> Poetic Justice
>  by KingSombraTheTyrantRuler
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> A King's diary
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


~Poetic Justice~

~Chapter-1: A King's Diary~


Twilight Sparkle's P.O.V:

I was in the Crystal Castle as Cadance had sent a letter asking me to come, for something important. We did our chant, and then Cadance started, "I want to thank you again for coming, Twilight. Celestia tried to teach me how to do it, but I can't make it work."

"Are you kidding?" I asked. "We're sisters, remember? When you call, I come running."

My horn glowed as I used dark magic to open the passage to Sombra's room. I said, "I don't like to use it, it hurts my head, but this is important."

Finally, my efforts unlocked the passage. Cadance looked at it and asked, "You went down this by yourself?"

"Yeah," I replied. "It's spooky, huh? Are you ready?" As we walked down the stairs, I asked, "So, do you think he's coming back?"

"Sombra?" asked Cadance. I nodded and she said, "No, I think he's gone for good. But we should be prepared. They thought they had beaten him before too. Do you hear that?"

"Probably just an echo," I told her.

She continued, "It's more that we have all of this information missing from our records. The crystal ponies' memories came back, but there are a lot of books and records that Sombra destroyed."

"And you think he might have kept something?" I asked. "Do bad guys keep journals?"

"Well he sure liked himself," Cadance replied. "I would be surprised if he didn't record something."

"Here we go!" I exclaimed as I opened the door.

"I knew it!" Cadance said in a knowing tone. "I knew he had to have a room just like this! Just look at it!"

"I am," I told her. "I so need an office like this. Well, except for the busts of myself."

"Here it is," said Cadance as she walked to the desk. "Here's his diary. It could tell us everything." Opening Sombra's diary she said, "Okay you evil pony, let's see what you had to say."

She then started reading, "Sombra. It was the only word I could remember when they found me."

"When they found him?" I asked. "Who?"

Cadance shrugged and continued reading.



The crystal guard said I was alone, out in the wastes just north of the empire.

They asked where my family was, but I couldn't tell them. No matter what they asked, the only thing I could say to them was this one word, Sombra.

So, they made it my name. And that is how I, the king of all monsters named myself. Not having any family to return a lost colt to, the crystal guard brought me to Chestnut Falls orphanage.

I was years behind my classmates, they all knew about things I had never even heard of. Saying their words felt like chewing peanut brittle. Like my mouth wasn't supposed to say them.

But I was a quick learner. And Miss Chestnut Falls would always help me when I couldn't understand the homework. Sadly, the same could not be said for others.

In my foalhood, there was only one other pony who was kind to me. Her name was Radiant Hope, and she was the most amazing pony I've ever met.

She was a bit weird, but I enjoyed it. She had the greatest imagination. Soon, Hope and I were the best of friends.

I sat next to her in every class. We had our own language that we wrote notes in. A secret little code, that was all our own.

The other ponies still laughed at us, but we didn't care. The others wouldn't let us play their games, so we made up our own games, where only we knew the rules.

And that year, every jewel we got, we put them in our dragon bank.

Hope's favorite memory was the time that her parents had taken her to what she called the most magical celebration in all of Equestria.

Hope then said that we could go to see the crystal heart, and we went. Little did I know that I was meeting my greatest enemy, and that I was about to have one of the most important moments of my life.

When I looked into the heart's reflection, I saw that my destiny was to become a monster. When Princess Amore asked me what I had seen, I told her that I had seen my reflection.

I was wracked by guilt all the way home. I believed that I had just lied to the princess.

I didn't realize how close to the truth I had come. But all that worry and self doubt were long forgotten four days later, because it was finally my time.

Hope ran in to wake me up, and had scared me out of bed. I laid there as she left, thinking of all the things we would do, and then a slow terror crept upon me.

I could not move my hooves. The doctor had no idea what was wrong with me. He couldn't find a piece of mane out of place.

And it only got worse through the day. Not only could I not see the crystal faire, I felt as weak as I had ever felt in my whole life.

Eventually Radiant Hope told Ms. Chestnut Falls that she would stay with me, and Ms. Chestnut went off to go and see the crystal heart.

I wanted to be strong for Hope, but I felt like I was being torn apart.

It wasn't until late that night, after the festivities that I was finally able to get some sleep. Hope didn't fall asleep until after I did.

And the next day, I felt as if it had never happened. Hope and I immediately began planning for the next year's crystal faire.

But a year later, there we were again. And the year after that. Every year we grew, my desire to see the crystal faire grew, and my pain grew, until...

It felt like nothing I had ever known. Like I was leaving the weak Sombra behind.

It was a transformation. It was a moment of becoming what you are supposed to be. A moment of pure destiny. It just wasn't mine.

For a moment, I was actually happy for her. When we were alone there, sharing her special moment.

I knew that it meant something, but I couldn't figure it out until I saw how everypony else reacted.

Then I realized that the ability to heal any ailment was very powerful magic, and everypony knows what happened when a unicorn developed really powerful magic.

The moment I saw the letter, I knew what it was. It had the seals of the two sisters on it.

They wanted Hope to go and become their student. That meant they thought that she had the potential to become a princess.

She would leave me behind, and if my whole body didn't disappear without her here...

What she had seen in the reflection of the crystal heart was real. It had never seemed real before. Now I knew it was. And I knew. I knew...

And in my eagerness to run from it, I had run to it. And just like that, it was like somepony had turned a switch on in my brain.

Suddenly I knew why all of those terrible things had happened to me. I knew what I had to do. And I knew how to use the magic of my ponies.

The image in the crystal heart had been clear, but I had never understood it until just then.

I had always taken it to mean that the darkness would overtake me. But the darkness was me. The true me that had been hidden for so long.

Destruction was my talent, and darkness was my cutie mark. I knew that if I was going to make my move, it had to be then.

The crystal heart knew my secret, and I was certain that Princess Amore did too.

Even then, months after the crystal faire, the crystal heart still had so much power over me.

It was either me or the heart. Finally, I knew that I would never have to suffer through another crystal faire again.

If my fate had not been sealed, it was now. Suddenly I saw Princess Amore coming, startling me.

But even in my darkest moment, I felt my fear melting away. I had always been so afraid of everypony in my life. I turned Amore to crystal, and smirked.

I had just defeated a princess, and now I knew that there was something stronger than love, fear. Fear was the strongest power of all, and I would take the fear they had put in me and repay each of them with it.

I couldn't bring myself to destroy her, but I spread the pieces of her statue all through out the world. Maybe somepony will restore her one day, but I'll be too strong for her by then.

Hope arrived, shocked at what I had done, and said that the others were right. That I was a monster. She then ran, and I did nothing to stop her.

When I recount it, I will say that was my one mistake. I still loved Radiant Hope, and I let her leave.

The foolish mare, still thinking that she could save me, told our tragic tale to the two sisters. They decided to to what they did best, vanquish monsters.

I enslaved the crystal ponies to raise my umbrum army, but now time runs short. I know that I am no match for them, but they will not save these crystal ponies.

I will make them pay with a thousand years of suffering. And Radiant Hope, she'll suffer the worst. She betrayed me to save this home of hers.

I've developed a new spell, just for her. How bitter will her victory taste when she has no home left?"





Cadance finished reading, and conjured a glass of water to drink. "And then there's nothing else," I commented, looking at the diary.

Once she was done, Cadance said, "That must have been the last thing that he wrote before Celestia and Luna banished him."

"Should we take it with us?" I asked. "Should his diary be in the library?"

"I don't feel right moving it," she replied. "In fact, this whole place gives me the heebie jeebies. I need some air."

"Me too," I said.

We left the room, and started walking up the stairs. "I feel bad for him," I admitted. "He never got to see the crystal faire and it was all he ever wanted."

"That and to crush the crystal ponies under his hoof," retorted Cadance. "I wouldn't feel too sorry for him, Twilight. There's that sound again!"

"Probably just the old creepy castle setting," I said. "The castle of the two sisters makes all kinds of noises."

"You're right," replied Cadance. "I guess that diary just has me creeped out. I feel like he's here, watching us."

"Don't worry," I told her.




> Surprise, surprise!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


~Poetic Justice.~

~Chapter-2: Surprise, surprise!~





Twilight Sparkle's P.O.V:

That night when I went home, I still felt sad for Sombra. About how he suffered so much when he was a colt. Nopony deserved to suffer like that.

"Twilight, you're back!" I heard Spike exclaim.

"Hiya Spike!" I waved.

"So, why did Cadance call you there?" he asked.

"She needed help with opening the passage to Sombra's room," I told him.

"Oh," said Spike. "Wait! Did you just say Sombra's room?!"

"Yes, I did," I told him. "Cadance wanted to check some records."

I yawned, and Spike said, "Go and rest or you won't be able to wake up early, and then you'll be..."

"I sure am," I replied. "Night, Spike."

