Inside the Cage
Catering for the King
Chapter 1
Inside the Cage
It was a great summer day in the Crystal Empire. Even more so for Prince Shining Armour and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, it was leisure day for them! Free of any chores or royal duties, they had the entire day to themselves. Oh the possibilities of what they could do.
They decided to go out on a picnic on the outskirts of Ponyville near a lake, just the two of them, as a normal couple and not royal figures. The picnic was then to be complimented by a stroll around the park to take in the sights and maybe pet a squirrel or two. After that, shopping! Not in Canterlot, of course. They’d go to a normal confectionary shop Twilight Sparkle mentioned to them during one of her many visits; Sugarcube Corner. They’d get a few treats for themselves and return home, and after that?
Well, they had their own private plans for the rest of the day.
Currently, Shining Armour was lounging outside on the chamber’s balcony, sipping on a cup of coffee he made not long ago while gazing out into the green landscape, devoid of any sparkly crystal buildings that were an eyesore. Cadance was in the shower, humming a happy tune.
Shining had somehow managed to hear somepony knocking on their door over the jets of water and Cadance’s humming. Though it sounded more like somepony dropping plastic bottles on the floor.
“Honey, did you drop the shower gel bottle again?” Shining leaned back on the chair as he asked loudly, setting his cup aside on a little wooden stand.
“No, Shiny,” Cadance replied equally as loud. It was amazing how a mare’s voice travelled through thick walls without losing any of its volume.
Taking a final sip from his cup, Shining quickly cantered over to the gold plated door with numerous decorations. Surprisingly, a Crystal Guard greeted him with a rolled up parchment laid out on his extended wing, Celestia’s seal keeping the roll of paper closed.
“Good morning, Captain. Princess Celestia has instructed me to deliver a letter addressed to you and Princess Cadance in person. It is of the most importance as her majesty recommends you read it as soon as possbile,” the Guard presented the letter to Shining. He plucked it away with his telekinesis and thanked the guard. “Sir,” the armour clad Pegasus saluted and casually trotted away, a sword sheath clunking near his crystal blue armour in tow. Shining’s eyes lingered on the hilt of the weapon, a sour looking overcoming his usually calm features.
“A letter from Celestia? I wonder what it might be,” Cadance startled Shining Armour from behind. The unicorn swivelled around and regarded his wife coolly. She smirked at him while drying off her mane with a lilac towel adorned with flower decors.
“Yeah, even said it’s something urgent,” Shining chuckled and slumped, glaring at the letter, “I swear, if your auntie needs us to do anything today... hey, how about you read it? I have to go down to the barracks anyway, sort out a few things with today’s uniform.”
“What’s wrong?” Cadance rolled up her towel and put it away. Shining glanced behind him and closed the door so it was open just a tiny crack.
“The guard that gave me the letter, he was carrying a sword, Cadance, a weapon, in the palace halls. What would the nobles and public say if they see it? Our guards can’t be carrying weapons without a reason. The Crystal Empire is one of the top safest places in Equestria,” Shining Armour sounded troubled. He reached up to touch his brow while Cadance dismissed how silly he sounded.
“If’s it bothering you that much, then pay them a visit. Now, let’s see what auntie Celly thinks is so important she had to worry Shiny about taking away his little holiday,” Cadance swiftly stole the rolled up paper and sat down onto the edge of their bed. Shining Armour sighed internally and made his way down into the barracks, where no doubt a good chunk of the Guards are reading up for duty.
With a barely supressed yawn, Cadance tore the seal off and unrolled the parchment. By the way the words were hastily written, it was obvious something was bothering Celestia at the time of writing this letter. Not many things bothered the sun goddess.
Shrugging and lying down on her back, letter floating above, Cadance went on about reading.
***
“Cryyystaaals…”
The clank of iron chains resonated throughout the cobblestone prison cell, deep underground. Two guards clad in full combat armour flanked each side of a thick steel door with only a single view port to allow observation of the prisoner inside. More guards were lining the hallway that stretched out as far as the eye could see, long spears and steel swords in holsters and sheathes. Small chandeliers hung above, each one two metres apart from the other, a construct of a hollow metal rim with three torches attached.
