A blast from the past, yet unremembered by the present. [Semi-Open, PM for invite.]

[Novaburst]

Sombra had been busy as of late. Of course when one wanted to avoid the notice of Alicorns, one did his best to lay low. Without using much in the way of his dark magic, King Sombra had crafted a castle out of black crystal, one that looked ominous and foreboding. After all, he didn't want any ponies loyal to Celestia and Luna to find this place. Of course he knew he was going to need traps, and other defenses for his home away from home. That went without saying. But right now, he had to husband his resources carefully. For he did know he couldn't survive another magical blast like that of the Crystal Heart, or a single taste of the "Rainbow Riot Hose" they'd used on Tirek. Either way, he knew conquering Equestria couldn't happen. A shudder of fear went through his body as he mentally envisioned what the Rainbow Powers could do to him. Suffice it to say he had to find a way to protect himself to some degree from that power, to take it's edge against him away anyway.  Irritated that he couldn't get anything done due to the presence of Alicorns, Sombra cursed. 

 

"Tartarus ridden fillies. Why can't they leave me alone?" 

 

His island had been found by him, and had been modified. The sand had crystal spikes inside of it that were capable of releasing a minor concussive blast when they detected any form of Alicorn Quintessence, or Aether Usage on his island towards the unfortunate sap. That, and a field that dampened Unicorn Magic around the island other than his should prove to be sufficient defenses against intrusions to his island. For all the strategic advantages his island had, it had a few flaws. Food was hard to come by on the island, and there were very few fish around the island. Beggars couldn't be choosers, and at least it was away from anywhere where the Rainbow Cannon or Crystal Heart could be used on him. 

 

The former tyrant of the Crystal Empire sighed, and went into his castle. Going into his throne room, which was ornately furnished with black crystal furniture King Sombra sighed. That sold it. He was going to have to raid a Pony City for a proper throne, and proper furniture and a proper bed, and proper clothing. Plus food. Food... his stomach rumbled. It had been several days since he had last eaten, and he was miserable because oof it. 

 

 

[PyroBlaze]

Flying through the air at a leisurely pace, a Long was producing some wonderful music. Tai was singing along as she twisted and turned in the air, making a loop-de-loop in the air as she went. Unfortunately, this caused some of her possessions to slip out of her bag and start falling. After taking a moment to stow her instrument away, she dove after the items, catching them with just enough room left to pull up and avoid crashing into the water. What she couldn't avoid though, was the sudden beach in front of her, which she plowed into and eventually came to a stop on. She was fine, really, aside from all the sand on her, so she removed her bag and began washing it off, continuing her song as she reemerged from the water.

 

"[Has that castle always been there?]" She asked herself in her native language, tilting her head in confusion for  second before flying towards it after retrieving her bag. She peaked into one of the windows, blinking at the strange unicorn inside and waving happily at them.

[Novaburst]

Hearing a song, via crystalline spying that he did on the individual as she emerged from the island, Sombra had to admit he didn't know her language. This made her something that was curious to say the least, but also worrisome. For if she was allied with Celestia, or Luna he might have to kill her, or if she was connected to Twilight. Not that he particularly wanted to murder anyone, as that would draw too much attention to him. Given the efforts he had spent to lay low, and hide in plain sight Sombra sighed. He'd have to go greet the guest, he realized when she smiled and waved. Going towards the window, Sombra teleported himself outside, right next to her. 

 

"Why are you here on my island?" asked Sombra. He didn't know why any dragon would come to visit him at home. But he was suspicious about it. His horn was lit up with magic as he came out, just in case the individual became a threat. Sombra was a bit nervous, as well. For he didn't want anyone who could possibly tell any of the Alicorns where he was. It was going to be problematic if he was discovered so soon. 

 

 

[PyroBlaze]

Tai tilted her head as the pony approached the window, giving a little gasp as he disappeared and showed up right next to her. She blinked as she listened to him speak, looking at his glowing horn curiously. He looked very strange, with his curved horn and his weird eyes, but he didn't look like a mean pony or anything. Maybe they could be friends! That'd be cool to have a friend that lived in a place like this! He probably knew all sorts of songs and tales she could learn!

 

"This yours? Cool! I Tai, what your name?" She asked as best she could. She never really learned other languages, leaving her with only a basic grasp of how to speak Equestrian. "Want song? Me can play music. I just wandering."

[Novaburst]

"My name is King Sombra. And as to songs, I doubt I could teach you any if that is what you are asking."  