"Night, Twilight," he said, and I hugged him before going to my room. I put my saddlebag on the table, and then I had a shower.

After that and brushing my mane, I laid in bed and shut my eyes, ready for a long sleep.





I woke up in the morning, fully rested and about to get out of bed when I saw somepony standing above me. Red eyes, curved horn, full body covered with armor, and that smirk. He was King Sombra!

I opened my mouth to scream, but before I could, Sombra put an armored hoof on it. "Quiet," he hissed. "I have not come to attack."

Once he moved his hoof, I asked, "How can I believe you?"

"Oh come on, Sparkle," he said. "My magic isn't working, how would I attack you?" He proved it by failing to levitate a book. "And knifes are too hard to hold," he said.

"Then why are you here, if not to attack?", I asked him.

"When you were unlocking the passage, I saw that you weren't exactly terrible at dark magic, but you weren't perfect either," he started explaining. "And after much thinking, I have decided to teach you how to become good at it. You'll be able to use it without your head hurting."

"You want to teach me dark magic? No thanks, Sombra," I said. "This must be a trick, and besides, I have a good enough teacher. Princess Celestia has taught me everything that I need to know about magic."

"Celestia is teaching you dark magic?" he asked. "Hmph. She's not even good at it. I could teach you how to use it perfectly. You'll become the best at both, light and dark magic."

"My answer's still no," I told him. "Dark magic will corrupt me, as it did to you. I don't want to become some evil, power-thirsty monster."

"Dark magic isn't used just for bad things, Sparkle," he started. "It can be used for good things. It can be used to save lives, healing, protection, and many other things."

"Like killing ponies," I retorted. "I'm not going to believe you, Sombra. I don't know what you want, but know this. I will not accept dark magic lessons from you."

I got out of bed and ignored him. He asked, "Then why don't you do an experiment? To see if dark magic can be used for good?"

"Huh?" 

"Why don't you see if Dark Magic can be used for good? And while you're at it, why not try to reform the biggest threat in Equestria?" 

Well... It could be interesting... "Fine, I'll accept your lessons, but if you're trying to corrupt me, you wouldn't even want to know what I'll do to you."

He smiled, "Of course, princess."

"Stay here," I said as I left the room. "Don't even thinking of moving. I'll be back after breakfast."

"As you wish, Princess," he replied, still keeping his smile on.

King Sombra's P.O.V:

"As you wish, Princess," I replied, still keeping my smile on. She shut the door, and I had to bite my tongue to keep myself from yelling yes.

I had managed to get her to accept the lessons. My plan was working.

I needed to stay here while I got my magic back. And because I would be teaching her magic, Sparkle wouldn't say a word about me to anypony.





Sparkle returned half an hour later, and closed the door. "I'm ready," she said.

"Then we may start," I grinned. "I'll teach you the basics first. To use dark magic, you must power it by an emotion such as hatred or anger. If you use anger to power your magic, then you'll start feeling angry for no reason. But if you use hatred, then let's just say it's a better option."

Sparkle was taking notes on what I said. "Now Sparkle, I want you to think of somepony that you have deep hatred for. Is there anypony like that?"

"Yes," she replied. "Chrysalis."

"Chrysalis? Why her, if you don't mind to tell me."

"She pretended to be my sister in law and tried to kill me a few years ago," she said.

"I see..."  I said. "Now, I want you to think of how much you hate Chrysalis. How you want to just blast her into a thousand pieces. How the very sound of her name makes you feel disgusted."

Sparkle started thinking of that, and I saw a flash in her eyes. "Now," she conjured a statue of Chrysalis. "I want you to destroy this statue with that hatred."

Twilight Sparkle's P.O.V:

"I see..." Sombra said. "Now, I want you to think of how much you hate Chrysalis. How you want to just blast her into a thousand pieces. How the very sound of her name makes you feel disgusted."

I started thinking of that. "Now," he said as I unconsciously conjured a statue of Chrysalis. "I want you to destroy this statue with that hatred."

I let my hatred for Chrysalis take over, and the next thing I knew, that statue was blasted into a thousand pieces. "Good," he smiled. "Now, I want you to practice destroying, by using dark magic."

I conjured, and destroyed. After I finished, something hit me. I said, "My head didn't hurt when I was using dark magic to destroy those statues."

He told me, "That's because now you are using it correctly. Now, you are using hatred to fuel your magic. One cannot use dark magic properly when they are using positive emotions such as happiness. One can only do it when they fuel their magic with anger, hatred, or even sadness."

I quickly wrote that down.





After a few more practice sessions, Sombra let me have a break. He told me that he'd teach me more tommorow. And for that, I couldn't wait.

Before I slept, I conjured a bed for Sombra. After all, it wouldn't be kind of me if I didn't.




> And that's how you conjure things.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


~Poetic Justice~

~Chapter-3: And that's how you conjure things~





King Sombra's P.O.V:

"You think that you can defeat me, Sombra?" asked a mare dressed in black.

"Of course I can. I'm much more powerful than you," I answered confidently.

"Really? Then let's see how you survive this," she smirked. She took the sack off the pony in front of me. I gasped, it was Hope. I saw the mare pull a knife out and put it against Hope's throat.

"No!" I screamed. "Don't kill Hope!"

"Why not?" she asked. "You killed me and thousands of other ponies, didn't you...Sombra?" The mare pushed the knife into Hope's heart, and I watched as Hope fell to the ground, lifeless.

"No! I'll get revenge, I swear!" I yelled as she ran. "I'll make you pay for this, even if it's the last thing that I do!

I would get Hope back. And the only way that I could was by using dark magic. And to use that, I needed fear to feed off. Lots of fear.




I woke up, soaked in sweat. I decided to wash myself, and looked for the bathroom.

Once in, I washed myself, trying to forget my dream. But I wouldn't be able to. I had it every night. Ever since that incident.





"So Sparkle, are you ready for today's lesson?" I asked. "Today I'll be teaching you how to conjure things."

"But I already know how to do that," Sparkle told me. "Key word being know."

"Do you know how to conjure them in a second? Or using dark magic?" I asked her. She looked down. "Just as I thought. Now listen carefully."

She started writing as I said, "I want you to conjure a crystal for me. To do that, you have to think about the crystal. What it looks like. How it feels. What color it is. And it's size. Can you think of that?"

She put her parchment down and thought hard. Once done, she said, "Yes, I can."

"Good. Now I want you to imagine the crystal on that table. Think about how much you want that crystal." I breathed and continued, "Now let your horn gather energy. Power it with your hatred of Chrysalis." 

Her horn started glowing, and she asked, "Now what?"

"Now I want you to concentrate on the crystal and where you want it. How much you want it," I told her. She concentrated and a few minutes later, there was a crystal on the table.

Twilight Sparkle's P.O.V:

"Now I want you to concentrate on the crystal and where you want it. How much you want it," he told me, and I concentrated hard, using my hatred of Chrysalis to power my magic.

After a few minutes of concentration, a crystal appeared on the table.

"Good job," said Sombra as he looked at the crystal. "Now it's time for you to practice."




After a long practice, I ate lunch, and took some up for Sombra.

He ate, and then I asked him, "Would you like to read a book?" I don't know why I asked him, but the words just came out of my mouth before I could stop them. "And if you do, then which ones?"

He looked up, his emotionless gaze piercing into mine. A fee minutes passed, and he said, "Yes, I would. I like books written by Starswirl."

I blinked in surprise, and then said, "I'll be right back."

And I left to get the book.

King Sombra's P.O.V:

She left and came back a few minutes later, with a pile of books. 

"I never thought that you like to read books by Starswirl," she said as I opened a book.

I smirked and playfully asked, "What? Am I not allowed to like them?"

"Of course you are. It's just that, I never knew you liked to read books," she quickly said.

"You never knew much about me," I told her, and then gave my attention to the book. She didn't say a word after that, and read a book too.




 Twilight Sparkle's P.O.V:

"Now it's time for you to carry on practicing conjuring," Sombra said as he shut his book. I shut mine too, and then took them to the library, where I made sure to put them in their proper spaces.

After that I walked back to my room and told him, "What should I conjure?"

"Conjure whatever you want," he told me.

What did I want to conjure? Books? No. Hmm...Maybe Smarty Pants? Yeah. I couldn't find  Smarty Pants anywhere, so conjuring a Smarty Pants would be what I wanted.

So, remembering what Sombra told me before, I thought about Smarty Pants. What it looked like. 

How it felt. What color it was. And how big it was. Then I thought about how much I wanted a Smarty Pants doll.

Then I started gathering energy with my horn. I powered it using my hatred of Chrysalis. 

And then...There was a Smarty Pants doll in front of me.

I picked it up and hugged it. Sombra saw me and commented, "Of all things, you conjured a...doll?" There was surprise in his voice.

"Yes," I told him. "And Smarty Pants isn't just any old doll. She's the best!"

He rolled his eyes.