“Mmm…”
The deep voiced stallion inside the cell kept on growling and hissing his love for crystals while his chains clicked and clacked against the concrete floor, announcing his awakening.
“Be ready, Luna and Celestia should be here any second,” one of the guards muttered as his horn flared up in a brilliant orange. The longsword was drawn an inch from its sheath. “Be ready, this bastard has so many tricks up his sleeve it makes mimes look like amateur comedians.”
No more than a few seconds later, a strong gush of air travelled down the tunnel, almost tipping over a few guards who weren’t expecting it. An ear splitting thud of metal announced the arrival of someone further down the hall.
Escorted by a dozen ponies clad in royal yellow armour and matching weapons, it took them a good two minutes to finally arrive near the solitary cell in this underground complex. Princess Celestia strode forward with Princess Luna in tow, a shimmery bubble of their own magic surrounded them. This wasn’t something the majesties themselves did - collect a prisoner in person, that is.
But desperate times call for desperate measures. Days ago, the Desert Rangers, sent onto an exhibition into the unmapped Malhaid deserts to uncover the truth behind the Sand Flower, an old relic that is said could heal millions in seconds, found the most peculiar pony buried inches into the sand.
Now while in Equestria, everyone treated him like a ticking time bomb, even while he was asleep. The Princesses were no exception, they have taken the necessary precautions in order to approach him and talk one-on-two.
“Now that we’re here, I’d like to have a word with him,” Celestia held her head high, eyes trained on the steel door, “Open this cell at once.”
Celestia’s order was carried out barely a moment later. One of the guards unhooked a large iron key strapped to his chassis and pushed the tip against the flat surface of the door. As soon as it made contact, a key shaped hole materialized, allowing the key to slide in. It had so many enchantments stuffed into it that instead of opening like a conventional door, it exploded into bright orbs of blue light which disappeared as they touched the ground.
Inside laid a golden cage with thick bars. Sheets of sparkly transparent material surrounded every angle of the cage. No windows, no lavatory, nothing. The stone cell was stripped clean of everything, except for the cage and its defensive barriers.
Celestia had to duck through the low door frame, but once inside, she was able to rise to her full height again. Luna stepped through and took her place by her sister’s side.
The unicorn within was stripped of everything; his crown, his armour, his cape, and his honour. Even his magic was disabled by a white ring dotted with red diamonds fitted around his horn. Fed only once a week to keep his powers recharging at bay, Sombra wasn’t looking his best. Ribs faintly showed on his chest while his form wasn’t as muscular as it was before.
“Sombra,” Celestia began with a commanding tone. Guards behind were grouping up to block the exit. Their faces hidden beneath metal, they would seem intimidating for a normal pony.
The voice echoed against the walls and reached the stallion’s ears. They twitched, and he stirred along with the chains.
“Celestia,” Sombra almost purred in his deep, albeit raspy, voice without even opening his eyes first. “Come to visit and leave presents?”
“It is not the time for jokes, Sombra,” Luna glared at him, eyes somehow narrowing at the same time. She didn’t shout, but the irritation was present in her voice, which made Sombra smirk.
“Stand down, Luna,” Celestia motioned for her sister to step back a little bit. Luna complied with an internal huff. “Stand and open your eyes, Sombra. Let us speak as ruler to ruler.”
“Ha!” Sombra jerked up quite unexpecantly. The clatter of armour in the hall suggested some of the guards had flinched. He took a step towards the cage before the thick iron chain around his neck choked him into standing still. “How civilized of you. Those two ruler wannabes should’ve taken a page out of your book before blasting me to kingdom come with the crystal laser.”
“They had a perfectly good reason to do that. You came charging with full power, at full speed. Any pony with half a mind would blast your tyrant back-end to oblivion,” Luna perked up again.
“And what has gotten you so riled up, little princess? I didn’t aim for your precious Canterlot, did I? I suggest you stay out of this, child. Let the adults speak,” Sombra grinned, fangs glinting in the strong light the magical bubbles gave off. Luna had the expression of contained anger. Oh how this scrawny infidel regarded her.
