess of things.
10421231
Sombra was always there, this was entirely planned from the start as you could see by the shadow being Luna's agent. Celestia's not stupid, if Luna has some idea of what's going on, one would naturally assume she does too.
Chapter 5 has been re-titled in response to the recent bemused reactions I've been receiving. Since it appears that people are not enjoying the current, intended story progression, certain plans for the series may be canceled.
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/916241/plans-for-windigo-whisperer-may-be-canceled
If you disagree with such a move, please leave your feedback on this blog.
Well, to be honest, this chapter was all over the place. The story is there, and the plot is moving, but this feels more like an abridged episode rather than an original episode. Everyone suddenly being OK with the dark lord being around feels strange, I'm not referring to the interviewer either, mostly rainbow dash, seeing as she's right there.
I think that the story is good, and the plot is great, along with the message of willpower is true magic, but I feel like the execution fell flat and took a bit of a tumble here.
I'm going to keep going for now, hoping it gets better in the next couple chapters.
10675319
They aren't suddenly okay with him being around (look at RD's reaction), they just aren't rushing to stop him because Sombra is purporting to be reformed. The fact that he's been inside a friendly pony all this time and done nothing to harm any pony for all the time Cloud Shroud has been a productive member of society is why they are giving him the benefit of the doubt that the "power of love" has changed him, ludicrous as they find it.
I don't know why everyone skims over that detail. Nevertheless, thank you for your comments and encouragement. I welcome all comments, both laudatory and critical.