Sombra's P.O.V:

I watched as Sparkle picked the doll up. I couldn't believe it. Of all the things that she could've conjured, she conjured a doll! 

And now she was hugging it, like how a mother would hug her foal.

I said, "Of all things, you conjured a... doll?"

"Yes," she answered. "And Smarty Pants isn't just any old doll. She's the best!"

I rolled my eyes at how foalish she was acting. 





Now this was ridiculous. Conjuring one doll was more than enough, but now the whole room was filled with these Smarty Pants dolls.

If I still had my magic, then I would just get rid of them. 

"Sparkle! You've conjured enough dolls! This is ridiculous!" I shouted.

"But I'm practicing!" she shouted back.

If this was what she'd be like after learning everything about dark magic, then I'd kill her right on the spot. No kidding.

What would make her stop? "You're great at conjuring! Now I know that I can teach you something different tommorow!" I yelled, hoping that this would stop her. 

"And you won't be able to learn anything if you use up all your magic. And it would be a shame if you missed tomorrow's lesson, wouldn't it?" I shouted.

She finally stopped. "Get rid of all these dolls. You can only keep one."

She started doing that.
> Insulting!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

~Poetic Justice.~

~Chapter-4: Insulting!~

Twilight Sparkle's P.O.V:

I woke up as soon as my alarm went off, and yawned. I was still tired from last night... I laughed as I remembered how I just kept magick conjuring Smarty Pants dolls. Sombra was still sleeping, so I tapped him. "Sombra! Wake up!" He groaned and turned so that he was facing the pillow. "Wake! Up!"

"Wake up~" I called in a singsong voice.

"Ugh...Sparkler..." he groaned. "Let me sleep for a bit longer."

"But we have things to do today!" I told him.

"Why don't you have your breakfast and then I'll tell you why I'm so tired?"

I sighed and went.




I jumped up to my room once I had finished eating. Of course I got some for Sombra. I set it on a table and was about to ask him why he was so tired, when he said, "Sparkler. Don't. Wake. Anypony. When. They're. Sleeping. Because. Unlike. You. They. Don't. Wake. Up. So. Early. That. They. See. The. Bucking. Sun. Rising!" He put a space between each anger filled word. 

I must have annoyed him a lot. "Sorry..." I said quiet as Fluttershy. I just got carried away with how excited I was for today's lesson..." I said louder, "I'm sorry for annoying you."

"Well...damnit Sparkler! You pissed me off so much that I can't even bucking stop swearing!" he nearly shouted. He recomposed himself and asked, "Have you gone out of this castle for the last three days?"

I thought for a minute. "Um...no? Why?"

"If you stay here, won't ponies suspect things?" he asked.

"I guess they will...But I can't leave!" I exclaimed.

"Why not?" Sombra asked.

"Because if I leave, and somepony finds you..." I trailed off.

"You can erase their memory?" he half stated, half asked.

"Imagine if I'm too late?" I asked.

"Imagine if they don't find me?" he asked.

"And if they do?" 

"So, what are you going to do? Key word being are."

"You could disguise yourself as another pony and stay here or come with me..."

"Have you forgotten that I don't have any magic?" he glared.

"I guess I did. The other option is for me to...um...disguise you as an owl..."

"Why an owl? Can't you disguise me as a pony?"

"If I disguise you as a pony, then Pinkie will throw you a welcome to Ponyville party, Apple Jack and all my friends will be there, you'll have to introduce yourself and make up a story, you might slip up, and don't let me forget to mention that Apple Jack is a living lie detector!"

"I see. But aren't owls supposed to be asleep in the day?"

"...Yeah."

"Wouldn't that ruin your plan?"

"I'll disguise you as a different bird then."

"Which one?"

I thought and said, "A budgie?"

"Aren't those rare?"

"No. Fluttershy has lots of them, and so do other bird breeders."

"Then go ahead."

"Alright."




King Sombra's P.O.V:

"Are you fine with the color I gave you?" Sparkler asked.

I nodded and then tried to fly onto her, but fell. "I suppose I'll have to teach you to fly..."

She spread her wings and said, "Copy me."

I spread them (which took a bit of time) and then she started flapping her wings, which caused her to hover. 




An hour later, we were ready to go. Sparkler opened the door and stepped out into the sunlight. I winced. "Is it just me, or is the sun brighter than usual?" she asked herself.

As she walked through the town, with ponies occasionally stopped to greet her, I grew more annoyed with all the sunlight. So I decided to take advantage of my new appendages, and flew off to a nearby tree.

I struggled with sitting on the branch, and just as I got the hang of it, Sparkler came. "You can't stay there!"

I decided to tell her that I could, but all that came out of my mouth was bird sounds. Her horn glowed, and I flew off, with the alicorn flying after me. She shouted, "Come back! Come back!"

Eventually she caught me with her magic, and said, "If it's too bright for you, why didn't you tell me?"

I glared at her (as best as a budgie could) and then chirped to show her why I didn't. "Oh."

And then she began walking again, this time with a magical shade over us. She kept on walking until she reached a cottage, and said, "Be careful in what you say. Fluttershy understands all animals."

I decided to keep my mouth (or in this case, beak) shut.

Sparkler knocked on the door three times before saying,  "Fluttershy? It's me, Twilight."

A few minutes later, the door was opened by a yellow pegasus. "Hi Twilight. Sorry I didn't open the door earlier. Angel was throwing one of his...tantrums." she said. "And come in!"

Who was this 'Angel'? "It's no problem Fluttershy," Sparkler smiled as she walked in.

The pegasus shut the door and gasped. "Is something wrong Fluttershy?"

"You have a budgie on your back?!" the mare exclaimed in shock.

"Yeah. It's my pet budgie."

"Ooh, what's her name?"

"Don't you mean his name? Key word being his." Sparkler asked.

"No. You've got a female budgie," the yellow mare said, leading to Sparkler's jaw hitting the floor.

What in Tartarus?! That was...insulting! Very insulting!

"Oh. I haven't chosen a name for her yet."

"Well then, I'd be happy to help you!"

I dreaded what was to happen next.




"Thanks for your help Fluttershy! I'm sure that Snowy appreciates it!"

"Anytime, Twilight. Anytime," the pegasus waved as Sparkler walked away to somewhere unknown.

"Next we're going to Sweet Apples Acres to get some apples," she informed me.

I hated this day.




Finally! After a whole day of being a budgie, I was back to my wonderful stallion self. I turned to Sparkler and glared at her. "A couple of things, Sparkler. One. Why. In. Tartarus. Did. You. Make. Me. A. Female. Bird?! Two. Why. Did. You. Decide. To. Go. To. Every. Damned. Place. In. This. Town?! Three. Why. Did. You. Spend. So. Much. Time. At. That. Apple. Mare's. Place?! Four. Was. It. Necessary. To. Accept. All. That. Bird. Food. From. That. Pegasus?!"

I made sure to put a space between each word. She answered, "I didn't know a thing about budgie genders! While going for a walk, I decided to get some chores done. I spent lots of time at Sweet Apple Acres because if I tried to leave quickly, Apple Jack would suspect that something is happening. And yes, it was necessary. Fluttershy was being kind, and I didn't want to be rude!" She took a breath and asked, "And now I've got a question of my own. Why do you keep calling me Sparkler?!"

"It sounds more interesting than Sparkle," I shrugged. "Anyways, I'm tired, and don't even dare wake me up at the same Tartarus be damned time you did this morning!"
> Payback
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


~Poetic Justice ~

~Chapter-5- Payback~





King Sombra's P. O.V:

Good. It seems like that annoying lavender mare listened to what I said yesterday and didn't wake me so early that I'd be able to see the bucking sun rise.

I stretched and got out of my bed. To see Sparkler...asleep?!

"Sparkler?" I tapped her. "Sparkler?"

"Hmm," she moaned.

"Sparkler!" I said.

"Go...way..." she said, her speech slurred. "Sleep...ore."

I was about to smack her so she woke, but got an idea and decided to let the mare get more sleep.

For now, I'll just freshen up.




Twilight Sparkle's P.O.V:

I woke up to see that the sun had already risen. I jumped out of bed. How could I have slept in?!

...Must've been because I stayed up late last night. But still! Other ponies sleep in, never me!

That thing never happens to me! Never once in a thousand years! ...But it happened to me.

I rubbed my eyes and once my vision cleared, I saw Sombra standing in front of me, smirking.

"Sombra? Why are you just ...standing there?" I asked.

"Sparkler. You've woken up very late," he said as if he were talking to a foal. "Think of how much time you've wasted by sleeping in!"

"Why didn't you wake me up?" I asked, ears bent downwards. 

"Ah, Sparkler," he sighed. "Who said I didn't wake you up? I did wake you up! Honest! But you kept on sleeping! I even said I'd burn all your books, but you didn't even do so much as move!"

My eyes widen. "You didn't burn any books, did you?"

"Of course I didn't," he says. I give a sigh of relief. "I would never burn a book... Unless said book was offensive."