“You have no right to address Luna like this. Pick your words carefully, Sombra, or you might see your chances at answering for your sins disappear,” Celestia warned, cooling down her sister with a comforting hoof to the shoulder. “Now, I suppose you’d want to know why I brought you here.”
“You modern day ponies have a shoot on sight policy for ‘villains,’” Sombra snorted in disgust at the nickname, “So, yes, let’s hear out your reasons.”
Celestia took a moment to make sure Luna wouldn’t snap at Sombra again.
“As you might know, or don’t, Discord was branded an enemy of the country and its people. We trapped him in stone, but that never worked out. After very careful consideration, we’ve decided to give him a chance at redemption. Now, he walks freely among ponies due to some help from our friends-” Celestia was abruptly cut off by Sombra’s yawn.
“Yes, yes, Discord. Interesting character that can bend the very fabric of reality, yet he was persuaded into submission by a handful of ponies,” Sombra waved his hoof dismissively, which the guards took as a sign of him trying something funny. Three of the bulkiest soldiers entered the room, swords drawn. Sombra only gave them a toothy, malicious smile.
“They’re not just a handful of ponies, they’re the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, a most powerful magic. We knew the Crystal Heart was owned by you once, that explains why you weren’t completely and utterly decimated. We used powerful magic akin to the Elements to track down your location, Sombra. We found you on the edges of the unmapped Dahtri deserts. I do not know how your body has managed the trip, but do know that it was under my order to retrieve you-“ once again, Celestia was cut off. It seemed that Sombra had no fear of anypony, even the sun goddess herself.
“I do not need a history lesson from you. How I was found is of no concern. All that matters is that I am alive, thanks to you,” he chuckled, pure hatred simply spilling out of his mouth as he eyed Celestia and Luna, the ones who banished him in the first place.
“You should be grateful, wretch. My sister could have chosen to ignore you and let you die in the scorching sands. It is Celestia that has saved you, not your precious Crystal Heart. She has saved you from annihilation. You should at least show some appreciation,” Luna harrumphed and demanded with a stop.
Sombra could only laugh at her childish attempt at forcing him to display gratitude. “Hold your tongue. Your sister has not saved anyone; she has made a mistake by bringing me back. I would have found my own way anyway, so it does not matter,” he eyed Celestia. “What do you want, Princess? Surely you’ve come here for a reason. Explain yourself.”
“If you insist,” Celestia decided to get to the point already. This was taking up too much of her time, while being frustration to deal with Sombra’s smartass remarks and laughing. “I am going to explain to you what is going to happen. You will be transferred to Equestria to a very familiar place. Upon arrival, you will meet two of your future… instructors. They will attempt to drive the darkness from your heart, and possibly restore your original self. Because no creature is born pure evil, I-“
It started out as a snicker then turned into a chuckle. It grew into a low laughter, amplifying into a deep rumble of madness.
“Listen to yourself!” he spoke between intervals of laughter, “Drive the darkness from my heart? Restore me to my original self? Did you finally spit your bit, Celestia? I cannot be restored, I was like this from the very start. No two whelps could restore what isn’t there in the first place. Where did you think up this pile of b-“
“I think Cadance and Shining Armour would be delighted to have him as a permanent guest. Don’t you, sister?” Luna looked up at Celestia with a thin smile. Celestia offered a smile of her own and nodded her approval.
“Who?” Sombra stopped at the hearing those two names. “Who in Oblivion are Cadance and Shining Armour? You think sending me to some two lovebirds will just magically fix everything? You have much to learn, Celestia. My desire for the Crystal Empire is not easily sated. I will break them, crush them beneath an iron hoof. This is your worst and final mistake, mark my words.”
The Princesses completely ignored the unicorn. Celestia nodded back to the guards. A few stepped in, wielding short shock rods that sparked with electricity at the metal tip.
Sombra barely managed to contain his rage. The top priority on his list right now was to break free and rip apart the Princesses, bit by bit, then reclaim was what his.
“Fools, all of you, fools. Too young and stubborn to understand the fire you’re playing with. You would’ve been wiser by freezing me in the cold North again, but no, you choose to reform me, like you did with Discord,” Sombra stepped back from the bars, teeth clenched. “I am not Discord. I cannot be reformed. And as a consequence for your mistake, you will see the ones you love burn in front of your very eyes. Canterlot will burn, Equestria will burn. ‘tis not a threat, but a mere warning of what is going to come.”