 

What was with this dragon? Why was she so obsessed with music? At least she wasn't a gem hoarding type of dragon, and that was a relief. Right now he couldn't afford any magically drawn out battles, as he had spent the bulk of his magical power for the day, on reinforcing the wards around his place to prevent the arrival of Alicorns. Yes, Sombra didn't want them visiting. Well more to the point, he didn't want a taste of the Rainbow, nor another painful eviction via the Crystal Heart. Having to abandon his kingdom was shaming, because he knew he couldn't conquer it as he was now. Not until he could match all four of the Alicorns in terms of sheer magical power could he even think of reconquering his home. And he'd have to do something about their super weapons before he could do anything like that, Discord included in the list of things he'd need to deal with. A wicked idea donned in his mind. Perhaps he could use this dragon after all. 

 

Free Public Relations. Yes, the dragon was going to be more useful than she realized.  "So tell me. What makes you love music as much as you do?" asked Sombra. 

[PyroBlaze]

"Aww,you no have song? I play song for you?" She asked, holding up her instrument, the painting of her with her friends on clear display. She smiled at him widely, tilting her head questioningly for a second before giving a small gasp and putting the instrument away and digging through her bag to pull out a red ribbon. She curled up on herself a bit, bringing her tail to her face and tying yet another ribbon onto the braids present there before turning her attention back to Sombra, humming a little tune to herself that sounded a bit like his name.

 

"Music fun! Me bard. Music not only thing I like. Friends fun too!" She said happily, going back to her humming. "You know story? Can turn story to song." She added, giving a nod and smiling still.

[Novaburst]

So this dragon believed itself to be a bard, and wanted to be his friend despite the fact that he was a tyrant in the eyes of the Crystal Ponies? This was...curious. Sombra wasn't sure what to make of the dragon. It was certainly unlike any he had encountered in the past. A lot had apparently changed since he had been frozen in the ice. Granted he knew some ponies were likely to try to blast him with the Crystal Heart. The mere mental image of being blasted made him shudder a little, but he knew he could adapt to counter the power of the Crystal Heart. It was a magical artifact, and magical artifacts normally had weaknesses.  "So you like to have fun? Tell me. Is running errands for your friends fun for you?"  Perhaps he could make use of this dragon. She was naive enough, and no pony he knew of, especially those six who had relit the Crystal Heart or the Alicorn probably knew about her, which meant she'd be safe for him to employ. Sombra didn't know how he was going to put the Dragon to use. Sure the dragon was young, but it seemed to enjoy music. A Royal Bard perhaps? No... that would be too suspicious. Letting the magic around his horn fade, he smiled a predatory grin at her. She was definitely going to be useful because of her nature. She was going to be easy for him to manipulate to say the least. 

 

"I believe I've figured out a job for you, if you'd like to earn some gem-stones..." said Sombra. Dragons loved gems right? Well hopefully this one did, or he couldn't use her like he planned. A mental image of the dragon whacking Cadance upside the head for him losing his kingdom made Sombra's body relax for a moment. Of course as much as he wanted such done, doing so was a waste of time and energy. Neither of which he could afford to waste. Plus it would reveal his newest card to the Alicorns, and he didn't want that. What he needed was to reach their level of power somehow. There had to be some magical relic, and if there wasn't, he'd create one because as it was he wouldn't survive another blast from the Crystal Heart, or even a small dose of the Rainbow Power presently. 

 

 

[PyroBlaze]

"Hmm..." She replied simply, tapping her chin a bit in thought before giving a nod. "I like help friend. You want help?" Tai said, wiggling a bit as she floated there. This was exciting! It looked like she was actually befriending him! Well, that or he just wanted her to do stuff... hmm... She liked to think she was getting through to him. 

 

"Gem? Where? They pretty and tasty!" Tai whipped around, flying here to there looking for these gems he spoke of. They were a very nice treat. 

[Novaburst]

A dragon was a useful ally to have. Sure this one was obsessed with befriending him more than he liked, but she was still infinitely more useful than a baby dragon. Levitating over a couple of gemstones in his dark magic, King Sombra hoofed them over to the dragon so that she could have lunch.  Ideas of what he could have her do came to mind. Such as having her collect a large assortment of foods for him to have on his island.