I ask, "So... What are you going to teach me today?"

He puts a confused look on his face. "Teach you?"

"Yes," I say as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "Aren't you going to teach me some dark magic?"

He chuckles. "Sparkler, don't tell me that I forgot to tell you that I'm going to test you today."

"You're joking." It's not a question, but a statement. "You have to be."

"Sparkler, I swear that I'm not joking. You have a test today. On every single thing that I've taught you," he tells me.

"But isn't it too early to be giving me a test?" I ask. "Shouldn't you wait like...three months or something to test me?"

"Sparkler, that's not how things work. It's been three weeks," he shakes his head.

"What? It's only been three days!" I exclaim.

"No. Three weeks," he says.

"Three days!" 

"Three weeks!"

"Three days!"

"Three weeks!"

"Three days!"

"Look Sparkler," he says. "I've got a headache from your screeching and no longer wish to continue this foalish banter. It's been three weeks. Check your calendar if you don't believe me."

Raising an eyebrow, I check the calendar to find that he's right. Three weeks have passed since I woke up to find Sombra above me. "B-but how?" I stutter. "How have three weeks passed? It's... Impossible!"

"You might've slept through the last three weeks," he shrugs. "You might've been with your imaginary coltfriend. But whatever you did during those three weeks doesn't matter. What matters is that you have a test today."

"Can't you give me any time to revise?" I plead.

"Sorry," he says making my jaw drop to the floor. Sombra says 'sorry'?! "but you had more than enough time. You overslept when you could have been practicing."

"Aww..." I sigh. I look up to Sombra and give him my best adorkable eyes. "Ple~ase?"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"No."

"Pretty pretty pretty please?"

"No."

I sigh. "So... When does the test start?"

"Right now."




King Sombra's P.O.V:

I smile as I watch Sparkler write the answers to all the questions on the paper.

It took some time, but I managed to make something akin to a question paper.

Like the ones that are used in schools. 

I'm a really good actor. I managed to get Sparkler to think that I really was giving her a test today without laughing once.

Though, the whole time I was thinking, 'You're so gullible, Sparkler.'

It's true. I quietly laugh as Sparkler chews on her hoof, reading her answer.

Then she flips to the next page and is about to start writing when I say, "Time for the practicals, Sparkler!"

She jumps and says, "But I haven't even finished writing all the answers!"

I resist the urge to laugh. "Ah, Sparkler," I shake my head. "You should've written faster. There's no point crying now. Unless of course you wish to have no time left to finish the practicals. Haven't you heard of the saying 'Time and tide wait for none'?"

She mumbles something, and I say, "I want you to conjure statues of the pony you hate most." She conjures a few statues of Chrysalis, and I shatter them with my hind hoof.

"Why did you destroy them?" Sparkler asks, confused.

"You tell me why I destroyed them." When she fails to give an answer, I say, "It's because you didn't use dark magic to conjure the statues."

"Oh."

"Try again, and don't forget to use dark magic this time."

She lets her hatred for Chrysalis create the aura of dark magic around her, and conjures statues of the bug.

"Now destroy them," I command, and she lashes out, as if she were merely waiting for my command to  destroy the statues.

She must really hate that bug. I could use this to my advantage...

I smile as she gives out a war cry and when the mare's done, the former statues are now nothing but dust.

I chuckle at the thought of what she'd do if she came face to face with the real Chrysalis.

It would be total chaos. 




"So, what did I get?" Sparkler asks for the thousand time this evening. "Is it a good mark?"

I shove her away from my face. "Tartarus be damned, Sparkler," I groan. "Give me some time to check it!"

"..." She says nothing and sits down. "Sorry, I just got really excited."

I write a few more things with the quill and red ink before hooving it to the irritating mare.

I put the quill down and watch her reaction. She's frozen with shock.

"H-how?" she asks with bewilderment. "How could I have gotten a bucking five out of twenty?!"

"Sparkler," I put a hoof on her shoulder. "You didn't answer all the questions correctly, and they were ten marks. The practicals were ten marks, and you got a mark cut for not using dark magic at first."

"That doesn't make sense!" she says, throwing the paper on the floor. "I should've gotten nine marks  if that was the case!"

"Ah, I must have forgotten to tell you." A smirk finds its way onto my face. "You bothered me so much while I was checking your paper that I had to cut four more marks, leaving you with five out of twenty."

She doesn't move. Or say anything. When she stays like that for more than a few minutes, I get worried.

I don't know why, but I just am. I wave a hoof in front of her face. "Sparkler? Sparkler?"

She remains idle. "Sparkler!" I yell into her ear. "Twilight Sparkle, I, King Sombra, command you to move your  adorkable butt this instant!"

She doesn't blink. I think I may have gone too far with this.

"Alright," I sigh. "I was just having a joke with you. This all was a joke. You weren't supposed to have a test today. I was supposed to teach you how to make illusions with dark magic. I did this as payback for yesterday. I swear, I just got the idea of taking revenge for yesterday, and the- well this was too funny to pass up!"

She still didn't do so much as blink. "For the love of Tartarus," I growl, frustrated. "Do something!"

I get an idea and say, "If you don't move, I'll burn your books. All of them."

She finally blinks. "You wouldn't dare!"

"Mind telling me what happened to you earlier?" I ask.

"What happened?"

"You were frozen for half an hour," I tell her.

"Oh. I was going through something called 'Erreur de traitement des chocs système' which translates to-"

I cut her off. "I know Prench, and I know that it translates to System Shock Processing Error."

She glares at me. "It isn't nice to cut somepony off when they're talking, Sombra."

"Désolé, Sparkler, mais tout le monde ne peut pas être parfait comme toi," I say in fluent Prench.

"You could at least try," she hisses.

"Not once in a thousand years will I try to be perfect as you." Before she can hiss something else, I quickly say, "So, what were you going on about before I so rudely interrupted you?"

She glares at me before taking on her lecturing face. "Before you so rudely interrupted me, I was saying that I was going through something called 'Erreur de traitement des chocs système' which translates to-"

I cut her off again. "No need to say what it translates to."

She gives me her killer glare eyes. "Rude!"

I give her killer glare eyes in return. "As I said before, 'Tous les poneys ne peuvent pas être aussi parfaits que toi. Nous avons tous nos défauts'."

She sighs and says, "I'm going to start giving you an explanation one more time, and if you cut through me one more time, let's just say you'll regret it."

"I promise not to cut through you," I say.

Her eyes glow with the aura of dark magic as she begins her lecture. "As I was saying before you cut through me two times, I was going through something called 'Erreur de traitement des chocs système' which translates to System Shock Processing Error. When a pony is very shocked, their mind is unable to process the shock properly, which causes them to become stiff and unresponding. Some ponies are lucky enough to only be stuck like that for ten minutes to an hour or so, but unlucky ones can be stuck like that for many years. It's kind of like a coma. It depends on how severe the shock is."

She pauses to take in some air before continuing. "If it's something like well... A prized flowed vase or a house being destroyed, the pony might suffer from Erreur de traitement des chocs système for an hour or less, depends on how much the thing meant to them. But... If it's something like the loss of a loved one, or the betrayal of a loved one, or if said pony found their coltfriend/marefriend or husband/wife cheating on them, they could be stuck like that for years."

"I see," was all I said. "So, Sparkler, did you hear what I told you before?"

"The part where you said that you weren't going to test me today and that it was a joke?" she asks.

"...Yeah," I nod.

"Did you mean it or were you just joking?"

"I meant every part of it. Today when I woke up, I was surprised to find you still asleep since you normally get up before the sun rises. Or something like that. I was going to smack you awake when I got an idea of how I could get payback for yesterday. Because I really hated the fact that you turned me into a female bird. So... I got this great idea of pretending that three weeks had passed and that I was going to give you a test today. I may have taken it too far, I apologize for that. But it was all in honest fun, I swear!"

Her jaw is touching the ground by the time I am finished. "You...apologized?" she asked in shock.

"Yes."

She shakes her head. "That was unexpected. So... Did three weeks really pass?"

I quietly say, "...Yes. Three weeks did pass. You know how you drank coffee that night?" She nods. "I...put something in it to make you have an extended sleep."

She raises an eyebrow. "What about Spike? Wouldn't he have suspected something? And what about Starlight? Wouldn't she have come here if I was sleeping for three weeks? And wouldn't my friends have suspected something? And how in Equestria were you able to make a potion that would make me sleep longer?"

I answer her questions. "Your friends, that dragon, and that Starlight, whoever she may be haven't suspected a thing" she opens her mouth but I hold a hoof up "because I made a note saying that you were inventing a new spell and must not be disturbed for three weeks so that you can make the spell properly."

The aura of dark magic around her eyes, which hasn't faded, grows brighter as she says, "So I'll have to make a new spell."

It sounds like more of a statement than a question. "Do you know how to?" I ask.

She says, "...I haven't got a clue."