With a roll of her eyes, Luna decided that enough was enough, and she’d like to skip watching Sombra being beaten with shock rods. With a zap and a release of pressure, Luna directed a jagged string of blue electricity towards Sombra. It caught him dead on in the chest and stopped all motion. Pupils dilating, he bit his own tongue in order to stop from screaming in sheer agony. He collapsed shortly after, every limb twitching as white foam accumulated inside his mouth and spilled out on the floor.
“I think you might have overdone it, sister,” Celestia commented, but smirked nonetheless. At least it stopped him from ranting about his great escape and what he’ll do.
“He deserved so much worse,” Luna couldn’t help but grin at the sight of the twitching stallion.
“Your majesties, package is ready for relocation,” one of the bulky soldiers announced, sheathing his weapon. Was it just Celestia, or was the guard actually smirking underneath his face plate?
“Splendid. Hurry, Luna, let’s get him ready for Cadance and Shining Armour. A straightjacket should do for now.”
***
Job done. Shining had filed a complaint and every guard who had a weapon or anything close to being used as one, now doesn’t. He’d been gone for about ten minutes, now wants to see what progress Cadance had made on the letter from Celestia.
“Honey, I’m back. What did Celestia write?” making his way inside the bed chamber, Shining found Cadance sitting in the middle of the room with her back turned to him, wings unceremoniously dropping from her sides. The letter was nowhere in sight, only the torn off royal seal remained.
“Cadance?” Shining approached her slowly, pivoting his head around to get a glance of her. This wasn’t typical Cadance behaviour, usually she’d be preparing for the day ahead, not sitting in the middle of the room, giving off uncomfortable vibes.
“Guess who’s back?” Cadance’s quiet voice stopped Shining in his tracks. She didn’t turn to him as she spoke again. “Back again.”
“Who’s back, Cadance? Are you alright? Why are you sitting on the floor…” his voice trailed off as he noticed a small lump of grey ash on the carpet sitting near Cadance’s hooves. “Is that the letter? Cadance, did you burn it?”
“It was a fake, Shiny. Somepony replicated one of Celestia’s letters and sent it to us,” Cadance slowly stood. She raised a hoof to wipe something from her muzzle.
“How could it be a fake? It had her seal and everything. And the guard, I’ve known him for over two years, he can’t be a fake too,” Shining approached his wife from the side, but her hoof sprung up to his chest and stopped him.
“Then why would she send King Sombra to us? Like a simple little package we just have to take care of.”
“King Sombra? Cadance, Sombra is dead, he was disintegrated by the Crystal Heart. Maybe you’ve read it wrong and got a bit worried,” sighing, he eased her hoof down and reached out with his own to her chin, “Honey, are you sure you’re alright? You haven’t had much sleep yesterday. Maybe if you lie down for a few hours, that’ll make you feel better. Then we can go to the picni-“
“Captain! Captain Shining Armour!” the door suddenly flew open as a mare’s voice grabbed the couple’s attention. She sounded out of breath, “Princess Celestia and Luna have arrived at the palace garden, sir! They request your and Princess Cadance’s attendance immediately! They have King Sombra with them!”
With an utterly disbelieving look, mouth agape, Shining turned back to Cadance. She was looking at him now, a tiny grin playing on her features.
“Guess who’s back?” she whispered.
***
Shining Armour had expected the Empire to be surrounded by pitch black clouds of evil with Sombra’s giant head grinning down at him, black crystals poking into every orifice possible. Instead, his expectations and a little bit of his panic shattered as he found Princess Celestia, Luna, and Sombra all standing amongst a thick group of fully armoured guards in the gardens. The ex-ruler was tied up to such an extent that he found it difficult to even breathe, thanks to the iron muzzle he wore. The Princesses acted so calm and casual without the safety of flak armour as they flanked Sombra.
Crystal Guards filed and grouped up behind Shining Armour, puzzled and surprised as much as him.
Shining Armour stepped forward, his eyes plastered on the black unicorn.