 

The pain in his stomach, from hunger needed to go away, and the only way to satisfy himself was with food. Yet the supplies of such on his island that were naturally occurring were limited to say the least.   "Now you have your gems, but the island we are on is short on well almost every type of food. There's no food here, and that is what I was going to have you correct. You see, I'm a private pony and don't like to go out to meet other ponies in Equestria."  True, but not for the reasons she'd likely assume. Sombra just had no intention of dying again due to the Crystal Heart. It had been painful enough the last time and he had no desire of a repeat of such happening to him.  "So, Tai was it? How would you like to get paid to travel, and shop for me?" asked King Sombra. Having a dragon to do his food shopping was a good idea, and with a dragon doing his shopping he wouldn't have to worry about his island being found. 

 

Sure he needed food, but he also needed magic. Lots and lots of magic that he could use to transform himself into an Alicorn Stallion. While the idea was not one he liked, it was one of the few ways he knew he could combat the Princesses, or the Crystal Heart. Evening the playing field somehow was essential. 

 

 

 

 

[PyroBlaze]

"You want food?" Tai asked, blinking a bit as he offered to pay her to get food for him.

 

"I get food. Yep. Why you shy?" She asked, tilting her head curiously. She looked down at her tail after a moment to try and spot the ribbon she had tied on earlier, though she instead gave a surprised and happy noise as she saw the gems in her claws. She had forgotten about those! She immediately began eating one, dropping the rest into her bag for now. 

[Novaburst]

"Let's just say there are certain ponies I have no desire to be around, for the time being."  said King Sombra. Celestia, Luna, Cadance,Twilight Sparkle, Apple Jack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Spike, as well as Rainbow Dash. These were the ponies who had the strongest connection to harmony, and posed the most likely of threats to him. Avoiding each and every last one of the misguided fillies, and the stupid drake was essential. Perhaps he could have Tai help him try to corrupt...no.

 

He wouldn't use her for that because he wanted to keep business, essentials and revenge schemes separated at all times. For that reason he couldn't employ her in any plots to get any form of revenge on the Mane Six, or the Solar Diarch and the Lunar Princess, Shining Armor or the Dragon, Spike. Revenge was not a luxury he could allow himself to focus on, when there was more important matters to dwell on, such as preparing himself for his inevitable encounter with the Mane Six. Sombra was not going to say "nothing could go wrong" as that would be inviting a case of Marephy's law to harass him, another problem that he didn't need. 

 

"And I would ask that you please don't use my name when buying supplies to bring back to my island. It needs cattle for meat, vegetables, seeds of various varieties, and a lot of raw materials for me to build with." said Sombra.   "Oh, and if you can get it... a book on mythical legendary weapons." 

[PyroBlaze]

Tai tilted her head at his response, staring at him in silence until he spoke again about what he needed. She ticked off the items on her claws, pausing as the first one really registered. 

 

"Meat? But you pony, why you want meat?" This one really was a strange pony it seemed... oh well. "How me get live cattle here? Or the build stuff?"

[Novaburst]

"Meat is a food that can be immediately cooked. When I had my old house, I enjoyed that delicacy.."  said Sombra, grinning with an almost predatory grin. It was true, the taste of meat was something that Sombra missed. It was also why few of the predators of the Frozen North had dared come as close as the Crystal Empire. The ones that lived closest had become food for the tyrant, who had hunted them down personally in order to ensure that his slaves didn't die due to some animals.   "Buy a ship, employ an airship... do something of that nature."  said Sombra. He'd sigh for a moment. Was the Dragon really that unintelligent? He truly needed minions of his own that he could rely on. Yet for now he was forced to 'slum it' and make use of the services of this dragon. After all she was perfectly willing to do a job for him, even if she didn't know who he was. He'd have to make sure she didn't find out, as having a creature that could carry out his dark plans in Equestria without realizing it was...refreshing. 

 

Still, he needed food. And there was no fish, no vegetables and not even any FRUIT trees on this island. Okay, it was clear that he was going to have to find some pony to help the dragon, or do the job instead of the dragon.  "Nevermind the food or supplies, other than the book. You just get the book on Legendary Magical Artifacts. I will take care of the rest myself. " 

[PyroBlaze]

"I get food, airship too much." She said, frowning at him a bit. He knew what a bard was, right? She didn't make that much money... she often made little to no money at all from her performances, but she still loved doing them, so there was no plan to change careers. 

 

"I get plant food, book of are-tea-facts." She said, nodding again with the smile back on her face. After a second or so, she started digging through her bag again, pulling out another gem to eat. She paused again, giving a little hum in thought before looking back over to Sombra. 

 

"Sombra? You want seeds?" She asked, vaguely remembering him saying something about them. 