"Well then," I smirk. "you're in luck. I know how to make spells."

"Really?" She has a look of disbelief on her face.

"In your eyes," I start "I may be nothing more than a colt who enslaved an Empire just because he could, but I learnt how to make spells, believe it or not. Remember that last part in my journal? 'I've developed a new spell, just for her. How bitter will her victory taste when she has no home left'?"

She nods and I say, "The spell that I was referring to was the one that used the power of the Elements to give the Empire the same fate as I. As soon as Hope betrayed me, I had made it, knowing that the Two Sisters would arrive with the Elements."

"I see," she says.

"So, tell me what spell you want to make and I'll make it," I say.

She thinks for a while and then says, "How about a spell that'll help a grounded pegasus fly, and a unicorn use magic?"

"...Okay." I get a piece of parchment, and a quill. Then concentrating hard, I begin writing...




Ուղղիր ամեն ինչ, որ սխալ է, վերացրեք բոլոր խնդիրները: Թող հավելվածները աշխատեն այնպես, ինչպես պետք է: Ներսի հմայքը հանի՛ց:

"What did you write?" Sparkler asks. She frowned, pointing to the parchment on which I had written the spell in Ancient Crystal Runes. "I can't read this."

I told her, "For your information, I used Ancient Crystal Runes to write the spell. It translates into: Fix all that is wrong; remove all problems. Let the appendages work as they should. Bring the inner magic out."

She quickly writes down what I said and asks, "Are you sure this will work?'

"Positive," I say.

"Then I guess that we'll be going to show off my- well your new spell."

"Indeed," I say. Then I get an idea. "Sparkler, have you ever heard of a 'telepathic link'?"

She shakes her head. "No, I haven't. What is it?"

"A telepathic link is a means of communication between two ponies. If they use the link to communicate, nopony else will be able to know. It was used in the war between Equestria and the Changelings so that spies were unable to pick up any valuable information," I tell her. "Telepathic links are very useful, and have many advantages, however, they have one disadvantage. The ponies who are using the link cannot be too far from each other, or the link will be rendered useless."

Sparkler asks, "Will you be able to read my thoughts if I agree to this link?"

I say, "No. You won't be able to read my thoughts, nor will I be able to read yours."

"...Okay. Do you know how to cast the spell?"

I nod. "Yes, I do. No books have the written spell. I will be able to cast the spell, but I need you to give me some magic."

"How do I know that you won't use the magic I gave you to take over Equestria?"

"It would take a lot more magic to be able to do that, Sparkler. All you need to give me is a few drops of magic."

"How can I trust you?"

"I swear on my life that I will only use the magic that you'll give me for what I needed it for. If I try to take over Equestria, or mind control you, you have the permission to execute me."

"...Fine. But if you try anything funny, you are dead."

She makes her horn touch mine as it glows, and I feel as if I am complete. I smile and then say, "I'll cast the spell now, but it'll hurt when I do so."

I then cast the spell to create a telepathic link, and Sparkler shouts in pain. I grip my head with my hooves, as I too am experiencing this pain. It lasts for a good ten minutes, before fading away.

I try to use the link. Sparkler?

She jumps. Sparkler? Can you hear me?

After looking around for a few minutes, realization hits her and she replies telepathically. Sombra? I can hear you.

That means I casted the spell correctly. You can take your magic back now.

I don't know why I said that. The words came out  before I could stop them.

Sparkler surprises me with her reply.  No, you can keep it.

Are you being serious?!

I am.

Aren't you worried I'll abuse your trust?

You gave me permission to execute you if you abused my trust.

So you're 100% serious? You're not joking?

No Sombra, I'm not joking. You can keep my magic as long as you don't abuse my trust.

...Okay.

Though, I'd feel better if we had something that would stop you from abusing my trust. You know, something like a vow?

There's something called an Unbreakable Vow. If I recall correctly, Star Swirl invented it. It was used in the war so that the soldiers would be unable to betray the pony they were serving under.

Let's cast it then.

I'm assuming you don't know how the Unbreakable Vow works.

And you'd be correct. I've heard of it, I've read about it, but I don't know how to do it. Perhaps you do?

Fortunately, I do. I'm surprised though. You're supposed to be the student of Princess Celestia and there's some spells you don't know about.

Hey, I only learnt what the Princess taught me.

Whatever you say Sparkler, whatever you say. Anyways, to make the Unbreakable Vow, we'll need parchment, a sword, quills, and magic.

A sword? Why do we need that?

We need the sword to get the blood.

Blood?! Are you sure?

Yes Sparkler, I am.

...Okay. I'll trust you with this.

Do you have any swords?

I'm not sure.

If you don't have a sword, then you could just get a sharp knife.

...Okay.

I'll stay here while you look for the knife.

I'll need to turn you into your budgie form just in case somepony comes in.

...Okay.

I'm less than happy about that. Sparkler's horn glows, and before I can do so much as blink, I'm a budgie again.

Sparkler walks out and closes the door behind her.

I decide to fly across the room for fun.




Twilight Sparkle's P.O.V:

I go to the kitchen and start looking for a sharp knife, and cast an invisibility spell over myself so that if Spike comes in, he won't be able to see me getting the knife. I don't want him to know a thing about this 'Unbreakable Vow'.

I smile at how I had ordered the knives, from most sharp to least, and take the sharpest one, after which I teleport to my room and remove the invisibility spell. Sombra's flying around my room, and lands as soon as I say, "Sombra, I've got a sharp knife."

Then turn me back into myself, and we can start.

I turn Sombra back, and after getting the other objects, ask, "So, what do we have to do?"

"Get the parchment," he says.

I place it on the table and he asks for the knife. I give it to him, and I flinch as Sombra takes the knife and cuts his hoof, not showing any sign of pain.

He begins writing, using his blood as ink. I squint at the Ancient Crystal Runes he wrote.

Ես՝ Սոմբրան, երդվում եմ իմ կյանքով, որ չեմ չարաշահի այն վստահությունը, որ դրել է Իմ մեջ Twilight Sparkle-ը: Եթե ես չարաշահեմ նրա վստահությունը, ապա մահն ինձ վրա կլինի:

And then he says, "Now we both must sign this with our magic."

He signs it, and I do the same. He rolls the parchment up, and says, "Now it's done."

"Could you tell me what's written on it?" I ask.

He translates, "I, Sombra, swear by my life that I will not abuse the trust that Twilight Sparkle has placed in me. If I abuse her trust, then death will be upon me."

"So you can't break it?"

"I can," he says causing alarm bells to go off inside my head "but if I do, then I'll be dead on the spot." 

"You won't break it, will you?"

"Do you really think that I want to die, Sparkler?" he asks. I shrug and he says, "For your information, I do not want to die. I want to live forever."

"Oh." The alarm bells stop ringing. "So... What should we do now?"

He shrugs. "We could rest, read books, or I could teach you how to make spells."

"If you're not too tired," I say. "I'd like to learn how to make spells."

"Alright then."

"One thing. Are you going to teach me how to make spells using those Ancient Crystal Runes?"

"No," he says. "Given how Ancient Crystal Runes are well, ancient, and how you didn't know about them despite being Sunbutt's student, I'll try to teach you how to make spells using Equestrian symbols. I think that would be much better, as nopony would suspect you."

I nod until something hits me. "What. Did. You. Call. Princess. Celestia?!" I spit out as my eyes narrow in anger.

King Sombra's P.O.V:

Sparkler is fuming, and the aura around her eyes is becoming stronger. I casually say, "I called her Sunbutt." Sparkler glares at me. "What? She does have a picture of the sun on her butt."

"Don't. You. Dare. Call. Her. That. Again." Sparkler's voice is distorted, sounding as if there's a demon saying that.

"Why?" I ask. "What will you do if I keep calling your beloved Celestia Princess Sunbutt?"

"I. Will. Make. You. Wish. You. Never. Was. Born." 

"You really need to chill, Sparkler," I say. "Don't you know that Moonbutt is the one who came up with the name Sunbutt?"

The magical flames around her eyes die. "What?" she questions. This time, her voice is her own.

"It's true," I tell her. "Do you really not know about that? After I took over my Empire, when the Two Sisters came, they first tried to talk me out of it, and Luna called Celestia 'Sunbutt', and they started fighting. They only stopped when they heard me laughing, and then banished me and the Empire."

"Oh."

I change the topic. "So, do you want to learn how to make spells?"

She nods. "Yes."

"Get some parchment and quills. And ink," I tell her. She levitates the items to the table.

"Now what?"

"You've got Star Swirl books, right?" She nods. "Then get them. I think you'll have one about how to make spells."

Sparkler teleports to her library and comes back with a pile of books in her hooves. Using the magic she lent me, I levitate them to the table and search for the one that I needed.

I find it and move the other books, holding them in my magical aura and then putting them on the floor. Sparkler's eyes twitch.

Then I open the book in front of me and start reading it. I know a lot of things, but once I returned, I never made an effort to learn these modern Equestrian runes.