“Celestia, your Highness, is this…” he was at a loss for words. What in everything that is holy and pure was Sombra doing here? Sombra! The unicorn King that enslaved everypony in the Crystal Empire and made it disappear for a millennia.
“Worry not, Prince Shining Armour, for Sombra is completely harmless. Why, he couldn’t hurt a fly with how we’ve secured him,” Luna mocked. Sombra mumbled something behind the muzzle. “Sorry, what’s that? You like the garden? My, I never took you for a horticulturist, quite a pleasant surprise.”
“Sister, please, you’re agitating our friend,” Celestia smirked, but no pony noticed. “Now, Sombra, be nice to Shining Armour. He and Cadance will take on the responsibility of becoming best of friends.”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Shining Armour cut in, holding his head in his hoof, “Is this-is this normal, your Highness?” he pointed at Sombra.
“What troubles you, Prince?” Luna responded instead of Celestia. “Sombra is need of friends that will guide him away from the path of hate and darkness. My sister couldn’t have picked a more fitting couple than you two. After all, Cadance is a Princess of love, something Sombra needs to understand the concept and meaning of.”
“I apologize for addressing you in such a manner, Princess Luna, but is this sort of thing normal where you come from? Bringing back evil beings that have hurt us one way or another?” Luna opened her mouth to respond, but Shining Armour continued. “This-“ he shoved a hoof at Sombra, “-is Sombra. King Sombra? You know, the unicorn that tried to take over the Crystal Empire and enslave everypony again after a thousand years? Also, why isn’t he dead?!”
“Shining Armour,” Celestia began softly, “I have explained everything as clearly as possible in the letter. Have you not read it?”
“No, I didn’t get a chance to. Cadance read it, but-“
“Ah, Cadance, I almost forgot! Would you be as kind to excuse us for a moment?” Luna happily trotted over to Shining.
“Er-“ and passed by him without saying another word. “Sure.”
“Pardon me for sounding so flamboyant, but I have important royal matters to attend to, Shining Armour. Heavens forbid I miss an important meeting. Sombra is muzzled, restrained, disabled. Completely harmless. Now, everything is in the letter, read it when you have a chance again. It will explain in detail how our new friend here survived the Crystal Heart and made his return amongst the living,” Celestia offered a thin smile, one which Shining Armour didn’t return. “Now, I leave Sombra in your care. Even though I had his magic disabled for a lengthy period of time, he is older than sin itself. Keep a close eye on him at all times.”
“Oh, one more thing, my sister will be a temporary guest in your kingdom, she’ll make sure everything is performing smoothly with Sombra. An… inspector, if you will,” Celestia nodded at Shining and turned around, making way to the sizeable chariot hidden behind the group of guards, leaving Sombra, ex-tyrant ruler, slaver, and most dangerous and evil unicorn in the care of the Crystal Empire, as if it was no big deal and hey you should totally take in this evil guy. What could possibly go wrong?
Also, she left Luna behind.
Shining Armour hoped Celestia knew what she was doing.
This was all so sudden, he didn’t know if he should panic, lock Sombra up deep, deep underground where no pony could find him or welcome him with semi-open arms. He guessed Celestia wouldn’t take kindly to him treating Sombra in an unacceptable manner. Slapping him around was out of the question. What a shame.
Sombra was left sitting in the grass, wrapped up tightly in a white jacket that restricted most movement, primarily his forelegs. He held his head low, eyes piercing Shining Armour with malicious intent.
“I guess the picnic’s off,” Shining muttered, wiping away sweat from his brow. Was he sweating? “You,” Shining began approaching the sitting Sombra. “I don’t know what’s going on right now, but you better listen carefully and follow my instructions, understood?”
Sombra made no attempt at responding, only staring. Any moment now Shining expected the edges of Sombra’s eyes to flame up as everything was surrounded by his magical black clouds.
“I won’t go against Celestia wish, so for now, you’re stuck with me and Cadance,” ‘I guess,’ Shining thought. This was just so… freakishly unnatural and wrong. How things would’ve been simpler if Sombra just died in the blast. “I want my only day off to go smoothly, so you will listen to me or Cadance. We say jump, you ask how high, got it?”