[Novaburst]

"Yes, if possible you will get seeds to plant crops. Hold on, I'll give you a list of items."  Taking care to write differently than he did normally, and in modern Equestrian which was difficult for him, Sombra wrote a list down. 500 Apples, 200 Potatoes, 600 ears of corn, 300 Celery Stalks, and the book on magical artifacts. Sombra then levitated over a few bars of gold that he had mined out, and created on the island before handing the sack containing them, and the list that was levitating in his magic over to her.  "This list is essential that you get. You may use part of the money to hire transport back, but you may not tell anyone, pony, dragon or other who I am. You'll just say you're doing the shopping of a "friend" understood?"  Sombra didn't want to be forced to engage in combat when he was under-prepared to say the least. The Crystal Heart had been bad enough, and he had no desire to see what other countermeasures against him the ponies now had made for themselves. 

[PyroBlaze]

Tai looked back into her bag for a few seconds before pulling out a bag of apple seeds and offering them to him. She smiled widely as she took the list, blinking in surprise as he gave her some gold bars to pay with. 

 

"Wow! Gold!" She said, smiling again before placing the gold and the list in her bag carefully. "Ok. I buy list, no use your name." She said, twisting in the air a bit. 

 

"[Making new friends is great! Maybe I can get him to let me play a song when we get back.]" She said to herself in Long, smiling happily. 

[Novaburst]

Sombra nodded his head at Tai, and took the apple seeds. With the seeds grabbed by him in his magic, he'd grow a crystal shard with his magic and use it to dig holes to plant the seeds in. Sombra nodded at her. "Everything on the list. Oh, and a list of places to not shop in."  He'd summon up a list labelled where not to shop and hand it over to her. The list showed Ponyville, Canterlot and the Crystal Empire as the places not to shop. He'd also summon up another list. "Oh, and a second list of items." This list contained a plain steel sword, seeds for the food mentioned on the list and a few years worth of Equestrian Newspapers. Furthermore, it also had another item. A Thaumite crystal colored red was listed on the list, to be absolutely sure. 

 

 

[PyroBlaze]

Tai was glad these things were all on lists, she wouldn't be able to remember them otherwise. The Long took the lists and looked them over, tilting her head at the list of places. 

 

"What wrong with these?" She asked, not sure what his problem was. She'd never been to Canterlot or this Crystal Empire, but Ponyville had been great while she was there. "Seeds come from Ponyville." She said, gesturing to the bag of apple seeds. 

[Novaburst]

"Well, just some ponies I don't want to learn I am still around." said Sombra, to Tai. "But you're right." said King Sombra levitating the not to go to list, and destroying it in his magic because he didn't want to offend his dragon soldier. A smile was on his face. "Just make sure not to mention my name at all, when you are in Ponyville. Do you understand?" asked King Sombra. Sombra was certain that if she mentioned him in Ponyville, he'd have problems. The absolute last thing he wanted was trouble with the Alicorns, and so he was doing his best to lay low and keep a low profile. But he needed more connections than this Dragon, because she could only do so much for him.  "Anyway, while you are there see if you can get a few apple trees as well that I could plant on the island." 

 

 

[PyroBlaze]

Tai blinked a bit at that, watching him destroy the list of places. Ponies he didn't want to know about him still being around? Were there old friends there that he wanted to surprise? She'd be happy to help with that! She nodded to his question about her understanding, smiling happily at him and writing trees down onto one of the remaining lists. With that done, she dropped the list into her bag and munched on one of the gems.

 

"That all? I buy lists, no use name." She said, beginning to hum to herself again while waiting for his response.

[Novaburst]

"Yes, precisely."   Hopefully she was gullible enough to fall for his master plan. At least she seemed eager which meant a lot because he wouldn't have to threaten her with violence in order to get jobs done like this. There was much that needed to be accomplished, and in a short time at that. He had to build more fortifications, and expand his island. In addition he had to find some soldiers as he couldn't do the job on his own, anymore. What he needed was highly trained mercenaries he could sick on his enemies just in case any of the Alicorns should come his way.  "I will see you when you get back." 

[PyroBlaze]

Tai nodded at that, flying around him in a fast circle a couple times before coiling around Sombra and giving him a hug for a few moments. Eventually, she let go, waving happily at him as she flew off back where she came to try and find places to get all the items on the list. As she got further away, she pulled her instrument back out and began playing a tune again.

 

"[Oh, there once was a pony called Raggy the Red, who came riding from Canterlot to...]" She began singing, the sound fading out as she got further and further away.