I start reading it, and once I'm done, I give them book to Sparkler and say, "Now you need to read this."

She starts reading.




It takes a while, but now she's got some idea of how to make spells. In modern Equestria, they don't make spells with runes. Turns out the last time runes were used was a thousand years ago. Now they make spells with ponish letters.

Once Sparkler puts the book down, I say, "So, do you have an idea of how to make spells now?"

"Yes," she says.

"Then try making one."




Twilight Sparkle's P.O.V:

Sombra tells me to make a spell and even though an hour has passed, I haven't written a single letter.

He walks up to me, looks at my paper, and gasps. He's shocked, and nearly screams, "You haven't written anything?!"

I say with an embarrassed air, "Yes. I haven't written anything."

"Why haven't you?"

"I... I don't know what spell to make! There's so many to choose from! I can make a spell that will allow anypony- pegasus or earth- to teleport. Or... I could make a spell that would make things lighter. Like something very heavy becomes so light you don't even know it was there! Or a spell that would enlarge the insides of any saddlebag or luggage so that you could put as many things you want in there! Or even-"

"Alright Sparkler, I get your point," Sombra interrupts me. "No need to go on until Equestria ends."

"So," I say, trying to keep calm despite the fact that I was interrupted. "What spell do you think I should make?"

"I think you should try the one that makes bags lighter. And the one that enlarges the insides of any bag. Those remind me of the spells in Hairy Trotter," he says.

"You read Hairy Trotter?! I mean, it was around in your time?!"

"Yeah Sparkler. Hard to believe as it is, Hairy Trotter was around when I was a foal." He chuckles. "After all, who do you think inspired me to do what I did? Of course it was Voldemort."

"..." I can't think of any possible reply. 

"Anyways, since you were unable to make a single spell, I think we should read some books now."

"If that's what you want."





We had been reading books, then talking about it, and now Sombra was in the middle of conjuring Celestia-knows-how-many-damned-crystals in my library.


Of course Sombra was in his budgie form. I didn't want to risk anypony seeing him.

Seems like even in his budgie form, Sombra can still use magic. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.


Don't you think that's enough crystals?

No. I need more crystals.

But Sombra, my library is going to be ruined! I don't even know if there's a spell to remove all these crystals!

Sparkler, two things. First is: Stop being a spoilsport and let me have fun! I haven't been able to use magic for such a long time! And second: Your library is not ruined. I can remove these crystals after I've made enough.

Ugh, fine. Just make sure that you do remove the crystals after.




King Sombra's P.O.V:

I've just finished making my crystals, and am about to walk- I mean fly away when Sparkler telepathically tells me: Sombra! You promised!

I forgot. But don't worry, I pretended to forget to see if you actually thought that I forgot. Hah. As if I, the Great and Powerful Sombra would forget anything. Crystal removing spell coming right up!

I cast the spell and then something hits me. Um... Sparkler?

Yes?

I've just realized something. Your castle is made out of crystal, is it not?

It is. Why?

I just cast a bucking crystal removing spell! And your entire bucking castle is made out of bucking crystal!

Holy Celestia! Does that mean...

Tartarus, yes! Your castle is going to disappear in a few seconds. And the spell explodes it!

Sweet Luna! We'd better get out of here!

We make our great escape as the castle explodes in what will be known as the greatest and biggest explosion in recorded history.

And of course, we and everypony in Ponyville are unconscious because of this.
> Mind control
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Poetic Justice

Written By KingSombraTheTyrantRuler

Chapter Six- Mind Control




Twilight Sparkle's P.O.V:

"Today, Twilight," Sombra begins "I shall teach you the spell called mind control."

"M-mind control?" I ask, surprised. "Why do I need to learn that?"

"Are you seriously asking me that question? I thought that after I accidentally destroyed your castle and got all of Ponyville either injured or unconscious, you'd be angry at me."

"I am."

"Exactly. So, you can mind control me and make me do whatever you want."

"But that's just wrong! I don't want to mind control you!"

"Even if you don't want to mind control me, you still should learn it so that you could use it if need to."

"I wouldn't need to use it."

"Fine. You don't have to use it, but if you learn how to use it, you'd be able to fight against mind control."

"The only ponies who know how to use mind control other than you are the Princesses."

"Don't forget about Discord, Chrysalis, Tirek, and that pegasus filly, who if given a horn, would be able to do anything she wanted."

"Discord is reformed, and the others you mentioned are now a stone statue."

"What if one of them broke out?"

"What if they didn't?"

"Well, it's not impossible to free them, is it? After all, Discord was freed from his stone prison, and by three fillies no less."

"You're not planning on freeing them, are you?"

"Even if I do have magic now, I wouldn't free them. But somepony else might."

"Even if they do get freed, I don't want to learn mind control."

"Your wish. Since that was the only thing I thought of teaching you today, I guess that now we managed to bring your castle back and fix all the damage caused, there's nothing else to do. I'm going to make some crystals in the library, ok?"

"No crystals."

"It's not like I'll repeat my mistakes and remove your castle again."

"Still no."

"But that's what I want to do!"

"Sombra, I'm telling you no. N o spells no."

"But what can you do to stop me? Nothing." Sombra runs to the library, and I run after him.

"Sombra," I pant once I'm there. "What do you want me to do?"

"Let me teach you mind control."

"And if I let you teach me, then you won't make any crystals in my library?"

"I promise."

"Pinkie promise."

"What's that?"

"Never mind. We're definitely not going to practice on ponies, and I don't want to practice on you."

"Of course we're not going to use ponies. We're going to use animals. Or flies."

"You can mind control flies? I never knew that..."

"Of course you didn't. Let me show you." The dark unicorn concentrated hard on a fly that was on a table, and then said, "I'm gonna make the fly dance about, slam into a wall, and other things it wouldn't do so that you know I'm mind controlling it."

The fly began to dance around. "Sombra? Could you mind control something other than a fly?"

"Are you asking if I'm able to, or do you just want me to control something else?"

"The latter."

"I can control... What other living thing is in this room?"

"There's only me and you."

"Could I control your dragon pet?"

"Spike is not my pet! How many times do I have to tell you that?! And you can't control him."

"Then find me an animal."

"Why don't you go out yourself and get it?"

"Have you forgotten that if I take one step outside, the ponies will scream and start looking for places to hide and Celestia would be told about me?"

"Have you forgotten that I gave you some magic and you can disguise yourself?"

Sombra facehooved. "...I totally forgot."

“Do you know disguise spells?”

“Do I? By Tartarus I do.”

“So go ahead and disguise yourself.”

A flash of magic later, Sombra looks exactly as he did before, just with a normal unicorn horn and green eyes.

I facehoof. “Sombra, you look exactly like you did before with only a few minor changes.”

“Then how's this?” His horn is replaced with a pair of wings.

“Sombra, for Celestia's sake!”

Sombra sighs and turns into an earth pony. With the same bucking colors.

“Sombra!” I yell. “Let me disguise you.”

“I can‘t see anything wrong with my disguise."

“I- You'll be recognized immediately!”

“No.”

“Yes. If you take one step out of this castle, anypony who sees you will ask you if you're related to King Sombra!”

“But I am King Sombra.”

“Ugh!” Under my breath I mutter, “Why the actual buck is he so…”

“What are you muttering about me?”

“Nothing. I'm just wondering what I should make you look like.” A flash later Sombra is disguised as a pegasus stallion with dark blue fur and an almost black mane.

King Sombra's P.O.V:

I look in the mirror. And… “Holy Tartarus! I look like a stallion version of Princess bucking Luna!”

Sparkler sighs. “At least it's better than your disguise.”

“Is not. Disguise me as something else this instant!”

“As something else? Like a bird?”

“I am not going to be transformed into a female bird. Again. Or any other animal. Transform me into a stallion so handsome, mares will be falling at my hooves. And not because I extended my hindhoof as they walk by.”

“You do it.”

“Fine.”

I am now a pegasus with white fur. My mane is blond, and my eyes are blue.

I smirk at Sparkler. “So…how's this?”

She answers by teleporting away. I guess that means she didn't want to  show how handsome she found me. 

Time to fly out of the window then. Or since there isn't a window in this room, I could use the door and see if my transformation works.




Starlight Glimmer's P.O.V:

Today is the day marked as 'spending time with Twilight'. Kind of weird that she wanted me to spend a whole day just with her.

I mean, doesn't she have lots of things to do as a Princess of Equestria? Shouldn't she be spending more time with her closer friends- the elements of harmony?

Oh Starlight, Starlight, Starlight. You're her friend as well. She thinks of you as a close friend just like her other five friends.

I sigh and teleport outside her room. “Twilight are you in there?”  I knock twice.

But instead of Twilight, a handsome as buck stallion comes out. “Hello there,”  his voice is deep and low, and sends me swooning.
> "You don't know who Daring Do is?!"
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Poetic Justice 

Written By 
KingSombraTheTyrantRuler 

Chapter Seven- "You don't know who Daring Do is?!"