Why. Isn’t. He. Dead?! That was the only question that kept surfacing. Sombra looked fine! A bit starved and weak, but fine! Where’s the charring, the missing skin and or limbs? The Crystal Heart decimated evil atom by atom, there isn’t even supposed to be any ash left.
Is that what Shining wanted, for a pony to die? Maybe, if it was Sombra or someone similar.
“I guess you’ll need a room, too… “ somewhere near a pit of lava and an army of guards. What if he just locked him up in the cells down in the dungeon?
“Reforming doesn’t mean depriving him of social interaction and good accommodation, Prince Shining,” when did Luna get here?
Only now did he hear the silent beat of her wings as the Princess landed behind Sombra, not startling the seething unicorn. “I know that look anywhere, Prince. The one of bad natured contemplation. No cells. He will be treated as a formal guest, is that understood?”
Shining wanted to just tip Sombra over a cliff and call it a day. “Yes, your Highness, I understand.”
“Simply splendid! Now, Cadance has informed me that you have a picnic planned for today. Would it be a bother if you invited a friend or two? It would be a shame to miss such a fun occasion.”
Is… is she serious? Picnic’s back on.
“Take Sombra out on a picnic?” Shining’s eyes gaped. Luna only nodded with a smile. Even Sombra seemed disturbed by the idea, shaking his head left and right. Obviously, he didn’t enjoy striped carpets on grass and baskets of goodies. Shining was already doubting Celestia’s judgement. “I couldn’t deny a request from Celestia, and if helping Sombra means taking him out on a picnic-“ Shining hissed the words through clenched teeth, “-then I’d be glad to accommodate.”
“It is a marvellous way to begin a friendship, Prince. You will not regret the hours we will spend together, strengthening bonds and manufacturing new ones! I already can see what the future holds for us four!”
Ooh, he could already image how great it would be. The headache agreed!
‘Play along,” Sombra gargled and choked with distaste. ‘Just play along.’ His hooves were trembling under the straightjacket of how much he wanted to choke the life out of them, especially Luna. He’ll kill Luna first when he regained his strength. Or maybe torture her with her worst fears and nightmares, it’ll be fun to watch her weep like a foal.
“Sombra’s trying to tell us something, Prince!” Luna lowered her ear towards his muzzle. Involuntarily, Sombra leaned away from her. “Mhm,” she nodded, as if he was speaking to her. Suddenly, her eyes lit up, “Oh! Sombra,” Luna teased, giving his shoulder a nudge, “You want a flower in your mane?”
A sound akin to choking emitted for the unicorn.
“A rose? Oh, I agree, I do think it’ll go with black,” momentarily, Luna plucked out a single blood red rose from one of the flower patches and lodged the stem inside his mane near his ear. The petals danced in the weak wind. Sombra’s eyes were the size of saucers. The sight was… disturbing. Only the sickest of minds would willingly imagine Sombra with a flower lodged between his ear.
Stepping back, Luna took in her work and sighed contently, “Doesn’t he look marvellous? Oh, maybe we could play dress up, see what outfits are fit for a king!”
Shining covered his face, a croaky ‘oh my lord’ escaping his mouth.
Luna is definitely going to suffer first, Sombra thought.
Humiliation is a powerful subjugator, Luna grinned.
Shining walked away before Luna did anything more… awkward.
“Guards, round up some maids and instruct them to wait in the dining hall,” at the command, two Crystal Guards saluted and trotted inside the palace.
“Oh,” a smooth voice perked up from the balcony overlooking the garden. Cadance leaned on the railing, eyes locked on Sombra. “It is him.”
Sombra’s eyes somehow shot even wider at seeing the pink Princess. He struggled under his confinement, muttering something indescribable, almost a gargle.
Her! The wretch who flew away with the Crystal Heart when it was in hoof’s reach! This isn’t reformation, this is torture! Celestia knew everything that had happened, everything! He will have to cope with seeing the mare who ruined everything he worked so hard for day to day! Right now, if his magic wasn’t disabled, he’d simply detonate everything within one mile radius and walk away unscathed. He’d pick up Cadance’s carcass and shred it to pieces afterwards.
Cadance now took Luna’s place on Sombra’s ‘to kill and/or torture’ list.