King Sombra's P.O.V:

I had barely closed the door when I heard some hoofsteps. Turning around I saw a mare. Probably one of Sparklers friends.

“Hello there,” I greeted her. Instead of replying she falls to the ground. My smile falls and is replaced with a look of horror.

“Um…strange mare?” I nudge her. She doesn't move. “Oh shoot, I killed her! …If that mare is dead, then Twilight must be dead too! Oh Tartarus! Why am I cursed?!”

My wails are so loud that the door opposite me opens and somepony comes out.

I ignore them and continue wailing. “Tartarus! I hate myself!”

The pony places their hoof onto my shoulder and in a soft, familiar voice says, “Sombra.”

My head whips up to see none other than…Twilight Sparkle. I go pale and scream. Unfortunately my scream is that of a filly who has found a fruit fly on their ceiling.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” 

Sparkler tilts her head to the side as I jump up and run away from her. I continue screaming.  “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! Get away from me you trespasser from the world of the undead!” I yell at her as she comes near me.

Sparkler facehoofs before sighing and asking, “Now, what did you do, Sombra?”

“I truly am cursed. First I kill two mares with my handsomeness and then a ghost of the former comes to mock me or even kill me and take me to the world of the undead as punishment for my crimes," I mutter to myself.

“Sombra,” she laughs “you didn't kill me or Starlight. Starlight's just unconscious."

“Really?” I dare to look at her. “Then why did you teleport away as soon as you saw me?”

“Because I didn't want to admit to you that you were” she whispers, “handsome.”

I look up at her blushing face. A blush also forms on me. “You- you think I look handsome like this?”

She nods. I realize something. Scowling, I growl, “So, you didn't think I was handsome before?”

Her blush is replaced by terror. “No, of course I thought you were handsome.”

“You have ten seconds to hide, starting now. Ten…”

She runs out of sight. “Nine…Eight…Seven…Six…Five, Four, Three, Two, One. I'm gonna find you, ready or not!”

Now, where would Sparkler hide? The first place would most likely be the library, so I make my way there.

I only have to walk to the section with Star Swirls‘ books, and there she is, hiding behind a stack of books.

I sigh. “Really Sparkler, I expected better from you.” I use my new magic to knock the pile over and levitate her into the air. “At first I wasn't planning to punish you, but after seeing that terrible hiding spot? You've earned it.”

I place Sparkler on a table, tie her to it so she can't get away… and begin tickling her non-stop.

“Sombra what are you- hahaha stop! Stop!” Soon her protests are replaced by laughter and only when her face becomes red I stop and untie her.

“Sparkler.” She stops gasping for breath upon seeing my displeased expression. “Even if I had tied you up, I didn't put a no-magic ring on your horn, so you could've simply teleported out of the ropes or done some other spell.”

“I forgo-”

“Forgot? Haven't you been a unicorn for your whole life?” Before she can reply I continue, “I'd say you deserve a punishment for this, what do you say Sparkler?”

Her eyes go wide and she begins to back away. “No punishment please! I'll do anything!”

I take a step closer and soon have her cornered. I grin mischievously. “Anything, you say?”

She nods. “Anything!”

I'm about to say something when we're interrupted by somepony snickering. “You two lovebirds should go get a room. Also, don't forget to invite me to the engagement ceremony.”

I turn around to see a cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane…Hey, she's one of those Elements of Harmony, isn't she?

“R-rainbow Dash!” Sparkler gasps, flustered. “How did you get in? And why are you here? I mean, it's good to see you but I'm pretty sure I was scheduled to do something with Starlight today. Speaking of which, I should go get her!”

I hold Sparklers tail in my magical grip. “I don't think you should go yet Sparkler. After all, I don't know this pegasus,” I murmur into her ear.

“I flew in through the window, duh,” Rainbow Dash rolls her eyes. “And I was gonna ask you for the latest copy of Daring Do, but since you two are too busy getting all lovey-dovey, I'll come back another day.”

Sparkler holds the pegasus' tail with her magic. Good, she finally used her horn. “Hey, what's the big deal?! Why's everypony playing catch the tail all of a sudden?!” the mare shouts, tugging on her tail.

“Rainbow! Let me introduce you two! This is-” Crystal Shard, Shard for short “Crystal Shard, Shard for short, and Shard, this is Rainbow Dash, Rainbow for short.” She releases her grip on Rainbow's tail and the pegasus flies down,  extending a foreleg. 

“Hey Shard, nice to meet you.”

“Same to you, Miss Rainbow,” I say in return, kissing her foreleg. 

She blushes. “Call me Rainbow, and there's no need to kiss my hoof since you're already taken.”

“Taken? What do you mean by that?”

“You know, you and Twi…”

I gasp in mock offense. “Rainbow, I am not in a relationship with Twilight. I am merely a guest at her castle, quite similar to how Miss Glimmer is. I have come back from a journey in the Crystal Empire and since my old house was destroyed in a storm, Twilight was kind enough to let me stay here until I find a permanent house.”

She rolls her eyes. “Yeah, totally convinced.”

Before I can retaliate, Sparkler says, “I'm just gonna go now, okay?” and gallops out.

Rainbow turns to me. “So, how long have you been here?”

“Two months.”

She shrugs. “Then you must know where Twi's secret stash of Daring Do books are!”

I telepathically ask Sparkler where it is and she replies with Pull the third book from the right out of the fourth shelf of the Star Swirl collection and you'll be there. Don't mess anything up. Also, I want you to try and make friends with Rainbow.

Ok, thank you for the help, adios.

“Shard?”

“Yes?”

“You kinda spaced out there for a moment.”

“I apologize, I was just remembering which shelf it was.” I go to the shelf Sparkler said and pull the book out. The bookcase is magically pulled up and a staircase is revealed. As we go down, I ask a question that I've had since 'Daring Do' was first said. "So... This 'Daring Do' series... What is it about and who is Daring Do? I mean, I assume she is the main character from the title, but-"

The pegasus faces me, shocked. "You don't know who Daring Do is?!" she shouts.

"Am I supposed to?" 

"Daring Do is only the most awesome, amazing and bravest pegasus ever!"

"I thought that was you."

"Well, I am awesome, and brave, but Daring Do?" Her eyes fill with stars. "She battles villains and even if that's what me and my friends do, we just use the Elements to make a rainbow and that's literally it. Daring Do goes on adventures to all these places and- I grew up reading stories about her- she's my idol." She pulls me to the nearest bookshelf and hoofs me a book. "This is the first book in the series."

As I sit on a cushion and start reading, the pegasus flies to a high shelf and gets a book, before copying me.
> Beauty...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Poetic Justice



Chapter Eight



Beauty...


Sombra’s P.O.V:

“So remember, Sombra, there’s nothing to be afraid of. Seeing how well you got along with Rainbow Dash, I’m confident you’ll be fine. Though, you’ve got to be careful with Applejack,” Twilight told me as we went to the throne room or whatever it was called.

The rest of her friends were going to meet me, and I had to make a good impression or it would be, well not exactly the end of the world, but it would be beneficial for me if I were able to earn the trust of the members of the ‘Mane Six’ whom I had yet to meet.

“I mean, Applejack could be pretty suspicious and plus, she’s the Element Of Honesty. You know, she’s actually able to detect if somepony is lying or not unless they’re using a spell to protect themselves from it, and even though you did cast the spell, you’ll have to be careful.”

Just as I was about to ask Twilight if she could stop lecturing me, we arrived at the Throne Room and she stopped. Thank Tartarus. I’m not sure if I would have been able to stay awake.

I mean, she was talking on and on… And I’ve been listening to her lecture ever since I woke up, which was like, four hours ago, so yeah, I was getting pretty bored… And a headache...

We went inside. I studied the ponies before me. One was an earth pony and the other was a unicorn.

Or more accurately, a unicorn who was an- she was the epitome of beauty.

“Uh, So-Shard?” I am brought back to this world by a purple hoof waving in front of my face.

I realised I had been staring at the unicorn, lost in her beauty, and blushed.

“I’ll just leave you all to get acquainted,” Twilight says, breaking the awkward silence. She quickly leaves.

I step forward and begin to introduce myself. “Good morning to you, fine ladies. My name is Crystal Shard."

The very sound of my voice sends the mare to whom I had taken a fancy to blushing, while the orange one simply took her hat off her head and covered her burning cheeks with it.

She is the first to talk. "Howdy Shard, mah name's Applejack. Ah hear yer an acquaintance of some sort of Twilight."

"Indeed I am, Miss Applejack. It may have only been a few months since I first met Miss Sparkle, but we became quick friends after discovering our mutual love of books and magic."

The orange pony raises an eyebrow and then nods quickly. Her suspicion does not go unnoticed by me..

While she is busy studying me, I pretend not to notice and turn to the remaining mare. "And who might you be, mademoiselle?"

The unicorn snaps out of her reverie and smiles at me. "My name is Rarity."

I go on my knees and take her outstretched hoof in one of mine, kissing it. She blushes again. "My, my, what a gentlecolt you are."

"Miss Rarity, one would find it to be much more beneficial to be a gentlecolt rather than a ruffian, especially in the presence of such a beautiful lady as yourself."

The orange mare rolls her eyes as I flatter her friend, but I ignore her.

Rarity swoons and would have fallen to the ground if I hadn't caught her.

Though, I don't believe she was in any danger at all as a  sofa magically appeared in the exact spot she had been a second ago.

Bemused, I lay the beautiful mare down and then turn to Applejack who chuckles at my expression.

"Ah reckon yer mighty confused, and Ah wouldn't blame ya."

I nod. "Does that always happen?"

"Yep. Every time she faints, that sofa magically appears. Ah think she's got some kind'a fancy spell for it."

I nod and say, "There are some spells that can be used to summon an object from one place to another when a certain action occurs, but they are high level ones..."

 Talented and beautiful…

"So, what's your job?" I ask.

" Y'all have been here for three months, and ya still don't know what my job is?! Have y'all been livin' under a rock or something? "

I wince. "I apologise- I rarely go out of the Castle as I spend most of my time reading. "

"So you're sayin' that you've never gone around Ponyville?"

"Miss Sparkle is far too busy to show me around town, and her dragon assistant has too many chores to spare any time to show me. I would have explored it myself, but the risk of getting lost is a possibility, and it is one that I am unwilling to take."

She nods. "Ah guess that makes sense… Well, ah suppose ah can show ya around town, if ya aren't too busy. Big Mac's doing the farm work today, so Ah'm free. "

At that moment Rarity sits up and runs a hoof over the back of her mane to make sure her hairstyle isn't ruined.

Once she's reassured it's fine, she stands up. "What happened while I was unconscious?"

" Miss Applejack was offering to show me around town, " I say, smiling.

"But Applejack, I thought you said you already had something occupying your time today? Applebloom wanted to have a day out with you, didn't she? "

"Well, showin ' somepony around town ain't gonna take long."

Rarity smirks . "I would be able to provide a far better description of the buildings, and detail things in such a way that Mr Shard would be able to remember it for the rest of his life."

" Please, just call me Shard. And I am sure that both of you can provide an equally good description of the town, so there's no need to fight."

Rarity holds her hoof out. "Shall we go?"

" An' who said y'all were gonna be showing Shard around town first? "

"I decided to be generous and let you have more time to prepare yourself."

" Rar-"

Twilight walks in, levitating a tray with teacups and biscuits, stopping their argument and putting it on the table.

"Let's all have some tea?"







After the tea, Twilight had left again, and the mares were no longer fighting. Instead, they were trying to get to know more about me.

"So, where did you use to live before?"

That caught me off guard. I had never prepared for that question... However, I managed to keep my composure, and gave the truth.

"Me? I used to live in the Crystal Empire..."

"The Crystal Empire?" asks Rarity.

"Yes... Even though the tyrant King has long since been defeated, thanks to you and the other Elements of Harmony, the place held bad memories for me..."

"So why did y'all stay there? Like, why wait this long to move out?"

"My mother was unwell, and due to her condition, she could not be moved... She was unable to live by herself, and I had to take care of her... But she passed away a few months ago..."

"My condolences," says Rarity.

I sniffle, acting emotional at the passing of my 'mother'. "I'm... Just happy she's not suffering anymore..."







Rarity and Applejack were long gone, and now Twilight was interrogating me.

"So, how did it go?"

"I think it went well. Even though Applejack seemed to suspect me a little, I don't think she could tell."

Twilight nods and jots something down on a notepad. "Next are Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy is really shy, and she's scared of loud noises, so try not to talk too loud. And Pinkie might try to come up with a lot of parties in your honour, and even if you might get annoyed, please try not to show her it…"

" Okay Mother. " She looks at me, unamused, and I sigh and place one of my hooves on hers. "Look, I'll remember everything you said, but if you keep giving me lectures on how to behave around each of your friends, I might become so tired that I won't even be able to pretend."

She sighs. "Fine, I'll stop lecturing you…"
> It's Not A Lab Experiment
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Poetic Justice


Chapter Nine


 It's Not A Lab Experiment

Sombra's P.O.V:
I flop onto my bed in exhaustion. I had managed to convince Sparkler not to lecture me...but she decided to be a little over smart and gave me a lecture to read instead. Apparently, that way it didn't count as her lecturing me even though she wrote it.

I hear a knock on the door and sigh.

I stifle a yawn as I sit up and rub my eyes. "You can come in, Sparkler," I say rather than simply opening the door, because I'm too exhausted to. It'd most likely be her anyways. 

The door opens and she walks in. "Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie will be coming in an hour, so you should freshen up."







Once I walk into the throne room, accompanied by Sparkler,  I see two mares, one's pink with a frizzy mane formed out of curls that bounce in every direction, and she has a  huge grin on her face, while the other's yellow with a mane that obscures her face from view. She seems nervous and scared, in contrast to her friend.

I can only assume that these are the mares I was supposed to meet, and guess that the upbeat one is Pinkie Pie, if only for the colour of her mane and tail, while the one beside her must be Fluttershy.

They confirm my suspicions, as they introduce themselves. Pinkie is loud enough that I could have heard her even if I were outside the Castle, and if Sparkler hadn't told me Fluttershy's name beforehoof, I would have mistaken it for Butterfly.

"Take a seat," I say. "It is impolite to keep one's guests standing, even if this is not my Castle and S-" I can't call her Sparkler in front of her friends, "Twilight is nowhere to be seen. "

They do as I say, and Pinkie begins talking. "So, Shard, when is your birthday?"

it was a question most common, yet it sent me into panic almost immediately. It had been so long since I was wished a Happy Birthday that I forgot the date itself. What should I tell her…? Oh, right, my made up past… Truth mixed with lies isn't really that bad…

"I am afraid that the date has removed itself from my mind, for when the usurper returned twice in succession, us Crystal Ponies were far too concerned with survival that we stopped celebrating, for we lived in fear of the terror he had inflicted upon us," I say at last. " Even now, that he has been forever banished from the realm by you six, some of us still fear him. "

She winces, and I swear that her mane droops down a little. "Oh, sorry… But since I don't know your birthday, I'll throw you a-" Suddenly she begins choking on air itself, and to fit the role of the gentleman that I am playing, I stand up and tap her while conjuring a glass of water. As if by some coincidence, Fluttershy stands up at the same time I do to tap her friend, and our hooves touch. She blushes and steps back.

I barely hear her whisper out an apology, and return my attention to Pinkie Pie, who thanks me for the water as she sips it, unaware of the event that had transpired between Fluttershy and I.

"Are you okay?" I ask, not out of real concern, but like before, to keep up the act.

She nods. "So, I was saying that I forgot to throw you a Welcome to Ponyville party, even though my Pinkie senses tell me about every single new pony in town. That means I need to throw you a Welcome to Ponyville party as well as another one to celebrate your two month stay here. Or wait, maybe I should combine them…"

As she becomes lost in thought, I turn to the other mare. "Fluttershy, was it?" I ask quietly, not to startle her.

She looks up from her hooves and blushes when she sees me. "Yes," she replies, even quieter than before. Her mane falls over her face, as though it were a veil, and she makes no attempt to move it.

She's cute.

Knowing that she wasn't the type to start a conversation, and that were I not to do something quickly, we would be left in an awkward silence, I say, "So, where do you live? I don't think I've seen you around town."

" Oh… T-that's because I don't actually live in town. I live near the Everfree Forest. Just outside it. "

Cute and daring…

"The Everfree Forest?" I asked, unsure of whether my ears were deceiving me. I had studied about it, and it held creatures which were able to be a huge threat to one's life. "Aren't there supposed to be creatures such as timberwolves and the like in there?"

She nods. " There are also manticores and many others, and even though anypony else would be scared to live near it, I'm not that scared because as long as I don't scare them or try to attack them, they won't hurt me. "

"Don't timberwolves usually attack on sight?"

" They do, but that's only because they think that the ponies will attack them, " she replies. 

I nod, and the conversation carries on, until Sparkler comes and opens the door. 

"I'm sorry to interrupt you all, but I think Shard would like to rest," she says. "I may or may not need his help with something later."

The mares nod and leave after bidding me farewell and promising to visit again. 

"So, how was it?" she asks once they've left.

I shrug. "It was ok. The pink mare was a bit too loud for my liking, but Fluttershy was nice."

Sparkler nods and writes something down. I sigh, seeing that she's gotten her notepad. 

"Let me guess, this is the part where you take notes on the visit?"

She nods.

I sigh and turn around. "Fuck you Sparkler, it's not a lab experiment or something."

With that said, I head up the stairs to have a shower.